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67-544: As a result of the 1833 British West Indies emancipation , a large celebration of pro-abolitionist free black men was held in Buffalo, New York . During this celebration, planning began for the creation of a wholly black organization to fight for the human rights for blacks in the United States . Ten years later, in 1843, after the establishment of several state conventions, the first National Convention of Colored Men of America

134-729: A short-lived settlement on the Wiapoco River in 1604 (now the Oyapock, which forms the border between French Guiana and Brazil ). This was followed by failed attempts to established settlements in Saint Lucia in 1605 and Grenada in 1609. The first permanent settlement was established in St. Christopher (St. Kitts) by Thomas Warner . This was followed by settlements in Barbados in 1627, Nevis in 1628, and Montserrat and Antigua in 1632. Providence Island

201-401: A hollow cylinder on which a prisoner was made to step as the mechanism turned." The mechanism did not serve to produce any material good but the officials insisted that exhaustively running on the mechanism for several minutes reformed and disciplined prisoners. Widespread support for the use of treadmills also came from West Indian planters who were convinced that former slaves would not produce

268-582: A people; and it is our right and our duty to seek for redress, in that way which will lead most likely the desired end." The NERL founding members included Henry Highland Garnet , Frederick Douglass , and John Mercer Langston . The organization originated in New York but quickly expanded at the conclusion of the civil war. Several resolutions were passed endorsing the abolition of slavery, legal equality regardless of color or race, and black manhood suffrage. The members also wrote their own constitution and founded

335-481: A period of four to six years in exchange for provisions. The system of apprenticeship was abolished by the various colonial assemblies in 1838, after pressure from the British public, completing the process of emancipation. These were the steps taken by British West Indian planters to solve the labour problems created by the emancipation of the enslaved Africans in 1838. Religious, economic, and social factors contributed to

402-593: A period of six years, household labourers were to work for four, and children under the age of six were immediately freed. All apprentices' names were to be placed on a registry that served as documentation of their required service. Apprentices were required to work no more than 45 hours per week without compensation and were paid for any additional labour. Policy makers reasoned that the opportunity for some paid labour would teach slaves how to be industrious. In return for unpaid labour, ex-slaves received food, housing, clothing and medical treatment from their employers though

469-531: A prominent role in the crusade against slavery. Anti-slavery societies such as the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society (BFASS) circulated pamphlets about the cruelties and inhumanity of slavery, and petitions with hundreds of thousands of signatures were sent to the British Parliament , many of which came from women's organizations. Collectively, these men and women politicized slavery and placed pressure on

536-646: A special report and in the 1837–1838 Parliamentary Papers. Narrative of Events , other damaging accounts and investigations of the West Indian workhouses, local fears of rebellion and pressure from the British public led the colonial assemblies to prematurely abolish the apprenticeship system and all had done so by 1838. The political and citizenship status of newly freed slaves was thoroughly debated among colonial authorities and members of Parliament. Britain's colonial secretary, Lord Glenelg , advocated social and political equality. In order to ensure full inclusion into

603-445: A system of indentured servitude or "apprenticeship" that required freed slaves to continue to work for their former owners as apprentices. The gradual emancipation measure was implemented to ease the transition from slavery to freedom for slaves and former masters but it was in large part a result of concerns about emancipation's effect on West Indian sugar production. As stipulated in the emancipation act, field hands were apprenticed for

670-432: Is likely a result of the narrative's political purpose and intended British audience and may suggest that abolitionists and the amanuensis who worked with Williams influenced what themes and details were included. Yet, despite the emphasis on violence, Williams describes how he attempted to resist exploitation through truancy, theft and appealing to magistrates for protection against his masters' abuses. Narrative of Events

737-552: Is now known as the Niagara Movement , to discuss the growing debate between followers of Booker T. Washington and followers of W. E. B. Du Bois , who called for an end to discrimination, and to develop a new strategy for dealing with race relations at the turn of the 20th century. At this meeting, Du Bois unsuccessfully tried to convince the NERL members present, Trotter and Wells-Barnett, that white Americans should be permitted to join

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804-407: Is one of the few published first person accounts by a former slave. It was published in a pamphlet in 1837 and was sold, reprinted and circulated across Britain and Jamaica. The narrative played a critical role in the anti-apprenticeship campaign launched by Joseph Sturge and other members of Britain's Central Emancipation Committee. The abolitionists were steadfast in their belief that apprenticeship

871-639: The Colonial Office that the scheme had failed due to "local prejudice and self-interest". His only achievement was to give the Leewards a single Governor. All laws and ordinances had to be approved by each island council. In 1871, the British government passed the Leeward Islands Act, by which all the islands were under one Governor and one set of laws. The Federal Colony was composed of all islands organised under Governor Pine's previous attempt. Each island

938-587: The Leeward Islands were brought together, and Dominica was added, remaining as part of the group until 1940. In 1869, Governor Benjamin Pine was assigned to organise a federation of Antigua-Barbuda, Dominica, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Kitts, Anguilla and the British Virgin Islands . St. Kitts and Nevis opposed sharing their government funds with Antigua and Montserrat, which were bankrupt. Governor Pine told

1005-898: The National Negro Bar Association , and the Pan-African Conference . The NERL also had significant international influence. Its leadership was received by heads of state, and they even had a delegate attend the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. The two best-known leaders of the organization were John Mercer Langston and William Monroe Trotter . Other notable members included Madam C. J. Walker , Ida B. Wells-Barnett (who founded its Anti-Lynching Bureau), Mary Church Terrell , Marcus Garvey , Octavius V. Catto , Charles Lewis Reason , John Rock , William Cooper Nell , Moses Dickson , and Frederick Douglass . In 1905, NERL leaders met with other black leaders, in what

1072-671: The decolonization of the Americas in the later 1950s and 1960s, the term "British West Indies" was regularly used to include all British colonies in the region as part of the British Empire. Following the independence of most of the territories from the United Kingdom , the term Commonwealth Caribbean is now used. In 1912, the British government divided their territories into different colonies: The Bahamas , Barbados , British Guiana , British Honduras , Jamaica (with its dependencies

1139-488: The government agreed to compensate West Indian planters for shifting from slave to free labour, allotting £20 million for this purpose. However, the slaves were not compensated. In fact, the Abolition Act transformed the slaves into "apprentices", except in the cases of Antigua and Bermuda where the colonial governments rejected apprenticeship and fully emancipated slaves in 1834. The Slavery Abolition Act established

1206-475: The Act did not specify precise quantities. Apprentices were prohibited from working on Sundays. If financially able to pay the remaining years of their service, an apprentice could purchase his or her own freedom. The British government designated Crown -appointed magistrates to oversee the newly implemented labour system and these officials were tasked with protecting the interests of free people of color . Fearful of

1273-661: The British West Indies refers to the abolition of slavery in Britain's colonies in the West Indies during the 1830s. The British government passed the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833, which emancipated all slaves in the British West Indies. After emancipation, a system of apprenticeship was established, where emancipated slaves were required by the various colonial assemblies to continue working for their former masters for

1340-521: The British abolition of slavery throughout their empire . Throughout European colonies in the Caribbean , enslaved people engaged in revolts , labour stoppages and more everyday forms of resistance which enticed colonial authorities, who were eager to create peace and maintain economic stability in the colonies, to consider legislating abolition. The Haitian Revolution in the French colony of Saint-Domingue ,

1407-405: The British government to abolish it. Developments in capitalism also contributed to emancipation. Some scholars, including Trinidadian historian Eric Williams , have claimed that with the emergence of capitalism, slavery was no longer profitable, and as such increased support for abolition beginning in the late 18th century. In 1807 British abolitionists saw partial success in their efforts when

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1474-506: The British public about Caribbean labour conditions and gaining widespread support for immediate abolition. The narrative vividly captures James Williams' experiences under the system of apprenticeship in Jamaica. The physical violence meted out apprentices and sexual abuse they faced are central to Williams' narrative. Throughout and in great detail, Williams explains how he was treated unfairly by his master and workhouse prisoners were tied to

1541-760: The Colony until 1958. After 1885 the Windward Islands Colony was under one Governor-General in Grenada, and each island had its own Lieutenant-Governor and its own assembly (as before). Attempts to create a Federal Colony, as in the Leewards, were always resisted. The Windward Islands Colony broke up in 1958 when each island chose to join the new Federation of the West Indies as a separate unit. The Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands were grouped under Jamaica out of convenience and sometimes for historical and/or geographical reasons. British Honduras (later Belize )

1608-544: The General Assembly met regularly until 1711. By the 18th century, each island had kept its own Assembly and made its own laws. The islands continued to share one Governor and one Attorney-General. Although unpopular, Stapleton's federation was never really dissolved but simply replaced by other arrangements. Between 1816 and 1833, the Leewards were divided into two groups: St. Christopher-Nevis-Anguilla and Antigua-Barbuda-Montserrat, each with its own Governor. In 1833, all

1675-650: The NERL. When his pleas went unheeded, Du Bois left the organization and joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People . From 1910 until roughly 1920, Byron Gunner served as the president of the NERL. With the continued growth of the NAACP, the NERL lost prominence and by 1921 most members had joined the NAACP. Emancipation of the British West Indies The emancipation of

1742-569: The National Equal Rights League (NERL), and its subsidiary state Equal Rights Leagues. The NERL used the susu economics practices of its many West Indies immigrant members to fund its activities, which included the establishment of self-sufficient black communities ( Black Wall Streets ) throughout the U.S. The work of the membership of the NERL created such other organizations as the National Negro Business League ,

1809-775: The Turks and Caicos Islands and the Cayman Islands), Trinidad and Tobago , the Windward Islands , and the Leeward Islands . Between 1958 and 1962, all of the island territories except the British Virgin Islands , the Bahamas and Bermuda were organised into the West Indies Federation . It was hoped that the Federation would become independent as a single nation, but it had limited powers and faced many practical problems. Consequently,

1876-792: The West Indies Federation was dissolved in 1962. The territories are now fully independent sovereign states , except for five – Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Montserrat, and the Turks and Caicos Islands – which remain British Overseas Territories , as does Bermuda. All remain within the Commonwealth of Nations . They also established the Caribbean Community , and many of

1943-410: The Windward Islands Colony, but were not given their own assemblies (having previously been Crown Colonies ). In 1840 Trinidad left the Colony. Barbados wished to retain its separate identity and ancient institutions, and the other colonies did not want to associate with it. The individual islands resisted British attempts at closer union. Barbados in particular fought to retain its own Assembly and left

2010-475: The apprenticeship system. In Trinidad, apprentices were granted a five-day work week, masters became required to care for freed children, and workers were compensated for labour performed on a Saturday. A small number of apprentices attempted to purchase their freedom with some managing to successfully do so. Apprentices were appraised in the local courts and high prices hampered slaves' ability to free themselves, given their lack of access to material wealth, which

2077-505: The bloc of West Indies countries with the United Kingdom maintaining responsibility for defence and external affairs only. Although most of the British West Indies seceded from British rule and were granted independence, several opted to remain British territories. Those territories include: Cricket has traditionally been the main sport in the British West Indies (though others sports such as football have challenged its dominance since

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2144-496: The body politic, he proposed that colonial governors carry out full investigations of colonial laws and policies to eliminate those that were discriminatory or would hamper ex-slaves' social and economic opportunities. Local planters continued to wield significant power within the colonies following 1838 and though parliament had legislated emancipation, the colonial assemblies dictated how it would be carried out. Many of these officials proved more reluctant to extend extensive rights to

2211-548: The colonies, former slaves rejoiced and celebrated their freedom. However, the realization that emancipation would be gradual had a sobering effect. Ex-slaves protested the system of apprenticeship and demanded immediate, unqualified freedom. Because they had long laboured under slavery and performed the same tasks under apprenticeship, they denied the need for a transitional, supervised labour system. Freed people were eager to restructure their lives and devote time to family. They also sought to choose their own work hours, employers, and

2278-405: The elective franchise in those states where it is denied us - where are rights are legislated away, and our voice is neither heard nor regarded. We also wish to secure, for our children especially, the benefits of education, which in several States are entirely denied to us, and in others, are enjoyed only in name. These, and many other things, of which we justly complain, bear most heavily upon us as

2345-689: The freed slaves to adopt Christianity, attend church and adopt the latest European fashions. Most did not adopt these practices wholesale. Instead, they took parts of the European model and melded them with their own African cultural practices. Former slaves often partook in leisure activities such as dancing, participating in carnivals , alcohol consumption, and gambling. Authorities and missionaries detested these practices as they considered them antithetical to their reform efforts. Historian Sheena Boa has suggested that because their mobility and choices were no longer controlled by outsiders, enjoyment of their own bodies

2412-762: The freed slaves. Missionaries, clergymen, and magistrates sought to morally, culturally and spiritually reform former slaves. In their view, enslavement had contributed to their debasement and the development of backwards cultural practices. They encouraged ex-slaves to legally marry, adopt the nuclear family model, and to take on Victorian gender roles which they believed were they path to achieving respectability and upward mobility. The patriarchal gender ideology they espoused dictated that men were to be heads of their households and responsible for providing for their dependents. Child rearing, caregiving, and domestic work were considered women's roles. To some extent, freedmen and women embraced these gender conventions but some aspects of

2479-618: The government passed the Slave Trade Act , abolishing the slave trade . After passage of the Act, these reformers continued to press for the abolition of slavery itself. The British government formally abolished slavery in its colonies with passage of the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833. The legislation went into effect in August 1834 whereby all slaves in the British Empire were considered free under British law. After long and heated debates in Britain,

2546-496: The home all together or simply mirrored western notions of domesticity. Their supplemental income was essential for supporting their families. Consequently, women often engaged in domestic agriculture and sold their crops in the market place while their male kin worked on the estates. Attempts to shield themselves from sexual abuse, the prioritization of child rearing, poor experiences under apprenticeship and political protest may also explain women's exodus from wage cultivation. By

2613-473: The local newspapers to bolster Williams' claims. Historian of the Caribbean Diana Patton has suggested that the extent of planter resistance indicates the political efficacy of the narrative. Williams' narrative was particularly helpful in the anti-apprenticeship campaign because it includes specific names and places which made his claims verifiable. As a result, In 1837, after receiving and reviewing

2680-485: The mid-19th century, just years after emancipation, the Caribbean's economy began to fail as a result of dropping sugar prices and planters in regions like Jamaica saw their plantations close down. In Jamaica, by 1865 sugar production was half of what it had been in 1834. These market shifts created massive unemployment, high taxes, and low wages and increased poverty. Living conditions on the islands failed to improve much over

2747-406: The most successful slave uprising in the Americas, heightened British sensitivities to the potential outcomes of insurrection. In addition to slave revolts, Enlightenment schools of thought and evangelism led members of the British public to question the morality of slavery and the slave trade and during the 18th and 19th century there was a surge of abolitionist agitation . Religious figures played

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2814-917: The nations have joined various international bodies, such as the Organization of American States , the Association of Caribbean States , the World Trade Organization , the United Nations, and the Caribbean Development Bank among others. The territories that were part of the British West Indies are (date of independence, where applicable, in parentheses): The origins of the British West Indies lie in outposts established to support English pirates and privateers who were involved in raiding Spanish treasure fleets , and merchants interested in trade. Charles Leigh , an English merchant, established

2881-829: The next several decades. These three form the SSS islands that with the ABC islands comprise the Dutch Caribbean , of which the BES islands are not direct Kingdom constituents but subsumed with the country of the Netherlands . Physiographically , these continental islands are not part of the volcanic Windward Islands arc, although sometimes grouped with them culturally and politically. Disputed territories administered by Guyana . Disputed territories administered by Colombia . British West Indies The British West Indies (BWI) were

2948-467: The patriarchal model were incompatible with their economic circumstances, personal preferences and understandings of kinship. Marriage between former slaves did increase with emancipation. However, freedpeople considered their brother- sister, parent-child relationships equally, if not more important. Consequently, having children out of wedlock and single parent households were not uncommon or stigmatized. Missionaries also established schools and encouraged

3015-545: The plantations or breaking other duties specified in the Abolition Act. Emancipation legislation banned planters' use of the whip and the state formally took on the responsibility for disciplining labourers. However, planters could use the remanding of apprentices to workhouses as a means of exercising control over former slaves. The conditions within workhouses were grim and apprentices were subjected to hard labour and regular physical punishment. Treadmills were common features in these spaces and consisted of "wooden steps around

3082-488: The practise of importing indentured servants but they failed to achieve the same success they had in previous efforts. Emancipation marked an exodus of black women from wage-based agricultural labour. Some women abandoned plantation fields altogether while others simply reduced the time they spent performing wage agricultural labour. Their exodus demonstrates that freed people did adopt gendered divisions of labour. However, this did not mean that women avoided labour outside of

3149-467: The property of the master, thereby producing more wealth for their owner. Under apprenticeship, however, planters were no longer afforded access to women's children and consequently employers ceased to offer women "indulgences". Women were now expected to work while pregnant and with small children, though other ex-slaves demanded that these women be exempt from arduous field labour. In some cases, apprentices' protests were effective for producing reforms to

3216-622: The publication, the Colonial Office tasked Sir Lionel Smith, the governor of Jamaica, to investigate the allegations made in Williams' narrative and to establish a commission to interview the apprentices, magistrates, and workhouse overseers in St. Ann's and other Jamaican parishes. The commission consisted of Sir Special Magistrate Daughtrey and local justice Gordon. It commenced its investigation on 20 September 1837. The Gordon & Daughtrey Commission corroborated many of Williams' claims though there were some discrepancies. Their findings were printed in

3283-598: The region during the 17th century. Financed by valuable extractive commodities such as sugar production, the colonies were also at the centre of the Atlantic slave trade , with around 2.3 million slaves being brought to the British West Indies. The colonies also served as bases to project the power of the British Empire through the Royal Navy and Britain's Merchant Marine, and to expand and protect British overseas trade. Before

3350-415: The response that conditional emancipation might elicit from former slaves, the colonial authorities created police districts to maintain societal order. Within each district were houses of correction and workhouses that were operated and supervised by the chief magistrate and five justices of the peace who were frequently planters as well. Freedpeople could be sent to labour in workhouses for failure to work on

3417-472: The same outputs if they were not adequately disciplined with corporal punishment. Photographs that depict the treadmills of the Jamaican workhouses illuminate that this punishment was not restricted to men. Women, who made up a majority of the field labour population in Jamaica and other colonies, were frequently sent to the workhouses and subjected to the treadmill. Once news of the Abolition Act made its way to

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3484-659: The termination of the West Indies Federation, a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association form of government along with the United Kingdom called the West Indies Associated States. The arrangement was created through the British House of Commons passing the West Indies Act (1967) (also known as the Associated States Act ). As part of the arrangement more sovereignty was granted to

3551-682: The territories in the West Indies under British rule , including Anguilla , the Cayman Islands , the Turks and Caicos Islands , Montserrat , the British Virgin Islands , Bermuda , Antigua and Barbuda , the Bahamas , Barbados , Dominica , Grenada , Jamaica , Saint Kitts and Nevis , Saint Lucia , Saint Vincent and the Grenadines , British Honduras , British Guiana and Trinidad and Tobago . The Kingdom of England first established colonies in

3618-511: The treadmills, forced to "dance" on the machine after long days of labour and severely flogged. The disruptive effects of forced labour on the families of freed slaves, colonial officials' inability to effectively regulate the labour system, and the apprentices' poor living and working conditions are issues that Williams also discusses. The narrative does not include any information about James Williams' early life and focuses solely on his time as an apprentice. Its narrow focus and centring of violence

3685-515: The type of labour they performed. Many apprentices across the West Indies refused to return to work and went on strike. For their failure to work, many were arrested, flogged under judicial authority, and sent to prison. Circumstances under apprenticeship were far from ideal for all labourers, but women often faced particular challenges. In the years leading up to emancipation, former masters offered incentives to pregnant women and new mothers for bearing children, because by law, women's offspring became

3752-407: The union in 1884. Power for the union was then transferred to Grenada as overseer of the bloc. From 1885 to 1958, the Windward Islands Colony included Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Lucia during the entire period. Tobago left in 1889, forming a union with Trinidad. Dominica joined the Windward Islands Colony in 1940, after having been transferred from the Leewards, and remained in

3819-1501: The workers proved reluctant to work primarily due to poor wages. Others sought to perform different types of labour including skilled, mechanical and artisanal trades. The aspiration to become independent cultivators and to grow food to support their families and to turn a profit was ubiquitous among the freed West Indians but their success in this endeavor varied. When at all possible, they purchased, rented, and squatted on land. Some authorities and missionaries believed that land ownership would teach former slaves to be independent and industrious and therefore encouraged their efforts. However, in some regions, colonial officials barred freedmen from acquiring property through legal measures, imposition of high property taxes, and directives that required purchasers to buy substantial acreage which many former slaves could not afford. Freed persons who occupied Crown land without authorization were expelled and their provision grounds, used for subsistence or to grow crops for sale, were sometimes burnt or confiscated. Local ordinances stipulated that those not engaged in agricultural production were considered vagrants and subject to imprisonment. These land and employment measures limited independent cultivation and confined many ex-slaves to wage agricultural labour. The need for more cheap labour also led West Indian planters to turn to alternative labour sources, importing indentured labourers from India . British abolitionists would launch campaigns against

3886-543: Was a dependency directly under the Governor of Jamaica. In 1749 the Governors of Jamaica appointed Administrators for British Honduras. In 1862, British Honduras became a Crown Colony; it was placed under the Governor of Jamaica with its own Lieutenant-Governor. In 1884 it finally broke all administrative ties with Jamaica and wanted self governance, as did Cayman Islands and the Turks and Caicos Islands. The West Indies Federation

3953-526: Was a short-lived federation that existed from 3 January 1958 to 31 May 1962. It consisted of several Caribbean colonies of the United Kingdom. The Federation's purpose was to create a political unit that would become independent from Britain as a single state, similar to the Federation of Australia or Canadian Confederation . The Federation collapsed due to internal political conflicts over how it would be governed before that could develop. In 1967, following

4020-514: Was being systematically withheld from them. However, planters' awareness that apprenticeship's abolition was on the horizon led some to settle on a lower price for manumission outside of the courts. This ensured that planters saw some financial gain. They also hoped that such negotiations would encourage apprentices to continue labouring once freed. A Narrative of Events, since the First of August, 1834, by James Williams, an Apprenticed Labourer in Jamaica

4087-669: Was called a "Presidency" under its own Administrator or Commissioner. Like earlier groupings, this federation was unpopular but it continued until 1956, when it was redefined as the Territory of the Leeward Islands. In 1958, the Federation of the West Indies was organised, of which the Leeward Islands became a part. In 1833, the Windward Islands became a formal union called the Windward Islands Colony. In 1838, Trinidad (acquired in 1802) and St. Lucia (acquired in 1814) were brought into

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4154-570: Was colonised by English Puritans in 1630, but the colony was destroyed by the Spanish in 1641. The capture of Jamaica in 1655 expanded British control beyond these small islands in the Lesser Antilles. Sir William Stapleton established the first federation in the British West Indies in 1674. He set up a General Assembly of the Leeward Islands in St. Kitts. Stapleton's federation was active between 1674 and 1685, during his term as governor, and

4221-526: Was held in Buffalo with several hundred delegates, free black men and escaped slaves, from throughout the U.S. At this convention, the Chairman Samuel H. Davis defined their purpose: "... we wish to secure for ourselves, in common with other citizens, the privilege of seeking our own happiness in any part of the country we choose ... unconstitutionally denied us in part of this union. We wish also to secure

4288-573: Was merely a continuation of slavery. In 1836, Sturge traveled to Jamaica to gather first hand information about the labour system. While there, he and other anti-apprenticeship activists met James Williams, an apprentice from St. Ann's Parish that worked on the Penshurst Plantation for the Senior family, who shared his experience with the abolitionists. Sturge organized to have his narrative recorded by an amanuensis and published it in hopes of informing

4355-528: Was one way that freedmen and women "tested the limits of their freedom." The export of sugar and other staple crops remained central to the economies of the British West Indies. Agricultural production required a substantial labour force and former slaves were expected to meet those labour demands. Some freedmen and women opposed working on their former plantations and all were only willing to labour on their own terms. Planters who were dependent on ex-slaves attributed their unwillingness to work to laziness. Many of

4422-408: Was popular, widely circulated and positively received by the British public. However, it also produced a considerable backlash in the West Indies. The Jamaica Despatch , a pro-planter Jamaican newspaper, criticized James Williams and Joseph Sturge and insisted that the narrative was propaganda and its claims unfounded. In response, anti-apprenticeship proponents published select apprentice interviews in

4489-408: Was surrounded by hostile Spanish colonies and needed the protection afforded by the Jamaican Army and Navy. In addition, British Honduras had been founded by loggers. It increased in population partly by the settlement of Englishmen migrating from Jamaica in the late 17th and early 18th centuries (settlers also immigrated directly from England; others were born in the colony.) From 1742, British Honduras

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