Notes on The Arrival of the Europeans

CHAPTER TWO THE ARRIVAL OF THE EUROPEANS

• Overview of European exploration post- Age of Discovery:

  • Western Europeans sought wealth and new trade routes to the Orient; motives included economics, politics, religion (mission to convert “heathens”), curiosity, and desire for a better world after the Black Death.
  • Although Arabs and Chinese had long maritime traditions and advanced navigation, Europe dominated the later era of Atlantic exploration due to European political competition and economic aims.
  • The Chinese maritime expeditions waned by the mid-1430s, leading to a perception of a primarily European expansion into the Atlantic.
  • The primary European objectives: a Northwest Passage to Asia and access to valuable trade goods; yet wealth was found in fisheries, fur, and later, colonies.

• The Norse and the Vinland saga (Early North American contact)

  • 985: Eric the Red founds Norse settlements in Greenland. 985
  • 1001: Leif Eiriksson leads a voyage southwest of Greenland; reaches parts of eastern North America and names places: Vinland, Helluland, Markland. 1001
  • Leif’s second voyage along the north coast leads to encounters with skraelings (likely Indigenous peoples or Inuit in some sagas).
  • Norse killed eight of nine skraeling attackers in the Vinland skirmish; a Norse leader Thorvald is killed in subsequent battles; no permanent settlement established.
  • The Vinland Sagas preserve Norse journeys but were transmitted orally for centuries; later corroborated by archaeology.
  • 1960: Helge Ingstad and Anne Stine Ingstad locate L’Anse aux Meadows in Newfoundland; unearth eight sod-walled structures; artifacts include a bronze cloak pin and a spindle weight.
  • Radiocarbon dating places Norse occupancy near (AD ext{ }1000). The site is the only authenticated Viking settlement in northeastern North America.
  • Norse Greenland settlements prospered for about 500 years but declined in the 13^{th} century due to climate cooling, competition with African ivory (for Walrus ivory trade), and the Black Death (the plague of 1349) which reduced Norse seaborne power; by 1450 Greenland settlements disappeared.

• The Portuguese and Spanish in the North Atlantic

  • The Portuguese became the leading European sea power by the 15^{th} century, focusing on a sea route to India via the Cape of Good Hope and on African slave trade; they also explored the North Atlantic.
  • Notable early steps:
  • 1400s: Portuguese reach Madeira and the Azores (early expansion of Atlantic trade networks).
  • 1487: Bartolomeu Dias rounds the Cape of Good Hope (opening sea route to India).
  • 1500: Portugal claims Brazil, emphasizing external expansion and access to spices via Africa and India.
  • Naming and reconnaissance in the North Atlantic:
  • 1500: João Fernandes (“Tierra del Lavrador” – Land of the Farmer) spots Labrador; later mapmakers borrowed the name for Labrador.
  • 1500s: Gaspar Corte-Real sails to Newfoundland; kidnaps 57 First Nations people; fate of Corte-Real and his crew remains unknown.
  • 1520: João Alvares Fagundes explores down the coast of Newfoundland and into the Gulf of St. Lawrence; establishes a settlement on Cape Breton Island which soon collapses due to conflicts with First Nations; the colony dies out within a year or so. The Portuguese lose interest in North Atlantic exploration aside from cod fisheries.
  • The Spanish also enter the Atlantic trade network and establish early colonial prospects in the Caribbean and along the South American coast; however, their North Atlantic presence expands later and more intensively in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.

• The French cross the North Atlantic

  • France, with a large population and extensive Atlantic access, enters North Atlantic exploration later than Iberian rivals due to European conflicts. They are motivated by attempts to find a Northwest Passage and to access wealth similar to Iberian successes.
  • 1524: Jacques Cartier, an experienced Breton navigator, is commissioned as the leader of the French expedition; aims at a passage to Asia and trade wealth.
  • Verrazzano’s voyage (1524) helps establish French interest and map knowledge of the Atlantic coast; Cartier builds on earlier data.
  • Cartier’s first voyage (1534):
  • Reaches the Strait of Belle Isle; enters the Gulf of St. Lawrence; meets Mi’kmaq traders at Chaleur Bay; Mi’kmaq signal strong interest in trade with Europeans by presenting furs. Cartier notes the Mi’kmaq’s eagerness to trade (furs on sticks) and learns of potential trade routes inland.
  • Encounters Iroquoian groups near Gaspé; Iroquoians offer information but want to monopolize inland trade; Cartier’s expedition kidnaps Donnacona, and two of his sons (Taignoagny and Domagaya) to France to learn French and serve as guides.
  • Cartier’s inland advance leads to Hochelaga (Mont Royal) and Stadacona (Quebec City). He documents a large Iroquoian town, Stadacona; Mont Royal is observed from a hill during the ascent.
  • 1535–36: Cartier returns with Donnacona’s sons and other leaders; he wintered at Stadacona; scurvy breaks out; Captain and crew suffer; natives help with a local remedy (bark and annedda leaves high in vitamin C). Cartier is captured by Donnacona’s people, who object to French intrusions; by spring 1536 the expedition returns to France without reaching the hoped-for wealth or a Northwest Passage. Cartier’s journals record Hochelaga and the St. Lawrence River; his geographical exploration remains unmatched by French explorers until Champlain in the early 1600s.
  • Cartier–Roberval expedition (1541–42): two-pronged mission to establish a colony and locate Saguenay; Cap Rouge settlement is founded, but winter is deadly; scurvy claims dozens of lives. Roberval returns to France; Cartier abandons the colony; the inscription on a map (circa 1550) notes the colony’s failure due to austerity, climate, and low profit. The French’s early colonial ambitions in Canada fail, and war in Europe limits France’s ability to return for several decades.
  • 1560s–1590s: French religious wars (Edict of Nantes, 1598) hinder colonization efforts; fishing and whaling continue but no sustained inland colonization occurs during this period.

• Fishing and trading off the East Coast of North America (to the mid-16th century)

  • Newfoundland Grand Banks fishery becomes integral to European economies, especially for cod (the “beef of the sea”).
  • The Newfoundland fishery attracts a large annual influx of European fleets (Primarily Basque, Portuguese, French, and English).
  • The fishery’s business cycle: ships depart from English ports in March after the winter repairs; return eight months later with dried cod; trading networks connect North Atlantic fisheries with Southern European markets.
  • Salt conventions:
  • Solar salt (sun-based curing) used by France, Spain, Portugal; England lacks enough solar salt and develops “dry fishing” methods for salt-dried cod on the voyage home.
  • Scale of English activity by 1600: estimates range from 250 to 400 ships annually; 6{,}000 to 10{,}000 men involved; English establish a strong presence on the Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland.
  • The English fishing economy profits from the decline of Spanish naval power after the defeat of the Spanish Armada (1588). They market cod in southern Europe and the Mediterranean, including Spain.

• Basque whaling in Labrador and the Strait of Belle Isle

  • Basque whalers (from the France–Spain border) begin in Labrador in the early 16^{th} century, establishing a long-distance, year-round operation (June to January).
  • Red Bay, Labrador (Bay of Red Bay) becomes a premier whaling station (1550–1600s); Saddle Island is a key site with ovens (tryworks) for rendering whale blubber into oil; ships dock with 50–120 crew members.
  • The Basque establish a trade language with Inuit and First Nations along the Gaspé coast; the “Basque–Algonquian” trade language emerges as a lingua franca for exchange of goods.
  • The Basque use Iberian roof tile for winter buildings; submerge into a heavy whaling season; ship’s crews bring wine, cider, and biscuits; oil is shipped back to Europe.
  • The Basque station at Red Bay is designated a place of national historic significance in 1979, recognizing its importance in early North Atlantic coastal economies.
  • By the end of the 16th century, Basque whaling declines due to the Armada (1588) and depletion of whale stocks in the northwestern Atlantic.

• Martin Frobisher and the English Arctic voyages

  • 1576: Martin Frobisher’s first Arctic voyage marks the beginning of a long quest for the Northwest Passage; his ship reaches what is later named Frobisher Bay on Baffin Island; he takes ore samples he believes contain gold.
  • 1577–78: Second voyage with multiple vessels; build a settlement on Kodlunarn Island; return with ore samples totaling 1{,}350 tonnes; the “gold” proves pyrite; a major financial debacle for investors.
  • 1578: Third voyage with a large fleet (fifteen ships); a quarter of the crew dies in the winter; settlement on Kodlunarn is built; the crew returns to England with ore samples again proving worthless; a house is built from stone and lime, intended to survive a winter.
  • The expedition’s final outcome: Frobisher’s voyage becomes infamous due to the ore fraud; his reputation is salvaged later by his role in repelling the Spanish Armada in 1588.
  • Inuit interactions: Frobisher’s voyages involve direct contact with Inuit; he kidnaps several Inuit (later deaths occur in England due to disease); the Inuit oral histories later corroborate many details of the voyage.
  • 1860s: American explorer Charles Francis Hall discovers remnants of Frobisher’s Kodlunarn Island house and confirms Inuit oral accounts of the voyages, underscoring the value of Indigenous memory for early exploration history.

• First Nations and European trade dynamics

  • The narrative emphasizes a Eurocentric lens; Indigenous groups had rich, centuries-long trade networks and technologies (canoes, snowshoes, bark wigwams, etc.) that were highly adapted to the Arctic and subarctic environments.
  • Aboriginal peoples valued European metal goods (knives, axes, copper pots, etc.) for their durability and utility; the furs were abundant and easy to obtain, and European goods transformed Indigenous economies and social relations.
  • The Wendat (Huron) called the French “Agnonha” or Iron People, reflecting early perceptions of European metalworking.
  • Indigenous peoples did not simply worship technology; they used and adapted European goods within established trading networks long before direct contact with Europeans.
  • The impact of European contact extended beyond direct exchange; European trade goods circulated widely and sometimes appeared far inland (archaeological evidence among Seneca and other Iroquoian groups centuries before direct contact).
  • Missionary reports later reflect a shift in perception—from “noble savage” folklore to more nuanced understandings of Indigenous languages, technologies (canoes, snowshoes), and social structures.

• The broader geopolitical and economic context

  • The Age of Discovery was driven by competition among emerging European states; exploration and colonization were tools for wealth, political power, and strategic advantage in the balance of power with rival states.
  • The Treaty of Tordesillas (1494) divided newly discovered lands outside Europe between Spain and Portugal, moving the Pope’s line west; land west of the line (including Newfoundland and much of Brazil) fell under Spanish or Portuguese influence, but the treaty did not accommodate France and England, which later sought to contest and reframe possession.
  • The Atlantic world quickly evolved into a multi-nation system of fisheries, fur trade, and exploration, with Basque, English, French, Portuguese, and Spanish activities overlapping and sometimes competing.

• Summary of key outcomes by 1600

  • The Norse presence in North America around AD ext{ }1000 leaves a small but significant imprint (L’Anse aux Meadows); no permanent Norse colony endures due to conflicts and climate.
  • By the year 1600, there is still no permanent European settlement in northern North America; interests shift among fishing, whaling, and fur trade rather than immediate colonization.
  • The coastlines and interior waterways (St. Lawrence, Saguenay, Hochelaga, Stadacona) become focal points for French exploration and Indigenous-European interactions, laying groundwork for later, larger-scale colonial projects under Champlain and others.

• A historical portrait: Martin Frobisher

  • A celebrated Elizabethan mariner, famed for northern Canadian exploration and perceived as a predecessor to broader arctic exploration.
  • Early life and career: early sea experiences; became a prominent figure in northern exploration and a forerunner to later British attempts to navigate the Northwest Passage.
  • Notable characteristics of his expeditions:
  • Repeated Arctic voyages (1576, 1577, 1578) aimed at finding the Northwest Passage and amassing gold ore; his crews faced harsh conditions and Indigenous encounters.
  • The ore that sparked his expeditions was ultimately pyrite; the venture collapsed financially, but his efforts contributed to later Arctic maritime knowledge.
  • Legacy: His name endures in the geography of Canada (Frobisher Bay) and in the annals of early British Arctic exploration; he is recognized as a pioneer whose efforts helped shape subsequent Atlantic exploration.

• Connections to pre-modern and modern themes

  • The narrative highlights how Indigenous peoples shaped and were shaped by European contact through trade, diplomacy, and cultural exchange; they were not passive recipients of European technology.
  • The encounter illustrates the complexities of cultural contact, including notions of civilization, religion, and language; initial awe gives way to suspicion, competition, and coercive practices (kidnappings, forced alliances, and conflicts).
  • The long arc shows how early, often exploratory contacts produced the seeds of later settler-colonial societies in Canada, even as the earliest encounters themselves did not immediately yield large-scale settlements.
  • Ethically and practically, the chapters foreground the need to understand Indigenous histories and perspectives as integral to comprehending the European exploration and settlement of North America.

• Quick reference to years and numbers (for quick study)

  • Norse Greenland settlements founded: AD ext{ }985; Leif Eiriksson voyage: AD ext{ }1001; L’Anse aux Meadows: occupancy around AD ext{ }1000; Norse population of Greenland: up to 6000 in the 12th century, later declines.
  • Black Death impacts on Norse: 1349; Greenland settlements disappear by around 1450.
  • Christopher Columbus reaches the Americas: 1492; Treaty of Tordesillas: 1494; Pope Alexander VI involved; Newfoundland and parts of Brazil fall under different spheres due to the line moving west by 100 leagues.
  • John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto) reaches Newfoundland: 1497; second voyage: 1498; Grand Banks codfish recognized.
  • Gaspar Corte-Real voyage and kidnapping: around 1500; Corte-Real and his brother disappear.
  • Jacques Cartier’s voyages: first voyage to St. Lawrence region: 1534; winter at Stadacona; 1535–36 continues inland; 1541–42 Cartier–Roberval expedition; Cap Rouge settlement and Roberval’s expedition; 1550 era map notes colonial difficulties.
  • Edict of Nantes: 1598 (end of French Wars of Religion).
  • Basque whaling at Red Bay: 1550–1600; ship sizes 50–120; Red Bay designated a national historic site in 1979.
  • Martin Frobisher voyages: 1576 (first voyage), 1577–78 (second and third voyages), ore trials totaling 1{,}350 tonnes, later debunked; Armada deflection in 1588; Frobisher dies in 1589.
  • English fishing fleets to Newfoundland: up to 250–400 ships and 6{,}000–10{,}000 men around 1600.

• Notes and references (for further study)

  • Primary sources and scholarly works cited in the text include Morison, Cartier, and others; consult the bibliography for detailed accounts of Cartier, Champlain, and Frobisher explorations, Basque whaling, and Indigenous-European encounters.
  • For a broader understanding of pre-Confederation geography and exploration, see historical atlases and Canadian history literature cited in the notes.

• Connections to real-world relevance

  • The early maritime encounters shaped modern North American borders, economic patterns (cod fisheries, fur trade, whaling), and cross-cultural interactions that influenced Indigenous communities across centuries.
  • The interplay between exploration and colonization highlighted the limits of European knowledge, the resilience of Indigenous societies, and the importance of interdisciplinary study (archaeology, oral histories, and documentary evidence) in reconstructing history.

• Summary takeaway

  • The arrival of Europeans in northeastern North America occurred over several waves (Norse in the 10th–11th century; Portuguese, Spanish, English, French, Basque, and others from the 15th–16th centuries), driven by economic needs and political competition, and resulting in complex interactions with First Nations and Inuit that would shape the course of Canadian history long after the initial contacts.