EDWARDS, BRYAN, the historian of the British West India colonies, was born at Sit eatbury, in Wiltshire, May 21, 1743. Farully losses caused him, towards the end of 1759, to go to Jamaica, where ha was kindly received by his mother's brother, Zachary Bayly, a rich, enerous, and enlightened planter, who, seeing the young man's fond ness for books, and thinking well of his talents, engaged a tutor to reside with him. His early instruction had been confined to reading, writing, and the French and English languages; and his studies in Jamaica, by hie own account, were slight and desultory : still we may fairly ascribe to them no small share in preserving him from that intellectual listlessness into which Europeans sent out in early life to tropical climates are apt to fall. At this period the autobiography prefixed to the second and later editions of his ' History of the West Indies' ends; and the accounts given of his remaining life are extremely scanty. It appears however that in due time he succeeded to his estate, and became a wealthy merchant, and an active member of the llouse of Assembly. In 1784 he published a pamphlet in opposition to the government policy of Ihnitiog the trade between the West Indies and the United States to English bottoms, in which he maintains that "even the welfare of the planter concurs with the honour of government and the interests of humanity, in wishing for the total abolition of the slave-trade :" an opinion which ho recanted after the subject of the slave-trade had been brought before parliament. In 1791 he went to St. Domingo, on the breaking out of the insurrec
tion of the negroes, and acquired the materials for his 'Historical Survey' of that island, published in 1707. Afterwards he removed to England, where, in 1796, we find him member of parliament for Orampound, which lie represented until his death, July 15, 1800.
His principal work, the 'History, Civil and Ecclesiastic, of the British Colonies in the West Indies,' was published in 1793. It treats of the history, constitution, and political relations towards Britain, of these colonlem; the manners and dispositions of the inhabit ants, especially the negrocs; the mode of agriculture and produce. It is a valuable contribution to our literature. Tho style is some what ambitious, but lively and attractive ; the matter varied and interesting. The author enters largely into the question of the slave trade, the cruelty of which he dots not attempt to deny, though he is warm in defence of the planters against the charges of cruelty brought against them in England; but his arguments are evidently tinctured by the feeling that, lamentable as it may be, slaves must be had.. Mr. Edwards has the merit of having carried a law to pre vent cruelties to which slaves in Jamaica were at least legally exposed, whatever the practice might be.
The edition of 1819 contains also the history of St. Domingo, pro ceedings of the governor, &, in regard to the Maroon negroes (1 v. 796), a continuation of the history down to that time, and one or two other pieces by other hands.