Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 3.djvu/376

360 {{ti|1em|It was while the rapid progress of the colony was attracting especial attention, and many persons of family and means, adherents of the royal cause, were finding it a refuge from the troubles at home, that Francis Lord Willoughby of Parham went out as governor, with the con- sont of King Charles II, who had been proclaimed in Barbados as soon as the news of the execution of Charles I. had arrived. Lord Carlisle had died, and his heir had been entrusted with the duty of paying his debts out of the revenue from the island. Lord Willoughby agreed to take a lease from the new earl of the profits of the colony for twenty-one years, to pay Lord Carlisle one-half, and to accept the governorship, including that of the other islands in the Carlisle grant. Upon his arrival in 1G50, notwith standing the active opposition of a party headed by Colonel Walrond, he procured the passing of an Act acknowledging the king s sovereignty, the proprietary rights of the earl of Carlisle, and his own interest derived from the latter. But the Parliament despatched Sir George Ayscue with a squadron and considerable land forces, to reduce the island to submission to its authority. About the same time the famous Navigation Law was enacted, by which foreign ships were prohibited from trading with British colonies, and imports into England and the dependencies were not allowed in foreign bottoms. This restriction had a great effect upon Barbados, which depended upon foreign importation for a great deal of its provisions. Sir G. Ayscue s expedition appeared off Barbados in October 1651. After one unsuccessful attempt, a landing was effected, and Lord AVilloughby s force was routed. The counsels of a moderate party in the island, however, prevailed, and a compromise was effected. A treaty was made declaring the authority of the Parliament, but containing provisions not at all unfavourable to the inhabitants, and reserving even to Lord Willoughby his rights in the island. During the Common wealth prisoners of war were sometimes sent to Barbados. The expedition of 1655 against St Domingo and Jamaica under Penn and Venables was reinforced by a troop of horse and 3500 volunteers from Barbados. At the Restora tion Lord Willoughby went out once more to Barbados and resumed his office. Several of the faithful adherents of the royal cause in the island were made baronets and knights, but the restrictions upon commercial intercourse which had been imposed by the Parliament were made more stringent. Then doubts began to arise in the minds of the planters as to the title by which they held their estates. They had created by their exertions a very valuable property, and the bare possibility of the earl of Carlisle stepping in and dispossessing them caused much discon tent. The death of Lord Carlisle brought matters to a crisis. An arrangement was made in 1663 by which the different claimants were satisfied, the proprietary or patent interest was dissolved, and the Crown exercised directly its rights, and undertook the government, although it was not till 1672 that the nomination of the council was taken into the hands of the king. A duty of 4J per cent, upon the produce of the island was levied in 1663 to satisfy the claims and defray the government expenses. Lord Willoughby received a new commission, and the only practical change effected in the constitution was that all laws were thence forward made subject to confirmation by the king. In 1665 the colony successfully resisted an attack by the Dutch ; but in conducting an expedition against the French in Guadaloupe in 1666, Lord Willoughby was lost in a hurricane, and an eventful and occasionally brilliant career was thus prematurely ended. He was succeeded in the government by his brother, Lord William Willoughby, during whose governorship the division of the Caribbean Islands into Windward and Leeward was made. The hurricane of 1675 gave a serious check to the prosperity of the { colony. An unsuccessful &quot;application was made to the home Government, to remit, on account of the distress that prevailed, the 4J per cent, duty, which pressed very heavily upon the planters. The island had scarcely recovered from the effects of the hurricane when the supply of labour was restricted and its expense increased by the Royal African Company, at the head of which was the duke of York, receiving a charter for the exclusive supply of slaves to the West India Islands. This company had great influence in the appointment of governors ; and in consequence of oppressive proceedings and depreciation of the value of property, many families left the island. A number of persons implicated in the duke of Monmonth s rebellion were sent to Barbados and treated harshly. Duties upon sugar were imposed by the mother country, which were increased at the accession of James II., to 2s. 4d. per cwt. on Muscovado, and to 7s. upon all sugars for common use. From the survey made by governor Sir Richard Dutton in 1683-4, it appears that the population consisted of 17,187 free, 2381 unfree and servants (prisoners of war and persons brought from England under engagements for terms of years), and 46,602 slaves. The number of acres in useful possession was 90,517, and of sugar-works 358. These figures show how rapidly, in spite of all difficulties, the colony had grown in sixty years.}} The wars in Europe were reproduced upon a smaller scale, though with equal if not greater intensity, among the different nationalities in the West Indies. In such times the seas swarmed with privateers ; and freights were so high as to induce the island Legislature to make a vain attempt to regulate them by law. The news of the peace of Ryswick was received with great joy, and matters remained quiet until the declaration of war against France and Spain in 1702 revived privateering in West Indian waters. Events in the first half of the 18th century do not call for detailed description. It was the custom of the assembly to supplement the salary of the governor (which was paid by the Crown out of the 4| per cent, duty) by special grants, sometimes of large amount. But this did not prevent many constitutional conflicts between the assembly and the executive. During the war which commencedj between England and France in 1756, the West Indies witnessed much fighting, with its attendant suffering. In 1761 a determined attempt was made to break the power of France in the archipelago. Barbados entered with enthusiasm into the project. Guadaloupe had been taken in 1759, and the principal effort now, under Admiral Rodney and General Monckton, was directed against Martinique. In 1762 that island surrendered. Barbados spent 24,000 in raising and equipping her pro portion of men in the attacking forces; and in 1765 the House of Commons voted 10,000 as compensation for the expense incurred. By the Treaty of 1763, how ever, both these islands were restored to France. The constant wars had naturally an injurious effect upon Barbados. During the governorship of the Hon. Edward Hay, who was appointed in 1773, differences of opinion arose as to the state of the island. AVhen the war between England and the American colonies began, the supply of provisions, upon which Barbados depended, necessarily stopped. The assembly addressed a petition to the king, praying for relief; through the interposi tion of the governor the relief was not immediately granted, but in 1778, when the island was in a very depressed state, the British ministry sent a quantity of provisions for sale at prime cost. With the advent of General Cunninghame as governor another series of con tentious years began. In the midst of disputes as to the right of the governor to exact certain fees without the consent of the assembly, a hurricane visited the island and 