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.
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 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.
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 Gueiria,
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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."
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 Cumana they
were exposed to the burning 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.
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. Delicate Spanish ladies and little
children sometimes arrived--their pitiable condition causing an outflow
of sympathy from the planters, and a feeling of detestation for their
persecutors.
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.
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--a decision
to which the other revolted colonies came about the same time.
[Illustration]
XIV.
ABOLITION OF SLAVERY.
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 van by declaring it unlawful as early as
1792, but little impression was made until the nation most concerned
took action.
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 if
that were not enough, coffee also fell in price to an alarming extent.
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--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.
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
_anti-malarial_ 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.
The slaves diminished every year in the absence of additions from
outside, as the whites would have 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.
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--no other animal of his
live stock was of so much value. If a valuable horse 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 L20, 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.
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.
In every colony were numbers of free negroes and 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.
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. However, the
Registry Act was delayed for two years, to be ultimately passed in
January, 1817.
Towards the end of the last century a new class of men appeared in the
West Indies--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 that cruel punishment was never mentioned by the slaves as
an excuse for a revolt.
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.