After the Revolution and the wars of the Empire had interrupted for twenty-five years the exercise of the rights of French fishermen in Newfoundland, the French returned there in large numbers and found there a situation different from that which they had known once. The inhabitants of the island had settled in the harbors along the "French Shore", the part of the northwestern coast of the island over which they had enjoyed a right which they considered "exclusive". The French returning will tolerate these inhabitants, and during the rainy season, a period when the conditions of the Treaty of Utrecht required them to return to France, they will entrust the custody of their equipment to these islanders, even if, according to them, they were there illegally. From this time on, there are many travelogues and other evocations of life in Newfoundland. They deal in particular with the evolution of Newfoundland within the legal framework created by the new parliament established in 1832. Little by little, this situation will lead France and Great Britain to start diplomatic negotiations. The anthology composed by Ronald Rompkey recreates a Newfoundland built over the years in French writings, the fruit of the memories of countless travelers - naval officers, diplomats, scientists, journalists and other visitors - who have interpreted the region and its people for the benefit of the French public.