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{| border=1 cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 align=right width=250 class=toccolours style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; border-collapse: collapse;"|-!colspan=2 align=center||-!colspan=2 align=center| Newfoundland Tricolour
(unofficial)|-|-!colspan=2 align=center bgcolor="#9999ff"|Newfoundland|-|colspan=2 align=center||-!colspan=2 bgcolor="#9999ff"|Geography|-|
Surface area:||111,390
square kilometre|-|Water area:|| 7,797 square kilometre|-|Coastline:]|-|Highest Point:||
Lewis Hills 814 m]
246 km|-|Admin HQ:||St. John's, Newfoundland (2006):||505,409.|-|Major Ethnic Groups :|| [English people, Irish people, Some Scottish people and
French people|-|Largest City:||St. John's, Newfoundland
99,182 (city)
172,915 (metro)|-!colspan=2 bgcolor="#9999ff"|Politics|-|colspan=2 align=center|Government of Newfoundland & Labrador
http://www.gov.nl.ca|-|Members of the
Canadian House of Commons:||6 (of 7 in NL and 308 total)|-|Members of the
Canadian Senate:]:||44 (of 48 total)|}
Newfoundland — IPA: fən 'lænd (, ) is a large island off the east coast of North America, and the most populous part of the Canada province of
Newfoundland and Labrador.
The island of Newfoundland (originally called
Terra Nova) was named by the Italian
John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) in 1497. The province where this island is located was also called "Newfoundland" until 2001, when
Geographical renaming to "Newfoundland and Labrador" (the postal abbreviation was later changed from NF to NL). Recently the 'and' was dropped from the name and the province is now known as Newfoundland Labrador, to reflect the unity between both parts of the province.
Some believe Newfoundland might be the island called Vinland as referenced in Norseman documents, but since Vinland's location has yet to be verified this remains a matter of considerable debate.
The island of Newfoundland is separated from the
Labrador Peninsula by the Strait of Belle Isle and from
Cape Breton Island by the Cabot Strait. It blocks the mouth of the
Saint Lawrence River, creating the
Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the world's largest estuary. Newfoundland's nearest neighbour is the tiny
France collectivité d'outre-mer of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.
With an area of 108,860 square kilometers (41,700 sq mi) Newfoundland is the List of islands by area, and
List of Canadian islands by area. Newfoundland and its associated small islands have a total area of 111,390 square kilometers (43,008 sq mi). The provincial capital, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, is located on the southeastern coast of the island.
Cape Spear, just south of the capital, is North America's easternmost point. The island of Newfoundland has a population (2001) of 466,172. However, it is common to consider all directly neighbouring islands such as New World,
Twillingate, Newfoundland and Labrador, Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador and
Bell Island to be 'part of Newfoundland' (as distinct from Labrador). By that measure, the population is (2001) 485,066
Newfoundland has a dialect of English language known as
Newfoundland English and a dialect of
French language known as Newfoundland French. It once had a dialect of Irish language known as Newfoundland Irish, as well as an
Indigenous languages of the Americas,
Beothuk language.
First inhabitants
The first inhabitants of Newfoundland were the probable ancestors of the historical Beothuk inhabitants at the time of European contact.
Beothuk means "people" in the Beothuk language. The origins of the Beothuks are uncertain, but it appears that they were a native group that came from Labrador. The culture is now extinct, remembered only in museum, historical and archaeological records. Shanawdithit, the last known Beothuk (a woman), died in St. John's in 1829 of Tuberculosis.
It is probable that the natives described by the
Norseman as skraelings were Beothuk inhabitants of Labrador and Newfoundland. The first conflicts between Europeans and native peoples may have occurred around 1006 at
L'Anse aux Meadows when parties of
Norseman attempted to establish permanent settlements along the coast of Newfoundland. According to
Old Norse language sagas, the native skraelings responded so ferociously that the newcomers eventually withdrew and apparently gave up their original intentions to settle.
When other Europeans arrived, beginning with John Cabot in 1497, contact with the Beothuks was established. Estimates of the number of Beothuks on the island at this time vary, ranging from 1,000 to 5,000.
As European settlement became year-round and expanded to new areas of the coast the area available to the Beothuks to harvest the marine resources they relied upon was diminished. By the beginning of the nineteenth century there were few Beothuks remaining, many having been killed by settlers or having died as a result of starvation and diseases brought on by the European settlers in which their
Immune System could not handle. Government attempts to open a dialogue with the native peoples of Newfoundland came too late to save them.
Some Newfoundland residents can trace a clear First Nations ancestry, mostly Mi'kmaq.
European discovery, colonization, and settlement
Newfoundland is the site of the only authenticated Norsemen settlement in North America, discovered by
Norway explorer Helge Ingstad and his archaeologist wife,
Anne Stine Ingstad, at L'Anse aux Meadows in 1960. The site of a multi-year
archaeology dig, the settlement dating to more than 500 years before
Christopher Columbus, contains the earliest known
European structures in North America.Named a World Heritage site by
UNESCO, it is believed to be the Vinland settlement of explorer Leif Ericson (The Skalholt map of 1570 refers to the area as Promontorium Winlandia and correctly shows it on a parallel with England). The Norse stayed for a relatively short period of time, believed to be between
999 and
1001 AD.
Other speculative discoverers of the island would fall to other nationalities of Europe. The Irish Saint Brendan, who has been popularized in Newfoundland song 'Saint Brendan's Voyage’, is noted among possible discoverers of Newfoundland. Welsh folklore makes note of explorer and Prince Madoc who landed in America in 1170. No detail is given of his route or the lands that was attributed to his discovery. Then there is the Scottish who claim that the Earl of the Orkneys, Henry I Sinclair, Earl of Orkney had discovered the New World in the late 1300s. The
Portugal also lay claim to discovering the New World in 1431 when Prince
Henry the Navigator discovered the Azores, by virtue of the existence of the Paris Map c. 1490 which depicts a group of three islands southwest of Iceland at roughly the same latitude as Ireland, Newfoundland and possibly some other, nearby islands (such as Cape Breton). These three islands are known as '
Antillia' and 'The Isle of Brasile' said to be discovered by seven bishops. Documents from the voyages made by Bristol merchants in 1480 speak of a trip in search of the Isle of Brasile, to no avail.
After the departure of the Norse, the island would be left to the aboriginal populations for nearly 500 years until the island was rediscovered by the Italy navigator
John Cabot, in 1497. The exact place where John Cabot landed is popularly believed to be Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, along the island's East coast, although other sites along the East coast also have significant claims. Perhaps the site with the best claim is
Cape Bauld, at the tip of the
Great Northern Peninsula. It is supported by a document found in the Spanish National Archives written by a Bristol merchant which reports that the crew landed 1,800 miles west of Dursey Head, Ireland (latitude 51 34'N) which would put Cabot within sight of Cape Bauld. Also in this document is mention of an island that Cabot sailed past to go ashore on the mainland. This description fits with Cape Bauld theory,
Belle Isle, Newfoundland and Labrador being not far offshore.
's 1775 Chart of NewfoundlandAfter Cabot, the first European visitors to Newfoundland were Portuguese, Spanish, French and English migratory fishermen. Late in the 17th century came Ireland fishermen, who named the island
Talamh an Éisc, meaning "land of the fish", or "the fishing grounds" in Irish language. This was to foreshadow the centuries of importance of Newfoundland's offshore fishing waters.
In 1583, when Sir
Humphrey Gilbert formally claimed Newfoundland as a colony of England, he found numerous English, French and Portuguese vessels in St. John's. However there was no permanent population and Gilbert was lost at sea during his return voyage, thereby ending any plans of settlement.
On
July 5, 1610,
John Guy set sail from
Bristol,
England with 39 other colonists for
Cuper's Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador. This, and other early attempts at permanent settlement failed to make a profit for the English investors, but some settlers remained anyway, forming the very earliest European population on the island. By 1620, the fishermen of England's
West Country had excluded other nations from most of the east coast of Newfoundland, while fishermen from France dominated the island's south coast and Northern Peninsula.
After 1713, with the
Treaty of Utrecht, the French ceded control of south and north shores of the island to the British, keeping only the nearby islands of
St. Pierre and Miquelon located in the fish-rich Grand Banks off the south coast. Despite some early settlements by the English, permanent, year-round settlement of Newfoundland of migratory fishery workers was discouraged by the British. But with the geographic remoteness of its isolated harbours and convenience of year-round access to the fish stations without having to make the bi-annual voyage across the ocean, permanent settlement increased rapidly by the late 18th century, peaking in the early years of the
19th century.
The French name for the island is
Terre Neuve, while the name "Newfoundland"' is one of the oldest European place names in Canada in continuous geographical and cartography use, dating from a 1502 letter, and clearly stated in the following early poem:
A Skeltonic verse continued ryme, in praise of my New-found-Land
Although in cloaths, company, buildings faire
With England, New-found-land cannot compare:
Did some know what contentment I found there,
Alwayes enough, most times somewhat to spare,
With little paines, lesse toyle, and lesser care,
Exempt from taxings, ill newes, Lawing, feare,
If cleane, and warme, no matter what you weare,
Healthy, and wealthy, if men carefull are,
With much-much more, then I will now declare,
(I say) if some wise men knew what this were
(I doe beleeue) they'd live no other where.
:From 'The First Booke of
Qvodlibets'
:Composed and done at
Harbor-Grace in
:
Britaniola, anciently called
Newfound-Land
:by Governor
Robert Hayman - 1628.
The European immigrants who settled in Newfoundland brought their knowledge, beliefs, loyalties and prejudices with them, but the society they built in the New World was unlike the ones they had left, and different from the ones other immigrants would build on the American mainland. As a fish-exporting society, Newfoundland was in contact with many places around the Atlantic rim, but its geographic location and political distinctiveness also isolated it from its closest neighbours in Canada and the United States, so much so that this isolation can be felt even today. Internally, most of its population was spread widely around a rugged coastline in small outport settlements, many of them a long distance from larger centers of population and isolated for long periods by winter ice or bad weather. These conditions had an effect on the culture the immigrants had brought with them and generated new ways of thinking and acting, giving Newfoundland and Labrador a wide variety of distinctive customs, beliefs, stories, songs, and dialects.
The First World War had a powerful and lasting effect on the society. From a population of about a quarter of a million, 5,482 men went overseas. Nearly 1,500 were killed and 2,300 wounded. On July 1, 1916, at Beaumont-Hamel, France, 753 men of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment went over the top of a trench. The casualties were staggering; the next morning, only 68 men answered the roll-call. Newfoundland had lost about one-quarter of its young men in WWI and it has been suggested that this loss of so many men, proportionally speaking, in the prime of their lives contributed to the economic collapse that was to ultimately influence confederation with Canada. Even now, when the rest of Canada celebrates the founding of the country on July 1, many Newfoundlanders take part in solemn ceremonies of remembrance.
World War II also had a lasting impact on Newfoundland. In particular, the war ushered in an American presence at the military bases at Argentia, Gander, Stephenville, Goose Bay and St. John's. Interaction with the bases helped make cash a more widespread economic medium and consolidated a traditional admiration for the United States.
signing the document bringing Newfoundland into Confederation.Newfoundland and Labrador is the youngest province in Canada, which existed as a British colony until 1949, self-governing from 1855-1934, holding Dominion status from 1907-1949 (see
Dominion of Newfoundland). In late 1948, the population voted 52.3% to 47.7% in favour of joining Canada, with opposition to Canada being concentrated in the capital, St. John's, and on the
Avalon Peninsula. Newfoundland joined Canada on March 31, 1949. Union with Canada has done little to reduce Newfoundlanders' self-image as a unique group, with 72% identifying themselves as being primarily Newfoundlanders, secondarily Canadians, in 2003. Separatist sentiment is low, though—12% in the same 2003 study.
The referendum campaign was bitterly fought and interests in both Canada and Britain favoured and supported confederation with Canada. This is exemplified in the role of Jack Pickersgill, a western Canadian native and politician, who worked with the confederation camp during the campaign. Religion played a significant role in the final analysis as well with the Catholic church lobbying for continued independence. Financial incentives played their part, particularly the "baby bonus" which promised Newfoundlanders a cash sum for each child in a family. The Confederates were led by the charismatic Joseph Smallwood, a former radio broadcaster who had developed socialist political inclinations while working for a socialist newspaper in New York. His policies as premier would assume a form closer to liberalism than socialism. Mr. Smallwood led Newfoundland for decades as the elected premier following confederation and achieved a "cult of personality" amongst his many supporters that persisted long after his political defeat. Indeed, some homes actually had pictures of Joey in their living rooms in a place of prominence. It has been suggested that some members of the public regarded financial incentives like the baby bonus as the direct products of Smallwood's benevolence rather than their right as Canadian citizens.
The province's
Flag of Newfoundland and Labrador, designed by Newfoundland artist
Christopher Pratt, was officially adopted by the provincial legislature on May 28, 1980. Labrador has its own Flag of Labrador, created in 1973 by Mike Martin, former
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Labrador South. There is also an unofficial
Newfoundland Tricolour flag of nineteenth century origins. The flag was flown on sealing vessels well into the 20th century. Its colours represent the symbolic union of Newfoundland's three historically dominant ethnic/religious group: English, Scottish and Irish respectively. Sealers also used the flag as a marker to distinguish cached seal pellets on the ice from the caches of other nations. It is now flown outside many Newfoundland homes, although it is mistaken by many tourists as the Irish flag. This "unofficial" flag has seen a rise in popularity in recent years, before which it had been relatively forgotten by a majority of Newfoundlanders. "Pink White and Green" emblems now appear on a multitude of items in Newfoundland gift shops, and it has developed into a symbolic gesture of one's ties with one's Newfoundland heritage as well as a trendy fashion statement.
Points of interest and major settlements
Being one of the first places in the New World to which Europeans travelled, Newfoundland has a rich history.
St. John's, Newfoundland is considered to be the oldest city in English speaking North America.
Newfoundland is home to two national parks. Gros Morne National Park is located on the west coast of Newfoundland and was named a
UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987 due to its complex geology and remarkable scenery. It is the largest national park in
Atlantic Canada at 1 805
km² (697
Square mile). Terra Nova National Park, on the island's east side, preserves the rugged geography of the
Bonavista Bay region and allows visitors to explore the historic interplay of land, sea and man.
Newfoundland also contains a major hiking trail that runs along the eastern edge of the
Avalon Peninsula. The
East Coast Trail extends for 220
kilometer, beginning near
Fort Amherst (Newfoundland and Labrador) in
St. John's, Newfoundland and ending in Cappahayden, Newfoundland and Labrador, with an additional 320 km of trail under construction. The trail winds along the coast, bringing hikers through many small fishing villages and along long stretches of rocky, uninhabited coastline.
Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador, a town of about 8000, once served as an airbase for the US Army and Air Force in the early 1940s to 1966. It is about 32 km (20 miles) north of its former train station, which is surrounded by the town of
Stephenville Crossing, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Also on the West Coast, Corner Brook is situated in the Bay of Islands, Newfoundland and Labrador region. The major industry in Corner Brook is newsprint manufacturing, and is serviced by the Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Mill.
Sandy Point, Newfoundland and Labrador, which is located in St. George's Bay and north of the town of St. George's, Newfoundland and Labrador, was the first and largest settlement of the west coast. However, the last settler, Alphonsus Swyers, was forced to abandon it in 1973.
Barachois Pond Provincial Park is a provincial park that is considered to be a model forest.
Marble Mountain (Newfoundland) is a major attraction in the winter for skiers. It is said to be the best skiing east of the
Rocky Mountains.
Tilting, Newfoundland and Labrador on
Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador is a Provincial Heritage District as well as a National Cultural Landscape District of Canada, one of only two national historic sites in Canada so recognized for their Irishness.
In March, the annual seal hunt (of the
harp seal) takes place.
Newfoundland is also host to a well-recognized university,
Memorial University of Newfoundland, based in
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
George Street, St. John's, located in downtown St. John's, is closed to traffic twenty hours a day, and is widely understood to have the most pubs per square foot of any street in North America.
Largest Municipalities (2006 population)
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador (100,646)
Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador (24,671)
Conception Bay South, Newfoundland and Labrador (21,966)
Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador (20,083)
Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and Labrador (13,558)
Paradise, Newfoundland and Labrador (12,584)
Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador (9,951)
Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador (6,588)
Portugal Cove-St. Philip's, Newfoundland and Labrador (5,575)
Torbay, Newfoundland and Labrador (6,281)
Marystown, Newfoundland and Labrador (5,436)
Bay Roberts, Newfoundland and Labrador (5,414)
Clarenville, Newfoundland and Labrador (5,274)
Deer Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador (4,827)
Carbonear, Newfoundland and Labrador (4,723)
Channel-Port aux Basques, Newfoundland and Labrador (4,319)
Placentia, Newfoundland and Labrador (3,898)
Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador (3,764)
Bishop's Falls, Newfoundland and Labrador (3,399)
Lewisporte, Newfoundland and Labrador (3,308)
Notable Newfoundlanders
Further reading
Modern literature
- Peter Neary. 1996. Newfoundland in the North Atlantic world, 1929-1949. McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal, Quebec.
- Henry K. Gibbons. 1997. The Myth and Mystery of John Cabot: The Discoverer of North America, Marten Cat Publishers, Port Aux Basques, Newfoundland.
- Michael Harris (journalist). 1992. Rare Ambition: The Crosbies of Newfoundland. Penguin. ISBN 0-14-023220-6
- Kevin Major, As Near To Heaven by Sea, (Toronto, 2001)
- John Gimlette, Theatre of Fish, (Hutchinson, London, 2005). ISBN 0-09-179519-2
- E. Annie Proulx, The Shipping News, (Simon & Schuster, 1993). ISBN 0-74322540-6
- Bernice Morgan, Random Passage, (Breakwater Books Ltd, 1992). ISBN 1550810510
- Bernice Morgan, Waiting for Time, (Breakwater Books Ltd, 1995). ISBN 1550810804
- Bernice Morgan, The Topography of Love, (Breakwater Books Ltd, 2000). ISBN 1550811576
Vintage literature
- Daniel Woodley Prowse, A History of Newfoundland (1895), current edition 2002, Boulder Publications, Portugal Cove, Newfoundland.
- Charles Pedley, History of Newfoundland, (London, 1863)
- Philip Tocque, Newfoundland as it Was and Is, (London, 1878)
- Joseph Hatton and Moses Harvey, Newfoundland: Its History and Present Condition, (London, 1883)
- Arnold Kennedy, Sport and Adventure in Newfoundland and West Indies, (London, 1885)
- Moses Harvey, Newfoundland, England's Oldest Colony, (London, 1897)
- F. E. Smith, The Story of Newfoundland, (London, 1901)
- Beckles Wilson, The Truth About Newfoundland, The Tenth Island, (second edition, London, 1901)
- J. P. Howley, Mineral Resources of Newfoundland, (St. John's, 1909)
- P. T. McGrath, Newfound in 1911, (London, 1911)
References
See also
External links
- Digital Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
- VisitNewfoundland.ca
- Newfoundland.ws - a Newfoundland and Labrador Directory of NL Websites
- Fisheries Heritage website.
- Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
- Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage (website from the Memorial University of Newfoundland, funded by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)
- Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism
- Newfoundland: The Most Irish Place Outside of Ireland
- Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Archives
- Terra Nova National Park
- Newfoundland History (extensive site from Marianopolis College)
- Religion, Society, and Culture in Newfoundland and Labrador
- Newfoundland and Labrador Defense League
- The Bowrings connection with Newfoundland, Liverpool and Frampton's Peter Pan
- Skalholt map
{| border=1 cellpadding=4 cellspacing=0 align=right width=250 class=toccolours style="margin: 0 0 1em 1em; border-collapse: collapse;"|-!colspan=2 align=center||-!colspan=2 align=center| Newfoundland Tricolour
(unofficial)|-|-!colspan=2 align=center bgcolor="#9999ff"|Newfoundland|-|colspan=2 align=center||-!colspan=2 bgcolor="#9999ff"|Geography|-|
Surface area:||111,390
square kilometre|-|Water area:|| 7,797 square kilometre|-|Coastline:]|-|Highest Point:||Lewis Hills
814 m]
246 km|-|Admin HQ:||St. John's, Newfoundland (2006):||505,409.|-|Major Ethnic Groups :|| [English people,
Irish people, Some
Scottish people and French people|-|Largest City:||St. John's, Newfoundland
99,182 (city)
172,915 (metro)|-!colspan=2 bgcolor="#9999ff"|Politics|-|colspan=2 align=center|Government of Newfoundland & Labrador
http://www.gov.nl.ca|-|Members of the
Canadian House of Commons:||6 (of 7 in NL and 308 total)|-|Members of the
Canadian Senate:]:||44 (of 48 total)|}
Newfoundland —
IPA: fən 'lænd (, ) is a large island off the east coast of
North America, and the most populous part of the
Canada province of
Newfoundland and Labrador.
The island of Newfoundland (originally called
Terra Nova) was named by the Italian
John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) in 1497. The province where this island is located was also called "Newfoundland" until 2001, when
Geographical renaming to "Newfoundland and Labrador" (the postal abbreviation was later changed from NF to NL). Recently the 'and' was dropped from the name and the province is now known as Newfoundland Labrador, to reflect the unity between both parts of the province.
Some believe Newfoundland might be the island called
Vinland as referenced in
Norseman documents, but since Vinland's location has yet to be verified this remains a matter of considerable debate.
The island of Newfoundland is separated from the
Labrador Peninsula by the Strait of Belle Isle and from
Cape Breton Island by the
Cabot Strait. It blocks the mouth of the
Saint Lawrence River, creating the
Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the world's largest
estuary. Newfoundland's nearest neighbour is the tiny
France collectivité d'outre-mer of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.
With an area of 108,860 square kilometers (41,700 sq mi) Newfoundland is the
List of islands by area, and List of Canadian islands by area. Newfoundland and its associated small islands have a total area of 111,390 square kilometers (43,008 sq mi). The provincial capital, St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, is located on the southeastern coast of the island. Cape Spear, just south of the capital, is North America's easternmost point. The island of Newfoundland has a population (2001) of 466,172. However, it is common to consider all directly neighbouring islands such as New World, Twillingate, Newfoundland and Labrador, Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador and Bell Island to be 'part of Newfoundland' (as distinct from Labrador). By that measure, the population is (2001) 485,066
Newfoundland has a dialect of English language known as Newfoundland English and a dialect of French language known as Newfoundland French. It once had a dialect of Irish language known as Newfoundland Irish, as well as an Indigenous languages of the Americas,
Beothuk language.
First inhabitants
The first inhabitants of Newfoundland were the probable ancestors of the historical Beothuk inhabitants at the time of European contact.
Beothuk means "people" in the Beothuk language. The origins of the Beothuks are uncertain, but it appears that they were a native group that came from Labrador. The culture is now extinct, remembered only in museum, historical and archaeological records.
Shanawdithit, the last known Beothuk (a woman), died in St. John's in 1829 of Tuberculosis.
It is probable that the natives described by the Norseman as
skraelings were Beothuk inhabitants of Labrador and Newfoundland. The first conflicts between Europeans and native peoples may have occurred around 1006 at L'Anse aux Meadows when parties of
Norseman attempted to establish permanent settlements along the coast of Newfoundland. According to
Old Norse language sagas, the native skraelings responded so ferociously that the newcomers eventually withdrew and apparently gave up their original intentions to settle.
When other Europeans arrived, beginning with John Cabot in 1497, contact with the Beothuks was established. Estimates of the number of Beothuks on the island at this time vary, ranging from 1,000 to 5,000.
As European settlement became year-round and expanded to new areas of the coast the area available to the Beothuks to harvest the marine resources they relied upon was diminished. By the beginning of the nineteenth century there were few Beothuks remaining, many having been killed by settlers or having died as a result of starvation and diseases brought on by the European settlers in which their Immune System could not handle. Government attempts to open a dialogue with the native peoples of Newfoundland came too late to save them.
Some Newfoundland residents can trace a clear First Nations ancestry, mostly
Mi'kmaq.
European discovery, colonization, and settlement
Newfoundland is the site of the only authenticated Norsemen settlement in North America, discovered by
Norway explorer Helge Ingstad and his archaeologist wife, Anne Stine Ingstad, at
L'Anse aux Meadows in 1960. The site of a multi-year
archaeology dig, the settlement dating to more than 500 years before
Christopher Columbus, contains the earliest known
European structures in North America.Named a World Heritage site by UNESCO, it is believed to be the
Vinland settlement of explorer
Leif Ericson (The Skalholt map of 1570 refers to the area as Promontorium Winlandia and correctly shows it on a parallel with England). The Norse stayed for a relatively short period of time, believed to be between 999 and 1001 AD.
Other speculative discoverers of the island would fall to other nationalities of Europe. The Irish Saint Brendan, who has been popularized in Newfoundland song 'Saint Brendan's Voyage’, is noted among possible discoverers of Newfoundland.
Welsh folklore makes note of explorer and Prince Madoc who landed in America in 1170. No detail is given of his route or the lands that was attributed to his discovery. Then there is the Scottish who claim that the Earl of the Orkneys,
Henry I Sinclair, Earl of Orkney had discovered the New World in the late 1300s. The
Portugal also lay claim to discovering the New World in 1431 when Prince
Henry the Navigator discovered the Azores, by virtue of the existence of the Paris Map c. 1490 which depicts a group of three islands southwest of Iceland at roughly the same latitude as Ireland, Newfoundland and possibly some other, nearby islands (such as Cape Breton). These three islands are known as 'Antillia' and 'The Isle of Brasile' said to be discovered by seven bishops. Documents from the voyages made by Bristol merchants in 1480 speak of a trip in search of the Isle of Brasile, to no avail.
After the departure of the Norse, the island would be left to the aboriginal populations for nearly 500 years until the island was rediscovered by the Italy navigator
John Cabot, in 1497. The exact place where John Cabot landed is popularly believed to be
Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador, along the island's East coast, although other sites along the East coast also have significant claims. Perhaps the site with the best claim is
Cape Bauld, at the tip of the
Great Northern Peninsula. It is supported by a document found in the Spanish National Archives written by a Bristol merchant which reports that the crew landed 1,800 miles west of Dursey Head, Ireland (latitude 51 34'N) which would put Cabot within sight of Cape Bauld. Also in this document is mention of an island that Cabot sailed past to go ashore on the mainland. This description fits with Cape Bauld theory,
Belle Isle, Newfoundland and Labrador being not far offshore.
's 1775 Chart of NewfoundlandAfter Cabot, the first European visitors to Newfoundland were Portuguese, Spanish, French and English migratory fishermen. Late in the 17th century came
Ireland fishermen, who named the island
Talamh an Éisc, meaning "land of the fish", or "the fishing grounds" in Irish language. This was to foreshadow the centuries of importance of Newfoundland's offshore fishing waters.
In 1583, when Sir
Humphrey Gilbert formally claimed Newfoundland as a colony of England, he found numerous English, French and Portuguese vessels in St. John's. However there was no permanent population and Gilbert was lost at sea during his return voyage, thereby ending any plans of settlement.
On July 5, 1610, John Guy set sail from
Bristol,
England with 39 other colonists for
Cuper's Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador. This, and other early attempts at permanent settlement failed to make a profit for the English investors, but some settlers remained anyway, forming the very earliest European population on the island. By 1620, the fishermen of England's
West Country had excluded other nations from most of the east coast of Newfoundland, while fishermen from France dominated the island's south coast and Northern Peninsula.
After 1713, with the Treaty of Utrecht, the French ceded control of south and north shores of the island to the British, keeping only the nearby islands of
St. Pierre and Miquelon located in the fish-rich
Grand Banks off the south coast. Despite some early settlements by the English, permanent, year-round settlement of Newfoundland of migratory fishery workers was discouraged by the British. But with the geographic remoteness of its isolated harbours and convenience of year-round access to the fish stations without having to make the bi-annual voyage across the ocean, permanent settlement increased rapidly by the late 18th century, peaking in the early years of the 19th century.
The French name for the island is
Terre Neuve, while the name "Newfoundland"' is one of the oldest European place names in Canada in continuous geographical and
cartography use, dating from a 1502 letter, and clearly stated in the following early poem:
A Skeltonic verse continued ryme, in praise of my New-found-Land
Although in cloaths, company, buildings faire
With England, New-found-land cannot compare:
Did some know what contentment I found there,
Alwayes enough, most times somewhat to spare,
With little paines, lesse toyle, and lesser care,
Exempt from taxings, ill newes, Lawing, feare,
If cleane, and warme, no matter what you weare,
Healthy, and wealthy, if men carefull are,
With much-much more, then I will now declare,
(I say) if some wise men knew what this were
(I doe beleeue) they'd live no other where.
:From 'The First Booke of
Qvodlibets'
:Composed and done at
Harbor-Grace in
:
Britaniola, anciently called
Newfound-Land
:by Governor Robert Hayman - 1628.
The European immigrants who settled in Newfoundland brought their knowledge, beliefs, loyalties and prejudices with them, but the society they built in the New World was unlike the ones they had left, and different from the ones other immigrants would build on the American mainland. As a fish-exporting society, Newfoundland was in contact with many places around the Atlantic rim, but its geographic location and political distinctiveness also isolated it from its closest neighbours in Canada and the United States, so much so that this isolation can be felt even today. Internally, most of its population was spread widely around a rugged coastline in small outport settlements, many of them a long distance from larger centers of population and isolated for long periods by winter ice or bad weather. These conditions had an effect on the culture the immigrants had brought with them and generated new ways of thinking and acting, giving Newfoundland and Labrador a wide variety of distinctive customs, beliefs, stories, songs, and dialects.
The First World War had a powerful and lasting effect on the society. From a population of about a quarter of a million, 5,482 men went overseas. Nearly 1,500 were killed and 2,300 wounded. On July 1, 1916, at Beaumont-Hamel, France, 753 men of the
Royal Newfoundland Regiment went over the top of a trench. The casualties were staggering; the next morning, only 68 men answered the roll-call. Newfoundland had lost about one-quarter of its young men in WWI and it has been suggested that this loss of so many men, proportionally speaking, in the prime of their lives contributed to the economic collapse that was to ultimately influence confederation with Canada. Even now, when the rest of Canada celebrates the founding of the country on July 1, many Newfoundlanders take part in solemn ceremonies of remembrance.
World War II also had a lasting impact on Newfoundland. In particular, the war ushered in an American presence at the military bases at Argentia, Gander, Stephenville, Goose Bay and St. John's. Interaction with the bases helped make cash a more widespread economic medium and consolidated a traditional admiration for the United States.
signing the document bringing Newfoundland into Confederation.Newfoundland and Labrador is the youngest province in Canada, which existed as a British colony until 1949, self-governing from 1855-1934, holding Dominion status from 1907-1949 (see Dominion of Newfoundland). In late 1948, the population voted 52.3% to 47.7% in favour of joining Canada, with opposition to Canada being concentrated in the capital, St. John's, and on the
Avalon Peninsula. Newfoundland joined Canada on March 31, 1949. Union with Canada has done little to reduce Newfoundlanders' self-image as a unique group, with 72% identifying themselves as being primarily Newfoundlanders, secondarily Canadians, in 2003. Separatist sentiment is low, though—12% in the same 2003 study.
The referendum campaign was bitterly fought and interests in both Canada and Britain favoured and supported confederation with Canada. This is exemplified in the role of Jack Pickersgill, a western Canadian native and politician, who worked with the confederation camp during the campaign. Religion played a significant role in the final analysis as well with the Catholic church lobbying for continued independence. Financial incentives played their part, particularly the "baby bonus" which promised Newfoundlanders a cash sum for each child in a family. The Confederates were led by the charismatic Joseph Smallwood, a former radio broadcaster who had developed socialist political inclinations while working for a socialist newspaper in New York. His policies as premier would assume a form closer to liberalism than socialism. Mr. Smallwood led Newfoundland for decades as the elected premier following confederation and achieved a "cult of personality" amongst his many supporters that persisted long after his political defeat. Indeed, some homes actually had pictures of Joey in their living rooms in a place of prominence. It has been suggested that some members of the public regarded financial incentives like the baby bonus as the direct products of Smallwood's benevolence rather than their right as Canadian citizens.
The province's Flag of Newfoundland and Labrador, designed by Newfoundland artist
Christopher Pratt, was officially adopted by the provincial legislature on May 28, 1980. Labrador has its own Flag of Labrador, created in 1973 by Mike Martin, former Member of the Legislative Assembly for Labrador South. There is also an unofficial
Newfoundland Tricolour flag of nineteenth century origins. The flag was flown on sealing vessels well into the 20th century. Its colours represent the symbolic union of Newfoundland's three historically dominant ethnic/religious group: English, Scottish and Irish respectively. Sealers also used the flag as a marker to distinguish cached seal pellets on the ice from the caches of other nations. It is now flown outside many Newfoundland homes, although it is mistaken by many tourists as the Irish flag. This "unofficial" flag has seen a rise in popularity in recent years, before which it had been relatively forgotten by a majority of Newfoundlanders. "Pink White and Green" emblems now appear on a multitude of items in Newfoundland gift shops, and it has developed into a symbolic gesture of one's ties with one's Newfoundland heritage as well as a trendy fashion statement.
Points of interest and major settlements
Being one of the first places in the New World to which Europeans travelled, Newfoundland has a rich history.
St. John's, Newfoundland is considered to be the oldest city in English speaking North America.
Newfoundland is home to two national parks. Gros Morne National Park is located on the west coast of Newfoundland and was named a
UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987 due to its complex geology and remarkable scenery. It is the largest national park in Atlantic Canada at 1 805
km² (697 Square mile). Terra Nova National Park, on the island's east side, preserves the rugged geography of the Bonavista Bay region and allows visitors to explore the historic interplay of land, sea and man.
Newfoundland also contains a major hiking trail that runs along the eastern edge of the
Avalon Peninsula. The East Coast Trail extends for 220 kilometer, beginning near
Fort Amherst (Newfoundland and Labrador) in St. John's, Newfoundland and ending in
Cappahayden, Newfoundland and Labrador, with an additional 320 km of trail under construction. The trail winds along the coast, bringing hikers through many small fishing villages and along long stretches of rocky, uninhabited coastline.
Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador, a town of about 8000, once served as an airbase for the US Army and Air Force in the early 1940s to 1966. It is about 32 km (20 miles) north of its former train station, which is surrounded by the town of
Stephenville Crossing, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Also on the West Coast, Corner Brook is situated in the Bay of Islands, Newfoundland and Labrador region. The major industry in Corner Brook is newsprint manufacturing, and is serviced by the Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Mill.
Sandy Point, Newfoundland and Labrador, which is located in St. George's Bay and north of the town of
St. George's, Newfoundland and Labrador, was the first and largest settlement of the west coast. However, the last settler, Alphonsus Swyers, was forced to abandon it in 1973.
Barachois Pond Provincial Park is a provincial park that is considered to be a model forest.
Marble Mountain (Newfoundland) is a major attraction in the winter for skiers. It is said to be the best skiing east of the
Rocky Mountains.
Tilting, Newfoundland and Labrador on Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador is a Provincial Heritage District as well as a National Cultural Landscape District of Canada, one of only two national historic sites in Canada so recognized for their Irishness.
In March, the annual seal hunt (of the harp seal) takes place.
Newfoundland is also host to a well-recognized university, Memorial University of Newfoundland, based in
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
George Street, St. John's, located in downtown St. John's, is closed to traffic twenty hours a day, and is widely understood to have the most pubs per square foot of any street in North America.
Largest Municipalities (2006 population)
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador (100,646)
Mount Pearl, Newfoundland and Labrador (24,671)
Conception Bay South, Newfoundland and Labrador (21,966)
Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador (20,083)
Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and Labrador (13,558)
Paradise, Newfoundland and Labrador (12,584)
Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador (9,951)
Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador (6,588)
Portugal Cove-St. Philip's, Newfoundland and Labrador (5,575)
Torbay, Newfoundland and Labrador (6,281)
Marystown, Newfoundland and Labrador (5,436)
Bay Roberts, Newfoundland and Labrador (5,414)
Clarenville, Newfoundland and Labrador (5,274)
Deer Lake, Newfoundland and Labrador (4,827)
Carbonear, Newfoundland and Labrador (4,723)
Channel-Port aux Basques, Newfoundland and Labrador (4,319)
Placentia, Newfoundland and Labrador (3,898)
Bonavista, Newfoundland and Labrador (3,764)
Bishop's Falls, Newfoundland and Labrador (3,399)
Lewisporte, Newfoundland and Labrador (3,308)
Notable Newfoundlanders
Further reading
Modern literature
- Peter Neary. 1996. Newfoundland in the North Atlantic world, 1929-1949. McGill-Queen's University Press, Montreal, Quebec.
- Henry K. Gibbons. 1997. The Myth and Mystery of John Cabot: The Discoverer of North America, Marten Cat Publishers, Port Aux Basques, Newfoundland.
- Michael Harris (journalist). 1992. Rare Ambition: The Crosbies of Newfoundland. Penguin. ISBN 0-14-023220-6
- Kevin Major, As Near To Heaven by Sea, (Toronto, 2001)
- John Gimlette, Theatre of Fish, (Hutchinson, London, 2005). ISBN 0-09-179519-2
- E. Annie Proulx, The Shipping News, (Simon & Schuster, 1993). ISBN 0-74322540-6
- Bernice Morgan, Random Passage, (Breakwater Books Ltd, 1992). ISBN 1550810510
- Bernice Morgan, Waiting for Time, (Breakwater Books Ltd, 1995). ISBN 1550810804
- Bernice Morgan, The Topography of Love, (Breakwater Books Ltd, 2000). ISBN 1550811576
Vintage literature
- Daniel Woodley Prowse, A History of Newfoundland (1895), current edition 2002, Boulder Publications, Portugal Cove, Newfoundland.
- Charles Pedley, History of Newfoundland, (London, 1863)
- Philip Tocque, Newfoundland as it Was and Is, (London, 1878)
- Joseph Hatton and Moses Harvey, Newfoundland: Its History and Present Condition, (London, 1883)
- Arnold Kennedy, Sport and Adventure in Newfoundland and West Indies, (London, 1885)
- Moses Harvey, Newfoundland, England's Oldest Colony, (London, 1897)
- F. E. Smith, The Story of Newfoundland, (London, 1901)
- Beckles Wilson, The Truth About Newfoundland, The Tenth Island, (second edition, London, 1901)
- J. P. Howley, Mineral Resources of Newfoundland, (St. John's, 1909)
- P. T. McGrath, Newfound in 1911, (London, 1911)
References
See also
External links
- Digital Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador
- VisitNewfoundland.ca
- Newfoundland.ws - a Newfoundland and Labrador Directory of NL Websites
- Fisheries Heritage website.
- Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
- Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage (website from the Memorial University of Newfoundland, funded by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency)
- Newfoundland and Labrador Tourism
- Newfoundland: The Most Irish Place Outside of Ireland
- Newfoundland and Labrador Provincial Archives
- Terra Nova National Park
- Newfoundland History (extensive site from Marianopolis College)
- Religion, Society, and Culture in Newfoundland and Labrador
- Newfoundland and Labrador Defense League
- The Bowrings connection with Newfoundland, Liverpool and Frampton's Peter Pan
- Skalholt map
Newfoundland (island) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Newfoundland — pronunciation (help · info) IPA: /ˈn(j)ufənˌlænd/ (French: Terre-Neuve, Irish: Talamh an Éisc) is a large island 15 km off the east coast of North America ...
Newfoundland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Newfoundland may refer to: Newfoundland and Labrador, a Canadian province (known simply as Newfoundland from 1949 to 2001) Dominion of Newfoundland, an independent country (from ...
Newfoundland, Island of - MSN Encarta
Newfoundland, Island of, making up part of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, eastern Canada, lying in the Gulf of St Lawrence in the Atlantic
Definition: newfoundland from Online Medical Dictionary
newfoundland. 1. An island on the coast of British North America, famed for the fishing grounds in its vicinity. 2. A Newfoundland dog. < zoology > Newfoundland dog, a breed of large dogs ...
English Heritage Online thesaurus ()
newfoundland island: cl island: nt burlington (newfoundland) cape saint francis (newfoundland) st john island st johns (newfoundland) wabana: rt bonne bay
English Heritage Online thesaurus ()
burlington (newfoundland) cl continent: bt newfoundland island
Bell Island, Newfoundland and Labrador definition of Bell Island ...
Bell Island, island, SE N.L., Canada, in Conception Bay, off the Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland. The island is 6 mi (9.7 km) long and 3 mi (4.8 km) wide.
Canadian Genealogy and History Links - Newfoundland
Canadian Genealogy and History Links Newfoundland Entries preceded by a indicate it is a new entry or the URL has changed or been updated within the last 14 days.
Newfoundland: Newfoundland Island
The Newfoundland is a large dog with the size and strength to perform the tasks required of him. ... The Newfoundland is a large dog with the size and strength to perform the tasks ...
Thomas Wills to Wolf Island, Newfoundland and Alberta
4. Thomas Wills of Lower Hisley to Wolfe Island, Newfoundland and later to Alberta. 4. Thomas to Newfoundland in 1839.
