MARTINICO

TINICO is the chief of the French Caribbee islands, the middle of which is fituated in weft longitude 61° •, north latitude 14° 30',

This ifland was first fettled by M. Defnambuc a Frenchman, in the year 1635, with only one hundred men from St. Chriftopher's. He chofe rather to have it peopled from thence than from Europe, as he forefaw that men tired with the fatigue of fuch a long voyage, would moftly perish foon after their arrival, either from the climate, or from the hardfhips incident to most emigrations. They completed their first fettlement without any difficulty; the natives, intimidated by their fire arms, or feduced by promifes, gave up the western and fouthern parts of the island to the new comers. In a fhort time, however, perceiving the number of these enter prifing ftrangers daily increafing, they refolved to extirpate them, and therefore called in the favages of the neighbour ing lands to affift them; they fell jointly upon a little fort that had been haflily erected, but were repulfed with the lofs of feven or eight hundred of their best warriors, who were left dead upon the fpot.

After this check, the favages for a long time difappeared entirely, but at laft they returned, bringing with them prefents to the French, and making excufes for what had happened; they were received in a friendly manner, and the reconcilia tion fealed with pots of brandy. This peaccable state of affairs, however, was of no long continuance, the French took fuch undue advantages of their fuperiority over the favages, that they foon rekindled in the others that hatred which had never been entirely fubdued. The favages feparated into fmall bands,

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and waylaid the French as they came fingly out into the woods to hunt, and waiting till the sportsman had discharged his piece, rufhed upon and killed him before he could charge it again. Twenty men had been thus affaffinated before any reafon could be given for their fudden difappearance; but as foon as the matter was known the French took a fevere and fatal revenge} the favages were purfued and maffacred, with their wives and children, and the few that escaped were driven out of Marti nico, to which they never returned.

The French being thus left fole mafters of the island, lived quietly on those spots which best suited their inclinations. At this time they were divided into two claffes; the first confifted of those who had paid their paffage to the ifland, and these were called inhabitants, and to these the government diftributed lands, which became their own, upon paying a yearly tribute, These inhabitants had under their command a multitude of dif orderly people brought over from Europe at their expenfe, whom they called engagés, or bondfmen. This engagement was a kind of flavery for the term of three years, on the expiration of which they were at liberty, and became the equals of those whom they had served. They all confined themselves at first to the culture of tobacco and cotton, to which was foon added that of arnotto and indigo. The culture of fugar alfo was begun about the year 1650. Ten years after, one Benjamin D'Acofta, a Jew, planted fome cacao trees, but his example was not followed till 1684, when chocolate was more commonly ufed in France. Cacao then became the principal support of the colonists, who had not a fufficient fund to undertake fugar plantations; but by the inclemency of the feafon in 1718, all the cacao trees were deftroyed at once. Coffee was then propofed as a proper object of culture; the French ministry had received as a prefent from the Dutch, two of these trees, which were carefully preferved in the king's botanical garden, Two young shoots were taken from these, put on board a ship for Martinico, and entrusted to the care of one M. Defclieux; this hip happened to be ftraitened for want of fresh water, and the trees would have perished, had not the gentleman fhared with them that quantity of water which was allowed for his own drinking. The culture of coffee was then begun, and attended with the greatest and most rapid fuccefs; about the end of the last century, however, the colony had made but small advances. In 1700 it had only fix thousand five hundred and pinety-feven white inhabitants; the favages, mulattoes, and free Fegroes, men, women, and children, amounted to no more than

five hundred and feven; the number of flaves was but fourteen thousand five hundred and fixty-fix; all these together made a population of twenty-one thoufand fix hundred and forty-five perfons.

After the peace of Utrecht, Martinico began to emerge from that feeble ftate in which it had fo long continued. The island then became the matt for all the windward French fettlements; in its ports the neighbouring iflands fold their produce, and brought the commodities of the mother country; and, in fhort, Martinico became famous all over Europe: their labour improved the plantations as far as was confiftent with the confumption then made in Europe of American productions, and the annual exports from the island amounted to about feven hundred thoufand pounds.

The connections of Martinico with the other islands entitled her to the profits of commiffion, and the charges of transport, as fhe alone was in the poffeffion of carriages. This profit might be rated at the tenth of the produce; and the fum total must have amounted to near feven hundred and fixty-five thou fand pounds: this ftanding debt was feldom called in, and left for the improvement of their plantations; it was increafed by advances in money, flaves, and other neceffary articles, so that Martinico became daily more and more a creditor to the other iflands, and thus kept them in conftant dependence.

The connections of this iflind with cape Breton, Canada, and Louifiana, procured a market for the ordinary fugars, the inferior coffee, the molaffes, and rum, which would not fell in France. In exchange the inhabitants received falt fifh, dried vegetables, deals, and fome flour. In the clandeftine trade on the coafts of Spanish America, confifting wholly of goods ma nufactured by the French nation, fhe commonly made a profit of ninety per cent, on the value of about one hundred and feventy-five thousand pounds, fent yearly to the Caraccas, or neighbouring colonies.

Upwards of feven hundred and eighty-feven thousand pounds were conftantly circulated in this island with great rapidity; and this is perhaps the only country in the world where the fpecie has been fo confiderable as to make it a matter of indifference to them whether they dealt in gold, filver, or commodities. This extenfive trade brought into the ports of Martinico annually two hundred fhips from France; fourteen or fifteen fitted out by the mother country for the coast of Guinea, fixty from Canada, ten or twelve from the islands of Marga retta and Trinidad, befides the English and Dutch fhips that

came to carry on a fmuggling trade. The private navigation from the island to the northern colonies, to the Spanish continent, and to the windward islands, employed one hundred and twenty veffels, from twenty to thirty tons burden.

The war of 1744 put a stop to this prosperity: not that the fault was in Martinico itself; its navy, conftantly exercifed, and accustomed to frequent engagements, which the carrying on a contraband trade required, was prepared for action. In lefs than fix months, forty privateers, fitted out at St. Peter's,, spread themselves about the latitude of the Caribbee iflands; yet an entire ftop was put to the navigation of the colony, both to the Spanish coaft and to Canada, and they were conftantly disturbed even on their own coafts. The few ships that came from France in order to compenfate the hazards they were expofed to by the lofs of their commodities, fold them at a very advanced price, and bought them at a very low one.

When every thing thus feemed tending to decay, the peace at laft reftored the freedom of trade, and with it the hopes of recovering the ancient profperity of the island; the event, however, did not answer the pains that were taken to attain it. Two years had not elapfed after the ceffation of hoftilities, when the colony loft the contraband trade the carried on with the American Spaniards. This lofs was not fo fenfibly felt by the colony as the hardships brought upon them by the mother country; an unfkilful adminiftration clogged the reciprocal and necessary connection between the islands and North-America with fo many formalities, that in 1755 Martinico fent but four veffels to Canada. The direction of its colonies, now committed to the care of ignorant and avaricious clerks, it foon lot its importance, funk into contempt, and was prostituted to venality. The war broke out afresh, and after a series of misfortunes and defeats, the island fell into the hands of the British; it was restored in July 1763, fixteen months after it had been conquered, but deprived of all the neceffary means of profperity that had made it of fo much importance. The contraband trade carried on to the Spanish coafts was almost entirely loft, the ceflion of Canada to Great-Britain precluded all hopes of opening again a communication, which had only been interrupted by temporary mistakes. The productions of the Gremades, St. Vincent, and Dominica, which were now become British dominions, could no longer be brought into their harbours, and a new regulation of the mother country, which forbad her having any intercourfe with Guadaloupe, left her no hopes from that quarter.

The colony, thus deprived of every thing as it were, and deftitute, nevertheless contained, at the laft furvey, which was taken on the first of January, 1770, in the compass of twentyeight parishes, twelve thoufand four hundred and fifty white people of all ages and of both fexes; one thoufand eight hundred and fourteen free blacks or mulattoes; feventy thousand five hundred and fifty-three flaves; and four hundred and fortythree fugitive negroes. The number of births in 1766, was in proportion of one in thirty among the white people, and of one in twenty-five among the blacks.

The island is fixteen leagues in length, and forty-five in cir cumference, leaving out the capes, fome of which extend two or three leagues into the fea; it is very uneven, and interfected in all parts by a number of hillocks, which are moftly of a conical form. Three mountains rife above these smaller cminences; the highest bears the indelible marks of a volcano; the woods with which it is covered, continually attract the clouds, which occafion noxious damps, and contribute to make it horrid and inacceffible, while the two others are in most parts cultivated. From thefe mountains iffue the many fprings that water the island; thefe waters, which flow in gentle streams, are changed into torrents on the flighteft ftorm; their qualities are derived from the foil over which they flow; in fome places they are excellent, in others fo bad, that the inhabitants are obliged to drink the water they have collected during the rainy fcafon.

Of all the French fettlements in the Weft-Indies, Martinico is the most happily fituated with regard to the winds which prevail in thofe feas. Its harbours poffefs the most inestimable advantage of affording a certain fhelter from the hurricanes which annoy thefe latitudes. The harbour of Fort Royal is one of the best in all the windward iflands, and fo celebrated for its fafety, that when it was open to the Dutch, their fhipmafters had orders from the republic to take shelter there in June, July, and Auguft, the three months in which the hurri canes are most frequent. The lands of the Lamentin, which are but a league diftant, are the richest and moft fertile in the whole ifland. The numerous ftreams which water this fruitful country, convey loaded canoes to a confiderable distance from the fea; the protection of the fortifications fecure the peaceable enjoyment of fo many advantages, which, however, are balanced by a fwampy and unwhole fome foil. This capital of Martinico is alfo the rendezvous of the men of war, which