Thomas Atwood

Thomas Atwood (died 1793) was chief justice of the island of Dominica, and afterwards of the Bahamas.

Biography Although there are no records of the biographical details of Atwood's life, he wrote the first complete account of Dominica from both a historical and general perspective, The History of the Island of Dominica. In it he explained his belief that Dominica was able to be the best colony that the English held in the West Indies, due to its high proportion of fertile and uncultivated land.

Atwood's description of Dominica during the American Revolution was directly incorporated by Bryan Edwards into his 1793 The History, Civil and Commercial, of the British Colonies in the West Indies.

Atwood died in the King's Bench prison "at an advanced age, broken down with misfortunes, on 27 May 1793."

Legacy The extinct Dominican green-and-yellow macaw is named Ara atwoodi in honour of his description of it in his 1791 The History of the Island of Dominica.

Works