Henry Crout ( fl. 1612 – 1617) was a settler and explorer, most likely from Devon in the English West Country. He became an investor in the

London and Bristol Company The London and Bristol Company came about in the early 17th century when English merchants had begun to express an interest in the Newfoundland fishery. Financed by a syndicate of investors John Guy, himself a Bristol merchant, visited Newfoundl ...

and acted as Sir

Percival Willoughby Sir Percival Willoughby (died 23 August 1643) of Wollaton Hall, Nottinghamshire was a prominent land owner, businessman, and entrepreneur involved during his lifetime variously in mining, iron smelting, and glass making enterprises in Nottinghamsh ...

's agent and guardian to his son Thomas at the

Cuper's Cove Cuper's Cove, on the southwest shore of Conception Bay on Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula was an early English settlement in the New World, and the third one after Harbour Grace, Newfoundland (1583) and Jamestown, Virginia (1607) to endure for lo ...

plantation in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

. Crout was impressed with

, and in his letters to Sir Percival Willoughby noted the potential of exploiting its rich resources and the possibility of establishing a fur trade with the

Beothuk The Beothuk ( or ; also spelled Beothuck) were a group of indigenous people who lived on the island of Newfoundland. Beginning around AD 1500, the Beothuk culture formed. This appeared to be the most recent cultural manifestation of peoples w ...

. He had noted in his correspondence the frequent raids of the pirate

Peter Easton Peter Easton ( – 1620 or after) was a pirate in the early 17th century. The 'most famous English pirate of the day', his piracies ranged from Ireland and Guinea to Newfoundland. He is best known today for his involvement in the early En ...

on the fishermen. He was accused of being a sympathizer with the pirates but claimed that he only met with them in an attempt to right wrongs done to the colonists and migratory fishermen. Crout's primary duty was to Willoughby who planned to establish a settlement on the

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...

. He was to find a route from

Conception Bay Conception Bay (CB) is a bay on the southeast coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The population (in 2011) of people living in municipalities (or unincorporated census subdivisions) located along the coast of Conception Bay was 90,490 making it on ...

to Trinity Bay and make contact with the Beothuk. Early in September, 1612 he led a party to within a few miles of Trinity Bay cutting a trail (or "way") as he went. On September 9 a second crew was sent out to finish the way and widen it "for 2 men to passe together".Baccalieu ''Crossroads for Cultures''
/ref> The trail was extended for 18 miles from Cupers Cove to a place the colonists called "Mount Eagle Bay" but which today is called Hopeall. From September 1, 1612 to May 13, 1613 Crout kept the colony's weather journal. He accompanied John Guy on his voyage to contact the Beothuk in Trinity Bay in the autumn of 1612 and wrote two accounts of the voyage. In July 1613 Crout made a second voyage into Trinity Bay in an attempt to contact the Beothuk. He returned to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in August 1613 to report to Willoughby in detail, and in the spring of 1616 he and Thomas Willoughby returned to Newfoundland with plans to build a house on Sir Percival's land in

Carbonear Carbonear is a town on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It overlooks the west side of Conception Bay and had a history long tied to fishing and shipbuilding. Since the late 20th century, its economy has changed to emphasi ...

. His attempt to settle in Carbonear failed. He spent the winter of 1616-1617 in Cupers Cove and probably returned to England in 1617. Henry Crout's weather journal and a number of his letters have survived and contain a great deal of information on the early days of settlement in Newfoundland and contact between the early colonists and the Beothuk.

References

External links

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Baccalieu Trail Heritage Corporation

Baccalieu ''Crossroads for Cultures''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crout, Henry People from Newfoundland (island) English emigrants to pre-Confederation Newfoundland Year of birth missing Year of death missing Place of birth missing