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{{for|the town on the island|Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador}} {{Short description|Island of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada}}
{{Other uses|Fogo (disambiguation){{!}}Fogo}}
]
{{For|the town on the island|Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador}}
]
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2023}}
]
]
]
] ]
]
]
] general store, ]<ref name="mun.ca-seldomcomeby"/>]]
'''Fogo Island''' is the largest of the offshore ] ], Canada. It lies off the northeast coast of ], northwest of ] across ], just east of the ]. The island is about {{convert|25|km}} long and {{convert|14|km}} wide. The total area is {{convert|237.71|km2|abbr=on}}.
]


'''Fogo Island''' (''Fogo'', ] for "Fire") is the largest of the offshore ], Canada. It lies off the northeast coast of ], northwest of ] across ], just east of the ]. The island is about {{cvt|25|km}} long and {{cvt|14|km}} wide. The total area is {{cvt|237.71|km2}}. It is home to the ], which encompasses ], ], ], ], and previously unincorporated areas of Fogo Island.<ref name=amalgamation/>
The island had a population of 2,706 people in the ], 2,395 in the ], and 2,244 in the ].<ref>{{cite web|title=Fogo Island, T , Newfoundland and Labrador and Newfoundland and Labrador |url=http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/dp-pd/prof/details/page.cfm?B1=All&Code1=1008099&Code2=10&Data=Count&Geo1=CSD&Geo2=PR&Lang=E&SearchPR=01&SearchText=Fogo+Island&SearchType=Begins&TABID=1|website=2016 Census|publisher=Statistics Canada|accessdate=29 May 2017}}</ref>


Though migratory French fishermen visited Fogo Island from the early 16th century until 1718, the first permanent ] of the island took place in the 18th century. Fogo Harbour and Tilting Harbour were the first settlements on the island. The English and Irish descendants of the first inhabitants retained traces of their Elizabethan English and Old Irish dialects which can be heard on the island today. The island has many ancient folk customs brought from ] and ] that are now disappearing. Though migratory French fishermen visited Fogo Island from the early 16th century until 1718, the first permanent ] of the island took place in the 18th century. Fogo Harbour and Tilting Harbour were the first settlements on the island. The English and Irish descendants of the first inhabitants retained traces of their Elizabethan English and Old Irish dialects, which can be heard on the island today. The island has many ancient folk customs brought from England and Ireland, but they are disappearing.


==History== ==History==
Fogo Island is one of the oldest named features on the coast of Newfoundland. The Bertius map from 1606 shows Fogo Island as one of only about a dozen important features around the coast of Newfoundland. On French maps of the 16th to 18th centuries, the island is referred to as ''Ile des Fougues''. The island was likely named by Portuguese explorers and early fishing crews in the 16th century (''Fogo'' means ''Fire'' in ]).


Until 1783, Fogo Island was on an area of the coast called the French Shore. Though English and Irish were not supposed to settle here, under the terms of the ], they did settle; by 1750, Fogo was a thriving part of the British mercantile system of fisheries, based out of ] English towns such as ], in ].
Fogo Island is one of the oldest named features on the coast of Newfoundland. The Bertius map from 1606 shows Fogo Island as one of only about a dozen important features around the coast of Newfoundland. On French maps of the 16th to 18th centuries, the island is referred to as ''Ile des Fougues''. The island was likely named by ] explorers and early fishing crews in the 16th century (''Fogo'' means ''Fire'' in ]).


] on Fogo Island is a National Cultural Landscape District of Canada and is Newfoundland and Labrador's first Provincial Heritage District. Tilting is unique for its Irish culture and, some people say, its Irish dialect. The Irish Cemetery in Tilting may be the oldest in North America.
Until 1783 Fogo Island was on an area of the coast called the French Shore. Though English and Irish were not supposed to settle here, under the terms of the ], they did settle, and by 1750 Fogo was a thriving part of the British mercantile system of fisheries, based out of ] English towns such as ], in ].

] on Fogo Island is a National Cultural Landscape District of Canada and is Newfoundland and Labrador's first Provincial Heritage District. Tilting is unique for its Irish culture and, some people say, its Irish dialect. The Irish Cemetery in Tilting may be the oldest in ].


Local oral history indicates that Tilting was originally a French harbour before becoming a venue of Irish settlement. This is highly likely, given the traditional commercial and cultural links between southern Irish and northern French fishing ports. The first Irish settled in Tilting in the 1750s, and uniquely for Newfoundland, Tilting evolved into an exclusively Irish and Catholic town by the 1780s. Local oral history indicates that Tilting was originally a French harbour before becoming a venue of Irish settlement. This is highly likely, given the traditional commercial and cultural links between southern Irish and northern French fishing ports. The first Irish settled in Tilting in the 1750s, and uniquely for Newfoundland, Tilting evolved into an exclusively Irish and Catholic town by the 1780s.
Line 24: Line 24:
] traversed Fogo Island for many hundreds of years before Irish and English settlers arrived. The Beothuk pursued the ] and ] fisheries in the area. They also travelled out to the Funk Islands to collect feathers and eggs from the birds there. In the early years of European settlement at Fogo, there were incidents of violence between the Beothuk and the Europeans. This contact ended around the year 1800. The Beothuk became extinct as a people in the late 1820s. ] traversed Fogo Island for many hundreds of years before Irish and English settlers arrived. The Beothuk pursued the ] and ] fisheries in the area. They also travelled out to the Funk Islands to collect feathers and eggs from the birds there. In the early years of European settlement at Fogo, there were incidents of violence between the Beothuk and the Europeans. This contact ended around the year 1800. The Beothuk became extinct as a people in the late 1820s.


Fogo Island first attracted Europeans because of the extensive opportunities for commodity harvesting, including seal skins and oil, lumber, fur-bearing animals, salmon and of course cod. Over time, settlers on the island concentrated on processing dried cod, mainly because that was the product that most interested the merchants who dealt in the region of Fogo. From about 1850 until the widespread depletion of fish stocks in the 1990s, cod was king. In recent years the economy of the island has seen diversification away from solely fishing to tourism and cultural industries. Fogo Island first attracted Europeans because of the extensive opportunities for commodity harvesting, including seal skins and oil, lumber, fur-bearing animals, salmon and of course cod. Over time, settlers on the island concentrated on processing dried cod, mainly because that was the product that most interested the merchants who dealt in the region of Fogo. From about 1850 until the widespread depletion of fish stocks in the 1990s, cod was king. In recent years, the economy of the island has seen diversification away from solely fishing to tourism and cultural industries.


Fishing has always been a hard life. Before Confederation with Canada, the mercantile classes of ] became rich by holding a near-] stranglehold on both the supply of goods to the ]s and on the sale of fish from them. Fishing has always been a hard life. Before Confederation with Canada, the mercantile classes of ] became rich by holding a near-monopoly stranglehold on both the supply of goods to the ]s and on the sale of fish from them.


In the early 20th century, the ] was formed in an attempt to break this stranglehold. It was a form of ] with general stores owned by fishermen for fishermen. One of the Fishermen's Union stores still stands at Seldom-Come-By on Fogo Island, now open as a museum complete with general store, port installations, fishing implements and equipment for the manufacture of ]. In the early 20th century, the ] was formed in an attempt to break this stranglehold. It was a form of ] with general stores owned by fishermen for fishermen. One of the Fishermen's Union stores still stands at ]<ref name="mun.ca-seldomcomeby">{{cite web |title=Seldom-Come-By |url=https://www.mun.ca/ich/inventory/profiles/seldomcomeby/seldomcomeby.php |website=Intangible Cultural Heritage |publisher=] |access-date=14 December 2021 |language=en-CA}}</ref> on Fogo Island, now open as a museum complete with general store, port installations, fishing implements and equipment for the manufacture of ].


Today the Fogo Island Cooperative continues to successfully stake footholds in new fish markets. Communities began recognising the appeal of their land and heritage as cultural tourism opportunities. Today, the Fogo Island Cooperative continues to successfully stake footholds in new fish markets. Communities began recognising the appeal of their land and heritage as cultural tourism opportunities.


] and ] fisheries have largely replaced the cod fishery; a fish-packing ] remains in operation in the town of Fogo. Crab and ] fisheries have largely replaced the cod fishery; a fish-packing ] remains in operation in the town of Fogo.


A ] radio transmitting station was once operational atop a hill near the town of Fogo; operating with a ] to establish maritime communications, the station was forced to close around the time that radio became common for household use as the spark-gap design generated unacceptable levels of ]. Efforts to rebuild this station as a ] commenced in 2002. A ] radio transmitting station was once operational atop a hill near the town of Fogo; operating with a ] to establish maritime communications, the station was forced to close around the time that radio became common for household use as the spark-gap design generated unacceptable levels of ]. Efforts to rebuild this station as a ] commenced in 2002.


In 1967, the island played a key role in the development of what came to be known as the "Fogo Process," a model for community media as a tool for addressing community concerns, when an Extension field worker from Memorial University, Fred Earle, and ] shot 27 films with Fogo Islanders as part of the ]'s ] program.<ref name="Quarry">{{cite book|last=Quarry|first=Wendy|title=The Fogo Process: An Experiment in Participatory Communication|publisher=Thesis, ]|location=1994|url=http://www.uoguelph.ca/~snowden/fogo.htm|access-date=2009-10-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011104141440/http://www.uoguelph.ca/~snowden/fogo.htm|archive-date=2001-11-04|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 1967, the island played a key role in the development of what came to be known as the "Fogo Process," a model for community media as a tool for addressing community concerns, when an Extension field worker from Memorial University, Fred Earle, and ] shot 27 films with Fogo Islanders as part of the ]'s ] program.<ref name="Quarry">{{cite book|last=Quarry|first=Wendy|title=The Fogo Process: An Experiment in Participatory Communication|publisher=Thesis, ]|year=1994|url=http://www.uoguelph.ca/~snowden/fogo.htm|access-date=2009-10-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20011104141440/http://www.uoguelph.ca/~snowden/fogo.htm|archive-date=2001-11-04|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Residents defeated the ] government's plans to resettle elsewhere Fogo Islanders in the 1950s but by 1967 a downturn in the inshore fishery had forced many to turn to welfare support. The northern cod fishery closed in 1992. While the island did recover from the downturn (in part owing to the Fogo Process), the depleted state of the fishery adversely affected islanders.

From 1792 there was always a physician on the island. The last physician was due to leave the island in June 2022; medical care then only being available via a six-hour round trip by ferry, weather permitting. This follows economic problems and population decrease in Newfoundland and Labrador following the 1990s collapse in the cod fishery.<ref>{{Cite news |title=For the first time in 200 years, people on this Canadian island will be without a doctor |last=Cecco |first=Leyland |newspaper=The Guardian |date=4 May 2022 |url= https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/04/fogo-island-canada-no-doctor}}</ref>


Residents defeated the Smallwood Government's plans to resettle Fogo Island in the 1950s but by 1967 a downturn in the inshore fishery had forced many to turn to welfare support. The northern cod fishery closed in 1992. While the island did recover from the downturn—in part owing to the Fogo Process—the depleted state of the fishery adversely affected islanders for years to come.
] ]


==Communities== ==Communities==
*Town of Fogo Island:
In the ] there were eleven communities on Fogo Island:
**Fogo
*] 223 (2001 population)
**Joe Batt's Arm
*] (together with Little Seldom) 444
**Seldom
*]
**Little Seldom
*] 185 (2001 population)
**Tilting
*] 141 (2001 population)
*] 15 (2001 population) **]
*] 748 **]
*] (together with Barr'd Islands and Shoal Bay) 778 **]
*] **]
**Shoal Bay
*]
**Barr'd Islands
*] 248


On March 1, 2011, the towns of ], ], ] and ] and a portion of the Fogo Island Region (], ], ], and ]) amalgamated to form the ].<ref name=amalgamation>{{cite web | url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/92f0009x/2012000/tbl/xls/92F0009XIB2012000_T1_Can.xlsx | title=Interim List of Changes to Municipal Boundaries, Status, and Names From January 2, 2011 to January 1, 2012 (Table 1 - Changes to census subdivisions in alphabetical order by province and territory) | publisher=] | type=] | date=November 14, 2012 | accessdate=December 3, 2012}}</ref> On March 1, 2011, the towns of Fogo, Joe Batt's Arm-Barr'd Islands-Shoal Bay, Seldom-Little Seldom and Tilting and the Fogo Island Region (Stag Harbour, Island Harbour, Deep Bay, and Fogo Island Central) amalgamated to form the Town of Fogo Island.<ref name=amalgamation>{{cite web | url=http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/92f0009x/2012000/tbl/xls/92F0009XIB2012000_T1_Can.xlsx | title=Interim List of Changes to Municipal Boundaries, Status, and Names From January 2, 2011 to January 1, 2012 (Table 1 - Changes to census subdivisions in alphabetical order by province and territory) | publisher=] | type=] | date=November 14, 2012 | accessdate=December 3, 2012}}</ref>

==Climate==
Fogo Island has a marine-based cold ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=711933&cityname=Fogo%2C+Newfoundland%2C+Canada&units=|title=Fogo, Newfoundland Climate Summary|publisher=Weatherbase|accessdate=25 February 2015}}</ref> (]) bordering on ] (Dfc) with cooler summers than inland areas of Newfoundland as well as milder winters than areas on the same parallels in interior Canada. However, due to the very cool characteristics of summer months, Fogo Island in many ways resembles the subarctic range. The fourth warmest month of June just straddles {{convert|10|C|F}} in mean temperature. As typical of Newfoundland and its surroundings precipitation is high and consistent year-round, which results in more three and a half metres of snowfall on average in winter.<ref name="Weatherbase">{{cite web|url=http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather.php3?s=711933|title=Fogo, Newfoundland Temperature Averages|publisher=Weatherbase|accessdate=25 February 2015}}</ref> Due to the extreme ] autumn is much warmer than spring, and as such the coldest and warmest months are February and August, respectively.<ref name="Weatherbase"/>

{{Weather box
|location = Fogo Island
|metric first = Yes
|single line = Yes
|Jan record high C = 11.0
|Feb record high C = 12.0
|Mar record high C = 12.0
|Apr record high C = 17.0
|May record high C = 27.0
|Jun record high C = 29.5
|Jul record high C = 29.5
|Aug record high C = 30.0
|Sep record high C = 28.0
|Oct record high C = 22.5
|Nov record high C = 15.5
|Dec record high C = 11.5
|year record high C = 30.0
|Jan high C = -3.0
|Feb high C = -3.3
|Mar high C = -0.2
|Apr high C = 3.6
|May high C = 9.2
|Jun high C = 14.3
|Jul high C = 18.9
|Aug high C = 19.5
|Sep high C = 15.3
|Oct high C = 9.5
|Nov high C = 4.4
|Dec high C = 0.6
|year high C = 7.4
|Jan mean C = -5.9
|Feb mean C = -6.9
|Mar mean C = -3.5
|Apr mean C = 0.8
|May mean C = 5.4
|Jun mean C = 9.9
|Jul mean C = 14.6
|Aug mean C = 15.8
|Sep mean C = 12.1
|Oct mean C = 7.1
|Nov mean C = 2.2
|Dec mean C = -1.8
|year mean C = 4.2
|Jan low C = -8.8
|Feb low C = -10.3
|Mar low C = -6.7
|Apr low C = -2.0
|May low C = 1.6
|Jun low C = 5.5
|Jul low C = 10.3
|Aug low C = 12.1
|Sep low C = 8.9
|Oct low C = 4.6
|Nov low C = -0.1
|Dec low C = -4.2
|year low C = 0.9
|Jan record low C = -24.0
|Feb record low C = -26.0
|Mar record low C = -21.0
|Apr record low C = -16.5
|May record low C = -6.0
|Jun record low C = -1.5
|Jul record low C = 1.0
|Aug record low C = 4.0
|Sep record low C = 1.5
|Oct record low C = -7.0
|Nov record low C = -12.5
|Dec record low C = -17.0
|year record low C = -26.0
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 104.5
|Feb precipitation mm = 104.2
|Mar precipitation mm = 99.9
|Apr precipitation mm = 86.4
|May precipitation mm = 78.7
|Jun precipitation mm = 82.3
|Jul precipitation mm = 91.0
|Aug precipitation mm = 102.4
|Sep precipitation mm = 111.8
|Oct precipitation mm = 116.9
|Nov precipitation mm = 101.5
|Dec precipitation mm = 107.3
|year precipitation mm = 1187.0
|rain colour = green
|Jan rain mm = 17.4
|Feb rain mm = 21.9
|Mar rain mm = 33.4
|Apr rain mm = 55.0
|May rain mm = 74.9
|Jun rain mm = 80.6
|Jul rain mm = 91.0
|Aug rain mm = 102.4
|Sep rain mm = 111.8
|Oct rain mm = 114.2
|Nov rain mm = 85.5
|Dec rain mm = 48.9
|year rain mm = 837.1
|snow colour = green
|Jan snow cm = 87.1
|Feb snow cm = 82.4
|Mar snow cm = 66.5
|Apr snow cm = 31.4
|May snow cm = 3.7
|Jun snow cm = 1.7
|Jul snow cm = 0.0
|Aug snow cm = 0.0
|Sep snow cm = 0.0
|Oct snow cm = 2.7
|Nov snow cm = 16.0
|Dec snow cm = 58.4
|year snow cm = 349.9
|unit precipitation days = 0.2 mm
|Jan precipitation days = 17.2
|Feb precipitation days = 15.9
|Mar precipitation days = 15.8
|Apr precipitation days = 15.4
|May precipitation days = 15.7
|Jun precipitation days = 15.3
|Jul precipitation days = 16.5
|Aug precipitation days = 13.5
|Sep precipitation days = 14.4
|Oct precipitation days = 18.6
|Nov precipitation days = 15.8
|Dec precipitation days = 17.3
|year precipitation days = 191.3
|unit rain days = 0.2 mm
|Jan rain days = 3.6
|Feb rain days = 4.5
|Mar rain days = 6.6
|Apr rain days = 10.2
|May rain days = 15.4
|Jun rain days = 15.2
|Jul rain days = 16.5
|Aug rain days = 13.5
|Sep rain days = 14.4
|Oct rain days = 18.4
|Nov rain days = 13.9
|Dec rain days = 9.2
|year rain days = 141.3
|unit snow days = 0.2 cm
|Jan snow days = 15.3
|Feb snow days = 12.8
|Mar snow days = 11.3
|Apr snow days = 6.9
|May snow days = 0.93
|Jun snow days = 0.15
|Jul snow days = 0.0
|Aug snow days = 0.0
|Sep snow days = 0.0
|Oct snow days = 0.50
|Nov snow days = 3.3
|Dec snow days = 9.9
|year snow days = 61.1
|source 1 = Environment Canada<ref name="CCN">{{cite web
| publisher = ]
| url = ftp://ftp.tor.ec.gc.ca/Pub/Normals/English/NFLD/NFLD_ARNO-ROBE_ENG.csv
| title = Fogo, Newfoundland and Labrador
| work = Canadian Climate Normals 1981–2010
| accessdate = March 9, 2015}}</ref>
}}


==Name== ==Name==
{{unreferenced section|date=December 2021}}
Fogo Island was once called Y del Fogo, meaning Isle of Fire. There are a number of theories for the name:
Fogo Island was once called Y del Fogo, meaning Isle of Fire.<ref>https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/fogo-island</ref> There are a number of theories for the name:


*Many accidental or natural ]s destroyed the dense forests of the northern part of the island. *Many accidental or natural ]s destroyed the dense forests of the northern part of the island.
Line 229: Line 69:


==Transportation== ==Transportation==
Fogo Island is connected to mainland Newfoundland by the ferry ], and served by ]. The primary roads on the island are ] and ], as well as Deep Bay Road and Island Harbour Road. Fogo Island is connected to mainland Newfoundland by the ferry ], and is served by the ] airport. The primary roads on the island are ] and ], as well as Deep Bay Road and Island Harbour Road.


==Tourism and attractions== ==Tourism and attractions==
]]]
The island attracts a wide range of visitors interested in its history, local wildlife and other attractions. It also has seven hiking trails such as Lion's Den, Brimstone Head, Turpin's and Joe Batt's Point Trail, as well as a ten Town owned local museums and heritage properties. These include the Marine Interpretation Centre, the Lane House Museum, and the Bleak House Museum. There are also museums ran by local people including Mona's Quilts & Jams and ].

The island attracts a wide range of visitors interested in its history, local wildlife and other attractions. It has seven hiking trails, such as Lion's Den, Brimstone Head, Turpin's and Joe Batt's Point Trail. It also has ten Town-owned local museums and heritage properties, including the Marine Interpretation Centre, the Lane House Museum, and the Bleak House Museum. There are also museums run by local individuals, including Mona's Quilts & Jams and ], now closed.


Fogo Island Arts (launched in 2008) provides a platform for contemporary art on the island, via a series of residencies hosted at different studios around Fogo. Fogo Island Arts (launched in 2008) provides a platform for contemporary art on the island, via a series of residencies hosted at different studios around Fogo.


==Literature==
==Brimstone Head Folk Festival==
The community of Fogo in Fogo Island is home to the Brimstone Head Folk Festival, hosted by the Fogo Island Folk Alliance. This event attracts people from all over every year in early August. Performers consist of many bands which have included The Masterless Men, The Irish Descendants, Middle Tickle, The Fogo Island Accordion Group, Shores of Newfoundland, The Affections and many other local performers such as Aaron Brown, Sally Payne and Jason Hoven.


Brimstone Head was touted as one of the four corners of the world by the tongue-in-cheek ]<ref>{{cite book|last=Colombo|first=John R|title=Canadian Literary Landmarks|year=1984|publisher=Dundurn|isbn=978-0888820730|page=19}}</ref> (not related to the ]). Fogo Island appears in fictional form in the novel ''Blaze Island'' by ].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bush |first=Catherine |title=Blaze Island |publisher=Goose Lane Editions |year=2020 |isbn=978-1773101057 |author-link=Catherine Bush}}</ref>


==See also==
Along with the Brimstone Head Folk Festival, other communities have festivals as well. Joe Batt's Arm hosts the Ethridge's Point Seaside Fest, which usually takes place during the first weekend in August, the weekend before the Brimstone Head festival.
*] a charity devoted to economic development of the island


==References== ==References==
{{reflist}} {{Reflist}}
* *
* *
Line 252: Line 94:
* *


==See also==
*] a charity devoted to economic development of the island
==External links== ==External links==
{{Wikivoyage|Fogo Island and Change Islands}} {{Wikivoyage|Fogo Island and Change Islands}}
{{Commonscat-inline|Fogo Island}} {{Commons category-inline|Fogo Island}}
* *
* *
* *
Line 263: Line 103:
* *


{{coord|49|40|N|54|11|W|type:isle_scale:200000_region:CA|display=title}} {{Coord|49|39|49|N|54|10|13|W|type:isle_scale:200000_region:CA-NL|notes=<ref>{{Cite cgndb|AAHEK|Fogo Island}}</ref>|display=title}}


{{Subdivisions of Newfoundland and Labrador}} {{Subdivisions of Newfoundland and Labrador}}
{{Authority control}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Fogo Island, Newfoundland And Labrador}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Fogo Island, Newfoundland And Labrador}}

Latest revision as of 13:22, 6 January 2025

Island of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada For other uses, see Fogo. For the town on the island, see Fogo Island, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Map of Fogo Island
Location of Fogo Island
French Map (1713) of northeast Newfoundland showing Fogo Island ("Isles de Fougues") - National Archives of The United Kingdom, MPF1/225
Fishermen's Protective Union general store, Seldom-Come-By, Newfoundland
Fogo, Newfoundland

Fogo Island (Fogo, Portuguese for "Fire") is the largest of the offshore islands of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It lies off the northeast coast of Newfoundland, northwest of Musgrave Harbour across Hamilton Sound, just east of the Change Islands. The island is about 25 km (16 mi) long and 14 km (8.7 mi) wide. The total area is 237.71 km (91.78 sq mi). It is home to the Town of Fogo Island, which encompasses Fogo, Joe Batt's Arm-Barr'd Islands-Shoal Bay, Seldom-Little Seldom, Tilting, and previously unincorporated areas of Fogo Island.

Though migratory French fishermen visited Fogo Island from the early 16th century until 1718, the first permanent settlement of the island took place in the 18th century. Fogo Harbour and Tilting Harbour were the first settlements on the island. The English and Irish descendants of the first inhabitants retained traces of their Elizabethan English and Old Irish dialects, which can be heard on the island today. The island has many ancient folk customs brought from England and Ireland, but they are disappearing.

History

Fogo Island is one of the oldest named features on the coast of Newfoundland. The Bertius map from 1606 shows Fogo Island as one of only about a dozen important features around the coast of Newfoundland. On French maps of the 16th to 18th centuries, the island is referred to as Ile des Fougues. The island was likely named by Portuguese explorers and early fishing crews in the 16th century (Fogo means Fire in Portuguese).

Until 1783, Fogo Island was on an area of the coast called the French Shore. Though English and Irish were not supposed to settle here, under the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht, they did settle; by 1750, Fogo was a thriving part of the British mercantile system of fisheries, based out of West Country English towns such as Poole, in Dorset.

Tilting Harbour on Fogo Island is a National Cultural Landscape District of Canada and is Newfoundland and Labrador's first Provincial Heritage District. Tilting is unique for its Irish culture and, some people say, its Irish dialect. The Irish Cemetery in Tilting may be the oldest in North America.

Local oral history indicates that Tilting was originally a French harbour before becoming a venue of Irish settlement. This is highly likely, given the traditional commercial and cultural links between southern Irish and northern French fishing ports. The first Irish settled in Tilting in the 1750s, and uniquely for Newfoundland, Tilting evolved into an exclusively Irish and Catholic town by the 1780s.

Beothuk traversed Fogo Island for many hundreds of years before Irish and English settlers arrived. The Beothuk pursued the seal and salmon fisheries in the area. They also travelled out to the Funk Islands to collect feathers and eggs from the birds there. In the early years of European settlement at Fogo, there were incidents of violence between the Beothuk and the Europeans. This contact ended around the year 1800. The Beothuk became extinct as a people in the late 1820s.

Fogo Island first attracted Europeans because of the extensive opportunities for commodity harvesting, including seal skins and oil, lumber, fur-bearing animals, salmon and of course cod. Over time, settlers on the island concentrated on processing dried cod, mainly because that was the product that most interested the merchants who dealt in the region of Fogo. From about 1850 until the widespread depletion of fish stocks in the 1990s, cod was king. In recent years, the economy of the island has seen diversification away from solely fishing to tourism and cultural industries.

Fishing has always been a hard life. Before Confederation with Canada, the mercantile classes of St John's, Newfoundland became rich by holding a near-monopoly stranglehold on both the supply of goods to the Newfoundland outports and on the sale of fish from them.

In the early 20th century, the Fisherman's Protective Union was formed in an attempt to break this stranglehold. It was a form of co-operative with general stores owned by fishermen for fishermen. One of the Fishermen's Union stores still stands at Seldom-Come-By on Fogo Island, now open as a museum complete with general store, port installations, fishing implements and equipment for the manufacture of cod-liver oil.

Today, the Fogo Island Cooperative continues to successfully stake footholds in new fish markets. Communities began recognising the appeal of their land and heritage as cultural tourism opportunities.

Crab and lobster fisheries have largely replaced the cod fishery; a fish-packing plant remains in operation in the town of Fogo.

A Marconi radio transmitting station was once operational atop a hill near the town of Fogo; operating with a spark-gap transmitter to establish maritime communications, the station was forced to close around the time that radio became common for household use as the spark-gap design generated unacceptable levels of radio interference. Efforts to rebuild this station as a historic site commenced in 2002.

In 1967, the island played a key role in the development of what came to be known as the "Fogo Process," a model for community media as a tool for addressing community concerns, when an Extension field worker from Memorial University, Fred Earle, and Colin Low shot 27 films with Fogo Islanders as part of the National Film Board of Canada's Challenge for Change program.

Residents defeated the Smallwood government's plans to resettle elsewhere Fogo Islanders in the 1950s but by 1967 a downturn in the inshore fishery had forced many to turn to welfare support. The northern cod fishery closed in 1992. While the island did recover from the downturn (in part owing to the Fogo Process), the depleted state of the fishery adversely affected islanders.

From 1792 there was always a physician on the island. The last physician was due to leave the island in June 2022; medical care then only being available via a six-hour round trip by ferry, weather permitting. This follows economic problems and population decrease in Newfoundland and Labrador following the 1990s collapse in the cod fishery.

Fishing stages in Fogo, Newfoundland

Communities

On March 1, 2011, the towns of Fogo, Joe Batt's Arm-Barr'd Islands-Shoal Bay, Seldom-Little Seldom and Tilting and the Fogo Island Region (Stag Harbour, Island Harbour, Deep Bay, and Fogo Island Central) amalgamated to form the Town of Fogo Island.

Name

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Fogo Island was once called Y del Fogo, meaning Isle of Fire. There are a number of theories for the name:

  • Many accidental or natural forest fires destroyed the dense forests of the northern part of the island.
  • European mariners often saw the burning fires of the Beothuk natives, when they were visiting from across the Atlantic.
  • The island may have been named Fogo after the Cape Verde Island's active volcano. Note that many Newfoundland geographical features were named by the Spanish, the Portuguese and the French before anglophones (the English, the Irish and the Scots) arrived. Cape Bonavista, Cape Spear, Cape Race, Trinity Bay, Placentia Bay, Notre Dame Bay, Cape St Francis, Baccalieu Island, Baie Verte, Taslow, Baie l'Argente and even St John's or Catalina are place names that were originally named by non-English-speakers.

Transportation

Fogo Island is connected to mainland Newfoundland by the ferry MV Veteran, and is served by the Fogo Aerodrome airport. The primary roads on the island are Route 333 (Fogo Island Road) and Route 334 (Joe Batt’s Arm Road), as well as Deep Bay Road and Island Harbour Road.

Tourism and attractions

Fogo Island Inn

The island attracts a wide range of visitors interested in its history, local wildlife and other attractions. It has seven hiking trails, such as Lion's Den, Brimstone Head, Turpin's and Joe Batt's Point Trail. It also has ten Town-owned local museums and heritage properties, including the Marine Interpretation Centre, the Lane House Museum, and the Bleak House Museum. There are also museums run by local individuals, including Mona's Quilts & Jams and the Museum of the Flat Earth, now closed.

Fogo Island Arts (launched in 2008) provides a platform for contemporary art on the island, via a series of residencies hosted at different studios around Fogo.

Literature

Fogo Island appears in fictional form in the novel Blaze Island by Catherine Bush.

See also

  • Shorefast a charity devoted to economic development of the island

References

  1. ^ "Seldom-Come-By". Intangible Cultural Heritage. Memorial University of Newfoundland. Retrieved 14 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Interim List of Changes to Municipal Boundaries, Status, and Names From January 2, 2011 to January 1, 2012 (Table 1 - Changes to census subdivisions in alphabetical order by province and territory)" (XLSX). Statistics Canada. November 14, 2012. Retrieved December 3, 2012.
  3. Quarry, Wendy (1994). The Fogo Process: An Experiment in Participatory Communication. Thesis, University of Guelph. Archived from the original on 2001-11-04. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  4. Cecco, Leyland (4 May 2022). "For the first time in 200 years, people on this Canadian island will be without a doctor". The Guardian.
  5. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/fogo-island
  6. Bush, Catherine (2020). Blaze Island. Goose Lane Editions. ISBN 978-1773101057.

External links

Media related to Fogo Island at Wikimedia Commons

49°39′49″N 54°10′13″W / 49.66361°N 54.17028°W / 49.66361; -54.17028

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  1. "Fogo Island". Geographical Names Data Base. Natural Resources Canada.
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