Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Web Site
Maritime History Archive, Memorial University A1C 5S7 St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, NL, Canada

The "Matthew" was the ship in which John Cabot sailed from Bristol to North America in 1497. Little is known about it. A few documents corroborate that it was named the "Matthew" (also spelled Mathew or Mathewe), and some historians have speculated that it may have been named after Cabot's wife, Mattea. John Day, a Bristol merchant, wrote in 1497-98 that Cabot had only one ship of fifty toneless [tons] and twenty men and food for seven or eight months. This makes it a relatively small vessel Bristol customs accounts refer to it as a navicula, similar to a caravel. These were maneuverable vessels with three masts. To read more about the Matthew, visit our website at https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/exploration/matthew.php

During the course of the Second World War, St. John's evolved from being merely a defended harbour to possibly the most important escort base developed by the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) in the North Atlantic. It was second only to Halifax, which had been an established naval base since before World War I. By establishing a forward base at St. John's, as the British had done in Iceland, the RCN could extend coverage more than 900 kilometres further into the Atlantic. As a result, the Newfoundland Escort Force (NEF) was formed on May 27, 1941. It was comprised of six RCN destroyers and 17 corvettes, alongside seven RN destroyers and four corvettes. To read more about Newfoundland's role in the War at Sea, visit our website at https://www.heritage.nf.ca/articles/politics/war-at-sea.php

Newfoundland's tourism industry dates back to the 1890s, when advances in rail and ocean transportation made the colony more accessible than before. The government saw tourism as a way to diversify the economy, create jobs in rural areas, and lure potential investors. Although the industry made important cultural and economic contributions, it faced many challenges. A lack of adequate roads, accommodations, and other facilities was an ongoing problem until well after Confederation. Newfoundland's underdevelopment, however, helped to shape its tourism campaigns. The colony was promoted as a rustic paradise where visitors could escape to nature and a simpler way of life. To read more about Tourism before Confederation, visit our website at https://www.heritage.nf.ca///tourism-pre-confederation.php

In some areas of Newfoundland, particularly those with an Irish and agricultural heritage, spruce or fir saplings stripped of most of their limbs, save a few near the top, bedecked with strips of coloured cloth or ribbons, appear on the first day of May. These may bushes (also called maypoles, may brushes or may trees) are often nailed to fences or gates and are kept there by the householders who erected them for the duration of the month. Historically, may bushes have had fe...stive, protective, decorative, invocational, or religious functions. While many festivities associated with May or the arrival of spring can be traced back to ancient Rome, Egypt or India, the specific inclusion of the maypole in springtime rituals and celebrations is usually associated with the ancient Celts. It was an emblem of ancient fertility used during Bealtine (or Beltane), a pagan agrarian festival observed on May Day (May 1st) to mark the beginning of summer. To read more about the May Bush in Newfoundland, visit our website at https://www.heritage.nf.ca/arti/society/custom-may-bush.php

The Meech Lake Accord was a set of constitutional amendments agreed upon by the federal and provincial governments on 30 April 1987. It would have granted the provinces greater control over immigration and Supreme Court appointments, a veto over constitutional changes, and increased control over federal spending in areas of provincial jurisdiction, such as education and health care. It would also have recognized Quebec as a distinct society within Canada. The Accord had to be approved by Parliament and all provincial legislatures within three years. To read more about the Meech Lake Accord, visit our website at https://www.heritage.nf.ca//pol/wells-government-meech.php