Pieces of Eight

Saint Vincent

The native inhabitants of St. Vincent fiercely resisted European colonization for decades. The first non-Indian settlers were African slaves, who were shipwrecked on the island. The Indians accepted the new arrivals into their culture, and the two races intermarried.

France finally colonized the islands just three decades ago, and immediately began coffee, tobacco, and sugar plantations, using the natives as cheap labor. The English keep a wary eye on St. Vincent, knowing that it would be a valuable prize were it to fall into their hands.