For the first three hundred years of it’s existence as a British colony, settlement in Newfoundland was forbidden. This however, did not stop many hardy men and women from taking up residence in the numerous harbours, coves, arms and inlets that dotted the rugged coastline of the triangular shaped island. The first of these pioneers came mainly from the South west of England, humble hardworking fishermen undaunted in the face of difficulties and skilled in all kinds of manual work. With little or no education, they came speaking the language of Elizabethan England, some of which remains to this day. They built their own houses, fish stores, stages and boats, they tilled the land, they made footpaths between settlements, they fished, they hunted, they cut their own fuel, and so these courageous people gradually established themselves in this faraway corner of the world. Men and women from the same town in the old country naturally settled together in the new, and there are still traces of the various dialects of south-western England in many Newfoundland communities.

Then came the harsh laws against settlement, which changed these respectable people into outlaws. There were among them of course, as is always the case, the undesirables, the dishonest, quarrelsome, and drunken who disturbed the peaceful community, and there were neither policemen to prevent disorder nor courts to punish those who caused it. There were sometimes ugly scenes and many crimes which the better people were powerless to stop. There were often marked differences between the type of settler at places only a few miles apart, and this affected the habits and customs of these places for generations. The people who lived in Conception Bay were as different from those who lived in Trinity Bay as if they belonged to a different nation. At one place the people might be coarse and crude; while at the next they might be quiet, refined and law-abiding. Yet in spite of all the hardships and restrictions the population continued to increase. The king of England could make laws, but he could not enforce them; the English merchants might have the ear of the king, but they could not drive out the settlers, although they could and did succeed in making life almost unbearable for them.

In later years, around the time the ban on settlement was lifted, there was a large immigration from Ireland, where often people were induced to emigrate because of false information given them of prospects in the country to the west. As was the case with the English, more than two hundred years earlier, friends settled together and sometimes upon visiting such communities, one might be excused for thinking that he had somehow crossed the Atlantic and was in a village in the land of the shamrock and leprechaun. Place names too often tell of a homesick people with Ireland’s Eye, Jersey Harbour, and English Harbour being good examples. It should also be noted that the local pronunciation is usually the soft brogue generally associated with England and Ireland. Place names also tell a lot about the people who settled there, their hardships may be seen in names like Bleak Island, Misery Point, Savage Cove and Wreck Cove. That fishing and the sea was their main concern is known by Caplin Cove, Trout River, Herring Neck and Boat Harbour. Animals and Birds were common on the Island and were not forgotten with such names as Pigeon Island, Horse Chops, Gander Bay and Otter Point. Some people found happiness in the new land as shown in Heart’s Desire, Heart’s Content, Heart’s Delight Comfort Cove and Paradise. Other’s saw the humorous side of life, even amid their troubles naming their places of residence Jerry’s Nose, Blow Me Down, Joe Batt”s Arm and Nancy Oh. When ideas ran out they came up with Nameless Cove and Harbour Harbour.