2. Several of the early British colonies failed miserably.
Early attempts by the British to establish colonies in the Caribbean failed, including at Guiana, where the expected gold failed to materialize, as well as in Saint Lucia – both prior to the establishment of the colony at Jamestown. Other colonies on Caribbean islands survived, thriving on the production of sugar, which required slave labor. Slaves were provided for the most part by the Dutch, whose ships also acquired the sugar. By the mid-17th century England’s Parliament took steps to eliminate the trade with Dutch ships in order to monopolize the trade of sugar and slaves on English ships, leading to the Anglo-Dutch wars.
