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.
Du Casse settled down as Governor of the French part of Hispaniola,
which by this time had been 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.
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 L50,000, 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.
While remaining in Surinam Cassard sent three vessels to Berbice, which
was easily captured, and for which a ransom of three hundred thousand
guilders (L25,000) 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 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.
Now came the most curious part of this transaction. The two hostages
died, and the proprietors refused to pay the draft--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--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--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.
Meanwhile Cassard had captured St. Eustatius, and exacted a large
ransom. From thence he resolved to proceed to Curacao, the great
stronghold of the Dutch, and the depot for goods used in the contraband
traffic with the Spanish colonies. Here 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.
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 manoeuvre 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 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.
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.
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 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--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.
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.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
IX.
THE STRUGGLE FOR THE DARIEN TRADE.
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 conceivable to those
who saw it as a "sleepy hollow" during the _tiempo muerto_, the dead
time, as it was called.
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 _Plaza_ 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 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 _tiempo
muerto_ ruled until the following year.
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--it might be a hundred miles away--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.
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 bridle track. There was, however, a side to the question
which probably influenced them--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.
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.
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.
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 L2,000 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.
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.
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 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--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.
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--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--now it was revealed and opened to Scottish
enterprise. Let them enter and take possession of this promised land,
and build a new city--a new Edinburgh, like Alexandria of old, which
grew to prodigious wealth and power from its position on another
isthmus--to soon become famous as the new emporium of a new world.
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--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
L400,000. England also subscribed to the extent of L300,000, and Holland
and Hamburg L200,000. Everything looked bright, and at last a concession
was obtained for the "Company of Scotland, trading to Africa and the
Indies."
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.
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.
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.
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'Escoces. It was an excellent harbour surrounded by high mountains,
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."
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
dysentery playing sad havoc, until those who remained were utterly
dispirited.
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.
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 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.