No. 427. tioned Esquivo Colony, thus retarding the progress of the Gospel and the religious instructions of the gentiles. That said Hollanders trespassing the limits of their Colony were taking more lands for the purpose of their commerce in the dominions of His Majesty and the neighborhood of the farthest Missions fronting to them, as it was shown by the fact of the establishment at that place, with a permit from Governor Lorenzo Storem Gravesand, of a house and Guard in the island called Caramacuru in the Cuyuni river, of the territory of the Missions, (that the Hollanders call in said papers Cayoeny river); because this place had never been considered a part of the Esquivo Colony, as it is shown by the despatch of the above mentioned Prefect; that aware of all these circumstances, the Commander of Guayana sent an expedition of troops to said Cuyuni river, with the necessary instructions, so as to dis lodge the Hollanders from that place and seize the Indian slaves or Poytos and everything else they kept; that it was so carried out, notwithstanding the resistance of the Hollander who commanded in that Post and the death of one of the Spaniards and serious wound of another of that expedition; that on this subject a suitable investigation was instituted by the Commander of all the facts and circumstances of the occasion, and were forwarded, with the two Dutch prisoners arrested in the act of resistence, to the Govenor ad interim, Don Nicolas de Castro, who took the advice of a learned assessor and reported the case accordingly, referring the proceedings to His Majesty, but there is no evidence of what became of the said Hollanders and the said proceedings. 143. And having placed these proceedings and annexes in the hands of the Attorney General, as directed, said attorney, in his answer of the 6th of August, 1774, said: That, in the proceedings instituted, in consequence of the pretensions of the Minister of Holland assuming his right or dominion on his part to fish in that portion of Orinoco river, and that he was disturbed and unjustly ejected by the subjects of His Majesty, he recalls the fact that, in order to carry out the Royal order of September 10, 1769, he requested from the Secretary of the Universal Department of Indies, as well as from the Council, all the documents and antecedents to be found in connection with the subject. 144. That it was done and that he received a large amount of papers, letters and documents, and that having taken them all into mature consideration, he found that it was a protracted matter, wanting close attention and considerable time, that he needed for the discharge of his duties, and in order to avoid this inconvenience he suggested that the whole affair should be submitted to a Relator of the pleasure of the Council, so as to No. 427. take special notes and an abstract of all the antecedents and facts up to the present time, and when that had been done, to send it back to him (the Attorney General) so as to submit his further views and report to His Majesty. 145. And the Council having accepted this suggestion by decree of the 1st of September, 1774, all the proceedings were delivered to me for the purpose already explained by the answer of the Attorney-General. That was the result. No. 428. Report of the Fiscal, dated October 1, 1774, as to Complaints by the Dutch Minister. [Reprinted from Blue Book, No. 3, p. 314.] The Fiscal, for the "Expediente "necessitated by the Dutch Minister, wishing to allege full right and dominion in the Colony of Essequibo and fishery in that part of the River Orinoco, and that your Majesty's subjects trouble and disturb it unjustly, states that, in order to comply with the orders expressed in His Majesty's Royal Order of the 10th September, 1769, concerning this affair, he requested that all documents and data that might serve to elucidate this matter, and had any connection whatever therewith, should be sought for in the Department of the Council of the Indies, as well as in that of the Secretary of State, and be added to the file. This was effectively complied with by the transmission of a mountain ("crecido cumulo ") of papers, despatches, letters, and documents; and the Fiscal having devoted himself to their examination, finds that the proper study and discernment of all these is a very long affair, in which a great part of his time, that he requires for the due transaction of other and very important affairs of his office, would be uselessly consumed. Consequently, he is of opinion that to avoid this inconvenience, and that the greatest exactness may be attained, the whole affair should be placed in the hands of a competent person chosen by the Council, so that a circumstantial commentary and abstract of all the documents, and whatever else there may be therewith connected at the present time, be drawn up, and on its conclusion the whole returned to the Fiscal for his opinion and judgment, and whatever else may be necessary to inform His Majesty. Council, October 1, 1774. No. 429. Table of distances, etc., between Missions and Villages, by Mariano de Sebadel, Prefect, March 9, 1776. [Reprinted from Blue Book, No. 3, p. 305.] From the village of Purisima Conception of Caroni to that of our Most Holy Father Saint Francis Altagracia.... From the village of Altagracia to that of the town of San Antonio de Upata.. From the town of Upata to that of San Joseph Cupapuy From the village of Cupopuy to that of Santa Maria of Yacuario.. From the village of Palmar to that of St. Paul of Cumamo.... From the village of Miamo to that of San Fidel of Carapo.. From the village of Guacipati to that of Divina Pastora of the Cat- Leagues. From the village of the Cattle-farm to that of San Joseph de 4 From the village of Ayma to that of Our Lady of Sorrows at 10 From the village of Puedpa to that of San Pedro of the Mouths of the Paragua. 251 From the village of the mouths to that of the town of Saint Isidore of Barceloneta there is no road open by land, and one has to From the town of Barceloneta to that of Saint Bonaventure of From the village of Guri to that of San Antonio of Huiesátana... From the village of Caruachi to that of Our Mother Saint Eulalie 15 25 8 9 3 From the village of Calvario to that of the Caroni, with the passage of the river.... Total number of leagues From the village of Morucurri to that of Our Lady Saint Anne... 9 9 11 1751 No. 430. Extracts from Report of Council of February 16 and April 20, 1776, as to the Missions. Afterwards, in a letter of the 20th March, 1773, the said Governor rendered an account of the increase of that Province, from the year 1766, in which he took possession of his command; and as shown by the statement and return, which he annexed, the said increase consisted in 43 settlements of Spaniards and Indians; and of 8,558 inhabitants; 712 houses; 2,899 farms, and 131,963 head of cattle and horses; crediting also, by a certificate, which he enclosed, countersigned by the Royal Officer of that Treasury, the receipt therein of 38,803 dollars; which progress he brought before Your Majesty's notice to show his eagerness that in that vast dominion the favourable resolutions which its natives deserved from Your Majesty's Royal Grace might become effectual, and hoping that it would earn your Royal approbation. Respecting this "Expediente" [the Council] again reported to the Contaduria on the 6th July, 1774, that not only did the Governor of Guayana, in his circumstantial report, fully inform the Council of all matters required of him, but that if they were to rely on what was represented therein, he appears worthy of distinguished approbation for the signal merit and good services in which for the advantage of the State and of Your Majesty he had devotedly employed himself, with continual labours, and all his conduct in objects so worthy of being regarded with the first attention on account of their value and importance; but that although they had before them various replies from the former Viceroys of Santa Fé, Don Pedro Mesia de la Cerda and Don Manuel de Guirior, and from the Governor of Carácas, which approved and extolled the zeal and proceedings of the said Centurion in these matters; nevertheless, the Contaduria is doubtful whether they were able to completely justify the management of all this vast matter, for being limited to replying to him only upon the reports which they received concerning the advancement and progress of those settlements, and the other points relating to them, it seemed that, not having entered into the examination and justification in detail of all parts of his conduct, there was some fear lest it might not turn out to be so laudable and distinguished as it now appeared; it being certain that in the matter of Missions, as regards those of the Capuchins, the Council was aware of the complaints which had been made respecting Centurion's proceedings, and quite recently they had definitely resolved to restrain him and correct the objectionable manner in which he had acted; and treating in the day's proceedings of this matter and of the measures which he had taken for the administration of justice in the villages thereof, and other regulations of his Government, it would be necessary for the Council to have before them No. 430. that previous report for their decision. That the matter of the Jesuit Missions, which it seems were almost abandoned, would also require all the attention of the Council on account of the important religious character of the affair. Extracts from Plan of Defense for Guayana proposed by Augustin Crame and Joseph Linares, March 15, 1777. 1. Guayana, the extent of which is larger than Spain, possesses on all sides excellent land for agriculture, and rich pastures for cattle breeding. It is also believed with some foundation, that mines exist, for in past times various explorations were made and trials carried on, which gave great hopes. And even at the present time the hopes of discovering the province of Dorado" have not been dissipated from what little our men did, in that respect, who were most unjustly seized by the Portuguese, and are now prisoners in Pará. 2. The number of inhabitants of this province is very reduced. There are scarcely 4,000, taking Spaniards, creoles and negroes, in the whole extent of it, but the number of reduced Indians is considerable, and will not be less than 18,000. 3. There are about 200,000 head of cattle, 170,000 belonging to the Missions, the remainder to private individuals, &c. 4. The plantations give sufficient for the interior consumption, and so far as agriculture is carried it gives good results and returns, &c. 5. The trade of this province is very limited, and tobacco from the Province of Barinas is the chief article of produce, and will be for some time. With this, and what Guayana produces, a trade amounting to about 60,000 or 70,000 pesos (about 10,0007.) might be carried on with Spain. 6. The income of the province reaches 15,000 pesos (about 2,5007.) a-year, but as the expenses of the Government are 50,000 pesos (about 8,0007.) a-year, it is necessary to transmit from the Treasury of Santa Fé 35,000 pesos (about 5,5007.) annually. 7. These notes are given to form an idea of the province, the garrison of which consists of four veteran companies, three of infantry, consisting of seventy-two men in each, and one of artillery of sixty. Both are distributed among the forts, fortress and Missions; the men are not bad, but under such a distribution there can be no discipline. 8. Besides the garrison there are four companies of militia: two of whites, one of creoles, and another of mulattos, &c. |