The Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1726 National Historic Event
© Parks Canada, Scott Plumbe
The Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1726 was designated as a national historic event in 2026.
Historical importance: first Treaty between the British Crown and the Mi’kmaq/Mi’gmaq, Wəlastəkokewiyik, and Peskətəmohkatewey, the basis for all subsequent treaties between them.
Commemorative plaque: no plaque installedFootnote 1
The Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1726
Mi’kmaw, Wəlastəkokewiyik, and Peskətəmohkatewey leaders gathered at Annapolis Royal on June 4, 1726, to ratify a treaty with the British Crown. Based on a treaty negotiated in Boston in 1725, it sought to end years of hostilities in the Atlantic region. This 1726 treaty affirmed a relationship of peaceful coexistence, allowing for some lawful British settlements while respecting traditional Indigenous ways of life. The Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1726 was the basis for future treaty negotiations, which are the foundation of Canada’s relationship with these Nations today.
1726EWEY ANKUKAMKEWEY WJIT WANTAQO’TI AQQ
Saqamaq wjit Mi’kmaq, Wəlastəkokewiyik, and Peskətəmohkatewey mawita’snik Te’wapskek Nipniku’s 4, 1726-ek aqq kisa’matulti’tisni Eleke’wutiaq. Wejiaq kisamatultimkis ankukamkewey Pastunkewa’kik 1725-ek, naqa’tun matntultimk Mi’kma’kik. 1726-ey ankukamkewey ketlewa’toq menaqaj mawqatmu’timk, asite’tasiktn Aklasie’we’l etlqatmumkl aqq kepmite’tasiktn ta’n L’nu’k telo’lti’tij. Wejiaq 1726-ey Ankukamkewey wjit Wantaqo’ti aqq wela’matultimkewey tela’matultimkl ankukamkewe’l weja’tekemkek, nekmowe’l na el-qanatekewe’l ta’n Kanata tela’muaj aqq mawlukutinew ula L’nu’k kiskuk.
The Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1726
On 4 June 1726, Mi’kmaw, Wəlastəkokewiyik, and Peskətəmohkatewey leaders gathered at Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, to ratify a treaty with the British Crown. This treaty was based on a treaty negotiated in Boston in 1725, and it sought to end years of hostilities in the Atlantic region. It brought more Mi’kmaq, Wəlastəkokewiyik, and Peskətəmohkatewey leadership into treaty with the British Crown than had happened before or since, expressing the unified political will among the members and allies of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Peace and Friendship Treaty of 1726 affirmed a relationship of peaceful coexistence. It allowed for some lawful British settlements and respected traditional Indigenous ways of life in relationship to the lands and waters, including hunting, fishing, and planting. This was the first treaty between these Indigenous Peoples and any European state in the region that would become the Canadian Maritimes. This treaty served as the basis for future negotiations and treaties, which are the foundation of Canada’s relationship with these Nations today.
© Courtesy of National Archives of the United Kingdom
Hostilities had increased between the British and the Indigenous Peoples of the Northeast of North America as a result of the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713, in which France had ceded to Britain its claims to territory without consultation with or recognition of the Indigenous Peoples whose lands were the subject of the treaty. The Indigenous leaders all rejected the British claims and by 1721, there was open warfare between the British and the Wabanaki Confederacy. In December 1725, Governor William Dummer of Massachusetts convened peace treaty negotiations in Boston, attended by Panowapskewiyik delegates, Sanguaarum alias Loron, Arexus, François Xavier, and Meganumbe, representing the Mi’kmaq, Wəlastəkwewiyik, and Peskətəmohkatewey, and Paul Mascarene representing the colony of Nova Scotia. They were able to reach an agreement for peace with a treaty that outlined how the British and Indigenous Peoples would henceforth co-exist. Mascarene prepared a modified treaty for Nova Scotia, which was also adopted.
On 4 June 1726, 64 Mi’kmaw, Wəlastəkokewiyik, Panowapskewiyik, and Peskətəmohkatewey leaders came to Annapolis Royal to meet with representatives of the British colonial government of Nova Scotia to ratify the treaty that had been made on their behalf by their Panowapskewiyik allies in Boston the previous December. The signatories and Acadian interpreters gathered in the west (flag) bastion of the fort at Annapolis Royal for a reading and signing ceremony. Over the next two years more Indigenous leaders from throughout the region came to add their support to the treaty.
The treaty ratified at Annapolis Royal in June 1726 would be the first of a series of related treaties in the Maritimes. In the following years, differing European and Indigenous translations and understandings led to disagreements as to the meaning of some of the terms of these treaties, leading to continuing tensions and the need for subsequent treaties. The terms of this treaty, and the principles of the relationship that it established, were reaffirmed in later treaties negotiated between the British, Mi’kmaq, Wəlastəkwewiyik, and Peskətəmohkatewey. These treaties culminated in the 1761 Peace and Friendship Treaty, which was the reference for the 1999 Marshall decisions, in which the Supreme Court of Canada affirmed Indigenous treaty rights. The 1726 Peace and Friendship Treaty is the foundation for Crown-Indigenous relations in what is now Eastern Canada.
“The Treaties of 1725 and 1726 shaped the future of the Mi'kmaw Nation's alliance with the United Kingdom; now is the time to shape our future in the coming generations as a respected nation.”
This press backgrounder was prepared at the time of the Ministerial announcement and the plaque unveiling in 2026.
The National Program of Historical Commemoration relies on the participation of Canadians in the identification of places, events and persons of national historic significance. Any member of the public can nominate a topic for consideration by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada.
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