Colonization Efforts

St. John's, one of the large fishing settlements, was occupied in 1583 by Sir Humphrey Gilbert. He claimed Newfoundland for England, making it the first English colonial possession.

The first colony was founded by John Guy, in 1610, on Conception Bay. The next colony was established in 1618 at the head of Trepassy Bay by Sir William Vaughan. Other settlements were made on the shore of Trinity Bay and on the east coast. In 1622 Sir George Calvert (later Lord Baltimore) was granted a charter for the southeastern peninsula, which he named Avalon. His settlement was at a place known as Ferryland. He and his colonists soon moved to Virginia, however, and in 1637 David Kirke, given a grant for all Newfoundland, established a new colony at Ferryland.

All of these colonies eventually failed, although some settlers remained in the area. Under the Western Charter, issued by Charles I in 1634, the master of the first English fishing ship to arrive in a harbor each year served as “admiral” of the harbor, with power to rule by decree over all settlers and fishermen in the area. The “admirals” had no interest in the welfare of the settlers and often treated them harshly, discouraging further settlement of the island. For almost a century Newfoundland had no government other than the Charter. Settlers were also often attacked by the French, who recognized Newfoundland as the key to control of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and maintained a settlement at Placentia after 1662. Later the English settlements were also raided by the Dutch, and in time all the colonists were dispersed.