St. John's, Canada
St. John's is the provincial capital of Newfoundland and Labrador, and is the oldest English-founded city in North America.
The area around Sr. John's should be of interest to any history buff. It's obviously a nice area, because it seems to have caused some consternation over the place across the years. First populated by the native Mi'kmaq and Beothuk people, the Vikings arrive. The oldest known European settlement anywhere in the Americas was located in Newfoundland sometime around 1000 A.D. by Leif Ericson's Vikings. Remnants and artefacts of this settlement can still be seen at L'Anse aux Meadows, which itself would be well worth a visit. At some point, the Viking settlements cease to exist, and other Europeans take their place.
Various parties of English, Portuguese, Basque, Spanish and French fishermen habitually turn up from the fifteenth century to exploit the abundant fishing stocks in the area. In 1583, the area was claimed as England's first overseas colony under Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I. Yet at the time, they were not alone, with 16 English ships with 20 French and Portuguese vessels all using the harbour as of the date of pronouncement. This claim was not accompanied by any permanent inhabitants.
This was not to happen until 1605. By 1620, the fishermen of England's West Counties had excluded other nations from most of the area and the resident population gradually increased throughout the seventeenth century. Of course, the excellent fishing stocks also ensured that every summer the arrival of migratory fishermen swelled the town's ranks. By 1680, fishing ships were bringing in hundreds of Irish men to operate inshore fishing boats.
The commercial importance of St. John's ensured that things would come to a head. The town was (briefly) captured by the Dutch in 1665. They had another crack again in 1673, and failed. These attempts 'encouraged' the British to plan fortifications in 1689, but the French (yes the dastardly French) captured and destroyed the town late in 1696. The French again attacked in 1705 and 1708, attempting to raze the town both times. This would indicate that the defences might need strengthening somewhat!
Notably, the final battle of the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War – for mine, one of the more fascinating periods of history – was fought in 1762 in St. John's at the Battle of Signal Hill, in which the French surrendered St. John's to the British. The harbour remained fortified through most of the eighteenth and nineteenth century.
From this point, the area witness significant changes: more people, early attempts at governing; reinforcing commercial ties with North America; the expansion of the seal and salmon fisheries. Thus, although it was still primarily a fishing station, St. John's also served as a garrison, a centre of government and, increasingly, a commercial hub. During the tumult of the American Revolutionary War and the War of 1812, the town served as a naval base. I shan't go into it any longer or we will be here all day, for anyone interested in the history of the place, D.W. Prowse's A History of Newfoundland, is a great read.
On the attractions of the place not related to history, I am not deterred by the fact that of all major cities in Canada, St John's is the cloudiest (only 1,497 hours of sunshine a year), snowiest (359 cm), and has the most wet days per year. If I'm keen on Yakutsk, I reckon that I can handle St. John's.
Another point of interest to me is the apparent St. John's accent. It appears that the local accent clearly demonstrates traces of the West Country as well as southeast Ireland. As someone keen on spotting the roots of one's dialect, I wouldn't mind putting my ear to the test. They say that the similarity with the Waterford accent is prominent. If accents are your thing, the International Dialects of English Archive has more.
As an aside, I rank my ability to pick accents as pretty good. However, I'm almost incapable of 'doing' accents. I've got the North-West coast of Tasmania accent well covered, and can do a handy 'nasty Afrikaans-English', but that pretty much leaves me with only a 'dodgy New Zealander' up the sleeve. I am not ashamed to admit that this frustrates me to no end.
So, given the vast amount of explorers, fishermen, adventurers, soldiers and pirates to flock to the place over the centuries, I figure that it might be worth a visit. Looking at my checklist, it ticks a few boxes: a rich history; 'old world charm'; natural beauty; accessibility; not too rugged (I am soft, you see); future promise; natural harbour; lots of interesting animals nearby; plenty of museums, galleries, historical buildings, parks and restaurants; and caters to walking tours. To top it off, the only public Fluvarium in North America will no doubt get Henry fired up. Admittedly, I never knew what a 'fluvarium' was prior to thinking about St. John's, but it has done enough to get me interested.
If anyone has been there, is from there, is going there, please let me know if it's rubbish or not. My illusions can stand to be inflated or shattered, I'm a big boy (it may break dear little Henry's heart, however).
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