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93-396: This Newfoundland and Labrador -related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Canadian history article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada , in the country's Atlantic region . The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and

186-494: A century prior. Fishing boats originated from Basque country, England, France, and Portugal. In 1585, during the initial stages of Anglo-Spanish War , Bernard Drake led a devastating raid on the Spanish and Portuguese fisheries. This provided an opportunity to secure the island and led to the appointment of Proprietary Governors to establish colonial settlements on the island from 1610 to 1728. John Guy became governor of

279-747: A charter from English King Henry VII to "sail to all parts, countries and seas of the East, the West and of the North, under our banner and ensign and to set up our banner on any new-found-land" and on June 24, 1497, landed in Cape Bonavista . Historians disagree on whether Cabot landed in Nova Scotia in 1497 or in Newfoundland, or possibly Maine, if he landed at all, but the governments of Canada and

372-668: A constitutional name change of our province will reiterate that commitment". Following approval by the House of Commons and the Senate, Governor-General Adrienne Clarkson officially proclaimed the name change on December 6, 2001. Newfoundland and Labrador is the most easterly province in Canada, situated in the northeastern region of North America . The Strait of Belle Isle separates the province into two geographical parts: Labrador, connected to mainland Canada, and Newfoundland, an island in

465-435: A little lower on the coast than inland. The maritime climate produces more variable weather, ample precipitation in a variety of forms, greater humidity , lower visibility, more clouds, less sunshine, and higher winds than a continental climate. Human habitation in Newfoundland and Labrador can be traced back about 9,000 years. The Maritime Archaic peoples were sea-mammal hunters in the subarctic . They prospered along

558-607: 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 nobody other than Britain should have access to Newfoundland. The Battle of Signal Hill was fought on September 15, 1762, and was the last battle of the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War . A British force under Lieutenant Colonel William Amherst recaptured St. John's , which

651-547: A maritime border with Greenland . Labrador's land area (including associated small islands) is 294,330 km (113,640 sq mi). Together, Newfoundland and Labrador make up 4.06 per cent of Canada's area, with a total area of 405,720 km (156,650 sq mi). Labrador is the easternmost part of the Canadian Shield , a vast area of ancient metamorphic rock making up much of northeastern North America . Colliding tectonic plates have shaped much of

744-642: A national existence, having a national character, a nation's feelings, assuming that rank among our neighbours which the political situation and the extent of our island demand". French language in Canada French is the mother tongue of approximately 7.2 million Canadians (22.8 percent of the Canadian population, second to English at 56 percent) according to the 2016 Canadian Census. Most Canadian native speakers of French live in Quebec ,

837-411: A range of climates and weather patterns, including frequent combinations of high winds, snow, rain, and fog, conditions that regularly made travel by road, air, or ferry challenging or impossible. Monthly average temperatures, rainfall levels, and snowfall levels for four locations are shown in the attached graphs. St. John's represents the east coast, Gander the interior of the island, Corner Brook

930-564: A second wave from Quebec. The third wave comes from Quebec, but also from Haiti, Morocco, and Africa. The province has no official language defined in law, although it is a largely English-speaking province. Ontario law requires that the provincial Legislative Assembly operate in both English and French (individuals can speak in the Assembly in the official language of their choice), and requires that all provincial statutes and bills be made available in both English and French. Furthermore, under

1023-619: A significant Franco-Manitoban community, centred especially in the St. Boniface area of Winnipeg , but also in numerous surrounding towns. The provincial government of Manitoba boasts the only bilingual website of the Prairies; the Canadian constitution makes French an official language in Manitoba for the legislature and courts. Saskatchewan also has a Fransaskois community, as does Alberta with its Franco-Albertans , and British Columbia hosts

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1116-574: A strange land full of fish, and another from Portuguese maps that depict the Terra do Bacalhau , or land of codfish , west of the Azores . The earliest, though, is the Voyage of Saint Brendan , the fantastical account of an Irish monk who made a sea voyage in the early 6th century. While the story became a part of myth and legend, some historians believe it is based on fact. In 1496, John Cabot obtained

1209-584: Is Ikkarumikluak aamma Nunatsuak . Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador is the French name used in the Constitution of Canada. However, French is not widely spoken in Newfoundland and Labrador and is not an official language at the provincial level. On April 29, 1999, the government of Brian Tobin passed a motion in the Newfoundland House of Assembly requesting the federal government amend

1302-650: Is also reflected in the name of Labrador, which derives from the surname of the Portuguese navigator João Fernandes Lavrador . Labrador's name in the Inuttitut / Inuktitut language (spoken in Nunatsiavut ) is Nunatsuak ( ᓄᓇᑦᓱᐊᒃ ), meaning "the big land" (a common English nickname for Labrador ). Newfoundland's Inuttitut/Inuktitut name is Ikkarumikluak ( ᐃᒃᑲᕈᒥᒃᓗᐊᒃ ), meaning "place of many shoals". Newfoundland and Labrador's Inuttitut / Inuktitut name

1395-589: Is also roughly triangular in shape: the western part of its border with Quebec is the drainage divide of the Labrador Peninsula . Lands drained by rivers that flow into the Atlantic Ocean are part of Labrador, and the rest belongs to Quebec. Most of Labrador's southern boundary with Quebec follows the 52nd parallel of latitude. Labrador's extreme northern tip, at 60°22′N, shares a short border with Nunavut on Killiniq Island . Labrador also has

1488-540: Is best known from a mortuary site in Newfoundland at Port au Choix . The Maritime Archaic peoples were gradually displaced by people of the Dorset culture (Late Paleo-Eskimo ) who also occupied Port au Choix. The number of their sites discovered on Newfoundland indicates they may have been the most numerous Aboriginal people to live there. They thrived from about 2000 BC to 800 AD. Many of their sites were on exposed headlands and outer islands. They were more oriented to

1581-668: Is called Love Gourou in France, but in Quebec it is called Le Gourou de l'amour ). The colonists living in what are now the provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were principally constituted of Bretons , Normans , and Basques . Conquered by the English, they suffered massive deportations to the United States and France . Others went into exile to Canada or to nearby islands. Those who stayed were persecuted. At

1674-644: Is in decline due to the omnipresence of the English language in a lot of fields. The island was discovered by European powers by John Cabot in 1497. Newfoundland was annexed by England in 1583. It is the first British possession in North America . In 1610, the Frenchmen became established in the peninsula of Avalon and went to war against the Englishmen. In 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht acknowledged

1767-694: Is justified by the number of francophones. French is also an official language of all three Canadian territories: the Northwest Territories , Nunavut , and Yukon . Regardless of the local status of French or English, the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms requires all provinces and territories to provide primary and secondary education to their official-language minorities. In 1524, the Florentine navigator Giovanni da Verrazzano , working for Italian bankers in France, explored

1860-819: Is noticeably different in pronunciation and vocabulary from the French of France , sometimes called Metropolitan French , but they are easily mutually intelligible in their formal varieties, and after moderate exposure, in most of their informal ones as well. The differences are primarily due to changes that have occurred in Quebec French and Parisian French since the 18th century, when Britain gained possession of Canada. Different regions of Quebec have their own varieties: Gaspé Peninsula , Côte-Nord , Quebec City , Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean , Outaouais , and Abitibi-Témiscamingue have differences in pronunciation as well as in vocabulary. For example, depending on one's region,

1953-594: Is particularly important for St. John's, where a heavy snowfall can be followed by rain, so no snow remains on the ground. Surface water temperatures on the Atlantic side reach a summer average of 12 °C (54 °F) inshore and 9 °C (48 °F) offshore to winter lows of −1 °C (30 °F) inshore and 2 °C (36 °F) offshore. Sea temperatures on the west coast are warmer than Atlantic side by 1–3 °C (approximately 2–5 °F). The sea keeps winter temperatures slightly higher and summer temperatures

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2046-502: Is the only other Canadian province that recognizes French as an official language. Approximately one-third of New Brunswickers are francophone, by far the largest Acadian population in Canada. The Acadian community is concentrated in primarily rural areas along the border with Quebec and the eastern coast of the province. Francophones in the Madawaska area may also be identified as Brayon , although sociologists have disputed whether

2139-585: The French Language Services Act , individuals are entitled to communicate with the head or central office of any provincial government department or agency in French, as well as to receive all government services in French in 25 designated areas in the province, selected according to minority population criteria. The provincial government of Ontario's website is bilingual. Residents of Ottawa , Toronto , Windsor , Sudbury and Timmins can receive services from their municipal government in

2232-614: The Newfoundland Act to change the province's name to "Newfoundland and Labrador". A resolution approving the name change was put forward in the House of Commons in October 2001, introduced by Tobin who had moved to federal politics. Tobin's successor as premier Roger Grimes stated: "The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is firmly committed to ensuring official recognition of Labrador as an equal partner in this province, and

2325-493: The Atlantic Coast of North America from about 7000 BC to 1500 BC. Their settlements included longhouses and boat-topped temporary or seasonal houses. They engaged in long-distance trade, using as currency white chert , a rock quarried from northern Labrador to Maine . The southern branch of these people was established on the north peninsula of Newfoundland by 5,000 years ago. The Maritime Archaic period

2418-617: The Atlantic Ocean . The province also includes over 7,000 tiny islands. The highest point of the province is Mount Caubvick with the highest point on Newfoundland being Cabox . Newfoundland has a roughly triangular shape. Each side is about 400 km (250 mi) long, and its area is 108,860 km (42,030 sq mi). Newfoundland and its neighbouring small islands (excluding French possessions) have an area of 111,390 km (43,010 sq mi). Newfoundland extends between latitudes 46°36′N and 51°38′N. Labrador

2511-793: The Corte-Real brothers , Miguel and Gaspar , explored Newfoundland and Labrador, claiming them as part of the Portuguese Empire . In 1506, king Manuel I of Portugal created taxes for the cod fisheries in Newfoundland waters. João Álvares Fagundes and Pero de Barcelos established seasonal fishing outposts in Newfoundland and Nova Scotia around 1521, and older Portuguese settlements may have existed. Sir Humphrey Gilbert , provided with letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I , landed in St. John's in August 1583, and formally took possession of

2604-791: The Franco-Columbians . Michif , a dialect of French originating in Western Canada, is a unique mixed language derived from Cree and French. It is spoken by a small number of Métis living mostly in Manitoba and in North Dakota . French is an official language in each of the three northern territories: the Yukon , the Northwest Territories , and Nunavut . Francophones in the Yukon are called Franco-Yukonnais , those from

2697-733: The Grand Banks , employing some 10,000 sailors; many continuing to come from the Basque Country , Normandy, or Brittany. They dried and salted 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 his other colony in Maryland . After Calvert left, small-scale entrepreneurs such as Sir David Kirke made good use of

2790-677: The Great Depression and Newfoundland's participation in the First World War . On March 31, 1949, it became the 10th and most recent province to join the Canadian Confederation as "Newfoundland". On December 6, 2001, the Constitution of Canada was amended to change the province's name from "Newfoundland" to "Newfoundland and Labrador". The name "New founde lande" was uttered by King Henry VII about

2883-633: The Saint Lawrence River , a path into the heart of the continent. However, Cartier failed to establish a permanent colony in the area, and war in Europe kept France from further colonization through the end of the 16th century. At the beginning of the 17th century, French settlements and private companies were established in the area that is now eastern Canada. In 1605, Pierre Dugua with Samuel de Champlain founded Port Royal ( Acadia ), and in 1608, Champlain founded Quebec City . In 1642,

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2976-592: The Thirteen Colonies . After 1758, they were deported to England and France. The Treaty of Paris (1763) completed the British takeover, removing France from Canadian territory, except for Saint Pierre and Miquelon at the entrance of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence. The French language was relegated to second rank as far as trade and state communications were concerned. Out of necessity, the educated class learned

3069-489: The Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, the British began their domination of eastern North America, some parts of which had been controlled by the French. The British took mainland Nova Scotia in 1713. Present-day Maine fell to the British during Father Rale's War , while present-day New Brunswick fell after Father Le Loutre's War . In 1755 the majority of the French-speaking inhabitants of Nova Scotia were deported to

3162-411: The vernacular language but with no legal status. As a consequence of geographical seclusion and as a result of British conquest, the French language in Canada presents three different but related main dialects. They share certain features that distinguish them from European French. All of these dialects mix, to varying degrees, elements from regional languages and folk dialects spoken in France at

3255-534: The 1690s, destroyed nearly every English settlement on the island. The entire population of the English colony was either killed, captured for ransom, or sentenced to expulsion to England, with the exception of those who withstood the attack at Carbonear Island and those in the then remote Bonavista . After France lost political control of the area after the Siege of Port Royal in 1710 , the Miꞌkmaq engaged in warfare with

3348-577: The 20th century, Breton fishers, who had Breton as their mother tongue, but who had been educated in French came to settle. This Breton presence can explain differences between the Newfoundland French and the Acadian French. In the 1970s, the French language appears in the school of Cape St. George in the form of a bilingual education. In the 1980s, classes of French for native French speakers are organized there. Manitoba also has

3441-575: The American coast from Florida to Cape Breton Island . In 1529, Verrazzano mapped a part of the coastal region of the North American continent under the name Nova Gallia ( New France ). In 1534, King Francis I of France sent Jacques Cartier to explore previously unfamiliar lands. Cartier found the Gulf of Saint Lawrence , sealed an alliance with the local people and obtained passage to go farther. During his second expedition (1535–1536), Cartier came upon

3534-477: The Atlantic provinces of Nova Scotia , Prince Edward Island , and Newfoundland . In these provinces, the percentage of francophones is much smaller than in New Brunswick. In some communities, French is an endangered language . Linguists do not agree about the origin of Acadian French. Acadian French is influenced by the langues d'oïl . The dialect contains, among other features, the alveolar r and

3627-569: The Beothuk population, and they were extinct by 1829. The oldest confirmed accounts of European contact date from a thousand years ago as described in the Viking (Norse) Icelandic Sagas . Around the year 1001, the sagas refer to Leif Erikson landing in three places to the west, the first two being Helluland (possibly Baffin Island ) and Markland (possibly Labrador ). Leif's third landing

3720-624: The Brayons represent a distinct francophone community, a subgroup of the Acadians or an extraprovincial community of Québécois people . The only major Acadian population centre is Moncton , home to the main campus of the Université de Moncton . Francophones are, however, in the minority in Moncton. In addition to New Brunswick, Acadian French has speakers in portions of mainland Quebec and in

3813-523: The British throughout Dummer's War (1722–1725), King George's War (1744–1748), Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755) and the French and Indian War (1754–1763). The French colonization period lasted until the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713, which ended the War of the Spanish Succession : France ceded to the British its claims to Newfoundland (including its claims to the shores of Hudson Bay ) and to

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3906-847: The Calvert family's control. The majority Catholic population that developed, thanks to Irish immigration , in St. John's and the Avalon Peninsula , was subjected to same disabilities that applied elsewhere under the British Crown. On visiting St. John's in 1786, Prince William Henry (the future King William IV ) noted that "there are ten Roman Catholics to one Protestant", and he counselled against any measure of Catholic relief. Following news of rebellion in Ireland , in June 1798, Governor Vice-Admiral Waldegrave cautioned London that

3999-445: The Canadian government. While French, with no specification as to dialect or variety, has the status of one of Canada's two official languages at the federal government level , English is the native language of most Canadians outside Quebec. The federal government provides services and operates in both languages. The provincial governments of Ontario, New Brunswick, and Manitoba are required to provide services in French where provision

4092-624: The Colonies formally stated that a new commission would be issued to Governor Cochrane to remove any and all Roman Catholic disabilities in Newfoundland. By then Catholic emancipation was bound up (as in Ireland) with the call for home rule . After the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, France and other nations re-entered the fish trade and an abundance of cod glutted international markets. Prices dropped, competition increased, and

4185-433: The Compagnie des Habitants was created, uniting the political and economic leaders of the colony. French was the language of all the non-native people. In 1685, the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV (1654–1715), which had legalized freedom of religion of the Reformed Church , caused the emigration from France of 300,000 Huguenots (French Calvinists) to other countries of Europe and to North America. With

4278-540: The English constituted but a "small proportion" of the locally raised Regiment of Foot . In an echo of an earlier Irish conspiracy during the French occupation of St. John's in 1762, in April 1800, the authorities had reports that upwards of 400 men had taken an oath as United Irishmen , and that eighty soldiers were committed to killing their officers and seizing their Anglican governors at Sunday service. The abortive mutiny , for which for which eight men (denounced by Catholic Bishop James Louis O'Donel as "favourers of

4371-461: The English language and became progressively bilingual, but the great majority of the French-speaking inhabitants continued to speak only French, and their population increased. Anglicization of the French population failed, and it became obvious that coexistence was required. In 1774, Parliament passed the Quebec Act , restoring French civil laws and abrogating the Test Act , which had been used to suppress Catholicism. In 1791, Parliament repealed

4464-424: The French had seized three months earlier in a surprise attack. From 1763 to 1767, James Cook made a detailed survey of the coasts of Newfoundland and southern Labrador while commander of HMS  Grenville . (The following year, 1768, Cook began his first circumnavigation of the world .) In 1796, a Franco-Spanish expedition again succeeded in raiding the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador, destroying many of

4557-421: The French possessions in Acadia . 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. In the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), France had acknowledged British ownership of the island. However, in the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), control of Newfoundland once again became

4650-400: The Quebec Act and gave the king authority to divide the Canadian colony into two new provinces: Upper Canada , which later became Ontario, and Lower Canada , which became Quebec. In 1867, three colonies of British North America agreed to form a federal state, which was named Canada . It was composed of four provinces: In Quebec, French became again the official language; until then it was

4743-429: The Royal Gazette and Newfoundland Advertiser, who resided in New Brunswick and Newfoundland, freed his enslaved servant Dinah, upon his death in Newfoundland in 1847, notably after the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833 . Notably, the Kirke brothers who were merchants in the triangular trade, brought Olivier Le Jeune to New France, where he was sold in 1629. In 1655, France appointed a governor in Plaisance (Placentia),

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4836-460: The United Kingdom recognise Bonavista as being Cabot's "official" landing place. In 1499 and 1500, Portuguese mariners João Fernandes Lavrador and Pero de Barcelos explored and mapped the coast, the former's name appearing as "Labrador" on topographical maps of the period. Based on the Treaty of Tordesillas , the Portuguese Crown claimed it had territorial rights in the area John Cabot visited in 1497 and 1498. Subsequently, in 1501 and 1502,

4929-416: The border with Quebec , although they are also present in smaller numbers throughout the province. Francophone Ontarians form part of a larger cultural group known as Franco-Ontarians , of whom only 60 percent still speak the language at home. The city of Ottawa counts the greatest number of Franco-Ontarians in the province. Franco-Ontarians are originally from a first wave of immigration from France , from

5022-492: The coast of Labrador with Inuit groups that had large populations. The Miꞌkmaq of southern Newfoundland spent most of their time on the shores harvesting seafood; during the winter they would move inland to the woods to hunt. Over time, the Miꞌkmaq and Innu divided their lands into traditional "districts". Each district was independently governed and had a district chief and a council. The council members were band chiefs, elders and other worthy community leaders. In addition to

5115-404: The coast. These rights were reaffirmed by treaties in 1818, 1854 and 1871, and confirmed by arbitration in 1910. The founding proprietor of the Province of Avalon , George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore , intended that it should serve as a refuge for his persecuted Roman Catholic co-religionists. But like his other colony in the Province of Maryland on the American mainland, it soon passed out of

5208-563: The colony's profits evaporated. A string of harsh winters between 1815 and 1817 made living conditions even more difficult, while fires at St. John's in 1817 left thousands homeless. At the same time a new wave of immigration from Ireland increased the Catholic population. In these circumstances much of the English and Protestant proprietor class tended to shelter behind the appointed, and Anglican, "naval government". A broad home-rule coalition of Irish community leaders and ( Scottish and Welsh ) Methodists formed in 1828. Expressing, initially,

5301-516: The concerns of a new middle class over taxation, it was led by William Carson, a Scottish physician, and Patrick Morris, an Irish merchant. In 1825, the British government granted Newfoundland and Labrador official colonial status and appointed Sir Thomas Cochrane as its first civil governor. Partly carried by the wave of reform in Britain, a colonial legislature in St. John's, together with the promise of Catholic emancipation, followed in 1832. Carson made his goal for Newfoundland clear: "We shall rise into

5394-409: The continental region of Labrador , having a total size of 405,212 km (156,453 sq mi). As of 2024 the population of Newfoundland and Labrador was estimated to be 545,247. The island of Newfoundland (and its smaller neighbouring islands) is home to around 94 per cent of the province's population, with more than half residing in the Avalon Peninsula . Labrador has a land border with both

5487-588: The district councils, the Miꞌkmaq tribes also developed a Grand Council or Santé Mawiómi , which according to oral tradition was formed before 1600. By the time European contact with Newfoundland began in the early 16th century, the Beothuk were the only indigenous group living permanently on the island. Unlike other groups in the Northeastern area of the Americas, the Beothuk never established sustained trading relations with European settlers. Their interactions were sporadic, and they largely attempted to avoid contact. The establishment of English fishing operations on

5580-620: The dogs, larger weapons and other technologies that gave the expanding Inuit an advantage. The inhabitants eventually organized themselves into small bands of a few families, grouped into larger tribes and chieftainships . The Innu are the inhabitants of an area they refer to as Nitassinan , i.e. most of what is now referred to as northeastern Quebec and Labrador. Their subsistence activities were historically centered on hunting and trapping caribou , deer and small game. Coastal clans also practiced agriculture, fished and managed maple sugar bush. The Innu engaged in tribal warfare along

5673-419: The end of the 18th century, more liberal measures granted new lands to those who had stayed, and measures were taken to promote the return of numerous exiled people from Canada and Miquelon . The number of Acadians rose rapidly, to the point of gaining representation in the Legislative Assembly . French is one of the official languages, with English, of the province of New Brunswick . Apart from Quebec , this

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5766-470: The enslaved persons of African descent on plantations in the West Indies . Products typically associated with Newfoundland such as molasses and rum ( Screech ), were produced by the enslaved persons of African descent on plantations in the West Indies, and shipped to Newfoundland and England on merchant ships. Some merchants in Newfoundland enslaved persons of African descent such as St. John's merchant, Thomas Oxford. John Ryan , merchant and publisher of

5859-405: The facilities. Kirke became the first governor of Newfoundland in 1638. A triangular trade with New England, the West Indies, and Europe gave Newfoundland an important economic role. By the 1670s, there were 1,700 permanent residents and another 4,500 in the summer months. This trade relied upon the labour of enslaved people of African descent. Salted cod from Newfoundland was used to feed

5952-409: The first settlement at Cuper's Cove . Other settlements included 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. Explorers quickly realized the waters around Newfoundland had the best fishing in the North Atlantic. By 1620, 300 fishing boats worked

6045-463: The five former colonies of New France – Canada , Acadia and Terre-Neuve (Newfoundland) – which were settled by people from different regions of France. In addition, there is a mixed language known as Michif , which is based on Cree and French. It is spoken by Métis communities in Manitoba and Saskatchewan as well as within adjacent areas of the United States. Immigration after World War II has brought francophone immigrants from around

6138-476: The former Basque fishing settlement, thus starting a formal French colonization period in Newfoundland as well as a period of periodic war and unrest between England and France in the region. The Miꞌkmaq, as allies of the French, were amenable to limited French settlement in their midst and fought alongside them against the English. English attacks on Placentia provoked retaliation by New France explorer Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville who during King William's War in

6231-429: The foundation of Ville Marie, the settlement that would eventually become Montreal , completed the occupation of the territory. In 1634, Quebec contained 200 settlers who were principally involved in the fur trade. The trade was profit-making and the city was on the point of becoming more than a mere temporary trading post. In 1635, Jesuits founded the secondary school of Quebec for the education of children. In 1645,

6324-479: The geology of Newfoundland. Gros Morne National Park has a reputation as an outstanding example of tectonics at work, and as such has been designated a World Heritage Site . The Long Range Mountains on Newfoundland's west coast are the northeasternmost extension of the Appalachian Mountains . The north-south extent of the province (46°36′N to 60°22′N), prevalent westerly winds, cold ocean currents and local factors such as mountains and coastline combine to create

6417-581: The infidel French") were hanged, may have been less a United Irish plot, than an act of desperation in the face of brutal living conditions and officer tyranny. Many of the Irish reserve soldiers were forced to remain on duty, unable to return to the fisheries that supported their families. Yet the Newfoundland Irish would have been aware of the agitation in the homeland for civil equality and political rights. There were reports of communication with United men in Ireland from before '98 rebellion; of Thomas Paine 's pamphlets circulating in St. John's; and, despite

6510-426: The island. Sometime before 1563, Basque fishermen, who had been fishing cod shoals off Newfoundland's coasts since the beginning of the sixteenth century, founded Plaisance (today Placentia ), a seasonal haven which French fishermen later used. In the Newfoundland will of the Basque seaman Domingo de Luca, dated 1563 and now in an archive in Spain, he asks "that my body be buried in this port of Plazençia in

6603-399: The land explored by Sebastian and John Cabot . In Portuguese , it is Terra Nova (while the province's full name is Terra Nova e Labrador ), which literally means "new land" and is also the French name for the province's island region ( Terre-Neuve ). The name "Terra Nova" is in wide use on the island (e.g. Terra Nova National Park ). The influence of early Portuguese exploration

6696-624: The most recent cultural manifestation of peoples who first migrated from Labrador to Newfoundland around 1 AD. The Inuit , found mostly in Labrador, are the descendants of what anthropologists call the Thule people , who emerged from western Alaska around 1000 AD and spread eastwards across the High Arctic tundra reaching Labrador around 1300–1500. Researchers believe the Dorset culture lacked

6789-713: The official language of their choice. There are also several French-speaking communities on military bases in Ontario, such as the one at CFB Trenton . These communities have been founded by francophone Canadians in the Canadian Forces who live together in military residences. The term Franco-Ontarian accepts two interpretations. According to the first one, it includes all French speakers of Ontario, wherever they come from. According to second one, it includes all French Canadians born in Ontario, whatever their level of French is. The use of French among Franco-Ontarians

6882-579: The only province where French is the majority and the sole official language. Of Quebec's people, 71.2 percent are native francophones and 95 percent speak French as their first or second language. About one million native francophones live in other provinces, forming a sizable minority in New Brunswick , which is officially bilingual; about a third of New Brunswick's people are francophones. There are also French-speaking communities in Manitoba and Ontario , where francophones are about 4 percent of

6975-640: The ordinary word for "kettle" can be bouilloire, bombe, or canard . In Quebec, the French language is of paramount importance. For example, the stop signs on the roads are written ARRÊT (which has the literal meaning of "stop" in French), even if other French-speaking countries, like France , use STOP . On a similar note, movies originally made in other languages than French (mostly movies originally made in English) are more literally named in Quebec than they are in France (e.g. The movie The Love Guru

7068-462: The outer coastline of the island, and their later expansion into bays and inlets, cut off access for the Beothuk to their traditional sources of food. In the 18th century, as the Beothuk were driven further inland by these encroachments, violence between Beothuk and settlers escalated, with each retaliating against the other in their competition for resources. By the early 19th century, violence, starvation, and exposure to tuberculosis had decimated

7161-603: The place where those who die here are usually buried". This will is the oldest-known civil document written in Canada. Twenty years later, in 1583, Newfoundland became England's first possession in North America and one of the earliest permanent English colonies in the New World when Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed it for Elizabeth I . European fishing boats had visited Newfoundland continuously since Cabot's second voyage in 1498 and seasonal fishing camps had existed for

7254-414: The population is descended from English and Irish settlers, with the majority immigrating from the early 17th century to the late 19th century. St. John's , the capital and largest city of Newfoundland and Labrador, is Canada's 22nd-largest census metropolitan area and home to about 40% of the province's population. St. John's is the seat of the House of Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador as well as

7347-515: The population, and smaller communities (about 1 to 2 percent of the population) in Alberta , Nova Scotia , Prince Edward Island , and Saskatchewan . Many of these communities are supported by French-language institutions. In 2016, 29.8 percent of Canadians reported being able to conduct a conversation in French. By the 1969 Official Languages Act , both English and French are recognized as official languages in Canada and granted equal status by

7440-563: The pronunciation of the final syllable in the plural form of the verb in the third person. Acadia is the only place outside Jersey (a Channel Island close to mainland Normandy) where Jèrriais speakers can be found. French is the native language of over 500,000 persons in Ontario , representing 4.7 percent of the province's population. They are concentrated primarily in the Eastern Ontario and Northeastern Ontario regions, near

7533-487: The province of Quebec , as well as a short border with the territory of Nunavut on Killiniq Island . The French overseas collectivity of Saint Pierre and Miquelon lies about 20 km (12 mi) west of the Burin Peninsula . According to the 2016 census, 97.0% of residents reported English as their native language, making Newfoundland and Labrador Canada's most linguistically homogeneous province. Much of

7626-673: The province's highest court, the Newfoundland and Labrador Court of Appeal . Until 1949, the Dominion of Newfoundland was a separate dominion in the British Empire. In 1933, the House of Assembly of the self-governing dominion voted to dissolve itself and to hand over administration of Newfoundland and Labrador to the British-appointed Commission of Government . This followed the suffering caused by

7719-414: The sea than earlier peoples, and had developed sleds and boats similar to kayaks . They burned seal blubber in soapstone lamps. Many of these sites, such as Port au Choix , recently excavated by Memorial archaeologist, Priscilla Renouf, are quite large and show evidence of a long-term commitment to place. Renouf has excavated huge amounts of harp seal bones at Port au Choix, indicating that this place

7812-521: The settlements. By the Treaty of Utrecht (1713), French fishermen gained the right to land and cure fish on the "French Shore" on the western coast. (They had a permanent base on the nearby St. Pierre and Miquelon islands; the French gave up their French Shore rights in 1904.) In 1783, the British signed the Treaty of Paris with the United States that gave American fishermen similar rights along

7905-534: The sovereignty of the Englishmen. The origin of Franco-Newfoundlanders is double: the first ones to arrive are especially of Breton origin, attracted by the fishing possibilities. Then, from the 19th century, the Acadians who came from the Cape Breton Island and from the Magdalen Islands , an archipelago of nine small islands belonging to Quebec, become established. Up to the middle of

7998-403: The time of colonization. For instance, the origins of Quebec French lie in 17th- and 18th-century Parisian French, influenced by folk dialects of the early modern period and other regional languages (such as Norman , Picard and Poitevin - Saintongeais ) that French colonists had brought to New France . The three dialects can also be historically and geographically associated with three of

8091-417: The various climates of the province. Newfoundland, in broad terms, has a cool summer subtype, with a humid continental climate attributable to its proximity to water — no part of the island is more than 100 km (62 mi) from the Atlantic Ocean . However, Northern Labrador is classified as a polar tundra climate, and southern Labrador has a subarctic climate . Newfoundland and Labrador contain

8184-579: The war with France, of hundreds of young County Waterford men still making a seasonal migration to the island for the fisheries, among them defeated rebels, said to have "added fuel to the fire" of local grievance. When news reached Newfoundland in May 1829 that the UK Parliament had finally conceded Catholic emancipation , the locals assumed that Catholics would now pass unhindered into the ranks of public office and enjoy equality with Protestants. There

8277-416: The west coast of the island and Wabush the interior of Labrador. Climate data for 56 places in the province is available from Environment Canada . The data for the graphs is the average over 30 years. Error bars on the temperature graph indicate the range of daytime highs and night time lows. Snowfall is the total amount that fell during the month, not the amount accumulated on the ground. This distinction

8370-509: The world, and with them other French dialects . Quebec is the only province whose sole official language is French. Today, 71.2 percent of Québécois people are first language francophones. About 95 percent of Quebecers speak French. However, many of the services the provincial government provides are available in English for the sizeable anglophone population of the province (notably in Montreal ). For native French speakers, Quebec French

8463-614: Was a celebratory parade and mass in St. John's, and a gun salute from vessels in the harbour. But the attorney general and supreme court justices determined that as Newfoundland was a colony, and not a province of the United Kingdom , the Roman Catholic Relief Act did not apply. The discrimination was a matter of local ordinance. It was not until May 1832 that the British Secretary of State for

8556-538: Was a prime location for the hunting of these animals. The people of the Dorset culture (800 BC – 1500 AD) were highly adapted to a cold climate, and much of their food came from hunting sea mammals through holes in the ice. The massive decline in sea ice during the Medieval Warm Period would have had a devastating effect upon their way of life. The appearance of the Beothuk culture is believed to be

8649-469: Was at a place he called Vinland (possibly Newfoundland). Archaeological evidence of a Norse settlement was found in L'Anse aux Meadows , Newfoundland , which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1978. There are several other unconfirmed accounts of European discovery and exploration, one tale of men from the Channel Islands being blown off course in the late 15th century into

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