<% =Title %> <% =Blurb %>		c. 8,000 BC A Paleo-Indian population is the first to inhabit Prince Edward Island. (see related article) c. 1 AD The first Mi'kmaq arrive on Prince Edward Island. (see related article) 1534 Jacques Cartier explores the Gulf of St. Lawrence and is the first European to record a visit to Prince Edward Island. (see related article) c. 1600 The Basques, from Spain and France, fish the waters around PEI and set up temporary settlements. (see related article) 1603 Samuel de Champlain begins his exploration of the Maritime region. (see related article) 1635 The Island is granted to French pioneer Nicolas Denys. (see related article) 1713 Mainland Acadia falls to the English and the French begin colonization efforts on PEI. (see related article) 1719 The Island is granted to the Comte de Saint Pierre and by the next year settlement is underway. (see related article) 1732 Frenchman Jean-Pierre Roma founds a fishing settlement at Three Rivers on the eastern end of the Island. (see related article) 1755 The British deport most of the Acadian population of the Maritimes in the Great Expulsion. (see related article) 1758 The British capture Isle St. Jean from the French. (see related article) 1764 Samuel Holland surveys the Island and divides it into 67 Lots to be granted to British landlords. (see related article) 1839 Hunted to death by American and Island fishermen, the walrus is officially declared extinct on PEI. (see related article) 1845-1846 The first lighthouse on Prince Edward Island is built at Point Prim. (see related article) c. 1850 An effective canning technique for lobsters is introduced to PEI and precedes a boom in the lobster fishery. (see related article) 1854 The Americans and British sign the Reciprocity Treaty, which eliminates the three-mile fishing limit and allows free trade between British North America and the United States. (see related article) 1867 Confederation is signed creating the nation of Canada. 1873 Prince Edward Island joins Confederation and becomes a part of Canada. 1889 Lobster fishing seasons are established to protect lobsters as they spawn. (see related article) c. 1910 The first gasoline boat engines come into use in the Island fishery. (see related article) 1914-1918 The First World War (see related article) c. 1914 By this time, 5 life-saving stations are established on PEI. (see related article) 1924 Tignish fishermen band together to form the first fisherman's union in Canada. (see related article) 1927 The first live shipment of lobsters by rail from Prince Edward Island is made by Tignish Fisheries Limited to the United States market. (see related article) 1929-1939 The Great Depression (see related article) 1929 The United Maritime Fishermen (UMF) union is formed. (see related article) 1939-1945 The Second World War. (see related article) 1942 The Island's hake and mackerel fishery experience a sudden boom as the UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Agency) purchases huge amounts of canned fish for victims of the war. (see related article) c. 1950 The Irish Moss industry gains momentum. (see related article) c. 1970 A surplus of fishermen and a depletion of fish stocks in the waters around PEI, encourage the government to invest in aquaculture. (see related article) 1973 The GPS (Global Positioning System) is developed for navigation. (see related article) 1989 The last manned lighthouse on PEI, the Wood Islands lighthouse, is automated. (see related article)