From: Ad 


>>> How about the English fishermen etc who were habitually fishing the
>>> grand banks much earlier & were landing for water, supplies etc?
>>
>> Don't think so, did they have any intention of permanent camps here in
>> NA?
>>
>
> Eventually yes. The earliest records of the grand banks (& the cod
> therein) date back to the 1350'es but in general it was kept secret till
> 1497 when John Cabot revealed the secret fishing spot.
>


BTW examples:

http://www.skyweb.net/~channy/Westto.html

"The result was 1630 + 90 years, in other words, between 1520 and
1720. This ruled out Viking and Icelandic origins, which should be dated
A.D. 1000-1300.

Who were these people living in a thriving Pemaquid settlement, next door
to Samoset's Wawenock Indians, a Tarrantine Abernake branch, possibly at
the very time Jamestown and Plymouth were fighting tremendous odds?
Archaeological evidence places not only fisherman, but blacksmiths,
carpenters, and artisans.

Such a settlement could hardly have been established overnight.

Could fishermen have set up a Pemaquid station which evolved into a
bustling Norumbega by the time history admitted New England? As examples of
historical inattention, when Jacques Cartier "discovered" the St.
Lawrence, he found Breton and Basque fishermen there. Accredited
Elizabethan discoverers, landing in New England, read to surprised English
fishermen profound proclamations claiming the entire territory in the name
of royal charter companies. "

"When Samoset met the Pilgrims in Massachusetts, he said:
"Welcome Englishmen!"

Hardly had they recovered from their surprise when he asked them for beer.
Satisfied, he left in his seagoing canoe, returning a few days later with
Squanto. The meeting with Squanto on a warm March day, after a killer
winter, was the decisive moment. Squanto showed the white men vital
agricultural secrets. He also introduced the local chief. Massassoit.

This is the debt we owe the Pemaquid settlers - that they helped plant the
democracy of Plymouth. "

I have to be impressed with the "Welcome Englishmen...got any
Beer?".....shows how well he knew the English 




Adam

--- BBBS/NT v4.01 Flag-5