The development of cricket in all countries has been shaped by historical events but perhaps nowhere else is this more so than in the West Indies where not only colonialism, but also slavery shaped society. In 1492, the "New World" was discovered by a Spanish naval expedition under Columbus which reached the
Caribbean Sea and found the
Bahamas; and hence the creation of the West Indies. In 1609, the first British settlement in the West Indies was on
Bermuda by shipwrecked English colonists originally bound for
Virginia. The settlement became permanent in 1612. In 1623, the first British colony in the Caribbean itself was established at
St Kitts in the
Leeward Islands. In 1628, British colonists began to settle on
Barbados which had been uninhabited. Sugar plantations were soon developed and large numbers of African slaves were brought in to work them. Another British colony was established on
Nevis. In 1632, more British colonies were established on
Montserrat,
Antigua and
Barbuda. We do not know when or where cricket was first played in the West Indies but it is reasonable to assume that it was introduced by these early colonists. 1655 is a significant year in British colonisation of the West Indies for its forces under Admiral Sir
William Penn and General
Robert Venables seized the Spanish island of
Jamaica, full colonisation commencing in 1661. The cultivation of sugar cane and coffee by African slave labour made Jamaica one of the most valuable possessions in the world for more than 150 years. The colony's slaves, who outnumbered their white masters 300,000 to 30,000 by 1800, mounted over a dozen major slave conspiracies and uprisings between 1673 and 1832. By the 1660s, British holdings in the West Indies included Jamaica, Barbados, Bermuda, Bahamas, St Kitts, Nevis,
Anguilla, Montserrat, Antigua and Barbuda. Great Britain's other West Indies territories came into the story later. The islands of
Dominica, Grenada,
St Vincent and the
Grenadines were initially claimed by France in the 17th century but were all ceded to Great Britain under the terms of the
Treaty of Paris 1763 that ended the
Seven Years' War.
St Lucia was first colonised by France in 1660 but seized by the British in 1663. It was then the subject of no less than 14 separate conflicts between the two before Britain finally secured control in 1814 at the end of the Napoleonic War. The group now known as the
British Virgin Islands had been settled by the Dutch in 1648 but they were annexed by the British in 1672. Sugar cane was introduced by the British and it soon became the main crop. Initially, labour was indented by 'transported' British convicts and from Ireland. African slaves were introduced in the mid-seventeenth century.
Guyana was first settled by the Dutch, who established three separate colonies at
Essequibo (1616),
Berbice (1627) and
Demerara (1752). The British assumed control in 1796 and, following counter-revolts, the Dutch formally ceded the area in 1814. The three became a single British colony known as
British Guiana in 1831. There were major slave revolts in 1763, and
also in 1823. The Guyana plantations were originally coffee and cotton but, as elsewhere in the Caribbean area, sugar eventually superseded them.
Trinidad and Tobago were found by Columbus in 1498. Although Spanish settlement of
Trinidad began in the sixteenth century, the population in 1783 was only 2,763 with the majority being Amerindians. In 1783, the proclamation of a Cedula of Population by the Spanish Crown granted of land to each Catholic who settled in Trinidad and half as much for each slave that they brought. Uniquely, was offered to each Free Coloured or Free Person of Colour and half as much for each slave they brought. In the tumult of the Haitian and French Revolutions, many people migrated from the French islands to Trinidad. This resulted in Trinidad having the unique feature of a large Free Coloured slave-owning class. By the time the island was surrendered to the British in 1797 the population had increased to 17,643: 2,086 whites, 1,082 free people of colour, 1,082 Amerindians, and 10,009 African slaves. Spanish rule over the island, which nominally began in 1498, ended when the final Spanish Governor,
Don José Maria Chacón surrendered the island to a British fleet of 18 warships under the command of Sir
Ralph Abercrombie on 18 February 1797.
Tobago's development was similar to other plantation islands in the
Lesser Antilles but quite different from that of Trinidad. During the colonial period, French, Dutch, British and Courlanders (Latvians) fought over possession of Tobago and the island changed hands 22 times: more often than any other West Indian island. Tobago was finally ceded to Great Britain in 1814. The two islands were incorporated into a single
Crown Colony in 1888 with Tobago reduced to the status of a Ward of Trinidad. The
Slave Trade Act 1807 was passed by the British Parliament on 25 March 1807. The act imposed a fine of £100 for every slave found aboard a British ship. The intention was to entirely outlaw the slave trade within the
British Empire. In 1827, Britain declared that participation in the slave trade was piracy and punishable by death. On 23 August 1833, the
Slavery Abolition Act 1833 outlawed slavery in all British colonies. On 1 August 1834, all slaves in the British Empire were emancipated. Some remained indentured to their former owners in an apprenticeship system which was finally abolished in 1838. £20 million was paid in compensation to plantation owners in the Caribbean. From then on indented labour from India, China and elsewhere was imported. This created the ethnic pot pourri of the region's population. ==Early cricket references==