Noted as an important fishing station as early as the 16th century, Placentia in 1662 became the capital of the French fishing colony in Newfoundland. Fortifications erected by the French guarded the settlement for half a century until the colony was ceded to Great Britain by the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. From that time Placentia was overshadowed by the new British capital, St. John's, and with the withdrawal of the garrison at the beginning of the 19th centruy it reverted to its original role as a fishing station.