“Aug. 20th, 1654.”
The extract from Governor Searle’s letter, dated from Barbados, Nov. 7th, 1655, and addressed to Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector, &c., is as follows:—
“Some addresses have likewise been made unto me, by Mr. Jos. Lee, Mr. Benjamin Langham, and Richard Farley, inhabitants of Antego, in behalf of themselves and the people of that colony, concerning some distractions among them, and the present unsettled and desturbed condition of that colony. But finding I have no power to take cognizance of anything of that nature, without the bounds of this colony, without a special order from your Highness, I have transmitted their complaints, and the state of the matter in difference betwixt them and the governor going off, which your Highness will here receive.”
In 1665, Antigua joined with Barbados, St. Christopher’s, and Nevis, in levying troops to join the intended expedition of Admiral Pen and General Venables, (of which accounts had been received from England,) in their projected attack upon St. Domingo—an island at that period under the power of Spain, but which Cromwell was very desirous of obtaining. From the copy of a State paper, it appears, however, that upon the arrival of the Commonwealth fleet, the Governor of Antigua, Christopher Reynall, represented to the commanders of the expedition, the disastrous state of the island, from the frequent, and particularly the late, molestations of the Caribs;—a fact so clearly presented to Pen and Venables, that they would not lessen the force of the place, by impressing any of its inhabitants for soldiers. They, therefore, remained only two days at Antigua, during which period they proclaimed the Protector with great pomp; and then proceeded to St. Christopher’s, and the other leeward islands, where they procured a sufficient complement of men. I am sorry, however, that an historian of great fame states, “the troops raised in the West Indies were the most profligate of mankind.”
As Antigua did not eventually join in this expedition, it will be sufficient to remark, that the attack upon St. Domingo was very disastrous; for, although upon the first approach of the English, the Spaniards left their town and fled into the woods, the troops did not follow up their advantage. Venables allowed the soldiers to disembark, without a guide, ten miles from the capital; and, wandering about without any fixed purpose for the space of four days, they gave the Spaniards time to recover themselves from their alarm, and, rushing from their place of concealment, they fell upon the English, who were almost dead with fatigue and hunger, killed six hundred of them, and drove the remainder on board their vessels. In order to atone for their indiscretions, the English commanders resolved to proceed against Jamaica, also under the dominion of Spain, and which island immediately surrendered to the English flag, without a blow being struck in its defence. Colonel Doyly being appointed governor of the new gained colony, with about 3000 land forces under his command, and a fleet of men-of-war under Vice-Admiral Goodson, Pen and Venables prepared to return home. Landing the West India troops at their respective islands, the commanders sailed for England; but, upon their arrival, they were both sent to the Tower, for their failure upon St. Domingo, entirely owing to their want of proper conduct as English officers.
Upon the Restoration, Antigua held out for the Commonwealth, as strenuously as in 1651 it had opposed the pretensions of Cromwell, and for this cause, Charles II. appointed Major-General Poyntz, a former deserter from the Parliamentary power, to act as governor, which situation he filled until 1663, when Lord Francis Willoughby, of Parham, obtained a grant of the entire island from Charles II. as a reward for his eminent services in the cause of that monarch; and Major-General Poyntz retired to Virginia. During the period this latter gentleman resided at Antigua as governor, he owned and planted an estate called by him Cassada Garden, a title which it still bears.
[[4]] The following extract alludes to the invasions of the Caribs (Rochfort’s Histoire des Antilles, published at Rotterdam, 1665, tome 4, page 310):—“Les Caraibs ont fait des descent dans les isles de Montserrat, d’Antigoa, et en d’autres qui sont occupées par les Anglais, et après avoir brulé quelques maisons, et pillé quelques meubles; ils ont enlevé des hommes, des femmes et des enfans, qu’ils ont conduit à la Dominique et à St. Vincents.”
[[5]] An estate in Antigua called by that name.
[[6]] This rock is still pointed out upon an estate, called Patterson’s, belonging to the Hon. John Athill.