prefer, who had been placed as tutor over the favage general, was withdrawn, and the prefent was not only received with great thankfulnefs, but the meffenger was given to understand, that the English were welcome to whatever the island afforded. A prefent of bows and arrows attended this compliment, and ten of the Indians, who spoke very good French, going aboard Mr. Braithwaite's hip, offered to remain as hoftages, if he chofe to go on shore again. Braithwaite fent them on board the man of war, and went on fhore with captain Watson; but he found the Negroes and the Caribbeans united, and that the Negro chief had five hundred blacks, moft of them provided" with fire-arms. They offered to allow Braithwaite to wood and water under a guard, and, with difficulty, he prevailed upon the Indian and Negroe chiefs to go on board the Winchelsea, where they were very handfomely entertained, and had prefents made them by captain Orme. Being plied with liquor, Braithwaite difcovered that they were invincibly refolved against the English making any fettlement upon their ifland; and he was informed, that had he owned any fuch defign when on fhore, they could not have protected him. He understood, at the fame time, that the Dutch had made a like attempt, but without fuccefs; that the French had furnished the inhabitants with fire-arms, and had promised to support them with all the force of Martinico, against the English. Braithwaite, notwithstanding all this oppofition, learned, that the Caribbeans and the Negroes were equally averfe to the French as to the English government, and that they were determined to oppofe all Europeans who should attempt to fettle among them. Thus ended this fruitless expenfive expedition, which coft the duke of Montagu an immenfe fum of money. It is evident, that the French impofed upon the English throughout the whole tranfaction; nor is it eafy to account for the principles upon which the latter acted. Upon Braithwaite's report, the English government at Antigua gave it under their hands, as their opinion, that it would be dangerous, and, at the fame time, ineffectual, to make any farther attempt for a fettlement upon St. Vincent. The ifland, therefore, was confidered as neutral between Great Britain and France, till the conclufion of the treaty of peace, figned the 10th of February, 1763, at Paris, when it was ceded by the ninth article to the crown of Great Britain. The GRENADILLAS, or GRENADINE Defcription THE chief of thefe is Grenada, in weft long. 61° 40's of Grenada. and north lat. 12°. It is the laft of the Windward Caribbees, and lies thirty leagues north of New Andalusia on the continent. According to father Tertre, it is twentyfour leagues in compafs; but Labat makes it no more than twenty-two; and it is faid to be about thirty miles in length, and in fome places fifteen in breadth. It abounds with wild game and fifh; which, probably, occafioned the Caribbeans to refort in greater numbers to this, than to any other of the Antilles iflands. In 1638, the famous M. Poincy attempted to make a fettlement here; but he was driven off by the Caribbeans. M. Parquet, the governor of Martinico, in June, 1650, carried over two hundred men from Martinco, furnished with prefents to reconcile the favages to them, but with arms to fubdue them, if they fhould prove intractable. We know not what right this Frenchman had to make fuch a fettlement upon an island already inhabited by natives, which had often difclaimed all subjection to the French. The number of the latter are faid to have frightened the favages into fubmiffion; and, if we are to believe the French accounts, their chief not only welcomed the new fettlers, but, in confideration of fome knives, fciffars, hatchets, and toys, yielded to Parquet the property of their island, only referving their own habitations to themselves. The French fet about railing tobacco; and that which grew on this island was remarkably fine. But they had fcarce got in one crop, when they began to discover, that all the feeming complaifance of the patives was diffembled; for they took every opportunity of furprising and cutting off their new guefts. These hoftilities produced a war; and the French fettlers, having re ceived a reinforcement of three hundred men from Martinico, forced the favages to retire to a mountain, from whence, after having expended all their arrows and other weapons, they rolled down large logs of wood upon their enemies. Being afterwards joined by other favages from the neighbouring islands, they attacked the French anew; but were again defeated, and driven to fuch defpair, that forty of them, who had efcaped the fword, threw themfelves over a precipice into the fea, The French then vented their rage upon their habitations, which they de ftroyed, together with all their provifions; but fresh fupplies of Caribbeans arriving, they renewed the war with great great vivacity, and killed numbers of their enemies, who, being thus exafperated, came to a refolution of exterminating the whole race. A hundred and fifty of them accordingly attacked the favages unawares, and inhumanly put to death the women and children, as well as the men, befides burning their boats and canoes, to cut off all communication, of the few furvivors, with the continent, or the neighbouring iflands. Notwithstanding all thofe barbarous precautions, the Caribbeans ftill proved the irreconcileable enemies of the French; and their frequent infurrections, at laft, obliged Parquet to fell all his property in the island to the count de Cerillac for thirty thoufand crowns. The A.D.1657 count fent thither a perfon of a most brutal difpofition to govern it upon which the better fort of the French abandoned the island; and he was fhot to death by those who remained. In 1664, the number of fettlers being greatly reduced, the count fold it to the French West India company for a hundred thousand livres; but, in 1674, they were obliged to furrender all their rights in it to the king. From this period, it continued to be inhabited chiefly by French, but never was fully fettled; and, after the conqueft of Marti- Ceded 10 nico by the English, it was easily reduced the full pro- the crown perty of it, and the Grenadines, being a clufter of fmall of Great Britain. neighbouring iflands, was confirmed to the crown of Great Britain, by the definitive treaty of 1763. Grenada and the Grenadines produce very fine timber; but the cocoa-tree is observed not to thrive fo well there as in the other iflands. The latin-tree, which grows here, has a tall body; and its leaves, when tied together, ferve as thatch for houses. A lake on a high mountain, about the middle of the island, fupplies it with fresh water ftreams, which render its foil delightful. There are feveral bays and harbours round the ifland, fome of which might be fortified to great advantage; fo that it is very convenient for fhipping, and little fubject to hurricanes. Its foil, befides tobacco, produces fugar, indigo, peafe, and millet: and, upon the whole, this ifland carries with it all the appearances of becoming as flourishing a colony as any in the Weft Indies, of its dimenfions. The chief port is called Lewis; and ftands on the weft fide of the ifland, in the middle of a large bay, with a fandy bottom. Here a thoufand barks, from three hundred to four hundred tons, may ride fecure from ftorms; and a hundred fhips of a thoufand tuns each may be moored in fafety. FirA fettlement of Martinico. MARTINICO, GUADALOUPE, and the other French Caribbees. MARTINICO is the largest of all the Caribbee Iflands. It lies between 14 and 15 deg. of north lat. and between 60 deg. 33 min. and 61 deg. 10 min. weft long. about twenty leagues north-weft of Barbadoes. It is faid to be about fixty miles in length from north-weft to foutheaft; but its breadth is unequal. The produce of the island, befides tobacco, is much the fame with that of Barbadoes; and its coafts abound with turtle. In 1637, M. d'Enanbuc, a famous French fettler, brought from St. Chriftopher's, which then belonged to that crown, a hundred foldiers to Martinico, all of them well provided for forming a colony. He landed at Baffe Terre, which lies to the weft and fouth parts of the ifland; and, if we are to believe the French, the inhabitants yielded up to d'Enanbuc all that coaft, on which he built a fost called St. Pierre, at the mouth of a river of the fame name. The favages retiring to Capesterre, the new colonists applied themselves to rear whatever the island was capable of producing; especially manioca, peafe, potatoes, cotton, and tobacco; for, at this time, the culture of fugar was but little known to the French. D'Enanbuc then returned to St. Chriftopher's; but left one du Pont to be his lieutenantgovernor in Martinico. The French, having thus invaded the natives, it was natural for the latter to endeavour to repoffefs their own country. Hottilities multiplying every day, the new fettlers gave no quarter to the favages; who, fending for afliftance to all the neighbouring iflands, were joined by other Caribbeans, to the number of fifteen hundred, in canoes, from which they landed under the fort. The French governor, on their approach, had removed all his men and provifions within his entrenchments; fo that the Indians, imagining the fort was abandoned, advanced within piftol-fhot of the walls, without any order. Then du Pont poured upon them a full difcharge of his cannon and musketry, which killing one half of them, the furvivors fled to their canoes. This difcomfiture of the CaA.D. 1637. ribbeans fecured to the French, for fome time, the quiet poffeffion of their fettlements, which they not only enlarged, but fupplied with fresh colonifts drawn from St. Chriftopher's; fo that, in a fhort time, the natives were obliged to fue for peace. The French then proceeded to a regular fettlement of the island, which they divided into five wards or parishes. Each parish contained a church or chapel, an armoury, ftorehouses, ftorehouses, dwelling houfes, and other conveniences. The governor took up his refidence at St. Pierre, on account of the fort we have mentioned; but made a prefent of fome fine buildings, raifed at the expence of the colony, to the Jefuits, who were very powerful in this, as well as in the other French fettlements. Martinico, notwithstanding all its natural advantages, fuffered greatly at this time, by a report that its foil produced ferpents and other venomous reptiles. This notion prevailed so strongly, that the people of St. Chriftopher's, and the neighbouring islands, declined coming on fhore at Martinico; and the inhabitants were obliged to carry their tobacco, which they now raised in great plenty, on board the fhips. In procefs of time, they learned from M. Poincy, the art of cultivating the fugar-cane: and Martinico then maintained eight hundred men fit to bear arms, befides covenanted fer vants. Many of the inhabitants refusing to pay their impofts to A D.1646. the French West India company, within whofe charter Martinico was included, an infurrection enfued in the Infurrec ifland, which was quelled by the death of the chief ring- tions there. leaders About this time, the differences which we have mentioned in the hiftory of Barbadoes, arose between the Dutch and the Portuguese in Brafil; and the former, retiring from that country, landed at Martinico, with some rich Jews, who offered to fettle. The Jefuits made a ftrong oppofition to this propofal, on pretence that the new guests would introduce Judaism and herefy into the island. The large fums of ready money which they were poffeffed of, prevailed over thefe remonftrances with the governor, to allow them a fettlement upon the island in a separate quarter. The climate not agreeing with them, many of them died, while others moved off the island; and the few who remained fet up public houfes, by which they acquired fortunes. All this while, the poffeffion of the French themselves in Martinico was very precarious, on account of a general revolt of all the Caribbeans from their government. Horrible maffacres enfued. Many of the more diffolute among the French fpirited up the favages; and Parquet, governor of the island, was befieged in his own houfe, where he must have been murdered, had he not been relieved by the arrival of fome Dutch fhips, who feeing feveral parts of the island in flames, landed three hundred men, and defeated the favages. This diverfion gave Parquet an opportunity of taking the field; and the natives, with the Negroes who had joined them, were every where flaughtered, or obliged to fly to Dominica and St. |