Newfoundland was an English, and later British, colony established in 1610 on the island of Newfoundland. That followed decades of sporadic English settlement on the island, which was at first only seasonal. Newfoundland was made a

Crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony governed by Kingdom of England, England, and then Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain or the United Kingdom within the English overseas possessions, English and later British Empire. There was usua ...

in 1824 and a

dominion A dominion was any of several largely self-governance, self-governing countries of the British Empire, once known collectively as the ''British Commonwealth of Nations''. Progressing from colonies, their degrees of self-governing colony, colon ...

in 1907. Its economy collapsed during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. On 16 February 1934, the Newfoundland legislature agreed to the creation of a six-member

Commission of Government The Commission of Government was a non-elected body that governed the Dominion of Newfoundland from 1934 to 1949. Established following the collapse of Newfoundland's economy during the Great Depression, it was dissolved when the dominion became ...

to govern the country. In 1949, the country voted to join Canada as the province of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

History

Indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

like the Beothuk (known as the in Greenlandic Norse), and Innu were the first inhabitants of Newfoundland and Labrador. During the late 15th century, European explorers like

João Fernandes Lavrador João Fernandes Lavrador (1453–1501) () was a Portuguese explorer of the late 15th century. He was one of the first modern explorers of the Northeast coasts of North America, including the large Labrador peninsula, which was named after him ...

, Gaspar Corte-Real,

John Cabot John Cabot ( ; 1450 – 1499) was an Italians, Italian navigator and exploration, explorer. His 1497 voyage to the coast of North America under the commission of Henry VII of England, Henry VII, King of England is the earliest known Europe ...

Jacques Cartier Jacques Cartier (; 31 December 14911 September 1557) was a French maritime explorer from Brittany. Jacques Cartier was the first Europeans, European to describe and map the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River, wh ...

and others began visiting the area. From around the beginning of the 16th century, fishing vessels with English, Portuguese, French and Spanish crews started visiting on a seasonal basis. At some point during the early 16th Century, some of these fishing crews founded an informal settlement at Placentia. The Beothuk gradually became extinct as a people, as they experienced a population decline as a result of

infectious diseases infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

introduced by European colonists and the loss of their ancestral territory due to colonial settlement. From 1610 onward, English colonists established colonial settlements in Newfoundland, led by proprietary governors, as England tried to create North American footholds. John Guy was

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the first settlement at Cuper's Cove. Other settlements were Bristol's Hope, Renews, New Cambriol, South Falkland and Avalon, which was organized as a province in 1623. The first governor given jurisdiction over all of Newfoundland was Sir David Kirke in 1638. During this period, France had also established settlements in the region, particularly to the west in what is now

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. It had strong trading ties to many of the indigenous peoples along the Atlantic Coast, including the Mi'kmaq and other Algonquian-speaking peoples. The rivalry between England and France in Europe was played out in conflicts in North America, where they struggled for predominance. This was particularly true in Newfoundland, where the English colonial settlements on the eastern coasts were in close proximity to the French claims in Southern Newfoundland, which the French dubbed Plaisance. The Newfoundland colony was nearly obliterated during the Avalon Peninsula Campaign of King William's War, the North American theatre of the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...

(1688–1697). In 1696, the French and allied Mi'kmaq armed forces wiped out all but a handful of English settlements on the island of Newfoundland. Over the next year, the English repopulated and rebuilt the colony. The

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...

in 1713 ceded all of Newfoundland to the British Crown. Given the Newfoundland colony's isolation from the more southern British colonies in America (and proximity to the still-loyal colony of Nova Scotia), it did not become involved in the colonial rebellion of the 1770s. After the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

ended in 1783 with the independence of the United States, Newfoundland Colony became part of British North America. The Crown resettled some Loyalists in Newfoundland, but most were given land in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

and present-day

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. In 1809, the British Imperial government detached

Labrador Labrador () is a geographic and cultural region within the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is the primarily continental portion of the province and constitutes 71% of the province's area but is home to only 6% of its populatio ...

from

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

for transfer to the Newfoundland Colony. It became an official

in 1825, and Thomas John Cochrane, an officer of the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

, was appointed as its first governor. He directed the construction of Government House, which is located between the sites of Fort William and Fort Townshend. All three have been designated National Historic Sites. The colony was granted a constitution in 1832, and Cochrane became its first civil governor. The colony was granted self-governing status in 1854. Philip Francis Little was the first premier of Newfoundland between 1855 and 1858. The country rejected confederation with Canada in the period between 1864 and 1869. In 1907, Newfoundland became the

Dominion of Newfoundland Newfoundland was a British dominion in eastern North America, today the modern Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It included the island of Newfoundland, and Labrador on the continental mainland. Newfoundland was one of the orig ...

, a dominion of the British Empire. Due to economic hardship in 1934, the Newfoundland legislature accepted rule by a Commission Government comprising six members (three from Britain and three from Newfoundland) appointed by the British government. In two national referendums, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians voted to become part of Canada in 1948. On April 1, 1949, it became the Province of Newfoundland.

References

{{NLPremiers English colonization of the Americas Former British colonies and protectorates in the Americas History of Newfoundland and Labrador by location Former English colonies States and territories disestablished in 1783 States and territories established in 1610 * 1865 establishments in the British Empire 1610 establishments in the British Empire

History

See also

References