Baker, a Protestant, married Mary Ryan in 1746, she
continued to attend Catholic service (Yorke 1931: 62).
Their daughter Patty was also raised as a Catholic and
attended a Catholic Girls’ school at Lille, France.
Difficulties seemed only to arise within the community
when individuals actually converted to Protestantism. In
1751, Mary Ryan’s niece Elizabeth chose to elope with a
Protestant, Mr. William Coventry Manning. The disharmony
that resulted when she conformed to the Church of England
did not subside and her father John became stoutly
‘resolved against a reconciliation’.
desire to have one’s daughters marry well was a
determining factor in several of the wills relating to
Irish families at Saint Croix. The preceding examples of
mixed-religion marriages reflect the economic and social
necessity of forging alliances with ‘the other’, while
simultaneously maintaining a clear sense of family
heritage. The Galway families in Saint Croix reflect this
in their wills.
The Danish fort at Christiansted, St.
(Orla Power 2006)
In his 1777
will, Theobald Bourke’s bequeathed a substantial amount of
money to his heirs on the proviso that they marry with the
consent of his executors or himself. Should they
contravene this request, they were to be allocated a
paltry maintenance for their lifetimes, and the remainder
of their original inheritance was to be divided among
those siblings who had not transgressed in such an
impractical fashion (Will Bourke).
Laurence Bodkin’s substantial estate was also shared out
amongst his children. However, his female offspring
Catherine and Ann were threatened with absolute economic
isolation should they neglect their daughterly duties, and
marry without consent (Will Bodkin). In the ambit of the
Irish-Catholic West Indian experience, daughters were
precious commodities and served to unite and reinforce
partnerships and business ventures both within the
community and beyond it.
One of the
more traditional methods of maintaining Irish mercantile
alliances was access to a Catholic education. Certainly,
European education for boys was an essential rite of
passage for many West Indian heirs. Given the restrictions
on Catholic education in Ireland the boys, who were often
as young as seven, were frequently sent to colleges in
France and Belgium. Saint Omer’s and Bruges were the
favoured establishments for those who could afford them.
What is particularly interesting, however, is the fact
that sons of merchants based in the West Indies often
studied accounting and business with their cousins, whose
fathers were engaged in trade in London, Dublin, Nantes
and Spain. This certainly had an impact on the strength
and structure of the Irish business network at home and
abroad, fostering what could be described as an ‘Old Boys’
Club’ mentality and reinforcing its elite nature.
1730s and 1740s, the school of choice was Saint Omer’s, a
Catholic academy in Belgium. Thomas Skerrett of Ireland,
Robert Tuite (Nicholas Tuite’s son) and James Carroll of
Carrollton, Maryland were all enrolled at the school in
1739. Michael Murphy and Charles Farrill, both of
Montserrat, also attended Saint Omer’s during this period.
The second generation of Irish Caribbean scholars seemed,
for the most part, to have attended the school at Bruges.
During the 1760s and the early 1770s, the Bourkes, Ryans
and Farrills, all of Saint Croix, were enrolled at the
school. Their schoolmates included Edward and James Lynch,
whose address is listed as the ‘West Indies’ and Francis
Farril of Philadelphia. Michael and Robert McGrath of
Ennis, County Clare were their contemporaries, as was
Thomas Lynch, son of the infamous merchant and trader,
Isidore Lynch of London.
accepted into the Irish network, it was important to
maintain the position. This can be appreciated in the
manner with which the Cruzan plantocracy married and
educated their children. However, in order to expand their
ambit of trade, it was important to find alternate ways of
forging alliances that were more suited to the
unpredictable Caribbean environment.
Beyond the Network
Tuite’s ability to gain access to the Irish mercantile
network and to expand his business beyond its scope
reflects his capacity to engender bilateral trust by
alternate means. Possessed of a shrewd business intuition
and an affable nature, Tuite chose prospective business
ventures - and the personnel required to make them a
success - very carefully. Renowned for assisting earnest
individuals to purchase properties or invest in trade
ventures, Tuite perceived such assistance as a ‘leg up’
rather than a ‘hand out’, stipulating that the loan be
re-paid in full, usually on favourable terms (Will Tuite).
‘Money,’ as the saying goes, ‘makes money’, and by
offering individuals the opportunity of sampling the sugar
trade, Tuite forged lifetime friendships and enduring
loyalties. John Baker, unable to afford land in the
Leeward islands, was in 1751 offered a share in a
plantation on ‘very favourable terms’.
 As a result,
Baker considered himself ‘forever indebted’ to Tuite.
Similarly, individuals such Francis Finn and William
Dalton, both of Saint Croix, bequeathed money to Tuite for
the purchase of a memorial ring. In Dalton’s case it was
to be worn ‘as a remembrance that I was not insensible of
the disinterested benefits he has [Tuite] been pleased to
confer upon me’ (Will Dalton).
a position within a familial network was essential in
order to engage with and succeed in the world of Atlantic
commerce. However, in order to secure business
transactions above and beyond the security of the family
bond, it was essential to have the skills with which to
inspire trust and a sense of fraternity. Assisting
individuals to make their fortunes was one way of ensuring
lifetime devotion. It was also essential that an
individual was both knowledgeable of the international
market and approachable enough to act as an advisor. Such
an individual ensured he remained informed and ready to
take advantage of changing markets.
Entertainment, hospitality and friendship were a
fundamental part of business networking in the West
Indies. During Christmas 1751, Governor Heyligger and his
wife from the Dutch island Saint Eustatius spent a
fortnight at the Baker residence.
 The following
Spring, Baker visited Heyligger at his home on the Dutch
island of Saint Martin.
 Similarly, on a visit to
Saint Croix, Baker dined at Mr.Tuite’s residence with
Judge Schuster and Judge Hazelberg (Yorke 1931: 52).
Accordingly, the important role of alcohol is clear in the
large consignments of Madeira wine imported into Saint
Croix for personal consumption. As the century wore on,
the beverage became associated with increasing
sophistication and ‘good taste’. In 1752, Baker remarked
to his brother that he would like the West Indies
‘particularly the hospitality of the place: even the most
greedy people…are not niggardly in that point or in their
living’.  In this light it is not surprising that the
hospitable Nicholas Tuite, master of the international
business realm and the art of conversation, made a special
provision to bequeath the following to his wife: ‘…all my
Wines Rum Brandy Beer Ale Cyder and all other spirituous
Liquors together with the provisions and stores belonging
or for the use of my said houses in England for her sole
use and as her own property for ever…’ (Will Tuite).
Trans-national Trade at Saint Croix
recognising the importance of hospitality and friendship
in the building of trans-national alliances, the Irish
group at Saint Croix were very much of their time,
particularly in relation to slavery. In examining customs
records relating to the period, it is clear that the Irish
community considered their African labourers as
commodities. The slaves’ introduction to society at Saint
Croix is listed alongside consignments of routine items
required for management of the plantations. Such stark
inventories reflect the absence of any need to forge
partnerships or build alliances with individuals
considered as plantation ‘stock’.
1760, Laurence Bodkin imported a large number of Africans
to Saint Croix from various locations. On the 3 June, a
vessel skippered by Jacob Dischington imported a cargo of
22 male slaves, 36 females, 29 girls and 14 boys directly
from the Guinea Coast for which he paid 318 rixdalers.
 In July of that year, Henry Ryan imported 18 men, 13
women, 12 boys and 2 girls along with a quantity of cement
from Montserrat.  Meanwhile, on 26 May Mathias Ferrald
exported bread, rice, 1000 floor-tiles and 16 slaves to
Puerto Rico. 
The settlers’ wills also reflect their
attitude towards African slaves. Laurence Bodkin
bequeathed the sum of 1,700 rixdalers to his nephew,
either to be given him when he turned 18 or ‘to be laid
out in Negroes for his use’. William Bourke, Bodkin’s
godson, was to be given a smaller sum because he had
already been given ‘…one Negro woman and one child…[the]
Negro woman nam’d Bella is worth 500 rixdollars’ (Will
Bodkin). It could be said that the highly competitive
nature of the sugar trade underpinned the settlers’
reliance on chattel slaves. Writing in 1762, William
Dalton desired that ‘…immediately upon my demise I desire
that my little Negroe boy Joseph have his freedom.’ Given
that the will was not proved until 1779, it is certain
that Dalton’s slave was no longer a ‘little Negroe boy’