Newfoundland and Labrador

The Province of Newfoundland and Labrador is one of the ten provinces of Canada. A British colony from the time of Elizabeth the First, Newfoundland joined confederation in 1948. Since 2001 the official name of the province has incorporated the names of the island of Newfoundland and its mainland territory of Labrador. Most Canadians still refer to the province in everyday conversation as Newfoundland. According to the 2006 Canadian Census, The province has a population of 505,469. Newfoundland and Labrador cover 405,720 square kilometres in total.

Economy

Whale hunting was an important industry in the first half of the 10th century. At first slow whales were caught by men armed with handheld harpoons in small open boats. Mechanization copied from Norway included cannon-fired harpoons, strong cables, and steam winches mounted on maneuverable, steam-powered catcher boats. They made possible the targeting of large and fast-swimming whale species that were taken to shore-based stations for processing. The industry was highly cyclical, with well-defined catch peaks in 1903–05, 1925–30, 1945–51, and 1966–72, after which world-wide bans shut it down.

When Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949, it relinquished jurisdiction over its fisheries to Ottawa; the Supreme Court ruled in 1983 that the federal government also has jurisdiction over offshore oil drilling.

In 1992, the northern cod fishery off Newfoundland and Labrador (the world's largest ground fishery) was shut down. The northern cod had been reduced to 1% of their historic spawning biomass and cod fishing as a way of life had come to an end after a 500 year history as a main industry.

The fishing industry crisis of the 1990s saw the already precarious economic base of the many towns further eroded. The situation was made worse by both federal and provincial pursuit of programs of economic liberalization that sought to limit the role of the state in economic and social affairs. As the effects of the crisis were felt, and established state supports were weakened, tourism was embraced by a growing body of local development and heritage organizations as a way of restoring the shattered economic base of many communities. Limited, short-term funding for some tourism-related projects was provided mostly from government programs, largely as a means of politically managing the structural adjustment that was being pursued.

=17th-18th centuries

The "admiral" system, by which the first captain arriving in a particular bay was in charge of allocating suitable shoreline sites for curing fish, was slowly replaced after 1700 as a result of "imperfect foresight." Seventeenth-century fishing-boat captains arrived from Europe earlier each fishing season in an attempt to become the admiral, causing merchant companies to begin to leave crewmen behind at the prime shoreline locations to lay claim to the sites. This was a precursor to the establishment of private property and led to "bye-boat" fishing, wherein local, small-boat crews fished certain spots for the summer, claimed a strip of land as their own, and sold their catches to the migratory fishers. Bye-boat fishing then led to increased residency on the island, which in turn led to the elimination of migratory fishing enterprises as resident fishing became more profitable in the 18th century.

20th century

During the great Battle of the Somme in 1916, the British assault against the German trenches near Beaumont Hamel, in France. The eight-hundred-man Royal Newfoundland Regiment attacked as part of the British 88th Brigade. Most of the Newfoundlanders were killed or wounded without anyone in the regiment having fired a shot. The state, church, and press romanticized the sacrifice Newfoundland had made in the war effort through ceremonies, war literature, and memorials, the most important of which was the Beaumont Hamel Memorial Park, which opened in France in 1925. The myth of the heroic sacrifice of the regiment in 1916 served as a cultural inspiration throughout the turbulent years from 1916 to 1925 in which six successive Newfoundland governments failed, widespread corruption was uncovered, and the postwar economy plummeted.

The 1920 Education Act called for the establishment of a Department of Education, to oversee all state schools, including the processes of teacher training and certification. The act provided for four grades of certificated teachers. There was also a category of other "ungraded" teachers, who were unqualified and employed on a temporary basis.

Newfoundland's economic crash in the Great Depression, coupled with a profound distrust of politicians, led to the abandonment of self-government. Newfoundland was the only nation that ever voluntarily relinquished democracy. It returned to direct British rule by a Commission of Government in 1934.

World War II

In 1940 Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt agreed to an exchange of American destroyers for access to British naval bases in the Atlantic, including Newfoundland. The result was sudden prosperity as American money flooded the island, where 25% had been on relief; even more influential was the sudden impact of a large modern American population on a traditional society. American ideas regarding food, hygiene (and indoor plumbing), entertainment, clothing, living standards and pay scales swept the island. Fears of a permanent American presence in Newfoundland prompted the Canadian government to push the island to join the Canadian Confederation, which Newfoundland did by a slim majority in 1949.

National identity

Nationalist sentiment in the 21st century is a powerful force in Newfoundland politics and culture. But that was a development of the late 20th century, for in the 1940s it was not strong enough to stop confederation with Canada. A Newfoundland identity was first articulated in the 1840s, embodied in a distinction between English-born and native-born Newfoundland residents.The relative absence of a strong sense of belonging to an independent country was the underlying reason for Joseph Smallwood's referendum victory. Most islanders were descendants of immigrants from either Ireland or the English West Country. It took centuries for them to view themselves as Newfoundlanders first and foremost. Gregory (2004) tried to date the transition from old (European) to new (Newfoundland) in the outport communities using vernacular song texts. Use of three collections of Newfoundland songs demonstrates how by 1930 or so a Newfoundland song culture had replaced earlier cultural traditions. These songs suggest that the island was still a cultural mosaic; some outports were completely Irish, others were English, and in a few ethnically mixed communities, including St. John's, there was an emergent, home-grown, patriotic song culture. Cultural nationalism was still a minority tradition in the Newfoundland of 1930. After joining Canada in 1949, Newfoundland culture underwent a significant transformation, notably in the cultural revival of the 1970s, which extolled the virtues of efficiency, centralization, and modernityTraditional Newfoundland heritage enjoyed a renaissance in the arts and crafts. For example, Wayne Johnston's novel The Colony of Unrequited Dreams (1999) develops insights into the unique identity of the islanders and challenges prevailing misconceptions about the area among both residents and outsiders. Johnston's protagonist is premier Joseph R. Smallwood, with focus on his political career and his advocacy of confederation with Canada. Chafe (2003) sees the novel in terms of postcolonial literature with its attendant themes of displacement, identity, and history. Chafe explores Johnston's use of the phrase "scuttlework of empire" and its many interpretations of the often troubled relationship between the British Empire and Newfoundland settlers.

Further reading

• Harris, Leslie. Newfoundland and Labrador: A Brief History (1968),
• Hempstead, Andrew. Frommer's Newfoundland and Labrador (2008) excerpt and text search 2006 edition
• Jackson, Lawrence. Newfoundland & Labrador (1998)
• Smallwood, Joseph, ed. The Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador (St. John's: Newfoundland Book Publishers, [1961] rev ed. 1984), 2 vol.
• Walls, Martha, and John MacIntyre. Newfoundland and Labrador Book of Everything (2006)

Bibliography

Surveys

• Harris, Leslie. Newfoundland and Labrador: A Brief History (1968),
• Jackson, Lawrence. Newfoundland & Labrador Fitzhenry & Whiteside Ltd; (1999)
• Smallwood, Joseph, ed. The Encyclopedia of Newfoundland and Labrador (St. John's: Newfoundland Book Publishers, [1961] rev ed. 1984), 2 vol.

Specialty studies

• Bannister, Jerry. The Rule of the Admirals: Law, Custom, and Naval Government in Newfoundland, 1699-1832. U. of Toronto Press for Osgoode Society, 2003.
• Blake, Raymond B. Canadians at Last: Canada Integrates Newfoundland as a Province. U. of Toronto Press, 1994. 252 pp.
• Casey, G.J., and Elizabeth Miller, eds., Tempered Days: A Century of Newfoundland Fiction St. John's: Killick Press, 1996.
• Earle; Karl McNeil. "Cousins of a Kind: The Newfoundland and Labrador Relationship with the United States" American Review of Canadian Studies Vol: 28. Issue: 4. 1998. pp: 387-411. online edition
• English, Christopher, ed. Essays in the History of Canadian Law. Vol. 9. Two Islands: Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island. (2005). 419 pp.
• Fay, C. R. Life and Labour in Newfoundland University of Toronto Press, (1956) online edition
• Greene, John P. Between Damnation and Starvation: Priests and Merchants in Newfoundland Politics, 1745-1855.McGill-Queen's U. Press, 2000. 340 pp.
• Hale, David. "The Newfoundland Lesson," The International Economy. v17#3 (Summer 2003). pp 52+. online edition
• Handcock, Gordon W. "So Longe as There Comes Noe Women": Origins of English Settlement in Newfoundland (Breakwater, 1989)
• Head, Grant C. Eighteenth Century Newfoundland: A Geographer’s Perspective (1976)
• Hiller, J. K. and Harrington, M. F., ed. The Newfoundland National Convention, 1946-1948. 2 vols. McGill-Queen's U. Press, 1995. 2021 pp.
• Hiller, James K. "Robert Bond and the Pink, White and Green: Newfoundland Nationalism in Perspective." Acadiensis 2007 36(2): 113-133. Issn: 0044-5851
• House, J.D. The Challenge of Oil: Newfoundland's Quest for Controlled Development. ISER Books (1985)
• House, J.D. Against the Tide: Battling for Economic Renewal in Newfoundland and Labrador. (1999)
• Kealey, Linda, ed. Pursuing Equality: Historical Perspectives on Women in Newfoundland and Labrador. St. John's: Institute of Social and Economic Research, 1993. 310 pp.
• Long, Gene. Suspended State: Newfoundland Before Canada Breakwater Books Ltd; (1999)
• McCann, Phillip. Schooling in a Fishing Society: Education and Economic Conditions in Newfoundland and Labrador, 1836-1986. St. John's: Institute of Social and Economic Res., 1994. 277 pp.
• MacKay, R. A. Newfoundland: Economic, Diplomatic, and Strategic Studies, (Oxford University Press, 1946) online edition
• Mannion, John J. Irish Settlements in Eastern Canada: A Study of Cultural Transfer and Adaptation (1974)
• Mannion, John J. ed., The Peopling of Newfoundland: Essays in Historical Geography (Institute of Social & Economic Research, Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1977)
• Neary, Peter. Newfoundland in the North Atlantic world, 1929-1949. McGill-Queen's University Press, 1996
• O'Flaherty, Patrick. Old Newfoundland: A History to 1843. St John's: Long Beach, 1999. 284 pp.
• Overton, James. "Nationalism, Democracy, and Self-determination: Newfoundland in the 1930s and 1940s." Canadian Review of Studies in Nationalism 2005 32(1-2): 31-52. Issn: 0317-7904
• Pope, Peter E. Fish into Wine: The Newfoundland Plantation in the Seventeenth Century. U. of North Carolina Press, 2004. 464 pp.
• Prowse, D. W. A History of Newfoundland. (1895, reprint 2002) full text online
• Sider, Gerald M. Between History and Tomorrow: Making and Breaking Everyday Life in Rural Newfoundland. (2nd ed. Broadview, 2003); first edition was Culture and Class in Anthropology and History: A Newfoundland Illustration, (1986). 344 pp.
• Sweeny, Robert C. H. "What Difference Does a Mode Make? A Comparison of Two Seventeenth-century Colonies: Canada and Newfoundland." William and Mary Quarterly 2006 63(2): 281-304. Issn: 0043-5597 Fulltext: History Cooperative
• Wright, Miriam. A Fishery for Modern Times: The State and the Industrialization of the Newfoundland Fishery, 1934-1968. Oxford U. Press, 2001. 176 pp.

Primary sources

• Neary, Peter, and Patrick O'Flaherty, eds. By Great Waters: A Newfoundland and Labrador Anthology (1974)
• Rompkey, Ronald, ed. Terre-Neuve: Anthologie des Voyageurs Français, 1814-1914 [Newfoundland: anthology of French travelers, 1814-1914]. Presse University de Rennes, 2004. 304 pp.