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.
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 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.
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 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.
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--Spain.
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 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--in fact the old claim of Spain
to the whole of America must be finally abandoned.
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.
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, 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.
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 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.
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--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 hunt wild cattle and horses, be
given the privilege of mining except for gold and silver, and freedom
from taxes for three years.
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"--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.
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 presence 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.
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.
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 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.
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--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 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.
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--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.
[Illustration]
VII.
THE PLANTERS AND THEIR SLAVES.
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.
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 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--More servants! More slaves! More coolies!
[Illustration: A SURINAM PLANTER.
(_From Stedman's "Surinam."_)]
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--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.
When the cry for labourers came over the Atlantic--even before the
extermination of the natives--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, and praised alone by
those whose very livelihood depended upon it.
[Illustration: A NEGRO FESTIVAL.
(_From Edwards' "West Indies."_)]
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.
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. 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.
[Illustration: VOYAGE OF THE SABLE VENUS.
(_From Edwards' "West Indies."_)]
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--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.
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 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.
[Illustration: SLAVES LANDING FROM THE SHIP.
(_From Stedman's "Surinam."_)]
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.
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 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.
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.