History
 

The first meeting between Englishman

and Beothuk took place

in Sunnyside Harbour on the 6th

of November, 1612. John Guy’s

journal is an eyewitness account

of this meeting. Guy called the

area Truce Sound in honour of

this historic event.

Illustration by Matthäus Merian, Dreyzehender

Theil Americae, 1628 (© Centre

for Newfoundland Studies, Memorial

University of Newfoundland).
 
 

The above illustration could be called a 17th century “video.” There was only one ship and two canoes. The illustration shows the ship and canoes three times in different locations.
 

Truce Sound, 1612

The first official English settlement in Canada was established at Cupids, Conception Bay, in 1610 by Governor John Guy and 39 colonists. The colony was sponsored by the Bristol Society of Merchant Venturers. Among other things, they expected Guy to do was establish friendly relations with the Beothuk—the indigenous people that already lived on the island.

In the fall of 1612, Guy and 18 of his men set sail for Trinity Bay hoping to make contact with the Beothuk. They spotted houses (mamateeks) along the way and caught sight of two Beothuk in a canoe near Dildo but were unable to make contact with them. After reaching the bottom of Trinity Bay, they sailed west and eventually reached Bay Bull’s Arm. At Stock Cove, they saw more mamateeks but no people.

On November 5, they arrived at the end of Bay Bull’s Arm, where Sunnyside is today and found a well-worn trail leading over a land bridge to Placentia Bay. They followed the trail to Passage Harbour, now called Come By Chance, returning to Sunnyside harbour around noon on November 6. Shortly after noon, they spotted a campfire in the distance and two canoes coming towards them. The colonists took to their ship, waving a white flag, and sailed out to meet the canoes. This caused the Beothuk to turn away, so Guy quickly anchored and waved the white flag again. The Beothuk turned their canoes around again and met with the Englishmen on shore, where they shared a meal and exchanged gifts.

John Guy called the harbour “Truce Sound” in honour of this friendly meeting. The colonists started to build a shelter for future visits “on a small island of about five acres that was joined to the main by a small beach.” This was Frenchman’s Island, the only island in Sunnyside harbour. But by now it was now November 7th and ice was beginning to form so Guy and his party decided to return to Cupids.

The winter of 1612-13 was unusually severe and eight colonists died. The Bristol merchants started to pull out of the venture. In the summer of 1613, John Guy resigned as governor and went back to England never to return.

The friendly relations between English and Beothuk that started in Truce Sound in the fall of 1612 did not continue. Future meetings were not as friendly.
 

Journey of the Indeavour

John Guy and 18 men left Cupids on October 26, 1612, for Trinity Bay; 13 were aboard the Indeavour and  five were on a small shalloppe. The route they followed is shown on the map. After rounding Grate’s Cove point, the Indeavour was blown off course to the north side of Trinity Bay. It returned to the south side of the bay, sailed south to Dildo, then along the bottom of the bay to Bull Arm. They reached Truce Sound (Sunnyside) on November 5.
 
 
 

Beothuk birch bark canoe

The high sides, bow and stern may have made it more stable in rough water. Reproduced with permission from A.W. Taylor.

  

SHAWNADITHIT, daughter of Doodebewshet died June 6, 1829, in St John’s.

She was the last known survivor of the Beothuk Indians that lived in Newfoundland before Europeans came. She was captured in 1823 and is the source of much of what is known about the customs, language and last days of her people.

Remembering the Beothuk The Beothuk lived in Newfoundland for centuries before the Europeans arrived. They were closely connected to the people of southern Labrador. It is believed they came to Newfoundland across the Strait of Belle Isle. After European settlement , the Beothuk’s story is not a happy one. A few were captured and taken to Europe as curiosities. As the number of English settlements grew, the Beothuk withdrew into the interior. By the beginning of the 19th century, they were reduced to a small refugee population living along the Exploits River system and subsisting on the inadequate resources of the interior. Although there were attempts to establish friendly contact, help came too little, too late. The last known Beothuk—a young woman named Shawnadithit—was captured in 1823 and died in St. John’s on June 6, 1829, of tuberculosis. This was one of the darkest moments in Newfoundland history.