Contact between the northern Algonquians and the French may have initially occurred in the early 16th century, when Norman and Breton fishermen arrived on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland and in the coastal areas. They were followed closely by Basque fishermen who hunted whales along the coast of Labrador, in the gulf and in the St. Lawrence estuary in the second half of the 16th century. During their stay, the fishermen traded with the Native peoples, offering them European goods in exchange for furs. 
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