Dundas, minister of His Britannic Majesty for foreign affairs, dated the 7th of April, 1797, which I here publish in obedience to orders, and for the use which your excellency may draw from its publication, in order that you may communicate its tenor, which is literally as follows:-The object which at present I desire most particularly to recommend to your attention, is the means which might be best adapted to liberate the people of the continent near to the island of Trinidad from the oppressive and tyrannic system which supports with so much rigour the monopoly of commerce, under the title of exclusive registers which their government licences demand; also to draw the greatest advantages possible, and which the local situation of the island presents, by opening a direct and free communication with the other parts of the world, without prejudice to the commerce of the British nation. In order to fulfil this intention with greater facility, it will be prudent for your excellency to animate the inhabitants of Trinidad in keeping up the communication which they had with those of Terra Firma previous to the reduction of that island, under the assurance that they will find there an entrepôt or general magazine of every sort of goods whatever. To this end, His Britannic Majesty has determined in council to grant freedom to the ports of Trinidad, with a direct trade to Great Britain. With regard to the hopes you entertain of raising the spirits of those persons with whom you are in correspondence, towards encouraging the inhabitants to resist the oppressive authority of their government, I have little more to say, than that they may be certain, that whenever they are in that disposition, they may receive at your hands all the succours to be expected from His Britannic Majesty, be it with forces, or with arms and ammunition to any extent; with the assurance, that the views of His Britannic Majesty go no further than to secure to them their independence, without pretending to any sovereignty over their country, nor even to interfere in the privileges of the people, nor in their political, civil, or religious rights.' Puerto de Espana, 26 June 1797. THOMAS PICTON, &c. &c." Upon the 12th of February, Rear-Admiral Harvey, with the squadron under his command, sailed from Martinico to join some transports with troops on board at Cariacou. On the 15th, in the morning, the fleet sailed from Cariacou, and on the 16th passed the Bocas, and found the Spanish admiral, with four sail of the line and a frigate, at anchor under cover of the island of Gaspergrande, which was fortified. The squadron worked up, and came to an anchor opposite to and nearly within gun shot of the Spanish Annual Register, 1797, p. 54. ships. The frigates and transports were ordered higher up the bay, and they anchored about five miles from the town of Port d'Espagne. The disposition was immediately made for landing at daylight next morning, and for a general attack upon the town and ships of war. At two in the morning of the 17th, the Spanish ships were observed to be on fire; they burnt with great fury, one line of battle-ship excepted, which escaped the conflagration, and was taken possession of at daylight, by the boats of the fleet. The enemy at the same time evacuated the island and abandoned that quarter. The troops were immediately ordered to land; and as soon as a few hundred men could be got on shore, about four miles to the westward of the town, General Abercrombie advanced, meeting with little or no resistance. Before night he was master of Port d'Espagne and the neighbourhood, two small forts excepted. In the morning, a capitulation' was entered into with the governor Don Chacon; and in the Annual Register, 1797, p. 54. 1 Articles of Capitulation for the surrender of the Island of Trinidad, between his Excellency Sir Ralph Abercrombie, K. B. Commander-in-Chief of His Britannic Majesty's Land Forces, Henry Harvey, Esq. Rear Admiral of the Red, and Commander-in-Chief of His Britannic Majesty's Ships and Vessels of War, and his Excellency Don Josef Maria Chacon, Knight of the Order of Calatrava, Brigadier of the Royal Navy, Governor and Commander-in Chief of the Island of Trinidad and its Dependencies, Inspector General of the Troops of its Garrison, &c. &c. "ART. 1. The officers and troops of His Catholic Majesty and his allies in the island of Trinidad, are to surrender themselves prisoners of war, and are to deliver up the territory, forts, buildings, arms, ammunition, money, effects, plans, and stores, with exact inventories thereof, belonging to His Catholic Majesty; and they are thereby transferred to His Britannic Majesty in the same manner and possession as has been held heretofore by his said Catholic Majesty. "2. The troops of His Catholic Majesty are to march out with the honours of war, and to lay down their arms at the distance of 300 paces from the forts they occupy, at five o'clock this evening, the 18th of February. "3. All the officers and troops aforesaid of His Catholic Majesty are allowed to keep their private effects, and the officers "4. Admiral Don Sebastian Ruiz de Apodaca being on shore in the island, after having burnt and abandoned his ships, he, with the officers and men belonging to the squadron under his command, are included in this capitulation, under the same terms as are granted to His Catholie Majesty's troops. "5. As soon as ships can be conveniently provided for the purpose, the prisoners are to be conveyed to Old Spain, they remaining prisoners of war until exchanged by a cartel between the two nations, or until peace, it being clearly understood that they shall not serve against Great Britain or her allies until exchanged. "6. There being some officers among His Catholic Majesty's troops, whose private affairs require their presence at different places of the continent of America, such officers are permitted to go upon their parole to the said places for six months, more or less, after which period they are to return to Europe; but as the number receiving this indulgence must be limited, his Excellency Don Chacon will previously deliver to the British commanders a list of their names, ranks, and places which they are going to. "7. The officers of the royal administration, upon the delivery of stores with which they are charged to such officers as may be appointed by the British commanders, will receive receipts, according to the custom in like cases, from the officers so appointed to receive the stores. evening all the Spanish troops laid down their arms, and the whole colony passed under the dominion of His Britannic Majesty. Lieutenant Villeneuve, of the 8th regiment of foot, was the only person wounded: he died soon afterwards. General Abercrombie thanks Captain Woolley, of his Majesty's Annual Register, 1797, p. 54. habitants, as well Spaniards as such as may have been naturalised, is preserved to them. 9. All public records are to be preserved in such courts or offices as they are now in; and all contracts and purchases between individuals, which have been done according to the laws of Spain, are to be held binding and valid by the British go vernment. "10. The Spanish officers of administration who are possessed of landed property in Trinidad, are allowed to remain in the island, they taking the oaths of allegiance to His Britannic Majesty, and they are further allowed, should they please, to sell or dispose of their property, and to retire elsewhere. "11. The free exercise of their religion is allowed to the inhabitants. "12. The free coloured people who have been acknowledged as such by the laws of Spain shall be protected in their liberty, persons, and property, like other inhabitants, they taking the oath of allegiance, and demeaning themselves as become good and peaceable subjects of His Britannic Majesty. 13. The sailors and soldiers of His Catholic Majesty are from the time of their laying down their arms to be fed by the British government, leaving the expence to be regulated by the cartel between the two nations. "14. The sick of the Spanish troops will be taken care of, but to be attended and to be under the inspection of their own surgeons. 15. All the inhabitants of Trinidad shall, within thirty days from the date hereof, take the oath of allegiance to His Britannic Majesty to demean themselves quietly and faithfully to his government, upon pain, in case of non-compliance, of being sent away from the island.” "Done at Port d'Espagne, in the island of Trinidad, the 18th day of February, 1797. "RALPH ABERCROMBIE. " HENRY HARVEY. "JOSEPH MARIA CHACON." There were 577 Spanish prisoners taken in the garrison, and 6 French officers, and 50 men sick in the hospital, besides 91 naval officers, 581 marines, and 1032 seaAnnual Register, 1797, p. 65. men. List of the Fleet with Lieutenant General Sir R. Abercrombie, at the capture of the island of Trinidad, on the 18th of February, 1797. Ulysses armed transport, 44, Lieutenant George Lempriere; Zebra, 16, and Bittern, ship Arethusa, and Captain Wood, of the Favourite sloop, for their assistance; as also Lord Craven and Lieutenant-Colonel Soter. The number of Methodists in society in Barbadoes amounted to only twenty-one. "This gloomy aspect (they say) begat within us some serious thoughts of quitting the island altogether. Annual Register, 1797, p. 54. General Abercrombie's Official Letter. Official letter from Rear-Admiral Henry Harvey, Commander in-Chief of his Majesty's ships and vessels at Barbadoes, and the Leeward Islands. Dated off Port d'Espagne, in the Gulf of Paria, Feb. 21, 1797, to Mr. Nepean. "SIR, "I have the honour to acquaint you, for the information of their lordships, that it having been determined an attack should be made on the island of Trinidad, both with a view to that colony, and to the Spanish squadron, which had been there for some time past, the troops intended for this expedition from Martinico were accordingly embarked in the ships of war and transports, and I sailed from Fort Royal Bay the 12th instant, with the ships and vessels of his Majesty's squadron under my command. Lieutenant-General Sir Ralph Abercrombie embarked with me in the Prince of Wales. "The Invincible had previously sailed for Barbadoes, with two transports, to embark a part of the 14th regiment; and the Thorn and Zebra were ordered to receive the detachments from Tobago; the Favourite was sent to St. Vincent, to collect some troops from that island; and the whole were ordered to rendezvous at the island of Cariacou, one of the Grenadines, on or before the 13th; and on my arrival at that island, on the 14th, I found all the ships and transports were assembled. "On the 15th, in the morning, I sailed with the squadron and transports, passing between Cariacou and Grenada; and on the 16th arrived off Trinidad, and stood towards the Gulf of Paria; when having passed through the great Bocas Channel, at halfpast three in the afternoon, the Spanish squadron were discovered at anchor in Shagaramus Bay, consisting of four sail of the line, under the flag of a rear-admiral, and one frigate. As the day was well advanced before I approached the bay, and the enemy appeared in strength on Gasparaux Island, which commanded the anchorage, by batteries erected for that purpose, I ordered ceed a little farther up the gulf, and anchor, with all the transports. The Alarm, Favourite, and Victorieuse were ordered to keep under sail above the transports during the night, and prevent any vessels sailing from Port d'Espagne. "In the evening, just before dark, I anchored with the ships of the line, in order of battle, opposite to the enemy's squadron, within random shot of their ships and batteries, and in constant readiness to prevent their escape during the night, which I suspected they might attempt, as all their sails were bent, and they appeared perfectly ready for sailing. "At two o'clock in the morning of the seventeenth, we discovered one of their ships on fire, and soon after three others, all of which burnt with great fury until near daylight, when they were entirely consumed. One of them having escaped the conflagration, the boats were sent from the squadron, and she was brought out without having received any damage. "I have great satisfaction in acquainting their lordships, that this squadron of the enemy, commanded by Rear-Admiral Don Sebastian Ruiz de Apodaca, were destroyed or captured, according to the list I herewith inclose; and although this service was effected without any other act of his Majesty's squadron under my command, than being placed in such a situation as to prevent their escape, I am fully convinced, that had they remained at their anchorage until the next day, the officers and men whom I have the honour to command, would have completed, by their exertion and zeal, the capture of the whole, notwithstanding the advantage of their situation, under the cover of about twenty pieces of cannon and three mortars, which were mounted on Gasparaux Island, and had been placed there for the sole purpose of defending the ships in the bay. That island, which, like the ships, had been abandoned during the night, was taken possession of soon after daylight by a party of the Queen's regiment. "General Abercrombie, early in the morning,joined the Arethusa, and the troops In May, the missionary at Nevis reported that he had added about 100 new members since that time last year, but that their numbers did not exceed 400. The legislature of Grenada passed an act, imposing a tax of £100 on manumissions, and allowing an annuity of 10 for life to the freedman. The following is the preamble of the act:" And whereas the manumitting and setting free slaves, diseased, blind, aged, or otherwise disabled from working, without making provision for their sustenance and comfort, ought to be prevented, as it obliges them to ramble about and beg for subsistence, which frequently compels them to the necessity of robbing and stealing, and leads them to other bad practices to support themselves: - and whereas it is also necessary to discourage the two frequent and indiscriminate manumission of slaves, without a sufficient provision being made for their support." The first Methodist chapel ever built in St. Bartholomew's was erected this year. The following letter from Mr. Turton, the first missionary, traces the origin and progress of Methodism in that island. Soon "For the space of four years I resided at Antigua, where I exhorted occasionally in the societies. In 1785 I went to America, and travelled on the Long Island circuit for some time. Upon returning to Antigua, I preached in several parts of the island, when, at the request of Mr. Baxter, I visited Tobago. after my arrival there, the place was invaded by the French, who made dreadful devastations, through the whole island. For several days and nights I was exposed to the open air, having no other shelter but a bush to skreen me from the sun by day and the cold by night, and with scarcely any food to sustain nature. This brought on a fit of sickness, from which I did not get free for some months. Coke's West Indies, vol. iii. pp. 22. 81. Reasons for establishing a Registry of Slaves. London, 1817, p. 45. under the direction of Captain Woolley, covered by the Favourite sloop, about three miles from the town, without opposition. The general took possession of the town the same evening; and the 18th the governor desired to capitulate for the whole island, and the articles were agreed to, and signed the same day, a copy of which I herewith transmit. "Captain Harvey, of his Majesty's ship Prince of Wales, will have the honour to deliver this dispatch, from whom I have always experienced the greatest zeal and attention to his Majesty's service. "I have the honour to be, "Sir, "Your most obedient humble servant, "HENRY HARVEY." · List of Ships burnt and captured in the Shagaramus Bay, February 17th, 1797, by the squadron under Rear-Admiral Harvey. ......... 74 Don Raphael Benasa. Don Teref Jordan. (Taken.) (Burnt.) |