New Britain (Canada)

New Britain historically referred to the North-eastern reaches of British America, itself loosely divided into the territories of New South Wales, New North Wales, and Labrador. The name “Labrador” predates mention of “New Britain” by more than 100 years.^[1]

New North Wales

The historical name for the region of Canada east of Hudson Bay to Labrador, what is currently Nunavik (Northern Quebec). The region was given this name by Captain Luke Foxe in 1631.^[2][3]

New South Wales

The historical name for the region of Canada west and south of Hudson Bay. It was named and mapped by Thomas Button in 1613. The south west coast of Hudson Bay was called New South Wales, after his native land, by the Welshman Thomas James on 20 August 1631, during a voyage of discovery in search of a Northwest Passage into the South Sea.^[4] It was 139 years later that James Cook gave the same name to the east coast of New Holland.^[5]

The name "New South Wales" appeared in Emanuel Bowen's Complete System of Geography of 1747. Maps of the era (e.g., Samuel Dunn’s in 1778) show the territory extending along the Ontario coast of Hudson Bay from Hannah Bay and into Manitoba as far as the mouth of the Nelson River.

After the District of Keewatin was established in 1876, the name fell into disuse for the area.

Labrador

During the “New Britain” era the only European settlements in Labrador were the Moravian Church missions at Nain (1771), Okak (1776), and Hopedale (1782).

References

1. ^ Nelson, D. (1997). Off the Map: The Curious Histories of Place Names. New York: Kodansha International. ISBN 1568361742.
2. ^ Begg, Alexander. History of the North-West. 1894. p127
3. ^ J. M. Wordie; H. Carmichael; E. G. Dymond; T. C. Lethbridge. An Expedition to North West Greenland and the Canadian Arctic in 1937. The Geographical Journal, Vol. 92, No. 5. (Nov., 1938), p. 417.
4. ^ Miller Christy (ed.), The Voyages of Captain Luke Foxe of Hull and Captain Thomas James of Bristol, in Search of a North-west Passage, in 1631-32, London, Hakluyt Society, 1894, p.485. C. M. MacInnes, Captain Thomas James and the North West Passage, Bristol, Historical Association (Bristol Branch), 1967, p.4.
5. ^ G.K. McCallum, “A Date with Cook”, Journal of the Royal Australian Historical Society, vol.57, pt.1, March 1971, pp.1-9.

External links

• Map from 1662.
• Worcester, Joseph Emerson. Elements of Geography, Ancient and Modern, with an Atlas.
• Carte du Canada ou la nouvelle France. (French)

Coordinates: 50°06′39″N 75°23′30″W / 50.1107°N 75.3918°W / 50.1107; -75.3918