February is Black History Month and, in honour of that, here's a little story about the first free black person to arrive in Canada. Dating back to the 17th century, Mathieu De Costa (sometimes recorded as D'Costa) was from the western coast of Africa and became a valued interpreter and translator, as Portuguese trade ships first started making their way to that region.
he eventually traveled with them to Europe and from there made several expeditions across the Atlantic to Canada, when the Portuguese were establishing fishing outposts in and around Newfoundland and Labrador. Those were eventually abandoned but Da Costa learned the Mi'kmaq language and on subsequent trips with the likes of French explorer Samuel de Champlain., he picked up Algonquin. The ability to learn these languages quickly, 7 in all, aided him in breaking communication barriers between the European explorers and North American natives.
He is recognized for this with commemoration at the Port Royal Habitation National Historic Site Of Canada in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. As well, the Department of Canadian Heritage holds an annual Mathieu De Costa Challenge, a creative writing and artwork contest that focuses on Canada's diversity and pluralism.
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