First published in 1777, Abbe Guillaume Thomas Francois Raynal (1713-96) was a French Philosopher, historian and priest. On leaving his parish in Paris, he devoted himself to writing and the society of philosophes. He produced a number of historical works, including this famous history of the European colonies (part of which some modern scholars attribute to Diderot). This is the final volume of a collection of six volumes of his work Settlements and Trade of the Europeans in the East and West Indies.