Thomas Atwood (died 1793) was chief justice of the island of

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

, and afterwards of the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

Biography

Although there are no records of the biographical details of Atwood's life, he wrote the first complete account of

from both a historical and general perspective, ''The History of the Island of Dominica''. In it he explained his belief that Dominica was able to be the best colony that the English held in the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

, due to its high proportion of fertile and uncultivated land. From a historical perspective, he explained that the island had flourished due to the free port of

Roseau Roseau (Dominican Creole French, Dominican Creole: ''Wozo'') is the capital and largest city of Dominica, with a population of 14,725 as of 2011. It is a small and compact urban settlement, in the Saint George Parish, Dominica, Saint George Pa ...

between 1770 and 1775, however due to mismanagement and "disadvantages" under the French rule after invasion of Dominica in 1778 until their surrender in 1783. However, he expressed his opinion that the island could be turned around with additional cattle and an increase of enslaved Africans for the sugar plantations. The history was published in 1791, and he also published a pamphlet - ''Observations on the true method of treatment and usage of the Negro slaves in the British West India Islands'' in which he defended slavery, claiming that the slaves were treated better than English workers back home. Atwood's description of Dominica during the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

was directly incorporated by Bryan Edwards into his 1793 ''The History, Civil and Commercial, of the British Colonies in the West Indies''. Atwood died in the King's Bench prison "at an advanced age, broken down with misfortunes, on 27 May 1793."

Legacy

The extinct Dominican green-and-yellow macaw is named ''Ara atwoodi'' in honour of his description of it in his 1791 ''The History of the Island of Dominica''.

Works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atwood, Thomas 1793 deaths Dominica male writers Dominica historians British Dominica judges Year of birth unknown Colony of the Bahamas judges 18th-century historians 18th-century male writers 18th-century judges