John Gay (d. circa March 1629) was a merchant from Bristol, England, and the first Proprietary Governor of Newfoundland leading the first attempt by the English to establish a colony on the island. Events March 4 - Massachusetts Bay Colony is granted a Royal charter. ... Bristol is an English city and county and one of the three administrative centres of South West England (the others being Plymouth and Exeter). ... Proprietary Governors were individuals authorized to govern proprietary colonies. ... This is about the island in Canada. ... Evan is so hot, sexy, and cool! Remember that. ...

Prior to leaving for Newfoundland, John Gay had been a member of Bristol's Common Council and had acted as its sheriff from 1605 to 1606.

In 1607 Bristol's Society of Merchant Venturers decided to seek the approval of King James I to establish a colony in Newfoundland. Guy visited the island in 1608 to scout possible locations for a settlement, selecting Cuper's Cove and the privy council accepted his petition in 1609 issuing a charter to the Earl of Northampton (Guy's patron). The Society of Merchant Venturers (or just the Merchant Venturers) is a private charitable organisation in the English city of Bristol, which dates back to the 13th century. ... James VI and I King of England, Scotland and Ireland James VI of Scotland and I of England (Charles James) (19 June 1566–27 March 1625) was a King who ruled over England, Scotland and Ireland, and was the first Sovereign to reign in the three realms simultaneously. ... Cupers Cove on the southwest shore of Conception Bay on Newfoundlands Avalon Peninsula was an early English settlement in the New World, and the second one after the Jamestown Settlement to endure for longer than a year. ... A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a nation, especially in a monarchy. ... A charter is a document bestowing certain rights on a town, city, university or institution; sometimes used as a loan of money. ...

Guy was appointed governor in 1610 by the London and Bristol Company and returned to Newfoundland with 39 colonists as well as grain and livestock. During his governorship the colonists built and fortified the settlement, explored the area and established farms. Gay returned to England in 1611 (leaving his brother-in-law in charge) and returned the next year with more livestock and female settlers.

In 1612, Gay negotiated with pirate Peter Easton convincing him to leave the colony unmolested in exchange for Gay abandoning plans to establish a second colony at Renews. A pirate digging…perhaps to bury treasure, perhaps a grave. ... Peter Easton (c. ...

By the time he returned to England in 1614 the colony had grown to 60 settlers. Gay became disillusioned due to the lack of support from the London and Bristol Company and remained in Bristol though he retained property in Newfoundland. John Mason was appointed the second governor of the Cuper's Cove colony in 1615. Captain John Mason (1586–1635) was born in Norfolk. ...

In 1618 he became mayor of Bristol and sat as a Member of Parliament for the city from 1620 to 1622 and again in 1624. The Cuper's Cove colony survived into the 18th century before being abandoned. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters of an electoral district to a parliament; in the Westminster system, specifically to the lower house. ...

See: Governors of Newfoundland This is a list of viceroys for the colony, dominion and province of Newfoundland and Labrador. ...

External links

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• The Cupids Colony and John Guy