The English at Placentia
The English at Placentia
In April 1713, the Treaty of Utrecht was signed and article 13 referred to Placentia.
"The said Island of Newfoundland with the adjacent islands shall from this time forward belong of right wholly to Britain and to that and the town and fortress of Placentia and what ever other places in the land are in the possession of the French shall be yielded and given up within seven months for the ratification of the Treaty, or sooner if possible, by the most Christian King to those who have a commission from the Queen of Great Britain for that purpose".The Treaty was signed on April 11th; in July a French Corvette brought the sad news to Placentia. If the French had left immediately it would have meant the loss of the fishing season, so the English agreed to let them remain until the following spring. Governor Costabelle remained with his people.
In the spring of 1714, Costabelle called together the settlers and told them to decide if they were going to move to French Canada or remain under English rule with no promise of special treatment. The people were hesitant to leave, but Costabelle assured them that ships would be provided to move all of the movable belongings.
The French left Placentia in 1714, and the English under Colonel Moody took possession of Fort St. Louis and Castle Hill. He was now Lieutenant- Governor of Placentia. Colonel Moody had served in St. John's during the French attack of 1708. He raised four separate companies of soldiers in Ireland , and it was these men who now manned the garrison. Moody reported that one hundred French families had left Placentia and three stayed. He had placed 60 men in the woods until the French ships left.
On the 23rd of June, Queen Anne wrote a letter to the Governor of Nova Scotia under whose jurisdiction Placentia was placed. This warrant was very important for it gave the people of Placentia the right to own land and sell their title.
In 1719, Colonel Moody was recalled and succeeded by Colonel Gledhill as Lieutenant-Governor.
In 1720 the English built Fort Fredrick on the south shore of the gut. This was small picketted work with a semicircular stone battery. This was strengthened with the timber-framed sod work in the 1740's. A new more regular four-bastioned fort was also begun on the site of Fort Louis but was never finished.
In 1729, Placentia was taken away from under the jurisdiction of Nova Scotia and Captain Henry Osbourne was appointed Governor.
Following the removal of Colonel Geldhill, Colonel Otto Hamilton became Lieutenant-Governor of Placentia until 1757.
After 1735, the ships came in great numbers to Placentia. It was estimated that one-fifth of the ships in Newfoundland were at Placentia. The population was greater than that of St. John's. This new found prosperity however was not extended to the garrison and by 1736 all the men in the garrison were at the age of retirement. Eight years later Colonel Gledhill's son who was on the Placentia Station wrote that it was a shame to see the King's men almost naked.
In 1740, repairs to Castle Hill began and were finished in a hurry when the French captured St. John's in 1762. It was now called Castle Graves and a block house was built in the middle.
In 1745 the rebellion in Scotland and the threat of war with France made England look to its defenses at Placentia and a new commander was sent with 45 soldiers to man the fort.
In 1747 there was only one justice of the peace at Placentia and he refused to do his job. Governor Rodney the naval governor at Placentia in 1749, ordered Captain Knight the captain of the Placentia Station to appoint new justices of the peace.
In 1757 John Chapman was appointed surrogate or Lieutenant-Governor for the area, and Andrew Lomericiew and James Spratt were appointed Justices of the Peace. They renewed the alehouse permits of Moses Freeman, Thomas Kennedy and Mary Clark. In 1757 three constables were also appointed: they were Richard Spragg, Moses Freeman and Richard Allen.
In 1762 Placentia once again felt the presence of war. The French government sent out four ships of war with seven hundred troops who captured St. John's. Governor Graves immediately set up his government and a roll call showed the weak state of the garrison. The governor ordered the commanding officers to fill up their regiments with local men. After the danger of the French attack was over, the governor ordered that the works on Castle Hill be kept in good condition to keep the French from attacking Placentia.
On July 27th, 1762, a new surrogate was appointed at Placentia. This was Robert Edgecumbe, Esquire.
With the French danger passed, the governor turned his attention to other matters at Placentia, such as the military being involved in the fishery. On June 16, 1763, he ordered that no member of the garrison was to involved in the fishery, nor to own any stages, or parts of the beach.
In 1762 the great navigator and chart maker Captain James Cook made a map of Placentia.
In 1776 Captain Wallace was appointed Surrogate of Placentia.
On July 20, 1786 Prince William Henry who was serving in the Royal Navy had been assigned to Placentia. He was appointed Lieutenant-Governor.
Around the end of the century, the fort at Placentia was manned by the Royal Nova Scotia Fencilbles of Infantry. They were not very popular.
In 1806, the court house was in need of repairs and the lieutenant-governor ordered the repairs to be done using public money.
In 1813-1814 a war ship, the HMS Promethus, wintered at Placentia. She was the last war ship to be on the Placentia Station for the full time. The military use of Placentia was nearing an end with the defeat of Napoleon. In 1815, there was no longer a need for a fort and garrison at Placentia. The soldiers were all transferred, the fort tumbled into ruins and the only sign of the glory of the town was the rusty guns sitting in various places.
Although the soldiers left, Placentia remained as one of the major centers of Newfoundland. In 1831 big events took place. First Placentia had its first election, and Mr. Roger F. Sweetman was the first elected representative of the area. In the same year, the British North American Society opened the first school at Little Placentia.
