Bristol's Hope, Newfoundland and Labrador
Encyclopedia
Bristol's Hope is the modern name of a community in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It is located on Conception Bay
Conception Bay
Conception Bay is a Canadian bay located on the northeast coast of the island of Newfoundland. The bay indents the Avalon Peninsula with the opening of the bay to the Atlantic Ocean at the northeast. It is bounded by Cape St. Francis in the south and Split Point near Bay de Verde in the north...
between Carbonear
Carbonear, Newfoundland and Labrador
Carbonear is a town on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. As of 2006, there are 4,723 people living in Carbonear, down from 4,759 in 2001.-History:...
and Harbour Grace
Harbour Grace, Newfoundland and Labrador
Harbour Grace is a town in Conception Bay on the Avalon Peninsula in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. With roots dating back to the sixteenth century, it is one of the oldest towns in North America. It is located about 45 km northwest of the provincial capital, St. John's...
.
The place names Musket's Cove and Mosquito have been used since about the 1630s to refer to the area now called Bristol's Hope (Seary 1971: 63). The community was renamed in 1904 to commemorate the 1617 outpost of that name, an offshoot of the John Guy colony established at Cupids, ten miles away, in 1610 (Dale 1981a).
The Plantation of Bristol's Hope was the second English colony
English colonial empire
The English colonial empire consisted of a variety of overseas territories colonized, conquered, or otherwise acquired by the former Kingdom of England between the late 16th and early 18th centuries....
in Newfoundland established by the Bristol Society of Merchant Venturers
Society of Merchant Venturers
The Society of Merchant Venturers is a private entrepreneurial and charitable organisation in the English city of Bristol, which dates back to the 13th century...
. It was a "sister" colony to Cuper's Cove
Cuper's Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador
Cuper's Cove, on the southwest shore of Conception Bay on Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula was an early English settlement in the New World, and the second one after the Jamestown Settlement to endure for longer than a year...
, established in 1618 with a land grant from King James I of England
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
, and was settled by some of the colonists from Cuper's Cove. Robert Hayman
Robert Hayman
Robert Hayman was a poet, colonist and Proprietary Governor of Bristol's Hope colony in Newfoundland.-Early life and education:...
was the colony's only Proprietary Governor
Proprietary Governor
Proprietary Governors were individuals authorized to govern proprietary colonies. Under the proprietary system, individuals or companies were granted commercial charters by the King of England to establish colonies. These proprietors then selected the governors and other officials in the colony....
as this colony only existed until about 1631 before being abandoned. Although some accounts have the original colony centred at present-day Harbour Grace, the Plantation itself was much larger and included the modern location.
According to the 1677 Newfoundland Census, there were two households with permanent residences in "Musketa" consisting of thirteen family members and twenty-three servants. When the region came under attack from the French in 1697, their records list "Mosquit" as having "3 planters, 5 boats, and 2500 codfish".
The current population is less than 200 people.
Possibly the settlement’s most famous native-son was General Sir Henry Pynn, who fought under Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington
Field Marshal Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, KG, GCB, GCH, PC, FRS , was an Irish-born British soldier and statesman, and one of the leading military and political figures of the 19th century...
in the Peninsular War
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War was a war between France and the allied powers of Spain, the United Kingdom, and Portugal for control of the Iberian Peninsula during the Napoleonic Wars. The war began when French and Spanish armies crossed Spain and invaded Portugal in 1807. Then, in 1808, France turned on its...
against Napoleon, and was the first native-born Newfoundlander to be knighted. His ancestor was one of the leaders in the successful defence of Carbonear Island
Carbonear Island
thumb|Map of Fortification in 1750Carbonear Island is a small uninhabited island on the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland, Canada. It is located at the mouth of Carbonear harbour...
against the French under D’Iberville
Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville
Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville pronounced as described in note] Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville pronounced as described in note] Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville pronounced as described in note] (16 July 1661 – 9 July 1702 (probable)was a soldier, ship captain, explorer, colonial administrator, knight of...
in 1697.