Rob Buckland takes up the story of John Guy, one of Canada’s founding fathers.

Despite Bristol’s Merchant Venturers helping to fund John Cabot’s pioneering voyage to Newfoundland in 1497 there had never been any real attempt to found a colony there.

Many people believed that the climate was harsh, the land infertile and that the native Indians hostile.

But it was accessible.

Fishing boats, many of them from Bristol, would make the treacherous journey there every spring, returning home at the end of the season with a very valuable commodity – salted cod.

By the 1600s everyone was talking about colonisation and John Guy – a well respected Merchant Venturer – was determined that Newfoundland could be settled.

The financial rewards, Guy believed, could be great.

In fact he had already given his backing to the North Virginia Company, which hoped to colonise the coastal lands there.

In 1608 he visited Newfoundland in person and two years later was granted a Royal Charter over the whole island.

It had, in fact, already been claimed for Queen Elizabeth in 1583 by the Cornish seafarer Sir Humphrey Gilbert.

Within two months of receiving the charter John was ready to set sail from Bristol with 38 others, including his brother, Philip.

A settlement was quickly established at a sheltered inlet, Cuper’s Cove (now Cupids Cove), land put to the plough and the region explored.

During the first winter, which was thankfully mild, the colonists also built six fishing boats and a much bigger vessel.

John Guy came back to Bristol in 1611 returning the following year with yet more settlers, including sixteen women, and more livestock.

With a total population of 62 the settlement now had 16 buildings, including three houses, a store, a blacksmith’s shop, fort, sawmill, grist mill and brew house.

In March 1613, Nicholas Guy’s wife (probably a relative of John’s) gave birth to a son – the first English child to be born in what is now Canada.

But despite their optimism the colonists had many problems to overcome.

The soil and climate proved to be poor and they didn’t have enough hay to feed their animals through the hard winter of 1613.

Eight colonists died and several others became ill with scurvy.

Peter Easton, a notorious pirate who plundered fishing vessels off Newfoundland, also caused them problems.

Easton operated a protection racket and the hapless colonists were forced to hand over precious livestock to him.

To add to that Guy fell out with the Newfoundland Company over rights to land and wages owed to his men.

Dispirited, he arrived back to Bristol in the spring of 1613 and, as far as we know, never returned.

Two years later he quit the company for good, taking many other local investors with him.

But despite this setback John Guy prospered.

As well as being elected Master of the Merchant Venturers he was Bristol’s Mayor in 1618 and then, in the 1620s, an MP for the city.

When the adventurer died in 1629 it’s said, although there are no records to prove it, that he was buried in St Stephen’s church.

He left his land in Newfoundland, which he still owned, to his sons, Thomas, Robert and William.

The settlement at Cupids, however, was virtually abandoned as it had failed to live up to expectations.

Archaeological evidence indicates that just one or two families remained living there.

But, despite the setbacks, the pioneering spirit had taken root and by 1675 there were around thirty colonies along the Newfoundland coast.

These included one established by a number of Bristol merchants – Nicholas Guy among them – in an area called Bristol’s Hope.

Settlement in Cupids began to grow again in the 18th century and today it is a thriving place of around 800 people.

In commemoration of their 400th anniversary the story of the settlers and their struggle is being retold.

All the artifacts uncovered since the discovery of the original settlement site in 1995 will go on show in a newly built legacy centre.

There will also be a resource centre, a multipurpose hall and an archaeology lab.

Celebrations next year will also include arts and music festivals, an historical re-enactment, an educational programme, tours of the archaeological site and a genealogy project to help local families trace their roots.

Along with Prince Charles, the current Master of the Merchant Venturers, Trevor Smallwood, visited Cupids last week to unveil a commemorative plaque.

“John Guy and his fellow brave settlers embody Bristol’s proud maritime and mercantile heritage and its pioneering spirit” he said.

“Their story is among the most inspiring to come out of the city’s long history.

“The legacy centre will demonstrate the important role of Bristol and the Merchant Venturers in the foundation of Canada and the British Empire.”