Jean-Baptiste Cope
| Jean-Baptiste Cope | |
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Signature of Jean Baptiste Cope (Beaver)
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| Nickname(s) | Major Cope |
| Born | 1698 Port Royal, Nova Scotia |
| Died | October, 1758-1760 Miramichi, New Brunswick |
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Jean Baptiste Cope (Kopit in Mi’kmaq meaning ‘beaver’) was also known as Major Cope, a title he was probably given from the French military, the highest rank given to Mi’kmaq. Cope was the sakamaw (chief) of the Mi'kmaq people of Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia (Indian Brook 14, Nova Scotia/ Mi’kma'ki). He maintained close ties with the Acadians along the Bay of Fundy, speaking French and being Catholic. During Father Le Loutre’s War, Cope participated in both military efforts to resist the British and also efforts to create peace with the British. During the French and Indian War he was at Miramichi, where he is presumed to have died during the war. Cope is perhaps best known for signing the Treaty of 1752 with the British, which was upheld in the supreme court in 1985 (See R v. Simon) and is celebrated every year along with other treaties on Treaty Day (October 1).
Cope was born in Port Royal and the oldest child of six. During Father Rale's War, at the young age of 28, Cope was probably one of a number of Mi’kmaq who signed the peace treaty, which ended the war between the New Englanders and the Mi’kmaq.
During King William's War, Cope was a leader in the Shubenacadie region. There were between 50-150 Mi’kmaq families and a few Acadian farms in the river valley close to the principal Mi’kmaq village named Copequoy. The village had become the site of a Catholic mission in 1722. (The location became a site of two major annual events, All Saints Day and Pentecost, which attracted Mi’kmaq from great distances.)
Le Loutre took over the Shubenacadie mission in 1737. During King William’s War, Cope and Le Loutre worked together in several engagements against the British forces.
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