No. 273. Extract from Minutes of West India Company (Zeeland Chamber), August Read a letter from their High Mightinesses the States-General of the United Netherlands, written at the Hague on the 2nd of the current month, which gave cover to their high resolution of the day above-mentioned concerning the hostilities undertaken by the Spaniards against different Posts of the Company in Essequebo, the stopping and prevention of the fishing by those of the Colony on their own territory and in the mouth of the Oronoque, as well as the retention by the Spaniards of the slaves deserting to Oronoque from the same Colony, notwithstanding their being properly reclaimed by their masters, which remonstrance is more fully mentioned in the Minute of this Chamber of the 17th July last. Their High Mightinesses' Resolution aforesaid orders the Extraordinary Envoy at the Court to Spain (who is to be provided with a copy of the Remonstrance aforesaid and addenda relative thereto) to give knowledge of the undertakings and outrages of the Spaniards afore-mentioned, and of the result thereof, and to represent the impropriety thereof, as also to insist upon prompt reparation for the hostilities inflicted, and the reinstatement of the Company in the free possession of the aforesaid Posts and fisheries herein before mentioned, as also at the same time to insist that the necessary provision should be made for the prevention of similar material for complaint in future, and accordingly that proper orders be sent on account of the Court of Spain, the earlier the better, that all slaves who have deserted out of the Colony who still are forthcoming, or who may desert in future, upon the first proper claim, imperatively, upon payment of the expenses incurred, may be given up without delay, and without remaining in default, in which case their High Mightinesses would cause similar orders to be issued to the Colonies of the State. Further, extract of this Resolution to be placed in the hands of the Extraordinary Envoy of His Catholic Majesty at the Hague, with a request that he will second these their High Mightinesses' instances at his Court as far as possible by his good services and offices. Lastly, by the same Resolution, a letter still to be written to their Honours to the effect that their High Mightinesses had understood with regret from the same Remonstrance aforesaid the undertakings of the Spaniards committed on the territory of the State in the Colony of Essequibo and adjacent rivers,-that pursuant to the request in the same Remonstrance conveyed, a letter was written to their High Mightinesses' Extraordinary Envoy to the Court of Spain, and orders transmitted as mentioned just now. Then that their High Mightinesses desired much to be informed as follows: No. 273. What orders of their Honours who subscribe themselves as having particular direction over and care of the Colony of Essequebo and adjacent rivers have been drawn up to protect the Colony aforesaid from all outrages. That their Honours should inform their High Mightinesses, the earlier the better, how many forces are maintained by them for the protection of the aforesaid Colony; what forts and strongholds have been erected there on the limits and frontiers, in what state they are, with what artillery and munitions they are provided, and in general what provision has been made by their Honours for the security of the aforesaid Colony. And also, whereas it appears from all that has occurred there with the Spaniards that in future further exigencies may arise with the neighbours there, with additional recommendations to their Honours to draw up without loss of time such orders, and to make provision, that the Director of the Colony aforesaid may be placed in a position at least to make a resistance to similar insults and attacks, and to repulse them with effect, and to give the earliest notice to their High Mightinesses of all that their Honours shall have resolved in that behalf, in order that, should their High Mightinesses find that object was not sufficiently fulfilled, further disposition might be made therefor, according as may be found to be expedient for the occasion, so that the aforesaid Colony may not be exposed for want of the necessary provision. Letter from West India Company (Zeeland Chamber) to the States-General, August 21, 1769, as to the means of defense of the Colony of Essequibo. [Reprinted from U. S. Commission, Report, Vol. 2, pp. 477-491.] To the States General of the United Netherlands. HIGH AND MIGHTY SIRS: We had the honor to receive, on the 7th of this month, your letter and Resolution of the 2d preceding, a Resolution taken upon our Remonstrance of July 17 last, which concerned certain enterprises by the Spaniards from Orinoco against various posts of the colony of Essequibo; also the impeding and preventing of the fishery for the people of the aforesaid colony, upon their own coasts as well as in the mouth of the river Orinoco; and, lastly, the detention, in spite of the reclamation by their owners or masters, of the slaves deserting from the colony of Essequibo to Orinoco. From your aforesaid Resolution we saw that you had been pleased, in conformity with the request made in our aforesaid Remonstrance, to instruct the Envoy Extraordinary of the Republic at the Court of Spain, that he make due representations with respect to the three aforesaid points, and insist with all emphasis upon a prompt reparation of the offenses committed and upon the necessary provision for the future; while you had also No. 274. requested the Envoy Extraordinary of His Catholic Majesty to this Republic to second those representations and claims for reparation. From your aforesaid Resolution we furthermore saw that you had been grieved to learn of the enterprises and attacks of the Spaniards, committed upon the Republic's territory in the colony of Essequibo and appurtenant rivers. That, however, you would have been glad to learn, at the same time, what measures we, who attribute to ourselves the especial direction aud care of the colony of Essequibo and its appurtenant rivers, have taken in order to guard the aforesaid colony against all deeds of violence. That we must inform you, and the earlier the better, how many soldiers are maintained by us for the protection of the aforesaid colony? What forts and works have been erected on the frontiers there? In what condition these are? With what artillery and ammunition they are provided? And, in general, what provisions we make for the security of the aforesaid colony? To all of which was joined your recommendation that (inasmuch as, from what has occurred there with the Spaniards, it seems that further trouble with the neighbors there may hereafter arise) without delay we take such measures and precautions that the Director of the aforesaid colony may be enabled to offer at least some resistance against similar insults and attacks and to oppose them effectively; and, moreover, that we inform you at earliest opportunity of what we have resolved about this matter, so that, if you should find that this subject had not been sufficiently attended to, you might make such further dispositions as should be found necessary in order that for lack of necessary precaution the aforesaid colony may not remain exposed. While taking the liberty hereby to express to you our dutiful gratitude for the prompt and favorable Resolution which you have taken upon our aforesaid Remonstrance, we must also take this occasion to add hereto that we are gladdened and touched on seeing your truly fatherly grief at the aforesaid enterprises and attacks of the Spaniards against the aforesaid colony of Essequibo cum annexis. For thereby we were flattered with the sweet hope that in case of urgent necessity (which may God avert, or rather forefend, for we cannot yet foresee it) the colony of Essequibo and adjacent rivers might count upon help no less prompt and efficacious than was enjoyed by the colony of Berbice at the latest revolt of the negroes there. This prospect, you will readily understand, must please us the more, inasmuch as the Chamber Zeeland (ever since the well-known Resolution of the Board of Ten, of August 11, 1750, whereby the navigation to the Colony of Essequibo, formerly exclusively for the inhabitants of Zeeland, was thrown open for all the inhabitants of the Republic; or rather, since that Board of Ten's Resolution of September 17, 1753) has found itself placed No. 274. in charge of the especial direction and care of the aforesaid Colony of Essequibo; so that not only has the Presidial Chamber Amsterdam since the year 1756 left out the entire subject of Essequibo from the Agenda, in spite of the successive protests which were made against this in the name of this Chamber, but that the Chamber Amsterdam even had the hardihood to send back with protest, in 1767, a bill of exchange which the Chamber Zeeland had drawn after due and timely advice. This was done because the Chamber Zeeland hesitated to satisfy a demand, never heard of before, of the aforesaid Chamber Amsterdam, being in substance that the Chamber Zeeland must first declare that the amount of those bills was not to be expended in behalf of the Colony of Essequibo cum annexis, although that Colony always has been, and still is, a property of the General Company, which Company, as is well known, has the profits or losses falling to that Colony; and in spite of the circumstance that the Chamber Amsterdam had shortly before (in a certain Deduction, printed in its name, concerning the well-known controversies about Essequibo and Demerara) sustained precisely, totidem verbis, that the Treasury of each Chamber is not the Treasury of each Chamber in particular, but only a part of the Treasury of the Company, which consists of all the Treasuries of the respective Chambers together, etc. All this will be fully proven to you by the documents here inclosed, sub Literis A 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11 locis. And this, we flatter ourselves, will be enough to convince you that we do not now unjustly arrogate to ourselves the aforesaid especial direction and care the less so because already in 1759 we thought ourselves obliged for the same reasons to ascribe it to ourselves, and at that time. this passed without any especial comment on your part, as appears from your Minutes of July 31, of that year. Now, if we could in the least have imagined that you would have wished and desired to learn at the same time from us, in our aforesaid quality, what measures we had already taken for guarding the aforesaid Colony against all acts of violence, we surely would not have failed very respectfully to inform you that the shortness of the time between our receiving the last and positive reports of the enterprises of the Spaniards and the preparing our Remonstrance to you, had made absolutely impossible the framing of the necessary measures and issuance of the required orders for its safety, especially because during that time no ships had set out for the Colony. We should moreover have to take the liberty to add that, although the enterprises of the Spaniards are exceedingly blameworthy, and although the representations to the Court of Spain, both for the reparation of the past and for provision against the future, must be reckoned extremely useful and necessary, still in our humble opinion, a very great or extraordinary provision for guarding the Colony against the aforesaid acts of violence would now be not more needed than it was in the year 1759. At that time certain Spaniards committed sim No. 274. ilar outrages, which also became for us the subject of a remonstrance to you, and representations about it were then also made at the Court of Spain; we have seen, however, down to these recent attacks (which perhaps, for reasons, are now not unexaggerated), no sequel thereof. Furthermore, three letters received since then from the Director General, Mr. Laurens Storm van's Gravezande, dated May 12, June 3 and 15 last, no longer make mention of any further or other enterprises of the Spaniards, aye, the last mentioned even maintains a profound silence about them. But, as we now find ourselves honored with your express orders as to the points about which we must inform you with regard to the state of defense of the aforesaid colony, we shall step by step follow your Resolution, and have the honor to inform you, that Firstly, as for the soldiery maintained by us for the protection of the colony, the number of those present in the colony (according to the socalled muster roll drawn up on the last of December, 1768, and sent to us, copy of which we have the honor to inclose herewith, sub Litera B.) is now unusually small, the garrison having been so greatly weakened, through discharge of several who had served their time, through the death of others and the desertion of many, that no more than 39 common soldiers are actually available. Adding to these the Captain Lieutenant, Commandant, the Adjutant, in command of the lookout-watch in Demerara, two sergeants, 5 corporals, one drummer, 4 postholders and 3 byliers, it makes in all 56 men. This in truth not very considerable number is in great part due to the incredible trouble which we have for some time had to take, in order properly to recruit the aforesaid garrison with Reformed or Lutheran soldiers, Dutch, German, Norse, or English by birth, since all others, Spaniards, French, Swiss, and Flemish, of the Catholic faith, were deemed most dangerous to the colony by the Director-General, who declared that he would rather have no soldiers than such as these. We could prove this by manifold extracts from his letters; but to spare your precious attention we shall limit ourselves and join to this our Report one single extract from one of these, dated September 15, 1768, by which the truth of what we have said will be made fully apparent to you. However, we have at last found a means to remedy this difficulty by taking a Resolution, on May 1 last, herein closed sub Litera D, 1 loco, for paying a premium of a little over two ducats per head for every competent person furnished to us, of which Resolution we have given due notice to the Director-General Storm van's Gravesande, as seen from D, 2 loco. And this Resolution has been attended with such success, that we have not only hope, but sufficient assurance, that by one of the first ships to set out for Essequibo, in September or October, we shall be able to send out 25 good recruits of the required qualities, whereof we have informed the aforesaid Director-General by our letter of July 25 last, as you will please to see from Litera D. 3 loco. We have likewise already given actual orders to look |