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Book 
X. 
I S C O V E R1 E S 
that Doll r'redenck could not afford much TimCj being 
bound to tile Havaknah to bring home the Flat a. Yet 
this was to no purpoie, nothing would content them but 
embarking and leaving the Place, which he was forced to 
comply widi, and fo ail the French deferted their Settle- 
ment, as did their Allies \F.tKngliJlo ; who were in a great 
Conflernation, and the Diforder encreafed, upon" the 
News d1 Defnambueh being gone with his Colony ; ibme 
endeavoui ed to efcape by Sea, others fled to the fvloun- 
tains, and all v/ho were left fent Deputies to treat with 
tne SpiDpiards, Phe Don knowing he had them in his 
Power, commanded them to leave the Ifland immedi- 
ately, or he wmuld put them to the Sword ; he fent them 
their own Ships, which he had taken at Nevis, to embark 
in, and was perfuaded to give leave to thofe to fl:ay that 
had not room in the Ships for themfelves and thek Fa- 
milies,^ till they could be tranlported •, upon which Don 
weighed anchor, carried with him fix hundred 
Engk^ who were fittefl; for his Service, and he was no 
fooner gone but the Englijh rallied, and refolved to go on 
with their Settlement. The French, who were got no 
farther than Antigua and Mont f err at, fent a Ship for Intel- 
ligence to St. ChriJlopheF s, and underftanding the Spa- 
niards^ were , gone, and the Englijh bufy in rebuilding and 
planting, rejoiced at this happy and unexpedted turn of 
Foitune, failed back to St. ChriJlopheF s, and retook 
PolTeflion of their former Habitations. 
The E7tghjh continued carrying on their Colony till 
they were in a Condition to fpare more Men for Settle- 
ments, at Barbuda, Montferrat, and Antigua., which Sir 
Fhomas W %rner peopled and planted. And the fame Year 
the IPutch made themfelves Matters of .9/. Eujtace, and 
the French took Poflefllon of fome other Iflands. The 
Englijh built themfelves good Houfes at d"/. Chrifiophefs, 
and had Wives and F amilies j whereas the French con- 
tented themfelves with Huts, after the Caribbean Manner ; 
few of them were married, and confequently took little 
Pains to furnifh themfelves with all Things neceffary and 
convenient for Life. Monfleur Eejnambue died about the 
Year 1637, and Sir Fhomas Warner did not long furvive 
him. Before the Englijh Governor’s Death, the Colony 
was ,fo increafed, that there were between twelve and 
thirteen thoufand Souls of his own Nation in the Ifland. 
He was tticceeded in his Government by Col. Rich, who, 
by following his Predeceflbr s Steps in governing the 
Colony, invited more People to come and fettle there. 
The chief Employment of the firtt Planters was culti- 
vating Tobacco i by which they got a competent Liveli- 
hood ; but afterwards, the Quantity that was made bring- 
ing down the Price, they fet themfelves in feveral Places 
to plant Sugar, Ginger, Indico, and Cotton, and in a 
little time became a rich and flourifliing People, both 
French and Englijh living cordially together till the laft 
M^ar broke out, when the Englijh drove the French en- 
tirely from their Settlements ; and the Country being 
yielded to the Crown of Great-Britain by the Peace S 
Utrecht, all the Fre^uh Territory was fold for the Benefit 
of the Public, which mutt have produced a very large 
Sum, flnce out of it there v/ere eighty thoufand Pounds 
paid, for the Marriage Portion of her Royal Hio-hnefs 
the Princefs of Orange. ° 
There were indeed fome who pretended, that notwith- 
ftanding the French Part of the Ifland of St. ChrifiopheFs 
was by far the richett, we were no Gainers by obtain- 
ing it ; but that, on the contrary, the French received 
Benefit thereby, becaufe it enabled them to people the 
rett of their Iflands more effeftually ; but whoever con- 
liders that the Sugars of this Ifland are the very belt: in 
all Ajnerica ; that the Plantations were- in perfetfl Order •, 
and^ that the FPench ventured a War, to prevent our 
fettling St. Lucia and St. Vince^tt, willfcarce be brought to 
believe, that they parted with a Country ready fettled, and 
moi evaluable than both thole Iflands, with their Good- 
will. The Treaty of Utrecht was fo indifferent a P'reaty 
that, I think, there is no fort of Neceflity for making it 
appeaf woife than it really was. The fame Perfons who firtt 
fettled St. Chrijiopher s likewife fettled Nevis, or Mevis, 
about the Year 1628 ■, and notwithttanding the Mif- 
S E T T L E M E N T S 
fortune ot being difpoflefled by th.G.Spa7nards it\ the manner 
before-mentioned, In twenty Years time there v/ere at leaft 
four thoufind People upon the Ifland, and they continued 
increafing in the fame manner, by aSucceflion of prudent 
Governors, for a conflderable Space. After the P^efto- 
mtion, when Trade and Peace flouriflied, this LQe en- 
joyed its Share of the Benefit, and increafed in Inhabit- 
ants and Riches ; the only Enemy they had to ftruggle 
v/ith v/as the Hurricane, v/hicli generally vifi ted them, 
once a Year. 
On- the 19th of Augufi, 1667, there was a terrible one in 
this Ifland *, at which time Sir John Berry, Captain of the 
Centurion Man of War, was in the Harbour with that and 
feveral other Ships, of which one was commanded by Capt. 
Langjord, who having learned fome of the Prognoftics 
of a Tornado, from a Caribbean, perceiving them, 
he told Sir John and the rett of the Commanders of it, 
who depending on his Intelligence, made their Ships 
ready, and in the Morning, about four o’ Clock, the 
Wind coming very hard northerly, they put to Sea, and 
came all back within four or five Days time fafe to the 
Road again : Captain Langford was .aflrore, and being 
confident of the Flurricane, took fuch care in fecuring his 
Sugars and Goods in the Store-houfe, that when the Flur- 
ricane had carried away the Roof of the Houfe, all except 
one Hogfhead of Sugar remained fafe. 
When Sir JVilliam Stapleton v/as Governor of thefe Iflands 
he ufually made this the Place of his Refidence. Here 
Courts were kept, and the Governor living upon it, moft 
of the Affiiirs of this Government were tranfadfed here ; 
for every one of thefe Iflands hath a particular Lieutenant- 
Governor, Council, and AfTembly ; and the general Go- 
vernment centers only in the Authority of Captain-General, 
Sir William Stapleton, who was Governor in King James*^ 
Time, made Sir James Rujfel Lieutenant-Governor of this 
Ifland, and he enjoyed the Place till his CommifTion was 
fuperfeded by that of Captain-General, granted to Sir Na- 
thaniel JohnJon, who alfo reflded at Nevis ; and at this 
Time none of the Leeward IJlands flourifhed fo much as 
this ; it fupplied the others with almott all their Wine's 
and Negroes, and was computed to have contained at that 
Time near two thoufand fighting Men, which will make 
the Number of Souls, by common Computation, to be 
above ten thoufand befides Negroes, of which Number 
there wqre not Id's than twenty thoufand. A prodigious 
Improvement of an Ifland fcarce fix Miles long, to main- 
tain between thirty and forty thoufand Men, Women, 
and Children ! 
We are to proceed next to the Ifland of MontferraG 
which Name the Spaniards gave to this Ifland, from the 
Refemblance it has to a Mountain in Catalonia, not Tar 
from Barcelona \ famous for a Chapel dedicated to the 
Blejfed Virgm, in the greatett Reputation with the Roman 
Catholics of any, except that of Lorretto. The Englijh 
have not thought fit to give it another Name fince they 
were Matters of it. It lies in 1 7 Degrees North Latitude, 
is about three Leagues in Length, and almott as much in 
Breadth ; fo that it feems to be of a round Figure. It 
was difcovered by the Europeans at the fame time with 
St. ChriJlopheFs ; but no Settlement was made upon it till 
the Year 1632, at which Time Sir Fhomas Warner, firtt 
Governor of St. ChriJiophe'F s, procured a fmall Colony to 
fettle there, of the Subjedfs of England, for we cannot 
aflure ourfelves they were Enghjh Men, this Ifland being 
generally looked upon as an Frifh Colony. This Ifland 
flourifhed at firtt more than Antigua but fince the Lord 
Willoughby^ Time, the latter has got, and kept, the Start 
of it. There were feven hundred Men in Montjerrat, 
fixteen Years after it w'as firtt inhabited ; the Rolls of the 
Militia at this Time amounts to three hundred and fixty. 
We find but one Battery for the Defence of the Coatt, and 
other old difmounted Cannon at feveral Landing-places, 
As to the Climate, Soil, Animals, Trade, and Productions 
of this Ifle, they are much the fame with thofe of the other 
Carihbee IJlands, only this is fuller of Mountains, which 
are covered with Cedars and other Trees, that make it a 
lovely Profpecf from the Sea : The Vallies are fruitful, 
and better ftored with frefli Water than, thofe of Antigua. 
According 
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