Oct. 16. 1852.] 



NOTES AND QUERIES. 



365 



to be regretted that the writer of this letter is not 

 known. Ursula appears satisfied that it was 

 written by the governor of St. Christopher's, or 

 his secretary. From the extract which he has 

 kindly given me, I have not as yet come to the 

 same conclusion. There is no doubt that the 

 letter was written by a person in authority ; but 

 might he not have been a diplomatist, who had 

 been sent on a mission ? or an officer in command 

 of an English ship of war or squadron, cruising 

 among the West India Islands for the protection 

 of commerce ? I merely make this suggestion for 

 Ursula's consideration. 



Ten years ago, when engaged in writing some 

 historical sketches of the Knights of Malta, I 

 came, in the course of my reading, to the reign 

 of the Grand Master Lascaris, who purchased St. 

 Christopher's, and some other islands which I 

 named in my first notice. Vol vi., p. 87. of 

 "N. & Q." Lascaris reigned from 1636 to 1657, 

 and his successor was Martin de Redin, who died 

 in 1660. Annet de Clermont, de Chattes Gassan, 

 then came to the throne ; but he lived only three 

 months after his election, and was succeeded by 

 Kaphael Cotoner, whose reign terminated by his 

 death in 1663. Nicholas Cotoner, a younger bro- 

 ther, was the next grand master, and he died in 

 1680. Several historians of the Order of St. John 

 have stated, that it was during his reign St. Chris- 

 topher's and the other islands were disposed of to 

 Monsieur Colbert, prime minister of France. For 

 this supposition I trust I may be excused, when 

 stating the authorities from which it is drawn. 



Sutherland, in his second volume of The Achieve- 

 ments of the Knights of Malta, thus remarks : 



" In 1652, Lascaris made a still more novel addition 

 to the possessions of the Order. The attention of the 

 civilised world was at that time intensely directed to- 

 wards the western hemisphere ; and, through the 

 agency of the Chevalier de Poincy, commandant of 

 St. Christopher's in the West Indies, who acted as 

 representative of a company of French merchants, who 

 held large grants there under the French Crown, 

 Lascaris was induced to make a purchase, not only of 

 that island, but of the neighbouring islands of Saint 

 Bartholomew, Saint Martin, and Saint Croix, to which 

 he would have added Guadaloupe and Martinico, had 

 it been practicable. The fee-simple of these posses- 

 sions, with all the plantations, slaves, and stores upon 

 them, was purchased for about five thousand pounds 

 sterling ; but the Grand Master had also to liquidate 

 the debts due by the former proprietors to the inhabit- 

 ants. The transaction, however, completely disap- 

 pointed his expectations ; and, on the death of De 

 Poincy, it was discovered that he had from selfish 

 motives betrayed the Order into a most unprofitable 

 speculation. Twelve years afterwards (1664), in the 

 Grand Mastership of Nicholas Cotoner, these trans- 

 Atlantie dependencies were resold to other French 

 merchants ; and such is the marvellous change which 

 industry and commercial enterprise can produce, that 



a little more than a century subsequent to the date of 

 these transferences, English proprietors were to be 

 found in the same islands who, from one year's re- 

 venue of a single plantation, would have paid the whole 

 purchase-money which the Maltese knights had given 

 for them." 



Mr. Frederick Lacroix, in his History of Malta 

 and Gozo, has written as follows : 



" Un fait singulier eut lieu durant les dernieres annees 

 du magistere de Lascaris. L'Ordre fit I'acqiiisition de 

 I'isle Saint Christophe, voisine de I'Amerique. Ce fut 

 le Chevalier de Poincy, gouverneur de cette colonic 

 pour le compte d'une compagnie de marchands, qui 

 proposa au grand maitre de I'acheter. Nous ne 

 Savons quel avantage le conseil trouva ii la possession 

 d'un point maritime aussi lointain ; quoiqu'il en soit, 

 la proposition fut acceptee avec empressement, et M. de 

 Vouvre, ambassadeur de la Religion a Paris, fut charge 

 de negocier la cession avec le roi de France, patron et 

 protecteur de la colonic. Saint- Christophe fut vendue 

 a rOrdre, pour la somme de cent-vingt mille livres 

 tournois, et avec la condition que les acquereurs se 

 chargeraient des dettes des negociants, proprititaires de 

 I'ile, envers les habitants. On comprit dans le marche 

 les petites iles voisines, telles que Saint- Barthelemi, 

 Saint-Martin, et Saint-Croix. II fut meme question 

 d'un contrat semblable pour la Martinique et la Guada- 

 loupe. En inspirant au grand maitre I'idee de cette 

 etrange acquisition, le Chevalier de Poincy avait fait 

 acte de roue ; on ne tarda pas, en efFet, a s'apercevoir 

 que ce gouverneur avait contracte d'enormes obligations 

 pecuniaires envers les colons ; aussi s'empresse-t-on, a 

 sa mort, d'abandonner une possession aussi onereuse 

 (1653). L'Ordre la vendit a une nouvelle compagnie 

 de marchands fran9ais, qui s'y etablit en 1665." 



Dr. Vassallo, has just now favoured me with 

 another authority, which appears to bear directly 

 on the point in question. It is as follows : 



" Nell' anno 1652 La Religione Gerosolimitano 

 fece acquista dell isola San Cristoforo con altre vicine, 

 e I'atto di vendita porta la data del 21 Maggio, 1652." 

 {Dal Pozzo, lib. iv. pp. 194, 195, 196.) " Furono di 

 nuovo alienati nell 1665, dopo che I'ordine le ebbe 

 godute per soli anni 13." {Pozzo, lib. vi. p. 322.) 

 " Nell 1 687, fu conseguito dall ordine il resto del prezzo 

 della isola di San Cristoforo." {Ibid. lib. xii. p. 674.) 



These authorities would thus far appear to have 

 sustained my statement ; but I shall have great 

 pleasure in referring to this subject again, after a 

 further research in the annals of the Maltese 

 knights. 



Ursula asks for the chronology of St. Chris- 

 topher's, which as yet I am unable to find. I 

 shall, however, have a look among the books of 

 the Garrison library, and hope to give Ursula 

 the reference he wishes in my next note. It is an 

 extract which I took from some work in 1842. 



w.w. 



La Valetta, Malta. 



