nor their field slaves were much interested in his invitations to come for worship and instruction. It was not until 1818 that, under the pressure of the ameliorative policies of the British government, local political circles were forced to accept that attitudes had changed back in Britain. With the help of the vigorous leadership in the church of Beilby Porteus, the Bishop of London, Davis was slowly able to make progress. By 1822 there were Sunday schools in every parish in Nevis. Slaves on enlightened plantations were allowed markets on days other than Sundays that had otherwise prevented them from attending church. But above all Davis had begun to win the support of a growing number of planters to the cause of conversion. Towards the end of 1821 Thomas Cottle, a former President of the Island Council and a prominent planter, came forward with a proposal to build this church. In 1824 two Bishops (known for their opposition to slavery) were appointed for the newly created Sees of Jamaica (Bishop Lipscomb) and Barbados with the Leeward Islands (Bishop Coleridge). This was a signal to the local plantocracy that the British government was now fully committed to the policy of improving the condition of slaves in its colonies and was conscious that full freedom could not be very long delayed. By the time Davis left the island for St Kitts 19 schools with an aggregate attendance of 1,247 slave pupils had been established; and just before his departure he founded, along with those who supported his views, a branch society of the Society for the Conversion of Slaves. The most active promoters of the new society’s first meeting were Thomas Cottle and Norton Herbert, the nephew of Frances, Lady Nelson. Davis remained in St Kitts until 1838 and later became the first Bishop of Antigua. On 24 August 1842, Davis was consecrated a bishop at Westminster Abbey. Fierce to the end in attacking racial prejudice from whatever quarter it appeared, Davis died in London, aged 70, in 1857. References Hubbard, Vincent K. 2002. "Swords, Ships & Sugar". Premiere Editions International, Inc. , p. 156. A complete history of Nevis. G P J Walker, “The Life of Daniel Gateward Davis – First Bishop of Antigua” 1788 births Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford 19th-century Anglican bishops in the Caribbean Anglican bishops of Antigua 1857 deaths