ral Pococke attacked Havana in May, and, after a siege of
twenty-nine days, took the Morro Castle, a fort hitherto considered
impregnable. A fortnight later the Governor of Cuba was compelled to
capitulate, thus giving the town also into the hands of the British.
These exploits made France and Spain sue for peace, which was signed at
Paris in February, 1763, when Grenada, St. Vincent, Dominica, and Tobago
were ceded to Great Britain, the other captures being restored.

After this war positive orders were sent to the British West Indies to
break off all trade and intercourse with the French and Spanish
settlements, with the result that contraband and other traffic was
thrown into the hands of the Dutch and Danes. Then the Dutch islands of
Curacao and St. Eustatius began to flourish more and more, and those of
the Danes, St. Thomas and St. John, became free ports. During the wars
these islands rose to a pitch of prosperity hardly possible to any of
those belonging to the combatants, on account of their neutrality.
Naturally they were almost barren and of little account as plantations;
but as _entrepots_ they were exceedingly useful, not only to their
owners, but to the belligerents as well. Here alone could French,
Spanish, and British ships meet without fighting, and for them they
could run when pursued by the enemy.

The island of St. Thomas was first colonised in 1666, but for a long
time it made little progress. It became useful to the pirates, however,
mainly from its being a safe place at which to dispose of their
captures. Then merchant vessels found it sometimes convenient to go in
to escape these rovers, perhaps to be followed by them, and yet remain
safe until an opportunity occurred for escaping their vigilance. Prizes
were brought here and sold, the prospect of good bargains leading to the
settlement of a number of rich merchants, and especially Jews. What with
all this, and a little contraband traffic, the people of St. Thomas did
very well, and soon the harbour became one of the busiest in the West
Indies.

And here we must mention that the Jews were a very important factor in
the development of the early settlements. It will be remembered that
large numbers of these people were driven from Spain after the conquest
of Granada, and how they went to Portugal and the Netherlands. A large
number also went to Brazil, where at first they had a measure of
freedom in the exercise of their religion not granted in t