Domingo, the capital of the island, is feated in that part belonging to the Spaniards on the fouth fide of the ifland, and has a commodious harbour. The town is built in the Spanish manner, with a great fquare in the middle of it, about which are the cathedral and other public buildings. From this fquare run the principal streets in a direct line, they being croffed by others at right angles, so that the form of the town is almoft fquare. The country on the north and eaft fide is pleasant and fruitful; and there is a large navigable river on the west, with the ocean on the fouth. It is the fee of an archbishop, an ancient royal audience, and the feat of the governor. It has feveral fine churches and monafteries, and is fo well fortified; that a fleet and army fent by Oliver Cromwell, in 1654, could not take it. The inhabitants are Spaniards, negroes, mulattoes, mestees, and Albatraces, of whom about a fixth part may be Spaniards. It had formerly about two thousand houses, but it is much declined of late years. The river on which it is feated is called Ozama. Weft longitude 69° 30', north latitude 18° 25'. PORTO RICO. This ifland is fituated between 64° and 67° weft longitude, and 18° north latitude, lying between Hispaniola and St. Christopher's. It is one hundred miles in length and forty in breadth. Although this ifland had been discovered and visited by Columbus in 1493, the Spaniards neglected it till 1509, when the thirst of gold brought them thither from St. Domingo, under the command of Ponce de Leon, to make a conqueft, which afterwards coft them dear. Porto Rico hath thirty-fix leagues in length, eighteen in breadth, and one hundred in circumference. We may venture to affirm, that it is one of the best, if not entirely the beft, of the islands of the new world, in proportion to its extent. The air is wholefome, and tolerably temperate, and it is watered by the pure streams of a confiderable number of small rivulets. Its mountains are covered with either useful or valuable trees, and its vallies have a degree of fertility feldom to be met with elsewhere. All the productions peculiar to America thrive upon this deep foil. A fafe port, commodious harbours, and coafts of eafy accefs, are added to thefe feveral advantages. On this territory, deprived of its favage inhabitants by ferocious deeds, the memory of which more than three centuries have not been been able to obliterate, was fucceffively formed a population of fortyfour thousand eight hundred and eighty-three men, either white or of a mixed race: most of them were naked: their habitations were no thing more than huts. Nature, with little or no affiftance, fupplied them with fubfiftence. The linens, and fome other things of little value, which they clandeftinely obtained from the neighbouring or from foreign iflands, were paid for by the colony with tobacco, cattle, and with the money which was fent by government for the support of the civil, religious and military establishment. They received from Spain annually only one fmall veffel, the cargo of which did not amount to more than ten thousand crowns, and which returned to Europe laden with hides. Such was Porto Rico, when, in 1765, the court of Madrid carried their attention to St. John, an excellent harbour, even for the royal navy, and which only wants a little more extent. The town which commands it was furrounded with fortifications. The works were made particularly ftrong towards a narrow and marshy neck of land, the only place by which the town can be attacked on the land fide. Two battalions and one company of artillery croffed the fea for its defence. At this period, a poffeffion which had annually received from the treasury no more than three hundred and feventy-eight thousand livres, coft them two millions fix hundred and thirty-four thousand four hundred and thirty-three livres, which fum was regularly brought from Mexico. This increase of fpecie ftimulated the colonists to undertake fome labours: at the fame time the island, which till then had been under the yoke of monopoly, was allowed to receive all Spanish navigators. These two circumstances united, imparted fome degree of animation to a fettlement, the languishing state of which aftonished all nations. Its tithes, which before 1765 did not yield more than eighty-one thousand livres, have increased to two hundred and thirty thousand four hundred and eighteen "livres. On the first of January, 1778, the population of Porto Rico amounted to fourfcore thousand fix hundred and fixty inhabitants, of which number only fix thousand five hundred and thirty were flaves. The inhabitants reckoned feventy-feven thousand three hundred and eighty-four head of horned cattle, twenty-three thou fand one hundred and ninety-five horfes, fifteen hundred and fifteen mules, and forty-nine thousand fifty-eight head of finall cattle. The The plantantions, the number of which were five thousand six hundred and eighty-one, produced two thousand feven hundred and thirty-feven quintals of fugar; eleven hundred and fourteen quintals of cotton; eleven thousand one hundred and fixty-three quintals of coffee; nineteen thousand five hundred and fifty-fix quintals of rice; fifteen thousand two hundred and fixteen quintals of maize; seven thoufand four hundred and fifty-eight quintals of tobacco; and nine thoufand eight hundred and fixty quintals of molaffes. The cattle in the feveral pafture grounds, which were two hundred and thirty-four in number, produced annually eleven thousand three hundred and fixty-four oxen; four thousand three hundred and thirty-four horfes; nine hundred and fifty-two mules; thirty-one thousand two hundred and fifty-four head of small cattle. Till the year 1778, no one citizen of Porto Rico was in reality mafter of his poffeffions. The commanders who had fucceeded each other had only granted the income of them. This inconceivable defect hath at length been remedied: the proprietors have been confirmed in their poffeffions by a law, upon condition of paying annually 'one real and a quarter, or fixteen fols fix deniers, for every portion of ground of twenty-five thoufand feven hundred and eight toifes, which they employed in cultures; and three quarters of a real, or ten fols one denier and a half, for that part of the foil that is referved for pasture ground. This eafy tribute is to ferve for the clothing of the militia, composed of one thousand nine hundred infantry, and two hundred and fifty cavalry. The remainder of the island is distributed on the fame conditions to those who have little or no property. These laft, who are diftinguished by the hame of Agrégés, are feven thoufand eight hundred and thirty-five in number: TRINIDAD AND MARGARETTA. Trinidad is fituated between 59° and 62° weft longitude, and 10° north latitude; it was difcovered by Columbus, who landed on it in 1498, but it was not till 1535 that the court of Madrid took poffeffion of it. It is faid to comprehend three hundred and eighteen fquare leagues. It hath never experienced any hurricane, and its climate is wholefome. The rains are very abundant there from the iniddle of May to the end of October; and the drynefs that prevails throughout the VOL. IV. Rr reft 11 Nevic reft of the year is not attended with any inconvenience, because the country, though deftitute of navigable rivers, is very well watered. The earthquakes are more frequent than dangerous. In the interior part of the island there are four groups of mountains, which, together with fome others formed by Nature upon the fhores of the ocean, occupy a third part of the territory: the reft is in general fufceptible of the richest cultures. The form of the island is a long fquare. To the north is a coast of twenty-two leagues in extent, too much clevated and too much divided ever to be of any ufe. The eastern coaft is only nineteen leagues in extent, but in all parts as convenient as one could with it to be. The fouthern coaft hath five-and-twenty leagues, is a little exalted, and adapted for the fuccefsful cultivation of coffee and cacao. The land on the western fide is feparated from the rest of the colony, to the fouth by the Soldier's canal, and to the north by the Dragon's mouth, and forms, by means of a recefs, a harbour of twenty leagues in breadth, and thirty in depth. It offers, in all feafons, a fecure afylum to the navigators, who, during the greatest part of the year, would find it difficult to anchor any where else, except at the place called the Galiote. In this part are the Spanish settlements: they confift only of the port of Spain, upon which there are feventy-eight thatched huts; and of St. Jofeph, fituated three leagues farther up the country, where eighty-eight families, ftill more wretched than the former, are computed. The cacao was formerly cultivated near these two villages; its excellence made it be preferred even to that of Caraccas. In order to fecure it, the merchants used to pay for it beforehand. The trees that produced it perifhed all in 1727, and have not been re-planted fince. The monks attributed this disaster to the colonists having refused to pay the tithes. Those who were not blinded by interest or fuperftition, afcribed it to the north winds, which have too frequently occafioned the fame kind of calamity in other parts. Since this period, Trinidad hath not been much more frequented than Cubagua; ftill, however, it produces fugar, fine tobacco, indigo, ginger, and a variety of fruits, with fome cotton trees and Indian corn, which render it of fome importance. 1 Cubagua is a little island, at the distance of four leagues only from the continent, was difcovered, and neglected by Columbus, in 1498. The Spaniards, being afterwards informed that its fhores contained great great treasures, repaired to it in multitudes in 1509, and gave it the name of Pearl Island. The pearl bank was foon exhausted, and the colony was transferred, in 1524, to Margaretta, where the regretted riches were found, and from whence they disappeared almost as foon. Yet this last settlement, which is fifteen leagues in length and five in breadth, was not abandoned. It is almoft continually covered with thick fogs, although nature hath not beftowed upon it any current waters. There is no village in it except Mon Padre, which is defended by a fmall fort: its foil would be fruitful if it were cultivated. It was almoft generally fuppofed, that the court of Madrid, in preferving Margaretta and Trinidad, meant rather to keep off rival nations from this continent than to derive any advantage from them: at prefent we are induced to think otherwife: convinced that the Archipelago of America was full of inhabitants loaded with debts, or who poffeffed but a fmall quantity of indifferent land, the council of Charles III. offered great conceffions, in thefe two iflands, to those who should embrace their faith. The freedom of commerce with all the Spanish traders was infured to them. They were only obliged to deliver their cacao to the company of Caraccas, but at twenty-feven fols per pound, and under the condition that this company fhould advance them fome capital. These overtures have only met with a favourable reception at Granada, from whence fome Frenchmen have made their escape with a few flaves, either to kreen themselves from the pursuits of their creditors, or from averfion to the fway of the English. In every other part they have had no effect, whether from averfion for an oppreffive government, or whether it be that the expectations of all are at prefent turned towards the north of the new world. Trinidad and Margaretta are at present inhabited only by a few Spaniards, who, with fome Indian women, have formed a race of men, who, uniting the indolence of the favage to the vices of civilifed nations, are fluggards, cheats and zealots. They live upon maize, upon what fifh they catch, and upon bananas, which Nature, out of indulgence, as it were, to their flothfulness, produces there of a larger fize, and better quality, than in any other part of the Archi pelago. They have a breed of lean and taftelefs cattle, with which they carry on a fraudulent traffic to the French colonics, exchanging them for camlets, black veils, linens, filk ftockings, white hats, and |
