As with many Newfoundland stories, the history of Newfoundland music of European origin begins with codfish.

Traditional Newfoundland and Labrador music activities, media, and exposure.

For most, the phrase Newfoundland music suggests a spirited sound descended from the ancient folk traditions of England and Ireland.

Newfoundlanders have always been topical in their songwriting, fashioning lyrics to reflect their lives and their communities...

Traditional music represents the province's history and culture, and forms a vital link between the past and present.

Although it is often described in different terms, the expedition that led to the discovery of Newfoundland was primarily an economic enterprise.

European fishers had been working off Newfoundland and Labrador's coasts for about 100 years by the turn of the 17th century.

It became advantageous for Great Britain to have a fishery based in Newfoundland as conditions of market and competition changed.

The Centre for Newfoundland Studies in the Queen Elizabeth II Library contains the largest and, possibly, the best collection of Newfoundland and Labrador material available in the world. It has at least one copy of almost every book ever published about Newfoundland and Labrador.

France was one of the earliest European nations to engage in the migratory fishery and dominated the industry throughout the 16th and 17th centuries.

French migrations to Newfoundland and Labrador began in the early 16th century and lasted for approximately 400 years.

Newfoundland and Labrador's cod fishery was the major pull factor attracting French settlers to the colony from the 16th through 19th centuries.

The Irish played an important role in both the migratory and resident fisheries at Newfoundland and Labrador.

The seasonal migrations from England to Newfoundland, begun in the 1500s, endured for nearly four centuries and involved hundreds of thousands of individuals.