Francis Willoughby, 5th Baron Willoughby of Parham
Francis Willoughby, 5th Baron Willoughby of Parham (* 1605 in Suffolk, † July 23, 1666 in the Caribbean Sea ) was an English nobleman, member of the House of Lords and colonizer of Suriname.
Life and work
Willoughby was the second son of William Willoughby, 3rd Baron Willoughby of Parham, and Francis Manners, daughter of John Manners, 4th Earl of Rutland. After his father in 1617 and his older brother had died the following year, he inherited the title Baron Willoughby of Parham. In the time of the English Civil War between the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell and the royal house he ran across the wrong time of the parliamentarians to the Royalists. After Parliament had seized his possessions, he traveled to Barbados. To the Caribbean island he had business connections. In addition, he was appointed in May 1650 by Charles II to the Governor of Barbados.
Barbados, Suriname
As to Barbados for the royalists who fled there was not enough land available and there continued the power struggle between the two camps, Willoughby upgraded yet in 1650 a ship under the direction of Sergeant Major Anthony Rowse from. Purpose and mission of the expedition was to explore the just a few days away lying northern coast of South America and to find a suitable place for a settlement. Rowse and his crew found this place today, Suriname River. Willoughby wrote on August 6, 1651 on the expedition thrilled to his wife: "It's run fine as desired. We have found the most beautiful place that one has ever seen, with the finest rivers and stately trees. Of the 50 men who were almost 5 months on the road, not a headache had. They all praised the clear air, and the water was so pure and tasty, as they had never experienced before. They dined five times a day a lot of fish and poultry, innumerable partridges and pheasants. There are stately savannas, where you can ride 40 to 50 miles by carriage or on horseback " He further stated about his plans: ". 's Why I am sending a few hundred people there to take possession of it. I have no doubt that in a few years, thousands of people will settle there. "
Began in the same year under the command of Rowse the first permanent colonization of Suriname with about 300 emigrants from Barbados. Since many of them already had experience with tropical agriculture, they built there only to tobacco and sugar cane later. With the settlers probably entered the first slaves from Africa Surinamese soil.
Willoughby - country
After the death of Oliver Cromwell and the Restoration of Charles II in 1660 Willoughby, immediately offered his claims. For his loyal service to him then you were also in June 1663 by Charles II, the province " Willoughby -Land" that area between the Coppename and the Marowijne awarded (ie a smaller area than today's basic area of Suriname). The " Willoughby - land" but had a surprising second owner, Laurence Hyde. Hyde had been no links to the West Indies. However, he was the son of the mighty Edward Hyde, 1st Earl of Clarendon.
After a map of 1667 to have lived distributed including slaves on 175 plantations in 1663 along the Suriname River already 4000 settlers. The prediction of Willoughby was thus arrived.
About the then capital Torarica writes George Warren, who had traveled to Suriname in 1667, Torarica consists of about 100 houses with a chapel. Above the town is a beautiful bay or harbor, large and wide enough as roads for 100 ships.
Willoughby himself was only twice in the " Willoughby - country" in 1652 to organize the defense, and in November 1664 as a new notarized owners. He pursued here is actually a sugar cane plantation, upriver from Torarica, also on the left bank of the Suriname River, shown on old maps as Parham Hill.
Death
Willoughby was drowned in 1666 on the journey from Barbados to St. Kitts, when his ship was caught in a hurricane and sank. The conquest of land by the Willoughby Zealanders Abraham Crijnssen so he has not seen.
Since he died without surviving male descendant, the barony fell to his younger brother.