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Fish and ships |
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It was Sir Humphrey Gilbert, a half brother of Sir Walter Raleigh, who claimed Newfoundland for the queen as the first British colony in 1583. This opened up new opportunities for not only the English fishermen, but also a range of tradesmen and entrepreneurs keen to trade with the indigenous population.
In 1578, Queen Elizabeth I issued a charter to Sir Humphrey Gilbert to establish a colony in North America. Unfortunately his first attempt failed, leaving him with major financial losses. In 1583 he set sail again this time bound for Newfoundland, where he took control of the harbour at St John later that year. 
Sir Humphrey Gilbert developed new fishing territories
© Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage |
However on returning to England Sir Humphrey went down with his ship in a storm, south of the Azores.
Fishing proved to be a major influence on the consolidation of the colony. By 1579 the British Newfoundland fishing fleet had already grown from 30 to 50 ships, and by the 1630s it was estimated that 10,000 seamen were manning about 130 ships every year. Fishing was labour intensive; cod was caught by hook and line, and then dried out on-shore on a lattice-work of wood.
The fish would be taken on shore soon after a full load was caught and prepared for travel back to Europe. A “splitter” would carefully cut each fish open, passing on to the “filleter” then “salter” who would prepare the fish with either French or Spanish salt. He had to use just the correct amount of salt – too much and the fish would burn, too little, and the fish would “weld” to the next. The fish would then be stacked on board the ships before the month long trip to European ports. This voyage back was a race because the first ships there would get the best prices.
Your comments
1 ibrahim from Turkey Izmir - 26 January 2004
"Great resource! I am a BA in American studies student. Thanks for your contribution."
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