Qamso'q

Qamso'q, known in English as Canso, lies among islands and sheltered waters at the eastern tip of mainland Nova Scotia. Its shores were used for fishing before European arrival. From the sixteenth century European fishermen came to the islands for cod and trade, building seasonal stations with wharves and racks for drying fish.

By 1720 a busy British and New England fishing settlement had displaced much of the French fishery, and a garrison was established on Grassy Island. Fishermen, merchants and soldiers shared the harbor during a period of rivalry between Britain and France. In 1744 a French force from Louisbourg captured and destroyed the settlement. The following year British and New England forces assembled at Canso before sailing against Louisbourg itself.