FIRST - European settlement in Nova - Scotia - First of its Kind on Waymarking.com

Inscription on the plaque:

First European settlers in Nova Scotia
Portuguese names Labrador, Canada, Montreal, Bay of Fundy.
Rev. George Patterson D.D.

"There are two aspects in which the Portuguese experience differs from that of the French and English, both of which are also significant in questions of historical interpretation. The first Portuguese attempt at settlement occurred approximately eighty years prior to Port Royal. Portuguese expansion into the Atlantic had begun in the first half of the fifteenth century - well before other European powers began to explore the ocean sea to any significant degree - and the Portuguese had already gained experience in
Atlantic settlement by the beginning of the sixteenth century. The early Portuguese interest in settlement in northeastern North America should thus be seen as an extension of their pre-existing activities. The strong connection to the Azores in the early interests in permanent occupation in northeastern North America further underscores middle and north Atlantic connections. Elements of Portuguese interest in settlement in northeastern North America - such as the granting of governorships, the prior transportation of livestock and the migration of women as well as men - emulate a mid-Atlantic pattern of settlement during the period in question. This also suggests that the difference between sixteenth-century Portuguese settlement and seventeenth-century French and English settlement (independently of considerations of subsequent outcomes) has to do with Portuguese, French and English pattern of expansion into the Atlantic rather than with the specific dynamics of resource exploitation in the region.

As was touched upon previously, the global pattern of Portuguese expansion in the early modem era included strong commercial motivations, with settlement or colonization not everywhere at the forefront of monarchical or mercantile motivation. In this regard, the mid-Atlantic experience of the Azores is not necessarily typical of Portuguese experience either. Timelines may again be a decisive factor. The Azores were charted and settled well before the voyages o f Columbus and da Gama, and they functioned as territorial extensions of mainland Portugal. The interest in land in northeastern North America emerged out of this context as much as - or more so - than it did out of the more general expansionist context of the sixteenth century."

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FIRST - Classification Variable: Item or Event Date of FIRST: 01/01/1520 More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]

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Date Logged Log User Rating   08/15/2021 DND.Fireman visited it