Oldest Canadian Will

On Christmas Eve 1584, Basque whaler Joanes de Echaniz dictated his final will and testament from his ship which was trapped in the ice at Terra Nova near Carol’s Cove in Red Bay.  See Canadian Museum of Civilization, Canada Hall: Shipboard Life, Dec. 16, 2004.  The Museum has a display of this event as shown in the photo.

According to Sympatico, this may be “the oldest surviving will in Canadian history.”

Special thanks to Joel Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) and Diane Marie Amann (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law and Visiting Professor of Law, University of California, Berkeley School of Law) for bringing this historical note to my attention.