S4.E7: Newfoundland Pirate Stories: Peter Easton and Adventure Knox (feat. Tammy Hynes)
Season 4, Episode 7
Title: Newfoundland Pirate Stories: Peter Easton and Adventure Knox
Time: 33 minutes
Locations: Harbour Grace, Happy Adventure, Renews
Story: Peter Easton: The Pirate Admiral Who Ruled Newfoundland
Guest: Tammy L. Hynes
Listen:
About The Episode:
Part One: Peter Easton
In the early 1600s, Peter Easton turned Newfoundland into something few would expect — a pirate stronghold. Operating out of Harbour Grace, Easton commanded a powerful fleet, raided ships across the Atlantic, and built a reputation that reached from England to the Mediterranean. For a time, he was nearly untouchable and earned the moniker ‘Pirate Admiral’. His presence on the island blurred the line between outlaw and authority figure.
His story lives on in Newfoundland history, lore… and maybe maps.
Part Two: Happy Adventure
On the Eastport Peninsula, Happy Adventure is a place with a name that practically begs for a story—and it has plenty. Some say it traces back to Peter Easton and his ship of the same name, while others point to a passing surveyor or the hopeful optimism of early settlers. Like much of Newfoundland’s folklore, the truth is hard to pin down — it’s lost somewhere between documented history and enthusiastic storytelling.
Plaque in Happy Adventure, NL
In this segment, we dig into the competing origin stories behind the name, explore the landscape that may have inspired it, and follow the threads of pirate lore that run through the entire Eastport Peninsula. From “happy” adventures to more “damnable” ones, it’s a reminder that even the smallest places can hold some of the biggest — and most exciting — stories.
Part Three: Tammy Hynes
Tammy L. Hynes is a Newfoundland-based writer and educator whose work spans fiction, history, and creative nonfiction. She is the author of The Adventure Knox series and the forthcoming Wells of Truth series. Her past publications also include A History of Renews and Politics of the Kitchen, a unique collection of recipes from some of Canada’s most prominent politicians of the early 2000s. She has also contributed to the international bestseller How the Secret Changed My Life.
Hynes is currently developing two Newfoundland-set fiction series: Adventure Knox, a young adult historical adventure series set in 1930s Newfoundland, and The Wells of Truth, an adult paranormal murder-mystery series. Blending historical fact with fiction, her writing brings Newfoundland’s past and atmosphere to life for a broad range of readers.
In this episode, we dive into the first book in her Adventure Knox series, The Summer of Secrets.
The novel follows Tese Knox, a young teen with a knack for finding adventures, so much so either becomes her nickname. One summer in Renews, Newfoundland, Tese stumbles across clues suggesting that a centuries-old legend of buried pirate treasure might actually be true. But as she digs deeper, the mystery leads somewhere far more unexpected — uncovering threads of corruption tied to Newfoundland’s former government, and igniting a sense of curiosity that reaches well beyond a single summer.
Colonial Building, St. John’s, NL
Learn more about Tammy L. Hynes and get Adventure Knox: The Summer of Secrets
Adventure Knox: The Summer of Secrets, Tammy L. Hynes at Amazon.ca
Beauty Beneath: Prequel to the Wells of Truth, Tammy L. Hynes at Amazon.ca
Tammy L. Hynes at Facebook
Listen to:
Rant, Roar and Riot: Richard Squires & The 1932 Riots
Black Bart in Newfoundland: Bartholomew Roberts
Listening Options
You can listen to the episode here or on your favourite platform.
Sources & Further Reading
Peter Easton: The Pirate Admiral Who Ruled Newfoundland, Product of Newfoundland
Happy Adventures & Damnable Days, Product of Newfoundland
E. Hunt, “Easton, Peter,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 1, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed July 10, 2025
Clive Malcolm Senior, An Investigation of the Activities and Importance of English Pirates, 1603–40, University of Bristol, PhD thesis, 1973
D. Prowse, A history of Newfoundland from the English, colonial, and foreign records, 1895
John Guy Letter, July 29, 1612, Heritage NL
A letter about Peter Easton, Pirate Admiral, John S. Mitchell Ph. D< Newfoundland Quarterly, Spring/Summer, 1999
Peter Easton, The Canadian Encyclopedia
No Colony for Old Men: Peter Easton in Conception Bay, Conception Bay Museum
Peter Easton, Real Canadian pirates : buccaneers & rogues of the North, G. Telfer, 2007
Pirates & Outlaws of Canada, Harold Horwood and Ed Butts, 1984
True Newfoundlanders : early homes and families of Newfoundland and Labrador, Margaret McBurney, 1997
Beachy Pond, Oderin Island and Easton's Pirate Gold, John S. Mitchell Ph.D., Newfoundland Quarterly, Summer 1995
Renews-Cappahayden, Irish Loop
Salvage Notes, Evening Telegram, Sept 1, 1921
