Oyapoc (or Wiapoco) was a short-lived English settlement in French Guiana on the Oyapock (or Wiapoco) river. Charles Leigh had visited the area in 1602, and considered it suitable for a colony. On returning, he assembled a crew of 46 people and embarked on the Olive Plant. The settlers planned to look for gold in the area. They set sail on 21 March 1604, and arrived in Oyapoc on 22 May 1604 taking possession of the country "in the eyes of the Indians." Leigh gave the name Caroleigh River to the Wiapoco. He dubbed the settlement Oliveleighe, and the principal site for settlement was called Principium or Mount Howard. The Olive Plant was sent back, and thirty-five men and boys remained at the settlement. Upon begging his brother, Sir Oleph, for reinforcements, The Olive Plant returned, renamed The Phoenix, to find the settlement in "a rather critical position." The settlers experienced mutiny, and a raid by Caribs from the Cayenne River. On 31 May 1606, the remaining settlers left on the Hope.
