Kirke was granted the rights to "the sole trade of the Newfoundland, the Fishing excepted." The latter words resulted in considerable trouble. At the time the Grand Banks of Newfoundland were being fished by many European nations, and Kirke's 5% tax gave an advantage to the English fishermen in the area. A number of West Country merchants thrived on the fish trade. Represented in London by Kirke, Barkeley, and Company, with several of his brothers in control, Kirke used his land rights to support the fish trade, in conflict with the terms of his charter. By 1638, strong links between Ferryland and Dartmouth, Devon, had already been established. Kirke brought the entire trade network south of St. John's under the control of a growing family commercial empire.