The
coast of Labrador has been settled for about 9,000 years. The
Maritime Archaic peoples and the
Paleo-Inuit hunted
seals and
walrus and fished for
salmon. Between 1550 and the early 17th century, Red Bay, known as
Balea Baya (Whale Bay), was a centre for
Basque whaling operations.
Sailors from southern
France and northern
Spain sent 15 whaleships and 600 men a season to the remote outpost on the
Strait of Belle Isle to catch the
right whale and
bowhead whales that populated the waters there, according to
Memorial University of Newfoundland. In 1565,
San Juan, sank on a whaling expedition to Labrador. Research by
Selma Barkham in Spanish archives suggested that the
San Juan had been lost in Red Bay and
La Madalena had sunk in Chateau Bay in the same year. By 1974, Barkham was in contact with archaeologists working for
Parks Canada. A
cemetery on nearby Saddle Island holds the remains of 140 whalers. Many of the people buried there are thought to have died from drowning and exposure. Local legends of Red Bay make reference to a hidden treasure buried in a body of water known as
Pond on the Hill at the foot of Tracey Hill by the infamous pirate Captain
William Kidd. An attempt was made to find the treasure by residents of
Carrol Cove by draining the pond. The attempt failed. Red Bay has been designated a
National Historic Site of Canada since 1979, and since 2013 it is one of
Canada's UNESCO World Heritage Sites. In 2016, the
Google Street View imaging service uploaded images of Red Bay. Red Bay is one of the few communities in Labrador with
images on the service. In 2021, the local school, Basque Memorial School closed due to no enrollment. == Demographics ==