The White Fleet – Enduring connection with Canada

In 1967, the series ‘Land and Sea’, hosted by CBC, launched a documentary depicting the life of Portuguese fishermen who harvested the waters off the coast of Newfoundland. In this 27-minute episode called ‘The Portuguese White Fleet from 1967’, one can gain appreciation for the courage and the hard work of those men who ventured onto the untamed waters in tiny dories. This is a story that is over half of a century old.

The White Fleet, named for its white hulls – although in some older documents, such as in the Government of Canada’s collectionscanada.gc.ca it is stated that the name comes from the boats’ white sails – has been part of Newfoundland folklore for centuries. In fact, the presence of these ships in the Grand Banks of Eastern Canada is even older than Canada itself. New evidence, allegedly discovered recently by Historians, have the establishment scrambling to determine if History needs to be rewritten: it seems that the Portuguese might have been here earlier than the History books have led us to believe.

Every year, the fleet of fishing boats would roam the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, anchoring at different spots while men fished alone, for hours, in tiny dories in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. From the shore, people would marvel at the ships with tall white sails approaching the port of Saint John’s, but the excitement grew even more every time the fishermen ventured onto shore to stock up with essentials, to shop, and to mingle with the locals.

The relationship between the Portuguese fishermen and Newfoundlanders is evident not only through these historical encounters, but also in many other visual elements throughout the Province, and particularly in Saint John’s. In the Province’s capital, there are murals relating to this long-standing relationship and a statue of Gaspar Corte-Real at the Confederation Building. Inside the local Roman Catholic Basilica, further evidence is found: a replica of Our Lady of Fatima that was brought over in procession by 5,000 fishermen in the distant year of 1955. You can find more on this in our multimedia page.

In 1955, the White Fleet was forced to cease operations off the coast of Canada. The last ship abandoned the Port of Saint John’s on July 23, 1974. Although the White Fleet was forced to leave Newfoundland after a bitter international dispute, the History remains intact and so do the relationships that marked an era than spanned over centuries.

Watch the documentary here.

To learn more about the White Fleet, please visit one of the following websites:

https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca

https://www.nnels.ca/items/white-fleet

https://www.worldcat.org/title/white-fleet-a-history-of-the-portuguese-handliners/oclc/859431579

https://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releases/1998/tcr/0205n02.htm

thebasilica.net/whitefleet/

http://ngb.chebucto.org/Articles/hist-010.shtml

A book, written by J.P. Andrieux, called ‘The White Fleet’, contains more detailed information. It can purchased on amazon or on google books. Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/White-Fleet-J-P-Andrieux/dp/1771172363 Google books: https://books.google.ca/books/about/The_White_Fleet.html?id=OhOIngEACAAJ&redir_esc=y

Another book, ‘Port o’ Call Memories of the Portuguese White Fleet in St. John’s, Newfoundland’ by Priscilla A. Doel, can be purchased here: https://www.pilothousecharts.com/port-o-call-memories-of-the-portuguese-white-fleet.html