Les Mines was the name generally applied the Acadian settlements in the western Minas Basin in Nova Scotia. They included the villages of Grand-Pré, New Minas, Rivière-aux-Canards but usually excluded the villages at Pisiguit, Cobequid, and Beaubassin.[1] The name originated with early French explorers who identified copper mines at Cape d'Or as "Les Mines" and the name was gradually transferred to identify the Basin beyond Cape d'Or and its settlements. Founded in the 1680s, the communities which comprised Les Mines grew and prospered based on skilled development of dyked marsh lands for agriculture. However the settlements were destroyed in the 1755 Bay of Fundy Campaign of the Deportation of the Acadians.[2]
| Year | Inhabitants | |
|---|---|---|
| 1689 | ||
| 1689 | ||
| 1689 | ||
| 1701 | ||
| 1703 | ||
| 1707 | ||
| 1714 | ||
| 1730 | ||
| 1737 | ||
| 1750 | ||
| 1752 |