No. 98.

against this, and having been informed that the Governor of Trinidad was acquainted with the French language, the late Commandeur sent the accompanying letter to his Honour, but having up to the present received no reply, we shall see whether, by presents or by setting a price upon each slave, we shall not get them returned.

No. 99.

Extracts from letter from West India Company (Zeeland Chamber) to H. Gelskerke, Commandeur, and the Court of Policy in Essequibo, March 14, 1731.

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[Reprinted from U. S. Commission, Report, Vol. 2. pp. 253-254.]

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That the explanation which you furnish by the same letter as regards the buying of provisions from the English cannot appear satisfactory to us, you probably can deduce from what we wrote about the matter in our missive of December 29, 1729, to which we hereby refer, and we continue to hold the same opinion. We have little fear that the English would bring no horses, if you did not also buy from them what they had intended to sell in the river; moreover, you are well aware that it is far more advisable for the Company to foster the trade to Orinoco with the Spaniards than to favor this dealing with the English. We also wish to have exact information where those English get the horses which you say they bring to the river, so that we may be able to give this matter further consideration.

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What has been the outcome of your plan of the proclamation of a pardon for the deserters to Orinoco and of the negotiation at the same time projected with the Governor of Trinidad, as voted by Resolution of the Court of Policy on July 4, 1729, we shall hope to learn.

That by Resolution of April 2, 1730, you have forbidden to private colonists the trade in the rivers Mazaruni and Cuyuni meets our full approval. Nevertheless, however, we could wish to be informed of what profit to the Company in particular this trade is, above and beyond that buying up of red slaves, and moreover whether from these rivers some further profit for the Company than has been customary thus far might not be drawn; and, further, what quantity of red slaves are there bought up yearly, or can be, and at what value red slaves may be rated in comparison with negro slaves; and, furthermore, what the cost of their buying up amounts to.

No. 100.

Extract from Letter from the Court of Policy in Essequibo to the West India Company, July 4, 1731.

The trade to be done with the Spaniards in Rio Orinoco cannot be relied upon, since they allow no trade above their fort with the Indians, but only with themselves, that they may have the more opportunity for confiscating the trader's goods because of any trifle, as happened quite recently with two inhabitants of this colony who, their goods having been taken from them and they sent off in a small boat, have perished. Besides. the Spanish horses are not as good as those of the English, as is often seen in this colony; especially they do not thrive on plantations which have a marshy soil; moreover, we should have to send thither two or three times a year expressly to get horses for your plantations, for which purpose a deal of wares would be needed, and this could not be done without risk, and would prove much more expensive than buying the horses here for sirup and rum.

Extract from Letter from the Court of Policy in Essequibo to West India Company, July 14, 1731.

Concerning the advantages of the trade in the rivers of Masseroeny and Cajoeny for the Honourable Company alone, this consists only in red slaves, and the order has been renewed because the veto was one kept up by all former Commandeurs. But most of the Indians having left those parts that trade is now of less profit, except for the orange dye. The plantation Poelwijk, lying up in the first-mentioned river, sometimes buys one or two red slaves in a whole year, but they are mostly children of about S or 10 years old, who are bought for about twelve or thirteen axes and choppers, together with a few provisions. The red slaves, too, cannot work together with a black slave, and are mostly used on the plantations for hunting and fishing, the women looking after the cassava for the daily consumption of the plantation. The great number of rocks which lie in these two rivers, and which occasion the falls by reason of the strong stream rushing over them, makes these

No. 101.

rivers unnavigable for large vessels, wherefore it is impossible to establish any plantations there, although the soil is very well fitted for it.

Extract from Letter from H. Gelskerke, Commandeur in Essequibo, to West India Company, December 5, 1733.

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[Reprinted from U. S. Commission, Report, Vol. 2, pp. 256-257.]

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* * * the need of horses having become great, on your plantations as well as on those of the inhabitants of this colony, I shall by all available means try to be helped by the Spaniards.

Extracts from letter from H. Gelskerke, Commandeur in Essequibo, to the West India Company, June 8, 1734.

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[Reprinted from U. S. Commission, Report, Vol. 2, pp. 257-265.]

It is also to be feared that through this untoward event we shall suffer great need of horses, to obviate which I have by all available means tried to make arrangements with the Governor of the Orinoco and to put the trade, both in horses and other things, upon a firm footing. Having obtained an opportunity to propose this to him, he has politely excused himself, and this trade will be possible only by the Governor's connivance and during his pleasure.

He handed me two letters from the new Governor, Don Carlos de Sucre, dated March 28 and 29 last, who in very polite terms communicated to me that he had arrived there to assume command of the Spanish provinces, and he requested that I be pleased to continue with him. the pleasant relations entered on with his predecessor. He goes on to communicate to me that he has brought some troops to the Orinoco and is expecting ten or twelve more barques with soldiers, of which he informs me in order that there might not be disquiet or the slightest alarm on that account, giving, as a reason for the sending of so many troops to these frontiers, his having been advised of the intention of the Swedish nation to establish a colony in the river of Barima, situated be

No. 103.

tween the Orinoco and your post Wacupo. And, being unable to persuade himself that the Dutch nation could tolerate in their neighborhood a nation so proud and haughty as the Swedish, he in good faith and frankly declares this to be the cause of his arriving with so much soldiery, at the same time earnestly requesting me, if I should have received any advice thereof, to be so good as to share it with him.

And although I am sure that the said Jacob Reiter will not be returned, because it is not probable that the Governor can or dare force thereto the Jesuits, who are wont to make their own will prevail, yet I thought it my duty to insist upon his being returned, for the greater part of your employes, and many inhabitants of this colony who have little to lose, are Catholics, who, if they saw that such things were allowed to pass without remonstrance, would probably soon follow this example, especially as the force of the Spaniards in the Orinoco is so great.

First, as the Spaniards are making themselves so formidable in the Orinoco by gathering a considerable number of troops, and we on the contrary are very feeble here, whether it is not of the greatest necessity to send a military reinforcement hither, since the real design of the Spaniards is unknown to us.

Secondly, if the Swedes should undertake to try to establish themselves between the Orinoco and this colony on your territory, it would be my duty to prevent this, which could hardly be done with any chance of success with the small military force we have here. And I beg leave to inform you in this connection that after the departure of Captain Laurens Brander (who came to this river in March, 1732, with the ship de Fortuyn from Gottenburg to take in water and fuel) a rumor has gone about in this colony that the said Captain Brander was to come back and take possession of a tract of land in the river Barima which the King of Spain is said to have presented to the late Elector of Bavaria, who was Governor of the Spanish Netherlands, and which this Elector in turn gave to the King of Sweden. As, however, up to this time nothing has been undertaken regarding it, it is my impression that the Spaniards use this as a pretext in order to conceal their real purpose.

Fourthly, since I deem it certain that Jan Jacob Reiter will not be returned, and since, this case being generally known, every one is commenting upon it, therefore the colonists, who are wont to venture something in the Orinoco trade, and who, for the reasons above named and because they cannot sell their goods at so low a price, find themselves crowded out (as I can incidentally detect) would gladly see passports denied to everybody. But, when one duly considers our situation here,

No. 103.

how absolutely we depend upon the Spaniards for the horse trade, because the English bring them no more, this consideration alone would suffice for the maintenance of that intercourse. If we add to this the profit on other trade, whereby coin comes and circulates in this colony, it would seem that the staying away of the said Jan Jacob Reiter is not of such importance as to warrant us in stopping this necessary and also very profitable trade.

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On the 30th of last month the aforesaid Abraham Buisson, who had returned from Orinoco, handed me a letter from the aforesaid Spanish Governor Don Carlos de Sucre, by which I see with astonishment that he seems to be very angry at the rightful claiming of Jan Jacob Reiter, and with reasons which are set forth with Spanish gravity, and rather haughtily he further points out that he would be stripped of all his honors and possessions and be moreover exposed to exemplary punishment by the Inquisition if he should accede to my request; and, in order [he said] to prevent the recurrence of such incidents, he had determined to end the intercourse, wherefore he notified me that from now on the commerce was at an end. This unexpected change would greatly surprise me, because there are as regards our claim not the slightest grounds therefor, had I not been led by the aforesaid Buisson himself to suspect, and by others been informed, that the Governor has granted him a pass to go on trading in the Orinoco. And they do not hesitate to add that no others beside him will be tolerated, but that, on the contrary, all their goods will be taken and confiscated; if, however, any one should come with him under his pass, this would be allowed to go unnoticed.

This man having been made by the Governor sole master of the trade, even to the exclusion of the company, all of which is entirely contrary to the company's honor and authority, and also very hard and ruinous for some colonists who look to this trade for a living, I have decided to announce, after the ship de Standfastige has left, that until further orders no more passes to Orinoco will be issued by me, and that nobody whosoever will be allowed to set out without one on penalty of a heavy fine.

Extract from letter from H. Gelskerke, Commandeur in Essequibo, to the West India Company, November 4, 1734.

Now, that this Orinoco trade is again under way, I shall do every