Newfoundland

Former dominion of the British Commonwealth, became a Canadian Provence in 1948

Temporarily became a British colony again in 1933, after Britain rescinded its dominion status and liquidated Newfoundland’s legislature

Europe initially came to Newfoundland for fish. Officially “discovered” in 1497 by John Cabot on behalf of King Henry VII, but European fishermen were already operating there long before.

By 1530, ~150 English fishing boats had moved operations from Iceland to Newfoundland, encouraging Elizabeth I to make it part of her estate in 1583.

20,000 English fishermen were employed in Newfoundland by 1700.

Because industry was mostly offshore, and because mainland English merchants and royals didn’t want the competition, colonization of Newfoundland was prohibited until the 1800s.

Illegal settlers fanned out into coves and bays around the island coastline to live and fish away from the English justice system. This made the development of Newfoundland very different from the rest of America’s.

“Even in the 1930s, the Englishmen on the Amulree Royal Commission who were sent out from London to determine the political and financial circumstances of the Island were shocked to find hardly any municipal government outside the city of St. John’s” - Greg Malon, Don’t Tell the Foundlanders, Page 14

England gave Newfoundland “Responsible Government” (i.e. Westminster-style Parliamentary Democracy) in 1855, similar to other Canadian provinces.

Britain favored Canadian Confederation by the mid-1860s (why?). Newfoundland sends delegates to the 1864 Quebec Conference and to Ottawa 1895, but decides ultimately against confederation.

Newfoundland Bank Crash of 1894 allows mainland Canadian banks to bail out the Island, taking over its private credit.

In 1905, Prime Minister Sir Robert Bond negotiated a treaty for the free trade of fish with the United States, at which point Nova Scotia persuaded Ottawa to persuade London to persuade the US to cancel the treaty.