Until The Year 1827, The Island Lay Forsaken And Neglected In Its Primitive Condition, Neither The Portuguese Nor Spaniards Having Thought It Worth Their Consideration.

At length, the attention of the British government was directed to it, in consequence of its favourable position for putting a stop to the slave trade in that quarter of Africa.

Situated within a few hours sail of the coast, in the immediate vicinity of those rivers, commencing with the Camaroons on the east, and extending along the whole of the Gold Coast, where the principal outlets of this unlawful traffic are found, Fernando Po presented advantages, which were sufficient to authorize a settlement being formed on it, and Captain W. Owen sailed from England for that purpose, in his majesty's ship Eden, with the appointment of governor, and with Commander Harrison under his orders. Captain Owen had been previously employed on an extensive and difficult survey of the coasts of Africa, both in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, in which the shores of this island were included, and therefore, having visited it before, he was no stranger either to its nature and resources, or to the climate in which it is situated. Previously to the arrival of Captain Owen, the island had been occasionally visited by some of the ships on the African station, for the purpose of obtaining supplies of vegetables and water, and perhaps now and then a Liverpool trader would be seen there waiting for palm oil, or recovering the health of her crew from fevers obtained in the rivers on the coast.

Enter page number Go  Previous Next
Page 1038 of 1124
Words from 285631 to 285892 of 309561