Editing Canoe (section)

==History==
[[File:FAHopkins Shooting Rapids.jpg|thumb|[[Frances Anne Hopkins]]: ''Shooting the Rapids (Quebec)'' (1879), Voyageur canoe]]
It is assumed that the word ''canoe'' came into English from the term 'canoa' that is used for the Caribbean dugout canoe in [[Columbus%27s_letter_on_the_first_voyage|Columbus' travelogues]] in 1493. Possibly that word 'canoa' comes from the Taino word `kanawa' that the original inhabitants of the Caribbean used for this vessel. Following its incorporation into Spanish, the term "canoa" made its way into the French language. While the French adopted a form similar to the Spanish, such as "canoë" or "canot," there is also evidence suggesting a potential influence from other indigenous languages encountered by French explorers in North America, like the French word "casnouey" adopted from the Saint-Lawrence Iroquoians language in the 1535 Jacques Cartier Relations translated in 1600 by the English geographer Richard Hackluyt.<ref>See Michel Bideaux (ed.), Jacques Cartier, Relations, Montréal, Presse de l'Université de Montréal, 1986, p. 181 </ref>
=== Dugouts ===
[[File:Dugout canoe Rennell.jpg|thumb|Dugout canoe of [[pirogue]] type in the [[Solomon Islands]]]]
{{Main|Dugout canoe}}
Many peoples have made dugout canoes throughout history, carving them out of a single piece of wood: either a whole [[Trunk (botany)|trunk]] or a slab of trunk from particularly large trees.<ref name="pojar" /><ref name="olypen">{{cite book|last=Olympic Peninsula Intertribal Cultural Advisory Committee|title=Native Peoples of the Olympic Peninsula|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|year=2002|isbn=0-8061-3552-2|location=Norman, Oklahoma}}</ref> Dugout canoes go back to ancient times. The [[Dufuna canoe]], discovered in Nigeria, dates back to 8500–8000 BC.<ref>Gumnior, Maren; Thiemeyer, Heinrich (2003). "Holocene fluvial dynamics in the NE Nigerian Savanna". ''Quaternary International''. '''111''': 54. [[Doi (identifier)|doi]]:10.1016/s1040-6182(03)00014-4. [[S2CID (identifier)|S2CID]] 128422267.</ref> The [[Pesse canoe]], discovered in the Netherlands, dates back to 8200–7600 BC.<ref>"Oudste bootje ter wereld kon werkelijk varen". ''Leeuwarder Courant'' (in Dutch). ANP. 12 April 2001. Retrieved 4 December 2011.</ref> Excavations in [[Denmark]] reveal the use of dugouts and paddles during the [[Ertebølle culture|Ertebølle]] period, ({{Circa|5300|3950 BC}}).<ref>{{cite web|title=Dugouts and paddles|url=http://www.abc.se/~pa/publ/tybrind.htm#logboats|access-date=8 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201122509/https://www.abc.se/~pa/publ/tybrind.htm#logboats|archive-date=1 February 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Canoes played a vital role in the colonisation of the [[Pre-Columbian era|pre-Columbian]] [[Caribbean]], as they were the only means of reaching the Caribbean Islands from mainland South America.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Boomert|first=Arie|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1096240376|title=The first settlers: Lithic through Archaic times in the coastal zone and on the offshore islands of northeast South America, in: C. Hofman and A. Antczak (eds.), Early settlers of the Insular Caribbean : dearchaizing the Archaic.|others=Hofman, Corinne L., 1959–, Antczak, Andrzej T.|year=2019|isbn=978-90-8890-780-7|location=Leiden|pages=128|oclc=1096240376}}</ref> Around 3500 BC, ancient [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|Amerindian]] groups colonised the first Caribbean Islands using single-hulled canoes.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Napolitano|first1=Matthew F.|last2=DiNapoli|first2=Robert J.|last3=Stone|first3=Jessica H.|last4=Levin|first4=Maureece J.|last5=Jew|first5=Nicholas P.|last6=Lane|first6=Brian G.|last7=O’Connor|first7=John T.|author8-link=Scott M. Fitzpatrick|last8=Fitzpatrick|first8=Scott M.|date=2019|title=Reevaluating human colonization of the Caribbean using chronometric hygiene and Bayesian modeling|journal=Science Advances|volume=5|issue=12|pages=eaar7806|doi=10.1126/sciadv.aar7806|pmid=31976370 |pmc=6957329 |bibcode=2019SciA....5R7806N |issn=2375-2548|doi-access=free}}</ref> Only a few pre-Columbian Caribbean canoes have been found.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Fitzpatrick|first=Scott M.|date=2013|title=Seafaring Capabilities in the Pre-Columbian Caribbean|url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11457-013-9110-8|journal=Journal of Maritime Archaeology|language=en|volume=8|issue=1|pages=101–138|doi=10.1007/s11457-013-9110-8|bibcode=2013JMarA...8..101F |s2cid=161904559 |issn=1557-2285}}</ref> Several families of trees could have been used to construct Caribbean canoes, including woods of the [[mahogany]] family (Meliaceae) such as the [[Swietenia mahagoni|Cuban mahogany]] (''Swietenia mahagoni''), that can grow up to 30–35 m tall and the red cedar (''[[Cedrela odorata]]''), that can grow up to 60 m tall, as well as the ''[[ceiba]]'' genus (Malvacae), such as ''[[Ceiba pentandra]]'', that can reach 60–70 m in height.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Fitzpatrick|first=Scott M.|date=2013|title=Seafaring Capabilities in the Pre-Columbian Caribbean|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11457-013-9110-8|journal=Journal of Maritime Archaeology|volume=8|issue=1|pages=101–138|doi=10.1007/s11457-013-9110-8|bibcode=2013JMarA...8..101F |s2cid=161904559 |issn=1557-2285}}</ref> It is likely that these canoes were built in a variety of sizes, ranging from fishing canoes holding just one or a few people to larger ones able to carry as many as a few dozen, and could have been used to reach the Caribbean Islands from the mainland. Reports by historical [[chronicle]]rs claim to have witnessed a canoe "containing 40 to 50 [[Island Caribs|Caribs]] [...] when it came out to trade with a visiting English ship".<ref>{{Cite book|last=McKusick, Marshall Bassford|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/79431894|title=Aboriginal canoes in the West Indies|date=1970|pages=7|oclc=79431894}}</ref>

There is still much dispute regarding the use of sails in Caribbean canoes. Some archaeologists doubt that oceanic transportation would have been possible without the use of sails, as winds and currents would have carried the canoes off course.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Callaghan|first=Richard T.|date=2001|title=Ceramic Age Seafaring and Interaction Potential in the Antilles: A Computer Simulation|url=https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/320012|journal=Current Anthropology|language=en|volume=42|issue=2|pages=308–313|doi=10.1086/320012|s2cid=55762164 |issn=0011-3204}}</ref> However, no evidence of a sail or a Caribbean canoe that could have made use of a sail has been found. Furthermore, no historical sources mention Caribbean canoes with sails. One possibility could be that canoes with sails were initially used in the Caribbean but later abandoned before European contact. This, however, seems unlikely, as long-distance trade continued in the Caribbean even after the prehistoric colonisation of the islands. Hence, it is likely that early Caribbean colonists made use of canoes without sails.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Keegan|first1=William|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/949669477|title=The Caribbean before Columbus|last2=Hofman|first2=Corinne|others=Hofman, Corinne L., 1959–|year=2017|isbn=978-0-19-060524-7|location=New York, NY|pages=27|oclc=949669477}}</ref>

Native American groups of the [[Pacific Northwest|north Pacific coast]] made [[dugout canoe]]s in a number of styles for different purposes, from western red cedar (''[[Thuja plicata]]'') or yellow cedar (''[[Chamaecyparis nootkatensis]]''), depending on availability.<ref name="pojar">{{cite book|last=Pojar and MacKinnon|title=Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast|publisher=Lone Pine Publishing|year=1994|isbn=1-55105-040-4|location=Vancouver, British Columbia}}</ref> Different styles were required for ocean-going vessels versus river boats, and for [[Whaling|whale-hunting]] versus [[Seal hunting|seal-hunting]] versus [[salmon]]-fishing. The [[Quinault people|Quinault]] of [[Washington (state)|Washington State]] built shovel-nose canoes with double bows, for river travel that could slide over a [[Log jam|logjam]] without needing to be [[portaging|portaged]]. The [[Kutenai people|Kootenai]] of the Canadian province of British Columbia made [[sturgeon-nosed canoe]]s from pine bark, designed to be stable in windy conditions on [[Kootenay Lake]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Nisbet|first=Jack|title=Sources of the River|publisher=Sasquatch Books|year=1994|isbn=1-57061-522-5|location=Seattle, Washington}}</ref>

In recent years, [[First Nations in Canada|First Nations]] in British Columbia and [[Washington (state)|Washington State]] have been revitalizing the ocean-going canoe tradition. Beginning in the 1980s, the [[Heiltsuk]] and [[Haida people|Haida]] were early leaders in this movement. The Paddle to [[Expo 86]] in Vancouver by the [[Heiltsuk]] and the 1989 Paddle to [[Seattle]] by multiple Native American tribes on the occasion of Washington State's centennial year were early instances of this. In 1993 a large number of canoes paddled from up and down the coast to [[Bella Bella, British Columbia|Bella Bella]] in its first canoe festival – Qatuwas.<ref>Neel, David The Great Canoes: Reviving a Northwest Coast Tradition. Douglas & McIntyre. 1995. {{ISBN|1-55054-185-4}}</ref> The revitalization continued, and [[Tribal Canoe Journeys|Tribal Journeys]] began with trips to various communities held in most years.

[[Aboriginal Australian]] people made canoes from hollowed out [[Trunk (botany)|tree trunks]], as well as from tree bark.<ref name="Nma.gov.au">{{cite web|title=Carved wooden canoe, National Museum of Australia|url=http://www.nma.gov.au/collections-search/display?irn=7049|access-date=25 April 2013|publisher=Nma.gov.au}}</ref> The indigenous people of the [[Amazon Basin|Amazon]] commonly used [[Hymenaea]] ([[Fabaceae]]) trees.{{citation needed|date=August 2022}}

=== Bark canoes ===
<!-- "Bark canoe" redirects here. See [[MOS:HIDDENLINKADVICE]]. -->

==== Australia ====
Some [[Aboriginal Australian]] peoples made bark canoes.<ref name="Nma.gov.au" /> They could be made only from the bark of certain trees (usually [[Eucalyptus camaldulensis|red gum]] or [[box gum]]) and during summer. After cutting the outline of the required size and shape, a digging stick was used to cut through the bark to the hardwood, and the bark was then slowly prised out using numerous smaller sticks. The slab of bark was held in place by branches or handwoven rope, and after separation from the tree, lowered to the ground. Small fires would then be lit on the inside of the bark to cause the bark to dry out and curl upwards, after which the ends could be pulled together and stitched with hemp and plugged with mud. It was then allowed to mature, with frequent applications of [[Animal fat|grease]] and [[ochre]]. The remaining tree was later dubbed a [[canoe tree]] by Europeans.<ref name="murray">{{cite web|title=Aboriginal canoe trees around found along the Murray River|url=http://www.murrayriver.com.au/about-the-murray/bark-canoe-trees/|access-date=18 March 2020|website=Discover Murray River}}</ref>

Because of the porosity of the bark, these bark canoes did not last too long (about two years<ref name="murray" />). They were mainly used for fishing or crossing rivers and lakes to avoid long journeys. They were usually propelled by punting with a long stick.<ref>{{cite web|date=26 November 2009|title=Did you know?: Canoe trees|url=https://www.samemory.sa.gov.au/site/page.cfm?u=1400|access-date=18 March 2020|website=SA Memory}}</ref> Another type of bark canoe was made out of a type of [[stringybark]] gum known as Messmate stringybark (''[[Eucalyptus obliqua]]''), pleating the bark and tying it at each end, with a framework of cross-ties and ribs. This type was known as a pleated or tied bark canoe. Bark strips could also be sewn together to make larger canoes, known as sewn bark canoes.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Couper Black|first=E.|date=December 1947|title=Canoes and Canoe Trees of Australia|journal=The Australian Journal of Anthropology|publisher=Australian Anthropological Society|volume=3|issue=12|pages=351–361|doi=10.1111/j.1835-9310.1947.tb00139.x|quote=This paper was read before Section F of the Biennial Meeting of the Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science, held at Adelaide in August, 1946.}}</ref>

==== Americas ====
[[File:Construction canot 1870.jpg|thumb|left|Innu building a [[birch]] bark canoe, [[Mi'kmaq]] camp, [[Matapedia Valley|Matapedia]], [[Quebec]], [[Alexander Henderson (theologian)|Alexander Henderson]], {{circa|1870}}, [[Canada]]]]
[[File:Innu making canoes near Sheshatshiu, ca. 1920.jpg|thumb|left|[[Innu]] making canoes near [[Sheshatshiu]], [[Labrador]], [[Newfoundland and Labrador]], 1920]]
Many [[indigenous peoples of the Americas]] built [[Bark (botany)|bark]] canoes. They were usually skinned with [[birch]] bark over a light wooden frame, but other types could be used if birch was scarce. At a typical length of {{convert|14|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}} and weight of {{convert|50|lb|kg|abbr=on|order=flip}}, the canoes were light enough to be [[portage]]d, yet could carry a lot of cargo, even in shallow water. Although susceptible to damage from rocks, they are easily repaired.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bark canoes|url=http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/aborig/watercraft/wab01eng.shtml|publisher=Canadian Museum of Civilization|access-date=8 October 2012}}</ref> Their performance qualities were soon recognized by early European [[European colonization of the Americas|settler colonials]], and canoes played a key role in the [[exploration of North America]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Our Canoeing Heritage|url=http://www.canoemuseum.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=119&Itemid=83|publisher=The [[Canadian Canoe Museum]]|access-date=8 October 2012}}</ref> with [[Samuel de Champlain]] canoeing as far as the [[Georgian Bay]] in 1615.

In 1603 a canoe was brought to [[Sir Robert Cecil]]'s [[Cecil House|house]] in London and rowed on the [[River Thames|Thames]] by [[Powhatan|Virginian Indians]] from [[Tsenacommacah]].<ref>Alden T. Vaughan, ''Transatlantic Encounters: American Indians in Britain, 1500-1776'' (Cambridge, 2006), p. 43.</ref> In 1643 [[David Pietersz. de Vries]] recorded a [[Mohawk people|Mohawk]] canoe in Dutch possession at [[Manor of Rensselaerswyck|Rensselaerswyck]] capable of transporting 225 [[bushel]]s of maize.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Hodge|first=Frederick Webb|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oe0SAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA280|title=Proceedings of the Nineteenth International Congress of Americanists: Held at Washington, December 27–31, 1915|date=1917|publisher=International Congress of Americanists|pages=280|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Jameson|first=John|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=j1sKi0KPTewC&pg=PA226|title=Narratives of New Netherland: 1609–1664|date=May 2009|publisher=Applewood Books|isbn=978-1-4290-1896-8|pages=226|language=en}}</ref> [[René de Bréhant de Galinée]], a French [[missionary]] who explored the [[Great Lakes]] in 1669, declared: "The convenience of these canoes is great in these waters, full of cataracts or waterfalls, and rapids through which it is impossible to take any boat. When you reach them you load canoe and baggage upon your shoulders and go overland until the navigation is good; and then you put your canoe back into the water, and embark again."<ref>{{cite book|last=Kellogg|first=Louise Phelps|title=Early Narratives of the Northwest. 1634–1699|url=https://archive.org/details/earlynarratives01kellgoog|year=1917|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/earlynarratives01kellgoog/page/n196 172]–173}}</ref> American painter, author and traveler [[George Catlin]] wrote that the bark canoe was "the most beautiful and light model of all the water crafts that ever were invented".<ref>{{cite book|last=Catlin|first=George|title=Letters and Notes on the Manners. Customs, and Conditions of the North American Indians|year=1989|edition=reprint|location=New York|page=415}}</ref>

[[File:Historic Center of Quito - World Heritage Site by UNESCO - Photo 437.jpg|thumb|These antique [[Dugout (boat)|dugout canoes]] are in the courtyard of the Old Military Hospital in the [[Historic Center of Quito]], Ecuador.]]

The first explorer to cross the North American continent, [[Alexander Mackenzie (explorer)|Alexander Mackenzie]], used canoes extensively, as did [[David Thompson (explorer)|David Thompson]] and the [[Lewis and Clark Expedition]].

In the [[North American fur trade]], the [[Hudson's Bay Company]]'s [[voyageurs]] used three types of canoe:<ref>{{cite web|title=The Canoe|url=http://www2.hbc.com/hbcheritage/history/transportation/canoe/|publisher=The Hudson's Bay Company|access-date=6 October 2012|archive-date=5 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121105164822/http://www2.hbc.com/hbcheritage/history/transportation/canoe/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

* The [[rabaska]] (French: ''canot du maître,'' from the surname of Louise Le Maître, an artisan in the Province of Quebec,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rabaska |url=https://www.definitions.net/definition/rabaska#google_vignette |access-date=May 9, 2024 |website=Definitions}}</ref> though the term would literally mean "master canoe" otherwise) — also referred to as the "Montreal canoe"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Hudson's Bay Company |url=https://www.hbcheritage.ca/things/technology/the-canoe |access-date=May 9, 2024 |website=HBC Heritage}}</ref> — was designed for the long haul from the [[St. Lawrence River]] to western [[Lake Superior]]. Its dimensions were length, approximately {{convert|35|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}}; beam, {{convert|4|to|6|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}}; and height, about {{convert|30|in|cm|abbr=on|order=flip}}. It could carry 60 packs weighing {{convert|90|lb|kg|abbr=on|order=flip}}, and {{convert|2000|lb|kg|abbr=on|order=flip}} of provisions. With a crew of eight or ten paddling or rowing, they could make three knots over calm waters. Four to six men could portage it, bottom up. [[Henry Schoolcraft]] declared it "altogether one of the most eligible modes of conveyance that can be employed upon the lakes". [[Archibald McDonald]] of the Hudson's Bay Company wrote: "I never heard of such a canoe being wrecked, or upset, or swamped ... they swam like ducks."<ref name=pdf>{{cite web|title=Portage Trails in Minnesota, 1630s–1870s|url={{NRHP url|id=64500288}}|publisher=United States Department of the Interior National Park Service|access-date=20 November 2012}}</ref>
* The ''{{not a typo|canot}} du nord'' (French: "canoe of the north"), a craft specially made and adapted for speedy travel, was the workhorse of the fur trade transportation system. About half the size of the rabaska, it could carry about 35 packs weighing {{convert|90|lb|kg|abbr=on|order=flip}} and was manned by four to eight men. It could in turn be carried by two men and was portaged in the upright position.<ref name="pdf"/>
* The express canoe (French: "{{not a typo|canot}} léger," light canoe) was about {{convert|15|ft|m|abbr=on|order=flip}} long and was used to carry people, reports, and news.
[[File:Birch Bark Canoe Making.jpg|thumb|right|Birch bark canoe making in Newfoundland, Canada]]

The birch bark canoe was used in a {{convert|6500|km|adj=on}} supply route from [[Montreal]] to the Pacific Ocean and the [[Mackenzie River]], and continued to be used up to the end of the 19th century.<ref>{{cite web|title=Canoeing|url=http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/canoeing|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121020135249/http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/articles/canoeing|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 October 2012|publisher=[[The Canadian Encyclopedia]]|access-date=8 October 2012}}</ref>

The [[Indigenous peoples of the Americas|indigenous peoples]] of eastern Canada and the northeast United States made canoes using the bark of the [[Betula papyrifera|paper birch]], which was harvested in early spring by stripping off the bark in one piece, using wooden wedges. Next, the two ends ([[Bow (ship)|stem]] and [[stern]]) were sewn together and made watertight with the [[Pitch (resin)|pitch]] of [[Abies balsamea|balsam fir]]. The ribs of the canoe, called ''verons'' in [[Canadian French]], were made of [[Thuja occidentalis|white cedar]], and the hull, ribs, and thwarts were fastened using [[watap]], a binding usually made from the [[root]]s of various species of [[conifers]], such as the [[Picea glauca|white spruce]], [[Picea mariana|black spruce]], or [[Thuja occidentalis|cedar]], and [[caulked]] with [[Pitch (resin)|pitch]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Margry|first=Pierre|title=Decouvertes et etablissements des francais dans I'ouest et dans le sud de I'Amerique Septentrionale (1614–1754). 6 vols.|year=1876–1886|location=Paris}}</ref><ref>{{Cite video|url=http://www.library.arizona.edu/help/how/find/films/indian/e.html|title=Earl's Canoe: A Traditional Ojibwe Craft|date=1999|people=Tom Vennum, Charles Weber, Earl Nyholm (Director)|publisher=Smithsonian Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Studies|access-date=3 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130104164108/http://www.library.arizona.edu/help/how/find/films/indian/e.html|archive-date=4 January 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Skin canoes ===
Skin canoes are constructed using animal skins stretched over a framework. Examples include the [[kayak]] and [[umiak]].

=== Modern canoes ===
[[File:Canvas-stretching.jpg|thumb|upright|Stretching canvas on a canoe]]

In 19th-century North America, the birch-on-frame construction technique evolved into the wood-and-canvas canoes made by fastening an external waterproofed [[canvas]] shell to planks and ribs by [[Boat building|boat builders]] such as [[Old Town Canoe]], [[E.M. White Canoe Company|E. M. White Canoe]], [[Peterborough Canoe Company]] and at the [[Chestnut Canoe Company]]<ref>{{cite web|title=A Venerable Chestnut|url=http://www.sciencetech.technomuses.ca/english/collection/canoes7.cfm|publisher=Canada Science and Technology Museum|access-date=8 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002041411/http://www.sciencetech.technomuses.ca/english/collection/canoes7.cfm|archive-date=2 October 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> in [[New Brunswick]]. Though similar to bark canoes in the use of [[Frame (nautical)|ribs]], and a waterproof covering, the construction method is different, being built by bending ribs over a solid mold. Once removed from the mold, the decks, [[thwart]]s and [[seat]]s are installed, and canvas is stretched tightly over the hull. The canvas is then treated with a combination of [[varnish]]es and [[paint]]s to render it more durable and [[Waterproofing|watertight]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Wood and Canvas Canoe|url=http://forums.wcha.org/knowledgebase/Wood+Canoe+Basics:The+Wood+and+Canvas+Canoe|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131213011606/http://forums.wcha.org/knowledgebase/Wood+Canoe+Basics:The+Wood+and+Canvas+Canoe|archive-date=13 December 2013|access-date=26 October 2012|publisher=Wooden Canoe Heritage Association}}</ref>
[[File:Commodore Carl Smith, foto c. 1915.jpg|thumb|right|Canoe designer and promoter [[Carl Smith (canoeing)|Carl Smith]], {{circa}} 1915]]
Although canoes were once primarily a means of transport, with industrialization they became popular as [[recreation]]al or sporting watercraft. [[John MacGregor (sportsman)|John MacGregor]] popularized canoeing through his books, founding the [[Royal Canoe Club]] in London in 1866 and the [[American Canoe Association]] in 1880. The [[Canadian Canoe Association]] was founded in 1900 and the [[British Canoe Union]] in 1936. In Sweden, naval officer [[Carl Smith (canoeing)|Carl Smith]] was both an enthusiastic promoter of canoeing and a designer of canoes, some experimental, at the end of the 19th century.<ref name=sjohist>{{cite web |url= https://digitaltmuseum.se/0211814539697/riddare-av-paddeln-kanotismens-forsta-decennier-i-sverige|title= Riddare av paddeln: kanotismens första decennier i Sverige|last= Jonas|first= Hedberg|date= 2024|website= Digitalt Museum|publisher= [[Maritime Museum (Stockholm)]]|access-date= 23 October 2024}}</ref>

[[Sprint canoe]] was a [[demonstration sport]] at the [[1924 Paris Olympics]] and became an Olympic discipline at the [[Canoeing at the 1936 Summer Olympics|1936 Berlin Olympics]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Canoe / kayak sprint equipment and history|url=http://www.olympic.org/canoe-kayak-sprint-equipment-and-history?tab=History|publisher=olympic.org|access-date=29 September 2012}}</ref> When the [[International Canoe Federation]] was formed in 1946, it became the umbrella organization of all national canoe organizations worldwide.{{Citation needed|date=May 2024}}