When war ended in 1763 Halifax appeared obsolete. Having excluded France from North America, Britain had no further need of a military base in Nova Scotia. The provincial capital deteriorated into a disused backwater. The American Revolution, however, revived Halifax's fortunes. Britain suddenly required military bases secure from rebel assault. Halifax became central to British war strategy, safe-guarding the approaches to the St. Lawrence, while simultaneously acting as a mustering point for campaigns into the rebellious colonies and the foreign West Indies. War swelled the local garrison, revived the business of military contractors and created lucrative opportunities in everything from rum selling to prize good speculation.
Large amounts were spent rebuilding the harbour fortifications. Visitors to the port commented on being greeted by "a terrible apparatus of cannon and mortars." As this engraving by Edward Hicks (active 1778-1782) shows, the Citadel, with its newly constructed wooden blockhouse, dominated the Halifax landscape. Complementary fortifications lay along the waterfront and on the islands in the harbour mouth. Fort Needham, shown in the foreground, guarded the Dockyard from overland attack. In the town, with its yellow and white houses, polite recreation focussed on the Grand Parade, "where all the belIes and beau... promenade, and the bands remain to play as long as they walk."
