• 

The European presence in Newfoundland goes back to the early 16th century. In their autobiographies, John Cabot and Jacques Cartier, explorers, both indicated the presence of Basque fishermen along the shores of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, the Strait of Labrador, the southern and northern regions of the Island of Newfoundland.

The extraction of oïl from whales caught off the coast of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the cod fish industry along the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador were major industries with market places in Continental Europe, the British Isles.

This database contains a selection of authors who have written books, articles, and dissertations about the great fishing era off the Grand Banks of Newfoundland.

Plaisance
(Placentia)
1655-1713
&
Le French Shore
1713-1783