Early settlers had small subsistence farms, but most of the inhabitants' income from that time to the present have been derived from the sea. Shelburne lies at the southwest corner of Nova Scotia, at roughly the same latitude as Portland, Maine. The large and well sheltered harbour was known to the Mi'kmaq as Logumkeegan or Sogumkeagum.
The first Europeans to make a settlement on these shores were the French Acadians. They set up a small fishing settlement known as Port Razoir in the late 17th century, named after the harbour's resemblance to an open razor. The Acadian fishing settlement was abandoned after repeated New England privateer raids in 1705 and 1708.
On May 14, 1715, New England naval commander Cyprian Southackattempted to create a permanent fishing station at a place he named "Cape Roseway" (now known as Shelburne). Shortly after he established himself, in July 1715 the Mi'kmaq raided the station and burned it to the ground. In response, South back led a raid on Canso, Nova Scotia (1718) and encouraged Governor Phillips to fortify Canso.
New England fishermen knew Shelburne as "Port Roseway" and frequently used the outer harbour for seasonal shelter and repairs. Pirate Ned Low raided the New England fishing fleet at Shelburne Harbour in 1723, capturing 13 ships. After the Acadian Expulsion in 1755, there were no settlers for several decades despite an abortive settlement attempt by Alexander McNutt in 1765.
In the spring of 1783, more than 5,000 settlers arrived on the shores of Shelburne Harbour from New York and the Middle Colonies of the Thirteen Colonies. These settlers were Loyalists (referred to later in Canada as United Empire Loyalists), Americans who had opposed the Revolution and remained loyal to Britain. Opposition to the Revolution, as well as government promises of free land, tools, and provisions lured many to British North America at that time. Four hundred families associated to form a town at Port Roseway,
