Sir Thomas Warner (1580 – 10 March 1649) was an explorer and a captain. He is famous for settling on Saint Kitts, the first English colony in the Caribbean in 1624.
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Warner was born in Suffolk, England in 1580. He entered the army at an early age, and became a captain in James I's guards. He travelled to the Oyapoc Colony in 1620 in today's Guiana and he was a captain under the command of Roger North. Another captain in the colony, Thomas Painton, then suggested that he should instead try to colonise one of the islands in the Lesser Antilles because of their favourable conditions. In 1623 Warner abandoned his Guiana post and set sail North through the archipelago.
After checking each island, Warner decided that Saint Kitts would prove to be the best-suited site for an English colony, because of its strategic central position ideal for expansion, friendly native population, fertile soil, abundant fresh water, and large salt deposits. He and his family landed on the island and made peace with the local Kalinago peoples, whose leader was Ouboutou Tegremante. Warner then left his family behind and returned to England to gather more men to officially establish a colony. He was supported by Ralph Merrifield, a merchant, who provided the capital, and John Jefferson (the great-great-great grandfather of Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd President of U.S.A), who agreed to bring a second vessel with settlers and supplies. He landed on St. Kitts on January 28, 1624, with the Hopewell and established the colony of Saint Christopher, the first English colony in the Caribbean. He established a port town at Old Road, downhill from Tegremante's capital village.
In 1625, a French captain, Pierre Belain d'Esnambuc, arrived on the island. He had left France hoping to establish an island colony after hearing about the success of the English on Saint Kitts, but his fleet was destroyed by a run-in with the Spanish Armada, leaving him with only his flagship. Warner felt sorry for the French settlers and allowed them to settle on the island as well, thus making Saint Kitts the site of also the first French colony in the Caribbean. They lodged themselves in the ruins of the town of Dieppe, which they rebuilt. Warner also willingly accepted the French in an attempt to out-populate the local Kalinago, to whom he was growing suspicious.
Warner's suspicions proved to be accurate. As the European population on Saint Kitts continued to increase, Tegremante grew suspicious of the foreigners. In 1626, after a secret meeting with Kalinago heads from neighbouring Waitikubuli (Dominica) and Oualie, it was decided that in a secret raid they would ambush the European settlements on the night of the next full moon. The plan was revealed to the Europeans however, by an Igneri woman named Barbe (Du Tertre 1667 I:5-6). Barbe had only recently been brought to St. Kitts as a slave-wife after a raid on an Arawak island. She despised the Kalinago and had fallen in love with Warner, and therefore told him of the planned ambush. The English and French joined forces and made a surprise night-time attack on the Kittitian Caribs. According to Du Tertre (1667 I:6), between 100 and 120 Caribs were killed in their beds that night, with only the most beautiful Carib women spared death to serve as slaves. Having thus rid themselves of the local Caribs, the French and English set about fortifying the island against the expected invasion of Caribs from other islands. In the ensuing battle, three to four thousand Caribs allegedly took up arms against the Europeans. Du Tertre gives no precise information on the number of Caribs killed, but mentions that the fallen Amerindians on the beach were piled high into a mound. The English and French suffered at least 100 casualties (Du Tertre 1667 I:6). Others report that at a site now called Bloody Point, which housed the island's main Kalinago settlement, over 2,000 Kalinago men were massacred, many of whom were from Waitikubuli, who had come overnight planning to attack the Europeans the day after. The many dead bodies were dumped into a river, at the site which housed the Kalinago place of worship. For weeks, blood flowed down the river, giving it its nickname Bloody River. The remaining Kalinago Indians were deported to Waitikubuli.
The entire tale of the Kalinago Genocide however, was told exclusively from the perspective and writings of the Europeans and modern scientists estimate that many of their claims were fraudulent or exaggerated in order to justify the killings. The time of year of the Kalinago Genocide for example (late January) was near the middle of the dry season, referred to by the Kalinago as the season of Bat man - due the abundance of bats at that time of year. Usually, raids on Taino and other Amerindians would take place at this time for sacrifices, etc., to appease Bat man to ensure that the dry season ends and that the wet season (season of Frog woman) begins. This would explain why so many Kalinago from various islands were present on St. Christopher at the time, as its Northern location on the borderline between Kalinago controlled and Taino controlled islands made it a base for such raids. Other evidence of wanton atrocity included the fact that the place of the massacre was deliberately the Kalinago place of worship, which would serve solely as a tool of fear for Kalinago from neighbouring islands.
After the Kalinago Genocide of 1626, the island was partitioned between the British and French, with the French gaining the ends, Capisterre in the North and Basseterre in the south, and the British gaining the centre. Both powers then proceeded the colonise neighbouring islands from their base. The English settled Nevis (1628), Antigua (1632), Montserrat (1632). EWarner was made Governor of St. Kitts, Nevis, Barbados and Montserrat in 1625. The French colonised Martinique (1635), the Guadeloupe archipelago (1635), and St. Barths (1648). In 1643 Warner was made Parliamentary Governor of the Caribee Islands. It is said that he was also married to a Carib woman in a 'common-law marriage'. The Carib woman was supposed to have given birth to many children and it was a lasting relationship. Warner died on March 10, 1649, in St.Kitts and was buried in a tomb in Middle Island.
After the Kalinago Genocide of 1626 and the subsequent partitioning of the island Sir Thomas then shipped many thousands of Black African slaves. These slaves were then forced to work on the sugar and tobacco plantations. As the years passed Sir Thomas amassed a wealth in today's terms that would amount to over £100 million. Sir Thomas died on March 10, 1649 in St. Kitts and he was buried in a tomb in Middle Island.
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| New creation | Governor of Saint Christopher 1623–1649 |
Succeeded by Rowland Rich |
| New creation | Governor of Antigua 1632–1635 |
Succeeded by Edward Warner |