Newfoundland!

GEOGRAPHY…. Newfoundland is a large island off the east coast of North America The island of Newfoundland (originally called Terra Nova) was most likely first named by the Italian John Cabot in The province where this island is located was also called "Newfoundland" until 2001, when its name was changed to "Newfoundland and Labrador" As well as the long border on the mainland with Quebec on the Labrador peninsula, the province has a short border with Nunavut on the small Killiniq Island, ending at Cape Chidley. All islands off the northern coast of Quebec belong to the territory of Nunavut. Newfoundland also shares a territorial water border with France, with the islands of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon.

The provincial capital, St. John's, is found on the southeastern tip of the island. Cape Spear, just south of the capital, is North America's easternmost point. The island of Newfoundland has a population (2001) of 466,172.

First Inhabitants The first inhabitants of Newfoundland were the probable ancestors of the historical Beothuk inhabitants at the time of European contact. The last known Beothuk (a woman), died in St. John's in The first conflicts between Europeans and native peoples may have occurred around 1006 at L'Anse aux Meadows when parties of Norsemen attempted to establish permanent settlements along the coast of Newfoundland. According to Norse sagas, the native responded so ferociously that the newcomers eventually withdrew and apparently gave up their original intentions to settle. The site of early Viking colonisation in L‘Anse aux Meadows

After the departure of the Norse, the island would be left to the aboriginal populations for nearly 500 years until the island was rediscovered by the Italian navigator John Cabot, in 1497 After Cabot, the first European visitors to Newfoundland were Portuguese, Spanish, French and English migratory fishermen. Late in the 17th century came Irish fishermen, who named the island Talamh an Éisc, meaning "land of the fish", or "the fishing grounds" in Irish Gaelic. This was to foreshadow the centuries of importance of Newfoundland's offshore fishing waters. view video clip Modern-day replica of John Cabot's ship, the Matthew.

Newfoundland and Canadian Government delegation signing the agreement admitting Newfoundland to Confederation. Prime Minister Louis S. St. Laurent and Hon. A.J. Walsh shake hands following signing of agreement

$ $ ECONOMY $ $ As it has worked out, in spite of heavy dependence on transfer payments from Ottawa, throughout the last half-century Newfoundland's economy has been characterized by low average incomes and high levels of unemployment. The fish that attracted Europeans here in the first place have been shipped to the United States after only minimal processing, and the vast resources of the Grand Banks have been exploited by a highly mechanized foreign industry. The provincial government pins its faith on new mega-projects in resource extraction and high-tech developments in which they hope Newfoundland's disadvantages of location will be less important. On a more modest level, government and some in the rural communities hope to exploit the location and the distinctiveness of Newfoundland life and culture through the development of tourism. The provincial government pins its faith on new mega-projects in resource extraction and high-tech developments in which they hope Newfoundland's disadvantages of location will be less important. On a more modest level, government and some in the rural communities hope to exploit the location and the distinctiveness of Newfoundland life and culture through the development of tourism. Economic Modernization: The Hibernia Platform

In 1992, the species that was the mainstay since the sixteenth century reached a point of near commercial extinction in Newfoundland waters, and a moratorium was placed on the fishing of Atlantic cod. Other species continue to be fished, but the moratorium removed the main source of employment and income for hundreds of small communities. The traditional fishing economy had disappeared, but it had left a social and cultural residue in the architecture, family and community structures. The communities, and some of the lingering sense of self, of mutual belonging, have been at least partially maintained by a series of income-support and re-training schemes funded by the federal government, and by the promise, implicit or explicit, that the cod would come back. in 1998, the last such programme was been implemented, including the retirement of older fishery workers, the buying-out of licences, and inducements for rural people to move away. Whether or not the cod should ever return, it seems clear that the fishery will never again support the communities.

Newfoundland has a unique culture that reflects both their connection to the land and the sea. In addition to the decisive influence of the ocean, life in Newfoundland and Labrador has been shaped by other key features of the natural environment, such as the shortness of the growing season, the scarcity of good soils, the long winter period, and the impediments of harsh weather, including storms, fog, strong and variable winds, heavy precipitation, and cold temperatures. Poor drainage, cold currents, offshore pack ice, and icebergs have also had a major impact.