CONTAINING
A DESCRIPTION OF ITS SITUATION, EXTENT,
CLIMATE, MOUNTAINS, RIVERS,
NATURAL PRODUCTIONS, &c. &c.
TOGETHER WITH
AN ACCOUNT OF THE CIVIL GOVERNMENT, TRADE, LAWS,
CUSTOMS, AND MANNERS OF THE DIFFERENT
INHABITANTS OF THAT ISLAND. ITS CONQUEST
BY THE FRENCH, AND RESTORATION
TO THE BRITISH DOMINIONS.
By THOMAS ATWOOD.
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR J. JOHNSON, NO. 72, ST. PAUL’S CHURCHYARD.
M DCC XCI.
IT is greatly to be lamented, that although the island of Dominicais so very capable of being rendered one of the chief, if not thebest, the English have in the West Indies; yet, from a want ofknowledge of its importance, or inattention, it is at this timealmost as much unsettled, as when it was ceded to Great Britain,near thirty years ago.
This is the more remarkable, from the great consequence thepossession of it is to the English, in case of a rupture withFrance, it being the key of the British dominions in that partof the world, and from its situation between the two principalsettlements of the French, Martinique and Guadeloupe, it is theonly place in the West Indies, by which there is a possibility forGreat Britain to maintain the sovereignty of those seas.
It has moreover many conveniences for the service of both an armyand fleet, which few other West India islands can boast; and wasit to be well settled with British subjects, would be of materialassistance to our other possessions, by furnishing them with manyarticles of which they very often are greatly in need.
For the purpose of bringing forth to view these capabilities ofDominica, the following history of that island is submitted to thecandid perusal of a generous public by the author; whose chiefinducement for writing it, was his hope, that it might be somesmall means of service to a country, in which he has spent severalyears of his life, and the prosperity of which, it is his ardentwish to see speedily promoted.
The history of distant settlements belonging to Great Britain, itis presumed, cannot fail of being acceptable to every Englishmanwho wishes well to his country; and however deficient this essay ofhis may be, in point of erudition, correctness, or correspondentcircumstances, yet, from its being the[v] first on the subject, theauthor hopes it may meet with a favourable reception.
It falls not within the compass of this work to enter into detailsof acts of the legislature, the conduct of governors, or ofindividuals of that island; these he leaves for a more extensivework, or for abler pens to record; and if what is here submittedto public perusal serve in the least to promote the welfare ofthe present and future inhabitants of Dominica, and thereby theinterests of the British nation at large, the purpose of the authorby this publication will be fully answered.
London, May 1791.
CHAP. I.
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