Sir William Alexander (c. 1602 – 18 May 1638) was the founder, in 1629, of the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

colony of Nova Scotia with the establishment of Charles Fort, now the site of modern

Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia Annapolis Royal, formerly known as Port Royal, is a town located in the western part of Annapolis County, Nova Scotia, Canada. Today's Annapolis Royal is the second French settlement known by the same name and should not be confused with the n ...

, Canada. His expedition partner, James Stewart, 4th Lord Ochiltree established a short-lived settlement at Baleine on

Cape Breton Island Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...

, some northeast. Alexander was the son of colonizer William Alexander, 1st Earl of Stirling, but predeceased his father and never assumed his title. It was on the site of Charles Fort that the returning French in 1632 built their second settlement known by the name of Port-Royal. For many years the site of Alexander's settlement, known as Charles Fort or Scots Fort, was thought to be on the hillside overlooking the

Habitation Habitation may refer to: * Human settlement, a community in which people live * Dwelling In law, a dwelling (also known as a residence or an abode) is a self-contained unit of accommodation used by one or more households as a home - such as ...

. This site, marked by a stone monument and brass plaque, was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 1951. The plaque has been removed and relocated as the actual site of Charles Fort has been established through archaeological evidence at Annapolis Royal; lying beneath Fort Anne.

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* 1600s births 1638 deaths People from Annapolis County, Nova Scotia Pre-Confederation Nova Scotia people Explorers from the Kingdom of Scotland Scottish knights Emigrants from the Kingdom of Scotland to Nova Scotia Governors of Acadia 17th-century Scottish businesspeople {{Canada-explorer-stub