THE WEST INDIES:
BEING A DESCRIPTION OF THE ISLANDS,
PROGRESS OF CHRISTIANITY, EDUCATION,AND LIBERTY
AMONG THE COLORED POPULATION GENERALLY.
BY MRS. NANCY PRINCE.
BOSTON:
DOW & JACKSON, PRINTERS, 14 DEVONSHIRE ST.
1841.
A denomination under which is comprehended a largechain of islands, extended in a curve from the Florida shoreon the northern peninsula of America, to the Gulf of Venezuelaon the southern. These islands belong to five Europeanpowers, viz. Great Britain, Spain, France, Hollandand Denmark. An inhabitant of New England can formno idea of the climate and the productions of these islands.Many of the particulars that are here mentioned, are peculiarto them all.
The climate in all the West India Islands is nearly thesame, allowing for those accidental differences, which theseveral situations and qualities of the lands themselvesproduce; as they lie within the tropic of Cancer, and thesun often is almost at the meridian, over their heads, theyare continually subjected to a heat that would be intolerable,but for the trade winds, which are so refreshing, as toenable the inhabitants to attend to their concerns, even undera noon-day sun: as the night advances, a breeze beginsto be perceived, which blows smartly from the land, as itwere, from the centre towards the sea, to all points of thecompass at once. The rains make the only distinction of seasonsin these islands. The trees are green the year round;they have no cold, or frost; our heaviest rains are but dews,comparatively: with them, floods of water are poured fromthe clouds. About May, the periodical rains from theSouth may be expected. After then the tropical summerin all its splendor. The nights are calm and serene, themoon shines more brightly than in New England, as do theplanets, and the beautiful galaxy. From the middle of Augustto the end of September, the heat is most oppressive,the sea breeze is interrupted, and calms warn the inhabitantsof the periodical rains; which fall in torrents aboutthe beginning of October.
The most considerable and valuable of the British WestIndia Islands, lies between the 75th and the 79th degreesof west longitude from London, and between 17 and 18north latitude; it is of an oval figure, 150 miles long, fromEast to West, and about 60 miles broad in the middle, containing4,080,000 acres. An elevated ridge, called the BlueMountains, runs lengthwise from East to West, whencenumerous rivers take their rise on both sides. The year isdistinguished into two seasons, wet and dry. The monthsof July, August and September are called the hurricanemonths. The best houses are generally built low, on accountof the hurricanes and earthquakes; and the coloredpeople’s huts made of reeds, will hold only two or threepersons. However pleasant the sun may rise, in a momentthe scene may be changed, a violent storm will suddenlyarise, attended with thunder and lightning, the rain falls intorrents, and the seas and rivers rise with terrible destruction.I witnessed this awful scene in June last at Kingston,the capital of Jamaica; the foundatio