E. Collard

A Seed Fails Not E. Collard

Dr. Andrew Turnbull, a Scottish physician practicing in London, answers the call from The Crown to start a large colony in Florida. His partners include a former Prime Minister, the personal physician to King George III and the Commander of the British Navy. They plan to gather 500 colonists, with 1,450 joining them. Colonists came from Greece, Italy and the greater number from the Island of Minorca. At one time they board eight ships for the ocean crossing, only to meet the terrible storm from the south, damaging both ships and passengers. Expecting one month for the voyage, some ships take four months, resulting in scurvy taking a great number. They land at a place the Doctor names New Smyrna, a wild jungle where the Spanish landed years earlier and named it The Mosquitoes. These pests brought The Fever to the colony taking many more lives. After an early mutiny, the plantation manages to produce a number of crops and tons of indigo are exported to England. The Revolution begins in the north and this major story was overshadowed by its success.