First Dutch settlements

Dutch privateer Joost van Dyk organized the first permanent settlements in the Territory in Soper's Hole, on the west end of Tortola. It is not known precisely when he first came to the Territory, but by 1615, van Dyk's settlement was recorded in Spanish contemporary records. He traded with the Spaniards in Puerto Rico and farmed cotton and tobacco.

Some sources suggest that the first settlements in the Virgin Islands were by the Spanish, but there is no archaeological evidence to support the existence of any settlement by the Spanish in the islands at any time.

By 1625, van Dyk was recognized by the Dutch West India Company as the private "Patron" of Tortola, and had moved his operations to Road Town. During the same year, van Dyk lent some limited (non-military) support to the Dutch admiral Boudewijn Hendricksz,. In September 1625, in retaliation, the Spanish led a full assault on the island of Tortola, destroying its embryonic settlements. van Dyk himself escaped to the island that would later bear his name, and sheltered there from the Spanish.

Notwithstanding Spanish hostility, the Dutch West India Company still considered the Virgin Islands to have an important strategic value, as they were located approximately halfway between the Dutch colonies in South America (now Suriname) and the most important Dutch settlement in North America, New Amsterdam(now New York City). Large stone warehouses were built with the intention that these warehouses would facilitate exchanges of cargo between North and South America.

In 1631, the Dutch West India Company expressed an interest in the copper which had been discovered on Virgin Gorda, and a settlement was set up on that island, which came to be known as "Little Dyk's" (now known as Little Dix).

In 1640, Spain attacked Tortola in an assault led by Captain Lopez. Two further attacks were made by the Spanish on Tortola in 1646 and 1647, led by Captain Francisco Vincente Duran. The Spanish anchored a warship in Soper's Hole at West End and landed men ashore. They then sent another warship to blockade Road Harbour. After a team of scouts returned a safe report, the Spanish landed more men and attacked Fort Purcell overland by foot. The Dutch were massacred, and the Spanish soldiers then marched to Road Town, where they killed everyone and destroyed the settlement

Date: 2015-01-29; view: 706