Essay Database

The Beothuk were the aboriginal inhabitants of Newfoundland when European settlers first arrived. The total Beothuk population, at any one time, is thought by present day archaeologists to have numbered between 500 and 1000 individuals. Their subsistence economy was marine based, supplemented by inland Caribou hunting. Their traditional enemies were the Micmac and the Labrador Eskimos, and for the most part the Beothuk kept to themselves and avoided contact with Europeans, so very little is known about …

…of intermixture with other tribes, could retain all their original traits of character, language, religion, society and appearance. Both the Micmacs and the Europeans were in competition with the Beothuks for the islands limited resources. Cut off from their main source of food, reduced in numbers, relatively poorly armed, and lacking in allies, it is not surprising that the Beothuks ultimately suffered the same fate as the earlier, prehistoric peoples who once lived in Newfoundland.