I was just reading about the Basque contact with the new world in the excellent book "The First Frontier." It is apparent that the Basques were working the N. American cod fisherie in medieval times. Fascinating!
The Basques were one of the first to commercially hunt whales (for the oil). The first mention of Basque whaling was made in 1059 when it was said to have been practiced at the Basque town of Bayonne (where I was born). For five centuries they dominated the trade, spreading to the far corners of the North Atlantic and even reaching the South Atlantic. When whales were in decline on the basque coast, they began to explore other fishery places for whaling: southern Ireland, Labrador,Newfoundland, Iceland...
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There's so much we don't know (and never will).
I was just reading about the Basque contact with the new world in the excellent book "The First Frontier." It is apparent that the Basques were working the N. American cod fisherie in medieval times. Fascinating!
Jim Cornelius
www.frontierpartisans.com
Hi,
The Basques were one of the first to commercially hunt whales (for the oil). The first mention of Basque whaling was made in 1059 when it was said to have been practiced at the Basque town of Bayonne (where I was born). For five centuries they dominated the trade, spreading to the far corners of the North Atlantic and even reaching the South Atlantic. When whales were in decline on the basque coast, they began to explore other fishery places for whaling: southern Ireland, Labrador,Newfoundland, Iceland...
Regards,
Stef
Apparently there is a book titled "The Basque History of the World" that goes into all of this early and unsung activity. Sounds most interesting.
Jim Cornelius
www.frontierpartisans.com
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