‘Sic Finis’ 17th-century burial places & spaces in northeast North America

Lacy, Robyn S. (2024) ‘Sic Finis’ 17th-century burial places & spaces in northeast North America. Doctoral (PhD) thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

Upon the arrival of European settlers to North America, plans had to be made to deal with the dead. This dissertation focuses on early organized burial grounds from the 17th century within settlements founded by the British, Dutch, and French, in order to examine how they were established within their respective communities. Religious, sociopolitical, and cultural backgrounds were assessed for potential influence over the placement of their respective burial spaces to compare burial landscape development in settlements founded by different colonizing nations. Resulting data revealed similarities between burial organization within competing settlements, primarily based on their religious backgrounds, and shed light on the variety of burial practices in British settlements based on the variety of religions allowed to practice in the colonies. Within those sites, the visibility of Black peoples and Indigenous peoples was examined, both contemporaneously and contemporarily, using primary source material and archaeological evidence. Colonial burial grounds are often thought of as ‘white’ spaces, but were often the final resting place of enslaved and free Black or Indigenous peoples residing in the settlements, alongside the settlers. This research discusses the visibility of their graves in the colonial burial landscape, and work being done today to bring their lives and contributions into our understanding of the colonial world. In addition, a case-study to explore the development of a burial landscape spanning 400 years of continuous settler occupation was conducted in New Perlican, Newfoundland and Labrador, working closely with the local heritage society. The surveys conducted provided insight into the development of burial grounds within a single, rural community, and the resulting maps were created for New Perlican’s future heritage protection and development.

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