History of Newfoundland and Labrador

The first brief European contact with Newfoundland and Labrador came about 1000 AD when the Vikings briefly settled in L'Anse aux Meadows. Around 1500 AD, European explorers and fishermen from England, Portugal, France, and Spain (mainly Basques) began exploration. Fishing expeditions came seasonally; the first small permanent settlements appeared around 1630 AD. Catholic-Protestant religious tensions were high but mellowed after 1860. The British colony voted against joining Canada in 1869 and became an independent dominion in the early 20th century. Fishing was always the dominant industry, but the economy collapsed in the Great Depression of the 1930s and the people voluntarily relinquished their independence to become a British colony again. Prosperity and self-confidence returned during the Second World War, and after intense debate the people voted to join Canada in 1949.

Poverty and emigration have remained significant themes in Newfoundland history, despite efforts to modernize after 1949. Most efforts failed, and the sudden collapse of the cod fishing industry was a terrific blow in the 1990s. The oil boom in the '00's has revived the economy, but the benefits are not distributed evenly. Over the second half of the 20th century, the historic cultural and political tensions between British Protestants and Irish Catholics faded, and a new spirit of a unified Newfoundland identity has recently emerged through songs and popular culture.

Human habitation in Newfoundland and Labrador can be traced back about 9000 years to the people of the Maritime Archaic Tradition. They were gradually displaced by people of the Dorset Culture the L'nu, or Mi'kmaq and finally by the Innu and Inuit in Labrador and the Beothuks on the island.

The first European contact with North America was that of the medieval Norse sailing from Greenland. For several years after 1000 AD they lived in a village on the tip of the Great Northern Peninsula, known today as L'Anse aux Meadows. Remnants and artifacts of the occupation can still be seen at L'Anse aux Meadows, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The island was inhabited by the Beothuks and later the Mi'kmaq.

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Wikipedia