Growth and Development

English fishing companies, seeking to stifle competition, in the mid-17th century convinced the English Parliament to prohibit settlement near Newfoundland's eastern coast. The permanent population of the island at the time was probably about 350 families. Nonetheless, the number of residents grew steadily, because ship masters often abandoned their fishing and processing crews in order to carry back more cargo.

By the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 France ceded Newfoundland to Great Britain, but retained fishing rights in certain areas. Britain set up a civil government for the island in 1728. When the French gave up Canada in 1763, the Labrador coast was granted to Newfoundland. (It was transferred to Quebec Province in 1774, returned to Newfoundland in 1809, and the boundary readjusted in Quebec's favor in 1825.) The Treaty of Paris (also called Treaty of Versailles) of 1783 continued France's right to fish on the west coast.

Sealing began along the east coast in the 1790's. Shore fishing, in contrast to fishing on the banks, developed during the same period, and Newfoundland became highly prosperous. With a steady stream of immigrants from the British Isles, the population increased from about 10,000 in 1785 to 60,000 in 1830. For more than a decade a small group of Newfoundlanders, led by William Carson and Patrick Morris of St. John's, petitioned Britain to give Newfoundland colonial status. It was finally granted in 1824. The colony was given representative government in 1832. In 1855 Newfoundland became a fully self-governing colony. It voted against confederation with the Dominion of Canada in 1869.