THE SETTLEMENT OF ST.

KITTS

In 1620 Thomas Warner, a former captain in the Kings bodyguard, was preparing to return with an expedition, after an unsuccessful venture at the mouth of the Amazon River. Thomas Painter, an experienced seaman, told Warner that the British would have a better chance of success among the Caribbean Islands than on the mainland. The Lesser Antilles had not attracted the Spaniards, as they had no gold to offer, they were covered with thick forests and were of no use for cattle-raising. Because of their small size, they were less profitable for plantations than the larger islands. As they lay to the windward of the main ports of call, such as Cartagena and Havana, they were not passed by ships returning to Spain, although they lay on the route at the outward voyage. Finally, they were peopled by the fierce Kalinago (Caribs), another reason why the Spaniards avoided them. On his way back to England, Warner visited some of the Lesser Antilles islands and was most attracted by St. Christopher (a name now usually shortened to St. Kitts), where he was well received by the Kalinago chief. On his return to England, Warner secured the help of friends to assist him in fitting out an expedition to establish a colony on St. Kitts. In 1623, Warner sailed for Virginia and thence to St. Kitts, where he arrived in January 1624. He was accomplished by his wife and young son, and a party of colonists. They were soon busy building huts and planting crops of maize and tobacco. All went well until the following September, when a hurricane swept the island, destroying the huts and ruining the crops. But in spite of this set-back, the first shipment of tobacco was ready by January 1625. Satisfied that the colony was going well, Warner returned to England soon afterwards, to secure help from London merchants, and to make sure of the Kings protection for the colony. King James I was now dead, but the new king, Charles I, welcomed Warner at Court and appointed him governor of the colony. Having obtained more settlers, Warner returned with them to St. Kitts. On the day that Warner and his new settlers arrived, a party of thirty five Frenchmen came to St. Kitts. They had left France on a small ship which carried four guns. They hoped to establish a colony on one of the islands, but had been attacked off the Cayman Islands by a Spanish gallon with thirty five guns. After a fight in which eight or ten of their number had been killed, the Frenchmen escaped and reached St. Kitts in a sad plight. Both the English colonists and the Kalinago did what they could to help them; the Frenchmen settled down side by side with the English, and soon they too had a prosperous little colony. The increased number of Europeans on St. Kitts was disliked by the boyez, or Kalinago priests and they encouraged the Kalinago to plan a surprise attack on the colonists. Kalinagos from other islands were called upon to help and to come in their canoes at the next full moon and utterly destroy the settlers. A Kalinago woman named Barbe, who had received much kindness from the colonists, learned of the plot and told Warner what was going on. When the canoes holding 3,000 to 4,000 Kalinagos came swarming over the sea, the English and French colonists were ready for them. It is said that 2,000 Kalinagos were killed or wounded, and 150 canoes were captured. About a hundred of the colonists were wounded by poisoned arrows and some went raving mad and died in a few hours. It was then decided that the English and French colonists must increase their numbers, drive out the Kalinagos and occupy the island between them. But whereas the English settlers increased, the French colonists gradually died off and their lands lay untilled. In 1629 Warner again visited England and was knighted by King Charles I. On his return he found that a disaster had befallen St. Kitts. The Spaniards had heard of the prosperity of the colony, and although they had no intention of colonizing the island themselves, they did not mean to allow other nations to do so. In 1629, a Spanish fleet on its outward voyage swooped down on the island and destroyed the settlements. Over 600 English were captured, but others escaped in ships or fled to the hills. The Spaniards left, thinking they had made an end of St. Kitts. But as soon as they had departed, Sir Thomas Warner returned. He at once collected the survivors and set them to work rebuilding their houses and replanting their lands. He had discovered that Europe was overstocked with tobacco, so he encouraged the colonists to plant other crops as well, such as sugar, 1

indigo and cotton. St. Kitts continued to prosper and soon became one of the richest islands in the West Indies. Fresh settlers arrived and by 1632, the population had risen to 6,000.