English Enterprise in Newfoundland 1577-1660

Between 1577 and 1660 Newfoundland emerged from relative obscurity to become the centre of a booming and valued industry, the site of one of England's first colonies, and a place of such strategic importance that the English government could not afford to ignore it. From the time of its discovery in the late fifteenth century, the fishermen of Western Europe made annual fishing voyages to Newfoundland.