The name "Labrador" is one of the oldest names of European origin in Canada, almost as old as the name "Newfoundland". It is named after Portuguese explorer João Fernandes Lavrador who, together with Pêro de Barcelos, first sighted it in 1498.-
WikipediaFernandes charted the coasts of Southwestern Greenland and of adjacent Northeastern North America around 1498 and gave notice of them in Europe. The areas are believed to have been named island of the Labrador and land of the Labrador, respectively, after him. Fernandes was granted title to much of the lands he had discovered and is considered the first European landowner in Labrador. Because of this, the word Lavrador (pron. IPA [lɐvɾɐ'ðoɾ]) is often added to his name. It means is a "landholder" in Portuguese.
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João Fernandes
The first of these was João Fernandes, a small landowner (lavrador) on the island of Terceira in the Azores. The details of his life and voyages are vague and uncertain, but it is known that he had business connections with the port of Bristol, that he was given a royal patent in 1499, and that he made one or more voyages to the New World. It is possible that in 1500 he reached what we know as Greenland, and called it Terra do Lavrador. The name later migrated south to what is now called Labrador. -
heritage of Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage, Memorial University of Newfoundland and the C.R.B. Foundation There remains an element of uncertainty, but most authorities credit the origin of the name Labrador to João Fernades a Portuguese explorer and lavrador, or "landholder", in the Azores. -
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Maritime Archaic culture was displaced about 4000 years ago by southward expansion of Paleoeskimos from the Arctic, who were in turn displaced by the ancestors of the MONTAGNAIS-NASKAPI and INUIT, PORTUGUESE explorers were active along the coast and the name "Labrador," which was first applied to the coast of Greenland, likely derives from the Portuguese explorer João FERNANDES, a lavrador or "landholder" in the Azores. -
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