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History of Newfoundland & Labrador
Aboriginal History, Colonization
Aboriginal History in the Region
Modern Newfoundland & Labrador has been home to five different
Aboriginal groups: the Inuit, the Innu, the Mi'kmaq, the Métis
and the Beothuk. Descendants of the northern Thule peoples,
the Inuit migrated to Labrador (the mainland portion of the province)
from the Canadian Arctic over 700 years ago. The Innu and Mi’kmaq
are descendants of the Algonkian-speaking peoples that lived
in most of Atlantic Canada. The Métis are descended from
the European and Labrador Aboriginal peoples, primarily the Inuit.
Finally, the Beothuk were a hunter-gather Aboriginal society
that inhabited much of the island of Newfoundland prior to the
arrival of Europeans. Over the years, Beothuk numbers were drastically
reduced; in 1829 the group became extinct.
For more information on Newfoundland and Labrador’s aboriginal
European Discovery & Settlement
Newfoundland and Labrador was the first region of the North American
coastline to be explored by Europeans. The Norse (or Vikings)
first explored the area around 1000 AD, and established a settlement
near present-day L’Anse aux Meadows (on Newfoundland’s
northeastern coast). The Norse settlement, however, was short-lived.
For more information on the Norse exploration of the North Atlantic:
Newfoundland and Labrador was re-discovered in 1497 by the explorer
John Cabot, who claimed it for the English monarchy. Cabot’s
exploration (in addition to that of Portuguese
explorers) revealed rich fishing grounds off the coast of Newfoundland
(the “Grand Banks”). In the early 1500s, English, French,
Spanish, and Portuguese fishing ships began making annual voyages to
the Grand Banks. By the mid-1500s, Newfoundland had become a major
base in the cod fishery; over one-half of the entire cod consumed in
Europe at the time was caught off the coasts of Newfoundland and New
For more information on early European exploration of Newfoundland and
In 1610, English colonists established the first
permanent settlement in Newfoundland at Conception Bay.
By 1621, there were three additional English colonies, at Cambriol,
Renews, and Ferryland. These were private colonies, sponsored
by investors and individuals for the sole purpose of profiting
from the island’s natural resources. The French also
attempted permanent settlement of Newfoundland by establishing
of Placentia in the 1660s. Unlike the English colonies,
the settlement at Placentia was a royal colony founded by the
French Crown to serve the interests of the state.
As on the island of Newfoundland, the fishing industry drove much of
the early European settlement on the Labrador mainland. Beginning
in the mid-1500s, Spanish and French whalers established a number
of seasonal outposts along the southernmost coast of Labrador. In
the early 1700s, fishermen and hunters from New France (now Quebec)
began to frequent Labrador, drawn by the cod and seal fisheries,
as well as the fur trade. They established several stations along
the southern Labrador coastline, many of which still bear French
names: L’anse Amour (from “L’anse aux morts” or “Deadmen’s
cove”), Pinware (from “Baie noire” or “Black
bay”), and Chateau (from “Baie des chateaux” or “Bay
Explorers first visited the area of St. John’s, the present-day
capital of Newfoundland & Labrador, in the early 1500s. Its natural
harbour and proximity to the fishing grounds made it an ideal location
for European fishing posts. The first permanent settlers came to
St. John’s in the early 1600s; in just over a century, the
settlement would become a major commercial and service centre for
the Newfoundland fishery.
For an in-depth analysis (with references) of early colonization of
During the 1700s, Newfoundland operated under a system of naval government;
the island was divided into several naval zones and governed by local
British naval officers. In the early 1800s, Newfoundland’s
system of government began evolving into a system more consistent
with that of other British colonies. It was given a Governor, appointed
by the British government, who was responsible for the administration
of the whole island.
In 1832, the British Parliament granted representative government to
Newfoundland. The colony gained a democratically elected Legislative
Assembly, and the Colonial Governor would appoint members from this
Legislative Assembly to a special body called the Executive Council,
which was responsible for the colony’s administration. Several
years later, in 1854, Newfoundland democracy was further strengthened
when the Executive Council gained independence from the Colonial
Governor and was instead held accountable to the elected Legislative
For more information on colonial government in Newfoundland:
In 1907 the colony was granted ‘dominion’ status by the
British government. A dominion constituted a self-governing
state of the British Empire or British Commonwealth. At this time,
the Dominion of Newfoundland was relatively autonomous from British
rule and the rest of Canada. It negotiated its own trade agreement
with the United States (which was later blocked by the British government)
and contributed its own military regiments to the First World War.
It was during this period of dominion status that the Labrador mainland
and the island of Newfoundland merged into a single political entity.
Since the early 1800s, Newfoundland and Quebec (or Lower Canada)
had been in a border dispute over the Labrador region. In 1927, however,
the British government ruled that the area known as modern day Labrador
was to be considered part of the Dominion of Newfoundland.
Confederation with Canada
In 1867 the Province of Canada (the areas known today as Ontario and
Quebec) united with the Atlantic colonies of Nova Scotia and New
become the Dominion of Canada. Newfoundland had shown some initial
interest in joining this union, and had sent representatives to the 1864
Quebec Conference on Canadian Confederation. In 1869, however,
the idea was soundly defeated when anti-confederates
won a landslide victory in the colony’s general election.
Newfoundland rejected Confederation on several grounds. A principal reason
was that many residents supported the idea of Newfoundland independence;
as such, they opposed the notion of subjecting the colony to rule under
the government of a Canadian dominion. Unlike other colonies that saw fit
to join the Canadian Confederation, Newfoundland did not have a large debt
load at this time, or any need for large-scale railroad construction, and
was thus not as motivated to join as some other colonies.
Interestingly enough, much had changed some 70 years later. Beginning
in the 1920s, Newfoundland faced massive debts stemming from its
participation in the First World War. The Great Depression of the
1930s also hit the Dominion hard. These economic and fiscal crises
led Newfoundland, now also including Labrador, to give up self-government
and return to ‘colony’ status within the British Empire.
From 1934 to 1949, Newfoundland relied heavily on British economic
support; it was governed by a non-democratic Commission appointed
by the British government.
For more information on the Dominion of Newfoundland:
Beginning in the mid-1940s, debate about the future of Newfoundland & Labrador
again resurfaced. In 1946, a National
Convention on the future of the colony recommended holding a
referendum on whether Newfoundland & Labrador should continue
to exist under the British-appointed Commission of Government, or
if it should seek to restore its Dominion status, and self-government.
A third option, to join the Canadian Confederation, was later added
to the ballot.
The result of the 1948
referendum was inconclusive, with 44 percent of voters
supporting a return to Dominion status, 41 percent supporting
Confederation with Canada, and 14 percent opting for the status
quo (continuing under the Commission of Government). Consequently,
referendum was held shortly thereafter, and residents were
asked to choose between Confederation or Dominion status. The
Confederation side narrowly won with a vote of 52 to 48 percent.
Accordingly, on March 31, 1949, Newfoundland
officially became a province of Canada.
For discussions of why Newfoundland & Labrador joined Confederation: