Ferryland in Newfoundland is part of the Avalon Peninsula on the southern shore of the island south of St. John's. It was established as a station for migratory fishermen in the late 16th century but had earlier been used by the French, Spanish, and Portuguese. By the 1590s it was one of the most popular fishing harbours in Newfoundland and acclaimed by Sir Walter Raleigh.

The land was granted by charter to the London and Bristol Company in the 1610s and the vicinity became the location of a number of short-lived colonies at Cuper's Cove, Bristol's Hope, and Renews and adjoined the colony of South Falkland. In 1620 the territory was granted to George Calvert, 1st Lord Baltimore who had obtained the holdings from William Vaughan.

Calvert appointed Edward Wynne to establish a colony which became the first successful permanent colony in Newfoundland growing to a population of 100 by 1625. In 1623, Calvert's grant was confirmed and expanded and was created by Royal Charter as the Province of Avalon with Ferryland as the capital.

See also:

• British colonization of the Americas