King's College London
Exhibitions & Conferences
Young's Essay on Tobago

Scarboro, Town, Fort and bay, pages 19, 20 & 21

Watercolour depiction of Scarboro, Town, Fort, and Bay, viewed from western headlands, page 19Scarboro, Town, Fort, and Bay, viewed from western headlands, page 19The painting reproduced on the left shows another example of Young’s talent as an artist, and helps to give the reader of the Essay a sense of the landscape of this part of the island.

Heavy green shrubbery and trees are visible, as is a long sandy beach and rolling hills of greenery in the background.

A very lush environment is portrayed, perhaps designed to entice the reader to consider its merits. Notwithstanding this aim, the image is undoubtedly representative of the island’s terrain.

Also shown are depictions of the kind of buildings on Tobago, and the actual settlement of Scarboro, [now spelt Scarborough] which appears fairly modest in size and kept secure by the fort. Again, these enticing views could be an attempt to stimulate a British mercantile or expansionist appetite, by suggesting the beginnings of a potentially bustling overseas possession.

[page 20]

- The Representations, which the previous Introduction
conveys, of Harbours, woods, and Rivers;- of the salubrity
of climate;- of the fertility of soil; and of the natural
strength of Country,- are to be referd to and combind with,
-the exterior advantages, from relative situation and
Bearings to other Islands and Countries which, I now
exhibit;- and then on the general Premises,- shall
Infer, -‘ The Commercial and Political Importance of
the Island of Tobago’- the subject of discussion, in the
following essay.

Colour chart of the bearings of Tobago, page 21Chart of the bearings of Tobago, page 21The chart reproduced to the left provides the most detailed layout of the plans Young had for the island.

The bearings of all primary trading route destinations and the direction of prevalent trade winds are noted; as well as the periods in the year in which the directional winds are most prevalent.

Significant destinations are noted, including Jamaica, Trinidad, the Orinoco River, Africa, Grenada, Barbados, St Vincent and Nova Scotia.

The latitude and longitude of key parts of the island including Mano’war Bay are also included in a table at the bottom right corner, which also gives the length of the island (32 miles).

Perhaps the most interesting feature of this chart includes a colour coded key for highlighting which types of ship are most suited to the different bays of the island. Blue was earmarked for Ships of the Line (war ships), green was for merchant ships and yellow was for sloops and droghers (small warships.)

In this exhibition


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