ROBERT ERNEST COWAN
DOCUMENTS
RELATING TO THS QUESTION OP BOUNDARY
BBTWKKN
VENEZUHLA AND BRITISH GUAYANA.
SUBMITTED TO THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION
BY THE COUNSEL OF THE GOVERN-
MENT OF VENEZUELA.
Vol. I-
Washington, D. C.
Press of McGill & Wallaci;,
1896.
7 4 1110 %^
/
DOCUMENTS
REIyATiNG TO THE QUESTION OF BOUNDARY
BETWEEN
VENEZUELA AND BRITISH GUAYANA.
SUBMITTED TO THE BOUNDARY COMMISSION
BY THE COUNSEL OF THE GOVERN-
MENT OF VENEZUELA.
VOL. I.
WASHINGTON, D. C:
McGiLL & Wallace, Printers.
1896.
• » • • •
. • •
» ••••«•••
-^^
[Translation.]
Case 133. — Drawer 3.— File 16.
General Archives op the Indies.
(Seville.)
1763.
REPORT SUBMITTED BY DON JOSE DIGUJA, GOV-
ERNOR OF CUMANA, WITH LETTER NO. 19,
DATED CUMANA, DECEMBER 15, 1763, MAKING
A LONG HISTORICAL DESCRIPTION OF THESE
PROVINCES.
(The testimony referred to in this report has been copied separately.)
Cumand, December 15, 1763.
Governor Don Joseph Diguja calls attention to the irrepar-
able injury which will be done to religion, to Your Majesty,
and to the subjects of Your Majesty in these Provinces, if
Guayana is transferred to Angostura del Orinoco. In support
of his views he appends to his Report a volume containing tes-
timony on the subject, and makes a long description of the
advantageous situation of Guayana, etc.
Cumana, December 15, 1763.
Crovernor Don Joseph Diguja forwards a volume containing
testimony in support of the Report and map submitted by
him in consequence of the decision of Your Majesty, com-
municated to him, to transfer the city of Guayana to that place
XoTE. — This paper was received on or about September, 1765, when Guayana
had been already transferred to Angostura del Orinoco, For this reason no action
was taken on the Report.
292597
oil the Orinoco iiivrr wIktc tlic stivaiii has the less width.
Jle makes a long deseri[)tion of the advantages of the present
situation of the city, and explains the irreparable injury to
be sustained by religion, by the service of Your Majesty, and
by the subjects of Your Majesty in those regions, if the mov-
ing of the city to the above-named i)lace is accomplished.
The Report begins by a kind of Introduction, in which a
short statement of its contents is made. — Page 1.
'O"
First Part.
Ch.vpter T. — What the Government of Cumana was in
17-20.— Page 4.
Chai'TKR II. — Progress of that Government from 1720 to the
present year, ITOo. — Page G.
CiiArxER III. — The progress made in the Provinces of Cu-
mana and Barcelona from 1720 to the present year, 1763, is
due to the two missionary bodies, which are evangelizing
there. — Page 13.
Note. — Upon consideration of the Report made on December 15, ITOl, by Don
Josejih Solano, setting forth that tlie old town (la Poblacion Aiiti;/u<t) had no more
than 450 inhabitants, in which number the garrison was included ; that the walls
of the Asis Fort l)ad notsufBcient strength ; that the general conditions (/<?/«/j/t') of
tiie country was bad ; that the houses as well as the church were structures of
frame and mud, and straw-thatched ; that the troops were liable at all times to be
insulted ; that tiie post called El I'adrastro could be lost as the result of a coup de
viain of the enemy, and then no possibility to retain possession of the province
would be left; that in such a case the Provinces of Cumana, Caracas, Barinas,
and even Santa Fe would be unprotected ; that provisions were scarce ; and
that the well-known navigation of the Orinoco facilitated access to the locality,
and reiiuesting on all these grounds that the city should be moved and located at
tlie narrow i)art (la Angostura) of the river. Your Majesty decided to grant the
request. The proper orders and instructions to that elfectwere sent in the follow-
ing year, to Don Joachin Moreno de Mendoza, and Solano was directed to pass upon
any question which might arise on the subject.
IJiider date of A ugust 15, 1 7(j4, the said Don Joachin Moreno, commanding officer
of the city, reported that tlie latter had been moved as directed, and sent a state-
ment of the number of inhabitants, and of tiie e.xpenses incurred in carrying out the
moving. He said that it was impossible for the inhabitants to bear the expenses of
transportation, building of new houses, etc., and suggested that these expenses
should be defrayed by the Royal Treas ary. All of this was granted by Royal
Order of the 26th of .March ultimo.
Wlien these papers were received here from San Ildefonso, in September, 1765,
the map above alluded to was not among them. It had been sent, however, but
as it was of large size, and had been mounted on gilded mouldings and rods, it
was hung on the walls of the Secretary's OflBce, of which it became an ornament.
Chapter IV. — Present state of the Provinces of Cumana
and Barcelona, the principal ones of this Government; how
little can be done under existing circumstances; and upon
whom the compliance with the Royal Order to move Guayana
depends. — Page 17.
Chapter V.— What the Province of Guaj^ana was in 1720,
and what progress had been made therein during the 141 pre-
vious years. — Page 22.
Chapter VI. — Measures taken to fortify the Orinoco from
the year 1694 to the month of Islay, 17G2, in which it became
such as it is now. — Page 23.
Chapter VII. — Progress made in the Province of Guayana
from 1720 to the present year, 1763. — Page 35.
Chapter VIII. — The fact that the Dutch have not settled in
the center of the Province of Guayana, and the progress noticed
at the Presidio, are due to the ^lission entrusted to the Cata-
lonian Capucins. The Presidio can not be kept without the
Mission, nor the Mission without the Presidio. — Page 39.
Chapter IX. — Present condition of the fortifications of the
Presidio and city of Santo Thome de la Guayana, and of the
Spanish settlements of this Province. This condition is some-
what different from the one existing at the time of the visit.
Page 46.
Chapter X. — The Presidio of Guayana is the most im-
portant place which the King, our Master, possesses in these
his American dominions, except Havana and Vera Cruz. —
Page 84.
Second Part.
From page 98, on the reverse, to page 196 an answer is given
to all the chapters of the Royal Order individually referred to
on the left side of the images.
. Tliird, Part.
The Governor expresses his oj)inion in full. — Page 197.
Chapter I. — The Padrastro Hill should be fortified, and
if agreeable to His Majesty a fortress, to be called La Concep-
cion, should be built thereon, as indicated in Xos. 7 and 8
in the Map.— Page 198.
Chaptkr it. — The said Padrastro Hill should be fortified at
once, -whether by building the Concepcion Castle, or by any
other means which His Majesty might be jdeased to decree.
This must he done without losing any time, otherwise that
important position may be lost at the first moment if a war
breaks out —Page 203.
Chapter III. — The city should be kept where it is, and all
possible efl'ort should be made to increase, at least twice as
much, the number of its inhabitants. — Page 211.
Chapter IV. — The garrison of the Presidio should be
strengthened by adding to it 73 soldiers, as ordered by Gov-
ernor Don Gregorio de Espinosa and Governor Don Matheo
Gual, and requested by me in my memorial to His Majesty of
August 27, 1701.— Page 215.
Chapter A^ — The Limones Fort should be abandoned, and
a barge should be kept at the Presidio, as Marquis de San
Felipe suggested to His Majesty. If the narrow part (Angos-
tura) is to be fortified, no other fortification should be erected
there than the battery suggested by Governor Don Juan de
la Tornera, as shown in No. 9 on the Map. — Page 210.
Chapter VI. — Assistance should be given to the Missions of
Catalonian Capucins and Franciscans of Piritu, as suggested
by me to His Majesty after my visit to those places. — Page 222.
Report.
{Parar/rnphs No. 1 to No. 6 explain the subject and contents of this
Report, and forma kind of Syllabus, or Summary, of the loJiole
Document.)
Most Excellent Sir :
Sir : Under date of the 4th of May ultimo, I informed Your
Excellency that on the 25th of the preceding April I had
received the Royal Orders enumerated in the List which I
appended to my letter. I also stated that as soon as I could
get rid of the occupations I mentioned and finish the i:)repara-
NoTE. — The pages cited in the body of the Report are the pagres of the volume
which contains tiie testimony apjienrJed thereto. The pages of the Report itself
are only mentioned in the preceding table of contents.
tion of the documents necessitated b}' some of tliem, I would
answer to the said Royal Orders and avail myself of the first
opportunity to mail my reply via Caracas.
2. The Royal Order, issued at Aranjuez on May 27, 1762,
contains different instructions, the most important of which
refers to the decision which His Majesty was pleased to make
in regard to the city of Guayana. His Majesty directed the
said city to be moved and transferred to a place called La
Angostura, 34 leagues above the Castle, where the Orinoco has
only a width of 800 yards. But I, after having given to this
grave subject, as to all the others of the said Royal Order,
the most serious attention, have acquired the conviction that
said moving will be attended by irreparable injury to our
Hoi}' Religion, to the service of the two Majesties, to the
Royal Treasury, and to the inhabitants of those countries.
I am fully aware of the fact that insuperable difficulties shall
have to be encountered in the execution of the said Royal Order,
and that even without counting these difficulties, not less than
25 or 30 years, and three or four hundred thousand dollars,
shall be necessary to carry the whole plan into effect, sacri-
ficing many lives, and causing all these Provinces to be at the
mercy of the enemies of the. Royal Crown. I feel, therefore,
that it is my duty, as a loyal subject, and as Governor of these
Provinces, to take advantage of the authority granted by Law
24, Title 1, Book 2, and request His Majesty, wdth all due
respect and assurances of obedience, to be pleased to reconsider
the subject, and direct the execution of the said Royal Order
to be suspended, until His Majesty, upon further investigation,
might be pleased to decide as proper.
3. In order to convince His Majesty of the irreparable
injury to be done by this measure, of the excessive expenditure
w^hich it will entail, of the numerous difficulties which will
have to be overcome, of the number of years which will be con-
sumed to carry its provisions into practical effect, and of the
well-known dangerous position in which it will place all these
dominions of His Majesty, I thought it advisable to submit to
His Majesty the Map and testimony which I append to this
Report. The one and the other, together with the general map
8
of this Government, and the memoranda book, or Book of notes,
which contains the particuhirly accnratf as well as concise
description of the country, which I formerly sulnnitted to His
Majesty, through tlic liandsof Your Excellency, on September
16, 17(U, will vouch a great portion of what I have said in
this Report. If some other points of the same document have
not been accompanied by comi)etent proof, it has not been
because that proof was lacking, Init because of the desire not
to give this Report undue extension. Records too voluminous,
instead of being conducive to throw light on a subject, are apt
to produce confusion. But whenever His Majesty may be
pleased to order me to i)rove any statement, which is not
vouched here, I will do it. I bind myself to give such proofs
and I hold myself responsible f<»r the truth of all that I have
said in this Report, which I have prepared in discharge of my
duty, in order to correspond to the confidence that ITis Majesty
was pleased to repose in me, and with no other desire than to
improve the Royal service, protect these vast dominions, and
prevent the charge from being justly made against me, that I
did not call attention to facts and dangers which could be seen
so easily.
4. And in order that my representations may be more easily
understood, and that no confusion may be created, I have
thought it proper to divide this report into three parts, show-
ing in the lirst, what the Government of Cumana was in 1720 :
what progress has been made in it up to the present date ; to
whom said progress is due ; what its condition is at the present
time : how little, under the circumstances now existing in
it, can be undertaken in the Province of Guayana; what
the Province of Guayana was in 1720 when it was subject to
the Government of La Trinidad, and what progress had been
made in it during the 141 previous years; what measures for
the fortification of the Orinoco were taken from the year 1694
up to the 27th of May, 1762, after which date nothing has been
done ; what was the unhappy condition in which said Province
found itself when it was annexed to this Government ; what pro-
gress it has made ever since, and to whom that progress has been
due ; what is the present condition of the city of Guayana and its
9
fortifications; and how said city is the most important phice
which the King has in these his American dominions, except
Havana and Vera Cruz. With this precise and well proved
information furnished at the outset, everything stated in the
second and third parts of the Report will be properly substan-
tiated, and the danger will be thus avoided of entering into
long digressions, which, rather than throwing upon the subject
the light which I desire and facilitating the work of His
Majesty, may, on the contrary, produce confusion.
5. In the second part reference is made, on the left side of
the respective pages, to the items or statements contained in
the Royal Order, and an answer is given to each one in the
text. These answers show how irreparable the injury sus-
tained will be; how large amount of money and how many
long years shall be required to carry the said Royal Order
into effect ; and how much the execution thereof, so far from
being conducive to the safety and development of these
Provinces, will endanger the possession of the same, and
render them liable to fall into the hands of enemies, to the
detriment of the religion newly implanted in a great portion
of their territory.
6. In the third part my opinion is stated in full. This is
the first time, since I have had the honor to serve His Majesty
in this position, that I have ventured to express my own ideas,
unless directed by express Royal Order to do so. But as the
interests of the service of the two Majesties appear to be so much
at stake in this grave matter, I have felt myself bound by a
duty of conscience to set forth wdiat I think to be conducive
to the service of God and of the King. In this matter, indeed,
I have had very little to add to what was said in the Book of
Notes, or the part thereof relating to information both general
and special about this Government, and still less to what was so
properly represented to His Majesty by the engineers and the
governors who preceded me, and were entrusted by Roya
command with the work of fortifying the Orinoco, whose
reports were approved, by virtue of a Royal Order, by His
Excellency Don Sebastian de Eslava, Viceroy at that time of
the New Kingdom of New Grenada.
10
First Part.
CliaiMcr I.
WJiaf the Government of Cumand was in 1720.
i>A. 'JMk' (.ioVL'niniL'iil til ('uniaii.'i, at whose head was placed
Don Josc])li Carroiio in 1720, consisted of the Province of tliat
name and the I'lovince of Barcelona. A large portion of
tile territor}'' north of the chain of mountains which runs from
east to west across the tAvo }>rovinces was unknown and unex-
plored. The other tract of land situated on the south of these
mountains was possessed and iidiahited by the Caribbean In-
dians, by other Indians not yet pacified, and by those Dutch,
English, and French people, who were in their company.
The towns of the Province of ('uinana were as follows : Its
capital, with no more than one hundred very small houses,
built of mud and timber, and thatched roofed. The inhabit-
ants of this town were very poor, although some of them
owned small farms on the coast of the Gulf, or in the Cariaco
valley.
2. The city of -San Balthasar de los Arias, otherwise called
Cumanacoa, consisting of twenty or twenty-five thatched-roofed,
mud houses, inhabited In' j)oor farm laborers, most of them
mulattoes, half-breeds and negroes. The principal production
was tobacco, but only to the amount necessary for consumption
wit III 11 tlie Province.
3. The city of San Phelipe de Austria, or Cariaco, where the
cultivation of cacao had ])ecn started in some small farms be-
longing to peo|)l(' of Cumana, who used to come and reside
there temporarily. The real inhabitants of this city were
negroes, mulattoes and half-breeds, who lived in about thirty
thatched-roofed cabins, scattered here and there on the grounds
where they cultivated their corn, manioc, bananas and fruits
•of various kinds. These were the only three towns, or settle-
ments of Spaniards, in that locality.
1. <)n the north of the Mountains, as shown by the General
Map, some eighteen or twenty Indian villages had been already
11
•established. Five of these settlements were taken care of by
secular priests; the balance were in charge of the Aragonese
Capucins. The inhabitants of the villages entrusted to secular
priests and some other towns entrusted to the Friars aforesaid,
had been taught the Christian doctrine. All the rest were
under missionary rule and not yet well educated. Some
missions and settlements began also to be established on the
toj^ and the southern slope of the mountains.
5. These new Missions, and even the old ones near Cumana-
■coa, were frequently insulted by the Caribbean Indians and the
French and English people who accompanied them. Owing to
their having destroyed by fire the town of San Felix de la Peni-
tencia (see General Map) and their having perpetrated some
other outrages at Aragua, in the neighborhood of the said town,
Governor Carreiio saw himself compelled to enlist soldiers and
rsend an expedition to the Guarapiche River, for the purpose of
punishing them. So it was done, as appears from the report
sent by that Governor to His Majesty, on March 30, 1719, and
from a Royal Ordinance, dated Madrid, March 6, 1721, ap-
proving M'hat had been done. All of this is shown by the
testimony hereto appended, page 4, on the back, and the follow-
ing up to page 6.
6. In the Province of Barcelona no other town existed than
its capital, which consisted of between 80 and 100 frame and
mud, thatched-roofed houses, inhabited by people who were
still poorer than those of Cumana, because they had to confine
themselves to cultivate the most sterile lands on the coast and
the mountains, and were unable to undertake any work in
the fertile plains of the interior for fear of constant molesta-
tion by the Caribbean Indians.
7. The Franciscan friars {observantes) of Piritu had in their
charge fourteen or fifteen Indian villages, whose inhabitants had
been kept under missionary rule until the date in which Don
Joseph Carreno raised them to the rank of already instructed
'{puestos en dodrina). The land occupied by the pacified In-
dians was situated on the chain of mountains which faces the
north, and on the banks of the Unare River, extending as far
^s the locality in which the Huere River empties into the
12
Unare. These towns were often attacked hy the Caribbean
Indians, assisted by some Dutch and I'nolish pi'ople, who, in
company with tlie said Indians, made incursions in tlie unex-
plored territory of the Province of Barcelona, and in a portion
of that of the Province of Caracas, reaching, through the Ori-
noco, the other Provinces access to which can be facilitated
tlirough navigation on that river.
To this and nothing else the Government of Cumana was
reduced in the above cited year seven liundred and twenty, in
which Don Joseph Carreiio ceased to be Governor, and was
succeeded by Don Juan de la Tornera Sota, who continued in
the same way as his })redecessor to take measures to preserve
the Missions and repress the Caribbean Indians and their
English, Dutch and French companions who harassed them.
Chapter II.
Profjress made in the Government from 1720 to tJie present year,.
1763.
1. In order to explore the unknown portion of the territory
of the Province of Barcelona, and to pursue the Caribbean
Indians and the foreigners who accompanied them, some
movements towards the interior were started by the Mission-
aries and the small force which Governor Tornera could
give them as escort. The result of those expeditions was
the exploration of the banks of tlic Orinoco and the
Carey Rivers, and the foundation of the San Buenaventura
Mission, called also La Margarita, where many Indians who had
been persuaded to leave the mountains were gathered. Some
other Indians, in larger numbers than the above, were^also in-
duced to come and settle in the proposed Missions of Santa Rosa
and San Joachin. (See the general map as to the location of
these places.) All of this was reported to His Majesty, under
date of January 8, 1724, by Governor Tornera, who urged also,
as a matter of great importance for the Royal service, the forti-
fication of the narrow part {La Angostura) of the Orinoco River,,
and the foundation of some Missions in its neighborhood. Said
13
Missions were to be in charge of the Franciscan Fathers, to whom,
in compliance with the repeated provisions of several Royal
-orders, the proper escort should be given. As up to that time
no escort had ever been paid anything, owing to which fact, as it
appears from page 6 to page 9 of the testimony, the Missions had
suffered considerably, efficient measures were suggested to
secure actual payment in the present case. To this His Majesty
graciousl}^ answered, through his Secretary of State, Don
Joseph Patino, in a communication dated at Madrid, September
7, 1728, by informing the Governor that the proper orders had
been issued for the fortification of La Angostura, as decided
by His Majesty at some previous time. The text of the said
Royal Order is to be found in the testimony hereto appended,
from page 9 to page 10.
Another Royal Order, issued at Madrid, on the same date,
transmitted by the same Secretary Don Joseph Patiiio, which can
be found in the same testimony from page 10 to page 11, shows
that Governor Tornera had reported to His Majesty in Novem-
ber, 1727, the number of Indians who, with the assistance given
him for that purpose during his term of office, had been sub-
dued (reducidos) and caused to live in villages or other settle-
ments of permanent character. It shows also that the Caribbean
Indians and other savage tribes had waged war against those
settlements and attempted to kill the missionaries and the
Spaniards who were with them ; that the banks of the Huere
River (see general map for the location of this river) had been
properly defended; that in these skirmishes many Indians
had been killed, and some others made prisoners ; that close
to the banks of the said river about eleven houses had been
discovered which were intended, as it seemed, for storage pur-
poses, wliere many fire arms, and arms of other kinds, clubs,
and arrows were found and captured ; that the hostile Indians
had been assisted in their effort to establish themselves in their
old homes by English officers and soldiers ; and that His
Majesty had imparted his approval to all that had been done,
by the Governor, in regard to this subject.
2. The same system of government, with little or no changes,
and no greater improvement of the situation, prevailed during
14
the wliole period of Governor Tornera's commaiid. In August
1733, he was rejjhiced by Don Curios de Sucre. Governor
Tornera, however, had received the instructions of October,.
17'2(), which appear from page 11 to page 10 of the testimony,
and had been entrusted witli tlie Government pf these posses-
sions, as sliown by the same testimony, for the especial [)urpose,
as shall be more particularly ex|>lained in its proper place,
that he should fortify the narrow part {la Amjosiiira) of the
Orinoco Kiver, or Island of Faxardo.
3. In order to comply with the duty entrusted to him. Gov-
ernor Sucre moved to the Presidio of Guavana, on or about the
month of February, 1734, and remained there during the
longest period of his term of office. Nothwithstanding this
fact, and although the Governor before leaving the capital
had appointed the Marquis of San Felipe to act in his place
in everything concerning the government of these Provinces^
a large amount of business was often submitted to his personal
consideration. The communication with Guayana was at that
time difficult. By sea the trip was very expensive and long,
as it was necessary to go first to the Island of La Margarita,
for which place alone pilots were obtainable to proceed to
the Island of T^a Trinidad, and there engage another pilot,,
generally an Indian, expert in the navigation of the Orinoco,
to take the vessel from one mouth of that river to the city
of Guayana. By land it was still worse, because there was
no road which would lead to that place.
The missionaries of Piritu, in their excursions through the
territory of the Province of Barcelona, had gone no farther
than the banks of the River Cari, which, being very wide and
carrying a large volume of water before emptying into the
Orinoco, was found by them to be impassable, unless by
using some craft, which they had not in tlieir possession.
Nevertheless, under the spur of necessity, with great efforts,
after crossing tiie summit of the Guanipa Table, where the
Morichales, forming the sources of the River Cari, are found
(see General Map, and Note No. 5 of the Book of Notes, as to
explanation of what the Guanipa Table and the Morichales
15
are), and fording some other rivers, a road was discovered
which leads to a locality just opposite El Presidio. This is'-
the only way of communication by land now used, and is
marked in the map hereto annexed.
4. As soon as this road was discovered the missionaries-
applied themselves to improve it as much as possible, and to
secure the establishment, at some convenient point of its
traject, of a town or some other station, where the people could
get provisions and rest from the fatigues of a six days" journey
through the sands of the desolate Guanipa Table; and to this
end they founded, in 1735, with Indians belonging to the-
Guarauna nation, who inhabited the shores of the Del Manso
Lake, as shown by the appended map, a Mission to which they
gave the name of Nuestra Sefiora de los Remedios (Our Lady of
Remedies). This undertaking, however, soon proved to be a
failure, because the Caribbean Indians becoming infuriated at
the Guarauna people having consented to be subjected to
missionary rule, made, at the end of that year, and with the
assistance of a certain number of French allies, an attack
upon said Mission, which ended in its ruin. They suddenly
rushed into it, at the very moment in which the priest was
saying mass, and after assaulting and wounding him, while
at the altar, dragged him out of the church, hanged him
from a tree, and ignominiously outraged his corpse. They
killed 37 Guaraunas, burnt down the church and the houses,
and carried away with them the women and the children.
5. In spite of these and other similar misfortunes, the mis-
sionaries continued with not less earnestness the work of civiliz-
ing the unhappy inhabitants of those territories. These efforts,
as well as the increase of trade in that region in consequence
of the events in Guayana ; the steps taken by Sucre in the
Presidio to prevent the introduction of foreigners allied to the
Caribbean Indians, and the action of Marquis San Felipe in
the Province of Barcelona, as shown by the Royal Letter dated
at Aranjuez, April 28, 1737, and copied from page 19 to page
20 of the testimony, tended to facilitate the pacification of the
Caribbean Indians, which was then initiated and which, dur-
1(J
ing the wliole period of Sucre's adininistration, was continued
with such ,1 ilfgree of success as to allow tlir inhabitants of
Barcelona to establish stock farms in these territories, although
occasionally some hann was doni' both to the cattle and to the
people who had it under their care.
G. While this was happening in the J^rovinco of Barcelona,
matters were progressing very slowly in that of Cumana and
in the region to the south of its mountains. The .Vragonese
Capucins had established in the latter region some oi the Mis-
sions which are now in existence; and on the northern part,
on the coast, and in the neighborhood of Cape Tres Puntas (as
shown by the General Map), two Spanish towns had been
founded, whidi were respectively designated under the names
of Kios Caribes and Carupano, and became afterwards very
useful for the pacification oC the coast of Paria.
7. Such was the condition of things in the Provinces of
Cumaiu'i and Barcelona in 1710, when on or about the month
of June of the same year, (Juvernor Don Cai'los de Sucre was
recalled and I'eplaced by Don Gregorio de Kspinosa, who
had also been instructed, as will l)e explained hereafter, to
fortify the Orinoco. AVbat took place m these Provinces
during his government will be presently stated.
S. Shortly after his arrival and his taking possession of the
Goveriuiient, Guayana was attacked by an English privateer.
The Governor at once sent a force there of one hundred men of
the militia of Barcelona, but when they reached their destina-
tion the Presidio ha<l been already sacked. The same fate had
befallen the neighboring Indian towns or villages, the hou.ses of
which, as well as those of the city, had been burnt to the ground.
Ikit if the one linndrcd lueii of the expedition had been
unable to prevent, on account of their late arrival, the afore-
.said misfortune from having happened, their presence there
was however u.seful for the pacilicat ion of certain tribes, sub-
ject to missionary rule, who had nvoHed and run away to the
mountains. This service having been rendered, the detach-
ment returned to Barcelona, not without causing the Carib-
bean Indians, who inhabit the territorv throujrh which it
passed, both when going to Guayana and when returning
17
home, to feel apprehensive that the missionaries, counting
with its assistance, would endeavor to subdue and civilize
them, as in fact they did afterwards.
9. In order to insure the safety of the road to Guayana and
the Curacies and new Missions on the mountains, as well as
that of the part of the plains of Barcelona where cattle ranches
had been established, the Franciscan missionaries founded, in
1744, the town of Aragua, situated on the plains, at twenty
leagues from Barcelona, leaving between this city and the
newly founded town several Indian villages and some cattle
ranches. The population of this new town consisted of mu-
iattoes, half-breeds, negroes, and here and there a white man,
all of whom, numbering at most twenty families, had pre-
viously established themselves, with their cattle, in the plains
near the mountains, and in other plains of the Province of
Caracas. Before this new town could be raised to the rank of
a Parish it was placed for church matters under the rule of
a Missionary.
10. After the foundation of this town, and in the latter part
of the same year, 1744, another settlement was started by the
same missionaries at the place called Pao, twenty leagues from
Aragua, and thirty-five or forty from the city of Barcelona,
and the communication and trade with Guayana was thereby
rendered safer. Some cattle raisers, who had started their
farms in the plains of Caracas, were assisted by the people of
Aragua to move with their cattle to the new settlement; and
so, with no more than sixteen or eighteen families, the town of
Nuestra Senora de la Concepcion del Pao, which is still standing,
was brought into existence. That town, which is now about
to be raised to the rank of a Parish, was placed, as it is now,
under the care of the same missionaries.
The two towns (Pao and Aragua) increased their population
considerably on account of the disturbances which occurred
in the Province of Caracas, when the uprising of Leon, in '49
and '50, took j^lace. Both of them are very important to give
safety to the plains whereon they are situated, as they afford
efficient means to resist any invasion on the part of the Carib-
bean Indians, who, as shown by the General Map and by Note
Vol. 1, Ven.— 2 *
18
6 of tlie Book of Notes, inhabit the count ly l)et\veen tlie same
towns and the hanks of the Orinoco.
11. In 171»J Don Gregorio de Espinosa was recalled, and
Don Diego Tavares was api)ointed in his place. The latter
came also with special instructions to fortify the Orinoco.
Tavares was in his turn recalled in '53, and replaced by Don
Matheo Gual.
Gual was succeeded ad inter im, in December, '57, by Don
Nicolas deCastro; and Castro transmitted to nic the coininand
in January, '59.
12. All my predecessors, from Don Gregorio dc Espinosa
down, were i>aiticular in taking measures to insure the safety and
proper development of these Provinces. As for myself, I can
say that the steps I have taken, after my general visit, specially
for the good government and the proper treatment of the In-
dians, have not been few. To remedy the evil effects of intox-
ication in the Caribbean Missions on the banks of the Orinoco,
I gave the local authorities of Barcelona, Aragua, Pao, and
Guayana such instructions as were deemed necessary to secure
their appearance in the respective places of their territory, as
soon as some disturbance occurred. I also made arrangements
by virtue of which the said local authorities, and all other
officials of the (rovernment, were enabled to assist each other
whenever necessary. All of this will appear from the elabor-
ate statement of the General Results of my Visit, submitted by
me to Plis ^lajesty through his Royal and Supreme Council of
the Indies. The fact is, that owing to these measures taken by
myself, and to those which my ])redecessors had taken during
their respective terms of oilice, communication can now be had
without risk between all i)laces of the territory, whether on the
plains or in the mountains, belonging to the l*rovinces under
my command. Any man can now go alone to Guayana, and
come back, witliout fear of molestation of any kind. Twenty
years ago no man could think (»!' making such a journey with-
out a strong escort. No foreigner, allied to the Caribbean In-
dians, is now seen in the country ; nor can any Caribbean Indian
himself be seen outside the towns. The same safety is to
be noticed in the communicaticju by water. The navigation
19
along the sea coast, through Golfo Trlste, the mouths of the
Orinoco, and up the river, is freely made, and those engaged
in this business can go and come without disturbance. There are
excellent pilots, perfectly well acquainted with every locality
in the whole Northern Coast, the Guarapiche River, the Chan-
nels of Santa Isabel, Teresen, and Coiguar, the coast of Paria,
and the Labyrinth of the mouths of the Orinoco.
13. At the time of my visit there were in the Province of
Barcelona 121 ranches, which, according to the statements of
their owners, contained from fifty to fifty-five thousand head
of cattle. This secured for the Province a revenue of 25
or 30 dollars per year, as shown in note No. 13 of the
Book of Notes. The number of ranches is becoming every da}'-
larger and larger; and this fact, the abundance of cattle, and
the increase of the number of Indians who become civil-
ized and devote themselves to the cultivation of the lands,
have rendered the capital of Barcelona four times better and
more advanced in every respect than it was in 1720. Now, as
far as the comfort of the inhabitants is concerned, the said
capital is the best city in this Government.
14. The same increase in the number of houses, population,
and wealth of the inhabitants which has been noticed in the
capital of Barcelona, has also been noticed in the capital of
Cumana and in all other cities and towns of this Government.
Nothing, of any account, was received in the Royal Treasury
in the year 1720; because the number of Indians who paid
tribute was very small, and because the revenue derived from
the payment of tithes was of little importance. The receipts
coming from what was called " entradas y salidas,^' was, if pos-
sible, still more insignificant, because the production was small
and the trade almost null. The result was that at that time
the Royal Treasury- was scarcely able to meet the few obliga-
tions which weighed upon it. But at present, as shown by
note No. 11 of the Book of Notes, a most favorable change can
be noticed in the Government's receipts and expenditures. It
may be said, in a word, that the difference between the situ-
ation of the Treasury now and in 1720 is just as striking as
between being and not being. This increase in the resources
20
of the Government, no nnitter how ^nvat, can nut, however,
justify the undertaking of many enterprises, ami this I will
explain, as thorouijjhly as it is indispensable to j^ive a proper
answer to the chapter of the lioyal Ordinance which relates to
the moving of La Guayana to La Angostura. 'Phis I shall do
when stating the principal reason which produced that in-
crease. That part of m}' Report wherein I suggest certain
measures and recommend tliom as cHicicnt will then also be
substantiated.
Chapter III.
Tlic progress made in the Provinces of Cumand and Barcelona,
from 1720 to the present year 1763, is due to the two Mission-
ary bodies engaged in their evangelization.
1. It can not be doubted that the repeated measures, more
or less active, taken by my predecessors, have caused the very
noticeable development of the cities and towns of this Govern-
ment ; the exploration of the vast territories which pertain to
it; the pacification of the Lulians who inhabited its mountains
and forests, and are now reduced to live in proper settle-
ments the life of civilization ; the expulsion of those foreigners
who, in union with the Indians, overran these Provinces and
harrassed their inhabitants with the intent of establishing
themselves in their territory ; the discover}^ safety and good
arrangements of the road to Guayana, which facilitates the
communication with that place; and, as a consequence of all
these facts, the occui)ation and settlement of these hitherto un-
ex})lored Provinces and vast territories by Spanish people,
who formerly had been compelled to live in the arid and bar-
ren lands which lie in close vicinity with the establishments
on the coast. None of these measures, however, would have
amounted to anything, if their execution had not been secured
and fostered as it was by the missionary bodies, engaged in
the evangelization of the Provinces of Cumana and Barcelona,
namely : The Aragonese Capucins in Cumana, as explained
21
in Note No. 4, and the Franciscans of Piritu in Barcelona,
as explained in Notes No. 7 and No. 10. Tlie territory in
which their missionary work is done is marked in the General
Map.
2. These two bodies of missionaries have always been lack-
ing the proper assistance. The number of missionaries has
never been sufficient. They have not received enough alms
for their proper support. They have not been given adequate
escort to insure their safety, protect the new settlements, and
explore the neighboring forests in search of Indians to be
evangelized. They do not possess such ecclesiastical vestments,
images, bells, etc., as are desired. The missionaries themselves,
as well as the Governor, have most repeatedly set forth their
needs, and requested His Majesty to grant proper assistance to
this important branch of the service. His Majesty most
graciously, as becoming to his Royal and Catholic zeal, has
attended to this matter by issuing proper Ordinances and
taking other measures, all of them tending to the spiritual
and temporal welfare of the poor Indians. But most of
these Royal Ordinances and decrees have become of no
effect, owing to the scarcity of funds, out of which the
expenses required to carry them into operation had to be
paid. Lately, when reporting the results of my general
visit, I called His Majesty's attention to the present needs
of the two missionary bodies above named, and also to the
needs of the other body of Catalonian Capucins of the Province
of Guayana, as stated in the documents, copies of which I sub-
mitted, and may be found from page 247 to page 256 of the
appended testimony. Particular information of the present
condition of these Missions is found also in Notes No. 4, No. 7,
and No. 10 of the Book of Notes, which corroborate and com-
plete what is said in the documents above mentioned and in the
minutes or journal of the general visit. Evils of great impor-
tance, requiring prompt remedy, are now being felt in the
Provinces of Cumana and Barcelona, and are due to no other
cause than the scarcity of funds. The fact is acknowledged
that the missionary work is no longer carried out with as much
zeal and efficiencv-as in former times, or as it is now carried
22
out in Guayaiui by the Cataluniiui Capuciii.s. This matter has
been treated by me separately in a special report which, upon
the result of my general visit, I sent to His Majesty and his
Supreme Council.
3. In spite of all this, it must be said that all the progress
made in this Government, in spiritual and tem{)oral matters,
is due to the two communities above referred to, and, also,
that no further progress can be expected to come from other
sources, either in the same two provinces, or in the Province
of Guayana, where they have begun to evangelize.
4. These two missionary bodies are certainly the cause of
the pacification of these provinces. With no little diffi-
cultv, and incurrino- jrrave risks, thev have subdued the In-
dians, and succeeded in establishing 79 Indian villages, the
town of Aragua, and the settlement of El Pao. In the vil-
lages aforesaid the}^ have congregated from 2() to 27,000
natives, most of whom have been converted to our Holy
Religion. In the Caribbean vilhiges of the neighborhood of
the Orinoco, where there are no missionaries to attend to the
education of the inhabitants, or where the mi.ssionaries, if
any, sent there have not been given such an escort as was
neces.sary to their protection, heathenism still i)revails. The
inhabitants are ba{)tized only in case of necessity, but the}'
do not refuse this Holy Sacrament to be administered to them,
Avhen in condition to receive it, or to their infant children.
But many among the inhabitants of both the latter and the
former villages are lost, unless, for their good fortune, some
missionary jiriest happens to reach their residence in time
enough to minister to their needs. The number of mission-
aries sent to these Provinces is not sufficient to ])ermit any
])riest to be permanently located at any village, and attend
to the religious education of its inhabitants. The result is
that the children grow up with the same habits and ideas of
their {)arents, and that Christian religion does not become
iirmly rootiil in these Missions. Indeed, it is a miracle for
the Missions themselves to have survived, as no restraint of
any kind can be exercised on the Indians who inhabit them.
In manv cases there is onlv one missionarv for two, three and
23
even four villages, separated from each other by large dis-
tances. The same thing happens in the matter of teachers
{doctrineros), who are compelled to spend their lives on horse-
back, going from one place to another. In many cases a priest
says mass at one village which is not within convenient dis-
tance of another, and the inhabitants of tlie latter have to do
without mass, unless the priest can come and say it a second
time.
5. It is also due to these two bodies of missionaries that the
Spaniards succeeded in establishing themselves in lands of
more fertility than those close to the coast, and in increasing
the number of their farms, and of the towns, which now are
eight, in these Provinces. It is due to them, furtliermore, that
the Royal Treasury receives tribute from thirty-nine villages
already Christianized, and is able therefore to meet the ex-
penses required for the support of the Churches, and the pay-
ment of the teachers and local authorities, leaving a large
balance to dispose of in some other ways. The amount of
these receipts will be doubled in a few years, as many other
villages will hereafter become fully Christianized and begin to
pay tribute.
6. If these missionary communities should be assisted in the
manner and form I have suggested to His Majesty, it is to be
hoped that the Guarauna Indians, who inhabit the swamps at
the mouth of the Orinoco, would be jnicified and induced to
settle on the dry lands of the interior, and also that the exten-
sive province of Guayana would then be explored and pacified.
That would be the only way to cause the Spaniards to occuj^y
the fertile and vacant lands which the Indians fail to take
advantage of, and secure the population of the banks and the
neighborhood of the Orinoco River. This will be treated more
in full in some other part of this Report, but the above has been
stated beforehand in order to cause what I have said about
the importance of these missions to be well understood. It is
necessary for these two missionary bodies to be properly
assisted, because it is through their work, and in no other
way, that religion can be established in these vast Royal
dominions, nor can in any other way these remote Provinces
24
be pacified and po})ulated by Spaniards. Experience has
shown in the whole America that tlie hitter will not settle on
any territory which has not been pacified.
Cliiipter IV.
Present condition of the Provinces of Cumand and Barcelona,
which are the principal provinces of this Government — How
little can he undertaken therein, and upon whom the execution
of the order to move the Guayana depends.
1. The poor condition in which the Government was in
1720, and the evident progress which, in the 43 years subse-
quent to that date, has taken place in the same, due to the
missionary bodies which are engaged in the evangelization
thereof, and without which none of the measures taken by my
predecessors would have been of any effect, having been dem-
onstrated, it is now proper to show what the condition of the
same is at the present time, because this is a point to be con-
sidered for the execution of the Royal Order of May 27, 1762,
directing that Guayana be moved to Angostura, and to ex-
plain furthermore upon whom the comphance with the said
lioyal Order depends.
2. I say, that notwithstanding the progress shown b}'' me to
have taken phace in these rrovincos, they are still in too poor
a position as to be able to undertake in Guayana a project
of this nature so superior to their forces, for, after all, tliey are
little less than uninhabited, and have no more than eight
towns, all of them very small. These towns are as follows:
Five on the Northern coast ; another {San Balthasar de los Arias,
or CumanacOa), at ten leagues distant from the capital of
Cumauci; and in tlic^ midst of the mountains, the town of
Aragua, and the settlement of Kl Pao, at the head of the ex-
tensive plains of Barcelona, which are the nearest to the
Orinoco River, as all appears from the General Map.
3. Notes No. 3 and No. of the Book of Notes explain the
number of inhabitants as well as the resources and means of
25
these towns. I shall briefly mention here what is stated'
there.
The Capital of Cumana has 550 vecinos (suburban residents),.
and 776 families, including those of the soldiers, and those in-
habiting the valleys of Bordones, Mochima, Santa Fe, and the
whole coast of the Gulf of Cariaco. The total population is-
4,372, including the troops and 937 slaves of all races, ages
and sexes, all subject to the only Parish existing in the city.
All the able-bodied male inhabitants are enlisted for military
service, but the whole force actually consists of 799 men, out
of which 270 or 290 are white, the balance being negroes,
mulatoes and half breeds. This capital, although the best of
all these cities, as far as buildings are concerned, contains^
only about 80 very small, tile-roofed, stone houses, 150 houses,
also small and tile-roofed, built out of timber and mud, and
200 houses, more or less, likewise made of mud and timber, but
thatched roofed. The Parochial Church and the Convents
are built out of the satne materials. There are no public
buildings in this city, and even those most necessary, as a
jail, a City Hall, or a school are missing. Its inhabitants are
all of limited resources; about one-third of their number, and
these are the ones who are in better circumstances, are en-
gaged in the cultivation of the soil and in raising cattle;.
another portion of the inhabitants is devoted to fishing and
other maritime occupations; and the balance consists of gov-
ernment clerks, servants, and laborers, most of them in extreme
poverty. Such is the capital of the most extensive government
of Cumana.
4. The second city in the same province is called San
Balthasar de los Arias, whicli has 90 vecinos (suburban resi-
dent.s), 117 families, and 795 inhabitants, including 60 slaves.
It contains 88 thatched-roofed timber and mud houses, and
213 men ready to take up arms, out of which 60 or 70 are
white and all the others colored. The church is a small timber
and mud, thatched-roofed building. There is no other pub-
lic building. The residents of this town are extremely poor,
although the lands around it are fertile.
5. The town of San Phelipe de Austria, distant from the capi-
tal twelve leagues by sea, and 18 or 20 by land, contains 200'
2G
vccinos (suhiirlnm resitlents), 250 luinilics, 107 slaves, and 1,305
souls, 102 tliatcluMl-rootV'd houses, scattered through the neigh-
boring grounds, belong to this town, and 270 men capable of
bearing arms, SO of which are white, all the others being colored.
The church, although in a very bad condition, is the only
stone building of its kind in the city. It is thatched roofed.
'The town has no other public building.
6. Carupano, distant from the capital 30 or 34 leagues by
land, and the same, more or less, by sea, has 170 vecinos (sub-
urban residents), 1S7 families, and 028 iidiabitants in all.
The liouses, all thatched roofed and scattered through the
neighboring ground, are 108 in number. The men capable of
carr3'ing arms are 101. The church is in ruins.
7. Rio Caribes, distant from the ca[)ital 30 leagues by land
and the .same by sea, contains 130 families. The whole popu-
lation, including in its number 2o slaves, is 1,077. It has 130
thatched-roofed houses, and 226 men capable of bearing arms,
most of them colored. The church is of the same material as
the houses.
8. At the time of my visit, the town of Araya had 208 fam-
ilies, 71 slaves, and a total i)o[>ulation of 1,002, including the
troops, the Guaiquery Indians, and 50 militiamen. A great
number of the.se people are now scattered in other towns.
Tliey left the places when the fortress therein erected was de-
molished, and when the cisterns which supplied water both to
the Spaniards and the Indians ceased to be of service.
0. In the I'rovince of Harcelona the first city to be noticed
is its caj)ital with 550 rn-iuos (surlnirban residents), 005 fam-
ilies, and a total po[)ulation of a,o~)l inhabitants, including
035 slaves. The liou.se3 are 432, all of which, exce{)t 20, are
frame and mud tliatched-roofed buildings. The balance are
covered with tiles. Tlic city can luustci- (iltO men ca])able of
bearing arms, 250 out of this number are white while the
others are colored. About one-third of the iidiabitants is en-
gaged in fishing industries and general seafaring. All the
others are engaged in agricultural })ur.suits. The church,
which was to be a stone building, has not been finished, and
during the many years which have elapsed since the beginning
27
•of tTie work only the foundation has been completed. There
are neither workingmen nor money to continue the building
■of the church. The city has no public building of any kind.
10. The town of Aragua has 150 vecinos (suburban residents),
180 families, and a total population of 824 inhabitants.
There are about 150 houses, all of them thatched roofed. The
church is built of the same material as the houses. There are
about 145 men capable of carrying arms : all of them are
colored, extremely poor, and engaged in the cultivation of the
soil.
11. The town of El Pao has 90 vecinos (suburban residents),
121 families, and 632 inhabitants. The houses, all of them
thatched roofed, are 90 in number. The church is of the same
material. The men capable of bearing arms are 165. half of
whom are white and the other colored.
12. In the written explanation to be found on the map a
general idea has been given of the total number of regular
troops and militia of this government, including the garrisons
of Presidio and Guayana, and the demolished castle Araya,
amounting in all to 3,288 men, 1,000 of whom, more or less,
are white. The rest are half breeds, mulattoes, and negroes.
The smallness of this force is rendered still more to be regretted
on account of the distances between the towns and settlements
where it is scattered. It would be impossible for any one
to call together at once the whole militia ; and if it were pos-
sible to do so, the calling would be injurious, as it would be
equal to the taking away of many families from small towns or
unprotected villages.
13. In addition to the scarcity of population in the eight
towns above named it is to be noticed that skilled laborers can
not be found in any of them, even for the most necessary things.
In the capital of Cumand there are two blacksmiths and they
are only able to make nails and screws for the ships. Ship
carpenters and carpenters of other kinds are in greater
number, but none has sufficient skill to build a derrick
or to construct an engine of any importance. There are
•three or four masons, but without sufficient skill to build well a
stone wall, and this is the reason why all the churches within
28
the limits of this uoviTiuiu-nt, except at Bureehtiui, are mado
of timber and iiiu<l; tliat of l)arcelona is uii finished, as has
been stated, and altliough in Cnmana the people have under-
taken to build a stone church and have accumulated already
for this purpose 18,000 stones, with all the other necessary
material, work has not yet been commenced for the lack of an
architect. The people there are awaiting the arrival of the
Bishop in order to decide from wdiat place an architect can be
brought; but T do not know how that can be done tinless at
extreme ex{)ense.
14. The above statements show the present condition of these
Provinces. This knowledge is indispensable for anyone who
wishes to form an exact idea of what can be undertaken in
Guayana. There is no hope of securing assistance on the
part of the Indians, because even those who might give it,
owing to their having been Christianized and kept for a long
time in obedience to the authorities, are settled in the
northern provinces, or on the skirts of the mountains which
run across the same, excepting the settlement of San ]\hitheo,
which is on the other side and at the entrance of the extensive
plain of Barcelona, as shown by the above map. Those
Christianized Inilians are at a very great distance and cannot
leave their homes and go to w^ork on the Orinoco, in a climate
very different from that to which they are accustomed. On
the other hand, there is no way to compel them to march
through the uninhabited })lains and territory of the Province
of Barcelona to go and work in the Province of Guayana.
lo. It is farther to be considered that the Caribbean Indians
are moi'tal enemies of the native triljes which have been
Christianized, and that therefore when the Indians belonging
to the Litter i>ass through the said plains on their way to
Guayana a bloody encounter may take i)lace, there being no
way to prevent the Caribbean Indians from making an attack
of this kind.
If,. X(( dcjHiidence can be placed upon the Caribbean Mis-
sions of the Franciscan Fathers and the Catalonian Capucins
of the Province of Guayana, because these Missions are re-^
cently established. The natives do not understand well the-
29
language, and are not yet accustomed to obedience or to work
too much, and if urged to do what they do not wish, they are
very apt to run away and return to the forests. All measures
of coercion would result in the abandonment of the Indian
villages. In addition to the loss of those wretched people,
many other irreparable injuries would be thereby inflicted.
17. The detriment to the interest of the inhabitants of the
■Spanish towns, which will be the consequence of the exact
compliance with the Royal Order, as well as the large amount
of money which will be required to compl}^ with it, and the
unconquerable difficulty which would have to be overcome,
shall be made the subject of a proper explanation in the second
part of this Report. That explanation will be better understood
xifter having acquired the general knowledge herein given of
the Presidio and Province of Guayana.
Chapter V.
What the Province of Guayana ivas in the year 1720, and ivhat
progress was made in it during tJie previous 14-1 years.
1. In the year 1720 the Province of Guayana was a de-
pendency of the Government of La Trinidad, and no other
settlement existed in it than the Presidio and city of Santo
Thome, situated on the banks of the Usupamo River. The
settlement consisted of only 20 or 25 houses, inhabited by as
many vecinos deprived of all human assistance, and with
no means whatever to clear the dense forests which sur-
rounded the place, and which caused its climate to be un-
bearable. Provisions for the support of the people were scarce
in the extreme, and generally no other food could be obtained
than the fish of the river, which was of various classes, but
always unwholesome, and apt to produce fevers, some game,
and such vegetables as could be raised on the grounds nearest
the city. The settlers did not venture to go too far from their
abodes for fear of the Caribbean Indians, who infested the
locality. The lack of proper food and the harshness of the
30
cliiiiatf kept all tliese poor iiilial)itaiits without enjoying good
liL'altli even lor an hour.
2. The tortilicatioiLs of tlie Presidio consisted only of the
castle, called »San I'lancisco, scarcely defensible on account of
its feeble and almost ruin('(l walls, and of the few men which
it had to manage its jioor artillery. There were only four or
six cannons of small calibre and one lo-inch ,i;un without its-
corres{)onding battery.
This, according to the testimony of three old men who still
live in Guayana, was the miserable condition of that city in
the year above named, and this is all the progress which was
made there in the 141 years which elapsed ever since its
foundation on the site on which it now stands, and to which it
was moveil t'loin its original location seven leagues up the
mouth of the Caroni River, opposite the Faxardo Island,
as shown by the map hereto appended and by the statements
of Father Gumilla, when rcfcning to liistorian Herrera, in folio-
10 of his "Orinoco Jlustrado."
Cliai>ter VI.
Pleasures taken to fortify the Orinoco between 1694- and the month
of Maij, 1762, luJien the matter was left as it now stands.
1. In the year ['ui\ when, according to Father Gumilla, old
(iuayana had been plundered and burnt down, some of its in-
habitants, showing a good deal of sound judgment, considered
that the ]dace where the city now stands was the most adequate
to build it anew. As it was possible for them to Ibrtify the
rock on which the San Francisco Castle was erected, they and
their .successors were enabled, although with almost incredible
j)erseverance, to maintain themselves in exile in such solitude.
It was due to these pioneers that no foreigners could come and
take possession of the Orinoco, because although the resistance
which they could have made was not very great, it was sufficient,
however, not tf) allow strangers to dislodge them from their posi-
tion. This rendered them strong and respectable to the eyes of
31
the enemies. But as the number of inhabitants was so small,,
the castle so dilapidated, and the artillery so inferior, it was
not possible for the people of Guayana to prevent the foreign-
ers from passing up and down in front of their place. This
could be done freely during the night, and also in day time,
by the said foreigners united to the Caribbean Indians, who
infested the unexplored districts of the Provinces of Cuman^,.
Barcelona, and Caracas, and who, by navigating the Orinoco,
could reach the Provinces of Caracas and Santa Fe, and
plunder and burn all the missionary establishments which
had been founded there. The Dutch, more especially than
allother foreigners, used to trade with the Caribbean Indians
and take away from their homes as many natives as they could
to be put to work in the plantations of their own Colonies at
Esquivo, Berbis, Surinama, and Corentin.
2. The sense of insecurity produced by these incursions of
foreigners and Caribbean Indians, and the losses sustained,
induced the Governors of La Trinidad, Cumana, and Caracas,
as well as the Franciscan Missionaries of "Piritu, the Catalo-
nian Capucins of the Province of Guayana, the Andalusian
Missionaries of Caracas, the Jesuits of the Xew Kingdom of
Granada, and the Missionaries of the Meta and the Casanare
rivers to address different memorials to His Majesty, asking
him to graciously provide what in his Royal judgment would
be conducive to stop the inhuman acts of the Caribbean
savages and the unlawful trade of the Dutch. These rep-
resentations received the kind consideration of His Majesty
since 1094, and, in order to provide the proper remedy to the
evils complained of, a report was asked of the Governors of
La Trinidad and Guayana and the Prefects of the Franciscan,
Capucin, and Jesuit Missions of the Orinoco. When these
reports were given, they w^ere referred by the Council to the
Audience of Santa Fe, with instructions to substantiate the
truth of their statements and to proceed, upon examination of
experts, if the Audience by a majority of votes deemed it ad-
visable to do so, to fortify the Orinoco River in such a manner
as might be thought proper. Nothing was done in this respect,.
however, until the year 1719, when Don Antonio de Pedrosa
32
was attending to tlie organization of the vice royalty of Santa
Fe. But it was decided in that year tliat an exploration and
survey of the banks of the Orinoco should be made by some
Jesuit Fathers and other persons of knowledge and experience.
The result was a recommendation to fortify the Faxardo Island,
which, for the reasons set forth in the Keport, was deemed the
best place for the purpose desired.
The Council, in an opinion dated June 7, 1723, submitted to
His Majesty the above said recommendation ; but as, in the
meantime, some other representations had boon made to His
Majesty, by the authorities and people of [\\l->hj provinces, the
action of His Majesty was suspended, until the Council could
report on the new petitions. This gave occasion to three
furthor opinions of the Council. Upon consideration of the
whole subject His Majesty decided, by Decree of July 1, 1726,
that a castle should be built, at the expense of the Royal
Treasury, at the Faxardo Island, and that the direction of the
work should be entrusted to Don Carlos de Sucre, who was at
that time the Governor of the city of Cuba. In compliance
with this decision of His Majesty the proper commission and
papers were forwarded to Sucre on October 31, 1725. He
was also appointed Governor of Cumana, which Province,
formerly a dependency of the Government of La Trinidad,
was annexed to this Government of La Guayana, by Royal
Letter, issued at Seville on the 30th of June, 1731. The said
Royal Letter, as well as the commission and other papers sent
to Sucre, are ke})t in the Archives, together with another
Royal Ordinance, issued also at Seville, on December 22, 1729,
which contains full instructions as to the Iniilding of the
fortress at the Faxardo Island. This ordinance has been
copied ill the testimony hereto appended, from J^ngo 11 to
page H).
3. By Royal Letters of January 15, 1737, His Majesty directed
Don Pablo Diaz Faxardo, an engineer, who was then at Carta-
gena de Indias, to go to Guayana, examine the fortifications,
and report to His ^lajesty about their condition and useful-
ness, as well as about any repairs which might be necessary.
The engineer was also instructed to proceed in all this with the
33
advice of Don Agustin de Arredondo, Governor of La Trinidad.
In compliance witli tliis Royal decree, surveys and explorations
were made of the mouths of the Orinoco, a portion of the river
itself, the place named La Angostura, the site of Guayana and the
Faxardo Island, and the work was done, a conference was held
at La Trinidad, between Engineer Faxardo and Governor Ar-
redondo, on June 28, 1733, wherein it was decided unanimously
that the Castle of San Francisco de Asis should be left where
it had been built, because its situation was tlie best and the
most advantageous for its purposes along the whole course of
the Orinoco, and that certain repairs should be made in it.
It was decided also to fortify the Padrastro Hill, and to build
another fort, on the island of Limones, opposite the San Fran-
cisco Castle. The fortification of the Faxardo Island was
deemed useless and even injurious. All of this fully appears
from the hereto appended testimony, from page 61 to page
08 ; but there is nothing to sIjow that His JNIajesty, upon con-
sideration of this Report of Engineer Faxardo and Governor
Arredondo, should have been pleased to take action upon the
subject. Mention has been made here of all this on account
-of its importance.
4. Don Carlos de Sucre took possession of the Government
-of Cuniana, in August, 1733 ; and in the month of February,
1734, after giving at his capital such orders as he thought
proper, he started on his voyage to the Presidio of Guayana,
taking with him the Engineer Don Pablo Diaz Faxardo, who
was at Cumana, on his way to Cartagena, after having fulfilled
his mission on the Orinoco. When the Presidio was reached,
:Sucre examined the fortifications, and inspected with great
care the Angostura and the Faxardo Island which he had
been instructed to fortif3\ The result of his labors is embodied
in the report submitted by him to His Majesty, on May 10,
1735, wherein he showed the impossibility of fortifying said
Island, and said that all the previous reports given to the con-
trary had been given by people belonging to religious orders,
who had no knowledge whatever in matters of fortification.
This report made by Sucre, together with a memorial of Mar-
quis San Phelipe, and another of the Governor of La Trinidad,
Vol. 1, Ve.\.— 3
34
were retenvd l)y His Majesty to the ('uiincil ot" tlic Indies for
tlie proper ri|.()it. The Coiuuil thoui^ht it advisable, before
I)assin<i; any opiniDii on the snhjeet, to liear some other per-
sons, esi)ecially Fray Francisco del Castillo, one of the Piritu
Missionaries. The lattei" reported that the l''axai'di> Island
was useless for fortification purposes, and that the narrow part
of the Orinoco, La Angostura, was precisely the best and most
adequate place for the building thereon of the proposed Fort-
ress. The council advised His Majesty to cause La Angostura
to be fortitied, as suggested in the above mentioned reports ;
and His Majesty decided accordingly on December 10, 1738.
5. Before llis Majesty having taken any action on the repre-
sentations made by Sucre, Father Joseph Gumilla sent to
the Royal and Supreme Council of the Lidies a nieniorial or
report, urging, with arguments which have no weight for any
one acquainted with the Orinoco, the fortification of the P'ax-
ardo Island, and criticizing the Re[)ort of Governor Sucre, as
well as the statements of the Memorial of Marquis San Phe-
lipe. All of this is shown by the hereto appended testimony,
from page 20 to page 33. Another memorial of Marquis San
Phelipe is to be found in the same testimony, from page S'd
to page 40, wherein Father (lumilla's statements are refuted
upon grounds much more substantial, and upon nmch better
information. Father Gumilla doubtless had addressed His
Majesty only to endorse the opinion of the Jesuits, who in
1710 had explored the Orinoco by order of Don Antonio de la
Pedrosa. Father Gumilla's own ideas, as shown by a letter
which he, in his own handwi'iiing. wrote to my predecessor,
l)on Pedro Tavares, and can be louiid in the hereto appended
testimony, from page 1(» to [)age 42, were that the Faxardo
Island was useless. In ihi- letter he said that if he wrote to
the contrary, was only to obey his sui)erior, tlie Provincial
of his order, who luiij ordered him to do so; but that in his.
own conscienti(jus opinion the foi'tilicalioii of the ]>imones
Island was much better, because it would close the Orinoco,
and would i)c less expensive. To fortify the Faxardo Island,,
he said, would he efiuivalent to leave twelve leagues of terri-
tory to the mercy of the foreigners, and to open to them a
35
road for making incursions, without being molested, in the
Provinces of Cumana, Barcelona and Caracas. Some other
important statements were made in this letter.
6. The Council took no action on either the memorial sub-
mitted to it by Father Gumilla, or the memorial filed also be-
fore it, in reply to Father Gum ilia's statements, by Marquis
San Phelipe; but it took both of them into proper considera-
tion. When His Majesty was pleased to appoint Don Gregorio
de Espinosa, Governor of Cumana, giving him orders identical
to those which his predecessor Don Carlos Sucre had received,
the Council ordered its Fiscal, Don Joseph Borrull, to prepare
the instruction, which bears date of December 3, 1739, and in
which the whole history of the plan of the fortification of the
Orinoco River, up to the date of the instruction, is accurately
given, and this instruction was forwarded to Governor Espi-
nosa, together with copies of the memorials of Father Gumilla
and Marquis San Phelipe, in order that he might be able, with
full knowledge of all the aspects of the case, to act as directed.
7. On June, 1740, Don Carlos de Sucre was succeeded by
Don Gregorio de Espinosa, who brought with him Don
Antonio Jordan, an engineer, whom he at once sent to El
Presidio de Guayana to rebuild the city, which had been plun-
dered and burnt down by an English corsair, and to make at La
Angostura and the Faxardo Island such surveys as the condi-
tion of the waters of the Orinoco would permit at that season.
Governor Espinosa remained at the ca[)ital to attend to cer-
tain war business which required his presence. Jordan died
while performing his duties, and although Governor Espinosa
wrote to the Governor of Caracas and the Viceroy of Santa Fe,
asking them respectively for another engineer to continue the
work, none could be found. For this reason Governor Espi-
nosa decided, in 1743, personally to go to the said Presidio, in
company with some persons of experience, complete the ex-
plorations and surveys of La Angostura and the Faxardo
Islands and examine the situation of Guayana. The Gov-
ernor and his companions were all of the opinion that the for-
tress should be built on the Island of Limones, at the mouth
of the channel opposite the San Francisco Castle. This site
36
was decided to be the only one adequate to close the river.
A report to tliis effect was sent to His Majesty, through his
Royal aii'l Snj)reme Council of tin' indies; but no action was
taken, and things continued during the whole period of Gov-
ernor Kspinosa's administration as they had been before.
8. Tn I )('cendjer, 1745, Brigadier (leneral Don Diego Tavares
was ai)i)ointed to succeed Don Gregorio de Espinosa. He was
given the same instructions as Sucre and Espinosa, in regard
to the fortification of the Orinoco, and, to facilitate his action,
he w^as supplied with a copy of the instruction drawn up b}'
Fiscal Don Joseph Borrull, and of the memorials of Father
Gumilla, and IMarquis San Phelipe. A note, written b}"- Don
Fernando Trevifio, Secretary of the Council, was appended to
Fiscal Borridl's instruction explaining what liad been done
during Governor Kspinosa's administration. The idea was
that Governor Tavares, being thus well acquainted with all
the facts, should [)roceed as directed. All of this fully ap-
pears from the Royal ordinance of December 1), 1745, and
other documents, iroiii page 42 to page 55 of the testimony
liereto appended.
9. Brigadier General Tavares took possession of the Govern-
ment on IVIay, 1746, and personally went to El Presidio of
Guayana in the month of February, 1747, in company with
Don CJaspar de Lara, an engineer whom he had brought from
Spain. Upon examination of the locality, as well as a proper
study of all the points set forth in the Royal instructions, the
Governor and the engineer agreed to the following : That the
fortress should be l)uilt on the island of Limones, near the
mouth of the c-iianiicl of the same name. This agreement,
together with cert.iiu iiuips then made, and a statement of the
grounds on which the ilecision had rested, was sent \)y the
Governor to His Excellency Don Sebastian de Eslava, Viceroy
of Santa Fe, to whom His Majesty, as shown by the instruc-
tions and IJoy.il orders copied in the hereto appended testi-
mony, had entrusted the final disposition of this matter.
While waiting for the action of the Viceroy, Tavares returned
to the capital of Cumana, not without leaving instructions to
Don Juan de Dios Valdes, the officer in command of El Pre-
37
sidio, to clear a part of the woods of the island of Limoncs and
observe what effect the risings of the Orinoco were likely to
produce on the soil of the island. All of this was done by
Valdes, as will be explained hereafter.
10. The Viceroy of Santa Fe referred the letter of Governor
Tavares, together with the map and drawings which accom-
panied it, to Don Juan Bautista Mac Evan, Engineer-in-Cliief
at Cartagena ; and upon the favorable report of this official
he imparted his approval to the selection of the site, as well as
to all the other recommendations of Governor Tavares for the
erection of the Fortress, and directed the work to be proceeded
with at once. (See Testimony, from page 86 to page 92.)
Nothing practical could be done, however, at that time, be-
cause the officials of the Royal Treasury at Caracas, from whom
the necessary funds were asked, failed to send them. No
mone}' was obtainel until 1752, when the Viceroy of Santa Fe
sent sixteen thousand dollars, at which sum the work had
been estimated. The Viceroy had been instructed to do so by
Royal order transmitted to him by His Excellency the Marquis
de la Ensenada, the text of which can be see:i from page 92
to page 94 of the Testimony.
11. In the year 1753, when the moneys were at hand and
the good season had arrived, Governor Tavares and Engineer
Lara went again to Guayana in order to begin the building of
the Fortress ; but they found, as reported by Commandant
Don Juan de Dios Valdes, that in consequence of the clearing
of the woods at the Island of Limones, the waters of the Ori-
noco had washed out in the same island some 23 yards of
land, which the said Commandant declared to be swampy and
easy to be carried away. (See from page 55 to page 61 of the
Testimony.) The truth of these facts having been ascertained,
the Governor and the Engineer decided to build the fortress
on such substantial and firm a ground as might be found on
the opposite bank, on some place which the waters of the river
could not easily reach, and to begin at once to build the founda-
tions. So it was done, as stated from page 68 to page 84 of the
Testimony, wherein a particular account is given of all the
reasons which moved the aforesaid officials to take this action.
ti92597
38
Tliis account was illustrated with a map an<l drawing showing
without efldrt the situation, as well as the shape and size of the
Fortress.
12. On Junu of the same year, IToO, Governoi- Don Diego de
Tavares was promoted and sent as Governor to Cartagena.
His successor, Don Matheo Gual, received from him the Fort-
ress San Fernando, with its foundations almost at the level of
the ground. Engineer Don Gaspar de Laia was then under
arrest.
13. Governor Gual reported to His Majesty by letters of
October, 1753, and .June, 17.")4, the condition in which the
Fortress was, tlie amount of money, wliieh out of the sixteen
thousand dollars appropriated for the works by the Viceroy
of Santa Fe, had been expended, the balance which was at
hand, and the circumstance that Engineer Lara had been put
under arrest by his predecessor.
14. His Majesty, by Royal Order transmitted by Your Ex-
cellency, under date of Madrid, July 23, 1755, was pleased to
direct the work for the building of the Fortress to be continued
in earnest, making use of the money wiiich had been left un-
expended, out of the .said .^1(),(K)0, and also of any other unaji-
propriated moneys which might be found in the Treasuiy. if
.so prov(Ml to 1)0 necessary. His Majesty expressed the wish
that the next re])ort to be submitted to the Crown on the sub-
ject should be that the work was finished or very near to be so.
It was urged furlliei'inore that brick and not stone of the class
which had been objected to, should be used. His Majesty
decreed also that Engineer Don (lasj)ar de T^ara sh(juld be set
at liberty and put in charge of the work, under the supervision
of the Viceroy and th(> (Tovci'iior. or the representative of the
latter at Guayana, but without allowing any other person to
interfere with him, as far as his profession was concerned ; that
from time to time without sto])ping the work, a report should
be sent to the Viceroy showing exactly all that had been done ;
and that, in case the balance of the appropriation should be
found insufficient, a requisition for the amount needed should
be made to the Viceroy, who would provide the means neces-
sary to complete the work. All of this is shown by the Royal
39
Order above cited, which can bo read from {)age 94 to page 96
of the hereto appended Testimony.
15. When Governor Gual received this Royal Order he had
already, by order of the Viceroy, sent to Spain Engineer Lara.
For this reason, the said Viceroy, to whom instructions to the
same effect as the Royal Order had been transmitted, decided
on August 17, 1756, to put the work in charge of Don Gaspar
de Salaverria, a military officer of high rank (sargento major)
of this place, who was directed to make at once an estimate of
the amount of money, if any, which would be required, in ad-
dition to the balance in hand and the material not yet used.
This estimate having been made and approved by the Vice-
roy, the proper orders were issued by him to the Treasury to
furnish the 9,204 dollars and 1| reales, which, in addition to
the unexpended moneys of the first appropriation, amounting
to 5,200 dollars and 6 reales, and the material not used as yet,
were required. (See from page 96 to page 104 of the Testi-
mony.)
16. All !of this having been done and duly reported, Major
Salaverria went to Guayana, and in the month of February,
1757, began again to work on the Fortress, using the same
foundations which Engineer Lara had built. Governor Gual
gave him, during the whole period of his government, all the
assistance he could, and his successor. Governor Don Nicolas
de Castro, who received his appointment in December, 1757,
did the same thing until January, 1759, when I was appointed
in his place.
17. As soon as I became acquainted with this business, I
wrote to Engineer Salaverria, urging him to hasten the work
as much as could be done without interfering with its strength,
and with the orders of both His Majesty the King and the
Viceroy. I told him furthermore, to keep me advised of
everything which might happen, and to ask me for such assist-
ance as might be required. This assistance I gave him to the
full extent of his wishes, until he wrote to me, wdiile I was at
Cabrura, in the Boundary Commission, that the foundations
of the house had been damaged, to which I replied what
seemed to me to be just. Then, upon my return to this capi-
40
tal, S,il;i\'crria cniiu' to sec nie, ami infoi'iiKMl uw tliat the walls
o( the l''()rtivss hail been cracked, but that this accident was
not serious. I tliought this intbruiation important enough to
cause an investigation to be started, and ascertain tlie facts and
tlieir exj)lanation, iiuh'pendently of my going personally to
the Presidio and becoming acquainted, through my own in-
spection, witii the defects of the work. So it was done, and
on the 2!»th of December, 17(10, I submitted to His Majesty
the result of the investifration. 'Phr same informatinn was
transmitted by me, at the same time, to the X'iceroy, who, on
the 23d of June, 1701, ap))roved my action, and directed me
to await the decision of His Majesty.
18. The King, by Royal order of October 7th, 'G7, transmit-
ted to me by Your Excellency, was pleased to a[)prove the sus-
pension of the work until I could make the promised visit to
the fort and report about its condition. The Royal order fur-
ther said that it had been deemed advisable to cause the works
to bo inspected also by the engineer of Caracas, and that
instructions to that eHect had been sent to the Gdvernor of
the Province last named.
19. Wlien I received this Royal order, I had already made
the visit to wliich it refers, examined the fortress, made an in-
vestigation, additional and supplementary to the former one,
and fully ascertained that the ruin of tlie fortress was inevit-
able and impending. For these reasons, and acting in con-
formity with a report of Juan Parrilla, an architect, or builder,
who a.ssured me, upon some gi'ounds which I shall set forth here-
after when explaining the present state of tiie fortifications of
(ruayana, that the evil was irremediable, I sent a full report
to His Majesty, dated September 23, 17G1. A copy of this
report and of all the papers therein referred to was also sent to
the Viceroy, on the 28th ot I'\bruary, '02. The Viceroy said
to uic in npiy, July 30th, to wait for the decision which Plis
Majesty miglit be pleased to give upon examination of the
papers submitted by me and of the report of the Caracas engi-
neer, whom the Viceroy supposed to be at the Fort doing his
work of ins})ection. Rut the engineer never went there, owing
on the one side to the war which had just broken out and re-
41
quired bis presence at Caracas, and on the other side to an
attack of gout, which at last cuhuinated in his death.
20. During the month of April of the present year I received
a Royal order, transmitted by Your Excellency, dated May 27,
1762, a copy of which is to be found at the beginning of the
testimony hereto appended, in which His Majesty was pleased
to command, among other things, that an armour should be
built all around the walls of Fort Limones, at a distance of
nine feet, and penetrating into the ground to a depth of four
feet lower than the foundations ; that the earthworks which
are now at this Fort should be raised so as to make them two
and a half feet higher ; that the proper number of portholes
should be open on the walls for the use of the artillery, the said
portholes to be provided with ports; that the whole building
of the fort should be roofed with a flat roof, provided with as
many skylights as might be necessary to give light to the build-
ing, and fixed in such a way as to allow the sentinels freely to
communicate with each other; that the artillery of the fort
should consist of four guns, two of them 8-inch guns, to
prevent an attack from the water side, and the two others
4-inch guns, to prevent an attack from land ; and that four
swivel guns should also be mounted on the flat roof. These
provisions, as well as others of the Royal order, have given
occasion to this Report.
The particulars above stated show what the condition of this
work, commenced in 1694, is at present. They show also that
we are confronted with the inevitable necessity of abandoning
the said fort, for the reasons which will be explained in the
second and the third parts of this Report.
Chapter VII.
Progress made in the Province of Guayana from the year IJW'
to the present year 1763.
1. The deplorable condition, already described, of the Pre-
sidio and Province of Guayana, in 1720, remained unchanged
until 1734, when Don Carlos Sucre decided to go there. He took
12
Avith liiiu three <iunboats, a iiunilxT of troops, picked up from
tlie garrison of Arayu, and several civilians who liad agreed to
go and settle there as vrcinos (surburbaii residents); and after
exploring thoroughly the Faxardo Island and the xVngostura
of the Orinoco, and making to Jlis Majesty a full report of his
work, he engaged himself, while waiting for the Koyal answer,
in repairing the buildings and imj)roving the condition of the
Presidio and the Province. He ordered the thick forests
Avhich surrounded the settlement to be cleared, and caused
new houses to be built for the accommodation of the new in-
habitants and the troops. He rebuilt, as far as the funds at
his disposal could permit, the San Francisco Castle. He
opened communication by land, up to this time never thought
of, between the Provinces of Cumana and Barcelona. He
made several preparations to pursue the Dutch and other
foreigners, who in union with the Caribbean Indians u.sed
to raid the said Provinces and the Orinoco River, and
ejected from the mouths of that river and the Barima channel
the Swedes who had attem})ted to settle at that place. All
of this is shown l)y the General Map and tfie two Ro3'al
Letters from pages Ki and the following up to l)age 19 of the
Testimony. Pie assisted the Missions of the Catalonian
Capucins, which had commenced their woik since 1724. And
finally, he took many other measures which rendered the
condition of (iuayana more tolei'ablc.
Sucre remained there until the month of June, '40, when he
came back to the capital of Cumana, and resigned his com-
mand into the hands of his successor, ( Jovernor Don (Jregorio
de Espinosa.
2. During the month of December of the same year, '40, the
Presidio was surprised by the attack of an English corsair,
wOio took possession of the hill, and succeeded with the fire of
his muskets in di-i\ing away from the San Francisco Castle
the few men who foiined its garrison, and taking possession of
it. Soon afterwards the iMiglish made an attack against the
town, which th(»y ])lundered. They burnt all the houses and
sent a dfitachment to the nearest Mis.sions, which they also
destroyed by fire. They did all the harm they could to the
43
'San Francisco Castle, and then they embarked and set sail.
This unexpected event caused the Indians of certain villages
to rise up in arms against us ; but they were pacified and in-
duced again to leave the woods and settle in villages as before.
This result was due to the measures taken by Governor Espi-
nosa, who put Don Antonio Jordan, an officer of the Engineer
■Corps, in command of the Presidio, and sent there from Bar-
celona a detachment of the militia of tliat Province.
3. Upon Jordan's arrival at the Presidio, and as soon as the
■pacification of the Indians was accomplished, work was begun
in earnest to build the town on the site where it now stands,
as appears from Figure No. 2 on the map. In this work Jordan
was aided by the old settlers and soldiers who had survived the
attack and taken refuge in the mountains. But not much
could be done then, owing to the death of Engineer Jordan,
which occurred in September, '41, the dispersion of some of the
old settlers, the death of some others and the extreme destitu-
tion in which the balance of the inhabitants of that locality
was left. No particular improvement was noticed during the
whole of Governor Espinosa's command.
4. During the administration of Governor Don Diego Tava-
res, the building of the San Fernando Fort was begun, as I
have already said ; the Fortress of San Diego, or El Padrastro,
was completed ; and the damage done by the Indians in the
•San Francisco Castle was repaired.
5. Governors Don Matheo Gual, Don Nicolas de Castro, and
myself have done our utmost, taking into consideration the
defenseless state of the Presidio, and stretched our powers
to the farthest limit, in order to restore what had been de-
stroyed, and to place that most important point in the condi-
tion in which it is now. We have succeeded in inducing some
people to go and settle there. We have assisted them to build
their houses, one near the other, in the good order which may
be noticed on Figure No. 2 of the map hereto appended. We
have cleared all the woods around the settlement. We have
built kilns, and established brick and tile manufactories, pro-
vided with the proper sheds where the manufactured articles
■as well as the material for their construction is protected
44
against tlie hc;i\y rains of the counti\y. Wo have repaired the-
fortifications ami put the ISan Francisco (.'astle in condition to
defend ilsi'lf. W'r have completed the garrison of the Presidio,,
wliich aUhoiigliconsistingofniuhittoes, half breeds, and negroes,
with only a few wliites, was never as numerous and as capable
to inspire the Caribbean Indians with respect, and to prevent
the foreigners from navigating the Orinoco as freely as they
formerly used to do. At j>rescnt they do not dare venture
beyond the Presidio, because owing to the sul)jection of the
Indians they are unable to get pilots or guides. All those
who have attempted to pass that limit have been either ar-
rested or put to flight. The affairs of the Royal Treasury have
been put in good order ; the keeping of the accounts has been
organized in proper form; and measures have been taken to
enable its head to furnish annually a sum of money, which,
although small, is sufficient to keep the fortifications in good
repair, and to provide them with the necessary ordnance and
ammunition, a state of things never witnessed before, when the
expenses had to be met with funds received from outside sources.
The Missions in charge of the Catalonian Capucins have been
assisted. The Caribbean Indians and the Dutch who, by way
of the Cuyuni and Mazaroni Rivers, and on the rear of the
said Missions, IkuI attempted to wage hostilities against them,
have been driven away and j)ursu(Ml. Troops have been sent
against these enemies, and a fortified house, built by the Dutch
on the banks of the Cuyuni river, where they had gathered all
tiie Indians of other tribes captured by the Caribbeans and sold
to them for mere trifles, was assaulted and taken. A number of
fire arms wns found in that house, and a Dutchman, wlio was
a miner i)y occupation, and had undoubtedly come there to
make mining explorations and surveys, was also found and
captuicd. The testimony appended to this Report contains from
[)age lOo to page 140 a full statement of these facts, together
with a copy of the current account which the Dutch kept with
the Caribbean Indians, and the proper notice of the death of
two men of that expedition.
The progress shown by the above to have taken place in the-
Provincc ami Presidio of Guayana is of great importance. The-
45
•condition of the one and the other in 1734 was miserable. It
was just as bad, if not worse, in 1740, after the attack of the Pre-
sidio and the burning of the town. But now (17G3), altliough
not flourishing enough to justify the statement that the Pre-
sidio can defend itself against enemies, it can be deemed suffi-
cient to secure the respect of all foreigners and prevent them
from engaging in unlawful trade. All of this will be shown
still more in full in other parts of this Report.
Chapter VIII.
The fact that the Dutch have not settled in the central part of the
Province of Guayana, and all the 2^'>^ogress made at the
Presidio, are due to the Mission of tJie Catalonian Capucins.
The Presidio can not stand wWtout the 3Ilssion, nor can the
Mission stand ivithout the Presidio.
1. As the Aragonese Capucins and the Franciscan Fathers of
Piritu pacified the Provinces of Cumana and Barcelona where
they are engaged in evangelical labors, they having been in-
strumental to the settlement by Spanish people of the vast
territories of said Provinces, and to the foundation of the town
of Aragua, and the villages of Concepcion del Pao, Rio Caribe
and Carupano, as stated in the proper place, so also the
Catalonian Capucins who came to the Province of Guayana,
pacified its Indians; reduced to subjection a great number of
them ; prevented the Dutch from settling in the interior oi' the
Province ; assisted the Presidio and city of Santo Thome ;
caused things there to have reached the state in which they
are now ; closed the Orinoco to the inhuman commerce of the
•Caribbean Indians and of the Dutch ; prevented the latter as
well as other foreigners from running through the country,
freely, as they used to do in former times in the Provinces of
Cumana, Barcelona, Caracas, Varinas and Santa Fe ; did what
never could have been done before in spite of the measures taken
ever since 1694 ; caused the Presidio to be a serious establish-
ment ; improved the fortifications of the same ; secured thereby
46
tlie settlement and population of the Province; established'
sixteen Missions ; and founded, eight leagues towards the in-
terior, the new town of San Anton Id de Upata, which will here-
after secure respect to those places,
•2. Ill Note No. 10 of the Book of Notes, T stated that the
above-named Catalonian missionaries began to work success-
fully in 1724, and I explained the reasons why neither they
nor any other missionaries have been able to do anything of
importance. I said that in the year above-mentioned, those
Fathers founded a Mission, whicii was tiie first, and which they
named " La Concepcion del Suay." I also stated that at the
time of my visit the number of the Missions founded by them
liad grown up to sixteen, without counting eight more, which
had been founded during the same intervening period, but
had been disorganized and disbanded. And I gave further-
more a detailed explanation of the condition in which the said
Missions were at the time of my visit, and of the causes which
had produced the loss of tiie establishments of the same kind
which had been ruined. As all this is shown by the hereto-
a[)[)ended Testimony, from page 141 to page 149, I will not
dwell any longer in discussing this subject.
o. Tn said Note No. 10, as well as in Note No. 8, of the same
Book of Notes, I insisted upon the vast importance of these
Missions, both for tlie j)urpose of preventing the Dutch from
reaching the interior of the country, \>y Avay of the Cuyuni and
the Mazaroni Rivers, the position of which can be learned by
looking at the General Map, and of protecting the Presidio,
to whicli they furnish provisions, and the nuinlxT of Indians
needed to man the shi{)s engaged in trade at that place, and
to do such other works, public as well as private, as may be-
come necessary,
<)ii the other hand, while it is true that without the Mis-
sions the Presidio can not be maintained, it is likewise true
tliat witliout the Presidio the Missions themselves would go to
ruin. This is the point whicli I shall endeavor to prove.
4. The growth of the Presidio and the fact that its establish-
ment has become day by day more permanent and important^
have permitted it to provide the missionaries witli such escort
47
as they needed to continue their explorations southwards, and
found, among others, such villages as El Nato, El Yuruario,
and Ave Chica, the latter at about 40 or 45 leagues from the
Presidio, all of them on the banks of rivers which empty into
the Cuyuni, as can be seen in the General Map. By means of
these Missions, serving as advance posts, the Dutch and their
assistants, the Caribbean Indians, have been prevented, to a
great extent, from reaching the interior of the country through
the Cuyuni and the Mazaroni Rivers, committing acts of
hostility, kidnapping Indians, not belonging to the Caribbean
tribe, and starting some settlements of their own in the center
of this Province. Several expeditions, the last of which was
organized in 1758, have been fitted out, at diverse periods, to
frustrate those invasions. The expedition last mentioned suc-
ceeded, as before stated, in possessing itself of the fortified
place which the invaders had built on the banks of the
Cuyuni River, which fact had been re|)orted by the mission-
aries, upon information furnished them by the Indians in-
liabiting villages in the neighborhood of said river. All of
this is fully proved by the hereto appended Testimony from
page 105 to page 140. It is self-evident, according to that
Testimony, that it is a matter of vital importance to continue
these Missions southwards, and to likewiee establish in that
direction, on the most fertile plains of the central part of that
Province, as many towns and villages as may be possible.
To secure this most desirable result, it is indispensable that
the Missionary Fathers be given assistance which I explained
to His Majesty, when I gave an account of the general visit,,
and is stated from page 251 to page 252 on the Testimony.
There is no other way to c-heck the Dutch, and prevent them
from making settlements, as they attempt to do, in the section
of the country aforesaid, which, although unexplored, is
watched by the neighboring towns and villages, and kept
under the vigilant eyes of the missionaries, who can report at
once to the Presidio anything which happens.
5. When in the year 1724 the first Mission, namely, the Mis-
sion of La Concepcion del Suay, was established, the Presidio
found itself in the same wretched condition in which it was in
48
1720. It continued in tlie same state until 173-4, wlien Don
Carlos Sucre visitcil it, and directed, among many other useful
tliiiiji;s, that the missionaries should he provided with an escort,
as strong as could be gathei'ed there, ami witli such abundant
supplies as could be obtained, in order to enable them to con-
tinue their march toward the interior of the country. The
result of this measure was that the Missionar}' Fathers could,
as tliey went farther on in their explorations, establish on fer-
tile lands the two new Missions of "San Francisco de Alta-
gracia" and "The Divine She[)herdess," and continue and
properly support the other four Missions which they had
already founded in the immediate neighborhood of the
Orinoco River, on lands rather sandy and of little fertility.
G. After the establishment of the two new Missions above
named, and others wdiich were founded afterwards, the Indians
who had settled in them began, under the care of tlx,' mis-
sionaries, to cultivate the land on a larger scale, and reap
therefore larger cro])s than were required for the support of
the inhabitants of the towns and villages. The surplus was
then, as it is still, given to the Presidio, and it can be said,
safely, that without this assistance it would have been impos-
sible for the Presidio to support the people which live in it.
Nor would it have been possible for the people who were en-
gaged in commercial trade in the region of the Orinoco to
carry on their business with as much facility as they can do at
present, luul it not been for the fact that at the Presidio they
can find abundant provision of casabe and other supplies sent
there by the missionaries. Should the Missions fail at any
time to furnish this assistance, the iidiabitants of the Presidio
would certainly starve. Supplies from other sources would be
very costly, and only to be obtained at very distant places.
7. The provisions with which the Presidio is daily supj)lied
consist of casabe, corn, rice, fruit, and poultry. All the soap
consumed at the Presidio is also given to it. But all of this is
furnished, not by all the villages, but only by four or five
out of their number, which are surrounded by fertile lands,
and are inhabited by Indians already civilized and educated,
whose effects are managed by the missionaries with great order
49
and economy. These natives are, therefore, well dressed and
supplied with ever3^thing necessary, including tools and imple-
ments for agricultural and other purposes. Some other Mis-
sions might be able to do the same as the five just referred to,
because of their enjoying identical advantages as to the
fertility of the land ; but so far they are prevented from con-
tributing, as explained, owing to the recent date of their foun-
dation, to the fact that the Indians who have settled in them
are not as yet fully accustomed to work, to the great distance
which separates them from the Presidio, which, together with
the difficulty of communication, increases the cost of transpor-
tation, and deters the Presidio from looking to them for its
supplies, except in case of extreme necessity.
8. The Missions in the neighborhood of the Orinoco can not
furnish anything to tlie Presidio, owing to their being located
on sandy ground, of no fertility at all, and to the tact that
their inhabitants, as I have said in Note No. 10, above cited,
are rather fishermen than agriculturists.
9. The provisions furnished by the five villages above re-
ferred to are not given in excessive abundance; but they are
sufficient for the support of the garrison and of the inhabitants,
not many in number, of the place, and for supplying what is
necessary to the small ships which are engaged in the trading
business of the locality, or which occasionally arrive at the
Presidio. This sufficiency, however, is very apt to disappear,
from tlie very moment in which scarcity is felt, in any of the
five villages above referred to, whether on account of bad
crops due to climaterical conditions or to the failure to pay
proper attention to the agricultural labors. The fact that the
Indians are sometimes withdrawn from the fields and taken to
the ships to man them, or to some town or village or else-
where to work, to build houses or other edifices, as well as
roads, etc, — a work which no other Indians less civilized can
<io — is often the cause of great distress in the Presidio. This
lacking of the necessary provisions is not at the Presidio a
very remote accident. It is on the contrary a matter of very
frequent occurrence. During my own term of office it has hap-
pened three times, one of them, namely, in the year 1702, when
Vol. I, Ven.— 4
50
the distress was such as to cause me to foel extremely uneasy^
all the cMVirts of the (ttlicer coiiiiiiaiiilin<;- the Presidio, of the
Prefect of the Missions, and of myself luivinu failed to secure
an extra su|)j)ly of one liundicil lojids ot' casabe, to be ke{)t in
store and lufct any future emergency, as an invasion of the
place, or any other accident. Shonld tlic placr have been in-
vaded, as it was very near to liai)[)en, it would iiave been very
difficult for it to resist tlie enemy, owin^- to the lack of provi-
sions. It is shown from page 100 to page 190 of the Testimony
hereto appended that the scarcity of the said provisions is
daily felt at the Presidio. Further evidence of this fact might
easily have been produced, but 1 have decided to omit it, in
order not to increase uiniecessarily the volume of the said
Testimony, .'vll this proves how important it is for the Presidio
tliat the Missions be caused to reach a state as flourishing as
possible; and it proves also, as I shall explain more in full in
Part Second of this R3[)ort, that the insutticient sup})ly of pro-
visions to be so far obtained from tin; Missions precludes the
Royal Order of May 27, for the transfer of the city to the [dace
called " La Angostura," from being carried into effect.
10. I)ut while it is true that the said Missions are of extreme
imj)ortance to the Presidio, on account of the provisions which
they sup[)ly to it, this is not the oidy cause which makes the
existence ami prc^gress of the Presidio dei)endent upon the
existence and })rogress of the Missions. All tlie works of all
kinds undertaken at the Presidio, whieli are numerous, and
require on some occasions a long period of time to be finished,
have been and are undertaken and completed with the laboi-
of Indians supplie 1 by the Mi.ssions. These Indians have re-
j)aireil the lortifications ; they have built the San Pernando
Castle ; they have made the bi'icksand the lime, and prepared
all other materials nccessarv for these works. Thev also man
the shi[is whidi necessarily have to be fitted out and
e(iui[)i>ed I'or the necessities of the service, as for instance
the govenunent ve.s.sel wliidi yearly goes to Santa Fe, and
the two barges which during the wdiole of last 3'ear,
owing to the state ol war, were stationed at the principal
mouths of the Orinoco, to walcli, and re[)ort at once, should
51
any vessel or vessels be discovered by them to try to enter
the river, in order to avoid surprises. All of this is shown
by Chapter V of the Instruction given by me to the com-
manding officer of the Presidio, Don Juan de Dios Valdes,
wherein I explained to him what had to be done to defend
and preserve the Presidio should it be attacked. Said Instruc-
tion is to be found from page 177 to page 186 of the hereto
appended Testimony.
11. It must be noticed, owing to its importance for the proper
understanding of what will be said in Part Second of this Re-
port, that it is extremely difficult for the Missions to supply
these Indian laborers. They do not leave their villages, ex-
cept very reluctantly, and if, once at the Presidio, they are not
treated kindly, there is no way to keep them there. At the
very first opportunity which presents itself to them they run
away and take refuge in the woods. Only in a few cases they
come back to their villages. And as a general rule, no matter
how good the treatment of these Indians may be, it is always
impossible to keep them at work for more than eight days. It
was with extreme difficulty that the barges above referred to
could be kept with the proper crew.
12. Another thing to be taken into consideration is the small
number of Indian laborers which can be furnished conveni-
ently to do this work, owing to the great distance between
most of the Missions and the Presidio, as can be easily seen upon
inspection of the General Map, and also to the fact, well shown
by the hereto appended Testimony, that a large proportion of
the Indians gathered within the Missions in the immediate
neighborhood of the Presidio are still heathens. Hence, it is,
that the five Missions, whose inmates, as above said, are fully
Christianized, are the only ones called upon to furnish laborers,
as well as the provisions, without which the Presidio could
not be ke[)t in existence. It is plain that the cultivation of the
soil, and the raising of the crops, which are primary objects,
because without them no food could be obtained, has to be
abandoned, or neglected, or conducted on a lesser scale, if the
Indian laborers are taken away from the fields and compelled
to do the other work which i.s mentioned in Part Second of
this Report.
13. IjlU, if the Missions are absolutely indisj)ensRble for the
preservation of the Presidio, the Presidio is al^^o imlispensable,
as has been stated, for tlic preservation of the Missions. The
latter would be disorganized and disbanded if the Presidio
would not give tliem some protection. This is the reason why
most of the Missions are new and iiiliabited by Indians wlio
did not leave the woods but very recently, and feel more in-
clination to their old way of living than to the present one.
Were it not for the respect and fear with which the troops of
the Presidio inspire them, it is probable that they would go
back to the woods, or engage in wrongful acts. The presence
of these troops is very necessary, as the Indians are used to see
their prompt arrival at the places where public order and
peace have been disturbed, and their efficiency in putting an
end to the uprisings. The need of this assistance is felt more
especially at those Missions whose inhabitants belong to the
Caribbean race, and are by nature luiughty, unruly and apt to
rebel. The Testimony hereto appended shows what the lessons
of experience in this respect have been ; and it is clear that if
■for some unfortunate circumstances the Presidio is attacked
by the enemies of the Royal Crown and falls into their hands,
the Missions would at once be destroy eil. Their own inhabit-
ants would plunder them, and after burning them to the
ground would return to the forests. That was the lesson of
1740, in which the Indians did much more harm than the
English. Froni iierc it is to be concluded that even in case
that the Presidio would Ix' ])roducive of no other advantage
than being instrumental to the [)i\'servation of the Missions, it
shonld be entitled to receive the most serious attention. But
this is not the only reason which makes it deserving of that
attention. It will be shown by this Report that the safety of
all these Provinces depends upon the ])reservation in good
order of the said Presidio, and that without it, neither could
any new Mission be established farther on in the country, nor
could the old ones be preserved on account of the warlike,
traitorous an<I ferocious disposition of the ('aribbean Indians.
53
Chapter IX.
Fresent condition of the fortifications and defences of the city of
Santo Thome of Guayana and the Spanish settlement of this
Province, ivhere a diference is found from, uliat it was at the
time of the visit.
1. By the ninth note of this memorandum, and in reference
to the proceedings of the general visit, I gave a condensed
account of the defences of Guayana, its fortifications, military
garrisons, salaries paid and funds assigned to the same,
militia, population, families, houses contained in the city
and plantations owned by the neighbors, condition of the
church, ministers serving it, and what is known of the settle-
ment of the so-called cities " Real Corona " and " Ciudad Real,"
and the circumstances which seemed to me sufficient at that
time, not dealing then with the present subject ; but to-day it
is indispensable to extend them more in detail as I will express
them to show, on the second part, the irreparable injury,
excessive disbursements and extreme difficulties brought about
by the practical enforcement of the Royal Order for the trans-
fer of the city to the Angostura.
2. And to make it more clearly understood, as the subject
requires it, I will follow the same method of the above ninth
note.
3. I said then : that the defences and city of Santo Thome are
situated at eight degrees seventeen minutes north latitude and three
hundred and fourteen degrees seventeen minutes and a half longi-
tude. ' I have nothing to add on this point. I said likewise that
it ivas the capital and only settlement of this unhioivn Province ;
not considering as cities those of Real Corona and Ciudad
Real, for the reasons I exposed in the last chapters of the ninth
and tenth notes, and here I will show likewise that after said
visit, and without any cost to the King, the new population
of San Antonio of Upata has been founded, being situated
inland, at a distance of eight leagues from the fortress and
between the Missions of Alta Gracia and Copapui, as shown
by the general map, that I will explain in due time.
54
4. 1 said likewise: tliat tlio tompcrature of the fortress is
danij) and wai'iii, viiy insalubrious and the soil far from fer-
tile, as it is sandy and not different from the rest of that of
the banks of the Orinoco, that overflowing the same occasion-
ally forms large deposits of water or lagoons, which forming
thick woods very close and with the heat of the climate raise
maglignant vapors, infecting the air and producing dense
clouds of mc)S(|uiloes, horse flies and insects, making the mar-
gins of the ()i'inoco hai'dly inhabitable and the sandy soil
unproductive.
5. lliat the fortress and city are situated on tlie banks of the
river and at about its narroivest part {except the Angostura), and close
to the first mouths or islands lohich commence to divide it ; as it
is shown by the general map and more particularly by the
greater point in the accompanying one, in which are shown
all the inundated places, and thick woods, commencing at the
Castle down below, and necessarily to be past by the embarka-
tions employed in the trafiic of the Orinoco and the Provinces
of Cumana, Barcelona and Caracas in front of the fortress,
which being once secured, said Provinces are so likewise;
which is not the case with the fortifications of Angostura, no
matter how strongly they are built, as 1 will show in my
second pa it.
6. llicd the breadth from the fortifications to the opposite side of
said river is hardlj/ vrithiii reach of a ^^--pounder gun, not bj''
elevation but at a long range.
7. That the bottom, in the greatest part of the breadth, is from
70 to 80 fathoms; being understood that that is at the full
flood of the river, and that at '^the lowest ebb it is from GO to
65 fathoms, and on this point I depend* on the experiments of
the engineers Fajardo and Jordan, as I have not made the
soundings personally; althongh 1 am persuaded that it is so,
as the waters and the channel become reduced and much deeper
at that part of the river.
8. That on the same ban/:, and almost horizontally to the ivater,
the Castle of San Francisco de Asis is situated, as recognized by
said general map and the accompanying one. On the figure
3, a plan is observed and briefly explained in the third chap-
55
ter of the margin of the same map, corresponding to the same
figure 3.
9. Said Castle is placed upon a rock so solid that it looks
like iron, and therefore does not admit of either pickaxe or
crowbar, yielding only to the heat, as when it is properly
heated and suddenly watered the cold water makes splits, and
that is the only means found to build the parade grounds,
which were occupied by the top of said rock, and although
something remains yet to make it plain — before the rock form-
ing the Castle, joined to it, there is another rock, within the
river, as may be seen by the map covering part of the walls of
the Castle, leaving the place free for the fires opened by the
artillery mounted on that place. Between that rock, called
Penon, and the Castle there is a channel, 25 to 30 yards in
breadth, that in time of the lowest ebb remains with so little
water as to make the pass from the land to the Penon almost
free from the least risk, and in some years that channel has
been entirely dry. The fundamental rock of the Castle is
very steep, before the channel formed with the Peiion, the
ascent being most difficult, and still worse the entrance of
launches into said channel.
10. The above-mentioned Peiion, during the low ebb of the
river, discovers about twenty-one to twenty-two yards (varas),
and in the full tide of the river the waters have covered it,
leaving sufficient bottom for four or five yards, having an in-
stance in which a sloop of seventy-four cannons was anchored
there.
11. The first settlers wdio founded the fortress fortified said
rock, which afterwards has been improved with walls, and
therefore this Castle has been constructed in an irregular
shap3, as may be seen by the plan and figure 3 of the accom-
panying map. It is sixty Spanish yards long and thirty and
a half in breadth, as shown by its particular site and denoted
by the lines Q, cutting the plan. The door is marked by
the letter A. • The B, the new lodgings for the officers, which
were built, among other repairs to the fortification, on account
of the war and for the purpose of mounting upon the flat roof
three guns of the caliber marked with the interior numbers
56
2, 3 and 2 (sic). The C denotes the new battery built for the
same purpose. (The reasons eonsidered for the formation of
said two batteries and the other re[)airs to the fortifications
will be explained in a separate paragraph.)
12. This battery is raised over the level of the parade
ground, three Castillian yard.'? and is reached without any
steps or ladder, through a slope formed by the rock, which an-
swers likewise for the ascent of the place to the cavalier, and
from said battery, with an elevation of two regular steps, the
flat roof of the lodging house and the battery B is reached.
13. The dotted line in the interior of said sketch marks the
newly-made esplanades on account of the war. The D, marks
the cavalier or bastion raised above the parade ground about
three and a half Spanisii yards, reached by the ascent of the
.slope. The E, the ammunition .store of the fortification. F, the
drilling room. G, ofHcers lodgings ; and H, the powder maga-
zine. The last four apartments are intended to be recon-
structed, as I will explain. The I, the water closet. J, the
troop headquarters. N, the rock u})on which the Castle is
built, without any terrc-plein, and answering fur a parade
ground and cavalier. The inside numbers show the mounted
artillery and the calibers.
14. The thickness of the walls around this fortification is IJ
yards, and that of the parapets 1 yard and 4 inches. The ma-
terial is all stone and iiioi-tar of a su[)crior (|uality,and admir-
aldy well prepared with tliat kind of stone that makes the
walls very solid and regular, although not very thick.
1"). The heiglit is not even, on account of the more or less
elevation of the rock upon whicli it is founded: it is marked
bv red numbers on the exterior of the sketch. I .sav that all
the front of nninl)cr 1 is as high as to touch the embrasures
about o.^ yards, and besides half a yard of {)ara{)et at the fronts
of wliich all the walls are of sand and mortar material, situated
upon the [)lain level of the fundamental rock on that part.
10. The curtain of nund)er 2 has an elevationof G yards up
to the embrasures. That jiart of the wall, u}) to the front of the
tenaille can not be beaten, while the river is low, on account
of the great Penon in front, which lets free only the parapets;
57
and when the river is flooded, although it may be beaten and
a bridge opened on that place, it is not easily assaulted, as the
ruins fall in the water and the fundamental rock is very steep
towards the Peiion, and on account of the strong current dan-
gerous to all minor embarkations.
17. In the angle number 3, formed by the tenaille, the height
to the edge of the embrasures is 5| yards. The angle number
4 is 6^ yards, high up to the embrasures, built likewise of
stone and mortar material, but does not defend here the great
Peiion.
18. The angle number 5, up to the semicircle around the
figure, is 2| yards up to the embrasure, and in some parts 3
yards, as it is mounted upon a head or corner of the funda-
mental rock, so that, counting said rock as a wall, it is 4| to 5
yards. From said head or corner are salient points to the
river, and several side rocks guard that part of the wall, up to
the line of the stone mortar work, as seen in the map on the
figure 2.
19. In all the circle, up to number 6, the wall is 12 yards^
high, all of stone and mortar material, and diminishes gradu-
ally by inches, in such a way that at the embrasure number 8-
is reduced to 2 J yards, and on account of that circumstance
and the extended shape of the fundamental rock on that spot,,
the weaker point of the fortification, exposed to an easy assault,,
it was found necessary last year to raise the high esplanade of
the rectangle marked number 7, and the interior, letter C,.
pla3ang their two guns, from their respective embrasures and
those of the flat roof, letter B, which can play all around from
their barbette position.
20. At the round formed by the cavaliers and the mark
number 9, there is only a yard and a half of wall, but count-
ing from the rock almost at level and round, without any flaw
on the part outside of the wall, the ascent is impracticable,
and the highest and safest part of this fortification follows the
angle marked number 10 until it meets the 11th. The height
of the wall increases on account of the shape of the funda-
mental rock, very steep from number 10 to 11, where it flattens,
and the height of the wall of stone and mortar material
58
measures two vard.s, uiul euiitinucs increasing in lieight one
yard more, up to the round and place marked number 12.
Thus the lu'ight ol' tht' walls, tlirir thici<ne.ss, and those of the
parapets have been shown, and cUiss this fortification as one
of a moi'e than ordinary strength, notwithstanding its stone
and mortar material, enough to mount four cannons of twenty-
four, four of eigliteen, two of twelve, and seven of inferior
caliber already in position. A larger extension might ])e given
to this fortification bv constructing the curtain marked bv the
diagonal P, in which case the wall might be raised from six
to seven yards, correcting the defect it has to-day, and with a
capacity for four guns more of twenty-four caliber^ one enough
for the Orinoco River and two for the Usu))amo. A barbette
position will make three of them play on the Orinoco.
21. Besides the regular solidity and good situation, the
eastern part is guarded by the Usupamo River, which, although
not considerable, it is difficult for the artillery to pass and the
other elements of war, on account of the very thick woods, the
trees, and mudd}' surroundings for the communication with
the lake to the Zeiba at the entrance of the Orinoco, requiring
a long detour, ver}" expensive and laborious, as the ground is
very sandy, when not muddy. As these impediments of trees,
mud, and sand do not prevent the pass of pedestrians, it has
been found proper to fortify the place on that direction.
22. On the south side it is defended by the Zeiba lake, which
measures 590 yards from east to west and 425 from south to
north ; when the river is low it is not much, but the mud
makes it im])racticable. On the north side the greatest part of
the fortification is defended by the great rocks facing it, as it
has been said ; from the west, Vjy the mountain Padrastro, im-
possible of being undermined, on account of the solidity of the
rock, upon which it stands.
23. It is stronger yet, on account of the difficult}' for an
attack on the river side, as the embarkations that until now
liave been (ouiiil to be able to enter, through the mouth called
of Navios, are frigates of 30 guns, that aside of the small caliber
of their aitillerv, they have had to anchor in 65 fathoms, dur-
ing the lowest water of the Orinoco and in 75 to 80 at the high-
59
«st water. On the breadth of the river two or three vessels
could not play at the same time, as the rocks in front prevent
them from doing so. In high water it is not prevented, but the
strong currents are a great embarrassment to any attack,
affording time to those ot the Castle to duplicate and triplicate
their fire, more injurious on account of the greater caliber of
the artiller^^
24. From the middle of October to the middle of June is the
season of the winds (east and northeast winds), the only time
for sail vessels to enter the Orinoco River, and in passing before
the Castle they may fire once, but can not do so again, while
coming down, being bound to tack from one side of the river
to the other, making very little headway in these tackings,
while suffering at the same time, under the fires of the Castle
without being able to return the same.
25. From the beginning of June to the middle of October it
is very difficult and casual to be able to set sails, on account of
the want of dependence on the wind, being rather squally dur-
ing said months, and all contrary to the navigation, and if to
this fortification is added the one that ought to be at Padrastro,
it will be so much stronger and the Orinoco will be entirely
safe, as I will show it to be the case in my third part.
26. At the time of the visit only twelve cannons were found
mounted in this fortification, four of which were 18-pounders,
a 15-pounder useless, two 12, and three 8-pounders and two of
inferior metals. There were besides thirteen useless cannons,
two of 12, two of 8, and nine of inferior caliber, dismounted
and stored with the ammunitions of war, as belonging to the
fort of San Fernando, as it is shown by the acts of the general
visit sent to His Majesty by way of the Royal Supreme Council ;
and although in the statement of th^ general map belonging
to the fortifications of Guavana it is asserted that in the Castle
of San Francisco de Asis and in that of San Diego de Alcala,
thirty cannons in good condition and two useless are kept,
thirteen out of the same are destined to the fort of San Fer-
nando, and in order to avoid confusion between that statement
and the present report, they were considered as existing in the
Castle of San Francisco ; and, therefore, it is recited that never
60
has this fortress had more than said twelve cannons mounted
at the time of the visit, and that at present and from last year
it holds the seventeen denoted by the interior nnmbers of its
sketch, not admitting a greater number of artillery, although
it may admit heavier calibers than those noticed.
27. At the time of the above-mentioned general visit, at the
repeated instance of the commander of Guayaiia, it was found
to be indispensable to provide those fortifications with guns
and other utensils, as well as to build new esplanades, as the
old were useless, and for the same reason a store for amnumi-
tions, a diilling room, lodgings for tlie officers, and a powder
magazine at the Castle of San Francisco, and at that of Padras-
tro to make new parapets and continue a cut or fosse formerly
commenced, and to guard said fortification with palisades, for
the purpose of which the corresponding documents were made,
and in the session of the Board of the Royal Treasury in this
city it was decided to furnish the same with a careening place
and utensils which were thought indispensable; and in regard
to tlje construction of new stores, lodging rooms, and esplanades
of the Castle of San Francisco, parapets, cuts, and esplanades
of the Padrastro, a statement of the same should be forwarded?
with proper documents, to the Viceroy of Santa Fe, to whom
tlie resolutions of the subject appertains. But before it was so-
done the news of the war came, while the bearer of dispatches
had not left yet, and I convoked the Royal Treasurer's Board,
and it was decided to l)uild new esplanades, parapets, fosses,
and palisades, as well as other necessary repairs for the defense
of that stronghold, without awaiting the resolution of the Vice-
roy of Santa Fe, on account of the long delay; but, in regard
to the .stores, lodging room shown by the sketch figure 3 of
the accompanying map as in project, awaiting the decision of
the Viceroy, and for that purpose to give him an account,
of all that has been resolved, and I did so, obtaining his appro
bation, as may be seen by the accompanying documents, in
reference to the above subject from the back of folios 214 to 241.
28. Ill puisuaneo of said resolutions I dictated all the
measures neces.?ary tor the Commander of Guayana to carry
out the above-mentioned work of repairs for the best defence-
61
of those fortifications, and indeed the}' were made in that of
San Francisco, the esplanades marked by the dotted hnes in
the interior of the sketcli figure 3, the lodging of the officers
quoted B of the same sketch, for the purpose of mounting on
the flat roof the cannons denoted by numbers 2, 3, and 2 play-
ing in barbette, and the esplanade and battery denoted as C,
in which two 8-pounders are placed designed by their num-
bers, as there is not the least defence on that spot of said fortifi-
cation, the weakest part of the same.
29. Two 12-pounders were mounted ; two 8-pounders and one
of three taken from those destined for the fort of San Fernando,
and the rest for said fort were hoisted and mounted on the
Padrastro in which new parapets were built, making them out
of brick and lime material, as those of mud and old adobes
were extremely dilapidated.
30. The palisade marked E was likewise built on the plain
of said Padrastro, Avhich is figure 6 of the accompanying map,
placing on said palisade the ten cannons denoted by the interior
numbers of said sketch, transferred there from the Castle of
San Francisco, as above mentioned, and four more that were
found in that place that had been sent from here with destina-
tion to the settlement of the Mission, and the Commander took
them.
31. Besides the palisade and the parapets, the cuts or fosses
were continued at the Padrastro. They had been already
commenced and concluded, as shown in the above-mentioned
figure number 6 of the accompanying map. Thus the repairs
and new works undertaken, on account of the war, are justified,
as well as the reasons making them necessary and all that I
have said in regard to the Castle of San Francisco.
32. At a distance, within a regular musket-shot range from
the rock, forming the Castle of San Francisco, upon an equal
surface, and at the same bank of the river, the mountain called
the Padrastro stands, and on the top of the same is the fort of
San Diego de Alcala, as recognized in the acconapanying map,
figure 2. On the 8th, you see the perfect form of said moun-
tain, and on the margin of the map the corresponding explana-
tion of said figure 8.
G2
oo. < )n the 0th, is seen the sketch of the fort of San Diego
de Aleali'i as noticed with its particuhir ex])hination, and thfr
scale at the margin of the same map, and liere I will explain
extensively what I consider to be necessary.
34. Different and joint rocks, raising from the banks of the
( )i'inoco, and of equal solidity to that of the rock upon which
the Castle of San Francisco stands, form the almost round moun-
tain of Padrastro, as seen by figure 8. It is elevated 51 yards-
from the surface of the plain, as denoted l)y line A B of said
figure.
From the south part, besides being guarded l)y the lake of
Baratillo, it is cut so as to make its ascent impossible, and
the same tiling happens on the eastern side and the road of
Puerto Real.
3"). On the north and the bank of the river it is not so well
cut, but it is steep enough, not permitting the ascent by any
other than the winding road shown tlie second ; said ascent or
road has been made with a great deal of labor, breaking-
several rocks, and removing those of smaller sizes.
The ascent may be easily secured by means of two or three
gates, defended by artillery of small caliber.
3G. On the western part the mountain extends until it
becomes so low that in the fuller fioods of the Orinoco River
it gives way for the water to pass through the channel marked
F, and through the same it fills the Baratillo lake, E E, as it
will be mentioned.
.■]7. At the lowest part of said mountain, where the canal F
is formed, it is closed by trees and muddy ground totally re-
fusing a pass, when the Orinoco Piver is overflown, but not
wlien it is low and without a comniunieation with the waters
of the lake, at which time it is not of difficult access, after
overcoming said muddy surroundings and trees, nor the
ascent to the mountain either, although subject to a great
deal of trouble on account of the want of a good road and
the sharp declivity in several places, as it is shown in said
figure S.
38. From the op})osite part of the muddy and thickly
wooded ground in the channel F, where the land begins to
63
rise, forming different slopes, that altliough low nuiy serve
principally for the erection of batteries, and from there to fire
on the Castle that is or may be in existence; but for that pur-
pose a formal siege should be necessary, as I will explain in
my third part.
39. During the floods of the Orinoco, its waters go through
the channel F to the lake E E called Baratillo. When this
one is full on the main road, and enters in the lake of La.
Zeiba, guarding the rear of the Castle of San Francisco and
which is likewise filled up, the waters of the river at this time
come out by the w^ay of Puerto Real, and communicate on
the same road with the lakes La Zeiba and Baratillo, the port
being at the same time at the junction of both of said lakes
with the main road,
40. When the waters of the Orinoco commence to lower,
within their ordinary limits at Puerto Real, the lake La Zeiba
carries its waters to that of Baratillo and this one discharges
the same into that of the channel F, receiving them and keep-
ing its portion, while that of La Zeiba retains less quantity
on account of its elevation. That of Baratillo is IJ fathoms
deep, and when the river is full, 3 fathoms, according to
the mark left at the time of the low waters and that of 1^
fathoms,
41. Said Lake Baratillo is from east to west, when the river
is low, 425 yards in length, and irom north to south 255
yards.
42. On the sketch, the summit of the Padrastro is not entirely
fiat, but it has an incline of greater altitude B up to the place
D, that may be occupied with the Castle, shown upon the sum-
mit, 3 to 3^ yards. The longitude of said summit or sketch is
from 05 to G7 yards, as marked by line C D, and the latitude
that may be occupied is from 50 to 52 yards, without leaving
any pass to go around the Castle of the Conception, shown by
said figure 8.
43. The summit of the Padrastro dominates the Castle of
San Francisco, on the level of the floor of the parade ground
thirty-six Castillian yards, and at such a sh(jrt distance as
within an ordinary musket-shot range, a reason why said
G4
Castle would be uselcs.-^, iiu matter what repairs are done, if
the Padrastro is not fortified and well secured ; as if this is
lost a dozen muskets may surrender the Castle of San Fran-
cisco, as it hap[)ened in the year of 1740, in which the British
took it after the French had done the same thing before.
44. In the year of 1749, being Governor, Don Diego Tavares,
and of his ow^n accord, he built the fort of San Diego de Alcala,
at an expense of ^2,250 (Spanish currency) ; Sl,775 of the same,
the proceeds of fines, during his government and that of his
predecessor, Don Gregorio de Espinosa, applied to that purpose,
and the remainder, $475, were supplied by the lioyal Treas-
ury, as advised to His Majesty, about this disbursement and
the construction, by the same Tavares who obtained the ap-
proval of everything by the Royal Cedule, dated at Buen Re-
tiro on the 21st of March, 1750.
, 45. Said fort of San Diego is very good, at the low cost paid
by the Royal Treasury, making more or less of a defence,
which did not exist before its construction, but it is not
enough to guard and defend the mountain of the Padrastro,
the only advantageous site, securing the Orinoco and all these
Provinces, which will remain at the mercy of any one control-
ling said mountain, as I will show.
4(3. In the accompanying map and its second figure the fort
is placed upon the mountain of Padrastro, and the figure 6, of
the same map, shows the sketch and palisade and fosse made
last year, on account of the war, and at the margin of the same
map is the corresponding short explanation and particular
scale of said figure G.
The fort is reduced to four e(|ual I'ronis, .•shown by said sketch,
three yards high, of stone and mortar construction, ascended
by a hand scale laid at the place marked A. The salient angle
of each one of the l^ulwarks is four yards and its gorges two.
47. Ill two of said bulwarks there are two small sentry boxes
noted, B B. The C marks the lodgings of the troop, answer-
ing likewise for stores of victuals, ammunitions and powder
magazine, with no other extension than 4 square 3'ards, situ-
ateil in the middle of the 10 square yards of the jmrade room,
as shown by its particular scale.
65
48. At the time of the visit there were found six cannons of
2 and 3 (sic). The embrasures for their phiy and all the para-
pets were entired ruined and undone, as the adobe was as
crude as the mlid. This circumstance and the scanty and thin
artillery, the occupation of the parade grounds by the towers
and the little house, 4 square yards, founded upon 4 feet, and
having no room in the rest of the fort for more than twelve or
fourteen men, without any cover, make this fortification of a
very little appreciable or respectable character.
49. In order to give it more or less safety, several parapets of
lime and brick were built and the palisade marked E E E E,
consisting of a stone and mortar breastwork Ih yards high and
three-quarters thick to secure the palisade. It has at the same
time the corresponding embrasures for firing the artillery,
marked by the interior numbers and mounted in their corre-
sponding places. The fosse was opened and the western por-
tion defends the palisade, being 10 yards in breadth and 3i in
depth, all through rock. These repairs, although not sufli-
•cient for the defence of this important mountain, afford a little
more safety than at the time of the fort of San Diego, and are
without the limits permitted at present, in virtue of the reso-
lutions at the two meetings of the Royal Board of the Treas-
ury, found in the acts contained at the back of foHos 214 to 241.
50. In Chapter 6, all the steps taken from the year 1694
towards the construction of fort San Fernando have been
justified. In consequence of the same its construction was in-
tended on the Island of Limones, but the idea was soon given
up, as it was ascertained that it could not be solidly and se-
curely built, on account of the muddy and sandy bottom.
51. Once established the want of solidity of said island, a
change of ground was made, selecting what is called firm
ground for the one that was initiated in the year of 1753.
Before it was finished in 1760 it was found unsafe in various
parts. I reported the case to His Majesty with the correspond-
ing proceedings on the 29th of December of the same year of
1760. And with that of the 23d of September of 1761, and
the corresponding justification, I gave likewise an account
of having made an examination personally of said fort,
Vol. 1, Vex. — 5
66
accepting the report of the master mason Juan Parrilla, who
stated that there was no remedy for the ini])endin,ij; ruin to
follow, as evinced by the corresponding documents. And in
consequence of the same, His Majesty gave directions for a
Caracas engineer to come to re-examine the work and its
improvement if possible. They were not carried out, for the
reasons expressed in said Chapter 6.
52. In my representation of the 23d of September of 1761, I
did not inform his Majesty of the uselessness of said fort and
how injurious its subsistence is, as I did not consider myself
sufficiently qualified, nor possessing the power (o do so, think-
ing that an engineer sent to make an examination should do
so more accurately, and then my approval of the report of the
master mason Parrilla, already mentioned, might be sufficient ;
and besides that, what I sent by way of warning in my note 9,.
of the corresponding memorandum, affirming that said fortifi-
cation is worthy of the same estimation as that of Padrastro,
with the difference that it ought to be very well fortified and
that one abandoned.
53. As the examination of the above-mentioned fort by an
engineer from Caracas, has not taken place, and His Majesty
lately, by the Royal Order of the 27th of May of last year and in
virtue of reports received, is constrained to a condemnation of all
the other works mentioned by said Royal Order, I consider
myself in duty bound to inform Your Majesty of its condition,
impossibilities, in the way of said work and the others already
resolved, the large expenses involveil and the most important.
})oint required for the Royal service, the abandonment of
said fort,
54. And in order to carry out this idea at the earliest
possible opportunity, I will static in this first part, the condi-
tion in which it was found at the time of the visit and at
present, as well as the reasons that 1 had (besides those con-
tained in these acts), to yield to the re})ort of the master mason
Parrilla and to show in the note 9 of my memorandum that
it does not deserve the least attention, and that it must be
abandoiUMJ.
55. In the second part, and in answer to the Royal Order, I
67
will show how useless are all the works that His Majesty
desires to undertake, the large expenses involved and how
prejudicial will be the continued subsistence of the same in
that place.
56. And in the third part I will explain the importance of
the expense and fortification of the Padrastro mountain and
the funds uselessly expended in the repairs of said fort of San
Fernando.
57. This work is situated on the opposite side of the Castle
of San Francisco, on what they call the mainland, close to the
creek of the Island of Limones, as is shown by the accompany-
ing map on figure 2.
58. It is reduced to an oval tower, built of brick and lime,
with terre-pleins in the interior filled with pounded earth and
stone.
59. On the fifth figure of said map there is a horizontal sec-
tion settled with a dotted scale placed at the margin of the
same map, giving the particulars and a short explanation.
60. The greatest diameter of said fort and its oval figure is
31 yards and 32 inches, as noted A A ; the least diameter is
24 yards and 18 inches, as B B. It has eight counter forts,
marked G. Its foundations are 3 yards and 18 inches thick,
including a scale according to D. The wall commences 2
yards and 26 inches, according to E, and finishes at 1 yard
and 20 inches, as shown by F, and the parapet finishes in bar-
bette at 1 yard and 6 inches, according to G. At the time of
the visit it had the nine splits, marked I, all beginning at
the start of the foundation, according to the examination made
of the two, following in a more or less straight line until the
interior and the exterior of the parapet are divided.
61. Through two of these splits, and from the start of the
foundation up to the conclusion of the socle, there was a full
space for one hand, and between the floor from there upwards
there was a diminution up to the parajDet.
62. The seven remaining splits were of about an inch more
or less of space, from the surface of the ground to the end of
the socle, and from there they followed in diminution up to
the division of the parapet.
08
63. It was examined by means of a thin walking stick, dis-
covering that said splits penetrate and divide all the thickness
of the walls.
64. Once the examination finislicd, said splits were all stop-
ped and filled up with fine mortar, to avoid the penetration of
the waters, during the flood of the Orinoco and the continual
rains of that climate, but these repairs have become useless, as
the above nine splits have been reopened a great deal more,
aggregating to their greatest opening a new one, equal to those
previously found.
65. On the figure 4, and in point of perspective, the vertical
section of the fort is shown, its interior structure, its counter
forts, the depth of the foundations, the height of the walls, the
splits them dividing from the foundation to the parapet, and at
the margin the corresponding explanation, which is, 1, section
of the wall ; 2, cordon ; 3, socle ; 4, counter forts ; 5, four yards
and twenty-four inches of foundation, including socle, deepen-
ing what is marked by dotted lines.
66. The height of the wall from the socle, including a foot
of cordon, is 6 yards and 8 inches ; that of the parapet on
the inside and barbette is 28 inches, and outside 14 inches.
67. Tlie splits dividing the body of the wall and its founda-
tion continue in diminution, until that part where they divide
also the parapet, noted at figure 6.
68. The Orinoco River attains its highest elevation about
the end of July and keeps it during the month of August and
part of September, and during that time the fort San Fernando
is inundated about one-fourth (sic) more or less from the socle.
69. After having made the examination of the fort San Fer-
nando and found it in .such a poor condition, any steps to
make it wholly safe might prove useless and sink the funds
laid out in rei)air8, 1 ap])ointed Sergeant Major Don Gaspar de
Salaverria, director of the works in the capacity of an engineer,
Joseph Luque and Juan Parr ilia, the master masons, who had
erected the same, to make an exposition on the subject; and
the Sergeant Major answered tJiat it vxis the same that he had
given to his Honor in the city of Camand on the 18th of December
69
of last year, and that an engineer might he appointed by His
Majesty to make an examination and expose with better qualifi-
cations what it may he done for the stability of tlie fortress, as
the exponent finds in his limited intelligence, that it will be
very expensive and that he thinks that said fort may last long
or for many years in its present condition.
70. Luque said that said fort will likely continue sinking,
without any fear of the fall of the w^alls, on account of the oval
shape that will keep it together.
71. And Parrilla said that on the 5th or 6th of April of last
year of 1760, he withdrew from the works of said fort, having
been excluded from the same, and he left only one flaw or split,
2^ yards high, very thin, and that at the beginning of June of
the same year, he returned from the Mission of Caroni to the
City of Guayana, where he heard that said fort had discovered
eight or nine splits and that in consideration of the short time
elapsed and the examination that he had made he thinks
that the said fort will last a very short time, as it appears from
the acts addressed to His Majesty in the representations of the
29th of December of 1760 {sic) and the 23rd of September of
1761, it will be seen my decision at the same fortress, on the
27th of February of 1761, accepting the report of said Parrilla,
but I did not express at that time the reasons in support of
my views, which are the following:
72. First : That although the Sergeant Major exposed that the
repairs intended, according to his limited intelligence, should
be very expensive, he did not give any precise idea of the
repairs or improvements, although he was requested to do so,
a reason why, in my judgment, I thought that was only done
to extricate himself from a difficult position. I was sure that
he is not an engineer by profession, and possesses only a
limited theory acquired from the books on the subject, as he
has no reason for any practical knowledge, on account of his
never having left this place of his birth, where they have not
had any works of fortification, during his lifetime, and that
although he went to Carthagena, when the Viceroy of Santa
Fe was there, his visit was for a feAv days only in that place*
and had no time to examine the fortifications.
70
And although he said that the fort would last in the present
condition many years, that was not sufiieient to keep it ser-
viceable for the play of its artillery, and much less to resist a
sloop of six or eight cannons, without danger of the fall of the
present quarters.
73. Second: That although Luque assures that it will last
for several years, without any fall of the walls, on account of
the oval shape of the structure, he said likewise that it should
continue sinking, which tacitly and with l)etter conviction
than Salaverria, means that he admits the want of safety and
usefulness of the same.
74. Third : That what Parrilla has exposed w^as more accept-
able, becavise, if within two months nine splits have been
opened, dividing from top to bottom the whole of the work, it
was natural to fear a total ruin, without being necessary any
fall of the wall. It was enough that the}^ should be useless
even when the headquarters might be standing.
75. Fourth : My expectatation of a total ruin is based on the
want of safety of the ground on which the fort stands, for
although they call it firm ground it is movable, and formed
from the alluvial deposits of the floods of the Orinoco River, just
as that of the Island of Liniones, which was rejected, as being
formed of mud and sand and only held together by the main
land supported by the roots of the trees, and unaljle to stand
the weight of the walls of said fort. On the ground of this
conclusion a walking stick was sunk in the excavation made,
and, being lower by a quarter of a yard than the foundation,
the force of this only sunk it for three-quarters more, and in
proportion of the profundity tlie bottom became more damp
and full of mud and sand.
76. Fifth: I became sure, in my opinion, when considering
the great difficulty to stop perfectly the whole of said splits,
so as to avoid the introduction of the Orinoco waters, during
the whole of the month of August and part of September,
when they are about one-fourth of more elevation than the
socle and the daily showers that are so copious, allowing ver}'-
little intermission, and both apt to make splits, on account of
the imperfections of the work, as it was to be expected and
71
has taken place, the greatest split of all has been noticed after
the repairs of the other nine, being now ten in all.
77. Sixth : The sixth reason I had to agree in opinion with
Parrilla was the bad quality of the mortar, which this ])erson
and Luque had disapproved, as the facility for the demolition
is shown by trying the touch of the fingers and the impression
of the least knock on the work, showing the bad quality of
the material, with more sand than the proportion of lime
would allow. It was not taken into consideration the objec-
tion made by the masons Luque and Parrilla and not denied
by Salaverria, that a great portion of the work was made of
pieces of brick. As that is all covered I could not verify the
fact. If it is true that broken bricks have been used in halves,
and less than halves, the cohesion of the work must be poor,
and in more or less time the headquarters will crumble through
the crevices, although, as Luque said, the oval shape may sup-
port it, as well as the eight interior counter forts, which sup-
ported by the terre-pleins will make more difficult an overturn
of the walls they support.
78. Seventh : The seventh reason for the short duration of
this fort is the terre-plein. It was made of several beds of
loose stone under other beds of poorly pounded earth, all by
the hands of Indians, with onlv one overseer to attend the
work, but without any capacity for a useful work, the conse-
quence being that the waters are introduced through the
crevices left by the imperfect poundings of the earth lowering
it and discovering the stones, and although another filling has
been done and some repairs made with bricks and other things
to facilitate the course of the waters and drainage of the parade
grounds, nothing solid is obtained at the terre-plein, nor to
avoid the accumulation of waters at the parade grounds and
much less to stop those penetrating through the floors; these
causes make impossible the construction of a house that ought
to exist, and could not be built, when the foundations (already
built) are not deep enough and upon a poorly pounded terre-
plein, only 2 yards and 26 inches deep.
79. It is not advisable to build in what remains of the
parade ground the mortar and plaster flooring, as a safeguard
72
against the waters from the esplanade of tlie artillery, and if it
is done, in whole or in part, it will run the evident risk of
sinking in a short time, no matter what precautions may be
taken to prevent it. This defect might possibly be remedied
by changing the position of said fort, renewing the terre-plein,
but this manoeuvre, so necessary, might be useful if the fort
itself were of any service, but this expense is useless and undue
in the present condition of tlie quarters, with the ten splits
around the work, dividing the whole of the wall, as shown by
figures 4 and 5 of the accompanying map.
80. Those are the reasons that I had to accept the report of
the master mason Parrilla, and I shall have to expose those
that have moved me to assure in my note 9 of the memo-
randum, that the fort of San Fernando was not worthy of
being kept and that it ought to be abandoned. Anybody who
has paid any attention to the navigation of the rivers Magda-
lena, Orinoco, and others, although not so important in these
countries, may have observed that in their great floods, islands
may be swept away and disappear, as well as the margins
covered with trees may be easily converted into islands and
margins that had no existence before, and that during the low
waters of the same rivers, with the extreme heat of the climate,
in a short time a variety of trees is produced subsisting in the
water, and sometimes below, after the subsequent floods, and in
a few years they raise in strength and size, forming groves, and
their roots supporting the earth and sand and forming islands
and shores. It is a notorious fact that notwithstanding the
strength of the roots and groves in a few years the river carries
them away with more or less force, making incomprehensible
the turns of the water and other accidents, as that of laying
down the groves, showing in consequence the inconsistence of
the islands and river banks, which may disappear at the first,
second, or at any other successive flood.
81. That is the quality of tlie land of the Island of Limones,
and of the other islands formed by the creek Patapataima,
which are shown by the accompanying map, and what is called
mainland is about the same, divided by the creek Guarapo,
being about half a league wide, until reaching the outskirts
of what really is the mainland, where the Franco Cattle estate-
is situated, being all plain ground, swampy, and covered with
high and thick clusters of trees, as those of the Island of
Limones and the other islands above mentioned. What is
called mainland begins to be flooded by the Orinoco River
about the end of June, and the water rises gradually up to
the end of July, when it attains the highest point maintained,,
during all the month of August and part of September, in
which it commences to lower down, until the beginning of the
middle of November, when they reach the lowest stage, below
the islands and the mainland, as shown by these acts at folios
55 to 67.
82. Overlooking the want of solidity of the ground, the Gov-
ernor of Trinidad, Don Augustin de x4.rredondo, the engineer
Don Pablo Diaz Fajardo, (this one took his precautions), the
Governors of these Provinces, Don Carlos de Sucre, Don Greg-
orio de Espinosa and Don Diego Tavares, the engineers Don
Antonio Jordan and Don Gaspar de Lara, Father Joseph de
Gurnilla and other persons, conversant with the Orinoco, were
of the opinion that a fort ought to be built on the Island of
Limones, and it was approved by His Excellency, Don Sebas-
tain de Eslava, Viceroy of Santa Fe, in virtue of the exposition
of the engineer director of the fortress of Carthagena, Don Juan
Bautista MacEvan.
83. After having cleared part of the Island of Limones, it
was found to be 36 yards wide, and when the work was to be
commenced the river had left only 23 yards, and besides this
loss of space, the ground was found to be all mud and sand,
and b}'' no means solid or suitable for,!the construction of a
stronghold, and in consequence it was decided to build it
on the mainland, where it stands at present, as is shown at
length in Chapter 6 of the accompanying proceedings.
84. Notwithstanding that the Governor Don Diego Tavares,.
and those who concurred with him in the selection of the new
ground, as a more advantageous site, they did not anticipate the
inconvenience and difficulty that were to make it useless and
the existence of said fort on that ground impossible, as I will-
show.
74
85. In order to build said fort eiiougli part of the ground
M'as cleared, and the foundations were opened, and although
doubts were entertained about tlic safet}' of the ground, the
opinion prevailed that it was solid, but before the work w^as
finished and under tlie inevitable impending ruin it lias l)e-
com-e evident that the ground is as unsteady as that of the
Island of Limones, and by no means solid, and consequently
its defects are not capable of remedy, said fort being useless,
besides the greater inconvenience of its want of solidity.
8G. The Island of Limones was given u{) as useless, after
the loss of the 23 yards taken by the river, after it was cleared
of the trees, the roots of which had kept that space. The same
thing has happened on the mainland, for at the beginning of the
examination, the banks in front of the Castle of San Francisco
were 80 yards far from the actual ground, where the fort stands,
which were all cleared so as to keep free all that space in front
of said castle, but not enough for the play of the artiller}'' on
the river below and notwithstanding it was iound, at the time
of the visit, that from the bank of the river to the fort the dis-
tance was only 20 yards, giving a loss of 60 yards of the open
ground occupied by the bed of the Orinoco River and within
three or four years, it is to be feared that said banks may he
at the foot of said fort, or else sink the same, and the bed of
the Orinoco River take 80 more yards from the space it held
at the time of the beginning of the work and the clearance of
the space to build it.
87. Reflecting at the time of the visit upon this pernicious
detriment, no proper way was found to remed}' the evil, as the
banks of the river on all the lengths of that region are about
11 or 12 yards high and the ground is sand and movable
earth, and from the foot to the bed of the Orinoco River, at its
lowest ebb, forms a steep quicksand bank, being G or 7 yards
from the lowest bed of tlie river to the bank. The want of
solidity and abruptness of this sand bank, its elevation, and the
circumstance of tlie overflow of the river a yard and a half
above the surface of the mainland, flooding the socle of the fort,
make impossible and useless any kind of repairs in order to pre-
vent the river from carrying away that bank, and sooner or
75
later the fort itself, and if this one were removed farther inland
^nd the ground cleared of trees, it is no doubt that the river
•should spread there its waters, extending its bed and render-
ing useless the fortification of San Francisco and Padrastro,
and allowing a free entrance to the embarkations of the Caribs
and other foreigners to pass close to that bank against the
object in view. These were my reasons, at the time of the
visit, for my positive orders to forbid the clearance of the 20
yards intervening between the fort and the banks, allowing the
trees to grow freely, in order to avoid the fall of the fort with
that of the banks, and before undertaking any repairs or its
abandonment, if that was His Majesty's pleasure, according to
the report of the engineer sent to examine said fort.
88. But, even if said fort were built with due safety, and the
difficulty of securing said bank overcome, its uselessness is
unquestionable when taking into consideration the plague of
mosquitoes, sand fleas, horse flies and other insects produced
by the stagnant waters around the Island of Limones and its
^surroundings, so as to make unbearable the life in that place
all the year around, especially after sunset. When this land
is inundated it is impossible to stay there for even half an
hour in daytime, and much less by night, on account of the
■clouds of mosquitoes kept in the woods, and other insects.
There is no exaggeration, as everybody can see the fact, even
if Father Gumilla, in his (illustrated Orinoco) Orinoco ilus-
trado, would not confirm the fact. This defect is not suscep-
tible of a remedy, and was not anticipated at the time of locat-
ing said fort. The ground may be cleared, on what the}^ call
mainland, and its immediate islands (a not very easy or cheap
•affair), the stagnant waters in which the trees are imbedded
will always produce the same insects, as it is the case in muddy
grounds and lagoons without having any trees. In order to
keep the ground clear, an annual expense would be necessary
to remove the encumbrances, which should bring another in-
•conveuience, endangering the very existence of said fort in
its present condition even if constructed anew, running the
risk of a clear sweep of both bank and fortification, under a
•change of bed of the Orinoco. I have considered these reasons
7(3
sufticient lor the abaniKtunifut of sai<l Ibrt, as stated in my
note 9 of my memorandum.
89. In said note I said that the garrison uf the fort is com-
posed of a captain commander, a lieutenant, two sub-lieuten-
ants, a constable, a chaplain, two sergeants of fusileers, two-
corporals, !•_> artillerymen, a druiniiu'r, and 77 private sol-
diers, making in all 100 persons. Most of them (except the
officers and very few white persons) are mulattoes, mestees
and negroes who can stand better the climate; that the
said 100 persons are annually paid $13,994, as may be seen by
the corresponding statement of the general map. This amount
is paid out of $14,000 drawn by His Majesty on the Treasury
of Santa Fe. The above 100 persons are employed to-day as
follows: nine men and one corporal detached to the Island of
Trinidad; IG to 18 in custody of the Missions of the Catalan
Capuchins; an officer, one corporal, and six men that are em-
ployed most of the year in traveling to Santa Fe, in Cj[uest of
the $14,000 of the apportionment ; two detached by order of
the chief of scjuadrons, Don Joseph de Iturriaga, considering
as daily sick 10 to 12 men, and remaining in the service of
the fortress, without including the commander, chaplain, con-
stable and drummer, 43 ; in which number there are 26 men
daily employed in this way: one officer, one corporal, and 12
men in the Castle of San Francisco; one sergeant, one cor-
poral and four mm in that of San Diego; six men, one acting
as corporal at the headquarters, and the orderlies at the com-
mander's house. It is therefore evident that having no more
than 4G, as the total remaining after the service of the fortress,
not only they have not the rest allowed by the regulations, but
tlie guard relieved has to redouble the service of six men,
and in consequence it is indispensalde to increase this garri-
son, as I expose to His Majesty in my representation of the
27th of August of 1701, dealing with the subject of the demo-
lition of the Castle of Araya.
90. I said likewise in mv note 9 that all the neighborhood
of the fortress forms a militia company of fifty-eight men in
arms, including the officers, without excepting whites nor
mixed ; that said company of militiamen is the one that
77
works ill all the garrison, on account of the frequent detach-
ments of the regular troop to the Mission of the Catalan Ca-
puchins, to control the Indians in their incursions, and other
occurrences of the fortress.
91. By the statements of the above-mentioned acts of the
visit in said note 9, it is shown that there were ninety fami-
lies, including those of the regular troop, and in all five hun-
dred and thirty -five souls, occupying sixty-six houses. Out of
these one was burned, but an increase of eight more and the
roofing with tiles of ten have been noticed, giving an actual
existence of seventv-three houses, situated in the order shown
in figure 2 of the accompanying map. Besides the eight
newly-built houses and the ten roofed with tiles, a great deal
of stone has been gathered for the church that is in project to
be built of stone and mortar, and in the country three or four
farms have been added to the twenty-five and twenty-six ex-
isting at the time of said visit, the only increase noticed since
that time.
92. In my memorandum and last chapters of notes 9 and 10
I have briefly exposed, by way of notice, the state of the new
cities of Real Corona and Ciudad Real, the establishment of
which in the Province of Guayana was undertaken by the
chief of squadron Don Joseph de Iturriaga, and that shall have
to fail and ought not, therefore, to be counted as settlements
of said Province.
93. I could not explain in said notes, nor can I do so here,
the use or uselessness of said new cities, the expenses that they
may have occasioned and do occasion to the Royal Treasury
nor the advantages nor disadvantages to these Provinces, as
that subject is fully under the competence of the chief of
squadron Don Joseph de Iturriaga, whom His ]\Iajesty has
allowed the necessar}^ powers for the formation of the settle-
ments that he considers proper to undertake, commanding the
Yicero}^, Governor and Justices of the Kingdom to facilitate
what he requires in carrying out the various charges intrusted
to him for the Royal service, as shown by the Royal Cedule,
dated at Buen Retire, on the 14th of September of 1753. I
am not conscious of having exceeded my limits in what,
78
by way of notice, as settlements of the government in my
charge, I liave exposed in the above-mentioned notes, nor that
I should exceed any in representing the condition in which
said cities are found to-day, and that of San Fernando which
he undertook in the territory of the new Kingdom of Santa
Fe, as it is of the utmost importance to show, in the course of
this representation, the insurmountable difficulties found in
the way of establishing Spanish- populations in remote coun-
tries, without anticipating the pacification of the Indians in-
habiting the country, and that after said Indians are reduced
these Spanish settlements are easily formed without any great
expense of the Royal Treasury, and only on the allowance of
the privileges and franchises granted by His Majesty and by the
Royal laws, for the good government of these his dominions.
D4. And I say that in virtue of the power with which the
above mentioned chief is invested he undertook to establish in
the Province of Guayana the cities Real Corona and Ciudad
Real. For the first one he commissioned with the title of
Captain Settler, and under his orders one Alonso de Soto, to
whom he assigned the annual salary of $500 to be paid by the
Treasury of Santa Fe, and I do not know whether he has-
drawn said pay. On account of the Royal Treasury a church
and about twenty-five houses were built and assigned to the new
settlers brought from the Provinces of Caracas and Barcelona.
In order to obtain them they were offered by the said Alonso
de Soto many other advantages, out of proportion and in dis-
regard of the Royal regulations about the new settlements.
But as the new settlers were not allowed what had been
promised, and under the experience of irregular extortions,
they gave up tlie new city, recrossed the Orinoco and returned
to their old homes, from where the}^ had been removed, and
they gave me an account of what they had done and their
reasons for so doing.
95. I found that it was impossible to compel them to remain
in a settlement that did not suit them and it was not in accord-
ance with the Royal regulations to force them, besides many
otlier reasons that I omit and will explain if necessary. For
the purpose of serving God and the King I found proper tc^
79
gather all of said neighbors in the settlement of Pao situated
on the plains of Barcelona, where they are suited, and from
where many of them had been removed, induced by the offers
of advantages promised by Soto at the new settlement.
96. The steps that I took to meet the requests that I received
and the reason given for the abandonment of the new city are
shown at folios 162 to 177 of the accompanying evidence of
the non-existence of the said Ciudad de Real Corona and the
irregular beginning of the same.
97. Of the establishment of Ciudad Real de Uyapi, said chief
of scjuadron Don Joseph de Iturriaga took charge, and by the
repeated information I have received it consists to-day of a
church, paid by the Royal Treasury, but already fully ruined,
and fifty houses built and paid by the same Royal Treasury,
thirty of them are deserted and empty and twent}' are occupied
by Don Joseph de Iturriaga, his family, sergeant, chaplain,
and other clerks, depending on him, in the expedition of
boundaries, that remain there yet, the Sergeant Major of this
fortress and the detachment of this garrison under the orders
of the above mentioned chief together with six or seven fam-
ilies. One aggregated to that of Don Joseph de Iturriaga,
another of a Dutchman (very injurious there) called Adrian,
two of the island of Margarita, and three who were formerly at
the settlement of Cabruta ; and all are supported at the cost of
the Royal Treasury.
Such is the condition of the Ciudad Real, without any hopes
of any greater advantages, but the promise of a total dissolu-
tion at the time of the absence of the said Don Joseph de Itur-
riaga, the only one who has it in existence for his family and
those who depend on him, as the seven families remaining
to-day will give it up as soon as their rations fail, and the rest
will quit whenever they are allowed to do so.
98. The city of San Fernando, founded by the third com-
missioner, Don Joseph Solano, was still more unfortunate than
the two preceding cities, as most of the settlers perished. Tliis-
city has been placed above the Vichada River, shown by the
general map on the banks of the Orinoco, within the territory
of the government of Santa Fe, inhabited by Indians still ta
80
be reduced. The first settlers were compelk'(l to go from tlie
Province of Caracas, and some other rehictant persons, not
exactly enchained as the fornu'i-, hut a strong detachment was
in the custody of l)oth settlers, from the garrisons of Cumana
and Araya, the whole of them under the orders and direction of
the third Commissioner, Don Joseph Solano.
99. On account of the opening and clearing of the woods,
for tli( establishment of the new settlement, and the bad cli-
mate on the ])anks of the ()rinoco River, with tlie extreme
scarcity of victuals, the greatest portion of the unwilling set-
tlers perished, together with some of the soldiers detached for
their custody, making in all 150 fatalities, during the time of
the residence there of Don Joseph Solano, after his withdrawal
and shortlv after the retirement of the militarv detachment,
leaving the miserable settlers in that desert, without i)rovisions
nor spiritual attendance, without any escort, and destitute of
all human help, with the Indians at their back, the great Ori-
noco in tlieir front, and no embarkations whatever suitable for
the navigation.
lUO. For a few days the}' remained in that place under the
greatest affliction, but, pressed by want, tliey went inland,
and no traces have been left or signs of what became of
theni. The remaining settlers went down the river in small
boats, two of which were lost and the people drowned, witli the
exception of a good swimmer, who brought the news of the
misfortune; four or five others reached the Missions of the
Jesuits, where their wants were attended, and thence they pro-
ceeded to the plains of the Province of Caracas and Barcelona,
where they are full of precautions to avoid their l)eing appre-
hended again. That was the end of the city of San Fernando,
and shows the great diiliculty and irreparable injuries of un-
dertaking any settlement in places so remote and desert before
being reduced.
101. It tlie settlements in distant j)laces, deserted and not
reduced, are iliihcult, tlieir t'.stablishment, after the Indians are
pacified, is very easy, and of no expense to the Royal Treas-
ury, as it is shown to-day in the same Province of Guayana
81
with the new settlement of San Antonio de Upata, which com-
menced in the year of 1762, for the following reasons :
102. Having undertaken my general visit, in the year 17G1,
and while making that of the Missions in that Province in
charge of the Reverend Catalan Capuchin Fathers, and with
the knowledge and examination of the fertile lands occupied
by the establishment inland, distant from the banks of the
Orinoco River, fit for breeding cattle and every kind of farm-
ing and for sugar-cane and cocoa plantations, in a temperate
climate, healthy, and free from the insects produced in the
neighborhood of the Orinoco River, I had a conference with
the Prior of the Community about the importance of the
establishment of one or more Spanish settlements to answer
for our safety and residence of the Missions, as well as a bar-
rier to the Dutch Colonies and defence of the fortress of Guay-
ana, that ought to be abundantly provided with the products
of said Spanish settlement to be established, so as not to have
said fortress dependent on the short crops and Indian farms
as at present.
103. My proposition was satisfactorily heard by the Mis-
sioners who promised with pleasure on their part to attend to
the spiritual wants of the new settlers, and keep an eye on their
operations and advancement, feeding them with bread and beef
for one year and facilitating Indian laborers free for the build-
ing of houses, churches, and sowing the first plants, supplying
them with free transportation and the use of horses for their
baggage from the fortress to the new settlement, and having
the said horses ready to receive the families, at the time of their
landing, so as not to have to stop at the fortress; and on my
side taking care of soliciting persons willing to go to the set-
tlement, sure of the fertility of the grounds in that region. Of
all of what may inform Father Fr, Fidel de Santo, then Prefect
of said Missions and now the Attorney-General of the same,
residing at the Court.
104. Having returned to this capital I made propositions to
several persons to send explorers of their own choice and in-
spect the lands and examine other circumstances, and after
Vol. I, Ven.— 6
82
bciii*;' sure ol" the fertility, saluln-ily, aiul other conditions, to
send twenty-four families, going of their own free will and with-
out the least expense to the treasurer, as it was done, and they
reached Guayana in safety, and from there they were taken to
the })rojected place for the new settlement, between tlie Mis-
sions of Alta Gracia and Copapui shown in the general map,
at two hours' journey from Alta Gracia, and nine to ten leagues
from the fortress of Guayana wdiere they are at present, after
having built twenty-one houses, the church with His Divine
Majesty already inaugurated, a condition never attained by
the cities of lieal Corona, Ciudad Real, nor San Fernando.
105. Besides the above-mentioned twenty-four families,
thirteen more were ready to set out, but they are discouraged
and have suspended their voyage, on account of the news
generally spread in these Provinces that the Province of
Guayana is being depopulated. In that case I will not doubt
that the new settlement of San Antonio may partake of a
similar fate, on account of being exposed to the incursions of
the Indians, who may not be to-day in fear of the troops of
the fortress. But if it is not depopulated (as I expect His
Majesty will command it) I have no doubt that the new popu-
lation will be the beginning of other settlements, and the great
horror of the insalubrity of the climate of that Province will
disappear, followed by many temporal and spiritual advan-
tages and the pacification of the many Indians contained in
said Province, and the benefit of its fertile and abundant soils,
upon which a reliable information may be had from the Rev-
erend Vr. Fidel de Santo, and it will lead to a great deal of
good — His Majesty's support of the bodies of Missioners, as I
have requested, and it appears in the accompanying proceed-
ings — and will expose in my third part of this representation.
lOG. Another similar case happens in this Province of Cu-
mana as an evidence of the difficulty of establishing population
ill })laces where the Indians have not been reduced, and the
unfortunate result of overlooking this condition.
107. By old and repeated Royal Cedules His Majesty has
decided to make one or more settlements on the banks of the
83
Ouarapiche River, so as to protect the rear of this Province
and that of Barcelona, avoiding tlie entrance of foreigners
and the frauds of the residents.
108. In consequence the Governor, Don Joseph Carreflo,
undertook the settlement of the village of San Carlos, for
which a few families commenced to establish their residence
on the southern bank of said Guarapiche River ; but they soon
desisted from the enterprise on account of the assault by wild
Indians supported by the French, and, for want of a greater
number of settlers who would dare to keep the place.
109. In time of the Government of Don Juan de la Tornera
an establishment was undertaken on the northern bank of said
Guarapiche River, called the city of Maturin, which could not
stand, on account of the want of j^opulation of those territories
and the indifferent safety of the Indians recently settled in
that neighborhood.
110. As a result of my general visit, and sure of the exten-
sion and fertility of the land at the south of this Province, with
high mountains, near the banks of the Guarapiche and the im-
portance of that place for one or more Spanish settlements, to
avoid the clandestine traffic carried on through that river, (as
explained by note 2 of my memorandum,) I commenced toin-
ifluence several parties to go to that settlement, promising the
portions of fertile land and the other privileges granted b}^ the
laws to the new settlers. Several persons having an intention
to settle there have examined said land and ascertained its
fertility and extension for cattle farms as well as sugar-cane and
cocoa plantations, and there are about 40 families already
enlisted in this city, Barcelona and its plains, besides many
others, in expectation of the progress of the settlement to
follow their turn.
111. I have already appointed a captain settler who awaits
my approval of the site in which to found the new city which
is in Maturin, where it was undertaken by Tornera. I will
carry out the plan, as soon as my many occupations permit, not
entertaining any doubt of the success, for there is no fear now
of any embarrassment opposed by the Indians, as all the sur-
rounding settlements in that neighborhood are under a Mission
84
and well trained and ruduced I'onnally in the way uf catechi-
satioii.
112. Once said city is settled as intended, there is no douht
that other settlements will follow, as the lands invite, with their
many advantages, new settlers from these Provinces and
and even from Caracas. AVithin twcntv or Iwentv-five years
we may expect a production of as much cocoa or very little
less than what is produced in that of Caracas. The present
case shows that the countries after being pacified, may be
settled with very little diligence and more facility, and that that
is practicable, without the least expense to the Royal Treasury
and only by the inducements of the grants and privileges
allowed bv law.
Chapter X.
The fortress of Guayana is the most important stronghold held hif
the King our Lord in tliese his American dominions, Havana
and Vera Cruz only excepted.
1. The more or less estimation of a settled place is regulated
by the commerce and wealth it contains, its strength, extent,^
and usefulness of the territory defende<l. Those are the rea-
sons that recommend Havana and Vera Cruz, without contro-
versy, the most important held by tlio King in America.
2. The fortress of Guayana has no claim to any estimation
Ijy its contents, as they are miserable, as shown by the exposi-
tioii of the preceding chapters, being of considerable more
value in this respect the fortresses of Carthagena, Panama, La
Guaira, Puerto Cabello, Ihunos Aires, and all the rest held by
His Majesty, with the exception of Puerto Bello, with which
Guayana may be compared.
3. The stronghold of the garrison can not betaken into con-
sideration at present, although the castle of San Francisco, in
point of situation, resistance of its walls, difficulty for an attack
and other circumstances explained in the foregoing chapter is
85
a somewhat regular fortification, becomes useless by the want of
defence of the Padrastro, from where a dozen muskets mav
surrender it, as has been already stated.
4. On account of the extent and value defended by the
fortress, no other of the many held by the King, except Vera
Cruz, can compete with it, because all the other fortresses pro-
tect ports, but do not prevent the landing on the coast nor the
entrance of the enemies, introducing their commerce in
diverse Provinces more or less indefensible. On the contrary,
the fortress of Guayana is the masterpiece of the defence of its
own Province and those of Cumana, Barcelona, Caracas, Bari-
nas, Santa Fe, Popoyan and Quito, countries under the control
and traffic facilities of the grand Orinoco River, having no
other defended or fortified place so advantageously situated as
this fortress is to-day. If it is abandoned or lost, the nation
holding it might control freely said Provinces and that of
Guayana. The enemy could never succeed in doing so while
the fortrpss is held and well fortified.
5. I will exemplif}^ this case, comparing this place with those
of Havana and Vera Cruz, that have no equal either with those
of La Guaira, Puerto Cabello, Buenos Aires, Montevideo nor the
others of the southern sea, but onl}' with that of Carthagena,
considered to be of the greatest importance after the two first
quoted and of less advantage than the fortress of Guayana,
for although that one may be more recommendable, on ac-
count of the commerce and wealth it contains and the strength
of its fortifications, it is not by any means covering all the
territory defended by this fortress, being surpassed in that
most important point, which I will show in order to have it
done at the earliest possible convenience, explaining briefly
the favorable and unfavorable circumstances of the fortress of
Carthagena, and then I will compare them with the advantages
possessed by the fortress of La Guaira, so as to allow the pref-
erence in being fortified like that one.
6. The port of Carthagena was very well fortified before the
British invasion, and His Majesty has, since that time, ex-
pended large amounts of money to increase its fortifications
and secure it against another attack as the last one, believing
86
that said fortress is precisely the key of the Kingdom of iSanta
Fc. And what is defended but the fortress of Carthagena be-
sides its own contents? Does it defend the entrance |of the
Magdalena River by an enemy? Not at all, as an entrance
could be made through the Province of Santa Martha, where
the mouth of said river stands.
7. Does the fortress prevent the navigation of said river by
strangers? Nothing of the kind ; as, from Carthagena to the
Barranca (bank) of the King, the nearest margin to Cartha-
gena, there is a distance of 12 leagues by land and 20 through
the ditch.
8. Are the 20 leagues through the ditcli or the 12, by
land defended by that fortress so as to keep free and safe the
communication with the Magdalena River? Not in the least,,
as both ways are at the mercy of an enemy who may land on
several points and intercept both ways at a short distance
without being stopj)ed by the fortress.
9. After the loss of the fortress of Carthagena could the ene-
mies prevent the subjects of the King from navigating the
Magdalena River? With difficulty, unless Barranca were for-
tified and a large garrison kept there with proper vessels to
oppose those trying to go up the river, before said Barranca of
the King, and not being so held an enemy could enter through
the mouth of said river and go up from Santa Martha as'far
as the town of Honda.
10. If the fortress of Carthagena were lost, could the enemies-
go inland and introduce their commerce by land to the King-
dom of Santa Fe? That is impossible, as from the Province of
Carthagena to the Kingdom of Santa Fe, all the way is cov-
ered by a chain of inaccessible mountains, cut by large rivers
and sierras closed to traffic, as there is not an open road at
present, nor any one found practicable, so that the only way
left is the Magdalena River. Could this river be freely navi-
gated by the foreigners in control of the fortress of Cartha-
gena and Barranca of the King? It is as difficult as by land,,
for, at every step, their progress might be disputed, having no
place where the river might be so wide as not to be exposed
to cross fires by an artillery of 12-pounders, and in most of
87
them of 6-pounders, and in the straight place of Carare it may
be defended by muskets. Besides, this river can not be navi-
gated under sails, nor by every kind of vessel, but only those
fit for it, and called " champanes," at the point of poles, close
to the banks and the woods, to avoid the force of the current,
which makes the navigation of that river so protracted as to
require from thirty-five to forty days to reach the town of
Honda, at the time when the river is low and more propitious.
When it is full it takes two or three months, adding to what
has been said that they must go in front of the town of Monpos,
to Tamalamaque and other settlements and farms on the banks
of said river, and through the strait of Carare, where stoning
might be sufficient to stop and prevent the pass of an enemy
on board said champanes, which nobody could manage with
the ability and facilities displayed by the Indians used to their
management.
11. After overcoming the difficulty of the river, though mor-
ally impossible, it remains to overcome afterwards that of the
land, for which it is indispensable to secure horse transporta-
tion at the town of Honda, to go through rough and difficult
mountains, taking about eight days to reach Santa Fe, and
well understood that horses or mules are not always found at
the town of Honda, as there is no subsistence possible there
for cattle, and it is necessary to bring them from the plains of
Santa Fe to take the loads carried by water up to the town of
Honda, as it is well known to those conversant with the traffic
of that road. These circumstances make impossible the intro-
duction not only of an enemy, but likewise of any kind of goods.
From the Kingdom and other Provinces they come down to
Carthagena, with the liberty of traffic with strangers, precisely
through the Magdalena River.
12. Allowing the case of the loss of the fortress of Carthagena
and the fortification of Barranca by an enemy, so as not to
allow any river communication, should the city of Santa Fe
and the other Provinces be prevented from receiving any
goods or sending back in return their products? It would so
happen, if other places could not answer the purpose, such as
Maracaibo, Puerto Cabello, La Guaira, and Cumana, although
88
involving so much labor and expense to an amount beyond
limit, if there was not a recourse to the great Orinoco River,
throngh which with less expense and labor than through the
Magdalena River, we could introduce in the Kingdom of Santa
Fe and other Provinces all kinds of merchandise, with facil-
ities for the return of all products, and moneys produced which
are carried to-day through the Magdalena River to Carthagena.
13. If by the defense of the Magdalena River the foreigners
and their commerce with the Kingdom of Santa Fe may be
stopped, without any need of the fortresses of Carthagena, and
even when said city were lost and Barranca fortified, the com-
munication through the Orinoco River should keep it open, at
less expense with the Kingdom of Santa Fe and the other
Provinces, guarded by said fortress of Carthagena, for what
purpose was such an amount of wealth laid out in fortifying the
same and keeping it in such a high esteem? Jt is the guard
of the port, the best on all that coast, and the only one where
any kind of vessels, no matter how large or how many, can get
in, and it keeps all of its contents, as a general depot of all the
merchandize received from Europe and distributed afterwards
through the same Province, and by tlie Magdalena River, to
Santa Fe, Popoyan, and Quito, bringing back the funds and
products from the same Provinces, through the same river, to
Carthagena, where they are kept until forwarded to Europe,
and this commerce is done through the port, fortress and city
of Carthagena, held in such high value as to be worth}^ of the
strongest defenses and fortifications.
14. It seems to me that I have shown the reasons of useful-
ness or uselessness of the fortress of Carthagena, and it
remains to explain which are those equivalent or superior, on
behalf of the fortress of Guayana, by far to be preferred to
that one, and I will follow the order of the preceding answers,
omitting the interrogations only wanted there.
15. It has been stated in the first place, that the fortress of
Carthagena does not defend the entrance of enemies in the
Magdalena River, as said river disembogues within the Prov-
ince of Santa Martha, not so the fortress of Guayana, the only
one defending the entrance of all the Orinoco, as it stands situ-
89
•a'ted, close to the islands, where it begins to expand and divide
into a labyrinth of mouths and creeks, as seen in the general
map, facilitating through various ways the entrance to the said
fortress' waters, a necessary pass for the navigation of the
Orinoco River, and the only one which may be properly forti-
fied, as there is the narrowest body of the river, except the
Angostura, which does not guard it wholly, as shown in the
general accompanying map forwarded to His Majesty.
IG. I have likewise stated in the second place that the
fortress of Carthagena does not prevent the enemies from
navigating the Magdalena River, on account of the distance to
its nearest margin on Barranca, 12| leagues b}^ land and 20
through the ditch. On the contrary, the fortress of Guayana
stands on the very border of the Orinoco River, and is the only
place that, when well fortified, may lully defend the navigation
and stop the entrance of vessels, as may be seen in the accom-
panying general map.
17. In the third place, I have stated that the distance of 20
leagues through the ditch, or 12 by land, is at the mercy of
enemies who may land on different parts of the coast and cut
up both ways, for which the fortress can not afford any means
of resistance. It is of no importance to the fortress of Guayana
the landing of an enemy, as the means of subsistence becomes
impossible without taking the castle of San Francisco and the
mountain of Padrastro, possessing no means of preventing the
Orinoco River's navigation or of availing themselves of the
same if the said fortifications are not taken.
18. In the fourth place, once the fortress of Carthagena lost,
it will be difficult for an enemy to prevent the navigation of
the Magdalena River by the vassals of His Majesty, unless they
fortify Barranca, or keep there a strong detachment and ves-
sels fit to oppose those intending to go up the river and pass in
front of Barranca. It is not so on the Orinoco River, kept only
by a well fortified fortress without any need of other defence
nor detachment. If the enemies would take it they could
k;eep said Orinoco River more easily and at a less expense
than that of the Magdalena River.
90
10. Ill the fifth phice, I said that once the Carthati;ena fort-
ress lost the enemies can not make the interior commerce by
hmd with the Kingdom of Santa Fe nor the vassals of His
Majest}'- come down to Carthagena, as there is no open road
nor is there any possibility of opening any, through the inac-
cessible mountains intervening. And now I say that after the
loss of the fortress the enemies are at liberty to communicate
by land through the way of Cumana, Barcelona, Caracas,
Barinas and Santa Fe, and those of the country may come to
the fortress and extensive banks of the Orinoco River, being
in contact with said Provinces, from the headwaters of said
river and the extensive plains shown by the accompanying
map and the general one already sent.
20. I have likewise exposed i-n the sixth place, that once the-
fortress of Carthagena lost, the enemies can not navigate freely
on the Magdalena River, as it will be easy to erect strong-
holds at several places and dispute the pass, preventing at the
same time the people of the country from going down to Car-
thagena and trade with foreigners. But, if the fortress were-
lost, it w^ould not be possible to prevent the foreigners from
navigating the river at their pleasure. The Orinoco River, on
account of its great breadth, can not be fortified in any other
place than the present spot, where the fortress stands, and at
the Angostura, but this latter spot does not guard the whole of
the Orinoco, nor the Provinces through which it runs, as it
is shown on the accompanying map. Nor said Angostura, no
matter how well fortified it may be, could be defended after
the loss of the fortress. An evidence of this point is furnished
in my second part, in answer to the Royal Order of the 27th
of May of last year, in which His Majesty orders the transfer of
the present city of Guayana to said Angostura.
21. In the seventh j^lace, I have said that the river Magda-
lena is only fit for the navigation of a certain kind of vessel
called champancs; the greatest capacity of the same will hold
about 100 packages of ordinary size at an expense of $500 for
the transportation from Carthagena or the Barranca (of the
King) to the town of Honda, distant respectively from 80 to
100 leagues. They are not propelled by sails or oars, but by
91
means of poles, taking from thirty-five to forty days in the-
favorable season, and during the flood season from two to
three months. At the Orinoco there are greater advantages,
as sloops of thirty-five to forty tons may sail and go up the
river above the confluence of the Meta, up to a place where
the first rapid is met, where the Missions of the Jesuits are
located, as shown in the general map, and by way of the rivers
Vichada, Meta, Apure, Sinaruco, La Portuguesa, Pao, Care and
others, not represented in the general map, where launches
can enter and carry loads more or less like the champanes of
the Magdalena River, going inland to the Provinces of Caracas,.
Barinas and Santa Fe ; the sloops and launches may sail,
which is a saving of money and time, duplicating the trips of
the champanes and carrying more loads than they do.
22. In the eighth place, I have said that by the Magdalena
River the town of Honda is reached, and from there to the
capital of Santa Fe it is necessary to go through very steep
and rough mountains, and the loads are easily escorted and
defended. It is not so with those carried on the Orinoco River
and the Meta, Vichada and others, running through extensive
plains, with the fricilities of several roads, and therefore impos-
sible to be escorted. The horses or mules for the transporta-
tion are easily obtained in the prairies, intervening between
the mountains and the Orinoco River, where there are pasture
grounds in abundance, as well as mules, which is not the case
at the town of Honda, where said mules are to be brought
from the plains of Santa Fe.
23. I have likewise exposed in the ninth place that if the
fortress of Carthagena falls in the hands of enemies who fortify
and hold the place of Barranca (of the King), the pass of the
Magdalena River is stopped for the vassals of His Majesty
to transport their merchandise from the Province of Santa
Martha, to the Kingdom of Santa Fe, but that at the same
Magdalena River the pass of foreigners with their merchan-
dise can be stopped, and those of the country prevented from
going down to Carthagena* to trade with said foreigners, in
which case the Kingdom of Santa Fe and the Provinces of
Popayan and Quito remain in communication only by the-
92
way of the Orinoco River, Ijoth Jor tlic transportation of the
mercliandise received, as well as for the return of the proceeds
and the products of said countries, making amends for the
want of correspondence tliiough the fortress of Carthagena.
But if the fortress of Guayana is lost tliere is no remedy for
the entrance of foreigners as far as Santa Fe, Popayan and
Quito, with their merchandises whicli are transported to-day
througli the Magdalena Kiver, and by the same Orinoco they
could bring back their values and products from the Provinces
of Barinas, Caracas, Barcelona and Cumana, without any need
of the same foreigners going inland, as it will be enough that
the goods be taken by way of the Orinoco to any places desired
by the merchants of the Province who will be the real im-
porters of the same. All what has been said seems to be
very remote, and indeed it is not to be done in a few days nor
years, but if the door is opened and the fortress of Guayana
abandoned it is all very practicable, and I will endeavor to
show this point in my second and third part.
24. In the tenth place, I have stated that the port of Car-
thagena admits vessels of all sizes, no matter how large they
are, an advantage not possessed by the Orinoco River, but for
the return trip Irom said port to Europe it is necessary to go
to Havana, and from there to have to clear the channel of the
Bahama Island, willi the risks and terrors known to nautical
men, until the channel is fully cleared. In the Orinoco no
vessels can enter of more than 30 to 35 cannons or 500 tons,
but there is another advantage that is hot possessed by Car-
thagena, and that is, that as the land is more to the eastward
of America, the return to Spain is easier, on the straight way,
with the same days of navigation, as from Havana, without
the least risk or any necessity of calling at any other port,
until the anchors are cast in Europe.
25. In the eleventh place, I am of the opinion that the fort-
ress of Carthagena is very important, on account of the facility
of commerce, as a central depot of the merchandise from
Europe and the values brought down, through the Magdalena
River, from the Provinces of Santa Fe, Popoyan and Quito,
■and for that reason it must be well defended and fortified.
93
The same reasons, in favor of the fortification of the fort of
Carthagena, strengthens my opinion for the fortification of that
of Guayana, which if lost, there is no doubt that the foreigners
would introduce by way of the Orinoco River the necessary
merchandise for said Provinces and take back all the values
brought down at present through the Magdalena River to
Carthagena, besides those from the Provinces of Barinas,,
Caracas, Barcelona and Cumana, making of less service said
port and fortress of Carthagena and those of La Guaira, Puerto
Cabello and Cumana, on account of the greater facility and
lower price of transportation to all said Provinces, through the-
Orinoco River, by which their products that have not the same
facility, through the above-mentioned ports, will be transported.
26. If it is alleged that the best climate of the port of
Carthagena and the Magdalena River affords a sufiicient ground
for the preference of said port over the Orinoco River and fort-
ress of Guayana, I answer by stating that it is not so, as the
port of Carthagena has not been, nor is it at present, a better
climate than that of Guayana, and that disadvantage will be
partially remedied by an abundance of provisions, of which it
now stands in need, and by having good surgeons, doctors,
medicines, and other conveniences possessed by Carthagena,.
where, in spite of the possession of all these facilities, they
are subject to continual epidemics.
27. The Orinoco River is very healthy as compared with
that of Magdalena, and the reason is because the navigation
is practicable under sails, on account of its broad width and
ventilation and the greater capacity and convenince of the
vessels for travellers and passengers ; it is not so on the Mag-
dalena, where they are deprived of these comforts and the
vessels are smaller, carrying no sails nor oars, outside of the
channel of the river, at the point of poles on the banks close
to the woods, under great difficulties overcome by the men and
passengers, under continual showers and heat, deprived of the
winds, on account of their close proximity to the borders and
the elevation of the mountains, besides the inconvenience of
the numberless mosquitoes and other insects, incumbering the
vessels on account of the constant calm prevailing on the-
94
river banks. TIr'Sl' inllielioii.s aro nut so frequent un the
(Orinoco River, or at least they are less intense and more toler-
able, on account of the strong winds ami the navigation under
sails through the main channel.
28. Many other favorable and powerful circumstances might
be adduced in favor of the fortress of Guaj^ana and the Orinoco
River, making them preferaV)le to the Magdalena River and
the fortress of Carthagena ; Init I omit them so as not to make
too extensive this chapter, although it will remain pending to
be continued in my second and third parts, in which I will lie
as brief as possible, as it will take a long time to enumerate all
the circumstances connected with this subject.
29. In justification of what I have stated in this cha})ter, in
favor of the fortress of Guayana, I have no other documents
than my experience, during the long time I have been in
America in the service of His Majesty, having had particular
reasons for my observations of the port of Carthagena, its cit}'"
and fortifications, as well as the distance of 12 leagues by land
and 20 through the ditch from said city to Barranca. I have
gone up the Magdalena River, on board of the cJuimpanes, as far
as the town of Honda, and from there, through the rough road
available to the capital of Santa Fe. I have noticed the many
roads leading from the capital of Santa Fe to the Orinoco
River, and in the time that I have served as a Governor I
have traveled through the sierras, situated towards the north
and coast of the provinces of Cumana and Barcelona, and the
plains lying at the south of said sierras, down to the banks
of the Orinoco River. I have likewise traveled through the
plains of the Province of Caracas, on my way to the settlement
of Cabruta and the Missions of the Jesuits, situated in the
Province of Guayana, from where I came down, through the
Orinoco River, to the fortress, and after having visited the
Missions of the Catalan Capuchins, the settlement and fortifi-
cation of the fortress, I embarked and went down to the
mouths of the Orinoco, going through the Gulf Triste, the
mouth of the Guaraj)iche, and the creeks of Santa Isabel,
landing at Colquar, where I visited the Missions of this prov-
ince, under the charge of the Aragon Fathers. As a result of
95
my travels to Cabruta and the general visit I am well })osted
ill all that belongs to ray position as Governor. I formed the
general map which I have addressed to His Majesty, and if
my many occupations might have allowed me the time to
make a fair copy of the general map of the Viceroyalty of
Santa Fe that I have formed in sketch, I should make more
A'isible all the contents of these chapters and whatever else I
omit, so as not to make it too extensive, but I refer to the ex-
amination and opinion of practical persons that His Majesty
ma}^ appoint for the investigation of all that I have said, if it
will meet his pleasure, as I most humbly pray.
30. And in reference to the greater utility and preference
wdiich I give to the fortress of Guayana over all the other for-
tresses kept by the King in America, I do not say so without
being well posted, for I have seen at the South Pacific those of
Valdivia, Conception and A^alparaiso in Chile, and those of
Callao, and I have a sufficient notice of what are those of
Panama, Acapulco and Sonsonate. On the north I have seen
those of Buenos Ay res, Montevideo, Carthagena, La Havana
and Curaana, at present in my charge, and I have an idea of
those of La Guaira, Puerto Cabello, Maracaibo, Puerto Bello
and the Windward Islands, and taking all in all, I have come
to the conclusion that none could bring as great loss as that of
the fortress of Guayana, and that if the enemies would take it,
their possession would multiply the advantages of that of Sac-
ramento, held by the Portuguese on the La Plata River, which
I have likewise seen, and I know in what its commerce con-
sists.
31. I think I have proved with sufficient reasons and docu-
ments all that I proposed to show^ by my No. 4 at the begin-
ning of this consultation, and with the ten chapters contained
in this first part and other documents that will be adduced, I
will prove by the second and third, whatever I have stated.
That is my purpose, trying to avoid confusion, after having
anticipated the contents of said ten chapters.
9(1
Part Second.
1. In this second part I will produce evidence of the irrepar-
able injury which might follow to the service of both Majesties
from the enforcement of the Ro3'al Order of the 27th of INIay
of 1762, as I have stated in Xo. 5 at thi' beginning of this con-
sultation. In order to do so clearly and with the fewest words
possible, I will j)lace at the margin in said Royal Order, and
will answer its contents, showing what I shall have to expose,
with several instruments that I will quote, and the ten chap-
ters of the first part of its numerated paragraphs, which may
be necessary, and where the documents I may refer to will be
seen and compared.
Royal Order.
" The King bearing in mind what your honor exposes by letter
of August 27th of last year."
2. By the two Royal Orders of the 21st of July of 1759 and
i3th of May of 1760, His Majesty was kind enough to point
out that many times the demolition of the castle of Araya had
been contemplated, and the opinion had been shown that I
ought to expose my ideas, as to the utility or inutility of said
fortification, after having examined by all possible means both
bearings of the subject, so as to come to a final conclusion in
the case.
3. In order to fulfill my commission I instituted the proceed-
ings that I considered necessary, and formed a plan of the
location of the castle, the salt })its lost under its protection, and
the surrounding grounds. On the 27th of August of 1751,.
with the accompanying proceedings and j^lan I represented to
His Majesty, the inutility of said fortification, the large annual
and undue expenses involved in its subsistence, showing my
opinion that the Royal service required its demolition.
4. I likewise represented to His Majesty that if it was His
Royal })leasure to demolish said castle it was advisable to
transfer the two bronze culverins of said fortress to that of San
Francisco de Asis, in Guayana, as they were wanted there and
97
were sufficient to control the full Ijreadtli of the Orinoco River.
That it was indispensable to have a new regulation for the
garrison of this fortress, by adding 25 more men. The fortress
of Guayana is more important and requires the greatest atten-
tion of His Majesty, being imperative to increase the garrison
with one more captain, one lieutenant, one standard-bearer
and 70 men, including the corresponding corporals ; but in no
manner the garrison of Arava was available to increase that
of Guayana. I ask His Majesty that the $41 received there
from Mexico for the annual pay of the garrison of Araya be
continued without alteration, in order to pay that amount to
the garrison of Cumana and increase that of Guavana, and
escorting the Catalan, Aragou and Observant Missioners,
preaching the Gospel in this Province, all for reasons fully
explained in said representation and the chief points of its
contents.
5. By the Royal Order of the 6tli of January of 1762 His
Majesty kindly instructed me to jn-oceed to the demolition of
said castle, and the transfer to this garrison of the troops of
said castle and the utensils of said fortress, as it was done and
reported under date of November 1st of last year.
6. Lately, and by the present Royal Order, I am instructed
(among other things), to send fifty-two men from the garrison
of Araya to the fortress of Guayana, fifty to the island of Trin-
idad, and to increase the garrison of this place with twenty-
five more men, as proposed in my representatio^i of the 27th
of August, and that those remaining from the garrison of
Araya be sent for the greater protection of Guayana, besides
the fifty-two before mentioned. To these points I will refer In
the regular order at the proper time, giving better reasons than
those expressed by my said i^epresentation of the 27th of Au-
gust, showing the impossibilities opj^osing the march of these
detachments. ^* ""
''And the advices sent to His Majesty about the situation of the
city of Guayana, the jiopulation of which is 460 persons,
including the garrisons of the fort."
7. I do not know upon what grounds said advices have been
Vol. 1. Vex. — 7
98
sent to Ilis Majesty. iKir do I pi-csunu- that the}- liail any other
object in view tlian the Rnyal scrviee, but by the contents of
the Royal < )vi\ov it is phiiu that they are not entirely aecurate
and show no kiiowli'dire of this counti'v nor of what may
be eas\' or impossible; the ahoxL' adxire.s ha\c been sent to
His Majesty with a view to fortify the (.)rinoe() ami take steps
to reach that eml without any [H'opcr insti-uction on these
controverted points, liavin^' confused ideas and iiitormations
wliich had produced said ad\ici's in their own way and with-
out reflection, as I will show it.
8. The situation of tiie city of (luayana is in the best ])lace,
and as well ventilated as that place permits. It was held as
such by the Engineer Don Antonio Jordan, who established it
in the year 1741, on account of the destruction of the old
(iuayana by the Engdish, who set it on fire, when it was situ-
ated on the bank ot the Usupama River, as stated in my first
part. Chapter 7, Nos. 2 and 3, and in the figure 2 of the accom-
panying map. where the present site is shown, without having
been reproved by anybody, nor any other place found more
convenient for subsistence and salnl)rity. and a very necessary
post, for without it the fortifications could not be maintained
in the condition in which they are, as the only place that can
defend the Oi'inoco.
0. The i>oi)ulation has not only 450 persons, including the
troops, as they have informed His Majesty, but 535, as shown
in my first part. Chapter 9, No. 91.
" The condition in whi(di the chief ca.stle calleil San Francisco-
de Asis is iound, the wall of which lias little resistance."
iU. Ill the accompanying map, ligure 2, may be seen the
situation of the Castle of Asis. In figure 3 its i)lan .settled, and
the precise and [luiictu.d scale })laced at the margin, with the
conden.sed explanation of the same. And in Chaj)ter 9 of the
first i)art, from 1 to 31. an extensive explanation of its circum-
stances, repairs nuide on account of the walls, and its condition
at the time of the visit and at present, without any contradic-
tion of what r explained there, as it is such as represented, and
mav be verified at aiiv time.
99
11. With my exposition in the said Chapter 9, and the
numbers quoted, it is evident that the Castle of San Francisca
de Asis is a very regular fortification, even if situated in
another place, where men of war of the line could open an
attack, and where it is more than ordinarily good, and very
strong, if the Padrastro is fortified (as I will explain in my
third part), which is the point to make it useless as stated in
Chapter 9, No. 43, where it is shown how solid it is, and not
any fault of resistance of its walls, as His Majesty has been in-
formed.
"And it is under the guard of one Castillian captain, one lieu-
tenant, two standard bearers, and 100 men."
12. His Majesty has not been informed with more accuracy
in regard to the garrison of said castle, as it does not consist
of one Castillian captain, one lieutenant, two standard bearers,
and 100 men, but one Castillian captain, one lieutenant, two
standard bearers, one constable, one chaplain, two sergeants of
fusileers, two corporals, 12 artillery men, one drummer, and 77
soldiers, making in all 100 men, who receive salaries and are
employed, according to my exposition, in the first part of
Chapter 9, No. 89.
" With 18 cannons from 6 to 24,"
13. In the year 1720 the fortifications of Guayana of the then
indefensive Castle of San Francisco were dnly four to six guns
of small calibers and one of 15, as I have exposed in Chapter
5, No. 2, and it was thus kept, until the year of 1752 in which
by Royal Order communicated by the Most Excellent Marquis
of La Ensenada to the President of Commerce of Cadiz, who
was then your Excellency, there were sent, by way of Caracas,
ten iron cannons, four of the caliber of 18, two of 12, three of
8, and one of 4, and through the same way there were received
in this capital and forwarded to the fortress of Guayana, in
August of 1756, and were mounted in the Castle of San Fran-
cisco and a few of inferior caliber were dismounted and trans-
ferred to the Padrastro, and at the time of the visit, which I
100
made in tlie year of 1761, the existence at Saa Francisco was
of twelve mounted cannons, four of 18, one of 15 useless, two
of 12, three of 8, and two of inferior metals, as it is reported
in Chapter 9, No. 2(5, and at present, and from last year, there
are in said fortification seventeen cannons for the reasons ex-
plained in said Chapter 0, Nos. 28 and 20, without room for
any more artillery, as may be seen by the phin and figure 3 of
the accompanying map. Therefore there is sufficient evidence
that said castle has never had noi' has now I'ighteen cannons,
and of those existing at present, none is of the 24-caliber as
rejiorted to His Majesty.
(< rn
Their poor temper."
14. In the year 1720, and even in 1740, the Castle of Guay-
ana was insupportable, on account of its bad temperature and
total scarcity of victuals, and other reasons explained in chap-
ters 5 and 7 of my first part, ])ut to-da}^ with the more or less
provisions brought from the Missions (as it is shown in the first
part. Chapter 8, from No. 5 to 9), it is inhabitable, not being
any sicklier than the re.st of the banks of the Orinoco River
and the settlements of Piacoa, Aripuco, Encaramada, Uruana,
and Randal, the banks of which are marked in the map, nor
any less healthy than Carthagena and the settlements at the
margins of the Magdalena River, and much more important
than said fortress, as I have shown in the first part of Chapter
10, making indispejjisable the .subsistence of said fortress, with-
out minding its bad temper, which will undoubtedly improve
(as experience shows it) when victuals are abundant and the
natives find other conveniences of which they stand in need
now, not being sure of healthiness with the change of locality,
but on the contrary, as T will explain in another place, while
the present matter will i-einain })ending yet.
"And that tlic houses are built of wood and mud, covered with
jiahii ])ranches, and the church likewise."
15. It is evident that the church and the 60 houses existing
at the time of the visit, and 73 at present, are built of wood
and mud (called " Bajareque " in this country) and covered
101
with palm leaves, except 10 of them, that after the visit have
been roofed with tiles and two which were already tile roofed,
as everything is shown in the first part. Chapter 9, No. 91 ;
but whoever sent this report to His Majesty had not seen, nor
had noticed that all those of the government are of the same
material, except the capital, having about 80 of stone and mor-
tar and 150 of " Bajareque," all covered wdth tiles as well as
the church, and about 20 of this same material and cover ;
and the church of San Phelipe de Austria, which is of stone
and mortar material covered with tiles, and the rest of the
houses of the capital and of the other settlements of the Pro-
vince are of " Bajareque " covered with spread mud and straw
or palm leaves, as is shown in the first part, Chapter 4, No. 3
to II, with the particular notice that, aside from the settlement
of Pao, none else shows as good order as that of Guayana, nor
in all the Provinces are found two-story houses, roofed with
tiles, as those belonging to the commander and the standard
bearer Ferreras. In the plan figure 2 of the accompanying
map, they are marked with Nos. 3 and 8.
" Having in the south in the interior 18 settlements of reduced
Indians by the Catalan Capuchin Missioners."
16. All the settlements of the Missions reduced by the Cata-
lan Capuchin Missioners are not in the interior of the south,
nor do they amount to 18, as reported to His Majesty; those
of Piacoa, Aripuco, Caroni, and Aguacagua are on the banks
of the Orinoco River, and to the east and w^est of Guayana (a
circumstance of importance for what it shall have to be said),
as it is shown by the accompanying map, and in the general
one, where the remaining settlements are shown, but not to the
amount of 18, but only 16, the greatest and the only number
that they have attained, for although eight of them have been
lost, it was at different times and before ascending to the above-
mentioned number of 16, existing at the time of the visit and
at the present, as it is shown in my first part, Chapter 8, No. 2,
showing the want of information of whomsoever sent said
advi ces to His Majesty.
102
" That it is easy to insult its garrison by a " coui) de main " and
lose the Padrastro, with which no defense could be made
of the little fort of Limones, nor of the Province, leaving
the Orinoco 0}»en and uncovered the rear portion of Cu-
mana, Caracas, liarinas, and even Santa Fc, without
remaining there a sufhcient force to stop the })rogress
of an euem}', nor those coming from the neighboring
Provinces will find embarkations and stores to stand a
siege."
17. It is undeniable the facility with which the garrison, not
that of the Castle of San Francisco, which is in condition to
avoid and resist a surprise, but that of San Diego or Padrastro,
consisting at present of one sergeant, one corporal, and four
men, as I have stated in Chapter 9, No. 89, without means for
increasing tliis fort for want of lodgings, according to the said
chapter and numbers 44 to 49, nor in time of war may said
garrison be more numerous, unless kept in the open air, which
is impossible in that country, on account of the excessive rains
most of the year, and even during months that are not of the
rainy season, it seldom fails to rain every day, and the dew is
alwaj's damp and sickly.
IS. It is likewise evident that in case of a surprise of the
most important mountain of Padrastro no defense is left to the
Castle of San Francisco, as it is dominated by the summit of
said mountain at an elevation of 36 yards above the level of
the parade ground, and at a short distance of a regular musket-
shot's range, as shown in No. 43 of the said Chapter 9.
19. It is likewise certain that once these fortifications lost,
the whole Province remains defenseless and tlie Missions in
charge of the Catalan Capuchins un})rotected, the navigation of
the Orinoco free and at the mercy of whomsoever controls and
fortifies the mountain of Padrastro, just as well the Provinces of
Cuimana, Barcelona, Caracas, Barinas, Santa Fe, Popayan, and
Quito likewise, as it is exposed in the chapter and number
above quoted, and in tlie whole of the tenth and of the first
part, without any possibility of sufficient force concurring to
stop the progress of the enemy, while not dislodged from the
Padrastro, which is a very difficult task if they mount batteries
and lodgings to keep 40 or 50 men on said mountain, and if
103
that were the case (not as remote as it seems to be, and I will
explain in time), said Provinces would be lost because, even if
not controlled by the enemies, they might take all the ad-
vantages wanted and make useless the ports of Cartliagena,
Puetro Cabello, La Guaira and Cumana, as I have explained in
my tenth chapter of the first part.
20. Bearing in mind the utmost importance of said moun-
tain and fortress, I represented to His Majesty on the 27th of
August, 1767, while dealing with the subject of the demoli-
tion of the Castle of Araya, that said fortress was of supreme
importance, among those of His Royal dominions, and in note
9, of my memorandum with the general map of this Province,
addressed to His ^Majesty, I exposed that it was the only advan-
tageous spot, of all the Orinoco River, that could be fortified
with safety, and that it ought to be strengthened, and that the
chief purpose of this consultation is addressed in the same
spirit, and if it is done as I will explain in the third part, the
Orinoco will remain perfectly secure, and it will be very diffi-
cult, if not impossible, for an enemy to possess it ; on the con-
trary, if they succeed in securing said mountain, it is the only
key and the door to enter into the other Provinces.
" His ^Majesty has decided that the city of Guayana be re-
moved 34 leagues above the castle to the Angostura,
where the Orinoco's breadth is reduced to 800 yards."
21. This transfer of the settlement of Guayana to the site of
Angostura, or whether it will remain where it is, so that the
King our Lord may secure or lose a great portion of America
defended and pending from said fortress, is an affair of the
greatest importance that is necessary to treat with more par-
ticular extension than the rest of the contents of the Royal
Order, so that His Majesty, well informed of the case, may de-
cide what it may meet his Royal pleasure.
22. The great Orinoco River, after having received the waters
of the Meta, follows its course for 200 leagues, more or less,
until it empties its waters into the sea, through the labyrinth
of mouths seen in the general map ; its breadth in all this dis-
tance, the extensive plains through which it runs, the large
104
margins left in them, daring its lowest waters, the great extent
covered by its floods at the highest point, the confusion of
branches in which it is divided, the infinitv of islands formed
by them, has raised doubts and opinions controverted, for the
last seventy years, about the fortification of this most impor-
tant river, so as to prevent its navigation by foreigners and
secure the whole of all these Provinces, facilitating the inter-
nation in the same, for which only three places have been con-
sidered adequate, that is to say: Angostura, 70 leagues far from
the moutli and the sea, or labyrinth of mouths through which
it empties. its waters; the Island of Fajardo, 12 leagues below
Angostura, and the fortress of Guayana, 7 or 8 leagues further
down below said Island of Fajardo, and 20 from Angostura^
(and not 34 as reported to His Majesty). These three loca-
tions are shown in the general accompanying map and I will
deal with them separately, in justification of the opinions pro
and contra of each one of them.
23. In favor of Angostura was the report to His Majesty by
the Governor of Cumana, Don .Juan de la Tornera, as it is
shown in the first part, Chapter 2, No. 1; but by the document
quoted there, in support of the Governor's opinion, he did not
consider or inform His Majesty, on the point of fortifying the
Orinoco River, and only had in view to prevent the access of
the Caribs and strangers through Angostura and prevent the
ravages occasioned in the Province of Barcelona, then unknown
and not pacified, having in mind, said Tornera as well as the
explorers of the Orinoco and Cari rivers, that Angostura was
the only place fit to prevent the access of the foreigners, who
were already acquainted witli the road, leading from the for-
tress of Guayana to the plains of Barcelona and Caracas, as
shown in the accompanying map, and was not known to the
Spaniards when Tornera, in the year 1784, sent his report to
His Majesty. It is likewise shown that said Governor consid-
ered one fort as sufficient, and for the subsi.stence of the gar-
rison he thought a few settlements were enough of the Mis-
sions in that neighborhood, but he does not show that he was
of the opinion that the population of Guayana, of which he had
very remote ideas, w^as to be transferred to Angostura, so that
105
he could not inform His Majesty upon the more or less im-
portance of the fortress, and whether it was to be preferred or
not over Angostura.
It was likewise in favor of Angostura the report of Father
Fr. Francisco del Castillo, a Missioner of the Province of Bar-
celona, as it is shown in Chapter 6, No. 4, and folio 47 of the
corresponding proceedings. Said report elicited the Royal
resolution, quoted there, for the fortification of said Angostura,
and not of the Island of Fajardo, as had been decided before,
on the ground that said Reverend Father Fr. Francisco del
Castillo did not consider that it was fit for the purpose, taking
the same view and the same terms as the Governor Don Juan
de la Torn era, so that nothing was done or thought, in regard
to the fortress of Guayana, nor the fortification of the Orinoco,
to prevent the enemies of the Royal Crown from seizing it,
and it was only in contemplation of the unfitness of the Island
of Fajardo, for the construction of the fort, under His Majesty's
directions, and the selection of Angostura for the same fortress,
in order to stop the ravages of the Caribs and foreigners,
among the Missions of the Province of Barcelona in charge of
that community. No other reports in favor of Angostura are
known to exist, besides those above-mentioned, not dealing
with the subject of fortifying the Orinoco, and having in view
only the protection of the Missions of Barcelona, just as the
fort of Clarines was erected for their safety, as it may be found
by the above-mentioned instruments existing at the Supreme
Royal Council and the acts accompanying the same, for al-
though Don Cristobal Felix de Guzman proposed to His
Majesty to build a fort on the site of Angostura, his petition
was refused, as shown at folio 46 of the proceedings.
25. In favor of the Island of Fajardo were the Reverend
Fathers of the Company, Juan Capitel and Juan Romez, who
with other persons, and by special commission, explored the
Orinoco in the year 1719, as shown in Chapter 6, No. 2, and
in view of the documents presented at the time. His Majesty
directed the construction of a fort in said island, as extensively
shown in said No. 2 ; but the Fathers of the Company and the
other persons accompanying them, who left Angostura, did not
lOG
di,sapj)rove the fortress of (riiayana, and on the contrary they
expected that the one, on the above-mentioned island, wouUi in-
crease its strength, and that both this one and that of the island
closed and secured the Orinoco. That is the only report in
favor of the Island of Fajardo, which has been objected l)y
every one who has had to do with the subject, as I will show.
26. The fortress of Guayana has deserved the general atten-
tion of all the protessors on fortifications, and ol" those conver-
sant with the Orinoco, in favor of which, repeated representa-
tions have been made to His Majesty, rejecting Angostura and
the Island of Fajardo.
27. In the year 1541, according to Father Guniilhu folio 8
of the " Orinoco lUustrado," the first Spaniards were located in
the Orinoco River. For their first establishment the Angos-
tura was not selected nor the Island of Fajardo, nor Guayana,
it was the mouth of the Caroni River, marked in the accompa-
nying map, undoubtedly for the want of knowledge of the
river and its more advantageous grounds. They subsisted in
their first settlement until the year 1579, when the Hollanders
destroyed it by fire, its inhabitants already familiar with the
Orinoco, setting aside Angostura and the Island of Fajardo,
were located 7 leagues below, from there, in that gorge of said
river, where for the second time the breadth of the water is
reduced to 1,400 or 1,500 yards, and there they founded the
city of Santo Thome of the Guayana, and as they found it pos-
sible, they fortified the rock that forms to-day the Castle of San
Francisco, the ground of which is so hard, and they kept it,
until the year 1720, with Constance, exposed to misery, as
shown in Chapter G, No. 1.
28. It is well understood that the first settlers of Guayana
foresaw, that that was the only strong and advantageous spot,
to prevent the navigation of the Orinoco and the entrance
in the Provinces through which it runs, and not the Angos-
tura, that although the breadth of the water is reduced to 800
or 900 yards, it is too far inland to prevent the landing on the
whole length of the 20 leagues distance from Guayana, and
that iji the present situation of Guayana the whole of the
Provinces and the navigation of said river was defended.
107
29. They likewise foresaw that the immediate surround-
ings of Angostura, the grounds of the same Province, were in-
undated live or six leagues inland, leaving at low water exten-
sive lagoons, such as that of Caimaiies, shown in the accompa-
nying map; that they had no kindling wood or timber for
building, no farming grounds, and the extensive sandbanks
around were unfit to keep cattle, and that so indispensable
conveniences and circumstances were at 8 or 9 leagues further
inland ; and on the opposite border of the river, within the
Province of Barcelona, there were the same difficulties, so as
to prevent even the Indians from settling that territory.
30. They likewise found that tlie land is not lit for any de-
fence as it is all plain and sandy, where no fortifications could
be erected except in Guayana, as they conceived it and did it,
as the shape of the land itself contributes its share, and the
experience has shown that they could never be dislodged,
although the miserable party could not oppose any greater
resistance to the foreigners, as shown in my quoted No. 1 of
Chapter 6. They entered freely in front of that unhappy forti-
fication, and that was the origin of the repeated appeals to His
Majesty, as shown at the following No. 2.
31. The number 3 shows that the engineer, Don Pablo Diaz
Fajardo, and the Governor of Trinidad, Don Augustin de Ar-
redondo, by Royal Order herein quoted, were commissioned to
examine the fortifications of the Orinoco and tlie utility or
inutility of the same, and of those that ought to be constructed,
setting aside the Angostura and the Island of Fajardo, they
informed His Majesty in favor of Guayana, alleging reasons so
solid, that to-day there is nothing to add to said well grounded
report, and there is nothing said of what was the result,
32. After the engineer Fajardo and the Governor Arredondo,
followed the Colonel and Governor of Cumana, Don Carlos de
Sucre, who came down with a commission to fortify Angos-
tura and the Island of Fajardo, and having well examined
the ground they informed His Majesty, rejecting the Island
of Fajardo, and although it is to be inferred from the docu-
ments concerning the proceedings that he was inclined to for-
tify Angostura, it was without prejudice to the fortress of
108
Guayana, to wliidi he gave the pret'eivnce, as more advantage-
ous, as may be sicii in his above mentioned conduct, No. 4 of
said Chapter 0, the original of "wliicli is at the Supreme Royal
Council of Indies.
O.J. In favor of the fortress of Gnayana, and n-fnsing Angos-
tura and the Island of Fajardo, was the report to His Majesty,
by the Marquis of San .Pliilipe, as may be seen at No. 12 of
the memorial presented by Father Gumilhi in the accompany-
ing i)roceedings, as from the consultation of the Marquis of San
Pliilipe, quoted there, there is no copy found in the archives
of tins government, but it will be certainly found at the Su-
preme Royal Council of the Indies, together with the one sent
by the Governor of Cumana, Don Carlos de Sucre, for the rea-
sons explained in Chcpter 6, No. 4.
34. Father Joseph Gumilla, by means of a memorial ]irc-
sented to His Majesty, through His Supreme Royal Council of
the Indies, contradicted the opinions given by Sucre and the
^larc^uis of San Philipe, and sustained those of the Fathers of
the Company, who explored the Orinoco in the year of 1719,
insisting in the fortification of the Island of Fajardo; but
afterwards he confessed, in discharge of his conscience, that
he had presented said memorial to His Majesty, in obedience
to the wishes of the Provincial Father, notwithstanding that
he knew that the Island of Fajardo was not a fit place, and
that the only advantageous location on the Orinoco was Guay-
ana, as it is shown by the above-mentioned document at No. 5
of said Chapter 6.
35. The memorial of Father Gumilla and other circum-
stances brouglit about new steps taken by the Supreme Royal
Council of the Indies, as shown in No. 6 of the same chapter
and of the 7th. It appears that the Brigadier Don Gregorio
de Espinosa and the Engineer Jordan, under his orders, came
as commissioners to fortify Angostura or the Island of Fajardo,.
according to the instructions given them, as .shown in the above
No. G. In order to carry out said in.struction the Engineer
Jorda n >vent to Guayana and commenced the repairs of the
fortifications and the rebuilding of the city which the English
had destroyed by fire, but the Engineer Jordan died before he
109
could send his report to His Majesty, and in order to do so he
awaited the arrival of Don Gregorio Espinosa, who went after-
wards to the fortress, and rejecting the Island of Fajardo and
Angostura sent his report to His Majesty in favor of Guayana,
as may be seen in his consultation quoted, Chapter 6 and No. 7.
36. After said report His Majesty appointed the Brigadier
Don Diego Tavares to succeed Don Gregorio de Espinosa, with
the same commission to fortifj' the Angostura and the Island
of Fajardo, giving him for that purpose a copy of the instruc-
tions given to Espinosa, with several other documents, so that
he could, in accordance with their contents, proceed as directed
by the Royal Cedule quoted in Chapter 6, No. 8, where the
several instruments are quoted in justification of all that lias
been exposed hereto.
37. The Brigadier Don Diego Tavares brouglit with him
from Spain the Engineer Don Gaspar de Lara, with whom he
went to Guayana and examined the ground, in accordance
with said engineer and other experts, who concurred and dis-
proved the Island of Fajardo and Angostura, and according
to his instructions sent his report to the Viceroy of Santa Fe
in favor of Guayana, as shown b}' No. 9 of said Chapter 6.
38. The Viceroy of Santa Fe, after the report of the engineer
director of the fortress of Carthagena, Don Juan Bautista
MacEvan, approved the opinion of Tavares and directed the
construction of the fortress in the Island of Limones, as shown
by No. 10, Chapter G.
39. From what has been expressed heretofore, it appears
that Angostura has had in its favor the opinions of the Gov-
ernor of Cumana, Don Juan de la Tornera, and of Fr. Fran-
cisco del Castillo, a Piritu Missioner, and that they contem-
plated avoiding and stopping hostilities from foreigners and
Caribs, in the Province of Barcelona, and that they never took
into consideration the utility or inutility of the fortress of
Guayana to protect the Orinoco,' so that the foreigners could
not hold on it their establishments, as it is not likeh" that the}'
should have considered Angostura the proper place for that
purpose.
40. That the Island of Fajardo has had in its favor only the
no
i\'j)ort of the Fathers of the Company, Juan Capital and Juan
kumez, tliat explored togetlier the Orinoco River and thought
that it could be closed by fortifying- said island, adding a new
strength to the fortifications of Guayana, which were not dis-
carded, as nothing was nicntiiMu-d about it on said report.
41. In fa vol' of the fortress liave been the report of the En-
gineer Don rablo Diaz Fajardo, the Governor of Trinidad,
Don Augustin de Arredondo, the Colonel and Governor of
Cuniana, Don Carlos de Sucre, his lieutenant, the Mar(]uis of
.San I'hilipe. Father Joseph Gumilhi, with very jiowerful rea-
.sons notwithstanding his former report in support of the opin-
ions of Fathers Capitel and Rumez, the Engineer Don Antonio
Jordan, the Brigadier Governor of Cumana, Don Gregorio de
Espinosa, the Brigadier and Governor of Cumana, Don Diego
Tavares. the engineer director of the fortress of Carthasfcna,
iJoii Juan Bautista Mac Evan, and in virtue of his report the
aj)])robation of the most excellent Don Sebastian de Eslava,
and as many as in the company of the above-mentioned per-
sons have attended to the exploration and examination of the
ground, as experts or conversant with the subject of fortifica-
tions, all unanimously were in favor of the fortress, and the
same thing will happen with every engineer and practical
person, familial' with the Orinoco, sent by His Majesty to ex-
amine the subject accurately, if they do so impartially and
withotit any private ends, and only in the interest of the best
service of God and the King.
42. T)ut there is no need of any new and repeated explora-
tions, rejtorts of engineers, experts of the Orinoco nor modern
addresses, when experience has decided this point .so much
controverted and of paramount importance, showing what steps
are proper to be taken, without contention or contrary opinions,
and as it has been settled by experience I shall have to say in
as few words.
43. In the year 1720, the Frovinee of Cuniana was at the
lowest condition of misery, as stated in Chapter 1, suffering
constant ravages from the Caribs supported by the Hollanders,
English, and French, wlio with the Caribs, overran this Prov-
ince, that of Caracas, Barinas, Santa Fe, and the Province of
Ill
Guayana, enslaving the Indians and killing all those that they
could not keep, except the Caribs, burning the Si)anisli settle-
ments and those of the Missions established in said Provinces,,
notwithstanding the steps of the Governor, my predecessors,
and the active measures enforced within their powers, as it is
shown in the following instances.
44. After the destruction by fire set to the population of San
Felix, (of the Penitence), the Governor, Don Joseph Carreno, at
the head of all the people that he could gather, marched
through the mountains of Cumana and entered the Guara-
piche River, on the banks of which he fought seriously the Caribs
and French together, reporting the affair to His Majesty, as
shown in Chapter 1, No. 5.
45. During the government of Don Juan de la Tornera,
several visits were made to the plains of the Province of Bar-
celona, and in one of the earliest, an encounter took place on
the banks of the Huere River, fighting the Caribs and English,,
as reported by Governor Tornera to His Majesty in Novem-
ber, 1727, and before, in January, 1724, he had applied and
requested likewise the fortification of Angostura, as shown in
Chapter 2, No. 1.
46. During the government of Don Carlos de Sucre, several
steps were taken to persecute said Caribs and the foreigners,,
opening a road to the plains of Barcelona in the direction of
the fortress of Guayana, and other most useful measures, that
I omit out of brevity, but it was not enough to avoid the un-
fortunate event, which occurred at the Mission of Our Lady of
Remedios, carried out by the Caribs and French, as explained
in Chapter 2, from Nos. 2 to G.
47. During the government of Don Gregorio de Espinosa
he endeavored to the utmost in stopping the foreigners. The
plains of Barcelona commenced to be settled, as well as the
pacification of the Carib Indians who inhabited the same, as
shown in Chapter 2, already quoted, from Nos. 7 to 10.
48. During the government of Don Diego Tavares efficient
measures were adopted for the continuance of the settlements
and to stop the foreigners, especially the fortress of Guayana,
as I will show bye and bye and successively, during the-
112
time of Don Maleo Gual, Don Nicolas de Castro, and in my
time.
40. But the vigilance of my predecessors was not enough to
prevent all the ravages that at different times had bc'cn carried
out hy the Carib Indians, always supported and encouraged
by foreigners, especially by the Hollanders. See the accompa-
nying proceedings, from folios 21 to 24, and there the contents
of Xos. 2 to 7 of the memorial of Father Gumilla, omittins;
the exposition of many other outbreaks, by many foreigners
perpetrated at the remotest Provinces in communication with
the Orinoco.
50. Evident as it is b}' the contents of Chapters 2 and 7 that
the tranquility of said Provinces, most of them inhabited by
Indians, except the unknown parts of the Guayana, has been
secured, and the Caribs are bringing no more trouble, except
once, and then on account of intoxication. From said Caribs
several settlements have been established in the Province of
Barcelona under the Father Observants of Piritu. The same
thing has been done in the Province of Guayana, under the
Catalan Capuchins, where the gentiles and inhabitants are iu
the vicinity of the Dutch Colonies, shown in the general map,
and in fear, and discouraged from entering into the Orinoco,
nor in the Province of Guayana, but very seldom and Avith
the utnaost i)recautions. The care taken with them leads to
their withdrawal, and facilitates the work of the Catalan Ca-
puchin Missioners, as shown in Chapter 8, followed likewise
by the establishment of the new settlement of San Antonio de
Upata, as shown in Chapter 9, Nos. 101 to 105.
51. That in none of said Provinces are noticed at i)resent
any foreigners going around as enemies, nor inducing the
Carib Indians to hostilities, except the Hollanders, their allies,
who purchase from tiiem all the Indians that are not Caribs.
There are no foreigners navigating the Orinoco, that is above
Guayana, for at their mouth and in tiie neighborhood of said
fortress they do so freely, but without being able to land, in
any nf tlie above quoted Provinces, nor do any more trade
than the fortress allows, and within the terms exposed in my
note 13, of my memorandum of news, and without said con-
descendance, nothing at all can be done, as the remedy to this
113
short and despicable injury will be exposed on the third part.
There is no case of foreigners travelling through the Orincco
since 1746, except the case of a Frenchman, called Ignace, a
great expert, who navigated the Orinoco in the year 1752, up
to the mouth of the Apure River, where he took a stand, as
shown on the ba'ck of folios 84 to 86 of the accompanying pro-
ceedings, but his vessels were seized then, and on two other
occasions in which he tried to do the same ; and being thus
undeceived and rich in troubles and misfortunes, he desisted
from undertaking similar enterprizes, and no other persons
have been willing to try the experiment of like misfortunes, im-
itating said Frenchman Ignace. xlll these facts are true, and
subject to no contradiction. It is likewise a fact that, during
the tranc[uility of these Provinces, several settlements of
Spaniards and natives have been established in the plains of
Caracas and Barcelona, and the fields contain now large herds
of cattle, yielding positive advantages and profits to all the in-
habitants, as shown by Chapter 2, Nos. 11 to 14.
52. The pacification and settlements of the Indians of this
Province is due to my predecessors and to the bodies of Mis-
sioners spreading the Gospel throughout, as stated in all of
the Chaf)ters 3 to 8.
53. And what is the reason why the foreigners do not enter
farther inland, through the Orinoco River, in this Province
nor those of Caracas, Barinas, and Santa Fe ? Is it on account
of the steps taken by His Majesty, in consequence of the vari-
ous appeals of the governors and bodies of Missioners men-
tioned in Chapter 6, No. 2? No, indeed, as from the latter
appeals a confusion of opinions has resulted, stopping the con-
struction of the unfortunate port of San Fernando, as shown
in all the Chapter 6.
54. Is it due to this fortification ? Neither, as not one cannon
had been yet mounted, and before it was finished it had been
made an armory and fully worthless, as shown by Chapter 9
and numbers from 50 to 88.
55. And why is it that the foreigners who so freely entered
the Orinoco until the year 1746 are not doing so to-day ? Who
prevents them or has closed the doors for them to do it ? It is
Vol. I, Ven.— 8
114
clear, nml ;i iiiii()ri(jus fact to all tin- inhahitant.s of these
Provinces and to the same foreigners, that the reason is the
formation of the fortress of Guayana, ])lacing its fortifications
in state of defence, completing its small garrison and increas-
ing that ncighhorhood that, although in a short nunihcr. it is
enough to keep closed the entrance of the Ofinoco and to resist
the foreigners intending to force it. as it was not possihlein the
year 1720, in whicli that fortress was in a state of infelicity as
shown in Chapter 5, Nos. 1 to G, and in the same condition
was kcj)t u}) to the year 1747 on account of the fires set to it,
and it c()mmenced to be kept in proper form by Governor
Tavares.
56. And is this formalization of said fortress the result of
Royal direction, in virtue of tlie repeated appeals made by the
Governors, m}- predecessors ? Nobod}' could say so, as there is
no Royal Order whatever on the subject, in the Archives of
this Government, directing the least hel{) for these fortifica-
tions, and oidy those quoted in Chapter 6, for the construction
of the fort San Fernando, and a Royal Cedule under date of the
21st of March of 1750, a[)proving the recjuest of the Governor,
Don Diego Tavares, for the construction of the fort San Diego,
carried out as shown in No. 44, Chapter 9.
57. As there is no Koyal order for the increase or repairs of the
fortifications of Guayana and the formalities of their strength,
to j»lace in a respectable condition, how is it that the foreigners
do not dare to go up the Orinoco and can nut repeat their-
incursions, as they did before in this Province and tlieir neigh-
bors? I say that my predecessors, well aware of the utmost
importance of that place, and that it was the key of tlie Orinoco,
xind of all these Provinces, and as responsible for the same,
have extended their j)owers to the utmost, and besides the
representations sent to His Majesty, every one in turn has taken
particular steps towards the state of repairs in which the
fortress is now.
58. And what particular steps are those taken .by the Gov-
ernor since the year 1734, when Don Carlos de Sucre took
charge of the fortress of Guayana, and separating himself from
the Governor of Trinidad was aggregated to that of Cumana?
115
To justify the particular appeals made to His Majesty and the
steps taken by my predecessors for the safety and improvement
of the fortress I do not consider necessary, for in virtue of the
documents held in these Archives, it may be done with more
or less extension whenever it may be convenient, bearing in
mind for the present what I have stated in Chapter 7, Nos. 5
to 8, and Nos. 27 to 31 and 44 of Chapter 9, and other places
of the first part.
59. But I think it is proper to find out whether the above-
mentioned steps of my predecessors, and those taken in my
time have placed the fortress of Guayana in good terms of de-
fence, and able to resist the enemies of the Royal Crown in-
tending to take it, in order to hold it or sack it and destroy it,
as tkey have done at other times.
I will satisfy the questions by answering that in Chapter 9,
in the first part, and from Nos. 8 to 49, the actual condition of
the Castle of San Francisco is shown, as well as that of the tort
San Diego or the Padrastro, and the more or less resistance
which they may oppose. From Nos. 50 to 88 tlie inutility of
the fort of San Fernando is shown. In No. 49 the garrison of
the fortress, its employment and necessity of an increase are
stated. In No. 90 the short number of militiamen and tlje
^reat help they render to the garrison. And in all the above-
mentioned places and numbers it is shown that the fortress
is incapable to resist an enemy of the Royal Crown, intending
to establish there or to sack it, but sufficiently fortified to pre-
vent the foreigners and illicit traders from navigating the
Orinoco and landing in these Provinces, or going inland to
oarry any hostilities in those of Caracas, Barinas and Santa Fe,
as they did until the year 1734, and more or less until that of
1746, which is as far as the Governors my predecessors could
extend their powers and lay before His Majesty the necessity
of fortifying said post, increasing its garrison, so as to prevent
the enemies of the Royal Crown from establishing there and
become masters of the great commerce of said extensive
Provinces guarded by it. I have represented the same thing,
laying the case before his Royal Majest}^ as a result of my
general visit, and in answer to the consultation of the 27th of
116
August, dealing with tlio sul)jeet of tlic (k'liiolitiou of the
Castle of Araya, l^esidcs tht' repairs that, on account of the waiv
I had to carry out in these fortifications, as it is shown in the
above-mentioned nuud)ers of ('lia[)ter 0.
60. Now, if the oidy fact of the Governor formalizing that
fortress has been sufficient to close the pass to tlie foreigners
not only to navigate the Orinoco, hut tVoin landing and going
inland to carry hostilities to the Provinces through which it
runs, and if this fact has facilitated the pacification of the
Imlians inhabiting Barcelona and Caracas and part of Guay-
ana,and the establishment of several S]);inish settlements and
])opulatioiis of natives in said Provinces and their extensive
countries full of cattle, without an}' hostile demonstration nor
disturbance by the Caribs or the foreigners their allies, it is
fully justified also what the engineer Don Carlos Diaz Fer-
nandez, and the Governor of Trinidad, Don Augustin de Ar-
redondo, and the rest of i)ersons who followed them, in reject-
ing the Angostura and the Island of Fajardo and giving their
reports in favor of the fortress, until the approbation of the
Most Excellent Don Sebastian de Eslava who acted with })er-
fect knowledge, and consequently it is not necessary to go into
new examinations and reports of engineers and experts about
the Orinoco, nor entertain any doubts about the situation of
this fortress, as the only and most advantageous spot of this
river and said stronghold closes the navigation and internation
through those extensive dominions under its guard, depend-
ing from the same ; and for this reason it must be fortified
even for better reasons than that of Carthagena, not only to
prevent the navigation of foreigners tlirough the Orinoco, but
likewise to make impossible for them their establishment along
the river; for if they had such an intention (which is not far
from happening) it should be easy for them to succeed, on ac-
count of the want of defence at present, and after having suc-
ceeded, the loss of the Provinces of Cumana, Barcelona, Cara-
cas, Barinas, Santa Fq, Popayan and <^)uito would be inevita-
ble, according to the terras exposetl in all the Chapter 10 of
the first part, and for a better proof, I shall have to extend the
contents of this consultation. I do not think that in consid-
117
•eration of the irreparable injury, fully explained, the aban-
donment of this most important fortress will meet the Royal
pleasure, transferring to Angostura the small population and
the lodgings of the short garrison of its fortifications, with the
loss of the Mission under the Catalan Capuchins, the bulwark
of the Dutch Colony. Said Mission could not subsist without
the settlement of Guayana nor this one in Angostura, nor
even where it stands at present, without said Mission, as has
been stated in all the Chapter 8 of the first part, and at the
end all that has been advanced in the way of safety of the
Orinoco, as well as the Provinces which will be brought back
to the miserable condition in which they were in the year of
1734 (which will be the best that may happen), or the estab-
lishment, at the fortress of (niayana, of a foreign colon}^
even more injurious than that of Sacramento in the Platte
Hiver, for this one can not control any more territory than the
circumscription of the place, and that of the fortress might
control the extensive Province of Guayana, that of Cumana,
and those of Barcelona, Caracas, Barinas and Santa Fe, with
more ease than Sacramento can control the Province of
Buenos Aires and its surroundings.
61. It is no Avonder that the report sent to His Majesty was
in ignorance of the previous measures for the fortification of
the Orinoco and the other circumstances that I have shown,
as the documents existing in the archives of this government
were not noticed, and they have been necessary for my present
report. I have good reasons to presume that they did not an-
ticipate, in their report to His jNIajesty, the insuperable difficul-
ties, large expenses and irreparable injuries which will neces-
sarily accompany the transfer of the city of Guayana to Angos-
tura, for if they had reported the case with the proper accuracy
no such a transfer could have been directed. On this jDoint I
think it is due to the Royal service that I explain the great
difficulty, expenses and injuries attending the transfer contem-
plated, so that His Majesty may decide whatever may be His
pleasure.
62. Among the insuperable difficulties making impossible
the transfer of the city of Guayana to Angostura, is the poor
118
qiialitv of the soil and tlic want of tlic necessary conveniences
for the location and subsistence of a |)0})ulation. The western
ground of Angostura in tlie Province of Guayana is very low
and exposed to the inundations of the Orinoco River, which
may flood 4 or 5 leagues, more or less, of the eastern portion of
Angostura, while during the low waters a large portion of the
river bed is dry and lagoons like that of Caimanes appear, as
may be seen by the accompanying map. The waters flooding
the western part of Angostura are not in communication with
the floods from the eastern portion, as there is on that side a
kind of causeway of continued hills and low mounds of earth.
The breadtii there is about half a league and the length about
4 leagues. Towards the north, the narrowest part of the cause-
way of Angostura is formed and widens in a direction from
north to south, following inland about four leagues, where it
is incorporated to a low ridge of hills.
63. On the extensive ground left dry by the Orinoco, from
east to west of Angostura, and all that sandy country, which
is not inundated, nor on the causeway and low ridges formed
around, no timber exists fit for buildings, nor grass for the
pasture of cattle or horses, nor farming lands, unless going
inland for a distance of 9 to 10 leagues.
It is to be added that most of the year the people have to
u.se the flooded water from the surrounding country gathered
in the main river, which keeps unchanged only during one
month. All the other borders of the neighborhood are pro-
pense to produce fever, according to the report from the In-
dians, which can not be overlooked, especially as they never
settle or stay in that neighborhood. The new population con-
templated receives the breeze from the Caimanes lagoon, which
is certainly unhealthy, besides many other inconveniences,
not only on the grounds of tlie Province of Guayana, but like-
wise on the opposite side, on those of Barcelona, which the
first settlers had undoubtedly in mind when they established
themselves on the Orinoco in the year 1541, and the settlers
and founders of the fortress of Guayana in the year 1579. The
foreigners were not ignorant of this fact. If the ground were
suitable and the Angostura would defend the Orinoco they
119
should liave tried to establish themselves there as they did in
other places when freely navigating said river. Said incon-
veniences have likewise influenced the report to His Majesty
of those who have rejected Angostura and favored the fortress
of Guayana. (See their reports given before.) Indeed, the
fact is so plain to the eye of the most indifferent person that I
hardly need to continne giving any further justification. With
the inundations of the country around, the want of building
timber and kindling wood, pasture and farming grounds,
and the poor water near the whole year, with a sickly climate
exposed to fever, it seems to me that there is no further rea-
sons necessary to convince of the impossibility of the subsis-
tence of this population, and therefore I will nndertake to
expose the second part, and no little difficulty of the transfer
of the same.
64. In Chapter 9 of the first part and in No. 91, I have said
that the city of Guayana consists to-day of a church, the head-
quarters of the troop, and 73 houses situated in the order shown
by figure 2 of the accompanying map, with the marginal and
especial explanations. Said 73 houses at a moderate estimate
averaging $-100 each, are worth .$29,200 added to $4,000, the
cost of the headquarters, and S4,000 that of the Church and
materials gathered for its rebuilding, the whole will amount to
$37,200, as the lowest value I believe of the material cost of
said city. In the same Chapter 9 and map, will be seen marks
of from 28 to 30 small plantations, belonging to the neighbors,
some yield fruits and some of them sugar cane, used in the
manufacture of liquors and sugar of very poor Cjuality, which
they call papelon, the only kind in use and consumption at
that Missions. Other farms are reduced to a few cocoa trees,
beginning to yield, and among them all, there is a yield of
six to eight hundred pounds (6 to 8 fanegas). On the opposite
side of the river, in the territory of the Province of Barcelona,
they have herds of cattle for the supply of the fortress. Said
establishments as an average are valued at $1,000 each, and the
whole at $30,000, considering the tithes paid during five years,
which are awarded annually at $118.6 reals, as shown by the
corresponding statement and general map with the accom-
120
paiiying proceedings. Adding to the .SllS and reals cxliil>-
ited by the collector of tithes, and tlic \i\ovr or less moderate
profit of tlu' principal value of said plMiitation, niore tli.-in tlic
above-mentioned $30,000, taking ior granted that they yield
about 4 per cent.
65. The 75 houses alone, together with the church and
headquarters of the troop, are worth, as they are, r$37."2(i(), they
could not be built in Angostura for any less than $50,000, con-
sidering the absolute want of building materials, timber, straw
ami tlie rest, such as nieclianics for the construction, Indians
for the work, and the necessary boats, Ibr caiiying said ma-
terials and provisions for the subsistence of all.
His Majesty has drawn $-1,000 to help the construction of the
church, as I will explain : to said' sum we must aggregate
$5,000 to $0,000 from the Royal Treasury for the construction
of suitable military headquarters in Angostura, answering for
parade grounds and fortress, as the constant rains of the coun-
try do not permit drilling on uncovered ground nor the re-
views and other military daily exercises, which may be per-
formed inside and not always outside, when tlie weather is not
propitious. Subtracting these two amounts from the total of
said $50,000 there remains $41,000 as the necessary amount
for building the 73 houses above mentioned, for the lodging of
the 90 families existing and residing at {)resent at the fortress.
Said amount shall have to come out of the ])ockets of those
poor people, besides $30,000 value of their small plantations,
that they shall have to a])andon (here is now the dithcult}^) as
how is it j»o.ssible that such a miserable peo})le and their
families, that are only dependent upon their salary as soldiers,
and the corresponding officers, should have to abandon the
hou.ses they have built at the expense of many years' savings
and labor, to go over to build them again in a sandy place,
without any convenience or means to secure any support?
And how is it credible that the neighbors, not soldiers, give up
their own farms and fields and their city houses, being lelt in
the direst poverty, to go to Angostura to establish their houses
and new farms on unknown grounds, distant 9 or 12 leagues
from the population, without Indians to help them in their
121
work, or money to pay the same or the provisions for their
.subsistence ? That is, notwithstanding the reports sent to His
Majesty, morally impossible, unless there is a lapse of many
years, and then by perseverance and at considerable expense,
that so serious difficulties could be overcome.
66. The want of provisions is the third powerful reason
making impossible the transfer of the city of Guayana. The
-535 persons composing the 90 families derive their supplies
and live from the j)i"oducts of the 30 small plantations in cul-
tivation and from the short crops of the five settlements of the
Missions in charge of the Catalan Capuchins, as I have exten-
sively shown in Chapter 8 of the first part, Nos. 6 to 12, the
total amount of victuals brought to the fortress is short, and
there is very seldom a year of real abundance, but ver\' fre-
quently they endure extreme wants, and in the happiest times
not 100 men may come to the fortress, without producing a
famine for them and the inhabitants, besides sickness, as it has
been demonstrated by experience. (The boundary expedition
may attest it.) Their wants are not remedied, on account of
the distance of the coast, as the only resources come from the
Province of Cumana and the valleys, along the northern coast,
whenever they are not suffering the same inconvenience, as it
;so happens not infrequently.
67. As it is undeniable, everj'thing I have exposed in the
above Chapter 8, and notorious to all those who have been in
the fortress, it follows as a consequence, that even if the ground
of Angostura were not so entirely unfit and easy for the transfer
■of the 90 families, their subsistence is impossible after having
to abandon the 30 small plantations and the 535 persons and
over, to be aggregated there by directions of His Majesty, hav-
ing to depend on the few supplies produced by the five settle-
ments of the Missions, not sufficient to-day to support half of
said number of persons, who must have the necessary victuals
in Angostura at excessive prices, on account of the unavoidable
■expenses and losses occasioned by the transportation from the
Missions to Guayana and from there by water to Angostura.
68. Perhaps whoever sent the report to His Majesty thought
that the new farms undertaken by the new settlers of Angos-
122
tura would be sufRc-ient to afford the necessary supplies for
those persons transferred from the fortress and the rest of those
aiigrc'oated to them, not tliinkiiig of the vast space of the dry
borders at Angostura and the barren grounds around, through
the s})ace not inundated, the necessity of going inhmd 9 or 10
leagues in quest of proi)er grounds, the want of Indians for the
cultivation, the short number of inhabitants who mav work
the fields and the inability of the soldiers to do that kind of
Work, ami nuu-h less at such a distance from tiio po[)ulation,
the risk they run in those unknown deserts not yet reduced,
and the absence of means of tlie neighbors to buy slaves, im-
plements, carriages and liorses and open roads in those wild
woods, to till and plant them, building a few houses, in which
to find shelter, as it has Ijeen done in their abandoned {>lanta-
tions, and many other difficulties which are met with in that
desert country, not permitting the establishment of farms be-
fore the lapse of half a century of continuous and efficient work,
with the loss of a great many persons contriving to open and
settle amid those woods, requiring a large amount to keep and
support the laborers. In justification of all that has been
said it is only necessary to refiect on the unhappy actual con-
dition of Guayana, after 180 years of its establishment and in
spite of all that has been done to improve it, and the people-
that have perished, out of want at all times, as I have said in
Chapters 5 and 8 of the first part.
69. But admitting and not allowing that the Angostura
ground was fit for the location of the settlement, and that the
inhabitants of Guayana should be transferred there, as well as
those directed by His Majesty to be aggregated of their own
free will and pleasure without the least inconvenience, other
difficulties are yet to be encountered, on account of tlie exces-
sive expenses required. The 100 persons of the service of the
fortress, and the 58 militiamen of the company of residents
formed in that neighborhood, are frequently employed to-
render the service of the regular troop, as I have said in
Chapter \), part first, Xos. 89 and 90, the garrison is very small
for that fortress. So have my predecessors represented the case-
to His Majesty, and on account of the general visit and in the-
123
consultation of the 27th of August, while dealing with the-
subject of the demolition of the Castle of Araya, I repeated the
same request of my predecessors, asking His Majesty to kindly
increase said garrison with 60 persons more, including the cor-
responding corporals.
Transferring now that settlement to Angostura, it seems to
me that the detachment that ought to garrison the fortress
should correspond to 100 regulars and the 58 forming the
militia company, and the necessary increase should be in all
228 men, enough to draw the detachment for the Missions of
the Catalan Capuchin Fathers, another for the Island of
Trinidad and the guard of the presidial ground, and the num-
ber of sick to be taken into account, with another supernumer-
ary force for sudden contingencies, such as the armament of
launches, the re-enforcement of detachments, whenever there
is any incursion of the Hollanders going inland of the Province
of Guayana ; all these movements are frequent enough in that
fortress in which the militiamen take a part, but supposing
that there were no more than 170 regulars, and from these 30
to go to the Missions and 10 to Trinidad, leaving in the fort-
ress 130 men, between sound and sick persons ; where are these
people to be quartered? The Castle of San Francisco has no
more than the small body of the guard, marked in the plan of
the accompanying map, tigure 3, letter J, where there is no
kitchen or extension even for two bedsteads.
In the fort of San Diego or Padrastro there is only one lodg-
ing room of 4 square yards as represented in Chapter 9, No.
47, and consequently, if there is no lodging room in these
fortifications, it is necessary for the King to build and keep
formal headquarters with the corresponding oflticers, bed-
steads, and other utensils for the troop as well as for a hospital,
drug store, surgeon, and assistants with twenty-five or thirty
bedsteads for one-fourth part of the garrison and detach-
ment, which is the least that in that climate ought to be
considered with permanent sickness, and where the sick are
now taken care of in their private houses. His Majesty would
keep likewise a chapel and chaplain, as well as a store to
keep the provisions brought by the Indians from the Missions,.
124
^nd the person who, on account of the Royal Tivasuiy, ha-; to
pay for the same or a reguhir Purveyor to attend to that suh-
ject, and send to Angostura the provisions received, as the
Indian avIio l)rings three or four small loads of casave. eggs,
chickens, rice, and fi'uit, could not on his own account and
risk take upon himself the ti'ansportation (jr he delayed to
await for the proceeds. Taking into consideration the ex-
penses thus pointed out and how indispensai)le they are, it
Avill l)e found out that they will aniduiit to large sunis, involv-
ing losses and difficulties. In that fortress a few more houses
are wanted (not on account of the King), for lodgings of the
traders of these Provinces, and for the Indian.-^ hi'inging
supidies from the Missions, who at present come to the Syndic
of the Community, and with his intervention the sale is made
to the public of what they hring, and the other traders come
to their acquaintances among the neighbors, and without this
recourse they would keep in the ojien air, thus making very
scarce the communication with these Provinces. It is neces-
:sary to keep there a storekeeper of the ammunitions and ai)pli-
ances for the fortification, and a lieutenant of the Roval officers
to collect dues from the vessels making the traffic as -with the
first port of entry. And Hnally it is necessary to have the
same [lopulation that is raised and not sufficient in that for-
tress, or that its fortifications do not subsist.
'" So that in this manner the troop may liold a second ])la('(^
where to repair their wants, stop the progress of an t'uemy,
and congregating there superior forces, they may go down
the river and dislodge it, preserve the pojmlation, and
increase and reinforce the troop of the Castle.''
To. From the fortress of Guayana to Angostura there is not
a distance of 34 leagues, as reported to His Majesty, but only
•20; there is the same distance from the settlement of Cari, sit-
uated on the table lands of the Guanipa, from north to south
of Angostura, down to the port of Camino real (main road),
opposite the fortress, (see the general accompanying map and
the particular one, to whieh 1 refer for an examination, besides
125
what appears from various instruments in the proceedings-
herewith); althouoh it seems to me that said Fortress of An-
gostura by the land route of the same Province may be distant
34 leagues, and probably more, according to the times. In
summer, on account of the dilficulties in wading the Caroni
River in the neighborhood of tlie Mission of Murucuri; when
the country around is not inundated, it is no doubt the road
will be much shorter. In the rainy season it is necessary to
go up and wade the Caroni River, before it is reached by the
Paragua River, for, once both of them joined together, it can
not be waded, and to cross it becomes very risky, on account
of the strong current up to the Missions of Aguacagua. Once
the Caroni and Paragua Rivers waded, the country around
becomes more or le.ss inundated, making necessary several de-
tours towards the mountain, u]) to the place where the low
ridge and causew^ay before mentioned forms i^ngostura, after
inverting the time necessary to make 34 leagues; but we are
not certain of this simple news of the Indians, as nobody from
Guayana is conversant with the country and western surround-
ings of Caroni and Paragua, knowing only those towards the
east, where the Missions are located by the Reverend Catalan
Capuchin Fathers.
71. As all that I have said is positive beyond question, it
results that if the enemies of the Royal Crown would invade
the fortress with the object to sack it and destroy the fortifica-
tions, as they have done on previous occasions, or else to hold
it; and supposing, in such a case, that unfortunately it would
be lost, the troop of its garrison has no second place where to
recuperate, nor any other course left than to withdraw to the
settlements of the Mission inland, as the only and best means
in their choice, not only to defend said settlement, but to de-
prive the enemy from receiving any supplies which they
might find there. If Angostura is chosen to make any
stand and repairs, it should be reached either by water or
land ; if by water, who could imagine that the enemy in con-
trol of the Padrastro mountain and the Castle of San Fran-
cisco w^ould allow the garrison to embark and take a stand at
Angostura, without persecuting the embarkations by those of
I2r;
superior force, eitlier under siuh or by oars, and thai in case
■of readiness of launches, as Mell as crews well provided with
the necessary stores for the transfer of the garrison on Ixtard,
withiiul the disorder and confusion attending similar unfor-
tunate cases. And il' the way hy land is clioscii. it will ho no
less ditiicult for want of provisions and horses, having besides
the large Caroni liiver to be crossed, and in want of the neces-
sary l)oats and ineans of transportation, through roads not
opened or known, through strange forests, according to the
time in which the necessity of such a withdrawal should occur.
If this is undertaken by way of the Province of Barcelona it is
necessar}' that the enemies allow the pass of the Orinoco, and
on the opposite side to take the main road shown l»y the map,
having ready horses and at least tlie reijuired })rovisions to l)e
carried by the men for a distance of 20 leagues' journey to the
settlement of Cari, the only ]»ass practicable to reach Angos-
tura, abonl 6 leagues from north to south from said settlement,
and recrossing again the Oi'inoco to be incor])orated with the
garrison and iortification of the settlement of Angostura, being-
impossible, that with so many dithculties as are met with in
those deserts — the fre(|uent showers, the heat, the want of pro-
visions and s})ring water, and the pass of tlie river through
the thick clusters of the palm trees called Moriche, the trans-
fer and reparation could be attained without disorder or trag-
edies leading to the dispersion of the troops.
72. Ikit supposing that either by land or water the with-
drawal is carried out successfully and that Angostura is
reached, the enemy could not be detained there in its pro-
gress; on the contrary, it will succeed in subduing the defend-
ers of Angostura by depriving them from tlio provisions su})-
plied l)y the Missions of the Catalan Cai)uchins, and being in
control of the navigation of the river, excluding the Spaniards,
there is no remedy left to those holding Angostura and in
want of provisions and of vessels to procure the same, and
even if thev had these vessels the enemv could seize them, and
if in the future they wouM establish plantations and settle-
ments by the Missions, in the neighborhood of Angostura, the
enemies in control of the Orinoco might without any difficulty
127
destroy them and employ many other devices facilitated by
their control of tlie navigation of the river, and without wasting
any powder surrender the fortifications of Angostura, no matter
how strong and the number of its garrison, which may be re-
duced by want. It may be claimed that they could receive
their victuals by way of the plains of Barcelona ; but that will
only show the want of knowledge of the country and of the
difficulties for transportation from the city of Barcelona and
the other settlements of the required supplies. When they
would be ready, who can assure that the enemies, while absolute
masters of the Orinoco, would permit their conveyance and
transfer from the Province of Barcelona to that of Guayana?
73. And supposing that the garrison of Guayana might safely
withdraw to Angostura and find there all needed supplies and
superior forces enough congregated, how could they go down
the river and dislodge the enemy? If they would intend to
do so by water, how could their vessels, inferior in number
and capacity, resist those of superior strength from the enemy
and the fire of the fortifications? If by land, with what car-
riages, provisions, and campaign trains could they attempt to
do so? They certainly can not do so by the sword as against
fortifications, even if they could gather around 4,000 well
disciplined soldiers. The whole will only show that once the
Padrastro Mountain lost, and consequently the Castle of San
Francisco, the enemies could freely control the navigation of
the Orinoco River, and that Angostura can not be defended,
nor the Missions of the Catalan Capuchins in that Province,
nor prevent any hostilities to the Provinces of Cumana, Bar-
celona, Caracas, Barinas, and Santa Fe, as extensively exposed
in all the Chapter 10 of the first part.
74. Similar convincing reasons could be exposed besides to
prove the difficulties, expenses and irreparable injuries follow-
ing the transfer of the settlements of Guayana to Angostura,
but I omit them, so as to avoid any further delay, especially
when the answer of the remaining chapters of the Royal
Order contains many more reasons in justification of the two
previously stated, concluding with the following reflection :
75. If the fortress of Guayana is the chief key of the whole
128
( )rinoco River and the Provinces tlirouu'li wliicli it rnns, and
tliu only advantageous s]»ot that must l)e tbrtitied, according
to thi- opinions of the L-ngineer Fajardo. thi; Governor of
Tiinidad. I )on Augustiii df An'('d(>iido ; the Governor of Cu-
niana, Don Carlos de Sucre ; liis Heutenant, the Marquis of
San Philipe; Father (iuniilla, the engineer, Don Antonio.
Jordan ; the Brigadier Dun Diego Tavares, the Brigadier Don-
Gregorio de Espinosa, tlie engineer Don Cnaspar de Lara, the
engineer director of the fortress of Carthagena, Don Juan
Bautista MacEvan, and in virtue of tlie approbation of his
Excellency Don Seljastian de Eslava, and of many other per-
sons, who have examined the subject and whose accurate and
unanimous judgment has been well justified by experience, as
after the Governor gave shape to the fortress up to the condi-
tion shown in the foregoing number 59, the entrance and nav-
igation of the Orinoco River by foreigners has been fully
stopped, as well as their landing in the Provinces, and their
going inland, it is showing evidently that said fortress is pre-
cisely the only door to all those Provinces.
The Fathers of the Company, as well as Juan Capitel and
Juan Romez, consider this fortress as very useful and necessary,
nothwithstanding their opinion that the Island of Fajardo
ought to be fortified, a report not acce[ited by the Governors
and Engineers commissioned by His Majesty for the fortifica-
tion of said island ; all those persons directed by particular
Royal Unlers to examine the subject have acknowledged that
Angostura is useless for the fortification of the Orinoco and
defence of its navigation by strangers, intending to ettect an
entrance in said Provinces, in spite of the opinions of Governor
Tornera and Fr. l-'rancisco del Castillo, who did not dwell on
the question of the fortification of the Orinoco and only with
that of preventing the ravages experienced by the Missions of the
then unknown Province of Barcelona ; and there is not a single
opinion in favor of Angostura, as it is shown that the country
around is inundated, that there is a want of Iniilding timber,
kindling wood, good water, j)asture grounds, farming lands,
and only abounds in lagoons, bringing about the unhealthy
condition reported by tiie neighboring Indians. To all these:
129
inconvenieucies must be added the difficulties and large ex-
[)enses of the tnmsfer of the inhabitants, the impossibility of
their subsistence on account of the present scarcity of victuals
and the prospective continuance of the same for many years to
come, and although the transfer might be carried out wholly
or partially, and the Angostura fortified, that place can never
be defended, nor from there could be undertiiken the recuper-
ation of Guayana in case of its loss, nor the protection of the
Missions of the Catalan Capuchins, preventing the control of
those Provinces by the enemies and their invasion of Cumana
Barcelona, Caracas, and Barinas, with mij.ny other difficulties,
■expenses, and injuries that are yet to be exposed. What
benefit follows or is expected by our holy religion and the
service of both Majesties, the State, the Royal Treasury, or the
inhabitants of this Province from the transfer of the small and
necessary city of Guayana? I do not see any, nor do I believe
that these sad results have been duly anticipated and foreseen
by those commissioned by the Royal Order to handle this
most important subject. But I consider as certain that the
depopulation of Guayana is very easy, and that the population
■of those families in Angostura is verv difficult, and if the in-
tended new projected city shall partake of the same unfortu-
nate fate of the two cities of Real Corona and San Fernando,
this one founded by the third commissioner Don Joseph Solano,
and the other by the chief of squadron Don Joseph de Iturri-
aga, and the same that inevitably awaits Ciudad Real, founded
by said chief, as I have exposed briefly in notes 9 and 10 of
my memorandum of reports, and from Nos. 92 to 100 of
Chapter 9 of this work.
In order to realize the transfer, as directed by the Royal
Order, it will take many years, excessive expenses and the
risk of manv lives in that new and unknown territory. And
after haying secured all that is needed as projected, the Ori-
noco will remain indefensive and exposed to the enemy.
And if by misfortune an enemy could take and fortify the
Padrastro mountain (ihe Gibraltar of these Provinces) they
should become masters of all these Provinces in spite of the
fortifications of Angostura, if they could be held. I consider
Vol. 1, Ve.v.— 9
130
out of question that if tlie population of rinayana is removed
and the small population it contains In- (iis|terse(l, and later
on the necessity of this settlement should he fidly understood
to be as I do represent it now, it will he difficult to bring it
hack, and many years shall have to elapse before a similar
congregation of families come together, used to the climate
and well attached to the spot, as they are now, (the only way
to make them subsist.) In the meantime it is very possible
that the enemies may assault that most iiii|iortant phu-c from
which they are not fiir nor forgetful of tlie past, as 1 will show
in tlu' third part of this work. And finally 1 have to repeat
that I do not entertain any doubt that if His ^Lijesty had
been duly and accurately informed about all the above in-
conveniences and whatever else I will submit to Ilis Royal
kindness, the transfer of the population of Guayana, should
not have been directed, as it will be prejudicial to our holy
religion, to the Koval Sovereignty, to the Treasury and to all
these vassals.
" That to the 100 men of the full assignment of Guavana tlie
73 of the escort of the Mission of the Jesuits of the
Orinoco and the Barinas dominions be aggregated."
"^o&"
7<;. In note 10 of my memorandum of reports I state that
the Reverend Father Jesuits of the new Kingdom of Granada
teach the Gospel at the Missions established on the margins
of the Meta and Casanare rivers, shown partially in the gen-
eral map ; that these Missions belong to the Government of
Santa Fe, except those called Encaramada, L'ruana, Carichana,
and Raudal, situated to the south of the Orinoco River in the
Province of (ruayana, belonging to the Government of Cu-
mana ; that for the escort of said Missions His Majesty keeps
48 soldiers and one captain at the annual .salary of $905
for the latter and $132 for the former, to be paid from the
Royal Treasury of Santa Fe ; that the progress of the Jesuits
in the Province of Guayana was very slow, on account of the
great amount of work in the pacification and settlement of the
131
gentiles inhabiting the unknown regions in the neighborhood
of the Meta and Casauare rivers, and that the Missions on the
banks of the Orinoco River were establislied more for the pur-
pose of keeping an eye on the Caribs and preventing them,
from navigating it and assauhing those of the Meta and Casa-
nare than to spread the same into the interior of the Province
of Gua3'ana, as shown by the above quoted note. What was
then sufficient to give a general notice of said Missions, espe-
cially of those (four in number) within the government in my
charge, is not so to-day for showing the impossibilities in re-
gard to their escort and that of the dominions of Barinas com-
ing down to be aggregated to the garrison of Guayana. It be-
comes necessary to show the territories occupied by the two
Missions. From their remotest settlement to the fortress
there is a distance of from 300 to 350 leagues, through the
roads in use to reach those Missions. The quality of the troop
employed in these escorts and the method of serving their
places will show, after it is well known, how difficult and pre-
judicial should be their aggregation to the garrison, and that
the reports sent to His Majesty on this particular point, show
not the least knowledge of the previous circumstances for the
transfer of the city to Angostura.
77. Very near to the capital of Santa Fe, and at the highest
point of its mountains, is the source of the Meta River, which
aiter several windings falls to the valley called Turmeque, the
name of an Indian settlement so called and situated in the
same valley. From this settlement it continues its windings
through the mountains until coming out to very extensive,
and in its greatest portion unknown, prairies called the plains
of San Juan, where there are several missionary settlements gov-
erned by its Corregidor provided by the Viceroy of Santa Fe.
In the year J 753 there were in charge of the Augustine, Recol-
lect, and Calzado orders of that Kingdom, but I am ignorant
whether they have passed or not to secular clergymen accord-
ing to the last Royal provisions on the subject. Not far from
this doctrinal settlement, on the same plains of San Juan, the
Jesuits have different Missions on the margins of the Meta
River, among them those named La Conception, San Miguel,
132
and San Francisco Ucgis, not ciabraccd in the general map,
which does not reach the whole of the same within SO leagues,
and thus the said Missions, La Conception, San Miguel, San
Juan, San Francisco de Axis, and others situated in said plains,
at a distance from the Orinoco hy elevation 1G(> leagues and
from Guayana about 2(3, which calculated at one-third more,
on account of the windings and detours of the ()riii(^co and
Meta rivers, it is understood that said last Missions are far
from Guayana from 340 to 350 leagues at least
78 On tlie Orinoco, and at seven days' journey from the
capital of Santa Fe, the high and snow-bound sierras intervene,
called the Paramos of Chita. From there comes the Casanare
River, which after several windings descends to the plain and
the place where the general map represents the Mission of San
Salvador de Casanare and from there follows until it empties
into the Meta River, with the name of which emi)ties its waters
into the Orinoco, as shown in the general map. Before the
Casanare River comes out to the plain, and in the same sierras of
Chita, it receives the waters of the Purari and Tacaragua rivers.
On the banks of these two last mentioned rivers the Fathers of
the Company have the two Missions called Pantos and Patuti,
distant about 20 leagues fr(»iu that of San Salvador. Lower
down, below the Mission of San Salvador, the Casanare River
receives the waters of the Tame, on the banks of which are
situated the Missions of Betoyes, Tame, and Jiraras, distant by
elevation from those of San Salvador, Panto, and Patuti 05
leaijues from the Orinoco and 230 from Guavana, to which
increasing one-third of allowance for the windings of the rivers
it results that from the fortress of Guayana to the Missions of
Pauto and Patuti there is a distance of about 300 leagues and
of 350 to the Missions of La Conception, San Miguel, San Juan,
Francisco Regis, and others situated on the above-mentioned
plains of San Juan, as shown in the general map, with that of
Father Gumilla at the beginning of his work "Orinoco Ilus-
trado," and what is exposed from folios 21 to 23, dealing with
the subject of said river and Missions, which he did with par-
ticular knowledge of all those territories, having been with
them for many years as an Apostolic Ministerial Delegate and
133
Superior of the Missions. Said distances agree with those kept
at the fortress of Guayana for the annual journeys to the cap-
ital of Santa Fe in quest of funds for the payments, and the
carriers of those funds take a long time in that long journey,
as I wilt briefly state.
TU. Since His Majesty has kindly designated the Royal
Treasur}' of Santa Fe for the payment of the funds necessary
for the subsistence of Guayana until last year, 1762, an officer
was sent from that fortress who, in order to reach the capital of
Santa Fe, was to navigate the Orinoco as far as the settlement
of Cabruta, where the first Mission Avas in charge of the Jesuit
Fathers, as shown in the general map. From said Mission,
and passing through those of the Encaramada, Uruana, and
Carichana, also in charge of the Jesuits, and all situated
in the Province of Guayana, he continued his navigation up
to the Meta River, taking in all twenty-five days. From
the Orinoco he navigated up the Meta river to the mouth
of the Casanare, taking eight days, and thence he followed to
the Mission of San Salvador de Casanare, which recjuired
fifty-five days. From there by land, and after four days' jour-
ney, he passed that of Pautos, taking from there to the capital
of Santa Fe fourteen days more. Summing up, it results that
from the fortress of the Mission of Pauto, the last one in charge
of the Jesuits within the jurisdiction of Casanare, ninety-two
days were required, thus justifying the calculation of the Field
Marshal, Don Eugenio de Alvarado, accompanying a copy of
the Royal Order communicated by Your Excellency on the
22d of January, 1762, by which His Majesty directs that in
future the journey in quest of these funds be discontinued by
the way of Casanare and carried out by that of the Meta River.
Said Royal Order has been duly enforced in the present year
by the receiver and Vjearer of said funds, the lieutenant of the
garrison of Guayana, Don Felix Ferreras, who, on his return
from that fortress on the 31st of last August, has given me an
account, confirming said calculation of the route, except in re-
gard to the open roads, by the above-mentioned Don Eugenio
de Alvarado, that he found impracticable. His travel through
the Meta River is the following.
134
80. After having navigated tliirty-three days, through the
Orinoco and j\leta rivers, up to the confluence of the Casanare,
this one is not followed as before, but the navigation continues
on the Meta, and after eight days the Mission of San Miguel,
the first in charge of the Jesuits, in the jurisdiction of the
Meta, is reached. From there, passing to those of Surimena
and Casimena witliin six days, the moutli of tlie Rio Xegro is
reached. After three days navigation on this last one the
brook called Pachaquiero is reached and navigated for one
day; from there l)y land to the Mission of Apiay, there is
another day, and tlience to Santa Fe live day^. making in all
from the fortress to the Mission of Apiay, the last in charge of
the Jesuits within the Meta territory, fiftv-two davs at the best
time required by the Royal < )i'der, when the Orinoco River is
at the lowest ebb and the winds in full force and propitious
for the navigation.
81. Having produced an evidence of the distances between
the fortress of Guayana and the Missions of Pantos and Apiay,
the last under the Jesuits in the Departments of Meta and
Casanare, and the only roads in use at present for the traffic
between them, it ronains necessary to give a similar report of
distances in regard to the Missions of Barinas as follows.
82. The Reverend Dominican Fathers of Santa Fe keep a
body of Missioners in tliat of Barinas. The Gospel field of
the same and that of those under the Jesuits of Casanare are
divided by tlie great Apure River, wliicli receives its waters
from the great sierras of Santa Fe, and after having run 300
leagues it empties into the Orinoco, as represented by Father
Gumilla at folio 18 of his "Orinoco Ilustrado," and is shown
in the map which he brings at the beginning, and in tlie gen-
eral map which I have addressed before to His Majesty.
The Mi-ssion of the Dominican Fathers does not follow the
route of the Jesuits, as this one comes from the neighborhood
of the capital of Santa Fe, following the waters of the Meta
and Casanare rivers to the south, down to their confluence
with the Orinoco, and from there it takes the direction towards
the cities of Barinas and ]\Ierida and thence to the west in
going through the mountains down to Maracaibo, as shown by
135
the general map, wliicli only comprises the Missions of Tico-
poro, Santo Domingo, Las Tapias, La Mesa, San Joseph, and
Lagunillas down to the Taravita, situated on the Ghama River.
Said Missions and those in the interior of the mountains
towards Maracaibo enjoy a cold and dr}' climate, on account
of the elevation of the mountains covered with snow around
the same. Those of the Jesuits enjoy the same climate, except
those situated on the plains between the sierras and the Ori-
noco, where there is a warmer climate although not so damp
as that of Guayana.
83. On the same general map the Missions of San Joseph
and Lfigunillas are shown close to said Taravita at a distance
from the Orinoco of about 80 leagues by elevation, and from
Guayana 200, adding one-third more for the windings of the
Orinoco, Apure, and Santo Domingo Rivers and the land
roads from the settlement of Lagunillas and pass of the above-
mentioned Taravita, it results that the distance between this
one and the fortress is 270 leagues.
84. The general map and that of Father Gumilla show very
well how difficult it will be to travel by land from the fortress
of Guayana to the Taravita of the Chama River and the Mis-
sions of Lagunillas, as it should be necessary to cross the table-
land of Guanipa and the extensive plains of the Province of
Barcelona, Caracas and Barinas to the city of Merida, and
from there to the Mission of Lagunillas, for which, besides the
traveling of 300 leagues, it must be added the sufferings and
inconveniences of desert countries of an ardent climate, copious
showers, and tlie pass through numberless rivers, shown in the
general plan, with other difficulties which I omit.
85. In order to make more tolerable such a long journey it
is considered that the best and only way should be that of the
Orinoco River, navigating the same up to the mouth of the
Apure River, and following this one until it meets the Santo
Domingo River, and from there going to the city of Barinas,
thence by land to Merida, and proceeding through the Mission
of San Joseph to Lagunillas. There is nobody in Guayana
unfamiliar with this route, nor any one who may give an ac-
count of the possibility or impossibility of the navigation of
130
the whole of the rivers Apuiv iiiul .Santo Duiiiiiigo, nor how
many days it takes to reach the pass (Taravita) of the Chama
liiver and the other Missions in the interior of the mountains
not reached in the map ; although it is to be inferred that the
travel will not be in any way shorter than that from the fort-
ress of Guayana to the last Mission of I'autos, in the jurisdic-
tion of Casanare, for which tliey take ninety -two days; but in
order to dispel these doubts it will be necessary to examine
the subject, and they did not, in order to send positive informa-
tion to His Majesty, and that is all 1 have to say in regard to
the situation of these Missions, and the distances from them to
the fortress.
86. For the escort of the Missions under the Jesuit Fathers,
His Majesty keeps 48 soldiers, under one captain only, who
draws a salary of $995 a year and the soldiers $132 a year,
making in all $7,331, as it is shown by the certificate given, in
virtue of a decree at the time of the visit, by Don Juan Antonio
Bonalde, who was then their captain, and is found at folio 71
of the third part of the proceedings, that I sent to Plis Majesty,
through his Royal and Supreme Council, with the other acts of
the visit. The $7,331 are received from the Royal Treasury at
Santa Fe, by the attorney of the Missions and by direction of
the Superior of the same, are distributed among the persons of
the escort. The captain is appointed by the Viceroy of Santa
Fe and the soldiers are mustered at the })leasure of the
Superior, who likewise discharges them, whenever he finds
it convenient or unfit for the escort. The whole of the people
serving in it are horsemen, but not trained as military men,
nor acquainted with the handling of muskets, nor their arma-
ment is equal or proportionate, as it is in the style of new
simple chasseurs. That they are not military men, acquainted
with that profession, is shown by the fact that the fortress of
Carthagena, I'uerto Cabello, La Guaira, Caracas, Cumana, and
Guayana (the only i)laces where there are regular bodies of
troo])s) there is no detachment for the above escort, and this
one is not under the direction of a military chief, but a civilian
as well as the soldiers, who are familiar with the countr}' in
every respect and travel inland with an admirable knowledge
137
and rare facilities, just as if they should do so through the best
roads, keeping themselves in those places without any other
help than the facilities of their muskets and other devices
which only are known to themselves and to the regular troop,
that have never performed these travels and could not easily
acquire the knowledge of the country, woods, mountains and
sierras as these civilians do, used and brought u}) in this kind
of practice, although ignorant of the military service. Those
who are serving in that escort are detached from the more ad-
vanced Missions, and they are less domesticated, kept at the
entrance of the mountains, in order to gather around and bring
with them the Indian fugitives from the settlements, they have
to keep and reduce those that have never been settled, and are
accompanied by one or more missionaries, as directed by the
Superior. They are employed in doing whatever is thought to
lead to the safety of the Missions, and for that purpose (notwith-
standing their want of military training), they do better work
than the veteran grenadiers. Said civilians, as a rule, are
married and keep their families in the settlement from where
they are detached ; the Missionaries prefer those possessing
these conditions, so as to avoid other inconveniences in detri-
ment of the welfare of the Indians.
87. I do not know the number of men serving as escort tothe
Dominicans of Barinas, but if there is no mistake in the re-
ports sent to His Majesty on this subject, 24 men make their
corresponding share to complete the full number of 73 alloted
by the Royal Order. I am likewise ignorant of the pay they
draw, but I am sure that they receive it from the Royal Treas-
ury of Santa Fe, by means of the Attorney of the Missions of
said dominions, and that the equality of the troop and methods
of the service agree entirely with those of the escort of the
Jesuits and of the other persons in the custody of the bodies
of Mission kept by His Majesty in America, except those of
the Catalan Capuchins that have been escorted by a detach-
ment of regular troops from Guayana, and were better if they
were civilians and good horsemen.
88. For better justification of what has been stated in this
chapter, I refer to the report of the Viceroy of Santa Fe, if
138
His Majesty would l)e pleased to direct him to carry this
method into eti'ect or direct an investigation hy competent
l)ersons, heing sure that nobody would entertain a contrary
opinion in any of said ])oints.
SlJ. And under this conviction I say that as tin; persons
serving as escorts to tlie Fatlier Jesuits of Orinoco and of the
dominions of Barinas liave not been bound to submit to the
rules, penalties, and terms prescribed l>y the lioyal ordinances,
and they are all horsemen, less those Avho are civilians under
a salary, without any fixed time, ignorant of the military dis-
cipline, without the armament as such, residing in cold and
dry climates, most of them married persons and with their
families spread through various settlements from where they
are detached far fi-om the fortress, some 270 leagues, others
■300 and 350 leagues, with extensive deserts intervening, it is
not i)racticable to make them all abandon their families and
become aggregated to the garrison of Guayana and bound
there to the military subordination, being instructed in the
infantry service, paying for their uniforms and accoutrements,
Avhich they do not wear, and exposed to a warm and damp
climate. The soldiers bound to serve in the infantry ali'eady
settled in that fortress, used to its bad climate, married
there with 820 less salary, as they only draw $120 a year, re-
duced to $112 after the necessary discount for the transporta-
tion of the money, ouglit not give up their families to serve as
escorts to the Missions under a civilian, such as the cap-
tain of the escorts of the Jesuits is. nor they ought to pay for
their horses, saddles, and trappings, becoming horsemen and
experts of the country and the mountains that they never
saw, and providing themselves with woolen clothing to stand
the cold and dry weather, in opposition to the warm and damji
weatlK-r that they leave behind.
00. In the event that the regular troop should be assigned
for the service of the escort (as enjoined farther on by Royal
Order), and that they should be aggregated to the garrison, it
should be necessar}^ to send three launches of the fortress, one
for tlie navigation of the Orinoco uj) to the mouth of the Apure
Kiver, going through it as far as the confluence of the Santo
139
Domingo River and navigating througli the same to tlie city
of Barinas, and thence by land, said detachment going as far
as Merida. From there and across the Taravita (or pass) of
the Chama River and thence to the Missions, in tlie interior
of the mountains of Maracaibo, for wliich horses must be
brought from the city of Barinas, and while there to await the
launch of the relieved people, and return by the same to the
fortress, consuming in that journe}^ about six months. That
the other two launches navigating the Orinoco up to the jNIeta
River, enter by the mouth of this one, following up to that of
Casanare and parting company there, one going tlirough the
Casanare up to the Mission of San Salvador, and the otlier
through the Meta up to the Apiay. And the detachment of
the fortress of Meta and Casanare being relieved, return to the
fortress by the same way it came, requiring for this journey
another six months. But the expense of tlie launches, their
•crews, stores for the same, and troop carried on board and re-
turning, may be set at $1,000 each, costing so much the garri-
son of the fortress, while sending vearlv to Santa Fe for the
allotted mone}", as shown by notes 1 and 9 of the memoran-
dum. And that at every time of the change of these detach-
ments they make an expense of $3,000, and with the greatest
economy it is no less than $2,500. And could the troop re-
lieved and relieving spend all that money? By no means ;
as they will not fail to leave behind some help to their families
and keep their respective places. If the troop can not bear
these expenses it is necessary that they should be made by the
Royal Treasury, as if it is not so they must not be borne by
the escort aggregated to the garrison of Guayana.
91. And in case that the removal of the garrison should be
facilitated. His Majesty paying for the transportation, there is
no doubt Ihat the troop leaving Guayana might take lodgings
in the suburban districts of the Mission ; but how could the
civilians and the escort do so (being strangers both in the fort-
ress and in Angostura) ? Where would the}' lodge, and how are
the}' to be attended while sick? There is no house in Angos-
tui'a, and at the fortress only 73 exist, occupied by 90 families
■contained in the population of the city, and the headquarters of
140
the ti-()<>|) rfduccil to ;i siiiall store, under four hare walls
covercl willi tilo, vvitliout any kitclicii, bedsteads, or any
(itlicr iiidis])ensal>lc utensils, and only fit to jtass tlui monthly
ami daily reviews, and answer for the lodging place of the six
men doing the guard duty as the main guaid of the fortress,
as stated in Chapter 1), No. 89. Therefore, for the lodging of
the escort and rest of the troop that His Majesty directs to be
aggregated there, it is indispensable to have regular headquar-
ters i)rovided with bedding and other appliances, and a suitable
hospital for the care of the sick. If that is not the case, tliis
troop can not succeed nor its aggregation carried out.
1)2. And although the regular troop might relieve the escorts
and these be aggregated to the garrison and His Majesty ac-
cedes to do so on account of the Royal Treasury, i)aying for the
transportations, lodgings, and hospital for the fortress, it is
necessary to carry out said aggregations by means of new regu-
lations about salaries. If the civilians of the escort of the
Jesuits are paid yearly $132 and the troop of the fortress $120,
of wlii(di they only receive $112, as explained before, it is to be
feared that this inequality of salaries for the same service may
raise complaints and pernicious consequences. It is therefore
necessary to make the payments daily or monthly, as the an-
nual payments (as practiced heretofore) prevent them from
keeping in their own jiost and supplying the families they
leave Ijehind in thi-ii' homes.
03. i\nd supposing that the troo}) of the fortress goes to the
relief of the escorts, and that these without any difficulty are
aggregated to the garrison, and that the Royal Treasury pays
for their transportation, lodging, and hospital, that a new regu-
lation is issued and the pay of the troop of the fortress raised
to $132, drawn by the civilians of the escorts, and that said
civilians' salary is lowered to $120, allowed to the soldiers, or the
$1 12. which is all they receive, and that the salary allowed to
bo til is paid daily or monthly, so as to carry out the aggrega-
tion without disorder, it is necessary that each one of the
launches carrv an ollicer, and that the number l)e increased at
the fortress, and that those detached on the launches be allowed
some coni])onsation, as those going after the allotted funds, as-
141
the captain, wlio is allowed SGOO, only receives SoOO after tlie
discount of the transportation, and the lieutenant, drawing
§450, only receives S414, for the same reason, and the standard-
bearer out of the $372 only receives S343, and they can not
afford to bear the expense of the journey without the suggested
compensation and without being relieved in this kind of serv-
ice, as the one going three consecutive time-^ for the funds
would become unable to continue. The escort of the Jesuits,
although drawing 8995 a year for the captain, may afford to
go up and down the Orinoco, but althougli (badly missed at
the Missions) he can only carry one launch without an officer at
each time, carrying detachments to their destinies, no douljt
liable to desertions, and in those bare and miserable settlements
of the Mission, through which he is at liberty to go thefts,
quarrels, and disorders may happen, very painful to the In-
dians, or at least long delays, increasing the expense of the
launches, crews, and stores.
94. In conclusion of this subject, omitting many other rea-
sons, making impossible the aggregation of the escorts to the
garrison of Guayana, a subject that will be dealt with farther
on, and the difficulties of which have been already explained,
as not having been anticipated by tliose who sent the previous
reports to His Majesty, I shall have to say that I have not the
least doubt that if the intended aggregation of the escorts to
the fortress and of this one to the garrison, serving as escorts
before that is done twice, there shall not be any troops left to
relieve them, nor the escort of civilians to be aggregated to
the garrison, and that necessarily things should return to the
condition in which they are to-day, after .some difficulty in the
way of settling them.
"And the 25 of the fort of Limones, owing to increa.se this total
50 and 2 of the troop of Araya."
95. In order to be able to aggregate to the garrison of the
fortress the 25 men of the fort of Limones I Ijave endeavored
to inquire exactly where they are, and in consequence I have
ascertained that there are not 25 men there nor ever have been,
142
and that the report sent to Ilis Majesty on this subject was in-
correct ami not founded on real fiicts, which I related from the
beginning.
96. In the year 1740 His Majesty appointed the Brigadier
Don Gregorio de Espinosa as Governor of Cumana, with the
special commission of fortifying the Island of Fajardo or An-
gostura in keeping with the instructions given by orders of
the Council to the Attorney Don Joseph Borrul, found in the
accompanying jiroceedings, at the back of folio 42, where, be-
sides other things, he was requested to form an estimate of the
annual expense of the troop that ought to garrison the fort, the
construction of which was entrusted to him, and to give a re-
port to His Majesty by the first opportunity and immediately
to the Mceroy of Santa Fe.
97. Espinosa took charge of his commission under the Royal
instructions, finding in a most deplorable condition the fortress
of Guayana in the same year of 1740 after having been set on
fire and ransacked by the English, killing some of the neigh-
bors and dispersing others, as it is stated in part first, Ciiapter
7, Nos, 2 and 3 of the proceedings, under date of the oOth of
September, 1743. Among the various points which he sub-
mitted to His Majesty, through the Supreme Council, he pro-
posed that it was advisable to increase the service of the for-
tress of Guayana with 73 soldiers, and he informed likewise
on this particular point, the Viceroy of Santa Fe, who was at
the time His Excellency Don Sebastian de Eslava, but there is
no record in these archives of what decision was arrived at by
His Excellency.
98. In the year 1745, His Majesty appointed the Brigadier
General, Don Diego Tavares, as successor to Don Gregorio de
Espinosa, with the same commission to pacify the Orinoco, in
the terms mentioned in the })art first, Chapter 6, No. S, and
in consequence he proposed to said Viceroy the increase of 30
men for the garrison of the new fort of San Fernando, and the
answer on this point was in the following words : But in re-
gard to the increase of 30 men distributed in the form proposed by
Vo'ur Honor, I should like to know ivhether the full allowance of
100 for Guayana are complete, and wluther there is enough people
143
to fill the 30 men of the increase, or if reducing to tliis number the
60 half places, as contrived by Don Gregorio de Espi7iosa,it should
open the way to aggregate insensibly more neighbors with the same
zeal with which he promoted liis idea witlioid failing to remove
some of the obstacles that heretofore have retarded the enforcement
of the repeated orders from His Majesty, as it is shown on tlie
back of folio 89 of the proceedings.
99. Under date of the 12th of January, 1752, Tavares urged
the Viceroy, who was at the time His Excellency, the Marquis
del Villar, for the increase of the 30 men, and he received the
following answer : Having not thought convenient to extend my
powers to the increase of the 30 men in the company of the Castle
of Guayana, and the corres'ponding salary of $5,325, and having
no orders from His Majesty, to whom Your Honor assei'ts to have
reported the subject, I restrain from doing so for want of a resolu-
tion to your consultation. I will do so likewise with a copy of
Your Honoris communication, so as to proceed witli more accuracy
in resolutions of this gravity. As it is shown at folio 92 of the
proceedings, having no record in these archives of documents,
showing the date of the representation sent by Tavares to His
Majesty on the subject.
100. At the instance of the Missioners of Piritu, His Majesty
issued the following Royal Order : On account of the Father
Missioners of the Indians of Piritu, it has been represented that
since the year of 1736 these Missions have been increased with five
settlements and one hospitium in tJie new city of Barcelona, and
that at present there are 26, and in them 11,850 souls under the
charge of 28 Reverend Fathers and one layman, who asked permis-
sion for the transportation of 20 more Missioners, on account of
the Royal Treasury. His Majesty, after being ii formed of this
instance, and of the exposition about the same of the Council of
Indies in consultation of the 11th of February of this year, bear-
ing in mind tlie new commission, entrusted to these Missioners with
the conimission for procuring the establishment and foundation of
settlements on tJie opposite bank of the Orinoco River, an idea
which was supported by a representation of the Secular Council of
New Barcelona, he has allowed th,e permission for tlie transftr
of 20 Reverend Fathers with the purpose of preserving the old Mis-
141
sions and establish in;/ the new one, that Jias been jirnjected by His
Royal Order and ivitk which I maJce you acc^uainted hereby, en-
joining that in regard to the custody of troops wanted by these
Missioners and corresponding to botli objects, Ifi soldiers are to
escort them, notwithstanding His Majesty has decided to leave this
point to the discretion of Your Honor, directing that from the gar-
rison of the Castle of xi ray a a competent number of soldiers be
detached so as to stop tlie Caribs from assaulting tlie old and the
new Missions tltat have to be formed, taking Your Honor the surest
steps and giving me an account of the progress obtained, and Your
Honor will give tJie above-mentioned escort, in case that you think
it is necessary. The above resolution is brought to your notice, so
as to have it carried out. — May the Lord keep Your Honor's life
for many Years. — Madrid, July 11/., 1752. — The Blare/uis of La
Ensenada. — To Seflor Don Diego Tavares.
101. And at the instance of the Catalan Capuchin Missioners,
His Majesty issued the following resolution : The Catalan Capu-
chin Missioners of the jurisdiction of Guayana have represented
the injuries and deaths perpetrated in their Missions at some
settlements by the Caribs, under the influence of the Holland-
ers from Esequivo, as it is surmised, on account of their having
taken refuge in said Colony and because the Governor of the
same grants them letters patent to make slaves of all the In-
dians whom they meet, and as a remedy they ask, among other
things, the increase of their escort, up to 40 men, one captain
and one subaltern, assigning thein tlie salaries of those of Santa
Fe, said soldiers being well qualifieil, of good morals and hab-
its, replacing tliem with those presented by the Prefect and
Judges of the Missions, in case of being found inadequate; and
in order to rescue the souls of the rebellious Caribs, to have
them pardoned for the present offence, His Majesty being in-
formed of this representation and of what Your Honor exposed
by letter on the subject, and the report of tlie Council of the
Indies, has decided that Your Honor take very particular care
that the Missions of the Reverend Fathers be well guarded,
detaching for this pur|>ose the troop that you may find suffi-
cient frum that in your charge, and even by detaching a por-
tion of that of the Castle of Araya, as Your Honor does not
145
consider necessary this fortress, accord inoj to the advice of a
furtlier letter, and in case that you do not find convenient to
to do so, Your Honor may increase the number of men that
you think fit for the fortress of Guayana, in order to afford the
required protection, being of the approval of the Viceroy of
Santa Fe, to whom Your Honor will send a report, as well as
to His Majesty, for approval. His Majesty directs likewise that
Your Honor take particular care that the soldiers of the escort
be of the best morals and habits, separating and replacing
them if they do not answer, or cause any apprehension to Your
Honor, after receiving the reports of their faults from the Mis-
sioners. And in order to dispel any fears on the part of the
rebellious Indians, His Majesty desires that Your Honor in
His Royal name and behalf pardon them for the crime of
rebellion, exhorting and cautioning them for the future. — May the
Lord keep Your Honor's life for many years. — Madrid, March the
30th, 1753. — The Marquis of La Ensenada. — To Sehor Don Diego
Tavares.
102. The foregoing Royal Orders, although addressed to Don
Diego Tavares, were received by his successor, Don Matheo
Gual, who, after being informed of their contents and of others,
twenty or twenty-five, for the same purpose, and issued at dif-
ferent times, and that have never been carried out, and of
what his predecessor represented to His Majesty, under date of
the 30th of April, 1755, he submitted to His Majesty, that in
order to render assistance to the Reverend Observant Missions
of Piritu and to the Capuchins of Guayana, and better security
to the fortress, it was necessary to form a company composed
of one lieutenant-captain, a sub-lieutenant, and 70 men, in-
cluding the corresponding corporals, and that the annual
salaries will amount in all to $10,017. This consultation
brought about the Royal Order issued by command of Your
Excellency, as follow^s : The purser of the Missions of Piritu of
this jurisdiction has represented that notiuithstanding the orders
issued in the year 1752, for the purpose of granting them a suita-
ble escort, had not been carried out, and making a punctual nar-
rative of the progress of said Mission, he has repeatedly urged the
same request. In this state of things the letter of Your Honor has
Vol. I, Ven.— 10
Mr,
been received, uadcr date of the oVth oj April of lo.xt year, 1755,
in satisfaction to the order communicated t(j your predecessor on
the 14.th of duly, 1752, and 'proposing for the escort of tliese Mis-
sions and those of the Capuchins of Guayana, the formation of
one company, composed of one captain, one lieutenant, one sub-
lieutenant, and 70 men, with the corresponding corpofals aggre-
gated to the fortress of Guayana, at an annual expense of $10,017 ,
and the King, well informed of all that is luanted, directs that
these Missions he attended irifhonf the neiv company proposed
to tlidf < lid. and flint (lie garrison of Guayana be detached for the
purpose. 1 make Your Honor acquainted luith said directions for
their observance. — May the Lord keep Your Honoris life for many
years. — Madrid, March 3d, 1756. — Tlie Bailiff, Fr. Don Julian
de' Arriaga to Senor Don Math eo Gual. The contents of tliiii
Ro.yal Cetliile and of the others, for the same purpose, above
quoted, have never been carried into practice for various good
reasons intervening, and on which 1 will dwell in another
place.
103. His Majesty having kindly directed nie to make a state-
ment as to the utility of the Castle of Arnya, under date of
the 27th of August, 17(51, I brought to His Royal notice the
inutility of said fortili cation, meantime representing the
utmost importance of the fortress of (luayana ; and having
paid due attention to the Koyal Orders and other circumstances
for the increase of the garrison and the necessity of the escort
of the bodies of Missions, I represented extensively howim-
l)ortant it was to tlie Royal service the establishment in the
fortress of Guayana of a new comj>any with a captain, lieu-
tenant, sub-lieutenant and 70 men, as proposed by my prede-
cessors, Don Matheo Gual and Don Gregorio de Espinosa, and
that from there the necessary assistance should be given to
the Missions in the terms }>rop()setl in my representation.
Those are the only circumstances connected with the increase
of the garrison of the fortress of Guayana ami stronghold of
Limones without tlie existence of any documents on the
subject, nor in connection with the 'io men reported to His
Majesty.
104. In order to increase said garrison with 73 more men
147
represented In- Espinosa to His Majesty, and tlie sixty half
places he proposed to the Viceroy, tlie thirty places that Gov-
ernor Tavares considered necessary to garrison the small fort
of Limones, the company proposed l)y Gual (for which I have
made a new request in my consultation of the "iTth of August),
and the 25 men that have been lately reported to His Majesty,
a Royal resolution is necessary, as well as the assignment of
funds for the subsistence of the troop so increased, and to be
added to the garrison as soon as said funds are assigned.
105. In another place, in its proper order, and as I have
proposed in No. G of this part second, I will expose wiiatever
else I judge in regard to the 52 men of the garrison of Araya
to be added to the fortress of Gua^'ana —
" That the Commander of Guayana, without loss of time, ft)rti-
fies the two planes in front of the eastern and western forts
of the small fortification of Guayana with a strong pali-
sade and parapet raised with sticks and earth, and that,
from tliert; to the eastern phme's cannons of large caliber be
mounted, to defend the rear of the castle and the pass to
the lagoons Baratillo and Zeiba, so as to make flank shots
in protection of the northern side of the fort and the west-
ern part of the palisade, and from this with smaller artil-
lerv to emijarrass the ascent of the enemv bv wav of
Baratillo. That he must raise the parapet of the western
curtain and place there in position three H-pounders, cov-
ering the front with a second palisade. That the towers
of the small fort be laid down and the interior square
covered with tiles upon the pillars of thick ami hard wood
fixed to the terre-plein, touching the inner face of the par-
apets of the curtains, without embarrassing the defences."
106. The same want of reflection and judgment observed in
the reports to His Majesty, in regard to the 25 men of the fort
of Limones, is found in what concerns the ])alisade of tlie
small fort of Padrastro of Guayana (many years ago it was
projected, and it was carried out last year, on account of the
war), and the tower and small house upon it, on account of
not having been placed in the possibility or impossibility of
constructing them, nor the utilitv nor inutilitv of the same, as
I will expose at the proper place.
148
111". Ill tile iustiiiftidii uivcii l>y order of the Council to tlio
attoi'iicy, Don .Io6e|)li Bonnil. touml in the proceedint;- at the
])ack of lolio 42, directions were «iiven to Hriiiadi?!' Dun (ire-
gorio de Esjnnosa, for the construction of a ioit in the Ishnid
of Fajardo or An^^ostura, |ii-ovitlcil the expense wouM not ex-
ceed $10,000, or rather l$l,000 more or less, limiting the pow-
ers so as not to incur a greater expense. Espinosa was aware
that Angostura and the Island of Fajardo were not the })roper
places, and under date' of tiie .'JOtli of Septem])er, 174o, he rep-
resented to His Majesty that the above mentioned fort ought
to be located at the Ishmd of Liinones, in front of the Castle
of San Francisco de Asis, and while lie awaited the Royal reso-
lution he became aware of the indefensive condition of the
Castle of San Francisco and the other fortifications built in
Guayana, if the Padrastro mountain was not duly fortified.
He contrived the construction of a small fort guarded by pali-
sades around, and a fosse on the western part, making tliese
expenses from the funds of fines imposed by the tribunal of
the Governor, for want of ])owers to use the funds of the Royal
Treasury for that |)ur{)ose. The greater fortification necessary
there was not commenced, but the collection was made of $000
on account of fines. While things were in this condition he
was relieved by his successor, Don Diego Tavares, wlio was
entirely in accord with Espin.psa's ideas, aiul in order to carry
them out he continued ap})lyingthe fines, up to the amount of
^1,775, to the construction of the fort of San Diego ; but after
having undertaken the work he found it was not sufficient ti)
carry it to a full completion, and finally decided to finisli it
with funds from the Royal Treasury to the amount of s47o,
and report to His Majesty his resolution, in order to obtain
his approval, as it was done by the cedule of the 21st of March,
1750, as I have exposed in Chapter 9, Nos. 44 uj) to 4.S, where
an account is given of the material of the work, and in fig. G
of the accompanying map the {»lan is displayed and explained
by a marginal note, but nothing was decidctl about the con-
struction of thr palisade and fosse on account of the Treasury,
as Tavares did not take the responsibility of doing so, ex|)ect-
ing to be able to raise the funds for the purpose ; but there
149
were only $87 at the time he was relieved by Don Matheo
Oual, who, having examined the fort, accepted the report of
his predecessor and directed at once the opening of the fosse,
as indeed it was done during his government, but only to the
extent of one-half of said work, besides gathering stones for
the building of palisades.
108. At the time of my general visit, and among other
works considered necessary in that fortification, was the con-
struction of the opening of the fosse and the protection of the
fort by means of the esplanade formally projected, and for
which I ordered an estimate of the expense, including the
other rt-pairs, with a view of reporting the result to the Vice-
rciy of Santa Fe. While absorbed in this project, I received
the Royal Order under date of the third of October, 1761, in
which His Majesty cautioned me, enjoining the greatest care
as in time of an open war. Therefore I took every proper step
to furnish that fortress with the gun carriages, ammunition
and other elements that were needed, and thinking that I
ought not to defer and await the resolution of the Viceroy for
the undeii'taking of the works and ordinary repairs for the best
defence and protection, I concluded to go on with the work
under the terms exj)osed in Chapter 9, Nos. 27 to 31, in con-
sequence of which the esplanade was made as it appears in
the plan, figure 6 of the accompanying map, marked with the
letters E E E E, which consists of a thick, low wall, built of
stone and mortar, about 1| yards high and three-quarters of a
y;ird thick, and the stakes spliced with it, and the embrasures
for tiie fire of the artillery, marked with the interior number
of said plan. The fosse was finished, having 10 yards in
breadth and 3| in depth, all built in a solid rock as exposed
in No. 49, Chapter 9, and is seen in figure with a special
marginal explanation of the map.
109. On the strength, undoubtedly, of a few confused ideas
derived from these antecedents it was deviced, as a new pilau
in connection with the utmost importance of the mountain of
Padrastro, to bring to the notice of His Majesty the usefulness
of the palisade on the same and a second one below on the
ground, but they did not think of the different and uneven
150
rocks forming the mountain, and as solid as flint, and therefore
very ditlicult, if not impossible, to open the necessary holes
for bearing the stakes. They did not think that there was no
earth on the mountain, and that at its foot and 2 leagues around
Guayana there is only sand, in spite of tlie manufacture of
brick and tiles there, as that is done with the mud taken out
from the bed of the lagoons Zeibji and Baratillo, containing a
great portion of sand thatmakesthe material of a poor (|unlity.
They did not tliink that even if they had soil it should be ex-
pensive to carry it up to the mountain. They did not think
of the difficulty of pounding the earth for the esplanades on
account of the excessive rains. They did not think that dur-
ing two or three months the waters arc not so frequent, and
that if built within the remaining nine months of tlie year, no
matter how solid and strong, they can not resist the strength
of the copious showers by means of which the soil or earth
contained in the palisades should be carried down. They did
not think that the palisades of earth and the one projected of
stone and mortar and lime (at present already built) is a very
weak defence for the fort of San Dieuo. Thev did not think
that this one and its esplanades are a ridiculous defence for
the paramount importance of the Padrastro mountain, from
wtiich the safety of the Orinoco and the Provinces through
which it runs depends. And, lastly, they did not think that
this advantageous site required a formal fortification irrespect-
ively of expense, and that the armament it has at present is
provisional and through the devices of the Governors, who
have not been able to extend their powers to the greatest wants
of that work, laying the case before His Majesty.
110. Many persons feel persuaded of the convenience of cov-
ering the whole of the small fort of Padrastro with a tiled roof
on wooden pillars, and I was of the same opinion, at the time
of the visit, but I became convinced, as the rest of the other
parties, of the solid reasons alleged and submitted to me by the
Commander, Don Juan de Dios Valdez, and the other officers
present there at the time, who, after having heard of my
ideas, they asked me: Where is the i)lace for the garrison to
sleep, because in the fort of .San Francisco and in tlie settle-
151
ment around nobody sleeps exposed to the open air, and who-
ever docs so is soon affected with fevers and other malignant
complaints; that in order to avoid these consequences, the
garrison was compelled to make three hours sentr}' duty in the
daytime and only one by night, covered with a small cloak of
rough material that they showed me. They reminded me of
what they had formerly insinuated (and that I had already
noticed by experience), and that is, that from 5 o'clock in the
afternoon it is necessary to wear a woolen cloak if you have to
keep out doors, and in a short time this cloak is so damp as
though it were exposed to the thickest fog in winter, and to this
humidity, as shown b}' experience, the sickness and other com-
plaints experienced there are attributed, and therefore the in-
habitants try to retire early and sleep under cover, protected
from the dew ; that it should not be the case w^ith those sleeping
under the tiled roof of the fort, if opened on all four sides, and
conseciuently it would subject the persons of the garrison to
many kinds of complaints. On account of the same humidity
there should not be a fit place to keep the powder and wadding-
existing in that fortification, nor where to keep stores for eight
days if it was necessary to gather them there.
111. I was made to understand, besides, that the tiled roof on
pillars could not avoid the penetration of the waters within the
10 yards square space, which is all there is at that fortification, as
being situated on the summit of the Padrastro mountain, and
as it rains all around, with strong and squallv winds at that
elevation, said winds will introduce the water through the
four open sides, and consequently in that small space the gar-
rison could not be sheltered, unless it were on the two sentry
boxes shown in. its plan.
112. All these well-considered reasons, vindicated by experi-
ence, persuaded me that the small house ought not to subsist,
consisting of 4 square yards, Avith a high and low room, and
on this a wooden box to keep powder in cartridges and the
waddings, leaving a space for the necessary provisions for^eight
or twelve days, and in that, (accessible through a wooden
ladder), the troop of the garrison sleeps, guarding such a small
fortification, the house of which, although in poor condition.
152
I ordurc'd its prosorvntion, as far as possible, while 1 would in-
form tlie Viceroy in reference to its new construction, and
what I have done, and that he approved, as shown in Chapter
9, Nos. 27 to 31.
113. If all that I have exposed had been reflected and borne
in mind, when tlie report was sent to His Majesty, undi)ul)tedly
they should not have moved him to order the fortification of
the most important mountain of Padrastro by means of useless
earth palisades, nor the injurious tiled roof of the small fort,
but the building of a respectable fortification necessary there,
and the only useful expenses to be made, according to the
opinion of engineers, governors, and many other persons ac-
quainted with the subject of fortifying the Orinoco, as I ex-
posed by way of notice in note 9 of the memorandum, and is
plain to the eye of the least qualified person.
" That Your Honor be restricted to the small fort of Limones,
with counter-foundations distant 9 feet, drawing 4 feet
more than its foundations; and that tlie terre-plein be
lowered, so as to measure 2J feet higli ; that tlie embrasures
of the artillery be opened and the same ])laced within the
portholes, covering all the Ibrt with a flat I'oof uj)on the
bank of the parapet, leaving one skylight lor the commu-
nication with the sentries. That afterwards, four 8-])0und-
ers be mounted in position to defend the water avenues,
and two 4-pounders to defend the land avenues and
the said flat roof upon which four swivel-guns must be
mounted on their crotches."
114. In Chapter G of i>art first, I have made a full and
well authenticated statement of the antecedents which have
originated the construction of the fort San Fernando and the
small fort of Limones; the steps that have been taken from
the vear 1694 to that of 17()2, in reoard to tlie fortification of
the Orinoco and all the events that have taken place in refer-
ence to this subject, down to the time of the receipt of the
preset Royal Order. In Chapter 9, Nos. from 50 to 88, I
have specified the condition of the fort, its shape, diameters,
the want of solidity of the ground where it stands, the teii
splits from top to bottom, dividing the whole of the work, the
153
inevitable total ruin, that even placed in perfect shape of
security it can not subsist in that j)lace, as the banks ot the
Orinoco come near it and will in time sink it ; that the serious
danger threatened of a wider bed of that formidable river might
make useless the fortifications of Guayana ; that the loss of
that ground already effected by the waters will be irreparable,
it the proves and woods are not allowed to stand on the banks
from wdiich they were removed, and that the jilague of insects
produced by the waters flooded, where the fort is situated
makes the whole of that location inhabitable, as well as the
rest of th.e muddy islands flooded by the Orinoco. And here
with the contents of the two chapters I will show the useless-
ness of the expenses of the counter-foundation and other works
called for by the Royal Order, and the want of intelligence of
those who reported to His Ahijesty the circumstances relative
to the security of this unfortunate fortification.
115. The surrounding of the small fort of Limones with coun-
ter-foundations is not difficult, and may be done by means of
stakes or stone and mortar construction built by a mason, but
it was not understood by those who sent the report to His
Majesty that the ablest engineers could by means of counter-
foundations make solid the ground where the fort stands, as it
is muddy, sandy, and movable, just as the ground of the refused
Island of Limones, and that these works should only make it
more muddy and swampy, especially, the mason work, having
overlooked the circumstance that these counter-foundations
(might prove very serviceable and advantageous if the ground
were solid and the weakness were only noticed in the founda-
tions of the work against the current) are useless and injurious
■when there is no solidity in the ground in which the counter-
foundation can not absolutely sustain the weight of the work
that as heretofore will continue bending the center, and with
it the counter-ioundatiou, if they are built of sand and mortar,
as this kind of device is never used to keep a building on its
level, and only to defend and support the foundations which
are not the cause of the ruin of the fort, but only the want of
.solidity of the ground where it stands, which the best and
most practical engineer could not possibly unite and consoli-
ir,4
(late, V)v nionns of counter-foundations on the ton j)laces where
the oval t'orm of the fort is already spHt; they did not see that
no matter how covers and repairs are intended for stopping
tlie ten splits, they will never be as solid again, nor waterproof
against the inundations of the Orinoco River (as foreseen by
the master mason Luque), and they will open again, as expe-
rience has shown to be the fact, without any help from the
construction of counter-foundations that will never keep the
heavy weight of the oval construction and the ten Cjuarters
that form the same. The}' did not see that by uniting and
stopping the ten rents no engineer could, by means of counter-
foundations, avoid the introduction of the rains so continuous
in that country, nor of the waters of the Orinoco River during
the month of August and part of September, when the fortifi-
cation is flooded over and above the socle and several yards
from the snrface of the land. They did not think that any
engineer could prevent, by means of counter-foundations, the
Orinoco carrying awa}^ the banks (more elevated) nearer tCK
the fort, nor the sinking of this and the counter-foundations,,
nor the expanding of the bed of the Orinoco 20 yards over the
()0 that have been already spread during the work, as the
resnlt of the removal of the trees, the roots of which kept to-
gether such frail ground, just as the abandoned Island of
Limones, on account of the loss of gronnd sustained while
clearing it of trees. They did not see that counter-foundations
do not remove the intolerable plague of mosquitoes and insects,
jirodueed by the Hoods and close groves, nor did they find out
by experience that tliis plague make uninhabitable that
ground and every other of the kind.
lib. The lowering of the terre-plein to '1^ feet high does not
ofJer the least difhculty, but they did not know when they re-
ported the fact to His Majesty that the terre-plein of 2h feet
high shall be from the end of July to the middle of Septem-
ber under another foot and a half of water, as such or more is
the elevation of the Orinoco waters inundating the fort, said
waters, even withont the ten splits dividing the work around,,
would penetrate through the inner part of the terre-plein, and
will rai.se up to the level of the outside waters, and to-day
155
without any difficulty, they will come in and go out throiigb
the said ten splits that rise from the very bottom of the foun-
dation, and to prevent the waters from going above the terre-
plein and keep this structure 2^ feet higher, it is necessary
that above the surface of the ground with the contents of the
earth will measure nearly 7 feet high, and thus keep the de-
sired 2| feet above the river waters at their highest point.
They did not see that besides the elevation of the river waters
above the 2^ feet of the terre-plein the continual rains of the
year will introduce the water througli the ten splits dividing
the work from the parapet to the very foundation, keeping in
the interior of the fort an inexhaustible well (and the same
should happen with the 7-foot terre-plein), without any possi-
bility of remed}'' by any engineer, without joining and consoli-
dating the ten splits, which is as impossible as the solidity of
the ground on which the oval stands.
117. The opening of portholes from the ten quarters in
which the fort is divided, is not impracticable at a more or
less expense, but those who sent the report to His Majesty did
not understand the loss of strength of the structure already
disfigured, if kept standing only on account of its oval shape
and the eight interior counter-forts that adjusted to each
other in the terre-plein prevent this one and the ten c|uarters
from falling outside, and that the portholes (even if the fort
w^ere in good service), not having been built with the work,
will now break the wall, and its thickness of 2 yards and 26
inches would extenuate the strength of the oval fortification.
They did not see that if the portholes would be opened at
competent distances over the 2| feet of the terre-plein, they
would be just on the level of the socle, and from the end of
July to the middle of September at the level of the water, be-
ing 2 yards and 26 inches in breadth, and that in order to
reduce this thickness the wall should be proportionally re-
duced and therefore weakened. If the portholes are placed at
8|^ feet above the ground and 5J above the socle, and just above-
the same, the 7 feet of the terre-plein, they should have 2 yards
and some inches thickness, which is all the breadth of the wall
in that part, and hardly fit to show the mouth of a 24-pounder.
156
lis. The arraiigenR'Ut ol' the artillery with two i;uns of 8
-caliber and two of 4, firino- jrom their respective i)orllioles is
very easy, but those who sent the report to His Majesty did
not see that tiie fort in tlic present condition does not permit
the loading of the artillery on the terre-plcin nor the repetition
of the discharges, without the risk of the ten quarters or part
of them V)u]ging out. They <lid not see that after jjlacing the
artillery over the 2i feet of the terre-plein it would be sub-
merged into the water from tin/ latter part of June to the mid-
dle of September, and that for the rest of the year has to play
through the portholes 2 yards and 26 inches in breadth ; and
that therefore the mouth of the cannon will not come out of
the wall. That the discharge of the cannon will damage the
work and make it all shake. That in its present condition, or
even if it were in perfect security, it could not bear the alter-
ation and therefore the ruin of one or more of the said quar-
ters is inevitable, as well as evident the danger of the men
within this fortification. The same thing will happen if the
artillery be mounted on the 7 feet of the terre-plein, playing
through their corresponding portholes of 2 yards and several
inches broad. They were ignorant of the fact that the interior
of the oval contained eight counter-forts, and that these struct-
ures have to encumber the management of the artillery which
is to be placed precisely in their midst. They were equally
ignorant that with the 2h feet of the terre-plein the water will
submerge the artillery and that 7 feet are required so as to
have 2h feet above the water, and that this ground is not
solid enough for the construction of es[ilanades strong enough
to sup[)ort tlie artillery.
They did not consider that the artillery, placed inside of the
fort and firing through its {x^rtholes of 2 yards in breadth,
could only play on a level, without offending the embarkations
navigating the river close to the liigh bank, and the reason
for (he construction of said fort which will 1k' so far frustrated.
They (Td not understand that, with the two S-pounders and
the two 4-pounders, this fortification remains defenceless, as
the artillery can not make more than one straight shot
through its two-yurd-wide portholes. The enemies will take
lo/
good care not to face said portholes and attack the fortification,
on its sides. They did not think that in the present condition
of this fort it is unable to resist the fire of a 0-gun sloop with-
out the fall of })art of its quarters, and tliat said sloop may
very well attack it, without receiving any injury from the two
8-pounders with their straight shot, as it has been explained.
They did not understand that the eight counter-forts of this
fortification occupy a large part of the lodgings considered
necessary for the garrison, which, from the end of July to the
middle of September, would have to remain in a well of afoot
and a half of water. The impossibility of arranging lodgings
for the garrison is aggravated, on account of the dense clouds
of mosquitoes produced b}^ the muddy ground. These mos-
quitoes would be intolerable in the interior of the fort, on ac-
count of its partial or total want of ventilation, the extreme
dampness through the ten rents affecting the work, as well as
the waters of the Orinoco all around. They did not foresee that
the interior of these fortifications can not hold any powder, on
account of the dampness and the risk of keeping it in a
wooden box which must be 0j>en for tlie use of the artillery,
which, being fired from the interior of the fort, it may pos-
sibly blow out said box, which is likewise shown to the
necessary fire kept within said fortification, especially for
cooking, during the months of the inundation of the ground,
when it is not possible for the garrison to go outside for tht'ir
meals, nor to have them brought up to the fortress. And,
finally, they did not calculate that even if the ground were
solid, free from mosquitoes, and that the Orinoco should not
carry away the banks, it would be easier, cheaper, and a greiit-
deal better to build a new fort, rather than to have its counter-
foundations newly built, reducing the terre-plein, opening new
portholes, fixing their ports, building a flat roof and mounting
the artillery, remaining after all these improvements in as use-
less condition as it is now. And if they had reflected and under-
stood the above inconveniences and others that I have to omit,
they ought to have reported to His Majesty the necessity of
abandoning the small fort of Limones and fortifying the Pa-
drastro mountain as the only advantageous spot for the de-
158
fence of tlie Orinoco River and the Provinces, through the
territories of which it runs, und that spot may be fortified with
safety, according to the judgment of the Governors and tlie
engineers who liave been commissioned by His Ahijesty for
the purpose, as I have exposed by way of reference in note 9 of
niy nieinorandum.
"" That the stones taken out of the small fort be left at its foot
and defend with loose stones the eastern jioint of the Li-
mones creek."
119. To leave at the foot of the fort the stones taken out
from its interior portion, 1 am not persuaded that it has anv
otlu'r advantage than saving the expense of removing them
away, nor any other disadvantage than encumbering tliat weak
grouiitl with tliat new inconvenience around the fort.
120. To defend with loose stones tlie eastern point of the
Limones creek, besides being expensive is impossible, notwith-
standing the report sent to Ilis Majesty that ought to have
been originated, on account of the ignorance that the creek of
Limones is so called with reference to the Orinoco River, that
in certain times of the year contains more water than the
deepest cut of Aranjuez during its greatest floods, and that no
rivers of this magnitude can be stopped by means of loose
stones. According to the observations which, by order of the
Governor, Don Diego Tavares, were made by the commander
of the garrison, Don Juan de Dios Valdez, in the years 1749,
1750, and 1752, of which he made an authenticated copy, found
in the proceedings from folio 55, it a})pears that the Limones
creek is over 20 yards wide, its banks 6 yards high, with a
quicksand bottom, tliat at the earliest part of May it begins to
receive water, and keeps growing up until the end of July, at
wliich time those of the Orinoco and of the creek fall together
in one body and inundate the Island of Limones, its surround-
ings and wl)at is called mainland, where the fort is situated,
with an elevation of six quarters (of a yard) above the highest
})(jint of that ground, so that by the end of July the said Li-
mones creek is over 20 yards wide and 9 deep, continuing so
159
full until the middle of September, when the waters of the
Orinoco begin to fall, and at the same lime those of the creek,
until the end of November, when it is entirely dry, and so it
keeps until the following May.
Upon this supposition, I say, it is very eas}'', during the six
months when it is dry, to throw all the loose stones wanted
and place them in any way desired, but as said stones have to be
thrown uj)on quicksand and on a steep slope to the depth of
80 fathoms, the depth of the Orinoco during those months, it
will not be possible to resist the strong current of the Limones
creek, during the months in which its channel is 20 yards
wide and 8 or 9 deep, and thus the current should certainly
carry away Avith the moving sand all the loose stones to the
bottom of the Orinoco or else the stones become embedded
below the sand. And if there was any such resistance and the
stones were not embedded nor carried away, what is to become
of the sandy Island of Limones and of wiiat they call main-
land? The waters of the Patapaima creek enter into that of
Limones and can not retrocede against the force of the Orinoco
impelling them, and they will continue their course, sweeping
along with them everything in their way. An examination
could be made, with an expense of |500 to .$600, by throwing
one hundred launch loads of loose stones in the creek, aiid if
they stand the first flood and at the first low ebb should be
found in the same place where they were thrown down, it will
be an evidence of the accuracy of the report sent to His
INIajesty, but if said one hundred launch loads of loose stones
are found embedded in the sand or carried away to the bottom of
the Orinoco, (as I have no doubt it will turn out to be the case),
it wull be understood that this inconvenience was not properly
anticipated, and that they were ignorant of the fact that in order
to stop that creek the Orinoco or any other river from carry-
ing away the ground with their current, the best supporters
are the trees with their roots. They were likewise ignorant of
the fact that the Orinoco had carried awa}- 23 yards from the
Island of Limones, on account of having cut down the clusters
of trees that held together the banks, and that as soon as new
roots commenced to grow they stopped the loss of ground
IGO
wliicli had taken j)lac-e in what is rilliMl niaiiihmd, whfii ilwy
have cleared about 60 vards of trees, uhatt,'ver else is likewise
cleared of trees, will he carried away in tuturc 'lliv hmse
stones thrown on the mainland ny the island of Limones will
not stop it, as reportefl to His Majesty, as the stones may stop
ami u'ather the waters of a mill, but not the powerful Orinoco
and its more violent creeks, larger and more rapid than the
most renowned rivers of Spain.
" That two Caiiarian launches be constructed, one for the ser-
vice of the garrison of the forts, and the other to be kept
at Angostura."
121. My predecessors have all considered necessary one or
two armed launches for the fortress of Guayana, well manned
for cruising at the mouth of the Orinoco River, and other uses
submitted to His Majesty by the Man^uis of San Philipe in
his memorials above mentioned, Nos. 4 and 5 of Chapter G.
and that their crews be paid so as to avoid the evil conse-
([ucnces explained l)y the Marquis iii his second memorial;
but neither myself nor my predecessor have been detained by
the cost of the launches, which in that countrv is verv limited,
and each one could be built for $300, and I, without expense
to the Royal Treasury, should have employed two of them
seized and confiscated in my time. The difficulty has been
on account of the .soldiers and stores for the crews, and so I
say, that in constructing the two launches reported to His
Majesty, it is very easy, and will only cost i!?()00, but if tliey
must be armed and manned for crui-sing purposes, $3,000 a
year will be reipiired in this way : 8 sailors and one pilot at
$8 each sailor and 810 the pilot, will cost $1,776 a year; a
real (one dime) for each ration every day, $827 ; careening
and repairingof oars and boot-tops, $100 ; nuikingin all $2,690.
To this amount the daily ration of the troops must be add( «1
when on board, it will be more or less, as the case may <lemand.
That if said launches are kept doing only the service of Ijring-
ing stores to Angcstura and shipping them from the Province
of Cumana, the cost will not be $3,000 a year, as there will not
be any troop and the crew may be composed of Indians from
161
the Missions, wlio are only paid S4 a month and the daily
ration. That in order to be accurate on this subject, it is
necessary that His Majesty kindly designates the exact ser-
vice, and in proportion to order the payment from the Royal
Treasury of Santa Fe, or wherever his Majesty finds it con-
venient, of $3,000 for the cruising service, and $2,000 for the
traveling service only, and when that is done, said vessels may
be constructed and seafaring men mustered into the service,
aggregating them to the fortress for the performance of their
duty, and if the case is not as I have stated, it will not be
carried out, notwithstanding the report sent to His Majesty,
founded on vagaries and vague ideas heard and accepted,
without examining the difficulties for the establishment and
performance of said launches, in ignorance of the representa-
tion sent to His Majesty by the Marquis of San Philipe, and
the report of the Governor remaining yet unanswered.
" That meantime, and pending these works, which must be paid
out of the funds assigned for the construction of the fort of
Limones, Your Honor will separate tlie southern bank of
Anoostura and at once direct the transfer of all its cattle
ajid have them pastured above said place."
122. For the construction of the fort of Limones there is no
branch of revenue assigned by His Majesty, but only fixed
amounts. The first one of $16,000, by the Royal Order issued
through His Excellenc}' the Marquis de la Ensenada, as it is
shown at No. 10 of Chapter 6, and the second one of $9,204 one
and a half reals, by the same Royal Order communicated by
Your Excellency and mentioned in Nos. 14 and 15 of the same
Chapter 6, making both amounts a total of $25,204 one and a
half reals, to which must be added $343 and 1 real and 19 mara-
vedis, of various fines applied to the same jmrpose, making
altogether $25,550, 3 reals and 12 maravedis, of which $25,035
have been expended in the construction of the fort, including
what is due to Don Juan de DiosValdez, whose account is still
pending, as is shown by the accompanying act to the repre-
sentation of the 23d of September, 1761, by which he shows
His Majesty the deplorable condition of the fort of San Fer-
VoL. 1, Ven.— 11
162
naiido ami the lands expended as halanee of what has been
a8si<2;ned fur its construction, $.")<)0 more or less, the only
amount that His Majesty assigns for the enterprise ot works
described by his Royal Order and those issued in consequence,
and tor which ^300,000 are necessary, and if they are com-
pleted the Orinoco is fortified, as it is necessary, $100,000, and
perhaps more, besides, will be needed in lirino- tilings back to
the condition in wliieh they are to-day, notwithstanding the
facilities reported to 11 is Majesty, without any proper knowl-
edge and concealing tlie great expense involved. The three
or four hundred thousand dollars are inexcusable for the exact
compliance with what His Majesty directs to be done and for
the fortification of tlie Orinoco afterwards, with no otiier funds
in hand than ^500, and only on that account, even if not fol-
lowed by irreparable injuries and the difficulties already ex-
plaineiK I ought to suspend the enforcement of said Koyal
Order until His Majesty, well informed of everything that I
have submitted to His Sovereign consideration, decides what
will be his pleasure on the subject.
123. in the foregoing numbers, from 21 to 25, I have shown,
part of the irreparable injuries, large expenses and unavoidable
difficulties, making impossible the transfer of the city of
Guayana to the site of Angostura, and I will continue
here dealing with the same subject and .stating that even if
the inhabitants of Guayana were reimbursed of the $59,200,.
the lowest valuation of their 30 plantations and 73 dwelling-
houses which they possess, many years will be necessary for
the transfer of the city so as to do it with ease and conveni-
ence. For that })urpose other plantations ought to be pre-
pared, as well as a good portion of the 73 houses for the ac-
commodation (jf the 00 families who are occupying them at
present around the fortress. That should ])e all carried out
slowly, even where there are good farming lands close to the
settlements to be provided with said necessaries. The loca-
tion of Angostura, with bare empty grounds around, without
wood, grass, or fertile lands, could not be made accessible
within twenty-five or thirty years. As an evidence of the tact,.
I will pr(>(luvc four instances, one of them the same city of
163
Guayana, founded in the year 1579. What has been ad-
vanced in the same settlement Avithin the 184 years of its ex-
istence? All the improvements found possible are reduced to
the congregation of 90 poor mustee families, including mu-
lattoes, negroes, the officers, and 6 or 8 white families, the
building of 73 houses, one church covered with palm leaves,
and the repairing of the fortifications in the terms exposed in
Chapter 7, besides the establishment of 30 small plantations,
as shown in Chapter 9, No. 91. Therefore, if in the 184 years,
and with all the work performed, the improvements are so very
few, it is not to be expected that in a short time could Angos-
tura and its extensive bare grounds do much better and obtain
happy progresses. The second instance is that of the city of
Real Corona, founded by the chief of squadron Don Joseph
de Iturriaga, in which large sums from the Treasury were ex-
pended ; and what was the result ? It is stated in Nos. 93 and
96 of Chapter 9. The third instance will be that of Ciudad
Real de Uyapy, founded by the same chief of scjuadrons, Don
Joseph de Iturriaga, at the expense of the Royal Treasury ; and
what is its condition or its improvements after eight years of
labor? See No. 97 of said Chapter 9. The fourth instance is
the city of San Fernando, projected and undertaken by the
third Commissioner, Don Joseph Solano, and in whicli he
worked three or four years, expending large amounts of money
from the Royal Treasury, and the result of what has become
of said city is found in No'i. 98 to 100 of Chapter 9.
Therefore if these cities, after having been settled at the ex-
pense of the Royal Treasury, have met with such an unfortu-
nate result, it could not be expected any better end to the
projected city of Guayana, even distributing $59,200, value of
the houses and plantations, among the inhabitants and owners,
and if the said amount were not paid to them, it is not diffi-
cult to persuade them to go to Angostura to establish a new
city. By that I do not mean thiit it will be impossible to make
them remove from there ; on the contrary, I think it is very
easy and practicable within two months, or even eight days,
if it were so desired, but it wall be necessary for doing
that to fill three conditions ; the first should be the use of force.
1G4
to which those poor inhabitants could not resist, except by
means of tears and regrets for the al)and()nnient of their small
plantations and dwelling-houses which they possess, in order
to be conveyed to a long bare bank of the river, 100 leagues
far from any settlement from where to secure any help, having
the great Orinoco River across. These complaints began as
soon as the report cf the transfer was heard, when several in-
habitants came to me and expressed their desires to al)andon
the fortress and come over to this Province, and part of the
troop under various pretexts tried to ol)tain leave of absence.
In order to dispel their fears I felt compelled to write to the
commander of the fortress to assure them nil that there should
not be any such transfer ; that I would submit the subject to
His Majesty so as to quiet their feelings, as it was done, accord-
ing to the report received by letter from the commander,
copied authentically at the back of folio 2(J7 of the proceed-
ings, and other documents remaining at the office of the Sec-
retary of this Government ; but notwithstanding if they are
directed to transfer their residence they will readily do so.
Tlie second condition should be to pay from the Royal Treas-
ury a daily ration to each person of the 90 families to be re-
moved, as it has been done with those of the Real Corona,
Ciudad Real, and San Fernando, as otherwise it will become
impossible the subsistence of the 535 persons composing said
90 families, nor the others that His Majesty desires to aggre-
gate to them. The daily rations for 535 persons, including
transportation, stores, and other contingencies, will make an
annual expense of S20,000 to $24,000, and may be §30,000, if
the troops have to be added, as directed by the Royal Order,
and as the entries of the Royal Treasury will not bo in con-
<lition to meet this indispensable expense in less than eight or
ten years, the transfer will be made, but not the payment of
the subsistence of the 90 families and the other troo])s to be
aggregated. The tliird condition should ])e that His Majesty
kindly fixes the penalty of those inhabitants of Guaj-ana who
withdrawing from tlicre to other places do not go to An-
gostura, as there is no penalty by the present Royal laws for
the change of residence, and if the new settlers do notfearanv
165
penalty they are liable to cross the Orinoco River in quest of
homes at any other settlement in the Provinces of Barcelona,
Cumana, or Caracas. It will be very likely to happen so, if
they are compelled by actual want, as there is no way in that
barren country to secure the necessaries of life. His Majesty
will kindly state whether those who settle in any other popu-
lation may be removed from it, compelling them to reside in
the new city or cities. The chief of squadron, Don Joseph de
Iturriaga, asked me to apprehend and send to him those per-
sons who abandoned the city of Corona Real, and I do not
know what must I do about this subject, being persuaded that
none of these inconveniences were anticipated or foreseen
when they sent their reports to His Majesty.
124. The bovine cattle estates owned by the neighbors of
Guayana are not situated within the limits of that Province,
but on the opposite side in the Province of Barcelona, such as
those owned by Franco, Ferreras, Pinto and other persons,
and they are not represented in the accompanying map.
There never were in Guayana any other cattle estates than
those belonging to-day to the Mission, with 14,000 to 16,000
heads (as showai by the tenth note of my memorandum of re-
ports), situated 40 or 50 leagues inland in the neighborhood
of the Missions of Yuruari and Avechica, and from that stock
they take what they want for the 16 Missions — what they call
the troop cattle estate established at the cost of said Mission,
in the neighborhood of the fortress, as marked in the accom-
panying map, by order of the Governor, Don Gregorio de Es-
pinosa, of which there was never any product, for want of
pasture grounds on the banks of the Orinoco River, and the
plague of insects around the lagoons and swampy ground,
only existing at the time of my general visit about 70 to 80
heads of cattle, which were donated to the church by the said
troop in order to help the building of it. That was the end of
that extinguished herd of cattle. I do not understand what
reasons induced the authors of the report sent to His Majesty
to state that, in the said Province there was cattle to be trans-
ferred to Angostura, and that if it existed it was easy to keep
it in those extensive shores.
166
'■ TJiat YuLir lioiiur docs not pennit the sowing ol" green vege-
tables on the banks of the Orinoco below Angostura."
125. Once the transfer of Guayana to Angostura carried out
the abandonment of the plantations will follow, as it will not
be possible to continue their cultivation at a distance of 20
leagues, and while the transfer is in process of completion the
inhabitants will be prevente<l from phmting new farms and
shall have to destroy b}^ fire or otherwise those which they
possess. It will be necessary to allow tlie inhabitants daily
rations at Angostura, as otherwise they could not subsist, even
if they would remain at the fortress, when the products from
the interior Mission are not sufficient to support the 535 per-
sons composing the 90 families already mentioned in Xos. 66
and 68, and those quoted in said numbers. These circum-
stances were not thought of at the time of sending to His
Majesty the report referred to. At the margin of the Orinoco
River are situated the four Missions of Piacoa, Aripuco, Caroni,
and Aguacagua, as represented in No. 6. Said four settlements
do not afford any assistance to meet tlie wants of the fortress,
but do not depend from it nor from tlie inland Missions, their
inhabitants have their own farms, that, although small and
not abundant, on account of the poor land, tlicy derive their
own subsistence from them, and if tliese Indians are forbidden
from continuing in their own grounds on the margin of the
Orinoco, they could not subsist unless at the exj)ense of the
Royal Treasury or compelled to go farther inland, and tliat
would be still more difficult than the transfer from Guayana,
and if forced to do so the loss of the ^Missions recently founded
will ensue, as shown in the accompanying proceeding from
folios 145 to 148, and some of these Indians will go back to the
mouth of the Orinoco from where they have been removed at
a great expense and labor.
" That at the same time the Indian settlement of Suay is to be
removed witli all the cattle kept there."
126. The Mission of Suay is situated 2h leagues to the .south
of the Guayana fortress, lias no cattle, and, as the rest of them,
167
in charge of the Catalan Capuchins, is supplied from the cattle
■estate known as the property of the Mission, situated 50 leagues
inland, as I have already stated. It draws its subsistence from
their farms in })oor lands, such as those of Piacoa, Aripuco,
Caroni, and Aguacagua, that do not render any help in the
way of provisions to the fortress. It is the oldest settlement,
and was founded in the year 1724, as shown by Chapter 8,
No. 2. Their natives are talkative and well educated. It is
one of the three Missions where to the present time they have
not been able to build a church. Their municipal house is held
by the community, with a library and the archives. They
have a good jail and a hospitium for the inland Indians
bringing provisions to Guayana by way of said Mission. From
there they go to the city and leave their loads in the hands of
the Syndic, returning on the same day to Suay. If this settle-
ment is removed the communication and commerce with the
inland Missions will suffer a serious interruption, as the nearest
stopping place at the south, through which the city is supplied,
is that of Alta Gracia at a distance of 10 leagues from the fort-
ress, and there is no stopping place or lodgings for the In-
dians nor iSIissioners through that distance. If the settlement
■of Guayana is removed it will be a distance of 20 leagues with-
out any refuge or stopping })lace for resting. And notwith-
standing all that has been said, there is no difficulty to with-
draw this settlement from a high ground but that of running
the risk of the flight of the natives to the mountains, where it
is difficult to take them back from their native haunts.
I do not dwell any longer on this subject, as it is well known
to every one who has been in America and acquired a knowl-
edge of what the Indians are, and that the Royal laws for the
good government of the Indies enjoin the greatest tact and
reflection to be observed in the process of removing the Indians
from their native places, as nothing is apt to convince them of
any good reason for such an abandonment, and when removed
they are subject to fits of extreme melancholy followed by
death. Various instances I could mention of what I have
l^ersonally seen in the part of America through which I
have traveled, and even at this very place of the government
168
ill niv charge. Therefore I can assure that if the Indians of
Suay are compelled to remove from their land and those of
Aripuco, Piacoa, Caroni, and Aguacagua, forbidding them
from planting their grounds on the banks of the Orinoco, tlie
greatest number of them will take to the woods, from where
they had been brought doAvn, These inconveniences were not
minded when the report was sent to His Majesty, nor the im-
portance to tlie Royal service of settling Missions on the banks
of tlie Oronico, which in time will secure these Provinces and
attract the establishment of Spanish settlements, as those of
San Antonio de Upata and Maturin, mentioned in Chapter 9,
and Nos. 101 to 112, and otherwise they will be impracticable.
" That once the works of the fortifications finished, the com-
mander transfer his residence to Angostura, closing it
with a battery mounted, on the part called San Philipe,
on the eastern slope of a hill in the rear, where a strong-
hold has to be erected as headquarters, and defend the
rear of the population and the battery, and that from
thence he shall have to attend to the garrison of the fort
and prevent the entrance of foreigners, extending due
})rotection to the Missions, allowing them the necessary
escort."
127. I consider superfluous everything that I might say, in
answer to the above part of the Royal Order, as I have in the
course of this part second of my statement placed in evidence
the great over-floods of the eastern and western sides of the
strip of land formed by the Angostura, where there is no kind-
ling wood, timber material, pasture grounds nor farming lands,
and that this circumstance and the want of victuals makes im-
possible the transfer of the Guayana inhabitants and their
subsistence. Angostura does not defend nor can defend the
entrance of foreigners and their commerce with the Provinces
of Cumana, Barcelona, Caracas, Barinas, and Sante Fe, nor pre-
vent them from keeping an open trade with all of them. The
safety of these Provinces depends from the fortifications of Guay-
ana, and if they are lost Angostura can not in any way be de-
fended, even by a stronghold like the one demolished at Araya.
169
The repairs and steps taken at will by the Governors, for the
security of the fortress, stop the foreigners from continuing
their illicit traffic, their landing and their incursions through
the Provinces through which the Orinoco River runs, as they
did until the year 1734 and even in that of 1740.
At present they only navigate through the labyrinths of
the mouths of said rivers, without daring to reach as far as
the fortress, which is entirely indefensive against the enemies
of the Royal Crown, intending to take it and holding it. In
such a case, (which is very near at hand). His Majesty would
lose a great portion of America, depending upon said fortress,
while the Orinoco River facilitates an entrance. The long
distance from Guayana of the Missions of the Jesuits and Do-
minicans in Barinas does not permit the aggregation of their
escorts to the fortress nor their protection from the same.
For the construction of the battery, stronghold and other
works directed by the above-quoted Cedule there is only the
amount of $500, when there is an actual need of from $300,000
to $400,000; and I have finally shown how erroneous is the
report to His Majesty, tending to disarm the fortress, the only
advantageous spot and key to all these Provinces, considering
sufficiently fortified with the construction of counter-founda-
tions and other useless works of the small fort of Limones and
the land attacks of the Padrastro mountain, and with said
useless work and a simple battery of Angostura they thought
the important Orinoco River safe, as also the extensive
Provinces easily reached through it.
This is the only favorable report upholding Angostura up
to the present time, and contrary to those of the Governors,,
engineers, and competent persons, and to the one that, in virtue
of a Royal Order was approved by His Excellency Don Se-
bastian de Eslava, who, like the Governors and engineers, held
the fortress of Guayana as the only advantageous ground to
secure the safety of all these Provinces, and that it must be
fortified as I have shown in ray note No. 9 of the memorandum
previously sent to His Majesty, and in my representation of
the 27th of August, 1751, while dealing with the subject of the
demolition of the Castle of Araya.
170
■" In consideration of the occupations and expenses of the trans-
fer of Guayana that may for a time deprive the inhabit-
ants fi'om a cliurcii, His Majesty has granted $4,000 for
the building of one, and to tliis end an order has been
issued to the A'iceruv of Santa Fe."
128. I consider sufficient for the building of the church tiie
four thousanil dollars (.$4,000) that Your Majesty has granted
for that purpose. It will Ix' v^\wA to that of the fortress, the
ornaments of which, as well as the images and bells contrib-
uted 1)V means of alms, can be taken to the new church ; but
in sucii a case (and that of a transfer of the Guayana inhab-
itants) it will be necessar}' to keep another church ornamented
in that fortress at the expense of the Koyal treasury, so that
the garrison may attend to mass, receive the sacraments, and
be buried, as there is no ho])e that the old church, already
dilapidated, may answer for that purpose. The building of
the new church, for which materials have already been col-
lected, has been suspended, and they may be applied for the
construction of the new one to be built on account of the King.
"And in this respect I am directed by His Majesty to tell Your
Honor that at once, and from the troop of Araya, 52 men
be sent to Guayana to serve in that garrison, and besides,
50 men to the Island of Trinidad, trying at the same time
to send to botli j)laces the artillery considered necessary,
and Your Honor will send instructions to the Governor
of said island about the means of defence that may have
been adopted, besides the help of Your Honor, in keeping
M'ith the urgency and possibility of the case."
120. As the })rincipal object in view, nhcn 1 came to take
chnrge of this Government, was to render assistance to the chief
of squadron, Don Josejih dc Iturriaga, and afford him the
facilities ol' money, provisions, and the ti'ooj)s he might want
to undertake his journey, as soon as I took possession of the
Government, and became familiar with the state of things, I
sent to .said chief $40,000, the cash existing then, and another
sum of $40,000, which for the same purpose was paid to me in
Cadiz. The stores and other things that he asked me for, and
in order to send him the ISO men that he requested, besides
171
those under his orders, I inspected the garrisons of this phice
and the Castle of Arava and found them in oreat decadence,
on account of the large detachment taken from here by said
chief, and the greater portion of which had deserted or died of
starvation in the fortress of Guavana ; that the troop that re-
mained herein the service had sustained many desertions, and
that every day the desertions continued for fear of being made
a part of the detachments sent to the Orinoco River and on
account of not having received the payment of the salaries
due and to Ije drawn from the Caracas Treasury, then three
years in arrears. In order to make this payment I applied to
til at Governor with a notice of the orders that I had and the
importance to the Royal service of sending, at the disposal of
the above-mentioned chief, the 180 men that he asked for, the
impossibility of doing so for want of funds to pay the salaries
due, and of keeping a part of them in that destination and
the rest of the garrison here, if i)roper means were not taken
to pay from that treasury the amounts allotted and already due
and to be due in future. And not having succeeded, I could
not send the 180 men requested nor avoid more desertions.
130. On the 20th of July, 1759, and through Your Excellency,
I laid before His Majesty all tliat I have stated, recpiesting
that his Royal kindness issue the corresponding orders to
the Treasury of Caracas or that of Mexico for the payment of
the $41,250, due on account of arrears to this garrison and
their future payments, in order to avoid frequent desertions at
the time ; and to my representation His Majesty kindly an-
swered bv means of Your Excellencv, under date of the 13th
of May, 1760, approving my conduct in the matter, and direct-
ing (among other things), that on account of the difhculty
that liad been met with for the payment at Caracas of the
allotted funds proper steps should be taken, after the resolution
about the subsistence of the fortress of Araya, upon which my
report was expected about the utility or inutility of the same.
131. In compliance with this Royal Order and those previ-
ously communicated on the subject, under the date of the 27th
■of August, 1761, I laid before the consideration of His Majesty
the inutility of that fortification ; and that I had considered
172
as a good service to His Majesty the demolition of s^iid castle
and the reform of its garrison, and that in cas<f that it was so
decideii, it was indis}>ensable to adopt a new regulation for the
srarrison of Ciimaua. which ought to be increaseil bv 2o more
men, and likewise that of the fortress of Guayana. with a com-
pany consisting of one captain, a lieutenant, a sub-lieutenant,
and 70 more men. so as to be able to detach escorts to the Mis-
sions to the Catalan Capuchins and Observant Fathers of Piritu,
besides the detachment to Trinidad for the better defence of
its fortress : but it was not found convenient or easy to have
formed out of the troop taken from the garrison of Araya for
the reason then stated. I likewise brought to the notice of
His Majesty that in regard to the Treasury of Caracas the
10,000 ducats assigned to the garrison of Cuniana could not
be collected, nor the alms of the Catalan Capuchin Missioners
and those of the Observant Fathers of Piritu (s<V). directions
should be given so as to continue the remittance of the 30,000
ducats from the Treasury of Mexico for the payment of the
Araya troop and the garrisons of Cumaua, the increase to be
furnished to Guayana and the alms to be distribute*! among
the bodies of the Missions in charge of spreading the Gospel in
this Province, as it is shown extensively in that communica-
tion.
132. And now I have to submit to His Majesty that the
Treasury of Caracas has continued opjx"*sing the same difficul-
ties to meet the payment of the annual allotment in favor of
this garrison, already in arrears for eight years, amounting to
$110,000. as it is shown at folio 149 of these proceedings, ihtit
these garrisons are awaiting yet the payment of three allot-
ments from Mexico that have not come yet on account of the
war, one of them having been lost in Havana, The three
allotments amount to (§12o,7o0) one hundred and twenty-
three thousand seven hundred and fifty dollars, and addin^^
those of Caracas ($233.7o0). two hundred and thirty-three thou-
sand seven hundred and fifty dollars, both from Mexico and
Ca nicas- During the war all these garrisons have been par-
tially helped by this Treasury with small monthly advances,.
but not sufficient, as it has not been possible to allow any more
173
for want of funds. The non-payment of salaries and the con-
tinual detachments to the Orinoco River have brought about
more desertions, which, together with the losses by death in
that quarter, amount to 394 men, from the time of the arrival
of that expedition, as shown in folios 150 to 150 of the pro-
ceedings. Said garrisons have been materially reduced to an
actual existence of 189 men, including the staff officers and 12
invalids, as shown at folio 157 of said proceedings, where it is
noticed likewise a deficit of 182 men to make up the whole
number, and I might as well call it 260 men, as many of them
in actual service might be discharged on account of age, sick-
ness or invalidity, and they are only kept for want of substi-
tutes. From the 189 men in actual existence, 33 are in Orinoco,
under the chief of squadron Don Joseph de Iturriaga, and on
duty in this place, including detachments, 144 men, counting
officers and the staff, which is almost precisely the garrison, as
shown in the last mentioned folio.
As the existing troop is so small, it is not possible to send to
Guayana 52 men nor 50 to the Island of Trinidad, as directed
by the Royal Cedule. In order to do so it should be neces-
sary that His Majesty would direct that by the Royal Treas-
ury of Caracas or of Mexico the arrears due the troops be paid
and the annual assignments for their payment, in which case
I have to submit to Your Excellency that it will not be pos-
sible to muster in this country all the people needed for the
service of this garrison and of that of Araya, existing before
now, because the whole of the garrison does not exceed 1,000
men of those who are called white persons and look like such,
as shown by No. 12, Chapter 4, of part first, and it is very diffi-
cult that 400 of the latter class would like to fill the places left
vacant in the two garrisons. It might be possiljle if they would
be restricted to serve in them, but impossible if wanted in
Guayana, as that country is adverse and injurious to the
Cumana natives, as shown repeatedly by the experience of the
detachments that at all times have been sent there, and the
greatest part of which have perished or returned while sufter-
ins of chronical diseases. The fact is fresh in their memorv,
past and present, with the existence of 250 widows now in
174
Ciunaiia. 8uiiie of them are really so and tlie others are con-
sidered so on account of desertions or abandonments by their
husbands, ^vhose whereabouts are not known, notwithstanding
the Royal pardon published. To muster single men into
service for Guayana is likewise impossible, not only because
there are not so many as required, but on account of the diffi-
culty of subsistence in that country, which is better secured by
married men. kept in the place by tiicir wives and children.
The increase to be added to the garrison of Guayana could only
be secured on the terms I reported to His Majesty in my letter
of the 27th of August, 17()7 ; otherwise it has not been found
practicable, notwithstanding the repeated Royal orders kept
in the archives of this government directing that detachments
from the Castle of Araya go over to the Missions of Orinoco.
Whenever in virtue of those Royal orders the experiment has
been tried the onlv result has been the loss of so manv men
and the upsetting of the garrisons, reducing the population of
the city and neighboring Spanish settlements, where peoj)le
such as that of Guayana are wanted.
133. 1 will not stop to justify and show to Your Excellency
other injuries and inconveniences making impracticable the
removal of so many jieople and their substitution if they die or
desert ; the difficulties subsisting in regard to detachments and
the removal of families to remain steadily at the fortress of An-
gostura, and the Avant of provisions for so many })eople ; tiie diffi-
culty for the prompt construction of dwelling-houses and hos-
pitals for the invalids if the King does not pay for them or for
the headquarters. Having to meet all these requirements, it
is not an easy matter to remove these garrisons, whether by
detachments or with their families, from this their native place,
for the distant, warm and danq) one of Guayana, and to replace
those who die. The 52 men and others that His Majesty
directs to be sent to the garri?^ons of Guayana, the 25 of the
small fort of Limones, the 73 <»f the Jesuits and Dominican
escorts of Barinas, the 100 of the ivgular allowance of the for-
tress, besides the impossibility of residing in it, for want of
provisions at present, it is an excessive garrison tiiat, after
being jilaced in Angostura as resident, is sent from there to-
175
increase the strong detachment of the fortress and that of
Trinidad, the Missions of the Catahin Capuchin Fathers, those
of the Reverend Father Observants of Piritu, of the Jesuits of
Orinoco and of tiie Dominicans of Barinas, it is a small
number of men, as it should bo necessary to properly fill these
detachments and relieve them, fully 500 men, or tiiey may
have to remain steadily in their respective headc^uarters as at
present. These insuperable inconveniences and others which
I omit, were not taken in consideration when the report was
sent to His Majesty, nor did they know the decadence affecting
the whole of this country on acconnt of the expedition and the
misery spread throughout by so many {)Oor widows and fam-
ilies, in detriment of the service of God, and followed bv so
many misfortunes.
134. I will not stop to acquaint Your Excellency with the
large expenses and difficulties of sending 50 men to Trinidad,
as I have alread}^ done so before in my representation of the 2d
of November of the previous year of 1762, in answer to the
Royal Order of December, 1761, directing this detachment, and
His Majesty's approval of my conduct in the matter by His
Royal order of the 17th of October ot this year, just received
throuo;h Your Excellencv.
135. On the same occasion on the 1st of November, 1762, I
rendered an account to His Majesty of the various reasons that
influenced my remittance to the Governor of Caracas of the
filteen bronze cannons found in the Castle of Araya and the
description of the quality and number of the rest of the
artillery of the same fortification remaining in this place, and by
the Royal Order of the 27th of October ultimo I have received
the approval of His M;ijesty. This time, under a separate
representation, I send with these proceedings an account to
Your Excellency of what, in virtue of the present Royal Order,
I have sent to the Governor of Trinidad, to wit : thirteen iron
cannons, and to theGovernor of Caracas I have decided to send
the rest of the utensils and ammunitions shown by the same
proceedings, corresponding to said separate representation, leav-
ing in this place no more artillery than the two bronze cul-
verins which, under date of the 27th of August, 1761, 1 informed.
17G
His Majesty that I considered to be appropriate for the service
of the fortress of Guayana ; where, however, I have not sent
them yet, on account of not having obtained your Royal
decision, and because without the construction of the necessary
fortification in that city, it would be a j)ity to risk so fine and
useful pieces. Thus I answer the point in question.
" That the fortress of Araya be dismounted (as directed) and its
cistern made useless."
130. The fortress of Araya has been wholly demolished, so
that no gun could be mounted; and I did so in virtue of the
lloyal Order of the 6th of January, 17(32, and I gave an ac-
count to His Majesty of wdiat I have done under date of the
1st of November of the year 1702, having been favored with
the kind approbation of His Majesty by the Royal Order of
the 2Gth of September of the present year, which I have just
received.
" That in this city the 25 more men requested by Your Honor
will be increased, as suggested in your letter of the 27th of
August of last year, and that filling up the vacancies for
the regular complement of said allotments with the sol-
diers of Araya the remnant be detached for the service
an<l defence of Guayana."
137. I submit to Your Excellency that at present there is no
need of any increase of 25 men in this city, as the fault is suj)-
plied by the diminished garrison of Araya, the increase of
which will be done when His Majesty be jjleased to direct the
completion of the former garrison of Araya and of this place,
or if in the latter, the increase of the 25 men has to replace
its vacancies with those from Araya, or if this one has to dis-
charge the few persons remaining and settle the funds for the
annual payment of the 25 men of the increase, which aside from
their not being needed at present in virtue of the law, it is not
in my power to change the place for the collection of the funds
unless His Majesty (if it were his pleasure) should wish me to
settle this point.
177
" And I make you acquainted with all the above circum-
stances by order of His Majesty and for the understanding
and the corresponding steps to be taken to comply with the
whole of this Royal resolution. — May the Lord keep Your
Honor's life for many years. — Aranjuez the 27th of May,
1762.— The Bailiff, Fr. Don Julian de Arriaga.— Tripli-
cate. — To Senor Don Joseph Diguja."
138. As soon as I received the present Royal Order, and in
order to be well prejDared to issue the corresponding measures
for its prompt and exact compliance, I tried to be informed
in every point mentioned by His Majesty's directions; and
being fully aware of the insurmountable difficulties, large and
useless expenses, and irreparable injuries that its enforcement
might bring about, the many years necessary, the impending
danger of the loss of these vast dominions, and the want of accu-
racy of the reports submitted to His Majesty, I consider it to be
my duty to suspend its effect, laying the case before His Majesty
with all the proceedings and documents justifying my views
sent herewith to Your Excellency, so as to submit the same to
the Royal consideration, and decide whatever it may meet his
pleasure.
Part Third.
Being well aware of all the antecedents and of the present
condition of the dependence in question, and following the
accurate judgment of the founders of the city of Santo Thome
of Guayana, of the engineer Don Pablo Diaz Fajardo, of the
Governor of Trinidad, Don Augustin de Arredondo, of the
Governor of Cumana, Don Carlos de Sucre, of the Marquis of
San Philipe, of Father Joseph Gumilla, of Brigadier Don Gre-
gorio de Espinosa, of engineer Don Antonio Jordan, of Brig-
adier Don Diego Tavares, and of engineers Don Gaspar de
Lara and Don Juan Bautista MacEvan, and the approbation
of His Excellency, Don Sabastian de Eslava, with the pro-
foundest respect, I submit to His Majesty in my sense of duty —
That the fortification of the mountain of Padrastro, if it meet
His Royal pleasure, be carried out at the Castle of La Con-
cepcion.
Vol. 1, Ven.— 12
178
That either, with the Castle of La Concepcioii, or any other
one meeting His Majesty's pleasure, be fortified without loss of
time, as otherwise it is most exposed to loss in the first war.
That the city be preserved, and tliat by all means possible
the po})ulation be increased to twice its present number of
inhabitants.
That the garrison be increased by 73 men, as proposed by
the Governors Don Gregorio de Espinosa and Don Matheo
Gaul, as I have requested His Majesty in my representation of
the 27th of August, 1761.
That the fort of Liniones be abandoned and a launch be
kept at the fortress, as represented to His Majesty by the
Marquis of San Philipe, and if Angostura is to be fortified to
be so with only the battery which was proposed by the Gover-
nor Don Juan de laTornera and is shown by figure 9 of the
map.
That the Missions of the Catalan Capuchin Fathers and of
the Observant Fathers of Piritu be attended to on the terms
that I have submitted to His Majesty. To these six subjects I
will reduce the corresponding chapters of this part third.
Chapter I.
That the fortification of the Fadrastro Mountain, if it meet His
Royal pleasure, be carried out at the Castle of La Concepcion,
as shown in figures 7 and 8 of the map.
1. In the course of this communication I have shown that
from the time of the discovery of the Orinoco nobody has con-
sidered Angostura as an appropriate spot to stop the naviga-
tion by foreigners and their entrance in these Provinces or
their seizure by them. That the Governor Don Juan de la
Tornera and Fr. Francisco del Castillo, the only j)ersons in
favor of Angostura, did not deal with the subject of fortifying
the Orinoco River, but only with the question of a fort that,
like the former one of Clarines, might protect the new reduc-
tion of Indians of the, until then, unknown Province of Bar-
179
celona, but nothing was said in regard to the utility or inutiUty
of the fortress of Guayana. But, although the Fathers of the
Company, Juan Capitel and Juan Remez, were of the opinion
that the Island of Fajardo ought to be fortified, they in no way
underrated the fortress of Guayana. On the contrary, they
were under the impression that by fortifying said island the
force of the fortress should be increased and the Orinoco well
secured. That the first founders of Guayana, the engineer,
Don Pablo Diaz Fajardo, and others followed, besides the ap-
probation of His Excellency Don Sebastian de Eslava, all, of
whom have unanimously considered as unsuitable and totally
unlit the site of Angostura for the situation and construction
of fortification intended for the security of the Orinoco, and
that only the fortress of Guayana has been considered the
proper spot to stop the navigation and secure all these
Provinces ; and in this view (besides my having so rei)resented
the case to His Majesty) they have taken j)articular steps, by
means of which the entrance of foreigners has been stopped,
as well as their hostilities and their establishment an the same
Orinoco. That the same engineers and Governors have con-
sidered that the Padrastro mountain must be fortified, as the
most important spot of the place, and the one that secures and
quadruplicates the fortress of the Castle of San Francisco, and
without the knowledge that I have at present of all the ante-
cedents of this matter, and by only ni}'- observation, at the time
of my visit to said mountain and its circumstances, shown in
my note 9 of my memorandum, by way of notice, the
great necessity of securing this most important place, and now
I say :
2. That (if it is the pleasure of His Majesty) I am for the
■construction at the Padrastro mountain of the Castle of La Con-
€e|)cion shown by figure 7 of the accompanying map showing
it in project. Said fortification will measure from 65 to 67
yards in length, 50 to 72 yards in Ijreadth, and that its surfsice
is shown in figure 8 and quoted in the explanation; that it
will have a sufficient parade ground for tlie management of
the artillery numbered in the interior of figure 7. It will as-
sure and increase the streno;th of the fort of the Castle of San
180
Francisco, wliicli will never be surrendered or occupied by the
enemy if the Castle of Concepcion, dominating the same at an
elevation of 36 yards over the level of the parade ground, is not
taken. It will close the door of the Orinoco, and, b}' its heavy
artillery, will reach and beat the opposite bank. It will stop the
landing on the Provinces of the Cumana and Barcelona sides,
as the first possible landing is above the fortress at the creek
of Patapataima and the {)ort of Camino Real (Main Jload) to
the plains of Barcelona, as shown in the map, as no landing is
possible below that point on account of the swamps and close
thickets all around, being six months of the year inundated
and under water all the way through, up to the neighborhood
of the cattle estate and sugar mill of Franco. It can not be
taken by surprise, as there is no other ascent than by the
winding one and very steep, shown by figure 8, which may be
guarded by two or three doors.
3. If the enemies should intend to take the Castle of Con-
cepcion and for that purpose should beat the bulwark of Sau
Joseph (not so easy a task, on account of the mudd}^ ground
to the east of the Castle of San Francisco and the Usupamo
River banks), even if they should succeed in opening a breach
they could not give the assault, as the ruins would crumble
down from the u))per part of the mountain defended b^^ the
Castle of San Francisco, and on account of the 51 yards eleva-
tion of the mountain in that direction. It' they should beat
the bulwark of Santa Ana they could not give an assault on
account of the same elevation and the Baratillo lagoon at its
foot. To l)eat and open a breach to the bulwark of Santa
Isabel is impossible, as the Orinoco Kiver is not accessible to
men-of-war of the line, and only to Irigates of 30 to 35 guns,
and frail vessels, unfit to stand the horizontal fire of the Castle
of San Francisco and the nearly perpendicular one from that
of Concepcion, that can not be beaten under sails, and only by
heaving down, and for that manceuvre they must cast anchors
in 65 fathoms, or even 80 in full flood, against a strong cur-
rent and wind, when in these circumstances they could hardly
direct a sure and lively fire, while receiving the leisurely ad-
pressed horizontal fire of the Castle of San Francisco and the
181
perpendicular one from the heavy artillery of Concepcion, and
even if they could open a breach, it comes then the difhculty
of landing- and undertakino; the difficult ascent of the moun-
tain, in a great part defended by the Castle of San Francisco,
and many of the steep windings are defended by the cannons
of La Concepcion.
4. The weakest point of this castle, and through which it
might be assaulted, is by the bulwarks of San Joaquin, San
Juan, and their corresponding curtain, but in order to beat
tliis fort, a manoeuvre not very easy is necessary, as it should
require a landing between the Arevia and Usupamo rivers,
overcoming their muddy grounds, trees, sands and inequali-
ties of the ground for carrying artillery behind the population,
and thence in front of said bulwarks, in short slopes, found on
the opposite of the channel F, to build batteries, and after
opening thee breach to clear the trees and muddy grounds of
channel F, well understood that it can not be done, while the
Orinoco River is flooded, as through said channel the waters
enter and fill the lagoons of Baratillo and Zeiba, until they
are level with the Orinoco River, as it has been shown exten-
sively in Chapter 9 of part first, and after overcoming the
difficulty of said channel F, the enemies will find themselves
before the steep and unequal ascent shown by figure 8, and
Avith the fosse that in that rock may be opened very wide and
deep at pleasure.
5. What has been shown is not an afi'air of eight days, and
if the castle resists fifteen or twenty days, keeping the enemy
exposed to the dew for as many nights, and the continued
rain, unless recourse be had to the lodgings of the population,
all under the fires of the Castle of La Concepcion, it is not
necessary to use any more powder to make them recede ; but not-
withstanding, in consideration of what may happen, its greatest
force is in the bulwarks of San Jnan and San Joaquin and their
curtain. iVnd if it meet the pleasure of His Majesty, a ravelin
may be built between the fosse and the channel F, and wdien
placed under the fire of said bulwarks and curtain, it will
have a like eftect as that of the Castle of San Francisco in de-
fense of La Concepcion, and will beat on the Orinoco and
182
dominating that of La Concepcion with such an elevation and
short distance to those of San Francisco, and the ravelin will
prevent their being taken by land, unless under a formal siege
with very' superior forces and bombarding the Concepcion
without the risk of any of the other three fortifications being
undermined, not only on account of the situation, but likewise
on account of the solid rock upon which they stand, just as
hard as flint, and if that of San Francisco is furnished with
the curtain denoted b}' the diagonals P of figure 3, and its
particular application is done, the three fortifications will be
safe against surprises, which must be a subject of the closest
precautions. See Chapter 9 of part first.
G. These two or three fortifications may be defended with a
few men and render assistance to each other and keep close
within them their garrisons that never will be of well-trained
veteran troops, and therefore must not be risked on any oper-
ation outside of the fortifications, but kef)t close within them^
and the militia and garrison secured only by the artillery will
be respected and allow time for re-enforcements w'ithout any
possibility of being stopped by the enemy, while they are not
in control of the Orinoco, an event impossible for them with-
out taking the Castle of Concepcion.
7. This is my judgment, following the engineers and Gov-
ernors already mentioned, with the only difference that those
persons made their projects according to their respective time,
and I base my opinion with a better knowledge of the Orinoco
and the Provinces, the entrance of which it facilitates. The
foreigners come frequently to the Orinoco and draw near it
with greater care than ever, and therefore it is indisj)ensable
to take more precautions with the fortress of Guayana and
fortify the Padrastro mountain as well as possible, as the only
kev of the Orinoco River and the Provinces of Cumana, Bar-
celona, Caracas, Barinas, Santa Fe, Popayan, and Quito, as I
have shown in Chapter 10 of part first.
183
Chapter II.
That His Majesty kindly order the fortification of the Padr astro
mountain, either by the construction of the Castle of Concep-
cion or any other at His pleasure, or else it may be lost in the
next war.
1. In my parts first and second I have shown that as soon as
the first Spaniards were settled in the Orinoco, the foreigners
commenced to stop their progress and took pains to dislodge
them and establish themselves, and for that purpose the Eng-
lish made armaments, the Hollanders set fire to the old
Guayana, and the French set fire and sacked the new one
established on the site of the present fortress. That during the
last century the French, English and Hollanders, supporters of
the Carib Indians, navigated freely the Orinoco and insulted
the new Missions on the Meta and Casanare rivers, in charge of
the Jesuits of the Kingdom of Santa Fe, and in one of their
assaults killed four Missioners and the captain of their escort.
Those of the Andalusian Capuchins were established in the
Province of Caracas. Those of the Province of Barcelona, in
charge of the Observant Fathers. Those of Cumana in care
of the Aragon Capuchins. And in the Province of Guayana
they did not permit any of those established by the Cata-
lan Capuchins, and the Hollanders protected especially the
barbarous Caribs, and enslaved as many Indians of the other
tribes as they could meet, and w^ere then taken to their new
establishments at Esequivo, Berbice, Surinam and Corentin,
where they were sold as negroes. That in the year 1719 the
Caribs and French set fire to the town of San Felix of the
Penitence, and on the banks of the'Guarapiche they had an
encounter with the Governor, Don Jose Carreno. That soon
after they assaulted the village of San Carlos, situated on the
banks of the same Guarapiche, which resulted in its depopula-
tion. That in the year 1727 the English and the Caribs had
another encounter wdth the Governor, Don Juan de la Tornera,
at the margins of the Huere River, close to Barcelona, where
said English had established 11 houses in the shape of stores,
184
ami ill lliciii quantities of arms were taken, ami in the year
1735 the sameCaribs and French set fire to tlie new Mission of
Neuestra Senora de las Remedios, hung the Missioner, killed
37 Indians in arms, and carried away with them the women
and children ; that at the same time the Hollanders and Caribs
assaulted various settlements in charge of the Jesuits in the
Province of Santa Fe.
That the fortress of (Juayaiia, on account of its weak, ruined
fortification and small artillery, in want of men to handle it,
could not resist the free ingress and egress through said place,
with the result that all these Provinces were in a continual
alarm, and nobod}'- dared to enter into those extensive i)lains,
nor keep away from their settlement on the high lands.
That in the year 1734 Don Carlos de Sucre went to the fort-
ress, repaired the Castle of San Francisco as well as the lim-
ited funds on hand permitted, and increased the garrison and
population of that place, opening the road to the plains of
Barcelona and Caracas from said fortress, persecuted the
Caribs and foreigners who traded and entered in the Orinoco,
and took other most timely measures by which, to a great ex-
tent, the tranquility of these Provinces was secured. This
condition of things lasted only a very short time, as the English
noticing the progress of the fortress, shortly after the declara-
tion of the {)revious war, in the year of 1740, invaded that fort-
ress, took the Padrastro mountain, from where, by the fire of
their muskets, they dislodged the garrison of the Castle of San
Francisco, which they took, and destroyed everything they
found there, set fire to the city and neighboring settlements of
the Missions, and then set sails and left, leaving the Orinoco
as unprotected as before the visit of Sucre to the fortress.
That the Governor, Don Gregorio de Espinosa, and the Engi-
neer, Don Antonio Jordan, came back and rebuilt the city and
partially repaired the ruined Castle of San Francisco, but for
want of funds and i)Owers they could not advance very mate-
rially their improvements during their government. That in the
year 1747 the Brigadier Don Diego Tavares went to the fortress
and took most important steps for the restoration of the Castle
of San Francisco, built the small fort of Padrastro, congregated
185
a greater number of residents and completed the garrison with
100 men, the total of his allotment. These timely measures
were continued by Don Matheo Gual, the Governor pro tempore,
under Don Nicholas de Castro and myself up to the present
time.
During that time the Orinoco nas been successfully closed
and the illicit trade of foreigners stopped, and the Caribs, their
allies, do not come to the fortress or up the river nor land and
offer any hostilities to these Provinces ; but it has not been pos-
sible to prevent the navigation and traffic of the numberless
mouths and branches, in which the Orinoco River is divided
below the castle, for want of a suitable force. Although the
fortress of Guayana is sufficiently strong to stop the naviga-
tion and illicit trade of the Caribs and foreigners, defending
the same against them or others, and preventing their landing
on the Provinces and the navigation above the fortress, it is
entirely defenceless as against the enemies of the Royal Crown,
who may attack and destroy it, as they have done on other
occasions, and they may hold it, which is still worse.
2. And now I say that I perceive lately a greater knowledge
of the Orinoco and of the Provinces, through which an en-
trance is facilitated, and the individual reports given on every
subject.
Last year, even before the Provinces were acquainted with
the declaration of the war, an English brig entered the Ori-
noco through the large mouth, went up the river taking
sounds of its channel, and returned doing the same thing,
according to the deposition of three neutral prisoners of this
Province whom they had on board. As soon as the English
were disengaged from their attentions at Havana they sent a
corsair to await at the port of Temeraria (Damerara), belong-
ing to the Dutch of Esequivo, to await greater forces and with
them to fall on Guayana, which was not done on account of
the receipt of news of the peace, as shown at folio 196 of the
proceedings, and other extra-judicial and positive news that I
possess.
I see, likewise, that in order to conclude the peace the Eng-
lish have restored the fortress of Havana and Martinique, and
186
placed great stress so as to keep Liranada, Saint ^'ilR•ellt and
Tabago, tlie nearest islands to the mouth of Orinoco, and
otherwise unimportant.
As soon as peace was adjusted they detached one frigate,
two sloops and one schooner to the mouth of the Orinoco,
where they continued for some time taking soundings at the
several mouths, Gulf Triste, the neighborhood of Trinidad and
the coast of Paria. His Majesty has been notified of the great
importance to the Royal service of the fortification of Angos-
tura, taking there the greatest part of the garrison of the fort-
ress, which is equivalent to fortify Cordova, in order to ])re-
vent the enemies from entering through Guadalquivir and
San Lucar of Barrameda into Andalusia, and their commerce
in said Provinces and the Kingdom.
3. The foregoing antecedents and the present appearances
do not seem to show that the English have forgotten the Ori-
noco, and that they will sooner or later try to possess it, as-
they are not unaware of its importance and of how much inter-
est it may be to them. In the first place, the great commerce
facilitated through it with the Provinces of Cumana, Barce-
lona, Caracas, Barinas, Santa Fe, Popoyan, and (,iuito, where
they can be introduced with the facility explained in Chapter
10 of the part first. In the second place, on account of the-
certainty already attained of the communication of the Orinoco
with Rio Negro and Maraiion, securing to the English a closer
correspondence with the Portuguese Provinces. In the third
place, that after securing the fortress of Guayana,the only key
to the entrance of the Orinoco, they will become masters of
that desert part of the mainland of Brazil, and the Orinoca
may be their frontier along with ports of the Provinces of
Cumana, Caracas, Barinas, and Santa Fe, so that the dominions
of the most faithful King and those of the English in the
Windward Islands and the Provinces of Guayana, will all be-
come joined in one ; they will avail themselves of the com-
munication of the Orinoco, avoiding a great detour, and will
carry through tiie Maranon all they may want from the in-
terior of said dominion and those of His Majesty, and will
enjoy the same facilities in their Provinces.
187
4. But even were it not of such a great importance for
the supplies of their colonies, the English stand in need of a
footing on the mainland, and that is in Guayana, as I shall
explain.
5. In all their colonies to the windward there are no grounds
fit for breeding cows or horses, as the land is not fertile, and
fit only for sugar cane plantations. Tiiey have only salt meats
brought from the north, and the fresh that they can get in a
clandestine way, taken from this Province and that of Caracas
in the shape of live stock, as in ordinary times a head of cattle
is worth in the colonies from $40 to $45, and a mule from $80
to $100 for the use of the sugar mills where they have no water
power or facilities for windmills. In the time of war, when
the}'' miss the facilities of trade, and pending other contingen-
cies preventing the transportation of salt meat, a head of cattle
is worth from $80 to $100 and a mule $150, the colonies being
exposed to extreme wants not easily supplied by fresh fish,
likewise scarce in said colonies and most abundant on the
coasts of the mainland, especially turtles, for which they come
to the mouth of the Orinoco River, and in ordinary times
they pay from $18 to $20 each. Fishing in the Orinoco River
can not be stopped, either to the English, Hollanders, or
French, as there are no embarkations fit to prevent it, unless
His Majesty will take further steps on the subject, as said for-
eigners violate the treaties of peace.
If the English have to be established on the main land, no
spot is more desirable to them than Guayana, which, besides
the advantages of its commerce, it may facilitate the naviga-
tion of the Orinoco, the communication of the Portuguese, and
their becoming masters of the extensive Province of Guayana,.
the fisheries of turtles both on the Orinoco River and its
mouth, from where the}^ will exclude all the other nations,
deriving great profits. They shall have the shipment of the
cattle from the banks of the Orinoco, where they are reared
and in which the Province of Guayana will soon abound, on
account of possessing large pasture grounds fit tor live stock.
In that case they will not want any from the Spaniards. By
shipping at the Orinoco and coming out through its mouth,.
188
the caiTviiiti' vessels will i;ain the windward of the islands and
colonics, which they may reach in a very few days with fair
wind, without any inconvenience for the cattle. These ad-
vantaf^es are not possessed by the English situated on the north-
ern coast ; besides the difficulties of subsistence, and others,
the}' could not enjoy the advantages found in the Orinoco, nor
secure enough cattlr, wliidi is reared only on the plains of Bar-
celona and Caracas, at the rear of the elevated mountains run-
ning along in tlie proximity to the coast, as shown by the
general map, the plains of which follow up to tlie Orinoco in
front of the fortress, as it is likewise shown by the map. In
order to ship said cattle from the northern coast, it will be
necessar}" to bring them across the mountain, where the want
of pasture grounds and the rough land, to which they are not
accustomed, injures the cattle and renders them useless before
being shipped, and afterwards they have to tack about for
fifteen or twent}' days before reaching the colonies, and after
that long and protracted voyage the animals are all worn out.
That is not the case witii the Orinoco shipments, where the
cattle is embarked in the best condition, and have only from
four to six days' navigation.
6. Tlie foregoing reasons persuade of the great care that must
be taken with the fortress of Guayana, as the only spot fit to
secure the Orinoco and tliat can be fortified with safety, with-
out trusting anything to the Angostura; which, besides the
great expense and dilficulty of its ibrtifications, no matter how
strong they are, they can not defend the fortress below, which
is the door for the entrance of the supplies of war, materials
and ])rovisions, especially those that are not to go farther in-
land tlian the city of Barcelona and through its mountains
and plains to the Orinoco, at a distance of about 80 leagues,
and thence crossing over to the other side of Angostura, where
the new city and battery must be located. Neither this bat-
tery nur any stronger fortification could prevent the landing
of Ibreigners on the length of tlie 20 leagues distance from the
foitress of Guayana, nor the entrance and commerce by the
way of Camino Real, shown by the maj), in the direction of the
I'luvinces of Cumana, Barcelona, Caracas, and Barinas, or
189
through other roads which may be opened and that uught to-
be protected. These reasons impel me to request from His
Majesty the fortification of tlie Paih-astro mountain, and to call
His Royal attention to the fortress of Guayana as more im-
portant than tliat of Carthagena, on account of tlie largest
interests involved. And I suspect that the English are project-
ing something about the fortress of Guayana, and for tliat
reason the Padrastro mountain ought to be fortified before
going to a new war with said nation, because if it so happens
and they seize the fortress, it could not be recovered by force
without liberal allowances by capitulation.
Chapter III.
That the city shall he preserved, and hy all j^ossible means the
population increased to twice its present inhabitants.
1. I have shown, likewise, in parts first and second, that
those who discovered the Orinoco founded Guayana in front
of the Island of Fajardo, near the banks of the Caroni river,,
as shown in the map. That having been burnt by the Hol-
landers, the natives, not minding Angostura and being already
acquainted with the Orinoco, founded the city of Santo Thome
de Guayana, eight leagues below said Caroni river, where for
the second time the breadth of the Orinoco river is reduced
to from 1,400 to 1,500 yards, and begins to be divided into a
labyrinth of mouths, through which it empties into the sea.
That in the last century the French set fire to the city, and the
residents being certain that there was no other ground more
adequate for a fortification and a stopping point of the Orinoco,
rebuilt it, and although in the year 1740 it was burnt by the
English, neither the residents, nor the Engineer Don Anto-
nio Jordan, nor the Brigadier Don Gregorio de Espinosa,
thought proper to change the place, and reconstructed again
the new Guayana, locating there all the forces necessary, as the
only point fit to secure the Orinoco.
, That was, besides, the opinion of the Engineer Don Gaspar
de Lara and Brigadier Don Diego Tavares, notwithstanding
190
tliut tlicy liad come, like their predecessors, under }>arlieLilar
directions to fortify Angostura. His Excellency Don Sebastian
de Eslava, Viceroy of Santa Fe, in virtue of Royal directions
apjtroved the report of Tavares and his predecessor, Espinosa,
and ordert'd all the forces in eharge of the safety of the Orinoco
to be located at the fortress. To-day it is sufficiently fortified
to prevent the foreigners' illicit trade and the entrance of the
Caribs, their allies, in the Orinoco river, and their landing and
hostile demonstrations against these Provinces, as they did
before until the ycnr 1717. Tavares made the repairs needed
in the year 1740, cau.sed by the English attacks, and increased
the garrison and the neighborhood, but it is unal)le to resist
the enemies of the Royal Crown that may come to hold it and
destroy it again, on account of the want of corresponding forti-
fications and efficiency of the garrison and residents to defend
those that they have already, nor those that may be constructed.
The eastern and western lands around Angostura are inun-
dated, and have no timber, kindling wood, pasture, or farming-
grounds. Angostura stands on a narrow strip of land of low
and continuous hills, in no way lit for the establishment of a
population, and very difficult to be defended on account of the
conditions of tlic place. The transfer of the residents of (xua-
yana will reduce them to a miserable condition of poverty, on
account of the abandonment of their homes and plantations
which they possess. They can not subsist in Angostura for
want of supplies, unless they are supported at the expense of
the Royal Treasury, which will involve a very serious outlay.
It is not practicable to aggregate to that garrison the escorts of
the Jesuits of the Orinoco and Dominicans of Barinas, nor the
detachment of 52 men from the remnants of the garrison of
Araya, and still less to keep them permanently there with
•their families. The desert part of the Province of Cumana
-can not furnish the necessary men for the numerous garrison of
Angostura, where, in oi'der to relieve the detachment of the
Jesuits, Dominicans of Barinas, Catalan Capuchins, Observants
of Piritu, the Island of Trinidad and the fortress, 500 men are
necessary and must be kept as a standing garrison in their
•corresponding post, as they are now.
191
No matter how Angostura be fortified it will be impossible
to avoid the landing of foreigners and their entrance in the
Provinces of Cumana, Barcelona, Caracas, Barinas, and Santa
Fe, if the fortress of Guayana be lost, nor is it feasible that the
natives of this Province reach said fort, by the way of Camino
Real, shown in the map, or through other roads to be opened
in those deserts. No matter how Angostura be fortified it can
not defend the fortress of Guayana nor, after the loss of said
fort, defend itself, no matter how well fortified and how strong
the garrison which it contains may be, nor avoid that the
foreigners become masters of the place of the Orinoco river,
and of the extensive Province of Guayana and their free en-
trance in Cumana, Barcelona, Caracas, Barinas, Santa Fe,
Popayan, and Quito.
2. Bearing in mind all these circumstances and undeniable
facts, and following the opinion well founded of the founders
of the fortress of Santo Thome, that of the Engineer Fajardo
and the rest, following up to the approval of His Excellency,
Senor Don Sebastian de Eslava, and in view of what has been
demonstrated by experience, I crave, most humbly, that His
Majesty may decide that in no event the transfer of the city
to Angostura be attempted, as entirely contrary to the interest
oT His Royal service and the safety of these his vast dominions ;
and I crave, likewise, that His Majesty may order that the city
and fortress of Guayana, by all possible means, be increased
to the number of 200 inhabitants, so as to have the men en-
listed in two or three militia companies, rendering assistance
to the garrison and managing the artillery, in which exercise
they must be trained and well disciplined, with very especial
care, as they may be of great service ; the increase of neigh-
bors will not be difficult if His Majesty grants some exceptions
and privileges to those going to settle and stay there, being
well understood that this object can not be attained in a short
time, on account of the want of victuals and houses where to
stop, but it w^ill be easy, within three or four years longer,
through diligent agents and the corresponding measures for
the help of the new neighbors and those who are now existing
and cultivating their farms, improving the same, and in the
192
Missions ahx'aily well Iruiiiud, and fiij()yin<^ jl;oo(1 fariuing
lands, and with those of the new Si)anish founthition of 8an
Antonio de U()ata the same cave may be iiad. 15y this in-
crease of the neiii'hhoi-lidoil of the garrison, and tlu' corri'spond-
ing fortification t!iat I hav^e exphiined, His Majesty will feel
most safe ; the foreigners will stop before i)utf ing into practice
their {)riijeet, and \vill not att(Mii[)t to take and fortify Angos-
tura, without taking the fortress ; their illicit commerce will be
very easily stopjied ; tin- large expenses considered necessary,
as rej)orted to His Majesty without sufficient knowledge, will
be reduced, and the residents of Guayana will be spared the
infliction of the loss of their plantations and their homes in
the city, in order to have them build new houses in Angos-
tura while exposed to the open air, and thesure inconvenience
of the now grounds, when they are newly opened and cleared,
and from this exposure many of the new neighbors may perish
or give u}) the place under the atiiiction of various diseases,
and Guayana may be depopulated, costing more labor, money
and time the congregation of a like number of neighbors as
now exist, and those who are thought necessarv, in order to
have them accustomed to the climate, and in condition to
undertake new plantations and farms, without which no po[)U-
lation can exist there or in Angostura.
Chapter IV.
Tliat tlie garrison of the Fortress be increased by 73 men, as pro-
posed by the Governors, Don Gregorio de Espinosa and Don
Matheo Gual, and as I have requested His Majesty in niy rep-
resentation of the 27th of August, 1761.
1. In I )art second I have shown that it is not practicable to
aggregate to the garrison of the fortress of Guayana tlie 73 men
of the escort of the Jesuits of Orinoco ami of the Dominicans
of Barinas, and that even iC it were practicable, by relieving
these detachments, the ex[)ense of doing so will amount from
$2,500 toS3,000. That the 25 men that have been reported to
193
His Majesty as belonging to the fort of Limones are imaginary,
as there is not, nor ever has been, any such 25 men there, nor
ever will be unless His Majesty requires them, allotting the
necessary funds for their subsistence. In that case it will be
very easy to muster the men into the service. It is not practi-
cable to complete the garrison, which used to belong to Araya,
so as to send them by detachments or as a standing force with
the 25 men and others remaining from that garrison to serve
in Guayana. If it were practicable that the 73 men of the es-
corts of the Jesuits of Orinoco and the Dominicans of Barinas,
the 25 men of the Fort of Limones, and the 52 of the garrison
of Araya, aggregated to the J 00 of the allotment of the fort-
ress, in all, 250 men existing in Angostura, in order to provide
the detachments of the Missions of the Jesuits of Orinoco,
Dominicans of Barinas, Catahm Capuchins, Observants of
*Piritu, the Island of Trinidad and the fortress, this force is too
small, and no less than 500 men are wanted to relieve said
detachments, or else they must remain in their fixed posts and
respective employments where they are at present. Although
His Majesty may allow the 500 men suggested for the post of
Angostura at the fixed corresponding annual salaries, involv-
ing an expense of $64,000 to $65,000, it is not practicable, for
want of provisions, to keep them without houses or adequate
headquarters, nor hospital, apothecary shop, or surgeon, and
because this desert Province can not furnish such a large num-
ber of single or married men for said garrison, as in the eight
settlements under this Government only 1,000 men are able to
bear arms who are considered to be white persons, and it is not
possible that these 500 men go to Angostura and be replaced
whenever they die, desert, or are disabled to do duty. Even if
it was practicable, 500 men, or even a greater number, placed
in Angostura, can not defend the fortress of Guayana; and if
this is lost, that of Angostura itself can not be defended or
prevent the enemies from taking it as well as the Orinoco, and
go inland into the Provinces of Cumana, Barcelona, Caracas,
Barinas, and Santa Fe, and introduce at least their trade in
every one of them, and in Popayan and Quito, becoming mas-
ters of the deserted Guayana.
Vol. I, Ven.— 13
194
2. I have shoAvn, likewise, that according to the opinion of
my predecessors, Espinosa and Gual, and with the knowledge
that I ae(juired in my general visit of this Province, the
Orinoco, and the fortress of Guayana, I suhmitted, under date
of the 27th of August, 17G1, to His Majesty, that if it was his
Royal pleasure the Castle of Araya ought to be demolished,
and that it was convenient that the fortress of Guayana should
be allowed tiie increase of its garrison with one company of a
captain, lieutenant, sub-lieutenant, and 70 men, so as to facili-
tate the corresponding escorts to the Misions of tiie Catalan Capu-
ciiins and the Observants of Pii-itu, but l)y no means it ought
to be counted for that purpose the troops, serving at the Castle
of Araya, for the reason adduced in that correspondence, and
that it should be easy to form that company with men who,
of their own free will, would be ready to go and reside, doing
duty at the fortress of Guayana.
3. Well aware now of the unavoidable difficulties and large
and useless expenses that might be occasioned by the accumu-
lation of so many men at Angostura and the indefensive con-
dition in whicii the Orinoco river might be left, with the
greatest veneration I renew my humble request to His Majesty
for the increase of the above-mentioned company, considering
in keeping with the convenience of the Royal service that said
company be composed of men willing to go and serve in that
fortress, without having to compel the natives of this city to
do so, for the reasons I have shown in part second as being
impracticable, with tho only difference that in my report of
the 27th of August ] re[)resented to His Majesty that the new
company might answer for the escorts of the Missions. And
now, witl) the same reverence, I .submit to the Royal considera-
tion of His Majesty, that in casc^ he dc^-ides the construction at
the mountain of Padrastro of the Castle of Concepcion, the
73 men of .said company, and tho allowance of 100 more for
the garrison of the fortress, to till all th(? posts and contingen-
cies of the fortification, can not be detached to escort the Mi.s-
sions, and that will be the only thinoj that, out of convenience
of the Royal service, has to be changed of wiiat I have
stated in my communication of the 27th of August. I con-
195
sider injurious and onerous to the Royal Treasury the greater
Increase, tliat has been represented to His Majesty as neces-
sary, of a company of 100 men, as a similar number of militia-
men may be aggregated to the fortifications, as I have suggested;
and I consider sufficiently safe the Orinoco river, coramandiujr
the respect of the enemy, whose squadrons could not come
and assault that place but with smaller vessels, and unable to
stand the fires of the castle of San Francisco and of the pro-
jected fortress of Concepcion and the ravelin, being defended
by 173 regular soldiers, and as many or more militiamen, who
could not be surprised nor surrendered without giving ample
time to receive the support of this government with provisions
and superior forces, which the enemy could not stop, as they
will never be masters of the Orinoco river, without taking the
Castle of Concepcion and its collateral of San Francisco and
the ravelin. The large annual expense of keeping 500 men
in Angostura, and the detachments to defend the fortress of
Guayana, Orinoco, and Angostura may be saved, and it will
be unnecessary the increase of funds for the maintenance of
the 73 men of the suggested company, as they may subsist out
of the savings of the demolished and suppressed fortification
of Araya, as I proposed to His Majesty in my above-mentioned
communication of the 27th of August, and have been already
done by the Governors in dealing with this subject and the
fortification of the Castle of Guayana, as shown by their cor-
responding representations quoted in the present one.
Cliai>ter V.
Tltai the fort of Limones be abandoned and a latuich be kept at
the fortress, as represented to his Majesty by the Marquis of
San Philipe, and if Angostura is to be fortified, to be so ivitJi
only the battery which luas proposed by the Governor, Don
Juan de la Tornera^ and is sltoivn by figure p of the map.
1. In Chapter 6, of part first, I have stated all the circum-
stances which gave rise t-j the construction of the fort of Li-
mones and those following up to the time of the receipt of the
196
present Royal Order. In Chapter 9, from Nos. 50 to 88, 1 have
exphiined the .situntion, shape, and diainctors of the fort, the
waiit of solidity of that ground, and how it is inundated by
the Orinoco; that said fort is divided into ten (piarters, useless-
and out of repairs; that it is uninhabitable and intolerable, the
plague of insects product'd by the flood of the ground upon
which it stands ; that in its present condition, and even if it-
were in perfect order, it could not subsist in that place, close to-
the high banks of the Orinoco, that has taken out 60 yards in
front since the time of the commencement of the work, and will
take many more in that movable ground if it is cleared of
trees, and may spread and extend its bed as far as to render
useless the Castle of San Francisco and the projected one of
Concepcion. From Nos. 53 to 60 of part second, I have shown
that by the present form already given to the fortress of
Guayaua, and witliout any help or need of the fort of Limones,
the Orinoco has been closed to the foreigners and their illicit
trade, and to the Caribs, who often invaded the Provinces, and
that if the mountain of Padrastro is fortified the foreigners-
could not take it nor continue their commerce. From Nos.
lid to 118 of part second, and other works (sic) directed by
Royal Order and reported to his Majesty {sic), they in no way
prevent the inevitable ruin threatening the fort nor the inun-
dations of that ground, nor its want of solidity, the plague of
insects produced, nor the sinking of the fort with the banks of
the Orinoco, nor the spread of its bed, requiring only large
disbursements and undue expenses. In note 9 of the memo-
randum of reports, without being well aware of such powerful
reasons, I show that the fortress of Limones ought to be aban-
doned. And now I say that being divided into ten quarters, use-,
less for the s(;rvice and out of repairs, becoming uninhabitable
on account of the plague of insects produced in that swampy
ground, where the Orinoco river carries away every i)art
which is cleared of trees, spreading its bed and making useless
the fortification of San Francisco and those of Padrastro, and
the experience demonstrating that without the fort of Limones
the Orinoco has been closed to foreigners and may be secured
onlv bv the fortification of the Padrastro mountain, I am of
197
the opinion, if it meet the approval of his Majesty, that the
fort of Limones must be abandoned and the banks of the river
be preserved by not allowing the cutting of trees or removal
of timber from there, nor opening any new roads. That will
be the best way to secure the ground and prevent the river
Orinoco from spreading its bed above it, and probably restore
the 60 yards which have been taken away, and the 23 from
the Island of Limones.
2. With the same profound reverence, I submit to His Maj-
esty, that in order to stop the illicit trade of tlie foreigners
navigating the mouth of the Orinoco, I consider necessarj^ to
the Royal service to keep a launch, of the Galera shape, at the
fortress, with capacity for an 8-pounder on the prow and four
or five swivel guns on the sides, well manned and paid, and
not with unwilling parties and residents to the fortress without
a salarv and at a great injury of their families, as it has been
done heretofore, with the necessary evil consequences repre-
sented to His Majesty by the Marquis of San Philipe in his
memorials quoted in Nos. 4 and 5 of Chapter 0. The launch
so armed, manned, and guarded by some troop on board could
not be opposed by any sloop or schooner of those trading on
the Orinoco, no matter how well armed ; it could not be re-
sisted, on account of the difficulty of turning around in the
narrow creeks and against such a rapid current.
3. I submit, likewise, to the Roval consideration, that the said
launch and fortification of the Padrastro mountain defended
by the Castle of Concepcion and the ravelin, I consider as cer-
tain that the illicit trade of the foreigners will not continue at
the mouth of the Orinoco, which will be safe, and the fortress
in capacity to resist any enemies of the Royal Crown intending
to give an assault ; but if, notwithstanding all those circum-
stances, the fortification of Angostura meet the Royal pleasure,
I consider sufficient the onlv batterv shown in fissure 9 of the
map, located where it was proposed b3^the Governor Don .Juan
de la Tornera, in a ground not subject to inundations, where it
may be furnished with provisions and people of the settlements
of Aragua and Pao, without any need to cross the Orinoco, and
other convincing reasons which I omit. To serve this battery,
108
a sergeant with S or 10 inun IVoiii the fortress may be detached,
and I do not consider it entirely useless, as it will always com-
mand some respect, presenting a second pass of the illicit
traders of the country, the only employment of the said
battery, but not for the defense of the Orinoco, as Angostura
without it, nor with any fortifications whatever, can defend
itself nor the whole of the Orinoco if the fortress of Guayana
be lost.
Cbai)t«'r A'l.
That the Missions of (lie Catalan, Capnchin Fathers and of the
Observants of Piritu be attended to, as I have requested before,
ill consequence of mi/ r/encral visit.
1. I have shown in Chapter 3 of part first, that although the
bodies of Missions spreading the Gospel through the Provinces
of Cumana and Barcelona have been always in want of more
Missioners to make up their corresponding numbers, and de-
prived of sufHcient alms for their subsistence and ornaments,
images and Ix'lls for their Church in tlicir new settlement,
without sufficient escorts to keep and improve them, it is due
to them the pacification of these vast Provinces and the estab-
ment of sixty-nine townships, containing from 20,000 to
27,000 Indians; among them the village of Aragua, the settle-
ment of Pao, Rio Caribe and Carupano of the Spaniards,
besides other improvements known and already explained,
that without these bodies of Missioners should have rendered
useless all the measures of the Governors on the subject.
In Chapter 8 I have explained that to the Mission of the Cata-
lan Capuchins, spreading the Gospel in the Province of Guay-
ana,isdue theestablishmentof 24 settlements, although only 16
are now^ in exi.stence. The fortress of Guayana has been formed
and brought up to its present condition, which could never have
been obtained or subsisted without the help of the Missions, and
lately the establishment of San Antonio de Upata is due to said
Mission. In consequence of my general visit, I submitted to
s Majesty the condition of these bodies of Missions, their
199
wants, and the abuses introduced, making impossible the col-
lection o\ the alms assigned to them ; the necessity of more
Missioners as well as ornaments, images and bells for the new
settlements, and sufficient escorts for the protection of tliose
established already and the future settlements. The great
convenience to the Royal service for the safety of those exten-
sive dominions and the spiritual benefit of so many poor
Indians spread throughout them, require the support of these
bodies of Missions and their progress, going farther inland
through the extensive Province ot Guavana, as shown bv the
copies of said communications and other documents therein
quoted at folio 247 of the proceedings accompanying the pres-
ent report.
2. And to-day I most humbly submit to His Majesty, in the
interest of the Royal service, His Sovereignty, the safety of
these Provinces, and the propagation of our holy religion, that
the Catalan Capuchins be protected and their alms made effec-
tive, allowing them more Missioners and a sufficient escort ;
that the same protection be extended to the Observants of
Piritu, and that the greater part of this body of Missioners go
over to the Orinoco (as it has been ordered), and be established
in the Province of Guayana within the terms expressed in said
communication ; that in the same Province of Guayana, at
proportional distances, two or three bodies of Missions be kept
where they have sufficient work to do ; and that the four or
five bodies established there go farther inland on the banks of
the Orinoco to the south, as it is done by the Catalan Capu-
chins, thus succeeding in occupying the countries in tlie rear
of the colonies of Esquivo belonging to the Dutch, and those
of Cayena occupied by the French. The extensive Province
of Guayana will be known, the infinite number of Indian in-
habitants will be pacified, and it will be ascertained how the
Portuguese are going inland and coming to the north. At the
same time the Provinces of Cumana, Barcelona, and Caracas
have been increased with new Spanish settlements without the
least cost to the Royal Treasury or violence to the settlers ; and
in the same way those of Guayana, which have been already
commenced, may be settled, as that of San Antonio de Upata.
200
But if the Indians are not pacified, or in capacity to help the
Spaniards in their labors, it will not be possible to establisli
anj' settlements, and still in such remote countries, as by re-
peated instances it has been demonstrated in America, and
lately in the same Province of Guayana in the cases of the
cities Real Corona, Ciudad Real, and San Fernando, in which,
notwithstanding the immense amounts already exfjcnded for
their establishment, the only results obtained have been trou-
bles and misfortunes, and they never reached the conditions of
the settlement of San Antonio de Upata, that has cost nothing
to the Royal Treasury, as shown by Nos. 93 to 112, Chapter 9,
of part first.
3. In m}' representation of the 27th of August, 1701, I sug-
gested to His Majesty that by an increase of 73 men to the
fortress of Guayana the Missions of the Catalan Capucliins and
the Observants of Piritu might be escorted. In the ])revious
chapter I have shown that by fortifying the Padrastro moun-
tain, as I request His Majesty to do, the 73 men are necessary
for that garrison, so as to cover the posts of the fortifications
and other contingencies of the fortress, allowing the corre-
Sj;onding escorts to the Missions.
4. And now^ I most reverently submit to His Majesty to
allow the Catalan Capucliins 20 or 24 men as a standing escort
of the Mission; that thev must be horsemen, as the infantry
is not (juite as useful and has to be idle most of the time, with-
out any action distributed around the settlements ; which is
not the case with the horsemen, who nuist go every da}'
around the country and become familiar with the diiferent
places, keeping the Indians in feai', when not settled, and
avoiding many difhculties, rendering prompt assistance wher-
ever wanted, and such is not the case with the infantry. It
will be advisable that the {)ersons of said escort be married
men and keep their families there, as it is the case with tlie
escort of the Missions of the Jesuits, as that will be the only
way to avoid disorders and injuries to the Indians witli sol-
diers from the fortress detached to the new settlement, where
they forget the duties of their profession, the military subordi-
201
nation, and become otherwise objectionable. The families of
the married men are attached to the places where they are
brought up, and the result is beneficial to the populations,
without need of any grenadiers, as the Indians are very easily
controlled.
5. I am likewise of the opinion that the Observants of Piritu
ought to be allowed 12 men at present while they do not go
farther inland to establish other settlements, besides the three
which they keep in said Provinces, and proportionally to the
other bodies of Missions spreading the Gospel in their terri-
tories, so that within 20 or 25 years, without any excessive
cost to the Royal Treasury His Majesty may have a Kingdom,
now unknown in that extensive Province, while the miserable
Indians will be reduced and brought to the bosom of our holy
religion, trained for a social life and useful for the help of the
Spaniards, who may establish any trade there, protecting the
same Province and reimbursing the Royal Treasury of the
outlays and moneys expended now for their settlement and
education, the only proper way considered adequate for the
conquest and population of, America, especially those coun-
tries where the allurement of mines and the interest of com-
merce do not attract visitors, and prescribed by repeated laws
of His Majesty for the good government and pacification of
the Indies and the newly discovered regions.
6. This is, most Excellent Sir, what I consider my duty to
represent to His Majesty, in answer to the serious matters in-
volved, as a good vassal, and in the discharge of my conscience,
being responsible to His Royal kindness for the truth of every
thing that I have stated. Your Excellency (if it is necessary)
may kindly lay it before His Royal notice, and I beg to be
excused for the unusual length of this communication in my
desire to fully expand the various points embraced in the Royal
Order, not permitting more conciseness. May the Lord pre-
serve the life of Your Excellency for many happy years, as it
is my desire.
Cumana, December (15th) fifteenth of seventeen hundred
and sixty-three.
202
Most Excellent Sir. — Kissing the hand of your Excellency .-
Your most obedient servant.
Joseph Diguja — [here is a flourish.]
To the Most Excellent Seiior
Baliff Fr. Don Julian de Arriaga.
This copy agrees with tlie original existing in the General
Archives of the Indies, in Stand 133 — Case 3 — Docket 16 —
Seville, October 13th, 1801.
The Chief of Archives.
Carlos Jimenez Placer — [here is a flourish.]
[seal.] — General Archives of the Indies.
The undersigned, Consul General of Venezuela in Spain,
certifies to the authenticity of the signature of Sefior Carlos-
Jimenez Placer, Chief of the general Archives of the Indies.
Madrid, 28th of October, 1891.
P. FORTOULT HURTADO.
The undersigned, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United
States of Venezuela, certifies to the authenticity of the signa-
ture of Sehor Pedro Foutoult Hurtado, Consul General of
Vevezuela in Spain at the preceding date.
Caracas, Marcli (Uh, 189G.
P. EZEQUIEL ROJAS.
[seal.] — Ministry of Foreign Afiairs.
203
Stand 131.— Case 5. — Docket 7.
General Archives of the Indies. — (Seville.)
1761.
Memorandum of Notes explaining tlie general map of the
Government of Cumana sent to His Majesty by the
/
Governor Don Jose Diguja.
Cumana, December 18, 1761.
Notes sent to His Majesty by the Governor, Colonel Don Joseph
Diguja Villagomez, in the year 1761, for the prompt and
readier understanding of the general map of the Government
of Cumana.
This memorandum contains thirteen notes. In the first,,
twelfth and thirteenth, a general and short notice is given of
the government of Cumana, and the rest refer to the other
Provinces under said government, particularly the settlements^
shown by the map, and taken from the acts of the general
visit and other instruments therein quoted and observed and
recognized in the course of said visit by the present Governor.
Government of Cumana. — Note First.
A general notice is given of the government of Cumana, the
Provinces composing the same, the climate, the place of resi-
dence of the Governor, the Tribunal to which the same gov-
ernment is subordinated, its Diocesan Prelate, the Tribunal of
Crusades, that of the Inquisition, the neighboring governments^
and other notes showing briefly what this Government is.
204
Governraent of Cumano..
The Government of Cuniana is one of the more extensive
among those within tlie dominions of the King our Lord in
these His Royal possessions and lies more to the eastward of
the two kingdoms of Santa Fe and Peru.
Provinces compo^inrj if.
Tt contains three Provinces, to wit, that of New Andalusia or
Cumana, the capital of which is Santa Inez de Oumana; that
of New Barcelona, the capital of wliich h(>ars this name; and
that of Guayana, the capital of which is the fortress of Santo
Tiiome de la Guayana, although the largest in territory, is
totally unpopulated, and a little less is true with respect to the
other two. In these three Provinces there is a variety of lands,
elevated and extensive sierras, spacious plains, important rivers,
especially the great Orinoco that runs through the center of all
the Government territory, and others of less importance ; and,
without being unproductive, many countries depending upon
only I'ain water.
Its height and temperatm^e.
The greatest height found Avithin these Provinces is the Cape
of Three Points, on the coast of Paria, which is at 10° 20' north
latitude and 313° (sic) and 30' west longtitude ; but withal, the
climate is mild, free from the excessive heat of other countries
of similar situation, that might be experienced in this country,
if it were not exposed to the northern and eastern winds gen-
erally from the beginning of November to the beginning or
middle of June, and during those months tlicre is hardly any
rain. From beginning to the middle of .Inne the winds are
vai'iabh', from the northwest and the south, with frequent
showers and greater heat, but not as excessive as that of Car-
thagena and the Province ot that name. The months of fre-
quent rains are called in this country the " winter" (envierno),
in spite of being warmer ami less healthy.
Residence of the Governor.
The Governor always resides in the city of Santa Inez de
•Cumana, the capital of the three Provinces. He is named
205
Governor and Captain-General of them, and exercises the-
Vice-Patronage (in ecclesiastical vacancies), the Superintend-
ence of the Koyal Treasury and of the branch of the Crusade.
The rank of the men appointed for this Government has gen-
erally been for some time to the present that of a Colonel and
a Brigadier, although sometimes Lieutenant-Colonels have
been appointed.
Tribiuials to luJiich the Government is subordinated.
By the reserved way the Royal Orders from His Majesty are
received from the Secretary of the Universal Despatch of the
Indies, as in all the rest of America, and through the same
this Government addresses its representations and affairs, cor-
responding to that classification.
Royal and Supreme Council of the Indies.
In the same way in which the rest of America receives the
Royal Cedules of His Majesty, through His Royal and Supreme
Council of the Indies, where this Government sends its con-
sultations and affairs corresponding to this class, but with the
circumstances that this Government, being on the mainland, as
those of the Kingdoms of Santa Fe and Peru, and subordi-
nated to the Viceroyalty of the former, the Royal Despatches
are received by way of the Secretary of New Spain by which,
and not by that of Peru, His Majesty addresses his above-men-
tioned communications to this Government, having no Royal
disposition found in these Archives to trace the origin or the
cause and beginning of this practice.
Viceroy of Santa Fe.
In Government affairs the Governor is subordinated to the
Viceroy of Santa Fe ; the correspondence with that capital is
so very rare that only from year to year despatches are received
from the hands of an officer of the fortress of Guayana going
after the funds assigned at the Royal Treasury of said Capital
for the payment of the garrison. The officer brings the de-
spatches to this goverrmaent, to the Island of Trinidad, and ta
that of Margarita, likewise subordinated to the Viceroy, who
on the return of said officer sends his replies to the aforesaid
206
three governments, as the only occasion avaihihle, and costing
said garrison §1,000, paid to the officer, and discounted from
their own sahiries, p7'o rata, at the time of effecting the annual
payment to each person of the garrison.
Royal Audience of Santo Domingo.
In r(\oard to the Provinces of Cumana and Barcelona, sub-
jects of contention (in the lawsuits) are subordinated to the
Royal xVudience and Chancery of Santo Domingo in the Island
Spaiiobi.
lloijal Aadleuce of Santa Fe.
'rh(>y are likewise subordinated to tiie Royal Audience and
Chancery of Santa Fe (all subjects of contention), in the Pro-
vince of Guayana.
Viceroy of Mexico.
To the Viceroy of Mexico an annual rc()ort is sent, giving
an account of the branch of bulls of the Hoi}' Crusade. He
disposes of this fund, after deducting the greater amount re-
mittee! from that Royal Treasury to meet the payments here
of the garrison of the Castle of Araya.
Chief Accomptant of Caracas^.
The Royal Treasury and everything that appertains to it in
this government is subordinated to the Chief Royal Accompt-
ant of Caracas, who receives the accounts of these Roval officers
and the other Ministers of the district.
Diocesan Prelate.
The Diocesan Prelate in all the territory of this government,
the Islands of Margarita and Trinidad, is the Bishop of Porto
Rico, who by Royal Order, and in consideration of the long
distance intervening, appoints a Superintendent Vicar of all
these annexed territories residing at the capital of Cumana.
It is very remote and casual the correspondence with this Pre-
late, so that for the despatch of the atiairs of the same territo-
ries certain powers are delegated by said Superintendent Vicar,
one of them being to fill the ecclesiastical beneficial vacancies.
Before this Minister all the oppositions, appointments and pre-
sentations by the Governor are made, and the vacant benefi-
207
ciaiy post is filled, according to the Royal directions, and
everything is attended to by said Vicar in the affairs con-
nected with the Royal patronage.
Tribunal of the Crusades.
The Tribunal of the Crusades resides in the city of Cumana,
under a particular Commissioner, Sub-Delegate from that of
Porto Rico, and this one from the Commissioner General of
the Crusades, in conformity with the last Royal directions for
the administration and collection of this branch, in conformity
with which this particular Commissioner exercises his powers
and issues his decisions, in accord with the Governor, as Super-
intendent of the same branch in this district, and at the end of
each proclamation of the bull takes the accounts from the
Treasurer, and with his approval or the objections made they
are forwarded to the Government, who submits them to the
Royal Officer for revision and auditing, and after his report
he approves the same and orders the delivery by the Treasurer
of the amount to the Royal coffers.
Tribunal of the Inquisition.
The Tribunal of the Holy (3ffice (the Inquisition) of the City
of Carthagena of Indies has at present two Commissioners
here, one who resides at Cumana, and the other in Barcelona,
who, according to their powers, institute j^roceedings on the
subjects within the jurisdiction of their tribunals, and forward
the cases, after being substantiated, to their Superiors.
Neighboring Governments.
The neighboring Governments are those of the Island of
Trinidad to the leeward, Margarita, Caracas, and the Province
of Santa Fe, as shown in the map ; and to the south those of
the Province of Guayana with the dominions possessed by the
Most Faithful King of Brazil, but to a great extent, containing
an unknown territory without any precise or reliable descrip-
tion sufficient to form a correct knowledge. I will treat what
concerns said Province in a special note in which notice will
be taken of the Dutch and French Colonies to the east of them.
208
Sec Notes 12 and J3.
In tliu y-enoral snmmarv contained in note 12. and in doaling
witii the snl>ject ni' tlic illicit commerce, end)i'aciii^ all oi the
note To, tlic rc[ioits of the j)rcscii( ai'e extended, and tliC}' show,
in a condensed way, the chief features of the government of
Cumana and tlie other Provinces, as contained in the memo-
randum with individual references.
Part of the Province of Guayana. — ^ote 8.
Reference of the few and confused notions about the Province
of Guayana, its limits, i)rincii)al i-ivers, gold and silver mines,
Dutch and French Colonies and [)opuhitions of all.
Evervtliing that has been shown al)out the Provinces of
Cumana and Barcelona is based on the perfect knowledge
obtained of their situation, lands, temperature, etc. ; but of the
vast exten.sion of Guayana very little is to be said, and most
of that derived from Indian reports, or rustic people deserving
less credit. At present we have to accept those reports as the
only data we have of this Province, and in this connection an
explanation will be added of what seems to be sufficient to
make it comprehensible.
Province of Guayana.
This is a vast Province, most of which is unknown, as no in-
telligent person has visited enough territory inland of it, except
the Reverend Catalan Capuchin Fathers, and that through
only a short distance, as shown by the ma}), and will be ex-
plained when dealing with the situation of the Missions estab-
lished by the Capuchins. Througli several Carib Indians who,
yielding to their wandering and warlike propensities go far
inland, away from their native haunts, it has been discovered
that in the center of extensive j)rairies and high, elevated
sierras, some with fertile soils and many covered with snow, and
being the source of large rivei's. inehiding the great Orinoco;
that in some of said sierras and forests there arc a great many
Indians of various tribes ; that in some of those sierras, although
under the ei|uinoctial line (sir) (e([untorial), the weather is ex-
cessivelv cold, and the reason why said Caribs have so little
209
traffic with them is for fear of dying, as they say, and should not
be strange, on account of their nudity and habits of warm coun-
tries. They likewise give confused reports of the lagoon of
Parima, assuring to have seen in it various islands, most of
them populated by Indians who live on the abundant fish of
said lagoon, which receives large rivers, running from the
.sierras covered with snow towards the north and south of the
lagoon; that those of the north, and where the source of the
waters of the Orinoco is found, are shown in the map situated
.at 5° latitude {sic) and 313° longitude (sic) in a north to south
direction from Angostura and the Tableland of Guanipa. The
Spaniards have only surveyed the banks of the Orinoco and
8 or 10 leagues inland, by the way of w'hat they call Muitaco
and the ]\Iissions of the Reverend Observant Fathers of Piritu.
Boundaries of the Guayana Provinces.
The boundaries of the Province of Guayana are : On the east
.all the coast in which the Dutch Colonies are situated, Esquivo,
Bervice, Deraerari, Corentine, and Surinam, a'nd further to the
windward that of Cayena belonging to the French. On the
north, the banks of the Orinoco river dividing the Provinces
-Cumana, Barcelona, Caracas, Barinas, Santa Fe, and Popayan,
forming a semicircle, returning to the east to reach the sources
of the Parima lagoon, as it will be seen in the general map of
said Provinces and river. On the south, with the dominions
of the Most Faithful King in Brazil, the confines of which, as
well as those of the Province of Guayana and their central
contents, are unknown.
Principal rivers of the Province. — Orinoco River.
The first and most famous river of the Province is the great
Orinoco, receiving its waters within the same Province and
being the receiver of those of all the other rivers coming from
the Provinces of Popayan, Santa Fe, Barinas, Caracas, and Bar-
celona. To treat of all of them should go beyond the limits of
the present report about the Government of Cumana, so that
as the rivers from the Province of Barcelona flowing into
•tlie Orinoco are mentioned, it will likewise contain those more
Vol. 1, Ven — 14.
210
important and well known of the same Province of Guayana^
tVoni wliicli it comes and flows into the sea, and the other
rivers shown in th(^ map. Those that arc not represented may
be seen in the first four chapters of Padre Gumilhi's " Orinoco
Ilhistrado," where with his knowledge and individual notice
he explains what the Orinoco river is, and the other great
rivers it receives, except those towards their sources that said
Father considers to be in the Province of Popayan or Timaiia.
From the exploration of the late Commissioners of the expedi-
dition (of boundaries) in charge of the Chief of Sc|uadron, Don
Joseph de Iturriaga, for the demarkation of limits, it is located
at the Pari ma lagoon, which receives its first waters from the
snow iiiountain to the north of said lagoon, as shown in the
map. The mistake of Father Gumilla denying the commu-
nication of the Orinoco river with Rio Negro has been rectified,
as said communication was not in doubt at the time of the
exploration of the Commissioners, having been discovered
before and after the work of Father Gumilla by Father Manuel
Roman, of the Jesuit Company, and a Missioner. The source
of the Orinoco, its communication, by means of the Casiquiari
with Rio Negro, and the Guaviari river, descending from the
Province of Santa Fe and receiving the waters of Timana and
Pasto, in the Province of Popayan, which is the one that
Father Gumilla mistook for the Orinoco, will be seen in the
general map, and as it has been said will be added with every
detail gatliered about the Orinoco river, its tributaries, during
its extensive course, and those that are navigable, and to what
extent, with marks of the places; having very little more to
add to that of Father Gumilla, on account of reliable reports.
Caroni River.
The river called Caroni enters into the Orinoco at a distance
of 8 leagues above the fortressofGuayana, being divided in two
bodies, forming the island called Caroni. The river is broad
and rapid, but is not navigable on account of the strong cur-
rent and numberless rocks and islands it contains, besides a
fall near the Mission of Aguacaua; its waters are very clear,,
although they look dark and turbid on account of the black
211
sand at the bottom of the river, brought down from its sources,
the course of which is not known. The Caribs say that it
comes from mountains close to those covered with snow, and
thesame furnishing the Uigoon of Parima with water, as shown
in the map, and from the ridge of mountains traced by Father
GumiUa.
Aruy River.
At about 24 leagues from the Carooi, the river called Aruy
empties its water. It is not as broad as the river Caroni. Its
sources are not well known ; the Caribs, however, state that
they are at about 50 leagues distance, in some mountains less
elevated than those originating the Caroni. Between these
two rivers there are a great many Indians located on plain
and mountainous grounds, but all very pleasant.
Caura River.
Fifty leagues above the Aruy river the Caura empties its
waters, and is broader and more important. It comes through
large rocks, preventing the navigation to all vessels above the
sizes of canoes and small launches. The sources of this river
are at about 60 leagues distance from its mouth, taking its
waters from the elevated sierras, inhabited by many Indians,
who are harrassed by the Caribs, who take them to the Hol-
landers, making prisoners of the women and children and
exterminating the grown people. These three rivers are the
greatest and best known of those in the neighborhood of Gua-
yana entering the Orinoco River, without mentioning the
small and infinite streams of the Province not possessing any
importance.
Gold and silver mines.
On the mountains of this Province the existence of several
gold and silver mines is supposed, but none in actual opera-
tion nor even known at present. It is thought that they exist,
according to the Royal Cedule dated at Aranjuez on the 9th
of June, 1740, registered at the Accomptant Office of Guayana,
in which it is mentioned that in time of Don Carlos de Sucre,
while Governor General of these Provinces, several samples
212
were sent to the Court, and from the assays it was ascertained
that there was very fine silver in one of the samples, and the
other was of gold of twenty-one carats, and His Majesty directs
Governor Don Gregorio de Espinosa, successor to Don Carlos
de Sucre, to have said mines surveyed, and report the pos-
sibility of enforcing the measures proposed by the Chief As-
sayer, and for that purpose to send his report to the Viceroy
of Santa Fe, to whom instructions had been communicated.
That is the only reference obtained about those mines, no
doubt on account of the want of population of the Province
and the absolute w^ant of experts for this kind of assays and
labors.
Dutch Colonies. — Esquivo.
To the east, on the coast of this Province, are situated the
Dutch Colonies of Esquivo, Demerari, Bervice, Corentin, and
Surinam. According to the reports obtained by Don Juan de
Dios Valdez, Commander of the fortress of Guayana, a person
of information and ability, the Esquivo Colony consists of sev-
eral sugar-cane plantations that the Hollanders have planted
for a distance of 30 leagues on the banks of the Esquivo River,
beginning from its mouth, and likewise several islands formed
by said river with lands fit for plantations. The greatest part
of those plantations are of sugar-cane, with dwelling-houses and
grinding mills at a distance of about two or three leagues from
each other.
The Esquico Blver, and continuation of details of the Coloity.
The Esquivo river, from which the Colony takes its name,
at its entrance into the sea is one of the important rivers of
America. The source of its waters is to the south, and its bed
diminishes in proportion to its approximation to said source.
It is navigated by launches for a distance of about six days'
journey up the place where its waters diminish and are di-
vided into various rapid streams, with many islands amongst
them ; and up to the present time there is no Hollander who
has ever been at its source, and the only report they hear is
from the Carib Indians, saying that its sources originate from
213
the great lagoon of Parima. This river receives other very im-
portant rivers, especiall}' those called Mazeroni and Cuyuni, that
enter together into the Esquivo, at a distance of 8 to 10 leagues
from its mouth, the reason why it is so bulky, when it reaches
the sea, where it empties its waters through five mouths, and
in every one of them with a sufficient channel for the naviga-
tion of sloops and schooners, but not of larger vessels. In two
of its islands formed by its mouths there is a plantation in
each one of them, with several houses for negroes and Indians.
Every owner has a group of those, resembling small villages,
and the same appearance is noticed at the plantations on the
river banks. On the third island, more to the east, they have
about twelve houses erected for the residence of the Governor
of that Colony, the Captain of the troop, and the Surgeon, that
of the Secretary, minding the interests of the Company, two or
three inns, two blacksmith shops, a few stores and lodgings
for the negroes of the Company, besides the church or place
of worship. This small number of houses form the only pop-
ulation of the Colony. On the highest spot of the island, close
to the house of the Governor, stands the fort, Zeeland, built
upon stakes on muddy ground, beaten by the river and the
sea at high water, a reason why they very often have to under-
take new repairs. Besides this fort there is a horizontal bat-
tery on the level of the water of both river and sea, with twelve
pieces of artillery of 24-caliber. It is commanded within the
fort Zeland. The garrison of these fortifications and the Col-
ony consists of a company of regular soldiers, in all 70 men,
40 of whom are paid by the Company and 30 by the inhabi-
tants. A detachment of a sergeant and 30 men is sent to the
garrison of the small fort kept at the mouth of the Demerari
River, at a distance of 5 leagues from the Esequivo along the
coast to the east. The commander is a subaltern and a lieu-
tenant of the Governor.
Demerari River.
The Demerari river does not go far inland as the Esquivo
does, and is only navigable by launches. Its banks are cov-
ered with plantations; its inhabitants are English deserters
214
mill (U'liii(|U('iits, payiiiu' tiil>iitc to the I lollniiders for the
grounds tliat tliey possess. The products of their phintations
are sugar, coffee, and cotton. Tlicy navigate to Europe un-
der the same formalities tlnit the Hollanders of tlie Esquivo
river do. This Colony is supported from l^urope with two
annual shi[tments, on account of the company and of the in-
habitants, including those of the Demerari river who, at
their own risk, send the ])rodncts of their ])1antations, paying
so nuich to tlie Company as the owners of the vessels, carry-
ing likewise tlie products belonging to the Company from
their ow'n plantations, and those purchased fi"om the inhabit-
ants not willing to risk their shipment on their own account,
and likewise those brought from the Colonies of Bervice, Cor-
entin, and Surinam, among which a constant trade of minor
vessels is kept gathering these products. From the three
Colonies of Bervice, Corentin, and Surinam there is no j)ar-
ticular knowledo-e, and it is onlv known that thev are dilferent
from that of Esquivo, not reached in the map, and therefore
it is omitted to refer to them ; and for the same reason nothing
will 1)0 said of Cayena, belonging to the French.
Injuries occasioned hij ilir Dutch Colonies, especiaUi/ that of
Esquivo, in flu Province of Guayana.
The Dutch Colonies are very injurious to the Province of
Guayana, especially that of Escj^uivo, as the nearest to the
Orinuco river.
Thev Q'O hv this river and those of Mazaroni and Cuvuni,
protected by the Carib Indians, jtillaging and capturing the
Indians that are not Caribs. from this Province, and reducing
them to slavery, in the same way as they do with the negroes,
and sell them and employ (hem in their plantations and
tarms. In order to seize them they employ every device that
tyranny and avarice can suggest, keeinng in close friendship
with the Caribs, a ferocious and warlike tribe overruning
all this extensive Province and part of those of Barcelona,
Caracas, and Santa Fe, in ])ersecution of other Indians, on
whom the Caribs hold control, on account of their peaceful
and gentle character, being continuall}^ assaulted in their
215
ranches or grounds; the old Indians arc killed and the young
and the women captured to be reduced to slavery. Tliese
incursions disturb very frequently the Mission of the Reverend
Catalan Capuchin Fathers, not quite so well established, en-
ticing away their Indians who take to the woods at the least
news of the approach of the Caribs, in spite of all steps taken
by the Missioners to stop them, in consequence of their
cowardly and pusilanimous disposition, which may sometimes
he overcome by the presence of Spanish escorts in the settle-
ment to which they resort for protection and defence. The
native Hollanders of those Colonies who accompany the Caribs,
teach them how to manage the arms, and they are even more
inhuman than the Caribs themselves, so that a close watch is
necessary to stop them and defend the Missions which they
procure to destroy in order to remove that obstacle from their
Colonies, as shown in the map.
Settlements of the Guaymia Province.
All this extensive Province contains no more Spanish settle-
ment than the fortress, known under the name of the City of
Santo Thome de la Guayana, for although the Chief of squad-
ron, Don Joseph de Iturriaga, tried to establish the cities of
Ileal Corona and Ciudad Real, neither the one nor the other
has been successful, as will be explained, but there are IG set-
tlements of Missions under the Reverend Catalan Capuchin
Fathers, four settlements likewise of Missions under the Rev-
erend Jesuit Fathers, and three more under the Reverend Fran-
ciscan Fathers and Missioners of Piritu, as it will be seen in
the following two notes.
City of Santo Thome or Fortress of Guayana — Note 9.
Details are given of the fortress of Guayana, its fortifications,
the troop and garrison, the salaries of the troop and the Royal
Treasury where to collect them, the militia, the neighborhood,
the families, the stores contained, the plantations possessed, the
Church, the Pastor, the want of a Minister for the administra-
tion of justice in ordinary cases, and what the settlements are
that bear the names of Cities of Real Corona and Ciudad Real.
210
After having said what little is generally known of the ex-
tensive Province of Guayana, it remains to explain in par-
ticular what those settlements are, as it has been done with
those of the Provinces of Cumana and Barcelona.
Fortress of Guayana.
The fortress or the city of Santo Thome de ( Juayana is sit-
uated at 8° and 17' north latitude and 314° (sic) 17' longitude.
It is the capital and only township) of all this unknown
Province, its temperature is warm and damj), and very un-
healthy. The ground is not fertile, on account of being sandy^
it is situated on the bank of the Orinoco river, at its narrowest
point, and close to the first mouths or islands dividing the
river. Its breadth from tlie fortifications of tlie city to the
opposite part of the river is hardly witliin range of a 24-
pounder, and its bottom is from 70 to 80 fathoms.
Fortifications of the Castle of San Francisco.
Upon the same bank and in a quasi horizontal position with
the water line is the Castle of San Francisco de Asis, its irreg-
ular figure, with the greatest front to tlie river. To the east
it has another small front, but so low that it may be scaled
witli great facility. The front towards the south is defended
by a great lagoon at its rear ; on tliat front tliere are a few
short compartments for stores, headquarters, and the guard
for the troop. The front towards the west is where the gate is
located, and all its work is of stone and mortar. x\t a small
expense it may be improved and secure this fortification, but
it is not to be relied upon if the Padrastro mountain is not
fortified, as it will be explained. The cannons and their cali-
ber, balls and powder contained in tliis Castle may be found
in the statement corresponding to the same, in the map Avhere
six small guns are included, a little more than swivel guns^
that are placed on the Padrastro or Castle of San Diego, as it
wmU be explained ; the other utensils exist in the Castle of San
Francisco, and are described in the first })art of the Acts of
Visits, as also those of this fortress, at folios 229 to 298.
217
Fort San Diego or Padrastro.
Besides the Castle of San Francisco there is another called'
San Diego or Padrastro. It is situated upon a rocky mountain
which dominates the fortification of San Francisco and at such
a short distance as to be within the range of a musket shot.
Said mountain is really the spot that ought to be fortified, as
it is only in name called Castle of San Diego, which is but a
small tower of four equal fronts built of stone and mortar, and
its parapets of mud and adobe. It has six swivel guns mounted,,
that can hardly be played within the short space they occupy,
and besides what has been said it is so low that a man with
a very little help from another man may penetrate into it,
without the least difficulty, so that by no means can it de-
serve the name of Castle or fortification, being really the ad-
vantageous and only spot of all the river that may be fortified
with safety and a little less than Angostura, being the two
places where the river may be rendered impassable. In the
rear of this mountain, upon which the Padrastro stands, there
is a large lagoon similar to the one defending the Castle of
San Francisco, and it is not easy to drain it. The two lagoons
around contribute to the unhealthiness of the population
settled to the south of the lagoon of the Padrastro and within
a short range of the same.
San Fernando.
On the opposite side of the fortress, and in the creek called
Limones, is situated the fort named San Fernando, in the
shape of a round tower, still in course of construction, for the
reasons explained to His Majesty, under date of the 23d of
September, 1761, being built of lime and brick material. This
fortification deserves the close attention of that of Padrastro,
with the diflFerence that this one must be fortified very well,
and the other abandoned altogether.
Troop for the garrison of these fortifications and place where to he
paid.
In this fortress in charge of the custody, of which His-
Majesty keeps a captain commander, a lieutenant, two sub-
218
lieutenants, a constable, a cliaiil.iiii. two serg^eanls of fusileers,
two corporals, 12 artillerymen, a druinmer and 77 soldiers,
ainonf^ whom tliere are a very few white jiersons, most of them
are mulattoes, mustees and negroes, who stand hctter that in-
salubrious climate. The .salaries paid annually to tiiese per-
sons are found in the corresponding statement of the map. and
likewise the total amount of S13,91)4 paid out of §14,000 that
His Majesty has assigned for this payment from the Royal
Tn-asury of Santa Fe. Said fund is collected by an officer
sent every year for tliat purpose and bringing the same to the
fortress, at the expense of the garrison, to the amount of $1,000,
paid as explained in note 7.
This oiiicer undertakes the journey through the Orinoco
river up to the confluence of the Meta, continuing the navi-
gation through it tV)i' lialfthc (Hstance shown l>y the map, and
thence going i^y land sixteen or eighteen days through the
roughest mountains up to the capital of Santa Fe. The in-
crease of this garrison is indispensable on account of the rea-
sons laid before His Majesty in my representation of the 27th
of August, wiiile dealing with the subject of the demolition of
the Castle of Araya, besides those that Avill be exposed in the
following note.
^filitia.
Besides the regular paid troop, all tlie residents are enlisted
in a company of 58 militiamen, including officers, as may be
seen in the corresponding .statement of the map. These militia-
men ilo all the work of the government, as the regular troop
is detatclied to escort the Mis.sion of the Reverend Catalan
Capuchins, in order to stop the frequent Indian incursions
that take place.
Nelf/hhnrliiioil. — Families. — Inhabitants. — Slaves. — Houses.
The ru[)orts of the general vi-^iit of thi.s fortress already men-
tioned at folios 220 to 29S .show an existence of 90 families,
including those of the regular troop, in all 535 souls, includ-
ing in that number 113 slaves. They inhabit 66 very reduced
houses built on sandy ground, which, together with the con-
219
tiiiual rains, the heat and the vicinity of tlie lagoons, makes
the chmate very insakihrious and insufterable to all those that
are not natives, except the negroes, mnlattoes, and mustees,
who stand better its effects, and some of them become cor-
pulent.
Plantations.
The inhabitants possess 20 plantations, some of them of
.sugar cane and some corn fields, besides a few herds of bovine
cattle, containing about 1,800 heads of all kinds.
Church . — Pastor.
There is only one parochi.d churcli in the city, straw
roofed, on heavy timbers and mud walls, attended bv the
cliaplain of the troop, who is a Reverend Capuchin of the
Catalan Mission, drawing the salary of tlie chaplain, and the
.small parochial fees to whom a fourth of the tithes collected
belong, reaching in a few years over $30 ; and the alms of the
residents and troops are dedicated to keep the church.
Want of an Ordinary Justice.
There is no common council nor ordinary justices in the
city. The military commander refused to entertain those
•cases, on account of the large expenses they entail, and only
attends to those within his jurisdiction or ]jy commission from
the Governor, before whom the parties appear first.
Cities of Peal Corona and Ciudad Peal.
The chief of Squadron, Don Joseph de Iturriaga, in virtue
of ins powers undertook the establishment of two settlements,
under the name of Real Corona and Ciudad Real, for which
he congregated several persons dispersed on the banks of the
•Orinoco and the Provinces of Caracas, Barcelona, and even
from the Island of Margarita, who were supported for some time
at the expense of the Royal Treasury, but after the withdrawal
of that support they recrossed the river and returned to their
old places, notwitlistanding that the Chief remained still in
Ciudad Real with several families and clerks attached to his
.expedition. It will disappear entirely when the Chief quits
220
it, on account of the insnperal)lG ditiicultios experienced in
places so far away from all Iminan help, without any interest to-
attract inhabitants, even if they were protected against the
continuous assaults by the Indians, so that they can not be
considered as settlements of this Province.
Missions of the Reverend Catalan Capiioliln Fathers ; of the
Keverend Fathers of the C<)nii)any of Jesus; and of the
Reverend Franciscan Observant Fathers — Note lO.
The Catalan Capuchin Missioners — Beginning of their Mis-
sions — First settlement is established by them — Sixteen
settlements existing — ]\Ien of arms — Families — Souls —
Houses — Churches — Land occupied — Education of the
Indians — Number of Reverend Fathers — Alms allowed
them — Their cattle estate — Tiie importance of these Mis-
sions — Those of the Jesuits — Father Observants of Piritu
in this Province — Those three bodies spreading the Gospel
in the Province.
Bodies of Missioners Spreading the Gospel in Guayana.
Three bodies of Missioners spread the Gospel in this Pro-
vince of Guayana. They belong to different orders, to wit ::
The Reverend Catalan Capuchin Fathers; the Reverend Fa-
ther Jesuits of the Province of Santa Fe, and the Reverend
Observant Fathers of Piritu, under whom are the Missions
and ecclesiastical settlements of the Province of Barcelona, as
heretofore explained.
These three bodies of jNIissioners and the settlements under
their charge, as well as the progress obtained, will be tlic sub-
ject of a separate note.
Catalan Capuchin Missioners.
The Capuchins of the Catalan Kingdom keep in this Prov-
ince a community of Missioners, who at the expense of the
Royal Treasury were transported from their Province, until in-
corporated in this Mission; all those existing in it apj^oint their
Prelate every three years, under the name of Prefect, but neither
221
the community nor the Prefect are subordinated to the Prov-
incial Prelate of the Catalan kingdom, but to that of the
Province of Andalusia, their only Superior Prelate. This
community performs the duties of their ministry with wonder-
ful diligence, good order, and success, without sparing labors,
and due to these circumstances are the happy progresses
accomplished by the Missions in their charge.
Beginning of the Missions.
They were established in the year 1724, notwithstanding
that other Missioners had undertaken the same work before.
This conclusion is derived from the contents of a book of bap-
tisms, showing that from the year 16G4 several other Priests at
different times had tried the pacification and reduction of these
Indians, such as Father Joseph Sanpayo, a Reverend Father
of the Dominican order, and Father Manuel de la Purification,
of the Bare-footed order (descalzos) of Saint Augustine; the
Clergymen Don Francisco de Rojas, Don Miguel de Angulo,
Don Joseph de Figueroa, and the ration canon Don Andres
Fernandez ; the Father Jesuit Juan de Vergara, Dionisio
Mestand, Francisco de E. Mauri and Ignacio Cano, the Catalan
Capuchin Father xVngel de Mataro and Father Pablo de
Blanes, the Capauchins and others. The Fathers of the Com-
pany made an a.ssignment of said Missions, and the act was
authorized by the Governor of Trinidad, Don Tiburcio de
Harpe y Zuniga, in the year 1681, as shown by the Royal
€edule of the 7th of February, 1668, and the 29th of April,
1687, by which His Majesty approves the assignment made by
the Jesuits, and sends the Catalan Capuchin Fathers to attend
the Missions of the Province of Guayana. These two Cedules
are kept in the Archives of the Community. From said year
1687 they took charge of the Missions and commenced their
work, but the miseries and deaths, without any help in their
wants, were so discouraging, having nobody to replace those
who died, many long interruptions of the Apostolic ministry
followed, losing at the same time wliatever advancement had
been made previously for the good of the souls and the pacifi-
action of the natives.
2 2 -2
111 tlio yoar 172.'J tlic Mission of Guayana was in want of
FatluT Missioners and without means to bring the few that
might liave been obtained, for want of provisions and the nec-
essary ahus for their support; hut during that year several
pious persons, especially the Missioners of Piiitu, gave and
facilitated the transportation of 10<» licad of cattle, which have
kept on the increase and are to-day the support of the Missions
in all the cxtrcinc necessities of the Indians, for want of meat,
whenever they were to be attracted to the townships, as this
element is an inducement securing exemption from famine
and want.
Fird Settlement in 1724-.
Upon this basis, in 1724, the first Mission was founded, under
the name of Ooncei)cion de Suay, two leagues inland from tlie
City of (Juayana, and to-day they have planted 16, as it will be
shown, going inland about 40 leagues to the south of said city,
situated at that distance from the Mission of Avechica, as it is
shown in the map.
Besides the IG Missions existing, 8 previously settled have
been lost, on account of the misfortunes of the pestilence of small-
pox and measles, besides the invasions of the Caribs, the hostili-
ties of the English in the year 1740, with the loss of over 1,000
Indians, several settlements and their furniture, having proved
a dreadful drawback aggravated by the want of payment of tho
alms assigned by His Majesty to these Missioners from the Treas-
ury at Caracas, and the indifferent help afforded by the escorts
in charge of the custody of the settlements to stop the invasions
of the Caribs and restore order in the ]iopulation occasionally
disturbed by intoxications. Altiiough part of the garrison from
the fortress is detached tor that service it is not sufficient, as
25 to 30 more men ought to be ready to meet these contin-
gencies whenever they happen. Twenty-five or 30 men not
always can Ix; detached from the fortress, where there is very
often no more than the required number for its custody. From
that of Araya it is impossible, on account of the distance of 200-
leagues, aside the other reasons submitted to His Majesty by
my representations of the 27th of August, 1761, in reference-
223
to its demolition as useless, not l)eing of less importance the
consideration of the isolation of all the Missions, wliere noth-
ing is found of the necessaries and conveniences of human life,,
nor any one ready to supply this want at any cost, and for that
reason the same Missioners, witii the poor help of the Indians,
are the masons, carpenters, and mechanics of other trades for
the formation of the settlements and the works required for
the same purpose, except churches, which arc not so easily
built, and for which bells, ornaments, and other furniture are
needed, without the means to buy them, and for that. reason
only three of the settlements have churches.
The Sixteen Existing llission Settlements.
The 16 Missions established at present are those of Capapui,.
Altagracia, Suay, Amaruca, Caroni, Arepuco, Aguacagua,
Murucuri, San Joseph de Leonisa, Guarimna, Carapu, Miamo,
Guasipati, Palmar, Avechica, and Piacoa, as shown in the map,
in the corresponding statement of the men of arms, families,
souls, houses, and churches existing in every one of the said
16 settlements.
Men of Arms, Families, and Souls.
One thousand and eighty-one men of arms ; 1,031 families;
4,302 souls ; 408 houses ; and three churches.
Lands of the Missions.
These Missions are most of them situated in very fertile lands,,
fresh, salubrious, abounding in water and well provided of all
the necessary products fit for the maintenance of the Indians,
except those of Suay, Arepuco, Caroni, and Piacoa, that are not
salubrious nor abundant in eatables on account of their prox-
imity to the Orinoco river and sandy ground. The houses of
all the settlements are built with symmetry in extension and
sufficientlv convenient for the Indians. The three churches,
although poor, are very clean and capacious, the same as the
house of the pastor close to the church. Near the parson's
house there is a sort of tower built of timber and mud, covered
with straw, where they keep two or three swivel guns. The^
224
tower, house, and church are defeudeJ bv a round fence of
7 7 V
stakes so as to take care of the Caribs if they do not come in
company with the Hollanders, for whom the swivel guns, if
there are experts in the population to handle them, the noise
alone ir.ay impose fear on the Caribs, wlio would not dare to
reach the settlement and much less the palisade defended by
the tower, where the women and children and even tlie Indians
take refuge, in case that the enemy's forces are superior and
do not allow sufficient time for the use of arrows in their
defence.
Education of tJw Indians.
The education of the Indians is not the same in all the
settlements ; in some of them they are not all baptized, when
just taken out of the woods, incapable of a Cliristian education,
and only in cases of need they are baptized, but this sacrament
is administered to all their children born in the settlement and
the infants arriving from the woods. Other Indians are already
Christians, but without having forgotten the crowd of vices so
common with them, and both sexes remaining naked, out of
their natural rusticity and habit, as well as the impossibility to
pay for clothing. The Fathers try their best to i)rovide them
with iron utensils for the cultivation of their fields. In four or
live of the oldest settlements they are dressed, in keeping with
the good government of the Missioners, who gather with the
greatest care and keep an account of the casave, superabundant
with them, send it to the city of Guayana where there is a de-
mand, and out of the proceeds buy clothing for tlie people in
return for their casaves. This recourse is not available with
those who are at a greater distance from the fortress, on
account of the cost of transportation wiping out any possibility of
profit. The Indians of tliese five settlements are well instructed
in the Christian doctrine and sufficiently conversant with the
•Castillian language. Many of them learn nuisic and play sev-
eral instruments skilfull}^, and most of them are apjdied to the
service of the Church, where the solemn functions are carried
out with reall}' edifying ceremonies. Indeed, all these Missions
.are proportionally well established, and governed with very
225
particular harmony, economy and education, so that in the
visit of the same I had nothing to observe that was not highly
laudable, a reason why, in the name of the King our Lord, the
government rendered thanks to the community, encouraging
them in the continuation of their holy ministry, as it is shown
in part third of the acts of the visit to said Missions.
Reverend Fathers present at the time of the visit.
The fourteen Reverend Fathers and one layman, making
in all fifteen, were present at the time of the visit. The lay-
man attends to the sick, and this number is very limited, con-
sidering the amount of work they have to perform taking care
of the settlement and new conversions for new establishments.
Alms assigned to each Mission.
To every Missioner His Majesty has assigned, by way of
alms, $150 a year, drawn on the Royal Treasury of Caracas,
where the present arrears to the Community amount to ($32,-
000) thirty-two thousand dollars, according to a certificate
given by the Prefect and shown in the third part of the acts.
This delay in the jiayment of these alms has been felt and is
felt, bringing about extreme want to the Reverend Fathers.
Cattle estate of the Missions.
The same certificate shows that the cattle estate of the
Community contains from 14,000 to 16,000 head of bovine
cattle for the maintenance of the settlements and the Mis-
sioners. The cattle has been placed on new grounds in pro-
portion of its increase, and to-day it is kept in the Mission of
Guarina, where the fields and mountains are most abundant
in grass and water, in a cool climate. On account of these
circumstances, the multiplication of the cattle has been in-
credible.
High convenience of the expected help to this Community.
If His Majesty kindly assigns the payment of these alms
to the Missioners at a Royal Treasury's Office, where they do
effectively pay, enough to maintain 25 or 30 Fathers, allowing
this Mission the bells and ornaments established by law, and
Vol. 1, Ven.— 15.
226
an escort of 25 to 30 men, in a very few years a great increase
should be noticed and many more, if as the community de-
sires, His Majesty applies similar alms for six or eight la}''
Brothers, good carpenters, masons, blacksmitiis, and weavers,
so as to teach these trades to the Indians, especially weavers,
of which they might avail themselves for the use of the large
amount of cotton which they may gather, and is not fully
used in the manufacture of hammocks done by the Indians,
and taking a long time and labor for want of instruments.
These Missions arc most important to the service of God
and the King. Besides the spiritual advantage obtained by
the natives, they help the fortress of Guayana with their
provisions and interposition between the same and tla' Hol-
landers, who by all means endeavor to enter iidand in this
Province and the mouth of the Orinoco, the key to these
dominions — upon the subject of which the necessary reports
are sent to His Majesty.
Jesuit 3flssio)i.ers from the Province of Santa Fe.
In charii'o of the Reverend Jesuit Fathers of the Kinodom
of Santa Fe are the Missions established on the Meta and
Casanare Rivers, shown in the map. These Missions belong to
the Government of 8anta Fe, excepting four of them which
are established at tlie south of tlie Orinoco river, to wit:
Settlements of the Jesuits in Guayana.
Encarainada, Uruana, Carichanti, and Randal belong to teh
Province of Guayana, although the}^ have been established
and reared by the Jesuit Fathers. The four settlements are
very poorly situated, on account of the sandy ground and little
fertility of the banks of the Orinoco, and on account of its
proximity they are not salubrious; hut the necessity of tem-
porizing with the Indians who are settled in them does not
allow, for the present, anything better.
The distance of these settlements from the communication
and treatment of the Spaniards keep them totally ignorant of
the Castillian language, but they are in every thing else well
instructed with that profusion of the Missioners, as far as per-
mitted by the recent date of these four INIissions.
227
Men of Arms — Souls — Houses — Churches.
The statements presented at the time of the visit by Father
Manuel Roman, their Superior, and the other acts of the visit
found in the third part of said acts are those concerned with
this Mission, folios 71 to 76, and show that the four Missions
contain 160 men of arms, 1,423 souls, 61 houses, four churclies,
and their ornaments. It shows the good order of the settle-
ments, the time of their foundation, and the method for the
instruction of the Indians.
In every one of these^ settlements there is a Reverend Mis-
sioner whom the corresponding alms are paid by the Treasury
of Santa Fe, as well as to the other officers of the Meta and
Casanare rivers, and the escort for the custody of these Mis-
sions, who guard likewise the four settlements of Guayana.
The escort consists of 48 men and one captain, to whom the
salary of $995 is paid annually, and each soldier $130, paid
from the Royal Treasury of Santa Fe. The progress of the
Jesuits in the Province of Guayana was very slow, considering
the many Indians whom they have to reduce and pacify around
the Meta and Casanare rivers and neighboring countries, and
it was difficult for them to go far inland in the Province of
Guavana, where most of the Indians are found, and not on
the banks of the Orinoco river, that are very sickly and unin-
liabitable, and their lands hardly fit for populations ; but there
is no possibility of going further inland without establishing
first a few settlements on each bank. Those on either side of
the Orinoco river are rather watching places for the protection
of the Meta Missions from the assaults of the Caribs navigating
the Orinoco, and not for the purpose of going farther inland
in the Province of Guayana.
Missions of the Observant Fathers of Piritu.
All the ecclesiastical establishments and missionsof the Prov-
ince of Barcelona aremnderthe Reverened Father Observants of
Piritu, as stated in note 7, but having no longer any more Indians
to reduce and pacify in said Province, as they are all settled,
as has been likewise explained in the above-mentioned note,
they went over the Orinoco river and settled the place called
228
Muitcaco, within the Province of Guayana, building a lodging
house, and then established the settlements called Platanar,
Atapidere, and Guazapairo. These three settlements are com-
prised in the seventeen of tlie Mission of the Province of Bar-
celona in the acts of the visit, and tlie statement of the map,
where there is a brief descri})tiun of the number of souls con-
tained in each one. Thev are almost abandoned l)v the Mis-
sioners, on account of the want of persons to send to the Pro-
vince of Guayana for IIr' purpose, without being missed in
that of Barcelona, for whicli there are r;iot enough persons, and
cVL'U if it were easy to em})loy them on the other side of the-
Orinoco, they have no means of subsistence except what is
impossible of collection from tlie Royal Treasury, on account
of alms assigned to these Missioners, the arrears of which
amount at present to $31,605 (thirty-one thousand six hundred
and five dollars). If these alms were paid, an escort granted
as requested from His Majesty under date of the 27th of Au-
gust, 17(31, explaining the inutility of the Castle of Araya, there
is no doubt that this body of Missioners might work with more
utility than shown at present, as it has been reported to His
Majesty in a separate representation.
Pending His Majesty's decision in regard to the escort, 12
men are detached from the garrison of Cumana, so as to pre-
vent the loss of those three settlements; but being (10 or 70
leagues far away, the continuation of this detachment is not
possible without serious difficulties stated in the representa-
tion already mentioned of the 27th of August.
If this community, wdtli a like conduct, charity and effi-
ciency similar to that of the Reverend Catalan Capuchin
Fathers, should work in this Province, besides the spiritual
good attained by the many Indians inhabiting the country, a
better knowledge than what we possess at present should be
secured and the entrance of the Portuguese, wdio are perhaps
advancing inland towards the north, would be prevented,
while now nothing is known of tiie establishments that they are
forming in this direction, and the Orinoco would be secured,
as it is the means of navigable communication with all the
other centers of these vast provinces.
229
Territory corresponding to each body of Missions.
These three bodies of Missions have among themselves an
understanding al)out the territory to be occuj)iecl by each
one, and this understanding has been authorized by the Gov-
ernors, Don Carlos de Sucre and Don Augustin de Arredondo,
in the year 1734, and afterwards approved by His Majesty, as
shown by Father Gumilla in his " Orinoco Ilustrado," Chap-
ter 1, folio 12, and is shown by the Royal Cedule found in the
archives of this Government, and the boundaries are as fol-
lows: The mouth of the Orinoco to Angostura, under the
Catalan Capuchins ; from the Angostura to the Caura River
or Cuchivero, under the Observant Missioners ; from the
Cuchivero to the west, all under the Jesuits, with the under-
standing that each bodv of ^Missions should go always to the
south, as the only means of settling and knowing this most
extensive Province. The establishment of townships, as in-
tended by Don Joseph de Iturriaga, becomes impossible, on
account of the distances intervening through the extensive
desert plains, between the new foundations and those already
established by the Spaniards of the north, and the coast in the
Provinces of Caracas and Barcelona, and much more of that of
Santa Fe, being the readiest and surest recourse to the fortress
and city of Guayana, that after so many years of its founda-
tion has not secured any of the advancements ; but notwith-
standing, through this way, though at a great expense, all the
other townships could be helped, on account of the greatest
facility and convenience of tlie water communication. Horse
transportation from Barcelona and Caracas is not either easy
or reasonable, still less when the return is not effected in silver,
as these populations have no way to procure it in this shape,
but by means of products when practicable. At present they
are all engaged in rearing cattle, which abound in all the
prairies, and it is without consumption or estimation in Gua}'-
ana. With so few advantages prese nted by this territory, few
people of wealth will come to establish here, and as a conse-
quence these settlements shall have to suffer, as explained in
the preceding note.
CuMANA, December IS, 1761.
Joseph Diguja — [here is a flourish].
230
The foregoing copy agrees with the original existing in tlie
General Archives of the Indies in Stand 131 — Case 5 — Docket
7— Seville, October 13th, 1891.
The Chief of Archives.
Carlos Jimenez Placer — [here is a flourish].
[seal.] — General Archives of the Indies.
The undersigned, Consul General of Venezuela in Spain,
certifies to the authenticity of the signature of Don Carlos
Jimenez Placer, Chief of the General Archives of the Indies.
Madrid, October 28th, 1891.
P. FORTOULT HuRTADO.
The undersigned, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela,
certifies to the authenticity of the signature of Seilor Pedro
Fortoult Hurtado, Consul General of Venezuela in Spain at the
preceding date.
Caracas, March 6th, 1890.
P. Ezequiel Rojas.
[seal.] — Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
231
No. III.
Stand 131. — Case 2. — Docket l7.
General Abchives of the Indies — (Seville.)
1769—1779.
Testimony of a certificate given by Don Andres de Oleaga,
Acconiptant Officer of the Koyal Treasury of the city of
Gnayana, about the confiscations and seiznres made
under the command of tlie Commander General Don
Manuel Centurion.
Don Andres de Oleaga, Royal Accomptant Officer of this city
of Guayana and this Province for His Majesty, (whom the
Lord may protect).
I certify in due form, for the notice of those whom it may
concern, that : From the time of the possession of Don Manuel
Centurion of his post, as captain of the Royal body of Artillery
and Commander General of this Province, and due to his great
diligence and constant zeal displayed in the Royal service, the
following confiscations and seizures have been effected : On
the 27th of January of the year 1767, at a port out of the way
of the fortress of the old Guayana, a launch coming from Es-
quivo, a Dutch colony, with two slaves, a cargo of brandy and
other goods to Don Vicente Franco. On the 6th of March of
said year, at the same fortress, several goods to Bernando
Montes, coming in a small boat from the same Colony. On
the 11th of April of the same year, inland from the fortress,
four mules loaded with goods and foreign clothes, without per-
mit or landing certificate. On the 22d of the same month and
year, and above the port of this city, several goods, without
permit or landing certificate, to Lorenzo Yeguas. On the 16th
of July of the same year, at the fortress of the old Guayana,
232
sixteen sinull barrels of brandy, to the Pilot Caspar Vidal,
who brought them furtively and had buried them in a small
island of the Orinoco. On the 28th of September of the same
year, at the port of Piacoa, below the fortress, an Indian boat,
(curiara), loaded with Dutch goods from Esquivo-, to Pedro
Sanchez. "
By the Sergeant of the Company of Pioneers, Cipriano INIay-
orga, with the boat in his charge, one of the cruisers of the
Orinoco held by the foreigners trading in the clandestine
shipment of mules, horses, cattle and other products of the
Cuarapiche and Teresen rivers emptying into the Paria Gulf;
one English sloop called " LaSevillana; " a Spanish, schooner,
" La Esperanza ; " two Spanish launches; likewise an English
boat, with four wild African negroes, some cattle, several
packages of foreign merchandise, and a few more in the coun-
try ; and before returning to this city, a French schooner,
called " Maria Luisa" with two wild African negroes, two
casks, one containing red wine and the other brandy, and ten
pounds of coarse thread fit for hammocks; and at the same
time by the same cruiser, manned at the Island of Trinidad,
one French sloop and another French schooner, with mer-
chandise and wild African negroes, from which, after deduct-
ing all expenses, a sixth part was applied for tlie ministers,
and one-half, amounting to seventeen hundred and ninety-two
dollars and twenty-four maravedis, the proceeds of which in
this city were two thousand and eighty-five dollars three reals
and one and a half maravedis. These seizures were tried and
adjudged as good prizes, awarded to His ]\Iajesty, on the 30th
of April and the 29th of July of the year 1708. Besides the
above mentioned prizes and confiscations, the Captain of the
Company of Pioneers of the Orinoco, Don Francisco Civito,
with two launches armed as cruisers of this river, commis-
sioned b}^ the Commander, Don Manuel Centurion, appre-
hended two foreigners who had been established at the Barima
creek in the jurisdiction of said Province, two boats, and sev-
eral iron implements and agricultural utensils that, by the
award of the 19tli of April of said year of 17G8, w^ere confis-
cated. All these acts appear to exist in ten portions of the
233
•several proceedings institute'l, and the total amounts in all to
seven thousand and one dollar one real and twenty-five and
a half maravedis, out of which tlie corresponding Royal du-
ties for His Majesty were two thousand seven hundred and
ninety-five dollars seven reals and thirty-three maravedis.
And finally the above Captain, since the 13th of October of
last year to the present time, with the launches of his com-
mand, by direction of the Commander General of the Orinoco,
has seized in the rivers Guarapiche and Teresen a Spanish
launch with twelve batteries, an English sloop with eighty
mules, six horses and five negroes; two large sloops, one Eng-
lish and the other French ; three English schooners and one
:small sloop of the same nation ; a Spanish launch with seven
horses and other merchandise and utensils, the trial of which
is still pending. And at the verbal request of said Com-
mander General, Don Manuel Centurion, 1 issue the present
•certificate for whatever use he may see fit.
Given at this Royal Accomptant Office of Guayana, on the
twenty -eighth day of January, in the year seventeen hundred
and sixty-nine.
Andres de Oleaga — [here is a flourish].
AVe, Don Joseph Rexi, Captain of Infantry, and Don Vicente
Diez de la Fuente, Sub-Lieutenant, Adjutant ]\lajor of this
troop of Orinoco, attest that the signature autliorizing the pre
ceding instrument or certificate is the same used in his office
by the Royal Accomptant Officer of this city and Province,
Don Andres de Oleaga, and that it is entitled to full faith and
credit everywhere, and for those whom it may concern we
certify to the fact in the absence of a Notary Public, and sign
herewith, in this city of Guayana, on the twenty-eighth
•day of January of seventeen hundred and sixty-nine.
Joseph Roxi.
Vicente Diez de la Fuente.
[There is a flourish in each signature].
234
The foregoing copy agrees with its original in the General
Archives of the Indies — Stand 131 — Case 2 — Docket 17 —
Seville, July 2d, 1891.
The Chief of Archives.
Carlos Jimenez Placer — [here is a flourish.]
[seal.] — General Archives of the Indies.
The undersigned. Consul General of Venezuela in Spain,
certifies to the authenticity of the signature of Don Carlos
Jimenez Placer, Chief of the General Archives of the Indies.
P. FORTOULT HURTADO.
Madrid, July 17, 1891.
The undersigned, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United
States of Venezuela, certifies to the authenticity of the signa-
ture of Senor Pedro Fortoult Ilurtado, Consul General of Vene-
zuela in Spain at the preceding date.
Caracas, March 6th, 1890.
P. EZEQUIEL ROJAS.
[seal.] — Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
235
No. IV.
Stand 131.— Case 2.— Docket 20.
General Archives of the Indies. — (Seville.)
1790.
Two letters from the Governor of Giiayan a, Don Luis An-
tonio Gil, to Don Pedro de Lorena, informing- him of
the situation of the Dutch Colonies located on the coast
at forty-five leagues, (he says), from the mouth of Na-
vios of the Orinoco River, and about the kind of Inde-
pendent Republic which had been formed by the fugi-
tive slaves, at the sovirces of the rivers betw een Surinam
and Esquivo.— 1790.
1790. — Strict ly confiden tia I.
Most Excellent Sir : — In consequence of the strictl}^ confi-
dential Royal Order of the 4th of last June that your Excellency
has kindly communicated to me, in order to find out, through
all prudent and cautious possible means what is the amount of
fugitive persons from the Colonies of Surinam, Bervice, Deme-
rari and Esquivo, that are established in the interior of this
continent, and if among them are the two nephews of Tupac-
Amaro, with the other matters therein contained. In accord-
ance with the Captain General of Caracas, as I am instructed
to act, I will carry out this important measure through the saf-
est, most reserved and cautious means possible, advising sub-
sequently of all details and the result.
May the Lord keep your Excellency's life for many years.
GuAYANA, October 16, 1790.
Luis Antonio Gil — [there is a flourish.]
Most Excellent Don Pedro de Lorena.
230
Strict bj confidential.
Most Excellent 8ik : Well aware of wliat 3'our Excellency
directs me to do, b}^ the strictly contideiitial Royal Order of the
4th of last June, I have been informed with the greatest se-
crec}', reserve and necessary precautions for finding out the
number of fugitives from the Dutch Colony of Surinam, and
whether among them are the two nephews of the rebellious
Tupac-Aiiiaro, if they have any dealings with the Indians, and
whether the latter look upon them with any consideration.
Upon these particulars and the other j)()ints communicated to
me, (simulating a desire to be posted as to the extension of this
Province, their boundaries and frontiers, number of inhabi-
tants, whether white or colored, of the Indian tribes, reduced
and wild, inhabiting the countr\^), I have succeeded only in
obtaining the following information:
That the amount of fugitive persons from Surinam is very
large, and that it is further increased by the accession of those
who go to join them from Bervice, Demerari, and Esquivo, all
foreign colonies situated on the same coast at a distance of 45
leagues from the Boco de Navios of the Orinoco River; that
they are in communication with the interior part of this Prov-
ince; that these Colonies carry on an active commerce with
Holland in products which they gather in abundance from
their cultivated possessions by European inhabitants, the
greater part, with the help oC numerous negro slaves which
they bring from the coast of Guinea. These slaves find their
local situation on the respective rivers easy to escape, and they
use it at different times, withdrawing and making themselves
strong at the sources of the rivers, to the extent of threatening
the same Colonies, so as to have had to capitulate after several
unlucky encounters with said fugitives, under conditions far
from decorous, and of injurious transcendence, as it is to be
expected from the operations, contrivances, and devices of a
free, independent Republic, composed of ferocious and barba-
rous [)eople, and the neighborhood of which has to be the
source of con.stant care and vigilant attention.
The territory occupied by the fugitive slaves is situated be-
tween Surinam and Esquivo, where it ends, and it is defended
237
(to prevent our communication with them) by the Carib In-
dians and other tribes, under the domination of a petty King
or Casique, supported by the Government of Esquivo, that, ])y
way of commerce, permits the inhabitants of that Colony to
supply him with blank and fire-arras, powder, balls, iron im-
plements, and dry goods in exchange for Indians, whom the}^
enslave for the works of their plantations, keeping stores and
commercial houses for that purpose on the frontier of their
possessions not so far as to remove the possibility of their
coming in force from the interior, if they so intend it, to invade
our own Missions of the Catalan Capuchin Fathers, and even
those of the high Orinoco and Rio Negro, as there is no force
in the way to prevent it nor Spanish settlement to opj)ose
them.
The tribes of natives above mentioned have been alwa3^s our
avowed enemies, opposed to the expedition sent by this Gov-
ernment a few years ago for the discovery of the Parima lagoon,
having had several encounters with them, having found them
armed with muskets and powder and balls furnished, as it is
said, by the Hollanders from Esquivo, who have sent several
cases as presents to the petty King or Casique.
Embarrassed as it is, the communication with the fugitives,
there is nobody from whom to obtain reliable renorts as to the
existence with them of the nephews of the rebellious Tupac-
Amaro, nor is there any sure way left to investigate the fact,
without risks and difficulties, as we have the barrier of the
above-mentioned tribes in the interior to prevent it, and from
the seaport it is hardly possible, on account of the extreme vigi-
lance of the Hollanders, withdrawing our communication for
fear of the evil consequences that might follow. For the same
reason they take every precaution to avoid the publicity
of what happens with the people of the obnoxious savage
Republic.
Since the time of my possess-ion of the government and
Command of this Province, I have not spared any means con-
ducive to the elucidation of this subject. I have tried to
be present at the visit of the vessels trading with the foreign
Colonies, so as to find out whether among the passengers
238
*
brought by them any one may be suspected, on account of
their answers to the questions set to tliom hy me with the
same caution required by the secrecy of the subject. I will
continue followino- the same ])()licy and keeping your Excel-
lency well informed of all thu details that I may find out,
besides those that I have already conveyed to your Excellency,
and likewise to the Captain General of Caracas, availing myself
of every favorable circumstance to secure that end and the
safetv of this Province.
May the Lord keep Your Excellency's life for many years.
Guayana, November 8th, 1700.
Luis Antonio Jil — [there is a flourish].
To his Excellency Don Pedro de Lorena.
The foregoing copies agree with the documents existing in
the General Archives of the Indies in Stand 131 — Case 2 —
Docket 20. Seville, December 31st, 1891.
The Chief of Archives.
Carlos Jimenez Placer — [there is a flourish].
[seal.] — General Archives of the Indies.
The undersigned, Cousul General of Venezuela in Spain,
certifies to the authenticity of the siguature of Don Carlos
Jimenez Placer, Chief of the General Archives of the Indies.
Madrid, January 14th, 1892.
P. FORTOULT HURTADO.
The undersigned, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United
States of Venezuela, certifies to the authenticity of the signa-
ture of Senor Pedro Fortoult llurtado, Consul General of
Venezuela in Spain at the preceding date.
Caracas, March Oth, 189G.
P. Ezequiel Rojas.
[seal.] — Ministry of Foreign Aff'airs.
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DOCUMENTS
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BETWEEN
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SUBMITTED TO THE BOUXDARY COMMISSION
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1896.
Vol. II, Tex. — 1
No. 5.
{Tniiislatiou.J
General Archives of Indies. — (Seville.)
Stand 131. — Case 7. — Docket 17.
Document No. 2.
1758.— Testimony in regard to two Hollanders imprisoned
at the river Coyuny [Cuynni] by the secret expedition,
which went out from the City of Santo Tome de Guayana
in the year 1 758.
(This document came with a letter No. 13, from the Commander of La Guayana,
Don Manuel Centurion, dated on the 5lh of April, 1770.)
Forming a part of the proceedings instituted in consequence
of the claim made by the Minister of Holland, complaining of
the conduct of the Orinoco Spaniards against the colony of
Esquivo [Esequibo].
1758. — Testimony taken in the case of the two Hollanders impris-
oned at the river Cuyuni by the secret expeditionary party
ivhich left this city in the year 1758 — Number 2.
Senor Don Felix Ferreras.
Dear Sir: The Caribs from tlie mountains having killed
the captain and his companion of the Guayca Indian Station,
who with their people formed there a population upon good
priiici[)les and with hopes of making it a large establishment
on the banks of the Supama river, within the Hauchica district,
that settlement has now been lost on account of the above
deaths. The Guaycas have therefore again taken to the woods,
and as other folks of the said tribe there may be yet found in
the Missions of tho Turuario, they are oftentiines chimorous fur
vengeance : hut the Father of that Mission, with his usual pru-
dence, has niatlo nie acquainted with the fact, and stopped
them, exphiining his very good reasons, and his fear of still
worse misfortunes. I requested the Commander, Don Juan
Valdes, to be kind enough to nial<e himself available to Your
Honor witli his long })ractice and experience about these Indian
affairs, in order to proceed, with proper directions, farther in the
interior of the country, and investigate and discover the reason
of that slaughter, and if possible to find out the names of tlie
offenders. You have carricil out tlie directions of the Com-
mander and made the necessary inquiries and investigations
contained in the information you rendered to me about your
inquest. Having been as far as the Miamo, Carapo and Turu-
ario Missions, and fully investigated the case about the middle
of May of last year, it was found that they had carried away a
wife to be sold at Esquivo. It was found out besides that tlie
murderers were certain Caribs from the settlement of Tu[)U-
guen, who had rebelled in the year 1750, commanded by the
Indian Cayarivare, who had been an Alcalde at Tupuquen and
headed the ringleaders of said rebellion who were staying at
the time in tlie interior of the Cuyuny river, at the mouth of the
river Corumo, which disembogues in said river, and where a few
Hollanders of the Esquivo Colony were purchasing Poytos In-
dians and carrying them away. The principal cause for their
having killed the captain was on account of his settlement in
the above mentioned site of Auchica, closing thus their way to
the Usupama river, preventing their coming out without being
discovered. By word of mouth as well as by letters from the
Reverend Fathers, your Honor has been made acquainted with
the permanence of the said Hollanders, in comi)any with the
Caribs at the mouth of the river Corumo, buying Indian slaves.
Now, by your letter of the 30th of May, your Honor kindly
requests me to make an accurate statement, informing Your
Honor whether the Hollanders remained at the same site or
at any other parts around there, if they continue their trade
in dry goods, hatchets, etc., and in what consi-sts their means
of defence; if they keep any artillery, and its caliber, so that
Your Honor, as commander ad interim, may send in proper
time a suitable report to the Superior Government.
My answer, as well as that of all the Reverend Fathers of
our Missions the nearest to the frontiers, and that of the Father
Presidents of those of Miamo, Carapo, and Yuruario, will be
that the Caribsof the Miamo very often have asked the Father
of that place to allow them to go and arrest and kill those
Hollanders at the mouth of the Corumo, who make ransoms
for the purchase of Poytos, as they were informed by the Bar-
inagotes of Yuruario. Very often they had heard that the Hol-
landers had threatened to set fire to the Mission settlement on
•account of being an obstruction in their way to Yuruario.
The Caribs from Carapo reported to the Father that a negro
who was at Cuyunyi went to the Mission and out of fear came
back again. The Caribs have advised repeatedl}'- that three
white Hollanders and ten negroes, with many Caribs, were
building houses and clearing the woods so as to establish set-
tlements on the Cuyuni, but they do not know whether they
had cannons. They have, however, large blunderbusses and
many carbines. They likewise employ Aruaca Indians from
Esquivo to fell very large trees, involving a great deal of work,
which the Caribs avoided by running away. Of this case we
have no more news than what has been conveyed to us by the
Indians, such as has been represented to me by several other
persons of the Mission. It is not unlikely that the Hollanders
stopped their purchase of Poytos at Cuyuni, because they do
not hesitate to continue doing this illicit trade in the neigh-
borhood of the Missions. Your Honor knows well that Cap-
tain Bonalde, within a day's journey from the Missions, ar-
rested a Hollander who used to buy Poytos or Indians, who
were sold to them by the Caribs, and although he was not ac-
tually found in the Carib's house, three Indian Po^^tos were
rescued and several machetes and bugles were found in his
ranch and distributed among the Miamo Indians. We know,
besides, that ver}'^ often the Hollanders pass by Paraba, Caura,
and the sources of the Carony. They do that every year, and
there is no need to mention in particular these things, which
Your Honor knows very well, after having resided for a long
time in tliese Missions, and travelled several times through
these mountains. I have, however, to say that a large num-
ber of young Indians are carried every day to foreign colonies
by Caribs and Hollanders. Taking into consideration that
the Caribs keep an active trade for the purchase of Poytos, in
exchange for iron tools, dry goods, knives, beads, looking
glasses, fire-arms, and many other things, it will not be an
exaggeration to estimate the yearly sale by the Caribs at more
than 300 young Indians, killing the old ones, over 400, which
are not salabk to the Hollanders, because they run away, as
we know they do, through some of the fugitives found in the
Missions and recognized by the brand that a great many of
them have painted on their bodies, as the Esquivo Company
orders that all the Indian slaves be iron-branded, under pen-
alty of forfeiture. I am not able to name all the tribes tliat
are persecuted by the Caribs to be made slaves, save those
that we have near our frontiers and those well known to the
Barinogotos, Maomacos, Amarucotos, Camaracotos, and Afiaos,
Parabinas, Guaycas, etc. The Hollanders and Caribs, in order
to reacli these tribes, go to the Esquivo river for about 20
leagues, up to the point where there is a station. As there is
a deep cataract on the way they take their boats by land, and
resume the navigation up the river till tiiey reach Rio Negro
on the upper Esquivo, taking on the right side the river Ari-
pamury, up to a place where there are a few small lagoons, after
going up the Aripamury as far as possible, having to carry
the boats for a distance through land for about half a league,
where said lagoons form the river Mao, through whicij tliey
meet Rio Negro, and going down through the latter on the left
they reach the Amazonas, and going upwards enter the river
Orinoco. T have made this statement so as to show that the
Escjuivo navigation was the way of communication of the
Hollanders in their trip, both to Barinas and to Paraba at the
sources of the Caronv. As this is a Ions; and tedious navi-
gation from the Esquivo they enter Corony and Paraba, as
all these rivers are in communication witli the Esquivo, which
receives the waters of the Coyuny, Yuruama, Supama, and
Yuruario.
And this Yuruamata has many brooks by thickets of Moriche
pahn-trees that reach Carony. We know also that many Hol-
landers, besides those going up Paraba, remain to make pur-
chases of Poytos among the tribes of Tacupo, Capi, and Para-
man. These sites inland are about three and four days' journey
from the last Missions. They are in the mountains and run as
far as the plantations on the Esquivo, where there is no more
level ground. In these places there are generally Hollanders
who purchase from the Caribs the Poytos which are carried
there and several horses, as was the case in the year 1749,
when a large quantity of mules were purchased from them at
the Esquivo, which is seldom the case, as there is no forage for
keeping them around thosg mountains, where the purchasers
have to lose them. Purchasers from the Esquivo come to
these sites of Tacupo and Paraman by land, making the In-
dians carry, on their shoulders, the baskets containing the ran-
soms for Poytos, or else they go through Esquivo, Coyun}'',
and Corumo. This latter is a river that before joining the
Coyuny carries the waters of the rivers Tucupo and Maren-
ambo, all navigable, during the rain}' season, for a short
distance only, having no means of navigation to reach their
sources for any longer than four or five days, enough for
the enemy to penetrate conveniently through our land, and
the traders in Poytos reach likewise the Tu{)uco tribe through
the river Moruca, in which the Esquivo station is situated, or
through the river Vaini, all of which come out near the mouths
of the Orinoco, and follow their navigation up to the river
Paraman, in which the Caribs are found in abundance at
Moruca and Rainy. The traders in Poytos come likewise
through the Orinoco as far as Aquire, Carapo, and although
they have no fixed time to undertake their trips, they come
and go always whenever they please, but it is known that for
the most part of the year they keep about there, sometimes for
as long as ten years, among the Caribs, keeping the trade in
Poytos, and sending them to the Esquivo in charge of their
agents, in quest of other ransoms to continue the purchase
from the Caribs. At least they stay tliere from one to three
vears.
8
This trade in Poytos keeps the Caribs busy all the time,
without any other attention than that of going and coming to
resume the war, buy and kill the Indians of the above tribes,
not only in the mountains but even those in the Missions, who
can not be kept away from them. Many run away to meet them.
It is easy to shut the doors to these enemies, so as to prevent
their communications with the Hollanders and from joining
Caribs from the Esquivo, Coyuny, Yuruario, Carony with those
tribes, forming a people, which, if it can not be Spanish,
ought to be of select Indians, which under ten soldiers at least
keep continually at tlie mouth of the Corumo or the islands
of Cunun}', so as to close the entrance to the Turuama and
Yuruario, and consequently succeed in stopping their com-
nmnication and keeping them away from Corumo.
These people will command the respect of the Hollanders,
preventing them from trading in PoN^tos at Tucupo, no matter
how near it is. The Indians of said place will be soldiers, and
it will l)e convenient to keej) them away from enemies coming,
through those rivers, and from the Caribs from Miamo, Curapo
and Conury descending the Esquivo with Poytos. I think the
Missions will be kept safe by cutting their communication with
the Caribs from Conuny and Esquivo. If it is not closed,
we may soon lose the ])acific tribes which, if persecuted as they
are now, will be carried awa}' as slaves. It would be a sad
thing to see these Indians carried away as slaves from the
Yuruario. I believe the Hollanders are in earnest trying to
buy Poytos. Tlierefore it is more difficult to convert the Caribs,
while under the advice of the Hollanders, in order to avoid their
staying in the place. Many go back to the mountains, and
through the bad advice of the Dutch, ran away from the
Missions in the year 1750, when they had four settlements
rebelled, on account of having been told that if they settled
in the villages the Spaniards would make them slaves, pre-
venting them from going to war and trading with the Flemish.
I have to inform Your Honor likewise, that I have heard
from Moyo N., that while he was coming from Esquivo to be-
come a Christian here, after he was baptized, he told me that
he had brought many papers from Esquivo, among them a
9
■chapter, in which the Governors had delineated their jurisdic-
tion, which he said extended as far as tlie mouth of Aquire, and
from said mouth a straiglit line drawn towards the south, mak-
ing the boundary line for the Governor, so that said line reaches
as far as the skirts of the last praries (savannahs) of our Missions
•of Miamo, etc.
Said line goes through 'J'ucupo and Ciirumo, reaching the
above-mentioned Apipamar}', and I think the above news to
•be true, and if so, the Governors yonder have suited themselves
to the best of their ability, by robbery, so as to give their
permits under those limitations.
Whatever I have stated heretofore is well and publicly
known, and it is a pity that the purchasers of Poytos are never
severely punished when His Majesty recommends to all the
justices to endeavor to extend the best treatment to the reduced
Indians and to those who have peaceful intercourse -with the
■S[)aniards, taking care to defend them from those waging w^ar
against them. All the above-mentioned nations are in such a
condition that if they had sufficient help they could go and
bring many of them to the village, as it is done already w^ith
'the Barinagotos. The hatred is such that the Caribs call all
these tribes Guaycas Poytos, Barinagotos Poytos, Amarucotos
Poytos, and they are all Poytos before they are caught, etc-
All these nations would be glad to know how the Spaniards
defend them b}' arresting their purchasers; it is true, however*
that it will be advisable to seize them in order to prevent the
long delay in their conversions, and if Your Honor follows
this plan I think it will be a great service to God and to the
Xing.
God preserve Your Honor many years.
I remain Your Honor's most obedient servant.
Fray Benito de la Gariga.
To Don Felix Ferreras,
Infantry Ensign of His Majesty and Commander
ad interim of this station and the Province
of Guayana.
^UAY, June 9, 1758.
10
Rulhir/. — Whereas I have received news from the ishmd of
C'aramaeuro, in the river Cnyuny, in the interior of this Pro-
vince, stating that there is there a Hollander by the name of
Jacob, and a colored man of the same nation, living in perma-
nent houses and making the inhuman trade of Indians en-
slaved, purchased from the C'aribs in exchange for coarse
cloths, hatchets, knives, ammunitions of war, and other kinds
of ransoms ; wliereas sucli a commerce is forbidden by law and
repeated cedules, for the enforcement of which fortresses have
been erected and kept under proper custody of a detachment
of troops, so as to protect the Missions of the Reverend Capu-
chin Fathers, who have sustained, and are in fear of sustain-
ing the total loss of their settlement through an obnoxious
trafftc kept up and maintained by the Hollanders and other
foreigners, who incite the gentile Indians against the estab-
lishment of those settlements — the result being that the Gos-
pel is not more extend('(l in this Province. Therefore in
order to stop these injurious difficulties, and carry out the
good intentions of His Majesty and prevent the Hollanders
from encroaching every day, more and more, upon this coun-
try, T ordain and command, to Don Santiago lionalde, in the
first place, and in the second place, to Don Luis Lopez de la
Puente, to depart to-day for the interior, in the direction of
the settlement of Yuruari, and embark there on the vessels
found in said river with their crews, provisions, ammunitions
of war, and the soldiers which will be enlisted and placed
under them, with the ablest and most trustworthy i)ilot. They
will march towards the said island of Caramacuro and appre-
hend said Hollander and all those persons besides, who maybe
found with them, whether Caribs or from any other nation,
and bring them a'^ prisoners well secured to this garrison, leav-
ing in tlie hands of, and under the Reverend Father Prefect,,
all the Indians that they may have found enslaved.
Tn order to succeed in the oljject of this expedition on the
l»art of the King our Lord, I pray and commend the Rever-
end Father Prefect, and the other Fathers of his Holy Com-
munity, to give all the necessary aid to the above mentioned
Don Santiago Bonalde and Don Luis Lopez de la Puente, as
11
they have been accnstoraed to do, with a holy zeal on every
occasion ; and I order and command that the soldiers and the
other people who are going in the same vessel, keep thera-
' selves under the orders and pleasure of the above mentioned
chieftains, alternately, and it will be the same with all the In-
dians through the settlements they visit, being well aware if they
fail to obey their orders that they will receive the correspond-
ing punishment. Wishing the best success to this expedition,
under the arrangements made by said Don Santiago Bonalde'
and Don Luis Lopez de la Puente, with the instructions that
will be furnished them, expecting, from their well known love
of the Royal service, that they will acquit themselves with the
present commission, I grant them every power necessary for
their full discharge.
Dated in this garrison of La Guayana, on the 27th day of
the month of July, in the year 1758.
Felix Ferreras.
Instructions. — Instructions to be observed in the first place
by Don Santiago Bonalde, and in the second by Don Luis
Santos de la Puente, in the entrance to the island of Caramu-
curo to the station occupied by the Hollanders therein estab-
lished, making the trade of ransoms in Indians, which they
enslave.
1. They will set out to-day for the settlement of Yuruario,
where they will find the necessary vessels, furnished with
crews, stores, ammunitions of war and soldiers, and without,
detention they will pass in review everything, and if anything
else is wanted they will ask for it from the Reverend Father
President of the settlement, and they will continue their march
towards said island, having all the vessels united, without ad-
vancing or going behind, giving to the cockswain of each th«
order which they have to carry out.
2. If on their way they meet Indian vessels they will seize
and carry them along with them, finding out every particular
upon the subject of their march which they can possibly ac-
quire, keeping them as guides with all the necessary precau-
12
tions, so as to avoid tlicir (1(>sortioii and secure the end of
their journey.
3. They iuu.st cniploy the b(\'st means to ascertain Ijow the
Hollanders keep iheii' estahlishiniMit ; if they have their houses
harriea(U'd in the lower or hioher }iart ; if they have an}' can-
nons or light guns, or either class ; under what kind of people;
if the Indians accompany them under arms; in whicli way
they may be reached without being perceived, so as to take
them unawares l)y surprise; if they keep stakes around, and
whether the ends of said stakes are poisoned ; if they are dis-
guised with false floors in the transit ; if they keep lookouts,
in which places, anil how they can be caught.
4. When everything has been found out they will advance
towards the houses of the Hollanders at daybreak, and not by
night, to avoid tiie risk of offending one another, and the pro-
toctinn of the obscurity and the knowledge of the ground ena-
bling the offenders to escape. But, in case that a night advance
be required, to have every one of the party under a white
device, covering their heads, so as to recognize each other.
5. The prisoners once well secured, if there is any informa-
tion about other Dutch places on the lower or upper portion
of said river Cuyuni, and if there is a certainty of their appre-
hension, they shall go after them, ])roceeding witli the same
precautions observ((l in regard to the others, and witli the
same security they shall be brought to this garrison, as well
as the Carib Indians found__witli them, and the Poytos, which
must be treated with love and cliarity, and delivered to the
Reverend Father Prefect, Fray Benito de la Gariga.
6. As said Reverend Father Prefect has had the first infor-
mation upon this painful subject and the serious injury done to
the success of their holy administration, a conference must be
liad with said Reverend Father, so as not to make any mis-
take. The war instructions already mentioned will be carried
out by said Bonalde and Puente as it may be found proper.
7. If the Carib Indian named Bumuro be found, he must
be secured, as 1 am informed he controls all the Indian settle-
ments of his tribe, and imprisons those of other tribes, to be sold
the Hollanders, as well as to otlier Indians employed in sim-
1'^
o
ilar negotiations, taking from liim all the slaves that he may-
have in his possession and delivering them to the order of the
Reverend Father Prefect, for their Christian instruction and
population.
8. If it happens that during the navigation they are attacked
from the banks of the river by any enemy, embarrassing their
way and destination, and that the same vessels are not suit-
able for returning the fire with advantage, they will leave
them in custody, so as to be able to hind and charge the enemy
until every one be apprehended.
9. Everything will be carried out as directed by the above-
mentioned Don Santiago Bonalde and Don Luis Lopez de la
Puente, whose valor and zeal for the Royal service promise the
best success under these instructions, to which they will adjust
their conduct in everything connected with their orders, in
virtue of the present commission intrusted to them.
Guayana, the 27th day of July, 1758.
Felix Ferreras.
The greatest care will be taken so as to secure the ransoms
and all the articles of commerce which may be seized, making
an inventory of everything, and not allowing anything to be
taken out and kept in the vessels in which they make the
commerce.
Date, Ut Supra.
Ferreras,
Appointment of witnesses. — In the city of Santo Tome de
Guayana, on the 27th day of the month of October, in the year
1758, Senor Juan de Dios Valdes, Castillian captain of the
fortresses of His Majesty and Commander-in-Chief, said : That
in order to make and institute a summary information, accord-
ing to the chapter of instructions from his Honor, the Captain
General and Governor of these Provinces, upon the secret ex-
pedition and the result of the apprehension of two Hollanders,
with their wives and a negro slave, in the river Cuyuni, and
as one of the Chiefs in command of the expedition is the Notary
Public of this city, Don Luis Lopez de la Puente, not able to
14
Act as such in this matter, it has become necessary to appoint
two satisfactory persons highly trustworthy, so as to make them
witnesses in all the acts corresponding to this subject, and these
circumstances concurring in the persons of the Ensign of In-
fantry, Don Luis de Alemiin and the Cadet, Don Francisco
Xavier Pllgueyra, I ought to appoint, and do appoint the same,
so as to act as witnesses, after having been notified for their
acceptance and the oath of office ; first, and before everything
else, they must faithfull}'' attest to all the acts that will be per-
formed in their presence, and then it will follow every other
act in the same manner.
It was so ruled and signed.
Juan ^^vLDEs.
Notijicatloii. — Immediately following, I, the expressed Com-
mander, Don Juan Valdes, did notify his appointment as a
witness of the preceding ruling, to the Ensign Don Luis de
Aleman, and, being well understood, he said that he accepted
and did accept it, and swore before God our Lord, making the
sign of the cross, to perform faithfully and well his duties, as
explained to him, and he signed with me. I certify to the
same.
Luis de Aleman.
Another. — And then I, the expressed Commander, notified
the other witness of his ai)pointment, according to the above
I'ulc, the Cadet Don Xavier Filgueyra, who said that he ac-
cepted and did accept it, and swore, in proper form, * to keep
and observe faithfully the duties devolved on him in the prem-
ises, and signed w'itli me. So do I certify.
Valdes.
Francisco Xavier Filgueyra y Garcia.
Rule. — In the city of Guayana, on the SOtli day of tlie above
month and vear of the Lord, Don Juan Valdes, Castillian
*The Spdiiish form of the oath of the previous noti6cation will l)e thus reduced
■by the translator.
15
Captain of His Majesty and Commander in Chief of tliis
Province, said : That, in order to proceed and substantiate
these proceedings according to law, he ought to command and
does command to have at the head of them the letters of the
most Reverend Prefect of these Missions, which were the mo-
tive of the sending and organizing of the above-mentioned
expedition, together with the instructions and appointment of
the chiefs in command, signed by the Ensign Don Felix
Ferreras, who, in his absence, was the Commander ad interim
of this place ; and afterwards the above-mentioned witnesses,
Don Santiago Bonalde and Don Luis Lopez de la Puenfe, the
appointed chiefs, will be summoned to appear at eight o'clock
to-monow morning before his Honor, said Commander, to
render their sworn affidavit about all the incidents, acts, and
resistances on the part of said Hollanders opposed to them,
exhibiting the papers that they may have found with them,
and stating distinctly which of them was the aggressor who
took the life of one of the soldiers of said expedition and badly
wounded another in his arm, answering to all the questions of
his Honor from the beginning to the end of the above-
mentioned expedition until their return to this city. To the
same end several other soldiers who went in the expedition
will be examined, and after their affidavits have been taken,
the declarations of the two prisoners, the Hollanders, will be
heard, and they shall be brought under a suitable custody to
the presence of his Honor, so as to state the reasons for their
sojourn and business in those places, by whom they were
posted there, and for what purpose ; all of which being accom-
plished, the other necessary acts connected with these pro-
ceedings will follow.
Done under the authority and in presence of the under-
signed, who certify to the same.
Juan Valdes.
Luis de Aleman.
Francisco Xavier Filgueyra y Garcia.
Summons. — Following in order, we, Don Luis de Aleman
and Don Francisco Xavier Filgueyra, the witnesses appointed
16
to substantiate tliese acts, called at the residence of Doii
Santiago Bonalde and Don Luis Lopez de la Puente and sum-
moned them, as ruled hy the above act, for to-niorrow morning
at eight o'clock, in person. We certify to the same.
Luis Aleman.
Francisco Xavikk Filgueyka..
Affidavit by Don Santiago Bonalde. — In the above city of Gua v-
ana, on the 3Lst day of October, in the year 1758, appeared
before his Honor, Seiior Don .luan A^ildes, and the witnesses,
Don Santiago Bonalde, in order to render his affidavit in com-
pliance with the above rule as one of tlie cliiel's ;i[>poin((Ml for
the secret expeditionary force that was sent to the Cuyuni
river, and after having been duly sworn * in the proper form,,
and promising to state the truth of nil that he knew, and upon
which he would l)e interrogated, and l)cing questioned, lie said
as follows :
1. That having de[)arted from this city with the order and
instructions tliat he shows to reach the settlement of Yumario,.
where he found the armed people ready, and that he reviewed
immediately and examined their arms and vessels, and find-
ing everything in proper shape and ready for the march, he
gave orders to the cockswains and people to embark and
have the vessels to proceed in good order one after another.
2. In regard to the second chapter of his instructions, he
said that he had failed to carry out its directions as to appre-
hending and carrying along with him tliose Indinns that he
would meet, because he thought a more convenient policy to
attract them with friendship and affection, so as not to frighten
them, which })olicy proved correct, as he succeeded in securing
their help in everything that was wanted. If he had seized
and tied them, after apprehending them, a few at least, he was
afraid, would have rebelled and brought about mischief, as
they are numerous and their fields afforded no facilities for any
defence.
*The same form of the oath as above quoted by the translator.
•
17
3. That ill regard to the tliird chapter, he performed with
every possible skill everything therein expressed, aiid did not
find any old houses staked in, nor any other kind of ambush.
4. That in regard to the fourth chapter, he said that in order
to avail himself of the occasion he got some of the Caribs who
infest those places to befriend and lead him, without being
noticed, until he reached a place, the name of which he does
not bear in mind, where a white Hollander was found at noon
and made no resistance, nor atlempt to run away when he
was apprebended. From that j)lace they continued their
march, in company witli the Indians, as far as the hut where
said Hollander lived. Said hut was covered with palm leaves,
without any walls. They spent two days in reaching the same,
going down tbe river. When they were near the said hut
they stopped until it was dark, as he thought the darkness
favorable for an advance ; that he disposed his men in the best
possible order at the time suggested by the Caribs, and at
about eight o'clock in the evening, or it may have been seven
o'clock, he undertook the assault with liis men on the said hut,
and found one Hollander, who seemed to be lying on a ham-
mock, and warned by the barking of a dog he arose, and they
all fell on him so as to prevent him from reaching any arms
that he might have had there. At tins time four or five gun
shots were heard, and they were not able to find out who fired
them ; that he found ont that his own went off accidentally, and
that a soldier that had fired his blunderbuss said it was on a
negro who accompanied said Hollander and was running away
from the hut ; that he could not find out who fired the other ;
that he only heard the voice of one of the soldiers, while strug-
gling with the said Hollander, in order to tie him, saying,
simultaneously with a pistol shot, " This rascal has killed me ;"
and without minding who it was we endeavored only to secure
the person of the Hollander, and having succeeded he found
out, on inquiry, that one of his soldiers had been killed and
another badly wounded in an arm ; that he immediately tried
to find the arms held by them, and found two pistols already
emptied and a musket in the hands of the Caribs ; and having
upbraided the Hollander for his having fired, he answered
Vol. II, Ven.— 2.
18
that lie liad not, that it might have been the negro who was
with liini.
5. As to the fifth chapter, hu ioUowod his instructions and
found out that that there were no otlier huts or ranches up or
down the river.
(i. That ho followed the sixth chapter just as it is.
7. In regard to the seventh chapter, he found it was better
to let the Caribs come freely, as they promised and did so, as
otherwise he could not have succeeded, on account of their
large number. Many of them are found already in the Mission
of the Reverend Capuchin Father. In regard to the Indian
Tomuto, he had no news whatever.
8. As to the eighth chapter, he found nothing new in its
contents.
0. As to the ninth instruction, he followed evervthing as
directed. In regard to ransoms, he found only twelve dozens
of knives, seven of hatchets, and remnants of cloth that he dis-
tributed among the Caribs, so as to keep them well pleased and
safe; that the ten dozens of said knives and seven of hatchets
he delivered to the Reverend Father Fray Thomas de San
Pedro, as he could not bring them to this city on account of
the long delay and fatigues of the road ; that he did the same
with five guns and a pistol taken from the Hollander, to whom
he asked who had i)laced them in that station and for what
purpose, and he answered that they had been placed there by
the Governor of Esquivo, without saying anything else in re-
ply to the other questions; that in a little box he found cer-
tain papers having the appearance of instructions, and that he
delivered them on his arrival to this city in the hands of the
Ensign of Infantry, Don Felix Ferreras; that from the j)lace
where they found the ranch on the river Cuyuni, to the Mis-
sion, wherefrom they had departed, the journey took twenty-
two days, three of which in the navigation up the river and
the remainder by land ; that this is all that he knows and what
is contained in his notes, and the truth under the oath that he
has taken, and that he affirms and ratifies the same, and will
19
assert again if wanted ; that he is thirty-four years old, and
signs with his Honor and witnesses.
Juan Valdez.
Francisco Santiago Bonalde.
Luis de Aleman,
Francisco Xavier Filgueyray Garcia.
Affidavit of Don Luis de la Puente. — On the same day and
year it caine before his Honor, the Commander Don Juan
Valdes, and the acting witness, Don Luis Lopez de hi Paente,
one of the chiefs appointed for the secret expedition, who was
duly sworn by his Honor in the usual form (as already given),
and promised to tell the truth of all that lie knew, and was
interrogated as it was done in the order of his instructions, and
he said : That having left this city with the order and instruc-
tions shown him, he took his departure for the settlement of
Yuruario, and there found the soldiers, and that everything
was ready; that he examined the arras and took to the boats,
which left as directed.
2. In regard to the second chapter of instructions, he said :
His comrade did not think it was a good policy to do the least
harm to the Lidians which they met on the way, and thought
best to treat them kindly, so as to deserve their favor, as it
was done successfully ; that on account of this circumstance he
did not carry out the letter of instructions of this chapter.
3. In regard to this chapter, he endeavored to find out and
ascertain the point? mentioned, as directed, and he could not
find nor ascertain the places, or any case of ambushes.
4. In regard to this chapter, he said : After eight days' nav-
igation he arrived at an Indian ranch of the Caribs, and there
found out that a Hollander by the name of John Baptist used
to come and visit another ranch of Caribs, and he sent from
there the pilot, directing liini that in the event of finding said
Hollander in that ranch to notify his party, as it was done on
the following day, when the Hollander was apprehended, with-
out opposing any resistance to follow them as far as the site
where they found the house that the}^ had placed as a limit;
20
that they made a stop in order to reach it by night, as it was
done at seven or eight o'clock ; that tlicir approach was antici-
})ated by the bariving of a dog ; that on account of that cir-
cumstance they entered tlie house in haste to secure the person
of the HoHandcr, wlio seemed to be lying down on a ham-
mock and was already standing, at the time of l)eing seized
l)y a soldier; Francisco Rob.lez fired a pistol sliot, which caused
him to address the said Koblez the words: "This dog has
killed nie;" that hearing at the same time three shots more
he ascertained that one of them was fired by a soldier called
Pedro at a negro who was running away, and the other shot
was firt'd by Don Santiago Bonalde without knowing how or
at whom ; that the other shot, he never knew who fired it;
that he founl out through the interpreter that the said IIol-
hinder thought that they were Caribs, and for that reason he
fired, and the wounded man could not give any explanation.
5. In regard to this chapter, he tried to find out whether the}''
had some Poytos, or other ranches; that none were found, nor
any news of having any eitlier up or down the river.
(3. That this chapter was carried out as it is, without doing
anything to the contrary.
7. Tiiat in regard to the seventh eliapter, the}' found no
riulian there by the name of Tannito, nor any other employed
in taking Indians to make them slaves.
S. That in regard to this chapter he said: That there was
nobody against whom to take any precautions, as nobody was
found.
In regard to the last i'hapt(^r. he said : That everything
was carried (jut as directed, with the greatest zeal for the sei'-
vice of both Majesties; and that, in regard to ranscans, they
found only twelve dozens of knives, seven ol' hatchets, three
kettles, five muskets, three pistols, and a large number ol' cloth
remnants, that were distribute(l among the Caribs accompany-
ing the party, and the distril)ution was maile l)y his comrade,
who was the principal chief, and likewise a few papers which
were taken and delivered to the Knsign, Don Felix Ferreras ;
that it took twenty-two days to make the return jonrney to the
Mission from where they had started ; and that he has nothing
21
else to depose on the subject, and thus ended his statement, in
which he affirms himself and ratifies, and if necessary will
renew the same und^n- his oath ; that he is thirty-three years
old, and signs herewitli with his Honor and the witnesses who
certify to the act.
Juan Valdes.
Luis Lopez de la Puente.
Luis de Aleman.
Francisco Xavier Filgueyra
AND Garcia.
3. On the same day, month and year, in compliance with
the preceding rule of his Honor, the Commander, it appeared
before him and the witnesses of this act Juan Jose Fragas, a
military man of this castle, who was duly sworn by his Honor
in due form, and under the strength of his oath he promised
to tell the truth of all that he might know and were interro-
gated, and having been questioned by his Honor, he answered
about the time of departure following the expedition, the
point of destination reached by his company and the events
of the expedition, saying: That he left the settlement of
Yuruario under the command of Don Santiago Bonalde and
Don Luis Lopez de la Puente, at the head of the party, and
followed them down to a certain place (the name of which he
does not recollect), where they met a white Hollander, who,
without resistance nor attempt to run away, let us apprehend
him, and from thence they left, in company with some Indian
Caribs, until they reached the ranch they had in said river
Coyuni ; that before reaching there the chiefs in command
stopped cautiously at a place, in the immediate neighborhood
of said ranch, and there awaited until seven or eight o'clock
of the evening, when they advanced toward said hut, where
they met a white Hollander and a negro that seemingly was
lying in a hammock, and at the rumor of the barking of a
dog he rose, and having been assailed by all at once, so as to
secure his person, I heard the firing of four musket shots
without knowing then who fired them, and he could only un-
22
derstand (wlien lie saw it) tliat one of (lu^ sliots wsa fired by
the military man Pedro de Rojas, outside of the house, aiming
at a negro, who Avas found in coin})any of the Hollander^
because he ran away, and after they had all quieted from the
first assault, he heard Don Santiago Bonalde say that when
he left the boat he had cocked the two triggers, and one of
them went off, in the act of apprehending the said Hollan-
der, and that he did not know whether it had l)een himself
the author of the death occurred ; that in regard to whether
there are or not other ranches, he does not know of any ; and
that from the Cuvuni river thev returned to the Mission
wherefrom they had departed, taking twenty-two days on their
way back ; that he has nothing else to say than what he has
already answered under oath, and that he ratifies and will
repeat it over if necessary; that he is twenty-four years
old, and signs with liis Honor and the witnessses who certify
to this act.
Juan Valdes.
Juan Jose Fragas.
Luis de Alemax.
Francisco Xavier Filgueyra
AND Garcia.
4. l\\ the city of Guayana, on the second day of November,
1758, in order to carry out the preceding rule, appeared before
his Honor the Commander, Don Juan^Valdes, and witnesses,^
the military man, Segundo dc la Cruz, whom his Honor had
duly sworn, and promised to toll the truth of all that he knew
and was to be questioned. He was asked wherefrom did he de-
part on the secret expedition and where he went with his com-
pany, wliom he met and whether they apprehended anybody,
and what the events were on that journey, and he answered :
That he left the settlement of Yuruario, in com[)any with the
troops commanded by Don Santiago Bonalde, the first chief,
and Don Luis Lopez de la Puente, the second ; that he followed
them down to a place (the name of which he does not know) and
there apprehended a white Hollander, who made no resist-
ance, and was carried in his company until they reached a
23
ranch in which another Hollander resided ; that they assailed
the place all at once, because they were heard, on account of the
barking of a little dog found there; that there were several
shots, one of which killed a companion and badly wounded
the deponent in his arm, which is paralyzed, and that he does
not know who fired, on account of the obscurity, but heard
saying, while suffering pain, that Don Santiago Bonalde's
gun went off on account of one of the triggers having been
cocked, it was a double barreled musket, and he did not know
whether any harm had been done. He affirms his statement
that said Hollander did not fire, nor were any arms found with
him, as he was the first that seized him by the breast, and that in
regard to the other shots he can not give any explanation, for
the reasons already explained of having been wounded ; that
he does not know anything else on the subject, beyond what he
has already asserted under oath, and that he will, if necessary,
repeat again ; that he is twenty -five years old, and did not sign,
as he did not know how. His Honor signed with the witnesses
of the act, and certifies to the same.
Juan Valdes.
Luis de Aleman.
Francisco Xavier Filgueyra
Garcia.
5. In the said city of Guayana, on the same day, month
and year, pursuing the same investigation, appeared before his
Honor Don Juan Valdes, Castillian Captain of His Majesty,
another witness summoned to appear, the military man Pedro
Arochy, who, being duly sworn, promised to tell the truth of
all he knew, and was questioned, and having been asked
wherefrom he departed, with what people and in virtue of
what order, for what purpose and where did he go, and whom
he met, what houses he saw and what events took place, he
said : That he left the settlement of Yuruario in company
with the other military men (the number he does not know)
in virtue of orders made known to him by the Ensign of In-
fantry, Don Felix Ferreras, and Don Santiago Bonalde, first
24
chief, aiifl Don Luis Lopez (1(3 la ruente, second ; tliat he
knew they were orcJered to apprehend a few Holhinders, and
descended the river Cuyuni ; that they fouml n Hollander
who made no resistance when appreliended, and was carried
by his company up to the neighborhood of a little ranch,
where they awaited the night in order to advance, following
the order of the chiefs as it was carried out, between seven
and eight o'clock in the evening; that there were a few shots
fired in the disorder in which the advance was made, and
that he is not aware who were those who liretl the same nor
who killed tlie man wlio died, nor who wound(Ml the other?
he heard Don Santiago Bonahie say that his gun went off and
that it might have been the cause of tlie mischief; and he
heard somebody else among the soldiers say tliat he fired his
blunderbuss in the air, and that was outside of the ranch ;
that he knows that no arms were found with said Hollander,
nor did he fire any; that he had no news of any other ranch
u[) or down the river; that he came back to the Mission
from which he departed, taking twenty-two days on his return,
suffering many hardships ; that he has nothing else to say
about the matter, and that he has stated the truth under his
oath, and will be ready to repeat it if necessary before any
other triliunal : that he is twenty-eight 3'ears old, and does not
sign, as he does not know how to do so.
His Honor signs, and the witnesses of the act certify to it.
Juan Valdes.
Luis de Aleman.
FrvANcisco Xavier Filgueyra.
Huh. — Appearing from the above affidavits by the two chiefs
commissioned for the secret expedition, that certain papers and
instructions were taken from the above-mentioned Hollanders,
and being known they were delivered to the Ensign of In-
fantry, Don Felix Ferreras, commander ad interim at this
place, his Honor ought to order and does order that he be noti-
fied and requested to exhibit said documents and papers.
25
It was so ruled, and his Honor signed the same in the city
of Guayana on the 2d day of Novemher, 1758, under his cer-
tificate.
Valdes.
Luis de Alemax.
Francisco Xavier Filgueyra y Garcia.
Immediately afterwards said witnesses called at the house
of the Ensign of Infantry, Don Felix Ferreras, and notified him
•of the preceding rule, and in compliance he exhibited and
delivered to us four papers written in the Dutch language,
and one which he said was the Castillian translation, all of
which facts we certify.
Luis de Aleman.
Francisco Xavier Filgueyra y Garcia.
Rule. — In the citv of Santo Thome de Guavana, on the 2d
day of the month of November of the year 1758, his Honor,
the Commander Don Juan Valdes, said : That as the papers
had been exhibited in the Dutch language with a translation
delivered by the Ensign of Infantry, Don Felix Ferreras, he
ought to rule, and does rule, that the same be added to these
proceedings, first taking the affidavit under oath, according to
the creed of the two Hollanders kept imprisoned in the castle
of San Francisco de Asis, bringing them under a proper cus-
tody to the presence of his Honor, and as they are not conver-
•sant with the Spanish language, he ought to appoint, and does
appoint, as an interpreter for both of said Hollanders, the
Artillery Sergeant, Juan Andres de la Rivera, so that he will
make the inquiries of the Commander and answer clearly and
distinctly what they say, without going into explanations of
the terms used. He will be notified for his acceptance and
sworn before his Honor, the Commander, that he will faithfully
.and legally interpret, according to the above statements, with-
out fraud or deceit, and will observe the actions and motions
in the way of rendering their affidavits, the said two Holland-
ers, and whether they contradict each other, and will warn his
26
Honor, the Commander, for his better government and mode
of inquiry, and will keep in all the best method necessary ta
11 11(1 out the real facts.
It was so ruled, signed, and certified by his Honor.
Juan Valdes.
Luis Alemax.
Francisco Xaviek Filgueyra y Garcia,
Notification. — Immediately afterwards the aforesaid witnesses
appointed by his Honor called at the residence of the Artillery
Sergeant, Juan Andres de la Rivera, and notified him of his
appointment as an interpreter, by the preceding rule of the
Commander, for the two affidavits to be received trom the two
Hollanders, and after being notified, he said that he accepted
and did accept, and we certify to the fact.
Luis de Aleman.
Francisco Xavier Filgueyra y' Garcia.
Tn the above-mentioned citv of Guavana, on the 3d dav of
the same month and year quoted, his Honor, the Commander,,
and the witnesses of this proceeding received the Artillery
Sergeant, Juan Andres de la Kivera, who, after being notified
of the above rule, accepted, and was sworn in due form and
promised to faithfully and lawfully interpret the two affi-
davits to be taken from the two Hollanders, and signed, with
his Honor and witnesses certifying to the act.
Juan Valdes.
Juan Andres de la Rivera.
Luis de Aleman.
Francisco Xavier Filgueyra.
Confirmation. — In the same city of Guavana, on the 3d day
of November, in the year 1758, Don Juan Valdes, Castillian
Captain of His Majesty, made appear before him and witnesses
one of the two Hollanders now imprisoned in the castle of San
Franc isco de Asis, and, after being sw^orn according to the rite
27
of his religion (he said he was a Lutheran), he raised two fingers^
of his right hand, and was examined as follows :
1. Asked wherefrom he was a native, his name, and occupa-
tion, he answered: That he is a native of the States of Hol-
land and his name is Stephen Hiz, and a laborer in mines.
2. Asked what he was doing in those places, he answered :.
That he was placed there by the Governor of Esquivo as the
head of a fixed guard kept there.
3. Asked how many men composed the guard and the rea-
son why he occupied that post, he answered : That the guard
is composed of four men, including the two white Hollanders
and two Indians, and that he keeps there in order to appre-
hend the negro fugitive slaves leaving the Colony of Esquivo
and to restrain the Carib tribes, so as to prevent them from
making any mischief, either to said Colony or the neighbor-
ing Spaniards or to the domestic Indians, as shown by the
chapter of the instruction that was seized from him by the
chief of the Spaniards who apprehended him.
4. Asked why he took arms against tlie Spaniards and fired
on them, he answered : That he had done neither one nor th&
other, nor could he do so, as he was alone and the Spanish
people were too many, and that when they advanced towards
the house he was actually asleep in a hammock and at the
trampling and noise made he awoke, attempting to get up and
run away, thinking that they were Caribs, and in his surprise^
and fright he did not do so, nor did the Spaniards allow him
to do so, as he was immediately seized and tied.
5. Asked how it was that if he did not fire, a Spaniard was
killed and another badly wounded, he answered : That he is
persuaded that the Spaniard was killed by his own com-
panions, and that the other was likew^ise wounded in the act
of entering and trying to tie him, when the Spaniards com-
menced to fire within his house.
6. Asked what arms and defence they had in that post and
what is the name of it and what river is nearby, he answered :
He had five muskets, three sabers, thr^e pistols, a flask of
powder, and piece of lead for ammunition, and of these arras
only two muskets were his own property and the rest were-
28
fiiruisluMl by the Company : that tlie post is called Cuiba and
close to the banks of the river Cuyuni.
7. Asked what o;oods or ransoms were seized by the Spaniards
when he was ap})rehended, and if he had them for the purpose
of negotiations and purchases, he answered : That they seized
fourteen dozens of knives, eighteen pieces of iron utensils like
hatchets, machetes, and two pieces of calico, nine bundles of
glass beads, and a dozen small looking glasses, twenty-four
yards of skirting, twenty of coarse blue cloth, all for the pur-
chase and maintenance.
8. Asked how long had he l)t'iMi kcjjt tlicre and wliat had
become of the farms, liow did he carry out his trade, he an-
swered: That it was eiglit months since he came there a,s a
head man, and was commencing to till a short piece of ground
so as to plant it with the yuca or tapioca plant, and has not
carried out his trade.
9. Asked whether they had given liini goods for the pur-
chase of Poytos and liow many had he sent to the Colony of
E.squivo, he answered : That in tlie short time that he had
been there he had not made any such ])urchases, nor had he
been given any ransoms for them; that he had only in liis
charge the collection of what was due to liis jiredecessor, as it
"will apjiear by the said |)apc'rs.
lU. Asked liow far is said post from the Colony of Esquivo,
he answered: It is only a short distance, although they take
three natural days to make it, as it is only navigable in keep-
ing with the tides, and the navigation is performed through
creeks.
11. Asked if he knuw those countries, where lie was found,
belong to the jurisdiction of Esquivo, and if for man}' years
they have kept those posts, he answered: That he does not
know whether it is or not under the jurisdiction of Esquivo,
-and that for many years they kept the post in that ])lace.
12. Asked if said site is fit for the cultivation of cane and
•other plants, he answered : That they are not fit for that pur-
pose, as they are swampy, but where the [)Ost is maintained,
.and farther upwards, there are places fit for the cultivation of
29
said plants, but there is an express order from the Governor to-
prevent the passage upwards to any person whatever.
13. Asked wiietherthe negro who is in his company in the
prison is a slave, he answered : No ; but he is bound and dedi-
cated to servile occupations under the company who keeps him
there.
14. Asked what other order he had and what other trade he
kept and what general news he knew about there, he an-
swered : That he does not know, nor any news; that that is
the trutli under his oath, according to his religious foith, and
that he atiirms and ratifies his statement and will make it
again if needed ; that he is forty-eight years old and signs
with his Honor, after being duly certified.
JuAX Yaldes.
Stephen Hit.
Luis de Aleman.
Francisco Xavier Filgueyra y Garcia.
Confirmation. — On the same day, month, and year, in the
same city of San Thome de Guayana, his Honor caused the
appearance before him and the witnesses for these acts, under
a proper custody, of Juan Baptist Brum, whom his Honor had
sworn in due form according to his faith, by raising two fingers
of his right hand and promising to tell the truth of what he
knew and were asked of him, and having been asked by said
Commander, through tlie interpreter, he answered the follow-
ing questions?
1. What is your name? Where are you a native from?
Where is vour residence? What is vour trade? And he an-
swered : That his name was John Baptist Brum, a native of
the States of Flanders, and a resident in the Colony of
Esquivo ; that he is a tailor by trade.
2. Asked what he was doing in those places, he answered :
That he was there as a soldier of the post, placed by the Gov-
ernor of Esquivo, under Stephen Hiz, the head of said post.
3. Asked what reason had the Governor to keep a guard
there, he answered : In order to apprehend the fugitive negro-
30
slaves who run away FrDiu (he Colony and to prevent the
Carib trihe from making any mischief to the domesticated
Indians.
4. Asked what reason he had to be away from the site where
the Post is kept, at two days distance, as stated l)y tlie Spaniards
who ap{)reliended him, he answered: That 1)y the direction
of his superior he had come to said phice in (|uest of a few
IncHans to help the work of a farm they were opening, and
that shortly after being there the Spaniards arrived and tied
him, without his opposing any resistance or defence, and was
carried away in tlieir company up to the neighborhood of the
house ]\v had.
5. Asked whether he knew or has any notion of who wounded
one of the Spanish soldiers and who killed the otlier, he an-
swered : That he knew nothing, and could give no account of
anything, as he was left behind and tied up at a distance from
the house within a gunshot, when they advanced, and from
there he had to continue the wa\' under said Spaniards to
this city.
6. Asked what arms ami defences they had, he answered :
That only five muskets, belonging to the Company (jf Esquivo.
7. Asked what was the name of tlie site where he had his
ranch, and what river is near the same, he answered: That
the site is called Cuiba, and em})ties into the Cuyuni river.
S. Asked how long he had been there and whether he had
made any purchase^) of Poytos, he answered : That he had been
there eight nionths and never had anything to do with such
purchases.
d. Asked how far is it fron:i that site of Cuiba to the Esquivo
Colony, he answered: Three days, more or less, being under-
stood that the navigation depends on the tide, and is made
through the creeks and swamps.
10. Asked whetlier he knew if the above-mentioned place
is within the jurisdiction (jf Esquivo, and whetlier the Gov-
ernor had kept that guard thei'e for a long time, he an-
swered : That he did n(jt know, and that the guard had been
kept there for many years.
31
11. Asked whether that site is fit for farming, he answered :
]^o, on account of its being swampy land, but that in the upper
part there are found portions of good hind, but the Governor
does not allow it to be tilled nor permit any one to stay there.
12. Asked whether the negro was a slave, he answered : No ;
but he was placed there by the Esquivo Company and is bound
to serve for a compensation.
13. Asked what other trade he was pursuing, what his in-
structions verbal or written were and to tell the truth, he
answered : That lie does not know or had any knowledge of
anything else, except what he had stated under oath, according
to his faith, and which he ratifies and will assert again if
wanted ; that he is forty-eight years old, and is not able to
sign, not knowing how to do so.
Signed by his Honor and certified by the witnesses of the
act.
Juan Valdes.
Luis de Aleman.
Francisco Xavier Filgueyra
AND Garcia.
Translation. — Translation made and signed by me, Sergeant
Juan Andres de la Rivera, in virtue of my appointment by His
Honor, the Commander ad interim' of this place, of the instru-
ment of ordinance for the Post or guard kept at the Cuyuni
river by a party of the States General, written in the Dutch
language, and delivered to me by the present Notary Public,
the tenor of which is literally as follows :
Article 1st. The head of said Post or guard, according to our
absolute command, must show every friendly distinction to
the neighboring Indian tribes, and if they require any help
against the wild tribes, the guard or Post will be bound to
render them help.
2. The head of said Post will be careful not to allow any
harm to be done to the Spaniards, who are our friends, and in
everything they will keep in correspondence and good terms
32
with tlieui, but nuist bu careful that in ca-cthc said Spaniards
shuuKl want to cross theCuyuni river, or any of the hinds of
our Cohjuy and give us any trouble, the head of said Post or
guard shall immediately send a man with the news to the Castle
of the (Tovernor.
3. The head of said Post or guard will not allow any com-
merce to be carried out, except in the river or in the surround-
ings when well provided with special passports, in which case
he will allow tlu'in a permit : but if any Indians go across the
Post, while coming down the l^xpiivo river or going up tlie
same, and said Indians are carrying along Chinese slaves, or
any merchandise to buy the same, it will be the duty of all
the inha1)itants of the Esquivo river to allow them, and those
of all the other tribes, to pass without l^eing molested.
4. It will be the duty of the head of the Post to be very care-
ful in stopping any runaway slaves, and follow^ and appre-
hend tlicni, in order to restore them to tlu'ir masters, according
to the directions of the States General, allowing ten florins a
head as a reward to the head of the Post for his trouble.
5. If there are any slaves belonging to the iiiliabitants of
the Esquivo river, who run away and their masters go after
them, having had no time to get a passport, they will be al-
lowed to pass through said Post, wdiich will render them every
possible liel[> to secure the recovery of their slaves.
6. The noble Company allows the Post to carry on business,
on their own account, under condition that in everything that
they purchase they allow the })refcrence to the Company, who
will charge the same price for good goods.
7. The Post will be bound to collect [all debts due to the
previous old Post, and it will be likewise paid at the rate of
ten florins a head and a florin forleach hammock, aii<l of ever\''-
thing purchased notice will be given to the Governor.
8. The head of the Post is likewise bound to render an ac-
count to the Governor, twice a year, and must reside in the
Post as a good servant.
Esquivo river, on the 29th day of November, 175^
Lorenzo EsTOKK^r de Gravesande.
33
In the year 1747 of the transfer of accounts to the former
Postmaster and stock of the same, as follows :
Nine yards of coarse cloth to buy casave (tapioca
bread) for the people of the Post's maintenance.
Fifteen knives for tlie same.
Eleven knives that were paid to the Indians for carry-
ing a despatch to the Governor.
A hatchet and short broadsword to buy a curiara
(small Indian boat).
A looking glass to buy casave.
Four yards of new blue cotton cloth to buy casave.
Three pieces of iron utensils to buy casave.
Nine yards coarse cloth to pay the Indians for carry-
ing several despatches.
Eighteen knives for casave.
Nine knives for casave.
One bundle of beads for casave.
Eighteen knives to pay the Indians who were em-
ployed by the Post.
Tlu'ee pieces of iron utensils for casave.
Four yards of coarse cloth for casave.
One bundle of beads for casave.
Four knives for casave.
Eight yards of coarse cloth to buy palm meal.
Three yards of coarse cloth for casave.
Four looking glasses for casave.
Five knives for casave.
Six coarse combs to pay the Indians for an errand on
behalf of the post master.
Four fine combs for casave.
Three looking glasses to pay the Indians who were
sent to the Governor.
Eleven knives for casave.
List of debts of the blaster of the Post Tumfermant.
Yiiv^io owes eight slaves .... S
Tucui\uara owes three slaves 3
Arinamene owes three slaves . 3
Vol. II, Ven.— 3.
3-i
Mfiravacano owes one slave 1
Aritaniar owes two slaves 2
One more said Sefior Buzou 1
Carinare owes two slaves to the Governor 2
Cumuara owes two slaves more to the Governor... 2
Asavue owes one to the son of the Governor 1
Arimanaca owes two slaves 2
Manarvay owes two slaves 2
Manarvay owes two slaves 2
Total 27
Hammocks due.
Caysamane owes three S
Manayro owes eight 8
Canarua owes two 2
Other names of Caribs can not be made out on
account of the paper being worn out, tlio total
<um lioinii" 37
SI
The above translation has been made from the original
Dutch instruction and ordinance, having been duly and faith-
fully made into S|.anish to the best of my abilities, under my
oath of office, and i si^n the same in the City of Santo Thome,,
de Guaj'^ana, on the "JOth day of the month of September, sev-
enteen hundred ami lil'lv-eiL-lit.
Juan Andres de la Riveka.
Tn tliis city of Santo Tiiome de Guayana, on the fouifli day
of the month of Novemher, in the year seventeen hundred
and fifty-eight, Senor Don Juan de Dios Valdes said: That
having finished all these acts, in connection witii the investi-
gation required by the Superior Govermnent of this Province^
he considers tliat he ought to rule, and does rule, that the
same be forwarded originally to his Honor and Captain Gen-
eral, together with the two prisoners, the HoHanders, who have
rendered their statements, under a regular guard of four men
and a Sergeant of the Garrison of this Fortress, with an order
35
to be issued to the guard of the Castle of San Francisco de
Asis to deliver them to Don Juan Jose Fragas, who will take
said Hollanders, well secured in irons, to be carried to the
presence of his Honor, according to the full instructions on
the subject, keeping at the same time a legalized copy of all
these acts. So was ruled bv his Honor, who sio:ns with the
witnesses of the act certifying the same.
The above is a faithful copy of the original acts sent to the
Superior Government of these Provinces, from where it was
drawn by the Commander above named in forty-five folios,
written in common paper, as there is none stamped and
sealed, making two copies of the same tenor.
Done and signed in Guayana, on the fourth day of Novem-
ber, in the year seventeen hundred and fifty-eight, and certified
by the witnesses of the act.
Juan Valdes [here is a flourish].
Luis Alemax [here is a flourish].
Francisco Xavier Filgueira
AND Garcia [here is a flourish].
The above copy agrees with the original document existing
in the General Archive of Indias, in Stand 131, Case 7, Docket
17. Seville, December 15th, 1890. The Chief of the Archives,
Carlos Jimenez Placer [here is a flourish]. Seal. General
Archive of the Indies.
The undersigned. Consul General of Venezuela in Spain,
certifies the authenticity of the signature of Sehor Carlos
Jimenez Placer, Chief of the General Archives of the Indies.
Madrid, 30th of December, 1890.
P. FORTOULT HURTADO.
The undersigned. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United
States of Venezuela, certifies to the authenticity of the signa-
ture of Senor Petro Fortoult Hurtado, Consul General of
Venezuela at the preceding date.
Caracas, March 6th, 1896.
[seal.] p. Ezequiel Rojas.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
36
No, 0.
[Translation.]
Stand I'M. — Case 7. — Docket 17.
Gknkr.\l AucHivE OF Indies. — (Sevillk.)
DOCUMENT No. 4.
17Cn. — Testimony ill regard to tlie proceortings institiitod
about the .seizure ol" one schooner, tAvo hiunches, and
two <-uriaras (small Indian boats), I'roin the Kscjiiivo
Colon i<'s by Ijieutenent of Infantry Don Juan de Dios
Gonzales de Flores.
(This document came, together with a letter, No. 13, of the Commander of the
Guayana, Don Manuel Centurion, dated April 5th, 1770.)
Forming part of the jiroceediiio-.s institutod on nccount of
the claim of the Minister of Holland, complaining of the pro-
ceedings of the Spaniards of the Orinoco against the Esquivo
Colony.
Don Juan do Dios Valdes, Castillian Captain, by His Majesty,
General Judge for the revenues of this Province of Guayana
and Commander of the arms of the same, etc.
Whereas, on account of a re})ort recoivod fr(im the Most
Reverend Prefect of the Missions of this Province, I have be-
come aware of the information received by him from four
fugitive Poyto Indians about the tyrannic power of the Hol-
landers inhabiting the neigldjoring Colonies of Esquivo and
Surinam, at the iiioutli nf the Barima creek, coming out from
this river, where five Hollanders from said colony are staying
and carrying out the inhuman and lucrative commerce they
maintain with tlicwild Indian tribes wiio trade in the Orinoco,
37
buying from them the infidels taken in their wars, making
them prisoners and trading them for iron utensils, clothing,
and munitions of war; and as said Hollanders are awaiting
for a party of Indians, they have sent Carib agents to purchase
said Indians and bring them to their Colony.
Such an illicit traffic in human beings is already going on.
The four Indians who escaped were included as victims and
came in quest of protection to the said Missions. As the serv-
ice of our Lord and of His Catholic Majesty requires the stop-
ping of this illicit trade and the punishment of the Hollanders
of the above-mentioned Colony, who possessed them in their
own country (if they had any right for this kind of possession),
they ought not to be allowed to communicate through the
rivers and dominions of the King. Therefore, in virtue of the
powers granted to me, I order and command that the Lieu-
tenant of Infantry and second officer of this place, Don Juan de
Dios Gonzales de Flores, without any delay whatever, depart
on board the Royal vessel that he will find in Port Royal with a
crew of ten men and manned in the ordinary way, armed with
two light guns, and the necessary stores for twenty days. He
will take Spanish river pilots and the fugitive Indians, and go
to the place where said Hollanders are staying. He will pro-
ceed straightway, navigating night and day, and as soon as he
reaches the place, he will attack the ranch, after having sur-
rounded it. He w^ll imprison the Hollanders, French, and
Spaniards found there, at the words, " Long live the King ! "
and will employ his arms in })unishing and apprehending the
same persons, as well as the Caribs that he may find in their
company, carrying out this inhuman trade. He will likewise
seize every vessel he may meet, going up or down the river,
and the foreigners as well as Spaniards unprovided with the
lawful and proper papers of navigation. The masters and
crews of the same will be brought along to this place, well se-
cured. The full cargoes as well, without allowing the least
fraud or disorder by the troops of his command. It is ex-
pected from his fidelity and zeal a satisfactory discharge of
liis duty ; that no doubt it will be performed with the greatest
zeal for the Royal service and personal disinterestedness, avail-
38
ino- liimself of his good jurloment and experience. I grant liini
all the ])oworsnece!?sary for the best service of both Majesties.
I)at(^(l at (Tuayana,o:i the seventh day of the month of Sep-
tember, in the year seventeen hundred and sixty.
Juan Values.
link. — In the city of San Thome de la Guayana, on the
twenty-seventh (hiy of the month of Sej)tember, in the year
seventeen hundred and sixty, Don Juan de ]^ios A^aldes,
Castillian, Captain of his INlajest}', and Don Lorenzo Coronado,
Lieutenant Royal (Jflicer, said that the war schooner command-
ed by Lieutenant of Lifantr}', Don Juan, de Dios de Flores.
has just arrived at the })rincipal port of this city ; that he was
sent in order to stop the inhuman commerce of the Hollanders
and Carib Indians, in the sale of human beings, from the other
gentile tribes, seizing them in war and reducing them to
slavery, at the price paid by said Hollanders, of a few ransoms
or trifles. That this information was conveyed to the Com-
mander by the most Reverend Father Prefect of these Missions,
through four fugitive Indian Poytos, who asserted that tlie
Hollanders with some merchandise were at the mouth of
the Barima creek, as it is stated, at the head of this act. As a
con.sequence, said Lieutenant Don Juan de Flores has seized
and brought along with him a schooner and two launches
which were anchored under the artillery of the Castle of San
Francisco de Asis, which is the chief port of this city. In order
to take the necessary steps, the visit of said vessels will be
ordered, therefore they ought to command and did conitiinnd
the search of said vessels, in the })resence of the Notary Public
for this act, taking an inventor}^ of the cases, trunks or other
things on board, and making a full statement of all the circum-
stances connected with the seizure of said vessels.
It was so ordered and attested l)y the Notary Public.
Juan Valdez.
Lorenzo Coronado.
Before me —
Luis Lopez de la Puente,
Notary Public of the Royal Revenue.
■39
Visif. — On the same day, month and year, in compUance
with the above rule, their Honors, in company with the acting
Notary Pubhc, visited the vessels lying at aiichor in the
Port of the Castle of San Francisco de Asis, in order to examine
everything found on board and make a regular inventory of
the contents found —
In the first place, there was a schooner willi her
main and foremast, and rigging without sails.
One small anchor, with its corresponding rope.
Five barrels of salt fish.
One launch, with a mast, canvas shrouds and a
round sail of coarse cloth.
Four barrels of powdered salt.
One curiara (a small Indian boat) for the service of
the launch, with wash boards. Six hatchets, ten
short coarse Indian drawers, ten knives, six bun-
dles of beads and an old case.
Another launch, with its mast, canvas shroud and a
round sail.
A small anchor with its corresponding hemp rope.
One curiara, answering as a boat.
And having found nothing else we closed the inventor}^,
and their Honors ordered the discharge of every thing, so as
to be kept at the Treasury Office ; and that in regard to the fish,
the Royal Treasury Lieutenant will find out a suitable admin-
istrator to sell the same, and carry a regular account of the
sales at fair prices, deducting a suitable commission in the
usual current money.
It was so ruled and provided by their Honors, who signed
before me, the Notary Public.
Juan Valdes.
Lorenzo Coronado.
Before me —
Luis Lopez de la Puente,
Notary Public of the Royal Revenue.
40
In the nity of Santo Thome de la Guayaiia, on the 29th day
of said month and year, in pursuance of the investigation to
be made, about the seizure of the vessels, their Honors met at
the Royal Treasurer's Office, and summoned to their presence
the Lieutenant of Infantry, Don Juan de Dios Flores, who,
after being duly sworn, and promising to tell the truth of what
he knew and were interrogated, he was asked where he had
seized said vessels, how and what resistance was opposed with
fire arms, and where were the people of the crew, and he said :
That having left this port, under orders of the Commander, to
proceed to the Barima creek, and having reached and tacked
about the mouth of it, on the eleventli instant, at about four
o'clock in the afternoon, he descried a sail towards the point
of Guani, that was coming in the direction of the mouth of the
Orinoco, and he went after it and having met her and fired a
small gun, she stopped immediately, and having boarded her lie
found ten Aruaca Indians who came from the Esquivo Colony
to fish in the river, three of whom ran away, throwing them-
selves into the river, and on the following day he continued
his journey and went through the mouth of Barima, going up
the creek for about three leagues, when he descried a vessel that
was left aground by the low tide, at a long distance, finding-
no means to reach on board the same, until it w as full t ide, when
he could draw near. The people and the crew on l>oard, as they
had seen and recognized his vessel, had left theirs, carrying
away their sails and cutting the best part of the rigging. Al-
though he tried his best to reach them, he could not succeed.
Through the Aruaca Indians who had been seized he was in-
formed that that schooner belonged to the Esquivo Colony,
and came there for the purpose of fishing; that finding him-
self with these two vessels without any crew, he had only four
men in their charge, two men in each one; that he had only
six men left, and being informed that five days at least were
necessary to reach the place where the traders in Poytos were
reported it to !x', it was natural to suppose they had been
warned of his visit by those who had left the vessel ; that he
found necessary to return at once, as he did, finding that his
order was only to reach the same mouth (Barima) ; that on
41
his return up the river he met another launch, which he had
heard before was to be found there ; tliat he sent Pedro de
Salas in a curiara (small Indian boat) with orders to seize
everybody found on board, without allowing any one to
escape ; he did so in regard to the launch, but not the people
who had taken to the woods where they had a ranch, and
they could be seen ; that from there he continued his journey
up to the principal port of this city, where he anchored with
the three vessels seized ; that that is the truth in virtue of his
oath, and affirms and ratifies his statement, and will make it
again if wanted ; that he is thirty-nine years old, and signed,
with his Honors, of all of which I attest.
Juan Valdes.
Lorenzo Coronado.
Juan de Dios Gonzales de Flores.
Luis Lopez de la Puente,
Notary Public, and of the Royal Revenue.
Affidavit. — Affidavit of Pedro de Salas: On 'the same day,,
month, and year, in pursuance of the investigation on tliis
matter, their Honors summoned before them Pedro de Salas,
who appeared, and before me was duly sworn, and said he was
one of the military men of those Castles, and promised to tell
the truth of all he knew, and were interrogated by their
Honors, and he did so, as follows : That having left this port
on board the war schooner they reached the mouth of Barima,
where they were tacking about, and descried a vessel ;
that they went towards the same, and after a blank gun
shot she stopped; that they boarded her and found a few Aru-
aca Indians, who said that they came from the Esquivo Dutch
Colony to fish, and that on the following day they went
through the mouth of Barima, and, going up the creek, they
descried, at a distance of about three leagues up, a schooner
that had been left aground by the low tide ; that on account
of the long distance, they could not reach her until the higk
42
tirlo came; that when tliey came on board of her they did not
find any person whatever, as tliose who were on board had
had ainidp time to escape and carry away witli th(Mn the sails,
part of the shrouds and rij>;f^ing, which tliey had cut olf; they
ascertained from tlie pilot that it was a distance of about five
days necessary to reach the people trading- around ; tliat there
was, besides, the inconvenience of not having sufficient water
in the nai'row creek for a large vessel, besides being short of
hands to Ix' able to go any farther and keep the vessel already
seized ; that the Lieutenant-Commander decided to return as
he did, going up the river; that he received news of a launch
lyine: at a creek near a land ranch, and that he was sent with
four men on board a curiara, so as to seize the same, with the
crew and every thing found on board ; that he found no person,
and went to the ranch with no better success, thinking they all
took to the woods; that from there he brought said launch to
the Lieutenant in command ; that thence they proceeded up
the river to the chief port of this city, where they stopped and
cast anchors; that that is the truth under his oath, and that
lie affirms and ratifies his statement, and will repeat it if
wanted ; that he is forty-four years old, and signed with his
Honors and the Notary Public.
Juan Valdez.
Lorenzo Coronado.
Pedro de Salas.
Before me —
Puts de la Puente,
Notari/ I'lih/ir, (ii\il of the Royal Bevenue.
Ajjulacit. — Affidavit of Miguel de Sosa : In this garrison of
the Cruayana on the same day, month, and year, in pursuance
of this investigation, their Honors made appear before them
and me, the Notary Public, Jose de Sosa, a military man of
this Castle, who being duly sworn, promised to tell the truth
of all that he knew and was interrogated, and said in reply
to their Honors : That he left this port in the armed launch
43
■of war, under the Lieutenant of Infantry, Don Juan de Flores,
•and reached the mouth of Barima, where they undertook to
tack about, and while so doino;, descried a sail steering towards
"the mouth of the river; that they followed the same and
■caused lier to stop by firing a gun shot; that they l^oarded
"the same and only found ten Arauca Indians, three of which
Tan away ; that .having been examined the Lieutenant found
that they liad come from the Dutch Colony of Esquivo to fish in
the Orinoco river; that as soon as the same were all secured,
leaving two soldiers in charge, they continued their sail, and
ihe next day they entered through the mouth of Barima and
navigated the creek for about three leagues upwards, when
they descried a schooner left aground by the low tide, at a
distance in the river, which did not permit us to draw near and
board her, until high tide, when they went on board and found
no person, as they had had time enough, while we expected
"the high tide, to run away, carrying along with them the sails
and part of the rigging and ropes which they had cut off"; that
although the Lieutenant tried to catch the people, he did not
•succeed ; that the Arauca Indians said that that schooner had
come from the Esquivo Colony for the same purpose of fishing ;
ihat the pilot when asked, replied that the place where the
Holland traders in Poytos had a ranch was about five days
•distance from there, and that the vessels could not go
"through the creek, as it was very narrow, where only small
boats could pass, that for that reason, and after having placed
two soldiers in each of the two seized vessels, and fearing that
the Hollanders had been already warned of their coming by
the people who ran away from the vessel, the Lieutenant de-
<cided to return back, as he did ; that coming up the river they
had news of a launch, lying on a creek, and the Lieutenant
;sent Pedro de Salas on board of a curiara, with orders to seize
the same, and to let nobody escape ; that the launch was
seized and brought back, having found nobody in it, nor in a
ranch they had near there ; that he presumed they had run
:away when they had seen them ; that from there they con-
tinued their return to port until tli^ey reached it and cast
anchor; that this is the truth under his oath, and that he
44
affirms and ratifies it, and will do so again if wanted ; that lie-
is twenty-seven years old, and signs with his Honor.
Lorenzo Coronado.
Juan Valdes.
Jose Miguel de Sosa.
Before me —
Luis Lopez de la Puente,
Tlie Notary Public, and of the Royal Revenue.
Affidavit.— X^(\.iix\i of Antonio Ravelo : On the same day,
month and year, in pursuance of the same investigation about
the seizure of the, three vessels, their Honors had Antonio-
Ravelo, a military man of the Castle, brought before them and
me, the Notary Public, and, after being duly sworn, he prom-
ised to tell the- truth of all he knew and was interrogated, and
to the questions of their Honors he answered : That having
left this port on board the war launch under the orders of
Lieutenant Don Juan de Flores, they went down to tlie mouth
of Barima, where they had to tack about, and then descried a
sail coming towards the Orinoco river, and having ap-
proached the same fired a gun shot, and she stopped immedi-
ately and was Ixjarded ; tliat they found only ten Aruaca
Indians, who, being examined by the aforesaid Lieutenant,
said that they came to fish around the river; tiiat from there
they returned to the mouth of the Barima, and on the follow-
ing day they went up the creek about three leagues, wlien
they saw a vessel left aground at a long distance by the low
tide of the river ; that they could not reach it until the high
tide allowed them to come near and board ln'r; tliey found
nobody, as the people had had time to run away, carrying
■with them the sails and part of the rigging ; that the Lieuten-
ant was told by the pilot that the Holland traders in Poytos
were far away, and it would take five days' navigation to reach
tiiem ; that their vessels could not pass the creek, as it was
very narrow, and only small boats could get through ; that
on that account, and being short of hands, after the seizure of
the other vessels, needing two hands each, and besides fearing
the LloUanders had been already warned of their approach,.
45
the Lieutenant concluded to return home ; that coming up
the river they heard the news of a hiunch lying on a creek on
our way back, and lie sent Pedro de Salas on board a small
boat with four men to seize the same and everybody on board,
and bring it without letting anybody escape; that he seized
the launch and savs he did not find anvbodv in it, nor in a
ranch they had on the banks ; that he thought they had taken
to the woods when they saw them coming ; that from thence
they continued their way up the river until they cast anchor
in this port ; that that is the truth under his oath, and that
he affirms and ratifies it, and will do so again if wanted ; that
he is forty-two years old, and signs with his Honor.
Juan Valdes.
Lorenzo Coronado.
Before me — Antonio Ravelo.
Luis Lopez de la Puente,
Notary Public, and of the Royal Revenue.
Rale. — After the preceding affidavits their Honors found
better to improve the same by receiving the statement of the
mustee, who came along with the Aruaca Indians, and was
apprehended by Lieutenant of Infantry, Don Juan de Flores,
making this person and the other Aruaca Indians answer
about the questions that the}^ may see fit to set to them.
It was so ordered and signed before me, by their Honors, on
the thirtieth day of the month of September of the same year.
Juan Valdes.
Before me — Lorenzo Coronado.
Luis Lopez de la Puente,
Notary Public, and of the Royal Revenue.
Confession of the Mustee. — In this city of Santa Thome de la
Guayana, on the same da}^ month and year, their Honors, in
order to improve the preceding investigation, made appear
before them and me, the Notary Public, one of the prisoners
brought by Lieutenant Don Juan de Flores, who being asked
by his Honor if he was a mustee, and of what religion, where
was he born, and what was his name, what business brought
46
liim to the (Jriiiuco, ami l)y whom he had been sent, he aii-
su'l-j'cmI : That he was an Aruaca Indian, from a father and
mother also Indijiiis; that they have no religion whatever ;
that he was l)orn in (Tuacapou, near the Esquivo Post; that his
name is Yana ; that he came to the river Orinoco for fishing,
and that he was sent by a Hollander called Fordull.
Asked what was the nature of his cargo and to whom did the
schooner and Inuncli seized belong, and for what purpose they
came to the river, he answered: That his cargo was only a
little barbasco (a vegetable fisli j)oison) an<l a l)arrel of salt;
that the schooner belongs also to the Esquivo Colony and is
the property of a Hollander called Monk ; that the launch
likewise belongs to the same Colony, and was sent by a Hol-
lander bv the name of Boljro, and that both came on to do the
same business of fishing.
Asked if he knew whether in the Barima creek there are
any Hollanders purchasing Poytos, andj^if so, at what dis-
tance were they from the place where the schooner was seized,
he answered: That he knew that in the said creek^of Barima
there are four Hollanders [airchasing Poytos, and that in their
company there are mau}^ Carib Indians ; that from the place
where the schooner was seized, to where they are, there is a
distance of five or six days' navigation ; that the creek where
said Hollanders are found is verv narrow, as he understands
l)y the information he has from other Indians of his own tribe,
and that no large vessels can go through ; that the Hollanders
that purchased Poytos do not belong to the Esquivo Colony,
but to that of Surinam, because in tliat of Esquivo the Gov-
ernor does not allow anv Hollander to come out and make
this kind of trade. This deposition being finished, the depo-
nent said he could not tell how old he was, and did not sign,,
as he did !i<)t know how to do so.
Signed Vj}' their Honors before me.
Juan Valdes.
Lorenzo Corona do.
Before me —
Luis Lopez de la Puente,
Notary Puhllc, and of tJie Royal Revenue.
47
Rule. — In the cit}'' of Santo Thome, in the Guayana, on the
first day of October, in the year seventeen hundred and sixty,
the Castillian Captain of His INIajesty, Don Jvian Valdes, and
the Royal Lieutenant, Don Lorenzo Coronado, said: Tiiat the
foregoing acts being sufficient, about the seizure of one schooner
and two hxunches, belonging to the Esquivo Colony, introduced
in this Orinoco river on the pretext of fishing, but in reality
to go on practicing the illicit commerce and the purchase of
Poytos from the Carib tribe, we rule that an authentic copy of
these acts be made and the originals be sent to the Superior
Tribunal of the Treasury; and that in regard to the mustee,
Jean Baptista, well known, although in his confession he de-
nies his name and to be a mustee, calling himself an Lidian
of the Aruaca tribe, and dyeing himself red with annotto, ma-
liciously, so as not to be recognized, his Honor the Commander,
ordered that he be kept secure in irons in the Castle until fur-
ther orders from his Honor, the Governor and Captain Gen-
eral, furnishing him the daily ration of a dime, as the Rev-
erend Father Prefect refuses to admit him, on account of the
serious evils brought about among the people by the mustees
whom they have received before, and who had run away after-
wards, carrying along w' ith them several persons of those al-
ready settled ; that in regard to the Indians, he ordered to
have them sent to said Reverend Father Prefect, so as to be
distributed among the several settlements under his charge,
and increase the population in the way that has been reg-
ulated ; that in regard to the part of the cargo consisting of
fish, the Royal Lieutenant will be in charge of the sale on ac-
count of the Royal Treasury, as this is a kind of article that
loses in weight and quantity.
It was so ordered, and signed before me by their Honors.
Juan Valdez.
Lorenzo Coronado.
Before me —
Luis Lopez de la Puento,
Notary Pablic, and of the Royal Revenue...
48
This copy agrees with the original acts kept at the Royal
Treasury Office, in order to be forwarded to tlie Captain Gen-
eral and Governor and to the Officers of the Royal Treasury
in the city of Gumana. It has been faithfully and lawfully
taken to the letter in twenty-three folios, in ordinar}' paper, for
want of the stamped kind. Signed on the third da}' of Octo-
ber, of the year seventeen hundred and sixty.
In testimony whereof I sign.
Luis Lopez de la Puente,
Notary Public, and of the Royal Treasury.
Don Jose Diguja Villagomes, a Colonel of the Royal Armies,
Commissioner of the Royal Expedition of Boundaries, and
Cai)tain General of these Provinces of New Andalusia, Gu-
mana, New Barcelona, the Main-land and Guayana, its coasts
and fortresses. Superintendent in the same, and of the branch
of Crusades by the King our Lord ; Don Pedro Luis Martinez
de Gordon y Lugo, Accomptant, and Don Antonio de Alcala,
Royal Official Treasurers of His Majesty, etc. :
AVhereas the preceding acts refer to the seizure of a schooner,
two launches, and two curiaras (small Indian boats), made by
the Lieutenant of Infantry, Don Juan de Dios Gonzales de
Flores, in the Barima Creek, at its mouth, we have definitely
ruled that the same, with the inventory contained therein, be
inserted to the letter, and they are as follows:
. Inventory. — On the same day, month, and year, in conn)li-
ance with the above rule, their Honors went on l)oard the
vessels, lying at anchor in this port, at the Castle of San Fran-
cisco de Asis, in order to pass the visit of said vessels, and
being on lx)ard, the following inventory was made of every-
thing found by them on board :
Firstly. One schooner, with main and foremasts, with
its shrouds without sails.
A small anchor and hcnii) rope.
Five barrels of salt fish.
Onr launch, with mast and canvas shrou<ls, and a
round sail of coarse cloth.
49
Four barrels of powdered salt.
One curiara, answering for a small boat to the wash-
boarded launch, six hatchets, ten short, coarse^
Indian draAvers, six bundles of beads, and an old
case.
Another launch, with mast, canvas shroud, and a
round sail.
A small anchor, with hemp rope.
One curiara, answering for a small boat.
And having found nothing else, the inventory was finished,
and their Honors ordered the discharge of everything at the
Royal Treasury stores ; and in regard to the fish, the Royal
Lieutenant Officer will find a suitable person to sell it, keeping
a regular accountof the sale, and allowing the usual commission
to the agent for his trouble.
It was so ruled and provided by their Honors, signing be-
fore me, the Notary Public.
Juan Valdes.
Lorenzo Coronado.
Before me —
Luis Lopez de la Puente,
Notary Public, and of the Royal Treasury.
Final rule. — In the city of Cumana, on the twenty-fourth day
of April, seventeen hundred and sixty-one, Don Jos© Diguja
Villagomez, Colonel of the Royal Armies, Commissioner
of the Royal Boundary Expedition, Governor and Captain
General of these Provinces and of New Andalusia, Cumana,
New Barcelona, Main-land, and Guayana, their coasts and
fortresses, and in them Superintendent of the branch of Cru-
sades by the King our Lord ; Don Pedro Luis Martinez de
Gordon and Lugo, accomptant, and Don Antonio de Al-
cala. Treasurer, and both Officers of the same by His Majesty,
after having seen these proceedings by Don Juan de Dios
A^aldes, Captain Commander, and Don Lorenzo Coronado,
Lieutenant of their Honors in the fortress of Guayana, about
the seizure effected by the Lieutenant of Infantry, Don Juan
Vol. II, Ven.— 4
50
fie Dios Gonzales de Floras, of one schooner, two launches, two
ciiriaras, and several other articles cont lined in their inventory,
at the Barima Creek, at its mouth, in virtue of the order and
power allowed to liim b}' said Commander, Don Juan de Dios
Valdes, Judge General of the revenue, with the opinion given
to them by the Licenciate, Don Jose Fernando Espinosa de
los Monteros, a lawyer of the Roval Audience and Chancellor
of the District ; and taking everything into consideration, their
Honors have agreed to conform themselves, as they do, with
the above opinion, holding the same as good, and declaring
forfeited and to be a good prize the already mentioned schooner,
two launches, two curiaras, and the other articles, and as such
belonging all to the Royal Treasury, to be divided ami appor-
tioned and applied according to the law eleventh, book eighth,
title seventeenth, of the laws of Indias, and to the model sent
for their observance, with the Royal cedule of the nineteenth
of Februar}^ of the year seventeen hundred and fifty-seven,
ordering that letters rogatory be forwarded, with insertion of
the inventories, and of this commission, to said Commander
and Lieutenant, so as to proceed to appoint two experts of
conscience and intelligence ; that after having accepted and
being sworn, apprize the same and bring them to j)ublic auc-
tion, after proclaiming the sale through the ])ul)lic crier in the
customary manner for the term of four days consecutively, so
that the sale and award to the highest bidder or bidders be
closed on the fourth day, and the proceeds be delivered and
entered, by way of deposit, in the Royal Treasury, and the
original acts about the same matter be forwarded to this Su-
perior Tribunal, with a sworn statement of the legitimate and
true costs expended in the seizure of said vessels and effects,
in order to liquidate said confiscation, preceded by a statement
made by the present Notary Public of the costs incurred.
And as the Aruaca Indians seized at the mouth of said creek
have been delivered to the Reverend Fathers of those Missions,
so as to people the same and distribute them, his Eionor ought
to rule, and did rule, that said Indians be kept for the above
purpose in thesaid Missions; and that the mustee Jean Baptist,
who, as it is very well known, will be kei)t in prison until the
51
eud of this process, the said Commander, Don Juan de Dios
Va.ldes, before a Notary Public of that city, will make a sum-
mary investigation to find out his name, country, origin, the
religion he professes, the trade in which he occupies his time,
and the offences he has committed, and if he is shown to be
guilty his case must be substantiated and tried according to
law, and if it turns out to be innocent he will be sent to the
remotest Mission existing, so as to be catechized, and for that
purpose his Honor empowers said Commander to follow the
present instructions on separate acts, the heading of which
will be a true copy, duly authenticated, of this rule.
So was ordered and ruled as a final decision — signed before
me.
Don Jose Diguja.
Pedro Luis Martinez de Gordon y Lugo.
Don Antonio de Alcala.
Before me —
Francisco Ramirez,
Notary Public, and Royal Lieutenant of the Treasury.
Therefore, in order to carry out in due form the [)receding
rule we order the Commander and Lieutenant of the fortress
■of Guayana to see the above-inserted rule be carried out in
every particular in the part appertaining to him.
It was so ruled, in the city of Cumaiia, on the 24th day of
April, in the year seventeen hundred and one.
Jose Diguja.
Pedro Luis Martinez de Gordon y Lugo.
Antonio de Alcala.
By command of his Honor.
Francisco Ramirez,
Notary Public, and Royal Lieutenant of the Treasury.
In the city of Santo Thome de la Guayana, on the third
day of the month of February, in the year seventeen hundred
and sixty-one, Don Juan de Dios Valdez, Castillian Captain
Commander of His Majesty, and the Lieutenant of the Royal
Officers, Don Lorenzo Coronado, said that inasmuch as the
vessels seized b}^ the Lieutenant of Infantry, Don Juan
52
de Dios de Flores, in tlio Barima creek, l)eloiiging to several
persons of the Dutch C'oh)ny of Esiiuivo. miiU-r sufficient in-
structions of said Conimander, sent in a war .schooner, are de-
teriorating in the chief port where they are lying at anchor, on
account of the sun and sliowers, especially one of said
vessels, now almost worthless, on account of her old and
worn out timber, their Honors, in order to avoid further
injury and the loss that the same vessels may cause to the
Royal Treasury, on account of the above reasons ;uid the ac-
tion of the waters injuring them, it was found [iro[)cr to aj)-
prize them by competent and conscientious experts, and pro-
claim them by the public crier during three da3'S, so as to be
sold at auction to the highest bidder; and likewise to prevent
any further expense, to have them apprized and the effects
sold at auction, according to the inventory, found in the above
proceedings, about the seizure of said vessels, as they are
few and of no high value; that the proceeds of all will be de-
posited and secured in the Royal Treasury, await ing the in-
structions of the Governor, Captain General, and UlHcers of
the Royal Treasury of His Majesty in the Province of Cumana^
to whom tlie original acts have been forwarded, with an ac-
count of what has taken place.
And as the circumstances of skill, intelligence, and in-
tegrity concur in the persons of Don \'ivente Franco and
Don Jose de Salvatierra, their Honors appointed them both
as such apprizers and ordered to have them uotihed and sworn,
after their acceptance, promising belbre every thing else to
fulfil their charge witli (Idelity and lawfull}'; said notification
and the other steps will be })erformed by the {present Notary
Rublic, after making an inventory of every thing that may be
delivered and apprized and of the above-mentioned vessels-
and contents.
So it was ordered, and ruleil ami signed by his Honor be-
fore me.
JuAx Valdes.
Before me — Lorenzo Coronado.
Luis Lopez de la Puente,
A Notary Public, and of the Royal Revenue.
Accejytance and oath — Shortly afterwards, I, the Notary Pub-
he, called at the residence of Captain Don A'^icente Franco, to
to whom I notified of his appointment, as apprizer, and he
accepted and was duly sworn, promising to faithfully discharge
his duty to the best of his ability, without any bias or fraud,
and signed with me.
Vicente Franco.
Before me —
Luis Lopez de la Puenta,
Notary Public, and of the Royal Treasury.
Anotlier acceptance. — And shortly afterwards I called at the
residence of Don Jose de Salvatierra, whom I notified of his
appointment as apprizer and he said that he accepted, and was
duly sworn, promising to discharge his duties faithfully and to
the best of his ability, and signed with nie.
Jose Landre and Salvatierra.
Before me —
Luis Lopez de la Puenta,
A Notary Public, and of the Royal Treasury.
Apprizeiinent. — Don Vicente Franco and Don Jose de Salva-
tierra, the appointed apprizers, appeared and said, that in virtue
of their appointment, acceptance, and oath, they went to the
chief port of this city, where the vessels to be apprized are
lying at anchor, and being on board of the same they exam-
ined them and proceeded to apprize the same in the following-
manner :
Firstly. — One launch, rigged as a schooner, with
the hull damaged, the main-mast in good order, the
foremast damaged, with the canvas shrouds still in
good use, and the small anchor with its corresponding
hemp rope still serviceable ; we apprized the whole to
to be worth one hundred and twenty-five dollars.
One launch, with main-mast, two canvas shrouds,
one round sail of coarse cloth and every thing almost
worn out, with one curiara damaged at the bottom,
54
answering" as small boat, the hull itfs.iid launch hring
aground ; we apprized and value all to be worth twenty
dollars.
Another launch with its mast, two canvas shrouds,
a very small round sail of coarse cloth, a small an-
chor with (inly one hook wanting, with its hemp
rope, all still serviceable, with a small curiara, an-
swering for a boat; we value and aj)prize at eighty
dollars.
And having nothing else to apprize at the port, we
went to the Royal Treasury store, and examined four
barrels of powdered salt, and found that they each
contained a fanega (112 ft)s. weight) and a half, mak-
ing it in all six fanegas, which we valued at fourteen
reals each, a total often dollars and four reals.
Six hatchets at six reals each, making in all four
dollars and four reals.
Ten Indian drawers of coarse cloth, a yard and a
half in each, at three reals a yard, making in all three
dollars and six reals.
Eight knives and six bundles of beads, valued at
five dollars and two reals.
And having nothing else to apprize, we delivered the above
valuation to his Honor, in the presence of the Notary Public.
Guayana, February the iburth, seventeen hundred and sixty-
one.
Vicente Franco.
Jose Landre Salvatierra.
Before me —
Luis de la Puente,
A Notary Public, and of the Royal Treasury.
Rule. — In view of the above apprizement made by Captain
Vicente Franco and Don Jose Salvatierra, their Honors, the
Commander, Don Juan Valdes and Don Lorenzo Coronado,
Lieutenant of the Ro3'al ( )fticers, ordered that the same articles
apprized Ije proclaimei] for sale for three consecutive days in
55
the accustomed place, so as to be sold on the fourth day at
public auction and awarded to the highest bidder, under the
understanding that the payment must be made in actual cash
to the Royal Treasurer; to that end the present Notary Pub-
lic shall have the sale proclaimed by the public crier, attended
by a drummer, as customary, so as to bring the fact to the
public notice. It was so ordered and ruled by their Honors
on the third day of February, in the year seventeen hundred
and sixty -one, before ine.
Juan A^aldes.
Lorenzo Coronado.
Before me —
Luis Lopez de la Puente,
Notary Public, and of the Royal Treasury.
1. Notice by the Public Crier. — On the fourth day of February,
in the year seventeen hundred and sixty-one, I, the Notary
Public of this city and of the Tribunal of the Royal Treasury,
standing at the public place, where sales are proclaimed, and
through the public crier Antonio Biamonte, a colored slave,
who acted as a crier, having no regularly appointed crier, and
at five o'clock in the afternoon, I had him proclaim for sale
all the effects contained in the inventory and the apprizement
of the same as above, and proclaiming in high and intelligible
voice, asking who was willing to bid for a launch rigged as a
schooner, with a main and foremast, with a small anchor tied
by a hemp rope ; one launch, with its masts and canvas shrouds
and sail of coarse cloth, with a small boat ; and another launch,
with a mast and canvas shroud and coarse clotli sail, with a
small anchor tied with a rope ; with a curiara, answering for a
small boat ; four barrels of powdered salt, containing six fanegas
of the same; six hatchets; ten Indian drawers of coarse white
cloth ; eight knives; six bundles of beads, all to be sold on ac-
count of the Royal Treasury, giving the preference to the
highest bidder, under the condition of making the payment in
cash to the Royal Treasury ; and although it was repeated
several times, nobody appeared to bid under any circumstances.
56
Tlie act was jicrfonncd in the presence of Don Joaquin de
Alieres and Don ^Santiago Delgado, militaiy men of t ids Castle.
De i.A Dlente,
Notary Public.
2. Second Notice. — In tlic sai<l city of ( Juavana. on tlic liftli
day of the same iiioidli and year, I, the present Notary Public,
and of the Tribunal of the Royal Treasury, standing in the
same place and hour announced before by the public crier,
continued the notices in the same waj' as the iii'st. in like form
and manner, proclaiming several times the sale until sunset,
having had no bid from anybod}-, under any conditions.
I attest to the fact, and sign with th(> attendant witnesses,
Jose Hernandez and Andres Torrico, military men.
Before me —
De la I'UEXTE,
Notary PubUc.
3. Third votice. — In the said citv of the Guavana, on the
sixth day of the same month and yt'ar, V)eing a Xotaiy Pnldic,
standing at the same place and at the same hour above quoted, I
caused the ]Md)lic crier to re})eat several times and proclaim
the sale of the articles contained in the (irst, observing in all
and every respect the formalities of the i)revious notices, uidil
sunset, and having had no bidders the act was sus])ended and
signed by me in the presence of the witnesses, Don Joaquin
de Mieres and Andres Torrico, military men.
De la i'uLNTj;,
Notary Public.
Auction sale. — In this city of the (iuayana, on tlu^ seventh
day of the same month and year, the Captain Commander,
Don Juan do Dios Valdes and the Lieutenant of Royal OIH-
cers, Don Lorenzo Coronado, attending to preside over the act
of the auction sale to be made of all the articles contained in
the present apprizement, after having been previously pro-
claimed to be sold, on account of the Royal Treasury, in com-
pliance with the orders of their Honors, by the above rule of
57
February the third, in the year seventeen hundred and sixty-
one; at about five o'clock in the afternoon, and standing at
the door of the Treasury Office, situated in the Public Square
of this city, in the form of the Tribunal of their Honors and
before me, the Notary Public, it was proclaimed by Antonio
Biamonte, a colored slav^e, acting as a public crier, the sale at
iiuction of all the goods contained in the three previous no-
tices, which were to be sold on account of the Royal Treasury,
repeating every item in a high, intelligible voice, and express-
ing the value of each one, according to the apprizement ; bids
were asked from all the attendant parties, and no bid having
been made until after repeated calls, Manuel Hernandez, a
resident of La Guaira, came out and made a bid for the price
ot the vahiation for the launch rigged as a schooner, with her
•apparels, for the other, almost worthless one, with the small,
damaged boat, and the third of middle use, with the round
sail and apparel contained in the apprizement, the six hatch-
ets, ten Indian drawers, six bundles of beads, four barrels of
powdered salt, all of which amounted to two hundred and
fortv-nine dollars. Having had no other cash bids besides
this one, it was admitted by their Honors, after proclaiming
repeatedly and calling wiiether there was any other bidder,
until sunset, their Honors called for once, twice and three
times for a higher bid, and having none other the sale was
allowed and awarded to the said Manuel Hernandez as the
only bidder who, being present, said that he was ready to
make the payment in cash, and it was done, and their Honors
:signed and not the bidder, who did not know how to write.
Juan Valdes.
Lorenzo Coronado.
Before me —
Luis Lopez dp: la Puente,
Notary Public, and of tlie Royal Treasury.
Certificate of j^ayment. — On the eighth day of the month of
IFebruary, in the year seventeen hundred and sixty-one, before
me, a Notary Public and of the Royal Treasury, appeared at
58
tlic Trca.surv Otlice MaiiiU'l IK'nianiU'/,, a rcsidi'iit oi" this cit\\
tu whom I certify that I know, ami said: That having pur-
chased at auction yesterday the thict' vessels and the several
articles sold, and received them to his full satisfaction, he ex-
hibited and did exhibit the amount of two huiulicd and forty-
nine dollars, which was his bid and award, for which I ac-
knowledoe the present receipt, and hand over to him the
present certificate of payment in due form. He did not sign,
as he did not know how to wi'ite. At his request one of the
witnesses signal for him bclbrc nic —
Jose Landre y
Salvatierra,
at the request of Manuel Hernandez.
Before me —
Loi'EZ L)E LA PUKNTE,
Notary Pablk, and oj the Royal Treasury.
Rule. — In the city of Santo TJiome, de la Guayana, on the
twenty-seventh day of May, in tlie year seventeen hundred
and sixty-one, the Captain-Commander. Don Jnan de Dios
Valdes, and the Lieutenant of Ifoyal Officers, Don Lorenzo
Coronado, saiil : That they had just received a dispatch from
the Governor and Captain-General of Royal Officers of His
Majesty for the Provinces of Cnmana, confirming the forfeit-
ure and award in favor of the Royal Treasur}' of the vessels
seized at the Barima creek by the Lieutenant of Infantry, Don
Jnan de Dios de Flores, and directing the apportionment of the
same, according to the Royal laws, preceded by the apprise-
ment and sale at auction after the appointment of intelligent
and conscientious experts for the valuation ; and as all those
things have been anticipated for the reasons above mentioned
in the rnle of February third, they ought to rule, and did
rnle, that an authenticated copy be made and kept in this
city of the original act forwarded to his Honor at the city of
Cumana, making a sworn statement at the foot of this, by the
Lieutenant of Royal Officers, of the proceeds of the five barrels
of salt fish, which were to be sold, according to what was ruled
59
y
at the time, and of the expenses and costs incurred. It was
so ruled by their Honors and signed before witnesses, as the
present Notary Public has ceased in his functions.
Juan Valdes.
Lorenzo Coronado.
Luis Centkno.
Diego Ignacio Marinos.
I, the undersigned, swear and certify, as Lieutenant of the
Royal Officers of this Fortress of this Guayana, that the five
barrels of salt fish of the size of flour barrels were sold, on
account of whomsoever might be favored with the award of
the forfeiture of the same, with the other articles contained
in the present act, amounting in all to tw^enty-five arrobas
(twenty- five pounds weight), at the rate of five arrobas per
barrel at five reals per arroba (of twenty-five pounds), which
is the general price for river fish ; the proceeds of said twenty-
five arrobas amounted to fifteen dollars and five reals, which
together with the two hundred and forty-nine dollars, the pro-
ceeds of the other effects, make in all two hundred and sixty
four dollars and five reals, errors excepted, etc., and as it
agrees w4th the proceeds of said fish, I give tlie present on the
twenty-seventh day of March in the year seventeen hundred
and sixty-one.
Lorenzo Coronado.
Sworn statement made and signed by me, the Lieutenant of the
Royal Officers, about the costs incurred in these proceedings, as
folloivs :
Firstly, for three cargoes and a half of casave furn-
ished by the Commander, at the rate of three dollars
a cargo, amount to ten dollars and four reals.
For nine arrobas of beef furnished by said Com-
mander, at the rate of six reals an arroba, amount
to six dollars and six reals.
. fiO
For two ]iuiii1i'(m1 and forty-two (day.s) subsistence of
the imprisoned mustee I'oi' laiions, IVoiii tlic t\renty-
ciglitli day of Sciiipti'iulici'. iii(dusivo, to tlir twenty-
seventh (hiy of May of the following' y<';u'. at tlic
rate of a real per ralion (if caidi <la\-, tldrty dolhu'.s
and two reals.
For thirty-tlirco folios cojiir-d ami ccrtificil in the
present procaHMlinMs. rrniaininu at this Ti-casury
Ofiice.
The a])ove costs are tlie same as incui'icil In this city of
Ouayana. until the twenty-ninth of May in the year seven-
teen hundred and sixty-one.
Lorenzo Corona do.
It agrees with the original acts forwarded to the city of
Cuinana, and left in testimony herewith with the intervention
of the Lieutenant of Koyal Officers, after having heen verified
and corrected in thirty-three folios, exclusive of the despatch
accompanying the same.
In testimony whereof, we sign the present, on the second
day of .June, seventetMi hundred and sixty-one.
LoiIKXZo ("oi;(tXAT)0.
Don Jose Diguja Villagomez, Colonel of the Royal Army,
Oovernor and Captain (eMieral of these Provinces of N(wv
Andalusia, New Barc-elona. The Main-hnul, and Guayana;
Don Pedro Luis ^Fartinez de Cordon y Lugo, Accomptant,
and Don Antonio de Alcala, Treasurer, Royal Officers of
the Treasury of this City ami the Provinces, by the King
our Lord, etc. :
Whereas the acts prouioteil for the seizure of a schooner,
two launches and two curiaras in the river Orinoco, we have
ruled that the Hquidation made, as well as the apj)rizement, of
-costs is as follows :
6i
Expenses. — Sworn statement made by me, the Lieutenant of
Royal officers, about the costs incurred by this expedition,,
which "were as follows :
First. — For three and a lialf cargoes of casave fur-
nished by the Commander, at the rate of three
dollars a cargo, ten dollars and four reals.
Nine arrobas (twent^'^-five pound weight) of beef fur-
nished by said Commander, at the rate of six reals
per arroba, six dollars and six reals.
For two hundred and forty-two days subsistence of
the imprisoned mustee for rations from the twenty-
eighth day of September, inclusive, to the twenty-
seventh day of May, in the following year, at the
rate of a real per day, thirty dollars and two reals.
For thirt3'-three folios of authenticated copies of
these acts remaining in the Royal Treasury.
Said costs are correct, and the same as were incurred in this
city of Guayana, up to the twenty-ninth day of May, in the
year seventeen hundred and sixty-one.
Lorenzo Coronado.
Statement of costs of these acts made by me, the under-
signed Notary Public, in virtue of the appointment made of
myself, a.s follows :
First. — To the credit of the Royal Treasury for
twelve folded sheets of stamped paper of
the fourth class, wanted for the conclusion
of these acts, at seventeen maravedis, six
reals 0.
For twenty reals paid from the Royal Treas-
ury to the assessor, in compliance with the
rule of the sixth of last November, as ex-
hibited herewith 20..
To the Lieutenant of his Honor, Don Lorenzo
Coronado, credited for ten signatures in these
acts and statements, at the rate of twenty-
62
four maravcdis for pvery attendance to re-
ceive four sworn statements at one real and
two confessions of the two j»risoners, at nine
reals eacli, licino- in all 28.02
For attendance at the [)ort on boanl df the
eniharkations and their inventory, eighteen
reals, and nine moi-c foi' the attendance to
the auction sale, on the day of the sale 27.00
Due to the apprizers, Don A^icente Franco and
Don Jose Land re de Salvatierra, for their
steps and apprizement at nine reals each
one, eighteen reals 18.
Due to the original Notary Public for autiienti-
cating six acts at twenty-four maravedis
each, and for his attendance to six atfidavits,
including six acceptances of the apprizers,
the first at twenty-four maravedis, and the
rest at sixteen ; two notifications and acts at
forty-eight; twelve original folios used in
writing: the acts and affidavits, and thirtv
folios of copies, according to the entry and
statement of expenses, at thirty -six marave-
dis; and thirty-two of the seal, and three
reals for common paper used in said copies
ami original acts all worth 58.18
For the attendance to take two confessions to
the prisoners, at nine reals each, and eigh-
teen for the inventory made at the river of
the vessel and other articles, all of which is
worth 3G.
For the attendance to the i)ublications con-
cerning the auction sale, at nine reals each,
and four for the receipt of the articles and ex-
hibit of their value, and sixteen to the public
crier, for tiiefour evenings attendance to the
publication of notices of the auction sale,
at four reals each, all amounting to 56.
63
Due me, the Notary Public, fur authenticatiug
four acts on the Hquidation to be made, in-
cluding the statement of the present act, at
forty maravedis, and the rest at twenty-four ;
and for countersigning the two rogatory let-
ters that have been sent, at forty ; a notifica-
tion and act, forty-eight maravedis ; six orig-
inal folded sheets, written in the original
acts, and the liquidation that has to be
entered, and three folios of the copy delivered
to the Royal Officers, at twenty ; tlie one
sent to the assessor, at thirty-six maravedis ;
sixty-four of the two seals and nine folios of
the despatches to be forwarded containing
this valuation, at fifty-one and one real
spent in paper for said copy, amounting in
all to 53.25
For tiie time and work employed in this valua-
tion.. 6.00
Making the total sum of three hundred and
nine reals and eleven maravedis, as it ap-
pears to be the sum due, errors excepted, &c... R. 309.11
This valuation I have made according to the Royal rates in
force, and in the usual way observed by regulation, in this city
of Cumana, on the twenty-first day of July, in the year seven-
teen hundred and sixtv-one.
Francisco Ramirez,
A Notary Public for the Governor.
Rule for the division and liquidation. — In the city of Cumana,
on the twenty-second day of July, in the year seventeen hun-
dred and sixty-one, Don Jose Diguja A^illagomez, Colonel of
the Royal Armies, Governor and Captain General of these
Provinces of New Andalusia, New Barcelona, The Main-land,
and Guayana ; Don Pedro Luis Martinez de Gordon }' Lugo,
64
Accomptaut, and Don .Vntonio do Ak-ala, Treasurer, RoN'al
Officers of the Treasury of this eity and the Provinces l)y tlie
King our Lorth h;iving seen the picccding acts sent to tliis-
Tril)unal by J>un Juan de Dios \*al<U.'s, Castilliau r'aptain and
Conmiander of the Crarrison uf Guayana, and J)on Lorcii/o
Coronado, Lieutenant of their Honors in the Treasury of that
place, about the auction sale, to the amount of two hundred
and sixty-four dollars and five reals received as proceeds of
three launches, with their appurtenances, four Ijarrels of sall^
six liatehets, ten Indian drawers, eight knives, six bundles of
beads, and two curiaras, answering for small boats to said
launches; all seized liy the Lieutenant of InCaiiti'y, Don .Juan
de Dios Flores, in the Earima Ci-eek of the ( )rin(jeo river, aii;l
their Honors said : That in compliance with the law eleventh of
the eighth book, title seventeenth, of the laws of Indias, having
in mind the Royal cedule, dated at Aranjuez, on tlie eleventh
of Julv, seventeen hundred and fiftv-eight. and the model
form accom))anyiug the same, they made the account and di-
vision and liquidation of said confiscation in the following
form :
Principal proceeds of said confiscation, according to
the auction sale and statement of the Lieutenant
Roval ( )fticers of Guav;ina. two humlred and sixtv-
four dollars and five reals. Deducting the Roval
dues to His Majesty in the shape of custom-house
duties at fifteen per cent. — thirty-nine dollars five
reals and eighteen and three-cjuarters maravedis —
making seventeen reals and eighteen and a half
nniravedis, making in all seventeen hundred
ninety-six and a half niara\'e(lis.
To the windward s(piadron, at two per cent., five dol-
lars two reals eleven maravedis, making in all two
reals one and a half niai-avedis, and a total value
of one thousand four hnndreil and nine and a half
maravedis.
To tln' old and modern excise (alcabala), at four per
cent., ten dollars four reals twenty-three and a
65
quarter maravedis, making in all eighty-four reals
and twenty-three maravedis, say two thousand
eight hundred sixty-nine and a quarter maravedis.
That all three charges (or dues) amount to fifty -five
dollars four reals and nineteen and a quarter mara-
vedis.
After that deduction it remains a total sum of two
hundred and nine dollars fourteen and a half
maravedis.
Deducted likewise forty-seven dolUirs four reals of
costs incurred in Gua3'ana, according to the state-
ment made by said Lieutenant of the Royal Offi-
cers, and thirty-eight dollars five reals and eleven
maravedis of the cost of the legal proceedings ac-
cording to the preceding valuation, both amounts
making a total of eighty-six dollars one real and
eleven maravedis.
The remaining net sum amounts to one hundred and
twenty -two dollars seven reals three and a half
maravedis.
From said sum a sixth part belongs to the Judges
who passed sentence of confiscation, in all twenty
dollars three reals and twenty-eight and three-
quarters and a half maravedis.
From this remainder reduced to one hundred and
t\vo dollars three reals eight and three-quarters
maravadis —
Deduct the third part, corresponding to the person
' who denounced the act, and if there is no such per-
son it will be added to the portion belonging to the
Royal Treasury, amounting to thirty -four dollars
one real two and three-quarter maravedis.
And from this remainder reduced to sixty-eiglit dol-
lars two reals and six maravedis —
Must be deducted a fourth part bonus, belonging to
those who effected the seizure of the articles con-
fiscated, amounting to seventeen dollars seventeen
and a quarter and a half maravedis.
V OL. If, Ven.— 5
66
From wlioiv it remains yd tlic siini of fifty-one dol-
lars one real twenty-two and a half maravedis.
To which it is added, in favor of the Royal Treasury,
the third part deducted for the ])ers()n who de-
nounced the default, thirty-four dollars one real two
and three-quarters maravedis. So that it remains
in favor of Jlis Majesty, out of the present confis-
cation, eighty-five dollars two reals and twenty-five
and a quarter maravedis, making six hundred and
eighty-two reals twenty-five and a quarter and a
half maravedis, or twenty -three thousand two hun-
dred and thirteen and a quarter and a half mara-
vedis.
And to carry out this li(|uidation the Lieutenant of the
Royal Oflficcrs will proceed to make the charges shown in his
hooks and those of the Stations, where they belong, in favor of
the Royal Treasury, so as to pay the expenses incurred in this
expedition and the costs of the legal proceedings belonging to
that '{'ribunal. He will deliver to the Commander of that
place a fourth part, belonging to those who effected tlie seizure,
so as to distribute the same among them, and send to the
Royal Treasurer's OfRce the sixth part, belonging to the
Justices, and costs of the proceedings, belonging to that city.
Rogatory letters will be sent to the said Commander an<l
Lieutenant, in order to have them both to carry out, with the
present insertion of the statement and valuation of said costs
and expenses, the tenor of this rule of His Honor. It was so
ordered and signed.
Don Jose Diguja.
Pedro Luis Martinez dk Gordon y Lucio.
Don Antonio de Alcala.
Before me —
Francisco Ramirez,
Royal Notary Public and Lieutenant of the Treasury.
Therefore, in order to carry out the contents of the above rule,
we order to the Commander and Lieutenant of the Fortress of
hi
Guayana to take notice of the above rale, and carry it into
effect faithfully and punctually, in regard to every thing
therein expressed, according to the present despatch, given
and signed in the city of Cumana on the twenty-second day
of July, seventeen hundred and sixty-one.
Jose Diguja.
Pedro Luis Martinez de Gordon y Lugo.
Antonio de Alcala.
By command of His Honor —
Francisco Ramirez,
Notary Public and Lieutenant of the Treasury.
In the city of Santo Thome de la Guayana, on the third
day of September, in the year seventeen hundred and sixty-
one, in compliance with the rule of His Honor contained in
the preceding act, the Commander Don Juan Valdes and the
Lieutenant of Royal Officers said : that they were to give and
gave a full compliance to the same, and that in regard to the
allowance granted the Officers who made the seizure, the Com-
mander said that he would receive and did receive the seven-
teen dollars and seventeen maravedis, to be distributed amontr
the said creditors. As to the rest of the contents of said
despatch, the Lieutenant-Commander of Royal Officers took
charge of the distribution of the proceeds of the confiscation in
the several corresponding stations. It was so agreed and
ruled, signing herewith.
Juan Valdes.
Lorenzo Coronado.
Luis Centeno de Brito.
Jose Francisco de Ventancourt.
This copy agrees with the original document existing in
the General Archives of Indias, in stand 131, case 7, docket
17. Seville, the 25th day of December, 1890. The Director
of Archives. Carlos Jimenez Placer — [here is a flourish].
Seal. General Archive of Indias.
08
Tlif undersigned, Coiisul-( Jeiicral of \'fiirziicla in Sjiain,
certities to the autlicnlicity of the sigDatiiiT ut' Seiior Carlos
Jimenez IMaeer, (JhieT of t he General Afchivcs of Indias.
Madri.l. '.»th ofJanuarv 1S<M.
i'. FoitTon.T JIlKTAno.
'idle undersigned, Minister of l'\)i'eigii Allairs of IJie TnitcMl
States of \'eiiezuela, certifies to tlu' authenticity of liie signa-
ture of Senor Pedro Fortoult Jlurtado. ( 'onsul-( leneral of
Venezuchi in Spain on the above date.
Caracas, March tiie sixth, 1800.
[sF.Ar..] P. EzK(iriEL ROJAS..
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
()9
No. 7.
^Translation.]
Stand 131.— Case 2.— Docket 17.
Gexeral Archive.? of Indias — -(Seville.)
1770.— Letter No. 41 from Don Pedro J. tie Urriitia to
Don Julian de Arriaga, informing' liim of the com-
plaint of the Minister from Holland, on aeeonnt of
the proceedings of the Spaniards estahlished in the
Orinoco against the Colony of Esqiiivo.
(Dated in Cumana, May 10, 1770.)
■Original No. I+l. — Tlie Governor of Cumana, in compliance luifh
a Royal order quoted, reports, with the justifying documents
he refers to, luhat is offered and seems to him to he the facts as
contained in said papers, about tlie complaint made by the
Minister of Holland against tlie conduct of the Spaniards
established on the Orinoco against the Colony of Esepiivo, so
that His Majesty, in view of everything, may decide what his
pleasiire may be on the subject.
Most Excellent Sir: On the thirtieth of March of the
present year, as shown by the triplicate herewith, I made your
Excellency acquainted with receipt of the Royal order of the
twenty-third of September ultimo, accompanied with the
paper in whicli the Minister of Holland complained of the
conduct of the Spaniards established on the Orinoco against
the Colony of Esquivo, stating the facts, and I promised to
address the report received, with the corresponding grounds
justifying the same, for your knowledge and instruction.
In compliance, I inform your Excellency that the only facts
that I have found to have occurred befora the separation of
the Province of Guayana from this Government, were due to
70
the sjiiiic ITdllimdcrs uf the iicigliboriiig Colony of Esquivo,
close to the iMissioiis of the Reverend Catahin Capuchin
Fathers of said Province; as in tlio year seventeen hundred
and lifty-eight, during the Government ad interim of Don Nic-
olas de Castro, when the Prefect of the same Mission sent a
dispatch minutely informing the then Commander of that
Fortress of the serious injuries and death which occurred
when the Carihs of tlie desert, influenced by the Es(iuivo Hol-
landei-s, had kilKMl many of the Guaica Indians in his \\r\v
Mission, in the District of llauchica; that fearing yet greater
evils around the other settlements, he applied for an inniicdi-
ate remedy, as the chief cause of these evils was the constant
suggestions and persuasions of the same Hollanders to the Ca-
ribs, in order to avoid their being reduced to any settlement
with the Spaniards and foster enmity against the holy I'Ur-
pose of restraining the abominable commerce, kept through
the Caribs, giving them goods and iron utensils in exchange
for Poyto Indians (which means slaves); said Caribs are in
the habit of waging war, and apprehend the Poytos, so as to
sell them to said Colony of Esquivo ; the consequence was to
prevent the progress and extension of the Gospel, as well as
the reduction of the gentiles, especially as the Hollanders,
trespassing tiie boundary of their Colony, came to extend their
territory, in order to continue this kind of commerce witliin
the doiiiiiiions of His Majesty and in the neighborliood and
frontiers of the last Missions; this fact is proA^ed by the estalj-
lishment, with permission of tiie Governor Lorenzo Storens
Gravesende, of a Guard house in the islan<l called Caranni-
cura, in the Cuyuni river, within the territory of the Missions
(which uiiiloubtedly is the same as the Hollanders call in theii-
said paj)er the Cayoeniy riv(M'), because this place never has
been considered as belonging to the Cohjny of Esquivo, as
stated in the said disiiateh of the Prefect; the Commander of
the Guayaua, after having been notified of all these facts, sent
an expedition of troops to the Cuyuni iiiver with the neces-
sary instructions to dislodge the Hollanders from that Post,
and to seize the Indian slaves, or Poytos, and any others to be
found there, as it was carried out, notwithstanding the resist-
71
aiice of the Hollander in command of the Post, and the death
of one of the soldiers and the wounding of another pending the
conflict, at the end of that expedition ; that on this affair the
Commander instituted an investigation of the facts showing
what had happened, and sent the same, with the Hollanders
arrested in the act of resistance, to the said Governor ad in-
terim, Don Nicolas de Castro, who took the opinion of a learned
assessor, who extended the same in writing, advising to have
the proceedings forwarded to His Majesty and the Royal Su-
preme Council of Indias ; but there is no evidence showing
whether he did so or not, or what became of the arrested Hol-
landers.
The Governor of Esquivo, having been informed of the facts
and of the imprisonment of the two Hollanders at the Cuyuni
river, sent a despatch to the same Commander of Guayana,
claiming the same, who forwarded it without returning any
answer to the already mentioned Governor ad interim, Don
Nicolas de Castro, who answered the same to that of Esquivo.
The testimony herewith shows everything herein stated, as
your Excellency will find it.
After the answer given by Don Nicolas de Castro, the Gov-
ernor of Esquivo sent a case addressed to the Commander of
Guayana, who finding out that it contained one map and a
despatch, without any further act closed it and returned it to
the Governor by the same bearers, as everything appears
stated in the testimony herewith accompanied. No other
documents are found at this Government office, nor in the
Public Archives, besides the contents of these two testimonies
and a Royal order, a copy of which was sent bearing date
March the thirtieth, seventeen hundred and fifty-three, by the
Government of Madrid, and notified to the Marquis of la En-
senada as a remedy to the injury and death occasioned by the
Caribs in the said Missions of Guayana under the influence of
the Esquivo Hollanders, and the other reasons stated in the
same. His Majesty will show his pleasure about this subject.
May our Lord keep the person of your Excellency in His
Holy guard, as it is my desire. Cumana, May the tenth,
seventeen hundred and seventy.
Most Excellent Sir, kissing the liand of your Excellency, his
most obedient servant,
PkDRO JOSKIMI DK I'KKUTIA.
To the Most Excellent JSefuii' Railry I'"i-ay l)(»n Julian de
Arringa.
The foregoing is a true copy of the oiiginal docunu-nl ke})t
in the General Archives of the Indias, in the Stand lol, Case
2, Docket 17. Seville, January r2th, 1891. The Chief of the.
Archives, Carlos Jimenez Placer — [here is a flourish]. Seal.
General Archives of Indias.
The undersigned, Consul General of ^'^enezuela in Spain, cer-
tifies to the authenticity of the signature of Senor Carlos
Jimenez l*lacer, Chief of the General Archives of Indias.
Madrid. January 27th, LS91.
P. FoKTOl'LT IIlRTADO.
The undersigned. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United
States of Venezuela, certifies to the authenticity of the signa-
ture of Senor Pedro Fortoult Hurtado, Consul (*leneral of
\'ene/,nela in Spain at the above date.
Caracas, March the Oth, JSiKJ.
[seal.] p. Ezequiel Rojas.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
73
No. YIII.
Siand 131.— Case 7— .Docket 17.
GENE?..iL Archive.? of Indies. — (.Seville. )
1768.
•Abstract of the proceedings instituted about the
pretensions of the 3Iinister of Holland, in
trying to assume any rights of domain on the
borders of the. Esquivo Colony, also stating
that the subjects of Spain established on the
Orinoco disturb and prevent the Hollanders
from fishing.
30 folded sheets.
8tand 131.— Case 7.— Docket 17.
Abstract of the proceedings instituted al)ont tlie
pretensions of the Minister of Holhind in trying to
assume any rights of domain in the Esquivo Colony
and of fishing in that part of the Rio Negro, and
stating that the subjects of His Majesty, the King
of Spain, established on the Orinoco, disturb and
prevent the Hollanders from fishing there. To said
proceedings the antecedents of another investiga-
tion is added in reference to the remittance to the
Council, as a reserved matter, of an order of January
the fifteenth, in the year 1768, with a despatch from
the Ambassador of England, in which he proposed
to make restitution of the negroes, coming to our
islands in America from theirs, and to fix public
notices for the purpose, so as to be maturely exam-
ined by the Council, consulting His Majesty, in
71
Case
the day.
Lettci-
No. 1.
of
H.
L.ttcT II.
Al ]ii a ]•-
•-Ciii.
Docket of
antcfcdi'iits
1 1 1 ■ I M I i 1 1 ■_' :
ilo. l^ockct
of the day .
Letter do.
No. :?.
No. ».
onler t(i li<ar his plcasiiic on the subject taking in
con.sideration the report of the Treasurer and the
answer of the Attorneys of the Revenue ; the con-
sultation to His Majesty was addressed on the
9tli of May, 17(38, by the Council, in the way
they thought proper, Ijearing in mind the conven-
tion concluded and ratitit'(l b}' His ^hijesty with the
King of Denmark upon the same subject of desert-
ers, between the island of Porto Rico and those of
Saint Cross, Saint TIkmiuis, ami Saint John ; said
consultation is still pending and awaiting the reso-
lution of His Majesty.
Statement.
Paragraph 1. Having sent to the Council, as a re-
served matter, together with the Royal order of Sep-
tend)ci' 10, 1769, a despatch from the Minister of
Holland, complaining of the conduct of the S])an-
iards established on the ()rinoco, against the Dutch
colony of Esquivo, in order to examine the same
and consult His Majesty about the extension (jf
those boundaries and the alleged right by the Re-
public to fish at the entrance of the Orinoco river ;
the Couiu-il ordered Ity decree of the 12th of said
month and year to delivc^r the same to the trans-
lator, urging an immediate translation to be for-
warded to the Attorney, with all the antecedents
to be found on the subject. 'The translation was
made, and the (les})atch. with the antecedents, de-
livered to the AttcHMiey ; and the Council, in con-
formity with this rei)ort, consulted His Majesty, on
the ■27th of September, 1709. That in order to act
with sufficient knowledge of the case, of sucli an
absorbing im[)ortaiice, it was necessary to examine
the several documents (pioted in the consultation,
so that in case that there was no difficulty, and if
it was the j)leasure of His Majesty to request the
Secretarv of State to send to those Kingdoms the
75
information desired, luid l)y the same to send notice
to tlie Council, with all the documents concerned.
No. 2. And in compliance with the royal orders
of the 22d of September, 1770, the Bailiff sent the
documents contained in an index, accompanying
the same and explained by a letter from Don Jose
Iturriaga dated on the 12th of June, 1757, where a
description is given of the Apure river and the
Province of Barinas, accompanied in six folios,
without date or signature. Another letter from the
same, dated on the Kith of June of the same year,
in which he dwells upon the subject of keeping or
demolishing the Castle of Araya. Another letter
from the same Itnrriaga, under the date of the 15th
of December, 1757, about the instructions that he
gave after receiving the report that the Hollanders
were erecting a fortress on the Maruca (Moroco)
river, with the copy of a letter of the 2d of the same
month of December to Don Juan Valdes. Another
from the same Iturriaga, dated on the 19th of April,
1758, in which he reports that the Hollanders pre-
tended to extend their dominions on Esquivo to the
large mouth of the Orinoco, with another copy of
that of the 3d of March of the same Don Juan
Valdes. A report of Don Josef Solano on the sub-
jects contained in the four preceding letters from
Iturriaga, with a map attached to it.
A letter from the Commander of Guayana, dated
on the 5th of April, 1770, in which he reports, w^ith
accompanying proofs, the subjects of the complaints
made by the Minister of Holland of the conduct of
the Spaniards of the Orinoco against the Esquivo
Colony, together with a general plan of the Pro-
vince of Guayana and nine separate copies authenti-
cated of original proceedings accompanied. Another
letter from the Governor of Cumana, dated on the 10th
of May in the same year, in which he reports, with
justifying documents, the contents of the same matter,
Docket
do.
Letter M.
No. 2.
Docket
do.
Letter P.
No. 1.
No. 2.
No. 3.
No. 4.
No. 0.
No. 6.
No. 7.
Lctll'lM)
Lctti r()
the complaints of tlic Miiii.st(_'r ul' I IoHjiihI ciiilnaf*-!!
in a letter from the same ( iovi-rnoron the .'JOtli of the
])reviou8 month of March. One copy of the Royal
order of the 3(>th of Martli, 1753, and a testimony in
'^" "^^ 52 folios. A petition from the Prefect of the Mis-
sions of the Catalan Cai)uchins of the Province of
(inayaiKi, datiHl on the <)th of .Inly. IT*)^, in which
he reports what had ha|ipeneil in inward to the three
Indians that had heen purchased with their dauf^'h-
ti'rs and enslaved hy the Hollanders, having heen
taken awav thr(»u<i'h the mouth of the ( )rinoco : with
another letter from the same Prefect, of the same
date, with two documents marked with the letters
A I') each, one a copy of inijtruetions, another one of
debts to !)e collected IVoni the ('arii)s hy the Master
of the Post, and a tahulated statement of the Mis-
sions. Xoticinu' that, in thePoyal order with which
the documents were foi'warde(l to the C'Ouncil it
i..ti.iM. .^^..^^ ...jj^i |]j,j|. ^]|^,^. ]|.|,| ],^.,.|, ^t-nt to the Department
''"'•'• of State in order to lind out whether the missing
ddcunients were found there, and if such were the
case to havt' tlieni forwarded : that another Koyal
^"■^- oi'dei- exists, dated the (Itli of Septt-ndter. 1770. in
which the Council r([)oi1s the fact that they were
not found in the Departiiient, and had been asked
lor the action of the Council to be taken in re-
gard to the case; therefore, in pursuance of the de-
cree of tlie Council of the T-ith tA' Septeniiier, ]7()i),
i..>ii.iN. ail index was made at the Department of the several
papers, in reference to this subject, and although
they are many, we will oidy consid<'i' those in con-
N"- I. nection with the jiixsent subject at tlie time. An-
other index of several consultations made at differ-
ent times ujion the same subject, and having been
submitted to the Attorney, as it had been directed,
his answer, dated August the (Uh, 1774, advised the
Council to com|ily with their decree of the 1st of
o.^i, folios f^pptpij^ijgi. of the same year, and sent the matter to
Lettt-r by
( T o V e r n < ) r
i)t' Ciiinaii;!.
ibl. :\.
77
tlie Relator with all notes, abstracts, and all the
antecedents, so that he might report the result to
his Majesty, and it was so carried out.
Supplement I.
Stand 3. xVnd, in order to fully understand this ^oc^et 3
subject, it must be supposed that, in the letter sent to
the Council by the Governor of Cumana, Don Gre-
gorio Espinosa, dated the 1st of February, 1742, he
accompanied the acts showing the demarcations and
boundaries of the jurisdiction of that Government
and that of Venezuela ; and that by such boundaries
the extreme limits had been fixed dividing the Pro-
vince of Caracas and sea coast along the Codera Cape
and thence running a line eastward across the moun-
tains of Santa Lucia to the headwaters of tiie Orituco
river and following its waters down to the plains to
the entrance of the Guarico river and going down
the stream to where it disembogues in the Orinoco
river, and following its current down to the mouth oes.-rii.-
of tlie same, where it empties into the sea. And loi- map i.y ni-
. , . siu.l;'.-
lowing the geographical description and notes in-
serted for the explanation of the general map of
the Government of Cumana forwarded by the
Governor, Don .Josef Diguja, in the year 1761, it is
said that the boundaries of the Province of Cumana
are ; on the east, the mouths of the Orinoco river, the
Guarapichie river, and the point of Paria ; on the
north, the same point of Paria, a three-pointed cape,
following along the coast of Araya and the Gulf of
Cariaco down to the point at the town of Pozuelos,
which is already in the Province of Barcelona; on
tlie west, from tlie said town to the table land of
Guanipa, from where another line is retraced towards
the east, following it until it reaches the Orinoco,
opposite Guayana.
That the Castle of Araya is one of the best strong- foho 29.
holds, and that it was erected to defend from the
Kolio (Mi.
78
Dutch a large salt-pit tliat had Ix-en watered,
(^ther salt-pits have been since discovered, leading
to the idea of demolishing said fort, as it seems that
it was done. That the Province of Guayana has
for boundaries: Oii the east, all the coast in which
are situated the Dutch Colonies of Esquivo, Bervis,
Dcmerari, Corentin, and Surinama, and more to the
windward the Cayana, belonging to the French ;
on the north, the banks of the Orinoco dividing tlie
Provinces of Cumana, Barcelona, Caracas, Barinas,
Santa Fe, and Popayan, which forms half a circle
returning to the east, towards the source of tiie
Parima Lake, as may be seen in the general map
of said Provinces and river; on the south, with
the dominions of the most Faithful King in Brazil,
the boundaries of which and said Province of Guay-
ana not beinc; known, nor its contents in the center.
And in regard to the rivers Orinoco, Caroni, Aruy,
and ('aura, it is said that at forty leagues from the
Aruy the Caura empties its waters as the hirgest
river running through large rocks, })reventing the
navigation of vessels larger than canoes or small
launches; that the sources of this river are sixty
leagues far from where it empties its waters and
takes its oriirin IVoin hiiih mountains inhabited bv
many Indians disturbed by the Caribs who sieze
children and women to sell them to the ITolhinders,
and exterminate the older Indians by every i)Ossible
means; that east of the coast of Guayana are situ-
ated the Dutch Cohniies of Esquivo, Demerari, Ber-
I'oiio (i'.i. vis, Corentin, and Surinam, according to the infor-
mation received by Don .Juan de Dios Valdes,
Connnander of Guayana. That of Esquivo consists
of cane plantations, which at the distance of thirty
. leagues were held l)y the Hollanders, who planted
the same by the margins of the Esquivo river; that
said Dutch Provinces are most injurious to Guay-
ana, especially that of E-^quivo as the nearest to the
Folio lis.
79
Orinoco. That they enter through the same river
and those of Mazaroni and Cuyvmi protected by the
Carib Indians of that Province, whom they enslave
and sell just as they do witli the negroes employed
on their plantations and farms.
That in order to seize the poor Indians they resort
to every means their cupidity and tyranny suggests,
trying to secure their friendship with the Caribbean
tribes, warlike and ferocious, who overrun all that
extensive Province, as well as those of Barcelona,
Caracas, and Santa Fe, in quest of other Indians, on
whom they always secure predominance, on account
of their peaceful and good nature ; that they were
continually assaulted in their ranches and lands ;
that those of age were killed and their children and
women captured to be sold as slaves ; that these in-
cursions very frequently disturbed the Missions of
the Catalan Capuchin Fathers, not so firmly estab-
lished yet, as their Indians were taken away, or in
fear of the Caribs took to the woods ; that there was
no means to stop them, on account of their cowardly
and timid nature ; that sometimes, if there was a
Spanish Guard in the vicinity, they used to put
themselves under its protection ; that the native
Hollanders of the Colony used to accompany the
Caribs and give them instruction in the manage-
ment of arms, and w^ere still more inhuman than
the Caribs, making necessary a great vigilance to
stop them and defend said Missions which they
procured to destroy so as to remove their opposition
to the plans of their Colonies ; that they took the
silver and goods from Cumana in exchange for iron
utensils, machetes, knives, cotton, and linen goods
coming from the Dutchmen and Indians of the Is-
land of Curacoa ; that this commerce is very obnoxi-
ous, because they resell the goods to the poor peoj^le,
and this trade can not be made without the consent
and the interest oftho.se who command, and if that
Folio IW.
Folio Iftj.
^0
weri' not tln' casi- it wmuM be very easy to remedy llu^
evil, as it was doiic hy the ( Jovenini- at that time.
Aiitci'CMleiits vvitluMit si Solution.
unso^''v.•'!I -i- \\ 'l'' •1^1^' aiitiL-ii)ati()ii llie euiui.laiiil made by
eiits'/''*'' tlic Minister of Holland on the subjects heretofore
Lotti-i-A. mentioned was sul»mitted to the Council by order of
Nos. Kvj. the King, and inidcr date of the 11th of ^hiy, ITbS,
another des{)a tell t'lom the Andiassailoi- of England
intending to })rove that the lunaway negroes from
tlieir island, coming to ours in America, ought to he-
returned liome, and that cartels or pulilic advices of
the case fixe<l ; that in view of said documents and
after the examination of the case the Council wouhl
report ; that in furtherance of the decrees of the 14th
Nos :uv- I '^^ ^hirch and the 18th of January to the Treasurer
Traiisia- ''^^'^ Ids Attorneys, precedeil by a transhition of the
"""■ contents of said Ambassador's^ u despatch was ad-
"'■■'■ dressed to the Marquis of Grimaldi, under date of
the 7th of January, 17(38, that the Governors of Ja-
maica and ot the Virgin Ishxnds having made fre-
liueiit complaints to the Court of the harm done to
the inhaliitants of said islands on account of the ad-
mission and detention of the tugitive negroes from
their settlements, and which the Spanisli Governors
of Culia and Puerto Rico tolerated, and it seems like-
wise that they authorized the evil ; that they had
the strictest orders fi'om the King to make the
strongest representation against such an unjust
practice, so contrary to the law of nature, to the pri-
vate property and to the good understanding that
oufrht to subsist between the two friendlv nations,,
asking that orders be given to said .Spanish (iovern-
ore, so as to make })romi)t restitution of said slaves
to their corresponding masters to [)ut an efficient
end to such an unjust conduct. That by a state-
ment presented (Staml No. •")) to the Count of Shel-
burne on the *.>th of March, 17(17, it seemed, that the-
81
inhabitants of Cuba had lately taken by force many
negroes from the northern part of the island of Ja-
maica, and that many more had run away to Cuba,
where not only they had been well received but like-
wise well concealed, and refusing to deliver them back.
That after Governor Cletson had informed Count
Shelburne of a new desertion of a number of slaves,
and having made his necessary representations to
Don Antonio Bucareli and the Marquis of Casa
Carigal, Governor of Santiago de Cuba, but all in
vain, as the latter gave as his reply that having
taken legal steps in the matter, he had sent a state-
ment to his sovereign, and had no Dower left to do
anvthing; in the matter until he should hear the
pleasure of his King and Lord.
That the chief inhabitants of the Virgin Islands
had already sent their complaints of the large losses
sustained on account of the admission and detention
of their fugitive negroes in Puerto Rico.
7. That in consequence of these repeated com-
plaints he had received orders from the King his
Lord to urge the case in his name before His Catho-
lic Majesty, in order to obtain, from his known sense
of justice, the necessary orders to his American Gov-
ernors to make a prompt restitution of these fugitives
to their corres{)onding masters, forbidding them to
continue such an irregular and unjust conduct.
8. That it was useless to show that the trade in
negroes was authorized with the concurrence of all
the European nations, and particularly that these
slaves were looked upon as private property, and
therefore the allowance of asylum to said fugitive
slaves and the refusal to return them back home to
their owners, was a conduct directly in opposition to
every sense of justice; and that it was absolutely
necessary to i)r()vide a remedy for an evil so inju-
rious to private property and to the good under-
standing subsisting between the two nations.
Vol. II, Ven'.— 6
82
9. That to tliis cii<l he took tlic liberty to propose,
as the only proper remedy, llic establishment of a
cartel for the mutual restitution of fugitive negroes
from the English to the S[)anish Colonies in Amer-
ica, as it is reasonable, and a measure well medi-
tated ; and that he had no doubt the Marquis de
Grimaldi would render bis good offices near his
Catholic Majesty, in order to secure the measure
pro]wsed by him.
10. Afterdue consideration the General-Treasurer,
in bis report of the lOtb of Ararch, 1768, in reference
to the text of the al)ove despatch, continued, saying
that l»y the aiucccdcnts obtained and added to tbe
present case it was shown tb.it on tlie 29th of Jan-
uary, 1757, tlic Council consulted His Majesty, giv-
ing an account of what was represented by the Gov-
ernor of Porto liico, concerning tlic arrival at those
coasts of ten negro slaves from the French Colony,
who had been claimed by the General of jSTartinique,
and whose delivery was suspended in order to
obtain tiie Royal determination on the subject;
that it was decided to instruct the said Governor of
Porto Rico to deliver and make restitution of the
said ten slaves to the aforementioned Governor of
ISfartinique, or to whomsoever would claim them,
under condition that they were not to sustain any
corporal nor atilictive ]>unishment, and that the
reciprocity should be assured, as decided by His
Majesty, at the consultations of the Council on var-
ious occasions, and particularly since the year 1703
up to that of 17-19, when restitution was accorded to
the Frenchman of all tiie fugitive negro slaves of
their Colonies, as well as soldier deserters ap})re-
hended in that island, within its jurisdiction ; the
Council directed that in future the same conduct
was to be observed in similiar cases of fugitive slaves
or French deserters.
11. That His Majesty's Royal resolution accepts
83
the advice of the Council only in regard to negro
sla ves.
12. In another consultation of the 25th of Febru-
ary following, in the same year, tlie Council showed
His Majesty the result of a letter from the Governor
of Cuba find the testimonv accompanying the same,
about the decision in I'egard. to an Englishman
called Peter George who left Jamaica on account of
religion, with six of his negro slaves; that it was of
the opinion, following other instances, that he would
be admitted under the Royal protection, meaning
said Peter George, and that he should be granted
lands fixing his domicile for his subsistence, and
deciding tliat in regard to the payment of dues on
slaves, it was only to be applied to those that he
might sell, but not on account of their entrance, as
such was a tree act, in consideration of the religious
purposes accomplished, and recommending most
particuhirlv to the Governor of Cuba that if he be-
lieved that the Englishmen sincereh^ sought refuge
in our dominion on account of religion, he should
grant them lands and designate their domicile as
far as possible from the coast ; that this condition
ought to be observed witli the greatest care in this
ca-e, as the said Peter George's case was open to
doubts as to tlie good faitli in which he carried out
his passage; that His Majesty accepted the opinion
of the Council as final in this case.
13. That on the 10th of September, 1764, the
Council brought to tlie notice of His Majesty a copy
of what was represented by tlie Governor and Rox'al
Officers of Havana in regard to the three French
negroes found in the neighborhood of the Morro
Casle, and the final decision issued by those Minis-
tt'i's on the 29th of July, 1760, when the said three
slaves were confiscated, and three negroes, as well as
three wild i^egro boys, who were, according to evi-
dence, at the house of the Ensign, Don Francisco
84
Hernandez, who was enjoiiifil [n present tliein on the
second day, and in ih'fanU to pay tlicir price as fixed
]>y the reguhations, according totlie price allowed to
tiie Royal Company for the same, so as to have the
proceeds of all ilistrihnfeil in the custoniaiy way oh-
served in similar cases, according to the laws and
regnlations; and having been represented on the
l)art of the negro called Balthasar that lie is free,
it was decided to suspend the sale of his person until
tlie final decision of his case be reached.
14. That His Majesty was requested by the Coun-
cil to confirm the sentence and return the proreed-
ings, so that they he placed in the condition in whit-li
they were when the request of time for the delivery
of the six negroes was made, and empowering tiie
Governor and Royal Officers to {>roceed and try the
case according to law, witii directions that the otiier
negro called Ralthasar be thoroughly investigated,
so as to find out whether he really was free as he
pretends. His Majesty adopted this advice as final
as the result of the consultation submitted.
15. Tiiat in regard to the other case of the 23d of
December, 1705, the C\)nncil sliowed to His Majesty
what was represented by the Intendente of Ilavana,
Don Miguel de Altaniva, requesting a suitable de-
cision as to whether certain negroes acquired before-
hand were to be considered as duly acquired, as at
the time of the restitution of that place there was no
proper evidence of tlieii- apprehension and owner-
ship, ami wh.it eliarges or dues were to be collected.
On this particular point, it was the opinion of tiie
Council that said Intendente ought to l>e re(|Ueste(I
to forward the full eo]iy of the ])i-oceedings carried
out on the subject, and a correct report of the per-
sons who j)urchased the negroes from tlie I-^nglish-
men during the war, and of those wlio, through vio-
lence, j)ersuasion, or robbery introduced them ; as
the disposition of one and the other case must be
different, His Majesty api)roved the opinion of tlie
85
Council and the corresponding cedules were issued,
but it was not ascertained whether they had been
carried into effect or not.
16. That by another consultation of the 30th of
September, 176G, the Council showed to His Majesty
that the representation from the Governor of Santi-
ago de Cuba, with a copy of the proceedings, about
the landing of ten negroes introduced at the port of
Baracoa by Alexander Johnson, a native of Eng-
land ; that it was discovered that those negroes were
slaves of several residents of Guarico who had run
away under the influence and persuasion or robbery
of said Alexander Johnson ; that tlie Council under-
stood that there was no reason whatever to consider
them as a lawful prize, by confiscation or reprisal,
nor to act in any way detrimental to the right of the
owners, on account of their landing within the coasts
of His Majesty's dominions; and that it was advisa-
ble to direct the Governor of Cuba to send notice to
Guarico, so that the owners might recover them
lawfully, paying the expenses incurred, or if sold, to
recover the price after deducting the Royal dues ; that
it was proper to serve notice of the case with the cor-
responding copies and the final decision to the
Ambassador of France ; and that His Majesty ac-
cepted the report of the Council in response to the
above consultation.
17. That the Council, in consideration of what
was represented by Don Miguel de Altaniva, and of
the documents accompanied by the same, in refer-
ence to the case of a negro obtained by Don Fran-
cisco de Chaves, while the English were in pos-
session of the City of Havana, decided by an act of
the 6th of March, 1768, to include said negro as pro-
tected by the amnesty of His Majesty and in the en-
joyment of his freedom as he claimed, and approv-
ing the decision of the Intendente, reserving Chaves
his rights on the subject against any other party.
18. That this decision of the Council had been
86
dictated after fiiidiiiij,- a siifficiont evidence that tlie
negro was within the meaning of tiie Royal order of
the 17th of April, 1704, declaring free all the negroes
imprisoned hy the English dnring the siege of
Havana, and, after the surrender of said citv, had
deserted, in ordci- to embrace the Catholic religion,
considering thciu all free, nolwitlistandinu" their
dc»ul>tiul intention.
19. That in view of everything heretofore stated
in connection witli the contents of the despatch
from the Ambassador of England, and the antece-
dents gathered on the subject, tlie General Accomp-
tant found them all applied to ])artieular cases
differing from each oilier, and decided, according
to the circumstances of the time, they were not suffi-
cient to justify assent to a request so general as the
one intended by the Ambassador of England.
20. That since the establishment of the Euiilish,
French, Putcli, and Danes in the Colonies they
possess in America, fugitive negroes had kept com-
ing to the islands and dominions ot His Majest}',
some of them to escape ill treatment and others to
embrace our Catholic religion ; tliat on every occa-
sion they had been well received by the inliai)itants
and Spanish Governors, convinced as the}' were,
that l)y showing kindness to these people their own
people derived the benefit of their cultivation of
the land, besides linding the protection of a good
aii<l ( 'atliolic sovereign.
'21. That th(> foi'eiguers had always set their
claims again.st this })raetiee, and that the interfer-
ence of the Ambassadors and .Ministers of foreign
countries, in order to aboli.-^h it, had been repeatedly
tried in order to obtain the restitution of their slaves
ami prevent their concealment, within the posses-
sions of His Majesty ; that although now and then
orders had been issued in several instances accord-
ing to ciivunistances, publicly directing the Cover-
87
nor to comply with such requests, the actual delivery
or compliance with them had never been consented,
nor an asylum refused, and much less the assent to
assent to any treaty or convention allowing any
absolute restitution.
22. That this conduct of the wise Ministers of His
Majesty had been founded on sound political prin-
ciples of necessary preservation of their dominions,
and. that the accjuisecence and tolerance of the for-
eign powers had strengthened and qualified their
policy as opportune and legitimate, and. deriving
still more force from the fact of never having been
derogated by any of the several general or special
treaties of peace heretofore concluded snice the con-
quest of the Indies.
23. That the laws of the Kingdom, Royal orders,
and fundamental constitutions of the Government
forbid the commerce and trade of the subjects of
Her Majesty with foreigners under severe penalties,
as well as the admittance of their vessels in any of
the ports, rivers or roadsteads.
24. That the powxrs who had colonies in those
parts, were aware of these rules and had respected
them ; so that by the article eight of the treaty
of Utrecht, with their concurrence, it was stipu-
lated that no change was to be made in the form
and manner established for the commerce of the
Spanish Indies. That tliis treaty had been rati-
fied by those which followed it, and that ever}'
one of the contracting nations were interested in
avoiding any alteration or contravention of their
tenor, and that if the request of the Ambassador of
England were allowed, the other powers might
complain, as nothing could be granted to said
powers without being allowed likewise to France.
25. That the cartel proposed ior the reciprocal
restitution of the negro slaves, would be equivalent
to the granting of a general commerce between the
88
Letter D.
Letter E.
No. 1.
Folio 3.
Letter F.
No. 2.
islands and dominion of His Majesty, and the Col-
onies of the King of Eno-lnnd, under the assumed
pretext of claiming the retnrn of the chives, coming
to all our ports, and the Spaniards going to their
places with silver, gold, goods, and produce, and
establishing an illicit commerce, enriching the Eng-
lishmen and ruining inl'allil)]y the Royal Treasury
and the subjects of His jNIajesty, besides other evils
and difficulties which can be very easily ascer-
tained.
26. That taking all these considerations into ac-
count, and those that mav occur to the well-known
zeal, accuracy, and wisdom of the Council, tiie
Accomptant General conceived that the present
subject deserves every consideration, and the closest
examination in view of the many antecedents
held, and the more recent one pending now before
this Tribunal, upon the convention entered into
with the Court of Denmark, just submitted to the
Council, and that it could likewise be examined
at the same time, and His Majest}" consulted upon
his pleasure on l)oth subjects.
27. And noticing that in the meantime the Attor-
nevs answered to the case of a claim inti'oducetl 1)V
France about the restitution of negroes, they were
of the opinion in tluMr rc'})ort of the 21st of April,
1708, that nothing ought to be mentioned of the
matter ol the Ambassador of England, nor the con-
vention entered into with Denmark, as it might
prove unwise to dwell on a cjuestion that could be
of no advantage under the circumstances.
28. It was submitted, likewise, to the attorneys on
their request and in obedience to the Council's direc-
tions a copy of the convention of his Majesty and
the King of Denmark, about the reciprocal restitu-
tion of deserters and slaves between the Island of
Porto Rico, Saint Cross, Saint Thomas, and Saint
John, which was sent to the Council by the Ijailitf,
89
tit the request of his Majesty, with a letter dated on
the 26th of February, 1768, and in their answer, foUos.
after due notice of the convention and of the des-
patch from the Ambassador of Enghmd they showed
that they considered strange the phrases somewhat
indecorous, not proper or respectful, of the Ambas-
sador of England in addressing his Majesty, showing
a spirit easily to be understood in appearance, rather
than his propositions, which were not admissible,
•on account of the difficulties and injury which might foUo 22.
follow the cartels or public edicts that the English
wanted for the recovery of their fugitive slaves, as
•such a practice was opi)Osed to the policy and fun-
damental rules of the government in America and
■detrimental to its subjects and to the Royal Treas-
ury ; that it ought to be limited to the restitution of
those fugitives taken away by the Spaniards from
their Island or Colonies by means of violence, per-
suasion, or seduction in time of peace, as it had been
the case in Jamaica, that such a fair claim had
nothing to do with the claim of fugitive slaves in
general. Upon this particular his Majesty might
answer to the Ambassador that nothing had been
heard of the answers given on this subject by the
•Governor of Cuba, who said he had forwarded the
same to his Majesty, and that if it was true as repre-
sented, his Majesty should grant a fair trial and an
indemnification to the interested parties, punishing Foiio42.
the delinquents ; that the convention which His
Majesty had kindly entered into with the Danes, for
motives which were not to be investigated, had
caused, beyond any question, an irreparable injury
to every one of the islands and to the subjects
of his Majesty in America, opening doors to strangers
and to all those established in those countries, out of
tolerance or condescension imposed on the Crown
or for any other reason far from fairly claiming the
restitution of their fugitive slaves, making every
90
Folio 5.
Letter E.
Folio 1.
Letter H.
day more and more impossible the acquisition of
those operatives, so necessary for the cultivation and
iiiiprnvciiK'iit i)f the crops, the cliici" incentive ot the
negotiation and subsistence, and that said conven-
tion ouglit not to be enforced.
29. And having reported everytiiing to the Coun-
cil, a decree Wcis issued on the ISth of April, 1768,
consuhing His Majesty, and stating that the despatch
of the .Vmbassador of England was to be forwarded
to the Treasurer, and that willi his report the two
Attorneys were to be consulted ; that before they
took any action they applied for the convention,
with the King of Denmark, and that having been
submitted to said Attorney, and in consequence
they had represented to the Council that it would
be expressed, in answer to the consultation, that the
Council lunl assented to thcii' opinion for the reasons
explained in the same ; and in consequence, under
the date of .May the Uth, 17GS, his Majesty was con-
sulted, and all the reasons extensively given by the
Council to refuse the request of the British Ambassa-
dor ami not to carry out the convention with Den-
mark upon which there was a consultation pending
before His Majesty.
Proceedings of the Day.
3(>. All the above cases referred to and their an-
tecedents still pending, about the proceedings in
regard to tiic claim of tlu' Minister of Holland, now
before his Majesty, complaining of the conduct of the
8i)aiii;irds established on the Orinoco river against
the Esquivo Dutch Colony, were forwarded and sub-
mitted to the Council l)y Royal Order of the 10th
of September, 17<')'.», in order to ].)e examined and to
consult His Majesty in regard to the extension of
those boundaries and the alleged rights of the
liepublic to fish at the entrance of the Orinoco-
river.
91
31. Said claim by act of the Council, dated on At margin,
the 12th instant, was sent to the translator, so as to
be forwarded with his translation to the Attorney,
with all the antecedents of the subject.
The translation shows that the claim is taken
from the book of Resolutions of the High Powers of
the States-General of the United Provinces bearing
the Idate of August 2d, 1769, the literal version of
which is as follows :
(Translation.)
• 32. It has been read before the Assembly the
representation of the Deputies of His Most Serene
Highness the Lord Prince of Orange and Nassau
and Directors of the allowed Company of the West
Indies of the Presidial Chamber of Zeland that
this general Company, having the particular direc-
tion of the Esquivo Colony and the rivers dependent
from the same, that in this case the petitioners had
always considered, for a quasi immemorial time, in
possession not only of the Esquivo river but of
many other rivers and rivulets disemboguing into
the sea along that part, as well as all the branches
of rivers and rivulets emptying into the Esquivo,.
particularly the northern branch called Cayoeny ;
that for an immemorial time the bank of the
Cayoeny river has been considered as dominion of
the State, and that the wooden barrack or post with
a guard had been kept there, besides many others
of this Colony, on behalf of the company, fur-
nished with a vessel and a few slaves and Indians.
33. That the petitioners, under such an under-
standing, and after what had taken place in the
year 1759, where astonished at the receipt of the
new^s conveyed by a letter from Lorenzo Horender
Granvesand, General Director of Esquivo, written
under date of the 9th of last February, stating that
a Spanish detachment from the Orinoco had ad-
92
vanced to tliat Post and seized several Indians,
threatening with llicir return, on tlic next tide, to
visit anotlier rancli of'tlic i->(|niv() I'iver, called Mas-
eroeny, situated IjeUveen this one and the river
Cayoeny, wliich. without any dispute, is a }>a]'t of the
territoi-y of (he rrjiuhlic. and to visit likewise and
seize a party ol'Carihs, an Indian lril)c allied to the
ITollanders, and in some sort belonging to thcni,
and then to go down the Maseroeny river, returning
and going up the Cayoeny and visiting there the
said Barrack of the Conip.iny : that the pleni])oten-
tiaries could see by a letter, marked letter A, what
has been stated, a coj^v of wliidi is nnnexed to this
petition; that the sanui contains likewise a state-
ment of the steps taken by the Director General, so
as to prevent it; that the jjctitioners had considered
these threats as nnmcaning, as many others made
before, and notwithstanding said Director General
had informed them by his letter of the 21st of Feb-
ruary, ITtjy, a copy of wliich goes herewith, marked
with the letter B: tliat tlie Spaniards had built two
houses guarded by many troops, one of which was
very near the Company's Barrack on the Cayoeny
river, but apparently within their own territory, and
the other farther and high up on the margin of a
rivulet disemboguing in tliis same river : tliat m case
of an attack from that (piarter by the Spaniards, in
time of peace, it was very likely to come from that
quarter; that the Director General had sent a letter
on the 3d of last March, a copy of which is accom-
})anie(l and marked with the letter C, about said
representation: that the petitioner h;id been witli
astonishment made acquainted with the contents of
a letter which the Director General had addressed
to his son-indaw, tiie Commander of Demerari, the
original of which was forwarded and a cop\^ of
wliich, marked letter D, reported the Spaniards
having seized the Indians of Maroco and the port of
93
the Company situated near a rivulet, at the east of
the Weyne river, between this one and the Possaron
(Pumaron?), where the Company had likewise held
for time immemorial a commercial place, said place
under the dependency, without contradiction, of the
territory of the Republic.
34. That the petitioners had received the confir-
mation of that news by the arrival of a triplicate of
a letter from the Director General, under date of the
15th of ]\Iarch last, the original of which had been
forwarded by way of the Island ot Barbado, and the
duplicate by the way of Surinam, and had not yet
arrived; a triplicate in copy is produced, marked
letter C, in which the plenipotentiaries might find
the particulars of the proceedings of the Spaniards
and the conduct of the guard around of the measures
taken by the Director General provisionally, and that
every statement had been confirmed, as shown more
particularly by the annexed copy, marked letters F
and G, one of which was a copy of the testimony of
the statement of the Governor of the Guard wdio
kept the Maroco's Barrack sent to the Director Gen-
eral on the 7th of last March, and the other was a
copy of a paper in writing given by the Capuchin
Fathers who came along with this expedition to the
Guard of the Barrack, in the Spanish language, and
had not been translated for want of an opportunity ;
said document His Most Serene Highness, the Lord
Prince of Orange and Nassau, had kindly commu-
nicated to the petitioners, who, having seen that
they had apparently been forwarded along with the
original and duplicate of the same, found no reason
why they had not received the latter.
35. That the petitioners had ascertained likewise,
through this same tri[)licate, that the Spaniards of
the Orinoco river had killed or caused the death of
one who was their subject, the man on duty at the
Arinda Barrack belonging to the Company and sit-
i.»4
uated at the east n\' the lO^iniivo River, anil all the
Caribs that were roiiinl ncai' it, ami that the Chief
of the Caribs, on that a<-ci>nnt, liad appcai-iMl l)efore
tiie Director General and obtained his permission to
take revenge for the deatlis of his compatriots and
to attack their ninrdrrers, as may be seen by the
annexed copy, marked letter H, a second copy of the
same letter on the same subject from the Director,
dated on the loth of last March. That although the
petitioners had received at the same time the above-
mentioned trijilicate of the letter of said month of
March, on the loth, a letter from the Director Gen-
eral of the 4th of April last made no mention of any
subsequent enterprise on the i)art of the Spaniards,
and contained oidy a statement of all the steps taken
in order to oppose similar enterprises; the petition-
ers, however, thought it was their duty not to silence
this partienlar detail, and rather bring it to the
notice of the plenipotentiaries with every possible
specification, entertaining no doubt that tiiosc high-
handed attempts should be resented and the most
efheient rei)resentation made, on account of the
manifest violations of the territory of the State.
36. That the petitioners can not avoid stating to
the plenipotentiaries on this occasion that the Ori-
noco parties had not only commenced to dispute, for
some time past, the right of those from Esquivo to
lish at the month of the (Orinoco, but had, besides.
effectually stopped it, notwithstanding tliat the
Esquivo ])ai'ties had been for a long time in jiaeific
pcssession of the right of fisliing, IVoni whieh they
derived a great benefit, on account of the abund-
ance of fish fonnd there; said Orinoco parties had
■commenced to stop liy foree the fishing on the terri-
tory of the same state, a territory extending from
the river Maresigue uj) to tlie other side of the
Weyne, very near the mouth of the (Jrinoco, as may
be seen by the geographical chart of those countries,
and particularly by that of Anville, one of the most
95
esteemed on account of its accuracy, and that the
plenipotentiaries will find the proofs of these injuries
in tlie document marked letter Y; the articles one,
two, and three are copies of letters from said Director
General, dated September the 15th, 1768, and Febru-
ary the 21st and April tlie 4th, 1769 ; that the ])etition-
ers could not fail to Ijrino- to the knowledo'e of the
plenipotentiaries the conduct, not only contrary to
all the treaties, but to the law of nations likewise,
on the part of those parties from the Orinoco l:)y re-
taining and inducing the slaves deserted from the
Colony to run away towards the Spaniards, to the
great injury of the planters and of the wdiole Colony ;
that notwithstanding the formal demand of the own-
ers, and the most efficient steps taken and deputa-
tions sent, everything had proved useless ; that con-
sidering the present desertion, in case of not being-
stopped, it may bring about the total ruin of Esquivo,
and that the Spaniards had favored and facilitated
this state of things, respecting the two houses men-
tioned before so very near the territory of the Re-
public, attacking the barracks of the com2:)any and
killing the men on guard, as the plenipotentiaries
will find out by the two annexed copies, marked
with the letters Y C, in articles first and second, and
the other with the letters P D, which are the copies
of the above-mentioned letters of the Director Gene-
ral, dated on the 9th and 21st of February and the
3d of March ultimo. The petitioners crave that in
consideration of the injury necessarily involved in
this conduct and its progress, the plenipotentiaries
send, on the ground of the one made before on the
31st of July, 1759, a copy of this representation and
annexes to the Envo}' Extraordinary, Mr. Doublet de
Groenevelt, representing the plenipotentiaries before
His Catholic Majesty, instructing said Minister to
make the necessary representations before the Span-
ish court.
37. And afi.er mature deliberation on the subject,
96
it wa^ luiiiiil lit. ami it was (Iccidcd, tluit a copy of
the aijove representations, witli tlic (lociiiiuMit an-
nexed from Mr. I)oul)lft de Groenevelt, Envoy
Extraordinary of tlic TMrnipotcntiary of the Conrt
of Spain be forwarded, and an arc^nnt of the j)ar-
ticuhirs and offences comj)laincd of be oiven by
those implicated in the same, so as to provide for a
prompt remedy against the hostilities committed
and the reinstatement of those persons wiio were re-
moved from the said Barracks, and extending like-
wise to the subject of the fisheries in tiiose places,
and recommending to take every precnution neces-
sary lo prevent further cau.se for similar conii)laints
in the future, and that the Couit of Spain issue the
necessary orders for the return at the tirst request,
avoiding injury and expenses on account of all
fugitive slaves found yet in the handsof theSpaniards
or that may desert in future, in which case the
plenipotentiaries will issue the like orders to their
E.'^quiyo Colony.
88. A copy of this resolution of the ]»lenipotentia-
ries will be addressed to the Manpiis dl Tuente-
Fuerte, Envoy Extraordinary of His ('at hoi ic Maj-
esty, {>raying his support, as far as possible, by his
good offices on behalf ol these claims of the plenijio-
tentiaries.
39. And the Attorney, in view of the answer of
>'o. 5. the 17th of September of said year 17<'>9, suggested
that in order to forward these proceedings, on ac-
count of the despatch from the .Vmbassador troin
Holjand, alleging the righiof nshing in the Orinoco
river (upon which His Majesty had <lireeted to l>e
v,,_ 1. consulted), he mis.sed tlie follewino- documents: a
K,,i, I. memorial and statement to which Captain Don
Isidro Andrade referre(l in aiKjther printed paper,
which with the Royal or(h'i' of the od of September,
1740, was .sent by the Council and had been exhibited,
advising of iiis having stojiped the Caribs in their
insults committed and induced by foreign help.
97
The four letters that liad heen received in the
years 1757 and 1758, written at the town of Cabruta
by the Chief of Squadrons, Don Joseph Iturriaga,
sent with the expedition of boundaries to the Ori-
noco river, one, in whicli a description was made of
the rivers entering said Orinoco river, and in refer-
ence to the state of those Missions and their neigh-
borliood, towns, inhabitants, etc. ; another, in wliicli
in virtue of one of tlie chapters of reserved instruc-
tions given to the same by Don Josef Carvajal, lie
deal- with the subsistence or demolition of the
Castle of Araya ; another letter in which he reports
to have been informed that the Hollanders were
building a fortress on the Maruca (Moroco) river,
at a short distance from the mouth of Navios of the
Orinoco, and that he had decided to send a launch
to ascertain the conditions of the structure, its capac-
ity, its artiller}', etc., concluding with an exposition
of tlie very serious inconvenience that might origi-
nate from tlieir being allowed to build the same, in
the already mentioned site of Maruca ; and another
letter in which tlie said Iturriaga continued the sub-
ject of liis previous letter on the affair of the preten-
sions of the Esquivo Hollanders to the Orinoco river
publishing that tiieir dominions extended as far as
tlie moutli of Navios or large mouth of the said
Orinoco rivor where they entered to fish. The re-
port made in the year 1702 by the Captain of the
Navv, Don Josef Solano (to whom said letters were
sent for the purpose), and who, on the subject of the
context of the third and fourth letters, in regard to
the [)retensions of the Hollanders on the Esquivo,
stated that they had no other foundation than the
omission and neglect of the C^ommanders of Guay-
ana, who had let them fish at the mouth of Navios,
and the rivers Baiirna and Aguirre ; and he refers
to the answers that the Most Christian King gave
and the steps taken by that Court, on account of
having submitted to the Royal consideration of the
VuL. II, Vex. — 7
98
King, Philip the ")tli, In' way of consultation at the
Council of the 0th of .Sei)temljer, 1705, the news
received from the Governor of Cuinana, Don Josef
Ramirez de Arellano, u[H>n the commerce of the
Guarapiche river hy the I'^icnch from ^hlrtinique,
not only in timhcr, hamiiiorks, jiml liiids, l)ut also
in Indian slaves from the same river and coasts from
the mainland, considering those lands as barren and
out di' the (loniinidii nfanylMidy. not being i)opulated
Ijy Si»aniai(ls. and considering th(,' I ndians as savages.
The Council was of o[iinion thai despatches shoukl
be sent to that sovereign, in order to strictly forbid
the introduction of his vassals into Guarapiche, and
His Majesty resolved that tlie Ambassador from his
grandfather, the King, was charged with bringing
liim an account of those reports, and transmit to His
Majesty the orders issued in France on this subject.
He was of opinion that the Council should consult
His Majesty and tlirough the Department of State,
where those documents ought to be Ibund, contain-
ing the above results, to have them forwarded to
those Kingdoms and to the Council with all the
facts, concerning this subject, in conserpu'nce of the
resolutions of His INhijesty in regard to the above
consultation dated on the <)th of Se})teniber, 17t)3, so
that the Council takiim' everv tliino- into considera-
tion may be enabled to report with a full knowledge
of the case upon this serious matter, and this Tri-
bunal to submit said re|)ort to the Royal considera-
tion.
40. By his decree of the loth of the same month
th^'back. ^"*^^ September, 17()0, in accordance with the o[)inion
of the attorney, it was decided to consult His Ma-
jesty (as it was done on the 27th of said month and
year), about the address of all the above mentioned
documents.
Letter M. 41. In consequence of the Royal order of Septem-
ber 22, 1770, the Secretary sent to the Council the
Xo. i.
99
documents found in his Department and called for by
the index accompanying the same, and announced
his having applied b}' letter to the Department of
State for those missing and not found with the rest.
He likewise furnished the news received (and re-
quested from him), to the Commander of Guayana
and the Governor of Cumana, with a representation
of the Prefect of the Catalan Capuchins of the j\lis-
sions, so that in consideration of the whole subject
the Council might consult His Majesty and hear his
pleasure, returning meantime the documents con-
tinue* I in the said index from Nos. 1 to 5, as well as
the plan of the Province of Guayana contained in
No. t).
42. And noi^icing that the same Bailiff, with the
Royal order of September 6, 1770, advised the Coun-
cil that he had not found in the Department of State
the documents which, among others, had been asked
by the Council in consultation of the 27th of Sep-
tember, 1769, so that with this notice the examina-
tion of' the proceedings might continue, said Royal
order was ordered to be annexed, and the docu- xo.
meuts received from the Secretary of the Indies fol-
lowed in the same order in which the}" are indexed.
The contents of the No 1 of said index is a letter b}"
Don Josef Iturriaga, dated on the 12th of June, 1757,
ir.)in Cabruta on the Orinoco, about tiie description
lie accompanies of the Apure river and the Missions
of Barinas. From the same it is found that said
river has four principal mouths; the first, going up
the Orinoco river, comes out at Cabruta and is
called " El Guarico ; " the second and principal one
is called Apure at three leagues' distance from Ca-
biuta ; the third, called Orochuna, at a distance of
tlu\'e leagues and a half from the main one ; and the
fourth, called Horqueta, is opposite the Mission of Ur-
bana — explaining how and in what kind of vessels
said river is navigable around these mouths, and of
Letter M.
Xo. 1.
Letter P.
Xo. L
100
the rivers composing the Apiire; amongst them the
Sarare, L'i"il);iiit(', Allies ami Capuro. It is said that
twenty-four leau'iies jrom the separation of" the ( )ro-
clinna, at six leagues above that of the ( iuarico, and
at a distance of sixt3'-three k^agues, that of Horqueta
is located, and from thence to the Sarai'e there is a
distance of fiftv leagues. He continues, then, mak-
ing a description of the ?*Iissions on said river and
its settlements, eight in all, according to his inspec-
tion, during the month of April, 1757.
Letter p. 43. The secoiid document contained in index
No. 2. under the No. 2 is a letter from the same Iturriaga,
dated (Ui the liith of June, 1757, sent from the same
Cabruta, stating that the Castle of Araya was ])uilt
to [)revent the Hollanders from taking the salt from
the salt-i)its contiguous to the place, as they did
several time-, and on tliat recount said Hollanders
had discovered various other salt-pits which he enu-
merates in said letter, and that said salt-i)its of
Araya had been lost, and he [proposed the conven-
ience of demolishing the said Castle of Ara^-a on
account of Ix'ing too expensive to the Crown and
of no further use.
Letter p. 4h Tlic tlui'd doiaiuieut Comprised, as No. 3 of
>'o. a. the iude.x, is another letter written by the same
I turriaga, dated on the 15th of December of the same
year, 1757, in which lu^ reports his having re-
ceived word that the Hollanders were building
another fort on the ^Taruca rivei', at a short distance
from the mouth of Navios of the ( )riuoco river, stat-
ing that he had si'ut, on that account, a launch to
go up the river sounding it, so as to make a survey
of the structure of the fortress, its materials, size,
garrison, and he was answereil what was to l)e found
in a copy accompanying the letter.
45. Said letter is dated on the '1 1 of the same
month, address-d to Iturriaga by \) ni .luiii Valdes,
in which the latter inform^ him that he had i)rac-
101
ticed the required examination and found no such
a fort, but only the news that the Hollanders of the
Esquivo Colony intended to change the Guard, that
under the name of Post, they kej^t at the Maruca
creek, carrying down the same towards the mouth,
fronting the sea, about six leagues away, and that
they had made a considerable progress felling the
trees around and tilling the ground for farming
purposes, and building houses ; that he did not
know the reason of this change, but heard that they
]»roposed to prevent the fugitive slaves of the Com-
pany and residents of tlie Colony from coming over
to our dominions; that from the Guard, kept at the
mouth of the Maruca, they could recognize any ves-
sels passing along the coast towards the large mouth
without entering there, and he explained the kind
of vessels that could navigate around there.
46. And continuing his letter Iturriaga said, that itumaga's
letter
from this report he understood that they wanted to
^ 1 T 1 1 • T T 1 • Folio 1.
establish sugar plantations, adding to their masters
and slaves a number of Aruaca Indians, who were
those w^ho enjoyed their confidence in the highest
degree, so as to prevent the transit of soldier desert-
ers and Indian and negro slaves through that place,
and that it might be that to this end, and in order
to protect their plantations from any rising of the
slaves of one or the other kind, they might build a
small fort with two or three small guns served by
four or six men.
47. That the Governor of Esquivo called himself
in his letters patent to be such likewise of the Ori-
noco ; that if the Hollanders were allowed to hold
Maruca they would come over to Barima, which
emptied its waters through the same mouth, and
from thence they should proceed to the Aguirre
river, the mouth of which was at the same Orinoco ;
that it was not ver}^ proper that he should style
himself Governor of Esquivo and also of the Ori-
1 ()2
iioco, lull llial it wa.s to their interest to do so in
order to be allowed to _l!,-o up tiie river to the Ai'uaca
Indians to catcli turtles; that the Commander of
Guayana assented, and allowed them permits for
their dilferent boats to go up tlie river with that
view: that on these occasions A ruaea Indians and
Caribs used to go with tlie Hollanders, avoiding to
be discovered, and they used to land at the Caura
river and other })laces to purchase Indian slaves
from the Caribs, while the rest of the party were fish-
ing turth^s, and some times these very fishermen ])ur-
chased other Indian slaves from the Caribs, Ijringing
on their return a great numl)or of them.
Letter do. 48. The fourtli document, j narked at the index
No. 4. with the number four, is another letter written by
the same Iturriaga on the lOtli of April, IToS, in
which he states, in regard to his re]iort alxtut the
affairs of the Maruca river, that he had received a
letter from the Commander of Guayana answering
the nine questions that he had proposed, and a
copy of which he forwards enclosed.
49. From the lettt'r of the 30th of March of that
year sent to Iturriaga by Don Juan A\-ildes, it ap))cars
that the change of the Guard with the name of Post,
held by the Hollanders of the Es([uivo Colony, at a
distance of about twenty leagues from it, situated at
the river Mornca, had not been carried out; that
they had erected only a house fifteen yards in
length at the mouth on the sea shore, with mud
walls and doors, intended, as they said, for i)assen-
p-ers ti'adiiiL'- with said Colonv, so as to remain there
during tlie intermissions of the river navigation on
account of the low and high tide; that the Guard
or Post was kept in the same place without any in-
crease of troops or artillery; this latter consisted of
three cannons of three |iound caliber dismounted, one
corporal, and two soldiers, so that the Aruaca In-
dians who resided in that place, for the puipose of
103
trade, were found in three divisions of people, each
one composed of ten or twelve small houses, each
corresponding to an Indian family, at a distance of
one league or more, each division from the other
following the banks of the Moruca river, and that
this place was about seven leagues far from the sea,
and the rest being thirteen up to the Colony along
the sea coast.
50. Iturriaga's letter continued, stating that the
Esquivo Hollanders made public and held that the
extension of the domain of the States - General
reached the mouth of Navios, or the large mouth of
the Orinoco river, and even went far inland to con-
tinue to enjoy the right of fishing, so valuable to
them on account of the total want of meat on shore
and the great scarcity of fish in their river.
51. The fifth document, marked number five by
the index, is a report of Don Josef Solano, in view of
the letters written by Don Josef Iturriaga, agreeing
with him in regard to the demolition of the Castle foUoi.
of Araya, as the only object of said fortress was the
defence of the salt-pit contiguous to it, and the
English had been allowed, bv article third of the
treaty of Munster, the right of availing themselves
of the salt produced at the island of Tortuga, and
that fortress did not prevent the access to Cumana
or the coast of the Province by foreign vessels, and
did not answer any essential purpose; that in case
of an attack by any enemy it could not receive any
help from the land. As to the description of the
Apure river, he Ibund it entirely in accordance
with the reports he had received, as he observes,
that the Barina parties, in view of the falling
price of tobacco, on account of the increased produc-
tion of the Provinces of Caracas and Maracaibo,
near the coast, with more facilities for the transpor-
tation, and that the expense of conveyance of their
own product being hardly equal to its original value,
iUl
1i;h1 (Iccidcil 1(1 open llic li;i viuat iitll <>l' llH'AjiUre
river, wliicli cuiplics inld the ( (imudco, in urdcr lu
make even the dillereiice in piMcc ; tli;il tlic intro-
duction (if toliacco in tliat Pi'ovincc lin>uuiit almut
losses to the }>lanters and their adherent-^, ami the
abandonment of their phmtations : tiiai tiiat part of
Folio 2 theeountrv wouhl have been left witiiout any popu-
hition. if they had not been re]ilaeed by ai'rivab from
the new Ki]ig(Kjm of Grenada; that the Indian set-
tlements failed to receive this kind of new visitors.
and tiieir decadence continued, and the instruetion of
the infidels embarrassed l>y tlie suggestions of those
wanting them in the woods, for the continuance of
tlieir illicit trade. And in retei'euce to t!ie other
two letters from Iturriaga, dealing witii the pi'eten-
sions of the Govei'uor of the l)nti'h ('olony of the
Es(iuivo river, and wdi at they said aliout the < )rinoco,
founded U{)on the titles wliieh they had h'om the
States-General, giving them as under that jurisdic-
tion, Solano explained that notwithstanding lie
did not know that they had claimed the prizes that
had been made by the Tiinitarians and (iuayana
parties, in the waters of that rivei'. nor against their
dislodunient from the Post, that thev had built on
the Cuyuni river, for the purpose of protecting their
parties, entering in Guayana to [lurehase Indian
slaves from the Carib tribe, he could not find, on
what ground they could base their pretensions;
that although ai'ticle fifth of the treaty of Munster
granted them the domain of the countries, forts,
factories, etc., possessed by them, at that time in
America, they had none on the <)rinoco, nor any-
body t'lse than the Spaniards had ever hail any
there up to that time; that they did n(»t hold nor
had ever liehl any place, stronghold, castle, fisheries,.
hunting establishments, nor land enjoyments; that
they could not derive any rights from the tacit or
even express consent of the Commanders of Guayana
105
and Orinoco granted several times, allowing them
to fish around the mouth of Navios, and the rivers
Barima and Aguirre, emptying into the same, nor
in the Barracks for salting and drying fish, nor in
the navigation which they had furtively covered
under permits, go up to Giiayana or fartlier on ; nor
could they legalize the Post or Guard which they
held at the Moruca river, as reported by the same
Iturriaga, said treaty forbidding them from erecting
new fortifications under any pretext whatever ; that
they could only allege the patience of the Com-
nianders of Guayana in regard to that usurpation.
52. That in the meantime the Hollanders were foHos.
drawing their domain towards the large mouth of
the Orinoco, and with an easy navigation intro-
duced themselves through the same, and the rivers
Apure, Meta, and others into the Provinces of Bar-
celona, Caracas, and Barinas, in detriment to the
Ro^'al Treasury, and the progress of the Spanish
population, which augmented superabundantly in
the immediate neighborhood of the City Capital
ne;a' the sea, the people went in farther and farther
inland and extended to the Orinoco, guided and
several times united to tlie Missioners ; that with
the safeguard of that great river and the help min-
istered by Dutch interest to the barbarian Caribs,
they refused to hear words of peace and denied to
the Spaniards their navigation and the pass of the
Missioners, causing the death of many holy men and
many faithful Indians, and that most of their new
settlements should be suspended and the progress
and diffusion of our holy faith stopped, and that the
Rev. Fathers could not have remained without the
assistance and countenance of His Majesty in keep-
ing, as has been done by his glorious predecessors,
the troops and escort necessary to protect them
within the Garrison and Castle of Guayana. And
said Solano continuing his report, pointed out the
jihiccs wlitrc tile I'liitresses out;lit to lie erected lor
the defence nl lln' (Jrinoeo and the Trovinci' of
Cuniana and the (ithcr.<, and the siU'S where they
ought to be locatcil with their garrisons, concluding
with an expression of Ins opinion, recoiummding
the creation by the government of the ofiice of mili-
tary commander for the Orinoco, as it was import-
ant to withdraw tlic city to the site of Angostura
(a narrow })hice u}) the river), removing the neigh-
boring Indian settlements to a better climate; that
the residents of Guayana should withdraw their
cattle, so as to deprive the enemy from that kind of
food, helping our forces and making impossible or
difficult to obtain fresh beef or mules for the sugar
mills of the Dutch Colony of Esquivo, and forbid-
ding the cattle owners of the Capuchin Mission
from discoverine; the countrv between them and the
Colonv, and that with the forts alreadv established
as recommended, and the garrisons, the city re-
moved, and tlie neighboring settlements as well,
and the troops united from the Orinoco, Apure and
Meta rivers, together with the creation of the office of
Governor for the Province of Guayana, the obnoxi-
ous introdnction of strangers conM he made impos-
sible and the ])ious ends of His Majesty facilitntctl.
LetterP. 53. The (h)eument marked V)y the index uiKhn-
No. 6. numl)er G is a letter written on the oth of A}»ril,
Testimony. 1770, l)y the commander of Guayana, Don Manuel
No. 1. Centurion, in whicli, according to tlie order dated
Foi.7. Scpt('nil)cr 23, 1700, sent to him witli a eo]>y of a
^'"^■^- despatch from tlie Mini.sterol lloUand, as a reserved
matter, his attention is called to its contents for his-
report, as soon as possible, on the facts represented
l»y the same, stating, for the knowledge of His >hi-
jesty, what has happened; he stated what will he
found below, accompanied with his letter of the
8th, and a statement of the evidence in regard tO'
the master, sending likewise a plan of the Province-
of Guavana.
107
54. And proceeding, in regard to the requirements th^''*com-
of the above contents, I have to say that the judicial GuaVama.
proceedings copied herewith show that the Director of
the Colony of Esquivo, Lorenzo Hormoan {sic) Grave-
sand, had intended to alarm the States General with
impositions, and that the Republic of Holland had
heard the complaints sent by means of its Minister
to our court, in reference to the conduct of the Span-
iards of the Orinoco against that Colony ; that it ap-
pears from the first part of the proceedings, number
1, that the Hollanders were not, and never had been,
in possession of the rivers nor rivulets emptying
their waters into the sea on the coast extending from
the Esquivo to the Orinoco rivers, nor had had
around there any other establishment than a guard
kept within a straw-roofed barrack, on the eastern
side of the Moruca or ^Nlaroco river, that had been
tolerated, during the last forty years, to prevent the
desertion of their slaves; that under this pretext
they have carried the iniquitous trade with the bar-
barous Indians and cruel Caribs, buying from them
Indians as slaves taken by surprise after killing-
other tribes that were peacefully and freely residing
within the dominions of the King our Lord.
55. It was also shown by the above-mentioned part foHo 2.
number 1 that the Hollanders were not in possession
of the Maserony (Mazaroni) nor of the other rivers
emptying into the Esquivo, on the western side, and
that it was necessary to undeceive them, removing
that error, from whence were derived their un-
founded complaints. That the Esquivo river runs
parallel approximately to the coast of the ocean
from the neighborhood of the Corentin until it
reaches the sea, forty-five leagues east of the mouth
of the Orinoco ; all the rivers proceeding from the in-
terior of the Province of Guayana and in the direc-
tion of the coast, between the mouth of the Corentin
and the Esquivo, meet precisely at this last one, that
runs across and receives their waters. If, as the Hoi.
F.)li<
108
Liiiders .siii)poso(l, their Inii'l was to embrace the
rivers aiul livnlrN of the Esquivo, comprising Cay-
uiii, ^hlser(Jlly, Mau, Ai)anoni, Putara, and other
smallrr rivers, with their hi'anches and sources, as
witliin the tcrritiM'v (if the l{("])n1»lic. Uh- strangers
should hold a hirgcr porliou of lands than our King-
in the ri-o\-incc of (iuayana. as is shown hy the ac-
companying [ilan that he had drawn as part of Ins
report, marking in yidlow color what in his ju<lg-
ment could l»c pretended hy the Hollamlers l)y
right of possession ac(pnre(l in any way until to-(hiy.
Giiivva.ia 5(; I.',-,,,,, that plan it appears that the Dutch
could lay elaini only to the possession of the rivers
Surinam. Cupernam, Corentin, IJervis, Demerari,
Es(pdvo and Tovaron (••^/r).
tv!.M'i"tii.- '"^~- ^""ntiiniing his representation, the Centurion
eSiiami.i-'^'''''^ that the Spainsh detacliment that Gravesaml
said to have advanced in the year 17()0, from the
Orinoco u.p to the port of Ciiyuni. <ind taken many
Indians, tlireatening to return, in order to go to
the Maserony river an<l take a [uirty of Caribs and
go down the river to visit the Companj^'s Barrack,
was undoubtedly a story of the Poytos' agent ; that
the Hollanders had, ami have there still, said Bar-
rack, regretting to see that seveial savage Indians,
Caril^s as well as (iuaicas, of those who reside(l in
that neighborhood, luid come over to settle within our
Missions, as it was not true that any detachment of
troops had been sent from (Iuayana in the tlirection
of those rivers, and that the exponent knew that
during the last few years the Catalan Capucliin
Fatiiers iiad received in their settlements several
Indians from the mountains l)etween Cuyuni and
Maserony, under solicitation of the same Caribs;
that there are about five thousand of them in their
settlements, and that for cn'er twenty years back our
Missionaries had never heard until Viow that this
powerl'ul tribe was beloiiuine- to the Dutch, as stated
109
by Gravesand, and luueh less that those mountains
were within the territory of the repubhc, as they had
always been a proper field set apart for the work of
the Missions under the Catalan Capuchin Fathers.
58. That the two houses umler the garrison of
many troops, as seen by part number 1, were two
Indian settlements founded by the Catalan Capu-
chin Fathers, on the banks of the Yuruario river,
joined to the other Missions, and without any more
garrison than one soldier to each one, for the escort
of the Missioners; that it was likewise false the
supposed proximity of the Barrack of the Com-
pany, distant over seventy leagues of bad roads.
59. That the seizure of the Moruca Indians by
the Spaniards consisted in the visit of two Catalan
Capuchin Fathers, escorted as customary, who went
up to the headwaters of the Barima river, in quest
of Indian deserters from the Missions in their charge,
and having found them dispersed, around those
creeks between the Guayne and Moruca (a territory
contiguous to tlie Orinoco, never occupied by Hol-
landers) ; that while gathering the Indians at tlie
Post or Barrack of ^Nloruca, where the Hollanders
kept a guard, it was discovered that three Indian
women with their children were enslaved after hav-
ing been taken tlirough the mouth of the Orinoco,
and, as was reported by the Reverend Fathers, they
were taken back to " the Missions without doing any
other harm to the Hollanders;" on the contrary,
they gave to the guard on duty, and at his request,
as a favor, a certificate of the case, rather moved to
compassion and exceeding themselves in saying
that they had a permit of the deponent for entering
that })ort, which was not true, as the passport given
to the pilot of the launch was not extended to go
any farther than the mouth of the Orinoco, as shown
by part number I.
GO. That the deaths of the guard of the Arinda
110
Testimony.
No. 1.
Fol. 8.
Folio 9.
Bai'raek and ihc C'aribs of the llt'i,^■hll<Jl•l)uu<l, at-
tributed to the Spaniards by the Director of Esquivo,
wa.s a gromnUcss imiiosition, a.s that port w a. s beyond
our reach, or ev^'ii our notice, as shown by said jiart
number I.
01. From tills (locunicnt, and in view of tlie Royal
Order conveying it, tor the guidance of the Gov-
ernor of Guayana, with the despatch from tlie ^fin-
ister of TTolla'id, in or(b'r to report about tlie par-
ticuhirs it contained, it appears that a rule was
Lssued under the 24th of March, 1760, bv which liav-
ing it placed as hoailing of tlie proceedings, together
with the Royal orders and documents accompany-
ing the same, an investigation before the judical
tribunal was commenced, about the facts and details
contained in the document from the States-General,
and calling as witnesses those that might be in posi-
tion to explain the circumstances, in order to state
under oath what they knew.
02. Therefore in coni}ilianee with tlu' same rule
the following witnesses were examined : Frav Benito
de la Garriga, ex-Prefect of the Catalan Capuchin
Mission of Guayana, fifty-eight years old ; I'^ray
Tomas de San Pedro, Capuchin of the Guayana Mis-
sions, fifty-tiiree years old ; Fray Josef Antonio de
Cerbera. Capuchin of the Guayana INIissions, forty-
nine years old : l'^'. Felix ile Tarraga, Capuchin
Missioner of Guayana. thirty-four yeai'S old; Don
Feliz Ferreras, Lieutenant of Infantry of the Guay-
ana Fortress, fifty -sevt'ii years old ; Don Santiago
Ronalde, a resident of Guayana, forty-six years old.
03. All agrecMJ in their corres})oii(liiig afiidavits,
!=tatiiig, without descrepancy, that the Jlollaiiders
were not and imd never been in possession of the
rivers nor I'lvuht^, enijitying their waters into the
the sea along the coast from the Esquivo exclus^'vely
to the mouth of the river Orinoco; that they liad
only been tolerated on that side, for the purpo.se of
Ill
keeping a guard consisting of two Europeans and
several Indians at a Barrack called the Post, on the
eastern margin of the Moruca river, (called by the
Hollanders Maroco,) and that this establishment has
not been there for any quasi immemorial time, as
the Colony itself, as it is well known, was only es-
tablished in the year 1639.
That it was untrue that they have had or had any
possession of the Cuyuni river (called by them Cao-
yeny), as having established there a guard and bar-
rack similar to that of Moruca, in the year of 1747,
to facilitate the inhuman trade and conveyance of
Indians whom they enslaved surreptitiously from the
dominions of the King our Lord, for the cultivation
of their plantations and improvement of the Colony,
as soon as notice of the case was received in the year
1757, they were dislodged from there, so that neither
on the Cuyuni, Maserony, Apponi, nor in any of the
other rivers emptying into the Esquivo have the
Hollanders any possessions nor could be tolerated
that they should, because said rivers embrace nearly
all the territory of the Province of Guayana, run-
ning from their occidental end, where their head-
waters are found, down to the oriental limit, empty-
ing into the Esquivo river, it should result from the
supposed possession that the Hollanders would be
the masters of all the extensive Province of Guayana,
and that the Spaniards had no more than the said
banks of the Orinoco, an evident absurdity; that
the only place where the}^ were tolerated was on the
margins of the Esquivo river, running southeast and
northwest, almost parallel with the ocean coast, the
eastern term of the Province of Guayana, and leaving
free all the interior of this Province to the Spaniards,
their lawful holders; that they did not know nor
had ever heard that the Spaniards had built any
stronghold on the Cuyuni nor in its surroundings with
manyorfewtroopSjbutthey rather thought that Mon-
112
sienr di' GravL'siind liml imagined to be so, the two
settlements of Indian Nfissions established under tlie
Catalan Capui-liin l'"atlirrs' i-ule, founded in the war
17.~)7 an<l 17<'>1 on the we-tcni niai'^in of the Yu-
ruari river, a Iributarv of thu (Aiyuni, at a distance
of sevent}' leagues from the Dntch barrack destroyed ;
that the reason they liad to believe it is that they
had no other establishment in that direction, and
that although there were no luoi'i' than one soldier
in any of tliese settlements for the escort of the Mis-
sionaries, the Caribs, whose statements seem to be
believed l)y Monsieur de ( iravcsand, as he says m
his statement, may have deceived him wuh this
stor\% as it appeared by a few others contained in its
erroneous statement.
Foi.!)ion. That the witnesses 1, 2,3, and 4, said that in Feb-
ruaiT of 1700, the Prefect ot the jNIissions of the
Capuchins (who is tlie witness 1) gave a })ermit to
Father Josef Cerbera and Father Felix Taraga (wlio
are witnesses 3 and 4) to go down to the mouth of
the Orinoco and Barima rivers, to uatlier the Arua-
cas, the Guaraunos, deserters from the Missions un-
der their charge, and tliat said Fathers, with the
launch and escort lea<ling them, found two dispersed
Indians among the Guayne and Moruea, and after
gathering them they reached a port, where then-
was a Ilolhmder who liad tliree Indian women witli
their ehildi'en enslave<l. brought out Irom the mouth
of the < )rinoco, according to their statements to the
Fathers, tliat they brought tliom back to the Mis-
sions, but without using any violence, doing any
harm to tlie llolhindei's. Witnesses 3 and 4 added
that they were the ( 'ommissioners, and with the
view of favoring tiu' Hollanders, at the request of a
corjioi'al, in chai'ge of the Post, who asked on his
knees and crying, for something to show the nature
of the case, tliey gave him a eei'tificate to satisfy the
GoveiMUjr of Fsouivo; and that without knowing
113
the iiialice of his pretensions, and in pity for the
man, amphfied the certificate, sa3dng that they had
a permit of the Cummander-Geueral of Orinoco at
Guayana, to enter as far as that phice, when it was
not so, as tlie passport given to the pilot of tlie
launch, carrying them, w^as definitely limited to the
mouth of the Orinoco ; and that for the rest they
had no permit for more nor any further order from
their Suj^erior. Witness 5, in reference to this par-
ticular subject of what happened on last February, foi. 17.
said that he did not know anything, as he was in
Rio NeiiTO at the time. And the sixth witness said Foi/19.
that he knew only that the Capuchin Fathers had
made tliat tri[) and had taken away the fugitive In-
dians from their settlement found there; that on
their return, through the creeks and plains between
the Guayne and Moruca, they had reached a Barrack
Post of the Hollanders and found two or three In-
dians, natives of our dominions, wdiom they had en-
slaved and brought them back to their Missions,
without having done any harm or hostility to said
Hollanders. Continuing, all the six witnes.ses united
stated that in regard to the Post and commercial
house that Gravesand supposed to have been kept by
the Dutch Company, ijetween Guayne and Poveron
(Pumaron), they did not know nor had heard any-
thing of such an establishment; that they did not
know anything about the death of the corporal
of the Arinda Barrack, at the headwaters of the
Esquivo, nor of the ex;istence of said Barrack ; that
it was incredible for the witnesses that the Orinoco
Spaniards or the Indians of our persuasion should
have per[)ertrated the said homicide, as the distance
is long and unknow:i to us, and they had never
heard, around the Orinoco, of such a death and that
it was the first time they heard of the Arinda Bar-
rack.
That being located, as Gravesand said, towards
Vol. If, Ven.— 8
11 1
the source of Esquivo Kivor, it was inaccessiljle to
ourselves and to our Indians, as the Esquivo Col-
ony is found between said source and our settle-
ments, preventing a pass; thai they lia<l never seen
or heard tliat the Hollanders kept on fishing at the
inmith of the Orinoco, nor that the Spaniards had
iiail to stop it; that they did not understand that
there was any necessity for the Hollanders to fish at
the mouth of tlu' Orinoco, as they could ]n-ovide
themselves with fish much nearer to the Esquivo,
and thought that under pretext of fishing they
wanted to have the free access of their vessels to
the mouth of the Orinoco, in order to facilitate and
re-establish the furtive shipment of mules from the
Guarapiche and (Juarapo rivers, as well as Barinas
tobacco, hides, and other products of the Spanish
Provinces, in order to materially benefit their col-
onies at the time when the Orinoco and its creeks
were not as well guarded as now; that tiiis circum-
stance and want of commerce was the true cause of
the decadence of Esquivo and of the resentment of
Gravesand, Ihe first merchant, and always the most
interested in the illicit traile of the Colony. Wit-
Fois. 17&19. nesses 5 and C adding that oidy in the year 1700 the
Lieutenant, Don Juan de Flores, seized a schooner
and two launches from Esquivo at the Orinoco river
and the Barima, its confluent, while under the em-
ployment of a few Hollanders, who were around
those creeks buying Poytos from the Caribs ; that
said vessels were confiscated by the Govennnent of
Cumana, from where Guayana was at that time a
dependence. Following in their affidavits, the six
witnesses assured that the proposition was likewise
false, that they had been prevented by the Spaniards
of the territory from fishing, observing that Grave-
sand claims as belonging to the State the territory
extending from the Mareguihe river down to this
side of the Guayne very near the mouth of the
Orinoco; that said statement is an intolerable error.
115
That in regard to the fugitive slaves from Esquivo,
the witnesses asserted that they were of two kinds,
one consisting of negroes bought in Africa, and the
other of Indians tliat the HoUanders draw them-
selves unduly and cruelly, by means of the Caribs,
their allies, from our dominions, by way of the
Moruca and Guayne rivers, emptying their waters
into the sea aud in connnunication with the Orinoco,
or else through the rivers Cuyuni, Maserony, Apa-
non}'- and others, bringing their waters from the in-
terior of the Province of Guayana and emptying
them into the Esquivo ; that if the reason for our re-
tention of said Indians is wanted, nothing could be
plainer than our motives for such conduct, being
subjects of the King criminally enslaved by the Hol-
landers, who carry on this inhuman traffic with the
Caribs against every right, we can not and ought not
to have them return to slavery after they had suc-
ceeded happily in eluding it under the protection of
the ministers of our lawful Lord and Sovereign.
That in regard to the negroes, Gravesand was wrong,
because notwithstanding that the witnesses knew
that two fugitives, negroes from the Guayana to the
Esquivo Colony, were sold there b}"" said Gravesand,
and that their masters, Don Tomas de Franquis and
Catherine de Arocha, residents of Guayana, had
claimed them, no satisfaction whatever was given
them, and notwithstanding that case, they knew that
several claims by Gravesand of fugitives from Es-
quivo to Guayana had been paid to tlie owners, who
were satisfied to receive the price of the proceeds of
their slaves ; that the only exception was in favor
of those fugitive slaves who, after embracing the
Catholic religion, had been made free, according to
the instructions from the King.
64. And having summoned the persons of Fran- foi. 20 and
quis and Augustina Arroyo, they said it was true
that at the end of last year, 1766, two slaves, one of
whom was called Ambrosio, belonging to Franquis,
lollowintf.
liG
and tlie other Francisco, belonging;- to Auo-ustina,
had run away, and they ascertained through desert-
ers arriveil from lOsquivo to Guayana, that said iwo
negroes had been sohl in ICsfjuivo to a Lutheran
Minister by the (lovernor of that Colony, after he
had kept them working at his own phmtation, from
where; they esca[)ed to be rearrested afterwards at
the mouth of the Orinoco.
Fois. 17 A- 111. (')."). Witnesses 5 and 6 added on the subject of the
Indians cruelly enslaved by the Hollanders, after
being taken from our dominions, that they had
never been claimed, as they well knew that their
acquisition was criminal and that this inhuman
traffic was made by nu'ans of killing a great many
innocent Indians to enslave the others, contrary to
the law of nations. All six witnesses testified that
neither the Indians nor the fugitive negroes from
Esquibo, as far as they knew, had been induced by
the Spaniards to run away, and it was not likely to
be so, as any one found guilty of such an offence
might have been hung at Es<|uivo ; that it was true
that said Colony of Esquivo was undergoing visible
ruin, after the doors had Ijeen shut up against their
illicit commerce wdth the Orinoco, and the Poytos
knew the way to keep free, wdien they could escaj)e
from it : that, linally, it was not true tliat the .Span-
iards had killed any guard or Dutcli guard or liad
attacked any other Post, than the one at Cuyuni in
the year of 1758, at the time when one Spanish
soldier was killnl during the attack, and that was
the only death on that occasion. And linally, all
the witnesses added that thev knew bv exi)erience,
the Missioners after twenty -three years' residence,
others nine and five, and others as residents of
( Juayana, twenty-three to thirty-three years, that the
suggestions of the Esquivo Hollanders and their
detestable commerce in Poytos was the cause of the
delay of the population of the Caribs and their set-
117
tlement in our Missions, as well as many other
savage tribes, as the Hollanders were continually
making them work in the way of destroying the
other settlements by different means, such as burn-
ing them, as it was done in the year 1750, or attack-
ing them by force or making them rebel through
their artful and diabolical policy; that during the
time the deponents had been established in Guayana,
the Hollanders, in company with the Caribs (as can
be seen by the corresponding proceedings), had de-
stroyed seven settlements by fire, without counting
those which they destroyed belonging to the Jesuit
Ministers, and killins; likewise manv of the Reverend
Fathers ; that in all these attacks, witnesses 5 and 6
added, Hollanders were found naked and dyed red foIs. 1S&20.
like the Caribs.
66. And having nothing else in reference to testi- Letter p.
monv No. 1, the exposition of the Governor of Letterot
^ " . , ^ , . the Giiay-
Guayana, m his representations continues, showing ana com-
that at the Cuvuni river, called bv the Hollanders ^ , ,
' - _ Fol. 1.
Cayoeny, they had no other possession than a farm
at the mouth of the Esqui vo ; that they had intended
in 1747 to establish, at a distance of fifteen or twenty
leagues above, a Barrack and Guard to enslave In-
dians from our territory, through the Caribs, but as
soon as our Missioners ascertained the fact they
notified the Commander of Guayana, who had them
dislodged in the following year of 1757 by a detach-
ment, who set fire to the Barrack and brought as
prisoners the Hollanders, one negro, and the Caribs
found in the place, together with the original in-
structions and papers showing the infamous com-
merce carried by said Guard, as well as the other
advanced Barrack of the Colony by order of the
Director of Esquivo and in his interest, thus bleed-
ing to the heart tlie center of our Province of Gua}'^-
ana. Part No. 2 justifies tlie details of this march,
and shows that there was no other blood shed than
118
tliat (»t' two of oiir i^oldiers, one who w;is killt'il nnol
the other WdUiKhd.
Lettcrof 67. This piU't - shows that on receipt of the reiiort
t he (i u a y - '■ i ■ ^ r • • i*
ana Com. by the Prefect of the Catahm Capuchni Missions ot
Test. 2. Guayana, Fr. Benito de hi Garriga, to the ("omman-
Foiioi-ii. (jgj. ^^i i))terim, stating that the Holhuulers were
keeping an establishment in the Ishmd of Caramu-
CLiro, in the Cuyuni river, where they had a corporal
with people making the iidiuniau eoinmercc in In-
dians, whom they en.slaved and purchased fioin the
Caribs in exchange i'm- drygoods, hatchets, knives^
munitions of war and other articles, to the great
detriment of our Missions and settlements for the
advancement of our holy t\iith, it was ordered by
said Commander ad interim, who was at the time
Foi.9. Don Felix Ferreras, an Ensign of Infantry, on the
date of the 27th of July, 1758, that under the writ-
iM.i. u. ^gj-^ instructions of what was to be done in order to
ascertain the facts, an expedition should go, under
the command of Don Santiago Bonalde and Don
Luis Lopez de la Puente, furnishing them with the
necessary vessels, stores, ammunitions, and men.
68. And after having acted as directed by said in-
structions, a formal investigation was instituted be-
fore the Commander of Guayana, Don Juan A^aldes,
during tlie months of September and October of tlie
said year, 1758, and the affidavits received then
show, that the heads and soldiers who served in the
expedition reached said island of Caramucuru and
found llierc only one hut with one Hollander and a
negro, wlioni tluy a}»prehended, and another Hol-
lander wiiom they took on the road : that at the
time when they advanced on the hut they heard four
or five shots, without knowing who tii'cd them, that
a soldier was killed and another wa.s wounded ; that
there was no other establishment in that place ;
that the Hollander said that he was there placed by
the Governor of Esquivo, but did not say for what
119
purj^ose ; tliat some papers were taken from him ;
that they found one musket, two pistols unloaded,
and no more arms ; that said Hollander denied
firing, saying that perhaps it was the negro ; that the
other articles found were twelve dozen knives, seven
hatchets, three short broad swords, five muskets,
tliree pistols, several remnants of dry goods, all of
wliich were distributed among the Caribs who had
accompanied and guided them.
60. And from the corresponding confessions taken foi.j3i-4o.
from the two Hollanders imprisoned, it appears that
after giving their names and professions, they stated
that said hut was a Guard established there, during
the last few years by the Governor of Esquivo, so as
to prevent the desertion of the Esquivo colony slaves
and avoid any assault from the Caribs against
the Esquivos or neighboring Spanish friends, that
they had no other purpose, as it was shown by chapter
five of the instructions they liad ; that the knives
and other articles found with them were intended
for the purchase of victuals; that the Spaniards
killed and wounded might have been shot by the
Spaniards themselves, as they could not shoot; that
the Guard where the}^ were found is called Cuiba,
near the banks of the Cuyuni river ; that they had
made no purchase of Poytos for merchandise; that
the distance from that Guard to Esquivo is short ;
that he did not know whether that place was within
the jurisdiction of Esquivo, but that said Post had
been kept there for a few years ; that the land was
not fit for farms, as it was marshy.
70. That the papers were added to the proceed-
ings and were the same found with the Hollander,
containing a list of the articles and ammunitions pois. 43-45.
found at the hut or Post, the instructions given to foIs. 4(M3.
the Corporal by the Governor of Esquivo, in which
he was directed to consider the same as an ordinance
for the Post of Cuyuni, under the States-General,
120
and render lielji («> tlic Indians wlicn they Avere at-
tacked liy wild tribes, and that n<> harm woidd be
done to tlie Sj)aniards as Iriciids, hut not to allow
them to cross the Cuyuni livcr. nor pci'init anv one
of tlir^ni nnv commerce bevond theii- iihice on the
rivi'i'. hut to aHow the Indians to carry through
thcii' ( 'liinese shivos <ir any other merclinndise, so
as to enable theii' ])ureha>e by the i'^scjuivo resi-
dents; great care was enjoined in securing all fugi-
tive slaves and lielping their masters to recover
them, I'aying ten tlorins for each one, collected as due,
according to the accounts of the previous ^Master of
the Post; that every year a statement was to be for-
warded twice to the Governor of Esquivo. With a
ro\.u. testimony of these proceedings the ( 'ommander of
Guaynna sent the two imprisoned Hollanders to the
Governor and (Japtain General of that J'rovince.
71. And hnding nothing else in the above men-
Letter of tioned testimony No. 2, said Connnander of Guayana
mander^"of Continued his statement as follows: That the Post
Guayana. xi j. / < i -1,1 i • i , 1
tliat (aravesand said to fiave l)een seized bv the
Si»aniards near a rivulet towards the south of the
Guayne river, between this and Tovarun, where it
was supposed that the Coin]»any had had from time
immemorial a place of commerce and a Post depend-
ing without contradiction Irom the territory of the
republic, the exponent sup|)oses that it may be the
one that the intnideil Hollanders abandoned at the
Barima river in the yeai' 17<')S. when they ascer-
tained through the Caribs. their li'ieiids. that our
launches as corsairs w^ere ready to go around and
search those i-ivers emptying into the Orinoco as
well as the Barima, the importance of wlii<'h they
tried to diminish, calling it a rivulet; that he did
not dare to call by name the Director of Esrpiivo
and style him a usurper, who made himself so })Oor
of memory as to call immemorial an establishment
hardly two years old, as it is shown by the part No. 3.
Fol. 4.
121
72. From this part it ajjpears that the Commander Letter p.
of (iuayana was informed that several Dutch fami- ^o-(>-
lies had settled at the Barima creek within our Test. 3.
jurisdiction near the large mouth of the Orinoco ; ^"^- ^^■
that he sent a Captain with a launch and the cor-
resj)onding crew, witli directions to notify said
families once, twice, and three times to remove
their settlements from there, as that place did not
belong to nor was within the territory of the States
General, but was under Spain ; that the Captain, in
compliance with his commission, went and came
back from that j)lace, bringing several articles from
tlie houses left by the families; that said articles
'were enumerated in a regular list and apprised and
sold at auction after being proclaimed, and the pro-
ceeds distributed according to the Royal regulations ;
that said Captain and three of the persons of the
crew made their affidavits, showing that after the
receipt by the Commander General of Guayana of a
report that at the aforesaid creek of Barima close to
the large mouth of the Orinoco river, where it
emjities, some Dutch families had settled, they had
been sent, said Captain and crew, with instructions
to notify them one, two, and three times to leave
that territory that was annexed to the Province of
Guayana; that the ex{)onents left for their destina-
tion, at the creek, and having reached its mouth
saw there several Indians of the Carib tribe, and
that these spread the news of their approach before
reaching the establishments and iarms of said
strangers, wlio ran away, allowing no time for any
nntifieation ; that the houses were found abandoned,
and the effects, iron implements, and utensils found
in them were taken under an inventory and shipped
on board of their two vessels; that they afterwards
set fire to the houses so as to prevent their re-estab-
lishment, and destroyed as far as possible the farms
around.
122
rrom\^he ''^- Cout i iiu iii^' his icjiicstiitalions, said Com
oiTuwylma. Hiander ofGiiayana showed that the Spaniards liad
Foi.-i. never disputed then or at any time with the Dutrh
about fisliiiig at the mouths of tlie Orinoco, because
they (the Dutch) had never chiimed the right to fish
there; tiiat (hiring the three years ehipsed since tlie
time wlicn he commenced toemploy armed hiuiiclies
as corsairs in this river twenty-three foreign vessels
had been seized, but none of them were employed
in fishing; that they had not seen or even heard
any report of the possession by the Hollanders of
the fishing rights as it a})peared by the part No. 1,
as already mentioned ; th.it he had found only an
instance of a seizure by Spaniards in the year 17G0
of a small schooner and two Dutch fishing launches
at the nntutli of the<)riiioeo and IJai'iuia river, as
it ajipears by the ]>art No. 4: tliat he was of the
ojiinion that they ought to be prevented from fish-
ing there, as said fishing might degenerate into an
illicit trade, difficult to sto^) and too injurious to the
Spanish Provinces.
^Qti_ 74. It appears by said jjart No. 4 that tlie Com-
mander of Guavana, alter having received intelli-
gence that a few Hollanders near Baritna were
carrying on the inhuman and illicit commerce of
pur(/hasing Indians in trade tbr merchandise from
tlie Caribs, issued his order of the 7th of September,
1760, instructing the Lieutenant of Infcintry, Don
Juan de Dios y Flores, to prevent said traffic ; that
said lieutenant lelt, but did not reacli the ])lace of
his destination, on account of liaving seized, on his
way, a schooner and two r)utch launches that came
to Orinoco for tlie pur}»ose of fishing; that he
brought said vessels to the ]iort of Santo Thoirie of
Guavana, where they were visited as prizes and an
inventory made ; that a local investigation was in-
stitntecl, by which it apjiears tliat said lieutenant
and his crew seized the above-mentioned vessels, on
Test 4.
Kol. 1—1.
123
account of their being employed in fishing at the Ori-
noco; that three men of their crew fled with the ex-
ception of a miistee and a few Arauca Indians ;
that the reason for not having reached the phice of
destination was on account of being short of hands,
and that it was natural to suppose that the Hol-
landers, whom they were after, Iiad received news
of their approach and left ; that it was shown by the
confessions of the persons arrested in the vessels
seized ; that the vessels were Dutch, on their way to
fish in the Orinoco; that there were several Hol-
landers at Barima purchasing Poytos ; that the Com-
mander ordered the arrest of the mustee, and the
other Indians to be sent to the Missions ; that, by
direction of the Commander General of Cumana, tlie
other parties were apprized with their appurtenances
and sold at public auction, distributing all the pro-
ceeds, according to the Royal regulations.
75. The Commander continued his exposition,
stating that in Orinoco only were retained, out of
the Esquivo slave deserters, those who were Indians,
and of the negroes, only those who came to enjoy
the benefit of becoming Catholics, as it appears by
the part No. 5, as that was the rule of His Majesty.
76. This testimony shows that the Commander of
Guayana had referred to the Captain General of the
Province of Cumana with the corresponding testi-
mony, the case of a negro who came over to our
dominions from the Dutch, in order to become a
Christian, asking for instructions for the guidance
of said Commander, who received an an&wer, dated
September 12, 1761, directing him, according to the
orders from His Majest}' found in his office, to in-
stitute an investigation as to the proof of the escape,
and whether it was really effected with the purpose
of becoming a Christian, and if so, to take him
under the Royal protection and deliver him to the
Pastor, so as to be instructed in the mysteries of our
Fol. IS— 21.
Folio 21.
Fols. 24—28.
Fol. 2S— 34.
Fol. 34— 41.
Letter
from the
Commander
of GJuayana..
Fol. 5.
No. G.
Test. 5.
Fol. 5.
124
failli. l)i|>ti/,e(l, ami let free. ail\-isiiiLi- liim In lead a
quiut ami ('lirisli.ni lite; that the same iiK'lhoil was
to be ob.serveil witii cwi'v cithci' fu<j,'itive slave IVoiii
the foreiaii ( "ojoiiy. reaekiiiii;- (riiayaiia in quest ut"
baptisiii ami a ('hristian lite umlcrthe }»i'(jteetion of
His Majesty in His ("atholie dominions.
Foi>i. s-i(i. 77. The same pai-t ."> .<li(»\vs that said T'ommander
acted aecoi'dinoly in regard to six Indians who es-
caped from Esqiiivo in order to become Christians.
i(.tt,.,. ,,| 78. Said Commamlcr l'(illowin;j;- his statement con-
ana 'rmn- tiiMicd in reference to otiier negro slaves, who, on
accoimt of ill treatment or other ivasons, had de-
serte<l ;ind arri\"cd from Es(|uivo.aml who had been
returned to their masters whenever claimed, or their
value |>;iid in silver to them, when they had agreed
to have them sold, jis it was shown by ])ait Xo. 6
and othei' acts of the kind existing in the Royal
Archives.
Letter p. 79. I'^rom the above part (or proceedings) it ap-
No.6. pears that in September. 1759, Captain Andres
Te.st.fi. Scliut, a neiglibor of Esquivo, came to Guayana and
Fois. i-is, presented his pas.sport from the Governor of the
Colony to claim certain negroes who had run away ;
the same were sold and the price ])<ud to him, as
Fni s. 1 i^^i<^^\" 'v"^' 1''^ receipt, signed at (Juayana. It ap-
='"'" """-''• i.e.ar.s, likewise, that in the year 17.")(», with the same
kind of passport, the Militia Ca[)tain Salomon Pe-
rico, of Esquivo, came to Guayana, claiming tv.'o
negroes ; that the same had been sold, and the price
Foi.2.-). depositeil in the Royal Treasury, was paid to said
Fois, is to Perico. who uave his receipt. It ai)pears, likewise,
36. 11'
Unit in the year 1754, Juan Pedro Thoman, an At-
torney of the Esrpiivo Company, came to Guayana
to claim four negroes owned by the Company, who
had escaj)ed, and as they had been sold before and
their price deposited in the Royal Treasury, he re-
Foi. :?(). ceived it and acknowle«lged receipt indue form. It
Foi. 37-41. appears, likewise, that in the year 17GG, Nicolas
Gnayana.
Fol. 5.
125
Roujelet de Lasarie, police counsellor of justice and
Secretary of the Escjuivo Colony, came to Guayana
to claim thirteen young negroes; he sold tliem, re-
ceived tlieir price, and gave liis receipt to the })ur-
chaser, who a[)peared to have been Don Juan Claudio
Romero, a resident of the Province of Cumana.
80. It appears likewise that after due observance xesumony
of the regulations four slaves from Esquivo, who had no:^- 'Jand 7.
run awav and arrived at Guayana, had been sohl foi. lo.
and the proceeds of the sale deposited in the Royal
Treasury, after the deduction of dues and expenses,
so as to be kept subject to the claim of their lawful
masters.
81. Said Governor of Guavana continued, stating Letter of
I • 1 i" • ^ r\ ^'^"^ Coin-
that it was to be observed that since the Governor mancier of
of Esquivo had appropriated to himself the Iavo
negroes called Ambrosio and Francisco, slaves of
Don Tomas Franquis and Augustina de Arocha,
residents of Guayana, who ran away from that city
to the Colon3% where they were sold on his account
and profit of said Lorenzo van Gravesand, as it
appears in part No. 1 (already mentioned), and H
seemed as if he had been satisfied with this re-
prisal, as he had not claimed formally the slaves
who liad run away from Esquivo to Guayana since
that time, nor even tried to recover seven hundred
and sixty-two dollars, proceeds of the sale of five
fugitive slaA'es from Esquivo, placed and kept as a
deposit in the Royal Treasury, subject to the claim
of the interested party, as directed by Don INIatheo
Gual and Don Josef Diguja, Governors of Cumana,
as it appears in part No. 7. That, indeed, Don
Nicolas de la Lasarie, Secretary of the Colony of Es-
quivo, came, and on the 8th of September, 1760, gave
Kis power of Attorney to Don A^ivente Franco, a resi-
dent of Guayana, to claim the proceeds and consent
to the sale of thirty-eight negro slaves who in those
years had deserted from the Colon}' to tlie said Pro-
'Test. Nil. 'i.
Kol. 37.
Tost. No.
1m. 1. 1.
12G
A'iiicc. tlic [tr(»L'ue(liiig.s wlTc .slill puiuliiig, uii account
of the death of Lasarie and tlie expiration of hi.s
power of Attorney to Franco; the succe.'^.soi-.s of
Lasarie having put no ajipearance, sup[)osing that
we iniglit take the priee of their negroes, as the
Director of Esquivo diil with the pi'ice ol' ihose of
Fran([uis and Arociia, runaways tVotn Guayana ;
that the proceeds of tlie 20 shives, as well as the
$702 before, were used in the payment of the sol-
diers of the troop organized hy the predecessor of
tlie exponent, Don .joaijuin Moreno, who had not
been paid yet for his dues from the year 1704 to
1708, and that it was necessary now that his Majesty
Avould see iiow to satisfy the interested parties in re-
gard to the claim now nndertaken by the Minister
of Holland.
<S2. From j)art No. it ap[)ears that Nicolas Las-
arie not only sold the thirteen young negroes al-
ready mentioned, but he intended to claim besides
about thirty-odd runaway negroes from the Esquivo
Colony. It appears likewise by a certificate signed
by Don Andres de Oleaga, Royal Officer Accompt-
ant, of tlie City of Guayana, dated the 4tli of April,
1770, that in the branch of foreign deposits an item
of 0,090 real.'^, 14 and .\ maravedis was entered,
as the price of a negro woman with her children
and four more negro runaways from the Dutch
Colony sold at auction by the Government for the
benefit of their owners. And likewise he eerti-
fied that in regard to the thirty-eiglit male and
female .slaves, arrived at Ciuayana from said Colony
since 1700 up to the middle of 1707, similai' steps
had been taken at the request of Don Vicente
Franco, as Attorney of Don Nicolas liosolet de Las-
arie, Police Secretary of said Colony, the proceeds
to be deposited in the Royal Trea.sury (deducting
Royal dues and costs in favor of their llonors, as
-shown by the })roceedings still pending), the same
127
to be done in regard to the apprizement and sale of
twenty-nine of said negroes for 3,480 j^esos, the re-
maining nine slaves not having been sold for want
of purchasers, and were applied to the works of His
Majesty in that fortress. And finally he stated, in
regard to said amount of one and the other deposit,
with others existing at the Royal Treasury at that
time, that they were used to support the troops of
the New Company of the Orinoco up to the last
year of 1767, when nothing had been received from
tlie corresponding central offices of payment until
1768.
83. And in this same testimony the proceedings foIs.s-g.
are found in regard to the sale of the negroes above
mentioned.
81. The Commander of Guayana further stated, ti^l^ouay-
that in regard to any Spaniards having induced the '^^nander" '" '
Esquivo slaves to run away, there was no probability yol c.
of its being so, as it was not credible there should be
any person to take such a perilous risk without any
other inducement than that of doing good to the
negroes ; that Gravesand did not give any persons,
name, or instance, spoke only in general terms that
did not prove anything against what appeared evi-
dent by the proceedings on this matter contained
in part No. 1, and the erection of strongholds, near
the territory of the republic, the attacks on the Bar-
racks of the Company, and the killing of the guard,
as claimed by the Deputies in their representation.
85. That in the Royal order his report was wanted
on the matter, for the notice of his Majesty, and he
had to observe that in all countries the sea coasts
were most precious, as without them the productions
inland were useless for the countries beyond the
sea ; that in the vast Province of Guayana, so fertile
and advantao-eouslv situated, all the coasts were oc-
cupied by strangers, remaining only to the Span-
iards, on one extremity, the mouth of the Orinoco as
128
a sea |>«n-t ; lluil llic liollaiKlers possessed those parts
of the coast of most importance to that vast eouniry,
having many navigahU' livers running from the
innermost and most profitahlc part of (Juayana;
that it was therefore advisahle to destroy the Dutch
Colony, beginning at Ks([iiivo ami following to
Demerari, Berbis, Corentin up to Surinam : that the
exponent thought of two projx'r ways, the first to
receive, protect, and set free all the fugitive slaves
from said Colonies, as it was the practice at Caracas
with those from Curacao, wdio did not want so much
protection for the free use of the Catholic religion as
those of the colonies did, where no importance was
given to the subject, and their slaves were left to live
as gentiles; that the second way to accom{)lish such
an end was to keep in said Province a standing ]»at-
talion of Infantry to watch and verify the frontiers
and rivers emptying into the Estpiivo, the building
of strongholds that even when [)rojected had fright-
ened the PloUanders, thus j)reventing and eiiili.ir-
rassing the usurpation of more territory than what
they are holding and their considerable trad<' in
Indian Poytos or slaves, through which our lands
are deserted and theirs populated and prodigiously
cultivated ; that facilities should be given the
Indians thev have enslaved to escape, and they
would not be encouraged to pay much higher })riees
for negroes for fear of losimj,- them ; that the loss of
both kinds of slaves will (•rii)ple the Dutch colonies
and their operatives will come to us, consi<lering
that we are strong and lormidable.
Thai this increase of troops could not be exces-
sively ex})ensive, considering the necessity of poi)u-
lation and the defence of that ci'untiy; that both
requirements called for lai'gc disbuiscment--, but
nothincr could be more l)enelicial than those comiuij,-
from the soldier, whose money attracted laborers
and evei'y kind of nie(dianics to the country, that
the latter as well as the iormer would take Indian
129
wives, and this kind of alliance with the Indians
would facilitate their civilization and a prompt and
less expensive population of those wild countries. A
soldier, young and single, is more easily mustered
and conveyed to those Provinces than a whole fam-
ily ; that his experience in the matter showed that
it was of more advantage and preferable, as it had
been done at the island of Santo Domingo and other
Provinces of America, carrying whole families of
Canarians, and from other parts, under condition of
paying for their transportation and providing them
with the necessary utensils, and their maintenance
for one year at least ; that among the fortresses
above mentioned, one ought to be at the point of
Barima, nt the windward of the mouth of Navios, in
a northerly direction, with a high wooden house of
the same kind of the balize at the entrance of the
Mississippi, as the land is swampy and low; that
from said establishment we would be enabled to keep
a close watch on the Hollanders and stop them in
their illicit trade, keeping a constant lookout at the
Barima river, the chief avenue of communication be-
tween the Esequivo Colon}' and the Orinoco ; that this
kind of balize is necessary for our vessels to ascertain
the position of the large mouth of the Orinoco river,
concealed from the sea for want of proper marks,
and apt to mislead in the way of reaching it, on ac-
count of the strong currents of those waters to the
leeward ; that the navigators can not well avoid the
dangers of the low ground on that coast, outside of
the channel of the river, without ascertaining the
position of the mouth ; by holding a Post at Barima
Point, that of the Hollanders at Moruca would be-
come useless, for the purpose of preventing the
escape of their Indian Poytos or other slaves, arrest-
ingltheir pursuers, wlio sometimes were bound to
come as far as the Orinoco, when the}^ knew that
the Spaniards were at 49 leagues from the mouth.
86. That the methods he had proposed or any
Vol. II, Vex.— 9.
others eniplo3'0(l for tlie i)tiiiiose of increasing the
popuhition, opnlence and strength of the Province,
could not be u'^elessif correctly carried out, as might
beob.-i'rvr<l l)y tliopnrt No. 8, where the opportunity
of the i^resent time was shown to attain that object,
within a few years after the failure of over two cen-
turies.
lAttii-r. ST. This part, No. 8, is confined to a certificate
No i. given at the city of San Thome, of Guayana, on the
Test. 8. 20tli of September, 17G9, by Don Juan Josef Canales,
Fois. I-!, jjj-j Ecclesiastical Rector, Vicar, and Judge of that
city; Don Andres Oleaga, Royal Accomptant of
the same; Don Josef Bosse, Cajjtain of Infantry
and Sergeant Major of the Orinoco troops; Don
Juan Antonio Bon;ilde, Ca])tain of Infantry of the
same troop ; Don Nicolas Martinez, I^ieutenant Com-
mander of Artillery ; Don Antonio Barreto, Lieuten-
ant of Iniantry and Chief Adjutant of the same;
and the resident officers and civilians, Captain Don
Vicente Franco, Captain Don Diego Ignacio Mariiio,
Lieutenant Don Juan de Jesus Miers, Don Jr)aquin
de Mieres. Don ('axctano Filgueyra y P)arcia, and
Captain (Jalixto de Le^ania. It appeal's hy the cer-
tificates of all the above persons that Don Manuel
Centurion Guerrero de Torres, Royal Captain of the
Artillery Corps, and ( ieneral Cominandei- ol ( Juayana
and all the settlements of the uppei' and lower Oii-
noco and Rio Negro, had endeavored and was en-
deavoring, with the utmost diligence and Constance,
to secure the advancement and welCaic of that Piov:
ince and their neighbors, and that lie fortified and
put in a state of defence the mountain of Padrastrc,
of the Castle of San Fi-ancisco de Asis, the l»ulwark
and safety of that Province ; that for tiie same pur-
pose he had transferred the tour settlements called
Piacoa, Ti})unui, X'iacoa, and Unata, and removed
them from the proximity of the fortress to other
places, where an enemy (intending an attack to the
131
Province) could not make use of them ; that he
armed and built two launches as corsairs, to prevent
the entrance of foreigners and traders carrying on
any illicit commerce with the Orinoco, and perse-
cuting and seizing their vessels on the sea coasts of
Paria, Trinidad, and Gulfo Triste ; that he dis-
lodged, likewise, from the Barima river the usurp-
ing Hollanders, who had settled on its margins, in
alliance with over eight thousand Carib Indians,,
natives of that territory ; that he built in Guayana a
powder magazine, provisional quarters for the troops,
and a good hospital for the sick, as well as lodgings
for the laborers of the fortress.
That he had erected a small fort furnished with
artillery, served by eight soldiers, for the detence of a
new Indian settlement at the Caura river, the theatre
of the inhuman war kept up by the Caribs in order
to carry out their infamous traffic in Poyto Indian
slaves, whom they sold to the Esquivo Hollanders;
that he had likewise explored the large cocoa fields
of the upper Orinoco, and that in order to improve
the culture and commerce of said products he had
undertaken the civilization and settlement of the
savage Indians of those territories, -supporting and
keeping there a Captain settler and some Andalusian
Capuchin Missionaries, with an officer and military
escort, taking them to Rio Negro, wdiere they had
settled new towns and the Missions of La Esmeralda,
San Philipe, San Francisco Solano, and Santa Bar-
bara, and supported those of San Carlos and May-
pures, founded by the boundary expedition ; that he
had likewise trained, disciplined, and dressed in
uniforms all the troops of that Province, which had
been found in a wretched conditon of neglect and
nudity for want of economy on the part of the Di-
rectors ; that he had gathered and brought to the
settlement of Pan de Azucar, the dispersed Indians,
fugitives from the Mission of Cabruta, and those of
132
the Province of Barcelona in tlic new settlements of
Tajaquire, and Cerro del Mono ; that he had founded
the three new Missions of Panai)ana, and Mamanta,
and Orocopiche, in (he neiu'hhdi-liood of (Juayana,
at a distance of two or three lejigues from its com-
merce and support ; that he had commenced and
was carrying on with the greatest activity the erec-
tion of a magnificent church in (luayana, on a model
architecture such as few could be found in America.
That he had founded a town, under the name of
I>(»urhon, with Spanish families, from the Province of
New Barcelona, without taxing the King for rations
• for tlicir maintenance during the first year, nor any
other expenses, as it has l)een the case with other
populations in former times; that he erected in the
interior of that Province, at the Paragua river, a
small fort furnished with artillery and troops for
the defence of the place, and to prevent the Hollan-
ders from taking away the Poytos they used to seize
on the margin of the Orinoco, for the service of
their Colonies on the Atlantic coast of that conti-
nent; that he had increased and improved lliat city
with over sixty houses with tiled roofs and common
walls, and the corresponding families brought from
the neighboring Provinces to inhabit them, and en-
joying conveniences which they did not possess at
home or Ibund among the inhabitants of Guayana ;
that the settlement of cattle ranches and towns set-
tled l)y Spaniards on the u})i)er Orinoco by order of
His Majest}', and in all tlic new establishments and
communities of Missionaries supported by the Com-
mander General, the true zeal of the same was
manifested, as well as the economical conduct of his
government, and the generous disinterestedness he
showed in his emUiavors for the advancement of tliat
Province, as well as the benefits to be derived by the
Spanish Crown from the population, advancement,
and safety of that extensive Province, so advantage-
133
ously situated, as beiiit;' the nearest from Aiiierica
to Spain, the constant trade that could be kept with
those countries even in time of war, vvitliout any
fear of the interception of their vessels by cruisers
or corsairs of the enemy, as there was no obstacle
or any fixed place to wait for them from tlie large
mouth of the Orinoco to the Spanish shores ; that
the parties signing this certificate consider it their
duty to impassionately confess that the Orinoco was
the only near and sure place the King had in
America in time of war, as he was enabled to com-
municate the necessary orders to those dominions
within twenty or twenty-five days ; that they ought to
state the fact that if said Commander were furnished
with the necessary means according to his diligence,
activity, intelligence and the favorable disposition
of many persons desiring to settle in the neighbor-
ing Provinces, attracted by the conveniences and
fertility of that most beautiful and extensive Pro-
vince, on account of its commerce and amenity, it
should become within a short time a New Spain for
the State, with all the above advantages, that will
make it the most distinguished, and therefore deserve
the first attention of His Majesty; that in order to
appreciate the force and truth of the foregoing state-
ment, it was enough to see the benefits derived b}''
strangers from the French Colony of Cayena, and
the Hollanders from those of Surinam, Bervis, and
Esquivo on the eastern coast of that Province ; that
it should be observed that in the first and second
one, within thirty leagues inland (navigation on
the river of their names), they kept in continual
trade over 200 vessels each one, and a few less ves-
sels correspondingly kept by the third and last of
less population and on the sea coast side; that if
those Colonies yielded such valuable commercial
advantages to their inhabitants in products, within
such a short distance inland, the Orinoco trade
134
could coi'tainly })r()ve of considerable more benefit
with all the advantae^es of a more extensive field in
constant circulation, population, and general estab-
lishments.
Letter p. §§ Another of the (locunients forwarded as re-
N,,. ;. served matter, marked in the index as No. 7, is a Itt-
Letteroftheter by Dou Pedro Josef de Urrutia, Governor of
tn.ni cii-Cumana, of the lOtli of Mav, 1770, accompanied wilh
supportmg documents, and stating that on the oOtli
of March of that year he had acknowledged the re-
ceipt of the Royal order of the 2od of September,
1769, accompanied with a paper in which the Minis-
ter of Holland complains of the conduct of the
Spaniards established at the Orinoco against the
Esquivo Colony, and the facts of its contents, and he
promised to address the required report with justi-
fying documents of what should be found out in re-
gard to the case.
89. That, in com})liance, he reported that the only
facts that he had ascertained to exist took place be-
fore the separation from tlie Province of Guayana
from the Government of Cumana, and were brought
about by the same Hollanders of the Esquivo Colony,
close to the Missions of the Catalan Capuchins in said
Province; that in the year 1758, the Governor (i<J
interim, Don Nicolas de Castro, received a letter from
the Prefect of said Missions informing the Com-
mander of that fortress of the serious injury and the
loss of lives at the hands of the Caribs of the desert,
influenced by the Esquivo Hollanders, who had in-
vaded tlie region of Hauchica, where the Guaica
Indian Mission was established ; that fearing greater
ovils to the surrounding settlements, he applied for
a piomiit remedy, giving as the chief cause of these
troubles the constant suggestions of the Hollanders
in i)ersuading the Caribs not to belong or make part
of tlic Spanish settlements, thus fostering their dis-
like and oi>position to their holy work, so as to con-
tinue the abominable trade they kept with tlie
135
Caribs, giving them <lry goods niid iron imple-
ments in exchange for Indian Poytos (which means
slaves among them), the same Poytos were taken b}'
the Carbis as prisoners in their wars, so as to sell
them at the above-mentioned Esquivo Colony, thus
retarding the progress of the Gospel and the religious
instruction of the gentiles.
That said HoHanders trespassing the hmits of
their Colony were taking more lands for the purpose
of their commerce in the dominions of His Majesty
and the neighborhood of the nearest Missions, as it
was shown by the fact of the establishment at that
place, with a permit from Governor Lorenzo Storeni
Gravesand, of a liouse and Guard in the island
called Caramacuru in the Cuyuni river, of the terri-
tory of the Missions, (that the Hollanders call in
said papers Caj'oeny river); because this place had
never been considered a part of the Esquivo Colony,
as it is shown by the despatch of the above men-
tioned Prefect ; that aware of all these circumstances,
the Commander of Guayana sent an expeditionof
troops to said Cuyuni river, with the necessary in-
structions, so as to dislodge the Hollanders from
that place and seize the Indian slaves or Poytos and
everything else they kept ; that it was so carried
out, notwithstanding the resistance of the Hollander
who commanded in that Post and the death of one
of the Spaniards and jserious wound of another of
that expedition ; that on this subject a suitable in-
vestigation was instituted by the Commander of all
the facts and circumstances of the occasion, and
were forwarded, with the two Dutch prisoners ar-
rested in the act of resistence, to the Governor ad in-
terim, Don Nicolas de Castro, who took the advice of
a learned assessor and reported the case accordingly,
referring the proceedings to His Majesty, but there
is no evidence of what became of the said Hollanders
and the said proceedings.
90. That the Governor of Esquivo, having at this
136
time been infoniKHl of the inipri.sonnieiit ui" two
Hollanders in the Cuyiini river, sent a despatch to
the Commander of Guayana, claiming them, and
said Commander, without returning any answer,
submitted said desj^atch to the Governor ad interim,
Don Nicolas de Castro, who answered the Governor
of Esquivo what will he t'ouinl in the testimony
accompanied to his representations.
91. From this testimony appears what has been
Test.N". 1. mentioned before in testimony No 2 and No. 6, and
an abstract of jiaragraphs 67, 68, 69 and 70. It is
Fois. 1-1 1 only noticed, in addition to the testimony heretofore
and iJ-'y). ^ ^ 1/-, I'p/'i
mentioned, that after the Commander oi (niayana.
sent to tlie Governor of Cumana the proceedings on
the .'^abject, and the two Dutch prisoners, said Gov-
Foi. .50. ernor, by act of September 28, 1758, appointed for
his asses.^or the Licenciate Don Jnlian Padilla Mo-
ron, (iiir of the legal advisers of the Royal Audience,
in oriU'i' to report on the merits and importance of
the case.
92. In his report ot the 28th of December of the
pq, -j same year, he advised the Governor to send the
original proceedings to His Majesty, leaving a testi-
mony of the same in that city.
93. An act was likewise issued by the Commander
of Guayana on the 30th of September, 1758, submit-
ting to the Governor of Cumana several papers re-
ceived from the Govtrnor of Esquivo, which had
been translated ; one being a pa.ssport brought by
the bearer of despatches, signed by the Governor of
Esquivo, and tlie other a paper signed by Lorenzo
Storem de Gravesand, dated the 30th of September,
1758, which reads as follows:
"Sik: It was by accident that I was told l)y In-
dians that our Tost, iiis .second, and a slave of the
Company with a woman and her children, had been
carried away as j)risoners, and th(» house set on lire;
1 could not give credit to this news; it seems to me
07
13
fabulous ; the case is impossible; I did not wish to
take the least step; but afterwards I sent people to
find out occularly the facts. The people return and
confirm not only the truth of the fact, but that the
said persons are actualh' imprisoned in Guayana.
AVhat must I imagine, Sir, about this high-handed
conduct in direct opposition to the law of nations,
to the treaties of peace, and to the alliance existing
so happily and for such a long time between His
Catholic Majesty and the High Powers of the States-
General of the United Provinces ? How is it possi-
ble that such high-handed and violent conduct has
taken place without any provocation or even com-
plaint? lam firmly persuaded that His Catholic
Majesty, far from approving such an offence, will do
full justice to my sovereign and administer an ex-
emplary punishment to those who have abused their
authority.
"The great King has given signal proofs of his
affection to our Republic and I should have been
content to send a representation of the case to my
Sovereigns, leaving to their prudence the claim of a
suitable satisfaction : but the place which I have the
honor to fill, binds me to ask in their names, and
request in writing from you. Sir, not only the iree-
dom of the jjrisoners, but a suitable satisfaction for
such violent and manifest violation of the treaties
and the law of nations. I have long had the honor
to be at the head of this Colony, and I have been
solicitous to retain the friendship of the Spanish
nation, our near neighbor, using always all in my
power to prevent the Carib Indians from doing
them any harm. If those implicated in this affair
have taken care to secure the papers kept at the
Post, it will be found that one of the principal
chapters of instructions contains a positive order
not to give the least cause of complaint to our
Spanish neighbors. It should not be difficult for
iM.lio 22.
13S
me to take roprisal.^^, lia\iiiL; the saniu in my own
hands; but 1 tind no reason to do so as opposed to
the duties of" an ht)n()ralilc nnm, when as a Christian,
I ought not to do so until tlie last extremity, wlien
every dther remedy fails. By a vessel which will
depart for Europe this week, I give my Masters an
account of the case. I entertain no doubt that they
will l)e as much sur{)rised as I am in regard to this
high-handed otteiice, and will not delay their claim
l)el'ore the Court of His Catholic Majesty. Thus,
Sir, in the name of the High Powers of my Sover-
eign Directors of the Company, my ^Masters, I ask
the relea.se of the prisoners, to be forwarded to me,
with a full satisfaction equivalent to the losses and
damages they have sustained, protesting expressly,
in case of refusal, against all the persons concerned :
that there is not a single j)ers(»n who does not feel
offended, and that I always feel inclined to keep
friendly relations with our neighbors, so long as I
am not compelled to do otherwise.
"Awaiting with impatience your answer, I have
the honor to be, with every j)ossible esteem and con-
sideration, Sir,
" Youi' humble and most obedient servant,
'•LuKKXZo Storem dk Gravesand.
" Esquivo Iviver, on the la.st day of September.
1758."
9d. It is found. l)esides, in this testimony, a copy
of a letter of the Governor nd interim of Cuniana to
Gravesand. in res[tonse to the foregoing, as follows:
"Dear Sir: The Commander of Guayana has for-
warded to me, among other documents, a letter of your
Honor addressed to him, claiming the two Dutch pris-
oners, a negro slave and a woman with her children,
found b}' the guard sent from that fortress toan island
of the Cuyuni river, in a house where the unjust trade
of Indian Pox'tos from the dominii>ns of the King
ISO
my Master is kept. Tlie same Cuyuni river, and all
that district, being within said dominion, it is not
creditable that the plenipotentiaries of the States-
General could have authorized your Honor to intro-
duce your people there, and much less for the pur-
pose of trading in Indians with the Spaniards and
their settlements. Upon that point I fully justify
the conduct of this step. I am not at liberty to re-
lease the prisoners and send them to you until the
final decision of my Sovereign, to whom I have sent
an account of the proceedings, justifjdng the facts.
Your Honor will find me readj^to accede to any just
demands. May the Lord keep 3'our Honor in his
Holy guard.
" I kiss the hands of your Honor. Your servant,
" Don Nicolas de Castro.
"Cumana, September 9, 1758.
" To Monsieur de Gravesand."
96. The Governor of Cumana further stated that tvon/tiie
after the answer given by Don Nicolas de Castro to .-f cumfana.
the Governor of Esquivo, said Governor addressed a p,,, .5
case to the Commander of Guayana, who, after find-
ing out that it contained a map and a paper, witli-
out taking any further steps, closed and returned
the same to said Governor, bv the same bearers, as
everything is found extensively explained by the
other testimony accompanied.
96. From this testimony it appears that after the Test. 2.
report received by the Commander of Guayana, in
regard to the arrival of a vessel in charge of a few
Arauca Indians, bringing from the Governor of Es-
quivo a closed dispatch addressed to that of Guay-
ana, double sealed, and a case three-C[narters of a
yard in length, nailed, containing a map, he de-
cided on the 20th of March, 1759, to call the Notary
Public to attest to everything in connection with
the case, and it was done as directed.
140
Koi. 2. !)7. ]\v another act it was ascertained, after open-
ing the a])ov(-'-inentione(l case, that it contained a
map, and it was closed again and sent back to the
Governor (if Ivsquivo with tlic paper acorn pa nying
the same, Ijoth withont being ojiened, and another
with tlie official letter stating what was sent hack
through tlie same Indians. Tlie Notary Public
made the corresponding delivery of everything after
taking an authenticated copy of the contents of said
otiicial letter.
i''"i •• 98. And having made the delivery, as directed,
the Notary certifies that the official letter of remit-
tance is worded as follows :
"Dear Sir: Tlie habit of opening this })ort to
peaceful Indians, trading on the Orinoco, allowed
the entrance of the Araucas (who not having been
known as envoys of your Honor) sent to this city
with the purpose of delivering to me a double sealed
single despatch, and a small pine case, both ad-
dressed to me. It is not in my power to open the
paper, on account of the general [)rohibition to allow
tV)reign vessels entering the Spanish ports of America
or hold correspondence with these Colonies, and
because I understand that your Honoi' intends to
insist upon a demarcation of limits, in whicii the
Colony under your command is situated, making
inadmissible said despatch and case. For that
reason I return both to your Honor, the despatch
closed and the case nailed, through the same bear-
ers, so that you may take whatever steps you may
think pro[)er, before tlie competent parties. And as
vour llono)- in tlie letter of the last of September of
last year, inli.rnis me of having reported to your
Sovereign (on a subject almost of the same nature)
may address your claim through your Ambassador
before the court of His Majesty.
" I am not at liberty to act in this matter, nor on
similar subjects, as I have no power to do so.
Letter
o ni t
>vernoi
Cuniana.
141
" May our Lord keep your Honor for many years
in His holy guard.
" Kiss the hands of your Honor.
" Your obedient servant,
" Juan Yaldes.
" To Seiior Don Lorenzo Thomas de Gravesand."
" GuAYANA, 3Iarch the 20th, 1759.
99. On the same day, tlie 29th of Marcli, said Com- foi. i.
mander of Guayana ordered the original proceedings
to be sent to the Governor of Cumana, after having
taken a testimony of the same as it was done.
100. Following this report, the Governor of Cu-
mana stated that neither at the Government public omeTnoAf
archives nor at his office were found any other doc-
uments on the subject than the two foregoing testi-
monies and a Royal Order, a copy of which he ac-
companies, issued by the Government at Madrid on
the 30th of March, 1753, communicated to the Mar-
quis of La Ensenada for the remedy of the injuries
and loss of life occasioned by the Caribs to the Mis-
sions of Guayana, under the influence of the Esquivo
Hollanders, and the other reason therein contained.
His Majesty, after taking due notice of the same,
will decide what is to be done.
101. From said copy of the Royal Orderof the above K,,yai order
date there is nothing else than an order to furnish
a stronger military escort to the Missions of Guaj^ana,
so as to protect them against the evils and attacks,
harm and loss of life by the Caribs under the influ-
ence of the Hollanders, as was represented by the
Missionaries to His Majesty.
102. The last document sent, as reserved matter, Letter v
and indexed No. 8, is a representation addressed to no. 8 Kep-
His Majesty, by the Missions of Guayana, on the 6th ofThe^Vre-
of July, 1760, signed by Fr. Benito de la Garriga, M*fssionK.
Prefect of the Catalan Capuchin Missions of Guay-
ana, in which the case of the Hollanders is referred
to, in regard to the three Indian women, with their
Li-1
chiMreii, I'li-lavnl ami taken tVoin the iiitmtli of the
Orinoco 1)V the Iliillaiiders and reuovertMl trnni their
Post at the Morucu riviT (as mentioned in i)cira-
graphs 59 and Go of this abstract), and stating that
the Cxovernor of Esquivo had coniphiined against
the fact, having no right to do so.
lie continned exi)hiining the reasons he liad, as
well as his predecessor, for keeping a sliarp vigilance
against the Hollanders to prevent the injury they
do to the Missions. He stated that the practice of
those strangers was now, as before, to go to the in-
terior of that Province to enslave the Indians, vas-
sals of His ^Tajesty, and carry them away to their
Colony : that this {)ractice was currently authorized
by the (Governor of Ivs(juivo, as stated in tlie letters
patent and passports from the same Governor, and
in liis own handwriting, deliveretl to the jiersons
leaving the Colony for the purpose of enslaving the
Indians, and without any respect penetrating in our
own settlements, as had been done several times
before; that the predecessors of the exponent had
informed His Majesty in the year of 1751 of the
case ; that the Commissioners of the Royal Expedi-
tion had given the same report, and In'ought it to
the knowledge of I)oii Josef Iturriaga by a letter
addresseil to him by the de[»onent in 175G, request-
ing the means of practically stopping this abuse,
and by a letter of Don Ricardo Oval in 1757 ; that
the representation of the exponent seemed to have
reached the notice of the Minister of His Majesty,
liut without any })ractieal benefit.
103. In the year 1748, our Mission of Miamo was
visited by two white men from Esquivo with a pass-
port from the Governor to buy Indians, and as the
Father Missionaries had only recently arrived from
Spain, he could not understand the gravity of the
case, and he sent them back only, without giving
them time to collect old debts from the Caribs, and
143
that in the same year, at the plains of Corumo, a
colored woman from Esquivo was buying Poytos
from the Caribs, and that in 1749, a sohlier from the
escort of the Missions arrested one of these traders,
while very near the Mission of Miamo, who had a
patent from the Governor of Esquivo to come and
purchase slaves ; and in said letters patent the Gov-
ernor called himself Governor of Esquivo and the
mouth of the Orinoco; that this and other letters
from the same Governor were sent by his predeces-
sor with the above-mentioned report of said year
1751.
104. That one of the Hollanders was domiciled
with the Caribs, during eiglit years, at the Aquire
river, making purchases of Poytos, and that numer-
ous other men were carrying on the same trade in
Puruev, Caura and Parava, from where thev used
to send to Esquivo and Surinam remittances of
twenty to fifty Poytos, and they had decamped for
fear ot the arrival of the Royal Expedition in
Orinoco.
105. There was a revolt in the year of 1750, when
all the Caribs of our five Missions of Miamo, Cunure,
Tupuquen, Curumo, and Mastanambo rose and
killed four soldiers of the escort and eight Span-
iards, showing many other kinds of hostilities. At
the end of one vear many of them were brought
back, and they discovered what had been supposed
before with sufficient reason, that they (the Caribs)
had done what they did at the instance of the Hol-
landers, who taught them the way of doing it, select-
ing ten Caribs beforehand to each Father, and ten
more to each soldier, and the rest to plunder all
at the same time, at the hour of the mass and at
the time of leaving the church, when they were to
kill the Fathers and soldiers ; that it was so carried
out ; that the exponent knew of the circumstances,
having been present and an occular witness to the
144
same, as lie was the President at the TupiKiiun
(Mission); tliat lie was likewise a {iri^oiirr of' tlic
Cai'il)s ami his liberation was a miracle; that he
saw the way in which the Caribs killed two militia-
men and two soldiers left as dead, after smashing-
their heads with Macana sticks; that they carried
away to their feast the hand of one of those who was
killed, and stole the sacred vessels and ornaments
for the Divine Service; that he saw likewise and
recognized a colored Hollander, who came to teach
the Carib Indians and stimulate them ; that his
name was well known in those Missions.
106. It was in 1762, when the Father President of
the Mission Supama, reported to him that a Guaica
Ca])tain of that Mission had stolen several young-
Indians from the same settlement and sold them to
Dutch traders, and that in order to deprive him of
another opportunity he had placed him and his
party in another Mission, and that his settlement
was bound to perdition under the persecution of the
Caribs.
107. It was at our Mission of Cavallaju that, on
the 20th of June, 1766, a negro and an Indian, both
pnrt-hasers of Poj^tos, came each one with a pass-
[tort IVom the Governor of I^scpiivo, who, as they
represented, was their Master, and that they were
slaves, although in the passport it was stated that
they were to go to the Aponony river, as the inter-
preter said, to collect old debts, being understood
that they were to collect and purchase Indians, and
the Father, at the head of that Mission, ordered the
retention of the two Curiaras (small Indian boats)
at the port of the Mission, and b}' land sent them
to the Mission at Guasipati, of which the exponent
was the President, and took away the passports
from them, written in the Dutcli language, and the
same as are annexed to his representation, markeil
witii the letters A and B ; that the soldiers arrested
145
•
the two men and presented them to the Reverend
Father Prefect, wlio was at the time Fr. Josef de
Guardia, and the negro was sent to Don Joaquin
Moreno, the Commander General of Guayana, who
let the Indian stay at the Caroni Mission.
108. Tliat this same negro, at the end of the year
1765, had come before to the Mission of Gavallaju
and Guasipati with a passport saying that he was a
negro Creole, on his way to Carapo in quest of a few
fugitive Indian slaves from Escjuivo, four in num-
ber, from ditierent tribes and families, who six years
before had been in said Mission ; that the exponent
prevented them from going any farther, and allowed
two of the said Indians to inform them that they
did not wish to go, persuaded as the}^ were that it
was infinitely Vjetter to remain in the Mission than
to be slaves of the Governor ; that he sent back said
negro, and that he promised to return with his fam-
ily and become Christians, informing the exponent
that for three years he had been at Parava, buying
Poytos from the Caribs, who deceived him, and as
he could not give a good account to his Master he
was kept imprisoned for a long time, and that there
is not a Carib who does not know of his case.
109. That the debts mentioned in the negro's
passport were sliown by the fact of his coming from
£<|uivo to Cayuni, Yumari and the port of the Ca-
vallaju Mission with two Curiaras, or small boats,
one of which, loaded with firearms, iron imple-
ments, hatchets, knives, drygoods and gewgaws, and
tliat everything had been distributed among the
Indians of said settlement and those of Guamo and
Guasipati, being understood that the payment for
the same goods was to be made b}' the Caribs in lit-
tle young Indians ; that the Father Missionary of
Cavallaju, Fr. Josef Antonio de Cervera, and that of
Guasipati, by an order of the Reverend Father Pre-
fect, took away from the Caribs the goods that had
Vol. il, Vex.— 10
146
been •listributed, consisting of four guns with itow-
der and balls, twenty-two yards of blue muslin, a
few iron inipleinents, mirrors and other triiies, with
the purpose of })ri'venting tlair sale to the Indians
and to rebuke this kind of trade. As soon as the
Cavallaju parties heard of the arrest of the negro
manv of them took (h>\vn the river the boat loaded
with goods, and notliing is known of what became
of the same ; that the Missionary found in a house of
the settlement a pair of fetters, and the Indians when
asked where did they find them, said thev had Ixcn
taken from the negro's boat, where he had many
others, as well as manacles.
no. That the exponent thought it was a heavenly
inspiration, the arrest of this negro, which prevented
the accomplishment of the evils intended to be done
to the Cucuycoto Indians found on the southern side
of those Missions, to the north of the Aponony river.
Fifteen days before the arrival of the negro at Caval-
laju, the Indians of that settlement and ^liamo,
Carapo, and Guasipati were busy in making the
usual short, flat oars, euriaras, arrows, sharp-edged
wooden weapons which they said were intended
in order to go after saiil Indians an<l 1>ring tliein
to the jNIission settlement; that they had believed
it was so, not })aying nuich attention to the nov-
elty of so many arrows, as they knew the Cncu-
yotos were a brave tribe ; but afterwards they found
their mistake, for as soon as the Caribs hoard of
the arrest of tlie negro in tlie castle, and that not-
withstanding that the Spaniards were re[troached
for the imprisonment of a slave belonging to the
Governor, who would consider himself offended b}'
the Caribs, and all this talk to no purpose, they soon
stopped the building of euriaras and the rest of the
work, keeping quiet and saddened; that this tuiii
of affairs was considered strange, as well as the l»ad
phazes of the Caribs, until it was discovered that they
147
held given up the projected visit to the Cucuyotos for
whieli tht'V liad been invited by the negro, in order
to go and Icill tliem, carrying away their young ones
to Esquivo ; that the negro was to go as captain of
this iiarty ; that at tliat time it was feared that an-
other revolt was in contemj^hation like the former
one, on account of the arrogance and other signs
noticed among the Caribs in their dyes and bearing,
especially when they met the lowest of the foreign
Hollanders, supposing that, as they were so very near
Esquivo, they could escape at any time from our
Missions. Finally, it was discovered that they had
contemplated to quit tlie Missions of the exponent
and the otlier Reverend Fathers and take refuge at
Parava, under the protection of the Hollanders.
111. That natuially the Esquivo Colonists in-
creased their wealth by the service of so many In-
dian slaves, and in proportion to the ingress of
many Englishmen their plantations were multiplied
to the point of wanting yet more farming lands.
On pretence of keeping advanced Post Guards they
extended their plantations and territories; that the
Indians reported that they had already extended
their plantations, occupying all the banks of the
Esquivo river from its mouth up to the Cuyuni, a
distance of about 20 leagues of navigation ; that at
the mouth of the Cuyuni, up the Esquivo river at
eight days of navigation, they had a guard of six
soldiers, and along that distance of eight days there
were no plantations, on account of the soil being
sandy.
112. That in the year of 1758 the exponent re-
ported to the Commander of Guayana that at the
Cuyuni river, under the cover of a Post, there was a
settlement of two Dutch families with their house
and farms; that an order was given to seize them,
and a patent of the Governor was taken from them
containing the orders that they had to observe,
14S
ami wliich the .exponent lorwardcMl, markcil witli tlie
letter C.
Lettci-r. 113. This |)atciit l>v the (lovcriKM- of l'%(|uiv<),
xo.s.copy dated on the •J'.'th of Sci item her, ll'u, directs the
ol last rue- '
lions of the Master of the Post at the ( "uvuni river to keep on
Master 1)1 • 1
CuviiuT^ "* friendly terms with llie Indian neighhurs, and not
to do tliem any liai'm, nor dcpiive them of tiieir
|iro|)ei'tv, nor allow others to do so; to l;e careful
not to offend the Spaniards nor give them any
grounds of complaint : tliat lie was hound to ohserve
and wateli where said Spaniards were hnildinii; their
houses; to follow their movements on the Cuynni
so that they would not hrini;' any trouhle and, if
thev received any harm from them to send notice
to the Governor of Esquivo, and do the same if any
parties should go there for the purpose of collecting-
debts : not to permit any negotiation in saiil river,
unless the parties concerned had pow'ers to do so l\v
their passport; that the Indians who were owing-
slaves, should not l)e allowed any advance of goods
in trade until the i)ayment and delivery of the slaves
due; not to forl)id the Indians to travel nor be de-
tained on their way to make ])ayments; to carefully
■watch and find out the fui>itives. and that when he
knew of any to seek them until arrested, and after
Ijeing a])prehende(l to dtdiver tlu'in to the (iovei'uor
and collect ten ihjrins jier head, and the cliargc on
the -laves of any other party; that the masters of
slaves going after tliem, when rumnng away, ought
to pass freely even when they have iiad no time to
be]»rovided with passports, and to render them assist-
ance and hel|); that the fompauy allowed liim
power to conduct freely his business on his pi'ivate
account, on condition that everything should be
purchased from the Company in preference, as he
would be charged the same price for the same kind
of goods; that he was bound to collect all debts due
to his immediate predecessor at the Post, collecting
149
ten florins per head likewise and one florin for each
hammock ; that it was his duty to report to the Gov-
ernor all his purchases and dehts collected and also
to send to the Governor twice a year a statement of
everything done, and that he was bound to reside
always at the Post, as a good officer of Esquivo.
114. The representation of the Father Prefect of
the Missions accompanies, likewise, a list of the No. s.
names of those Caribs from wdiom (said Master of .Letter
^ trom the
the Post) had to collect 27 Poytos (Indian slaves) P«'f':c^.»f
' J \ / the Mission,
and 37 hammocks, marked with the letter D, add- foi-^-
ing that the Commander .sent two Hollanders to the
Governor of Cumana, Don Nicolas de Castro, asnd
that the above mentioned were p apers written in
Dutch.
115. This list contains the same items mentioned,
adding only that the Caribs, through whom he ought xo. 8.
to make the purchase of Poytos were ten, and those Letter d.
for the purchase of hammocks were three, and that List of
' _ ' debts.
in said list were found the names of the above-men-
tioned Caribs.
116. Following his representation, the Prefect
stated that the other Hollanders who had been >jo .^
domiciled at the nearest point, above the Cuyuni, Letter
near the mouth of the Curumo (river), not far from prefect of
Cavallaju, had withdrawn ; that was the inference sion/foLB.
when they tried to acquire neW' sites, in order to
allege possession and, in time, make a noise if they
had no boundaries fixed, as already imagined, that
the whole Cuyuni river is theirs, when, indeed, their
guards did not go before any farther than its mouth ;
that it was shown by said written orders, regulating
the conduct of the Corporal of the Cuyuni, that he
considered the same place as his own, as well as the
Moruca and Barima rivers, as mentioned now in his
complaint against said Commander General, using
the words " insults and high-handed ways," on ac-
count of their expulsion from the advanced place of
150
Barima, as it has been noticed : tlmt in (heir (Dutch)
hinds tliere was a Large niultitinlc (»f Indian allies
Avhich they had from three ti'ihes. that is to sa}',
Carihs, Araucas, and Guaraunos, without mention-
ing the Indian shives, as thoy n(^v(r rcstrain(Ml their
l»ad habits nor spoke of Christian doctrine; they
enjoyed their life, and others came to increase (heir
number; that tlie j)rinci{)al Caribs they had with
them were fugitives from our settlements and of the
Reverend Father Observants ; that they always tried
to attract others, and, as they were familiar with the
Province and of a roving disposition, they ke]>t pro-
curi-ng Indian slaves for (he lienetit of the foreigners.
117. That the territory of the Missions of the expo-
nent for the reduction of Indians was marked by
cedule of His Majesty of the year 1736, as foUows:
From the Angostura of (lie Orinoco (river), down to
its large mouth, and a straight line; from both ends
to the Amazonas and Marairon rivers. That this
(cedule) and the above complaint of the Governor of
Esquivo, made doubtful to the exponent whetlier he
was to be allowed to go inland in future in the work
of reducing Indians from the saiil phices of Barima,
Moruca, Cuyuni, and even on the coast, and as i( was
necessary for his practice in the reduction of Indians,
he thought proper to lay the subject of liis doubt
before His Majesty.
No. 8, leuer 118. There is also in this No. S a letter from the
c.
same Reverend l^'r. Benito Garriga, dated .Inlv G,
Lett IT of ,, , , "i-
the s:iiae 1/(3/, addrcsscd to tlie ravmaster General ot his
Prefect. '. . "...
order, in which he states that if it was possible for the
Hollanders of Esquivo to complain before the King,
on account of the foregoing subjects mentioned in his
report, he thought that it was proper to inform His
Majesty, so as to have him pos((Ml in regard to the
conduct of those strangers; that they were endeav-
oring to extend their territory, not only towards
Barima and Cuyuni, but far above the Esquivo
151
river inland with tlieir Guard Posts; that on that
account it was to be feared that some trouble and
difference might happen in the future between them
and ourselves, on account of the Indians on the
present occasion, and in order to avoid difficulties to
the Missionaries it was proper to propose his doubts
in the form already stated.
119. That on one occasion the exponent com-
plained to a Dutch Hollander, (arrived from Es-
quivo to reside in Guayana), about the cause of the
revolt of the Caribs of our Missions in 1750, and he
answered that it was because the Fathers made the
sites of their Missions within their own territor}^ ;
that that of Curumo overstepped the line they drew
from the mouth of the Acquiri river to the south,
and that this territory had been in their possession
since the year 1740, in which their term had ex-
pired, and the King of Spain had not contradicted
them ; that the Mission of Miamo was distant from
Curumo about ten leagues, according to the opinion
of the Dutchmen, and that either they themselves
or we were in error about the jurisdiction of the ter-
ritory ; that that same Hollander was well aware of
the pretensions of those of Esquivo ; that he like-
wise sent to His Majesty a statement of the condi-
tion of our Missions, that, according to the above
cedule, ought to be forwarded to the King every
year ; that he had not done so before, because he
was busy with the occupation and novelty of the
transfer of the four Missions, ordered by His Ma-
jesty; that besides the twelve Reverend Fathers
lately arrived fron Spain, in the year 1764, he wanted
eleven more Priests, and one more to act as nurse,
witii the approval that he sent from the Commander
General of that Province in the middle of the pre-
vious year; that they ought to go as soon as possible
as there were two Carib settlements without a Mis-
sionary on that account, and they had to organize
No. 8.
Lettrr V
lc2
other settlements at Parava and Caroiif on the upper
south bank, in order to (h-aw near the Rio Negro, so
as to stop there tlic ingress of the strangers and
Caribs, who destroyed the tribes of those territories.
120. From this statement of the condition of the
Missions it api)e{irs that thcrr are twenty-one Mis-
sions, tliat fourteen tribes of Indians were still want-
ing suitable settlements, and that lie appointed fur
every one of them the necessary ^lissionaries, specify-
ing t!ie name of the Fathers in each one, giving the
total number of baptized Indians from the time of the
corresponding foundation, tlie niarriagcs, the Inii'i-
als, baptisms, and those already existing in each.
121. And finding nothing else in the above docu-
Dockftdo. i|-iejit^ jjy ^vay of reserved matter, than an Index of
Letter X. tAveuty-two consultatious brought to His Majesty on
^ xo 1. p^oi. sgyei.<|i occasions by the Council upon the following
particulars, the first of them dated Septendjer G,
^_ Consult a- 1705, about the reports from the Governor of Cn-
sep. 11,170.5. mana on the subject of the commerce carried on by
the Martinique Island Frenchmen at the Guarapi-
che river, and the slavery in whicli tliey ke[)t the
Indians, so that His Majesty might ap})ly to His
Most Christian Sovereign for strict orders forbidding
this commerce for its consequences. His Majesty, in
Resolution response to the above consultation, said : "The Am-
ot His Ma- ^
jesty. bassador of the King, my Grandfather, lias taken
charge of sending a report of these facts and of mak-
ing me acquainted with the orders that may be dic-
tated by France, upon the subject." Said resolution
was puhlisliod by the Council 011 the 2nth of the
same month.
122. The second consultation was on the 7th of
June, 1723, in which the Council, in compliance
with the directions of His Majesty, represented what
was thought proper tor the [>i'oi)osed fortification of
the Orinoco river, so as to protect the Missions and
prevent the commerce and arrival of strangers.
X'">
His Majesty issued tlie following resolution: "The
Council will find my resolution on the subject con-
tained in my accompanying decree herewith."
123. Tlie third consultation was made on the 2Sth ,J^^;^^^^,'i°JJf
of February, 1725, about the petition of Don Juan '^^''^■-«' ^"-■^•
Alonso Es|)inosa de los Monteros, asking permission
to build a fort and establish a city on the coast of
the Province of Cumana, and to bring to the same
fifty families from the Canary Islands, in a vessel of
a 150 tons register. The council was of the opinion
that His Majesty might acquiesce to said petition
under the condition therein contained. The King's
resolution was as follows : " I return to the Council
the consultation, with the petition and report of Don
Cristobal Felix de Guzman on the same subject, so
as to be consulted of what will be done." Said
resolution was published in the Council of the 2d of
April, 1725, and forwarded to the Solicitor with the
antecedents of the case.
124. The fourth consultation was on the 12th of Fourth:con-
su 1 1 at ion
June, 1725, in which the Council, following the J""e 12,1725.
decision of His Majesty on the consultation, sent it
back to him on the 26th of February of the same
year, and sends the petition of Don Cristobal de
Guzman, requesting his permission to settle and pop-
ulate different places in the Province of Cumana.
His Majesty decided as follow^s: "The resolution
contained in the accompanying decree will show
the Council my decision in regard to these consul-
tations."
125. The fifth consultation was on the 5th of Fifth con-
suit ation.
April, 172S, in which the Council responded to the April 5, ms..^
Royal Order of His Majesty accompanying a peti-
tion from Don Carlos Sucre, requesting the appoint-
ment of Governor of Cumana and other measures in
connection with the erection of a Castle on the Ori-
noco river, with his reasons. The resolution was as
follows : " Let the Council issue the necessarv orders
1 :. 1
ill f(»iii|ili;inci', ])r('C'c(liiig his rcjiDrt to mv of the
co.st and kind of su|)p(»rt that the ('nuricil exjiucts,
antl whet ill-ran engineer <mulit to go to llii-^ con-
struct ion, and wliere to cnlj |i ir t hr iK^eessMry t'nnds."'
1 1 wa'^ laihiisjicil in ( nniicil on tiie Itii of .lulw and
liiiwarded lo the Attorney of the 'rrmsuiy in regard
to tlie supplies to be lurnislicil to tiic engineer for
his ioiiniev and desiuiiatiiiu the ollit-e wliere to call
for sail! payment.
^'1^K The sixth consultation was maih' on tlie 10th
su'nathm" <'^" NoVeluher, 1 7-l>^. ill wiliell tlie <'olineil, ill virtiiG
>..v.io. 172S. ,,|ji,,, |j,,y;,l Order of Ilis iShijesty sending a letter
from hoii .liiaii (h- la Toriiera Soto, Governor of tlie
Trovince of Ciuayana, a:^ked to hv. kept in the pos-
session of the franchise to found a city in that Pro-
vince, as ai)})lied for before, stating his reasons, His
Majesty's resolution was: "Compare the same."
of^^His'^'C ^^ ^^■''•'* pii^lished in Council on the llth of Sej)tem-
J''^«^- ' " ber, 1733.
127. The seventh consultation was on the 31st of
con.suita- ^Farch, 1729, ill which the Council, in eonij)liance
t i o 11 ii n <1 ■ 1 T r • ■» r • • r>
ri'soiutioii, with His Maiestv s Koval order, lorwaivhnga memo-
March .ii, ■ . .
'"-'•'• rial (petition) from Don Cristobal Felix de Guzman,
repeating his former proposition for building and
founding a .settlement in the neighborhood of
Cumana, and erecting a fortress on the Orinoco
river, the Government granting him the Command
of the Province, stating his reasons. The King re-
solved : 1 acce{)t the o{)inion of the Council, and ac-
crirding to the consultation (jUote<l of theofli of April.
172.S, will extend the resolution I have taken on the
points tlierein coiilaiiUMl."" ll was puldished in
Council on the 4tli (.f July, 172i>.
128. The eighth consultation was on the lUth of
July, 1721», in eoin[>liance with His Majesty's resolu-
E 1 Kh th
CO II s II I t a -
i:l".t.'' ■ ' tion of the consultation (pioted in regard to the h(
necessary for the engineer sent to buihl a Castle on
the <)riiioco river, and select the otticc for the pay-
155
inent, witli the necessary remarks. His Majesty
resolved: "As requested, allowed in regard to the
traveling expenses, but not as regards the increase
of salarv or dailv allowance above what is allowed
to all the other engineers in America." Published
in Council on the 29th of August of the said year
1729.
129. The ninth consultation was on the 15th of
September, 1729, in regard to His Majesty's decree
sending a vessel and revenue cutters to the mouth
of the Orinoco river, to be kept there during the
time of the construction of the fortress, and to be
under Don Carlos Sucre, with the other remarks.
Tne resolution was as follows : " I have decided to
SQnd the necessary orders addressed to the Com-
mander of the windward squadron. It was pub-
lished in Council on the 27th of September of the
same year of 1729."
130. The tenth consultation was on the 21st of
Februar}', 1731, in compliance with the Royal order
of His Majesty sending a memorial from Colonel
Don Carlos Sucre, asking that the Government of
Guayana, fortress be added to that of the one
allowed him by His Majesty, and to be erected on
the Orinoco river, giving particulars. The resolu-
tion was as follows : " Granted ; orders will be given
accordingly." Published in Council on the ISth of
June of the same year, and the orders were likewise
issued.
131. The eleventh consultation was on the 30th
of April, 1731, in which the Council, in compliance
with the Royal order of His Majesty, sent a letter
from Don Carlos Sucre, advising of his not having
received the despatches, concerning the construc-
tion of a fort that His Majesty had decided to build
at the Island of Fajardo in the Orinoco river, and
the steps that he suggested for its accomplishment,
•with other remarks. His Majesty resolved : " I am
Resolution
of His Ma-
jesty.
Xinth con-
s u 1 1 a tioii,
Septem b e r
15, 172t).
Resolu-
tion o f t h e
Kins-
Tenth con-
sultation of
February 21,
1731.
Resolu-
tion of His
Majesty.
Eleve n t h
CO n s u 1 1 a -
tion, April
30, 1731.
T w .'1 11 I
<• i> II s 11 1 I a
t i 11 II, S I' i>
I I' 111 l"i
17:;.'.
156
ti.Mi'oV'iVi's '^'''y iiitoi'iiied, and agree in o])inion with the Coun-
•^'"*"-'-'- .-ih"' Published on the iStli of Jinu' ..I' the same
year, and the corresponding orders.
132. The tvvelftli consultation was on tlic 17tli of
Si'jiteniber, 1732, in con][)liance with tiie Royal order
it" sending the representation ami j)ro)ect proi)osed by
J )on Cristobal Felix de Gn/.inan t'oi- the change to
Angostura, on the ( )iiii()((i rixcr, of the construction
accorded Ijy his Majesty, in charge of Don Carlos
Sucre, of the fort in the Island of Fajardo with other
remarks, being of oi)inion adverse to the petition,
his Majest}^ resolved as foUows: "This proposition
R.soiution and petition is refused to Don Cristobal Felix de
ot his Mil- A
jest.v. Guzman, and for the rest I have in consideration
the consultation of tlie 2<1 of September, 1737."^
Published in Council on the lOtli of Decemlior,
1738.
cons'uua- l'^'^- d"he thirteentli consultation was on the 2()th
t.'>n"ih-r*X '^^' September, 1731, in which the Council, in coni-
'"^^" pliance with the Royal order by his Majesty, accom-
panied by a letter from Don Carlos de Sucre, Gov-
ernor of tlie Province of Cumana, and a list of his
propositions binding himself to Iniihl at his own ex-
pense the fort that was to be under his charge in the
Island of Fajardo, with fitting remarks to liis
Ke.soiution Majcsty ; the resolution of his Majestv was as fol-
of Ilis Ma- , '^^ T 1 • 1 i • I 1 • J.
Jest.v. lows: 1 have given my resohition on the suhjcM't,
about the c<msultation of September 2, 1737."' It
was })ublished in the Council on the Kith of Decem-
ber, 1738.
Koiiit.-.iitii 234 7iio fourteenth consultation was on the 2r)th
eiHisuliatiiin,
^'■^)'i7:5'r' *^^' December, 1734, in compliance witii the Royal
order of His Majesty, sending a letter Iron Don
Carlos de Sucre, Governor of the Province of
('umana, about the submission of the Pai'ia Indian
tril)e that he had accom[)lished, iiringing them
Kosoiutioii under Ilis Majesty's obedience, with othei- remaiks.
.M:ijcs'ty. Tlic rcsolutiou was as follows : "■ I am dnlv informed."'
It was published at the Council on the 10th of De-
cern l^er, 1738.
135. The filteenth consultation was on the 2cl of ^^Fmee»^t.|i_^
September, 1737, in wliicli the Council, in obedience ^^''.^^"gV;*"' '
to the Royal orders of His Majesty, sent two letters to
the Governor of Curanna, finding impracticable the
construction of the fortress required by His Majesty
at the island of Fajardo ; a memorial from the Mar-
quis of San Felipe y Santiago, and another from
the Governor of the island of Trinidad, soliciting
tlie aforesaid Governorship of Cumana under several
qualifications made with other remarks to His Maj-
estv, and it was resolved :" Granted. The chamber Resolution
' "^ ^ _ ot His
will propose the persons possessing the necessary Majesty,
qualifications for the discharge of the duties de-
volved upon the one that I may select, and will
advise the Council aljout all the particulars stated,
bearing in mind for this purpose and for the corres-
ponding orders, the contents of the accompanying
letters lately received from Don Carlos Sucre, who
is already according to my orders an engineer in
Cumana." All was published at the Council on the
10th of December, 1738.
136. The sixteenth consultation was on February i^ixtrenth
• consultation,
10, 1740, and in compliance with the Roval Order February lo,
of His Majesty sending a memorial from the Gov-
ernor-elect of Cumana requesting power to appoint
a person to take charge of the Governorship ad in-
terim, while busy wath the construction of the fort-
ress that His Majesty had directed to Ije built at the
Angostura of the Orinoco river, with the other fran-
chises granted to Don Carlos de Sucre, and other
fitting remarks. His Majesty resolved granting the Resolution
. . T . 1 T 1 'i • .-1 -1 ^1 /.ii of His Ma-
petition, and it was puhiished ni Council on the Otli jesty.
of April, 1740.
137. The seventeenth consultation was on Septem- ^ ^ ^,
'■ Seventeenth
ber 17. 1740, in view of a memorial by Don Isidro ^■g"'^"!/,\V,|-°"'
<le Andrade, sent by order of His IMajesty, promis- ^"' i"^^'-
158
iiij;- to l)uilil ;it his own expeu.-e' tlic U>v{ rctjuircd by
lli.s MciJL's;.}' on the Orinoco river, ami anotlier pre-
sented to the Council desisting- from his pretensions,
and i)roinising to I'uniish at any desiiiiiatc'il place
the lime and timber needcil joi- the work, on condi-
tion tiiat His Majest}' would appoint him (Governor
of the Island of Trinidad, making him a Lieutenant
Colonel, with the other remarks of the Council,
The r(\<o]ution was as follows; " T will appoint a
of mi"Ma- well-known officer of the army, and not Don Tsidro
jesty. de Andrade." Published in Council on the 7th of
September, 1741.
Kii^htLiiith 233 '-pij^, eighteenth consultation was on the lolh
c o n suit a- ^
li^im^^"'*^ of April, 1749, in which the Council placed in the
hands of His Majesty several representations, testi-
monies, and other documents received from tlie pre:t-
ent Governors and sent fromCumana, with an index
of the sanre, concerning other papers which in the
year 1747 went as a reserved matter, so that in con-
sideration of everything His Majesty should decide
according to his pleasure about tlie same. Ami be
tion of His rcsolved : " 1 have directed that the Treasurv office
.Majesty.
at Caracas meet the necessarv pavments toi- the
construction of the proposed fortress. Coming back
to the Council, all the documents contained in tlie
above indexes have to be exarnineii, on various
points as to their connection with matters of justice,
and will consult me what must bi- resolved." .\11 of
which was nublished at the Council on the 2()tb of
4.
August, 1749.
.NiiH'n.iith lo'O. The nineteenth consultation was on the 20th
f o n s 11 II a-
iioii,_ April of April, 17 ")2, in which the ('ouiu-il presented to
His Majesty the re(piest made again by the llev-
erend Vv. Francisco Xi>tal Yanez, of the Order of
San Francisco, for 25 soldiers to serve as escort of the
Missionaries of his (»rder in the < )riiioco river, besides
the 15 already allowed for that service, and in case
that His Majesty <lid not agree to transfer the afl'air
159 -
to the Governor of Cumana. His Majesty resolved as
follows: " I have issued the corresponding resolution, tion of hls
and the Missionaries may a})i)ly to the iTOvernor.
All that was published in Council on the 11th of
July, 1752.
140. The twentieth consultation was on the 10th con.suitation,,
„, -T-, >. 1-1 1 r^ ■^ ■ T April 10, 17.52.
of April, l/o2, in winch the Council, in compli-
ance with the Royal orders, accompanying a let-
ter and a testimony of the proceedings of the
Governor of Cumana and other documents men-
tioned by Plis Majesty, in regard to a Dutch prize
made by the Garrison of Guayana on the Orinoco
river, tlie Council was of the opinion that the per-
sons apprehended were to be sent to work at the for-
tress of La Carraca, and that orders should be issued
to that effect. " Granted, and the order has been ot^ms" Ma-
issued for the construction of the fort and the ship- -"^^ ^'
ment of the artillery." Published in Council on the
15th of July, 1752.
141. The twenty-first consultation was (jii tlie 22d flrst\^onsui-
of September, 1752, in which the Council, taking in tember 'PI]
consideration the exposition of the Prior General of
the Missions of the Capucliin Fathers in Guayana,
asking- for a stiitable militarv escort, on account of
the revolt of the lour Carib settlements, and for the
powers requested by the Prefect of said Missions for
the removal of the soldiers, asking an amnesty for
insurgents ; the Council was of the opinion that
His Majesty acceed to the petition. The resolution
was as follows : " I have decided what was published Resolution
in Cumcil on the 22d of December of the same jesty.^*'
year."
142. The twenty-second consultation, the last of second "on-
the index, which was added, bears date of Septem- September
ber 11, 1759, in which the Council, in view of what
was represented by the Governor of Cumana and
the Prior of the Missions of the Capuchin Fathers
from Aragon, asking for fourteen mure members of
1 ( ;( )
their order for the ^^issioIls tliov maintained in tliat
Province. Tlie original answer of the Attorney
General was placed in tlie liandsot' His ^fajesty,and
accepting- his opinion, he ac(piiesed and allowed the
reque.-t, with iliiections for the payment of their
transportation at the Trearniy dliiee of San Sabas-
tian, as suggested hy the report of tlie Accomptant
accom{)anying this consultation, and His Majesty
Kcsoiutinii I'csolved as follows: " Granted ; and in regard to the
of His Ma- . c 1 • -.r- • T 1
jesty. su{)pnes and transportation oi tins iMission, 1 have
issued the necessary orders." Published in Council
on the "iOth of September, 1750.
Docket do. ^^"^^ ^^"'^ having placed these proceedings and
Proceed- auucxes in the hands of the Attorney General as
'"^'"day."'*" directed by the Minister, in his answer of the ()th
T,<tt.ro. of August, 1774, he said: That, in the proceedings
Nv). 1. instituted, in consequence of tlie pretensions of the
]\Iinister of Holland assuming his right or dominion
on his part to fish in that portion of (Jrinoco river,
and that he was disturbed and unjustly ejected by
the subjects of His Majesty, In- recalls the fact that,
ill order to cai'ry out the Royal order of September
10. 17<i'.», he requested from the Secretary of the
riii\-ersal Depai'tment of Indies, as well as from the
Council, all the documents and antecedents to be
found in connection with the subject.
14-i. That it was done and that he received a
large amount of pa{)ers, letters and documents, and
that having taken thorn all into mature con-
sideration, he foiunl that it was a pi'otracted
matter, wanting close attention and considerable
time, that he needed for the discharge of his duties,
and in order to avoid this inconvenience, he sug-
gested that the whole affair should be submitted to
a Relator of the pleasure of the Council, so as to
take special notes and an ab.stract of all the ante-
cedents a in 1 fact-; up to tlu' present time, and when
that had lieeii done, to send il back to him (the
161
Attorney General) so as to submit liis further views
and report to His Majesty.
145. And the Council having accepted this sug-
gestion by decree of the 1st of September, 1774, all
the proceedings were delivered to me for the purpose
already explained by the answer of the Attorney
General. That was the result.
The foregoing copy agrees with the original docu-
ments kept in the General Archives of the Indies in
the Bookshelf 131— Case 7— Docket 17. Seville,
December 26th, 1890.
The Keeper of the Archives.
Carlos Jimenez Placer — [here is a flourish].
[seal.] — General Archives of the Indies.
The undersigned, Consul General of Venezuela in
Spain, certifies to the authenticity of the signature
of Don Carlos Jimenez Placer, Keeper of the General
Archives of the Indies.
Madrid, January 10th, 1891.
P. Fortoult Hurtado.
The undersigned, Minister of Foreign Affairs of
the United States of Venezuela, certifies to the au-
thenticity of the signature of Seiior Pedro Fortoult
Hurtado, Consul General at the preceding date.
Caracas, March 6th, 1896.
P. Ezequiel Rojas,
[seal.] — Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Vol. n, Ven.— U
1G2
No. IX.
[Translation.]
Stand 131.— Case 7.— Docket 17.
General Auchives of thk Indies. — (Seville.)
Document No. 8.
1 709.— Certified eopy jfiven at the City of Santo Thome de
\i\ Gnayana, on the 20th of Noveniher, 170t), sij;ned
hy several civil and ecclesiastical authorities, in rej^ard
to the jfood services rendered by the General Coni-
inan<ler of this Province of Guayana an<l the new set-
tlements of the iijUK'r and lower Orinoco and Rio Negro
in preventing' the ingress of foreigners and illicit trad-
ers on the Orinoco, dislodging th<* H<»llanders from the
Barima rivi'r, which they had usurped with parts of
the laiKls on their banks, etc.
(It caBic with letter No. .i from the Governor, Don Manuel Centurion, dated on
the 5tli of April, 1770.)
It forms a part of the proceedings instituted on account of
the report of the Minister from Holland, complaining of the
conduct of tlie Spaniards against the Esquivo Colony.
We, Don Juan Josef Canales, an Ecclesiastical Judge, Rec-
tor and Vicar of this City of Santo Thome do la Guayana;
Don Andres de Oleaga, Royal Accomptant of the same;
Don Jose Bosse, Captain of Infantry and Sergeant IVIajor of
the Orinoco troops ; Don Juan Antonio Bonalde, Captain of
Infantry of the same ; Don Nicolas Martinez, Lieutenant Com-
mander of Artillery; Don Antonio Barreto, Lieutenant of
Infantry and Chief Adjutant of the same; and the resident
officers and civilians, Captain Don Diego Ignacio Marino, the
193
Militia Captain; Don Vicente Franco; Lieutenant Don Juan
de Jesus Mier; Don Joaquin de Mieres ; Don Cayetano Fil-
gueyra y Barcia, and tlie Militia Captain Calixto de Lesema,
etc., certify before all those to whom the present may be shown
that Don Manuel Centurion Guerrero de Torres, Ro^'al Cap-
tain of the Artillery Corps, General Commander of this City
and Province of Guayana and the new settlements of the lower
and upper Orinoco and Rio Negro, has endeavored and con-
tinues to endeavor in securing, from the time of his arrival,
with indefatigable diligence and Constance, the greatest im-
provement of this Province and its dependencies, having for-
tified provisionally and placed in a state of defence the moun-
tain of Padrastro of the Castle of San Francisco de Asis, the
bulwark and safety of this Province; that for the same pur-
pose he had removed the four settlements called Piacoa, Tipu-
rua, Vijacoa and Unata, from the proximity of the fortress to
other places (where an enemy intending attack upon the Prov-
ince) could not make any use of them; that he armed and
built two launch corsairs to prevent the entrance of foreigners
and illicit traders in the Orinoco, persecuting and seizing
them on the seacoast of Paria, Trinidad, and Gulf Triste.
He likewise dislodged from the Barima river the usurping
Hollanders who had settled on its margins, in alliance with
over eight thousand Carib Indians, natives of that territorv.
He built a powder magazine in this capital, provisional head-
quarters for the troop, a commodious hospital for the sick, and
well-secured lodgings for the laborers of the fortress.
He had erected a small fort furnished with artillery, guarded
by eight soldiers, and a new Indian settlement in the Caura
river, theater of the inhuman war waged by the Caribs for
their infamous commerce of Indian Poytos or slaves to be sold
to the Esquivo Hollanders; he had, likewise, explored the
immense cocoa fields of the upper Orinoco, and, in order to
improve the commerce in these staples, he continues the pop-
ulation of the Indian settlements in these territories, support-
ing and keeping there a captain settler and some Andalu-
sian Capuchin Missioners, with an officer and troop, escorting
them up to Rio Negro, where they have established new settle-
ii;4
incuts, and the Missions of La Ivsmcrald;), Saint Tliillip, Saint
Fmncisco Solano and Santa Barbara, keeping those of San
('arltis and Ma\^pures, found (^d hy tlic boundary expedition,
lie ha.s likewise trained and dressed in unilorni all the troops
of this Province, whitdi be tound in a nnjst deplorable condi-
tion of abandonment and nudity for want of economy on the
part of the Directoi". He has brought together and populated
cit Pan de Azucar the dispersed Indians from tlie Mission of
Cabruta and the fugitive tribes iVoin the Province of Barce-
lona in the new settlements of Tajaquire an«l ('> rro del Mtito,
and has loundiMl tbe three new Missions of Panapana, Marua-
note, and Orocopiche, in the proximity of this capital, at a dis-
tance of two or thi'ee leagues, for their commerce and mainte-
nance. He has conniienced and is carrying on witb the
greatest activity the erection of a magnificent churcii in tbis
capital, ot a model and architecture seldom seen in America.
He has founded a town called Borbon, inhabited by Spanish
families from the Province of Xew Barcelona, without taxing
the King with rations for their maintenance on tbe first year,
nor any otlicr expenses, as it was the customary case with other
new townships in former times.
lie has likewise erected a small fort in the interior of tbi.s
Province at the I'aragua river, guarded with artillery and
soldiers to prevent the Hollanders from taking away tbe Poytos
they used to draw from the headwaters of tbe Orinoco i-iver
for the service of their Colony on the Atlantic coast of tbis
continent. He has improved and increased the city with o\er
sixty tile-roofed houses with common walls, l)ringing as many
families from the Provinces to inhabit tliem, and enjoy con-
veniences which they did not possess in their own country or
that they have found at present among the inhabitants of
Guayana.
And,linally, in (be disjtosition (;f cattle ranches and S])ani>h
settlements to be established at the ui)per Orinoco by His
Majesty's directions. And in all these new an<l imj)ortant en-
terprises ami those accomj)lisbed by tlu' communities of Mis-
sioners supported by said ( ieneral Commandei', bis true zeal,
wise government, ami gcnci-ous conduct are manifest, as well
165
as his endeavors to promote the welfare of this Province and
the benefits to be derived by the Crown of Spain from fostering
the safety and advancement of thi.s extensive Province, so ad-
vantageously situated, being the nearest to Spain from Amer-
ica, a constant trade can be secured with those kingdoms,
even in time of war, without fear of their vessels being inter-
ce[)ted or seized by the enemy's corsairs or crusiers, as there
is no obstacle or any fixed place to wait for them, from the
large mouth of the Orinoco to the shores of Spain.
And, finally, we do our duty (free from bias), in advocating
for the Orinoco as the only safe and handy place, held by the
King in America, in time of war — he may communicate his
necessary orders to all of these dominions within twenty and
twenty-five days. We have to state, likewise, that if the Gen-
eral Commader would be provided witli the necessary means,
according to his diligence, activity, intelligence, and the favor-
able disposition of many persons desiring to settle in the neigh-
boring Provinces, attracted by the conveniences and fertilities
of this most beautiful and extensive Province, on account of
its commerce and amenity, it would become, within a short
time, a New Spain for the State, with all the above advantages,
making it the most distinguished, and therefore deserving the
first attention of His Majesty.
Ill order to appreciate the force and truth of the foregoing-
statement, it is enough to observe the benefit derived by
strangers from the French Colony of Cayena, and the Hol-
landers from those of Surinam, Berbis (Berbice) and Esquivo,
on the eastern shore of their Province, and it win be found that
in the first and second one within less than thirt}' leagues in-
land (navigation on the rivers of their names), they keep a
steady commerce, employing over two hundred vessels each
one, and a few less vessels respectively the third and last, of
less population and close to the sea coast. If those colonies
yield to their inhabitants such an abundance of commercial
products, within so short a distance inland, how much more
could be expected from the magnitude and extension (as
plainly and well known) of the Orinoco trade, in consideration
of its population, advantages, and general establishment.
1 ('.(■>
We certify the truth of the present stateiiK'iit (free from any
interested motives) so us to make it known, and for t lie best
interest of both Majesties (giving- us due credit). All the fore-
going facts are true, and as such we state them, as it is our
duty to present them (undeceiving those whom it may con-
cern), at the verbal request of said Commander General, and
sign herewith on common paj^er, as there is none stamped in
this citv of San Thome de la (iuavana, on the "iOth dav of
November of 17<)9.
Juan Joseph Can ales.
Joseph Bosse.
Andres de Oleaga.
Juan Bonalde.
Nicolas Martinez.
Antonio Barreto.
VivENTE Franco.
Diego Ignacio Marino.
Juan de Jesus de Arrieros.
Cayetano Filgueyra y Barzia.
Joaquin Arrieres.
Calixto Lezama.
It agrees with its (jriginal i»aper made at the re«jUest of Don
Manuel Centurion, General Commander of this Province, and
we attest to the truth of said order, as acting witnesses, lor
the want of a Notary Public, and take this copy faithfully
written and corrected, in three folios of common paper, for want
of stamps ill this I'l'ovinee, and .signed in the city of (Juayana
on the 4th of April, 17<)0.
Diego Ignacio Marino — [there is a flourish].
Estevan Mir — [there is a flourish.]
We, Don J nan Joseph Canales, Rector of the Parish and
city of Guayana, and Vicar of the same ami of the Province,
and Ecclesiastical Judge, and Andres de Oleaga, Accomptnnt
167
Officer of the Royal Treasury, certify : that the two signatures
authorizing the foregoing testimony, are those of Don Diego
Ignacio Marino and Estevan Mir, residents of this city, and
the witnesses with whom, for want of Notary Public, extends
his official acts, his Honor the Commander General in his tri-
bunal, combining the qualities and circumstances prescribed
by the laws of this Kingdom, and therefore entitled to full
faith and credit, both in judicial or extra-judicial acts.
In testimony whereof we give the present in this City of
Guayana, on the 4th of April, 1770.
Juan Joseph Canales,
Andres de Oleaga.
(With their flourishes.)
This copy agrees with its corresponding original, existing in
the General Archives of the Indies, in Stand 131 — Case 7 —
Docket 17— Seville, December the 29th, 1890.
The Chief of Archives.
Carlos Jimenez Placer — [here is a flourish].
[seal.] — General Archives of the Indies.
The undersigned, Consul General of Venezuela, in Spain,
certifies to the authenticity of the signature of Seiior Carlos
Jimenez Placer, Chief of the General Archives of the Indies.
Madrid, January 14th, 1891.
P. FoRTOULT HuRTADO — [here is a flourish].
The undersigned. Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United
States of Venezuela, certifies to the authenticity of the signa-
ture of Senor Pedro Foutoult Hurtado, Consul General of
Vevezuela in Spain at the time of the above date.
Caracas, March 6th, 1896.
P. EZEQUIEL ROJAS.
[seal.] — Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
168
No. X.
[Translation.]
Stand 131. — Case 7. — Docket IT.
General Archives of the Inpie-s. — (.Seville.^
1769.
Consultation by t lie Council of the Indies to His .^lajesty
about the «les|>at<h and reixu-t of the 3Iinister ol Hol-
laiul, <-oniplaininjj^ of the <M)ndu<'t of the Spaniards of
Orinoco aj;ainst the C<d<Miy of l"^s<iuiv(»— Madrid, the
27tli of October, 17<>*.).
It forms part of the proceedings instituted in regard to the
claim ])y the Minister of Holland, complaining of the conduct
of the Sj)aiiinrds of Orinoco against the (\)lony of Esquivo.
Marquis of 8t. Juan de Picdras Albas, Don Estevan Jose de
Abarca, Don Philipe de Arco, Marquis of A'aldelirios, Don
Manuel Pablo de Salcedo, Don Jose Banti, Don Marcos
Ximeno, Don.J)omingo de Trespaacios, Marquis de Aranda,
Don Manuel P>ernardo de Quiros, Don Pedro Calderon.
Sir: Tn obedience to His Majesty's order, the P)ailiir, I''r.
Don Julian de Arriaga, sent with a pa})er dated on the 10th
of September last, a despatch that the Minister of Holland
had addressed, comj)laining of tbe conduct of the Spaniards
established in the Orinoco against the Dutch Colony of Esquivo,
as stated in detail, by his accomj)anying report, with a view to
have it Iniefly examined ])y tbe Council and consult His
Majesty's pleasure, with the necessary and proper remarks.
The Council, in consideration of what has l)een submitted
by the Attorney General wbose original general answer is
169
placed in the hands of His Majesty, after agreeing with his
opinion for the reasons he states, and omitting to repeat the
same so as not to overtax the Royal attention of His Majesty,
considers necessar}-, hefore extending a report, to have on
hand and examine (among other documents, added to the
corresponding proceedings on the subject), an extensive me-
morial and statement, referred to in another printed document,
by Captain Isidro de Andrade, sent with the Royal order of
the 3d of Se{)tember, 1740, addressed to this Tribunal and ex-
hibited before the same, informing of his having stopped the
Caribs in their ravages perj)etrated, while allured by foreign
help; also the four letters noticed to have been received in
the years 1757 or 1758, written at the settlement of Cabruta,
by the chief of squadron Don Joseph de Iturriaga, sent on
the boundary expedition to the Orinoco; one in wdiich he
describes the rivers flowing into it, and explains the con-
dition of those Missions and their neighboring settlements,
inhabitants, etc. ; another letter in which, according to his
private instructions from Don Jose de Garbajal, he refers to
tlie question of the subsistence or demolition of the Castle of
A ray a.
Another letter, in wdiicli he advises his having received in-
telligence of the construction of a fort by the Hollanders, on
the Maruca (Moroco) river, at a short distance from the mouth
of Navios of the Orinoco, and that he had decided to send a
launch to examine the state of the construction, its size, artil-
lery, etc., expressing m conclusion the most serious inconven-
ience that might be originated from permitting them said
construction on the site of Maruca ; and other letter in which
said Iturriaga, resuming the subject of his previous letter,
alludes to the pretensions of the Hollanders from Esquivo to
the Orinoco river, making public that their dominions ex-
tended to the moutii of Navios or grand mouth of the above-
mentioned Orinoco, where they come in for the purpose of
fishing.
The report made in the year 1702 by Captain Don Jose
Solano of the Navy (to whom tliose letters were forwarded) in
reference to the third and fourth of tlie Esquivo Hollanders'
170
pretensions, stated that they had no other founchition than the
omission and neglect of the Connnanders of (iuayuna in
K'ttiiii:: lliciii tish at tlic ni<>uth ol' the Xavios, and the IJarinia
and A(|uir(' rivcis — and the answers from the most Christian
.King, an<l the measures adupied hy that Court, on account of
having suhmitted to the Royal consideration of your August
Father (of blessed lueinory), tliis 'I'rjlanial in the consultation
of the i'A\\ of October, 170"), the advices received from the
Governor of Cumana, Don Joseph Ramirez de Arelhnio, about
the commerce made witii the Guarapiche river by the French -
nnai from Martinicjue, not only in wood, haiumocks and birds,
hut likewise in Indian slaves, from the same river and sea
coasts of the mainland, under the allegation of considering
said land as vacant and outside of any dominion, not having
been settled by the Spaniards, and considering the Indians as
savages — being of the opinion that despatches should be ad-
dressed to that sovereign with tlie purpose of forbidding
strictly the introduction of his subjects in Guara})iche, and
His Majesty was kind enough to resolve: " The Ambassador
of the King, my Grandfather, has been charged with giving
an account of these reports and give me notice of the orders
that may be issued in France on the subject." And in con-
sequence it is placed before your Majesty and the Council, so
that if tliere is no inconvenience your Majesty call on the
Secretary of State, where the corresponding papers must exist,
so as to comnuniicate their contents to that of those Kingdoms,
and liy this one to the Council, with all documents and reports
in connection with the present matter and the resolution ui'
His Majesty about the said consultations of the Oth of October,
1705, so that in pre.sence of all that has been shown to your
Majesty, the Council may act with a hdl knowledge of the
whole important case of this absorbing question.
Your Majesty will decide what may be your pleasure in the
premises.
xMadrid, the 27th of October, 17G9.
(At the back of this document it reads) : Council of the Indies,
October -!7th, 17<)'.>. — Approved on the 25th. — Reviewed —
[there is a flourish].
171
The foregoing copy agrees with its original existing at the
General Archives of the Indies at Stand 131 — Case 7 — Docket
17. Seville, December 16th, 1890.
The Chief of Archives.
Carlos Jimenez Placer — [here is a flourish].
[seal.] — General Archives of the Indies.
The undersigned, Consul General of Venezuela in SjDain,
certifies to the authenticity of the signature of Senor Carlos
Jimenez Placer, Chief of the General Archives of the Indies.
Madrid, December 31st, 1890.
P. Fortoult Hurtado.
The undersigned, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United
States of Venezuela, certifies to the authenticity of the signa-
ture of Senor Pedro Fortoult Hurtado, Consul General of
Venezuela in Spain at the preceding date.
Caracas, March 6th, 1896.
P. EZEQUIEL ROJAS.
[seal.] — Minister of Foreign Affairs.
17-J
ivo. xr.
Translation.]
Stand 131.— Case 7. — Docket 17.
General Archives of thk Indies. — (Seville.)
Document No. 6.
17 70.— I^<'ttor No. 1 ;j Iroin tlu' CoinniaiMler ol" (iuayjiiia,
Don 3Ianuel Conturioii, reiKH'tiiif" on tlu' fatts i«mi-
plaiiiod of by tlio 3Iiiiistcr of Hollaiul about tbe coiuliut
of tlic Spaniards of the Orinoco ajiainst tlie Colony of
Ks<niiv<K — (iliia^ana, April .">tli, 177<>.
This docuincnt fnrms a part of the pi'dfcediiiirs instituted on
account of the claim of the Minister of Holhmd. complaining
of the coiKhict (if the Spaniai'ds of Orinoco against tlie Cohjnv
of Esquivo.
1770— Number 13— Most Excellent Sir—
Dear Sir: The two judicial docnnieid.< accompanied will
sht.w Your Excellency, duly ])roved, that the Director of the
Esrpiivo Colony, EoixMizo llorm van (Jravesand, has intended
to alarm the States-General with the im})GStures on which the
iiepuMic of Holland has founde(l its com])laints through its
Minister in Madi'id. on account of the conduct of the Spaniards
of Orii'oco again.'^t that Colony.
As it appears in part No. 1 of the proceedings, the Hollanders
are not, nor ever iiave been, in jtossession of the rivers nor riv-
ulets emptying their waters into the sea from the Escjuivo to
the Orinoco, nor have they any other establishment than a
Guard and a straw-roofed Barrack on the eastern bank of the
Moruca (Maroco) river that has l)een tolerated for tlie last
twenty years, so as to eiialde them to prevent the desertion of
173
ilieir slaves; this pretext has degenerated immediately after-
wards into the most iniquitous commerce carried on by the
barbarous and cruel Caribs, from whom they buy the Indians
enslaved, by means of surprising and killing the other tribes
living freely and peacefully within the King's our Lord's
dominions.
At the Cuyuni river, called by the Hollanders Cayoeny, they
have no other possessions than a plantation at its mouth in the
Esquivo, as they were stopped when they intended an estab-
lisliment fifteen or twenty leagues farther up said river in the
year 1747, erecting a Barrack and Guard Post to enslave the
Indians of our territory by means of the Caribs. As soon
as our Missionaries were satisfied of the fact they submitted
the case to the Commander of Guayana, and this ofhcer had
them dislodged from there on the following year of 1757,,
by means of a detachment, who set fire to the Barrack and
brought as prisoners the two Hollanders, the negro, and the
Caribs that he found there, with the instructions and original
report showing the infamous commerce that by orders of the
Directors of Esquivo, and for a vile consideration, was carried
out by that Guard, such as it is done by all the other advanced
Barracks from the Colony, bleeding to the heart the center of
the Province of Guayana. Part No. 2 shows the details of this
journey, by which it is [)lain that there was no more blood
shed than that of two of our soldiers, one of whom was killed
and the other wounded.
Part No. 1 shows, likewise, that the Hollanders are not in
possession of the Maserony nor of the other rivers emptying
into the Esquivo on the southwestern bank ; and it is import-
ant to remove this error, forming the basis of their unfounded
complaint, for as the Esquivo runs in a direction about parallel
with the coast of the ocean from the neighborhood of the
Corentin until it reaches the seashore forty-five leagues to the
east of the Orinoco, all the rivers having their sources in
the interior of our Province of Guayana, and following their
direction to the coast, between the mouth of the Corentin and
Esquivo, meet precisely this last one, which runs across and
takes their waters. So that if, as the Hollanders suppose, that
17-1 •
territory embraced l>y the rivers eniptying into the Esquivo,
sueh as ("uyuiii, Maserony, Mao, Apanony. riitarii, and otiicr
minor rivei's with thcii- l)ranches and rivulets, were territory
of tlie Repuhhc. the strangers would have a larger portion
than the Kino- our Lord in the Province of Guavana, as shown
by the accompanying sketch that I have drawn witli every jh^s-
sible accuracy, to go with tliis report, pointing out in yellow
what part in my judgment may the Hollanders pretend by
right of possesion of any kind accjuired until to-day.
The Spanish detachment that Gravesand claims having
advanced last year from the Orinoco to the Post of Cuyuni
and taken many Indians, threatening to return and go to the
Maserony river, to arrest a {tarty of Caribs, go down the river
and there visit the Barrack of the Company, is undoubtedly
a story of the agents in Poytos kept around there by the Hol-
landers, deeply regretting to see that some savage Indians,
l)0th Caril)s and Guaicas, living in that neighborhood, come and
settle in our Missions; as from here no detachment whatever
has left for those rivers, and I know that the Catalan Capuchin
Fathers have received in their settlements, during the last few
vears, several Indians from the mountains between Cuyuni
and Maserony, at the solicitation of the same Caribs, of whom we
have about five thousand in our settlements, not knowing for
the last twenty years of our Missions until now that this
nniiierous tribe belonged to the Dutch, as Gravesand says, noi'
that those mountains form a part of the territory of the Repub-
lic, because they have always been the site for the settlements
under the Catalan Capuchin Father Missioners at Guayana.
The two houses guarded by man}' troops, Your Excellency
Avill see by part No. 1, that consist of two Indian settlements
founded by the Catalan Capuchin Fathers by the side of the
Yuruari, united to the other Missions and without any other
Garrison than one soldier to each one, for the escort of the Mis-
.sioner ; being likewi.se false, the supposed proximity to the Bar-
rack of the Company, distant over seventy leagues of a bad road.
The seizure of the Indians from Moruca by the Spaniards,
consists in the fact that two Catalan Capuchins, escorted as
customary, entered witli their launch from the Orinoco to the
175
Barima river, its confluent, in quest of Indian deserters from
the Mission in their charge, and having found them dispersed
through those creeks, between the Guayne and Moruca (a con-
tiguous territory to tlie Orinoco never occupied by the Hol-
landers) gathering Indians, they reached the Post or Barrack
of Moruca, where they found a Dutch Guard who had en-
slaved three Indian women with their children, who had been
taken away through the mouths of the Orinoco ; that they so
represented the case to the Reverend Fathers, who brought
them back to the Missions without the least harm to the Hol-
landers. On the contrary, thinking that it was a favor to the
man on duty at the Guard, who asked for a paper to satisfy the
Director of Esquivo of the case, they gave him a certificate,
being moved by pity, exceeding, indeed, the terms of my per-
mission to enter that port, which was not true, as the passport
I gave to the pilot of the launch was not extended any farther
than the mouth of the Orinoco, as shown by Part No. 1.
The Post claimed by Gravesand to have been seized by the
Spaniards near a rivulet to the south of the Guayne river, be-
tween the latter and the Povaron river, where he supposes that
the company had been for an immemorial time in possession
of a place of commerce and Post, depending likewise without
an}^ contradiction from the territory of the Republic, I think
is the one abandoned by the intruding Dutchmen at the
Barima river, in the year 1768, when they ascertained, through
their friends, the Caribs, that our corsair launches were inspect-
ing that river, as one of the most important flowing into the
Orinoco, although in order to diminish its importance they
call it a rivulet, and the Director of Esquivo does not dare to
name it, so as not to declare himself a usurper ; for that same
reason he makes himself so poor in memory that he calls
immemorial this establishment only two years old. See the
evidence of this f^ict in Part No. 3.
The deaths of the Guard on duty at the Barrack Arinda
and those of the Caribs, attributed by the Director of Esquivo
to the Spaniards, are impostures without any foundation in
fact, as that port is out of our reach, and even our notice, as it
is shown in part No. 1 and the accompanying drait.
170
The Spaniards never have disputed the Hollanders' right to
fish at tho inoutli of thi' Orinoco, because they never have
attempted it hcfore. During the past three years, in which I
have V)uilt three corsair launches for this river, twenty-three
foreign vessels have been seized, but none of them while fish-
ing, certainly not to our knowledge. I have not heard that
the Hollanders have had possession of sucii a right of fishing,
as it is shown in part No. 1. I have found only one instance
of a small sciiooncr and two Dutch launches, fishing at the
mouth of the (Jrinoco and the Barima rivers, which were
seized by the Spaniards in the year 1760, as shown in Part
No. 4.
I am of the opinion tliat the Hollanders must be refused and
prevented from tishing, on account of the abuse liable to fol-
low by turning the franchise into an illicit traffic, difficult to
stop and most injurious to the Spanish Provinces.
Of the fugitive slaves coming from Esquivo to the Orinoco,
only the Indians are retained, and the negroes who come with
tlie purpose to become Catholics, as it appears in part No. 5,
according to the orders of His Majesty. The other negro
shives who desert Irum Esquivo, on account of ill treatment
or any other reason, are returned to their masters wiien
claimed, or theii- value paid to them in cash, when they appear
satisfied with the same, as shown in part No. <j and other acts
existing in the Royal offices.
It is, however, remarked that from the time that the Direc-
tor of Esquivo appropriated to iiimself the two negroes
Aiiibrosio and Francisco, slaves respectively of Don Thomas
Fran(iuiz and Augustina de Arocha, residents of Guayana, who
deserted from tiiis city and were sold at the Colony on account
and for the j»er.sonal l)enefit of Lorenzo Van Gravesand, as it
is shown by part No. I, he has not formally claimed those
slaves, who have since that time deserted from Esquivo for this
Province, nor has he tried to collect seven hundred and sixty-
two dollars, procee<ls of the sale of five fugitive slaves formerly
escaped from Esquivo, retained as a deposit to be paid by the
Royal Treasury to the interested parties, by order of Don Mateo
Gual and Don Joseph Diguja, Governors of Cumana, as shown
177
ill part No. 1. However, it is true that Nicolas de Lassarie,
Police Secretary of the Esquivo Colony, came and gave a power
of attorney, on the 8th of September, 1766, to Don Vicente
Franco, domiciled in Guayana, to prosecute the claim and
consent to the sale of thirt3'-eight negro slaves, who at that
time deserted from the Colony aiid came to this Province.
The proceedings of this case are still pending on account of
the death of Lassarie and the expiration of the power of attor-
ney given by him to Franco. The successors have not put in
an appearance, most likely fearing that we should appropriate
to ourselves their negroes, just as the Director of the Esquivo
did with those of Franquiz and Arocha, runaways from Guay-
ana. The proceeds of the twenty-nine slaves and seven hun-
dred and sixty-two dollars, before mentioned, have been ex-
pended in meeting the payment of the troops organized by my
predecessor, Don Joacjuin Moreno, who up to this time had not
been paid at Santa Fe of what is due him from the year 1764
to 1768. Now, we want, on this particuhir, to hear from His
Majesty about how to pay the interested parties, after the claim
by the Minister of Holland.
As to tlie charge that the Spaniards have induced the
Esquivo slaves to run away, there is no proof whatever, nor is
it likely that any person would be wilhng to take the risk of
such a perilous attempt without any other inducement than
doing good to the negroes. Gravesand does not give a single
instance, nor name any person, and he speaks in general terms,
showing no proof against what appears on this subject in part
No. 1, nor of the building of strong forts so near the territory of the
Eepublic, the attacks of the barracks of the Covipany, and killing
of guards, as stated at the end of the Deputies' (to the States-
General) representation.
As your Majesty calls for my opinion on the subject, I shall
have to state that the most precious possessions of any country
are the sea coasts, and more especially so in their dominions
across the sea, tliat might be worthless without the means of
disposing of their inland products. In the vast Province of
Guayana, so fertile and advantageously situated, all the coasts
are occupied by strangers, and there is only left for the Span-
VoL. ir, Ves'.— 12
178
iards, at one end of (lie same, the month of ihe ()riii(icii to
reach the sea. The Ilollauiicrs ;irc in |iosse?sioii of tlir han-
diest coasts of til is extensive countiy, hecause they receive the
waters of tlic navio-able rivers reaching- the innermost and
most productive part of (xuayana. Therefore ourpoHcy ought
to aim at the destruction of the Dutch Colony, beginning by
tliat of Esquivo and tlu-n following with Demorari, Berbis,
Coi'entin, up to Surinam.
There are two efficient ways to attain that end. The iirst
is to i)rotect and free all tlio fugitive slaves from said Colony,
as it is done at Caracas with those fioni Curagao, who are not
in need as much as the other Colonic's of the free use of tlie
Catholic rehgion, for whic-h our neighbors take no i)ains. al-
lowing their slaves to live as geiitiles. The second is to or-
ganize a fixed batallion of infantry, so as to protect the fron-
tiers and the strongholds at the head rivers of tiie Ivsquivo.
The })rq)ect only will dcti-r the Hollanders and embarrass
their usur[)ation of further territories than Aviiat they possess
at present, besides stopping their traffic in Indians, Poytos or
slaves, that if continued will leave our lands uninhal)ited,
wliile theirs will be extensively cultivated. We ought to fa-
cilitate the escape of the Indians, whom they have enslaved,
and of the negroes, who are more expensive to them, and
whom they would not dare to purchase for the risk of losing
them.
The want of both kinds of laborers will discourage our
Duteh neighbors from taking our land, while we are strong
and they can not liel[» it. This inerease of troops can not be
excessive, con.sidering that we are bound to settle and detend
this country, and that it is very expensive to accomplish that
pni'[)Ose, and that soldiei's will be the source of positive ad-
vantages; their money attracts Inhoi'ers and mechanics of all
trades to the country, who, as well as the soldiers, many In-
dian wives, the only race to l)e had in the countr}*, and this
alliance with the Indians facilitates their rcMluction and the
readiest and least expensive ])o])ulation of these deserts. A
soldier, as a young man and single, is easily mustered in the
service and carried to the neighboring Province, while a whole
179
family is not so, as it is shown by tlie experience I have on
the subject, finding tliis method of popuhition preferable, and
more advantageous than the one practiced in tlie Island of
Santo Domingo and other Provinces of America, carrying
whole families from the Canary Islands and other places, and
being bound to furnish them with the necessary means of sup-
port, at least for one year. Among the fortresses that must be
built one must be erected at Barima, to the windward of the
mouth of Navios, fronting the north with a wooden lodging-
house, very high, of the kind of the Balize at the Mississippi,
as the land is low and marshy. From this establishment in
■effective possession we will keep a closer lookout for the Hol-
landers. We will stop them by all means, and we shall
have a good watch on the sea, and a sentinel on the
Barima river, the chief avenue of the Esquivo Colony to
Orinoco. A Balize is necessar^^ to enable our vessels to as-
certain the location of the large mouth of Orinoco, concealed
by the sea for want of })roper marks, and the occasion for
painful and difficult tackings, on account of the strong cur-
rent of those waters to the leeward that can not be ascer-
tained by navigators unacquainted with said mouth always,
for fear of the low ground and perils of that coast outside the
channel of the river. Finally, such a Post will make useless
the one held by the Hollanders at Moruca, for the purpose of
preventing the escape of the Poytos or slaves, by arresting
those coming after them in their escape, who sometimes reach
as far as the Orinoco, under the impression that we are forty-
nine leagues away from the mouth, as it is the case at present.
The means I have proposed, or other equivalent methods, to
make opulent and formidable this Province shall not be use-
less, if well directed, as it is shown by part No. 8, noticing like-
wise the opportunity of the present time to accomplish now,
within a few years, what has not been done in over two cen-
turies.
May Our Lord keep in His Holy Guard the precious life of
Your Excellency, for many happy years, as it is my desire and
our want of a wise and prudent Ministry.
Guayana, April oth of 1770. — Most Excellent Sir. — Kiss
ISO
tlie liamls o^' your Excellency. Your Iminblost ami (ilx'dient
servant.
Don Manti:!, ( 'i:.\Tri;i(iN — [here is a lldurisli].
Most Excellent ]',ailitF
Fr. Don Julian de Arriaga.
The foregoing copy agrees with the original (locununt exist-
ing at the General Arcliives of the Indies, in Stand lol — Case
7_Docket J 7— Seville, December Oth, 1S!)0.
The Chief of Archives.
Carlos Jimenez Placer — [here is a flourish],
[seal.] — General Archives of the Indies.
The undersigned, Consul General of A'enezuela in Spain,
certifies to the^ autlienticity of the signature of Senor Carlos
Jimenez Placer, Chief of the General Archives of the Indies.
.Madrid, December •24th, ISOO.
P. Fortoult Hurtado.
The undersigned, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Cnitid
States of Venezuela, certifies to the authenticity of the signa-
ture of S-iior Pedro Fortoult Hurta<lo, Consul (General ot"
"N'enezuela in Spain at the preceding date.
Caracas, March Cth, 180G.
1*. K/a:<i[ua. K U.I as.
[seal.] — Ministry of Foreign Allairs.
ISl
No. XII.
Stand 131,— Case 7.— Docket 17.
General Archives of the Indies. — (Seville)
Document No. 1.
17 70. — Keport of the Coininanrter of Guayaiia about the
comphiiut of tlie Minister of Holland iu regard to the
conduct of the Spaniards of the Orinoco river against
the Esquivo Colony.
(This document is the part No. 1, accompanied by Don .Manuel Centurion with
his letter No. 13 of the 5th of April, 1770. )
This document is a part of the proceedings instituted on
account of the claim of the Minister of Holland complaining
of the conduct of the Spaniards of Orinoco, against the
Esquivo Colony.
Year 1770. — Proceedings instituted before the Tribunal of the
Commander of Guaijana, on the subjects of tJie complaint
submitted to the King our Lord by the Minister of the Re-
public of Holland, in regard to the conduct of the Spaniards
of Orinoco, against the Esquivo Colony.
Number 1.
[Cop?/.]
Copy taken from the book of Resolutions of the plenipo-
tentiaries (Deputies) of the States-General of the United
Provinces.
Wednesday, August the second, seventeen hundred and
sixtv-nine.
182
It liiis been rciul before the Assembly, the representation of
the Deputies of His Most Serene IIi,ohno«s, iho Prince of
Orange and Nassau and Directors of the patented Conipany
of the West Indies and Dresidial Cliambers of Zeland, having
in their cliarge, on account of this general Company, the })ar-
ticular direction of the Esquivo Colony and rivers dependent
on the same, and in that capacity they represent, that they
had been from time almost immemorial in possession not only
of the Esquivo river, and many other I'ivers and rivulets,
emptying into the sea on the length of thai part of the country,
but likewise of all the river branches ami livulcts emptying-
into the Esc[uivo, and particularly tlic northern branch called
Cayoeny, where from immemorial time, on the l)ank of the
said river Cayoeny considered as part of the State, a wooden
Barrack or Guard Post has been kei)t, like many others of this
Colony, on the part of the Comi)aiiy, i^rotected l)y a small
vessel served by several slaves and Indians.
That while things were in this condition the exponents,
after all that took place in 1750, had received with astonish-
ment, through a letter from Lorenzo Horm de S. Gravesand,
Director General of Esquivo, dated on the 0th of February
last, the report that a Sjtanish detachment, coming from the
Orinoco, had advanced to tliat Post and taken many Indians,
threatening with tlieir return at the first high tide to visit
another branch of the Esquivo river called Maseroeny, situated
between this and the Cayoeny river, that is also a part, with-
out contradiction, of the territory of the Republic, to take like-
wise a party of the Carib tribe, allied to the Hollanders and
belonging to them in some way, and thence to comedown the
Maserony river and visit there the Barrack of the Comi^any,
as the plenipotentiaries might see in a copy of said letter,
marked with the letter A, and accompanying this representa-
tion. Said letter contains, at the same time, a report of the
provisional measures of the Director General to prevent it.
That the exponents had not taken the whole thing but as
idle threats, similar to foiiner expressions, without effect.
Nothwitlistanding, said Director (ieneral had reported to them
by a letter of February the 21st, 1709, copy of which is pro-
183
duced herewith and marked with the letter B, that the Span-
iards had built two houses, guarded by many troops, one of
which was in close proximity to the said Barrack of the Com-
pany, on the Cayoeny river, but apparently in their own ter-
ritor}^ the other higher up, on the margin of the rivulet
emptying into the same river; that if there was any possibil-
ity of an attack, on the part of the Spaniards in time of peace,
it ought to be expected from that side and use due precau-
tions, taking into account what the Director General had writ-
ten before in his letter of th.e 3d of March last, a copy of which
is marked with the letter C, accompanying the representa-
tion ; but the exponents had been informed, to their great
sur[)rise, by a letter of the Director General addressed to his
son-in-law, the Commander of Demerari, and forwarded origi-
nally by the same, a coj^y of which is presented, marked with the
letter D, that the Spaniards had commenced to seize the
Maroco Indians and take possession of the port of the Com-
pany, situated near a rivulet to the south of the Weyne river,
between this one and that of Pomaron, where the Company
had had likewise, from time immemorial, a place of commerce
and a Post, depending without contradiction from the Re-
public.
That the exponents had received the confirmation of this
news by the tri|ilicate of a letter from the Director General,
dated March the loth ultimo, the original of which had been
forwarded by way of the Island of Barbadoes, and the dupli-
cate by that of Surinam, but had not reached them yet. From
the trij)licate, a, copy of which is produced likewise, marked
with the- letter C, condensed details will be found of the con-
duct of the Spaniards and how the Guard of the place had
acted, as well as the measures taken by the Director General
provisionally, and everything done after the full confirmation
of the facts, as shown by the annexes mai'ked with the let-
ters F and G, tliat one was a copy of the report sent by the
Guard on duty at the Moroco Barrack to the Director General,
dated on the 7th of last March, and another copy of a state-
ment in writing from the two Capuchin Fathers, who had
attended this expedition, and given the same to the officer on
184
duty, in tlic .S{)aiii.sli l;ui^uaLi;o, nnd had imt been translated
for want of an opportunity. Said documents, His ^^ost Serene
Iliii'liness, tlie Prince of Orange and Nassau, liad kindly com-
municated to the exponents, who observe that the}'^ were duly
forwarded with the originals, and dujilicate copies of which
had not yet been rt'ccivcil.
That the exj)oii('nts liad Ix'cn infoi'iiicd, thi'ough this tri])li-
cate, that the Spaniai'ds of the ( )rinoco river had killtMl or
caused to he killed l)y a tribe undci- them, tlie Guard on duty
at the Arinda J>arrack, belonging to this company and situ-
uated towards tlie sources of the Esquivo river, as well as
all the Caribs in that neighborhood. After that incident the
Chief of the Caribs had appeared before the Director General
and obtained permission to take revenge for the death of his
companions and attack their murderers, as the plenipotentiaries
might see in the accompanying letter, marked letter II, a sec-
ond copy of the same letter from the above mentioned director,
dated on the 1 5th of last March. That although the exponents
might have received at the same time the triplicate alluded to
by said letter of March the loth, another letter of the same
Director General, dated on the 4th of last April, made no men-
tion whatever of any subsequent occurrence, on the part of the
Spaniards, and only contained a report of all the measures
taken in order to oppose their plans, the exponents had thought
notwith-standing that they ought not to be silent with respect
to this particular feature, but specify the same and sul)init it
to the consideration of the plenipotentiaries, entertaining no
doubts that said highhanded offences siiouKl be resented and
that the most efficient rei)resentations should be made against
such a manifest violation of tlic national territory.
That the exponents can not refrain from hwing before the
j'lenipotentiaries, on this occasion, the fact that the Orinoco
parties had not oidy cominenced, some time since, to di,sputeto
those of Esquivo the fisheries at the mouth of the Orinoco, but
had effectually stopped it, notwithstanding that the Esquivo
parties had been for a long time in a (juiet and })eaceful
possession of said fisheries, of which they derived great benefit,
on account of the aliundancc of fish found flu re : that thev had
185
likewise commenced to sto]i. ]>y force, the fislieries of the
Orinoco, within the same territory of the State, a territory that
extends fro m {he Marenigue River (?) to the other side of the
AVavne, very near the mouth of the Orinoco, as mnv be seen in
the geographical charts of these places, and particularly by that
of Anville, one of the most esteemed, on account of its accuracy,
and that the plenipotentiaries will find the evidence of all
these damages in document marked letter Y, articles 1,2, 3,
that are copies of the letter of the Director General, dated
Se\ tember 15, 1768, February the 21st, and April the 4th, 1 769.
That the exponents can not refrain from bringing to the
notice of the plenipotentiaries this conduct, not only contrary
to all the treaties, but likewise to the law of nations; that the
Orinoco parties have retained the fugitive slaves from the
Colony, inducing them to escape, and doing great injury to the
planters of all the Colony, and that notwithstanding the formal
•claim of the owners and the deputations sent, every effoit has
proved ineffectual
If this desertion continues and is not stopped in time, it will
bring about the total ruin of Eequivo, through the agency of
the Spaniards and the facilities afforded by the two houses
already mentioned, so near the territory of the Republic, hav-
ing attacked the Barracks of the Company, killed the Guard-
men, as the plenipotentiaries may see in the two accompanying
copies, one marked with the. letters Y C, in articles first and
second, and the other w^ith the letters P D, being copies of the
letters before mentioned by the Director General, under dates
of 9th and 21st of February and the 3d of last March.
The exponents crave, that en account of all these injuries
necessarily following, as the natural results of the above conduct
and its |)rogress, the plenipotentiaries kindly address what has
been represented on the 31st of July, 1779, a copy of this rep-
resentation, and annexes to Mr. Doublet de Groenevelt, Envov
Extraordinary of the Plenipotentiaries near His Catholic Maj-
esty, directing him to make the necessary representation, lay-
ing the facts before the Court of Spain.
After paying due consideration to the suljject it was resolved
to send a copy of this representation and the accompanying
186
documents to Mr. I)<iiilil('t do Groencvoll. J'>nvny Extraordi-
nary from tlie jikuipoU'iiliarics before the ('ourt of S])ain,
writing to him at tlie same time and asking him to report the
facts and the liigh-handed offences to whomsoever he thinks
fit, showing tht' niisconduct and asking for a prompt remedy
against the hostilities already pci|>etrated ami the re-establish-
ment of the parties concerned to the peaceful possession of said
Barracks ami likewise the fisheries in thr places already men-
tinned. Mild linally to urge the necessary measures to prevent
the repetition of the conduct com | Gained of, and to see that
the Court of Spain issue the necessary orders to restore the
fugitive slaves from Esquivo, witliout delay, at the first claim,
and avoid injury and expenses to the owners, delivering those
still kept by the Spaniards or who may desert in future, in
which case the plenipotentiaries will send similar orders to
the Colony of Esquivo.
[A co])y fi-om the original.]
The Minister of Holland has addressed a despatch coinphiin-
ing of the conduct of the Spaniards established in ()rinoco
against the Esquivo Colony, giving a detailed account of the-
subject of liis complaint in the accompan^dng papers. I am
directed by the King to send you said document, so that in
view of his com|>laints, you will make your report, as soon as-
possible, stating all the facts referred to, and what has occurred
concerning this matter, so that His Majesty he iully posted.
Ma}'' the Lord keep your life for many years.
San Idefonso, the 23d day of September, 17G9.
The Bailiff Fr.
Jrrj.ix DE Ai;i;i.\(..v — [here is a fiourisli].
To the Commander of Guayana.
In the city of Guayana, on the 24th day of March, of the
year of 1770, I, Don Manuel Centurion, Lieutenant Colonel of
Infantry, and Cotnniander General of the Orinoco and of the
rid\ince of Guayana, etc., in company with the acting wit-
nesses, for want of a Notary Public, say that in order to coni})ly
187
with the Royal Order of the 23d of September last, forwarded
to me bv His Excellencv the Baliff, Fr. Don Julian de Arringa^
accompanying a copy of another document, taken from the
book of Resolutions of the plenipotentiaries of the States-Gen-
eral of the United Provinces, presented b}^ the Minister of Hol-
land, complaining of the conduct of the Spaniards of Orinoco
against the Esquivo Colon}-, with instructions from the King
to report, as early as possible, upon the facts complained of,
stating what has taken place and everything concerning that
subject, for the notice of His Majesty.
Therefore I ought to command, and do command, that in-
serting the said Royal Order and accompanying document at
the head of the proceedings, an investigation be instituted by
this Tribunal in a judicial form, to find out the facts and de-
tails in connection with the accompanying paper from the
States-General, summoning the best informed witnesses (resid-
ing in this city and its suburbs) to state under oath and in
due form what they know on this subject.
It was so ruled and signed with the acting witnesses, who
certif}^ as to the fact.
Don Manuel Centurion — [here is a flourish.]
EsTEBAN Martinez — [here is a flourish.]
Diego Ignacio Marino — [here is a flourish]
On the same day, month, and year, in order to carry out
the investigation to be instituted, in compliance with the
above rule the Tribunal had before it the Reverend Father
ex-Prefect of the Catalan Capuchin Mission of Guayana, Fr.
Benito de la Garriga, to wdiom the Commander General ad-
ministered the oath in legal form, tocio pedore in verbo sacerdotis,
and promised to tell tlie truth of everything that he knew and
were interrogated, and having been examined by the tenor of
the above paper, presented by the Minister of Holland and
inserted in folios 1 to 6 of this proceeding, which was read to
him literally, he said :
That the Hollanders are not, nor have ever been in posses-
sion of the rivers or rivulets emptying into the sea, from Es-
188
([iiivo cxclii^ivi' down to the mouth of < )rinoco ; that they had
been only tok-rati'il, dii that side, tn liavc a small (Jiiai'd of
two Europeans and a lew Indians at a JJarraek called the
Post, on the eastern margin of the Moruca river, called by the
lliiljaiiders .Mai'oco: that this establisiinient is not of "an
almost immemorial time," because none of the Colony is so,
for we know that said ('dioiiy eiinimenee(l to exist towanls the
year sixteen hnndrcd and lifiy-nine. That it is imt trne that
the HoUanders had had. nor have now possession of the C'u-
ynni river (called by them Cayoeny), because when they estab-
lished a Guai'd and Bai'rack, like that of Maruca. in the year
seventeen hundred and forty -seven (1747), to facilitate the in-
human traffic and capture of Indians, whom they surrepti-
tiously enslaved, witiiin the dominions of the Kinj^ our Lord,
for the culture of the plantations and improvement of their
•Colony, as soon as it came to our knowledge, in the year sev-
enteen hundred and tifty-seven (1757), they were dislodged
from there, so that neither in the Cuyuni, Maserony, Apa-
nony nor any other rivers emptying into the Esquivo, have
the Hollanders any j)OSsession ; nor it could be tolerated that
they should have it, because those rivers embrace almost all
the territorv of the Province of Gu:ivana in their course from
their western termini, where their headwaters originate, down
to the eastern limit emptying into the Esquivo river. From
that fancied possession it should result that the Hollanders
would be the owners of tlu^ extensive Province of Guayana
and that we, the Spaniards, had no more part of it than the
said margin of Orinoco, which is an absurdity.
That they ai'e merely tolerated on the banks of the Es(pnvo
river, running from southeast to northwest, almost parallel
with the ocean coast, the eastern ternjinus of this Province of
Guayana, the interior of which is left free to the Spaniards,
their lawful possessors.
That he does not know, nor ever heai'd that the Spaniards
have built any stronghohl on the ("u\uni river nor in its
vicinity, with a few nor many troops, but he suspects that Mr.
de Gravesand mav have imaiiined to be so the two Missions
or Indian settlenients founded by the Catalan Capuchin
189
Fathers in the years seventeen hundred and fifty-seven and
seventeen hundred and sixty, one of them on the northern
margin of tiie Yuruari river, a tributary of the Guyuni, seventy
leagues distant from the Dutch Barrack, which was destroyed.
That the reason he has to think so is because there is no
other establishment in that vicinity and in tiiat direction.
That although there is no more troops than one soldier in
each one of said settlements as an escort to the Missionaries,
the Caribs, whom Mr. Gravesand seems to believe, as he states
in his report, may have deceived him with this story as well
as several others which abound in his nonsensical report.
That it is true that in Februar}' of last year the witness, as
Prefect and Superior of the Missions, allowed permission to
the Reverend Fathers Fr. .Josef Antonio Cervera and Fr. Felix
de Tartaga to go down to the mouth of Orinoco and the Barina
rivers to gather the fugitive Aruaca and Guarauno Indian
deserters from the Missions, under tiieir charge ; that these
Reverend Fathers, with the launch and escort which carried
them, found their dispersed Indians between Guayne and
Moraca, and while gatheringt hem they reached a Post where
there was a Hollander who had three Indian women with
their children whom he had enslaved and taken from the
mouth of Orinoco, as said women reported to the Fathers, wiio
delivered them to the Missions, without offering any violence
nor harm whatever to the Hollanders.
That in regard to the Post and commeix-ial house that
Gravesand supposes to have been possessed by the Dutch Com-
pany, between Guayne and Povaron, the deponent does not
know anything, nor has he heard of such an establishment.
That he has not heard of the death of the Corporal of the
Arinda barrack towards the source of the Esquivo, nor even
of the existence of the same.
That he finds it incredible that the Spaniards of Orinoco, or
the Indians of our side and acquaintance may have perpetrated
this homicide, because the distance is excessive, and the fact
has never been known in Orinoco, and this is the first time he
hears of the Arinda Barrack ; that being situated as Grave-
sand states, towards the source of the Esquivo river, it is inac-
100
cessible to us unci our Iiidi.iii^, the Colotiy of Esquivo being
interpose<l V)et ween said source ainl our settlcniciits, jiroventiug
a pass.
That the (IcpdiKMit has never seen iioi- liearil that the liol-
Irtuders had any lisheries at tlie mouth nf the Orinoco, nor
that the Spaniards had to sto]* them : that he ih)es not under-
stand that the Holhuiders want any such fi^lieries at the mouth
of the Orinoco, because tliey have plenty of lisli much nearer
to Esquivo; that tlie Most Reverend Father is persuaded that
now, under [)retext of fisheries, they want to establisli tliein-
selves freely with their vessels on the mouth of tlie Orinoco, to
re-establish and facilitate the furtive shijimeuts ol' mules from
Guarapiche and (luaruapo, and I'arinas tobacco, hides, and
other {)roducts of the Spanish Provinces, whic'.i improved con-
siderably their Colony when the Orinoco and its creeks were
not guarded as they are now.
This novelty and the want of commerce is the true cause of
the decadence of Esquivo and the resent'.nent of Mr. de Grave-
sand, the first merchant, and always the most interested in the
illicit commerce of the colony.
That the statement is equally false that said fisheries had
been sto{)ped likewise l»y the Spaniards on the territory of what
Gravesaud calls of his State, extending the same to the river
Maroguine, down to this side of the Guayne, very near the
mouth of tlie ()rinoco; said su[)i)ositiou the deponent calls an
intolerable error.
Tliat in regard to the slaves, deserters from Esquivo, the de-
ponent says that there are two kinds, one of negroes purchased
in Africa, and the other of Indians taken b}'^ the Hollanders
cruelly and unduly, by means of the Caribs their allies, from
our dominions, through the rivers Moruea and (iuayne,
em[)tying their wat^^rs info the sea, and in communication
with Orinoco, or else through the rivers Cuyuni, Maserony,
Apanony, and others running thi'ough the innermost terri-
tories of this Province and emptying into the Esquivo ;
that in regard to the retention of the latter, the reason
is plain, because being the vassals of the King and crim-
inally enslaved by the Hollanders, who keep this inhuman
191
commerce with the Caribs, against every law, we could not and
we ought not to return them to slavery, whenever they are
happy enough to ekide it, and return to enjoy the protection
of the ministers of their hawful Lord and Sovereign.
In regard to the negroes, the deponent says that Mr. de
Gravesand's assertion is untrue, that notwithstanding that we
know that two negro fugitive slaves from tiiis city to tlie
Colony of Esquivo were sold there by said Gravesand, and
although their owners, Don Tomas Franquiz and Catalina de
Arocha, domiciled in Guayana, have claimed them, they have
not been pro[)erly attended, that oftentimes Gravesand has
claimed from here several deserters from Esquivo, and their
owners having been satisfied with their sale for cash in Gua}--
ana, they have received the price and returned to Esquivo,
except only when the slaves come for the benefit of becoming
Catholics and are considered free, in compliance with orders
fnmi His Majesty.
That neither the Indians nor the fugitive negroes from Es-
quivo have ever been induced by the Spaniards to run away,
as far as he knows, nor is it likely that they should attempt to
do so.
That it is true that the Colony of Esquivo is being appar-
ently ruined, from the time when the doors have been closed
to it for the illicit trade they used to carry on with Orinoco, and
the Poytos or Indian slaves have found the way to become
free, when they escape from said Colony.
He finally deposes that it is absolutely false that the Span-
iards may have killed the Dutch Guardman or Guardmen,
nor attacked any other Post than that of the Cuyuni, in the
year seventeen hundred and fifty-eight, when only one man
was killed, and that was a Spanish soldier; and he adds, that
in twenty-three years, during which he has been an Apostolic
Missionary in this Province, having been Prefect three times,
his long experience has shown him that it is on account of
the suggestions of the Esquivo Hollanders, and their detest-
able commerce in Poytos, that the whole of the Caribs have
not been already settled in our Mi-ssions, as well as many
other savage tribes, and that said Caribs, under the advice
192
of the Hi)ll;iii(]crs, work continually in the destruction of the
new settlenienls, through varion-; int'ans, burnini;- thcni as
they (lid in .'^ovcnt'cn liundrcil ■,\\\i\ til"iy. attac-kini:,- them by
open toiTc. or niakinii tlicni I'cvolt l»y u-int;- diaholical art-:,.
so tliat (lurini; the tiinu drponcnt has \>vv\\ krpt working on
these Missions, the HoUanders united with the Caribs_ have
destroyed seven settlements already organi/.i-d, as may be seen
by the legal investigation instituted on tlie suljject, without
counting those settlements under tlu! Jesuit Missionaries, whicli
they bui'iied and destroyed, when they kille(l many Revei'end
Fathers.
That the above statements are the truth under the oath
that he has taken ; and th;d he ratities and aflirnis the same,,
and will do it again if necessary, and that he is hl'ty-eig'ht
years old.
Having read his deposition, he said that it is the same that
he had stated, and tliat it is well and faithfully written, and
has nothing to ad<l or withdraw from the same, and signs it
Avith the Commander General, and ourselves the witnesses of
the net, certifying to the same.
Don Manuel Centurion — [here is a flourish].
Fk. Benito de la (bvitKiGA,
ex-Prefect — [iiere is a flourish].
Diego Ignacio Making — [here is a fhairish].
EsTEVAN j\rAi;riN'i;z — [here is a flourish].
2. On the same day, month, and year, in eontinuation of the
proceedings institut'Ml, in eornpliance witli the foregoing rule,
this Tribunal had l)efore it the Kevt'rend Fatlier Fr. Tomas
de Sail Fedro, of the CapU(dnn Missions of this Province of
Guayana, who was duly sworn iiy the Commandtu' (Jeneral
according to law, " tac/n jin-lurr in vi rho xaccrd')/ isj' and who
promised to ttdl the truth of all that he ku(nv and were inter-
rogated, and being examined, aeeording to the tenoi" of the
paper presented by the Minister of Holland, inserted in folios
1 to li of this pr(jceeding, alter it was rt'ad lilerall}', word by
word, he said :
That the Hollanders W(M'e not n(jr ev<'i' had Ix'cn in pos-
11)3
session of the rivers or rivulets emptying into the sea, from
Esquivo exclusive, to the mouth of Orinoco ; that the}'^ had
been allowed to keep a small guard of two Europeans and sev-
eral Indians at a barrack they called Post, at the eastern margin
of the Moruca river, called by the Hollanders Maroco ; that
this establishment is not " from time almost immemorial," be-
cause all the Colony is not so, as we know that it had its origin
in the year sixteen hundred and sixty-nine.
That it is not true tliat the Hollanders had had nor have
possession of the Cuyuni river (called by them Cayoeny), hav-
ing established there a guard and barrack like that of Moruca,
in the year seventeen hundred and forty-seven, to facilitate
the inhuman commerce and trade in Indians whom they en-
slaved surreptitiously in the dominions of the King our Lord,
for the cultivation and improvement of the plantations of the
Colony.
That as soon as the case came to our notice, in the year seven
hundred and fifty -seven, they were dislodged from there, so that
neither in Cuyuni, Maserony, Apanony, nor other rivers of
those emptying into Esquivo, have the Hollanders any posses-
sion, nor is it tolerable that they should have, because said
rivers embrace nearly all the territory of the Province of
Guayana from their headwaters, their western terminus, where
they originate, down to their eastern limit, emptying into tlie
Esquivo river — it should result from such a supposed posses-
sion that the Hollanders should turn to be the owners of the
extensive Province of Guayana, and that the Spaniards would
not have any more than the said margins of Orinoco, an
absurdity; that they have been tolerated only on the banks
of the Escjuivo river, running from the southeast to the north-
west in a quasi parallel direction to the ocean coast, the east-
tern terminus of this Province of Guayana, keeping the interior
freely for the Spaniards, their lawful possessors.
That he has not heard that the Spaniards had built any
strongholds on the Cuyuni, nor its surroundings, with either
few or many troops ; but he thinks that Mr. de Gravesand
may have imagined to be such, the two Missions or Indian
settlements founded by the Catalan Capuchin Fathers in the
Vol. II, Ve.v.— 13
101
years of .seven huudi'cd and lilly-.>;cvt'U and suvun liundii*il
am) sixty-one, on the nortliern margin of the Yuruari rivi-r,
emptying into tlie Esquivo, and distant seventy leagues from
the destroyed Dutch barrack ; that the reason he has to think-
so is that we have no other establishment in that quarter, and
although in these settlements there is no more troop than one
soldier in radi one, ibr the escort of the Missionaries, the
Caribs, whom Mr. (Iravesand believes, as he explains things
in his statement, may have deceived him with this story, as it
api)ears he has filled with many others his fanciful report.
That it is true that last February permission was given Ijy
the Reverend Father Prefect of the Missions, to '' the Reverend
Fathers Fr. Joseph Antonio de Zervera and Fr. Felix de Tar-
raga to go doAvn to " the mouth of the Orinoco and the Barima
rivers in quest of the Aruacas and Guaraunos (Indians), desert-
ers from the Missions in our charge, and that these Reverend
Fathers with the launch and escort carrying them, found their
dispersed Indians, between Guayne and Moruca ; while gather-
ing them they reached a Post where a Hollander had three
Indian women with their children, whom he had enslaved
and taken out, through the mouth of the Orinoco, as said
women stated to the Fathers ; that they were. brought back to
the Missions, but without any violence or harm done to the
Hollanders.
That in regard to the Post and commercial house that
Gravesand sui)poses to have been held by the Dutch Company,
l)etwccn Guayne and Povaron, the deponent does not know,
nor has he ever heard anything about said establishment.
That he has never before heard of the death of the Corpo-
ral of tlie Arinda Barrack, towards the source of the Esquivo,
nor even of its existence; that it is incredible to the deponent
that the Spaniards of the Orinoco or the Indians of our de-
votion and ae(|uaintance may have committed this homicide,
because, being so very distant and unknown to us, the vast
space of territory between Orinoco and that ])lace, we have
never heard of sueli a death, this being the first time that
we heal- tlie name of the Arinda Barrack; that, situated as
(ii-ave-aiid says it is, towards the heart of the Esquivo river,
J9o
it ib inaccessible to us and our Indians, having the Colony of
Esquivo, between said river's sources, preventing the pass Ironi
our settlements.
That the deponent has never heard that the Hollanders had
fisheries at the mouth of tlie Orinoco, nor that the Spaniards
had had to stop them; that he does not understand that the
Hollanders ma\' have an}' necessity of such fisheries at the
mouth of the Orinoco, because they have means to get all the
fish they want nearer the Esquivo ; and that the Reverend
Father is persuaded that now, under the pretext of fisheries,
what they want is to pass freely with their vessels to the mouth
of the Orinoco, to re-establish and facilitate the furtive ship-
ments of mules from the Guarapiche and Guarapo rivers, be-
sides Barinas tobacco, hides, and other products from the
Spanish Provinces, for the improvement of their Colon}' when
the Orinoco was not guarded, as it is now, with its creeks.
This novelty and the want of commerce is the true cause of
Esquivo's decadence, and of the resentment of Mr. de Grave-
sand, the first merchant, and always the most interested in the
illicit trade of the Colony.
That it is equally untrue what is said about the fisheries
having been preyented by the Spaniards, in the territories that
Gravesand claims to belong to his own State, stating that it
extends from the river Mareguine up to this side of theGuayne
River, very near the mouth of the Orinoco — this supposition the
de}ionent considers an intolerable error.
In regard to the slaves escaj)ed from Esquivo, the deponent
says that there are two kinds of them ; that they are either
negroes purchased in Africa, or Indians taken away unduly
and cruelly by the Hollanders or the Caribs, their allies, from
our dominions, by way of the Moruca and Guayne rivers
emptying into the sea and in communication with the Orinoco,
or else through the rivers Cuyuni, Maserony, Apanony, and
other rivers bringing their waters from the innermost parts of
this Province and emptying into the Esquivo river ; that in
regard to the resistance we oppose to the latter, the reason is
plain, because as they are vassals of the King, criminally en-
slaved by the Hollanders, who maintain this inhuman com-
196
mcrce with tlu'Caribs ugaiiisl every hiw, we can not and ought
not to return them to slavery, when they are happy enough to
escape from it. taking the protection of tlie Ministers of their
hiwful Lord anil sovereign.
Tliat in regard to the negroes, the deponent says that it is
not true what Mr. Gravesand says, because notwithstand-
ing that we are aware tliat the two fugitivi^ negro slaves of
this city were sold at the Colony of Esquivo by Gravesand,
anil that although their masters, Don Tomas Franquiz and
Catalina de Arocha, domiciled in Guayana, churned them, they
had no .satisfaction of any kind; several times Gravesand
claimed from here some deserters from E.squivo, and their
masters agreed with the terms of their sale, effected in Guayana,
and took with them the proceeds to Esquivo, except only those
slaves that come in quest of the benefit of becoming Catholics,
and who have been made free by orders from the King; that
neither the Indians nor the fugitive negroes from Esquivo, as
far as the deponent knows, had been induced by the Spanianls
to run away, nor does it seem to him likel}' that anybody
should have dared to undertake such a step.
That it is true that the Colony of Esquivo goes visibly to
ruin, since the doors have been shut up to the illicit commerce
they carried on before, in Orinoco, and since the Poytos or In-
• lian .slaves have found open the way to recover their freedom,
whenever they can escape from them.
And finally the dcjionent says that it is absoluteh' false that
the S})aniards had killed anybody of the Dutch Guard or
Guards, or had attacked any other Post of theirs, than that of
the Cuyuni, in the year seventeen hundred and fifty-eight;
that the only man killed on that occasion was a Si)anish
soldier ; and lie adds that he has been for the last twenty-three
years an Apostolic Missionary in this Province, and with that
experience he is enabled to say that the suggestions of the
Hollanders from Ii^squivo, and their detestable commerce in
Poytos, is the reason why all the Caribs have not been settled
in our Mis.sions, as well as many other savage tribes, and that
said Hollanders influenced them all continually to undertake
the de.'^truction of our settlement in different ways, burning
197
them, as they did in seventeen liundred and fifty, attacking
them by open force, or trying to make them revolt by artful
and diabolical contrivances ; that during the time that the
deponent has been working in this Mission the Hollanders
united to the Caribs have destroyed, as may be seen by the
respective proceedings, seven settlements already organized,
without counting those of the Jesuits, Avhich they destro^^ed
by fire, killing many of the Reverend Fathers.
That all his statements are true nnder the oath he has
taken, and that he will ratif}' and affirm again and again, if
necessary ; that he is fifty-three years old.
His deposition having been read to him, he said it is the
same that he has given, and tiiat it is well and faithfully
written, having nothing to add nor to take out from the same,
and he signs with the Commander General and the acting-
witnesses, certifying to the act.
Don Manuel Centurion — [here is a flourish].
Fr. Thomas de San Pedro,
Apostolic Missionary — [here is a flourish].
Diego Ignacio Marino — [liere is a flourish].
Esteban Martinez — [here is a flourish].
3. On the 26th day of the same month and year, in continu-
ation of the proceedings instituted in compliance witli the
preceding rule, the Tribunal had in its presence the Reverend
Father Fr. .Jose Antonio de Zervera, Capuchin and Missionary
of this Province of Guayana, who was duly sworn by the Com-
mander General, according to the law and usage, " tacto pectore
in verbo sacerdotis,^^ who promised to tell the truth of all that
he knew and might be interrogated, as it was, according to
the tenor of the paper presented by the Minister of Holland,
inserted at folios 1 to 6 of this proceeding. For his better in-
telligence it was read to Mm, word by word, and he said :
That the Hollanders are not, nor have ever been in posses-
sion of the rivers nor rivulets emptying into the sea from tlie
Esquivo exclusive, down to the mouth of Orinoco ; that it has
been only tolerated on that side, their small Guard of two
198
Europeans and several Indians, at a Barrack wliicli they
ealkd Post, on the eastern margin of the Moruca river, called
by the Holhuiders, Maroco ; and that this establishment is not
of quasi immemorial time, because the whole of the Colony is
not, as We know tliat it was commenced towards tlie year six-
teen hundred and hfty-nine.
'I'hat it is untrue that the Plollanders have had, or have
possessions on the Cuyuni river (called by them Cayoeny), as
when they established on it a Guard and Barrack, similar to
that of ^loruca, in the year 1747, to facilitate the inhuman
commerce and the trade in Indians, whom they enslaved
surreptitiously in the dominions of the King our Lord, for the
culture and improvement of their Colony, as soon as the case
came to the notice of the S})aniards, in the year 1757, they
were dislodged from it, so that neither on the Cuyuni, Mase-
rony, Apanony, nor the other rivers emptying into the Esquivo,
have the Hollanders any possessions, nor should it be tolerated
that they should have it, because said rivers embrace all the
territorv of the Province of Guayana, running from its western
terminus, where they have their sources, down to the eastern
limit, cniptying into the Esquivo river — it should come
(jut from the supposscd possession that the Hollanders were
masters of nearly all the extensive territory of Guayana, and
that the Spaniards had nothing else than the said margins of
the Orinoco, which is an absurdity.
That the only places where the Hollanders are tolerated is
(Ui the margins of the Esquivo river, running from the south-
east to the northwest, almost parallel to the ocean coast, the
eastern terminus of this Province of Guayana, and leaves free
all the interior of the same for the Spaniards, their legitimate
possessors.
That he does not know, nor ever heard, that the Sj^aniards
had any stronghold on the Cuyuni, nor in its surroundings,,
witli many or few troops, but he is persuaded that Mr. de
Gravesand may have imagined to bo such the two settlements
or stations that the Catalan Capuchin Fathers founded in the
years 1757 and 17G1, at the northern margin of the Yuruari
river, emptying into the Cuyuni river, and distant 70 leagues
199
from the site of the destroyed Dutch Barrack, and that the
reason he has for this supposition is that we have not any
other establishments on that part of the country, and that
although there are no more troops in those settlements than
one soldier in each for the escort of the Missioners, the Caribs
whom Mr. de Gravesand gives credit, according to his explana-
tion in his report, may have deceived him with this story, as
it appears they have with others, with which his nonsensical
report abounds.
That it is true that in February of last year, having permit-
ted the Reverend Father Prefect of the Missions, the Reverend
Father Fr. Felix de Tarraga, and to the deponent to go down
to the mouth of the Orinoco and Barima rivers in quest of the
Aruacas and Guaraunos (Indians), deserters from the Missions
in their charo-e, and that with the launch and escort that car-
ried them, finding said dispersed Indians between Guayne and
Moruca ; while gathering the same, they reached a Post where
there was a Hollander, who had three Indian women, with
their children, that he had enslaved and brought there from
the mouth of Orinoco, as they stated ; they were brought back
to tlie Missions without any violence or harm to any of the
Hollanders ; on the contrary, in order to favor the Corporal of
the Post, who asked, on his knees, and crying, that the de-
ponent, and the Reverend Father in his company, would
allow him, for the love of God, a certificate for his exculpation
to satisfy the Governor of Esquivo, and that the deponent and
his companion, without suspecting any malice on his preten-
sions, and moved to pity, gave him a certificate so broad as to ex-
ceed its contents, saying that the}'' had a permit from the Com-
mander General of Orinoco and Guayana to enter as far as that
place, when such was not the case, as the passports held by tlie
pilot of the launch carrying them was definitely for the mouth
of Orinoco, and as to the rest they had no more permission
nor any other orders than those from their Prelate.
That in regard to the Post and commercial house suppose!
by Gravesand to have been possessed by the Dutch Company
between Guayne and Povaron, the deponent does not know,
nor has he ever heard of such an establishment.
200
That lit' has not heard of the death of the Coi'i'oriil of the
Ariiuhi ]5arraek towards the sources of the Esquivo, nor ot its
existence tliere, and that it is incredible to the de])oiR'iit that
tlie Spaniards of the Orinoco or the Indians of our acfiuaintancf
and (h'lx'ndence may have perpetrated this hoinici(U', hceau-c,
besides the long and unknown distance and extensive ter-
ritory se]iarating the Orinoco from that phice he lias never
li(',n'<l of such a death, nor of the name of the Ai'inda Barrack,
that being situated, as CJravesand represents it, towards the
sources of tlie Esquivo river, it is inaccessible to us and to onr
Indians, as the Colony of Esquivo is situated between said
sources and our establishments, preventing our access to it.
That he has never seen nor even heard that the Hollanders
liad kept any fisheries at the mouth of the Orinoco, or that the
Spaniards had stopped them ; that he can not understand what
necessity the Hollanders may claim for such a fishery at the
mouth of the Orinoco, when they can provide themselves with
fish nnieh nearer to the Esquivo, and that he is persuadiMl
that now, under j»retext of fishing, they want to establish
freely with their embarkations at the mouth of the Orinoco in
order to resume and facilitate their furtive shipments of mules
li-oni (iuarapiehe and Guaruapo, and Barinas tobacco, hides
and other products of the 8})anish Provinces, with which they
improved considerably their Colony, when the Orinoco and its
creeks were not guarded as they arc now. This novelty and
the want of commerce is the true cause of the decadence of
Esquivo and of the resentment of Mr. de Gravesand, the first
merchant, and always the most- interested in the illicit com-
merce of the Colony.
That it is equally false that said fisheries have been pre-
vented by the Spaniards in the territory that Gravesand calls
territory of the State, which, he says, extends from the Mare-
guine river to this side of the Guayne, very near the mouth of
the Orinoco ; said supposition, the deponent says, is an egre-
gious error.
In regard to the slaves deserted from Esquivo, the deponent
says there are two classes ; the negroes purchased from Afriea
and the Indians that the Hollanders criK^lly and wrongfully
201
"take away, or cause to be taken away, by the Caribs, their
allies, from our dominions, by way of the Moruea and Guayne
rivers, flowing into the sea and in communication with the
Orinoco, or through the rivers Cuyuni, Maserony, Apanony
^nd others, running from the innermost part of the Province
and emptjnng into the Esquivo.
That in regard to the retention of the Indians, the reason
is very plain, because, as they are vassals of the King and
criminally enslaved by the Hollanders, who deal in this in-
human commerce with the Caribs, against every law, we can
not and ought not to send them l)ack to slavery, when they
have been happy enough to shake it and take refuge under
the protection of the Ministers of their legitimate Lord and
Sovereign.
In regard to the negroes, the deponent says that Mr. de
Gravesand is not correct, because although we know that two
fugitive negro slaves of this cit}^ were sold at the Colony of
Esquivo by said de Gravesand, and that their owners, Don
Thomas Franquiz and Catalina de Arocha, residents of
Guayana, had claimed them and received no satisfaction what-
ever. Several times Gravesand has claimed some deserters
from Esquivo, and their masters have been satisfied with their
sale made in Guayana, and received and carried the i^roceeds
to Esquivo. except only in the cases of those slaves who in
order to enjoy the benefits of the Catholic religion, made their
escape, as they have been made free by the King's directions.
That neither the Indians nor the fuo;itive neg-roes from
Esquivo, as far as the deponent knows, have ever been induced
by the Spaniards to run away, nor is it likely that anybody
should have dared to attempt the step.
That it is true that the Colony of Esquivo is visibly going
to ruin from the time when the doors for the illicit commerce
they were carrying on before on the Orinoco have been shut
up, and the Poytos or Indian slaves find open the way to their
freedom whenever they can escape.
And, finally, he says that it is absolutely false that the Span-
iards had killed any Dutch Guard or attacked any other
Post held by them than that of Cuyuni in the ye^r seventeen
•202
liuii'lrcil Mini lit'ty-(.'iy,lil, in which attack only a man was
kille<l, who was a Spanisli soldier. He says that he has been
for tlie past nine years .in A})ostolic Minister in this Province,
and his experience cnahles him to say tliat the suggestions of
the Esquivo HoUanders, and their (h'testable commerce in
Poytos, is the cause for not liaving all the Caribs settled in our
Mission, as well as many other savage tribes, who are continu-
ally Avorking the destruction of our settlements, under the ad-
vice of the Hollanders, through various ways — setting them
on fire, as they did in seventeen hundred and fifty, or by open
force and revolts, by means of an artful and diabolical policy ;
that during the time that he and his Reverend brothers have
been serving in these Missions, the Caribs, joined b^^ the Hol-
landers, have destroyed, as may be seen by the corresponding
judicial proceedings, seven formal settlements, without taking
into account those that they have set on fire or destroyed under
the Jesuits, killing at the same time many Reverend Fathers.
That what he says he knows to be true, and it is well known
of the other Reverend Father Missionaries, as stated by them,
after their long experience, and by other persons of the highest
veracity, that the deponent under his oath ratifies and affirms^
and will repeat, if necessary, what he has stated; that he is
forty-nine years old.
And having heard his deposition read to him, he says it is
the same he has given, and that it is faithfully and well writ-
ten, having nothing to add or withdraw from the same, and
lie signed with the Commander General and ourselves, the
acting witnesses, certifying to the act.
Fr. Josef x^ntonio de Cervera — [here is a flourish].
Don Manuel Centurion — [here is a flourish].
Don Diego Ignacio Mari5?o — [here is a flourish].
EsTEi'.AN Martini;/ — [here is a flourish].
4. On the .same da}', month, and year, in continuation of t'.ie
investigation instituted according to the above rule, this Tri-
bunal had before it the Reverend Father Fr. Felix de Tar-
203
raga, a Capuchin Missionary of this Province of Guyana, who,
having been sworn by the Commander General according to
law, tacto pedore in verbo sacerdotis, he promised to tell the
whole truth of what he knew and would be interrogated. And
being examined by the tenor of the already-mentioned paper
presented by the Minister of Holland and inserted in folios i
to 6 of these acts, and for his best information read to him
-word by word, he said :
That the Hollanders are not, nor have ever been, in pos-
session of the rivers and rivulets emptying into the sea, from
Esquivo exclusive, down to the mouth of the Orinoco; that on
that side only they had been tolerated to keep a small guard
of two Europeans and a few Indians in a barrack called the
Post on the eastern margin of the Moruca river, called by the
Hollanders Maroco ; and that this establishment is not of almost
immemorial time, because the wliole of the Colony is not so,
for we know that it commenced in the year sixteen hundred
and fifty-nine.
That it is untrue that the Hollanders liad, or have had,
possession of the Cuyuni river (which they call Cayoeny) ;
that having established a guard and barrack, similar to that
of Moruca, in the year seventeen hundred and forty-seven to
facilitate the inhuman commerce and trade in Indians, whom
they have enslaved surreptitiously in the dominions of the
King our Lord, for the cultivation of the plantations and im-
[irovement of their Colony, as soon as it came to the notice of
the Spaniards, in seventeen hundred and fifty-seven, they were
dislodged from there, and so they have not any possessions at
the Cuyuni, Maserony, Apanony, or the other rivers emptying
into the Esquivo river; nor is it tolerable that they should,
because those rivers embrace all the territory of the Province
of Guayana, running from their sources or western terminus
down to their eastern limit, emptying into the Esquivo — it
should result from the supposed possession that the Hollanders
were the masters of nearly the whole of the extensive Prov-
ince of Guayana, and that the Spaniards would not hold any
more than the said margins of the Orinoco, which is an ab-
surdity.
•J()4
That tlu'V aif only tolcratcil on tlic inaigins v( the lCr?(juivo
river, running- tVoni southeast to nortliwest, almost parallel with
tile oeean coast, the eastern end ol' tlie Province of Guayana,
leavino- iVi'c to the Spauiai'ils, their legitimate jxjssessors, the
whole ot the interior ol the same.
That lie ilocs not know, iioi' has he ever heard, that the
Spaniai'ils had huilt any .strongholds at Cuyuni nor at its sur-
roundings, with few nor many troops, hut he is persuaded that
Mr. de Gravesand has imagine(I to he sucli the two Mis-sious or
Indian settlements founded hy the Catalan Capuchin Fathers
in seventeen liundre(l nnd fifty-seven and seventeen htuidred
and sixty-one. on the northern margin of the Yurnari river,
emptying into the Cuyuni, at a distance of seventy leagues
from the destroyed Dutch harraek.
That the reason he has to think so, is Ijecaiise he has no
■other estahlishment on that side, and although there is no
more troop than one soldier in each of these settlements, for
the escort of the Missioners, the Carihs, whom Mr. de Grave-
sand helieves, as he explains himself in his report, may have
deceived him with this story and many others in which his
nonsensical report ahounds.
That it is true that in Fehruary of last year the Reverend
leather Prefect having given permission to the Reverend
Father Fr. Josef de Cervera and to the deponent to go down
to the mouths of the Orinoco and Barima rivers to look
alter the Aruacas and Guaraunos, Indian deserters from the
IMi.ssions ujider theii charge, they proceeded with their launch
and escort, and tound the dispersed Indians hetween Guayne
and Moruca, and while gathering them they reached a. post
where the Hollander had three Indian women and their chil-
dren, whom he had enslaved and removed from the mouth of
the Orinoco, as they .statetl. They were hrought hack to the
Missions without any violence; or liann to the Dutch. On
the contrary, in order to favor the Corporal of said post, who
asked on his knees, and crying, that the de})onent and his
companions, for the love of God, would give him an exculpa-
tion in the shape of a certificate to satisfy tlie Governor of
J'^squivo, the deponent and liis comjtanion, without suspecting
•205
the malice of his pretensions, anJ moved to pity, gave him a
certificate so ample that they exceeded their bounds, stating
that they had a permit from the Governor and Commander-
General of Orinoco and Guayana to go as far as that place,
when, in fact, the passport held by the pilot of the launch w<is
definitely limited to the mouth of the Orinoco, having no per-
mit to go to any other place, nor any other orders tlian those
from our Prelate.
That in regard to the Post and commercial house supposed
by de Gravesand to have been held by the Dutch Company
between Guayne and Povaron, the deponent does not know,
nor has he ever heard anything about such an establishment.
That he has not heard of the death of the Corporal of the
x4.rinda Barrack, towards the source of the Esquivo, nor even
of its existence, and that he finds incredible that the Spaniards
of Orinoco and the Indians of our acquaintance and depend-
ence may have committed this iiomicide, because there is such
a long and unknown distance from the Orinoco to that place;
that we have never heard of such a death, and this is the first
time that we hear the name of the Arinda Barrack, that, being
situated as de Gravesand says, towards the source of the Es-
quivo, it is inaccessible for us and the Indians, because the
Esquivo Colony is found between said sources and our settle-
ments, preventing the pass.
That the deponent has not heard, nor has he seen, that the
Hollanders had anv fisheries at the mouth of the Orinoco, nor
that the Spaniards had to stop them ; tliat he can not under-
stand that they have any necessity of such a fishery at the
mouth ot the Orinoco, when they can provide themselves with
plenty of fish much nearer to the Esquivo ; that he is per-
suaded that now, under the pretext of fishing, they want to
establish freely with their vessels at the mouth of the Orinoco,
so as to resume and facilitate their furtive shipments of mules
from the Guarapiche and Guaruapo districts, Barinas tobacco,
hides, and other products of the Spanish Provinces, with which
they benefited considerably their Colony, when the Orinoco
and its creeks were not so well guarded as they are now..
That this novelty and the want of commerce is the true cause-
200
of iIk' (lecailenee of Esquivo. and llie resentniciit of Mr. dc
Ciravesaiu], lirst merchant, and always tlie most interested in
tlie illicit trade of the Colony.
That it is false that the Sjianiards hail stupiied the alH)ve
mentioned fisheries in the territory that de Gravesand considers
part of the State, extending from the Mareguine river to this
side of the Gnayne, very near the mouth of the Orinoco; that
supposition, the deponent says, is an intolerable error.
In regard to the slave deserters from Esquivo, the deponent
says that there are two kinds of them ; the negroes j)urehased
from Africa and the Indians taken by the Hollanders (nncUily
and cruelly, by means of the Caribs), their allies, from our do-
minions, by Avay of the rivers Moruca and Guayne emptying
into the sea and communicating with the Orinoco, or else by
way of the rivers Cu3'uni, Maserony, Apanony and others that
bi'ing their course from the innermost part of this Province
and fall into the Esquivo. That in regard to the retention
made of said slaves, the reason is plain for our conduct, be-
cause, being the vassals of the King and cruelly enslaved by
the Holhnulers, who carry on this inhuman commerce with
the Caribs against every law, we could not and we ought not to
restore them to slaver}' when they are happy enough to escape
and find protection under the Ministers of their lawful Lord
and Sovereign.
In regard to the negroes, the deponent says that it is not
true what Gravesand asserts, because notwithstanding that we
know that two negro fugitive slaves from this city were sold
at the Colony of Esquivo by said Gravesand, and their mas-
ters, Don Thomas Franquiz and Catalina de Arocha, claimed
them, they did not receive any satisfaction; sometimes Grave-
sand has claimed several deserters from Esquivo, and their
ma.sters have been satisfied to sell them, as it had been done
in Guayana, and the i)rice in silver taken as proceeds to Es-
(piivo, except only those slaves that come to enjoy the l^enefit
of the Catholic religion, who are set free by the King's com-
mand ; that neither the Indians nor the fugitive negroes from
pjS(|uivo, so far as the deponent knows, have ever been induced
207
by the Spaniards to run away, nor is it likely that such was
the case.
That it is true that the Colony of Esquivo is running to ruin
visibly, since the time when the doors have been shut up to
their illicit commerce which they used to carry on with
Orinoco, and the Poytos have found open the way to their
freedom, whenever they can escape ; and, finally, the deponent
says that it is false that the Spaniards may have killed any
Dutch Guard, nor had attacked any other Post than that of
tlie Cuyuni, in the year seventeen hundred and fifiy-eight, at
the time when one man was killed, and found out to be a
Spanish soldier.
And he adds that he had been for five j^ears an Apostolic
Missionary of this Province, and his experience enables him to
say that the suggestions of the Esquivo Hollanders and their
detestable commerce in Poytos, is the reason why all the
Caribs and other savage tribes have not been settled in our
Missions, as they are continually working under the direction
of the Hollanders, in destroying our settlements through
various means, such as setting them on fire, as the}^ did in
seventeen hundred and fifty, attacking them openly by force,
or through diabolical and artful means making them revolt,
so that within the time that the Reverend Fathers of the
Order of the deponent have been working, the Hollanders, in
company with the Caribs, have destroyed, as may be seen by
the judicial proceedings on the subject, seven formal settle-
ments, without counting those of the Jesuits and Observant
Fathers, set on fire or destroyed, killing at the same time
many Reverend Fathers.
All the contents of this statement he know^s personally and
have been reported by the oldest Reverend Father Missioners
and other persons of the greatest veracity, and he affirms and
ratifies the same under his oath and will repeat it if necessary.
That he is thirty-four yea,YS old.
This deposition was read to him, and he says that it is the
same he has made, and is well and faithfully written, and that
he has nothing to add nor withdraw from the same, and signs
20S
with the rMininaiitliiig (uiicral ami ourselves, the acting wit-
nesses, certifying; to the act.
Don Manuel Centukion — [here is a llourishj.
Fr. Eelix de Tarkaga,
Apostolic Missionary — [here is a flourish].
Diego Ignacio Marino — [here is a flourish].
EsTEBAN Martinez — [here is a flourish].
5. In (he said city of Guayana, on the twenty-seventh of
said month of the same year, continuing this proceeding, in
compliance with the above rule, the Tribunal had before it
Don Felix Ferreras, Lieutenant of Infantry of the Guard of
this Province of Guayana, who was duly sworn by the Com-
mander General, and promised, on his word of honor, to tell
the truth of all that he knew and might be interrogated, and
being examined by the tenor of the already-mentioned paper^
presented by the Minister of Holland, and inserted in folios 1
to 6 of this proceeding, and having been read to him for his
better intelligence, he said :
That the Hollanders had not, nor ever had been in posses-
sion of the rivers nor rivulets emptying into the sea from the
Esquivo exclusive, down to the month of the Orinoco; that it
had only been tolerated on that side, their small guard of two
j^uropeans and several Indians in a barrack which they call
the Post, on the eastern side of the Moruca river, called by the
Hollanders Maroco, and that this establishment is not of time
quasi immemorial, because the said Colony is not so, and we
know that it connnenced about the middle of the last cen-
tury.
That it is untrue that the Hollanders have had or now have
possession of the Cuyuni river there (called by them Cayoeny),
because when they established there a guard and barrack like
that of Moruea, in the year of seventeen hundred and forty-
seven, to facilitate the inhuman commerce and trade in In-
dians, whom they enslaved surreptitiously in the dominions
of the King our Lord, for the cultivation of the plantations
an«l improvement of the Colony, as soon as the Spaniards
209
heard of the case, in the year seventeen hundred and forty-
seven, when the deponent was in command ad interim of the
old Gnayana, they were dislodged from there, and so it is that
neither in the Cuyuni, Maserony, Apanony, nor other rivers
emptying into the Esquivo, have the Hollanders any posses-
sions, nor is it tolerable that they should, because those rivers
cover nearly the whole territory of the Province of Guayana,
running from their western source, where they begin, down to
the eastern limit, emptying into the Esquivo river; it should
result from the supposed possession that the Hollanders were
the masters of nearly the whole extensive Province of Gua-
yana, and that Spaniards had no more of it than the said
banks of the Orinoco, which is an absurdity.
That the Hollanders are only tolerated on the margins of
the Esquivo river, from its mouth to the Cuyuni, where they
have a Post called by them Old Castle. That the Esquivo
runs from S. E. to N. W., almost parallel with the ocean coast,
the oriental terminus of this Province, leaving free the inte-
rior of it to the Spaniards, their lawful possessors.
That he does not know or has ever heard that the Span-
iards had built any Fort on the Cuyuni, nor its surroundings
with many or few troops, because in that part we have no more
establishments than the two Missions or Indian settlements,
Guaceypati and Cavallaju, founded by the Reverend Catalan Ca-
puchin Fathers, in the years seventeen hundred and fifty-seven
and seventeen hundred and sixty-one, at the northern margin
of the Yuruari river, emptying into the Cuyuni, distant seventy
leagues from the destroyed Dutch Barrack, that in said Mis-
sions there is but one soldier in each one for the escort of the
Missionaries. That what happened about February of last
year, at the Post of Maruca, the deponent does not know any-
thing, as he was at that time serving on a detachment at Rio
Negro.
That in regard to the Post and commercial house, supposed
by Gravesand to have been kept by the Dutch Company, be-
tween Guayne and Pomaron, he has not heard anything about
such an establishment. Neither has he any news of the death
of the Corporal of the Arinda Barrack, towards the source of
Vol. ir, Ven.— U
210
tlie Esquivo, nor even of tin- existence of the same; that he
finds in(*r(Mlil)lo tlinT the Siianinrds of Oi-inoco or t1i(> Indians
of our ac'<iuaintanet' and dc|Haid('nci' had ctlrcicd this hoiiii-
ei<U', l>ecause, beside^ the long and uid<nown distance and the
intermediate territoi'v from the Oi'inoco to that phice, he lias
never heard of such a case, and this is the first time that he
hears the name of the Ariiida ilan-arks.
That the deponent has never seen or heard that the Hol-
lander^ had made any hsheries at the iiioulh of (>riiioeo, nor
tliiil the 8]>aniards liad had to sto}) them : that oidy last year
of seventeen hundred and sixiy IJeutenant l)on Juan de
Floras seized a schooner and two launches Ironi I^s(|uivo, on
the ( M'jnoeo and Barima rivers, while cruising in ([uest of some
Hollanders that were purchasing Poytos around tliose creeks,
from the Caribs : tliat said vessels were condemned and confis-
cated by the Government of Cumana, from whieli f Jiniyana
was dependent at the tim<'.
That it is rather suspicious, in the opini(»n of the (le|iouent,
the pretension of these fislieries l>y the Hollanders on the
mouth of Orinoco, as they can be provided with plenty of fish
i'rom places nnich nearer to tlie Ivsrpiivo, and that he is })er-
suaded that under the pretext of fisheries the Hollanders
desire to establish freely wilh their vessels at the mouth of the
Orinoco, in order to resume and facilitate the furtive shipment
of mules from the Guarnj>icli(,' and (oiaruapo. and IJai'inas
tobacco, hides, and other products from the Spanish j'rovinces
with wldcli they used to impi'ove considei'ably their ('oloiiy,
when the Orinoco and its creeks were not so well guarded as
they are now. That this novelty and want of commerce is
tlie true cause of the re-entment of Mr. de (Jravesand, Director
of Esqiuvo, and the most interested in the illicit commerce of
the Colony.
That it is not trui' that said IJshei'ies have been prevented
by the Spaniards in the territoi'y which (iravesaud calls terri-
tory of the same State extending, as he says, IVom the Mare-
guine i-ivei' to tlii'^ side of the < iuayiie, very near the mouth of
the Orinoco; said supposition the dcjionent says is a very
.serious error.
In regard t;) the slaves, ile-erters from Esquivo, the dejionent
211
says that there are two kinds, negroes purchased from Africa
and Indians, whom the Hollanders bring unduly and cruelly,
or cause the Caribs, their allies, to be brought to them from
our dominions, by way of the Moruca and Guayne rivers,
emptying into the sea and communicating with the Orinoco,
or else by way of the rivers Cuyuni, Maserony, Apanony, and
others, bringing their course from the innermost part of this
Province and emptying into the Esquivo, and that the latter
have never been claimed by the Hollanders, who are conscious
of the crime of their acquisition, because in this inhuman com-
merce they cause the slaughter of a great many innocent In-
dians, so as to enslave others against the law of nations.
In regard to the negroes, the deponent says that it is untrue
what Mr. de Gravesand states, because nothwithstanding that
it is known that two fugitive negro slaves of this city to the
Colony of Esquivo were sold there by said Gravesand, and
although their owners, Don Thomas Franquiz and Augustina
Catalina de Arocha, residents of Guayana, had claimed them,
they have had no satisfaction; several times Mr. de Gravesand
has claimed from here some negro slaves, deserters from
Esquivo, whose masters have been satisfied with their sale
effected here in Guayana, and taken back to Esquivo the pro-
ceeds in silver, except only those slaves that in order to enjoy
the benefit of the Catholic religion escape and are made free by
command of the King ; that neither the Indians nor the fugi-
tive negroes from Esquivo, as far as the deponent knows, have
ever been induced by the Spaniards to run away, nor is it
likely that anybod}- should venture to take such a step at the
risk of being hung at Esquivo. That it is true that the Colony
goes to ruin since the doors have been shut up for the illicit
commerce that they carried on before with the Orinoco, and
the Poytos or slaves have found open the way to recover their
freedom, by escaping.
Finally, he says, that it is absolutely false that the Spaniards
had killed any Dutch Guard or Guards, nor attacked any
other Post than that of Cuyuni, in the year of seventeen hun-
deed and fifty-eight, when only one man died, and that was
one of the Spanish soldiers.
And he adds that he has been established in this Province
•21-2
for the last thirty- three years, and witli tliat experience, he
must say that the suggestions of tlie Holhmders of Esqnivo,
and tlieir detestable commerce in Poytcs. is the cause why all
the Caribs have not been settled in i>\\v Missions, ns well as
many other savage tribes, worlving continually umler the spur
of the Hollanders in destroying our settlements tlirongh various
ways — setting them on fire, as done in seventeen hundred ami
fifty, attacking them by open force, or revolting tiiem through a
diabolical and artful policy; that (»nly durnig the time that
he knows of the Missions of the Reverend Catalan Capuchins
of this ri'u\-inc<'. the Hollanders uniteil with the Caribs have
destroved nine formal settlements, without counting those of
the Jesuit Missionaries and Observant Fathers, set on fire and
destroved, killino- likewise manv Fathers as well as some sol-
diers, and that nearly in all these occasions they found naked
Hollanders dyed like the Caribs.
That all that he has stated is true under his oath, and that
he aflirms and ratifies the same and will repeat it if necessary,
and that he is fifty-seven years old.
Having read to him Ins deposition, he .said that it is the
same that he has made, and that it is widl and faithlully writ-
ten, and he has nothing to add nor withdraw from it, and
signed, with said Commander General and our.selves, the act-
ing witnesses, certilying to the act.
Don Manuel Cknturio.n — [here is a flourish],
Felix Fekreras — [here is a flourish].
Diego Ignacio Marino — [here is a flourisl'].
EsTEBAN Martinez — [here is a flourish].
t). Un the twenty-eighth ul'the same nionl ii and year, in oi'der
to Continue this investigation in compliance with the above
rule, this Tribunal had before it Don Santiago iJonalde, a resi-
dent of tliis city, whom the Commander-General had dnly
sworn in legal form, and who promised to tell the truth of
what he knew an<l nnght l>e interrogated, as it was done by
the tenor of the pa[)er jn-esented by the Minister of Holland,
21
o
inserted in folios one to six of these acts, which was read to
him, word for word, for his guidance, and he said :
That the Hollanders had not, or ever had, been in pos-
session of the rivers or rivulets emptying into the sea from
the Esquivo exclusive down to the mouth of the Orinoco;
that it has been only tolerated, on tliat [)art, their small Guard
of two Europeans and several Indians, in a Barrack which
they call the Post, on the eastern margin of the Moruca river,
which the Hollanders call Maroco ; that this establishment is
not of time quasi-immemorial, because the Colony itself is not,
for we know that it was onh'- commenced about the middle of
the last century.
Tiiat it is not true that the Hollanders have ever had posses-
sion of the river Cuyuni (called by them Cayoeny) ; that when
they established a Guard and Barrack, like that of Moruca, in
the year seventeen hundred and forty-seven, to facilitate the
inhuman commerce and trade in Indians, wdromthey enslaved
surreptitiously in the dominions of the King our Lord, for tiie
cultivation of the plantations and improvement of the Colony,
as soon as the fact came to the notice of the Spaniards, in the
year seventeen hundred and fifty-seven, they were dislodged
from there b3'the dei)onent, who with some troop was detached
to perform this duty by the Commander ad interim of the old
Guayana, and so it is that neither the Cuyuni, Maserony, Apa-
nony, nor the other rivers entering into the Esquivo, have been
in possession of the Hollanders, nor is it tolerable that they
should have been, because said river embraces nearly the whole
territory of the Province of Guayana, running from their west-
ern terminus, where they begin, down to the eastern limit,
emptying into the Esquivo river, as it should result from the
supposed possession that the Hollanders would be the masters
of nearly the whole extensive Province of Guayana, and that
the Spaniards had no more than the said margins of the Ori-
noco, wiiich is an absurdity ; that they are only tolerated and
established at the margins of the Esquivo river from its mouth
up to that of Cuyuni, wdiere they have a Post which they call
Old Castle; that the Esquivo runs from the S. E. to the N.W.,
nearly parallel with the ocean coast, the eastern terminus of
214
this rruviiieu ul' (.iuayaiia, ami leaves tVee tliu interior of the
same to the Spaniards, their hiwl'ul iH»s>essors.
Tliat he (hies nut knuw nor has he ever heard that tlie
Spaniards had any stronghohl at the Cuyuni nor its sur-
roundinu's with many imr a few troops; that on that si(h' there
is no more establishment than the two Missions oi' Indian
settlements of Guaceypati ami ('avallajn, founded l)y the Cata-
lan < 'aiineliin l"'afliers in the vears seventeen hundred and fil'tv-
seven and seventeen hundred and sixty-one, on the northern
margin of the Yuruari River, emptying into the Cuyuni, and
at a distance of seventy leagues from the destroyed Dutch
Barrack; that in said Missions there is no more troop than
one soldier in each one for the escort of the Missioners.
Tiiat about the occurrence in February of last year at the
Post of Moruca, he only knows that the Capuchin Fathers
that went to that place brought back the fugitive Indian de-
serters from their settlements, who had gone to those creeks
and prairies between Guayne and Moruca, and that having
reached said Barrack, the Post of the Hollanders, and found
that the Dutch Corporal kept there as slaves two or three
Indian natives of our dominions, he lirought them back to the
Missions, without doing any harm or hostilities to the Hol-
landers.
That in regard to the Post and commercial house that
Gravesand supposes to have been kept by the Company be-
tween Guayne and Povaron, he does not know nor has (>ver
heard anything about such an establishment.
That he has not heard of the Corporal of the Arinda Bai'rack,
towards the source of the Escjuivo, nor even of (he existence of
the same; and that he finds impossible that the Spaniards of
the Orinoco), or the Indians of our a('(jnaintanee and depend-
ence, have peipetrated this homicide, on account of the long
distance, unknown to ns, and the intermediate territory between
the Orinoco and that place ; that he never heai-d of such a death,
and that this is the lir-t time that he hears the name of the
Arinda Barrack.
That the deponent has not seen or heard that the Holland-
ers have kept fisheries at the mouth of the Orinoco, nor that
215
the Sj.)aninrds had to stop them ; that only on the last year of
seventeen hundred and sixty, Lieutenant Don Juan de Flores
seized a schooner and two launches from Esquivo, on the Ori-
noco and Bnrima rivers, while going on a cruise after some
Hollanders purchasing Poytos in those creeks, from the Caribs ;
that said vessels were made good prizes and confiscated by the
Government of Cuamana, from where Guayana was a depend-
ence at that time ; that the deponont suspects that the })reten-
sions of these fisheries by the Hollanders, at the mouth of the
Orinoco, when they have plenty of fish much nearer to Esquivo,
is only a pretext, so as to establish themselves freely with their
vessels at the mouth of the Orinoco, and resume and facilitate
the furtive shipments of mules from Guarapiche and Guaruapo,
and Barinas tobacco, hides, and other products from the Sp;in-
ish Provinces, with which they im{)roved their Colony when
the Orinoco and the creeks were not as well guarded as they
are now. This novelty and the want of commerce is the true
cause of the resentment of Mr. de Gravesand, Director of Es-
quivo, and most interested in the illicit commerce of the
Colony.
That it is not true that said fisheries had been stopped by
the Spaniards, in the territory called by Gravesand territory
of the same State, and that he says that it extends from the
river Mareguihe to this side of the Guayne, very near the
mouth of the Orinoco, a supposition that the deponent calls a
serious error.
In regard to the slave deserters from Esquivo, the deponent
says that there are two classes of them : the negroes purchased
from Africa and the Indians taken unduly and cruelly by the
Hollanders or by their allies, the Caribs, under their spur, from
our dominions, l;)y way of the rivers Moruca and Guayne,
emiitying into the sea and in communication with the Ori-
noco, or else l)y way of the rivers Cuyuni, Maserony, Apanony
and others, rur.ning from the innermost part of this Province
and emptying into the Esquivo; that said Indians had never
been claimed by the Hollanders, who are conscious of the
crime of their acquisition, on account of the many innocent
parties whose lives are sacrificed, for the choice of those whom
21G
tliev enslave, in carrviiiir out lliis inhuman coinmerce against
the law of nations.
That in regard to the negroes, the deponent says that Mr.
de Gravt^sand is nut correct, because, notwithstanding that
two fugitive negro slaves from this city went to the Es(|uivo
Colony and were sold there by said (Jravesand, and their mas-
ters, Don Thomas Franquiz and A ugustina Catalina de Arocha,
residents of Guayana, had claimed them and had not obtained
any satisfaction ; several times Gravesand has claimed some
negro slave deserters from Esquivo, and tiie masters having
been satisfied with their sale effected in Guayana. have re-
ceived the proceeds in silver and taken the same to Esquivo;
except only the case of those slaves who, in order to enjoy the
benefit of our Catholic religion, run away and secure here
their liberty in pursuance of the King's commands. That
neither the Indians nor the iugitive negroes from Esquivo, as
far as the deponent knows, have ever been induced by the
Spaniards to escape, nor is it likely that anybody should have
tried to do so at the risk of being hung at Esqu'^vo.
That it is true that the Colony runs to ruin, from tlie time
when the doors have been shut to the illicit commerce carried
on at Orinoco before, and the Poytos or slaves find open the
way to their freedom, when they can escape from there.
And, finally, it is absolutely false that t'le Spaniards had
killed any Dutch Guard or Guards, or attacked any other Post
held by them than that of Cuyuni, in the year seventeen
hundred and fifty-eight, wlien only one man die(l. and that
was a Sj)anish .soldier.
He adds that he had been foi- the last twcntv-seven vears
established in this Province, and can safelv sav, as he outrht
to, that the suggestions of the Esquivo Hollanders and their
detestable commerce in Poytos are the cause that has pre-
vented the settlement of all the Caribs in our Missions, and
many other savage tribes, working continually under the Hol-
landers' directions, in destroying our settlements through
various ways, such as setting fire to them, as it was done in
the vear seventeen hundred and fiftv, or attacking them bv
open force, or revolting them, through a diabolical and aitful
217
policy, so that only during the time that the deponent has
l)een acquainted with the Missions, under tiie Catalan Capu-
chin Fathers of this Province, tlie Hollanders joined with the
■Caribs have destroyed nine form-il settlements, without count-
ing those of the Jesuit Missionaries and Observant Fathers of
the Orinoco, killing also many Reverend Fathers, besides some
:soldiers; and tiiat in almost all these occasions some Hol-
landers have been found painted like Caribs.
That what he has deposed is the truth under his oath, and
that he ratifies and affirms the same and will repeat it again
if necessary; that he is fifty-six years old; and having heard
iiis deposition read, he says it is the same that he has stated,
and that he finds it well and faithfully written, and has noth-
ing to add nor to withdraw from it, and, being blind, he
•directed his elder son, Santiago, to sign in his name, as it was
done, with the Commander General and ourselves, the acting
■witnesses, certifying to the act.
Don Manuel Centurion — [here is a flourish].
Francisco Santiago Boxalde — [here is a flourish].
Diego Ignacio Marino — [here is a flourish].
Esteban Martinez — [here is a flourish].
Rale. — The acting witnesses will call Cipriano Mayorga to
Tender his statement in the part of the depositions in refer-
'ence to him, of the Reverend Capuchin Fathers Fr. Joseph
Antonio de Cervera and Fr. Felix de Tarraga, Missionaries of
tills Province.
It was so ruled at the city of Guayana, on the twenty-ninth
■day of March, seventeen hundred andseventy, by Don Manuel
■Centurion, Commander General of this Province, and signed
hefore us, the acting witnes.ses, certifying to the act.
Centurion — [here is a flourish].
Diego Ignacio Marino — [here is a flourish].
Esteban Martinez — [here is a flourish].
We, the acting witnesses, immediately afterwards called on
'Cipriano Mayorga, the pilot of the launch that carried, in
218
l'\'l)ruiirv of lust year, the Reverend ( ';i|iucli in Missioncrs, Vi\
Joseph Antonio de Oervera and Kr. Felix de Tari'au;a, to liriui;;
sonic Indian-; tVoin the niontli ol' the ()i'ino^-o, and not having
fonnd him in any part of the cdty, we have been told that he
is absent on board the cruisini;- lannch of his command. And
we certify to the fact.
Diego Ignacio ]\r.\i:ixo — [hero is a flourish].
EsTKiJAX MAirnxK/ — [heiv is a Hourish],
Witness sniiiiniiird. — In this city, on the thirtietii day of s lid
month and year, in order to verify the reference made in tiie
foregoing depositions in regard toDon Tomas Franquiz, he ap-
peared before us, the acting witnesses of the Government's
Tribunal, and after havinu' been duly sworn, according to the
law and usage, he [)roniistMl to tell the truth of what he knew
and would be interrou'ated, and havini>- been examined bv the
Commander General in regai-il to the escape of a slave of the
witnes-, ri'ported to be at the Colony of Esquivo, he (k^})osed :
That it is true that about the end of the year seventeen hun-
dred and sixty-six, a negro shive of the deponent ran away
from this city to the Colony of Esquivo, the name of said
negro is Ambrosio, and went along with anotlier negro owned
by Augustina de Arocha, whose name is Francisco; that
through several deserters, arrived since from Es(|uivo to this
city, the deponent has been informed that his negro, as well as
that of Augustina Arocha, had been sold in Esquivo to a
Lutheran Parson by the Governor of that Colony, aftei' having
held them at work in his own plantation, from whei'e they
escaped, and that he had to come to recover them iVom the
moiuh of the < )i-inoco ; that that is all he knows and can
attest on this subjeL.'t. under the oath lu' has taken, and tinit
he ratifies and atlirms his deposition, and will repeat it if
necessary.
Having read to him his statement, he said, that it is the same
he has made, and it is well and I'ailhlnlly written ; that he has
nothing to aild nor witlnlraw from the same, and signs it with
219
the Commander General and ourselves', the acting witnesses^
certifying to the act.
Don Manuel Centurion — [here is a flourish].
Thomas Franquiz — [here is a flourish].
Diego Ignacio Marino — [here is a flourish].
EsTEBAN Martinez — [here is a flourish].
Another ivitness. — In the same city, on the second day of
April, seventeen hundred and seventy, the Tribunal had be-
fore it and the acting witnesses, Augustina de Arocha, a resi-
dent of Guayana, quoted in the foregoing deposition ; and the
said Commander General had her duly sworn according to
law, and she promised to tell the truth of what she knew and
might be interrogated, and she was asked what she knew in
regard to the slave owned by the deponent and said to have
escaped from this city and reached the colony of Esquivo,
where it is said that he is, and she deposed : That it is true that
about the end of the year seventeen hundred and sixty-six a
negro slave belonging to the deponent deserted from this city
for the Colony of Esquivo with another negro slave belonging
to Don Thomas Franquiz, the first called Francisco and the
second Ambrosio ; that through several deserters, arrived
since that time from Esquivo to this city, she had been in-
formed that both her negro and the one belonging to Franquiz
have been sold in Esquivo to a Lutheran Parson by the Gov-
ernor of that Colony, after having had them kept working in
his own plantation, from where they escaped, and were re-
covered at the mouth of the Orinoco. That that is all she
knows and may depose on the subject under the oath that she
has taken, and that she affirms and ratifies, and will repeat
again, if necessary, her deposition; that she is forty-three
years old ; and having heard her statement, she says that it is
the same made by her, and is well and faithfully written; that
she has nothing to add nor to withdraw from the same, and
does not sign it, on account of not knowing how to do so, and
it was done at her request by Don Francisco de Amantegui,.
220
witli the .'-aid ( 'oiurnffiider Gc'iU'i'al and uui;?c'Ivl's. the' aetiiiu'
witnesses, certifying to the act.
Don Manuel Centlkkin — [hero is a flourish]. ^
Francisco de Amantegui — [here is a flourish].
EsTEBAN Martines — [here is a flourish].
Rale. — In tlie city of Guaj'ana, on the fourth (hiy of April,
seventeen hundred and .seventy, being in his Tribunal, Don
Manuel Centurion, Commander General of tliis Province, with
ourselves, the acting- witnesses, he said: That after examining
the deposition and acts of the present proceeding he approved
them all and found them .sufficient for the justification that,
by order of the King, had been instituted in regard to the com-
jihiints laid l)efore his Maje.^ty by the Minister of Holland in
reference to the conduct of the Spaniards of ( )iinoco against
the Colony of Esquivo, and in con.sequence I rule that the
acting witnesses draw a testimony of this investigation in full,
and thai the original bo forwarded to the King our Lord,
through his i^xcollency, the Bailiff, Fr. Don Julian de Arriaga;
and it was so ruled and signed by said Commander General,
with ourselves, the acting witnesses, for want of a Notary Public,
and on common ])aper, as no stamped is found in this Province.
We certify to the fact.
Don Manuel Centurion — [here is a flourish].
Diego Ignacio Marino — [here is a flourish].
EsTEBAN Martinez — [here is a flourish].
The foregoing coi)y agrees with the original document exist-
ing at the General Archives of the Indies in Stand 131 — Case
7— Docket 17. Seville, Decem])er the 0th. ISOO.
The Chief of Archives.
Carlos Jimenez Placer — [here is a flourish].
[seal.] — General Archives of the Indies.
The undersigned, Consul General of the United States in
Spain, Venezuela certifies to the authenticity of the signature
221
of Don Carlos Jimenez Placer, Chief of the General Archives^
of the Indies.
Madrid, December 24th, 1890.
P. FORTOULT HURTADO.
The undersigned, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United
States of Venezuela, certifies to the authenticity of the signa-
ture of Serior Pedro Fortoult Hurtado, Consul General of Ven-
ezuela in Spain at the preceding date.
Caracas, March the 6th, 1896.
P. EZEQUIEL ROJAS.
[seal.] — Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
222
No. xm.
Stand 131.— Case 2. — Docket 18.
Genekal Archives of tiik Iniuks. — (Seville.)
1771.
Letter No. 21) IVoiii the Coininaiuler of Ouayaiia, Don
Manuel Centurion, to the Bailitt", Fr. D lulian <le
Arriaj^a, jiivinj; an account of the e-Vi)e<lit i(»n that lie
lia<l sent to occupy t h<' l*arinie Lake and to 4'\i>h»re
1-^1 Dorado an<l to reduce tlie Intlian.s inhabitini; tliat
region.
GuAYANA, December 2S(h, 1771.
1771.— No. 29.— Most Excellent Sir.
Dear Sn; : Jlavini; constantly followed, from the time of
my assumption of tliis command, the sound ideas and laudable
si)irit of my eliicf, Don .Josef Solano, to penetrate into this un-
known country and ic(hicc' tlic innumerable gentiles who in-
habit its forests, as i.s shown by the accompanying testimony,
1 rendered an account on the third of November of last vear,
to Ids Excellency, the A'iceroy of tlie State of this T*rovince, of
the [)rogressobtainc(l in the reduction of Indians and advance-
ment in tlie country ; the necessity to advance, with a respect-
al)le detacliment, to stop the foreigners who from the Ama-
zonas and ( )c( an coast are penetrating inland towards the
Parime Lake, the center of this most extensive Province, and
domicile of a multitude of Indians, that flvinjr from the Euro-
peans, reach its surroundings, and from the beginning with-
drew to tliose mountains, wlieic they consider themselves free
from intruder.s.
223
To accomplish this object I requested the help of Your Ex-
cellency, but in the letter of the seventh of last March of the
present year, while urging that I should omit no reasonable
means to accomplish this dilhcult and expensive enterprise.
Your Excellency denies me every kind of help, as it is shown
by the accompanying copy, and even on the thirtieth of last
November, I told Your Excellency that in the absence of sup-
port, it was not possible to advance my steps in this affair.
Since that time, a Captain from Parime with a large retinue
has reached tin's city, attracted by the gifts wiiich I have ])re-
sented him, and the kind treatment given to the Indians newly
reduced from the Erevato river and the sources of the Caura,
and he has promised to leave his women and children as host,
ages, and lead the Si)aniards that I will send to the Parime
lake and i)lace them in possession of the renowned mountain
of El Dorado, and to reduce peacefully to our devotion most
of the chief barbarous tribes who keep and inhabit its sur-
roundings. And in order not to miss this opportunity, facili-
tating now what was before thougiit impossible and imaginary,
I have endeavored to furnish the necessary supplies to the
strongest expedition that in the middle of my greatest indi-
gencies I have managed to send, on the twenty-third instant,
according to the terms expressed in my instructions herewith.
I can not flatter myself with the promises of this Indian. He
says that El Dorado is a high mountain, without any other
plants than straw, and that everywhere on the surlaceit shows
cones or pyramids of gold, one-third of a yard high and half
of a yard in diameter, and others of smaller sizes; that when
the sun shines their glow is so vivid that it dazzles the sight,
and can not be seen without offending the eyes; and that tlie
neighboring Indians guard the secret inviolably, to conceal
it from the Caribs and other Indians trading with the Hol-
landers and Portuguese. But there is no doubt that those
frontiers are uncovered, and that there are very many gentile
Indians to be reduced to our lioly religion, and that in order
to secure the greatest and most precious territory of this exten-
sive Province, it is imperative to reach it in time, in order to
occupy tlie precious avenues of that great lake and rivers flow-
>r>
224
ing from it in tho directiou of the l)utili. Frciicli, ami roriii-
iruese Colonies on the ocean coa-^t and the Amazon river. It
i.s true that this journey (until the country Ix-conic-; well
known and possessed of a goo<l land road j is long and lahorious^
on account of the turns and windings of the rivers and their
many rapids, an <1 the grounding places, through which the hoats
have to be dragged, changing from one liver to another, require
no less than three months of very expensive travel, ami almost
all through deserts and unknown lands from this city to Pariine;
hut if it meets the approval ot'your I^xcelleiicy, and the King
feels satisfied, we shall have this glory and the best satisfac-
tion for our fatigues. Meantime, with the same affectionate
attachment to your Excellency, and subject to your orders, I
pray the Lord to keep your life under His holy guar<l for
many happy years, as it is my desire.
(iuayana, December the twenty-eighth, seventeen hundred
and seventy-one.
Most Excellent Sir. — Kiss the hand of your Excellency, his
hundjlest and most obedient servant,
Don Manuel Centurion — [here is a flourish].
Most Excellent Bailiff,
Fr. Don Julian de Arriaga.
[Copy.]
Most Excellent Sir.
Dear Sir : In continuation of the valuable project that His
Majesty has entrusted to me, in order to [)enetrate into and
settle the extensive and unknown deserts of this new Prov-
ince, and in order to facilitate the road by land to the Esmer-
alda, a town situated on the upper r)rinoco, at the mouth of
tlie Casicpiiari, as important as 1 have inlormed your Excel-
lency, on the twenty-fifth of last May, I have since that time
occupied with a detachment and stronghold the niouth ot the
Crevato river, emptying into the uppei- ('aura, /vnd in order
to continue the reduction tp civilized ;ind ('hristian society
of the multitude of savage Indians found in those mariiins.
(dispo.seil likewise to receive the light of the Gospel, thai
having commenced to settle under Spanish soldiers, they ask
225
for Reverend Fathers to instruct and baptize them,) I selected
from the Community of Reverend Franciscan Observant ]\Iis-
sioners of Orinoco two Priests, whom, with the necessary sup-
phes, provisions, and ecclesiastical ornaments, I have sent to
those new establishments. And in order to secure their sub-
sistence I will open a direct communication by the way of
Carolina to this capital, as the Caura navigation is difficult,
and the windings of the Iniquiari (by way of which they have
gone this time), make difficult to obtain the necessary supplies
and commerce with those places. At the same time I have
decided to open a straight road from the mouth of the Erevato
river to the Esmeralda. The explorers, who in compliance
witli my directions liave come by land to this city, confirm
the reports given before by laitliful Caribs, that the shortest
wav from here to the mouth of the Casiquiari must follow the
bank of the Erevato.
For the discovery of the famous Parime Lake I have sent at
once, by the way of the Paragua and the Caura, Spanish ex-
plorers of courage, led by several Indians acquainted with
those of our party, and I- hope to receive the reports of these
undertakings to make your Exoellency individually acquainted
with any thing that may be discovered. I understand that
in those islands, and on the margins of that immense lake,
there are innumerable Indians who, flying from the Spaniards,
Portuguese, French, and Hollanders, are found around that
country after the}' retired from the center, leaving almost des-
ert all its circumference.
I think that, once occupied by the Spaniards, one of the
islands of the renowned lake, with a reasonable detachment,
we will secure at the same time the advantages of depriving
the Hollanders and their allied Caribs from continuing in their
trade in Poytos which they carry on in this Province b}' way
of the Apanony, Sipo, Maserony, and many other rivers empty-
ing into the Esquivo, and facilitating the navigation of for-
eigners to Parime and the sources of the Orinoco, Caura, Para-
gua, and other rivers.
We shall open the country' through the progress of our
Missions, before any foreigners take hold of this region or lay
Vol. it, Ven.— 15
2-2<)
it wa.xtf, tliroiigii the cuiistunt removal ul' Ihc Indians cii.slaveu,
tor the improvement of the agricuUure of their Colonies, hy
means of the cruel and infamous commerce in Poytos with
the Carihs. We will sl<>[i witliin their ijounds tiie Esquivo
Hollanders, those of Bervis and Surinam, the Frenchmen from
Cayena, antl the Portuguese from the Amazon, keeping a con-
stant lookout to emharrass the usurpation which they are always
contriving to extend on our doiiiiuioiis, until now dilhcult to
avoid : and assuring the King in the possession of this precious
ami extensive country, we will give, within a short time a val-
uahle Province with many vassals to the Crown and faitliful
to our Catholic religion.
AVe are well disposed, most Excellent Sir, as may be seen by
the accompanying copies of letters from the Father Superiors
of these Missions, and we are only wanting the necessary sup-
plies, which I hope your Excellency will deign to accord us,
as well as the withdrawal of the useless escorts of the Meta and
Casanare rivers, to employ these eighteen detachments on the
Parime and its surroundings, as there are so many places in
which 1 have distributed unavoidably the rest of the troop
under my command.
If there are not soldiers enough in each Post T have no
means to relieve any of the most overtaxed detachments.
Wishing to give your Excellency, as I am in duty bound (o
do, an idea of the geography of all that I have been able to
find out in connection with this unknown Province, according
to what I have seen and heard in the various reports that I
have examined with the greatest attention to discover the
truth, I have arranged the accompanying map, which, although
susceptible of future corrections wln'U the country will be fully
open and explored by the Spaniards, I believe that at present
it is the chart most accurate that we have of Guayana, and I
hope your Excellency will kindly receive it and excuse any
defects that may be noticed, as I expect from the great indul-
gence of your Excellency.
Praying the Lord to keep in liis lioly guard the precious
life of your Excellency for many happy years, as it is my desire.
Guayana, on the third of Xovem1)er of seventeen seventy —
227
Most Excellent Sir — Kiss the hand of your Excellency — your
most obedient, humble servant,
Manuel Centurion.
Most Excellent Bailiff,
Fr. Don Pedro Mesia de la Zerda.
Postscript. — I just learn from a few Hollanders who with
their launch were seized by our cruisers oh the Orinoco, and
brought lately to this capital, that the Portuguese from the
Maraiion river have introduced themselves through the
Parime river, up to the southeastern shores of the famous lake
of that name, and that within four days' journey from the
same, and at the same river, they have fortified a place and
built houses and stores for the cacao, in which those lands
abound, to be transported by small boats to Para. This news
has caused me to make inquiries over and over again, and it
is confirmed by several persons who report the same thing. I
make your Excellency acquainted with said report, so that,
as I think the urgency ot the case of our expedition to tlie
Parime Lake may be well understood and your Excellency
will kindly furnish me with the necessary means.
Centurion.
Anotlier Letter from the Bailiff.
The draft and copies sent by your Honor accompanying the
letter of last November third, show very clearly the state of
the Province of Guayana and the progress of the Missions, as
well as the situation of the Hollanders, French, and Portuguese
possessions surrounding the same and the news lately received
of their penetration up to the Parime Lake, far in the interior
of our dominions; this boldness must be stopped, and your
Honor will see as to the means to be employed, without ex-
cluding force, under the understanding that I can not dis-
pose of any money and am in need of funds, as the principal
thing that your Honor will bear in mind in dealing with the
subject. Li another letter of this date I haye shown the same
thing.
228
Santa Fc. Maivli the seventh, seventocn hnmlrcrl and seventy;
one.
The l)ailitr Fr. ])()N Pedro JNIksia de la Zekda.
Senor Dmi Mannel Centurion.
The foregoing are coj)ies from the original letters kei>t at the
Archives of the Commander General of Orinoco and (luayana,
at the Secretary's Office under my ciiarge, and I certify to the
fact.
Guayana, December the 20th of 1771.
Frantisco de Amantegui,
Secretary of War.
f nstnictions to be ob.serve<l by the Ijieuteiiaiit of Artillery,
l>ou Nicolas Martinez, CoiniiiaiKler of the detaehiueiit
sent to ofoupy VA Dorado and the Parinie Lake.
1. This officer will leave this capital, taking under his orders
a detachment of troops consisting of one sergeant, one corporal,
twelve soldiers, one cosmographer, and two interpreters. He will
transport them in the vessels that he may find more suitable
and expedient, carrying the necessary ammunition, arms, and
provisions f )r the transfer and subsistence through the rivers
Orinoco, Caura, Cuato, Parime, Abararuru, Aman, and Amoine,
entering into the Parime lake and consecutively, ho will estab-
lish himself at El Dorado, that is reported to be a brilliant
mountain of gold color, called Acucuamo and by other names
Curucuripati, contiguous to said lake, at the mouth of the
Guaricuru creek, settled or guarded by the tribes Macussi,
Arecuna. and manv others of .savage Indians in the interior of
this Province.
2. On this march the Commander mIII carefully keep his
whole troo}) on han<l united, witliout permitting any of the
vessels to go astray, and stopping always at good hours, in ad-
vantageous places, where the vessels and people are kept under
229
his e3'es and orders, mounting the guards and necessary sen-
tries, so as not to be surprised on any event, taking all due
precautions dictated by prudence and military discipline. He
will carry a written daily account of every circumstance con-
nected with this journey in detail.
3. He will be especially careful not to allow any vessel of
gentile Indians to get ahead of his party, and prevent their
communication with the Parime and El Dorado Indians, for
fear that they make them give up that place and run away
before our expedition reaches there to pacify and reduce them.
4. As soon as said Commander reaches the point of his desti-
nation he will endeavor by every politic means, with sagacity
and kindness to befriend all those tribes, especially the Macusi
and Arecuna, presenting the chiefs of the Indians with those
trifles which they esteem, and singularly those who show
themselves the friendliest to the Spaniards, so as to stimulate
their voluntary submission to the domain of the King our
Lord, in whose name he will take official possession of all that
country with those solemn formalities that the situation may
permit; and administering to the Indians the corresponding
oath of allegiance in the most adequate form, offering them in
the name of the King, the protection and support of His
Majesty to keep them as loyal vassals, his servants, and all
their property, and defend them from their enemies, so tliat
they can live in safety for their persons and property, enjoying
the other felicities of those submitted to the just rule of the
King our Lord, and consequently he will gradually instruct
them, using ever}^ possible mildness, in the mysteries of our
holy Catholic faith, so as to have them embrace it with love
and adjure the errors of the gentiles. To this end he will be
accompanied with a Reverend Father of the Franciscan Mis-
sion of this Province, if the Prelate is willing to detach one to
join him to this expedition.
5. At the Parime river, near the Cachivo river, before reach-
ing the mouth of the Abarauru, he will endeavor to establish
a lort on a narrow place or point of land advantageously situ-
ated, so as to close the pass within gunshot from that phu-e to
our enemies, through said river. It will be of the greatest
230
iini>ortaiK'e to found in the neighborhood nf said tuit a tew
faithful Indian settlements, for the better subsistence and dc-
fence of the troop guarding that Post.
6. At the same place of El Dorado, or the most advantageous
[•laee to be found in the neighborhood, and in order to j)rrV(,'nt
the access of the Caribsand corsair Hollanders and Portuguese
to the Parime lake, a stronghold will ])e erected, with lodgings
for the Commander and all the troop, witii the artillery, arma-
ment, and aiunumition. Around the neighborhood \\v will
endeavor to establish settlements of faithful Indians, who may
liel|i the laborers with the necessary victuals and what may be
wanted for the establishment and defence of the Spaniards on
that frontier, and on no account whatever will he wage war, or
allow any hostilities against the Indians, in order to reduce
them, employing the mildest and most attractive means. Only
in case of natural defence, shall he ever have to repel them,
as far as necessary to refrain others, l)ut always trying our
policy of subduing them by love.
7. As soon as he has taken possession of that territory, he
will explore it with the greatest care and attention so as to see
everything that is useful, especially the famous mountain El
Dorado, and other mineral and special pmijucts t\)und in tliat
neighborhood. Of all that he should discover he will give
prompt, circumstantial, and special reports, in reference to
everything, and his diary of the journey, to the Commander
General, so as to render an account of the same to His Majesty,
as well as the geographical description of the plact^s, with
maps that they will make in that territory, containing the
rivers, lakes, mountains, original inhabitants, and other notes
leading to a perfect knowledge of the situation of that country,
so vast and unknown.
8. And if he finds any European strangers established in
those surroundings, outside of the Colonies permitted to them —
to the Portuguese on the Amazon river, the Frenchmen on
the Cayena coast and the Hollanders on the Surinam coast,
Bervis and E.squivo on the Atlantic Ocean coast — he will inti-
mate to them, in the name of the King our Lord, the order to
quit immediately and leave those places of his Royal domain:
231
and if, after the first polite remonstrances, they do not with-
draw to their old and tolerated establishments, leaving free
from usurpation what they liokl, they will be compelled by
force of arms and vigor, as far as circumstances will allow the
Commander of this expedition.
9. On the stranding place of the Mairabapure, between
Caura and Cuato, an Indian settlement must be established,
(even though a small one), to facilitate the pass of the vessels
of one to the other river, and even to avoid this work and de-
lay, bringing the boats from one to another part, so as to expe-
dite the transfer of the boats and stores from one to another
side and secure the speediest communication of the new estab-
lishment of Parime with those of Caura and Orinoco. With
this view he will endeavor to settle the Guanavis or another
immediate tribe at the place where the house of the Caumaiva
Indian is situated on the banks of the Caura, above the mouth
of the Erevato. Another settlement on the stranding place of
the Mairabapure.
10. If the adventurers or parties, willing to follow this expe-
dition as outsiders, should undertake to make discoveries at
their own expense, and explore mines or other useful enter-
prises in those surroundings, the Commander will allow them
to do so, according to the laws of these Kingdoms, after hav-
ing verified the two chief establishments of the Parime river
and the lake of that name, under condition of securing from
the profits the part belonging to the King, as lawful dues, and
entering into a regular register what they bring to this capital
under a true permit and the necessary certificates from the
Commander.
11. After having ascertained the substance of the promises
made to me by the Indian Captain, Paranacari, of the Purucota
tribe, native of the Parime river, to lead this expedition faith-
fully until the Spaniards are placed in possession of the great
Lake of this name, the famous El Dorado and its surroundings,
and to reduce and attract to our side the chiefs and numerous
tribes of Indians in that neighborhood, the Commander of the
expedition will deliver to him the title that I have granted
him, as Lieutenant Governor General and Indian Chief of all
■232
tile liuliaii .settlements to be found tliioiigh his assistance on
the Parinie river and its sources. With due solemnity he will
make him known and recognized as such, so as to make this
demonstration of the reward to his mei'it help to stimulate
the other Indians in procuring every body to do the same for
the benefit and service of the King our Lord.
12. If bv an unforeseen accident the misfortune of the failure
of this expedition should happen or suspend its course, the
Commander will be careful not to separate from him said
Indian, Paranacari, as it is very important not to allow such
a practical man oi' his circumstances to get out of our hands.
And that until his promises have been redeemed and our estab-
lishments on the Parima lake secured, his wives and children
will be maintained at Saint Louis of the Erevato, where they
are kept to-day with the rest of this tribe, recommended to the
Commander of that Post.
13. And, finally, in everything not foreseen in this instruc-
tion the Commander \\\\\ act, according to its spirit, with the
prudence, amiability, and good conduct in keeping with his
honor, love, and zeal for the Royal service, in order to see the
important possessions of the Parime and El Dorado duly se-
cured anil the speediest reduction of all those Indians. To that
end I grant him and delegate my jDowers, so that at that great
distance and slow recourse to our capital he may act and
deliberate in every circumstance of this expedition, according
to the Po3'al law of this Kingdom, and precise subordination
and dependence from this General Command.
To that end I grant him the present powers at Guayana on
the2(lth of Septeml)er, 1771.
Don Manuel Centurion [here is a flourish].
I received a copy of this instruction to be carried out as
directed.
Dated as above.
Nicolas Martinez [here is a flourish].
200
oo
The foregoing is a copy of the original text existing in the
General Archives of the Indies in Stand 131 — Case 2 — Docket
1 8. Seville, March the 27th, 1S91 .
The Chief of Archives.
Carlos Jimenez Placer.
[seal,] — General Archives of the Indies.
The undersigned. Consul General of Venezuela in Spain,
certifies to the authenticity of the signature of Don Carlos-
Jimenez Placer, Chief of the General Archives of the Indies.
Madrid, April 11th, 1891.
P. FOETOULT HURTADO.
The undersigned, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the United
States of Venezuela, certifies to the authenticity of the signa-
ture of Seiior Pedro Fortoult Hurtado, Consul General of
Venezuela in Spain at the preceding date.
Caracas, March 6th, 189(3.
P. EZEQUIEL ROJAS.
[seal.] — jNIinistry of Foreign Affairs.
No. XIV.
Stand 131.— Case 2.— Dvicket 18.
Geneual .Abciiivks of the Ini)ie.s — (Seville.)
1f^ >^ •>
Letter No. 4(» from tlH> ('oiuinaiuler of Ciuayaiia, Don
flannel Centurion, to the Bailitf Fr. Don Julian <le Ar-
ria^a, aniplifyinji tlie r<'port of Dec. JJlst, 1 7 7<), about
tlie population of thiit Province, as directed by the
Koyal Cednle <>f the ii-tth of July, of 177'1, accompany-
inj;' various doeuinents.
GuAYANA, Nuvfiiiber lltli, 1773.
1773._Xo. 4G— Most Excellent Sir—
Mv Dear Sir: By the Royal cedule of the 24th of July,
1772, just arriviMl. I niii directed that "without delay, and ex-
tensively, clearly, and distinctly, ns the importance of the
sul)ject demands, to make a detailed report of all the ])articu-
lars that the Council has missed on the map and exi)lanation
of the state and progress of the population of this Province,
sent by me, iindei- date of the 31st of December, 1770, through
Don Jose]»h Solano, former (Governor of Caracas, and to state
the names of t he Uevereinl f'athers to whom the settlements
nuil«T the .Jesuits were delivered, and in \vh;il form; the dis-
tribnti<tn of land, (.-attle, ;ind utensils, that have been made
and applied in faVor of the neighbors; under what rules, by
whom, and how have been founded the seven Spanish and
mixed Spani.sli settlements contained, as well as those intended
to be settle<l bv Don l-'rancisco Villasana at the Carolina vil-
235
lage, on the banks of the Aroy river; and finally tlie situation
and distance between the settlements and Missions, with every
otlier particular that he may find worthy of the Royal notice,
sending directly to the Council, in the way of reserve, the
above-mentioned report, as well as any other to be followed, on
the State and progress of this new Province. And at the same
time to render an account to the Viceroy of everything worth
the attention of his Excellenc}', asking him for the necessary
assistance in money and men and everything else conducive
to the advancement and prosperity of this Province, without
allowino; these communications and subordinations to the
Viceroy to impede or delay the reports that, as I have in-
sinuated, must be forwarded directly to the Court."
And in compliance with the directions of the above Royal
cedule I send your Excellency a copy of the report that I have
sent to the Council, with the corresponding justification upon
every particular. In doing so I have the pleasure to show to
3^our Excellency, not only that I have succeeded in giving this
Province the consistence and considerable increase of popula-
tion of forty-three Spanish and Indian settlements, containing
over two hundred families of the former, brought from the
neighboring Provinces, and about eight thousand of the latter,
brought from the forests and rescued from idolatry to civilized
and Christian societ}^, besides the construction of over seven
hundred houses, about three thousand farms, and the breed-
ing of over one hundred thousand head of cattle and horses,
but likewise I have contributed, for that purpose, with the
amount of over seven thousand dollars, out of fees and estab-
lished dues, on account of my office, that I might have retained
since my assumption of this general command, and that I have
waived voluntarily in ^he service of the King and the popu-
lation of this Province, as is shown by authenticated docu-
ments accompanying said report, and particularly the two
-certificates, Nos. 3 and 8, from the Collector of Revenues and
the Royal Officer of this city.
This pecuniar}' service I have rendered, out of my own free
will, to overcome difficulties and miseries which made my
wishes impossible, depriving me of the glory of populating
21:10
these deserts, so as to present ((• the King a i'ruvince which,
on account of its situation and circumstances, may become
most useful to the State. I did not intend to mention to the
King or your Excellency tlic fact, until my recall from this
Government, because up to that time I wislied to continue bear-
ing this light sacrifice of my private interest, as an evidence of
my love and /.cal for the Koyal service; l)ut as I am now
directed by His Majesty to state under wliat rule, by whom,
anil how liave so many settlements been founded, I am com-
pelled to make it known ami mention to your Excellency that
I have several children, and among them two boys, Kafael
and Louis, serving as Cadets in the regular troop, for the
guard of this Province and who, as a reward for these merits,
hope from the kindness of the King to be honored and favored
with their connnissions as Captains of IniVintry of the Army,
craving for the help and protection of your Excellency, and
likewise to be kept in the service, and for their instruction at
my side, until His Majesty may think fit to recall me and con-
tinue the Royal service in Spain, a favor that I expect from
your kindness.
Praying the Eord to keep the precious life of your Exc-el-
lency in His holy guard for many happy years, as it is my
desire and want.
Guayana, November 11th, 1773. — Most Excellent Sir. — Kiss
the hand of your Excellency, liis most obedient humble ser-
vant.
Don Manuel Centurion — [liere is a flourish].
Most Excellent Bailiff,
Fr. Don .Julian de Arriaga.
[Copij.']
Most Powerful Sir —
Sir : By the Royal cedule of the 24tli of July of last year,
just arrived, your Plighness directs me that without loss of
time to report all the particulars missed by the Council in ihe
last map, and explain the condition of the population of his
Province, whicli I sent under date of the 31st of Deeer, >er,
237
1770, through Don Josef Solano, Governor of Caracas, and to
be particularly careful to inform the Viceroy of Santa Fe of
whatever I may consider worthy of his notice and attention,
asking from him the assistance in money and people, and
everj'thing else conducive to the advancement and prosperity
of this new Province, without allowing this communication
and subordination to the Viceroy to impede nor retard the
report that I must send directly, as Commander, by way of
reserve to the Council.
And in compliance with the orders of His Highness I say
that this Province of Guayana is the most eastern part of the
dominions of the King in meridianal America, on the northern
coast, and that the boundaries are, on the north, the lower
Orinoco river, the meridianal boundary of the Provinces of
Cumana and Caracas ; on the east, the Atlantic Ocean ; on the
south, the great Amazon river ; and on the west the Rio Negro
and the Casiquiari creek and upper Orinoco ; the boundary of
the eastern and unknown part of the Kingdom of Santa Fe.
In the circumference and precinct of the vast continent of
this Province, the Frenchmen and Hollanders occup}' all the
seacoast with their colonies ; the former in Cayena, near the
mouth of the Amazon river, and the latter in Surinam, Bervis,
and Esquivo, fifty-five or seventy leagues from the large mouth
of Orinoco.
On the margin of the Amazon river and on those of Rio Negro
up to San Joseph of the Marivitanas (thirty-six leagues below
the mouth of Casiquiari and thirty-two from our settlements
and strongholds of San Carlos and San Felipe), the Portuguese
are established, and our effective possessions are reduced to
one part of Rio Negro, all the Casiquiari, the upper and
lower Orinoco, and the new establishments that we are found-
ing in the interior of the country b}^ the rivers Caroni, Para-
gua, Aroy, Caura, Erevato, Padamo, Ventuari, and others,
going from the unknown centers of Guayana to Orinoco. This
river is divided in branches, forty-one leagues before reaching
the sea, and receives its water through numljerless mouths, in
th pace of seventy leagues of clusters of mangroves, all flooded
fr( a the point of Barima to Guarapiche,
338
The cliief and most eastern of all is the one called large-
mouth or mouth of Navios. This one is eighteen miles
broad and has a chamiel of two leagues, in the middle of the
Barrack, with four fathoms of water down to the sea at high
water; the bottom is muddy, the coast low, and the cluster of
mangroves are all lloode(l ; the sea is very quiet, esi)ecially in
the months of Feln'uary up to October ; the tides are lively, of
about one fathom deep of salt water, that stop and salt the
waters of the Orinoco as far above as seventeen leagues from
the mouth. The otlier mouths only permit the entrance
of launches and piraguas, forming a labyrinth of inundated
islands and creeks, emptying into the Triste Gulf, opposite the
island of Trinidad ; and among them, those better known and
practicable are the j\Ianamo, Macaredo, and Pedernales.
Through the large mouth, or the mouth of Navios, vessels
can enter and navigate with fair weather in the Orinoco river
and upwards, without any hinderance, and at all times frigates
of forty-four guns can go up to the mouth of Caroni or the
Fajardo Island in the months from May to October, when the
river is full ; and they can go farther up, but slowly, on account
of the strong current and light winds of the season, to
Angostura, where the capital city of the Province is situated
at present, eighty-three leagues distance from the sea.
From Caroni to the mouth of the Orinoco there is a distance
of fifty-eight leagues without any population on either side of
the river (indeed it is a pity to have it abandoned as it is the
best soil in the world for agriculture and commerce; though
there is now and then n sickly place, being amongst them the
old city of GuaN'ana, nine leagues below the mouth of the
Caroni, and eight above the place where the Orinoco is divided
into several branches, as it has been stated.)
On that sickly place, on the northerly part of this Province,
and on the south side of this river, there is a rock upon which
the Castle of San Francisco de Asis and a battery in trapezoid
shape without fosse or i)alisade are built. It is forty yards in
length, twenty in breadth, witli ten iron guns and their cor-
responding ammunition. In the middle, on the western side,
the mountain Padra.stro rises in a commanding position at a
•239
gunshot from said Castle of San Francisco, having on its to[>
a small fort with a palisade in the shape of a star, without
fosse; it is thirty-seven yards in length, twenty-six in breadth,
with nine iron guns, mounted and supplied with ammunition.
For both Posts there is a garrison of one captain commander,
one subaltern officer, and twenty -five men of infantry, with a
corporal and six artillervmen ; one armed launch at the foot
of the Castle, with one cannon and twelve small pieces served
by sixteen pioneers.
As the general breadth of the Orinoco, at this part of tlie
river, is about eighteen hundred yards, beyond the reach of
a cannon, point blank from these two batteries, the old
Spaniards fonnd necessary the erection of batteries on the op-
posite side, so as to prevent the passage of vessels by means of
cross fires. For that purpose they built, near the mouth of
the Limones creek, an oval tower of twenty-three yards in
diameter, with good materials ; but unfortunately it fell before
it was finished, on account of the weight and the weakness of
the soil in which it was built, without the precaution of
strengthening the foundations so as to consolidate the muddv
and sandy soil. This work has been entirel}^ abandoned for
the above reason, and therefore the pass is open on that side
to the vessels of the smugglers and enemies of the Crown, that
can navigate with ten fathoms of water and fair winds, witli-
otit any risk from the artillery of the batteries of San Fran-
cisco and the Padrastro on the opposite side, out of their reach,
save a casual shot by elevation.
In order to avoid these difficulties and the sickly condition
of the place, and to have all the forts united in an advanta-
geous place, a true key to close the Orinoco, the well-known
navigation of which easil}' discovers to an enemy the Provinces
of Cttmana, Caracas and Barinas, and opens the doors to the
kingdom of Santa Fe, His Majest}^ desires, as shown by the
Royal order of the 3d of December, 1770, to establish the
same (fortress) formally on the hill of the Island of Fajardo,
being eight leagues above Padrastro, and half a league below
the mouth of the Caroni river, dividing the Orinoco into two
channels almost eqital, the broadest seven hundred yards in.
240
flood times. Its summit is tit to hold a Inrt (.'qual to the (.)ne
projected for the Pcadrastro mountain, and the situation more
adequate for cK:)sing the river and covering the Province, be-
eause from that controlling position muskets will reach, where
cannons will not in the other place, and having no popula-
tion whatever below the f'anmi near the Orinoco, everything
is kept under the protection of this fortification, for although
tliere are a i'ew settlements towards the east inland, they are
far from the river and protected by the ridge of mountains be-
tween them and the Orinoco ; said obstacle, favored Ijy the
desert above-mentioned, opposes an}' evil intent from the
enemy against them, and gives sufficient time to prevent it in
everv case.
The Fajardo fortification may be supplied with more facility
than that of Padrastro ; and the people convoked at Angos-
tura by the Commander General for that purpose, find the full
l)rotection of the Caroni river against an enemy, trying from
land to prevent a junction. It is likewise of the greatest con-
venience to this city.
As this country, from tlio last century, has been receiving
population and requires the reduction of the Indians, the thi'ee
Missions, one under the Catalan Capucliin Fathers from the
Island of Trinidad, another under the Franciscan Fathers
fnim Piritu, and the third under the Jesuits of Santa Fe, with
the exception of the first were inactive, until the year 1732,
when the distribution amongst them of this vast territor}',
even before it was known or explored, except the banks of the
lower Orinoco, was made in the following form :
The Catalan Capuchins, situateil until then around the
citv of Guavana, took charge of tlie eightv-three leaa'ues
of territory between the mouth of the Orinoco and Angostura,
and thence drawing a line up to the Marailon or Amazon
rivers. The Franciscan Observant Fathers took the one hun-
dred leagues frum the Angostura to the mouth of the Cu-
chivero river, with their corresi)onding land between them and
the Amazon river ; and the rest, to the sources of the Orinoco
(then uidvuown), was taken in charge by the Jesuits, but as
it was discovered afterwards that the upper Orinoco, Rio Negro,
241
and Cnsiquiari are in reciprocal coraniunication, that territory
was found to l)e too extensive for only one Mission, and leav-
ing to the Jesuits the one hundred leagues which they had
assigned as far as the rapids of the Ature and Maipure, and
dividing this river into upper and lower Orinoco, His Majesty
sent the Andalusian Capucliins to attend to the reduction and
conversion of the Indians of the upper Orinoco and Rio Negro,
and afterwards they took, likewise, provisional charge of cat-
echising the settlements left by the Jesuits of Orinoco, and
everything was afterwards abandoned, as I stated to your
Highness on tlie 17th of September, 1771, by means of your
Secretar}^ Don Pedro Garcia Mayoral.
Out of that community only two Reverend Fathers are left,
Fr. Josef Antonio Xeres and Fr. Miguel de Nerja, who, after
the general stamj)ede of their brothers in Christ and the death
of the Prefect, Fr. Andres de Cadiz, were taken ill and
left for this city, where they are serving as pastors of the Ma-
ruanta and Borbon Parishes. For that reason I keep a Rev-
erend Father of the Franciscan Mission constantly navigating
on the Orinoco, Casiquiari, and Rio Negro attending, as far as
possible, to the spiritual wants of the settlements abandoned
by the Andalusian Capuchins in both territories, while j^our
Highness fills, as I have requested, the Mission for the upper
Orinoco and Rio Negro.
The principal board of applications for the houses, colleges,
and missions of the Company established at Caracas sent the
Franciscan Conventual Fathers from that Province asked bv
me on the 27th of August, 1771. Those are the best Mission-
ers that we have had in the settlements of the Jesuits after the
latter's expulsion, and who may replace the Fathers who die
or who are taken sick in that unhealthy territory.
I have requested several times the Diocesan Prelate in charge
of that church, after the deliverv which I made of it to him, in
compliance with the orders and instructions of his Excellency
the Count of Aranda, to make the appointments of pastors, and
he has constantly replied that he has not anybody.
Abandoned, as I have said that this Province was, from tlie
last century, to the discretion of the Father Missioners, sick-
VoL. II, Ve.v.— 16
242
iioss, want of commerce ami (jf govt'iiiniciil ui-ro dcsiruyiug
the city of Santo Thome de hi Guayaiia, the only Snanish set-
tlement found in all this vast continent, and the ()rin()co
jihnost deserted, <»r more [n-operiy controlled hy the harharous
Caribs, when in the year 1755 the Royal expeiiition of Ixiuml-
aries ariived, comniaiided by the Chief of Squadrons, Don
Josef *\i' Iturringa. who subjecle<l the jiroii I Indians, reduced
and tlelivered many of them tn the Missioners, founded at his
expense and of the lloyal Treasury tiic two Spanish settle-
ments called C'iudad Real (Royal City) and lieal Corona (Royal
Crown) at the lower Orinoco, and [)enelrated to the upper
Orinoco and Casiquiari, three hundred leagues, all a desert as
far as Rio Negro, which he occupied with a detachment of
troops and erected a stronghohi on the I'l^rtuguese frontier, in
order to better stop the progress of the conquests of thai nation.
He reduced to the control of the King and brought to our
holy religion the Indian triljes controlling that country and
who had not only resisted with extraordinary bravery and
persistence the entry of the Spaniards in the u})i)er Orinoco,
but had destroyed likewise, through a constant and cruel
war, the other natives. He founded there three settlements,
San Jo.se f de Maipures, at the entry of the upper Orinoco, and
San Carlos and San Feli|)e in Rio Negro ; and for their im-
provement and the establishment of other settlement^ and
cities ,tliat he thought necessary for the security and preserva-
tion of these dominions, the King made him Commander
General of all the new settlements of the Orinoco, when by
order of His Majesty the Commissioners of the boundary ex-
pedition were recalled to Spain in the year 17<Jl.
At the representation of Don Josef de Iturriaga, or rather
on account of the report of Don Josef Solano, the third (Jom-
mi.ssioner, who had been sent with that expedition, the King
decided to set up under another footing the Goveiamr of this
Province (until then stiltject to the Governor of Cuniaua) and
to transfer the city of Guayana to the Angostura of ( )rinoco.
To attain that end, Ilis Majesty appointeil, as Comniamler
pro tempore of this I'l'ovinec, ("olond Don Joaehin M(U-eno de
Mendoza, and commissioneij him bv the R )val order of in-
243
structions of the 5th of Juae of 1762, independently from
Iturriaga and subordinated to the Viceroy of Santa Fe, as shown
by the accompanying copy No. 1. In the year 1764 Moreno
took possession of this command, and in 1766 I came to relieve
him, and to serve on the same terms that he did, with the only
difference of being then under the orde.rs and direction of Don
Josef Solano, Governor of Caracas.
At the beginning of the following year of 1767, Don Josef de
Iturriaga withdrew on account of sickness to the Island of
Marguerita, leaving me in charge of the General command of
the settlement of the Orinoco, with the same power granted to
him by the King, as it is shown by the appointment or title of
my commission, signed by him on the 28th of January,
1767, confirmed by the Roj^al ceduleof the 5th of May of 1768
(Annex No. 2). Consequently, I tried to be posted in regard
to the state and circumstances appertaining to my jurisdiction,
lor the discharge of my duties and to satisfy the Royal trust of
my superiors.
I visited all the settlements of each Province, except three of
the upper Orinoco and Rio Negro, beginning with the territory
of the Catalan Capuchin Mission, the oldest, and established in
the last centur}', and I found that all the population and con-
sistence of the same was reduced to eighteen Indian .settle-
ments, with five thousand two hundred and seventy-three
souls, the Spanish village at San Antonio de Upata, with one
hundred and thirty-seven persons of all sexes and ages ; a
•cattle estate of over thirty thousand head ot cattle, besides the
breeding of horses and mares administered and possessed b}'
the founders, the Catalan Capuchin Fathers in their territory,
from the banks of the Orinoco thirty leagues inland to the east
of the Caroni river. The Indians were mild, the climate
healthy, and the soil fit for farming and breeding purposes,
advantageously situated for population and commerce, but,
unfortunately, all this property was in dead hands (manos
mnertas), forbidden to both natives and Spaniards, both miser-
able on that account.
Twenty-five leagues above the mouth of the Caroni river I
found this new cit}^ of Gua3^ana or la Angostura (the narrow-
244
est i)ait uf the river) of Orinoco, inliabitjil by live liuiulred
and tifty-five poor persons, just arrived, dwelling in straw-
routed huts, without ]iossessing yet any products, farms, cattle,
boats, or any othi-r means of subsistence, and nu'ler the dis-
advantage of having no other settlements around or any help
within twenty leagues' distance. But the site is healthy and
adequate for 1)oth land ami water commerce.
In the territory to be occupied by the Franci.scan Mission
from Pirutu there were only two Reverend Fathers, who had
founded two settlements with Caribs, Platanar an 1 (iua/.,'i-
paro, with twu hundred and seventy-eight souls, near the city
of Real Corona, distant from Guayana thirty-five leagues, and
composed of a hundred and five Spanish persons very poor.
Ciudai] Real, which is likewise in said territory, sixt}' leagues
farther up on the creek of Dyapi, near the Orinoco, with four
huadred and fifty-eight Spaniards, not so poorly situated ; and
at a di.stance of twelve leagues, on the eastern margin of the
Cuchivero, there is a village with a hnndrt'(l and twenty-seven
fugitive Indian Cafres from the Jesuit Mission, aggregated to
that citv 1)V Roval order. This territorv is all health v but
not so fertile and profitable, nor having as many Indians as
that of the Catalan Capuchins.
From Cuchivero to the ra})ids of Atures and Maipures t!ie
Jesuit Missioners hatl on the southern bank of the lower Ori-
noco five Indian .settlements and one on the opposite margin,
under the jurisdiction of Caracas, founded from the time of
their establishment in the year 1732, at various distances, with
twelve hundred and seventy-two persons, the most civilized
and useful of all the Provinces, six thousand head of largj
cattle belonging to the Mission and over one thousand pos-
sessed by the Indians, and several Spanish families established
among rln'Oi and couti'ibuting not a little to the hapi)iness of
the Indians and to the subsistence of tho-se settlements, in
.spite of the insalubrious climate and poverty of the soil, that
seems to be full of deleterious exiialations, injurious to man
and to the plants; but the Jesuits prelerred it, on account of
fronting the Meta river, for the .sake of the navigation and
commerce of the Kingdom of Santa Fe, where they liad their
Superior and their colleges.
245
For the vi.-it of the three small Indian settlements on the
upjier Orinoco and Rio Negro, consisting of five hundred and
forty souls, as well as the exploration of the cocoa plants in
those wild ibrests. I sent as CommissioneFS the Prefect of the
Andalusian Capuchin Mission. Fr. Josef Antonio de Xeres,
the Lieutenant of Infantry, Don Francisco Bovadilla, Com-
mander of the detachment and frontier of Rio Negro, and
who was to be the Captain settler of the Esmeralda, and is
now Governor of Los Quijos, and Don Apolinar Diez de la
Fuente, and they certified, without discrepancy, on the 28th of
November, 1767, that the groves (cocoa trees) were so exten-
sive and prolific that they could supply this Province with
tlie produce and ship it to Spain with a profit to the pur-
chaser.
Nothing was then known of the extensive inland territory
of this Province, beyond the thirty leagues held by the Cata-
lan Capuchin Missioners. The geographical charts showed
that even after leaving between the foreign colonies and our
establishments a desert of eighty or a hundred leagues so as
to avoid their commerce and communication, we had yet left
many hundreds of square leagues to settle and occupy with
great profit to the State and to religion, but it is our misfortune
that everything was not only unknown to the Spaniards, but
abandoned to foreign Colonies, introducing their men with
the Caribs, trading in slaves from the barbarous tribes inhab-
iting the center of this extensive country, improving their
establishments considerably on the sea coast and the Amazon
river, leaving our land deserted and unfit to be occupied in
the future for want of the natives gone, if we do not take
prompt and efficient measures on our side, advancing to the
frontiers to stop the strangers in their incursions and usurpa-
tions of the dominions of His Majesty.
With this knowledge, and sure that there has not been, nor
are there in this Province, any Indians to be reduced or con-
verted by the word or p>reaching only, and that it was neces-
sary force or gifts to bring them out from the forests and keep
them in civil and Christian society, and observing that the
more diligent Missioners avail themselves for that purpose of
the escort of soldiers granted to them bv the Governor, I came
246
to thfi conclusion, after mature reflection, that it sliould be
better, for the reduction and pacification of the same, to do so
directly through the soldiers under their own otKcers and
Commanders, rather than phice them under the Missioners,.
from whom they do not expect any inducement of reward or
]ninishment. At tlie same time this city has no public reve-
nues, ami, as 1 have said, its inhabitants just transferred ai'o
very poor, and in want of all the necessaries of human
life, surrounded everywhere by a horrible desert, making im-
possible for them their subsistence, if no Indian settlement
were founded in tlic neighborhood for the necessary products,
and hands for the establishment and comfort of the Spaniards ;
but 1 am in want of the necessarNnneans to meet these require-
ments, as there was no money in the Treasury, but only lia-
bilities, and from Santa Fe there w^as very faint iiope of support,
on account of similiar indigence.
This miserable condition of this Province, in spite of my de-
sire to correspond to the Royal confidence reposed in me,
trying to secure the welfare of .the country as far as it was in
my power, influenced my determination to reduce several
Indians from the forest and bring at my expense several Span-
ish families from the neighboring Provinces and oi-ganize tliere
a settlement. In order to accomplish this important project I
ajjpointed an Administrator to collect all the taxes and fees
due me as Governor and Chief Justice, from the excises, jnlot-
ages and anchorage dues, fines, etc., the receipts of which at
the time amounted to seven thousand five hundred and
twenty-one dollars; that as shown by the certificate of the
collector, Don Diego Marino (whose testimony is the voucher
No. 3), has been used in bringing two hundred Spanish fami-
lies from the neighboring Provinces of Caracas, Cumana,
Barinas, and Marguerita, and eighteen settlements, as follows:.
Marisanti and Pana-pana, at two and a quarter leagues from
this city, within the territory of the Catalan Capuchin Mission,
tiMiii wh(MV other emigrants have been taken, from the settle-
ments of Monte Calvario and Santa Anna, a reduction of
Indians from the settlement of Puedpa, and almost all the ex-
penses for the foundation of Barceloneta in the Parana, as^
247
shown likewise by the certificate of the Reverend Father Pre-
fect, Fr. Bruno de Barcelona (whose certified copy is the
voucher No. 4).
In the territory of the Franciscan Mission I have founded
and improved (as shown by the certificate No. 5 from the
Reverend Fathers) the settlements of Buena A'^ista and another
called Co))iche, at one and two leagues, respectively, from this
city : and, penetrating farther into the interior of the country,
I have founded the settlements of Guaypa, those of Saint
Louis and San Vicente del Crevato, that of San Francisco del
Yniquiari, those of Conception and San Carlos of Caura. I
have rendered help to those of Tapaquire and Mono Mountain
(Cerro del Mono), all Indian settlements, and likewise the
Spanish villages Borbon and Carolina. I have increased the
population of Real Corona and sustained that of Ciudad Real,
to prevent their ruin on account of the constant sickness of
the last few years.
In the territory to be occupied by the Mission of the Jesuits
I have founded in a healthy and advantageous place the
village of Caicara, with Indians and Spaniards dispersed from
the settlement of Cabruta of the Province of Caracas; and I
have likewise sustained the other settlements left by the
Jesuits on this side of Orinoco, notwithstanding the horrible
mortality and sickness prevailing in certain seasons of the year
in all of them. And at the upper Orinoco and Rio Negro, as
shown by certificate No. 6 of the ex-Prefect and Justice of the
Andalusian Cajiuchin Mission, Fr. Josef Antonio de Xeres
and Fr. Miguel de Nerja, I have established six formal settle-
ments, Soma, Santa Barbara, Tuamini, San Gabriel, San Fran-
cisco Solano, and Santa Gertrudis, all at the expense of my
fees and out of alms.
I have founded in the same territory, at the expense of the
Royal Ti'easury (in virtue of the Royal order of the 5th of
October of 1768, No. 7), the village of La Esmeralda, a cattle
farm for the subsistence of those inhabitants; and I have
heffun the foundation of twentv other Indian settlements on the
straight road which I have opened happily, at the moderate
cost of eleven thousand four hundred and eighty -three dollars,
248
as shown by certificate No. 8 of the Koyal Treasury Ofticer
Don Andres de Oleaga, lor the speediest and easiest comnunii-
cation of all these new establishments with this capital, as
well as on account of the knowledge and formal possession of
this tei'ritory and the reduction of the natives.
And linally, in ordi'r to occu})y the important frontier of
Parinie, in th(^ remotest part of tliis Pi'ovinee, I have sent a
detachment of sixty men. under the command of Lieutenant
l)on A'icente Diez de la Luente, who is already witliin the
sources of the Parana (river), at three hundred leagues irom this
cai)ital, founding the city of Ouirior with Spanish families that
I have sent from here, and other Indian settlements founded
on the same route to answer as scales (or stations) for our
establishments and safety of the King's dominion in that
region.
The Borbon and Carolina villages have been founded at
my re(|uest, the former by Don Francisco Josef de Espinosa,
and the latlei' liy Don Francisco Villasana, residents of this
Province, and each one has accomplished his work with due
formalities, according to the prescribed rules ami laws, without
stipulating nor asking for any assistance, waiting for the
approval of Yonr Highness, according to Royal cedule of
November 14, 1779; but as the jurisdiction and the lands
granted by law are of little or no value at present, and they
have worked and ex))ended a consideralde portion of their own
money, especially Villasana. wIk^ went farther into the interior
to found his settlement, I consider him worthy of tiie Royal
favor, and of a yearly ]>ension of tw(j hundred dollars, and
besides one hundred dollars yearly to Espinosa, during both of
their lifetime, as a reward well deserved and so as to stimulate
others to the same work of population.
The di.stribution made of farming lands, building lots, and
sites for breeding cattle is made by the laws of this kingdom,
and T was instructed by I )on Jose de Iturriaga of the conditions
of ills appointment and the requirements of the Royal order
that he quotes of the 21st of September, 1762, tliat no title
should be granted nor the j>roi)erty awarded before the im-
provement and cultivation of the same. To the Indian sett e-
249
inents I allow, as commons, one league of farming land around
•evtry settlement and another league of reseived lands, con-
terminous with the other settlements, so that they do not re-
ceive any injure from the others, nor the Spaniards and their
cattle.
To every Spanish settlement two leagues are given in full
all around, one square league for cattle being common pas-
ture ground and watering places. The building lots are sub-
ject to the ability of the neighbors to cover as much space as
they can actually occupy. To those of the Esmeralda village,
in consideration of the long distance of that difhcult desert
and exhausted place, every family is allowed three tiiousand
wild cocoa trees in those forests, in a land susceptible of multi-
plying them and bearing other products, a site for breeding-
cattle, and a building lot, all in perpetuity; on the first year
they are allowed two laborers and rations of casave and jerked
beef and, for once only, tvro hoes, two axes, two machetes, two
caporanos (?), one sow, and one cow to each family ; and for the
commonwealth, commons are granted as well as pasture grounds
for cows, all on account of the Royal Treasur}^ as there is no
other recourse for the subsistence of those inhabitants and those
of Rio Negro. The administration is in charge of the com-
mander of all of them, Don Antonio Barreto, Captain of In-
fant rv.
To the other Spanish and Indian settlements, as they have
been made without any expense to the Roj^al Treasury, in less
•convenient places, they have been variously considered in
regard to their wants and what has been found possible to
allow them.
I have been and am very particular in reporting and giving
an account of everything to my Superior, and I have the satis-
faction to deserve their approval of my zeal and conduct (as
shown by the accompanying letters No. 9, from the Governor
of Caracas, Don Josef Solano, and the ]\Iost Excellent Sirs the
Alceroys Don Pedro de la Zerda and Don Manuel de Guerior),
and I expect likewise to deserve tiie superior approval of your
Highness, and that the King be satisfied of my services, as well
-as the services of those who have helped me in particular to
250
place tliis Province in the present condition of welfare in which
it is, an<l the merit of which I can not refrain from laying be-
fore vuur Jlighness, saving that the first and better auxilhirv
that I have had in every respect has been the Controller of
the Treasury, Don Andres Oleaga, and therefore I consider
this zealous and faithful Minister worthy of His Majesty's
favor ami <»f the honor oi tlic aii]H)iiitinent of Paymaster of
AVar, or head of the Tribunal of Accounts at Santa Fe, and
that a Deputy Koyal Treasurer be a}»poiute(l to help him in
the laborious work that he has and is necessary for the good
administration of the Treasury Office, and its improvement.
The second is Don Antonio Barreto, acting captain of one
of the companies on duty in this Province. His activity,
talent, diligence, and disinterestedness, shown in the settle-
ments and improvements of the U]iper Orinoco, entitle him to
the Royal kindness and the honor of being made full captain
of the company in which he is acting as such, and,if jiossible,
to the appointment for one of the military orders. And the
third is Don Francisco Amantegui, Secretary of the Com-
mander General, who for seven years has been serving with
honor, intelligence, diligence, and disinterestedness and is
worthy of the Royal favor and to be allowed the appointment
of Royal Treasurer of this Province, if that office is to be
created, or else another ecpiivalent distinction.
May God keep your Highness in his holy guard ior many
years, as wanted l)y his vassals.
Guayana November ]lth, 1773.
This is a cop\' from tlieoi-iginal sent bv the Secretarv of tliis-
General Command of Orinoco to the Royal and Supreme
Council i»f the Indies, to which I refer.
City of Guayana, November 11th. 1773.
Fj; ANCISCO A M ANTEGUI,
Secretary — [here is a flourish].
251
Copy of the Koyal Order of Instructions.
Nuiiiher 1.
The King, considering the importance of setting upon
another footing the Government of the Province of Guayana,
for its best protection and conditions and facilities to reach the
Kingdom of Santa Fe, through the well known and easy navi-
gation of the Orinoco, and to remove the settlement of Guayana
to Angostura on the same river, avoiding the unhealthiness of
the place, as showai by the experience of its inhabitants, and pre-
venting the increase of its population, he has concluded to erect
a separate command of all its district and make it immediately
subordinate to the Viceroy of Santa Fe, sending your Honor
to fill, jyro tempore, this office, trusting that your w^ell-known
zeal and experience will carry out this idea with the prompt-
ness required, on account of the importance of the end in view.
And in consequence I inform your Honor, by command of his
Majesty, that immediately after receipt of this notice and in-
struction, with the corresponding commision accompanying
the same, Your Honor will depart for the atoresaid Province
and act as directed, having an understanding with the Gov-
ernor of Cumana, to whom the corresponding orders are com-
municated, about his action and the assistance he has to render.
His Majesty desires that you estabhsh your headquarters at
Angostura, distant from the present city about thirty-four
leagues from the Castle, where the Orinoco river is reduced to
eighty (80) yards in breadth, and you will remove there all the
residents of Guayana to a climate much better calculated
for the inhabitants and for the improvement of the place and
facilitv to stop the progress of the enemies. From the new
quarters it will be easy to bring more persons and forces to
dislodge them and to render assistance to the garrison of the
castles, preventing the entry of an enemy through the river or
the ingress of traders who may have eluded the fortresses.
Your Honor, without any loss of time, will endeavor to for-
tify the two front f)lanes of the eastern and western fort of
Padrastro of Guayana with a strong palisade, parapet, and
earthworks, defending the eastern plan with heavy guns
252
coniniaiulin.u' tlic i\';ir works of tlio C'nstlo niid the ]ia's to the
hi<:-oons of Baratillo and Ceiva, .so a.s ti> iiiotcct the lutrtliern
front flank of the fi-i'tiess and the eattem judisade, endjarrass-
ing from there willi minor artillery the advance of an enemy
hy the way oi' Baraiilhx Yonr Honor will raise the parapet
of the western curtain and place in position thei'e three six-
ponnders, so as to cover that front with a second palisade.
The tower of the small foit must he taken down and all the
interior scpiare must he covered with tiles and jiillars of heavy
and haid wood, lixed on the terre-plein in contact with the
interior face of the parapets of the curtains, where they do not
embarrass the defence.
The small fort of Limones must be girded hy a counter foun-
daiion nine feet apait, deepening four feet more than the foun-
dation, and the terre-])lein it has mu<t be removed, leaving it
oidy two and a half feet higher for the opening of the embra-
sures for the artillery. All the small forts shall have to be
covered by a solid fliat roof on the banquet of the parapet, leav-
ing a skylight for the communication with the sentries. Four
cannons must be mounted, two of tliem eight-pounders-, for the
defence of the water avenues, and two lour-jjounders for tho.se
from land, and four more on the roof. All the stones taken
fi'om the small fort must be lelt at its foot, and the eastern
[Miint of the Limones creek must 1)6 defendeil by sinking stones.
Your Plonor will have to build two cruising launches, one
for the service of the garrison of the fort and the other for
that of Ango.stura. While the said works are in progress (the
expenses must come out of the fund applied to the building of
the fortress of Timoncs). you will se])arate the city on the
sMiiihern baid< from the Angostura and then you shall convey
tlici'c all the cattle, allowing their pasture iai'ther up.
Your Honor will not allow new farms for the cultivation of
vegetables and cereals on the margins of the Orinoco below
Angostura, and at the same time the Indian settlement of
■Suay, with all its cattle, must be removed, as .soon as the
Works of the fortress are finished, they siiall have to reside at
Angostura, which has to be closed by a battery ]>laced at the
place called San Felipe and on the eastern [)oint of a hill in the
rear. Your Honor will see that a stronghold be built to an-
253
swer for headquarters and defend the rear of the population
and the battery, p:iying from thero due attention to the garri-
son of the fort and to prevent the pass of strangers and pro-
tect the Capuchin Missions of Guayana and of San Fernando
de Atabapus, those of the Observant Franciscan Fatiiers on
the eastern 2)art of Orinoco, those of the Jesuits and of the
Meta (river), as well as those of the dominions of Barinas,
giving them the necessary escort.
Considering that the occupation and expenses for the trans-
fer of tlie Guayana parties will deprive them for a long time
of a church, His Majesty has granted four thousand dollars lor
such a building, and to that end the corresponding order has
been issued to the Viceroy of Santa Fe.
To the actual troop of the assignment of the forts of Guay-
ana, consisting of one hundred men, the seventy-three of tiie,
escort of the Jesuit Missions of the Orinoco and dominions of
Barinas must be added the twenty-five men of the fort of Li-
mones and fifty-two that must be furnished as directed by
the Governor of Camana, who has to send them immediately
in company with those irom the garrison of Araya (dis-
mounted), the same Governor lias orders to increase said num-
ber with any excess left, after meeting other wants. Your
Honor will organize this troop into two companies with their
corresponding officers.
Tlie Governor of Cumana is directed likewise to send to
Guayana all tlie artillery from Araya, to the extent that he
may find necessary, helping your Honor, and facilitating in
all your wants what you may urgt-ntly rec[uire within his
power.
By order of the King I make you acquainted with the for^!-
going directions, so thai you will at once depart for your des-
tination and carry out the tenor of the present instructions.
His Majesty has no doubt of your well known zeal and con-
duct, and hopes that you will do your best to meet his expec-
tations, considering the importance of the present subject.
May the Lord keep your life for many years.
Aranjuez, June the oLli, 1762.
The Bailiff, Fr. Don Julian de Arriaga.
Seiior Don Joaquin Moreno y Mendoza.
254
The above is a couv ot llu- oi'iuiiuil iioval oi'(k'r ol' iiistnic-
tions kej^t in tlie Archives ol' the Conimauder General of
Orinoco and CJuayana, to which J vvi\:v.
I'itv of Guavana. Novenilu'r 11th, 1773.
Fkancisco de Ama.ntkgui,
Secretary — [here is a flourish].
Kuiiiber 2.
Don Josepl) de Itnrriaga, Chevalier of the Order of Santiago,
Chief of the Royal squadron, Commander General of the
settlements and all the Oiinoco.
AVhereas, bv Roval Order of the 24(11 of October. 1700, His
Majesty has kindly granted me i)ermissi(Hi to remain in tlie
Province of Venezuela, Cumana, and any other place that I
may think tit for the accomplishment of my views in regard
to the foundation of" Cuidad Real " and that of " Real Corona,"
the tenor of which is as follows :
" Notwithstanding that by a separate order of the tiiii'd in-
.stant, inclosed herewith, your Honor is directed to return to
these Kingdoms, witli all the persons who left them to partici-
pate in the commission for the treaty of boundaries, His Majesty
considers that if your Honor finds that your personal pre.sence
in the T*rovince of X'enezuela. ( 'umana, or any other place
that your Honor thinks to be calculated to accomplish jsnccess-
fuUy the important views that your Honoi- has had in under-
taking the foundation of settlements and cities, one at the site
of Yape, on the soutliern margin of the Orinoco, and the other
called ' Real Corona,' near tlu' Aroy liver, according to the
advice of your Honor by letter of the 10th of March of this
year, your Honor will instruct the other commissioners to
return to Spain, as soon as they find the o])])ortunity to do so,
and your Honor may remain for the time necessary for the
accomi)lishment of the settlement of the cities in course of
erection, and the subsistence of places more adec^uate for the
protection of tlie territories of His Majesty.
" May the Lord keep your life for many 3'ears.
"Madrid. 24tli of October, 1700.
'"The Bailill'. I'^i;. Don Jiltax de Arriaga.
" To Senor Don.Josejtli de Itnrriaga."
255
And likewise by another Royal order of the twenty-second
of September of seventeen hundred and sixty two, His Majesty
agrees with my remaining in the commission for the improve-
ment of settlements, and to be recoonized as Commander
GeneS'al of the same and of all the river Orinoco ; l)y another
Royal order of the twenty-first of said month and year, trying
by the most acceptable means to prevent the entrance of the
Portuguese or their permanence in any places where they ma}'
prove injurious to our natives; and by another (Royal cedule)
of April of seventeen hundred and sixty-five, I am directed,
in regard to the reductic^n and preservation of the natives of
the upper and lower Orinoco and Rio Negro, to concur for
for that }tuipose with Don Joseph Solano, without any jealousy
of his interfering with my jurisdiction, as Commander General
of these establishments, and His Majesty wanting our mutual
concurrence in everything appertaining to the Royal service.
For that reason and the unanimous advice of two Surgeons
of ray attendance, in my present complaint of incijdent [)araly-
sis, advising my change of climate, leaving this Castle for a
tem[)erate and milder one, I have decided, in virtue of the first
Royal order, ah'eady quote i, to go to the neighborhood of the
city of Caracas, leaving the command of this province of
Guayana in charge of Don Manuel Centurion, Captain of
Artillery of tlie fort of Guavana.
Don Gis{)ar de Salaverria has written to him in my name,
on the second of January, last, notwithstanding that said
officer by the order of the King of October the eighth, of
seventeen hundred and sixty-two, is under my orders to render
his help in the foundation and subsistence of this city, that of
the Real Corona, and others to be established on the upper
Orinoco, Rio Xegro, for the protection of the lands of his
Majesty, and the other affairs under my charge, and for every-
thing connected with the Roval service.
Therefore, considering all the circumstances and the quali-
ties and merits, love, zeal, honor, and nobility concurring and
shown by the Royal trust, in the person of said Don Manuel
Centurion, and in virtue of the Royal powers vested in me, as
Commander General, 1 aopjint, na;ne, and constitute said
25G
Ctiiuinamk'r of the Province of Guayana, Captain Don Manuel
Centurion, to till my placi,' as Lieutenant Coniniaiidcr (General
ot'tlie .settlement and of all the Orinoco river, and i>rant him
all my powers without limitation, to (hi, pcudiiiL!,- my absence,
the same as I would .and ouirht to do in hoth of said new cities
and the settlement of Cucliivero, whose Indians and those of
the Cafre tribe and their aggregation are incor[)orated by royal
order of the twentieth of Sejttemljer, of seventeen linndred and
sixty-two, to the neighborhood of this Royal city. Likewise at
the upper Orinoco and Rio Negro he wdll act as the require-
ments of the occasion may demand, re])oi-ting every case to me
and to the Governor and Captain General of the Province of
Vene7Aiela, the Naval Captain, Don Joseph Solano, whose as-
sent is required in his affairs.
.Vnd 1 order and command the Captains of the new settle-
ment-- an<l those of Cuehivei'o. and t.) all the neiii'hborino- in-
habitants and residents of the same, and every other person
that in any luanner be under my orders, to receive him as I
do, and to consider well received said I)<iii Manuel Centurion,,
in the use and exercise of mv powers and in my place, as
Lieutenant Commander General of the settlements of all the
Orinoco river, to obey his orders by word of moutli or in writ-
ing, and observe and submit to Ins directions as my own, in
virtue of the present letters by whieh I bestow on him all mv
powers, without any limitation, [laying him all due respect,
and the honors, graces, allowances, exemptions, immunities,
and privileges due to the Lieutenant Commander General of
the settlements of all the Orinoco, under [)enalty of being-
punished for disobedience, according to law.
And as His Majesty, by Royal order dated at San Ildefonso
on the 21st of September, of seventeen imndred and sixty-two,
granted me the j»(»wei' to otl'er and give lots for houses in the
new settlements of my connnaud, farming lands and sites for
pasture ground for breeding cattle, lands for sugar cane, and
other produ(;ts of ex})ortation, granting the corresponding
titles of conveyance, subject to the Royal confirmation alter
my report of every case to His Majesty. For this purpose,
and to avoid any delay in the service of His Majesty, the
257
new establishinents in my charge, dnring my absence, I com-
mission said Captain Don Manuel Centurion so to make
grants to the neighbors of said two cities of the aforesaid lands
in the name of His Majesty the King, whenever said neighbors
have not received any before, using my own powers from the
same source, and observing all judicial iormalities for the pos-
session of the same, and sending me copies of the same pro-
ceedings in due form, in order to obtain their final confirmation.
And as I have empowered the Captain and ordinary Judge of
this city to grant jDossessions of farming lands and pasturage
grounds to the neighbors who have petitioned for the same, I
recommend especially to the said Don Manuel Centurion the
observance of said commission and powers, calling for all the
proceedings already closed and sending me authenticated
copies, while keeping the original papers in the corresponding
Archives.
Therefore, in virtue of all that has been mentioned, I have
ordered the present letters to be issued and sealed in my pres-
ence and countersigned by my undersigned secretary, before
witnesses, owing to my inability to sign the same, on account
of my present physical affliction, already mentioned, in this
Royal City (Ciudad Real) of Orinoco, on the 28th of January,
1767.
By command of the Commander General —
Ignacio de Chorroco — [here is a seal].
Dox Gaspar de Salaverria,
Sergeant Major of the Garrison of Cumana,
and Don Carlos Moran del Castillo,
Resident of this city.
We certify, in due legal form, that we were witnesses at the
time when the present commission was read to the Com-
mander General, Don Josef de Iturriaga, by his secretary, Don
Ignacio Chorroco, and said Chief issued and expedited the same
w^ith all its details and circumstances therein expressed, and
did not sign, as he is unable to use his right hand, but his sec-
retary did so.
Vol. If, Vex.— 17
258
In ti'stimdiiy wliereof we sign the present act and the above
couimission. in tlic same city, un the same day, month, and
year.
Gaspar JSalaverria.
Carlos Jacinto ]\Ioran del Castillo.
It agrees with the original document from which we, the
undersigned acting witnesses, for want of a Notary Public, in
virtue of a verbal order of his Honor the Commander General
of this Province of Guayana, drew this copy, well and faith-
hilly written and corrected in five folios, with the first under
stamp No. 4.
* In testimony whereof we sign the present act in Guayana, on
the eleventh day of November, of seventeen hundred and sev-
enty-three.
Miguel Mexia — [here is a flourish].
Miguel de Oleaga — [here is a flourish].
We, I)on .loscf Ventura, Pastor of the Parish Church of this
city of Guayana, and Don Andres de Oleaga, Accomptant of
the Royal Treasury of the same city for His Majesty, do cer-
tify that the two signatures authorizing the above document,
are the same as used by Don Miguel Mexia and Don Miguel
de Oleaga, the witnesses with whom, for want of a Notary
ruhiie. the Tril>unal of tliis Commander General is acting, as-
they are faithful and loyal, trustworth}', and possessing all the
other circumstances required by the law of these Kingdoms,,
and therefore to all the acts signed by them due credit and
full faith is given judicially and extra-judicially.
In testimony whereof we sign the present act in Guayana, on
tile eleventh day of November, of .seventeen hundred and sev-
enty-three.
Jose Ventura — [here is a flourish].
Andres Oleaga — [here is a flourish].
259
Copy of Royal Cedule of Boimdaries.
The King, my Viceroy, Governor and Captain General of the
new Kingdom of Granada and President of my Royal Audi-
ence of the city of Santa Fe. Don Josef de Iturriaga, Chief
of Squadron of my Royal Navy, directed that the General Com-
mand of the new settlements of the lower and higher Orinoco
and Rio Negro, that he controlled, should remain as it is on
account of his demise, in charge of the Governor and Com-
mander of Guayana. I have agreed to accept this resolution,
and finding convenient to my Royal service the invariable sub-
sistence, subject to my further resolution, of the above expressed
aggregation to the same Governor and Commander of Guayana
as the nearest to the above places, and therefore until now in
charge of the escort of the Missions of the same Province, to
have it under the same Command, always subordinated to that
Captain Generalship, the whole of said Province, the limits of
which are : on the north, the lower Orinoco, the southern
boundary of the Provinces of Cumana and Venezuela ; on the
west, the upper Orinoco, the Casiquiari and Rio Negro ; on the
south, the Amazon river, and on the east, the Atlantic Ocean.
1 have decided to make this declaration and to send you the
present Royal Cedule, in virtue of which I command you to
communicate the corresponding orders for its compliance to
all the Tribunals, Governors, and Officers to whom it may
concern, for its observance and notice, that such is mv will
and that this, my Royal Cedule, will be transferred to my
Council of the Indies for the ends that may be found adequate,
in a copy sent by the undersigned Secretary of State and of
the Department of the Indies.
Given at Aranjuez on the fifth of May, seventeen hundred
and sixty-eight.
I, the King — Don Julian de Arriaga.
It is a legal copy of the original one, existing in this Secre-
taryship of the Chamber of the Most Excellent Viceroy of this
new Kingdom of Granada, to which I refer.
Santa Fe, January 10th, 1769,
Francisco Silvestre.
260
Tliis is a copy of the Royal Cedule, addressed l)y the Secre-
tary of tlie Most Excellent Viceroy of this district, to the Com-
mander General of the Orinoco and Guayana.
I certify to the fjict.
City of Guayana, November lltli, 1773.
FKA^x•ISCO DE Anaxtegui,
Secretar}' — [here is a llouriyli].
Certificate by the Collector oV K<'veiiues.
Number 3.
Don Diego Marino, Collector of the Revenues and dues given
over to the City of Santo Thome of the Guayana, Ijy Don
Manuel Centurion, Governor and Commander General of
this Province.
I certify and swear in due form, according to law, tliat as
this city was without any revenues for its subsistence or
means to carry out the public works, and being in want of a
Churcli, Royal Offices, and Court houses, and other public
buildings necessary and convenient for the public service in
ever}^ city, and still more necessary in the capital of a Province
as this is, said Governor, Don Manuel Centurion, decided, as
soon as lie took possession of liis command, that all dues and
charges belonging to him as Chief Justice, the excises, fees
lor visits, countersigning weights and measures, and acts of
justice, and what belongs to tlie Governor out of clearances
and visits of vessels, and everything tliat in other Provinces is
considered as due or fee of the Governor, except the salary
allowed by His Majesty, and paid to me as Collector of Reve-
nues, and city taxes, as, indeed, it has been done since the year
seventeen hundred and sixty-eight to the present time, during
wliich I liave received in my administration on account of said
branches the sum of seven (the word thousand is missing) five
liundred and twenty-one dollars from the monopoly of Guarapo
(fermented niohisses), cock-[)it licenses, that by direction of the
same Coimnander were applied for the benefit of the building
261
of the Church and other Royal public houses and general
hospital, in the year seventeen hundred and seventy-one.
I have received likewise the amount of four thousand five
hundred and thirty-six dollars, with an addition of four thou-
sand two hundred and eighty -five dollars from private alms for
other purposes, in all the umount of sixteen thousand three hun-
dred and thirty-nine dollars, which have been applied to the re-
duction of the Indian tribes Guainavis, Maquiritares, Mariusas,
Aleviriannos, Viras, Puraonnes, Pandacotos, Quiriquiripas, and
other various gentile tribes who inhabited barbarously the
forests of this Province, and from where they have been re-
moved by direction of the Governor, Don Manuel Centurion, to
live a Christian and civilized life under the rule of the King our
Lord, in the settlements of the Maruanta, Pana-pana, Oroco-
piche, and Buena Vista, founded by said Governor in the
neighborhood of this capital, as well as those of San Carlos of
Caura, La Conception, and San Francisco del Iruquiari, those
of Santa Rafael de Guipa, that of San Louis, and that of San
Vicente de Crevato, that of Santa Barbara, in the high Orinoco,
and likewise that of San Antonio de Fuiamini, those of Santa
Clara de Sama, and Santa Gertrudes, besides the following at
Rio Negro — the three settlements, Pimichimi, Cunuripi, and
San Francisco Solano.
Part of these funds have been likewise used in the foundation
of the village of Barceloneta and the reduction of its neighbor-
ing Indians in Paruara ; in the expedition sent to occupy the
Parime lake, and to explore the mountain El Dorado and some
unknown southern lands in the interior of this Province at a
distance of over four hundred leagues from this capital, for
the discovery of which he is working and founding, in the
same direction, several wild Indian settlements and the city of
Guirior with Spaniards, to secure those important conquests
and facilitate our establishment in the Parime.
And, finally, out of the same funds in my charge and other
means obtained through the probity and zeal of said Gover-
nor, Don Manuel Centurion, the banks of the rivers, where
this city is founded, have been filled up and the rocks encum-
bering the same have been removed, making besides good
2iV2
streets ami Imildini;- lotseasy to l)e improved ; the Church has
been improved seven yards liigher above its foundation, as
far as was possible, out of the six thousand doHars aUowcd by
the King for the same, and a great deal of brick and lime has
been accumulated for arches and vaults. A decent Royal
(3ftice has been built of good materials, where the (rovernor
is stojiping at present, and finally six more houses of good
materials have been built for public uses, at an expense of three
thousand dollars, returning a rent of three hundred dollars a
year, as it is shown in detail by the books and accounts in my
charge, to which I refer.
And in order to show the same facts, whenever convenient,
I sign tlio present at the request of the said Governor, Don
Manuel Centurion, in this City of Gua3''ana, on the eleventh
da}' of November, seventeen hundred and seventy-three.
Diego Igxacio IMarixo.
This copy agrees with the original document, from where it
w'as taken by the undersigned, acting witnesses, for want of a
Notary Public, in virtue of the verbal order of his Honor, the
Commander General of this Province of (iuayana, being well
and faithfully written and corrected in tliree folios, with the
lirsl 1 tearing a stamj) of the fourth class.
In testimony whereof we sign the j)resent in Guayana, on
the eleventh day of November, seventeen hundred and seventy-
Ihi'ee.
Miguel Mexia — [here is a flourish].
Miguel de Oleaga — [here is a Hourish].
We, Don Joseph Ventura, Pastor of the Parish Church of
this city of (Juayana, and Don Andres de Oleaga, Accomptant
of the Royal Treasury of His Majesty, certify : That the two
signatures, authorizing the above document, are the same as
are used by Don Miguel Mexia and Don Miguel de Oleaga,
actinc: witnesses, for want of a Notarv Public, in the Tribunal
of the Commander General, and that l)oth are faithful and
trustworthy, possessing all the qualifications required by the
2G3
laws of these kingxloms. And therefore to all the instruments
which they attest fnll faith and credit are given, both judicially
and extra-judicialh'.
In testimony whereof I sign the present in Guayana, on the
eleventh of November, of seventeen hundred and seventy-
three.
Andres de Oleaga — [here is a flourish].
Joseph Ventura — [here is a flourish].
State of the Settlements of the Catalan Capuchin Mission
of Guayana.
Number If..
State of the Missions of the Reverend Catalan Capuchin
Fathers of the Province of Guayana, founded since the year
seventeen hundred and twenty-four, with others of new founda-
tion by the Commander General of this Province, Don Manuel
Centurion, shown by the actual Reverend Father Prefect Fr.
Bruno de Barcelona, in compliance with the Cedule from the
Buen Retiro in the year of seventeen hundred and one. To
this end a visit was made in the present year of seventeen
hundred and seventy. This state agrees with the matricula
sent by the Most Reverend Fathers of the Mission of the Im-
maculate Conception from Caroni to their President, Father
Manuel de Preixana and the Most Reverend Father Prefect.
1. The Indians of this Mission are Guayanos ; they were
transferred from the Mission of Suay (by order of the King),
in which they had been founded in the year seventeen hun-
dred and twenty-four. Baptized, 1,151 ; married by the Church,
301 ; deaths, 777 ; existing, 388.
2. Mission of our Father San Francisco de Alta-gracia ;
President, the Reverend Father Felix de Villanueva.
The Indians of this Mission are Guayanos, and all baptized.
They were founded in the year seventeen hundred and thirty-
four. Baptized, 1,552 ; married by the Church, 306 ; deaths,
620 ; existing, 540.
•2G4
3. Mission of" Saint Jose})li of Cupapuy : its President, the
Reverend Futher Joachin Maria de Martortorel.
The Indians of this Mission are all baptized, and from the
Guayanos tribes. It was founded in the year seventeen hun-
dred and thirty -three. Baptized, 1,470 ; married by the Ciiurch,
366 ; deaths, 664 ; existing, 403.
4. Mis.sion of Santa Maria de los Angeles de Yucuai'i ; its
President, Father Raymundo de Clot; his companion, Fr.
Carlos de Barcelona, who attends to the sick.
The Indians of this Mission are nearly all baptized ; a few
are Guayanos, others Caribs, and others Panacayos. These
I iidians were transferred from the Missions of Amaruca, founded
in the vear seventeen hundred and thirtv, on account of the
l)ad climate. Baptized, 790; married by the Church, 363;
deaths, 690; existing, 269.
5. Mission of the Divine Shepherdess of Yuruari ; its Presi-
dent, Father Antonio de Martorell.
The Indians of tliis Mission are all })aptized, and of the Guay-
anos tribe. It was transferred from the siteof the Yucuari, on ac-
count of better convenience for the cattle, in the year seventeen
hundred and seventy. Baptized, 374 ; married by the Church,
92; deaths, 234; existing, 290.
6. Mission of Saint Joseph de Leonisa de Ayma ; its Presi-
dent, Reverend Bernardino de Berdu.
The Indians of this Mission are from the Guaicas tribe and
from tlie Maragotos; most of them are baptized. It was
founded in seventeen hundred and fifty-three, but in tlie year
of seventeen Imndi-ed and sixtv-seven tliev all took to the
woods on account of the earthquakes, but afterwards most of
them came out, and, with other arrivals, there are already
three hundred and eighty-eight. Baptized, 599; married by
the Church, 44; deaths, 198; existing, 388.
7. Mission of our Lady of the Rosary of Guazipati ; its Pres-
ident, the Reverend Father Benito de la Garriga.
The Indians of this Mis.sion are of the Card) tribe. It was
founded in *he 3'ear seventeen hundred and fifty-seven ; nearly
all are baptized. Baptized, .316; married by the Church, 16 ;
deaths, 104 ; existing, 370.
265
8. Mission of Sau Miguel del Carapo ; its President, Father
Thomas de Mataro.
The Indians of this Mission are from the Carib tribe ; most
of them are baptized. It was founded in the year seventeen
hundred and fifty-two. Baptized, 606 ; married by the Church,
30; deaths, 204; existing, 410.
9. Mission of Our Lady of La Soledad del Cavallaju ; its
President, Father Geronimo de Vallfogona.
The Indians of this INIission are from the Guaico tribe. It
was founded in the year seventeen hundred and sixty-one. At
tlie beginning of the year seventeen hundred and sixt3'-nine
they took to the woods, on account of the measles ; about fifty-
nine have been recovered since. Baptized, 208 ; married by
the Church, 11 ; deaths, 70 ; existing, 120.
10. Mission of Our Lady of Monserrate del Miamo ; its
President, Father Buenaventura de Santa Coloma.
The Indians of this Mission are from the Carib tribe. Most
of them are baptized. It was founded in the year seventeen
hundred and forty-eight. Baptized, 733; married by the
Church, 60 ; deaths, 312 ; existing, 501.
11. Mission of Saint Michael of Palmar; its President,
Father Fraiicisco de San .lulian.
The Indians of this Mission are Guayanos and Caribs. It was
founded in the year seventeen hundred and forty-six. Baptized,
520; married by the Church, 108 ; deaths, 264; existing, 380.
12. Mission of San Antonio; its President, the Reverend
Father Mariano de Savadell, accompanied by Father Domingo
de Arbucies.
The Indians of this Mission are from the Guayanos tiibe,
all baptized ; they were founded in the year seventeen hundred
and sixty-five. Baptized, 287; married by the Church, 64 ;
deaths, 47 ; existing, 248.
13. Mission of Saint Raymond de Carauaci ; its President,
Father Pedro de Fugarola.
The Indians of this Mission are Caribs and Cachigarotos.
Founded in the year seventeen hundred and sixty-three.
Baptized, 83 ; married by the Church 1 ; deaths, 20 ; exist-
ing', 130.
2()U
14. Mission of Santa Enlalia de Muiucuri : its President,
Fatlur Thomas de San Pedro.
Tile Indians of tliis Mission are from the Carib tribe, and
most of them are baptized. It was founded in the year seven-
teen hundred and sixty-four. Baptized, 403; married ])y the
Churcli, 40; deaths, 220; existing, 368.
15. Mission of tlie Calvary ; its President, Father Joseph
Antonio dc Cervera.
The Indians of this Mission are from thu tribes of Guaraunus
and Salivas, most of them are baptized ; they were founded in
tlic year seventeen hundred and sixty-one. At present they
have already two Missions, and the latter, by order of the
Kin^-, is placed in the Cardonal. The Commander, General
Don ]\hniuel Ceiitui'ion, in order to facilitate their translation,
and in consideration of their poverty, supplied them, at his
own expense, witli many iron utensils and other alms for the
pur{)ose of planting new grounds, in seventeen hundred and
sixty-eight. Baptized, 387; married l)y the Church, 15;
deaths, 125; existing, 206.
16. Mission of Santa Ana ; its President, Fatlier Felix de
Tarraga.
The Indians of this Mission are from the Aruaca and Gua-
rauno tribes, most of them are baptized and united from two
Missions of San .Joaquin and San Felix. They commenced their
transfer by order of the King our Lord at the beginning of
tlie present year, seventeen hundred and seventy. The Com-
mander General, Don Manuel Centurion, in order to facilitate
their transportation, made a present to l)oth tribes of a large
amount of ii'on utensils, axes, machetes, and other articles.
Baptized, 631» ; married by the Chui'ch, 18; deaths, 250; ex-
isting, 446.
17. Mission of Onr Fady of Los Dolores de Puedpa ; its Presi-
dent, Father Mariano de Zervera.
The Indians of this Mission are from the Aruacas and Chi-
mas tribes; they were founded in the year seventeen hundred
and forty-nine, most of them ran away the latter part of Feb-
ruary of the present year of seventeen hundred and seventy,
-some have been recovered, and in a short time will be entered.
267
Before they ran away they iiunil)ered in all one liuiidred and
seventy, brought from Monica, where two Reverend Fathers
went aiter them, well escorted and provided with vessels and
the necessary stores, supplied by the Commander General,
Don Manuel C-enturion. Baptized, 56 ; married by the Church,
; deaths, 3 ; existing, 52.
18. Mission of Santa Rosa de Maruanta ; its President, Father
James de Puigcerda.
The Indians of this Mission are from the Guaraunos tribe.
It was founded by the above-mentioned Commander General,
Don INIanuel Centurion, wdth Guaraunos Indians, whom he
personally went after, and brought along with him to the
lower Orinoco, as may be seen in his letter asking tlie Rev-
erend Father Prefect to send one of the Fathers to attend to
the spiritual wants of said Indians, a fact well-known to all
the inhabitants of this city ; a few of said Indians are baptized.
It was founded in the year seventeen hundred and sixty-nine,
and is in our charge. Baptized, 30; married by the Church,
■0; deaths, 9; existing, 2S6.
19. Mission of the Immaculate Conception of Pana-pana ; its
President, the above-named Father Fr. James de Puigcerda.
The Indians of this Mission are from the Carib tribe, and it
was founded likewise by tlte same Commander General, Don
Manuel Centurion, in the year seventeen hundred and sixty-
nine, as it appears by the letter add.ressed by his Honor to the
Most Reverend Father Prefect, asking for a Missioner to attend
the said Indians, and it is improving with new arrivals of
Caribs with embarkations, troops, arms, and stores, and every
other necessary thing at the expense of the Commander Gen-
eral and in company of the Reverend President. Baptized, 8 ;
married by the Church, ; deaths, ; existing, 97.
20. Mission of Saint Felix de Topoc[uen, under Father
Manuel de Preixana.
The Indians of this Mission are from the Caril) tribe, a few
are baptized, it commenced under Father Manuel de Preisana
in the year seventeen sixty-seven. Baptized, 56 ; married by
the Church, ; deaths, 5 ; existing, 110.
2(")S
-]. Mission nftlie C'uinana. uinkr Father TUiena A'entura de
.Santa Coloniu.
Tlic Indians of this Mission are from the Carib tribe, a few
are baptized ; it was founded in the year seventeen seventy-
seven. Bai)tized, 47; married by the C'liurch, ; deaths, 5;
existing, lOG.
•22. \'ilhige of Upata and San Antonio — all Spaniards; its
President, Father Pedro Martin de Hibas.
This village was commenced to be founded at the expense
of the Reverend Community, in the year seventeen hundred
and sixty-two, with ten Spanish families. Baptized, btJ ; mar-
ried by the Church, 23; deaths, 20; existing, 152.
Note. — About the latter j)art of last year the fortress of
Hii)oqui was commenced with six officers and an officer Cadet
of the troop, by allowance of the Commander General, Don
Manuel Centurion, with six swivel-guns, balls, powder, and
military armaments, said community paying for the provis-
ions of beef and casave for the vessel. Two Reverend Fathers
were .sent to })roinote the success of said expedition, they
planted the cross and began the Mission, at the mouth of La
Parana. Said Castle of Hipiqui remains as a constituted
Spanish village by the pleasure of His Majesty, and the ap-
proval of the Commander General, with some expenses to the
Reverend community. Said village is called Barceloneta.
Now it consists of twelve Spanish families (with a few Indians)
freely supplied with transportation and other expenses by the
.same Commander, showing his earnest desire to give ample
))oi)ulation to these lands, and conquer souls for tiie Lord and
vassals for our King.
At the same time three other Missions have been commenced,
under the names of Guri, Aripuana, on the banks of the Caroni
river, an<l on the straight road to Nre Barceloneta; and the
thir<l, called Garumoi>ati, on the bank of the Parana river.
The Reverend Missioners are no more nor less than twenty,
besides the two above-mentioned in these places.
We are daily awaiting the arival from our l*rovince of the
eleven Fathers and a nur.se that we have requested for the
2(i9
past few years, with the approval of the Commander General
of this Province.
Total — Baptized, 10,360; married, 1,754; deaths, 4,842;
existing, 6,24G.
The Indians from the tribes, whose reduction we are still
wanting, and that we discover every day, are as follows :
Macerouis Caribs, Guaicas, Guapisanas, Paravaxauas, Arivas,
Machuacanes, Taramas, Gumaripas, Paramyanas, Tuyanas,
Hipuragotos, Aturayas, Cumixis, Papavenas, Camaragotos,
Quiriquiripas, Hiiiaus, Cucuipcotos, Arianas.
In testimony whereof I give the present letters signed by
me and sealed with the grand seal of our office, countersigned
by our Secretary, in this Mission of the Immaculate Concep-
tion of Caroni, on the twelfth day of September, in the year
of seventeen hundred and seventy.
Fr. Bruno de Barcelona, Prefect.
By order of the Most Reverend Father Prefect.
Fr. Manuel de Preisana.
Secretary to the Missions.
It agrees with the original from which we, the undersigned,
acting witnesses, in the absence of a Notary Public, and by
order of the Commander General of this Province, have taken
the present copy, well and faithfully written and corrected,
and consisting of six folios, the first on a stamped paper of the
fourth class.
In testimony whereof we sign tlire present in Guayana, on the
eleventh day of November, seventeen hundred and seventy-
three. ;
Miguel Mexia — [here is a flourish].
Miguel de Oleaga — [here is a flourish].
We, Don .Joseph Ventura, Pastor of the Parish Church of
this city of Guayana, and Don Andres de Oleaga, Accomptant of
the Royal Treasury of the same l)y His Majesty, certify that
the two signatures authorizing the preceding document are the
same used by Don Miguel Mexia and Don Miguel de Oleaga^
acting witnesses for the Tribunal of the Commander (Jeneral,
in the absence of a Notary Public ; that they are faithful,,
trustworthy, and possess the conditions required by the laws of
this Kingdom, and to the instruments signed by them full and
entire credit is given, judicially and extra-judicially.
In testimony whereof we sign the present in Guayana, on the
elevenih of November, seventeen hundred and seventy-three.
Josef Venturas — [here is a flourish].
Andres de Oleaga — [here is a flourish].
Number 5.
Fr. Cristobal Lendines, the Apostolic Missioner, Attorney
General and Paymaster of the holy doctrines and of the Mis-
sions of the Immaculate Conception of Piritu, and new con-
versions of the Incarnation of Orinoco, Erevato, etc., and dis-
crete Fathers of the same, certify for those to whom it may
(;oncern that in time, and by direction and request of Don
Manuel Centurion, Lieutenant Colonel of the Royal Army of
His Majesty, Commander General of tlic up})er and lower
< )rinoco and Superintendent of the branch of crusades in the
Province of New Guayana, that the following settlements,
have been made and improved in the district of this territory
lately described by the agreement entered into in the city of
Santo Thome of the old Guayana, as follows :
Bueaa Vista. — This settlement by said Don Manuel Centu-
rion with two hundred souls, more or less, from the Guarauna
tribe that he ordered to be brought from the Anegadizos^
(flooded places) and mouths of Orinoco.
Santa leresa de OrocopicJte. — This settlement was composed
of fifty Indians, Cumanagotes and Palenques, from the neigh-
borhood of Angostura of Orinoco, and has formally increased
to over two hundred souls, Alaverianos and Guaraunos, that
under directions and proper steps of said Centurion left the
woods and were placed in this settlement where they are es-
tablished.
271
San Carlos and Sa)i Pedro de Alcantara of Caura. — This set-
tlement was founded b}^ said Commander General with one
hundred and forty souls from the Vivas and Pandacotos tribes,.
under the direction and solicitude of the same ; they were
brought from the forests of the high Caura (river) to live a
Christian and social life at the mouth of said Caura river and
the Orinoco.
Nuestro Padre San Francisco del Tniquiri. — This settlement
was founded by said Don Manuel Centurion, with over two
hundred souls of the Pandacotos tribe, who, under his direc-
tion and solicitude, were induced to inhabit that place, as a
necessary scale (station) to the navigation of the Caura river..
San Luis del Crevato. — This settlement was founded by the
same gentleman, with over two hundred souls of the Pandacota
tribe, brought from the mountains to inhabit at the mouth of
the Erevato, where a small fort was established with artillery
and troops, for the protection of the Missioners and new re-
ductions of Indians.
San Vicente del Erevato. — This settlement was founded like-
wise by the same Centurion, with over two hundred souls from
the Inaos and Guayucomos tribes, who, at his solicitude and
direction, left the woods and came to live on the banks of the
Erevato, where there is a scale necessary for the navigation
of said river, and for the land communication with the high
Orinoco.
The Immaculate Conception of Caura. — This settlement was
founded by said Commander General with over two hundred
souls of the Paraventis tribe, that he induced to quit the woods
and reside at the margin of Caura, opposite the mouths of the
Erevato river, and is a necessary scale for tl^e communication
of all these settlements with the capital of Guayana.
San Rafael de Guaipa. — This settlement was likewise founded
by the said Centurion, with one hundred and nine souls from
the Quiric|uiripas tribe, who, at his solicitation, left the forest
to inhabit at the said place, a point of scale for the land trav-
ellers of the capital of Erevato, where a road has been opened
and continues under the orders of the same Centurion until it
reaches the Esmeralda on the high Orinoco.
•27-2
We likewise' certify tliat besides the above settlements in the
district and territory mentioned, under the support, direction,
and solicitude of said Don Manuel Centurion, the village of
Borbon by Don Josef Francisco de Espinosa, with thirty Creole
Spanish families and a few Indians, have been improved and
hel|)ed,that of the city of the Real Corona with Spaniards, the
settlement of Tapaquiri and >h)no mountain with Indians vol-
untarily established within the jurisdiction and government
of said Centurion ; that he has besides rendered assistance to
the Prelate with vessels and men whenever he has requested
them for the ordinary visits, and to meet the wants of many
Missionaries whose health and expenses were not possible on the
part of the lioly community, on account of the notorious pov-
erty of the lieverend Fathers, who have accompanied the ex-
pedition, and the visits made and intended to the Erevato
river and the Parime lake or El Dorado, soliciting at the same
time the means of rendering the spiritual comforts to the vas-
sals of His Majesty residing at the high Orinoco and Rio Negro,
destitute and abandoned by the ministers of the Gospel. For
this purpose and the comfort of the troop guarding the fort of
our Father San Francisco in the old CJuyana, he applied and
prayed this holy community to assign, as indeed it was done,
the necessary Missionaries to take care of their consciences and
do their duty, in regard to the annual precepts of our Holy
Mother Church, with everything conducive to their spiritual
comfort.
In testimony whereof we give the i)resent certificate, signed
and sealed with the grand seal of this holy community, in the
city of Real Corona, on the twentieth day of August, in the
year seventeen hundred and seventy-three.
Fr. Cristobal Lexdines,
Apostolic Commissioner.
Fr. Francisco Sanz, Discrete.
Fr. Miguel Gutierez, Discrete.
Fr. Gregorio Marze, Discrete.
Fr. Josef Araujo and
Feijoo, Discrete — [here is a seal].
273
It agrees with its original, from which the undersigned
acting witnesses, for want of a Notary Public, in virtue of a
verbal order of his Honor, the Commander General of this
Province, have draw^n this copy, well and faithfully written
and corrected, in three folios, the first of them on stamped
paper of the fourth class ; and we sign the present certificate in
Guayana, on the eleventh of November, seventeen hundred
and seventy-three.
Miguel AIexia — [here is a flourish],
Miguel de Oleaga — [here is a flourish].
We, Don .Josef Ventura, Pastor of the Parish Church of this
city of Guayana, and Don Andres de Oleaga, Accomptant of
the Royal Treasury of the same lor His Majesty, certify that
the two foregoing signatures, authenticating the preceding
document, are the same used by Don Miguel Mexia and Don
]\Iiguel de Oleaga, acting witnesses, lor want of a Notary Public
in the Tribunal of the Commander General; they are faithful,
trustworthy, and qualified according to the laws of these King-
doms, and that all the instruments executed before them are
given full faith and credit, judicially and extra-judicially.
In testimony whereof we sign the present in Guayana, on
the eleventh of November, seventeen hundred and seventy-
three.
Josef Ventura — [here is a flourish].
Andres de Oleaga — [here is a flourish].
Number 6.
Certificate which, at the request of the Lieutenant Colonel
Don Manuel Centurion Guerrero y Torres, Governor of the
Province of Guayana, and Commander General of Orinoco,
Rio Negro, and annexes, is given by the Reverend Capuchin
Father Missioners, Fr. Josef Antonio de Xerez de los Caba-
leros and Fr. Miguel de Nerja, the former Prefect of the
new Missions of the high Orinoco and Rio Negro, and the
latter accompanying Justice of the said Missions, both sons
of the Capuchin Province of Andalusia.
Vol. IL Ven.— 18
274
Sik: In your })revious (favor) your Excellency directs us to
give the present certificate of youi- acts in tlie>c Provinces in
your charge, (h;iin^ youi- ( iovcrnmcnt time, commencing <<n
the 25tli of Decembei', seventeen huixlrcd and sixty-six, up to
tlic present time. And understanding the motive stiniulnting
your Honor, less glorious if you should not have any rivals,
without which Themistocles said that there was no glorious
deed. If our opinion, 1)eing from persons fsivored l)y and at-
taclied to vour Honor were not to be underrated we should
say, as our Lord and Divine Master told Saint Thomas, " (Jnia
vidisti credididi'" (because you saw, you did believe).
We have seen and, therefore, we have to believe and demon-
strate not with timidity, wiiat your II( nor has founded, re-edi-
fied, and augmented with the light of mid-day. We should
ask — What comparison is possible between what the Ori-
noco is to-day, to whomsoever did not see the condition in
which it was found by the Royal expedition of boundaries?
What was founded, discovered, and worked by the Royal Cctm-
niissioners? What was improved by Don Joaquin Moreno, the
predecessor of your Honor? And, finally, what has been added
to all of that by your Honor with your im2)on(lerable efi'ort,
work and excessive patience? Ijct us compare one and the
other, and we \Aill hear the opinion of the zealous ministers.
Our conviction is tliat your Honor has done and accom-
plished in Orinoco what you ought to do, and that we will
relate, certifying the same sincerely, without comparing wliat
lias been done by the other ])ersons with what your Honor
has founded, re-edified, and augmented in the time of your
government. That is not oui' }»urpose,' nor what your Honor
desires.
In the tirst place your Honor has improved the ca})ital of
New Guayana so well, that it is almost im})Ossible to believe
it, if we would not see it, on account of the general scarcity of
materials in this territory and the want of mechanics, now
more than ever felt, as vour Honor havino- all the necessarv
materials to finish the fine Churcii, that is on the way of con-
struction, has to wait in order to finish it, for those ex})ected
from Spain by the first arrival, A large number of houses
275
have been built, amongst them some for schools and the in-
sti-iiction of our youth, in one of the best places of the city,
and I doubt whether the city of Caracas has any better. Your
Honor has paved all the ground necessary for said building, at
the expense of a great deal of labor, on account of its being
nearly all solid rock. I do not doubt that a plan has been
already made, showing all the houses covered with tiles exist-
ing to-day, when your Honor found only about eight small
houses, and the rest being straw-roofed huts; this last kind of
material has been already eliminated from the interior of the
city.
Whoever did not see the Angostura or New Guayana as
your Honor received it, can not form an idea of the impulse
given by your Honor, in improving and beautifying the same.
Your Honor has aggregated to this city and its suburbs four
settlements, like villages, and as many Missions as your Honor
has founded. One of them, the Maruanta settlement, with
over six hundred souls from the Guarauna tribe and Spanish
neighbors, at two leagues from the capital; another is called
Orocopiche, increased with Indians of the same tribe and
Cumanagotos, being besides under an Alderman ; your Honor
found this one when it was beginning with very few Cumana-
gota families. This settlement is at a distance of one league
and a half from the capital.
Besides the settlement of Buena Vista, which your Honor
has founded, with over three hundred Guaraunas, at one league
distance from Guayana, another settlement, Panapana, with
one hundred and eighty Caribs and a few Spanish settlers, has
been likewise founded by your Honor, distant four leagues
from the city, being under my spiritual administration as well
as tiiat of ]\Iaruanta.
These four Missions are very serviceable to the capital of
Guayana, affording it facilities for laborers and eatables, just
the purpose your Honor had in contemplation, when found-
ing the village of Borbon, already with over thirty Spanish
families, with their Chaplain settler and a temporary Parson,
who is my companion and brother, Reverend Father Fr. Mi-
guel de Nerja.
276
Besides, you 1' Iloimr has fouiuliMl tlic villnge of Caroliiuu
with a less imiiiber of I'aniilies, aihiiinistered by one of the
Iteverend Missioners of the (Fiaiiciscan Order) Reguhir Ob-
servants. Moreover, the village of BarceU)neta and that of La
Paragna, served by the Reverend Catalan Capuchin Fathers,
Avliere they have a fort with troop and tlie necessary ammu-
nition furnished by your Honor for its defence. The village
of Caicara, newly founded by Don Pedro Bolivar, opposite
Cabruta, on the south side of the Orinoco, and aggregated to
the Mission of Pan de Azucar, likewise founded by your Honor
with Indians from the Maijiuic tribe. Said \illages and Mis-
sions 3'our Honoi- i)as entrusted to tlie care of the Reverend
father Observants, with those of Borbon, la CaroHna, Caicara,.
that of Ciuilad Real Corona, greatly iiu-reased in population,
houses and cattle.
A Lieutenant has been placed in charge of tlie Mi.ssions of
Buena Vista, Oroco[)iche, San Carlos de Caura, Tapaquiri and
Cerro del Mono or ]\[ono mountain, all founded by your
Honor, and the five settlements of the Crevato and Iniquiari
rivers, placed by your Honor under the Reverend Observant
Fatheis, founded and i)opulated with over two thousand souls,
supplied by your Honor with troops, ammunitions and gifts-
for the conquest, I suppose that, better than ourselves, the
Reverend Fathers will attest to the facts.
To the Reverend Catalan Fathers your Honor has entru.sted
the care of the village of Barceloneta, with its fortress, etc., the
Mi.ssion of Maruanta and of Pana-pana, above mentioned. Sai<l
Reverend Fathers have |)lace(l in each of these settlements one
Reverend Fatiier, whom they have to withdraw on account of
the scarcity rif pastors, leaving one in liarceloneta, furnishing
tiiem help with cattle and utensils. Your Honor has aug-
mented the viUage of I'pata, already improved, and {)Iaced in
])Osition to suj)ply the Province and Capital of Guayana with
l»roducts, and inhabitants likewise. The otlier Missions have
been increased with several inhabitants, marrying Indian
women of said Missions, and the Fathers have attended to the
Christian instruction of the natives.
Your Honor has furnished tliem with all necessar\' sup-
277
plies as well as the other tribes, if no better, as insinuated
by the Reverend Father Prefect, Fr. Bruno de Barcelona, in
his letter to the Reverend Father Paymaster General, dated in
Oaroni, on the seventeenth of September, seventeen hundred
and seventy ; and we refer to the said letter in support of our
statement, where he has highly praised the conduct of your
Honor for his favors and support. In confirmation of all the
above facts we may refer to the state of the Missions presented
to your Honor by the Reverend Prefect after liis visit. We
have referred to what has been founded on the lower Orinoco.
As to the improvements carried out by your Honor in Rio
Negro, we will add the village of La Esmeralda, to which
your Honor sent the Captain Settler, Don Apolinario Diez de
la Fuente, with all the families who have already settled there,
under the protection of the troop, and all the other necessaries
for that foundation, having cows and cattle sent b}'^ water with
great difficulty and expense. A sugar-cane mill has been
established and the necessary farms for the convenience and
comforts of the inhabitants. To this village your Honor has
aggregated and founded the following Missions on the Orinoco
river: Santa Barbara, San Antonio, on the mouth of the Tua-
mini creek, and Santa Clara, at the mouth of the Sama creek.
Your Honor has settled Indians in the old sites already de-
stroyed, of San Fernando on the Rio Negro, San Francisco
Solano, San Miguel at the mouth of the Pimichini, San Gabriel
de Guenia or R.io Negro, on the Padamo river, Santa Gertrudes,
San Felix. Your Honor has added likewise (what in our
opinion is as much work as the rest already told) twenty set-
tlements of several tribes reduced by Captain-elect Don Antonio
Barreto, at a middle distance between said village and the
Crevato river, a work of extreme difficulty as well as of extreme
glory to your Honor, having been the first, and perhaps the
onl}^ one of our Spaniards, who has founded and opened similar
laborious road, as difficult as I am sure it has been for others,
wanting the pacification, friendship, and union of the different
tribes spread around there.
Your Honor has succeeded in the settlement of peaceful
Indians already reduced and under one soldier, each Post, fur-
278
nishiiig supy">lies and help to said natives nnd to tlie inliabit-
ants b}' means of the new road opened to the extent of over
three hnndred leagues from the Esmeralda to the capital of
Guayana, counting already over seven hundred Indians in
some of the above-mentioned twenty settlements, conhrming
the truth of what I heard some time before from the Chief of
squadron Don Joseph de Iturriaga (whom as Avell as the other
Chiefs of the Royal expedition of boundaries I have the honor
to accompany and serve, during their permanence in Orinoco,
where I have served for sixteen years, and in the Province of
A^enezuela and in Caracas for ten, making in all twenty-six
years that I have served in the ministration of the Holy Gospel
as Missionary in these Provinces).
Senor Iturriaga said that only the Esmeralda and Guayana
were to have land communication, as your Honor has made it
true, and that he could not do, considering the immense woi'k
necessary.
Plere is the end of what we can demonstrate, as we have
seen Avhat your Honor has accomplished and Avhat your gov-
ernment has improved and reformed, but we can never suffi-
ciently praise your Honor and applaud your zeal, efficiency,
and good conduct — quia magnorum non est, laiis sed adniiratio
dixo doda, as the prince of philosophers said.
In testimony whereof, and for whom it may concern, we
sign the present at Maruanta on the fifteenth of December,
seventeen hundred and seventy-two.
May your Honor prosper for many years and the Lord pro-
tect your valuable life are the vows of your obedient and loving
servants and Chaplains.
Fr. Josef Antonio de Xerez.
Fr. Miguel de Nerja.
It agrees with the original, from where the undersigned, act-
ing witnesses, for want of a Notary Public, and in virtue of a
verbal order of His Honor, the Commander General of this
Province of Guavana, lias been taken well and faithfullv,
279
t
written and corrected, in six folios, the first of wliicli is on
stamped paper of the fourth cLass.
In testimony whereof we sign the present in Guayana, on the
eleventii of November, seventeen hundred and seventy-thi-ee.
Miguel Mexia — [here is a flourish].
Miguel Oleaga — [here is a flourish].
We, Don Josef Ventura, Pastor of the Parish Church of this
Citv of Guayana, and Don Andres de Oleaga, Accoraptant
of the Royal Treasury of His Majesty, certify that the two
signatures authorizing the preceding document are the same
used by Don Miguel Mexia and Don Miguel de Oleaga,
witnesses with whom, for want of a Notary Public, the Tri-
bunal of the Commander General is acting ; that they are
faithful, trustworthy, and qualified, according to the laws of
these Kingdoms, and therefore to all the instruments signed
by them full faith and credit is given judicially and extra-
judicially.
In testimony whereof we sign the present certificate in Guay-
ana, on the eleventh of November of seventeen hundred and
seventy-three.
Josef Ventura — [here is a flourish].
Andres de Oleaga — [here is a flourish].
Number 7 — \_Copii].
Bv direction of the Governor and Captain General of Ven-
ezuela, Don Josef Solano, I have received the representation
addressed by your Honor, on the thirtieth of last January,
reporting the first results of the expedition sent, in the year of
seventeen hundred and seventy-two, in charge of Don Apolinar
Diez de la Fuente, and the supplies and the other measures
taken by your Honor to facilitate the accomplishment of this
project, I have brought the subject to the notice of His Ma-
jesty, informing him of the progress of the same officer, who
280
does not seem to lall short of liis promises, and that it is de-
sirable to encourage the accum{)lishment of his commission Ijy
all j>ossible means.
The King has decided to instruct Don Josef Solano to do on
his part, in accordance with your Honor, what may be found
proper to carry out the settlement of La E-meralda and the
breeding of cattle that your Honor proposes as necessary ibr
the subsistence of those inhal)itants.
His Majesty finds praiseworthy the zeal and measures of
your Honor on this subject, and expects tliat \<>u will continue
with the same activitv and will encourage the above-men-
tioned Don Apolinar and the Lieutenant Don Francisco Fer-
nandez Bobadilla and the Prelect of the Missions to proceed,
in accord and in good spirits, to the realization of that impor-
tant measure.
Tn order to render hi? assistance, especially to the founda-
tion and establishment of the cattle farm, His Majesty has
decided to furnish from the Treasury' of Cumana six thousand
dollars for once, in consideration of what your Honor {)roi)Oses
as necessary. On this same date the corresponding order has
been addressed to the Governor and Royal officers of that city,
placing said sum to the order of Don Josef Solano, so that he
may collect it and send it to that Province.
His Majesty will be informed of tiie result of the cocoa
samples already received, as an experiment. an<l the stones
sent to your Honor ]:)y Don Apolinar. so as try the first essay.
May the Lord keej) your life for many years.
San Hdefonso, October the fifth, seventeen liundred and
sixty-eight.
The Bailiir, Fr. Don Julian de Akkiag.\.
Senor Don Manuel Centurion.
It is a copy of the original Royal order, existing at the
Archives of the Commander General of Orinoco and Guayana.
I certify to the fact.
City of Guayana, November 11th, 1773.
Francisco de Ama>tegui,
Secretary — [here is a flourish].
281
Certificate of the Royal Acconiptant of the Treasury.
Number 8.
Don Andres de Oleaga, Accomptant of tlie Royal Treasury
of this City and Province of Guayana for His Majesty, certify
ill due form that Don Manuel Centurion Guerrero de Torres,
Lieutenant-Colonel of the Royal Army of His ]\Iajesty, Gov-
ernor and Commander General of this Province, has paid for
the foundation of the vilhige and cattle estate of Esmeralda,
on the upper Orinoco, and has besides commenced twenty In-
dian settlements on the straight road from said vilhige to this
capital, to avoid the long turn of the river, and secure the
possession of the land and the reduction of the wild Indians
Sj>read throughout that territory, at a cost of six thousand
dollars, furnished by His Majesty's orders on the Cumana
Tre.isury, for that purpose, and besides five thousand four
hundred and eighty-three dollars, five reals and two and three-
quiirter maravedis, paid by the Treasury of my charge, out of
the forty thousand dollars (rather more than less), that has been
received by the Royal Treasury, since the time of my man-
agement to the present date. From that amount the cost of
the expedition undertaken to reach the Parime has been paid.
And besides what has been mentioned in this certificate I
have to add that said Governor and Commander General has
founded, without any cost to the Royal Treasury in his time,
eighteen settlements, of which six are called Sama, Santa
Barbara, Tuamini, San Gabriel, San Francisco Solano, and
Santa Gertrudes, and in the territory of the high Orinoco and
Rio Xegro ; those named Barceloneta, Maruanta, and Pana-
Dana, within the Mission of the Catalan Capuchin Fathers ;
Buena Vista, Orocopiche, Guaipa, La Conception, San Luis,
San Vicente, San Francisco and San Carlos, under the Fran-
■ciscan Observant Father ^Missionaries of Orinoco, and the
village of Caicara, which w'as before under the Jesuits.
These important establishments he has secured, out of the
taxes and revenues belonging to his Honor as Governor,
through his constant diligence and labor to secure the greatest
improvement of this extensive Province.
282
At the verbal request of sai<l riovonior I gave the |)rcsont^
in tliis Koval Treasury of the Citv of ( iuavana, on tlie eleveiilh
• lay of Xdvember, seventeen hundred and seventy- three.
It agrees with the original from where we, the undersigned
aeting Avitnesses, in. the absence of a Notary Pnldic and by tlie
verbal order of his Honor, tlie Commander (icncral of tins
Province of Guayana, drew this copy, well and faitlihdly
written and corrected, in two folios of stamped paper of the
fourth class.
In testimony whereof we give and sign the present, in Guay-
ana, on the twelfth of November, seventeen hundred and
seventy-three.
Miguel Mexia — [here is a flourish].
Miguel de Oleaga — [here is a flourish].
We, Don Josef Ventura, Pastor of the Parish Church of this
city of Guayana, and Don .Josef Bassi, Captain of Infantry and
Sergeant Major ad interim of this Garrison, certify that the
two signatures authorizing the foregoing dr.enment arc the
same used by Don Miguel Mexia and Don ]\IigU(d de Oleaga,.
acting witnesses of the Tribunal of this Commander General,,
both faithful, trustworthy, and well qualified, according to the
laws of tlii.s Kingdom, and therefore to all the instruments in
which they act full faith and credit is given, judicially and
extra-judicially.
In testimony whereof we sign the present, in Guayana, on
the twelfth day of November, seventeen hundred and seventy-
three.
Josef Ventura — [here is a flourish].
Josef Bassi — [here is a flourish].
Number — \_Copif\.
The King ha.s kindly appointetl your Honor to succeed Don
Joachin Moreno in the Command jn-o tempore of the Province
of Guayana, as sliowii liy the Royal despatch that will be de-
283
livered to voii bv the Governor of Caracas. Don Josef Solano,
to whom it is addressed on tin's occasion. I inform your
Honor, for your knowledge of the fact, so that after complying
with the requisites mentioned in said despatch you will depart
and take possession of the said command, under the under-
standing that the Viceroy of Santa Fe has been advised of this
resolution in order to furnish you with the necessary assistance.
Don Joaquin Moreno has been instructed to deliver the
command to you, on your presentation with the corresponding
despatches, and he will hand you the orders and instructions
given to him, in regard to the establishment of that Province,
its fortifications, organization of the troops, and the other
affairs concerning the same.
With the knowledge of the same, and under the directions
of the Governor of Caracas, your Honor may take due steps
for the continuation and accomplishment of the Royal inten-
tions of His Majesty, which have been communicated to you
expecting that you will give proof of your zeal and activity.
May the Lord keep your Honor for many years.
Aranjuez, May the 1st, 1766.
The Bailiff, Fr. Dox Julian de Arriaga.
Senor Don Manuel Centurion.
It is a copy of the original Royal order, existing in the
Archives of the Secretary of the Commander General of Ori-
noco and Guavana, of which I certify.
City of Guayana, November 11, 1773.
Francisco de Amantegui,
Secretary — [here is a flourish].
It is very satisfactory to me to go to that Province and
reduce the numberless gentile Indians spread throughout its
forest, as I have advised your Honor, and I do so in my own
handwriting, praising the indefatigable zeal of your Honor
and good conduct in carrying out this enterprise.
284
May tlie Lord keep Your Honor's life for many years.
Caracas, December the third, seventeen hundred and
■seventy.
Don Joski'II .Solano.
To the Coininandi-r rrcneral of the Province of Guayana.
It is a co}»y of the original existino- in the_ Archives of the
■Commander General of ()rinoc(j and Guayana, to whieh I refer.
Citv of Guavana. on the eleventh of November, .seventeen
hundred and seventy-three.
Francisco Amantegui,
Secretary — [here is a flourish.]
With great pleasure I have received the statement of the
|>opulation of that Province, with the expression of the increase
ol' tiie same since the year seventeen liundred and sixty-four,
in which the old Guayana was transferred to the present site
of la Angostura, up to the seventy; because I fully discover
vour indefatiiiable zeal and oood conduct, worthv of the recog-
nition of the. King, and of his Royal trust for otlier important
charges of the Royal service.
May the Lord keep your Honor's life for many years.
Caracas, the (iiirty-fii'st of January, of seventeen hundred
■•iiid seventy-one.
Don Jusef Solano.
Sefioi- Don Miinuel ('enturion.
It is a coj-y of the original in the Archives of the Secretary
of the Commander General of Orinoco and Guayana, of which
I certify.
City of Guayana, on the Uth of November, of 1773.
Francisco de Amantegui,
Secretary — [here is a flourish].
285
[Copij.]
In Caracas, on the fir^^t of Fel)ruarv of seventeen hundreff
and seventy-one —
My Esteemed Friend and Sir: I have received your
Honor's two favors of the twenty-seventh of November, and of
the thirty-first of December and thirteenth of January, with tlie
official despatches, accompanying the same, the statement of
the po[)uh\tion of that Province, and that of the review of the
troops, fortifications and stores, but I can not reply to any more
than what comes at once. I will support not only that new
Province, but likewise its active and zealous founder, and
everywhere I will be an efficient agent of your Honor, as pos-
sessing the best and fundamental principles of humanity and
Christian policy. I liave supported your Honor with the ex-
perience I have, and to-day we have the satisfaction to see the
progress eff"ected in the population and reduction of the Indians
to my great pleasure, although regretting to observe how much
more would have been accomplished it this great and useful
work had not met with so many obstacles and the conten-
tion of so many powerful rivals, besides the scarcity of means.
I am glad oi the good effect of my ideas, and still more so of
tiie useful application you have given them for the benefit of
tlie state and welfare of those vassals.
I repeat to your Honor my true and sincere friendship, with
my desire to see you soon rewarded and well attended, and
that you bear in mind that I am and will be fully yours.
Solano.
Seiior Don Manuel Centurion.
It is a copy from its original existing in the hands of the-
Commander General and Governor of this Province, to which
I refer.
City of Guayana, on the eleventh day of November, seven-
teen hundred and seventy-three.
Francisco de Amantegui,
Secretary — [here is a fiourish].
2SG
[Cojnj.]
I have examined tlie statement of the pojuilation oftliat
Province, enclosed in vour letter of the thirtv-tirst of Decem-
ber of 1769, and I see and understand the improvements of
that country u}) to that date, which I have no doubt your
Honor will endeavor to continue in future, as liecomes your
zeal for the service of the King.
May the Lord keep your Honor's life for many years.
Santa Fe, February tlie 2od, 1771.
The BaiHtf, Fr. Don Pedro Mesia de la Cerda.
Senor Don Manuel Centurion.
It is a copy from the original in the Archives of the Secre-
tary of the Commander General of Orinoco and Guayana, to
which I refer.
City of Guayana, November 11th. 1773.
Francisco de Amantegui, Secretarv.
[Copy.]
By the plan and copies that your Honor encloses in the let-
ter of the third of November last, I have understood more
clearly the state of that Province ot Guayana and the progress
of its Missions, t!ie situation of the Hollanders. French, and
Portuguese surrounding it, and the news that had lately been
acquired of the entr;ince of these parties into the Parime
hike, far in the interior of our dominions. This boldness it is
indispensable to stop, and your Honoi' will kvo\) on the look-
out for this pur})OS(', in)})roving all the necessary means, with-
out excluding force, that you will tind available, under the
understanding that 1 can not at javsent concur with any money,
which will Ije the chief thing that your Honor may want to
take his .steps. In another letter of this date I have exjjressed
the same thing to your Honor, whom may tlie Ford keeji under
his guard for many years.
Santa Fe, March tlie seventh, .seventeen hundred and sev-
enty-one.
The Bailiff, Fr. Dox Pedro Mesia de la Cerda.
Senor Don Manuel Centurion.
287
It is a copy from the ori<;inal, written by the Most Excellent
Viceroy of this Kingdom to the Commander General of Ori-
noco and Guayana, to which I refer.
City of Guayana, November 11th, 1773.
Francisco de Amantegui,
Secretary — [here is a flourish].
[Copy.']
The Most Excellent Viceroy has been informed by the letter
of your Honor of the thirtieth of last November and the
co]>3' of instructions accompanying the s:ime, lor the direction
of the expedition under the command of the Lieutenant of
Artillery, Don Nicolas Martinez, of the departure of the same
with the jiurpose of taking possession of the El Dorado moun-
tain, and that your Honor did everything possible, notwith-
standing the want of sup{)lies for this and other enterprises
requiring them, so as not to miss the opp)ortunity presented
by tiie concurrence of the Indian Captain of the Parime lake
to accompany and. lead said expedition placing His Majesty in
})ofsession of said mountain.
Your measures have met with the superior approbation of
His Excellency, and he commands me to inform your Honor
of the circumstance, adding at the same time that while
acknowledging the importance of similar acquisitions it is
very painful to him to find himself unable to contribute, on his
part, as he would willingly do, with his share for the success of
such vast ideas for the love of the King, relying on your noto-
rious zeal. This Kingdom has no funds, and it is in poor con-
dition so as to be unable tn meet the ordinaiy exigencies of
the service, and may be weakened in taking up the Royal
orders ibr extraordinary expenses, bringing about the actual
pressure in which the Treasury is ibund at present to the ex-
tent of not meeting the payment of the salary of his Excel-
lency, who has not received one single real since July of last
year. Governors and Ministers Iiave been instructed to reduce
tlieir salaries, besides other economical measures dictated as a
remedy for so seri(jus an evil.
288
UiKler these circumstances, and well aware of those sur-
mnnding 3'onr Tlonor, his Excelleiicv expects y<»u not to feel
discouraged and contrive tiie be.-t means to continue those
conquests, until his Excellency may lacilitate tlie means that
he contemplates to raise funds for the same purpose. Yonr
Honor aims at tlie same object with an ar(h'nt zeal ti'uly
worthy, in justice, of the acknowleilgniunt and kindness of the
King. Ilis Excellency will contribute to the same, fully satis-
fied of the wisdom of the operations of your Honor, whose life
may the Lord preserve for many years.
Santa Fe, June 11th, 1773.
Pedko Ureta.
Senor Don Manuel Centurion.
It is a copy from the original in the Archives of the Secre-
tary of the Commander (leneral of Orinoco and (niaj^ana, of
which I certify, in Guayana, on the 11th of Xovember, 1773.
Feaxcisco I)K Amaxtegui,
Secretary, [here is a flourish.]
The above copies agree with the original documents exist-
in the General Archives of the Indies in Stand 131 — Case "2 —
Docket 18. Seville, February 20th, 1891.
The Chief of Arcliives.
Carlos Jimexez Placek — [liere is a flourish].
[seal.] — General Archives of the Indies.
The undersigned. Consul General of Venezuela in Spain,,
certifies to the authenticity of the signature of Don Carlos
Jimenez Placer, Chief of the General Archives of the Indies-
Madrid, March 5th, 1891.
1'. FORTOULT HURTADO.
289
The undersigned, Ministur of Foreign xVllairs ol' the United
States of Venezuela, certities to the authentieity of tlie signa-
ture of Seiior Pedro Fortoult Ilurtado, Consul General of Vene-
zuela in Spain at the 2)reeeding date.
Caracas, March Otli, 1896.
P. EzEQUiEL R6jas.
[sKAL.] — Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Vol. ir, Yen. — 19
200
No, XV.
Stand l.n. — Case V. — Dockci 17.
Oknekal Ahciiivks ok TiiK Indiks. — (Sevim.k.)
1774—1785.
Answers ofthe Attorney for the Conncil on Hk' proceed iiij-s
in rejjard t() tin' el aim ol" the l\Iinisl<'r ot Holland, al>ont
th<^ <'on<luet ol' the Spaniards ol* Orinijco aj;ains( the
Colony of l-3s<inivo,and I'esolntions of theCouncil.— Year
17 74 and 1785.
This document forms a part of the proceedings instituted,
on account ofthe chiim of tlic Minister of Holland, complain-
ing of the conduct of the Spaniards of Orinoco against the
Colony of Esquivo.
Neio Spain — Letter — Folio 7 — Decided — Cumana — Uf — For
the Council — No. 22 — Proceedings instituted, hij Ihc Minister
of Holland aspiring to have better rigJits and domain on the
Colony of Fsqnivo, and jisheries in that part of the Rio Negro,
and stating I hot lie is distarbed and prevented imjustlg by the
vassals of J I is Majesty.
The Attorney in his answer herein enclosed of the (3th of
the |)resent month of August, requests to suhmit the whole
case to a Relator of the choice of the Council, so as to take
notes of every particular and make an ahstract of all the ante-
cedents, up to the present day, and report the same for the
proper I'uture action.
Note. — Answer of th<' Attorney — the [)ruceedings heing
very voluminous remain in the Secretary's Office.
201
Answer of the Attornoy, dated on the 17th of Octoher of
the present year, in which he requests tliat, in order to close
the proceedings instituted, on account of the despatch of the
AnTl)assador of Holhind, alleging the right of fishing on tlie
Orinoco river (His Majesty having decided to be consulted on
the subject), he misses several documents and suggests to tr}-
to find them in the Secretary's Office of New Spain, or else in
that of the way of reserved matter.
Note. — Having tried to find in the above Secretary's Office
of New Spain, the papers mentioned by the Attorney in liis
answer, it was found only what corresponds to the visit of the
Province of Cumana by the Governor of the same, Don Joseph
Diguja, in the year 1761, except the accompanying map, found
at tiie office of the Council, in virtue of its resolution.
Council of the 25th of October, 1769. Let the Attorney be
consulted — [here is a flourish]. Done.
The Attorney, in regard to the proceedings instituted at the
request of the Minister of Holland, assuming to have a right and
domain in the Colony of Esquivo and that of fishing in that
part of the Orinoco river, and that he is disturbed unjustly by
the vassals of His Majesty, recalls that, in order to carry out
the directions on this matter by the Royal order of the 10th of
September of 1769, a.sked that by means of the Secretary of the
Universal Department of the Indies, as well as by that of the
Council, all documents and antecedents that might serve,
alluding to the matter, be aggregated and united.
It was so effected, with the transmission of a great many
papers, letters, and documents, and the Attorney having un-
dertaken to examine them all, finds that they are a very ex-
tensive matter that might consume uselessly a great deal of
the time that he needs for the many important aff'airs of his
office. And therefore he was of the opinion tiiat, in order to
avoid this inconvenience and to secure the greatest punctuality,
the whole proceedings should be submitted to a Relator 'of the
selection of the Council to take circumstantial notes and an
292
abstract of cvorytliino- and all the antecedents of the case up to
the present day, and that object being accomplished to refer the
same back to the Attorney, in order to be enabled to report
what liiay bo ]n-oper for the Royal information of His Majesty.
Madrid, Au,i;ust Otli, 1774 — [hero is a llourish].
Council of the 1st of October, 1771 — First Chamber — As re-
quested by the Attorney — [here is a lloniish] — To the Relator
Licentiate Canet — [here is a flourish].
PiCpori of ill c Atfornri/.
The attorney has examined the proceedinos instituted by
this superior authority, on account of a certain memorial })re-
sented to His Majesty by the Minister of Holland, com[)laining
of the conduct of the Spaniards established in Orinoco against
the Dutch colony of Esquivo. It was forwarded, through the
reserved way, with the Ro3'al order of September 10, 17(59, so
as to be examined by the Council, as soon as possible, and
consult His Majesty in regard to the extension of those bound-
aries, and the right alleged by the Republic for fishing at the
entry of the Orinoco river; to this memorial it was added by
way of antecedent, another proceedings instituted and already
consulted with His Majesty on tlie 9th of May of the year of
1708, in consequence of a despatch of the Government of
England, in relation to the restitution of the negroes, who
from their islands come over to ours in America, and after the
accumulation of several representations, justifying testimonies
from the Governors of Cumana, Guayana, and others that were
addressed through the reserved way, in virtue of a consulta-
tion made by the Council on the 27tli of October of said year
ol' 17<')9. In that state, and according to the advice of the at-
torney, it was decided, on the Oth of August, 1774, that every-
tliing should be submitted to a Relator in order to form a
circumstantial abstract, as it has been done. '
lln<h'r this undei'standing it is observed by the ex))onent
that to-day no resolution is required or any fui'ther ste|) taken
after the long lapse of over fifteen years, without any further
293
mention of the subject l>y tlie Minister of Holland, leading- to
the belief that, after having been better informed, tlie Republic
realizes the want of justice for the claim made and has already
desisted.
It is true that the united papers with the above-mentioned
memorial, and particularly the representation of the Governor
of Guayana, Don Manuel Centurion, not only show the want
of foundation for the complaint of the vassals of Holland, but
likewise that it should be very desirable to increase, on our
part, the precautions that he contemplated in those countries,
as very important to the State ; but as there is already such a
long time past, circumstances must have changed, and we can
not enter in the examination of the same, without more reason
and new reports of the present situation of things in those
countries.
3fessieurs Casafonda — Areche — Huerta.
Taking all things into consideration, it seems that what we
must do now is, to await the suggestive development of cir-
cumstances, showing the course to be adopted ; in that case the
Attorney should be consulted to report what he may find
proper. The Council may agree and adopt this report.
Madrid, May the 27th, 1785 — [here is a flourish]. Council
of June the 4th, 1785 — Chamber 1st. — As reported by the
Attorney — [here is a flourish].
This copy agrees Avith the original document, existing in the
General Archives of the Indies, in the Stand 131 — Case 7 —
Docket 17— Seville, the 9tli of December, 1890.
The Chief of the Archives.
Carlos Jimenez Placer — [here is a flourish].
[seat,.] — General Archives of the Indies.
294
TIk' iiiKlorsigiied, Consul Genouil of Venezuela in Spain,
certities to the authenticity of the sionatnre of Don Curios
.Jimenez Placer, Chief of tlw (ieneral Archives of the Indies.
Ma(lri<l, Dceeniher the -ilth, 181)0.
P. FojiTcH :j;r IIlkt.vdo.
The undersigned, Minister of I'^oreign Ali'airs of the United
States of Venezuela, certifies to the autlienticitv of the sijjna-
ture of Senor Pedro Fortoult Hurtado, Consul General of \'en-
ezuela in Spain at the preceding date.
Caraca.s, Marcii Gth, 189G.
P. EZEQUIEL ROJAS.
[sKAL.] — Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
7411 10
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