Bay Bulls ( 2021 population: 1,566) is a small fishing town in the province of
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises t ...
, Canada.
Geography
Located in a sheltered bay, it has been home to many fishermen and a strategic location in early times as it is located just a few miles from the capital, St. John's.
History
Bay Bulls first appears on a 1592 map drawn by
Thomas Hood
Thomas Hood (23 May 1799 – 3 May 1845) was an English poet, author and humorist, best known for poems such as " The Bridge of Sighs" and " The Song of the Shirt". Hood wrote regularly for ''The London Magazine'', '' Athenaeum'', and ''Punch' ...
.
Fortification of the harbour came in 1638 by Governor
David Kirke
Sir David Kirke ( – 1654), also spelt David Ker, was an adventurer, privateer and colonial governor. He is best known for his successful capture of Québec in 1629 during the Thirty Years' War and his subsequent governorship of lands in Ne ...
. In 1665, Bay Bulls was raided by
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
King William's War
King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand All ...
Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville
Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville (16 July 1661 – 9 July 1706) or Sieur d'Iberville was a French soldier, explorer, colonial administrator, and trader. He is noted for founding the colony of Louisiana in New France. He was born in Montreal to French ...
Commodore
Commodore may refer to:
Ranks
* Commodore (rank), a naval rank
** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom
** Commodore (United States)
** Commodore (Canada)
** Commodore (Finland)
** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore''
* Air commodore ...
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against ...
entered Bay Bulls with several Men of War, and received information about the whereabouts of French ships and unprotected settlements around the Avalon Peninsula, which he then attacked. On June 24, 1762, the French led by Admiral d'Arsac de Ternay, landed seven hundred men who occupied Bay Bulls and marched to St. John's. Bay Bulls suffered its last invasion on September 29, 1796, when Admiral Richery attempted to storm St. John's but finding it well defended; he attacked and burned Bay Bulls instead.
In 1890 the Roman Catholic Church, St. Peter and St. Paul was rebuilt. The gate was initially marked by cannons left over from the battles with the French, then statues of the Saints were added on top, which gave the famous "Canonized Saints of Bay Bulls."
Demographics
In the
2021 Census of Population
The 2021 Canadian census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population with a reference date of May 11, 2021. It follows the 2016 Canadian census, which recorded a population of 35,151,728. The overall response rate was 98%, which is sli ...
conducted by Statistics Canada, Bay Bulls had a population of living in of its total private dwellings, a change of from its 2016 population of . With a land area of , it had a population density of in 2021.
Economy
Bay Bulls is a fishing community and was established because it is close to the rich fishing grounds on the
Grand Banks
The Grand Banks of Newfoundland are a series of underwater plateaus south-east of the island of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf. The Grand Banks are one of the world's richest fishing grounds, supporting Atlantic cod, swordf ...
. Due to its proximity to St. John's, the town is becoming more of a bedroom community for people employed there. Bay Bulls has been at the forefront of many strategies such as
fish farming
upright=1.3, Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye">mariculture.html" ;"title="Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture">Salmon farming in the sea (mariculture) at Loch Ainort, Isle of Skye, Scotland
Fish farming or ...
and lately servicing the Oil and Gas industry. The Penney Group of Companies has built a repair facility that services the many
oil rig
{{about, , the mnemonic OIL RIG, Redox
An oil rig is any kind of apparatus constructed for oil drilling.
Kinds of oil rig include:
* Drilling rig, an apparatus for on-land oil drilling
* Drillship, a floating apparatus for offshore oil drilling ...
s that drill for
oil
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
on the Grand Banks. Tourism has become an important part of the community as well. Four whale and bird watching establishments, as well as several bed-and-breakfast places, attract visitors from all over the world.
Image gallery
Bay Bulls Harbor.jpg, Bay Bulls Harbour
Canonizedsaints.jpg, St. Peter and St. Paul Church, showing the "canonized saints"
List of cities and towns in Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the ninth-most populous province in Canada, with 510,550 residents recorded in the 2021 Canadian Census, and is the seventh-largest in land area, with . Newfoundland and Labrador has 278 municipalities, including 3 ...