Harbors and High Seas by Dean King

Harbors and High Seas by Dean King

Author:Dean King [King, Dean]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-4532-3831-8
Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media LLC
Published: 2011-02-06T05:00:00+00:00


Barbados

The easternmost of the Windward Islands in the West Indies, Barbados was claimed by England in 1605 and settled by English colonists in 1627. A relatively flat coral and sediment island, with no good natural harbor, Barbados gained its wealth during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries primarily from its sugarcane plantations and the export of molasses and rum. Slaves from Africa were imported to work the fields until slavery was abolished in the British Empire in 1834.

In 1814, 128 officers and men were stationed at the naval base in Bridgetown (the island’s capital and chief port) to support British naval operations in the area. Larger bases were located on the islands of Jamaica (314 officers and men) and Antigua (332 officers and men).

The following description of Barbados is an edited account from the fall edition of The Naval Chronicle for 1817:

This little island, which consists of something more than 100,000 acres of land, lies the furthest east and north of all our West Indian colonies and is elevated on a ridge of calcareous rock, which rises 50 feet or more above the level of the beach and forms a sort of promontory round the north-eastern part of the island. The coast, wherever I had an opportunity of observing it, is lined with white coral, and the strand is of a beautiful light and soft sand. At a distance, the land appeared extremely bare, but as we approached it more nearly, the rich and curious tropical produce captivated our eyes.



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