1. NL Studies 2205 (2.5)

2. The Migratory Fishery
Began mainly as an inshore waters but later included offshore in the Grand Banks
Ship left Europe in March to arrive in NL just after the ice moved out and to get the best landing spots
While there were other countries involved, England and France were the main combatants in the struggle for control over the fishery.
Early on they fished in separate parts of NL. This lasted for several hundred years (1400’s to the 1600’s)

4. The French Fishery Lasted for most of the year
Seldom came ashore (unless storms)
Caught fish by hand from platforms off the edge of ship
Fish were preserved in…SALT
Placentia was the French capital of Newfoundland
Fish caught here was bound for France and Spain

5. French Treaty Shore Along the north and west coasts of NL.
Fish caught here were dry cured
Shipped to France and Spain
Conflict
There was a lot of fighting over the coasts of NL between the English and French which led to restrictions on French fishing

6. The Treaty of Utrecht Signed in 1713
Recognized English rule (sovereignty) over Newfoundland
France Agreed to leave Placentia
Moved to the new seasonal “French Treaty Shore” - Between Cape Bonvista & Pointe Riche

8. The English Inshore Fishery
Ships were moored and then smaller boats deployed
Crews of 3-5 men with baited lines
Lasted from June to August

9. Basque Whaling
Commercial whaling began in North America during the second quarter of the 16th century, when the Basques began to hunt whales from at least a dozen harbours along the Labrador coast in strategic proximity to migration routes.

10. Basque whalers used harpoons
Labrador base (Red Bay)
Harpooned from small boats and towed ashore
Oil & baleen (whalebone) was very valuable
During the 1560s and 1570s, more than 20 ships participated annually

11. General Overview - Whaling
By the early 1580s, the overseas Basque whale fishery had virtually ended. The decline was influenced by the reduction of stocks by over-hunting, migration changes, growing competition from Dutch and English whalers, and domestic strife in Spain.
General Overview - Whaling

12. Fishery Economics When the Newfoundland and Labrador
fishery opened up, English merchants
wanted to exploit those cod stocks as well.
Unpredictable, not always profitable
Feast or famine
Pirates, Wars, Disease, Exchange Rates and Weather all affect the profits
“ The merchants lived from season to season in a state of incessant panic, so their well known air of pessimism was surely not surprising.”

13. The Newfoundland Pirate Peter Easton
Captain Peter Easton was originally a British privateer who raided Spanish ships with the full blessing of his king.
When England made peace with Spain in 1604, Easton was left in Newfoundland with three ships and no official way to make money to pay for them.
Easton became a pirate – one of the most successful to terrorize ships along the Newfoundland coast.

14. At the height of his pirate career he commanded 40 ships and used Harbour Grace as his base.
Easton was not a bloodthirsty rogue. He treated Newfoundland settlers, traders and governors with care, and tried to win a pardon from his King.
Despite his desire for respectability, Easton never managed to shed his "arch-pirate" image.
He eventually retired, with two million pounds of gold, to the French Riviera. Easton was never brought to justice and eventually used his fortune to buy the title, Marquis of Savoy.
Being at that time a handsome man around 40, according to contemporary descriptions, he crowned his career by marrying a very wealthy lady. He remained in the service of the Duke of Savoy until 1620, when he is lost to history.  

15. Other Issues! Competition = conflict
Captain of the first ship (Fishing Admiral) in the harbour responsible for enforcing laws
Lawlessness at times
Murder, rape and stealing were common place.

16. Risk Management So how could the merchants reduce risks?
Strict Supervision
Employ Family Members
Paying shares versus guaranteed wages
Risks could be shared with the crew by paying them a share of the value of the fish they caught instead of a set wage.

17. Byeboat-keepers
In the 1600 – 1700’s a group of fisherman became involed in the fishery. They were called - byeboat-keepers (planters or inhabitants).
Byeboat-keepers generally sold their fish to sack ships that carried fish from the shore fishery back to Europe.
Frequently, byeboat-keepers hired men to overwinter to protect their gear. In the 1700s, this practice contributed to the emergence of permanent settlement, when they brought out their wives and children.