28-636: Carbonear is a town on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador , Canada. It overlooks the west side of Conception Bay and had a history long tied to fishing and shipbuilding. Since the late 20th century, its economy has changed to emphasize education, health care, retail, and industry. As of 2021, there were 4,696 people in the community. The town of Carbonear is one of the oldest permanent settlements in Newfoundland and among
56-511: A change of -3.3% from its 2016 population of 4,858 . With a land area of 12.44 km (4.80 sq mi), it had a population density of 377.5/km (977.7/sq mi) in 2021. Avalon Peninsula The Avalon Peninsula ( French : Péninsule d'Avalon ) is a large peninsula that makes up the southeast portion of the island of Newfoundland in Canada . It is 9,220.61 square kilometres (3,560.10 sq mi) in size. The peninsula
84-600: A mission community in Newfoundland for the Augustinian order of the Carbonara. She believed that the settlement may have been short-lived but built a church. The modern name of the town may be derived from the order and its church. If true, Carbonear would have been the first Christian settlement of any kind in North America, and the site of the oldest, and only, medieval church built on the continent. Evan Jones of
112-659: A number of French words, most likely "Carbonnier" or " Charbonnier ," meaning "coalman." In the late 20th century, historian Alwyn Ruddock of the University of London , one of the world's foremost experts on John Cabot 's expeditions to the New World, suggested that a group of reformed Augustinian friars, led by the high-ranking Giovanni Antonio de Carbonariis , accompanied Cabot on his second voyage to reach North America in 1498. (Italian bankers had helped finance Cabot's previous expeditions.) The friars stayed to establish
140-488: Is evolving. With two college campuses, a shopping centre, a major hospital, and three long-term care facilities, the town has built on its importance as a regional retail, service, transportation, government, and cultural centre, earning it the nickname "Hub of the Bay". In the 2021 Census of Population conducted by Statistics Canada , Carbonear had a population of 4,696 living in 2,094 of its 2,289 total private dwellings,
168-539: Is home to 270,348 people, about 52% of Newfoundland's population, according to the 2016 Canadian census. The peninsula is the location of St. John's , the provincial capital and largest city. It is connected to the main section of the island by the 5 km (3 mi) wide Isthmus of Avalon. The peninsula protrudes into the rich fishing zones near the Grand Banks . Its four major bays ( Trinity Bay , Conception Bay , St. Mary's Bay and Placentia Bay ) have long been
196-679: The Avalon Peninsula Campaign . The citizens survived by retreating to the fortified Carbonear Island , but the town, documented by the French as being "very well-established" and containing properties that were "the best-built in all of Newfoundland", was burned to the ground. During four months of raids, Iberville was responsible for the destruction of thirty-six Newfoundland settlements. By the end of March 1697, only Bonavista and Carbonear Island remained in English hands. Over
224-526: The Royal Navy led an expedition aimed at capturing French ships around the peninsula and burning French settlements. The expedition was largely successful. During this same conflict, the French attempted to besiege the fortified English port of St. John's , but were unsuccessful . They later returned and captured the town , burning it to the ground. In the late eighteenth century, the longstanding rivalry between Great Britain and France erupted again in
252-808: The Seven Years' War . It was fought in the North American colonies as well, where it was known to British colonists as the French and Indian War . The Battle of Signal Hill was fought on the peninsula in 1762. In this engagement, British soldiers and artillery under the command of William Amherst drove the French occupants of St. John's from Signal Hill and into the town's fort , where they soon surrendered. 47°17′N 53°21′W / 47.29°N 53.35°W / 47.29; -53.35 Henry Osborn (Royal Navy officer) Admiral Henry Osborn ( baptized 27 August 1694 – 4 February 1771)
280-516: The University of Bristol is leading further investigations of Dr Ruddock's claims to find additional evidence with colleagues in what is known as The Cabot Project. By the time the British began permanent colonization of the island in the early 17th century, the name Carbonear was already being used by the seasonal fishermen familiar with the area. Most of the area's land had been granted to Sir Percival Willoughby . One of Carbonear's first residents
308-511: The 17th century. At about this time, legend tells of an Irish princess of the O'Conner family, Sheila NaGeira , who settled in Carbonear after being rescued by privateer Peter Easton and marrying his first officer, Gilbert Pike. Much is known about Easton and his exploits, but evidence of NaGeira has yet to be found. The legend's combination of romance, pirates, and New World adventure has inspired much research and numerous works of fiction on
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#1732783518610336-524: The 19th century. The first summer's work uncovered approximately 1300 artifacts. The Carbonear Heritage Society is developing an interpretive museum exhibit for these and future finds. With the rise of the seal hunt and the Labrador cod fishery, Carbonear became a major commercial centre in the 19th century. More sea captains came from Carbonear for the foreign fishing trade than from any other Newfoundland outport in this era. Violent political riots here in
364-656: The Chesapeake Bay Colony. His family maintained agents to govern Avalon until 1637, when the entire island of Newfoundland was granted by charter to Sir David Kirke and the 3rd Marquess of Hamilton . In 1696, during King William's War , the French destroyed many English villages in the Avalon Peninsula Campaign . They had settled along the St. Lawrence River and from the Atlantic coast to Quebec and Montreal. During Queen Anne's War , Commodore John Leake of
392-482: The beach below. The Archaeology of Historic Carbonear Project, carried out by Memorial University of Newfoundland , has conducted summer fieldwork each season since 2011 in the town to reveal its colonial history. So far, it has found evidence of planter habitation since the late 17th century and of trade with Spain through Bilbao , including a Spanish coin minted in Peru . It has found evidence of other settlement through
420-406: The centre of Newfoundland's fishing industry. The Avalon Peninsula is pinched into smaller peninsulas formed by St. Mary's Bay and Conception Bay. St. John's is located in the northeast of the peninsula. The Avalon Peninsula is a noted region for Precambrian fossils , and many Lagerstätten of the diverse Ediacaran biota are found on the peninsula. Mistaken Point is the original location of
448-498: The closure of the rail line in 1984. In the late 20th century, the economy was forced to diversify. The seal hunt and the Labrador fishery had almost disappeared. Carbonear's importance as a shipbuilding centre and international port of trade had much declined. Fish processing continued to be the primary industry until the collapse of the cod fishery in the early 1990s. The fish processing plant has been converted to process crab and most recently seal. To counter these changes, Carbonear
476-502: The early and mid-19th century led to the dissolution of the Newfoundland Legislature in 1841 and the suspension of the constitution. Political riots were so common here during this period, especially during elections, that the term Carbonearism was coined to describe the behaviour. Rail service began in 1898 (with a 1st class ticket to St. John's costing $ 2) and expanded with a new rail station in 1917. It operated until
504-621: The first documented Ediacaran , Aspidella terranovica (which gets its specific name from Newfoundland). The peninsula gives its name to the ancient micro-continent Avalonia of which it was part. In 1497, explorer John Cabot led an expedition from England in an attempt to reach the Spice Islands in the East Indies . He is said to have reached what is now known as Bonavista . The English established their first permanent settlement at Cuper's Cove in 1610. Sir George Calvert
532-605: The first fruits of Christianity in Britain as the other was in that party of America". Calvert wished to make the colony a refuge for Roman Catholics facing persecution in England. In 1625, Calvert was elevated to the Peerage of Ireland as the 1st Baron Baltimore . A series of crises and calamities led Lord Baltimore to quit the colony in 1629 for "some other warmer climate of this new world", which turned out to be Maryland , in
560-408: The island in 1729 by Commodore Governor Henry Osborn , Carbonear was recognized and was chosen as one of the six initial districts. With new French threats, the British finally erected a fort and garrison on the island in 1743. During the Seven Years' War , the French invaded and gained control of the fort, burning its buildings and tossing the cannons over the cliffs in 1762. They can still be seen on
588-463: The naval commander of Newfoundland had declined. He visited all of the notable places on the island and divided it into six districts. Within each of the districts he appointed magistrates and constables . He served as Port Admiral at Portsmouth from 1756 to 1757. In 1757, he was promoted Admiral of the Blue and appointed Commander-in-Chief, Mediterranean Fleet . In late 1757 Osborn besieged
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#1732783518610616-502: The neutral port of Cartagena in Spain where a French squadron designed to go to the relief of Louisbourg had taken shelter. While there he attacked a small French squadron under Michel-Ange Duquesne de Menneville which was coming to the aid of the trapped force. Two French ships were captured, including Duquesne's flagship and it indirectly led to the successful British capture of Louisbourg later that year. The battle helped to restore
644-458: The next hundred years, Carbonear was attacked and burned two more times by the French in their attempts to control Newfoundland, and then later by American privateers. The residents continued to improve the fortifications using their own money and although the town was repeatedly burned, Carbonear Island protected its residents. The town developed as one of the most important in Newfoundland in this period. When Judiciary districts were set up to govern
672-468: The oldest European settlements in North America. The harbour appears on early Portuguese maps as early as the late 1500s as Cabo Carvoeiro (later anglicized as Cape Carviero). There are a number of different theories about the origin of the town's name. Possibly from the Spanish word "carbonera" (charcoal kiln); Carbonera, a town near Venice, Italy where John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) had been resident; or from
700-498: The topic. By the late 17th century, unlike many settlements in Newfoundland from this period where men outnumbered the women by a ratio of ten to one, Carbonear was a true community with families, and many women and children to help develop the town's prosperity. It became a target for England's enemies, and privateers. When war broke out with France, Carbonear was attacked by French captain Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville during
728-541: Was Nicholas Guy , co-founder of the first British colony in Canada at Cuper's Cove (now Cupids), founder of the Bristol's Hope Colony (now Harbour Grace ), and father of the first English child born in Canada. He moved there from the other colonies by no later than 1631 to fish and farm the land with his family in an agreement with Willoughby. The Guy family continued as the predominant planter family in Carbonear throughout
756-402: Was a British naval officer who served as Commodore-Governor of Newfoundland . He was a younger son of Sir John Osborn, 2nd Baronet . Osborn joined the Royal Navy as a volunteer in 1710. He was promoted lieutenant in 1717, and his first command was HMS Squirrel in 1728. On 14 May 1729, Osborn was appointed the first commodore-governor of Newfoundland, when Lord Vere Beauclerk ,
784-587: Was later given a large land holding on the peninsula in 1619 from William Vaughan , whose previous colony of Cambriol failed. The initial colony of Ferryland grew to a population of 100, becoming the first successful permanent settlement on Newfoundland island. In 1623 Calvert was given a royal charter extending the royal lands and granting them the name Province of Avalon "in imitation of Old Avalon in Somersetshire wherein Glassenbury stands,
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