Chap. III. of the F Pv E N C H in AMERICA. 35 7 
they carry on of robbing and fpoiling all they meet with, 
they had the Name o{Freehooters^'^^Ad\ as I apprehend, 
means pretty much the fame thing with Pirates. 
But Mr. Defnambuc, who was a Gentleman of a very 
good Family, was very far from being guilty of any 
thino- of this fort •, but with thofe that remained faithful 
to htm returned to St, Chriflofherf^ fortified himfelf 
there, and laid the Foundations of a good Colony, for 
the Support of which there was a Company already 
formed in France. He faw with extreme Regret, that 
Sir Fhomas JVarner had got the Start of him j that the 
EngUjh Colony was in a much better Condition than his 
ov/n, and that they had already made themfelves Mailers 
of feveral of the adjacent Hands. He refolved there- 
fore, and indeed he had no other Choice to make, to 
fend over fome of the principal Perfons in his Colony to 
France^ that they might fecure Supplies, and chiefly with a 
View of fettling the ifland of Guardalotipe. Amongfl; the 
Perfons he fent over there was one Mr. Olive, a bold 
enterprizing Man, and one who had nothing in View 
but his own Interdl. He had it feems fome Notice of 
the French Governor’s Defign, in which he refolved to 
fupplant him ; and having entered for that Purpofe into 
a Treaty with one Mr. du Plejfs, and fome other Mer- 
chants of Diepfe, who formed a Company for the Sup- 
port of this Scheme i thefe two were fent over Go- 
vernors, with jomt Authority to the Ifland of Guar da- 
loupe, where they arrived on the 8th ot June 1635, with 
about five hundred Men. It fo fell out that in the very 
Beginning of their Enterprize they committed two 
Miftakes ; the firfl; was, they fettled on the wrong Side 
the Ifland, where the Soil was very bad ; the fecond, 
that they fell out with the Natives before their Colony 
was in a Condition to fubfill. The bad Confequences 
that aftually attended thefe Errors, and the Forelight 
he had of what mull certainly follow, foon broke the 
^ Heart of Mr. du Plejfis. As for Mr. Olive, who was 
now foie Governor, his Haughtinefs and Pride had cer- 
tainly brought the Colony to Ruin, if he had not fallen 
blind. Upon which the Company fent over one Mr. 
Auhert, a very difcreet and prudent Gentleman, who, in 
a few Years time, put the Affairs of this Colony into 
Order, and eftabliflied it fo effedlually, that the Inhabit- 
ants have fubfifted very happily ever fince. But though 
Mr. Defnambuc had the Misfortune to fee this Country 
thus taken out of his Hands •, yet he had . the Pleafure 
before his Death to fettle the Ifland of Martinico, of 
which, by that Means, he became Proprietor, and by 
his Laft Will and Teftament left it to his Family. 
At this, time Cardinal Richlieu came to the Head of the 
French Councils ; and having received an Account of the 
Advantages that were like to arife from the fettling of 
thefe Hands, he thought proper to fend over a Perfon of 
Diftindlion, to take the Diredlion of the whole Hand, 
and accordingly made choice of Mr. de Poincy, a Knight 
of Malta, whom he fent over thither, with the Title 
of Governor and Lieutenant General of the Hands in 
Amelica: He embarked zx. Dieppe on the 15th of January, 
i 6 ^g, and after a very fhort FalTage arrived 2X Martinico, 
from whence he went to Guardaloupe, and afterwards to 
St. ChriftophePs. He was a Man of very great Parts, had 
read much, and was well acquainted with the World ; 
and with all this he had the Qualities that rendered him 
the fitteft Man in the World for his Office : He was very 
fevere in the Execution of his Authority againfl thofe 
who were for making hafly Eftates, at the Expence of 
the Public : He was extremely kind and good to the 
induftrious Part of the Inhabitants who were willing to 
difcharge their Duty, and let their private Fortunes de- 
pend upon the' flourifhing State of the Colonies : He had 
a true Notion of Religion, caufed Churches to be built 
in all the Hands, took care that the Priefls were well 
maintained •, but would have no Monafteries or Monks : 
Fle eftabliflied alfo an excellent Form of Juftice, granted 
Commilftons to Privateers, and hanged up Pirates with 
very little Ceremony. His Concern lor the Public Good 
was fo apparent, that without any AfTiftance from the 
French Government he was in a manner abfolute, and 
his Orders were obeyed with the utmoft Alacrity, becaufe 
the People ivere fenfible that he had nothing in View but 
VoL. IF E\MB. XCiy. 
their Intereft. In fhort, he changed the whole Face of 
Things in that Part of the World, fettled defart Hands, 
and though he made many hundreds of People rich and 
happy, contented himfelf with the Pleafure of doing it, 
without making any Fortune of his own. 
But after the Death of Cardinal Richlieu, and the 
Difturbances that followed in France, the Colonies funk, 
by the ill Management of the Company ; and then the 
Chevalier de Poincy, in the Year 1651 purchafed the 
Hands of St. Chrijiopher, St. Bartholomew, St. Martin, 
and of the Floly Crofs, for the Order of Malta. , In the 
like Manner other Hands were difpofed of by the French 
Company, to fuch as would give any thing for them ; 
which, as may be eafily conceived, was of very bad 
Confequence, and brought the Affairs of the French, 
in that Part of the World, into a very ftrange Situation, 
The Dutch, always attentive to their own Intereft, take- 
ing notice of the Condition things were in, eftabliflied 
Magazines at Flujhing and Middlebourgh, for Weji India 
ComiTiOdities ; and employed, in the Trade of the 
French Hands, upwards of one hundred Ships every 
Year. This continued till about the Year 1664, when 
a new Company was let up in France, v/hich, with the 
AfTiftance of the Government, purchafed back from the 
Hand of Malta, and from the other Proprietors, the 
Rights that they had acquired, put an End Dutch 
Trade, and brought the Commerce of the Colonies once 
more into a right Channel, v/hich was w'hat the Go- 
vernment had chiefly at Fleart *, for when after ten 
Years PolTefrion of their Grant, they began to increafe 
their own Profit, by Methods prejudicial to the People, 
the Miniftry thought fit to interpofe again , and as 
they had made ufe of the Company to deliver the 
Inhabitants from the Opprefnon of Foreigners , fo when 
once it was difcovered, that they meant to become Op- 
prcfTors themfelves, that was put out of their Power, 
and every thing fo fettled, that fuch as were diligent 
and induftrious might be fecure of reaping the Fruits 
of their own Labours, and the Profits of the Trade in 
general be fecured to the French Nation. Thefe new 
Regulations took Place about the Year 1680 j fince 
which, the French Hands have been in a very fiourifh- 
ing Condition, and are, at this Day, of very high Con- 
fequence to the Crown of France, as they contribute 
greatly to the promoting Manufadlures at home, and are 
the Source of a very extenfive and profitable Commerce 
abroad. 
10. This general View of the Manner in which thefe 
Hands were firft fettled and fecured to France being 
given, we fliall next proceed to a very fhort Account 
of the Hands themflelves, as they lie from South to 
North and then we fliall give a more particular 
Detail of their Commodities, which will fliew the ge-. 
neral Value and Importance of thefe Settlements, and 
redlify fome Miftakes that have been made about them 5 
a thing as ufeful and neceflary to us, as Co the French'' 
themfelves. 
To begin then with Granada it is fituated in 12 De- 
grees North Latitude, about thirty Leagues South-weft 
of Barbadoes, and about the fame Diftance North of Ca- , 
ribiana, or New Andalufia •, this Ifland is . twenty-five 
Leagues in Circumference, and has feveral good Bays' 
and Harbours, fome of which are fortified. It is 
efteemed a fruitful Soil, and well watered ; producing 
Sugar, and fuch other Plants as are found in the reft 
of the Caribbee IJlands there are abundance of very 
fmall Iflands that lie at the North End of Granada, 
which are called the Granadillas. 
Martinico is fituated between 14 and 15 Degrees of 
North Latitude, and in 61 Degrees of Weftern Longi- 
tude, lying about forty Leagues North -weft of Barba- 
does. It is twenty Leagues in Length, but of an un- 
equal Breadth 5 the inland Part of it hilly, and, at a 
Diftance, appears like three diftincl Mountains, being 
exceedingly well watered by numerous Rivulets, which 
fall from the Hills ; and there are feveral commodious 
Bays and Harbours on the Coaft, fome of them fo well 
fortified, that they bid defiance to the Englijh, when 
they made a Defcent there, with feveral thoufand Men 
in the laft War. They were forced to return fo the Ships 
4 Y aftej^ 
