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“... could do anything with a jack-
knife, the versatile Jonas of Mr. Abbotts fancy, would blossom
forth as the Yankee inventor. But this would take time; and in
the meanwhile it was very convenient to have in the neutral islands
of the West Indies a means of temporary supply and a market for
American exports. The trade ventures of states as well as of indi-
viduals were often carried on in this way. As early as March,"
1776, we find Abraham van Bibber agent of the state of Maryland
at St. Eustatius, taking care of cargoes sent or underwritten by the
state. In the archives of Virginia there are letters, from him, ad-
dressed to the Virginia committee of safety. In June of the same
year Van Bibber of St. Eustatius and Richard Harrison of Mar-
tinique announce that they have formed a copartnership, and solicit
from the Virginia committee a portion of their custom.2
After France entered into the war, French carriers and French
islands like Martinique became ineligible, and the...”
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