St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador

Categories: Cities in Newfoundland and Labrador | St. John's streets | Coastal cities

The Canadian city of St. John's population 100,000 (metropolitan population 175,000), is the provincial capital and largest city of Newfoundland and Labrador.

History

St. John's has a long history. The Italian navigator John Cabot, who sailed under English flag, was the first European to sail into its harbour, on June 24 1497 — the feast day of Saint John the Baptist. A series of expeditions to St. John's by Portuguese in the Azores followed in the early 16th century, and by 1540 French, Basques and Portuguese crossed the Atlantic annually to fish the waters off the Avalon Peninsula.

St. Jehan is shown on Nicholas Desliens world map of 1541 and San Joham in João Freire's Atlas of 1546. When John Rut visited St. John's in 1527 he found Norman, Breton and Portuguese ships. In 1583, when Sir Humphrey Gilbert formally claimed the area for England, he found 16 English ships with 20 French and Portuguese vessels using the harbour. There was no permanent population, however and Gilbert was lost at sea during his return voayge, thereby ending any plans of settlement. By 1620 the fishermen of England's West Country had excluded other nations from most of the east coast.

In 1627, St. John's was "the principal prime and chief lot in all the whole country". The resident population grew slowly in the 17th century, but St. John's was by far the largest settlement in Newfoundland when British naval officers began to take censuses around 1675. Every summer the population swelled with the arrival of migratory fishermen. In 1680, fishing ships (mostly from South Devon) set up fishing rooms at St. John's, bringing hundreds of Irish men into the port to operate inshore fishing boats.

The town's first significant defences were probably erected by commercial interests, following the temporary seizure of St. John's by the Dutch admiral Michiel de Ruyter in June, 1665. At any rate, the inhabitants were able to fend off a second Dutch attack in 1673. The British government began to plan fortifications around 1689, and were constructed following the retaking of St. John's after the French admiral Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville captured and destroyed the town late in 1696. The French attacked St. John's again in 1705 and 1708, and twice more devastated civilian structures with fire. The harbour remained fortified through most of the 18th and 19th century.

The 18th century saw major changes in Newfoundland: population growth, beginnings of government, establishment of churches, reinforcement of commercial ties with North America and development of the seal, salmon and banks fisheries. St. John's grew slowly and although it was still primarily a fishing station, it was also a garrison, a centre of government and, increasingly, a commercial hub.

Facts

• St. John's is the oldest European settlement in North America, founded on the feast of St. John the Baptist, June 24, 1497.

• The Italian navigator John Cabot, who sailed under English flag, was the first European since the Vikings verifiably known to have reached mainland America. The 500th anniversary of his landing in what he named New Founde Lande was celebrated in 1997.

• On August 5, 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed the region as England's first overseas colony under Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I.

• St. John's changed hands several times between France, The Netherlands and England, until becoming permanently British in 1762 and serving as a naval base during both the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.

• Many of the earliest settlers of St. John's came from the southeast of Ireland, primarily Waterford, Wexford and Kilkenny. This would explain the similarity between accents from that part of Ireland and Newfoundland.

• Water Street, developed in the early 16th century, is the oldest street in North America.

• The worst disaster to befall St. John's was on July 8, 1892 and is commonly called the Great Fire of 1892.

• It was at St. John's that Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless message, and it was from there that the first nonstop transatlantic flight was made in 1919 by Alcock and Brown.

• During the Second World War, the harbour was used by Royal Navy and Royal Canadian Navy ships used for protecting convoys. It was also the site of a large US Army base called Fort Pepperrell. This base was established as part of the "Lend-lease" agreement between the UK and USA.

• The majority of the population descends from both Ireland and England.

• Tradition declares that the city earned its name when explorer John Cabot became the first European to sail into its harbour, on June 24 1497 — the feast day of Saint John the Baptist.

• The city is the centre of business, education, and government for the province.

• St. John's is the seat of the Roman Catholic Archbishop of St. John's, and the Anglican Bishop of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador.

• St. John's is the site of the Newfoundland Museum, Memorial University, and the College of the North Atlantic.

• St. John's is the home of the St. John's Fog Devils, a junior hockey team in the QMJHL. The Fog Devils' home stadium is Mile One Stadium and is in downtown St. John's. The St. John's Maple Leafs of the AHL previously played there, until they relocated and became the Toronto Marlies in 2005.

• St. John's is the eastern terminus of the Trans-Canada Highway. (Victoria, British Columbia is the western terminus.)

• George Street in downtown St. John's has the most bars per square foot in North America.

Geography

The city is located on the northeast coast of the Avalon Peninsula, in southeastern Newfoundland, and on the Atlantic Ocean. In fact, it is the easternmost city in North America. It is also the second largest city in Atlantic Canada. The downtown area exists to the north of St. John's Harbour and the rest of the city expands uphill and to the west, north, and east. The city of Mount Pearl borders St. John's to the west, and is substantially smaller in both population and area. St. John's is the largest city in Division No. 1. The following table is a representation of St. John's and its surrounding areas:

Media

Radio

St. John's is currently the only Canadian city served by radio stations whose call letters do not begin with the letter C. The ITU prefix VO was assigned to the Dominion of Newfoundland before the province joined Canadian Confederation in 1949, and these stations kept their existing call letters. However, other commercial radio stations in St. John's which went to air after 1949 use the same range of prefixes (CF–CK) currently in use elsewhere in Canada. VO also remains in use in amateur radio.

• 92.3 FM - CICQ (tourist information)
• 93.5 FM - CHMR (Memorial University of Newfoundland campus radio)
• 94.7 FM - CHOZ (OZ FM, contemporary hit radio)
• 97.5 FM - VOCM (K-Rock 97.5, classic rock)
• 99.1 FM - CKIX (Hits FM, hot adult contemporary)
• 101.1 FM - CKSJ (Coast 101, adult contemporary)
• 101.9 FM - CBAX-2 (Espace musique)
• 105.9 FM - CBAF-17 (La Première Chaîne)
• 106.9 FM - CBN-FM (CBC Radio Two)
• 590 AM - VOCM (news/talk)
• 640 AM - CBN (CBC Radio One)
• 800 AM - VOWR (religious)
• 930 AM - CJYQ (Radio Newfoundland, local music and culture, all genres)
• 1210 AM - VOAR (religious)

Television

• Channel 4: CBFJ, SRC
• Channel 6: CJON
• Channel 8: CBNT, CBC

Print

• The Telegram (Daily newspaper)
• The Independent (Weekly newspaper)
• The Express (Weekly newspaper)
• The Muse (Weekly [Bi-monthly during summer months] Memorial University student newspaper)
• Le Gaboteur (Newfoundland and Labrador's only French-language newspaper; bi-monthly)

Demographics

• According to the Canada 2001 Census:
  • Dwellings: 42,443
  • Area (km²): 446.04
  • Density (persons per km²): 222.4

Racial make-up

• White: 97.3% (Major ethnic groups: Irish, English)
• All others: 2.7%

Religious make-up

• Roman Catholic: 53.3%
• Protestant: 39.4%
• Other Religions: 5.1%

St. John's should not be confused with Saint John, New Brunswick.

Mayors of St. John's

See List of mayors of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.

See also

List of cities in Canada
List of communities in Newfoundland and Labrador

External links

• City of St. John's
• Early Newfoundland Setlement Schemes

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