Luke Stokes (or Stoakes) was an English colonialist who was twice governor of

Nevis Nevis is a small island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute one country: the Federation of Saint Kitts and Ne ...

before relocating with his family and 1,600 other settlers to the

Port Morant Port Morant is a town in Saint Thomas Parish, southeastern Jamaica. It was, in the early years of European settlement, one of the island's chief ports, with export of bananas and production of rum being major industries. Following the English ...

area of

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

following the English conquest of Jamaica. Stokes was Governor of Nevis following the death of Thomas Littleton in 1634. However he was replaced in 1635 by Thomas Sparrow. He was governor once again in 1649. He remained in this position until he led the group of settlers to Port Morant in 1656. This constituted the first major settlement by English colonialists.

References

Governors of Nevis {{Jamaica-bio-stub