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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.