chap, i.] WEST INDIES. u 
country, that lord Ley (afterwards earl of Marlbo¬ 
rough, and lord high treasurer) immediately ob¬ 
tained from King James the First a grant ,of the 
island to himself and his heirs in perpteufty. 
Courteen himself was a man of extensive views 
and magnificent projects. He immediately be¬ 
gan (probably under the patronage of Marlbo¬ 
rough) to form ideas of establishing a colony in 
the distant but promising territory. Having en¬ 
gaged about thirty persons to settle in the island, 
and furnished them with tools, provisions, and ne¬ 
cessaries of all kinds for planting and fortifying the 
country, he appointed William Deane their govern¬ 
or, and sent them away in a ship called the William 
and John, commanded by John Powell. They an- 
-rived safe in the latter end of the year 1624, and 
laid the foundations of a town, which in honour of 
the sovereign they denominated James-town; 
and thus began the first English settlement ,in the 
island of Barhadoes. 
For some time previous to this, it had become 
fashionable in England, for men of high rank and 
distinction, to engage in sea adventures, proclaiming 
themselves the patrons of colonization and foreign 
commerce. In the list of those who contributed 
to the British settlements in Virginia, New Eng¬ 
land, the Bermuda islands, and other places in the 
New World, may be found the names of many 
of the first nobility and gentry of the kingdom. 
Among others who distinguished themselves in 
