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It was resolved to yield to the aforesaid demands, and the Secretary was consequently ordered to have the aforesaid lists made out, and to allow, on demand, a copy to be made for the Commodore, of the sketchmap of this river drawn by the land-surveyor Des Touches and kept in the Secretary's archives.

The Commodore having at the same time spoken of the depredations and attacks of the Spaniards upon the inhabitants of this river, and the bad condition of the military resources for defense which exist in this river, It was resolved to order the Staff Commissary to cause to be prepared a statement thereof.

Letter from Antonio de Pereda, Governor of Spanish Guayana to G. H. Trotz, Director-General in Essequibo, May 6, 1781; as transmitted in Dutch translation, to the West India Company (Amsterdam Chamber), June 27, 1783.

[Reprinted from U. S. Commission, Report, Vol. 2, pp. 571–573.]

TO HIS EXCELLENCY. MUCH HONORED SIK:

On the 26th of last month, between 2 and 3 o'clock in the afternoon, there arrived here at the fort of Antigua Guayana Mr. Johan Neuman and retinue, who presented to the Captain Commandant of that fort the pass

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which had been given by Your Excellency in order that he with his retinue and his ship Carot might pass as a flag-of-truce for the purpose of delivering a packet of letters from Your Excellency. These the aforesaid Captain Commandant immediately forwarded to me by a messenger whom I keep there for that purpose; and thereupon, as soon as I received them, I issued orders that the aforesaid Mr. Johan Neuman should come to this town, so that I could put into his hands my response to the aforesaid letter of Your Excellency, dated March 31 of this year, whereby I had the honor of being informed, to my great sorrow, by Your Excellency, that on the 8th of that month your colony had found itself under the necessity of surrendering to His Britannic Majesty, who, according to the statement of these enemies, was at war with the States General of the United Provinces, and that the garrison of the fort had marched out with all the honors of war and continued to serve the colony against all disturbances and commotions, the government and the magistrates having remained on the old footing; while in the same letter you complained of Mr. Mateo, who a few days before that event, being in the mouth of the river Essequibo, had taken possession of a little boat with five negro slaves, owned by an inhabitant of the colony, J. Milleken by name, and of another with three negro slaves belonging to another inhabitant, named William Vernon, which boat he had borrowed from an inhabitant of Demerara named E. M. Bermingham, all this having occurred at one and the same time--and this notwithstanding that the river Essequibo was entirely under the rule of the States General, from which it did not pass until the 8th of the aforesaid month of March; that, furthermore, on the 10th of the same month, some Spaniards, doubtless by compulsion of the aforesaid Mateo, had taken possession of a small schooner, and of all it had on board, which schooner belonged to an inhabitant of the colony named Nicolaas Glad, a subject of the States General; moreover, that they have seized another boat, belonging to an inhabitant named F. H. van Nuys; which acts Your Excellency brought to my notice, in order that I should command the aforesaid Mateo to depart at once from the aforesaid coast, and should place at Your Excellency's disposal, by delivering it to Mr. Johan Neuman, who was sent for the purpose of demanding it back, everything which Mateo, or the Spaniards who were there, may have stolen and carried off, and should have this restitution made in accordance with the lists which you had given to the commissioner. These he likewise handed to the Captain Commandant of the fort of Guayana, who transmitted them to me together with Your Excellency's other letters, from which I learned of the appeal made by the aforesaid Glad to Your Excellency and your Council, with a written statement or list of the effects and goods on board of his schooner when they took it away by force. Fully informed of all this, I assure Your Excellency of my sorrow at the disturbance and reverses which you have experienced through the capture of the States General's possessions by the subjects of the

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British King on the 8th March, as Your Excellency informs me; and also that the aforesaid Mr. Johan Neuman has fully executed his commission, having transmitted to me the packet of letters through the Captain Commandant of the aforesaid fort. At the same time I make known to Your Excellency that the authority to pass judgment or decide as to the prizes made by the privateers of this province belongs exclusively to the Intendent General thereof, Don Josef de Abalos, residing in Caracas, to whose high court all must address themselves who, like Mr. N. Glad, have complaints to make, and there it will also be investigated whether the privateers have acted in accordance with the regulations for privateering; for it is in my power only to make report of the prizes which are made, and [to express] a sincere desire to have an opportunity of obliging Your Excellency. I have the honor to place myself most obediently and sincerely at Your Excellency's disposal, commending you to the protection, etc.

No. 318.

Extracts from proceedings of West India Company (the Ten), September 30, 1784; as transmitted on that date to the Commandeur and Court of Policy in Demerara. [Reprinted from U. S. Commission, Report, Vol. 2, pp. 576-577.]1

And, in order to attain this object, it would seem to us that attempts should be made to get hold of a few of those negroes who have had the worst experience in the Orinocco and have been there for some time, in order that these might inform their comrades of these circumstances and thereby scare them off.

To this end it would be necessary to form a fund (for instance of f. 10,000) so as to induce some of the common sort of Spaniards by money to furnish us some of those negroes as herein before described.

And, in order that hereby no occasion be given to the Spaniards to have much communication with our negroes in the colony, it would be well to make the rule that when such Spaniards have any negroes as aforesaid, they must bring them to the post at Moruca and there hand them over, in return for payment of the established price, to a person to be appointed therefor.

Extracts from Memorial of the Planters and Inhabitants of Essequibo and Demerara to the States-General, June 10, 1785.

*

[Reprinted from U. S. Commission, Report, Vol. 2, pp. 586-587.]

The extent, from the creek or river Mahaica, east of Demerara, to beyond the creek Capoei, west of Essequibo, along the coasts and islands, can

1 For another translation of this document see page 244.

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be put at about fifteen Dutch miles, which great basin or bay is mostly provided with plantations, to which are then to be added those situated within the mouths of the two rivers and on the creeks and canals, which, particularly in Demerara, makes a great number.

In the mean time, persons of enterprise, both in America and in Europe, are immensely increasing by their cultivation the value of these lands; witness, as regards this colony the incalculable augmentation of the intrinsic value of the river Demerara and its districts from the first opening in 1746 to the present day; what a treasure of welfare, in every regard, does not this cultivation bring into the bosom of the whole Republic! Of this, one will become most strikingly convinced when in contrast one considers what even at the present day the Fatherland and its inhabitants derive from the possession of the as yet uncultivated river Pomeroon.

And as for Essequibo, its western seashore is capable of cultivation from below the creek Capoei (where as yet only very few plantations lie) to the river Pomeroon, aye up to that of Moruca, and, if we should succeed in making a cartel with respect to the negroes absconding to Orinoco, no reason appears why both the river of Pomeroon and that of Moruca might not with an increase of colonists be turned also into productive possessions and changed in character in the same way as since the year 1746 has happened with Demerara.

Received a despatch from the Comte van Rechteren, their High Mightinesses' Ambassador to the Court of Spain, written at Aranjuez the 27th of the previous month, making mention, inter alia, of the receipt of their High Mightinesses' Resolution of the 30th May previous, containing their High Mightinesses' reiterated order relative to the establishing of a Cartel with the august Court in question for preventing the desertion of slaves from the Colonies of Essequebo and Demerara to the contiguous ones of the Crown.

And further, that he had now for almost two years allowed no opportunity to pass by, either by speaking or writing, to bring about the conclusion of a Treaty of this nature.

That he was steadily put off with favourable promises, and that they, under all sorts of pretexts, had always avoided, not only to enter upon negotiations, but also, after the fashion customary with the Ministry there, even to give a written reply.

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That he had continually been delayed an interview by them. That then, two months previously, he had performed the duty which devolved on him from new and pressing orders from their High Mightinesses, and pursuant thereto had delivered a further Memorandum, a final and satisfactory reply to which then, not yet eight days previously, had been promised him, copy of which Memorandum is forwarded with his despatch.

No. 321.

Extract from proceedings of the Court of Policy in Essequibo, 1786. [Reprinted from U. S. Commission, Report, Vol. 2, p. 591.]

The Commandeur makes known to this Court that he has received a letter from the Director-General, inclosing a letter from Wm. van Langenberg to J. R. Gardner, which he lays before the meeting. Upon reading it, it appears, particularly from Langenberg's letter, that the aforesaid Langenberg had heard from Indians, who had come from Orinoco to warn their friends, that Mateo was ready to come to Pomeroon to carry off the Indians, also that the Spaniards had already seized and carried off some Indians there, and, lastly, that he Langenberg had been warned by one of the Indians who had been seized, and had escaped from his bonds, that they (the Spaniards) would come to plunder the post, and also had their eyes on the schooner of the aforesaid Gardner.

Extract from proceedings of the Court of Policy of Essequibo and Demerara, June 9, 1789, as transmitted to the West India Company, July 12, 1789.

Which having been heard and the Secretary having been thanked for his communication, the proposed question was further discussed, and the conclusion reached by this Court was that in view of the Secretary's communication, it should be tried whether through letters from the Governor Marmion to the Court of Spain a like favorable resolution might not be obtained as already existed with respect to the island of Trinidad; that in case this should not succeed or were not to the taste of the States General, there were no better means for preventing this running away than to maintain and keep cruising, small armed boats, built like the Spanish lanchas, namely very long, narrow, and shallow, to which the promise should be given that all the runaway slaves they bring back will be bought