Over time, through a series of treaties signed after French defeat at the hands of the English, the French presence was whittled down to an area known as the French Shore, which at one time extended from Bonavista to Point Riche, near Port au Choix. In 1904, the French were stripped of all fishing rights and left with just the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon. Remnants of the French presence on the Viking Trail are visible today in just a few places. At Croque, on the eastern side of the Northern Peninsula, there is French cemetery with headstones dated back to the late 1700s. At one time, Croque was the main French fishing station in Newfoundland.
Some place names remain in use, but the French presence is relegated to history.
The English, however, developed Newfoundland into one of its major colonies and the island became populated by the English, along with the Irish. Most Viking Trail communities were founded by English-speaking people, including Anchor Point, which claims the distinction as the oldest English settlement in the region, having been founded in 1765. Today, most residents of the region claim English ancestry. This is obvious on the Viking Trail, as most communities are solely dependent on the fishery for survival. A Newfoundland fisherman readies his lobster pots for the summer fishery.