History of St. John's, Newfoundland Quiz

Answer: John Cabot

According to tradition, John Cabot named the area where he landed in Newfoundland St. John's because he arrived on the feast day of St. John the Baptist. However, this claim is disputed by both the Portuguese and the Spanish who claim that Basque fisherman named the area St. John's on their annual voyage to the area for fish.

Moreover, it is not entirely certain Cabot even landed in what is now St. John's despite his claim to do so. It is also debated whether or not St. John's should count because it did not become a permanent settlement for decades after it was founded.

Answer: True

Humphrey Gilbert claimed St. John's for the British Empire under Queen Elizabeth I. The area was not inhabited on a permanent basis yet but it was a popular spot for fisherman and sailors. The Newfoundland National War Memorial in St. John's marks the spot where Gilbert landed and claimed the first overseas territory for Britain.

Answer: West Country

Britain's West Country, which stretches from Cornwall to Gloucestershire, is located in the southwestern part of England. At the time, fishing was the dominate industry there and the fishing industry was incredibly powerful. Fisherman visited St. John's in the more seasonable months for fishing and successfully managed to block other nations from fishing there and also succeeded in stopping a permanent settlement from being founded there for decades.

Answer: The Netherlands

Dutch admiral Michiel de Ruyter launched an attack on St. John's in June 1665. St. John's was considered prime fishing territory and also was also seen as an important port for the British. Ruyter was primarily based in the Caribbean and had mixed results in retaking Dutch lands from the British.

He sailed up the Atlantic Coast, attacking various British colonies including New York that the Dutch once owned. He easily took St. John's because of the lack of forces and defenses there. It was after this point when the town was returned to the British that they began fortifying it.

Answer: Mi'kmaq Tribe

The French aligned with the Mi'kmaq Tribe of Indians who lived in what is now northern and eastern Canada. The French, led by Daniel d'Auger de Subercase, sieged the Fort of St. John's and began destroying the city. However, the French were forced to abandon it when they ran out of supplies. This was part of Queen Anne's War when the French and British fought over colonies in North America.

In 1708, the French now led by Philippe Pastour de Costebelle, managed to take complete control of St. John's. However, their supplies were again limited and they burned the entire city down and abandoned it. The British quickly swooped in to reclaim and rebuild the city.

Answer: Irish

There was a large Irish population in St. John's at the time. In April 1800, an alleged oath by the Society of United Irishman alarmed the British. Whether the oath took place is unknown but there was a rebellion led by the Irish who sought to overthrow the British rule in the city. The rebellion was quashed and many rebels were executed.

Answer: A lit pipe fell into a hay bale

The Great Fire occurred on July 8, 1892 at a stable on Carter's Hill. A lit pipe accidentally fell into a hay bale and set the hay ablaze. The fire was relatively minor at first but there was a very strong wind that whipped up the fire and sent ashes and flames to near by farms. St. John's was also experiencing a drought that allowed the fire to spread quicker than normal since the land was dry. In addition, the drought required that work be done on the water supply and many of the city's water mains had been shut off that day.

By the time the fire was put out, over 12,000 people were left homeless and 13 million dollars in damage had been done.

Answer: transatlantic wireless signal

Guglielmo Marconi was a Italian engineer who, among other things, is best known for inventing the radio. While in St. John's in 1901, Marconi received the world's first wireless transatlantic signal at Signal Hill. The signal originated at his laboratory in Poldhau, Cornwall. Marconi had previously been successful in receiving wireless messages in other places from the same lab, but this was the first to cross such a long distance.

Answer: Naval base

St. John's is strategically located along the Atlantic Coast and away from the Canadian mainland. It is also the easternmost city in North America. This made it a convenient location for naval bases. Both the British and American Navies used St. John's. Americans established Fort Pepperrell in 1941 as part of the Lend Lease program. Ships at St. John's were considered the first line of defense against potential German submarine warfare in the Atlantic.

Answer: Oil

The 1993 collapse of the commercial fishing industry was blamed primarily on overfishing in the years prior. This affected the cod population which was of specific economic importance.

St. John's fell into a slump and the unemployment and poverty rates increased dramatically. Beginning in the 1970s, a series of oil fields in and around the coast of Newfoundland was discovered. Oil was not drilled because of the negative impact drilling would have on the fishing industry. However, with the cod population already declining, drilling began and the city returned to economic stability.