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Land of the Beothuk and Mi'kmaq, Inuit and Innu. Home to L'Anse aux Meadows, the site of first European contact with the Americas, where the remnants of a viking settlement remain.
The region was used by Europeans as seasonal fishing grounds in the early 1700's, and soon became North America's first colony. After winning the right to selfgovernment in 1832, it was only after WWI and the Great Depression that the colony found itself in serious debt. Confederacy with Canada seemed to be a logical move.
After fierce debate, Newfoundland and Labrador joined Canada in 1949. Joseph R. Smallwood's Liberals won the first provincial election, while anti-confederates formed the Conservative Party. Smallwood, criticized as being a democratic dictator, held power for twenty-three years until Frank Moores' Progressive Conservatives were elected in 1972. In 1989 the PCs were replaced by the Liberals of Clyde Wells.
Currently the province is led by the PC party of Danny Williams, who took power from the Liberals in
2003. Economically, the province has had difficulty retaining profits from its own resources. It has faced the collapse of the cod fishing industry and dealt with widespread unemployment. Oil, mining and aquaculture present promising new industries for Newfoundland and Labrador today. |
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