Gap. VII. T^Caribby-Iflands. 



laft being beaten off with difadvantage, and meeting with ma- 

 ny inconveniences in the profecution of that war, made.a kind 

 of agreement with fome among them, as we (hall lee more 

 particularly hereafter in the Chapter of their Wars. Add to 

 this, that the Indians of Corajfao, who, without all dtfpute, are 

 fome of thole perfons who efcaped the Maffacres, and who 

 have among them fome yet living, who lived in the Port called 

 at the prefent, the Port of the Korv-Ijland, or as the f rench call 

 Le port de I' Ijle a vache, in the Iiland of Hijpaniola, when 

 the firlt Spaniards landed there, have not a word of the Ca- 

 ribbian Language in theirs, nor any thing of Carriage 5 whence 

 it may be deduc'd,that there never was any communication or 

 correfpondence between them and the Caribbians. Refides, 

 thofe of the greater Iflandswho might have fled to avoid the 

 tyranny of the Spaniards, would have had greater encourage- 

 ment to retreat into the Territories which were below them, 

 and whereto the regular winds lay more fit to carry them, than 

 to di reel: their courfe againft the wind, and fo retarding their 

 flight, expofe themfelves to a thoufand hazards by Sea, and 

 engage themfelves in a voyage twenty times as long : For it 

 is almoft a miracle 5 that fuch Veflels as theirs are can advance 

 a league in a day againft the wind , nay it many times hap- 

 pens that very great vefTels are in their afcent fore'd back more 

 in three hours than they had advanc d in fix daies : For we 

 have it from very skilful Pilots, that they have been three 

 months getting up from the Cul-de-Sac of St. Domingo to St. 

 Chriftophers 5 whereas to fall down from St. Chrijiophers to St. 

 Domingo, there needs commonly not above four or five days 

 at mofr. 



As concerning the opinion the Caribbians themfelves have 

 of their origine. we find, that, being as ignorant of all Monu- 

 ments of Antiquity, as free from all curiofity of enquiring af- 

 ter things to come,they believe for the raoft part,that they are 

 defcended from the Calibites or Calibis, their Allyes and great 

 friends, the Inhabitants of the Meridional part of America, 

 & the neighbouring people ofthe Arouagues orAlouaguesjn that 

 Country or Province which is commonly called Guyana, or the 

 Savage-Coafi. And thofe who adhere to this opinion, ground 

 their perfwafion on the conformity of Language, Religion 

 and Manners, obfervable between the Caribbian Inhabitants 

 of the Iflands, and the Calibites-j though it may as well be 

 prefum'd that the faid refemblance might partly proceed from 

 the allyance and particular friendfhip there was between 

 them ^ partly from the Neighbourhood of the Caribbians of 

 the Meridional Continent and thofe Calibites- 0 and partly from 

 fome other caufes, whereof we {hall give an account here- 

 after. 



But thefe poor Savages ofthe Iflands agree not among 



them- 



