Colonel Christopher Codrington (c. 1640 – 1698) was an English plantation owner, and colonial administrator who made a great fortune in the West Indies. He is sometimes called Christopher Codrington the Elder. Born about 1640 on Barbados, Codrington was the son of another Christopher Codrington and probably the grandson of Robert Codrington, a landed gentleman with an estate at Dodington, Gloucestershire.James C. Brandow, ''Genealogies of Barbados Families: From Caribbeana and the Journal of the Barbados Museum and Historical Society'' (Genealogical Publishing Company, 1983)
pp. 221, 222
/ref> His father was a royalist who had arrived in Barbados around 1640, married a sister of James Drax, a leading plantation owner, and acquired an estate in the parish of Saint John. He made a small fortune there, most of which he left to his son when he died in 1656.'"The Codringtons", in Darra Goldstein et al, ''The Oxford Companion to Sugar and Sweets'' (Oxford University Press, 2015)
p. 674
/ref> In 1663, Codrington and other men of Barbados bought the island of

Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...

from native chiefs there. While still in his twenties, he was appointed to the council of Barbados, and then as deputy governor, entrusted with day-to-day administration in the absence of the Governor. In that capacity, he set about building schools and hospitals, suppressing smuggling, and controlling excessive drinking. Codrington was married to a woman named Gertrude. His elder son, another

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

, was born on Barbados in 1668,Henry Austin Dobson
Christopher Codrington
in Leslie Stephen, ed., ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' and then a younger son called John, who was an "imbecile." In 1669, Codrington was accused of murdering Henry Willoughby, a son of the Governor,

Lord Willoughby Baron Willoughby of Parham was a title in the Peerage of England with two creations. The first creation was for Sir William Willoughby who was raised to the peerage under letters patent in 1547, with the remainder to his heirs male of body. An ...

, in the course of a dispute about Codrington's acquisition of a desirable estate on Barbados called Consetts. Willoughby died suddenly with a "violent burning of the stomach", a few hours after eating a meal with Codrington, and although no wrongdoing was ever proved, Codrington never entirely recovered his good name on the island. He began to trade outside the law and to move his investments away from Barbados. In 1672, while Willoughby was away on a campaign, Codrington received a report of a rich silver mine on the island of

Dominica Dominica ( or ; Kalinago: ; french: Dominique; Dominican Creole French: ), officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of the island. It is geographically ...

, which was still in the possession of the

Island Caribs The Kalinago, also known as the Island Caribs or simply Caribs, are an indigenous people of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. They may have been related to the Mainland Caribs (Kalina) of South America, but they spoke an unrelated languag ...

, and summoned the council of Barbados to ask it to agree that he should seize Dominica "before any other nation should possess the same". He then sent men to negotiate the purchase of the island, and a party to take possession. However, the French Governor General, the Marquis de Baas, promptly had the Englishmen removed from the island and protested that they had broken a treaty with the French of 1660. Although supported by the Council on Trade and Plantations, when Willoughby returned to Barbados Codrington was dismissed from his position and was also removed as commanding officer of a militia regiment. The exact reasons for his removal are unclear, but on 12 November 1672 Lord Willoughby wrote "My late Deputy Coll: Codrington hath harrassed them to death wth needless improssitions." After leaving the council, between 1674 and 1682 Codrington was elected several times to the Assembly of Barbados and was its Speaker in 1674, 1675, and 1678. Codrington went on to build up the largest land holdings in

Antigua Antigua ( ), also known as Waladli or Wadadli by the native population, is an island in the Lesser Antilles. It is one of the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean region and the main island of the country of Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Bar ...

, including his main plantation of Betty's Hope, which he named after his daughter, and also secured a lease of the whole island of Barbuda from the Crown. He was appointed as captain-general of the English Leeward Islands, and in 1683 moved his base of operations to Antigua, where he was an important plantation-owner and was influential in reforms to make the island more like Barbados. By 1685, he had founded the settlement of Codrington on Barbuda and went on to build a stronghold there. During the

Nine Years' War The Nine Years' War (1688–1697), often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg, was a conflict between France and a European coalition which mainly included the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarch ...

of 1688 to 1697 he led a series of armed conflicts with the French. As a captain general, Codrington found many ways to line his own pockets and was the target of allegations of corruption when he died in 1698, not long after the Peace of Ryswick. His property was inherited by his elder son, another Christopher Codrington. King William III appointed this son to succeed him as captain-general and commander-in-chief of the Leeward Islands. When Codrington's eldest son died in 1710, he left money for his father's remains to be removed to Westminster Abbey, and £500 for a monument to him to be erected there, but only £20 for his own gravestone at

All Souls' College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members o ...

. However, his wishes for his father's remains were never carried out.Brandow (1983), p. 224

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Codrington, Christopher 1640s births 1698 deaths Governors of the Leeward Islands Speakers of the House Assembly of Barbados Members of the House of Assembly of Barbados British slave owners Colony of Barbados people

See also

Notes