Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

When, therefore, he was asked why he had not acquainted the executive council with this circumstance, he was utterly disconcerted, and made no reply.

On the 13th, the commissioners ordered M. Galbaud to embark forthwith on board La Normande sloop of war, and return to France. At the same time they sent instructions to M. de la Salle, commandant at Port-au-Prince, to repair, to the Cape, and receive from them, in the name of the French republic, the command of the colony. The seven following days were spent in intrigues and preparations for hostilities.

Galbaud's brother had collected, from among the inhabitants and the seamen in the harbour, a strong party to support his brother. On the 20th, the two brothers landed at the head of 1200 sailors, and, being joined by a considerable body of volunteers, proceeded immediately to the house in which the commissioners were, defended by the people of colour, a body of regulars, and one piece of cannon; the conflict was fierce and bloody, but the seamen getting possession of a wine cellar, soon became ungovernable; and the column was obliged to retire to the royal arsenal, where they remained the ensuing night unmolested. The next morning many skirmishes took place in the streets, in one of which Galbaud's brother was taken prisoner by the commissioners' troops, and in another, Galbaud's seamen took Polverel's son. The governor

proposed an exchange, but Polverel rejected the offer with indignation, declaring that his son knew his duty, and was prepared to die in the service of the republic.

About three thousand revolted Negroes, commanded by a Negro chief called Macaya, whom the commissioners had called in by offering them an unconditional pardon for the past, freedom for the future, and the plunder of the city, entered the town at noon : they immediately began an indiscriminate slaughter of men, women, and children; the white inhabitants fled from all quarters to the sea-side, in hopes of finding shelter on board the ships, but a body of Mulattoes cut off their retreat, and a massacre ensued, which continued from the 21st to the evening of the 23d, when there being no more white inhabitants to murder, the Negroes set fire to the buildings, and more than half the city was consumed by the flames. Only twelve or fifteen hundred persons (the French say five thousand) are supposed to have escaped, some of whom were saved by the white soldiers.

Three hundred persons were burnt in one house; numbers of both sexes were shot as they were swimming off to the ships, and the convoy sailed for America on the same evening, filled with a miserable and destitute freight of human beings.

Some of the wretched fugitives on board an American brig, the Thomas of Boston, were detained on their passage for two days by

an English privateer from Nassau, the Susannah, Captain Tucker, who, after plundering the French of all their remaining valuables, and of their Negroes, who had voluntarily followed them, let the vessel go.

After this triumph of the republicans, Polverel left his colleague at the cape, and went to the westward. Santhonax quitted the government house, which formerly belonged to the Jesuits, and was indefensible, and removed to Grigri, M. Bailly's house, situated within gun-shot of the town, near the little " Carenage," Carenage," upon the side of the mountain facing the anchorage, and in a steep place. There was only one narrow road to it between the "Morne a Pic" and the sea. A steep path led to the house, which could only be entered by a long flight of steps. Above it the heights were inaccessible, and before the house was a large terrace, underneath which was a garden, consisting of five or six platforms, still narrower, which ended at the road. Here two brass guns were placed, and a strong guard of Blacks; and here Santhonax remained. Upon the 29th of August, he declared all the Blacks and persons of mixed blood actually in slavery free, and entitled to enjoy all the rights attached to the quality of French citizens.

Polverel had done the same to leeward by a proclamation dated the 27th of August.

All the particulars of the precipitate departure of Santhonax (the French writer says) prove that he dreaded the animosity of the Mulattoes, and dared not trust himself to the Blacks; he could not hope either for any produce in a country so ruined. He took with him all the provisions and ammunition which remained in the magazines, and all the white troops, and only white ones, who were now reduced from 15,000 men to 1000, of whom 400 were so ill, that, despairing of curing them in that country, he sent them to the United States; these were shipped without necessaries and without surgeons; several, indeed, died during the process of embarking. When these were gone, Santhonax, upon the 10th of October, sailed for Port de Paix; quitting the famous anchorage of Cape François, which used, before the revolution, to contain continually four or five hundred merchant vessels of all sizes, and leaving in it only five or six small craft belonging to the Americans.

It is more probable that Santhonax was afraid of the English. Upon the 9th of September, Commodore J. Ford, in his Majesty's ship Europa of fifty guns, sailed from Jamaica with the expedition against St. Domingo. The troops were under the command of Colonel Whitelocke. Upon the 19th, the Europa, Le Goelan, fourteen guns, Captain T. Woolley, and Flying Fish (schooner), Lieutenant Prevost, arrived at Jeremie, and the troops were landed the ensuing morning; as the terms of capitulation had been previously arranged

Soirées Bermudiennes, pp. 233. 235. 239.

Steele's Chronologist.

Coke's West Indies, vol. iii. p. 462,

with the council of public safety of that part of the island, they took possession of the town, forts, and harbour, without the least opposition, and the inhabitants took the oaths of allegiance. The commodore remained here but a few hours, when he sailed for Cape St. Nicholas Mole, which surrendered on similar terms on the 22d September. The parishes of St. Marc and Gonaives surrendered to Major Grant, commandant at St. Nicholas Mole, in December, and Commodore Ford blockaded Port-au-Prince.

Colonel Whitelock having been assured that 500 French, under M. Duval, would assist at the capture of Tiburon, made the attempt, but Duval and his troops did not make their appearance; the enemy were more formidable than had been represented, and Colonel Whitelock was obliged to retreat with the loss of twenty men killed and wounded,

Between seven and eight hundred men from Jamaica reinforced the British troops, and led the planters to conclude that the English would pursue the conquest of the island.

In January, his Majesty's ship Providence, Captain William Bligh, and the Assistant brig, Captain Nathaniel Portlock, arrived at Jamaica from the South Seas, having on board several hundred plants of the bread fruit tree, and a vast number of other choice and curious plants: by December, some of the bread fruit plants were upwards of eleven feet high, with leaves thirty-six inches long. The gardeners' success in cultivating them exceeded his most sanguine expectations. There had been several attempts to introduce the bread fruit tree made before, but without success.

Three hundred bread fruit plants, in excellent order, were left by Captain Bligh at Kingston, in St. Vincent's, for the purpose of being distributed among the different islands. The Providence was only twenty-seven days on her passage from St. Helena to St. Vincent's.

At Jamaica, the bread fruit plants, some of which were nearly three inches in diameter, and in high perfection, were divided by the commissioners; eighty-three to the county of Surrey, and an equal number to the county of Manchester, and the same to the county of Cornwall.

The white population in Grenada were estimated at 1000 this year. The island of Tobago was captured by the English: it surrendered without any great struggle, on the 15th of April, to Sir John Laforey, in his Majesty's ship Trusty, of fifty guns, the Nautilus, of sixteen, the Honourable H. Powlett, and the troops under the command of Major-General Cuyler.

The Danish government allowed the free exportation of cotton from Santa Cruz, on payment of 7 per cent. duty.

Edwards, vol. i. Preface; vol. iii. p. 436.

Annual Register, 1793, pp. 10. 17. Colquhoun's British Empire, pp. 357. 362.

The whole of the trade from the Danish West India islands employed only between fifty and sixty vessels, from 80 to 120 tons burthen.

Some charges having been made against Sir J. Orde, as governor of Dominica, by the assembly of that island, he was recalled to England, and the charges investigated before the King in council. The result of the inquiry, Mr. H. Dundas tells him," is highly creditable to you; and the more so, from the full and minute considerations which those charges, and their general imputations against you, underwent."

In 1786, the assembly had voted him their thanks; and in 1791, the principal inhabitants did so again, for suppressing a dangerous revolt of the slaves.

In February, the Methodists held a conference at Antigua; and by the returns which were made to this conference from the different islands, they found that their total number of members in society amounted to 6570 persons. Of this number, 2420 resided in Antigua, of whom only thirty-six where Whites, and 105 people of colour. The rest were Blacks.

Nearly 400 had been formed into a society in Nevis.

From the return made to the House of Commons, it appears that Great Britain imported 90,547 cwt. of coffee and 163,500 hhds. of sugar from the West Indies, of which 28,928 cwt. of coffee and 80,300 hhds. of sugar came from Jamaica.

Upon the 25th of November, his Majesty's ships Penelope, Captain B. S. Rowley, and Iphigenia, Captain Sinclair, captured L'Inconstante, of thirty-six guns, in the Bight of Leogane, St. Domingo.

In August, St. Christopher's was considerably damaged by a hurricane. On the evening preceding the storm, there were near thirty sail at anchor in the roads, but in the morning none were to be seen, except those stranded at different places along the

coast.

June 29th, George Poyntz Ricketts, Esq., was appointed governor of Tobago.

The Methodists in Grenada finished their chapel: it would contain about 400 persons, but was at times too small for the congregation. The Methodists were 100 in society in June. In August, the assembly passed an act, establishing the Romish clergy, with the Church of England, in every parish throughout the island allowing them £200 per annum, and prohibiting preachers of any other denomination whatever from exercising the functions of

Naval Chronicle, vol. xi. p. 191.

Coke's West Indies, vol. ii. pp. 75. 77. 80. 443.; vol. iii. p. 16.
Steele's Naval Chronologist.

Sir W. Young's Common-place Book, p. 16.

Annual Register, 1793, pp. 43. 63.

ministers, under the penalty of being treated as rogues and vagabonds. The bill, however, did not pass into a law.

General export of the four staple articles of produce of the British sugar colonies, from return to order of House of Commons, May the 5th, 1806, for 1793,2,129,750 cwt. of sugar, 4,907,051 gallons of rum, 92,016 cwt. of coffee, and 9,173,583 lbs. of cotton.

The dried fish from the United States, imported into all our islands collectively, was 5025 quintals; and the herrings, or other pickled fish, amounted to 426 barrels.

A Spanish squadron under Lieutenant-General Ariztizable, composed of seven sail of the line and ten frigates, arrived at Porto Cavallo in July, where they remained six months, and suffered dreadfully from the fever. They then crossed as rapidly as possible to Fort Dauphin, where a part remained. The rest went to the Havaña, and remained there until the ships rotted, for they were found not sea-worthy; when, in 1801, an order was sent to the Havaña, for their return to Spain.

In May, his Majesty's ship Experiment arrived in English Harbour from Grenada, in the greatest distress, having lost almost all her men by the fever. An artificer belonging to the ordnance, who had gone on board, and slept in a blanket belonging to one of the dead men, was seized with the fever, and died in a few hours. The infection by means of this blanket, which was carried on shore to the ordnance quarters, with the wearing apparel of the deceased, as part of his property, was communicated to the whole detachment of artillery, and from them to the 31st regiment, then on garrison duty. A boat's crew of the Solebay frigate were sent on board the Experiment to assist in working her into the harbour; they caught the infection, and all died. They had communicated the disease to the crew of their own ship, of whom 200 perished. The contagion was carried to St. John's.

This year, there are only three privateers reported to have been taken by the English in the West Indies.

On the 11th of June, Admiral Gardner with a fleet, having on board 1100 soldiers, under the command of General Bruce, arrived off Cape Navire, in Martinico. The troops landed on the 16th, and were immediately joined by about 800 French royalists, and the whole took post within five miles of St. Pierre's, the general intending to attack the two forts which commanded that town. On the morning of the 18th, the troops were to march in two columns,

Sir W. Young's Common-place Book, pp. 29, 30. 32, 33.
Stephens's Defence of Register Bill, p. 201.
Depon's South America, vol. ii. pp. 51. 211.
Coke's West Indies, vol. ii. p. 419. quoting Dr. Chisholm.
Steele's Naval Chronologist, p. 48.

« AnteriorContinuar »