Cape Breton Island

The Cape Breton Island ( Cape Breton Iceland English, French île du Cap- Breton, in Canadian Gaelic: Eilean Cheap Breatuinn, in the Indian language Mi'kmaq: U'namakika ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean and is part of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is separated by the at the narrowest point only about 770 meters wide road of Canso from neuschottländischen mainland but connected to this man made by a 1955 traffic dam. At the end is a bridge which connects the Port Hawkesbury with the sea.

Geography

The Cape Breton Island is located east-northeast of the mainland and is bordered to its north and west coast of the St. Lawrence Gulf; the west coast also forms the eastern border of the Northumberland Strait. The island is 10,311 km ² and consists of a rocky coast, hilly grasslands, glacial valleys and mountains and plateaus. The landscape of Cape Breton Island is dominated by the Bras d'Or Lakes system and the Cape Breton Highlands, the latter probably an offshoot of the Appalachians. In addition, the Lake Ainslie, the Margaree River River system and the Mira River and numerous small rivers and streams.

History

Under French colonial rule was originally inhabited by the Indians of the Mi'kmaq tribe of Cape Breton island Île Royale. The colonization by French colonists began in the 17th century. Capital was conquered in 1758 by the British troops under Jeffrey Amherst and James Wolfe and dismantled in subsequent years fortress town of Louisbourg, whose reconstruction is a main attraction of the island today. After the conquest of numerous British, especially Scottish settlers came to the Cape Breton Island. This primarily includes about 50,000 Highland Scots, who were driven from their homes due to the so-called Highland Clearances. Their descendants dominate the island and its culture to this day. Your Celtic language was for many decades the most important vernacular on the island, but is now almost completely gone except for a few remnants. A community college near the city Intigonish at the beginning of the Cabot Trail, however, teaches the language to this day. More immigrants came from the United States (then displaced loyalists ), Ireland, Italy and Eastern Europe. Settlement focus was the most economically developed eastern part of the island to Sydney. Today, English is the most commonly spoken language, but also live French, Gaelic and the language of the Mi'kmaq on.

Since 1955, the Cape Breton - Canso Causeway island by a causeway, connected to the mainland. The main port is traditionally Sydney on the east coast. The big ferries run from Newfoundland to North Sydney, more ports are in Point Edward and Port Hawkesbury. By train, the island can be reached via the Canso Causeway, the main streets are the Trans-Canada Highway and the Cabot Trail. Economically, the island lived a long time with coal mining and steel production, both industries are however in decline. Increasing weight were given in the past decades for the tourism and the music industry.

Find out more

• A native of Edinburgh ( Scotland), inventor of the telephone Alexander Graham Bell, a museum was built in the town of Baddeck, which gives very accurate insight into his personal life and his numerous inventions. Bell has spent much of his life in Baddeck and many of his inventions were created here. It is one of the most visited museums on the island.
• On Cape Breton is an interesting Music → Traditional music developed through the various influences on Cape Breton