a 
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'The Discoveries and Settlements 
Ways to circumvent her in Trade, as the only Means to 
put a Stop to the growing Strength of the Kingdom, 
which they feared might become too formidable, from the 
great Inereafe of Seamen and Shipping em.ployed in the 
TVeJi India and Guinea Trades, both flourifhing at the 
fame time. Upon a Parliamentary Enquiry into the State 
of Trade to Africa^ in the Year 1728, it appeared to the 
Houfe, that in three Years Time only, the Number of 
Negroes imported at Barbadoes, Jamaica^ and Antigua^ 
amounted to forty-two thoufand, befides what were 
carried to St. Chrijiofher’ s., Nevis., and Montferrat. 
But we are now to inquire into the Caufes of the general 
Declenfion of this Trade. And here I beg Leave further 
to oblerve, that the French fpared no Coil or Labour to 
rival Great-Britainy they well knowing, if that funk, her 
Guinea and Madeira Trades muft fall with it j for which 
Purpofe.they embraced every Opportunity to enlarge and 
improve their Sugar Plantations ; and, if I am not mif- 
informed, where the Planter was not able to complete his 
Works himfelf, proper Utenfils were fent over from 
France at the Public Charge, and the Crown trufted 
them for feveral Years without Intereft : What fuch an 
Affiftance will enable ' Men to do, we may gather from 
die flourifhing State of the Linnen Manufaftory in 
fince the Public allowed them a Fund to fupport it. 
Plaving by thefe Means eftablifhed their Sugar Colonies, 
the next Thing they had in View was to beat the Britijh 
Merchants out of the foreign Markets, for Sugar ; and 
therefore deftroy their Trade for Exportation ; and this 
they have effefted, by giving Libefty for their Ships to 
carry their Sugars directly to the foreign Markets, while 
Gurs were obliged to import all into Great-Britain., which 
enables them to fell fo much cheaper than our Merchants 
can carry it from London., as has almofl put an entire Stop 
^‘to that valuable Branch of Trade to their Mother Country ; 
and the utter Ruin of the Britijh Sugar Colonies mufl; 
neceffarily follow, unlefs they are relieved fome way or 
other. 
The very firfl Declenfion of their Exportation Trade 
was attended with ill Confequences to the Sugar Colonies. 
It lowered the Price of Sugar fo much at home, as dif- 
couraged the Merchants from fending to purchafe Sugars 
here. This obliged the Sugar Planters to turn Merchant- 
Adventurers in a declining Trade, and to fhip their Su- 
gars upon their own Account and Rifque : This put a Stop 
to the Currency of Cafh, wKich was before brought over 
yearly to purchafe Sugars, and laid the whole Burden 
of Freight, Duty, and Commiflion, upon the Plantation, 
that were formerly paid by the Britijh Merchants. And 
fuppefe but fifteen thoufand Hogfheads of Sugars to be 
fhipped in a Year from this Ifland, on Gentlemens own 
Accounts, thefe three Articles will amount to upwards of 
flxty thoufand Pounds Sterling. Another great Evil that 
has likewife followed from the fame Caufe is, Combi- 
nations among the Buyers, by which the Price of Sugars 
is funk fo low as greatly to prejudice the Planters, and 
yet turning to the Benefit only of a few private Perfons, 
who are the firfl; Buyers, and not at all to that of the 
Confumers in general, by which that Ifland is hurt, and 
this receives no Benefit, or very little. 
Thefe are the Particulars which we have colledled from 
Books ; but we will now add fome few Remarks, from 
the Informations we have, received, which will ferve to 
give Light to the prefent State and Importance of this 
Ifland ; and thefe will come chiefly under the three fol- 
lowing Heads. In the firfl Place, we fhall fhew that this 
Colony throve the faftefl, became the befl: peopled, and 
by far the moil wealthy in America. We fhall next 
fliew the Advantages formerly derived from thence to 
the Britijh Nation, clearly, and in a very few Words. 
And laflly, we fhall take Notice of the prefent Condi- 
tion of this Ifland, and of the infinite Confequence there- 
of to this Government of Great Britain. In the firfl Place 
then, it is to be confidered that the Ifland of Barhadoes is 
generally efteemed to be a very little bigger than the Ifle 
of WighL and to contain, according to a round Com- 
putation, one hundred thoufand Acres. It has been fhewn, 
that about the Year 1626 this Country was not only un- 
settled, but adually uninhabitable, as a&rding nothing for 
I 
the Support of Life, and over-run with a brufhy kind of 
Shrub Wood, which gave a great deal of Trouble to the 
firfl; Planters j yet in the Space of fifty Years, this Plan- 
tation came to its greateft Height, and by a Calculation 
that was made with much Exadnefs, there were in it fifty 
thoufand white People of all Sorts, of v/hom twenty 
thoufand were able to bear Arms, and eighty thoufand 
Negroes : Nay we are told that in twenty Years after the 
Colony was fettled they muftered eleven thoufand Horfe 
and Foot ; which would be altogether incredible if we had 
hot fuch Proofs of thefe Fads as put them, beyond all 
Doubt or Queftion. 
This fufficiently proves that never any Colony of ours, 
or any other Nation, was fo populous as this Ifland. But 
to make this ftill clearer to an Englijh Reader, we fliall 
obferve that Barhadoes is rather lefs than the County of 
Rutland., the fmalleft County in England \ and that, ac- 
cording to the highefl Computation, the Number of Peo- 
ple in that County, in 1676, did not exceed twenty tliou- 
fahd ; But this may be made flill clearer, ■ by comparing 
that whole Ifland with this, in Point of Extent ; for if 
England and JValeSy taken together, confifl; of near forty 
Millions of Acres, then if they were as populous as Bar- 
hadoes they ought to contain fifty Millions of People ; 
whereas Sir WilUam Petty^ who was a very able Man in 
Computations, and is thought not to have undervalued 
this Country, but rather the contrary, never reckoned the 
People higher than eight Millions •, which fhews what a 
vafl; Difproportion there is between the peopling of the 
two Countries. 
But to proceed farther Hill : The fame great Man afferts, 
that in Holland and Xealand, which are looked upon to be 
the bell peopled Countries in Europe^ there are a Million of 
Souls inhabiting about as miany Acres *, and confequently 
it appears from hence, that even this Country was not fo 
well peopled as Barhadoes. In Point of Wealth, the Com- 
parifon holds full as ftrong ; for in the Year 1661 King 
Charles II. created on the fame Day thirteen Baronets in 
BarhadoeSy none of them having lefs than one thoufand, 
and fome of them ten thoufand. Pounds a Year. At this 
time their Trade adlually maintained four hundred Sail of 
Ships ; and it was computed, that the Running Cafh of 
the Ifland might be about two hundred thoufand Pounds ; 
and their annual Exportation to Great-Britainy in Sugar, 
Indico, Ginger, and other Commodities, at leafl; three 
hundred and fifty thoufand Pounds. Thefe are Fa< 5 ts that 
may be depended upon, that deferve in every refpedt the 
greateft Confideration, and that plainly demonftrate at 
once the great Value of this Ifland, and the prodigious 
Confequence of our Plantations in general. 
By the gradual Inereafe of the Colony upon this Ifland, 
it has, fince we firfl; pofielTed it, contributed beyond Con- 
ception and Belief to the Riches of its Mother Country ; 
and, as I know not any Subjeft that either can or ought 
to give an Englijh Reader more Pleafure than the Con- 
fideration of what has been obtained by the Blefling of 
God, upon the Virtue and Induftry of his Countrymen % 
fo, I think, an Endeavour to fhew what has accrued in 
the whole to Britainy by eftablifhing a Colony here, will 
be allowed to be equally inftruclive and pleafant, ufeful 
and entertaining. 
V^hat has been faid before, gives us a fiifficient general 
Notion of the Importance and Value of the Ifland •, what 
we now aim at is, to come at a more particular Account 
of what it has yielded in the Whole. When this Colony 
was in its moft flourifhing Condition, which we fix to the 
Year 1676, there were four hundred Ships of one hundred 
and fifty Tons, one with another, employed annually in this 
Trade •, and I believe it will be thought a very moderate 
Computation, if - we reckon that the Seamen, Ship- 
Builders, and other Trades that live by thefe Veffels, 
amounted in the Whole to ten thoufand Souls. The Sugars 
that came from BarhadoeSy were either fpent at home or 
fent abroad ; and I reckon, that in the manufadturii^g the 
Sugars, and vending them at home and abroad, there 
might be twenty thoufand People more employed. To 
thefe we muft add, fuch as got their Bread by the Goods 
and Manufadlures yearly exported from hence to Barha- 
does y for almoft all that the People eat, drink, and wear 
three. 
