Everything about Newfoundland Island totally explained
Newfoundland — () is a large island 15 km off the east coast of
North America, and the most populous part of the
Canadian province of
Newfoundland and Labrador.
The island of Newfoundland (originally called
Terra Nova) was named by the Italian
John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) on his expedition from
Bristol, England in 1497. The province where this island is located was also called "Newfoundland" until 2001, when
its name was changed to "Newfoundland and Labrador" (the postal abbreviation was later changed from NF to NL).
L'Anse aux Meadows was a
Norse settlement on the northernmost tip of Newfoundland, that has been dated to be approximately 1000 years old, making it the only genuine evidence of Pre-Columbian contact between the Old and New Worlds. It is a likely location of
Vinland, although this has been disputed.
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
French overseas community of
Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.
With an area of 108,860 square kilometers (41,700 sq mi) Newfoundland is the
world's 16th largest island, and
Canada's fourth-largest island. 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, 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's common to consider all directly neighbouring islands such as New World,
Twillingate,
Fogo 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 known as
Newfoundland English and a dialect of
French known as
Newfoundland French. It once had a dialect of
Irish known as
Newfoundland Irish, as well as an
Amerindian language,
Beothuk. Today it's said that 80% of inhabitants of Newfoundland have 1 or 2 parents of Irish descent.
First inhabitants
The first inhabitants of Newfoundland were the probable ancestors of the 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
Norsemen as
skraelings were Beothuk people 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
Norsemen attempted to establish permanent settlements along the coast of Newfoundland. According to the Icelandic 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 which their
immune systems couldn't 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
Native American ancestry, mostly
Mi'kmaq.
European discovery, colonization, and settlement
Newfoundland is the site of the only authenticated
Norse (mostly Greenlandic Icelanders) settlement in North America, discovered by
Norwegian explorer
Dr. Helge Ingstad and his wife, archaeologist
Anne Stine Ingstad, at
L'Anse aux Meadows in 1960. The site of multi-year
archaeological digs in the 1960s and 1970s, the settlement dating to more than 500 years before
John Cabot, contains the earliest known
European structures in North America.
Named a World Heritage site by
UNESCO, it's believed to be the
Vinland settlement of explorer
Leifr Eiriksson (the Icelandic
Skálholt Vinland Map of 1570 refers to the area as "Promontorium Winlandia" and correctly shows it on a 51°N parallel with Bristol, 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's the Scottish who claim that the Earl of the Orkneys,
Prince Henry Sinclair had discovered the New World in the late 1300s. The
Portuguese 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 '
Islands of the Seven Cities' 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
Italian navigator
John Cabot (Zuan/Giovanni Cabotto), in 1497. The exact place where John Cabot landed is unknown, but popularly believed to be
Cape Bonavista, 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° 35'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 being not far offshore. 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
provincial flag, designed by Newfoundland artist
Christopher Pratt, was officially adopted by the provincial legislature on May 28, 1980. Labrador has its own
unofficial flag, created in 1973 by Mike Martin, former
Member of the Legislative Assembly for Labrador South. There is also an unofficial
"Pink, White and Green" 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's 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.
Pre-Confederation and current Provincial Anthem
The pre-Confederation and current Provincial Anthem is the
Ode to Newfoundland. Written in the late 19th century, it continues to be heard at public events in Newfoundland.
» When sun rays crown thy pine clad hills,
And summer spreads her hand,
» When silvern voices tune thy rills,
We love thee, smiling land,
» We love thee, we love thee
We love thee, smiling land.
»
When spreads thy cloak of shimm'ring white,
» At winter's stern command,
Thro' shortened day and starlit night,
» We love thee, frozen land,
We love thee, we love thee,
» We love thee, frozen land.
» When blinding storm gusts fret thy shore,
And wild waves lash thy strand,
» Thro' sprindrift swirl and tempest roar,
We love thee, windswept land,
» We love thee, we love thee,
We love thee, windswept land.
»
As loved our fathers, so we love,
» Where once they stood we stand,
Their prayer we raise to heav'n above,
» God guard thee, Newfoundland,
God guard thee, God guard thee,
» God guard thee, Newfoundland.
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 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
sq. mi.).
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
km, beginning near
Fort Amherst in
St. John's and ending in
Cappahayden, 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, 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.
Also on the West Coast,
Corner Brook is situated in the
Bay of Islands region. The major industry in Corner Brook is newsprint manufacturing, and is serviced by the Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Mill.
Sandy Point, which is located in
St. George's Bay and north of the town of
St. George's, 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's considered to be a model forest.
Marble Mountain is a major attraction in the winter for skiers. It is said to be the best skiing east of the
Rocky Mountains.
Tilting Harbour on
Fogo Island 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.
George Street, 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 (100,646)
- Mount Pearl (24,671)
- Conception Bay South (21,966)
- Corner Brook (20,083)
- Grand Falls-Windsor (13,558)
- Paradise (12,584)
- Gander (9,951)
- Stephenville (6,588)
- Portugal Cove-St. Philip's (5,575)
- Torbay (6,281)
- Marystown (5,436)
- Bay Roberts (5,414)
- Clarenville (5,274)
- Deer Lake (4,827)
- Carbonear (4,723)
- Channel-Port aux Basques (4,319)
- Placentia (3,898)
- Bonavista (3,764)
- Bishop's Falls (3,399)
- Lewisporte (3,308)
Fauna and Flora
Notable Newfoundlanders
Further Information
Get more info on 'Newfoundland Island'.
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