- This article is about John Guy, the 17th century merchant. For John Guy the Tudor historian, see John Guy (historian).
John Guy (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.
Prior to leaving for Newfoundland, John Guy 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).
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. Guy 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, Guy negotiated with pirate Peter Easton convincing him to leave the colony unmolested in exchange for Guy abandoning plans to establish a second colony at Renews.
By the time he returned to England in 1614 the colony had grown to 60 settlers. Guy 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.
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.
See: Governors of Newfoundland
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