the English already mentioned, they were driven out in 1689, to
return the following year and expel the enemy, retaining entire control
until the peace of Ryswick gave France again her share. Then in 1702
England once more held full possession until the island was assured to
her entirely.

Barbados, alone among the British West Indian islands, stands in the
proud position of a colony that has never fallen into the hands of
another nation. It has never even been seriously attacked beyond the
attempt of De Ruyter. And yet the island was poorly fortified, as
compared with the great strongholds of the West Indies such as
Carthagena and Curacao. Possibly "the game was not worth the candle,"
for on the one hand there was little plunder to be had, and on the other
a strong force of hardy Englishmen to be encountered. We have seen
already how the Parliamentary fleet was kept at bay, and what an amount
of trouble the islanders gave before they capitulated. Even then they
were not actually conquered, although there could be no question as to
the ultimate result.

But not only had the colonists to stand up against the enemy from
outside, but there was another danger which lay within their plantations
and dwellings from which even Barbados was not free. The slaves had to
be kept under subjection, and the planters must always be on the alert
to anticipate riots and insurrections. For although the negro in most
cases was submissive, at times he recovered that savage nature which had
only been suppressed by force and discipline.

When we read of flogging to death and other horrible cruelties of the
planters and authorities, we are inclined to sympathise with the African
and look upon his masters as worse than brutes. But to appreciate the
full significance of these punishments we must judge them by the codes
in existence at the time, remembering that nothing was ever done to the
blacks that had not also been endured by whites for similar crimes.
True, these punishments were retained for slaves after they had become
obsolete for Europeans, but then the negro was undoubtedly stubborn and
less amenable to persuasion than any other race. Like a mule he had to
be broken in and trained, and like that stubborn animal he often gave
great trouble in the process. There were differences of opinion as to
various ways of teaching the negro, and it was only a long experience
that ultimately led to gentle conciliation instead of flogging.

[Ill