Vanished in the Mist, Newfoundland DVD history series Price: CDN$69.95 Qty:

Three part series celebrating stories from Newfoundland past. 1400 to present day.

Compelling archival footage, rare archival photographs and evocative cinematography capturing Newfoundlands rugged beauty.

Part I: Storms over the Island 1400s to early 1800s
Newfoundland's barren, windswept shores made a secluded home for the island's indigenous people, the Beothuk --until the outside world arrived. By the 1600s, tens of thousands of migratory fishermen were flocking to Newfoundland. More Europeans were familiar with the island than with any other place in the New World. For centuries, the Newfoundland fishery was a factor in European politics and in European wars. These dark, tumultuous years brought failed colonies, marauding pirates, violent battles and, finally, the decimation of the Beothuk people.

In this first film, explore remnants of the lost colonies of Avalon and Plaisance (now Placentia) which are only now being uncovered; the traces of early French fishing stations; Harbour Grace -- home to Pirate Peter Easton; and other places and stories that have vanished in the mists of time.

Part II: Life in the Undertow 1825 - 1929
By the 1800s, settlers were putting down roots on the island. People in remote outports developed their own dialects, songs and folklore. But fishing families endured decades of hardship, up against powerful merchants and a sea as cruel as it was bountiful.

The most harrowing year by far was 1914. It brought the sealing disasters--the worst in Newfoundland's history--in which over 75 men died out on the ice floes, and 174 others were claimed by the sea. And it brought the devastation of the First World War, in which one quarter of Newfoundland's young men did not return to their island. In 1919, Newfoundland finally achieved the status of Dominion.

In this second episode of the series, Newfoundland experiences the growing pains that allow it to stand free as an island nation.

Part III: The Tidal Waves 1929 on
In 1929, the Great Depression hit Newfoundland with as much force as did the Burin tsunami. Teetering on bankruptcy, Newfoundland sought refuge back under British control--the only Dominion in history to return to the status of a colony. Then the Second World War hit, bringing its own disasters right to Newfoundland's shores. In this episode, follow the dramatic stories of the German U-Boat that stalked the passenger ferry SS Caribou, and the phenomenal rescue of hundreds of sailors from the wrecks of the U.S. naval ships Truxton and Pollux.

With Newfoundland a hub of Allied activity, the war also revived Newfoundland's fortunes. A few years later, islanders sought a new political future in a hotly contested referendum. Then the resettlement program emptied the coasts of hundreds of communities. More recently, the government set a moratorium on fishing cod. In the years from 1929 on, one massive wave after another has rocked the island, and Newfoundland has been transformed.

DVD 2 1/2 hours