raharris1973
Well-known member
Several Caribbean islands were big sources of revenue for European colonial powers, making money offf of tobacco, coffee, and above all, sugar. They were often fought over, and often changed hands, with examples of some individual islands changing hands a dozen times or even 21 times in the years between 1600 and 1800.
When these changes of ownership by conquest and treaty occurred, with the British or Dutch getting a French or Spanish island, or vice versa, was there a a routine practice the new owners of the islands tended to follow toward individual private plantation proprietors, especially resident private proprietors, on the islands?
Were private plantation owners of the defeated formerly ruling nationality left in place with their lands and slaves, or were they expelled w/ their landed and human properties auctioned to bidders from the winning nationality?
A uniform rule probably wasn't likely, but was there a predominant tendency or practice? Or did each individual nation at least, the British, French, Dutch, Spanish, Danes, Swedes, Courlanders, etc. have a standard habitual practice it followed after capturing a Caribbean plantation island in a war, especially when its possession of the conquered island was ratified by treaty?
Here's some examples of Caribbean islands that changes hands through hostile takeovers:
St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix (current US Virgin Is.)
Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, Jost Van Dyke (current British Virgin Is.)
Vieques (current Puerto Rico)
Bahamas (never seems to have been plantationed)
Saint Kitts/Saint Christopher -
Dominica (French then British)
Guadalupe (7YW, Napoleonic)
Martinique (multiple short British occupations)
Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire (Spanish to Dutch – 1600s)
Sint Eustasius
Tobago
When these changes of ownership by conquest and treaty occurred, with the British or Dutch getting a French or Spanish island, or vice versa, was there a a routine practice the new owners of the islands tended to follow toward individual private plantation proprietors, especially resident private proprietors, on the islands?
Were private plantation owners of the defeated formerly ruling nationality left in place with their lands and slaves, or were they expelled w/ their landed and human properties auctioned to bidders from the winning nationality?
A uniform rule probably wasn't likely, but was there a predominant tendency or practice? Or did each individual nation at least, the British, French, Dutch, Spanish, Danes, Swedes, Courlanders, etc. have a standard habitual practice it followed after capturing a Caribbean plantation island in a war, especially when its possession of the conquered island was ratified by treaty?
Here's some examples of Caribbean islands that changes hands through hostile takeovers:
St. Thomas, St. John, St. Croix (current US Virgin Is.)
Tortola, Virgin Gorda, Anegada, Jost Van Dyke (current British Virgin Is.)
Vieques (current Puerto Rico)
Bahamas (never seems to have been plantationed)
Saint Kitts/Saint Christopher -
Dominica (French then British)
Guadalupe (7YW, Napoleonic)
Martinique (multiple short British occupations)
Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire (Spanish to Dutch – 1600s)
Sint Eustasius
Tobago