This map shows both the position of Bell Island in Conception Bay and the position of Conception Bay on the east coast of Newfoundland. In his Narrative of a Journey Across the Island of Newfoundland in 1822 the local explorer William Cormack described Conception Bay as "the most populous and important district in Newfoundland." What gave the Bay this distinction was its prosperous and diversified maritime economy. In addition to the fishery conducted in and near the Bay itself, the people of this region enjoyed throughout the nineteenth century the fruits of two other great harvests of the sea - the spring seal fishery and the fishery which was carried on each summer on the far distant coast of Labrador. These were both incredibly hazardous enterprises, not only requiring people to leave home for long periods of time but also demanding of them a variety of skills and great gifts of seamanship. While there -was a market for their produce, the men and women of Conception Bay met these challenges head on. Indeed, it was not until the census of 1911 that the population of the St. John's region exceeded that of the five historic divisions of the Bay - Harbour Main, Port de Grave, Harbour-Grace, Carbonear and Bay de Verde. It was largely out of the hardy outport stock of the Conception Bay area that the mining community of Bell Island was formed.
