During the mid-16th century, large numbers of right and bowhead whales drew whalers from the Basque region of Spain and France to the Strait of Belle Isle, where they established a major whaling port at Red Bay. For some 70 years, Basque whalers made the dangerous, month-long journey across the Atlantic to hunt whales and produce the oil that lit the lamps of Europe. See original Basque artifacts, remains, and restored chalupa at this national historic site and World Heritage Site. Au milieu du XVIe siècle, la prolifération de baleines franches et de baleines boréales a attiré les baleiniers de la région basque d’Espagne et de la France dans le détroit de Belle-Isle à Red Bay, où ils ont établi un important poste de chasse. Pendant quelque 70 années, les baleiniers basques ont entrepris ce dangereux périple d’un mois, traversant l’Atlantique pour chasser les baleines et produire l’huile qui éclairait les lampes en Europe. Voyez les artéfacts d’origine basque, les vestiges, ainsi que la chalupa restaurée dans ce lieu historique national et site du patrimoine mondial. Source: Parks Canada Website (2022)

Established: 1979 For More Information Please Visit The OFFICIAL PARKS CANADA WEBSITE Pour plus d’informations veuillez visiter LE SITE WEB OFFICIEL DE PARCS CANADA Newfoundland and Labrador Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador

The contents of brochures can be viewed by clicking on the cover. These items are historical in scope and are intended for educational purposes only; they are not meant as an aid for travel planning.

Date Unknown
History on the Edge Western Newfoundland and Labrador National Historic Sites 2018		Au couer de l'histoire Lieux historiques nationaux Ouest de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador 2018
History on the Edge Western Newfoundland and Labrador National Historic Sites 2019		Au couer de l'histoire Lieux historiques nationaux Ouest de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador 2019
Visitor Guide Western Newfoundland and Labrador National Historic Sites 2020		Guide du visiteur Lieux historiques nationaux Ouest de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador 2020
Visitor Guide Western Newfoundland and Labrador National Historic Sites 2022		Guide du visiteur Lieux historiques nationaux Ouest de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador 2022
Visitor Guide Western Newfoundland and Labrador National Historic Sites 2023		Guide du visiteur Lieux historiques nationaux Ouest de Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador 2023

Management Plan / Plan directeur (Parks Canada, 2011)

State of the Site Report 2011 / Rapport sur l'état du lieu 2011 (Parks Canada, 2011)

1983 Excavations at Red Bay, Labrador (James A. Tuck, extract from Archaeology in Newfoundland & Labrador 1983, February 1984)

1984 Excavations at Red Bay, Labrador (James A. Tuck, extract from Archaeology in Newfoundland & Labrador 1984, December 1985)

1987 Fieldwork at Red Bay, Labrador (James A. Tuck, extract from Archaeology in Newfoundland & Labrador 1987, 2019)

A Summary of Marine Archaeological Research Conducted at Red Bay, Labrador: The 1984 Field Season (James Ringer, extract from Archaeology in Newfoundland & Labrador 1984, December 1985)

Archaeological Investigations at Red Bay and Black Bay, Labrador (Ralph T. Pastore and Reginald Auger, extract from Archaeology in Newfoundland & Labrador 1983, Annual Report No. 4, February 1984)

Archaeology at Red Bay, Labrador 1988 (James A. Tuck, extract from Archaeology in Newfoundland & Labrador 1988, 2019)

Archaeology in Southern Labrador - 1980 (James A. Tuck, extract from Archaeology in Newfoundland & Labrador 1980, February 1981)

Basque Expedition to Labrador, 1985 (Jose Antonio Hernandez Vera, Juan Jose Bienes Calvo, Julio Nunez Marcen and Irune Zumalde Igartua, extract from Archaeology in Newfoundland & Labrador 1985, December 1986)

Basque Whaling in Labrador in the 16th Century / Les Basques et la pêche de la baleine au Labrador au XVI^e siècle Studies in Archaeology, Architecture, and History/Études en archéologie, architecture et histoire (Jean-Pierre Proulx, Parcs Canada, 1993)

Conservation in the Field: An Example From Red Bay (Judith A. Logan, extract from Archaeology in Newfoundland & Labrador 1985, December 1986)

Excavations at Red Bay, Labrador - 1982 (James A. Tuck, extract from Archaeology in Newfoundland & Labrador 1982, May 1983)

Excavations at Red Bay, Labrador 1985 (James A. Tuck, extract from Archaeology in Newfoundland & Labrador 1985, December 1986)

Excavations at Red Bay, Labrador - 1986 (James A. Tuck, extract from Archaeology in Newfoundland & Labrador 1986, Annual Report No. 7, April 1989)

Excavations at Red Bay, Labrador 1989 (James A. Tuck, extract from Archaeology in Newfoundland & Labrador 1989, 2019)

Fieldwork at Red Bay, Labrador (James A. Tuck, extract from Archaeology in Newfoundland & Labrador 1981, January 1982)

Marine Archaeological Research at Red Bay, Labrador: A Summary of the 1985 Field Season (Willis Stevens and Peter Waddell, extract from Archaeology in Newfoundland & Labrador 1985, December 1986)

Parks Canada 2009 Archaeological Field Activities (John Higdon and Marissa Homosits, extract from Provincial Archaeology Office 2019 Archaeology Review, Vol. 18, April 2020)

Progress Report on the Marine Excavation of the Basque Whaling Vessel San Juan (1565): A Summary of the 1982 Field Season (R. James Ringer, extract from Archaeology in Newfoundland & Labrador 1982, May 1983)

Progress Report on the Marine Excavation at Red Bay, Labrador: A Summary of the 1983 Field Season (Willis Stevens, extract from Archaeology in Newfoundland & Labrador 1984, December 1985)

Review Essay: The Underwater Archaeology of Red Bay: Basque Shipbuilding and Whaling in the 16th Century (Roger Smith, Amy Miller Cook, Greg Cook, and Della Scott Ireton, extract from The Northern Mariner, Vol. XIX, Canadian Nautical Research Society, 2009)

The basque whaling ship from Red Bay, Labrador: a treasure trove of data on Iberian atlantic shipbuilding design and techniques in the mid-16th century (Robert Grenier, extract from Proceedings, International Symposium on Archaeology of Medieval and Modern Ships of Iberian-Atlantic Tradition, 2001)

The Excavation of a Sixteenth Century Spanish Basque Whaling Galleon in Red Bay, Labrador: A Summary of the 1981 Field Season (extract from Archaeology in Newfoundland & Labrador 1981, January 1982)

The Underwater Archaeology of Red Bay: Basque Shipbuilding and Whaling in the 16th Century, Volume I: Archaeology Underwater: The Project / L'archaéologie subaquatique de Red Bay: La construction navale et la pêche de la baleine basques au XVI^e siècle, Volume I: L'archaéologie subaquatique: Le project (Robert Grenier, Marc-André Bernier and Willis Stevens, eds., Parks Canada, 2007)

The Underwater Archaeology of Red Bay: Basque Shipbuilding and Whaling in the 16th Century, Volume II: Material Culture / L'archaéologie subaquatique de Red Bay: La construction navale et la pêche de la baleine basques au XVI^e siècle, Volume II: La culture matérielle (Robert Grenier, Marc-André Bernier and Willis Stevens, eds., Parks Canada, 2007)

The Underwater Archaeology of Red Bay: Basque Shipbuilding and Whaling in the 16th Century, Volume III: The 24M Hull / L'archaéologie subaquatique de Red Bay: La construction navale et la pêche de la baleine basques au XVI^e siècle, Volume III: La caeène du navire 24M (Robert Grenier, Marc-André Bernier and Willis Stevens, eds., Parks Canada, 2007)

The Underwater Archaeology of Red Bay: Basque Shipbuilding and Whaling in the 16th Century, Volume IV: Rigging, Vessel Use and Related Studies (Digitization in progress) / L'archaéologie subaquatique de Red Bay: La construction navale et la pêche de la baleine basques au XVI^e siècle, Volume IV: La gréement, l'utilisation du navire et les études connexes (Numérisation en cours) (Robert Grenier, Marc-André Bernier and Willis Stevens, eds., Parks Canada, 2007)

The Underwater Archaeology of Red Bay: Basque Shipbuilding and Whaling in the 16th Century, Volume V: Appendices, Glossary and Bibliography (Digitization in progress) / L'archaéologie subaquatique de Red Bay: La construction navale et la pêche de la baleine basques au XVI^e siècle, Volume V: Annexes, Glossaire et Bibliographie (Numérisation en cours) (Robert Grenier, Marc-André Bernier and Willis Stevens, eds., Parks Canada, 2007)

Working Together for World Heritage Status (Cindy Gibbons, extract from Provincial Archaeology Office 2009 Archaeology Review, Vol. 8, March 2010)

The following visual bibliography is just a sampling of the books which have been published for this park. ParksCanadaHistory.com does not endorse these, but are merely presenting them for informational purposes only. As most are copyrighted, we are only able to provide the covers, and not contents, of these publications.

Whaling in the North Atlantic: From Earliest Times to the Mid-19th Century Jean-Pierre Proulx 1986	La pêche de la baleine dans l'Atlantique Nord jusqu'au milieu du XIXe siècle Jean-Pierre Proulx 1986	Basque whaling in Labrador in the 16th century Jean-Pierre Proulx 1993	Les Basques et la pêche de la baleine au Labrador au XVIe siècle Jean-Pierre Proulx 1993
The Underwater Archaeology of Red Bay Vol. I Marc-André Bernier, Robert Grenier and Willis Stevens 2007	L'archéologie subaquatique de Red Bay Vol. I Marc-André Bernier, Robert Grenier and Willis Stevens 2007	The Underwater Archaeology of Red Bay Vol. II Marc-André Bernier, Robert Grenier and Willis Stevens 2007	L'archéologie subaquatique de Red Bay Vol. II Marc-André Bernier, Robert Grenier and Willis Stevens 2007
The Underwater Archaeology of Red Bay Vol. III Marc-André Bernier, Robert Grenier and Willis Stevens 2007	L'archéologie subaquatique de Red Bay Vol. III Marc-André Bernier, Robert Grenier and Willis Stevens 2007	The Underwater Archaeology of Red Bay Vol. IV Marc-André Bernier, Robert Grenier and Willis Stevens 2007	L'archéologie subaquatique de Red Bay Vol. IV Marc-André Bernier, Robert Grenier and Willis Stevens 2007
The Underwater Archaeology of Red Bay Vol. V Marc-André Bernier, Robert Grenier and Willis Stevens 2007	L'archéologie subaquatique de Red Bay Vol. V Marc-André Bernier, Robert Grenier and Willis Stevens 2007