nglish seas, and was
therefore required to be detained until further order.[25] Having
extricated himself from this trouble Holmes finally appeared before
the Privy Council in January, 1662,[26] where he offered "many
reasons" in justification of his actions in Guinea.[27] He easily
satisfied the king and the members of the Privy Council, which is not
surprising since many of these men had helped to organize and finance
the expedition.

By this time it had become apparent that Charles II did not intend to
make immediate restitution of St. Andre to the Dutch. This was in
accordance with Downing's advice "to be 6 or 8 months in examining the
matter" before making a decision.[28] The longer the English retained
possession of the island the less likely the Dutch were to regain it.
Finally, the duke of Courland sent a representative, Adolph Wolfratt,
to London to insist upon the restitution of his possessions.
Originally the English had apparently supported the claims of the duke
of Courland, but it developed that they were no more inclined to
return St. Andre to the duke of Courland than to the Dutch. The matter
dragged on until November 17, 1664, when a contract was made between
Charles II and the duke whereby the latter surrendered all his rights
on the Gambia River. In return he received certain trading privileges
there and the island of Tobago in the West Indies.[29]

When one proceeds from the Cape Verde region to the Gold Coast one
finds that Dutch influence was especially strong. From Elmina and
other forts the Dutch commanded the largest portion of the trade along
this coast. However, the Danes, Swedes and English had long maintained
a commerce on the Gold Coast where they also had established a number
of factories. In 1658, Hendrik Carloff, an adventurer carrying a
Danish commission, attacked and made himself master of Cape Corse
which had been in the possession of the Swedes since 1651. After
entering into friendly relations with the Dutch at Elmina,[30] Carloff
returned to Europe, leaving his lieutenant, Samuel Smits, in charge of
the fort. Fearing that the Swedes and the English, who had entered
into an alliance, might endeavor to regain Cape Corse, Carloff advised
Smits to surrender the fort to Jasper van Heusden, director general of
the West India Company on the Gold Coast. The instructions were
unnecessary, as Smits had surrendered Cape Corse to the Dutch on April
15, 1659. In return for this fort Smits and