'St. John's' (
IPA: /
seɪnt 'dʒɔnz/) is the
provincial capital of
Newfoundland and Labrador,
Canada; at a
2006 census population 100,646 (metropolitan population 181,113), it is the largest city in that province, and the oldest English-founded city in
North America.
[1] St. John's is a sister city with
Waterford,
Ireland.
History
St. John's is the oldest English-founded settlement in North America.
Tradition declares that the city earned its name when explorer
John Cabot became the first European to sail into the harbour, on
June 24,
1497 — the feast day of Saint
John the Baptist. However, the exact locations of Cabot's landfalls are disputed. A series of expeditions to St. John's by the Portuguese in the Azores followed in the early 16th century, and by
1540 French,
Spanish and
Portuguese ships crossed the Atlantic annually to fish the waters off the Avalon Peninsula. In the
Basque Country, it is a common belief that the name of St. John's was given by Basque fishermen because the bay of St. John's is very similar to the Bay of
Pasaia in the Basque Country, where one of the fishing towns is also called St. John (in
Spanish, ''San Juan'').
The earliest record of the location appears as '''São João''' on a Portuguese map by
Jorge Reinel in
1519. When
John Rut visited St. John's in
1527 he found
Norman,
Breton and
Portuguese ships in the harbour. On August 3, 1527, Rut wrote a letter to King Henry on the findings of his voyage to North America; this was the first known letter sent from North America. '''St. Jehan''' is shown on
Nicholas Desliens' world map of
1541 and '''San Joham''' is found in
João Freire's Atlas of
1546. It was during this time that
Water Street was first developed, making it the oldest street in North America.
On
August 5,
1583, Sir
Humphrey Gilbert claimed the area as
England's first overseas colony under
Royal Charter of
Queen Elizabeth I. At the time, he found 16 English ships with 20 French and Portuguese vessels using the harbour. There was no permanent population, however, and Gilbert was lost at sea during his return voyage, thereby ending any immediate plans of settlement. The
Newfoundland National War Memorial is located on the waterfront in St. John's, at the purported site of Gilbert's landing and proclamation.
The first permanent European settlers arrived at St. John's in
1605. By
1620 the fishermen of England's
West Country had excluded other nations from most of the east coast. In
1627, St. John's was ''"the principal prime and chief lot in all the whole country"''. The resident population grew slowly in the
17th century, but St. John's was by far the largest settlement in
Newfoundland when English naval officers began to take censuses around
1675. Every summer the population swelled with the arrival of migratory fishermen. In
1680, fishing ships (mostly from South
Devon) set up fishing rooms at St. John's, bringing hundreds of
Irish men into the port to operate inshore fishing boats.
The town's first significant defenses were probably erected due to commercial interests, following the temporary seizure of St. John's by the
Dutch admiral
Michiel de Ruyter in June,
1665. Regardless of the identity of those who built the defenses, the inhabitants were able to fend off a second Dutch attack in
1673. The British government began to plan fortifications around
1689, and these were constructed following the retaking of St. John's after the French admiral
Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville captured and destroyed the town late in
1696. The French attacked St. John's again in
1705 and
1708, and devastated civilian structures with fire.
U.S. Army troops on guard in St. John's in 1942.
The harbour remained fortified through most of the 18th and 19th century. The final battle of the
Seven Years' War in North America (the
French and Indian War) was fought in
1762 in St. John's at the
Battle of Signal Hill, in which the French surrendered St. John's to the British under the command of
Colonel William Amherst.
The
eighteenth century saw major changes in Newfoundland: population growth, beginnings of government, establishment of churches, reinforcement of commercial ties with
North America and development of the seal, salmon and banks fisheries. St. John's grew slowly, and although it was still primarily a fishing station, it was also a garrison, a centre of government and, increasingly, a commercial hub. St. John's served as a naval base during both the
American Revolutionary War and the
War of 1812.
Shanawdithit, the last known individual of the indigenous
Beothuk people, died in a St. John's hospital of
tuberculosis in
1824.
The core of the city was destroyed by fire several times, the most famous of which was the
Great Fire of 1892.
Guglielmo Marconi received the
first transatlantic wireless message at St. John's on December 1901 from his wireless station in
Poldhu,
Cornwall.
St. John's was the starting point for the first non-stop transatlantic aircraft flight, by
Alcock and Brown in a modified
Vickers Vimy IV bomber, in June 1919, departing from Lester's Field in St. John's and ending in a bog near
Clifden,
Connemara,
Ireland. In July 2005, the flight was duplicated by American aviator and adventurer
Steve Fossett in a replica Vickers Vimy aircraft, with
St. John's International Airport substituting for Lester's Field (now an urban and residential part of the city).
During the
Second World War, the harbour was used by
Royal Navy and
Royal Canadian Navy ships used for protecting
convoys. It was also the site of a large US Army base called ''
Fort Pepperrell''. This base was established as part of the "
Lend-Lease" agreement between the UK and USA.
Geography
The city is located on the northeast coast of the
Avalon Peninsula in southeastern
Newfoundland, and on the
Atlantic Ocean. It is the most easterly city in North America, as well as the second largest city in Atlantic Canada (after
Halifax,
Nova Scotia). The downtown area lies to the north of St. John's Harbour, and the rest of the city expands uphill to the west, north, and east.
St. John's is the largest city in census
Division No. 1.
Climate
Of all major cities in
Canada, St John's is the cloudiest (only 1,497 hours of sunshine a year), snowiest (359 cm; 11.8
ft), and has the most wet days per year (Environment Canada, 2005). However, St. John's has the third mildest winter in comparison to other Canadian cities.
[2] St. John's has a
Maritime climate with cool-to-warm summers, and relatively mild winters for Canada (cold by a world standard). Average highs and lows are 20°C (68°F)/10°C (50°F) in July and -1°C (30°F)/-8°C (17°F) in January. The annual precipitation is moderate to high, with an average of 1,640 millimetres (64.6 in) per year. The city is also one of the areas of the country most prone to tropical cyclone activity, as it is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, where tropical storms (and sometimes hurricanes) travel.
Downtown St. John's, Newfoundland.
Economy
St. John's economy has been continuously connected both to its role as a regional/national/provincial capital and to the ocean. Today, its continued growth is as much tied to what lies beneath the ocean – oil and gas – as what swims in or travels across the ocean. The city's economy is growing quickly, and the city has been identified as having one of the highest proportion of scientists and engineers per capita of any city under one million population in North America. Economic forecasts suggest that the city will continue its strong economic growth in the coming years not only in the "oceanic" industries mentioned above, but also in tourism and new home construction as the population continues to grow.
This growth in St. John's and its surrounding suburban municipalities, particularly Paradise (+21%), Flatrock (+5%), Torbay (+5%), Conception Bay South (+3%) and Portugal Cove-St. Philip's (+2%) (all percentages indicate 1996-2001 growth) is in stark contrast to the population and economic collapse of much of the rest of the Province (St. John's metro area: -0.7% population; Rest of the province: -10.0% population). Many feel that the growth in St. John's has not particularly spread to the rest of the Province.
Educational Institutions
St. John's hosts the following institutions of higher learning:
★ the main campus of
Memorial University of Newfoundland, including the
Memorial University of Newfoundland Botanical Garden.
★ the
Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland.
★ the
College of the North Atlantic.
★ the Academy Canada, Private College
Sports
King George V Park
Mile One Centre
★ St. John's is the home of the
St. John's Fog Devils, a junior hockey team in the
QMJHL. The Fog Devils' home stadium is
Mile One Centre in downtown St. John's. The
St. John's Maple Leafs of the
AHL previously played in St. John's, until they relocated and became the
Toronto Marlies in 2005.
★ St. John's is home to
North America's oldest annual sporting event, the
Royal St. John's Regatta, which dates back to at least 1816. The event is considered important enough in the life of the city that the day of the Regatta (the first Wednesday with fine weather in August) is a civic holiday - one of the only weather-dependent holidays in the world.
★ St. John's played host to the Canada Men's Soccer team's first (and only) qualification for the FIFA World Cup on September 14,
1985 where they defeated Honduras 2-1, at
King George V Park. The park also played host to a FIFA World Cup Qualification game on August 20, 1972, where Canada beat USA 3-2. Canada, however, failed to qualify for the World Cup in 1974.
★
Rugby union is a popular sport in St. John's. The current
Rugby Canada Super League champions are the
Newfoundland Rock who play at
Swilers Rugby Park in St. John's. The city was also host to a
Rugby World Cup qualifying match between Canada and the USA on 12 August 2006, where the Canadians heavily defeated the USA 56-7 to qualify for the
2007 Rugby World Cup finals in France.
★ The
2005 Scott Tournament of Hearts, the
Canadian women's
curling championship, was held at
Mile One Centre in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador from
February 19 to
27,
2005.
★ The 2006 Olympic gold medalist men's curling team, skipped by
Brad Gushue, is based in St. John's.
★ The late professional and
WWE wrestler,
Ed "Sailor" White, was born in St. John's.
★
Ultimate Frisbee is a quickly-growing sport in the city, having an established League providing two seasons: the larger and more competitive Summer League and the Fall League, intended as a way to become acquainted with the basics of the sport. The provincial team, called Granite, plays from the city and will compete in the 2007 national championships.
Transportation
St. John's is the eastern terminus of the
Trans-Canada Highway. (
Victoria, British Columbia is the western terminus.)
The city is served by
St. John's International Airport.
The city's
public transportation system is
Metrobus.
St. John's was the eastern terminus of the
Newfoundland Railway until the abandonment and closure of the railway in September 1988.
St. John's Harbour, Newfoundland
St. John's Harbour, Newfoundland
Demographics
(''Unless otherwise identified, all statistics below are for the St. John's
metro area, not the core city of St. John's.'')
★ According to the
Canada 2006 Census:
| City | Metro |
|---|
| Population | 100,646 | 181,113 |
| Growth (2001-2006) | 1.5 |
| Dwellings | 45,317 |
| Area (km²) | 446.04 | 804.64 |
| Area (sq mi) | 172.2 | 310.7 |
| Density (persons per km²) | 225.6 | 214.9 |
Religion
Overwhelmingly
Christian, the population of St. John's was once divided along sectarian (
Catholic/
Protestant) lines. This division was reinforced by a religious publicly funded school system. In recent years, this sectarianism has declined significantly, and is no longer a commonly acknowledged facet of life in St. John's. St. John's is the seat of the
Roman Catholic Archbishop of St. John's, and the Anglican
Bishop of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador.
| Religion | 2001 | % |
|---|
★ Roman Catholic | 83,615 | 48.9% |
★ Protestant | 77,880 | 45.5% |
★
★ Anglican | 39,020 | 22.8% |
★
★ United Church | 25,670 | 15.0% |
★
★ Salvation Army | 5,645 | 3.3% |
★
★ Pentecostal | 3,865 | 2.3% |
★
★ Presbyterian | 1,220 | 0.7% |
★
★ Baptist | 495 | 0.3% |
★
★ Jehovah's Witness | 425 | 0.2% |
★
★ Other Protestant | 1,540 | 0.9% |
★ Christian, not included elsewhere | 1,310 | 0.8% |
| Muslim | 475 | 0.3% |
| Hindu | 355 | 0.2% |
| Other religions | 460 | 0.3% |
| No religion | 6,990 | 3.9% |
Ethnic origins
Many of the earliest settlers of St. John's came from southeast
Ireland, primarily
Waterford,
Wexford and
Kilkenny. These origins can still be detected in similarities between accents from southeast Ireland and the traditional St. John's accent.
The information regarding ethnicities above is from the
2001 Canadian Census.
The percentages add to more than 100% because of dual responses (e.g. "French-Canadian" generates an entry in both the category "French" and the category "Canadian".) Groups with greater than 1,500 responses are included.
Notable Persons from St. John's
Miscellany
George Street, St. John's.
Water Street, St. John's.
★ St. John's continuously has one of the lowest crime rates in Canada.
★ St. John's has the most bars per capita in North America;
George Street in downtown St. John's has the most bars per square foot in
North America.
Media
Radio
St. John's is currently the only Canadian city served by
radio stations whose call letters do not all begin with the letter ''C''. The
ITU prefix ''VO'' was assigned to the Dominion of Newfoundland before the province joined
Canadian Confederation in
1949, and three
AM stations kept their existing call letters. However, other commercial radio stations in St. John's which went to air after
1949 use the same range of prefixes (''CF''–''CK'') currently in use elsewhere in Canada, with the exception of
VOCM-FM, which was permitted to adopt the VOCM callsign because of its corporate association with the AM station that already bore that callsign. VO also remains in use in
amateur radio.
★ 590
AM —
VOCM (
news/
talk)
★ 640 AM —
CBN (
CBC Radio One)
★ 800 AM —
VOWR (oldies/religious)
★ 930 AM —
CJYQ (Radio Newfoundland: local music and culture, all genres)
★ 1210 AM —
VOAR (
Mount Pearl; religious)
★ 92.3
FM —
CICQ (
Mount Pearl; tourist information)
★ 93.5 FM —
CHMR (
Memorial University of Newfoundland campus radio)
★ 94.7 FM —
CHOZ (OZ FM,
contemporary hit radio)
★ 97.5 FM —
VOCM (K-Rock 97.5,
classic rock)
★ 99.1 FM —
CKIX (Hits FM,
hot adult contemporary)
★ 101.1 FM —
CKSJ (Coast 101,
adult contemporary)
★ 101.9 FM —
CBAX-2 (
Espace musique)
★ 105.9 FM —
CBAF-17 (
La Première Chaîne)
★ 106.9 FM —
CBN (
CBC Radio Two)
Television
★ Channel 4 —
CBFJ,
SRC
★ Channel 6 —
CJON, independent station which airs a mix of
Global and
CTV programming; station is advertised as NTV
★ Channel 8 —
CBNT,
CBC
Print
★ ''
The Telegram'' (daily newspaper)
★ ''
The Independent'' (weekly newspaper)
★ ''
The Express'' (weekly newspaper, now discontinued)
★ ''
The Muse'' (weekly or, during summer months, bi-monthly Memorial University student newspaper)
★ ''
Le Gaboteur'' (Newfoundland and Labrador's only French-language newspaper; bi-monthly)
★ ''
The Scope'' (Newfoundland's only bi-weekly online and print alternative newspaper)
★ ''
Current'' (St. John's second bi-weekly newspaper)
Sister cities
★
Waterford,
Ireland
Mayors of St. John's
See
List of mayors of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Current Mayor: Andy Wells
Deputy Mayor: Dennis O'Keefe
See also
★
List of cities in Canada
★
List of communities in Newfoundland and Labrador
★
Waterford Valley
Notes
1. Paul O'Neill, ''The Oldest City: The Story of St. John's, Newfoundland'', 2003, ISBN 0-9730271-2-6.
2. Environment Canada, ''http://atlantic-web1.ns.ec.gc.ca/climatecentre/default.asp?lang=En&n=83846147-1#champion
External links
★
City of St. John's
★
Early Newfoundland Settlement Schemes
★
Newfoundland and Labrador's Provincial Register of Historic Places
★
Pictures of St. John's
★
St. John's and Area
★
Documentary film ''Rain, Drizzle, and Fog''
العربية
ä¸å›½
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिनà¥à¤¦à¥€
Italiano
日本語
Português
РуÑÑкий
Español
