New Brunswick, 1784-1984

New Brunswick came into being in 1784. In 1763 Britain officially gained from France the territory now known as New Brunswick. This area, along with Prince Edward Island, was then part of Nova Scotia. Notwithstanding the return of some Acadians from exile, settlement in the New Brunswick region proceeded slowly. Tranquility would no doubt have reigned for many years to come had not the United States Revolutionary War broken out. When it became evident that Britain would lose the war, many Americans who had fought for the Crown or supported it in other ways, realized that they would have to flee. As the war wound down, more and more of these Loyalists became determined to found a new province for themselves in the North. However, they did not want to fall under the control of the colonial government at Halifax, which they greatly distrusted. Many who had lost nearly everything felt that some people in the North had sympathized with the rebels and profited from the war. They also felt dissatisfied with the lands offered in that vicinity. Land in the Saint John River Valley looked much more attractive. Several British military authorities supported settlement on the Saint John, hoping to guard this strategic route between the Atlantic and Quebec. Consequently, about 14,000 Loyalists, a good cross section of the American population, settled in the area that is now New Brunswick. In the meantime, their allies in London were working to convince the British government to divide Nova Scotia and create a separate province. In 1784 the British did just that. New Brunswick went on to become a founding province of Canada in 1867. Today the province stands as a memorial to the Indians, French, English, and all the other groups of settlers who contributed to its development. Beginning with the first influx of settlers into Saint John River Valley, New Brunswick has had a long seafaring tradition. The stamp design by Peter Dorn of Kingston, Ontario, evokes this tradition with a display of oared galleys based on the provincial flag and shield. The stamp is printed in a combination of steel engraving and gravure. The First Day Cover bears a nineteenth-century style botanical drawing of New Brunswick's provincial flower, the purple violet (viola cucullata). The day-of-issue cancellation features the provincial shield.