1. Making a Living in the Nineteenth Century
Chapter 3
Making a Living in the Nineteenth Century

2. Self-Sufficient People
Consumer Economy – people use money to buy what they need.
Subsistence Economy – people produced most of what they needed for they own consumption.

3. Fishermen and their Families
The chief occupation of the 19th century was cod fishing.
Three types of Fishery:
The Shore Fishery
The Labrador Fishery
The Bank Fishery

4. The Inshore Fishery Use small boats near the shore.
Use baited handlines
Bait consisted of:
Capelin
Herring
Mackerel
Squid
Shellfish
The Fish were brought to shore cleaned ,split, salted and dried. They were dried either on the rocks or a Fish Flake.

5. Inshore Fishery cont.
The best drying weather was sunny and windy. The fish had to be taken in when it rained. Everyone in the family was involved in this process.

6. Fishing – A family affair
Women dried fish, looked after the vegetable garden, took care of the animals and the children, washed clothes.
The men fished, repaired the nets, boats, and buildings. They hunted wild game, cut and hauled out wood when the fishing season was over.

7. The Labrador Fishery Many Newfoundlanders traveled to
Labrador in June to take part in the
Labrador Fishery.
They would travel home in September or October.
Sometimes the entire family would go.
“Stationers” dried their fish on shore the same as in Newfoundland.
“Floaters” heavily salted heir fish and
dried them when they returned to
Newfoundland.

8. The Bank Fishery
Large vessels called Schooners carried crews and dories to the banks.
They fished using trawl lines and hand-lines.
Dangers included; gales, fog, lost overboard, separation from the schooner

9. Bank Fishery Cont. Living conditions were harsh, with
little water for washing. They would
be off-shore for about a month.
The Bank fishery changed the way of life for Newfoundlanders. The season started earlier and lasted longer. Men and women could not spend as much time at gardening and hauling wood, instead they bought coal and food.

10. Fish Merchants
Merchants were often portrayed as villains who took advantage of fishermen.
They operated a “truck system”. Fishermen would give the merchant their catch in exchange for essential supplies as fishing gear, food, and clothing. No money exchanged hands.

11. Fish Merchant Operations
Fish was measured and sold by
the quintal.
There were seven grades.
Lower grade sent to the West Indies,
higher grade sent to Southern Europe.
The grading and price of fish was
inconsistent thus fishermen were never
sure what their fish would be worth in
the fall.

12. Fish Merchant Operations
Some merchants undervalued the fish and overcharged for the goods at their stores. This kept some families in a state of debt.
Other merchants were fair to the fishermen and had genuinely cared about them. They faced financial ruin because of the fluctuations in the price of fish and unrecoverable credit.
They needed the profit in the good years to ride out the bad.

13. Sealing began as an activity for personal use.
two branches of the commercial fishery: Landsman’s Hunt and Offshore Hunt.

14. Seal Fishery
Seals were hunted for food, clothing and oil (the most important use).
There were many disasters surrounding the seal fishery. (Southern Cross, The Newfoundland)

15. Sealing Disasters
Dead sealers, 4 April The sealing vessel SS Bellaventure arrived at the port of St. John’s on 4 April with 69 dead sealers stacked on its deck. The men, all from the SS Newfoundland, died after being stranded on the North Atlantic ice floes in blizzard conditions for 53 hours.

16. Trappers
Trapping was a commercial industry that took men away from home for months on end.

17. Trappers
When animal numbers were low, it caused hardship for the trappers and their families.
Many natives traded using the “truck system” as well as cash.
Moravian headquarters in Nain
The Moravians included education and health care to the natives.

18. Shipbuilders and Other Occupations
Boats were originally built for personal use but as demand grew with settlement of immigrants it became a major industry.
Between 1820 and 1920 there were almost 10,000 large ships built in Newfoundland.

19. Shipbuilders and other Occupations
Many people began working in mines, forests and the railway by the beginning of the 20th century.
Cities provided many more opportunities. (Refer to page 65 of text)

20. People in History Michael Kearney
Born in Ferryland in 1811
Irish
A shipbuilder (naturally talented, trained in Ireland)
His ships were known for their strength, speed and beauty
His ship, Ida, set the record for the trip from Newfoundland to Bristol in 26 days
Elected to the House of Assembly in 1865
Died March 4, 1885