The National Post reported recently on a “Wall unearthed from Canada’s oldest British settlement.” This was the Cupids Colony in Newfoundland, settled on the Avalon Peninsula along the shores of Conception Bay (map). Thirty nine settlers landed here in 1610 under the direction of John Guy, a Bristol merchant. An overview of the colony appears in “The Cupids Colony and John Guy,” part of the Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage / Patrimoine de Terre-Neuve et du Labrador website.
The recently unearthed wall probably served as a defensive structure. The rich fishing grounds along Canada’s eastern coast attracted the attention of several European powers. Pirates also sailed these waters. One of them, Peter Easton, even extracted protection payments from the fledgling settlement in the form of cattle.
Clearly the Cupids Colony could have used a defensive wall, and the recently excavated structure faced seaward. The article mentions a 1611 correspondence from John Guy that referenced the installation of three defensive cannons. This may have been the spot.
The wall was found on property acquired by the provincial government only the previous year.
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