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 cl...