Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1+1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de !'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Ottawa ON K1A ON4 Canada Canada Your file Votm refenmce ISBN: 978-0-494-55268-1 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-55268-1 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a Ia Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par I' Internet, prater, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve Ia propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits meraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor Ia these ni des extraits substantials de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a Ia loi canadienne sur Ia Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de Ia vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their Ia pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada The Fishing Room as a Formative Element in Newfoundland's Coastal Landscape Development: A Study in Historical Geography© by Chris Sturge A thesis submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Master of Arts Department of Geography Memorial University of Newfoundland December, 2007 St. John's Newfoundland ABSTRACT Canada contains several recognizable landscape icons such as the concessiOn, township and range system, long lot system, seigneurial system and the prairie section that exemplify connections between resident populations and property. Attachment to life space is nurtured through bonds with place, community and region, and in western culture is exemplified by property ownership of varying spatial arrangements, functions or appearance. In Newfoundland, a land use form called the fishing room evolved from coastal common property connecting marine resource distributions with shoreline from which such resources could be most efficiently exploited. This thesis explores fishing room development from European discovery in 1497 to 1805, and details how areas of coastal land were transformed into small, enclosed properties adaptable for settlement. Fishing rooms were originally defined, managed and seasonally transferred under the British fishing admiralty system which favoured an equitable sharing of coastal land among stakeholders, and promoted stability in a generally unstable trade environment. Fishing rooms were not the product of land use systems imposed arbitrarily upon an uninhabited frontier, but developed as a practical land use strategy to provide adequate shore space for living, working and production. Extended occupation of land within these systems integrated human occupancy into distinct socio-environmental entities, invited a cultural relationship with immediate bio-physical surroundings, and promoted a singular sense of place and belonging. Fishing rooms provided a proven and legitimate land use strategy in which Newfoundland inhabitants were linked through heritage and tradition to a landscape perched physically and culturally between land and sea. 11 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I wish to acknowledge the kind efforts and consideration by so many thoughtful and generous people. Special thanks to my wonderful parents, Lewis and June Sturge, who have helped me forge a strong personal connection with my home province. I extend many thanks to Memorial University's Department of Geography staff for their considerable efforts on my behalf. And finally, to Dr. Jo Shawyer, Dr. Michael Staveley, and Dr. Gordon Handcock whose invaluable assistance and patient guidance through this academic ordeal has truly been appreciated. Without the continued support of family members and many friends, this work would not have been possible. l1l TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ......................................................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................... iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ........................................................................ iv LIST OF PLATES ................................................................................ vi LIST OF MAPS ................................................................................... vi LIST OF FIGURES .............................................................................. vii LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1.0: INTRODUCTION 1.1 : Historical Background .......................................................................... 1 1.2: Fishing Room Description .................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1: Introduction .................................................................................... 12 2.2: Newfoundland's Physical and Undersea Environments ................................. 12 2.3: Land Use and Settlement Antecedents in England ....................................... 14 2.4: Newfoundland's Cultural Environment .................................................... 17 2.5: European Settlement Systems ............................................................... 20 1 2.6: Property Law and 18 h Century Anglo-French Treaties ................................. 24 2.7: Bonavista Bay Settlement, 1805 ............................................................. 30 CHAPTER 3.0: EARLY EUROPEAN FISHERIES AT NEWFOUNDLAND 3.1 : Introduction .................................................................................... 3 7 3.2: Newfoundland's Submarine Environment ................................................... 37 3.3: Atlantic Cod Resources in Newfoundland Waters ....................................... 38 3.4: European Migratory Fisheries at Newfoundland ......................................... 39 3.5: The English Migratory Fishery .............................................................. 44 3.6: The English Ship Room ...................................................................... 47 3.7: Land use on English Fishing Rooms ....................................................... 53 3.8: The Emergence of English Inshore fishery Land Use ................................... 61 CHAPTER 4.0: NEWFOUNDLAND POPULATION GROWTH AND DISTRIBUTION 4.1 Introduction .................................................................................... 63 IV 4.2: Wintering Crews ............................................................................... 65 4.3: The Colonial Period .......................................................................... 66 4.4: The Western Charter (1634) ................................................................. 69 4.5: The English Shore Sedentary Population ................................................. 71 4.6: The Second Western Charter (1661) ....................................................... 74 4.7: Commodore John Berry ...................................................................... 77 4.8: The Newfoundland Act (1699) .............................................................. 80 4.9: 18th Century English Shore Population Growth .......................................... 83 CHAPTER 5.0: THE INFLUENCE OF PROPERTY LAW AND ANGLO-FRENCH TREATIES ON THE NEWFOUNDLAND SETTLEMENT PROCESS 5.1 : Introduction .................................................................................... 89 5.2: Newfoundland Property Law ............................................................... 90 5.3: The Fishing Room Property Claim Process .............................................. 92 5.4: Fishing Rooms Held as Real Property .................................................... 97 5.5: 18th Century English and French Treaty Shores ........................................ 100 5.6: Bonavista Bay's Indigenous Population ................................................. 106 5.7: 1ih and 18th Century Newfoundland Population Increases both Within and Outside the English Shore ............................................. 107 CHAPTER 6.0: BONA VISTA BAY FISHING ROOMS 6.1: Introduction ................................................................................. 114 6.2: 181h Century Population Expansion into Bonavista Bay .............................. 114 6.2: The Register of Fishing Rooms for Bonavista Bay, 1805-1806 ...................... 119 6.2.1: Name by Which the Fishing Room is Usually Known .............................. 123 6.2.2: Where [the Fishing Room is] Situated ................................................