ABSTRACT
Shaftesbury and Locke, in forging a policy towards colonial settlement, drew upon the practical advice of Sir Peter Colleton, an experienced old salt who was active in the Caribbean region during the turbulent years of the Protectorate and the Restoration. He regularly corresponded with Shaftesbury and Locke, sharing his hard-won knowledge of the business of planting new colonies with those London-based servants of the crown. Between them they helped to formulate the policy or ‘Grand Modell’ associated with Shaftesbury. To Colleton managing colonial settlement was a job of work, a trade or profession, requiring special knowledge and skills. Such a man learned ‘on the job’, and it was not until the nineteenth century that new professions emerged with organized structures of knowledge.
