2021-07-05 Mon

John Guy was an English merchant adventurer, colonist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1621 to 1624. He was the first proprietary governor of Newfoundland Colony, the first attempt to establish a colony on Newfoundland.

Guy became a merchant and was admitted to the corporation of the city in 1603, as a Councillor of Bristol. He was also appointed the Sheriff of Bristol for the year 1605–06. During the emergency of 1605 when the country was threatened with invasion from overseas, he was appointed one of the Rear-Admirals in the Royal Navy, as Bristol was at the time of the two main naval ports in the country. In 1607 he was also appointed Surveyor of Bristol, a post which gave him the responsibility for obtaining provisions for the naval vessels that visited the port of Bristol.

Today on 5th July in the year 1610, John Guy sets sail from Bristol with 39 other colonists for Newfoundland. In 1910 Newfoundland issued a commemorative stamp to celebrate the 300th anniversary of the founding of Cupids by John Guy. Cupids were the 2nd oldest English colony in the New World after Jamestown, Virginia.

Image Source: Wikipedia.org