In 1870 an important chapter in the history of Newfoundland came to a close
when the British government withdrew the military garrison at St. John's.
European garrisons had been stationed in Newfoundland since the middle of
the 17th century. They were usually to be found at St. John's and
Placentia, though smaller detachments were stationed from time to time at
several other locations. Until 1815 their purpose was primarily one of
protecting the fishery; thereafter the role of the military became
increasingly one of providing aid to the civil authorities in maintaining
public order and suppressing civil unrest. However, both before and after
1815, the significance of the garrisons extended far beyond their assigned
||Fort Frederick, Placentia, ca. 1789.
From the logbook of H.M.S. Pegasus. Plans for Fort Frederick were
approved in 1715 and construction began in 1717.
Courtesy of the National Archives of Canada, C-2532.
From the beginning, the officers and soldiers were an important
component of local society, providing emergent communities with leadership
and pageantry as well as stimulating the local economies. The presence of
the military also had its dark side, for the absence of civil authority
before 1729 and the neglect with which the military of that era was often
treated by distant governments led to frequent abuses of power; the
documentary record is filled with complaints directed against local garrison
commanders. Nevertheless, as the permanent population on the island grew, so
did the administrative structure, with the result that such complaints
gradually diminished. By the 19th century, the military garrison was
thoroughly subordinated to the authority and needs of the civil power in
Newfoundland. Ironically, this transformation contributed to the decision to
withdraw the garrison in 1870. By the middle of the century, the British
government had become convinced that the police function of the garrison
should be provided by the government of Newfoundland and not by that of the
Empire. The withdrawal of the garrison therefore also signified something of
a beginning, since it paved the way for the establishment of a civilian
©1991, Olaf Janzen
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