Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 3.djvu/375

Rh streams or streamlets. The gullies or ravines, the result, no doubt, of volcanic agency, are, however, very numerous, radiating from the high semicircular ridge of the coralline formation in a very regular manner to the west, north, and south, but not to the east, where the coral rocks end abruptly. The chalky soil of the district called Scotland (from its assumed resemblance to the scenery of the Highlands) contains infusoria, and is altogether different from the deposits of the coral animals which form the super ficial area of six-sevenths of the island (91,000 acres). Besides the chalk or marl, sandstone is found in this district. The climate of Barbados is healthy ; the temperature equable. For eight months in the year the sea breezes keep it delightfully cool for a tropical country. The extent of cultivation, the absence of swamps (the porous character of the rock immediately underlying the soil preventing accumulations of stagnant water) account for the freedom from miasma. The destruction of the forests may have made the rainfall upon which successful cultivation depends somev/hat uncertain, but does not seem to have affected it to such an extent as might have been anticipated. The rainfall is caused, apart from elevation, by the exposure of the land to those winds laden with moisture which strike the island at different periods of the year. The average rainfall of the four years 1753-G was 55 89 inches; of the twenty five-years 1847-71, 57*74 inches; of the single year 1873, 51 - 2G inches. The sugar produc tion of the island is calculated at 800 hogsheads of 16 cwt. each for every inch of rain. The N.E. trade-wind blows for three-fourths of the year, and most of the rain comes from the same quarter. March is the driest of the months, and October the wettest ; the average rainfall for the former being 1 1/2 inch, and for the latter 9 inches. Leprosy is not uncommon among the negroes, and elephantiasis is so frequent as to be known by the name of &quot; Barbados leg.&quot;

Bridgetown is the capital and port of the island, and the centre of business activity. It contains about 23,000 inhabitants. Over the creek which received the waters from the heights around the Indians had built a rude bridge. This was known for a long time after the British settlement as the Indian Bridge, but as the settlement grew, and after the old bridge had been replaced by a more solid structure, the place received the name of Bridge town. The town was destroyed by fire in 1666, and rebuilt, principally of stone, upon a larger scale. It suffered again from fire in 1766 and 1845. It has a large town-hall. The Government buildings are a handsome pile close to the sea. The town follows the curve of the bay. Behind it the hills begin to rise, forming the first stepping-stone to the higher lands of the interior. At the southern extremity are the extensive buildings for the garrison, Barbados being the headquarters of the troops in the West Indian command.

Opinions differ as to the derivation of the name of the island. It is probably the Spanish word for the hanging branches of a vine which strike root in the earth. In maps of the 16th century the island appears under various names, among which are St Bernardo, Bernardos, Barbu- doso, Baruodos, and Baruodo. The traces of Indians in this island are more numerous than in any other of the Caribbees. The first recorded visit of Englishmen was in the year 1605, when the crew of the &quot;Olive Blossom&quot; landed, and erected a cross as a memorial of the event, cutting at the same time upon the bark of a tree the words &quot;James, king of England and of this island.&quot; This party of adventurers did not settle, but from the time of their visit the history of Barbados begins. That history has some special features. It shows the process of peaceful colonization, for the island, acquired without conquest or bloodshedding, has never since been out of the possession of the British. It was the first English colony where the sugar-cane was planted. Its colonists have almost from the beginning enjoyed representative institutions, and the full measure of English freedom. They have always defended their rights with spirit, and shown consistent loyalty to the Crown. The prominence and accessibility of the island have made it important as a military station in the wars with the French and Dutch. And its varying fortunes show the effects of the commercial legislation of England, from the stringent Navigation Laws of Cromwell down to the repeal of the sugar duties in 1874. The first patent conveying a proprietary interest in Barbados was granted by James I. to Lord Leigh, after wards earl of Maiiborough. In 1624 a ship, belonging to Sir William Courteen, a rich merchant of London, called at Barbados. The country was found to be thickly wooded, and uninhabited, except by a great number of wild hogs. Sir William Courteen, having received a description of the place, sent out two large ships under the authority of Marlborough s patent. One of these, the &quot;John and William,&quot; commanded by John Powell, arrived in February 1625, which is therefore the date of the earliest English settlement in the island. The thirty settlers laid the foundation of a town which they called Jamestown, and chose Captain William Deane their governor. But the earl of Carlisle, having obtained from King James in 1624 the warrant for a grant of all the Caribbean Islands, twenty-two in number, agreed, in 1627, to pay the earl of Marlborough 300 a year for his right to Barbados. The patent in favour of Lord Carlisle passed the great seal on 2d July 1627; but during his absence on a diplomatic mission soon after, William, earl of Pembroke, the Lord Chamberlain, obtained in the interest of Sir William Cour teen a grant of several islands, including Barbados. Upon Lord Carlisle s return he obtained the revocation of Lord Pembroke s grant, and the full confirmation of his own rights, upon which he acted in offering to sell &quot;parcels of land for an annual &quot;payment of 40 R&amp;gt; of cotton. The Society of London Mershants then obtained from Lord Carlisle a grant of 10,000 acres, and they appointed Charles Wolferstone, a native of Bermuda, to proceed with sixty- four persons, and to govern the settlement under a com mission from the earl. Wolferstone and his party arrived in July 1628 in the bay, known thenceforth as Carlisle Bay. The antagonism between the earlier settlers under Courteen s auspices and Wolferstone s party broke out into actual fighting. Finding that the validity of his patent was still being disputed, Lord Carlisle obtained a further confirmation of it by the king in April 1629, and at once despatched Sir William Tufton as commander-in- chief with a sufficient force to subdue the rival settlers. In 1645 Philip Bell became governor, and the real progress of the colony began. Good laws were passed, a judicial system was elaborated ; the island was divided into eleven parishes, and a general assembly formed by two represen tatives of each parish, elected by a majority of freeholders. A council had been in existence since the time of Wolfer stone. The first settlers cultivated maize, sweet potatoes, plan tains, and yams for their own consumption, and indigo, cotton wool, tobacco, ginger, and aloes for export. Quan tities of logwood, fustic, and lignum vitae were also shipped. But the adaptability of the soil for cane becoming known, and the necessary knowledge for the manufacture of sugar being obtained, this article at once became the great staple of the colony. The value of property very largely increased. The half of an estate of 500 acres, 200 under cane, with buildings and appurtenances, was sold for 7000 about the year 1650, the labourers being slaves from Africa.