The village was first settled by migratory fishermen and then by colonists. The colony was first proposed in 1610 by the London and Bristol Company, which had previously started an English colony at Cuper's Cove, but settlement was delayed by the presence of the pirate Peter Easton. In 1615, the territory was sold to William Vaughan who initially sent settlers to Aquaforte. Around 1617, Governor Richard Whitbourne moved six remaining colonists to Renews, but they had left by 1619. Vaughan soon sold land that crossed the Avalon Peninsula, including Renews harbour to Henry Cary, 1st Viscount Falkland who named the territory South Falkland.