Selma Barkham

Selma de Lotbinière Barkham, born on March eighth, nineteen twenty-seven, was a distinguished British-Canadian historian and geographer renowned for her significant contributions to the maritime history of Canada and the Basque Country. Her journey into the depths of historical research began in nineteen seventy-two when she relocated to the Basque Country as an independent researcher, focusing on the largely unexplored topic of Basque fisheries in the old Terra Nova, which is now part of Canada’s Atlantic coast.

Over the years, Barkham conducted extensive archival research in Basque, Spanish, and Portuguese archives, leading to remarkable discoveries that reshaped the understanding of a critical chapter in both Canadian and Basque history. Her work unveiled thousands of documents that detailed the Basque cod and whale fisheries in Terra Nova during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, including the existence of a Basque whaling industry in southern Labrador and adjacent Quebec.

Among her notable findings was the identification of whaling ports and archaeological remains, as well as the discovery of Basque galleons, such as the San Juan, which sank in those waters in fifteen sixty-five. Her pioneering efforts earned her the prestigious Order of Canada in nineteen eighty-one, recognizing her as one of the most outstanding contributors to the nation’s history.

In recognition of her groundbreaking work, one of the whaling ports she discovered, present-day Red Bay in Labrador, was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in nineteen seventy-nine and later became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in June two thousand thirteen. Additionally, in two thousand fifteen, she was honored as an Officer of the Order of Newfoundland and Labrador, further solidifying her legacy in the field of maritime history.