<P> The French quickly defeated the Scots at Baleine, and established the first European settlements on Île Royale: present day Englishtown (1629) and St. Peter's (1630). These settlements lasted only one generation, until Nicolas Denys left in 1659 . The island did not have any European settlers for another fifty years before those communities along with Louisbourg were re-established in 1713, after which point European settlement was permanently established on the island . </P> <P> Known as "Île Royale" ("Royal Island") to the French, the island also saw active settlement by France . After the French ceded their claims to Newfoundland and the Acadian mainland to the British by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, the French relocated the population of Plaisance, Newfoundland, to Île Royale and the French garrison was established in the central eastern part at Sainte Anne . As the harbour at Sainte Anne experienced icing problems, it was decided to build a much larger fortification at Louisbourg to improve defences at the entrance to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and to defend France's fishing fleet on the Grand Banks . The French also built the Louisbourg Lighthouse in 1734, the first lighthouse in Canada and one of the first in North America . In addition to Cape Breton Island, the French colony of Île Royale also included Île Saint - Jean, today called Prince Edward Island, and Les Îles - de-la - Madeleine . </P> <P> Louisbourg itself was one of the most important commercial and military centres in New France . Louisbourg was captured by New Englanders with British naval assistance in 1745 and by British forces in 1758 . The French population of Île Royale was deported to France after each siege . While French settlers returned to their homes in Île Royale after the Treaty of Aix - la - Chapelle was signed in 1748, the fortress was demolished after the second siege . Île Royale remained formally part of New France until it was ceded to Great Britain by the Treaty of Paris in 1763 . It was then merged with the adjacent, British colony of Nova Scotia (present day peninsular Nova Scotia and New Brunswick). Acadians who had been expelled from Nova Scotia and Île Royale were permitted to settle in Cape Breton beginning in 1764, and established communities in north - western Cape Breton, near Cheticamp, and southern Cape Breton, on and near Isle Madame . </P> <P> Some of the first British - sanctioned settlers on the island following the Seven Years' War were Irish, although upon settlement they merged with local French communities to form a culture rich in music and tradition . From 1763 to 1784, the island was administratively part of the colony of Nova Scotia and was governed from Halifax . </P>

When did cape breton become part of nova scotia