Category: Newfoundland

Newfoundland (/ˈnjuːfənᵈlænd/; Irish: Talamh an Éisc, French: Terre-Neuve, Basque: Ternua, Mi’kmaq: Taqamkuk, Portuguese: Terra-Nova or Terranova), is a large Canadian island off the east coast of the North American mainland, and the most populous part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The province’s official name was also “Newfoundland” until 2001, when its name was changed to “Newfoundland and Labrador” (the postal abbreviation was later changed from NF to NL).
The island of Newfoundland (originally called Terra Nova, from “New Land” in old Italian) was visited by the Icelandic Viking Leif Eriksson in the 11th century, who called the new land “Vinland”. The first European visitors to Newfoundland were Portuguese, Spanish, French and English migratory fishermen. In 1501, Portuguese explorers Gaspar Corte-Real and his brother Miguel Corte-Real charted part of the coast of Newfoundland in a failed attempt to find the Northwest Passage. The island was later visited…