The 1563 Basque Will

In 1563, a Basque sailor named Domingo de Luca could sense his end was near. So, on May 15th, he dictated his last will and testament while fishing near Placentia Bay, Newfoundland. Four hundred and fifty years later, Dr. Michael Barkham uncovered de Luca’s final words in an archive in Spain and the discovery has communities on both sides of the Atlantic buzzing.

Tom O’Keefe, president of the Placentia Area Historical Society, spoke with Canada’s History.

We know that Basque whalers and fisherman voyaged to Atlantic Canada beginning in the 16th century. In fact, much of what we know about Basque history in Canada is thanks to the work of Dr. Barkham’s mother, Dr. Selma Barkham. But the Basque were a private lot — not publicizing their exploits and adventures like other European travellers — and so the written record is a bit sparse.

De Luca’s will is one of few such records and is believed to be the oldest original civil document written in Canada. For the residents of Placentia, Newfoundland, the will is particularly fascinating. One of de Luca’s final wishes was to be, “buried in this port of Plazencia to a place where those who die are usually taken.”

Tom O’Keefe explains the will is an important key to unlocking this history of the Basque in Newfoundland.

“This gives documented proof that there was a graveyard even in 1563 existing in Placentia,” O’Keefe says, “which would indicate that the Basque and others had probably been here at least a few years before that.”