modern Laventille. In 1570 ,this settlement was abandoned. In 1592, Antonio de Berrio established the first lasting settlement, the town of San José de Oruña (the modern St. Joseph). Sir Walter Raleigh, who was searching for El Dorado, arrived in Trinidad on 22 March 1595 and soon attacked San José and captured and interrogated de Berrío, obtaining much information from him and from the cacique Topiawari. Lack of Spanish ships arriving on a regular basis forced the settlers to trade with the English, French and Dutch, in violation of the Spanish Exclusive. The Spanish also lacked the means to defend the colony, which consisted of only 24 Spanish settlers in 1625. Thus, the Dutch attacked St. Joseph with impunity in 1637. By 1671, the island included 80 settlers and 80 "domesticated" Amerindians. By 1772, the Spanish capital of St. Joseph had a population of 326 Spaniards and 417 Amerindians. Yet the houses consisted of mud huts with thatch roofs. In general, lacking gold, the island was poor and undeveloped, inducing many to leave. The Captaincy General of Venezuela was created on 8 September 1777, through the Royal Decree of Graces of Charles III of Bourbon, to provide more autonomy for the provinces of Venezuela (include Trinidad), previously under the jurisdiction of the Viceroyalty of New Granada and the Audiencia of Santo Domingo. The crown established a unified government in political (governorship), military (captaincy general), fiscal (intendancy) and judicial (audiencia) affairs. Its creation was part of the Bourbon Reforms and laid the groundwork for the future nation of Venezuela, in particular by orienting the province of Maracaibo towards the province of Caracas. Colonial settlement of Tobago In Tobago, the first Dutch colony of Nieuw-Walcheren ("New Walcheren") was short-lived. 68 colonists established Fort Vlissingen ("Fort Flushing") near modern Plymouth in 1628. They were reinforced by a few hundred more settlers from Zeeland in 1629 and 1632. Attempted colonies by Courland in 1637, 1639, and 1642 and England in 1649, 1642, and 1647 all failed. In May and September 1654, Courish and Dutch colonies were reestablished successfully. The Courish colony of Neu-Kurland ("New Courland") was centered at Fort Jacob on Great Courland Bay. The Dutch colony on the other side of the island had three forts: Lampsinsberg, Beveren, and Bellavista. In 1658, 500 Frenchmen joined the Dutch colony but formed their own settlement called Three Rivers (Le Quartier des trois Rivières). On 11