NL Studies 2205 (2.6 – 2.7)

The Resident Fishery As we stated in the last section, some migratory fishing masters began to leave behind servants to protect fishing properties during the winter months. More importantly, some boatkeepers, often called planters or inhabitants, brought their wives and children to settle. The planters hired servants to work in the fishery in much the same way as the byeboat-keepers. Through this process of voluntary settlement, most places acquired a year-round or permanent population. While it is

The Resident Fishery: Sponsored Settlement In addition to the planters’ informal settlement patterns were the organized attempts of various English trading companies and other businesses to plant colonies on the island of Newfoundland. The English sponsored colonies on the Avalon Peninsula, of which the best known are John Guy’s charter colony at Cupids (established 1610) and Lord Baltimore’s proprietary Colony of Avalon at Ferryland (established 1621). Although these investments failed, sponsored settlement did contribute to permanent settlement in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Resident Fishery: Governing the Fishery 300 years old when self-government was granted. Couldn't control the people and did not want to spend the money to do so. Wanted it to remain a seasonal colony.

English Caters (Laws) Regarding NL Western Charter – 1634 (Constitutional Laws) Newfoundland Act -1699 (An Act to Encourage the Trade to Newfoundland) Naval Government -1815 to Civil Government (Civil governors represented the authority of the crown in Newfoundland and Labrador and upheld the colony's Constitution.)

The Resident Fishery Until the late eighteenth century, settlements were very different from those which developed later. They were essentially seasonal fishing stations (or work camps) Those who worked for merchants often lived in barracks (called cookrooms) on their employers’ premises. They were paid a small wage and given their keep. Those who worked for planters and byeboat-keepers usually boarded with their employers, sleeping in the lofts of stages or outbuildings.

The Resident Fishery Workers spent most of their waking hours catching and curing fish, which left them with little leisure time. Immediately after arriving in the spring or early summer, workers had to first spend much time and energy cutting timber and building the infrastructure of the fishery – stages, flakes, cookrooms, and the like. After the construction phase, fishing servants spent the remainder of the season catching and processing cod. It was a hard life.

The Resident Fishery As settlement expanded, settlers found opportunities for new economic activities. - Fur trapping during the winter Sealing Although soils were rather poor, subsistence farming was an important activity Forestry Those who stayed in the fishery were controlled, for many years, by the merchants

The Resident Fishery In dealing with resident fishermen, the Merchants allowed them to: Buy supplies on “credit” Use their fish as payment In this way, the fishermen would always remain in debt. Merchant acquired fish without risk or expense. This was not so good for the fisherman. This became known as the Mercantile System.

FPU Sir William Ford Coaker was a Newfoundland union leader and politician and founder of the Fisherman's Protective Union and the Fishermen's Union Trading Co. and established stores throughout the province. They would purchase fish from fishers for cash and would also import goods to sell to fishers directly at a non-inflated price. This circumvented the St. John's fish merchants. Sir William Coaker