Sir Richard Whitbourne

Born in 1561 in Devonshire, England Whitbourne spent much of his life as one of the first literate fishing skippers in Newfoundland.

He made many fishing voyages from at least 1583 until the late 1620s, when he entered the navy which purpose was to hunt whales and trade with the Natives. During that period Whitbourne witnessed Sir Humphrey Gilbert's ceremony of possession in 1583 and Bernard Drake's raid on Portuguese fishermen in 1585.

He was even abducted by the pirate Peter Easton in 1612 during overseeing the transportation of Newfoundland fish to Mediterranean markets. In the period between 1618 and 1629 Whitbourne was appointed governor of colony at Renews in Newfoundland. Sent to establish law and order in the colony, he was also remembered as the first person to hold a court of justice in North America at Trinity in 1615.

Whitbourne wrote several books, including “A Discourse and Discovery of the New-Found-Land”, published in 1620, with purpose to promote the colonization of the island.