Newfoundland

Newfoundland is an island off the east Coast of North America, and is part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The capital city of Newfoundland is St. John's, on the north-east part of the island. Over 500,000 people live in Newfoundland (these people are called Newfoundlanders). It, along with Labrador on the mainland, became part of Canada on March 31, 1949. There is no bridge or tunnel from Newfoundland to the rest of the country but there is a ferry to Nova Scotia.

James Cook's map of Newfoundland of 1775

In Newfoundland, most people speak English, but there are also French speakers on the island, mostly in the south-west. In some areas of Newfoundland, people speak with an accent and use words that are not in standard English. There is even a dictionary of Newfoundland English.

The first people in Newfoundland were the First Nations. Settlers came from countries like Norway, England, Portugal, France, and Ireland in the 16th century. The first European explorers were the Vikings from Norway and they settled in L'Anse aux Meadows. They came because of the good fishing off the coast, especially off the south-east coast. Eventually they left because of disagreements with aboriginals. Today, there is still fishing, but not very much because people fished too much, and now there are not many fish left.

Cutting down trees and mining have also been attractions of the island. There are some paper mills (paper factories) in a few cities in Newfoundland.

Other websites

• Government of Newfoundland and Labrador
• Welcome Page for Newfoundland and Labrador Archived 2021-03-13 at the Wayback Machine
• Newfoundland Tourism