retreat. A Calvinist, named Gobin, erected a house on Cape François, in San Domingo," and prevailed on others to join him in his Time added to their numbers, and the convenience of their situation justified their choice. As the lands became cleared, and the value of its commodious bay became known, both inhabitants and shipping resorted to the spot," and the town of Cape François rose to importance. On the 5th of April, 331 buccaneers, under the command of Bartholomew Sharp, Richard Sawkins, Peter Harris, John Coxon, and Edward Cook, landed upon the Spanish Main, near the Isle d'Oro-marched to the town of Santa Maria-and upon the 15th of the same month, captured the fort and 260 men, with the loss of only two men wounded; but not finding the plunder they expected, three hundred weight of gold having been sent off three days before, they proceeded down the River Santa Maria in the Gulf of St. Miguel, in the South Sea, in thirty-five canoes and one piragua, to attack the city of Panama. Their depredations in those seas do not belong to this history. Coxon was accused of cowardice by some of the buccaneers, and after the first action off Panama, returned with seventy men, to march back the same way they had come. The Spaniards attacked the island of Providence, and totally destroyed the English settlement there. They took Mr. Clark, the governor, to Cuba, in irons, where they are said to have spitted and roasted him to death! The celebrated Sir Henry Morgan was left by Lord Carlisle deputy-governor and commander-in-chief of Jamaica. During his government, Fort Rupert, Fort Carlisle, and a new line at Fort James, were built. Sir Richard Dutton succeeded Sir Jonathan Atkins as governor of Barbadoes. The King of France forbade all privateering against the Spaniards in the West Indies: he found no benefit accrued to himself or his subjects by granting commissions to these pirates, who, when opportunity offered, robbed all nations. He sent orders to all his governors in America to recall all the commissions which had been granted them, and henceforth they were to be deemed pirates. Upon the 25th of March, 1780, Father Louis Hennepin, in company with Antoine Auguil, surnamed Picard du Gay, and Michel Ako, a native of Poitou, in a bark canoe, arrived at the mouth of the Mississippi. They had left M. de la Salle, at Fort Crevcœur, on the 29th of February, and descended by the River Illinois into the Mississippi. Coke's West Indies, vol. iii. p. 384. Ringrose's Hist. of the Buccaneers, chap. i. B. Edwards, vol. i. p. 185.-vol. iii. p. 411. Univ. Hist. vol. xxxvi. pp. 308, 309. Charlevoix, tom. iii. p. 164. Voyage du Hennepin, à Leide, 1704. p. 271. 239. 241. Having discovered the sea, and the two men being fearful of falling into the hands of the Spaniards, Father Hennepin, after erecting a cross of ten or twelve feet in height, to which he fastened a letter with their names, and a succinct account of their voyage, and having upon their knees sung some hymns, they set out upon their return. The Spaniards attacked and dislodged the English from their settlement in the Laguna de Terminos; but the English returned again three months afterwards, and resumed their old trade of cutting logwood, with greater success than before. 1681. Upon the 1st of January, 1681, divine service was performed, for the first time, in the new church at Port Royal, Jamaica. The text was from Acts, vii. 33. "Put off thy shoes from thy feet, for the place where thou standest is holy ground." The sermon was "published at the request of Sir Henry Morgan and other gentlemen, by whose liberal contribution the said church was erected." In October, 1681, M. Barbot sailed from Rochelle for Guinea, for a cargo of slaves. They arrived at Martinico upon the 12th of May, 1682, with 250 slaves, having lost only seven upon the passage. He sold them for 7000 lbs. of brown sugar the "Indian Piece". 66 by which is meant a Black from fifteen to twenty-five years of age. From eight to fifteen, and from twenty-five to thirty-five, three pass for two. Below eight, and from thirty-five to forty-five, two pass for one. Sucking infants follow their mothers without account. All above forty-five years are valued by arbitrators." By this it appears that infants were of no value in this accursed trade. Barbot returned to Rochelle in September, 1682, having been eleven months and ten days on his whole voyage out and home. The island of Antigua was desolated by a tremendous hurricane. The legislature of Barbadoes passed an Act upon the 8th of June, prohibiting Quakers from carrying negroes to their meetings. The same act contained a clause which forbade dissenters to instruct their pupils, or even to keep schools upon the island. All Negroes were prohibited from attending any meeting-houses whatever! Voyage du Hennepin, à Leide, 1704, pp. 272. 276. Long's Jamaica, vol. i. p. 341. Univ. Hist. vol. xxxvi. p. 269. Off. Papers presented to House of Commons, 1815. By a new commission to Lord Carlisle, under the "broad seal," dated 3d November, Jamaica was restored to its former government, and all their privileges enlarged. During the controversy, Lord Carlisle left the island, and Sir Henry Morgan, acting as lieutenant-governor, having intelligence that Everson, the Dutch pirate, was in Cow Bay, with a sloop and "barqua longa," with 100 desperate fellows on board, sent a sloop with fifty men, besides officers, in quest of him. On the 1st of February, they attacked the pirates, killed the Dutch captain, and took the sloop. The bark cut her cable, and escaped. The crew were almost all of them English, and Sir Henry sent them to the governor of Carthagena, to be punished for the outrages they had committed upon the Spaniards. During Sir Henry's government, he promoted and passed an act of Assembly, "for restraining privateers." The act states, "That all articles concluded and all treaties of peace agreed upon with foreign states shall be inviolably kept." And it enacts, that " any subject belonging to the island, who should serve in a hostile manner in America, under any foreign prince, state, or potentate, should be deemed a felon, and, upon conviction, suffer death." Sir Thomas Lynch was appointed governor, and empowered to make such laws as should be conducive to his Majesty's interest, and agreeable to the Assembly. The rate of interest was fixed, by an act of Assembly, at ten pounds per cent. And one on the 28th of October, intituled, "An Act declaring the laws of England in force." Another act was passed, ordering, 1. Masters to keep one white man-servant to the first five slaves, one to the second five; and for every ten after the first ten, one. 5. £10 penalty for employing a free person without a certificate from the last employer. 9. Fathers of bastard children shall indemnify the parish. 10. Freemen marrying a servant, penalty £20, to be paid to the master, and the servant to be free. 12. Penalty of £20 on masters turning away sick servant, under pretence of freedom. 13. No servant to be whipped naked, without order of a justice of the peace, upon penalty £5. 16. A christian servant not to be buried till viewed by the justice, constable, &c. Long's Jamaica, vol. ii. pp. 115. 302. 555. 610. 1682. James, Duke of Courland, covenanted with Captain John Poyntz, for settling 120,000 acres of land in Tobago, with the subjects of England and Courland. Captain Poyntz published proposals, under the authority of the duke's grant, from the Crown of England, and all the powers of Europe seemed to acquiesce in his right. M. de Pouancy, the French governor of San Domingo, died this year. The Dutch West India Company bought of the States General the exclusive management of the colony of Surinam for 260,000 florins. By the eighth article, the Company are absolutely prohibited from ever sending a single vessel to the colony for the purposes of trade, and are only permitted to carry thither slaves from Africa, and to reload the slave ships with the produce of the taxes paid in kind, and the price received for the slaves sold. The Company were to name the governor, but the appointment was always to be ratified by the States General. And the Company could not levy any taxes upon the settlement without the consent of the States. Several new laws were passed by the Governor, Council, and Assembly of Jamaica, whereof twenty-eight were confirmed by his Majesty for seven years, and afterwards for twenty-one. That declaring the laws of England in force, was, on the 23d of February, 1682, by the King in Council, repealed, made “void, and of none effect." 1683. The buccaneers were in the habit of meeting at the island of Rattan, and there settling their plans. It was agreed among them, that the Captains Laurent and Michael should go to Honduras after a Spanish" hourque," and that Van Horne should go to San Domingo and sell a cargo of Negroes. The Spaniards seized the slaves as stolen goods, but did not detain Van Horne, who went immediately to Petit Goave, and obtained a commission from the French governor to cruize against the Spaniards. Captain Gramont was there when Van Horne arrived: he Univ. Hist. vol. xxxvi. pp. 284. Charlevoix, tom.iii. p. 172. Brougham's Colonial Policy, B. 1. S. 3. p. 341. Long's Jamaica, p. 610. had been driven ashore in a large ship of fifty-two guns, had lost the whole of his property, and was glad to join Van Horne as a volunteer. Three hundred others did so also. Although Van Horne knew that Laurent and Michael were gone after the hourque," he went and took her himself, and was carrying her as his prize to Rattan, when he fell in with Laurent, who was enraged at the transaction: the vessel was in ballast, and not worth much. Van Horne contrived to pacify Laurent, and induced him to enter into his plans for attacking Vera Cruz. They knew the Spaniards expected two vessels from the Caraccas. The buccaneers, therefore, put the best of their men into two vessels, and about midnight landed at the old town of La Vera Cruz, two leagues from the new town. After taking the Vigie upon the beach, they seized some slaves, made them serve as guides, and were at the gates of Vera Cruz an hour before daylight. They entered when the gates were opened, and the Forlorn Hope, commanded by Captain Laurent and Charles Roinet, got possession of a fort mounting twelve guns, which they turned upon the town without the least opposition. The Spaniards mistook the firing for rejoicings, and supposed it was done by a rich citizen of the same name as the saint whose festival it happened to be that day. They were, however, roused from their beds by the appalling cry, that the "Ladrones" were in the city! A horrible confusion ensued: all who attempted opposition were speedily overcome. The wealthiest surrendered, and multitudes escaped. The conquerors put all their prisoners into the cathedral, and blocked up the doors with powder, from which they laid trains, and posted a man at each with a lighted match, with orders, in case the prisoners attempted any further resistance, to blow up them and the church! The buccaneers were now undisputed masters of the richest city in America, which, according to Gramont's statement, had 3000 men to defend it, could, within twenty-four hours, draw 16,000 more from the neighbourhood, exclusive of 800 soldiers in the garrison, and sixty pieces of cannon in the fortress of St. Juan de Ulloa, one side of which commanded the sea, the other the city. For twenty-four hours the buccaneers were busily employed in plundering the city, and embarked jewels, money, cochenille, &c. to the value of six millions of dollars. Having finished plundering, they called upon those in the church to ransom themselves, and made a Spanish priest address the multitude from the pulpit. He told them," that the conquerors neither wanted their lives, or intended to deprive them of liberty, but they demanded their money; and as liberty and life were of Histoire des Aventuriers Flibustiers, par A. O. Oexmelin, tom. i. p. 266. |