What was the status of the Mi'kmaq population in the 1800s?

• A. It had grown to more than 1,000.
• B. It remained around 600.
• C. Only 300 Mi'kmaq remained on the island.
• D. It disappeared completely.

Answer: (C)

In the 1800s, Mi’kmaq communities in the Maritimes faced severe pressures from colonization—disease, land loss, and disruption of traditional ways of life—yet they persisted in small numbers. On the island, these pressures reduced the Mi’kmaq population to a relatively small community, about 300 people, by mid‑ to late‑century. This reflects a pattern of decline from earlier, larger populations rather than growth or disappearance. The estimate of roughly 300 remaining on the island best fits the historical trend of a once larger community now living in small, constrained numbers due to displacement and ongoing colonial encroachment.