Fielding’s Condensed
     History of Newfoundland

Chapter Thirteen:
THE IRISH ARE COMING

By the early 1800s, there are a sufficient number of English merchants permanently settled on the island to support an unskilled labour force.

Thus begins the Irish immigration to Newfoundland.

The Irish pour in by the thousands. Five times as many as are needed are recruited, which creates a healthy atmosphere of competition among the workers and discourages the Irish from demanding higher wages than the honest English can afford to pay.