Kernaghan, Lois. "William Alexander, Earl of Stirling". The Canadian Encyclopedia, 17 July 2015, Historica Canada. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/william-alexander-earl-of-stirling. Accessed 19 July 2019.
Kernaghan, L., William Alexander, Earl of Stirling (2015). In The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/william-alexander-earl-of-stirling
Kernaghan, Lois, "William Alexander, Earl of Stirling". In The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Article published January 16, 2008; Last Edited July 17, 2015. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/william-alexander-earl-of-stirling
Kernaghan, Lois. The Canadian Encyclopedia, s.v. "William Alexander, Earl of Stirling", Last Edited July 17, 2015, https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/william-alexander-earl-of-stirling
William Alexander, Earl of Stirling
Article by Lois Kernaghan
Last Edited July 17, 2015
William Alexander, Earl of Stirling, poet, courtier, colonizer (b at Menstrie, Scot c 1577; d at London, Eng 1640). Although he never visited North America, he is remembered for his nationalistic foresight, and for providing Nova Scotia with its name, flag and coat of arms.
Alexander, William, Earl of Stirling
William Alexander, Earl of Stirling, poet, courtier, colonizer (b at Menstrie, Scot c 1577; d at London, Eng 1640). Although he never visited North America, he is remembered for his nationalistic foresight, and for providing Nova Scotia with its name, flag and coat of arms. Sir William envisaged colonization as an answer to Scottish expansion, comparable to the contemporary, successful English ventures.
Enjoying the support of both James I and Charles I, he was granted territory (1621), necessary funding through the sale of knight-baronetcies (1624), and armorial bearings for the province (1625). Financial problems, the reluctance of Scots to emigrate and French territorial claims all hampered development. Although Sir William's son established 2 brief settlements, in Cape Breton and at PORT-ROYAL (Annapolis Royal), the entire grant was sacrificed to the French in 1632 in return for full payment of Charles I's marriage settlement.
John G. Reid, Acadia, Maine and New Scotland (1981).
Sir Brenton Halliburton
Simon Bradstreet Robie
Henry David Winton