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May 1, 1997
(Tourism, Culture and Recreation)

Cabot and His World Symposium:
The Story Behind a 500th Anniversary

The foundation of Newfoundland and Labrador's Cabot 500 Anniversary Celebrations will be examined in detail this June when the "Cabot and his World" Symposium is held in St. John's and Bonavista.

Conceived and developed by the Newfoundland Historical Society and a steering committee of Newfoundland heritage organizations, Cabot and his World will run from June 11 to 13 in St. John's, and in Bonavista from June 14 to the 15. It will focus on Giovanni Caboto (John Cabot), the Italian navigator and explorer, his times, and the impact of his Newfoundland arrival on European and western world evolution.

A key focus of the symposium will be "Newfoundland and Labrador Before the European Arrival," as detailed through a series of presentations by representatives of Aboriginal groups, while local and international scholars will address topics ranging from the English context of the Cabot voyages, European knowledge of the North Atlantic before Cabot, and a lively debate on the location of Cabot's landfall.

"We have endeavoured to bring forward a program that highlights key events and perspectives from Cabot's day, while also discussing the impact of his voyage on European migration and North American settlement," says symposium programme chair Dr. Jim Hiller. "At the same time, we want our program to reflect the fact that peoples of several aboriginal cultures lived on these shores for centuries before Cabot's arrival."

A highlight of the symposium will be an opening presentation by naval architect Colin Mudie, designer of the Matthew replica which will depart Bristol for Bonavista, Newfoundland on May 3. Mudie has made an illustrious career of designing anachronistic vessels hailing from legend or historical fact, including a replica of a 6th century leather boat known as a curragh which adventurer Tim Severin sailed from Ireland to Newfoundland in 1976.

While conceived and developed by the Newfoundland Historical Society, Hiller notes the symposium could not take place without the support of three sponsors with a great interest in our nation's history, namely Canada's National History Society of Winnipeg, the Department of Canadian Heritage, and Villa Charities of Toronto representing the Italian-Canadian community.

Additional donations have come from the local business community, heritage groups, and Memorial University of Newfoundland. Hibernia Management and Development Company played a key role in supporting the presentation by Colin Mudie.

The symposium is open to the public, with nominal fees for individual presentations, while people may also opt to register for the St. John's or Bonavista components, or for the full symposium.

"We feel the symposium makes a very important contribution to the educational component of the Cabot 500 year," Hiller says. "It features the essential involvement of aboriginal peoples, provides historical information and context, and in essence, tries to explain why we are having the celebrations at all."

"It should be an entertaining and enlightening event," he added.

For information and registration kits:

     Patricia O'Brien              Doug Burgess
     Symposium Coordinator         Manager of Communications
     Phone/FAX: (709) 722-2781     Cabot 500 Anniversary Celebrations
                                   (709) 729-4247
                                   Fax:  (709) 579-2067