#halifax history

he Halifax Explosion happened on December 6th, 1917 and it was the biggest man made explosion until the use of the atomic bomb in 1945. To understand why the tragedy happened it’s important to understand its history.

           The city is the biggest Canadian city east of Quebec and is the capital of the province of Nova Scotia. The city has always had its roots in the military as it was initially founded in 1749 by the British to be a strategical settlement for future attacks against the French. Time went on and it was not surprising that in WWI Halifax was an essential city for the British, this is because Halifax has one of the biggest and deepest natural harbours in the world (making it one of the best) and geographically it lines up with Britain (not exactly but its pretty close) on the other side of the Atlantic.  Here’s a map for reference:

Thus, by 1917 Halifax Harbour saw ships and convoys constantly coming and going transporting soldiers and goods to and from Europe. In fact, German submarines often sunk ships outside the harbour. Yet, besides the heavy nautical traffic in the harbour, there weren’t many rules and the process of entering and leaving the harbour was not very organized; it was an accident waiting to happen.

On the morning of December 6th 1917 a Belgian relief ship, the Imo, collided with the French ship, the Mont-Blanc and a small fire broke out on the French ship. This was because the Mont-Blanc was carrying over 3 million dollars in US money at the time in explosives. The crew immediately abandoned ship, but due to the language barrier between French and English they could not properly warn the citizens of Halifax of the dangers. Meanwhile the abandoned ship drifted to the docks where the fire spread to some of the buildings. The fire caught the attention of the people who were unaware of the danger, crowded near the docks to see the spectacle, others watched from the ship from their windows at home.

At 9:04 that morning the Mont-Blanc exploded, the ground shook and near every window for miles shattered. This was soon followed by a tsunami caused by the explosion which hit the areas closest to the harbour. Fires broke out all over the city, either directly caused by the explosion or by such things as fallen kerosene lamp or stoves that were being used at the time. Many people who were injured or trapped in their homes and in risk of fire were forced to be abandoned due to a rumour of a likely second explosion was to take place that there was a fire near an ammunition storage in the city. This turned out to be false and there was not a second explosion. Unfortunately, this caused a great deal more tragedy as those who might have been able to be saved were left for dead.

Immediately soldiers in the city took charge by starting rescue parties, and the cities hospitals began to fill. One of the most common injuries were caused by glass, specifically in the eyes as many had been watching the Mont-Blanc at the time of explosion and all the cities windows shattered. There were around 2000 dead, 9000 injured and 6000 homeless, this, all in a small city with a population of about 50 000.

Within the next hours, relief started flooding in coming in from other Nova Scotian towns and from towns of the neighbouring province of New Brunswick. Not as fast but just important all the same were from the rest of Canada and America. Most notably from the state of Massachusetts and actually, to this day Nova Scotia still sends a giant Christmas tree to Boston every year to show thanks for the aid they received.

That night the weather took a turn for the worst as blizzard hit the city making it difficult to find those who were injured and missing that hadn’t already received help. The blizzard continued through the night and the following day, it was yet another trial for the people of Halifax as many were homeless and no windows remained in the city.

It took years to rebuild and some communities that were destroyed never did. For example, the neighbourhood of Richmond which was utterly obliterated because it was the closest to explosion and thus the hardest hit.  Nevertheless, Halifax healed and it continues to thrive today.

Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn, KG, KP, GCB, GCH, PC (Edward Augustus; 2 November 1767 – 23 January 1820) was the fourth son and fifth child of King George III. His only child became Queen Victoria.

Prince Edward was created Duke of Kent and Strathearn and Earl of Dublin on 23 April 1799 and, a few weeks later, appointed a General and commander-in-chief of British forces in the Maritime Provinces of North America.  On 23 March 1802, he was appointed Governor of Gibraltar and nominally retained that post until his death. The Duke was appointed Field-Marshal of the Forces on 3 September 1805.