Luke Stokes (or Stoakes) was an English colonialist who was twice governor of
Nevis
Nevis ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute the Saint Kitts and Nevis, Federation of Saint Kitts ...
before relocating with his family and 1,600 other settlers to the
Port Morant area of
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
following the
English conquest of Jamaica.
Stokes was Governor of Nevis following the death of Thomas Littleton in 1634. However he was replaced in 1635 by Thomas Sparrow.
He was governor once again in 1649.
He remained in this position until he led the group of settlers to Port Morant in 1656. This constituted the first major settlement by English colonialists.
References
Governors of Nevis
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