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    In 1713 the French lost their territories on the island of Newfoundland (Plaisance) and in Acadia. All that remained to them after this disaster was the French Shore which extended from Cape Bonavista to Cape Saint John and included Bonavista Bay, Notre Dame Bay, White Bay and all the east coast of the Great Northern Peninsula as far as Pointe Riche, a region which the French fishermen of Saint Malo called "le petit Nord" and where the largest French settlements were soon to be found at Croque and Cape Rouge among others.

    This coast, reserved exclusively for the use of French fishermen, may seem enormous but diminishes if you consider that before the Treaty of Utrecht French fishermen were to be found wherever there was a harbour, a cove or a codfish including the south coast of the island as well as Labrador; this first restriction of their movements began the steady decline of the French presence in Newfoundland.

    In 1783, the Treaty of Versailles again changed the boundaries of the French Shore. France lost her fishing rights in Bonavista and North Dame Bays but, in return, obtained rights off all the west coast of Newfoundland from Cape Riche to Cape Raye. Red Island became part of the French Shore. Why this exchange of territories ? The English were becoming numerous on the east coast but were almost completely absent from the west coast which remained an unknown part of this vast island.