Antigua and the Antiguans. Volume 2

Page 372

350

APPENDIX.

ham. This nobleman, on whose account, in the first and principal degree, we have introduced the present lineage, married Elizabeth, second dau. and co-heir of Edward Cicil, Visct. Wimbledon, and had issue one son, William, who died young, and three daughters, I. Diana, m. to Heneage, Earl of Winchilsea. II. Frances, m. to William Brereton, Lord Brereton, of Laghlin, in Ireland ; and III. Elizabeth, m. to Roger Jones, Visct. Ranelagh. This nobleman—viz., Francis, fifth Lord Willoughby—was one of the most celebrated characters of his age, but whose fortune brought him to Antigua, and the other Caribbee Islands, of which he became one of the most distinguished and notable governors ; having under his command at one time, the whole archipelago of which the British empire in those parts consist. Those who would wish to be fully acquainted with the character and conduct of this nobleman, must consult all the annals of the eventful period in which he lived, comprising the entire epoch of the civil wars, and which, from first to last, abound with anecdotes and facts relating to his personal history. We find him first mentioned in connexion with the siege of Newark, a place he gallantly besieged and took, sword in hand, at twelve o'clock at night ; and also at the termination of the civil commotions, as state prisoner in the Tower of London, for attempting (after his return from the West India Islands, in 1G52) to raise a rebellion against the government of the Protector, Oliver Cromwell. In 1649, when the English fleet revolted from the parliament and tht service of the Commonwealth, they chose this nobleman, Francis Lori Willoughby, for their commander and admiral; a capacity in which he attended upon his Majesty Charles IL, then in Holland. Pointing out to his Majesty the islands in the West Indies which still remained faithful to his cause, and unsubdued, and where had congregated a vast assemblage of gallant royalists—the island of Barbados alone counting several thousands of them—his Majesty proposed to him to give him a commission of governor thereof, provided only he would go out and assume the command in his own person ; terms with which Lord F. Willoughby was readily induced to comply—obtaining also a commission from the Earl of Carlisle, to whom those islands had been previously granted. . Thus armed at all points, he arrived at the island of Barbados at the beginning of the year 1650. The first act of his lordship's government, and of the ardent spirits there assembled and associated with him, was, now that Charles I. had perished by the fatal axe. to proclaim Charles II., his son, as his successor ;—this was done when, by the laws of the Commonwealth, it was felony and death to acknowledge the Prince of Wales as king of England, or rightful heir of any of the territories thereunto belonging;™ and Charles II. was proclaimed accordingly, on 7th May, 1650. But the


Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.