Beginning in the eleventh century, boats from the ports of northwestern Europe arrived to fish
the Grand Banks. For the next eight centuries, the entire Newfoundland economy was based on
Europeans arriving, catching fish for a few months in the summer, and then taking fish back to
European markets. Cod laid out to dry on wooden “flakes” was a common sight in the fishing villages
dotting the coast. Settlers in the region used to think the only sea creature worth talking about was
cod, and in the local speech the word “fish” became synonymous with cod. Newfoundland’s national
dish was a pudding whose main ingredient was cod.