The Coming of the Europeans
The circumstances that led to the European nations of England, France and Spain coming to the New World when and how they did are rooted in the changed that took place in the European world during the transition from the Middle Ages to Early Modern times. In order to have a picture of the world of the Planters it is necessary to understand those that came before and their history – the Acadians. In order to understand the Acadian’s history, one needs an understanding of the forces that swirled around them. Events in history do not occur in isolation. The Acts of governments and Great Kings affect the lives of us little people, and occasionally the acts of little people affect great men.
The Vikings
Almost 500 years ago before Columbo (Columbus) landed in the Bahamas on Waiting Island the Vikings had a colony in Newfoundland and may have had others along the coast of North America. In Nova Scotia the closest thing to evidence of Vikings is the “Yarmouth Stone”, a rectangular rock with scratches on it that may or may not be runes. Similar stones found in New England have turned out to have been brought there by fishermen coming back from Greenland. There are many theories about pre-Viking colonies (see, “The Ocean Almanac”, P.155).
Although the Vikings didn’t stay, they were the first Europeans we know for certain who came to North America. The stories of their explorations as related in legends and the Icelandic Sagas added to the early explorers beliefs in undiscovered, wealthy kingdoms to the West or shortcuts to “Cathey” (the European name for India and China).
The Nations of Europe
The people who for better or worse largely shaped the world we live in today were the Europeans of the late Middle Ages.
By the time Columbus arrived, Europe was emerging from Feudalism and the modern nations such as Spain, France and England were truly born. From 1492 onwards Spain colonized and exploited the New World, yet France and England took the better part of a century to do the same.
From 1300 to 1500 Europe reinvented itself. He struggle of the English kings for the possession of France, the ousting of the Moslems from the Iberian peninsula, and changes in the Church all affected the colonization of our world.
The Hundred Years War
In 1337 Edward III of England laid claim to the throne of France beginning the Hundred Years War. By the end of this conflict in 1453 the national hatred that characterised future relationships between these two counties would be unshakable. Some French and English rulers would attempt to foster better relations but, always these efforts would fail. Hostilities would carry over to the New World and Nova Scotia would often become a battle ground.
The Rise of Nations
In France, Louis XI ruled from 1461-83 (aka the “Spider King”). He utilized the rising middle class against the nobles. In return for this support he made them administrators, using subsidies and regulations to encourage commerce. He improved roads, harbours and waterways and supported shipbuilding. By the end of his reign (1483) France had turned from a feudal state to a nation united under a king. The Grand Nephew of the “Spider King”, Francis I, would send out the first French explorations of the New World.
In England at the end of the War of the Roses which was settled at Bosworth Field in 1485 (2 years after the death of the spider king), Henry Tudor defeated Richard III and became Henry VII. He essentially followed the French path and ended the feudal state by supporting the middle class. He was the ruler who sponsored Giovanni Caboto’s (John Cabot) voyage to the new world in 1497 (five years after Columbo).
On the Iberian Peninsula after the Moslems were driven out, Spain consisted of 5 kingdoms, Portugal, Castile, Aragon, Granada and Navarre. When King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella married in 1469 they united the two most powerful kingdoms (Castile and Aragon). They soon conquered Granada and Navarre thus creating the state of Spain and, ruled together until 1516. Like France and England they supported the middle class and undermined the nobles. They were the ones who, of course, sponsored Christoforo Columbo’s voyage in search of a western passage to Cathey. He didn’t find it, but what he and the others who came after him did find (native gold and silver) made their grandson Charles V and Spain the wealthiest and most powerful nation in Europe.
Ships
Before the Hundred Years War, European ships had remained inferior in size and overall design to the Roman “corn ships” which had plied the Mediterranean and beyond. The 1300’s saw the overall adoption of the Cog, a deep and roomy vessel with fore and after castles (tower like structures on the bow and stern) and of lapstrake construction (the planks overlapping each other like a Viking ship or a dory). It had a Mainmast (the largest and closest mast to the middle of a ship with more than two masts) and a Bowsprit (a mast which sticks out of the bow or front of the hull).
By the end of the war (and for most of the 1400’s) the Cog was replaced by the Carrack and the Caravel.
The Carrack came first and like the Cog was of lapstrake construction. It had high fore and after castles and three or more masts; a main, a foremast (the mast in front) and one or two small mizzenmasts (the last mast before the end or stern). The fore and main masts carried square sails (sails that are square shaped, run across the width of the vessel and hang from a spar or pole called a yard). The mizzens carried a lateen sail which was triangular and hung from a long yard which ran fore and aft (longitudinally).
The Caravel was the ship of discovery, the vessel used by Columbo, Caboto and all the others. It was similar to the carcass in terms of its rigging but its hull design was different. It had a lower stern and fore castles, but the main difference was that the hull was not lapstrake construction but rather carvel (not to be confused with the name of the vessel itself – Caravel). In carvel construction the planks that make up the vessel’s skin are butted up against one another and the seams must be caulked in order to make the vessel water-tight.
Exploration before Columbus
Well before both Columbo and Caboto, the Fishermen of England had been fishing the waters of Greenland. They brought back stories to fire the imagination of greed of the Bristol merchants. One story was of the “Island of Brasylle and the Seven Cities” the merchants of Bristol believed in the existence of this city and sent out expeditions in search of it. The first expedition was sent out by the merchants in 1480 headed by John Lloyd. More expeditions followed.
Mercantilism
The new nation states were competing for supremacy. One way they did so was through economic means. This economic nationalism or ‘mercantilism’ as it is called, was probably the single most important impetus to drive the exploitation of the “New World”. It was the desire to break the control of the Mediterranean city states (primarily Venice) of their sole access to the riches of the east that drove westward exploration.
The Church
In addition to the struggle with the old nobles and each other, these new nation states often fought with the Catholic Church and the drain on national revenues due to church imposed taxes. During the late Middle Ages the Church had become unbelievably corrupt and this led to a plethora of mystics, rebel movements and eventually to the Protestant Church. In England Protestantism would take the form of Anglicans and later, Puritans. In France, the Protestants would be called Huguenot. Both the Puritans and the Huguenot would play a vital role in the colonization of Nova Scotia.
The Effect of the New World on the Old
Why England and France were so slow to take advantage of the New World is complex. Even though England sent Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot) in 1497 to Newfoundland and France sent Jacques Cartier to the St. Lawrence in 1535, it wasn’t until 1607 and 1609 that colonies were established. By that time Spain already had 250 000 people living in the New World. And the wealth being generated in South America made Spain a particular threat to England.
Spain
In addition to being King of Spain, Charles V was also Emperor of the old Holy Roman Empire. However, Francis I (see France below) also claimed the title and this led to war. Charles also contested Henry VIII’s (see England below) divorce of his first wife Catherine of Aragon (Charles V’s aunt) and this too led to war. Spain financed all of these wars with loot from South America. Charles V’s son Philip II took over in 1556 and he was even more fanatically anti-protestant than his father. His mission in life was to utterly wipe out Protestantism. He attempted this by the invasion of England in 1588. The defeat of his Armada led to the removal of Spain’s last involvement off the Maritimes coast – the Spanish fishing fleet.
England and Early Exploration
When Henry VII sent Caboto over in 1498 he had in mind a short cut to the East or plunder like the Spanish had found. Caboto believed the northern route would be shorter. After Caboto, the Europeans were beginning to doubt that the kind of easy plunder the Spanish had found in South America was available in North America. When Henry VII sent Cabot’s son (Sebastian) over ten years later it was solely to find a short cut to Cathey. He didn’t find it, but when Sebastian returned he still believed in its existence. Unfortunately Henry VII was dead. Having found no gold or silver as Spain had, the incentive to explore and colonize North America was lacking. Sebastian ended up working for the Spanish.
Lead Up to the Defeat of the Armada
Henry VII’s son, Henry VIII ruled from 1509 to 1547. Without the easy plunder Spain had found he seemed unmotivated to explore let alone to colonize the new world, however he did greatly improve and invest in the navy. His ship, the ‘Henri Gras a du’ or the “Great Harry” was the first warship to carry cannon above and below decks changing the ship from a troop carrier to a weapon of war. He also founded the Anglican Church in order to ease the path of his many marriages and this resulted in making Catholic Spain the number one enemy.
Henry’s daughter, Mary ruled from 1547-58 and was unpopular, largely because of her marriage to King Phillip or Spain and her attempts to restore the Catholic Church. Her half-sister Elizabeth ruled from 1558 to 1603 and was a devoted Anglican.
What Elizabeth contributed to the exploration of the New World was sponsoring of the voyages of Martin Frobisher (1576-77-78) and John Davis (1585-87) both of whom were looking for the fabled North-West Passage to the riches of Cathey. Elizabeth’s fervent Anglicanism was one of the causes of King Phillip’s decision to invade England in 1588. The defeat of the Spanish Armada marked the end of Spain’s dominance in world affairs and her fishing fleets disappeared from the coasts of North America.
France
French exploration of the New World began in 1523 when Francis I (ruled 1515-1547) commissioned the Florentine Giovanni da Verrazano to look for – you guessed it – the North West Passage. Verrazano explored the Eastern seaboard of what is now the United States. By then explorers were mainly after a short cut to the Pacific. Even as late as 1534 some thought that North America might be physically connected to Asia or at least provide a short cut. This was the motivation for Francis I to send another expedition to the new world in 1534, this time led by the French explorer, Jacques Cartier. He sailed to Newfoundland, then up to Labrador (he called it, “The land god gave Cane”), through the Strait of Bell ISLE to the Magdalenes, PEI, up the coast to the Gaspe, then to Anticosti before turning back. Next year in 1535 he returned seeking the North West Passage and three kingdoms that lay in the interior of which he had reports of from natives he had encountered on the first voyage. He failed again but this time reached as far as Montreal. He kidnapped several Stadacona tribesmen and brought them back to France and the stories they told of riches (no doubt hoping to be returned) motivated the last voyage years later in 1541. Again he came back empty handed. After Francis I died his son Henry II ruled from 1447 to 59 and the religious wars of the French Protestants against the Catholics that followed Francis’ death are probably responsible for the abandonment of exploration in the New World. The outcome of these wars resulted in the particular makeup of personalities who would first settle Nova Scotia.
Henry II was incredibly anti-Huguenot. The Huguenot, while small in number, represented a powerful nobility and much of the rising middle class. Their persecution continued under the rule of his three sons and erupted into open war which only ended in 1592 when the leader of the Huguenot faction renounced Protestantism and became a Catholic thus becoming King Henry IV. The peace and religious tolerance he brought to France paved the way to the settlement of Acadia.
The Unknown Explorers and First Colonizers – The Fishermen
Up to now we have made little reference to a great nation – Portugal. In general, the Portuguese focused their exploratory energies on western voyages around Africa and into the Indian Ocean. However, they also explored the coast of North America. In 1501 the Corte-Real brothers (Gaspar and Miguel) explored the east coast of Newfoundland and it was Estevan Gomez a Portuguese in Spain’s employ who in 1524-25 made the first thorough exploration from Newfoundland to Florida – including the Bay of Fundy. It was a Portuguese fish merchant who established the first unsuccessful colony in Nova Scotia in 1520. The French and Portuguese began sending ships to fish off the banks of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia in 1504. In 1521 Joao Fagundes and several Portuguese fishermen nd their families settled in Cape Breton. The colony didn’t last.
Until the colonies at Port Royal and Jamestown were established it was the fishermen who came on a regular basis.
By 1586, 315 fishing vessels were coming to these waters. Only 15 were English. The rest were Spanish, French and Portuguese. In 1581 after Spain and Portugal were united the combined fleet was controlled exclusively by Spain.
In 1580 the North American fishery began to attract the English – especially after the Danish began to impose licence fees on the English fishing off Iceland (the English fisherman’s traditional grounds). The defeat of the Spanish Armada and the decline of the Spanish fishing fleet left the French and English in sole possession of the resource and with a huge new market (Spain). Salt cod (called stockfish) was incredibly important. Salting was the primary way of preserving food up until the discovery of canning. Also with 180 fast days on the Catholic calendar during which only fish was permitted, both Spain and France need stockfish. As the English fleet became more numerous and aggressive the French were forced away from the Newfoundland fishery and down towards Nova Scotia.
In 1597 the Marquis de La Roche of France sponsored a colony on Sable Island that lasted six years but failed because it need to be supplied from France and thus had no hope of attaining self-sufficiency.
The French and English fishermen, in essence began the fur trade by the barter of iron tools and other items with the Mi’kmaq. Soon both France and England began to see the potential of the fur trade and this new potential combined with fishing spurred on the establishment of the first permanent colonies.
Thus, Samuel De Champlain did not arrive into an empty wilderness in 1604. In almost every harbour there were fishing stations where both French and English fishermen salted and/or dried cod. Often they even over-wintered but with the exception of the two failed attempts mentioned above, these were not colonies.
Bibliography
“The Ocean Almanac”, Hendrickson
“Sea, Salt and Sweat”, Department of Fisheries
“The French Period in Nova Scotia”, John Erskine
“Chambers Biographical Dictionary”
“Chambers Dictionary of World History”
“Halifax, Warden of the North”, Raddall
“History of the Canadian Peoples”, Conrad, Finkel, and Jaenen
“The United States”, Jordan, Litwack, Hofstadter, Miller, Aaron
“The Acadians”, Griffith
“The Explorers of North America”, J.B. Brebner
“A Short History of Western Civilization”, Harrison, Sullivan and Sherman
“The History of the Ship” Richard Woodman
The Vikings
Almost 500 years ago before Columbo (Columbus) landed in the Bahamas on Waiting Island the Vikings had a colony in Newfoundland and may have had others along the coast of North America. In Nova Scotia the closest thing to evidence of Vikings is the “Yarmouth Stone”, a rectangular rock with scratches on it that may or may not be runes. Similar stones found in New England have turned out to have been brought there by fishermen coming back from Greenland. There are many theories about pre-Viking colonies (see, “The Ocean Almanac”, P.155).
Although the Vikings didn’t stay, they were the first Europeans we know for certain who came to North America. The stories of their explorations as related in legends and the Icelandic Sagas added to the early explorers beliefs in undiscovered, wealthy kingdoms to the West or shortcuts to “Cathey” (the European name for India and China).
The Nations of Europe
The people who for better or worse largely shaped the world we live in today were the Europeans of the late Middle Ages.
By the time Columbus arrived, Europe was emerging from Feudalism and the modern nations such as Spain, France and England were truly born. From 1492 onwards Spain colonized and exploited the New World, yet France and England took the better part of a century to do the same.
From 1300 to 1500 Europe reinvented itself. He struggle of the English kings for the possession of France, the ousting of the Moslems from the Iberian peninsula, and changes in the Church all affected the colonization of our world.
The Hundred Years War
In 1337 Edward III of England laid claim to the throne of France beginning the Hundred Years War. By the end of this conflict in 1453 the national hatred that characterised future relationships between these two counties would be unshakable. Some French and English rulers would attempt to foster better relations but, always these efforts would fail. Hostilities would carry over to the New World and Nova Scotia would often become a battle ground.
The Rise of Nations
In France, Louis XI ruled from 1461-83 (aka the “Spider King”). He utilized the rising middle class against the nobles. In return for this support he made them administrators, using subsidies and regulations to encourage commerce. He improved roads, harbours and waterways and supported shipbuilding. By the end of his reign (1483) France had turned from a feudal state to a nation united under a king. The Grand Nephew of the “Spider King”, Francis I, would send out the first French explorations of the New World.
In England at the end of the War of the Roses which was settled at Bosworth Field in 1485 (2 years after the death of the spider king), Henry Tudor defeated Richard III and became Henry VII. He essentially followed the French path and ended the feudal state by supporting the middle class. He was the ruler who sponsored Giovanni Caboto’s (John Cabot) voyage to the new world in 1497 (five years after Columbo).
On the Iberian Peninsula after the Moslems were driven out, Spain consisted of 5 kingdoms, Portugal, Castile, Aragon, Granada and Navarre. When King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella married in 1469 they united the two most powerful kingdoms (Castile and Aragon). They soon conquered Granada and Navarre thus creating the state of Spain and, ruled together until 1516. Like France and England they supported the middle class and undermined the nobles. They were the ones who, of course, sponsored Christoforo Columbo’s voyage in search of a western passage to Cathey. He didn’t find it, but what he and the others who came after him did find (native gold and silver) made their grandson Charles V and Spain the wealthiest and most powerful nation in Europe.
Ships
Before the Hundred Years War, European ships had remained inferior in size and overall design to the Roman “corn ships” which had plied the Mediterranean and beyond. The 1300’s saw the overall adoption of the Cog, a deep and roomy vessel with fore and after castles (tower like structures on the bow and stern) and of lapstrake construction (the planks overlapping each other like a Viking ship or a dory). It had a Mainmast (the largest and closest mast to the middle of a ship with more than two masts) and a Bowsprit (a mast which sticks out of the bow or front of the hull).
By the end of the war (and for most of the 1400’s) the Cog was replaced by the Carrack and the Caravel.
The Carrack came first and like the Cog was of lapstrake construction. It had high fore and after castles and three or more masts; a main, a foremast (the mast in front) and one or two small mizzenmasts (the last mast before the end or stern). The fore and main masts carried square sails (sails that are square shaped, run across the width of the vessel and hang from a spar or pole called a yard). The mizzens carried a lateen sail which was triangular and hung from a long yard which ran fore and aft (longitudinally).
The Caravel was the ship of discovery, the vessel used by Columbo, Caboto and all the others. It was similar to the carcass in terms of its rigging but its hull design was different. It had a lower stern and fore castles, but the main difference was that the hull was not lapstrake construction but rather carvel (not to be confused with the name of the vessel itself – Caravel). In carvel construction the planks that make up the vessel’s skin are butted up against one another and the seams must be caulked in order to make the vessel water-tight.
Exploration before Columbus
Well before both Columbo and Caboto, the Fishermen of England had been fishing the waters of Greenland. They brought back stories to fire the imagination of greed of the Bristol merchants. One story was of the “Island of Brasylle and the Seven Cities” the merchants of Bristol believed in the existence of this city and sent out expeditions in search of it. The first expedition was sent out by the merchants in 1480 headed by John Lloyd. More expeditions followed.
Mercantilism
The new nation states were competing for supremacy. One way they did so was through economic means. This economic nationalism or ‘mercantilism’ as it is called, was probably the single most important impetus to drive the exploitation of the “New World”. It was the desire to break the control of the Mediterranean city states (primarily Venice) of their sole access to the riches of the east that drove westward exploration.
The Church
In addition to the struggle with the old nobles and each other, these new nation states often fought with the Catholic Church and the drain on national revenues due to church imposed taxes. During the late Middle Ages the Church had become unbelievably corrupt and this led to a plethora of mystics, rebel movements and eventually to the Protestant Church. In England Protestantism would take the form of Anglicans and later, Puritans. In France, the Protestants would be called Huguenot. Both the Puritans and the Huguenot would play a vital role in the colonization of Nova Scotia.
The Effect of the New World on the Old
Why England and France were so slow to take advantage of the New World is complex. Even though England sent Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot) in 1497 to Newfoundland and France sent Jacques Cartier to the St. Lawrence in 1535, it wasn’t until 1607 and 1609 that colonies were established. By that time Spain already had 250 000 people living in the New World. And the wealth being generated in South America made Spain a particular threat to England.
Spain
In addition to being King of Spain, Charles V was also Emperor of the old Holy Roman Empire. However, Francis I (see France below) also claimed the title and this led to war. Charles also contested Henry VIII’s (see England below) divorce of his first wife Catherine of Aragon (Charles V’s aunt) and this too led to war. Spain financed all of these wars with loot from South America. Charles V’s son Philip II took over in 1556 and he was even more fanatically anti-protestant than his father. His mission in life was to utterly wipe out Protestantism. He attempted this by the invasion of England in 1588. The defeat of his Armada led to the removal of Spain’s last involvement off the Maritimes coast – the Spanish fishing fleet.
England and Early Exploration
When Henry VII sent Caboto over in 1498 he had in mind a short cut to the East or plunder like the Spanish had found. Caboto believed the northern route would be shorter. After Caboto, the Europeans were beginning to doubt that the kind of easy plunder the Spanish had found in South America was available in North America. When Henry VII sent Cabot’s son (Sebastian) over ten years later it was solely to find a short cut to Cathey. He didn’t find it, but when Sebastian returned he still believed in its existence. Unfortunately Henry VII was dead. Having found no gold or silver as Spain had, the incentive to explore and colonize North America was lacking. Sebastian ended up working for the Spanish.
Lead Up to the Defeat of the Armada
Henry VII’s son, Henry VIII ruled from 1509 to 1547. Without the easy plunder Spain had found he seemed unmotivated to explore let alone to colonize the new world, however he did greatly improve and invest in the navy. His ship, the ‘Henri Gras a du’ or the “Great Harry” was the first warship to carry cannon above and below decks changing the ship from a troop carrier to a weapon of war. He also founded the Anglican Church in order to ease the path of his many marriages and this resulted in making Catholic Spain the number one enemy.
Henry’s daughter, Mary ruled from 1547-58 and was unpopular, largely because of her marriage to King Phillip or Spain and her attempts to restore the Catholic Church. Her half-sister Elizabeth ruled from 1558 to 1603 and was a devoted Anglican.
What Elizabeth contributed to the exploration of the New World was sponsoring of the voyages of Martin Frobisher (1576-77-78) and John Davis (1585-87) both of whom were looking for the fabled North-West Passage to the riches of Cathey. Elizabeth’s fervent Anglicanism was one of the causes of King Phillip’s decision to invade England in 1588. The defeat of the Spanish Armada marked the end of Spain’s dominance in world affairs and her fishing fleets disappeared from the coasts of North America.
France
French exploration of the New World began in 1523 when Francis I (ruled 1515-1547) commissioned the Florentine Giovanni da Verrazano to look for – you guessed it – the North West Passage. Verrazano explored the Eastern seaboard of what is now the United States. By then explorers were mainly after a short cut to the Pacific. Even as late as 1534 some thought that North America might be physically connected to Asia or at least provide a short cut. This was the motivation for Francis I to send another expedition to the new world in 1534, this time led by the French explorer, Jacques Cartier. He sailed to Newfoundland, then up to Labrador (he called it, “The land god gave Cane”), through the Strait of Bell ISLE to the Magdalenes, PEI, up the coast to the Gaspe, then to Anticosti before turning back. Next year in 1535 he returned seeking the North West Passage and three kingdoms that lay in the interior of which he had reports of from natives he had encountered on the first voyage. He failed again but this time reached as far as Montreal. He kidnapped several Stadacona tribesmen and brought them back to France and the stories they told of riches (no doubt hoping to be returned) motivated the last voyage years later in 1541. Again he came back empty handed. After Francis I died his son Henry II ruled from 1447 to 59 and the religious wars of the French Protestants against the Catholics that followed Francis’ death are probably responsible for the abandonment of exploration in the New World. The outcome of these wars resulted in the particular makeup of personalities who would first settle Nova Scotia.
Henry II was incredibly anti-Huguenot. The Huguenot, while small in number, represented a powerful nobility and much of the rising middle class. Their persecution continued under the rule of his three sons and erupted into open war which only ended in 1592 when the leader of the Huguenot faction renounced Protestantism and became a Catholic thus becoming King Henry IV. The peace and religious tolerance he brought to France paved the way to the settlement of Acadia.
The Unknown Explorers and First Colonizers – The Fishermen
Up to now we have made little reference to a great nation – Portugal. In general, the Portuguese focused their exploratory energies on western voyages around Africa and into the Indian Ocean. However, they also explored the coast of North America. In 1501 the Corte-Real brothers (Gaspar and Miguel) explored the east coast of Newfoundland and it was Estevan Gomez a Portuguese in Spain’s employ who in 1524-25 made the first thorough exploration from Newfoundland to Florida – including the Bay of Fundy. It was a Portuguese fish merchant who established the first unsuccessful colony in Nova Scotia in 1520. The French and Portuguese began sending ships to fish off the banks of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia in 1504. In 1521 Joao Fagundes and several Portuguese fishermen nd their families settled in Cape Breton. The colony didn’t last.
Until the colonies at Port Royal and Jamestown were established it was the fishermen who came on a regular basis.
By 1586, 315 fishing vessels were coming to these waters. Only 15 were English. The rest were Spanish, French and Portuguese. In 1581 after Spain and Portugal were united the combined fleet was controlled exclusively by Spain.
In 1580 the North American fishery began to attract the English – especially after the Danish began to impose licence fees on the English fishing off Iceland (the English fisherman’s traditional grounds). The defeat of the Spanish Armada and the decline of the Spanish fishing fleet left the French and English in sole possession of the resource and with a huge new market (Spain). Salt cod (called stockfish) was incredibly important. Salting was the primary way of preserving food up until the discovery of canning. Also with 180 fast days on the Catholic calendar during which only fish was permitted, both Spain and France need stockfish. As the English fleet became more numerous and aggressive the French were forced away from the Newfoundland fishery and down towards Nova Scotia.
In 1597 the Marquis de La Roche of France sponsored a colony on Sable Island that lasted six years but failed because it need to be supplied from France and thus had no hope of attaining self-sufficiency.
The French and English fishermen, in essence began the fur trade by the barter of iron tools and other items with the Mi’kmaq. Soon both France and England began to see the potential of the fur trade and this new potential combined with fishing spurred on the establishment of the first permanent colonies.
Thus, Samuel De Champlain did not arrive into an empty wilderness in 1604. In almost every harbour there were fishing stations where both French and English fishermen salted and/or dried cod. Often they even over-wintered but with the exception of the two failed attempts mentioned above, these were not colonies.
Bibliography
“The Ocean Almanac”, Hendrickson
“Sea, Salt and Sweat”, Department of Fisheries
“The French Period in Nova Scotia”, John Erskine
“Chambers Biographical Dictionary”
“Chambers Dictionary of World History”
“Halifax, Warden of the North”, Raddall
“History of the Canadian Peoples”, Conrad, Finkel, and Jaenen
“The United States”, Jordan, Litwack, Hofstadter, Miller, Aaron
“The Acadians”, Griffith
“The Explorers of North America”, J.B. Brebner
“A Short History of Western Civilization”, Harrison, Sullivan and Sherman
“The History of the Ship” Richard Woodman