466 



MEXICO, CENTEAL AMEEICA, WEST INDIES. 



by the French, but the island was restored to Great Britain by the treaty of 

 Breda in 1666, and since then it has formed part of the British possessions. It 

 was the first of the English islands to abolish slavery in 1834, without awaiting 

 the results of the preliminary apprenticeship ; but no lands were granted to the 

 blacl^ s, most of whom abandoned the large plantations, declining to seek employ- 

 ment under their old masters. 



Owing to these economic changes, and partly also perhaps to the exhaustion 



Fig. 221. — St. John's Harboue, Antigua, 

 Scale 1 : 40,000. 





-mm 







ei'ss'^B' 



West or Greenwich 



6l*5a'25' 



Depths. 



Oto 16 

 Feet. 



16 to 32 

 Feet. 



32 Feet 

 and upwards. 



1,100 Yards. 



of the soil, the production of sugar, the staple industry of Antigua, has consider- 

 ably fallen off ; it is now proposed to replace it, as in the Bahamas, by hene- 

 quen. The Antiguan pineapples are famous in the markets of Great Britain 

 and the United States. 



Nearly all the foreign trade is carried on through the port of St. John, 

 which stands on the north side at the head of a bay (St. John's Harbour) afford- 

 ing good anchorage in depths of 10 to 14 feet, but of difficult access. English 

 Jiurbour, on the south coast, is a better and more sheltered haven ; but it was 



