Much of our knowledge of daily life in outport Newfoundland in the late 18th and early 19th century comes from the pens of visitors. They were typically missionaries, explorers, naturalists, and geologists whose work brought them to outlying communities not often visited by outsiders or even the local government.

The fishery remained the mainstay of the St. Pierre and Miquelon economy during the 19th century.

Considerable uncertainty surrounds our understanding of daily life in Newfoundland during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.