Editing History of Saint Lucia (section)

==18th century==
Both the British, with their headquarters in [[Barbados]], and the French, centered on [[Martinique]], found Saint Lucia attractive after the slave-based [[sugar]] industry developed in 1763, and during the 18th century the island changed ownership or was declared neutral territory a dozen times, although the French settlements remained and the island was a de facto a French colony well into the 18th century.

In 1722, the [[George I of Great Britain]] granted both Saint Lucia and [[Saint Vincent (island)|Saint Vincent]] to [[John Montagu, 2nd Duke of Montagu]]. He in turn appointed [[Nathaniel Uring]], a merchant sea captain and adventurer, as deputy-governor. Uring went to the islands with a group of seven ships, and established settlement at Petit Carenage. Unable to get enough support from British warships, he and the new colonists were quickly run off by the French.<ref>{{DNB|wstitle=Montagu, John (1688?-1749)}}</ref>

The 1730 census showed 463 occupants of the island, which included just 125 whites, 37 Caribs, 175 slaves, and 126 free blacks or mixed race.  The French took control of the island in 1744, and by 1745, the island had a population of 3455, including 2573 slaves.<ref name="Harmsen"/>{{rp|31,36}}

During the [[Seven Years' War]] Britain occupied Saint Lucia in 1762, but gave the island back at the [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|Treaty of Paris]] on 10 February 1763.  Britain occupied the island again in 1778 after the [[Battle of St. Lucia|Grand Battle of Cul de Sac]] during the [[American Revolutionary War]].  British Admiral [[George Rodney]] then built [[Pigeon Island (Saint Lucia)|Fort Rodney]] from 1779 to 1782.<ref name="Harmsen"/>{{rp|36,47–50}}

By 1779, the island's population had increased to 19,230, which included 16,003 slaves working 44 sugar plantations.  Yet, the [[Great Hurricane of 1780]]  killed about 800.  By the time the island was restored to French rule in 1784, as a consequence of the [[Peace of Paris (1783)]], 300 plantations had been abandoned and some thousand [[maroon (people)|maroons]] lived in the interior.<ref name="Harmsen"/>{{rp|40,49–50}}
 
[[File:1758 Bellin Map of Saint Lucia (Sainte Lucie), West Indies - Geographicus - SaintLucia-bellin-1758.jpg|thumb|left|A 1758 map of Saint Lucia]]

In Jan. 1791, during the [[French Revolution]], the [[National Assembly (French Revolution)|National Assembly]] sent four ''Commissaries'' to St. Lucia to spread the revolution philosophy.   By August, slaves began to abandon their estates and Governor de Gimat fled.  In Dec. 1792, Lt. [[Jean-Baptiste Raymond de Lacrosse]] arrived with revolutionary pamphlets, and the poor whites and free people of color began to arm themselves as ''patriots''.  On 1 Feb. 1793, France declared war on England and Holland, and General [[Nicolas Xavier de Ricard]]  took over as Governor.  The [[National Convention]] abolished enslavement on 4 Feb. 1794, but St. Lucia fell to a British invasion led by Vice Admiral [[John Jervis, 1st Earl of St Vincent|John Jervis]] on 1 April 1794. [[Morne Fortune]] became ''Fort Charlotte''.  Soon, a patriot army of resistance, ''L'Armee Francaise dans les Bois'', began to fight back.  Thus started the '''First Brigand War'''.<ref name="Harmsen"/>{{rp|60–65}}

A short time later, the British invaded in response to the concerns of the wealthy plantation owners, who wanted to keep sugar production going. On 21 February 1795, a group of rebels, led by [[Victor Hugues]], defeated a battalion of British troops. For the next four months, a group of recently freed slaves known as the Brigands forced out not only the British army, but every white slave-owner from the island (coloured slave owners were left alone, as in [[Haiti]]).  The English were eventually defeated on June 19, and fled from the island. The Royalist planters fled with them, leaving the remaining Saint Lucians to enjoy “l’Année de la Liberté”, “a year of freedom from slavery…”. Gaspard Goyrand, a Frenchman who was Saint Lucia's Commissary later became Governor of Saint Lucia, and proclaimed the abolition of slavery. Goyrand brought the aristocratic planters to trial. Several lost their heads on the guillotine, which had been brought to Saint Lucia with the troops. He then proceeded to re-organize the island.<ref name="soufrierefoundation.org">{{cite web|url=http://soufrierefoundation.org/about-soufriere/history|title=Soufriere History|website=Soufriere Foundation|access-date=August 19, 2021|archive-date=20 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210420174333/http://soufrierefoundation.org/about-soufriere/history|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The British continued to harbor hopes of recapturing the island and in April 1796 Sir Ralph Abercrombie and his troops attempted to do so.  [[Castries]] was burned as part of the conflict, and after approximately one month of bitter fighting the French surrendered at Morne Fortune on 25 May. General Moore was elevated to the position of Governor of Saint Lucia by Abercrombie and was left with 5,000 troops to complete the task of subduing the entire island.<ref name="soufrierefoundation.org"/>

British Brig. Gen. [[John Moore (British Army officer)|John Moore]] was appointed Military Governor on 25 May 1796, and engaged in the '''Second Brigand War'''.  Some ''Brigands'' began to surrender in 1797, when promised they would not be returned to slavery.  Final freedom and the end to hostilities came with [[Slavery Abolition Act 1833|Emancipation in 1838]].<ref name="Harmsen"/>{{rp|74–86}}<ref>''They Called Us the Brigands. The Saga of St. Lucia's Freedom Fighters'' by Robert J Devaux</ref>