5. Island Settlements. 2001. The Encyclopedia of World History

The Encyclopedia of World History. 2001.


5. Island Settlements
1609

The Somers Islands Company was formed (1612) for the colonization of Bermuda. The island had 600 settlers in 1614 and between 2,000 and 3,000 in 1625. It became an important producer of tobacco.	1

1625

St. Christopher was settled, and Sir William Courten established the first colony on Barbados. Nevis was occupied by the British in 1628, and settlements were made on Antigua and Montserrat in 1632. By 1640 the island possessions of England had a population of 20,000, devoted chiefly to the cultivation of sugar, which soon supplanted tobacco as the leading crop.	2


The Encyclopedia of World History, Sixth edition. Peter N. Stearns, general editor. Copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Maps by Mary Reilly, copyright © 2001 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.