the anguillian trading fleet found it an even greater opportunity - many of the labourers from islands in the southern end of the archipelago came to st. martin to find transportation to santo domingo. in addition, the exchange also opened up new trade routes between the eastern caribbean and puerto rico and the dominican republic. however, british law limited the number of passengers to a number equal to its weight in tons. most schooners, weighing between sixty and ninety tons, were limited to sixty to ninety passengers. to avoid this law, the ships would load to full legal capacity in anguilla and leave for st. martin. once in marigot, under french jurisdiction, they would be allowed to take on as many passengers as they desired. usually each schooner carried roughly two hundred men in cramped conditions on leaving marigot.