The Belgian Presence in Canada

Abstract

Flemings from Antwerp have been interested in the northern regions of North America since the Middle Ages when they participated in trade with the Viking colonies in Greenland and Vinland [Newfoundland]. They later became involved in the lucrative walrus hunts and the chartering and insuring of vessels bound for the Newfoundland cod fisheries in the 15th century. Cartographers associated with the University of Louvain, especially Gerard Mercator, played a key role in the transition to modern ..