Old Perlican

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Old Perlican in Trinity Bay is one of the oldest fishing communities in Newfoundland. It is located close to what used to be excellent cod fishing grounds. It became one of the major settlements on the English Shore in the 17th century because of this.

Early References

Old Perlican. (�Small Craft Harbours, Dept of Fisheries and Oceans. Used with permission.)

One of the first references to Old Perlican comes from a report written by Captain Charles Leigh in 1597. He says that a Spanish vessel had been fishing out of a place he called �??Parlican' that summer. By at least 1612 people had begun to call the place Old Perlican. John Guy mentions Old Perlican a number of times during his trip into Trinity Bay that year.

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The First Settlers

Old Perlican was settled by the 1630s. At that time a planter called John Brown was living there. The 1675 census of Newfoundland lists 146 people living at Old Perlican that year including 11 planters and their servants. The planters living there at the time included Hugh Burt, James Welshman, John Corban, Thomas Taylor, William Green and John Carter. John Carter was one of the more important planters. He owned four boats and employed twenty servants. John was from a well to do family. His father was the mayor of Poole in Dorset, England.

Captured and Burned

The French captured and burned Old Perlican on February 4, 1697. They reported that at that time there were nineteen houses there along with a great deal of salt cod, 30 cows and many sheep and pigs. They captured 80 men. Later these men were all sent to Placentia as prisoners.

The attack doesn't seem to have caused any permanent harm to the community. A list of planters written a year later records that there were thirteen planters living at Old Perlican along with a number of women and children and 117 servants.

Attacked Again

Old Perlican was attacked by the French again on March 29, 1705. This time they found only 38 men and 18 women and children there. The rest seem to have escaped to the western side of Trinity Bay. These people where kept as prisoners at Old Perlican while the French raided the other settlements in Trinity Bay. Then, on May 23, the French returned and burned the town to the ground.

Under Threat

Old Perlican. (Image reproduced with permission by Baccalieu Trail Tourism Association.)

The threat of French attack continued for a number of more years. During this time Fox Island on the western side of Trinity Bay was fortified. Settlers at Old Perlican and surrounding towns were encourage to spend the winters on Fox Island so they could protect themselves. The war with France ended in 1713 and the settlements on the English Shore were safe from attack. Old Perlican continued to grow slowly. By 1753 there were 266 people living there year round.

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Old Perlican

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