In the course of the 16th century Newfoundland became a major center of the European
migratory cod-fishery in the northern Atlantic.
Originally several nations - England, France, Spain and Portugal - had been present
in the area, but after the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713 only Great Britain remained,
France retaining however some rights. (1)
In the course of the following years the first British permanent settlements were
established and in 1818 the island formally was organized as a British Colony.
Newfoundland was granted internal selfgovernment in 1855 and, like the other white
selfgoverning colonies, it was restyled Dominion instead of Colony in the early 20th
century. (2)
As a result of major financial problems selfgovernment was abolished in 1934 and
Newfoundland - having acquiered the largest part of Labrador in 1927 - again became
a colony under direct British rule. (3)(1)French Shore
Following the Treaty of Utrecht of 1713 France retained the right to
continue fishing cod on the northern coast of Newfoundland and to use
the shore as a base.
In 1783, following the Treaty of Versailles, the boundaries of the
"French Shore" were modified and the zone now included the western
coast and a small part of the north.
In the course of the 19th century the importance of cod-fishing
declined and in 1904 - as part of the "Entente Cordiale" - France
gave up its rights to use the shore as a base, retaining only a
right to fish in the Newfoundland waters.
All what now remained of the once important French presence in the
region were the tiny islands of Saint Pierre et Miquelon, once the
center of French cod-fishing.
(2) Newfoundland never achieved the same degree of semi-independency as
the other Dominions did and it was not recognized as an equal member
of the British Empire after the Imperial Conference of 1926.
(3)Labrador
In 1763, by the Treaty of Paris, the northern and southern parts of
Labrador - until then part of French Quebec and like Newfoundland a
major cod-fishing center since the 16th century - were transferred
to British control and made part of the dependency of Newfoundland.
In 1774 they were annexed to British Quebec, but in 1809 they were
once again made part of Newfoundland. In 1825, some southern parts
were re-transferred to Quebec, which, in 1912, also acquiered the
unorganized parts of western Labrador.
Disputes over the exact frontiers between Quebec and Newfoundland
in Labrador - which gained in importance after the discovery of iron
ore in 1888 and the arrival of the first permanent white settlers -
lasted until 1927 when the British Privy Council granted most of the
territory to Newfoundland, a decision which remained contested by
Quebec.
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BRITISH CHIEF ADMINISTRATORS
Governors
1847 - 1852 John Gaspard Le Marchant 1803 - 1874
1852 - 1855 Ker Baillie Hamilton 1805 - 1889
1855 - 1857 Charles Henry Darling 1809 - 1870
1857 - 1863 Sir Alexander Bannerman 1783 - 1864
1863 - 1864 Laurence O'Brien* 1792 - 1870
1864 - 1869 Sir Anthony Musgrave 1828 - 1888
1869 - 1876 Sir Stephen John Hill 1809 - 1891
1876 - 1881 Sir John Hawley Glover 1829 - 1885
1881 Sir Frederick Bowker Terrington
Carter* 1819 - 1900
1881 - 1883 Sir Fitzhardinge Berkeley Maxse 1832 - 1883
1883 Sir Frederick Bowker Terrington
Carter* (2x)
1883 - 1885 Sir John Hawley Glover (2x)
1885 - 1886 Sir Frederick Bowler Ternington
Carter* (3x)
1886 - 1887 Sir George William DesVoeux 1834 - 1909
1887 Sir Frederick Bowler Ternington
Carter* (4x)
1887 - 1889 Sir Henry Arthur Blake 1840 - 1918
1889 Sir Frederick Bowler Ternington
Carter* (5x)
1889 - 1895 Sir John Terence Nicolls O'Brien 1830 - 1903
1895 - 1898 Sir Herbert Harley Murray 1829 - 1904
1898 - 1901 LtCol. Sir Henry Edward McCallum 1852 - 1919
1901 - 1904 Sir Cavendish Boyle 1849 - 1916
1904 - 1909 Sir William MacGregor 1846 - 1919
1909 - 1913 Sir Ralph Champneys Williams 1848 - 1927
1913 - 1917 Sir Walter Edward Davidson 1859 - 1923
1917 - 1922 Sir Charles Alexander Harris 1855 - 1947
1922 - 1928 Sir William Lamond Allardyce 1861 - 1930
1928 - 1932 Sir John Middleton 1870 - 1954
1932 - 1935 Sir David Murray Anderson 1874 - 1936
1935 - 1946 Sir Humphrey Thomas Walwyn 1879 - 1957
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MINISTERS
Prime ministers
1855 - 1858 Philip Francis Little 1824 - 1897
1858 - 1861 John Kent 1805 - 1872
1861 - 1865 Sir Hugh William Hoyles 1815 - 1888
1869 - 1874 Charles Fox Bennett 1793 - 1883
1874 - 1878 Frederick Carter (2x) s.a.
1878 - 1885 Sir (1880) William Vallance Whiteway 1828 - 1908
1885 - 1889 Sir Robert Thorburn 1836 - 1906
1889 - 1894 Sir William Vallance Whiteway (2x)
1894 Augustus Frederick Goodridge 1839 - 1920
1894 - 1895 Daniel J. Greene 1850 - 1911
1895 - 1897 Sir William Vallance Whiteway (3x)
1897 - 1900 Sir James Spearman Winter 1845 - 1911
1900 - 1909 Sir (1901) Robert Bond 1857 - 1927
1909 - 1917 Sir Edward Patrick Morris 1858 - 1935
1918 - 1919 Sir (1918) William Frederick Lloyd 1864 - 1937
1919 Sir Michael Patrick Cashin 1864 - 1926
1919 - 1923 Sir (1921) Richard Anderson Squires 1880 - 1940
1923 - 1924 William Robertson Warren 1879 - 1927
1924 Albert Hickman 1875 - 1943
1924 - 1928 Walter Stanley Monroe 1871 - 1952
1928 Frederick Charles Alderdice 1872 - 1936
1928 - 1932 Sir Richard Anderson Squires (2x)
1932 - 1934 Frederick Charles Alderdice (2x)
Until 1825 the Anglican community in Newfoundland - founded in the course of the
16th century - was subject to the Bishops of London.
It then became part of the Diocese of Nova Scotia. In 1839 a separate Diocese of
Newfoundland - which also incorporated Bermuda until 1925 - was founded.
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HEADS OF THE COMMUNITY
Bishops
1844 - 1876 Edward Field 1801 - 1876
1876 - 1877 James Butler Kelly 1832 - 1907
1878 - 1917 Llewellyn Jones 1840 - 1918
1918 - 1942 William Charles White 1873 -
1942 - 1955 Philip Selwyn Abraham 1897 - 1955
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