William Colston

William Colston was a colonizer and a deputy governor of the first English colony in Newfoundland.

Most likely a native of Bristol, Colston was a merchant and probably a member of the Bristol Spanish company. In 1610 he went to Newfoundland as one of the first settlers in a project of the plantation of Newfoundland. The newcomers settled at the colony Cuper’s Cove which was governed by John Guy, also a citizen of Bristol.

During the absence of John Guy between August 1611 and June 1612, Colston was appointed a deputy governor and charged with keeping the journal of weather and daily activities in the colony. Unfortunately, the journal was not preserved. Upon Guy’s return, Colston went back to England and informed John Slany, the treasurer of the London and Bristol Company, and sponsor of the Cuper’s Cove colony, of the vast riches and business potentials of Newfoundland.