History
As a result of the Treaty of Utrecht, which brought an end to the War of
Spanish Succession and established peace between the Spanish and
British Empires, Great Britain obtained the lucrative monopoly over the
Asiento slave trade. Runaway and shipwrecked slaves inhabited the island
of St. Vincent in the 17th century. According to an early account of
the French West Indies, which considered Bequia as part of Grenada,
Bequia was too inaccessible to colonize and Caribs and Arawaks used the
island for fishing and farming. A few Portuguese and Dutch slave ships
en route to Sint Eustatius from West Africa reportedly shipwrecked on
the Grenadine reefs. Bequia was under French control in the 18th century
and during the Seven Years' War with England, the island was used by
the fleets of their Spanish and Dutch allies to take on supplies, while
British ships were banned. The 1763 Treaty of Paris produced a
significant re-alignment in the map of the Caribbean; St. Vincent and
the Grenadine islands, including Grenada, were given to the British in
exchange for Guadeloupe, Martinique and St. Lucia. The name Petit
Martinique comes from this era, as does Petit Saint Vincent. In 1779 the
French seized the island, despite the treaty, but were forced to
relinquish control to Britain again soon after. The early 18th century
saw the development of a sugar industry and the production of related
products including molasses and rum. Other major produce included
coffee, indigo and arrowroot. At one point in time, the islands of St.
Vincent and the Grenadines were the single largest producer of arrowroot
starch in the world. Currently, Hairoun and Vincy strong rum are major
export products primarily to the European Union. Under a programme
instituted by Great Britain to give land to indigent settlers, James
Hamilton, father of Alexander Hamilton, moved from St. Croix to Bequia
in 1774 where he remained until 1790. The land granted to Hamilton lies
along the shore of Southeast Bay. Despite his son's frequent gifts of
money and entreaties to immigrate or at least visit him, neither visited
the other. Some historians believe that the famous pirate Edward Teach
had his base in Bequia. The opening shot of the movie Blackbeard, Pirate
of the Caribbean, made by the BBC, displays a replica of his first ship
off the coast of Bequia in the St. Vincent passage. According to local
legend, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was not only Teach's base, but
also the place from which Sir Francis Drake planned his attacks on the
Spanish admiralty in Don Blas de Lezo's Cartagena. Indeed, it is thought
that Henry Morgan may also have anchored in Admiralty Bay, as it was
then the safest natural harbour in the Eastern Caribbean during
hurricane season. Bequia was used as a repair facility for ships. Beside
Nelson's Dockyard on Antigua, and the Carlyle in Bridgetown, Barbados,
there were no other drydocks or shipyards in the area. Wooden
shipbuilding and ship-repair on Bequia was possible due to the presence
of cedar trees on the island and a sufficiently deep and sheltered
harbour.
