Political & Economic Organizations Information

Exploration and Early Trade

Although explorers were coming to North America in search of various riches in the 15th and 16th centuries, most showed little interest in settling permanently in Newfoundland, Labrador and the north shore of the River Kanata (St. Lawernce River).

The British visited each summer to fish, landing temporarily to dry their catch. Other countries also fished in the region and some hunted whales further north. The French, like the British, were content for the rest of the sixteenth century to use North America as a fishing resource.