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The Providence Company or Providence Island Company was an English chartered company founded in 1629 by a group of Puritan investors including Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick^[1] in order to establish the Providence Island colony on Providence Island in the Caribbean and on the Mosquito Coast of what became Nicaragua.^[2]

English settlers were sent to the colonies to run plantations. The colonies also functioned as a base for privateers operating against Spanish ships and settlements in the region. Colonists had to pay one fifth of the plunder to the Company. The colonies were destroyed by the Spanish and Portuguese in 1641.

Background[edit]

Providence Island was discovered during 1629 by Daniel Elfrith. Elfrith passed its location to Philip Bell who was governor of the Somers Islands; Bell mentioned it to Nathaniel Rich. Rich then involved the Earl of Warwick, his cousin, who called a meeting for 10 November 1629, at Brooke House in Holborn, London. The result was finance, notionally £200 per member, with 20 members, that number being achieved at the start of 1631. Bell accompanied settlers to Providence Island, landed on 24 December of the same year, and became the first governor.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Participants[edit]

Besides Lord Warwick, among the twenty shareholders in the Company were William Fiennes, Lord Saye and Sele, and Robert Greville, Lord Brooke. Oliver St John, a Puritan barrister, represented the Providence Company's interests, and the treasurer was John Pym, a squire from the West Country. William Jessop was commissioned as the Company's Secretary.

The Company was granted a royal charter.^[6] Of these investors, 12 already were involved with the Somers Isles Company.^[7] An official record names 7 for the patent granted 4 December 1630, with others to be added in future.^[8] The following are listed as Charter Members:

Member	Notes
Gabriel Barber (Barbor)	Barber was treasurer to the Somers Isles Company.^[9] A reluctant joiner, his participation was only confirmed on 10 February 1631.^[10] Member of the Feoffees for Impropriations; left 1632.
Sir Thomas Barrington, 2nd Baronet	Not in the original Charter Member group of November 1630, he was brought in to make up the numbers to 20 in January 1631.^[5]
John Dyke	Dyke had extensive commercial experience, being from a merchant family, of the Fishmongers' Company, and an investor in other colonial ventures.^[5] Left 1632; ¼ share was taken by John Upton via Pym.
William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele	Peer.
Gregory Gawsell	Gawsell worked as an estate manager for Warwick. During the First English Civil War he was treasurer for the Eastern Association.^[6]
Gilbert Gerard	Member of Parliament, brother-in-law of Sir Thomas Barrington (above) ^[11]
John Graunt (Grant)	A clerk at Whitehall,^[12] and colleague of Pym from the Exchequer.^[13]
Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke	Peer.
John Gurdon	Member of Parliament.
Edward Harwood	Died 1632. His brother George Harwood was a member of the Feoffees for Impropriations.^[14]
Richard Knightley	Member of Parliament.
Edmond Moundeford	Member of Parliament.
John Pym	Member of Parliament. Pym was influential in bringing in Graunt, Robartes and St John.^[15]
Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland	Peer.
Nathaniel Rich	Member of Parliament.
Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick	Peer.
John Robartes	Peer from 1634.
Benjamin Rudyerd	Member of Parliament
Oliver St John	Member of Parliament
Christopher Sherland	Member of Parliament, member of the Feoffees for Impropriations; died 1632. A ½ share was taken by William Ball.

Four of them dropped out early, and other investors bought into the Company.

A decade later, the English Civil War made these names famous. John Hampden was also a prominent figure in the events leading up to the English Civil War. He was not a shareholder personally but was a cousin of one, and he did arbitrate between the shareholders and their agents on the island.

A close kinship group linked several charter members of the Company: Lord Warwick's younger brother Henry, recently made Earl of Holland and a favourite of Queen Henrietta Maria; their half-brother, their mother's natural son, Mountjoy Blount, recently made Earl of Newport and, like Holland, a figure at court; their cousin the Earl of Essex and his brother-in-law the Earl of Hertford.^[16]

The first opposition party in English history coalesced around this nucleus and their friends in both Houses of Parliament, formed at the end of the 1630s in resistance to the imposition of Ship Money, and meeting ostensibly for Company business in Gray's Inn Lane or Brook House, Holborn, or in the country.^[17]

Commercial activity[edit]

At the start, the company had a twofold interest: to establish a God-fearing population in an ideal commonwealth^[18] (who were to support themselves with growing tobacco and cotton); and to harry Spanish shipping in the Spanish Main. The Company's regulations for the three islands of Providence, Henrietta, and Association (Tortuga) forbade card-playing and gaming, whoring, drunkenness, and profanity. "A carefully chosen minister— a German Calvinist refugee from the Palatinate— was brought home in disgrace for singing catches on a Sunday," C.V. Wedgwood notes.^[19] "The Earl of Warwick and his friends were sincerely trying to create three nests of pirates with the behaviour and morals of a Calvinist theological seminary."

The plantation system required African slaves, which involved the Company in the slave trade, but cotton and tobacco failed to be profitable and were replaced by sugar cane. The islands remained a base for privateering, however, under a tacit agreement from the King, whose foreign policy remained officially neutral with regard to Spain, but who agreed, provided that the Company foot any expenses. Prospects for Providence Island brightened at this, sufficiently for the projectors to capitalise the venture with an additional £100,000 in 1637.^[20]

From 1631 to 1635, the Company also planted an English colony on Tortuga (also called Association Island), off the coast of San Domingo.

Outcome[edit]

In 1635 the Spanish raided the settlement on Association Island and destroyed it. In March 1638 several members of the Company were prepared to emigrate to Providence Island: the Earl of Warwick, Lords Saye and Brooke^[21] Henry Darley, but nothing came of their petition for leave. In May 1641 the Providence Island Colony was conquered by the Spanish and Portuguese commanded by Adm. Don Francisco Díaz Pimienta.

Political influence[edit]

The Providence Company provided support to the Parliamentarians in the build-up to the English Civil War.The Company is regarded as an effective if restrained vehicle for political opposition to the personal rule of Charles I.^[22]

References[edit]

^ Warwick's title later gave name to Warwick, Rhode Island which is in the vicinity of another Providence
^ Today part of San Andrés y Providencia Department of Colombia.
^ Kupperman, Karen Ordahl. "Elfrith, Daniel". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/72608. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ Zacek, Nathalie. "Bell, Philip". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/71068. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^ ^a ^b ^c Arthur Percival Newton, The Colonising Activities of the English Puritans; the last phase of the Elizabethan struggle with Spain (1914), pp. 59–63;archive.org.
^ ^a ^b L. J. Reeve (30 October 2003). Charles I and the Road to Personal Rule. Cambridge University Press. p. 212. ISBN 978-0-521-52133-8. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
^ Kupperman, pp. 357–60.
^ Great Britain. Public Record Office (1860). Calendar of State Papers: 9- ] America and West Indies, 1574. Longman. p. 123. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
^ Robert Brenner (2003). Merchants and Revolution: Commercial Change, Political Conflict, and London's Overseas Traders, 1550-1653. Verso. p. 280. ISBN 978-1-85984-333-8. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
^ W. Noel Sainsbury, ed. (1860). "America and West Indies: February 1631". Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies, Volume 1: 1574-1660. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
^ Collins 1741, p. 70.
^ John Winthrop; Richard S. Dunn; James Savage; Laetitia Yeandle (1996). The Journal of John Winthrop, 1630-1649. Harvard University Press. p. 537 note 15. ISBN 978-0-674-48425-2. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
^ K. S. B. Keats-Rohan (2007). Prosopography Approaches and Applications: A Handbook. Occasional Publications UPR. p. 536. ISBN 978-1-900934-12-1. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
^ Nicholas Tyacke (2001). Aspects of English Protestantism, C. 1530-1700. Manchester University Press. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-7190-5392-4. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
^ William Palmer (1993). The Political Career of Oliver St. John, 1637-1649. University of Delaware Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-87413-453-7. Retrieved 21 May 2012.
^ These relationships are noted in C.V. Wedgwood, The King's Peace, 1637-1641 1955:130f.
^ Arthur Percival Newton, The Colonising Activities of the English Puritans: The Last Phase of the Elizabethan Struggle with Spain, (Yale University Press) 1914, pp 240ff.
^ The settlers were gathered largely from Bermuda; they were gathered into "families" with common property and group responsibility (Dixon Ryan Fox, "Foundations of West India Policy" Political Science Quarterly 30.4 (December 1915:661-672) p 665).
^ Wedgwood 1955:131.
^ Woodward 1955:132, from Calendar of State Papers, Colonial, and Newton 1914.
^ Their conjoined names are commemorated in Saybrook, Connecticut
^ L. J. Reeve (30 October 2003). Charles I and the Road to Personal Rule. Cambridge University Press. p. 213. ISBN 978-0-521-52133-8. Retrieved 21 May 2012.

Sources[edit]

Collins, Arthur (1741). The English Baronetage: Containing a Genealogical and Historical Account of All the English Baronets, Volume I. Thomas Wotton.
WorldStatesman - Haiti
Karen Kupperman, Providence Island 1630 - 1641: The Other Puritan Colony, Cambridge University Press, 1995.
The Penguin Dictionary of British and Irish History, ed. Juliet Gardiner

External links[edit]

"Archival material relating to Providence Island Company". UK National Archives.

[1] Warwick's title later gave name to Warwick, Rhode Island which is in the vicinity of another Providence

[2] Today part of San Andrés y Providencia Department of Colombia.

[3] Kupperman, Karen Ordahl. "Elfrith, Daniel". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/72608. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

[4] Zacek, Nathalie. "Bell, Philip". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/71068. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

[Newton-5] Arthur Percival Newton, The Colonising Activities of the English Puritans; the last phase of the Elizabethan struggle with Spain (1914), pp. 59–63;archive.org.

[Reeve2003-6] L. J. Reeve (30 October 2003). Charles I and the Road to Personal Rule. Cambridge University Press. p. 212. ISBN 978-0-521-52133-8. Retrieved 21 May 2012.

[7] Kupperman, pp. 357–60.

[8] Great Britain. Public Record Office (1860). Calendar of State Papers: 9- ] America and West Indies, 1574. Longman. p. 123. Retrieved 21 May 2012.

[9] Robert Brenner (2003). Merchants and Revolution: Commercial Change, Political Conflict, and London's Overseas Traders, 1550-1653. Verso. p. 280. ISBN 978-1-85984-333-8. Retrieved 21 May 2012.

[10] W. Noel Sainsbury, ed. (1860). "America and West Indies: February 1631". Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies, Volume 1: 1574-1660. Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 21 May 2012.

[FOOTNOTECollins174170-11] Collins 1741, p. 70.

[12] John Winthrop; Richard S. Dunn; James Savage; Laetitia Yeandle (1996). The Journal of John Winthrop, 1630-1649. Harvard University Press. p. 537 note 15. ISBN 978-0-674-48425-2. Retrieved 21 May 2012.

[13] K. S. B. Keats-Rohan (2007). Prosopography Approaches and Applications: A Handbook. Occasional Publications UPR. p. 536. ISBN 978-1-900934-12-1. Retrieved 21 May 2012.

[14] Nicholas Tyacke (2001). Aspects of English Protestantism, C. 1530-1700. Manchester University Press. p. 121. ISBN 978-0-7190-5392-4. Retrieved 21 May 2012.

[15] William Palmer (1993). The Political Career of Oliver St. John, 1637-1649. University of Delaware Press. p. 21. ISBN 978-0-87413-453-7. Retrieved 21 May 2012.

[16] These relationships are noted in C.V. Wedgwood, The King's Peace, 1637-1641 1955:130f.

[17] Arthur Percival Newton, The Colonising Activities of the English Puritans: The Last Phase of the Elizabethan Struggle with Spain, (Yale University Press) 1914, pp 240ff.

[18] The settlers were gathered largely from Bermuda; they were gathered into "families" with common property and group responsibility (Dixon Ryan Fox, "Foundations of West India Policy" Political Science Quarterly 30.4 (December 1915:661-672) p 665).

[19] Wedgwood 1955:131.

[20] Woodward 1955:132, from Calendar of State Papers, Colonial, and Newton 1914.

[21] Their conjoined names are commemorated in Saybrook, Connecticut

[22] L. J. Reeve (30 October 2003). Charles I and the Road to Personal Rule. Cambridge University Press. p. 213. ISBN 978-0-521-52133-8. Retrieved 21 May 2012.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Puritan history}}
-The '''Providence Company''' or '''Providence Island Company''' was an English [[chartered company]] founded in 1629 by a group of [[Puritan]]s including [[Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick]]<ref>Warwick's title later gave name to [[Warwick, Rhode Island]] which is in the vicinity of another [[Providence, Rhode Island|Providence]]</ref> in order to establish the [[Providence Island colony]] on [[Providencia Island|Providence Island]], off the Spanish [[Mosquito Coast]] of what became [[Nicaragua]].<ref>Today part of [[San Andrés y Providencia Department]] of [[Colombia]].</ref>
+The '''Providence Company''' or '''Providence Island Company''' was an English [[chartered company]] founded in 1629 by a group of [[Puritan]] investors including [[Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick]]<ref>Warwick's title later gave name to [[Warwick, Rhode Island]] which is in the vicinity of another [[Providence, Rhode Island|Providence]]</ref> in order to establish the [[Providence Island colony]] on [[Isla de Providencia|Providence Island]] in the [[Caribbean]] and on the [[Mosquito Coast]] of what became [[Nicaragua]].<ref>Today part of [[San Andrés y Providencia Department]] of [[Colombia]].</ref>
+English settlers were sent to the colonies to run plantations. The colonies also functioned as a base for [[Privateer|privateers]] operating against Spanish ships and settlements in the region. Colonists had to pay one fifth of the plunder to the Company. The colonies were destroyed by the Spanish and Portuguese in 1641.
 ==Background==
-Providence Island was discovered during 1629 by [[Daniel Elfrith]]. Elfrith passed its location to [[Philip Bell (governor)|Philip Bell]] who was governor of the [[Somers Islands]]; Bell mentioned it to [[Nathaniel Rich (merchant adventurer)|Nathaniel Rich]]. Rich then involved the Earl of Warwick, his family connection, who called a meeting for 10 November 1629, at Brooke House in [[Holborn]], London. The result was finance, notionally £200 per member, with 20 members, that number being achieved at the start of 1631. Bell accompanied settlers to Providence Island, landed on 24 December of the same year, and became the first governor.<ref>{{ODNBweb|id=72608|title=Elfrith, Daniel|first=Karen Ordahl|last=Kupperman}}</ref><ref>{{ODNBweb|id=71068|title=Bell, Philip|first=Nathalie|last=Zacek}}</ref><ref name="Newton">[[Arthur Percival Newton]], ''The Colonising Activities of the English Puritans; the last phase of the Elizabethan struggle with Spain'' (1914), pp. 59–63;[http://archive.org/stream/cu31924008333233#page/n79/mode/2up archive.org].</ref>
+Providence Island was discovered during 1629 by [[Daniel Elfrith]]. Elfrith passed its location to [[Philip Bell (governor)|Philip Bell]] who was governor of the [[Somers Islands]]; Bell mentioned it to [[Nathaniel Rich (merchant adventurer)|Nathaniel Rich]]. Rich then involved the Earl of Warwick, his cousin, who called a meeting for 10 November 1629, at Brooke House in [[Holborn]], London. The result was finance, notionally £200 per member, with 20 members, that number being achieved at the start of 1631. Bell accompanied settlers to Providence Island, landed on 24 December of the same year, and became the first governor.<ref>{{ODNBweb|id=72608|title=Elfrith, Daniel|first=Karen Ordahl|last=Kupperman|authorlink=Karen Ordahl Kupperman}}</ref><ref>{{ODNBweb|id=71068|title=Bell, Philip|first=Nathalie|last=Zacek}}</ref><ref name="Newton">[[Arthur Percival Newton]], ''The Colonising Activities of the English Puritans; the last phase of the Elizabethan struggle with Spain'' (1914), pp. 59–63;[https://archive.org/stream/cu31924008333233#page/n79/mode/2up archive.org].</ref>
 ==Participants==
 Besides Lord Warwick, among the twenty shareholders in the Company were [[William Fiennes, 1st Viscount Saye and Sele|William Fiennes, Lord Saye and Sele]], and [[Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke|Robert Greville, Lord Brooke]].  [[Oliver St John]], a Puritan barrister, represented the Providence Company's interests, and the treasurer was [[John Pym]], a squire from the West Country. William Jessop was commissioned as the Company's Secretary.
-The Company was granted a royal charter.<ref name="Reeve2003">{{cite book|author=L. J. Reeve|title=Charles I and the Road to Personal Rule|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=kszoNS3KM4oC&pg=PA212|accessdate=21 May 2012|date=30 October 2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-52133-8|page=212}}</ref> The following are listed as Charter Members: of these investors 12 already were involved with the [[Somers Isles Company]].<ref>Kupperman, pp. 357–60.</ref> An official record names 17, with others to be added in future, for the patent granted 4 December 1630.<ref>{{cite book|author=Great Britain. Public Record Office|title=Calendar of State Papers: 9- ] America and West Indies, 1574|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=ZLwMAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA123|accessdate=21 May 2012|year=1860|publisher=Longman|page=123}}</ref>
+The Company was granted a royal charter.<ref name="Reeve2003">{{cite book|author=L. J. Reeve|title=Charles I and the Road to Personal Rule|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kszoNS3KM4oC&pg=PA212|access-date=21 May 2012|date=30 October 2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-52133-8|page=212}}</ref> Of these investors, 12 already were involved with the [[Somers Isles Company]].<ref>Kupperman, pp. 357–60.</ref> An official record names 7 for the patent granted 4 December 1630, with others to be added in future.<ref>{{cite book|author=Great Britain. Public Record Office|title=Calendar of State Papers: 9- ] America and West Indies, 1574|url=https://archive.org/details/1964colonialrecordsc08greauoft|access-date=21 May 2012|year=1860|publisher=Longman|page=[https://archive.org/details/1964colonialrecordsc08greauoft/page/123 123]}}</ref>  The following are listed as Charter Members:
 {|border=1
@@ Line 14: / Line 17: @@
 |-
 |Gabriel Barber (Barbor)
-|Barber was treasurer to the Somers Isles Company.<ref>{{cite book|author=Robert Brenner|title=Merchants and Revolution: Commercial Change, Political Conflict, and London's Overseas Traders, 1550-1653|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=amFQ3gq-SjQC&pg=PA280|accessdate=21 May 2012|year=2003|publisher=Verso|isbn=978-1-85984-333-8|page=280}}</ref> A reluctant joiner, his participation was only confirmed on 10 February 1631.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=69076 |title=America and West Indies: February 1631 |author=W. Noel Sainsbury (editor) |publisher=Institute of Historical Research |date=1860 |work=Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies, Volume 1: 1574-1660 |accessdate=21 May 2012}}</ref> Member of the [[Feoffees for Impropriations]]; left 1632.
+|Barber was treasurer to the Somers Isles Company.<ref>{{cite book|author=Robert Brenner|title=Merchants and Revolution: Commercial Change, Political Conflict, and London's Overseas Traders, 1550-1653|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=amFQ3gq-SjQC&pg=PA280|access-date=21 May 2012|year=2003|publisher=Verso|isbn=978-1-85984-333-8|page=280}}</ref> A reluctant joiner, his participation was only confirmed on 10 February 1631.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=69076 |title=America and West Indies: February 1631 |editor=W. Noel Sainsbury  |publisher=Institute of Historical Research |date=1860 |work=Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies, Volume 1: 1574-1660 |access-date=21 May 2012}}</ref> Member of the [[Feoffees for Impropriations]]; left 1632.
 |-
 |[[Sir Thomas Barrington, 2nd Baronet]]
@@ Line 29: / Line 32: @@
 |-
 |[[Sir Gilbert Gerard, 1st Baronet of Harrow on the Hill|Gilbert Gerard]]
-|Member of Parliament
+|Member of Parliament, brother-in-law of Sir Thomas Barrington (above) {{sfn|Collins|1741|p=70}}
 |-
 |John Graunt (Grant)
-|A clerk at Whitehall,<ref>{{cite book|author1=John Winthrop|author2=Richard S. Dunn|author3=James Savage|coauthors=Laetitia Yeandle|title=The Journal of John Winthrop, 1630-1649|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=mHNorpMOvWkC&pg=PA537|accessdate=21 May 2012|year=1996|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-48425-2|page=537 note 15}}</ref> and colleague of Pym from the Exchequer.<ref>{{cite book|author=K. S. B. Keats-Rohan|title=Prosopography Approaches and Applications: A Handbook|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=98L4FS-1i1YC&pg=PA536|accessdate=21 May 2012|year=2007|publisher=Occasional Publications UPR|isbn=978-1-900934-12-1|page=536}}</ref>
+|A clerk at Whitehall,<ref>{{cite book|author1=John Winthrop|author2=Richard S. Dunn|author3=James Savage|author4=Laetitia Yeandle|title=The Journal of John Winthrop, 1630-1649|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mHNorpMOvWkC&pg=PA537|access-date=21 May 2012|year=1996|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-48425-2|page=537 note 15}}</ref> and colleague of Pym from the Exchequer.<ref>{{cite book|author=K. S. B. Keats-Rohan|title=Prosopography Approaches and Applications: A Handbook|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=98L4FS-1i1YC&pg=PA536|access-date=21 May 2012|year=2007|publisher=Occasional Publications UPR|isbn=978-1-900934-12-1|page=536}}</ref>
 |-
 |[[Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke]]
 |Peer.
 |-
-|[[John Gurdon (MP)|John Gurdon]]
+|[[John Gurdon (died 1679)|John Gurdon]]
 |Member of Parliament.
 |-
 |[[Edward Harwood (English Army officer)|Edward Harwood]]
-|Died 1632. His brother George Harwood was a member of the [[Feoffees for Impropriations]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Nicholas Tyacke|title=Aspects of English Protestantism, C. 1530-1700|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=McvcmiZ6h8gC&pg=PA121|accessdate=21 May 2012|year=2001|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-0-7190-5392-4|page=121}}</ref>
+|Died 1632. His brother George Harwood was a member of the [[Feoffees for Impropriations]].<ref>{{cite book|author=Nicholas Tyacke|title=Aspects of English Protestantism, C. 1530-1700|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=McvcmiZ6h8gC&pg=PA121|access-date=21 May 2012|year=2001|publisher=Manchester University Press|isbn=978-0-7190-5392-4|page=121}}</ref>
 |-
 |[[Richard Knightley (died 1639)|Richard Knightley]]
@@ Line 50: / Line 53: @@
 |-
 |[[John Pym]]
-|Member of Parliament. Pym was influential in bringing in Graunt, Robartes and St John.<ref>{{cite book|author=William Palmer|title=The Political Career of Oliver St. John, 1637-1649|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=mLX4shE16NQC&pg=PA21|accessdate=21 May 2012|year=1993|publisher=University of Delaware Press|isbn=978-0-87413-453-7|pages=21}}</ref>
+|Member of Parliament. Pym was influential in bringing in Graunt, Robartes and St John.<ref>{{cite book|author=William Palmer|title=The Political Career of Oliver St. John, 1637-1649|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mLX4shE16NQC&pg=PA21|access-date=21 May 2012|year=1993|publisher=University of Delaware Press|isbn=978-0-87413-453-7|pages=21}}</ref>
 |-
 |[[Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland]]
@@ Line 76: / Line 79: @@
 Four of them dropped out early, and other investors bought into the Company.
-A decade later, the [[English Civil War]] would make these names famous. [[John Hampden]], also a prominent figure in the events leading up to the English Civil War, was not a shareholder personally but was a cousin of one and did arbitrate between the shareholders and their agents on the island.
+A decade later, the [[English Civil War]] made these names famous. [[John Hampden]] was also a prominent figure in the events leading up to the English Civil War. He was not a shareholder personally but was a cousin of one, and he did arbitrate between the shareholders and their agents on the island.
-A close kinship group linked several charter members of the Company: Lord Warwick's younger brother [[Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland|Henry]], recently made [[Earl of Holland]] and a favourite of Queen Henrietta Maria; their half-brother, their mother's natural son, [[Mountjoy Blount, 1st Earl of Newport|Mountjoy Blount]], recently made Earl of Newport, and like Holland a figure at court; their cousin the [[Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex|Earl of Essex]] and his brother-in-law the [[William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset|Earl of Hertford]]; <ref>These relationships are noted in C.V. Wedgwood, ''The King's Peace, 1637-1641'' 1955:130f.</ref> At the end of the 1630s, around this nucleus and their friends in both [[Houses of Parliament]], meeting in Gray's Inn Lane or Brook House, Holborn, or in the country, ostensibly for Company business, coalesced the first [[Opposition (parliamentary)|opposition party]] in English history, formed in resistance to the imposition of [[Ship Money]].<ref>Arthur Percival Newton, ''The Colonising Activities of the English Puritans: The Last Phase of the Elizabethan Struggle with Spain'', (Yale University Press) 1914, pp 240ff.</ref>
+A close kinship group linked several charter members of the Company: Lord Warwick's younger brother [[Henry Rich, 1st Earl of Holland|Henry]], recently made [[Earl of Holland]] and a favourite of Queen Henrietta Maria; their half-brother, their mother's natural son, [[Mountjoy Blount, 1st Earl of Newport|Mountjoy Blount]], recently made Earl of Newport and, like Holland, a figure at court; their cousin the [[Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex|Earl of Essex]] and his brother-in-law the [[William Seymour, 2nd Duke of Somerset|Earl of Hertford]].<ref>These relationships are noted in C.V. Wedgwood, ''The King's Peace, 1637-1641'' 1955:130f.</ref>
+The first [[Opposition (parliamentary)|opposition party]] in English history coalesced around this nucleus and their friends in both [[Houses of Parliament]], formed at the end of the 1630s in resistance to the imposition of [[Ship Money]], and meeting ostensibly for Company business in Gray's Inn Lane or Brook House, Holborn, or in the country.<ref>Arthur Percival Newton, ''The Colonising Activities of the English Puritans: The Last Phase of the Elizabethan Struggle with Spain'', (Yale University Press) 1914, pp 240ff.</ref>
 ==Commercial activity==
-At the start, the company had a twofold interest, to establish in an ideal commonwealth a God-fearing population,<ref>The settlers were gathered largely from [[Bermuda]]; they were gathered into "families" with common property and group responsibility (Dixon Ryan Fox, "Foundations of West India Policy" ''Political Science Quarterly'' '''30'''.4 (December 1915:661-672) p 665).</ref> who were to support themselves with growing tobacco and cotton, and to harry Spanish shipping in the [[Spanish Main]]. The Company's regulations for  the three islands, of Providence, Henrietta and Association, forbade card-playing and gaming, whoring, drunkenness and profanity. "A carefully chosen minister— a German Calvinist refugee from the Palatinate— was brought home in disgrace for singing catches on a Sunday," C.V. Wedgwood notes.<ref>Wedgwood 1955:131.</ref> "The Earl of Warwick and his friends were sincerely trying to create three nests of pirates with the behaviour and morals of a Calvinist theological seminary."  The plantation system required African slaves, which involved the Company in the [[slave trade]], but cotton and tobacco failed to be profitable and were replaced by sugar cane. The islands remained a base for [[privateering]], however, under a tacit agreement from the King, whose foreign policy remained officially neutral with regard to Spain, but who agreed, provided that the Company foot any expenses. Prospects for Providence Island brightened at this, sufficiently for the projectors to capitalise the venture with an addition £100,000 in 1637.<ref>Woodward 1955:132, from ''Calendar of State Papers, Colonial'', and Newton 1914.</ref>
+At the start, the company had a twofold interest: to establish a God-fearing population in an ideal commonwealth<ref>The settlers were gathered largely from [[Bermuda]]; they were gathered into "families" with common property and group responsibility (Dixon Ryan Fox, "Foundations of West India Policy" ''Political Science Quarterly'' '''30'''.4 (December 1915:661-672) p 665).</ref> (who were to support themselves with growing tobacco and cotton); and to harry Spanish shipping in the [[Spanish Main]]. The Company's regulations for the three islands of Providence, Henrietta, and Association (Tortuga) forbade card-playing and gaming, whoring, drunkenness, and profanity. "A carefully chosen minister— a German Calvinist refugee from the Palatinate— was brought home in disgrace for singing catches on a Sunday," [[Veronica Wedgwood|C.V. Wedgwood]] notes.<ref>Wedgwood 1955:131.</ref> "The Earl of Warwick and his friends were sincerely trying to create three nests of pirates with the behaviour and morals of a Calvinist theological seminary."
+The plantation system required African slaves, which involved the Company in the [[History of slavery|slave trade]], but cotton and tobacco failed to be profitable and were replaced by sugar cane. The islands remained a base for [[privateering]], however, under a tacit agreement from the King, whose foreign policy remained officially neutral with regard to Spain, but who agreed, provided that the Company foot any expenses. Prospects for Providence Island brightened at this, sufficiently for the projectors to capitalise the venture with an additional £100,000 in 1637.<ref>Woodward 1955:132, from ''Calendar of State Papers, Colonial'', and Newton 1914.</ref>
-The Providence Company provided support to the [[Roundhead|Parliamentarians]] in the build-up to the [[English Civil War]].
-From 1631 to 1635, the Company also planted an English colony on [[Tortuga (Haiti)|Tortuga]] (also called [[Association Island]]), off the coast of [[San Domingo]].
+From 1631 to 1635, the Company also planted an English colony on [[Tortuga (Haiti)|Tortuga]] (also called Association Island), off the coast of [[San Domingo]].
 ==Outcome==
-In 1635 the Spanish raided the settlement on Association Island and destroyed it. In March 1638 several members of the Company were prepared to emigrate to Providence Island: the Earl of Warwick, Lords Saye and Brooke<ref>Their conjoined names are commemorated in [[Saybrook, Connecticut]]</ref> Henry Darley, but nothing came of their petition for leave. In May of 1641 Providence Island was overrun by the [[Spanish treasure fleet]], commanded by Adm. Don [[Francisco Díaz Pimienta]].
+[[1635 Capture of Tortuga|In 1635 the Spanish raided]] the settlement on Association Island and destroyed it. In March 1638 several members of the Company were prepared to emigrate to Providence Island: the Earl of Warwick, Lords Saye and Brooke<ref>Their conjoined names are commemorated in [[Saybrook, Connecticut]]</ref> Henry Darley, but nothing came of their petition for leave. In May 1641 the Providence Island Colony was conquered by the Spanish and Portuguese commanded by Adm. Don [[Francisco Díaz Pimienta]].
 ==Political influence==
-The Company is regarded as an effective if restrained vehicle for political opposition to the [[personal rule of Charles I]].<ref>{{cite book|author=L. J. Reeve|title=Charles I and the Road to Personal Rule|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=kszoNS3KM4oC&pg=PA213|accessdate=21 May 2012|date=30 October 2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-52133-8|page=213}}</ref>
+The Providence Company provided support to the [[Roundhead|Parliamentarians]] in the build-up to the [[English Civil War]].The Company is regarded as an effective if restrained vehicle for political opposition to the [[personal rule of Charles I]].<ref>{{cite book|author=L. J. Reeve|title=Charles I and the Road to Personal Rule|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kszoNS3KM4oC&pg=PA213|access-date=21 May 2012|date=30 October 2003|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-52133-8|page=213}}</ref>
-==Notes==
+==References==
 {{reflist|2}}
-==Sources and references==
+==Sources==
+* {{cite book |last=Collins|first=Arthur|publisher=Thomas Wotton|title=The English Baronetage: Containing a Genealogical and Historical Account of All the English Baronets, Volume I|year=1741}}
 *[http://www.worldstatesmen.org/Haiti.htm WorldStatesman - Haiti]
 *Karen Kupperman, ''Providence Island 1630 - 1641: The Other Puritan Colony,'' Cambridge University Press, 1995.
@@ Line 102: / Line 108: @@
 ==External links==
+*{{UK National Archives ID}}
-*{{NRA|B14107}}
 {{Chartered companies}}
@@ Line 109: / Line 115: @@
 [[Category:Defunct companies of the United Kingdom]]
 [[Category:1629 establishments in England]]
-[[Category:1650 disestablishments]]
+[[Category:1650 disestablishments in England]]
-[[Category:Lay patrons of Puritanism]]
 [[Category:New England Puritanism]]
-[[Category:Companies established in the 17th century]]
+[[Category:Companies established in 1629]]
+[[Category:Providencia Island, Colombia]]
-[[fr:Compagnie des îles de la Providence]]

v t e Chartered companies
British	African Company of Merchants Barbary Company British American Land Company British East Africa Company Canada Company Company of Merchant Adventurers of London Company of Merchant Adventurers to New Lands Company of Scotland East India Company Eastern Archipelago Company Eastland Company French Company Greenland Company Guinea Company Hudson's Bay Company Levant Company London and Bristol Company Massachusetts Bay Company Muscovy Company New Zealand Company North Borneo Company Providence Island Company Royal African Company Royal British Bank Royal Niger Company Royal West Indian Company South Africa Company Sierra Leone Company Somers Isles Company South Australian Company South Sea Company Spanish Company Venice Company Virginia Company Plymouth Company Virginia Company of London
French	Compagnie de l'Occident Compagnie des Îles de l'Amérique Company of Habitants Company of One Hundred Associates East India Company Mississippi Company Senegal Company West India Company
German	Brandenburg African Company East Africa Company Emden Company New Guinea Company West African Company
Portuguese	List [pt] Cacheu and Cape Verde Company East India Company Grão Pará and Maranhão Company Company of Guinea House of India Mozambique Company Zambezia Company Niassa Company Pernambuco and Paraíba Company [pt]
Austrian and Low Countries	Australische Compagnie [fr] Brabantsche Compagnie Dutch East India Company Imperial Company of Trieste and Antwerp Imperial Privileged Oriental Company New Netherland Company Noordsche Compagnie Ostend Company Dutch West India Company Compagnie van Verre Compagnie van De Moucheron Veerse Compagnie
Spanish	Barcelona Trading Company Guipuzcoan Company of Caracas Royal Company of the Philippines
Swedish	Swedish Africa Company Swedish East India Company Swedish Levant Company Swedish South Company Swedish West India Company
Danish	Danish African Company [da] Danish Asia Company Danish East India Company Danish West India Company Royal Greenland Trading Department
Russian	Russian-American Company
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