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The Barbary Pirate
I
include this information in order to give a { flavor of the times } for
in those years the shorelines of the Mediterranean were virtually
devoid of settlements as the inhabitants moved further inland to get
clear of the marauding pirates. Villages on the Mediterranean
Islands built fortresses up on hilltops as a place of security.
So there was very little fishing happening in the waters of the region
and the Roman Catholic communities practiced very many days of fasting
when they could not eat meat. In Portugal, for example, there were 254
such days of the year.. We remember that here in Quebec one could not
eat meat on Fridays; that meant 52 days of the year.
Thus,
there was a great demand for fish , which the coast
of Newfoundland ( as all the east coast of North America was
referred to) was organized to provide.
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