ABSTRACT
The first English occupants brought with them the habits and tastes peculiar to military men of the age to which they belonged; and as the capture of the island was easy, and no formidable foe remained to test the prowess of the British forces, inactivity, so dreaded by wise captains, soon told with fearful effect on the morale of the army. The greater number were swept away by sickness and famine, but gradually other men, willing and anxious to cultivate the soil, took their place, and laboured with that steady industry so essential to successful colonisation.
