Red Bay, Labrador
Red Bay is a fishing village in Labrador, notable as one of the most precious underwater archaeological sites in the Americas. Red Bay is a natural harbour residing in the bay that gives it its name, both names in reference to the red granite cliffs of the region.
Between 1530 and the early 17th century, it was a major Basque whaling area (right whales and Bowhead whales). Several whaling ships, both large galleons and small chalupas, sank there, and their discovery led to the designation of Red Bay in 2013 as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
This whaling occurred 90 years before pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock. Whale bones from that time can still be found on land as you walk along the sea shore.
It is possible that the Basque arrived before Columbus. The local First Nation oral tradition indicates that the Norsemen arrived around the year 1,000 and the Basque in the 1300’s. It is quite possible that the Basque did not want to share the location of their lucrative whaling and cod fishing grounds and were not interested in conquering new lands.
