The conflict between the English and French…

The conflict between the English and French in Tortuga has became so heated by 1635 as to lead to constant fighting, and the Spaniards take advantage of the situation to invade the settlement.

The colony's English governor flees immediately, boarding a ship that happens to be in the harbor and leaving the colonists to their fate.

The Spaniards, meeting little resistance, kill most of the men and take the women as slaves.

It requires another, better-armed Spanish expedition to displace Tortuga's all-male French settlers, who flee into the woods, then cross to Hispaniola under cover of night.

The French, who the Spaniards attempt unsuccessfully to starve out of the woods, soon reestablish their presence on Tortuga.

They begin to fortify the island against the enemy's return, and send a messenger to the island of St. Christopher asking for aid and comfort as well as a governor to unify them against Spanish attack.

The requested governor, Levasseur, arrives with a ship full of men and supplies, and soon constructs a strategically located fortress upon the highest rock on the island.

Tortuga's French population steadily increases, some settlers hunting and planting tobacco while others make a living raiding Spanish ships and settlements on Hispaniola.