Nova Scotia (Latin for "New Scotland") is the second-smallest province in Canada, with just 940,000 inhabitants. The peninsula was originally populated by the Mi’kmaq native people. The first European settlers were the French, who founded Acadia in 1604. Later, colonists of English, Irish and Scottish descent began to arrive. In 1749, the British established a new capital at Halifax, which has emerged as the leading cultural center in the Atlantic region, home to avant-garde visual art, writing and publishing, and a thriving film industry.