Citation
An historical account of the black empire of Hayti

Material Information

Title:
An historical account of the black empire of Hayti
Creator:
Rainsford, Marcus, fl 1805
Place of Publication:
[London]
Publisher:
J. Cundee
Publication Date:
Language:
English
Physical Description:
xxiii, [1]. 467, [9] p. : 8 pl. (incl. front.) port., fold. map, facsim., plan. ; 28 cm.

Subjects

Subjects / Keywords:
History -- Haiti -- Revolution, 1791-1804 ( lcsh )
History -- Haiti ( lcsh )

Record Information

Source Institution:
University of Florida
Rights Management:
All applicable rights reserved by the source institution and holding location.
Resource Identifier:
000907756 ( ALEPH )
AEL6915 ( NOTIS )
02012395 ( LCCN )

Full Text













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AN


Nistorical account

OF THE


BLACK EMPIRE OF HAYTI:


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/PliAhdi n. //i A d /ir& err/,,u l idgji-bv J 7if y iiard L-WiAan, IPat'rnrtr &Wn-i















Listortcal account
OF THE


BLACK EMPIRE OF HAYTI:


TIE PRINCIPAL


COMPREHENDING A VIEW OF

TRANSACTIONS IN THE REVOLUTION


OF

SAINT DOMINGO;
WITH


ITS ANTIENT AND MODERN STATE.



BY

MARCUS RAINSFORD, EsQ.
LATE CAPTAIN THIRD WEST-INDIA REGIMENT,
,c. 'c.


Tros, Tyriusve, mihi nullo discrimine agetur."
VIRGiL.

On peut dire.avec v6rit6 qu'il y a peu de trails de barbarie qui
puissent leur (les noirs) 6tre imput6s."
DE CHARIMILLY.




ALBION PRESS PRINTED:
PUBLISHED BY JAMES CUNDEE, IVY-LANE, PATERNOSTER-ROW;
AND SOLD BY C. CHAPPLE, PALL MALL.


1805.








l t
Sn.
Crr~'*
















ADVERTISEMENT.


AS all that is necessary to preface the following work
will be found in the Introduction, nothing more is in-
tended in this place than to advertise the reader of some
circumstances which could not be so well communicated
under any other head.

The sedentary attention so necessary to the production of
a literary work, but ill comports with the character of a sol-
dier; this, with other temporary inconveniences, and
frequent migrations during their composition, will, it
is feared, give occasion for apology in regard to some
parts of the following sheets, where an inequality of
style and occasional confusion of persons are perceptible,
which must be attributed to the want of that tranquil-
lity, the desire of the enlightened in all ages, so neces-
sary to a correct view of men and things, and which
polishes-


_ ~__I q P~
__ I_











polishes, while it imparts the utmost reach of intellect.
A deficiency may, perhaps, be found in the part con-
fessedly compilation: but it may, at the same time, be
said, that to make a book nothing unnecessary is obtruded:
and the writer may truly assert, that he sat down to
write, what he thought, (and saw) not to think what he
should write."


It is pleasing to contemplate the kind attentions of
those who disinterestedly communicate what informa-
tion they possess. Of these, the writer would wish to
have mentioned many, who, with a delicacy equal to
their intelligence, refused to be thanked in public: yet he
resolves, without permission, to acknowledge his obliga-
tions to Admiral SMITH, whose local information, had
it not been for the distance between them, might have
conferred much more interest upon his work;----to
JOHN CAMPBELL, Esq. of his Majesty's navy, whose
name will be found hereafter, and whose absence at sea
he has never ceased to regret;---to WILLIAM CURTIS, Esq.
of Cavendish-square, for the liberal communication of his
plans, of which he is anxious to avail himself further, in
future;---to an AMERICAN resident, at St. Domingo, of
whose










whose assistance he was proud in that island: and to
another FRIEND to whom he is indebted for the highest
literary obligations.


The work is now committed to the indulgence of the
public with all its imperfections on its head;" if truth
be at all elucidated---if virtue derive one more friend
from its aid,---or policy, quitting the frail basis of expe-
dience, be further grounded on justice and humanity, the
writer will not have recorded, in the first empire of the
world, the simple annals of Hayti, in vain.


INTRO-



















INTRODUCTION.





IT has frequently been the fate of striking events, and particularly
those which have altered the condition of mankind, to be denied that
consideration by their cotemporaries, which they obtain from the
veneration of posterity. In their vortex, attention is distracted by the
effects; and distant society recedes from the contemplation of objects
that threaten a violation of their system, or wound a favourite preju-
dice. It is thus that history, with all the advantages of calm discus-
sion, is imperfect; and philosophy enquires in vain for the unre-
corded causes of astonishing transactions.

To remedy the evil in this enlightened era, the disquisitions of the
observer, and the relations of the traveller occur; but these are pe-
rused with the rapidity, with which they are necessarily made, and,
although they teach us what regards our own nature, impress no
other sense of the period described, than as relates to the fleeting ob-
jects of immediate import-furnishing, therefore, little more (if so
b much


_~_ F.---- ~I~IEI~PPIPP~IP~I4CPI_?_ls~~











INTRODUCTION.


much may always be expected) than frail documents for the judgment
of the future historian.


Such is precisely the case with the subject of the following pages.
The rise of the Haytian empire is an event which may powerfully affect
the condition of the human race; yet it is viewed as an ordinary suc-
cession of triumphs and defeats, interrupted only by the horrors of new
and terrible inflictions, the fury of the contending elements, and de-
structive disease, more tremendous than all.


It will scarcely be credited in another age, that philosophers heard
unmoved, of the ascertainment of a brilliant fact, hitherto unknown,
or confined to the vague knowledge of those whose experience is not
admitted within the pale of historical truth. It will not be believed,
that enlightened Europe calmly witnessed its contrasted brilliancy
with actions which, like the opaque view of night, for a sullen hour
obscured the dazzling splendour.


It is on ancient record,* that negroes were capable of repelling their
enemies, with vigour, in their own country; and a writer of modern



LEO ArRICANUs says, that the negroes between Senegal and Gambia, in Africa, (the
parts from whence slaves are, at present, supplied,) lived in the utmost innocence and simplicity,
till the armed Moors came among, and subjected them, teaching them afterwards their religion, and
the arts of life. About the fourteenth century, however, Heli Ischia, a native-negro, at the head
of his countrymen, turning their own arts against them, bravely expelled their Moorish conquerors.
This negro continued in power, and acted as king, leading them to several foreign wars, and
establishing them in power over a great extent of country.
6 date









INTRODUCTION,


date* has assured us of the talents and virtues of these people; but it
remained for the close of the eighteenth century to realize the scene,
from a state of abject degeneracy :-to exhibit, a horde of negroes
emancipating themselves from the vilest slavery, and at once filling the
relations of society, enacting laws, and commanding armies, in the
colonies of Europe.

The same period has witnessed a great and polished nation, not merely
returning to the barbarism of the earliest periods, but descending to
the characters of assassins and executioners ; and, removing the boun-
daries which civilization had prescribed even to war, rendering it a wild
conflict of brutes and a midnight massacre.

To attract a serious attention to circumstances, which consti-
tute an xera in the history of human nature and of martial affairs, is
the purpose of the present disquisition; which, it is hoped, will tend
to furnish an awful, yet practical lesson, as well as to excite and
gratify a laudable curiosity.

To this subject, the attention of the writer was peculiarly led, from
a long acquaintance with the West-Indies, and opportunities of
considerable observation of the colonies in that Archipelago. To
the French colony of St. Domingo, his notice was early and par-
ticularly attracted; several of his military friends were afterward


Adanson, Voyage a l'Afrique, 1749-53.
employed










INTRODUCTION.


employed on its shores, and ultimately an accident caused a per-
sonal visit; the information resulting from which, on account of
its subsequent effects, could not fail to be deeply impressed on his me-
mory.

Of Ilispaniola, or St. Domingo, there is no particular history, in any
language, similar to those of the British colonies, so ably executed by
Sir HANs SLOANE and others. The earliest accounts are incorporated
with the voyage of the great discoverer, his Spanish coadjutors, and
the legends of the missionaries. Of these the description of COLUM-
BUS, and that of PETER MAARTYR, are the most intelligent, while the
account of LAS CASAs is particularly interesting, and the History of
IHIERRERA acute and correct. That of VESPUCCI ought scarcely to be
named, in retribution for his injury to Columbus. After the establish-
ment of the French colony, when priests from the mother-country set-
tled upon the island, they furnished accounts of the establishment, and
of the manners of its inhabitants, generally interesting and cor-
rect; the most celebrated of these are by the Fathers Du PERS, CHAR-
LEVOIX, Du TERTRE, and LABAT. Neither are the accounts of the
Buccaniers (the first founders of the French colony), by themselves-
nor the observations of an anonymous writer in the HIistoire Generale
dcs Voiages,* without merit. From these sources, with the assistance
of the able compilation of the ABBE RAYNAL, and occasional re-
ference to the most polished of modern historians, Dr. ROBERTSON,
the facts with which the present work commences, are drawn.-


P Paris, 1759.
For










INTRODUCTION.


For the different light in which some incidents will appear, from
their authorities, as well as the opinions or sentiments which are occa-
sionally interspersed, the writer alone is answerable.


When the circumstances which ultimately led to the independence
of the island commenced, the first English work, exclusively, on St.
Domingo made its appearance ;" and, though in the form of a pam-
phlet, contained a correct account of facts, with no other fault than
an inflammatory style, easily imparted by such a subject at the period
it was written. Not long after, Mr. BRYAN EDWARDS, who had
been successful in a General History of the British Colonies in
the West-Indies, and who had intended to write a similar one of the
French colonie,- published a quarto volume on the subject, com-
prising all the information he could collect. This work, however,
although it contained documents of the most authentic kind, did not
increase Mr. Edwards's fame as an accurate writer; being, in point
of fact, as well as topographically, incorrect; it provoked a volume
of equal size in answer, from a gentleman, who, for many reasons,
was well acquainted with his subject; M. de CHARMILLY,:{: the com-
missioner empowered by a number of the colonists to offer a capitu-
lation of St. Domingo to Great Britain. Though replete with errors
arising from personal interest, and local prejudices, some facts are
furnished


An Inquiry into the Causes of the Insurrection in St. Domingo, 1792.
t- Hist. Survey. Preface.
.4 To MIr. Edwards he says, (in his Lettre en Refutation de son Ourrage sur St. Domniiguc"
You should have acknowledged, that all your information was derived from others, during a stay cf a
uyw











INTRODUC IrON.


furnished by both these writers which could not be obtained by any other
means. About the same time, there appeared at Paris, a work in two
small volumes, in the form of Letters, under the name of the Baron de
VWIMPFFEN ;" which, from external evidence, appear to be a collection
of facts, arranged in an agreeable manner, on a subject occupying the
attention of the French public, at the time. Whether it were or not
a real voyage, among a variety of observations calculated to suit a
temporary purpose, there are some that deserve a much better cha-
racter. To these were added in France, a short time after, a work
containing some authentic facts in a memoir of Toussaint, and a life
of that great man, distorted for the purposes of party, by a popular
writer, Du BRocAs. The Remarks of Colonel CHALMERS, in Eng-
land, succeeded ; from whose experience and local opportunities much
was to be expected." Of these, with a variety of private documents
obtained from an extensive and intelligent correspondence, the writer
has



few weeks only, in a time of general disorder, shut up in the town of the Cape; while the inhabi-
tants of the colony, and even the city, were divided into different parties; and that you could not
speak the French language, or very badly."
Il fallait dire-' Pendant un sdjour de quelques semaines seulement que j'ai demeuri enfermd
dans la ville du Cap, aussit6t apres la rdvolte des negres en 1791, j'ai rassembl] dans un teams de
desordre et de troubles, les important materiaux qui m'ont servi:-' que vous aviez rien vu par
vous-IemnIe,'" &c.
IM. de CL mi iill, at the same time, views the conquest of St. Domingo by the English as very
easy-ridicules the idea of the blacks ever attaining any force, and hangs the fate of the whole of
the Antilles on the prosecution of his favorite project.
It is amusing to see the confidence with which the subjugation of St. Domingo constantly in-
spired iis advocates. Col. Chalmers, in other respects, a well-informed soldier and gentleman,
is incautious enough to have the following assertion in his preface:---" The late events in St. Do-
mingo











INTRODUTCTION.


has availed himself, in his third and fifth chapters, in a way, he trusts,
neither injurious to their authors, nor unacceptable to the public.


Two other works have arisen out of the subject more recent than
the foregoing, which deserve to be mentioned: that of M. d'AR-
CHENHOLTZ on the Buccaniers, published in Germany; and Mr. DAL-
LAS'S English History of the Maroons, furnished from the materials of
their superintendent, Mr. Quarrel, of Jamaica. On the former, while
it furnishes illustrations of human nature, little dependence is to be
placed in point of historical fact; for it follows the Spanish accounts
of the people of whom it treats, and conveys an obvious calumny on
their most respectable members.* From the latter, some inferences
are to be drawn, applicable to the subject of this volume, though the
source, enveloped in interest, and the prejudice inseparable from a fa-





mingo have been much misunderstood, or highly exaggerated : he trusts that he has clearly proved
that the temporary misfortunes sustained by France were occasioned by her impolicy, cruelty, or
other causes, totally independent of the power of her black enemies, whose strength, as stated, is
utterly inadequate to render them independent of that empire, or of any other much less formidable
power. If so, it is humiliating to hear senators gravely pronounce that France has lost St. Domingo."
The colonel adds, from Homer,---
To few, and wonderous few, has Heaven assigned
A wise, extensive, all-considering mind !"
Of the intrepid, generous, and intelligent Morgan (among others), M. d'Archenholtz asserts,
" The horrors he committed are more dreadful than those of any of his colleagues. This monster
filled the highest posts in the (British) state, and enjoyed with perfect security that enormous wealth
which had cost the tears and blood of so many victims to his avarice, without suffering the smallest
remorse to approach his hardened heart i"
vourite











INTRODUCTION,


vourite project, is not so pure as could be wished on such an import-
ant occasion.


To the abstracts of these works may be added a variety of temporary
productions (including the foreign and English public journals), to
which proper reference has been had, with the caution necessary for
consulting such an heterogeneous mass of materials. Thus, no cor-
rect or comprehensive account, has been given in our language, of
this interesting country; even those who have enlightened the public
mind on other great occasions, falling in with the general apathy,
have forborne on this wonderful revolution.*


To supply this omission, in a small degree, the writer, on a former
occasion,t submitted to the public his ideas in a crude and imperfect
state; and the attention they received from some intelligent minds,
afforded sufficient proof, that the public only required to be roused
to entertain the considerations they suggested; while the adoption
of his humble narrative in the journals of those countries that




From this censure, however, must be excepted Mr. Cobbett, (the author of the Political Re-
gister) uwho has in more than this instance deserved the character he has obtained of an enlightened
politician.
t In the winter of 1801-2.
t Sec The Merchant," a respectable paper published in Rotterdam in the beginning of
802;, &c. &c.
might










INTRODUCTION. xvii

might be supposed to possess the priority of information, .vinces the
necessity of such a communication as the present.*

In it, will be found a succinct, and he trusts candid, view of the
early history of the Spanish colony, in which the impolicy of cru-
elty, and the errors of injustice, are e-posed, in preference to any
national prejudice, or habit. The same ideas are continued, regarding
the French establishment; and a reference to human nature is prefer-
red, when considering the character of those, whose actions of
terrific splendour could be tried by no other test. In regard to the
height of the French colonial prosperity, he has not dilated the ac-
count by so minute a view of their domestic life as by some might be
wished; but, in what is necessary to give a correct idea of manners
and conduct, it is hoped no deficiency will appear. In any case
where the question of slavery interferes, considering the subject on a
broad basis, without regard to party, he has shewn its general inex-
pediency, rather than scrutinized its measures. And in tracing the
revolutionary spirit to its source, he has endeavoured to point out
moral delinquency without any other expression of rigidity than that
which arose from the subject itself. In contemporary history, that ha-
zardous, and perhaps invidious enterprise, he has rather adopted those
facts, wherever such could be found, which have already received the
common consent, than obtruded his own, in their place; and where
the latter are of necessity introduced, they have been scrupulously


See also The Monthly," and other Reviews of this period.
c examined










xviii INTRODUCTION.

examined and confirmed. His own sojourn at Cape Francois and Fort
Dauphin is the unaffected tale of a way-worn soldier,* experienced in
the cross-roads of life, equally happy in the hospitality of an Indian
cottage, or that of a magnificent empire-yet not regardless of -each
exclusive excellence, nor appropriating that of the one, to the other,
tr denying either. With regard to the transactions of the Black Re-
public (the appellation first given to the black government by the
author), great care has been used to obtain the medium of truth be-
tween a variety of conflicting accounts; and, for the better com-
prehending their direct intent and views, much attention has been paid
to give in the translation of their public papers, their original spirit.


Of one prominent subject of the present volume, it is painful to
speak-yet an application to the general reader is necessary, as well
as an apology to the sensibility of that sex, which the author would
be much afflicted to forego-for the representations of cruelty, which
will, he trusts, prevent such another violation of the human cha-
racter. He is also desirous to avoid the appearance of enlarging on a
subject which regards a country against whom his own is in hostilities.
It must, therefore, be recollected, that it was during the peace which
afforded an opportunity for the commission of crimes against human
nature, of which he complains, that he first attacked the expedition
against St. Domingo, and the immediate recourse to the assistance of
the ferocious animals, which were surpassed by the cruelty of those,


The writer, at the time of his first publication, had been twcenty-Jour years an officer in his
"V .'i:st' s service.









INTRODUCTION.


by whom they were employed. Mere description conveys not with so
much force as when accompanied by graphic illustration, those horrors
which are wished to be impressed upon the public rind. The exist-
ence of blood-hounds in the Spanish settlements in America, though
disgraceful to the nation by which it is permitted, may yet continue,
without any effect more extensive than with regard to the colonists, or
their visitants; but the practice of, and terrible reference to, the savage
custom of a barbarous age (only employed exclusively against the worst
criminals) in a European army, is a subject of the most alarming
kind. That every public exhibition of even the forms of cruelty is pro-
ductive of dangerous effects on the human mind, cannot be denied,
and should be avoided; what then must be the callous insensibility
produced on a soldier by circumstances such as are here delineated?
It is reducing the heroism of war to a base contrivance of death.
This cautionary memorial records the first step; it is for the public
only, by marking it with a general sentiment of detestation, to pre-
clude another and more dreadful, because more extensive, employ-
ment of the means. Such measures increase upon those who adopt
them by insensible gradations, and once admitted, may extend even
beyond their own intentions. The modern art of war is already
removed to- a sufficient distance from the magnanimity of ancient
combat. Let not the breach be rendered wider by adoptions such
as these.


_____ _______.._ __ __~__I















CONTENTS.


CHAP. I.


A SUCCINCT historical View of the Colonies of His-
paniola and St. Domingo, from the Discovery of
Hayti, by Columbus, to the Height of their Pros-
perity in 1789 - - -


PAGE




1-94


CHAP. II.

Origin of the Revolutionary Spirit of this Period in
St. Domingo - - - 95-108

CHAP. III.

Account of the Progress and Accomplishment of the
Independence of St. Domingo - 109-212


CHAP. IV.


State of Manners on the Independence of the Blacks
in St. Domingo, ,wth a. memoir of the Circum-
stances of the Author's Visit to the Island in 1799


2103-200

CHAP.


I ~_









CONTENTS.


PAGE
CHAP. V.

View of the Black Army, an the ac r, and the War between the
French Republic and the independent Blacks of St.
Domingo - ----- -9--357


CHAP. VI.

On the Establishment of a Black Empire, and the pro-
bable Efects of the Colonial Rcv'olution - 358-364





APPENDIX.

No. I. Letter of the Abbe Gregoire to the Citizens of Colour
in the French West-Indies - 367
II. Principles of the first General Assembly of St. Do-
mingo - - 377
III. Dying Testimony of Oge against the Insurgent 383
IV. Terms of Capitulation proposed by the Inhabitants of
Grande Anse, 4-c. to Mlajor-General Williamson 391
V. Honorable Dispatch of Chevalier De Sevrcr to Colo-
nel Whiitlock - -- - 395
VI. Account of M. de Charmilly - - 398
VI. LDo.,,nents illustrative of the Character and anne rs
of Toussaint L'Ouverture - - 44

VIII. Extract


xxii











CONTENT.&


PAGE
VIII. Extract from the Author's former Work - 408
IX. First Colonial Regulation of the Captain-General Le
Clerc ------ -------- 416
X. An account of the Nature and History of the Blood-
hounds used in the American Colonies - 423
XI. First colonial Regulation issued during the Government
of Rochambeau - - - 430
XII. Documents respecting the Evacuation of St. Domingo
by the French Army under Rochambeau - 431
XIII. Declaration of the Independence of the Blacks of St.
Domingo ---- - ----- 439
XIV. Proclamation for a solemn Abjuration of the FI, ich
Nation -- - -------442
XV. Communication of the Intentions of the Black Govern-
ment on the Appointment of a Governor-General for Life 447
XVI. Caution to the Spaniards - -- 453
XVII. Program issued on the Coronation of the first Em-
peror of Hayti -- - -------456
XVIII. Statement of the Black Force at the Revolution 459
XIX. Additional Remarks - - 460


XXiii





























ERRATA.


Page 28, line 19, erase their;" after clergyman," insert who.
p. 40, 1. 16, erase "of whom I am about to speak."
p. 42, 1. 20, for it," read Tortuga.
p. 45, 1. 18, erase truly gallant."
p. 83, 1. 8, for confined," read conferred.
p. 101, 1. 11, for I am considering this subject," read this subject is now considered.
p. 107. 1. 21, begin Thus concludes.
p. 112, insert March 8, as a side-note opposite the resolution of the assembly.
p. 121, 1. 20, after armed," insert indirectly.
p. 139, 1. 7, after society substitute the following sentence: Mr. Edwards's account is here quoted as
the most authentic."
p. 168, 1. 7, for disinclined," read inclined.
---- 1. 23, for the government afforded," read, the Spanish government refused to afford.
p. 202, 1. 16, for became," read becoming.
-- 1. 21, for its possessors," read the conquerors.
p. 203, 1. 13, before government," insert the British.
p. 245, 1. 24, erase perhaps."
p. 265, 1. 2, for the same month," read of January, when.
p. 276, 1. last, after sons," insert dressed in the uniform of his enemies.
p. 311, 1. 22. before weakness," insert mental,
p. 328, 1. 17, erase period of."
p. 324, 1. 6, for its," read his.


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SUCCINCT HISTORICAL


VIEW OF ST. DOMINGO.





CHAP. I.

From the Period of its Discovery, by Columbus, to its highest State
of Prosperity in 1789.


HAYTI, Hispaniola, or St. Domingo, the largest and most CHAP. .
valuable of the West India Islands, is situated in the Atlantic 1492.
ocean, between the island of Porto Rico on the east, and Jamaica Situation of
and Cuba on the west; a small part of the rocks and shelvestomio.
which form the Bahama islands lie at no great distance to the
north; and it is bounded on the south by the Caribbean sea,
and ultimately by the continent of South America. It lies in
the latitude of 18 deg. 20 min. north, and in 68 deg. 40 min.
west longitude from Greenwich. It is in length, according to the
best accounts, more than 450 miles from east to west, and 150 in
breadth.









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


CHAP. I. This beautiful island was the sixth discovered by the enter-
1ao. prising and unfortunate Columbus in his progress towards the
discovery of a new world, of the honor of which, in the appro-
priation of a name, he was to be deprived by the caprice of his
contemporaries, in favor of an obscure adventurer, of no other
merit in the discovery, than that of having trodden in his steps*.
It was the first on which he formed a settlement, or made any
stay in his first voyage, and appears to have afterwards received
the principal marks of his consideration. To it he was directed
by the natives of Cuba, where he had previously landed, as more
rich in its mines of that fertile ore with which it was necessary
to bribe the avarice of the Spaniards, to prolong that ardour of
discovery which it had cost him so much labour to excite.


Original Columbus first arrived at Hayti, for so this country was called
name,Hayti. by its natives, on the 6th day of December, 1492. He landed at

a small bay, which he called St. Nicholas, and then named the
Named by island Espagnola, in honor of the country by whose king he was
Columbus
Espagnola, employed: from thence he sailed along the northern coast till he
or Hispanio-
la. found a more convenient harbour, which he named Conception,
and where he first had access to the inhabitants, through the


When the prosecution of discoveries in Spain had fallen into the hands of private ad-
venturers, Alonzo de Ojcda, who had accompanied Columbus in his second voyage, was among
the first to propose an expedition under his own command. With this active and gallant
officer sailed Amerigo Vespucci, a Florentine gentleman, apparently of no ostensible cha-
racter whatever; but having framed a fraudulent narrative of his voyage with some elegance,
which formed the first description of any part of the new world, he obtained from its circu-
lation the honor of giving name to America.
2 means









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


means of a female whom his people overtook, and prepossessed in CHAP. .
their favor, by the usual means of trifling presents and gentle be- t14-.
haviour.


It is our wish to pursue in this place a sober narrative of fact,
rather than to give loose to the fas nationss of romantic description,
or else the early Spanish writers I ave handed down such accounts
of the aborigines of Cuba, Hispaniola, and Jamaica, as would Original
inhabitants.
warrant the most extravagant eulogy on their personal appearance,
manners, and ingenuity. It may, however, naturally be supposed
possessing the necessaries of life without labour, on a soil the
most fertile, and in a benignant climate, in a state of the utmost
simplicity, and consequently free from the general enemies to
beauty, they would have personal advantages not to be expected
in their descendants under the combined evils of slavery in a
voluptuous state. Even the rigidity of history has been softened
into the most pleasing descriptions of them: They appeared,"
says Robertson *, in the simple innocence of nature, entirely
naked, their black hair, long and uncurled, floated upon their
shoulders, or was bound in tresses around their heads.-They
had no beards, and every part of their bodies was perfectly smooth.
Their complexion was of a dusky copper colour; their features
singular, rather than disagreeable; their aspect gentle and timid;
though not tall, they were well shaped and active." The in-
dustry and ingenuity of this race," says another elegant writer,

Hist. of America, vol. i. 1. 2.
B 2 must








HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


CHAP. I. must have exceeded the measure of their wants. Placed in a
49~2. medium between savage life, properly so called, and the refine-
ment of polished society, they were perhaps equally exempt from
the bodily distresses and sanguinary passions of the former condi-
tions, and from the artificial necessities and solicitudes of the
latter." They were unquestionably the most unoffending, gentle,
and benevolent of the human race*.

That there were some grounds for a belief in the ingenuity
ascribed to them by Peter Martyr and others, as far as it related
Sa'i-;" "to their simple agriculture, and some progress in the arts of orna-
ment as well as utility, may, perhaps, be proved by a fact of
another nature which tends to illustrate the character of this
people, while it may afford a lesson to our own times;-would
that we could not say to our own country.


When, among the numerous disasters of Columbus, he was
wrecked on the eastern coast of the island, and if he had before
impressed the natives with admiration of the superior nature of
their visitors, was now placed in a situation the best calculated to
prove their natural equality, and even to tempt by an unlucky
opportunity any inclination to their injury, instead of the smallest
hostility. Guacanahari, the cazique, or king of this division of
their island, of which it appeared to be governed by seven, having
been informed of his misfortune, expressed great grief for his loss,

Hist. Jamaica, Dallas's Iist. vol. i. 23. t De Rebus Oceanis, &c.
and



0, -








HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


and immediately sent aboard all the people in the place in many CHAP. I.
large canoes; they soon unloaded the ship of every thing that 1492.
was upon deck, as the king gave them great assistance: "He Report of
them to his
himself," says Columbus, who records it, with his brothers and monarch by
Columbus.
relations, took all possible care that every thing should be pro-
perly done both aboard and on shore; and from time to time he
sent some of his relations weeping, to beg of me not to be dejected,
for he would give me all that he had. I can assure your High-
nesses," he adds, that so much care would not have been taken of
securing our effects in any part of Spain; as all our property was
put together in one place near his palace, until the houses which
he wanted to prepare for the custody of it were emptied; he
immediately placed a guard of armed men, who watched during
the whole night, and those on shore lamented as much as if they
had been interested in our loss*. They are supposed to have
migrated originally from the neighboring continent, and are
ascribed by Sir Walter R-aleigh to the Arrowauk tribe of Gui-
ana t.


Thus far we have preserved the necessary sobriety in collecting Description
of the coun-
a description of the first inhabitants of St. Domingo; but when try.
we come to speak of the territory itself, this caution ceases, for, no
description that we have yet seen is adequate to the appearance,


Letter of Columbus to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. See his Life in Churchill's
Voyages, as written by his younger son Ferdinand, an ecclesiastic, and founder of the Co-
lumbine Library at Seville; also Herrera's General History.
t Raleigh's Voyages.
even








HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


CHAP. I. even at the present day, of a country which requires all the aid of
1492. romance to imagine, much less to describe.-Of fertility, which it
requires but the fostering hand of man to guide to all the purposes
of life, and of a climate the most salubrious among the Antilles, and
in which longevity is general.-" In these delightful countries too,"
observes Robertson, Nature seemed to assume another form;
every tree and plant, and animal, was different from those of the
ancient hemisphere;"-Columbus boasted of having discovered
the original seat of Paradise.-" In these delightful vales," ex-
claims the Abbe Raynal*, all the sweets of spring are enjoyed,
without either winter or summer. There are but two seasons
in the year, and they are equally fine. The ground always
laden with fruit, and covered with flowers, realizes the delights
and riches of poetical descriptions. Wherever we turn our eyes,
we are enchanted with a variety of objects, coloured and reflected
by the clearest light. The air is temperate in the day time, and
the nights are constantly cool."-" In a country of such magni-
tude," says Edwards "diversified with plains of vast extent, and
mountains of prodigious height, is probably to be found every
species of soil which nature has assigned to all the tropical parts
of the earth. In general it is fertile in the highest degree, every
where well watered, and producing almost every variety of vege-
table nature and beauty for use, for food, and luxury, which the
lavish hand of a bountiful providence has bestowed on the richest
portion of the globe." The possessions of France in this noble


East and West Indies, vol. iv. 23 1. t Historical Survey, chap. 19.
island,"








HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


island," he continues, were considered as the garden of the CHAP. I
West Indies, and for beautiful scenery, richness of soil, salubrity, 1492.
and variety of climate, might justly be deemed thearadise of
the new world."-" What you have said," replies De Char-
milly*, animadverting on the preceding passage, is nothing
when it is known that the extent of the French part is but one
half of that of the Spanish division, and that this is yet more
fertile than the French part, reqirint nly cultivators, &c. Of
even such an account, when contemplating the various parts of
St. Domingo in which we have been, with an eye well ac-
customed to tropical scenery, and satiated with the luxury
natural to its soil, we could be almost inclined to say too, this is
nothing.

It is not to be wondered at, that the inhabitants should con-
sider the Spaniards, on their first interview, as preternatural
beings, a circumstance, however, very favorable to their inter-
course, and which might have been turned to more advantage
in a better purpose than that to which it was applied. They
possessed gold, which they found in the beds of the rivers, or
washed by the heavy rains from the mountains, and which
they gladly exchanged for bells, beads, or pins. A prince, or
cazique of the country, who visited Columbus, was carried in a
sort of seat upon mens' shoulders, and derived great respect from
his attendants. He was extremely courteous, and presented the


Lettre & M. Edwards, p. 70.
admiral









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


CHAP. I. admiral with many articles of curious workmanship, and received
1492. with complacency some trifles in return.


They had no idea of the imaginary value attributed by their
visitors to gold, and readily pointed out the mountains, which
yet retain their original name of Cibao, as the great repository
of the ore they so much desired.


Distresses of It was at this period that Columbus lost one of his ships
the great dis-
covere through the carelessness of a pilot, and experienced the tender-
ness which has been already mentioned. Of another of his ves-
sels out of three, he had procured no intelligence since his arrival,
and suspected some treachery in the captain who commanded it.
The third was of course insufficient to receive the whole of his
crew, and he was desirous to return to Spain. The simplicity of
the natives, and their terror from the incursions of the people who
inhabited several islands to the south east, whom they called
Caribbeans*, and who were of a very opposite character to
themselves, being fierce and warlike, and devouring the flesh of
their prisoners, gave confidence to Columbus, in the proposition
of leaving a part of his crew behind, which would embrace the
two advantages of forming a settlement on the island, and enable
him to return to Spain immediately. They agreed without a


M. de Charmilly constantly confounds the character of the inoffensive aborigines of St.
Domingo, with that of the Charaibs, or Cannibals, and of the African i. ,roes in their prc-
sent state of slavery, and thence draws deductions, which must consequently fall to the
ground.
murmur.









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


murmur, and even assistecLin the erection of a fort which was to
be afterwards used as a means of their own subjection.


CHAP. I.
L493.-


Thirty-eight Spaniards were appointed to remain on the island,
under the command of Diego de Arado, a gentleman of Cordova,
to whom Columbus communicated his own powers, and every
thing requisite for their establishment; having first endeavoured
very successfully to impress the natives in their behalf, by acts
of beneficence and exhibitions of power. He promised to revisit 1U4J.
them soon, and in the interim to make respectable mention of
them to their country. Columbus left the little colony on the Departure of
-. Columbus
th of January 1493, and arrived in Spaini in the month of March after esta-
blishing a
following, colony.


The departure of Columbus had not long taken place, when,
as too often happens, the garrison he had left behind grew
impatient of restraint, and threw off the command of their newly t
appointed governor. Regardless of the prudent instructions
which had been given them, the men who composed it became
insolently independent, and gratified their avaricious and licen-
tious desires at the expense of the natives, making a wastefil d
jey of their gold, their women, and their provisions; thus, in-
stead of supporting the estimation in which they were held,
exhibiting themselves as the most depraved of human beings.
At length the cazique of Cibao, w ose county the Spaniards
chiefly infested, cut off a part of the colonists, surrounded the The colony
destroyed.
remainder, and destroyed their fort. destroyed.
c Columbus


co
c1 i


W'o rr a 1
ol c ,


-1


~k~c-, ;D c-~d

~-1;-7 "
Iz/LC~-tC~j~4i- .


Ccc~xq/tcP
I ld~g










HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


ChAP. I. Columbus having employed himself for six months at the court
it>3. of Spain in receiving the rewards of his distresses, and in inter-
esting it in behalf of the splendid enterprise of which he was the
author, no sooner accomplished his aim, and procured a sufficient
fleet, under the papal sanction, on the part of the king of Spain,
than he became impatient to revisit his colony. He accordingly
departed on his second voyage, and after touching at several
'.~urn of other islands towards the north west of his route, arrived at His-
C.;uLu:nbLo
paniola on the 22d of November following.


His surprise may easily be conceived to find that his colony no
longer existed; and while the Spaniards in dismay were weeping
over the fate of their countrymen, a brother of the friendly cazique
Guacanahari arrived, and related to him the account of their fate.
--


Instead of wasting his time by a retaliation of injuries, Co-
ev ) lumbus set about the erection of a town, of which he traced the
site in a large plain, near a spacious bay. He obliged every
-f / f, person in his suite, of whatever quality, to assist in a work
S so necessary to the common safety. This City, the first which
'--vr~l h'it\ of I<- obtained that appellation in the new world, was named Isabella,
-wIe ----------" ------
in honor of his patroness the queen of Castile.


Columbus experienced all the difficulties attendant on an infant
colony, and a timely excursion in great pomp to the mountains
of Cibao, which they found to answer the description of the
Indians, in the possession of gold in considerable quantities, per-
haps









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


haps only saved the establishment from final ruin. As soon as
concord was restored by the prospect of the mines, Columbus
again purposed to leave his colony for the prosecution of new
discoveries. He appointed his brother Diego, with a council of
officers, to govern in his absence; and a body of soldiers, under
the command of Don Pedro Margarita, were sent to visit the
different parts of the island, and to establish the authority of the
Spaniards. He then set sail on the 24th of April, but after an
absence of five months, during which time he had not been dis-
tant many leagues, and had experienced the most disastrous cir-
cumstances, he returned almost dead to the colony, where he
found a brother Bartholomew, whom he had not seen for thirteen
years, who had arrived in his absence, and whose unexpected
appearance, after sustaining distresses scarcely inferior to his own,
so much revived his spirits as to produce a speedy convalescence *.


During the absence of Columbus, the soldiery under Margarita
had repeated the conduct of the first colony, while the necessities
even of abstemious Spaniards rendered them unwelcome neigh-
bours to a race who, requiring very little food to support a life
of indolence and innocence, made but proportional provisions
when any care was necessary. Maize, with a few vegetables,


Bartholomew Columbus had been dispatched by the great navigator to England, to
negociate with Henry VII. his project of discoveries, in case he should be disappointed in
Spain, as he had been in Portugal. On his voyage, the negotiator fell into the hands of
pirates, who stripped him, and retained him several years a prisoner. At length, having
escaped, he arrived in London, but in such poverty, that he was incapable of appearing at
court on his mission, till, by drawing maps for sale, in the execution of which he was very
ingenious, he procured decent clothing, and a moderate subsistence.
c 2 and


CHAP. I.
1494.


na^^-. ^










,Qz^ < 7
/9 /









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


CHAP. I. and very little, if any animal food, formed their only necessary
1404. stock, and on this a body of men fortifying themselves in towns,
must have made a formidable inroad. Famine, and the success
of their former revolt, with long repeated grievance, at length
provoked other attempts to rid themselves of the burthen, and
Columbus was compelled to have recourse to arms, which he
conflict with had hitherto with much solicitude avoided. The Indians were
tI e Indians,
March 24, defeated by their precipitance: instead of the mode natural to
14 9L5.
them, of drawing the enemy into their fortresses, they rushed
into an open plain, the Vega Real, and numbers being thrown
into consternation by the first appearance of European warfare,
the impetuosity of cavalry, (which they conceived, like the
Thessalonians, to be Centaurs,) and the fierce onset of the dogs*,
they yielded to Columbus an easy victory; and those who were
not taken prisoners,. and reduced to servitude, resigned them-
selves entirely to despair. Such was the disparity of power, that
though near an hundred thousand Indians took the field with
/ missile weapons of their rude fashion, the victory was obtained
0- r by two hundred foot, twenty horse, and twenty large dogs, which
S 2- formed the whole disposable force of the Spaniards.
\ 0 /y;
Columbus employed several months in passing through the
..... -__ monms I g
island to complete its subjection, and impose a tribute on all the
natives above the age of fourteen, which was one of the first
effects of a policy adopted against his own inclination to gratify
the avarice of the Spanish court, at which he was attempted to be

Of the mode of introducing these combatants into Spanish tactics, some account will
be found in a future chapter,
undermined,









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


undermined, and which proved afterwards, however moderately CHAP. I.
used by himself, a means of tyranny and cruelty in the hands of 1494.
others. This taxation was an insurmountable infiingment on Origin of the
Slavery of the
the habits of the Indians, to whom restraint on labour was an natives.
intolerable evil. It induced an attempt at another kind of hosti-
lity, that of starving the appetites of the Spaniards, on the grati-
fication of whose voracity they conceived so much to depend.
They pulled upthe roots, and suspended all their simple agricul- 15s.
tural operations, and retiring to inaccessible mountains, they pro-
duced in themselves the effects they vajnly hoped to produce in
their usurpers. Few as were their wants, they were soon totally
unsupplied, and more than a third part became victims to their
self-created famine.


It was at this time that divisions began to be created in the Columbus
undermined,
island through the intrigues of the enemies of Columbus in andAguado
sent commis-
Spain; they procured one Aguado, a groom of the bed-chamber, sionerto His-
paniola.
to be sent commissioner to Hispaniola, who displayed all the
insolence of mean minds disordered by sudden elevation. To
relieve himself, and obtain an explanation with his enemies before
his monarch, Colum u returned_.tLSpain, leaving his brother 14o. i -
Bartholomew as adelantado, or lieutenant-governor, and through
a misplaced trust, appointing Francis Roldan, a gentleman of
rank and character, chief justice.


Though as usual experiencing difficulties in his passage, he so Columbus
visits Spain,
far gained over Ferdinand and Isabella, as to obtain further pro- and returns
with a fleet
visions of colonists,









HISTORY OF ST. DOf' i;\'O.


CHAP. visions for his colony, in a digested plan, and on a more perma-
14!8. nent and extensive scale. Women, artificers, and iurbandmen,
After disco-
vering the were joined to the new expedition, but, as all Lis acquisitions
American
continent, received some alloy, to these were unadvisedly added the crimi-
14i S.
nals fiom the jails, that fatal resource for population which has
so often miscarried. It was almost two years, however, before
Columbus set out on his third voyage, and several months after
before lie returned to H-ispaniola, having in the interim discovered
thecotinent of America, the crown of all his enterprises, uanl
of all his sorrows. lie returned weary and sick, but lie found
------^- -S---- ---
the colony in a state that admitted of no repose.


Don Diego Columbus had, at the desire of his brother, during
his absence, removed the colony to a more eligible station on
the opposite side of the island, where he had founded a city,
Capital of which he dedicated to St. Domingo, or Dominica, in honor of
St. Domingo
built. the name of his father, and which remained so long the seat of
Spanish dominion in the new world.


11o19. Restless spirits will sometimes be found, however inconsist-
ently, in the highest stations, and political troubles arise from very
unexpected sources; such was the case with Roldan, whose ap-
pointment was to have preserved peace and order; and, when
Diego had reduced to subjection what remained of the island
unsubdued by his brother, this man excited rebellion among his
countrymen, and even the Indians, with such artifices, as caused
the most alarming effects, and was only quelled by the temperate,
conciliatory,










HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


conciliatory, and expedient policy of Columbus. Of the bad CHAP. L
consequences of this restoration of tranquillity, however, was the 14'"
re-establishment of Roldan, and a concession to the avarice of
the Spaniards, which was the firsstep in reducing the Indians to
actual slavery. Lands being allotted to the mutineers in different
parts of the island, the Indians of the district were appointed, in
lieu of their tribute, to cultivate a certain portion of ground for
the use of their new masters, from the characters of many of
whom may be easily derived the origin of numberless calamities
to that unhappy people.


Of the mutiny, the effects were by no means terminated in
appearances, the progress of discovery was stopped, and such false
representations were made by his opponents, that a knight of 1500.
Calatravia, called Francis de Bovadillo, was sent to supersede Boradillo
appointed
Columbus, and by means known only to courts, to send him governor.
immediately a criminal in chains to Spain. Thus closed the fif-
teenth century in St. Domingo, a period which, while it saw the
founder of an empire disgraced and wretched, afforded a better
prospect to the colony than had hitherto appeared. Such provisions
had been made for working the mines, and cultivating the country,
as assured not only its existence, but a considerable revenue to the
monarch, who suffered Columbus to be circumvented and abused.


Bovadillo proceeded, as might be expected, to render himself
popular, by gratifying the entire inclinations of his countrymen.
He numbered all the remaining Indians, and dividing them into
classes,










HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


CHAP. I. classes, distributed them as property among the Spaniards, who,
1300. disregarding the only true means of obtaining wealth by agricul-
ture, sent them to the mines, and imposed on them such a dispro-
portioned labour as threatened their utter and speedy extinction.

To prevent this dreadful event, and preserve the shew of de-
cency to the world, on the arrival of Columbus in Spain, and his
appeal to the justice of Ferdinand, another knight of the military
order of Alcantara, Nicholas de Ovando, was sent to replace
o0i1. Bovadillo. Regulations were adopted to prevent the licentious
Orando go- spirit which had arisen in the colony under his government; and,
vernor.
to check the inordinate progress of wealth, the gold was ordered to
be all brought to a smelting-house, where one half should become
the property of the crown. Columbus remained in Spain many
months soliciting attention in vain, till his proposition of anm
attempt at discoveries to the east was accepted; and he sat out
on his fourth voyage in May, 1502.


Ovando brought to St. Domingo the most respectable arma-
ment hitherto seen in the new world, consisting of thirty-two ships,
with two thousand five hundred settlers. On his arrival, Bovadillo,
with Roldan and his accomplices, were ordered to return to Spain.


Columbus having experienced some inconvenience from one
of his vessels, altered the course in which he steered, and bore
away for St. Domingo, with a hope of exchanging it for some
ship of Ovando's fleet; eighteen of which, however, he found
3 laden,









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


laden, and preparing to depart for Spain. He requested permis- CHAP. I.
sion to enter the harbour, (first acquainting Ovando with his 150o.
destination,) that he might negotiate an exchange, and avoid a
violent hurricane that he saw approaching, and which he advised
the departing fleet also to avoid. To neither of these objects did Columbusre.
fused admis-
he obtain an acquiescence. He, however, took precautions sion to the
island of his
against the tempest, and saved himself, while nearly the whole own disco.
very.
of the eighteen ships of his enemies were lost. In them perished
Bovadillo, Roldan, and the greater part of those who had per-
secuted Columbus and the Indians, with the whole of their ill- Jo .
gotten wealth, amounting in worth to upwards of fifty thousandc2 o o-.
podssterling; a sum at that time equal to many multiplica.
tions of its value at present.


Columbus did not long remain on the inhospitable shore of
a country to which he was refused access, by those who owed to
him entirely its possession, but prosecuted his voyage in the
fruitless hope of discovering the Indian ocean.


In the mean time Ovando, who had received a commission 1503.
more favorable to humanity than his predecessors, relieved the
Indians from compulsory toil, and the colony, though retarded
by deficiency of labourers, began to advance in its approaches
to a regular society; but, alas! in no instance is the constant
variance between justice and expedience in what is called the
social state to be more regretted than in the present. The
Spaniards became incapable, without the assistance of the inha-
D bitants,










HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


CHAP. I. bitants, (which no inducement could procure) to cultivate the
1503. soil, or to work the mines, and many of the new settlers died of
disorders incident to the climate, not yet understood, while
others quitted the island when deprived of their slaves. These
1o04. circumstances demanded some attention, and the consequence
once more returned to the unoffending Indians.


Columbus Columbus, persevering through misfortune, this year again paid
again visits
St. Domingo. a visit to his favorite isle, after having been not only unsuccessful
in his attempt at farther discoveries, but a sufferer by complete
shipwreck, and detained near twelve months in the island of
Jamaica, which he had discovered nine years before, but of
which no farther notice had been taken. Ovando appears to
have been cautious of admitting into the country, under his
government, a man of such vast powers, and to whom belonged,
by the most determinate of all rules, the dominion of a world
he had found: he at length, however, furnished the means for
his escape, and received him with every public honor on his
arrival at St. Domingo.


He remained only a month upon the island; with his usual
ill-fortune, encountering violent storms, sailed seven hundred
leagues with jury-masts on his way to Spain, where, exhausted
by his sufferings, and disgusted with the dissimulation and injus-
tice of a monarch whose reign he had immortalized, he died
fifteen months after*, aged fifty-nine years. It is useless to

On the 20th of May, 1506.
lament









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


lament in this place the melancholy end of a man whose me- CHAP. I.
mory is eternized. The recollection of it rather communicates 1504.
a balm to the sorrows of inferior multitudes; and the details of
history will apply the event with advantage to the instruction of
future ages.

A few months before Columbus, died his patroness Isabella;
so that a powerful influence was withdrawn fiom the interests
of humanity, as they regarded the new world; and as Ovando 1505.
began to experience the ill effects of a liberal conduct, he began
also to relax in the execution of the royal edicts. He made a
new distribution of the Indians among the Spaniards, with the
difference only, that they were to be paid for their labour,
reduced the royal share of the gold to one third, and afterwards
to a fifth part; for which he obtained, (with better success than
Columbus,) the sanction of the court.

Notwithstanding the apparent mildness of the present gover-
nor, it was at this period that the rage for cruelties commenced cruelty of
which have stained the page of history with more horrors than rdss tohe
can be conceived by those possessing even an ordinary love for Indians.
the species. No treachery was too gross, no violation of sex or
dignity too painful for this unhappy people in the hands of the
Spaniardst all regulations tending to mitigate the rigour of their
servitude were forgotten, while their labour was increased. Fer-
dinand conferred grants of them as rewards to his courtiers,
j) 2 who










HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


CHAP. I. who farmed them out, being no longer treated or considered
iss5. but as animals of an inferior species, of no other use than
as instruments of wealth, and I could almost say, subjects of
oppression. At their expence, however, the colony increased in
Flourishing riches and in consequence; for with such rapidity and success
state of the
colony, were the mines explored, that for several years the gold brought
into the royal smelting-house, amounted in value to more than
half a million sterling, (according to the present standard of
money). Sudden fortunes arose among private persons, which
tempted others to embrace the opportunity of enriching them-
selves both at the expense of health and reason; and the effect
1506. was for a time highly advantageous to the colonists, and to the
government of the mother country. Like the progress of a
conflagration, however, the blaze was short in proportion to
its extent. The same exertions which exhausted the unhappy
Indians enriched the Spaniards, both as related to the nature of
the operations, and to the government of Ovando, who is de-
scribed to have introduced much wisdom and justice into his
jurisdiction over his countrymen, but a proportionate rigour to-
wards the original inhabitants of the country.


Ovando first gave a permanence to the laws he had established
by executing them impartially, the only means of procuring re-
gard for any establishment. He seems also to have attended to
every object of advantage to the colony, and, among others,
endeavoured to turn the attention of some of the Spaniards to
the









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


the more laudable pursuits of agriculture. Having obtained from CHAP. I
the Canary Islands some slips of the sugar-cane, which throve 1506.
Culture of
exceedingly, he tempted them to form plantations, and to erect sugar intro-
duced.
sugar-works, which fortunately became an important support
when the bowels of the earth were exhausted. The conduct
and success of Ovando soon apprized Ferdinand of the value of
those discoveries, he had hitherto appeared to depreciate, and
on the author of which he had conferred only disgrace and
misery; he accordingly set about forming commercial and ec-
clesiastical regulations, and at length established a system of
policy the most profound, and every way calculated to secure to
Spain the entire advantages of her colonies.


While these provisions were taking place for its government, 1o07.
some circumstances began to make their appearance, for which,
however to be dreaded, no remedy could be found; and
therefore, notwithstanding all other advantages, immediately
threatened the dissolution of the colony. The consumption of
the natives, which was the natural consequence of the inconsi-
derate oppression of the Spaniards, (and in whom rested the
source of all their prosperity,) became so evident, as to afford
serious cause for alarm. Fatigue, to which they were unequal;
diseases, the result of an inattention to their change of habit;
famine, the effect of preferring so long the search of wealth in
the mines to agriculture; and self-violence, the consequence of
despair, conspired so forcibly, as to reduce their number upwards Rapid de-
crease of the
of 40,000 in the space of fifteen years, there remaining but about native popu-
Jation.
60,000










HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


CIIr. I. 60,000 out of more than a million, to which the original popu-
1507. lation amounted*.


This diminution continued with such rapidity, as to occasion
a stagnation not only of the colonial improvements, but of the
common operations of life, which demanded immediate relief,
and Ovando in consequence adopted an expedient which was
again the source of enormities that seemed to increase in propor-
tion to the progress of their society. The description will afford
a mild example of the temper and conduct experienced by the
simple, and benevolent beings of whom, Columbus, with an in-
genuousness natural to great minds, had spoken in such exalted
iso. terms to the Spanish court. He proposed to seduce the inha-
bitants of the Lucay Islands which had been previously dis-
covered, to Hispaniola, under the pretence that they might be
civilized with more facility, and instructed to greater advantage
in the Christian religion, if they were united to the Spanish


*- M. Charmilly, (Lettre h M. Edwards,) has a long, and, in some respects, sufficiently
accurate calculation, to prove the original diminutive population of St. Domingo, in op-
position to Mr. Edwards's general description of the massacre of a million of inhabitants.
Ile falls, however, as is usual with those influenced by a spirit of party, into self-contra-
dictions and inconsistency: for lie alludes to a perfect knowledge of the topographical
antiquities of the country, the existence of which he has proved to be impossible; and he
supposes his author to have believed in the instantaneous sacrifice of a million of persons
in the four chief mines of the country. General assertions are certainly distracting, and
Mr. Edwards is too frequently superficial; but in this instance he is perfectly right. It
is from Herrera, the most correct and intelligent of the Spanish historians, whom Dr.
Robertson has also adopted, that the fact in the present text is derived,, and not Oviedo,
to whose amplifications M. de Charmilly ascribes the supposed error. Benzoni states the
original population at two millions.
t The same with the Bahamas.
colony,











HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


colony, and placed under the immediate inspection of the mis- CHAP. I.
sionaries settled there." Ferdinand, deceived by this artifice, 1508.
or willing to connive at an act of violence which policy repre-
sented as necessary, gave his assent to the proposal. Several Natives of
the Lucayos
vessels were fitted out for the Lucayos, the commanders of seduced to
supply the
which informed the natives, with whose language they were now lbourer. of
well acquainted, that they came from a delicious country, in
which the departed ancestors of the Indians resided, by whom
they were sent to invite their descendants to resort thither to
partake of the bliss enjoyed there by happy spirits. That simple
people listened with wonder and credulity; and fond of visiting
their relations and friends in that happy region, followed the
Spaniards with eagerness. By this artifice above forty thousand
were decoyed into Hispaniola to share in the sufferings which
were the lot of the inhabitants of that island, and to mingle their
groans and tears with those of that wretched race of men*.


The ardour for discovery, which had languished during the
anxiety for the wealth of the mines, began to be renewed by an
expedition under Juan Ponce de Leon, (who commanded under
Ovando in the eastern district,) to the island of Puerto Rico,
which in a few years was subjected to the fate of Hispaniola.
Ovando also commissioned an officer, named Sebastian de Cuba and
Porto Rico
Ocampo, to ascertain the insular situation of Cuba, which explored by
expeditions
S- from St. Do-
mingo.
Hist. ofAmer. vol. i. p. 263. I have quoted this from Dr. Robertson, as the best and
most moderate description. His authorities are, Herrera, Dec. 1. lib. 7. c. 3.; Oviedo,
lib. 3. c. 6.; Gomara Mist. c. 41.
3 Columbus










HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


CHAP. I. Columbus had supposed to be a part of the neighboring con-
1508. tinent.


But though late and unexpected, by a perseverance the most
constant, a degree of justice was at length to be accorded to
Columbus in the person of his son Diego. Almost wearied out
Honor and in the courtly delay which had exhausted his father, he deter-
intcgrity of a
court ofjus- mined upon the bold alternative of an appeal against his monarch
tice.
to a council for Indian affairs, which he had himself established.
Unequal as the parties were, and recent as was its own existence,
the court honourably sustained its integrity, and determined on
the side of justice, even against the king: with this decision, and
the support of powerful connections, subsequently acquired by
marriage, he soon obtained (though but a partial concession of his
Diego, the rights) the government of St. Domingo, and such privileges as
sonofColum-
bus, restored enabled him to arrive in the island with more splendour and
to the govern-
ment. magnificence than had hitherto been witnessed: Ovando was of
course recalled. That splendour, and the numerous retinue with
which it was supported, while it added lustre to the settlement,
effected no other change to the unhappy aborigines, than the
seal of a more determinate slavery, by a numerical division of
0o. them among the Spaniards, according to the rank of the latter.


The destruction of the labourers proportionally decreasing the
produce of wealth to their masters, naturally excited an impa-
tience in those who had been glutted with wealth, and satiated
with dissipation. They had already began to contemplate other
4 countries,









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


countries, whose inhabitants were yet unexhausted; they had CHAP. I.
established a pearl-fishery at the small island of Cubagua, and lso.
lodged a small colony on the continent, at the gulf of Darien,
under the brave and enterprising, though as usual, unfortunate,
Vasco Nugnez de Balboa, when Diego Columbus made a propo-
sition to which they readily acceded. This was the establishment
of a colony in the neighboring island of Cuba, to which an
armament immediately embarked under the command of Diego
Velasquez, one of the companions of the great discoverer on his
second voyage. The only circumstance concerning this expedi-
tion, as it regards the island which is more immediately under
our consideration, besides its relief from a number of discontented
members, was the opposition of Hatuey, a cazique, or prince,
who having fled thither from St. Domingo, indignant at the
destruction of his innocent subjects, might naturally be expected
to oppose the intrusion of their destroyers into the place of his
refuge. His feeble party (for they were of the same inhostile
nature with his former subjects) were soon dispersed, himself
taken prisoner, and condemned to the flames under the barbarous 1511.
maxim, which considered him only as ai slave, who had taken A N 0 B3 C, Q
arms against his master. When Hatuey," says Dr. Robert- T. -
son*, "was fastened to the stake, a Franciscan Friar, labouring Bravery and
to convert him, promise immediate admittance into the -e
--~---~------ cazique of
7josof Heaven, if he would embrace the Christian faith."-" Are St.Domingo.
there any Spaniards," says he, (after some pause), "in that region A I di at/ 7
of bliss which you describe ?" Yes," replied the monk, but a rs e
only such as are worthy and good." The best of them," re- A
~ -- -- ~" / ^ f A' ,-. ^ *y I


* Hist. of America, vol. i. p. 277. edit. 1800.
E


; d;._, / e avje r?


1W q

hjf


S oIY16

"P 4N)APS


/


/ v









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


CHAP. I. joined the indigant cazique, "have neither worth nor goodness;
1511. I will not go to a place, where I may meet with one of that
accursed race!"


Another expedition soon took place from St. Domingo, to assist
in the discovery of the South Sea, by the justly celebrated Balboa,
1512. from whose incursions in the continent on which he was esta-
blished, he had sent home such quantities of gold, as tempted
a number by no means contemptible to join him. It comes not
into my promise to shed fruitless tears on the perverted fortunes
of this truly great man; his name, consigned to unfading memo-
rials, has, I trust, its use with those who possess a fertile mind
without the power to sustain its operations.-Though the passage
to the Indian ocean was not obtained, as was expected, they
reached the South Sea, and prepared the way for more important
discoveries.


151 In 1514, died more peaceably than he had lived, Bartholo-
mus, the uncle of the present Governor; a man of very respec-
table powers, and an unsullied character; who had occasionally
filled offices of high importance in the island, and who, it would
appear, was more closely connected with its history than his con-
temporaries have enabled us to state.

The government of Diego Columbus was neither inefficient
nor violent; neither did he want inclination or ability to render
the colony both prosperous and happy: but that justice which
had been unwillingly accorded him, on the part of the deceased
Monarch,










HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


Monarch, was, as much as possible, impeded by every political CHAP. I.
artifice that could be employed. The meaner officers of the 1514.
government were encouraged to thwart the authority of the A minister,
named Albu-
governor, in a variety of measures, and at length the power of querque, ap-
pointed to
distributing the Repartimientos was created into an office, and the island.
conferred upon Roderigo Albuquerque, the relation of a confi- .
dential minister called Zapata. On the loss of this necessary
advantage, in addition to the embarrassment he had already
experienced, Diego resolved on returning to Spain for the pur-
pose of remonstrance: leaving behind him the best administra-
tion in his power, reached his destination in safety, but he soon
found with very small hopes of redress in the object of his
voyage.


In his new capacity Albuquerque discovered no other care than
to repair his own indigent circumstances, for which purpose he
first ordered a renumeration of the Indians, (now reduced to
14,000,) and then put them up to sale in different lots. This
was the only stroke wanting to complete the extinction of this
unhappy race, by a consequent separation from the habitations
to which they had been accustomed, and the imposition of addi-
tional labour for the indemnification of their purchasers.


As is too frequently the case when political injuries become
irreparable, those measures which, earlier adopted, would have
preserved a sacrificed people; now served, only to excite useless
controversy and public disturbance; the Monks, who, since the
ecclesiastical establishment of Ferdinand, had arisen to consider-
E 2 able









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


CHAP. I. able power, began to oppose their eloquence publicly to the
1517. system on which the natives were reduced to absolute slavery,
or rather, consigned to perish in progressive misery. They could
not be insensible to the impolicy of the measure; and, no doubt,
impressed with the inutility of a mission to a people who were
rapidly ceasing to exist, they had early remonstrated, but appear
to have been easily silenced, till the present period. Even now,
but a part of the mission, the Dominicans, stood forth to repre-
sent the mild precepts of religion; the Franciscans attached
themselves to the more popular cause; and while they could not
unblushingly defend the Repartimientos, palliated the principle on
the ground of expedience, so often improperly assumed in society

Las Casa The consequence was, an application to the king by both
defends the
Indians. parties, of which the only circumstance of importance, was the
interference of Las Casas, a man of romantic disposition, and
benevolent mind; whose exertions, though unsuccessful, were
neither wanting in genius or perseverance; whose character
cannot be omitted even in the compression of abridgment. It
may be previously observed, that the appeal was terminated on
the side of the Franciscans, a few regulations of their labour
only. being for decency promulgated; Albuquerque pursuing his
violence and rapacity with impunity.

Bartholomew de las Casas, (a Clergyman,) came hither on
the second voyage of Columbus, and who had early exerted
himself in the cause of the Indians, was not to be diverted from
his purpose; finding the rapacious governor deaf to all ex-
postulation









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


postulation that militated against his immediate interest, he CHAP. I.
embarked for Spain, to make a personal appeal to the Emperor, 157.
and to exert that eloquence, of which he was so eminently
possessed, in their behalf. Aided by fortuitous circumstances,
he was particularly successful with the Emperor, then on
the point of death, and with Cardinal Ximenes, who became
Regent. The effect of this success was the appointment of three
Superintendants of the colonies, to whom were added a lawyer
of probity named Zuazo, with judicial power, and Las Casas,
with the title of Protector of the Indians. These soon arrived
in St. Domingo, and began their career by the auspicious act of
liberating all the natives who had been granted to the Spanish
courtiers, or to any person not residing in America. To avoid
the influence of party spirit, neither of those orders, who had
contended the subject were suffered to have a member among
these Superintendants; they were composed of three Monks of
the order of St. Jerome, who appear to have exercised not only
ability, but a knowledge of the world, which is seldom to be
obtained in a cloister. The result of this mission was, as might
be expected, only negatively advantageous to the Indians, with-
out whose labour, reduced as it was, the colony could not be
hoped to exist; the best regulations that could be formed were
adopted for the prevention of excessive rigour and of cruelty
towards them, while, without coercion, they ceased to work, and
were obstinate in proportion to their power.


Las Casas still dissatisfied with any thing less than, the entire
fi-eedom of the Aborigines, and finding no countenance in the
island,









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


CIAP. I. island, with undiminished perseverance, again returned to Spain.
1517. and found Ximenes, as he had before found Ferdinand, on the
point of death. With the Emperor, (Charles V.) who immedi-
ately arrived from the Low Countries, and with his Flemish
minister, he prevailed so far, as to induce the real of the super-
intendant and his colleague Zuazo; and Roderigo de Figuerra was
appointed Chief Justice of the Island, with directions to mode-
rate the sufferings of the Indians, and to prevent their threatened
extinction. Finding that this, was all that could be accomplished,
in the hurry of imagination which always marks such characters,
(not more eminently successful on some occasions, than dangerous
on others,) Las Casas now proposed, in support of his favourite
scheme, to substitute, in the place of those he wished to liberate
from slavery in their own country, the inhabitants of a distant
one, whom he appeared to consider more capable of labour, and
more patient under sorrow.


The earliest advantage of the Portugueze in Africa had
arisen from a trade in slaves*, but it had been abolished, and
was considered ineffectual. About fourteen years before, the
importation of a few slaves had been permitted by Ferdinand,
but not as a public concern, and in 1511 the number was in-
creased, without producing any effect on the population. This
plan, which had been peremptorily refused by Ximenes, was
adopted by Charles, who granted a patent to one of his Fle-
mish favorites for an importation of the limited number of fbur

For the origin of this traffic the reader is referred to a future chapter, to which it is
more closely connected.
thousand,









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


thousand; this privilege being sold to some Genoese merchants, CHAP. I.
proved the first formation of a regular trade for supplying the 157.
island, which has continued to increase through the whole Archi-
pelago.

Even the farther introduction of other Slaves produced so isis.
small a change in the Colony, that the invention of Las Casas
was directed to other substitutes; and with a more plausible
view, it occurred to him, that if Labourers could be induced
to emigrate from the Mother Country, their habits of life would
enable them to bear the effects of the climate under agricultu-
ral operations; and that they might, by soon becoming opu-
lent citizens, introduce habits of industry, and a promotion of vir-
tue :-but, though countenanced by the ministry, his laudable plan
was defeated by an ecclesiastic, who had long opposed him, the
Bishop of Burgos. Thus deprived, of all his hopes with regard to
his favourite Island, this extraordinary man turned his attention to
the Continent, and his schemes to the prevention of similar abuses
in that part of the new world, which was yet but little explored.
After many unsuccessful applications in behalf of this colony of
labourers, he at length obtained permission to form one in Cuma-
na; but with such opposition, that the number of colonists whom
he could persuade to accompany him did not exceed two hundred.
It is not within our plan to follow this unfortunate party through
their various distresses, occasioned by the bewildered cruelty of
their countrymen:-prevented from arriving at their destined
country by the detestation which was every where excited against
the Spanish name, and unpopular with Spaniards as the followers
4 of









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


CHAP. I. of Las Casas, they became the innocent victims of both parties;
5s1s. while their leader, driven from every asylum, shut out from all
resource, abandoned, and houseless, took refuge in the Domi-
nican convent in the city of St. Domingo; where he soon after
assumed the habit of the order, and, as it may be readily sup-
posed, did not long survive the death of all his happiness.


The occasion of that violence which had every way met the
party of Las Casas, originated more particularly in the predacious
excursions of the Spaniards, who would seem in these piracies to
have left no means of cruelty or depredation unattempted.
When, by the extinction of the Natives, every exertion of indus-
try began to stagnate in St. Domingo, and even Slaves, were sold
at a price beyond the reach of many, they fitted out a sort of
Privateers, which, cruizing along the coast of the continent, under
the pretence of trading with the unsuspecting natives; whenever
they found an opportunity, seized upon and sold them as slaves on
their return: this conduct, however, combined all the Indians to
revenge it, and in consequence, among others, two Dominican
Missionaries were killed. This was the signal for more extensive
Expedition hostilities, and Diego Ocampo, with five ships, and three hun-
of Diego
Ocampo dred men, were dispatched to lay waste the country of Cumana,
from St.
Domingo and to transport all the inhabitants that could be procured as
against Cu-
mana. slaves to St. Domingo.
1520.

About this time, to add to the embarrassments of the colony,
it suffered considerably from those extraordinary swarms of ants
2 which










HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


which sometimes used to infest the Archipelago, and injure the CITP. I.
vegetation. After ineffectual many endeavours to destroy them, 1520.
the Spaniards (according to Herrera) determined on appealing to
the saints; but some time elapsed before they could fix upon
one for so singular a business; at last, however, b'in relieved
fi-om the disastrous effects of the insects, and happening to invoke
St. Saturninus at the same time, that saint acquired the merit of
a miracle.


The return of Diego Columbus to Spain appears to have been
attended with some circumstances which are yet unknown, 153.
for he shewed no inclination to return to the new world, till
we find him in 1523 called to Jamaica to suppress a revolt of the
Indians, in the absence of Francis de Garay, its governor, who
had embarked in an expedition against Panuco, which had, with-
out his knowledge, already submitted to the government. Among
the political arrangements of Ferdinand, was that which sepa-
rated fi-om the power of Diego the island of Jamaica, attaching
it to that division of the continent, not subject to his dominion:
he, however, acted with a spirit no less creditable to his character
than on former occasions, and regained the island; which after- 55.
wards descended to his heirs, and, yielded the title of Marquis, Death of
Diego Co-
among other honors, which' descended to his family. Diego Cc- Lumlnus.
lumbus died in 1525.


To return to the domestic situation of Hispaniola, that quick 15, s
decline, which we have already described, continued to be acce-
F lerated









34 t HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.

CHAP. I. lerated, by the cruelty and impolicy of those, to whom no means
I528. were exceptionable in the search of wealth. In external appear-
City of St.
Domingo. ances, however, this decline was not perceptible, and the capital
of St. Domingo, as is the case with all falling states, still presented
an august reverse to the internal poverty of its inhabitants. In
1528, the city is described by some Spanish historians, and par-
ticularly Oviedo, who was there at that time, 'as not inferior
to any in Spain, the houses mostly built of stone like those of
Barcelona, but the streets much better, being large and plain,
crossing each other at right angles. With the sea on the right,
and the river Ozamo on the left, health and beauty were united
more than in any other part of the world. Ships heavy laden
discharged their cargoes in a manner under the house windows.
The citadel, which stood exactly in the centre, also gave security
to an extensive command. The houses were fit to receive any
nobleman of Spain with his suite, and the grandeur of Don
Diego's palace as viceroy was beyond conception, and every
way fitting to receive the king his master. The cathedral was
of exquisite workmanship, and well endowed; the dignity of
its bishop and canons well supported. There were three mo-
nasteries, dedicated to St. Dominic, St. Francis, and St. Mary
de Mercedes, and an hospital founded by Michael Passamont,
the treasurer-general."


How much were it to have been wished, that such public
splendour had argued equal prosperity; that it did not, however,
is certain, from every account; and Benzoni asserts, that towards
the










HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


the middle of the sixteenth century, scarce one hundred and CHAP. I.
fifty of the native Indians remained alive*. 150


The dealers in slaves, however, beginning to lessen their de-
mands, as time and competition affected their trade, the colony
might have once more recovered itself by an attention to agri-
culture; but that cruelty which appeared to be inherent in the
breasts of these early colonists, (increased by disappointment and
pecuniary difficulties,) excited in their new servants a spirit of
insurrection that soon broke into open revolt, and which, though
unsuccessful, compelled their masters to a relaxation of their se-
verity and inordinate avarice.


The consequences produced by the smallest degree of mode-
ration, became soon perceivable in the increased cultivation,
and sugar, tobacco, cocoa, ginger, cotton, peltry, &c. were
shipped for Spain in such quantities, as induced the best hopes of
their increase continuing; but these flattering hopes were not to
be realized, the Spaniards remaining inactive, weak, unprotected,
and useless.


In 1586, Sir Francis Drake came before the island, and pil- lss.
Invasion of
laged the capital with a degree of barbarity, surprising in the Sir Francis
Drake.
present refinement of European warfare. The invaders held
possession of St. Domingo fbr a month, during the latter part of

Benzoni, Nov. Orb. Hist,
F 2 which


~-..-1,










HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


CHAP. i. which they employed every means from day-brcak, till the heat
1586. became intense in the forenoon, to destroy the beautiful edifices
that surrounded the town, but on which, from being composed
of stone, fire made no great progress, and ordinary means became
too laborious; after two hundred sailors, with as many soldiers
to protect them, had been employed for several days only to
destroy one third part of the town, and were completely wearied
with the task, they condescended to accept of about 70001. ster-
ling as a ransom for the rest.


Among the severities which were practised, the following will
afford an example, which, notwithstanding its cruelty, some will
think from the circumstances of the times, not badly imagined:
a negro boy having been sent on a message to the Spanish
governor with a flag of truce, was run through the body by some
straggling Spanish officers, and only lived to complain to the
English general; he immediately ordered two friars, who were
his prisoners, to be taken to the same spot, and hanged, commis-
sioning another at the same time to acquaint the Spaniards, that
until the party, who had thus murdered the general's messenger,
should be delivered into his hands, there should no day pass
without the execution of two prisoners; on the following day the
offender was produced, and his countrymen compelled to be his



See the account of this expedition in Hackluit's Voyages.-Sir Anthony Shirley pur-
sued a similar conduct in Jamaica in 1596.
The










HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


The decline of the mother country could not fail to weaken CHAP. I.
the situation of her colonists, who had suffered neglect, even 1586.
from the importance of her acquisitions at home. Those who
remained, rather from a want of power to quit the island, than Degenera-
tion of the
any other cause, sunk into a kind of debility and sloth that Spanish co-
lony.
resigned them to every evil. Gradually degenerating from
the spirit and manners of their ancestors, they became little
anxious about any thing beyond an indulgence, as degrading as
fatal. Associating in common with their female slaves, they
propagated a people of almost every grade of colour, and became
entirely a mixed colony, of which, Spaniards formed in fact a
very small part. Their mines were deserted, agriculture was
neglected, and their cattle ran wild in the plains. They em-
ployed themselves, as may be expected from such an irregular
establishment, not only in an illicit foreign trade, but in piracies
against the property of their own country, of which the practice
of fitting out ships clandestinely, for the purpose of procuring
slaves, (as has been already observed,) afforded them the best
opportunities, and a secret understanding with the ships of war,
guaranteed their safety and success. Instead of an attempt to
remedy this evil, of which there were many means *, the short-
sighted policy of the Spanish court chose rather to complete the
dejection of the islanders, by- demolishing the sea-ports which i6oo.
had been illicitly employed, and compelling the inhabitants to

*Among others, even the Flemish were refused the permission they requested to clear
the lands of this fertile country, and revive its splendour by the more solid pursuits of agri-
culhure.
retire









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


CHAP. I. retire to the interior of the country. History is silent, during a
1000. considerable period of the existence of this miserable people,
whose actions could indeed admit but of little variety; who are
described as demi-savages, plunged in the extremes of sloth,
living upon fruits and roots, in cottages without furniture, and
most of them, without clothes *."-" Their slaves had little more
to do," says Raynal, than to swing them in their hammocks;"
nor can a more striking proof be given of the wretched situation
of that country which had supplied empires with gold, than the
necessity to which it was reduced, of adopting pieces of leather
as a circulating medium among its inhabitants t.


While the government of Spain, however, was so remiss in
regard to the colony, which might be considered as the centre of
their possessions in the new world, they were as much the reverse,
with respect to the admission of any other power into a partici-
pation of its produce, or its territory:-their caution extended
even to absurdity; and all ships were stopped who were met
iso,. beyond the tropics. Notwithstanding this care, during a war
with Spain, the English and French, had become acquaint-
ed with the Windward Islands, (whose warlike and sullen
inhabitants, the Charibs, generally repelled the Spaniards,)
equipped a small fleet to interrupt the Spanish vessels in those
seas, whose piracies were not interrupted by peace; in conse-

The Abb6 Raynal,-History of the Trade and Settlements in the East and West In-
dies, vol. iv. p. 18.
t Edwards's History of the British West Indies, b. ii.
quence










HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO. 39

quence of the jealous policy already described. A part of these CHAP. I.
under an enterprizing Englishman named Warner, and the cap- 1623.
tain of a French privateer called Desnambuc, took possession of
the island of St. Christopher on the same day *, and divided it
into two equal shares; the fierce inhabitants, who had been more
favorable to the enemies of the Spaniards than to themselves,
retiring from the parts on which they were fixed, telling them
nevertheless, with usual Indian acuteness, that land must be
very bad, or very scarce with them, since they had traversed
such a distance with so much difficulty, to seek for it among
savages."


The court of Madrid immediately alarmed, at the vicinity of 1630.
these members of two active and industrious nations, ordered
Frederic of Toledo, on his way against the Dutch in Brazil, to
attack these newly established powers while they were yet weak
in their new establishment; they were soon defeated, and those
who were not either killed or taken prisoners, fled for refuge to
the neighboring islands. The greater part, however, returned
to their possessions as soon as the danger was over, except a
small number who remained on the little barren isle of Tortuga
lying off the north-west coast of Hispaniola, and within a few
leagues of Port Paix. These, inconsiderable as they were in
their outset, were the founders of a race which giving rise to


Some writers state that Mr. Warner had obtained possession two years before, and had
suffered the loss of his plantations by an hurricane,










40 HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.

CHAP. I. the French colony that is soon to become an important part of
1630. this history, and being hitherto but imperfectly described, de-
mands particular attention.


1655. Previously, however, it is but justice to the Spanish colony to
say, that after the first surprise at seeing a large English fleet
commanded by Admiral Penn, with nine thousand land forces
under Colonel Venables, (the same which afterwards conquered
Jamaica,) who had been dispatched by Oliver Cromwell to
obtain for England a portion of the new world, they com-
pelled the enemy to re-embark with disgrace. A want of una-
nimity was the apology made on the part of the English, who
ill brooking such a reception, determined on no alternative be-
tween victory and death on their next and more successful at-
tempt.

1660. By the middle of the seventeenth century these incursers, of
whom I am about to speak, had received some accessions from
the French colonies, which had by that time been established,
and assumed an appearance as formidable as it was singular.
They had gradually obtained notice under the appellation .of
Buccaniers from their mode of curing animal food, which was
derived from the savages, being slowly dried, or rather smoked,
over fires of green wood, in places from thence called by the Spa !. i .h
term, Buccans, a custom yet retained by the Spaniards. As they
were for a time destitute of wives and children, they associated
pairs, (as recorded by former historians); property was common,
and









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


survivor inherited the residence; theft was unknown amongst CHAP. 1.
them, though no precaution was used against it, a virtue they 160o.
borrowed from the savages. They seldom disputed, but if
any were obstinate, they decided with arms; and if any
foul appearance occurred in the combat, as a back or side
wound, the assassin was put to death. Every member of the
fraternity assumed a warlike name on admission into the body,
which descended to their several successors. Their dress con-
sisted of a shirt died with the blood of the animals they killed in
hunting; an apron, or trowsers, yet dirtier; a leather girdle,
containing a short sabre, and other knives; a sort of military
cap, and shoes, without stockings. A Buccanier was satisfied
if he could supply himself with a small gun, and a pack of
dogs, to the number of twenty or thirty. Their employment
consisted chiefly in hunting the bulls, with which the Spaniards
had furnished the neighboring island; which they killed chiefly
for the skins, regaling, perhaps, on a small part of the flesh,
preparing it sometimes with a seasoning of pimento, and the juice
of orange.

The remainder of the indolent colonists could not, however,
bear with the idea of more active neighbours; which gave rise to
several unavailing conflicts, that ended in a determination to
destroy all the bulls by a general chase, a scheme which had
the effect of turning the attention of the Buccaniers to the
more permanent pursuits of agriculture.-Tobacco soon became
a profitable culture, which, with the produce of several excur-
G sions









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


CHAP. 1. sions made by the most intrepid in their cruisers, amply repaid
1660. their difficulties. However, another Spanish armament was
commissioned for their extirpation, which inspirited them to
deeds that will live to future ages-pregnant with bravery and
horror.


Possessed of an island eight leagues long and two broad, in a
fine air, and with capability of improvement, unshackled by the
prescriptions of ancient society, with a vast territory open to their
predatory incursions, and numerous channels accessible to their
maritime courage, the success of the Buccaniers may be easily
supposed to have spread. To this lawless, yet far from unsalutary
dominion, those who sought a refuge from the tyranny of credi-
tors, or of want, as well as enterprizing spirits without opportu-
nity for action, in their mother-country, (particularly fi-om Nor-
mandy,) had a resource, which formed a considerable acquisition
to its power. Envious of the establishment, the court of Spain
made an attempt to dislodge them, which is worthy of notice,
only from its wonted cruelty; the general of the gallons exerted
his commission Jwhile the greater part were at sea, or hunting on
the large island; he put all he found to death, leaving it as de-
solate as possible.


The effects of these cruelties, and the sentiments of revenge
they inspired, produced a closer combination of the Bucca-
niers; for which purpose they agreed to sacrifice personal
independence, to social safety, and accordingly appointed a
leader,










HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


leader, much in the same way, as the origin of all monarchies; CHAP. I.
as they were yet composed of English and French united, an 100o.
Englishman, distinguished for his prudence and valour, named
WILLES, was the first appointed, who appears to have excited
jealousy, by an invitation of his countrymen to the settlement,
and the use too frequently made of power, when its origin becomes
forgotten in its advantages. A governor-general had, therefore, no
sooner been appointed over the French windward islands,* than
finding the opportunities probably agreeable, and being, perhaps,
privately solicited, he -sent a. small force from St. Vincent, who,
joined by the Frenchmen on the island, suddenly ordered all the
English to withdraw from it; when supposing an order of such,
audacity supported by a much greater force, they immediately
agreed to evacuate the island, and never returned. They still pur-
sued the bold career in which they had embarked, and afterwards
obtained regular commissions from the English government to
act against the common enemy, though the settlements and na-
vigations of the Spaniards continued the prominent objects
of their hostility. One of them afterwards arrived at situa-
tions of honour and emolument, having received the dignity of


This Governor, who was named De Poincy, appears to have held his appointment on
the same tenor as Willes, receiving it when the increased followers of Warner and Desnam-
buc had, in 1660, joined in a treaty independent of their respective governments, which
had regarded them with indifference. By this treaty it is pleasing to see the native Charibs
considered, Dominica and St. Vincent's being appropriated to their reception. According
to their respective rights of conquest, France obtained Guadaloupe, Martinico, Grenada,
and some less considerable acquisitions; and England was confirmed in the possession of
Barbadoes, Nevis, Antigua, Montserrat, and several other islands of little value. St.
Christopher's still belonged to both nations.-See Raynal's History, Vol. III. p. 284. &c.
2 knighthood,










HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


CHAP. I. knighthood, and being advanced to the high office of lieutenant-
1660. governor of Jamaica! His character, however, will be given
more regularly among those of the other Buccaniers, to whom,
as original founders of the French colony in St. Domingo, this
history is more particularly directed.

Alternately losing and gaining the little island of Tortuga from
the Spaniards, the French, under a captain of their own choice and
nation, at length retained it, and obtained a firm footing on St. Do-
mingo, which rendered it, at the same time, of less importance,
Of the consequence to which they arrived (a consequence which,
to this day, furnishes the West-Indies with legendary tales of their
valour and honour), an idea will be best obtained by a description
of their mode of life and warfare, and of those characters to
whom they were indebted, for many of the exploits which have
rendered them conspicuous to the admiration, if not the appro-
bation, of the present and of future ages.

They formed themselves into small companies, from fifty to
three times that number, of whom, some appear to have pre-
ferred agricultural pursuits. As the authority they had confer-
red on their captain did not extend to their domestic economy,
they were at perfect liberty as to their manners, or a preference
of rest or pleasure in their intervals of peace. Their armaments
were formed of boats, without any difference, but in size, in which,
they were exposed to all the inclemencies of the weather; as through
their careless dispositions, on shore they were subject to the seve-
rest









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


rest extremities of hunger and thirst. After the various cruelties CHAP. I.
exercised by the Spaniards in the attempt to extirpate them, the 16i0.
sight of a ship is said to have transported them to frenzy;-no su-
periority of power affected them, they boarded as soon as possi-
ble, and the skill they had in the management of their small ves-
sels, screened them from the fire of their enemies, while their
fusleers, who presented themselves at the fore-part of their vessels
by an excellent aim at the port-holes opposed to them, con-
founded the most experienced gunners. They seemed to have a
religious notion of humility and gratitude, for they implored the
aid of heaven to their success in any onset, and returned thanks
to the deity for every victory obtained; such was their unin-
terrupted bravery, that the Spaniards, at length, trembled at
their very approach, and surrendered immediately to those whom
they designated as devils, as much as if they had been in reality
preternatural beings. Among those whose names have come
down to us, as having particularly distinguished themselves, were
Montbar, a Frenchman; a truly gallant Welshman (already
mentioned) named Morgan; and a Dutchman, called Van Horn.
In the conduct of these men, may be seen the general character
of the Buccaniers, the proportion of this sketch not admitting
of a more enlarged insertion, which might otherwise be easily
selected.


Montbar was born a gentleman of Languedoc, and his con-
nection with the freebooters appears to have arisen neither from
necessity nor chance, but an early spirit of romance-such as has
determined









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


CHAP. I. determined the most heroic characters. Indeed, to those who
1660, have seen unqualified descriptions of the Spaniards in the New
World, without an acquaintance with human life sufficient to
discriminate, such a Quixotic idea will not excite surprise. It
is said, that while at college having seen these accounts, their
enormities had so strongly impressed him,, that, acting in a pri-
vate play the part of a Frenchman, who quarrelled with a Spa-
niard, it was with difficulty the performer of the latter cha-
racter escaped from him with life. His imagination continuing
to be heated by day-dreams, in which he beheld the expiring
victims of a rage, more cruel than that of religious fanaticism,
he viewed them, as calling on him for vengeance; although
but imperfectly acquainted with the history of the Buccaniers,
he determined to join them, and accordingly procured a ship for
the expedition. On the passage they met with a Spanish vessel,
which they immediately boarded, when Montbar was the first,
sabre in hand, to fall upon the enemy; he broke through them,
and hurrying twice from one end of the ship to the other, levelled
every thing that opposed him. When the enemy surrendered,
leaving to his companions the care of the booty, he desired
only to contemplate, with horrid pleasure, the dead bodies of
the Spaniards, which lay in heaps upon the decks, and seemed
strengthened in the cause, in which he had so romantically em-
barked. Arriving on the coast of St. Domingo, the Buccaniers,
who applied to barter provisions for brandy, pleaded, as an apo-
logy for their quality, that the Spaniards had recently taken ad-
vantage of their absence to destroy them: And do you not
seek










HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


seek revenge ?" exclaimed Montbar. He soon found they were CHAP. I.
no more tardy in destruction than himself, and offered his ser- 1660.
vices as a leader: was accepted, and astonished the boldest
by his bravery. He continued with them during his life; and
their sufferings (from his courage and success) procured for him,
among the Spaniards, the appellation of The Exterminator.


Van Horn was a native of Ostend, whose intrepidity in the
discipline of his crew, is the only peculiar trait handed down to
us. He commanded a frigate, which was his own property. In
the heat of an engagement, he was constantly seen in every part of
the ship; and where he observed any one shrink at the sudden
report of the cannon, he instantly killed him. He became the
idol of the brave, and liberally shared with his successful com-
panions, the riches so dreadfully acquired.


It is pleasing to turn from characters terminating with the same
violence with which they set out, to one who, after havirig
blazed in the full strength of a meridian-sun of power, is seen
retiring to the mild evening of domestic life.


MORGAN,* the Welshman, only remains to be mentioned,
descended from respectable parents in Glamorganshire, whom he
early


SI wish to be acquitted of any local preference in the description of these men, or
partiality of delineations in their characters. But notwithstanding the representation
given of Mor-gan (in extension of the calumnious old history of the Buccaniers) by the Abbe
Raynal










HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


CHAP. I. early quitted (as it was then termed) in search of his fortune.
i6o0. His adventurous spirit leading him accidentally to Bristol, he
found an opportunity of embarking for the West-Indies, in the
way of many others, by indenting himself for four years to serve
a planter. When released from a service executed with fidelity,
he joined the Buccaniers, and adding ability to courage, soon
shared their success and their riches. One of' the exploits which
first rendered him famous was the capture of Porto Bello (which
Admiral Vernon afterwards destroyed with difficulty); for which,
the plan of operations was so well contrived, that he took it with-
out opposition. In attacking the fort, to spare the effusion of
blood, he compelled the women and the priests, whom he had
made prisoners, to set the scaling-ladders to the walls, from an
idea, that the Spaniards would not fire at the objects of their love
and reverence. Their omnipotent power, however, was wealth, in
preference to religion or beauty; and the humane expedient mis-
carried, to the great injury of the besieged. The conquest of Pa-
nama seems to have been attended with prodigious difficulty, both
by sea and land; but even here, he did not forget a merciful ex-
pedient-buying the fortified island of St. Catharine, which was
necessary to his progress. At Panama they found immense trea-
sures: among the dreadful sacrifices that were made, some cir-


Raynal, he is constrained to confess, that in.the midst of hostility he fell in love with a
beautiful Spaniard; and that he did not sacrifice her to his wishes, though she attempted
his life. A breast capable of admitting a passion of this nature, under such circumstances,
could not surely be considered as the most barbarous; and of the respectability of his sub-
sequent character, we have certainly the best account.


cumstances









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


cumstances less severe are recorded: vanity received a singular CHAP. f.
punishment; and it was here that Mor'anii became captivated by 1660.
a captive. The first of these circumstances occurred in a beg-
gar, who, entering a castle deserted, by its owners, found some
rich apparel, which, in preference to every thing else, he adopted;
the besiegers entered, and pressed the grotesque noble for his
wealth, when, pointing to the rags he had just quitted, he re-
ceived the effects of his folly and pride in a death scarcely
unmerited.

Morgan, appears to have addressed the lady by whom he was
smitten, with respect and forbearance, sentiments not always to
be found, in more refined invaders, and they met with a con-
trary return. My fortune and my liberty, which depended on
others," said the indignant fair, you have already, but my ho-
nour is my own care;" upon which, she drew a poignard from
beneath her dress, and attempted to plunge it into his breast; for-
tunately he avoided the blow.-Agonized with passion, yet inca-
pable of violation, with more philosophy than is often called forth
under such circumstances, it is probable that he wisely and nobly
tore himself from the scene of his attraction, as he suddenly
quitted the spot; even before his companions could accompany
him. On the peace, which a few years after took place, between
England and Spain, he retired to Jamaica, and having purchased
a plantation, betook himself with much industry to its cultivation.
He succeeded in these tranquil pursuits, and, in time, grew into
equal repute in a pacific life to that which he had experienced
H in


49










HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


CHAP. i. in war; he was called to bear a part in the government of the
1660. island in which he had become a proprietor; and, finally, to
the command of Lieutenant-Governor of Jamaica, and to the
dignity of knighthood. He executed the duties of every situa-
tion in which he was placed with probity and honour; and a
writer of the present day,* who saw some of his letters in the pos-
session of a friend on the island, describes them as manifesting
a spirit of humanity, justice, liberality, and piety.

It is painful to relate, that Sir Henry Morgan, three years
before the close of his chequered and useful life, was committed
to the Tower by King James II. at the instance of the Spa-
nish Emperor, where he remained till his death without trial,
and of course without conviction of any crime. Though a sa-
crifice to the same monarch, with his great predecessor Raleigh,
his life was not, however, included, and he died in peace.


To return to the community of Buccaniers, although sepa-
rated from each other, the English and French still continued
to act in concert; the latter retiring, after the conflict, to St.
Domingo, to share the spoil, and the former to Jamaica. When
any were maimed, the first steps, were those taken for their pro-
vision in the most honourable way; no one secreted any share of
the booty under pain of expulsion; nor had favour any influence
in its division, which was with much judgment. Dissipation of


Bryau Edwards, Esq. M.P. F.R.S. &c.
every









HISTORY OF ST. )OMINGO.


every kind succeeded their advantages, and he who was rich CHAP. .
one day, resigned himself to poverty the next. They continued 16G0.
to increase in force, and to proportionably depress the Spaniards,
who, at length, retired into a sullen inactivity, which passively
continued, till all other communication with their mother-coun-
try ceased, than that which could be maintained by a single ship
of no great burthen.


Nor did the Buccaniers themselves continue to prevail as they
had been accustomed. After the settlements of the French and 1066.
English in the New World became established, many were killed
and lost, and some adopted agriculture; till, at length, France,
who had not been altogether ignorant of its progress, became
attracted by the infant colony then formed in St. Domingo, if
it could yet be so called.

The number of planters to whom only could be really accorded
the character of colonists did not exceed four hundred; the first
care of the government then was to multiply this number, and
to form them into a more regular society; for this purpose it
commissioned a gentleman named Bertrand D'Ogeron, who had
emigrated from Anjou about nine years before, but who had evin-
ced too much virtue and sensibility to hope for commercial suc-
cess, without a better fortune. With the best contrived plans he
had failed; but the ability and fortitude, he had shewn in adversity,
had won him the general esteem and attachment so much, that
H 2 he










HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


CHAP. I. he was considered as the most proper person to direct, or rather
1665. to settle the colony.
D'Ogeron
governor.
Of the difficulty of such an enterprise, none could doubt
but himself, depending much on his own powers, who knew no
other wish, than the good of human kind; he began by re-
conciling the idle to labour, and those who had traded with all
the world, to the monopoly of a privileged company, which had
the year before, been established for all the French settlements.
He held out allurements for new inhabitants in a country which
had suffered every species of calumny: when the maritime
determined to go in search of greater advantages, he seduced
them to stay, even by relinquishing the revenues of his post,
and procuring them commissions from Portugal to attack the
Spaniards, when they had made peace with France; to the
huntsmen he advanced money without interest to erect habita-
tions: and to the planters he united every encouragement. Nor
did he long suffer them to remain in a cheerless celibacy, which
denied an increase of population by the best and most natural of all
means, and left them without the most powerful attraction to a
Women first fixed residence-that of mild, unassuming beings, who create
introduced to
the colony. comforts unknown by any other means; conferring interest and
felicity, while they are as ministering angels to alleviate the
sorrows, and soften the asperities of man. D'Ogeron sent for
women, and obtained an hundred from France-such as should
be the female inhabitants of an infant colony, young, heal-
thy, amiable, and enterprising. To prevent the effect of the
most









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


most impetuous of passions, he contrived, that while choice CHAP. I.
was not entirely suppressed, those should first become hus- lt(5.
bands whose industry had rendered them equal to the pay-
ment of an adequate sum; and the others (who respected
social justice) waited anxiously to be so blessed in their turn:
but they were disappointed, and the colony injured, as is too.
often the case, by expedients of which their insufficiency is the
most favorable objection. The females, who afterwards made their
appearance from the mother country, as if all regard for the
constitutions of society, had been lost, were those for whom de-
licacy would wish to find a better name than the refuse of cities;
selected without discrimination, they were bound as to masters
for three years; of such a connexion, we need not attempt the Foundation
ofthccolony.
description. The only circumstance worthy of record respecting
it, is the declaration of the Buccaniers, who chiefly adopted
them, on their simple marriage. I ask you no questions," said
he, respecting your former life, but you are now mine; and if
you prove false, this," putting his hand to the muzzle of his gun,
" will revenge me." The effects of the profligacy introduced at
this time were long, very long felt. In the course of four years,
however, D'Ogeron found means to increase the number of
planters in proportion to the population, so that, in 1699, they
amounted to more than 1,500. icO9


In the following year the benign exertions of this good man, J070.
received a check from the elation of the India Company, which
is the too frequent consequence of successful monopolies. Con-
ceiving










HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


cTIA.P ceiving themselves secure in a new and extensive trade, and not
1070. satisfied with a moderate profit, they ventured to raise the prices
of their goods in a proportion of two thirds; the colonists, who
had not yet changed their natural inclinations to violence, had
immediate recourse to arms, and the price of tranquillity was a
free trade to France, except an allowance of five per cent. to
the company, to be paid by all ships on their arrival and de-
parture. Even this disaster afforded D'Ogeron an opportunity
for exertions of beneficence, of which only himself was capable.
He procured two ships seemingly intended for his own pro-
duce, but, in fact, for the use of the colony. Every one
shipped his commodities on board these vessels at a moderate
freight, and, on their return, the cargo brought from the mother-
country was exposed to public sale at prime cost. A general
credit was given without interest, and even without security,
this generous governor hoping to inspire them with probity and
noble sentiments by such a confidence: thus, under a jurisdic-
tion so exquisite, every public disaster served but to consoli-
date the colony; and could not fail also to excite a regret the
most poignant, on an occasion which happened much too early;
for the patriotic and benevolent D'Ogeron was cut off in the
1673. midst of his parental offices in 1673, an example of every humane
and social virtue.

It was three years before the much lamented death of D'Oge-
ron, that the town of Cape Fran9ois had been founded. It is
to be regretted as a consequence of religious intolerance to drive
from










HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


from their country its most useful members. Gobin, a calvinist, CHAP. I.
flew from persecution to the mild state of St. Domingo, and built 10n3.
the first habitation on the cape, to which he invited others, who
immediately flocked thither as the ground became cleared.


The place held by D'Ogeron was supplied with tolerable suc-
cess by his nephew, M. Ponancey, who, although described as of
a less amiable disposition than his uncle, seems to have followed
him in his laudable plan of government. He had the honor of
completing what his great predecessor had so ably begun, the
establishment of a colony upon a regular and firm basis, without
the promulgation of laws, or the coercion of military force. More
virtue than could be expected, from a variety of governors, was,
however, required to sustain such a government; as licen- DuCasse ge-
vernor.
tiousness, naturally increased with population, aided by the un-
fortunate introduction of females, of the character already men-
tioned, it became of course necessary to submit to ordinary
forms. Two administrators were therefore commissioned from los4.
Martinico, who established courts of judicature for the several
districts, accountable to a superior council at Petit Goive.
These innovations were gained by a little finesse without much
disagreement, and, but for the interference of private interest,
which will ever obtrude upon infant establishments, the colony
might have immediately opened a mine of wealth upon its less.
shores.


1 ft


L L i.*~~




n -.


56 HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.

CHAP. I. It may not be improper to remark here, as a glaring instance
1694. of the want of power, or capacity in the Spanish colony, that in
1G85 it suffered the Duke of Albemarle, then governor of Ja-
maica, and Sir William Phipps, to obtain considerable wealth,
by raising the wreck of a Spanish plate ship which had been
stranded off the north-east coast of their own territory twenty-
four years before, on a shoal between the north and south riff,
almost in sight of Old Cape Francois.


Skins and tobacco, were hitherto, the principal articles of com-
merce from the French colony; for the latter, in consequence
of the restrictions, they substituted indigo and cocoa; for simi-
lar reasons the profitable culture of cotton, which had been
added, was soon abandoned. Hitherto the labours of the co-
lony had been prosecuted chiefly by the poorest of the inhabi-
tants, and a few negroes, which had been obtained by success-
less. ful expeditions against the Spaniards; but in the war of 1688,
several slaves being taken from the English, they began to con-
template the culture of the sugar-cane, as an additional source
of wealth, and one of the greatest importance. With this
view they continued to increase their stock of negroes, by
every means in their power, though but slowly, till the
year 1694, when, taking advantage of a combination of misfor-
tunes which had reduced Jamaica, the governor (a spirited man,
Negroes who had before desired permission to chase the Spaniards from
adopted in
tio colony, his own colony,) landed in that island with a force, which shewed
the anterior progress of St. Domingo to power, and increased
it









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


it more than any other event, that had hitherto occurred. What- CHAP. I.
ever were the other motives that induced this expedition, Du l69s.
Casse seems to have had an eye to the principal necessities of
his colony, by including in his booty a considerable number of
negroes, perhaps not less than two thousand. The other captured
property, added to the private wealth of' some of the remaining
Buccaniers, (if those embarked in privateering, could be still so
called,) enabled them to employ these slaves, and furnish build-
ings and articles for the production of sugar. The year fol-
lowing, however, the English returned the compliment of M.
Du Casse, by attacking the now flourishing settlement of Cape
Frangois, in conjunction with the forces of Spain, which they
took, plundered, and reduced to ashes. It was soon, however,
rebuilt on the same scite; and from this period no difficulty or
misfortune to the colony, was sufficient to impede its gradual
progress to that eminence, which obtained for it, in another cen-
tury the appellation of the Garden of the West Indies.


The peace of Ryswick afforded the first regular cession of the
western part of the island to the French ; for the preceding trea-
ties of Aix la Chapelle and Nimeguen in 1668 and 1678 did not,
by any means, conciliate the national antipathies in St. Domingo;
and even by it there were no other boundaries established to the
possessions thus ceded, than a custom, constantly submitted to
change from a variety of circumstances. By this cession the
French appear to have obtained all the territory excluded, with-
r out









IIISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


CHAP. I. out an oblique line reaching from the then Cape Francois on
1 ts. the north-east coast, to Cape Rosa on the west, intercepting the
towns of Isabella and Jago at the one point, and those of Petit
Goiive and Port Louis at the other.* Still, therefore, the scene
of constant feuds between the more antient colonists and their
neighbour, a large part of the colony towards the south, con-
tinued unoccupied, except by a few straggling inhabitants in mi-
serable huts, and it remained a desirable object with the govern-
ment to procure its settlement, in some way, at once both perma-
nent and effectual. To accomplish this end, another company
was privileged in France, which adopted the title of St. Louis,
to whom this fine and extensive country was granted as a pro-
perty for thirty years; on condition-that it should open a con-
traband trade with the Spanish continent, and clear the ground.
The company immediately granted lands to all who chose,
with certain allowances, providing them also with slaves and
other necessaries, and every thing began to wear a promising
aspect. The colony continued to increase with so much vigour,
that, at the beginning of the next century a superior jurisdiction
became necessary in Cape Francois, and it was accordingly esta-
1702. blished in 1702. The town of the Cape was, in every other
respect, the capital of the colony, though, except in time of war,
when it was removed hither, Port au Prince was the seat of the
government.


From the demarcation on the map of Herman Moll executed in less than twenty years
after.
In










HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


In proportion as the French colony rose in splendor, the ciIrT. i.
Spanish inhabitants decreased in comfort, apparently shrinking 1702.
from the effects of an industry they could not reach; yet, the
former was not without difficulties to counterbalance its advan-
tages: for in the year 1715, the death of nearly all the cocoa
trees on the colony, deprived it of a very lucrative revenue; and 1715.
shortly after, it experienced, in common with more important
states, a shock that threatened its total subversion. This flou-
rishing colony had arrived at a pitch of prosperity and refine-
ment, sufficient to enable many of its proprietors to return with
ample fortunes to France, or retire under easy circumstances
when age required it; but when LAw's fatal scheme of finance Effect of
LAw'S fina,
exploded, those whose property had been paid for in the notes, cial scheme
on St. Do-
or securities of the Mississippi company, or others, allied to them, i.Dgo.
were left destitute, without any hopes of retribution; many re-
turned poor to the island, from which they had departed rich,
and were compelled to serve those, who had formerly been their
servants, for bread. The presence of these unfortunate victims,
seemed to prolong a sensation with respect to that delusive
stroke of policy, which nothing else could have occasioned; it,
however, recovered the shock; and, in its worst moments, sur-
rounded by the pleasing effects of successful industry, might look
with pity upon the opposite situation of its neighbours; if such
sentiments could be expected to prevail under a disparity of cir-
cumstances.









HISTORY OF ST. DO.INGGO.


CHAP. I. In 1717, the Spanish colony, (which had in the time of Ier-
117. rera, according to his history, included i4,000 pure Castilians
among its inhabitants, with a proportional population in every
class,) had only 18,410 souls of every description; and, but for
the ecclesiastical and juridical importance of its dilapidating
capital, perhaps scarcely even a vestige would have remained.
Without affecting, in allusion to these times, either the bigotry,
which must be occasionally allowed in Edwards, or the invete-
racy of Raynal, in favor of peculiar opinions, we may clearly
view, in this decline, the fatal consequences of intolerance and
cruelty, while we can happily contemplate with redoubled plea-
sure the agreeable contrast, which a mild regimen affords
through every class of created beings.


1720. In 1720, the produce of the French colony amounted,
according to Raynal*, to 1,200,000 pounds weight of indigo,
1,400,000 pounds of white sugar, and 21,000,000 pounds of raw
sugar, and its increase was as rapid, as it was successful: never
satisfied, however, with ordinary advantages, it is the very nature
of monopoly to grasp at every opportunity of increasing its ex-
clusive rights, without any regard to those which are the objects
of its privileges. In consequence of a degree of insolence, with
which, the introduction of a measure intended to confine the
trade of slaves to themselves was conducted, a violent commotion
7O22. took place in 1722, which was not quelled entirely for two years,

Settlements and Trades in the East and West Indies, vol. iv. p. 235.
during









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


during which period the buildings and ships of the company were CHAP. I.
destroyed, and their commissioners disgraced. It will naturally 172.
be supposed that a commotion which extended with the most in-
conceivable firmness through every part of the island, affected
the progress of cultivation and commerce for some time after the
re-establishment of peace; yet, in 1734, we find a considerable 1731.
increase of plantations, in which the growth of cotton, and coffee,
had been added to a great extent. This increase of opulence,
occasioned, naturally, an augmentation of the respectability of
the government, for in 1750 we find a new establishment at Port 170.
au Prince, the capital, which now became the residence of a
commander in chief, a superior council, and an intendant.


In the year 1754, the amount of the various commodities of ir~.
the colony was equal to 1,261,4591., but such was its increasing
prosperity, that the inhabitants received fiom the mother country,
imports to the amount of 1,777,5091. The population of pure
whites amounted to upwards of 14,000; free mulattoes nearly
4,000; and upwards of 172,000 negroes of different descriptions.
There were 599 sugar plantations, and 3,379 of indigo. The
cocoa trees amounted to 98,946; the cotton plants to 6,300,367;
and there were near 22,000,000 of cassia trees. The provisions
consisted of near 6,000,000 of banana trees; upwards of 1,000,000
plots of potatoes; 226,000 plots of yams; and near 3,000,000
trenches of manioc. The cattle, did not exceed 63,000 horses
and mules, and 93,000 head of horned cattle *.

Raynal, vol. iv. p. 236.









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


CHAP. T. In short, the remaining events of St. Domingo, up to the period
1757. of the French revolution, consists of a series of successes the
most brilliant, and a display of industry and opulence the most
creditable to the French character. Even the government of
Madrid seems to have been excited, to some degree of emu-
lation about the year 1757, as a company was formed at Bar-
celona, with exclusive privileges, to attempt a re-establishment
in the eastern part of the island. The most, however, that
appears to have been accomplished, was the equipment of two
small vessels annually, by which they received in return, a few
thousand hides, and some other trifling articles; but in 1765,
when Charles III. opened a free trade to all the Windward
Islands, they suddenly assumed quite an altered appearance;
and Hispaniola, so long depressed by the false policy of the
mother country, seem determined to attempt a renewal of her
former activity. During the five years preceding 1774, the
custom-house duties were more than doubled. It extended, how-
ever, comparatively to little more than a dying struggle. The
1764. French still continued to increase rapidly; in 1764, they had
a force of 8,786 white men, capable of bearing arms, with
whom 1414 mulattoes were enrolled, and their slaves had in-
17G7. creased to 206,000. In 1767, they laded 347 ships for France,
besides a considerable overplus, not less than one fifth of that
number, distributed in various ways.


As if it were to temper the success of this splendid colony, a
1770. dreadful earthquake, happened on the third day of June, 1770,
which










HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


which levelled the capital, Port au Prince, with the ground. It CHAP. I.
has been, however, rebuilt with additional convenience, and en- 1770.
large with much labour, several streets having been raised upon
the shore by means of causeways, though it does not possess, by
any means, the elegance of Cape Francois; many of the buildings
being composed of wood.


In 1776, a determinate cessation took place of the dreadful 1770.
feuds which had constantly occurred between the Spanish and
French inhabitants of the colony, by the formation of a new line
of demarcation, to separate the different partitions of the island.
This settlement, though from a strange avarice in the Spaniards
of territory, which they knew not how to occupy, appears to
encroach considerably on the former possessions of France, was a
most desirable concession to the latter. Nor were the conse-
quences of this agreement less favorable to the Spaniards in other
respects: for they afterwards opened a more liberal commerce
with their neighboring colonists; whom they supplied with
every description of cattle, receiving in return through their
means all the productions of Europe, and expending with them
the monies received from Spain for the purposes of the govern-
ment.


After the conflict between Great Britain and her American 1785.
colonies, the Spanish government began to pay more regard to
its territories in that quarter, and it accordingly became furnished
with a more respectable garrison. Since that time, the number
of










HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


CHAP. I. of Europeans added to it, tended also to improve its respectability
178s. as a colony.


From this period, to the commencement of revolutionary acti-
vity in 1789, when those principles which had long been con-
cealed in a smouldering flame, were about to have vent through
the world, the French establishment in St. Dol.iwi o reached a
height superior, not only to all other colonial possessions, but to
the conception of the philosopher and politician; its private lux-
ury, and its public grandeur, astonished the traveller; its accu-
mulation of wealth surprised the mother country; and it was
beheld with rapture by the neighboring inhabitants of the islands
of the Antilles. Like a rich beauty, surrounded with every de-
light, the politicians of Europe, sighed for her possession; but they
sighed in vain; she was reserved for the foundation of a republic
as extraordinary as it is terrible, whether it ultimately tend
only, to the ascertainment of abstract opinions, or unfold a new
and august empire to the world, where it has heretofore been
deemed impossible to exist.


It remains only to the present division of the work, to add a
brief account of the general appearance of the island, as it existed
at this date of its history; which, will then subdivide itself into
the different heads, under which it is proposed to consider the
causes, progress, and consequences of its revolution, and present
establishment.


Notwithstanding









HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


Notwithstanding, the reduced state of that part of the island CH T.
which still continued in the possession of Spain, what has been 17s9.
collected of its topography, or, natural history, shall, in justice of te isad.
to the ancient proprietors, commence the brief detail which
concludes the present chapter.


The Spanish division of St. Domingo is understood to have Spanish divi-
sion.
comprehended, at that period, the whole territory within the
diversified line of demarcation, fixed upon a few years before,
which confined the French to apparently an insignificant part
of the island. Commencing with the river Du Massacre on Last line of
demarcation.
the north, it stretched in an irregular curve towards the west,
crossing all the great roads from Fort Dauphin and the Cape,
passing the hills at about thirty miles distant from the coast, and
intersecting the conflux of the streams of La Trouble and Plai-
sance; when, turning shortly round the hills at Atalaye, it
assumes its southern direction, and crossing the stream of La
Petite Riviere at its mouth, stretches through a delightful plain
watered by the great river Artibonite: crossing this, and the river
Du Fer, and winding round a single hill, it then proceeds through
the little lake of Cul de Sac; returning to its eastward direction,
it falls in with the river & Pitres at a point nearly opposite to that
of its departure, having formed an elipsis of not less than 170
miles, the nearest point approaching within a very short distance
of the town of Gonives, situate in the bay of that name, upon the
western coast*.

This line is believed to be accurately delineated in the corrected map of the island
prefixed to the present work.
K It









HISTORY OF ST. D)OMINGO.


CHAP. I. It will be perceived, what a large proportion of this delightfri
1789. territory, remained in the possession of Spain; which, whatever
Topography,
&c. the degraded character we have been obliged to attribute to its
Sp::nish divi-
sioin. possessors, must have produced a very ample return for the cul-
tivation they bestowed upon it. With an extent of coast of be-
tween five and six hundred miles, in which are not less than
seven capacious bays, (with innumerable inlets,) into which twenty
large rivers, besides many nameless streams, discharge themselves;
while the interior, consisting of large fertile plains, well watered,
and protected, rather than interrupted, by the different chains of
mountains with which they are variegated; producing the most
delightful and salubrious vallies: nothing was wanting but the
moderate labour of the cultivator, and a liberal policy, to render
it the most desirable country in the world. In wanting these,
however, it sunk into a beautiful wilderness, and its sullen shores
repelled the eye which had been attracted by distant fertility. On
scites that would have received and encouraged the population of
cities, were placed the solitary huts of fishermen; whose miserable
toils, perhaps, a melancholy monk was embittering by a thousand
painful restrictions of his poverty-stricken career on earth, and
dreadful views of eternity; the result of morbid intellects, nursed
by the wild scene around him.


City of St. The principal towns, after the ancient city of St. Domingo,
Domingo.
were, Monte Christi, La Vega, St. Jago, formerly that of the
Conception, Zeibo, St. Thomb, Azua, and Isabella, if the latter
could deserve the appellation. The other places were merely
villages










HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.


villages of the most wretched appearance, which, instead of CHAP. t.
alluring society from the distant provinces, seemed rather to as9.
Topography,
mark with desolation those natural meadows with which they &c.
Spanish divi-
abounded. The most important of these were St. Laurent, a sion,.
few miles north of the capital, in which were a few villas, very Villages.
inviting, from the beauty of the plain in which it was situated;
Higuey, whose advantageous situation on the river of that name,
might have procured for it much more importance; Baya,
Bayaguana, and Monte Plata, surrounded by the finest land in
the known world, and in the vicinity of forests, whose riches and
utility were unappreciated; Cotuy, near the union of the rivers
Yuna and Cotuy, about eight leagues from the centre of the bay
of Samana; St. Juan de Maguana, delightfully placed on the
banks of the Neybe, and separated by a small mountainous dis-
trict from the lake of Riquille; St. Jean de Goava and Banica,
served often as points of the commerce between the two colonies,
as well as Atalaye, which stretched towards the extremity of the
angle reaching into the French division opposite the bay of
Gonive; St. Miguel, Dejabon, Venta de Cana, Sala, Jarbon,
Espani, and Amina, distributed in the course of a few leagues
from the northern coasts, though inhabited by a kind of wealthy
graziers, form a powerful contrast to the wild beauty of the sur-
rounding country.


St. Domingo, the capital, and seat of the ecclesiar.t;ial govern- Spanish ca-
pital.
ment of the colonies, and nt ce time of the whole of the Spanish
dominion in the new world, still continued an archiepiscopal see,
K 2 to










68 HISTORY OF ST. DOMINGO.

CHAP. I. to which the bishops of the other islands were suffragans. It is
1789. situated, as hath been before described, near the mouth of the
Topography,
&c. river Ozama, on the southern coast of the island, and on the
2~io .divi- border of a fertile and delightful level of near ninety miles in
length, and thirty in breadth, significantly called Los Llanos.
The cathedral, and other public buildings, yet retained no mean
degree of importance; and, notwithstanding their dilapidating
antiquity, wore an elegance of appearance that was not to have
been expected. The remains of many other superb buildings of
antiquity were yet to be seen, and those of a modern date of
brick, stone, and wood, were not unworthy the capital of such a
territory. It yet contained several religious establishments, and
what is of more importance, the extent and safety of its harbour,
containing an ample depth of water, and, protected by a bar,
over which the largest vessels rode with safety, could not fail to
render it of great commercial interest. The streets were princi-
pally broad, and towards the middle of the town retained their
original rectangular neatness; they were also clean, and enlight-
ened by three handsome squares. It yet contained an appear-
ance of great strength towards the sea, and even on the side of
the land it was guarded by a sufficient wall. Some remains yet
exist of the ancient citadel, and also of the palace of the First
Viceroy.


Monte The tbWs2.of Monte Christi still retained a busy appearance,
Christi.
and some degree of importance, from its continued traffic with
the neighboring continent of North America, and the vicinity
of