History of Newfoundland and Labrador
Encyclopedia
The History of Newfoundland and Labrador is the story of the peoples who have lived in what is now the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador
.
The first brief European contact came about 1000 AD when the Vikings briefly settled in L'Anse aux Meadows
. Around 1500 European explorers and fishermen from England
, Portugal
, France
and Spain
and Basques
began exploration. Fishing expeditions came seasonally; the first small permanent settlements appeared around 1630.
Newfoundland resisted joining Canada and was an independent dominion in the early 20th century. Fishing was always the dominant industry, but the economy collapsed in the Great Depression of the 1930s and the people voluntarily relinquished their independence to become a British colony again. Prosperity and self-confidence returned during the Second World War, and after intense debate the people voted to join Canada in 1949.
The "golden era" came in the early 20th century. Since then poverty and emigration have been the main themes, despite efforts to modernize after 1949. Most efforts failed, and the sudden collapse of the cod fishing industry was a terrific blow in the 1990s. The historic cultural and political tensions between British Protestants and Irish Catholics faded, and a new spirit of a unified Newfoundland identity has recently emerged through songs and popular culture.
the L'nu, or Mi'kmaq and finally by the Innu
and Inuit
in Labrador and the Beothuks on the island.
The first European contact with North America was that of the medieval Norse sailing from Greenland. For several years after 1000 AD they operated a small village on the tip the Great Northern Peninsula, known today as L'Anse aux Meadows
. Remnants and artifacts of the occupation can still be seen at L'Anse aux Meadows, now a UNESCO
World Heritage Site
. The island was inhabited by the Beothuks and later the Mi'kmaq.
Around 1500 European explorers (John Cabot
, João Fernandes Lavrador
, Gaspar Corte-Real
, Jacques Cartier
and others), fishermen from England
, Portugal
, France
and Spain
and Basques
began exploration. Fishing expeditions started to come seasonally. Most historians believe explorer John Cabot
(1450–1499), commissioned by King Henry VII of England, landed in Nova Scotia in 1497, but some historians have hypothesized he landed in Newfoundland. Sir Humphrey Gilbert
, provided with letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I, landed in St John's in August 1583, and formally took possession of the island.
s were appointed to establish colonial settlements on the island. John Guy was governor of the first settlement at Cuper's Cove
. Other settlements were Bristol's Hope
, Renews, New Cambriol
, South Falkland
and Avalon
which became a province in 1623. The first governor given jurisdiction over all of Newfoundland was Sir David Kirke
in 1638.
fishermen, who had been fishing cod
shoals off Newfoundland's coasts since the beginning of the fifteenth century, founded Plaisance (today Placentia), a haven which started to be also used by French fishermen. In 1655, France appointed a governor in Plaisance, thus starting a formal French colonization period of Newfoundland. The rest of the island was nearly conquered by New France
explorer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville
in the 1697 during the the devastating Avalon Peninsula Campaign
but the French failed to defend their conquest of the English portion of the island. The French colonization period lasted until the Treaty of Utrecht
, in 1713, which ended the War of the Spanish Succession
. France ceded its claims to Newfoundland to the British (as well as its claims to the shores of Hudson Bay
). In addition, the French possessions in Acadia
were yielded to England. Afterward, under the supervision of the last French governor, the French population of Plaisance moved to Île Royale (now Cape Breton Island
), part of Acadia which remained then under French control.
. After Calvert left small-scale entrepreneurs such as Sir David Kirke
made good use of the facilities. Kirke became the first governor in 1639. A triangular trade with New England
, the West Indies, and Europe gave Newfoundland an important economic role. By the 1670s there were 1700 permanent residents and another 4500 in the summer months.
Newfoundland cod formed one leg of a triangular trade that sent cod to Spain and the Mediterranean, and wine, fruit, olive oil, and cork to England. Dutch ships were especially active 1620-1660 in what was called the "sack trade." A ship of 250 tons could earn 14% profit on the Newfoundland to Spain leg, and about the same on goods it then took from Spain to England. The Atlantic was stormy and risky; the risk was spread mostly by selling shares.
Before 1700 the "admiral" system provided the government. The first captain arriving in a particular bay was in charge of allocating suitable shoreline sites for curing fish. The system faded away after 1700. Fishing-boat captains competed to arrive first from Europe in an attempt to become the admiral; soon merchants left crewmen behind at the prime shoreline locations to lay claim to the sites. This led to "bye-boat" fishing: local, small-boat crews fished certain areas in the summer, claimed a strip of land as their own, and sold their catches to the migratory fishers. Bye-boat fishing thus became dominant, giving the island a semi-permanent population, and proved more profitable than migratory fishing.
The fishing admirals system ended in 1729, when the Royal Navy sent in its officers to govern during the fishing season.
(1713), France acknowledged British ownership of the island eh . However, in the Seven Years War (1756–63), control of Newfoundland became a major source of conflict between Britain, France and Spain who all pressed for a share in the valuable fishery there. Britain's victories around the globe
led William Pitt
to insist that nobody other than Britain should have access to Newfoundland. The Battle of Signal Hill
was fought in Newfoundland in 1762, when a French force landed and tried to occupy the island, only to be repulsed by the British. In 1796 a Franco-Spanish expedition succeeded in raiding
the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador.
By the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), French fishermen were given the right to land and cure fish on the "French Shore" on the western coast. They had a permanent base on nearby St. Pierre and Miquelon islands; the French gave up their rights in 1904. In 1783, the British signed the Treaty of Paris with the United States that gave American fishermen similar rights along the coast. These rights were reaffirmed by treaties in 1818, 1854 and 1871 and confirmed by arbitration in 1910.
Newfoundland was now a permanent settlement requiring a more established government. No elections were allowed but courts of law were set up in 1791 and the first civilian governor was appointed in 1817. In 1832 representative government was established with an elected General Assembly and a nominated Legislative Council consisting entirely of royal officials appointed by London. Newfoundland received a colonial assembly in 1832
, which was and still is referred to as the House of Assembly
, after a fight led by reformers William Carson
, Patrick Morris
and John Kent.
William Carson
(1770–1843) was a Scottish-born physician who came to the island in 1808. He called for the replacement of the system of arbitrary rule by naval commanders, seeking instead to have a resident governor and an elective legislature. Carson's systematic agitation helped win London's recognition of Newfoundland as a colony (1824) and the grant of elective house (1832). Carson was the reform leader in the House of Assembly (1834–1843, speaker 1837-1841). He served on the Executive Council (1842–1843).
The new government was unstable as the electorate was divided along religious and ethnic lines between the Catholic Irish and Protestant West Country populations of the colony. After religious riots in 1841 the Assembly was suspended. In 1842, the elected House of Assembly was amalgamated with the appointed Legislative Council. This was changed back after some agitation in 1848 to two separate chambers. After this, a movement for responsible government
began. Canada and Nova Scotia obtained "responsible" government in 1848 (whereby the assembly had the final word, not the royal governor), and Newfoundland followed in 1855. Self-government was now a reality.
The Liberal Party, based on the Irish Catholic vote, alternated with the Conservatives, with its base among the merchant class and Protestants. With a prosperous population of 120,000, Newfoundlanders decided to pass in 1869 on joining the new confederation of Canada.
Small scale seasonal farming became widespread, and mines began to exploit abundant reserves of lead, copper, zinc, iron, and coal. Railways were opened in the 1880s, with the link from St. John's to Port aux Basques open in 1898. In 1895 Newfoundland again rejected the possibility of joining Canada.
From the 1770s to the 1880s Moravian missionaries, Hudson's Bay Company
agents, and other pioneer settlers along central Labrador's coastline learned to adapt to its rocky terrain, brutal winters, and its thin soil and scant sunshine. To maintain good health, to avoid the monotony of dried, salted, and tinned foods, and to reduce reliance on expensive imported food, they created gardens, and succeeded after much experimentation in growing hardy vegetables and even some fragile crops.
In 1854, Newfoundland was granted responsible government by the British government. In an 1855 election, Philip Francis Little
, a native of Prince Edward Island
, won a majority over Hugh Hoyles
and the Conservatives. Little formed the first administration from 1855 to 1858. In 1861 in doubtful circumstances Governor Bannerman dismissed the Liberals and the ensuing election was marked by riot and disorder with both the Anglican (Feild) and Catholic bishops (Mullock) taking partisan stances. However when Hugh Hoyles was elected as the Conservative Prime Minister he worked to defuse tensions. Catholics were invited to share power, and all jobs and patronage were shared out between the various religious bodies on a per capita basis. This 'denominational compromise' was further extended to education when all religious schools were put on the basis which the Catholics had enjoyed since the 1840s. Alone in North America Newfoundland had a state funded system of denominational schools. The compromise worked and politics ceased to be about religion and became concerned with purely political and economic issues. By the 1890s St John's was no longer regarded in England as akin to Belfast, and Blackwood's Magazine was using developments there as an argument for Home Rule for Ireland. Newfoundland rejected confederation with Canada
in the 1869 general election.
As part of the Anglo-French Entente Cordiale
of 1904, France abandoned the `French Shore', or the west coast of the island, to which it had had rights since the Peace of Utrecht of 1713. Possession of Labrador was disputed by Quebec and Newfoundland until 1927, when the British privy council demarcated the western boundary, enlarged Labrador's land area, and confirmed Newfoundland's title to it.
Newfoundland remained a colony until acquiring dominion
status on September 26, 1907, along with New Zealand
. It successfully negotiated a trade agreement with the United States
but the British government blocked it after objections from Canada. The Dominion of Newfoundland
reached its golden age under Prime Minister Sir Robert Bond
of the Liberal Party
.
Seal hunting off the coast of Labrador, for the fur, became a small specialty in the late 18th century. It began with nets and traps, which gave way to the versatility of sail-driven ships around 1800. Sailing ships gave way to the greater range, power, and reliability of steam-driven vessels after 1863.
In 1901, the 200 saw-mills employed 2400 workers with an output of $480,000. The rope-walk in St John's produced rope and line valued at $300,000 annually. Other factories were of negligible importance before the 1940s.
Sir Robert Bond
(1857–1927) was a Newfoundland nationalist who insisted upon the colony's equality of status with Canada, and opposed joining the confederation. Bond promoted the completion of a railway across the island (started in 1881) because it would open access to valuable minerals and timber and reduce the almost total dependence on the cod fisheries. He advocated closer economic ties with the United States, and distrusted London for ignoring the island's viewpoint on the controversial issue of allowing French fisherman to process lobsters on the French Coast, and for blocking a trade deal with the U.S. Bond became Liberal Party leader in 1899 and premier in 1900. In 1904 he helped negotiate the end of all French fishing rights, and was reelected in a landslide
. His efforts to restrict the rights of American fishermen failed. His party was badly defeated in 1909
and Bond proved an ineffective opposition leader. Bond formed a coalition with the new Fishermen's Protective Union
(FPU), led by William Coaker
(1871–1938).
Founded in 1908, the FPU worked to increase the incomes of fishermen by breaking the merchants' monopoly on the purchase and export of fish and the retailing of supplies, and tried to revitalize the fishery through state intervention. At its peak, it had more than 21,000 members in 206 councils across the island; more than half of Newfoundland's fishers. It appealed to Protestants, and was opposed by Catholics. The FPU morphed into a political party in 1912, the Fisherman's Union party.
In 1909 Bond was succeeded as premier by Edward Morris (1859–1935), a prominent Catholic and founder of the new People's Party. Morris began a grandiose program of building branch railways, and adeptly handled the arbitration at the Hague tribunal on American fishing rights. He introduced old-age pensions, and increased investment in education and rural infrastructure. In the prosperous and peaceful year of 1913 he was reelected
. As a result of a wartime crisis over conscription, and the decline of his popularity due to accusations of wartime profiteering and conflict of interest, Morris set up an all-party war government in 1917 to oversee the duration of the war. He retired in 1917, moved to London, and was given a peerage as first Baron Morris, the only Newfoundlander ever so honored.
The First World War was supported with near unanimity in Newfoundland. Recruiting was brisk, with 6,240 men joining the Newfoundland Regiment for overseas duty, 1,966 joining the Royal Navy, 491 joined the Forestry Corps (which did lumberjack work at home), plus another 3,300 men joined Canadian units, and 40 women became war nurses. Without convening the legislature, Premier Morris and the royal governor, Sir Walter Davidson created the Newfoundland Patriotic Association, a non-partisan body involving both citizens and politicians, to supervise the war effort until 1917. With inflation soaring and corruption rampant, with prohibition of liquor in effect and fears of conscription apparent, the Association gave way to an all-party National Government. The conscription issue was not as intense as in Canada, but it weakened the Fisherman's Union party, as its leaders supported conscription and most members opposed it. The Fisherman's party then merged into the Liberal-Unionist Party and faded away as an independent force.
During the great Battle of the Somme in France in 1916, the British assaulted the German trenches near Beaumont Hamel. The 800-man Royal Newfoundland Regiment attacked as part of a British brigade. Most of the Newfoundlanders were killed or wounded without anyone in the regiment having fired a shot. The state, church, and press romanticized the sacrifice Newfoundlanders had made in the war effort through ceremonies, war literature, and memorials, the most important of which was the Beaumont Hamel Memorial Park, which opened in France in 1925. The story of the heroic sacrifice of the regiment in 1916 served as a cultural inspiration.
led by Richard Squires
to form the Liberal Reform Party. The Liberal-Union coalition won 24 of 36 seats in the 1919 general election
with half of the coalition's seats being won by Union candidates.
The 1920 Education Act set up a Department of Education, to oversee all state schools, including teacher training and certification. It provided for four grades of certificated teachers. There was also a category of other "ungraded" teachers, who were unqualified and employed on a temporary basis.
International capital was increasingly attracted by the island's natural resources. A Canadian firm opened iron mines in 1895 on Bell Island in Conception Bay. Paper mills were built at Grand Falls by the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company, a British firm, in 1909. British entrepreneurs set up a paper mill at Corner Brook in 1925 while the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company opened a lead-zinc mine on the Buchans River in 1927. In 1927, Britain awarded the vast, almost uninhabited hinterland of Labrador to Newfoundland rather than to Canada, adding potentially valuable new forest, hydroelectric, and mineral resources.
Politically the years from 1916 to 1925 were turbulent, as six successive governments failed, widespread corruption was uncovered, and the postwar boom ended in economic stagnation. Labour unions were active, as Joey Smallwood
(1900–1991) founded the Newfoundland Federation of Labour in the early 1920s.
, coupled with a profound distrust of politicians, led to the abandonment of self-government. Newfoundland remains the only nation that ever voluntarily relinquished democracy.
, as prices plunged for fish, its main export. The population was 290,000, and the people and merchants were out of money. Since there was relatively little subsistence farming, people depended heavily on the meager supply of government relief, and it is much emergency help with their friends, neighbors, and relatives could spare. There were no reports of starvation, but malnutrition was widespread.
The depression was hard on both the fishermen and merchants in Battle Harbour, Labrador, and they almost came to blows. The Baine, Johnston firm had to cut winter credit, whereupon poorer fishermen threatened the company with violence. Government relief payments were too scanty.
government was ineffective and when Squires was arrested for bribery in 1932 he fell from power.
A royal commission under Lord Amulree
examined the causes of the financial disaster and concluded:
In return for British financial assistance, the newly elected government of Frederick Alderdice agreed to the appointment by London of a three-member royal commission, including British, Canadian, and Newfoundland nominees. The Newfoundland Royal Commission, chaired by Lord Amulree, recommended that Britain "assume general responsibility" for Newfoundland's finances. Newfoundland would give up self-government in favour of administration by an appointed governor and a six-member appointed Commission of Government, having both executive and legislative authority. The solution was designed to provide "a rest from politics" and a government free of corruption. The legislature accepted the deal, formalized when the British Parliament passed the Newfoundland Act, 1933. In 1934, the Commission of Government
took control; its six appointed commissioners, who administered the country without elections. It lasted until 1949.
and Franklin D. Roosevelt
agreed to an exchange of American destroyers for access to British naval bases in the Atlantic
, including Newfoundland. The result was sudden prosperity as American money flooded the island, where 25% of the people had recently been on relief. Some 20,000 men were employed in building military bases, but the government kept wages low so as to not destroy the labor force for fishing. Even more influential was the sudden impact of a large modern American population on a traditional society. American ideas regarding food, hygiene (and indoor plumbing), entertainment, clothing, living standards and pay scales swept the island. As during World War I, Newfoundland became vital to the Battle of the Atlantic. Each month dozens of naval ships protecting convoys stopped at St. John's.
air route between the Soviet Union
and the East coast of the United States
, and Soviet bombers carrying nuclear weapons was the largest threat to American cities. Its five large American bases—four Air Force
and one Navy
—were important to Newfoundland's economy, and many Americans intermarried with native residents.
Fears of a permanent American presence in Newfoundland caused the Canadian government to attempt to persuade the island to join the Canadian Confederation. This was not primarily due to economic reasons. In the 1940s Newfoundland was relatively unimportant to Canada's economy as its eighth largest trading partner. The island primarily traded with Britain and the United States, especially the "Boston
states" of New England. Canada saw some value in Newfoundland's fisheries, raw materials, Labrador's hydroelectric potential, and 300,000 people of English and Irish descent, and expected that its location would remain important to trans-Atlantic aviation.
Canada's primary interest, however, was from the fear that an independent Newfoundland would join the United States due to their economic and military ties. With Newfoundland, the United States would block the Gulf of St. Lawrence and leave only about 500 km of Nova Scotia coastline open to the Atlantic. Because America already bordered Canada on the south and controlled all but about 600 km of British Columbia
's western boundary, Canada would be "virtual surrounded" on three sides. Both Britain and Canada wished to prevent this. Newfoundlanders had regained their prosperity and their self-confidence, but were uncertain whether they should be an independent nation with close ties to the United States, or become part of Canada.
was a well-known radio personality, writer, organizer, and nationalist who long had criticized British rule. In 1945 London announced that a Newfoundland National Convention
would be elected to advise on what constitutional choices should to be voted on by referendum. Union with the United States was a possibility, but Britain rejected the option and offered instead two options, return to dominion status or continuation of the unpopular Commission. Canada cooperated with Britain to ensure that the option of closer ties with America was not on the referendum.
Canada issued an invitation to join it on generous financial terms. Smallwood was elected to the convention where he became the leading proponent of confederation with Canada, insisting, "Today we are more disposed to feel that our very manhood, our very creation by God, entitles us to standards of life no lower than our brothers on the mainland." Displaying a mastery of propaganda technique, courage and ruthlessness, he succeeded in having the Canada option on the referendum. His main opponents were Peter John Cashin
and Chesley Crosbie
. Cashin, a former finance minister, led the Responsible Government League
, warning against cheap Canadian imports and the high Canadian income tax. Crosbie, a leader of the fishing industry, led the Party for Economic Union with the United States, seeking responsible government first, to be followed by closer ties with the United States, which could be a major source of capital.
Smallwood's side was victorious in a referendum and a runoff in June–July 1948
, as the choice of joining Canada defeated becoming an independent dominion by 77,869 to or 52.3%. A strong rural vote in favor of Canada exceeded the pro-independence vote in St. John's. The Irish Catholics in the city desired independence in order to protect their parochial schools, leading to a Protestant backlash in rural areas. The promise of cash family allowances from Canada proved decisive.
Not everyone was satisfied with the results, however. Cashin, an outspoken anti-Confederate, questioned the validity of the votes. He claimed that it was the 'unholy union between London and Ottawa' that brought about confederation.
in the 1980s. In 1959, a local controversy arose when the provincial government pressured the Moravian Church to abandon its mission station at Hebron, Labrador, resulting in the relocation southward of the area's Inuit
population, who had lived there since the mission was established in 1831.
hydro-electric facility in order to sell electricity to the United States. An agreement with Quebec was required to secure permission to transport the electricity across Quebec territory. Quebec drove a hard bargain with Newfoundland, resulting in a 75-year deal that Newfoundlanders now believe to be unfair to the province because of the low and unchangeable rate that it receives for the electricity.
Although the first geological studies were undertaken in 1892, iron mining did not begin until the 1950s. By 1990, the Quebec-Labrador area had become an important supplier of iron ore to the United States.
After 1945, the fishing economy was transformed from a predominately labor-intensive inshore, household-based, saltfish-producing enterprise into an industrialized economy dominated by vertically integrated frozen fish companies. These efficient companies needed fewer workers, so about 300 fishing villages, or outports, were abandoned by their residents between 1954 and 1975 as part of a Canadian government-sponsored program known as the Resettlement. Some areas lost 20% of their population, and enrollment in schools dropped even more.
In the 1960s some 2 billion pounds of cod were harvested annually from the Grand Bank off Newfoundland, the world's largest source of fish. Then disaster hit. The northern cod practically vanished—they were reduced to 1% of their historic spawning biomass. In 1992, the cod fishery was shut down by the Canadian government; cod fishing as a way of life came to an end for 19,000 workers after a 500 year history as a main industry.
The fishing crisis of the 1990s saw the already precarious economic base of the many towns further eroded. The situation was made worse by both federal and provincial pursuit of programs of economic liberalization that sought to limit the role of the state in economic and social affairs. As the effects of the crisis were felt, and established state supports were weakened, tourism was embraced by a growing body of local development and heritage organizations as a way of restoring the shattered economic base of many communities. Limited, short-term funding for some tourism-related projects was provided mostly from government programs, largely as a means of politically managing the structural adjustment that was being pursued.
, led by Premier Smallwood, from confederation until 1972. His main program was economic growth, and creating new jobs to encourage young people to stay in Newfoundland. Smallwood made major efforts to modernize the fishing industry, to create a new energy industry, and to attract factories. He vigorously promoted economic development through the Economic Development Plan of 1951, championed the welfare state (paid for by Ottawa), and attracted favorable attention across Canada. He emphasized modernisation of education and transportation in order to attract outsiders, such as German industrialists, because the local economic elite would not invest in industrial development. Smallwood dropped his youthful socialism and collaborated with bankers, and became hostile to the militant unions that sponsored numerous strikes. His efforts to promote industrialization were a mixed bag, with great success primarily in hydroelectricity, iron mining and paper mills.
Smallwood upgraded the small Memorial University College in St John's, founded in 1925, to Memorial University of Newfoundland
(MUN) in 1949, with free tuition and a cash salary for students. By the 21st century it displayed strengths in engineering, business, geology, and medicine to become a leading comprehensive universities in Canada. With over 17,000 students, it became the largest university in Atlantic Canada. MUN's four main campuses are today served by more than 900 faculty and 2,300 staff members.
Smallwood's style was autocratic and highly personalized, as he totally controlled his party. Meanwhile the demoralized anti-confederates became the provincial wing of the Progressive Conservative Party.
administration of Frank Moores
. In 1979, Brian Peckford
, another Progressive Conservative, became Premier. During this time, Newfoundland was involved in a dispute with the federal government for control of offshore oil resources. In the end, the dispute was decided by compromise.
and the Liberal Party returned to power ending 17 years of Conservative government.
In 1992, the federal government declared a moratorium on the Atlantic cod
fishery, because of severely declining catches in the late 1980s. The consequences of this decision reverberated throughout the provincial economy of Newfoundland in the 1990s, particularly as once-vibrant rural communities faced a sudden exodus. The economic impact of the closure of the Atlantic cod fishery on Newfoundland has been compared to the effect of closing every manufacturing plant in Ontario
. The cod fishery which had provided Newfoundlanders on the south and east coasts with a livelihood for over 200 years was gone, although the federal government helped fishermen and fish plant workers make the adjustment with a multi-billion dollar program named "The Atlantic Groundfish Strategy" (TAGS).
In the late 1980s, the federal government, along with its Crown corporation Petro-Canada
and other private sector petroleum exploration companies, committed to developing the oil and gas resources of the Hibernia
oil field on the northeast portion of the Grand Banks. Throughout the mid-1990s, thousands of Newfoundlanders were employed on offshore exploration platforms, as well as in the construction of the Hibernia Gravity Base Structure (GBS) and Hibernia topsides.
In 1996, the former federal minister of fisheries, Brian Tobin
, was successful in winning the leadership of the provincial Liberal Party following the retirement of premier Clyde Wells. Tobin rode the waves of economic good fortune as the downtrodden provincial economy was undergoing a fundamental shift, largely as a result of the oil and gas industry's financial stimulus, although the effects of this were mainly felt only in communities on the Avalon Peninsula.
Good fortune also fell on Tobin following the discovery of a world class nickel
deposit at Voisey's Bay, Labrador
. Tobin committed to negotiating a better royalty deal for the province with private sector mining interests than previous governments had done with the Churchill Falls
hydroelectric development deal in the 1970s. Following Tobin's return to federal politics in 2000, the provincial Liberal Party devolved into internal battling for the leadership, leaving its new leader, Roger Grimes
, in a weakened position as premier.
The pressure of the oil and gas industry to explore offshore in Atlantic Canada saw Newfoundland and Nova Scotia
submit to a federal arbitration
to decide on a disputed offshore boundary between the two provinces in the Laurentian Basin. The 2003 settlement rewrote an existing boundary in Newfoundland's favour, opening this area up to energy exploration.
In 2003, the federal government declared a moratorium on the last remaining cod fishery in Atlantic Canada, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. While Newfoundland was again the most directly affected province by this decision, communities on Quebec's North Shore
and in other parts of Atlantic Canada
also faced difficulties. Premier Grimes, facing a pending election that fall, used the Gulf cod decision and perceived federal bias against the province as a catalyst to try to rally citizens around his administration. Grimes called for a review of the Act of Union by which the province had become a part of Canada. On July 2, 2003, the findings of the Royal Commission on Renewing and Strengthening Our Place in Canada
, which Grimes had created in 2002, were released. It noted the following stressors in the relationship between the province and Canada:
The report called for the following:
In October 2003, the Liberals
lost the provincial election
to the Progressive Conservative Party, led by Danny Williams
.
had not held up his promises for a new deal on the "Atlantic Accord". The issue is the royalties from oil: currently, 70 cents on each royalty dollar are sent back to the federal government through reductions in payments by the federal government with respect to its "equalization program". The province wants 100% of the royalties to allow the province to pull itself out of poverty on a long-term basis.
Toward the end of 2004, Williams ordered the Canadian flag
to be removed from all provincial buildings as a protest against federal policies, and asked for municipal councils to consider doing the same. The issue, dubbed the "Flag Flap" in the media, sparked debate across the province and the rest of Canada. The flags went back up in January 2005 after much controversy nationwide and Paul Martin stating that he would not negotiate with the province if the flags were not flying. At the end of January, the federal government signed a deal to allow 100% of oil revenues to go to the province, resulting in an extra $2 billion over eight years for the province. However, this agreement has led other provinces such as Ontario
and Quebec
to try to negotiate their own special deals as they too claim that the federal government is taking advantage of them financially.
, 4 of the 10 amendments to the Constitution of Canada
since the 1982 patriation
have been concerned with Canada's tenth province.
in the 1950s and 1960s.
A Newfoundland identity was first articulated in the 1840s, embodied in a distinction between English-born and native-born Newfoundland residents. The relative absence of a strong sense of belonging to an independent country was the underlying reason for Joey Smallwood's referendum victory. Most islanders were descendants of immigrants from either Ireland
or the West Country
. It took centuries for them to view themselves as Newfoundlanders first and foremost. Gregory (2004) tried to date the transition from old (European) to new (Newfoundland) in the outport communities using vernacular song texts. Use of three collections of Newfoundland songs demonstrates how by 1930 or so a Newfoundland song culture had replaced earlier cultural traditions. These songs suggest that the island was still a cultural mosaic; some outports were completely Irish, others were West Country, and in a few ethnically mixed communities, including St. John's, there was an emergent, home-grown, patriotic song culture. Cultural nationalism was still a minority tradition in the Newfoundland of 1930. After joining Canada in 1949, Newfoundland culture underwent a significant transformation, notably in the cultural revival of the 1970s, which extolled the virtues of the people before they were hit with efficiency, centralization, and modernity. Thus the "Ode to Newfoundland" is sung with as much gusto in the taverns of Fort McMurray and Calgary in Alberta, or Toronto, as on the island itself.
Traditional Newfoundland heritage enjoyed a renaissance in the arts and crafts. Celebrations of outport life have been combined with a long-standing sense of victimization, offering a parade of historical scapegoats from the fishing admirals to powerful merchants used to explain relative backwardness and failure. Atlantic Canadians increasingly share an angle of vision derived in large part from the unpleasant fact that, compared to the mainland, the Atlantic region is both economically poor and politically weak, and growing more so. Nevertheless Atlantic Canadians have so far rejected political union.
Wayne Johnston's prize-winning novel The Colony of Unrequited Dreams (1999) develops insights into the unique identity of the islanders and challenges prevailing misconceptions about the area among both residents and outsiders. The protagonist of the book is premier Joey Smallwood, with focus on his advocacy of confederation with Canada. Chafe (2003) sees the novel in terms of postcolonial literature with its attendant themes of displacement, identity, and history. Chafe explores Johnston's use of the phrase "scuttlework of empire" and its many interpretations of the often troubled relationship between the British Empire and Newfoundland settlers.
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
.
The first brief European contact came about 1000 AD when the Vikings briefly settled in L'Anse aux Meadows
L'Anse aux Meadows
L'Anse aux Meadows is an archaeological site on the northernmost tip of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Discovered in 1960, it is the only known site of a Norse or Viking village in Canada, and in North America outside of Greenland...
. Around 1500 European explorers and fishermen from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Basques
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
began exploration. Fishing expeditions came seasonally; the first small permanent settlements appeared around 1630.
Newfoundland resisted joining Canada and was an independent dominion in the early 20th century. Fishing was always the dominant industry, but the economy collapsed in the Great Depression of the 1930s and the people voluntarily relinquished their independence to become a British colony again. Prosperity and self-confidence returned during the Second World War, and after intense debate the people voted to join Canada in 1949.
The "golden era" came in the early 20th century. Since then poverty and emigration have been the main themes, despite efforts to modernize after 1949. Most efforts failed, and the sudden collapse of the cod fishing industry was a terrific blow in the 1990s. The historic cultural and political tensions between British Protestants and Irish Catholics faded, and a new spirit of a unified Newfoundland identity has recently emerged through songs and popular culture.
Prehistory
Human habitation in Newfoundland and Labrador can be traced back about 9000 years to the people of the Maritime Archaic Tradition. They were gradually displaced by people of the Dorset CultureDorset culture
The Dorset culture was a Paleo-Eskimo culture that preceded the Inuit culture in Arctic North America. It has been defined as having four phases, with distinct technology related to the people's hunting and tool making...
the L'nu, or Mi'kmaq and finally by the Innu
Innu
The Innu are the indigenous inhabitants of an area they refer to as Nitassinan , which comprises most of the northeastern portions of the provinces of Quebec and some western portions of Labrador...
and Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
in Labrador and the Beothuks on the island.
Exploration
L'Anse aux Meadows
L'Anse aux Meadows is an archaeological site on the northernmost tip of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Discovered in 1960, it is the only known site of a Norse or Viking village in Canada, and in North America outside of Greenland...
. Remnants and artifacts of the occupation can still be seen at L'Anse aux Meadows, now a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
. The island was inhabited by the Beothuks and later the Mi'kmaq.
Around 1500 European explorers (John Cabot
John Cabot
John Cabot was an Italian navigator and explorer whose 1497 discovery of parts of North America is commonly held to have been the first European encounter with the continent of North America since the Norse Vikings in the eleventh century...
, João Fernandes Lavrador
João Fernandes Lavrador
João Fernandes Lavrador was a Portuguese explorer of the late 15th century. He was the first modern explorer in the coasts of the Northeast of Northern America, including the Labrador peninsula, which bears his name.-Expeditions:Fernandes was granted a patent by King Manuel I in 1498 given him...
, Gaspar Corte-Real
Gaspar Corte-Real
Gaspar Corte-Real was a Portuguese explorer.He was the youngest of three sons of João Vaz Corte-Real, also a Portuguese explorer, and had accompanied his father on his expeditions to North America...
, Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier
Jacques Cartier was a French explorer of Breton origin who claimed what is now Canada for France. He was the first European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, which he named "The Country of Canadas", after the Iroquois names for the two big...
and others), fishermen from England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and Basques
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
began exploration. Fishing expeditions started to come seasonally. Most historians believe explorer John Cabot
John Cabot
John Cabot was an Italian navigator and explorer whose 1497 discovery of parts of North America is commonly held to have been the first European encounter with the continent of North America since the Norse Vikings in the eleventh century...
(1450–1499), commissioned by King Henry VII of England, landed in Nova Scotia in 1497, but some historians have hypothesized he landed in Newfoundland. Sir Humphrey Gilbert
Humphrey Gilbert
Sir Humphrey Gilbert of Devon in England was a half-brother of Sir Walter Raleigh. Adventurer, explorer, member of parliament, and soldier, he served during the reign of Queen Elizabeth and was a pioneer of English colonization in North America and the Plantations of Ireland.-Early life:Gilbert...
, provided with letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I, landed in St John's in August 1583, and formally took possession of the island.
Colony
From 1616 to 1728, Proprietary GovernorProprietary Governor
Proprietary Governors were individuals authorized to govern proprietary colonies. Under the proprietary system, individuals or companies were granted commercial charters by the King of England to establish colonies. These proprietors then selected the governors and other officials in the colony....
s were appointed to establish colonial settlements on the island. John Guy was governor of the first settlement at Cuper's Cove
Cuper's Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador
Cuper's Cove, on the southwest shore of Conception Bay on Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula was an early English settlement in the New World, and the second one after the Jamestown Settlement to endure for longer than a year...
. Other settlements were Bristol's Hope
Bristol's Hope, Newfoundland and Labrador
Bristol's Hope is the modern name of a community in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is located on Conception Bay between Carbonear and Harbour Grace....
, Renews, New Cambriol
Cambriol
Cambriol or New Cambriol was the name given to one of North America's early English colonies established by Sir William Vaughan...
, South Falkland
South Falkland
South Falkland was an English colony in Newfoundland established by Henry Cary, 1st Viscount Falkland, in 1623 on territory in the Avalon Peninsula including the former colony of Renews. Cary appointed Sir Francis Tanfield, his wife's cousin, to be the colony's first Proprietary Governor. Tanfield...
and Avalon
Province of Avalon
Province of Avalon was the area around the settlement of Ferryland, Newfoundland and Labrador, in the 17th century, which upon the success of the colony grew to include the land held by Sir William Vaughan and all the land that lay between Ferryland and Petty Harbour.Sir George Calvert had acquired...
which became a province in 1623. The first governor given jurisdiction over all of Newfoundland was Sir David Kirke
David Kirke
Sir David Kirke was an adventurer, colonizer and governor for the king of England. Kirke was the son of Gervase Kirke, a wealthy London-based Scottish merchant, who had married a Huguenot woman, Elizabeth Goudon, and was raised in Dieppe, in Normandy.In 1627 Kirke's father and several London...
in 1638.
Basques and French
BasqueBasque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
fishermen, who had been fishing cod
Cod
Cod is the common name for genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name for various other fishes. Cod is a popular food with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense, flaky white flesh. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of...
shoals off Newfoundland's coasts since the beginning of the fifteenth century, founded Plaisance (today Placentia), a haven which started to be also used by French fishermen. In 1655, France appointed a governor in Plaisance, thus starting a formal French colonization period of Newfoundland. The rest of the island was nearly conquered by New France
New France
New France was the area colonized by France in North America during a period beginning with the exploration of the Saint Lawrence River by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Spain and Great Britain in 1763...
explorer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville
Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville
Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville pronounced as described in note] Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville pronounced as described in note] Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville pronounced as described in note] (16 July 1661 – 9 July 1702 (probable)was a soldier, ship captain, explorer, colonial administrator, knight of...
in the 1697 during the the devastating Avalon Peninsula Campaign
Avalon Peninsula Campaign
The Avalon Peninsula Campaign occurred during King Williams War when forces of New France, led by Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville, destroyed 23 English settlements along the coast of the Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland in the span of three months...
but the French failed to defend their conquest of the English portion of the island. The French colonization period lasted until the Treaty of Utrecht
Treaty of Utrecht
The Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht, comprises a series of individual peace treaties, rather than a single document, signed by the belligerents in the War of Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht in March and April 1713...
, in 1713, which ended the War of the Spanish Succession
War of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
. France ceded its claims to Newfoundland to the British (as well as its claims to the shores of Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay , sometimes called Hudson's Bay, is a large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada. It drains a very large area, about , that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, southeastern Nunavut, as well as parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota,...
). In addition, the French possessions in Acadia
Acadia
Acadia was the name given to lands in a portion of the French colonial empire of New France, in northeastern North America that included parts of eastern Quebec, the Maritime provinces, and modern-day Maine. At the end of the 16th century, France claimed territory stretching as far south as...
were yielded to England. Afterward, under the supervision of the last French governor, the French population of Plaisance moved to Île Royale (now Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
), part of Acadia which remained then under French control.
Fishing
Explorers soon realized that the waters around Newfoundland had the best fishing in the North Atlantic. By 1620, 300 fishing boats worked the Grand Bank, employing some 10,000 sailors; many were French or Basques from Spain. They dried and salted the cod on the coast and sold it to Spain and Portugal. Heavy investment by Sir George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore, in the 1620s in wharves, warehouses, and fishing stations failed to pay off. French raids hurt the business, and the weather was terrible, so he redirected his attention to other colony in MarylandHistory of Maryland
The history of Maryland included only Native Americans until Europeans, starting with John Cabot in 1498, began exploring the area. The first settlements came in 1634 when the English arrived in significant numbers and created a permanent colony. In 1776, during the American Revolution, Maryland...
. After Calvert left small-scale entrepreneurs such as Sir David Kirke
David Kirke
Sir David Kirke was an adventurer, colonizer and governor for the king of England. Kirke was the son of Gervase Kirke, a wealthy London-based Scottish merchant, who had married a Huguenot woman, Elizabeth Goudon, and was raised in Dieppe, in Normandy.In 1627 Kirke's father and several London...
made good use of the facilities. Kirke became the first governor in 1639. A triangular trade with New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
, the West Indies, and Europe gave Newfoundland an important economic role. By the 1670s there were 1700 permanent residents and another 4500 in the summer months.
Newfoundland cod formed one leg of a triangular trade that sent cod to Spain and the Mediterranean, and wine, fruit, olive oil, and cork to England. Dutch ships were especially active 1620-1660 in what was called the "sack trade." A ship of 250 tons could earn 14% profit on the Newfoundland to Spain leg, and about the same on goods it then took from Spain to England. The Atlantic was stormy and risky; the risk was spread mostly by selling shares.
Before 1700 the "admiral" system provided the government. The first captain arriving in a particular bay was in charge of allocating suitable shoreline sites for curing fish. The system faded away after 1700. Fishing-boat captains competed to arrive first from Europe in an attempt to become the admiral; soon merchants left crewmen behind at the prime shoreline locations to lay claim to the sites. This led to "bye-boat" fishing: local, small-boat crews fished certain areas in the summer, claimed a strip of land as their own, and sold their catches to the migratory fishers. Bye-boat fishing thus became dominant, giving the island a semi-permanent population, and proved more profitable than migratory fishing.
The fishing admirals system ended in 1729, when the Royal Navy sent in its officers to govern during the fishing season.
International conflicts and agreements
In the Treaty of UtrechtTreaty of Utrecht
The Treaty of Utrecht, which established the Peace of Utrecht, comprises a series of individual peace treaties, rather than a single document, signed by the belligerents in the War of Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht in March and April 1713...
(1713), France acknowledged British ownership of the island eh . However, in the Seven Years War (1756–63), control of Newfoundland became a major source of conflict between Britain, France and Spain who all pressed for a share in the valuable fishery there. Britain's victories around the globe
Great Britain in the Seven Years War
The Kingdom of Great Britain was one of the major participants in the Seven Years' War which lasted between 1756 and 1763. Britain emerged from the war as the world's leading colonial power having gained a number of new territories at the Treaty of Paris in 1763 and established itself as the...
led William Pitt
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham
William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham PC was a British Whig statesman who led Britain during the Seven Years' War...
to insist that nobody other than Britain should have access to Newfoundland. The Battle of Signal Hill
Battle of Signal Hill
The Battle of Signal Hill was a small skirmish, the last of the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War. The British under Lieutenant Colonel William Amherst forced the French to surrender St...
was fought in Newfoundland in 1762, when a French force landed and tried to occupy the island, only to be repulsed by the British. In 1796 a Franco-Spanish expedition succeeded in raiding
Newfoundland expedition
The Newfoundland expedition was a series of fleet manoeuvres and amphibious landings in the coasts of Newfoundland, Labrador and Saint Pierre and Miquelon carried out by the combined French and Spanish fleets during the French Revolutionary Wars...
the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador.
19th century
Cod fishing remained dominant but sealing also became important after 1820, as specially designed ships sailed each spring to intercept the great herds of seals on their annual southern migrations. The northern outports grew in importance ("outport" is used for all fishing ports except St. John's). By the 1850s new formed local banks became a source of credit, replacing the haphazard system of credit from local merchants. Prosperity brought immigration, especially Catholics from Ireland who soon comprised 40% of the residents.Newfoundland was now a permanent settlement requiring a more established government. No elections were allowed but courts of law were set up in 1791 and the first civilian governor was appointed in 1817. In 1832 representative government was established with an elected General Assembly and a nominated Legislative Council consisting entirely of royal officials appointed by London. Newfoundland received a colonial assembly in 1832
Newfoundland general election, 1832
The 1st Newfoundland general election came after many years of agitation against the British Parliament. Newfoundland was the last British colony in North America to gain representative government.-Results by party:-Member distribution:...
, which was and still is referred to as the House of Assembly
Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly
The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly is one of two components of the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador, the other being the Lieutenant-Governor of Newfoundland and Labrador. The Newfoundland and Labrador General Assembly meets in the Confederation Building at St...
, after a fight led by reformers William Carson
William Carson
Sir William Carson , often called "The Great Reformer", was an important doctor and businessman in Newfoundland. Carson's primary contribution to Newfoundland was the application of modern agricultural principles....
, Patrick Morris
Edward Patrick Morris, 1st Baron Morris
Edward Patrick Morris, 1st Baron Morris was a lawyer and Prime Minister of Newfoundland.Born in St. John's, Morris was educated at the University of Ottawa, joined the bar in 1885, and was a counsel for the British government during the North American fisheries arbitration in 1910 receiving a...
and John Kent.
William Carson
William Carson
Sir William Carson , often called "The Great Reformer", was an important doctor and businessman in Newfoundland. Carson's primary contribution to Newfoundland was the application of modern agricultural principles....
(1770–1843) was a Scottish-born physician who came to the island in 1808. He called for the replacement of the system of arbitrary rule by naval commanders, seeking instead to have a resident governor and an elective legislature. Carson's systematic agitation helped win London's recognition of Newfoundland as a colony (1824) and the grant of elective house (1832). Carson was the reform leader in the House of Assembly (1834–1843, speaker 1837-1841). He served on the Executive Council (1842–1843).
The new government was unstable as the electorate was divided along religious and ethnic lines between the Catholic Irish and Protestant West Country populations of the colony. After religious riots in 1841 the Assembly was suspended. In 1842, the elected House of Assembly was amalgamated with the appointed Legislative Council. This was changed back after some agitation in 1848 to two separate chambers. After this, a movement for responsible government
Responsible government
Responsible government is a conception of a system of government that embodies the principle of parliamentary accountability which is the foundation of the Westminster system of parliamentary democracy...
began. Canada and Nova Scotia obtained "responsible" government in 1848 (whereby the assembly had the final word, not the royal governor), and Newfoundland followed in 1855. Self-government was now a reality.
The Liberal Party, based on the Irish Catholic vote, alternated with the Conservatives, with its base among the merchant class and Protestants. With a prosperous population of 120,000, Newfoundlanders decided to pass in 1869 on joining the new confederation of Canada.
Small scale seasonal farming became widespread, and mines began to exploit abundant reserves of lead, copper, zinc, iron, and coal. Railways were opened in the 1880s, with the link from St. John's to Port aux Basques open in 1898. In 1895 Newfoundland again rejected the possibility of joining Canada.
Population history
In 1654 the number of permanent inhabitants was 1750. In 1680 it reached 2280; in 1763, 7,000; in 1804, 20,000. Immigration boosted the 1832 total to 60,000 in 1832 and 75,094 in 1836, and 124,288 in 1857. Growth continued at a slower pace reaching 161,374 in 1874 and around 100,00 in 1901 (including 3947 in Labrador). The capital of St John's, doubled from 15,000 in 1835, to 29,594 in 1901. The religious census of 1901 reported: Roman Catholics, 76,000; Church of England, 73,000; Methodists, 61,000; Presbyterians, 1200; Congregationalists, 1000; Salvationists, 6600; Moravians, Baptists and others, 1600.From the 1770s to the 1880s Moravian missionaries, Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
agents, and other pioneer settlers along central Labrador's coastline learned to adapt to its rocky terrain, brutal winters, and its thin soil and scant sunshine. To maintain good health, to avoid the monotony of dried, salted, and tinned foods, and to reduce reliance on expensive imported food, they created gardens, and succeeded after much experimentation in growing hardy vegetables and even some fragile crops.
The Dominion of Newfoundland
Philip Francis Little
Philip Francis Little was the first Premier of Newfoundland Colony between 1855 and 1858. He was born in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Little studied law there with Charles Young and was admitted to the bar in 1844. He came to Newfoundland in 1846 and articled in law. He got involved in...
, a native of Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...
, won a majority over Hugh Hoyles
Hugh Hoyles
Sir Hugh Hoyles was a politician and lawyer who served as the third premier of the Newfoundland Colony. Hoyles was the first premier of Newfoundland to have been born in the colony, and served from 1861 to 1865. Born in St...
and the Conservatives. Little formed the first administration from 1855 to 1858. In 1861 in doubtful circumstances Governor Bannerman dismissed the Liberals and the ensuing election was marked by riot and disorder with both the Anglican (Feild) and Catholic bishops (Mullock) taking partisan stances. However when Hugh Hoyles was elected as the Conservative Prime Minister he worked to defuse tensions. Catholics were invited to share power, and all jobs and patronage were shared out between the various religious bodies on a per capita basis. This 'denominational compromise' was further extended to education when all religious schools were put on the basis which the Catholics had enjoyed since the 1840s. Alone in North America Newfoundland had a state funded system of denominational schools. The compromise worked and politics ceased to be about religion and became concerned with purely political and economic issues. By the 1890s St John's was no longer regarded in England as akin to Belfast, and Blackwood's Magazine was using developments there as an argument for Home Rule for Ireland. Newfoundland rejected confederation with Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in the 1869 general election.
As part of the Anglo-French Entente Cordiale
Entente Cordiale
The Entente Cordiale was a series of agreements signed on 8 April 1904 between the United Kingdom and the French Republic. Beyond the immediate concerns of colonial expansion addressed by the agreement, the signing of the Entente Cordiale marked the end of almost a millennium of intermittent...
of 1904, France abandoned the `French Shore', or the west coast of the island, to which it had had rights since the Peace of Utrecht of 1713. Possession of Labrador was disputed by Quebec and Newfoundland until 1927, when the British privy council demarcated the western boundary, enlarged Labrador's land area, and confirmed Newfoundland's title to it.
Newfoundland remained a colony until acquiring dominion
Dominion
A dominion, often Dominion, refers to one of a group of autonomous polities that were nominally under British sovereignty, constituting the British Empire and British Commonwealth, beginning in the latter part of the 19th century. They have included Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland,...
status on September 26, 1907, along with New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. It successfully negotiated a trade agreement with the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
but the British government blocked it after objections from Canada. The Dominion of Newfoundland
Dominion of Newfoundland
The Dominion of Newfoundland was a British Dominion from 1907 to 1949 . The Dominion of Newfoundland was situated in northeastern North America along the Atlantic coast and comprised the island of Newfoundland and Labrador on the continental mainland...
reached its golden age under Prime Minister Sir Robert Bond
Robert Bond
Sir Robert Bond was the Prime Minister of Newfoundland from 1900 to 1909. He was born in St. John's, Newfoundland, as the son of merchant John Bond. Bond grew up in St. John's until 1872 when his father died and left the family a good deal of money...
of the Liberal Party
Liberal parties in Newfoundland (pre-Confederation)
For the modern Liberal Party see Liberal Party of Newfoundland and LabradorSeveral earlier groupings functioned in the Dominion of Newfoundland under the name Liberal Party of Newfoundland from the granting of responsible government to the island in the 1850s until its suspension in 1934 when the...
.
Schools
The school system was denominational until the 1990s, with each church receiving grants in proportion to numerical strength. The budget for 1905 was $196,000, which covered 783 elementary schools and academies with 35,204 students. About 25% of the population, chiefly the older folk, were illiterate.Cod
Cod, supplemented by herring and lobster, was the economic mainstay until the late 20th century. Around 1900 the average annual export of dried cod-fish over a term of years was about 120,000,000 kilograms, with a value five and six million dollars. The cod were caught on the shores of the island, along the Labrador coast and especially on "the Banks." These Banks stretch for about 300 m. in a south-east direction towards the centre of the North Atlantic; depths range from 15 to 80 or 90 fathoms. In 1901 41,000 men and 21,000 women were engaged in the catching and curing of fish, about 28% of the labor force, compared to 31% in 1857. They used 1550 small boats, with a tonnage of 54,500. The cod were taken by the hook-and-line, the seine, the cod-net or gill-net, the cod-trap and the bultow; Brazil and Spain were the largest customers.Whales and fur seals
Whale hunting became an important industry around 1900. At first slow whales were caught by men hurling harpoons from small open boats. Mechanization copied from Norway brought in cannon-fired harpoons, strong cables, and steam winches mounted on maneuverable, steam-powered catcher boats. They made possible the targeting of large and fast-swimming whale species that were taken to shore-based stations for processing. The invention of the harpoon cannon in the 1860s and the westward expansion of the Scandinavian industry that resulted from the rapid depletion of their local stocks resulted in the emergence of the modern whaling industry in off Newfoundland and Labrador. The industry was highly cyclical, with well-defined catch peaks in 1903–05, 1925–30, 1945–51, and 1966–72, after which world-wide bans shut it down.Seal hunting off the coast of Labrador, for the fur, became a small specialty in the late 18th century. It began with nets and traps, which gave way to the versatility of sail-driven ships around 1800. Sailing ships gave way to the greater range, power, and reliability of steam-driven vessels after 1863.
Farming and lumbering
Small-scale farming provided vegetables, wool, milk and meat for many fishing families. In 1901, 85,000 acres were under cultivation, producing chiefly hay, oats, potatoes, turnips and cabbages. Sheep grazing was common.20th century
Robert Bond
Sir Robert Bond was the Prime Minister of Newfoundland from 1900 to 1909. He was born in St. John's, Newfoundland, as the son of merchant John Bond. Bond grew up in St. John's until 1872 when his father died and left the family a good deal of money...
(1857–1927) was a Newfoundland nationalist who insisted upon the colony's equality of status with Canada, and opposed joining the confederation. Bond promoted the completion of a railway across the island (started in 1881) because it would open access to valuable minerals and timber and reduce the almost total dependence on the cod fisheries. He advocated closer economic ties with the United States, and distrusted London for ignoring the island's viewpoint on the controversial issue of allowing French fisherman to process lobsters on the French Coast, and for blocking a trade deal with the U.S. Bond became Liberal Party leader in 1899 and premier in 1900. In 1904 he helped negotiate the end of all French fishing rights, and was reelected in a landslide
Newfoundland general election, 1904
The 21st Newfoundland general election was held on 31 October 1904 to elect members of the 20th General Assembly of Newfoundland in the Dominion of Newfoundland. The Liberal Party led by Robert Bond formed the government.-Results by party :*As Opposition...
. His efforts to restrict the rights of American fishermen failed. His party was badly defeated in 1909
Newfoundland general election, 1909
The 23rd Newfoundland general election was held on 8 May 1909 to elect members of the 22nd General Assembly of Newfoundland in the Dominion of Newfoundland. The Newfoundland People's Party led by Edward P. Morris, having secured a majority, formed the government.-Seat totals:-Members elected:* Bay...
and Bond proved an ineffective opposition leader. Bond formed a coalition with the new Fishermen's Protective Union
Fishermen's Protective Union
The Fishermen's Protective Union was a workers' organization and political party in the Dominion of Newfoundland...
(FPU), led by William Coaker
William Coaker
Sir William Ford Coaker was a Newfoundland union leader and politician and founder of the Fisherman's Protective Union and the Fishermen's Union Trading Co....
(1871–1938).
In 1909 Bond was succeeded as premier by Edward Morris (1859–1935), a prominent Catholic and founder of the new People's Party. Morris began a grandiose program of building branch railways, and adeptly handled the arbitration at the Hague tribunal on American fishing rights. He introduced old-age pensions, and increased investment in education and rural infrastructure. In the prosperous and peaceful year of 1913 he was reelected
Newfoundland general election, 1913
The 24th Newfoundland general election was held on 30 October 1913 to elect members of the 23rd General Assembly of Newfoundland in the Dominion of Newfoundland. The Liberal party led by Robert Bond formed a coalition with the Fishermen's Protective Union led by William Coaker...
. As a result of a wartime crisis over conscription, and the decline of his popularity due to accusations of wartime profiteering and conflict of interest, Morris set up an all-party war government in 1917 to oversee the duration of the war. He retired in 1917, moved to London, and was given a peerage as first Baron Morris, the only Newfoundlander ever so honored.
World War
During the great Battle of the Somme in France in 1916, the British assaulted the German trenches near Beaumont Hamel. The 800-man Royal Newfoundland Regiment attacked as part of a British brigade. Most of the Newfoundlanders were killed or wounded without anyone in the regiment having fired a shot. The state, church, and press romanticized the sacrifice Newfoundlanders had made in the war effort through ceremonies, war literature, and memorials, the most important of which was the Beaumont Hamel Memorial Park, which opened in France in 1925. The story of the heroic sacrifice of the regiment in 1916 served as a cultural inspiration.
1919-34
In 1919, the FPU joined with the Liberal Party of NewfoundlandLiberal parties in Newfoundland (pre-Confederation)
For the modern Liberal Party see Liberal Party of Newfoundland and LabradorSeveral earlier groupings functioned in the Dominion of Newfoundland under the name Liberal Party of Newfoundland from the granting of responsible government to the island in the 1850s until its suspension in 1934 when the...
led by Richard Squires
Richard Squires
Sir Richard Anderson Squires KCMG was the Prime Minister of Newfoundland from 1919 to 1923 and from 1928 to 1932.-Early career:...
to form the Liberal Reform Party. The Liberal-Union coalition won 24 of 36 seats in the 1919 general election
Newfoundland general election, 1919
The 25th Newfoundland general election was held on 3 November 1919 to elect members of the 24th General Assembly of Newfoundland in the Dominion of Newfoundland. The Liberal Reform Party, an alliance between the Liberals led by Richard Squires and the Fishermen's Protective Union of William Coaker,...
with half of the coalition's seats being won by Union candidates.
The 1920 Education Act set up a Department of Education, to oversee all state schools, including teacher training and certification. It provided for four grades of certificated teachers. There was also a category of other "ungraded" teachers, who were unqualified and employed on a temporary basis.
International capital was increasingly attracted by the island's natural resources. A Canadian firm opened iron mines in 1895 on Bell Island in Conception Bay. Paper mills were built at Grand Falls by the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company, a British firm, in 1909. British entrepreneurs set up a paper mill at Corner Brook in 1925 while the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company opened a lead-zinc mine on the Buchans River in 1927. In 1927, Britain awarded the vast, almost uninhabited hinterland of Labrador to Newfoundland rather than to Canada, adding potentially valuable new forest, hydroelectric, and mineral resources.
Politically the years from 1916 to 1925 were turbulent, as six successive governments failed, widespread corruption was uncovered, and the postwar boom ended in economic stagnation. Labour unions were active, as Joey Smallwood
Joey Smallwood
Joseph Roberts "Joey" Smallwood, PC, CC was the main force that brought Newfoundland into the Canadian confederation, and became the first Premier of Newfoundland . As premier, he vigorously promoted economic development, championed the welfare state, and emphasized modernization of education and...
(1900–1991) founded the Newfoundland Federation of Labour in the early 1920s.
Crisis of 1930s
Newfoundland's economic crash in the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, coupled with a profound distrust of politicians, led to the abandonment of self-government. Newfoundland remains the only nation that ever voluntarily relinquished democracy.
Economic collapse
Newfoundland's economy collapsed in the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, as prices plunged for fish, its main export. The population was 290,000, and the people and merchants were out of money. Since there was relatively little subsistence farming, people depended heavily on the meager supply of government relief, and it is much emergency help with their friends, neighbors, and relatives could spare. There were no reports of starvation, but malnutrition was widespread.
The depression was hard on both the fishermen and merchants in Battle Harbour, Labrador, and they almost came to blows. The Baine, Johnston firm had to cut winter credit, whereupon poorer fishermen threatened the company with violence. Government relief payments were too scanty.
Political collapse
The government was broke. It had borrowed heavily to construct and maintain a trans-island railway and to finance the country's regiment in the World War. By 1933, the public debt was over $100 million compared to a nominal national income of about $30 million. Interest payments on the debt absorbed 63% of government revenue and the budget deficit was $3.5 million or over 10 percent of the island's GDP. There was no more credit; a short-lived plan to sell Labrador to Canada fell through. The Richard SquiresRichard Squires
Sir Richard Anderson Squires KCMG was the Prime Minister of Newfoundland from 1919 to 1923 and from 1928 to 1932.-Early career:...
government was ineffective and when Squires was arrested for bribery in 1932 he fell from power.
A royal commission under Lord Amulree
William Mackenzie, 1st Baron Amulree
William Warrender Mackenzie, 1st Baron Amulree GCB, KBE, PC, KC , known as Sir William Mackenzie between 1918 and 1929, was a British barrister, public servant and Labour, later National Labour, politician...
examined the causes of the financial disaster and concluded:
In return for British financial assistance, the newly elected government of Frederick Alderdice agreed to the appointment by London of a three-member royal commission, including British, Canadian, and Newfoundland nominees. The Newfoundland Royal Commission, chaired by Lord Amulree, recommended that Britain "assume general responsibility" for Newfoundland's finances. Newfoundland would give up self-government in favour of administration by an appointed governor and a six-member appointed Commission of Government, having both executive and legislative authority. The solution was designed to provide "a rest from politics" and a government free of corruption. The legislature accepted the deal, formalized when the British Parliament passed the Newfoundland Act, 1933. In 1934, the Commission of Government
Commission of Government
The Commission of Government was a non-elected body that governed Newfoundland from 1934 to 1949...
took control; its six appointed commissioners, who administered the country without elections. It lasted until 1949.
Second World War
In 1940 Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
and Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
agreed to an exchange of American destroyers for access to British naval bases in the Atlantic
Destroyers for Bases Agreement
The Destroyers for Bases Agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom, September 2, 1940, transferred fifty mothballed destroyers from the United States Navy in exchange for land rights on British possessions...
, including Newfoundland. The result was sudden prosperity as American money flooded the island, where 25% of the people had recently been on relief. Some 20,000 men were employed in building military bases, but the government kept wages low so as to not destroy the labor force for fishing. Even more influential was the sudden impact of a large modern American population on a traditional society. American ideas regarding food, hygiene (and indoor plumbing), entertainment, clothing, living standards and pay scales swept the island. As during World War I, Newfoundland became vital to the Battle of the Atlantic. Each month dozens of naval ships protecting convoys stopped at St. John's.
Postwar
America retained and expand its Newfoundland bases after the war, because the island was on the shortest Great CircleGreat circle
A great circle, also known as a Riemannian circle, of a sphere is the intersection of the sphere and a plane which passes through the center point of the sphere, as opposed to a general circle of a sphere where the plane is not required to pass through the center...
air route between the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and the East coast of the United States
East Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
, and Soviet bombers carrying nuclear weapons was the largest threat to American cities. Its five large American bases—four Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
and one Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
—were important to Newfoundland's economy, and many Americans intermarried with native residents.
Fears of a permanent American presence in Newfoundland caused the Canadian government to attempt to persuade the island to join the Canadian Confederation. This was not primarily due to economic reasons. In the 1940s Newfoundland was relatively unimportant to Canada's economy as its eighth largest trading partner. The island primarily traded with Britain and the United States, especially the "Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
states" of New England. Canada saw some value in Newfoundland's fisheries, raw materials, Labrador's hydroelectric potential, and 300,000 people of English and Irish descent, and expected that its location would remain important to trans-Atlantic aviation.
Canada's primary interest, however, was from the fear that an independent Newfoundland would join the United States due to their economic and military ties. With Newfoundland, the United States would block the Gulf of St. Lawrence and leave only about 500 km of Nova Scotia coastline open to the Atlantic. Because America already bordered Canada on the south and controlled all but about 600 km of British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
's western boundary, Canada would be "virtual surrounded" on three sides. Both Britain and Canada wished to prevent this. Newfoundlanders had regained their prosperity and their self-confidence, but were uncertain whether they should be an independent nation with close ties to the United States, or become part of Canada.
Referendum
As soon as prosperity returned during the war, agitation began to end the Commission. Newfoundland, with a population of 313,000 (plus 5,200 in Labrador), seemed too small to be independent. Joey SmallwoodJoey Smallwood
Joseph Roberts "Joey" Smallwood, PC, CC was the main force that brought Newfoundland into the Canadian confederation, and became the first Premier of Newfoundland . As premier, he vigorously promoted economic development, championed the welfare state, and emphasized modernization of education and...
was a well-known radio personality, writer, organizer, and nationalist who long had criticized British rule. In 1945 London announced that a Newfoundland National Convention
Newfoundland National Convention
The Newfoundland National Convention of 1946 was a forum established to decide the constitutional future of Newfoundland-Nominations:On 11 December 1945 the Government of Britain announced that there would be an election to a National Convention, which would debate constitutional options and make a...
would be elected to advise on what constitutional choices should to be voted on by referendum. Union with the United States was a possibility, but Britain rejected the option and offered instead two options, return to dominion status or continuation of the unpopular Commission. Canada cooperated with Britain to ensure that the option of closer ties with America was not on the referendum.
Canada issued an invitation to join it on generous financial terms. Smallwood was elected to the convention where he became the leading proponent of confederation with Canada, insisting, "Today we are more disposed to feel that our very manhood, our very creation by God, entitles us to standards of life no lower than our brothers on the mainland." Displaying a mastery of propaganda technique, courage and ruthlessness, he succeeded in having the Canada option on the referendum. His main opponents were Peter John Cashin
Peter John Cashin
Major Peter John Cashin was a businessman, soldier and politician in Newfoundland and Labrador.-Early life:Cashin, a son of Sir Michael Cashin, joined the Newfoundland Regiment during World War I and ultimately served in command of the British Machine Gun Corp...
and Chesley Crosbie
Chesley Crosbie
Chesley A. Crosbie was a Newfoundland businessman and politician.Crosbie belonged to a prominent St. John's family involved in hotels, fish exporting, insurance, shipping and manufactring...
. Cashin, a former finance minister, led the Responsible Government League
Responsible Government League
The Responsible Government League was a political movement in the Dominion of Newfoundland.The Responsible Government League of Newfoundland, led by Peter Cashin, was formed in February 1947 by anti-Confederation delegates to the Newfoundland National Convention on the future of the colony...
, warning against cheap Canadian imports and the high Canadian income tax. Crosbie, a leader of the fishing industry, led the Party for Economic Union with the United States, seeking responsible government first, to be followed by closer ties with the United States, which could be a major source of capital.
Smallwood's side was victorious in a referendum and a runoff in June–July 1948
Newfoundland referendums, 1948
The Newfoundland Referendums of 1948 were a series of two referendums to decide the political future of the Dominion of Newfoundland. Before the referendums, Newfoundland was in debt and went through several delegations to determine whether the country would join Canada, remain under British rule...
, as the choice of joining Canada defeated becoming an independent dominion by 77,869 to or 52.3%. A strong rural vote in favor of Canada exceeded the pro-independence vote in St. John's. The Irish Catholics in the city desired independence in order to protect their parochial schools, leading to a Protestant backlash in rural areas. The promise of cash family allowances from Canada proved decisive.
| Official Flower | Purple pitcher plant |
| Official Tree | Black Spruce Black Spruce Picea mariana is a species of spruce native to northern North America, from Newfoundland west to Alaska, and south to northern New York, Minnesota and central British Columbia... |
| Official Bird | Atlantic Puffin Atlantic Puffin The Atlantic Puffin is a seabird species in the auk family. It is a pelagic bird that feeds primarily by diving for fish, but also eats other sea creatures, such as squid and crustaceans. Its most obvious characteristic during the breeding season is its brightly coloured bill... |
| Official Animal | Caribou |
| Official Mineral | Labradorite Labradorite Labradorite , a feldspar mineral, is an intermediate to calcic member of the plagioclase series. It is usually defined as having "%An" between 50 and 70. The specific gravity ranges from 2.68 to 2.72. The streak is white, like most silicates. The refractive index ranges from 1.559 to 1.573.... |
| Official Dog | Newfoundland dog & Labrador Retriever Labrador Retriever The Labrador Retriever is one of several kinds of retriever, a type of gun dog. A breed characteristic is webbed paws for swimming, useful for the breed's original purpose of retrieving fishing nets. The Labrador is the most popular breed of dog by registered ownership in Canada, the United... |
| Provincial Anthem National anthem A national anthem is a generally patriotic musical composition that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions and struggles of its people, recognized either by a nation's government as the official national song, or by convention through use by the people.- History :Anthems rose to prominence... |
Ode to Newfoundland Ode to Newfoundland "Ode to Newfoundland" is the official provincial anthem of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was composed by Governor Sir Cavendish Boyle in 1902. as a four-verse poem entitled Newfoundland. On December 22, 1902 it was sung by Frances Daisy Foster at the Casino Theatre of St. John's during the closing... |
| Provincial Holiday | June 24, Discovery Day |
| Patron Saint Patron saint A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person... |
St. John the Baptist |
| Official tartan |  |
| Great Seal | |
| Official logo |  |
Province of Newfoundland and Labrador
After ICBMs replaced the bomber threat in the late 1950s, the American Air Force bases closed by the early 1960s and Naval Station ArgentiaNaval Station Argentia
Naval Station Argentia is a former base of the United States Navy that operated from 1941-1994. It was established in the community of Argentia in what was then the Dominion of Newfoundland, which later became the tenth Canadian province .-Construction:Established under the British-U.S...
in the 1980s. In 1959, a local controversy arose when the provincial government pressured the Moravian Church to abandon its mission station at Hebron, Labrador, resulting in the relocation southward of the area's Inuit
Inuit
The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...
population, who had lived there since the mission was established in 1831.
Labrador
Considerable attention was paid to the infrastructure for Labrador, especially building railway systems to transport the minerals and raw materials from Labrador to Quebec, and an electricity grid. In the 1960s, the province developed the Churchill FallsChurchill Falls
Churchill Falls are waterfalls named after former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. They are high, located on the Churchill River in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada....
hydro-electric facility in order to sell electricity to the United States. An agreement with Quebec was required to secure permission to transport the electricity across Quebec territory. Quebec drove a hard bargain with Newfoundland, resulting in a 75-year deal that Newfoundlanders now believe to be unfair to the province because of the low and unchangeable rate that it receives for the electricity.
Although the first geological studies were undertaken in 1892, iron mining did not begin until the 1950s. By 1990, the Quebec-Labrador area had become an important supplier of iron ore to the United States.
Fishing
When Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949, it relinquished jurisdiction over its fisheries to Ottawa; the Supreme Court ruled in 1983 that the federal government also has jurisdiction over offshore oil drilling.After 1945, the fishing economy was transformed from a predominately labor-intensive inshore, household-based, saltfish-producing enterprise into an industrialized economy dominated by vertically integrated frozen fish companies. These efficient companies needed fewer workers, so about 300 fishing villages, or outports, were abandoned by their residents between 1954 and 1975 as part of a Canadian government-sponsored program known as the Resettlement. Some areas lost 20% of their population, and enrollment in schools dropped even more.
In the 1960s some 2 billion pounds of cod were harvested annually from the Grand Bank off Newfoundland, the world's largest source of fish. Then disaster hit. The northern cod practically vanished—they were reduced to 1% of their historic spawning biomass. In 1992, the cod fishery was shut down by the Canadian government; cod fishing as a way of life came to an end for 19,000 workers after a 500 year history as a main industry.
The fishing crisis of the 1990s saw the already precarious economic base of the many towns further eroded. The situation was made worse by both federal and provincial pursuit of programs of economic liberalization that sought to limit the role of the state in economic and social affairs. As the effects of the crisis were felt, and established state supports were weakened, tourism was embraced by a growing body of local development and heritage organizations as a way of restoring the shattered economic base of many communities. Limited, short-term funding for some tourism-related projects was provided mostly from government programs, largely as a means of politically managing the structural adjustment that was being pursued.
Politics
Neary (1980) identifies three postwar political eras, each marked by a dramatic opening event. A first period began with confederation, with Smallwood in power. A second period of politics started with the Progressive Conservative victory in the federal general election of 1957. A third period began with the sweeping Conservative victory in Newfoundland in the federal election of 1968. There was a common theme in each era, involving the continuing decline of the traditional, stable, subsistence, outport economy by the forces of urbanism and industrialism.Smallwood
Politics was dominated by the Liberal PartyLiberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador
The Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador is a political party in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada and the provincial wing of the Liberal Party of Canada. It is the Official Opposition and currently holds six seats in the provincial legislature.-Origins:The party originated in...
, led by Premier Smallwood, from confederation until 1972. His main program was economic growth, and creating new jobs to encourage young people to stay in Newfoundland. Smallwood made major efforts to modernize the fishing industry, to create a new energy industry, and to attract factories. He vigorously promoted economic development through the Economic Development Plan of 1951, championed the welfare state (paid for by Ottawa), and attracted favorable attention across Canada. He emphasized modernisation of education and transportation in order to attract outsiders, such as German industrialists, because the local economic elite would not invest in industrial development. Smallwood dropped his youthful socialism and collaborated with bankers, and became hostile to the militant unions that sponsored numerous strikes. His efforts to promote industrialization were a mixed bag, with great success primarily in hydroelectricity, iron mining and paper mills.
Smallwood upgraded the small Memorial University College in St John's, founded in 1925, to Memorial University of Newfoundland
Memorial University of Newfoundland
Memorial University of Newfoundland, is a comprehensive university located primarily in St...
(MUN) in 1949, with free tuition and a cash salary for students. By the 21st century it displayed strengths in engineering, business, geology, and medicine to become a leading comprehensive universities in Canada. With over 17,000 students, it became the largest university in Atlantic Canada. MUN's four main campuses are today served by more than 900 faculty and 2,300 staff members.
Smallwood's style was autocratic and highly personalized, as he totally controlled his party. Meanwhile the demoralized anti-confederates became the provincial wing of the Progressive Conservative Party.
Conservatives
In 1972, the Smallwood government was replaced by the Progressive ConservativeProgressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador
For pre-1949 Conservative parties see Conservative parties in Newfoundland The Progressive Conservative Party of Newfoundland and Labrador is a centre-right provincial political party in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Originally founded in 1949 the party has formed the Government of...
administration of Frank Moores
Frank Moores
Frank Duff Moores served as the 2nd Premier of Newfoundland. He served as leader of the Progressive Conservatives from 1972 until his retirement in 1979.-Early life:...
. In 1979, Brian Peckford
Brian Peckford
Alfred Brian Peckford, PC served as the 3rd Premier of Newfoundland. He served as leader of the Progressive Conservatives from 1979 until his retirement in 1989....
, another Progressive Conservative, became Premier. During this time, Newfoundland was involved in a dispute with the federal government for control of offshore oil resources. In the end, the dispute was decided by compromise.
Since 1989
In 1989, Clyde WellsClyde Wells
Clyde Kirby Wells, QC was the fifth Premier of Newfoundland and was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador from 1999 to March 2009...
and the Liberal Party returned to power ending 17 years of Conservative government.
In 1992, the federal government declared a moratorium on the Atlantic cod
Atlantic cod
The Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, is a well-known demersal food fish belonging to the family Gadidae. It is also commercially known as cod, codling or haberdine....
fishery, because of severely declining catches in the late 1980s. The consequences of this decision reverberated throughout the provincial economy of Newfoundland in the 1990s, particularly as once-vibrant rural communities faced a sudden exodus. The economic impact of the closure of the Atlantic cod fishery on Newfoundland has been compared to the effect of closing every manufacturing plant in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
. The cod fishery which had provided Newfoundlanders on the south and east coasts with a livelihood for over 200 years was gone, although the federal government helped fishermen and fish plant workers make the adjustment with a multi-billion dollar program named "The Atlantic Groundfish Strategy" (TAGS).
In the late 1980s, the federal government, along with its Crown corporation Petro-Canada
Petro-Canada
Petro-Canada was a crown corporation of Canada in the field of oil and natural gas. It was headquartered in the Petro-Canada Centre in Calgary, Alberta. In August, 2009, Petro-Canada merged with Suncor Energy, a deal in which Suncor investors received approximately 60 per cent ownership of the...
and other private sector petroleum exploration companies, committed to developing the oil and gas resources of the Hibernia
Hibernia (oil field)
Hibernia is an oil field in the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately east-southeast of St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada.The production platform Hibernia is the world's largest oil platform and consists of a 37,000-tonne integrated topsides facility mounted on a 600,000-tonne gravity base structure...
oil field on the northeast portion of the Grand Banks. Throughout the mid-1990s, thousands of Newfoundlanders were employed on offshore exploration platforms, as well as in the construction of the Hibernia Gravity Base Structure (GBS) and Hibernia topsides.
In 1996, the former federal minister of fisheries, Brian Tobin
Brian Tobin
Brian Vincent Tobin, PC is a Canadian businessman and former politician. Tobin served as the sixth Premier of Newfoundland from 1996 to 2000. Tobin was also a prominent Member of Parliament and served as a Cabinet Minister in Jean Chrétien's Liberal government.- Early life, education, and family...
, was successful in winning the leadership of the provincial Liberal Party following the retirement of premier Clyde Wells. Tobin rode the waves of economic good fortune as the downtrodden provincial economy was undergoing a fundamental shift, largely as a result of the oil and gas industry's financial stimulus, although the effects of this were mainly felt only in communities on the Avalon Peninsula.
Good fortune also fell on Tobin following the discovery of a world class nickel
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
deposit at Voisey's Bay, Labrador
Voisey's Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador
Voisey's Bay Mine is a nickel mine in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, near the bay of the same name.- Nickel deposit :A large nickel deposit was discovered in hills along the western shore of the bay in September 1993 by Archean Inc., a prospecting firm hired by Diamond Fields...
. Tobin committed to negotiating a better royalty deal for the province with private sector mining interests than previous governments had done with the Churchill Falls
Churchill Falls
Churchill Falls are waterfalls named after former British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill. They are high, located on the Churchill River in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada....
hydroelectric development deal in the 1970s. Following Tobin's return to federal politics in 2000, the provincial Liberal Party devolved into internal battling for the leadership, leaving its new leader, Roger Grimes
Roger Grimes
Roger D. Grimes is a Canadian politician from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Grimes was born and raised in the central Newfoundland town of Grand Falls-Windsor....
, in a weakened position as premier.
The pressure of the oil and gas industry to explore offshore in Atlantic Canada saw Newfoundland and Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...
submit to a federal arbitration
Federal Court of Canada
The Federal Court of Canada was a national court of Canada that heard some types of disputes arising under the central government's legislative jurisdiction...
to decide on a disputed offshore boundary between the two provinces in the Laurentian Basin. The 2003 settlement rewrote an existing boundary in Newfoundland's favour, opening this area up to energy exploration.
In 2003, the federal government declared a moratorium on the last remaining cod fishery in Atlantic Canada, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. While Newfoundland was again the most directly affected province by this decision, communities on Quebec's North Shore
Côte-Nord
Côte-Nord is the second largest administrative region by land area in Quebec, Canada, after Nord-du-Québec...
and in other parts of Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada
Atlantic Canada is the region of Canada comprising the four provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec: the three Maritime provinces – New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia – and Newfoundland and Labrador...
also faced difficulties. Premier Grimes, facing a pending election that fall, used the Gulf cod decision and perceived federal bias against the province as a catalyst to try to rally citizens around his administration. Grimes called for a review of the Act of Union by which the province had become a part of Canada. On July 2, 2003, the findings of the Royal Commission on Renewing and Strengthening Our Place in Canada
Royal Commission on Renewing and Strengthening Our Place in Canada
The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador announced the Royal Commission on Renewing and Strengthening Our Place in Canada on 19 March 2002, in the Speech from the Throne. On 19 April 2002, the appointment of Commissioners Vic Young, , Sister Elizabeth Davis and Judge James Igloliorte, were...
, which Grimes had created in 2002, were released. It noted the following stressors in the relationship between the province and Canada:
- the huge impact of the destruction of resources of cod
- development of hydroelectricityHydroelectricityHydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
resources of Labrador by QuebecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, primarily to their benefit - chronically high unemployment
- lowest per-capita income in Canada
- the highest tax rates
- the highest emigration
The report called for the following:
- more collaborative federalismFederalismFederalism is a political concept in which a group of members are bound together by covenant with a governing representative head. The term "federalism" is also used to describe a system of the government in which sovereignty is constitutionally divided between a central governing authority and...
- an action team to deal with the fishery
- collaboration between Canada, Quebec, and Newfoundland and Labrador on the development of the Gull Island hydro site
- revision of the Atlantic Accord so that offshore oil and gas reserves primarily benefit the province
- immediate and realistic negotiations on joint management of the fishery
In October 2003, the Liberals
Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador
The Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador is a political party in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada and the provincial wing of the Liberal Party of Canada. It is the Official Opposition and currently holds six seats in the provincial legislature.-Origins:The party originated in...
lost the provincial election
Newfoundland and Labrador general election, 2003
The 46th Newfoundland and Labrador general election was held on October 21, 2003, to elect the 48 members of the 45th General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador, the 17th general election for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada...
to the Progressive Conservative Party, led by Danny Williams
Danny Williams (politician)
Daniel E. "Danny" Williams, QC, MHA is a Canadian politician, businessman and lawyer who served as the ninth Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador between November 6, 2003, and December 3, 2010. Williams was born and raised in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador...
.
Quarrels with Ottawa
In 2004, Premier Williams has argued that Prime Minister Paul MartinPaul Martin
Paul Edgar Philippe Martin, PC , also known as Paul Martin, Jr. is a Canadian politician who was the 21st Prime Minister of Canada, as well as leader of the Liberal Party of Canada....
had not held up his promises for a new deal on the "Atlantic Accord". The issue is the royalties from oil: currently, 70 cents on each royalty dollar are sent back to the federal government through reductions in payments by the federal government with respect to its "equalization program". The province wants 100% of the royalties to allow the province to pull itself out of poverty on a long-term basis.
Toward the end of 2004, Williams ordered the Canadian flag
Flag of Canada
The national flag of Canada, also known as the Maple Leaf, and , is a red flag with a white square in its centre, featuring a stylized 11-pointed red maple leaf. Its adoption in 1965 marked the first time a national flag had been officially adopted in Canada to replace the Union Flag...
to be removed from all provincial buildings as a protest against federal policies, and asked for municipal councils to consider doing the same. The issue, dubbed the "Flag Flap" in the media, sparked debate across the province and the rest of Canada. The flags went back up in January 2005 after much controversy nationwide and Paul Martin stating that he would not negotiate with the province if the flags were not flying. At the end of January, the federal government signed a deal to allow 100% of oil revenues to go to the province, resulting in an extra $2 billion over eight years for the province. However, this agreement has led other provinces such as Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
and Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
to try to negotiate their own special deals as they too claim that the federal government is taking advantage of them financially.
, 4 of the 10 amendments to the Constitution of Canada
Constitution of Canada
The Constitution of Canada is the supreme law in Canada; the country's constitution is an amalgamation of codified acts and uncodified traditions and conventions. It outlines Canada's system of government, as well as the civil rights of all Canadian citizens and those in Canada...
since the 1982 patriation
Patriation
Patriation is a non-legal term used in Canada to describe a process of constitutional change also known as "homecoming" of the constitution. Up until 1982, Canada was governed by a constitution that was a British law and could be changed only by an Act of the British Parliament...
have been concerned with Canada's tenth province.
Tourism
Starting in the 1990s tourism was promoted by many local development, heritage and archaeological organisations as a way of restoring the economic base of many outports and villages. Limited, short-term funding for some tourism-related projects came from government programs designed to maintain morale and find a new economic role.Issues of identity
Nationalist sentiment in the 21st century has become a powerful force in Newfoundland politics and culture, layered on top of a traditional culture deeply embedded in the outports. Gregory (2004) sees it as a development of the late 20th century, for in the 1940s it was not strong enough to stop confederation with Canada, and the people in the cities adopted a Canadian identityCanadian identity
Canadian identity refers to the set of characteristics and symbols that many Canadians regard as expressing their unique place and role in the world....
in the 1950s and 1960s.
A Newfoundland identity was first articulated in the 1840s, embodied in a distinction between English-born and native-born Newfoundland residents. The relative absence of a strong sense of belonging to an independent country was the underlying reason for Joey Smallwood's referendum victory. Most islanders were descendants of immigrants from either Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
or the West Country
West Country
The West Country is an informal term for the area of south western England roughly corresponding to the modern South West England government region. It is often defined to encompass the historic counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and Somerset and the City of Bristol, while the counties of...
. It took centuries for them to view themselves as Newfoundlanders first and foremost. Gregory (2004) tried to date the transition from old (European) to new (Newfoundland) in the outport communities using vernacular song texts. Use of three collections of Newfoundland songs demonstrates how by 1930 or so a Newfoundland song culture had replaced earlier cultural traditions. These songs suggest that the island was still a cultural mosaic; some outports were completely Irish, others were West Country, and in a few ethnically mixed communities, including St. John's, there was an emergent, home-grown, patriotic song culture. Cultural nationalism was still a minority tradition in the Newfoundland of 1930. After joining Canada in 1949, Newfoundland culture underwent a significant transformation, notably in the cultural revival of the 1970s, which extolled the virtues of the people before they were hit with efficiency, centralization, and modernity. Thus the "Ode to Newfoundland" is sung with as much gusto in the taverns of Fort McMurray and Calgary in Alberta, or Toronto, as on the island itself.
Traditional Newfoundland heritage enjoyed a renaissance in the arts and crafts. Celebrations of outport life have been combined with a long-standing sense of victimization, offering a parade of historical scapegoats from the fishing admirals to powerful merchants used to explain relative backwardness and failure. Atlantic Canadians increasingly share an angle of vision derived in large part from the unpleasant fact that, compared to the mainland, the Atlantic region is both economically poor and politically weak, and growing more so. Nevertheless Atlantic Canadians have so far rejected political union.
Wayne Johnston's prize-winning novel The Colony of Unrequited Dreams (1999) develops insights into the unique identity of the islanders and challenges prevailing misconceptions about the area among both residents and outsiders. The protagonist of the book is premier Joey Smallwood, with focus on his advocacy of confederation with Canada. Chafe (2003) sees the novel in terms of postcolonial literature with its attendant themes of displacement, identity, and history. Chafe explores Johnston's use of the phrase "scuttlework of empire" and its many interpretations of the often troubled relationship between the British Empire and Newfoundland settlers.
Primary sources
- Halpert, Herbert; Widdowson, J. D. A.; Lovelace, Martin J.; and Collins, Eileen, ed. Folktales of Newfoundland: The Resilience of the Oral Tradition. New York: Garland, 1996. 1175 pp.
- Harvey, M. Newfoundland in 1900. A treatise of the geography, natural resources and history of the Island, embracing an account of recent and present large material movements, finely illustrated with maps and half-tone engravings (1900) 187 pp.edition
- Moyles, Robert Gordon, ed. "Complaints is Many and Various, But the Odd Divil Likes It": Nineteenth Century Views of Newfoundland (1975).
- Neary, Peter, and Patrick O'Flaherty, eds. By Great Waters: A Newfoundland and Labrador Anthology (1974)
- O'Flaherty, Patrick ed. The Rock Observed: Literary Responses to Newfoundland and Its People (1979)
- Rompkey, Ronald, ed. Terre-Neuve: Anthologie des Voyageurs Français, 1814-1914 [Newfoundland: anthology of French travelers, 1814-1914]. Presse University de Rennes, 2004. 304 pp.
- Smallwood, Joseph R. I Chose Canada: The Memoirs of the Honourable Joseph R. "Joey" Smallwood. (1973). 600 pp.
Vintage histories and primary documents
- Birkenhead, Lord. The story of Newfoundland (2nd ed. 1920) 192pp edition
- Joseph Hatton and Moses HarveyMoses HarveyMoses Harvey LL.D. clergyman, essayist and naturalist born Armagh, Ireland and died in St. John's, Newfoundland....
, Newfoundland: Its History and Present Condition, (London, 1883) complete text online - Millais, John Guille. The Newfoundland Guide Book, 1911: Including Labrador and St. Pierre (1911) online edition; also reprinted 2009
- D. W. ProwseDaniel Woodley ProwseDaniel Woodley Prowse was a lawyer, politician, judge, historian, essayist, and office holder.Born in Port de Grave, Newfoundland , he was the fourth of the seven children of Robert Prowse and Jane Woodley...
, A History of Newfoundland (1895), current edition 2002, Boulder Publications, Portugal Cove, Newfoundland. text online - Pedley, Charles. History of Newfoundland, (London, 1863) complete text online
- Tocque, Philip. Newfoundland as it Was and Is, (London, 1878) complete text online
- Kennedy, Arnold. Sport and Adventure in Newfoundland and West Indies, (London, 1885) complete text online
- Moses HarveyMoses HarveyMoses Harvey LL.D. clergyman, essayist and naturalist born Armagh, Ireland and died in St. John's, Newfoundland....
, Newfoundland, England's Oldest Colony, (London, 1897) complete text online - J. P. Howley, Mineral Resources of Newfoundland, (St. John's, 1909)
- P. T. McGrath, Newfound in 1911, (London, 1911)
External links
- Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
- Centre for Newfoundland Studies
- Newfoundland history by scholar; containing biographies and primary sources,