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The Project Gutenberg EBook of The West Indies and the Spanish Main [1899], by 
James Rodway

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Title: The West Indies and the Spanish Main [1899]

Author: James Rodway

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Language: English

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<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_i" id="Page_i">[Pg i-iii]</a></span></p>

<h3>The Story of the Nations</h3>

<h2>THE WEST INDIES<br /><br /></h2>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 70px;">
<img src="images/p_i.jpg" width="70" height="67" alt="" title="" />
<br /></div>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 451px;">
<img src="images/frontispiece.jpg" width="451" height="312" alt="RECEPTION OF SPANIARDS BY ARAWAKS." title="" />
<span class="caption">RECEPTION OF SPANIARDS BY ARAWAKS.<br />
(<i>From Gottfried's "Reisen."</i>)</span></div>

<h1><br />THE WEST INDIES<br /></h1>

<h4>AND THE</h4>

<h1>SPANISH MAIN<br /><br /></h1>

<h4>BY</h4>

<h3>JAMES RODWAY</h3>

<h4><i>SECOND IMPRESSION</i><br /></h4>

<h2>London</h2>

<h3><br />T. FISHER UNWIN</h3>

<h4>PATERNOSTER SQUARE</h4>

<h5>MDCCCXCIX</h5>
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg iv-vi]</a></span><br /></p>
<h4><span class="smcap">Copyright by T. Fisher Unwin</span>, 1896<br />
(For Great Britain).<br />
<br />
<span class="smcap">Copyright by G.P. Putnam's Sons</span>, 1896<br />
(For the United States of America).<br /></h4>
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span></p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2>INTRODUCTION</h2>


<p>The story of the West Indies and Spanish Main
is one to stir the hearts of many nations. The shores
of the Caribbean Sea have been the scene of marvellous
adventures, of intense struggles between races
and peoples, of pain, trouble, and disaster of almost
every description. No wonder that the romance
writer has laid his scenes upon its beautiful islands
and deep blue waters, for nowhere in the world,
perhaps, could he find such a wealth of incident.
From "Robinson Crusoe" to Marryat's genial stories,
and down to "Westward Ho!" and "Treasure
Island," old and young have been entranced for
many generations with its stories of shipwrecks,
pirates, sea-fights, and treasure-seekers. Yet with
all this the field has not been exhausted, for hardly
a year passes without a new romance dealing more
or less with the "Indies."</p>

<p>Under this name of the Indies the islands and
continent were first known to the Spaniards, and it
was not until some years had passed that the mainland
received the name of <i>Terra Firma</i>. The string
of islands facing the Atlantic were the Antilles, so<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span>
called from a traditional island to the west of the
Azores, marked on maps and globes of the fifteenth
century. This "Bow of Ulysses," as Froude called
the islands, was divided into the Greater and Lesser
Antilles, the latter being also known as the Caribbees,
from their original inhabitants. Other divisions were
made later into Windward and Leeward Islands, but
these differed so much in the descriptions of different
nations that it would be as well to leave them out of
the question. Perhaps the best way would be to
name the whole the Antilles or West Indian Islands
and divide them, in going from north to south, into
the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the Caribbees.</p>

<p>When we think of these beautiful islands and
shores they recall those of that other "Great Sea"
which was such a mighty factor in the development
of Greece and Rome, Ph&oelig;nicia and Carthage, Venice
and Genoa. As Ulysses and &AElig;neas wandered about
the Mediterranean, so the early voyagers sailed along
the coasts of the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of
Mexico in fear of anthropophagoi, amazons, giants,
and fiery dragons. As the Indies were the scene of
struggles between great nations and the raids of buccaneers,
so also was the Mediterranean a battlefield for
Christian and Turk, and a centre for piracy.</p>

<p>Reports of golden cities, pearls and emeralds in
profusion, and wealth that passed all description, led
the Spaniards to explore every island and river, until
the cannibals became less alarming. Yet their sufferings
were terrible. Hurricanes sunk their frail craft
on the sea and earthquakes wrung their very souls on
land. Starvation, with its consequent sickness and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span>
death, destroyed one party after another, but they
still went on. The discovery of the riches of Mexico
and Peru led them to look for other rich nations, and
to travel thousands of miles on the mainland, guided
by the reports of the Indians. Undaunted by suffering
and failure, they would often try again and again,
perhaps only to perish in the attempt at last.</p>

<p>The treasures of the Indies made Spain the greatest
nation in Europe. With her riches she could do
almost anything. Other nations bowed down before
her, and she became sovereign of the seas and mistress
of the world. No matter how it was obtained, gold
and silver flowed into her coffers; what did she care
that it was obtained by the bloody sweat of the poor
Indians?</p>

<p>Then came envy and jealousy. Why should Spain
claim the whole of the New World? England,
Holland, and France began to dispute her supremacy
and determined to get a share of the good things.
The "invincible domination" of Spain led her to
declare war against England, with the result that the
hardy sea-dogs of that time began to worry the fat
galleons at sea, and to pillage the treasure dep&ocirc;ts on
the Main.</p>

<p>And here we must mention that there were two
important places in the Indies where Spain was
most vulnerable&mdash;the Mona Passage between Hispaniola
and Porto Rico and the Isthmus of Darien.
Through the first came the outward fleets with
supplies, and on their return with gold and silver,
while on the Isthmus was the dep&ocirc;t for merchandise
and the great treasure store. At these two points the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[Pg x]</a></span>
enemy congregated, either as ships of war, buccaneers,
corsairs, or pirates, and in their neighbourhood some
of the most bitter struggles took place. There was
no peace in the Indies, whatever might nominally be
the case in Europe. Englishmen's blood boiled at
the atrocities of the Spaniards, but we are afraid it
was not love for the oppressed alone that made them
massacre the Spaniards whenever they got an opportunity.
The poor Indian received but a scant measure
of justice from these very people, when as a matter of
convenience they required possession of the Caribbee
islands.</p>

<p>Other nations took possession of smaller islands,
unoccupied by Spain, and from these centres continued
their raids, as privateers in war, and as pirates
at other times. Sometimes they were united among
themselves against the common enemy, sometimes
at war with each other. France and Holland against
England, England and Holland against France&mdash;nothing
but quarrels and fighting. Now an island
changed hands, and again it was restored or recaptured.
The planters were never sure of being able to reap
their crops, and often had literally to superintend the
estate work, armed with sword and arquebuse, while
their black and white slaves cultivated the soil.</p>

<p>Now the West Indies became the great training
ground for three maritime nations&mdash;England, France,
and Holland. Spain lost her prestige, and the
struggle lay among her enemies for over a century.
At first the three disputants for her place were equally
matched; then Holland dropped behind, leaving
England and France to fight it out. The struggle<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[Pg xi]</a></span>
was a very close one, which only ended with the fall
of Napoleon, and it was in the Caribbean Sea where
the great check to France took place. Here Rodney
defeated De Grasse, and here Nelson and many
another naval officer gained that experience which
served them so well in other parts of the world.</p>

<p>Here also was the scene of that great labour experiment,
the African slave-trade. The atrocities of
the Spaniards caused the depopulation of the Greater
Antilles, and led to the importation of negroes.
Whatever may be said against slavery, there can
hardly be any question that the African has been
improved by his removal to another part of the world
and different surroundings. True, he has not progressed
to the extent that was expected by his
friends when they paid such an enormous sum for
his enfranchisement; still, there are undoubtedly signs
of progress.</p>

<p>The white colonists in the West Indies never
settled down to form the nucleus of a distinct people.
Since the emancipation the islands have been more
and more abandoned to the negroes and coloured
people, with the result that although the government
is mostly in the hands of the whites, they are in such
a minority as to be almost lost. In Cuba there
appears to be such a feeling of patriotism towards
their own island that probably we shall soon hear
of a new republic, but elsewhere in the islands our
hopes for the future must lie in the negroes and
coloured people.</p>

<p>On the mainland the original inhabitants were not
exterminated as in the large islands, and consequently<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[Pg xii]</a></span>
we have there a most interesting process in course of
accomplishment&mdash;the development of one or more
nations. Here are the true Americans, and as the
Gaul was merged in the Frank, and the Briton in the
Saxon, so the Spaniard has been or will ultimately
be lost in the American. At present the so-called
Spanish republics are in their birth-throes&mdash;they are
feeling their way. Through trouble and difficulty&mdash;revolution
and tyranny&mdash;they have to march on,
until they become stronger and more fitted to take
their places among other nations. Out of the struggle
they must ultimately come, and it will be a most
interesting study for those who see the result.</p>

<p>In Hispaniola we have also a nation in the course
of development&mdash;an alien race from the old world.
More backward than the Americans, the Africans of
Ha&iuml;ti are struggling to gain a position among other
nations, apparently without any good result. The
nation is yet unborn, and its birth-throes are distressing.
We look upon that beautiful island and
feel sad that such a paradise should have fallen so
low. As a race the negro has little of that internal
power that makes for progress&mdash;he must be compelled
to move on. Some are inclined to look upon him as
in the course of degenerating into the savage, but
we, on the contrary, believe him to be progressing
slowly.</p>

<p>In the islands belonging to European nations the
influence of the dominant power is visible in the negro
even when he has no trace of white blood. The
French, English, or Dutch negro may be recognised
by his manners, and even features. In some places<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[Pg xiii]</a></span>
East Indians and Chinese have been imported, but
these stand alone and make little impression. They
are aliens as yet, and take little part in the development
of the colonies.</p>

<p>Latterly the West Indies have sunk into neglect
by Europe. Except for the difficulties of the planters
their history is almost a blank sheet. Few know
.anything about the beautiful islands or the grand
forests of the mainland. Even the discovery of gold
in Guiana, which goes to confirm the reports of
Ralegh, three centuries ago, is only known to a few.
Ruin and desolation have fallen upon them since the
peace of 1815 and the emancipation. Even the negro&mdash;the
<i>prot&eacute;g&eacute;</i> of the benevolent&mdash;is no longer the
object of interest he once was. Cane sugar is being
gradually ousted by that from the beet, and hardly
anything has been done to replace its cultivation by
other tropical products.</p>

<p>Yet the islands are still as lovely as they were four
centuries ago, and on the continent is a wealth of
interest to the naturalist and lover of the beautiful.
Now and again a tourist goes the round of the islands
and publishes the result in a book of travel; but the
countries are out of the track of civilisation and
progress. Possibly if the Panama or Nicaragua Canal
is ever finished things may be a little better, but at
present the outlook is very dismal.</p>

<p>In attempting to compress the story of the West
Indies and Spanish Main within the covers of one
volume we have undertaken a task by no means easy.
Every island and every province has its own tale, and
to do them all justice would require a hundred books.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">[Pg xiv]</a></span>
Every West Indian will find something missing&mdash;some
event unmentioned which is of the greatest
importance to his particular community. This is
only to be expected, yet we believe that the reader
will get a fairer idea of their importance when they
are comprehended in one great whole. The photo
block illustrations are from negatives prepared by
Mr. Thomas B. Blow, F.L.S.</p>


<hr style="width: 65%;" />


<div class='center'>
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="80%" summary="toc">

<tr><td align="center"><h2>CONTENTS</h2></td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>
<tr><td align="center" style="width: 60%;"><br /><a href="#I">I</a></td><td align="right" style="width: 10%;"><br /><span class="smcap">page</span></td></tr>


<tr><td style="text-align:center"><span class="smcap">The Spaniards and their Victims</span></td><td style="text-align:right">1-22</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:left">The native Americans&mdash;The Arawak and the Carib&mdash;Their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xv" id="Page_xv">[Pg xv]</a></span>
independent spirit&mdash;Their country&mdash;The character of the
Spaniard&mdash;He wants to convert the natives to Christianity&mdash;"A
ton of gold"&mdash;First Spanish settlers in Hispaniola&mdash;They
ravage the island and are entirely cut off&mdash;The
second colony oppresses the Indians&mdash;Repartimientos&mdash;Cruelties
to the Indian slaves&mdash;Decrease of the population&mdash;Slave-hunting
in other islands and on the Main&mdash;Resistance
of the cannibals&mdash;Decline of Hispaniola.</td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>


<tr><td style="text-align:center"><br /><a href="#II">II</a></td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><span class="smcap">The Quest for "El Dorado"</span></td><td style="text-align:right">23-47</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:left">Treasure-seeking and its dangers&mdash;Alonzo de Ojeda&mdash;The
proclamation to the Indians&mdash;Disastrous voyage of Valdivia&mdash;A
cannibal story&mdash;"El Dorado," the gilded one&mdash;The
German knights&mdash;Ambrosio de Alfinger&mdash;George of Spires&mdash;Nicholas
Fedreman and others&mdash;Pedro de Ursua and
Lope de Aguirre&mdash;Pedro de Acosta&mdash;Diego de Ordas and
Juan Martinez&mdash;The quest and its dangers.</td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><br /><a href="#III">III</a></td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><span class="smcap">Singeing the Spaniard's Beard</span></td><td style="text-align:right">48-67</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:left">The Papal Bull of partition&mdash;English and French seamen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xvi" id="Page_xvi">[Pg xvi]</a></span>
in the Indies&mdash;Raids on the Spanish possessions&mdash;Master
William Hawkins goes to Brazil&mdash;The Caribs friendly to
the enemies of Spain&mdash;John Hawkins carries negroes from
Africa&mdash;Francis Drake's attack on Nombre de Dios&mdash;The
Simaroons&mdash;Drake captures the Panama train&mdash;John Oxenham&mdash;Andrew
Barker&mdash;Drake's second voyage&mdash;He
captures St. Domingo and Carthagena&mdash;Last voyage of
Drake and Hawkins&mdash;Death of Drake&mdash;Exploits of other
adventurers.</td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><br /><a href="#IV">IV</a></td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><span class="smcap">Ralegh and the First British Colonies</span></td><td style="text-align:right">68-89</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:left">"Letters Patent" to Ralegh&mdash;"El Dorado" again&mdash;Ralegh's
first voyage to Guiana&mdash;Keymis and Berrie&mdash;The
Dutch in Guiana&mdash;Charles Leigh founds a settlement&mdash;Robert
Harcourt's colony&mdash;Ralegh's imprisonment&mdash;He
is released to again visit Guiana&mdash;Disastrous results&mdash;Roger
North's colony&mdash;King James's want of policy&mdash;Changes
after his death&mdash;St. Christopher's and Barbados
&mdash;North's colony again&mdash;The Bahamas&mdash;The French and
Dutch settlements&mdash;Rise of the Dutch&mdash;The French and
English at St. Christopher's.</td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><br /><a href="#V">V</a></td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><span class="smcap">Buccaneers, Filibusters, and Pirates</span></td><td style="text-align:right">90-112</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:left">The buccaneers of Hispaniola&mdash;Tortuga&mdash;Bay of Campeachy&mdash;Privateers
turning pirates&mdash;Pierre Legrand&mdash;Captains
de Basco and Brouage&mdash;Captain Lawrence&mdash;Montbar
the "Exterminator"&mdash;Lolonois&mdash;Morgan storms
and captures Panama&mdash;He settles down in Jamaica&mdash;Van
Horn&mdash;Raid on the South Sea&mdash;Lionel Wafer's journey
across the Isthmus.</td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><br /><a href="#VI">VI</a></td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><span class="smcap">War in the Young Colonies</span></td><td style="text-align:right">113-136</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:left">Spanish raids&mdash;Effects of the "Great English Revolution"&mdash;The
Caribbee Islands in revolt&mdash;Cavaliers and Roundheads<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xvii" id="Page_xvii">[Pg xvii]</a></span>
in Barbados&mdash;Charles the Second declared king&mdash;Lord
Willoughby arrives with a Commission from the
fugitive&mdash;Persecution of the Roundheads&mdash;Sir George
Ayscue sent out with a fleet to reduce Barbados&mdash;The
island blockaded&mdash;Its surrender&mdash;Surinam held for the
king&mdash;Cromwell and Spain&mdash;The Expedition to St. Domingo&mdash;Capture
of Jamaica&mdash;Colonisation of the island&mdash;The
Council for foreign plantations.</td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><br /><a href="#VII">VII</a></td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><span class="smcap">The Planters and their Slaves</span></td><td style="text-align:right">137-159</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:left">First adventurers not agriculturalists&mdash;Slaves wanted&mdash;Negroes
imported&mdash;Sugar&mdash;Cotton&mdash;Tobacco&mdash;First plantations&mdash;Kidnapping&mdash;Prisoners
transported&mdash;English
slave-trade&mdash;Comparative cost of negroes and whites&mdash;Rebels&mdash;Story
of Henry Pitman&mdash;Condition of the bond-servants&mdash;Life
of the planter&mdash;Dangers of the voyage&mdash;Jamaica&mdash;Slavery
in Africa&mdash;Treatment of the West Indian
slave.</td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><br /><a href="#VIII">VIII</a></td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><span class="smcap">The Struggle for Supremacy</span></td><td style="text-align:right">160-183</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:left">Trade disputes between England and Holland&mdash;War&mdash;The
buccaneers employed&mdash;Repulse of De Ruyter at Barbados&mdash;Capture
of Dutch colonies by English&mdash;The French drive
the English from St. Kitt's&mdash;Abortive attempts for its recapture&mdash;Peace
of Breda&mdash;The value of the buccaneers to
Jamaica&mdash;Character of the three nations now contending
for supremacy&mdash;Case of Surinam&mdash;English refused permission
to leave with their slaves&mdash;War again&mdash;Peace
of Westminster and the exodus from Surinam&mdash;Case of
Jeronomy Clifford&mdash;Sir Henry Morgan represses buccaneering&mdash;Another
war&mdash;Du Casse and the Corsairs&mdash;Jacques
Cassard&mdash;Curious position of Berbice&mdash;Cassard takes
Cura&ccedil;ao&mdash;His downfall.</td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><br /><a href="#IX">IX</a></td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><span class="smcap">The Struggle for the Darien Trade</span></td><td style="text-align:right">184-206</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:left">Carthagena and Porto Bello fairs&mdash;The trade of the Isthmus&mdash;The
joint-stock mania&mdash;William Paterson and the Darien<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xviii" id="Page_xviii">[Pg xviii]</a></span>
scheme&mdash;Caledonia and New Edinburgh founded&mdash;Destruction
of the colony&mdash;The <i>Assiento</i> contract&mdash;The Great South
Sea Bubble&mdash;Vain attempts of the English to obtain free
trade with the Spanish provinces&mdash;Attacks on the logwood
cutters of Campeachy&mdash;War with Spain&mdash;Contraband
traders and their losses&mdash;Captain Jenkins' ear&mdash;Another
war with Spain&mdash;Admiral Vernon takes Porto Bello&mdash;His
failure at Carthagena&mdash;English exploits.</td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><br /><a href="#X">X</a></td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><span class="smcap">Slave Insurrections and Bush Negroes</span></td><td style="text-align:right">207-236</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:left">Sufferings of the planters from war&mdash;Barbados alone as
having never fallen to the enemy&mdash;Internal difficulties&mdash;Ferocity
of slaves and cruelty of their punishments&mdash;The
Maroons of Jamaica and bush negroes in Guiana&mdash;Slave
insurrections&mdash;Abortive plots in Barbados&mdash;Troubles in
Jamaica&mdash;Revolt in Antigua&mdash;The great slave insurrection
in Berbice&mdash;The whites driven from the colony&mdash;Haunts of
the Guiana bush negroes&mdash;Surinam in continual fear of
their raids&mdash;Expeditions sent against them&mdash;Treaties&mdash;Great
insurrection in Jamaica and suppression of the
Maroons.</td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><br /><a href="#XI">XI</a></td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><span class="smcap">The Sovereignty of the Seas</span></td><td style="text-align:right">237-255</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:left">Downfall of Spain&mdash;England and France&mdash;Contraband
traffic of the Dutch and Danes&mdash;Advantages of neutrality&mdash;The
Jews in the islands&mdash;They support the buccaneers&mdash;The
great war&mdash;England against the world&mdash;Admiral
Rodney&mdash;His abortive fights with De Guichen&mdash;The training
of his fleet&mdash;He captures St. Eustatius and confiscates
private property&mdash;Capture of Demerara&mdash;Outcry against
Rodney&mdash;British disasters&mdash;Rodney appears again&mdash;His
decisive victory over De Grasse&mdash;Peace and its results&mdash;The
great struggle with France and her allies&mdash;British
supremacy&mdash;Peace of Amiens&mdash;War again&mdash;Nelson in the
West Indies&mdash;The American war&mdash;Decline of the plantations
from the abolition of the slave-trade.</td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><br /><a href="#XII">XII</a></td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><span class="smcap">Downfall of Hispaniola</span></td><td style="text-align:right">256-275</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:left">Results of the French Revolution&mdash;The friends of the blacks&mdash;The
rights of man&mdash;Civil disabilities of free coloured<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xix" id="Page_xix">[Pg xix]</a></span>
people&mdash;Agitation in the French colonies&mdash;James Og&eacute;&mdash;Demand
of the coloured people for equal rights&mdash;Civil war
in Hispaniola&mdash;"Perish the colonies"&mdash;Great slave insurrection&mdash;The
whites concede equal rights, but the Convention
revokes their original decree&mdash;Truce broken&mdash;The
struggle renewed&mdash;Devastation of the colony&mdash;The British
expedition and its failure&mdash;Toussaint L'Ouverture&mdash;Slavery
abolished&mdash;It is re-established by Napoleon&mdash;Treachery to
L'Ouverture and the negroes&mdash;Dessalines and Christophe
declare the independence of Hayti&mdash;Massacre of the whites&mdash;The
Empire and Republic.</td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><br /><a href="#XIII">XIII</a></td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><span class="smcap">Emancipation of the Spanish Main</span></td><td style="text-align:right">276-288</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:left">Influence of the French Revolution on Spanish America&mdash;Miranda
vainly attempts to rouse Venezuela&mdash;Revolution
at Caracas&mdash;Simon Bolivar&mdash;Struggle for independence&mdash;Atrocities
of both parties&mdash;Bolivar proclaims extermination
to the Royalists&mdash;Spanish successes&mdash;The British Legion&mdash;Devastation
of the country&mdash;The Columbian Republic&mdash;Guatemala.</td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><br /><a href="#XIV">XIV</a></td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><span class="smcap">Abolition of Slavery</span></td><td style="text-align:right">289-313</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:left">Agitation against slavery by the Quakers&mdash;Abolition of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xx" id="Page_xx">[Pg xx]</a></span>
African slave-trade&mdash;Effects of this on the plantations&mdash;Condition
of the slave&mdash;Registration&mdash;Rising in Barbados&mdash;The
Protestant missionaries arrive&mdash;Opposition of the
planters&mdash;Ordinance against preaching and teaching slaves
passed in Jamaica&mdash;The anti-slavery party in England&mdash;Amelioration
of the condition of the slave&mdash;Insurrection in
Demerara&mdash;Prosecution and conviction of the Rev. John
Smith&mdash;Emancipation in the British colonies&mdash;Its effect on
colonies of other nationalities&mdash;Insurrection at St. Croix&mdash;Total
abolition of slavery in the West Indies.</td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><br /><a href="#XV">XV</a></td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><span class="smcap">Results of Emancipation</span></td><td style="text-align:right">314-345</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:left">Ruin of the planters&mdash;Difficulty of procuring labour&mdash;Abolition
of the differential duties&mdash;Immigration&mdash;Barbados
an exception when ruin fell on the other colonies&mdash;Labour
laws in French, Danish, and Dutch colonies&mdash;Another
insurrection in St. Croix&mdash;Race prejudice causes riots in
Demerara&mdash;Insurrection at Jamaica&mdash;Confederation riot at
Barbados.</td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><br /><a href="#XVI">XVI</a></td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:center"><span class="smcap">The Isthmus Transit Schemes</span></td><td style="text-align:right">346-364</td></tr>

<tr><td style="text-align:left">Nelson's expedition to the San Juan&mdash;Miranda's project&mdash;Importance
of a canal&mdash;Central America&mdash;Effects of the
discovery of gold in California&mdash;The Panama railway&mdash;Canal
projects&mdash;Darien again&mdash;The <i>Times</i> and the
Nicaragua project&mdash;Ship railway&mdash;Lesseps and the Panama
Canal&mdash;Difficulties of the work&mdash;Its downfall&mdash;Character
of Lesseps&mdash;The Nicaragua Canal.</td><td>&nbsp;</td></tr>

</table></div>


<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS"></a>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2>



<div class='center'>
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" width="80%" summary="illustrations">
<tr><td align='left' >1.</td><td align='left'>Reception of Spaniards by Arawaks. From Gottfried's "Reisen"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_i"><i>Frontispiece</i></a><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxi" id="Page_xxi">[Pg xxi]</a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>2.</td><td align='left'>Reception of Spaniards by Caribs. From Gottfried's "Reisen"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_5">5</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>3.</td><td align='left'>A corner of Paradise. The Victoria Regia</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_8">8</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>4.</td><td align='left'><i>En route</i> to the goldfields of Guiana. Passing the rapids of the Essequebo</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_10">10</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>5.</td><td align='left'>Worrying the natives with dogs. From Gottfried's "Reisen"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_13">13</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>6.</td><td align='left'>A modern alluvial gold washing</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_16">16</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>7.</td><td align='left'>Suicides. From Gottfried's "Reisen"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_17">17</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>8.</td><td align='left'>A Guiana river. The Tumatamari falls</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_26">26</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>9.</td><td align='left'>Inhabitants of the Spanish Main. From Colijn's "Reisen"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_28">28</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>10.</td><td align='left'>"El Dorado." From Gottfried's "Reisen"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_37">37</a><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxii" id="Page_xxii">[Pg xxii]</a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>11.</td><td align='left'>Negro woman returning from market</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_53">53</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>12.</td><td align='left'>Negro barber</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_54">54</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>13.</td><td align='left'>Negro family on holiday</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_55">55</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>14.</td><td align='left'>Negresses gossiping</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_56">56</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>15.</td><td align='left'>Ralegh in Trinidad. From Gottfried's "Reisen"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_71">71</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>16.</td><td align='left'>Gold hunting. From Gottfried's "Reisen"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_80">80</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>17.</td><td align='left'>Carib attack on a settlement. From Gottfried's "Reisen"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_89">89</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>18.</td><td align='left'>St. Kitt's. From Andrews' "West Indies"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_118">118</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>19.</td><td align='left'>A Surinam planter. From Stedman's "Surinam"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_138">138</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>20.</td><td align='left'>A negro festival. From Edwards' "West Indies"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_140">140</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>21.</td><td align='left'>Voyage of the sable Venus. From Edwards' "West Indies"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_142">142</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>22.</td><td align='left'>Slaves landing from the ship. From Stedman's "Surinam"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_144">144</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>23.</td><td align='left'>Map of <i>Terra Firma</i>. From Gottfried's "Reisen"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_197">197</a><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxiii" id="Page_xxiii">[Pg xxiii]</a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>24.</td><td align='left'>A rebel negro. From Stedman's "Surinam"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_209">209</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>25.</td><td align='left'>The execution of breaking on the rack. From Stedman's "Surinam"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_212">212</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>26.</td><td align='left'>March through a swamp. From Stedman's "Surinam"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_224">224</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>27.</td><td align='left'>Trelawny town. From Edwards' "West Indies"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_231">231</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>28.</td><td align='left'>Pacification of the Maroons. From Edwards' "West Indies"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_234">234</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>29.</td><td align='left'>View of part of Hispaniola. From Andrews' "West Indies"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_258">258</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>30.</td><td align='left'>La Guayra on the Main. From Andrews' "West Indies"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_280">280</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>31.</td><td align='left'>The First of August. From Madden's "West Indies"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_308">308</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>32.</td><td align='left'>A relic of the slavery days old slave buying fish</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_310">310</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>33.</td><td align='left'>Negress, Guiana</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_315">315</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>34.</td><td align='left'>Negress fish-sellers, Guiana</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_316">316</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>35.</td><td align='left'>Chinese wood-carrier</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_317">317</a><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xxiv" id="Page_xxiv">[Pg xxiv]</a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>36.</td><td align='left'>East Indian coolie</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_318">318</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>37.</td><td align='left'>East Indian coolie family</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_319">319</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>38.</td><td align='left'>Coolie barber</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_320">320</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>39.</td><td align='left'>East Indian coolie girl</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_321">321</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>40.</td><td align='left'>Coolie women, British Guiana</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_322">322</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>41.</td><td align='left'>Coolie vegetable sellers, British Guiana</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_323">323</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>42.</td><td align='left'>East Indian coolies, Trinidad</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_324">324</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>43.</td><td align='left'>East Indian coolie, Trinidad</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_325">325</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>44.</td><td align='left'>Trinidad coolies</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_326">326</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>45.</td><td align='left'>Barbados. From Andrews' "West Indies"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_330">330</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>46.</td><td align='left'>St. Lucia. From Andrews' "West Indies"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_331">331</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>47.</td><td align='left'>Atlantic entrance to Darien Canal. From Cullen's "Darien Canal"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_348">348</a></td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>48.</td><td align='left'>Europe supported by Africa and America. From Stedman's "Surinam"</td><td align='right'><a href="#Page_363">363</a></td></tr>
</table></div>


<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h1>THE WEST INDIES</h1>
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span></p>


<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h3><a name="I" id="I"></a>I</h3>

<h3>THE SPANIARDS AND THEIR VICTIMS</h3>


<p>When the early writers spoke of America as the
new world, <i>mundus novus</i>, they could hardly have appreciated
the full meaning of the name. True, it was
a new world to them, with new animals, new plants,
and a new race of mankind; but the absolute distinctness
of everything, especially in the tropical regions,
was not understood. With our fuller knowledge the
ideas of strangeness and novelty are more and more
impressed, and we are ready to exclaim, Yes! it is
indeed a new world.</p>

<p>Unlike those of the eastern hemisphere, the peoples
of the West are of one race. Apart from every other,
the development of the American Indian has gone
on different lines, the result being a people self-contained,
as it were, and unmodified until the
arrival of the European. The American is perhaps
the nearest to the natural man, and his character
is the result of nature's own moulding. When com<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span>pared
with the European or Asiatic he seems to
be far behind, yet the civilisation of Peru and Mexico
was in some respects in advance of that of their
conquerors. This was brought about by a dense
population which forced men into collision with each
other&mdash;in other parts of the continent and on the
islands they were more isolated and therefore less
civilised.</p>

<p>In the forest region of the Spanish Main, and on
the West Indian islands, the communities were, as
a rule, very small and isolated one from another.
A kind of patriarchal system prevented much communication,
and inter-tribal disputes were a bar to
union. Every community distrusted every other,
and even when one tribe fought against its neighbour
there were few attempts to bring the sections together
against the common enemy.</p>

<p>On the coasts and islands of the Caribbean Sea,
at the time of their discovery, lived two distinct
peoples, the Arawaks and the Caribs. There were
also a few other tribes of minor importance, such as
the Warrows, but these made little impression, and
may therefore be left out of consideration. The
remnants of the two great stocks still exist in Guiana
and at the mouth of the Orinoco, living to-day in
much the same manner as they did when the country
was first discovered by the Spaniards.</p>

<p>Four centuries ago the Greater Antilles were exclusively
inhabited by Arawaks, and the Lesser by
Caribs. The Arawak, as his name implies, was more
or less an agriculturalist&mdash;a meal-eater, a cultivator
of vegetables, mainly cassava. From the poisonous<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span>
root of this plant bread, drink, and a preservative
sauce for meat, were prepared, so that, with game or
fish, it formed the staff of life. The probable course
of his migration was from Yucatan or Mexico to the
south-east, terminating in Guiana, and from thence
north through the whole of the Antilles. When
Columbus arrived people of this stock filled the
larger islands and the Bahamas, but along the coast
and in the island of Trinidad they disputed the
occupation of the territories with the Caribs. In
Porto Rico also the Caribs had become aggressive,
and even in Hispaniola the Arawaks had to defend
their shores against that warlike people. If we
believe the accounts of the Spaniards the inhabitants
of the Greater Antilles were not altogether a savage
people. Whether they had destroyed all the larger
game, or whether they found none on their arrival,
the fact remains that they were agriculturalists rather
than huntsmen. They were, however, expert in
fishing, and built great canoes with sails, in which
they carried on their operations even in comparatively
rough water. Their provision grounds were highly
praised by the Spaniards in language that could
hardly apply to little clearings like those in the
Guiana forest. In them were grown, besides cassava,
yams, sweet potatoes, and maize, while other things
such as cotton and tobacco were also largely cultivated.
The natives had also acquired several arts
besides that of canoe building, which, when we consider
their want of proper implements, was almost
wonderful. Cotton was spun and woven into cloth
for their scanty garments, gold cast and hammered<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span>
into figures and ornaments, and wood and stone idols
and weapons were also carved. All this was done
with stone implements, even to the work of hollowing
great logs for their canoes, and shaping planks. We
read of axe-heads made of <i>guanin</i>, an alloy of gold
and copper, and also of attempts to make similar
tools of silver, but these were very rare, and could
hardly have been utilised to any good purpose.
When we appreciate the labour and pains taken in
excavating a large canoe, with only fire and the stone
adze, we can see that these people were by no means
idle. Nor were they altogether wanting in appreciation
of art, for the figures on their baskets and pottery
were beautifully true geometrical patterns, and their
so-called idols, although grotesque and rude, often
striking.</p>

<p>On the mainland the Arawaks lived in small
communities, only electing a war-chief as occasion
required&mdash;in Ha&iuml;ti the Cacique seems to have been
leader and ruler as well. And here we must mention
the most striking characteristic of the American
Indian&mdash;his utter abhorrence of anything like coercion.
Even in childhood his parents let him do as
he pleases, never attempting to govern him in any
way. It followed therefore that neither war-captain
nor Cacique had any real power to compel them to a
course they disliked, and that discipline was entirely
wanting. The traveller in Guiana at the present day
can thoroughly understand this trait of character, for
he has to take it into account if he wishes to get
their assistance. They must be treated as friends,
not as servants, and the greatest care taken not to
<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5-6]</a><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6"></a></span>offend their dignity, unless he wishes to be left alone
in the forest.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 458px;">
<img src="images/p005.jpg" width="458" height="309" alt="RECEPTION OF SPANIARDS BY CARIBS." title="" />
<span class="caption">RECEPTION OF SPANIARDS BY CARIBS.<br />
(<i>From Gottfried&#39;s &quot;Reisen.&quot;)</i></span>
</div>


<p>They quarrelled little among themselves, and only
fought against the Caribs; they were peaceable, kind,
and gentle, so hospitable to strangers that Columbus
could hardly say enough in their favour. "A better
race there cannot be," he declared to his sovereigns,
and this opinion was confirmed by all who came into
contact with them. In fact if you do nothing to
offend him, the Arawak of to-day is the same quiet
and gentle fellow who met the voyagers on their
arrival at Guanahani.</p>

<p>The Caribs were a stronger race, and had probably
followed the same track as the Arawaks in a later
migration. At the time of the discovery they appear
to have driven the more gentle race from the smaller
islands south of Porto Rico, and had taken their
women as wives. All along the coast the two tribes
fought with each other, but on account of the greater
stretch of country there was nothing like the extermination
which took place in the Lesser Antilles.
The Arawaks retired up the rivers and creeks, leaving
their enemies to take possession of the coast, which
they did to such good purpose that the Spaniards
were unable to get a footing in Guiana. All the
early writers agree that the Caribs were man-eaters&mdash;in
fact the word cannibal seems to have been derived
from their name. In the smaller islands they had
eaten all the men of the gentler tribe, and now made
periodical raids on the larger, from whence they
carried off prisoners to be cooked and devoured at
leisure. These raids led to combinations on the part<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span>
of the inhabitants of Ha&iuml;ti and Porto Rico, and
hitherto they had been successful in preventing anything
like an occupation of these islands by their
enemies. Whether these successes would have continued
is doubtful; the arrival of the Spaniards upset
everything.</p>

<p>The Carib was not so entirely dependent on the
produce of the soil as the meal-eater. He was a
hunter and fisherman, but above everything else a
warrior. His women had provision grounds like
those of the Arawak, possibly because they came
from that stock. The Carib's hunting grounds were
circumscribed and poor, and his craving for meat
could only be appeased in one way&mdash;by eating his
enemies. Probably this made him all the more
fierce and bloodthirsty, as a flesh diet is certainly
more stimulating than one of fish and starchy tubers.</p>

<p>If the Arawak was impatient of control, the Carib
was even more independent. The former would pine
away and die under coercion, the latter refused
absolutely to be a slave. He would die fighting for
his liberty, but never admit that he was conquered.
It was not he who welcomed the Spaniards to the
West Indies&mdash;on the contrary, he did everything possible
to prevent their landing on his shores. His
so-called treachery caused many difficulties to the
new-comers, but taken altogether he was much respected
by them as a foe worthy of their steel.</p>

<p>These two peoples lived in a country which
Columbus described as a veritable paradise&mdash;in fact
he thought he had discovered the site of the Garden
of Eden. Into this beautiful world he let loose a
<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span>band of robbers and murderers, to depopulate and
make it a wilderness. They were the product of an
entirely different environment&mdash;a continent in which
every man's hand was against that of his neighbour.
For a long time Spain had been a battlefield, on
which the most warlike instincts of mankind came to
the front. Her soldiers understood the advantages of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span>
discipline, and would follow their leaders wherever
anything was to be gained, yet at the same time they
were individuals, and as such fought for their own
hands as well.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 268px;">
<img src="images/p008.jpg" width="268" height="357" alt="A CORNER OF PARADISE. THE VICTORIA REGIA." title="" />
<span class="caption">A CORNER OF PARADISE. THE VICTORIA REGIA.</span>
</div>

<p>Like the rest of Christendom Spain was very
religious, and after treasure-seeking, the adventurers
of that nation meant to convert the heathen. The
cross was erected everywhere on landing, and religious
services held to pray for help in their undertakings.
If the cruelties that followed were not quite in
accordance with Christ's teachings we must put it
down to the manners and customs of the age. Ignorance
was really the great characteristic of that period,
and the brilliancy of the few only shone out the
brighter because of the dark background. The
majority were steeped in superstition, and almost
entirely dominated by their passions.</p>

<p>Columbus was continually harping upon the desirability
of making the natives of the new world
Christians. "Your Highness," he said, in one of his
letters, "ought to rejoice that they will soon become
Christians, and that they will be taught the good
customs of your kingdom." He took nine of them to
Spain, on his return from the first voyage, who were
baptized and taught the Spanish language. The king
and queen told him to deal lovingly with those in
the Indies, and to severely punish any who ill-treated
them. More were sent to Spain and allowed to go
back for the purpose of "gaining souls." Columbus,
however, did not altogether agree with his sovereigns&mdash;his
project was to send enough as slaves to pay the
expenses of his expeditions, and he actually shipped<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span>
four lots for that purpose. But Ferdinand and
Isabella would not have this, and even went so far as
to prohibit the deportation of the Caribs notwithstanding
the admiral's argument that they were
unworthy of the royal clemency, because they ate
men and were enemies of the friendly Arawaks.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 311px;">
<img src="images/p010.jpg" width="311" height="269" alt="EN ROUTE TO THE GOLDFIELDS OF GUIANA. PASSING THE RAPIDS
OF THE ESSEQUEBO." title="" />
<span class="caption">EN ROUTE TO THE GOLDFIELDS OF GUIANA. PASSING THE RAPIDS
OF THE ESSEQUEBO.</span>
</div>

<p>How the new world was discovered in 1492 has
been told so often that it is hardly necessary to repeat
the story. Ha&iuml;ti, named Hispaniola or Little Spain,
was chosen from the first as the island on which a
settlement should be planted. Here Columbus left<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>
thirty-nine colonists under the command of Diego de
Arana, and under the protection of the great Cacique
Guacanagari. He "trusted to God" that on his return
he would find a ton of gold and a large quantity of
spices, with the proceeds of which his sovereigns
might undertake the conquest of Jerusalem from the
infidels.</p>

<p>A ton of gold! This was the whole end and aim
of his expedition. Everything else was subordinate
to this. He had seen the natives wearing gold ornaments,
and found that the precious metal could be
gathered from certain streams on the island. But,
could he estimate the amount of labour required to
procure such an enormous quantity, by people who
had no other appliances than baskets? This alone
was enough to bring trouble upon the peaceful island.</p>

<p>But this was not all. The colonists quarrelled
among themselves, interfered with the Indian women,
went hunting for gold all over the country, took
it wherever it could be found, and stole provisions
when their friends did not bring them enough. Not
satisfied with the district of the friendly Cacique,
they ravaged that of Caonabo, the Carib chieftain
of another clan, a man of a different stamp. He resented
the insults at once by attacking the Spaniards,
who, notwithstanding the assistance of their allies,
were utterly exterminated. When Columbus arrived,
instead of a ton of gold, he found nothing but the
blackened ruins of the fort and houses.</p>

<p>This should have been a lesson to the Spaniards,
but unfortunately it only led to further quarrels. The
new-comers did not intend to cultivate the soil; their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>
main object was treasure, and they expected the
natives to provide them with food. And here we
must mention the fact that the people of tropical
climes <i>never</i> have any store of provisions laid up&mdash;this
is only necessary where winter prevails for half
the year. It follows therefore that however liberal
they may feel towards strangers, their supplies being
restricted to their own wants leave little to give
away. Up to a certain point the Indian gives freely,
but when this means privation to himself he withholds
his hand. The want of a full appreciation of this fact
caused great trouble in many of the early settlements,
and in some cases led to their destruction. The natives
promised food supplies; but when they found themselves
starving, naturally withheld further assistance.
The settlers considered this a breach of faith, and
made incursions on the provision grounds, taking
what they wanted, and seriously injuring the crops.
This the Indians resented, and deadly quarrels ensued,
which ended in their driving out the colonists
or deserting the place altogether. In the latter case
the food supply was necessarily cut off, and often led
ultimately to the abandonment of the colony.</p>

<p>To the kindly people of Hispaniola the new-comers
were gods, and their horses and cattle preternatural
creatures. While wondering and admiring, they were
at the same time frightened at these out-of-the-way
men and animals, especially when the soldiers exhibited
themselves on horseback. At first they
thought them immortal, and were disagreeably surprised
when they fell before the army of Caonabo.
But even the proverbial worm will turn, and soon the
<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13-14]</a><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14"></a></span>oppressions of the second colonists drove the poor
Ha&iuml;tians to resist. To labour in the field was beneath
the dignity of the adventurous treasure-seekers&mdash;the
natives must supply them with provisions. What
they had brought from Spain was soon spoilt in such
a hot climate&mdash;no one had yet learned how to pack
for long voyages. They must get food, and what was
the good of having thousands of people, and acres of
cultivated land in their neighbourhood, if the natives
did not bring in as much as was required? At first
they were supplied willingly, but when the results of
this profuse hospitality began to tell upon themselves,
the poor Ha&iuml;tians withheld their hands. Then the
Spaniards began complaining to the Cacique, who,
however, had no real authority over his people in a
matter of this kind, and therefore could do nothing.
Driven by want the Spaniards made incursions on
the provision grounds, where they spoilt as much as
they took away, and left a waste behind. Sometimes
they met with resistance, and the defenders were cut
down without mercy. The spoilers only wanted an
excuse for fleshing their swords; they were even
anxious to show their powers, and make the natives
feel that at last they had masters.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 418px;">
<img src="images/p013.jpg" width="418" height="316" alt="WORRYING THE NATIVES WITH DOGS." title="" />
<span class="caption">WORRYING THE NATIVES WITH DOGS.<br />
(<i>From Gottfried&#39;s &quot;Reisen.&quot;</i>)</span>
</div>

<p>Before two years had passed the Spaniards were
beset with difficulties. The Indian looked despairingly
at his wasted fields, and refused to cultivate
them any longer. Why should he plant for others
when he himself was starving? Some fled into the
mountains and forests of the interior, others died of
want. This naturally told upon the white men, who
had not yet learnt that they must cultivate the soil if<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>
they wanted its produce. They could not demean
themselves to this, but must have the power to compel
the inhabitants and owners of this beautiful island to
work for them.</p>

<p>The home authorities knew what was going on,
and did their best according to their lights to provide
a remedy. At first they gave large tracts of land to
the settlers, <i>repartimientos</i> as they were called, but
what was the use of these if their owners could get
no labourers? Then to every grant was allotted a
certain number of Indians as slaves, and thus the
cruel system that ultimately depopulated the Greater
Antilles and the Bahamas was introduced.</p>

<p>Those who were not allotted as slaves were compelled
to pay tribute. In the neighbourhood of the
gold-washings this was to consist of a little bellful of
gold; in other places of an arroba (28 lbs.) of cotton,
once a quarter for every person above the age of
fourteen. Metal tokens to hang upon the neck were
given as receipts, and when these were absent the
people were severely punished. Thus this gentle and
independent race was enslaved.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 273px;">
<img src="images/p016.jpg" width="273" height="355" alt="A MODERN ALLUVIAL GOLD WASHING." title="" />
<span class="caption">A MODERN ALLUVIAL GOLD WASHING.</span>
</div>

<p>Even with modern appliances and the use of quicksilver,
gold-washing is a most precarious business;
what then could it have been here with nothing but a
basket and gourd? Columbus had such exaggerated
ideas that, when he saw the gold-washings of Cibao,
he came to the conclusion they were the Ophir of the
Bible; from his reports the king and queen thought
nothing of demanding this small tribute. To the
Indian, however, the gleaning of the tribute meant
the labour of days and weeks, and when there were
<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>so many seekers it was found utterly impossible for
each to gather his amount. Then they ran away,
and were hunted with dogs, brought back, and compelled
to wash the gravel under surveillance, subject
to the pricks of a sword if they were not active
enough. But, even with all this, the returns were
not equal to what was expected, and the tribute had
<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span>ultimately to be abandoned. However, it was stated
that as much as the value of a million crowns per
annum was extracted during the best years, at a cost
of pain and suffering awful to contemplate.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 459px;">
<img src="images/p017.jpg" width="459" height="326" alt="SUICIDES." title="" />
<span class="caption">SUICIDES.<br />
(<i>From Gottfried&#39;s &quot;Reisen.&quot;</i>)</span>
</div>

<p>The cotton tribute had also to be abandoned, and
even the <i>repartimientos</i> were not a success. If they
had been willing, the natives could hardly have performed
steady work, and as slaves they were almost
valueless. In their natural condition they laboured
when they chose, wasting time as we should say with
little good result. Now their masters demanded
heavy tasks which prevented their working on their
own provision grounds, and yet provided little or
nothing in the way of rations. Hundreds died of
starvation; thousands committed suicide. Some
jumped from high precipices; they hanged, stabbed,
drowned, and poisoned themselves; mothers destroyed
their babes to save them from the misery
of living. If caught in such attempts they were
flogged, had boiling water or melted lead poured over
them, and were otherwise tortured until death came
to their relief. Their cruel masters, however, rarely
wished to kill them outright&mdash;they were too valuable.
No, they must break down this dogged, stubborn
spirit&mdash;treat them as horses and mules, until they
bent themselves to the yoke.</p>

<p>It was left for bands of soldiers on foraging expeditions
to kill in mere wantonness. A company
would be travelling through the island and come
upon a village, where perhaps they stopped for a
short rest. The people looked on, admiring their
shining armour and weapons, wondering what sort<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>
of creatures these were that so quietly cropped the
grass and shrubs. One of the soldiers would take
out his sword, feel its keen edge, and think what a
pity it was that the weapon should be used so little.
Behind him comes a little boy. The temptation is
great; in a moment the sharp weapon flashes and
the child lies dead. The Indians fly, and the whole
party follows, chasing and slaughtering to their heart's
content, not knowing nor caring why. In a few
minutes fifty are killed, the soldiers return to their
bivouac, and if they inquire into the matter at all pass
it off as a good jest.</p>

<p>Is it any wonder that the population decreased to
a wonderful degree in a few years? The sugar-cane
had been introduced by Columbus on his second
voyage, and labour was soon required for cultivating
this and other crops. As long as slaves were procurable
the planters throve, and as by that time Hispaniola
had become the great centre of the Indies, the
settlers were in a fair way to make fortunes. But
the decrease in the population became alarming, and
something had to be done; then, new settlers were
continually arriving who also wanted slaves. It followed,
therefore, that some of the more audacious of
the adventurers took up the trade of kidnapping the
Indians from other islands and the mainland. A host
of disappointed treasure-seekers had ransacked every
shore, and were now well prepared for the business of
man-hunting.</p>

<p>The first people to suffer were those who so kindly
welcomed Columbus on his arrival&mdash;the gentle inhabitants
of the Bahamas. They were even more<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>
peaceful than the Ha&iuml;tians, because they had not
suffered from Carib invasions. When the slave
hunters told them to come to the south and live with
their ancestors, they willingly allowed themselves to
be carried off to suffer like their neighbours. Some
ran away and got to the northern shores of Hispaniola,
where they stretched out their hands to their beautiful
homes and then died of grief.</p>

<p>Having entirely depopulated the smaller islands,
and being prevented from kidnapping the people of
Cuba, Porto Rico, and Jamaica, by the settlers on
those islands, they tried the Caribbees. Here they
met their match. No longer was it the gentle Arawak
whom they encountered, but the ferocious cannibal.
Like his foes he had been trained in war for many
generations. Not only did he refuse to work for the
stranger, but even went so far as to oppose his landing.
On his islands was little to attract the treasure-seeker,
and if he would not submit to be a slave,
nothing was to be gained by interfering with him.
This the Spaniard found out by bitter experience.
A few vessels were wrecked on these inhospitable
shores, the crews of which escaped to land only to be
killed and eaten, after being tortured with all the
ingenuity of the savage. Even a landing for fresh
water had to be made in the most cautious manner,
and the carriers protected by a strong guard. No
doubt the Caribs had heard of the white man's cruelties
from their Arawak prisoners, and were therefore
all the more ready to repel their invasions. This was
particularly noticeable later when the English and
French arrived and found them by no means so<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>
ferocious as the Spaniards had reported. Possibly
they knew these people to be enemies to their foes,
and were therefore all the more ready to be friendly
as long as no attempts were made to oppress them.</p>

<p>Hispaniola rose to some importance very quickly,
and almost as quickly declined. The settlers depopulated
the island, and then complained of the want of
labourers. The gold-seekers went elsewhere, and
Mexico and the isthmus of Darien became of more
importance. Some writers have attempted to give
the number of Indians exterminated in the early
years of the sixteenth century, but little reliance can
be placed on their statistics. Generally, they range
from one to three millions, but it is doubtful whether
even the lowest figure is not too high. Yet, when we
read the statement of Columbus that crowds of people
(in one place two thousand) came forth to meet him,
and his description of the large area of cultivated land,
as well as the broad and good roads, it is not difficult
to conceive that a million people lived in these great
islands.</p>

<p>With the destruction of the labourers down fell the
plantations. Cattle had been introduced and throve
wonderfully; now they ran wild over the islands,
especially Hispaniola, until they became innumerable.
On the abandoned provision grounds of the
Indians they found a virgin pasturage. Hogs also
took to the woods, and increased even faster than the
cattle. At first there were neither huntsmen nor
carnivorous animals to check this wonderful development.
The once domesticated animals recovered
some of the powers and capacities of their wild ances<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>tors,
and only required enemies to assist in bringing
out other latent characters. And these were not long
wanting. Large and powerful hounds had been imported
from Spain to hunt the runaway Indians, and
now that their occupation was gone, they also took to
the woods and savannahs. Like their ancestors and
cousins, the wolves, they combined into packs and
fought the cattle and hogs. Both hunters and hunted
became stronger and fiercer&mdash;the dogs learnt how best
to attack, and their prey to defend themselves. It
was a struggle like that between the cannibals and
meal-eaters&mdash;nature's method of preserving the
balance of life. This equalisation no doubt would
have been the result had not man interfered; how
this happened we must leave to another chapter.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span></p>

<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h3><a name="II" id="II"></a>II</h3>

<h3>THE QUEST FOR "EL DORADO"</h3>


<p>Ophir was not found in the islands, and the bands
of adventurers went over to <i>terra firma</i> or the mainland
to continue the search. Along the coast of
Guiana and Venezuela they again came across the
gentle Arawak and ferocious Carib, the latter making
himself respected everywhere, while his poor-spirited
fellow-countryman was alternately caressed and
plundered. In every place the Spaniards found gold
ornaments, and every tribe told them that the precious
metal was only obtainable in some far distant country.
The Ha&iuml;tians sent Columbus to the south in search of
the <i>guanin</i> country, and it was there he discovered the
coast of Paria and the delta of the mighty Orinoco.
But he was not fated to come across the treasure
cities of the Indies.</p>

<p>Others followed to at last conquer Mexico and
Peru, but even then it was generally believed that
nations existed who had more riches to be plundered
than those of the Inca and Montezuma. To find
these golden regions the voyagers wandered in every
direction, contributing much to the knowledge of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>
coasts and rivers, but always coming back disappointed.</p>

<p>The horrors of this search can hardly be appreciated
nowadays. The ships were so small and ill-found
that we should hardly care to use them for coasters,
yet in them these pioneers crossed the Atlantic and
encountered the hurricanes of the West Indies.
Decked only at bow and stern, the waves dashed into
the hold and wetted the provisions, while the sun
poured down upon the water casks and burst their
wooden hoops. The butter and cheese stank, the
flour in sacks became mouldy, and the bacon and salt
fish putrid. Then the hull of the vessel was unprotected,
and the teredo, or ship worm, bored it through
and through, until nothing but careening and caulking
could save the poor craft from sinking. When we
understand the privations and dangers of this navigation
we are not surprised that the adventurers often
came to grief, but rather wonder that any of them
survived.</p>

<p>Living in the West Indies, we have often thought
of the pain and suffering it would produce if we were
compelled to walk or sit in the burning sun armed as
were the soldiers at that period. We can hardly
believe that they wore steel body armour, yet the
evidence is too strong to be refuted. True, they gave
it up afterwards in favour of quilted cotton, but before
they did so how hot they must have felt! We can
fancy the sentry standing exposed to the full blaze
of the sun, his helmet and breastplate burning hot
and his woollen underclothing saturated with perspiration.
Then there would be the open boat ascending<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span>
a river. The occupants dared not row in the shade
for fear of cannibals shooting at them with poisoned
arrows from the thicket, and out in the river they must
have felt as if in a furnace. Even with our white
clothing and light hats a long journey in an open boat
when the sun is high often ends in fever, and almost
invariably in a headache. The neck and backs of the
hands get blistered, and become sore, the glare on the
water dazzles the eye, and we feel faint.</p>

<p>In one of the accounts of such a boating expedition
on a river in Guiana we read of the men
finding some yellow plums floating on the water, and
of their being much refreshed by them. We also
have come across these hog-plums when almost
exhausted by a long exposure on the open river, and
when even our negro steersman was nodding as he
held the paddle. Suddenly we came to our destination,
the mouth of a creek, and were under an arcade
of vegetation, beneath which the plums floated on the
cool dark water.</p>

<p>The men of the sixteenth century must have been
stronger than ourselves, or they could hardly have
endured such pain and privation. They lay down on
the bare earth night after night, and on board ship
went to sleep on naked planks. As they could endure
pain and discomfort, so also could they inflict it on
others. The rough seamen learnt to bear hardships
which blunted their feelings of humanity and made
them inclined to torture others. When in the hands
of the cannibals they were almost as stoical as the
savage himself, their ruling passion being a desire for
revenge. If cruelly treated by one tribe they retaliated<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>
on others; in the same way the Indians killed one
party of Spaniards to avenge the insults of their
countrymen. This led to a great deal of trouble and
made the voyages of the treasure-seekers dangerous
to all. However free from blame one party might be,
they were liable to suffer for previous wrong-doings<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>
and they in turn left behind them injuries to be
avenged on the next comers.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 263px;">
<img src="images/p026.jpg" width="263" height="359" alt="A GUIANA RIVER. THE TUMATAMARI FALLS." title="" />
<span class="caption">A GUIANA RIVER. THE TUMATAMARI FALLS.</span>
</div>

<p>And then, how very audacious these adventurers
were! Alonzo de Ojeda was perhaps the most
striking example of utter recklessness in face of
danger. In 1509 he entered the harbour of Carthagena
in spite of a warning that its shores were
inhabited by a ferocious tribe who fought with palm-wood
swords and poisoned arrows. It was even
stated that the women mingled in the battle, and
could use the bow and a kind of lance.</p>

<p>These people had been irritated by another party
of Spaniards, and on sight of the vessels were up in
arms at once. However, Ojeda was undaunted, and
landed at once with his men and some friars, who
had been sent to convert the Indians. In front stood
the enemy brandishing their weapons, and prepared
for the first hostile movement. Yet, even under these
critical circumstances, he ordered the usual proclamation
to be read to the Indians in a language of which
they knew nothing. He, Alonzo de Ojeda, servant
of the most high and mighty sovereigns of Castile
and Leon, conquerors of barbarous nations, notified
them that God had given St. Peter the supreme
power over the world, which power was exercised by
the Pope, who had given all that part of the world to
these sovereigns. They were called upon to acknowledge
this sovereignty at once, which, if they refused
to do, he would bring upon them the horrors of
war, desolation to their houses, confiscation of their
property, and slavery to their wives and children.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span></p>

<p><br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span></p>
<div class="figcenter" style="width: 530px;">
<img src="images/p028.jpg" width="530" height="209" alt="INHABITANTS OF THE SPANISH MAIN." title="" />
<span class="caption">INHABITANTS OF THE SPANISH MAIN.<br />
(<i>From Colijn&#39;s &quot;Reisen.&quot;</i>)</span>
</div>

<p>While one of the friars read this address the
savages stood on the defensive, no doubt wondering
what the delay meant. Ojeda knew not their language,
and they took little notice of his signs of amity. As
they still brandished their weapons, the intrepid
adventurer led on an attack, calling the Virgin to his
aid, and in a few minutes put them to flight, killing a
few and taking others prisoners. Not content with
this, he followed them through the forest to their
village, and after a deadly fight, drove them out and
burnt their dwellings. Still undaunted, he went on
to another village, which he found deserted, but while
his men were searching for plunder he was attacked
by the enemy in overwhelming numbers. All his
followers were killed, and he himself wounded with a
poisoned arrow, yet he managed to escape into the
forest to suffer hunger and thirst in addition to the
pain of his wound.</p>

<p>Meanwhile his men on board the ships were
wondering what had become of their leader and his
party. They were afraid to venture far into the woods
on account of the yells and shouts of the Indians,
who were celebrating their triumph. At last, however,
they commenced a search, and found their
captain in a mangrove swamp, lying on a tangle of
roots, speechless and dying of hunger, yet still
clutching his naked sword and bearing his buckler.
Notwithstanding all this, he ultimately recovered, to
go on as eagerly as ever in making fresh conquests.</p>

<p>Later, the proclamation to the Indians was interpreted
to them, sometimes eliciting replies very much
to the point. When the Bachelor Enciso went in
search of the country of Zenu, where gold was so<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span>
plentiful that it could be collected in the rainy season
in nets stretched across the river, he was opposed by
two Caciques, to whom the paper was read. They
listened courteously, and, when it had been expounded,
said they were quite willing to admit that there was
one God, the ruler of heaven and earth, whose
creatures they were. But as to the Pope's regency
and his donation of <i>their</i> country to the king of
Spain, that was another thing altogether. The Pope
must have been drunk when he gave away what was
not his, and the king could only have been mad
to ask him for the territory of others. They, the
Caciques, were the rulers of these territories, and
needed no other sovereign: if their king came to
take possession they would cut off his head and
stick it on a pole, as they did the heads of their
other enemies, at the same time pointing to a row of
grisly skulls impaled close by. Their arguments,
however, were useless, for Enciso attacked, routed
them, and took one of the Caciques prisoner.</p>

<p>The accounts of the early voyagers are full of such
examples of audacity as well as of endurance of
suffering. The perils of the sea were as great as
those of the land, but few voyages were as disastrous
as that of Valdivia, who in 1512 sailed from Darien
for Hispaniola. When in sight of Jamaica, his vessel
was caught in a hurricane and driven upon some
shoals called the Vipers, where it was dashed to
pieces. He and his twenty men barely escaped with
their lives in a boat without sails, oars, water, or
provisions. For thirteen days they drifted about,
until seven were dead and the remainder helpless.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>
Then the boat stranded on the coast of Yucatan, and
the poor wretches were captured by Indians, to be
taken before their Cacique. They were now put into
a kind of pen to fatten for the cannibal festival.
Valdivia and four others were taken first, and the
horror produced on their comrades led them to risk
everything and break out of their prison in the night.
Having succeeded in reaching the forest, they were
almost as badly off, for no food could be had, and
they dared not run the risk of going near the villages.
Almost perishing with hunger, they at last reached
another part of the country, to be again captured,
and kept as slaves. Finally they all died except two,
one of whom at last escaped to tell the tale almost by
a miracle.</p>

<p>One of the stories is suggestive of "Robinson
Crusoe." In 1499 Ni&ntilde;o and Guerra sailed from
Spain in a bark of fifty tons, and, while exploring
the Gulf of Paria, came across eighteen Carib canoes
filled with armed men. The savages assailed them
with flights of arrows, but the sudden boom of the
cannon frightened them away at once. One canoe,
however, was captured, in which they took a Carib
prisoner, and found an Arawak captive lying bound
at the bottom. On being liberated, the Arawak
informed the Spaniards, through their interpreter,
that he was the last of seven who had been taken by
the cannibals. The other six had been killed and
eaten one after another, and he had been reserved for
the next evening meal. The Spaniards, incensed
against the man-eater, gave him into the hands
of the Arawak, at the same time handing him a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>
cudgel, leaving his enemy unarmed. Immediately
the Arawak sprang upon him, knocked him sprawling,
trod his breath out of his body, and at the same time
beat him with his fist until nothing but a shapeless
corpse remained. But, not yet satisfied, he tore the
head off and stuck it on a pole as a trophy.</p>

<p>After the conquest of Mexico and Peru had
rewarded Cortez and Pizarro, others wished to be
equally fortunate. From the Indians came reports of
golden countries in the interior, and land expeditions
were projected. These reports grew into shape, and
at last a quest as romantic as that for the Holy Grail,
led one adventurer after another on and on, to starvation,
sickness, and death.</p>

<p>The germ of the story of "El Dorado," the lake
of golden sands, and the glittering city of Manoa,
appears to have first arisen in New Granada. Here
was the Lake of Guatavita, and before the arrival
of the Spaniards this was the scene of an annual
religious festival. To the genius of the lake the
Cacique of the neighbouring district offered a holy
sacrifice on a certain day. In the morning he anointed
his body with balsam, and then rolled himself in gold
dust until he became a "gilded king." Then, embarking
in a canoe with his nobles, he was paddled
to the centre of the lake, crowds of people thronging
its shores and honouring him with songs and the din
of rude instrumental music. Offerings to the god of
the lake were made from the canoe, gold, emeralds,
pearls, and everything precious being scattered upon
the water. Finally, the Cacique jumped in himself
and washed the gold from his body, while the people<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>
shouted for joy. To wind up the festival a great
drinking bout was held, when canoesful of piwarree,
the Indian's beer, were drunk, and every one made
merry.</p>

<p>Such was the tradition&mdash;for the ceremony had
been discontinued half a century before&mdash;which
had so impressed itself over the northern shores of
South America, as to be told from the Amazon to
the isthmus of Darien. "El Dorado" was gilded
every morning, and his city was full of beautiful
golden palaces. It stood on the edge of the great
salt lake Parima, the sands of which were composed
of the precious metal. Some went so far as to say
that they had seen the glittering city from a distance,
and were only prevented from reaching it by the
peculiar difficulties of the way. Not to mention
tigers and alligators, starvation and sickness, there
were "anthropophagoi and men whose heads do
grow beneath their shoulders," besides amazons and
fiery dragons. Wherever the story was told the
golden city was located at a far distance, and it
seemed ever to recede before the eager seekers. They
sought it in the forest and on the savannah, over the
lofty peaks of the Andes, and along the banks of the
mighty rivers. The whole of the Spanish Main was
explored, and places then visited which have hardly
been seen again by the white man down to the present
date.</p>

<p>The quest began in New Granada, and from thence
it shifted to Venezuela. The most daring seekers
were German knights, the Welsers of Augsburg.
They had received charters from Charles the Fifth,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>
under which they were empowered to found cities,
erect forts, work mines, and make slaves of the
Indians. One of their representatives, Ambrosio de
Alfinger, set out in 1530, accompanied by two hundred
Spaniards, and a larger number of Indians, laden with
provisions and other necessaries. On the journey
the party committed such brutalities upon the poor
natives that the reports afterwards helped to fire the
blood of Englishmen, and make them bitterly cruel.
To prevent the bearers from running away they were
strung together on chains, running through rings
round their necks. If one of them dropped from
sickness or exhaustion, his head was cut off, the
ring loosened, and thus the trouble of interfering with
the chain saved. If he were to be left behind, it did
not matter whether he was alive or dead. At one
place on the river Magdalena the frightened natives
took refuge on some islands, but the Spaniards swam
their horses across and killed or took prisoners the
whole of them. From their Cacique Alfinger got
booty to the value of sixty thousand dollars, with
which he sent back for further supplies. But, although
he waited for a year his messengers did not
return, and the company were reduced to such straits
that many died for want of bare food. But the
Indians fared much worse, for their provision grounds
were utterly destroyed, and what with murders and
starvation the surrounding country was quite depopulated
and desolate.</p>

<p>Even Alfinger had to give up waiting for his
supplies and move on at last, for these had been
utilised by his lieutenant on an expedition of his own.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>
The party eked out a bare subsistence with wild fruits
and game. If they found a village they plundered
it of everything it contained, dug up the provisions
from the fields, and left the survivors of the massacre
to starve. Not that they themselves were in a much
better plight; fever, the result of want and exposure,
carried them off in continually increasing numbers.
At last they got into a mountain region, and the poor
naked bearers were frozen to death. Descending
again they encountered stronger and fiercer tribes, by
whom they were defeated, the cruel Alfinger himself
dying two days afterwards from his wounds. A
small remnant only returned after two years' absence,
leaving a track of pain and suffering to make their
memory accursed for many generations.</p>

<p>George of Spires now fitted out a great expedition
of three hundred infantry and two hundred cavalry,
which started in 1536. They also went a long distance
into the interior, braving hardships and dangers
almost incredible. Jaguars carried off their horses,
and even went so far as to attack and kill several
of the Indian bearers and one Spaniard. Like their
predecessors, they also encountered savage Indians,
and died of starvation and sickness. After journeying
fifteen hundred miles from the coast they had to
return unsuccessful; but as their leader was less
cruel than Alfinger, the losses of the party were not
so great. Instead of dying on the journey he lived
to become Governor of Venezuela.</p>

<p>Nicholas Fedreman followed the last party with
supplies, but took them to go treasure-seeking on his
own account. He wandered about for three years,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span>
and at last returned with some wonderful stories
which induced others to continue the search. Herman
de Quesada also travelled about for a year, and returned
like his predecessors. Then Philip von Huten,
who had gone already with George of Spires, fitted
out a great expedition. His party was at one time
so utterly famished that they had to eat ants, which
they captured by placing corn cobs near the nests of
these little creatures. They travelled in a great circle
without knowing where they went, and at the end of
a year came back to the place from whence they had
started. Hearing, however, of a rich city called
Macatoa, Von Huten started again, and found streets
of houses with about eight hundred inhabitants, but
no treasure. The people here sent him on farther,
with their tales of the Omaguas, a warlike people
living away in the south. On he went for five days,
and at last came upon what he thought must be the
golden city. It stretched away as far as the eye
could reach, and in the centre was a great temple.
But, although the little party charged gallantly down
a hill and into the town, the Omaguas came out in
such force that they had to retreat, bearing their
wounded leader in a hammock. Continually harassed
by Indians, they at last got back, to tell such stories
of the dangers of the quest that the Omaguas seem
to have been afterwards left alone.</p>

<p>Our account of the search for "El Dorado" is
necessarily short and imperfect, as it would be impossible
even to enumerate all the expeditions.
There is one, however, that was so tragic and awful,
that, although it was fitted out in Peru, it must yet be
mentioned in the story of the Spanish Main.</p>
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span></p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 458px;">
<img src="images/p037.jpg" width="458" height="315" alt="&quot;EL DORADO.&quot;" title="" />
<span class="caption">&quot;EL DORADO.&quot;<br />
(<i>From Gottfried&#39;s &quot;Reisen.&quot;</i>)</span>
</div>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span></p>
<p>Notwithstanding the enormous quantities of gold
and silver found in Peru, the crowds of needy
treasure-seekers who went to that country gave some
trouble to the Viceroy, who appears to have been
willing to get rid of them at any cost. Whether he
purposely sent them on a "wild goose chase," or
whether he really believed the "El Dorado" story, is
doubtful, but it is certain that he thought it prudent
to give them employment in some way, to prevent
mischief in his province.</p>

<p>The expedition was put in command of Pedro de
Ursua, and was intended to go down the Amazon in
search of treasure cities. Embarking on the river
Huallaga, in the year 1560, they had hardly passed
the mouth of Ucayali before Ursua found he had a
most unprincipled gang of scoundrels under his
command. A little farther down the river they
mutinied, under the leadership of Lope de Aguirre,
and murdered Ursua and his lieutenant, appointing
Guzman as captain. Being dissatisfied, however, with
their new commander, they also killed him a little
later, together with most of his adherents.</p>

<p>Now Aguirre became leader&mdash;a ruffian whose
character was of the blackest. Father Pedro Simon
delineates his features and character, making him
out to be a very devil. He was about fifty years of
age, short of stature and sparsely built, ill-featured,
his face small and lean, his beard black, and his eyes
as piercing as those of a hawk. When he looked at
any one he fixed his gaze sternly, particularly when
annoyed; he was a noisy talker and boaster, and
when well supported very bold and determined, but<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span>
otherwise a coward. Of a very hardy constitution,
he could bear much fatigue, either on foot or horseback.
He was never without one or two coats of
mail or a steel breastplate, and always carried a sword,
dagger, arquebuse, or lance. His sleep was mostly
taken in the day, as he was afraid to rest at night,
although he never took off his armour altogether nor
put away his weapons. Simon said he had always
been of a turbulent disposition; a lover of revolts
and mutinies; an enemy to all good men and good
actions.</p>

<p>Such was the Tyrant or Traitor Aguirre&mdash;virtually
a madman&mdash;who now became the leader of a band
of wretches like-minded to himself. They journeyed
down the mighty river, now and again murdering
one or another of the party, on the least suspicion of
their dislike to their proceedings, and ill-treating the
natives everywhere.</p>

<p>Aguirre was not ashamed to boast that he had
murdered a woman&mdash;not an Indian, but a beautiful
Spanish lady, who had accompanied her lover on
this arduous journey. Donna Inez de Altienza, a
young widow, fell passionately in love with Ursua,
who was brave, generous, and handsome; and loath
to part with him, she undertook the hitherto unheard-of
journey of thousands of miles in a strange
and savage country. No fears or terrors daunted
this devoted woman until after the death of her
lover. Aguirre then picked a quarrel on the ground
that her mattress was too large for the boat, and she
also was murdered. The Spanish poet, Castellanos,
thus laments the cruel deed:<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span>&mdash;</p>

<p style="margin-left:4em">
"The birds mourned on the trees;<br />
The wild beasts of the forest lamented;<br />
The waters ceased to murmur;<br />
The fishes beneath the waters groaned;<br />
The winds execrated the deed<br />
When Llamoso cut the veins of her white neck.<br />
Wretch! wert thou born of woman?<br />
No! what beast could have such a wicked son?<br />
How was it that thou didst not die<br />
In imagining a treason so enormous?<br />
Her two women, 'midst lamentation and grief,<br />
Gathered flowers to cover her grave,<br />
And cut her epitaph in the bark of a tree&mdash;<br />
'These flowers cover one whose faithfulness<br />
And beauty were unequalled,<br />
Whom cruel men slew without a cause.'"<br />
</p>

<p>Whether Aguirre reached the mouth of the Amazon
is doubtful&mdash;the evidence is in favour of his getting
out of that river into the Rio Negro, and from thence
into the Orinoco. However this may have been, he
arrived at last in the Gulf of Paria and proceeded to
the island of Margarita. Here, true to his character,
he and his men commenced to plunder and kill
the inhabitants, going so far as to defy the local
authorities and even the king of Spain himself. To
even enumerate the deeds of this band of outlaws
would fill a chapter, but we cannot omit giving an
extract from Aguirre's letter to his king, one of the
most curious productions ever written:&mdash;</p>

<p>"I firmly believe that thou, O Christian king and
lord, hast been very cruel and ungrateful to me and
my companions for such good service, and that all
those who write to thee from this land deceive thee
much, because thou seest things from too far off. I
and my companions, no longer able to suffer the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span>
cruelties which thy judges and governors exercise
in thy name, are resolved to obey thee no longer....
Hear me! O hear me! thou king of Spain. Be not
cruel to thy vassals.... Remember, King Philip,
that thou hast no right to draw revenues from these
provinces, since their conquest has been without
danger to thee. I take it for certain that few kings
go to hell, only because they are few in number; if
they were many, none of them would go to heaven.
For I believe that you are all worse than Lucifer, and
that you hunger and thirst after human blood; and
further, I think little of you and despise you all; nor
do I look upon your government as more than an air
bubble....</p>

<p>"In the year 1559 the Marquis of Canete entrusted
the expedition of the river of Amazons to Pedro de
Ursua, a Navarrese, or, rather, a Frenchman, who
delayed the building of his vessels till 1560. These
vessels were built in the province of the Motilones,
which is a wet country, and, as they were built in the
rainy season, they came to pieces, and we therefore
made canoes and descended the river. We navigated
the most powerful river in Peru, and it seemed to us
that we were in a sea of fresh water. We descended
the river for three hundred leagues. This bad
governor was capricious, vain, and inefficient, so that
we could not suffer it, and we gave him a quick and
certain death. We then raised Don Fernando de
Guzman to be our king.... Because I did not
consent to their evil deeds they desired to murder
me. I therefore killed the new king, the captain of
his guard, his lieutenant-general, four captains, his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span>
major-domo, his chaplain who said mass, a woman,
a knight of the Order of Rhodes, an admiral, two
ensigns, and five or six of his servants. I named
captains and sergeants, but these men also wanted to
kill me, and I hanged them. We continued our
course while this evil fortune was befalling us, and
it was eleven months and a half before we reached
the mouths of the river, having travelled for more
than a hundred days over more than fifteen hundred
leagues. This river has a course of two thousand
leagues of fresh water, the greater part of the shores
being uninhabited, and God only knows how we
ever escaped out of that fearful lake. I advise thee
not to send any Spanish fleet up this ill-omened river,
for, on the faith of a Christian, I swear to thee, O
king and lord, that if a hundred thousand men should
go up, not one would escape....</p>

<p>"We shall give God thanks if, by our arms, we
attain the rewards which are due to us, but which
thou hast denied us; and because of thine ingratitude
I am a rebel against thee until death."</p>

<p>He and his band of outlaws ravaged the settlements
of Venezuela for some time, until at last, on
a promise of pardon, all left him save Llamoso, the
murderer of Lady Inez. Aguirre had a daughter, a
girl of twelve to fourteen, and when he found that
all was lost he resolved to kill her. They were living
at a country house, and when Llamoso brought the
news of the desertion of his men, he snatched up a
loaded arquebuse and rushed into his child's room,
saying, "Commend thyself to God, my daughter, for
I am about to kill thee, that thou mayest not be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span>
pointed at with scorn, nor that it be in the power of
any one to call thee the daughter of a traitor." A
woman snatched the weapon from his hand, but,
drawing his poniard, he stabbed the girl in the breast,
saying, "Die! because I must die!" Rushing then
to the door, he found the house surrounded by
Spanish soldiers, who compelled him to surrender,
and almost immediately took him out to be shot.</p>

<p>This put an end to treasure-seeking on the
Amazon, but the search for "El Dorado" had been
going on and was still continued along the banks of
the Orinoco. The first attempt to reach the golden
city by this river appears to have been made by
Pedro de Acosta about the year 1530, but after most
of his men had been killed and eaten by the cannibals,
he was compelled to abandon his project. After him
came Diego de Ordas, the following year, whose expedition
became afterwards famous. He, however,
found nothing himself, although he went as far as
the mouth of the Caroni&mdash;it was from one of his men
that the "El Dorado" story was gleaned. By some
accident the whole of the gunpowder was exploded,
and this being attributed to the negligence of the
munitioner, Juan Martinez, he was sentenced to be
put in a canoe, without paddles or food, and allowed
to drift at the mercy of the current.</p>

<p>What became of the culprit was not known, but
some months afterwards a strange white man was
brought by some Indians to Margarita. He was
wasted by sickness, naked, and apparently destitute,
but, through the kindness of a ship-captain, he got a
passage to Porto Rico, and was there placed in a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>
religious house, under the care of some Dominican
friars. Here he became worse, but when on the
point of death he presented his friends with two
gourdsful of gold beads to pay for the repose of his
soul; he also declared himself to be Juan Martinez,
and told the wonderful story of his adventures.</p>

<p>After being cast adrift, the canoe floated down the
stream until evening, when it attracted the attention
of some Indians, who paddled out from the shore
and rescued Martinez from his perilous situation.
These were Guianians, who had never before seen a
white man, and therefore resolved to take him to
their king as a curiosity. He was, however, blind-folded
to prevent his seeing the direction they were
taking, and led on and on, through forest and over
mountain, for fifteen days, until a great city was
reached. Arriving here at noon, his bandage was
taken off, and Martinez feasted his eyes upon a great
plain covered with houses, the roofs of which glittered
in the sun as if made of gold. As far as his eye
could reach stretched this marvellous assemblage of
palaces. In the centre dwelt the great king, but,
although the party travelled the whole of that and
the next day, they did not reach the palace until
evening.</p>

<p>Here Martinez was well treated, and allowed to
walk about the city, but not beyond it. He remained
for seven months, saw the great lake on the shore
of which the city of Manoa stood, and handled its
golden sands. However, he was not content to remain,
and after repeated petitions to be allowed to
depart, was at last furnished with guides and as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>
much gold as they could carry. Arrived at the
Orinoco, the cannibals fell upon the party, stole all
the treasure save that hidden under some provisions
in the two gourds, and left them destitute. After
enduring many privations Martinez, however, got a
passage in an Indian canoe to Margarita, from
whence he expected to go to Spain and report his
discovery to the king.</p>

<p>What amount of truth, if any at all, was contained
in the story is doubtful. It does not appear to have
been told at once, but gradually leaked out, becoming
more marvellous as it spread over the West Indies.
Adventurers flocked to the Orinoco, and at least a
score of expeditions went in search of "El Dorado."
Under the command of bold adventurers one party
after another entered into the forest, some never to
return or to be heard of again. The remnant sometimes
came back starving, and broken down with sickness.
We read of one Juan Corteso that he marched
into the country, but neither he nor any of his company
did return again. Gaspar de Sylva and his two
brothers sought El Dorado, but fell down to Trinidad,
where all three were buried. Jeronimo Ortal, after
great travail and spending all his substance, died on
a sudden at St. Domingo. Father Iala, a friar, with
only one companion and some Indian guides, returned
with gold eagles, idols, and other jewels, but
when he essayed to pass a second time was slain by
Indians. Alonzo de Herera endured great misery,
but never entered one league into the country; he
also was at last slain by Indians. Antonio Sedenno
got much gold and many Indian prisoners, whom he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span>
manacled in irons, and of whom many died on the
way. The tigers being fleshed with the dead carcases
assaulted the Spaniards, who with much trouble hardly
defended themselves from them. Sedenno was buried
within the precincts of the empire of the gilded king,
and most of his people perished likewise. Augustine
Delgado came to an Indian Cacique, who entertained
him with kindness and gave him rich jewels, six
seemly pages, ten young slaves, and three nymphs
very beautiful. To requite these manifold courtesies
he took all the gold he could get and all the Indians
he could lay hold on, to sell for slaves. He was afterwards
shot in the eye by an Indian, of which hurt he
died.</p>

<p>And so we might go on to tell of the thousands
of people murdered and tens of thousands carried off
as slaves; Every gold ornament was stolen, provision
grounds destroyed, and the forest tracks strewn with
the corpses of those who had been massacred, and
marked out by the graves of their murderers. Sometimes
treasure and slaves were recaptured and no one
left to tell the tale, but more often a few escaped
to fight over the booty and perhaps be hanged as
mutineers on their return.</p>

<p>The men of that age were undoubtedly great&mdash;great
warriors, great ruffians, great villains. Only
here and there can we distinguish a good man like
Las Casas, who did his very best for the Indians
against the opposition of the settlers and the lukewarmness
of the Spanish Court. He was horrified
at the atrocities in the Indies, but the kings wanted
their tithes and cared little how they were obtained.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>
"Get it honestly if you can, but get it," seems to have
been their motto, and it was not for many years that
anything like humanity was shown, and then only by
a few priests.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span></p>


<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h3><a name="III" id="III"></a>III</h3>

<h3>"SINGEING THE SPANIARD'S BEARD"</h3>


<p>On the discovery of the Indies, Ferdinand and
Isabella at once applied to Pope Alexander the
Sixth to secure the rights of Spain in the new
countries against every other nation, but more
especially against Portugal. Accordingly, the celebrated
"Bull of partition" was issued on the 4th
of May, 1493, giving, conceding, and assigning for
ever, to them and their successors, all the islands
and mainlands already found or that might be discovered
in future, to the west of a line, stretching
from the north to the south poles, a hundred leagues
from the Azores or Cape de Verde Islands, provided
they were not in the possession of any other Christian
prince. The sovereigns were commanded to appoint
upright, God-fearing, skilful, and learned men to instruct
the inhabitants in the Catholic faith, and all
unauthorised persons were forbidden to traffic on or
even approach the territories. If they did so they
would incur the indignation of Almighty God and of
the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul.</p>

<p>Such was the gist of the document under which
the enormities mentioned in the preceding chapters<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>
were committed. Portugal, except for some disputes
about Brazil, accepted this arrangement, but the other
great nations of Europe, especially England, disputed
it from the very beginning. Nevertheless, the
governments, as long as they were at peace with
Spain, took no active part in the matter, but left the
work to individuals, even going so far in some instances
as to disclaim their responsibility for piracies
committed beyond the seas.</p>

<p>English and French seamen, hearing of the treasure
continually imported into Spain, soon found their
way to the new world, and as early as the year
1526 precautions had to be taken against them.
Orders were sent to build castles on the coasts and
strong houses, not only for defence against the cannibals,
who continued to ravage the larger islands,
but to protect the settlements from French corsairs
who had already commenced their depredations.
The tract of the Spanish fleets led them first to St.
Domingo, and thence on to the isthmus of Darien
or Panama, where at first the chief port was Nombre
de Dios. At these two points it was of great importance
that fortifications should be erected, and
this was done in the first half of the sixteenth
century.</p>

<p>An English merchant named Thomas Tison
seems to have been the first of our nation who
went to the West Indies, but he got his goods sent
from Bristol to Spain. In 1527 King Henry VIII.
fitted out the <i>Dominus Vobiscum</i> and another vessel
for those parts, but little is known of their course.
It was, however, reported that they went to Porto<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>
Rico, and got there a cargo of brazil wood, and
then proceeded to St. Domingo, where permission
was asked to trade. After waiting for the license
two days the Spanish batteries fired upon them,
driving them off to go back to Porto Rico, where
the inhabitants were more friendly.</p>

<p>From this time the corsairs and rovers became
more numerous and audacious every year. Some
went trading among the Indians of the mainland,
others, more bold, forced their goods upon the
Spanish settlements under threats of pillage. In
1536 the inhabitants of Havana paid seven hundred
ducats to a French corsair to save the city,
and because later the pirate was chased by three
Spanish vessels, which he captured, he returned and
exacted a second ransom.</p>

<p>In 1538 there was a gallant fight in the harbour of
Santiago de Cuba, between a Spaniard and a French
corsair. The two vessels fought with each other the
first day until sunset, when a truce was agreed to, and
civilities exchanged between the captains. They sent
each other presents of wine and fruit, were very
friendly, and mutually agreed to fight only by day
with swords and lances. Artillery, they agreed, was
an invention of cowards&mdash;they would show their
valour, and the one who conquered should have the
other's vessel. The second day they fought again
until evening without either being conquered, and
again they exchanged courtesies. That night, however,
the Spanish captain, Diego Perez, sent to the
people of the city asking if they would compensate
him for the loss of his ship if the corsair got the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span>
better of him; if they agreed to do this he would
risk his life in their service. Were he not poor and
without any other property, he would not have asked
them, and as they would be gainers by his victory,
he did not think his request at all extravagant. But
the authorities refused to pledge themselves to anything,
leaving Perez to fight for his own honour, life,
and property. The battle continued the whole of the
third day, each giving the other time for rest and refreshment,
yet neither was conquered, although many
had fallen on both sides. After similar courtesies
the fight went on next morning, and when evening
came the Frenchman promised to continue it next
morning. Feeling, however, that the Spaniard was
likely to get the better of him, he slipped his cable
in the night and made off, leaving Perez to grieve
at the drawn battle.</p>

<p>The same year Havana was sacked and burnt,
and three years later both English and French did
great injury to the Spanish trade. Even Portugal
did not escape, but when complaints were sent to
the king of France, he said he intended to follow
those conquests and navigations which by right belonged
to him. In 1545 five French vessels captured
the pearl-fishing fleet near the Main, which the
owners were compelled to ransom; at the same time
they were forced to buy seventy negroes from the
captors. The Frenchmen then took Santa Martha
and got a thousand ducats as ransom.</p>

<p>One raid after another took place until the Spaniards
were at their wits' ends. Forts were built, <i>guarda-costas</i>
stationed, and other precautions taken, but the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>
depredations and forced traffic still continued. They
cruelly punished all who fell into their hands, and
this led to retaliation, not only for their own injuries,
but to avenge the slaughter of the innocent natives.</p>

<p>About the year 1530 Master William Hawkins
made three long and famous voyages in the ship
<i>Paul</i>. Hakluyt said he went to Brazil&mdash;a thing very
rare in those days to our English nation. He became
so friendly with the Indians that one of their kings
came to England in his vessel, and was exhibited
to King Henry, who marvelled to see this savage
representative of royalty. Unfortunately the poor
fellow died on the return voyage, which made Hawkins
fear for the white hostage he had left behind.
However, his explanation was accepted, and his man
given back unharmed&mdash;a result all the more pleasing,
as he knew so little of the language, and might easily
have been misunderstood.</p>

<p>This is an example of the good feeling of these
people towards Englishmen and all who treated them
fairly. Even the cannibals became more gentle under
good treatment, and would allow the enemies of
Spain to land on their shores without opposition.
By this time the natives of the Greater Antilles were
gone, and with them the thousands of captives
from the mainland. Then began the importation
of negroes, first from Spain, where the Portuguese
had sold a fair number during the previous century,
and then from Africa. Spain could not send and
fetch the negroes on account of the Papal Bull, which
reserved the savage countries east of the line to
Portugal. It followed, therefore, that, as Spain<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span>
claimed the Indies, so her sister country claimed
the whole of Africa&mdash;a claim as little respected by
other nations as that of her neighbour.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 258px;">
<img src="images/p053.jpg" width="258" height="302" alt="NEGRO WOMAN RETURNING FROM MARKET." title="" />
<span class="caption">NEGRO WOMAN RETURNING FROM MARKET.</span>
</div>

<p>Hearing that there was a good market for negroes
in the West, Captain (afterwards Sir) John Hawkins,
in 1563, got up an expedition to supply this demand.
With three vessels of 120, 100, and 40 tons respectively,
he sailed to Sierra Leone, and partly by the
sword and partly by other means, got three hundred
slaves, whom he carried to Hispaniola. Here he had
a reasonable sale, probably forced, for he trusted the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>
Spaniards no farther than he thought prudent, considering
his strength. His returns were so good,
however, that he not only loaded his own vessels
with hides, ginger, sugar, and some pearls, but also
freighted two hulks to send to Spain.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 259px;">
<img src="images/p054.jpg" width="259" height="353" alt="NEGRO BARBER" title="" />
<span class="caption">NEGRO BARBER</span>
</div>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 266px;"><br />
<img src="images/p055.jpg" width="266" height="351" alt="NEGRO FAMILY ON HOLIDAY." title="" />
<span class="caption">NEGRO FAMILY ON HOLIDAY.</span>
</div>

<p>This success induced him to make another venture
on a larger scale with the <i>Jesus</i> of Lubeck, of 700,
<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>and three other vessels of 140, 50, and 30 tons. He
sailed for Africa in October, 1564, to kidnap slaves,
yet all the time he was very religious in a way. His
orders concluded with the commands to "serve God
daily; love one another; preserve your victuals;
beware of fire; and keep good company"&mdash;<i>i.e.</i>, do
not stray from others of the fleet. At several places
<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span>he took negroes by force, losing a few of his men
in the fights, and with a good number set off for
the West Indies. Fortunately, he said, although they
were in great danger from a gale on this voyage,
they arrived without many deaths of either the
negroes or themselves. For "the Almighty God,
who never suffereth His elect to perish, sent<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>
us, on the 16th of February (1565), the ordinary
breeze."</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 266px;">
<img src="images/p056.jpg" width="266" height="355" alt="NEGRESSES GOSSIPING." title="" />
<span class="caption">NEGRESSES GOSSIPING.</span>
</div>

<p>The first land they sighted was Dominica, where
they watered, and then went on to Margarita, the
Governor of which island refused them permission
to trade. They then tried several other places,
including Hispaniola and Cuman&aacute;, but also without
success. At Barbarota they forced the people to
traffic, and here they were joined by Captain Bontemps,
a French corsair, with whom they went to
Cura&ccedil;ao, and forced a hundred slaves upon the
inhabitants. Finally they went to Rio de la Hacha
and defeated a body of Spanish troops, after which
the remainder of Hawkins' cargo was freely sold.</p>

<p>In his third voyage, on which he started in
October, 1567, Hawkins was accompanied by Francis
Drake and several other gentlemen adventurers. He
took a similar course to that of his former voyages,
joined some African chiefs in storming a town, and
received, as his share of the booty, five hundred
prisoners, with whom he again sailed for the Indies.
The alarmed Spaniards dared not refuse to trade,
and consequently he soon sold his negroes at a good
profit. On his return, however, he was caught in
a storm near the coast of Florida and had to take
shelter in the harbour of Vera Cruz, where at first
his vessels were taken for a Spanish fleet then daily
expected. Under this mistake several influential persons
came on board, two of whom were retained as
hostages.</p>

<p>Next day the Spanish fleet, consisting of thirteen
sail, arrived, and on board one of them was the new<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span>
Viceroy of Mexico. From this high authority Hawkins
got permission to repair his ships, victual, and
refit, provided the English kept themselves to a small
island in the harbour, for the due performance of
which they gave twelve hostages.</p>

<p>But the Spaniards were not prepared to let their
enemies off so easily, and made preparations for a
surprise. Hawkins, becoming suspicious, sent to
inquire about certain shady transactions, and was
at once attacked by something like a thousand men.
The Spaniards sunk three of his vessels, seriously
damaged the fourth, and left him with only one
leaky ship in which to find his way home. A great
number of his men were killed and others captured,
the prisoners to be taken to Mexico and there cruelly
used. Two of them&mdash;Miles Philips and Job Hortop&mdash;managed
to escape and return to England, where
they gave long accounts of their sufferings, the latter
comparing himself to his namesake the patriarch.
As for Hawkins, in speaking of his return voyage,
he said, that "if all the miserable and troublesome
affairs of this sorrowful voyage should be perfectly
and thoroughly written, there should need a painful
man with his pen, and as great a time as he had that
wrote the lives and deaths of the martyrs."</p>

<p>This disaster put an end to Hawkins' slave-trading,
but made no impression on the other adventurers
to the Indies. Francis Drake now took up the
quarrel, and in the year 1572 "singed the Spaniard's
beard" to some purpose. Knowing already something
of the state of affairs near the isthmus, he
resolved to gain his spurs in that direction. He<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span>
cared not for a forced trade in negroes, but virtually
went in for piracy, for although the relations of the
mother countries were at that time somewhat strained,
war had not yet been declared.</p>

<p>Drake sailed straight for Nombre de Dios, the
treasure port, arrived suddenly before the inhabitants
had any warning, and landed a hundred and fifty
men in the night. Suddenly the town was roused
to the fact that the enemy were in possession, and
as the people ran off to the forest, they asked each
other what was the matter. Unfortunately for Drake,
however, through a misunderstanding, the English
were alarmed and took to their vessels, so that all
the advantage of the surprise was lost. Undaunted
by this failure, he determined to attempt something
even more audacious&mdash;the capture of the Panama
train.</p>

<p>We have already seen that African slaves had
been imported in considerable numbers; we have
now to mention that on the continent they often
escaped into the forest. Here they lived like the
Indians, and were often in friendship with them,
going under the name of Simerons, or afterwards
Maroons. Always at enmity with the masters whom
they had deserted, they were a terror to the settlers
on account of their continual raids on the plantations.</p>

<p>Drake determined to get the assistance of these
people, which was freely given, and he was enabled
to traverse the pathless forest and to lie in wait for
the train of mules carrying gold and silver from
Panama to Nombre de Dios. This he captured,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span>
but, on account of the difficulties of the way, was
obliged to leave the silver behind, and content himself
with the gold. Then he attacked some merchants,
burnt their goods to the value of two hundred
thousand ducats, and got safely back to his ships just
as the dilatory Spaniards sent out three hundred men
for his capture. It was on this excursion that he saw
the Great South Sea, and determined to carry English
ships into that immense Spanish preserve. How
he carried out his resolve, and appeared suddenly off
the Peruvian coast five years later, is a story we must
leave, as it belongs to another part of the new world.</p>

<p>When Drake returned to Plymouth the news of his
adventures, and the more substantial evidence of the
gold he had brought, roused others to follow his
example. Among them was one John Oxnam, or
Oxenham, who has been immortalised by Kingsley
in "Westward Ho!" Arriving at the isthmus in
1575, in a vessel of 140 tons, he went to an out-of-the-way
river, and hid his bark among the great
trees. Landing with his seventy men, he went in
search of the Simerons, who took him to a river
which flowed into the South Sea, where a pinnace
was built. In this the English pulled down to the
Pacific, with the intention of capturing one of the
treasure ships coming to Panama. They succeeded
so far as to get sixty thousand dollars in gold from
one bark, and a hundred thousand from another. Not
yet satisfied, they went to the Pearl Islands, attacked
the negro divers, and took a few pearls, with which
they at last returned up the river.</p>

<p>Unfortunately for Oxenham the negroes of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span>
Pearl Islands carried the news of his presence to
Panama, and in two days four boats with a hundred
men were sent in pursuit. They found the two barks,
which had been released, and from their captains
learnt where the Englishmen had gone. Following up
the river they were at a loss when they came to three
branches, but spying some freshly plucked feathers
floating down one of the streams, they followed that
until they came upon the pinnace. Six men were on
guard, one of whom was killed, but the other five
escaped and gave the alarm to their comrades. Pursuing
their track through the forest the Spaniards
found the store of treasure hidden away under boughs
of trees. With this they would have gone back had
not Oxenham attacked them with two hundred
Simerons before they reached their boats. Being
more skilful in bush fighting than the English, the
Spaniards repulsed the party, killing eleven and
taking seven prisoners, from whom they learnt that
the delay was caused by the difficulty of transporting
the treasure.</p>

<p>Now the news was sent to Nombre de Dios, and the
authorities there found the English vessel and brought
her away, thus cutting off the means of escape for
those still lurking in the forest. Then an expedition
was sent in search of them, and they were found
building canoes. Some were sick and could make no
resistance, the others fled and took refuge with the
negroes, by whom they were ultimately betrayed and
taken to Panama. Here Oxenham was interrogated
as to his authority for the raid, and was obliged to
admit that he had not his Queen's license. All<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>
except five boys were executed, the men at once, and
the officers a little while afterwards at Lima.</p>

<p>Thus ended one of the most audacious attacks on
the Spaniards which only failed through a little want
of calculation. Hakluyt, who wrote the account,
said the enemy marvelled much to see that although
many Frenchmen had come to these countries, yet
never one durst put foot upon land; only Drake and
Oxenham performed such exploits. When the news
reached Spain the king was so alarmed that he sent
out two galleys to guard the coast, which in the first
year after their arrival took six or seven French
vessels, and put a stop to their piracies for a time.</p>

<p>There was another class of raids in the Indies, of
which that of Andrew Barker, of Bristol, was an
example. He, and one Captain Roberts, going to
trade in the Canary Islands, had their goods confiscated,
and were put in prison, from which Roberts
escaped and Barker was ultimately discharged. To
recoup his losses and revenge himself, Barker fitted
out several vessels in 1576, in which he went trading
to the Main, and afterwards committed acts of piracy.
He took a small vessel off Margarita and a frigate
near Carthagena, from which he got five hundred
pounds' weight of gold and some emeralds. Now,
following the example of Drake, he landed on the
isthmus to get help from the Simerons, but could find
none. Then, from the unhealthiness of the climate,
most of his men fell sick, and eight or nine died,
which made him give up this part of his project.
Embarking again he took another Spanish vessel
with some gold, but after that the party got into<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>
difficulties. Barker quarrelled with his ship-master,
and one of the vessels became so leaky that they had
to let her sink, first removing the cargo into the
last Spanish prize. They, however, captured another
vessel with a hundred pounds of silver and some provisions,
but after that the crews mutinied and put
Barker ashore with some others, where they were
attacked by Spaniards, and nine, including the captain,
killed. The mutineers then went on to Truxillo,
which they surprised, but could find no treasure, and
were soon driven to flight by a Spanish vessel. On
their way home the Spanish vessel sunk, carrying
down two thousand pounds' worth of their booty, and
on their arrival at Plymouth they were imprisoned
as accessories to their captain's death. Although
none were executed, yet, says the worthy Hakluyt,
"they could not avoid the heavy judgment of God,
but shortly after came to miserable ends."</p>

<p>Open war soon came, and culminated in the invasion
of England by the "Invincible Armada" of
1588. No longer could there be any question of the
Queen's license, and in 1585 Drake, now Sir Francis,
fitted out a great fleet to cripple the power of Spain
in the Indies. The Spanish authorities were no longer
unprepared, but ready to give him a warm reception
all along his expected course. The fleet consisted of
twenty-five vessels, with two thousand three hundred
men, among whom could be found many whose names
are famous in the annals of Queen Elizabeth. At
the Cape de Verde Islands they burnt the town of
Santiago in revenge for the murder of a boy, and
after this baptism of fire, proceeded to the island of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span>
St. Christopher's, where they landed the sick, cleaned
their vessels, and spent Christmas. Leaving at the
end of December, on the 1st of January, 1586, they
arrived off Hispaniola with the intention of attacking
St. Domingo. The English landed about ten miles
distant from that city, marched upon the Spaniards
unawares, and took it by surprise, notwithstanding
every preparation that had been made, and the careful
watch for enemies from the sea.</p>

<p>Drake demanded a large ransom, and because it
was not paid at once, commenced to demolish the
buildings, which brought the inhabitants to their senses
and made them offer the sum of 25,000 ducats (about
&pound;7,000), which he accepted. From thence the fleet
sailed to Carthagena, where no opposition was made
until the troops landed, when a great struggle took
place in the streets. The Spaniards had erected
barricades, behind which they succeeded in doing
some execution, but only delayed the surrender for
a short time. After a portion of the town had been
burnt, 110,000 ducats were paid as ransom for the
remainder, and after a few less brilliant exploits, the
fleet went back to England, being thus hurried on
account of sickness among the men. Otherwise,
Drake had intended to capture Nombre de Dios and
Panama, but from this disability had to be content
with booty to the amount of &pound;60,000, which would
mean something like a quarter of a million at the
present value of money. He arrived in time to help
in repelling the Armada, and this invasion kept most
of the English about their own shores for a year or
two.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span></p>

<p>In 1595, when there were no longer any fears of
a Spanish landing, Drake determined on another
voyage, and this time with Sir John Hawkins. Getting
together six of the Queen's ships and twenty-one
other vessels, they arrived safely at the Caribbee
Islands, where Hawkins became sick and died.
Drake then went on to Porto Rico and attacked the
capital, but could do nothing more than capture a few
vessels from under the guns of the forts. Going to
the Main he captured Rio de la Hacha and a fishing
village named Rancheria. These he held for ransom,
but was dissatisfied with the number of pearls offered
by private persons, the Governor refusing to give
anything, and burnt both town and village. Santa
Martha was also taken, and then Nombre de Dios,
but he found that the treasure had been removed, the
inhabitants taking to the forest when they heard his
fearful name. Sir Thomas Baskerville took seven
hundred and fifty men to go over to Panama, but
returned much discouraged by the difficulties of the
road. Drake finally burnt Nombre de Dios and every
vessel in the harbour down to the smallest boats.</p>

<p>After that, sickness began to tell upon the expedition,
and Drake himself was stricken with dysentery.
When on the point of death he rose from his bed, put
on his full dress of admiral, called his men and gave
them a farewell address, then, sinking down exhausted
he died immediately afterwards. Several captains and
other important officers also died, and they even lost
the chief surgeon; after that, nothing was left but to
return home. Off Cuba they were attacked by a
Spanish fleet of twenty vessels, sent out to intercept<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>
them, with which they kept up a running fight until
the enemy were left behind.</p>

<p>On their arrival in England in May, 1596, the sad
news of the death of Drake overshadowed all the
glory of the expedition. In Spain, however, it was
published for general information, and the people
congratulated each other that at last their enemy
was gone. Henry Savile, in his "Libel of Spanish
Lies," said "it did ease the stomachs of the timorous
Spaniards greatly to hear of the death of him whose
life was a scourge and a continual plague to them." No
wonder that the news was so grateful, for none was so
daring, and no name like that of Drake ever came to
be used as a bogey with which to frighten their
children.</p>

<p>Yet there were many gallant adventurers in the
Indies at that very time. Sir Robert Dudley and
Sir Walter Ralegh were both at Trinidad in 1595,
and for several years before and after the English
rovers were plentiful in the Gulf of Mexico. In
1591 the <i>Content</i> was successfully defended against
six Spanish men-of-war, and the galleons were
obliged to sail in large squadrons. What with the
dangers of storms and the enemy, it was stated that
of a hundred and twenty-three vessels expected in
Spain during that year, only twenty-five arrived
safe.</p>

<p>The number of rovers became at last so great that
plunder was difficult to obtain. The Spanish settlers
were in continual fear, and naturally took every precaution
against their enemies, hiding the treasure on
the least alarm, and taking to the forest. The French<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span>
corsairs were not far behind the English, although as
yet they had no proper licenses, and only fought for
their own hands. Latterly, also, the Dutch and
Flemings had arrived, and although mainly occupied
in trading, they did not hesitate to fight on occasion,
especially when attempts were made to prevent their
traffic. While under the rule of Charles the Fifth they
had been free to go to and from the Indies, and no doubt
use the knowledge thus gained to further their own
interests since their revolt. Like the English, they
were at enmity with Spain, but there was also another
bond of union&mdash;both were Protestant. Queen Elizabeth
assisted Holland in gaining her independence,
and therefore at this period the relations between
English and Dutch were very cordial. But the
fellow-feeling of enmity to Spain made even the
French corsair unite with the two others, so that
pirates, privateers, and traders all combined against
the common foe.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span></p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h3><a name="IV" id="IV"></a>IV</h3>

<h3>RALEGH AND THE FIRST BRITISH COLONIES</h3>


<p>The first grant made by Queen Elizabeth for a
settlement in America was given to Sir Humphrey
Gilbert in 1578, but the father of English colonisation
was Sir Walter Ralegh. Although considered a
rover, or pirate, by the Spaniards, he was of a
different type to Drake, Hawkins, and the other
adventurers of the sixteenth century. Not only was
he famous as a brave warrior, but at the same time
as one of the most learned men of his time; as
enterprising in the arts of peace as on the battlefield.</p>

<p>The "Letters Patent" to Walter Ralegh, Esquire,
dated the 25th of March, 1584, may be considered
as the first charter of the English colonies. Under
them he was empowered to discover, occupy, and
possess barbarous countries not actually in the
possession of any Christian prince, or inhabited by
Christian people, on condition that he reserved to
Her Majesty a fifth of all the gold and silver found
therein. He was also given all the rights of civil and
criminal jurisdiction, and empowered to govern and
make laws as long as these laws did not conflict<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>
with those of the mother country, or with the true
Christian faith of the Church of England. Under
this charter the first settlement in Virginia was
undertaken, and thus England threw down the
gauntlet in the face of Spain.</p>

<p>However, Ralegh did not confine himself to North
America&mdash;there were other countries not in the
actual possession of any Christian prince, the most
notable being Guiana. Ralegh had heard the story
of "El Dorado" and of the failures of the many
German and Spanish knights. He would succeed
where they had failed. Englishmen had displayed
their mettle in the Indies&mdash;if the treasures of Peru
and Mexico had raised their enemy to be "mistress
of the world" and "sovereign of the seas," why
should not he also find other golden countries for
the benefit of his virgin queen and country? Because
two rich provinces had been discovered, it did
not follow that there were no others; on the contrary,
the rumours of "El Dorado" were so many that they
could not be treated with contempt. And then the
natives of the "Great Wild Coast," although cannibals,
were friendly to the English, who had always treated
them fairly, and there they had the advantage over
Spain. The country was open to them, although
strictly guarded against their rivals.</p>

<p>The stories had been lately revived by the expeditions
of Antonio de Berrio, Governor of Trinidad
and Guiana, who had made explorations of the river
Orinoco, and possibly exaggerated his reports for the
purpose of getting settlers. Captain Popham took
some letters from a Spanish vessel in 1594, wherein<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>
were found accounts of the "Nueva Dorado," which
were spoken of as incredibly rich. Ralegh saw these,
and was induced by their reports and his own knowledge
of the Indies, which he had gained in working
at his colonisation schemes, to go out and look up
the matter.</p>

<p>The occupation of Guiana, he said, had other
ground and assurance of riches than the voyages to
the West Indies. The king of Spain was not so
impoverished as the English supposed by their
taking two or three ports, neither were the riches of
Peru or New Spain to be picked up on the sea-shore.
The burning of towns on the coast did not impoverish
Spain one ducat, for it was within the country that
the land was rich and populous. Therefore England
should endeavour to get possession of this yet unspoiled
country, instead of wasting her energies on
adventures that were of no real benefit, and that
hardly touched the real source of her enemy's greatness.</p>

<p>Ralegh arrived at Trinidad in March, 1595, and as
a matter of precaution captured the Spanish town of
St. Joseph, and the Governor, De Berrio, from whom
he heard more stories of El Dorado. Here also he
began those conciliatory measures with the natives
which characterised all his dealings. He released
five chiefs, who had been imprisoned in chains and
tortured by dropping melted fat on their bodies, and
thus gained their friendship. Unlike other adventurers
he thought it necessary to excuse himself for
burning St. Joseph, which he did in rather quaint
language. Considering that if he entered Guiana by
<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71-72]</a><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72"></a></span>small boats and left a garrison of the enemy at his
back, he "should have savoured very much of the
ass," he took the place, and at the instance of the
natives set it on fire.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 447px;">
<img src="images/p071.jpg" width="447" height="313" alt="RALEGH IN TRINIDAD." title="" />
<span class="caption">RALEGH IN TRINIDAD.<br />
(<i>From Gottfried&#39;s &quot;Reisen.&quot;</i>)</span>
</div>

<p>Now began a weary voyage up the Orinoco, first
through the delta, which is such a maze that they
might have wandered for months without getting
into the main river had they not secured an Indian
pilot. Exposed alternately to burning sun and
drenching showers in open boats, they toiled against
the powerful stream. Ralegh everywhere tried his
best to ingratiate himself with the Indians, succeeding
so well that his name became known over the
whole of Guiana. He told them that he had been
sent by a great queen, the powerful Cacique of the
north, and a virgin, whose chieftains were more
numerous than the trees of the forest. She was an
enemy to the Spaniards, had freed other nations from
their oppression, and had now sent to rescue them.
To confirm his statement he gave each Cacique a
coin so that they could possess the queen's likeness,
and these were treasured and even worshipped for a
century afterwards.</p>

<p>Everywhere he heard of El Dorado, but it was
always receding farther and farther, until his men
became so disheartened that he had to rouse them by
saying that they would be shamed before their comrades
if they gave up so easily. However, after
reaching the mouth of the Caroni and getting specimens
of gold ore, he had to return without doing
more than locating the city of Manoa several hundred
miles to the east of his farthest point. This was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>
done in so exact a manner that the great lake of
Parima, as large as the Caspian Sea, was retained
upon the maps of South America down to the
beginning of the present century. His ore was
probably stream quartz, and in representing it as
taken from the rock he probably reported what the
Indians had told him. When, therefore, he said that
the assay gave its value as &pound;13,000 a ton, there is no
reason to suppose a mistake or untruth, for pieces
quite as valuable may still be picked up. His "Discoverie
of Guiana" is such a mixture of close and
accurate observation with the hearsay of the Indians,
that it is difficult in some cases to separate truth from
fiction. Yet, although historians have charged him
with wilful lying, there can be no doubt of his good
faith. It has been left to the present century to
prove that gold-mines exist on the site of the fabled
El Dorado, for it is there that the well-known Caratal
diggings are situated.</p>

<p>Ralegh asked the people of England to judge for
themselves. He had spent much time and money,
with no other object than to serve his queen and
country. When they considered that it was the
Spaniard's gold which endangered and disturbed all
the nations of Europe, that "purchaseth intelligence,
creepeth into councils and setteth bound loyalty at
liberty," they would see the advantage of these
provinces he had discovered. Guiana was a country
that had never yet been sacked, turned, or wrought.
The face of the earth had not been torn, nor the
virtue and salt of the soil spent by manurance; the
graves had not been opened for gold, the mines not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>
touched with sledges, or the images pulled down from
the temples. It was so easily defensible that it could
be protected by two forts at the mouth of a river, and
thus the whole empire be guarded. The country
was already discovered, many nations won to Her
Majesty's love and obedience, and those Spaniards
who had laboured on the conquest were beaten, discouraged,
and disgraced. If Her Majesty took up
the enterprise, he doubted not that after the first or
second year there would be a Contractation House
for Guiana in London, with larger receipts than that
for the Indies at Seville.</p>

<p>Such was Ralegh's dream. Another Peru to be
conquered, and England to be raised to the highest
point of wealth and importance. But unfortunately
he could get no assistance to carry out the grand project.
Yet he was undoubtedly sincere, for did he not
send out two expeditions under Captains Keymis and
Berrie the following year, to assure the Indians that
he had not forgotten them? Keymis found one tribe
keeping a festival in honour of the great princess of
the north, and anxiously waiting for the return of
Gualtero, which name, by the by, was similar to their
word for friend. They made fires, and, sitting in their
hammocks, each man with his companion, they recounted
the worthy deeds and deaths of their ancestors,
execrating their enemies most spitefully, and
magnifying their friends with all the titles of honour
they could devise. Thus they sat talking and smoking
tobacco until their cigars (their measure of time)
went out, during which they were not to be disturbed,
"for this is their religion and prayers which they now<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>
celebrated, keeping a precise fast one whole day in
honour of the great princess of the north, their
patron and defender."</p>

<p>The explorations of Ralegh and his captains were
published all over Europe, with the result that attention
was generally drawn to Guiana. Already some Dutchmen
had been trading on the coast for many years, and
it was even reported that they had established a post
in the river Pomeroon, the centre of the province of
Caribana. As early as 1542 Flemings had settled at
Araya on the coast of Venezuela, where they collected
salt and were left undisturbed as long as the
Netherlands belonged to Spain. Ralegh seems to
have purposely ignored the presence of these people
in Guiana, probably to prevent any question of prior
rights on the part of a friendly nation. But, after all,
the Dutchmen could only have been there on their
own responsibility, and their temporary occupation
had no meaning from a national point of view.</p>

<p>Now that Guiana was made known, vessels of other
nationalities went trading along the coast, everywhere
meeting with a hearty welcome from the Indians as
long as the visitors were not Spanish. They were only
so many additions to their friends&mdash;their enemies were
confined to Trinidad and the Orinoco, leaving the
whole coast of Guiana to its rightful owners. In
fact, the Spaniards could no more subdue the Caribs
of the Main than they could those of the islands.
Only in Trinidad, where the Arawak was employed
against the cannibal, was a settlement made possible.</p>

<p>Ralegh was unable to carry out his great project,
but others were not backward in attempting to settle<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>
in the country. First came Charles Leigh, who in
1604 founded a colony in the river Oyapok, which
failed partly from the lack of assistance from England
and partly from too great a dependence on the
promises of the Indians to supply food. Sickness
followed on starvation, Leigh died, and a mutiny
took place, after which the survivors got back to
Europe in a Dutch trader, which fortunately arrived
when all hope of succour had been abandoned.
Robert Harcourt followed to the same river in 1609,
like Leigh, getting promises of assistance from the
Indians by using the name of Ralegh. With their
consent he took possession of the country, "by twig
and turf," in the name of King James. This ceremony
was performed by first cutting a branch from a
tree, and then turning up a sod with the sword, thus
claiming everything in and on the earth.</p>

<p>Harcourt's colony lasted several years, and in 1613
he received from James the First a grant of all that
part of Guiana lying between the rivers Amazons and
Essequebo, on the usual condition of the fifth of all
gold and silver being handed over to the king. In the
same year the Dutch trading factory at Kyk-over-al
on the river Essequebo was established, and this was
probably the reason why the English grant made that
river the boundary of their possessions, leaving the
Hollander to establish himself between the Essequebo
and the Orinoco.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, in 1603, poor Ralegh had been tried on
a charge of aiding and abetting the plot to raise
Arabella Stuart to the throne of England, on the
death of Queen Elizabeth. Any one who reads the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span>
account of his trial will perceive at once the absurdity
of the charge, yet Ralegh was convicted and sentenced
to be hanged, drawn, and quartered. However, even
with all his hatred for the knight, King James dared
not carry out the sentence, but instead, kept him
imprisoned in the Tower.</p>

<p>Here Ralegh still hankered after the treasures of
Guiana, and in 1611 he made a proposition to the
Government to send Captain Keymis to find the rich
gold mine which had been pointed out to him by an
Indian. If Keymis should live to arrive at the place
and fail to bring half a ton or more of that rich ore
of which he had shown a sample, Ralegh himself
would bear all the expense of the journey. "Though,"
said he, "it be a difficult matter of exceeding difficulty
for any man to find the same acre of ground
again, in a country desolate and overgrown, which he
hath seen but once, and that sixteen years since&mdash;which
were hard enough to do upon Salisbury Plain&mdash;yet
that your lordships may be satisfied of the truth,
I am contented to adventure all I have (but my
reputation) upon Keymis's memory."</p>

<p>This proposition was rejected, and the poor knight
lingered on in the Tower, attended during part of the
time by two Guiana Indians, Harry and Leonard
Regapo. In 1616, however, he at last recovered his
liberty on condition that he went to Guiana and
brought back gold, but at the same time the king refused
to pardon him. Nevertheless he took up the
matter with an amount of enthusiasm which showed
his entire confidence in its ultimate success. All his
own money and as much of his wife's as could be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>
spared was spent in fitting out the expedition, and he
also got contributions from many of his friends. The
king even went so far as to give him a commission to
undertake a voyage to the south parts of America, or
elsewhere in America, inhabited by heathen and
savage people, with all the necessary rights of
government and jurisdiction; yet with all this the
old sentence hung over his head.</p>

<p>The expedition of fourteen vessels started in March,
1617, but even from the commencement the voyage
was disastrous. First a gale was encountered, which
drove the fleet to take refuge in Cork Harbour,
where it lay until August. This seems to have put a
damper on the commander, who now began to realise
how much depended on his success. He was twenty-two
years older than when he went on his first voyage
to Guiana, and most of those years he had spent in
captivity. Is it any wonder that when the excitement
attendant on his release had gone off he became sick
and utterly prostrated? Such was his condition when
the fleet arrived at Cayenne, where he went to look
for his Indian boy Harry, who had gone back to his
people and was now wanted as interpreter.</p>

<p>So low was Ralegh's condition that he had to be
carried ashore, and although he soon became a little
better under a course of fresh meat and fruits, he
never wholly recovered. So great was his weakness,
both of mind and body, that he deputed Keymis to
lead the party up the Orinoco, while he rested at
Cayenne; in a few days he would go on to Trinidad
and wait there until they returned. Keymis accordingly
went on, accompanied by young Walter Ralegh,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span>
a number of other gentlemen, and four hundred
soldiers. They arrived at the site of the supposed
gold mine without accident, but found that since the
first expedition some Spaniards had built "a town of
sticks, covered with leaves," and this stood in the way
of their approach to the mine. Possibly Keymis
now thought of his master's expression in regard to
St. Joseph, and did not care to "savour of an ass" by
leaving the enemy to interfere with his work. He
therefore attacked this town of St. Thome, and set it
on fire. Unfortunately young Ralegh was killed in
the fight, and the thought of how he could tell this
bad news preyed upon the mind of Keymis until all
relish for gold-seeking was lost. The Spaniards took
to the bush, from whence they sallied forth on any
small party of the English, and ultimately put them
into a state of confusion. The mine could not be
found, the adventurers began to complain that they
had been fooled, and Keymis was so troubled that he
seemed neither to know nor care anything about
treasure-seeking.</p>

<p>Ralegh had meanwhile arrived in the Gulf of Paria,
where he received the news of the burning of St.
Thome and the death of his son from some Indians.
Presently Keymis arrived, utterly dejected, to find
his master broken down and more woe-begone than
himself. Ralegh said he was undone, and that
Keymis was entirely to blame. Not even a sample of
ore&mdash;the king would believe him a liar and a cheat.
Then, this attack on a Spanish town! Did not
Keymis remember that these were not the days of
the virgin queen, when to "singe the Spaniard's
<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80-81]</a><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81"></a></span>beard" was worthy of praise? Did he not know
that James was friendly with the king of Spain and
wanted to get from him a princess for his son
Henry?</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 445px;">
<img src="images/p080.jpg" width="445" height="322" alt="GOLD HUNTING." title="" />
<span class="caption">GOLD HUNTING.<br />
(<i>From Gottfried&#39;s &quot;Reisen.&quot;</i>)</span>
</div>

<p>Keymis had been the intimate friend of Ralegh
through all his troubles. He had remained faithful
even when threatened with the rack at the time of
the trial. As a kind of steward he had administered
the prisoner's estate, and was a trusted friend and
confidant of the family. He had seen young Walter
grow up to manhood, and now through his fault the
youth had been killed. For the first time the bereaved
father was angry with his captain; perhaps
if Keymis died the whole blame would be laid upon
his shoulders, and Ralegh be exonerated. He went
to the cabin allotted to him, loaded a pistol, shot
himself, and then, as he feared the wound was not
mortal, finished the suicide by driving a long knife
into his heart.</p>

<p>Thus died poor Keymis, but unfortunately this
did not make any difference to his master. If Ralegh
had been prepared to throw all the responsibility on
his lieutenant, the king could only be satisfied with
treasure. Even if James had been inclined to over-look
the affair, the Spanish ambassador would not
condone such an offence. He is said to have rushed
into the royal presence with the cry of "Piracy!
piracy! piracy!" at the same time demanding the
immediate capture and punishment of the raiders. It
followed, therefore, that Ralegh was arrested immediately
on his return, and finally executed under the
old sentence, but by decapitation instead of hanging.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span></p>

<p>His last days were passed with resignation and
fortitude. His old spirit was entirely broken, and
although he petitioned the king for grace and pardon,
he did so in a hopeless way. He had many sympathisers,
and to satisfy them the king's printers issued
a little book entitled "A Declaration of the Demeanour
and Carriage of Sir Walter Raleigh," obviously
inspired by the king himself. Here was a thing
unheard of before or since; a sovereign excusing
himself for his actions! If anything were required to
prove the prisoner's innocence, this was sufficient.
Did James want to salve his own conscience, or was
it intended to satisfy those who clamoured on account
of the injustice of the execution? No doubt many of
the old sea dogs who had served under Drake and
Hawkins were still living, and remembered when
Plymouth bells rang at the news of fresh arrivals
from the Indies. "But now, forsooth, you must not
burn down a thatched hovel without a great to-do
being made." If Spain wanted peace, why did her
people murder a ship's company in cold blood a little
while before? Out upon it! The good old days had
passed and England was going to ruin.</p>

<p>However, even King James's sneaking friendship
for Spain could not keep back colonisation altogether.
Something like moderation was introduced, and only
pirates pure and simple kept up the old traditions.
As for the king he hardly knew how to steer, what
with the petitions for reprisals from English seamen
on the one hand, and complaints of the Spanish
ambassadors on the other. The result of this want
of policy is well shown in the case of Roger North<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>
one of the adventurers in the last expedition of
Ralegh, who, in 1619, wished to re-establish the
colony in the Oyapok, which had virtually sunk to
nothing. An association called the Amazon Company
was formed, and, notwithstanding Spanish protests,
the king granted "Letters Patent," under which
North got up an expedition in four vessels. Then
the Spanish ambassador began to storm, and the
weak king revoked the patent, calling upon the members
of the Company to renounce their rights. North,
who had been warned that something was going on,
hurried up his preparations, and was off so quickly
that he sailed on the 30th of April, 1620, fifteen days
before the proclamation revoking his license was
published.</p>

<p>On his return in January following he was arrested
and sent to the Tower, where he remained until July.
Meanwhile his cargo from Guiana was seized on the
ground that it had been obtained from Spanish possessions,
but with all his willingness to oblige Spain
the king could not get the case proven. It followed,
therefore, that North was released, and his goods restored,
but as the cargo was mainly tobacco it had
become much damaged by neglect.</p>

<p>This detention of North, and the consequent delay
in sending out supplies to the Oyapok, led to the
downfall of the infant colony. Hearing nothing from
England the settlers became disheartened, and if it
had not happened that Dutch traders arrived there
occasionally they would have been starved. Even as
it was one left after another until few remained, and
when, six years later, "the Company of Noblemen<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>
and Gentlemen of England for the Plantation of
Guiana" was formed, the settlement had to be commenced
anew. However, some of those who left
carried the English flag to the island of St. Christopher's,
where a settlement was commenced in 1624
by Thomas Warner. Thus, as Ralegh was the father
of English colonisation, so his beloved Guiana became
the parent of the British West Indies.</p>

<p>James the First died in March, 1625, and with him
went the English subservience to Spain, never to be
restored. During his reign British enterprise had
been kept back; now it broke down all obstructions.
True, New England and Bermuda were settled during
his reign, but they owed little to him or his government.
As soon as the Royal obstructionist was dead,
colonisation schemes came to the front. Before even
a month had passed, on the 14th of April, John Coke
came forward with a proposition to incorporate a
company for the defence and protection of the West
Indies, for establishing a trade there, and for fitting
out a fleet to attack the Spanish settlements. About
the same time, also, the Attorney-General made some
"notes" on the advantages derived by the Spaniards
and Dutch from their West Indian trade, showing
that it was neither safe nor profitable to England for
them to remain absolute lords of those parts, and
suggesting that the new king should entertain the
matter and openly interpose, or else permit it to be
done underhand; then if it prospered he could make
it his own at pleasure.</p>

<p>What was done in these particular cases does not
appear, but that a new policy was introduced is cer<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span>tain.
In September following the case of St. Christopher's
was brought before the Privy Council, which
apparently confirmed what had been done, in taking
possession of the island. In the "information" laid
over it was stated that Thomas Warner had discovered
that island, as well as Nevis, Barbados, and
Montserrat, and had begun the planting and colonising
of these islands, until then only inhabited by
savages. King Charles was asked to take them under
his royal protection and grant Thomas Warner their
custody as his lieutenant, with the usual powers of
jurisdiction.</p>

<p>The result was not altogether to the liking of the
petitioners, Ralph Merrifield and Thomas Warner,
for in July, 1627, a grant of all the Caribbees was
made to the Earl of Carlisle. This was sweeping
enough, however, to suit those who wanted English
colonies, however it ignored the rights of the first
settlers in St. Kitt's and Barbados, which latter
island had been settled a few months after the first.</p>

<p>Now, also, Roger North came forward with his
story and got the revoked patent renewed, so that he
could go on with the settlement in the Oyapok. For
a time it did very well, but the tide had turned in
favour of the islands, and Guiana was soon abandoned
to the Dutch and French.</p>

<p>The most important of the two islands first colonised
was Barbados, which, fortunately for her comfort,
never suffered from such calamities as befel the
sister island of St. Christopher's. As far as the
English were concerned Barbados was discovered by
a vessel going out to Leigh's settlement, in Guiana, in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>
1605. A pillar was erected with the inscription,
"James, King of England and this island," but
nothing was done in the way of a settlement until
immediately after Warner commenced planting in
St. Kitt's. The most intimate connection existed
between Barbados and Guiana from the earliest
times, as in fact it does to the present day, for
Captain Powell, the commander of the little company
of pioneers, sent to his Dutch friend, Groenwegel, in
Essequebo, for a party of Arawak Indians to teach
the new-comers how to plant provisions, cotton, and
tobacco.</p>

<p>In 1630 another group of islands was added by the
granting of a patent to the "Governor and Company of
Adventurers for the Plantation of the Islands of Providence,
Henrietta, and the adjacent islands." Under
this charter possession was taken of the Bahamas, but
little was done in the way of settling them for about
a century. Thus West Indian colonisation was commenced,
and claims made to all the smaller islands
on behalf of England.</p>

<p>But it is not to be supposed that France and
Holland were going to let everything go by default&mdash;on
the contrary, they soon began to settle in some
of the very islands which had been granted to the
Earl of Carlisle. The Dutch, as we have seen, were
traders from the beginning, preferring the so-called
contraband traffic with the natives and Spanish
colonists to anything like the raids of English or
French. Yet, in their plodding way they went on
steadily, and as early as the year 1600 took possession
of the island of St. Eustatius. When the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span>
Spaniards awoke to the fact that the Dutch were
injuring their trade, they began to enforce all the
old prohibitions and seized the smugglers. But the
Hollander commenced to feel his power, and gave
his enemy several lessons, which made him feel that
the United Provinces with their symbol of a bundle
of darts were not to be despised.</p>

<p>In 1615 the Dutch took the capital of Porto Rico,
and in 1621 their West India Company was formed
with territorial and trading rights over all the unoccupied
countries of Africa and America. Suddenly as it
were the despised Hollander became a power in the
West Indies, and the Company was soon strong
enough to conquer Brazil, which it must be remembered
was, with Portugal and all her colonies, then in
the hands of Spain. About the year 1627 Piet Heyn
destroyed a Spanish fleet in Mata&ccedil;a Bay, Cuba, the
booty from which was something enormous. Altogether,
the West India Company was said to have
captured 547 vessels, mainly off the coast of America,
the prize money from which amounted to thirty
million guilders (&pound;2,500,000), while the damage to
Spain was at least six times as much.</p>

<p>Now also the French began to claim their share.
In 1625 Mons. d'Enambuc went on a piratical expedition
to the Caribbean Sea, but without any intention
of founding a colony. However, off the Cayman's
islands he was attacked by a Spanish galleon of
much superior force, and although he succeeded at
last in driving her off, his vessel was so crippled that
he had to put into St. Christopher's for repairs. Here
he found Warner already established, and with him a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span>
few Frenchmen. On account of his condition and
the beauty of the island, he became inclined to settle,
and as the English and French were then on good
terms, Warner saw no objection. The consequence
was that St. Kitt's became divided between the two
nationalities, with results in the future most disastrous
to both.</p>

<p>At first, however, the assistance of the French was
very welcome. The Caribs were still a power in the
smaller islands and gave a great deal of trouble to the
young colony. At first they were friendly, but when
the settlers wished to oppress them by taking away
their lands and compelling them to supply provisions,
open war began. Hearing from an Indian woman
that a conspiracy was forming to destroy all the white
men, Warner determined to be beforehand with them.
He massacred a hundred and twenty of the men, took
the women as slaves, and drove the remainder off the
island. But these powerful savages were by no mean
conquered, for those who escaped soon came back
with three or four thousand of their friends from
neighbouring islands, and at first it appeared as if the
whites would have been utterly exterminated. By a
supreme effort of both French and English, however,
this great invasion was repelled, the defenders killing
about two thousand, and capturing fifteen large periaguas,
with a loss to themselves of about a hundred,
most of whom died from poisoned arrows. This was
a bond of union between French and English, and
Warner and d'Enambuc amicably divided the island
between them.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span></p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 444px;">
<img src="images/p089.jpg" width="444" height="306" alt="CARIB ATTACK ON A SETTLEMENT" title="" />
<span class="caption">CARIB ATTACK ON A SETTLEMENT<br />
(<i>From Gottfried&#39;s &quot;Reisen.&quot;</i>)</span>
</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span></p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h3><a name="V" id="V"></a>V</h3>

<h3>BUCCANEERS, FILIBUSTERS, AND PIRATES</h3>


<p>Now that settlements were commenced the old
system of piracy was somewhat discountenanced by
the home governments, and many of the adventurers
began to become a little more civilised. But there
was still a large number of them who became known
as buccaneers, filibusters, freebooters, marooners, and
brethren of the coast, who continued to worry the
Spaniards, and even to attack other nationalities on
occasion. They had taken to the trade, and, when
no longer able to carry it on in a quasi-legitimate
manner, did so on their own lines.</p>

<p>The claim of Spain to the whole of America was
the great cause of offence. Had she been content
with what her people could occupy, there would have
been little trouble, but the "dog in the manger"
policy could hardly be recognised by other nations.
It followed, therefore, that when complaints were
made to France and England of the ravages on the
Spanish coasts, the sovereigns told the king of Spain
to protect his own shores, disclaiming on their own
parts any responsibility whatever.</p>

<p>The earliest accounts of the buccaneers are con<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span>fused
with those of the French corsairs, of which
mention has been already made. They sailed along
the coast from one island to another, trading a little,
capturing Spanish vessels, fighting the guarda-costas,
and now and again repairing to some out-of-the-way
place to put their ships in order or even to assist the
Caribs in their raids. The advantages of combination
were soon felt, and with these also the necessity for
places of rendezvous. Even the English adventurers
became accustomed to obtain wood and water from
Dominica, but this island was not conveniently
situated for the French corsairs. They wanted an
uninhabited place near enough to Hispaniola and the
track of the Spanish vessels for them to be quickly
pounced upon and for the corsairs to as quickly
escape. Then there must be a food supply, and on
the great island of Hispaniola were countless herds
of wild cattle which ranged over a wilderness utterly
depopulated.</p>

<p>The palmy days of the Hispaniola planter were
over, and although he imported negro slaves to some
extent, he was virtually ruined. One after another
left for the newly discovered countries on the Main,
and for Peru and Mexico, leaving the island to a few
merchants and wealthy planters, who found it to
their interest to remain. Hispaniola was little more
than a house of call on the road to the treasure
countries, which meant that although the port of
St. Domingo was fortified, the greater portion of the
island was open to any one who chose to occupy it.</p>

<p>Salt was a scarce commodity in those times, but it
could be obtained in some of the smaller islands,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span>
notably Tortuga, which for that reason became the
resort of the buccaneers. But the Indians had learnt
how to preserve meat without this useful substance,
by smoking it over a fire of green branches and
leaves. Even Europeans knew something of this
process, although we believe they never preserved
their beef and bacon entirely without salt as did the
Indians their game. The process was very simple.
Four sticks with forked ends were pushed into the
ground, and on these uprights a sort of rack of other
sticks was laid to make an open platform, where the
pieces of meat were laid above a fire until well dried
and impregnated with smoke. This stage was called
a boucan, or barbecue, and from their using it to
prepare supplies for their voyages the corsairs became
known as buccaneers.</p>

<p>There were no tinned provisions in those days, nor
had the proper means of keeping food on long
voyages been yet perfected. It followed, therefore,
that a food supply in the Indies had to be provided,
and the Spaniards unintentionally did good service
to their enemies by placing hogs on most of the
islands to breed and be available in emergencies.</p>

<p>It is obvious that the hunting of semi-wild animals
and curing their meat required time, and for that
reason a division of labour was initiated. While one
party went cruising in search of Spanish vessels,
another ranged the country to capture and prepare
the supplies against their return. Thus a rendezvous
became necessary, and in time plantations were
established in this neighbourhood to gradually develop
into a settlement. Now and again the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span>
Spaniards discovered these places, but as they were
generally of little value, their loss was of no importance;
if destroyed the buccaneers could easily
escape to another locality. When the enemy burnt
their vessels, they easily built canoes with which they
soon captured others and became as strong as before.
The hunters grew to like their hardy life with its
perfect liberty, and became so inured to the climate
and open air as to be utterly unlike the effeminate
planters. They were even little subject to the
diseases of the country, and could live for months
at a time on nothing but meat. As for clothes, they
made these from the skins of animals, and all they
really required from outside was powder and lead for
their firearms.</p>

<p>They became known as the brethren of the coast
from their custom of each choosing one comrade as a
bosom friend and brother. Everything gained by
either was common to both, and the company were
very strict in enforcing their law against unfaithfulness
in a companion, or unfair dealing in any way
among themselves. Sometimes they marooned a
culprit by leaving him alone on some small island to
die of hunger, or perhaps to become a "Crusoe" for
many years. The wounded received compensation
according to a fixed tariff, from the common stock or
from contributions; thus the loss of an arm was
valued at five hundred crowns, and other mutilations
at corresponding rates.</p>

<p>As the attacks of the Spaniards became more
common, the small bands united, and division of
labour became more exact. Some were hunters of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>
wild boars, others of cattle, a few became planters,
but the main body were always sea rovers. At first
the hunters were on good terms with the Spanish
planters and entered into engagements to supply
them with meat. A party would go off into the
interior and stay away for months at a time,
eventually returning with large supplies borne on
the backs of their horses. During all this time they
lived in rough shelters which could be erected in an
afternoon, and were much exposed to the vicissitudes
of the weather. Now they made up for their long
term of privation by carousing to their hearts'
content, and when drunk, often fought and killed
each other. In the settlements there were generally
a few women, and these often became the cause of
contentions; there were also bond-servants who were
treated most cruelly.</p>

<p>Sometimes they made incursions on the Spanish
settlements, which led to stronger efforts for their
extermination that at last considerably reduced their
numbers. In fact, had it not been for the continual
accessions they would soon have died out, or have
given up their trade and settled down as planters.
Hispaniola became at last almost untenable, for the
Spaniards, unable to find any other way of putting
them down, organised several hunting parties with
the view to utterly destroy the wild cattle and thus
deprive them of their means of living. Not that this
was easily done, for it took many years, during which
the hunting parties from both sides fought and killed
each other, committing enormities which made the
quarrel all the more bitter.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span></p>

<p>About the year 1632 a party of buccaneers
captured the island of Tortuga from the Spaniards,
the garrison of twenty-five men surrendering without
a blow. Here was now the grand rendezvous of the
French, for which it was perfectly suitable from its
proximity to the food supply and the track of the
Spanish vessels. It was situated on the north of the
western portion of Hispaniola, and not very well
suited for plantations, although good tobacco was
grown there. There were, however, plenty of sea
fowl and turtle to be had, as well as their eggs, which
formed a large portion of the diet of the inhabitants.</p>

<p>This island became a veritable pandemonium&mdash;the
sink of the West Indies. It was the place of call for
rovers of all nations, the market for their booty, and
the storehouse for everything in the way of supplies.
The merchants pandered to the tastes of their
customers, and drinking and gambling went on
continually. But in 1638 it was surprised by the
Spaniards, who began to be alarmed at this nest of
pirates at their very doors. They chose a time when
most of the rovers were away on a cruise, and the
buccaneers gone hunting in Hispaniola. All they
captured were killed&mdash;even those who surrendered
being hanged as pirates. Only a few escaped by
hiding among the rocks and bushes to come forth
after the enemy had left, which they did without
leaving a garrison.</p>

<p>A grand attempt to expel the hunters from the
main island was now organised, in which a corps of
five hundred lancers ranged the island in bands of
fifties. Many of the buccaneers were killed, but the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>
remainder combined together under an Englishman
named Willis and again took possession of Tortuga.</p>

<p>From this rendezvous near Hispaniola the main
passages between the islands were under observation,
but a similar station was required near the Isthmus,
and this was established about 1630 in the Bay of
Campeachy. Like that at Tortuga its beginnings are
lost in obscurity. At first one or more of the small
islands or keys was used on occasion&mdash;later fortifications
were erected, and a watch always kept for the
enemy. The excuse for the settlement was the logwood
trade, but this did not become of much importance
until after the English conquest of Jamaica.</p>

<p>Like the true buccaneers these pirates were fond
of hunting, but their game was principally Indians,
whom they attacked and carried off from the Main,
the men to sell to the plantations and the women
to keep for themselves. When they arrived after a
cruise and sold their booty, they would have a jolly
time with drinking, gambling, and firing of guns,
until the island would seem to be the habitation of
devils rather than human beings.</p>

<p>There were also other pirate resorts, notably the
Virgin Islands and the Bahamas, but these were
generally used only by one company, and never rose
to the position of general resorts. It is to these that
most of the romances refer, but the stories of Pirate
and Treasure islands rarely have much foundation in
fact.</p>

<p>How privateers became pirates is well shown by a
case that occurred in the latter half of the seventeenth
century. A vessel went cruising from the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span>
Carolinas, and after being out for eighteen months
had gained so few prizes that the crew began to
complain. After discussing the situation, they resolved
to try the South Sea, where they hoped to
find the Spaniards less prepared. Meeting with very
bad weather at the entrance of the Strait of Magellan,
they were, however, obliged to turn back, and then
the majority decided to become pirates. Eight men
who refused to agree were marooned on the island
of Fernando Po, their late comrades leaving them a
small boat in which they expected to be able to get
to some English colony.</p>

<p>The vessel left, and commenced her piratical work
at once by capturing a Portuguese ship larger than
herself, the crew being brought and landed on the
same island. In the night the Portuguese made off,
taking with them the Englishmen's boat as well as
their own, leaving the eight privateers to do the best
they could. However, they were not easily daunted,
and at once began to cut down trees and build a sloop
of four tons, which they finished in six weeks, meanwhile
living on sea fowl and their eggs, which were
plentiful. Finally they sailed for Tobago, but missing
that island got to Tortuga, where they arrived almost
perishing with hunger and thirst, having had nothing
to eat or drink for six days. Even then they were
not discouraged, but after resting awhile, set sail in
the same boat for New England, passing along the
Spanish islands, often unable to land for water on
account of the enemy, and lying under cover of the
mangroves, to be almost devoured by mosquitoes.
Even with all this care they were taken at last,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>
stripped, thrust down in the hold of a Spanish
<i>guarda-costa</i>, and finally kept as slaves in the island
of Cuba.</p>

<p>In the early years of the seventeenth century few
of the adventurers had any commissions, but as the
mother countries began to establish settlements, letters
of marque were granted when there was a war. The
corsairs and pirates then became privateers, only to go
back to their old trade when peace was nominally
restored. Some played fast and loose with these
commissions, sometimes having both French and
English at the same time, either to be used according
to circumstances. The French Governors went so
far as to sell these documents signed and sealed, but
without names, so that they passed from hand to
hand ready to be filled up when the pirate wished to
escape the yard-arm. The young colonies were too
weak to incur their displeasure&mdash;in fact they were glad
to encourage their visits, as the settlers could always
pick up good bargains when they sold their booty.
Yet, with all that, there was a dread of them, even
among their own countrymen, which prevented that
feeling of safety which best consists with the progress
of a colony.</p>

<p>We can say little of individuals, as there were so
many, but we may mention a few of the most striking
characters and their daring exploits. They inspired
such dread among the Spaniards that at last the
latter hardly dared to defend themselves against them,
but on their approach immediately surrendered. If
the cargo was rich, quarter was granted, but if otherwise,
or anything was found secreted, the whole com<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span>pany,
officers, crew, and passengers, were forced to
leap overboard. Pierre Legrand with his twenty-eight
men once attacked a great Spanish galleon,
and before going alongside scuttled his own vessel so
that it sunk as the pirates leapt on to the enemy's
deck. With no possibility of retreat the men fought
like devils and quickly got possession of the galleon,
with the usual result.</p>

<p>When other nations had compelled respect from
Spain their vessels were sometimes chartered to carry
rich cargoes, which thus sailed under the protection
of another flag. But the pirates were not to be
cheated so easily, for they had their spies on the
look-out, and often managed to glean information.
On one occasion Captains Michael de Basco and
Brouage heard of two Dutch vessels leaving Carthagena
with treasure and at once followed, attacked
and captured them. Exasperated at being beaten
by a force much smaller than their own, the Dutch
captains told Michael that he could not have overcome
them if he had been alone. "Very well," said
the audacious Frenchman, "let us begin the fight
again, and Captain Brouage shall look on. But if I
conquer I will not only have the Spanish silver you
carry, but your own ships as well." The Dutch were
not inclined to accept this challenge, but made off as
soon as they could after the treasure had been taken
into the pirate vessels, fearing they might otherwise
lose their opportunity.</p>

<p>Captain Lawrence was once unexpectedly overtaken
by two Spanish sixty-gun ships, the crews of
which numbered fifteen hundred. Addressing his<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span>
men, he said&mdash;"You have experience enough to be
aware of your danger, and too much courage to fear.
On this occasion we must avail ourselves of every
circumstance, hazard everything, and attack and
defend at the same time. Valour, artifice, rashness,
and even despair itself must now be employed. Let
us fear the disgrace of a defeat; let us dread the cruelty
of our enemy; and let us fight that we may escape
him." After he was applauded with loud cheers,
Lawrence took aside one of the bravest of his men,
and in the presence of all, gave him strict orders to
fire the gunpowder at a given signal, thus telling them
plainly they must fight or be blown up. Meanwhile
the enemy had approached very close, and Lawrence,
ranging his men on both sides of the vessel, steered
between the two great monsters, firing a broadside
on either hand as he passed, which they could not
return for fear of damaging each other. He did not
succeed in capturing them, but they were so demoralised
by his determined attitude, and the number of
killed and wounded, that they were glad to make
off.</p>

<p>Montbar was a Frenchman who had heard of the
atrocities of the Spaniards and the exploits of the
buccaneers, and determined to go out to the West
Indies to join in the fray. On his voyage from
France he met a Spanish vessel which he attacked
and boarded with a sabre in his hand. Passing twice
from bow to stern, he carved his way through the
enemy, entirely reckless of danger, and by his
example animated his comrades until the vessel was
taken. Then standing apart while the spoil was being<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span>
divided, he gloated with savage pleasure over the
corpses that lay on the deck.</p>

<p>Arrived at Hispaniola he heard from the buccaneers
that they could do little in the way of planting because
of the continual attacks on their settlements. "Why
then," said Montbar, roughly, "do you tamely submit
to such insults?" "We do not!" they answered;
"the Spaniards have experienced what kind of men
we are, and therefore take advantage of the time when
we go hunting. But we are going to join with some
of our companions, who have been even worse treated
than ourselves, and then we shall have hot work."
"If such be the case let me lead you," said Montbar,
"not as a commander, but first in the post of
danger."</p>

<p>They were quite willing to have him as leader, and
the very same day he went at the head of a party to
find the enemy. Meeting a small body of Spaniards
he rushed upon them with such fury that hardly one
escaped, and this at once justified them in their choice.
He afterwards became such a terror all over the West
Indies as to be known as "the Exterminator."</p>

<p>Lolonois was another ruffian, who commenced his
career by taking a Spanish frigate with only two
canoes and twenty-two men. This vessel had sailed
from Havana especially to put down the buccaneers,
and had on board a negro executioner who was
engaged to hang the prisoners. Hearing this from
the negro, Lolonois ordered all the Spaniards to be
brought before him, and going down the line, he
struck off one head after another, licking his sword
after each blow. He afterwards went to Port au<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span>
Prince, where four vessels were fitting out for his
capture. These he took and threw all their crews
into the sea, except one man, whom he sent to the
Governor of Havana with the news, and a warning
that he would treat the Governor himself in the same
way if he had the opportunity.</p>

<p>After this he ran the best prizes aground and sailed
for Tortuga in the frigate, where he joined Michael
de Basco. With four hundred and forty men this
worthy pair sailed for the Main, where they plundered
the coast of Venezuela, set fire to Gibraltar, and held
Maracaybo for ransom. They carried off all the
crosses, pictures, plate, ornaments, and even bells
from the churches, with the intention of using them
in a great cathedral to be erected on Tortuga.</p>

<p>Although the buccaneers were mostly French they
were not confined to that nationality. The famous
or notorious Captain Morgan was a Welshman, who
began his career in the West Indies as a bond-servant.
One of his greatest exploits was the capture
of Porto Bello, which had taken the place of Nombre
de Dios after that town had been burnt by Drake.
He even out-did Drake and every other adventurer
before him by storming Panama, from whence he
obtained a very rich booty. Here he fell in love with
a Spanish lady, who, however, threatened to stab herself
rather than yield to his embraces. Even when
he tried the gentlest measures which such a ruffian
could think of, she still refused to yield, so that he
had ultimately to comply with the wishes of his companions
and leave her. Panama was burnt, the
retreat across the isthmus safely performed without<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span>
any serious misadventure, and Morgan sailed away
to Jamaica with the lion's share of the plunder.</p>

<p>In this great expedition the buccaneers of all
nations united to form a combination hitherto unknown.
But, as this was the first time that such a
thing had occurred, so also was it the last. As for
Morgan his career was ended; his comrades charged
him with treachery and made it unsafe for him to
come within their reach. He therefore settled down
in Jamaica, made himself right with the authorities
there and in England, was knighted by King Charles
the Second, and professed now to have a great dislike
to piracy. On two occasions Sir Henry Morgan
became acting Governor of Jamaica, and in that
capacity did his best to discountenance buccaneering.</p>

<p>In 1683 a great expedition was organised at
Tortuga by Van Horn, a Fleming, noted for his
courage and ferocity. In the heat of an engagement
he would pace the deck, and urge his men to fight by
shooting any one who even flinched from a ball. He
thus made himself a terror to cowards and the admiration
of the brave; like Montbar, gaining the respect
and confidence of his followers. Like the French
leader also, he was careless about his own share of
the booty, leaving everything to his men, which
naturally increased his popularity. With twelve
hundred men in six vessels he sailed for Vera Cruz,
and surprised the town at night. Most of the inhabitants
took refuge in the churches, and the buccaneers
posted sentries with barrels of gunpowder in
front of each, giving orders to blow up the buildings
on the least sign of an attempt to escape. After<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>
plundering the houses they demanded about half a
million pounds from the prisoners as ransom for
their lives and liberties. This was not obtained, however,
for while waiting the collection a large body of
troops was seen approaching from the interior, and a
fleet of seventeen vessels came into the harbour from
Spain. Yet the buccaneers were determined to get
something towards the ransom, and to this end seized
fifteen hundred slaves, with which they quietly sailed
away in defiance of the enemy, promising to call
again for the balance of the ransom. The Spanish
fleet let them pass without firing a single gun, and
they went back to Tortuga, there to spend a year in
rioting and carousing.</p>

<p>When their money was all spent they resolved to
try the most arduous of adventures, a raid on the
ports of the Great South Sea. And it happened
curiously that at that very time the English pirates
were getting ready for a similar venture, without
either having knowledge of that of the other party.
About four thousand men were engaged, some going
by way of the Straits of Magellan and others across
the isthmus. The English and French met, and at
first agreed to work together, but for want of one
leader who could command and be respected by both
parties, the expedition proved almost a failure. Possibly
also the French had not forgotten Morgan's
treachery, and this caused distrust and prevented
any cordial feeling.</p>

<p>Those who travelled across the isthmus stole boats
on the other side, and with them captured larger
vessels, until this little frequented sea became almost<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>
as dangerous to Spanish ships as the Caribbean.
Most of the smaller ports were surprised, and even
Guayaquil was captured, mainly because they were not
provided with forts and other defences. In fact, the
people were so unacquainted with war and so wrapped
up by the supposed security of their position, that
even when the alarm was given little could be done.
Silver became so common that nothing but gold,
pearls, and precious stones would satisfy the spoilers,
yet with all their easy conquests they got little real
benefit. Some died of sickness, and many from the
results of drunkenness and debauchery. The storms
of Cape Horn and the Straits wrecked several vessels,
and drowned both spoil and spoilers, while those who
attempted to return by land were equally unfortunate.
They died in the bush of fever and dysentery, or were
cut off by ambuscades of the enemy, often losing their
booty if they escaped with their lives.</p>

<p>What a journey across the isthmus really meant at
that time is well exemplified in the case of Lionel
Wafer. In 1681 he was a surgeon on board an
English vessel under Captain Sharp, one of those
privateers who went cruising in the South Sea.
After spending some time there the party divided,
one portion deciding to cross overland, and the other
to continue the cruise.</p>

<p>Wafer went with those who intended crossing the
isthmus, the whole numbering forty-four white men
and three Indians. They marched from the Pacific
shore one afternoon, and towards night arrived at the
foot of a hill, where they put up several rough sheds.
Rain had already begun to fall&mdash;such rain as is only<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span>
known in the tropics&mdash;and they had to crouch under
these imperfect shelters until midnight, with streams
of water running down their backs and rivulets flowing
about their feet. By morning they felt less discomfort
and were glad to warm their chilled limbs by
walking up the hill. Here they came upon an Indian
path which led to a village, where they were gratified
with food and a drink made of Indian corn. After
resting awhile they agreed with one of the Indians to
guide them on the next day's journey, and that night
rested in the village.</p>

<p>Next morning they went on again, and at mid-day
arrived at an Indian hut, the owner of which was so
morose and surly that at first he refused to have
anything to do with them. After they had spoken
kindly and asked him to guide them on their journey,
he roughly answered that he was prepared to lead
them to the Spanish settlements. This of course
would never do, and they offered him beads, money,
axes, and knives to gain his good-will, but all without
effect, until a sky-blue petticoat was dangled before
the eyes of his wife. This turned the scale, for her
persuasions being added to theirs, he at last consented
to procure a guide, excusing himself from the task on
the plea that he was lame from a cut. He wished to
detain them with him for the day, as it still rained,
but they were in so great a dread of being discovered
by the enemy that, having obtained the guide, they
marched three miles farther before stopping for the
night.</p>

<p>On the fourth morning the weather was fairer, and
they travelled for twelve miles over hills and through<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>
slushy morasses, crossing one river after another to
the number of about thirty. Rain poured down
again in the afternoon and during the greater part of
the night, so that they had much ado to keep their
fires from going out. What with the discomforts of
their situation, the want of proper food, and the
chilliness preceding intermittent fever, they even forgot
for the time their fears of the Spaniards. However,
as the sun rose they went on again until, after
travelling seven miles through the forest, they reached
the hut of a Spanish Indian, who supplied them
with yams, sweet potatoes, and plantains, but no meat
except the flesh of two monkeys, which they gave to
the weak and sickly.</p>

<p>While resting here Wafer met with an accident.
One of the company, in drying some gunpowder on a
silver plate, carelessly placed it near the fire where he
was sitting, with the result that it exploded and tore
the skin and flesh from one of his thighs, rendering
him almost helpless. He had a few medicines in his
knapsack and dressed the wound as well as he could
under the circumstances, but rest and proper food
were needed, and these he could not have. The
consequence was that, after struggling along with the
others until he sank down exhausted and suffering
from excruciating torture, he was left behind with
two sick men at an Indian village, where they
were presently joined by two others who had broken
down.</p>

<p>Observing the condition of Wafer's wound, the
Indians treated it with a poultice of chewed herbs
on a plantain leaf, and in twenty days it was healed.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>
Nevertheless, although they did him this kindness,
they were not over civil, but on the contrary treated
the five white men with contempt, throwing them
their refuse provisions as if they were dogs. One
young Indian proved kinder, and got them some ripe
bananas now and then, but the others were annoyed
because the main body had compelled some inhabitants
of the village to go with them as guides against
their will. The weather was then so bad that even
the Indians considered travelling almost impossible,
and this annoyed them all the more, especially when
the guides did not return.</p>

<p>Day after day passed, and the Indians becoming
more incensed at the non-arrival of their people,
began to think of avenging themselves on Wafer
and his comrades. Thinking that the guides had
been murdered, they determined to burn them to
death, and even went so far as to erect a great pile
of wood for the purpose. But almost at the last
moment their chief interposed, and offered to send
away the Englishmen in charge of two guides.</p>

<p>Accordingly they set out, their only food supply a
little dry Indian corn, and their only resting-place at
night the wet ground, still exposed to drenching rains
which fell every day. The third night they went to
sleep on a low mound, and in the morning woke to
find it a little island with water extending as far as
their eyes could reach. To add to their trouble, the
Indian guides had disappeared, leaving them to
remain here without shelter and almost starved for
three days. Then the waters fell and they commenced
the weary work of steering to the north by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span>
means of a pocket compass&mdash;a task the difficulty of
which can only be appreciated by one who has attempted
it.</p>

<p>However, they soon reached the bank of a deep
river, the stream of which was rushing along like a
mill race. Here a lately-felled tree lying across
showed them where their comrades had passed, and
they commenced to climb over astride as the trunk
was so slippery. One of the party was so weak and
so overburdened by four hundred pieces of eight
(silver dollars) that he fell, and was immediately
carried down the stream out of sight.</p>

<p>Giving him up as lost, the four survivors went
wandering about, looking for the footprints of their
comrades, but could find no trace of them, probably
on account of the floods. Fearing a mistake, they
again crossed the river and recommenced the search
on the other side, where they were surprised to come
upon their lost companion sitting on the bank,
which he had managed to gain by grasping the
bough of a tree as he was borne swiftly past. Finding
no signs of a trail, they again went on working with
the compass as before. On the fifth day they had
nothing to eat but a few wild berries, and the day
following arrived at another great river where not
even a tree lay across to give them a passage. They
had only their long knives, but with them they set to
work and cut down bamboos, with which rafts were
made by binding the sticks with bush-ropes. They
had just finished and were resting awhile, when a
terrible storm came on. The rain fell as if from a cascade,
thunder rolled and lightning flashed, accompanied<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>
by a sulphurous odour which almost choked them.
There was no shelter but the trees of the forest, and
the fire was put out at once, leaving these half-starved
wretches to shiver and shake with ague all through
the afternoon and up to midnight.</p>

<p>Then the waters began to rise, and in the darkness&mdash;that
total absence of light under the canopy of
foliage, where two men sitting together only know of
each other's presence by feeling, for the din of the
elements is absolutely deafening&mdash;Wafer began to
appreciate the fact that the swirl of the flood had
reached his feet. With no possibility of communicating
with the others, he felt his way to a hollow
silk-cotton tree, into which he crawled, and climbed
upon a heap of debris that stood in the centre. Here
he fell asleep from sheer exhaustion, or more probably,
perhaps, fainted. When he awoke he said it was
impossible for words to paint the terrors that overwhelmed
his mind. The water reached to his knees,
notwithstanding that the mound was five feet above
the ground level, and he was afraid it would reach
still higher. However, as the sun rose the flood went
down, and presently he was glad to crawl out and
stretch his chilled limbs. But he was all alone, and
at first thought his comrades had been drowned.
He shouted, but no answer came back, except the
echo of his own voice. Giving way to despair, he
threw himself on the buttress of a tree, from which
condition he was roused by the appearance of first
one and then another, until the little company was
again complete. They also had found similar refuges
and now came to look after their rafts.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span></p>

<p>But the bundles of canes had become water-logged
and useless, so they resolved to retrace their steps if
possible to the Indian village. On their way they
unfortunately missed shooting a deer which lay beside
the path, and had nothing to eat but macaw berries
and the pith of a tree. Seeing the track of a wild
hog they followed that, and ultimately came upon
two provision fields. But even with this prospect of
food they were so much depressed that, although
perishing with hunger, they were afraid to venture
near the Indian huts, and lingered about for some
time. However, at last Wafer summoned enough
courage to go into one of them, when almost immediately
he was so affected by the close atmosphere
and the odour of some meat cooking over the fire,
that he fainted.</p>

<p>The kindly Indians assisted in his recovery, and
gave him something to eat, when he was pleasantly
surprised to find there the very same guides on whose
account he and his comrades had been nearly roasted
to death. On telling them where the others were,
the Indians went out and brought back three, but
had to carry food to the fourth before he could gain
enough strength to walk the short distance. Here
they were treated with the greatest humanity and
tenderness, and after resting a week they again
started with four guides, to reach the same river that
had before checked their progress, in one day. Here,
finding a canoe, they proceeded up stream until,
arriving at the dwelling of the chief who had saved
them from torture, they were told it was impossible to
go on in such weather.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span></p>

<p>Wafer and his companions stopped here for several
months&mdash;in fact the chief wished to retain them altogether.
As a physician, Wafer was respected and
loved; but at last, wishing to depart, by repeated
importunities and the promise to come back with
some good hunting-dogs, and then to marry the
chief's daughter, he was at last furnished with guides.
Over high mountains, along the edges of precipices,
and through dense forests they toiled until they came
to a river flowing north, on which they embarked, and
reached the shores of the Gulf of Darien two days
later. Here they were overjoyed to find an English
vessel, the crew of which gave them a hearty welcome,
making up to some extent for their long and perilous
journey.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span></p>




<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h3><a name="VI" id="VI"></a>VI</h3>

<h3>WAR IN THE YOUNG COLONIES</h3>


<p>At the beginning of the seventeenth century Spain
was nominally at peace with the other great powers,
except the Netherlands, which had not yet come to
the front. By the treaty of 1604 Queen Elizabeth
made up the English quarrel, and in 1609 even
Holland was conceded a truce for nine years.</p>

<p>Thus amity was supposed to exist, and the raids
of licensed privateers came to an end. Yet there
was "no peace beyond the line." Not to mention
corsairs and pirates, the English were as determined
on their part to get a share of America as were
the Spaniards to keep them out if possible. The
founders of Virginia were resolute to lose their lives
rather than abandon so noble a colony. Even King
James dared not give it up, although in 1612 and the
following year there was a hot contention with the
Spanish Secretary of State on the matter. Spain was
discontented that the colony should have the royal
sanction, and at the same time demanded its removal,
accompanying this with a threat to drive out the
settlers, as well as those in the Bermudas. But
James could not admit the Papal Bull, and as the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span>
English were firm, the claimants of the whole of
America contented themselves with protests.</p>

<p>In the West Indies, however, Spain went farther.
Here she had undoubtedly the right by discovery,
although not by actual possession, save in the Greater
Antilles. The weak English king who succeeded the
strong-minded Tudor princess was not prepared to
contest the Spanish supremacy here, but simply
answered the complaints against English adventurers
by disclaiming all responsibility. Neither England
nor France had officially taken the ground that only
actual possession created territorial rights, but many
Englishmen were clamouring loudly to that effect.
We have already noticed in another chapter James's
policy, or want of policy, and the change which took
place a few weeks after his death&mdash;we have now to
deal with the results of that alteration.</p>

<p>In 1621 hostilities were renewed between Spain
and the Netherlands, but even during the nominal
truce the Dutch invaded Margarita, and demolished
the fort, but without, however, taking actual possession.
When the truce was over hostilities were
recommenced with a vigour that rather astonished
Spain, for in the interval the Netherlands had progressed
wonderfully. In 1625, the year of his
accession, Charles the First entered into a treaty,
offensive and defensive, with the United Provinces,
which of course brought England into collision with
Spain, and open war began again in the West Indies.
In 1629 a fleet of thirty-five vessels under Don
Frederic de Toledo conquered the island of St.
Christopher's and removed most of the English<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span>
settlers, only a few of whom managed to escape
to the mountains, while the French got off in two
of their vessels. The French refugees suffered a
great deal from the want of preparation for their
hurried flight, and arrived at the island of St.
Martin's perishing with hunger and thirst. Here
they dug holes in the sand and obtained a supply
of brackish water, which was so unwholesome that
some died from drinking it in excessive quantities.
After the Spaniards left they returned to St. Christopher's
to find a few English, who, annoyed at their
desertion, wanted to keep the island to themselves,
but the French were too numerous and soon took
possession of their old quarters.</p>

<p>In 1632 the Dutch took possession of Tobago, and
two years later of Cura&ccedil;ao, which latter island soon
became their great stronghold in the West Indies,
and the principal dep&ocirc;t for the contraband traffic
with Venezuela. At that time no Spanish vessels
went to this part of the Main, but finding that the
trade was of some importance to the Dutch, the
authorities now granted licenses to drive their rivals
out of the market. But the Spanish traders could
not compete with the Hollanders, and this so annoyed
the authorities that they determined to extinguish
smuggling at any cost. This they were unable to do
by catching the delinquents, but they could punish
those who dealt with them. The result was the
infliction of heavy fines and confiscation, with disgraceful
punishments, from which many were ruined.
Yet with all that the trade was so lucrative to both
parties that neither was inclined to give it up&mdash;the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>
Dutch took care of themselves, while cheap commodities
could generally command a market, whatever
the risk. The fact was the mother country
imposed so many restrictions, and exacted such
heavy fees for licenses, that the cost of an article
was doubled or trebled as compared with that of
the Hollander.</p>

<p>In 1627 a French Association was incorporated
under the title of "The Company of the Islands of
America." They appointed the Sieurs d'Enambuc
and du Rossy to settle the islands of St. Christopher's
and Barbados as well as others situated at the
"entrance of Peru." Nothing was done at Barbados,
as the English were already in possession, but
in 1634 examinations of Dominica, Martinique, and
Guadeloupe were made, which ended in the two
latter islands becoming French colonies in 1635.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, in November, 1630, a treaty was signed
at Madrid between England and Spain, after which
peace was supposed to again prevail. Nothing was
said about the West Indies, probably because Spain
knew that further protests were useless. Hardly had
this been settled before, in 1635, France declared war
against the common foe, and her corsairs could now
legally carry on their work of pillage and destruction.
In 1638 the island of St. Martin's, which had
been partly occupied by French and Dutch, was
captured by Spaniards, who expelled the inhabitants
and replaced them by a strong garrison. In the same
year Colonel Jackson, with a force from the English
islands, captured Santiago de la Vega in Jamaica,
and plundered it of everything valuable, after which,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span>
in retaliation, the island of New Providence, one of
the Bahamas, was captured by Spain. Neither place
was, however, occupied by the captors, who only did
as much damage as they could and then left.</p>

<p>Almost from the commencement of their settlements
the French had quarrelled among themselves,
but until the struggle which ended in the execution of
Charles the First, there had been few difficulties in
the English islands. The Barbadians, it is true,
protested against the claim of the Earl of Carlisle, in
which they were joined by the people of St. Kitt's,
but this was settled without disturbance. Now, however,
the effects of "the great rebellion" began to be
felt across the seas, and disaffection towards the Parliament,
and loyalty to the king, were promoted by
a number of Royalists who had fled from the disturbance
in the mother country.</p>

<p>In 1650 the West Indies were virtually in revolt
against the Parliament, and on the 10th of September
an embargo was declared in England against vessels
bound for the Caribbee Islands, Bermuda, and
Virginia. This was followed on the 27th by an Act
prohibiting all commerce with these colonies because
of their rebellion against the Commonwealth. Virginia
and the Bermudas had declared for King Charles
the Second after the execution of his father, and sent
emissaries to Barbados for the purpose of inciting
them to join in the revolt.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span></p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 551px;">
<img src="images/p118.jpg" width="551" height="281" alt="ST. KITT&#39;S." title="" />
<span class="caption">ST. KITT&#39;S.<br />
(<i>From Andrews&#39; &quot;West Indies.&quot;</i>)</span>
</div>
<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span></p>

<p>At the commencement of that year Barbados
was in a state of ferment, waiting only for the spark
which would plunge the island into civil war. Even
at this early period the inhabitants of Little England,
as it is called, were very loyal, and had something of
the conceit which has characterised them ever since.
True, there were "Roundheads" on the island, but
hitherto party differences had been put in the background&mdash;now
they were brought into prominence.
When the agent of the Bermudians asked that
Barbados should declare for the king, the majority
were in favour of the project, but, as a matter of
course, the others, who were of considerable importance,
refused. At first the Royalists went so far as
to advocate the banishment of their opponents, but
were unable to find any reasonable excuse for such a
high-handed proceeding. However they brought in
an Act to imprison all who went to a conventicle, or
who seduced others from repairing to the Public
Congregation or from receiving the Holy Sacrament.
For a second offence the penalty was forfeiture of all
lands, goods, chattels, and debts by those whom they
called "the enemy to the peace of the island."</p>

<p>This was to have been published on April 15, 1650,
and kept secret until proclaimed, to prevent trouble.
But it appears that Colonel Codrington, a member of
the Assembly, divulged it in his cups, for which he
was fined twenty thousand pounds of sugar, and
banished from the island. A deputation of Parliamentarians
then waited upon the Governor, to enter
their protest against the new law, and were asked
to leave the matter in his hands, as he had to deal
with "violent spirits." Finally, the proclamation was
delayed, on the ground that there were many errors
in the copy, and the two parties stood at bay.</p>

<p>On the 23rd of April the Roundheads petitioned<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span>
the Governor to issue his writ for a new Assembly,
on the ground that the present body had sat for its
full term. This he agreed to do, and thus alienated
the Cavaliers, who said he was a most emphatic
Roundhead and enemy to the king. Handbills and
posters now began to be circulated calling attention
to the "damnable designe" of the Independents, of
which, they said, Colonel Drax, "that devout zealot
(of the deeds of the Devil, and the cause of that seven-headed
Dragon at Westminster), is the Agent." One
of the writers declared that he should think his best
rest but disquiet until he had sheathed his sword in
the bowels of the same obnoxious personage.</p>

<p>The Cavaliers were still adding to their numbers
by the arrival of more refugees, while Colonel Drax
and his friends fell into the background. The new-comers
had mostly been ruined by the civil war, and
were naturally desirous of doing something to retrieve
their fortunes; it followed, therefore, that anything
that led to the confiscation of the estates of the
obnoxious party would be to their advantage. The
Cavaliers set to work to rouse the island by going
about on horseback, fully armed, everywhere challenging
those they met to drink the health of Charles
the Second and confusion to the Independent dogs.
This, with the rumours of a Roundhead plot and the
various manifestoes, induced the Governor to issue a
proclamation declaring that in future if any persons
spread such scandalous papers they would be proceeded
against as enemies of the public peace, at the
same time forbidding any one to take up arms in a
hostile manner.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span></p>

<p>This produced little effect, for the leader of one of
the roving bands, Colonel Shelley, refused to disband.
On this the Governor issued commissions to raise a
militia for the preservation of order, but by the time
that a hundred men had been collected an alarm
went forth that the Cavaliers were advancing on
Bridgetown. This was the 1st of May, and by that
time the Cavaliers were prepared to act. Their
leader was Colonel Walrond, who, on being sent for
by the Governor, and saying they had no evil intention,
was allowed to depart. However, they took
possession of the town, and then came forward with
the demand that all Independents and other disturbers
of the peace should be at once disarmed. To
this the Governor agreed, provided the well-affected
should vouch for their safety. They also stipulated
that the magazine on the bridge should be put under
their protection, that those who obstructed the peace
and laboured to ruin the loyal colonists should be
punished, that twenty persons whose names they
gave should be forthwith arrested, and that the
Governor should speedily call together the Assembly
to try them; meanwhile they refused to disperse until
these things were done. The Governor could do
nothing but accede to these demands, but even then
there was something more which they considered the
climax&mdash;"that our lawful soveraigne Charles the
Second be instantly in a solemn manner proclaimed
king."</p>

<p>This staggered the Governor, who said it was a
matter for the General Assembly, in which opinion
he got them at last to agree. However, they were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span>
not yet content, but insisted that at the dissolution
of the present Assembly only such men as were
known to be well-affected to His Majesty and conformers
to the Church of England should be chosen
and admitted. After that they must be promised an
"Act of oblivion" for the lawful taking up of arms,
safe-conduct for all officers on legislative business,
and, finally, that the Governor must come to them
without the companionship of any disaffected person
and put himself under their care.</p>

<p>All this was perforce agreed to, and on the 3rd of
May Charles the Second was declared king of
England, &amp;c., as well as of Barbados, and at the
same time the Book of Common Prayer was proclaimed
to be the only pattern of true worship.</p>

<p>Behind all this was a fact which no one mentioned,
but which probably everybody knew&mdash;on the 29th of
April Lord Willoughby had arrived in the harbour,
bearing a commission as Governor of the Caribbee
Islands, from the fugitive King Charles and the Earl
of Carlisle. No doubt the whole demonstration was
got up on his account, the Cavaliers wanting to have
the king proclaimed first, so that there should be no
difficulty about the commission. Everything was
ready now, and nothing was heard but uproarious
drinking of His Majesty's health, the Cavaliers going
from house to house and compelling others to follow
their example. As for Lord Willoughby, he left the
Governor to carry out the stipulated measures, while
he went to look after the other islands under his
jurisdiction.</p>

<p>Now the Royalists of Barbados began to persecute<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span>
the leaders of the obnoxious party, beginning with
the twenty they had named to the Governor. Some,
seeing their danger, had got off to England, but
those who remained were sentenced to pay a million
pounds of sugar and to be banished. Then nearly a
hundred others were indicted and ordered to leave
before the 2nd of July, while all their commissions
of the peace or in the militia were cancelled. Wives
were banished with their husbands, and unless the
estate-owners humbly submitted, paid their fines, and
appointed well-affected persons as attorneys, their
properties were confiscated. Yet with all that, when
an attempt was made to get to the bottom of the
rumoured plot, no trace of it could be found. Some
of the more moderate of the Royalists even began to
doubt whether they were not going too far, but they
salved their consciences by saying that everything
was done in the interest of the king.</p>

<p>When the news arrived in England it created a
great stir. In November some merchants and planters
interested in the island asked for permission to make
reprisals on their own account. They wanted licenses
to trade there with five or six able ships, and letters
of marque to use in case of obstruction, or a refusal to
comply with certain demands. These demands were
to repeal all Acts dishonourable to the Commonwealth,
to renounce obedience to Charles Stuart, to acknowledge
the supreme authority of the Parliament, to
banish certain "active incendiaries in the late troubles,"
and, finally, to recall those who had suffered, so that
they might enjoy the same rights as the other inhabitants.
A further petition asked for the removal of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span>
Lord Willoughby in favour of Edward Winslow, a
man of approved fidelity to the Commonwealth.</p>

<p>The Parliamentary Government did not adopt
these proposals, as they intended to reduce the
island in a regular manner. In January, 1651, a
fleet was made ready for this purpose, but being
employed in the reduction of the Scilly Islands, it
could not be got ready for the West Indies until June
following.</p>

<p>Meanwhile Lord Willoughby had returned, and
was doing his best to conciliate the Barbadians of
both parties. He did not altogether approve of what
had been done, but repealed the Acts of sequestration,
thus putting the inhabitants in good spirits for
the expected invasion. It was rumoured that Prince
Rupert was coming out from Marseilles, and this
made things appear brighter, encouraging them to
put their forts in order.</p>

<p>The English fleet did not actually leave Plymouth
until the 5th of August. It was under the command
of Sir George Ayscue, who took six or seven merchant
vessels under convoy, probably those referred
to in the petition. He reached Barbados on the 15th
of October, when as yet no news had been heard of
Prince Rupert; in fact, that great seaman had been
dissuaded from crossing the Atlantic. Fourteen
Dutch vessels were captured in Carlisle Bay, the
sudden arrival of the fleet preventing their escape.</p>

<p>Willoughby had some six thousand foot and four
hundred horse stationed at different parts of the
island, and was determined to hold it for the king,
looking forward daily to see Prince Rupert arrive<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span>.
He had heard from a Dutch vessel that the king
was marching on London with an army of Scots:
this also tended to make his resistance all the more
stubborn. From a few Roundheads, who managed
to come off in the night, Ayscue learnt this, but he
was as equally determined to subdue the island as
Willoughby was to defend it.</p>

<p>On being called upon to surrender the island for
the use of the Parliament of England, the Governor
replied that he acknowledged no supremacy over
Englishmen save the king and those having commissions
from him, directing the letter to the admiral
on board His Majesty's ship the <i>Rainbow</i>. He also
said that he had expected some overtures of reparation
for the hostile acts upon the ships in the bay.
After this defiance nothing was left but to prepare
first for a strict blockade, and then to effect a landing.
The strength on shore was too great for any open
attack, and Ayscue managed to send a proclamation
addressed to the freeholders and inhabitants, urging
them to accept in time his offers of peace and mercy.
In answer to this the Assembly met and passed a
declaration to "sticke to" Lord Willoughby and
defend the island to the utmost.</p>

<p>In England a great deal of interest was felt in the
struggle, and the demand for news of the expedition
created a supply giving circumstantial accounts of
what had <i>not</i> taken place. One of them was headed,
"Bloody news from the Barbados, being a true relation
of a great and terrible fight between the Parliament's
Navie, commanded by Sir George Ayscue, and
the King of Scots' Forces under the command of the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>
Lord Willoughby; with the particulars of the fight,
the storming of the Island, the manner how the
Parliament's Forces were repulsed and beaten off
from Carlisle Bay and the Block House, and the
number killed and wounded." And all this before
any attempt had been made beyond the blockade!</p>

<p>On the receipt of the news of the battle of Worcester,
Ayscue sent another flag of truce to give Willoughby
the information, saying that he did so as a friend
rather than as an enemy. He was acting in that
quality, by stating the true condition of England, and
leaving him and his friends to judge of the necessity
for due obedience to the State of England; otherwise
they would be swallowed up in the destruction so
shortly and inevitably coming upon them.</p>

<p>In reply, Willoughby said he had never served his
king so much in expectation of prosperity as in consideration
of duty, and that he would not be the
means of increasing the sad affliction of His Majesty
by giving up that island. To this Ayscue rejoined,
that if there were such a person as the king,
Willoughby's retention of that place signified nothing
to his advantage, and therefore the surrender could
be small grief to him. He well knew the impossibility
of the island subsisting without the patronage of
England, and the admiral's great desire was to save
it from ruin and destruction.</p>

<p>As Willoughby refused to surrender, Ayscue
determined to attack the Hole or James's Town,
which he did on the 2nd of November, beating off
its defenders, taking thirty prisoners, and spiking the
four guns of the fort. On the 1st of December the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span>
fleet which had been sent to reduce Virginia arrived,
and on the temporary addition of this force, Ayscue
again sent to Willoughby, as he stated, for the last
time. In reply he was told that the Assembly would
consider the matter in two or three days, but this
reply did not please the admiral, so he tried to hurry
up the decision by landing at Speight's Town. Against
the stubborn opposition of twelve hundred men he
stormed and took the fort, which he held for two
days, ultimately retiring, however, after burning the
houses, demolishing the fortifications, and throwing
the guns into the sea.</p>

<p>After that the correspondence was continued,
Ayscue entreating Willoughby to spare the good
people of the island the horrors of war. To this the
Governor replied, that they only took up arms in
their own defence; the guilt of the blood and ruin
would be at the doors of those who brought force to
bear. Then the Virginia fleet sailed for its destination,
and Ayscue recommenced hostilities by again
occupying Speight's Town.</p>

<p>By this time, however, there was a party on the
island in favour of peace, and they began to bestir
themselves, thus making the Royalists more determined.
They put forth a proclamation inviting
the inhabitants to endure the troubles of war for a
season, rather than by base submission to let the
deceitful enemy make them slaves for ever. But the
Roundheads now began to assemble under Colonel
Modiford at his house, to the number of six hundred
men, who declared for the Parliament, and threatened
to bring Willoughby to reason, the admiral going so<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span>
far as to visit them surreptitiously to read his commission.
Hearing of this, Willoughby got two
thousand four hundred men together and appeared
near the house, but did not venture to attack it, as by
this time he had become somewhat disheartened.</p>

<p>This brought things to a crisis, and on the 10th of
January arrangements were made for a commission
from both sides to make arrangements for terms.
After a great deal of hesitation on the part of the
admiral, the capitulation was at last signed, the
articles being exceedingly favourable both to the
inhabitants and Lord Willoughby. So lenient were
they that Ayscue had to excuse himself to the home
authorities for fear that he might have been misunderstood.
They were, in short, liberty of conscience,
continuation of the old government, and of the old
Courts of Justice, no taxation without consent of
the Assembly, no confiscations, all suits to be decided
on the island, no acts of indemnity, no oaths against
their consciences, a temporary cessation of all civil
suits, and finally that Lord Willoughby should retain
all his private property in the islands as well as in
Surinam, with full liberty to go to England. These
articles were signed on the 11th of January, 1652, and
the "storm in a teapot" came to an end, the Barbadians
proudly boasting that they had been able to
defy the mighty power of the Commonwealth. Most of
the leaders were banished from the island, some going
to Surinam, where a colony had been established by
Lord Willoughby soon after his arrival in Barbados.
Among them was Major Byam, who became Governor,
and virtually held the settlement for the king until he<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span>
came to his own again. This is all the more curious
because Cromwell knew the circumstances, yet made
no effort to bring the people under submission. At
first the settlers established a little Commonwealth of
their own, with Major Byam as president, but when
his term had expired, instead of giving place to another
he declared he had a commission as Governor from
the king, although he refused to show the document
to any one. With enough Royalists to back him, he
thus held office until the Restoration, notwithstanding
the complaints of the Parliamentary faction and their
requests to the home authorities for redress.</p>

<p>Meanwhile, early in 1652 England went to war
with the Dutch, and this seriously interfered with the
trade of that nationality in the West Indies. The
Navigation Act was another blow to them, although
it could not yet be enforced altogether. Cromwell
made himself respected in such a manner that peace
with Holland was restored in April, 1654, thus leaving
him free to carry out his designs against the old
enemy&mdash;Spain.</p>

<p>Since Queen Elizabeth's time the English Governments
had done little in the way of worrying the
Spaniards, although pirates had been busy almost
without intermission. Now, however, Cromwell was
at liberty, and he began to see that they wanted a little
correction to prevent their having too much of their
own way in America. The Spanish ambassador
was cringing enough when he saw what a powerful
leader had arisen, and did his best to avert the impending
storm. It is even stated that he assured the
Protector of his master's friendship, and declared that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span>
if he took the Crown of England Spain would be first
in her approval. Cromwell was not to be mollified
by soft speeches; he had got peace at home, and was
determined to have it across the seas as well. He
was quite willing to arrange for a treaty, but it must
be on his own terms, not at the dictation of Spain.
A commission was appointed to meet the ambassador
and discuss the grounds of the agreement, and they
began at once with the West Indies. A long list of
depredations was produced for which the English
demanded satisfaction before going farther. The
English had been treated as enemies wherever the
Spaniards met them in the West Indies, even when
going to and from their own plantations, notwithstanding
the former treaty, and the Commission
insisted on a proper indemnity. The English must
be free to trade everywhere&mdash;in fact the old claim of
Spain to the whole of America must be finally
abandoned.</p>

<p>The Spanish ambassador replied that the inquisition
and trade to the West Indies were his master's
two eyes, and that nothing different from the practice
of former times could be permitted. On hearing this
Cromwell, seeing that neither indemnity for the past
nor promises of amendment in the future could be
obtained, prepared for war, and commenced by fitting
out an expedition to conquer Hispaniola.</p>

<p>In December, 1654, we find the first mention of a
special service under the command of Generals Penn
and Venables, and early in the following year the
fleet sailed for Barbados. With five thousand men
from England, and as many from the West Indies,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span>
the expedition arrived near St. Domingo on the 13th
of April, 1655, frightening the inhabitants so much
that they fled to the woods on its approach. However,
the affair was so badly managed that no benefit
accrued from following the example of Drake, which
appears to have been the object of the leaders. Like
the great Elizabethan hero, they landed at a distance
from the town with the intention of marching along
the shore, but instead of landing ten miles off they
went as far as thirty. For four days the troops
wandered through the mangrove bushes, without
guides, and even without provisions, thus giving the
runaway Spaniards time to rally from their fright and
come out after them. Weary, entangled in the
swamps, and utterly unfit to cope with an enemy,
the English became an easy prey; the slaughter was
considerable, and it was even stated that those killed
were mostly shot in the back while trying to escape.</p>

<p>Unwilling to attempt anything further in Hispaniola,
Penn and Venables took off the dispirited remnant
and sailed for Jamaica, hoping to do something there
to prevent failure altogether. Not that there were
any laurels to be gained in that direction, for the
inhabitants only numbered three thousand, and half
of these were negro slaves. A few shots were fired,
and then the inhabitants took to flight, leaving the
English in possession of the island. A capitulation
was agreed upon with the old Spanish Governor, who
was brought in a hammock to sign it, but many of
the people took to the woods with their slaves, and
refused to be bound by the articles. A body of two
thousand men was then sent to scour the interior<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span>
and bring them back, but they could find nothing
save great herds of wild cattle. Afterwards, in pure
wantonness, the churches and religious buildings were
demolished, the cattle killed or driven far away, and
the provision grounds devastated, with the result that
the invaders were soon starving. In less than a
month two thousand were sick, many had died, and
the remainder had become mutinous. Altogether
the whole affair was so badly managed that Cromwell
became almost mad at the news, and sent both commanders
to the Tower on their return.</p>

<p>However, Jamaica was captured, and for the first
time in the history of the West Indies a Spanish
possession went into the hands of another nation.
Some thought the island of no importance as compared
with Hispaniola&mdash;it was certainly of little value
to the Spaniards. However, a few English people
foresaw something of its future importance, and did
their best to develop the island. In October Cromwell
issued a proclamation offering certain advantages
to settlers from the other islands, or from England, so
that it might be occupied as soon as possible. It
stated that by the providence of God Jamaica had
come into the possession of the State, and that they
were satisfied of its fertility and commodiousness for
trade; it had therefore been resolved to plant it. To
this end it was made known to the people of the
English islands and colonies the encouragements
offered to those who removed their habitations there
within two years from the 29th of September, 1656.
Twenty acres of land would be granted to every adult,
and ten for each child, they would have freedom to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span>
hunt wild cattle and horses, be given the privilege of
mining except for gold and silver, and freedom from
taxes for three years.</p>

<p>It resulted from this that many planters from
Barbados and St. Kitt's went over, and in a very
few years Jamaica was more prosperous than it had
ever been while in the possession of Spain. In November,
1656, Cromwell ordered the Scotch Government
to apprehend all known idle masterless robbers and
vagabonds, male or female, and to transport them
there, and at the same time the Council of State
ordered that a thousand girls and as many young
men should be enlisted in Ireland for the same purpose.
As for the adventurers who went with the expedition,
they were reported as being so lazy "that it
could not enter into the heart of any Englishman
that such blood should run in the veins of his
countrymen"&mdash;they were so unworthy, slothful, and
basely secure, out of a strange kind of spirit desiring
rather to die than live. As for planting, little was
done by them, although every possible inducement
and encouragement was given.</p>

<p>Meanwhile letters of marque were issued to privateers
for the West Indies, which drove the Spaniards
to send their treasure from Peru to Buenos Ayres,
a route that had been abandoned since the time of
Queen Elizabeth. Now also they began to make
efforts for the recovery of Jamaica, and in May, 1658,
thirty companies of infantry, under the command of
the late Governor, landed on the north side of the
island. Here in a small harbour they entrenched
themselves, and built a little fort before their pre<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>sence
became known to the English. However,
Governor D'Oyley at last heard of the invasion, but
it was nearly two months after their arrival before he
could proceed to approach them by sea. When he
arrived, however, with seven hundred and fifty men,
he at once stormed their fortress and drove them to
their vessels, in which they fled to Cuba. This put
an end to the matter; but the old Governor returned,
and lived with the remnant of the Spaniards and
their slaves in the mountains.</p>

<p>Now at last even the Pope had to acknowledge
other sovereignty than that of Spain, and this he did
in a letter to Father Fontaine, of the Dominican Mission,
on the 25th of July, 1658. Therein he acknowledged
the king of France as ruler of the conquests
and colonies his subjects had made in the American
islands. Thus was the Bull of partition at last cancelled
by the successor of its original promulgator,
and the ground for the exclusive claim to America
cut away. At this time France was also at war with
Spain, but the following year a treaty was signed, and
in 1660, on the restoration of Charles the Second,
peace was restored with England.</p>

<p>At the first private audience of the Spanish ambassador
with the king, he delivered a memorial demanding
the restoration of Jamaica to his master, on the
ground that it had been taken by his rebel subjects,
contrary to the treaty between the two Crowns. Instead
of doing this, however, Charles despatched a
vessel with letters to the Governors of the Caribbee
islands, asking them to encourage all persons willing
to transplant themselves to the larger islands. At<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span>
the same time the Royal African Company, the great
slave-trading corporation of that time, was asked to
make Jamaica its headquarters for the sale of negroes.
Then it was arranged to send women from England
to be wives for the planters, Newgate and Bridewell
to be spared as much as possible, so that poor maids
might have a chance, with whom it was stated that
few English parishes were unburdened.</p>

<p>On the 1st of December, 1660, King Charles the
Second made a move which must be considered as of the
greatest importance to the development of the British
Colonial Empire&mdash;he founded the "Council for foreign
plantations," which later developed into the Colonial
Office. This Council were to inform themselves of
the state of the plantations and of how they were
governed, keeping copies of all grants in a book.
They were to write to every Governor asking for
exact accounts of their proceedings, the nature of
their laws and government, as well as statistics. They
must establish a correspondence with the colonies, so
that the king might be informed of all complaints,
their wants, what they cultivated, their commodities,
and their trade, so that all might be regulated upon
common grounds and principles. They must adopt
means for rendering them and England mutually
helpful, and bring them into a more uniform government,
with a better distribution of justice. Especial
care was to be taken for the execution of the Navigation
Act, and consideration given to the best means
of providing servants, to which end care was to be
taken that no persons were forced or enticed away by
unlawful means. Those willing to be transported<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span>
were, however, to be encouraged, and a legal course
was to be settled for sending over vagrants and
others who were noxious and unprofitable in England.
Learned and orthodox ministers were also to
be sent, and instructions given for regulating and
repressing the debaucheries of planters and servants.
The Council were also to consider how the natives
and slaves might be invited to, and made capable of,
baptism in the Christian faith, and finally to dispose
of all matters relating to the good government, improvement,
and management of the plantations.</p>

<p>Thus England commenced her great career of
colonisation, the results of which we see to-day.
While taking all due account of Virginia and New
England, we cannot but note that it was in the West
Indies where the "prentice hand" was first tried.
Jamaica was the main object of these provisions&mdash;to
that island the king's attention had been specially
directed, and it was here that many difficulties had to
be encountered before it could be made a worthy
appendage of the Crown. Most of the other islands
were in the hands of private persons or companies,
while this was under the control of the State. No
matter that the island had been annexed by rebels,
Charles the Second was determined to hold it fast
for England, in spite of all the protests of Spain.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span></p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h3><a name="VII" id="VII"></a>VII</h3>

<h3>THE PLANTERS AND THEIR SLAVES</h3>


<p>When the first European adventurers went to the
West Indies, serfdom was still common in Spain.
The peasantry were, as a rule, bound to the soil, and
could neither be taken away by their lords nor remove
at their own will. The consequence was that
only soldiers, mariners, and free men from the
towns took part in the first expeditions. The townsmen
had mostly been brought up to the trades of
their fathers, and were hardly fit to cultivate the land
even in Spain, much less, therefore, were they suited
to the tropics. They could not demean themselves
by performing anything so servile, but must get their
land cultivated by others. As the serfs were not
available, first Indians and then negro slaves and
white bond-servants were employed.</p>

<p>We have seen how the Indians were exterminated,
and how the first planters in Hispaniola were ruined
by the want of labour. Even the Spanish priests
could see that the poor Arawak's nature was quite
distinct from that of the European peasant. The
serf had been kept under subjection for centuries; his
father and grandfather had worked in the fields, and
he must do the same. The armourer, the mason, and
<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138-139]</a><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139"></a></span>the weaver carried on their trades, because they had
been born into the respective guilds as it were. The
Indians, on the contrary, were free, and had always
been so; yes, more free than any people in the old
world. They died, and the planter had to look elsewhere
for his labour supply. Then commenced the
cry which has been continually rising from the plantations
ever since&mdash;More servants! More slaves!
More coolies!</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 313px;">
<img src="images/p138.jpg" width="313" height="418" alt="A SURINAM PLANTER." title="" />
<span class="caption">A SURINAM PLANTER.<br />
(<i>From Stedman&#39;s &quot;Surinam.&quot;</i>)</span>
</div>

<p>For many years the Portuguese had been kidnapping
negroes on the west coast of Africa. By
their connection with Morocco they had learnt that
the natives of the interior were brought to and openly
sold in the Moorish towns&mdash;possibly they themselves
had purchased some of them. To bring home a
number after every voyage to the coast was therefore
nothing strange, nor was it anything novel to sell
them in Portugal to help pay the expense of the
voyage. From Portugal to Spain this negro slavery
spread, until it became fairly common in both
countries.</p>

<p>When the cry for labourers came over the Atlantic&mdash;even
before the extermination of the natives&mdash;a few
negroes were sent out. Finding them more docile
and better able to endure hard labour than the
Indians, more were called for, the benevolent priests
also urging the matter to save the remnant of the
Arawaks. The demand created a supply, and soon
the Portuguese found themselves embarked in a lucrative
trade, of which they commanded the monopoly.
Thus began a traffic which has been unreservedly
condemned by the most enlightened of humanity,
<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140-141]</a><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141"></a></span>and praised alone by those whose very livelihood
depended upon it.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 315px;">
<img src="images/p140.jpg" width="315" height="369" alt="A NEGRO FESTIVAL." title="" />
<span class="caption">A NEGRO FESTIVAL.<br />
(<i>From Edwards&#39; &quot;West Indies.&quot;</i>)</span>
</div>

<p>On his second voyage Columbus carried the sugar
cane, which was destined to have such an influence
for good and evil on the West Indies. Its produce
was at first known as a kind of honey, and recognised
as an expectorant and comforting medicine. Now it
had made its way into the kitchens of the great, where
it was considered as one of the spices, and with them
became more and more used every year. In early
times the cane was cultivated on the warmer shores
of the Mediterranean, and, after their discovery, in
the Canary and Cape de Verde islands. At the
period of the discovery of America sugar was sold
at about eightpence a pound, equivalent to something
like three shillings nowadays. As the demand continued
to increase large plantations were laid out in
Hispaniola, until it became the staple product of the
colony.</p>

<p>Cotton was known in the old world, but as yet had
hardly come into use in Europe. In the West Indies
it was generally cultivated in a small way by every
native, and on being forwarded to Spain, the "tree
wool," as it was called, soon came into use. Then
came another product, tobacco, which was quite new
at that time, although probably known in the far
East. It seemed strange to the new-comers that
people should carry firebrands in their mouths, and
at first they took tobacco-smokers for juggling fire-eaters,
until they also learnt the sustaining power of
the "weed." This soon took place, and by the year
1550 tobacco was well known in Spain and Italy.
<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142-143]</a><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143"></a></span>Probably also the Dutch knew it quite as early, for it
was in the Netherlands that it became more quickly
appreciated than in any other country, probably on
account of its particularly comforting properties in
marshy districts. Soon afterwards Jean Nicot introduced
it into France, and probably Master Hawkins
brought samples into England from Brazil, although
Ralegh is stated to have been the first English
smoker. Towards the end of the sixteenth century
its use became so common all over Europe that Popes
and Churchmen thundered their curses against the
"filthy habit," and later poor King James wrote his
"Counterblast to Tobacco," which only had the effect
of making it better known.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 310px;">
<img src="images/p142.jpg" width="310" height="382" alt="VOYAGE OF THE SABLE VENUS." title="" />
<span class="caption">VOYAGE OF THE SABLE VENUS.<br />
(<i>From Edwards&#39; &quot;West Indies.&quot;</i>)</span>
</div>

<p>Here at the beginning were two commercial
products which grew well in the West Indies, with
a doubtful third to come to the front as soon as it
became known. As yet coffee had not been introduced&mdash;this
followed in the next century. Notwithstanding
the large profit on sugar the Spaniard would
not labour in the field, and in the end the plantations
became fewer and fewer until only one or two were
left. This falling off tended to keep up the price,
and although the Dutch bought much cotton and
tobacco from the Indians of the Main, and the
Portuguese began to grow sugar in Brazil, the supply
was always limited.</p>

<p>There was room for more plantations, and the first
people to take advantage of this opening were the
English. Their many different colonies in Guiana
all commenced planting with tobacco: Virginia and
the Bermudas did the same. All through the reign
<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144-145]</a><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145"></a></span>of James the First, however, the trade was obstructed
in so many ways that a great deal of their produce
was sent to the Netherlands and thus escaped the
English duties. Probably also the smuggling of
tobacco, so notorious at a later period, began at this
time, as the Dutch were always noted free-traders,
not only on the Spanish Main, but in Europe as
well.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 314px;">
<img src="images/p144.jpg" width="314" height="432" alt="SLAVES LANDING FROM THE SHIP." title="" />
<span class="caption">SLAVES LANDING FROM THE SHIP.<br />
(<i>From Stedman&#39;s &quot;Surinam.&quot;</i>)</span>
</div>

<p>Like the Spaniards, the English adventurers were
soldiers and sailors, and therefore did not work in the
field. Subject to the raids of the European claimants
of the territory as well as the incursions of ferocious
cannibals, they went about literally with pistols in
their belts and swords at their thighs. Now they
had to show a good face to some buccaneer company,
and anon to fight the French or Dutch when war
broke out. Later, when there was no fear of enemies
from without, they had a continual dread of slave
insurrections. It followed, therefore, that the planter
was always on the alert, and, even if he felt inclined,
could do little in the way of cultivation.</p>

<p>In England serfdom had virtually come to an end,
and the agricultural labourer might go where he
pleased. But the love of country, the unknown but
magnified perils of a sea voyage, and stories of cruel
Spaniards and man-eating Caribs, prevented many
from going to the Indies, notwithstanding the great
inducements offered. The English planters found
it difficult to get negroes, as their enemy controlled
the trade. As for the Indians, they had to deal with
cannibals whose women cultivated small clearings,
but resented anything like coercion, while no labour<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span>
whatever could be got from the men. Something
had to be done. If the English labourer would not
come willingly, he might be kidnapped, and the
carrying out of this work led to the organisation
of bands of ruffians, who went sailing along the
coasts, especially of Scotland and Ireland, to pick
up likely fellows wherever they found opportunity.
However, this caused such an outcry that extraordinary
efforts were made on the part of the Government
to put down "spiriting," as it was called.</p>

<p>In June, 1661, the Council for foreign plantations
considered the best means of encouraging and furnishing
people for the colonies, and they thought that
felons condemned for small offences, and sturdy
beggars, might be sent. They had several complaints
of men, women, and children being spirited away
from their masters and parents, and later the Mayor
of Bristol and the Lord Mayor of London petitioned
the king for authority to examine ships, with the
view of finding out whether the passengers went of
their own free will. It was stated that husbands
forsook their wives, wives fled from their husbands,
children and apprentices ran away, while unwary and
credulous persons were often tempted on board by
men-stealers. Many who had been pursued by hue
and cry for robberies, burglaries, and breaking prison,
also escaped to the plantations. Certain persons,
called spirits, inveigled, and by lewd subtleties
enticed, away young persons, whereby great tumults
and uproars were raised in London, to the breach of
the peace and the hazard of men's lives.</p>

<p>These abuses led to an Order in Council, published<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span>
in September, 1664, for registering persons going
voluntarily, and commissions were given to the Lord
High Admiral and the officers of the ports to establish
registration offices and give certificates. Yet
the spiriting still went on, for in April, 1668, Sir
Anthony Ashley Cooper was asked to move the
House of Commons to make the offence capital.
His petitioner, said he, had found one lost child, and
after much expense and trouble, freed him, but there
were several others in the same ship, and other ships
in the river at the same work. Even if the parents
found their children, they could not recover them
without money, and he was sure that if such a law
were passed the mercy to these innocents would
ground a blessing on those concerned in introducing
it. This Act was finally passed on the 1st of March,
1670, punishing the spirits with death without benefit
of clergy.</p>

<p>There were, however, other means of procuring
servants. In 1649, when Cromwell took Drogheda
by storm, about thirty prisoners were saved from the
massacre to be shipped to Barbados, and in 1651
seven or eight thousand Scots, taken at the battle
of Worcester, were reserved for a similar fate. After
the Restoration, however, there was an intermission
in such supplies, and the planters began to look to
Newgate and Bridewell for their labour supply.</p>

<p>The supply was by no means equal to the demand,
for the agents in London of the planters of Virginia,
Barbados, St. Christopher's, and other islands were
equally clamorous for their share. As for King
Charles the Second, he granted the prisoners as a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span>
privilege to his favourites, and even mistresses, who
generally sold it to the highest bidder. The agent
must have had influence to get into the presence
of the holder, say of a hundred prisoners sentenced
to transportation, and this was only obtainable by
largess to door-keepers and servants. Then came
the trouble of obtaining delivery from the prison
authorities, and here again fees were demanded. In
one case that is recorded the amount paid to the
gaoler of Newgate was fifty-five shillings a head.
But even now the trouble was only beginning. The
prisoners were supposed to be delivered at the door
of the gaol, and the planter was under a heavy bond
not to allow one to escape. He must account for
each by a certificate of death on the voyage or of
landing in Barbados, on penalty of five hundred
pounds for every one missing. It followed, therefore,
that a sufficiently strong guard had to be provided,
and provision made for attempts at rescue by the
prisoners' friends. Even this was not all, for the
concession simply granted a certain number, and
it rested with the gaoler to palm off the old, weak,
and infirm on those who were at all wanting in
liberality. Then, at the best the prisoners were
hatters, tailors, and haberdashers, rather than agricultural
labourers, many of whom ultimately proved
valueless. If a large number was available, and there
were several applicants, the competition became quite
spirited&mdash;every one wanted his pick before the others,
and the gaoler made the best of the occasion, leaving
those to whom he allotted the refuse to curse their
evil fortune.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span></p>

<p>Up to the passing of the Navigation Act the
Dutch had been free to trade with English colonies,
and had brought a fair number of negroes; and
afterwards the king established the Royal African
Company to prevent the supply being cut off. The
average price of the African was then about &pound;16 or
2,400 pounds of sugar, but the Dutch sold their slaves
for a little less, which led the planters to evade the
Navigation Act when they had opportunities.</p>

<p>The white bond-servant was valued at about 2,200
pounds of sugar, very little less than the slave for life,
although he had generally but five years to serve.
The cost of transport was about &pound;5 per head; it
followed, therefore, that if the London agent got his
prisoners cheap he made a good profit. There was
also another way of making money in this business.
Some of the gaol-birds had friends who were willing
to pay good sums on consideration that the convict
should be virtually freed on his arrival. Many a
sum of fifty pounds was obtained in this way, sometimes
without helping the bond-servant in the least.
How were the relations to prove that the promise
had not been fulfilled, and if they did so what redress
could be obtained? They certainly could not go to
law, as the whole transaction was illegal.</p>

<p>We have seen how Charles the Second tried to
people Jamaica with free settlers, but this did not
prevent the transportation of criminals. In 1665
four young men, who had been convicted of interrupting
and abusing a preacher, were whipped
through the streets of Edinburgh and afterwards
sent to Barbados, and in 1684 some of the Rye<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span>
House plotters were reprieved on condition that they
served ten years in the West Indies. When these
plotters arrived in Jamaica, the Governor, "by His
Majesty's command," directed the Assembly to pass
an Act "to prevent all clandestine releasements or
buying out of their time," so that their punishment
should not be evaded. But it was after the Monmouth
rebellion, in 1685, that the greatest deportation
took place. The miserable followers of the duke
were executed by Judge Jeffreys until even his thirst
for blood was somewhat slackened, when the remainder
were sent to the plantations. The story
of one of these unfortunates gives such a graphic
picture of the life of a bond-servant that we cannot
do better than give an outline of the "Relation of
the great sufferings and strange adventures of Henry
Pitman, surgeon to the late Duke of Monmouth."</p>

<p>Having been taken prisoner after the battle of
Sedgemoor, he was committed to Ilchester Gaol, had
his pockets rifled, his clothes torn off his back, and
was remanded until the Wells assizes. While in
gaol he was inveigled into telling all he knew, by
promises of pardon, and then his acknowledgments
were treated as a confession. Those who pleaded
not guilty on the first day of the trial were convicted
and executed the same afternoon; others who confessed
were equally condemned. After two hundred
and thirty had been hanged the remainder were ordered
to be transported to the Caribbee islands, of whom Pitman
was one. With some others, including his brother,
he was disposed of to an agent who took &pound;60 from
his friends to set him free on his arrival at Barbados.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span></p>

<p>The Legislative Assembly of that island, however,
in consequence of the "most horrid, wicked, and execrable
rebellion," lately raised, and because many of
the rebels had been transported for ten years, passed
a special Act, under which they were bound to serve,
notwithstanding any bargain to the contrary. If they
attempted to escape they were to be flogged, and
burnt in the forehead with the letters "F.T.," meaning
"Fugitive Traitor."</p>

<p>By this law Pitman's hopes were frustrated, and,
utterly disheartened, he was not inclined to work at
his profession for the master to whom he had been
sold. Although the status of a surgeon was not then
as high as it is now, it was yet a great downfall to
practise the profession on rations of five pounds of
salt beef or fish per week, with nothing else but corn
meal. As for the fees, which were large, the master
pocketed them, leaving Pitman to endure the discomforts
of a tropical residence and semi-starvation
as best he could. On one occasion he refused to go
on with his work, and for this he was beaten by his
master until the cane used was broken in pieces.
Then the master became bankrupt, and, with his
brother, Pitman was sent back to the merchant to
whom they had been first consigned.</p>

<p>Here his brother died of the hardships he had
experienced, and Pitman resolved to escape, notwithstanding
the risk of attempting such a thing.
Having made the acquaintance of a poor man who
was willing to help, he got a consignment of goods
from his friends in England, with which to raise the
means. A boat was purchased for twelve pounds;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span>
but this led to inquiries, as the buyer was known to
be poor, and his creditors began to come down upon
him. However, Pitman contributed enough to satisfy
them, meanwhile postponing his departure until suspicion
had been lulled.</p>

<p>On the evening of the 9th of May, 1687&mdash;this being
a holiday, when most of the people were revelling&mdash;he
and seven other bond-servants got safely off in
their open boat, with a small supply of provisions and
water, a few tools, a compass, and a chart. They
intended to make for the Dutch island of Cura&ccedil;ao,
six hundred miles distant; but even before they were
out of Carlisle Bay their frail craft began to leak, and
they had to tear up their clothes to stop the gaping
seams. At sunrise they were out of sight from the
land, but so enervated by sea-sickness that some
would willingly have gone back. However, they
went on as best they could, with nothing but their
hats to bale out the water, which still continued to
trickle into the boat. They were a little more comfortable
as the sun rose, but when night came a gale
arose which kept them employed baling for their
lives. To add to their difficulties the rudder broke,
and they had to steer with an oar.</p>

<p>Five days passed in this manner, the refugees
hardly able to get an hour's rest for the baling and
continual fear that the boat would sink if left alone.
On the sixth morning they saw Margarita, but could
not land on account of the rocky shore, which nearly
wrecked them on their making the attempt. Sheering
off, they next day sighted Saltatudos island, one of the
Dry Tortugas, where they met a boat manned with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span>
privateers, who treated them very kindly, and wanted
them to join their company. To this, however, Pitman
and his companions would not agree, and this
annoyed the privateers, who burnt their boat and
virtually kept them as prisoners. When they went
on a cruise the refugees were left in charge of four
men, and had much ado to find enough turtle to keep
them from starving. After remaining here for three
months an English privateer arrived, and, at their
request, took them on to New Providence, to which
the inhabitants had just returned after being driven
off by Spaniards. Pitman at last got to Amsterdam,
and from thence to England, where the revolution
had just taken place, and his friends had succeeded
in obtaining a free pardon.</p>

<p>The white bond-servant, being under a short
engagement, was generally worked to his utmost
capacity. No matter if he died before the end of
his term as long as he paid for the expense incurred.
But Englishmen were no more inclined to be slaves
then than they are now, and the planters of St.
Kitt's found them so troublesome to manage that
they soon became afraid of buying, and showed a
preference for negroes. Some of the English servants
committed suicide, and it is recorded that a pious
master told one of them, who had expressed his
intention of destroying himself, that he trusted that
God would give him more grace, than, for a short
term of trouble in this life, to precipitate himself into
hell.</p>

<p>Even in the earliest times some of the planters
were absentees, living in England. The system was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span>
always more or less fortune-hunting, the whole end
and aim being to get rich and return to the old
country. There were, as we have seen, many difficulties
and dangers to encounter, and not the least
of the drawbacks was the want of good society. We
who live in an age when there is daily communication
with the whole world, can hardly conceive how entirely
these pioneers were cut off from their friends.
The long voyage was full of discomfort, and at the
best uncertain as to its termination. The words
still found on bills of lading, "the act of God or the
queen's enemies," had a meaning then hardly appreciable
by the present generation. Barbary pirates
and French corsairs ranged the Channel; in the
broad Atlantic storms shook the crazy vessels to
pieces; and when they escaped these dangers, it was
often to fall into the hands of the buccaneers when in
sight of their destination. Then there were hurricanes
on both sea and land, and earthquakes on some of
the islands. Vessels were sunk in harbour, houses
blown away, and sugar buildings torn down. As for
the negro huts, they were carried off altogether, and
the crops injured so as to become useless. Then, perhaps,
when the planter had strained himself to the
utmost to put things straight, another tornado would
put him in a worse plight than before.</p>

<p>Yet with all this the planter struggled on, generally
doing his best to carry the traditions and fashions of
the mother country into his new home. We have
already noticed Barbados, and how it was affected by
the "great rebellion." Many other examples might be
noted had we sufficient space. The planter was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span>
nearly always a gentleman, even if he had begun
his career as a transported rebel. Some were
gallants, and dressed in the extreme of London
fashion, often living beyond their means. Others
were merchants, trading with their own vessels, and
selling their surplus goods for produce to make up
cargoes. With their own sugar, and as much as
they could procure from others, they filled their ships
for the homeward voyage, and in return got enough
merchandise for trading. These were the fortune-hunters,
who were always looking forward to that
happy time when, with money in their pouches, they
could once more settle down in Merry England. The
old country was always "home," as it is still for the
West Indian, although perhaps neither himself nor
his parents ever saw it&mdash;then it was the will-o'-the-wisp
that drove him to endure all the discomforts of
a life in the tropics, often to die of fever before his
work was hardly begun.</p>

<p>While Jamaica was under the dominion of Spain
little was done to develop the island. The Indians
were exterminated, as in Hispaniola, to be replaced
by wild cattle and horses, and fifteen hundred negroes
were introduced to cultivate provision grounds. From
these, passing vessels, which called in on their way
to Mexico, got their supplies. As yet it was not a
rendezvous for buccaneers, and taken altogether it
was quite insignificant. Thousands of white men
and tens of thousands of negroes were required
before it became the important island which ultimately
rivalled Hispaniola. However, although the
Spaniard was driven out he left his sting behind in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span>
the shape of his slaves, who took to the mountains,
to be afterwards known as Maroons, and to worry the
English colonists for over a century.</p>

<p>And here, as we are dealing with the planter and
his labour supply, we must say something of the
negro slaves, to whom the West Indies were indebted
for their very existence as European colonies. Unlike
the American, the African had known slavery
for ages. Prisoners taken in war were kept in servitude
as a matter of course; debtors were slaves to
their creditors, and even children were sold by their
parents. Yet there were great differences between the
tribes&mdash;the Coromantees, for example, were particularly
troublesome, and the Foulahs often dangerous.
The first slave-traders took their cargoes from the
more northern coasts, and from this cause, perhaps,
as well as the want of proper supervision in the
Indies, runaways, or Simerons, were mentioned at
very early periods. Later, the trade was carried on
in a particularly judicious manner, and the more
docile tribes selected, to be sold in the colonies as
"Prime Gold Coast Negroes."</p>

<p>In their native countries these people were all
virtually slaves to their chiefs, and as such were
liable to be sold at any time. The authority was
unlimited; the slightest offence meant slavery;
death was the only alternative. Often when, for
some reason or other, the negro was rejected by the
trader, he was executed at once. Adultery was
punished by the sale of both offenders, and debtors
could be sold by their creditors. Bryan Edwards,
author of a history of the West Indies, took much<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span>
pains to procure information from the slaves themselves,
through an interpreter; and as they had no
reason to misrepresent their cases, we can safely give
the outlines of one.</p>

<p>The most interesting story is, perhaps, that of the
boy Adam, a Congo, about fourteen years of age
when he was brought to Jamaica. His country was
named Sarri, and was situated a long distance from
the coast. While walking one morning through a
path, about three miles from his native village, the
boy was captured by one of his countrymen. With
his prisoner the man hid himself in the woods during
the whole of the day, and at night stole away from
the neighbourhood, going on like this for a whole
month. Then he came to the country of another
tribe, where he sold the boy for a gun, some powder
and shot, and a little salt. His new owner afterwards
sold Adam for a keg of brandy to another black man
who was going about collecting slaves, and when
twenty had been collected they were taken to the
coast and sold to a Jamaica captain.</p>

<p>Of the five-and-twenty interrogated by Bryan
Edwards, fifteen frankly declared that they had
been born in slavery, and were sold to pay the
debts, or bartered to supply the wants, of their
owners. Five were secretly kidnapped in the interior,
and sold to black merchants; the other five
fell into the hands of the enemy in some of those
petty wars which were continually going on, when, if
there had been no market for their sale, they would
almost certainly have been killed.</p>

<p>It is hardly necessary to state that in giving these<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span>
statements we are not attempting the impossible
task of vindicating slavery either of the black or
white man. It would be well, however, if, in mitigation
of the offence against the negro, his former
condition were taken into consideration, and the
undoubted fact that he was better treated by the
West India planter than by his own countrymen.
His lot was by no means so hard as slavery had
been to the Indian and white bond-servant. He did
not sink under the hardships of a life of toil in the
burning sun, but was happy in his way, and in most
cases better off than his descendant, the West Indian
peasant of to-day. He was certainly treated as a
domestic animal, but his value was always high
enough to prevent anything like ill-usage. There
were certainly people who could be cruel to their
negroes, as there are yet men so low as to brutally
flog valuable horses, but that such were common is
a statement utterly without foundation. As a well-kept
animal, the planter took a pride in him, fed and
doctored him, patted him on the back, and proudly
showed him to his friends. All this appears very
degrading to humanity, but after all the negro did
not see it in that light. On the contrary, he took
a pride in exhibiting his strong muscles and in
showing the "buccras" what a fine nigger massa
had got.</p>

<p>The slave of the rich planter, like the horse of the
English gentleman, was undoubtedly very comfortable.
First, he was a picked lot&mdash;the healthiest,
strongest, and most suitable for his work&mdash;one of
those "pieces d'India," as the best negroes were<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span>
called by the traders. Then, as an expensive chattel,
everything was done to make him still more valuable,
and to prevent his deteriorating. But unfortunately
there was another class&mdash;the miserable, broken-down
creatures sold cheap as refuse lots to poor white
men or even to slaves. Yes, the slaves bought their
diseased fellow-countrymen, to work on their own
allotments, treating them as the costermonger sometimes
does his donkey. Half-starved, hard-worked,
and covered with sores, they lingered in misery until
death came to make them free. Some were so disfigured
with yaws, or leprosy, that none but a negro
could bear the sight of them; these were kept out
of the way and treated worse than mangy dogs.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span></p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h3><a name="VIII" id="VIII"></a>VIII</h3>

<h3>THE STRUGGLE FOR SUPREMACY</h3>


<p>By the time of the Dutch war of 1665 the pretensions
of Spain to the exclusive possession of the
Indies had been entirely ignored. Now began the
great struggle of other nations for supremacy, and
the position of "sovereign of the seas," the islands
and Guiana becoming scenes of contention between
English, French, and Dutch. To these struggles is
greatly due the positions the naval powers of the
world hold to-day, and especially that of Britain.</p>

<p>As it was mainly a demand for free trade which led
to so many attacks on the Spanish possessions, so it
was now the same question which led to the struggle
between the two great mercantile nations which
succeeded Spain and Portugal, as these had followed
Venice and Genoa. In the West Indies there was
no line of demarcation between these new powers,
and consequently their interests often clashed, but
on the whole the colonists were favourable to the
Dutch, and did all they could to evade the Navigation
Act.</p>

<p>Early in 1665 preparations were made in Barbados
to repel an expected invasion by the Dutch. Vessels<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span>
were ordered to keep together and protect each other,
and men-of-war were sent out to afford convoy.
Already the English buccaneers had been somewhat
discountenanced by the home government, although
they were generally encouraged by the colonies,
especially Jamaica, which derived considerable advantage
from their sales of booty. Now that
there was a demand for all the forces that could
be gathered together, the Governor of that island
gave the rovers letters of marque, under which they
were empowered to ravage the Dutch colonies. At
St. Eustatius they succeeded in carrying off everything
portable, including nine hundred slaves, and
even such heavy articles as sugar coppers and stills.
De Ruyter made an attempt on Barbados on the
20th of April, but the people there made such a
stand that he had to retire. He commenced the
attack at ten o'clock in the morning with his fourteen
vessels, but by three in the afternoon the fleet was
so much damaged that he was forced to move away
his own ship, with a hole in her side "as big as a
barn-door." He then went on to Montserrat and
Nevis, where he captured sixteen ships, but did not
take either of the islands.</p>

<p>In Guiana, the English from Barbados captured
the Dutch trading factory in the river Essequebo, as
well as the young sugar colony in the Pomeroon,
and in retaliation the Dutch took Surinam. In
January, 1666, France joined the Netherlands, and
an English fleet was sent out to protect Barbados,
which now began to feel alarmed at the possible
result of such a powerful combination.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span></p>

<p>Then came the critical period for the island of St.
Kitt's, which, as we have before stated, had been
divided between English and French, the former
holding the middle portion with the enemy on either
side. As soon as the news of the declaration of war
arrived, the relations between the two nationalities,
which had often before been much strained, became
ruptured. The English Governor, Watts, gave his
rival three days' notice, and prepared to attack him,
with the assistance of five hundred men from Nevis,
and two hundred buccaneers. General de la Salle,
on the French side, asked and obtained forty-eight
hours' longer grace, and took advantage of this to
steal into the English territory with a large body of
horse and foot, as well as a mob of negroes armed
with bills and hoes. The slaves also carried firebrands,
and were said to have been promised, in
return for their assistance, freedom, English women
as wives, and the liberty to plunder and burn. At
the town of St. Nicholas a gentlewoman with three
or four children, on trying to escape, was forced back
into her blazing house and kept there until the whole
family were burnt to death. A party of English,
who advanced to check their progress, was overwhelmed
by the number of the enemy and driven
back, thus leaving them to advance over the island
with fire and sword.</p>

<p>Governor Watts took things so coolly, that Colonel
Morgan (not the famous Sir Henry), who led the
buccaneers, went to rouse him, and found he was
lounging about in dressing-gown and slippers. Presenting
a pistol to his breast, Morgan called the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span>
Governor a coward and a traitor, at the same time
swearing he would shoot him dead if he did not at
once take his place at the head of the forces. The
contingent from Nevis had already gone over to the
French quarter near Sandy Point, and, after a hard
struggle, had taken the post, when the Governor at
last followed behind. Coming up late his men fired
on the mingled French and English, indiscriminately
slaughtering both. After that everything was confused,
neither party distinguishing friend from foe,
with the result that the Governor, Colonel Morgan,
several other officers, and most of the English, were
killed. After that the main body of the French
arrived, driving before them a confused mob of
women and children, who ran shrieking to their
friends for help. Nothing remained for the English
now but to fly or sue for quarter, and the French
became masters of the whole island, with a body of
prisoners twice as numerous as themselves.</p>

<p>In 1667 a petition was forwarded to Charles the
Second on behalf of several thousand distressed
people, lately inhabitants of St. Christopher's. In
this it was stated that the island had been one of the
most flourishing colonies&mdash;the first and best earth
that ever was inhabited by Englishmen among the
heathen cannibals of America. They prayed that
a colony so ancient and loyal, the mother island of
all those parts, the fountain from whence all the
other islands had been watered with planters, might
not remain in the hands of another nation. Since
the surrender they had been continually oppressed,
until thousands had left for other parts. Many had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span>
sold their estates for almost nothing, and had been
stripped and plundered at sea of the little they had
saved. If the inhumanities of the French nation
were examined, their bloody and barbarous usage
of the Indians, their miserable cruelties to prisoners
of war, all nations would abhor their name. They
would make Christians grind their mills instead of
cattle, leave thousands to starve for want, and send
other thousands to uninhabited lands.</p>

<p>In 1666 Lord Willoughby, who had gone back to
Barbados on the restoration of Charles the Second,
fitted out an expedition to recapture St. Kitt's, but
his fleet encountered a hurricane, and neither his
vessel nor one of his company was ever heard of
again. The following year his nephew, Henry
Willoughby, made an unsuccessful attempt for the
same object. On the 10th of May of the same year
a fight took place between the English and French
fleets off Nevis. On the English side were ten men-of-war
and one fire-ship, while the enemy had more
than double that number. One of the English
vessels was blown up, but, undaunted by this disaster,
they drove the enemy before them to the very
shores of St. Kitt's, where they took shelter under
the guns of Basse-terre.</p>

<p>Peace was signed at Breda in July, 1667. The
gains of territory by any one of the three nations
were not considerable, and the result went to prove
that England could hold her own against the only
two powers who were able to dispute her supremacy.
During the war she had captured New Amsterdam
(now New York) from the Dutch, and they in turn<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span>
had taken Surinam. As it was agreed with Holland
that both parties should retain what was then in their
possession, Surinam was virtually exchanged for what
is now the capital of the United States. Antigua
and Montserrat, which had been taken by the French,
were now restored to England, and St. Christopher's
returned to its former condition, but without the
least prospect of the two nationalities ever being
again on friendly terms.</p>

<p>Now that the war was over the trade of the
privateers came to an end, and further efforts were
made to make them settle down. Having received
orders to discountenance them, the Governor of
Jamaica deputed Colonel Cary to report on the
matter. Cary thought they should not be discouraged,
as already harm had been done to Jamaica
by such attempts, and in the future the want of their
help might be prejudicial. On the news that the
commissions against the Spaniards were called in,
several English privateers resolved never to return to
Jamaica, unless there was a war, but in future to
carry on their operations from Tortuga. To divert
them from injuring the Spaniards, the Governor had,
during the late war, appointed Cary to treat with
them for the reduction of Cura&ccedil;ao, to which they at
first consented, but afterwards disagreed. If, said
Cary, they had two of His Majesty's nimble fifth-rate
frigates, they would be able to keep the
privateers to their obedience, observe the enemy's
movements, and guard their own coasts from rovers.
There was no profitable employment for the privateers
against the French and Dutch; these fellows,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span>
being people that would not be brought to plant,
must prey upon the Spaniard, whether they were
countenanced at Jamaica or not. There was such
an inveterate hatred of the English in those parts
by the Spaniard, that he would not hear of trade
or reconciliation, but, on the contrary, inhumanly
butchered any of the islanders he could cowardly
surprise. The French interest daily increased in
the Caribbees, Hispaniola, and Tortuga, and if this
was suffered to grow it would in a short time prove
of dangerous consequence.</p>

<p>Here we have plain speaking. It was not to the
interest of England for the pirates to become too
closely connected with the French, as they would
then be helping to build up the prosperity of a nation
that might any day become our enemy. As for the
rovers themselves, they cared little or nothing for
the interests of their country; they were willing to
plunder the Spanish possessions because they got
something worth having; with those of the French
and Dutch it was another thing. It is evident that
Cary troubled himself but little as to how a cargo
was obtained as long as Jamaica profited by the
transaction.</p>

<p>We may here also call attention to the differences
between the characters of the nations which now
commenced a great struggle for mastery in these
parts. The Dutch were, above everything else, an
association of traders, and although they could
fight on occasion, they hardly ever went out of their
way to pick a quarrel. Their wars with England
were brought about by mercantile disputes, the first<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span>
two, as we have already seen, mainly on account of
the Navigation Acts. The English, "the nation of
shopkeepers," were naturally rival traders, but they
did not altogether confine themselves to traffic, being
rather inclined to alternate or mix it up with something
like piracy. Such transactions as those of
Hawkins were not carried on by any other nation,
the Hollander being more inclined to take advantage
of the swiftness of his fly boat than the metal of his
guns. The French were rarely traders, for even
their plantations were largely supported by buccaneering.
When, after a peace, some of the rovers
settled down for a time, they were always ready to
abandon their fields at the first rumour of a war.
England thus stood between the two others as a
stumbling-block; she interfered with the trade of the
one and offended the dignity of the other; thus
coming in for many blows, which only made her
all the more able to resist and conquer.</p>

<p>The character of the Dutchman is well shown in
the curious difficulty which hastened a third breach
of the peace with England in 1672. In 1667 a fleet
from the Netherlands captured Surinam, and forced
the authorities of the colony to capitulate on favourable
terms. By these articles the inhabitants were
at liberty to sell or transport, when or where they
pleased, all or any part of their possessions. After
the peace, a few went to Barbados, but the majority
found it difficult to dispose of their plantations, and
therefore remained in hopes of a better market
on the arrival of new Dutch settlers. At that time
the Dutchmen were few and mostly poor; they had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span>
been ruined by the war, and in many cases driven
from their settlements by the English. It followed,
therefore, that there were no buyers, and the plantation
owners, trusting to the capitulation, decided to
wait rather than abandon their flourishing properties.</p>

<p>In June, 1669, the Dutch Governor issued a proclamation
calling upon all the English who intended to
leave to give notice within six months, after which a
like term was given them to dispose of their goods,
when they might leave for English colonies under
free passes from the authorities of both nations.
In case they were unable to sell their slaves, the
Governor would take them over at the market price,
but only those negroes who had been in their possession
at the rendition of the colony could come under
this arrangement.</p>

<p>At first sight this looked very fair, but the English
saw at once that something was wrong. In the first
place they understood that under the capitulation
they were free to take away all their property, including
slaves, and at the then market prices they
saw that a forced sale would be a serious loss.
Although not expressly intimated, they also understood
that the Governor meant they were not to
carry them away, and this at once caused much
dissatisfaction. Things were, however, in such a
critical state that little notice was taken of the
proclamation; in fact, the people had not as yet
made up their minds what to do. Such a sacrifice
as was required from those who had flourishing
properties, naturally made them hesitate; and when
the English Government inquired about the matter,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span>
they were told by the Dutch authorities that the
people were so well satisfied that they intended to
remain.</p>

<p>Such was, however, not the case, and when the
year of grace had expired, and they were virtually
prevented from leaving with or without their negroes,
they sent memorials to King Charles the Second
asking for his interference. It was another case of
Egyptian bondage; the Dutch would not let the
people go&mdash;except a few of the poorest. It can
easily be understood that it was not very pleasant to
lose the best colonists and have nothing left but a
lot of abandoned plantations. This would have been
a poor exchange for New York, and it is evident
that the Dutch knew very well what they were
doing, and had the welfare of Surinam at heart.
But, in face of the capitulation, they were undoubtedly
wrong, and when they began to oppress
the English for claiming their rights, they went a
great deal too far.</p>

<p>When Major Bannister, who had been acting
Governor under the English, protested against this,
he was arrested and transported to Holland, where
he obtained his release only by the intervention of
the English ambassador. Then complaints were
made to the Dutch Government, but it was two years
before permission was granted for commissioners
from England to go out and transport those who
wanted to leave. Even then secret orders were sent
to put every possible obstruction in their way, which
was done by bringing suits for debt, and otherwise
putting the English in positions which made it<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span>
impossible for them to wind up their affairs. It
followed, therefore, that only a few more went away,
carrying with them the prayers of the more important
to be delivered from such bondage.</p>

<p>Matters now came to a crisis. Other questions
had arisen between the two powers, notably some
in connection with the Eastern trade, and the refusal
of Holland to honour the English flag. War broke
out in 1672, and this time the French joined England
against the Dutch, who had to stand alone. French
and English buccaneers were let loose to plunder the
colonies, and they made the seas so dangerous that
hardly one of the enemy's vessels could show herself
in the West Indies. The Dutch colonies were thus
cut off, and even the settlements of Essequebo and
Berbice had to go without their usual supplies. This
deprivation caused much dissatisfaction among the
garrison of the latter colony, and led to a mutiny,
which resulted in the incarceration of the Governor,
who was not released until next year, when the
belated supplies arrived.</p>

<p>Spain was also involved in the war the following
year, and thus all the nations interested in the West
Indies were fighting at once&mdash;Holland and Spain
against France and England. The French buccaneers
had already gained a footing on Hispaniola; now
they attempted to get possession of the whole island,
but could not succeed. However, they went on to
Trinidad, which had always been a Spanish island,
and plundered it of a hundred thousand dollars.</p>

<p>The Spanish and Dutch colonies suffered greatly,
but Englishmen by no means escaped altogether.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span>
As an example of their treatment by the enemy, the
case of John Darbey is interesting. In April, 1674,
he and six others were taken by a Dutchman from a
small English vessel, while sailing from St. Thomas
to Antigua, and carried to Havana. There they
were kept in irons for five weeks, and then set to
work as slaves on the fortifications. After enduring
great misery for three months, they were removed to
work on board a ship, which was captured by the
French off St. Domingo, when they were of course
released, and finally carried to Jamaica. Here they
told of the sufferings they had endured and witnessed&mdash;the
story of which more and more embittered the
English feeling against Spain. On one occasion
Darbey had seen eight men brought in from a New
England bark, who afterwards attempted to escape.
They marched along the shore hoping to attract the
notice of some friendly vessel, but the Governor sent
a party of soldiers in pursuit, and they were all
murdered at once save the master, who was brought
back, executed, and his head stuck on a pole. He
also saw the commander of a man-of-war bring in a
New England vessel and hang five men at the yard-arm,
where the corpses were used as targets by him
and his officers. The same captain wanted himself
and several other Englishmen to sail with them, but
because they indignantly refused, he deliberately
stabbed one of them with his sword, killing him at
once.</p>

<p>In February, 1674, a treaty was signed at Westminster
in which there was a special clause bearing
on the English in Surinam. To the intent that there<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span>
might be no more mistakes, the States General
agreed that the articles of capitulation should not
only be executed without any more prevarication,
but also that His Majesty of Great Britain should
be free to depute commissioners to examine into the
condition of his subjects and agree with them as to
the time of their departure. Also that no special
laws should be made to hamper them in any way in
the sale of their lands, payments of their debts, or
barter of their goods, and that vessels should be
as free to go to Surinam, as they and their servants
should also be free to depart.</p>

<p>Accordingly, in March, 1675, three commissioners
were instructed to proceed there, and were enjoined
to see that the provisions of the treaty were properly
carried out, to press for debts owing to the English,
and to endeavour to get over the difficulty of their
obligations to the Dutch. Vessels were provided to
carry the settlers wherever they wished, and provision
made for victualling them on the voyage, as well as
for a short time after their landing in their new
homes.</p>

<p>Now at last it might be presumed that the exodus
could be freely managed; yet even then the Dutch
authorities tried to put obstructions in the way.
Among the servants of the English were many
Indians, some of whom were nominally free, and
these the Dutch Governor demanded should be put
ashore, to prevent the mischiefs and cruelties of the
heathen, their friends, who might avenge themselves
for the deportation on those who remained in the
colony. The English claimed that these people went<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span>
of their own free will, and that some of them were
much attached to their white masters, which was
probably true. Besides these, most of whom were
got off against the Governor's protests, there were
ten Jews with 322 slaves, in preventing the departure
of whom he was more successful. They were not,
strictly speaking, British subjects, although they had
lived under the flag for many years, and the commissioners
did not insist on their admission.</p>

<p>Finally, three vessels sailed away for Jamaica in
September, 1675, carrying 1,231 people, including
thirty-one Indians, and more negroes than whites.
On arriving at that island they were granted lands in
St. Elizabeth, afterwards known as Surinam quarters,
and thus Guiana again became a factor in the development
of the English islands. As for the Jews, even
they were afterwards allowed to depart when they
memorialised the king and got him to press the
matter.</p>

<p>Even yet, however, the last had not been heard of
this detention, for it cropped up again in the case of
Jeronomy Clifford, one of those who actually left with
the others for Jamaica. He was then a lad, and
went off with his father, returning again to the
colony as the second husband of an Englishwoman
who had property there. It appears that, as surgeon
of a Dutch vessel, he was so kind to a dying planter
named Charles Maasman, that his widow went to
London and married him in August, 1683.</p>

<p>Not getting on very well in Surinam, Clifford and
his wife resolved to sell out and take their slaves with
them to Jamaica, but in this they were frustrated.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span>
The Dutch felt very sore about the former migration,
especially when Jamaica plumed herself on her great
acquisition, and taunted them with the fact that they
got little by the transfer of the colony. When, therefore,
Clifford made known his intention, the Governor
told him he could not remove his wife's property
because she had inherited it from a Dutch subject.
Clifford had some of that doggedness which has been
observed so often in Englishmen, and was determined
to obtain what he considered his rights. Under the
capitulation he might leave at any time, and he did
not consider that this right had been in any way
forfeited.</p>

<p>However, the Dutch Governor said otherwise, and,
to prevent the alienation or removal of his property,
put it in trust, and then endeavoured to set his wife
against him so that she might refuse to leave. By
some tittle-tattle about a female cousin of Clifford,
her jealousy was aroused, and she petitioned for a
divorce on the grounds of cruelty and adultery.
However, when she found out the object of the
traducers of her husband, she asked that her petition
be annulled and made void, because she had been
misled and drawn away by the ill advices of others&mdash;now
she was sorry, and well satisfied and content
with him. This having been read before the Court
of Justice, a council of Dutch planters, they showed
their animus by deciding that Mrs. Clifford was a
weak and silly woman, and that it appeared to them
that her husband, to the prejudice of his wife and
that land, had endeavoured to remove his goods,
which they would willingly prevent. They therefore<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span>
ordered the plantation to be appraised and put in
commission, forbidding either Clifford or his wife
from diminishing, removing, or making away with
the estate, but only to enjoy the interest and produce
as long as they lived and corresponded well
with each other. They also wished the wife much
joy of her reconciliation, and condemned her to pay
the costs both present and future. Finally, considering
her frowardness and ill-nature, and for an
example to all other like-natured women, they condemned
her to pay a fine of five thousand pounds of
sugar.</p>

<p>Clifford, who yet stood by what he considered his
right, was now subjected to a number of petty persecutions.
His wife went to England, leaving him her
attorney, and he began to pester the Governor to
remove the illegal arrest on his estate. At last this
importunity led to his arrest, and he was sentenced
by this same Court of Justice to be hanged, as a
mutineer and disturber of the public peace. But,
being "more inclined to clemency than to carry things
to the utmost rigour of justice," they commuted this
sentence to imprisonment for seven years, with a fine
of a hundred and fifty thousand pounds of sugar.</p>

<p>As may be supposed, this arbitrary judgment only
made Clifford more exasperated. He still went on
petitioning and protesting that he was not a Dutch
subject, as he had refused to take the oath of allegiance,
and that therefore he was only standing up for
his rights. However, he was imprisoned in the fort,
where every effort was made to prevent his communicating
with England or the English colonies. Not<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span>withstanding
these precautions he managed to send
several letters, meanwhile threatening the Court that
if they kept him any longer he would be forced to use
such means of relief as he should be advised. After
some delay his communications reached Barbados,
Jamaica, and New York, from whence they at last
reached King William, who soon got him released.
But even then Clifford could not get back his estate,
and although he went to London and petitioned the
king, who directed inquiry of the ambassador at the
Hague, he could never get any redress. For seventy
years he, and his heirs after his death, kept up a
stream of petitions and memorials, without result, in
the end claiming for illegal detention, damages, and
interest, over half a million pounds.</p>

<p>During the short peace which followed the treaty
of Westminster attention was again directed to the
buccaneers, who were now called pirates, and treated
as such even in Jamaica, with the result that many of
them settled down. It has been stated that Charles
the Second shared in their gains even after he had
issued proclamations against them, but this sort of
thing now came to an end. The French continued
their depredations up to the year 1680, when the
king issued a proclamation, forbidding the further
granting of commissions, and recalling those which
had been issued, at the same time ordering that
those who persisted in the trade should be hanged
as pirates. This tended to bring the less audacious
to settle down, but even to the beginning of the
present century piracy was still known in the West
Indies.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span></p>

<p>While Sir Henry Morgan was Acting Governor of
Jamaica, in 1681, Everson, the Dutch pirate, came to
Cow Bay on that island, but Morgan captured him
and his crew and sent them off to Carthagena, to be
punished by the authorities there for the ravages they
had committed on the Spanish coasts and shipping.
During the ex-buccaneer's administration he also
got an Act passed to restrain privateers, and keep
inviolable all treaties with foreign states. Any British
subject who treated a foreign prince or State in a
hostile manner should be punished with death as a
felon.</p>

<p>Peace did not last long, however, for in 1688 the
French began to move against Holland, and the year
following King William was also bound to declare
war. Almost immediately the English were again
driven out of St. Kitt's, the French, as on the former
occasion, committing outrages quite unjustifiable
among civilised nations even in war. They also
took St. Eustatius from the Dutch.</p>

<p>As if there were not enough pirates in the West
Indies, the French brought some more from their own
coast&mdash;the celebrated corsairs, who had held a position
in Europe during the wars similar to that of the
buccaneers in America. Some rovers, who had lately
settled in Cayenne, were agreeably surprised at the
beginning of the year 1689 by the arrival of Du
Casse, who soon enrolled them under his banner and
started to pillage the Dutch and English colonies.</p>

<p>The first attack was made upon Surinam with
nine vessels, but after three days' fighting the Dutch
obliged the corsairs to retire, leaving one ship<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span>
aground to be captured. Two of the squadron were,
however, more successful in Berbice, which, after the
enemy had destroyed one or two plantations, was
obliged to pay a ransom of twenty thousand guilders
(&pound;1,666), which was settled by a draft on the proprietors
in Amsterdam, and which curiously enough
appears to have been afterwards paid. Another
privateer destroyed the small settlement in the
Pomeroon river, and obliged the few inhabitants to
fly to Essequebo, and to afterwards abandon the
place altogether. Du Casse then went on to the
islands, where he did much damage to both Dutch
and English, finally, in 1697, Spain being also on the
other side, joining De Pointis to attack and capture
Carthagena.</p>

<p>The corsairs were privateers with proper commissions,
authorised by the French Government to
pillage and destroy and divide the plunder among
themselves after setting aside the king's share. Up
to the present France could hardly be said to have a
navy, and these private adventurers to some extent
filled its place. True, there were a few king's ships,
but the treasury was often so bare that they could
not be properly armed or manned without assistance
from outside. Then, perhaps, one or more would be
put at the disposal of a renowned corsair, on condition
that the State should be put to no expense.
Courtiers, ministers, and merchants would come forward
and form a joint stock company, equip the ship
or fleet as the case might be, and share the plunder.</p>

<p>Du Casse settled down as Governor of the French
part of Hispaniola, which by this time had been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span>
taken over, and he appears to have encouraged the
buccaneers on account of their assistance to the
colony. When that great corsair, Jacques Cassard
came out, he was therefore enabled to supply him
with as much help as he required.</p>

<p>Cassard, in 1712, was supplied by the merchants of
Marseilles with a large fleet, with which he sailed to
the West Indies, beginning, as Du Casse had done,
with Surinam, where he arrived on the 8th of October,
with eight large and thirty small vessels. The Dutch
were not so fortunate this time, for he sailed up and
down the river for three weeks, burning, pillaging,
and carrying off slaves, until most of the inhabitants
took to the bush. Among other exploits he is said
to have broken open the Jewish synagogue, killed a
pig within the sacred precincts, and sprinkled its
blood over the walls and ornaments. He was ultimately
bought off for over &pound;50,000, which, in the
absence of enough coin, was paid in sugar, negro and
Indian slaves, cattle, merchandise, provisions, stores,
jewellery, and a very little cash.</p>

<p>While remaining in Surinam Cassard sent three
vessels to Berbice, which was easily captured, and for
which a ransom of three hundred thousand guilders
(&pound;25,000) was demanded. But this settlement was
far worse off than Surinam, and had neither goods
nor money to pay such a large amount, which was
out of all proportion to that of her neighbour. After
raising 118,000 guilders in various ways, the balance
was accepted in a bill of exchange on the proprietors,
two of the leading planters of the colony being taken
as hostages and security. Not satisfied with this, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span>
corsairs insisted on a further sum of ten thousand
guilders in cash, as ransom for the private estates,
on the ground that they had been paid only for the
fort and properties of the Government. There was
not so much money in the whole river, and after
collecting every bit of plate and jewellery they
possessed, to the value of six thousand guilders, the
enemy had to take the balance in sugar and stores.</p>

<p>Now came the most curious part of this transaction.
The two hostages died, and the proprietors refused to
pay the draft&mdash;in fact, they said Berbice was not
worth so much. Nevertheless the colony could not
be taken over as a French possession, and even when
the peace of Utrecht was signed in 1713, nothing
could be done. Here was an anomaly&mdash;a Dutch
settlement in the hands of French merchants as
security for a debt. On account of trade restrictions
its produce might not be brought to France, and the
owners of the draft neither knew what to do with
the document nor its security. The Dutch proprietors
were equally at a loss, for they knew very well that, if
they ignored the claim of the corsairs, revenge would
be taken on the first opportunity&mdash;during the next
war, if not before. At last one of the Marseilles
merchants was deputed to go to Amsterdam, and
after a great deal of haggling he sold the draft to a
third party at a reduction of about forty per cent.</p>

<p>Meanwhile Cassard had captured St. Eustatius,
and exacted a large ransom. From thence he
resolved to proceed to Cura&ccedil;ao, the great stronghold
of the Dutch, and the dep&ocirc;t for goods used in the
contraband traffic with the Spanish colonies. Here<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span>
there were many Jews, who had large stocks of
merchandise, and as the booty would be certainly
great, Cassard resolved to risk everything on such
an exploit. On his arrival he sent a boat ashore
with a demand for the surrender of the island, to
which the Governor sent a jeering reply, as he
considered the place impregnable. However, the
corsair fleet stood in for the harbour, but were
greeted with such a heavy fire that Cassard was
forced to retire and call a council. The balance of
opinion was against going any farther. The officers
said the Dutch guns were of heavier metal than
theirs, the currents round the island rendered a
landing almost impossible, and the entrance to the
harbour was so narrow that it could easily be
commanded by the two forts. However, Cassard
himself and a few others were in favour of the
attempt, and it was ultimately resolved to carry it
out on the morrow.</p>

<p>To deceive the Dutch, Cassard sent part of his
fleet on a cruise round the island, while he with the
remainder commenced to bombard the forts, keeping
this up during the day as if that were his line of
attack. The following night, however, he embarked
most of his men in small craft, and keeping the
lights on his ships burning, managed to land under
cover of the darkness. Fortunately for him, this
man&oelig;uvre was not perceived by the Dutch, for he
had quite enough to do in contending with a strong
current and in avoiding sunken rocks, which made
the landing so perilous that it is doubtful if even
these hardy fellows would have attempted it during<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span>
the day, when the dangers would be conspicuous.
However, they got ashore without serious accident,
and at once erected a breastwork for the light guns
they had brought.</p>

<p>Morning broke, and Cassard expected to see the
second half of the squadron returned from its cruise,
and ready to support him, instead of which it was
visible several miles to leeward. To add to his
difficulties, the Dutch had discovered the landing,
had erected a powerful battery a mile away, and
were preparing to attack him before his reinforcements
could come up. Yet in face of all this he
was undaunted. He must, however, attack at once,
and this was done, with the result that the forts were
taken. Cassard was wounded by a musket ball in
the foot, yet he did not relinquish the command,
but followed this first success by turning the guns of
the forts on the town. At the same time he sent a
flag of truce to the Governor, declaring, that if the
place were not at once surrendered at discretion he
would bombard it. In reply, the Dutch attacked
the forts, but were repulsed with great loss, and at
last terms were discussed, with the result that the
ransom was fixed at 600,000 louis d'ors. This
amount was considered so reasonable that the
merchants hastened to pay it over and get rid of
him, which they did in three days.</p>

<p>On his arrival in Martinique, Cassard found he had
been superseded in the command, and that the fleet
was ordered home. Giving the buccaneers their
share of the booty, he sailed for Brest, and on the
way met an English squadron. The French admiral<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span>
signalled his vessels not to fight, but Cassard, turning
to his second in command of the vessel, said his duty
to his king was above that to his admiral&mdash;he would
fight His Majesty's foes wherever he met them. On
that he bore down upon the English and captured
two small craft before nightfall, afterwards making
his voyage to Brest alone.</p>

<p>This want of subordination so incensed the admiral
that he preferred several charges against him, one
being that he had retained more than his share of
the booty. Whether this charge was true or not,
the "Hero of Nantes," as he was called, fell into
disgrace, followed by great poverty. Almost a
beggar, he was at last sent to prison for importuning
a cardinal and king's minister too much, by claiming
what he considered his rights. There he ultimately
died, and, like some others who have been as badly
treated in life, has now a statue erected to his memory
in his native town.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span></p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h3><a name="IX" id="IX"></a>IX</h3>


<h3>THE STRUGGLE FOR THE DARIEN TRADE</h3>


<p>Carthagena and Porto Bello were the great
trading stations for the Spaniards in the Indies.
The latter had taken the place of Nombre de Dios,
since that town had been destroyed by Drake, and
was now the port to which the treasures of Peru
were brought overland from Panama. The galleons
from Spain, after calling at St. Domingo, went on to
Carthagena, where the first great fair of the year
was held. Here the traders from the inland provinces
of New Granada came to get their supplies
from Europe, which they paid for in gold, silver,
emeralds, and produce. For the short time the
vessels remained, the people of the town woke up
from their year's inactivity, and made the most of the
occasion. Stores were in demand, and lodging-houses
required for the visitors, so that the cost of
living went up by leaps and bounds. Those who
had slaves got enormous profits by their hire, and even
the negroes themselves made large sums beyond the
amounts they had to pay their masters. The whole
place lost its air of desertion and became the scene
of such bustle and confusion as would hardly be<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span>
conceivable to those who saw it as a "sleepy hollow"
during the <i>tiempo muerto</i>, the dead time, as it was
called.</p>

<p>Having done with Carthagena, the galleons went
on to Porto Bello, the beautiful haven, said to have
been the most unhealthy place on the Main. By
reason of its noxious air and barren soil there was a
scarcity of provisions, which led to its desertion at
ordinary times. In anticipation of the fleet, however,
it woke up and became even more lively than Carthagena.
The only reason for its existence was the
trade across the isthmus, otherwise it would have
been deservedly abandoned. Here was held the
great fair, that at the other port being petty in
comparison. The concourse of people was so great
that a single chamber for a lodging during the busy
time sometimes cost a thousand crowns, while a
house would be worth five or six times as much.
As the galleons came in sight, the people began to
erect a great tent in the <i>Plaza</i> to receive their
cargoes, where they were assorted and delivered to
the various consignees or their representatives. The
crowd of men and animals soon became so great
that movement was difficult. Droves of mules came
over the isthmus loaded with cases of gold and
silver, which were dumped down in the open streets
or in the square, for want of storehouses. Yet, with
all the confusion, it is said that theft was unknown,
and losses through mistakes very rare. But not
only were there thousands of mules and their drivers,
but small vessels continually arrived from different
parts of the coast, bringing goods and people, to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span>
increase the hubbub. Here was a cargo of cinchona
bark, there another of cacao, and further on, by no
means the least important, were boat-loads of fresh
vegetables and fruits to supply the great assembly.
This went on for forty days, after which the port was
deserted and the town resumed its poverty-stricken
air. Then two persons in the streets formed a crowd
and half a dozen a mob. Solitude and silence
reigned, where so lately the bustle and noise had
been rampant, and the <i>tiempo muerto</i> ruled until the
following year.</p>

<p>It can be easily understood that the influence of
the Porto Bello fair was not only felt on the Gulf
side, but on the shores of the Pacific as well.
Panama was largely dependent on the transport
business, which employed a great number of mules
and slaves. Even in the absence of buccaneers and
pirates the road was always difficult, and sometimes
even dangerous. Heavy rains caused great floods,
which delayed the traffic for days, and left the tracks
on the hills so slippery that even that sure-footed
animal the mule was often carried over a precipice.
Then there were cannibal Indians and Simarons
always lurking in the forest, ready to cut off
stragglers. On the rumour of a buccaneer landing
on the coast&mdash;it might be a hundred miles away&mdash;the
traffic was at once stopped and the merchants
began to "fear and sweat with a cold sweat," as
Thomas Gage very quaintly puts it.</p>

<p>The Spanish merchants no doubt deplored this
state of things, and would have been thankful for a
good road instead of such an unutterably worthless<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span>
bridle track. There was, however, a side to the
question which probably influenced them&mdash;a way
that would be easy for them would also be more
accessible to their enemies. Then, again, a good
road should have been the work of the Spanish
Government rather than of the settlers, but it was
useless to expect anything from that direction.
Nevertheless, a good road and even a canal were
mooted before the end of the sixteenth century, thus
anticipating the Panama railroad and canal of our
own time. But, although the advantages were patent,
the difficulties were so many as to be practically
insurmountable, and nothing whatever was done.</p>

<p>Towards the end of the seventeenth century came
a sudden craze for carrying out gigantic schemes of
various kinds, practicable or impracticable, useful
or worthless, Utopian or utterly absurd. Among
them was the Mississippi scheme in France and the
South Sea Bubble in England, of which the latter
was intimately connected with the Indies. The time
had arrived when people began to think of trading
on credit or pledges, and of combining together for
carrying on banks and other commercial operations.
Private banks had existed for several centuries, and
more or less public establishments in the great
commercial centres, such as Venice, Amsterdam, and
Hamburg, but up to the present there was no Bank
of England. In fact the great principle that allows
an enormous trade to be carried on without the
actual interchange of specie or commodities had just
been discovered, and the people of France and England
went mad over it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span></p>

<p>The pioneer of the system in England was William
Paterson, who seems to have been acquainted with
Dampier and Wafer, both of whom knew the isthmus
of Darien very well. He is also said to have travelled
in the West Indies himself, and even to have visited
the Porto Bello fair, but this is not quite certain.</p>

<p>Paterson first came into prominence by bringing
forward a scheme which ultimately led to the establishment
of the Bank of England on the 27th of
July, 1694. From this he appears to have derived
no actual benefit, however, although he was one of
the first directors, upon a qualification of &pound;2,000
stock, which he sold out after the first year, and thus
withdrew. Probably he wanted his money to carry
out the new project for a settlement on the isthmus
of Darien.</p>

<p>In the course of this history we have advisedly
used the word "English" instead of "British," in
speaking of our nation, because as yet Scotchmen
were little concerned in colonisation schemes. In
fact, except as transported rebels or convicts, they
had hardly any interest in the plantations. This
was the result of Navigation Acts, which debarred
Scotch merchants and vessels from trading, by
ordering that all traffic with the colonies should be
carried on in English vessels and from English
ports.</p>

<p>Paterson's idea was to take possession of the
isthmus of Darien, establish a Scotch colony at a
convenient harbour on the Gulf side, and then open
up a proper road by which the trade would be so
much facilitated that it would become the great<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span>
highway. Seated between the two vast oceans of
the universe, he said, the isthmus is provided with
excellent harbours on both sides, between the
principal of which lie the more easy and convenient
passes. If these ports and passes were fortified, the
road could easily be secured and defended, thus
affording the readiest and nearest means of gaining
and keeping the command of the South Sea&mdash;the
greatest and by far the richest side of the world.
With the passes open, through them would flow at
least two-thirds of the produce of both Indies. The
time and expense of the voyage to China and Japan
would be lessened more than half, and the consumption
of European commodities soon doubled,
and annually increased.</p>

<p>He contended that Darien possessed great tracts
of country up to that time unclaimed by any
European, and that the Indians, the original proprietors,
would welcome the honest and honourable
settler to their fertile shore. The soil was rich to
a fault, producing spontaneously the most delicious
fruits, and required the hand of labour to chasten
rather than stimulate its capabilities. There crystal
rivers sparkled over sands of gold&mdash;there the traveller
might wander for days under a canopy of fruit-laden
branches, the trees bearing them being of inestimable
value as timber. The waters also abounded in wealth.
Innumerable shoals of fish disported themselves
among the rocks, and the bottom was strewn with
pearls. From the dawn of creation this enchanted
country had lain secluded from mortals&mdash;now it was
revealed and opened to Scottish enterprise. Let<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span>
them enter and take possession of this promised land,
and build a new city&mdash;a new Edinburgh, like Alexandria
of old, which grew to prodigious wealth and
power from its position on another isthmus&mdash;to soon
become famous as the new emporium of a new world.</p>

<p>The reader who has seen our account of Lionel
Wafer's miserable journey will be able to discount
these florid statements, but the Scotch people seem
to have taken everything for gospel. Now, at last,
they would have a colony&mdash;a plantation of more
value than any of those that the English had begun
to boast of. They were enthusiastic, and although
poor, did their very best to contribute, actually
promising the large sum of &pound;400,000. England
also subscribed to the extent of &pound;300,000, and
Holland and Hamburg &pound;200,000. Everything looked
bright, and at last a concession was obtained for the
"Company of Scotland, trading to Africa and the
Indies."</p>

<p>Strange to say, Paterson entirely ignored the
claims of Spain, although he must have known that
she would strenuously object to such a settlement.
It was all very well to say the place belonged to the
Indians, but the very fact of its vicinity to the great
trading centre and channel of communication with
the Pacific coast should have made him anticipate
trouble. Even if he argued that the buccaneers were
practically unmolested along the Mosquito shore, he
must also have known that their position was by no
means secure, and even had this been the case, that it
would have afforded to argument in favour of his
project.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span></p>

<p>To be successful he must also have had the support
of the English Government, but unfortunately this
was denied. Jealousy and envy between the two
countries led to representations adverse to the scheme
being made to King William, with the result that the
Company was discountenanced, and that most of the
promised subscriptions outside of Scotland were withdrawn.
Then came dissensions among the leaders
themselves, and this lost them half the amount from
their own county. Yet with all that Paterson was
undaunted, and, notwithstanding the diminished funds
at command, he still resolved to go on.</p>

<p>On the 26th of July, 1698, twelve hundred men in
five ships sailed for a place near the entrance of
the Gulf of Darien, a hundred miles to the east of
Porto Bello. It was afterwards stated that the vessels
were rotten and ill-found, although gaily decked with
flags on the day of departure, which hid some of their
deficiencies. The provision supply was bad, and, to
crown all, the captains were coarse, brutal, and ignorant,
continually quarrelling with each other. Through
envy, Paterson had been prevented from having any
voice in the arrangements, and although he went
with the expedition, he entered the ship as ignorant
of her equipment as any other passenger. But he
evidently had his doubts, for he asked for an inspection
of the stores, only to have his request treated
with contempt.</p>

<p>On the 27th of October the fleet came to anchor
in a fair sandy bay three leagues west of the Gulf
of Darien, now known as the Port D'Escoc&eacute;s. It
was an excellent harbour surrounded by high moun<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span>tains,
and capable of holding a thousand sail in
security from wind and tempest. The settlers named
the district Caledonia, and considered it to be fertile
and even healthy. They commenced at once to erect
a fort, to which they gave the name of St. Andrews,
and a cluster of houses for the town of New Edinburgh.
These labours gave them little time for
planting, and it naturally followed that they had
to live on the provisions brought from Scotland,
which, bad at the beginning, were now almost worthless.
Paterson sent emissaries to the neighbouring
Spanish settlements to ask for their friendship, and
went himself into the interior to arrange treaties with
the Indians, so that the Scotch might have a good title
to the land. In this latter object he was successful, and
it was agreed that peace should be kept between the
natives and the colonists, "as long as rivers ran and
gold was found in Darien."</p>

<p>After six days' absence he returned to find a great
change in the settlement. A spirit of mutiny and
discontent had broken out, those who worked hard
being naturally dissatisfied with others who did
nothing. Then the provisions became rotten, and
even then were so reduced in quantity that the
people suffered from want and its consequent sickness.
Four months passed, and nothing but daily
discouragements were encountered; not even a little
gold to enliven their spirits. Hard work under a
tropical sun began to tell upon them, and although
the friendly natives brought a little game, it was
almost useless among so many. Every day, however,
the number was reduced by death, fevers, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span>
dysentery playing sad havoc, until those who remained
were utterly dispirited.</p>

<p>To add to their troubles they were refused supplies
from Jamaica, King William having sent instructions to
the Colonial Governors to discountenance the colony
in every way. Paterson sent to Jamaica to get food
for the starving people, and instead, his empty vessel
brought copies of the Proclamation that had been
issued in that island. This stated that as His Majesty
knew nothing of the intentions and designs of the
Scots at Darien, and as their settling on the isthmus
was contrary to the peace of Spain, every one was
commanded not to hold any communication with them,
and not to supply arms, ammunition, provisions, or
anything whatsoever, on their peril.</p>

<p>In this desperate condition they awaited supplies
from Scotland, but these did not arrive, for the ship
had foundered on her way, and even Paterson began
to be discouraged when day after day passed without
relief. Even the reduced number could no longer
exist, and with heavy hearts they prepared to leave.
They had a ship, but no provisions for the voyage,
and on account of the prohibition were prevented
from victualling at one of the islands. At last, however,
they got together as much barbecued fish and
game as the Indians could procure, with a few fruits,
and sailed away. But even now fate was against
them. Hardly had they got out of the harbour
before they were becalmed off this deadly shore
for many days, their scanty supply of food diminishing
when it was so much wanted for the long voyage.
However, the remnant of about thirty, survivors of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span>
the twelve hundred, at last arrived at Charlestown,
Carolina, in a most miserable condition. Paterson
was himself so worn out that he lost his senses for
a time, becoming quite childish, yet he recovered, to
go back to Scotland and ask the Company for another
expedition.</p>

<p>This he urged on the ground that the first had
failed simply through the want of supplies and the
action of the English Government. Some were in
favour of still carrying out the project, and these
drew up a petition to the king, giving it for presentation
to Lord Hamilton. William the Third, however, refused
not only to receive the petition, but even to grant
an audience to its bearer. Lord Hamilton would not
be put off, however, but watched for his opportunity,
and found it one day as the king was mounting his
horse. He laid the petition on the saddle, which
made His Majesty cry out, "Now, by heaven, this
young man is too bold," adding in a softer tone, "if
a man can be too bold in the service of his country."
With that he threw the document from him and rode
off, afterwards, when memorial after memorial came
from Scotland, issuing a Proclamation against the
worry of such petitions.</p>

<p>Notwithstanding this refusal, another expedition
was sent out, the management of which was as bad
as that of the first. But this time the Spaniards were
on the alert, and hardly had the settlers begun to put
things in order before the enemy was upon them in
force. Famine and sickness again fell upon New
Edinburgh, added to the horrors of a siege, which
ultimately led to a capitulation on fair terms. But<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span>
so weak were they as the Spaniards allowed them to
embark, that their late enemies out of pity helped to
heave their anchors and set their sails.</p>

<p>It was long before the Scotch people forgot or
forgave their sister kingdom for her action in thus
frustrating their darling project. Besides impeding
the Union, it is said to have strengthened the Jacobite
feelings in the rebellions of 1715 and 1745. Even as
late as the year 1788, when it was proposed to erect
a monument in Edinburgh to King William the
Third and the "glorious revolution," the affair was
remembered, and some one suggested that the pedestal
should have on the one side a view of Glencoe,
and on the other the Darien colony. Queen Anne,
in 1702, tried to pacify her Scotch subjects by an
autograph letter, stating that she regretted the Company's
losses and disappointments, but this did not
kill the ill-feeling. As for Paterson, in 1715 the
English House of Commons voted him the sum of
&pound;18,241 as some indemnity for his losses, but as
the bill was thrown out by the House of Lords, he
got nothing.</p>

<p>Thus ended one of the most disastrous of British
attempts to colonise the Indies. From beginning
to end it was an example of the Dutch caution of
William of Orange, as contrasted with the recklessness
of Queen Elizabeth's time or the sturdy defiance
of Cromwell. The king was not prepared to risk
war for an idea, yet at the same time he would not
prohibit the expeditions.</p>

<p>From 1702 to 1713 there was war between England
and Holland on the one side, and France and Spain<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span>
on the other. By the treaty of Utrecht, which again
brought peace, the English received the concession
for the exclusive supply of negro slaves to the Spanish
colonies for thirty years. This <i>Assiento</i> contract was
given to the Great South Sea Company, which resulted
from one of those joint-stock manias, now epidemic
in France, England, and even Holland.</p>

<p>The Company was projected by the Earl of Oxford
in 1711, and, like the Mississippi scheme in France,
was intended to assist the Government, which was
virtually bankrupt. As yet there was no funded
national debt, but large sums were owing to the
army and navy, which had been provisionally settled
by debentures, that could be discounted only at a
serious loss to the owners. Down to the establishment
of the Bank of England in 1693 no public loan
existed, but this was commenced by borrowing the
capital of that institution. At the peace of Ryswick,
in 1697, the public debt amounted to twenty millions,
but by the time the South Sea Company was started
the arrears of pay made it half as much again. Part
of the great scheme was to advance this amount
on security of English customs duties amounting
to &pound;600,000 per annum, and a monopoly of the
Spanish trade in the Indies as far as the <i>Assiento</i>
contract would permit.</p>

<p>Whether the whole affair was a fraud from the
commencement is doubtful; there were certainly
misrepresentations in the prospectus, either wilful or
possibly in good faith. Spain was to allow free trade
to England in four ports on the Pacific, and three
vessels besides slavers were to go to the isthmus
<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197-198]</a></span>every year&mdash;concessions never promised nor intended
by Philip the Fifth. The slave trade was a fact, and
according to the statements it would give fabulous
profits.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;">
<img src="images/p197.jpg" width="600" height="430" alt="MAP OF TERRA FIRMA." title="" />
<span class="caption">MAP OF TERRA FIRMA.<br />
(<i>From Gottfried&#39;s &quot;Reisen.&quot;</i>)</span>
</div>

<p>Visions of boundless wealth now floated before the
eyes of the English people, and they at once began
to rival the French in their madness, as they had in
their colonisation. The English Government was
ready to make every possible concession because it
wanted to be rid of the incubus of thirty millions,
and therefore did nothing to check the Company.
As the stock was issued it was at once bought
up, and then sold again at a considerable advance.
Everybody expected to make fortunes, therefore they
must get shares at any price. Rumours of peace
with Spain, and great concessions that would bring
all the riches of Peru and Mexico into their coffers,
roused them still more. Gold would soon be as
plentiful as copper, and silver as iron. The shareholders
would be the richest people the world ever
saw, and every share would give dividends of hundreds
per cent. per annum. The bill making the Government
concessions was passed in April, 1720, when the
stock was quoted at &pound;310 for a hundred pound share.
Strange to say, it then began to fall, but the projectors
put forth a rumour that England was about
to exchange Gibraltar for a port in Peru, and confidence
was restored at once. So great was the
increased demand that another million was issued at
&pound;300 per &pound;100 share, and these were so much run
after that the fortunate owners were at once offered
double what they had paid. Then another million<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span>
was offered at &pound;400, and in a few hours applications
were received for a million and a half.</p>

<p>People were so eager to invest their money that
they swallowed almost any bait thrown to them.
Hundreds of bubble companies hovered on the outskirts
of the parent, among them one for settling the
barren islands of Blanco and Sal Tortugas, another to
colonise Santa Cruz, and a third to fit out vessels for
the suppression of piracy. But perhaps the most
absurd was "a company for carrying on an undertaking
of great advantage, but nobody to know what
it is."</p>

<p>Near their highest point the South Sea Shares were
sold at &pound;890, but so many wanted to sell at that
price that they soon fell to &pound;640. This put the
directors again upon their mettle, and they set to
work with fresh rumours and pushed them up to
&pound;1,000, from which they suddenly went down, with
a few fluctuations, until utterly worthless. The
treasurer of the Company ran away to France when
the blow fell, but the directors were arrested and
their estates ultimately confiscated. Thousands of
people were ruined, and the public credit received a
blow from which it took many years to recover.</p>

<p>Meanwhile the South Sea Company had not been
altogether idle. Besides the slave vessels they were
entitled to send <i>one</i> ship annually to the Carthagena
and Porto Bello fairs, this being called the <i>Navio de
permisso</i>. It was not to be larger than five hundred
tons, yet the Company picked out the biggest they
could find and filled it with goods, to the exclusion
of food and water, which were carried in small store<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span>
vessels that waited outside the harbour. This caused
a great deal of dissatisfaction, as the English brought
so much that they could under-sell the Spanish
merchants in their own market. In 1715 the <i>Bedford</i>,
nominally of six hundred tons, was seized at
Carthagena on the ground that her burden was
excessive. By the Spanish measurements the cargo
was said to have amounted to 2,117&frac12; tons, and the
excess was confiscated and ordered to be sold.
However, the English protested, at the same time
passing over some valuable presents to the authorities,
with the result that a remeasurement was
ordered, which made the amount only 460 tons.</p>

<p>In 1716 the Spaniards took Campeachy and sixty
English logwood vessels, which occasioned another
war. The English claimed that they had an undoubted
right to cut logwood at that place, and that
former kings had always maintained them in this.
For a long time they had quietly possessed a part of
Yucatan, uninhabited by Spaniards, and they claimed
not only the privilege of wood-cutting, but of settlement
as well. Probably the little notice taken of
their attack on the Darien colony made the Spanish
authorities think England ready to bear any insult,
but they soon found out their mistake. War was
declared in 1718, and all the property of the South
Sea Company, including debts, was confiscated, the
whole amounting to &pound;850,000. This would have
been a great blow to the Company had it been
genuine, but as we have seen, its mercantile transactions
were secondary considerations.</p>

<p>Peace was restored by the Treaty of Madrid in June<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span>
1721, when the <i>Assiento</i> contract was renewed in
favour of the Royal Company instead of that of the
South Sea. So much dissatisfaction had been created
by the concession for a trading ship, however, that
the English did not insist upon its continuance, and
therefore only slave vessels were to be permitted to
visit the Indies in future. Everything that had been
seized from the South Sea Company was to be
restored, or its equivalent value paid, but the amount
actually received only came to &pound;200,000, which did
not go far to help the unfortunate shareholders.</p>

<p>Thus, this small measure of free trade with the
Spanish Indies came to an end, and things went on
much the same as before. English, Dutch, and
French vessels still carried on the contraband
traffic, doing all they could to evade the law, often
with the assistance of the local authorities. The
Spanish settlers got their supplies so much cheaper
in this way than through the usual channels, that
they were not likely to give up buying as long as the
smugglers ran the risk. At last, however, the authorities
received very strict orders to enforce the law,
with the result that vessels were often captured, their
cargoes confiscated, and crews imprisoned. Then the
Spanish <i>guarda-costas</i> claimed the right to search
vessels of other nationalities, and to confiscate them
if they found produce from their colonies on board,
or other evidence that they were carrying on illicit
trade.</p>

<p>This led to another dispute with England, which
claimed compensation for such seizures and the abolition
of the right of search. English vessels had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span>
always resented this overhauling, and latterly several
had fought the <i>guarda-costas</i> rather than submit,
with the result that, when captured, their crews were
treated with a severity often amounting to cruelty.
In 1739 several petitions were presented to the British
Parliament, complaining of such outrages, and asking
the Government to obtain redress. Among them was
one from Captain Jenkins, the master of a Scottish
vessel, who was examined by the House. His story
was that he had been boarded by a <i>guarda-costa</i>, the
Spaniards from which searched his vessel without
finding anything contraband. Apparently enraged
at their discomfiture, and possibly annoyed by the
jeers of the English, they cut off one of Jenkins'
ears and told him to carry it to his king with the
message that they would do the same to him if he
came near the Main. Finally, according to Jenkins'
statement, he was further tortured and threatened
with death. "What did you think when you found
yourself in the hands of those barbarians?" asked a
Member of the House; to which the captain replied,
"I recommended my soul to God and my cause to my
country." The severed ear he exhibited in Parliament
as he had done elsewhere whenever he told the
story.</p>

<p>It was then stated that the losses from Spanish
depredations by plundering and the taking of fifty-two
vessels, since 1728, amounted to &pound;340,000. In
every case the masters and crews were brutally
treated, and in some cases murdered. The English
demand for compensation was met by the reply that
the king had ordered inquiries to be made, and that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span>
if any of his subjects were found guilty they would
be punished according to their deserts; also that
orders would be given to conform exactly to the
treaties. It was, however, claimed that the treaty of
1667 did not contain any clause bearing on the navigation
and commerce of the Indies, and that the
English had been wrong in supposing they had a
right to sail and trade there; they were only permitted
to sail to their own islands and plantations,
and were therefore subject to confiscation if they
changed their course to make for the Spanish possessions
without necessity. There were then in Havana
fifteen British vessels which had been detained on one
pretext or another, and about the same time the
<i>Success</i> from London to Virginia was captured off
Montserrat, and her captain and crew set adrift in an
open boat to find their way ashore as best they
could.</p>

<p>In January, 1739, a convention between Great
Britain and Spain was arranged, under which the
latter agreed to pay &pound;95,000 on account of these
demands, less the value of certain vessels which they
agreed to restore. This did not satisfy the West
India merchants, and they petitioned against it. The
indemnity was to be paid on the 10th of July, but that
date having passed without a settlement, Great Britain
issued letters of marque and ordered all Spanish
vessels in her waters to be seized. Spain commenced
reprisals the following month, and war was actually
declared by Great Britain on the 19th of October.
The declaration stated that for several years past
unjust seizures and depredations had been carried on,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span>
and great cruelties exercised. The British colours
had been ignominiously insulted, against the laws of
nations and solemn treaties, and Spain had lately
ordered British subjects from her dominions within a
shorter period than had been covenanted by express
stipulation in those treaties.</p>

<p>In July previous a fleet under Admiral Vernon had
sailed from Spithead, and after a short cruise off the
Spanish coast, went over to the West Indies, arriving
at Antigua the 27th of September. Going on to
Jamaica, Vernon prepared for a grand raid on the
Spanish settlements, leaving for Porto Bello on the
5th of November with six vessels and 2,500 men.
They arrived on the 21st, and bombarded the forts,
which made a stout resistance; but while this was
going on, the British landed and took the town, thus
compelling the forts to capitulate. Two warships and
several other vessels were captured, as well as specie
to the amount of ten thousand dollars, but the town
was not pillaged, although the guns were either taken
away or rendered useless, and the forts as far as
possible demolished. This was virtually the end of
that stronghold, as it was afterwards allowed to fall
into decay, to be ultimately replaced by Chagres,
Grey Town, and Colon. Later, also, the treasure
from Peru had much diminished, and the isthmus
sunk in importance, especially after the way round
Cape Horn and through the Straits of Magellan was
adopted more and more.</p>

<p>As the dispute with Spain had arisen from her
action in the Indies, so retaliation on the part of
Great Britain was greatest on the Main. In February,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span>
1740, Vernon again sailed from Jamaica, and on the
6th of March bombarded Santa Martha, but did not
capture it. After repairing damages at Porto Bello
he went on to Chagres, took a Spanish man-of-war
from under the guns of the fort, captured the place,
and demolished it. In January, 1741, Sir Chaloner
Ogle came out from England with a fleet, and joined
him, making a force of 12,000 men in twenty-nine
sail-of-the-line besides smaller vessels.</p>

<p>This great fleet sailed for Hispaniola in hopes of
encountering that of Spain and France, but not
finding it went on to Carthagena. This, the other
great stronghold on the Main, was guarded by two
powerful batteries, a boom across the entrance to the
port, and four Spanish men-of-war just inside. After
a long cannonading the batteries were silenced, a
landing accomplished at night, and a passage made
by which the fleet entered the harbour. Here, however,
further progress was checked by sickness and
disagreements among the commanders, with the
result that the siege was raised and partial success
ended in miserable failure. This was followed by
another check at Santiago de Cuba, which virtually
terminated all hopes of further great exploits, although
attempts were made on La Guayra and
Puerto Cabello.</p>

<p>Yet with all this the Spaniards undoubtedly
received a great lesson. Their men-of-war were
captured from under their fortresses, and small
English or colonial vessels performed such deeds
of daring as had hardly been equalled since the
Elizabethan age. The old spirit still existed al<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span>though
it might lie dormant for a time&mdash;the men
were there when the hour came. In 1740 Captain
Hall in a New England privateer came to an anchor
under the fort of Puerto de la Plata, pretending to be
a Caracas trader. He wanted to land in the night
and surprise the town, but found that the inhabitants
kept such a good watch that he had to give up that
idea. However, the Governor was sick and sent to
ask the loan of Hall's surgeon, and here was the
opportunity he wanted. The surgeon, quartermaster,
and an interpreter visited the Governor, and at the
same time seven of Hall's crew landed and surprised
the fort, dismounted the guns, marched into the town
and plundered it, finally escaping with the loss of only
one man.</p>

<p>Peace was at last concluded on the 7th of October,
1748, but nothing was said in the treaty of the right
of search. The <i>Assiento</i> contract was confirmed, and
one English trading ship allowed as formerly; free
trade with the Indies, however, was still one of those
things which could never be conceded.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span></p>


<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h3><a name="X" id="X"></a>X</h3>

<h3>SLAVE INSURRECTIONS AND BUSH NEGROES</h3>


<p>With war almost continuously raging at their very
doors the West Indian planters not only risked their
fortunes but their lives. During the seventeenth
century England spent something like thirty-five
years in fighting her enemies, and in the eighteenth,
forty-six. As long as the quarrel was with Spain
alone the colonists cared but little, but when France
turned against them the struggle was much fiercer.
The French were always most audacious in their
assaults, and the consequences were all the more
disastrous because they were such near neighbours.
We have already spoken of St. Kitt's and the
difficulties produced on that island by its division
between the two nationalities. These were only
terminated by its entire cession to England, which
did not take place until the peace of Utrecht in
1713. Meanwhile, besides the two defeats of the
English already mentioned, they were driven out in
1689, to return the following year and expel the
enemy, retaining entire control until the peace of
Ryswick gave France again her share. Then in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span>
1702 England once more held full possession until
the island was assured to her entirely.</p>

<p>Barbados, alone among the British West Indian
islands, stands in the proud position of a colony
that has never fallen into the hands of another
nation. It has never even been seriously attacked
beyond the attempt of De Ruyter. And yet the
island was poorly fortified, as compared with the
great strongholds of the West Indies such as Carthagena
and Cura&ccedil;ao. Possibly "the game was
not worth the candle," for on the one hand there
was little plunder to be had, and on the other a
strong force of hardy Englishmen to be encountered.
We have seen already how the Parliamentary fleet
was kept at bay, and what an amount of trouble
the islanders gave before they capitulated. Even
then they were not actually conquered, although
there could be no question as to the ultimate result.</p>

<p>But not only had the colonists to stand up against
the enemy from outside, but there was another danger
which lay within their plantations and dwellings from
which even Barbados was not free. The slaves had
to be kept under subjection, and the planters must
always be on the alert to anticipate riots and insurrections.
For although the negro in most cases
was submissive, at times he recovered that savage
nature which had only been suppressed by force
and discipline.</p>

<p>When we read of flogging to death and other
horrible cruelties of the planters and authorities,
we are inclined to sympathise with the African
and look upon his masters as worse than brutes.
<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209-210]</a><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210"></a></span>But to appreciate the full significance of these
punishments we must judge them by the codes in
existence at the time, remembering that nothing
was ever done to the blacks that had not also been
endured by whites for similar crimes. True, these
punishments were retained for slaves after they had
become obsolete for Europeans, but then the negro
was undoubtedly stubborn and less amenable to
persuasion than any other race. Like a mule he
had to be broken in and trained, and like that
stubborn animal he often gave great trouble in the
process. There were differences of opinion as to
various ways of teaching the negro, and it was only
a long experience that ultimately led to gentle
conciliation instead of flogging.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 320px;">
<img src="images/p209.jpg" width="320" height="449" alt="A REBEL NEGRO" title="" />
<span class="caption">A REBEL NEGRO<br />
(<i>From Stedman&#39;s &quot;Surinam.&quot;</i>)</span>
</div>

<p>The slaves often ran away, and had to be hunted
for and brought back. In the larger islands and on
the Main they hid in the forest and swamp, where
they formed communities, to which other runaways
flocked until they became strong enough to hold
their own. From these recesses they often came
forth to pillage the plantations, murder the whites,
and get the slaves to go off with them in a body.
If the buccaneer was ferocious he had at least some
method in his madness; the poor ignorant African,
on the contrary, let his passions dominate him entirely.
In revenge for fancied tyrannies he would
commit the most atrocious crimes, torturing his
prisoners by cutting them to pieces or even flaying
while they still lived.</p>

<p>Is it any wonder that when caught the bush negro
or maroon was severely punished, and that the utmost<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span>
rigour of the law was exercised? As for flogging,
every one knows how common that was at the beginning
of the present century. Some of us can even
look back to a time when the use of the rod and
whip on delicate children was a matter of course.
Even fine ladies took their little ones to see executions
that now horrify us to think of; in a similar
way the planter's wife stood at her window to see
the punishment of her house-servant.</p>

<p>We could tell of negroes burnt to death, where a
downpour of rain put out the fires and left them to
linger in torment for hours, of taking pieces of flesh
from the unhappy criminals with red-hot pincers,
and, most horrible of all, breaking on the wheel.
These punishments often took place in the middle
of a town, but only on one occasion have we seen
any mention of the horror of the scene, and this
referred to the smell of burning flesh. Yet the
criminals&mdash;for it must be remembered that they
had been legally convicted and sentenced&mdash;showed
a stoical indifference to pain almost incredible. As
savages they gloried in showing their ability to
endure torture, only craving sometimes for a pipe
of tobacco to hold between their teeth until it fell.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span></p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 310px;">
<img src="images/p212.jpg" width="310" height="425" alt="THE EXECUTION OF BREAKING ON THE RACK." title="" />
<span class="caption">THE EXECUTION OF BREAKING ON THE RACK.<br />
(<i>From Stedman&#39;s &quot;Surinam.&quot;</i>)</span>
</div>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span></p>
<p>The maroons or bush negroes began to form communities
on the Main and in the larger islands from
very early times. In Jamaica they were the remnant
of the Spanish slaves who ran away on the arrival of
the English, with accessions from deserters at later
periods; in Surinam some of those who had been
sent into the forest to prevent their capture by
French corsairs. In both places they maintained
their independence, and ultimately made treaties
with the colonial authorities, greatly to their own
advantage. In Essequebo and Demerara they were
kept down by subsidising Arawak Indian trackers,
who hunted them from savannah to forest, and from
forest to swamp, killing and capturing them almost
as fast as they ran away. In the smaller and more
settled islands the runaways were generally recaptured
at once and severely punished as a warning
to others. There the more daring plotted
insurrections which often caused much trouble for
a few days until suppressed. They did not last
long, for the negroes were wanting in the power of
combination, because they all wanted to be leaders.
Then there was generally some faithful slave or
white man's mistress to give the warning, which
sometimes caused such prompt action that the outbreak
did not occur at all. Yet with all that the
danger was serious, and one that could hardly be
coped with by forts and batteries.</p>

<p>As early as the year 1649 a plot for a general
rising in Barbados was discovered through the information
of a bond-servant. All the whites were
to have been murdered, but fortunately the ringleaders
were arrested before the time fixed and
eight of them condemned to death. Then in 1676,
under the leadership of a Coromantee, it was arranged
that on a certain fixed day, at a signal to be given
by blowing shells, all the cane-fields should be set
on fire, the white men killed, and their women retained
by the negroes as their wives. This also was
frustrated by information received from a house<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span>
negress. Hearing two men talking of the matter,
she made inquiries, and learnt of the plot in time
to inform her master. Six of the prisoners were
burnt alive and eleven beheaded, while five committed
suicide by hanging themselves before the
trial. The story was told in a pamphlet entitled,
"Great Newes from the Barbados, or a true and
faithful account of the great conspiracy." Yet
again in 1693, after a fearful epidemic had much
reduced the number of the whites, a third conspiracy
was set on foot. The Governor was to have
been killed, the magazine seized, and the forts surprised
and taken. When the plot was nearly ripe
two of the leaders were overheard conversing about
it and instantly arrested. They were hung in chains
for four days without food or drink, promises of
pardon being made if they revealed their accomplices,
which they did at the end of that time, with
the result that some were executed and others cruelly
tortured. We might go on to tell also of the abortive
insurrection of 1702 and several others, but as
there were never any very serious risings in Barbados,
we must proceed to other colonies.</p>

<p>In Jamaica several abortive attempts at general
insurrections were made, some of them assisted by
the maroons, who continually received accessions to
their numbers from desertion. These people also
made incursions on their own account, which led
the Government to offer &pound;5 a head for every one
killed, the reward being payable on the production
of his ears. In 1734 they destroyed several plantations
and killed a hundred and fifty white men, which<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span>
led to an attempt at suppressing them altogether.
Captain Stoddart therefore took a detachment of
soldiers into the mountains to the maroon town of
Nanny. Arriving at night he planted a battery of
swivel guns on a height that commanded the collection
of huts, before the negroes were aware of his
coming. They were rudely awakened from their
sleep to find the place surrounded, and in alarm
many flung themselves over precipices in their hurry
to escape. Some were killed, a few captured, and
the town utterly destroyed. About the same time
a party of maroons from another place were so bold
as to attack the barracks at Spanish Town.</p>

<p>Two years later, under Captain Cudjo, the maroons
became so formidable that two regiments of regular
troops besides the island militia were employed to
reduce them. The Assembly also ordered a line of
block-houses or posts to be erected as near as
possible to their haunts, at which packs of dogs
were to be kept as part of the garrison. Then they
sent to the Main for two hundred Mosquito Indians
whom they engaged as trackers. This brought
matters to a crisis, and Captain Cudjo was compelled
to sue for peace, which was granted. A
treaty was therefore made with them in 1738 at
Trelawny town, by which they were to be considered
as free on condition that they captured runaway
slaves, assisted in repelling invasions, and
allowed two white residents to remain in their towns.
Thus peace was restored for a time, and the Mosquito
Indians were allowed to go back to their
country.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span></p>

<p>However, Jamaica was not to be free from slave
insurrections apart from the maroons, for in May,
1760, at St. Mary's, the slaves of General Forrest's
plantation fell suddenly upon the overseer while he
was at supper with some friends, and massacred the
whole company. They were immediately joined by
others, and commenced a career of plundering and
burning all the plantations in the neighbourhood.
Business in the island was at once suspended, martial
law proclaimed, and every white man called out to
assist in putting down the revolt. The negroes,
however, tried to avoid an open conflict, trusting
to hide in the forest, where, however, a large body
was discovered and defeated. The maroons had
been sent for, but did not arrive until this action
had taken place, when they were sent in pursuit of
the flying rebels. This they pretended to do, and
in a few days returned with a collection of ears
which they said had been taken from those whom
they had slain, and for which they were paid. The
story was found out afterwards to have been a falsehood,
as instead of pursuing the fugitives they had
simply cut off the ears of those who had been slain
before they arrived. This led the authorities to
think the maroons in league with the revolted slaves
and afterwards to look upon them with distrust.
However, by the aid of a body of free negroes, the
rebels were at last captured, to be punished in the
cruel manner so characteristic of the time. Some
were burnt, some hung alive on gibbets, and about
six hundred transported to the Bay of Honduras.
Two were hung alive on the parade at Kingston,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span>
one to linger for seven days and the other for nine,
during which time it was said "they behaved with
a degree of hardened insolence and brutal insensibility."
In the course of the whole insurrection
about sixty whites and four hundred negroes were
killed, and damage done to the amount of one
hundred thousand pounds.</p>

<p>In 1736 a slave revolt took place at Antigua, or
rather it was discovered and anticipated. Five negroes
were broken on the wheel, six hung in chains and
starved to death, one of whom lived for nine days and
eight nights, fifty-eight were burnt at the stake, and
about a hundred and thirty imprisoned. These
horrible punishments were intended as a warning to
the others, and no doubt they had such an effect
on that generation.</p>

<p>Few of the early insurrections met with any success,
notwithstanding that the negroes largely outnumbered
the whites in every colony. At the most the blacks
had a few days' liberty to murder, burn, and pillage,
after which came the terrible retribution. There was,
however, one conspicuous exception: poor Berbice
was actually taken over, and every white man driven
from the plantations.</p>

<p>The Dutch were noted nigger drivers, and although
the English were unable to boast much of their
humanity, they stigmatised the Hollander as a cruel
master. If a negro was obstinate, the Englishman
threatened to sell him to a Dutchman or Jew,
but the worst threat of all was to give him to a
free negro. Whether this bad character was deserved
or not is doubtful, but it is quite certain that<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span>
the criminal law of the Netherlands permitted "the
question" when a prisoner would not admit his guilt.
This, however, was applicable to white as well as
black, there being no particular slave code in the
Dutch colonies.</p>

<p>What was the immediate cause of the great rising
of 1763, in Berbice, was never exactly ascertained,
but vague complaints were made of ill-treatment by
certain planters. It commenced on the 27th of
February, on an estate in the river Canje, and from
thence spread like wildfire over the whole colony.
The population consisted of, besides the free Indians,
346 whites, 244 Indian slaves, and about 4,000 negro
slaves. The garrison was supposed to consist of
sixty soldiers besides officers, distributed at several
forts and posts, but owing to sickness only about
twenty were fit for duty when the rising took place.</p>

<p>An epidemic of fever and dysentery had prevailed
for two years among both whites and slaves, weakening
the former in such a manner that they had no
courage to contend with the revolted negroes, but
mostly ran away to Fort Nassau when they heard
of the rising. Almost out of their senses from fright,
they urged Governor Hoogenheim to abandon the
fort and colony at once. Only one of the councillors
stood by the Governor, and it was as much as these
two could accomplish to prevent even the soldiers
from running away. As for moving against the
rebels, this was impossible, for not one of the colonists
would follow Councillor Abbinsetts in his attempt to
do something. Their fright even affected the officials
and soldiers in such a manner that the Governor<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span>
could hardly escape their importunities to be allowed
to leave.</p>

<p>Four vessels lay in the river, two merchant ships
and two slavers, but even their crews were sick, and
the captain of one so utterly broken down that he
could not attend to his duties. The Governor tried
to get them to go up the river and do something, but
they were almost as frightened as the colonists. Only
in one place were the negroes opposed; a few whites
taking refuge in the block-house at Peereboom, some
distance above the fort, where their way of escape
was cut off. But for want of a little assistance they
were compelled to make terms with the negroes.
Under the agreement the whites were to be allowed
to go down to the fort in their own boats, but as soon
as they began to embark the negroes fell upon them,
men, women, and children, massacred some and took
others prisoners, a few only managing to get across
the river.</p>

<p>Among the fugitives was a lad named Jan Abraham
Charbon, whose story gives a graphic picture of the
alarm and consternation produced by the insurrection,
and of its results on himself.</p>

<p>He was the son of a planter, and the alarm was
brought to the estate at night by a faithful slave.
The plantations below were all in the hands of the
rebels, who were burning and murdering on both
sides of the river. The whites from several neighbouring
estates gathered together and decided to
make a stand at Peereboom, hoping for assistance
from Fort Nassau. They got to the block-house
early in the morning, to the number of thirty whites,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span>
with a body of faithful slaves, who had not yet deserted
them, although they did so later.</p>

<p>Soon after their arrival the insurgents surrounded
the house and attacked it, the whites making a
successful defence until seven o'clock in the evening.
Then one of Charbon's slaves came forward and asked
if they wanted peace. On receiving a favourable
reply the leaders on both sides came to the agreement
above-mentioned. Next morning the whites were
fired upon as they went to embark, and Charbon was
wounded. However, he jumped into the river and
swam across, hiding himself in the jungle, where he
came upon another fugitive named Mittelholzer.</p>

<p>For eight days the two wandered about the forest,
losing their way and almost dying from hunger and
thirst. They dared not approach the river for fear
of the negroes. Once they came upon the back of
a plantation and hurriedly gathered a few cobs of
Indian corn, immediately afterwards running back
into the bush to eat them. While lying down a
negro with a sabre passed quite close without seeing
them, but presently another with a gun peeped into
the bushes and caught sight of them. On this
Mittelholzer ran out with his drawn sabre and so
furiously attacked the rebel that he cut off one of his
hands, captured his gun, and put him to flight. However,
this audacity did not save him, for he was captured
soon afterwards, Charbon managing to escape
into the forest. Alone the boy wandered about for
six or seven days, until, again becoming desperate
from hunger, he returned to the same plantation, to
fall into the hands of the negroes. He was stripped<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span>
of his clothes, put in the stocks, flogged, and threatened
with death, but was finally spared on account of his
youth, and because the rebel chief, "King" Coffee,
wanted a secretary to write letters to Governor
Hoogenheim, proposing terms.</p>

<p>Meanwhile the poor Governor hardly knew what
to do. He sent to Surinam and Demerara for assistance,
but while awaiting this the military officers
informed him that the fort was untenable against
even a single assault. The wooden palisades were
so rotten that a strong man could pull them down
easily, and then the building was of wood and could
easily be fired. He was ultimately obliged to destroy
it and retire down the river, where he at first took
possession of the lowest plantation, Dageraad, hoping
to remain there until assistance arrived. But even
here the rumours of an attack by the rebels made the
people clamorous to be allowed to leave, and Hoogenheim
had to retire to the mouth of the river, where
there was a small guard-house, or signal station, near
the site of what is now New Amsterdam. Thus the
last hold on the plantations was given up, and the
whole colony abandoned to the negroes.</p>

<p>A month passed before the first arrival from Surinam.
All that time the Governor and a few whites
waited day after day, sometimes almost in despair.
The vessels had, at the request of their captains, been
allowed to leave, carrying with them some of the
people, while others had gone off to Demerara. This
desertion was almost necessary, as the food supply
was very limited and of a poor quality&mdash;cowards were
useless, and therefore no objection was made to their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span>
departure. Hoogenheim was at last somewhat relieved
by the arrival of the English brigantine <i>Betsy</i> with a
hundred soldiers from Surinam, and with this small
contingent he at once began to retrace his steps with
a view to recover the colony. He went back to
Dageraad, and in a day or two after was attacked by
seven hundred negroes, who fought from early morning
to noon, when they retired after suffering a great
loss in killed and wounded. It was after this battle
that young Charbon arrived with a letter bringing
"greetings from Coffee, Governor of the negroes of
Berbice." The rebel chief said that as the negroes
did not want war, he would give His Honour half the
colony, while he himself would govern the other half
and go up the river with his people, who were determined
never again to be slaves. No notice was taken
of this, and Charbon, who had been warned to bring
back an answer at his peril, was too pleased to get
back to his white friends to again wish for his post
of secretary.</p>

<p>Even now the Governor's situation was not only
perilous, but most pitiful. St. Eustatius sent two vessels,
but almost as soon as they arrived the men were
attacked by sickness, and instead of being a help they
had to be nursed, even the Governor himself taking
his part in the necessary attendance. At one time
there were not enough healthy soldiers to relieve
guard, but fortunately Coffee had no means of knowing
this, or all would certainly have been over with
them.</p>

<p>It was not until December that a fleet arrived from
the Netherlands, and then a horrible vengeance over<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span>took
the rebels. There was not much difficulty in
subduing them, especially when a large contingent
of Indians was sent overland from Demerara to drive
them from the forest. In March, 1764, the trials
began with a hundred ringleaders, fifty of whom were
sentenced to death. Fifteen of these were burnt,
sixteen broken on the wheel, and twenty-two hanged.
The following month they executed in similar ways
thirty-four, and later again thirty-two. The chiefs
were burnt at slow fires, punishment which they bore
with the utmost stoicism. One named Atta, however,
told the bystanders that he only suffered what
he deserved. Finally, in December a general amnesty
was proclaimed, which made the negroes cry out with
joy, <i>Dankje! Dankje!</i></p>

<p>Berbice was of course utterly ruined for a time.
The plantations were overrun with weeds, the buildings
in ruins, and many of the slaves missing. Of
the whites only 116 remained; the rest were dead
from sickness, had been killed by the negroes, or
had fled from the colony. The loss in killed was
small, as the general fright prevented any show of
resistance. What would have happened if the whites
had fallen into the hands of the rebels was shown in
one or two flagrant cases. One of the colony surgeons
was said to have been flayed alive on the ground that
he had poisoned the slaves by forcing them to take
medicine. One poor girl who had been captured at
Peereboom was compelled to submit to the embraces
of King Coffee and driven mad, while another committed
suicide to prevent a similar degradation.
About eight hundred slaves were missing, most of
<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224-225]</a><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225"></a></span>whom had been killed, as very few managed to escape
to the bush.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 311px;">
<img src="images/p224.jpg" width="311" height="428" alt="MARCH THROUGH A SWAMP." title="" />
<span class="caption">MARCH THROUGH A SWAMP.<br />
(<i>From Stedman&#39;s &quot;Surinam.&quot;</i>)</span>
</div>

<p>Behind the coast of Guiana is a long stretch of
swamp, which in slavery times was the general resort
of runaways. For miles extends a grassy plain like
a meadow, the sedges entirely covering the two to
four feet of water which would otherwise give it the
appearance of a great lake. Except through the
various streams that drain it, access is almost impossible
during the rainy season, and even the Indians
care little to explore its recesses beyond fishing in
the canal-like creeks. However, here and there are
little islands or sand reefs, and on these the runaway
slaves took refuge. First, perhaps, a murderer would
escape and hide himself for a time until the hue and
cry had abated, returning now and again to the plantation
at night for the purpose of getting provisions
from his friends. Then others would follow, until
a party of twenty to a hundred, with their wives, had
established a little village. Towards the end of the
last century a number of these communities of bush
negroes had been formed in Demerara, and their depredations
became so common that regular expeditions
were sent against them, guided by Indian trackers.
In 1795 they joined with the slaves to raise a general
insurrection, but special measures were taken so that
they were almost suppressed for a time.</p>

<p>Before this they had formed a line of stations for
seventy miles from the river Demerara to the Berbice.
Every camp was naturally surrounded by
water, and by driving pointed stakes in a circle, and
leaving the entrance to wind through a double line<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span>
under water, they were made almost impregnable.
To reach them the attacking party had to wade up
to their middles through perhaps a mile of ooze and
water, to be cut with razor grass, and all the time at
the mercy of the negroes. Only during the dry
season was anything like success possible, and even
then the negroes generally saved themselves by flight.</p>

<p>Many of the slaves were friendly with the runaways,
but they were much feared by the more timid.
On one occasion a negro went to cut wood at the
back of a plantation in Demerara and came suddenly
upon the outpost of a camp, probably the
entrance to the concealed path which led to the little
sand reef. In walking along he stepped upon a
bush-rope, and immediately after heard a bell ring
above his head. Before he could get away a ferocious
bush negro stood before him and demanded his business,
but the poor slave was so frightened that he ran
home and reported the occurrence to his master.
Some of the slaves went so far as to enjoy hunting
runaways&mdash;in fact, there was little love lost between
the two parties. One of these was offered his
freedom as a reward for the assistance he had given
in an expedition, the Government engaging to purchase
him of his owner provided they both consented.
Tony, however, did not wish to leave a good master,
and refused, stipulating, however, that he should retain
the right to accept the kind offer at some future
period. When his master ultimately left Demerara,
some years afterwards, Tony claimed his promised
freedom and got it.</p>

<p>While the bush negroes in other parts of Guiana<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span>
were kept within reasonable bounds, those of Surinam,
like the maroons of Jamaica, had never been conquered.
Treaties were agreed to by them in 1749 and
1761, but disputes continually occurred, with the result
that the colonists were always more or less in
fear of their raids. Then they carried off most of the
slaves whenever they attacked a plantation, until
their number became so great as to be a real danger.
In 1773 the authorities in the Netherlands resolved to
make a special effort to conquer them, and for this
purpose raised a corps of all nationalities which was
put under the command of Colonel Fourgeaud.</p>

<p>That soldiers should be brought from Europe for
such a service shows the utter ignorance of the Dutch
authorities. If the colonists themselves could not put
down the bush negroes, how could it be expected that
this would be effected by fresh troops from a cold
climate, who had no knowledge of the country, the
mode of fighting, or the difficulties of travelling
through the bush and swamp?</p>

<p>Commissioners had visited them at different times
to arrange the treaties, but there was generally something
wrong with the presents (virtually blackmail),
or else they were given to the wrong parties. In 1761
the chief Araby had insisted on the commissioners
binding themselves by his form of oath. This was
done by each party tasting the blood of the other.
With a sharp knife a few drops were drawn from the
arm of each person into a calabash of water with a
few particles of dry earth. After pouring a small
quantity of this mixture on the ground as a libation,
the calabash was handed round from one to another<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span>
until all the company had taken a sip. Then the gadoman
(priest) took heaven and earth&mdash;exemplified by
the water and clay&mdash;to witness the agreement, and
invoked the curse of God upon the first who broke it,
the company and crowd of negroes around calling out
<i>Da so!</i> (that is so, or amen).</p>

<p>Yet, after all this solemnity, quarrels soon arose
again. One chief with his sixteen hundred people
had come to terms, but these did not bind his neighbour,
who perhaps had half as many. The different
chiefs were not united in any way, and it followed,
therefore, that, after thousands of guilders had been
spent on one, the others made incursions to get a
share of the good things for themselves. To the
colonists they were all bush negroes, but among themselves
they were as distinct as if they had been different
nations. Even when at peace, and when the
chiefs had received gold-headed canes as symbols of
authority, they would often call at the outlying
plantations and demand rum or anything else they
fancied, which the whites dared not refuse.</p>

<p>The immediate occasion for the special corps from
the mother country was an insurrection of the slaves
in 1772, who, after plundering and burning some of
the plantations, and murdering their owners, fled in
great numbers to join the bush negroes. The whole
colony was a scene of horror and consternation&mdash;the
colonists expected the rising to become general, and
took refuge in Paramaribo, thus leaving their plantations
unprotected. However, it was soon checked,
mainly by raising a body of three hundred free
negroes, called rangers, who were expert bush<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span>fighters,
and therefore thoroughly well fitted to cope
with the rebels.</p>

<p>One of the chiefs named Baron had settled on an
island in the swamp, such as we have described, where
he defied the whole colony. There were no means of
communication except hidden tracks under water, and
in addition to the palisades the chief had erected a
battery of swivel guns which he had stolen from the
plantations. Thus triply defended by water, stakes,
and guns, it is no wonder if he thought his position
impregnable. However, he was discovered by a party
of rangers, and assaulted by them and a large body
of white soldiers. Camping first on the edge of the
swamp about a mile away, they could see Baron's
flag waving in defiance on the little island, while they
were at their wits' ends to find a means of getting at
him. A great many shots were wasted by both sides
before they found the distance was too great, even for
the swivel guns, and then the rangers began to act.
Several weeks were passed in attempting to make a
causeway by sinking fascines, but when the workers
had come within range, so many were killed that it
had to be abandoned. In despair of ever effecting
anything, they were about to retire, when some of the
rangers discovered the hidden pathway under water.
A feint was now made of attacking one side by one
party, while another crept along the track, and thus at
last the fortress was stormed. A terrible hand-to-hand
fight took place, in which many were killed on both
sides, but even then Baron managed to escape with a
good number of his followers.</p>

<p>This defeat made little impression, for soon after<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span>wards
the slaves on three plantations killed their white
masters, and, like the others, went off to join the bush
negroes. It was now felt that something must be done
or the colony would have to be abandoned. The bush
negroes had to be hunted from their recesses, however
difficult the task might be, otherwise there would be
no safety even in the town itself. The expeditions
could only move in Indian file, exposed to ambushes
in the most difficult parts of the track, and firing from
behind trees everywhere. There was no possibility of
bringing the party together if attacked; it followed,
therefore, that the long string of men went forward
with the utmost caution. In front came two powerful
blacks with machetes or cutlasses to clear the way,
and immediately behind them the vanguard. These
were followed by the main body alternating with
ammunition bearers, and, finally, a long line of carriers
with food, medicines, utensils, and kill-devil (rum)
with the rearguard. Sometimes the party would
flounder through a swamp for hours, holding their
firearms above their heads to keep them dry. Then
drenching showers would fall, and give the greatest
trouble to prevent the powder from becoming useless.
Creeks had to be passed on fallen trees, or the party
would be detained until a trunk was felled and
trimmed to afford a passage. Exposed to malaria,
mosquitoes, bush ticks, and maribuntas, they went on
day after day, only to find, on reaching the village of
the bush negroes, that they had gone elsewhere, to
perhaps turn up at some unprotected plantation. The
European troops died off in great numbers, while the
enemy were in their element. It followed, therefore,
<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231-232]</a><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232"></a></span>that little was done, and that the old system of conciliation
had to be adopted, with the same unsatisfactory
results. Finally, by utilising their mutual
jealousies, about 1793 they were driven so far away
from the settlements as to become almost harmless.
Their descendants still exist almost as savages, with
curious manners and customs, partly inherited from
their African forefathers, and partly adopted from
their neighbours the Indians.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 429px;">
<img src="images/p231.jpg" width="429" height="308" alt="TRELAWNY TOWN." title="" />
<span class="caption">TRELAWNY TOWN.<br />
(<i>From Edwards&#39; &quot;West Indies.&quot;</i>)</span>
</div>

<p>We must now return to the maroons of Jamaica,
who had not been conquered, although a nominal
treaty existed, and the white residents remained at
their posts. In July, 1795, two of them were flogged
for pig-stealing, and this was considered a disgrace on
the whole community. On the return of the pig-stealers
to Trelawny they raised a great outcry, and
the resident was at once ordered to leave on pain of
death. Efforts were made to pacify them, but they sent
a written defiance to the magistrates who had ordered
the flogging and declared their intention to attack
Montego Bay. The militia were called out and
soldiers applied for, but before the preparations were
completed, a body of maroons appeared and asked for
an interview with four gentlemen whom they named.</p>

<p>Hoping the matter might be prevented from going
farther, these and several other whites went to the
rendezvous, where they were received by three hundred
armed men. The maroons complained of the disgrace
on the whole body, through the flogging having
been performed by a negro overseer in the presence
of felons, and demanded reparation. They wanted,
first, an addition to their lands, and, second, a dis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span>missal
of the then resident in favour of one they had
formerly. Promising to forward their requests to the
Governor, the gentlemen left, the maroons appearing
as if pacified.</p>

<p>However, this interview was only applied for to
gain time, and especially to allow the departure of
the British fleet which was then on the point of
leaving, and might be detained if they moved too
quickly. On the report that there was a probability
of a settlement of the matter the fleet left, when the
maroons immediately began to plot with the slaves
for a general rising. Reports of this had been received
by the Governor before, but just after the
men-of-war had departed more definite news arrived,
which induced him to send a fast-sailing boat to bring
them back. Fortunately this was successfully accomplished,
and at once confidence drove out the fear of
murders, fires, and plundering which had alarmed the
inhabitants. The slaves were correspondingly disheartened
and left the maroons to fight alone.</p>

<p>But even the maroons themselves became divided
in opinion on the return of the military and naval
force. The Governor taking advantage of this, issued
a proclamation calling upon them to submit, but only
thirty-eight old men came forward, the others being
determined to fight. They set fire to their own town
and commenced hostilities by attacking the outposts.
This led to a pursuit in which the whites fell into an
ambuscade, many being killed, without as far as was
known doing any harm whatever to the enemy. Now
commenced a series of raids on the plantations, in
which even infants at the breast were massacred.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span></p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 302px;">
<img src="images/p234.jpg" width="302" height="364" alt="PACIFICATION OF THE MAROONS." title="" />
<span class="caption">PACIFICATION OF THE MAROONS.<br />
(<i>From Edwards&#39; &quot;West Indies.&quot;</i>)</span>
</div>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span></p>
<p>The matter becoming serious, the General Assembly
resolved to hunt the rebels with dogs, as had been intended
before the treaty. They accordingly sent over
to Cuba for huntsmen with their powerful blood-hounds,
the descendants of those which had once
worried the poor Indians, and afterwards assisted the
buccaneers. Times had changed however, and a
feeling grew up that hunting men with savage beasts
was not quite the thing. This led to some expressions
of opinion adverse to the action of the executive,
but they excused themselves on the ground that
the safety of the island demanded extreme measures.
If war was justifiable at all, any and every means,
they said, was allowable; in fact, "all was fair in
war."</p>

<p>Meanwhile the maroons had been driven to their
strongholds in the mountains, where they had little
to eat, and were virtually compelled to ravage the
plantations for food. On the arrival of forty <i>chasseurs</i>
with their hundred dogs, however, they became
alarmed, and began to sue for mercy. It does not
appear that there was any real necessity for using
the animals, their presence being enough for the purpose.
They were led <i>behind</i> the troops, and on their
appearance the maroons surrendered in great numbers,
this putting an end to the insurrection.</p>

<p>Now came the question of what was to be done
with them. It was argued that no country could
suffer people to live in it unless they could be controlled
by law, and that obedience could not be
expected from these people. To expect it was entirely
out of the question; it was therefore resolved<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span>
to transport them from the island. Accordingly, in
June, 1796, six hundred were sent to Halifax, Nova
Scotia, where lands were granted them and a subsistence
allowed until crops could be raised. Not
liking the climate, they were ultimately established
in Sierra Leone, where they became the nucleus of
the present colony. Those who had submitted remained
in Jamaica, where their descendants are still
well known.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span></p>


<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h3><a name="XI" id="XI"></a>XI</h3>

<h3>THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE SEAS</h3>


<p>By the middle of the eighteenth century Spain
had fallen behind, and even Holland had lost her
prestige. It followed, therefore, that the only Power
that could rival Great Britain was France, and she
was an enemy that could never be despised. The
struggle in the West Indies between these two
Powers now became, if possible, more intense; and
if the result gave the sovereignty of the seas to
Britons, they have mainly to ascribe it to their naval
training in this part of the world. The mistakes of
Admiral Vernon were lessons which, being borne in
mind by later admirals, tended to prevent similar
disasters in the future.</p>

<p>There was a short intermission in the struggle
between 1748 and 1756, when the "Seven Years'
War" commenced; but before the actual declaration
hostilities had commenced between the two
rivals in India and North America. Now arose one
of England's great admirals, Rodney, who gained his
laurels in the Caribbean Sea, and was mainly instrumental
in putting France in the background as a
naval power. He first came to the front in 1759,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span>
when he bombarded Havre, and later, with that other
great seaman, Sir Samuel Hood, he became a "household
word" in the West Indies.</p>

<p>Before they appeared, however, the British captured
Guadeloupe, and commenced a general raid
upon the French shipping. But, as usual, our gallant
foes were by no means despicable, for in 1760 they
claimed to have taken 2,539 English vessels, against
a loss of only 944. On the 5th of January, 1762,
Rodney sailed from Barbados for Martinique, in
command of eighteen ships of the line, and on the
4th of the following month the island capitulated.
Then Grenada was taken, to be followed by Dominica,
Tobago, St. Vincent, and St. Lucia, thus
giving the whole of the French Caribbees into the
possession of Great Britain. Spain being also involved,
Admiral Pococke attacked Havana in May,
and, after a siege of twenty-nine days, took the
Morro Castle, a fort hitherto considered impregnable.
A fortnight later the Governor of Cuba was compelled
to capitulate, thus giving the town also into
the hands of the British. These exploits made
France and Spain sue for peace, which was signed at
Paris in February, 1763, when Grenada, St. Vincent,
Dominica, and Tobago were ceded to Great Britain,
the other captures being restored.</p>

<p>After this war positive orders were sent to the
British West Indies to break off all trade and intercourse
with the French and Spanish settlements,
with the result that contraband and other traffic was
thrown into the hands of the Dutch and Danes.
Then the Dutch islands of Cura&ccedil;ao and St. Eustatius<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span>
began to flourish more and more, and those of the
Danes, St. Thomas and St. John, became free ports.
During the wars these islands rose to a pitch of
prosperity hardly possible to any of those belonging
to the combatants, on account of their neutrality.
Naturally they were almost barren and of little
account as plantations; but as <i>entrep&ocirc;ts</i> they were
exceedingly useful, not only to their owners, but to
the belligerents as well. Here alone could French,
Spanish, and British ships meet without fighting, and
for them they could run when pursued by the
enemy.</p>

<p>The island of St. Thomas was first colonised in
1666, but for a long time it made little progress. It
became useful to the pirates, however, mainly from
its being a safe place at which to dispose of their
captures. Then merchant vessels found it sometimes
convenient to go in to escape these rovers, perhaps to
be followed by them, and yet remain safe until an
opportunity occurred for escaping their vigilance.
Prizes were brought here and sold, the prospect of
good bargains leading to the settlement of a number
of rich merchants, and especially Jews. What with
all this, and a little contraband traffic, the people of
St. Thomas did very well, and soon the harbour
became one of the busiest in the West Indies.</p>

<p>And here we must mention that the Jews were a
very important factor in the development of the
early settlements. It will be remembered that large
numbers of these people were driven from Spain after
the conquest of Granada, and how they went to
Portugal and the Netherlands. A large number also<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span>
went to Brazil, where at first they had a measure of
freedom in the exercise of their religion not granted
in the mother country. When the Dutch captured
Brazil, perfect freedom followed; but after Portugal
took her own again, this was withdrawn, and in consequence
many left for Surinam and the West
Indian islands. Here they were joined by some of
their co-religionists from Holland, and in time became
a powerful body of planters, but more especially
traders. To them were due many improvements in
the manufacture of sugar, and even the introduction
of the cane into some places. In every colony there
was a small community, often with a synagogue, and
their connection one with another, as well as their
virtual neutrality, made their transactions more safe
than those of other traders. As may be supposed,
they had no love for the Spaniard, and consequently
were the main financiers, not only of privateers, but
even pirates.</p>

<p>St. Thomas, Cura&ccedil;ao, and St. Eustatius lived by
the misfortunes of others. No longer could the jolly
buccaneer sell his prizes and booty at Jamaica; he
must go elsewhere, and let other places reap the
advantage of his free and easy bargains. For it was
"easy come, easy go" with him, and the fortune he
made was soon wasted in riotous living. This was
all to the advantage of the wily Jew, who first
haggled about the price of a cargo, and then got his
money back by charging enormous profits on the
supplies. The rover was as careless as the proverbial
"Jack ashore," and could easily be induced to spend
his last piece of eight on the luxuries so temptingly<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span>
laid before him, utterly regardless of the consequences.
He had only to go out and capture
another vessel to be able to return and renew his
jollification.</p>

<p>In war time these harbours were crowded with the
shipping of all nations, and many a fortune was
made that enabled the merchant to go to Europe
as a West Indian nabob. Then there was a great
demand for neutral vessels, in which goods could be
transhipped for conveyance to colonies where the
belligerent flag might bring a crowd of privateers
before the vessel got safely into harbour. Even
physicians and surgeons made their piles, for there
was always more or less sickness on board the
vessels, and a hundred dollars a visit was a common
fee.</p>

<p>In 1774 began the dispute with the American
colonies of Great Britain, and four years later France
joined them, thus bringing trouble again upon the
West Indies. The first important move was made
by the French, who, in September, 1778, took Dominica,
on which the English retaliated by capturing
St. Lucia. Then a fleet was sent out from England
under Admiral Byron, and another from France
under Count de Grasse. The French took St. Vincent
and Grenada, and every island of either nation
was in a state of alarm and consternation. In July,
1779, Spain joined the others against England, on
the ground that her flag had been insulted. To this
it was replied that she harboured American privateers,
and furnished them with false documents,
under which they carried Spanish colours. Thus<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span>
England had her hands full, for the Yankees alone
gave her quite enough work, without the addition
of these old rivals.</p>

<p>As yet Rodney had not come out, but in the years
1778 and 1779 he pressed his claim on the Government
to have a command in the West Indies. The
seas were well known to him, and he had his views as
to the proper mode of carrying out operations; but
for some time his application was refused. Finally,
however, in October, 1779, he was appointed to replace
Admiral Byron, with supreme control over the
operations in the Caribbean Sea, as well as freedom to
intervene if necessary on the American coast.</p>

<p>Rodney was at last satisfied, and he left in December
with a convoy, the whole fleet numbering three
hundred. In the centre were transports and merchant
vessels, and on either side men-of-war. Off
Cape Finisterre he captured a convoy of sixteen
Spanish vessels, and beyond Cape St. Vincent fought
with another squadron, and captured four men-of-war,
including the admiral. On then to the relief of
Gibraltar, from whence he sent part of the fleet into
the Mediterranean, and where he remained until
February 13, 1780, when he sailed for the West
Indies.</p>

<p>Arriving off St. Lucia on the 28th of March, he
came upon the French fleet under De Guichen, which
he attempted to engage, but was prevented from the
want of skill in his captains. The result was that
both fleets sailed away from each other without much
damage to either, both stating that the other refused
to fight. As, however, the French had thirty vessels<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span>
to the English seventeen, they could have compelled
an action; so that, although the affair was not creditable
to either, it was perhaps a little more disgraceful
to the larger fleet. Rodney was in a great rage. He
attributed his failure to the incompetency of his
subordinates, who had not been properly trained to
make combined naval evolutions. Every captain, he
said, thought himself fit to be Prime Minister of
Britain.</p>

<p>However, he continued his cruise, barring the way
of the French, and driving De Guichen to St. Eustatius
to refit. Now he began to teach his captains
those naval man&oelig;uvres in which he considered them
so much wanting, which his assistant admiral, Sir
Hyde Parker, did not altogether like. Rodney, it
appears, treated all his subordinates as if they were
raw recruits, and, while he gained obedience, created
a great deal of ill-feeling. But, with all their training,
they could not bring De Guichen to fight, even
when they encountered him a second time; yet we
may presume that the training was by no means
wasted.</p>

<p>As if Great Britain had not enough enemies, in
December, 1780, she declared war with the Dutch,
on the ground that they assisted the American
colonies. What a formidable array&mdash;the Colonies,
France, Spain, and Holland! Yet, somehow or
other, she managed to cope with the whole.</p>

<p>St. Eustatius was the great offender among the
Dutch colonies. Notwithstanding that the home
Government had sent out strict orders to all her
settlements not to honour the flag of the revolted<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span>
British colonies, or to supply them with contraband
of war, there is no doubt that they were very loose in
inquiring into such transactions. As we have said
already, this and other islands were very useful to
the belligerents; and, as we have just stated, De
Guichen went to St. Eustatius to escape Rodney and
refit. This was no doubt a sore point with the
British admiral, who barred the enemy's passage to
his own islands only to see him get what he needed
from the Dutch.</p>

<p>When the news of the declaration of war came
out, Rodney was ready at once to pounce upon the
offender; and on the 3rd of February, 1781, before
the authorities of St. Eustatius had heard the news,
he appeared in the harbour. The Governor could
hardly believe his ears when an officer appeared to
demand the surrender of the island to His Majesty of
Great Britain, but being entirely unprepared, and
quite unfitted to cope with such a force, he was
obliged to surrender at discretion.</p>

<p>Here was the opportunity for revenge, and Rodney
embraced it. Even his best friends could hardly
excuse the arbitrary doings which followed, and
which were stigmatised as unworthy and almost
dishonourable to a British admiral. Being determined
to root out this nest of contrabandists, he
confiscated all the property of the inhabitants, and
ordered them to quit the island. The harbour was
filled with shipping, and the stores with goods, the
vessels numbering two hundred and fifty, and the
contents of the stores worth about three million
pounds. Here was indeed a disaster to the Jews,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span>
not only of St. Eustatius, but even of British islands,
for they were all in correspondence. Rodney went
so far as to say that many of the English merchants
ought to have been hanged, for it was through their
means, and the help of this neutral port, that the
enemy were able to carry on the war.</p>

<p>The people were astonished at such unheard-of
treatment. Never before had such a thing happened,
except in the raids of buccaneers and pirates. The
Jews petitioned Rodney and General Vaughan to
rescind their decision. They had received orders to
give up the keys of their stores and inventories of
the goods in them, as well as household furniture and
plate; then they were to prepare themselves to quit
the island. Such orders from British commanders,
whose principal characteristics were mercy and
humanity, had distressed them in the extreme, so
that their families were absolutely in despair.</p>

<p>This appeal had no effect, even when it was supported
by some of the British officers, and such an
auction now began as was never known before. The
news reached Barbados and the other islands, and
down came a horde of speculators, prepared to make
their fortunes at once if possible. Such a haul did
not occur every day, and they intended to take
advantage of it. Thousands of bales of goods were
brought out and sold, without either seller or buyer
knowing anything of their contents. They might
contain rich silks and velvets or the cheapest slave
clothing. It was a grand lottery in which every
bidder got a prize, although they were in some cases
of little value. No one needed to despair of a bargain,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span>
however, for there was so much to sell as compared
with the number of purchasers, that everything went
cheap. Some few got bitten, but in the end hardly
a tithe of the value of the goods was obtained.</p>

<p>While this was going on at St. Eustatius, some
Bristol privateers got information of the outbreak of
hostilities, and pounced upon Demerara and Berbice,
where they levied blackmail and captured most of
the shipping. As usual with these plunderers, they
had no authority to capture the colony, nor had they
in this case even commissions against the Dutch.
However, they put the inhabitants in a state of
consternation, until, a few days later, two men-of-war
arrived from Barbados to receive the capitulation,
which was demanded on the same terms as that of
St Eustatius, although neither party knew what
these terms were. Nothing was left but submission,
although the authorities protested against such an
unheard-of manner of dictating unknown terms.
The Governor of Barbados had heard from one of
the inhabitants of that island that the Directeur-General
of Demerara had expressed, at his dinner-table,
his fears that in case of a war the river would
be plundered by privateers, and of his preferring to
surrender to one of the king's ships: for this reason
he had sent the men-of-war. This was considered a
bit of "sharp practice" by the Demerarians, but perhaps
turned out for the best.</p>

<p>Two commissioners were appointed by the colony
to go in one of the English vessels to St. Eustatius
and arrange the articles of capitulation, which were
fortunately on altogether different lines from those<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span>
of that island. Surinam, St. Martin's, Saba, and St.
Bartholomew's also surrendered on the same unknown
terms, but the admiral said that he and General
Vaughan thought they ought to be put on a different
footing. They would not treat them like the other,
whose inhabitants, belonging to a State bound by
treaty to assist Great Britain, had yet nevertheless
assisted her public enemies and the rebels to her
State, with every necessary and implement of war as
well as provisions, thus perfidiously breaking the very
treaties they had sworn to maintain.</p>

<p>The treatment of St. Eustatius caused a great stir,
not only in the West Indies, but in England as well.
A remonstrance was sent to Rodney by the merchants
of St. Kitt's, who claimed that a large quantity of
their goods had been seized. Some of these were
insured in England, and they considered their
Excellencies responsible for their losses, for which
they would seek redress by all the means in their
power. It was impossible, they said, for many of
them to be more utterly ruined than they then were,
and they asked that certificates in reference to their
property should be sent to England, in demanding
which they were claiming a right rather than a favour.
In reply, Rodney said he was surprised that gentlemen
who called themselves subjects and merchants
of Great Britain, should, when it was in their power
to lodge their effects in the British islands to windward,
under the protection of British laws, send them
to leeward to St. Eustatius, where, in the eyes of
reason and common sense, they could only be lodged
to supply their king's and country's enemies. The<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span>
island, he continued, was Dutch&mdash;everything in it
was Dutch&mdash;all was under the Dutch flag. As Dutch
it should be treated, and this was his firm resolution
as a British admiral, who had no view whatever but
to do his duty to his king and country.</p>

<p>Two merchants from St. Eustatius went to London,
where they were examined by the Attorney and
Solicitor-Generals. They clamoured for justice, and
got it, for one of them was committed on a charge of
high treason for corresponding with the American
agent at Amsterdam, and for furnishing the
Americans with military stores and ammunition.
Several attempts were made to injure Rodney with
the king, but the blow on the enemy was so severe
that His Majesty would not listen to the detractors.
It is said that a cry of rage went up from the French
and American colonies, and that Rodney gloried in
his triumph. He was undoubtedly inclined to ride
rough-shod over everybody and everything, but as
long as he was successful, only the enemy complained.</p>

<p>But the trouble was not yet over, for the merchants
of St. Kitt's sent lawyers to file their claims in the
Admiralty Courts. Then St. Eustatius was recaptured
for Holland by the French, and the tide
turned against the admiral. Now was the time to
attack him, and his enemies took advantage of it.
The mob that threw up their caps and shouted for
joy at the glorious news of the capture, now lifted
their hands in horror at Rodney's misdeeds. Even
his friend Hood was guilty of the meanness of charging
his comrade with carrying off vast sums of money,
and never accounting for them. Rodney was recalled<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span>
to England, where he arrived on the 19th of September,
1781, in ill-health, and rather downspirited. In
December Burke moved the House of Commons for
a committee to inquire into the affair, but although
he pressed the motion with all his powers of oratory
it was rejected.</p>

<p>Meanwhile the French were turning the tables
upon the late victors and having their revenge for
the disasters which had fallen upon them. This led
to Rodney being again consulted, with the result that
on the 19th of February, 1782, he arrived in Barbados
with twelve ships of the line. This was the most
critical period during the whole war. On the 19th of
October previous, Lord Cornwallis had surrendered
to the Americans at Yorktown, and this disaster was
followed not only by the loss of the West Indian
captures, but of the British colonies of St. Kitt's,
Nevis, Montserrat, Dominica, and St. Vincent. It
was by the special request of the king that Rodney
had been again sent out, and before his departure he
declared that either the French admiral or himself
should be captured. Lord Sandwich, to impress him
the more, on the eve of his departure said: "The
fate of this Empire is in your hands, and I have no
wish that it should be in those of any other."</p>

<p>Meanwhile the Count de Grasse was at Martinique,
preparing a large fleet for the final reduction of the
British by conquering Jamaica. He was expecting
large reinforcements of French vessels and troops,
which Rodney tried unsuccessfully to cut off. On
the 8th of April the French were reported as having
sailed for Hispaniola, where they were to be joined<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span>
by a Spanish contingent, and Rodney at once sailed
in pursuit. The result was that, at last, on the 12th,
a decisive victory was gained off Dominica. Admiral
de Grasse was captured, many of his fleet destroyed,
and the whole expedition broken up. The British
West Indies were thus saved, and the people of
Jamaica erected a statue to the gallant admiral.
Rodney, in concluding his despatch giving the
account, said it was his most ardent wish that the
British flag should for ever float in every part of the
globe, and there is no doubt that this triumph conduced
to such an end. It stands prominently forth
as the greatest sea fight of the age, and was only
eclipsed by those of Nelson, who we may state
received much of his naval training in the West
Indies.</p>

<p>In January, 1783, peace was again restored. Great
Britain lost her American colonies, restored those
she had taken from France and Holland, and got
back her own, except the island of Tobago, which
was ceded to France. From Spain she got the right
to cut logwood between the rivers Hondo and Belize,
on the understanding that all other places on the
coasts of Central America should be abandoned, and
that no forts be erected on the concession.</p>

<p>For ten years there was peace, and during that
time the planting colonies were developed to a
wonderful extent, while those dependent on the
contraband traffic became much depressed. The
English settlements increased in value so much, that
in 1788 they were calculated to have under cultivation
two million and a half acres, with five hundred<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span>
and sixty thousand slaves. These were the palmy
days of the slave-trade, when the importations leapt
up year after year, with a corresponding increase in
the export of produce. The property was valued at
over eighty-six millions sterling, Jamaica coming
first, but nearly every other island flourishing to an
extent hardly credible to those who have only seen
them after their downfall.</p>

<p>What Jamaica was to the English, the western
portion of Hispaniola became to the French, and even
Spain increased her productions, now that things had
become settled, and treasure seeking less remunerative.
Altogether, the period from this time, to the end of the
century, may be considered as the planter's best days,
and the "good old times" of which we hear so much
but find it so difficult to precisely indicate.</p>

<p>On the 1st of February, 1793, peace was again
broken by the French Convention, the declaration of
war being made against England and Holland. Thus
began that struggle which seemed interminable at
the time, and which actually lasted twenty-two years.
As usual the West Indies suffered, but this time they
were not quite so much the scene of contention as
they had been formerly. Tobago was captured from
the French on the 15th of April, but during the
remainder of the year little was done. In January,
1794, however, Admiral Sir John Jervis arrived at
Barbados, and in the following month took Martinique
after a severe struggle. Then he went on to St. Lucia,
which also surrendered, and before the end of April
Guadeloupe fell. Then came reverses; a French
fleet arrived, and all were recaptured.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span></p>

<p>Meanwhile France had invaded Holland, and
established a sister republic on her own lines,
rendering it necessary for the Stadtholder, the Prince
of Orange, to fly off to England. From Kew, where
the king had given him a residence, he wrote letters
to all the Dutch colonies, asking the authorities to
place them in the hands of the British, and treat
people of that nationality as friends and allies.
With these despatches British fleets were sent to all
the possessions of Holland, but only one or two
obeyed the command, the result being that the
others had to be taken by force, until hardly a Dutch
colony existed in any part of the world.</p>

<p>In October, 1796, Spain joined France on the
ground that the British, in their operations against
the enemy, had injured her in several ways. One of
the reasons given was so absurd that we can hardly
conceive it to have been put forth seriously. Great
Britain had captured Demerara, and this put her in
a situation to possess positions of greater importance.
Spain, however, got nothing by her taking up the
quarrel, for her trade was absolutely swept from the
seas, and communication with America almost cut
off. This state of things became so troublesome that
for the first time in her history neutral vessels were
permitted to trade in her American colonies. She
also lost the island of Trinidad, which had remained
in her possession since the days of Ralegh.</p>

<p>Soon the whole of the West Indies and Spanish
Main were virtually under the control of Great
Britain, little opportunity being given to her enemies
of crossing the Atlantic. No longer could the Carib<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span>bean
Sea be the scene of the great struggle&mdash;the
forces of the combatants were wanted nearer home.
Now again came the harvest of the little island of St.
Thomas, until Denmark was also numbered among
the enemies of the "Queen of the Seas." Then the
United States came to get her pickings as a neutral,
which gave such an impetus to her ship-building and
commerce, that later the seamen trained under such
auspices became formidable rivals to the British.</p>

<p>The colonists did not altogether dislike this great
war. True, freights and insurances were very high,
but then the prices of produce were high also. There
was a spice of danger in every voyage, but after all
the risk was not so very great until the vessels came
into the Channel. Then there was a convoy to protect
them, and they might even get prize money by
capturing traders of the enemy. Every vessel went
armed, and many a privateer of the enemy got severely
beaten by a gallant body of merchant seamen and
passengers. This was a glorious time for the British
navy, but the fleets in the West Indies had little to
do after the beginning of the war. There was a great
disturbance on the island of Hispaniola, a riot in
Grenada, troubles in the French islands, and a few
skirmishes here and there, but nothing of much consequence
to the British.</p>

<p>There were many small difficulties of course, and
the navigation laws had to be relaxed generally in
favour of neutrals, as otherwise provisions would have
been scarce. The Dutch were not altogether displeased
with British rule, for Cura&ccedil;ao, which had not
been conquered, was captured from its French garrison<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span>
in 1800, at the request of the inhabitants, whose trade
had been entirely stopped. Then the Spanish colonies
came to an arrangement by which much of their produce
went through British hands, and this prevented
the neutrals from getting everything.</p>

<p>In 1802 the peace of Amiens gave France a rest
for about ten months, when she got back her own
and the Dutch colonies, leaving Trinidad as an addition
to those of Great Britain. Hardly, however, had
they taken possession, when the treaty was broken,
and the British were again in their midst. A great
deal of the work which had been undone by the peace
had now to be undertaken afresh, but it was ultimately
accomplished, so that things went on much the same
as before.</p>

<p>The year 1805 was notable for Nelson's trip across
the Atlantic in search of the French fleet, which however
fled before him and got back to Europe. The
same year also saw the heroic defence of "H.M.S."
Diamond Rock, which however was not a ship, but an
improvised fortress, which after a long struggle was
obliged to capitulate. Hundreds of gallant exploits
were performed in the West Indies by both English
and French, and thus the war went on year after year,
until it became something to be calculated for in
commercial transactions. People began to look upon
it almost as a natural state of things, and fathers told
their children that they had peace on one occasion
long ago for as many as ten years.</p>

<p>The British had undoubtedly become very arrogant.
Their position on the sea was so supreme that they
did much as they pleased with the few neutrals. This<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span>
sort of thing did not suit the North American traders,
who were Englishmen also, and like their forefathers
resented any interference whatever. It resulted, therefore,
that the United States declared war in January,
1813, and made the planters understand what took
place "when Greek met Greek." Almost immediately
every colony was pestered and worried by a number
of fast-sailing schooners, as dangerous in a sense
as had once been the fly-boats of the buccaneers.
The heavy sugar boats going from plantation
to port were captured in great numbers, and
some of the harbours actually blockaded by the
"Saucy Jack," the "Hornet," and other audacious
Yankee craft with names as suggestive of their
characters. Then, indeed, the West Indies were
roused from their apathy&mdash;war was actually at their
doors. However, peace came at last, and after 1815
it might be expected that the islands would go on
prospering and to prosper.</p>

<p>Such, however, was not the case. In 1807 a great
difficulty had come upon them by the abolition of the
slave-trade, which at once put a stop to all extensions,
either in the way of new plantations or of the acreage
under cultivation. This was the first great check, and
with the fall in prices, which ensued when Britain
became the consignee of almost every settlement,
caused a cry of "Ruin!" to arise, which has continued
with short intermissions down to the present day.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span></p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h3><a name="XII" id="XII"></a>XII</h3>

<h3>DOWNFALL OF HISPANIOLA</h3>


<p>Before the abolition of the slave-trade had affected
the British islands the French colonies were distracted
by the results of their great revolution. Hispaniola,
or rather that portion now known as Hayti, had
become, as we before said, the most important colony;
we must now give the story of its downfall. If this
had happened by the fortune of war it would perhaps
not have been so deplorable, but to be utterly ruined
as it was, until even now, after the lapse of a century,
it is behind its neighbours, is very sad.</p>

<p>But, in the struggle for existence the straining after
liberty has to be reckoned with, and although the
process causes intense suffering to both lord and serf&mdash;master
and slave&mdash;the fight is sure to come at some
time or other. Miss Martineau uses the title, "The
hour and the man," for her romance of the liberation
of this once flourishing island. The hour had come,
but we are afraid <i>the man</i> has not yet appeared on
Hispaniola.</p>

<p>When the French people took the government from
the hands of their king and summoned the States<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span>
General, revolutionary ideas had already come to a
head, and the matter of slavery received much consideration.
In all the colonies were numbers of free
coloured persons, who had been manumitted by their
fathers, and in many cases sent to Europe for their
education. In Paris they were brought into communication
with a kind of anti-slavery society, called
<i>L'Amis des noirs</i>, before which they had opportunities
of ventilating their grievances. These consisted of
civil disabilities which kept mulattoes in the background,
and prevented their taking what they believed
to be their proper positions in society. The time was
fitted for such an agitation, the people were there, and
it was only to be expected that their complaints
would come in the long catalogue of charges against
the aristocrats, among whom were included the West
Indian planters. However, although there was little
sympathy with the colonists, nothing particular was
done as yet, except the issue of the celebrated declaration
that all men were born, and continued to be, free
and equal as to their political rights. It might be
said, perhaps, that this alone gave freedom to the slave
and civil equality to the mulatto, but as it did not
specially apply to them, little trouble ensued. The
planters, however, were sufficiently acute to see the
logical outcome of the declaration, and were correspondingly
troubled, as they felt that if published
among the negroes it might convert them into implacable
enemies, and bring on dangerous insurrections.
They were soon pacified, however, by orders to
convene provincial assemblies, and send representatives
to Paris: this they thought would prevent mis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span>chief,
as their interests
could be made known and
promoted in France.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 498px;">
<img src="images/p258.jpg" width="498" height="142" alt="VIEW OF PART OF HISPANIOLA." title="" />
<span class="caption">VIEW OF PART OF HISPANIOLA.<br />
(<i>From Andrews&#39; &quot;West Indies.&quot;</i>)</span>
</div>

<p>The free coloured people soon heard the news, and at once began to claim
their rights as citizens, which the planters were by no means prepared
to grant. On this refusal they began to arm themselves, and make
demonstrations in various parts of Hayti, but at first were easily put
down by the authorities. As yet there was little ill-feeling; the
demonstrations were only alarming from their significance and their
possible consequences. It followed, therefore, that little was done
beyond a demand for submission, the mulattoes being allowed to
disperse<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span> on promising to keep the peace. A few whites, however,
who had been leaders in the agitation, were severely punished, and when
a certain Mons. Dubois not only advocated the claims of the coloured
people, but the slaves as well, he was banished from the colony.</p>

<p>Mons. de Beaudierre, a <i>ci-devant</i> magistrate, also
helped to add to the trouble. He was enamoured of
a coloured woman, who owned a valuable plantation,
and wanted to marry her, but at the same time wished
to see her free from all civil disabilities. Accordingly
he drew up a memorial to the committee of his section,
claiming for the mulattoes the full benefit of
the national declaration of rights. This roused the
authorities, who at once arrested him, but so strong
was the feeling of the whites that they took the
prisoner from gaol and put him to death.</p>

<p>The agitation in Hayti as well as in Martinique
led to petitions and remonstrances to the National
Assembly, and on the 8th of March, 1790, the
majority voted that it was never intended to comprehend
the internal government of the colonies in
the constitution of the mother country, or to subject
them to laws incompatible with their local conditions.
They therefore authorised the inhabitants of each
colony to signify their wishes, and promised that, as
long as the plans suggested were conformable to the
mutual interests of the colonies and the metropolis,
they would not cause any innovations.</p>

<p>This of course raised a clamour among the friends
of the blacks and mulattoes, who considered it as
sanctioning the slave-trade, which they wanted to put<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span>
down. In Hayti the General Assembly met and
made some radical changes, which were opposed by
many of the old colonists, and this brought discord
among the whites. The Governor dissolved the
Assembly, but this only brought more trouble, for the
subordinate Western body took the part of the General
Assembly, and went so far that the Governor tried
to suppress it by force. But the members put themselves
under the protection of the national guard who
resisted the troops sent against them, and after a
short skirmish drove them off. Thus all authority
was put at defiance by the whites, when if they
wanted to keep down the coloured and black people,
it was of the greatest consequence that union should
exist. The General Convention called the colony to
arms, but, before actually commencing hostilities,
they resolved to proceed to France, and lay the whole
matter before the Convention. Accordingly to the
number of eighty-five they sailed on the 8th of
August, 1790, the authorities also agreeing to await
the result.</p>

<p>Among the coloured residents in France was a
young man named James Og&eacute;, the son of a mulatto
woman by a white man, whose mother owned a coffee
plantation. He was a regular attendant at the meetings
of the friends of the blacks, where, under such
men as Lafayette and Robespierre, he had been
initiated into the doctrine of the equal rights of men.
On hearing of the vote of non-interference with the
colonies, Og&eacute;, maddened by the thought that the
civil disabilities of people of his colour would be continued,
resolved to go himself to Hayti. He was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span>
confident that the people there would join him, and
going out by way of the United States he obtained
there a good supply of arms, with which he arrived in
October of the same year.</p>

<p>Six weeks after his arrival he wrote to the Governor,
demanding that all the privileges of the whites should
be extended to every other person, without distinction.
As representing the coloured people he
made this request, and if their wrongs were not at
once redressed, he said, they were prepared to take
up arms. He had already been joined by his two
brothers, and they were busy calling upon their
friends to insist, assuring them that France approved
of their claim. But with all his efforts he could get
but few followers, the same difficulty cropping up
here as in most of the slave insurrections&mdash;a want
of the power of combination under one of their own
race. However, he at last got together two hundred,
and, receiving no answer from the Governor, they
commenced a series of raids on the plantations. Og&eacute;
cautioned them against bloodshed, but the first white
man that fell into their hands was murdered, and
others soon met with the same fate. Even mulattoes,
who refused to join the insurgents, were treated the
same way; one man who pointed to his wife and six
children, as a reason for his refusal, being murdered
with them.</p>

<p>The Governor now sent out a body of troops and
militia to suppress the revolt, with the result that
Og&eacute; was defeated, and obliged to take refuge with
the remnant of his followers in the Spanish colony of
St. Domingo. The whites were now roused, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span>
began to cry out for vengeance upon the coloured
people in general, whether they had sympathised
with Og&eacute; or not. In self-defence they had to take
up arms in several places, but by conciliation on the
part of the authorities a general insurrection was
averted for the time. A new Governor now arrived,
and one of his first acts was to demand the extradition
of Og&eacute; by the Spaniards, which, being done,
he was executed by breaking alive upon the wheel.
In his last confession he is said to have stated that a
plot was then hatching for the destruction of all the
whites, but little notice was taken of this information.
The whites believed that now the leader was dead
things would go on in the old way, but, unfortunately
for them, they were mistaken.</p>

<p>Meanwhile the delegates had arrived in France,
where they were honourably received. After an
interview with a Committee of the Convention, however,
they were informed that their decrees were
reversed, the Haytian Assembly dissolved, and they
themselves under arrest. This, when the news
reached the colony, put the whites into a state of
consternation, and for awhile it appeared as if Hayti
would be the scene of a civil war. Captain Mauduit,
who had led the force against the assembly, was
murdered by his own troops, and preparations were
made to resist the authorities.</p>

<p>The planters thought these arbitrary measures of
France very oppressive, but they had yet to learn
how far the revolutionists might go. In May, 1791,
the matter of equal rights for the coloured people
came up before the National Convention, and their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span>
claim was strongly advocated by Robespierre and
others. It was now that the words, "Perish the
colonies rather than sacrifice one of our principles,"
were uttered by that bloodthirsty revolutionist, to
afterwards become a stock quotation of the extremist
in every country. The result of the discussion was
the decree of May the 15th, that the people of colour
resident in the French colonies, and born of free
parents, should be allowed all the privileges of French
citizens; to have votes, and be eligible for election to
the parochial and colonial assemblies.</p>

<p>This brought on a crisis in Hayti. The coloured
people were determined to obtain their rights, and the
planters equally resolved that they should remain as
before. The Governor was so much alarmed that he
at once sent to France for further assistance, at the
same time asking for the suspension of the obnoxious
decree. Hearing of this, the mulattoes began to
assemble and take up arms, and the Governor hardly
dared to take action pending the result of his application.</p>

<p>On the morning of the 23rd of August, 1791, the
people of Cape Fran&ccedil;ois were alarmed by reports
that the slaves in the neighbourhood were in open
revolt, plundering the plantations and murdering
the whites. The disturbance had commenced with
the hewing in pieces of a young white apprentice
on Pin. No&eacute;, which murder was followed by a general
massacre of every white man, except the surgeon,
who was spared that he might become useful. From
one estate to another the revolt spread, until the
whole neighbourhood was a scene of murder, fire, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span>
rapine. The white townspeople put their women
and children on board the ships, and then united for
a stubborn defence, but the coloured men wanted to
remain neutral. This roused such a strong feeling
that even at that critical time the whites had to be
prevented by the authorities from murdering the
mulattoes. By thus protecting the mulattoes their
good-will was gained, and they volunteered to go out
against the rebels.</p>

<p>Amidst the glare of a hundred conflagrations a
strong body of men was collected and sent against
the negroes. They defeated one body of four
hundred, but accessions were continually made to
the side of the rebels, until their overpowering
numbers compelled the whites to retreat, and do
their best to save the town. The revolt had been
continually spreading, and now extended over the
whole country, coloured people joining the negroes
in their work of destruction. One planter was nailed
to a gate, and then had his limbs cut off, one after
another; a carpenter was sawn asunder, on the
ground that this mode of execution suited his trade;
and two mulatto sons killed their white father, notwithstanding
his prayers and promises. White, and
even coloured children, were killed without mercy at
the breasts of their mothers, and young women were
violated before the eyes of their parents. Here and
there the horror was relieved by kind actions on the
part of faithful slaves, who, while joining in the
revolt for their own safety, saved their masters and
mistresses.</p>

<p>The inhabitants of the town did all they could by<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span>
sorties, but this was very little. The rebels would
run away at the first onset, but only to return in
overpowering numbers. A few were taken and
broken on the wheel, others fell in the skirmishes,
but the insurrection still went on. It spread to the
neighbourhood of Port au Prince, but, on the inhabitants
of that town agreeing to enforce the obnoxious
decree, the rebels retired. This action was
at last followed by those of Cape Fran&ccedil;ois, and a
partial truce ensued. In two months, it was said,
a thousand plantations were destroyed, and ten
thousand blacks and two thousand whites killed.</p>

<p>The news of this great disaster caused a revulsion
of feeling in Paris, and the decree which had caused
so much trouble was annulled on the 24th of September,
before the results of the insurrection and the
truces were known. The arrangement had been
come to at Port au Prince on the 11th of the same
month, and on the 20th at Cape Fran&ccedil;ois. Thus
almost at the time when it was being repealed the
colonists were promising to see it enforced.</p>

<p>It is hardly necessary to say what could be the
only result of the arrival of this revocation. The
struggle was renewed, and all hopes of reconciliation
were at an end. The coloured party charged the
whites with treachery and duplicity; now they would
fight until one or the other was exterminated. They
captured Port St. Louis, but got a severe repulse
from Port au Prince. Both sides were desperate, and
although there were fewer massacres in cold blood
the rebels fell in thousands. But as they were so
numerous this slaughter made little impression.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span>
Even when the prisoners were tortured with a refinement
of cruelty hardly credible, no good resulted
from such examples. The time for all that had
passed, yet the whites nailed one poor mulatto by
the feet in a cart, and had him driven round the
neighbourhood as a spectacle, before breaking him
on the wheel.</p>

<p>In January, 1792, three commissioners arrived from
France to attempt a reconciliation, which they commenced
by publishing the decree revoking the rights
of the coloured people. Then they proclaimed a
general amnesty for all who should surrender within
a given time. Such utter ignorance as was thus
shown has hardly been equalled in any age; we can
only ascribe it to the fact that the scum had risen
to the top. The mulattoes were roused to fury, and
the whites equally exasperated. At Petit Goave the
rebels held thirty-four white prisoners, and at once
they were brought forth to be broken on the wheel,
previous to which the proclamation of amnesty was
read to them, their executioners mockingly claiming
it as a pardon for the cruelties they were exercising.</p>

<p>This sort of thing, however, could not go on very
long. Most of the plantations and provision grounds
had been destroyed, and both parties felt the want
of food. Unless something were done they would
all be starved; for without means of buying supplies
even the whites could hardly exist, while the blacks
did nothing to raise further crops in place of those
they had eaten or destroyed. France again made
an attempt to put matters straight by declaring, on
the 4th of April, 1792, that the people of colour and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span>
free negroes ought to enjoy equal political rights
with other citizens. New assemblies were to be
called, in the election of which they should be
allowed to vote; a new Governor of Hayti was
appointed, and new commissioners sent out to inquire
into the whole matter.</p>

<p>The Governor and the commission arrived at Cape
Fran&ccedil;ois on the 13th of September, and finding
everything in confusion, they sent the late administrator
to France as a prisoner, and called a new
assembly. Then the commissioners put themselves
in communication with the rebels, which made the
whites think them about to emancipate the slaves.
This was followed by a dispute between them and
the Governor, and the appointment of yet another
head, who arrived in May, 1793. He refused to
recognise the commissioners, but they were not so
easily set aside, for having the whole power of the
colony under control, they took possession of Port
au Prince, Jacmel, and Cape Fran&ccedil;ois, afterwards
ordering the Governor to leave. This led to another
war, in which the coloured rebels and even negroes
were utilised by the commissioners, who thus, in a
way, sanctioned the revolt. Similar atrocities to
those formerly enacted were renewed, and again the
colony was distracted in every part.</p>

<p>The ruined planters now lost all hope, and began
to leave for the United States, Jamaica, and other
colonies. Some went to England, especially those
Royalists who attributed all their disasters to the
revolution. Here they began to urge the British to
conquer Hayti, although as yet war had not been<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span>
declared with France. In September, 1793, an expedition
was sent from Jamaica, and on its arrival at
Jeremie the British were apparently welcomed by the
whites. But the colony was so utterly distracted
that little could be done, and although they took
Port au Prince they were repulsed at Cape Tiberon.
Then sickness fell upon them&mdash;"Yellow Jack"&mdash;and
this, with the delay of reinforcements, made all
prospects of success quite hopeless. With a foreign
enemy at hand the commissioners did all they could
to reconcile the parties, and to this end, just before
the landing of the British, proclaimed complete
emancipation of all the slaves, which was ratified in
Paris on the 4th of February, 1794. This brought
the whole body of rebels together, and the position
of the enemy became untenable. Finally came the
cession of the Spanish part of the island to France,
and now it might be supposed that something could
be done to restore peace.</p>

<p>This repulse of the British was greatly due to the
influence of a very remarkable personage, Toussaint
L'Ouverture, a pure negro, and lately a slave. He
had joined the revolt from its commencement, and
had succeeded in gaining such an influence over his
race as had hitherto been unknown in any slave
insurrection. As soon as the general emancipation
had been declared, he was so grateful that he joined
the French, heart and soul, drove out the British, put
down the mulattoes, and was appointed Commander-in-chief
of the united forces. In 1801 he became
virtually Dictator of the whole island, and was made
President for life, with the result that many plan<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span>tations
were re-established, and the colony was
making slow progress towards recovery.</p>

<p>Napoleon Buonaparte has been much lauded for
his diplomacy, but he certainly knew nothing of the
West Indies. After the peace of Amiens he had a
little time to look after the colonies, and Hayti was
among the first to receive attention. Toussaint was
then almost at the height of his power, and had prepared
a Constitution which was laid before Napoleon,
on reading which the First Consul said it was an
outrage on the honour of France, and the work of a
revolted slave, whom they must punish. It was true
that the black President was virtually independent.
He lived in the palace at St. Domingo, and, with his
councillors of all colours, enacted the part of a little
sovereign. To crown his audacity, he, in July, 1801,
proclaimed the independence of the island, and himself
as supreme chief.</p>

<p>This roused the anger of Napoleon, who retaliated
by a proclamation re-establishing slavery in the island&mdash;a
measure so foolish that even the planters themselves
saw the impossibility of carrying it out. To
reduce the negroes again to servitude was utterly
impossible, even with all the power France could then
bring into the island. However, it was attempted
with a force of thirty thousand men and sixty-six
ships of war. When this immense fleet arrived at
Cape Fran&ccedil;ois the town was commanded by the
negro Christophe, who, finding himself unable to cope
with such a force, burnt the palace and withdrew. The
French landed and sent two sons of Toussaint, who
had been sent to France for their education, and to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span>
whom they had given a passage to their father, bearing
a letter from Napoleon, offering him great honours if
he would declare his allegiance. All that Toussaint
said in reply was that he would be faithful to his
brethren and his God, and with that he allowed his
sons to return.</p>

<p>As yet the declaration that slavery was to be re-established
had not been published, and the negroes
were working the plantations on a share of the crop,
with penalties for idleness. The French tried to put
the negroes against Toussaint, in which they succeeded
to some extent, the result being that civil war
was renewed, and that the power of the black chieftain
was broken. Then the general thought it time to
issue the proclamation, which fell upon his negro
allies like a thunder-clap, and made them again
rally round Toussaint. Thus almost everything
which had been gained was utterly and for ever
lost.</p>

<p>Now the French tried a little double-dealing. The
general stated in a new proclamation that ignorance
had led him hastily to fall into error, and that to prevent
anything of the same kind, and to provide for
the future welfare and liberty of all, he convened an
assembly of representatives of all the inhabitants,
regardless of colour. This won over the leaders, and
finally peace was concluded with Toussaint. The
fallen president wished to retire to his estate and into
private life, but having been cordially invited to meet
the general to discuss with him the welfare of the
colony, he was seized at the interview and put on
board a French frigate, which immediately sailed for<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span>
France. Here he was imprisoned for life without
trial, and finally allowed to starve by withholding
food and water for four days.</p>

<p>The negroes again rose, and the soldiers were by
this time so weakened by yellow fever, which even
carried off the Governor, that little could be done
against the rebels. Yet everything possible was
attempted. Bloodhounds were brought from Cuba
to worry the rebels to death; they were shot and
taken into the sea to be drowned in strings. Dessalines
had now become their leader, and on the
29th of November, 1803, he with Christophe and
Clervaux, the other rebel chiefs, issued the St.
Domingo declaration of independence. Restored to
their primitive dignity the black and coloured people
proclaimed their rights, and swore never to yield
them to any power on earth. "The frightful veil of
prejudice is torn to pieces, and is so for ever; woe be
to whomsoever would dare again to put together its
bloody tatters." The landholders were not forbidden
to return if they renounced their old errors and
acknowledged the justice of the cause for which the
blacks had been spilling their blood for twelve years.
As for those who affected to believe themselves
destined by Heaven to be masters and tyrants, if they
came it would be to meet chains or to be quickly
expelled. They had sworn not to listen to clemency
for those who dared to speak of the restoration of
slavery. Nothing was too costly a sacrifice for liberty,
and every means was lawful to employ against those
who wished to suppress it. Were they to cause rivers
and torrents of blood to flow&mdash;were they to fire half<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span>
the globe to maintain it&mdash;they would be innocent
before the tribunal of Providence.</p>

<p>This declaration was followed on the 30th of March,
1804, by an address of Dessalines, in which he said
that everything that reminded them of France also
reminded them of the cruelties of Frenchmen. There
still remained, he said, Frenchmen on their island&mdash;creatures,
alas! of their indulgence; when would they
be tired of breathing the same air? Their cruelty,
when compared with the patient moderation of the
blacks&mdash;their difference in colour&mdash;everything said
that they were not brothers, and would never become
so. If they continued to find an asylum, troubles and
dissensions would be sure to continue. "Citizens,
inhabitants of Hayti, men, women, girls, children,
cast your eyes upon each point of the island! Seek
in it, you, your wives; you, your husbands; you,
your sisters!" Their ashes were in the grave, and
they had not avenged their deaths. Let the blacks
learn that they had done nothing if they did not give
the nations a terrible but just example of the vengeance
of a brave people, who had recovered liberty,
and were jealous to maintain it.</p>

<p>They were again roused, and from the 29th of April
to the 14th of May an indiscriminate massacre of the
whites took place, as many as 2,500 being killed
during the fifteen days. On the 28th of April Dessalines
issued a manifesto congratulating them on
their success. At length, he said, the hour of vengeance
had arrived, and the implacable enemies of the
rights of man had suffered the punishment due to
their crimes. His arm had too long delayed to strike,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span>
but at the signal, which the justice of God had urged,
they had brought the axe to bear upon the ancient
tree of slavery and prejudice. In vain had time and
the infernal politics of Europe surrounded it with
triple brass. They had become, like their natural
enemies, cruel and merciless. Like a mighty torrent
their vengeful fury had carried away everything in
its impetuous course. "Thus perish all tyrants over
innocence and all oppressors of mankind!" Where
was that evil and unworthy Haytian who thought he
had not accomplished the decrees of the Eternal by
exterminating those bloodthirsty tigers? "If there
be one, let him fly&mdash;indignant nature discards him
from our bosom&mdash;let him hide his shame far from
hence! The air we breathe is not suited to his gross
organs&mdash;it is the pure air of liberty, august and triumphant."
Yes, they had rendered war for war, crime
for crime, outrage for outrage. He had saved his
country&mdash;he had avenged America. He made this
avowal in the face of earth and heaven&mdash;it was his
pride and glory. Black and yellow, whom the
duplicity of Europeans had endeavoured to divide,
now made but one family&mdash;he advised them to maintain
that precious concord and happy harmony. In
order to strengthen the tie let them call to remembrance
the catalogue of atrocities&mdash;the abominable
project of massacring the whole population, unblushingly
proposed to him by the French authorities. Let
that nation which was mad enough to attack him,
come&mdash;let them bring their cohorts of homicides. He
would allow them to land, but woe to those who
approached the mountains! "Never again shall a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span>
colonist or a European set his foot upon this territory
with the title of master or proprietor."</p>

<p>On the 8th of October the writer of these bloodthirsty
addresses was crowned as Jacques the First,
Emperor of Hayti.</p>

<p>In 1808 an attempt was made on the part of Spain
to regain her old colony on the eastern part of the
island, where France still maintained a nominal supremacy.
Spain was now an ally of Great Britain, and,
with the aid of British troops, she took St. Domingo
and retained this part of the island until 1821, when
a revolution took place and it became independent, to
be almost immediately united with its sister republic.</p>

<p>Meanwhile the Emperor Jacques did not long enjoy
his throne in peace, for he was murdered by his
coloured soldiers on the 17th of October, 1806. A
republic followed, under the presidency of General
Petion, who was at the head of the mulattoes, but did
not agree with the blacks. This led to a division, the
north, with Cape Fran&ccedil;ois as the capital, coming into
the hands of the negro Christophe, who got himself
crowned as the Emperor Henry the First; the
southern district, with Port au Prince, forming a
republic under President Petion.</p>

<p>Henry was a man of good common sense, but like
most negroes, much inclined to ape the whites. One
of his toasts at a dinner was characteristic: "My
brother, the king of Great Britain, and may he be successful
against Buonaparte, and continue the barrier
between that tyrant and this kingdom." He created
a legion of honour, called the Order of St. Henry,
built a palace, and began to acquire a fleet; he gave<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span>
balls and encouraged operas, had a great seal, gave
titles of nobility, and procured a set of regalia
and jewels, with velvet robes and all other appendages
of royalty. Under his rule the country
flourished, for he would have no idlers. Yet he was
a tyrant, and at last, in 1820, he was attacked by his
own guard, and committed suicide to prevent falling
into their hands. President Boyer, who had succeeded
Petion, now took advantage of the confusion
to incorporate the two districts, and two years later
he added the revolted Spanish portion, thus bringing
the whole island under one rule, the presidency of
which he held for twenty-two years.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span></p>


<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h3><a name="XIII" id="XIII"></a>XIII</h3>

<h3>EMANCIPATION OF THE SPANISH MAIN</h3>


<p>The influence of the French Revolution was felt in
most of the other islands, but nowhere did it lead to
such disasters as befel Hispaniola. In 1795 there
was an insurrection in the island of Grenada, where
the coloured people, under French influence, nearly
drove the English out of the colony. Even when
defeated they held their own in the mountains for
about a year, committing many atrocities on the
whites who fell into their hands. In most of the
French islands there were insurrections more or less
dangerous, some of which were put down by the
British conquerors, who thus helped to keep the
peace. It could not be expected, however, that small
places like Martinique and Guadeloupe would ever
have made such stubborn resistance as the great
island of Hispaniola.</p>

<p>A very great impression was made on the Spanish
colonies, who during the war, owing to the distracted
condition of the mother country, attained to a degree
of freedom hitherto beyond their reach. This led to
unfavourable comparisons between past and present,
and the feeling that grew up was fomented by the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span>
British, who now had many opportunities from the
measure of free trade which resulted from the peculiar
circumstances of that period. Secret societies
were then common all over Europe, and in Spain
they were not wanting. In the early years of this
century one of the most energetic members was Francisco
Miranda, a native of Caracas, who had been
a soldier under Washington, and had distinguished
himself by his prominence in many of the revolutionary
projects of the time. He was the prime
organiser of the Creoles of South America, and
under his auspices the "Gran Reunion Americana"
was founded in London. Bolivar and San Martin
were initiated into this society, and took its oath to
fight for the emancipation of South America. Miranda
did his best to ensure the co-operation of Great Britain
and the United States, but failing in this, determined
to get up one or more insurrections without their
assistance.</p>

<p>On the 27th of March, 1806, he sailed with three
vessels and two hundred men from Jacmel, Hayti,
and on the 11th of April arrived at the Dutch island
of Aruba, from whence the little company proceeded
to Puerto Cabello. The demonstration, however, was
nipped in the bud, for two of his vessels being almost
immediately captured by the Spaniards, Miranda was
obliged to fly in the other to Barbados. Here he
met Admiral Cochrane, with whom he entered into
an arrangement for British assistance. Conceiving
that it might be mutually advantageous to Great
Britain and the Spanish provinces that the latter
should be freed from the yoke of Spain, the admiral<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span>
agreed to support him in a descent on Venezuela,
between the coasts opposite Trinidad and Aruba.
The only stipulation was for free trade with Great
Britain as against her enemies, and with that Miranda
went off to Trinidad.</p>

<p>Here he hoped to gain recruits from among the
Spanish people of the island, to whom he issued an
address. The glorious opportunity, he said, presented
itself of relieving from oppression and
arbitrary government a people who were worthy of
a better fate, but who were shackled by a despotism
too cruel for human nature longer to endure. Groaning
under their afflictions they hailed with extended
arms the noble cause of freedom and independence,
and called upon them to share the God-like action of
relieving them.</p>

<p>This stirring address made little impression, and
consequently few followers were enrolled. However,
he got eight armed vessels and two traders, and
sailed from Trinidad on the 25th of July, 1806, for
Coro on the Main. The fort and city were taken,
but the people, instead of joyfully welcoming their
deliverers, ran away and could not be induced to
return. Miranda, finding the place untenable, went
over to Aruba, of which he took possession as a basis
for further operations. But the British authorities
looked upon his scheme as impracticable, especially
as it tended to injure their trade, and in November
Miranda was compelled to disband his little company
of less than three hundred at Trinidad.</p>

<p>The time for a revolution had not yet arrived, but
it was fast approaching. It could not be expected<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span>
that Great Britain would assist filibustering against
her ally, which Spain now became, and without some
outside assistance Miranda found it impossible to do
anything. However, the people themselves were at
last aroused, and on the 19th of April, 1810, the city
of Caracas deposed the captain-general and appointed
a Junta to rule in the name of the king.
This body invited the other provinces to join and
form a league for mutual protection against the
French, who now had virtual possession of the
mother country. Other provinces took the Government
side and prepared to suppress the revolt, which
led Caracas to ask the assistance of Great Britain and
the United States.</p>

<p>Among the Venezuelans was Simon Bolivar, who
afterwards became the most important personage in
the struggle for independence. Like Miranda, he
was a native of South America, and like him had
imbibed revolutionary ideas in Paris. He was a
planter, and had taken no part in the overthrow of
the captain-general, but from his principles being
well known, he was appointed with others to proceed
to London in the interests of the Junta. On their
arrival they were answered cautiously, the authorities
not wishing to commit themselves under the circumstances.
Here Bolivar met Miranda, and took the
oath of the "Gran Reunion," promising to work for
the independence of South America, notwithstanding
his nominal position as an advocate of the king of
Spain against Napoleon.</p>

<p>Meanwhile the Spanish Regency had proclaimed
the leaders of the movement to be rebels, declaring
<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280-281]</a><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281"></a></span>war against them and blockading their ports. The
Central Junta responded by raising an army, which
was defeated with considerable loss at Coro and had
to retire on Caracas. This caused some discouragement,
but Miranda now arrived, was welcomed with
an ovation, and appointed lieutenant-general of the
army. He was also asked to draw up a constitution
and to become one of the deputies at the first congress
of Venezuela to be held in March, 1811.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 538px;">
<img src="images/p280.jpg" width="538" height="317" alt="LA GUAYRA ON THE MAIN." title="" />
<span class="caption">LA GUAYRA ON THE MAIN.<br />
(<i>From Andrews&#39; &quot;West Indies.&quot;</i>)</span>
</div>

<p>No longer was there any question of the French,
the struggle was for entire independence. A civil
war began, which raged with varying fortunes for
twelve years, in the course of which were enacted
scenes more worthy of the days of buccaneers than
the beginning of the nineteenth century. In 1812
Caracas was destroyed by an earthquake, and in
another locality perished the greater portion of a
thousand men, marching against the Spaniards. It
was reported that those provinces where the revolution
had most influence suffered greatest, while those
more loyal almost escaped. This was due to the fact
that the mountainous region, in which Caracas is
situated, felt the full effect of the earthquake, but the
priests, who were mostly loyalists, told the ignorant
peasantry that it was a judgment on the Patriots.
The result was that large bodies deserted, until the
whole Patriot army became disorganised. Miranda
was captured and sent to Spain, where he died in
prison in 1816, but Bolivar managed to escape.</p>

<p>New Granada had revolted before Venezuela and
was more successful. It was to this province that
Bolivar retired after the downfall of the Patriot cause<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span>
in Venezuela. Then the Spanish captain-general,
Monteverde, who was called "the Pacificator," commenced
his work by imprisoning so many Patriots
that the gaols were choked, and many died of hunger
and suffocation. In the country districts he let his
troops ravage and plunder like hordes of banditti.
Even his superiors were at length compelled to recall
him on account of the numerous complaints and petitions.
At last the people were again fairly roused,
until there came a war of extermination, in which both
parties tried to outvie the other in murder and rapine.</p>

<p>Off the peninsula of Paria lay the small island of
Chacachacare, and on it forty-five fugitives took
refuge, where they consulted as to the renewal of the
war. With only six muskets and some pistols, they
landed on the coast on the 13th of March, 1813, surprised
the guard of G&uuml;iria, took their arms and
marched into the town, where they were joined by
the garrison, making their number two hundred.
Thus began the second war, in which the Patriots,
assisted by the return of Bolivar and a body of troops
from New Granada, again took possession of a large
part of the province. On the 15th of June Bolivar
proclaimed extermination to the Royalists, and
named the year, the third of independence and first
of the war to the death. This severity created many
enemies in Venezuela, as well as in other countries,
and even Bolivar himself afterwards said that the proclamation
had been issued in a delirium. However,
the result was that both sides became more ferocious
than ever, especially when the Indians were induced
to join the Patriots.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span></p>

<p>On the 6th of August Bolivar entered Caracas in
triumph. The bells rang, cannons roared, and the
people cheered him as their liberator. His path was
strewn with flowers, blessings were called down upon
his head, and beautiful girls, dressed in white and the
national colours, led his horse and crowned him with
laurel. The prison doors were opened, the Patriots
set free, and, in spite of his proclamation, no act of
retaliation sullied his triumph. Two days later he
re-established the republic and proclaimed himself
Dictator as well as liberator.</p>

<p>There were now two Dictators in Venezuela,
Marino in the east and Bolivar in the west, but the
Spaniards were by no means conquered. Bolivar
published another decree on the 6th of September,
that all Americans who were even suspected of being
Royalists were traitors to their country, and should
be treated as such. Ten days later twelve thousand
men arrived from Spain, and Bolivar, who had been
besieging Puerto Cabello, was forced to retire. This
encouraged the Royalists, who got the llaneros of the
Orinoco on their side by promises of freedom to kill
and plunder in the cause of the king, and threats of
punishing by death all who disregarded the call to
arms.</p>

<p>Bolivar was captain-general, but he shared his
power with Marino, the rights of both resting on
force alone. To put an end to this, an assembly of
notables was convened at Caracas, to whom he
resigned his office, and then accepted it again at their
request. But the Patriots, even when united, were as
yet unable to stand before the Spanish army, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span>
very shortly afterwards their flag was only visible on
the island of Margarita. Bolivar again took refuge
in New Granada, where he was elected captain-general,
and entitled Liberator and Illustrious Pacificator.
He, however, quarrelled with the Governor of
Carthagena, and was forced to fly to Jamaica, saying
before his departure that Carthagena preferred her
own destruction to obedience to the federal government.</p>

<p>In 1815, after the great peace, Marshal Morillo
came out with 10,600 men selected from the army
that had fought against Napoleon. He was to reduce
the whole of the Main from Spanish Guiana to Darien,
dealing first with Margarita. In the course of a year
he did this, committing such atrocities as made his
name a byword over the whole of South America.
In the siege of Carthagena, which lasted about three
months, the Patriots suffered greatly, hundreds dying
of starvation; but at last, on the 6th of December,
1815, it was captured. An amnesty was proclaimed,
but in spite of that four hundred old men, women,
and children who surrendered were all killed, while
most of the stronger men who survived managed to
escape.</p>

<p>The remnant of the Patriots was now scattered
over the country as guerillas, and while Morillo was
subduing New Granada a fresh signal for a general
revolt was given. The Royalist Governor, in November,
1815, ordered the arrest of Arismendi, who had
been pardoned, and at once the Margaritans rose,
took possession of a part of the island, captured the
fort, and killed the whole garrison. At the same time<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span>
the guerillas united under Paez, who now came to the
front as a llanero and leader of his class. Thus the
struggle was resumed with all its former virulence.</p>

<p>Bolivar, when he heard of the fall of Carthagena,
went over to Hispaniola to meet President Petion,
who was an ardent supporter of the revolution. Here
he received assistance of arms and money, with which
he began to fit out an expedition to recover his lost
position. There were many refugees from the Main
on that island, but they were not altogether friendly
with the late Dictator, however Petion managed to
secure their co-operation. It followed, therefore, that
on the 16th of March, 1816, three hundred Patriots
left for Margarita, where they captured two Spanish
vessels and united with their fellow-countrymen under
Arismendi. Going over to the Main they soon got
together a powerful force which overran the whole
country and ultimately achieved its independence.</p>

<p>But before this happened the Patriots met with
many reverses. Sometimes it appeared as if they
would be utterly exterminated; then the tide turned
in their favour and they were again successful. The
country was devastated by both parties, until cultivation
was abandoned in many districts. Provisions for
the armies were often unattainable, and this drove the
soldiers to plunder wherever there was an opportunity,
no matter that the sufferers were of their own party.</p>

<p>The struggle was watched with sympathy by the
people of England, and Canning went so far as to
make a declaration of neutrality favourable to the
Patriots. Then came a systematic attempt to raise
British volunteers, and, as there were many officers<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span>
and men who had been disbanded since the great
peace, a considerable force was raised. Carried away
by enthusiasm they would hear nothing of the difficulties
and dangers they had to encounter, but rushed
to fight in the ranks of a people striving to liberate
themselves from the grossest oppression. The country
was represented as a perfect paradise, and the officers
were promised grants of land in this delightful Eden,
while the men had offers of double the pay of the
British army. A similar call was also made in
Germany with good results, and it was expected
that what with the British Legion and this other
contingent the result would be no longer doubtful.</p>

<p>On their arrival at Margarita, however, they at once
began to perceive that poverty reigned everywhere,
and that no provision whatever had been made for
them. The Patriots foraged for themselves, and anything
like a commissariat was virtually unknown; but
British soldiers were not accustomed to such a state
of things. Then the food supply was at the best only
live cattle, which they had to kill for themselves,
cassava bread, and a few roots such as yams. The
rations were so irregular, that one or two days would
pass without any supply whatever, and this ultimately
led to complaints and something like a mutiny, which
was put down with the "cat."</p>

<p>After some delay the British Legion was sent on
to the Main, where they were worse off than in
Margarita. Instead of welcoming them, the Patriots
seemed to be jealous, and did not even give them the
opportunity of fighting as they wished. When posted
before Cuman&aacute; they were exposed to the burning<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span>
sun and drenching rains, without tents or any other
shelter; their drinking water was stagnant and
brackish, and for rations had only a pound of beef
per day for each man, from oxen which they had
to butcher. They were also greatly shocked at the
enormities of the Patriots, who carried on the struggle
in a manner suggestive of the Middle Ages rather
than modern days. Prisoners were indiscriminately
massacred, their murderers enjoying the work as if it
were a recreation. It is true that in the then condition
of the country large bodies of prisoners could
neither be fed nor guarded; still the British could not
but feel that the cause they had joined was not altogether
what it had been represented. Want of proper
food led to sickness, and soon they became quite
broken down. Many died of fever and dysentery,
some deserted and got away as best they could, the
general result being that little benefit was derived
from the British Legion by Venezuela.</p>

<p>If such was the experience of the foreigners, what
must have been that of the Patriots? They were
certainly more used to the country and its food, and
therefore suffered less from sickness; but this advantage
was lost when it came to actual starvation.
With the men engaged in the struggle, only the
women and children were left to cultivate enough
cassava to keep body and soul together. Even this
little was often stolen by a foraging party, who did
not hesitate to murder the whole family if any objection
was made. Fugitives, if not cut off, made their
way in canoes to Trinidad and Demerara, often arriving
almost dead from the privations they had endured.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span>
Delicate Spanish ladies and little children sometimes
arrived&mdash;their pitiable condition causing an outflow
of sympathy from the planters, and a feeling of detestation
for their persecutors.</p>

<p>At the commencement of the year 1820 the Columbian
Republic had become an accomplished fact, and
on the 25th of November an armistice was concluded
between Morillo and Bolivar, which virtually ended
the struggle. The United States had looked upon it
with favour, and Lafayette in France said that opposition
to the independence of the New World would
only cause suffering, but not imperil the idea. In
1823 the celebrated Monroe doctrine was formulated,
and Canning said in the same year that the battle was
won and Spanish America was free.</p>

<p>Central America had not suffered like Venezuela
and New Granada. From Mexico to Panama was
the old captain-generalship of Guatemala, but little
interest was taken in the province, Spain leaving it
almost entirely in the hands of the Catholic Missions.
It was not until Columbia had gained her independence
that Guatemala moved in the same direction,
although there were slight disturbances in Costa
Rica and Nicaragua from 1813 to 1815. At first
there was a project to found a kingdom, but this
gave way to the proposal for union with Mexico
under the Emperor Iturbide, which was carried out,
but did not last long. In 1823 Central America
established a Federal Republic, and at once abolished
slavery and declared the slave-trade to be piracy&mdash;a
decision to which the other revolted colonies came
about the same time.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span></p>


<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h3><a name="XIV" id="XIV"></a>XIV</h3>

<h3>ABOLITION OF SLAVERY</h3>


<p>Negro slavery, although it formed the sinews and
backbone of the plantations, was, as we have seen,
considered unjust by the French republicans and
immoral by a large section of the benevolent in
Great Britain and the United States. In both
countries the Society of Friends, or Quakers, commenced
to influence public opinion against its continuance
as early as about 1770, and had it not been
for the French Revolution it is probable that emancipation
would have taken place early in this century.
The premature and inconsiderate action of the French
in Hayti lost to France her most valuable plantation,
for some years giving such an example of what might
happen were emancipation to be granted elsewhere,
that those in favour of the system could always point
to it with the finger of warning. Yet with all that
the friends of the slave were undaunted; and as a
beginning, in 1807, they procured the abolition of the
slave-trade as far as Great Britain and her colonies
were concerned, and then went on to get the traffic
prohibited by other nations. Denmark had led the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span>
van by declaring it unlawful as early as 1792, but
little impression was made until the nation most
concerned took action.</p>

<p>This was a great blow to the British West Indies.
The labour question had always been of the first
importance, and to put a sudden stop to the supply
meant a check to all progress. For twenty years
before a great impetus had been given to planting,
which was much assisted by the downfall of Hayti
and consequent reduction of her produce to such an
extent that she no longer affected the market. Now
that the planters could get no more negroes, anything
like enlargement of the acreage under cultivation was
impossible. Latterly, also, produce had diminished
in price, which made cheap labour all the more important.
They had great difficulty in making their
estates pay, and when sugar fell to half its former
value a cry of "Ruin!" went forth all over the West
Indies. It is interesting to note that the panacea
which they expected would save them was free trade.
At that time the British warehouses were filled with
sugar and other tropical produce, while every continental
port was closed by Napoleon, and the United
States by the navigation laws. Not only did Great
Britain store the produce of her own colonies, but
that from those of the French and Dutch as well. In
1812 it was stated that the sugar consumption of
Great Britain amounted to 225,000 hogsheads, while
the production of her colonies was 150,000 in excess
of this. The Southern States had just taken up
cotton cultivation, and brought the price of that
article too low for the West Indian planter, and, as<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span>
if that were not enough, coffee also fell in price to an
alarming extent.</p>

<p>Sugar paid best, and was therefore fostered to the
exclusion of the other products; and now began the
plantation system which became so obnoxious to the
anti-slavery party. Hitherto, with a full supply of
labour, the negroes did little work as compared with
their capabilities&mdash;now something like the factory
system of the mother country was introduced. The
old methods would no longer enable the planter to
get a profit, and he must make the best of his labour
supply. Great administrative ability, more careful
management, attention to economy, and concentration,
were all necessary to prevent losses, and that
these were not wanting can easily be seen from the
results. The slaves were driven into the field in
gangs, and kept at work by the threat of the driver's
whip, while the overseers and manager gave most
careful attention to the whole system.</p>

<p>Not only did the negroes work, but the whites also;
in fact, on the part of the latter there was a continual
strain after a fortune on which to retire from this tiresome
and harassing work of nigger-driving. Where
one succeeded, ten failed; many died of the exposure
and of the <i>anti-malarial</i> drinks they imbibed
so plentifully. So great was the mortality that
the colonies became proverbial for their number of
widows, some of whom, however, were not above
managing their own plantations. It was a race for
wealth, to which everything else was secondary.</p>

<p>The slaves diminished every year in the absence of
additions from outside, as the whites would have<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span>
done under similar circumstances. That there was
no natural increase was mainly due to the fact that
the sexes were unequal, and then, again, maternal
affection was sadly wanting in the women, who
seemed to care less for their children than some
domestic animals. This state of things was mainly
the outcome of the system, which was undoubtedly
immoral, but the mental disabilities of the race must
also be taken into consideration. The anti-slavery
party considered that environment was everything;
if they could only free the negro from compulsory
servitude he would at once become an industrious
labourer. Yes, in their opinion, if he had the incentive
of wages, it would make him a credit to himself
and his community. The slaves, they said, were
worked to death, yet as free men they would do more
and perform their tasks better. Their experience with
free workmen led to these conclusions, but this could
not apply to the West Indies nor to the negro
race.</p>

<p>The anti-slavery party was very strong, and
although it is not stated that they took "Perish
the colonies!" for their motto, it is very certain that
they cared little about the future of either white or
black as long as they carried their object. To this
end every possible case of oppression and ill-treatment
was exaggerated, and spoken of as if it were
common, notwithstanding that the case only came to
their notice through the trial and punishment of the
offender. The fact was the planter could not afford
to ill-treat his slave&mdash;no other animal of his live
stock was of so much value. If a valuable horse<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span>
were killed another could be obtained to replace him,
but this was almost impossible in the case of the
negro. Formerly, when he cost about &pound;20, it might
have paid to work him to death; now that his price
was five or six times as much, self-interest alone prevented
ill-treatment. There was a strong public
opinion in every colony which prevented cruelty, and
there were societies in some which gave prizes to
those in charge of estates who raised the greatest
number of children in proportion to their negroes.
This breeding of negroes was necessarily very slow
work, and did little to make up for the stoppage of
importation. It followed, therefore, that every year
the amount of available labour became less.</p>

<p>In 1815 the anti-slavery party commenced a
further agitation in favour of the negro, with the
result that a Registrar of slaves was appointed for
each colony, and ultimately a Protector. By obtaining
an annual census they hoped to have some check
on the decrease, and at the same time see if any
Africans were surreptitiously imported. In some
places there was already a slave registration for the
purpose of adjusting the head-tax; here the planters
did not oppose the measure, although they resented
interference. Others, like Barbados, protested against
the innovation as something quite unnecessary, or
even if desirable, not to be imposed upon them from
outside. This led to a great deal of discussion at
the planters' tables, where the slave waiters listened
to what was said, and from thence carried garbled
reports to the others.</p>

<p>In every colony were numbers of free negroes and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span>
coloured people, some of whom were loafers and
spongers on the slaves, while others went about the
country peddling. Having nothing to do, they
became the news-carriers and circulators of garbled
reports. In 1815 there lived in Barbados a free
coloured man named Washington Franklin, who,
like many negroes, was possessed of a good memory
and a great power of declamation. Getting hold of
the English and colonial newspapers, he would read
the speeches of Wilberforce and others, and after
putting his own construction on them, retail them in
language tending to rouse the slaves. To him was
due an impression that prevailed in Barbados, probably
from a misunderstanding of the Registry Bill,
that they were all to be free at the beginning of the
year 1816. When New Year's Day had passed they
became dissatisfied, believing that their masters had
received orders to set them free, but would not execute
them. They had heard of the successful rising
in Hayti, and were determined to attempt a similar
revolt in Barbados.</p>

<p>After waiting for the expected freedom until the
14th of April, they determined on that day to have
a general rising, which was signalled by burning
heaps of cane-trash in the parish of St. Philip. Soon
the fields were set on fire, and frenzied mobs, continually
increasing in numbers, went from one plantation
to another seeking arms. This went on for two
days, but on the arrival of the militia they dispersed,
leaving a waste behind. As usual a great many of
the negroes were executed, although it does not
appear that any whites got killed in the revolt.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span>
However, the Registry Act was delayed for two
years, to be ultimately passed in January, 1817.</p>

<p>Towards the end of the last century a new class
of men appeared in the West Indies&mdash;the Protestant
missionaries. Catholic missions had been established
in the Spanish possessions since the time of Columbus,
but hitherto, with the exception of a few Moravians,
no other Church had done anything to convert the
slaves in the British colonies. Between 1780 and
1790, Methodist societies were established in most of
the islands, notwithstanding the opposition of the
planters, who in some cases appear to have thought
that baptized Christians could no longer be held in
slavery. This vulgar error, however, was not the real
cause of the antagonism to these teachers, but rather
the feeling natural to a master which makes him
resent any outside interference between himself and
his servants. The best and kindest were the first to
feel this. The slaves were their children, and to them
they applied, in all their troubles and difficulties, as to
a great father. It followed, therefore, that when the
missionaries came and proclaimed themselves friends
to the slaves, giving them advice in secular as well as
religious matters, the cordial feeling was broken.
"Massa" was much put out, for he liked to hold
the position of a little god to these poor ignorant
creatures over whom he held such power. The
slaves were sometimes whipped as bad children when
they did wrong, and as children they cared little for
a flogging. It is easily conceivable that a humane
missionary might feel more pain at witnessing such a
punishment than the culprit himself, but it is a fact<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span>
that cruel punishment was never mentioned by the
slaves as an excuse for a revolt.</p>

<p>The missionaries were shocked at the apparent
nakedness and destitution of the negroes, as a visitor
to the West Indies will be even now. They did
not remember that their clothing and houses were
well suited to the climate, and that a home in the
English sense of the word would not have been
appreciated by them. These things were reported to
the societies at home, the members of which knew no
more about the tropics than the merchant who once
sent a consignment of warming-pans to Barbados.
Those who wanted to raise a cry of cruelty to the
poor slave, circulated these facts, and put their own
construction upon them, one going so far as to state
that there were no chimneys to the houses, as if this
omission were a slave disability or oppression, although
any visitor to the colonies could have told him that
these conveniences were hardly found anywhere.</p>

<p>The negro willingly listened to his friend the
missionary, and felt eager to perform the rites and
ceremonies of the little congregation. The Established
Church was that of England, and although in
some places there were special services for the blacks,
in others "slaves and dogs" were refused admission.
This exclusiveness threw the slaves into the hands of
the Moravians, Baptists, Methodists, and the agents of
the London Missionary Society. The Church government
of some of these was in the hands of the congregation,
and as this was a sort of playing at "Massa,"
the slave took to them all the more readily.</p>

<p>No doubt these ministers were very good men, and<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span>
animated by a great love for the negroes, but this did
not prevent their being misunderstood by both master
and slave. Then many of them were connected with
the anti-slavery society, and however careful they
might be not to offend local prejudices, by speaking
against the obnoxious system, as conscientious men
they could not help showing their bias. The established
clergymen, on the contrary, when they preached
to the slaves, told them to "be subject to the powers
that be," and to remain content in the condition where
Providence had placed them.</p>

<p>At first most of the planters only sneered at these
attempts to convert the slaves, but when they saw
what an attraction the chapels became, they opposed
them openly. Gangs of young fellows would attend,
and sometimes break up the meetings by jeering at
the preacher. In 1807 an ordinance was passed in
Jamaica "for preventing the profanation of religious
rites and false worshipping of God, under the pretence
of preaching and teaching, by illiterate, ignorant, and
ill-disposed persons, and of the mischief consequent
thereupon." Considering it the first duty of all magistrates
to encourage the solemn exercise of religion,
and whereas nothing tended more to bring it into
disrepute than the pretended preaching and expounding
of the Word of God by ignorant persons
and false enthusiasts, to persons of colour and
slaves, it was enacted that, after the 1st of July, no
unauthorised person should presume to teach, preach,
offer public prayer, or sing psalms to any assembly
of these people, on pain of a fine of a hundred
pounds, imprisonment for six months, or whipping.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span>
Similar punishments were also to be inflicted on any
one preaching in an unlicensed building, as well as
on the owner of a house or yard in which it had been
permitted.</p>

<p>Another way of stopping the assembly of slaves
was to pass a law against their meeting at night, and
punish them if they left the estate without a written
permission. There were always excuses for this
apparent harshness, as plots had been arranged at
nocturnal meetings, some of which had given a great
deal of trouble. Even if a pass were granted to
attend chapel, the estate's authorities could hardly be
expected to follow and see that the slave did not go
elsewhere. The missionaries took it that all this was
done to hamper their work, but such was not the case
altogether.</p>

<p>The anti-slavery party became very strong about
the year 1820, and every obnoxious regulation was
a text for discourses on the infamy of the whole
system. If a planter were punished, the case was
trumpeted over the country to promote a greater
antagonism. How absurd this really was could only
be seen by the West Indians themselves, and if they
attempted to say anything they were put down as
liars, becaused they were biassed in favour of the other
side. One writer pertinently remarked that, among
the hundreds of military and naval officers stationed
in the West Indies, not one had borne out the statements
of the missionaries, and we may call attention
to the curious fact that Captain Marryat, who was
well acquainted with every colony, speaks always of
the negro as a happy fellow. The genial novelist<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span>
does not mince matters when he speaks of oppression
on board ship, and it is not to be supposed that he
would go out of his way to screen the planters.</p>

<p>Some of the colonies passed laws against indiscriminate
manumissions, and these were declaimed
against as tyranny. Yet their wisdom was so patent
that, under the system, they could only be heartily
approved by every one competent to judge. There is
one little fact that stands out most prominently as a
redeeming point, if such a thing be possible&mdash;under
slavery there was no poverty&mdash;there were no tramps
nor beggars. The owner of the plantation had to
feed his people in sickness and in health, in childhood
and old age. If manumissions could be given
by the mere stroke of a pen, many a poor sick or
broken-down creature would have been cast adrift to
become a burden upon the community. Now and
again we yet hear some old woman complain that
if this were slavery time, she would not be half-starved
as she is to-day, notwithstanding the poor
relief.</p>

<p>It may perhaps be thought that we are attempting
the defence of slavery; we only wish to show that it
was not quite so black as it has been painted. It had
its dark side; but, on the other hand, many a bright
gleam can be perceived by those who have seen some
who were born into servitude and heard their stories.
They were well fed, had as much clothing as they
really required, were as a matter of policy well treated
as a rule, and were quite as happy as they are to-day.
Magistrates, policemen, and gaols were almost
unknown; the planter gave the negro a slight<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span>
flogging now and then, and this ended the tale of his
misdemeanours. A bad master might be cruel as a
bad husband may be also, but we should not condemn
marriage on account of its abuses. The great
argument against slavery was the degradation it produced
on the minds of both parties. However, we
are not writing the history of slavery, but the story
of the West Indies, and must apologise for the
digression.</p>

<p>In 1823 the House of Commons, on a motion of
Fowell Buxton, "that the state of slavery is repugnant
to the principles of the British Constitution, and
of the Christian religion," resolved to ameliorate the
condition of the slave by giving him civil rights and
privileges. As a result of this, orders were sent out
to abolish the flogging of women, and discontinue the
use of the whip in the field.</p>

<p>Already the West Indian planters were alarmed at
the interference of the British Government, and the
overriding of colonial laws by Orders in Council.
In 1819 they had petitioned against being compelled
to manumit their slaves in cases where they wished to
buy their freedom, but their protests went for nothing.
Now also they had to submit, although they did so
with a bad grace. The British Government left the
carrying out of the provisions of the resolutions to
the colonial legislatures, but at the same time giving
them to understand that there was no option.</p>

<p>In 1811, when the Governor and Court of Policy of
Demerara neglected to issue a proclamation allowing
negroes to attend chapel in the evening, they received
a sharp reprimand, and the Governor was super<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span>seded;
now they knew that nothing was left but to
obey orders.</p>

<p>When, therefore, the despatch containing these
resolutions arrived in Demerara, a meeting of the
legislature was at once convened to prepare the
necessary ordinance. There was no attempt to evade
this duty or delay compliance, but such a radical
change required great consideration, especially in
regard to the control of females without the use of
the whip. Negresses were, as a rule, less amenable
to discipline than the men, and it was thought that
something must be done to prevent insubordination.
Several meetings took place from the 21st of July,
1823, to early in August, at which the ordinance was
prepared and passed, but up to the 18th of the latter
month it had not been published. Such a delay,
however, did not imply any intention of evading the
duty, for three or four weeks often elapse from the
time of passing to the publication of a Bill.</p>

<p>Meanwhile the negroes got an idea that something
had been done in England for their benefit. Like
the slaves in Barbados and other colonies, they
heard discussions at their masters' tables, and supposed
that the something which had taken place
meant their total emancipation. "The king had
freed them, but the planters refused to carry out the
order." On the East Coast of Demerara there was
then a small chapel belonging to the London Missionary
Society, under the charge of the Rev. John
Smith. This chapel was a rendezvous for the negroes
of the neighbouring plantations, who not only came
to service, but met afterwards for a little gossip.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span>
Some who could read gave their ideas of what they
had gleaned from their masters' newspapers, while
others told what had been said at the dinner-tables.
It does not appear that Mr. Smith had told them
anything of the new resolutions, nor is there evidence
that the deacons of the chapel knew of them. It
followed, therefore, that all the information they had
was these garbled reports of their own people.</p>

<p>On Sunday, the 17th of August, a number of the
bolder spirits met after service and discussed a plot
which had been already under consideration, for a
general rising at eight o'clock next evening. Their
idea was to put their masters in the stocks, arm
themselves, and, when the Governor came, demand
their supposed rights.</p>

<p>On Monday morning a coloured servant informed
his master of the plot, on which he at once rode
off to Georgetown and interviewed the Governor.
Warnings were sent to most of the planters, and
preparations made to suppress the revolt if it took
place, but such reports were not uncommon, and
although the whites looked after their weapons they
did not feel much alarm. As a matter of policy it
was better to assume indifference, as anything like
desertion of the estates, even so far as the sending
away of women and children, would have encouraged
the negroes.</p>

<p>The signal was given by a fire near the chapel,
on which the slaves assembled in great mobs, over-powered
their masters, put them in the stocks, and
took all the firearms and other weapons they could
find. The Governor was already in the neighbour<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span>hood
with a small party of cavalry, and on seeing
the signal proceeded to inquire into its meaning.
On the way he was met by an armed mob, who,
on being asked what they wanted, answered, "Our
right!" He told them of the new law, and promised
a full explanation on the morrow if they
would disperse and come to him at a neighbouring
plantation. There was a slight hesitation for a few
moments, but presently, with cries of "No! no!"
and the blowing of shells, they drowned his voice.
Then some of the more moderate advised him to
go away, which he was obliged to do, as his whole
company numbered hardly a dozen.</p>

<p>Bearing in mind the disasters of the Berbice insurrection,
the people of Georgetown were much
alarmed. Placing their women and children on
board vessels in the river, the men prepared to
resist to the death. Martial law was proclaimed,
and every person, without distinction, called upon to
enrol at once in the militia, all exemptions being
cancelled. They responded heartily, and soon the
town put on an appearance as if deserted, except
at those places where guards were stationed. The
stores were closed, the slaves kept indoors, and, save
for the arrival and departure of mounted orderlies,
not a sound could be heard. Even the negroes
themselves, in their kitchens and outbuildings, were
overawed, and hardly spoke above a whisper.</p>

<p>The Methodist ministers came forward and enrolled
themselves in the militia, but they were not
called upon to perform any duty. The Rev. John
Smith, however, took no notice of the proclamation,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span>
although he admitted having seen it. On the evening
of the revolt he went for a walk with his wife,
and on his return found that the manager's house
was being attacked by a mob of slaves. He succeeded
by expostulation in preventing their doing
much injury, and even rescued the manager from
their hands, but instead of sending notice of the
rising to the neighbouring estates he went quietly
home. As far as he knew no one had been warned
of the revolt, and he was certainly remiss in his
duty when he did nothing whatever. When, on the
following day, he was visited by a militia officer, and
ordered to enrol himself in accordance with the
Governor's proclamation, he refused on the ground
of his exemption, although he knew that all exemptions
had been cancelled.</p>

<p>As usual the rebels had no proper leaders, and for
some reason or other&mdash;the missionaries ascribed it to
religious teaching&mdash;they did not burn the houses or
destroy the crops. One or two whites who resisted
were wounded, one at least fatally, but here again
the insurgents were forbearing. Fortunately they
were soon suppressed, and this no doubt prevented
such atrocities as had been committed elsewhere.
What with the soldiers, the militia, and crews of
vessels in the river, the force brought against them
was overwhelming. Only one attempt was made to
fight, but the first volley of the troops sent the rioters
scattering into a cotton field. In about two days
the insurrection was over, and then came the hunt
for fugitives, who as usual took to the swamp at the
back of the estates. A large body of Indians was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span>
employed, and in the end most of them were
captured, some to be hanged at once and others
after sentence by court-martial.</p>

<p>Mr. Smith's behaviour was considered as something
more than suspicious&mdash;he was believed to have
had knowledge of the plot, and charged with an
intention to side with the negroes if he saw any
prospect of their success. On his refusal to take
part in the defence of the colony he was taken
prisoner, and after the negroes had been tried and
sentenced, his case was brought before a court-martial.
He was charged with promoting discontent
among the slaves, conspiring to bring about a
revolt, knowing of the plot the day before and not
reporting it, and holding communication with one of
the leaders after it had broken out without attempting
to capture him. The case created a great stir,
public opinion being universal that he was the prime
mover in the whole affair.</p>

<p>His trial lasted over a month, at the end of which
he was found guilty and sentenced to be hanged.
This sentence, however, seems to have been given
to satisfy the people; it was not published, nor was
it intended to be executed without reference to the
home Government. This is proved by the report in
the "Royal Gazette" of the colony, which stated
that the trial was over, but the nature of the proceedings
was such as to render it imperative on the
Governor to transmit them for His Majesty's consideration.
The public were not informed of the
verdict, but it is not to be supposed that they were
ignorant of the result of the trial; on the contrary,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span>
the sentence met with their approval, and they complained
of the delay in carrying it out, as compared
with the hasty executions of the negroes. Mr. Smith
was ultimately reprieved, on the understanding that
he removed himself from the West Indies, and engaged
never to come back to Guiana or go to any
of the islands. But the poor missionary was sick,
and under treatment before the insurrection, and it
may be presumed that the worry of the trial hastened
his end. He died in prison before the king's answer
arrived, and was buried at night to prevent a hostile
demonstration.</p>

<p>We have been thus particular in giving the facts
of the Demerara East Coast Insurrection, because
it made such an impression in England. The anti-slavery
party used the case of the "Martyr" Smith
as a watchword, and it was a prime factor in hurrying
on emancipation. The immediate result was an
Order in Council to enable slaves to contract legal
marriage, to hold property, to buy their freedom on
a valuation by disinterested parties, and to put them
under a Protector, whose duty was to see that their
rights were not infringed. They were now citizens,
their only civil disabilities being compulsory labour
and a tie to the plantation or their masters.</p>

<p>This, however, did not satisfy the anti-slavery
party, and they went on with their struggle for total
emancipation, in which they at last succeeded. In
1833 an Act of Parliament was passed, by which,
after the 1st of August, 1834, slavery was to give
place to an apprenticeship of four or six years,
according to the status of the slave, the former term<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span>
for house-servants and the latter for labourers on
the plantations, or "predials." Every child born
after that date was to be entirely free, and here
came in one of the greatest blemishes of the law.
These poor infants belonged to nobody; their
mothers cared little for them, and it could not be
expected that the planters would pay to keep up the
old system of superintendence. Even those who
had been instrumental in getting the law passed now
began to make comparisons between the position of
the child-bearing woman under the old and new
systems. Hitherto they were unable to find words
harsh enough to use in condemning slavery&mdash;now
they began to find that it had its good points. Then
the new system required new administrators, and, to
prevent any suspicion of bias, magistrates were
brought from England. Yet these very same unbiassed
gentlemen ordered flogging for the men
and the treadmill and dark cell for the women.
The Quaker delegates sent out to inspect the result
of their work were horrified. They said that the
cat was worse than the old whip, and that the
apprenticeship system caused ten times more suffering
than slavery.</p>

<p>And such was really the case. The negroes could
no longer be kept under subordination&mdash;they even
claimed entire freedom at once. Several disturbances
took place before they could be made to understand
that they had to work seven and a half hours every
day, to pay for their homes, provision grounds, and
other allowances. In Demerara the Governor addressed
them as erring children, telling them that
<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308-309]</a><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309"></a></span>they could not all be masters, and that every one
must work. They had never seen a white man
handle the shovel or the hoe&mdash;he was free&mdash;now
they had attained to the same condition, the same
coveted freedom from hard labour must be theirs
also. True, there were free negroes, some of whom
had learnt trades, but even they were above working
in the field. Why should free negroes work?
Certainly not for their wives and children. The
women got their allowances, and the planter had
hitherto looked after the children. The negro had
no house rent to pay, his two suits of clothing came
regularly every year, and if he was sick the doctor
attended to him. Except to deck himself with
finery, he had no use for money; a few would work
overtime when they wanted something of that sort,
but the majority did as little as possible.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 319px;">
<img src="images/p308.jpg" width="319" height="471" alt="THE FIRST OF AUGUST." title="" />
<span class="caption">THE FIRST OF AUGUST.<br />
(<i>From Madden&#39;s &quot;West Indies.&quot;</i>)</span>
</div>

<p>In 1838, when the house servants were to be freed,
while the predials must serve two years longer, the
difficulties of such an arrangement became insurmountable.
A daughter or wife might be entirely
free, and the father or husband an "apprentice."
Then came the difficulty of classification, which the
commissioners appointed to arrange the divisions
necessarily decided against the opinion of one or the
other disputant, driving him to appeal. All this
rendered a continuance of the system impossible,
and slavery was terminated altogether on the 1st of
August, 1838, the planters receiving from the British
people twenty millions sterling as compensation, being
about one-third of the estimated value of the slaves.</p>

<p>The French had received such a lesson from the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span>
revolt of Hayti that they did little for their negroes.
However, after the downfall of Louis Philippe in
1848, the revolutionary Government abolished slavery
throughout the colonies, without compensation.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 266px;">
<img src="images/p310.jpg" width="266" height="315" alt="A RELIC OF THE SLAVERY DAYS&mdash;OLD SLAVE BUYING FISH." title="" />
<span class="caption">A RELIC OF THE SLAVERY DAYS&mdash;OLD SLAVE BUYING FISH.</span>
</div>

<p>After freedom had been secured in the British
colonies the slaves in neighbouring places naturally
became discontented. There were not many desertions
from the islands, but in Guiana, where the
Dutch negroes were slaves on one side of the river
Corentyne, and the British free on the other, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span>
runaways from the former caused a great deal of
trouble to the Dutch. Whenever an opportunity
occurred, a party of slaves stole a boat and made
off to the British side, until the Surinam planters
became much alarmed. Ultimately a Dutch gunboat
was stationed at the boundary river, and this
put an end to the migration.</p>

<p>Some of the islands were much affected, especially
those of the Danes, which were frequented by British
vessels, and were largely English in their sympathies.
Here the negroes soon learnt what had happened,
and began to express dissatisfaction with their own
position. However, Denmark saw that something
had to be done, and in 1847 enacted laws for gradual
emancipation in her islands. From the 28th of July
of that year all children born of slaves were to be
free, and at the end of twelve years from that time
slavery was to cease altogether.</p>

<p>This did not satisfy the negroes, who became more
discontented, and in 1848 an insurrection took place
on the island of St. Croix. On the 2nd of July it
was rumoured that the slaves would refuse to work
next day, and in the evening the whites were alarmed
by the ringing of bells and blowing of conch shells.
At first it was considered as an alarm of fire, but on
inquiry the whites found that the negroes had revolted,
and were demanding their freedom. Later, people
came in from the country districts with the news
that there were noisy demonstrations, but that as
yet no actual violence had been committed. So little
alarm was as yet felt that no precautions were taken,
although some persons became uneasy.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span></p>

<p>Next morning the negroes streamed into Christiansted
in great numbers, and commenced to
demolish the police office. An officer coming into
town was attacked by a woman with an axe, which
fortunately missed him, but the crowd was so good-humoured
that, on his treating the matter coolly
he was allowed to pass: this apparent good feeling
made the authorities hesitate in taking extreme
measures, even when the mob came round the fort,
shouting and calling for freedom. Now, however,
they began to collect trash for the purpose of setting
fire to a house, and the Stadthauptman and a Roman
Catholic priest went among them to try remonstrances.
All the answer they got was that the slaves could not
fight the soldiers, but they intended to burn and
destroy everything if freedom were not given them.
One of the mob carried a British flag as an emblem
of liberty, and several English sailors were reported
as forming part of the crowd. Soon all their good-humour
was gone, and they commenced plundering
the stores, the whites running away to vessels in the
harbour.</p>

<p>About three o'clock in the afternoon the Governor
arrived from St. Thomas, and went among the crowd
telling them that they were free, at the same time
ordering them to disperse quietly. For a few hours
there was a lull, but next morning they reassembled
in the country districts as if in doubt whether the
Governor really meant what he had said. Some
planters now brought their families to town, leaving
their houses to be plundered. Parties of soldiers
were sent out, and hundreds of prisoners were taken,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span>
the mobs, which in some cases numbered two or three
thousand, dispersing at their appearance. Martial
law was declared, Porto Rico sent six hundred
Spanish troops, the insurrection was at last quelled,
and peace restored. The Governor stood his trial in
Denmark, to be acquitted, and to have his declaration
of complete emancipation confirmed.</p>

<p>Slavery still continued in the Dutch possessions
until 1863, and even then it was only replaced by
compulsory labour for ten years, leaving the final
emancipation until 1873. Yet with all that there
were no disturbances to hurry on the process or
cause trouble. In Cuba a law was passed in 1870
to give freedom to all above the age of sixty, as well
as to children born after the passing of the Act. This,
however, was not enforced on account of internal
dissensions, and although Porto Rico gave her slaves
their liberty on the 23rd of March, 1873, the Cuban
Emancipation Bill was not passed by the Spanish
Senate until February, 1880, and under that law
slavery only came to an end on the 6th of October,
1886.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span></p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h3><a name="XV" id="XV"></a>XV</h3>

<h3>RESULTS OF EMANCIPATION</h3>


<p>The slave emancipation was a terrible blow to the
West Indies, and one from which many of the islands
have not yet recovered. It was, the planters said, the
second attempt to ruin them, the first having been
the abolition of the slave-trade. The party who
brought it about looked to see their <i>prot&eacute;g&eacute;es</i> become
a contented, hard-working peasantry, in place of
driven cattle, as they called them. The planters, on
the contrary, were morally certain that as free men
they would not work, and without a labour supply
their estates would be utterly ruined. The British
taxpayer grumbled at having to pay twenty millions,
but this was a mere sop for the estate owners. With
the loss of their human chattels the plantations in
many cases became utterly valueless; for the negroes
congregated round certain centres, leaving most of
the outlying places without enough people to keep
up the cultivation. Labour had been degraded by
the system, and now the full effects of such influence
began to be felt.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 263px;">
<img src="images/p315.jpg" width="263" height="326" alt="NEGRESS, GUIANA." title="" />
<span class="caption">NEGRESS, GUIANA.</span>
</div>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 265px;"><br />
<img src="images/p316.jpg" width="265" height="315" alt="NEGRESS FISH-SELLERS, GUIANA." title="" />
<span class="caption">NEGRESS FISH-SELLERS, GUIANA.</span>
</div>

<p>The compensation money, in many cases, went
towards paying off mortgages and other claims, the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span>
holders of which saw the impending ruin and hastened
to save themselves as far as possible. But it was not
enough even for that, for many plantations had liens
of half the appraised value of the land, buildings, and
slaves. The last security being entirely gone the
others became worthless, and, as no one cared to
advance money on such risks, the nominal owners
could not even get as much as to pay wages. A
plantation valued at perhaps &pound;60,000 a few years
<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span>before, and easily mortgaged for half that amount,
received &pound;16,000 for compensation with which to
pay off the claim, and then wanted cash to carry on
as well. Banks were established, but only solvent
estates could get help from them, and consequently
hundreds were abandoned in the larger colonies, and
hardly one, with the exception of those in Barbados,
could produce as much sugar as formerly. West
Indian Nabobs, who had been getting their ten
thousand a year and living in England, went out<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span>
to see what could be done. Their incomes were
entirely gone, and with them all hopes for the future.
Widows and children lost their only means of support,
and ruin fell on hundreds of families in England as
well as in the West Indies. But not only did this
downfall affect the owners and their relations, but
merchants as well. Old firms shook to their very
foundations, while many became bankrupt, to bring
suffering to the homes of thousands who had hardly
known of the sugar colonies beyond the invectives of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span>
the anti-slavery society. Many who had been strong
advocates of emancipation now wished they had
never said anything about it, but the die was cast,
and there could never again be anything like the
shilly-shallying of the French at Hayti.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 265px;">
<img src="images/p317.jpg" width="265" height="288" alt="CHINESE WOOD-CARRIER." title="" />
<span class="caption">CHINESE WOOD-CARRIER.</span>
</div>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 265px;"><br />
<img src="images/p318.jpg" width="265" height="343" alt="EAST INDIAN COOLIE." title="" />
<span class="caption">EAST INDIAN COOLIE.</span>
</div>

<p>The negroes would not work, and there were no
means of forcing them to do so. The anti-slavery
party still had their delegates in the West Indies to<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span>
see that the "poor negro" was not oppressed in any
way, and their representatives in Parliament to call
the Government to account if they allowed any
vagrancy laws, or even the shadow of a coercive
measure in the colonies. One ordinance after another
for this purpose was disallowed, until every planter
was in despair.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 258px;">
<img src="images/p319.jpg" width="258" height="323" alt="EAST INDIAN COOLIE FAMILY." title="" />
<span class="caption">EAST INDIAN COOLIE FAMILY.</span>
</div>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 260px;"><br />
<img src="images/p320.jpg" width="260" height="350" alt="COOLIE BARBER." title="" />
<span class="caption">COOLIE BARBER.</span>
</div>

<p>To retain their labourers was a matter of life or
death. Some continued the old slave allowances<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span>
to put them in good humour, but as these made the
negroes independent of wages, the privilege was
abused. They took everything and did nothing in
return. Some went so far as to say that the Queen
had promised that their late masters should supply
them as usual, entirely regardless of the amount of
work they did. This made the planters sore. What<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span>
with one trouble and another the few who survived
the wreck hardly knew how to act. They must not
do anything to drive their people away, for there
were many inducements offered by others in the
same predicament. The negro was master, and he
knew it. So much depended on him that he was
enticed to labour, by high wages and greater privi<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span>leges,
until this bidding of one against another
produced the very result which it was intended to
avoid.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 262px;">
<img src="images/p321.jpg" width="262" height="353" alt="EAST INDIAN COOLIE GIRL." title="" />
<span class="caption">EAST INDIAN COOLIE GIRL.</span>
</div>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 264px;"><br />
<img src="images/p322.jpg" width="264" height="335" alt="COOLIE WOMEN, BRITISH GUIANA." title="" />
<span class="caption">COOLIE WOMEN, BRITISH GUIANA.</span>
</div>

<p>Something had to be done. First, the allowances
of those who would not work were stopped; then
their houses and provision grounds were taken away.
Thousands of fruit-trees were destroyed to prevent
their living on mangoes and bananas during the
season. Then the planters attempted to combine<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span>
to bring wages to a paying level, and this led to
strikes of the negroes. Everything tended to further
estrangement until employer and labourer drifted far
apart. In British Guiana the negroes bought some
of the abandoned plantations and established villages;
in some cases they even attempted to carry them on
as sugar estates, but as all wanted to be masters they
in every case failed.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 263px;">
<img src="images/p323.jpg" width="263" height="330" alt="COOLIE VEGETABLE SELLERS, BRITISH GUIANA." title="" />
<span class="caption">COOLIE VEGETABLE SELLERS, BRITISH GUIANA.</span>
</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span></p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 303px;"><br />
<img src="images/p324.jpg" width="303" height="266" alt="EAST INDIAN COOLIES, TRINIDAD." title="" />
<span class="caption">EAST INDIAN COOLIES, TRINIDAD.</span>
</div>

<p>As if this were not enough, the British Government
went in for free trade, and allowed foreign slave-grown
sugar to compete with that of the colonies.
It seemed as if the French revolutionary cry of
"Perish the colonies!" had now been introduced into
the British Parliament. From one point of view the
planters had been amply paid with the compensation
money. Some went so far as to say that twenty
millions could have bought all the estates in the
West Indies, implying that the colonists had no
further claim upon them. Even the anti-slavery
party would not see that they were encouraging the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span>
slave system in other countries by opening their
markets. This completed the ruin begun by emancipation,
but as long as the principles were adhered to
it did not matter.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 274px;">
<img src="images/p325.jpg" width="274" height="354" alt="EAST INDIAN COOLIE, TRINIDAD." title="" />
<span class="caption">EAST INDIAN COOLIE, TRINIDAD.</span>
</div>

<p>Most of the remaining plantations now fell into the
hands of those who had liens upon them, and they,
not liking to lose their money altogether, commenced<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span>
the uphill work of again bringing them into cultivation.
Even a few colonists continued the struggle in
hopes of better times. In Demerara there were two
cases where eminent lawyers&mdash;the legal profession,
by the bye, doing well when everything else was on
the verge of ruin&mdash;spent all their profits in keeping
their sugar estates from utter abandonment. One of
these got so heavily in debt that at one time he could
not pay his house rent, and as the landlord dared not
sue him, he had metaphorically to go on his knees
and beg him to quit.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 303px;">
<img src="images/p326.jpg" width="303" height="267" alt="TRINIDAD COOLIES." title="" />
<span class="caption">TRINIDAD COOLIES.</span>
</div>

<p>However, the sturdy English spirit survived in a<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span>
few, and they set to work to obtain labourers from
other parts of the world. At first they thought of
Africa, but the anti-slavery party would not hear of
immigration from the "dark continent," for fear of
abuses. Then India was tried, with the result that
a few coolies were brought over by private parties,
notably to Demerara by John Gladstone. But again
the cry of slavery went forth, due to the managers
leaving the new-comers in the hands of their headmen
or sirdars. It was charged against them that
they beat their underlings, and of course the planters
had to bear the responsibility. The result was that
East Indian immigration was prohibited for a time.
After a hard struggle on the part of the planters it
was renewed, and in the end prevented Trinidad and
British Guiana from utter abandonment.</p>

<p>Besides Hindoo coolies, Chinese were also imported,
as well as Maltese, Madeirans, and a few Germans.
At first the negro thought little of this competition,
but when he gradually dropped into the background,
with his missionary friends, he commenced to protest
against it. His friends said, and it was the truth,
that there was enough labour in the colonies to carry
on the estates, but the difficulty was that it could not
be depended upon. Then the wages demanded by
the negroes was entirely beyond the means of the
planters&mdash;the price of sugar would not admit of them.
It was a case of cheap labour or the alternative of
giving up the struggle, and with the East Indians,
British Guiana, and Trinidad recovered from the brink
of ruin to become more flourishing in some respects
than in the years immediately preceding emancipation.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span>
Jamaica, the greatest of the British colonies, suffered
the most as she got but few immigrants, and it is
only during the last decade that she has again begun
to hold up her head. Without healthy competition
with other races, the negroes sunk back, until they
became even more degraded than those of British
Guiana and Trinidad.</p>

<p>In Barbados, on the contrary, the population was
so dense that the freedman must either work or
starve. There were no waste lands and few absentee
proprietors, nor were any of the estates abandoned.
Labour was plentiful and cheap; it followed, therefore,
that the island soon recovered from the check
and went on prospering. The compulsion of the
whip gave way to the force of circumstances, and
the struggle for existence which ensued has made
the Barbadian negro the most industrious in the
West Indies. Not only is he this, but he is, like his
former masters, intensely loyal to Great Britain and
"Little England." All the black, coloured, and white
people in the other islands call themselves Creoles,
but he is "neither Crab (Carib) nor Creole, but true
Barbadian born."</p>

<p>In the French, Danish, and Dutch colonies labour
laws were enforced after emancipation, and generally
with good results. They felt the change, but not to
such an extent as their neighbours, and recovered all
the sooner. Then they were not utterly disheartened
by the unhealthy competition of slave-grown products
like the English. Possibly, however, the British
freedman would not have borne coercion, for even the
Danes resented it.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span></p>

<p>We have seen already that the negroes of the island
of St. Croix were by no means willing to submit to
what they considered injustice, and how they forced
on their own emancipation. However, down to 1878
they were bound to the soil as it were under annual
engagements, from which they were not released
without proper notice, even after the term had expired.
They had houses, provision grounds, allowances,
and very low wages, and were bound to work
five days a week. The engagement expired annually
on the 1st of October, and on that day those who did
not renew their contract assembled in the two towns
of the island for a jollification, where something like
the old "mop" or hiring fair of England took place.</p>

<p>In 1878 they somehow got the impression that the
labour law was about to be relaxed, but there does
not seem to have been any combination among them
to obtain such an end; they were dissatisfied, and that
was all. About the same time the Government were
so assured of their peaceable disposition that they
reduced the garrison of Christiansted, the capital, to
sixty men. When the 1st of October arrived the
negroes assembled as usual in Frederiksted, round
the rum shops, appearing good-humoured, although
noisy, as such a crowd always must be. Nothing
particular happened until, at about three o'clock in
the afternoon, a cry went up that one of their number
had been beaten by a policeman, on which they
attacked the peace officers, and drove them into the
fort, which was police-station and barracks. Some of
the principal whites came out and remonstrated with
them, and at first they seemed as if they would dis<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_330" id="Page_330">[Pg 330]</a></span>perse,
but just then the police-master, his assistant, and two soldiers rode
into their midst, brandishing swords and ordering them to move off at
once. Infuriated by this, the mob attacked the horsemen with stones, and
drove them back into the fort, which they now stormed. The British
Vice-Consul then went among them, and, after a little parleying, induced
them to go with him to the outskirts of the town. Here he got a
statement of their grievances, which were&mdash;first, that their wages
were too low (only ten cents a day); second, that the annual contract
was slavery; third, that the manager of the estate could fine them at
will; and fourth, that if they wanted to leave the island they were
obstructed. Having promised to do all he could for them, the Vice-Consul
begged them to disperse.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 545px;">
<img src="images/p330.jpg" width="545" height="117" alt="BARBADOS." title="" />
<span class="caption">BARBADOS.<br />
(<i>From Andrews&#39; &quot;West Indies.&quot;</i>)</span>
</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_331" id="Page_331">[Pg 331]</a></span></p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 542px;"><br />
<img src="images/p331.jpg" width="542" height="313" alt="ST. LUCIA." title="" />
<span class="caption">ST. LUCIA.<br />
(<i>From Andrews&#39; &quot;West Indies.&quot;</i>)</span>
</div><p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_332" id="Page_332">[Pg 332]</a></span></p>

<p>They were apparently leaving the town, when a
woman came running up with the report that the
man who had been beaten by the police had just died
in the hospital. This made them furious, and all
further hopes of their pacification had to be given up.
They invaded the hospital, knocked down the sick-nurse
and a patient who inquired their business, and
demanded to see the murdered man. They were
informed that he was not dead but only dead drunk,
and would soon recover if left alone. On being convinced
of this, they again went off and attacked the
fort. The defenders, when assailed with stones, fired
over their heads, but this only made them all the
more violent. The outer gate was broken down and
some of the negroes were shot. Just at that moment
a planter came up, intending to enter the fort, and at
once they beat him with sticks until he was nearly
killed.</p>

<p>However, the bullets checked them, but only to
throw the attack on other parts of the town. Stores
were pillaged and set fire to, until a great portion of
the town was in flames. From some of the stores
they took weapons in the shape of cane-bills, and in
one were alarmed for a few moments by an explosion
of gunpowder. The whole of Bay Street was
soon in flames, and like troops of fiends the negroes
went dancing round the fires, in some places pouring
on them cans of petroleum if the houses did
not blaze up fast enough. Then the rum casks
began to burst, and streams of burning spirit ran
down the gutters, adding to the horror of the
scene. The women were always the most reck<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_333" id="Page_333">[Pg 333]</a></span>less&mdash;they
danced and howled with mingled joy
and rage. The men added to the din by clashing
their sticks together or against the burning stores,
some blowing shells as a sort of rallying signal.
"Our side!" was the watchword, and all who could
not or would not repeat it were severely beaten.
Most of the whites, however, had fled, leaving them
entirely unchecked in their destructive work.</p>

<p>Meanwhile the police-master had sent to Christiansted
for assistance, and while he waited the mob
again assailed the fort and again without success.
All through the night the disturbance continued, and
it was not until six o'clock in the morning that a
small band of twenty soldiers arrived. At their first
volley the mob dispersed, flying precipitately from the
town to carry the riot all over the island. Two soldiers
left in charge of a waggon were killed; and on learning
this the soldiers were roused to a state of fury almost
as great as that of the rioters. They hunted them from
one plantation to another, invaded their huts, stabbed
through the mattresses, and killed every negro who
came in their way, without taking the trouble to
inquire whether they had been concerned in the affair
or not. Three hundred prisoners were taken, and on
the 5th of October a proclamation was issued calling
on all the negroes to return to their houses or be
treated as rebels, after which the disturbance was
quelled. Twelve hundred were sentenced to death,
and a Commission of Inquiry was sent out from
Denmark, the result of their report being that the
obnoxious labour law was repealed.</p>

<p>We have been thus particular in our account of<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_334" id="Page_334">[Pg 334]</a></span>
this riot, because it exemplifies the character of the
negro and is a type of such disturbances in other
colonies. There is generally some ill-feeling at the
bottom, but as a rule no conspiracy beforehand.
When the dissatisfaction reaches a certain point,
little is required to raise the passions of the black
man, and that little thing is almost sure to occur.
Unlike the European, he does not proclaim his
grievances, except in a general way, among his own
people&mdash;he has not yet arrived at that stage where
civilised man uses the platform and press. It follows,
therefore, that his passions smoulder for weeks and
months, until some trifle&mdash;often a misunderstanding&mdash;brings
them to the surface.</p>

<p>At St. Croix there does not appear to have been
anything like race prejudice, or that envious feeling
which makes the negro think himself down-trodden
by his rivals; but that is a characteristic of most
riots, and is strikingly exemplified in two that have
taken place in Demerara.</p>

<p>After the emancipation the negro in British Guiana
became of less and less importance as more and
more immigrants arrived, until he grew quite sore.
No longer could he demand extortionate wages, for
the labour market was virtually governed by the
current rates paid to the coolies. These people, however,
were quite able to hold their own, and the negro
knew this; it followed, therefore, that he vented his
spite upon the most inoffensive people in the colony.</p>

<p>The Portuguese from Madeira came to British
Guiana absolutely destitute just after the failure of
the vines on their island. They found the negro<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_335" id="Page_335">[Pg 335]</a></span>
more prosperous than perhaps he has ever been
since, for this was the time when, if he worked, he
could always save money if he chose. In fact, many
did so, and bought land which is still in the hands
of some of their descendants, on which houses much
superior to those now in existence were erected. The
Portuguese could not endure the hard labour of sugar-planting,
but soon found openings as small shopkeepers
or pedlars. Hitherto there was little competition in
these businesses, but the few who carried them on
were negroes or coloured persons. These were soon
ousted out, and the Portuguese became almost the
only small trader in the colony. This was a
grievance to the negro, who could not see that he
himself reaped the benefit&mdash;certainly he took advantage
of the reduced prices while abusing the sellers.</p>

<p>At the beginning of the year 1856 the negroes of
Georgetown were excited by the arrival of an anti-Popery
agitator, who had become notorious in England,
Scotland, and the United States. John Sayers Orr,
known as "the Angel Gabriel," because he blew a
trumpet to call the people together, was a native of
Demerara, and soon found out what a strong antipathy
to the Portuguese existed among the people. This
suited his ideas exactly, for were they not Roman
Catholics&mdash;the very body which he had been declaiming
everywhere against?</p>

<p>Soon his horn-blowing brought crowds into the
market square every Sunday, where his harangues
roused his hearers to such a pitch of fury that the
authorities became alarmed. He was therefore
arrested, brought before a magistrate, charged with<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_336" id="Page_336">[Pg 336]</a></span>
convening an illegal assembly, and committed for
trial. This committal of the popular hero was the
spark which set all the negroes' passions in a blaze,
but, strange to say, they did not attack the authorities.
Their spite was against the Portuguese, and
soon almost the whole colony was the scene of a
general raid upon their shops. Hardly any escaped,
but one after another was broken open and the goods
either carried away or destroyed. Some went so far
as to use the Governor's name, as if he had authorised
the raid, and in this way got ignorant people in
the country districts to help them to seize boats,
provisions, and even the produce of the farms of the
obnoxious Portuguese.</p>

<p>The riot was ultimately quelled, but not before the
damage amounted to over a quarter of a million
dollars. Hundreds of prisoners were captured, but
beyond the shooting of one policeman there does not
appear to have been any serious casualties, neither
were there any executions. It is interesting to note
that the idea of poisoning, which is connected with
Obeah superstition, was conspicuous here as in the
Berbice slave insurrection. One black man charged
a Portuguese with threatening to poison his customers
with the provisions he sold them; but all the satisfaction
the negro got was a reprimand from the
magistrate.</p>

<p>The second great riot in Georgetown is notable for
its similarity to that at St. Croix. The feeling of
antipathy to the Portuguese still continued, and the
negro had a special grievance on account of the
reprieve of a murderer of that nationality. If he had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_337" id="Page_337">[Pg 337]</a></span>
been black he would have been hanged, they said&mdash;it
was colour prejudice. However, no disturbance took
place for several months, and even then it only came
about through a misunderstanding. A black boy
buying a cent roll of bread in the market, snatched
one of the penny rolls instead, when the Portuguese
stall-keeper struck him down with a stick. The boy
was taken up senseless and carried to the hospital,
while his assailant through some misunderstanding
was not arrested. At once there was a cry of
"Portugee kill black man; Binney (the clerk of the
market) let he go," and they began to assail the
clerk with sticks and stones.</p>

<p>The police arrived, dispersed the mob, and shut up
the market, but this only led to their scattering
throughout the city. The report that the black boy
was dead was carried into every yard, and at once
swarms of women and boys, with comparatively few
men, began to smash the Portuguese shops. The
authorities did next to nothing, beyond sending out
a few special constables, armed only with sticks, to
fight against overpowering crowds better provided
with weapons than themselves. The consequence
was that for two days Georgetown was in the power
of thousands of negroes, and damage resulted to the
amount of nearly fifty thousand dollars. The disturbance
was finally checked by arming the police,
and issuing a proclamation that they were authorised
to fire on the rioters. Not a single shot was fired,
however; the threat was quite sufficient for the purpose.</p>

<p>It will be seen from these cases that of late years<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_338" id="Page_338">[Pg 338]</a></span>
the negroes have not perpetrated such massacres as
once characterised their insurrections, but the insurrection
at St. Thomas-in-the-East in Jamaica seems to
show that the old spirit was not dead in 1865.</p>

<p>For several years previous Jamaica had been much
depressed&mdash;in fact, she had hardly begun to recover
from the ruin which followed emancipation. Then
came a two years' drought, which caused some
distress among the people, who had no other means
of support than what was derived from their small
provision fields. The Baptist connexion was very
strong in the island, and Dr. Underhill, the Secretary
of its Missionary Society, went out, and on his return
published reports blaming the Government for the
distress, which he appears to have highly exaggerated.
This tended to produce more dissatisfaction and to
give the negroes an object on which they could vent
their feelings. In one of Dr. Underhill's letters he
said the people seemed to be overwhelmed with discouragement,
and that he feared they were giving up
their long struggle with injustice and fraud in despair.
Thus a feeling was produced which only required
some little incident to bring on a serious disturbance.</p>

<p>On the 7th of October a black man was brought up
for trial before the Custos of St. Thomas-in-the-East,
when a somewhat orderly mob marched into the
town to, if possible, release the prisoner. They
crowded round the court-house and made such a
disturbance that one of them was taken in charge,
only, however, to be rescued at once by his friends.
Nothing more was done on that day, but warrants
having been issued for the arrest of the leaders, their<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_339" id="Page_339">[Pg 339]</a></span>
execution was forcibly resisted. The negroes now
seem to have planned a general rising and issued
notices calling their people to arms. "Blow your
shells, roll your drums; house to house take out
every man! War is at us; my black skin, war is at
hand. Every black man must turn at once, for
the oppression is too great." They were, they said,
ground down by an overbearing and oppressive
foreigner, and if they did not get justice would burn
and kill.</p>

<p>On the 11th of October a mob assembled at the
same court-house, and being resisted by a small
body of volunteers, they killed the Custos, and every
white man who opposed them, to the number of
twenty-eight, released all the prisoners and burnt
the building. Immediately afterwards there was a
general rising in the district, which spread for about
fifty miles.</p>

<p>Governor Eyre, when he heard the news, at once
determined to suppress the insurrection before it
affected the whole island. Martial law was declared,
a body of maroons employed, and within a few days
the riots were suppressed. Many of the negroes were
shot as they tried to escape, others taken and hanged
at once, their villages burnt to the ground, and
altogether they received such a lesson as effectually
put a stop to anything of the kind in the future. It
was stated that 439 people were killed and 600
flogged; a thousand houses were burnt and a great
deal of property destroyed by both parties.</p>

<p>The severity of Governor Eyre caused a great
outcry in England, especially among the Baptists.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_340" id="Page_340">[Pg 340]</a></span>
Among those who were executed was Mr. Gordon,
a member of the Assembly, who no doubt fell a
victim to the feeling aroused among the whites. He
was charged with being a prime instigator of the
revolt, but it does not appear that he went beyond
what is generally allowed to a political agitator.
Such agitation, however, amongst ignorant people,
who are easily excited, is particularly dangerous, and
likely to recoil on the heads of those who initiate it,
who must be prepared to risk the consequences.</p>

<p>Governor Eyre was recalled, and prosecuted without
success. He undoubtedly saved the island, and,
although such executions as were committed can
hardly be excused, yet when we consider the alarm
and excitement, we must make some allowances.
And, after all, it must be remembered that the loss of
life would probably have been much greater had not
the insurrection been nipped in the bud.</p>

<p>Barbados is unique in several respects, and as may
be supposed there is something remarkable even
about her riots. The patriotism of the inhabitants,
both black and white, is proverbial all over the West
Indies. There is no place in the world to equal
Barbados&mdash;no colony but what has been conquered
by the enemy at some time or other. "Little
England" was said to have offered an asylum to
King George the Third when Buonaparte intended
to invade England, and no doubt if such an offer was
ever made it was done in all sincerity. Barbadians
are proud of their constitution, and jealous of its
infringement in the slightest degree. This feeling
led to a disturbance in 1876, which was the nearest<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_341" id="Page_341">[Pg 341]</a></span>
approach to an insurrection on that island in late
years.</p>

<p>It has often been suggested that a confederation of
the British West Indies would be advantageous in
many ways, and in 1876 the Secretary of State was
of opinion that a closer union of Barbados and the
other Windward Islands was desirable. The Governor
of all the islands was then Mr. Pope Hennessy, who
had lately been appointed, and who had been directed
to obtain the consent of Barbados to a partial union.
The measures proposed were of little importance,
consisting only of the amalgamation of the prisons,
lunatic asylums, and lazarettos, and the extension of
the powers of the Chief Justice, Auditor-General,
and the police force to cover the whole of the
islands.</p>

<p>An outsider would suppose that there was nothing
offensive in these changes, but that, on the contrary,
they would be beneficial in many ways, but most of
the Barbadians opposed them strongly. Barbados,
they said, was solvent, while some of the islands were
on the verge of bankruptcy&mdash;their island should not
be taxed to support paupers. They held meetings
at which six points were agreed to, and on which
the leaders harangued crowds throughout the island.
These were, first, that their Court of Appeal would be
abolished; second, that all the mad people from
other islands would have to be supported by them;
third, that all the lepers would come there; fourth,
that the officials of other islands would live on them;
fifth, that the power would be taken from the people
and given to the Governor; and sixth, that as the<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_342" id="Page_342">[Pg 342]</a></span>
House of Assembly had always been faithful they
resented any interference with it.</p>

<p>The Governor was desirous of carrying his project,
and possibly went farther than was consistent with
his instructions, which were to bring about the
arrangement in an amicable manner. He did all
he could to create a party in its favour, and was
charged by the other side with using underhand
means to this end. The main point, however, on
which he laid stress, and which seems to have caused
the trouble, was the advantage to the Barbadians of
having the other islands so close as to become virtually
like their own parishes, so that the surplus
population would be able to take up lands that were
then useless, and lying waste.</p>

<p>Barbados is densely populated. All the lands are
occupied, and it is very difficult to procure even a
small lot&mdash;this makes the people all the more eager
to get possession of a little freehold. Yet, with all
this, they will not settle in other islands, where they
can get a piece of ground for next to nothing.</p>

<p>Somehow or other the more ignorant people seem
to have got the notion that the Governor was promising
them land in Barbados, and this made them
enthusiastic for his project. Something like communism
would, they thought, follow if the Confederation
Act were passed, and this was the reason in their
opinion why the other party fought against it. The
planters spoke as if Mr. Hennessy had laid himself
open to such a misunderstanding, and that made
them all the more virulent against him.</p>

<p>The anti-Confederation party said that it had<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_343" id="Page_343">[Pg 343]</a></span>
always been the pride and glory of Barbados to
have a separate political existence, and if under their
own institutions they had achieved a success which
made them the envy of their neighbours, why should
they change? The majority of the House of Assembly
were on their side, and it is difficult to understand
why the Governor pressed the matter in the way he
did. The opposition was no doubt foolish, but still,
if the people chose to be silly, he could not overcome
their prejudices. Party feeling ran high, only the
mob shouting for Hennessy and Confederation.
Those on one side would hiss him as he appeared&mdash;the
others took the horses from his carriage and drew
him along in triumph. It was reported that he never
went out without a guard, and that even his wife lived
in continual fear. She had been threatened with the
abduction of her child, and one ruffian went so far as
to pelt the little one as he was driven along the street,
for which he was prosecuted.</p>

<p>At last, on the 18th of April, 1876, when the party
feeling had existed over six weeks, matters came to
a crisis. A man went into the yard of Byde Mill
plantation, flourishing a cane-cutter, and bearing a
red flag. He was, he said, a Confederation man, had
just come from the Governor, and wanted some
liquor (cane juice). Getting nothing he went out
and brought his brother who bore a sword, and the
two quarrelled with the man in the boiling-house,
the one with the sword attempting to stab him.
They defied a constable who came to arrest them,
and one blew a shell which brought a mob of women
and children, who went into a field of sweet-potatoes<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_344" id="Page_344">[Pg 344]</a></span>
and began to carry them off. Three mounted police
arrived, but they were pelted with stones, and one
who attempted to arrest the man with the sword got
wounded. A magistrate then came and read the
Riot Act, but the mob refused to disperse. As usual
there were grievances, some complained that their
pay had been stopped, which the manager said was
because they could not work the mill full time for
want of wind.</p>

<p>Two cane-fields were now set on fire, and the disturbance
spread, its great characteristic being raids
upon the potato fields. In several places live stock
were killed, dwellings broken into, and everything
chopped or broken to pieces. A few shots were
exchanged, but no one appears to have been killed,
although many got wounds and bruises from sticks
and stones. Everywhere the mob declared they had
the authority of the Governor for what they were
doing, and the sufferers from their depredations
charged Mr. Hennessy with delay in putting down
the disturbance. This, however, was probably due to
the effect of the persecution of Governor Eyre, which
has made every West Indian Governor hesitate before
going to extremes. However, when the people from
the country districts began to fly to Bridgetown he
sent out a few soldiers who very quickly dispersed
the mobs. A sensational telegram to London stated
that five hundred prisoners had been taken, forty
people killed and wounded, rioting was suspended,
but their position was threatened, and that confidence
in the Government had entirely gone. This was
highly exaggerated, but a great deal of property was<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_345" id="Page_345">[Pg 345]</a></span>
destroyed or injured, fifty estates pillaged, and
probably over fifty persons received more or less
serious blows.</p>

<p>Quite a storm fell upon Hennessy, who on the 26th
of April had to issue a proclamation threatening to
direct the law officers to take prompt measures
against those who libelled him, by saying that he
had sent emissaries through the island to mislead
the people, and that he countenanced and abetted
the disgraceful and lawless acts of the marauders.</p>

<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_346" id="Page_346">[Pg 346]</a></span></p>



<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h3><a name="XVI" id="XVI"></a>XVI</h3>

<h3>THE ISTHMUS TRANSIT SCHEMES</h3>


<p>By the second half of the last century the supply
of gold and silver from Peru had much diminished,
and the road across the isthmus almost fell into disuse.
In 1780, during the great war, the British
appear to have had some vague notion that it would
be good policy to secure the track across Nicaragua,
for which purpose an expedition was fitted out.
Early in that year Nelson sailed from Jamaica with
five hundred men, and after getting a number of
Indians from the Mosquito shore and a reinforcement
of British troops, the party made the difficult ascent
of the San Juan river, and captured the fort of the
same name. But, through ignorance, the whole
affair proved disastrous&mdash;the fort was useless, and
the losses through sickness very great. Of eighteen
hundred men only three hundred and eighty survived,
and Nelson himself nearly lost his life. He
was obliged to go home to recruit, and it was only
after spending two or three months at Bath that he
recovered to continue that glorious career which made
him so famous.</p>

<p>However, it was not long afterwards that a project<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_347" id="Page_347">[Pg 347]</a></span>
for utilising the isthmus was brought under the
consideration of the British Government by General
Miranda, of whom we have spoken in another chapter.
He wanted Pitt to assist him in his projects
for the emancipation of the Spanish colonies, and, as
a means to this end, in 1790, proposed that the
British should take possession of Darien, and thus
further their commerce in the Pacific. Nothing was
done at that time, and a few years later Miranda
made a second proposition that the United States
should join with Great Britain, and open roads and
canals for both nations.</p>

<p>Mr. Pitt seems to have agreed to this, and was
only prevented from attempting to carry it out by
the delay of President Adams. The United States
were to furnish ten thousand men, and Great Britain
money and ships. In 1801, under Lord Sidmouth,
an expedition was actually set on foot, only to
collapse at the Peace of Amiens. Again, in 1804,
Pitt tried to carry out the project with Miranda, but
the condition of Europe stood in the way of expeditions
to the Spanish Main.</p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 536px;">
<img src="images/p348.jpg" width="536" height="162" alt="ATLANTIC ENTRANCE TO DARIEN CANAL." title="" />
<span class="caption">ATLANTIC ENTRANCE TO DARIEN CANAL.<br />

(<i>From Cullen&#39;s &quot;Darien Canal.&quot;</i>)</span>
</div>

<p>In enumerating the advantages likely to accrue
from the emancipation of South America, a writer in
the <i>Edinburgh Review</i> of January, 1809, laid great
stress upon a passage across the isthmus. It was the
most important to the peaceful intercourse of nations
of anything that presented itself to the enterprise of
man. So far from being a romantic and chimerical
project, it was not only practicable, but easy. The
river Chagr&eacute;, about eighteen leagues westward of
Porto Bello, was navigable as far as Cruzes, within<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_348" id="Page_348">[Pg 348]</a></span>
five leagues of
Panama. But
there was even a
better route; at
about five leagues
from its mouth
the Chagr&eacute; received
the river
Trinidad, which
was navigable to
Embarcadero,
from which
Panama was only
distant thirty
miles through a
level country.
The ground had
been surveyed,
and not the practicability
only,
but the facility
of the work <i>completely
ascertained</i>.
Further north
was the grand
lake of Nicaragua,
which by
itself almost extended
the navigation
from sea
to sea. The
Governor of St.
John's Castle<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_349" id="Page_349">[Pg 349]</a></span>
(Fort San Juan) had been instructed by the king of
Spain to refuse permission to any British subject
desirous of passing up or down this lake, "for if ever
the English came to a knowledge of its importance
and value they would soon make themselves masters
of this part of the country."</p>

<p>But not only had the best places for a canal been
selected at this early time, but the many advantages
to be derived from its construction had been well
considered. The same writer went on to say that
from this splendid and not difficult enterprise, not
merely the commerce of the western shores of
America would be brought, as it were, to their doors,
but that of the South Sea whalers, who would be
saved the tedious and dangerous voyage round Cape
Horn. Then the whole of the vast interests of Asia
would increase in value to a degree that was then
difficult to conceive, by having a direct route across
the Pacific. It would be as if, by some great revolution
of the globe, they were brought nearer. Immense
would be the traffic which immediately would
begin to cover the ocean&mdash;all the riches of India and
China moving towards America. Then also the commodities
of Europe and America would be carried
towards Asia. As a result of this, vast dep&ocirc;ts would
be formed at the two extremities of the canal, to
soon develop into great commercial cities. Never
before had such an opportunity been offered to a
nation as Great Britain had then before her, owing to
a wonderful combination of circumstances.</p>

<p>Mr. Robinson, a United States merchant, in 1821,
said that the most ardent imagination would fail in<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_350" id="Page_350">[Pg 350]</a></span>
an attempt to portray all the important and beneficial
consequences of such a work, the magnitude and
grandeur of which were worthy the profound attention
of every commercial nation. The powers of the
old and new world should discard all selfish considerations,
and unite to execute it on a magnificent
scale, so that when completed it might become, like
the ocean, a highway of nations, the enjoyment of
which should be guaranteed by all, and be exempt
from the caprice or regulation of any one kingdom or
state.</p>

<p>Such were the views promulgated at the beginning
of this century, but nothing was done until about
1850, when the pressure of circumstances again
brought the isthmus into note.</p>

<p>Darien and Panama are in the Republic of New
Granada, but north of these come the small states of
Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, San Salvador, and
Guatemala. All of these are inhabited by true
Americans&mdash;native races who have to a considerable
extent absorbed the slight admixture of European
blood introduced by their conquerors. Some places
are so inaccessible as to be virtually outside the pale
of civilisation. The roads are nothing but mule
tracks, full of quagmires where the animals have to
wade up to their girths in mud&mdash;in fact, little better
than the paths so well described by Lionel Wafer.
The rivers are numerous, and, on account of the
heavy rainfall, their currents are very strong, and all
the more dangerous from the numerous sandbanks
and rapids which obstruct their course. Since the
states gained their independence they have passed<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_351" id="Page_351">[Pg 351]</a></span>
through so many changes of government that at the
beginning hardly a month passed without a revolution
in one or the other. This went on until 1848
without interference from outside, but with the discovery
of gold in California came an invasion of
ruffians of all nations.</p>

<p>The old freebooters almost seemed to have come
to life again. Hardy adventurers from all parts of
the world rushed off to the new "El Dorado," woke
the sleepy Nicaraguans on the San Juan river, and
roused the people of Chagres. Over the isthmus of
Panama or through the Nicaragua lake they flocked
by thousands, necessitating the establishment of
Transit Companies to provide them with mules,
boats, and steamers. The easiest, although longest,
route was through Nicaragua, which was controlled
by the Vanderbilt Company, and during the time
the "rush" lasted they took over two or three thousand
per month. The Company had steamers on
the lake to meet the throng of diggers as they
arrived, and they passed through at regular intervals
like a tide. The overland part of the route presented
a strange spectacle, with their pack mules and
horses. Men of all nationalities, armed with pistols
and knives, which they were prepared to use on the
Greasers (natives) at the slightest provocation, put
these altogether in the background. A traveller has
spoken of them as a string of romantic figures that
could not be matched in any other part of the world.
Some glowed with fervent passion, as if on fire,
others were hard, cold, and rugged as the rocky
passes they traversed, while a few were worn, old,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_352" id="Page_352">[Pg 352]</a></span>
and decaying, under the effects of the hardships and
reverses of their stormy existence. Every line in
their faces had a meaning, if it could only have
been interpreted, telling of sin and suffering&mdash;of
adventures more terrible than were ever portrayed
by the pen of the romantic writer, and of experiences
as fascinating as they had been dangerous.</p>

<p>Among the results of this rush through Nicaragua
was the expedition of William Walker, the great
filibuster of this century. With fifty-five men he
went forth from California to conquer Central
America, and in the end nearly succeeded. He got
himself elected President of Nicaragua, but ultimately
raised such a storm that he was brought to bay by
some forces from Honduras and Costa Rica, and had
to surrender to the captain of a British man-of-war,
by whom he was handed over to his enemies to be
shot.</p>

<p>With this wonderful traffic across the isthmus
arose the old canal schemes, as well as a new one
for a railway. Easy and rapid transit must be
obtained in some way or other, and this time being
in the age of steam, it naturally followed that the
project for a railway gained immediate support. It
was commenced in 1850, at which time the terminus
on the Gulf side was settled, and the foundations of
the new town of Aspinwall or Colon laid a few miles
east of Chagres. The difficulties were enormous, on
account of the marshy ground and the number of
rivers to be crossed. The wooden bridges were
almost immediately attacked by wood ants, floods<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_353" id="Page_353">[Pg 353]</a></span>
carried away the timbers, but more distressing than
all was the loss of life through sickness. Chinese
labourers were imported in great numbers, only to
fall victims to the same deadly climate which had
given Porto Bello and the isthmus generally their
evil reputation. However, the railway was completed
in 1864, at the enormous cost of $7,500,000, although
its length is only 47&frac12; miles. Thus one part of the
great project was carried out, and a good road provided
for passengers and light goods, the annual
value of which latter is now about &pound;15,000,000.</p>

<p>But those in favour of a canal were not sleeping
all this time. The old routes were again mooted,
that through Lake Nicaragua being put down at
194 miles in length, while the other, since known as
the Panama, was only 51. Dr. Edward Cullen, however,
in 1850 went out and made some surveys,
with the result that he advocated the old Darien
line as the shortest and most practicable. He
would start from the same Port de Escoces that
witnessed the downfall of William Paterson's scheme,
and which he said was a most commodious harbour
for the terminus of a canal. The isthmus was here
only 39 miles across, and free from many of the difficulties
which beset the other routes.</p>

<p>As a result of Dr. Cullen's reports, in 1852 it was
proposed to establish "The Atlantic and Pacific
Junction Company," with a capital of fifteen
millions sterling. The prospectus stated that the
period had arrived when the spread of commerce and
the flow of emigration to the western shores of
America, Australasia, and China, demanded a pas<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_354" id="Page_354">[Pg 354]</a></span>sage
more direct than those by way of the Cape of
Good Hope and Cape Horn. Various projects had
been formed for uniting the two oceans, but all these
were open to the objection that they fell short of
supplying a continuous channel from sea to sea,
for vessels of all dimensions, by which alone transhipment
could be obviated. Sir Charles Fox,
Mr. John Henderson, Mr. Thomas Brassey, and Dr.
Cullen had received a concession of territory from
New Ganada to the extent of 200,000 acres, on
condition that a deposit of &pound;24,000 be made within
twelve months. It was believed that the work could
be completed for twelve millions.</p>

<p>The <i>Times</i> spoke disparagingly of the new Company,
and this probably prevented its acceptance by
the financial world. The line, it said, had not been
actually surveyed, but only superficially examined,
and, after all, if it were finished, it could only come
into competition with the Nicaragua Canal, every foot
of which had been the subject of precise estimates,
and which would only cost <i>four millions</i>. Several
letters from the projectors and supporters of the Company
followed, with other leaders, the result being
that the Darien Canal never went beyond a project.
Presently also the rush for California abated, and the
railway met the wants of the passengers; all the canal
schemes were therefore again shelved for a time.</p>

<p>Then came an almost Utopian project for a ship
railway, the cars of which would run down into the
water, take up the largest vessel, and carry it over
without trouble or difficulty. This met with little
encouragement, and was soon dropped.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_355" id="Page_355">[Pg 355]</a></span></p>

<p>In 1879 Ferdinand de Lesseps, who had achieved
such a glorious success with the Suez Canal, took up
the matter of a canal between the two oceans, and
summoned a congress of savants, engineers and seamen,
to inquire into and discuss the questions of its
possibility, and of the most suitable place for its
excavation. A number of projects were considered,
among them that of Dr. Cullen, brought forward by
M. de Puydt, which, however, did not receive much
attention, as there was a difference of opinion as to
the reliability of the figures.</p>

<p>The schemes were ultimately reduced to two&mdash;those
for the Nicaragua and Panama routes. The
position of the great lake caused the former to be
thoroughly discussed; but there were several almost
insurmountable difficulties in the way of its adoption.
To clear the San Juan river, and make it into a great
canal, would entail great labour and expense, and
then seven or eight locks would be required. On
the Pacific side locks would also be required for the
Rivas, while the harbours of Greytown on the Gulf
side, and Brito on the Pacific, were quite unsuited as
termini for a canal. The total length would be 182&frac12;
miles, and the time occupied in the passage four and
a half days. There was also another great draw-back:
Nicaragua was and is subject to earthquakes,
which would be likely at times to interfere greatly
with such heavy works as were required. It followed,
therefore, that notwithstanding the powerful support
of the Americans, this line was abandoned in favour
of that from Port Simon to Panama, not far from the
railway.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_356" id="Page_356">[Pg 356]</a></span></p>

<p>Two French officers, MM. Wyse and Reclus, had
explored the country, and proposed to carry the canal
through the Chagres river, and thence, by means of a
great tunnel, into the valley of the Rio Grande; but,
on consideration, the tunnel was abandoned in favour
of a deep cutting, which would not exceed 290 feet.
The great objection to this was the floods of the
Chagres river, which sometimes rose twenty-five feet
in a single night; but this was got over by arranging
for a separate bed for the canal. There were a few
other difficulties, but propositions were made to
obviate them; and at last the sub-commission reported
that "the Panama Canal on the level technically
presents itself under the most satisfactory
conditions, and ensures every facility, as it gives
every security, for the transit of vessels from one sea
to another."</p>

<p>Now came the question of cost. The Nicaragua
Canal was estimated at &pound;32,000,000, and that at
Panama &pound;40,000,000. (The reader will compare
these with former estimates, especially that of Nicaragua
as stated by the <i>Times</i>.) The former was
rejected absolutely, on account of the necessity for
locks, and all further discussion was concerned with
the latter. It was then calculated that, with transit
dues of fifteen francs per ton, the net annual profit
would be &pound;1,680,000.</p>

<p>M. de Lesseps was elected to the Academy in
1885, when M. Renan said he had been born to
pierce isthmuses, and that antiquity would have made
him a god. Carried away by enthusiasm, the great
projector saw no difficulties; he had already com<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_357" id="Page_357">[Pg 357]</a></span>pleted
a work which had been declared almost impossible,
now he would carry out a project similar to
that proposed by William Paterson. However,
Panama was not Suez, a rainless desert, but a place
where floods, marshes, and quagmires took the place
of almost level sands.</p>

<p>M. Wyse had vainly tried to start a Company; but
when Lesseps, with all the prestige of his Suez Canal,
joined him, there was comparatively little difficulty.
Personally, Lesseps seems to have known little of
Panama&mdash;all his knowledge was gained at second
hand. The first public subscription was invited in
July, 1879, the capital being 400,000,000 francs
(&pound;16,000,000), in 800,000 shares at 500 francs each.
This large sum, however, was not obtained at once,
only &pound;3,200,000 being applied for. However, Lesseps
was not discouraged, but determined to go on with
the work, trusting that money would flow in as it was
wanted, which ultimately proved to be the case,
until the project appeared hopeless. He visited the
isthmus, and made a triumphal progress over the
line; he even witnessed one of the great floods of
the Chagres river, which rose forty feet and covered
the railway. Undaunted by this, he went over to
Panama, and on the 5th of January, 1880, inaugurated
the great canal with a ceremony and <i>f&ecirc;te</i>. He
then stated that success was assured, and declared,
upon his word of honour, that the work would be
much easier on the isthmus than in the desert of
Suez.</p>

<p>In March following he visited New York, where he
was but coldly received, on account of American<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_358" id="Page_358">[Pg 358]</a></span>
jealousy of European influence. The President said
that the capital invested in such an enterprise by
corporations or citizens of other countries must be
protected by one or more of the great Powers, but
no European Power could intervene for such protection
without adopting means which the United States
would deem inadmissible. This did not damp his
enthusiasm; if other countries would not assist, all
the credit would go to France. The Company had a
concession from the Columbian Republic for twelve
years, and the United States would not be likely to
interfere.</p>

<p>It will be interesting here to compare the estimates
for the canal by different persons and at different
times within two years:&mdash;</p>



<div class='center'>
<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="estimates">
<tr><td align='left'>M. Wyse, 1879</td><td align='right'>&pound;17,080,000</td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>The Paris Congress, 1879</td><td align='right'>41,760,000</td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>The Lesseps Commission, February, 1880</td><td align='right'>33,720,000</td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>M. de Lesseps himself,&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;"</td>
     <td align='right'>26,320,000</td></tr>
<tr><td align='left'>Rectified estimate, September, 1880</td><td align='right'>21,200,000</td></tr>
</table></div>


<p>Lesseps said he had an offer from a contractor to
complete the work for twenty millions. Backed by
the press and the deputies, the Company's shares sold
freely, and on the 3rd of March, 1881, it was fully
established. It was promised that in the course of
that year the line of the canal should be cleared, and
dredging commenced. Lesseps expected to finish in
1887, but in 1884 and the two following years he was
obliged to advance the time to 1890. The canal was
to be 47 miles long, 70 feet wide at the bottom, and
29 feet deep.</p>

<p>Little was done in 1881, but the work was divided<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_359" id="Page_359">[Pg 359]</a></span>
into five sections, and in the following year dredging
and excavating were commenced. But, even thus
early, it was found to be more difficult than had been
expected. Up to March, 1883, only 659,703 metres
had been excavated, which was reckoned to be about
1/130th of the whole. This would not do, as it meant
that over a century would pass before its completion.
About seven thousand labourers, mostly Jamaica
negroes, were employed at that time, and this number
was increased until, in 1888, there were 11,500.
In 1884 the average amount excavated was 600,000
metres per month, against Lesseps' estimate of two
millions. Yet, with all that, it was calculated that in
this year only 1/180th of the material had been taken
out.</p>

<p>The difficulties were enormous. First, there was
trouble to find dumping places, where the earth
would not be again washed into the excavations by
heavy floods. Then came the rank vegetation, which
was continually stretching from either side to choke
the clearing. Weeds grew six to eight feet high in a
rainy season, and these, with the straggling vines,
kept a little army at work to clear them away from the
embankments and tracks. The workmen suffered
greatly from yellow and other fevers, and &pound;600,000
was spent on hospitals and their appurtenances.
Money was spent profusely on such things as grand
offices and a magnificent house to lodge the President,
if he should ever come to inspect the
works. All along the route were ornamental bungalows,
and the director-general at Panama had a
salary of &pound;20,000, besides a house and other allow<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_360" id="Page_360">[Pg 360]</a></span>ances.
Even he suffered from fever, and his wife and
daughter died of it.</p>

<p>Up to 1888 about fifty millions sterling had been
spent, and hardly a fifth of the work was finished.
Then financial difficulties led to an arrangement for
merging it in a new Company, which proposed to
complete the canal on a new plan. Notwithstanding
all the objections to locks, it was now proposed to
save such an immense work of excavation by erecting
four on either side, thus bringing the highest
water level to 123 feet. Eighteen and a half miles
were said to have been completed, of which five were
on the Pacific side and the remainder on the Gulf.
To carry out the new plan, &pound;36,000,000 more were
required, but, as a matter of fact, only a third of the
work necessary for this revised scheme had been
done.</p>

<p>Then came the downfall, which has been compared
to that of the South Sea Bubble. When the Company
went into liquidation, scores of shady transactions
came to light. Editors of newspapers and deputies
had been bribed to gain their support, and money
had been wasted in almost every possible manner.
In February, 1893, M. Ferdinand de Lesseps and
four other directors were prosecuted, with the result
that he, MM. C. de Lesseps, Fontaine, and Cottin,
were convicted of breach of trust and swindling, the
two former being sentenced to five years' imprisonment
and 3,000 francs fines each, and the latter two
years and 20,000 francs fines. M. Eiffel, the architect
of the great tower of Paris, was found guilty of
breach of trust, and sentenced to two years' imprison<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_361" id="Page_361">[Pg 361]</a></span>ment
and a fine of 20,000 francs. Nine persons were
then charged with receiving bribes, one of whom, M.
Ba&iuml;haut, admitted that he got 375,000 francs. Three
were found guilty, sentenced to imprisonment, fines,
and to pay the liquidators of the company the amount
of M. Ba&iuml;haut's bribe. Charles de Lesseps appealed
against the charges of swindling, and these were
quashed on the ground that the transactions had
occurred more than five years before, thus getting the
longer terms of imprisonment and fines of the three
principals reduced.</p>

<p>Ferdinand de Lesseps hardly knew what was going
on; he was old, feeble, and in a state of apathy
and stupor. Pity for his condition prevented the
carrying out of the sentence as far as he was concerned,
and he died on the 7th of December, 1894.
The <i>Times</i>, in noticing his death, said the story was
a most pitiful one. The blame of the Panama affair
must be laid upon the people and the public temper.
Bribery and corruption were symptoms of a thoroughly
unhealthy state of things. An infatuated public provided
enormous sums; when these were spent, more
went the same way, and to get these contributions
everything possible was done. Lesseps was no engineer,
but a diplomatist, planning great schemes and
the means of carrying them out. He was the man of
the moment in France. He was neither a financier
nor an engineer, neither an impostor nor a swindler.
He was a man of great originality, of indomitable
perseverance, of boundless faith in himself, and of
singular powers of fascination over others.</p>

<p>Meanwhile several attempts had been made to get<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_362" id="Page_362">[Pg 362]</a></span>
money to carry on the work, one of which was by
means of a lottery. But the French people were discouraged,
and were no longer prepared to throw good
money after bad. It followed, therefore, that although
in 1894 a new company, with a capital of sixty-five
million francs, was proposed, and that it was announced
in August that eight hundred workmen were
engaged, it does not appear that anything is being
done. If, as has been stated, only a third of the work
has been accomplished for, say, thirty millions, allowing
for waste of money, it can hardly be expected
that double this amount will ever be obtained. What
with the heavy floods and rank vegetation, a great
deal will have to be done to recover lost ground; in
fact, some of the excavations must be filled up by
this time. Those who know the country can easily
understand that the handsome bungalows, hospitals,
and workmen's houses must be overrun by wood-ants,
and that the machinery is mostly spoilt by rust.
Even if the canal is ever finished with locks, it is
doubtful whether it could pay a dividend, as the
work of keeping it open by dredging would be very
expensive. No doubt it would be a boon to the
world if it were finished, but capitalists expect profit,
and will hardly be inclined to assist without such
expectations.<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_363" id="Page_363">[Pg 363-364]</a></span></p>

<div class="figcenter" style="width: 316px;">
<img src="images/p363.jpg" width="316" height="436" alt="EUROPE SUPPORTED BY AFRICA AND AMERICA." title="" />
<span class="caption">EUROPE SUPPORTED BY AFRICA AND AMERICA.<br />

(<i>From Stedman&#39;s &quot;Surinam.&quot;</i>)</span>
</div>

<p>The Nicaragua canal has been in course of excavation
for several years past by an American Company.
As finally adopted, it is to have a total length of 169.4
miles, of which 56&frac12; will be through the lake, and 64&frac12;
through the San Juan river. There are to be three
locks on either side, which may cause trouble in case
of a violent earthquake; and then, again, the length of
the journey will be against it as compared with that
of Panama. It has been attempted in the United
States to make it a national work, and the sum of a
hundred million dollars is asked from the American
Government, or at least a guarantee on the issue of
bonds to that amount. We believe that very little
enthusiasm for the project has been shown. In
August, 1893, the Company was unable to meet its
obligations, and a receiver was appointed, since which
time we believe the work is being continued, and that
it has been decided to complete it as soon as possible.
M. de Varigny, in <i>L'Illustration</i> of June the 1st, 1895,
gives the following opinion on the work and its
political importance:&mdash;</p>

<p>"That the Washington statesmen take account of
the fact that the cutting of the isthmus is difficult,
costly, and, in case of a rupture with England, dangerous,
we cannot doubt. But such is the fascination
of great enterprises, of grand words and grand
theories, that senators and representatives hesitate to
oppose the current of opinion that is bearing along
the masses.</p>

<p>"The work has begun, and we can only hope that
it will succeed. There cannot be too many gates
of communication between different peoples. The
United States undertake to open this. Can they do
it, and doing it, will they give up the advantages they
will thereby acquire? The future will show."<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_365" id="Page_365">[Pg 365]</a></span></p>


<hr style="width: 65%;" />
<h2><a name="INDEX" id="INDEX"></a>INDEX</h2>

<ul class="IX">
<li>Acosta, Pedro de, explorer of the Orinoco, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li>
<li>African slavery, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li>
<li>Aguirre the Tyrant, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li>
<li>Alfinger, Ambrosio de, searches for "El Dorado," <a href="#Page_34">34</a></li>
<li>Altienza, Donna Inez de, murdered by Aguirre, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></li>
<li>Amazon Company, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li>
<li>Amazon, expedition of Ursua and Aguirre, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li>
<li>American Indian, his character, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li>
<li><i>Amis des Noirs</i>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li>
<li>"Angel Gabriel," John Sayers Orr, rouses the negroes of Demerara, <a href="#Page_335">335</a></li>
<li>Antigua, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li>
<li>Anti-slavery party, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a></li>
<li>Apprenticeship, negro, <a href="#Page_306">306</a></li>
<li>Araby, a leader of bush negroes, <a href="#Page_227">227</a></li>
<li>Arawaks,
   <ul class="IX">
  <li>their character, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li>
  <li>Columbus tries to enslave them, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li>
  <li>the Spanish sovereign's good feeling for them, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li>
  <li>their treatment by the first colonists, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></li>
  <li>did not lay up provisions, <a href="#Page_12">12</a></li>
  <li>thinks Spaniards gods, <a href="#Page_12">12</a></li>
  <li>refuse to be slaves, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li>
  <li>die off in great numbers, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li>
  <li>in Guiana, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li>
  </ul></li>
<li>Araya, Dutch at, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li>
<li>Armada, Spanish, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li>
<li>Aruba, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li>
<li>Aspinwall, <a href="#Page_352">352</a></li>
<li><i>Assiento</i> contract to supply slaves, <a href="#Page_196">196</a></li>
<li>Ayscue, Sir George, reduces Barbados for the Parliament, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li>
</ul>

<ul class="IX">
<li>Bahamas,
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>natives kidnapped, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li>
  <li>settled by English, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li>
  <li>resort of buccaneers, <a href="#Page_96">96</a></li>
  <li>captured by Spaniards, <a href="#Page_117">117</a></li>
  </ul></li>
<li>Ba&iuml;haut, M., bribed by Panama Canal Company, <a href="#Page_361">361</a></li>
<li>Bannister, Major, English Governor of Surinam, <a href="#Page_169">169</a></li>
<li>Barbados,
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>first colonised, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li>
  <li>protests against grant to Earl of Carlisle, <a href="#Page_117">117</a></li>
  <li>result of the English revolution, <a href="#Page_117">117</a></li>
  <li>Charles II. proclaimed king, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li>
  <li>Sir George Ayscue arrives to subdue the island, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li>
  <li>attack on Hole Town, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li>
  <li>the island surrenders, <a href="#Page_128">128</a></li>
  <li>sufferings of a bond-servant in, <a href="#Page_151">151</a></li>
  <li>De Ruyter driven off from, <a href="#Page_161">161</a></li>
  <li>its unique position, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li>
  <li>negro plots, <a href="#Page_213">213</a></li>
  <li>anti-slavery insurrection, <a href="#Page_293">293</a></li>
  <li>result of emancipation, <a href="#Page_328">328</a></li>
  <li>confederation disturbances, <a href="#Page_341">341</a></li>
  </ul></li>
 <li>Barker, Andrew, a rover, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></li>
<li>Baron, a bush negro chief, <a href="#Page_229">229</a></li>
<li>Basco, Michael de, a buccaneer, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a></li>
<li>Baskerville, Sir Thomas, a companion of Drake, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li>
<li>Beaudierre, Mons. de, a sympathiser with the coloured people of Hayti, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li>
<li>Berbice,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_366" id="Page_366">[Pg 366]</a></span>
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>supplies cut off during war, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li>
  <li>captured by French corsairs, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></li>
  <li>great slave insurrection, <a href="#Page_218">218</a></li>
  </ul></li>
<li>Belize, <a href="#Page_250">250</a></li>
<li>Berrie, one of Ralegh's captains, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li>
<li>Berrio, Antonio de, Spanish Governor of Trinidad, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></li>
<li>Bolivar, Simon, Liberator of Venezuela, <a href="#Page_279">279</a></li>
<li>Bond-servants, <a href="#Page_149">149</a></li>
<li>Boyer, President of Hayti, <a href="#Page_275">275</a></li>
<li>Brethren of the coast, <a href="#Page_93">93</a></li>
<li>British Guiana, <a href="#Page_328">328</a>, <a href="#Page_334">334</a></li>
<li>British Legion in Venezuela, <a href="#Page_286">286</a></li>
<li>Bull of Partition,
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>its terms, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li>
  <li>disputed, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li>
  <li>practically revoked, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li>
  </ul></li>
 <li>Bush negroes, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li>
<li>Buxton, Fowell, <a href="#Page_300">300</a></li>
<li>Byam, Major, Governor of Surinam, <a href="#Page_128">128</a></li>
<li>Byron, Admiral, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a></li>
</ul>

 <ul class="IX">
<li>Caciques of the Indians, their position, <a href="#Page_4">4</a></li>
<li>California rush, <a href="#Page_351">351</a></li>
<li>Campeachy, Bay of, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a></li>
<li>Cannibals, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li>
<li>Canning's declaration of neutrality, <a href="#Page_285">285</a></li>
<li>Caribana, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li>
<li>Caribbee Islands, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li>
<li>Caribs,
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>their character, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li>
  <li>cannibalism, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li>
  <li>hatred of Spaniards, <a href="#Page_20">20</a></li>
  <li>in Guiana, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li>
  <li>in St. Kitt's, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li>
  </ul></li>
 <li>Carlisle, Earl of, Grantee of Caribbee Islands, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li>
<li>Carthagena,
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>taken by French, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li>
  <li>great fair, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li>
  <li>attacked by Admiral Vernon, <a href="#Page_205">205</a></li>
  </ul></li>
 <li>Cary, Colonel, favours the buccaneers, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li>
<li>Casas, Las, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></li>
<li>Cassard, Jacques,
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>the corsair, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></li>
  <li>captures St. Eustatius, <a href="#Page_180">180</a></li>
  <li>Cura&ccedil;ao, <a href="#Page_181">181</a></li>
  </ul></li>
<li>Cattle, wild, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li>
<li>"Cavaliers" and "Roundheads" in Barbados, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li>
<li>Central American Republics, <a href="#Page_288">288</a></li>
<li>Chagres, <a href="#Page_352">352</a></li>
<li>Charbon, Jan Abraham, <a href="#Page_219">219</a></li>
<li>Charles I. and the Colonies, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li>
<li>Charles II.
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>declared king in the Bermudas and Virginia, <a href="#Page_117">117</a></li>
  <li>Barbados, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li>
  <li>his interest in the plantations, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li>
  </ul></li>
 <li>Chinese labourers introduced, <a href="#Page_327">327</a></li>
<li>Christianity forced on the natives, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></li>
<li>Christophe, a Haytian leader, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a></li>
<li>Clervaux, a Haytian leader, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li>
<li>Clifford, Jeronomy, case of, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li>
<li>Cochrane, Admiral, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li>
<li>Codrington, Colonel, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li>
<li>Coffee, <a href="#Page_143">143</a></li>
<li>Coffee, leader of rebel slaves in Berbice, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a></li>
<li>Coke, John, <a href="#Page_84">84</a></li>
<li>Colon, <a href="#Page_352">352</a></li>
<li>Colonies, Spanish, in Hispaniola, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li>
<li>Coloured people in Hayti, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li>
<li>Columbian Republic, <a href="#Page_288">288</a></li>
<li>Columbus' opinion of the natives, <a href="#Page_6">6</a></li>
<li>Confederation in Barbados, <a href="#Page_341">341</a></li>
<li>Contraband trade with Spanish colonies, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li>
<li>Convict labour, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li>
<li>Coolies, East Indian, <a href="#Page_327">327</a></li>
<li>Cooper, Anthony Ashley, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li>
<li>Corsairs, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li>
<li>Corteso, Juan, an "El Dorado" seeker, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li>
<li>Costa Rica, <a href="#Page_288">288</a></li>
<li>Cottin, M., <a href="#Page_360">360</a></li>
<li>Cotton, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li>
<li>Council for Plantations, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a></li>
<li>Cromwell and the West Indies, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></li>
<li>Cudjo, a maroon chief, <a href="#Page_215">215</a></li>
<li>Cuba, <a href="#Page_20">20</a></li>
<li>Cullen, Dr. E., projector of the Darien Canal, <a href="#Page_353">353</a></li>
<li>Cura&ccedil;ao, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a></li>
</ul>

 <ul class="IX">
<li>Darbey, John, an English prisoner in Cuba, <a href="#Page_171">171</a><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_367" id="Page_367">[Pg 367]</a></span></li>
<li>Darien Canal, <a href="#Page_353">353</a></li>
<li>Darien scheme, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li>
<li>Delgado, Augustine, an "El Dorado" seeker, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></li>
<li>Demerara, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a href="#Page_301">301</a></li>
<li>Dessalines,
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>a chief in the Haytian insurrection, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li>
  <li>crowned emperor, <a href="#Page_274">274</a></li>
  </ul></li>
 <li>Dogs,
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>hunt Indians, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li>
  <li>run wild, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li>
  <li>hunt maroons, <a href="#Page_235">235</a></li>
  <li>hunt rebel negroes, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li>
  </ul></li>
<li>Dominica, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></li>
<li><i>Dominus Vobiscum</i>, one of the first English vessels in the West Indies, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li>
<li>D'Oyley, Governor of Jamaica, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li>
<li>Drake, Sir Francis,
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>voyage with Hawkins, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li>
  <li>raid on Nombre de Dios, <a href="#Page_59">59</a></li>
  <li>great expedition to the West Indies, <a href="#Page_63">63</a></li>
  <li>captures St. Domingo, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li>
  <li>last voyage, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li>
  <li>death, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li>
  </ul></li>
 <li>Drax, Colonel, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li>
<li>Du Casse, a French corsair, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li>
<li>Dudley, Sir Robert, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li>
<li>Dutch, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></li>
</ul>

 <ul class="IX">
<li>Edwards, Bryan, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li>
<li>Eiffel, M., <a href="#Page_360">360</a></li>
 <li> "El Dorado,"
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>the quest for, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li>
  <li>dangers, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li>
  <li>germ of the story, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li>
  <li>Martinez' report, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li>
  </ul></li>
 <li>Elizabeth, Queen, <a href="#Page_67">67</a></li>
<li>Emancipation,
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>Great Britain, <a href="#Page_289">289</a></li>
  <li>France, <a href="#Page_310">310</a></li>
  <li>Denmark, <a href="#Page_312">312</a></li>
  <li>Holland, <a href="#Page_313">313</a></li>
  <li>Spain, <a href="#Page_313">313</a></li>
  </ul></li>
 <li>Enambuc, M. d', first French settler, <a href="#Page_87">87-8</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></li>
<li>Enciso, Bachelor, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></li>
<li>English and Dutch, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_68">68</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li>
<li>Essequebo, <a href="#Page_213">213</a></li>
<li>Everson, a Dutch pirate, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li>
<li>Eyre, Governor of Jamaica, <a href="#Page_339">339</a></li>
</ul>

 <ul class="IX">
<li>Fedreman, Nicholas, an "El Dorado" seeker, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li>
 <li>Ferdinand and Isabella,
 <ul class="IX">
  <li>kind feelings towards the Indians, <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li>
  <li>grant from the Pope, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li>
  </ul></li>
<li>Fontaine, Father, a Catholic missionary, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li>
<li>Fontaine, M., a Panama defaulter, <a href="#Page_360">360</a></li>
<li>Fourgeaud, Colonel, <a href="#Page_227">227</a></li>
<li>Franklin, Washington, <a href="#Page_294">294</a></li>
<li>Free trade, <a href="#Page_324">324</a></li>
<li>French,
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>in the West Indies, <a href="#Page_49">49-54</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li>
  <li>company for settling the islands, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></li>
  <li>character of, <a href="#Page_167">167</a></li>
  <li>revolution, its influence on Hayti, effect on the Spanish Main, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li>
  </ul></li>
 </ul>

 <ul class="IX">
<li>George of Spires, an "El Dorado" seeker, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li>
 <li>German knights in Venezuela, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li>
 <li>Gold-hunting, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li>
<li>Gordon, Mr., a Member of the Jamaica Assembly, executed, <a href="#Page_340">340</a></li>
<li>Grasse, Count de, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></li>
<li>Grenada, <a href="#Page_238">238</a></li>
<li>Groenwegel, Commander of Essequebo, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li>
<li>Guadeloupe, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a></li>
<li><i>Guanin</i>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li>
<li>Guatavita, Lake of, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li>
<li>Guatemala, <a href="#Page_288">288</a></li>
<li>Guiana, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></li>
<li>Guianians, <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li>
<li>Guichen, Admiral de, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></li>
<li>G&uuml;iria, <a href="#Page_282">282</a></li>
<li>Guzman, Fernando de, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li>
</ul>

 <ul class="IX">
<li>Ha&iuml;ti, Hayti, or Hispaniola,
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>its inhabitants, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li>
  <li>colonised, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></li>
  <li>gold found, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></li>
  <li>almost ruined by becoming depopulated, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li>
  <li>a resort of buccaneers, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></li>
  <li>under the French, <a href="#Page_251">251</a></li>
  <li>downfall, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li>
  <li>British invasion, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li>
  <li>republics and empires, <a href="#Page_274">274</a></li>
  </ul></li>
 <li>Hall, Captain, exploit of, <a href="#Page_206">206</a></li>
<li>Harcourt, Robert, in Guiana, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></li>
<li>Harry, a Guiana Indian, in London, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li>
<li>Hartop, Job, a prisoner in Mexico, <a href="#Page_58">58</a></li>
<li>Havana,<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_368" id="Page_368">[Pg 368]</a></span>
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>ransomed, <a href="#Page_50">50</a></li>
  <li>sacked and burnt, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li>
  </ul></li>
 <li>Hawkins, Sir John,
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>first voyage, <a href="#Page_53">53</a></li>
  <li>second, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li>
  <li>third, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li>
  <li>final trip with Drake, and death, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li>
  </ul></li>
 <li>Hawkins, William, voyage to Brazil, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></li>
<li>Hennessy, Governor John Pope, of Barbados, <a href="#Page_341">341</a>, <a href="#Page_345">345</a></li>
<li>Henri I. (Christophe), Emperor of Hayti, <a href="#Page_274">274</a></li>
<li>Henry VIII. of England sends an expedition to the West Indies, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li>
<li>Herera, Alonzo de, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li>
<li>Hogs naturalised in Hispaniola, see Ha&iuml;ti</li>
<li>Hondo river, <a href="#Page_250">250</a></li>
<li>Hood, Sir Samuel, <a href="#Page_238">238</a></li>
<li>Hoogenheim, Wolfert Simon van, Governor of Berbice, <a href="#Page_218">218</a></li>
<li>Huten, Philip von, an "El Dorado" seeker, <a href="#Page_36">36</a></li>
</ul>

 <ul class="IX">
<li>Iala, Father, an "El Dorado" seeker, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li>
<li>Indian, character of, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li>
</ul>

 <ul class="IX">
<li>Jackson, Colonel, captures Santiago de la Vega, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></li>
<li>Jacques I. (Dessalines), Emperor of Hayti, <a href="#Page_274">274</a></li>
<li>Jamaica,
 <ul class="IX">
  <li>Valdivia wrecked off the coast, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li>
  <li>attacked by Colonel Jackson, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></li>
  <li>captured by English, <a href="#Page_131">131</a></li>
  <li>Spanish attempt to recapture, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li>
  <li>the first real British colony, <a href="#Page_136">136</a></li>
  <li>progress of, <a href="#Page_155">155</a></li>
  <li>authorities refuse help to the Darien colony, <a href="#Page_193">193</a></li>
  <li>slave revolts, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li>
  <li>serious negro insurrection, <a href="#Page_338">338</a></li>
  </ul></li>
<li>James I.,
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>friendship for Spain, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li>
  <li>dispute with Spain about the West Indies and Virginia, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li>
  </ul></li>
<li>Jeffreys, Judge, sends prisoners to Barbados, <a href="#Page_150">150</a></li>
<li>Jenkins, Captain, and his ear, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li>
<li>Jervis, Admiral Sir John, <a href="#Page_251">251</a></li>
<li>Jews in the West Indies, <a href="#Page_239">239</a>, <a href="#Page_245">245</a></li>
</ul>

 <ul class="IX">
<li>Keymis, Captain, a follower of Ralegh, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77-9</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li>
<li>Kyk-over-al, Dutch fort in Essequebo, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></li>
 </ul>

 <ul class="IX">
<li>Labour difficulties, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_321">321</a></li>
<li>Lafayette, <a href="#Page_260">260</a></li>
<li>Lawrence, Captain, an English pirate, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li>
<li>Legrand, Pierre, a French pirate, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li>
<li>Leigh, Charles, first English settler in Guiana, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></li>
<li>Lesseps, Ferdinand de, and his Panama scheme, <a href="#Page_356">356</a></li>
<li>Lolonois, the great pirate, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li>
</ul>

 <ul class="IX">
<li>Macatoa, reported a very rich city, <a href="#Page_36">36</a></li>
<li>Madeirans imported into British Guiana, <a href="#Page_327">327</a></li>
<li>Maltese imported into British Guiana, <a href="#Page_327">327</a></li>
<li>Manoa, city of, fabulous residence of "El Dorado," <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li>
<li>Margarita, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a></li>
<li>Marino, Dictator of Venezuela, <a href="#Page_283">283</a></li>
<li>Maroons or Simarons, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a></li>
<li>Martinez, Juan de, his report of "El Dorado,"<a href="#Page_43">43</a></li>
<li>Martinique, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li>
<li>Mauduit, Captain, murdered in the Haytian revolt, <a href="#Page_262">262</a></li>
<li>Merrifield, Ralph, one of the first settlers in St. Kitt's, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li>
<li>Methodists, <a href="#Page_295">295</a></li>
<li>Miranda, Francisco, leader of the revolution in Venezuela, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="#Page_347">347</a></li>
<li>Missionaries, Protestant, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>, <a href="#Page_327">327</a></li>
<li>Montbar, the French pirate, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li>
<li>Montserrat, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_369" id="Page_369">[Pg 369]</a></span></li>
<li>Morgan, Captain (afterwards Sir Henry), the English buccaneer, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li>
<li>Morgan, Colonel, <a href="#Page_162">162</a></li>
<li>Morillo, Marshal, Spanish leader in Venezuela, <a href="#Page_284">284</a></li>
</ul>

<ul class="IX">
<li><i>Navio de permisso</i>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a></li>
<li>Negro slavery, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a></li>
<li>Negroes, free, difficulties with, <a href="#Page_329">329</a></li>
<li>Nelson, Lord,
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>flying trip to the West Indies, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li>
  <li>his expedition to Nicaragua, <a href="#Page_346">346</a></li>
  </ul></li>
<li>Nevis, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></li>
<li>New Edinburgh, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></li>
<li>New Granada, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a></li>
<li>New World, <a href="#Page_1">1</a></li>
<li>Nicaragua and the canal scheme, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>, <a href="#Page_346">346</a>, <a href="#Page_351">351</a>, <a href="#Page_355">355</a>, <a href="#Page_362">362</a></li>
<li>North, Roger, a settler in Guiana, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li>
<li><i>Nueva Dorado</i>, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li>
</ul>

<ul class="IX">
<li>Ojeda, Alonzo de, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></li>
<li>Omaguas, reported a rich nation, <a href="#Page_36">36</a></li>
<li>Ophir, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li>
<li>Ordas, Diego de, explores the Orinoco, <a href="#Page_43">43</a></li>
<li>Orders in Council, <a href="#Page_300">300</a></li>
<li>Orr, John Sayers, "the Angel Gabriel," creates a disturbance in Demerara, <a href="#Page_335">335</a></li>
<li>Ouverture, Toussaint L', leader of the Haytian negroes, <a href="#Page_268">268</a></li>
<li>Oxenham or Oxnam, John, crosses the Isthmus, <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li>
<li>Oyapok, English colonies in the, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83</a></li>
</ul>

 <ul class="IX">
<li>Panama, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>, <a href="#Page_350">350</a></li>
<li>Panama Canal, <a href="#Page_347">347</a>, <a href="#Page_353">353</a>, <a href="#Page_355">355</a></li>
<li>Panama Railway, <a href="#Page_352">352</a></li>
<li>Parima Lake, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li>
<li>Paterson, William, and the Darien scheme, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li>
<li>Penn and Venables, Generals, expedition to the West Indies, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li>
<li>Perez, Diego, a gallant Spaniard, <a href="#Page_50">50</a></li>
<li>Petion, President of Hayti, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a></li>
<li>Philips, Miles, an English prisoner in Mexico, <a href="#Page_58">58</a></li>
<li>Pirates in the West Indies, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li>
<li>Pitman, Henry, a bond-servant, <a href="#Page_150">150</a></li>
<li>Pitt, in favour of a Panama Canal, <a href="#Page_347">347</a></li>
<li>Plantations, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_291">291</a></li>
<li>Pointis, de, a leader of buccaneers, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li>
<li>Pomeroon, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a></li>
<li>Pope, The,
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>issues Bull of Partition, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li>
  <li>acknowledges French rights in the West Indies, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li>
  </ul></li>
 <li>Popham, Captain, captures Spanish letters, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></li>
<li>Porto Bello,
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>its fair, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li>
  <li>captured by Vernon, <a href="#Page_204">204</a></li>
  </ul></li>
<li>Porto Rico, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li>
<li>Prince of Orange in England, <a href="#Page_252">252</a></li>
<li>Privateers, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li>
<li>Proclamations to the Indians, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li>
<li>Providence Island, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li>
<li>Puerto Cabello, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li>
</ul>

 <ul class="IX">
<li>Quesada, Herman de, an "El Dorado" seeker, <a href="#Page_36">36</a></li>
</ul>

 <ul class="IX">
<li>Ralegh Sir Walter,
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>at Trinidad, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li>
  <li>his "Letters Patent,"  <a href="#Page_68">68</a></li>
  <li>his interest in Guiana, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></li>
  <li>captures Trinidad, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li>
  <li>searches for "El Dorado,"  <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li>
  <li>sent to the Tower, <a href="#Page_76">76</a></li>
  <li>liberated, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li>
  <li>goes again to Guiana, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li>
  <li>capture of St. Thome, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li>
  <li>his execution, <a href="#Page_82">82</a></li>
  </ul></li>
<li>Reclus, M., a Panama Canal projector, <a href="#Page_356">356</a></li>
<li>Regapo, Leonard, a Guiana Indian, in London, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li>
<li><i>Repartimientos</i>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li>
<li>Robespierre, <a href="#Page_260">260</a><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_370" id="Page_370">[Pg 370]</a></span></li>
<li>Rodney, Admiral, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a></li>
<li>Rossy, Sieur du, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></li>
<li>Route of Spanish trade, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li>
<li>Rovers to the Main, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li>
<li>Royal African Company for introducing slaves, <a href="#Page_149">149</a></li>
<li>Rupert, Prince, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li>
<li>Ruyter, Admiral de, attacks Barbados, <a href="#Page_161">161</a></li>
</ul>

 <ul class="IX">
<li>St. Christopher's, or St. Kitt's,
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>settled by Thomas Warner, <a href="#Page_84">84</a></li>
  <li>granted to the Earl of Carlisle, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li>
  <li>d'Enambuc arrives, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li>
  <li>divided between English and French, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li>
  <li>attacked by Spaniards, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li>
  <li>granted to a French Company, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></li>
  <li>bond-servants in, <a href="#Page_153">153</a></li>
  <li>quarrels between English and French, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a></li>
  <li>captured by French, <a href="#Page_249">249</a></li>
  </ul></li>
<li>St. Croix or Santa Cruz, riots in, <a href="#Page_311">311</a>, <a href="#Page_329">329</a></li>
<li>St. Domingo,
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>captured by Drake, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li>
  <li>attempted by Penn and Venables, <a href="#Page_131">131</a></li>
  </ul></li>
<li>St. Eustatius, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li>
<li>St. Lucia, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a></li>
<li>St. Martin's, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></li>
<li>St. Thomas, <a href="#Page_239">239</a></li>
<li>St. Vincent, <a href="#Page_238">238</a></li>
<li>Salle, General de la, French Governor of St. Kitt's, <a href="#Page_162">162</a></li>
<li>San Juan river, <a href="#Page_346">346</a></li>
<li>Santa Martha, captured by French pirates, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li>
<li>Santiago de Cuba, gallant fight at, <a href="#Page_50">50</a></li>
<li>Santiago de la Vega captured by English, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></li>
<li>Savile, Henry, his "Libel of Spanish Lies,"  <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li>
<li>Sedenno, Antonio, an "El Dorado" seeker, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li>
<li>Serfdom, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a></li>
<li>Shelley, Colonel, a "Cavalier" in Barbados, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li>
<li>Simarons, <i>see</i> Maroons</li>
<li>Slaves,
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>Indian, <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li>
  <li>negro, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a></li>
  <li>white (bond-servants), <a href="#Page_146">146</a></li>
  <li>insurrections, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>, <a href="#Page_302">302</a></li>
  <li>abolition of the African trade, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a></li>
  <li>runaways, <a href="#Page_210">210</a></li>
  <li>Registrar and Protector of, <a href="#Page_293">293</a></li>
  <li>emancipation of, <a href="#Page_309">309</a></li>
  <li>reviews of slavery, <a href="#Page_289">289</a></li>
  </ul></li>
 <li>Smith, Rev. John, a missionary sentenced to death in connection with a slave revolt, <a href="#Page_303">303-6</a></li>
<li>South Sea Bubble, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a></li>
<li>Spain,
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>character of her people, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li>
  <li>introducing Christianity, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li>
  <li>wanton cruelty to the natives, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li>
  <li>hardiness of Spaniards, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li>
  <li>their audacity, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li>
  <li>Spanish claim to supremacy, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li>
  <li>interference with their trade, <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li>
  <li>Spanish cruelty to prisoners of war, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li>
  </ul></li>
<li>"Spiriting" or kidnapping white servants, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>made felony 147</li>
  </ul></li>
 <li>Sugar cane, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li>
<li>Suicides, <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li>
<li>Surinam, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></li>
<li>Sylva, Gaspar de, an "El Dorado" seeker, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li>
</ul>

 <ul class="IX">
<li>Tison, Thomas, first English trader to West Indies, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li>
<li>Tobacco, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li>
<li>Tobago, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a></li>
<li>Toledo, Don Frederic de, captures St. Kitt's, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li>
<li>Tortuga, the great rendezvous of the buccaneers, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li>
<li>Trade forced upon the Spanish settlers, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li>
<li>Transported convicts, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li>
<li>Treasure seeking, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li>
<li>Trelawny Town, <a href="#Page_232">232</a></li>
<li>Tribute imposed on natives, <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li>
<li>Trinidad, <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_328">328</a></li>
</ul>

 <ul class="IX">
<li>Ursua, Pedro de, murdered by the tyrant Aguirre, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li>
<li>Utrecht, treaty of, <a href="#Page_196">196</a><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_371" id="Page_371">[Pg 371]</a></span></li>
 </ul>

 <ul class="IX">
<li>Valdivia, his shipwreck, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li>
<li>Van Horn the pirate, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></li>
<li>Vanderbilt Transit Company, <a href="#Page_351">351</a></li>
<li>Venables and Penn, Generals, their expedition, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li>
<li>Venezuela,
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>the treasure seekers in, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li>
  <li>her struggle for independence, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li>
  </ul></li>
 <li>Vernon, Admiral, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_337">337</a></li>
<li>Virgin Islands, <a href="#Page_96">96</a></li>
<li>Virginia, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li>
</ul>

 <ul class="IX">
<li>Wafer, Lionel, his journey across the Isthmus, <a href="#Page_105">105</a></li>
 <li>Walker, William, the modern filibuster, <a href="#Page_352">352</a></li>
 <li>Walrond, Colonel, a "Cavalier" in Barbados, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li>
<li>Warner, Thomas, founder of the colony of St. Kitt's, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li>
<li>Wars,
  <ul class="IX">
  <li>England and Spain, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li>
  <li>Holland and Spain, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li>
  <li>France and Spain, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></li>
  <li>England and Holland, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a></li>
  <li>England and France against Holland and Spain, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li>
  <li>France against England and Holland, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li>
  <li>Spain, England, and Holland against France, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li>
  <li>England and Holland against France and Spain, <a href="#Page_195">195</a></li>
  <li>England and Spain, <a href="#Page_203">203</a></li>
  <li>England and her revolted colonies, <a href="#Page_241">241</a></li>
  <li>France, Spain, and Holland join in the quarrel, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li>
  <li>commencement of the great French war, <a href="#Page_251">251</a></li>
  <li>England and the United States, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li>
  </ul></li>
 <li>Watts, Governor, of St. Kitt's, <a href="#Page_162">162</a></li>
<li>Welsers of Augsburg, <a href="#Page_33">33</a></li>
<li>West India Company of Holland, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li>
<li>William III. and the Darien scheme, <a href="#Page_194">194</a></li>
<li>Willoughby, Lord, Governor of Barbados, <a href="#Page_122">122</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124-8</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a></li>
<li>Wyse, M., a Panama Canal projector, <a href="#Page_356">356</a></li>
</ul>


<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_372" id="Page_372">[Pg 372]</a></span></p>

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<p class="center">The Gresham Press,</p>

<p class="center">UNWIN BROTHERS,</p>

<p class="center">WOKING AND LONDON.</p>








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