but by the treaty of Breda in 1667 they were restored
to England, and the old division of St. K i t t ’s
was re-established. Trouble kept up for some years
with privateering and depredations upon the thriving
trade of the Dutch, but no further changes of possession
among the islands took place until the war
between France and Holland in 1688, when the accession
of William of Orange brought England into
the contest on the Dutch side. T h e French again
drove the English out of St. K i t t ’s and seized St.
Eustatius, while the English made unsuccessful attacks
upon Guadeloupe.. T h e peace of Ryswick,
1697, restored the old condition, the Dutch retaining
St. Eustatius and the French and English still dividing
St. Christopher.
From 1702 to 1715 there was a war, with England
and Holland on one side and France and Spain on
the other, and much privateering and plundering
went on, but there was no change of territorial possession,
except that the English drove the French
out of St. K i t t ’s this time, and by the treaty of
Utrecht the island was finally ceded to Great Britain.
Jacques Cassard, the famous French corsair, in the
guise of a patriotic privateer, captured St. Eustatius
and Curacao, but only for the purpose of extorting
a ransom. There was a fierce contest between
France and England for the possession of the Carib-
bees during the Seven Years ’ War from 1756 to
1763. In the meantime, Spain and Holland had
been losing prestige, and were no longer rated as
formidable powers.
I t was in this contest between France and En g land
that Admiral Rodney and Sir Samuel Hood
first came to the front as British naval commanders.
A t the beginning, the French were in possession of
all the southern Caribbees, leaving Barbados and
Trinidad out of the category. T he English captured
Guadeloupe in 1759, before the arrival of the home
fleet, and held it till the end of the war. Rodney
sailed from Barbados for Martinique in January,
1762, with eighteen ships of the line and a considerable
force of soldiers. T he island capitulated, and
the conquest was followed up with that of Grenada,
Dominica, Tobago, St. Vincent, and St. Lucia in
succession. Spain was involved in the quarrel at the
time, and in May, 1762, Admiral Pococke laid siege
to Havana, and in a month Morro Castle was reduced,
and soon after the Governor-General of Cuba
capitulated, and Lord Albemarle took possession
with land forces. These naval victories contributed
powerfully to the peace of February, 1763. B y the
treaty of Paris, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and St.
Lucia were restored to France, and Cuba was left to
Spain in exchange for Florida, while Dominica, St.
Vincent, Grenada, and Tobago were ceded to Great
Britain.
T h e next contest for the possession of islands in
the Lesser Antilles came after France had joined
the United States in 1778 in their struggle for independence
from British power. T he first move was
the capture of Dominica by the French, that island
lying conveniently between their two principal possessions,
Guadeloupe and Martinique. T h e English
retaliated by seizing St. Lucia. A fleet came out