NOVEMBER 22, 1752

MI’KMAQ CHIEF KOPIT (JEAN-BAPTISTE COPE) REACHES PEACE WITH NOVA SCOTIA

Born in the Shubenacadie valley of Nova Scotia (N.S.) in 1698, Kopit, whose name meant “Beaver,” probably was a Chief when he signed the Treaty of 1725 between the Wabanaki Confederacy and the British ending Dummer’s War.  After the end of King George’s War in 1748, the Mi’kmaq renewed hostilities (known as Father Le Loutre’s War) when Britain began transporting settlers into N.S. and New Brunswick.  In retaliation, N.S. Governor Edward Cornwallis offered bounties for the scalps of Mi’kmaq and of their Acadian allies.  By mid-1751, Cornwallis changed his policy and constructed trading posts and forts to exploit the Mi’kmaq economically.  However, he could not find a Mi’kmaq chief to negotiate peace.  After his departure in 1752, Kopit approached Governor Peregrine Hopson.  While the peace from the resulting treaty was brief, the British never again tried to drive the Mi’kmaq off the peninsula.  Kopit is believed to have died between 1758 and 1760 during the French and Indian War.

Source:  Daniel Paul, "Mi'kmaq remember Chief Kopit as true hero," www.danielpaul.com We Were Not the Savages, 4/19/1996.  Retrieved 7/21/2019, http://www.danielnpaul.com/Col/1996/Mi'kmaqChiefKopit-TrueHero.html
Sketch:  Stephen Whately, 9/3/1732.  Released into Public Domain by the author for any purpose and with no limitations.  Public Domain in Canada:  Pre-1/1/1949.  Public Domain in the US:  Pre-1/1/1925.  Public Domain elsewhere where copyright term is author’s life plus 70 years or less.