Falconbridge's mission

Although the Province of Freedom had perished, there were, as we have seen, some survivors. Sharp did not hear of the destruction until April 1790, over four months after the event. He immediately thought of organizing a relief expedition, to help the survivors and keep them together, and once again turned to the government for help. The response was at first sympathetic: Sharp obtained an interview with Pitt and was directed to send him information on the best way of giving relief. He accordingly wrote to suggest that the newly-purchased ‘Lapwing’ could be used, provided that the government would give £300 towards supplies and also send out a small armed schooner, or better still, ‘a stout sloop of war’. His letter, however, was met with silence, as were other letters which he sent throughout the summer of 1790. The reason for this may not have been deliberate neglect but rather the government's pre-occupation with other and larger matters. Sharp told the settlers that ‘the extreme hurry of public business, in preparing for war against the Spaniards, prevented Government from taking any notice of my letters’.

The second possible source of help for the surviving settlers was the new St. George's Bay Company. Sharp hoped that the Company would buy a larger vessel to take out a considerable quantity of stores, and would also send out agents to negotiate an agreement for the reoccupation of the land. In the event, assistance from the Company took a long time to arrive.