During the mid-16th century, large numbers of right and bowhead whales drew whalers from the Basque region of Spain and France to the Strait of Belle Isle, where they established a major whaling port at Red Bay. For some 70 years, Basque whalers made the dangerous, month-long journey across the Atlantic to hunt whales and produce the oil that lit the lamps of Europe.
Around 500 years ago, Basque fisherman came to Red Bay in Labrador and set up an industrial-size whaling station. They extracted the blubber, which they turned into oil for lamps and sold to Europeans, particularly the English. Archaeological remains of this European activity in Canada include shipwrecks, casks and navigational equipment.