Читать книгу The Life of Sir Henry Morgan. With an account of the English settlement of the island of Jamaica онлайн

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The population of that island had in fact increased remarkably in the past two or three years, chiefly by immigration from the other English colonies in the West Indies. Captain John Wentworth had brought two hundred from Bermuda. A census taken for the purpose of enrolling the militia had reported 1,717 families consisting of 15,298 persons in seven parishes, more than half of them being congregated at Port Royal and in the vicinity of Spanish Town. Besides these about two thousand were supposed to be scattered in five other more distant parishes, of whom no exact account had been obtained. Nearly all were living in the lowlands on the southern shore of the island, and there were very few settlers on the north side, so much more exposed to raids of the Spaniards.

The most notable of the recent immigrants was Colonel Thomas Modyford from Barbados, who had been so helpful in securing recruits for the army commanded by Venables, and was destined to take a very important part in the public affairs and development of agriculture of the island. He was a kinsman of General Monck, who since the restoration of the monarchy, mainly by his efforts, had been created Duke of Albemarle and had great influence.