Bay d'Espoir ( ) is an arm of
Hermitage Bay
Hermitage Bay is an expansive bay stretching out along the south coast of Newfoundland. It is a body of Gulf of St. Lawrence which is near the Connaigre Peninsula. On its south side, it is bordered by the Hermitage peninsula and the communities o ...
in the
Gulf of Saint Lawrence
The Gulf of St. Lawrence is a gulf that fringes the shores of the provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, in Canada, plus the islands Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, possessions of France, in ...
, located on the south coast of
Newfoundland
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...
. Communities in Bay d'Espoir include:
Milltown-Head of Bay d'Espoir
Milltown–Head of Bay d'Espoir is a town in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. The town had a population of 669 in the Canada 2021 Census.
In January 2017, Bay d'Espoir Academy, along with the local RCMP detachment and Millto ...
, Morrisville,
St. Alban's,
St. Joseph's Cove,
St. Veronica's and
Miawpukek. The
Miawpukek First Nation
Miawpukek First Nation is a Mi'kmaq First Nations band government in Conne River, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, with a registered population of 836 living on-reserve as of May 2023, with another 2,265 living off-reserve.
They control the ...
reserve of Samiajij Miawpukek (Conne River) is located in Bay d'Espoir.
Name
The name appears in printed form with many different spellings, some of which are: Bay D' Espoir/e, Bay of Despair, Bay Despoir/e, Baie D' Espoir/e, Baie Despair and Baie Despoir/e.
Bay d'Espoir is often translated locally either as Bay of Hope or Bay of Despair. The name Bay of Despair may be an English corruption of the French name Baie d'Espoir. However, the French cartographer
Bellin referred to the bay as "Baie du Desespoir" on his 1743 map "Carte de l'Isle de Terre-Neuve". Therefore, the actual sequence may have been from "Baie du Desespoir" to the English literal translation "Bay of Despair", which appears as early as 1733 on a Henry Popple map, and then to a French corruption of this, namely "Baie d'Espoir". The English name "Bay of Despair" can also be found in a navigation guide written by
James Cook
Captain (Royal Navy), Captain James Cook (7 November 1728 – 14 February 1779) was a British Royal Navy officer, explorer, and cartographer famous for his three voyages of exploration to the Pacific and Southern Oceans, conducted between 176 ...
.
In popular culture
Bay d'Espoir is the feature location of
Farley Mowat
Farley McGill Mowat, (May 12, 1921 – May 6, 2014) was a Canadian writer and environmentalist. His works were translated into 52 languages, and he sold more than 17 million books. He achieved fame with the publication of his books on the Ca ...
's 2006 autobiography "Bay of Spirits", in which Mowat chronicles his time living on the southwest coast of the island of Newfoundland.
See also
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Bay d'Espoir Academy
Bay d'Espoir Academy is a K-12 school in St. Alban's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada that serves the Bay d'Espoir
Bay d'Espoir ( ) is an arm of Hermitage Bay in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, located on the south coast of Newfoundland (island), ...
*
Bay d'Espoir Hydroelectric Power Station
*
List of communities in Newfoundland and Labrador
This article lists unincorporated communities of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada.
Incorporated towns and cities are incorporated municipalities and can be found on List of municipalities in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Newfoundl ...
References
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Espoir