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PK. «• S.A. iiuimniiiinHiui Jrf.'ifjn/fl^f, i\-fjt ^} IB. FOURTH EDITION, ^IT„ CONSIDERABLE ADDITIO "^L^STRATED H'lTH PLATES. ^N THREE VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: PRINTED FOR JOHN STOCKDi^E, ISO?. PICCADILLV. '>n .;ii ; m it •A ""i.Vimett,Prinep4 Wild-Court, Lincohi's-lnn-^ields"^ ii To THE KINGS MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY. THIS POLITICAL AND COMMERCIAL SURVEY OF HIS MAJESTY'S DOMINIONS .N THE WEST INDIES; WHICH, UNDER ms Mri,0 Am AUSPICIOUS GOVERNMENT, It WITH HIS GRACIOUS PERMISSION, MOST HUMBLY INSCRIBED I^Y HIS MAJESTY'S ^0«T LOV.L ANO nCTXFUL SUBJECT, AND SEBVANT, london, 8d June, 1 793. BRYAN EDWARDS. 6312 c t fj i] a ii O] III li< cc to CO CO frc ni( or( see C V J PREFATORY ADVERTISEMENT*. To this enlarged and corrected Edition of PO hey. and of natural luston. "^0!' nected with the countries anri Y,' '-describes. He Kadi J rtl5?„d corrected the text of his Book n t-uch essay, develoi^'rSr;;^^ construcfo.,, and the philosonhv of ' contents. B.t death interrup^Ve ' 3ign:--a„dere the last sheet^wasrevied more ! He had long suffered from the Hk .eemed to foresee the hour of dissolution S/ Sir WiJliam Young, Bart. M. hastening Vi PREFATORY ADVERTISEMENT. hastening on ; as the sketch of his Life, ^vritten by himself, clenrly denotes. Ren- dered incapable, by weakness and disease, of compk;ting his greater design of a Pre- fatory Discourse ; yet, with a fond anxiety for honest fame, he roused the embers of his genius,~to claim a fair reputation with posterity for industry, integrity, and can- did exposition of the talents and acquire- ments which introduced him to public no- tice. Tlie fu-mness of Iiis mind, and tlie cheerfulness of his temper, which through- out a long and chequered life, gave confi- dence to his friendships, and delight in his society, forsook him not, as he app'i'ehended its last short hour before him : this he clearly shews, when, turning from the aw- fid consideration of futurity, to look back on his past life, himself brings the retro- spect to our view, and describes the scene in so pure and lively colours, with no gloom iVom discontent, and no shade from re- morse, that we readily infer the nature of the light which so beamed on this his last work, and to his last hour ;— and pronounce its emanation to be from the pure con- science of a benevolent and upright man. Under I'ftEPATOHY ADVERTISEMENT. Vl'i Under such impression, the Editor has ne- """" iHE Life of ^he Au THOR, WRITTEN BY HIMSELF."-The tim. Silt^V'^^'^""''"-'^'-^*''--^^ f dl 'f ; ""P"" *^ ^'"'"^ ^^'th every eehng of dear regard and of duty • and las hter" ^^r™' '"'""'^'- ^^"'^'■k °n th/s jast hterary effort of his excellent Friend Tho- who knew and were intimate .:; t Mr Br VAN Edwards, will recognise, i„ nimd, the industry, and the truth. M characterized his conversations and 1 is li e that T?"°'^"'^'"' --">-' Ob t' thatmnch therein is omitted, which hi u 'd and proper place in b; .aphv and b alednpoutosupply. Some account S'*'ati^ e acts, so efficient in the cause member of the assembly i„ Jamaica.- ^'^ "^'^"^ ^^aii, Avhilst a mem- ber * iiji Vlil PREFATORY ADVERTISEMENT. ber of the British parliament ; and, espe- cialJy in the posthumous life of a literary man, some accurate detail of his literary pursuits and writings might be expected.— Of Bryan Edwards,— of his Correspond- ence—of his Essays, and of his conduct in the judicious compilation and elegant recital of the Travels of Mungo Park,— and specially, of the origin and progress of the great Work herewith submitted to the Public— to these, and other points, the recollection of the reader is thus awakened. The Editor presumes no further. lie cannot venture to alter, or add to, the sa- cred deposit committed to his charge,— and now gives it to the Public, as its Aiw thor left, and willed it, to he given. \ [ ix ] SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF THE AUTHOR, WRITTEN By HIMSELF A SHOBT TIME BEFORE HFS DEATH. i WAS bom the 21st of May, I743, i„ the decayed town of Westbury, i„ the eounty of W Its. My father inherited a small pa- ternal estate, in the neighbourhood, of about 100/. per annum; which proving but a scanty maintenance for a Iars;e family he undertook, without any knowledge of the l>usme,ss, as I have been informed, to deal "' corn and malt, but ^vith very little suc- cess. He died in 1756, leaving my excel- lent mother, and six children. h> distressed c-rcumstances.-Luckily for my mother, she had two opulent brotI>ers in the West Ind.es one of th^m a wise and worthy ■nan, of a liberal mind, and princely for- tune. This was Zackary Bayly, of the island of Jamaica, who, on the death of my ^ LIFE OF under his protection, and as 1 was the eldest son, directed that I should be we)l educated. I had been placed by my father at the schot)! of a dissenting minister in Bristol, whose name was William Foot, of whom I remember enough, to believe that he was both a learned and good man, but by a strange absurdi V, he \vas forbidden to teach me Latin and Greek, and directed to confine my studies to writing, arith- metick, and the English grammar. I should therefore have had little to do, but that the schoolmaster had an excellent me- thod of making the boys write letters to him on different subjects, such as, the beauty and dignity of truth, the obliga- tion of a religious life, the benefits of good education, the mischief of idleness, &c. &c. previously stating to them the chief arguments to be urged ; and insisting on correctness in orthography and granunar. In this employment, I had sometimes the good fortune to excel the other boys ; and when this happened, my master never failed to praise me very liberally before them all ; and he would frequently transmit my letters to my ieitlier and mother.— Thi,^ excited THE AUTHOR. ^ excited in .„y „i„d ^ sp,.,t of emulatiou c™ :r.' '"'""''" '^'•^'^^'«^» lluk t '""■' '" ^'"^ «'»''• •'"t very "ttle earnnig ; and when my uncle (on 2 athe.;s death) took .e uLr U J^ tectmn h,s agent in Bristol coz>sidered me - neglected by Mr. Foot, and i.„mt d,aey removed me to a Frencl- boardTng t^"- ;;' F^h t' ^""^'"^ ^ ^'-" °^'- -r.o«f language, and havin- ..ces to a cnculating library, I acquired : pav.ion for books, which has since h. come the solace of my life. ^" I'l 1759, a younger and the onlv bro- herofmy great and good uncle, came to l-ngland, and settling in London took me p^ *: °^ ''"^- "e was a representative in Parhament for Abingdon, 'and afterward for Ins native town.-Further I ca.m ^i.eak of him so favourably aslcouidw or I remember that at the period I alhJ o usconduct towards me, „ as such, as "ot to n>sp„.e me with much respect 1^ perce,ved .t ; and soon after. i„ L iatte end ot the same year, »,,,t u>e to Ja„,aica. Tliis n I 3di LIFE OF This proved a happy and fortunate change in my life, for I found my eldest uncle the reverse, in every possible circumstance, of his brother. To the most enlarged and enlightened mind, he added the sweetest temper, and the most generous disposi- tion. His tenderness towards me was ex- cessive, and I regarded him with more than filial affection and veneration. Observing my passion for books, and thinkini? fa! vourably of my capacity, he enovajred i clergyman (my loved and ever to be la- mented friend Isaac Teale) to reside in his family, chiefly to supply by his instruc- tions my deficiency in the learned lan- guages. Mr. Teale had been master of a free grammar school, and besides being a most accomplished scholar, possessed ''an exquisite taste for poetry, of which the reader will be convinced by referring to the Gentleman's Magazine, for August 1771, the beautiful copy of verses, there first published, called " The Compliment of the Day," being of his composition. I dare not say, however, that I made any great progress in the languages under his tuition ; I acquired <^ small Latin, and less a te Greek .'» THE AUTHOn. read tlie Roman poets in their own lan- guage. The case was, that not havin- been irroundpfl n« fK« t ^- "^viir^ ^uuimea m the Latin Grammar ai- :"r.^''«p-°<'<>nife.ifou.;ithe:tj. o t .nsupportably disgusting-, after that I had acqu.red a taste for the beauties of preferred the^hf^^ f'f Drydt ^dT" to the dull drudge^ of po^^:r,X cres.— vVe laughed away a hannv hr. overthep,aysofMoli.Ve.an wTte'r ^son local and temporary subjects whiTh we sometimes publLed'in he Si3 newspapers Yet the Latin classickrw":,' ■ghted to pomt out to me the beauties of Horace and would frequently impo*::';/ me he task of translating an ode into Enghsh verse, which with his assistance la construing the wn.v]c t .• "^^» complished. '/ '°'"^'"»^^ =«=- Ilaving made myself known to the pub- J«ck by my wnt„,gs. it is probable that Vide Arinstroni after XIV LIFE OP THE AUTHOR. after I am in the grave, th t some collect- or of anecdotes, or biographical compiler, may pretend to furnish some particulars concerning my life and manners. It is not pleasant to think that misrepresentation or malice may fasten on my memoiy ; and I have therefore made it the amusement of an idle hour, to compile a short ac count of myself. My personal histonr, however, is of little importance to the world. It will furnish no diversified scenes of fortune, nor relate many circumstances ot myself, worth rememberincf. Yet I feel llie fond ambition of an Author, and am willing to hope, that those who have read my Book with approbation, will be glad to know something further concerning me : For who, to dumb forgetfulness a prej, &c. - For the satisfaction then of such kind readers (if such there are) and the infor- mation of my posterity, I have drawn up thLs paper, which I desire my Bookseller to prefix to the next Edition of my His. tory of the West Indies. CONTENTS CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. BOOK I. A CBNERA. VIEW OP THEm ..c,.NT STATB AND INHABITANTS. -al creation. ^Ma^^^^^^^^^^ . tains: reEecUonst:e rZVe ^""'"'^ °' *^^ -"- Island., &c. "^ *^' ^'"S'" °f «^e West Indian Page! gaUoD of their character -S„.l. f """" """'i- dfcputed concerning t^lr„t„t'"''™'"' "'"'=■"- "-'-« and.„n.e.ic.hahi;'Xr:r:C°"''"-^°'" factures, and governmen/ r.j; • ^^"^^ren, arts, manu- -.-o.erLctio:i:itr:;r"'-°'^- •3 HA p. ill. OflheNativesofHispaniola C„h» r • Their Origi„._N,f„j::;;^^^--, and Po„o.„i„,_ .,on,._Oover„n,e„t and HeliC ^^™r ""' °'*'»'- «on, respecting their aJZT^"^^"^' O'"^""- ' - - 70 CHAP. JV. XVI CONTENTS OF CHAP. IV. Land animals used as food— Fishes and wild fowl.— Indian me- thod of fishing jnd fowling.— Esculent vegetables, &c.— Con- elusion 112 APPENDIX to Book I. containing some additional obsei-vations concerning the origin of tiieChavaibes - . ^ BOOK 11. JAMAICA. CHAP. I. Discovery of Jamaica by Columbus.— His return in 1503.— Spirited proceedings of his son Diego, after Columbus's Death. —Takes possessi(,n of Jamaica in 150p.-Humane conduct of Juan de Esquivel, the first Governor.— Establishment and desertion of the town of Sevilla Nueva.— Destruction of the Jndians.-St. Jago de la Vega founded.— Gives the title of Mnrquis to Diego's son Lewis, to whom the Island is granted m perpetual sovereignty— Descends to his sister Isabella, who conveys her rights by marringe to the House of IJraganza.- Reverts to the crown of Spain, in 1640.— Sir Anthony Shirley invades the Island in 1596, and Col. Jackson in 1(>38 151 CHAP. H. Cromwell vindicated for attacking the Spaniards in 1655.— Their cruelties in the West Indies, in contravention of the treaty of l630.-Proposals oftered by M(xlyford and Gage.— Forcible arguments of the latter.— Secretary Thurloe's ac count of a conference with the Spani.A Ambassador.— Crom- wells demand of satisfaction rejected.— State of Jamaica on its capture ^^^ CHAP. III. VOLUME THE FIRST. xvH CHAP. III. b "^"^>^-^'gorou.s exertions of the Proterfor r^ f Brayne app„i„,ed commander i„ chief.-His de 7 n'O ley rea.,s„ra.., the government-Defeats Ae 77? ^' wWd. had invaded the Wand froicubt Sr °™!; «eadyadmini«ra,io„._Buca„icr,-rc„„,r7 " '"^ to government in Jamaica IJlw ™' "'^'' "^''■ no,. p-won.-.m^iit:;tTe;r cwn '^r «.e pun j::^ ent:: i^r r™ t "'^"'r . ' portion of the »«mbiy Jnta^^nTd "r *' """ confirmation of their iL T T "'f^''' ports. — Renorrnf fi,« T . i .•,., , . ° ^ di.a msj- ^. '*•— Present sta of the trade with Spanish America'.-Ori V-oi. I •igin and policy of the ad / -'.* Xviii CONTENTS TO act for establishing free ports. — ^Display of the progress of thft island in cultivation, by comparative statements of its inhabit- ants and products at different periods. - - 260 APPENDIX to Book II. N». 1. , - . 311 N". 2. 312 BOOK III. ENCrLISH CHARAIBEAN ISLANDS. CHAP. I. Barbadoes.— First Arrival of the English at this Island.— Origin, progress, and termin-^tion of the Proprietary Government. Hevenue granted to the Crown of 4| per centum on all Pro- duce exported— how obtained.— Origin of the Act of Navir- gation.— Situation and Extent of the Island.— Soil and Pro- duce,— Population. — ^Decline and Causes thereof. ^Exports and Imports. . . . . . . , 3^^ CHAP. II. Grenada and its Dependencies.— First discovery, name and in- habitants.- French invasion and establishment in 1650. War with, and extermination of the natives.— The island and its dependencies conveyed to the Count de Cerillac— Mis- conduct and punishment of tlie deputy governor.— The co- lony reverts to the crown of France.— State of the island in J700.— And again in 1762, when captured by the English.— Stipulations in favour of the French inhabitants.— First Mea- sures of the British government.— Claim of the crown to levy a duty of 4^ per cent, on produce exported.-Arguments for and objections against the measure.— Decision of the court of King's Bench on this important question.— Strictures on some positions advanced by the lord-chief-justice on this occasion. —Transactions within the colony.-Royal instructions in fa- vo-HT of the Roman CaUioiic capitulants.-lntemal dissensions. —Defenceless VOLUME THE FTRST. ■--Defenceless state—French invasion inii^yo P / fence of the ^rnson. -Unconditional sZl7'ZnZT exercsed towards the English planters anTt ^7^ r'"" Redress g.ven by the court of France -t! a *^'*^'*°"— »o Great Britain b, the peace of ;837!p^^^^^^^^^ ""'' ^^^^^'^ colony in respect to culUvation. prlduX^ J "' ''' vernment and population ^ °"' '"^ '^^P^^^ i fe- vernment and population. Postcript to the Historj^ of Grenada APPENDlXtoChap.il. CHAP. Ill, !t' ""'"'"' '"' '*^ dependencies, and Dominica APPENDIX to Chap. HI. . 352 407 " - - 448 APPENDIX to Vol. I. N«. I. * * • • jja -OB, of .he ,,tad .f Ja^iea, a^ a det•,!^T°^'''- people and the white I„iabl.a„ w TuZ ^'""' ""^ '"1796. . . • "'•P"''''»'>e ' LIST OF PLATES. VOL. h i. Portrait of the Author, . ♦ r .. ^ ^.Age„e.,M,pofU.eWe.I„aie...„race'c^'T of bLr ti ? '"^' *" *"^ '^^^ I- ?. A Map of U,etala„dof B^badoeJ-to iace'chap i. S.AMapofU,eWa„<,„fG„„aaa, ."'H^"' l.AMaprf,ieWa„dcfD„„,i„ic, . " ^,. H.AMap„f,heVi^i„lsU„d. . ' * «4 "• '';'^;«-''°-"^.*e Maroon,, b, GoneralT^iaw-" "" 16. View of Trelawn*.^ T . ' " - 529 •" * 353 VOL. U. I5i 316 3J2 410 43lf ill tIST (W PLATES. VOL. II. 1. The Voyage of the b. hie Venus, from Angola to the West Indies, , . * to face page 32 %. A Nigro Festival, to be placeu at tlie end of Book IV ,g^ 3. Plan and Elevation of an improved Sugar Mill, de- signed by Edward Wollery, Esq. of Jamaica - 262 VOL. III. >'ff 1. Map oi the Island of St. Domingo, 2. Cbatoyer and his five Wives 9. Map of the Island of Tobago to face page 129 - 263 - 274 Ji,:2£ts.: a to the ce page 34 end of - 184 ill, de- ■f cepage 129 - 26a - 274 J'* f ii •i I* ^ ^ \ Ni X ■ <4 \ I .1 ■I '^ ^ V V 'X^ s > ^" ■s •< >5^ ,1 «; N i N k N $ N- V ^ S s ^ C xxiii ) COLUMBirs a„d hi. Sons D„o„ a„d F.„„,. i-ossession of Edward Hob«, E,q. of Bevi. Mount near Southampton. believed to be hia J„, """"'' ''°'' ''«'""' XO^nS men ar, ■nade. The globe T l!! T™ °^ *' ' W !•« had ".ppon .., /o,t; * lie t.:TS'" ""^"-•" ground, allude, probablv.,0 ,J "P^' '" ""' ""acfc formed throughouM Eurl f T "''^''"■°"' «""'^'' ""= 'he mention of aslf^r^'^""*'^^'"'''— ie,. '™'» «pre.n.ed, (a, an o^ ^at Z V"""'"*^"' "' ''°"°""' of certainty) there is reason ,oH, f""' °' '"'"' *=» painted imn.edia.elv o„ r "' *" **= ''""'^ ™» -y.. in '- h^rreChrcTo" '°""'' co.empora.y his.orian * tha, ,h. ,j { . '''™"' » i" "0.. had received irf^ at „ tutje ^' '^^ ^"''■ o» tte offer side of «, ,„„„• ' ' *'^'^ ™ « ff'«« oca.» well known tha a M,' . 1 """""^ ""'*"'"^'''- -1 *' i» age, were C^'r.T::^'^^" '" ""^ '""* ™^- Ocean from the Atlantick f , ,™'' ""° ""= «™*-» -ore thanaooC 'f „ '1^ T "'"•'"■'= ""^ "'P'-^'» Sea wa, reserved forVa M '""'' "'"^"'^"^ °' «»«-«> cscrvea tor Vasco Nunez de BaJhm ti Columbus's Sons, at the time nf w '^ '^e of voyage, con-espon s wi h thTran "'"" '"" ''^ ^°"^^^ youngest of them ''' ^^''' ';P^'^^'^"<^« *" ^J'e Picture. The tory Of his F^ZCi^e .Ttlfr^^^^^^^ ^"'"^''^^^ ''^'^ ''^^^ the following „ervcu'' "/'^'/^"^^ ^^'^P^^^ of which I find -^anner-ii-;r^:-rr^:r-^^ »iso to correspond : ""' '* ^oes, is found • r. -L-de Comara Hinoriadela. todlas, cap.eo. "Fu« W 1 1 • •/i: ^mmmmm^^'^l^^f mjT's^m^ m W •#■ § I p ;a- . ~^ 1- § s^ '^^ J k ( Jixiv ) " Fue el almirante hombve de bien formacb, i mas que ma Wist, del AJmirante Don Christ. Coloji. C. 3. i I (S'l' I C XXV ] P K E F A C E ■-*, TO THt FIRST tDITION. TIIR discovcrj- of a „ew Ilcmfspl.cre br 'Vn^rds i„ tl.c conquest of it/l.avTbeen dc ^medl^the theme of a long ,erie of histodest" the several languages of Eufope; and ^su „ ^ fliAr^P . dijiong ourselves.— It is not ^T^kTyT^'T!" r' "«"'" "' - ''-^""'' fpw . K^- "^ '^"'*' ""^ "^""enccs of which few an be .gnorant. if the noblest exertions o S human m.nd, producing events the most singular and .nportant in the histor, of the world, are" cir- cun.,tances deserving admiration and enquiry duo^nl •**' "''"'' ^ *"'" '" '' ^"ffi^'entiyar- oount of the or,gm and progress of the settlement, "lands Si""' """ """"" '" '''' ^^''^' I'"'-'^ intllT'^o'" "'"'■ '°"'"""i»»^' establishments, mternal governments, and the political system mamtamed by Great Britain to^yards them;- 10 describe the manner- ur.A Ai.^^.ut. n ., ^ *-'--■••"" wis LPusiiiuiis or the present mhabilauts, as influenced by climate, si! tuulion. I i in ■'■HI xxvi PREFACE TO THE m. I tiiation, and other local causes ; comprehending in this part of my hook an account of the African slave-trade ; some observations on the negro cha- racter and genius, and reflections on the system of slavery established in our colonies ; To furnish a more comprehensive account than has hitherto appeared of the agriculture of the Sugar Islands in general, and of their rich and va- luable staple commodities, sugar, indigo, coifee, and cotton, in particular ; — finally. To display the various and widely extended branches of their commerce ; pointing out the re- lations of each towards the other, and towards the several great interests, the manufactures, na- vigation, revenues, and lands of Great Britain. These, together with several collateral disqui- sitions, arethetopicks on which I have endeavour- ed to collect, and convey to the publick, useful and acceptable information Their importance will not be disputed, and I have only to lament that my abilities are not more equal to the task I have undertaken. But, before I proceed to investigations merely political and commercial, I have ventured on a retrospective survey of the state and condition of the West Indian islands when first discovered by Columbus; and I have endeavoured to delineate the most prominent features in the character and genius of their ancient inhabitants. I was led to a research of this nature, not merely for the pur- pose of giving uniformity to my work, but be- cause, having resided many years in the countries -^^ which I write, I presume to think that I am somewhat of rmsT EDITION. 3^xyjj eoee of climate and situation, on the disoodc-.™ many „f those waters, who, without the same ad- estai>l«h conclusions, on this subject. I conceive ha , unless an author has had the benefit ^HI! tual experience and personal observation, neither »f plK *'"""*»'^- -dmWeprese„tatioi» wJ-' ,t ' '«"'"»•'«' Of interested men: to whoseauthorit^ he submits, merely from, he ^a^t of advantage, which those who have possTed them have perverted. He is liable even to' S on no'bE'"^;'!-'"' V- '•^^ "■'"-^''i^-t histories J^ r"*""""" *'■*'' '""•»■'"■' t» ■=»-"i'ife ^stones and form systems on the same subject- .erted, he suspects not, or, if he suspects iscau hous of asserting, that the foundation itsel f aH frequently happens; is without support , "it „» .uch acts actually evist. or, if ex jing, arc acl or sumcient extent and iraportaucc whereon fa f S"""' '^""^'"''""^ ''"'' syste.„au::rc:m! ■Wdttuud at the cruelties e«rcised by the Spani- |;i I] :kxvm it PnEFACE TO TlfJi ards in tlid conquest of the New World, or front a strange afieclaf ion of paradox and singularity^ falsely clainiing the honours of philosophy, thosd writers have ventured to assert, that the air and climate, or other physieal phenomena, retard the growth of animated nature in the New Hemi^ sphere, and prevent the natives from attaining to that perfection at which mankind arrive in the other quarters of the glohc. Notwithstanding '"">' ^"'•f direction of tJie Spaniards all ,' ""''"' *''" ever could be got out oTft"" '" '"""^ '^'"'*- united labour ofso man V..W T''' "'""'^ ""' nf „„i •> '"""**• almost everv thino. ...ultitude nof only trete^lr bttl:''*' from inspecting too curiously what tel'tH: ri» Hiito^r of America, V„:. I, p. 407. ifl K^Hi] >8 ■£•( Irf-'- their XXXll PREFACE TO THE their p;uests. Next morninjr this prinre visited Cohimbus, and endeavoured to console him for hi& loss htj ojfering all that he possessed to repair it." Thus exceptions present themselves tocver;y ge- neral conclusion, until we arc burfhened with their variety :— And at last we end just where wc bcfi^an ; for the wonderful uniformity which is said to have distinguished the American Indians, can- not be supported by analogy, because it is not founded on nature. Of the other branches of my work, great part, I presume to think, will be new to many of my readers. I have not met with any book that even pretends to furnish a comprehensive and satisfac- tory account of the origin and progress of our na- tional settlements in the tropical parts of Ame- rica. The system of agriculture practised in the West Indies, is almost as much unknown to the people of Great Britain as that of Japan, They know, indeed, that sugar, and indigo, and coffee, and cotton, are raised and produced there ; but they are very generally, and to a surprising de^ gree, uninformed concerning the method by which those and other valuable commodities are cultiva- ted and brought to perfection. So remarkable in- deed is the want of information in this respect, even among persons of the most extensive general knowledge, that in a law question which came by appeal from one of the Sugar Islands a few years ago, the noble and learned earlwho presided at the hearing, thinking it necessary to give some ac- count of the nature of rum and mclasses (much being stated in the pleadings concerning the value of f'JfRST EDITION. ^xxiii »nd from which TC wa ™ ft '^'"T *•" •=""''' boiling rci- J " **' afterwards made by On (he subject of the slave-trade »„^ •. -lonies, differs yTryltltZT' I, "'' «"'"'« «atio„s that have be™ „^^„ ;7„ ''«'. -P-»en- J"a» at least this advantage th7" ^ '"^^'^*' observations are fo.nde^L'Sr ,7' f^ and actual experience: and w^th " ''""'^'^''g^ ■nanners and dispositions of tb nat^f" *'"' as dist nffuished hv nni'.^ i u / ^® Africans, i««ck fealrSv^ttt: aVa^i^'''^^^^^^^^^^ - ""' ""^ '■""nd both new and «n "^ '"'='""•'" A-H all, .„,«„, object hast:!\,„,h, not _W I give this anecdote on the au,h„rl,„ of a r,- ■ Vt 7' Fes.o., a F.„„of „„,„„i^;J-^ g™,te. novelty. ^ '1 1 H ». 1-1 ^ I +1 ill ml llil * if i i :f XXXIV PREFACE TO THE novelty. I have endeavoured to collect useful knowledge wheresoever it lay, and when I found booKs that supplied what I sought, I have some- times been content to adopt, without alteration, what was thus furnished to my hands. Thus, extracts and passages from former writers occupy some of ray pages ; and not having always been careful to note the authorities to which I resorted, I find it now too late to ascertain the full extent of my obligations of this kind. They may be traced most frequently, I believe, in the first and last parts of my work : in the first, because, when I began my task, I had less confidence in my own resources than I found afterwards, when ]iractice had rendered writing familiar to me ; and in the last, because, when my labours grew near to a conclusion, I became weary, and was glad to get assistance wheresoever it offered. From living rather than from wriltcn informa- tion, however, have I generally sought assistance, when my own resources have proved deficient ; and it is my good fortune to boast an acquaintance with men, to whom., for local and commercial knowledge, our statesmen and senators might re- sort, with credit to themselves and advantage to the publick. On this occasion, nciihcr the grati- tude which I owe for favours bestowed, nor the pride which I feel from the honour of his friend- ship, will allow me to conceal the name of Ed- ward Long, Esquire, the author of the Jamaica History, to whom I am first and principally in- debted ; and who, with the liberality which al- ways accompanies true genius, has been as careful to FIRST EMTIOV. jj^^^ depended on the issue '""^'""''' reputation had Thomas cLnbe Es ' "".'""'^""'''''S''"""^ «» the assembly of that ITh r*""''^ '?"="''" °f of a friend, furnihedstch ""' "'""'^'' ">"-» I sent him as enconr ™" *° ^•«="'^« 'hat tion of my worfcTr^" T,* *° P'-^'""' 'h"' Por- which IdCtot assume'"' """ * •=»"«"-« other of the iXndT" Ye't" Z^IT' "' -"' most of these, I hare n„ . . "" '"^^"^ «" assistance ha. been rftZi V" •'^'""P''''" "'a' cerning Barbadoe! and S Ch -T'l ""^- ^on- ticular, I have been ftvoutd v'tl " T' '" P"" and acceptable informlZ I ""',»"'«'' '«='>"ate and Alexander Douir P ' ^ ''''''" ^'aithwaite - intimate.; °;itfrr«rt'"''"^'': those colonies • anrl fh. i-: concerns of nes, with w i;h :hel'':rs; ;'" ''""'''"' '•-'''- title them to this nuLT . "' o^t^mes, e„- Th. sam! b„?e 1 't^/'^'-rr''"^ *'"'"'"■ ■"in Vaughan and G ™Hi b" ^ ^T -^ """J^- chants of London, for nfa„ etdlft ''7''' ""'■ ant remark,, and much vl, u ^ ""P"'''- "t length, have eZM:':tX7Ti ""'"''' commercial disouisif ,„,„ 1 i ^""^ "" the degree of satisISZtal • '/"'' "'"" "^ of obtaining ; beW 'el P';'"^ ^ •^«-^P="'o'I noxious to critloL"" ^/'J^ ^'^"-ts, be most „b- from mistalccs," I do not/, ,'. 'V'"'" '""''''''"^ "--^^ not mdoed pretend. In all researches 'i If *i * r 1 »i ' 'I ji J i! |ul XXXVl PREFACE TO THE researches of a political and commercial nature^ the best authorities are sometimes fallible; and there is frequently much diflference both in general opinion and particular computation between those who are equally solicitous for the discovery of truth. The facts, however, that I have collected cannot fail to be of use, whether the conclusions I have drawn from them be well-founded or not. I MIGHT here close this introductory discourse, and leave my book to the candour of my readers ; but having- made my acknowledgments to those gentlemen who have given me their kind assistance in the compilation of it; and feeling, in common with all the inhabitants of the British West Indies, a just sense of indignation at the malignant and, unmerited aspersions which are daily and hourly thrown upon the planters, for supposed improper and inhuman treatment of their African labourers; I should ill acquit myself, as the historian of those colonies, if I omitted this opportunity of giving my testimony to the fulness of their gratitude, their honest pride and lively sensibility, at behold- ing, in a Son of their beloved Sovereign, the gene- rous assertor of their rights, and the strenuous and able defender of their injured characters, and in- sulted honour ! The condescending and unsoli- cted interpoisition of the Duke of Clarence on this occasion, is the more valuable, as, happily for the planters, it is founded on his Royal High- ness's personal observation of their manners, and knowledge of their dispositions, acquired on the spot. Thus patronized, and protected, while they frPili U'ltll Glli^nt «C(>«'" anrl (|vere founded on principles of sound pohcj and humanity; to myself, because it give^ me an opportunity of shewing that the sentiments which I expressed on the same subject are justi^ tied by his high authority, This is not a business of selfishness or faction • nor (like many of those questions which are daily moved in Parliament merely to agitate and perplex government) can it be dismissed by a vote It will come forward again and again, and haunt administration in a thousand hideous sliapes, until a more liberal policy .hall take place ; for no folly can possibly exceed the no- tion that any measures pursued by Great Britain Will prevent the American States from having some time or other, a commerical intercourse with our West Indian territories on their own terms With a chain of coast of twenty degrees of lati- tude, possessing the finest harbours for the pur pose in the world, all lying so near to the Sugar Colonies, and the track to Europe,-with a country abounding in every thing the Islands have occasion tor, and which they can obtain no where else; all these circumstances, necessarily and 'kll 'ill 11 xl i i.l PREFACE TO THE and naturally, Icaxl to a commercial intercourse' between our Islands and the United States. It is true, we may ruin our Sugar Colonies, and ourselves also, in the attempt to prevent it; but It is an experiment which God and Nature have marked out as impossible to succeed. The present restraining system is forbidding men to help each other ; men who by their necessities, their climate and productions, are standing in perpetual need of mutual assistance, and able to supply it. I WRITE with the freedom of History ;— for it is the cause of humanity that I plei^d.— At the ^ame time there is not a man living who is more desirous than myself of testifying, by every pos- sible means, the sensibility and affection which are due to our gracious Sovereign, for that pa- ternal solicitude and munificent interposition in favour of his remotest subjects, to which it is owing that the Bread Fruit, and other valuable productions of the most distant regions, now flourish in the British West Indies. These are indeed " imperial works, and worthy kings." After several unsuccessful attempts, the intro- duction of the Bread Fruit was happily accom- plished, in January 1793, by the arrival at St. Vincent of his Majesty's ship Providence, Cap- tam William Bligh, and the Assistant brig. Cap- tain Nathaniel Portlock, from the South Seas; having on board many hundreds of those treel ^ad a vast number of other choice and curious plantsj tercoursft' ates. It nes, and ivent it; I Nature d. The men to cessitiesj iding in nd able — for it -At the is niore Qvy posr which hat pa- ition in h it is aluable ij now lese are kings.'* intro- iccom- at St. Cap- ;, Cap- 1 Seas ; ! tree^^ urious ilantSj If :i SECOND EDITION. £*^ i" » ver, flo„™hmgco„difi„„. all „i„l' have been PioperlydistributedthroiP-I *r , , ::rr '"*■'--'-'• "-5;:7r fe'Wgh, ,,i,h leaves .hire! ^in^h T' "''""'■''' "'''"'- -™i=iv..i„g u,e„h« exce e;'" :f ;;-''. '"^"-- "ons. The Cinnamon T,ee i, bo ^"'"^ '"P"--"'- gro™*. There .re alto several e. """ '" "'" "■=«- bas.ard bread-rVui,, which t~T' "^'" "^ "'" ''^^'^ " Tia:<,r. We have one Nu,„ " ^ , "'^ " "" ''''"'" "' Sec. kc." ° "•""' "i"'' 's rather sickly, t On thedeafhof Hlii ■" botanick garden, i, b-cam," T '^' ° ''°""''='' "^ «'<= £..w..»nnvo.;.sx r 1 "'"""'^ "' ''" ~'*-- '^*'-.i^q.,bar„ste at la>v, and member of parliament JVftf J P I :> 4 ^ ««. xlii PREFACE TO THE lishment^ under the care of skilful gardeners, one of whom circumnavigated the globe with Cap- tain BliuH. I might therefore have considerably enlarged the llortiis Eastmsis annexed to the Third Volume of this Work, but the particulars did not conic to w\y hands in time. However, that the lovers of natural history may not be wholly disappointed, I shall subjoin to this Pre^ face a Catalogue of the more rtre and valuable exoticks which now flourish in Jamaica. The present improved state of botany in that island will thus be seen at one view. In contemplating this display of indnstry and science, and offering the tribute of grateful ve- neration to that Sovereign, under whose roval patronage and bounty so many valuable producer tions have been conveyed, in a growing state, from one extremity of the world to the other, it is im- possible that the inhabitants of (he British West Indies can forget how much also is due to Sir Joseph Banks, the President of the Royal So- ciety ; by whose warm md unwearied exertions the second voyage to the South Seas was deter- mined on, after the first had pro.ved abortive. Among all the labours of life, if there is one pur- suit more replete than any other with benevo- lence, more likely to add comforts to existing people, and even to augment their numbers by parliament fof Great Bedwin, who with great generosity offered it to the Assembly oi J(Uiutica> for the use of liie publick, at their own price. augmenting be SECOND EDITION, ^^p- augmenting their means of .ub,i,tence. it n S creation, by transplanting from or«. nart nf iu «>«mtj.. In this ge,«;r„u, effort. Sir Joseph B.„ »>« employed a considerable part of hi . attention, and fortnne ■ and th, "^' On the whole, the introduction of fh. » ^ ^«*.ndot..er punts from tbetufsfa^lS::^ -the mumhcenee displayed by H„ Ma,estv i» causmg the voyage to be undertaken ^ Xh " was final, aecomplished-the liberalifv'^i "lent of those who advised it- .„ ,. ''^ attention manifested by t ,„,e X' '"" """ «™«j- ^1 -^ ^"^ were more im- mediately entrusted with the conduct ofr, crcumstances that claim . distiluthl I and constitute an i^porta... era T t H^^r' of the British West I„c! ., ' ' ""= ""'"^ HAV.NC said thus much in honour of ™, «o««tjTmen .t i. but justice to observe, tha th^ French nat.on (whilst a government ex sted amo„, them) began to manifest a noble sS of emulation ,„ the same liberal pursuit. It fs 1 the industry of the French that Jamaica (a m ^ seen ,„ the History of that Island) owl"! -".-.amoi. the Mango, and some other delidoul Sp.ces and Fruits. Among other branches " 4 the xliv PREFACE TO TUB the vegetable kingdom, introduced by tliem into their West Indian possessions, they reckoned three diflferent species of the Sugar Cane, all of which were previously unknown to the planters and inr- habitants. I have, in the second volume of this edition, observed, that Sir Joseph Banks had sa^ tisfied me that such varieties did exist ; but I was; not then apprized that their cultivation had been successfully attempted, in any of our own islands, By the kindness of Admiral Sir John Laforey, Baronet, I am now enabled to gratify my readers with such full and authentick information on this subject, as cannot fail to be highly acceptable to every inhabitant of the West Indies. These Canes were originally introduced into Martinico ; and it was a fortunate circumstance that the distinguished officer whom I have named commanded about that time on the naval station at Antigua. It was equally fortunate that, with a love of natural knowledge, he possessed plan- tations in the Island last-mentioned ; for it is ex- tremely probf»ble, from the disturbances and disr tractions which have prevailed ever since in every one of the French Colonies, that there would not at this time have been found a trace of these plants in any part of the West Indies, if Sir John La- forey had not personally attended to their pre- servation. With the account which his polite- ness has enabled me to present to the Publick, I shall conclude this Introductory Discourse. Bemarhs tECOND EDITION. iIt Semarks o„ the East India and other CANKS imported into the French Cha- ^"Ibean Islands, and lately introduced into the Island 0/ Antigua, Jy Sir John Lafo- KEY, Bart. ^ " One sort was brought from the Island of Bourbon, reported by the French to be the growth of the coast of Malabar. _" ANoTHEa sort from the Island of Otaheite. ^ Another sort from Batavia. " The two former are much alike, both in their appearance and growth, but that of Otaheite i. »a.d to make the finest sugar. They are much larger than those of our Islands, the joints of some measuring eight or nine inches long, and SIX in circumference. " "^T" "''°"''' "■"* *"* o*" t''"'' '-^-ves also, diffi^s from ours, being of a pale green; their leaves broader, their points falling towards the ground as ihey grow out, instead of being «.eet like those of our Islands. Their juice also when expressed, differs from that of our Canes ; beinR ofa very pale, insteadof a deep green colour I caused oin, of the largest of these Canes to' be cut, at what I deemed its full growth, and like- could be found upon each of three other planta- tions. When they were properly trimmed fi,. g^mding, I had u.^^ ,,^^^^l^ ; ^,,^ ^-^- Wnes weighed upwards of seven pounds; nei- ther xlvt PREFACE TO THE I ther of tlie other three exceeded four pounds and a quarter. " They are ripe enough to grind at the age of ten months ; a few cut for a trial by my manager, above twelve months old, were judged to have lost part of their juices, by standing too long. " They appear to stand the dry weather better than our? ; I observed, that after a drought of a long continuance, when the leaves of our own Canes began to turn brown at their points, these continued their colour throughout. " A G-ENTLEMAN of Moutscrrat had some plants given to him by Monsieur Pinnel, one of the most considerable planters of Guadaloupe, who told him he had, in the preceding year (1792) in which an exceeding good drought had prevailed, planted amongst a larj^e field of the Island Canes half an acre of tliese ; that the want of rain, and the borery had damaged tlie former so much, .that he could not make sugar from them, but the latter had produced him tliree ht^sheads. " In the spring of this year ( 1794) a trial was made of the Malabar Canes, on one of my planta* tiong ; UO bunches from holes of five feet square were cut, they produced upwards of 350 lbs. of very good sugar; the juice came into sugar iu the teache, in much less time than is usually required for that of the other Canes, and threw up very little scum. The produce was in the proportion of 3.500 Ihs. in an a^r^ • •♦'^p ...— ^i — .. k-j ■^'l,-,- been so very dry, and the borer so destructive, that SECOND EDITION. xlvti that T am sure no one part of th^ p^ntation would have yielded above half that qiantitj from the other Canes, in the same space of ground. We had not then the benefit of the newr-invented clarifiers, which, though imported, hal not been fixed up for want of time. ''The French complain thatthese Canes do not yield a sufficient quantity of field trash, to boil the juice into sugar; to this, and to their never throwmg up an arrow, I think their superior size may in good measure be attributed. This in- convenience may h ; viated, by the substitution of coals ; and the ii.c. eased quantity of the cane- trash, which their magnitude will furnish (and Which we reckon the richest manure we have, when properly prepared) will well indemnify thJ expence of firing. " The Batavia Canes are a deep purple on the outside; they grow short-jointed, and small in circumference, but. bunch exceedingly, and ve- getate so quick, that they spring up from the plant m one-third the time those of our Islands do ; the joints, soon after they form, all burst longitudinally. They have the appearance of being very hardy, and bear dry weather well : a few bunches were cut and made into sugar at the same time the experiment was made with the white Canes. The report made to me of them was, that they yielded a ffreat t\,^»\ nf ,•„.>„ which seemed richer than that of the others, but the sugar was strongly tinged with the colour of the xiriit PREFACE, &C- file rind; ^d it was observed, that upon the expression er, and fl!!: *" '"""*«* «•■<"» toge- "u in« one side, and 1 'f ' » / t t .1 !• I do (> I L V OF LiiiMMrf : i.Uftt\f // ''lialliaiii 1'>'V^ M i: X I c () .%M0j^^0iT .\l in.v.i..| n <^ (I -^ '^y, v*"" ,V'" /ry^/* Sf .InfrfiivM l,„;li» 'Ifl /,;■, K/:,trrC l\ A Y n () N I) V K AS lA.MAKA K '^ - .///lw'>'ii I //,7,,,l ,^' /;fx.p'^-*" i;,n, D.mi'ifori' "yiiii t'l R n II i! MmI,,. C.MO \UKX.\J a !:x.i 9" n'i !;■,<■ I'utfi/hid I'tt' Q IJ(). h f Sl..U^l<- .l\,t i I // ff.-; 6\f k - .. ' ^ti^' /: of the 2 .^ J;/« ,■<■,/. A.I "^.|. .I'll ^"^I ,.,/.,,c;/.v-w //}"/// Z/-^' /^^//' // ///Of.' / 7'//; v. Hvin '■"'•' ■ I, I"* ■ litrLJa , ft *» /) ll.^^".'- ''»'«/ / (Miailiili>ii|ii- A*i.«''«*A77r a^ •71 .Tin- (iainiitc /.'AViHrVJ^ Miiniiiivo >j" ^ .Hiri/i n n n /: J X S £ liri:-ii\yi Ciraiiadtnos Kiiiivtcwii f\ S' \'in('riil.v ^ It v* * Jimuiliy (n.iii.i.la Chit" '''' L''L"''f"i/ r I./., Ain.VliK.X.X 'T II , / J/ /; A^ r r A .^^ .^ ^^ ^_ /'iMi//tU i'cb' o typ. '•: r M,'.Uufr .t\ A//, l; \i-". lemy, .„ 6= fifteen Uo^ ^^.^ 6 '""''''" "^^ ''"" Ai« »upp«,io/„, *,,, ™'=^!''^, '■-"■^'e Island ,f <''" Fortunate or Canarr T / ^S'^es west from •l;e Por.„s„«e were pu^uiug.- "om^r""'" "''"'" -I..ch the reader is indebted tf the , "e TrT'; "" " -s evident that tlie scheme „f r i u ''°'>""o". rational systematical J „., °'^'^°'™''"' «'■•« ft^ded on "i' ^go atLde ' wh ™ S; T:"'"' '° '"^ ''="' ""-'■ -h support, to'disco : ew, I^ilr K ' "'""""' ^"^ ward, he would have h .„ , ' ''^' ''•"""e Wst- ->« chimeric p,r,;:n: ™"'*^^^ ^^ - --s^" ■ -----tit-rsrri:::;:-^^ . _ 4.i 4.- P B'i by "TWT" ♦ HISTORY OF THE BOOK by an Eastern course, they were now dcnomi- \^vw nated the Indies of the IVcstfcJ. Among the Geographers of those days, how- ever, there were some, who, envying the gh)ry of Culumhus, or giving more credit to ancient fable than to the achievements of their cotem- porancs, persisted in assigning to the newly-dis- covered Islands the appellation oCAntilia or An- files: the name (according to Charlevoix) of an imaginary country, placed in ancient charts about two hundred leagues to the Westward of the Azores; and it is a name still very generally used by foreign Navigators, although the ety- mology of the word is as uncertain as the ap- plication of it is unjust. To the British nation the name bestowed by Columbus is abundantly more familiar : and thus the whole of the New Hemisphere is, with us, commonly comprised under three great divisions ; North America, South America, and the West Indies CdJ. Cc) Columbus failed on his first voyage the 3d of August, 1492. In 1494 Bartholemus Dias discovered the Cape of Good Hope 3 but it was not doubled till the year 1497, when Vasquez de Gama succeeded (for the first time in modern navigation) in tliis, as it was then supposed, formi- dable attempt. (d) The term Antiks is applied by Hoffman to the Wind- ward or Charaibean Islands only, and is by him thus ac- counted for: " DIcuntur Antil* America quasi ante Insulas . Aiiericae, nempe ante majores Insulas Sinus Mexicani. (Hoffman simple has in< tions.' separat and to lioned, neral a itself pi Basins : Hondun (Hoffman 1 the wonl n ville applies immediatelj tlius he terr the Gnat A Bonair, Maj raccas on tin Ciiaraibean J Spanish His: writers, that and Cuba, b Islands, or ai pears from th first Dccad c Court of Spai Columbus's n Insulam sese r diJigenter consj alia:: banc Hii (ej Vide Int WEST INDIES. *. " ^'""^ t"c main Ocean ^n f).« m *i t'o-e.., a.th„.,,h eo„.™„n,; „Vrv r™" "eral appellation of «,e Moxier r. *^''- Basins : the G„,p,. of Mexico, t c L o Hondura., and the Charaibean Sea" ; " ,. Je (Hofman Uxic. Univ.) Bocl..f„« j „ 'l'"»l.e term, Cuba HislTI *'"'""'""' ^'"'"'n™' = «^ 6>,.»< ^„«^.., ^.j'S", f 7'-. ™.i Porto-Rico, "CCTS on die Soutl,cm Pe„i„sul ' ,! ' ""' °'''^''- Witer,, ,ha, d,e word It,! '™°"'""W "> ■>» .l.e.a ""d Cuba, before Z f "' ^Ited ,„ Hispanic, I»'and., or an, ;r„ntrr •""'■" "' '"=^«<'™"' Pear» from the foUowL' l™™ """"^'"- TW. ap. Cour. of S,„i„. ^Z^^Tu^'llT" r """' «■"' Columbus', return from li f * "'""'hs o„l, after ^iigenter considerato, ^„„,L 1;™?7''°T '"^"' »'- : hane Hispanio^, appelWt^r" "^ " '"''"'"'" /e^^il* '"'"^"«'- '« '^^ We. ,„dian AUa. ., latter 'i i »i ' , subdividiiig them according to their situation in the course of the trade wind j tlie Windward Islands by their ar' uigemcut terminating, I believe, with Martinico, and the Leeward commencing at Dominica, and extending to Porlo Tiico. Englis and r( wester! hundrc Hispar Fioridf Indian tion I c anxious have d( for it \ nour of ^he mos the mos that the adventu] the worl Most to treat Cancer, 1 regard to and cons( the same St. Salvador of Cat Islam Xucsypg. WEST INDIES. Neither rau,t it pa., unobserved, tbat the cha.. name of Bahama i, commonly applied by the Enghsh to that cluster of ™all island,, rock, »nd reefs of sand, which stretch in a north- westerly direction for the space of near three hundred leagi,es, from the Northern coast of H.span.oht to the Bahama Strait, opposite the Hor.da Shore. Whether this appellation is of Indran or,g,„, a, commonly supposed, is a ques- , fon I cannot answer ; neither does it merit very anxious investigation ; yet these little island, have deservedly »claim to particular notil nou, of first receiving Columbus, after a voyage he most bold and magnificent in design, ^and the most important in it. consequences' of any at the ™ndofman has conceived, or national adventure undertaken, from the beginning of the world to the present hour. " Most of the countries of which J nr«„„ ^^ treat being situated beneatMllf troj H^ Cancer, the cucumstances of climate, as well in regard to general heat, as to the periodical rain! 2 "'"^r"' '*""""" "'■^'^''^""«' "'e nearly Ihe same throughout the whole. The tempe- A; CM by ,1„ l„Ji3™ Gu.„.,l,a„i, by ,l,„ Spaniards rature s,^V%/ :i ■ V , I;' * HISTORY OF THE BOOJ? mature of the air varies indeed consideraWj ac- >rv>^ cording to the elevation of the land; but, with ♦his exception, the medium degree of heat is much the same in all the coqntrics of this part of the globe. A TROPICAL year seems properly to com- prehend but two distinct seasons ; the wet and the dry I but as the rains in these climates con- stitMte two great periods, I shall describe it, like the European year, under four divisions. The vernal season, or Spring, may be said to commence with the month of May, when the fpliag€ of the trees evidently becomes more vi- vid, and the parched savannas begin to change their russet hue, even previous to the first pe- riodical rains, which are now daily expected and generally set in about the middle of the month. These, compared with the Autumnal rams, may be said to be gentle showers. They come from the South, and commonly fall every day about noon, and break up with thunder- storms ^ creating: a bright and beautiful ver- dure and a rapid and luxuriant vegetation. Ihe thermometer at this season varies conside- rably ; commonly falling six or eight degee? immediately after the diurnal rains; its medium Jieigh may be stated at 75P. After these rains have continued about ^ fortnight, the weather becomes dry, settled, and saJutary ; WEST INDIES, g glory. Not a cloud is to be DerceJ v«»d • ur.A ,u »• hour, commonly between seven and (e„ ilZ «no™.ng, before the sotting in of .he I h^ or tradp w.«j 1 • , * sea-breeze o.trade-w.„d, which at this season blows from the south-east with great force and re^nlarrt^ «"t.l late in the evemng, the heat i TaS ^pportable; hnfc no sooner is the inflnen: 2 and t^ "fr-h-ng wind, than all Nature revive vrrvtoLfhT't *'"'^''^'''' "-—*„;- >ery tolerable, but pleasant. The thermnm . Lin: ''T" "-■•->'«'« trtX; nouTs . Its medium, near the coast J u Jated.t about 80". I have seCo^rvS oeautiful. The clearness and brilliancy of the heavens the serenity of the air. and tlllft *ranqu.l|,ty in which Nature renosr, 1 lu toh«.ethemi„d.a„d;:d::;rm::: V i., a ivei>; great coolness, and tice irr«« •• c i transitions freauonMv «,- • , *"• ^"ch North An.erirr^,^S:L^^r^'^^^^^ mercury in Farenheit s hi '°" '■'^^'^^^' '^''' tJ>« •^-nd ifon, " : ;^-«-^-i^- been kno.n to de- « - r.~ h«pp.v ..unpt Auin tiose noxious variations. culm ,,i '^ -I - (! 10 BOOK i. m HISTORY OF THE calra and delightful sensations. The moon too in these climates displays far greater radiance than in Europe. The smallest print is legible by her light, and in the moon's absence her function is not ill supplied by the brightness of the milky- way, and by that glorious planet Venus, which appears here like a little moon, and glitters with so refulgent a beam as to cast a shade from trees, buildings, and other objects, making full amends for the short stay and abrupt departure of the crepusculura or twilight (ij, This state of the weather commonly conti- nues, with little variation, from the beginning of June until the middle of August, when the diurnal breeze begins to intermit, and the at- mosphere becomes sultry, incommodious and suflbcating. In the latter end of this month, and most part of September, we look about in vain for coolness and comfort. The thermo- meter occasionally exceeds 90", and instead of a steady and refreshing wind from the sea, there 0) In the mountainous and Interior parts of the larger iskuuls, innumerable >Ve-/?ieA' abound at night, which have n surprising appearance to a stranger. They consist of different species, some of which emit a light, resembling a spark qf lire, from a globular prominence near each eye; and others from their sides in the act of respiration. TI.ey are far moro luminous than the glow-worm, and fill the air on all sides, like so many living stars, to the great astenishment and ad- mirat ion of a traveller unaccustomed to the country. In the day-time tliey di.snppear. iWe WEST INDIES. are usually faint breezes and calms alternately, chap" Ihese are preludes to the .econd periodical or '' * Autumnal season. Large towering clouds, fleecy and of a reddish hue, are now seen, in the . mornmg, m the quarters of the south and south- east; the tops of the mountains at the same time appear clear of clouds, and the objects upon them wear a blueish cast, and seem much nearer to the spectator than usual. When these vast accumulations of vapour have risen to a considerable height in the atmosphere, they commonly move horizontally towards the moun- tains, proclaiming their progress i„ deep and rolling thunder, which, reverberated from peak to peak, and answered by the distant roaring of the sea, heightens the majesty of the scene, and irresistibly lifts up the mind of the spectator to the great Author of all sublimity*. The waters, however, with which these con- gregated vapours load the atmosphere, seldom tail with groat and general force until the be- ginning of October. It is then that the heavens pour down cataracts. An European who has * The thunder generally censes towards the evening, but as the night sets in, the eye is irresistibly attracted towards he mountains by the distant lightning, which issu^ from he c ouds m ten thousand brilliant coruscations, a.id play. harmlessly along the summits of the mountains in various fantast.ck shapes. It is said that the Aurora BoreaUs is never seen n. the West Indies, but I have beheld lunar rainbows iic(|uentiy. not i , I '4- k ) ■ il ! ■',' I ' C'L. %iy <^ la HISTORY OF THE BWK not visited these climatcg, can form no just con. w^^ ception of the quantity of v^ater which deluges the earth at this season : by an exact account which was kept of the ram which fell in one year in Rarbadoes (1754) It appeared lo have been HlyU cubic inches, equal to 7 £f}ct Srh^ inchts perpendicului*. It is now, in the interval between the login- niiig lyf August and the latter end of October, thc^t h jaicanp., those dreadftd visitations of the Almighty, are ;ippri;heA;ded. The prog, nostifs of these chvimury conflicts, have been minutely de.n'ibcJ by various writers, and their effects are known by hU mournful experience to every inhabitant of every island within the tropics, but their imm;^diate cause seems to lie far beyond the limits of our circumscribed knowledgef, * Taking the whole islands througliout, from sixty to sixty, five inches appear to be about the medium ofnin in season- able years. If this quantity should annually fall in Eug, land, the counfry would bp deluged, and the fruits of the earth uestroyed. The power of the sun, at that distance from the equator, u ould be too feeble to exhale a sufficient quan- t.ty ot It. Oa the other hand, if so small a portion as 21 mhos only, should fall in the whole year at Barbadoes or Jamaica, where the exhalation by the sun and th.- sea- breeze is so great, the springs and rivers would probably be dried up, and the inhabitants perish by thirst and famine t Earthquakes also are r,c> .infrequent^ but none hav- been productive of mischir. : nee the fatal one of June, I i riot till t change i -eivabic. beaten h\ incessant to the HOI before it, hea^y rai] ^iud havi mosphere cession of north-east ness and d hurning re If this in of Decemb winter, it is globe. To vanced in li IG92, Wllich S> ^elt in Jamaica month of June, venture into the little concussion: rather call them ever very terrifyi is very sickly, anc prove fatal to a g especially to pers rope, ajid seaiarm WEST INDIES. tliano-e i , .i,„ , "eteinber, a considerable vJl, eiv"?,ie ' - '^■"P^^''*""' of tl.e air is per- ^ before i,acr„::;ci;:i^^^^^^^^^^^^ he-"'^ rai« but hail. fllT; ""'::"'''"'' 7" >.avin, acquired'^ IXe*'^^^^^^^^^^^^ n^osphere is cleared • and nn ' ^ ''*" v.a.icu, ana now compu /^« « cessioa of sprpn« „ ^ . ^""^«s on a sue- ^vinter, it i, certain^ r c P"'' ^' ""^ -cdi„,ife,it,«.eeJ.r„1-;aX''''- 1892, which sOTlloweJ un Po„ r„. , „, fei< in j™,ta I believe eZ, '' '"«'" ''"'^''^ "= -nu.„f,„„e.i™„,edi:Lv;eT«::Mr-'''^ *« "» Ixtle concussions solely ,„ ch^ . ""^ ""'"■"' '^'=» «>-er very terrifying^Du li . '°'''*»"°*«-- "^r are how. - ''v«.sic.,, .L Lfr:;:::!™;^ -■—«.,« ?rove fa,„ .„ 3 g,ea, „a„y of I o|d il k-''"''' '°"""™'' «.,e, a;.d seXing felt "'" "'"'^ ""<*" 4«"> £- The i i '•(/! BOOK 1. 14 JIISTORY OF TfiE The account which I have thus c^iveu i«», however, to be received not as uniformly exact and minutelj particular; but as a general re- presentation only, subject to many variations and exceptions. In the lar^e islands of Tuba, Hispaniolaj and Jamaica, whof;e lofty moun- tains are clothed with forests perhaps as old as the deluge, the rains arc much more frequent and ■violent than in the small islands to windward ; some of which arewithout mountai is, and others •without wood ; both powerful agents on the at- mosphere. In the interior and elevated districts of the three former islands, I believe there are showers in every month in the year ; and on the northern coasts of those islands, considerable rains are expected in December or January, soon ai\erthe setting in of the north winds. Winds. Concerning the trade-wind, or diurnal sea- breeze, which blows in these climates from the east, and its collateral points, with little inter- mission or variation nine months in the year, the causes of it having been traced and dis- played by numerous writers, it is unnecessary for me to treat; but the peculiarity of the land- wind by night (than which nothing can be more grateful and refreshing) has been less generally noticed. This is an advantage, among others, which the larger islands of the West Indies de- rive from the great inequality of their surface; for as soon as the sea-breeze dies away, the hot 4 air air oft the top by the ^ vier tha plains u wind is under tl the land shore t|] on the s( to this 1 islands t( tains, th< OFth< try, and 1 is difficu: vey an id spect oft] beyond s conceive, prepared 00 Tho a the words of and accurate (loes, and nio breeze blows the case in Ja at that time b of the mount; rent which flc WEST INDIES. »ir of U,c plalas bd„o, rar.fi.d. ascends toward, ♦l.e «,.,of,l.e „.„„„..;„, andis there c« d „ J ''^"• by the cold ,• which „.aki„^ u specificall v it. ^^ v.er than .t was before, it de«J,d, bacUo til pla,n,„„ both ,ij,, „,,,,, « -nd .s felt in all the mountainous conntrie, under the torrid zone, blowing on all sides f 1 the land toward, the shore, so that on a north ^hore the wind shall come fro.n the south Ij 0" t .0 south shore from the norlh. A<.r eab ! to th,s hypothesis, it is observable th^t n J e .^^nds to windward, Where the, have no:::: tains, they have no land-breeze (k) Or the general appearance of a distant conn- . tO^ and the scenery with which it is elotllT it-"' .s d.fficu t, b, mere verbal description, to ',„ -"• vey an =dea. To the first discoverers th-. 2 spcct ofthese islands must have been in'tt: beyond all that inKngina^on can at p.c i] conceive. Even at this day, when the .find prepared and expectation awakened by ante- rA:> Tho account thus crivpnnffi.o 1 i . , the words of J> Fi-.n! din I^ ""' '^' "^'^"^ '^ and accurate as to admit of n,. ' ' '-^^ '' "' '^''^'^^ rent which flows from t!;c sea. ' '''"' cedent II • » I, 4 t( ' ' '.41 ^ kisroRY OF tMe BOOK cedent accounts, they are beheld by the \ny. w-v-w a^er for the first time, s>)ii. t,a .ng emotions of admiration and pie arc ; lUiiing not onl;y from ihe noveltj of tlie scene, but also from the beauty of the smaller islands, and the sublimity of the larger, whose lofty mountains form - stu- pendous and awful picture ; the .subject both of wonder and contemplation (IJ. CD To tlie rirst voyagers to the West Indies, many must bave been Ihe objects of astonishment, and in some respects of terror, even before the appearance of land; such as the variation of the compass, the regularity of the winds, the water-spnut, and other phenomena; of the existence of whicii they were previously nnapprized. It is in such cases that terror exerts its power over the mind with uncontroulable ascendancy; for reason and reflection can furnish no ar^ru- ment to oppose to its progress. Columbus in tru^h foiLd himself amidst a new creation. What, for instance, could have more strongly excited curiosity than the first sight of that wonderful little animal thefyingph i Who would have believed that the natives of the deep had power ' quit their ■watery element, and fly ale; ivith t'.^ birds r he air ! ft was an era of miracles, and considering the propensity of niankind to magnify what trulv is strange, Uie modesty displayed by Columbus in sp.akiug of his ent .prises and discoveries, and the strict adherence to truth which he ap. pears on all occasions to have manifested, form :! very dis- tingnishing feature in his character. In g -ral t» travel- lers of those days not only reported wonder tli which never existed, but sometimes even really be, .c. « at they reported. In 1512 John Ponce de Leon, a Spaniard of distinction (as we are Informed by Herrera) actually took a voyage to Florida for the purpose of bathing in Uie River « 'Csoiu- "•'■ "'"<>< mvdajs; '"» 'o^o-. like ,l,e .auu !^ ';;'f '^''' *™'<' ■•-'°- h^crerluli.^of.ft,,^™'''' Medea. Jf»elau,l ,i '""■nrds, i,. ,he I,i,s,„„ „,'?'"'=«''' "'"' «.y Jears a, f'*„d >hat ,.. ,,,j 3,^„ '*;• "»tegl, d,« ,„. ,„„,,, , "'">' ""1 »ie,„„i,^ „ „,; ''"", '■'"'^ f»"' o,„era wid> , "«< "■* exi,„e„ee' s 1; "" ""' ''= -™"1/ be ^ V''. C„:iec,i„„, vd ii "'•'°""' '"' Gui^m i„ fTak Voi,. J. << f( ' t 1^ ^■:l I'lr ■|- f , Jil 1; 1' i f Jy .i .ih 18 BOOK 1. II m HISTORY OF THK " for believe mo. Sire, these countries far sur- " pass all the rest of the world in beauty and " coovenieuey ; and I have frequently ob- " served to my people, 'liat, with all my eu- " deavours to convey to your Majesty an ade- ** quate idea of tlie charming objecls which " continually present themselves to our view, " the descrip{ )n will fall greatly short of thp " reality." How ill informed, or prejudiced, are those writers, therefore, who, alfecting to disbelieve, or endeavouring- to palliate, the enormities of the Spanish invaders, represent these once de- lightful spots, when first discovered bv Colum- bus, to have been so many impenetrable .md un- healthy deserts ! It is true, that afir • the Spa- niards, in the course of a few bloody years, had exterminated the ancient and rightlul possessors, the earth, left to its own natural fertility, be- neath the influence of a tropical sun, teemed with noxious vegetation. Then, indeed, the fairest of these islands became so many frightful solitudes; impervious and unwholesome. Such w as the condition of Jamaica when w rested from the Spanish Crown in 1G;k>, and such is the condition of great part of Cuba and Porto Rico at this day: for the infinitely wise and benevo- lent Governor of the universe, to compel the exertion of those faculties which he has giveji us, has ordained, that by human cuUivation al' '\ •''lone, til, of man d But as cient stat( were thej plains or i in the y cai now well I'urkey W ^ahez, or islands, anc tivation. ' «"lv, and n vegetable fo tries were at ^oih the hi\ islands espec underwood, fowled a shai cious. Of tl On) Dr. Lind, i " mates," has pre Officer who sailed aftbni a striking " (says the Offieei " country altogethe " surrounded with " with slim*. Tin " that our torches a; " he extinguished; c toner Part I. p. G^ WEST INDIES, alone, the earth bocon.P. .i, '" of .nan (,nj. "'"' ""= P™P«f habitation chap B" " tl.e West Indian Inland, in «, ■ "^ cient state were „„t with,.„t e„.7 '"'■ -"« the^ ^„,„„ r ;, „'r :: ■"''"■" I"-- or savanna, were r!^, 'h "'' '""^ "'th-'^ear, with that .,p.S •'"""'"' «-■•<=« "»« well k„„„,„ . f"" "^'"f »-■«■" which i, Mahez^orM Lea ""'.''"'""'^""'Indian, tivation. Thi,,"l?"""'"'^''''«'"<'"scul- vegetable food of the nativ sTr ' '"' ""= "« "ore at the same U^oL '* '"""- "lands especially) „,„ '" '"f "'" *"'^"«^'- "nderwood and tl, . "'"''*'"-''^ ^'wed „f ^«*dashad:'.;\re:f'''"'"^-'''''-- -""»• Of the,e trees soUl,?"'"'''^^"'- «ie, as the papaw and ' Onj Dr. Lind, in his " Esntiv on ti. n- " n-os;- has preserved an el" ^ T" ^'^'^^ ^^'- ^>ffi-r .ho sailed up a riv 1^?, ''' ''^""^^ °^ «" " (-y« the Officer) thirfyriJes H ''"'"'^ " ^'^ ^-« " surrounded with thick 7' overflowed with water- tone." Pan I. p. e,^ '"'" ^''^' '^"'««« ^■'^ice lo^i Us ^^tural c 2 palmeto ( . 1 1' .•n 30 HISTORY OF THE If 111 K m i ■Hi n BOOK palmeto fnjy are, without doubt, the most ^^^ graceful of all the vegetable creation. Others continueto bud, blossom;, and b'^ar tVtt through- out the year. Nor is it undeser ing notice, that the foliage of the most part springing only from the summit of the trunk, and thence cxpandinginto wide-spreading branches,closeiy but elegantly arranged, every grove is an assem- (nj The species here meant (for there are several) is the palmtto-royal, or mountain-cabbage, s;, called because the upper part cftlie trunk is sometimes eaten, and supposed to resemble the European cabbage in flavour. Ligon men- tions some, at the tir.st settlement of Earbadoes, about 200 feet in height 5 but JMr. Hughes observes, that the highest ill his time, in that Island, was 134 feet. I am inclined to believe, that I have seen them in Jamaica upwards of 150 feet in height j but it is impossible to spe,: '• with certainty ^yithout an actual measurement. " i\ either the tall cedars of Lebanon (says Hughes) nor any trees of the forest, are equal to it in height, beauty, or proportion; so that it claims among vegetables, that superiority which Virgil gives to Rome among the cities of Italy : f'erum h(cc tantinn cMas inter caput ext.ulit urhes. Quantum lenta solent inter viburna cupressi." The upper part of the trunk, from whence the foliage .springs, resembles a well-turned finely polished baluster, of a lively green colour, gently swelling from its pedestal, and diminishing gradually to the top, where it expands into branches waving like plumes of ostrich feathers. From the center of the summit rises the spatha or sheath, terminating in an acute point. The trunk itself is not less graceful j being a straight, smooth, slightly annulated column, large at the base, and tapering from thence to the insertion of the baluster or cabbage. blage 21- W£ST INDIES, »''ai ren! dered concave, has been known t„ n J boat capable of containing „; i "nd 1"" * »"ns? or the still greater L tl ''"- «-.etab,ecreai:n-s:':;:r,:r" - ' " *■•« '"me tune, enlivened bj- the 00 The wild cotton tree The hg-iree, „„t that kind for ;, .i, ,,,„_., Bu^uc a3at,hl,da,,o,,,d,-a.sk„o„; ' /» Ma ahnr ar.,4 r» ' ir an/4 T> Oeeaii, spreads her anus. ['' >'.l. Biancjiing r ' if If f • 22 HISTORY OF THE BOOK I. j" singular forms of some, and the surprising beauty of others of the inferior animals which possessed and peopled them. Although these will be more fully described in the sequel, a few observations which at present occur to me, will I hope, be forgiven. If it be true, as it hath been asserted, that inmost of the regions of the torrid zone, the heat of the sun is, as it were, reflected in the untameable fierceness of their wild beasts, and in the exalted rage and venom of the nu- merous serpents with which they are infested, the Sovereign Disposer of all things has regarded the Islands of the West Indies with peculiar fa^ Branching so broad and long, that in the ground The bearded twigs take root, and daughters grow Above the mother tree, a pillar'd shade. High over-arch'd, and echoing walks hetwetn ! Paradise Lost, Book IX. And with still greater precision by Quintns Citrtius (who, in this instance at least, is not fabulous) : Sylvfe erant prope im- mensuvi spatium diffusee, procer gf/ue et in e^imiam altitudinem ^ditis arburihus unibroscc. Pterique rami instar ingentium atipitum fexi inhumum, rursus, qua se curvaverunt erigeban- iur, adeo ut .species esset non rami resurgentis, sed urhoris ex sua radice generate. It is called in the East Indies the banyan-tree. Mr. Marsden gives the following Account of the dimensions of one, near Manjee, twenty miles west of Patna in Bengal : Diameter, 363 to 375 <^eet ; circumfe- rence of the shadow at noon, 1 llG feet ; circumference of the several stems, m number fifty or sixty, 921 feet. Hist, Sqmatra, p, 13 1. vcuf ; vour; i fiestituh animal < €rocodil CqJ I sa; Hughes (o the second — on the te several of fh during a res I neither kn bite of any J^nown in tlr, handled with witlistauding ^lartinico am tially exempt! "litted, that ti every j)art of provinces wJif gree with serp ■n his Account found in tJiat e of a species wh of a negro wh T; j negro had became unable and expired in I History of the J Lake of Nicarag rL'iates tiie foUo 'he bough of a tr just under the or wan felt such liuf WEST INDIES, vour; inasmuch a« ih^- ^ t*rocodile.oralli'r..o*^ • • . "^'ues. ijig «^orall,gat„r,,s.„deed,„„etimesdi,co- fl» I say tills on theautlioritv „f u •I- second .l,a, of wl'll "'''''' '^ """>'•'' ""^-aica, I neither knew „„, Wj J '^"' '" •'^'™«- J" Ihat time ""= of -y one spe 'f tTr*" ""'^ ""' ^'^ "« ' *nown in „,„, ;,,'„,. S„„ e of r^t "'" " ""* tandled With perfect securl r ff ' ' '""' "^»="- -■"--ding tl,e cotitratZr. o Td V':----- <"«- Jlartmico and St. Lucial ,.,„ ° , "''"■"Pocting '«"/ exempted fro." :^ " "^^ 'f '* -e providen! '"'«-^''.»UI,eclrc„,„«t:re i,e^rf '■"■'"'''"'''"''- --y par. of t„e ccntinen, of I: aC '""""'■"" provinces wliiel, lie „„d„, „, .' ' '™' ospecally ,|,ose - -u. sen,e„ts:r:;t'rr;ar""^;' v*-«- '" Ins Acconn, of Guiana, gives a d^a f 77" *'"'"°«' fonnd in that extensive c tf„ r f at t " f ""'' ^^ "■* of a species which he calls the l^Jit ''^""'"^ "' "'-: ' of a negro «l,o was ..for,:::^^^^^^: "'""'^» J' ^negrohadbutjnsttlmetoUlL , "'^ ''"S"''- ■'-.ounahle.os^porXtrf^^^ nd exptred In less than tiv. n,i„„,e" .Id" Da '""""' ^V^i^ Moun • \U J !,&. book: thoiicjh nature is profuse of ornament to tlie birds of the torrid zone, she has bestowed far g;reater powers of melody on those of Europe ; and thtt observation is partly true. That pro- di«^a]ity and variety of musick which in tlie vernal season enlivens the British i^roves, is cer- tainly uukaoM n to the shades of the tropical regions ; yet are not these altogether silent or inharmonious. The note of the mockbird is de- servedly celebrated^ while the hum of myriads of busy insects, and the plaintive melody of the innuraetable variety of doves abounding in these climates, form a concert, which, if it serves not to awaken the fancy, contributes at least to sooth tlie affections, and, like the murmuring of a rivulet, gives harmony to repose. But, resigning to the naturalist the task of minutely describing the splendid aerial tribes of these regions, whose variety is not less remark- able than their beauty, I now return from these, the smallest ai 1 most pleasing forms of active life, to the largest and most awful objects of in- animate nature. The transition is abrupt ; but it is in the magnitude, extent, and elevation of the mountains of the New World, that the Al mighty has most strikingly manifested the won- ders of his omnipotence. Those of South Ame- rica are supposed to be nearly twice the height of the higlicst in the ancient hemisphere, and even even ui in ever loftiest Indian 8ome 01 grandeu iix the a of Hispa are desci leagues, pendous of Jamai been full rice has hi 0^ those 1( accessible, appearanc changes, t seen also "^yith beloM looking dc scene appej ject which < a vast expa face of the VI distihct and exact resemb whilst theme "•the midst WEST IIMDIES. Indian Wands cannot indeed b^ ,„ ^"V^^ ""ne of these rise, nlvertll ''""'' *""* ^-ndeur, and are aZT^Z '" .'""-'"^ «^ «.«at,e„ti„„ ofthe vo^alt ";! j'^'-'V"''* of Hispaniola in partieula^ » ' ^ ""= "">""*»'"• - descried from s 1 T 1 , T ""^^ ""S^ leagues, towerilX "hi! ./ ^^ "' """^ pendous magnificle and h t. '' '" ''"' of Ja™aica',.ave nev^";'' L '"V""""''"" b-n full, explored. Neift'rtl'^,;:™ ''-•'■' nee has hitherto ventured «„ • -^ ' ''™- »^«Hosa,oft,regiri„t:r?t:r-^ -ess.ble, nature is found ,0 a e^'oJtr appearance of a new ,r,»t,„ . '. "" *''" changes, the trees;;; rLtr'"''^'*"''*^ »een also to difler from <•"'""' '"■^• with below To In '" "'"'='• "'« "et 'oouing down fro: zrretrtrr:' scene appears lit„ .„ i . "«'&•>'»> the whole I'FLdrs like enchantment Tl.« « ^ . ject which cafchestheeve JtT ^ "''■ avast expanse of vapour c""^''"^''' face of the vallies vT . ""^ ""^ ^''"ie "istihet and "bW e ' "" '^'"-^P-'--"^ i"u \isibiy circumscr bed it h» 4X exact re.semblanceofanimrr.onse bo f? in fl.o . .M... ,. ^^"^^^ ^'''« so man fsJantis ^ * ! Ill H ^ idst oi a ir jt beautiful Uke, A S /Ka sun *sa ITISTOKY OF THE BOOK L Reflec- tions, &:c. sun incrrases in force, the prospect varies : the incumbent vapours l\y upward, and melt into air ; disclosing all the beauties of nature, and the triumphs of industry, heightened and em- bellished by the full blaze of a tropical sun. In the equatorial season, scenes of still greater mag- nificence frequently present themselves ; for, while all is calm and serene in the higher re- gions, the clouds are seen below sweeping along the sides of the mountains in vast bodies ; un- til growing more ponderous by accumulation, they fall at length in torrents of water on the plains. The sound of the tempest is distinctly heard by the spectator above ; the distant light- ning is seen to irradiate the gloom ; while the thunder, reverberated in a thousand echoes, rolls far beneath his feet. But, lofty as the tropical mountains generally are, it is wonderfully true, that all the known parts of their summits furnish incontestible evi- dence that the sea had once dominion over them. Even their appearance at a distance af- fords an argument in support of this conclusion. Their ridges resemble billows, and their various inequalities, inflexions, and convexities, seem justly ascribable to the fluctuations of the deep. As in other countries too, marine shells arc found in great abundance in various parts of these heights. I have seen on a mountain in the interior parts of Jamaica petrified oysters dug up, up, Wll uute c; western found a West h conjee ti jects Iiai of pliysii inention< the oriiri eartli to sidering \ and river the worl( abysp, tJie a-scribe tin quakes: ' permits su and plains to produce which afte industry ar All thes ever, in the has uuder^ convulsions tlie hands into plains, OJ Goldsi W£ST INDIES, up which perfectly resembled, in the .o,t mi- cmp^ -ute c.rc„„.,a„ces, the la.ge oyster. „f the ^ western coast of England; a species not to be ound at this ti„.e, I believe, in'the sea., ,h West nd,es. Here then, is an ample field L conjecture to expatiate in ; and indeed few snb- jeets have allorded greater exercise to the , e, s ncntioncd. Whde some philosophers assiir,, ea tl to the ravages of the deluge, others con - «>pt itions dej)o.sitinir. lating e\i'i fluctuation ascribes th in the prest in some pai limited vicM PuRsuiNc led perhaps rifying appc propitious ii system of the earthquakes ( tn ident memc "SeiicyofDiv Kind increase bottom of th their habitatic These con? and seem consi lo-^vi WEST IVDIES. lows, rocks, sands and so, I. nf ' •""1 M>eneH To . '"^ cons.Vtonce th^p ' i»c meet of a sudden rcvoJiifmn ^ . »f .•auses slow, j^radn:,! »„d .„cc s v " I. .''"t'.e present ap;eare°;t;;:r;''t. "' -me parts embemsh, and in otCrtl o l"'"ted view at le.ist) deface if ' " ""' P«RsmNo (his train of (bought we .n,v K led perhaps to consider many of the I?, '" "O-'ng appearances of nature , ^'''" propitious in the forltf . ""'""^ "'«' -H-esc^Lr/rfXTir^^^^^^^^ ^'v ident memorials^ we ma v tr.rlT ! ^^'* '^;n*ar Zd ::r ""'"'-" ^- These considerations are founA^A • - ^nd seem con^on.n. .. .„_ *^""/"^ ^" P^ety, -_...,„ ,, xuason; and although in contemplating 3( •f I < ,•: ll ,l . '.11 IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) t ^ / C> ^/ :/_ ^ fe 1.0 I.I ■so 1^ IJl 1^1^ ■^ aits 2.2 2.0 1.8 IL25 III 1.4 ill 1.6 >F .r% ■V •> 'i^* ^ /^ O / Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 \ ■s 33 HISTORY OF THE BOOK in contemplating the tremendous phcndnieiia v^v-v/ "Which the mountains of South America, beyond all other parts of the globe, present to our no-» tice (tj, and reflecting on the devastations which they spread, human reason will some- times find itself perplexed and dismayed, may we not by analogy conclude, that the Almighty^ uniform in his purposes, is equally wise and benevolent in all his dispensations, though the scale on which he acts is sometimes too large for the span of our limited and feeble compre- . hensiou? They who seem best qualified to con- template the works of the Deity, will most readily acknowledge that it is not for man to unfold tlie page of Omnipotence. Happy if to conscious ignorance we add humble adoration ! (tj " Of all the parts of the earth America is the place where the dreadful irregialarities of nature are the most con- spicuous. Vesuvius, and Etna itself, are but mere fireworks in comparison to the burning mountains of the Andes, which, as they are the highest mountains in the world, so also are tliey the most formidable for their eruptions." — Goldsmith's History of the Earth, &c. vol. i. p. qq. It is related, that a volcanic explosion from Cofopaxi, a mountain in the province of Quito, };as been heaid at the distance of 150 miles. LliAP \WEST INDIES. «a CHAP. II. ZZZ ST" --'"-ZT. c, mooter. -Such particulars related as are d.spos,t.ons, persons and clomesttck kab^ - ' 'mes a,ui government, relistous rites, LI ral ceremonies, &c.-So,„e reflection IZn from the Whole. . u,uan arrayed the surface of these numerous Island, I nail „„^ p„„,d j„ ^^ ^.^^ nd, habUants to whose support and convene" they were ch.eHy found subservient, wh.n ^ first came to the knowledge of Europe It hath been observed in the precedinff I.apter that Columbus, on his first arrival af and w^'lt' ''"'r' '"'■''™''*''»' »^» ''"Parous ' and war .ke people, a nation of Cannibals, who frequently made depredations on that, and the ::!'^T5.'^'''"''l'r'>'^^---"edCarib! - --^JJJ .....aioes, anu were represented as com- i BOOK I. SI J HISTORY OF THE ing from the East. Columbus, in his second voyage, discovered that they were the inhabit- ants of the Windward Islands. The great difference in language and cha- racter between these savages and the inhabitants ofCubij Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Porto-Rico, hath given birth to an opinion that their origin also was different. Of this there seems indeed to be but little doubt ; but the questioii from whence each class of Islands was first peopled, is of more difficult solution. Rochefort, who pub- lished his account of the Antilles in 1658, pro- nounces the Charaibes to have been originally a nation of Florida, in North America. He sup- poses that a colony of the Apalachian Indians having been driven from that continent, arrived at the Windward Islands, and exterminating the ancient male inhabitants, took possession of their lands and their women. Of the larger islands he presumes that the natural strength, extent and population, affording security to the natives, these happily escaped the destruction which overtook their unfortunate neighbours ; and thus arose the distinction observable be- tween the inhabitants of the larger and smaller islands (aj. 00 Rochefort Histoire des Isles Antilles, liv. ii. c. vii. See also, P. Labat nouveau Voyage aux Isles de L'Ameii- que, torn. iv. c. xv. To Cc (i WEST INDIES. t!.at traces of them wou d h "'b .* " '"""'=' those island, whinh ^" **""'<> »>• Shore- veTl * .""" *" *''« *"'»"«'» ;"■'^peop.e^t„ :ro?^:rr V'- J luduy numerous and now^-rf.il **u of Cliaraibes on *ho ^u i'"^^^*"^ tribes te»di„, f.o:tC ;r:r:r '»' r and throughout the whole prTviuce oS'"'" ' even to Brazil; ,„„e of Sim ""'''"' their independency, ft „„!, J*"' "f '""» trihes that our ~ir irWa;:.°/j?7 formed an alliance Avhen ih.* ^'^^ '■~tic.expedlt:Ll~;f--'« "1 1595rrJ- inri 1, k- ^'^^^^^tot Guiana t'.echitro'^rprifrs*'':' spoke the lane-uaire of n. • . ^^n^ment, r*; Herrera, lib. h. chap. ij. CO Bancroft's Historv nfr, ■ (0 p. Mart^rr, Decad. 2. Jib.^'. ,4 '/r 1^ r 'i i> 2 dud e 56 KISTORY OF THE i A. II '°^^ elude that tlie islanders were rather a Colony v^v^/ fronl the Charaibes of South America, than from any nation of the North. Rochefort admits that their own traditions referred con- stantly to Guiana (fj. It does not appear that they entertained the most remote idea of a Northern ancestry. It may be thought, perhaps, that the Con- tinental Charaibes were themselves emigrants from the Northern to the Southern Peninsula : but, without attempting to controvert the po- sition to which recent discoveries seem indeed to have given a full confirmation, namely, that the Asiatick Continent first furnished inhabitants to the contiguous North-Western parts of America, I conceive the Charaibes to have been a distinct race, widely differing from all the nations of the New Hemisphere ; and I am even inclined to adopt the opinion of Hornius and other writers, who ascribe to them an orien- tal ancestry from across the Atlantickfg^. CfJ Rochefort, liv. ii, c. i|ii. See also. Note 94 to Dr. Robertson'sHistory of America. The people called Galibis, mentioned by Dr. R. are the Charaibes of the Continent, the term Galibis or Calibis (as it is written by Du Tertre) being, as I conceive, corrupted from Caribbee. Vide Lafitau, torn, i, p. 297. and Du Tertre, torn. ii. 36o. Cg) Some arguments in support of tliis opinion are sub- joined in the Appendix to Book I, Enquiries WEST INDIES. Enqd.bies however into the or.Vin „f ' "><"« and unlettered race ca^ Z " "" ^^^ with success only by col I P™««'Wed J^ manners, W, L! """^"""8 *•>«.> ancient "•onies ;itnho eopT' ""' '^''^'"^ '='''^' »Pecting the Charaibes „rkn„ ? "' "'■ -'^'' within a n.„o: , ^f'f " ','- *W in perpetual .arfel: h^LedT 'sland to island by reveno-. a ^""^ opportunities could haTe fffe " "'"'"''' '"^ Wo might have been iS 7"" '» «"'- searches, of invest!..,, .f " '"'='' «" «o»-ndhabi:::rc^ j;« «''"'-'- precision Neithon- , ' *"'"°""'teness and have been fo^^^^^^^ '^""'I'^J'"* estimate f^m the mannertof „ h o^r' ^''""'*'' length subjuffatcd to th P " "' ^™" »' 'hey lost, oletht with ,f 'T"^"'''''' '"' even the desire nf ^leristicks, and at last "-ft;, .„.«., r *■";■ 7 »«*- sr JivcWpxt, liv. ii. chap. »x. p. 436". til mm f( M e Sf HISTORY OF THE BOOK I. |ji 1 ; '' —We are so much altered since you catric " among us, that, yve hardly know ourselves, " and we think it is owing to so melancholy a " change, that hurricanes are more frequent ^ than they were formerly. It is the e\il spirit '' who has done all this, — who has taken our '' best lands from us, and given us up to the "dominion of the Chriistians fij." My present investigation must therefore be necessarily defective. Nevertheless, by select- ii^ and combining such memorials as are least controverted, I shall hope to exhibit a few striking particulars in the character of this ill' fated people, which, if I mistake not, will lead to some important conclusions in the study of human nature. (ij This extract from Rochefort is surely a sufficient answer to the observations of Mons. de Chanvalon who wrote so late as 1751 ; and, judging of all the Charaibes from the few with whom he had any communication, represents them as not possessing any sagacity or foresight beyond mere animal instinct. He makes no allowances for their degradation in a state of captivity and servitude, although in another part of this book, speaking of the African blacks in the West Indies, he dwells strongly on this circumstance respecting the latter. " Peut-on connoitre (he observes) *' le vrai genie d'un peuple opprim6, qui voit sans cesse les " chatimens lev6s sur sa tete, efcla violence toujours prcto i " fetre soutenue par la politique et la surete publique? Peut- " on juger de la valeiir, quand elle est enchainee, et sans ** armes ?" — Voyage a la Martinique, p. 58. Their Th have { not fa tingui enterp consid tion, a lural p the bo< least) i is so re tury pa practic( the phi »g »nsta„pe of the bra- " In nd at "* "^ """^ ^^'^^ ^°- ^-^ two wo. - fleet' 11'; TT'*'^^^ '^" '" ^^'^^ Columbus's iieer. A bpanish bark with 9*; r>,or, •• munication *i,h .he shore. In.,l^ Z ° ""'°'^- , dim oegan Uie attack, woundino several ,.*-«i •' and t . ^^ '"^''""^^'^ to defend themselves dote, ~"^''''" ^^^ ^^^^^d^'i the san.e anec peached iitr^i'^' 40 HISTORY OF THE 14 *°°K peached the veracity of the most eminent an^ W^w/ cient voyagers who had first recorded the ex- istence of it. Even Labat, who resided in the West Indies at a period when some of the Islands still remained in possession of the Cha- raibes, declares it to be his opinion that in- stances of this abominable practice among them^ were at all times extremely rare ; — the effect only of a sudden impulse of revenge arising from extraordinary and unprovoked in- jury; but that they ever made premeditated excursions to the larger islands, for the pur- pose of devouring any of the inhabitants, or of seizing them to be eaten at a future time, he very confidently denies (IJ. Nevertheless there is no circumstance in the history of mankind better attested than the universal prevalence of these practices among them. Columbus was not only informed of it by the natives of Hispaniola, as I have already related, but having landed himself at Guada- loupeon its first discovery fmj, he beheld in scr veral cottages the head and limbs of the human body recently separated, and evidently kept for occasional repasts. He released, at the same time, several of the natives of Porto Richo, who, having been brought captives froni thence, were (I) Labat, torn, iv p, 322. (m) November 4, 1493. reserved WEST INDIES. reserved as victims for the fiam. ».« -j pose (n). ^ '^""^ ^°'^^d P"r- CHAP, Thus far, it must be confessprf ih^ a- • fiaWeto cxtcminate them frdm thl T it would be to destroy th^l ""'*''' " «.e wilderne. ; Shey 'hTt ""'™''" "' a^e entitled to no p[ty _ "^ ''"'"' °" ""="^' But, among themselves they were near^.M and towards each other fi.,tl,f i r Pe^eablc, fectionate r« > T. '' '^'''"''^y ""^ af. i ri!T ^' .^'"'J' <=»"sidered all strangers •"deed as enemie,: and of the people of B f' -pe the, formed a right estimation' it: «.pa% wh.ch the, manifested towards the Z offending natives of the larger isl»„^ extraordinary • but it , f ! . ' "PP""" to them fro?^;, '""^ '"''"^ <''=»<=». n„ t.^. r '^- _ .» ^ VI ti t-, loio. 1 1 . p, 350, vhom 4fj(s i" iJ R n. 4»i BOOK I. 111"* c HISTORY OF THE whom the Charaibes of that continent are con- tinually at war (pj. We can assign no cause for such hereditary and irreconcileable hostility. With regard to the people of Europe, it is al- lowed that, whenever any of them had acquired their confidence, it was given without reserve. Their friendship was as warm as their enmity wa» implacable. The Charaibes of Guiana itill fondly cherish the tradition of Raleigh's alliance, and to this day preserve the English colours which he left with them at parting (qj. Of the loftiness of their sentiments and their abhorrence of slavery, a writer, not very partial towards them, gives the following illustration : *' There is not a nation on earth ( says Labat ) (i^) " more jealous of their independency than the Charaibes. They are impatient under the least infringement of it ; and when, at any time, they are witnesses to the respect and de- ference which the natives of Europe observe towards their superiors, they despise us as abject slaves; wondering how any man can be so base as to crouch beforehis equal." Rochefort, who confirms this account, relates also that when kidnapped and carried from their native islands into slavery, as they frequently were, the mise- t* $< tt €t « *( tt (p) Rochefort, \W. ii. chap. x. p. 449, (q) Bancroft, p, 25y. (r) Labat, torn. iv. p. 32Q, rable ■WEST INDFES. 4» able capfve, commonly «„„k „ndcr a .ense of chap t^e,r .„,.f„rtu„e, and finding rc.i.,t.,„e and ^ . cape hopeles,, nought refuge in death from ^^' the calamities of their condition (e) To th» principle of con.ciou. equality and ■■ •'ved.gn.ty, m„,t be imp.„cd the conLpt winch they „,a„ifc.ted for the inve„ti„„rr„d ""provements of civilised life. Of ou fi' -■ns they 3„„n learnt, by fatal experience the ">ents and baubles of children :-he„crt J propensuy to theft, .o common a.nong oth " ^;^^a..o„. . a, altogether nnWn^tott for'^^rir'""?''"'' '"" ''™" "»*''''''' - ""="» for nuatary enterprise, had a powerful .„flu- ence on the. .hole conduct. E„„»,,d in cl (inual warfare abroad, they seldom anneareH ehearfulathome. Keflcetiln, on pal^ n-ge, or anxious schemes of future achieve- ment, seemed to ti„ „p ,„, „, ^^ and rendered them habitually thoughtful, pen- 0) Rochefort, liv. ii. can vi r .»..♦ i . «--'Y "' '* *««... .< ^. <., ,„ i:„„ ,.,„ 12 : '.apomimetretuS." Labjt, f,>m M » -' ' °" sivc i ^: 44- HISTORY OF TITO- poolc sive and silent r^;. Love itself, Mhich exerts s^^y^ its influence in the frozen deserts of Iceland, maintained but a feeble dominion over the Charaibes fuj. Their insensibility towards their women, although they allowed a plurality of wives (xj, has been remarked by many writers; and it must have arisen from cxtrinsick causes ; from the predominance of passions strong enough to counteract the eftects of a climate which powerfully disi)oses to voluptuousness, and awakens the instincts of nature piuch sooner than colder regions. The prevailing bias of their minds was distinguishable even in their persons. Though not so tall as the generality of Europeans, their frame was robust and mus- cular ; their limbs flexible and active ; and there was a penetrating quickness, and a wildness in their eyes, that seemed an ejuanation from a fierce and martial spirit r^/J. But, not satisfied with the workmanship of Nature, they called in the assistance of art, to make themselves more formidable. They painted their faces CO Du Tertre, torn. ii. 60 Rochefort, c, xi. OJ Ibid. c. xxii. 00 Oviedo, lib. iii. This ngrees likewise with the Che. valier Pinto's account of the Brasilians in note 42 to vcl. i. of Dr. Robertson's History. " At the tirst aspect a South- " ern American appears to be mild and innocent, but, on •" a more attentive view, one discovers in his countenance " something wild, distiustful azid sullen." and 4S WiiST INDIES. and bodies with arnotto so exfravagantU, that c„„ l^.rnat.,ra eo,nplexio„, .hiC, wasnea^tha 3" ofaSpa,„»h„Uve,„.a. not easily to le •' ^. 46 200K I. m SIX'' HrSTORY OF THE To draw the bow with unerring skill, to wield tlie club with dexterity and strength, to swim with agility and boldness, to catch fish and to build a cottage, were acquirements of indis- pensable necessity, and the education of their children was well suited to the attainment of them. One method of making their boys skil- ful, even in infancy, in the exercise of the bow, was to suspend their food on the branch of a tree, compelling the hardy urchins to pierce it with their arrows, before they could obtain per- mission to eat CdJ. But these were subordi- nate objects: — The Charaibes instructed their youth, at the same time, in lessons of patience and foiiitude; they endeavoured to inspire Cd) See Rochefort, c. xxviii. p. 555, and Gumilla, torn. ii. p. 283. Their arrows were commonly poisoned, except ■when they made their military excursions by night. On those occasions, they converted them into instruments of still greater mischief; for by arming the points with pled- gets of cotton dipt into oil,^ and set on flame, they fired whole villages of th6ir enemies at a distance*. The poison which they used, was a concoction of noxious gums and ve- getable juicesf, and had the property of being perfectly in- nocent when received into the stomach, but if communi- cated immediately to the blood, through the slightest wound, it was generally mortal. The Indians of Guiana still pre- pare a similar poison. It is supposed however, that sugar speedily administered in large quantities, is an antidote. (See Relation AhrSgh dun Voyage, *c. par Mom. de la Condamine; and Bancroft's Hist, of Guiana.) " Rochefoft, eh. a. p. 530, f Ovicdw, lib. lii. > • them them wi danger a into thei placable auks. 1 purposes in others As 800] world, he father's bl occasion -^ but he sub fondly bel rage whicj these mean boy grew, 1 ofbarbarit of his nati( with the fa he was not the warriorj quest, until the test. Tl l»Otir of seve the name he one more so monyofhig] W-EST INDIES. them with courage in war, .„d a contcmot of ™ danger and death, -above al, things to ^ ^• 1 IX"'"'' "" '■""••''"rhatretaadim- P a «,rst of revenge towa^, ti. Arro" •"k». The mean, which they adopted for these purposes were in some respects supersti iou!^ ." others cruel and detestable. ' As soon as a male child was brouirht into ih. world, he was sprinkled with .„ f father's blood ^Z "^ ^""^ "^ ^" Diooa. The cercmon es used on *i,:. occasmn were sufficiently paintui tothe f^th^ ?oi ssrt"tr'""'"''»-"'"'''^s y oeiieving, tha^ the same decree of coi. r^ wh,ch he had himself disp.Jed, wa^ bJ these mean, transmitted to his so„ 'ej A ll l>oygrew,hewa88oonmadpfe.«.i: '<•***'"» -^.'^arit^.-heparto^rtftTorr^r --ehehirLSdirhrrnfrn:-- one more sounding and significant -a ^f" -on^' of high importance ifthelife'oflri::: # Ti) Rochefort, ]iv. ij. c. ::xv. p. 552. n , '''illl , 1 11 ■ Tjy, ,: i'l'f ,1 raib^ 4$ HISTORY OF THE BOOK L « i< I It raibe> but alway^ accompanied by a scene of ferocious festivity and unnatural cruelty (f). The severities inflicted on such occasions by the hands of fathers on their own children, ex- hibit a melancholy proof of the influence of su- perstition in suppressing the most powerful feelings of nature; but the practice was not without example. Plutarch records the pre- valence of a similar custom among the Lace- demonians. " At Sparta," says the Historian* '" boys are whipped for a whole day, oftentimes to death, before the altar of Diana, and there is a wonderful emulationamong them who best '' can sustain the greatest number of stripes." Nor did the Charaibe youth, yield in fortitude to the Spartan. If the severities he sustained extorted the least symptom of weakness from the young sufferer, he was disgraced for ever ; but if he rose superior to pain, and baffled the rage of his persecutors, by perseverance and se- renity, he received the highest applause. He was thenceforth numbered among the defenders of his country, and it was pronounced by his relations and countrymen, JhiU he was noxv a manlike one of them- elves. A PENANCE still more severe, and torments -more excruciating ; stripes, burning and suflb- (f) Rochefort, liv. ii, c. xxiii. p. 55Q. Du Tertre, vol. ii. p. 377. cation, cation, c to the iii to 'warCg admitted Having n To their kindofsLii and must i protect th experience was as re elected thej with great i served, thej with circun the recital I be suppressf If it appc to begainec be endured 1 that, in the € ward was do cost of the p measures, the return. He e: fg) Rocheforf, P- i262. GumilJa •t- seq. (hj Rochefort, WEST INDIES. To their old m^„ i i , . "•""»g>»trates. kind of au^ lit7L';f J '"Z '"owed so^e "v> out It was at best ill A^t: j and must at all fim^c k i '"-aefined, P-etthe.Xtttr?-- elected their cltain i„ th''^ ' '"^^ *''««>- served, they nuf ♦!, • ' ***'' ^eenob- -th circulLl?:;^~°-^^^ P-of the recital howeve uTT"' ''"''"''*^ =- be suppressed ^"'""^' •»" "-"^ well ••ecndured to o'bflTirrs::"'" *»"''' fat, in the estimation of tL candid 7^'^" «rd was doubtless more than ad ^^' *'"' '" tost of the purchase If '^"''^ *" «''« measures, the feastTnd th !"'"" "''""''^ ^is «tu™. He exchtiottr*'' ""'''*''''''' ^ea nw name a second time ; r^; RocheforMib. ii. cap. xix n .,n « P- ^262. Gumilia, torn. ii. p l,. ^^ '^f ^"^^^^«> vol. i.. •t-seq. P-^^^- ^afitau, torn. i. p. 2p7 r^Rochefort.ch.xxili.p.553. •ssuming' ^ H 'i^ii !| , ',,i i;.,'up'ii 4 -' F-- *« , ; ; ! if •«l il f i 1 Mi I; J J :p^miM*^' I. 00 QISTORY OF THE BOOK assuming in future that of the most formidable Arrowauk that had fallen by his hand (ij. He was permittedto appropriate to himself, as many of the captives as he thoug^ht fit, and his coun- trymen presented to his choice the most beau- tiful of their daughters in reward of his va- lour (kj. It was probably this last-mentioned testimony of publick esteem and gratitude that gave rise in these Islands to the institution of polygamy, which, as hath been already observed, prevailed universally among them, and still prevails among the Charaibes of South America {I J ; — an insti- tution the more excusable, as their women, from religious motives, carefully avoided the nuptial intercourse after pregnancy fm). I am sorry to add, that the condition of these poor creatures v/as at the same time truly wretched. Though frequently bestowed as the prize of suc- cessful courage, the wife, thus honourably ob- tained, was soon considered of as little value as the captive. Deficient in those qualities which alone were estimable among the Charaibes, the females were treated rather as slaves than companions. They sustained every species of ft) Rochefort, ch. xxiii. p. 553. (kJ Rochefort, ch. xxiii. p. 546. (I) Bancroft, p. 254. (m) Rochefort, ch. xxii. p. 548. Du Tertre, torn. 11. drudgery ; ■ (nj I • Co) I (PJt Cq) P; borderini Jation) i ^vomen c " stoning but I do 1 asitisevi( pothesis, 1 ^le Jews, ^^lere ig nc Jar Cl)araib that before ^ad no est; ^e) " tht c y U.e fclle H r^"" °"™''''"«". "■• of Africa. ™'° Holtenlots aud «l,cr natio,,, fiJ Du Tertre, torn. ii. p. 394. ^^r^Ilochol.„,,iMi.c.ix.p.«>. Purch.,v„,,iv.p. » 'ill gorously '1^1 wr I*'*',.:. 1 ti 54 BOOK I. HISTORY OF THE gorously denied ^x j. Like most other nationi of the Now Hemisphere, they eradicated, with great nicety, the incipient b<,'ard (i/J, and all superfluous hairs on their bodies ; — a circum- stance which ha^ given rise to a notion that all the Aborigines of America were naturally beardless. This opinion is indeed countenanced by many respectable writers, but after much enquiry, and some instances of ocular inspec- tion, I am satisfied that it is groundless. The circumstance the most remarkable con- cerning the persons of the Charaibes, was their strange practice of altering the natural confi- guration of the head. On the birth of a child, its tender and flexible skull was confined be- tween two small pieces of wood, which, applied before and behind, and firmly bound together on each side, elevated the forehead, and occa- sioned it, and the back part of the skull, to resemble two sides of a square (zj ; an un- couth and frightful custom, still observed by the miserable remnant of red Charaibes in the Island of St. Vincent faj. Cx) Du Tertre, torn. ii. p. 405. (y) Dii Tertr©, torn. ii. p. 392. (z) Oviedo, lib. iii. Rochefort, lib. ii. c. ix. (d) I have been told by anatomists, that tlie coronal suture of new-born children in the West Indies is commonly more open than that of infants born in colder climatef?, and tlie brain more liable to external injury. Perhaps, therefore, the t^ie Indian cusi U-as originuljy i"g the skull. (bj P. JMai-t (cj Ibixl. i p. 8. ^JJ Purchas, WEST INDIES. - with great khnnr ,'"'''• " was formed the Earl "fTlt ,"'?'■"'«"■"* '-V' (safth ' ^ and the harangues of their orators -ui/havesJr^Xex;^";^^ a people so liUle reLi:';! J ftl^T^"''^' --i natur. as to r,ect 7:::::::^ i"g the skull. '^'' 'J'"''^'^"" °^"^t"re in dos- Cl^J p. MnrtjT, decad. i. lib ii p. 8. ^- ^^'- -Lafitau, torn. ii. ^^J Purchas., vol. iv. p. 115^. fluOLlS. ! .' I, BOOK I. WW HISTORY OF THK fluous. Coluiob H bserved an abundance of substantial cotton cloth in all the ii.lands which he visited ; and the natives possessed the art of itainingf it with 'arioiis colours, though the Charaibes delighted chiefly in red fe). Of this cloth they made hammocksj or hanging beds such as are now used at sea ;^-for Europe has not only copied the pattern^ but preserved also the original name (fj. They possessed likewise the art of making vessels of clay for domestick uses, which they baked in kilns like the potters of Europe. The ruins of many of these kilns were visible not long since in Barbadoes, where specimens of the manufacture are still frequently dug up j and Mr, Hughes, the historian of that island, observes, that they far surpass the earthen- ware made by the negroes, in thinness, smooth-^ fless and beauty (gj. Besides those, they in- vented various other utensils for cscoaomical (e) Labat, torn, ii. p. 40. Cf) All the early Spanish and French writers expressly assert, that the original Indian name for their r-viniring beds was amack, or hanmk ;^-hut Dr. /ohnsuL <. r'VvS the English word hamvuock from the Saxon. (g) Nat. Hist, of Barbadoes, p, 8. Ligon, who visited this islandiin 1647, declares that some of these vessels, which he saw, even surpassed any eartliern-ware made in England *' both" (to use his ownAvords) " in finesse of mettle, and * cun >^ity of turninge." purposes. purpose Tiie ba bres of elegant, arrows, ness and pciin art have exci Op the tnre the , tory. W among thi was no di in proport criminal ji private prt or imperfe* is scarce, it of the tribe was carried parate com sited in pub received its Ilochefort ii ests were in Their fo( cepting in t human flesh, V purposes, >vhich mi 1 WEST INDa; 'i'lic baskets which •re em TOratcd bv I, •"es of the pal,„et„ ,,, elcg, «l>e^ co„,p„„.a „f j^^ ^ ■ ""ows, and othervval,. 1 ''■ ^"" """ ne*, ^,,,1 polish «,,T . I ''"'•'''y"' « "oat- Or the nature rL!;"7:" '""''■ ' ture the acc„„„,s aa- 1 / '5''" "«"'•"- «-.thecra:i;:;rco:r'^'^^^^ *"» no division of la„rf " ^"""""'t. *hero in proportion toli, '^ ""* cultivating I i' *""" 10 Ills eAis> end's /^/j ) iii -mi„.,j„Hsdicti„„is:,,,,,l^;/, '"-"o P"vate property mu.t neeessa >V u I "' »■■ "nperfeet ; and ,n these i an^ , '""" -'caree. it seems probable tj!" " '"""' «f«.« tribes ofsoLthi^ttvrruZr Mas carried on by the joint labo.t of a I " Sin::ir^' -^ '^^'- ^™ t,:: rec^^vp/^ .*„ . ^"ence each fam iv <=»<» were in connnou. ™'' "'■"'" "'"^ .uter- Theib food, both voffctable -.n-i • . ceptine in «l,» • """""<' ""<' animal, ex- »"'"& in tlic circumstanoe nf «i. ■ ^-n«esb,seemstohaJL::i-:;':f (A) Bancroft, p. 254. (0 ^umiiia, torn. I. p. 2(55. »f '"bat. CHAP. rr. N-*V^ most ill:' W HISTORY OF THE BOOK most respects, as that of the natives of th« v#vv/ larger islands, which shall be described here- after. But although their appetites were vo- racious (k), they rejected many of the best bounties of nature. Of some animals they held the flesh in abhorrence ; these were the pecary, or Mexican hog, the manati, or sea cow, and the turtle (I). Labat observes, that they scrupled likewise to eat the eel, which the rivers in several of the islands supply iu great plenty (mj. The striking conformity of these, and some other of their prejudices and customs, to the practices of the Jews, has not escaped the, no- tice of historians ('/J j. — But whether theCharai- bes wci-e actuated by religious motives, in thus abstaining from those things which many na- tions account very wholesome and delicious food, we are no where sufficiently informed. It most probably was, however, the influence of superstition that gave rise to these and other ceremonies equally repugnant to the dictates of nature and common sense; — one of which appears at first extraordinary and incredi- ble, but it is too well attested to be denied. (k) GumiUa, torn. ii. p. 12, 70, 23/. Lafitnu, torn. i. p. 515. (/) Rochefort, liv. ii. c. 16. (mi) Labat, torn. iv. p. 30-1. (w) Guniilla, Adair, Du Tcrtrc, and others. On On the I to his be ten enda that the i bareniaus inhabitaij the pen pi cunislaiict ne^ worij tends tt) d doctrine o severe pen; (f>e father, view of pi gion of hei ofleiidcd O .parents, an terings fp). The anri hy Ilerodot into the wo ticinalion c when he wa series which portion in lif (o) Dvi Ten. c- xxiii. p. 550. P- -iy- Niculiol among ihe luifi (?) Laiitau, t WEST INDIES. On the buth of his fi..t son «.„ father retired char o h,s bed, and fastd with a s.rictnes, that of- ^ ten endangere.1 life fo;. Lafitan, ohservin. that the same eusloni was practised bv the Tv buremausof Asia, and the Iberians or ancient ■"l.ab,ta„,sofS„aiu, andisstillinuseamon^ «.o people of Japan, „„t only urged this cir- cun,s!a,uc as a p.oot ainong others, that the ne.v wor,d .-as peopled from tlie old, but pre- tends ,„ discover in it also some traces of the doHnne of o.s-ioalsin: he supposes that the «vere penance thus voluntarily submitted to by t.« lather. ,vas at first iustit.i.'ed in the piou, view oi protecting h,s issue from the conta- gion 01 hereditary guilt ; averting the wrath of "Hendcd Cnnipotence at the crime of our first .p..rents, and expiating their guilt by his suf- fcringsO-;. T,.E ancient Thracians, as we are informed by Herodotus, when a male child was bronsht info the world, lamented over bin. i„ sad ra- <-c,nal,on of |,is destiny, and they rejoiced when he was released by death from tho^e mi- s«,es which they considered as his inevitable rortmn m life : but, whatever m.ght have been (o) Dii Tertre, torn ii -jri q-t t> \ r ™..ns ,l.e „.*« „f lj,asil, Cl.urchill'. Voogc, vol. U. 0') Latiau, torn. i. p. 337. the ,„„^ HLtoryof Earbadoes, p. 7. nana . '^W m « i .rpl ) M.'? ■l-i-* ' 1 ^'fl c- ' ' • ''1 h #|! i * ' !^ ; , t i ■',« .' * (I ( N -) i] if; w (I «l HISTORY. OS THE BOOK 1. f'! - l! U^'v^ iff nana leave? and rushes, whereon they occa* sionally placed the earliest of their fruits, and the choicest of their viands, as humble peace- oflerings through the mediation of their inferior deities to incensed Omnipotence fcj ; for it is admitted, that their devotion consisted less in the effusions of thankfulness, than in deprecations of wrath ; — but herein neither were they distin- guishable from the rest of mankind, either in the old world or the new. We can all forget be- nefits though we implore mercy. Strange how- ever it is, that the same authors who accuse them of atheism should accuse them likewise, in the same moment, of polytheism and ido- latry. Atheists they certainly were not : and al- though their system was not that of pure Theism, yet their idolatry was probably found- ed on circumstances, the moral influence of which has not hitherto, I think, been sufficiently noticed. If their devotion, as we have seen, was the offspring, not of gratitude, but of fear ; — if they were less sensible of the. goodness, than terrified at the judgments of the Almighty; it should be remembered, that in the climate of the West Indies, the tremendous irregularities of nature are dreadfully frequent ; — the hurri- caiie that sweeps nations to the deep, and the (r) Lafitau, torn. i. p. I7g. Kochefort, c. xUi. p. 4/2. Du Tertre, torn. ii. p. 365. earthquake WEST INDIES. ^ earthquake that swallows continents in i„ bo- CH^. ' >om._Let u, not then l,astily affix the charge JL. tif '7ry. "" *''^'' "■■"?'« P'-'P'*' if. whf,^ they beheld ,he elements combine for their de- nfimte ndeed .„ power, but sevce in hisfus- f ce, and inexorable in hi, anger. Under th , ..np~, the mind, bnmb.e'd to iC.^ itrr^Hr:: "' :r r"-"'*^- -^ Cau,P J n !i. P *'"'"Sl't to the Si '•? ' " l»'M! ■ Iff ;4i fi. >M i. '^^U 1 1 toos 1. HISTORY OF THE These observations, however, extend only to the fair side of their religion, the worship of benevolent deities. A darker superstition like- wise prevailed among all the unenlightened in- habitants of these climates ; for they not ©nly believed in the existence of demons and evil spirits, but offered to them also by the hands of their J^or/ez, or pretended magicians, sacrifices and worship ; wounding thcmselvc», on such solcn^iities, with an instrument, made of the teeth of the agouti f^j; which inflicted hor- rible gashes; conceiving, perhaps, that the ma- lignant powers delighted in groans and mi- sery, and were to be appeased only by human blood (ej. I am of opinion, nevertheless, that even this latter species of idolatry originated in reverential piety, and an awful sense of al- mighty power and infinite perfection. That we receive both good and evil at the hands of God, and that the Supreme Being is equally wise and benevolent in the dispensation of both, are truths which we are taught, as well by cul- tivated reason, as by holy writ ; hut they are truths, to the right apprehension of which un- civilized man was perhaps at all times incom- petent. The savage, indeed, amidst the de- structive terrors of the hurricane and the earth- (d) See Chap. 4. (e) DuTertre, torn. il. p. 3G5. quake. WEST INDIES. tUnn ""'^^''* '"'"^ '""^'^"^^ <■'** ""thing I.,s chap' tl^an Omntpotence iMf. " visiting , he „a1i„„ "i^ ... h. wrath," could thus harrow 4 the 7oZ ~"^ *"". "'" "•»""&, of dailv occurrenoe^J: to an all-perfect and merciful Being. To hi^ l'.n.tcd conception, such a concl„.i:„ waVde rogatory from divine justice and i™ •, able with infinite ^L' T 'T:"".""- -.dhei™putethc:fCif,i„^\r:j- Wo phenomena, but to the malignant nil - IZl "''.""P"? '■"•"*' -<• aereal demons > ^ P ofanafons built on such notions certain v throw a I.ght on the Christian relision [f tl. -e.,ot as a collateral evidence'oTu;S A MINUTE detail of the rlfp^ n^A ::;::■' ''--"^ other :s::^:::;~. -r^^-oris^^srixsz'i;::- Deitraud th '*''^"'"' ^^ •"^'■•'^f of .^ /, ■>' *'"' 'he expectation of a future sf,f. ..J . "*"o less conformable to the fir/.,^ t-a. apprehensions of the untutored ■u;,-:^ '' th'dn 67 I ,f* J Ihli ! I ir )n ;t m It iiistohy of the BOOK '' than to the soundest principles of philow- .Jr^ " pby (c)." I HAVE thus selected and combined, from a mass of discordant materials, a few striking par- ticulars in the character, manners and customs of the ancient inhabitant of the Charaibean Islands. The picture is not pleasing; but, as I have elsewhere observed, it may lead to some important conclusions ; for, besides correcting many wild and extravagant fancies which aie afloat in the world respecting the influence of climate on the powers of the mind, it may tend to demonstrate the absurdity of that hypothesis of some eminent philosophers, which pro- nounces savage life the genuine source of un- polluted happiness ; — falsely cecming it a stale conformable to our nature, and constituting the perfection of it. It is indeed no easy task, as Kousseau observes, to discriminate properly between what is originally natural, and what is acquired, in the present constitution of man: yet thufi much may be concluded, from the ac- count I have given of the Charaibes ; that they derived their furious and sanguinary disposi- tion — not from the dictates of nature, but — from the perversion and abuse of some of her noblest endowments. Civilization and science would not only have given them gentler mail- er Bishop of Chester's Sevmons. ners, ^V-EST IxXblKS. ^ rttTs, but probablv have eradicaf^ri nl.^ gon or bv g,v,„p .„„ ^^^ eflect to tbo,e foundafon a,„<,„p <),.,„. But while I admit provoa ma.,„c.„ and social intercourse; con- «.v.ng th„, ,„„„ b,, „,„ ^„„.^_,,._^^ «^' :""' ""f "- -'■'•<•- ofln-, foeultie,, .loLZ "vers tl,e end of W. creation; I »„j;:, e.»cn„ ,„g wit,, „„„„,„ ,,^^^ „^ phi,^ , ;■ who. widely d.Heri„g fr„„. ,hc forn.cr. cons^ Jler a s,»te of pure nature as a state of Zl entmg ferocty and reciprocal hostility; ...ain- tanung. that all tile soft and tender alTectil are not „ng,„ally in.pUnted in us, but are su- pcrmduced by education and reOection A rftrospeet to what has been related of the Cl.a -bes wm shew the fallacy „f ,h,, ^^^ ' Man, as he come, from the hands of his Crea' lor. .s every where constituted a n.ild and a" mercful ben.g. It was by rigid discipline and barbarous example, that the Charaibe nation tramed up their youth to suffer with fortitude an to n,fl.ct without pity the utmost exertion; of human vengeance. The dictates of nature were as much violated by those enormities of sav'age life, as they are suppressed bv the nnl,l onfcehng apathy of philosophical resentment «l "U BOOK I. inSTORY' OF THE To the honour of huinaiiit y, it is as certain that compassion and kindness are among the earliest propensities of our nature, as that they consti- tute the chief ornament and the happiness of it. Of this truth our next researches will furnish a pleasing example. CHAP. III. Of the Natives of Hispauiula, Cuba, Jamaica, and Porto-Rico. --^Thdr Origin. — Kum- iers. — Persons. — Genius and Dispositions. — Government and Religion. — Miscellaneous Observations respecting their Arts, JManu- facturcs and Agriculture, Cruelly of the Spa^^ niards, S^c. 1 t I AM now to give some account of a mild and comparatively cultivated people, the ancieiH natives of Hispaniola faj, Cuba (bj, Jamaica, I- ILL (a) Hispaniola was called by the natives Haiti or Ji/ti, which sigaifiesj mountainous -, and I conceive the same word has the same meaning in the islands of the South Sea. (bJ Cuba was the Indian name. It was not discovered to be an island until the year 1.508, when a captain, named Sebastian, sailed round it by order of Nicholas 0\ ando. It was first planted by the Spaniards in 1511 j in that year Jngo Velasquez went thither witli 300 men,, and settled on the south WEST INDIES. .ndPorto-nicor.;, fi.r there i, no d.,..bt ,.,»l ch.p. the lulmbitauh «f all tliosc Wa„ds vvcrc of '" one coi„i„o>. o,iKm.-,peakiug the ,u,„e ln„, ^^^ guage,— |,OM,-«ii,g the ,a,„, i„„i,uti,„„ a.,,! praclmag ni.n.lur s,, petition,. Colu'.ubu, I-miself treats «f (l.em „, ,ueh; and the testi- mony ofnu„.vcouten,|,ofHn historian, c.nfir,,. I"» opinion. It appear, likew„e frmn the iri- fonnation of Las Casas. the Bishop of fhiap.. to the t.u,per«r Charles V. that most of the na- tives of Truadad r<0 were of the same nation ; the extent ami natural strength of that island. a. ol the others above-mentioned, Inuin,, pro- tectedthen, in a great meas ire, from the de- prcdat.ons of the Charaibes. I HAVE cisewlwre related that they wereeon sidercd by these Barbarians as descended from u Colony of Arrowauks, a people of Guiana ; yu(J.go, a narae „ will b<,ar») ,„i >,l,i,|, ,„, extern a,,* 4.sc„ver.d by Colun.b,. i„ l,i, «.co,„l voyage, but fi„t ex ploretl by J„an Po„ce de U-on. i,. |.,o8. fd) Trinidad to discovered by Columbus in his ,|,ird voyage, and was named by l.i.n after the Holy lYinitv be. k"t stom be made a vow to give that „a„,e to tf,e first la„d fas ouldtmd, soon after whiol, a sailor, in ,be main-top w three po.nts of land, whereby the „a„,e fitted even. vT: 7\ m- I -.■,»T«i!^«^ ■I-. I- - i 1 1 » n History of the <, I W i BOOK and there can be no good reason to suppose \«ry-v/ that the Charaibes were misinformed in this particular. — The evidence of Raleigh, and others who visited both Guiana and Trinidad two centuries ago, might be adduced in sup- port of their opinion. These voyagers pro- nounce the ancient inhabitants of Trinidad to belong precisely to the Arwacks or Arrowauk nation of the Continent ; a race of Indians to whose noble qualities the most honourable tes- timony is borne by every traveller that has visit- ed them, and recorded his observations. And here, all enquiry concerning the origin of our islanders seems to terminate. It is indeed ex- tremely probable that all the various nations of this part of the new world, except only the Cha- raibes, emigrated anciently from the great hive of the Mexican empire. Juan de Grijalva, one of the adventurers from Cuba in 1518, found a people who spoke the language of that island, on the coast of Jucatan (e); but at what pe- riod such emigrations were made ; whether the Charaibes were previously possessed of the widely extended coast that bounds the At- lantick, or, in posterior ages, accidentally found their way thither by sea, from the ancient Con- tinent — ( perhaps by their invasion giving birth io that hereditary and unconquerable hatred. (cj P. Martyr/Decad, iii. lib. x. m which im. * 41 WEST INDIES: which stHl prevail, between them and the Chap^* other Indian nation, )_(heso are point, con- Jt^ cernmg which, a, ,t is i„>fos.Me to determine, IV IS in vain to enquire. In estimating the number of our islanders - when first discovered b^ Columbus, historian^ «;d«Iy n ; ! t r i I, . f 'I 'I Jifc HISTORY OF THE Persons, BOOK indoedj every man of a humane and reflecting \0ryy^ mind, must blubh to coulcss himself of the same nature and species ! But, not to anticipate observations that will more properly appear hereafter, I shall now proceed to the consideration,--!. Of their per- sons and personal endowments: II. Their intel- lectual faculties and dispositions: III. Their political institutions : IV. Their religious rites. Such subordinate particulars as are not easily reducible to either of those heads, will conclude the present chapter. I. Both men and women wore nothing more tlian a slight covering of cotton clo(h round the waist ; but in tiie women it extended to the knees; the children of both sexes a]ti*'ared en- tirely naked. In stature they were taller, but less robust than the Charaibes (fj. Their co- lour was a clear brown ; not deeper, in general, according to Columbus, than that of a Spanish peasant who has been much exposed to ^ ^« - «g,s. ^,ora tijat period, gave colour to m. 1 -M >''vitli no very unfavourable impression of the ^T chmate. Their limbs however were pliant and active, and in their motions they displayed both gracefulness and ease. Their " agility wa* eminently conspicuous in their dances; where- in they delighted and excelled; devoting the cool hours Gf night to tliis employment fw;: ft was their custom, says Herrera, to dance from evening to the dawn; and although fifty thour sand men and women were frequently assem- bled together on these occasions, they seemed actuated by one common impulse, keeping time \i^ responsive motions of their hands, ^^^.i and bodies, with an exactness that was wonder- ful (o). These publick dances (for they ha4 •thers highly licentious), were appropriated to particular solemnities, and being accom- panied with historical songs, were called ArU^ toes; a singular feature in their political in- «titutions, of which I shall presently speak. Besides the exercise of dancing, another di- version was prevalent among them which they called Bato; and it appears from the account given of it by the Spanish historians (pj, that It had a distant resemblance to the English * CnJ P. Martyr, Decad. iii. c. vii. foj Herrera, Jib. ix. o. ii. rpj Oviedo, lib. vi. c, ii., Herrera, lib. iii. c. iv I i 'I .■•■■t' P-i game 80 HlStORY OF niE I'l" i, i BOOK game of cricket ; for the players Mere divided \^vw i"*o two parties, which alternately chang'ed places, and the sport consisted in dexterously throwing and returning an elastick ball from one party to the other. It was not however caught in the hand, or returned with an instrument; but received on the head, the elbow, or the foot, and the dexterity and force with which it was thence repelled, were astonishing and inimit- able.-^Such exertions belong not to a people incurably enervated and slothful. inteiiectsi II. They are, nevei theless, pronounced by man} writers, to have been naturally inferior to the natives of Europe, not only in bodily strength, but likewise in genius and mental en- dowments. This assertion has I think been ad- vanced with more confidence than proof That the mind, like the body, acquires strength by employment, is indeed a truth which we all ac- knowledge, because we all experience it; and it requires no great sagacity to discover, that ingenuity is seldom very powerfully exerted to gratify appetites which do not exist, or to guard against inconveniences which are not felt. If our islanders therefore rose in some respects to a degree of refinement not often ob* servable in savage life, it may justly be pre- sumed that in a state of society productive of new desires and artificial necessities, their ca- pacities would have been susceptible of still further o I'll ■^STINDIES. • forther improvement. Th«r ,;♦„..• , *' without recurring to theva o sS" "'"""' ^«^- ro^ he paucity of their ide., M^ "2* anxiety for the future, have littl. Tfl' T "' iKe past; What they wan Jd W IV W "''" "" «fmihd, wa, howeveTabuM r *'''"'"Sy the .otter affectionirh;',:';:,;;?^''' and native goodness of disposil? !n •"'' wl.0 have treated of theh-ch. ?• '^" ""'"' they were unquestiLab t he '"' "^^ ""* benevolent of the-hnmr "^"*''""'<' h-essed with the JiheTrrvrion''^"''''"' « one of the nob.est price 'ttofCbf- """ t^'given^ss of their enSX^^"! hI^' they possessed at the feet of ty,- **' courting their not.vV . "PP'"''*"-'.- wi.hes,iith:ih tdirat^^^^^^^^^^ wo«M have thought JlTt t''^' "" ""' ■>"-« cruelty, anflfflX™^- Among otiier instanrpc nP^i, • compassionate tur:of:;/;''r/;7--"'« -ot the least remarkabir « 5 '"'''"« " bus's first arrivaUtltl • f°"° '"^^'- <^»'""- ws ^-recked on r '^ > """ "'"''" '^ips ■ecKea on the coast, Thenif,V„. ">? to derive advanta-e to .1 , ' '"""" Oi'tress of the strang^s „„t " •'""'" "'« ■"igers (unconscious indeed of (?) Martvr rr, „, _ - Vol. I. IHi the i.\m 8^ 1*1- ^\ BOOK I. HISTORY OF THfi the calamities which their arrival was soon t(t bring upon them) beheld the accident with the liveliest emotions of sorrow, and hastened to their relief. A thousand canoes were instantly in motion, busily employed in conveying the sea- men and cargo ashore; by which timely assist- ance> not a life was lost ; and of the goods and povisions that were saved from the wreck, not tiie smallest article was embezzled. Such was their celerity and good-will on this occasion, says Martyr, that no friend for friend, or brother for brother;, in distress, could have manifested stronger tokens of sympathy and pity frj. Other historians still heighten the picture ; for they relate that Guacanahari, the sovereign of that part of the country, perceiving that, notwith- standing thei efforts of his people, the ship itself, and great part of the cargo, were irrecoverably sunk, waited on Columbus to condole with him on the occasion; and while this poor In- dian lamented his misfortune in terms which excited surprize and admiration, he offered the Admiral (the tears flowing copiously down his cheeks as he spoke) all that he himself possessed, in reparation of his lost (sj. This benevolence, unexampled in the history of civilized nations, was soon basely requited (r) Martyr, Decad. i. lib. i. /.J Per. Col, c. xxxii. HenAra, Decad. i. lib. i. c. xviii. by oy the condurf nr „ i . ' »>.•» departure f„.. ZTle G " u'"'' "" -^ 'ver was covered ".T ^T"""'^'"'' ''°^- «hort duration On cT "^'"' "'«» «f -o„d vo,a^,their^S -^;';' -'-„. '" "" » considerable time the S„ ."' '" ""'' <■<" «-- perfect s"u^:t:::''^'t<'-o„g P-*«ofthe country, bo«,T/^^ ""^ '"*'"<'' ;-ted thereto b, ti l^t "t ""' ''''* «l>e Spaniards cam. near to a villal l""^ "^ ;_»cient and venerable of the .^ """' C««ique himself if „ ° , ^"•''^'"' <"• the them, and gent v JTT'. "'"" ""' '» "eet "'"'itations.Sd th m r: ^^ '«" ""eir riously ornamented Th k ' "^ ^''""^ «- have been seats nf\ "'^'"'^ »cem to r^.-for z tt:irr ^r *^^'-' tl>eground,andkissi„...i T^ "'emseives on Spaniards, offld Tern '' f""' """ ''''' <"•«"» ;/'<>- Viands ..Vit^Cm'f"''"'^^'* *«"-^tay,with,„,h^„ "^ them *" P^'-'nff demonstrated that thev ^ t '*''"™'« «' -^ofasuperior^^^rXtf--"'- ' ^nose presence con- 9i CO Herrera, Decad. i. Ifb. n e u p ,, • '^' **• Fer. Col. e *I • 1 IK • I 1 '-:^'iu V— t»+" -—r < I . secrat«4 ""■■■It! hi irw^-.'ii 14 ITTSTORY OF THE BOOK secrated their dwellings, and brought a blcBsiiig N^ry.^/ with ii(u). The reception which Bartholomew Colum- bus, who was appointed Lieutenant, or Deputy Governor, in the absence of the Admiral, after- wards met with, in his progress through the island to levy tributes from the aRveral Caciques or Princes, manifested not only kindness and submission, but on many occasions munificence, and even a high degree of politeness. These Caciques had all heard of the wonderful eager- ness of the strangers for gold ; and such of them as possessed any of this precious metal, will- ingly presented all that they had to the Deputy Governor. Others, who had not tlie means of obtaining gold, brought provisions and cotton in great abundance fa: j.— Among the latter, was Behechio, a powerful Cacique, who in- vited the Lieutenant and his attendants to his dominions ; and the entertainment which they received from this hospitable chief is thus de- scribed b} Martyr. As they approached the king's dwelling, they were met by his wives, to the number of thirty, carrying branches of the palm-tree in their hands ; who first saluted the Spaniards with a solemn dance, accompanied with a general song. These (m) Herrera. Decad. i. lib. i. c. xiv. F. Col. c, xxviL (x) P, Martyr, Decad. i. lib. v. matroni WEST INDIES. matrons were succeeded by a tr«,n p • .nnocence of pure nature. Thel hair Ct ^ anT their? " ""'' ""* ""*'' P™P<"tio„ed. M e d tl.e dr, ad, of the .oods, and the n J of the fou„ta.„s. realizing ancient fable. The bra,K^l,es wh.ch they bore in their hands tht now dehvered with lowly obeisance to the L ^u' enant who, enteringthe p.- „, fo„:d " ful and, according t, .e Indian mode of l" v ■"S, » splendid repast already providid a" ."ght approached, the SpaniardVwerl nduct d to separate cottages, wherein each of It - acco„.„,oduted with a cotton hamloc " ." eJ';":: r™'-^ *''«^ -- -^^ ene': lained ^ith dancing- and sino-ino. t>i,- followed by matches of wrewtd' ""' for prices; after which t:?^r'7"'''^, armed Indians unexpectedly :Z!JfZ ■"ock engagement ensued .^En' I' ■nodes of attack and defence in Z^^ tbe Charaibes For thrrV ""''' ^'"' --.- u.i„ ro^,.,,^ entertained, and on "the fourth. •S ' •-!.!}' ■■■n. ,)'iii I .H p • ±-*^ WfH in ',l^jf5" N'l ,' II ilHjAi as HISTORY OF THE P ? Ib.tf ^ institU' pons, BOOK fourth, the affectionate Indians regretted their N,^v^/ departure. PoUticai III. The submissive and respectful deport- ment of these placid people towards their su- periors, and those they considered as such, was derived probably, in some degree, from th6 na- ture of their government ; which, contrary to that of the Charaibes under a similar climate was monarchical and even absolute. The regal authority, however, though not circumscribed by positive institutions, was tempered into great mildness, by that constitutional benevolence which predominated throughout every part of their conduct, from the highest to the lowest. The sympathy which they manifested towards the distress of others, proves that they were not wretched themselves ; for in a state of ab- solute skvery and misery, men are commonly devoid both of virtue and pity. Their Kings, as we have seen, were called Caciques, and their power was hereditary :— But there were also subordinate Chieftains, or Princes, who were tributaries to the Sovereign of each district. Thus the territory of Hispa- niola, anciently called Xaraguay, extending f^-om the plain of Leogane to the Westermost part of the; island, was the kingdom of the Ca- cique Behechio, whom I have mentioned above; but it appears frqm Martyr, that no less than y}M^j:tri'o iiifencr chieftains or nobles hadju- risdictioi^ WEST INDIES. ri.dictfo„ within tl,at space of oountrv. ,vho ch.p were accountable to the supreme author ty of "' BehechioA/) Tho^ .. x . ""'"'"y"' s^-rw resemhI.H tV ' ^ '" *" '""'* »mewhat resembled the ancient barons or feudatories of ot semce. Ov.edo relates, that they were un dertheobh-gation of personally atte'nZ; I Sovereign, both in peace and war, whenever commanded so to do I'n u ■ ^ \. . "'"*'™'^ that the 0.. (Ku ^' ^* "*» be lamented, that the Spanish historians afford very little in- formation concerning this order of Lble "r the nature and extent nfth- t ,"'**' °' risdiction. ' ^ *'" ^"•"'"linate ju- The whole island of Hispaniola was divided vt r n* ""«'"•"' ^''^'- "f t-o of which when Columbus first landed, GuacanahafiTnd Iseliechio were »henliif^ - princiDal pT! ^ «overeig„s.^A third pnncpa Cacique was Cuanaboa, whose historv IS remarkable • hp li«,i u . . "^story auie. iie Had been ong nallv a \V«v ?aS^d'^''?''^<'''^'■-'^-^ho',^ preventing the further incursinn« biSf^r^"™' '^'' ^^'^'^'^'' "--'^ a ex ™ t r''?'"'"""''^''^ «ogether;it, an extent of country, which he had converted No a separate kingdom. The establisC! CyJ P. Martyr, Decad. i. lib. y. Cz) Oviedo, lib. iii, c. iv. Cv Oviedo, lib. iii. c. iv. Of 9f ^ ■ : :^il1 fl' I I 'f ji^ t#* 'Ij j ^f HISTOIiy OF T^E B0015 of this leader and his followers in Hispaniola, had introduced into this part of tjie island the Charaibean language, and aUo the use of the bow and arrow fbj ; a weapon with the prac- tice of which the natives of the larger islands were generally unacquainted. Cuanaboa how- ever still retained his ferocious disposition, and having been accused by Guacanahari before Christopher Columbus, of murdering some of the Spaniards, was ordered by that commander to be sent to Spain : but the ship perished at sea. The sad fate of his unfortunate widow, the innocent Anacoana, who was most atroci- ously murdered in 1505, by Ovando, the Go- vernor of Hispaniola, for no cause, that I can discover, but her fond attachment to Bartholo- piew Columbus, having been related at large in the late American history, need not be repeated here. The islands of Cuba and Jamaica were di- vided, like Hispaniola, into many principalities or kingdoms ; but we are told that the whole extent of Porto Rico was subject to one Cacique only (cj. It has been remarked that the dignity of these Chieftai ns was hereditary ; but if Mar- tyr is to be credited, the law of succession among them was different from that of all other people ; (hj Oviedo, lib. iii. Ccj P. Martvr. Decad, i. lib ii for "''I J' I WEST INDIES. for he obs^rvesr^;, that the Caciques bequeath- chap f ."'« -Preme authority to the ehilLu of ^ ;""'' according to .eniont,, di.i„„erit- ^^ ZlZ'Zl ftT " ''«'"S-"'->" add. "theM /'"'S''^*" P"^^. they preferred the Wood roj.al;,,hich„,ight not happen to „ ^; t^" .^a-'o. m advancing an, „f the chUdrea "l tlieir numerous wives." The relation of probable" r""'"'!'"'"''""*' """^ -"-"o™ probable . he remarks, tl«t one of the wives of dered I ;"'*'""'' appears to have been consi- dered .:<. people ^t large as the reigning Queen,.,; that the children of this ladva^ cordu.g to priority of birth, succeeded.; the tther s honours ; but, in default of issue ,y vhe favourite Pnncess. the sisters of the Cac.que ^ there were no surviving brothers, took pLj !> ^j;"''"r <'^^" <^'>"'l-n by his other wves. Thus Anacoana, on the death of Be. bech.o her brother, became Queen of Xara- r'ayr/;. it is obvious that this regulation «»s intended to prevent the mischiefs of a dis- puted succession, among children whose pre- tensions were equal. The principal Cacique was distinguished by regal ornaments, and numerous attendants. la ^ (d) Decad. iii. c. IX, (f) Herrera. lib. (0 Oviedo. lib VI. c. ii. . y. c. iii. travelling \>M • I t.:!> % 00 HISTORY OF THE BOOK travelling through his dominions, he "was com, S^vw monly borne on men's shoulders, after a manner very much resembling- the use of the palan queen in the East Indies fg). According to Martyr (h), he was regarded by all his subjects with such reverence, as even exceeded the bounds of nature and reason ; for if he ordered any of them to cast themselves headlong from a high rock, or to drown themselves in the sea, alledg- ing no cause but his sovereign pleasure, he was obeyed without a murmur ,• opposition to the supreme authority being considered, not only as unavailing, but impious. Nor did their veneration terminate with the life of the Prince; it was extended to his me- mory after death ; a proof that his authority, however extravagant, was seldom abused! When a Cacique died, his body was embowelled, and dried in an oven, moderately heated ; so that the bones and even the skin were preserved entire r?;. The corpse was then placed in a cave with those of his ancestors, this being (ob- serves Oviedo) among these simple people the only system of heraldry; whereby they intended to render, not the name alone, but the persons also, of their worthies immortal. If a Cacique (gj Herreia, lib. i. c. xvi. fhj Martyr, Decad. i. c. i. OJ Herreia, lib. iii. c. iii. R Columbus, c. Ixi. WEST INDIES. d Pill 8» recovered, they composed ,„„gs i„ ,,;, praise JIXL winch they taugU their children; a better and ^^ noblertestimony surely, thanheapsof dry bone, or even monuments of marble ; since memorial, to the deceased are, or ought to be, intended CSS „. honour of the dead, than as incitement, to the living fkj. _TflESE heroicfc effusions constituted a branch of those solemnities, which, as hath been ob- served, were called ^rietoes; consisting of hymns and publick dances, accompanied with mnsical instruments made of shells, and a sort of drum, the sound of which was heard at a vast distance r/J. These hymns, reciting the 01 It i, related by Martyr, that on U,e death of a Cacinue the ™«, Moved of his w.ves wa» u„molated at his f^.^' K...g BcheCo, oi-dered a very teau.itl,! wo„,a„, whose ,Ce was Guaoahata Benechina. ,o be buried alive in Z £j»^.fr::tSsr;:::r-;:: et;' :^:""^ ^'^'"t- ^"'''-onn. who had been married tfa And it is rw.t -.^ -u , national customs, ^ >t IS not .mpossibJe, under a female administruion * Martyr, Decad. iii. lib iv * r. ■ j ,-. _ IVi^urera, l,b. m. c. iv. p Ma,.f..,. rv^.,, ... great 1^ .1^ :#;•' Ki' f' r^^ ) >i 1" 1 1 ..' Ir fi2 HISTORY OF THE BOOK peat actions of the depaitcd Cacique; his fame s^py^^ in war, and his gentleness in i>eacc, formed a national history fyMJ, which was at once a tri- bute of gratitude to the deceased monaixih, and a lesson to the living. Nor could any thing have been more instructive to the rising gene- ration than tliis institution, since it compre- hended also the antiquities of their country, and the traditions of their'ancestors. Expres- sions of national triumph for victory in war, lamentations in times of publick calamity, the voice of festivity, and tlie language of love, were likewise the subjects of these exhibitions ; the dances, so essential a part of them, being grave or gay as the occasion required. It is pretended that among the traditions thus pub- lickly recited, there was one of a prophetick nature, denouncing ruin and desolation by the arrival of strangers completely clad, and armed with the lightning of heaven. The ceremonies which were observed when this awful prediction was repeated, we may well believe were strongly expressive of lamentation and horror (n). IV. Like all other unenlightened nations, these poor Indians were indeed the slaves of su- perstition. Their general theology ( for they had an established system, and a priesthood to sup- Rpligious htet. (w) Ovledo, lib. v. c. iii. {n) Martyr, ut supra. Hcrrera, lib. li. c. iv. port *1 , / 1 , , ^ \: i ■ i ■ : , '■'^ B JMBa^^MB|jit . 1 ' 1 S ^^^^^^^^^K ' 1 jgM^I^ • it * 1 ( ! K :^ il m ¥u *K y- .a ^ . ft 'i v. ^ 1 (o) This rem; J"^y 1494, and and by H ^-* -' ''^'"''^^"'' ^^ho had re- Spanish laugua." Tir^ ^^^n"".'"''' '^' ^^^^"=^^^ ^^- «^3^e. I hi, man, who- ..joie was Dicf«t.... served «^f t( -,*-.( f;:* . 1 ) .>^i i. ;!',5i fill ■■ ■ -^^^^J Ml if iiiif'iii'i' 111 • i Jr ', w i ■ ■ III mrwf ■■ ii .11 'i'" »v*^ * f lis r/xii '- -a-JStffigU 'ic BOOK I. I HISTORY OF THE Their notions of future happiness seenl how- ever to have been narrow and sensual. They supposed that the spirits of good men were conveyed to a pledsant valley, which they call- ed Cojjaba ; a place of indolent tranquillity, abounding with delicious fruits, cool shades, and murmuring rivulets ^p; ; in a country where drought never rages, and the hurricane is never felt. In this seat of bliss ( the Elysium of antiquity) they believed that their greatest enjoyment would ari^e from the company of their departed anceslors, and of those persons who were dear to thcui in life C (7) ;— a proof at least of their filial piety, and of the warmth and tenderness of their affections and disposi- tions. The consciousness in bur Indians that they were accountable beings, seems to indicate a p-eater degree of improvement than we arc willing to allow to any of the natives of the New Hemisphere. Although, like the Cha-* raibesi our islanders acknowledged a plurality of Gods, like them too, they believed in the exist- ence of one supreme, invisible, immortal, and omnipotent Creditor ; whom they named Joed Jiunafr). But unhappily, with these impor- served him on this and other occasions, both as a guide and interpreter. (p) Fer. Col. c. Ixi. (q) Herrera, lib. iii. c. iii. (r) Mart>^r, Decad. i. lib. ix. F. Columbus, iant truths, puerile an( neither fo ui ti\e of mon supreme B( they distingi they suppose seats of the) idol-worship nientable th; for it would .« to stocks an which they c idols as symbc subordinate ( objects, to av devotion, but itself, and acti or block whicl It may be obi degree of folly more enlighten tlie most anciej ped various kin tions of animal ious in nature philosophers of honours to men (*) F. Colui Hi. •WEST INDIES. puenle and extravagant fancies, whid. „ere "■ neither founded in rational piety, „or produe live of moral obligation. Tl.ey Lig„ed "ol «.p.en,e Being, a father and mother „h * t%di»ti„g„i„.ed b, a variety of al^i:; seats Of their residence rv^ vu - idol-worship .a. at ;;i;;.,e'::r'^^^ -"table than even thc.e ft, c^^^^ for it would seen, that they • '.^^f "-^'bes ; to stocks nml i "^' ^''^^^ »^ olivine hoDours lu siocKs and stones convertprl '„^i^ • which they called Z.»,/. 7 ""^^^'' idols as svnfboHalrf ";*/^^^^ding these 5>^mDoliCcil representations only of fho.V subordinate divinities and „c f i ^^ objects tn n 1 , ^^"^ ^« sensible ^ujects, to a^vaken the rnemorv «n,l • devotion, hut ascribin. div IXlTh "'"^''' itself, and actually wofsZ "^ ^ the material or block whi.h ,/ ''^'^'''''Pl^'nff the rude stone « TTX^y be observed, however fho* «egree of fo,„ prevailed r;;*;!;: ^^ more en ffhtened Th r^ . peopie much ''-en.o.tLttfiSiSTr"""^'^'''' P-^d various kinds o , i"""?'' """'''"P^ ;;- «;a„in,a, so.neTimtrr: (*) F. Columhiie p \/r..... ^eijzoxii. given 96 HISTORY OF THE W;-! BOOK given an apothesis.— So nearly allied, fn reli- wVwA gious i^esearclies, is the blindness of untutwed nature to the insufficiency of mere cultivated reason ! It has indeed been asserted (whether justly or not) that " the superstitions of Paganism " ahVays wore the appearance of pleasure, and " often of virtue (t)-;' but the theology of our poor islanders bore a different aspect. By a lamentable inconsistency in the human minc^ they considered the Creator of all things as wholly regardless of the work of his hands ; *ind as having transferred the government of the world to subordinate and malignant beings, who delighted in converting into ecil, that ^hich HE pronounced to be good. Th^ effu- sions of gratitude, the warmth of affection, the confidence of hope, formed no part of their de- votions. Their idols were universally hideous and frightful, sometimes representing toads and other odious reptiles ; but more frequently tha human face horribly distorted ;— a proof that they considered them, not as benevolent, but e^^I, powers ;— as objects of terror,— not of ad- miration and love. To keep alive this sacred and awful prejudice in the minds of the multitude, and heighten its influence, their BoUtos or Priests, appropriated a (0 Gibbon. consecrAted WEST INDIES. ^ tonsfecrated house in each village, wherein the chap. Zemi was invoked and worshipped. Nor was JX It permitted to the people at large, at all times, to enter, and on unimportant occasions ap- proach the dread object of their adoration. The Bohitos undertook to be their messepgers ai i interpreters, and by the efficacy of their prayers to avert the dangers which they dreaded The ceremonies exhibited on these solemnities, were well calculated to extend the priestly domanon and confirm the popular subjection. In the same yiew. the Bohitos added to their holy pro- fession the practice of physick, and thev claimed likewise the privilege of educating th; children of the first rank of people fuj -a combination of influence which, extending to the nearest and dearest concerns both of this life and the next, rendered their authority irre- Mstible. ^ With such power in. the priesthood, it may well be supposed, that the alliance between church and state was not less intimate in these islands than in the kingdoms of Europe. As in many other nations, religion was here made the instrument of civil despotism, and the will of the Cacique, if confirmed by the Priest, was impiously pronounced the decree of heaven. Columbus relates, that some of his people en- 'MP: Vol. I. (w) Martyr. tering 9S HISTORY OF THE ¥)0K taring; unexpectedly into one of tlieir houses of \*^vw worship, found the Cacique employed in oh- taining responses from the Zemi. By the sound of the voice which came from the idol, they knew that it was hollow, and dashing it to the ground to expose the imposture, they discovered a tube, which was before covered with leaves, that communicated from the back part of the image to an inner apartment, whence the Priest issued his precepts as through a speaking trum- pet ; — but the Cacique earnestly entreated them to say nothing of what they had seen ; declaring that by means of such pious frauds, he col- lected tributes, and kept his kingdom in sub- jection. The reader, I believe, will readil; acquit me for declining to enter into any further detail of the various wild notions, and fantastical rites^ which were founded on such arts and impose tures. Happily for our islanders, however, the general system of their superstition, though not amiable was not cruel. We find among tliem but few of those barbarous ceremonies which filled the Mexican temples with pollution, and the spectators with horror. They were even more fortunate in this respect than the other- wise happy inhabitants of the lately discovered islands in the Southern Pacifick Ocean; amongst whom the practice of ofteriiig human sacrifices to their deities is still dreadfully prevalent, as it V/EST INDIES. ■ -^ U ancient,, was a^on^t „,„,t of the na.io.of c„.p. So!^rrr)"' '"^»«»"'^'' «■« native, ef theMtT wonderful ^mihnty observable in many re- spects between our ill-fated West Indians and that placd people. The same frank and af- fectionate temper, the same chearful simplicity gentleness, and candour,-a behaviour, devoid of meanness and treaehery, of cruelty and re- venge, are apparent in the character of both •— and although placed at so great a distance from each other, and divided by the intervention > ' the American Continent, we may trace a re semblance even in many of their customs and institutions; their national songs and dance,. their domesti^k ceeonomy, their system of eo- vernment, and their funeral ceremonies. I pre- tend not, however, to affirm that this resem- hlance ,s so exact, as to create the presumption «f a cornmon origin. The affinity perceivable ni the dispositions and virtues of these widely separated tribes, arose probably from a simila- rity m their circumstances and situation, ope- rating on the general principles of human na ture. Placed alike in a happy medium be- twecn savage lite, properly so called, aid th. refinements of polished society, they are found equally exempt from the soMiH ,.„ i j. iressee and sanguinary passions of the former " ^ state. ' i; r. t. ■■?T!TW»7, ,'] lijafflB '.] t.-t Im i ( -f- ■ i ^ In- tiisTORY OP rm statf, and from the artificial necessities, the re- straints and solicitudes of the latter. To a spe- culative mind^ *uch a situation may appear, for a moment, even superior to our own ; " but if '^ we admit" (says the elegant historian of the tmiable Otaheitans) " that they are upon the •* whole happier than we, we must admit that '' the child is happier than the man, and that *' we are losers by the perfection of our nature, '' the increase of our knowledge, and the en- *' largement of our views faj." In those inventions and arts vvhich^ varying the enjoyments, add considerably to the value of life, I believe the Otaheitans were in general somewhat behind our islanders : in agriculture they were particularly so fijj. The great sup^ (x) Hawkesworth's Voyages, vol. ii. p. 105, (y) Dr, Robertson, in hi.; History of Amelia, vol. i. p. 332, observes, that as the natives of the New World had no tame animals, nor the use of the metals, their agriculture must necessarily have been imi>erfect. It should however be remembered, that as every family raised corn for their own support, and the islands being (to use the expression of Las Casas) " abounding with inhabitants as an ant-hill with *' ants," a very small portion of ground allotted to the main- tenance of each family, would comprehend in the aggregate an immense space of cultivated country. Thus we find Bar- tliolomew Ccl ambus observing, that the fields about Zabra- ba, a country in the Gulph of Darien, which he viewed in 1503, " were all covered with maize, like the corn fields of " Europe, for above six leagues together." Unacquainted with the soil of the West Indies, Dr. Robertson should hav« tlelivere WEST INDIES. port of the insular territories of the Soufl, Q.o consists of ihp h. I r »outIi-Sea chap. ^^ or ine bread-fruit and the nl..r.f„; '" both winch flourish there snonf ' '* ^^ ' lo display equal sk 11 with th^ n-. paration of ,l,e cassavi-bread fZlZ ^ VVest Indians, notwithstanding Slivered hU ,,e„lime„ts on ,!,« subject wi,h .■« , itatsoil whid. is known in the,, SZZ\ *""'• Mch-mouU. i, no, only ,„nori„ '' "" "•™^ "' te .,ui.. ve^ ..,,;2:: :r,r T ''""■■'^• Wande.,, ,o whom ,i,e use of iron v ; ' 1 ^"""'^ °"' »™.swcre ingeniously forced of si „aT' '"'"■* species of u„,We ,.„^, „^,^, M-ete^dl^: ," ""f q»l solidity and sharpness. We find Z 7 """'^ .-, building canoes and housi a^ "^^^/t"" "*: «'«-■» of e..,„isite workmanship Posstrf, rr'"" ' e of proper .mplements for tl.e ruder operation of ,»-" bandry „„ a ,od mcapable of much resistance. (-•) I. Abbe Raynal, in opposition to the testimony of all the early Spanish historians who have trented o 7 f ' -..,dprod„ctionsofAmerica(no„e:n:lt:" h .p ear ,„ have consulted) asserts that the n..nioc, XZ d It the Ind,ans were Urst instructed by the negroes i,^ i„,i „,i" "" '.' "'^"'™ °' ™d, of my readers as are „„, f*sa,y to observe, that P. Martyr, ,a his first Deead, wljicli :■■(' I i^ W ""^ 102 HISTOHY OF THE BOOK that they possessed almost every variety of v®- v^vv getable nature which grew in the roiuuries 1 have mentioned, the bread-fruit excepted, raised also both the maize and the maniock in grc^ai abundance ; nnd they had acquired the skill of watering their laads from distant rivers, in time of drought frtj. It may likevise hf" observed, that although the Otaheiteans po?; ess the i^irnh svliich produces cotton, they n<:itb( r im|»rove it fry fi'ltnre, nor have the knowledge of convert- inei; i?s wool into cloth (bj; but content them- sehe» with a far meaner production as a substi- lute. Our islanders had not onfj the skill of making excellent cloth from theii cotton, but they practised also the art of dying it with a variety of colours ; some of them of the utmost brilliancy and beauty (cj. In the science of ship-building (if the con- struction of such vessels as either people used, may be distinguished with that appellation ) the which bears date November, 1 4C)3,seTen months only after the return of Columbus from his first voyage, particularly mentions the maniock, or jucca, as furnishing great part of the food of the islanders, and he describes their manner of making the cassavi bread from it j observing that the raw juice is as strong a poison as aconite. Negroes were not imported into the Islands till many years cft;^r this account vas published, (a) Martyr, Decad. iii. {h) Forster's Observation^ (e) Ovicdo. Furchas, vol. ii p. 985. superiority III. WEST INDIES. . J03 superiority is on the side of Otaheite; yet chap the Piraguas of the West Indians were fuHy '" sufficient for the navigation they were employed in, and indeed were by no means contemptible sea-boats. We arc told that some of these ves- sels were navigated with forty ours (d) ; and Herrera relates, that Bartlwlomew Columbus m passing through the Gulph of Honduras' fell in with one that was eight feet in breadth' and in length f^qual to a Spanishgalley. Over the middle was an awning, composed of mats and palm-tree leaves; underneath which were disposed the women and children, secured both from rain and the spray of the sea.— It was laden with commodities from Jucatan CeJ. On the other hand, our islanders far surpass- ed the people of Otaheite, in the elegance and variety of their domestick utersils and furni- ture; their earthen-ware, curiously woven beds, and implements of husbandry. Martyr speaks with admiration of the workmanship of some of the former of these. In the account he gives of a magnificent donation from Anacoana to (d) Martyr, Decad. i. (ej Herrera, Decad. i. lib. v. These vessels were built cither of cedar, or the great cotton-tree hollowed, and made square at each end like punts. Their gunnels were raised with canes braced close, and smeared over with some bitu- minous substance to render them water-tight, and Uiey had Sharp Keels. P. Martyr, Decad. Bartholomew i!'^ If p; 1^%'. •''I . * '1 . ' f i; ' 106 HISTORY OF THE BOOK I. mv. m constitutionni defect, if it existed entitled them togren.Ci 1 'nity , but the Sj)aniards distributed thein into lots, and compelled them to dig in the mines, without rest or intermission, until death, their only refuge, put a period to their sufl'erings. Such as -♦!-., ^ted resistance or escape, their merciless tyrants hunted down with dogs, which were fed on their flesh. They disregarded sex and age, and with im- pious and frantick bigotry even called in reli- gion to sanctify their cruelties. Some, more zealous than the rest, forced their miserable cap- tives into the water, and after administerinir to them the rite of baptism, cut their throats the next moment, to prevent their apostacy ! Others made a vow to hang or burn thirteen every morning, in honour of our Saviour and the twelve Apostles ! Nor wer<» these the ex- cesses only of a blind and remorseless fanati- cism, which exciting our abhorrence, excites also our pity : the S, iniards were actuated in many instances by such wantonness of malice, as is wb: llj unexampled in the '.vide history of human depravity. — Martyr relates, that it was a frequent practice ai/iong them to murder the Indians of Hisp ol i sport, or '^lerely, he observes, to keep lei ands in use. They had an emulation which of tiiem could m, t dextCr rously strike off the head of a man at a blow; wl;st iNDir.s. 107 were decoyed into Tfispaniolr, to '' share in the ""(ferings Mhich were the h, of " ♦he inhabit uts of that sland, and i. ningle their groans and tears with hose that OJ P. Martyr, Jecau. i. Ijb. vii. ''v-eiched ■■* fH' 'm tf ' t« JM HISTORY OF THE 'i ir Boot '' wretched race of mcn(kj." Aft. r reading v,^vw ^^icse accounts, who can help forming an in- (k) History of America, book iii. p. 185. See likewise P. Klartyr. Jccad. vii. This author relates the following affecting particulars of the poor Lucayans thr, fraudulently decoyed from their native t (juutries. " Many of them in *' tixc anguish of despair, obstinately refuse all manner of " sustenance, and retiring to desert caves and unfi cqucnted " woods, silently give up the ghost. Others, repairing to the *' sea-coast on the northern side of Hispaniola, cast many a *' longing look towards that part of the ocean where they " suppose their own islands to be situated ; and as the sea- " breeze rises, they eagerly inhale it ; fondly believing, that it " has lately vi.ited their own happy valleys, and comes " fraughi with the breath of those the) love, their wives and " their children. With this idea, they continue for hours " on the coast, until nature becomes utterly exhausted! " when stretching out then- arms towards the ocean, as if " to take a last embrace of their distant country and rela, " tions, they sink down, and expire without a groaii."^ " One of the Lucayans, (continues the same author) "who " was more desirous of life, or had greater courage than most " of his countrymen, took upon him a bold and difficult " piece of work. Having been used to build cottages in his " native country, he procured instruments of stoue, and " cut down a large spongy tree called jnrima *, the body " of which he dexterously scooped into a canoe. He then " provided himself with oars, some Indian corn, and a few " gourds of water, and prevailed on another man and a " woman to embark with him on a voyage to the Lucayos " Islands. Their navigation was prosperous for near 200 " miles, and they were almost within sight of their own " long-lost shores, when unfortunately they were met by a " Spanish ship, which brought them back to slavery and v.s . that the hand of Heaven, by chap »«.ne„..racuI„„si„torp„si,i„„^ had swop, thcl ^ European l,ran.s from the face of th'e ear h «ho, hke so ,„a„y beasts of prey, roamed round' tl.e world only to desolate and destroy; and more remorseless than the fiercest savage! hirst^ cd for human blood, without having he [m pu^yf natural appetite to pieaa if thX;;: On the whole, if we consider of how littfe enefit t e acquisition of these islands has since thltofr'''''"''''''^*-' -<>""-::: T\l •^»"1"'-'s<' «e must find if cx- •remely difficult to include such an event 1 tL massacre of ten millinn. c- "^"'"'"'e („„ u . ™""»n9 of innocent peonle (cmprehend-ngthe butcheries in Me.i^o and Peru amongst the number of those parh' 1 evuj «luch ultimately terminate in genera gJod ^rcanwepossiMyreconcileitstrm-rnt i"l:rr?''"'7''''''"-''^-''- J^ivmes therefore just y conrliulp fi, ^ "O stronger proof than tit which Jesf ■ence need be given of the existence oflnS," ro;;r^"'^""'-''-'»"-ne<,uausS „ °"' "'"* -'''^ '•""S* p/«res ;,/„/„ (7; ,- «I»'«5SirFr,nct,Drnkon„a.nde.co«„„Hi,,. paniola. no MISTOUY OV TITP. i i in;; a mi I* * BOOK pnniold, niul in his accoint of f li;it islund, which is preucrved ^'' ill U.iltluyt, vol. iii. ho leiiUo t!iat tlie SpaiiiarclH, having Utiorlv I'xU'i'iuinatoti the niicici:: hultuis, (not a single dc- iKviulani brin(j, 1 doubt, nt that time hving)luid nrvciihtlcsH derived so little advantage from tlu'ii-oruolty, as to bo obliged to convirt p'icvex of leather into money .—all the silver, in the ailainmeni ol" whicii (Voin tho bowels nf the eartli so many thoiiHands of poor wretches had perished, haviiiij long since found its way to Enro|)e, and the inhabitants had no means ol" getting a fresli supply. It may be proper in this place to observe, that some of tlic ciriunistanccs whicli I have related above, respeeting the tmolties of the Spaniards, are extracted Irom the writings ot Hartnolomew J)e Las Casas, who is accused by Dr. Ko- bertson of exaggeration j — but Oviedo himself, who endea- vours topalliaie tho monstrous barbarities of his eoiuitrynien towards tho natives, by asserting that they were addicted (o unnatural vices, which rendered them properly obnoxious to punish-. lent (a char;-', 'ay u,o way, which Herrera admits to be groundless)— Oviedo, I .say, confesses that in 1535^ only iorty- three ye.-irs posterior to the discovery of Hispaniola, and when he was himself on the spot, there were not left alive in that island aliove five hundred of the original natives, t)!d and young j for he adds, that all the other Indians at that tune there, bad been foiced or decoyed into slavery, from tlie neighbouring islands *. Las Casas, it is true, when he ^peaks of numbers in the gross, certainly over-rates thcori- ginal inhabitants, liut it d«'•« particular. I brieve t J "" *° •" the pe-nrv w,, „„l ''P".«um, like P -.^y, was unknown to the larger island., ^'" 'facoon was common in r ■ . the time of <^U.„ ^"nmon i„ Jamaica in "me ot hloane, who observe, that it .. ^^t™ bj-all sorts rf ,„,.„,, -! *' "' •" ^"^ «'Mfly in hnlln V ' J'^'bode wa, ■■'chieflsLbt^T''"''^"'""-'^^-'''''"'-- .y subsists, a crcumslanee which, .vhiJe '^ it ^^tB> -• !■ 1 . .»' '. ( il. lii •?•■ Ai I n 113 BOOK I. HISTORY OF THE it indicates that its number was considerable, easily accounts for its destruction. The Musk Rat is the pilaris of naturalists : it burrows in the earth,, and smells so strongly of musk, that its retreat is easily discovered. According to the French writers, these abound- ed anciently in Martinico and the other Wind- ward Islands to a great degree (m) ; and its resemblance to the common rat of Europe, though four times as large, probably proved fatal to the whole race. I am sometimes in- clined to suspect that this animal is the agouti of the larger Islands. The Alco was the native dog of the Nc: Hemisphere, nor does it seem to have di'^jied greatly from that of the Old ; except that it possessed not the power of barking (nj. The natives of Hispaniola, like those of Otahcite, fattened them with care, and accounted their flesh a great delicacy. '' In St. Domingo" (sajs Acosto ) " the dogs of Europe have multiplied *' so exceedingly, that at this time ( 1587 ) they *' are a nuisance and a terror to the inliabit- "' ants, and a price is set on ihmv heads as *' on wolves in Old Spain. At lirst there were " no dogs in this island, but a small mute crca- " ture resembling a dog, w ith a nose like that " of a. fox ; which tho natives called ako. The (7n) P. Labat, torn. ii. p. 302. nJ F. Col. c. xxiv. (( Indian** '^ Indians " 'hut th( " whereve " their bo! The M descriptior Thus H species oft mestick an animals tha vage state. strongest dl avoid his ap fore they cc nourishment casual and u to have disp these islands, perfluous th( sustenance ; i mentioned, a rivers and t with two vei of which an( only used as f cacies. These are <^rab. The Igi writf Id wuh two very extraordinary creatures • both of which anciently were, and still ar; nit only used as food, but accounted superior'dell writteu, th? rZ a " '"°" ^•""""'"".^ . class of aSr^':..^.^!''' ?'''-"'- -.^ avvui wiucii uuturalists are ',r ' >• •} 119 HISTORY OF I'HE I. u 1 |1' 3 pooK are not agreed whether to rank them with qua- drupedsj or to degrade them to serpents. — They seem therefore to stand ah)of from all established systems, and indeed justly claim a very distinguished place by themselves. From the alligator, the most formidable of the family, measuring sometimes twenty feet in length, the gradation is regular in diminution of size to the small lizard of three inches ; the same figure and conformation nearly (though not wholly) prevailing in each. The iguana is one of the intermediate species, and is commonly about three feet long, and proportionably bulk) : it lives chiefly among fruit-trees, and is per- fectly gentle and innoxious. Europeans doubt- less learn to make food of them from the exam- ple of the ancient Indians, amongst whom the practice of hunting them was a favourite diver- sion (oj ; and they are now become generally scarce, except in the islands of (he Windwuid- passago, and such other places between the tropicks as are seldom visited by man. I bC' lieve indeed the English, even when they were more plenliful, did not often serve them at ele- gant tables; but their French and Spauiih neighbours, less squeamish, still devoured tlicm with exquisite relish : I imagine loo they have ffood reason : for I have been assured by a lady of great beauty and elegance, who spoke from (o) F. Col. c. 3UCV. experience, t vour and wl turtle C'pJ. ReSPECTINi survives in th CpJ P. Ubat li liigli approbation. iif.ss of its flesh a p. 315. In a subs the manner of calc objection to accom participate in the c (says he) " by a m " of which was a " After beating th( " covered our o-nm " a tree. Hereup. " to which the gua " out hi5 neck and " ^^^ily. The ne,n„a i, equal i„ fl„. ,„,, v»ur and wholesa.nene.. to the (iuc.t g,e.„ " R.csP.CT,No the Mountain Crab, which still su.v,vesu, the larger of the»e Wands, thouj! rpj F.Ubnt likewise .peak,, of a frica,„eeil g„n„i I,, uso,,„fc, ,„j „„ delicacy of it, f,av„ur._T™ „, 1 n a„„„ „, ca,cl,i„g „„„„,„„,_ „„, ,, ,„^ ,,,,,,~ .obj.c„„., ,„ aoc„„,pn„, ,h, ,j p,,„ ,,j„„; ''■''"" r S' " h '"^ '"'■"'"'" '' '""- ■ ■■ ^^••- -. * " " of w • , '' " "'^"' "'"■ ''"'"^ " '™S rmi i « one c„,l .. , r r '™' ■'*'""" "' "'" "■" "" "- */ «-■ -.■ f»ly. me negro now approached, „ill „|,i,n„„ ^..j -rraX^^^^^^^^^^^ " pleased wIM, ti ^ ' ° "-''""^'•' 'Ti'Si'i'ly *«"»"ly »lipe ihe noose over l,i, head °„| t "™>g!.. Imnto the .round- ""''■ ""'' "'"' ■' J^k " to see the cre,r,„-. n ,' *^""'' 'P™' " •'*''''«l. ■'-^kc,t„„r:.fthe™:i:^t:*:"-;;,:'T™";-- Ti'e o;f,:T,''^*r'■''"•™-'''''■'''•i"-'^- J»ep,M^„^ '"'r"''"'''''-''--''™«<- Sir t.-.d food °' °" °' "'^■"' "' «■•-"■- -1 '"-« I. its Jig j" « 120 BOOK I. 'I HISTORY OF THE '•\A l!(»f its final extinction is probably at ha d, his- tory is so wonderfulj that I choose rather to give it in the language of others, than in any recital of my own. The authors from whom I tran- scribe, are Du Tcrtre and Brown. Thev boih ; wrote from their own knowledge and p rsonal , observation, and the facts which they rcl.ite , have been repeated to me a thousand times in the West Indies, by persons, who I :mi sine never knew what has been published on the subject by any author whatever. " These ani- , " mals," says Du Tertrc, '' live not only in a " kind of orderly society in their retreats in the *' mountains, but regularly once a year march ' down to the sea-side in a body of some mil- ^' lions at a time. As they multiply in great ^'■' jtombers, they choose the months of April or *' May i. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) J ^ ^ ^ fe A^* _v A < ^/{4> wj^ > >> /A j^ 0/ Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80 (716)872-4503 I m ^ ) Ill 'I 122 BOOK i. « HISTORY OF THE ing a thousand dangers, for they are some- " times three months in getting to the shore, " they have arrived at their destined port, the;y " prepare to cast their spawn. For this pur- " pose the crab has no sooner reached the shore, " than it eagerly goes io the edge of the water,' " and lets the waves wash over its body two or " three limes to wash ofl' the spcwn. The eggs " are hatched under the sand ; and soon after, " millions at a time of the new-born crabs, are " seen quitting the shore, and slowly travelling *' up to the mountains." So far Du Tcrtre, as copied by Goldsmith. What follows, is from Brown's Historv of Ja- maica. - The old crabs having disburthened ^'^ themselves" (as above) " generally regain '' their habitations in the mountains by the lat- ''^^ ter end of June.— In August they begin to " fatten, and prepare for moulting; filling up " their burrows with dry grass, leaves, and '^'abundance of other materials.— When the '' proper period comes, each retires to his hole, " shuts up the passngo, and remains quite uii- - active until he gets rid of his old shell, and is " fully provided with a new one. How long " they continue in this state is uncertain, \mi " the shell is first observed to bm-st at the back " and the sides, to give a passage to the body, " and the animal extracts its limbs from all the " other parts gradually after uurds. At^this *• time WEST INDIES. 123 <.metl,e flesh .s m the richest state, and co- chap. vered »nly with a tender n«,mbranow skin. JL, " variegated with a mHUitude of reddish veins ^^ " but this hardens gradually-, and soon becomes " a perfect shell like the former. It is however' " remarkable that, during this change, there " are some stony concretions always formed i„ " the bag, which was.:e and dissolve as the crea- tine forms and perfects its now crust." To these full and particular accounts I will add, oi my own knowledge, that many people, in order to eat of this singular animal in the nghct perfection, cause them to be dugout of the earth ,„ the moulting state; b.t they are •isually taken from the time they begin to move of the,„selves till they reach the sea, as already • relafed. During all (his time they are in spawn! and If my tesfimony can add weight to that of all who have written, and all who have feasted, on he suliject, I pronounce them, without d..ubt one of the choicest morsels in nature lie observation therefore of Du Tertre is nei- «•" hyperbolical nor exiravagant. Speakin-. ;;' ""■ *"",<'"' -^P^^i^^ of «l'i^ animal, he terms •I'™' • a l;vi,.s and per,;e(„al supply of ,„a„,,^ _ '" tlie «,lde>nc.s ; equalled only by the mi- randous bounty of Providence to the childrei. 0. Israel when wandering in the desert. They ' are a resource,- continues he, " to which llje IndRus have at all lime* resort ; for when " all 'M r '. 124 . BOOK I. If HISTORY OF THE " all other provisions are scarce, this never fails ''them." Such plenty of animal food had the lavish hand of nature enabled tho groves and the fo- rests of these highly favoured islands, to furnish for the use of man. The regions of water and of air are still more copiously gifted. Happily the inhabitants of those elements, less obnoxious to the arts of destruction than the races that I have described, are yet sufficiently numerous to bear witness themselves to the inexhaustible liberality of thsir almighty Creator. — We may say in the language of Milton, ■ Each creek and bay With fry innumerable swarm, and shoals Offish glide under the green wave. — Part single, or with mate. Graze tlie sea-weed their pasture j and thro' groves Of coral stray, or sporting with quick glance. Show to the sun their wav'd coats dropt with gold. While the woods and the marshes equally abound with wild fowl of infinite variety, and exquisite flavour fqj. But of the tribes which fq) The most delicious bird in the West Indies is the Ortalan or October-bird. It is the emberiza oryzivora of Lin- naeus, or rice-bird of South Carolina j of which a description is given by Catesby.— Yet it is remarkable, that they are reckoned birds of passage in North America as well as in the West Indies. Catesby observes, that they arrive in Carolina in infinite numbers in the month of September, to devour the rice : they conUnue tliere about three weeks, and retire when 115 WEST INDIES, these inlands still abundantly furnish, and from chap. whose nature and properties there is no reason J^ to apprehend a„e..ti„etion of the race, it is not w.th,„ „y p,„ ^^^ ^ ^^^^^ ^^^ enumeration hat I have made has chiefly extended to such. - fiom the,r .scarcity are seldom noticed b^ modern naturalists and voyagers, or of which the knowledge and even the names are lost to the present^i„habitants:-f„r it has been „ t ! o^erved, that what from its antiquitv i; Z ttle known, has from that circumstan'ce alot he recommendation of novelty. I shall there- Inowr, to the ancent Indians, of catching fish when the rice begins to ^row Jiarrl M-. .» be fro. Cuba'<„ Cafolina .7" iZT "°"" *e island, till ,he mom,, of Oc.„bl _! I f "^."°' '" raontli that thev visit r,m,- """'"='— A' least ,t ,s in that • on .he seeds J Z^^Z "TZ "''''' *" '-" about the bigness of a l^rt , , ""P^^^^^^^- The hems *-p-poi„.ed, and shaped ,L .»'o „lt „ " ^ "' ""• rous kind.— The corf« K;n • , , *"^ granivo- •he head b J ^J ^ ^t t: thT t f ''^" °^ ^»|.. both se.s,vide the ,^::^^;xr^r and " n1 i i 126 History of the k.k I BOOK and wild fowl, with which I believe the readdr will be amused. " The Indians of Jamaica and Cuba" (sajg Oviedo) ''go a fishing with the rcmora, or " sucking-fish, which thej einplaj as falconers " employ hawks. This fish, which is not above " a span long, is kept for the purpose, and re- ^' gularly fed. The owner on a calm morning- " carries it out to sea, secured to his canoe by "a. small but strong line, many fathoms in " length; and the moment the creature sees a " fish in the water, though at a great distance, " it starts away with the swiftness of an arrow, " and soon fastens upon it. The Indian, in the ''mean time, loosens and lets go the hue, " which is provided with a buoy that keeps on " the surface of the sea, and serves to mark tl;c " course which the remora has taken, and he " pursues it in his canoe, until he conceives his " game to be nearly exhausted and run dov.ii. ^^ He then, taking up the buoy, gradually draws "the line towards the shore; the remora si ill '' adhering with inflexible tenacity to its prey, " and it is wiih great difficulty that he is made "to quit his hold. By this method" (adds Oviedo) '' I have known a turtle caught, of " a bulk and weight which no single man could " support (rj." (r) If^rrera confirms this account. Sec aho P. Martyr, Dtc^d. WEST INDIES. 1 HEIR contrivance for catchinif wild f„„,l ^ a i i°""T';""' P-«-,arl,theChi„i ^" to wncic the stream is shallow, with '»»■ become very sr„ce „n ,1, ""^'"■"' ""''"=' " '-'« .omewhae like p^i ,f "^°"' '' '"" '" "«''■ »•'■-'' '"■ =f tl,e sea. I "e ™„1 T "''"'' S'™" "' *= "«- "■■^'^"^^'^mKas prior jiesIC £ -^'-i/ut 1 hij i l\' K .* J. s ■I • na HISTORY OF THE ^°0K his head only above the Mater, until he gets v^Vw among- the fowl, when seizing one at a time by the feet, and dragging it by a sudden jerk un- der the surface, he fastens it to his girdle, and thus loads himself with as many as he can carry away, without creating the least alarm or dis- turbance among the rest. I MIGHT now proceed to an enumeration and account of the esculent vegetables originally produced in these Islands; especially those most valuable ones, the Maize, the maniock (s), and the different species of the dioscorea or yam ; of which, and the many delicious fruits, the growth of these climates, the natives with- out doubt composed the chief part of their daily support : but I am here happily antici- pated by the voluminous collections of syste- matical writers ; particularly those of Sloane, Brown, and Hughes. Nevertheless it were to be wished, that those authors had more fre- quently discriminated than they appear to have done, such vegetables as are indigenous, from those which have been transplanted from to Cs) A late ingenious writer (Dr. Darwin) has given it as his opinion, that the maniock, or cassava, when made into bread, i.s rendered mild by the lieat it undergnen, rather tlmn by exjirossing its superfluous juice; and Ibelieve the obser- vation to be just; for Sir Hans Sloane relates, that the juice lts<]f, however acrinionions in its raw stale, becomes, when boiJcdj as iniioccnt and wholesome as v.liey. lb 'VUD JMRlff' • WEST INDIES, foreign countries. Nature .„vi toe projarress nf m^^ • ""siry, ana P- Marty,, whose Decades „ T " '^^^"'^' ^"'^ J^nibuss Letters to Kir p^ ^ """'P''"'^ °"^ °f Co- ^'^ ^'"g Ferdinand, writes of if . f ,. "-. Hi,,„ri°,f *:;■:'*''-•; l-ve a slice for ,,i. h„. •Monographer? The term ^««„, ern: The West Ind V 01.. I. i^an name of thi. fruit was /««-p,^; 's, I believe, east- 'o-mie. tion 139 CHAP. IV. 4triliiir-fci *^ mHMMHI t ^^^H i ' ^'^l ti^^H I^J^I <■ '&!■ 130 > HISTORY OF THE BOOK I. tion for particular history. Many objects in- deed are hereafter to be considered, which, be- ing common to all our West Indian posses- sions, will be comprehensively discussed ; — but in previously treating of the origin and pro- gress of our national establishments in them, it seems proper to discourse of each Island sepa- rately ; — and, as the most important, I begin with Jamaica. AP cerm WEST INDIES. Ul APPENDIX TO BOOK I. Containing some additiofini ^% cerr,ir,a- 4i "^'""^^^^ observations con- cermng the origin of the Charaibes. Having venturoH ;« ii. ««•' boot to Xu irfu''^''^ "' -- and other witer, wl.7 ? " "^ Ho"iu,r«; J«L po- that i^:zzzT' r'r- ''"'' -p- bHefl/sta<^ThetiSr:;:;"'n""<' '^''"'' ' «b"il and deJe!^ """ '"** P'-'o'-'Phers, to reject «'.on;,J;i:;j"f--™ngexh.u,t- "c». that I doubt th. . "' '"'°P''''S *■»«- •""gust from !! *!'^""«>«' ^ai Arinfc ^u,, 4 ive:"l^rS-' "":- •^""»'" ««ention'fmSJ.^*'"'*--««'*-otedth. («/De o^'ginibusAmericanis,Iib.«.c.vi Kg It #^; >) ^1 132 HISTORY OP THE BOOK I. It may be necessary therefore to premise, that I mean to apply my argument to the Cha- raibe J^ation ofili/ ; a people whose manners and characteristick features denote, as I conroive, a different ancestry from that of the generality of the American nations. It is not wonderful that the notion of their transatlantick origin should have been treated with derision. — The advocates for this opinion, like the framers of most other systems, by at- tempting to prove too much, have gained even less credit than they deserve. In contending- that the New World was first planted by ad- venturers from the Old, they universally take for granted, that some of those adventurers re- turned, and gave accounts of their discoveries ; for they suppose that America was well known to the Ancients; that not only the Phenicians made repeated voyages thither ; but that the ^Egyptians and Carthaginians also, voluntarily crossed the Atlantick, and planted Colonies, at ditferent periods, in various parts of the New Hemisphere. In support of these opinions, quotations have been made from poets, philosophers and histori- ans : But, if we reflect on the limited extent of navigation before the discovery of the compass; the prevailing direction of the winds between the tropicks; and various other obstructions, we may I think very confidently determine (not- withstanding WEST INDIES. «. (t re 136 HISTORY 'pt of this name. The second, who is generally supposed to have ordered the cir- cumnavigation of Africa, wns slain in battle by the Assyrians, I think under the command of Nebuchadnezzar ; but an ambiguous phrase in Herodotus, seems rather to point out tlie elder NeTO, who was conterapor.^,ry with Solomon, ted <( )or WEST INDIES. ' *c \31 ported a crcumstance which to me is not a^n. credible, though it may gain belief fio™ j£ ^^ other.,, tkat salUug round Libya they had the sun on the right (g)," NoTw,T„sTAND.NG the d„„bts entertained byD,. Robertson respecting this account, I per- ceive in it such evidence of tn.th, as to my owu mmd, afibrds entire conviction.-How could .t have been known, unless from actual obser- yatmn, that Africa, towards the South, was en- compassed by the sea? The caution with which the venerable historian expresses himself, is re^ ...arkable: and the circumstance that the voy- agers observed the meridian sun on the north in saihng round Libya, which seemed an im- possibility at a time when all between the tro- picks was deemed uninhabitable is of itself de cisive of the main fact r/<;. J) Herod, Melp„„K-«. 42. I„ ,he former edition, of n.y work,, some n>i.:,.*e, were m,-,de in the tran*„ion of tta lie l,,,s always considered the i,.,„ngo i„ nuestion n, „ f pe.It>vasthcop,„,o„ofEr.t„„|,e„estl,ee„„no.n-.,pher ^.h ottter sea flowed round the enrtl, .„d :,J „, «-^^p... Where itir-:;.::;^H,:;:rz:: '-- "eum.uv,gated Afriea fron, Gade, to India. ,^»"a.cd ;,e™ baore that of Vasine^ de Gama iu ,.:„,-. Dr. f V- ii;M''» s"" fl ■I '1^ K " ; i' ; ' ^'1 ^' 1 iif It - r 1 iiLJ ' ^^ ■•! ■Hp-' . ■;) -i! HK- !■ '^ '.: •m^^HMK 1 ' (- "•' n r , . ! * ■ - \ f IMI r^ 1 ^' ,, ' l]Vt 1 -1 I . •i[ i ...(TTTTT ' , , V .(■ ' i 1 \ \ .if v^:'U^ 13S BOOK I. HISTORY OF THE Dr. Robertson has shewn, it is true, that s-'^rw many historians and geographers of antiquity, who lived long after the days of Herodotus,' knew nothing concerning the form and state of the southern parts of Africa.— He observes par- ticularly that Ptolemy, the astronomer, sup- posed that this great continent stretched with- out interruption to the South Pole. All this however only demonstrates that navigation, like many branches of science, flourished in one age, and declined in another. Herodotus lived 400 years before the birth of our Saviour, and Ptolemy 140 years after. Ancient history abundantly proves that the Phenicians and their successors the Carthaginians, possessed fai- greater skill in naval affairs than the Greeks, Romans, or any other nation that came after tiiem, until the sprit of naval discovery revived und shone with greater lustre than ever, in the lifieenth century. From this recapitulation which I have thongiit necessary to make, though the sub- ^stance of it may be found in a thousand differ- eut authors, (commonly blended indeed with much learned absurdity and frivolous conjec- ture) the reader will clearly perceive that the luivigation of the Atlantick Ocean, along the coast of Africa, both from the North and the Sau;h, and even at a considerable distance from the UnJ, was well understood and prevailed m WEST INDIES. . . . *.j ... very remote ages. N,w if we enquire into .pp™ the nature of the winds and current, on the '^"'• Afnean coast and reflect on the various ca- sualt.es to wh.ch ships at sea are liable, even i„ the most favourable season of the year- we must adm.t, that it not only p^bably iZ. pened .„ some of those ancient ex, JitZs hut even that it r,as scarce pos^e nit to 7,2 pen that vessels would be driven by suddTn gusts, or carried by adverse cunems; with n he verge of the trade-wind ;i„ which caseTf theyhappened to lose their masts, they must necessaj.Iy run before the wind, towards BrasH or the West Indies. ' Two remarkable accidents of this nature precisely ,„ p„i„t, are recorded by writers of credit, and doubtless there are many oth r ia slanees equally authenticated, that have "- caped my research. The first is related by Cap- ton Glass, in his history of the Canary Elands who observes that a small bark, b„.fnd from Werota to Tencriflc, was thus forced out of h ourscand obliged to run before the wind, ."1.1 she came w.thiu two days sail of the coas of Caraccas; where she fortunately met with an Enghsl. cruiser which relieved her distresses ^nd directed her to the Port of La Guaira on *''at coast. The other is told by Gumill as :r.!- ;:/" ^-ember ITSl,- f.,. :;;';:! w X v^„., av iiic towu of St. Joseph, "in 139 "m _^^J fi ^^H^llfi ■^^B' "'-ch ,t .s now too late to disentangle ^ Venezici Sam H^l^^^^^^^^ Maison publique or I ,, K^^ milcd houie P^i^lOiiq] Necklace or col. ^5'« p:rn [E-Onq ali] M, necklac?"" PW,bae Souffl^^""" ^ ('ooaOetoyou ^ajouboukaa Vat'en iMn w^-, rp r, ^f a Mange ^**'^ ^^l ^.^''^ ^""^k] Go % u:^, ^l. Mauler ^^^ r7;i [Bg.] i:,^ ^ ^ i axu Liani yene-neri Hacyete Karbet £ncka Collier Yene kali Hue-Hue Nora Mon collier Du bois -•"- Ma peaii Nanc-ojoaete Je suis maiade Jnaleatibou e-:«i-L- I I' W f J ! , ^^\ \ I4# HISTORY OF THE 'fo the proofs ai 'sinfi^ from language, I shall v^y^w •♦f^ *^ Levit. c. xix. v. 27. //J Deut. c. xiv, V 1. ^"'> J Kings, c. xviii. V. 28. r-i -I 1 ;"f. 'f' ' ^ 11 ' l '; ^-M calciiied .T-i:f r ■ ■)■■ f ■, ISQ HISTORY, &c. BOOK calcined shells precisely after the manner of wvw the Indians in the East; — a circumstance, which, though recorded by P. Martyr (nj, had escaped my researches, until it was pointed out to me by Mr. Long, Some other resemblances, almost equally striking, might be collected ; but the reader will probably think that more than enough has already been said on a subject, the investigation of which he may perhaps deem a mere matter of idle curiosity, neither contributing to the improvement of science, nor the comfort of life. Here then I conclude : an attempt to trace back the Charaibes of the West Indies to their progenitors, the first emigrants from the an- cient hemisphere, in order to point out, with any degree of precision or probability, the era of their migration, were (like the voyaj^cs I have been describing) to venture on a vast and unknown ocean without a compass ; — and even without one friendly star to guide us through the oight of conjecture. Ol) Decqd. viii. c. vi. K <<.r... THE HISTORY, CIVIL AND COMMERCIAL, ISl OF THE ERmSH COLONIES IN THE WEST INDIES, BOOK n. JAMAICA (a). C H A P. I. Dueovcri, of Jamaica ly Coln;nhu,.-m re turn in im.-Spirited proceeding, „f ,^ «o» £>iego, after Columbus's '";""- infill . J •"••"• ■»t lb said t(; Iiave Sign lied Jumm was tl,e augmenLitive of J„c.. ^ tag ri 1-. -ivli ii4 HISTORY OF THE BOOK ing in gold^ Columbus was easily persuaded to v^-y^/ turn his course towards it. He approachfid it the next day, and, after a slight contest with the natives, which ended however in a cordial reconciliation, he took possession of the coun- try, with the usual formalities. But it was not until the fourth and last yoyage of Columbus, a voyage undertaken by this great navigator, after he had suflercd a so- Terer trial from the base ingratitude of the Country and Prince in whose service he labour- ed, than from all his past toils, dangers and in- quietudes, that he learnt more of Jamaica; which, as it had the honour of being first dis- covered by him nine years before, had now the still greater honour of affording him shelter from shipwreck. For on the 24th of June, 1503, being on his return to Hispaniola, from Vcragua, he met with such tempestuous wea- ther as compelled him, after losing two of his ships, to bear away in the utmost distress for this island, With great difficulty, he reached a little harbour on the north side (c) where he Avas forced to run aground the two vessels that were left him, to prevent their foundering. By this disaster, his ships were damaged beyoncj the possibility of repair, and he had now the me- lancholy reflection that his miseries and his life (c) Called to this day, Don Christopher's Cove. 3 would WEST INDIES. would probably terminate together. During the space of twelve months and four dajs, that he remained in this wretched situation, he had new dangers to surmount, and unaccustomed trials for the exercise of his fortitude, His people revolted, the Indians deserted him, and the Governor of Hispaniola not only refused to relieve, but, with monstrous and unexampled barbarity, aggravated his misfortunes by out- rage and mockery. AH these occurrences how- ever, the dexterity with which he availed him. self of the superstition of the Indians by the circumstance of an eclipse, and the means whereby his deliverance was at length effected, having been recounted by a thousand different historians, need not be repeated by me. The hardships he suffered on this occasion, and his Sovereign's ingratitude together, proved too mighty for his generous spirit : he sunk under them, soon after his return to Spain ; leaving a name which will not be extinguished, but with that world whose boundaries he had ex- tended f^/j, fdj There is preserved amon^ the Journals of the Hon Council in Jamaica, a very old volume in MS. consistin. in poverty and misery ; all but •Lis chains being t-kea from him^ so that he who gave Spain anoilier WEST INTDIES. H9 splendour had been transmitted to posterity chap. through a purer medium, and not, as now ' serving chiefly to render visible the vices and enormities that surround and debase them ! The few particulars of their progress whicli by diligent selection, aided by traditionary me- morials, I have been able to collect, I shall now present to my readers. About seventeen years had elapsed after the Spaniards had first fixed themselves in Hispa- niola, before they seem to have entertained any serious design of sending forth a colony to pos- sess itself of Jamaica. As this island had hi^ another world, had neither ,,f,ty in it, nor yet a cottage for himself, nor his wretche.1 family: but, should Heaven still persecute me, and seem displeased with what I have done as If the discovery of this new world may be fatal to the old' and as a punishment bring my life to a period in this miser' zbh place, yet do you, good angels, you that succour the oppressed and innocent, bring this paper to my great mis- ti-ess. She knows how much I have done, and will believe what I have suffered for her glory and service, and will be so just and pious as not to let the children of him that has brought to Spain such immense riches, and added to it vast and unknown kingdoms and empires, want bread, or subsist only on alms. She, if she lives, will consider that cruelty and ingratitude will bring down the wrath of Heaven, so M the wealtli I have discovered, shall be the means of stir- nng up all mankind to revenge and rapine, and the Spanisi. nation suffer hereafter, for what enviuu., malicious and un- grateful people, do now." I' 'i^ififa^9m!}sm' 160 HISTORY OF THE • BOOK therto produced neither gold nor silver, it scciw to have been neglected as unworthy further no- tice; and perhaps it might have continued a few 3'ears longer the peaceful scat of innocent simplicity, hut for the base ingratitude of King Ferdinand, towards the family of Columbus. This great man, after his return to Spain, in 1504, was compelled to employ the jclose of his days in fruitless and irksome solicitation at the court of an unthankful and unfeeling mo- narch; who meanly suffered him to be cruelly defrauded of the rights and privileges originally granted to him, and which he had so dearly and so nobly earned. His son Diego, the heir of his fortunes, succeeded to the same debasing necessity, till, at length, wearied out with fri- volous and unprincely excuses, he instituted a memorable process against his sovereign before the council of the Indies at Seville; and thi* court, with a firmness and virtue that cannot be sufficiently applauded, decided in favour of his pretensions. After a minute and solemn investigation of his claims, the council pro- nounced him hereditary viceroy and high ad- miral of all the countries and islands discovered by his father. They decreed, that he was in- vested with a jurisdiction over them similar to that of the high admiral of Castile; that he was I- ' WEST iNDltS. At bjr was enffded to atenth part .fall the gold and chap. silver that mij-ht thnreaf'ter be found in tho«o '* terntories; and they adjudged hiu, various other pmilegcs and immunities, of vast ^xtom and authority. But the king, notwithstanding tins distinguished and competent recognition of h.s rights, confirmed to him onty thMitlo and authority of governor and admiral of IIi»- pan.ola; and even of this diminished command) It 13 probable he would have been deprived if he had not tbrtunatelj strengthened hk interest l)J an illustrious marriage CeJ. The gallant youth, nevertheless, still boldly persisted in his claim to the full exorcise of all the rights and authority, which had been so recently d^cre^d to belong io him ; and he shortly afterwards accompun.ed by a numerous and splendid re- tinue, embarked for his government, resolved to enforce his pretensions. He arrived in Hispauiola in the month of July, 1508, but had very soon the mortification to discover that the king had actually invested m two other persons (Alonzo de Ojeda and ^jo de Nicuessa) not only two separate an4 distinct governments, which comprehended all the contuient as far as it had been di«:overed (0) He man-led Mary da Tokdo, daughter to Ferdinand dc ^"^^0. gmnd comn>a„der of Leon, who was broth..- ., ^''^'^^'icfc duke of ^loa. Vol. r. m J 'ti ti i" ^ I M i ■■': I ■ /-M ' i ,, .; t , ^'i-M ii : ■• (li : ., w\n X(J2 HISTORY OF THE t BOOK by Christopher Columbus, but had also in- cluded the island of Jamaica, as a joint appen- dage within the jurisdiction of each. These appointments Diego Columbus considered as a manifest violation of his own rights, and strenu- ously contended for the exclusive privilege of nominating, in particular, to the governments of Veragua and Jamaica, the prior discovery of both those countries by his father being a circumstance of universal notoriety. To se- cure his claim to Jamaica, in the month of No- vember, 1509, he sent thither Juan de Esqui- vel, with about seventy men. Esquivel had acquired the reputation of, a gallant soldier, and it is still more to his honour, that he was one of the very few Castillians, who, amidst all the horrors of bloodshed and infectious rapine, ■were distinguished for generosity and huma- nity. An eminent instance of his greatness of mind is recorded by Herrera -^About the time that he sailed from Hispaniola to take posses- sion of his new government of Jamaica, his competitor Ojeda was on his departure to the continent. Ojeda violently opposed the in- tended expedition of Esquivel, and publickly threatened that if he should find him at Ja- maica, on his return from the continent, he would hang him up as a rebel. It happened that Ojeda's voyage was unfortunate in the highest degree ; for, after sustaining a series 6 oi 163 W£ST INDIES. ff unexampled calamities, he was shipwrecked chap. on the Coast of Cuba> and was in danger of '' miserabij perishing for want of food. In his "^""^ distress he called to mind that Esquivel was in Jamaica, and h- was now reduced to the sad extremity of imploring succour from the very man whose destruction he had meditated; but the magnanimous Esquivel was iio sooner made acquainted with the sufl'erings of his enemy, than he forgot all his resentment. He imme- diately sent over to Cuba, Pedro de Narvez, an omcer of rank, to conduct Ojeda to Ja- maica. Esquivel received him with the ien'^ derest sympathy, treated liim, during his stay, with every possible mark of distinction and re- spect, and provided him with the means of a speedy and safe conveyance to Hispaniola. It is pleasing to add, that Ojeda was not ungrate- iul to his benefactor. Under such a man, it is reasonable to sup^ pose that the yoke of subjection sat light and easy on the natives of Jamaica, and that the ravages of conquest were restrained within the limits of humanity. Accordingly, the Spanish historians bear the most honourable testimony to his virtuous and gentle administration.— " The affairs of Jamaica (says Herrera) went 'I on prosperously, because Juan de Esquivel "having brought the natives i.o submissioa "'i»:ithout any effusion of blood, they labomld m2 'c^^ r 'J ( '., i-, N-^f m BOOK "It i! HISTORY OF THE ' i» pitting cotton, and raising other commc- " diti^s which yielded great profit." This praise is^ the more valuable because it is alraopt pe- culiar to Esquivel, who alone seems to have been sensible of the abominable wickedness of visiting distant lands only to desolate them ; and of converting the Indians to Christianltj l?y cutting their throats. How many noble qualities, in some of his cotemporaries, were tarnished by cruelty and rapine, or unhappily blended with a misguided and frantick zeal for religion, that rendered their possessors still more remorseless and savage ! EsQuiVEL continued in his office but a few years. He died in his government, and was buried at Scvilla Nucva, a town which he had founded. He was probably succeeded by go- vernors of a far different character, who, it is to be feared, soon began to spread among the wretched natives the same horrible carnage that was now desolating Hispaniola, It appears that Francis de Garay held the chief command in 15S3, since in that year he fitted out an ex- pedition from this island for the conquest of Panuco, a territory which Cortes, unknown to Garay, had already annexed to the Spanish do- minion. In this expedition were employed nine ships and two brigantines, and there were embarked in it 81)0 Spaniards, and a consider- able body of Jamaica Indians, and 144,horses. 7 Such WEST INDIES. H^lf lei Suclr a force, ,f collected chiefly .^ithin the ch.vp island, proves that a great progress had been Ju^ madem ,ts settlement and population during i^e thirteen years that the Spaniards had been in possession of it. As Esquivcl had established he seat of government near to the spot which had been honoured by the residence of Column bus after his shipwreck in 1503, it may be prei |umed that the town of Sevilla ISueva was noM^ become of some consideration. This town, as M-e are informed by Herrera, wis founded oit the Site of an ancient Indian village, called fni7na (f), and near to the port named by Goi lumbus Santa Gloria ( now St, Ann's Harbour) * and tlie daily accession of new inhabitahtl wou.a naturally extend the boundaries of tb6 capital, till the rude village, consisting at first ot a few temporary huts, must hav^ ihereased to a place of importance. Religion too, in all the Spanish territories, very soon fdrced arfelili tectureinto hei Service; for, hy i lariieWAble inconsisttncy in iU htitoan inind, thes^ de- 0J ^ua^ mmt. Thefe is a bay a little to the easf. *drd ;vh,ch ,s called at «.« hour Mitmee 6dy. The ground Son ?•• ^^"'"^^' ^^'" '-' ' '-'^^ -g-'plantation ^ reon. It »s called Seville Plantation, and the ruins of e ancent to«^n are still visible in .eme of the cane-fields, flffio • ^ " ancester Giipiain Heming, an str overs ,'i ia . ' •■'! •' (• I ' I II m HISTORY OF THE BOOK stroyers of their fellow-creatures were wonder- s^vv fully exact in the observance of all the outward ceremonies of divine worship. With hands yet reeking in the blood of murdered inno- cence^ they could erect temples to the Al- mighty, and imj'lore that mercy from Heaven, which they had j ust denied to the miserable vic- tims of their cruelty and rapine. Among other costly buildings a cathedral and monastery were designed, and the foundations of both were vi- sible not long ago, as 'many of the ruins are at this day. Peter Martyr of Angleria, the au- thor of the Decades, was appointed abbot and chief missionary of the island. A fort was also erected, the remains of which, as well as of tiic cathedral, were inspected by Sloane in 1688, who relates, that a pavement was discovered at the distance of two miles from the church ; a circumstance that may give us some idea of the extent of the city in the days of its prosperity. The west gate of the cathedral stood entire in 1688, and displayed, in the judgment of Sloane, very excellent workmanship ; but it was his opi- nion that the building was never completed ; for he observed several arched stones that must have been designed for it, which apparently had never been put up (gj^ He likewise dis- Cg) " Over the door (of the west gate) was a can-Ing o£,,„ our Saviour's head with a crown of tlieins between two an- gels; WEST INDIES. 167 covered, in the same condition, materials for a chap. capital mansion, probably intended for the pa- v^^^ lace of the governor. From these circum- stances, the tradition which still prevails in the island, that the Spanish inhabitants of Seville were at some period, in their wars with the na- tives, entirely and suddenly cut off, is probably founded in truth. Sloane, indeed, relates that some of the Spanish planters, who had retired io Cuba, assigned very different reasons for the desertion of this part of the country, alleging, that a visitation of innumerable ants had de- stroyed all their provision grounds, and that the j situation of the capital was ill adapted for the purposes of their commerce. These reasons might possibly have operated against the re- establishment of the place; but were not, I think, of sufficient efficacy to induce a whole body of people, the inhabitants of a growing capital, suddenly to remove their families and I ,i| i ■I s i gels ; on the right side a small round figure of some saint, with a knife stuck into his head. On the left a Virgin Mar/ or Madona, her arm tied in three places, Spanish fashion. Over the gate, under a coat of arms, this inscription. Petrus. Martir. Ab, Angleria. Italus. Civis. Mediolanea. Prothon. Apos. Hujus. Insule. Abbas. Senatus. Indici. Consiliarius. Ligneam. Primus, iEdem. Hanc. Bis. Igne. €onsumptam. Latericio, Et, Quadrato. Lapide. Primus. A. Fundamentis. Etruxtt," Sloane. effectSj i . ! r i ' i i'. I ;'; iyi I" it wm I 9\\ 166 HISTORY OF THE >est tide; Or leave transfix'd on the hard pointed rock, * The fruit so called is the PsidkmfructUo:um of Botanists P. Mar- ?yr tdat«, that it was in Jugh esteem aiflong the natives The WEST INDIES. ip Concerning the precise era of these cTents, ctl\p: it is now perhaps useless to enquire; but if con- ^.^^ jecture may be allowed, I should Hx oa the year 1523, immediately after the departure of the force under ( , aray ; and if the new capital wa» really founded by Diego Columbus, as tradition reports, and which there seems no good reason to dispute, the conjecture is strongly confirmed; for he embarked for Spain in discontent in 1517, returned to his government with fuller powers in 1520, and di^d in his native country in the latter end of 15S5, or the beginning of 152(> ; and it was certainly after his arrival the last time in Hispaniola, that he laid, or caused to be laid, the foundation of St. Jago de la Vega (i). The new city increased rapidly, and in 1545 (twenty years after the deatli of its founder) il The sport of howling winds. How bhall we laugh. When the pale coward slaves, to us, remote. Direct til' uplifted hand, th' imploring eye! Their conscious groans shall feed our great revenge ;~ Their endless woes, our wondrous wrongs repay.' Jamaica, a poemj MSS. pent.^ n^ (i) Since this was written I have discovered, by a re-pc rusal of Oviedo, that tliei-e was a general revolt of the In- dians of St. Domingo iu December 1522, which Diego Co- lu:Tik;s suppressed, and,, immediately afterwards repaired to Jamaica to take on himself tlie government in the room of Garay. It seems probable, from hence, a.at tlie revolt ex- Ufflded to botiiislands. had II i 174 HISTORY OF THE l«i i;-. ? ill BOOK had the honour of giving the title of Marqtii^ ^^^v^ U} his son and heir, who received at the same time from the emperor Charles V. a grant of the ^hole island in perpetual sovereignty, as an hereditary fief of the crown of Castille. As this is an important circumstance in tho history of this island, and seems not to have been perfectly understood by any of the Eng- lish historians who have treated of the affairs of Jamaica, I presume that a more copious ac- count and explanation of it, will not be unac- ceptable. Diego Columbus left issue three sons and two daughters. His eldest son, Don Lewis, succeeded to his father's honours and extensive claims. Of the daughters, the eldest, Isabella, afterwards intermarried with the Count de Gel- rez, a Portuguese noblemen of the house of Braganza. Lewis Columbus was an infant of six years of age on the death of his father ; but was generally considered as hereditary vice- roy, and high-admiral of the West Indies. The emperor, however, though he treated him with singular distinction, and considerably aug- mented his revenues, as he grew to manhood, absolutely refused to admit his claim to such extensiTe authority; and Lewis, as his mino- rity expired, instituted, after his father's ex- ample, a legal process for the recovery of his birthright. It does not anBear that his suit ever WEST INDIES. tTJ i-vcr came to a legal issue ; for in the year 1 545, chap. he found it prudent to accede to a couipro- ^J^ mise with the emperor, whereby he transferred all his hereditary rights to the crown, for a grant of the province of Veragua and the island of Jamaica, with the -title of duke dc Vcragua and marquis de la Vega. What might have been the precise extent and nature of this grant. we have not information sufficient to enable us to judge. Whatever it was, he left no issue to enjoy it ; and his brothers also dying without male issue, his sister Isabella, wife of the count de Gelvez, became sole heiress of the Columbus family, and conveyed by her marriage all her rights to the house of Braganza, where they continued, I believe, till the year 1640, and then reverted back by forfeiture to the crowii of Spain, in consequence of the revolution which placed John duke of Braganza on the throne of Portugal. Sir Hans Sloane therefore, in asserting that a duke de Veragua enjoyed a yearly revenue from Jamaica, at the time the island surrendered to the English in 1655, must have been misin- formed ; as he clearly is in supposing tliat the family of Columbus were at that time proprie- tors of the island, and had so continued from the days of Ferdinand and Isabella. But there is a circumstance recorded bj Bloin<5» h r if$ HISTORY OF THE BOOK If. I • I 1i I Bloirte, and confirmed bv the state papers of Thurloe, for which the relation I have given sufficiently accounts. I mean the establish- ment in Jamaica of manj Portuguese families. The transfer of Isabella's inheritance to the house of Braganza, might have encouraged many of the Portuguese to fix their fortunes in the newly-acquired colony, and it is equally probable that the same event would excite jealousy in the old Spanish settlers towards their new visitors. Blome adds, that the Por- tuguese were abhorred. To such mutual distrust, and irreconcileable aversion of the inhabitants towards each other, must be ascribed the reason that Sir Anthony Shirley met with so little resistance when he iu- Tadedthe island in 1596, and plundered the capital. About forty years afterwards it was again invaded by a force from the Windward Islands under colonel Jackson. It is said, how- ever, that on this occasion the inhabitants be- haved with great gallantry in a pitched battle at Passage-Fort. They were, however, defeated, and Jackson, after losing forty of his men, en- tered St. Jago de la Vega sword in hand, and, having pillaged the town of every thing valu- able, received a considerable ransom for sparing the houses. He then retreated to his ships, and carried offliis booty without interruption. From i;r WEST INDIES. From this period, until the capture of the chap island bjthe English in 1655, during the usur- ^J^^ pation of Cromwell, I know nothing of its ^^ concerns, nor perhaps were they productive of any event deserving remembrance. I shall therefore proceed, in the next chapter, to the consideration of the Protector'^ motives for at- tacking the territories of Spain at a time when treaties of peace subsisted between the two na- tions; which I conceive have hitherto been greatly misunderstood, or wilfully misrepre- sented, by historians in general. t**t In the preceding chapter (p. 167 of the present edi- t.on)Ihaveassigned some reasons in support of the traditional account of the destruction of New Seyille> on the northern side of Jamaica, by the ancient Indians, and I have supposed thatevent to have happened in the year ]523. J have since d-scovered that the reasons I have given were weJl founded Among Sir Hans Sloane's MSB. in the British Museum l ^avebeen shewn part of an unpublished history of Jamaica, wh.ch was written the beginning of the present century, ^.l Doctor Henry Barham. a very learned and respectable phy- «'c.an of that island, wherein the circumstance is related "early .„ the manner I had suggested, and stated to have occurred (as I had supposed) immediately after the embar- kat.on of the force under Garay; which is known, from Henera, to have taken place in 1523.-In the same work the letter from Christopher Columbus (cide p. 156, et sea ') IS preserved as a document of undoubted autlientiolty Vol. ^ • !l ; ii t i : ii V I I , I .V m 178 HISTORY OF THE * CHAP. II. Cronuvell vindicated for attacking the Spaniards in 1655. — Their cruelties in the West Indies, in contravention of the treaty of 1630. — Pro- posals offered hy Modyford and Gage — Forcible arguments of the latter.— Secretary Thurloe*s account of a conference with the Spanish Ambassador.'— Cromwell's demand of satisfaction r ejected. -^State of Jamaica on its capture. BOOK There is no portion of the English annals, in v,^«y^ the perusal of which greater caution is requi- site, than the history of the administration of the protector Cromwell. The prejudices of party, which, in common cases, are lost in the current of time, have floated down to us in full strength against this prosperous usurper ; and his actions, from the period that he reached the summit of power, are still scrutinized with in- dustrious malignity, as if it were impossible that authority irregularly acquired, could be exercised with lustice. It is not strange therefore that the vigorous proceedings of the Protector against the Sp? iiish nation, in 1655, should have been obnoxirusto censure, or that writers of very opposite political piinciples WEST INDIES. 179 principles should concur in misrepresenting his chap. conduct on that occasion. The celebrated ,J^ female republican (aj terms it " dishonourable and piratical/' and the courtly and elegant apologist of the Stewart family (bj, pronounces It a most unwarrantable violation of treaty. The publication of the state papers of Thurloe (the Secretary) ought, however, to have miti- gated this weight of censure. In truth, it will be found that nothing but a most disingenuous concealment of tb^ hostile proceedings of the Spaniards, too g^ri. . io be palliated, towards the subjects of England, can give even the co- lour of plausibility to the charge which has been brought against Cromwell, of having com- menced an unjust and ruinous war, against a friend and ally, 'contrary to the interest of the nation, and in violation of the faith of treaties. If the power which is vested in the executive magistrate, by whatever name he be distin- guished, be held for the protection and security of the religion, liberties and properties of the people under his government, the measures adopted by the Protector on that occasion were not merely justifiable; they were highly neces- sary, and even meritorious; for the conduct of Spain, especially in America, was the dcclara- Ca) Mrs. Macanle>wHi5tor7 of England. (k) David Hume— History of Great Britain. N 3 tion ■A * *. \ lap HISTORY OF THE BOOK tion and exercise of war against the wliole v^.^^ humc ? race. I shall adduce a few remarkable facts to support this assertion. The subject is curious in itself, and in some respects, will be new to the reader. The latest treaty which had been made be- tween England and Spain, previous to the as- sumption of the protectorate by Cromwell; was concluded in the year 1630; by the first article of which it was stipulated, '' that there should be peace, amity, and friendship betwecji the two crowns and their respective subjects in all parts of the world." Before this period, the sovereigns of Spain had not only encou- raged, but openly avowed, the exercise of per- petual hostility on the ships and subjects of all the nations of Europe, that were or might be found in any part of the new hemisphere; ar- rogantly assuming to themselves a right not only to all the territories which their own sub- jects had discovered there, but claiming also the sole and exclusive privilege of navigating the American seas (cj. Co In the reign of James I. within two years after the ccnchision of a peace between Enghmd and Spain, which saved the Spanish monarchy from absolute destruction, Sir Charles Cornwallis, in a letter dated from Madrid in May 1 006, informs the Karl of Salisbury, ' hat Don Lewis Firardo, a Spanish admiral, having met wilh certain English ships laden with corn and bound to Seville, " took the masters, and first set their necks in the stocks. He afterwards re- moved WEST INDIES. J8J Pretensions so exorbitant, which violated crap. ahke the laws of nature and nations, were J^/ resisted by every maritime state that felt itself concerned in the issue : by the English parti- cularly, who had already planted colonies in Vugin.a, Bermudas, St. Christopher's and Bar- badoes; territories some of which Spain had not even discovered, and none of which had she ever occupied. Thus actual war, and war m all Its horrors, prevailed between the subjects of Spain in the new world, and those of the several other nations who ventured thither; inoved them into his own ship, and tl^r., with his own hands did as much to their legs ; revilii>g tliem, and calliniot hacui^ Imnged them up, as he ought to have do.u:" Sir Walter Raleigh, some time afterwards, in a letter to Kin^r J .-ncs speaks of it as a well-known iactj that the SpanLrds ^n auoth«r instance, had murdered twenty-six Englishmen tying them back to back and then cutting their (hidiis even' aUcr they had traded with theru a whole nunuh, and wi.en tl'elLnghsh went ashore in full confidence, and uKhout -c niucli as one sword among them. See Hale -Mi^u b -.v-tji-k!, bv ^hllii. ? ' si:, t-'l,. f f )82 HISTORY OF THE BOOK II. 'i while, at the same timcj peace apparently sub- sisted between the parent states in Europe. To secure to the English an uninterrupted intercourse with their settlements above men- tionedj was one great object of the treaty of 1630. It seems indeed to have been more im- mediately founded on a remarkable instance of Spanish perfidy, which had recently happened in the island of St. Christopher ; for the covirtof Spain having, towards the latter end of the vear 1639, fitted out a fleet of twenty-four ships of force, and fifteen frigates, under the command of Don Frederick de Toledo, ostensibly to at- tack the Dutch settlement in Brasil, secretly ordered the admiral to proceed in the first place to the island I have mentioned (which, al- though the Spaniards had indeed first disco- vered it 130 years before, they had never once occupied ) and rout out from thence both the English and French, who at thj^t time hcl4 a joint and peaceable possession. Neither the French, nor English, nor both together, were strong enough to oppose such an enemy. The French planters took refuge in the neighbouring island of Antegua, and the English fled to the mountains ; from whence they sent deputies to treat for a surrender ; but the haughty Spaniard required and obtained unconditional submission ; and, having selected put of the English settlers six hundred of the I ablest WEST INDIES. •J83 ablest men, whom he condemned to the mines, he ordered all the rest (consisting chiefly of women and children) instantljr to quit the island, in some English vessels which he had seized at Nevis, under pain of death. He then laid waste all the settlements within his reach, and having reduced the country to a desert, proceeded on his voyag-e. It might be supposed that the treaty of 1630 prevented such enormities in future ; but in violation of all that is solemn and sacred among Christian states, and to the disgrace of humaa nature, the Spaniards, eight years only after the affair of St. Christopher's, attacked a small English colony which had taken posses- sion of the little unoccupied Island of Tortuga, and put every man, woman, and child to the sword: they even hanged up such as came in and surrendered themselves, on the promise of mercy, after the first attack. The unhappy monarch at that time on the throne of England, was too deeply engaged in contest with his subjects at home, to be able to afford protection to his colonists abroad ; and those contests terminafing at length in a civil war, the Spaniards proceeded in the same career with impunity; treating all the British sub- jects, whom they found in the West Indies, as intruders and pirates. In the year 16S5, the English and Dutch had jointly taken possession 01 CHAP. ■j fy >. h . M '1^ !| ? t ••I If w IM BOOK II. HISTORY OF THE of Santa Cruz, which hefore that time was wholly unpeopled and deserted. Disputes af- terwards arising between the new settlers, the English took arms and became sole masters of the Island. In 1650 the Spaniards landed there and without the smallest provocation, exter- minated every inhabitant that fell into their hands, murdering, as at Tjrtuga, even the women and children. As usual with this re- vengeful nation, they conquered only to deso- late; for, having destroyed all the people they could seize, they laid waste and then deserted the Island; and when some of the Dutch nation, in consequence of such desertion, took posses- sion a second time, the Spaniards returned and treated them as they had treated the English. Of their cruelties towards the subjects of foreign states, even such as were forced on their coasts in distress, the instances were without number. Their treatment of the sailors was as barbarous and inhuman, as their pretences for seizing their ships were commonly groundless and unjust. The very mercies of the Spaniards were cruel ; for if, in some few instances, they forbore to inflict immediate death on their pri^ soners, they sentenced them to a worse punish- ment ; condemning them to work in the mines of Mexico for life ff/;. rdj The Spaniards, after tlfe death of Croniuell, revived tJiese practices, and continued tlicm to our own times. About WEST INDIES. It is evident, from the numerous schemes And proposals for altackinjr the Spaniards, which were presented to Cromwell on iiis elevation to tlie protectorate, that the English in general had a deep and just sense of the wrongs which they sustained from the bigotry, avarice, and cruelty of the Spanish nation. — NVe may surely conclude, that applications of such a nature could not have been made to the sui)rcmc exe- About the year 1080, they landed on the Island of Provi. dence, one of the Bahamas, and totally destroyed the P:nglish settlement there. The governor (iMr. Clark) they took with them to Cuba, in irons, and put him to death hy torture. Oldmixon, who wrote " the British P-lmpire in America," was informed by Mr. Trott, one of Governor Clark's suc- cessors, tliat the Spaniards roasted Clark on a spit. The insolence and brutality of the commanders of the Spanish guarda-costas, in the days of Walpcjle, are remembered by many persons now living}. and perhaps there are those alive who were present when Captain Jenkins gave that remark- able evii 1 ',^ > 11 " 9* >: Us ■v,t It6 HISTORY OF THE BOOK cutivc magistrate, without any pretence of ia, W^^ jury received. To suppose tliat a body of the subjects of any civilized state, or that even any individual of sound mind, would intrude into the national councils, and presume to solicit n violation of the publick faith, and the coui- mencement of hostilitit towards a powerful state and an ally, without any provocation, ij, to suppose a case which 1 b( liove never did occur in history, and which indeed it seems next to impossible should happen. Among other persons who presented memorials on this occa- sion, we find the names of Colonel Modyford and Thomas Gage. The former was one of the earliest and most enterprising planters of Bar- badoes; and Gage had resided twelve years in New Spain in priest's orders. He was brother of Sir Henry Gage, one of the Generals under Charles I. fej and appears to have been a man of capacity and extensive observation. In his memorial, which is preserved among the sta4e papers of Thurloe, he enters fullv into a justification of the measures which he rccom. mends. - None in conscience (he observes) may better attempt such an expulsion of the Spamards from those parts, than the English, CO This Sir Henry Gage was kiljed at the battle of Ctilham-Bridge, in 1644. He was ancestor of the Jate OeneralGage, by whom 1 was fuvouredwith U) is account of Tl;oaia« Gage. who lions of the ! ■i*n!d WEST INDIES. 11^ who have been often expelled by them from our chap. plantations ; as from St. Christopher's, St. Mar- s^^'y^ tin's, from Providence and fromTortugas, where the English were inhumanly and most barba- rously treated by the Spaniards, who to this day watch for their best advantage to cast us out of all our plantations, and say that all the Liands as well as the mahi belong to thein. And in con- science it is lawful to cast that enemy or trou- blesome neighbour out of his dumiuions, that would, and hath attempted to cast us out of ours." — lie then proceeds to demonstrate, that it is not a work of ditficuKy to dislodge the Spaniards from some of their most valuable possessions, and recommends the Hrst attack to be made ou^Hispauiola or Cuba; the former, he observes, " was the Sj)aniards' first planta- tion, and therefore it would be to them a bad omen to begin to lose that, which they first enjoyed." " This island (he adds) is not one quarter of it inhabited, and so the more easy to take." — Gage, some years before, had pub- lished a book, which is now before me ; en- titled " A new Survey of the West Indies." It contains much curious information respecting the state of Spanish America, at the time that he resided there. In the dedication to Fairfax, General of the parliament's forces, he combats, with great strength of reasoning, the preten- lioas of tjic Spanish Crovvp to j^u exclusive right I W m^m .. li.-. ''*"■ - ^iM i mJ li. ■** I' f m wisTonr OF tite ) 1 saith Venablcs, " whs Is hath much commodity of planting or erect- ing of .sugar engines of water, by reasoTi of two convenient rivers r annin|; through it fit for thai purpose." Next to Avda was vhc Hato called Morante. This Morante ^saith Vcn»l>5i!>! } " is a large and plentiful Hata be- ing fomSt^jr Ks in!oj*i^th, consisting of many small sav'i^f' ?s, uiid has wild cattle and hogs in very gi i*ai plenty, and ends at the Mine, which is at the Cape or Point of Momnte itself by which toward the north is the port Aiitonio." Such is the account of Jamaica as trans- mitted in General Venables's letter to Secretary Thurloe, dated 13th June 1655. The reader will perceive that no mention is made of the northern side of th^ island ; which gives room to conclude, as was undoubtedly the fact,, thftt it was one entire desert, from east to west, to- tally uncultivated and uninhabited. Of the inland parts, it appears from Sloane, that Guanaboa was famous for its cacao-trees, and the low lands of Clarendon for plantations of tobacco. Upon the wbole, although the Spamiard^ nad possessed the i^l; id a century and a!;'l not ©ne hundredth part of the plantable U^a was m. WEST INDIES. h cultivation wlien the English made them- ciup. «filv«s masters of it. Yet the Spanish settlers " hnd no Sooner exterminated, in the manner we have seen, the original proprietors, than they had recourse, with their neighbours of Hispa- niok, to the introduction of slaves from Africa. We are told that the number of negrocg ia the island, at the time of its capture, nearly equalled that of the Whites. It is no^' easy to discover to what useful purpose the labour of tliese Blacks was applied. The sloth and pe- nury of the Spanish planters, when the English landed, were extreme. Of the many valuable commodities which Jamaica has since pro- duced in so great abundance, some were alto- gether unknown, and of the rest the inhabit- ants cultivated no more than were s-ifficient for their own expenditure. Their principal export, besides cacao, consisted of hogs-larri and hides. The sale of these articles, and sup-' plj'ing the few ships that touched at their ports with provisions, in barter for European manu- factures, constituted the whole of their com- merce; a commerce which the savages of Madagascar conduct with equal ability and success. They possessed nothing of the elegan- ces of life, nor were they acquainted even with many of those gratifications which, in civilized states, are considered as necessary to the com- fort and coTivenience ©fit. They were neither polished m i'- , !; «.».; M: f; I • I :l , Ids JflSTORY OF THE BOOK polished by social intercourse, nor improved by education ; but passed their days in gloomy languor^ enfeebled by sloth and depressed by poverty. Having at the same time but little or no connection with Europe, nor the means of pending their children thither for education (a circumstance that might have introduced among thera^ from time to time, some portion of civi- lity and science) they had been for many years in a state of progressive degeneracy, and would probably in a short time, have expiated the guilt of their ancestors, by falling victims themselves to the vengeance of their slaves. Time indeed had wrought a wonderful change in the man- ners and dispositions of all the Spanish Ameri- cans. It must however be acknowledged, that if they posisessed not the abilities of their fore- fathers, they were unstained with their crimes. If we find among them no traces of that enter- prising ^ehius, thai unconquerable persever- ance, that cbntempt of toil, danger, and death, which so wdnderfully distinguished the great adventurers/ who first explored and added a )iew hemisphere io the Spanish dominion ; wc .must ov^n at the same time, that they were liappily free from their guilty ambition, their remorseless fdnaticism^ and fjrantick cruelty. But, whatever was theit character, it is impos- $ibje to justify the bard terms imposed by the .Jlnglish commandejrs on the poor settlers in ' • Jamaicaj ■I ^ WEST INDIES. i9» Jamaica, in requiring them to deliver up their chap. ilaves and effects, and quit the country alto- "' gether. They pleaded that they were horn iii the island, and had neither relations, friends, nor country elsewhere, and they declared that they were resolved to perish in the woods, ra^ ther than beg their bread in a foreign soil. This was their final answer to the proposition! of Venables, the English General, nor could they be brought again to enter into any treaty. The resistance they afterwards made against the efforts of our troops to expel them from the Island, may furnish this important lesson to conquerors—that even victory has its limits, and that injustice and tyranny frequently de- feat their own purposes (h), (h) The articles of capitulation first agreed on, which may be seen in Burchefs Naval History, are sufficienUy liberal By these all the inhabitants (some few individuals excepted) had their lives and effects granted them, and permission to remain in the country; but on the 4th of June, Venables informs the Lord Protector, that the in- habitants having broken their promises and engagements, he had seized the Governor and other chief persons, and compelled them to subscribe new articles.-What ,tho8«j were he does not say. It appears, however, that it was stipulated by one of them, that the gp^nish part of the in. habitants should leave the Island; and it seems prob^bfo .that this measure was promoted by the • intrigues, of the lortuguese; for, in a subsequent letter, Venabl«{s y^rites thus : " The Portugueses we hope to make good subjecvi \ .' \\a :f 'Ji f ki 109 BOOR IL HISTORY OF THE efj the Spaniards rt sl^aU remove." Th« paiiicularg re. latedin the tey;. Ma.cerTung the effect of this determina. Upn on the .Viui4 ri those poor people, are given on the authority of ?^ paper signed, J. Daniel, dated Jamaica 3d of June, and preserved among Thurloe's Sutc Papers, vol. jji p. 504. CHAF After the ci storation of C remaintd iin( wcii had uouii WEST INDIES. ^m > "I CHAP. III. Proceedings of the English in Jamaica ({fter its capture, — Colonel D'Oj/lei/ declared presi- dent. — Discontents and mortality among the army. — Vigorous exertions cfthe Protector. — Colonel Brayne appointed commander in chief. — His death. — D'Oyley rca imes the government. --D^eats the Spanish forces, which had invadul the island from Cuba. His wise and steady administration. ^Buca* niers ^•'Conciliating conduct of Charles IL on his restoratiofy. — First estdblishmenit of a regular go mment in Jamaica. — Lord Windsor''^ ippointment. — Boyal proclama- tion. — yi iwricai reat > in 1670 — Cliange of measures on tu art oj the croxvn. — New constitution devised jo Jamaica. — Earl of Carli '^appotntta chief governor for the pur- pose of enforcing the new system -Successful opposition of the assembly. — Suh quent dis- putes respecting the coifirmati of their lams. -^Terminated by the revenue act of 1728. After the capture of tue island, until the r. storation of Charles IL the Englisi 'n Jamaica , remainui under military jurisd'ct n. Crom- well had aumiuated Winslow, Si rie and Butler, to in. . 1 .4 ._L-^L^i- f^?W .' r f i. Hi i02 BOOK H. hi HISTORY OF THE to act as commissioners, with Penn and Vena^ bles, intending, I presume, to constitute by this arrangement a council of state, whose authority might mitigiii the rigour of the law-martial ; but the two generafs, with commissioner But- ler, returning to England without leave, the ?ole command of the army devolved on Major General Fortescue, and of the fleet on Admiral Goodson. Nevertheless it was the intention of Cromwell to have established a civil govern- ment in the island on very liberal principles. Soon after he received the account of its cap^ ture, he issi od a proclamation declaratory of that purpose, and on the return to England of C!ommissioner Butler, he sent over Major Sedge- wicke to supply his place. Sedgewicke arriv- ed in Jamaica in October, but Winslow and Serle having in the mean time fallen victims to ^e climate, he was unwilling to act under the Protector's commission without further assist- ance. An instrument of government was there- upon framed, and subscribed, on the eighth of pcioher 1655, by Sedgewicke and the principal officers, who thereby constituted themselves a supreme executive council for managing the general affairs of the island; of which Fortes- cue was declared president, and he dying soon afterwards. Colonel Edward D'Oyley, the next in command, was chosen to preside in his roojn. Put the situation of the troops requ * ' ed martial ar ray, WEST INDIES. £Mp array, and strict discipline ; for the dispossessed chaf. Spanii' (h and fugitive negroes continued to "'' harass the soldiers with perpetual alarms. Men were daily killed by enemies in ambush. The Spanish blacks had separated themselves from their late nmsters, and murdered, without mercy, Buch of the English as rambling about the country fell into their hands. They were even 80 audacious as to yentuj-j? by night to attack the English troops in their quarters, and to set fire to some of the houses in which they were lodged, in the town of St. Jago de la Vega, the capital. But the Projtector was determined to main- tain his conquest, and seemed anxiously bent on peopling the island. While recruits were rais- ing in England,' he directed the governors of Barbadoes, and the other British colonies to wiiidwa d (which at that time were exceed- ingly populous) to encourage some of their planiers to remove ^o Jamaica, on the assurance of their having lands assigned there. He dis- patched un a^euttoNtew England on a similar errand, as well as to engage the people of the northern provinces to furnish provisions to the newly-acquired territory. He gave instr ctions to his son Henry Cromwell, who was Major General of the forces in Ireland, to engage two or three thousand young persons of both sexes * ' "S-vzxvv, w wcfuiMu seuiers xuJamaKa; and i I 'I I'ci .^.j 'f 1 if 904 worn II. HISTORY OF TIIE and he corresponded with the lord Broghill, who commanded at Ediaburg':, on the best meana of inducing as great a number to enii- grate for the same purpose from Scotland. In the mean while the old soldiers within tlie island, disliking their situati^/and conceiving, frorothfcpreparationsofthegovcrnmentathome, that the Protector had thoughts of confining them to Jamaica for life, became dissatiified and seditious, Other causes indeed concurred to awaken among them such a spirit of discon- tent as approached nearly to mutiny. Having at first found in the country cattle and swine in great abundance, they had destroyed them with such improvidence and wantonness of profu- sion, as to occasion a scarcity of fresh provi- sions in a place which had been represented as abounding ih the highest degree. The chief commanders apprehending this event, and find- ing that the breed and flour which arrived from England were oftentimes spoilt by the length f>f the voyage and thu; heat of the climate, had urged the soldiers, with great earnestness, to cultivate the soil, and raise, by their own in- flustry, Indian corn, j)ulse, and cassavi sufficient for their maintenance, They endeavoured to make them sensible that supplies from England must necessarily be casual and uncertain ; and, persuafion failing, they would have compelled them by force to plant the ground ; but the & subaltern wirvumsntuces I f «ll ,, WEST INDIES, subaltern officers concurred %vith the private men, absolutely refusing to contribute in the smallest degree to their own preservation by the means recommended. Tliey were possessed of a passionate longing to return to England, and fondly imagined that the continual great ex- pence of maintaining so large a body of troops at so great a distance, would induce the Protector to relinquish his conquest. They even rooted up the provisions which had been planted and left by the Spaniards. " Our soldiers ( writes Sedge- wicke) have destroyed all sorts of provisions and cattle. Notjiing but ruin attends them wheresoever they go. Dig or plant they nei- ther will nor can, but are determined rather to starve than work." A scarcity, approaching to a famine, was at length the consequence of such misconduct, and it was accompanied with its usual attendants, disease and contagion. Perhaps there are but few descriptions in his- tory wherein a greater variety of horrors arc accumulated than in the letters addressed on this occasion by Sedgewickc and the other prin- cipal officers, to the government at home, which are preserved among Thurloe's state papers. Such was the want of food, that snakes, lizards and other vermin, were eagerly eaten, toge- ther with unripe fruits and noxious vegetables. This unwholesome diet concurred with other sircamstaaces to produce an epideralck dysen- terv. CHAP. III. in .A , i n -u _JJ„i.._ :i ^^ HISTORY OF TftE Boo^ iery, ^hich raged like the plague. For a con- wn>^ siderabfe time 140 men died weekly, and Sedo-c- wicke himself at length perished in the gene^'ral carnage. The Protector, as soon as he had received information of the distracted and calamitous state of the colony, exerted himself, with hi^ usual vigour, to afford it relief Provisions and necessaries of all kinds were shipped without delay; and Cromwell, distrustful it is said of D'Oyley's attachment, superseded him, hy granting a commission of commander in chief of Jamaica, to Colonel Brayne, governor of Lochabar in Scotland. This gentleman, with a fleet of transports, and a reinforcement of one thousand recruits, sailed from Port Patrick, the beginning of October 1650, and arrived at Jamaica in December following. Colonel Humphreys with his regiment, consisting of 830 men, had landed, some time before, from England; and Stokes, governor of Nevis, with 1,500 persons collected in the Windward Is- lands, had reached Jamaica, and begun an establishment near to the Portof Morant, wher« some of Stoke's descendants, of the same name, possess at this day considerable property. An- other rcglmrnt, commanded by Colonel Moore, arrived in the beginning of 1657 from Ireland, and some industrious planters followed soon af- terwards from New England and Bermudas. m 'fff ""^V*l WEST INblJKS. «b7 BrAyne's fiMt accounts are very discoura- chap. ging. He complains that he found all things in "' the utmost confusion; that violent aniftioSities subsisted among the troops ; and, abov6 all, that there was a great want of men cordial to the business; such is his expression. He desires a remittance of 5,000/., to enable him to erect foitifications, and a further supply of provi- sions for six months ; strenuously recommend- ing, at the same time, a general liberty of trade between the island and all nations in amity with England; an indulgence which he thinks would speedily encourage planters enough to settle in, and improve, the country. WuT Brayne, though a man of sagacity and penetration, wanted firmness and fortitude. The troops still continued unhealthy, and sick- ness spreading rapidly amongst the newc-omers, Brayne, alarmed for his own safety, became as little cordial to the business of settling as the rest. He prayed most earnestly for r ermissioii to return to England. In the mean while, by way (as he writes) of precaution against i fever, he weakened himself to a great degree by copious bloodletting ; a practice wliich probably proved fatal to him ; for he died at the end of ten months after his arrival. A few iiays before his death, finding him^^f in im- «iinent danger, he sent to D'Oyley. and for- mally aos HISTORY OF THE BOOK n. WW mally transferred his authority to that officer. D'Oyley happily possessed all those qualifica- tions in which Braync was deficient ; yet he entered on his charge with reluctance; for having already been roughly superseded by the Protector, he expected perhaps such another dismission. In the letters which he addressed to Cromwell and Fleetwood, on the event of Brayne's decease, he expresses himself with propriety and dignity. " Your highness/' he observes to Cromwell, " is not to be told how difficult it is to command art army without pay, and I tremble to think of the discontents 1 am to struggle withal, until the return of your commands; though I bless God I have the affection of the people here, beyond any thai ever yet commanded them ; and a spirit of my own not to sink under the weight of unreasonable discontents." To Fleetwood he writes^ " I woi M have refused to accept of this command, if I could have quitted with honour and faithfulness io my country ; but I am now f» t ...ved to go through, until I re- ceive further orders from his highness, or a discharge from iiim, which I humbly desire your lordship to effect for me. Honours and riches are not the things I aim at. I bleJs God I have a ^oul muth above them. Pray, my lord, decline your greatness, and com- mand IPHl WEST INDIES. 309 mand your secrtiarj to give me an answer; for chap if I were disrobed of all my titles of honour and "' great command, yet you know that I am a gentleman, and a faithful friend to my country." It was fortunate for his country that his re- signation was not accepted, and that the Pro- tector, sensible at length of the ability and me- rit of this brave man, confirmedhim in his com- mand. To the exertions of D'Oyley, seconded and supported by the affection which his sol- diers, under all their difficulties and distresses, manifested on every occasion towards him, we owe at this day the possession of Jamaica ;'the recapture whereof by the Spaniards, towards the end of the year 163?, became tothem an object of great national concern. Its defence- less state, the dissatisfe tion of the English troops, and the exertions making by Cromwell to afford them relief, as well as to augment their numbers, led the governor of Cuba to be- ' lieve, that the juncture was then arrived for re- trieving the honour of his country, by the re- storation of th, .sland to its dominion. Hav- ing communicated to the viceroy of Mexico, a scheme built on this idea, and lect^i , ed the sanc- tion and support of that off.;er he made pre^ Parations for a fomidable invasion, and ap- pointed Don Christopher Sasi Arnoldo, who had been governor of Jamaica at the time of 1/ ,. _ -r I' Yi '8 jIi'i 4( V ,1 '< I :* 'I j: ^ M I !i ■ ; f ■ I ! • iViJ-i'; u^.i P is^ 210 HISTORY OF THE BOOK its capture, to crnor .f ihe island. He J^ was on.ered, at the same time, to reh-ase the army from mjlitarj subordinatinn, to r, i courts of judical are, and, willi the advice ofa council to ue decled hj Ihe mhabiiants, to pa.s laws suitable to the exii»-('ncies of the colony. This memorable nj)pointment of General D'Os ley, with a c uuncii elected by the people, m- considered as the first establishment of ' ccpihxv civil goA nrnt in Januiiea, after the Eng-lish had become masters of it; but, in OiJcr to create full confidence of security in the minds of the inhabftants, further n^easures were necessary on the part of the sovereign ; and they were readily adopted. D'Oyley dc- siriiift- to be recalled, the Lord Windsor was nominated in his room, and directed to publish, on his arrival, a royal and gracious proclama- hon, wherein, for the purpose of encouragino- the settlement of the country, allotments of !, ad were oflered under such terms as were v .al in other plantations, with such farther convenient and suitable privileges and immunities, as the grantees sh.ould reasonably require. The pro- clamation then proceeds in the words follovv- ing:— ^.' And we do furtlier publish and de- " Clare, that all the children of our natural- ^''born subjects of England, to be born in ^^famaica, shall, from their re8pe(tive '' iilRTiis, I .1^ i : ' >■ r :«! IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 11.25 IA£12.8 |2.5 Ui 1^ |2.2 2.0 1.4 11.6 ^ik.**' V (? / Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. MS80 (716)872-4503 215 BOOK II. HISTORY OF THE *f €C ft icciiritj obtained for them by the American treaty, concluded and sig-ncd at Madrid in the month of Juije 1(370. For, after the restoration, doubts wero rai-ed by tli§ partizans of royalty, whether, as the elevation of Cromwell was adjudged an usurpation, the conquests which had been made under the sanction of his authority, could h^ ri^liifully maintained by a kingly o overnment ." Alihough nothing could well be more fatile than these suggestions, it was nevertheless tliouolit neccs- sary to guard against the coucluivions which Spain might deduce from them. This pr '^lau- tion partly gave rise.to the seventh article of the treaty above referred to, which is conceived in the words following, viz. " The Kinff of " Great Ijdtain, liis heirs and successors, shall " have, hold and possess, for ever, with full " right of sovereign dominion, property and Cf) His Majesty wns likewise pleased to favour the island With a broad seal with the iollowing arms, viz. a eioss gules charged with five pine-apples in a lield argent j .supporters, two Indians plum'd and fundaled; cresY, an alJigatur vivant. The inscription in the orb, Ecce aliuin Ramos porrcxit in orbtm Nee stcrilia est cjux. " possession. i\ !PP m,i .i J ^ '. s 1 . 1 J .' illxik f ' 1 ' 1 1 ' . i i t ■'!»-. Mil i' 230 HISTORY OP THE BOOK ' possession, all lands, countries, islands, colo- wvw " nies and dominions whatever, situated in the " West Indies, or any part of America, which *' the said king of Great Britain and his suh- "jccts, do, at this present, hold and possess; " so that in regard thereof, or upon any co- " lour or pretence whatever, nothing may or " ought ever to be urged, nor any question or " controversy moved concerning the same lierc- " after (g)." Hitherto, li must be admitted that the so- vereign authority was properly exerted 'in de- fence of the just rights of the crown, and in securing to its distant subjects the enjoyment cf their possessions ; but unhappily Charles II. had neither steadiness nor integrity. About ihe period of the American treaty, a scheme having been formed by him, or his ministry, for subverting the liberties of the people at home, it is the less wonderful, that the privi- leges enjoyed by the colonists abroad, should have been regarded by the king with a jea- lousy, which, encreasing with the en crease of their numbet-s, broke out at length into acts of open hostility and violence towards them, (g) From this recital may be seen the folly of the very prevalent notion, that the sovereigns of Spain, or some of their subjects, still keep up pretensions to Jamaica, orclmni property therein, as not having been fbrnjally ceded to tiie erown of England. In WEST INDIES. 221 In the beginning: of 1678, the storm fell on chap. Jamaica. A new system of legislation was J^ adopted for this island, founded nearly on the model of the Irisli constitution under Poynings's act; and the Earl of Carlisle was appointed chief governor for the purpose of enforcing it. A body of laws was prepared by the privy council of England, among the rest a bill for settling a perpetual revenue on the crown, which his lordship was directed to offer to the assembly, requiring them to adopt the whole code, without amendment or alteration. In future the heads of all bills (monev bills ex- cc'pted) were to be suggested in the first in- stance by the governor and council, and trans- mitted to his majesty to be approved or rejected at home; on obtaining the royal confirmation, they were to be returned under the great seal in the shape of laws, and passed by the general assembly ; which was to be convened for no other purpose than that, and the business of voting the usual supplies; unless in conse* quence of special orders from England. If we refl:cct only on the distance of Jamaica from Great Britain, we may pronounce, with- out hesitation, that it was impossible for the colony to exist under such a constitution and system of government. What misconduct on the part of the inhabitants, or what secret ex- pectation I a^ HISTORY OF THE *W)K pecfaficm on the part of the crown, ori^nnlly ^^-v^ gave hirth to this project, if is now difficult to determine. The most prohablc opinion is this.-^ In the year 1663, the assembly of Barbadoeg were prevailed on, by very unjiistifiable means, as will hereafter be shewn, to grant an internal revenue to the crown, of 4i per cent, on the gross exported produce of that island for ever It is not unlikely th.it the steady refusal of the Jamaica planters to burthen themselves and their posterity with a similar imposition, ex- ' citing the resentment of the king, first swrlc^u ed the idea of depriving them of those c^nsti- tutionat franchises which alone could give se- curity and value to their possessions. Hap] ily for the present inhabitants, neither secret in- tn^ue nor undisguised violence were successful. Their gallant ancestors transmitted to their Jmsterity their estates unincumbered with such a tax, and their political rights unimpaired bv the system of government attempted to be forced on them. -The assembly (says Mr. LoHg) rejected the new constitution with in- dignation. No threats could frighten, no bribes could corrupt, nor arts nor arguments porsuade them to consent to laws that would enslave their posterity." Let me add, as a tri- bute of just acknowledgment to the noble ef- forts of tliis gentleman's great ancestor. Col. Lous, «ir*. WEST INDIES. 22S Loni^, that it was to him, Jamaica was princi- chai*. pally indebted for its deliverance. As chief '"' judge of the Island, and member of the council, he exerted, on this important occasion, the powers with which he was invested, with such ability and fortitude, in defence of the people, as to baffle and finally overpower every effort to enslave them. The g^overnor, after dismiss- ing him from the posts which he had filled with such honour to himself, and advantage to the publick, conveyed him a state prisoner to Eng- land. These despotick measures were ulti- mately productive of good. Col. Long, being heard before the king and privy council, point- ed out with such force of argument, the evil tendency of the measures which had been pur- sued, that the English ministry reluctantly sub- mitted. The assembly had their deliberative powers restored to them, and Sir Thomas Lynch, who had presided in the island as lieu- tenant-governor from IGTOto 1674, very much to the satisfaction of the inhabitants, was ap- pointed captain-general and chief governor in the room of Lord Carlisle (h). (hj I have subjoined, as an appendix to this book, "" aa " historical Account of the Constitution of Jamaica," where- in the particulars of Lord Carlisle's administration are dei tailed at large.— This historical account is now published tor the first time, and cannot fill of praying extremely ac- C'^ptable to the reader. I ^ ' It 324 BOOK II. HISTORY OP THE I i Ij might have been hoped that all possible cause of future contest with the crown on the question of political rights, was now happily obviated ; but the event proved that this ex- pectation was fallacious. Although the as- semblj had recovered the inestimable privilege of framing such laws for their internal govern- ment as their exigencies might require, of which doubtless themselves alone were competent to judge, and although it was not alleged that the laws which they had passed, as well before, as after the re-establishment of their rights,' were repugnant to those of the mother-countrj! yet the royal confirmation of a great part of them had been constantly refused, and still continued to be withheld. It was indeed ad- mitted, that the English who captured the island, carried with them as their birth-right, the law of England as it then stood ; but much of the English law was inapplicable to the si- tuation and condition of the new colonists; and it was contended that they had no right to any statute of the British parliament, which had passed subsequent to their emigration, un- less its provisions were specially extended to the colony by name. The courts of judicature within the island, had however, from necessity, admitted many such statutes to be pleaded, and gi'ounded several judgments and important de- terminations upon them ; and the assembly had passed mn \VE?5T INDlEfi. 335 passed bills adopting severai of the Englisli caap. statutes which did not otlierwise bind the vj^ island ; but several of those bills, when sent home for the rojal confirmation, and those judgments and determinations of the courts of law, when brought by appeal before the king and council, thoup^h not disallowed, remained unconfirmed ; and in this unsettled state tho affairs of Jamaica were suffered to remain for the space of fifty years. The truf cause of such inflexibility on the part of the crown, was no other than the old story of revenue. For the purpose, as it was pretended, of defraying the expence of erecting and repairing fortifications, and for answering some other publick contingencies, the ministers of Charles II. had procured, as hath been related, from the assembly of Far- badoes, and indeed from most of the other Bri- tish West Indian colonics, the grant of a perpe- tual internal revenue. Tl: 3 refusal of Jamaica to consent to a similar establishment ; the pu- nishment provided for her contumacy, and the means of her deliverance, have airv'^ady been stated; but it was found that the^lenity of the crown in relinquishing the system of compul- sion, was expected to produce that effect which tjranny had failed to accom{)lish. The English government claimed a return from the pe'^ple Vol. I. ^ * ^,li. 22a HISTORY OF THE BOOK of Jamaica, for having dropt an oppressive and pernicious project, as if it had actually in- ferred upon them a positive and permanent benefit ; a chiim in which all the British mi- nisters, from the restoration of King Charles, to the reigni of George II. very cordially con- curred. The assembly however remained unconvinced. Among other objections they pleaded that the money granted by the Island of Barbadoes waj notoriously appropriated to purposes widely different from those for which it was expressly given ; and they demanded some pledge, or security, against a similar misapplication, in case they should subject their country to a per- mament and irrevocable tax. The ministers refused to give any satisfaction in this par- ticular ; and finding that the assembly were equally resolute to pass their supply bills from year to year only, as usual, they advised the sovereign, from a spirit of vindictive policy, to wave the confirmation of the laws, and to suffer the administration of justice in the island io remain on the precarious footing that I hav« described. Such was the actual situation of Jamaica until the year 1728, when a compromise was happily effected. In that year, the Assembly consented to settle on the crown a standing irrevocable revenue of 8,000/. per annum, on certain I WEST INDIES. TUff CeHam conditions, to which the crown agreed, chap. and of which the following are the principal : J'j;^ I«t That the quit-rents arising within the island (then estimated at \,mi, per anninn) «houd constitute a part of such revenue. Sdly. 1 hat the bodj of their la^vs should receive the royal assent. And, 3dlv. That - all such laws •' and statutes of England, as had been at any '' time esteemed, introduced, used, accepted or "received, as laws in the island, should be " and continue laws of Jamaica for ever " The revenue act, with this important declaration therein, was accordingly passed ; and its con- firmation by the king, put an end to a contest . no less disgraceful to the government at home than injurious to the people within the i.land. I HAVE thus endeavoured, with as much bre^ vity as the subject would admit, to trace the political constitution of Jamaica from infancy to maturity; but although its parentage and principles are British, it has beea modified and occasionally regulated by many unforeseen events, and local circumstances. In its present form, and actual exercise, however, it so nearly resembles the system of government in the other British West Indian Islands, that one general description (which I reserve for a subsequent part of my work) will comprehend the whole.' A minute detail of local occurrences and inter- nal politicks, would not, I presume, b"e inte- < ^ resting 328 HISTORY OF THE !,*' n r II BOOK resting to the general reader. The following v^v>^ are the only circumstances which appear to me to merit distinct notice, and I have reserved the recital for this place, that the thread of the pre- ceding narrative might continne unbroken. In *!ie year 1687 Christopher Duke of Albe- marle was appointed chief governor of Jamaica. This nobleman was the only surviving son and heir of General Monk, who had rcstorod Charles II. and I mention him principally as exhibiting a striking instance of the instability of human greatness. The father had been gra- tified with the highest rewards that a sovereign could bestow on a subject ; a dukedom, the garter, and a princely fortune ; and the son, re- duced to beggary by vice and extravagance, was driven to the necessity of imploring bread from James II. The King, to be freed from his importunities, gave him the government of Jamaica ; where, dying childless, a short time after his arrival, liis honours were extin- guished with his life. The noble duke lived long enough, however, to collect a consider- able sum of money for his creditors ; for euter- ing into partnership with Sir William Phipps, who had discovered the wreck of a Span-sli Plate ship, which had been stranded in 1059, on a shoal to the north-east of llispaniola, iliey sent out sloops from Jamaica, provided with skilful diversj to search for the hidden treasure, and WKST INDIES. 2i9 and are said to have actually recovered twenty- chap six tons of silver. The conduct of this noble "'• governor, on his arrival, affords many curious '''"^ instances of the arbitrary principles of the times :— Having called an assembly, his grace dissolved them abruptly, because one of the members, in a debate, repeated the old adage/' salus populi suprema lex. His grace afterwards took the member into custod>- and caused him to be fined 600/. for this ohence. With his grace came over Father Thomas Churchill, a Romish pastor, sent out by James II. to con- vert the island to popery ; but his grace's death, and the revolution in 1688, blasted the good father's project. The duchesg accompanied her husband; a circumstance which the speaker of the Assembly, in his first address, expatiated up- on in a high strain of eloquence. " It is an ho- nour (said he) which the opulent kingdoms of Mexico and Peru could never arrive at, and am Columhus's ghost would he appeased/or all the indignifie, he endured of the Spaniards, coidd he hit know that his own beloved soil was hat- ■ iowcd hj such footsteps !* * Having mentioned this lady, the reader, I am per- • suaded ^vi]l pardon me for adding the following particulars of he. history. On the death c^: the duke, her fu-st husban'd, his grace's coadjutors in the diving business (many of whom iiad been bucaniers) complained that they had iwt received tlieir full share of the prize-money, and h.r grace, who had got possession of tlie treasure, refusing to part with a sliilling, they ii:, '^.: ■ 'I !M- ( if ' ' J n j I I •f I ;! " ' ..Ji 231 BOOK 11. HISTORY OF THE On the seventh of June 1692, happened thai tremendous earthquake which swallowed up great part of Port Royal. A description of it, dreadfully minute, may be found in the Philo- Uiey formed a scheme to seize her person in the klncr's house in Spanish Town, and carry her otF. Luckily she i^c- ceived some information of the Riot a day or two before it was to have been carried into execution, and communicated her apprehensions to the House of Assembly, who tliereupon appointed a formidable committee of their ablest bodied members to guard her person by day and night, until she was safely embarked in one of the king's ships. She ai-- rived in England, in the Assistance man of war, witlj all her treasure, tlie beginning of June 1088, and some years afterwards fell into a state of mental imbecility, in the pro- gress of which she pleased herself with the notion, that the Emperor of China having heard of her immense riches was coming to pay his addresses to her. She even made magnifi- cent preparations forhis reception. As she was perfectly gentla and good-humoured in her lunacy, her attendants not only fsncGuraged her in her folly, but contrived also to turn it to good account, by persuading a needy peer (the first duke of Montague) to personate his Chinese majesty, and deceive her into wedlock, which he actually did ; and with greater success than honesty, or, I should imagine, even the law would warrant, got possession by this means of her wealth, and then confined her as a lunatick. Cibber, the comedian, who thought it a good jest, introduced the circumstance on the stage, and it forms a scene in his play, called the Sick Lady Cured. Her grace survived her husband, the pre- tended emperor, for many years, and died in 1734, at the great age of 98. Her frenzy remained however to tlie last, and she was served on the knee as En)press of China to the day of her death. sophical WEST INDIES. 232 sophical Transactions ; but it is not generally chap. known that the town was chiefly built on a "'' bank of sand, adhering to a rock in the sea, and that a very slight concussion, aided by the weight of the buildings, would probably have accomplished its destruction. I am inclined therefore to suspect that the description of the shock is much exaggerated *. The inhabitants were scarcely recovered from the terrors occasioned by the earthquake, when they m ere alarmed with an account of an intended invasion by an armament from His- paniola, commanded by Mons. Du Casse, the governor of that island, in person. Accord- ingly, on the 17th of June 1694, a fleet of three men of war and twenty privateers (hav- ing on board 1,500 land forces) appeared off Cow Bay, where eight hundred of the soldiers were landed, with orders to desolate the country as far as Port Morant. These barbarians obey- ed their instructions to the full extent. They not only set fire to every settlement they came to, but tortured their prisoners in the most shocking manner, and murdered great num- bers in cold blood, after making them behold the violation of their wives by their own ne- groes. Such at least is the account transmitted * The seventh of June is declared, by an act of the As- sembly, to be established as a nerpetiwl anniversary fast, ia comiaemoration of this calami tj,, r;,r f '1 i'i I ,i . t f I'i f> hi ,i»] '■ K I 111;' if J32 HISTORY OF THE 300K bj Sir William Beeston, the g:overnor, to tli^ v^vw secretary of state. Unfortunately, the militia of this part of the country had been drawn off to guard the capital ; whereby the French con- tinued their ravages without resistance, and having set fire to all the plantations within their reach, and seized about one thousand ne- groes, Du Casse sailed leeward, and anchored in Carlisle Bay, in the parish of Vcre. This place had no other fortification than an ill- contrived breast-work, manned by a detach- ment of two hundred men from the militia of St. Elizabeth and Clarendon, which Du Casse attacked with all his force. The English made a gallant resistance; but Colonel Cleyborn, Lieutenant Colonel Smart, Captain Vassal, and Lieutenant Dawkins, being killed, and many others dangerously w^ounded, they were com- pelled to retreat. Happily, at this moment, arrived five companies of militia, which the governor had sent to their assistance from Spanish Town. These, though they had marched thirty miles without refreshment, im- mediately charged the enemy with such vigour, as entirely to change the fortune of the day. The French retreated to their ships, and Du Casse soon ul\crwards returned to Hispauiola witli his ill-gotten booty. In 171^^, on the 28th day of August, and af ain on the same day of the same month, in ih nervations on WEST INDIES. 233 the year 1722, Jamaica was shaken to its fonn- chap. dations by a dieadful hurricane. This day, "'* therefore, as well as the seventh of June, the Colonial Legislature has, by an act of Assem- bly, piously set apart for fasting and humilia- tion, and I wish I could add, that its comme- moration annually, is as exemplary among all ranks of people as the occasion was signal. The next important occurrence in the history of this island, was the pacification, concluded in 1738, with the hostile negroes called Maroons; but the respite which this treaty aflbrded the in- habitants from intestine commotion was of siiort duraUon. In 1760, the very existence of the colony was endangered by a revolt of the en- slaved negroes. As, however, some particulars of this affair will be given in a subsequent part of my work, when I come to treat genCially of negro slavery, and of the condition and charac- ter of the newly imported Africans, it is unne- cessary for me, in this place^ to enlarge upoa the subject. The co-operation of the people whom I have just mentioned, the Maroons, in suppressing the revolt of 1760, was considered, at the time, in a very favourable point of viev/ ; and the safety of the country was attributed in some degree to their services on that occasion ; but the writer of this was convinced by his own ob- servations Oil the spot, that no opinion could be 'jj 394 HISTOIiy OJF THE i^ I »ooK he more ill-founded : he was persuaded that the Marooiis were suspicious allies, and that, when- ever they should come to feel their own strength, they would prove very formidable enemies' Recent events have uiiJ.appily confirmed the judgment he then formed of them. Soon after the publication of this work, these people be-an a mos* unprovoked war a-ainst the white inha- bitants, which has ended in tiieir total defeat, and the final expulsion of most of them from tlie island. The circumstances attending- this revolt requiring particular discussion, I have accordingly given it full consideration, in a distuict narrative of its origin, progress, and termination, and reserved it for the concluding- part of these volumes : to that therefore the reader is referred. The year 1744 was distinguished by another destructive conflict of the elements; and in 1780, after a long respite, began that dreadful succession of hurricanes, which, with the ex- ception of 1782 and 1783, desolated this, and some of the neighbouring Islands, for seven years togeiher*. Of the whole series of these awful visitations, the first was undoubtedly the most destructive; * 1/80 hurricane 3(1 October. 1^81 - - .1st August. 1784 - - . 30th July. 1785 - - . 27th August. l/St) . - . 20th October. 4 but WEST INDIES. 9M but in Jamaica, the sphere ©f its activity was chap. chiefly co^fiued to tlie western parts of the vJ^ Island. Tfce large and opulent districts of West- moreland and If mover presented, however, such extent and variety of desolation from its effects, as are scarcely to be equalled in the records of human calamity. Westmoreland alone sus- tained damage to the amount of7rX),00()/. ster- ling, and Hanover nearly as much. The sad fate of Savanna la Mar (a small sea-port in the former parish) can never be remembered without horror. The sea, bursting its ancient limits, overwhelmed that unhappy town, and j swept it to instant destruction, leaving not a vesHge of man, beast, or habitation behind ; so sudden and comprehensive was the stroke, that I think the catastrophe of Savanna la Mar was even more terrible, in many respects, than that of Port Royal, The latter, however, was in its effects more lasting; for to this hour the ruins of that devoted town, though buried for upwards of a century beneath the waves, are visible in clear weatlier from the boats which sail over them, presenting an awful monument or memorial of the anger of Omnipotence ! Dread end of human strength, and human skill. Riches, and triumph, and domain, and pomp. And ease and luxury ! Dyer. V*^HAT has thus Aenuently happened, will probably ' I ' y-' J f.f^i J I i .i :> It : II iM HISTORY OF THE BOOK probably h.ippon a.i!:;iin ; and the insolence of MTallh, iind <]j,; coniidtMU-e of power, may Icaiii a lesson oriiiuniliiy (Vom the contemplation*. * xMr. Long, in the third volume of his Hisiory of Jninaira, hasi'iiumcnvted the following prognosticks, as the nsuiil procursors of a hurricane : "Extraordinary conliuuance of extienie dry and hot iveather. On the near approach of ll.e storm, a tmbuknt appearance of the sky : tlie sun be- comes unusually red, v^hile (he air is perfectly calm. I'he highest nu)uutaius are tree of clouds, and are seen very dis- tmcMly. 1-he sky towards the north looks black and foul The sea rolls on the coast and into the harbours with a great -well, and emits, at the same tin;o, a very strong and^dis- agreeable odour. On the full moon, a haze is seen round her orb, and s(Mnetime.s a halo round the sun." To this enumeration, I v^•ill add a remarkable circumstance which happened in Jamaica in 1780. Upwards of twenty hours before the commencement of t!,e great storm in that year a very unconmion noi.e. resembling the roar of distant thunder, was heard to issue from the bottom of all the wells in the neighbourhood of Kingston. There was, at that time m Port Royal harbour, a fleet of mercl,ant ships, whicli were to sad the next nu)rning. The commander of one of these vessels was a witness to the circumstance I have men- turned; and having been informed that it was one of the prognosiicks of an approaching hurricane (though none had happened m Jamaica tor near forty years) he hastened on board las slap, carped her that e-.ening into the inner har- bour into slioal water, and secured her with all the precau- tunis he thought necessaiy. At day-break the hurricane began, and tins ship was one of the very few tliat escaped destruction Irom its fury. CHAP, WEST INDIES. mr li i CHAP. IV. Silnafion and climate. — Face of the Conntn/. — Mountains, and advania 5. - .' I ii m^ histohy of Tifi?; BOOK north and sontl, sides of Ihc island, ^vlilcl, arc WPV^ separated by a vast chain of mountains cxttud- ing from east to west, diifer at the same time widely from each other. When Columbus first discovered Jamaica, he approached it on the northern side ; and beholding that part of the country which now constitutes the parish of St. Anne, he was filled with delight and admiration at the novelty, variety, and beauty of the prospect. The whole of the scenery is indeed superlatively fine, nor can words alone (at least any that I can select) convey a just idea of it. A few leading particulars I may per- haps be able to point out, but their combina- tions and features are infinitely various, and io be enjoyed must be seen. The country at a small distance from the shore rises into hills, which are more remark- ■ble for beauty than boldness ; being all of gentle acclivity, and commonly separated from «ach other by spacious vales and romantick inequalities ; but they are seldom cra^-v, nor IS the transition from the hills to thV vallies Pftentimes abrupt. In general, the hand of nature has rounded oery hill towards the top with singular felicity. The most striking cir- cumstances however attending these beautiful swells are the happy disposition of the groves of pimento, with which most of them are^spon- taiieouslj doUwd, aud the cciisunimate ver- diu*e WEST INDIES. . ' dure of tlic turf underneath, which is disco- verable in a thousand openings ; presenting^ a charming contrast to the deeper tints of the pimento. As this tree, which is no less remark- able for fragrancy than beauty, sulfers no rival plant to flourish within its shade, these grove§ are not only clear of underwood, but even the grass beneath is seldom luxuriant. The soil in general being a chalky marl, which produces m dose and clean turf, as smooth and even as the finest English lawn, and in colour infinitely brighter. Over this beautiful surface the pi- mento spreads itself in various compartments. In one place, we behold extensive groves ; in another, a nund)er of beautiful groups, some of which crown the hills, while otliers arc scatter- ed down the declivities. To enliven the scene, and add perfection to beauty, the bounty of nature has copiously watered the whole dis- trict. No part of the West Indies, that I have seen, abounds with so many delicious streams. Every valley has its rivulet, and every hill its cascade In one point of view, where the rocks overhang the ocean, no less than eight transparent waterfalls are beheldin the same mo- ment. Those only who have been long at sea, €an judge of the emotion which is felt by the thirsty voyager at so enchanting a prospect Such is the foreground of the picture. As the land rises towards the center of the Island, the 339 CHAP. IV. h Mi ill^^J J 'r/f| •• nrsTORY or the ■^"'^ tlio eye, passing over iUc bcaufirs thaf I have ^-•vw recounted is attracted by a boundless amphi- theatre of ')()d, Insupt-rablc height of loftiest shade. Cedar ; and bnmching pahn : Mir/roN-. An immensity of forest: the outline of which uielts into tlie distant blue hills, and these agnia arc lost in the clouds. On the southern side of the island, the scenery, as I have before observed, is of a dif- ferent nature. In the landscape I have de- scribed, the prevailing characteristicks are \ariety and beauty : in that which remains, the predominant features arc grandeur and su- blimity. When I first approached this side of the island by sea, and bclield, from afar, such of the stupendous and soaring ridges of (he blue mountains, as the clouds here and there disclosed, the imagination (forming an indis- tinct but aw ful idea of wliat was concealed, by what was thus partially displayed) was filled with admiration and vvondev. Yet the sensation which I felt was -i life J rather to ter- ror than delight. Though the prospect before me was in the highest degree magnificent, it seemed a scene of magnificent desolation. The abrupt precipice and inaccessible clifi; had m-M-e the aspect of a chaos than a crea- tion; or rather seemed to c.\lnbit the effects of some IV. WfiST fNmES. ggl some dreadful eonvulsion, tvliicli had laid i»a- chap tiirc in ruinn. Appearance, however improved Jwwe approached; for, amidst ten thousand bold featiHw, too hard to be softened by cul- tuie. many a spot was soon dincoTercd where the hand of industry had awakened life and lertihty. With those pleasing intermixtures, the flowing line of the k>wer range of mou«. tains (which now began to be visible, crowned with woods of majestick growth) combined ta soften and relieve the rude solemnity of the loftier eminences ; until at length the savannas ftt the bottom met the sight. These are vast pl^^ns, clothed chiefly with extensive ean«. fields; displaying, in all the pride of cultiva^ tion, the verdure of spring blended with tb« exuberance of autumn, and they are bounded only by the ocean : on whose bosom a new and ever-moving picture strikes the eye ; for in- numerable vessels are discovered in various di^ rcctions, some crowding into, and others bear- ing away from, the bays and harbour* witli which the coast is every whewj indented. Such a prospect of human ingenuity and industry, employed in exchanging the superfluities of the Old World, for the productions of the Ne^ opens another, and, I might add, an almost un^ frodden field for contemplation and reflection. iHus the mountains of the West Indies if * contribute 242 HISTORY OF THE BOOK contribute greatly towards the beauty of gene- ral nature; and surely the inhabitants cannot reflect but with the deepest sense of gratitude to Divine Providence, on the variety of climate, 80 conducive to health, serenity and pleasure, which these elevated regions afford them. On this subject I speak from actual experience. In a maritime situation, on the sultry plains of the south side, near the town of Kingston, where I chiefly resided during the space of fourteen years, the general medium of heat during the hottest months ( from June to November, both inclusive) was eighty degrees on Fahrenheit's thermometer (a). At a villa eight miles dis- tant, in the highlands of Liguanea, the thermo- meter seldom rose, in the hottest part of the day, above seventy. Here then was a difFer- ence of ten degrees in eight miles ; and in the morning and evening tlie difference was much greater. Ai Cold Spring, the seat of Mr. Wal- len, a very high situation six miles further in the country, possessed by a gentleman wlio has taste to relish its beauties and improve its pro- fa) In the other months, viz. from December to May, the ihermometer ranges from 70 to SO". The night air in tlie months of December and January is sometimes surprisingly cool : I have known the thermometer so low at sun-rise as tjg", even in the ( wn of Kingston ; but in the hottest niontJis, the difference between the temperature ©f noon-day and midnight is not more tlian 5 or G\ ductions, WEST INDIES. 243 auctions, the general state of the thermometer chap IS from 55 to 65": It has been observed so low J!^ as 44"; so that a fire there, even at noon-daj, is ^^ not only comfortable but necessary, a great part of the year rz.;. It may be supposed, that the sudden transition from the hot atmosphere (bj Cold Spring is 4.200 feet above the level of the sea. The S0.1 . a biack mould on a brown marl ; but few or none - of the tropical fru.ts will flourish in so cold a climate Nei-' ther the nesberry, the avocado pear, the star-apple, nor the orange, will bear within a considerable height of Mr Wal, en's garden , but many of the English fruits, as the apple, ^.e peach, and the strawberiy, flourish there in great per- ecuon, with several other valuable exoticks , among which lobserved a great number of very fine plants of the tea-tree an oU.sr oriental productions. The ground in its native ' state ,s almost entirely covered with different sorts of the fern, of which Mr. Wallen has reckoned about 400 distinct ^' losT "" ''"T ""'"^ ^''' '^™S ''' ^^- fi-^ time, aim St conceives h.mself transported to a distant part ef the world 3 the a.r and face of the country so widely differing, from that of the regions he has left. Even the birds are all strangers to him. Among others, peculiar to these lofty re- gions, IS a species of the swallow, the plumage of which va- nes m colour like the neck of a drake; an! there i. a very hne song-bird called thejish-eye, of a blackish brown, with a white ring round the neck. I visited thi. place in De- cemb.r 1788, the thermometer stood at 57^ at sun-rise, and never exceeded 04" in the hottest part of the day. I thought ^.e chmate the most delightful that I had ever experienced. Un the Blue Mountain peak, which is ;,43l feet from the evel of ^he sea, the thermometer was found to range from TTT" '" ''" '' "°°"^ ''''' '" ^^^ ™«"^^ °^- August. See Med. Comment. Eding. 1 ;80. «^ The i'l'- [i-. ill- tn ■/ -u '^ 944 SOOK 11. HISTORY OF THE of the plains^ to the chill air of the higher re- gions^ is commonly productive of mischievous effects on the human frame ; but this, I believe, is seldom the case, if the traveller, as prudence dictates, sets off at the daw^n of the morn- ing (when the pores of the skin are in some measure shut) and is clothed somewhat warmer than usual. With these precautions, excur- sions into the uplands are always found safe, salubrious, and delightful. I will observe too, in the words of an agreeable writer (cj, that *' on tops of high mountains, where the air is pure and refined, and where there is not that immense weight of gi'oss vapours pressing upon the body, the mind acts with greater freedom, and all the functions, both of soul and body, are performed in a superior manner." I wish I could ,add, with the same author, that " the mind at the sf^nie time leases all low and vulgar sentiments behind it, and in approaching the The following has been given, as an account of the heights from the sea of the most noted mountahis in the world : Feet. Mount Blanc - 15,672 Etna - 10,954 PikeofTenerifFe . 11,022 Chimborazo (Andes) • 20,575 Snowdon (Wales) - 3,457 (c) Brydone. ethereal ■^^Riv WEST INDIES. ^ ^■: I ethereal regions, shakes qO" its eart|ily affections, chap. and acquires something of celestii^J pmit^^f^; /» ^^' * r^/J In describing the rural features of Jamaica, the district caUed Pedro Plains, deserves particular notice. It is a level country on a high bluff called Pedro Point, situated on the south-west coast in the parish of St. Elizabeth. 1 am in- debted to a friend for the following interesting account of this part of the island, which deserves to be better known aud better peopled than it seems to be at present: , " Pedro Plains differ from every ot|ier Savanna of the island, and from any part that I have seen of Cuba. From the district of Fullerswood, in St. Jllizabeth's parish, it rung eastward along the coast on an easy ascent to the highest ndge, which is called Tophill j from whence it stretches in- land more than twenty miles in length, and about five in width. It is not altogether unlike the downs in some parts of England, and is most beautifully dotted with clumps of wood, amongst which the aloe, torch thistle, and other plants of tliat genus, flourish in great luxuriance, from half an gcrp to many acres in extent j the boundaries being as neatly de- fined as if kept so by art. The soil in colour is the deepest red, baked hard on the surface by the action of the sun, but of soporous a nature as to absorb the neaviest rains as fast ajs they fall. The herbage is in general coarse; i^evertheless Jt maintains many thousands both of neat qattlp and horses and in no part of the world, I believe, is the latter fouri^ nearer to a state of wild nature than here. As the whole of this district is unfurnished with springs, or even ponds of any durauon, the stock are compelled to go for water to the well, which are sunk in the lower parts of the country, ^t which time the hunters have opportunities of catching them ; and contrivances are made for that purpose. This the masterl iiorse seems to be well apprised of; for he leads into the in- clu*ure Avith admirable caution, and as «oo« as hij own thirst i! 'I I'iii BOOK II. HISTORY OF THE To these inequalities of its surface, however, it is owing that, although the soil in many parts of this island is deep and very fertile, yet the is allayed, he is verjr impatient to get his family out, which he always drives hefore him. He admits of no interlopers nor allows any of his family to stray. The breed is remark' ably hardy, but somewhat restive from tlieir wild nature. The air of this country (particularly at Tophill, which ap-' proaches to mountainous) is wonderfully salubrious.— As ope proof of this, there was living so late as 1 780 a negro man, named John Comelast, who had resided on this spot as shepherd for upwards of 30 years. He had formerly been the coachman of a Mr. Woodstock, who had given him permission in his old age to go where he pleased. At the time I saw him his woolly hair had become perfectly white, and his body was shrivelled beyond any thing I had ever be' held ; but at the same time his muscles were full and firm, and he could run down any sheep in the Savanna; for he had no dog to assist him. We took him as our guide down 40 the sea : he ran before us, keeping our horses on a hand- gallop, to the beach, and he maintained the same pace on our return (though up-hill) a distance of about ten miles Of one family of tlie name of Ebanks, who lived on these plams, there were threescore persons living, all descended from one man, who was himself living in 1 780. The air of this district, though not cold, is wonderfully dry and elastick, and so temperate withal, that even a European sportsman may foUow his game the whole day without feeling any op- pression from the heat; and he will meet with good sport in pursuing the galena or wild Guinea-fowl, which is found here in great numbers.— The mutton raised here is equal to the finest down mutton in England, and the fruits and ve- getables of all kinds are excellent.— The water-melon in particular ranks with the first of fruits. Its coolness, crispness^ andHavour, aye rivalled only by tlie beauty of the WEST INDIES. MT quantity of rich productive land is but small, chap. in proportion to the whole. The generality of \J^ what has been cultivated is of a middling qua- lity, and requires labour and manure to make it yield liberally. In fine, with every prejudice in its favour, if we compare Jamaica with many other islands of nearly the same extent ( with Sicily, for instance, to which it was compared by Columbus) it must be pronounced an un- fruitful and laborious country, as the following detail will demonstrate. Jamaica is one hundred and fifty miles in length, and, on a medium of three measurements 9* different places, about forty miles in breadth. '*nese data, supposing the island to have been a level country, would give 3,840,000 Acres But a great part consisting of high mountains, the super- ficies of which comprise far more land than the base alone, it has been thought a moderate estimate to allow on that ac- count tV more, which is - 240,000 •> ;',\ The Total is - 4,080,000 Acres rnd, which is mottled in shades of green, and bears a gloss l.ke the polish of marble. On the whole, for beauty of pro- spect,-for purity and dryness of air,— and a climate exempt from either extreme of heat and cold, Tedro Plains may vie Vrjih any «pot on the habitable globe. Or ^> n f: ■ I' vf 'IN 1 B'j m HISTORY OP THE m 90fM Op tijcse, it is found by a return of the clerk V^vw ^f the patents, that no more than 1,907,589 were, in November 1789, located, or taken up' by grants from the crown, and a« no grant^ have l?een issued since that time, it appears that upwards of one half the country is considered M of no kind of value. The lands in cultiva. lion may be distributed nearly as follovirs : In sugar plantations (including the land re- served in woods, for the purpose of supplying timber and fire- wood ; or appropriated for com, mon pasturage, all which is commonly two. thirds of each plantation) the number of acres may be stated at 690,000; it appearing that the precise number of those estates, in Decemr ber 1791, was 767, and an allowance of 900 acres to each, on an average of the whole, must be deemed sufficiently liberal. Of breeding and grazing farms (or, as they are commonly called in the island, petisj the number is about 1,000 ; to each of which I would allow 700 acres, which gives 700,000, and no person who has carefully inspected the country, will allow to all the minor produc- tions, as cotton, coffee, pimento and ginger, &c. including even the provision plaitations, more than half the quantity I have assigned to r : »i;,.. •''H-i:^..h,J II. 250 HISTORY OF THE BOOK the bread-nut, the wild-lemon, and the well- known mahogany*. - As the country is thus abundantly wooded, so, on the whole, we may assert it to be well watered. There are reckoned throughout its extent above one hundred rivers, which take their rise in the mountains, and run, commonly with great rapidity, to the sea, on both sides of the island. None of them are deep enough to be navigated by marine vessels. Black River in St. Elizabeth's parish, flowing chiefly through a level country, is the deepest and gentlest, and admits flat-bottomed boats and canoes for about thirty miles. ^ Mr. Beckford (formerly of Westmoreland in Jamaica) whose elegant taste for Uie beautiful leads him to select the picturesque, rather than the ttseful, in woodland sceneiy, thus describes the rural features of this richly furnished island : " The variety and brilliancy of the verdure are particularly " striking, and the trees and shrubs that adorn the face of " the country, aie singular for the richness of their tints, " and the depth of their shadows. The palm, the cocoa, " nut, the mountain cabbage, and the plantain, when asso- " ciated with the tamarind, the orange, and other trees of " beautiful growth and vivid dyes, and these commixed with " the waving plumes of the Bamboo cane, the singular ap- " pearance of the Jerusalem thorn, the bushy richness of the " Oleander and African rose, the glowing red of the scarlet *' cordium, the verdant bowers of the jessamine and grena- " diUa vmes, all together compose an embroidery of colours " which few regions can rival, and which, perhaps, none can " surpass." Descriptive Account of Jamaica, vol, i, n, 32. Ot WEST INDIES. WSii 251 Of the springs, wliich very generally abound, chap. even in the higlicst mountains, some are mecH- ^^' cinal ; and are said to be highly efficacious in disorders peculiar to the climate. The most remarkable of those is found in the eastern pa- rish of St. Thomas, and the fame of it has created a village in its neighbourhood, which is called the Bath. The water flows out of a rocky mountain, about a mile distant, and is too hot to admit a hand being held underneath : a ther- mometer on Fahrenheit's scale, being immersed in a gkss of this water, the quicksilver imme- diately rose to 123". It is sulphureous, and hus been used with great advantage in that dreadful disease of the climate called the dry-belly ach. There are other springs, both sulphureous and chalybeate, in different parts of the country ; of which, however, the properties are but little known to the inhabitants in general. In many parts of Jamaica there is a great ap- pearance of metals ; and it is asserted by Blome, and other early writers, that the Spanish inha- bitants had mines both of silver and copper: I believe the fact. But the industry of the pre- sent possessors is perhaps more profitably ex- erted on the surface of the earth, than bv dig- ging into its bowels. A lead mine was indeed opened some years ago, near to the Hope estate, »» the parish of St. Andrew, and it is said, there >lllil )« ■fi ' '•« f ^m\\ * ■ 'J ' iJ^B^K ' ' ^^Ksi^i'' jfl^Hyf HR'' ff^W" 'fT-'Tll', ■^ '•' < [ . i' ' ' 1 'N-'i'l 'h^mm'^ -'ili m ^' iitbl ^^^^BflB|r .■■^ I^^^^^B^KV'i 1 .H ^^^^^H^^Bft "'! [T^^^ ■' ■;' } f. ' . ■ < ; i ; t 1 I 'I ! 1 1 '/i ■ I I - 1 r ■illA.. u "III' 752 900K ir. IIISTOIiy OF THE was no want of ore, but the liigh price of la- bour, or other causes with which I am acquaint- ed, compelled the proprietors to relinquish their project. Of the most important of the present natural productions, as sugar indigo, coffee and cotton, 1 shall have occasic^ to treat at large, when the course of my work shall bring me to the subject of agriculture. It only remains therefore, ci present, to subjoin a few observations on the vegetable classes of inferior order : I mean those which, though not of equal commercial im- portance with the preceding ones, are equally necessary to the comfort and subsistence of the iidiabitants. If the read :r is inclined to bo- tanical researches, he is referred to the voiumi- nous collections of Sloane and Browne. Thp several species of grain cultivated in this island are, 1st. Maize, or Indiau com, which commonly produces two crops iu the year, and sometimes three : it may be planted at any time when there is rain, and it yields ac- cording to the soil from fifteen to forty bushels the acre. 2dly. Guiney-corn, which produces but one crop in the year : it is planted in the month of September, and gathered in January following, yielding from thirty to sixty bushels an acre. 3dly. Various kinds of calavances, a jspeeies of pea; and, lastly, rice, but in no great quantity ; WEST INDIES. 313 quantity ; the situation proper for its ^owth chap. being deemed unhcaltlij, and the labour of J^ negroes is commonly employed in the cultiva- tion of articles that yield greater profit. This island abounds likewise with different kinds of grass, both native and extraneous, of excellent quality; of the first is made exceeding good hay, but not in great abundance ; this method of husbandry being practised only in a few parts of the country ; and it is the less ne- cessary as the inhabitants are happily accom- modated with two difterent kinds of artificial grass, both extremely valuable, and yielding great profusion of food for cattle. The first i» an aquatick plant called Scot's grass, which, tliough generally supposed to be an exotick, I have reason to think grows spontaneously in most of the swamps and morasses of the West Indies. It rises to five or six feet in height, with long succulent joints, and is of very quick vegetation. From a single acre of this plant, five horses may be maintained a whole year, al- lowing fifty-six pounds of grass a-day to each. The other kind, called Guiney-grass, may be considered as next to the &ugar-cane, in point of importance ; as most of the grazing and breeding farms, or pens, throughout the island, were originally created, and are still supported, chiefiy by means of this invaluable herbage. Iknae the plenty of horned cattle, botli for the butcher \f.i .^1 (M ,ti 334 WEST INDIES. BOOK u. t r ^ butcher and planter, is such that few markcf* N^y^ in Europe furnish beef at a cheaper rate, or of better quality, than those of Jamaica fcj. Per- haps the settlement of most of the north-side parishes is wholly owinn^to the introduction of this excellent grass, which happened by acri- dent about fifty years ago ; the seeds having been brought from the coast of Guiney, as fend for some birds which were presented to Mr. Ellis, chief-justice of the island. Fortunately the birds did not live to consume the whole stock, and the remainder, being carelessly thrown into a fence, grew and flourished. It was not long before the eagerness displayed by the cattle to reach the grass, attracted Mr. El- lis's notice, and induced him to collect and pro- pagate the seeds; which now thrive in some of the most rocky parts of the island ; bestowing verdure and fertility on lands which otherwise would not be worth cultivation. The several kinds of kitchen-garden produce, as edible roots and pulse, which are known in CO Mutton is also both cheap and good. The sheep of Jamaica, according to SJoane, are from a breed originally African. They have short hair instead of wool, and in ge- neral are party-coloured, chiefly black and white. They are small, but very sweet meat. The swine of the West Indies are also considerably smaller than those of Europe, and have short pointed ears. Their flesh is infinitely whiter and sweeter than the pork of Great Britain, and that of the wild sort, of which there are great numbers in the woods, still better.' Europe, WEST INDIES. asflr Europe, thrive also in the mountains of this chap. island; and the markets of Kingston and Spa- '^' nish-Town are supplied with cabhages, lettuce, carrots, turnips, parsnips, artichokes, kidney- bnans, green-peas, asparagus, and various sorts of European herbs, in the utmost abundance. Some of them (as the three first) are I think of superior flavour to the same kinds produced in England. To my own taste however, several of the native growths, especially the chocho, ochra, Lima-bean, and Indian-kale, are more agreeable than any of the esculent vegetables of Europe. The other indigenous productions of this class are plantains, bananas, yams of several varieties, calalue (a species of spinnage) eddoes, cassavi, and sweet potatoes. A mix- ture of these, stewed with salt fish or salted meat of any kind, and highly seasoned with Cayenne-pepper, is a favourite olio among the negroes. For bread, an unripe roasted plantain is an excellent substitute, and universally pre- ferred to it by the negroes, and most of the na- tive whites. It may in truth be called the staff of life to the former ; many thousand acres be- ing cultivated in different parts of the country for their daily support (f). _ (f) It is said by Oviedo that this fruit, tliough introduced mto Hispaniola at a very early period, was not originally a native of the West Indies, but was carried thither from the C;mary islands by Thomas de Rerlanga, a friar, in the year 1^10. Tlie banana is a species of Uie same fruit. Sir Hans Sluane, Hi '» f. A 1:; ■■-L m -'r * ! I't; ^1 Vf' 136 book: History of the Op the more elegant fruits, the variety is e<^uall«d onlj by thek excellence. Perhaps no country on earth affords 80 magnificent a des- sert ; and I conceive that the following were spoHtaneously bestowed on the island by the bounty of natme ; — ^the annana or pine-apple, tamarind, papaw, guava, sweet-sop of two spe- cies, cashew-apple, custard-apple (a species of chiiimoyaf^;; coco-nut, star-apple, grenadiJla, avocado-pear, hog-plum and its varieties, pin. dal-nut, nesburj, mammee, mammee-sapota, Spanish-goosberry, prickly-pear, and perbaos a few others. For the orange, civil and china, the lemon, lime, sliaddock, and iU numcratis species, the vine, melon, fig and pomegranate, the West Indian islands were probably indebted to their Spanish invaders . Excepting the peach, Ihe strawberry, and a few of the growths of Eu- mpean orchards (which however attain to no giieit perfection, unlessintliehighestmouBtains) Sloane, whose industry is commendable whatever may be thought of his judgment, has, in his History of Jamaica, col- lected much information concerning this production; aiid Ifrom some authorities which he cites, it would seem that O\'iedo was misinformed, and that every specifes of the plaji- tam is found growing spontaneously in all the tropical parts of tlie earth. (gj This fruit is the boast of Soutk America, and is reckon- ed by Ullca one of t|>p fipest in the world. I have been in- formed that several plants of it are flourishing in Mr. East's princely garden, at the foot ol' the Liguanea mountains. 4f the WEST INDIES. ^^^ the rosd-apple, genip, and some others of nd chap great value, I do not believe that English indus- '''• try had added much to the catalogue, until with- '^^^'^ in the last twenty years. About the year 1773, a botanick garden was established under the sanction of the Assembly, but it was not until the year 1782 that it could justly boast of many valuable exoticks. At that period, the fortund of war havingthrown into the possession of Lord Rodney, a French ship bound from ihe island of Bourbon to Cape Fran9ois in St. Domingo, which was found to have on board some plants of the genuine cinnamon, the mango, and other oriental productions, his lordship, from that g:enerous parliality which he always manifested for Jamaica and its inhabitants, presented the plants to his favourite islands ;— thus nobly or- namenting and enriching the country his valour had protected from conquest. Happily, the present was not ill bestowed. The cinnamon "Jay now be said to be naturalized to the country : several persons arc establishing plan- JalH),is of it, and one gentleman has set out J'fO thousand plants. The mango is become ahuost as common as the orange ; but, for want otaUenl,on,runs into u thousand seminal va- '••^■|ies. Some of Ihem to my 1aste,are perfectly "olicious (hj, ^ ^^ 0') The cinimmo.. tree g-rov.-s to iJie heigl.t of twenty or ■'"• /'<■«; It puN out nnar^rovH side branches will, .dense \ 01, J ll 258 BOOK II. HISTORY OF TPIE I SHATL ronclude this chapter, with an au- thentlck catalogue of the foreig^n plants in the publick botanical garden of this island ; lament- ing, at the same time, that I am not able to gratify the reader with a more copious and ex- tensive display, from the magnificent collection of my late friend Hinton East, Esq., who had promised to favour me with an Horiiis Easten- sis, to be prepared, under his ovrn immediate inspection, purposely for this work ; — but much greater room have I to lament the cause of my disappointment, and mourn over the severity foliage from the very bottom of the trunk, which furnishes an opportunity of obtaining plenty of layers, and facilitates the propagation of the tree, as it does not perfect its seeds m any quantity under six or seven years, when it becomes so plentifully loaded, that a single tree is almost sufficient for a colony. When planted for layers, it is of a pretty quick growth, reaching in eight years the height of fifteen or twenty feet, it is very spreading, and furnished with numeroHs branches of a fit size for decoration. The seeds are long in coming up. The small branches of about an inch diame- ter yield the best cinnamon, which is itself the Umber or inner bark of the tree, and it requires some dexterity to separate the outer barks, which would vitiate the flavour. Specimens of the inner bark, transmitted by Dr. Dancer, the island botanist, to the Society of Arts, were found fully to possess the aroma and taste of the true cinnamon from Ceylon, and indeed to be superior to any cinnamon im- ported from Holland j and in all other respects to agree per- fectly with the description of the oriental cinnamon given by Burman. See their reiiolutious of the l-illi December ^790. WEST INDIES* 25g of that fate which suddenly snatched a most chap. amiable and excellent citizen from his friends J^ and the publick, and hurried him to an untimely grave.*-Such is the vanity of hope, and the un- certainty of life ! (^f^ CO A veiy acairate and comprehensive catalogue of Mr East's superb collection having since been obtained, it will be found in the the tliird volume j~and the catalogue above mentioned, which was inserted in the first edition, is mow tkerefore omitted. «^i '*4 %% CHAP. n . i -I HuJ 260 HISTORY OF TlIE BOOK 11. CHAP. V. Topographical description. — Touns, Tillages, and parishes. -^Churches, church-livings, and vestries. — Governor or Commander i;i chief. ^Courts of jttdicature.—Publick offices.— legislature and laws. — lieroenues. — Taxes.— Coins, and rate of exchange. — Miliiia.— Number of inhahitants of all condilions and complexions. — Trade^, shipping, exports and imports,— 'Report of the Lords of Trade in 1734. — Present state of the trade with Spanish yimerica. — Origin and policij of the act for establishing free ports.^^Displaij of the progress of the island in cultivation, by comparative statements of its inhabitants and products at d(Jfercnt periods. -^ Appendix The Island of Jamaica is divided into three counties, which arc named Middlesex, Surry, and Cormvall. The county of Middlesex is com- posed of eight parishes, one town, and thirteen villages. The town is that of St. Jago-de-la- Vega or Spanish Town, the capital of the island. Most of the villages of this and the other coun- ties, are hamlets of no great account, situated at the different harbours und shipping-places, and supported by the traffick carried on there. St^ Jagtj'dc'ta-Vcga is situaty-d on the banks of the river WEST INDIES. jgj river Cobre, about six miles from the sna, and ckaf. contains between five and six hundred houses, and about five thousand inhabitants, includinff free people of colour. It is the residence of the fi^overnor or commander in chief, who is ac- commodated with a superb palace; and it is here that the legislature is convened, and the Court of Chancery, and the Supreme Court of Judi- cature, are hold. The county of Surry contains seven parishes, two towns, and eight villages. The towns are those of Kingston and Port-Royal ; the former of which is situated on the north^side of a beautiful harbour, and was founded in I6d3, when repeated desolations by earthqu.ike and fire had driven the inhabitants from Port-Royal. It contained in 1788 one thousand six hundred and sixty five houses, besides negro-huts and warehouses. The number of white inhabitants, m the same year, was six thousand five hundred and thirty-nine : of free people of colour three thousand two hundred and eighty : of slaves six- teen thousandsix hundred and fifty-nine;— total number of inhabitants, of ail complexions and conditions, twenty-six thousand four hundred and seventy-eight. It is a place of great trade and opulence. xMany of the houses in the upper part of the towu are extremely magnificent ; and the markets for butchers' meal, turtle' fi'^h, poultry, fiuits and vegetables. & c. are la- feiior k Af » 20a BOOK II. HISTORY OF THE ferior to none. I can add too, from the infoi- roation of a learned and ingenious frie»id, who kept comparative registers of mortality, that since the surrounding country is become clear- ed of wood, this town is found to be as health- ful as any in Europe (aj. PoRT-RoYAL, once a place of the greatest wealth and importance in the West Indies, is now reduced, by repeated calamities, to three streets, a few lanes, and about two hundrd bouses. It contains, however, the royal navy yard, for heaving down and refitting the king's $hips ; the navy hospital, and barracks for a regiment pf soldiers. The fortifications are ( (a) The number of the white inhabitants in ^Cingston Jiad increased in 1791 to about 7,000. In that year the burials were 151 white men (including 45 from the publick hospitals) 23 white women, and 20 white children. Total 394. Oftliem^n, the whole number from the hospital, and a great many of tlie others, were transient persons, chiefly discarded or vagabond seamen ; but without mak- ing any allowance for extraordinary mortality op that ac- count, if this return, which is taken from the Parochial Register, be compared witli the bills of mortality in (he ma- nufacturing towns of England, the result will be consider- ably in favour of Jamaica. In the large and opulent town of Manchester, for instance, the whole number of the inhabii tants in 17/3, comprehending Salford, was 29,151, and the average number of burials (dissenters included) for five pre- ceding years was gSS. If tlie mortality in Manchester had |)een in no greater proportion than in Kingston, tlie deatiis would not have exceeded 813. kept WEST INDIES. 263 kept in excellent order, and vie in strength, as chap. I am told, with any fortress in the kin^^'s donii^ s^vw uioiTs. Cornwall contains five parishes, three towns, and six villages. — The towns are Savanna-la- Mar on the south side of the island, and Mon- tcgo Bay and Falmouth on the north. The former was destroyed b; a dreadful hurricane and inundation of the sea in 1780, as I have elsewhere related. It is now partly rebuilt, and may contain from sixty to seventy houses. Montego-Bay is a flourishing and opulent town : consisting of two hundred and twenty-five houses, thirty-three of which are capital stores or warehouses. The number of top-sail vessels which clear annually at this port are about one hundred and fifty, of which seventy are capital ships ; but in this account are included part of those which enter at Kingston. Falmouth, or ( as it is more commonly called) the Point, is situated on the south-side of Martha- Brae harbour, and, including the adjoining vil- lages of Martha-Brae and the Rock, is com- posed of two hundred and twenty houses. The ropid increase of this town and ueighbourhood within the last sixteen years is astonshing. In 1771, the three villages of Martha-Brae, Fal- mouth, and the Rock, contained together but eighteen houses ; and the vessels which entered annually at the port of Falmouth did not exceed ten. f -— t I ■• ■■{ J ^^^: ^k . 1 f AJI ■I 11 *** HISTORY OF THE BOOK ten. At present it can boast of upwards of thirty capital stationed ships, which load for Gieat Britain, exclusive of sloops and smaller craft. Each parish (or precinct consistin^^ of an union of two or more parishes) is governed bj a chief magistrate, styled Ciistos Jiutnlorum, and a body of jutices unlimited by law as to num. ber, by whom sessions (if'the peace are held every three months, and courts of Common Pleas to try actions arising within the parish or precinct, to an amount not exceeding twenty pounds, U matters of debt not exceeding forty shillings, a single justice is authorised to determine, The whole twenty parishes contain eighteen churches and chapels*, and each parish is pro. vided with a rector, and other church officers; the rectors livings, the presentation to which rests with the governor or commander in chief, are severally as follows, vi?. St. Catherine 300/. per annum ; Kingston, St. Thomas in the East, Clarendon, and Westmoreland, 2.^)0/. per an- num ; St. David, St. George, and Portland, JOO/. per annum, all the rest 200/. per annum. These sums are paid in lieu of tytlies by the churchwardens of the several parishes rcspec. lively, from the amount of taxes levied by the vestries on the inhabitants, Each parish builds and repairs a parsonage bouse, or allows the rector 50/. per annum in * Two or three more have bceii erected since this ac^ fount was written. lieu WEST INDIES. 209 lieu of one ; besides which, many of the livings chap. have glebe hinds of very considerable value J!^ annexed to them, as the parish of St. Andrew, which altogether is valued at one thousand pounds sterling per annum fbj. The bishop of London is said to claim this island as part of his diocese, but his jurisdiction is renounced and barred by the laws of the country ; and the go- vernor or commander in chief, as supreme head of the provincial churcli, not only inducts into the several rectories, on the requisite testimo- nials being produced that the candidate has been admitted iiUo priest's orders according to the canons of tlie churcli of England, but he is likewise vested with tlic power of suspending a clergyman of lewd and disorderly life ab officio, upon application from his parishioners. A suspension ah ofjicio is in fact a suspension a bcncfiicio. no minister beingentitled to his stipend for any longer ti:r.e than he shall actually of- ficiate; unless prevented by fiicknoss. The vestries are composed of thecustos, and two other magistrates ; the rector and ten vcstrv- rarn ; the latter arc elected annually by the froe- holdcrs, Besides tiieir power of assessing and appropriating taxes, they appointed way-war- no In the j^enr I788, l!>e assembly passe.l a law to pro. 'i-»t the burial of the dead within tJie walls of the churches • and as by this regulation several of the rectors were deprived perquisite, an augmentation t,f 5),'. per anaui!i v/as to most of the livings. dens. "W .if f ! fU I ! I iM HISTORY OF THE .M, I BOOK dens, and allot labourers for the repair of the s^-v^ piiblick high-wajs. They likewise nominate constables, for the collection both of the pub- lick and parochial taxes. The supreme court of Judicature for the xvhole island (commonly called the Grand Court, as possessina: similar jurisdiction in this counfry to that of the several courts of King's Bench, Common Pleas and Exchequer, inGrcut Britain) is held in the town of St. Jago-de-la- Vega, the capital of the county of Middlesex, on the last Tuesday of each of the months of February, May, August, and November, in every year. In this court, the chief justice of the island presides, whose salary is only 120/., but the perquisites arising from the office make it worth about 3,000/. per anman. The assistant judges are gentlemen of the island, commonly planters, who receive neither salary nor reward of any kind for their attendance. Three judges must be present to constitute a court; and each term is limited in duration to three weeks. From this court, if the matter in dispute in a civii action be fora sum of 300/. sterling, or upwards, an appeal lies to the governor, and council as a court of error ; if sentence of death be passed for felony, the appeal is to ilis governor alone fcj, (c) By an early law of this island ^passed in J 08 J) free.- holdcTi of known residence are not subject to arrest, and being WEST INDIES. •0 Assize courts also are held every three months^ chap. in Kingston for the county of Surry, and in v.,^^ Savanna-la-Mar for the county of Cornwall, The Surry court begins the la t Tuesday in Ja- nuary, April, July, and October. The Corn- wall court begins the last Tuesday in March, June, September, and December; each assize court is limited to a fortnight in duration^ Tims have the inhabitants law-courts evert month of the year, besides the courts of chancery, ordinary, admiralty, and the several parish courts frfj. The judges of the assize court* being held to bail in civil process. The mode of proceeding is, to deliver the party a summOis (leaving it at lus house i;* deemed good service) together with a copy of the declaia* tion, fourteen days before the court, whereupon the defen* daiit is bound to appear, the very next court, or judgment meiit will pass by default. Twoiity-eight days after the first day of each court execution issues ; for which there is but one writ, comprehending both a fieri facias and a capias ad satifaciendum : but as no general imparlance is allowed before judj^ment, it is enacted tiiat the effects levied on, shall remain in the defendant's hands until the next court, to give him an opportunity of disposing of them to the best advantage ; and if he then fails paying over the money, a venditioni exponas issues to the marshal, to sell those, or any other goods, and take his person. The modern practice u to make no levy on the execution, whereby the debtor ob- tains the indulgence of one term, or court, after which both his person and goods are liable under tlie writ of re«- ditioni exponas. (d) Soon after this was written an act was passed (I think «) 1 790) by wJiich the August terra in the supreme court war I .^ |l ii^ 26$ ttlSTORY OF THE BOOK act without salary or reward, as mtII as the as- sistant judges of the supreme court, any one of whomjfpresent, presides in the assizecourt. No appeal from the latter to the former is allowed but judgments of the assize immediately follow^ ing the supreme court, are considered as of one and the same court, and have an equal right, in point of priority, with those obtained in the grand court. In this island, as in Barbadoes, the depart- ments of council and attorney are distinct; and although in the island last-mentioned, barristers have been admitted by licence from the gover- fior, it is otherwise in Jamaica; the colonial laws expressly requiring, that no person shall be allowed to practice who has not been regu- larly admitted in the courts of England, Ire- land, or ScoHand; or else (in the case of an attorney) who has not served as ar(iclcd clerk to some sworn attorney or solicitor in the island for five years at least. The governor, or commander in chief, is chancrllor by his office, and presides solely in that high dcj aitment, which is administered ^vith great form and solemnity. He is also the sole ordinary for the probate of wills and granting letters of administration. From the tvas abolished, and a long vacation esuiblished ;i,s in Eng- land, witi, similar regulations for the assize courts, to tiie great reliei of persons attending as iurors ^ iirst kc. From these creating a savins: WEST INDIES. first of the offices, he derives extensive au- thority, and from the latter considerable emo- lument (c), (e) The profits and emoluments arising annually from tlie go\einment of Jamaica may, I think, be stated nearly as folJow's, vir. Salaty - -. _ -^.5,000 Fees in Chancery — _». j^q Fees of the Court of Ordinary — -^ i^4(X, Share of Custom House Seizures _ i^qqq Tiie assembly have purchased for tlve governor's use, a farm of about 300 acres, called the Govern- ment Peun, and built an elegant villa thereon. Likewise a polink or provision seltlement in the mountains (-.vhich is also provided with a comfort- able mansion -house) and stocked both properties with 50 negroes, and a sufficit-! .uile, sheep, kc. From these places (wUu aare exclusive of the liing's house in Spanish Town) the governor is, or ought to be, supplied with hay and corn, muf )n, milk, poultry, and provisions for his domcsticks, creating a saving in his houshold expences of at least — , — — — 1,000 Total in currency — — ^. 8,;3jo Being equal to G, 100/. sterlings and this is altogether ex- elusive of fees received by his private secretarv for mil :ia commissions. &c. &c. &c. tvhich are 7iot easilif' ascertained. It is supposed also that money has sometimes been made by the sale of church livings ; and vast sums were formerly raised by esclicats. N. B. A govornor of Jamaica may live very honourably for 3,000i. sterling per annum.—Sincc the farmer editions «t this work were published, the ns^cmbly, at the rc-quc •: of tiie governor, !:ave- passed an uct for tlie s-ih of both th*; Guv'^rrimern 20^ CAAP. V i "I t , I .! SOOK U. HISTORY OF THE As appendages of the supreme toiirt, tht several great office^ viz. the offices of enroH^ ments, or secretary of the island, provost- marshal-general, clerk of the court (or pro- thonotarj, custos-brevium, &c.) are held and situated in Spanish Town. The first is an office of record, in which the laws passed by the legislature are preserved,- and copies of them entered into fair volumes. In this office all deeds, willp, sales, and patents, must be re gistered. It is likewise required that all person, (after SIX weeks residence) intendingto depart this island, do affix their names in this office twenty-one days before they are entitled to re- ceive a ticket or let-pass, to enable them to leave the country. In order to enforce thi, re-ulation, masters of vessels are obliged, at the time of entry, to give security i„ the sum of 1,000/. not to carry off the island any person without such ticket or let-pass. Trustees, at- tornies, and guardians of orphans, are required o record annually i„ this pffice accounts of he produce of estates in their charge; and, by a late act, mortgagees in possession are obliged to register not only accounts of the crops of each year, but also annual accounts current of their receipts and payments. Trail. Government Penn and Mountain Polink, end in lieu thereof have settled an additional salary of 2.000/. currency on the tommandei; ,n Chief lor the time being. scripfc WEST INDJES. 27* scripts of* deeds, &c. from the office, properly chap. certified, are evidences in any court of law, ^^^ and all deeds must be enrolled within three months after date, or they are declared to be void aojainst any other deed proved and regis- tered within the time limited ; but if no second deed is on record, then the same are valid, though registered after the three months. It is presumed that the profits of this office, which is held by patent from the crown, and exercised by deputation, exceed 6,000/. sterling ])fr rtw////;«. The provost-marshal-general is an officer of high rank and great authority, — The name de- notes a military origin, and the office was first instituted in this island in 1660, by royal com- mission to Sir Thomas Lynch. It is now held by patent from the crown, which is usually granted for two lives, and the patentee is per- mitted to act by deputy, who is commonly the highest bidder. The powers and authorities annexed to this office are various : and the acting officer is high-sheriff of the whole island during his continuance in office, and permitted to nominate deputies under him for every parish or precinct. His legal receipts have been known to exceed 7,000/. sterling per annum, and it is supposed that some of his deputies niiike iieaily as much. The office of clerk of the supreme court is likewise held by patent and exercised by depu- tation. Evidence was given to the house of 3 assembly I i: ')• i- U' I ?72 HISTORY OF THE ^: ^°?K assembly some years ag-o, that its annual value >^v-^ at that time exceeded 9,(X)0l. currency. Of late I believe \t is considerably diminished. Of the other great lucrative offices, the prin- cipal arc those of the register in chancery, re- ceiver-general and treasurer of the island, naval officer, and collector of the customs for the port of Kingston. All these appointments whether held by patent or commission, are like- wise supposed to aflbrd considerable emolu- ment to persons residing in Great Britain. It IS computed on the whole, that not less than 50,000/. serling is remitted annually, by the de- puties in office within the island, to their prin- cipals in the mother-country ffj (f) It is not very pleasant to the resident inhsLUants t« observe, that ahno«t all the patent offices in the coIon.Vs are CKercised by deputies, who notoriously and avowodiy obtain their appointments by purchase. Leases for years of some of them have been sold by aucti<,n ; and nothing is more common, nt the expiration of those leases, than the cir- rumstances of an inferior clerk outbidding hi3emj)loyer(thL' resident deputy) and stepping into Iiis place. Jt may be doubted whether both the seller and buyer in such cases are not subject to the penalties of the statute .5 and J^w. VJ .;:igainst tJie sale and purchase ofo'.iices relating to the admi- nistration of justice. T.y an excellent law, however, whicli passed i!i the* administration of t)ic present Marquis ufLane granted bv patent, f;r any longer term than during sue!, time r.s the gra:>tee thereof shall uhchargc the duty in pcrsan. The WEST INDIES. 273 The legislature of Jamaica is composed of chap. the captain-general or commander in chief, of V.J1, a coiHicil nominated by (he crown, consisting of twelve gentlemen, and a house of assembly containing fortj-three members, who are elect- ed by the freeholders, viz. three for the several towns and parishes of St. Jago-de-la-Vega Kingston, and Port Royal, and two for each of the other parishes. The qualification required m the elector, is a freehold of ten pounds per annum *' . Ihe parish where the election is made ; and ir; *V representative, a landed freehold of three hundred pounds per annum, in any part of the island, or a personal estate of tlirer^ f » ou- sand pounds. In the proceedings of tiu gene- ral assembly, they copy, as nearly as local cir- cumstances will admit, the forms of the legisla- ture of Great Britain ; and all their bills (those of a private nature excepted) have the force of laws as soon as the governor's assent is ob- tained. The power of rtyection however is still reserved in the crown ; but until the royal dis- approbation is signified, the laws are valid. Or the laws thus passed, the principal relate chiefly to regulations of local policy, to which the law of England is not applicable, as the «iave system tor instance fgj. hi this and other ^ Cg) Thus the evidence of a slave is not admissible against I* w. ire person. Again, althougli, by a very early law of this '"i^nd, slaves are considered as inheritance, and are accord- 'Oi» I. -, * inglv- <* h » I. II 274 HISTORY OF THE POOK cases, the English laws heing silent, the colonial w-Vw legislature has made, and continues to make, such provision therein, as the exigencies of the colony are supposed to require ; and on some occasions^ where the principle of the English law has been adopted, it has been found neces- sary to alter and modify its provisions, so as to adapt them to circumstances and situation. Thus, in the mode of setting out emblements, the practice of fine and recovery, the case of insolvent debtors, the repair of the public roads, the maintenance of the clergy, and the relief of the poor, very great deviations from the prac- tice of the mother-country have been found in- dispensably requisite (hj. IM ingly subject to the incidents of real property (for as they go to the heir, so may the widow have dower of them, and the surviving husband be tenant by courtesy ; and this holds equally whether slaves are possessed in gross, or belong to a plantation) yes in respect of debts, slaves are considered as chattels, and the executor is bound to inventory them like other chattels. OO An outline of tlie law of insolvency may not be unac- ceptable to the reader.— A debtor, after three months conti- nuance'in actual confinement, may obtain his liberty under the following conditions : three weeks previous to the next sitting of the supreme court, he is to give notice by publick advertisement, that he means to take the benefit of the act, and to that end, has lodged all his books of account in the hands of the marshal or keeper of the gaol, for inspection by his creditors. He shall then, on the first da" of term, be brought by petitiou before tlie court, where he is to sub- . ■ scriLie West indies. mlo two branches; the one p.r^.«, ^^ ,„ J^^ • • ^ * "'^ creditors reouire i> j^ an examination, t- Jm toce uoon n.fi, • ^ ' contains a just acco'int nf ,11 i • c^rtit_ying that it ".ore U,™ 10( tt,?'. "^ ""'''' ""' ™"I' esta e or efFert* Ti.^ . . ■' " " '-'* ^'is charge the party fr„„, confinement. Gaol fees of I,n . 7 - unable to pa, the™, are paid b, .he^^w" wart, fho „„ ., , •" " — -'^'^^ ^'-■njuivment ot two year*; tne court beniffsatisfipHti,.*! i ,- • , "^ ^ ■" act »!|. r J ill : J U .:V f a;6 filSTORY OF THE BOOK act of the year 1728, called the revenue law, of Vi^vw the origin of which I have already spoken, and of which revenues the quit-rents constitute a part ; the other annual, by grants of the legis- lature. The revenue law may raise about 12,000/. per annum, of which 8,000Z. is parti- cularly appropriated, as I have elsewhere ob- served, and the surplus is applicable to the con- tingent expences of government, in aid of the annual funds. The governor receives 2,500/. •per annum out of the 8,000/. fund. A further salary of 5,500/. is settled upon him during his residence in the island by a special act of legis- lature, passed the beginning of his administra- tion, and is made payable out of some one of the annual funds provided by the assembly. These at this time may amount to 70,000/. of which about 40,000/. is a provision for grant- ing an additional pay to the officers and sol- diets of his majesty's forces stationed for tl* protection of the island. Every commissioned officer being entitled to 20s. per week, and every private to 5s. : an allowance is also made to the wives and children of the soldiers; which, with the British pay, enables them to live much , more comfortably than the king's troops gene- rally do in Europe. The usual ways and means adopted for raising the above taxes are, first, a duty of 205. per head on aii negroes imported; secondly, a duty on ail WEST INDIES, all rum and other spirits retailed and consumed mthin the island ; thirdly, the deficiency law • an act which was intended originally to oblige ell proprietors of slaves to keep one white per- son for every thirty blacks; but the penalty which IS sometimes 13/., at other times 261. per annum, for each white person deficient of the number required, i, become so productive a source of revenue, that the bill is now consi- dered as one of the annual supply bills : fourth- ly, a poll-tax on all slaves, and stock, and a ;ate on rents and wheel-carriages. Besides these, occasional tax-bills are passed by the le- gislature, a? necessity may require. I have sub- joined in a note the estimate of the contingent charges of the government of this island on the annual funds for the year 17S8,andof the ways and means for the payment thereof fij. CO Estimate of the ordinary Contingent Charges of the Government of JAMAICA on the annual funds for the year 17883 viz. „ ■^. *. d. Crovernor's additional salary - > 2,500 Subsistence of tlie Troops, and Hospital expences " . , . ^^30^ ^ ^ Salaries to Officers of the Assembly, Printing, &c. . . .' 3,300 Clerk of the Grand Court " - - 100 o q Clerk of the Crown . . 100 O Clerk to the Commissioners of Forts - 150 o q Carried over £. 46,450 O Survey Of 2m 277 CtlAP. V. 1' I p f f m K.MMf 'IfK 1 378 HISTORY OF THE BOOK The current coins arc Portugal pieces of > ]Z ...:12; "" ™""""=^ °f "•" A-emb!y by whom these '-..".ates werereporied, declare,^a. .. - ,a„.e dme. Urn they find »v;; 380 HISTORY OF THE BOOK II. smaller parts of this coin ; the lowest coin is called a hilt, equal to about bd. sterling. A guinea passes for ,32s. ^d. This, however, is considerably more than the usual rate of ex- change, by which 100/. sterling gives 140/. currency. From the situation of this island amidst po- tent and envious rivals, and the vast dispropor- tion between the number of white inhabitants and the slaves, it may be supposed that the maintenance of a powerful and well-disciplined militia is among the first objects of the policj of the legislature: accordingly all persons, from fifteen to sixty years of age, are obliged by law to enlist themselves either in the horse or foot, and to provide at their own expence tlic necessary accoutrements ; but this law, I doubt, is not very rigidly enforced, as the whole mi- litia, which is composed of three regiments of horse and fourteen regiments of foot, does not consistof much more than 8,000 efl'ectivc troops; neither do the usual employments and habits of life, either of the officers or privates, conduce very much to military subordination.— How- ever, in times of actual danger, whether from the revolt of slaves, or the probability of inva- fina it impracticable to devise the means of answering a debt of such magnitude, and an application was made (but I be- lieve without success) to the British government for a loan pf 300,000/. sterling, sion. I m WEST INDIES. 281 ■u mm sion, no troops in tlic world could have shewn chap. c^reater promptitude or alacrity in service, than ^.J^ has been displayed ])y the militia of Jamaica. In such emergencies, the commander in chief^ with the advice and consent of a general coun- cil of war (in which the men ^ers of the assem- bly have voices) may proclaim martial law. His power is then dictatorial ; and all persons are subject to the articles of war*. From the given number of men able to bear arms in any country, it is usual with polilical writers to estimate the inhabitants at large ; but their rule of calculation does not apply to Jamaica, where the bulk of the people consists of men without families. Euro j >eans who come to this island have seldom an idea of settlino* here for life. Their aim is generally to acquire fortunes to enable them to sit down comfortably in their native country; and, in the meanwhile, they consider a tamily as an incumbrance. Marriage, therefore, being held in but little * The following is a return of the cavalry and infantry ou the 13th of January, 1/02: Cavalry. Infantry, Total. County of Surry - 33 7,487 17,144 13,'^24 6,162 9,613 2,881 20,492 4,537 5,050 13,280 17,612 18,546 19,318 2,229 16,700 14,747 210,894 It appears, however, from the report of the committee of the assembly above cited, that in m^i of the parishes it is customary to exem.pt P person^ « ? 284 HISTORY OF THE BOOK persons not having more than six negroes, from w^y-w the payment of taxes on slaves, whereby many of the negroes, especially in the towns (mj, arc not given in to the different vestries, and the returns of a great many others are fraudulently concealed ; thus the tax-rolls do not contain the full number of slaves, which, in the opinion of the committee, were at that time 240,000, at the least ; and there is not a doubt that up- wards of 10,000 have been left in the country from subsequent importations, exclusive of de- crease. The whole number of inhabitants there- fore, of all complexions and conditions, at this a li., ' (*'H,! f f t I 28(1 History of the [Book II. CuAP. v.] 1 1 BIKIfli III Hi if H 1 C bO — I ^■. bOn CX4 «o 00 T3 o h 3 . U CA « "o -§ 1^ ;^' % II t>^ 1 & J S 1 t^ 6 u o (4 !j ^ ^ O H o .n! u c« u -A (^ "S «-» S ■^ S u • bo Cm s .3 .^ ^ v„ ij m h cr! •«! Oh *j rt .4 & O •i h CuAr. v.] WEST INDIES. a»f 1 I s 8 ■(5 O V 3 -3 •i *- > •* (-4 h 01 3 O . 2 |1 a I CD U ti O h o u u a I O O O CO CO 1^ W5 C-1 CI o § 00 CO O Cl CO o I I rfi 00 Cl i i I o 3- I I I 01 so c^ CO CO 00 01 CO CO M o o 01 a •a 4-* M o a ("»^-n r-A-n o c o '■£> 30 i i 1 1 J I I I I I 1 I I i o so' n o 3 1 CO U 1 ^ 1 M e •1" I 73 "3 ^ . •^ :'■■•? m i ,1 ; 1 ' ? ■'■ ■ 1 * " i' i9 i4i»^: »H ^,^J^ :,::.;'■.! W 1 1:^ f 1 2S3 BOOK f). HISTORY OF THE But it must be noted, that a considerable part of the cotton, indigo, tobacco, mahogany, dje-woods, and miscellaneous articles, included in the preceding account, is the produce of the foreign West Indies imported into Jamaica, partly under the free-port law, and partly in small British vessels employed in a contraband traffick with the Sjjanish American territories, payment of which is made chiefly in British manufactures and negroes ; and considerable quantities of bullion, obtained by the same means, are annually remitted to Great Britain, of which no precise accounts can be procured*. The General Account of Imports into Ja- maica will stand nearly as follows ; viz. * The preceding account having been made up for l/s;, It may reasonal^ly be supposed tliat the island has greatly in- creased its produce in tlie space of 10 years j and, it is true, that at this period {\797) the amount of its exports, accord- ing to their marketable value, would greatly exceed that of 1737, perhaps nearly one-third j but it is conceived, that the diti^rence arises more from an advance of price in the seve- ral articles, than from any access in the quantity produced, coffee excepted. This increase of price has been chiefly owing to the destruction of most of the French islands, par- ticularly St. Domingo: the British planters, on the otl)er hand, have to set against it the increase of tlieir internal taxes, for the support of a war establishment (besides addi- tional insurance, freight, and other charges) to an amount never before known j those of Jamaica, in particular, have been subject to burthens to which this augmentation in the value of their exports was by no means commensurate. See p. '2-79, nota at foot. IMPORTS Chap. V.] WEST INDIES. , 28i> IMPORTS INTO JAMAICA. From iheat Britain,'\ ^ . . , ^ ^ c w direct, according /^'"'^"'h^'anu. 7 *• J f ^' '• ^■ totheretum of tl£ ).„ ^^^tures J ^86,657 2 3 fori 787. - -J chandize J 7j^7J 3 1 from that kmgdom to the British West Indies cons.stmg of manufactures and salted provisions to tlie amount of 277,OOOZ. . . ^ . ! ,33 .„ From 4^,ca, 5,345 negroes r^), at 401. sterling each ' "~ ~" ^-(This IS wholly a British trade carried on in ships from England) - . '^™a on m fSundllndT T "^^ °' "^''' *^°' '^°" ^^"■ From the United States, Indian corn, wheat/flour" ^^'^ nee, lumber, staves, &c. imported in British shbs IQO 000 From il/ad«r« and Tenerife, hi ships trading circut ^' " " ous.y trom Great Britain, 500 pipes of wine (ex- cW of wmes for re-exportati'oi!) at 30l. sterUng ^7 *^';^Y?^«'^«** Sunder" tliefree-po'rt law," ^^'°°° &c. calculated on an average of three years (kj. ' 150,000 - - Total - - J?. 1,496,232 5 4 ^-^^^tfZT^fT^ltj^^:^^^^^ ^-^ «'--d in the island of the l/st th^ee years L much g'eaS ^^ '^' 'n^Pector-General. The import f« ie y«r ?78T' "' ''* ta»Pe«or-General. The following are the particular. Cottonwool .... ,9,000 lbs. Cattle, viz. «^''50 lbs. ■Asses ,, Horse. ^Z Mules --..««• ^'^"P 98 Dying wood I'o?? ?°- GumGuaiacum .... ^'^III°'"-, Hides . - 79 Barrel.., Indigo . : " " " ^..WTNo. Mahogany - . " " " 4,663 lbs. TortoKhell . '. 1 ' ^'^^f^'^^^ XJullar« " ^^^ '"3' Vol.. I. * * ■ ;, • *wo N«. ^ S0M|S ill I !i I ,1 !* 290 BOOK II. ::<'Mi HISTORY OF THE kioME part of this estimat(\, \wv,'&ver, is not fo perfect as mig-ht be wished : Jn-»— - ^^ * \ account' - ' ^,, ut me Inspector- General s oi- xice of goods exported from Great Britain, thej reckon onljthe oviginal cost, whereas the British merchant being comronly the expoiler, the whole of his profits, togetiier with tlis freight, insurance, and factorage comm?ssions in the island should be taken into the account, be- cause the whole are comprized in one cha'-ge against the planter. On the British supply, therefore, I calculate that twenty per cen^ should be added for those items; which makes the sum total 1,648,018/. 14*. 4rf. sterling-money. After all, it is very possible that someerrori may have crept into the calculation, and the balance or surplus arising from the excess of the exports, may be more or less than appears by the statement which I have given ; but this is a consideration of little importance in a national view, inasmuch as the final profit arising from the whole system ultimately rests and centres in Great Britain ; — a conclusion which wai well illustrated formerly by the lords commis- sioners for trade and plantations, in a report made by them on the state of the British sugar colonies in the year 17o (; an extract from which, as it serves liJ-.-^vise to point out tli« progress of this islai.a during the last fifty years, I shall present to ih«' re eader. Ths in geueial, about WEST INDIES. 291 *' The annual amount (isay their Lordships) chap. t '"''•''''* a medium of four vj!|^ years, from Christmas 1728 to Chrisui...^ :^"« as it stands computed in the custom-house books, appears to have been £. 147,675. 2. 3|. The medium of our im- ports (I) from Jamaica, in the same year, is - - -f. 539,499. 18. 3^3 So that the annual excess ofour imports, inthat period, is no less than - j^. 391,824. 15. 11|. " But it must not be imagined, that this excess is a debt upon Great Britain to the island of Jamaica ; a part of it must be placed to the account of Negroes, and other goods, sent to the Spanish West Indies, the produce of which is returned to Er/^Iand by way of Jamaica ; another part to the debt due to our African traders from the people of Jamaica, for the Negroes which are purchased and re- main there for the service of the island; a third proportion must be placed to the account of our Northern Colonies on the continent of Ame- rica, who discharge part of their balance with Great Britain by consignments from Jamaica, arising from the provisions and lumber with which they supply that island; the remaining (I) The Custom House prices of goods imported, are con- siderably less than the real or mercantile prices— perhaps, in geueial, about one-third. ■ u 2 part S ,'fi ''K ;. -^ -M &9» BOOK II HISTORY OF THE part of the excess in our importations from this colony, is a profit made upon our trade, whe- ther immediately from Great Britain, or by way of Africa ; and lastly, it is a consideration of great importance in the general trade of Great Britain, that part of the sugar, and other mer- chandize which we bring from Jamaica, is re- exported from hence, and helps to make good our balance in trade with other countries in Europe." Having mentioned the trade which is carried on between this island and the Spanish territories in America, some account of it in its present state, and of the means which have been adopt- ed by the British parliament to give it support, may not be unacceptable to my readers. It is suf- ficiently known to have been formerly an inter- course of vast extent, and highly advantageous to Great Britain, having been supposed to ffiv« employment, about the beginning of the present century, to 4,000 tons of English shipping, and to create an annual vent of British goods to the amount of one million and a half in value. From the wretched policy of the court of Spain towards its American subjects, by en- deavouring to compel them to trust solely to *he mother-country, for almost every article of neccsac.,^ -^'isumption, at the very time that she was incapable o. . ;'>lving a fiftieth part of their wants, it is not surprising .: st they had WEST INDIES. 29s recourse, under all hazards, to those nations of cflap. Europe which were able and willing to answer s^^ their demands. It was in vain, that the vessels employed in this traffick, by the English and others, were condemned to confiscation, and the mariners to perpetual confinement and slavery ; the Spanish Americans supplied the loss by ves- sels of their own, furnished with seamen so well acquainted with the several creeks and bays, as enabled them to prosecute the contraband with facility and advantage. These vessels received every possible encouragement in our islands; contrary, it must be acknowledged, to the strict letter of our acts of navigation ; but the British government, aware that the Spaniards had little to import besides bullion, but horned cattle^ mules, and horses, (so necessary to the agricul- ture of the sugar colonies ) connived at the en- couragement that was given them. The trade, however, has been, for many years, on the de- cline. Since the year 1748, a wiser and more liberal policy towards its American dominions, seems to have actuated the court of Madrid ; and the contraband traffick has gradually lessened,in proportion as the rigour of the ancient regula- tion has been relaxed. Nevertheless, the inter- course with this island, in Spanish vessels, was still very considerable so late as the year 1764. About that period, directions were issued by the V ( Hip- S94 boot: HISTORY OF TF!E the li t? lish Tninistry to enforce the laws of na- vigation with the utnnost strirtness; and cus tom-house commissions were given to the cap- tains of our men of war, with orders to seize all foreign ve'^'^^Is, %vitliu it distinction, that should be found in the ports of our West Indian sslands ; a measure which in truth was convert- ing our navy into guarda-costas, for the king of Spain. In consequence of these proceedings, the Spaniards, as might have been expected, were deterred from coming near us, and the exports from Great Britain to Jamaica alone, in the year U65, fell short of tho year 1763, 168,000/. sterling. A WISER ministry cndeavo)'"ed io rc^ dy the mischief, by giving orders for the admif- sion of Spanish vessels as usual ; bu^ the sub- ject m:*tter being cauvassed in the British par- liament, the P ure and intent of those orders were so fully explained, that the Spanish • urt, grown wise from experience, took the alarm, aud imniediatf i> ad(>pttliere tmir preservation depended only on the precarious tenure of c nnivance and favour. Other ostensible reasons v ere assigned in sup^ port of the measure ; bui lie jealousy of Spain was awakened, and the endea^ ours of the British parliaient on this occasion, ^cvedonly oen- crease th.^ evil vhich x^ as meant to he r^dn sed. ^y an unfo, unate over i-ht, the coiU tors at the several British free-p i ts we. • insti ted to «ep regular accoun s oi the entry of all fo- Ti.__cis^ ,,,,„ ^^ .._ yuiiiiji wincii they in ported. " I ;. '^ 4. I ago HISTORY OF THB BOOK imported, together with the names of the com- v,^y-w manders. These accounts having been trans- mitted to the commissioners of the customs in England, copies of them were, by some means, procured by the court of Spain, and the ab- solute destruction of many of the poor people who had been concerned in transporting bul- lion into our islands, was the consequence This intelligence I reerived soon afterwards (having at that time the direction of the cus- tom-house in Jamaica) from a very res pect- tsble Spanish merchant, who produced to me a letter from Carthagena, containing a recital of the fact, accompanied with muny shocking circumstances of unrelenting severity in the Spanish government. Information of this being transmitted to the British ministry, the former instructions were revoked, but the remedy came too late ;^for what else could be expected, than that the Spaniards would natu- rally shun all intercourse with a people whom neither the safety of their friends, nor their own . evident interest, was sufficient to engage to confidence and secrecy ? ■ The little trade, therefore, which now sub- sists with the subjects of Spain in America, is chiefly carried on by small vessels from Jamaica. which contrive to escape the vigilance of the guarda-contas. But aP hough, with regard to the revival of this parncular branch of com- merce, well as of woe W£ST INDIES. 2gy mercc, I am of opinion, that the free-port law chap has not so fuller answered the expectation of its ^- framcrs, as might have been wished ; its pro- ""^^"^ visions, in other respects, have been verj beneficial. It has been urged against it, that it gives occasion to the introduction of French wine^ brandies, soap, camhricks, and other pro- hibited articles from Hispaniola; and there is no doubt that small vessels from thence frc^ quenily claim the benefit of the frccports, after having smuggled ashore, in the various creeks and harbours of this island, where no custom^ houses are established, large quantities of brandy (to the great prejudice of the rum- market) and other contraband goods. It may be urged too, that the permission given by the act to the importation of certain of the products of the foreign islands, is hurtful to the growers of the same commodities in Jamaica. All this is admitted ; but on the other hand, considering the revenues and commerce of the empire at large, as objects of superior concern to local interests, it cannot be denied, that the woollen and cotton manufactories of Great Bri- tain are of too great import tnce not to be sup- plied with the valuable materials of indigo and cotton-wool, on the easiest and cheapest terms possible. The quantities of these articles, ag well as of woods for the dyer, imported in fo- reigr: boft -ms into the free-ports, are very con- siderabk This subject was thoroughly inves- tigated ri:--^ I 'M,'^ ^ 298 HISTORY OF THE BOOK iig'dtvA by the Eriii?'i HouBe of Commons in v^y-^ 1774 (when the act would have expired) ; and it being given in evidence that thiiiy thou- sand people about Manchester were employed in the velvet manufactory, for which the St. Domingo cotton was best adapt<;d ; and that both French cotton and indigo had been im- ported from Jamaica at least thirty per cent, cheaper than the same could have been pro- cured at through France— the House, disre- garding all colonial opposition, came to a reso^ lution, " that the continuance of free-ports in Jamaica would be highly benelicial to the trade and manufactures of the kingdom." The act was thereupon renewed, and has since been made perpetual. But the main argument which was originally adduced in defence of the establishment of free- ports i-i Jamaica, was founded on the idea that tho^-^ ports would become the great mart for supplyuig foreigners with negroes. It was said, that in order to have negroes plenty in our own islands, every encouragement must be thrown < iit to the African merchant, to induce him to augment his importations, and that no encouragement was so great as thatof an ojipor- tunity of selling part of them to foreigners for ready money : a temptation, it was urged, wh.ch would be, as it heretofore had been, the inpnna ihai o iiv>1><... ,,,^..1.1 i-_ : a^j ^..r „ ,t. iittniUvi vTuuivi uC lllipuiicu Siii- ficicnl m WEST INDIES. m ficient both for the planter's use and for the chap. foreign demand ; and it was added, that at all ,J^ events the French would deal with us, if the Spaniards would not. Whether it be a wise and politick measure at any time to permit British subjects to sup- ply foreigners with African labourers is a ques- tion that may admit of dispute fmj. I mean, at present, to confine myself only to a recital of facts ; and it is certain that the very great demand for negroes in the Ceded Islands, for some years after the act took place, affected the Jamaica import in a high degree ; and in 1773, a circumstance occurred which was thought to render a renewal of the free-port law a measure of indispensable necessity. In that year the Spaiiish Assieuto Company at Porto-Rico obtained permission to remove their principal factory to the Ilavanna, and to pur- dase slaves in any of the neighbouring islands, (m) The re-export of negroes from the British West In- dies, for the last twenfy years, for the supply of the French and Spanish plantations, has not, I believe, exceeded one- fifth of the import. It was greater formerly, and during the existence of the Assiento contract, exceeded one third.^ Perhaps it would be found on the whole, that Great Britain has, by ^his means, during the last century, supplied her nvab and enemies with upwards of 500,000 African la- bourers ; a circumstance which sufficiently justifies the doubt that I entertain concerning the wisdom and policy of ^ijis braiich of the African commerce. trans- I I 3' B • ''.-- '■. ir 1 .'I'vi 4 ri i| Ml 300 HISTORY OF THE BOOK transporting them to their own settlements in s^.y^ Spanish vessels. It was easily foreseen, that Jamaica, from its vicinity to the chief colonies of Spain, in which negroes were most in de- mand, would engage a preference from the pur- chasers ; wherefore, that encouragement might not be wanting, the British parliament not only renewed the free-port law, but also took off the duty of thirty shillings sterling a head, which, in the former act, was exacted on the exportation of negroes, and laid only a duty of two shillings and six-pence, in lieu of it. The result was — that the import for the next ten years, exceeded that of the ten years pic ceding, by no less than 23,213 negroes; and the export surpassed that of the former period, to the number of 5,952. Such part, therefore, of this increased export, as went to the supply of the Spanish colonies, we may attribute to the free-port laws ; for it is probable, from the circumstances stated, that the ancient contra- band system is nearly at an end. In like man- ner it may be said of the importation of foreign indigo and cotton, that if it be not made in foreio;n vessels, it will cease altogether; and thus, instead of infringing the navigation-act, as some persons contend, the measure of open- ing the ports is strictly consonant to the spirit of that celebrated law ; for, by furnishing an au^nueutaiioii of freights to Great Britain, it tends 301 WEST INDIES, (ends ultimately to the encr<,«e of our ship- chap Hav,.« now. to the be,t of my Judgment ^^^ and knowledge, furnished my readers with such particulars as may enable them to form a toler- ably correct idea of the present trade and pro- ductions of Jamaica, I shall conclude with a conc.se display of its progress in cultivation ai diflcrent periods, for a century past. Br a letter, dated March the 29th, 1673 from the then governor. Sir Thomas Lynch to iord Arlington, the Secretary of State, it Ap- pears, that the island at that time contained 7.768 whites, and 9,504 negroes ; its chief pro- due mns were cacao, indigo, and hide,. " The weather ( observes the governor) has k-en sea- sonable and the success in planting miracu- lous. Major-Gcneral Banister i. now not very well, but by the next, ke se^ds your ::,rdmp a pot of sugar, and n-rites you its slary " U would seem from hence, that the cultivation of >ugar was then but just entered upon, and that «lome, who asserts there were seventy suear- works in 1670, was misinformed. So, ate as .e year 1723, the island uade only eleven thousand hogsheads of sugar, of sixteen hun- dredweight. From that time I have no authentick ac- count until the year 1734, when the island con- tained If 1 I I'll S02 HISTORY OF THE BOOK tained 7,644 whites fnj. 8(),546 negroes, and s^^y^ T6,011 head of cattle. The value of the im- ports from this island to Great Britain, about thiji period, were stated ( as we have seen ) by the Commissioners of Trade, at 5oi),499/. 18. 3^ sterling. Of the particulars I have no account. In the year 1739, the export of sugar was 33,155 hogsheads, of 14 cwt. In 1744, the numbers were 9,640 m lutes, 112,428 negroes, and 88,036 head of cattle! The exports at this period, were about 35,000 hogsheads of sugar, and 10,000 puncheons of Jum, exclusive of smaller articles. The whole might be worth 600,000/. sterling. In 1768, the whites were supposed to have been 17,000. The number of negroes on the tax-rolls were 166,914, and the cattle 135,773 head. The exports (the value of which could net be less at that time than 1,400,000/. ster- ling; were these : (nj Th« circumstance of tlie decrease of the white inha- Vi ts for the first sixty years, may appear strange. It w.i» owing, without doubt, to the decline of the privateering trade, which gave fuJl employment to the first adventurers. PTS PfPi WEST INDIES. .trip CD e Cft H o sot CHAP, * 1 'S. Cultivation, In 1 ~^l \ V \% j- )i 1. ^B I ii'^ < 304 BOOK JI. HISTORY OF THE Cultivation, in all par*s of Jamaica, Avas now making a great and rapid progress. In 1774, the exports were considerably encreased. The following account of them is extracted from the books of ollice; kept within the island. u o 03 H « O Oh J, to 0-1 Feet of Maho- gany. p-4 o on o CO Tons ofLog- wood, and Fustick KM f-H to CO « Hhds. of Me- lasses, 60 gals. «5 l-H Bags of Cot- ton, of lbs. CO 00 Casks of ditto, of 300 lbs. to Bags of Pimen- to, of lOOibs. CO 1— 1 CM >o lO Bags of Gin- ger, of 70 lbs 00 0-) Barrels of Indi- go, of 300 lbs. fh CO Bags of CofFee, of 100 lbs. 00 to 00 1^ f to Punsof Rum, of no gallons 00 1-^ to 00 to Hhds. of Sugar, of 16 cwt. to 8 C5, Tb Great Britain? and Ireland -\ :1 • 1 •a 3 H The West indies. 30a rnt amount of the sum total, according to chap the prices current, including the same aUow^ \j- ance for miscellaneous article,, of which no ptcc.se account can be obtained, as was allowed by the Inspector-General for the year 1787 may be fairly stated at two millions of poundi sterling. "^ But Jamaica had now nearly attained the meridian of i,. prosperity fnj ; for early in the following year, the fatal and unnatural war »hich has terminated in the dismemberment of he empire, began its destructive progress; i„ the course of which, the blameless inhabitants this and the n.. of the British sugar islands, felt all Its effects .-. ithout having merited the slightest imputation on their conij'itt Their sources of supply f„r plantat-:.... necessaries were cu off, and protection at sea, u' .,, denied, was "»t given ; so that their produce M-as seized in ><» way to Great Britain, and confiscated with- out .nfeiruption or mercy. To fill up the mea- sure of their calamities, the anger of the U- "»!?%• was kindled against them;-„o less than Hve destructive hurricanes in the space of seven «d >„ce ,r?4. ha. bren i„ .,,„ .,„e,eased number of m » P.a„.,„„„, ln..alyear,.haex...«„fc„rt,.,a.„ *pped taore ,he hurricane happened, the e.porl »., -3. For ine last ten ~ OL. r yearsj aeg tlie A. |j€ndix, N'^ II. year; t f M I ^* ':i Hi 300 HISTORY OF THE BOOK years, as I liave elsewhere observed, spread rum \frr^ and desolation throughout every island \ The last of these terrible visitations in Jamaica, hap- pened in 1786. Since that time, however, the seasons have been favourable ; and the crops of 1788, 1789 and 1790, were consideraJile. May the inhabitants be thankful, that it has thri.T {leased the Divine Providence to remember mercy in judgment ; and may past misfortune* teach them those lessons of fortitude, frugality, and foresight, which always alleviate afflictions, and sometimes even convert them into blessinjrs. Nothing now remains but to state the value of this island, considered as British piopert); of which the estimate is formed as follows :— ^50,^000 negroes at fifty pounds sterling each, make twelve millions and a half; the landed and personal property to which these negroes are appurtenant (including the buildings) ar^ very fairly and moderately reckoned at double the value of the slaAcs themselves; making twenty-five millions in addition to the twelve million five hundred thousand pounds I have stated before; and in further addition, the houses and property in the towns, and the ves- sels employed in the trade, are valued at one million five hundred thousand pounds ; amount- ing in the whole to thirty-uine millions of pounds sterling. IN * iWT'TlNPIM. m lh,s deliffhtfui Island, thus variegated bt he hand of Nature, and improved by the in- dustry ormao, it wi, my fortune to pas, the 'Pnng' 5f my life, „„a„ ^^ p^^^^^.^^ gmdance of men whose wisdom instructed, whose virtues I hope improved me,-a„d whosi tenderness towards me expired only with th. Isst s,gh that deprived me of them for ever lowards persons whose memories are thus dear ton.e,-^who were at once a blessing „d an orna,„ent to the country of which I write,_my leaders will I hope allow me to offer in thi, place a tribute of affectionate and respectful re^ membrance. One of those persons devoted some years to the improvement of my mind in the pursuits of knowledge. From the precept, and instructions, and still more from the beau. m compositions of Is.ac Teale, I imbibed '"my youth that relish for polite literature, the enjoyment of which is now be.ome the solace «t niy declming years. If the publick has re- ceived my writings with favour, it b&omes me » declare that, whatever merit they possess is due to t lessons inculcated, and the examples ^•Pphed by my revered and lamented friend «e was a clergyman of the Church of Eno-I,..^ «ntt having for twenty years discharge^d th"e 307 CHAP. V. m 1 ' y J ■ • -1 MM lb. • 1 ■! t 'I ; ' •- ' ! ( I ! ' il', I ? X 2 pastoral i'-f!i In- f* m %:■ soft BOOK n. HISTORY OF 7 d pastoral duties of a country ciirar^ in an ob- scure part of Kent, was rcli' antly prevailed on, at the age of forty-five, to exchang Ins sti- pend of 40/. per annum, for preff meut in Ta- maica. Here, his virtues, learning and talents, attracted the notice of my distingasiied rela- tion and bountiful benefactor, Zachary Bayly ; by whose kindness he was enabled to Sj '^nd tlie remainder of his days in leisure and indepf^n- dency. In the society of these valuable frie tl chiefly under the same roof, I passed the daxs of my youth, until my amiable preccpU. in the first place, and my generous benefactor a few years afterwards (neither of them havin<; reached his 50th year) sunk into an untimely grave ! Of Zachary Bayly, the renown is fami- liar to every one who has resided in Jamaica at any time during the last forty years. I en- deavoured to delineate his character on the stone which I inscribed to his memory ; and fondly hoping that my book will be read where the stone cannot be inspected, I transfer to this: page what his monument imperfectly records : INSCRlPTIOJf WEST INDIES. INSCRIPTK ^^ IN THE PARISH CHURCH OF ST. ANDREW, JAM.^ ^CA. Near'tliis place lie the remains of ZacharyBayly, Custos and Chief Magistrate of the ^ ict of St. Mary and St. George, and one ol vj.ijesty's Hon: Council of this Island, Who died on the 18lh Dec. 1769, in the 48th year of his age. He was a Man To whom the endowinents of nature render'd those of Art superfluous, ile was wise without the assistance of recorded wisdom. And eloquent beyond the precepts of scholastick rhetorick. He applied, not to Books, but to Men, And drank of Knowledge, not from the stream, but the source. To Genius, which might have ber , fortuuate with- out Industry, He added Industr)', which, without Genius, might luive commanded Fortune. He acquired Wealth with Honour, And seemed to possess it only to be liberal. His Publick Spirit was not less ardent than his Private Ben.evolence : He considered Individuals as Brethren, And his Country as a Parent. May Ills Talents be remembered with respect. His Virtues with (pmvilation ! H«ro 9(iy CHAP. V. It ri^ I if J X^M vM .;!!■:■; ' . «^H b ,^M '^ nm if. ; ■ " ,/ '.III ' ii' : ■ 'ALll-i--Jk I^^^M IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) % 1.0 I.I ISO ■^" ■■■ lit Uii |: ^ 1^ 12.0 12.2 Uil 1.25 1.4 1.6 =»=» ^ ^ .^ 4/. _ — i^ Hiotograpnic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, M.Y. 14580 (716)872-4503 m ^ 396 HISTORY OF THE postscript, ijjg pJyIi character, and in that character no ^^j^^ man will venture to assert that as king of Great N^v^' Britain, he has the prerogative of being a des- pot in any part of his dominions. With respect to the cases of Ireland, V< ales, and Berwick, even taking them precisely as Lord Mansfield puts them, I think they do not weigh a feather in the argument. Those cases happened long before the English constitution had reduced itself to its present form, conse- quently, before the rights of the people w^ere ascertained and defined as they exist at present. If a few instances of the exercise of arbitrary power by the anci<^?it kings of England, are to be received as decisivi' cases, to shew what are the powers of the crow n at this day, I think it would be no very difficult task to find autho- rities even as low down as the reigns of the Plantagenets and Stuarts, to prove that tha British government ought to be a pure des- jpotism ! WKST tNDIES. 3§^ APPENDIX TO II. CHAP. II. OF BOOK II. CONTAINING Observations on the Sugar Ants in the Is/and ofGre^ nada; extracted from a Letter of John Castles, Esq. to General Mekille: read before the Roi/al Societj/ in Maj/ 1790. jL HE Sugar Ants, so called from tlioir ruinous elTects chap. on sugar cane, are su^'posed lo have lirsl made their appearance in Grenada about tlie year 1770, on a sugar plantation at Petit Havre ; a \my five or six miles from the town of St. George, tlie capital, con- veniently situated for smuggling from Marl inico: it was therefore concluded, they were brought from thence in some vessel employed in that trade, which is very probable, as colonies of them in like manner were afterwards propagated indifferent parts of. the island by droghers, or vessels employed in carrying stores, &c. from ope part of the island to another. From thence they continued to extend t'lemselves on all sides for several yeai's ; destroying iu succes- sion every sugar plantation between St. George''s and St. .lohn's, a space of about twelve miles. At the same time, colonies of them began to be o])served in different pnrts of the isliiud, particularly at F)uques!ie on the north, and Calavini on the south side of it. All attempts of the planters to put a stop to the ravages of these insects having been found ijielicctuaf, it • im 'H 1 ^-H I ' 1 1 '•fi -I' '' r h I' ! ', h I ! i| i (If ^ fl! i ddfi HISTOUf 01^ f HE I APPEN- it ^ell became tlie legislature to offer great public^ ^^IJ^ rewards to any person who should discover a prac- ticable method of destroying them, so as to permit I lie cirltlvation of the sugar cane as formerly. Accord- ingly, an act of assembly was passed, by wliich such discovery was entitled to twenty thousand pounds, to be paid from the publick trcasjiry of the island. Many were the candidates on this occasion, but Very far were any of them from? having any just claim j^ neverthelcs3, considerable sums of money ■were granted, in consideration of trouble and CX' pences in making experiments^ &c. In Grenada tln^re had always been several species of ants, ditlering in size, colour, &c. which however were perfectly innocent with respect to tlie sugar- cane. The ants in question, on the contrary, were not only highly injurious to it, but to several sorts of trees, such as the lime, lemon, orange, ^&:c. These ants are of the middle size, of a slender make, of a dark red colour, and remarkai)le for the quickness of their motions ; but their greatest pecu- liarities arc, their taste when applied to the tongue, the immensity of their number, and their choice of l^laces f r their nests. All the other species of ants in Grenada have a bitter musky taste. These, on the contrary, are acid in ihe highest degree, and when a number of them •were rubbed together between the palms of the hands, they emitted a strong vitriolicks-jjphurcous smell ; so much so, that, w'nmi the exi-prinient was made, a gentleman conceived thit it ini^dit be owing to this quality' fii.it th(se msec s were so nnfriendly to vege- tation. Tiiis criterion to dis.inguish them was ia- faliible, and kaowa to every one. TlIEIK %VESt fNBIE,«r. Their numbers w*re incredible. I have seen the roads coloured by thcra for miles together; and so crowded were they in many places, that the printof the horse's feet would appear for a moment or two, until filled up by the surroundinij multitude. This is no exaggeration. All the other species of ants, althottgh numerous, were circumscribed and confined to a smalt spot, in proportion to the space occupied by the cane ants, as a mole-hill to a mountain. The common black ants of that country had their nests about the foundation of houses or old walls - others in hollow trees ; and a targe species in thd pasl tures, descending by a sniiiH aperture unde- -round. The sugar ants, I believe, uiiiversnliy constructed their nests among the roots of particular plants at.d trees, such as the sugar-cajie, lime, lemon and orar.i,^e' trees, &c. The destruction of these ants was attempted chiefly two ways ; by poison, and the appUcaliou of iu,.. Foil the first purpose, arsenick and co-- sivesub- limate mixed with animal substances, sucfi as salt fish, herrings, crabs, and other sh.'ll fish, &c. were used, which was greedily devoured hy them. My- riads of them weio thus dcsfroycd ; and the more so, as it was observed by a mngi.ifying glass, and indeed (though not so distinctly) by the naked t-ye, that cor- rosive sublimate had the efiect of rendering them so outrageous that they destroyed each other; and that effect was producedeven by coming i„to contact wilh it. But it is clear, and it was fouu;l, that those poi- sons could not be laid in suiliciei.t q.iantilies over s„ large a tract of land as to give the hundred thousandth part of them a taste. Tu£ use of lire atibrded.T greater probability of sue cess; 399^ CHAP, IL »t ' ' J ; t ' ■ ■ i ,• i * ;i [1:11 4Q9 HISTORV OF THE APPEN- ccss', for (from Avhatcvpr cause) it was observed j IhfTt if ,^^ ■ wofKl, buriil, to Ihostiiteof cluirco'il, williout fljiintN and immcdialc'y taken from the (ire, was laid in their waj, they c>o\v:!(^d (o it in sucli amaziiii^ numbers as soon to cx(iri_u;uish if, althoiii^h wiiii the flestriiclion of thousands of them in (iflectinp; it. This part of iLcir history a))p(\irs scarcely credible ; but, on making the experiment myself, I found it literally true. I laid fire, as above described, where tiierc appeared but very few ants, and in liie course of a few minutes thousands were seen crowdin;^ to it and wponit, till it Avas perfeclly covered by their dead bodies. Holes •were therefore day- at j)roper distances in a cane piece, and lire m:ide in each hole. Prodigious quantitieij perished in tliis way; for tliose fires, when extin- guished, appeared in the siiape of mole hills, from the numbers of (heir dciid bodies Jieapcd on (heivt. IS'ever* theless the ants soon appeared a^ fecundity, but that probably none of the breeding ants or young brood suflered I'roni the expe* riment. Fou the same reason, tlic momentary general ap» plication of fire by burning the cane trasli (or straw of die cane) as it lay on the ground, proved as little eileclual ; for although, perhaps, multitudes of ants might l)ave been desiroyr 1, yet in general (hey would escajjcby rctiri ig to (heir nests under cover, out of its reach, and thebreedinp; ant'., widi (heir young pro- geny, must luivercmniiH ' unhurt. Ti[is calnmity, vhidi irs' ud so Icngtbeellbrts of the planter-;, was at hngtii ren:,o.;^d]>y another: which, however ruiiu n • to tlie other i,xl-uids in (he West" Indicfij and ia ch.er rcS|ectsj w.*n to Grcnudia very WKSt TNniES. prftat blessing; namciv, Iho liurricanc in 1770; willi- out which it is probable, the cultivation of the su.«^ar- cane in the most valuable parts of (hat island niust have in a great measure been thrown aside, at least for some years. How this hurricane produced this effect, has been considered rather as a matter of wondet and surprize than attempted to be explained. By attending to the following observations, the difficulty, I believe, will be removed. These ants make their nests, oreells for the recep- tion of their eggs, only under or among the roots of such trees or plants as are not only capable of protect- ing them from heavy rains, but are at the same time so firm in the ground as to afford a secure basis to sup- port them against any injury occasioned by the agi- tation ot the usual winds. This double qualification the sugar-cane possesses in a very great degree ; for a stool of canes (which is the assemblage of its hume- rous roots where the stems begin to shoot out) is almost impenetrable to rain, and is also, from the amazing number and extension of the roots, firmly fixed to the ground. Thus, when every other part of the field is drenched with rain, the ground under those stools will be found quite dry, as I and every other planter must have observed when digging out the stools in a cane piece, to prepare for replanting. And ^vhen canes are lodged or laid down by the usual winds, or fall down by their own luxuriancy, the stools commonly remain in the ground ; hence, in ordinary weather, the nests of these ants are in a state of per- fect security. The lime, lemon, orange, and some other trees, aflbrd these insects the same advantages from the great "umbcr and qualify of their roots, >vhich are firmly »» fixed OL. I. 4oi CHAP. II. I Ilk' " ," r IUH) r; ! ' . 'I I i^ii I -If!- 402 HISTORY OF THE s*^v^' APPRN- fixed to the earth, and are very large ; besides "which, their tops are so very thick and umbrageous as to prevent even a very heavy rain from reaching the ground underneath. On the contrary, these ants' nests are never found at the roots of trees or plants incapable of affording tlie above protection ; such for instance as the coffee tree : it is indeed sufficiently firm in the ground ; but it has only one large tap root, which goes straight down- wards ; and its lateral roots arc so small as to afford no shelter against rain. So again, the roots of the cotton shrub run too near the surface of the earth to prevent the access of rain, and are neither sufficiently permanent, nor firm enough to resist the agitation by the usual winds. The same observation will b« found true with respect to cacao, plantains, maize, tobacco, indigo, and many other species of trees and plants. TftEES or plants of the first description always suffer more or less in lands infested wiv in Js) were torn out by the » D 2 root. 404 HISTORY OF THE DIX. APPEN- Toot. The canes were universally either lodged or twisted about as if by a whirlwind, or torn out of the ground altogether. In the latter case, the breeding ants, with their progeny, must have been exposed to inevitable destruction from the deluge of rain which fell at the same time. The number of canes, however, thus torn out of the ground, could not have been adequate to the sudden diminution of the sugar ants ; but it is easy to conceive that the roots of canes whi( h remained on the ground, and the earth about tlieni, were so agitated and shaken, and at the same time the ants' nests were so broken open or injured by the violence of the wind, as to admit the torrents of rain accompianying it. I apprehend, therefore, that the principal destruction of these ants must have been thus effected. It must not however l)e denied, that though nature for a time may permit a particular species of animal to become so disproportionably numerous as to en- danger some other parts of her works, she herself will in due time put a check upon the too great increase * and that is often done by an increase of some other animal inimical to the former destroyers. In the pre- sent case, however, nothing of that sort appeared ; therefore, when a plain natural cause, obvious to oiu senses, occurred, by which we can account for the amazing and sudden decrease of those ruinous insects, it is unnecessary to recur to other possible causes too minute for our investigation. All 1 have said on this subject would certainly be of little or no consequence, did it not lead to the true method of cultivating the sugar-cane on lands infest- ed with those destructive insects; in which point of view, however, it befiomes important. WEST INDIKS. 401 If Ihcn the above doctri/ie be just, it follows that chap the whole of our attention must be turned to the do- "• struction of the nests of these ants, and consequently "'"^^^ the breeding ants with their cggf, or young brood. Is order to effect this, all trees and fences, under the roots of which these ants coinnioidy take their re- sidence, '.should first be grubbed out^ particularly liine or lemon fences, which arc very common in Gre- nada, and which generally suflered from the ants be- fore the canes appeared in the least injured ; after which the canes should be stumjjed out with care, and the stools burnt as soon as possible, together with the field trash (or the dried leaves and tops of the canes), in order to prevent the ants from making their escape to new quarters. The best way of doing this, I ap- prehend, will be to gather the field trash together in considerable heaps, and to throw the stools as soon as dug out of the ground into them, and Immediately apply fire. By this means multitudes must be de- stroyed ; for the field trash, when dry, burns with great rapidity. The land should then he ploughed or hoe- ploughed twice (l)ut at least once) • •, the wettest season of the year, in order to admit th uiins, before it is hoed for planting the cane ; by these means these in- sects, I apprehend, will be so much reduced in num- ber as at least to secure a good plant cane. But it is the custom in most of the West India islands to permit the canes to ratoon: i\v\t i>, afler the canes have once been cut down for the pMrpose of making sugar, they are suftered to grow u;; again without replanting; and this generally for thive or four years, but sometimes for ten, fifteen, or tw.nty. ii this mode of culture the stools become hirger cvrry ^ear, so as to grow out of the ground to a consider- able 'I ''*"t'-iwl ■ M9 HISTORY OF TKE APPEN- able height, and by that means afford more and moro Dix WW shelter to the ants' nests ; therefore for two or threo successive crops the canes should be replanted yearly, so as not only to uftbrd as little cover as possible for the ants' nests, but continuaUj to disturb such ants m may have escaped, in the business of propagating their species. That considerable cxpence and labour will attend putting this method into execution there is no doubt. An expensive cure, however, is better than none; but from the general principh^s of agriculture, I am of opinion that the planter will be amply repaid for his trouble by the goodness of his crops, in consequence Df the superior tilth the land y/ilX receiye iij tl^c proi vosed iiicthf)dt {/.iti li. u u ^ ';! .'J. i 1 •z.^^i 'ii .'' ■ ' \ % fi ■ !n t V (. J vl::ll ■ ' 'Ij blK'' ' '' 11 PI [^ '1 ti.J"' ',»'£ • U - f i •til 1 1 » 11 • 1 1 A.&,v5.*-^A'^*» 5^ «J eS © < y a 1^- s: \- N ^^ K V % ^ 4 - /\ v^ \: >^ .^ V V 5t, VII The civ prised in of them pute bet France, derived \ and avar they mig justice ai Dominic islands, ii wonderfi rent tim< dominior stantly o secretly fsianas w WECT INDIES. 4dr CHAP. III. '( Cf } t St, VINCENT and its DEPENDENCIES, AKO DOMINICA. The civil history of these islands may be com- chap. prised in a narrow compass; for the sovereignty ^J!^ of them having been long an object of dis- pute between the crowns of Great Britain and France, the rightful possessors, the Charaibes, derived that security from the reciprocal envy and avarice of the contending parties, which they might have expected in vain from theit justice and humanity, As both St. Vincent and Dominica were included, with many othei islands, in the Earl of Carlisle's patent, it is not wonderful that attempts were made, at diffe- rent times, to bring them under the English dominion, These attem^.ts the French con- stantly opposed, with design, it was urged, secretly and surreptitiously to occupy the '' "s themselves ; *nd their conduct towards the I,- ifl r' r, '^ s' ijt > ■ '^, \ ti ^ ' 'S 'r^ t^- • > ^ \ s 4-_ V- ' <* ••* ^ ^ r^ ^ ■ ■> ^ 5; ^ »«-i > V 4i V s N *" ■N n V r-» • n * • \ \ N ^ ■ s. i> ^ \- g 1 s ' .g .^ \ •V *r=" ^• N ^ < *" ri > '\ 5 «:\ N. s N fe ■ \^ A \ K V s .^ ^ x- 408 HISTORY OF THE BOOK the Charaibes on i/ther occasions secras to v^y^^ j'istify the suggestion. But, whatever might have been their mo- tives, they exerted themselves with such effect, that the English were compelled to relinquish all hopes of obtaining these islands bj force;— for by the treaty of Aix la Chapelle (1748) St. Vincent, Dominica^ St. Lucia, and Tobago, were declared neutral, and the ancient pro- prietors (such as remained of them) were at length left in unmolested possession. The disputes and hostilities which these at- tempts of the English on the one hand, and re- sistance of the French on the other, gave rise to in this part of the world, are no longer interest- ing, and therefore need not be brought again to . remembrance. The depravity and injustice of mankind are at all times subjects of unpleasing speculation ; but the subsequent conduct of both nations, respecting the islands which they had declared neutral, is too remarkable to be overlooked, even if historical precision did not, as in the present case it does, require me to relate the circumstances attending it. The treaty of neutrality was no sooner con- cluded, than both English and French appeared dissatisfied with the arrangement which they had made. The latter seem not to have con- sidered until it was too late, that by restricting the English from the occupancy of those coun- . , * tries, WEST INDIES. 4C$ tries, on the ground of right in a third party, chap. thej precluded themselves at thesame time. The "'" English, on the other hand, discovered that, by acceding to the compromise, thev had given up St. Lucia, an Island worth all the rest, and to which it must be owned we had some colour- able pretensions, founded on a treaty entered into with the Charaibean inhabitants in 1664 six hundred of whom attended an armament that was sent thither by Lord Willoughbj, and actually put the English publickly and formally into possession. Both nations being thus alike dissatisfied with an arrangement which left nothing to either, it may be supposed, that on the conclusion of the war which broke out a few years afterwards, a very different stipulation took place. The French no longer pleaded scruples on behalf of the Charaibes, but very cordially concurred with the English in dividing the spoil. By the 9th article of the peace of Paris, signed the 10th of February 1763, the three islands of Donnnica, St. Vincent, and Tobago, were as. signed to Great Britain; and St. Lucia to France, in full and perpetual sovereignty ; the Charaibes not being once mentioned in the whole transaction, as if no such people ex- isted. They were in truth reduced to a miserable fcmnant.^Of the ancient, or, as they were called ,1^1 I I "!.>;; I ■' .' ' «r I I i I 1 t «. i i( 'i ?i» ' ■' 410 HISTORY OP THE »oo'f called by the English, i?ed Charaibes, not more V(r>rw than a hundred families survived in 1763, and of all their ancient and extensive possessions, these poor people retained only a mountainous district in the Island of St. Vincent, Of this Island and its dependencies I shall now treat, reserv-* iii^ Dominici^ for a, separate section. !S|:cTioN J, gT. VINCENT, *'THE Spaniards (says Poctor Campbell) *' bestowed the name of St. Vincent upon this '-' Island, because they discovered it upon the " 22d of January, which in their calendar is St. ^' Vincent's day, but it does not appear that they " were ever, propr^rly speaking, in possession of ^' it ; the Ipdians being very numerous here, "on account of its being, the rendezvous of " their expeditions to the continent," Unfor- tunately, however, neither their numbers, nor the natural strength of the country, exempted them from hostility. What avarice had in vain attempted, accident accomplished, by procur- ing an establishment among them for a race of people, Vi'hom though at first beheld by the na- 3 tivt at m ^mk I i k R Ijt i: tt t R M'- 'S ' • 1 •„ l'^ i 'i' ■;j! ' 1; (« , I i H-rl i 1 ,•[• ' 1 1 1 ■ ' L Ji,! tive ( have 8 less CO distin^ of Bin Of ancien the bcs in a sn] (Doct( partidK trade," curious and wil chiefly abridge these go pointed does, S< iSir Wil yernor c paration Islands i Governc WiUoug cd Gov( these Isl he was i !?cing sej WEST INDIES, 411 live Charaibes Avith contempt or pity, they chap have smce found formidable rivals and merei- "'• less conquerors. These people have been long distinguished, however improperly, by the name of Black Charaibes. Of the origin of these intruders, and their ancient connection with the native Charaibes, the best account that I have been able to find is in a small treatise of the author above quoted (Doctor Campbell) entitled '' Candid and im< partidlConsiderations on the Nature of the Sugar- trade," which being equally authentick and curious, I shall present to my readers entire- and with the less scruple, because it consists chiefly of an official paper which cannot b^ abridged without injury. " In 1672, King Charles thought fit to divide these governments, and by a new commission ap, pointed Lord VVilloughby Governor of Barba- aoes, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Dominica; ^ir William Stapleton being appointed Go- vernor of the other Leeward Isles, and this se- paration has subsisted ever since, the same Islands being constantly inserted in every new Governor's patent. On the demise of Lord WiUoughby, Sir Jonathan Atkins was appoint- ed Governor of Barbadoes, and the rest of these Islands, and so continued till 1680, when he was succeeded by Sir Richard Dutton, who feeing seut for to England in 1685, appointed Colonel v^W i!.; 1< > ■ L, . \ . IJL. I iH:|; f 4t9 HISTORY OF THE ' BOOK Colonel F/lwin Stcdc Lieutenant Governor, who vigorously asserted our rights by ap- pointiiifj; deputy j;ovenv "s for the other Islands; aiid particuhiriy sent Captain Temple hitlier to prevent the French from woodmg and watering without our permission, to which they had been encouraged by the inattention of the former Governors ; persistinpj steadily in this conduct, till it was sigfnitied to him, as we have had oc- casion to remark before, that the king had sign- ed an act of neutrality, and that commissioners were appointed by the two courts, to settle all differences relative to these Islands. '' Some years after, a ship from Guinea, with a large cargo of slaves, was either wrecked or run on shore upon the Island of St. Vincent, into the woods and mountains of which great numbers of the negroes escaped (a). Here, whether willingly or unwillingly is a little un- certain, the Indians suftered them to remain. (a) I am informed by Sir William Y^oung, who is per- fectly wpU acquainted with these people, that they were originally a race oi Mococ.s, a tribo or nation from the Bij;!** of Benin. They were wrecked on the coast of B. ju't!, a small island about two leagues from St. Vincer.t, in the year 1675, and wereafterwards joined by great numbers of fu- 'tive negroes from the other islands. The Ked Charaibes liK ! e; them in slavery j but finding their numbers en- fjvav^ CuHic to a resolution to put to death all their male chiulr... -, .^)on whicls >,r blacks rose on their masters, who by degre-js iuivc almost all perished in the contest. and WF^iT INDIES. 41» and partly by the accession ol runaway slaves chap from Barl,acloes, parti j by the children (hey had '" by the Indian women, they became very nume- rous ; 8o that about the beginnino: of the current century they constrair.ed the Indians to retire into the north-west part of the island. These r^op'", as may be re.isonably supposed, were much dissatisfied with this treatment ; and com- plauied of it occasionally both to the En^^lish and to the French, that came to wood and water amongst them. The latter at length suffered themselves to be prevailed upon to attack these invaders, inthe causeoftheir oldallies; and from a persuasion that they should find more diffi- cultyin dealingwith these Negroes, in case they were suffered to strengthenthemselves, than with the Indians. After much deliberation, in the year 1719, they came with a considerable force from Martinico, and landing without much opposition, began to burn the Negro huts and destroy their plantations, supposing that the Indians would have attacked them in the moun- tains, which if they had done, the blacks liad probably been extirpated, or forced to submit and become slaves. But either from fear or policy, the Indiaiisdid nothing, and the Negroes salljing in the night, and retreating in the day to places inac( essible to the whites, destroyed so many of the French, (amongst whom was Mr. Paulian, major of Martinique, who com- manded ' .1' m 4t4 HISTORY OF THE BOOK mandcd them ) llial lliey were forced to retire. III. v^Y^^ When by this experiment they were convinced that force would not do, they had recourse to fair means, and by dint of persuasion and presents, patclied up a peace with the Negroes as well as the Indians, from which they received great advantage. " Things were in this situation when Captain l^rins: came with a considerable armament to take possession of St. Lucia and this Island, in virtue of a grant from our late sovereign King George I. to the late Duke of Montague. W hen the French had dislodged this gentleman, by a superior force, from St. Lucia, he sent Cap- tain Braithwaite to try what could be done at the Island of St. Vincent, in which he was not at all more successful, as will best appear from that gentleman's report to Mr. Uring, which, as it coniains curious circumstances relative lo the country, and to the two independent nations who then inhabited it, belongs properly to this subject, and cannot but prove entertaining to the reader. The paper is without date, but it appears iVom Mr. Lring's memoirs that this f rinisadion happened in the spring of the year THE ; it » II V BOOK was jiidired unfit for any profitable rultivation, v^vv tlicse g^rants and sales romprebended all the lands, of any kind of value, from one end of the island to the other. The commissioners indeed M'ere directend not to survey or dispose of any of the lands inhabited or claimed by the Cha- raibes, until they should receive further instruc- tions from the crown ; but as it was impossible to ascertain how far the claims of these people extended, the survey alone was postponed, and the sales were sufiered to proceed, to the amount th.it I ha\e mentioned ; no doubt being enter- tained by the several purchasers, that the Bri- tish ^vernment would ratify the acts of its coinnnssiouers, and put them into possession of the lands which they had bought, without any regard to the claims of the Charaibes ; which in truth the purchasers seem to have considered as of no consequence or validity. Of the measures which the British ministers afterwards adopted with regard to these people, remainder of the purchase money should be secured b-y bonds ; to be paid by equal instalments in the space of five yeais next after the date of the grant. That each purchaser should keep on the lauds so by him purchased, one white man, or two white women, for every hundred acres of land, as it became cleared, for the purpose of cultivating the same ; or in default thereof, or non-payment of the remainder of the purchase money, the lands were to be forfeited to the crown." Some of the lands sold extravagantly high, as far as lifty pouiids sterling per acre. I have WEST INDIES. 423 I have spoken in the former editions of this chap. M'ork harshij/ and incorrcetly ; and I fcol no .J!^ disgrace in retrattinj^ iiivoliintarv error. 'J'lic representation uhich I gave, had liowever the good eUect of caili g. forth an historical account of those nieasnrcs from iny most respectable friend Sir >v iiliam Young, Jkrt. founded on official papers and original documents in his possession, and drawn up with all that candour and persijicuity which were to have been ex- pected from its author's distinguished character and talents. As the subject is no longer interesting to the publick, I need only observe, tiiat if tie claim of the British crown tp the sovereignty of this country was originally just and valid, thou I do readily acknowledge that the measures pursued by the British administration to enforce thai claim, were as lenient and considerate as the case could possibly allow ; and I was misin- formed when I gave a dilih-ent representation. Nevertheless, I will not sacrilice, even on the shrine of friendship, the dignity of historical parration, by asserting that my fried has en- tirely convinced me that the pretensions of Great Britain were originally founde/l on any other plea than that of political expediency.— I am here speaking of the Briiisli claim, as ngafnst the actual possessors of the country, the \dack Cliaraibcs. This claim, no ccssip^ or abandon- l^ient f li i. Km i. > -u i:iit.i '■ 424 HISTORY OF TME 1 1 ill HI. BOOK ment on the part of France could have strength- ened; inasmuch as Great Britain herself con- siantlv disputed the pretensions of that Crown to the neutral islands; St. V intent amon^ the rest. The Charaibes themselves, as the report above quoted demonstrates, and as my friend admits, uniformly and abt. lutely denied any J'ig'lit in any of the sovereigns of Europe to theii allegiance. They averred that they knew no Jting, and would acknowledge none. Thev said ■' they had originally been landed on the ishind by shipwreck, and lu;ld it not only by rigl't of conquest over the aborigines, but also by actual possession for near a century," Such "Was their title to St. Vincent's, iwX it would have been difficult, I think, for any nation in purope io produce a better. IIapimly, by the temperate counsels and the humane interposition of the civil commissioners employed by government to dispose of the lands, the contest with these people ( not how- ever until hostilities had been commenced and many lives sacrificed ) was at length finally com- promised and adjusted, to the satisfaction, as it was then hoped, of the contending parties. A treaty of peace and friendship was concluded with them on the 37th February, 1 773 ; the ar- ticles of which I have subjoined in anappendi.^ to this chapter. By this treaty- the situation of the Charaibes, ia iifcii WEST INDIES. 423 in respect to the Crown of Great Britain, was chap. defined and clearly expressed ; and 1 admit that vjy^ their future conduct was to be tried by the terms of it. On the 19th of June, 1779, St. Vincent's shared tlie connnon fate of most of the British West Indian possessions, in tl-.at unfortunate war with America, which swallowed up all the resources of the nation, being- captured by a small body of troops from Martinico, consisting of only four hundred and fifty men, commanded by a Lieutenant in the French navy. The black Charaihes however, notwithstanding the treaty of 1773, inmiediately joined the enemy, and there is no doubt that the terror W|hich seized the British inhabitants, from an appre- hension that those people would proceed to the most bloody enormities, contributed to the very easy victory which was obtained by the inva- ders; for the island .s!irrendercd without a strugole. The terms of capitulation were fa- vourable, and the island was restored to the do- minion of Great Britain by the ijeneral pacifi- cation of 1783. It cont;iiiied at that time sixty- one sugar-estates, five hundred acres in coflbe, two hundred acres in cacao, four hundred in cotton, fifty in indigo, and five hundred in to- bacco, besides land appropriated to the raising provisions, such as plantains, yams, maize, &c. Ali the rest of the country, excepting tlie few spots 111 425 IIISTOHY OF THE !':. BOOK spofs that had been cloared from time to time by the Charaibes, retained its native woods, and most of it, 1 believe, continues in the same slate to the present hour. It is remarkable that nostip-lition was made by the French jc;overnmrnt on this orrasion, on behalf of their allies the Charailx's, MJiom thcv had sedueed from their alle;;ianee ; and it f here^ fore reflects great honour, both on the British government and the resident planters, that no advantage was taken of their nusconduct. The Charaibes, even those who had been the most active in the war, were permitted to return peaceably to their ]>ossessions and occupations. They were treated as an ignorant and deluded people ; as objects of compassion, not of ven- geance ; and it was pixidently and generously agreed, as by common consent, to bury all past ofiences and causes of complaint in oblivion. St. Vincent's contains about 84,000 acres, which are every where well watered, but the country is verv jrenerallv mountainous and rucr- ged ; the intermediate valleys, however, are fer- tile in a high degree, the soil consisting chiefly of a fine mould, composed of sand and clay, well adapted for sugar. The extent of country at present possessed by British subjects is ^3,605 acresj and about as much more is supposed to Wt8T INDIES. 427 be hold by the Charaibes. All the remainder chap. is nioi[j.ht to he incapable of cultivation or im- J^ proveinent. The island, or ralher the British territory within it, is divided into five parislws, of which only one was provided with a church, and t!iat was blown down in the huiricane of 17H0: whether it ia rebuilt I am not in formed. There is one town, called Kingston, tbe capital of the island, and the seat of its ajovernmcnt, and three villages that bear the name of tow ns, but they are inconsiderable hianlets, consisting each of a few houses only. But the publick establishment that reflects the greatest honour on St. Vincent's is its cele- brated botanick garden, under the provident and well-directed care of Mr. Anderson. It consists of 30 acres, of which no less'than six- teen are in high cultivation, abounding not only with almost every species of the vegetable world, whicli the hand of nature has bestowed on these islands for use and beauty, for food and luxury, but also with many valuable exo- ticks from ihc East Indies, and South America. If it be surpassed in this latter respect, by the niagnificent garden of Mr. East fcj, it cluims al least the honour of s^eniority, and does infinite credit l)oth to its original fonndcra and present directors. 1^^'' i > \/.l ni. OJ In Jamiiica. See p. 203. Ill 428 HISTORY OF THE BOOK III. In the frame of its government and the ad- ministration of executive justice, St, Vincent's seems to differ in no respect from Grenada. — The councils consist of twelve members, the assembly of seventeen. The Governor's salary (exclu- sive of {«/£& of office) is two thousand pounds sterling, of which 1,300/, is a charge upon the fund arising from the dutj of 4~ per centum. The remainder is by grant of the assembly. The military force consists at present of a regiment of infantry, and a company of artil- lery, sent from England ; and a black corps raised in the country — but provided for, with the former on the British establishment, and receiving no additional pay from the island. The militia consists of two regiments of foot, serving without pay of any kind. The number of inhabitants appears, by the last returns to government, to be one thousand four hundred and fifty Whites, and eleven thou- sand eight hundred and fifty-three Negroes. Of the labour of these people I have no other means of shewing the returns, than from the Inspector General's account of the exports from this island for 1787, a table of which, as in the case of the other islands, is subjoined. In tlii^ table, however, I conceive is comprehended tiie produce of the several islands dependant on the St. Vincent government, viz. Bequia, contain- ing 3,700 acres. This little island is valuable 1 IVoui WEST INDIES. 429 from the comrnodioiisness of its fine harbour, chap. called Admiralty Bay ; Union, containing "'' 2 J 50 acres ; Canouane, containing 1 ,777 acres; and Mustique, containing about 1,203 acres ^rfj; the Negroes emplojed in the cultivation of these islands (in number about 1,400) being, I be- lieve, included in the 11,853 before mentioned- fdj There are likewise the little Islets of Petit Martinique, Petit St, Vincent, Maillercau, and Balleseau, each of w.. .h produces a little cotton. rr' i" 'hi- 430 HISTORY OF THE Book lit d Voyages) that cleared 5th of January, 1787, les, according to the ac- Total, according to tlie Current Prices in London. tn 1,860 3 6 186,450 14 8 Miscellaneous Articles, as Hides, Dying Woods, &c. 3 1 ■-si 'I 0) Oi J to , and Men (including their repeate II Parts of the World, between the antities, and Value of their Cargo reat Britain. d 3 6 -n 12 cr" CI 1 1— < c S J3 00 =^ to i 1 00 to 1- (A in Vi T O! 1 1 U1 Is, their Tonnage CENT, &c. to a the Species, Qu tor General of G in en C i \ 1 to s s i g 1- ^ S tc to TO CO ber of Vesse of ST. VIK 17885 with y the Inspec u re bo C CO d G 1 1^ 0) 00 ^: 'n to An ACCOUNT of the Num C>utwar(ii from the Island ar.d the .5th of January, trial Prices in London. B b'n c CO to -1 CM a h to 00 Q. '0 ■1 is to s CI t>. ^ \ en ^h H ^^1^^^^ i n. ■ ■ ^1^^ f '^f > ^^^r^i 1 ^^^^H ^K| j ^^H v^^^^^^^^^H ■ ■ Jh 'U ^^ p ^ jdj^HjalAi 1 ' r " ^^^^H ^^H^^* ) 1 ' ^^^^H ^P •f"" ■ 1 ■ : ' i 1 ^M M m ' > i ' ■ ■•'I I , , r iH ■ : 1 i ... li ■ 1 1 THE i Christopl of its beir My arco history, l previous fell undei Was after^ by the tn February NoTwi that time many of i coffee pla rious part nour on t people w (e) Novel discovered i <3ays at sea f "^■nr WEST INDIES. 431 Section II. DOMINICA. THE Island of Dominica was so named bv chap. Christopher Columbus, from the circumstance "'" of its being discovered bj him on a Sunday fcj. My account of it will be very brief, for its civil history, liiie that of St. Vincent, is a mere blank previous to the year 1739, when by conquest it fell under the dominion of Great Britain, and was afterwards confirmed to the British crown, by the treaty of peace conckded at Paris in February 1763. Notwithstanding that Dominica had, until that time, been considered as a neutral island, many of the subjects of France had established coffee plantations, and other settlements, in va- rious parts of the country; and it reflects ho- nour on the British administration, that these people were secured in their possessions, on (e) November 3d, T493. It was the first land -.vhirh he discovered hi his second voyage, after having been twenty i^ys at sea from the Canaries. condition i : ri T!J,||| l.ii i-i s 1 •c a i 1^ ^1 5 S A I s ». AS' ■'? N V •* '-■ 5 X »( ^ s ^ ^ / ( 2 1 jT" >»*i«Ji r "■• < ^ :« > >l u V N K) M s !/2 ^ >. '^ % 1— ( ■ -H h s ^ fl. p ^ i^ '**! «», r-*> •^ •■« fy 5c 1 -#o >* ^ ^ "C^ 1 433 HISTORY OF THE BOOK III. condition of taking the oaths of allegiance to his Britannick Majesty and pairing a small quit-rent (f). The rest of the cultivable lands were ordered to be sold on the same conditions as those of St. Vincent, by commissioners no- minated for that purpose^ and no less than 94,346 acres ( comprehending one-half of the island) were accordingly disposed of by auc- tion, in allotments from fifty to one hundred acres, yielding the sum of 312,092/. \\s. \d. sterling money (^). It does not however appear that the purchases thus made by British subjects have answered the expectation of the buyers ; for the French inha- bitants of Dominica are still more numerous than the English, and possess the most valuable coffee plantations in the island, the produce of which Cf) The crown granted them leases, some for fourteen, and others for forty years, renewable at the expiration there- of, with conditions in every lease, " that the possessor, his heirs or assigns, should pay to his Majesty, his heirs or suc- cessors, the sum of two shillings sterling per annum, for every acre of land, of which the lease should consist." And further, " that they shoiUd not sell or dispose of their lands, ■without the consent or approbation of the governor, or com- mander in chief of that island, for the time being." This indulgence however did not extend to more than three hun- dred acres of land occupied by each French subject. Cg) No person was allowed to purchase, either in his own name, or in the name of others, in trust for him, more than three hundred acres, if in Dominica, or five hundred acres Jf in St. Vincent. has WEST INDIES. 433 hasliitlierto beenfoiniditsmo.timportantstaple. chap They differ but little, in manners, customs and J^ religion, from the inhabitants of the other ^^ French islands in the West Indies, and their priests have been hitherto appointed by supe- riors in Martinico; to the government of which island, and to the laws of their own nation, thej consider, themselves to be amenable. Jam sorry historical justice obliges me to ob- serve, that the liberal conduct of the British government towards these people, after they ' became adopted subjects, did not meet with that grateful return from them, which, for the ge- neral interests of mankind, ought to be reli- giously manifested on such occasions. At the commencement of the hopeless and destructive war between Great Britain and her Colonies in North America, the island of Do- minica was in a flourishing situation. The port of Roseau having been declared a free port by act of parliament, was resorted to by trading vessels from most parts of the foreign West Indies, as well as from America. The French and Spaniards purchased great numbers of Ne- groes there for the supply of their settlements, together with vast quantities of the merchandize and manufactures of Great Britain ; payment for all which was made chiefly in bullion, indigo, and cotton, and completed in mules ^'^^- ^' F F and U ' . ' i i 434 HISTORY OF THE BOOK III. and cattle ; articles of prime necessity to tlic planter C^O- Thus the island, tliougli in itself certainly not so fertile as some others of less extent in its neighbourhood, was becoming very rapidly a colony of considerable importance ; but unfor- tunately it wanted that protection, which alone could give its possessions stability and value. To those who recollect the frantick rage, •with which all the faculties and means of Great Britain were directed towards, and applied in, the subjugation of America, the utter disregard which was manifested by the then administration towards the security of this and the other British islands in the West Indies, may not perhaps be matter of surprise ; but it will hereafter be scarcely believed, that the whole regular force allotted, during the height of the war, for the protection of Dominica, consisted of no more than six officers and ninety-four privates ! This shameful neglect was the iliore remarkable, as this island, from its local situation, between Mar- tinico and Guadaloupe, is the best calculated of all the possessions of Great Britain in that part of the world, for securing to her the dominion (Ti) Roseau is still a free port, but the restrictions and regulations of the late act are so rigid, that foreigners are discouraged from resorting to it, and, since some late sei- zures, consider the laws as a snare to invite them to ruin. of WEST INDIES. of the Charaibean sea. A few ships of war stationed at Prince Rupert's Bay, would effec- tually stop all intercourse of the French settle- ments with each other, as every vessel is liable to capture by ships cruizing off that bay, and to windward of the island. This indeed was discovered when it was too late. It is probable that this, and the other cir- cumstances which I have recounted, namely, the growing prosperity of the colony, and the criminal inattention of the British Ministry towartii its security, had already attracted the vigilant rapaciousness of the French govern- ment; but it is asserted, that many of the inhabi- tants within the colony, who had formerly been subjects of France, scrupled not on the first in- timation that hostilities had been commenced in Europe, in the year 1778, to invite an attack from M artinico. Proof of this may not per- haps easily be produced, but it is certain that their subsequent conduct gave too much cause for such a suspicion. On Monday, the 7th of September, in that year, a French armament, consisting of a forty- gun ship, three frigates, and about thirty sail of armed sloops and schooners, having on board two thousand regular troops, and a lawless ban- ditti of volunteers, about half that number, appeared off the island, under the command of —6 Marquis wC Bouille, governor of Marti- F ^S nico. 43d CHAP. iir. mm 436 HISTORY OF THE ill BOOK nico, and general of the French Windward v^vw West Indian Tshmds. Part of the troops hav- ing soon afterwards landed without opposition, the enemy proceeded to the attack of Fort Cashacrou, the chief defence of the island, and in which a detachment of the regulars was Stationed. This fort was built on a rock, about three hundred feet in perpendicular hcic;]5t, surrounded on three sides by the sea, and was considered so very defensible, that it was sup- posed a few hundred men well provided, would maintain it against as many thousands. Great therefore was the astonishment of the English in the town of Roseau, in perceiving, by the French colours flying on it, that this fort had surrendered without resistance ; butstrangeas it may seem, the case appeared afterwards to have been, that some of the French inhabitants had insinuated themselves into the fort a few nights before, and having intoxicated with liquor the few soldiers that were there on duty, had con- trived to spike up the cannon ! Having thus made themselves masters of Fort Cashacrou, the enemy landed their whoL' force about noon, and began their march for the town, which was defended by Fort Melville, and three other batteries ; but unfortunately these batteries were ill provided, and worse manned. The whole number of the militia did - -i J ,^^a •^..^^l-.^^l nnil iwrnniv ' fof but few WEST INDIES. 437 few of the French inhabitants thought proper chap. to assemble ; and of those that made their ap- "'• pearance, many withdrew themselves again, and "^""^ were no more seen until the island had surren- dered. The small force however that was collected, behaved with that spirit and gallantry, which give room to lament they were not better sup- ported. Three times was the enemy driven out of Fort Loubiere, of which they had possessed themselves in their march, and twice were the colours which they had hoisted thereon shot away. Their commissary-general, and forty of their soldiers, were killed, and Bouille himself had a very narrowescape ; his sword being shot away from his side *. But gallantry was vaihiig against such superiority of numbers ; for about two thousand of the French having gained possession of the heights above Roseau, this last circumstance determined the fate of the island. The bravery of the inhabitants, however, obtained for them, from their liberal and noble-minded conqueror, very honourable terms of capitulation. Besides being permitted to march out with all military honours, they were allowed to retain their arms, * General Bouille himself afterwards affected to say, that he lost no men in tlie attack of Fort Loubiere, except the commissary-gcueral. The fact howeyer wa? ?,§ above stat(?d. tlieir 438 HISTORY OF THE II' BOOK their civil government, and the free exercise of \,^y^^ their religion, laws, customs, and ordinances; to preserve the administration of justice in the same persons in whom it was then vested, and to enjoy their possessions, of what nature soever, unmolested ; a privilege which was expressly extended to absent as well as resident proprie- tors, DeBouille having thus completed his con- quest, departed f^r Martinico ; leaving the Marquis Duchilleau, ( a man of a far diflerent character) commander in chief of Dominica ; whose conduct, during four years that he con- tinued in the island, is said to have been so wan- tonly oppressive and tyrannical, that we are left to wonder at the patient long-suffering and for- bearance of the people under his government, in submitting to it for half the time. His first measure was to disarm the English inhabitants, in direct violation of the capitula- tion, and he entered into a treaty with the run- away Negroes for their assistance, if wanted. He issued an order, forbidding the English to assemble together more than two in a place, and he commanded the sentinels to .disperse them if they were found together in greater numbers. He ordered that no lights should be seen in their houses after nine o'clock at night, and that no English nerson should n resume to walk the streets after that hourj without a candle and lantliorn. 'M WEST INDIES. 43p Unthorn. Mr. Robert How, an Englisli mcr- chap. chant and owner of a ship then in the bay, at- v JI'' . tempting to go on board his own vessel after that hour, was shot dead in the attempt ; and the sentinel who killed him was raised to a higher station in his regiment, for having thus (as the governor expressed it) done his duty. So very apprehensive was this governor that the English inhabitants were forming desings to retake the island, that every letter of theirs was opened for his inspection before it was de- livered. And deeming this measure insufficient to furnish him with knowledge of their private transactions, he adopted the practice of going himself in disguise, or employing others who better knew the English language, in order to listen at their doors and windows in the night- time, to the conversation which passed in do- mestick intercourse. He repeatedly threatened to set fire to the town of Roseau, in case the islrnd should be attacked ; and though this was never attempt- ed by the English forces, yet that town was set fire to (as it was believed) by the French sol*- diers, and there was every reason to suppose that the governor was privy to it. This sup- position was strongly corroborated by his be- haviour on the night of that melancholy scene, at which he himself was present the best part of the '■i^ \\\ '\h. ft Hi! i..Jii ^t:'''1m . ; i. 'f, ;.!i 1 ri 440 HISTORY OF THE v^V^' II BOOK the time, and, it is very confidently asserted, would not allow his soldiers to assist in extin- guishing the flames, save only in houses that belonged to the French inhabitants. This fire happened the evening of Easter Sunday, 1781, by which upwards of five hun- dred houses were consumed in a few hours ; and a vast quantity of rich merchandize and efiects destroyed, to the value of two hundred thousand pounds sterling. While the wretched inhabitants were thus groaning under domestick despotism, they had no resources from without. Their trade was entirely cut oflT, insomuch, that during five years and three months, the time that the island of Dominica was in possession of the French, it was not resorted to by any vessels from Oiu France, nor was any of its produce exported to that kingdom ; but part of it was sent in neutral bottoms to the Dutch island of St. Eustatius, before its capture by Admiral Rod' ney ; and from thence it was exported to Eng- land, under most extravagant expences and loss to the proprietors. Other parts of their produce were sent in Dutch vessels, which were engaged for the pur- pose in England, to Rotterdam ; and after the breaking out of the war with thr Dutch, the produce of Dominica was sent uider imperial colours WEST INDIES. 441 colours to Ostcnd, where the sugar sold from chap. six to eight pounds sterling t!ie liogshead. v,^vw These afcunuilated dislrcsscs ended in the absohite ruin of many of the phinters^ and no less than tliirly f;iigar ])lan(atio;is were, in con- sequence thereof, thrown up and abandoned by the proprietors. At l.-no-th, however, the day of deliverance arrived ; for, in the month of January 1783, Dominica was restored to the j^overnment of England. The joy which, on this event, animated the bosom and enlightened the cou ;• ;»ance of every man, whom painful experi\M v^, under an arbitrary government, , had taught to set a right value on the British constitution, may be conceived, but capuo<^ \jq described. The inhabitants were now i stored to the full enjoyment of their former privileges, under a civil establishment, similar to those of the other British colonies in the West Indies, which being hereafter to be described at length, it is unnecessary to enlarge upon in this place, except to observe, that the legislative authority of this island is vested in the commander in chief, a council of twelve gentlemen, and an assembly of nineteen members f A: j. The few .3^ W V ;:iir:( if : fk) The governor's salary^ exclusive of his fees of office, is l,300i. sterling, payable out of the -J-J per cent, duties; whether he has any addition from the coloaiai assembly, I am not informed, obser- 4H IIISTOIIY OF THE BOOK Observations tlierefare which follow, concrni- v^v-^^ ni'^ its picseiit state and productions, will coii- cjludo my account. Do-MfNicA cont.iins 186,436 acres of land ; and is divide;! into ten parishes. The town of Roseau is at present the capital of the island, and is situated in the parish of St. George, bein'>- about seven leai»ucs from Prince Rupert's bav. It is on a point of land on the S. W. side of the island, which forms two bays, viz. "Wood- bridge's bay to the north, and Charlottcville buy to the southward. Roseau is about half a mile in length, from Charlottcville to Roseau river, and mostly U\o furlongs in breadth, but less in some parf;^, being of a very irregular figure. It contains not more than five hundred houses, exclusive of the cottages occupied by Negroes, before its capture by the French, it contained up- wards of one thousand. This island is twenty-nine miles in length, and may be reckoned sixteen miles in breadth. It cont.iins many high and rugged mountains, inters; ersed with fine valleys, and in general they appear to be fcHile. ^^everal of the moun- tains conlain unextinguished volcanoes, which frequently dischari^e vast quantities of bnrn- ing sulphur. From these mount.iins also issue springs of hot water, some of which are sup- posed WEST INDIES. 4M posed to possess great virtue in the case of tro- chap. pical disorders. In some places the water is said to he hot enough to coagulate an eggf/^. Dominica is well watered, there heing up- wards of thirty fine rivers in the island;, besides a great number of rivulets. The soil, in most of the interior country, is a light, brown-coloured mould, and appears to have been washed from the mountains. Towards the sea-coast, and in many of the valleys, it is a deep, black, and rich native earth, and seems well adapted to the cul- tivation of all the articles of West Indian produce. The under stratum is in some parts jl yellow or brick clay, in others a stiff terrace, but the land is in most places very stony. I AM afraid, however, that the quantity of fertile soil bears but a very small proportion to the whole; there not being more than fifty sugar plantations at present in cultivation, and it is computed, that on an average, one year with another, those fifty plantations do not produce annually more than three thousand hogsheads flj In the woods of Dominica arc innnmerable swarms of bees, which lodge in the <^- oes, and produce great quantities of wax and honey, both of which are equal in goodness to any in Europe. It is precisely the same species of bee js ia Europe, and must have been transported tiuiher j t!)e native bee of the We»it Indies being a .-mailer specie-, unprovided with stings,, ^nd very different in its manners^frora the Eu- ropean. ^ of "'4i : • ■ ! m h I 1 IjTi ■ ,1! Nl .1 ! ^^ r'l M I;.., iii! 444 BOOK III. 1 ,q HISTORY OF THE of sug^ar. This iscerfainlyavery small quantity of that article for huc'i an extensive island, or exen for the number of sugar plantutions at present under cultivation, allowing only one hundred acres of canes to each. Coffee seems to answer better than sugar, there being somewhat more than two hundred coffee plantations in Dominica, which in fa- vourable years have produced three millions of pounds weight. A SMALL part of the lands are also applied to the cultivation of cacao, indigo, and ginger ; but I believe that most of these articles, as well »5 of the cotton, which are comprehended in the exports, have hitherto been obtained from the dominions of foreign states in South America, and imported into this island under the free- port law. The number of white inhabitants of all descriptions and ages, appears, by the last re- turns to government, in 1788, to be 1,236; of free negroes, &c. 445, and of slaves 14,967, There are also fiom twenty to thirty families of the ancient natives, or Charaibes, properly so called. They are a very quiet, inoffensive people, speak a language of their own, and a little French, but none of them understand English C7;7,j. On) A late writer gives the following account of these people : " They are of a clear copper-coiour, have long, 5 Such WEST INt)IES. Such is the information which I have col- lected concerning the civil history and present state of Dominica^ for great part of which I am indebted to a late publication by Mr. Atwoodfw^. Nothing now remains but to sleek, black hair : their persons are short, stovit, and well made, but they disfigure their faces by flattening their fore- heads in infancy. They live chiefly by fishing in the rivers and the sea, or by fowling ^n the woods, in both which pur- suits they use their bows and arrows with wondertul dexte- rity. It is said tliey will kill the smallest bird with an arrow at a great distance, or transfix a fish at a considerable depth in the sea. They display also very great ingenuit)- in making curious wrought pann'ers, or baskets, of silk grass, or the leaves and bark of trees." (nj See the Ifibtory of the Island of Dominica, by Mr. Thomas Atwood, 179], Treating of the natural produc- tions of this island, Mr. Atwood gives t!ie fuilowing account of an insect, which he calls the vegetable. J] y. " It is of the appearance and size of a small cockchafer, aiid buries itself in the ground, where it dies ; and from its body springs up a small plant, which resembles a yoong coffee- tree, only that its leaves are smaller. The plant is often overlooked, from tlie supposition people have of its being no other than a coffee plant ; but on examining it properly, the dif- ference is easily distinguished ; the head, body, and feet of the insect appearing at tlie foot, as perfect as when alive," This account is extraordinary ; but not more surprising than the Rev. Nicholas Collins's description, in the American Philosophical Transactions *, of a certain zoophtjton in the Ohio country, which (he declares) is alternately vegetable and animal ; for having crawled about the woods in its ani- mal state until it grows weary of that msde of existence, it 40 * lutroductJOK to vol, iii p. 25. CHAP. IIL i»( set m'F. U- i' 446 HISTORY OF THE Chap. ] n|, nr T »ooK set forth the particulars and value of its pro- \^vw/ ductions, which I shall adopt, as in other case3, from the return of the Inspector General for the year 1787. fixes itself in the ground, and becomes a stately plant, with a stem issuing from its mouth. I give these accounts as I find them, without vouching for the veracity of either. "^ b 3 "a; in 8 ". > :§ s ^ S -3 o -5 a o 3 'O Z a ^ r3 .** V C/3 '^ •3 Z H. 'S ^ ^ H i ^ § 0-0 5? o a . ^ OD < G < CuAr. III. WEST INDIES . 44; tliat cleared 5 th January . Total Value ' according to th< ^ Prices current in London. .^. *. d. 271,472 14 - 19,900 11 6 7,164 5 - 4,295 S 6 W5 1-^ 1 1 repeated Voyages) I luary 1737, and the ual Prices in London Value of Miscellaneou Articles, as Hydes, Dying Woods, &c. ^ ::: 1 c^ 1 S 194 21 13 6 1 Ginger. i 2 1 r 1 1 *-< ing their e 5 th Jai the act d 961,066 9,750 1 1 1 to OT) 01 includ een th rding ( J3Q ^*4 i-H 3 1 1 1 I 11,250 Tonnage, and Men ( s of the World, betw »f their Cargoes, acco • OJ U :9 CO 543 - - 219 - - 1 to CO 01 ^^ 00 d 3 6 in u 1,126 2 2C 8 - 4 1 1 1 1 1 0^ ' CO »)" at s, their all Part Value c to _ 1 u5 a H Cl 7,380 1 s to Vessel nica, t es, anc a 3 (A 1,492 3,600 31,600 25,400 8 2- Cl CO co" to An ACCOUNT of the Number of outwards from the Island of Dom 1788, with the Species, Quantiti 3 *a 38,663 1 21 11,103 1,066 408 1 01 1— t 01 bb a a, IS U2 fc-4 to litful sov^ereign of the island and do- " main of St. Vincent's ; take an oath of fidelity to " him as their Kino:; promise absolute submission *' to his ^yill, and lay down their arms. " 3. They sliall submit themselves to the laws and " obedience of his Majesty s government, and the Go- ** vernor shall have power to enact furtlier regulations " for tlie public advantage as shall be convenient. " (This article only respects their transactions with his ^' Majesty's subjects, not being Indians ; their inter- " course and customs with earh other, in the quarters .** allotted them, not being aifected by it). And all *' new gageraent s WEST INDIES, 449 " nm rcr^nhiihms are to rocavc liis Majosty's do- chap *' vcrnor's ai)prob-»(i()a before carried into cxec.i- '"• ' " (io!i. wv^ *' 4. A portion of Ian Is, Iitwiftor montionod, shall " b(3allot(nl lor -lie rcMdcnce of theCharaibes : viz. '' from tli«. river IJyora (o Pobif [v-p.-rniol on (l,e one " side, and ironi the river Aualih t to Point Es- " \y^u;'nol on the other side, according to the lines to " ''f' tlrawn by his Majes-y's surveyors, from the " sonrcesof the rivers fo the tops of the mountains; '' the rest of the lands, formerly inhabited by Cha- '' raibes, for the future to belony(Ml by tl."-.>elves, or if more " agreeable at his Majesty's cM, "21. No stran^^rs, or whit, pemris, are to be " allowed to settle among the ' Mi.udibes, without " permission first obtained in writing from the Go- vernor. " 22. These articles subscribed to and observed, the " Charaibes are to be pardoned, secured, and fixed '' in their property, according to his Majesty's direc- " tions given, and all past ofienccs forgot. " 23. After the signing of this treaty, should any '' of the Charaibes refuse to observe the condition of I' it, they are to be considered and treated as enemies " by both parties, and the most elFectual means used " to reduce them. " 24. The Charaibes shall take the follow in «• oath* viz. * * " We, A. B. do swear, in the name of the im- " mortal God, and Christ Je^ns, that we will " bear true allegiance to his Majesty George (ho " Third, of Great J3ritain, France, and Ireland, ^1 King, Deicndcr of tlie Faith, &c.; an! that " we will pay (l„»„!,n,i|,..5ec (o the lawsofGmit " Britain, and the I.land of St. VUicent ; and " will c G 2 4Sl CHAP. 111. i :^ik ' UB> i .!■ I-' .ri-, :] ■;. ]' M 45S APPEN- DIX. HISTORY OF THE " will well and (rnly observe every arHcle of niim: l.oiio'itiiili* 0«' .'».» WfH /A'/// liiiiiilt»i». iiiiiimiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiMii« mmiiiiiiimimiPiffntmi j "MTBir l'"""'" !'!■!! Hiimir- ri'ik iS 4S4, HISTORY OF THE BOOK Their civH history will be short ; f r iv thh \^vw part of my subject I have but little to add to the recital of Oldmixon, aiidotlior writi^rs, who have preceded me; and where novelty i want- ing, brevity is indispensibly requisite. SECTION 1. gr. CHRISTOPHER'x THE island of St. Christopher wa.- called by its ancient possessors, the CharaibeSj Liaminga, or the Fertile Island. It was discovered in No- vember 1493, by Columbus himself, who was so pleased with its appearance, that he honour- ed it with his own Christian name. But it was neither planted nor possessed by the Spaniards. It was, however^ ( notwithstanding* that the ge- neral opinion ascribes the honour of seniority to Barbadoes) the eldest of all the British terito- rles in the West Indies, and, in truths the com- mon mother both of the English and French settlements in the Charibean islands. The fact, as related by an historian frt^, to whose indus- try and knowledge I have been so \'.K7£eiy in- debted : ; my account of St. V^inceirf, was this: ^' In the humber of those ^entlejs cr* »vho accom- (aj Dr. John Campbell panied WEST INDIES. 43^ panied Captain Roger North, in a voyage to Su- chap rinam, was Mr. Thomas Warner, who making JL. an acquaintance there with Captain Thomas Pamton, a very experienced seaman, the latter suggested how much easier it wou)d be to fix, and preserve in good order, a colony in one of the small islands, despised and deserted by the Spaniards ; than on that vast country, the con- tinent, where, for want of sufficient authority all thmgs were fallen into confusion; and he particularly pointed out for that purpose th^ island of St. Christopher. This gentleman dying, Mr. Warner returned to England in 1620, re- solved to put his friend's project in execution. He accordingly associated himself with four- teen other persons, and with them took his pas- sage on board a ship bound to V^ginia. From thence he and his companions sailed from St Christopher's, where they arrived in January 1623, and by the month of September follow- ing had raised a good crop of tobacco, which they proposed to make their staple commodity." It has been shewn in a former chapter, that the first actual establishment in Barbadoes took place the latter end of 1624, By the generality of historians, who have treated of the affairs of the West Indies, it is asserted that a party of the French, under the -.i-i._iu, „^ ci pCiauii Oi liiu name or D iisnani- buc, took possession of one part of this island, on I (. t.ji a :;.;:i^:: llrNl-i' j mMm L 4^6 HISTORY OF THE I BOOK Oil the same day that Mr. Warner landed on the in. v^^^ other; but the truth is, tli t the first Inndinj^ of Warner and his associ;itcs happenc'd two years before the arrival of D' Esnanibuc ; v ho, it is admitted by Du Tcrtie, did not h'ave France until 1025. Unfortunately, the Eng- lish seltlers, in the laltcr end of IG'i'.'^ had their plantations deinoli.sl«od by a dreadful hur- ricane, which put a sudden stop to llicir pro- gress. In consequence of this calauiity, JMr. Warner returned to England to implore suc- cour ; and it was on that occasion that he sought and obtained the powerful patronage and support of James IJay, Earl of Carlisle, This nobleman caused a ship to be fitted out, laden with all kinds of necessaries. It was called the Hopewell ; and arrived at St. Chris- topher's on the 18th of May 1624 ; and thus he certainly preserved a settlement, whicli had otherwise died in its infancy. Warner himself did not return to St. Christopher's until tlie year following. He was then accompanied by a large body of recruits, and D'Esnambuc ar- rived about the same time ; perhaps the same day. This latter was the Captain of a French privateer; and having, in an engagement with a Spanish galleon ofauperior strenglli, been very roughly handled, he was obliged, after losiiig several of his men, to seek refuge in these islands. I le brou ght with him to St. Clirifcto P licr s ;i iboLit tliu'ty !' t'i i\ WEST INDIES. 457 tliirfy hardy veterans, and tlicy were cordially chap. received by the EiiglisI], who apjicar at this time J^ to have been under some aprehcnsions of the C'iiaraibes. Hitlierto \y arner's first colony had lived oa frioiully terms with these poor savng-es, by whom tlicy were liberally supplied m ith pro- visions : but having' seized on tiieir lands, the coiisiiousness of deserving; retaliation made the idanters apprehensive of an attack, when pro- hably none was intended. Du Tertre rc- laUs, that the French and English receiving informati(ai of a projected revolt, concurred in a scheme for seizing the conspirators be- foreliaud Accordingly they foil on the Cha- raibcs by night, and, havii:- murdered in cold blood from one hundred to one hundred and twenty of the stoutest, drose all the rest fiom the island, except such of the women as were young and handsome, of whom, says the revtrchd historian, they made concubines and slaves. Such is the account of a conteui- poriiry author, Pere Du Tertre, who relates ilii^id transactions with perfect composure, as founded on connnon usage, and not unwarrant- ablG in their nature. He adds, that such of the Charaibes as escaped the massacre, having given the alarm to their countrvmen in the neiWi- 1 • • ^ bouring islands, a large body of them returned Svoon aficrvvards, breathing revenge ; and now iiie conflict became serious. The Europeans. Jiowever, :Mf, ■It .ii:. 1 4AS HISTORY OF THE BOOK however loro from the sisperlority of their s,^vw weapvi s, li-':, jf their valour, became con- querors in the end; but their triumph was deasly purchased; one hundred of their number haviii'Esnambuc, about the same time, found it necessary to return to Europe for the purpose of soliciting^ succour from their respective na- tions ; and bringiiig- with them the mv < ,>f conquerors, they severally met with all possible encouragement. Warner was knighted by his sovereign, aud through the interest of his noble patron sent back as; governor in lud) with four hundred new recruits, amply supplied with necessar:; s of all kin* ; whih> D'Esnamjuc, under the patronage of Riehlieu (the minis- ter of France) projected the establishment of an exclusive company for trading to this and some of the other island?. That minister con- curred with D'Esnr- ribiK- a opinion, that such an institution was b . s pted to the iirposcs of comiiierce and coioiuzation ; — an t. oneous conclusion,whichD'Esnambuc himself had soon abundant occasion to lament ; for the French in general either misunderstood or disapproved '^ the WEST INDIES. 459 the project. Subscriptions came in rrluctaivaj^ chap. and the ships which ihe new company fitted ^^' out oil this occasion, were so wrclchedly sup- plied with provisions and necessaries, that of five hundred and thirty-two recruits who sail- ed from France with D'Esnambuc, in February 1627, the jrreater part perished miserably at sea for want of food. The English received th' iirvivors with com- passion and kindness ; and for preventing con- tests in f ^nre about their ivspective limits, the commanders of each nation agreed to divide the whole island pretty equally between their fol- lowers. A treaty of partition for this purpose wasru''h d to writing, and signed, with many formalities, on the third of May 1627; it com- f .-ndpcl also a league defensive and offensive ; uut thi liaiue proved of little avail aeainst the bpanLsa i sion in 1629, the circumstances whereof I have elsewhere rehiied fbj. Yet SI! rely, unjustifiable as that attack may be leemed, if the conduct u. the new settlers to- wards the Charaibes was su< h as Du Tertre re- lates, we have bat little < ause to lament over the miseries which lefell them. The mind exults ill the chastisj^mer of crueltv, t ven when the instr unents of vengeance as cri- ITiiual as the objects of pi ishmeut. It may now be thoi'Th -liat th'jsc of* - two (bj Book [I. Chap. ii. natloniii ui ' F" ". « ] i 4^ HISTORY OF THE BOOK naHons who survived so doslructive a storm, had S^vw learnt moderation and forbearance in tlie scliool ofadvcrsit' ; and indeed for some years they appear to have lived on mm (I I 4' 403 HISTORY OF TtlE BOOK vcrnmeiit. In 1733, 80,000/. of the money was appropriated as n iiiarrias^e portion with the Princrss Anne, who was betrothed to the Prince of Orange. Some few of the French planters, indeed, who consented to take the oaths, were naturalized, and permitted to re- tain their estates. Such were the orii»;in and progress of the British establishment m the Island of St. Chris- topher. The circumstances which attended the Frencii invasion in thebeginningof 1782, when a garrison of less than one thousand effective men (including the militia) was attacked by eight thousand of the best disciplined troops of France, supported by a fleet of thirty-two ships of war ; the consequent surrender of the island, after a most vigorous and noble defence; and its restoration to Great Britain by the general peace of 1783, being within every person's re- collection, need not be related at large in this work. I shall therefore conclude with the fol- lowing particulars, which I presume are some- what less familiar to the general reader, and their accuracy may be depended on. St. Christopher lies in 17° 15^ North latitude, and ()3' 1 7' West longitude ; it is about fourteen leagues in circuit, and contains 43,726 acres of land, of which about 1 r,000 acres are appro- priated to the growth of sug.ir, and 4,000 to pastwraj^t. As sugar is the only commodity of W'KST INDIES, 46$ ofany account that is raised, except provisions c„.p and a httle cotton, it is probable, that nearly ^^- ' one half the whole island is unfit for cultivation ' Ihe interior part of the country consists indeed of many rug-gcd precipices, and barren moun- tains Of these, the loftiest is Mount-Misery (evidently a decayed volcano) which rises3 7U ^ct m perpendicular height from the sea >/») Mature, however, has made abundant amend, for the sterility of the mountains, by the fer- tility she has bestowed upon the plains. No part of the West-Indies that I have seen pos- sesses even the same species of soil that is found ui St. Christopher's. It is in general a dark grey loam, so light and porous as to be penetrable by the slightest application of the hoe; and I conceive it to be the production ot subterraneous fire., the black ferruginous pumice of naturalists, finely incorporated with a pure loam, or virgin mould. The under stra- tum IS gravel, from eight to twelve inches deep Clay IS no where found, except at a consider^ able height in the mountains. r/>J There is an immense crater on the top of this moun- ta.n the bottom of w],ich is i.early level, and supposed to -nta,n 50 acres, of which seven are covcred.'with water , : '-^ -«. clothed with high grass and trees, among which l;emourna cabbage is very conspicuous. Fromttcran- ".« or fissures of this crater still flow streams of hot water wiiich are stroinvUr ;jnpj.p,vnof.,.) ,,.;.k .11 1 ' Br J,. M ! I I 'M 1 / ; , 1 '^'' ill 1 ''4 i 464 West indteI EOOK ffl. By Nvlir.t process of nature ihe, soil wliirli t \^y^^ liave mcnlionrd bccoiiics more especially suited to the product ion of su^ar than any other in the West Indies, it is neither within my pro- vince nor ability to explain. The vircum- stapce, however, is unqu(>st'onable. Canes, planted in particular spots, have been known to, yield 8,()0Ulbs. of Muscovado si'i»-ar from a single acre. One gentleman, in a favourable season, made G,400 lbs. or four hogsheads of sixteen cvvt. each ;irj' acre, on an average retnvn of his whole crop. li is not however pretended, that the greater part, or even a very large pro- portion of the cane land, throughout the island, is equally productive. The gen(>ral average produce for a series of years is l(),t)0() lu)gsheads of sixteen cvvt. vyhich, as one-half only of thfi whole cane land, or 8,r!(>0 acres, is annually cut (the remainder being in young canes) gives nearly two hogsheads of sixteen cwt. per acre for the whole of the land in ripe canes ; but even this i» a prodigious return, not equal- led I imagine by any other sugar country in any part of the globe. In Jamaica, though some of the choicest lands may yield in favourable years two hogsheadij of sixteen cwt. jwr acre ; the cane land which is cut annually, taken altogether, does not yield above a fourth part as much. I AM informed, liowevei, that the planters of St. 5 i WEST INDIES. 409 St. Christopher's are at a great expence for ma- chap. nure ; that they never cut ratoon canes fr) • '"'• and although ti^crc is no want in the country of springs and rivulets for the support of the inhabitants, their plantations suffer much in dry weather, as the substratum does not lon^ retain moisture fdj. ^ This island is divided into nine parishes, and contains four towns and hamlets, viz. Basseterre (the present capital, as it was formerly that of the French, containing about 800 houses) Sandj-Point, Old Road, and Deep Bay. Of these, Ihe two first are ports of entry, established by law. The fortifications consist of Charles- Fort, and Briinstone-Hill, both near Sandy- Poiut; three batteries at Basseterre, one at Fig- Tree Bay, another at Palmeto-Point, and some smaller ones of no great importance. The proportion which St. Christopher's con- tributes with the other islands, towards an ho-^ nourable provision for the Governor General, is ! ,000/. currency per annum; which is settled on him by the assembly immediately on his ar- (c) Ratoon canes are shoots from old roots, as will be fully explaimed heroaftei. (ii) The woods on the mountainous part of this island harbour abundance of a small species of xaonkay, troops of ^vh^ch freqtiently come dowii to devour the canes, aiid do inconceivable mischief. 1 ' ^ 1^ i.-i. i"ir li i i 466 HISTORY OF THE w m BOOK rival. He has besides some perquisites; and s^Y^ i" ^*'^^c of war they are considerable. Each island within this government has a separate council, and each of them an assembly, or house of representatives. In St. Christo- pher's, the council should consist of ten mem- bers, but it is seldom that more than seven are present. The house of assembly is composed of twenty-four representatives, of whom fifteen make a quorum. The requisite qualification is a freehold of forty acres of land, or a house •worth forty pounds a year. Of the electors, the qualification is a freehold of ten pounds jjcr annum. The Governor of this, and the other islands in the same government, is chancellor by his office, and in St, Christopher's sits alone. At- tempts have been made to join some of the council with him, as in Barbadoes; but hitherto vvithout success, the inhabitants choosing ra- ther to submit to the expence and delay of fol- lowing the chancellor to Antigua, than suffer the jr nveniency of having on the chancery bencii judges, some of whom it is probable, from their situation and connections, may he interested in the event of every suit that may come before them. In this islar^i, as in Jamaica, the jurisdiction «f both the K) j's Bench and Common Pleas, centres WEST INDIES. Mulrf. in one superior court, wherein justice ." f ""'""e'-ed by a chief justice and four puisne .IJ-dges The chief is appointed by the cro«n, the others by the governor in (he King's name, ■•nd they all hold their con.mission, during pleasure The office of chief judge is worth about mi. per annum. The emoluments of the assistant judges are trifling. The present number of white inhabitants is co„,p„,ed at 4,000. and taxes are levied on -^,000 negroes; and there are about three hun- dred blacks and mulattoes office condition As ,n the other British inlands in the neigh- bourhood, all the white men from the age of Sixteen to sixty arc obliged to enlist in the mi- 1. .a, and in this island they serve without pay. Ihey form two regiments of foot, although the whole number of eftective mep in each regiment seldom exceeds three hundred; but there is hkew.se a com pany of free blacks, and this, be- ture the late war, constituted the whole of the inihtTy force within the island; the British Kove- .nent refusing to send them troops of any Kind. •' Of tlie wisdom ,,i .:,ch conduct in Great 1-ritam, the reado- ..iU be able properly to judge, when he is t..'d, that the natural strength «( th,s .sland, from the conformation and i^e- qualities of its? s^vfc^^ ;„ . ^, , t\i 4 l^ 1 ^ . c5 oHwo thousand effective troops, properly sui H II plied 467 CHAP. IV. !;•' A' > iir :,f tin I i, 468 histohy of the BOOK plied with ammunition and provisions^ would w^vw ifi all human probability have rendered it im- pregnable to the formidable invasion of 1782. With St. Christopher's surrendered also the island of Nevis; from whieh it is divided only by a small channel^ and of which I shall nov/ give some account. Section II. NEVIS. i Tins beautiful little spot is nothing more than a single mountain^ rising like a cone in an easy ascent from the sea ; the circumference of its base not exceeding eight English leagues. It is generally believed that Columbus bestowed on it the appellation of Nieves, or The Snows, from its resemblance to a mountain of the same name in Spain^ the top of which is covered with snow ; but it is not an improbable conjecture, that in those days a white smoke was seen to issue from the summit, which at a distance had a snow-like appearance, and that it rather de- rived its name from thence. That the island was produced by some volcanick explosiou, there can be no doubt; lor theie is a hollow or I WEST INDIES. ^g «r rralrr. near the summii, still visible. >vhich chap. e.>:'ta„.s a hot spring strongly impregnated JX^ >vith sulphur; and sulphur is frequently found H. substance, in the neigl.bouring gullies and cavities of fhe earth. The country is well watered, and the land in general fertile, a small proportion towards iho vtmumt of the island excepted, which answers hovvevcr for the growth of ground provisions, such as yams ana other esculent vegetables The soil is stony ; the best is a loose black mould, on a clay. In some places, the upper stratum is a stiff clay, which requires labour but properly divided and pulverised, repays the labour bestowed =,pon it, Tlie general produce of sugar (its oni; ..aple production) is one hogshead of sixteen cwt. per acre from all the canes that are annually cut, which beinr about 4,000 acres, the return of the • ho^e is a ) eqMal number of hogsheads, and this w.s die average fixed on by the French government in 1782, as a rule for regulating the taxes. As at^'st. Christopher's the planters seldom cut ratoon canes. This island, small as it is, is divided into five parishes. It contains a town called Charles- Town, the seat g vernment and a port of entry, and there uro othnv two shipping places, '• iHed Indian Castle and Ne^^ -Castle. The fnncipal rortificaiiuu is at Charles-Town, and • ir^.: If .r i !• H mm- ■nV- m ill ■ 1 JJ^H 1 470 BOOK III. HISTORY OF THE is called Charles Fort. The commandant is appointed by the crown, but receives a salary from the island. The government, io the absence of the Go- vernor-General, is administered by the president, of the council. This board is coinpo.scd of the president, and six other members. The house of assembly consists of fifteen representatives ; three for each parish. The administration of common law is under the guidance of a chief justice, and two assist- ant judges, and there is an office for the re- gistry of deeds. The present number of white inhabitants is stated to me not to exceed six hundred, while the negroes amount to about ten thousand ; a disproportion which necessarily converts all such white men as arc not exempted by age or decrepitude, into a well-regulated militia, among which there is a troop consisting of fifty horse, well mounted and accoutred. Eiidish forces, on the British establishment, they have none. The English first established themselves in this island in the year 1628, under the protec- tion and encouragement of Sir Thomas Warner. Among the difierent classes of men, who sought to improve their fortunes in St Christopher's by the patronage of that enterprising leader, it can hardly be presumed, that every individual experienced the full gratification of his hopes and WEST INDIES, and expectations. T- 471 all societies, there are chap. many who will consiuer themselves unjustly ,J^ overlooked and forgotten. Of the companions of Warner's earliest voyages, it is probable that some would set too high a value on their ser- vices, and of those who ventured afterwards, many would complain, on their arrival, that the best lands were pre-otcupied. To softeu and temper such discordancy and disquiet, by giving full employment to the turbulent and seditious, seems to have been one of the most irnportant objects of Warner's policy. Motives of this nature induced him, without doubt, to plant a colony in Nevis at so early a period; and the wisdom and propriety of his first regu- lations gave strength and stability to the settle- ment. What Warner began wisely, was happily completed by his immediate successor Mr. Lake, under whose administration Nevis rose to opu- lence and importance. " He was a wise man," says Du Tertre, '^ and feared the Lord.^' Mak- ing this island the place of his residence, it flourished beyond example. It is said, that abmit the year 1640, it possessed four thousand whites : so powerfully are mankind invited by the advantages of a mild and equitable system of government ! Will the reader pardon me, if I observe at the same time, that few situations in life could have afibrded greater fdiciiy than that Irt ^^:i I i. ■1^^ -N f ill I IP' I J- 472 HISTORY OF THE ni. BOOK that of such a governor. T.iving an. ^t the beauties of an eternal spring, beneath a s vy se- rene and unclouded^ and in a spot inexpressively beautiful, (for it is enlivened by a Naiiety of th( most enchanting prospects in the world, in die numerous islands which surround it) bnt above all hap,yy in the reflection that he com ili^sted the diflereneesj admiuisti-red to the necessities, and augmented the comforts of thousands of his fellow-creatures, all of whom looked up to him as their common father and protector. If there be pure joy on earth, it must have existed in the bosom of such a man ; while he behtif' the tribute of love, gratitude, and approbation towards him in every countenance, and whose h curt at the same time tojd him that he deserved it. 1 AM sorry that I must present the reader with a very different picture, in the account that I am now to give of Antigua. Section III. > ANTIGUA. ANTIGUA is situated about twenty leagues to the eastward of St, Christopher's, and was discovered il.f WES . NJDIES. 473 discovered at iie samo time with that islanrl hy chap, Coliinbiis himstin who named it, from a church J^ in Seville, ^anto VI aria (le la Antigua. V. e are informed by Feruuiund Columbus, that the In- dian name was Jamaica. It is a angu: - cir- cTimsttncc, tliat this word, which ir- giiage of the larger islands signified ..try (ihowidinp; in springs, should, in the cct of the rharaibos, have been applied to island that ha, not a single spring or rivulet of fresh water in ■' Tms iivenicnce, without doubt, as it rendered th.- countrj uninhabitable to the Cha- raibcs, deterred for some time the European ad- venturers in the neighbouring islands from at- tempting a permanent establishment in Anti- gua ; but nature presents few obstacles which ^he avarice or industry of civilized man will not endeavour to surmount. The lands were found to be fertile, and it was discovered that cisterns might be contrived to hold rain^wafer fcj. So early as 1632, a few English fi.uiilies took up lands there, and began the utivation of to- bacco. Among these was a son of Sir Thomas Warner, whose descentiants still possess very considerable property in the island, one of them (Ashton Warner, Esquire) having been, in 1787, president of the council, and commander in chief in the absence of the governor. fc) The water esoipe. thus mi wholes preserved is wonderfully light, pure. But 1 1 fa '•^ ;v ! ' :'! » i ji .^/€>. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) ■^'^^ ^j !.0 I.I 1^ IM 12.2 us us lis 2.0 J4 1.25 |U_ ,,.6 ^ 6" ». ^ w V Hiotograptiic Sdences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 872-4503 * -^ <;; ^Z^' r % u.. *7* HISTORY OF THE BOOK III. But the settlement was nearly strangled in its infancy. In 166G, a French armament from MartinieOj co-operating with a body of Cha- raibes, invaded the island^, and ravaged the coun- try with lire and sword. All the negroes that could be found, were taken a\vay ; and the in- habitants, after beholding- their houses and estates in flames, were plundered even to the clothes on their barks and the shoes on their feet, without reirard to sex or ajre. Its recovery fiom this calamity was owing chiefly to the enterprising spirit and extensive views of Colonel Codrington, of Barbadoes. This gentleman removing to Antigua about the year 1(374, applied his knowledge in sugar- planting with such good effect and success, that othersj animated by his examph^ and assisted by his advice and encouragement, adventured in the same line of cultivation. Mr. Codrington was some years afterwards nominated captain- general and commander in chief of all the lee- ward Chnraibean islands, and, deriving from this appointment, the power of giving greater energy to his benevolent purposes, had soon the happiness of beholding the good effects of his humanity and wisdom, in the flourishing condi- tion of the several islands under his government. The prosperity of Antigua was manifested in its extensive population ; for when, in the year J 690, General Codrington commanded on the expedition ar^iuot the French inhabitants of St. WEST INDIES. 475 St. Christopher's, as hath been related iu the chap. Iiistorj of that island, Antigua furnished to- J^ wards It no less than eight hundred effective men : a quota, which gives room to estimate the whole number of its white inhabitants at that time, at upwards of five thousand. Mr. Codrington dying in 1698, was suc- ceeded in his government by his sou Christo- pher ; a gentleman eminently distinguished for his attainments in polite literature ; and who, treading in the same paths as his illustrious fa- ther, gave the people under his government the promise of a long continuance of felicity (d). His adrainislration, howe\cr, terminated at the end of six years ; for in 1704 he was super- seded (I know not on what account) by Sir William Mathews; who dying soon after his arrival, the Queen was pleased to appoint to the government of this and the neighbouring islands, Daniel Park, Esq ; a man whose tragi- cal end having excited the attention of Eu- rope, and furnished a lesson for history to per- petuate, I shall be excused for entering some- what at large into his conduct and fortune. {d) He was the author, if I mistake not, of a copy of verses prefixed to Gartli's Dispensary, ia which is this beau- tifiil triple*: : I read thee over with a lover's eye: Tijou hast no fbults, or I no faults can spy; Xiiou an all beauty v.^r all blindness 1. Mr. (' »i i \ '■ 1 1 ' ^; ..1' Wi I ' M 47<^ HISTORY OF TH* 300K III. Mr. Park was a native of Virginia, and was distinguished for his successes at a very early time of life. Having married a lady of fortune in America, his first exploit was to rob his wife of her money, and then desert her. With this money he came to England, and obtained a return to parliament ; but gross bribery beinc; proved against liini, he was expelled the house. His next adventure was to debauch the wife of ft friend, for which being prosecuted, he quitted England, and made a campaign with the army in Flanders, where lie had the fortune to attract the notice, and acquire the patronage, of the Duke of Maiiborough.-^In 1704, he attended the Duke as one of his aides-de-camp, and as such, on the event of the battle of Hochstet, having been sent by his Grace to England, with intelligence of that important victory, h^ was rewarded by the Queen with a purse of a tliou- sand guineas, and her picture richly set with diamonds. The year following, the government of the Leeward Islands becoming vacant, Mr. Park, through the interest of his noble patron, wa& appointed to succeed Sir William Mathews therein^ and he arrived at Antigua in Julv, 1706. As he was a native of America, and his in- terest with the British administration was be- lieved to be considerable, the inhabitants of the Leeward Islands, who were probably unac- quainted "WEST INDIES. m quaintecl with his private character, received chap, iiim with singular respect, and the assembly of >J^ Antigua, even contrary to a royal instruction, added a thousand pounds to his yearly income, in order, as it wag expressed in the vote, to re- lieve him from the cxpence of house-rent; a provision which, I believe, has been continued ever since to his successors in the government. The return which Mr. Park thought proper m I *!( I i i. i. 1? ■u ''i' ■: H mil' Hit : • : ;*,, tl 48d HISTORY OF TMfi BOOK borne their success with moderation ; but ihd triumphant joy which they manifested, on re- ceipt of the Queen's orders, provoked the go- vernor into desperation. He declared that he w^ould continue in the government in spite of the inhabitants, and being informed, that a ship was about to sail for Europe, in whicli he might conveniently have embarked, he refused to leave the country. In the meanwhile, to convince the people that his firmness was un^ abated, and that he still considered himself in the rightful exercise of his authority, he issued a proclamation to dissolve the assembly. Matters were now coming fast to an issue. The assembly continued sitting notwithstand- ing the governor's proclamation, and resolved, that having been recalled by his sovereign, his continuance in the government was usurpation and tyranny, and that it was their duty to take charge of the safety and peace of the island. On hearing of this vote, the governor secretly ordered a party of soldiers to surround them ; but the assembly having obtained information of his intentions, immediately separated to pro- vide for their personal safety. The ensuing nighty and the whole of the following day, were employed in summoning the inhabitants from all parts of the island, to hasten to the capital, properly armed, to protect their representa- tives. WEST INDIES. 431 tivcs. It was i^ivcn out, however, that the go- chap. I vernor's life was not aimed at ; all that was in- '^' tended, was to secure his person, and send him from the island. On Thursday the 7th of December, 1710, early in the morning, about five hundred men appeared in arms, in the town of St. John's, where Colonel Park had been making provision for resistance in case of an attack. He had converted the government house into a garri- son, and stationed in it all the regular troops that were in the island. On the approach of the inhabitants however, his courage deserted him. The sight of an injured people, coming forward as one man, with deliberate valour, to execute on his person that punishment which he must have been conscious his enormities well merited, overwhelmed him with confusion and terror. Although he must have been ap- prized, that his adversaries had proceeded too far to retreat, he now, for the first time, when it was too late, had recourse to concession. He dispatched the provost-marshal with a message, signifying his readiness to meet the assembly at Parham, and to consent to whatever laws they should think proper to pass for the good of the country. He offered at the same time to dis- miss his soldiers, provided six of the principal inhabitants would remain with him as hostages for ihe safety of his person. The speaker of Vol. I. , , ^h^ :li t i ivttiffl ^B< t -aMIw ni' i F'Hrlw] ^n \¥ V M- ■ *]»■ pf, ^y ■ 1 - i ■ i^ I 482 HISTORY OF THE BOOK the assembly^ and one of the members of the \^>y"^^ council^ unwilling to carry matters to the last extremity, seemed inclined to a compromise, and proposed themselves as two of the hostages required by the governor ; but the general body of the people, apprehensive that further delay might be fatal to their cause, called aloud for immediate vengeance ; and instantly marched forward in two divisions. One of these, led by Mr. Piggot, a member of the assembly, taking possession of an eminence that commanded the government house, attacked it with great fury. The fire was briskly returned for a considerable time, but at length the assailants broke into the house. The governor met them witli firmness, and shot Piggot dead with his own hand, but received in the same moment a wound which laid him prostrate. His attendants, seeing him fall, threw down their arms, and the enraged populace, seizing the person of the wretched governor, who was still alive, tore him into a thousand pieces, and scattered his reeking limbs in the street. Besides the governor, an ensign and thirteen private soldiers, who fought in his cause, were killed outright, and a lieutenant and twenty-four privates wounded. Of the people, thirty-two were killed and wounded, besides Mr. Piggot. The governor's death instantly put an end to this bloody conflict. Thus perished^ in a general insurrection of an WEST rNDIE3. an .^uUcd and indignant community, a brutal c.Up and licentious despot, than >»I,om no state cri- "'• minal was ever more deservedly punished. He was a monster m wickedness, and being placed by h,s situation beyond the reach of ordinary restraint, it was a, lawful to cut him off by every means possible, as it would have been to shoot a wild beast that had broke its limits, and was gorgmg itself with human blood. " The people of England," says an eminent writerr.A heard with astonishment of Park's untimely fate; but the publick were divided i„ theit sentiment, ; some looking upon his death as an act of rebellion against the crown, and others considering it as a sacrifice to lib.rty The flagrancy of the perpetration, and compassion tor the man, at last got the better." In the I-t- ter assertion however, the writer is clearly mis- taken; for the English government, after full investigation, was so thoroughly satisfied of Mr Park's misconduct, as to issue, ir uch to its ho- nour, a general pardon of all persons concerned ■n his death, and two of the principal actors therein were even promoted some time after- wards to seats in the council. From this period I close my account of the "vil concerns of Antigua, finding no occur- rence in Its subsequent history of sufficient ira- *tt ('J U.nivenal History, vol. XLI. ii3 portance m 1 1 ,iP ir i. I It; ^ ;f N I'l^Jiilu;: 1 484 HISTORY OF THE BOOK poitancc to detain the reader ; what remalnft in. %^v*w therefore is chiefly topographical, and I hope "will be found correct. Antigua is upwards of fifty miles in circum- ference, and contains 59,838 acres of land, of which about 34,000 arc appropriated to the u;rowth of sugar, and pasturage annexed : its other principal staples are cotton-wool and to- bacco ; to what extent of cultiv ation I am not informed ; and they raise in favourable yean gieat quantities of provisions. This island contains two different kinds of soil ; the one a black mould on a substratum of clay, which is naturally rich, and when not checked by excessive droughts, to which An- tigua is particularly subject, very productive. The other is a stiff clay on a substratum of marl. It is much less fertile than the for- mer, and abounds with an inirradicable kind of grass, in such, a manner, that many estates con- sisting of that kind, of soil, which were once very profitable, are now so impoverished and overgrown with this sort of grass, as eitiier to be converted into pasture land, or to become entirclv abandoned. Exclusive of such de- serted land, and a small part of the country that is altogether unimprovable, every part of the island may be said to be under cultivation. I Fbom the circumstances that have been re- lated, it ii di^cult to furnish an average return of II MB i i ' 1. li, * 1^ ilSi 1 ^'Ifv ' '*'^- f • f. '-h f J <* ' m n I ■i ' I ■ liiill ;r ' I I 4 mmm Bimimiimii- i> ■ i ii i iii i i i iiiiiii iii i iiiiiiit: ~miiiiiiiiii LuinrFurd Urt Uickiubiiu lt„,.J lluiuHviiy Sluy^ rlllaiuilluli l'.tv» n.tv I ru//,rl.'tt I". L'hauias IVi /f,iHhj^il/ Five lUnucls llarlKiiir Leoiiardii P.' Crnb Valley lJa>-^ \Vo«**' iiLLiiiiiLmmmmiiiiitnmn iriiiiMrm.Miiii.m.iiimini llllilllllimi'MiiH i m i'iiiii n lUMiiiumiaiiimmr- .ll/.' 1__~ rn'mimrmummTTTmim >' l.ono'itiide Wofl //•<■/;/ t.oniton . /'//,'•//>/;;/ (Kto/>'t); /.-;>l-/'i/.r. .*V,'.-X./,;.V/V.v,7,//////. iniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii: zmmiMsmmm: """""■"" ""^ 3iy i"i""" "■ ^ ss^i A^ •■"''""•Unn I'.' sV^^ ISZAJ^JJ AXTJGUA "^""^i. — Ibr the — """"^ iiisToit r or 'f//f' m:sT lsjues , '''' /.f l.ono'iliKlr Wi'rt //•<•/« Lomioii . •ir ;'.•" ;• <>■ tob' t\ 17:' I- I'll J. A.;- i: /,>.',• I'i.v.utillii . of the i that th( island i in othei hogshca was lb, in the j no crop; stroyed and the perished with cor they no\ It see has prog white p< to goveri white in 2,590, ai helicve, t teen cwt This, as ( ally, is al each acre will be gi year more Cf) In tlu iiionths, whe 5,000 head c WEST INDIES. o the crop, ^ Inch vary to so great a degree, chap, that the quantity of sugar exported from this '^• island m so.ue .years, is five times greater than jn others • thus in 1779 were shipped 3,382 hogsheads, and 579 tierces ; in 1782 the crop was 15,102 hogsheads, and I,(i03 tierces; and in the years 1770, 1773, and 1778, there were no crops of any kind ; all the canes being de- sfroyed by a long continuance of dry weather and the whole body of the negroes must have perished for want of f(.od, if American vessels with corn and flour had been at Ihat time as they now are, denied admittance (f). It seems to me on the whole, that t!ie island has progressively decreased both in produce and white population. The last accurate returns to government were in 1774. In that year, the white inhabitants of all ages and sexes were ^.jyO, and the enslaved negroes 37,808 and I believe, that 17,000 hogsheads of sugar^of six- teen cwt. are reckoned a good saving crop. Ihis, as one-half the canes only are cut annu- ally, is about a hogshead of sugar j^ev acre for each acre that is cut. The produce of 1787 will be given hereafter; and I believe it was a year more favourable to Antigua, in proportion Cf) In the year 1789, there was no fall of rain for seven months, whereby there was not only no crop of su Surinam -- { 16,045 as nearly as can be ascertained from the latest accouats." ^«^v%^ i ■ i.' ' uw *9^ BOOK III. HISTORY OF THE Section IV. M O N T S E R R A T. OF this little island, ncidier the extent nor the importance (leiiiaiids a very copious dis- cussion. It was discovered at ihe same lime with St. Christopher's, and derived its name from a supposed resemblance which Columbus perceived in the face of the country to a moun- tain of the same name near Barcelona. The name was all that was bestowed upon it by the Spaniards. Like Nevis, it was first plant- ed hy a small colony from St. Christopher's, de- tached in 1632 from the adventurers under Warner. Their separation appears indeed to have been partly occasioned by local attach- ments and religious dissensions ; which rendered their situation in St. Christopher's uneasv, beiuir chiefly natives of Ireland, of the Romish per- suasion. The same causes, however, operated to the augmentatiun of their numbers; for so many persons of the same country and religion adven- tured thither soon after the first settlement, as to create a white population which it has ever biiice West indies. Since possessed; if it be true, as asserted by chap. Oldnuxon, that at the end of sixteen years there "'• were in the island upwards of one thousand Avhite families, constituting a militia of three hundred and sixty effective men. The civil history of this little island contains nothing very remarkable. It was invaded by a French force in 1713, and suffered so much from the depredations of that armament, that an ar- tide was inserted in the treaty of Utrechtfor ap- pointing commissioners to enquire into the da- mages; which, however, were not made ffood to the sufferers. It was again invaded, and with most of the other islands captured by the French m the late w ar, and restored with the rest Nothing therefore remains but to furnish the reader with an account of its present statd m respect of cultivation, productions, and ex- ports. MoNTSERR AT is about three leagues in length and as many in breadth, and is supposed to contain about thirty thousand acres of land of which almost two-thirds are very moun- tainous, or very barren. The land in culti- vation IS appropriated nearly as follows In sugar, six thousand acres : In cotton, provi- sions, and pasturage, two thousand each. None other of the tropical staples are raised. Its average crop from 1784 to 1788. were $ 7.qT logsheads of sugar of sixteen hundred weight, i,107 puncheons of mm, and 275 bales ^7 'IV. iil J 'IV Hi ^ U^' :i' 'li i^'i ■' Iv I .: ' y';, 499 BOOK III. HISTOr.Y OF THE of cotton. The exports of 1787, and their value at the London market, will be seen in a table annexed to this chapter. Tliey are pro- duced by the labour of one thousand three hun- dred ^vhites, and about ten thousand negroes. The government is administered in this, as in the other islands, by a legislature of its ow^n, under the captain general. The council consist of six members, and the assembly of eight, two from each of the four districts into which it is divided ; and the proportion which Moutserrat contributes to the salary of the cap- tain general is 400Z. per annum. Section V. VIRGIN ISLANDS. 1 1 I • OF the Virgin Islands I have so few particu- lars to comttiunicate, that I fear the reader will accuse me of inattention or idleness in my researches. I have> however, solicited infor- mation of those who I thought were most likely to afford it; but if my enquiries were not slighted, my expectations were not gratified. Even in. a late historical account by Mr. Suck- ling, the chief jutice of these islands, I ilndbiit little 1^ i\ 'i ' ill-' .1 '11 1^ ■ rl ! ■14 I'uhiiMt o^tetrti, ir:nt'j,j. .ff,><-/,,M,'/f,..',„m/. Naiilif \liU-s. .»<• i-ci'lioulfrs I'oiiit iiniiif.iiioi's jrr* J^< h'/fi'ilif KnuiJOnd ■I I '^ OKli.tor J. t '"*.,.. (jJa^nyhtuU-Wi-n ,/,,,„ i.oii.>..n. a„ little o no pai cultival to the K tants. the orig poses til by Sir F zabeth ; named who dis< this app< legend i virgins. The thought century a the earl < tack of P voyage, \ liiyt's col islands \^ and crag^ prehend a and they i English J t lish hold 00 This h Spanish Towi WEST INDIES. 499 little of which I can av^il mjself. It furnishes chap. no particulars concerning their extent, their '''' cultivation, or their commerce. It is silent as to the number of their present English inhabi- tants. The author is even misinformed as to the origin of their present name ; for he sup- poses that it was bestowed upon them in I5S0. by Sir Francis Drake, in honour of Queen Eli- zabeth ; but the fact is, that these islands were named Las Virgines, bj Columbus himself, who discovered them in 1493, and gave them this appellation in allusion to the well-known legend in the Romish ritual of the 11,000 virgins. The Spaniards of those days, however, thou-ht them unworthy of further notice. A century afterwards ( 1596) they were visted by the earl of Cumberland, in his way to the at- tack of Porto Rico ; and the historian of that voyage, whose narrative is preserved in Hak- luyt's collection, calls them ^' a knot of little islands wholly uninhabited, sandy, barren, and craggy." The whole group may com- prehend about forty islands, islets, and keys, and they are divided at present between the English, the Spaniards, and Danes. The Eng- lish hold Tortola, and Virgin GordaChJ, 00 This last is likewise called Penniston, and corruptly Spanish Town. It has two very good harbours. ^ ^ ^ Josvaa 500 HISTORY Of' THE BOOK Josvan Dykes, Guana Isle, Beef and Thatch III. v^v^ Islands, Anegada, Nichar, Prickly Pear, Ca- tnana's. Ginger, Cooper's, Salt Island, Peter'a Island, and several others of little value. The Danes possess Santa Ctuz{iJ, St. Thomas, with ahout twelve smaller islands dependent there- on, and St. John, which last is of importance as having the best harbour of any island to the leeward of Antigua, and the Spaniards claim Crab Island, the Green or Serpent Island, the Tropick Keys, and Great and Little Passage. The first possessors of such of these islands as now belong to the British government, were a party of Dutch Bucaniers, who fixed them- selves at Tortola about the year 1648, and built a fort there for their protection. In 1666, they were driven out by a stronger party of the same adventurers, who, calling themselves English, pretended to take possession for the crown of England ; and the English monarch, if he did not commission the enterprize, made no scruple to claim the benefit of it ; for Tor- tola and its dependencies were soon afterwards annexed to the Leeward Island government, in (i) Ste. Croix, or Santa Cruz, belonged originally to tlie French, and was sold by them to the Danes, in 1733, for the sum of 75,0001. Its inhabitants are chiefly English, and ■ the lands being exceedingly fertile, the produce of this little island (most of which I believe is smuggled into Great Bri- tain as Uie produce of Tortola) is s'ery considerable, particu- larly sugar. a com- WEST INDIES. 1 1 i'.l S;rW,l..nx Stapleton, and I believe that the .J^ Enghsh title has remained unin^peached from ^ that tune to thig. The Dutch had made but little progress in cultivatingthecountr, when they were expelled ' from Tortola ; and the chief merit of its sub- sequent improvements was reserved for some English settlers from the little island of An- guUla who, about a century past, embarked with their families, and settled in the Virgin Islands, Their wants were few, and their government simple and unexpensive. The deputy governor with a council nominated fiom ^mongthem' selves, exercisedboth the legislative and judicial authority, determining, i„ ^ summary manner without a jury, all questions between subject and subject; and as to taxes, there seem to have been none laid; when money wa. absolutely necessary for publick use, it was raised, I be, lieve, by voluntary contribution. Under such a system, it was impossible that he colony could attain to much importance. It wanted the advantage of English capitals • but credit ,s sparingly given where payment cannot easily be enforced. The inhabitants therefore, whose numbers in 1756 amounted to 1,236 whites, and 6,121 blacks, reasonably hoped to be put on the same footing with the sister 501 i I '! ■- ■ I'l 503 HISTORY OF THE III BOOK sister islands, by the establishment of a perfect civil government, and constitutional coiuts of justice amongthem ; but inthisexpectation they were not gratified until the year 1773. In that year, they presented an humble petition to the captain-general pf the Leevvai 4 Island govern- ment, requesting his excclicicy to unite with them in an application to his Majesty, for per- mission to elect an assembly of representatives out of the freeholders and planters, in order that such assembly, with the governor and council, might frame proper laws for their peace, wel- fare, and good government ; pledf^ing them- selves, in that casCj to grant to, his MajeHy, his heirs and successors, an impost offoi't and a half per centum, in specie, upon all goods and com- modities the growth of these islands, similar to that which waspaid in the other Leeward Islands. Their application (thus sweetened) proved successful. It was signified to them that his Majesty, fully cousideiing the persons, cir- cumstances, i^nd condition of his said Virgin Islands, and the necessity there was, from the then state of their culture and inhabitancy, that some adequate and perfect form of civil go- vernmeut should be established therein ; " and " finally trusting that his faithful subjects, " in his said Virgin Islands, who should com- " pose the new assembly, would, as the first 1 " act f » WEST INDIES. ^Q3. " act of lof^islalion, cheerfully make good the chap. "engagement of granting to his Majesty, his J^ " heirs and successors, the impost of four and *' a half per centum, on all the produce of the " Virgin Islands, to be raised and paid in the " same manner as the four and a half per " centum is made payable in the other Leeward " Islands," did cause his royal pleasure to be signified to the governor in cl»ief, that he should issue writs in his Majesty's name, for convening an assembly or house of representa- tives, who, together with a council, to be com- posed of twelve persons, to be appoiiited by the governor for that purpose, might I'rame and pass such laws as should be necessary for the welfare and good government of the said Islands, Accordingly, on the oOlh of November ITT-?, the governor in chief of the Leeward Islands, in obedience to his Majesty's orders, issued a proclamation for convening an assembly or house of representatives of the Virgin Islands, who met on the 1st of February following, and very honourably complied with their engage- ment to the crown ; the very first act passed by them being the grant before mentioned of four and a half;>rr ccnliim, on the produce of the colony for ever. They afterwards passed a grant of 400/. currency per annum, as their proportion towards the salary of the governor-general. Such waslhc price at whicli the Vir."'in Islands purchasccl il^lj||'i i, k 1, 1 f' ;: fH'^ k i 1 H- ri. ft a. k ,i , Ml BOOK 1". ... \^v^ legislature HISTORY OF THR purclnsed the establishment of a constitutional If it be difficult to reconcile this precedent with the doctrines which have been maintained in the case of Grenada, it may per- haps be said (as I believe the fact was) that the inhabitants of these islands were unapprised of the rights which they inherited as British sub- jects, when they voluntarily proposed to subject themselves and their posterity to the tax in question for permission to enjoy them ; and their posterity may perhaps dispute the au- thority which their forefathers exercised on this occasion. The chief, and almost the only staple pro- ductions of these islands are sugar and cotton. Of the quantity of land appropriated to the cultivation of either^ I have no account, nor can I venture even to guess at the quantity of un- improved land which may yet be brought into cultivation : Tortola itself is not more than fif- teen miles long and six miles broad ; the exports of 1787 will presently be given, and I have only to add, that they were raised by the labour of about one thousand two hundred whites, and nin^ thousand blacks. HAVING so far treated of the several islands which constitute what is called the Lee- ward Island Goveroment^ as they stand distinct from WRST INDIES. «O0 from each other, I close my account, as in for- chap. mer cases, with an luthentick Table of their '^' Returns for 1787; after which, I shall, as proposed, offer a few observations on circum- •tances which are common to them ail. 'II Ab '•"r i i ^•\ i'i: >, ; 008 BOOK III. HISTOnY OF THE An ACCOUNT of the Number of Vessels, Sec. that have Ant i;:;ua, Nevis, ;iii(ltheVirgiii Islands, betweeiUhe 5th January Cargoes, and the Value thereof. St. CHRIS- Whither bound. To Great Britain — — Ireland • — — — American States — — IJriiish Colonies in America - Foreign West Indies — — Total from St. Christopher's — To Grc;it Britain — — Ireland — — — American States — — British Colonies in America - Foreign West Indies — — Total from Antigua — — SHIPPING. Mo, Toniuit^i 53:ll,fMV. ;i 21 If) 10) 2,457 1,'JO! t ,1.0;* 2(X) 2:J,15.- 7(i'l no MO 110 .■)4(; Sugar. Cut, r/rs. ll>s. .';ii,;397 2 \'2 :5,0!)!) :58« — . 1,590 235,,^L'« 2 l; Rum. Gii/lons, 78,2!)!) «,.'5(K) 1()7,7'1() ()5,O00 15,070 fi34,TO<) AN' 65 If) 71 ;54 47 ;>J3 l;3,H06 1 ,!)09 ^■',281 2,1^7 -',5-K) 901 159 552 177 259 28,(;();5^ 2,048 254,575 1 18 22 295 — (j,779 — ■ 844 a:i 281,525 1 18 12S,!);if) 97,100 375,150 io;^;;'-'o 5,7-10 7i(i,5:(>' MONTSERRAT To Great Britnni — — Amcric.'in States — — Briti.'ih Colonies in America - Foreign West Indies — — Africa — — — Total from Montserrat and Nevis 23 20 7 71 1 1 22 5,;iV 1,850 379 3,08' 10; 10,787 341 138 40 377 8 • 21 10i',:i25 l,o!)5 ti4 901 110,284 — 21 I 4,40(i 122,710 2l,;;oo 14O,6C0 28!*,0"fi VIRGIN 1() (Jreat Britain — American States — British Colonics in America Foreign ^\'cst Indies — - Total from the Virgin Islands G HAND Total — 25: 3 4 8 5,137 57'j 22f) 58 1 314 21 20 51 4() OVilo 59.-) o;i,l21 u; 4,978 78,749 1 fi ill 3G3 '!),;i03 1 6 /(/9,5-i2 2 1 517 1S,!KX) 7,000 ;i,41' 1, :',()■ l,(vlH cleared outward 1/87, and the 5 ■TOPHER'S. Molas- ses, Giill(jni. 8,154, Indi go. lbs. 318 8,1.54 318 ■TIGUA. 3,510 2C 1 1 — 1,700 m..^ 700 — — — 5,910 26 1( AND NEVIS. J,313I i4j 1,313 140 iSLANDS. 2,0111 --~T1?S7 L',011j ~ oyp ■'i7,;;S8 4G4 1,026", hat have li January '. CHRIS- Rum. Giiilons 78,29f) 8,500 167,7'I0 f)5,000 1.5,070 ri34,TO<) AN* l'28,<»,if) 97,KX) S7.-.,I.J0 10!*,:;'_'0 5,7-10 7Hi,.)!(; ERRAT 'l,4()fi 122,710 21,:;o(,) 140,660 2K!*,07f; '■IRGIN 517 13,900 7,000 ' ;!i,-ii: i(;i,fiit WEST INDIES. 1/87, and the o.h January J788 ; too.a^er with in Account ouS •TOPHER'S. Molas< (C'S. Giiilons. 8,1 04 Indigo. Cotton. Hycmy Woods,! ^'^■'f'scpHaneous in Value. Artick'.s, in Value. /is. 318 lis. 484,(?4() 5,824 1 1 0-5 . /,. s. d. 33,195 IG 10 20 10 — 18^; 10 — 19 15 I C «,I54 SJ8 484,640 5; •^,989 1 (,- "3,4 56- 19 4 TOTAL. L- s. d. 4.30,178 15 5 O'.O.'J;; _ 15,512 1,5 6-,788 10 — 1,498 14 - ;io,oi4 5 •TIGUA. ;i,510l Lf; 1,700 _ 700 — 5,910 29,500 2,400 26 160,510 46',4G6 18 ;3 I 484,483 19 6 43 il .';o,768 16 8 4,M2 6 407 5 — 14 7 — 1,075 48,006 10 3 44,679 19 2 \\m\ 15 4 1,632 .5 — . 592,596 1.5 8 AND NEVIS. 1,313 l''J I 91,9721 500 1,313 140 92,472 352 7 6 l,l the WKST INDIK^ aog m 1%. *inr!ur'^' ^"'* tluM-har^c, of rolloclinff, n„rl chap. 105,000/. more, ^xpcndod in Cnrvni IJri«a|„ ;„ 'V- the pajmct of frci^hf. (|„ii,,, conunissions, '^^ fees of office, and other claiiriH and doduc- iiomCk). Fii«M the net money paid into ihe exdiennor the Governor General of these ,«hinds rereives a salary of \,m)l. sferlin^. exclusive of th. ^c- veral sums p^ranted hin, by the colonial as- "nnhlics (/;, and f believe that salaries arc allowed from tlu; same fund to the Licntc- na.it General, and the several Lieutenant Go- vernors. I have been informed too, that the Govcrnorsofthe Bahama and JJcrmudas Islands arc likewise paid out of this duty. The balance whichremain8,aftcrtheseandsomeother deduc- tions arc made, is wholly at the king's disposal. But it is impossible not to observe, that al- most all the islands within this government, as well as Barbadoes, have been, for many years past, progressively oif the decline : and it is therefore probable that the present net produce (Jc) Some years after this, a new mode of collectin percent. These sums therefore, added to 1,20(1/ sterling, paid ou( of the Exchequer, make his whole salary iiOOOl, sterling per cKnum. of '^■M J/ 510 BOOK III. falSTORY OF THII of this duty is not more than sufficient to defray the several incumbrances with which it is load- ed. The negroes indeed have been kept up, and even augmented, by purchase, because, as the lands have become impoverished, they have re- quired a greater expence of labour to make them any way productive ; but as the returns have not increased in the same degree, nothing could have saved the planters from ruin, but the advanced price of sugar in the markets of Europe. It appears from authentick accounts laid be- fore parliament, that the import of sugar into Great Britain from all the British West In- dies (Jamaica excepted) has decreased, in the course of twenty years, from 3,762,804 cwt. to 2,563,228 cwt. (m). The difference in value, at a medium price, cannot be less than 400,000/. sterling, and it will be found to have fallen chiefly on those islands which are subject to the duty in question ; to the effects of which, therefore, the deficiency must be chiefly attri- buted ; for being laid, not on the land, but on the produce of the land, it operates as a tax on industry, and a penalty which falls heaviest on the man who contributes most to augment the wealth, commerce, navigation, and revenues On) Being the average of two periods, the Iv stfrom 177- to 1775, the second from 1/88 to 1793. of WEST INDIES. ' 51, of the mother-country. It is considered b}' the chap. planters as equal to ten per cent, on the net pro- sj^ duce of their estates for ever. Under such a burthen, which, while it oppresses the colonies, yields a profit of no great consideration to the crown, they have been unable to stand a com- petition with the British planters in the other islands, and have been depressed still more by the rapid growth and extensive opulence of the French colonies in their neighbourhood. Thus a check has been given to the spirit of improve- ment, and much of that laud, which, though somewhat impoverished by long cultivation, would still, with ihe aid ofmanure, contribute ' greatly to the general returns, is abandoned, because the produce of the poorest soilis taxed as high as that of the most fertile. To the loss arising from a decrease of pro- duce, accompanied with an increase of con- tingent expenccs, must be added the ruinous effects of capture in the late American war. The damages sustained in St. Christopher's alone, by De Grasse's invasion in 1782, from the de- struction of negroes and cattle, and the burn- ing of the canes, were estimated at 160,000?. sterling, which sum was made up to the suffer- ers by a poll-tax on the slaves, of no less than forty shillings. The annual taxes for defraying the current charges of their internal govern- ments, in all the islands, are also exceedingly bur- ,> I . j,f . ■iH 512 HISTORY OF THE BOOK burthensomc ; besides parish taxes for the repair \^y^^ of the roads^ tlie maintenance of the clergy^ and the relief of the poor. But, under all these and the other discou-* ragements which are felt by the proprietors, the wealth which still flows from these little depen- dencies into the mother-country, must fill every reflecting mind with surprise and admiration. An extent of cultivated territory, not equal to one-tenth part of the county of Essex, adding yearly one million and a half to the national income, is a circumstance that demonstrates beyond all abstract reasoning the vast impor- tance to Great Britain of having sugar islands of her own. At the same time, it is both amusing and instructive to consider how little the present returns from these islands are an- swerable to the hopes and expectations of their first European possessors; or rather it affords an animated illustration of the wisdom of Pro- vidence, which frequently renders the follies and weaknesses of man productive of good. The first English adventurers were influenced wholly by the hopes of opening a golden fountain, similar to that which was flowing from Peru and Mexico into Spain. The na- tion was told of countries where the moun- tains were composed of diamonds, and the cities built wholly of ingots of gold. Such bert^ West indibsv en Wrt, and .t ., a laH.entable display of the power cur ol avancc on tl.c human mind, to behold the JV Agacou, and learned Kaleigh bewildered in the same f<,lly ! Experience has at length cor- rected this frenzy, and Enrope is now wise enongh (o acknowledge that gold and silver I'ave only an artificial and relative value ; that industry alone is real wealth, and that agricuU lure and commerce are the great sources of na- tional prosperity. The produce of these islands however, though of such value to the mother-countrj, is raised at an expence to the cultivator, which perhaps IS not equalled in any other pursuit, in any countrj of the globe. It is an expence too! that IS permanent and certain ; while tJie re- turns are more variable and fluctuating than any other; owing to calamities, to which these countries are exposed, both from the hands of God and man; and it is mournful to udd, that the selfish or mistaken policy of man IS sometimes more destructive than even the anger of Omnipotence ! At the time that I write this, (1791) the humanity of the British nation is tremblinffly alive to the real or fictitious distresses of the African labourers in these and the other islands of the West Indies : and the holders and em- ployers of those people seem to be marked out titV- -""lick iiidignation for nr proscription and •I'ln. So strong and universal a sympathy al ^^OL. I. T r, ' . 1 lows iir ':' f „!iP l> 1 '■ 1 r 114 inSTORY or THK BOOK III. lows no room for the sober exercise of reasoil^ or it would be remembered, that the.condlHon of that unfortunate race must depend p^reatly on the condition and circumstances of thoir owners. Oppression towards the principal, will be felt with double force bj his dependanls. and the blow that wounds the master will ex- terminate the slave. The propriety of these remarks will be seen in subsequent parts of my work, when I come in course to treat of tha slave trade and slavery ; and to consider the commercial system of Great Britain towards her West Indian dependencies, of which I have now completed the catalogue. Here then I might close the third book of my history ; but it has probably occurred to the reader, that I have omitted the two govern- ments of Bahama and Bermudas (n) ; to which indeed it was my intention, when I began my work, to appropriate a distinct chapter. An examination of my materials has induced mc to alter my purpose ; finding myself possessed of scarce any memorials concerning the civil his- tory of those islands, that are not given in the numerous geographical treatises with which the shelves of the booksellers arc loaded. Of the CnJ I have also pnssed over unnoUced the small islanrls of Anguilla and Barbiula, as being of too little importance to merit particular description. The former belongs to tiie Leeward Island <'0\ erament ; the latter h tht pri pro- perty of the Codrington family. present ^V£ST INDIES. . 51S Jc ashamed to ackrtowledge my ig„„..a„ee il J^ tsmuch a, even the lords of the Lmittee of councdfortheafiairsoftradcandp/raLf were .mahle to ohtain satisfactory iifon„atio„ ' c.„..r„,., . To their .ordshi. «„;::;: m 8J, to the extent of territory in those land.,--the quaufty of laud in cultivation,- »nd exports, &c. the only answer that could be <.b an.ed from the Governor was this, mat U »«. nt thattnne vupossiMe to ascertain any oftho.c ' Vart,culars. It appears, however, from the t^s timonyofother person,, (hat these islands", general are rocky and barren ; that the only .rt.cle cultivated for exportation is cotton, of which the medium export is fifteen hundred ags of two cwt. ; that the inhabitants (who ■■ \><3 consisted of two thousand and fifty^wo wlntcs, and two thousand two hundred and forty-one blacks) have been of late years con- • siderably augmented by emigrants from North America ; but of their present numbers no pre- cise account is given (oj. mlT h""™ ''■'"*' ""P-l-^^ng those whlC, '..her from ihe.r sm.\\no,s. the barrenness oF ,he soil o , W <-.>..s.e„;.,est,^ri:::^^^^^^^^ ". Harbour lsl,,„.l, Eiulhen,, Exuma, St. I- L 3 vadore. Long Island, i:! si6 histohy of the BOOK CoNCEBNiS'G Bermudas, Governor Brown i!^ v^-Y-w more explicit. From his answers to their Lordships' queries, it appears that they contain from twelve to thirteen thousand acres of very poor land, of which nine parts in ten are either uncultivated, or reserved irt woods for the sup- plyinj^ of timher for building small ships, sloops, and shallops, for sale ; this being in truth the principal occupation and employment of the inhabitants ; and the vessels which they fur- nish, being built of cedar, are light, buoyant, and unexpensive. Of the land in cultivation, no part was ap- propriated to any other purpose than that of raising Indian corn, and esculent roots and ve- getables ( of which a considerable supply is sent to the West Indian Islands) until the year 1785, when the growth of cotton was attempted, but with no great success, there not being at pre- sent more than two hundred acres applied in this line of culture. The number of white people of all ages in Bermudas is five thousand four hundred and sixty-two ; of blacks four thousand nine hun* dred and nineteen (pj. Island, Andros, Bimini, &c. The scat of government is at the town of Nassau in Providence. Vid. vol. i. p. 7- CpJ It wer^ an act of great injustice to the inhabitants of BHrmndas. to omit the verv honourable testimony which Governor Brown has transmitted to government, concerning the treatment of their negro slaves. " Nothing (he ob- serves) 1 , ll WEST INDIES. 517 Thus it appears that the lands become less chap. fertile as we recede from the tropicks, and were J^ there not, as there certainly is, an unaccount- able propensity in the greater part of mankind to under-rate what they have in actual posses- sion. It would require but little effort to con- Tincc the publick of the vast importance of our West Indian dependencies ; of which the pro- gressive growth has now been traced from the first settlement. What remains is to convey that convi-^tion to the English reader. This then, after taking a cursory survey for the gra- tification of curiosity, of the present inhabit, ants and the system of agriculture, I shall en- deavour to accomplish in the next volume. serves) can better shew the state of slavery in Bermudas than the behaviour of the blacks in the late war. There were at one time between tifteeu and twenty privateers fitted out from hence, which were partly manned by negi-o slaves " • who behaved both as sailors and marines irreproachably' and whenever they were captured, always returned, if it was ill their power. There were several instances wherein they had been condemned with the vessel and sold, and after- wards found means to escape ; and through many difficulties and hardships returned to their masters' service. In the ship Regulator, a privateer, there were seventy slaves. She was taken and carried into Boston. Sixty of them return^ in a tlag of truce directly to Bermudas. Nine others returned by the way of New York. One only was missing, who died in the cruize, or in captivity." Report of the Privy Council on the Slave Trade. I'art IIJ. m ':w ■J 'J! ,"!} I;' 11: li n \i-tn '* i • I i:i':i; S I m , 1 5lt HISTORY OP THE APPENDIX Since the Publication of the former Editions of this Work, the An ACCOUNT of the Duty of Four and a Half per Centum, arising 1795, and 179G; withothe Amount of the Charges and Pmjmcnis In Exchequer hy the Receiver General of the Custom.'}. in Barbadues ui, which it is liab Year*. 1794 1795 1796 Total Gross Receipt by the Husband arising frpm Produce censiened tp 70,280 I 2 62,100 6 57,665 J 9 Receipt in the Plantations fn lieu of Produce. £. s. d. 7,480 9\ 6,921 16 4 14,907 13 8 190,695 8 11 29,309 9 9^ Total Receipt. JC. s. d. 77,710 1 U\ 69,722 2 4 72,572 14 5 /" Duties, Freight, &c. &c. 220,004 18 8i 27,979 8 9 18,956 18 4 17,010 15 3 Charges paid Annuities. £. s. d. 1,586 1 6,200 4,500 63,947 2 4; 12,286 1 iVo/r.— The Differencr ctwcen the Net Proceed, and the Payments arises remitted from the West Indies not having been paid within , by the I lushand. Salaries to Plantation Officers. Char Mana in Plant £• s. d. 1,792 15 10 4,841 either from Money; the Year, as was pat Custom House, London, J7th March, 1798. hi ^Vi:ST INDIES, *i9 < hi I (0 VOL. r. N"!. iuJlovving Paper has been laid before the Flouse of Com niros. in Barbados and the Lueward hlands, in America, for the Y^an 179J, which it is liable, the Net Proceed, thereof, with the Payment, into th. by the HushanfJ. Salaries to Plantation Olliccrs. Charges of Managejuent in tlie Plantations. Payments Receiver General. Total of Charges. C' f. d. £. s. d. 1,792 15 10; -1,841 5 1 1,78C 16 7 899 3 1 4,478 15 6 4,619 a li| 4,7'>7 I 4J 14,207 9 5\ £• n.so 380 380 3' 1,H0 £' s. d. :i6,579 9 ') 17 104 !7,536 19 8^ 96ft59 7 4^ Net Proceeds. £■ s. d. 41,130 12 L'i 37,779 4 5\ 45,035 14 8i Pavments Receiver Gen«- ral into the Jixchequei-. £■ s. d. 43,881 15 A\ 34,176 3 lOi 39/532 3 \\ 123,945 11 4 117,090 7 4J cither from Moneys having be«n remitted due on former Years, or from Bill, the Year, as was particularly the Case in the Year 1796. J. Mill,, for the Rec. General. Thos. Porter, pro Corapt. Qeneral. Jas, Neivefy Inspector and Exam, of Planta. Collec. Accts. tVm, J^a-iulcss, Acting Husband of the Duty of U per Cent. Jr. Uregory, * ' Conipt. of Do. Ill m ^20 HISTORY OF THK An ACCOUNT of the several Charges upon the Fund, arisinn" by the Duties of Four Poumls and One Half Pound per Centum Daring the years ITOl, 1795, and 1795, paid at the Exchequer. SALARIES and PENSIONS 1794. 1795. 1796. paid at the Exchequer. £. s. d £• s. J. £. s. d. Governors of Barbadoes - - - - - 2,000 9 2,000 2,000 Bahama Islands - - - 700 700 700 Bermuda - - - - . 750 750 T50 Leeward islands - - - l,i200 1,200 6 1,300 Tobago ------ Grenada ------ 1,300 Q 1,300 1,500 1,S64 1,364 1,364 Dominica - - - - . 1,300 1,300 1,300 St. Vincent's - - - - 1,300 J, 300 1,300 Lieut. Governors of Leeward Islands SOO 300 300 Tortola- - - - 200 200 200 An{igu^ - - - 200 200 200 Nevis - - . - 300 SOO 300 Montserrat - - 200 200 200 St.Kitt's - - - 200 200 200 Grenada - - - 600 600 600 Pominica ^ - - 400 400 400 Q A o'^nftt fif Or^nnu^ ■••■•■•.>■• 200 200 200 Turks Island , - . - - 100 100 100 Auditor General of Plantation* - - - 250 250 2,30 Chief Justice of Virgin Islands * - . 200 200 200 Governor of the Bnhama Islands toT make up the Deficiencies of hisv 328 4 1 ?44 17 10 208 8 6 Fees at ^. 500 per Annum - -< -J Governor of Barbadoes for bis Ser-7 vices ----- -5 1,500 Governor of Martinique for his Outfit — 1,500 q Do. - . - his Salary — ( 1,D22 4 H 1,977 15 6* Countess Dowager of Chatham, John*^ Earl of Chatham, and the Right 1 Honourable WilL'am Pitt, durmg V 3,O0p 3,000 3,000 Q th*ir Lives severally and tucces- 1 sively - - - - -J • Jlepresentatives of the Earl of Kin-7 poul (Perpctruity) = = =5 1,00U 1,000 1,000 Carried forward - £. 18,892 4 ] 20,731 2 "3I 19,250 4 0^ Fredeswed Sav< Charlotte Todd Francis Tucker James Craufurd of Bermuda Is Henry Charles Gov. of Mont Jillirli' s. d. S' i ^ m- Q ' 8 6 Q WEST INDIES, (eoiitintied ) SALARIED find PENSIONS paid at the Exchequer. Brought forwnrd - / Henry Stnichey, Esq. late Secretary' to the Commission for restoring ( Peace in North America, durint;j lAie ---.." Henry Ellis, Esq. la-^e Governor of) Georgia and Nova Scotia, during ^ Pleasure - . . . . \ Mary Elliot, W^idow of Grey Elliot, Esq. late additional Cldk m Ordi- nary of the Office of Trade and Foreign Plantations - Susannah Monckton, Widow of? the late General Monckton ^ Peter Livius, Esq. formerly Chief? Justice of Canada - . .5 Josiah Henry Ma ■ Mar Sara Alice D(. Henry Pelham, Esq. late a Comu.is- sioner of Customs Fredeswed Savory Charlotte Todd Francis Tucker ."J Children of -J / George Bru- / ■ V- yere, Esq. L I late Gov. of I J Bermuda J I James Craufurd, Esq. late Governor? of Bermuda Islands - - - -\ Henry Charles Selwyn, Esq. Lieut. Gov. of Montjerrat I 1 794. 18,G92 4 587 ( 300 ( ICO ( 100 ( 750 ( l."0 ( 50 ( 50 O C 50 C 761 r 40 30 30 '-'1,890 4 1 £31 1795 1796. -'0,731 2 3 in,-.>50 4 0| 587 300 100 100 O 222 5 10-; 150 50 50 50 O 7C1 40 SO SO O 2;', 201 8 2 587 Q 200 100 9 100 Q Ceased. 150 O O 50 iO 50 761 O <^ 40 O 30 30 O 4C7 10 100 O 2'J,00j 14 Oi E^pences of His Majesty's clvlf f ovea.mcnt. '^' ^*"''^'"^' '''' ^'^^"■-" ""«* treasury Chaiiibcrs, Whitehall, S7tb April, 1798. George liuse. ;:■ ! •■■1 ,' 1, * It k :ti ^f ■i! , iy ..I tl 0ae HlS'l'OH\' OF THE APPENDIX to Vol. J, N" 2, Observalloiis on the Dispositior?, Chnrarter, Manners^ and Ualnts nf Life, of the MAROON NE- CliOES of the hlaml of Ja m aic a ; a)ul a Detail of Ike Orip;itiy .Provas imniedintelv'lifier- ^vards severely retaliated by the slaughter of forty sol . diers, cut oiF as they were carelessly rambling from their quarters. A detachment was immediately sent m pursuit of the euemy, which came up with and iiilled seven or eigiit of them ; but they still found means to hold out, until being hard pressed the vear following by Ce ! D'Oyley, Mho, by his final oVer- throw of the Si a., .ds, had taken from them all hope of future succour from their ancient masters, they be- . came very much streightencd for want of provision^ and ammunition. The main body, under the com- mand of a negro named Jmn de Bolas (whose place of retreat in the parish of Clarendon still retains his name) at length solicited for peace, and surrendered to the Lnglish on terms of pardon and freedom. A large party, however, (who had now acquired the name of Maroons*) remained in their retreats within the mountains; where they not only augmented their •The word signifies, among the .^^panlsh Amencans, accord!n..to Mr. Long, Hos-hu.ters: the wood, abounding with the wild boar.and the pursuit of them constituting the chief employment of fugitive ne- groes. MaM. the Spanish word for a young pig. Tht foUow- mg ,s the derivation, however, given in the Encyclopedic, article Ma- ron : « On appelle marc», dan« lea isles Francoises les nc^res fugitifs C« terme vicnt du mot Espagnol Shnaran qui signiiie un Sin^^e 1 es E,- pagnols crurent ne devoir pas faire plus d'honneur a leuvs malheureu x esclaves fugitifs, que deles appeller .,V,„, parcequ'ils se retiroient comrne ces anuaaux aux fond, des bois et n'en sortoient que pour cueilhr des fruits qui se trouvoient dans les lieux les plus voisins d« eur retrait." The reader will accept wluch of these derivations he mti best, iimuberti i ■u :l! i-' it . m 524, HISTORY OF THE APPFN- numbers by natural increase, but, after tlie Island hc^ ^^'^' , came tliicker sown with planlalions, they were fre- quen. ly reinforced by fugitive slaves. At length they grew confident enouijh of their force to undertake de- scents upon their interior planters, many of whom they murdered, from time to time, without the least provo- cation ; and by their barbarities and outrages intimi^ dated the whites from venturing to any considerable^ distance front the sea-coast, Ix 1663 the liieutenant-govcrnor, Sir Charles Lyt-. telton, and his council, issued a proclamation, ofl'ering a fidl pardou, twenty acres of land, ajid freedom from uU manner of slavery, to each of them who should sur- render. But 1 do not find that any of them were in- clined to accept the terms offered, or quit their savage Avay of life. On the contrary, they were better pleased w ith the more ample range they possessed in the woods, •where their I Minting grounds w(;re not yet encroached upon by settlements. They took eftt'ctual care, in- deed, that no settlenient should be eetablibhed riear them ; for they butchered every white family tliat yentufcd to seat itself any considerable distance inland. When the Governor perceived that the proclamation yfrought no eflect, ,)ns\i de Bohis, who was now made Colonel of the lilack Regiment, \vas sent to endeavour their reduction ; but in the prosecution of Uiis service he fell into an ambuscade, and was cut to pieces. In March, 1C6I, Captain Colbeck, of the white militia, was employed for the same purpose. He went by sea to the north side ; and, having gained some advan- tages over tlic Maroons, he returned with one who pre- tended to treat for the rest. This embassy, however, was only calculated to amuse the whites, and gain some respite ; for the Maroons no sooner found them- selves in a condition to act, and the white inhabitants lulled into security', than they began to renew hostilir tiesj WVST INDIES. 523 ties, murdering, as halv.rc, every >vliitc person, ^v^th- apvv.u. out distinction of sex or age, wlio came Avilhin their ^^''^' reach. v^^-w In this way, ihcy continued to distress the island for upwards of forty years, during which time fortyfour acts of Assembly were passed, and at least 210,000/» expended for their suppression. In 1730, they were grotVn so formidable, under a very able general, named Cudjoe, that it was found expedient to strengthen the coloTiy against them by two regiments of regular troops, which were afterwards formed into independent com- panics, and employed, with other hired parties, and the whole body of juilitia, in their reduction. In thn '^ear 17o'4, Captain Stoddart, who commanded one of these parties, projected, and executed with great, success, an attack of the Maroon windward town, called Nanny, situate on one of the highest mountains in the island. Having provided some portable swivel guns, he silently approached, and reached within a small distance oftheir quarters undiscovered. After halting for some time, he began to ascend by the only path leading to their town. He found it steep, rocky, and difficult, and not wide enough to admit the passage of two persons a))reast. Jlowever, he surmounted these obstacles; and having gained a small eminence, cora» manding tJie huts in which the negroes were asleep, he fixed his little train of artillery to the best advan- tage, and fired upon them so 1 .iskly, that many were slain in their habitations, and several threw themselves headlong down the precipice. Cajjtain Stoddart pur- sued the advantage ; killed numbers, took many pri- soners, and in short so completely destroyed, (u* routed the whole body, that they were uniMo afterwards to ef- fect any cnterprize of moment in thih quarter of the island. , About the same lime another party o^ the Maroons, havin;; l':U 4">ll DIX 526 HISTORY OF TllK API'EJJ. having porccivcd that a body of the mililia statidned at ihc barrack of Buirnol's thicket, in St. Mary's pa- rish, iindor the command of Colonel Charlton, strayed heedlessly from their quarters, andkept no order, form- ed a project to cnt them off, and whilst the ofliccrs were at dinner, attended by a very few of their men, the iMaroons rushed suddenly from the ad jaccnt woods Bnd attacked them. Several pieces were discharged, the rej^ort of whicli alarmed tlie militia, wlio immedi^ iiU ly ran to their;irins, and came up in time to rescue llieir oHicers iVom des! ruction. The Maroons were repul.ed. and forced to take shelter in the woods, but liie mililia did not think til to pursue them. Some rnmonrv or(!ji.'.>kirmish reached Sp-uiish Town, which is distant from the spot about thirty miles ; and, as all the circumstances were not known, the inh?bitants wore thrown into the most dreadful alarm, from apprc- litTisiojis that the Maroons had defeated Charlton, and wen- in fnll march (o attack the town. Ayscough, Jhen commamier incliiel^ participating in the general piuiick, on!erv\l the trumpets to sound, the drums to beat, and in a few hours collected a body of Jmrse and foot, who went to meet the enemy. On the second thy after their departure, they came to a place where, by the Iires which remained unextinguished, they sup- posed t!w^ Maroons had lodged the preceding night. 'J'liey therefore followed the track, and soon after got ?ig!il of them. Captain Edmunds, wlio commanded tlie dotachmeni, disposed hitmen for action 5 but the IvL'iroons drrlined rngnging, and Hed difierent ways. Severn) of ihem, iiowevcr, were slain in the pursuit, and ol,li(M-s made prisoners. These two victories re^ dnced :h'X. gliMs, anil iimrdcriniT (he wliitcs by two or three at'^a ^^^""^ time, or when they were too few to make any resist- ance. By night tliey seized the favoural)le oppoHu- nity that darkness i-'ave Ihciu^ of steaiini^ into llie setth- ineiits, where tliey cet fire to cane-fields and out-houses kdh>d all the cattle they could find, nnd carried tlie slaves into captivity. By this dastardly mefliod of conducting the war, they did infinite mischief to the whites, without much cxpr.sing their own persons to danger, for they always cautiously avoided fighting, except with a number so disproportiouallv inferior to tiiemselves, as to afford them a pretty sureVxpcclatiori of victory. They knew every secret avenue of the country ; so that ihry could either conccd themselves from pursuit, or shift their rava-cs from place to place, as circumstances required. Such Mere the many disadvantages under which the inglish had to deal ' with those desuKory foes ; who were not reducible by any regular plan of attack ; who possessed no plunder- to allure or reward the assailants ; nor had anv thiiiof to lose, except life, and a wild and savage freedom. " Previous to the successes above mentioned, the distress into uliich the planters were thrown, may be collected from the sense which the legislature of Ja- maica expressed in some of their ads. In the year 1773, they set forth, that « the Maroons had, wi"th'iu a few years, greatly increased, not^^it]l.san>di^g all the measures that had been concerted, and ma(!o use of, for their suppression; in p.irticulsr, that thev haif grown very formidable in the North Kns<, Nortii ^Vcst, and Sonth Western districts of the is!nnd, to t'se "rjf terror of his Majesty's subjects in tho.e parts, who had Verjuenl roblrerie'-. murders. greatly suffered by the f and depredations conunitfcd /)v them : th Ji in (he pa* rl-.'icji m !;>.: £28 MISTOIIY OF THE APP15N. nshes of Clarendon, St. Ann, St. Elizabeth, West- y^^^^ niorlajid, Hanover, and St. James's, ilw.y >vcie consi- derably niuhij)lied, and liad lar^re scctlenicnts ajnong (he mountains, and hasi, accessible parts ; >vIioncc tJiey plnndcrcd all around tlioni, and caused several planta- tions to bo thrown up and abandoned, and prevented many valuable tracts ol' land from being cultivated, to the great prejudice and diminution of his Majesty's ' revenue, as well as of the trade, navigation, and con- sumption of Brilish manufactures; and to the mani- t fot weakening, and preventing the further increase of tiic strengi h and inhabitants, in the island. " We may loarn from hence, what extensive mischief may be per- petrated by the most despicable and cowardly cnejny. . The Assembly, perceiviiig that the emi)loyment of flying parties had proved ineffectual, by the length of their marches, the dilficnlty of subsisting them In the woods for so long a time as the service required, and the facility wi(h wliich the Maroons eluded their pur- suit, ordered several defensible houses, or barracks, fortified with bastions, to be erected in different par(s, as near as possible to the enemy's myst favourite haunts : in each of these they placed a strong garri* son, and roads of communication were opened from one to the other* These garrisons \Nere composed of ■white and black shot and baggage negroes, who were all duly trained. Every captain was allowed a pay of ten pounds, the lieutenants each five pounds, and Serjeants four pounds, and privates two pounds per month . Tiiey were subjected to tlie rules and articles ot war; and the whole body put under the Govern nor's immediate order, to be employed, conjunctly or separately, as he should sec occasion. Their ge- neral plan of duty, as directed by ihc law, Vr'as io make excursions from tlic barracks, scour the woods and niountuins, and destroy the provision gardens and ** haunts ■,iit; li m- N <• < ^ (5^ •I -^ ^ .■*► *■> WEST INDIES. njf liaunfs of the Maroons; and that tl.ey might not rP. appe^, urn wuhout effecting some service, they Jr. required ™* to take twenty besides ex- fencea. and ■? WEST INDIES. 89$ and, failing him, Captain Cuffee shall succeed; who appen IS to be succeeded by Captain Quaco ; and after all ^'^' ' their demises, the Governor, or Commander in Chief "^^^ for the time being, shall appoint, from time to time, whom he thinks fit for that command. In testimony, &c. &c. SECTION II. The preceding Section consists chiefly of an extract from the History of Jamaica, by Edwaho Loxc Esq. published in 1774, whose account I have chosen to adopt, rather than offer a narrative of my own, for two reasons ; first, because I have nothing to add concerning the origin of the Maroons, to what Mr' Long has so distinctly related ; and secondly, because Its adoption exempts me from all suspicion of having fabncated a tale, calculated to justify certain circum- stances and transactions, of which complaint wrts lately made in the British Parliament*, and to which due attention shall hereafter be paid. In the mean, while, I shall take up and continue the subject where Mr. Long left it, beginning with some reflection on the situation, character, manners, and habits of life of the Maroon negroes ; and thus tracing the cause of their late revolt to its origin. The clause in the treaty, by which these people %ere compelled to reside within certain boundaries in the interior country, apart from all other negroes, wag founded, probably, on the apprehension that by suf, tcrmg them to intermix with the neffroes in sin vp^v, ^he example which they would thereby continually ♦ March 1796. present I 436 HISTORY OF THE APPEN- present of successful hostility, might prove con tag ions, y„^^^ and create in^hw minds of the slaves an imi>a«itj»i:e of subordination, and a disposition for revolt , biil time has abundantly proved that itTvas an ill-jud/;ed ami a fatal regulation. The Maroons, Jnsteii 1 of bein/restab- lished into separate hordes or communities, in the strongest parts of the JA'teriorcouutry, shouldhare been encouraged by all possible means to frequent the towns and to intermix with the negroes at kirpiv. All djs» finction between the Maroons and the other free blioks ifiuld soon Isave been lost; for the greater number WjjuM hr n: prevail., d over the less ; whereas the policy ofk«^»'j)V:t5 ^^*<-*''" a distinct people, contirnally inured ^o axiuf., latroduced among them what the French call an esprit de corps, or community of sentiments and interests ; and concealing from them the powers and re- sources of the whites, taught them to feel, and at the same time highly to overvalue, their own relative strength and importance. It has been urged against the colonial legislature, as another, and a still greater, oversight, that after the conclusion of the treaty, no manner of attention was given to the improvement of these ignorant people in civilization and morals. The office of Superinfendanf, it has been said, and I believe truly, was commonly be- stowed on persons of no education or consequence, and soon became a mere sinecure. Mr. Long observed, many years ago, that the Maroons would probably prove more faithful allies, and better subjects, if pains were taken to instil into their minds a few actions rff honesty and religion; and the establishmentof schools, and the erection of a chapel in each of the • 'vns,were recommen ie ! as measures ofindispen'^Me -ecessity TiiAT these observations are aitogeuie." lU-founded, I will not presume tp alBrm, M{in, in kih ;.ii /ci^r-e state, in WEST INDIES. 537 in all parts of the world, is the slave of superstition ; appen and It IS the duty and policy of a good government °'^ (let Its system of religion be what it may) to direct the ''^^'^ weaknesses of our fellow creatures to the promotion of their happiness. The Christian is not only the best system of religion calculated for the attainment of that end, but, by leading the mind to the knowledge of truth and iramortHlity, contributes more than any other to amend the heart, and exalt the human cha- racter. Of this high and important truth I hope that I am fully sensible : yet I cannot suppress the opinion which I have long since entertained, that the conver- sion of savage men, from a life of barbarity to the knowledge and practice of Christianity, is a work of much greater difficulty than many pious and ex- cellent persons in Great Britain seem fondly to ima- gine. Co vcERNiNG the Maroons, they are in general igno. rant of our language, and all of them rttached to the gloomy superstitions of Africa (derivea from their an- cestors) with such enthusiastick zeal and reverential ardour, as I think can only be eradicated with their lives. The Gentoos of India are not, I conceive, more sincere in their faith than the negroes of Guinea »n believing the prevalence of Obi *, and the super- natural power of their Obeah men. Obstacles like these, accompanied with the fierce and sordid manners which! shall presently describe, few clergymen would, I think, be {leased to encounter, lest they .rJght ex- periei ce all the sufferings, without acquiring the glory of martyrdom. UwDEjidisadvantagesof such magnitudewas found. Pook 4. c, a specie, of pretended magick, described at large in Vol. 1)/ ii^ I !■ u. M ca «0 HISTORY OF THE APPEN- ed the first legal establishment of our Maroon allies in Jamaica. Inured, for a long series of years, to a life of warfare within the island, it is a matter of astonish- ment that they submitted, for any length of time, to any system of subordination or government whatever. It is probable they were chiefly induced to remain quiet by the great encouragement that was held out to them for the apprehending fugitive slaves, and being al- lowed to range over the uncultivated country without interruption, possessing an immense wilderness for their hunting grounds. These pursuits gave full em- ployment to the restless and turbulent among them. Their game was the wild boar, which abounds in the interior parts of Jamaica ; and the Maroons had a method of curing the flesh without salting it. This commodity they frequently brought to market in the towns ; and, with the money arising from the sale, and over them, was sometimes very successfully employed appen- in keeping them in subordination to their chiefs. ^'*- H A viNG, in the resources that have been mentioned, ''^^''^ the means of proourinar food for their daily support, they had no inclination for the pursuits of sober indus- try. Their repugnance to the labouroftiUingtheearth was re.narkable. In some of their villages I never could iierccive any vestige of culture ; but the situa- tioa of their fowns, in such cases, was generally in the neighbourliood of plantations belonging to the whites, from the provision grounds of which they either purchased, or stole, yams, plantains, corn, and other esculents. Wher they had no supply of this kind, 1 have sometimes ol)served small patches of Indian corn and yams, and perhaps a few strag- ghng plantain trees, near their habitations ; but the ground was always in a shocking state of neglect and ruin. The labours of the field, however, such as they were (as well as every other species of drudgery), Avere performed by the women, who had no other means of clearing the ground of the vast and heavy woodt, with which it is every where incumbered, than by placing §re round the trunks of the trees till they were consumed in the middle, and fell by their own weight. It was a service of danger ; but the Maroons, like all other savage nations, regarded their wives as so many beasts of burthen ; and felt no more concern at the Iqss of on. of them, than a white planter would have felt at the loss of a bullock. Polygamy too, with their other African customs, prevailed among the Maroons universally. Some of their principal men claimed from two to six wives, and ihe miseries of their sitiiafmn l«ft »•« noi only flv > ced of (heir money, but were likewise obliged to fnrnhh the feast, it being in- dispensably ';;> ssary, on snch occasi< i 3,to send be- forehand wine and provisions of all kinds ; and if the guests expected to sleep on beds and in litien, they must provide those ar<'cles aNo for themselves, ''lie Maroons, however, i* ty consisted t persons «f consequence, woul coh.,iuer themselves s highly honoured, and would supply wild-boar, laiu nabs, pigeons, and fish, and entertain their guests wiiii a heartv and bnistproii<: kinrt r>f ]ir)ci'>;«<,iu.' -.vlij/-!' J^"'' at least the charms of novelty and singularity to re- commend it. O.'* WEST INDIES. ^^ On such occasions, a mock %ht always cor.slitu(«d appen a part of the entertainment. Mr. Long has given the ^'-^ * followin^r description, of a scene of this kind, which Wiis exhibifi'd by the Trelawney-Town Maroons/in the presence of the Governol^ in 17G4. « No sooner (he observes) did the horn sound Uie signal, than they all joined in a most hideous yell, or war-hoop, and bounthxl into action. With amazing agility they ran or rather rolled, thro.igh their various firinos and evolutior^^. This part of their exercise, indeed, mure jusi I V deserves to be^sty led evoluth than any that is practised by the regular troops ; lur they tire stoop- iiig almost to the very ground ; and no sooner are their muskets discharged, than they throw tbe.nselves into a thousand antick gestures, and tumble over and over, so as to becontinually shifting their place; the memtion of which is to elude the shot, as well as to decenethe ^n of their adversaries, which their nim- ble and almost uistantaneous change of position ren- ders mel V uncertain. When this part of their cxer se was r, tl y drew theirswords ; and wind- ing thcu hoiu gain, began, in wild and warlike gestures, to advance .owards his Excellency, endea- V( «ring to tit. .w as much savage fury into their looks ,-.s possible. On approac' ing near him, some wa> (1 their rusty blades over m head, then gently laid them upon it ; whilst other . ashed their arms to^ other in horrid concert. They ne^ii brought their muskets, and piled them up in heajs at his feet &c. &c." ' With all this secr^ng fury and affecfed brnvory, Lowe\.>r, I suspect ihat they ar< far below the ss itel in personal valour. Their mod. of fig,' ting in al na , \ a system of straiageuK bu -nghting, and am- buscade. I will not, indeed affirm that such a vs. t.m uloi. , though it displays ..o proof ot cuura->, is absolu eljr Pi I p I: • IM HISTOnV OP THE APPVM. »1)*!olutf1y evidence lo the confmry, I hcrpve it ii ^'^ the nafural mode of attack and defence; and have cut off from the heads of rebels which they liad Hlain in buttle, the particulars of which they mi- nutely related. Their report was l^elieved, and they received the money stipulated to be paid them ; yet It was afterwards found that they had not killed a man ; that .10 engagement had taken place ; and tUt the can which they had produced, had been severed from the (lead Negroes which had lain unburied at Heywoofl-Hall. Some few days after this, as the Maroons and a do- tachraent of the 74th regiment, were stationed at a Bolitary place, surrounded by deep woods, called Down's Cove, the detachment was suddenly attacked m the middle of the night by the rebels. The sentinels were shot, and the huts in which the soldiers were lodged, were set on fire. The light of the flames, while It exposed the troops, served to conceal there- bels, Mho poured in a shower of musquctry from all quarters, and many of the soldiers were slain. Major F »r«yth who commanded the detachment, formed his men into a square, and by keeping up a brisk fire from all sules, at length compelled the enemy to retire During the whole of this affair the Maroons were not to be found, and Forsyth, for some time, inspected that they were themselves the assailants. It was dis- covered, however, that, immediately on the attack, the whole body of them had thrown themselves flat on the ground, and continued in that position until the rebels retreated, without firing or receiving a shot. A PARTV of them, indeed, had afterwards the meri^ (a merit of which they loudly boasted) of killing the leader of the rebels. He was a young negro of the Koromantyn nation, named Tackey, and it was said had been of free onditioii, and even a chieftain, in Africa.. '!! 544 HISTORY OF THE APPEN- DIX. Africa. This unfortunate man, having seen most of his companions slaughtered, w^s discovered wander- ing in thewoods without arms or clothing, and was im- mediately pursued by the Maroons, in full crty. The chase was of no long duration ; he was shot through the head ; and, it is painful to relate, but unques- tionably true, that his savage pursuers, having, de- collated the body, in order to preserve the head as the trophy of victory, roasted and actuallj/ devoured the heart and entrails of the wretched victim* ! The misconduct of thcfcc poople in this rebellion, whether proceeding from cowardice or treachery, was, however, overlooked. Living secluded from the rest of the commuiiity, they were supposed to have no knowledge of the rules and restraints to which all other classes of the inhabitants were subject ; and the vigilance of justice (notwithstanding what has re- cently happened) seldom pursued them, even for offences of the most atrocious nature. In truth, it always scemcHl to me, that the whites in general entertained an opinion of the usefulness of the Maroons, which no part of their conduct, at any one period, contirmed.— Possibly their personal ap- p(iarance contributed, in some degree, to preserve the delusion ; for, savage as they were in manners and disposition, their mode of living and daily pursuits undouljtedly strengthened the frame, aiKl served to exalt them to great bodily perfection. Such fine pcr- * The circumstances that I have related concerning the conduct of the Maroons, in the rebellion of 1760, are partly founded on my own knowledge and personal observation at the time (having been myself present) or from the testimony of eye-witnesses, men of cha- racter and probity. The shocking fact last mentioned was attested by several w ite people, and was not attempted to be denied or con- cealed by the Maroons themselves. They seemed indeed to make it the tubject of boastini; iud triumph. sons West indies. ^^^ sons as are seldom beheld among any other class of appen^ African or native blacks. Their demeanour is lofty ^'^• their walk firm, and their persons erect. Every mo- ""^^"^ iion displays a combination of strength and agility. The muscles (neither hidden nor depressed by cloth- ing) are very prominent, and strongly marked. Their sight withal is wonderfully acute, and their hearing remarkably quick. These characteristicks, however are common, I believe, to all savage nations, irt warm and temperate climates ; and, like other sa- vages, the Maroons have only those senses perfect which are kept in constant exercise. Their smell is obtuse, and their taste so depraved, that I have seen them drink new rum fresh from the still, in preference to wine which I oifcred them; and I remember, at a great festival in one of their towns, which I attended, that their highest luxury, in point of food, wis some rotten beef, which luul been originally salted in Ire- land, and which was probably presented to them, by some person who knew their taste, because it was pulrhl. Such was the situation of the Maroon negroes of Jamaica, previous to their late revolt; and Uie pic- ture which I have drawn of their character and man- ners, was delineated from tJie life, after long experi- ence and observation. Of that revolt I shall now pro- <:eed to describe the cause, progress, and termination ; and, if I know myself, without partiality or prejudice. ^ - "J- ll 1 1 ill .«; ToL, I, N W 5ltf HISTORY OF THE APPFN- DFX. SECTION III. In 0»c month of July, 1705, two Maroons from Trc- lawnoy To^vn, liaviii/.? committed a felony in stealing somepid in the workhouse, by the black overseer of the workhouse negroes; the person whose office it is to inflict punishment on such occa- sions. The oflcndcrs were then immediately dis- cliarged ; and ihcy went off, with some of their com- panions, abusing and insulling every white person whom they met in the road. On their return toTrelawney Tmvn, and giving an account of \\hat had passed, the whole body of Ma- rooiis immediately assembled ; and after violent de- bates and altercations among themselves, a prirty of them repaired to Captain Craskell, the supcrintendanf, and ordered liini, in the name of the whole, to quit the town forthwith, und<:r pain of death, lie retired to Vaughan's field, a plantatioii in the neighbourhood ; and exerled himself, by friendly messages and other- wise, to pacify Ihe Maroons ; but without eftect. They sent a rcritten defiance to the magistrates of Montego Bay, declaring their intention to meet the white peojilo in arms, ajid threi'tenirig to utack the town on the 2Gth of that month (July). In the meanwhile an attempt was made on Captain Craskelf s life,4jnd Jie very nar- rowly escaped. Alaiimei) by the rcccii>t of this letter, and the in- telligeiice WEST INDIES. S4^ tetligence >vliicli was received of the temper and dlspo- appen- sition of the Maroons, the majjistratcs applied to Ge- ^''^• neral Palmer, requesting him to call out the militia ; "^^"^ wliich was done ; and the General sent an express to the Earl of lialcarres, in Spanish Town, praying his Lordship to send down a detachment of the Jamaica dragoons. Eighty men were accordingly sent, well accoutred and mounted. The militia assembled on the 19th of July, to the number of four hundred ; and while they were Avaitino- for orders, one of the Maroons, armed with a lance'^ made his appearance, and informed tJie commandino^ officer, that they wished to have a conference in Tret lawnoy Town, with John Tharp, Esq. (the Gustos and Chiet Magistrate of Treh.wney), Messrs. Stewart and llodgos, the Members in the Assembly, and Jarvis Callimore, Esq. Colondof the Mililia. A^ this message seemed to manifest a disinclination, on the part of the chief body of the Maroons, to pro^ ceed to hostiliti(>s, the gentlemen above named vejy readily accepted the invitation, and proceeded to the town the next day (the 20th). They were accompa- mod ny Colonel Thomas Reed, of the St. James's mU htia, a very distinguished and gallant officer, and a mai of the highest honour and character; by other p(Tsons of consideration ; and also by Major James, whose son had formerly acted as superintendant of the town, who was himself superintendant-general of all the Maroon towns in the island, and was supposed to have more weight, and to possess greater influence, with the Maroons, than any other man ir. the country. The Maroons roceivckl them under arms. There appeared about three hundred able men, .n|! r>f whom '-1 painted their faces ft,r battle, and seemed read^^ action j and they behaved with ! lor N N mch insoleiice, that !r^' I 548 HISTORY OF TH£ DIX APPEN- that tlie gentlemen were at first exceedingly alarmed for Iheir own safely. A conference however ensued ; in which it was observable that the Maroons complained —not of the injustice or severity of the punishment •which had been inflicted on twoof their companions; but — of ihe disgrace which they insisted the magi- strates of Montcgo Bay had put on tlicir whole body, by ordering the punishment to be inflicted in the work- house by the black overseer or driver, and in the pre- sence of fugitive and felon negro slaves, many of whom they had themselves apprehended*. They concluded by demanding reparation for this indignity; an addi- tion to the lands they possessed ; the dismission of 'Captain Craskell, and the appointment of Mr. James, their former superintendant. The gentlemen had certainly no authority to agree to vny of these requisitions ; they promised however to state their grievances to the commander in chief, and to recommend to the legislature to grant them an ad- dition of land. In the meanwhile, they assured the Maroons they would request the Governor to provide otherwise forCapt. Craskell, their superintendant, and to re'Rp|K»ir, in his room their favourite Mr. James. With these assurances the Maroons seemed pacified, nnd declared they had nothing further to ask ; and the gentlcnr: having distributed a considerable sum of money amongst tliem, returned to Montego Bay. It soon appeared, however, that the Maroons, in de- siring this conference, were .-jctuated solely by motives of treachery. IMiey were a j -irized that a fleet of 150 Rhips was to sail for Great /Jritain on the morninff of '^ It certainly is to be I'a^hed, that somfl little attention haa been p-.sii:, ;,j,- inc ;>ir»g;;;tratcs, to tiic p; Ueorifi (iifjudiceuui ilie iviiii'ooui in this respect- The law however i* wholly silent on this head, and *he court hint a i ight to exercise Us Uiscretion. u the WEST INDIES. the 26lh; and they knew that very fc«r British troops appfm *'i9 remained iu the island, except the 83d regiment, and that this very regiment was, at that juncture, under orders to embark for St. Domingo ; they hoped, there- fore, by the sticcious and delusive appearance of de- siring a conference, (o quiet suspicion, until the July fleet was sailed, and the regulars fairly departed. In the meanwliile, they pleased tliemselves with the hope of prevailing on the negro slaves tliroughout the Island to join them : and by rising in a mass, to enable them to exterminate the whites at a blow. The very day the conference was held, thev began tami)ering with the negroes on the numerous and ex- tensive plantations in the neighbourhood of Montego Bay*. On some of these plantations their emissaries were cordially received and secreted: on others, the slaves themselves voluntarily apprized their overseas, that the Maroons were endeavouring to seduce them from their allegiance. Information o^' this nature was transmitted from many respectable quarters ; but most of the gerUlemen who had visited the Maroons on the i?Oth, were so confident of their fdelitj/ and a/fection, that the Governor, disbelieving the charges' against them, was prevailed on to let the troops embark as originally intended, and they actually sailed from Port Ro -1 on the morning of the 29th, under convoy ' of the St.^cess frigate. In the course of that, and the two succeeding days, however, such intelligence »^as received at the Govern- ment house, as left no possible room to doul)t the treachery of < hcse f ait fif,: ' uiid ajfectionale people ; and the Earl of Balcarres, with that promptitude and de- cision which distinguish his clmraeter, determined on • Trelawney Town is situated within twenty miles of tlie town ana harbour of Montego Bay, a line DIX. ,;.« I h iii' 1^^ m ft i m. *^0 HISTORY OF THE APPF.N- a line of conduct adapted to the imporlanrc of ft'tlie north-east end of Jamaica, and delivered orders to Captain Pigotof the Success, forthwith to change his course, and proceed with the transports down the north side of the island to Montego Bay. Captain Pigot immediately obeyed ; audit is probable that by f'is happy accident the country was saved. The S3d regiment, consisting of upwards of one thousand effective men, commanded by Colonel Fitch,- landed at Montego Bay on Tuesday the 4th of Au- gust. At this moment, although the militia of this lart of the country were underarms, and had been Joined by the detachment of light dragoons, the ut- most anxiety was visible in every countenance. The July fleet was sailed ; and tl-c certtiinty that the Ma- rooiK iiad collecicd great quantities of arms and am-; |nunitiou;--that they had been tampering with the tlavcs, and the uncertainty of the success and extent of their machinations, had cast a gloom on the face of every man ; and while rumours of plots and con- spiracies distracted the minds of the ignorant, many among the most thoughtful and considerate, antici- pated all ilu; horrors of Si. Domingo, an;! in iinagiua- ^ion aheady beheld their houses and plantations in flamcsj v^V^/ WEST INDIES. 551 flames, and their wives and cialdrcn bleeding under appen- tiie s\, u-ds of (lie most merciless of assassins. ^ ^'X- The sudden and unexpected arrival of so powerful a reinforcement, in the most critical moment, imme- diately changed the scene. JJut further measures were adopted. By the advice of a council of war, compos- ed chiefly of members of the Assend)ly, the Governor put the whole island under martial law. A further reinforcement of 130 well-mounted dragoons under tiic command of Colonel Sandford, and a detachment of 100 uien of the (m regiment, were sent down oa the ai:. Colonel Waljjole, with 150 dismounted dra- goons, embarked at the same time for Black River, to command the forces of St. Elizabeth and Weshnore- land ; and on the morning of the fourth, the Governor Jiimself left Spanish Town for Montego Bay; deter- mined to command on ihc scene of action in person. The reader will easiiv ..,,nceive, that measures of such extent and magnitude were not adopted solely in the belief that the Maroons alone were concur Tcd , It must be repeated, that the mostcerte^.n nnd abundant proofs had been transmitted to the comui«nfh;r in cliief> of 1 heir attempts to create a general revoJ- , f the en- slaved negroes, and it was impossible to foresee the re- sult. The situation of the slaves, under prevailing circumstances, required the most serious attention. With the recent e\-am|;1e before their vycs of the dread- ful insuncction in St. Domingo, they had been accus- tomed, for the preceding seven years, to h<;ar of no- Uiing but Mr. Wilbertbrce, and his effort^ to serve them in Great Britain. Mens of information were not wanting. Ii! tructors »^ereimstantly found among t/ie ' lack servants ontiiiually returnin'r from ling- iand , and I have uot the smalkbt dopbt that the ne« ffrocs m 1 ! I tn HISTORY OF THE ■ ^DHc!^" ^''^^^ ^^ ^"^^^y P'a»us. loir "'^' ►m- pr- dc- )W- la- le). ni- hil set r. ef. [a- fe, eir ng Tq « Yol grateful, " Vo. over _y ou '' Yon massacre " Yoii and all 111 " You " Yoii cherished you as an " Marrought ae "I have for your he force before " To avf niand every bearing' arn on Wednes( ihere submit " On so < dreadful con Thursday, tl failure of yo shall be bun " And M'h file Maroons WEST X.. JIES. To the Maroons of Trelawney Town. Zi f ?' ''?' '"*" ' '""'^ ^ "^"^* unprovoked, un- grateful, and most dan-erous rebellion. J Von have driven av.'Hy(|,esuperinte« antpl n.d over>ou.v the laws of this country . ';^;'"''''ve treated hhn, your Comm.m^ in'l.^ruty and contempt. You have endea nia'vficic him. *' Vo. have ^nxi the Magistrates of the c trr and all the white people, at defiance ^ ^' " ^"" ^nvechalle,.,ed and oilered them battle. cher.shed ann ....ered you as its children, to consider jou as an enemy. i"i.iuer ;; Martial law has in consequence been proclumed. ^.hirded by the mditia and reg.dar forces. ^^ 1 ou are surrounded by thousands. brou.h7''* ''r*''^'''"^' '"' ^'^"""^ -« ^^-^'-e orought against you. " 1 have issued a proclamation, olTerin^ a rewani for your heads; that terril.Ie edict «il| „ot I« p„T „ W before Thursday, the ,S,„ day of . .J^ '" lo avert these proceeilings, I ad .e and com- mand every Maroon of Trelawney T„.„, capable of beam,g ar,ns, to appear before me at Mo„te..o Bay, on Wednesday the 1211, day of August instant, and Ihere submit themselves lo liis Majesty's mercy " On so doing, youVill escape the elTecIs of tho Jreadful command, ordered lo beput in execution ou Thursday, the 13th day of August ; ou „hich day, i„ /dure o your obedience („ this summons, v,.ur t^^ vu shall be burn* i.. i\.^ jrrouud A C( And whereas it appears that oth ^le Maroons of Trelawney Town, were there rer destroyed ler negroes, besides under arms £53 APPEN- DIX. ^:^'^o. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) // {./ .^ i.fk ^^ -% ^. 1.0 I.I • 30 ""^^ us ■ 4.0 2.0 1.8 L25 1 1.4 III 1.6 1=-— s nil— lill^ss .. 6" ► '■^^ "f// '/ Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80 (716) 873-4503 m ^ 4; \ ^ ^ [)s arrived at their respective stations early on the 9th. On the morning of the IKh, thirty-eight of the Trclawney Maroons, being chiefly old men, surrender- ed themselves to the Governor's mercy, at Vaughan's- field, and frankly declared, that, with regard to the rest of the town, they were determined on war. " The deviff they said, had got. into them,'' and nothing but superiority of force would bring them to reason. Two of tlie thirty-eight were, however, sent back to try, for the last time, if persuasion would avail ; but they were detained by the rest, who, having secreted their women and children, passed the Rubicon, the en- suing night, by setting lire themselves to their town, and commencing hostilitieson the outposts of the army. TJie attack fell chiefly on the St. James's company of free people of colour, of whom two were killed and six wounded ; and thus began this unfortunate ■vyar. The Maroons immediately afterwards assembled in a bodv, near a small village which was called their New lliS. Town, behind which were tlicir provision grouv On the aftornoon of the 12th, orders were given to J^icutfiiaut Colonel Saudford to m^irch with a detach- ment WEST INDIES. BS3 ment of the I8lh and 20(h rlra^oons, and a partv nf he horse .ilUia, and take possLon 'of those' o^I --" the«ameovenin^^; it bein,. the £i«vernor's intent ot ^^ ^y a b'l ; ^"""^'' accordingly, accompanied , '' th« Mnroons had retired to the ruins of their old ^wn, he wa. persuaded, instead of waiting at his pos or f.,r her orders fro. the Governor, to proceed^ J-nd his bm,ts, and to push after the enemy ; a most urrfortunateand fatal determination, to .hi/h this.a ^n on^cer, and m.ny valuable n,en, fell a sacrifice. Ihe retreat of the Maroons from the New Town, wa a feint to draw the whites into an ambuscade, v .: J unfortunately succeeded. The road between the new and old towns was very bad and very narrow; and the iront, the mil.tia ui the centre, and the volunteers in tlie rear, when a heavy tire ensued from the bushes. Colonel Sandford was among the first that fell, and ^vith him perished Quarter Master M'Bride six vat<^oftheS^0th,a„dei.htofthel8thlightdrao.^^^^^^^^^ Ofthemiitia,thirteenwereslainoutright,and,among the rest the commandir.g officer, Colonel Gallimore^- ei^^^ht of the volunteers also Mere killed, and nianv of all descriptions wounded. The troops, howeVer, pushed forward, and drove the Maroons from (heir hiding places, and after a night of unparallelled hard, ship, the survivors got back to Yaughan Vfield in the morning, and brought with them most of their wound- ed companions*. * Among the officers of the militia who escaped on this occasion was my lute excellent and lamented friend G.J. a,.j;. iJZ U^ wa. attended on that day by a favounte negro Servant ; 5^ L it nnd a tree present h.s ^n.n at ins beloved master, he Instantly rushed /orward to protect Li«.. by interposing lus own person; .ndTctu. fc 555 HISTORY OF THE APPEN- DIX. Tiirs (orminatcd this clisastrons and bloody con- flict; in Mhich it was never known wilh cortiiinty, that a sinfrle Maroon lost his life. Their triumph therefore was arreat, and many of tlie best informed amonff y mountains „f ,,ro,li,.ious hcLMit ■ i„ ZT' prowling i,l,out tlie couiilry i„ sewrl, „f • and „(l,crs i„ sc«i„., fnc hy 1,7 • f """>■•«>"', r^u^i *• -^ y ms^Ut (o sue 1 houses «nrl Planta ,„„sa.were„„p™vi,,ed ,vi,I,., sufHcie, I." valuaWc ncgrofs, whom (l,o Maroons com„ell«l .1 .r :. "r;;;-:"" "''■''''""''"• ''"""^*''^ Abou I e s„™o fn,o, tl„.y burnt the pr„,«ty of J„h, Sl'an,l, tsq, ; a settlement belonging to Messrs Ste vens and Uernard, a planUtio; c^Ued E 1„ t house ofa Mr. Levis, and various others. ' felUnt T-'''T '™''" "'■"'' ''""P'" ""fi-rtnnatelv " "'" "1'='^ '""'d^. »" of >vl.om were murdered i„ coh Wood, „,ho„t an, distinction of se., or^. d «reast,wcreahke.ndiscnmin.-ilH.y slauffhtcrel bv (l,i. ravage e,,em,. ; „„d ,„„ ,hrieks if the mis n. few W ,v .ch .ere di.inctl, h„.,a at Che p^t tf Z "' 'he Maroons were i« the neighbourhood. Tuc tice £5R MISTOITY OF THE APPEN- DIX. TiiF. fafcof Mr. Gnwrlio, a rospectaWe and venoraoTc' plunlor wlu» lived williin a few miles of Trchiwiicy '!(!"own, was reinarkahU?. This i^cnllcmaa, havini^ a bettor opinion of the Maroons than they deserved, had employed one of their chief men to act as the overseer or superiiitendant of his phintaticm, whom he treated 1\'ith sin<}^iilar kindness, and aUowed liini the same Avagrs as wonUi have Ixvii paid to a white person in thesame capacity. AUhont^h, on the comnu-ncenient of hostilities, this man had joined the insurgents, Mr. Gowdie continued to place a fatal dependance on his fidelity, and was induced to visit his own plantation as often as his necessary attendance on military duty would allow. lie had the most perfect contidencie that his Maroon overseer would interfere to protect him from danger ; yet did this barbarous villai^n come bimhclf to the house of his benefactor, at the head of a band of savages, and having coolly informed Mr. Gowdie, that the Maroons had taken an oath, after" their maimer, to murder all the whites without distinc- tion, he massacred both him and his nephew, (the only "white person with him) without compunction or re« morse. But, perhaps, no one circumstance in the course of this most unfortunate war excited greater iiulignation, or awakened more general sympathy, than the death of Colonel Fitch, who^ notwithstanding the recent ex- ample of Colonel Sandford's fate, perished nearly in the same manner as that unfortunate oliicer had done; be?U('>' like him surprised by an enemy in ambush. On the ];2th,of September he went out with a detachment of the S^'d regiment, consisting of thirty-two men, to relieve some distant out-posis ; at one of which he left. a guard, and proceeded onwards with the rest of his men ; but after getting about half a niile farther, he i^nsattael •■viid rect'i' drojjt. J su ranees, «f the mci •inother ba put an eui ofthcS."Jd i^n(\ Capta Jind if the 1 pushed for I'earing th< would Jiavt fell into tite ■with circum Leigh aften tune of this t which, tiou; as it fitroiigj^ the MaroojKs were found, i ('r, niul Mitir liist t!e!iuer;ifi(>iis were di- re(^(ed measures thai had been iuccessfully adopted in the loiiii^ and bloody war, which, previous to the treaty of 17*8, hail been car- ried on against the same eiKMuy . The expedient which had then been resorted to, of employing dogs to dis- cover the concealment of the Maroons, and prevent the fatal eflects which resulted from their mode of fighting in ambuscade, was reconmiendcd as a lit ex- ample to be followed in the present conjuncture; ami it being knoAvn that the Spanish Americans possessed a certain species of those aninials, which it was judged would be proper for such a service, the Assembly re- solved io send to the island of Cuba for one hundred of them, and to engage a sulKcient number of the Spanish huntsmen, to attend and direct their opera- tions. The employment to which these dogs are ge- nerally put by the Spaniards, is the pursuit of wild bullocks, which they slaughter for the hides ; and the great use of the dog is, to drive the cattle from such heights and recesses in the mountainous parts of the country, as are least accessible to the hunters. The Assembly were not imapprized that the mea- sure of calling in such auxiliaries, and urging the ca- nine species to the pursuit of human beings, would pr>;bnbly give rise to much oljscrvaiiou and animad- versiou in the moUicr-couutry. Painful experience Off on (Xher i duct, in ( . all the rif. ranco ant ♦ended h The horri quest of tl membrane by those c inoffensive mankind h *>rand, the cities. It gument ag present caw lent zeal of cecdings of ofviewequi the same bh sonable alio ence existing even though troops, wou dastardly co ment. To these, ai the safety of ants, were nc tion or wilful It was maint needed only stated, to inc priety and ne it is Hii act of other animals contradicted } 1^0 ry. L •Vest INDIES. on (Klior occasions, had taught them Ihnf iU ' duct, in (lie present case wonMl ^''"" ^P^^^^^ »» the riirid and J, '. "''' '^ scrutinized with l>«. *-ded hu^: ;'' r' ?^^«"^ -»ice, and pre- Ti.„ k ""'""'*^' °''d fanaticism, could exerc^«. '.:;;: """ir "^ "■■= ^p""""* '-> .-t qiwsi ot the ncivworld would be brni.Tl,. . • . ".emb^neo. Uis ^ournfuU^.lS* J^'*'" "' «" by those chriQHnn 1 i. • -^ "® ^"'** "^S^ were used gnment against rccurrino- („ ,1, ^ "* present cat (1,^^^ -^ ,"""" """P"" '" 'he ^"«^u'"SiX-cnon, and acti- vity, in a very short time gave a new aspect to affairs, and reduced the enemy to the Inst extremity. Al- though thecountry to which theMaroons retired, was oo2 perhaps t'1 adii HISTORY OF THE APPEN- perhaps the strongest and most irapracjlcablc of any \^r^ on the face of the earth, it was entirely destitute of springs amt rivers. All the water which the rains had left in the hollows of the rocks was exhausted, and the enemy's only resource was in the leaves of the wild-pine ; a wonderful contrivance, by which Divine Providence has rendered the sterile and rockly deserts of the torrid zone in some degree habitable * ; but even this resourci^ was at length exhausted, and tlie sufferings of the rebels, for want both of water and food, were excessive. By the unremitting diligence and indefatigable exertions of the troops, all or most of the passes to other parts of the country were effec- tually occupied; and a perseverance in the same system must, it was thought, soon force the enemy to an uncandifionaT surrender^ In spite of all these precautions, however, a rebel Captain of the nnme of Johnson , found means to con- duct a snail dj^tachment of Ihc Maroons into the parish of St. Elizabeth, and to set fire to many of tho plantations in that fertile district. His first attempt was against th« habitation of a Mr. M'Donald, whose neighbour, a Mr. Haldane, togctlicr with his son, hastened (o his assistance. The elder Haldane unfor- tunately fell by a musket ball, but tlw son shot the Maroon dead that fired it, and carried his wourjded father in his arms io a place of safety, where lie happily recovered.— The Maroons were repulsed ; but * The botanical name is Trllandtia maxima. It is not, properly speaking, a tret, but a plant, whicli fixes itself tmA takes root on the body of a tree, commonly in the fork of the greater branches of the wild couon ttee. By the conformation of its leaves, it catches and retains water from every shower. Each leaf resembles a spout, and iorms at its base a natural bucket ©r reservoir, which contains about a, quart of pure water, where it remains perfectly secure, both from the wind and the fun; yielding refrc-hment to the tliirsty traveller i nplaces wJierc witcr is not otherwise to be procured. 7 pro' proceedi the buil men. 1 infant ur of tcndei cSiildren, of their ii of getting lenify, tl: The ea Assembly tal, returr is impossi exertions, convey an which the a copious noishes tha encounter i of operatic length, thr tary term i caves in wl] tton and p diildren, wi called the C only by a p perpendicu! obstacle was culty. Habi gular effect, hud acquire British frooj inimitable. privates, botl founded con W£ST INDIES. sGa ^^v^/ proceeding to a plantation ot Dr. BroolcR fl..,, u . men. They left, l,„„ever, a white woman ind her .nfa„t„„m„,«tal; a,„,a. this wa. .he first ZJZ cSMren . was .mp„,e,I rather to fte consciousness ofthe.rmab.hty to continue the war, and the hZ len.(y, than to any cha.,ge in their disposition. aI!'u "ff '•"'='"'«' <« ™»« tho business of the A^embly would allow him to be absent fr- ., ,be cap ! tal, returned ,n person to the scene of a...on, and it .s .raposs.ble to speak of his, and general Walprfj «ert,ons, .„ terms of sulhcient .-.pprobation, 'r ,o wh.,,h the troops underwent, without entering- into ™ir:: f^" l"^ -rio„s enterpri.es a„d%u! "■^ies that ensued, and the difficulties they had to e..c„u„ter from the nature of the country. The line tary term dffii^ g.ves no adequate coueoption. The »ves ,n which the IVIaroons co.ceald their ammuni- tmn and provisions, a,.d secure,! Il.oir women and ch.ldren, were inaccessible to the White. T;>e place ca led the Cocfyil, before mentioned, could be reached only by a path down a steej) rock 150 fcct in almost perpei-dicular heigl.t. SlianRe as it may appear, this obstacle was surmcmnled bylheMaroonswill.ont diffi. cuty. Hab,tnaledt»em loylheirnakedfeet with sin- • e.ilar effect, in dimbing „p tro,-n and pm^ipicos, thev ted .acqujred a dexterity in the p.acfice, which '„ Brit.sh troops was allojrether astonishing; and v.h lly iB.ra.tabIe On the other hand, all the officers and pr.vate, both of the regulars and militia, from a «el.. founded confidence in their chief commanders, seen. to m HISTORY OF THE APPEN- DIX, to have felt a noble emulation which should most distinguish themselves for zeal in the cause, obedience, to orders, and a cheerful alacrity in pushing forward on every service of difficulty and danger ; sustaining without a murmur many extraordinary hardships ; among which distress for want of water, and thirst, even to extremity, were none of the least. It w ?s eiisily fon-seen thata perseverance in the same line of conduct must idtimately prove successful ; and intimations were at length rect^ived, by means of eur slaved negroes whom the Maroons had forced into their service, an I purposely dismissed, that they were ex- tremely desirous of an accommodation ) on any terms shorl of capital punishment, or transportation from the country. They expressed a willingness, it was said, to deliver up their arms, and all the fugitive slaves that had joined lliein, to surrender their lands, and intermix with the general body of free blacks, in such parts of thocountry as the colonial government should approve. Although these overtures were evidently dictated by deprecation and despair, it was the opi- nion of many wise and worthy men among the inhabit- ants, that they ought to be accepted ; arid it was iaid that (Jeneral Walpole himself concurred in the same sentiment. It was urged that the war, if conti- nued on the only principle by w liich it coul I be main- tained, must bo a war of extermii}a(ion. Some few of thv; Maroons, however, would probably elude the last pursuit of vengeance ; and these would form a centra} point to which the runaway negroes would resort. Thus hos(iU:ies would be perpetuated for ever; and it was observed that a single Miiroon, in the season of crop, with no other weapon than a firebrand, might deslroy the canc-fi.>Msof «pulc!i( pariblscs, and con- sume in n few hours property of immense value. Tq these considerations, was to be added the yast expence of ,i WESl' INDIES, of continuing the war. Thn country had aheadv or tamed by individual proprietors consequent on fhere- inovahrom their plantations ofall the white servants to attend military duty. In the meanwhile, cultivntion was suspended, the courts of law had long been shut «P ; and the island at, large seemed more like a garrison under the power of the law-martial, than a country o^ignculture and commerce, of civil judicature, in- uustry, and prosperity. ONtheotherhand,itwasloudlydeclaredthatacom. prom.se with a lawless banditti, who had slaughtered so many excellent men, and had murdered in cold blood even women in childbed, and infants at the breast, was a shameful sacrificeof the publick honour ; a tot Jl d..^^gard to the dictates of justice, an encouragement to he rest of the Maroons to commit similar outrages, ..nd a dreadful example to the negroes in servitude emimg to impress on their minds an idea not of the lenity of the Whites, but of their inability to punish such atrocious offenders. It was alleged withal, that tlie rebel Maroons were not themselves seriously desi- rous of such an accommodation. Their only purpose was to gain time, and procure an opportunity to get in- to better quarters ; judging perhaps thot the militia of the country, a krge proportion of whom were at the « istance of one hundred miles from their place of resi- dence, would soon be tired of the contest. Many facts were indeed related, and some strong circumstances adduced, which gave a colour to this charge; and proved that the Maroons had not altogerher relin- qiHshed their hopes of creating a general revolt among the enslaved negroes. Such an event was not likelv ^o happen, while the country continued in arms. ^lie di.)nission of the troops, on the fallacious idea of Bb^ PPEN- (if HISTORY OF THE APPEN- of an accommodatior with the Maroons, would alone, it was said, realize the danger. Fortunately for all parties, this unnatural and destructive revolt was brought to a happy termina* tion much sooner than might have been apprehended. On the I4th of December, the commissioner wliowent to the Havannah for assistance, arrived at Montcgo Bay with forty chasseurs or Spanish hunters (chiefly people of colour) and about onehundred Spanish dogs. Such extraordinary accounts Avere immedialely spread of the terrilick appearance, and savage nature of these animals, as made an impression on the minds of the negroes that wasequally surprising and unexpected *. . Whether these reports were propagated through folly or design, they had certainly a powerful and Tery salutnry effect on the fears of the rebel Maroons, a large party of whom now displayed strong and in- dubitable evidences of terror, humiliation, and.submis sion, and renewed their solicitations for peace with great earnestness and anxiety. A negociation wag at leng.h opened, and a treaty concluded on the 2 1st of December, of which the chief articles were, 1st. That the Maroons should, on their knees, ask the King's pardon ; 2dly. That they should fix their fu. ture residence in such part of the island, as (he legis- lature sho.dd point out : And Sdly. That they should deliver up all the fugitive npgro slaves that had joined • Though these dogs are not in general larger than the shepherds' dogs in Great Britain, (which in truth they much resemble) they were represented as equal to the mastiff in bulk, to the buU-dog in courage, to the blood-hound in scent, and to the grey-hound in agUity. If intire credit had been given to the description that was transmitted through the country of this extraordinary animal, it wight have been supposed that the Spaniards had obtained the an- mnx and genuine breed of C.rb,ru, himself, the many-headcd monster tl>?t guarded the ittfernal regions. themt thcffli ' agreed, that thej «nd they lies and ] So gr( people, i mities, oi twenty-oi limited ; Oxv the sued frof] pole, to I bcls. 'J'J from rcga dcred in t vas im mi- tt short w'^ OF THE FIRST VOLUME.- 'i'. Gillft, Printer, WildiCcurt, LincoloVInn-lieiiv, V,"'