Golden Legacy by Robert James Glider

Author:Robert James Glider [Glider, Robert James]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781490780276
Publisher: Trafford Publishing
Published: 2017-01-19T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 28

The island of Tortola

Early morning

Jac turned off the engine and guided the Golden Adventurer smoothly into a dock on the west side of the island of Tortola at Smuggler’s Cove. Michael jumped off and secured the bow and stern ropes.

Jac and Michael walked with Chauncey to the end of the dock. “I’ll get us a car,” she said. I have friends who live close by.” She set off walking toward the small village of Long Bay. Jac and Michael watched until she disappeared around a curve in the road. Jac sat back on a shipping crate next to Michael and closed his eyes to wait for her return. Peri, Mandrago, and the ladies stayed on board.

“Jac, what do you know about this island?” Michael asked.

Jac opened his eyes. “On the voyage from Jamaica, your uncle researched the island of Tortola and the British Virgin Islands. He found that Columbus was the first European visitor to the Virgin Islands—in 1493. Impressed by the number of islands and by their plentiful cays, Columbus named the group of islands after Ursula and her eleven thousand virgins.”

Jac then told Michael the rest of what his uncle had found: Tortola is the largest and most populated of the British Virgin Islands. The name—Tortola—according to local tradition, was given by Columbus. It means “land of the turtle dove.” In reality, Columbus had named the island Santa Ana. Since Columbus’s expedition was funded by Spain, the islands initially became Spanish possessions. But the Spanish lost interest when they couldn’t find gold, and quickly moved on. The Dutch came next to claim the islands. These were the years when Britain ruled the seas. The English took permanent possession of the islands. English buccaneers were attracted to the islands because their hidden coves and complex reef systems made them the ideal location for ravaging passing ships transporting riches from the New World back to Europe. Blackbeard, one of the most infamous buccaneers in history, made his base of operations at Soper’s Hole on Tortola’s west end in the early 1700s. The pirates would lie in wait for an unsuspecting trade ship, pounce on it, kill the crew, and claim the ship and its cargo. Tortola is a small, mountainous island only thirteen and a half miles long and three miles wide. The English aristocracy built large homes on the island sending the older settlers—descendents of the early Dutch settlers—to live around the area of Smuggler’s Cove and Long Bay.

“That’s where we are now?” Michael said.

“Yes.”

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