Newfoundland, formerly known as Terranova, is a large Canadian island off the east coast of North America, and the most populous part of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Newfoundland was discovered by the viking Leif Eriksson and settled as "Vinland" in 1000, and the island was visited by English explorer John Cabot in 1497. On 5 August 1583, Humphrey Gilbert claimed Newfoundland as England's first overseas colony, but Gilbert was lost at sea during his return voyage to England, postponing the island's colonization. In 1610, John Guy and 39 other colonists left Bristol to settle the island, and fishermen from the West Country dominated the east coast of the island. French fishermen settled in the south, and the Kingdom of France was forced to cede southern Newfoundland to Great Britain in 1713 after the War of the Spanish Succession came to a close. In 1907, Newfoundland became a dominion of the United Kingdom, and Newfoundland was ceded to Canada in 1949 as a new province, becoming a part of Newfoundland and Labrador. In 2006, Newfoundland had a population of 479,105 people, and St. John's is the largest city and population center on the island.
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