The commercial spring seal hunt was one of Newfoundland and Labrador's most dangerous and demanding industries in the 19th century.

As seals became more difficult to harvest, Newfoundland outfitters turned first to larger sailing vessels and then to wooden-hulled steamers.

Newfoundland and Labrador's physical environment greatly influenced the ways settlers made a living during the 19th century. The richness of marine resources encouraged a pattern of coastal settlement and made the cod and seal fisheries central to local economies. In contrast, the relative scarcity of good soils and other terrestrial resources made large-scale farming operations impractical and discouraged year-round habitation of interior spaces.

Throughout the nineteenth century, Newfoundland and Labrador's economy centred on its ability to export goods to foreign buyers.

Until well into the 20th century, Newfoundland's primary economic activity was in the fisheries.

The first sealing vessels from St. John's sailed to the ice in 1793. Following their successful expedition, the sailing seal fishery expanded rapidly.

The bulk of seals taken annually in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and off the eastern coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador are Greenland seals, or harps.

A history of the merchant community in Newfoundland and its effect on trade and commerce

Newfoundland and Labrador's outport economy depended not on cash, but on merchant credit for much of the 19th century.

Biography of the explorer, Captain Robert (Bob) Bartlett, who skippered some of the most famous and controversial expeditions to the Arctic.

The story of the tragic 1903 Hubbard Expedition into the Labrador interior, and an overview of the career of Dillon Wallace.

The nature of Newfoundland and Labrador's economy limited direct interaction between Indigenous groups and Europeans for much of the 17th and 18th centuries.

Between 1898 and 1909, Newfoundland and Labrador ice captain Bob Bartlett and American explorer Robert Peary made three separate attempts to reach the North Pole.