Portuguese Ceramics from Newfoundland, Canada.

Summary

This paper will discuss the presence of Portuguese ceramics found on the island of Newfoundland, Canada.  The Newfoundland cod fishery became an important part of European trade networks which expanded across the Atlantic during the early modern period.  A multinational seasonal fishery was established on the island in the sixteenth century, with this seasonal presence being augmented by permanent English and French colonies during the seventeenth century.  An extensive collection of Portuguese ceramics have been recovered from a variety of early modern archaeological contexts in Newfoundland.  These ceramics have the potential to yield valuable insight into the multinational nature of the seasonal fishery and the European trade connections which provided a market for Newfoundland cod.  Because the Portuguese material is commonly found in English contexts on the island, the ceramic finds also provide useful information on the complex trans-Atlantic networks of trade which supplied Newfoundland’s nascent colonies during the seventeenth century.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Portuguese finds in Portugal and overseas archaeology   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2013

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 292