st. john's new foundlanD & LABRADOR September 29, 2008

NEWFOUNDLAND

There are two distinct parts to the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The island of Newfoundland, located at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, is about half way between the center of North America and Western Europe. Sometimes referred to as The Far East of the Western World, the Newfoundland lies east of Quebec. Labrador lies to the north of Newfoundland, separated from it by the the Strait of Belle Isle.

DID YOU KNOW ... Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) is one of Canada's four Atlantic provinces. In addition to Newfoundland, an island, and Labrador on the mainland, in includes thousands of smaller islands. After having separate status as a member of the British Commonwealth, Newfoundland became Canada's tenth province in 1949. Over a half million people live NL, most in small fishing villages near the coast. Although a great many of them are of English and Irish descent, the families of many others came from Western Europe and different parts of the East and Asia. Still others are of native ancestry--- Micmac, Inuit, Innu, and Metis There are many bays and deep fjords along the coastlines of NL and icebergs can be seen off the coastline. Natural landmarks include: * Gros Morne National Park * Terra Nova National Park * The Continental Shelf * The Grand Banks NL is the main producer of iron ore in Canada and also has major deposits of nickel, copper, cobalt, zinc, lead and silver, as well as natural gas and oil. Churchill Falls in Labrador is one of the largest hydroelectric power plants in the world. Fishermen have traditionally caught cod, herring, salmon, flounder, turbot, halibut, tuna, haddock, lobster, scallops, shrimp, and crab in the Grand Banks. However, overfishing has caused a severe decline in the amount of fish in the Grand Banks in recent years.

The Vikings arrived on Newfoundland from Iceland and Greenland about 1,000 years ago, calling their discovery Markland (Land of Forests) and establishing a small settlement. That settlement survived for only a few years and it wasn't until 1497, just a few years after Columbus' voyages to the New World waters far to the south, that John Cabot set sail westward. Cabot believed knew the world was much bigger around than Columbus claimed, and that it would, therefore, be impossible to sail straight from Spain to Asia. He had a simple yet ingenious plan--- make the journey shorter by starting from a northerly latitude where the longitudes are much closer together and then sail west where he could reach the "new" land comparatively quickly, refresh water and supplies, and then proceed southward until he found Cipango (Japan). He accomplished at least the first part of this plan, arriving in Newfoundland and making landfall at what is now called Bonavista. There he "planted" the English flag and claimed that location for King Henry VIII. (Cabot was really Cabato and an Italian, not English, which explains the name Bonavista .)

	Fifty years after Cartier, Sir Humphrey Gilbert reaffirmed the ownership of Britain when he claimed Newfoundland for Queen Elizabeth I. He had a scheme for ridding the New World of other Europeans and spent his entire fortune outfitting a small fleet to take possession of the harbor of St. John and found his colony. He was only partially successful in that, alas, he went to a watery end when his ship sank off the Azores during the return voyage to England. (Factoid: Gilbert's one-time home near Devon, England's Devon was rebuilt on its original foundations and the residence of author, Agatha Christie.)		In 1534, Jacques Cartier circumnavigated the Newfoundland during the voyage in which mapped the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River and claim the entire territory for France. Historically, the principal point to be made of Cartier's voyages is that he claimed the explored lands for the King of
			and, at least around the mouth of the St. Lawrence, this was the same territory which Cabot had earlier claimed for England, some forty years earlier. Thus, it is easy to see why the English thought the French settlements in "illegal." In truth, while the English may have been the first to mount a flag in Canada, but the French were the first (medieval) Europeans to set up a permanent (at least semi-permanent) settlement there. Thus, the seeds for controversy and bloody battles were sown by the "Two Cs," Cabot and Cartier. (Factoid: Cartier called the lands he charted "Canada," the local Iroquois Indians word for "village.")

The European immigrants who settled in Newfoundland and Labrador carried with them their former knowledge, beliefs, and loyalties (and prejudices). However, the new society they collectively created in the extreme eastern part of North America was quite different from the ones they had left. As a fish-exporting society, Newfoundlanders came in regular contact with people and places around the Atlantic rim but their geographic location and political distinctiveness also isolated it from them from their closest neighbors in Canada and the United States. Compounding their remoteness, most of the population was spread widely around the coastline in small settlements long distances from large cities and, further, quite remote during long, frozen winters. These conditions had an effect of "compacting" the various cultures the immigrants brought with them and generated new ways of thinking and acting, giving the history of Newfoundland and Labrador a wide variety of new, distinctive customs, beliefs, folklore, dialects, and other artifacts of culture..

As mentioned above, Newfoundland and Labrador is the youngest province in Canada, but until 1949 held the status of a semiautonomous member of the British Commonwealth of Nations. The notion of joining Canada was very controversial with many feeling that differences in history, economy, culture, and political institutions were significantly different. It was only by a very narrow margin that the merger was approved.

ST. JOHN'S

The capital of Canada's Newfoundland and Labrador province, St.. John's is located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula and, with approximately 200,000 people in the overall area, is the second largest population center in the Maritimes, only Nova Scotia's Halifax being larger. (The city's overall census area includes neighboring Mount Pearl, Conception Bay South, Paradise, and nine other town and villages.)

St. John's is the oldest city in the North American, going back to the early 1500s when the incredibly rich Grand Banks fishery and the excellent St. John's harbor attracted French, Basque, and Portuguese fisherman as well as those form England. Technically, it was claimed as an English possession by Sir Humphrey Gilbert 1583 although first permanent English colonists didn't arrive for another twenty years. It is not clearly recorded how the name St. John's came about but mention of Rio De San Johem was shown on a sixteenth century map from Portugal. Another possibility is that the Portuguese based their cartography on the reports of Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot), Italian explorer who claimed to have landed in St. John's in 1497, and whose commemorative statue can be seen at the Confederation Building.
(Factoid: In 1997, a replica of Cabot's ship, the Matthew, made the voyage from Bristol, England to St. John's for the Five Hundred Year Anniversary of the explorer's landing.)

St. John's is North America's closest port of call to continental Europe, making it a "natural" port of call for cruise ships, including those of Carnival Cruise Line, Princess Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Royal Caribbean, Cunard, Crystal, Holland America, Seaborne, and Silversea. It has the fine reputation of being a "safe haven" because of its well-protected harbor, accessible only through a narrow passage.

	Growing steadily since World War II, St. John's is a no longer a simply fishing harbor but a very modern seaport, with large and small vessels--- container ships, tour boats, yachts, naval cutters and, of course, the ubiquitous fishing trawlers--- constantly coming and going in its deep, well-protected harbor. St. John's serves as a home port for cruise ships on a variety Newfoundland and Labrador and St. Lawrence itineraries and as a port of call for on North Atlantic, Transatlantic, and Canada/New England routes. Passenger vessels from numerous cruise lines dock at the wharf alongside Harbour Drive near the heart of town.

Ships dock in the heart of the city at Pier 10/11 and passengers are in for several treats as they disembark. The Signal Hill Tattoo Fife and Drum Band serenades them, they are saluted by members of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary dressed in full ceremonial uniform, the Town Crier shouts "Halloo," and quite often a Newfoundland dog woofs a welcome and poses for pictures.

If a live dog isn't at the dock to greet them, tourists can always take pictures of the two bronze Newfoundland canines gazing out to sea.

Taxis are always lined up dockside but just a short stroll from the pier passengers will find Water Street and the old downtown core that offers shops, cafes, restaurants, and attractions. St. John's tourism authority representatives are stationed dockside to provide local information and suggest popular activities. St. John's offers a variety of historic sites, impressive scenery, parklands, and walking trails, as well as eclectic shopping. There are ecological reserves, archaeological sites, festivals and special events, and whale and bird watching excursions. Local operators companies offer customized tours to accommodate individual or group needs, including half-day city tours, walking and hiking tours, visits to Signal Hill and Cape Spear, as well as full-day tours to museums, galleries, the botanical gardens, and the science center.
(Factoid: Hill o' Chips is the oldest street in St. John's which, in turn, makes it the oldest street in North America.)

One of the first things people notice about St. John's is that it is a colorful city--- especially the brightly painted wooden-sided houses in the downtown area and the vivid colors and elaborate designs of many fishing boats.

Historically significant sites in St. John's include the Court House, Colonial Building , and the Government House. Over a hundred years old, Court House, built of of local granite and sandstone, is one of the most striking buildings downtown. Its stone carvings give it a distinctive neo-romanesque style. It is still a fully functioning center of the criminal justice system and, interestingly, its front steps are on the site where the public gallows were located in the past. (Newfoundland’s last public hanging was of a stagecoach robber in 1835.)

The Colonial Building was opened in 1850 and served as the home of the legislature until 1960 and also as the location of the St. John's public market. The white Irish limestone building, embellished with a Classical portico, now houses the Provincial Archives and the Newfoundland Historical Society, the oldest heritage organization in the province.

Curiously enough, the building plans for Government House were drawn in England, not Newfoundland, and when it turned out that construction workers' wages were too high in Newfoundland, workmen in Scotland were hired instead. The original plan was for a two-story house with a basement basement. The building was to be enclosed within a twelve foot ditch which even today is popularly mistaken to be a moat. The ditch was, in fact, just a way to allow light into the basement level. Government House currently serves as the home of the Lt. Governor as well as a guest home for members of the Royal family when they are visiting Newfoundland.

St. John's is renowned for the International Sound Symposium and it's signature composition, the Harbour Symphony, an unusual piece of music written expressly for the horns of the vessels in St. John's harbor. After an enjoyable day in port, cruise passengers are often treated to the Harbour Symphony as it sounds across the harbor and as their ships depart the oldest city in North America .

MAJOR ST. JOHN'S ATTRACTIONS

	Signal Hill, Cabot Tower, & Quidi Vidi Battery		The Rooms
	St. John's Cathedrals (Anglican and Catholic)		Bowring Park
	Fort Amherst Museum & Lighthouse		Cape Spear

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