Red Bay National Historic Site

Red Bay National Historic Site
UNESCO World Heritage Site
Red Bay as viewed from Saddle Island
Interactive map of Red Bay National Historic Site
Official nameRed Bay Basque Whaling Station[1]
LocationNewfoundland and Labrador, Canada
Part ofNational Historic Sites of Canada
CriteriaCultural (III)(IV)
Reference1412
Inscription2013 (37th Session)
Area313 ha
Buffer zone285 ha
Coordinates51°43′51.88″N 56°24′56.16″W / 51.7310778°N 56.4156000°W / 51.7310778; -56.4156000[2]

The Red Bay National Historic Site is a National Historic Site of Canada located in Red Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador.[3][4] This on-land and underwater archaeological site marks one of the best preserved Basque whaling station locations of the 16th century and covers 600 hectares.[5][6][7] In 1979, Red Bay was declared a National Historic Site and in 2013, it was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.[8][9]

Geography

Red Bay is located approximately 530 km as the crow flies from St. John's. It is located north of the strait of Belle Isle, which separates the island of Newfoundland and the continental portion, Labrador. Red Bay is accessible by Route 510 and situated 80 km from Blanc-Sablon.[2]

Red Bay, strictly speaking, is protected from the Atlantic Ocean by Saddle Island, making it the ideal natural harbour.[10][4]

Basque mariners

See also: Basque settlement in the Americas and History of Basque whaling § Newfoundland and Labrador

Red Bay, established by Basque mariners in the 16th century at the north-eastern tip of Canada on the shore of the Strait of Belle Isle is an archaeological site that provides the earliest, most complete and best preserved testimony of the European whaling tradition.[5][11] Gran Baya, as it was called by those who founded the station in 1530s, was used as a base for coastal hunting, butchering, rendering of whale fat by heading to produce oil and storage.[12] It became a major source of whale oil which was shipped to Europe where it was used for lighting. The site, which was used in the summer months, includes remains of rendering ovens, cooperages, wharves, temporary living quarters and a cemetery, together with underwater remains of vessels and whale bone deposits. The station was used by the Basques for some 70 years, from 1550 to 1625, before the local whale population was depleted.[12][13]

Archaeology

In 1977, an initial shore-based survey was made of some of Labrador's harbours of the Belle Isle Strait. Good evidence of Basque whaling expeditions was found; in Red Bay, this included many whale bones on the beaches, large numbers of clay roofing tiles (the remains of buildings put up by the whalers) and burnt animal fat associated with stone foundations. The entire hull structure, artefacts and other finds were mapped in situ, excavated and then archaeologically recorded in detail on land. The hull components were disassembled, as necessary, to carry out this process, From the outset of the project, it had been clear that the funds were not available to carry out the large conservation effort needed to keep the structural components of the wreck on land. Therefore, they were returned to the water, being stored in a carefully designed environment which replicates the anaerobic conditions in which the wreck had remained preserved prior to excavation. A reburial process of this scale had not been previously attempted. This was carried out in 1985, the last year of the 24M fieldwork. The reburial site is regularly monitored to confirm the effectiveness of the continued preservation of the wreck timbers.[14]: 19, 149–152 [15]

Underwater archaeological work started in 1978 and on the third day of diving, the wreck site numbered 24M was located north of Cox Hill on Saddle Island. It is about 30 metres (98 ft) from the shoreline. The centreline of the hull was aligned roughly north-south with the bow furthest from the beach. The site slopes; the stern was in 7 metres (23 ft) of water and the bow in about 12 m. It is likely that the ship dragged her anchor in a north-westerly storm at the end of the whaling season when she was loaded with barrels of whale oil and nearly ready to make the transatlantic passage back to her home port. The 24M site was ultimately concluded to most likely be the wreck of San Juan.[14]: 2–8, 102–103  [15]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Red Bay Basque Whaling Station". Parks Canada. July 17, 2019. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  2. ^ a b "Red Bay National Historic Site of Canada". Place names. January 12, 2001. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  3. ^ "Red Bay National Historic Site". Newfoundland and Labrador. December 8, 2024. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  4. ^ a b "Red Bay". Labrador Coast Drive. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  5. ^ a b "Archaeology of a Sixteenth-Century Basque Whaling Boat". Parks Canada. April 22, 2025. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  6. ^ Period, Time. "Basque Whaling in Red Bay, Labrador". Newfoundland Heritage Web Site. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  7. ^ Cordell, Linda S.; Lightfoot, Kent; McManamon, Francis; Milner, George (December 30, 2008). Archaeology in America: An Encyclopedia [4 volumes]. Bloomsbury Publishing USA. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-313-02189-3. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  8. ^ Planet, Lonely; Miller, Korina; Armstrong, Kate; Kaminski, Anna; Karlin, Adam; Lee, John; McCarthy, Carolyn; Berkmoes, Ryan Ver; Walker, Benedict; Tang, Phillip (April 1, 2017). Lonely Planet Canada. Lonely Planet. p. 966. ISBN 978-1-78701-030-7. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  9. ^ Pirillo, Sabrina (July 11, 2025). "A UNESCO Trilogy Experience in Western Newfoundland and Labrador". NUVO. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  10. ^ "Red Bay National Historic Site". Parks Canada. February 1, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  11. ^ Gupta, Anika (November 16, 2013). "The Basques Were Here". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  12. ^ a b Centre, UNESCO World Heritage (June 22, 2013). "Red Bay Basque Whaling Station". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved February 27, 2026. Text was copied from this source, which is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO
  13. ^ "Lieu historique national du Canada de Red Bay". Annuaire des désignations patrimoniales fédérales (in French). Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  14. ^ a b Grenier, Robert (2007). Grenier, Robert; Bernier, Marc-Andre; Stevens, Willis (eds.). The Underwater Archaeology of Red Bay. Vol. 1:Archaeology Underwater: The Project. Ottawa: Parks Canada. ISBN 9780660196527.
  15. ^ a b "The Canadian Encyclopedia". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved February 27, 2026.

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