CONSOLIDATION OF POWER BY THE BRITISH, FRENCH AND
DUTCH
For Britain, France and the Dutch, the mainland was closed off and the Caribbean was their only
option (See the fate of Roger North in 1620). So like Spain, they decide to consolidate their hold
in the Caribbean.
British French Dutch
Need for joint stock Company of the Isles of West India Company
companies: selling shares in America (1635) was given (1621) was set up after the
a planned colony therefore the monopoly for trade truce between itself and
sharing risk amongst between France and the Spain collapsed. The
everyone. West Indies. company had its own army
Amazon company (1620) Settled colonists in St. and navy and all ships who
was the earliest Lucia, Guadeloupe, wished to trade in the west
manifestation of this. Martinique and Grenada. coast of Africa and the
Creation of the LORD Kalinago resistance Americas had to belong to
PROPRIETOR-someone curtailed development of a the company.
in the English court to settlement; merchants soon Also Dutch admirals were
ensure the interest of the lost interest and colonies allowed to attach Spanish
merchants and the colony were abandoned. ships- Capture of Brazil
founders. The Earl of 1630-1654
Carlisle was chosen in 1625 Dutch used company to
by Merrifield (merchant) bring and trade good and
and Warner (Governor of slaves to the New World.
St. Kitts). Carlisle got a Were not interested in
charter for St. Kitts/Nevis settlement.
and Montserrat in 1625 and
the rest of the Lesser
Antilles in 1628.
ELIMINATING COMPETITION
England:
After 1642 [end of civil war between Cromwell and Charles I of England]. Oliver
Cromwell (New Leader of England) instituted the Western Design to reinforce Britain’s
dominance in the Caribbean. This involved capturing Spanish colonies and making them
English. The ambition of this plan didn’t match reality, as the invasion of Hispaniola was
disaster. The English forces had to make do with Jamaica.
Navigation Laws of 1650, 1651 and 1660. These laws restricted the trade of British goods
by non-British ships. Though applicable to all foreign powers, these laws were directly
aimed at the Dutch. Led to the 1st and 2nd Dutch Wars. The first war was fought primarily
in European waters. One unforeseen consequence was the collapse of access to supplies
for many colonists. They were forced to borrow money to pay for basic goods. The
Dutch eventually had to agree to the first two navigation acts under the treaty of
Westminster (1654). The Navigation Act of 1660 and later the Staples Act of 1662 were
designed to remove the monopoly of slave trade from the Dutch. The result was the
second war where Caribbean colonies were attacked (Barbados, Montserrat and Antigua).
The treaty of Breda (1667) ended this with all most colonies returning to original owners.
More importantly, however, was the fact that the Dutch were removed as the lead
supplier to Caribbean.
France:
After the failure of the French colonies, most were sold off to private ownership.
However, after seeing the success of the British Empire in the Caribbean, the French
decided to consolidate their control and get their abandoned colonists under control.
They also recognized that the Dutch needed to be removed. French Minister of Trade
Jean Baptiste Colbert actively drove the Dutch away from French colonies, and punishing
any French colony that refused to obey.
France turned attention to the Spanish, who, in their opinion was woefully
unprepared.1680: Comte d’Estrées raided Santo Domingo. 1681: Cartagena (Colombia?),
Santa Marta and the coast of Venezuela. 1683: captured San Juan de Ulloa. France also
wanted St. Domingue. They fought the King William’s War (1689) in which France won
[Treaty of Ryswick] and got exclusive rights to the island.
Holland (the Netherlands)
From the Western design to the French Minister of trade, the Dutch were systematically
removed from major trade in the Caribbean and the New world. They attempted to
circumvent the laws by having their ships sail under the countries of Demark and
Brandenburg (part of later Germany). However, 30 years later this too collapsed.
