THE TAKING OF PAITA, AND OUR PROCEEDINGS THERE
The town of Paita is situated in the latitude of 5° 12' south, on a
most barren soil, composed only of sand and slate. The extent of it is
but small, containing in all less than two hundred families. The
houses are only ground floors, the walls built of split cane and mud,
and the roofs thatched with leaves. These edifices, though extremely
slight, are abundantly sufficient for a climate where rain is
considered as a prodigy, and is not seen in many years: so that it is
said a small quantity of rain falling in this country in the year 1728
ruined a great number of buildings, which mouldered away, and as it
were melted before it. The inhabitants of Paita are principally
Indians and black slaves, or at least a mixed breed, the whites being
very few. The port of Paita, though in reality little more than a bay,
is esteemed the best on that part of the coast, and is indeed a very
secure and commodious anchorage. It is greatly frequented by all
vessels coming from the north, since here only the ships from Acapulco,
Sonsonnate, Realeijo, and Panama can touch and refresh in their passage
to Callao: and the length of these voyages (the wind for the greatest
part of the year being full against them) renders it impossible to
perform them without calling upon the coast for a recruit of fresh
water. It is true Paita is situated on so parched a spot that it does
not itself furnish a drop of fresh water, or any kind of greens or
provisions, except fish and a few goats; but there is an Indian town
called Colan, about two or three leagues distant to the northward, from
whence water, maize, greens, fowls, etc., are conveyed to Paita on
balsas or floats, for the conveniency of the ships that touch here; and
cattle are sometimes brought from Piura, a town which lies about
fourteen leagues up in the country. The water fetched from Colan is
whitish, and of a disagreeable appearance, but is said to be very
wholesome, for it is pretended by the inhabitants that it runs through
large woods of sarsaparilla, and is sensibly impregnated therewith.
This port of Paita, {178} besides furnishing the northern trade bound
to Callao with water and necessaries, is the usual place where
passengers from Acapulco or Panama, bound to Lima, disembark; for, as
it was two hundred leagues from hence to Callao, the port of Lima, and
as the wind is generally contrary, the passage by sea is very tedious
and fatiguing, but by land there is a tolerable good road parallel to
the coast, with many stations and villages for the accommodation of
travellers.
It appears that the town of Paita is itself an open place, so that its
sole protection and defence is a fort. It was of consequence to us to
be well informed of the fabrick and strength of this fort; and from the
examination of our prisoners we found that there were eight pieces of
cannon mounted in it, but that it had neither ditch nor outwork, being
surrounded by a plain brick wall; and that the garrison consisted of
only one weak company, though the town itself might possibly arm three
hundred men more.
Mr. Anson having informed himself of the strength of the place,
resolved (as hath been said in the preceding chapter) to attempt it
that very night. We were then about twelve leagues distant from the
shore, far enough to prevent our being discovered, yet not so far but
that by making all the sail we could, we might arrive in the bay with
our ships long before daybreak. However, the commodore prudently
considered that this would be an improper method of proceeding, as our
ships, being such large bodies, might be easily seen at a distance even
in the night, and might thereby alarm the inhabitants, and give them an
opportunity of removing their valuable effects. He therefore, as the
strength of the place did not require our whole force, resolved to
attempt it with our boats only, ordering the eighteen-oared barge and
our own and the _Tryal's_ pinnaces on that service; and having picked
out fifty-eight men to mann them, well furnished with arms and
ammunition, he entrusted the command of the expedition to Lieutenant
Brett, and gave him his necessary orders. And the better to prevent
the disappointment and confusion which might arise from the darkness of
the night, and from the ignorance of the streets and passages of the
place, two of the Spanish pilots were ordered to attend the lieutenant,
who were to conduct him to the most convenient landing-place, and were
afterwards to be his guides on shore; and that we might have the
greater security for their {179} behaviour on this occasion, the
commodore took care to assure our prisoners that they should all of
them be released and set on shore at this place, provided the pilots
acted faithfully; but in case of any misconduct or treachery, he
threatened that the pilots should be instantly shot, and that he would
carry the rest of the Spaniards who were on board him prisoners to
England. So that the prisoners themselves were interested in our
success, and therefore we had no reason to suspect our conductors
either of negligence or perfidy.
On this occasion I cannot but remark a singular circumstance of one of
the pilots employed by us in this business. It seems (as we afterwards
learnt) he had been taken by Captain Clipperton above twenty years
before, and had been obliged to lead Clipperton and his people to the
surprize of Truxillo, a town within land to the southward of Paita,
where, however, he contrived to alarm his countrymen and to save them,
though the place was carried and pillaged. Now that the only two
attempts on shore, which were made at so long an interval from each
other, should be guided by the same person, and he too a prisoner both
times, and forced upon the employ contrary to his inclination, is an
incident so very extraordinary that I could not help mentioning it.
But to return to the matter in hand.
During our preparations, the ships themselves stood towards the port
with all the sail they could make, being secure that we were yet at too
great a distance to be seen. But about ten o'clock at night, the ships
being then within five leagues of the place, Lieutenant Brett, with the
boats under his command, put off, and arrived at the mouth of the bay
without being discovered, though no sooner had he entered it than some
of the people on board a vessel riding at anchor there perceived him,
who instantly getting into their boat, rowed towards the fort, shouting
and crying, "The English, the English dogs," etc., by which the whole
town was suddenly alarmed, and our people soon observed several lights
hurrying backwards and forwards in the fort, and other marks of the
inhabitants being in great motion. Lieutenant Brett, on this,
encouraged his men to pull briskly up, that they might give the enemy
as little time as possible to prepare for their defence. However,
before our boats could reach the shore, the people in the fort had got
ready some of their cannon, and pointed them towards the {180}
landing-place; and though in the darkness of the night it might be well
supposed that chance had a greater share than skill in their direction,
yet the first shot passed extremely near one of the boats, whistling
just over the heads of the crew. This made our people redouble their
efforts, so that they had reached the shore and were in part
disembarked by the time the second gun fired. As soon as our men
landed, they were conducted by one of the Spanish pilots to the
entrance of a narrow street, not above fifty yards distant from the
beach, where they were covered from the fire of the fort; and being
formed in the best manner the shortness of the time would allow, they
immediately marched for the parade, which was a large square at the end
of this street, the fort being one side of the square, and the
governor's house another. In this march (though performed with
tolerable regularity) the shouts and clamours of threescore sailors,
who had been confined so long on shipboard, and were now for the first
time on shore in an enemy's country, joyous as they always are when
they land, and animated besides in the present case with the hopes of
an immense pillage--the huzzas, I say, of this spirited detachment,
joined with the noise of their drums, and favoured by the night, had
augmented their numbers, in the opinion of the enemy, to at least three
hundred, by which persuasion the inhabitants were so greatly
intimidated that they were much more solicitous about the means of
flight than of resistance: so that though upon entering the parade our
people received a volley from the merchants who owned the treasure then
in the town, and who, with a few others, had ranged themselves in a
gallery that ran round the governor's house, yet that post was
immediately abandoned upon the first fire made by our people, who were
thereby left in quiet possession of the parade.
On this success Lieutenant Brett divided his men into two parties,
ordering one of them to surround the governor's house, and, if
possible, to secure the governor, whilst he himself at the head of the
other marched to the fort, with an intent to force it. But, contrary
to his expectation, he entered it without opposition; for the enemy, on
his approach, abandoned it, and made their escape over the walls. By
this means the whole place was mastered in less than a quarter of an
hour's time from the first landing, and with {181} no other loss than
that of one man killed on the spot, and two wounded, one of which was
the Spanish pilot of the _Teresa_, who received a slight bruise by a
ball which grazed on his wrist. Indeed another of the company, the
Honourable Mr. Kepple, son to the Earl of Albemarle, had a very narrow
escape; for having on a jockey cap, one side of the peak was shaved off
close to his temple by a ball, which, however, did him no other injury.
Lieutenant Brett, when he had thus far happily succeeded, placed a
guard at the fort, and another at the governor's house, and appointed
centinels at all the avenues of the town, both to prevent any surprize
from the enemy, and to secure the effects in the place from being
embezzled. This being done, his next care was to seize on the
custom-house, where the treasure lay, and to examine if any of the
inhabitants remained in the town, that he might know what further
precautions it was necessary to take; but he soon found that the
numbers left behind were no ways formidable, for the greatest part of
them (being in bed when the place was surprized) had run away with so
much precipitation that they had not given themselves time to put on
their cloaths. In this general rout the governor was not the last to
secure himself, for he fled betimes half naked, leaving his wife, a
young lady of about seventeen years of age, to whom he had been married
but three or four days, behind him, though she too was afterwards
carried off in her shift by a couple of centinels, just as the
detachment ordered to invest the house arrived before it. This escape
of the governor was an unpleasing circumstance, as Mr. Anson had
particularly recommended it to Lieutenant Brett to secure his person if
possible, in hopes that by that means we might be able to treat for the
ransom of the place: but it seems his alertness rendered the execution
of these orders impracticable. The few inhabitants who remained were
confined in one of the churches under a guard, except some stout
negroes which were found in the town; these, instead of being shut up,
were employed the remaining part of the night to assist in carrying the
treasure from the custom-house and other places to the fort; however,
there was care taken that they should be always attended by a file of
musqueteers.
The transporting the treasure from the custom-house to the fort was the
principal occupation of Mr. Brett's people {182} after he had got
possession of the place. But the sailors, while they were thus busied,
could not be prevented from entering the houses which lay near them in
search of private pillage: where the first things which occurred to
them being the cloaths that the Spaniards in their flight had left
behind them, and which, according to the custom of the country, were
most of them either embroidered or laced, our people eagerly seized
these glittering habits, and put them on over their own dirty trowsers
and jackets, not forgetting, at the same time, the tye or bag-wig and
laced hat which were generally found with the cloaths; and when this
practice was once begun, there was no preventing the whole detachment
from imitating it: but those who came latest into the fashion not
finding men's cloaths sufficient to equip themselves, were obliged to
take up with women's gowns and petticoats, which (provided there was
finery enough) they made no scruple of putting on and blending with
their own greasy dress. So that when a party of them thus ridiculously
metamorphosed first appeared before Mr. Brett, he was extremely
surprized at the grotesque sight, and could not immediately be
satisfied they were his own people.
These were the transactions of our detachment on shore at Paita the
first night: but to return to what was done on board the _Centurion_ in
that interval. I must observe that after the boats were gone off, we
lay by till one o'clock in the morning, and then supposing our
detachment to be near landing, we made an easy sail for the bay. About
seven in the morning we began to open the bay, and soon after had a
view of the town; and though we had no reason to doubt of the success
of the enterprize, yet it was with great joy that we first discovered
an infallible signal of the certainty of our hopes; this was by means
of our perspectives, for through them we saw an English flag hoisted on
the flagstaff of the fort, which to us was an incontestable proof that
our people were in possession of the place. We plied into the bay with
as much expedition as the wind, which then blew off shore, would permit
us: and at eleven the _Tryal's_ boat came on board us, loaden with
dollars and church-plate, when the officer who commanded her informed
us of the preceding night's transactions, such as we have already
related them. About two in the afternoon we anchored in ten fathom and
a half, at a mile and a half distance from {183} the town, and were
consequently near enough to have a more immediate intercourse with
those on shore. And now we found that Mr. Brett had hitherto gone on
in collecting and removing the treasure without interruption; but that
the enemy had rendezvouzed from all parts of the country on a hill, at
the back of the town, where they made no inconsiderable appearance: for
amongst the rest of their force there were two hundred horse, seemingly
very well armed and mounted, and, as we conceived, properly trained and
regimented, being furnished with trumpets, drums, and standards. These
troops paraded about the hill with great ostentation, sounding their
military musick, and practising every art to intimidate us (as our
numbers on shore were by this time not unknown to them), in hopes that
we might be induced by our fears to abandon the place before the
pillage was compleated. But we were not so ignorant as to believe that
this body of horse, which seemed to be what the enemy principally
depended on, would dare to venture in streets and amongst houses, even
had their numbers been three times as large; and, therefore,
notwithstanding their menaces, we went on calmly as long as the
daylight lasted, in sending off the treasure, and in employing the
boats to carry on board the refreshments, such as hogs, fowls, etc.,
which we found here in great abundance. However, at night, to prevent
any surprize, the commodore sent on shore a reinforcement, who posted
themselves in all the passages leading to the parade, and, for their
further security, traversed the streets with barricadoes six feet high,
but the enemy continuing quiet all night, we, at daybreak, returned
again to our labour of loading the boats, and sending them off.
By this time we were convinced of what consequence it would have been
to us had fortune seconded the prudent views of the commodore, by
permitting us to have secured the governor. For as we found in the
place many storehouses full of valuable effects, which were useless to
us at present, and such as we could not find room for on board, had the
governor been in our power, he would in all probability have treated
for the ransom of this merchandise, which would have been extremely
advantageous both to him and us; whereas, he being now at liberty, and
having collected all the force of the country for many leagues round,
and having even got a body of militia from Piura, which was {184}
fourteen leagues distant, he was so elated with his numbers, and so
fond of his new military command, that he seemed not to trouble himself
about the fate of his government. So that though Mr. Anson sent
several messages to him by some of the inhabitants whom he had taken
prisoners, offering to enter into a treaty for the ransom of the town
and goods, giving him, at the same time, an intimation that we should
be far from insisting on a rigorous equivalent, but perhaps might be
satisfied with some live cattle, and a few necessaries for the use of
the squadron, threatening, too, that if he would not condescend at
least to treat, we would set fire to the town and all the warehouses.
Yet the governor was so imprudent and arrogant that he despised all
these reiterated overtures, and did not deign even to return the least
answer to them.
On the second day of our being in possession of the place, several
negro slaves deserted from the enemy on the hill, and coming into the
town, voluntarily engaged in our service. One of these was well known
to a gentleman on board who remembered him formerly at Panama. We now
learnt that the Spaniards without the town were in extreme want of
water, for many of their slaves crept into the place by stealth, and
carried away several jars of water to their masters on the hill; and
though some of them were seized by our men in the attempt, yet the
thirst among the enemy was so pressing that they continued this
practice till we left the place. On this second day we were assured,
both by the deserters and by these prisoners we took, that the
Spaniards on the hill, who were by this time encreased to a formidable
number, had resolved to storm the town and fort the succeeding night;
and that one Gordon, a Scots papist, and captain of a ship in those
seas, was to have the command of this enterprize. However, we,
notwithstanding, continued sending off our boats, and prosecuted our
work without the least hurry or precipitation till the evening; when a
reinforcement was again sent on shore by the commodore, and Lieutenant
Brett doubled his guards at each of the barricadoes; and our posts
being connected by the means of centinels placed within call of each
other, and the whole being visited by frequent rounds, attended with a
drum, these marks of our vigilance, which the enemy could not be
ignorant of, as they could doubtless hear the drum, if not the {185}
calls of the centinels; these marks, I say, of our vigilance, and of
our readiness to receive them, cooled their resolution, and made them
forget the vaunts of the preceding day, so that we passed this second
night with as little molestation as we had done the first.
We had finished sending the treasure on board the _Centurion_ the
evening before, so that the third morning, being the 15th of November,
the boats were employed in carrying off the most valuable part of the
effects that remained in the town. And the commodore intending to sail
in the afternoon, he, about ten o'clock, pursuant to his promise, sent
all his prisoners, amounting to eighty-eight, on shore, giving orders
to Lieutenant Brett to secure them in one of the churches under a
strict guard till the men were ready to be embarked. Mr. Brett was at
the same time ordered to burn the whole town, except the two churches
(which by good fortune stood at some distance from the houses), and
then he was to abandon the place, and to return on board. These orders
were punctually complied with, for Mr. Brett immediately set his men to
work to distribute pitch, tar, and other combustibles (of which great
quantities were found here) into houses situated in different streets
of the town, so that the place being fired in many quarters at the same
time, the destruction might be more violent and sudden, and the enemy,
after our departure, might not be able to extinguish it. When these
preparations were made, he, in the next place, commanded the cannon,
which he found in the fort, to be nailed up; and then setting fire to
those houses which were most to the windward, he collected his men and
marched towards the beach, where the boats waited to carry them off.
As that part of the beach whence he intended to embark was an open
place without the town, the Spaniards on the hill perceiving he was
retreating, resolved to try if they could not precipitate his
departure, and thereby lay some foundation for their future boasting.
To this end a small squadron of their horse, consisting of about sixty,
picked out, as I suppose, for this service, marched down the hill with
much seeming resolution, so that had we not entertained an adequate
opinion of their prowess, we might have imagined that now we were on
the open beach with no advantage of situation, they would certainly
have charged us, but we presumed (and we were not mistaken) {186} that
this was mere ostentation. For, notwithstanding the pomp and parade
they at first came on with, Mr. Brett had no sooner ordered his men to
halt and face about, than the enemy stopped their career, and never
dared to advance a step further.
When our people were arrived at their boats, and were ready to go on
board, they were for some time retarded by missing one of their number;
and being unable, on their mutual enquiries amongst each other, to
inform themselves where he was left, or by what accident he was
detained, they, after a considerable delay, resolved to get into their
boats, and to depart without him. But when the last man was actually
embarked, and the boats were just putting off, they heard him calling
to them to take him in. The place was by this time so thoroughly on
fire, and the smoke covered the beach so effectually, that they could
scarcely discern him, though they heard his voice. However, the
lieutenant instantly ordered one of the boats to his relief, who found
him up to the chin in water, for he had waded as far as he durst, being
extremely frightened with the apprehensions of falling into the hands
of an enemy, enraged, as they doubtless were, at the pillage and
destruction of their town. On enquiring into the cause of his staying
behind, it was found that he had taken that morning too large a dose of
brandy, which had thrown him into so sound a sleep that he did not
awake till the fire came near enough to scorch him. He was strangely
amazed at first opening his eyes to see the houses all in a blaze on
one side, and several Spaniards and Indians not far from him on the
other. The greatness and suddenness of his fright instantly reduced
him to a state of sobriety, and gave him sufficient presence of mind to
push through the thickest of the smoke, as the likeliest means to
escape the enemy, and making the best of his way to the beach, he ran
as far into the water as he durst (for he could not swim) before he
ventured to look back.
I cannot but observe here, to the honour of our people, that though
there were great quantities of wine and spirituous liquors found in the
place, yet this man was the only one who was known to have so far
neglected his duty as to get drunk. Indeed, their whole behaviour
while they were ashore was much more regular than could well have been
expected from {187} sailors who had been so long confined to a ship,
and though part of this prudent demeanour must doubtless be imputed to
the diligence of their officers, and to the excellent discipline to
which they had been constantly inured on board by the commodore, yet it
was doubtless no small reputation to the men, that they should
generally refrain from indulging themselves in those intoxicating
liquors which they found ready to their hands at almost every warehouse.
Having mentioned this single instance of drunkenness, I cannot pass by
another oversight, which was likewise the only one of its kind, and
which was attended with very particular circumstances. There was an
Englishman, who had formerly wrought as a ship-carpenter in the yard at
Portsmouth, but leaving his country, had afterwards entered into the
Spanish service, and was employed by them at the port of Guaiaquil; and
it being well known to his friends in England that he was then in that
part of the world, they put letters on board the _Centurion_, directed
to him. This man being then by accident amongst the Spaniards, who
were retired to the hill at Paita, he was ambitious (as it should seem)
of acquiring some reputation amongst his new masters. With this view
he came down unarmed to a centinel of ours, placed at some distance
from the fort towards the enemy, to whom he pretended that he was
desirous of surrendering himself, and of entering into our service.
Our centinel had a cocked pistol in his hand, but being deceived by the
other's fair speeches, he was so imprudent as to let him approach much
nearer than he ought, so that the shipwright, watching his opportunity,
rushed on the centinel, and seizing his pistol, wrenched it out of his
hand, and instantly ran away with it up the hill. By this time two of
our people, who, seeing the fellow advance, had suspected his
intention, were making towards him, and were thereby prepared to pursue
him, but he got to the top of the hill before they could reach him, and
then turning about, fired the pistol, whereupon his pursuers
immediately returned the fire, and though he was at a great distance,
and the crest of the hill hid him as soon as they had fired, so that
they took it for granted they had missed him, yet we afterwards learnt
that he was shot through the body, and had fallen down dead the very
next step he took after he was out of sight. The centinel, too, who
had been thus grossly {188} imposed upon, did not escape unpunished,
since he was ordered to be severely whipt for being thus shamefully
surprized upon his post, and having thereby given an example of
carelessness which, if followed in other instances, might prove fatal
to us all. But to return.
By the time our people had helped their comrade out of the water, and
were making the best of their way to the squadron, the flames had taken
possession of every part of the town, and had got such hold, both by
means of the combustibles that had been distributed for that purpose,
and by the slightness of the materials of which the houses were
composed, and their aptitude to take fire, that it was sufficiently
apparent no efforts of the enemy (though they flocked down in great
numbers) could possibly put a stop to it, or prevent the entire
destruction of the place and all the merchandize contained therein. A
whole town on fire at once, especially where the buildings burnt with
such facility and violence, being a very singular spectacle, Mr. Brett
had the curiosity to delineate its appearance, together with that of
the ships in the harbour.
Our detachment under Lieutenant Brett having safely joined the
squadron, the commodore prepared to leave the place the same evening.
He found when he first came into the bay, six vessels of the enemy at
anchor; one whereof was the ship, which, according to our intelligence,
was to have sailed with the treasure to the coast of Mexico, and which,
as we were persuaded she was a good sailor, we resolved to take with
us. The others were two snows, a bark, and two row gallies of
thirty-six oars a-piece. These last, as we were afterwards informed,
with many others of the same kind built at divers ports, were intended
to prevent our landing in the neighbourhood of Callao, for the
Spaniards, on the first intelligence of our squadron and its force,
expected that we would attempt the city of Lima. The commodore, having
no occasion for these other vessels, had ordered the masts of all five
of them to be cut away at his first arrival, and on his leaving the
place they were towed out of the harbour and scuttled and sunk; and the
command of the remaining ship, called the _Solidad_, being given to Mr.
Hughes, the lieutenant of the _Tryal_, who had with him a crew of ten
men to navigate her, the squadron, towards midnight, weighed anchor and
sailed out of the bay, being at present augmented {189} to six sail,
that is, the _Centurion_, and the _Tryal's_ prize, together with the
_Carmelo_, the _Teresa_, the _Carmin_, and our last acquired vessel the
_Solidad_.
And now, before I entirely quit the account of our transactions at this
place, it may not perhaps be improper to give a succinct relation of
the booty we got here, and of the loss the Spaniards sustained. I have
before observed that there were great quantities of valuable effects in
the town, but as most of them were what we could neither dispose of nor
carry away, the total amount of this merchandize can only be rudely
guessed at. The Spaniards, in their representations sent to the Court
of Madrid (as we were afterwards assured) estimated their whole loss at
a million and a half of dollars, and when it is considered that no
small part of the goods we burnt there were of the richest and most
expensive species, as broad cloths, silks, cambricks, velvets, etc., I
cannot but think their valuation sufficiently moderate. As to
ourselves, the acquisition we made, though inconsiderable in comparison
of what we destroyed, was yet far from despicable, for the wrought
plate, dollars, and other coin which fell into our hands, amounted to
upwards of £30,000 sterling, besides several rings, bracelets, and
jewels, whose intrinsic value we could not then determine; and over and
above all this, the plunder which became the property of the immediate
captors was very great, so that upon the whole it was by much the most
important booty we met with upon that coast.
There remains still another matter to be related, which on account of
the signal honour which our national character in those parts has
thence received, and the reputation which our commodore in particular
has thereby acquired, merits a distinct and circumstantial discussion.
It has been already observed that all the prisoners taken by us in our
preceding prizes were here put on shore and discharged, amongst whom
there were some persons of considerable distinction, especially a youth
of about seventeen years of age, son of the vice-president of the
Council of Chili. As the barbarity of the buccaneers, and the artful
use the ecclesiasticks had made of it, had filled the natives of those
countries with the most terrible ideas of the English cruelty, we
always found our prisoners, at their first coming on board us, to be
extremely dejected, and under great horror and anxiety. Particularly
{190} this youth whom I last mentioned, having never been from home
before, lamented his captivity in the most moving manner, regretting,
in very plaintive terms, his parents, his brothers, his sisters, and
his native country, of all which he was fully persuaded he had taken
his last farewel, believing that he was now devoted for the remaining
part of his life to an abject and cruel servitude. Indeed his
companions on board, and all the Spaniards that came into our power,
had the same desponding opinion of their situation. Mr. Anson
constantly exerted his utmost endeavours to efface these terrifying
impressions they had received of us, always taking care that as many of
the principal people among them as there was room for should dine at
his table by turns, and giving the strictest orders, too, that they
should at all times, and in every circumstance, be treated with the
utmost decency and humanity. But notwithstanding this precaution, it
was generally observed that the first day or two they did not quit
their fear, suspecting the gentleness of their usage to be only
preparatory to some unthought-of calamity. However, being at length
convinced of our sincerity, they grew perfectly easy in their
situation, and remarkably chearful, so that it was often disputable
whether or no they considered their being detained by us as a
misfortune. For the youth I have above mentioned, who was near two
months on board us, had at last so far conquered his melancholy
surmises, and had taken such an affection to Mr. Anson, and seemed so
much pleased with the manner of life, totally different from all he had
ever seen before, that it is doubtful to me whether, if his own opinion
had been asked, he would not have preferred a voyage to England in the
_Centurion_ to the being set on shore at Paita, where he was at liberty
to return to his country and friends.
This conduct of the commodore to his prisoners, which was continued
without interruption or deviation, gave them all the highest idea of
his humanity and benevolence, and induced them likewise (as mankind are
fond of forming general opinions) to entertain very favourable thoughts
of the whole English nation. But whatever they might be disposed to
think of Mr. Anson before the capture of the _Teresa_, their veneration
for him was prodigiously increased by his conduct towards those women
whom (as I have already mentioned) he took in that vessel: for the
leaving {191} them in the possession of their apartments, the strict
orders given to prevent all his people on board from approaching them,
and the permitting the pilot to stay with them as their guardian, were
measures that seemed so different from what might be expected from an
enemy and an heretick, that the Spaniards on board, though they had
themselves experienced his beneficence, were surprized at this new
instance of it, and the more so as all this was done without his ever
seeing the women, though the two daughters were both esteemed handsome,
and the youngest was celebrated for her uncommon beauty. The women
themselves, too, were so sensible of the obligations they owed him for
the care and attention with which he had protected them, that they
absolutely refused to go on shore at Paita till they had been permitted
to wait on him on board the _Centurion_, to return him thanks in
person. Indeed, all the prisoners left us with the strongest
assurances of their grateful remembrance of his uncommon treatment. A
Jesuit in particular, whom the commodore had taken, and who was an
ecclesiastick of some distinction, could not help expressing himself
with great thankfulness for the civilities he and his countrymen had
found on board, declaring that he should consider it as his duty to do
Mr. Anson justice at all times; adding that his usage of the men
prisoners was such as could never be forgot, and such as he could never
fail to acknowledge and recite upon all occasions: but that his
behaviour to the women was so extraordinary, and so extremely
honourable, that he doubted all the regard due to his own
ecclesiastical character would be scarcely sufficient to render it
credible. Indeed we were afterwards informed that he and the rest of
our prisoners had not been silent on this head, but had, both at Lima
and at other places, given the greatest encomiums to our commodore; the
Jesuit in particular, as we were told, having on his account
interpreted in a lax and hypothetical sense that article of his church
which asserts the impossibility of hereticks being saved.
Nor let it be imagined that the impressions which the Spaniards hence
received to our advantage is a matter of small import; for, not to
mention several of our countrymen who have already felt the good
effects of these prepossessions, the Spaniards are a nation whose good
opinion of us is doubtless of more consequence than that of all the
world {192} besides, not only as the commerce we had formerly carried
on with them, and perhaps may again hereafter, is so extremely
valuable, but also as the transacting it does so immediately depend on
the honour and good faith of those who are intrusted with its
management. However, had no national conveniences attended it, the
commodore's equity and good temper would not less have deterred him
from all tyranny and cruelty to those whom the fortune of war had put
into his hands. I shall only add, that by his constant attachment to
these humane and prudent maxims he has acquired a distinguished
reputation amongst the Creolian Spaniards, which is not confined merely
to the coast of the South Seas, but is extended through all the Spanish
settlements in America; so that his name is frequently to be met with
in the mouths of most of the Spanish inhabitants of that prodigious
empire.
{193}