Upon the Leeward, or northern, islands of the Caribbean group are the colonies of Antigua, Montserrat, St. Christopher (St. Kitts), Nevis, Dominica, and the Virgin Islands. _Antigua_, the seat of the present colonial government, is the most important. English families settled there in 1632, and again in 1663. Ravaged by France three years later (1666), it was soon after restored to the English under the treaty of Breda. _Montserrat_, the healthiest island in the West Indies, was also colonized by the English in 1632, and remained in their possession except for two brief terms (1664-1668 and 1782-1784), when the French were in control. _St. Christopher_ and _Nevis_ form a united English colony which traces its history back to 1628. Dutch buccaneers intrenched themselves on the rocky islets of the _Virgin_ group as early as 1648, but were driven out by English pirates in 1666, since which date the archipelago has been the property of Great Britain; a better class of settlers came in with the eighteenth century. _Dominica_, the largest of the Leeward Isles, was included in Carlisle's patent (1627); but the French were already in possession, living on friendly terms with the native Caribs, just as their compatriots in New France were with the more warlike Algonkins. Ceded by France to England in 1763, Dominica was several times recaptured, and not finally relinquished to the latter until 1814. 101. Bermudas (1609-1750) and Bahamas (1522-1783). Sidenote: Early settlement. The fertile Bermudas, or Somers's Islands,--"still vex'd Bermoothes" of Shakespeare,--lie about six hundred miles east of South Carolina. They bear the names of two navigators who were cast away upon them,--Juan Bermudez, a Spaniard (1522), and an Englishman, Sir George Somers (1609); the latter being on his way to Virginia to administer the affairs of that colony. Somers founded the first settlement. Sidenote: In the possession of Virginia. Under the third patent to the Virginia Company in 1612 (page 72, § 30), the Bermudas and all islands within three hundred leagues of the Virginia shore were ceded to that corporation. Except Nova Scotia, therefore, the Bermudas are the only present English colony which ever formed an integral part of any of the present States or Territories of the United States. The Virginia Company afterwards (1616) parted with its right to the Bermuda Company, which carried thither a considerable company of Virginians. During the Commonwealth, the Bermudas, like Barbados, were a refuge for royalists from England. Representative government, similar to that of the mainland colonies, was established in 1620, and has been ever since maintained. Tobacco was the staple of the colony until about 1707, when a salt-making industry sprang up and soon became the chief interest. Sidenote: Strategic importance.