Matthew Mohan
Student ID # 001145057
Why Did The Beothuk People Disappear?
By: Matthew Mohan
The Beothuk were the aboriginal inhabitants of Newfoundland when European settlers first arrived. The peak of the Beothuk population is thought to be between 500 and 1000 people. Their main source of food was fish, supplemented by Caribou hunting. Most of the time the Beothuk lived in tepee structures known as mamateeks. These were circular structures with a fire pit in the middle. Close around the fire pit were indentations dug and shaped for sleeping purposes. In winter, walls were lined with hides for {text:bookmark} insulation. The entire family shared a mamateek. (Hewson, John. “Beothuk and Algonkian: Evidence Old and New.” International Journal of American Linguistics, Vol. 34, No. 2 (Apr., 1968), )
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, therefore very little is known about them. The tragic story of the Beothuk has attracted a great deal of attention with the idea that the extinction of their people was due to the settlers and fishermen slaughtering them. Given the Beothuk nature of avoiding Europeans, there was relatively no danger of infection from European disease until late in the history of the Beothuk when contacts with Europeans was more frequent. Although some {text:soft-page-break} were killed by the Europeans who resented Beothuk thefts, and some perished due to disease, this was not the major cause of their demise. Their fate was sealed by the growing Micmac presence and English settlement which caused a loss of access to the seals, fish, birds and shellfish.
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The resourceful Beothuk found ways to live off the land and sea. Most bands were made up of 7-10 families and would spend the warmer months on the coast. (Hewson, 1968)There, they would catch fish, clams, lobsters, and mussels. They would also hunt harp seals, harbor seals, otter and a variety of sea birds. As the temperatures became cooler, the Beothuk would move inland. During the winter months, they would hunt mammals. The main source of diet for the Beothuk was caribou. They also used the skins for clothing and the sinews for thread. The bands would also gather edible roots, fruits, and berries in season as a supplement to their diet of meat.
The Beothuk had contact with other Native Americans tribes before the European arrival: The Micmac, Montagnais-Naskapi, and Dorset Eskimos.(Marshall, Ingeborg, A History and Ethnography of the Beothuk. McGill-Queen’s University Press, Montreal & Kingston, 1996) Most of these tribes were aggressive, this chipped away at their small population base. By the time of European contact, the Beothuk were pushed into the less hospitable northern half of Newfoundland. The Micmacs had occupied the south.
By the 1720’s the Micmac pushed the Beothuk from St. George’s Bay and also from portions of Newfoundland’s west and south coast so that the Beothuk territory was reduced (Marshal, 1996).
The Beothuk were driven inland away from their usual food sources along the coast, also there was little reason to hunt for animals such as lynx, marten, etc because that these animals provided little edible {text:soft-page-break} meat.
Then the Europeans arrived, mainly staying on the coast at first for fishing. There was not a large impact on the Beothuk way of life initially. There was some casual trading between the Beothuk and the Europeans. Many say it was silent trading because of the language barrier, the groups never came into real contact with one another. However, it never developed into a real trading relationship, as many other tribes had with the Europeans in the 17th century.( Marshall 1996) The Europeans established year round fishing camps, then permanent posts, usually in the deep forest, river mouths and other Beothuk areas. The Beothuk, not wanting to have contact with the Europeans were robbed of their traditional meeting grounds and primary sources of food and resources.
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Everywhere else in North America, native people were eager to trade furs with Europeans for metal cutting tools and weapons. The Beothk, had the opportunity to obtain such goods without having to exchange furs for them. The Beothuks could make a quick trip to an abandoned European fishing station to “acquire” the desired metal goods. This meant that they did not have to modify their traditional way of life in the winter by hunting fur-bearing animals such as lynx and marten, animals that provided little in edible meat.
The Beothuk became greatly skilled at working with these objects to turn them into useful hunting tools which greatly improved the Beothuk success in hunting. Iron arrow heads were much tougher than stone and were easily re-sharpened. Iron harpoon blades would also have been much more effective than ones tipped with stone.
{text:soft-page-break} The Beothuk were a very aggressive tribe, which at its peak most likely numbered no more than 1000 individuals. By the numbers, without the introduction of outsiders their gene pool was unlikely to last much longer. Their isolationism, was so strict that intermarriage outside the tribe was forbidden. Beothuks taken into slavery by other tribes showed no interest in escape to return to their families; an assumption was that they would be put to death upon return. This is one of the possible explanations for the disappearance of the Beothuk people. It is possible that mixed with the shrinking population and the traditions of the tribe that the Beothuk were responsible for their own demise. It is also possible that if their had been no contact with Europeans the Beothuk tribe could have survived even with its strict isolationism.
By the 18th century, Europeans were expanding their camps further inland.(Hewson, 1968) The Beothuk fled from the Europeans and moved further inland, where food became scarce. Now the Beothuk were suffering from starvation and their conflicts with the Europeans were causing their numbers to dwindle. Those who didn’t die of starvation or from war with the Europeans suffered from the diseases that Europeans brought with them.
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The time between 1750 and 1810 seems to have been the most crucial in the history of the Beothuk. (Marshall, 1996) During that period on mainland Labrador the caribou herds changed their traditional migratory paths, thus taking away a major food source for the Beothuk. The caribou herds were a main source of winter food for the Beothuk. To make matters even worse the winters of these years were especially harsh. The only way that the other tribes of the area survived these horrible conditions was with the help of the Hudson Bay Company. The Hudson Bay Company provided food to help stave off widespread famine among the Montagnais-Naskapi. The Beothuk did not wish to seek this intervention from the Hudson Bay Company. After these years nearly fifty percent of their {text:soft-page-break} population died. The poor relationship between the Beothuk and the Europeans is another possible reason for the demise of this tribe. Having the Europeans as enemies as opposed to allies did not help the population growth of the Beothuk.
During the late 18th century, the Europeans attempted to reach out to the Beothuk peacefully. Due to all the conflicts, the small number that were left did not respond to the Europeans. There were said to be about 13 remaining Beothuk in 1823 when 3 sick and starving Beothuk women were captured and taken to St. John’s. Unfortunately, 2 of the women died, which brought the numbers to 11 surviving Beothuk.(Marshall, 1996)
Shanawdithit, about 23 at the time of her capture, spent six years at Exploits Island and St. John’s, where she contributed to white society’s limited understanding of the Beothuk people. She translated English words into the Beothuk language, drew pictures of Beothuk tools, food, mythological figures, homes, and other artifacts, and told stories about various encounters between her people and the Europeans.
By 1829, Shanawdithit began to show symptoms of tuberculosis. She died of the disease on 6 June of 1829, which likely marked the end of her people. Although some rumors of Beothuk sightings persisted for the next few years, Shanawdithit is believed to have been the last of the {text:bookmark} Beothuk.(Marshall, 1996)
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The extinction of the Beothuk was due to many reasons rather than just one. The arrival of European settlers dramatically reduced the amount of available land, primary food sources and {text:soft-page-break} resources, while an almost complete lack of trade and other interactions between the two peoples made it impossible to sign any land treaties or other negotiations. The Beothuk retreated to the island’s interior, where food was scarce and survival was difficult. At the same time, exposure to European diseases, such as tuberculosis, took a toll on the Beothuk population. Sick, starving, and isolated from both Europeans and other Aboriginal peoples, the Beothuk dropped in numbers throughout the 18th and 19th centuries until they eventually disappeared.
