Long settled by indigenous peoples of the Dorset culture, the island was visited by the Icelandic explorer Leif Eriksson in the 11th century, who called the new land "Vinland".
The next European visitors to Newfoundland were Portuguese, Basque, Spanish, French, Dutch and English migratory fishermen and whalers.
The island was visited by the Genoese navigator John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto), working under contract to King Henry VII of England on his expedition from Bristol in 1497.
In 1501, Portuguese explorers Gaspar Corte-Real and his brother Miguel Corte-Real charted part of the coast of Newfoundland in a failed attempt to find the Northwest Passage.
After European settlement, colonists first called the island Terra Nova, from "New Land" in Portuguese and Latin.
The name Newfoundland in popular discourse came from people discussing the "New founde land" in the new world.

On August 5, 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed Newfoundland as England's first overseas colony under Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I of England, thus officially establishing a forerunner to the much later British Empire.
Newfoundland is considered Britain's oldest colony.
At the time of English settlement, the Beothuk inhabited the island.

L'Anse aux Meadows was a Norse settlement near the northernmost tip of Newfoundland (Cape Norman), which has been dated to be approximately 1,000 years old.
The site is considered the only undisputed evidence of Pre-Columbian contact between the Old and New Worlds, if the Norse-Inuit contact on Greenland is not counted.
Point Rosee, in southwest Newfoundland, was thought to be a second Norse site until excavations in 2015 and 2016 found no evidence of any Norse presence.
The island is a likely location of Vinland, mentioned in the Viking Chronicles, although this has been disputed.

The indigenous people on the island at the time of European settlement were the Beothuk, who spoke an Amerindian language of the same name.
Later immigrants developed a variety of dialects associated with settlement on the island: Newfoundland English, Newfoundland French.
In the 19th century, it also had a dialect of Irish known as Newfoundland Irish.
Scottish Gaelic was spoken on the island during the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly in the Codroy Valley area, chiefly by settlers from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia.
The Gaelic names reflected the association with fishing: in Scottish Gaelic, it was called Eilean a' Trosg, or literally, "Island of the Cod".
Similarly, the Irish name Talamh an Éisc means "Land of the Fish".
Long settled by indigenous peoples of the Dorset culture, the island was visited by the Icelandic explorer Leif Eriksson in the 11th century, who called the new land "Vinland". The next European visitors to Newfoundland were Portuguese, Basque, Spanish, French, Dutch and English migratory fishermen and whalers. The island was visited by the Genoese navigator John Cabot (Giovanni Caboto), working under contract to King Henry VII of England on his expedition from Bristol in 1497. In 1501, Portuguese explorers Gaspar Corte-Real and his brother Miguel Corte-Real charted part of the coast of Newfoundland in a failed attempt to find the Northwest Passage. After European settlement, colonists first called the island Terra Nova, from "New Land" in Portuguese and Latin. The name Newfoundland in popular discourse came from people discussing the "New founde land" in the new world.
On August 5, 1583, Sir Humphrey Gilbert claimed Newfoundland as England's first overseas colony under Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I of England, thus officially establishing a forerunner to the much later British Empire. Newfoundland is considered Britain's oldest colony. At the time of English settlement, the Beothuk inhabited the island.
L'Anse aux Meadows was a Norse settlement near the northernmost tip of Newfoundland (Cape Norman), which has been dated to be approximately 1,000 years old. The site is considered the only undisputed evidence of Pre-Columbian contact between the Old and New Worlds, if the Norse-Inuit contact on Greenland is not counted. Point Rosee, in southwest Newfoundland, was thought to be a second Norse site until excavations in 2015 and 2016 found no evidence of any Norse presence. The island is a likely location of Vinland, mentioned in the Viking Chronicles, although this has been disputed.
The indigenous people on the island at the time of European settlement were the Beothuk, who spoke an Amerindian language of the same name. Later immigrants developed a variety of dialects associated with settlement on the island: Newfoundland English, Newfoundland French. In the 19th century, it also had a dialect of Irish known as Newfoundland Irish. Scottish Gaelic was spoken on the island during the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly in the Codroy Valley area, chiefly by settlers from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. The Gaelic names reflected the association with fishing: in Scottish Gaelic, it was called Eilean a' Trosg, or literally, "Island of the Cod". Similarly, the Irish name Talamh an Éisc means "Land of the Fish".
Newfoundland (island)