St Helena Letters to England 1714-1715
Introduction: This is the second volume in the series St Helena Letters to England. It includes outgoing official correspondence from the Governor and Council of St Helena to the East India Company in London reporting on the administration of the island, including matters such as government decisions, defence, military preparedness, trade and shipping, supply shortages, personnel issues, and judicial proceedings. They often included explanations of difficulties faced by the island and defences against criticisms from London of past actions or policies. The letters were usually copied or abstracted into the island records.
Source: Images of the original records can be viewed on the British Library’s website: https://eap.bl.uk/archive-file/EAP1364-1-2-2.
Text Transcription This transcription was produced by AI from handwritten document images held on the British Library's website, at about thirty pages per hour. Given the limitations described below, the text should be regarded as unreliable and used only as a search-and-find shortcut: once a relevant section has been located, it must always be checked against the source image via the hyperlinked Film Numbers listed in the main transcription table below.
Three specific problems affected the work. First, AI tends to prioritise meaning and readability at the expense of fidelity to the original, with a strong disposition to normalise spellings, expand abbreviations, and adjust grammar. It is particularly weak with unfamiliar surnames, and scrawled signatures often resist accurate transcription entirely. Transcriptions by eye of documents spanning four centuries have also shown that a single surname could be written in a wide variety of ways: the Crowie family name appears under six different spellings, and the Isaacs family name under sixteen. Searches for surnames are therefore hindered both by genuine variations in the originals and by mistranscriptions introduced by AI, and for this reason are best run phonetically. Second, the AI struggled with the late secretary hand, the script commonly used from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries, in which the letter S appears in a form closely resembling a trailing L. Third, occasional passages in these volumes are written in a hand so obscure or poorly formed as to be difficult to read even by eye, sometimes compounded by heavy ink bleed-through from the reverse side or by the loss of sections of pages.
To mitigate these difficulties, a strict protocol was applied to each image, requiring the AI to rely solely on clearly visible ink strokes and to flag any uncertain reading, thereby reducing the risk of inferred or invented text. Two conventions are used. [...] marks text that could not be read with confidence; this may represent a single unreadable word, a full sentence, or occasionally an entire paragraph. Square brackets around letters or words indicate a conjectural reading supplied by the transcriber: brackets around a whole word, for example [Bazett], mean the entire word was unclear and a probable reading has been supplied, while brackets around individual letters within an otherwise readable word, for example B[a]z[e]tt, mean only those specific letters were unclear in the source and the unbracketed letters were legibly present.
Modern Summary and Analysis Each section of text was submitted for AI analysis in order to explain the archaic language in clear, modern UK English. These are not direct sentence by sentence replacements, but explanatory interpretations intended to clarify meaning while preserving the substance of the original. Where a specific individual is named within a section of the original text, that person will generally also be identified within the explanatory interpretation. However, where the original consists largely of lists of names, these are not usually repeated in the explanatory text.
Each text modern summary is followed by two forms of AI-generated analysis. The first, an Interpretations section, draws on wider information located on the internet to provide additional commentary on the material. The second, a Speculations section, offers one or more possible reflections on what the document might further suggest. The value of these notes ranges from the profound to the trivial or self-evident; time did not permit deletion of the latter.
Text Loss: Many pages have tattered page edges, sometimes with significant loss of text, especially towards the end of the volume.
Referencing Text Locations: A dual numbering system has been adopted, combining the British Library film number with the manuscript’s original page number. These are presented in the format: British Library Film No. / Document Page No.
Content: The volume not only includes letters from St Helena to England, but also from St Helena to India, for example the letters at locations 10/1, 90/81, and 146/141.
Pagination: The first clearly marked page number appears on film No. 18, showing page 9. On this basis, the sequence is assumed to begin on film No. 10 (10/1). Notes at the end of the volume (216/211) suggest that an extra page was inserted between pages 91 and 94, that one page is missing between pages 94 and 97, and that four pages are missing between pages 119 and 129. In fact, a letter ends abruptly on 100/91, while a new letter begins on 101/92. Similarly, the following letter continues in proper paragraph sequence, with the apparent break caused by a new letter starting at 105/96. Paragraph numbers then jump from 58 on film No. 133 to 66 on film No. 134, indicating one or more missing pages at this point. None of these pages are numbered, but if two pages are assumed missing, the sequence would run as 132/123, 133/124, 134/129, 135/130, and so forth. No further pages are numbered after 168/163.
Dates: During the period covered by this volume, England and its colonies followed the Old-Style Julian calendar, under which the legal new year began on 25 March (Lady Day). The earliest letter recorded in this volume is dated 29 July 1714 and the last letter is dated 26 December 1715. The letters were sent during the administration of Governor Isaac Pyke (1714-1719).
AI Generated Summary
Introduction
This report runs from mid-1714 to the close of 1715, drawn from the despatches of the Governor and Council to the Court of Directors in London. A new administration under Governor Isaac Pyke reached the island in the Rochester on 8 Jul 1714. The former Governor, Captain Bouchier, had already sailed for England in the Recovery. [Film No. 10-60]
The island lay on the homeward route from Asia, and its chief purpose was to refresh passing Company ships. The papers were carried home by a long succession of vessels, including the Susanna, the Frederick, the Hanover, the Eagle Galley, the Averilla, the St George and the Cardigan. Each fresh ship prompted a new letter with copies of earlier ones, a deliberate guard against loss at sea. [Film No. 65, 74, 105]
The record is one-sided throughout. It was written to prove the Council's diligence to its distant masters and to fault its predecessor. The reading that follows weighs the documents critically rather than repeating them. The voices of the enslaved and of ordinary settlers survive only as the Council chose to report them. [Film No. 10-210]
Governance and Administration
The new Council led by Pyke found the island's affairs in disorder. The store accounts had not been balanced for eight years, and the record office lay in confusion. A general letter brought earlier in the Susanna could not be found, Bouchier having carried it off. The Council treated this loss as deliberate and resolved to keep duplicate copies of every despatch. Such complaints also set a low baseline against which later improvement could be shown. [Film No. 12, 15, 22]
Repairing the records became a steady labour. Pyke had all earlier letters copied into a single book, added marginal notes, and prepared an alphabetical index. Presses and a chest secured the secretary's papers, and a yearly audit of the stores was fixed for each 29 Sep. The death of the overseer Edward Mashbourne brought William Worrall to the plantations and raised Edward Byfield to the Council. [Film No. 134, 146-148, 174]
The new administration judged its predecessor harshly. It rested the charge of embezzlement on Captain Haswell's letter, which valued lost livestock at 156 pounds 19 shillings 6 pence. It found that Bouchier had kept his designs in his own head, leaving even his chief agent unable to carry the work forward. These verdicts deserve caution, since the Council built part of its case from the very islanders' testimony it had dismissed as unreliable. [Film No. 149-150, 164-165, 169-170]
Military Affairs and Defence
The defences had been badly neglected. James Castle stood largely out of repair, and the sea-side works built under Bouchier weakened the fort while impressing the road. The Council planned new barracks, a hospital, a prison and a proper storehouse. Its sharpest concern lay at Rupert's Bay, where the old line needed seventy men yet never held more than twenty-nine. It proposed a single concentrated strongpoint instead, and gathered ships' captains' opinions to strengthen the case. [Film No. 13, 30-32, 40-44, 60]
The garrison stood dangerously thin. Of twenty-four soldiers ordered out only eight arrived, while ten of the original number had since died. Men were diverted to Bencoolen, and disease and desertion drained the rest. The want of soldiers ran alongside a want of skilled tradesmen, so the Council asked for stone cutters, bricklayers, carpenters and gardeners. It argued that sixty more white men and two hundred slaves would make the island self-supporting. [Film No. 69, 140-141]
French shipping caused recurring alarm after the Treaty of Utrecht. Bouchier had let three French ships anchor at Rupert's Bay, where their crews moved freely about the island. In January 1715 a former French man of war, the Jason, demanded provisions in her king's name. The Council allowed only limited supply, confined the crew ashore, and forbade their sounding the anchorages under pretence of fishing. [Film No. 42, 70-71, 76]
By late 1715 the survey of Bouchier's curtain walls had become a verdict on his judgement. They made a fine show to ships, yet without flanking half bastions they could give no covering fire, the defect caught in the jest that the fort had got no ears. The Council ranked the needed works by cost but refused anything chargeable without the Court's orders. It also replaced a failing wooden bridge with a battered stone causeway. [Film No. 169, 172, 187-188]
Settlement, Land and Agriculture
Food production set the limit on the island's population. The Council reckoned an annual need of about 1,200,000 yams against a capacity below one million. It condemned the engrossing of small holdings by a few wealthy planters, who bought out young settlers cheaply, sometimes over a bottle of punch. This reduced the population and weakened any future defence. The Council proposed longer tenures and limits on large purchases to keep more families settled. [Film No. 26-29, 54]
Agricultural experiment ran alongside these concerns. Trees and seed carried from England mostly died, while fresher seed from the Cape did far better. The Council therefore pressed every factory to lift garden seed at the Cape of Good Hope. The boldest proposal was to settle the abandoned island of Mauritius with surplus young people, chiefly to deny so useful a place to the French and to pirates. [Film No. 25, 29-30, 77-79, 91, 98]
The land policy of 1715 was a deliberate campaign against engrossing. The Council would buy back any large holding offered for sale and divide it into lesser plantations. It granted leases, not gifts, so the freehold stayed in Company hands and possession depended on industry. Newly cleared ground was let at a peppercorn rent for the first years, and each tenant was bound to plant ten citrus trees an acre against scurvy. [Film No. 184-186, 190]
Slavery and Coerced Labour
Enslaved people formed the core of the Company's workforce. A cargo from Calabar in 1714 caused the Council great difficulty, as several captives refused food and one hanged himself in the garden. The Council displayed his body on a gallows to deter the others, exploiting beliefs it understood them to hold about the soul. This was a calculated act of terror, framed as the saving of the Company's investment. Of 121 Company slaves, only fifty-four were judged fit for work. [Film No. 11, 17-18, 32, 55-56]
The economy of forced labour turned on its price. Planters hired out their slaves to the Company at eighteen pence a day, which the Council meant to cut to twelve pence once it secured its own supply. It pressed repeatedly for two hundred slaves from the Gold Coast, Madagascar or Bengal. The careful naming of preferred sources followed an earlier consignment that had produced suicide and heavy mortality. [Film No. 68, 86, 141, 150]
By 1715 the Council had made a precise financial case for buying outright. A slave hired at eighteen pence a day cost 22 pounds 10 shillings a year, against 7 pounds 10 shillings to feed and clothe one. On those figures the wages paid in two years for 100 hired slaves would buy 200. The same body of labour was meant to irrigate Rupert's Valley, fence the Great Wood and finish the fortifications. [Film No. 177-180]
The human reality of this trade is almost wholly absent from the record. The enslaved appear chiefly as a cost to be reduced and as evidence to be weighed. A slave woman of the widow Grace Coulson features only as stolen goods in a trial. Where individuals surface at all, as with the elder Old Will kept on to settle quarrels, it is as instruments of the Company's order. [Film No. 67, 70, 181-182]
Supply, Provisioning and the Landing
A long audit of shipped provisions runs through the despatches. The salt beef and pork came in pieces too small to keep, the cheese had spoiled, and a large consignment of peas hardened before use. The Council exposed a fraud in the beef trade, where the head, hide and entrails were charged as a notional fifth quarter. It recorded each shortfall against the invoice, both to defend its account and to press the suppliers in England. [Film No. 16-19, 111-114]
These complaints marked a clear shift towards local production. The island's own cattle now yielded milk and butter, so the Council asked the Court to send no more. After a long drought a good season restored plenty. The Company nonetheless resolved to send English provisions yearly by ships such as the Cardonnel, partly to answer rumours that the island was starving. [Film No. 92, 94, 102, 112-114]
Supplying ships depended entirely on a single exposed landing. The crane at James Bay was the one point where cargo could be hauled ashore, and high surf at every new and full moon stopped work for about three days together. A laden ship could rarely be unloaded within the ten days the charter allowed. The Council therefore asked for a settled term of forty-five or forty-eight days, reasoning that this would cost less than open-ended demurrage. [Film No. 156-158]
Finance, Currency and Trade
Debt dominated the island's economy. The soldiers and poorer planters owed the Company about 7,500 pounds, which the Council divided into recoverable and desperate portions. It blamed a custom of transferring private bad debts onto the store accounts and moved to stop it. It also capped any planter's store credit at twenty pounds. To answer the Cape rumour of starvation, it bought arrack and other goods from Captain Pennill for over 600 pounds. [Film No. 20-22, 45-46]
The drain of coin off the island troubled the Council deeply, since money at its true value was simply carried away. It therefore proposed to overvalue the currency on purpose, passing Chinese cash at six to a penny and Spanish dollars at an inflated six shillings. It favoured small fanams for wages, judging them not worth carrying off. By 1715 it required every bill of exchange to name the species and number of coins received. [Film No. 47, 56-59, 144, 166-167]
Bills of exchange on the Court were the chief means of moving value without coin. Store credit was turned into bills, used to buy ships' goods, then resold for fresh credit, a cycle that drained the Court's London account. The Council could find no way to avoid drawing bills while the island lacked money. Private trade, especially in arrack, was the recurring threat to the Company store. [Film No. 84, 109, 110]
The arrack trade became an instrument of policy. The Council bought up spirit from visiting captains to stop private dealers undercutting the store. It fixed a standing price of four shillings a gallon and sought a customs duty on all arrack landed, which by Sep 1715 stood at twelvepence a gallon. Through its lateral network it also drew chintz, ginghams and fine cloth from Fort St George and Bengal for paying planters. [Film No. 72, 80-83, 90, 167-168, 205]
Justice, Crime and Punishment
Discipline was enforced through penal labour and public example. Two enslaved men, Jack Batavia and one called George, worked in irons at the fortifications for theft and repeated flight, on a regime modelled on Dutch practice at Batavia. An intended mutiny before Bouchier's departure was traced to the soldiers' hopeless debts. Its ringleader had been carried off to England, and the evidence largely disposed of. [Film No. 21, 34, 37]
The Council exercised criminal jurisdiction through juries drawn from the island's constituencies. William Bevis, a midshipman of the Aurangzeb, was tried for carrying off Grace Coulson's slave woman, before a balanced jury of ship's officers, garrison and planters. He confessed and was fined ten pounds. Lesser offences were met by binding the offender to good behaviour, as when the planter Carne defied the order against selling beef to foreigners. [Film No. 70, 81]
The summer of 1715 brought two disputes that show the Council as a court. A quarrel aboard the Cardonnel set several factors against Captain William Mawson, rooted in drink and wounded pride over cabin space. It took a sharp turn when a passenger, Mr Willey, was found to have toasted King James the Third. With a Jacobite rising gathering, the Council approved his confinement, then settled the affair by submission rather than punishment. [Film No. 118-123]
The gravest affair was the conspiracy aboard the Eagle Galley, whose purpose was to conceal the theft of one thousand pounds of the Court's money. The ringleaders had earlier tried to blow up the ship at Batavia on 29 May 1714. Captain Osborne broke the plot by offering to man the vessel with better men of his own. A later letter from the transported Edward Mallard to a Company slave named Welcher confirmed the design. [Film No. 126-132, 176]
The principal conspirators were deliberately dispersed across several homeward ships. The gunner, the boatswain and John Hannah went in the Hanover, the ringleader Alexander Adier in the St George, and a statement by the runaway William Gwyn followed in the Cardigan. The account survives only in the Council's own telling, though it conceded that the chief mate was unfit and had fed the disorder. [Film No. 129, 200-201, 208, 210]
Religion, Health and Society
The town held about fifty houses, of which eight were disorderly punch houses that drew in soldiers and sailors and then had them arrested for debt. The Council resolved to cut the licensed houses to three or four. The chaplain's register recorded 130 deaths for every 100 christenings, a trend pointing to depopulation within a generation. Sickness was constant, and with both surgeons often ill the Council pressed for a sober apothecary. [Film No. 22, 27, 48-50, 55]
The settlement was increasingly made up of island-born people, three quarters of whom had never seen England. To maintain English forms the Council asked for spelling books, prayer books, Bibles and psalters. Two churches had fallen into dangerous decay, and the Council offered to exchange both for one sound building. By 1715 the minister was raising subscriptions, which the Council proposed to secure by collecting the money into the Court's own cash. [Film No. 115, 143, 193-194]
Loyalty to the new dynasty was asserted in public ceremony. King George was proclaimed on 11 Jun 1715 at Mile End Stone, with a sermon, the garrison under arms, volleys, the great guns and a bonfire. The fort itself was renamed from James Castle to Union Castle. Both acts aligned the island visibly with the Hanoverian succession, set against the Jacobite tensions of the Mawson hearing. [Film No. 195-196, 203]
Personalities
The planter Carne dominated the early letters as the Council's chief antagonist. He held money belonging to the orphaned Keeling children and resisted repaying it, while refusing to supply breeding stock to keep the Company dependent. The affair was closed by paying the Keeling heirs directly, John and Eleanor carrying bills home in Feb 1715. The Council had separated the children's trust from the planter's credit to protect it from default. [Film No. 61-63, 69, 73-74]
Other figures pass through as the Company moved its servants between settlements. The joiner Richard Cleeve, exposed as no true carpenter after cutting joists too slight to bear a load, at last left for Bencoolen with a carefully favourable character. The stone cutter Nicholas Sheriff died in a drunken fit, and the gardener William Taylor died of dysentery within four months of landing. Stephen Newcomb, a factor of good character, married a local woman, Carolina Carne. [Film No. 38, 103-104, 123, 143, 147]
Shipping and the Wider World
As a station on the homeward route, the island gathered news from every passing ship. Much of the correspondence amounted to commercial and naval intelligence, relaying which ships were homeward bound and by what route. The Council learned of Queen Anne's death from the Kent, of a Dutch homeward fleet of twenty-seven sail, and that the privateer Woods Rogers had sailed from the Cape bound for Brazil. [Film No. 67, 75, 151-153]
The same watchfulness ran to the end of the period. The Cardigan carried a short note of expected shipping, naming the Kent, the Duke of Cambridge, the Rochester and the Thistleworth as next due. Two Spanish passengers from the St George judged the island's stony soil to give the signals of rich mines, though the Council set the prospect aside for want of hands to dig. [Film No. 198-199, 204-205]
Conclusion
The consolidated record is the voice of the governors, not the governed. It was written to satisfy the Court, to vindicate a new administration, and to build documented defences against any future challenge. The repeated sending of affidavits and protests in duplicate by separate ships shows a body acutely conscious that its conduct would be reviewed in London. The shape of the evidence is therefore inseparable from its purpose. [Film No. 136-138]
Much accordingly lies in shadow. The enslaved people whose labour underpinned the economy appear only as a price, and ordinary planters and soldiers speak only when they offend. Within these limits, even so, the despatches show a small and isolated community managing scarcity, disorder and distance with real care. Its whole existence remained bound to the rhythm of the ships on which it depended. [Film No. 140-210]
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EAP 1364 St Helena Document Name and Date: ST. HELENA LETTERS TO ENGLAND 1714–1715 Additional comments: [blank] | |||
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Canucabo[...] page 8 Bark Bel[e]l[...] Debts & Comp[...]: good [...] [...]ation [...] 10 Guinea Coast - 15 For free seeds 16 Recommended that [p]eo[pl]e [s]houl[d] be allowed to hold free land and Lay[...]melves as an [in]co[n]equial[?] to build [...]land[...] 19 & 20 [...] [...] of S[...] at [...]ad [...] 20 R[u]pe[r]ts Valley & fortifications p. 33 Water might be carried over from James Valley 34 [...]a[...]r [...]ay[...] from Java an extraordi[n]a[r]y p[...] 74 Cape sold more suitable than English 84 [I]sland prosp[er]ously recoveri[n]g from bad seasons 8[5] S[t.] H[e]le[n]ians ill account [the]m[s]elves English people 99 fond of [S]lander 1[44?] D[r] Boucher ordered his [...]ws to be called Horses 16[6] Old [W]ill & his family children & Grandchildren rem[ar]kable for honesty 176 [...] [...] [u]nci[v]ili[s]ed [...] [1??] [...] G[...]rge [...] [...] [...] [...] [...] in good a[...] the [...] [...] [...] [...] of G[...] [...] | |||
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1 | (A: 1714) Copy of Lett[...] [B]encool[en] Gentlem[en] 8 th This comes to acquaint you that on y[e] 8 [I]nstant wee arrived here from Engl[and] at which time [...] the late Govern[or] Cap[t] Boucher was gone off the [I]sland in y[e] Recovery who Sailed hence the 28[th] June Last in Company w[ith] the King's Will[ia]m and upon perusall of our Letter Book [...] the Last you from this place was to y[e] Su[s]annah Capt[n] Rich[d] [P]enwill Commander dated y[e] 29[th] June 1713 and Since that the rec[ei]p[t] of yours of the 10[th] Septem[r] 1713 by the Abbingdon Cap[t]: W[m] [Y]olden with the [S]ix [S]ugars of Ar[r]a[c]k therein mentioned which is [Sa]id did prove indifferent good. When you have any further Directions from our Hono[ble] Mast[er]s to send us more or the like quantity, w[e] desire you would buy the same. [T]he very [a]nce [d]ue us a bottle of y[e] Same [A]rrack puits[?] into casks Safe sealed up for a M[u]ster. So that if any is adulterated in [...] Voyage we may be the better able to know where the [f]aute lies and how to have our remedy. This is what [...]o[r]man from Bengall and [...]oun[...] to our [Sa]id [...]o[...] Mast[er] [...] According to our Hono[ble] Mast[er] [...]rd[er]s we herewith send you the Ship Rochesters Charterparty and refer you to Capt[n] Brown for further news. We have sent you by this Ship five of our Soldiers Viz[t] W[i]m Cock, Joh[n] [L]ane, [Geo:?] Towers[?] [...] Walbeck & Tho[m] Griffis who we [...]eing in Prison left by the Late Gov[r] und[er] pretence of a designd[e] mutiny but those who were the chief or ringleaders being discharged by him wee had the more reaso[n] to think better of these and they deserving by petic[i]on us to go to Bencoolen, we thought it pruden[t] to grant it & hav[e] also sent you two mo[r]e Viz[t] Roger Mar[t]in and Mich[l]: Brown, who make up the Number wee hav[e] taken out of the Bencoolen Soldiers that pet[i]tioned to stay here. We Reserve you would send us the Seeds of [F]ruits pla[nts?] & that are in your Iscicle for the improvement of th[is] being what our Mast[er] wee very desirous of & this y[e] every Ship Least they should fail Wee are Gentlem[en] Your very Humble Ser[vts] Isaac [C]ype Geo: H[a]z[w]ell [R]ev[d.] [...] [...]o[r]ne M[a]de[...] Bazett Anth[u]as Tovey[?] United Castle S[t] Helena [J]aly y[e] 2[9]th 1714 & Ship Rochester Margin Notes: Coppy of Letter to Bencoolen [...] Arr[ac]k to be [...] Sent here 2 Cs[?] Soldiers now Sent Receiving to have heard from B[en]coolen United Castle S[t] Helena Jaly y[e] 2[9]th 1714 & Ship Rochester | [Copy of letter to Bencoolen] The council at St Helena addressed the gentlemen at Bencoolen, reporting that on the 8th of the present month the Recovery arrived from England. The late Governor, Captain Bouchier, had already left the island. The Recovery had sailed from England on 28 June last in company with the King William, and on examining the Company's letter book the council found that the most recent letter sent from St Helena to Bencoolen had gone by the Susannah, Captain Richard Penhill commander, dated 29 June 1713. Since that date the council had received the Company's orders of 10 September 1713 by the Abingdon, Captain William Golden, with the six bags of arrack mentioned in the order. The arrack had proved indifferent in quality. The council asked that, on any further direction from the Company's most honourable masters to send more of the same quantity, Bencoolen would by the same opportunity send a bottle of the original arrack itself, carefully packed in a cask and sealed up for a marker. By this means, if any of the consignment proved adulterated on the voyage, the council would be the better able to determine where the fault lay and how to obtain redress. This was the substance of what Mr Gorman had written from Bengal, and the council had communicated it to the Company's most honourable masters. In accordance with the Company's directions, the council enclosed with this letter the charter party of the ship Rochester, and referred Bencoolen to Captain Brown for further news. [Soldiers sent] The council sent by the Rochester five of the island soldiers, namely William Greer, John Lane, Peter Towers, Thomas Walford and Thomas Griffis, who had been left in prison on a charge of intended mutiny. Those who had been the chief ringleaders had already been discharged by Captain Brown, who had received more reason to think well of them and judged them deserving by petition to go to Bencoolen. The council thought it prudent to grant the request. The council had also sent two more men, Roger Walton and Michael Browne, to make up the number, and had taken these out of the Bencoolen soldiers who had petitioned to remain at St Helena. [Request for seeds and fruits from Bencoolen] The council asked Bencoolen to send the kinds of seeds and fruits suitable to St Helena's soil for the improvement of the island, since the council was very desirous that no ship coming from Bencoolen should fail to bring some. The letter closed with conventional courtesies and was signed at James Castle, St Helena, on 9 July 1714, by the ship Rochester. The subscribers were Isaac Pyke, George Howell, Robert Mason, Matthew Bazett and Andrew Povey. Interpretations Arrack was the staple spirit of the East India trade, distilled in Batavia and Bengal from palm sap, sugar and rice. It travelled in casks aboard returning Indiamen and was the standard issue spirit for garrisons, ships' companies and the island's tavern trade. Adulteration in transit, by dilution or substitution along the chain of handlers between distillery, warehouse, ship and consignee, was a recurring concern. The council's request for a sealed reference bottle was a practical evidentiary device, providing a fixed sample against which any disputed consignment could be tested. The handling of the mutiny party shows the workings of military discipline on a small island station. The ringleaders had already been released by Captain Brown on his own authority, and the residue of less culpable men was now shipped on to Bencoolen with two replacement soldiers drawn from the Bencoolen draft that had asked to stay at St Helena. The exchange suited both parties. St Helena rid itself of suspect men while retaining settlers willing to remain, and Bencoolen received a working complement without the loss of numbers. The reference to Mr Gorman writing from Bengal and the council passing his observations to the Company's masters indicates the informal intelligence network that bound the Company's factories together. Senior servants corresponded laterally as well as up the chain of command, and observations on quality, fraud or local conditions were forwarded through whichever station next had a ship sailing for England. The request for seeds and fruits points to a continuing programme of agricultural experimentation on the island. The leadership at St Helena treated every passing Indiaman as a potential source of useful plants, and standing instructions to factory presidents abroad to despatch suitable varieties were a regular feature of the island's correspondence. Speculations The decision to send the five prisoners onward to Bencoolen rather than discharge them at St Helena, when Captain Brown had already shown himself willing to release ringleaders, suggests the council wished to put physical distance between the men and the island garrison. Returning them to ordinary duty at James Castle would have unsettled the remaining troops who had not joined the mutiny attempt, while shipping them to a distant station preserved their service to the Company without local risk. The careful naming of every soldier in both directions, those sent out and the two drawn from the Bencoolen replacements, indicates that the council expected the exchange to be checked against muster rolls at the receiving end. The substitution of Walton and Browne for two of the Bencoolen draft was an administrative manoeuvre that needed to balance on paper as well as in practice, and the letter was constructed to provide the supporting record. | |
2 | (5[...] 1714) Copy of Lett[er] by Mercury H[onour]ble S[i]rs
Margin Notes: Hono[u]rs Acc[oun]t [...] Blacks by [...] Mercury Sloop Go[v]r Boucher Saild & Comp[?] [...] Com[m]i[ss]ion read [...] poor [...] | [Copy of letter by the Mercury] The council at St Helena addressed the Honourable Court of Directors, taking the opportunity of the sloop Mercury, Henry Macket master, which had arrived at the island on the first of the present month from Guinea with forty-seven slaves on board. The council thought it proper to acquaint the Court of the safe arrival of the new Governor and Council from England, with the rest of the passengers in good health, aboard the Company's ship Rochester on the 8th of the present month. The council enclosed a short account of the island's plantations, drawn up as briefly as the time allowed, and hoped to be able to give a much fuller and exacter account of everything by the next conveyance. On inspection of the slaves brought by the sloop Mercury, the council found that three women out of eighteen, and one young man out of twenty-nine, were unsound and in no way serviceable. The council returned these to the master and took his receipt, in accordance with the Court's directions. The rest the council would employ on the Company's service as best they could. The master of the sloop, finding it inconvenient to sell the remaining slaves to the planters himself, was given liberty by the council to sell them locally. He did sell them, but they had all since died. On the council's arrival, Governor Bouchier had already gone off for England in the Recovery, which had sailed on 28 June 1714, taking with him Mr Bazett. On the present Governor and Council's commission being publicly read, they took their places accordingly. The council found the island in general in a very poor and deplorable condition. The plantations, on examination and from the council's own observation, had very much gone to ruin and were bare of all sorts of provisions. Interpretations The Guinea sloop trade brought captives from the West African coast to St Helena throughout this period. The Company maintained a standing arrangement to inspect each arriving cargo at the island, to reject those judged unfit for plantation or garrison labour, and to employ the remainder on Company ground or sell them on to the planters. The rejection of unsound captives at the point of landing transferred the loss back to the master and shipper, and the receipt taken by the master was the evidentiary document required for that transfer. The death of all the captives sold to the local planters within a short period after landing reflects the severe debilitation of slaves at the end of the middle passage and the absence of any recovery interval before they were put to work. The handover from Governor Bouchier to the new administration followed the standard Company form. The outgoing Governor sailed for England on the homeward Indiaman immediately on the arrival of his successor, taking with him senior servants whose terms had expired, while the incoming commission was read out at James Castle and the new Governor and councillors took their seats. The departure of Mr Bazett with Bouchier in the Recovery on 28 June 1714 completed one administrative cycle, with the arrival of the Rochester on 8 July 1714 opening the next. The phrase poor and deplorable condition is the standard formula used by an incoming administration to describe the state of the plantations on arrival. It served two administrative purposes. It established a baseline against which the new Governor's later reports could show improvement, and it transferred any blame for present shortcomings to the predecessor. In this instance the council reinforced the point by referring both to examination of the plantations and to the council's own direct observation, indicating that this was not a formality copied from earlier letters but a finding the new administration intended the Court to take seriously. The promise of a much fuller and exacter account by the next conveyance reflects the pace of business in the first weeks of a new administration. The Mercury gave the council an immediate opportunity to report the safe arrival and the state of the slave cargo, but the full survey of plantations, garrison, stores and accounts could only be despatched once the council had completed its first systematic review. Speculations The decision to allow the master of the Mercury to sell his remaining slaves locally rather than have the Company take them all on its own account suggests that the Company's planting establishment at the time of the arrival was already at or near the limit of what it could provision and supervise. The council preferred to disperse the cargo to private hands, even on terms that returned no purchase money to the Company, rather than enlarge the Company's own labour force during the transition between administrations. The pairing of the rejection note, with three women out of eighteen and one man out of twenty-nine returned as unsound, with the subsequent death of all those sold to the planters, points to a much higher concealed mortality than the formal rejection figure recorded. The council's inspection caught only the most visibly debilitated, and the apparent soundness of the others did not survive even the short interval before sale. | |
3 | the live Stock left by the late Govern[o]ur being a Hollowith. Black Cattle . . 60 head Turkeys . . none Hoggs . . 23 Geese . . none Goates . . none Ducks . . none Sheep . . none Fowles . . none Deer . . none Rabbitts . . none nor no Cash but the Stores indebted to abundance of Planters and the Garrison [...] but [...] [E]xamine Strictly into it.
Margin Notes: Shall endeavor to raise Stock & be frugall Su[s]anna L[ord?] M[i]ss[ing] ab[ou]t dispatch of Rochester Store house ready to fall | The live stock left by the late Governor amounted only to a hollow show on paper. Black cattle, 60 head. Turkeys, none. Hogs, 23. Geese, none. Goats, none. Ducks, none. Sheep, none. Fowls, none. Deer, none. Rabbits, none. There was no cash in hand. The stores were indebted to many of the planters and to the garrison. The council would examine the position strictly.
Interpretations The contrast between the formal handover inventory and the working state of the island establishment is the central administrative point of the entry. The list of live stock returned figures of any substance only for cattle and hogs, with every other category, sheep, goats, deer, poultry, rabbits, returned as none. The reference to no cash in hand and to debts owed by the stores both to the planters and to the garrison sets out a Company establishment that was running on credit at the moment of transfer, with the new administration inheriting both the obligation and the audit. The missing general letter brought by the Susannah was a serious administrative gap. The Court's instructions by that conveyance set the terms on which the new Governor and Council were expected to act, and Bouchier's carrying the document off the island with him, whether by oversight or by design, deprived his successors of the operative authority for whole areas of policy. The request that a duplicate be sent, or fresh instructions substituted, was the standard remedy for a lost packet, but it would not reach St Helena until the next outward Indiaman, and the council was in effect operating without a written brief in the interval. The despatch of the Rochester, Captain Brown, with the longboat and launch sent out to assist the unloading, illustrates the practical limits of the James Bay anchorage. Indiamen lay open in the roadstead, and any swell rolling in from the southern ocean stopped the shore boats from working between ship and landing. The detention of the ship for want of water at the end of her loading was a recurring difficulty, and the council's concern that Brown might not sail as quickly as wanted was driven by the cost of demurrage and the seasonal pattern of homeward winds. The condition of the store house bore directly on the survival of the cargo brought out by the Rochester. A store house found very rotten and leaky and ready to fall could not safely receive provisions and goods landed from England, and the expedient of covering the existing stores rather than turning out and re-stowing them was a stopgap pending proper rebuilding. The reference to old stores in the store house indicates that some of the contents had been on the island long enough to be at risk from any failure of the roof or walls. Speculations The absence of the Susannah's general letter from the records at James Castle, combined with Bouchier's departure carrying papers with him, points to a deliberate decision by the outgoing Governor to retain control of the documentary record on his voyage home. Bouchier would arrive in England in advance of any complaint from his successors, and possession of the original instructions would let him frame his own report on his administration before the new council's account reached the Court. The opening inventory of livestock, with every category but cattle and hogs returned as none, suggests that the productive stock of the island had been systematically run down or transferred out in the weeks before the handover. Sheep, goats and poultry are the categories that yield short-term return, and their complete absence from the handover list is harder to explain by ordinary attrition than by removal to private hands during the interval between the news of the relief and the actual arrival of the Rochester. | |
4 | yard with Deales to Secure such Goods as are least subject to Damage and forst to hire houses of the planters to lodge other goods, which wee shall take great care of, and build a new Store Hous[e] as soon as possible.
Governour Boucher hath likewise built a Single wall of one S[h]i[u]ded[?] & twenty foot long and [E]ight foot high with a privy House [...] des[i]gn[d] for [w]are Houses, which will more properly serve for Barracks, because, a building of such great consequence as the store house [...] be too dear the Sea and we think the place where the present store house is, much more proper for a Store house it being on a higher ground and not so subject to Damps which would be prejudiciall to many Sorts of goods.
Margin Notes: Castle out of [Re]pair [...] [addit[i]onall works?] [I]ntended place for [Store house but for?] Barracks | The council had laid in deals to secure such goods as were least subject to damage, and had hired houses from the planters to lodge other goods. The council would take great care of these, and would build a new store house as soon as possible.
Governor Bouchier had also built a single wall, one hundred and twenty foot long and eight foot high, with a latrine in the middle, intended for warehouses. The council judged the structure better suited for barracks, since a store house of such importance ought not to stand so close to the sea. The site of the present store house, on higher and drier ground, was much more suitable for that purpose, as damp would spoil many kinds of goods.
Interpretations The condition of the castle as set out in this entry was the central defensive concern of the new administration. James Castle stood at the head of the bay and served both as the seat of government and as the principal fortification covering the anchorage. The Governor's apartment alone remained habitable, while every other room had fallen out of use through neglect of repair. Water drainage and sanitation had also broken down, and the council framed the position as one of accumulated neglect since Captain Roberts had left the island. The criticism of the additional sea-side works is the most substantial military observation in the passage. The new sections, built outward toward the sea, had been intended to present a better face to shipping lying in the road, but had been raised in such a way that they linked the high ground above the castle with the parapet itself. In the older arrangement, a ditch with timber palisades separated the body of the castle from the hill behind, so that any party gaining the high ground could not pass directly into the works. The new construction provided exactly that route, and the council judged it more useful to mutineers descending from the hill than to defenders standing to their guns. The proposed remedies, raising the parapet at those points and fixing iron spikes into the walls, were the standard countermeasures of the period. The spikes were four-pointed iron devices set into masonry to prevent men climbing the walls or moving along the foot of them. The reuse of Bouchier's new building for barrack accommodation rather than as a warehouse turned on the relative value of the two functions and on the suitability of the site. The wall, one hundred and twenty foot long and eight foot high with a central latrine, formed the shell of a long single-range structure of the kind suited to housing troops. The existing store house, on higher ground further back from the bay, stood drier and was better placed to protect goods that would spoil in damp conditions. The council's proposal therefore reversed Bouchier's allocation of the two buildings, keeping the old store house in its present use and turning the new range over to the garrison. Deals were sawn softwood planks, generally fir or pine, brought out from northern Europe by the East India Company for packaging, dunnage and rough construction at its overseas stations. The council's use of deals to protect the most easily damaged goods, and its hiring of planters' houses for the rest, was a stopgap until the new store house could be built. Speculations The decision to repurpose Bouchier's new wall as a barrack rather than a warehouse may have carried an administrative purpose beyond the practical one of moisture and elevation. A long single-range barrack adjoining the castle would bring the garrison's accommodation under closer supervision than the existing arrangement allowed, which fits the council's parallel concern about the ease with which mutinous men could come down off the hill and into the castle. Concentrating the men in purpose-built quarters under the eye of the officers was a recognised response to the kind of disaffection that had produced the mutiny party shipped out on the Rochester. The framing of every defect as nothing of any consequence having been done since Captain Roberts left the island places the responsibility for the present state of the castle squarely on Bouchier's tenure, and uses the name of an earlier administrator as the benchmark of acceptable practice. Roberts thereby becomes the standard against which the council measures both the previous administration's neglect and its own intended programme of repair. | |
5 | board which being more then were at first Expected an[d] water likely to prove short the Cap[t] held a Consult[a]tion at which we were present and there not appearing to be water Sufficient for the passage to S[t] Helena it was concluded to be absolutely necessary to touch at S[t] Jago which we did and filled all our water Cask, we went on Thursday the 22 of April and Stayd four days, there w[ee] [that?] Cap[t] Samuel Goodman in the S[t] George of London for East India had watered and Sail[e]d three days before wee came in. The water we took in at S[t] Jago was of great consequence to us for notwithstanding our filling all our water casks there we were every one in the Ship at a quart of water y[e] day for twenty four days before our arrivall here, not but that we might have had three pints each our full allowance, but because we knew there was not enough for all the men without shortn[in]g the allowance we resolved to take as the rest did that they might be Encouraged by our Example.
P.S. This morning Said the Rochester for Bencoolen & Mercury [S]loop [Signatures, partly illegible:] How[ell?] [...] [...] [...] M[r] [...] [A?] [...] Margin Notes: reason of Rochesters touch at S[t] Jago of Cap[t] Goodman being there want of [Lim]e boards Stationary Ware & Fishing Tackle United Castle S[t] Helena July y[e] 31[st] 1714 | The Rochester had brought aboard more people than had at first been expected, and the water was likely to run short. The captain held a consultation, at which the council was present, and as there did not appear to be enough water for the passage to St Helena, it was concluded that calling at St Iago was absolutely necessary. The ship accordingly put in there and filled all her water casks. They went in on Thursday the 22nd of April and stayed four days. Captain Samuel Goodman in the St George of London, bound for the East Indies, had watered and sailed three days before the Rochester came in. The water taken in at St Iago was of great consequence, since even after filling all the casks every man aboard was on an allowance of one quart of water a day for the twenty-four days before arrival at St Helena. The new Governor and councillors could have drawn their full ration of three pints each, but, knowing there was not enough for all the men without short rations, they chose to take what the rest of the ship's company received, so that the men might be encouraged by their example.
The council also wanted stationery of all sorts, since what was on hand was of the poorest kind, and there were only a few small books left. The Court was asked to send two or three quires of the largest sort of royal paper, to be printed up with the other stationery, for drawing the surveys of the island. Fishing tackle was also much wanted. The council had drawn on the Court in favour of Captain William Brown for £85 18s 8d sterling, and asked that the bill be accepted accordingly. The letter closed with the usual courtesies and was signed at James Castle, St Helena, on 31 July 1714. A postscript noted that this morning, by the Mercury sloop, the Rochester had sailed for Bencoolen. Interpretations The decision to put in at St Iago was driven by the simple arithmetic of a ship carrying more passengers than her water provision had been calculated for. St Iago in the Cape Verde Islands was the standard watering station for outward Indiamen that ran short on the long leg from the Channel to the equator, and the presence at the anchorage of the St George under Captain Samuel Goodman three days before the Rochester arrived illustrates the regular use of the port by Company ships bound east. The detail that the new Governor and councillors elected to take a quart a day with the ordinary men, when their rank entitled them to three pints, is recorded as a deliberate act of leadership and was the kind of incident a new administration would wish to have on the Court's file at the outset of its term. The shortages reported in this entry sketch the practical limits of supply across the Cape route. The crane at the landing was the principal means of getting heavy cargo ashore and was indispensable to the unloading of every Indiaman that came in. Its failure had already cost the council a day on the unloading of the Rochester and would continue to delay business until timber could be obtained for a replacement. Lime was needed for the masonry repairs in prospect at the castle, and wainscot board, sawn oak panelling imported from the Baltic, was wanted for internal fitting. Both materials were carried as standard cargo on outward Indiamen but had been missed because the Rochester sailed before her loading at the Thames was complete and had dropped down to the Downs to await her convoy. Royal paper was a large sheet size used for maps, plans and engineering drawings, and the council's request for two or three quires of the largest sort, printed up with the other stationery, was framed against the need to draw the surveys of the island. A new administration arriving with instructions to report on the state of the plantations needed proper paper on which to set out the survey returns. The reference to printing up with the rest of the stationery means having the sheets ruled or headed at a London stationer before despatch, so that the survey returns could be entered in a uniform form. The bill of exchange drawn on the Court in favour of Captain Brown for £85 18s 8d settled a charge incurred at St Helena that the council could not meet in cash. Indiamen captains regularly carried such bills home for presentation at India House, and the council's request that the bill be accepted accordingly was the standard formula by which the issuing officers gave the Court notice of the obligation and asked for its endorsement. Speculations The council's recording of its own decision to share the short water ration with the men, in a despatch to the Court, points to an early move in the management of the new administration's reputation. The incident was minor in itself but cast the incoming Governor and councillors as personally disciplined and considerate of the ship's company, in deliberate contrast to the picture of waste and neglect drawn against Bouchier elsewhere in the same letter. The combination of failures recorded in this entry, the missed consignment at the Downs, the crane out of action, the short stock of stationery, the lack of fishing tackle, all bore on the council's ability to begin the survey of the plantations promised in the earlier paragraphs. The request for royal paper for the survey returns suggests that the survey itself was being held back until the necessary materials reached the island, and the larger inventory of wants was as much a forward justification for that delay as a routine demand on the warehouse at India House. | |
6 | Hon[ble]: S[i]rs Copy of Lett[er] by Susana (12 Nov 1714) [...]
Margin Notes: [Rea]son of last [Lord?] Brief[?]ness [Lette]rs not Copy[d?] to [...] [...] all [L]etters W[ith] cau[t]ion from Last Orders | [Copy of letter by the Susanna, 12 November 1714] The council at St Helena wrote to the Court of Directors, taking the opportunity of the Susanna.
First, concerning shipping.
Interpretations The opening paragraphs set out the administrative method by which a new Governor and Council answered the Court's outward letter. The Court's despatch by the Rochester, of 25 March 1713, ran to ninety-seven numbered paragraphs covering the whole field of island business, and the convention was that the Council replied paragraph by paragraph in a single consolidated despatch home. The numbering in the present letter corresponds to the numbering in the Court's letter, with the answer to each paragraph keyed to its source. The reply by the Susanna on 12 November 1714 was the first full opportunity the new Council had taken to work through the Court's orders since the arrival on the Rochester on 8 July 1714. The disorder of the record office is the central administrative finding of the entry and bears directly on the loss of the Susanna's general letter recorded earlier in the correspondence. The secretary's task of going back through the letters of both the Old Company and the United Court of Directors reflects the merger of 1709, when the two competing English East India Companies had been brought together as the United Court. Papers from both predecessor establishments remained in current administrative use, and the failure to keep them sorted into a coherent series had made the work of any new secretary close to impossible. The estimate of ten months to put the record in order was a serious commitment of clerical time and indicates the scale of the neglect. The two old books of orders and instructions, now described as in pieces with their bindings broken, were the principal working reference for the Governor and Council. Each was a bound register into which the Court's standing orders, instructions to particular Governors and major rulings on plantation, garrison, trade and law were copied for daily consultation. The collapse of these volumes through ordinary wear had reduced them to loose gatherings that could not safely be handled without further loss, and the council's reference to letters without date and pages of doubtful legibility flags the practical difficulty of citing precedents in current business. The Court's repeated insistence on the proper copying of outward letters and the keeping of duplicates of consultations is the second standing complaint reflected in this entry. The carrying off of the Susanna's letter by Bouchier was treated by the new council not as an isolated act but as the type of risk to be guarded against by procedure. Duplicate copies of all outgoing despatches, sent by separate conveyance, and duplicates of all consultations preserved in a second register, were the standard safeguards against loss in transit and against the kind of removal of papers that had occurred at the handover. Speculations The undertaking to copy every letter twice and to keep duplicate consultation books was a substantial commitment of clerical labour, and its inclusion in the formal reply to the Court suggests that the council intended to use the documentary record as protection against later challenge. With the Susanna letter gone and the office in disorder, the new administration had limited means to defend its own actions against any criticism Bouchier might lodge in London, and a complete duplicate file built from the date of the council's arrival would secure its position in any subsequent dispute. The estimate that the secretary would need ten months to put the office in order points to a much larger administrative gap than ordinary clerical lag could explain. The complete re-doing of the tracks of business implies that the previous secretarial routine had collapsed well before Bouchier's departure, and the new council was using the November despatch to set the marker for a long programme of recovery during which the absence of clear records could be invoked to explain any subsequent finding the Court might raise. | |
7 | Surprize and as much as in us lies take care of your Honours [...] and observe the Instructions in the 13[t]h par[a] or any former that may relate thereto.
Margin Notes: an Acc[oun]t of Rochest[r]s Dispatch & Con[t]e[nts?] an Acc[oun]t of Shipping [...] Acc[oun]ts shall be sent Want of [S]carcity[?] of Beef | The council would do as much as lay in its power to obey the Court's instructions in the 13th paragraph, or in any earlier paragraph that related to the same matter.
The Derby, Captain Thomas Bowery [...]. The Aurangzeb, Captain Nicholas Lisbon. The Borneo, Captain Thomas Lewis. The Hester, Captain Charles Risar, had also touched at the Cape outward bound, but the master could not learn at what time. Captain Pennill had also heard that the Eagle Galley, Captain Daniel Beckman, had been at Batavia, and had seen Captain Woodes Rogers off Java Head in August last.
Interpretations The reporting of shipping intelligence picked up at intermediate ports was a standing duty of every Indiaman calling at St Helena. The Susanna, last from the Cape, brought news of four Company ships seen there outward bound, and the master's report on the Eagle Galley and on Woodes Rogers off Java Head in August last extended the chain of information eastward through Batavia. The Court at India House depended on these accumulated sightings to track its own ships, those of other European companies and the wider state of the eastern trade, and the council's transmission of the intelligence by the Susanna's homeward voyage of 12 November 1714 fed the same routine. The presence of Woodes Rogers off Java Head in August 1714 carried a particular significance for the Court. Rogers had returned to England in 1711 from the privateering voyage of the Duke and Dutchess that had circumnavigated the globe, taken the Manila galleon and recovered Alexander Selkirk from Juan Fernandez. By 1714 he was again in eastern waters in connection with the trade and political projects that would later produce his governorship of the Bahamas, and the report of his position would have been read at India House for its bearing on the Court's interests in the South Sea and the eastern trades. The reference to the fifth quarter exposes a substantial fraud in the local beef supply. A beef carcase divides into four quarters by trade convention, two fore and two hind, and the head, entrails and hide are by-products that lie outside that division. To allow the by-products a notional fifth quarter equal in weight to one of the four genuine quarters meant the Company was paying for a quarter of meat that did not exist. At four pence a pound on the beasts brought in, the fifth quarter inflated each payment by twenty-five per cent, and the practice had become so established that the council found it in operation on arrival. The remark that the master of the Rochester could not get beef to supply Captain Brown or the general table, and was reduced to taking bull beef, indicates that the supply itself was short as well as overpriced. Bull beef from older working animals was tougher and less valued than ox or cow beef and would not normally have been offered for ship's provision or for the officers' table. The general table was the dining establishment at James Castle at which the Governor, the council and senior Company servants ate at the Company's charge. It was a distinct head of expenditure in the island accounts and a recognised perquisite of office. The failure of the planters to supply it on the arrival of a new Governor was a serious lapse, and the council's recording of the point fed the wider narrative of an island establishment found in disorder at the handover. Speculations The reporting of the fifth-quarter practice in formal correspondence to the Court was a move to reset the terms of the local beef trade. By naming the practice and its arithmetic in a despatch home, the council put on the record an abuse it now intended to abolish, and any objection from the planters could later be answered by reference to the Court's presumed disapproval of a charge that had inflated the Company's beef bill by a quarter for an unknown period. The selection of shipping intelligence forwarded by the Susanna may have served a purpose beyond the routine. The names of the four Company ships at the Cape, together with the reports of the Eagle Galley at Batavia and of Woodes Rogers off Java Head, gave the Court a picture of the eastern trade as still in active operation in the autumn of 1714, against which the council's own account of an impoverished island would stand out as a local problem rather than a general failure of the Company's affairs. | |
8 | Surprize and as much as in us lies take care of your Honours [...] and observe the Instructions in the 13[t]h par[a] or any former that may relate thereto.
Margin Notes: an Acc[oun]t of Rochest[r]s Dispatch & Con[t]e[nts?] an Acc[oun]t of Shipping [...] Acc[oun]ts shall be sent Want of [S]carcity[?] of Beef | When the master of the Rochester could get beef at that price, and had it not been for the supply the Court had sent out, the new establishment would have had no provisions to eat. Fish was the chief of the fresh provisions on the island, since few or none of the planters had any cattle left other than those they kept for breeding. It would be some years before the islanders could recover their losses.
Secondly, concerning goods and stores from England or India.
Four of the men and three of the women were of the people called cannibals, who eat one another. They were very lazy and sluggish, and if not forced to it would sit and starve rather than fetch yams for their own eating. The yams used to be delivered to them once a week, and when they sat down to eat, whatever was set before them they held to until they had devoured the whole. Their week's allowance was usually gone in three days. The council was therefore obliged to have the other slaves feed them and give them their meat every day. Some of them had proved so sullen that they refused to eat, notwithstanding the best endeavours of the overseers and the surgeon, who tended them constantly every day and sometimes more often. Three of them had died, and the council had had much to do to hinder those called cannibals from eating them when they died, or from eating any dead carrion of any kind, or the guts of beasts or fishes if they found them on a dunghill. They ate such things with greediness, though they were not stinted but received their full ration every week, one piece of beef and fifty pounds of yams each, with as much Indian corn or rice as they would eat besides. They would also eat among them the beef and yams belonging Interpretations The reference to Calabar identifies the Bight of Biafra slaving region of the West African coast, centred on the rivers Cross and Calabar in present-day south-eastern Nigeria. Calabar was one of the principal supply points of the Royal African Company and the separate traders, and its captives were drawn from a wide hinterland through trading networks dominated by the Aro and other inland brokers. The Company's reputation that captives from Calabar were the worst sort reflected the high mortality and low compliance found by purchasers across the Atlantic and Indian Ocean trades. The captives were typically held at the coast for long periods before sale, were debilitated on arrival aboard ship, and came from peoples whose languages, customs and political organisation differed sharply from those familiar to European overseers. The description of seven of the captives as cannibals belongs to a category of report routinely made by Company servants of the period about captives from particular regions of the African coast. The label was applied to peoples whose dietary practices, funeral customs or war rites had been encountered or reported by slave traders at the point of purchase, and was used at the receiving station to explain behaviours that the overseers could not otherwise account for. The actual practices of the peoples of the Calabar hinterland did not match the European usage of the term, but the label, once attached to a consignment by the surgeon or overseer, served as a working classification that determined how the captives were managed at the receiving establishment. The ration scale recorded for the captives, one piece of beef and fifty pounds of yams each per week, with as much Indian corn or rice as the captives would eat, was generous by the standards of Company slave-feeding elsewhere. The fifty-pound yam allowance assumed yams as the staple, which matched the dietary practice of the Biafran region from which the captives had been taken. The supplementary maize and rice extended the diet to ingredients more easily kept in the Company's stores. The council's reporting of the failure of certain captives to eat in spite of this ration, and the attendance of the surgeon constantly every day, formed part of the wider record being assembled to explain the high mortality among the Sitwell cargo. The collapse of the planters' herds is the second economic finding of the paragraph and rounds out the picture set out earlier in the despatch. Few or none of the planters retaining cattle other than breeding stock implies that the productive herd had been so reduced that no cull animals were available for sale, and the estimate that some years would pass before the islanders could recover their losses set a long horizon for the restoration of the local meat supply. Fish, taken from the bay and from the offshore grounds, had become the staple fresh provision in default of beef. Speculations The detailed recording of the conduct of the captives from Calabar served a purpose beyond simple description of difficulties. By naming the place of origin as infamous and by setting out at length the practical problems of feeding, supervision and mortality, the council was building a case for refusing future consignments from the same source or for adjusting the price the Company would allow on such cargoes. A despatch home that recorded high mortality, low productivity and the additional cost of feeding sullen captives daily by hand prepared the ground for a future instruction to the Court's slave purchasers to avoid the Bight of Biafra. The description of three deaths among the seven labelled cannibals, with the surgeon in constant attendance and the other slaves drawn in to feed them, points to a regime in which captives who failed to thrive were treated with whatever resources the establishment commanded rather than written off as losses. The Company's investment in each captive landed alive at St Helena was substantial, and the institutional effort to keep the Calabar group alive, even where ultimately unsuccessful, indicates that the calculation of loss was being made against the purchase price and freight charges already incurred rather than against any judgement of future productivity. | |
9 | belonging to the s[u]ll[e]n people too, and severall have attempt[ed] to hang themselves, so that the overseers have been obliged to beat them sevearly to deter them from it, but one of the L[u]stiest men among them did, not withstanding hang himself in the Night, on One of the Figg Trees in the Garden, We then orde[r]d a Gallows to be made, and sett on a Mountain in view of the publick Road where he was hung up by the feet and still hangs which scares them from going that way if they can avoid it, and they have a notion that so long as he is tyed by his feet he cannot gett to his own country, which we hope, has been a means to hinde[r] others from destroying themselves that way there is one of them also, that proves to be a Fool, which we could not d[i]scover at first We have now mixed many of them amongst the other blacks in hopes by their example to bring them to some- thing, We think, one half of them are now fitt for Service but the other half it will be a long time before we can make them earn their own living.
Margin Notes: one of [the?] Black y[e] hang[e]d himself Window Glass want[in]g no good Send but of necessity y[e] reason Acc[oun]t of y[e] Clock &c[a] & Drinking Glasses Acc[oun]t of Beef & Pork Cheese Flower & Bread Peas | The food belonging to the sullen captives, and several had attempted to hang themselves, so that the overseers had been forced to beat them severely to deter them from it. One of the lustiest men among them did, notwithstanding, hang himself in the night on one of the fig trees in the garden. The council had then ordered a gallows to be made and set up on a mountain in view of the public road, where the body was hung up by the feet. It still hung there, and frightened the others from going that way if they could avoid it. The captives held the belief that so long as the dead man was tied by his feet he could not return to his own country, which the council hoped had been a means of hindering others from destroying themselves in the same way. One of them also turned out to be a fool, which the council had not been able to discover at first. The council had now mixed many of them with the other slaves, in the hope that by their example they might be brought to something. The council thought one half of them were now fit for service, but believed it would be a long time before the other half could be made to earn their own living.
Interpretations The hanging of the dead captive by the feet on a gallows set in view of the public road was a deliberate manipulation of the beliefs the council understood the Calabar captives to hold about the return of the soul to the home country at death. Across many West African societies of the period, suicide by a captive was understood to release the spirit for return across the sea to the place of origin, and the practice of inversion or mutilation of the corpse was the standard counter-measure adopted by slaveholders in the Atlantic and Indian Ocean systems. The council's record of the display, its visibility from the road and its apparent effect on the remaining captives sets out the use of an exemplary punishment intended to operate through the captives' own cosmology rather than through Christian or European categories of deterrence. The classification of one of the captives as a fool reflects the period's working category for persons of limited mental capacity. Such persons could not be sold on the open market as productive slaves and remained on the Company's hands as a long-term liability. The reference to mixing many of them with the other slaves in the hope of bringing them to something describes a deliberate strategy of integration with the existing slave establishment on the island, on the model that the longer-resident captives would teach the new arrivals the routines of plantation and Company work. The council's assessment that one half were now fit for service and the other half would be a long time before earning their own living gave the Court a frank productivity estimate against the purchase price. The provisions report covers the principal heads of the salt-cured stores shipped out from England. Salt beef and pork were packed in standardised pieces by weight for ease of issue at sea and in garrison, and pieces of two pounds and a half were at the lighter end of the usual range. The complaint that the salt would eat the goodness out of small pieces in a short time rested on the practical chemistry of barrelled meat: the brine penetrated a small piece quickly and continued to harden and dry it until the meat became unpalatable. Suffolk cheese, hard pressed and made from skimmed milk, was a standard ration cheese supplied to ships and garrisons but was notorious for its keeping qualities and texture; the wholesale failure of the consignment was consistent with its reputation. Flour and ship's bread, the staples of the bread ration, had travelled well. The peas, a key element of the daily mess on the standard provision tables, had been shipped in a quantity greater than could be consumed within the twelve-month storage life of that variety, and had begun to harden into the state in which they could neither be cooked nor sold. Looking glasses, mirrors of polished glass set in wooden or metal frames, were a regular item in the Company's outward shipments to its overseas establishments. They served both as personal possessions for Company servants and as trade goods for sale to the local population. The reference to the people in general being much in debt indicates that the planters and other free residents had run up balances at the Company's stores that were not now being cleared, and that the absence of looking glasses and similar saleable items from the Rochester's consignment had cut off one means by which those balances could be reduced. Speculations The detailed reporting of the suicide and the display of the corpse may have been intended to record a defensible response to a crisis of management. The recourse to severe beatings and the hanging up of the body departed from the routines the Court might expect to see in operation at an outlying establishment, and the council's framing of the actions as a means of preserving the surviving captives from following the same path placed the response within the calculus of saving the Company's investment in the cargo. The combined complaint against the size of the pieces of beef and pork, the quality of the Suffolk cheese and the quantity of the peas reads as a structured criticism of the victualling contractors at India House. By recording the specific failures, with quantified findings and named defects, the council was building a case for the Court to apply pressure on its London suppliers, and for the issuing of more careful instructions on packing weights and on the selection of varieties suited to long storage in a moderate climate. | |
10 | them to give to y[e] Blacks, but in a little time they'l only be fitt for Hogs. th 18. To the 28 par[a] The Navall Stores came out very well but the Twine we did designe to Sell to y[e] Commanders of Sh[ips] for mending and makeing their Sails, we have been forc[ed] to use some of it to make fishing lines their being great want of them upon y[e] Island, fishing being the cheif Support of the people, and there fore in our Indent we shall desire the bigger Quantity.
Margin Notes: [Acc]t of Navall Stores & Twine &c[a] Oyl & Vinegar Mathematical Inst[rumen]t Send Ratt Traps Y[e] Yaul Old Pinnace & Long Boat &c[a] | The peas could be issued to the slaves, but in a little time they would only be fit for hogs.
Interpretations The naval stores were the standing supply of cordage, twine, canvas, pitch, tar and other rigging materials that the East India Company shipped to St Helena both for the maintenance of its own boats and for resale to Indiamen calling at the bay. The twine in this consignment had been intended for sale to ships' masters for sail repair, since outward Indiamen often needed to replace twine consumed at sea. The diversion of some of the twine to fishing lines reflects the position set out in earlier paragraphs of the same despatch: with the cattle herds collapsed and fresh meat unobtainable in any quantity, the island establishment had come to depend on the inshore fishery for its daily protein supply, and fishing lines were therefore as important a Company store as any other. The mathematical instruments returned by name as thermometer and barometer were the standard observational equipment issued to the Governor's apartment and to the council chamber. They were used for routine meteorological recording and for the timing of agricultural and navigational work. The preference for plain wainscot frames at about fifteen shillings each, rather than walnut or fine wood, sets a Company servant's working price for the instrument as distinct from the ornamental versions made for private purchasers in London. The fifteen shilling figure was the unit price the council expected the Court's instrument maker to be able to meet. The duck trap was a wire cage trap designed to take live birds and small mammals, and was being requisitioned here for use against the rats that infested the stores at James Castle. Rat predation on the Company's goods was a constant problem at every overseas establishment, and the council's specification of the duck trap by name indicates a working knowledge of the relative effectiveness of different patterns of trap then on the market in London. The state of the boat establishment is the central practical finding of this entry and bears directly on the island's connection both with passing shipping and with its own outlying landing places. The deal yawl, the old pinnace and the longboat made up the entire fleet on the council's arrival. The yawl was new and serviceable. The longboat was under repair and its damaged keel had been sent home as evidence of the work in hand. The pinnace was past use and the council could not even fetch lyme from windward without a working boat. Lyme bay, on the windward side of the island, was the standard source of the calcined limestone needed to make mortar for masonry, and access to it was essential for the building programme already promised in the earlier paragraphs of the despatch. The proposal to buy a boat from a homeward Indiaman was the practical expedient adopted when Company supply chains were too slow for immediate need. Speculations The diversion of sale twine to fishing lines, set out in the formal reply to the Court, may have been intended to head off a future audit query about the missing revenue from the twine consignment. By recording in advance that the material had been put to a different but necessary use, the council placed the decision on the record before any objection could be raised at India House about a shortfall in the proceeds of the naval stores account. The specification of fifteen shillings each for replacement thermometers and barometers in plain wainscot frames suggests that the council was responding to an earlier consignment in which expensive ornamental instruments had been supplied at a higher price than the institutional use justified. The express direction to avoid walnut and fine wood, and to specify wainscot without ornament, indicates that the council was setting the terms of future purchase with the Court's London suppliers as deliberately as it was setting the prices on goods sold to the planters. | |
11 | upon occasion to build one ourselves. th 24. To y[e] 34 Par[a] we shall punctually observe your Hon[rs] Instructions, and have now sent an Acc[oun]t of the prices of Goods sett on the Rochesters Cargo and should have done the same for what rec[eive]d from Bencoolen by this Ship had we time. th 25. To the 35 We take the Order for retailing small thing[s] to be a very good expedient and have proposed it to some but they think the premium of five p[er] C[en]t which will n[ot] be above fifteen pounds p[er] An[num] at y[e] utmost is too little satisfaction for a Constant attendance, as that will require, and so much writing w[hi]ch is very valuable here
Margin Notes: Ab[ou]t retail[ing] Goods for 5 p[er] C[en]t Ab[ou]t Fanams to be [...] trans[fer]r[e]d Why y[e] Bills are not Issued out Why M[r] Toody[?] Case was not now Settled | The council would, on occasion, build one itself.
Interpretations The retailing scheme set out in the 35th paragraph was a proposal by the Court to put the sale of Company goods on the island into the hands of a local agent on commission, in place of direct sale from the storehouse. Five per cent on turnover was the standing rate the Court was offering. The local response, that the work of constant attendance and detailed entry in the account books was not worth fifteen pounds a year at the most, indicates both the modest scale of the island retail trade and the considerable clerical burden the Court's accounting requirements placed on any agent. The remark that paper was very dear at the island puts a price on one of the principal materials of the agent's work and explains the council's earlier request for stationery to be sent out in greater quantity. Fanams were small coins of the southern Indian and Coromandel trade, used as small change throughout the Company's eastern factories. Silver fanams of about a tenth of a pagoda were a recognised unit. The council's preference for copper over silver fanams as the small change of the island reflects a working judgement about how the two metals were treated by the population. Silver fanams would not circulate readily but would be hoarded or carried off the island as bullion. Copper coin remained in daily use because its bullion value was negligible. The choice between the two metals therefore turned on whether the council wished to add to the island's reserve of precious metal or to put a working medium of exchange into daily circulation. The transfer system the council moved to stop was the means by which a creditor of any private person at St Helena could assign the debt to the Company's storehouse, taking store credit in exchange for the right to collect from the original debtor. The Company became the creditor of last resort, and its store credit was used as a private settlement medium. Where the assigned debt was good, the Company lost nothing. Where the debt was bad, as had increasingly been the case, the Company absorbed the loss while the original creditor was paid in full. Stopping all transfers, except where the Company itself owed money to the person seeking the transfer, closed the route by which private bad debts had been converted into Company liabilities. The bank bills referred to in the 27th paragraph were Company-issued notes or drafts intended to circulate as a paper medium of exchange on the island, in place of the coin and store credit then in use. The council's decision not to issue any of the bills until all accounts had been adjusted was a precondition for sound issue. Putting paper money into circulation against an unsettled debt position would have produced immediate over-issue and the loss of confidence in the notes. The further point, that the bills should be sent out direct by the Court rather than requested by the people, reserved the initiative on the paper currency to the Court at India House and prevented the planters from determining the timing and scale of the issue. Speculations The handling of the transfer system points to a deliberate move by the new administration to break a settled custom of the Bouchier period under which the storehouse had functioned as an absorber of bad debt. The arithmetic of the practice favoured anyone holding doubtful private paper, and its continued operation would have undermined the council's promise to put the Company's accounts on a sound footing. By recording the stop on transfers in the formal despatch home, the council secured the Court's tacit approval for what was certain to be an unpopular measure on the island. The closing remark about salaries, set out as a hope that good service would lead to salaries being increased rather than reduced, suggests that the Court's instructions by the Rochester had carried a warning of possible reductions in the establishment costs, and that the council was opening its formal reply to that prospect by tying any decision on its members' pay to the visible reform of the island's finances now in hand. | |
12 | requested by all parties to deferr sending it by this Ship they haveing something more on each side to add.
Margin Notes: shall pre[ven]t Lit[igeous] &c[a] encourage Industr[i]ous Of [I]mp[rove]m[en]t of the Island poverty of y[e] people [Account?] of y[e] Mutiny D[e]bt trans[fer] again[s]t | The case was being requested by all parties to be sent by this ship, the parties having something more on each side to add.
To stock the Court's plantations anew, or to draw money or squeeze [...] without giving into debt, had been occasioned by the [...] custom of transferring debts from one to another in the stores. Any person who held a fair correspondence with the storekeeper would transfer credit to themselves by persons who were before very much in debt, by which means all bad debts had become the Company's, and the good ones the people's own. The Council was of the opinion that no man ought to transfer any sum of money to another in the Court's books, unless he had really credit (that is, money due to him Interpretations The figure of £7,500 11s 4d owed to the Company by the soldiers and the poorer planters establishes the scale of the debt problem the new administration had inherited. The council's division of the sum into three roughly equal parts, one desperate, one recoverable only in provisions and slave labour, and one expected to be paid in cattle, indicates a working method of debt classification that any modern accountant would recognise. The desperate third was to be written off in due course. The second third would be liquidated by accepting yams and other staples from the poorer planters, and by accounting for the days of work performed by their slaves at agreed rates. The third part, secured against the planters' surviving cattle, would be cleared by the delivery of livestock to the Company's stores. The arithmetic of the position rested on the proposition that even bad debts could be partly recovered if the means of payment were adjusted to the actual productive capacity of the debtor. The connection drawn between the indebtedness of the soldiers and the intended mutiny before Bouchier's departure is the most direct administrative point in the paragraph. The mutiny party shipped out on the Rochester in July 1714 had, in the council's reading, been driven by the simple arithmetic of accumulated debt at the store. Soldiers whose entire pay had been pledged against past purchases had no expectation of any cash income for the remainder of their service, and an armed seizure of the storehouse offered the means to clear their position and rearm with portable goods. The council's framing of the mutiny as a debt-driven act rather than a political grievance set the new administration on a course of debt reform as the principal means of preventing recurrence. The store credit transfer system, returned to in this paragraph in much greater detail than in the council's earlier reply, is identified as the mechanism by which the Company's accounts had been corrupted over time. A planter or trader who held doubtful private paper, that is, debts owing to him by other islanders that he had little prospect of collecting, could assign those debts to the storekeeper in exchange for store credit at face value. The storekeeper accepted the assignment because his books balanced on paper, and the planter walked away with goods of real value in exchange for paper of doubtful worth. Over time the Company became the holder of all the bad paper on the island, while the good paper remained in private hands. The proposed reform was that no transfer could be entered in the Company's books unless the transferor had genuine credit in his own name to support it. The reference to the Governor's report to be presented at the consultation later in November sets the procedural framework within which the debt analysis was being conducted. The full account of debtors, sums and proposed methods of recovery was being assembled by the Governor for tabling at a formal meeting of the council, after which it would be entered in the consultation book and despatched to the Court. The despatch by the Susanna on 12 November 1714 was therefore part of a coordinated set of documents through which the new administration was setting out its analysis and its remedies. Speculations The framing of the late intended mutiny as a debt-driven event rather than as a political grievance against Bouchier may have served a purpose beyond the immediate analysis. Attributing the mutiny to the indebtedness of the soldiers rather than to any maladministration by the previous Governor left the door open for the new council's debt reform to be presented as the answer to all the conditions that had produced the mutiny, and made the present Council's success on debt the measure of its prevention of a recurrence. The detail with which the transfer system is set out in this paragraph, alongside the more compressed account given a few paragraphs earlier in the same despatch, suggests that the council was building the despatch in stages and adding to its analysis as further evidence came in from the Governor's review. The repetition served to anchor the case for the Court's tacit approval of the stop on transfers, and to make it impossible for any later objector to claim that the matter had not been fully reported home before the reform took effect. | |
13 | from your Honours in the Stores, and that no planter be hereafter trusted for more then twenty pounds in the Stores unless upon some very extraordinary occasions, and that for very good reasons, which if your Hon[rs] approve of you'l please to direct in your next Generall Letter, besid[es] the last mentioned great Debt due to your Honours there was due to Sundry persons at our Arrival the Sum of One thousand five hundred Twenty Six pounds Seven Shillings and Eleven pence, half penny which 'tis likely they will require, Bills for some of them have already b[een] done so, which shall be mentioned in proper place the n[a]mes of the severall persons to whom or from whom y[e] respective sums are due are all mentioned in a paper herewith sent, Intit[u]led an Abstract of Debts and Credits in y[e] Stores.
Margin Notes: [t]o trust now ab[o]ve £20 [...] Bills now [...] [h]ow Acc[oun]ts are [no]w Sent [t]hen [?] shall [in]v[oice] of [Co.] [Goo]ds [Sett?] L[is]t of H[on]rs Blacks [Marriages?] Christen[in]gs [Buri]a[ll]s | The credit, that is, money due to him, must come from the Court in the stores. No planter would in future be trusted for more than twenty pounds in the stores, except on some very extraordinary occasion and for very good reasons. The Court was asked to direct the council on this in its next general letter. Besides the great debts due to the Court that had been mentioned above, there had also been due to sundry persons at the council's arrival the sum of £1,526 7s 11½d. Bills for some of these had already been given, which would be mentioned in the proper place. The names of the persons to whom, or from whom, the respective sums were due were all set out in a paper sent with this letter, entitled an abstract of debts and credits in the stores.
Interpretations The ceiling of twenty pounds on any planter's store credit, with extraordinary cases reserved for the Court's standing approval, set a hard limit on the form of indebtedness that had produced the £7,500 collective debt described in the preceding paragraph. A round figure of twenty pounds for each individual was a recognised cap for plantation households of the period, sufficient to cover seasonal purchases of tools, cloth and provisions but small enough that no single account could grow into the kind of unrecoverable sum that had built up during the previous administration. The council's request that the limit be confirmed by the Court in its next general letter sought formal backing from India House for what was on the island a contentious local restriction. The sum of £1,526 7s 11½d owed to sundry persons at the council's arrival represented the obverse side of the same account. While the Company was owed £7,500 by the soldiers and the poorer planters, it owed in turn just over £1,500 to other islanders who had supplied goods, services or cash advances to the previous administration. The settlement of these claims, partly in bills drawn on the Court at India House, partly through future store credit, was a precondition for any general clearance of the island's debt position. The accompanying abstract of debts and credits in the stores set out the bilateral position for each individual. The disclosure that the accounts had not been made up these eight years is the most striking finding of this paragraph and gives the measure of the administrative collapse the new council had found at the storehouse. The Company's books at St Helena ran from 1706 to 1714 without a single closed balance. Every transaction in the storehouse, every receipt of cargo, every issue of goods, every entry of debt and credit, lay in the day books and ledgers in an unposted state. The taking of an inventory of the Company's goods was the necessary first step in any reconstruction of the accounts, and the council's explanation that all hands had been engaged in that work, rather than in copying out the made-up accounts for despatch home, was as much a justification for the present incomplete return as a description of the work in hand. The chaplain's list of marriages, christenings and burials was the standing parish register kept at the church in James Town. The chaplain held a Company appointment and was required to make periodic returns to the Court of the vital statistics of the white population of the island. Read alongside the list of Company slaves with their ages and employments, the two documents together gave the Court a complete demographic picture of the labour force on Company ground: the resident families on one side, the unfree workforce on the other. Speculations The fact that no accounts had been balanced for eight years points to a much deeper administrative failure than ordinary clerical lag, and may explain features of the previous administration that are otherwise hard to account for. With no closed books against which to test the storekeeper's returns, any internal fraud, any concealed transfer of doubtful debts onto the Company's account, and any private appropriation of Company goods could be carried on indefinitely without detection. The council's emphasis on the inventory and the new debt limit reads as a deliberate attempt to set down a verifiable baseline against which all future transactions could be measured. The placing of the lists of slaves and of marriages, christenings and burials at the end of this paragraph, alongside the financial state of the stores, suggests that the council was constructing the despatch as a single coordinated return: a financial account, a demographic account and a planting account, each tied to the council's arrival on 8 July 1714 as the starting date for the new administration's record-keeping. | |
14 |
Margin Notes: Serj[ean]t Southern L[is]t of Rent & Rev[enue] Withdraw[ing?] bills [in]debted Out of Cattle &c[a] [...] [...] Goats |
Interpretations The case of Sergeant Southern shows the working of the system by which the Company stopped the pay of garrison soldiers on the island for the support of dependants in England. The standing arrangement allowed the Court at India House to remit fixed sums to wives and children in England on instructions from the husband, and to deduct the same from the soldier's island pay. Southern's account had no such deduction recorded, and his island position of nearly £30 in debt, with a wife and four children on the island, made any new deduction impossible. The Governor's questioning of him on the existence of his English wife, and the soldier's explanation that he had thought her dead on the report of a friend, set up the kind of bigamy or desertion case that arose frequently among long-service garrison soldiers at the Company's overseas stations. The institutional response was generally to leave the existing island family in place and to make no further provision for the English wife unless she herself applied to the Court. The building programme set out in the 37th paragraph is the fullest schedule of intended works that the new council had so far drawn up. The list comprised the completion of the castle, the repair of the line next the sea, the construction of a 150-foot screen wall to hide the run of water from the principal buildings, and the building from new of a store house, a barracks, a hospital and a prison. Each of these items had a separate institutional rationale: the screen wall protected the freshwater channel from view, since open water in sight of the garrison and the planters was a temptation to unauthorised drawing and to fouling; the store house, barracks, hospital and prison together formed the basic infrastructure of any Company station and the absence of any of them indicated a serious gap in the establishment. The handling of the cattle account, with the change in the responsible officer from John Floud to the Governor and Captain Mashbourne, is the second important administrative finding of the entry. Floud had evidently been the keeper of the cattle account under Bouchier, and the council had now removed the entire responsibility from his hands, transferring it to the Governor in person, with Captain Mashbourne as the second principal. The taking of the account by the Governor and a senior councillor in person, with first-hand inspection of the herd, replaced what had probably been a routine paper return prepared by a subordinate, and provided the council with a verifiable baseline for the future increase of the herd. The express reference to the cattle account being done right, and to the manner in which the cattle increased, indicates that the new accounting method was designed both to establish the present position and to monitor the natural increase year by year. The reference to the absence of any Company-owned goats on the council's arrival, with the subsequent purchase recorded against Captain Haswell's account, sets out a small but significant point of plantation policy. Goats had been kept on the island from the original Portuguese landings and were the only domestic livestock that could thrive on the steep volcanic ground above the planted valleys. The absence of any Company stock at the moment of handover indicated either a complete sale or a complete loss of the goat herd under the previous administration, and the council's prompt re-establishment of a goat flock signalled an intention to restore the marginal grazing of the island to productive use. Speculations The decision to remove the cattle account from John Floud and to vest it directly in the Governor and Captain Mashbourne suggests that Floud had been identified by the council as one of the channels through which the previous administration's livestock returns had been falsified. Bringing the inspection of the herd into the hands of the Governor in person, supported by a councillor of military rank, removed the opportunity for any further manipulation of the figures by a subordinate officer, and the council's formal statement that the accounts were now given in by the Governor and Captain Mashbourne from their own knowledge served to put Floud on notice that his previous role had ended. The building schedule set out in the 37th paragraph, with the warning to the Court that a considerable charge was to be expected, reads as the council's opening move in a long-term negotiation over the establishment costs of the island. By itemising every necessary structure as not yet built, and by attributing the absence of progress to Bouchier's tenure, the council secured the Court's tacit understanding that the next several years would carry building costs above the customary level, and that those costs would be charged against an inherited liability rather than against the new administration's own programme of frugality. | |
15 | of their destruction in y[e] Letter in Consultation of y[e] Nove[m]b[r] and the account of your Hon[r]s Stock at our arrival and at present, is what comes herewith. The Goats are u[s]ually pounded once a week, by most people and those belonging to the Hon[ble] Company shall always be so.
Margin Notes: Cap[t] Haswells Lett[er] L[is]t of fowls & 3 Sheep found Blacks shall be kept to Work [L]e Shed built by [lat]e Bouch[er] cap £181 14[s] 6[d] Care ab[ou]t their Planta[tion]s | The council referred the Court to Captain Haswell's account of their destruction, as set out in his letter of consultation of the 5th of November. The account of the Court's livestock at the council's arrival, and at present, came with this despatch. The goats were generally pounded once a week by various people, and those belonging to the Court would always be so treated.
Interpretations The reference to the goats being pounded once a week describes the standing practice for the control of livestock on an island where the boundaries between Company and private holdings were imperfectly fenced. To pound an animal was to drive it into an enclosed pound, where its ownership could be established by marks or by claim, and where any unclaimed beast became available for distribution by the council. The weekly pounding routine was the means by which strays were identified and returned to their proper owners, and by which any goat without a recognised mark could be added to the Court's stock. The council's confirmation that the Court's goats would always be pounded with the rest set the practice on a regular footing. The recovery of three unmarked sheep, claimed for the Court's account, indicates the council's working method for re-establishing the Company's livestock register. With the goat and sheep populations in disorder after the previous administration, any beast found without a mark was claimable for the Company in the absence of any private claimant. The taking of three sheep on this basis was a small but significant addition to a flock that the council had earlier reported as standing at nothing. The Guinea hen named in this entry was the helmeted guineafowl, a species native to the West African coast and widely transported by European traders to Atlantic islands and plantation colonies from the sixteenth century onwards. The breed was hardy, mostly self-sustaining on the marginal ground of upland St Helena, and capable of foraging without the close supervision required by domestic poultry. The introduction of a fresh breeding stock from St Iago, alongside common fowl, was part of the council's systematic restocking of the establishment. The shed costing £181 4s 6d, built by Bouchier and now examined by Captain Mashbourne with three planters and a carpenter, was being valued by a formal commission of inspection. The use of a councillor of military rank, supported by three independent planters and a craftsman, was the standard means of arriving at a verifiable figure for the value of an existing structure. The carpenter would have measured the materials and the workmanship, the planters would have spoken to current local prices, and Mashbourne would have certified the result. The council's note that the rafters and thatch would be reused in the building of a new slaves' house, replacing the one burnt down in Bouchier's time, illustrates the principle of putting all materials to the best advantage that ran through the new administration's building policy. The hiring out of slaves to private persons on the island, returned to in paragraph 42, was a recognised arrangement under which the Company let out its slaves on day-rate or by the task, retaining the receipts as Company revenue. The standing requirement was that the slave be kept to the work for which the hire had been agreed, since diversion of the slave to other tasks at the hirer's discretion both deprived the Company of the value of the agreed work and risked the loss or injury of the slave on unauthorised work. The council's report of irregular hiring practice under Bouchier, with slaves being moved to other tasks at the hirer's convenience, indicates that the rule had broken down and that the council intended to enforce it more strictly. Speculations The reuse of the rafters and thatch from Bouchier's shed in a new slaves' house, recorded as the council's own decision, may have served a purpose beyond ordinary economy. By taking down a structure whose cost had been certified at £181 4s 6d and reusing its principal materials in a different building, the council both salvaged the value of the original investment and recorded a measurable saving against the future bill for the new slaves' house. The valuation exercise produced a documented figure that could be cited as an offset against the cost of the replacement. The selection of Captain Mashbourne to lead the inspection of the shed, and the express recording of his thanks to the Court for its confidence in him, points to his use by the new administration as the council's principal field inspector. Together with his role in the cattle account, Mashbourne was being deployed as the trusted military officer through whom the practical verification of the previous administration's works and stocks would pass, and the recording of his personal acknowledgement to the Court was a deliberate move to associate him with the council's reform programme in the Court's own files. | |
16 | progress already made in that affair ( upon perusa[l] of our Consultations ) will be pleasing.
Margin Notes: Of Seeds Sent The Cart &c[a] [Send]ing to [In]dia for Seeds Ab[ou]t y[e] Vineyard & Change[?] of plants Acc[oun]t for not Ans[werin]g 61 par[a] | The progress already made in that matter, on perusal of the council's consultations, would be pleasing.
Interpretations The seed consignment described in this paragraph was part of a standing programme of agricultural experimentation that ran through the East India Company's administration of St Helena. The Court at India House regularly despatched seeds of trees, hedging plants, grasses and garden vegetables on the outward Indiamen, and the council on the island returned a season-by-season account of which species took and which failed. The composition of the present consignment, with acorns and chestnuts for forest timber, ash for general use, furze for hedging and fuel, and grass for pasture, gives a good indication of the practical intentions of the planting programme. Forest timber would in time supply the building, fencing and fuel needs of the island that were now being met by imported deals and by the destruction of the existing native woodland. Furze, the spiny leguminous shrub also called gorse, had a recognised role in marginal ground as both a hedging plant and a feed for stock, and its successful germination in several places was the most encouraging finding of the present trial. The reference to ash seeds being inspected in the ground, opened to check that they were sound, but not expected above ground for six months, reflects the long dormancy period of European ash. Fraxinus seeds typically require a full year of stratification before germination, and the council's six-month estimate represents an informed expectation rather than the more optimistic forecast a less experienced planter might have made. The drought conditions described in the same paragraph would have aggravated the difficulty of getting the seeds through their dormancy and into productive growth. The vineyard at St Helena was a long-standing feature of the Company's plantations and produced wine for the local establishment and for issue to passing shipping. The three-year recovery period set out by the council reflects the standard time for a young vine to come into proper bearing, and the explanation that the better part of the vineyard had been turned up for pasturage for the asses three years before indicates that the productive root stock had been lost during the previous administration. The proposal to introduce new stock from the Cape or the Madeira islands followed the standard agricultural wisdom of the period that vine varieties needed periodic refreshment to maintain quality, and that vines from established wine-growing regions outperformed those propagated continually from local cuttings. The cart referred to in the paragraph was a wheeled vehicle of European pattern, shipped out for use in moving heavy materials at the building sites and around the Company's plantations. On an island where pack animals and human carriage were the standard means of moving goods, even a single cart represented a substantial productivity gain, and the council's note that the cart was now employed at the fortifications, and would be moved to other uses as the building work expanded, indicates the value placed on the equipment. Speculations The proposal that the Court order one of its Indiamen to call at the Cape or the Madeiras for the procurement of fresh vines suggests that the council was conscious of the convoy patterns of the outward voyage and was attempting to insert a small additional task into a route that the Court's ships were already running. A southerly course from the Channel to the Cape took outward ships within easy reach of Madeira, and a brief call to lift vine cuttings or root stocks would add little to the voyage time while securing a long-term improvement of the island's vineyard. The candid acknowledgement that the council had been fully employed in taking accounts and could not answer the 61st paragraph at present indicates the limits of what a new administration could deliver in its first reply to a ninety-seven paragraph instruction from the Court. The council had elected to answer the paragraphs that bore on the immediate state of the establishment, while leaving the longer-range or more specialised matters for a subsequent despatch, on the practical ground that an answer made without proper enquiry would not be of any value to the Court. | |
17 | of the Stores Plantations &c[a]: and putting them in Order, but shall be Particular by the next Ship
Margin Notes: [Of] plantat[ions] buy[?] ing & Selling after the H[on]rs Comp[a] Of their Own & Increasing them Buying of Yams | The council had been fully employed since its arrival in taking account of the stores, plantations and other property, and in putting them in order, but would give particulars by the next ship.
If the Court had two or three more narrow valleys, usually called gulches in this place, where the small rills of water moistened the ground and made it plantable, this would still be proper. By the best and nearest computation, the Company could not do without 1,200,000 yams. All the plantable ground at present, that was so watered as to be fit for yams, did not contain quite one million. So that if some of the plantations that lay nearest to the Company's land should happen to be sold cheap, the council believed it would be in the Court's interest to be the purchaser, and hoped the Court would pardon the council if it also said that, were the council assured of having provisions from the planters at a reasonable rate, it would then be for the Court's interest to let all its land. The council thought, however, that this could not yet be depended on. There were some Interpretations The yam was the staple ground crop of St Helena and the foundation of the food supply for the slave establishment, the garrison and the planters' households. The yam grown on the island was Dioscorea alata, the water yam of West African and Asian cultivation, brought to St Helena by way of the early Portuguese and then established under the East India Company's plantations. The crop required moist alluvial ground in the narrow valley bottoms where springs and seasonal streams kept the soil workable, and the volume of production set the upper limit on the population that the island could support. The figure of 1,200,000 yams returned as the Company's annual need, against a total plantable ground capacity of just under one million yams, is the most important quantitative finding of this paragraph. The shortfall of approximately 200,000 yams represented the gap between what the island could grow and what its population required to eat, and that gap was either to be closed by extending the area under cultivation, by drawing on imported provisions, or by reducing the size of the slave and free populations the Company maintained. The council's recommendation that the Court acquire two or three additional valleys, gulches in the local term, where small streams kept the ground workable, was a direct response to this arithmetic. The case of Robert Bell, who had bought a plantation from Bouchier and was now asking to surrender it back to the Company for inability to pay, illustrates the working of the land market on the island under the previous administration. Bouchier had been selling Company plantations to settlers on terms of deferred payment, with the result that the buyers held the land but could not meet the instalments, while the Company had given up productive ground without receiving the purchase money. Bell's petition to take back the plantation, that is, to return it to the Company in cancellation of the debt, was a recognised legal procedure but represented a complete loss to the Company of the productive value of the land for the period of Bell's tenure. The council's analysis of the relative productivity of land held by settlers as against land held directly by the Company is the central planting argument of the paragraph. A settler family worked harder on land they owned, because their own household depended on the produce, while a Company servant assigned to a plantation worked at a lower intensity and let his own dependants fend for themselves. The Court's standard preference for direct Company ownership was therefore not, in the council's view, the most productive use of the island's plantable ground. The proposed alternative, of letting all the Company's land to settlers on condition of a guaranteed supply of provisions at fair prices, was the working compromise the council was prepared to recommend if the supply position could be made reliable. A gulch, in St Helena usage, was a narrow steep-sided valley running down from the central ridge of the island to the sea. The standing water in the gulch floor and the springs that fed the small streams made the gulch bottoms the only ground on which yams could reliably be raised. The major gulches of the island had been planted from the early years of the English settlement, and the further extension of the cultivated area depended on the development of the smaller side gulches that lay around them. Speculations The council's recommendation that the Court buy back plantations from settlers selling cheap may have been intended to consolidate the most productive land around the existing Company holdings before the market recovered. With Robert Bell already petitioning to surrender his land in cancellation of debt, and with many of the poorer planters carrying balances in the stores that they could not meet, a wave of forced sales was in prospect. By signalling to the Court in advance that the Company should be ready to buy, the council prepared the ground for an institutional reacquisition of the kind of land Bouchier had been selling off. The arithmetic of yams set out in this paragraph, with annual need of 1,200,000 and present capacity of just under one million, points to a calculated case for either the extension of the cultivated area or the reduction of the Company's labour force. The council had elsewhere reported on the high mortality among the captives from Calabar and on the modest fitness for service of the survivors. A continuing pattern of high slave mortality, taken with the limited yam supply, would in time bring the island's population within the limit of what the existing plantations could feed, but the council was framing the case for expansion rather than for contraction. | |
18 | Land ( called waste Land, as all the Hon[ble] Comp[as] Land is called ) that is unoccupied and has not yet been planted lying in small Pcels[?] in Sundry places that may serve very well for Young begin[ners] ( w[ch] [is] [of] good Land and fitt for Planting ) is not so fitt for the Comp[a] because unless the Hono[urable]: Comp[a] can have at least 100,000 Yamms growing in one place it is not worth their while to maintain one whole man and five Blacks to Look after it. In the whole tho we beleive it very proper for the Hon[ble] Comp[a] to hand[?] so large a Plantation as not to depend on any Planters for Subsistance of the Garrison, Yet we humbly conceive that as the Spring of Every Country is in the Viscer[a] of the proprietor[?] the fortifications in this Country will be of but little use without men to Defend them, wherefore we should be very glad if the Island were better people[d] and also if y[e] Land now lett were Occupied by more working men the People here decreaseing Yearly in proportion to their Numbers at least 30 p[er] C[en]t we mean that to 100 Christnings there are 130 Deaths as will appear by y[e] Chaplains Acc[oun]t: of Births & Burialls herewith also sent, besides a great many goes off Every Year so that in less than 30 Years without recruits the Country may be Depopulated and this leads us to a Complaint that severall small Plantations have been lett to those at the usuall Rent of 4[s] [per] acre to Young People by the Comp[a] who have then been drawn in by some Subtle Engros[ser] who sometimes only over a bottle of Punch and sometimes by a small parcell of Ready money have bought the Lease ( w[ch] is lookt on here Equall to an Margin Notes: [O]f y[e] up Land of 100,000 Yams at a place not fitt for the Comp[a] Need of Increase[?] of mult[i]- plantand[?] reason [al]so [hav]e y[e] proceeds[?] [bee]n[?] [...] The Effects of Engrossing [...] | Some land called waste land, as all the Company's land was called, that was unoccupied and had not yet been planted, lay in small gulches in several places. These might serve very well for young beginners, that is, good land and fit for planting, but was not so suitable for the Company, because unless the Company could have at least 100,000 yams growing in one place, it was not worth its while to maintain one white man and five slaves to look after it. On the whole, the council believed it would be very proper for the Company to hold so large a plantation as not to depend on any planters for the subsistence of the garrison. The council humbly conceived, however, that as the strength of every country lay in the numbers of its inhabitants, the fortifications in this country would be of little use without men to defend them. The council would therefore be very glad if the island were better peopled, and if the land now left were occupied by more working men. The population was decreasing yearly in proportion to its numbers, by at least 30 per cent. That was, to 100 christenings there were 130 deaths, as would appear by the chaplain's account of births and burials sent with this letter. A great many also went off every year, so that in less than 30 years, without recruits, the country might be depopulated. This led the council to a complaint, that several small plantations had been let to housing at the usual rent of fourpence per acre to young people by the Company. These young people had then been drawn in by some subtle engrosser, who sometimes, only over a bottle of punch, and sometimes by a small parcel of ready money, had bought the lease, which was looked upon here as equal to Interpretations The waste land mentioned in this paragraph was not derelict ground in the modern sense but the standing reserve of unalienated Company land on the island. All land at St Helena was held by the Court at India House by virtue of the Crown's grant, and any portion not let to settlers or worked by the Company itself was carried on the books as waste, that is, awaiting allocation. The small gulches lying in this reserve could in principle be brought into productive use by young settlers establishing new households, but the council's calculation was that no single such plot would carry the minimum of 100,000 yams required to justify the assignment of a white overseer and five slaves to its supervision. The Company's own plantation policy was therefore geared to consolidated tracts of substantial size, while small holdings were a matter for individual settler enterprise. The demographic finding of 130 deaths to every 100 christenings is the most arresting statistic in the despatch and gives the measure of the population crisis on the island under the previous administration. A ratio of that scale, sustained over time, would reduce the resident population by approximately a quarter every generation. When combined with the additional loss from departure to England or to other Company stations, the council's projection of complete depopulation within thirty years was the practical implication of the figure. The standard explanations of the period for such a ratio, those being epidemic disease, malnutrition, accident and the demographic fragility of small populations, all applied at St Helena, but the underlying cause the council was identifying in this paragraph was the structural failure of the planting establishment to support the existing population on the island's own ground. The complaint about subtle engrossers is the central policy argument of the paragraph. An engrosser was a person who accumulated land holdings by buying out smallholders, in this case by taking on the leases of young settlers at well below their value. The mechanism the council described, that of plying a young leaseholder with punch or offering a small cash sum, illustrates how the lease, valued at fourpence per acre per year by the Company, became in practice a saleable asset that could be sold for far less than its productive worth. The result was that the engrossing planters accumulated ever larger blocks of land while the young settler families who had been brought in to populate the island were dispossessed and either left, fell into debt, or sank into the poorer ranks of the planter community. The rent of fourpence per acre per year was the standing rate at which the Company let plantation ground to settlers, and a lease at that rate was indeed equal in working value to a freehold in the local understanding. The settler paid a notional ground rent that bore no relation to the agricultural value of the land and held the lease in practice as if it were his own property. The transferability of the lease, by which it could be sold or assigned, made it the principal form of property held by the settler population. The council's recognition that the lease was looked on here as equal to a freehold is the clearest statement in the despatch of the local understanding of land tenure on the island. Speculations The council's emphasis on the practice of engrossing may have been intended to lay the ground for a future restriction on the transfer of leases. Once the Court was on notice that young settlers were being dispossessed by the older planters through informal sales, a future regulation requiring all lease transfers to be approved by the Council could be presented as a measure to protect the population the Court was trying to encourage. The complaint thus served both as an explanation of the population decline and as a justification for a future tightening of the lease system. The arithmetic of the population decline, taken with the earlier finding that yam capacity stood at just under one million against an annual need of 1,200,000, points to an unstated logical connection in the council's analysis. A planting establishment that could not feed its existing population would, over time, produce exactly the kind of demographic ratio the chaplain's register recorded. The malnutrition consequent on a chronic food shortfall would raise mortality, depress fertility and accelerate departure for healthier stations, and the council may have been holding back the explicit linking of the food deficit to the population decline for a separate despatch in which the broader case for expanding the cultivated area could be set out in full. | |
19 | an Estate ) and so there is some, who have obtain[ed] great quantities of Land while the Sellers are forc[ed] to goe off in Beggary and for this tho y[o]ur Hon[rs] have made an Ordinance that the Possess[or] of Land shell maintain a white man to every 20 Acres it does not prove a Remedy because that Law cannott be put in Execution unless we had more white men here, and it would be very Severe to Exact the penalty of that Law at present on a Cap[?] that now the People Cannot help transgressing But wee humbly Conceive that this for the future may be prevented if your Hono[urs] should think fitt to Ord[e]r that none or that but some very small Number should be permitted to buy Free Land or Leases that did already Possess some certa[in] Number of Acres and tho this would make the Vallue of Land to fall yet it would always yeild y[o]r Hon[r]s Rent we should have more planters and Consequently the Countrey better Peopled and also more buyers at your Hono[urs] Store house.
Margin Notes: [Of?] remedy [O]f holding Land by Lives [App]ears a good way to increase Inhabit[ant]s | A real estate, with the result that some had obtained great quantities of land while the sellers were forced to go off in beggary. To address this, the Court had made an ordinance that the possessor of land should maintain a white man to every twenty acres. The ordinance had not proved a remedy, because the law could not be put in execution while there were not enough white men on the island. It would be very severe to exact the penalty of that law at present on a case where the people could not help transgressing. The council humbly conceived that this might be prevented for the future if the Court should think fit to order that none, or that only a very small number, should be permitted to buy freehold or leasehold land who already possessed a certain number of acres. Although this would make the value of land fall, it would always yield the Court's rent. The council would have more planters and consequently the country better peopled, and also more buyers at the Court's store house.
Interpretations The ordinance requiring one white man to every twenty acres of land held was a settlement policy directed at maintaining the white population in proportion to the cultivated area. The rule was a recognised form of plantation regulation in the period and operated on the principle that any large landholder must support a body of white labourers or tenants whose presence on the land both worked the ground and contributed to the defence of the settlement. The council's report that the ordinance had broken down because there were not enough white men available to satisfy its requirements illustrates the practical limit of the measure. A regulation that depended on a supply of white labour that did not exist could not be enforced, and to apply the penalty to the existing landholders would be to punish them for a shortage they had no means of correcting. The proposed remedy of restricting future purchases of land to those who held only a small acreage was a direct intervention in the operation of the local land market. By preventing the engrossing planters from adding further to their holdings, the regulation would, over time, redistribute land back to smaller proprietors as plantations changed hands by sale or inheritance. The council's frank acknowledgement that the measure would make the value of land fall reflects the standard understanding that the price of land in a small market depended on the willingness of large buyers to bid. With the engrossers removed from the buying side, the price would settle at a level the smaller proprietors could afford. The Court would lose no revenue, since the rent of fourpence per acre per year did not vary with the sale price of the land. The proposal of a copyhold tenure for three lives was a request that the Court adopt a form of holding familiar from English manorial practice in place of the twenty-one year leasehold then in use. A copyhold for three lives ran for the lives of three named persons, typically the holder, his wife and his eldest child, with the tenure passing automatically on the death of each. The arrangement gave a settler family a holding that would last across two or three generations, with a corresponding incentive to invest in long-term improvements. The reasoning of the settlers, set out by the council in the form of two specific examples, was that fruit trees such as lemons took years to come to bearing, and that a planter would not undertake such planting at the start of a lease if the next twenty-one years might run out before his children could benefit. The same argument applied to the building of a house, where the substantial investment was justified only if the family could be assured of long continued occupation. The lemon tree mentioned in the settlers' reasoning was a standard cash and provisioning crop for the island, the fruit being valuable both for local consumption and for sale to passing ships against the risk of scurvy among the crews. A lemon tree took several years from planting to first bearing and many more to come to full productivity, so that any planter establishing a new orchard was investing in a return that lay well beyond the early years of a twenty-one year lease. Speculations The settlers' request for a copyhold for three lives may have been driven as much by the wish to secure their family's continued residence on the island as by the agricultural argument set out to the council. With the population in decline and many of the poorer planters carrying debts they could not meet, a tenure that bound the family to its holding across three generations would protect the settlement from the kind of forced sale or surrender that had reduced the small proprietor class. The council, in transmitting the request to the Court, may have seen the same logic but preferred to set out the agricultural case rather than the social one. The council's frank admission that the proposed restriction on land purchases would make the value of land fall points to an unspoken political calculation. The existing engrossing planters, holding large tracts at low cost, were the principal beneficiaries of the unrestricted land market, and any regulation that lowered land values would reduce their wealth. The council, recently arrived and not yet committed to the local social hierarchy, could afford to set out the case for restriction in plain terms, where a longer-resident administration might have hesitated to propose a measure that bore so directly on the established planters. | |
20 | here but are unwilling to be at so much Cost unless they could be assured of Renewing their Lease or nameing those who should Succeed them and in this Last case if your Hon[rs] should think fitt to give any Orders as that whose makes any considerable or Expencive Improvem[ent] as a firm house or other Build[in]g of such like Nature might be permitted to Name 3 liv[es] to hold that Land Not Exceeding ----- Acres at the usuall rent with payment of some proper fine at Each admi[ss]ion [or] takeing it up; but we conceive may not be proper to Admitt any to more than one Such like [E]state unless it came to them by Inheritance.
Margin Notes: [...] [Su]rvey y[e] [...] [...] of Hutts [W]a[lls?] [Cap]t Mashborne[?] M[?] time [Ex]pence[?] of [gre]at Wood Of Indian Corn & Seeds from Engl[an]d & S[t] Jago Elms | The planters were unwilling to be at so much cost unless they could be assured of renewing their lease, or of naming those who should succeed them. In this last case, should the Court think fit to give any orders that, where a settler made any considerable or expensive improvement, such as a farmhouse or other building of like nature, the holder might be permitted to name three lives. The land was to be held not exceeding [...] acres at the usual rent, with payment of some proper fine at the first admission or taking up. The council conceived, however, that it might not be proper to admit any to more than one such estate, unless it came to them by inheritance.
In answer to the fencing in of the great wood, this would be a very great charge. The fences in many places being at a very great distance, it was not feasible to enclose the whole at once. The Governor had been there to view some part of it, and the council was of opinion that it would be no great expense to enclose about 80 acres at a place called the dead wood, there being a great quantity of wood lying on the ground unused.
Interpretations The proposed framework for a long-term tenure tied to substantial improvement was a refinement of the copyhold-for-three-lives proposal in the previous paragraph. The new arrangement would grant the longer tenure only to those settlers who made a significant capital investment in the land, such as the construction of a substantial farmhouse, and would limit each settler to one such estate unless additional holdings came to them by inheritance. The payment of a fine at the taking up of the estate followed the standard English manorial practice, by which a copyhold tenure was acquired through a one-off lump sum payment in addition to the periodic rent. The combination of a higher upfront fine, a limited acreage, and a one-estate-per-person rule was designed to encourage genuine settlement and improvement while preventing the engrossing planters from again accumulating large blocks of long-tenured land. The fencing position set out in the reply to the 73rd paragraph is one of the more pointed administrative findings of the despatch. The council was able to demonstrate that not a single rood, that is a quarter-acre length, of new fencing had been built since July 1711, except at one particular gutter on the plantations. Mashbourne had taken over the care of the fences at that date, and the absence of any new construction over the subsequent three years pointed to a sustained failure of plantation maintenance during the latter part of the Bouchier administration. The intention to commission a proper survey of the fences and a report on the charge of repair, to be set in hand once the planting season was over, was the standard administrative response to the finding. Dead Wood was a recognised place name on the central plateau of the island, lying at moderate elevation above the cultivated valleys. The name derived from the substantial quantity of fallen and standing dead timber in the area, which represented a recoverable resource for fuel and rough construction. The proposal to enclose only 80 acres at Dead Wood, rather than to attempt the whole boundary of the woodland, reflects the practical calculation that selective enclosure of the most productive portion would yield most of the benefit at a fraction of the cost. The reference to a great quantity of wood lying on the ground unused indicates that the fallen timber within the wood was not being harvested for fuel or building, and represented a recoverable resource. The introduction of maize, here called Indian corn, was a small experiment in the larger programme of agricultural diversification. The seed brought from St Iago in the Cape Verde Islands was Caribbean or West African in origin, with the genetic adaptation to a hot dry climate that the council expected would suit the lower and drier parts of St Helena. The successful germination in the watered garden, with the caveat that the crop would not succeed on drier ground in a dry season, was a typical first-year result. Maize served both as a human staple and as a stock feed, and a successful establishment of the crop would have eased the pressure on the yam supply set out in the earlier paragraphs. Speculations The careful structuring of the proposed long tenure, with a substantial fine at the taking up, a capped acreage and a one-estate-per-person rule, may have been designed to convert the existing population of poor leaseholders into a more stable class of resident proprietors. The council had earlier reported the chronic indebtedness of the soldiers and poorer planters and the steady erosion of the small proprietor class by engrossing. A tenure that required a substantial upfront commitment in fine and improvement would, in time, produce a yeoman class of settlers whose capital was invested in the island and who therefore had a strong interest in remaining there. The financial gain to the Court from the fines would be a useful by-product, but the underlying purpose was demographic stabilisation. The decision to enclose only 80 acres of Dead Wood, while the full fence might run to several times that distance, points to a sequencing strategy in which the council intended to put the most accessible and productive portion of the wood under controlled use first, with extensions to follow as resources allowed. The Governor's personal inspection of the site indicates that the proposal was being framed with first-hand knowledge of the ground rather than as a generalised recommendation from the council chamber. | |
21 | out of England throve well at first but spent themsel[ves] two fast in the heats so killed them ere we got here we carryed out also a box of Willows w[ch] grew prodigiously at first but they likewise spent wet fast and dyed Wee Carryed out 3 Rose trees the bigge[r] produced a season of roses or rather 2 Roses at very Different and Distant times but that also when we came into a Cool air in Lat[itude] 29:00 & 30:00 it withered away and dyed so did 2 Apple trees and Six goose berry bushes but we carryed but we carryed two small Rose Trees safe which flourishes now, and we brought 12 Coco=Nutts and 12 Pine Apples from S[t] Jago the Coco=Nutts also Dyed but 2 of the Pine Apple[s] one at the foot Garden and the other in the Country are both like[ly] to thrive, Wee have planted some Pumkins which are likely to do well from the S[t] Jago Seeds
Margin Notes: Of Willows Roe trees[?] Apple trees Coco=Nutt & Pine apples [Pum]kins Oranges, Lemons, Limes & Wat[er] M[e]lons Cape Seeds Of Pumps Of buildings & Fortifications Curtains | The elms the council had carried out of England had thriven well at first, but spent themselves too fast in the heats, which had killed them before the council got here. The council had also carried out a box of willows that grew prodigiously at first, but they likewise spent themselves too fast and died. The council had carried out three rose trees, which produced a season of roses, or rather two seasons of roses at very different and distant times. When the cool air came in at latitudes 29 and 30 they withered away and died. So too did two apple trees and six gooseberry bushes. The council had, however, carried two small rose trees safe, which now flourished. The council had also brought 19 coconuts and 19 pineapples from St Iago. The coconuts had all died, but two of the pineapples, one at the fort garden and the other in the country, were both likely to thrive. The council had planted some pumpkins, which were likely to do well, from the St Iago seed.
Interpretations The plant survival report set out in this paragraph is the practical record of the first season's results from the seed and tree consignments brought out by the new administration. The pattern of failure followed the standard difficulty of transferring temperate-climate species across the equatorial zone and back into a moderate climate at low latitude. Elms and willows brought out from England grew vigorously in the warm conditions of the equatorial passage but exhausted themselves through accelerated growth and could not be brought through the cooler air at latitudes 29 and 30 south. The same fate met the rose trees, the apple trees and the gooseberry bushes. Only two small rose trees, presumably hardier or more dormant on the outward voyage, survived to flourish at St Helena. The lesson was that established temperate fruit trees, lifted with their roots in earth and packed for the long passage, did not transfer well, and that fresh seed sown on arrival was the more reliable means of introduction. The St Iago consignment, by contrast, provided plants and seeds from a tropical Cape Verde environment, with results that varied by species. The coconuts, accustomed to coastal tropical conditions, all died at the higher elevation and the cooler air of St Helena. Two of the nineteen pineapples survived, one planted at the fort garden and one in the country, and both showed promise. The pumpkins from St Iago seed were also likely to thrive. The mixed results pointed to the position of St Helena as an intermediate climate that suited neither the strict tropical nor the strict temperate plant, but lay between the two. The seed consignment from the Cape of Good Hope, eleven sorts of kitchen garden seed sent on the Susanna on her voyage out from the Cape, performed best of any of the new introductions. The seeds had been freshly gathered at the Cape and sown immediately on arrival at St Helena, with all eleven sorts coming up within the few weeks before the despatch. The council's working observation that the fresher seed of the Cape took more kindly than the European seed set out one of the practical lessons of the seed trade. European seed travelled from the supplier to London, was stored at India House, despatched by Indiaman on a voyage of three to six months, and arrived at the island already aged in the seed and damaged by the heat and damp of the voyage. Cape seed, gathered in the same southern hemisphere season and despatched within weeks, retained much more of its germinating capacity. The reference to a blast that had cut off the orange, lemon, lime and watermelon seedlings about three weeks before the despatch points to a meteorological event of the kind common at St Helena. A blast in seventeenth and early eighteenth century English usage was a sudden destructive wind, sometimes carrying salt spray or unusual cold, that destroyed standing crops or young plants. The loss of an entire seedling cohort to a single blast was a recurring hazard of agricultural experimentation at the island. The fortifications report in paragraph 54 returns to the council's central criticism of the Bouchier administration. No proper building work and no genuine fortifications had been carried out, save the two curtain-walled gun positions called bastions on either side of the castle. A bastion in formal fortification terminology was a projecting work of pentagonal plan from which defenders could fire along the face of the adjoining walls. The bastions Bouchier had built were, in the council's view, more decorative than defensive, presenting a substantial appearance from the sea but doing little to secure the castle against attack. Speculations The detailed reporting of each species' survival or failure may have been intended to establish the council's diligence in agricultural experimentation as a counterweight to its less successful results. By naming every plant carried out, recording the conditions under which each had been lost, and noting the few that had taken, the council demonstrated that the failures had been carefully observed rather than carelessly accepted. The methodical record-keeping would, in time, allow successful species to be identified and reordered, while failures would not be repeated. The repeated emphasis on the fresher seed of the Cape outperforming the European seed may have carried a tacit recommendation to the Court that future plant introductions to St Helena be routed through the Cape rather than direct from England. A standing arrangement with the Dutch establishment at Table Bay, or the Court's own homeward Indiamen, could secure fresh seed from a southern hemisphere climate in the appropriate season for sowing at St Helena, and the result would be a far higher success rate than the existing direct route from London could achieve. | |
22 | because the Castle without an Additionall security is Lyable to be Insulted or worse from those Lines there is also a wall Eight feet high & 20[s] [shillings?] 14[?] feet long w[i]th a House of Office near the middle which wal[l] serve well enough for a back wall to the Barracks when built so that all the work left by Govern[r] Roberts is Still to do ( viz[t] ) The great Battery or Castle on Mundens point to have a small house to make therein to Shelter y[e] Soldiers from the weather and to dress their Victualls A great Drain or Comon Shoar to Carry off the Floods of water from the ( upper valley or ) Town which sometime falls in prodigious Quantities and has once viz[t] Feb[ruary] 8. 1718[?] Carryed away part of the West Curtain & damag[ed] the Lyne for want of a passage left to Carry it off into y[e] ditch it carryed Stones of a mighty weight before it & Run with such unimaginable strength that it tore away an Iron gate sett w[i]th good distance between the barrs that were very Strong and Carryed Iron and all into y[e] Sea Such another but bigger happened about 8 years before then the Valley and Town was three foot Deep in water and one house was carryed away we suppose these to be occasioned by the breaking of a Rain spout over that part of the Island it not falling in such quantitys Else where. The third work to be done is your Store house to Containe rooms to shew and sell your goods in and four Ware houses one for English goods one for Indian goods One for Naval Stores & one for Arrack & Wine Casks & Sheds to lay e[ach?] [...] Margin Notes: Of the Wall for [...] house [Pa]vem[en]t at Mundens[?] &c[a] Drain at y[e] Fort Store house | The castle, without an additional security, was liable to be insulted or worse from those lines. There was also a wall, eight foot high and 26 by 147 feet long, with a privy near the middle. The wall would serve well enough for a back wall to the barracks when they were built. So that all the work left by Governor Roberts was still to do, namely: The great battery or castle on Munden's point. The council would have a small house made there to shelter the soldiers from the weather and to dress their victuals. A great drain or common sewer to carry off the floods of water from the upper valley, or town, where the water sometimes fell in prodigious quantities. On 3 February 1713, the water had carried away part of the west curtain and damaged the line for want of a passage left to carry it off into the ditch. It had carried stones of a mighty weight before it, and ran with such unimaginable strength that it tore away an iron gate set at a good distance between the bars that were very strong, and carried both iron and all into the sea. Another such, but bigger, had happened about eight years before, when the valley and town had stood three foot deep in water and one house had been carried away. The council supposed these to be occasioned by the breaking of a rain spout over that part of the island, the rain not falling in such quantities elsewhere. The third work to be done was the store house, to contain rooms in which to show and sell the Court's goods, and four warehouses: one for English goods, one for Indian goods, one for naval stores, and one for arrack, wine, casks and other things to lie [...] Interpretations The Munden's Point battery covered the eastern approach to James Bay and was the principal seaward outwork of the castle. The position took its name from John Munden, the seventeenth-century English naval officer associated with the early fortification of the island, and stood on the rocky point that closed the bay on its eastern side. A battery in this period consisted of an emplacement for heavy guns set behind a parapet, with provision for ammunition and for the crews who served the guns. The council's proposal to add a small house in which the soldiers could shelter from the weather and prepare their meals reflects the practical reality that an isolated outwork required quarters for its garrison if the position was to be held continuously rather than manned only on alarm. The dressing of victuals on the spot, rather than relying on food carried out from the castle kitchens, was the standard arrangement at any outwork sufficiently distant from the main quarters. The proposed drain or common sewer to carry off the flood water from the upper valley was a serious civil engineering project addressed to a recurring catastrophe in James Town. The flood of 3 February 1713 had carried away part of the west curtain of the castle and had torn out a heavy iron gate set between strong bars, sweeping the metalwork into the sea. The earlier flood of approximately 1706, in which the valley had stood three feet deep in water and a house had been lost, indicated that such events recurred on a scale that could not be ignored. The council's identification of the cause as the breaking of a rain spout over that part of the island, when the rain did not fall in such quantities elsewhere, identifies a localised cloudburst pattern characteristic of the steep terrain. A heavy rain falling on the upper valley produced a sudden flash flood that ran the full length of the town and through the castle works on its way to the sea, and the absence of any proper channel to carry the water past the works meant that each such event did substantial damage. The store house and the four warehouses set out in the third item of the works programme indicate the way in which the Court's goods were to be classified and stored at James Castle. Separate warehouses for English goods, Indian goods, naval stores, and arrack with wine, casks and similar items reflect both the differing storage requirements of the four categories and the administrative principle of keeping the accounts of each category distinct. English goods were the manufactures and provisions shipped out from London. Indian goods were the cottons, calicoes, silks, drugs and similar items shipped to the island from the Company's eastern factories for resale or onward shipment. Naval stores were the cordage, canvas, twine, pitch, tar and similar materials maintained for the Company's own boats and for sale to passing shipping. Arrack and wine, with casks and similar items, required ventilation and protection from heat that the other categories did not need. The provision of a separate room within the store house for the showing and sale of goods, that is a retail counter, formalised the existing practice by which the storekeeper sold goods directly to the planters and to officers and crews of visiting ships. The wall described at the opening of the entry was Bouchier's structure, the 120-foot privy wall returned to in this paragraph as 8 feet high and 26 by 147 feet long. The council's confirmation that it would serve well enough as a back wall to the future barracks repeats the proposal first set out in the earlier paragraphs of the despatch and indicates the council's continued intention to repurpose Bouchier's building rather than demolish it. Speculations The placement of the great drain at the head of the list of outstanding works left by Roberts, even before the store house and the barracks, points to the council's recognition of the flood risk as the most immediate threat to the castle's structural integrity. With two major floods in eight years, the next event was statistically overdue, and the loss of further sections of the curtain would compound the existing deficiencies in the castle's defences. Setting the drain as a priority work, even ahead of the more visibly necessary buildings, reflects an engineering judgement that the durability of the castle depended on diverting the flood water before any further investment in the walls was justified. The separation of arrack and wine into a distinct warehouse, with casks and other goods that needed to lie in cool conditions, may have been intended to address a specific source of loss under the previous administration. Arrack was the most valuable item per cask of any of the categories handled at the storehouse, and was the standard target of pilferage at every Company station. A separate warehouse, with its own keys and its own accounts, would isolate the most easily stolen and easily concealed item from the rest of the stores, and the listing of the warehouse as a discrete head of the building programme suggests a deliberate move to improve security over the spirit supply. | |
23 | Cutt Stone and Lime Boards and Timber in and work Shops for your Mechanick Servants.
Margin Notes: Barracks Ruperts[?] Lyne to be repaired Want of Slaves [...] [Some?] [...] y[e] [Co]mp[an]y [from?] [Plant?] to have more help | Cut stone and lime, boards and timber, in and work shops for the Court's mechanic servants.
Interpretations The barrack establishment of 40 soldiers and 6 officers, with a separate store house for the gunner, gives the working size of the intended garrison at James Castle. A complement of 46 in total was a modest force by the standards of the period, sufficient to man the principal works in normal conditions but heavily dependent on the militia of the planters in any serious emergency. The separate provision for the gunner reflects the specialised role of the artillery officer, who was responsible for the ordnance stores and the powder magazine and required his own quarters and store. The gunner was typically a Company appointment distinct from the line officers of the garrison and held warranted rather than commissioned rank. The proposed fort for Rupert's Valley addressed the second principal anchorage of the island. Rupert's Bay lay to the east of James Bay and was used as a secondary watering place and as a refuge for ships unable to lie in the main road. The valley behind the bay was undefended, and a fort at the head of the bay was needed to prevent any landing force from taking the valley and turning the position of the main castle from the rear. The council's leaving the precise location to the Court's discretion reflects the standard practice by which a remote council referred questions of grand fortification design to the Court's engineers at India House. The line referred to in paragraph 57 was the seaward defensive wall running along the bay frontage of the town. The damage caused by the high sea of 1710 had not been repaired in the four years that followed, and the breach in the line had become a standing weakness in the defences. The council's warning that the repair must not be delayed without danger to the other works points to the principle of fortification engineering that a single breach compromises the entire defensive system, and that any further investment in the castle or the bastions would be wasted if the line itself remained open. The wage of eighteen pence a day, that is one shilling and sixpence, was the standing rate for hired labour on the island and was considered unreasonably high by the council. The comparable rate in England in 1714 for an unskilled labourer was approximately a shilling a day, and the St Helena rate represented a substantial premium driven by the scarcity of free labour on the island. The council's analysis of the labour problem proposed the importation of 150 useful male slaves and 20 military artificers as the means to break the dependence on hired free labour. Military artificers were skilled craftsmen attached to the garrison, including masons, carpenters, smiths and other trades necessary for the construction and maintenance of fortifications. The combined establishment of slaves and military artificers would provide both the skilled supervision and the mass labour for the building programme. The recommendation that future slave consignments be drawn from Angola, from a part of Guinea producing more docile people, or from Madagascar or Bengal, returns to the earlier discussion of the Calabar cargo and represents the council's working judgement on the relative suitability of the various source regions. Angola, the Portuguese trading region on the south-west African coast, supplied Bantu-speaking captives whom the Atlantic trade considered better adapted to plantation labour than the Calabar peoples. Madagascar had been a regular source of slaves to St Helena and other Indian Ocean stations since the seventeenth century, and the Madagascan captives were generally regarded as docile and adaptable. Bengal, in the eastern part of India, also supplied slaves through the Company's factories at Hooghly and elsewhere, though in much smaller numbers. The variety of sources proposed indicates the council's awareness that no single region could be relied on for a continuous supply, and that the Company's slave-buying network needed to be diversified. Speculations The proposal to bring in 200 additional slaves, with the understanding that 50 could be sold to private planters while the remainder were kept on the Company's establishment, points to a deliberate strategy of using the Company's slave purchases as a means of distributing labour through the island economy. The Company would acquire the captives at wholesale prices in the source markets, retain the most able for its own works, and sell the surplus to the planters at island prices that yielded a substantial margin. The revenue from the local sales would offset much of the cost of the original purchase, while the increased availability of slave labour would reduce the wages the planters would pay and would, in turn, lower the cost of hired labour for the Company's works. The connection drawn between the slave question and the Court's end in keeping the island for the refreshment of its shipping points to the central administrative justification for the entire establishment. St Helena had no economic value in its own right and was maintained by the Company solely as a watering and provisioning station for the Indiamen on the homeward voyage. Any investment in the establishment had ultimately to be justified by the contribution it made to the supply of fresh water, fresh meat, fresh vegetables and salt provisions to passing ships. The council's framing of the labour question in these terms placed the request for additional slaves within the strategic logic of the Company's eastern trade and made the case to the Court at India House on grounds the Directors would recognise as compelling. | |
24 | done Slaves must be hired to Work, Artificers must have their own high Rates for Work your Buildings and Fortifications will be Expensive and can goe on but Slowly we have by this conveyance sent your Hono[urs] an Acc[oun]t of all your blacks and how Employed by which it will appear that two only are at work on your Fortifications, and for the [pre]sent month twenty hired blacks besides yo[ur] own[?] are at work in your Plantations this being the proper Season of the year for that Purpose. So that we at present can do nothing without hireing of the planters Slaves which we are not Like to Hire Cheap unless we could make them Plentier.
Margin Notes: Work will be y[e] Cheaper unless y[e] men [be] Cheaper [P]lace to build y[e] Store house [Bi]gness Want of Timber for it &c[a] other Buildings | Done, slaves must be hired to work, since artificers required their own high rates for work. The Court's building and fortifications would be expensive, and could go on but slowly. By this conveyance the council had sent the Court an account of all the Court's slaves and how they were employed. From the account it would appear that only two were at work on the fortifications, and for the present month twenty hired slaves, besides the Court's own, were at work on the plantations, this being the proper season of the year for that purpose. So that the council at present could do nothing without hiring planters' slaves. The council was not likely to hire them cheap, unless it could make them plentier.
For so large a house as was proper for a general store house, which was to contain Indian goods, English goods, naval stores, provisions of sundry kinds, and arrack, there was not timber on the island. The longest piece the council had was sixteen feet, which, when a foot at each end lay in the wall, would make a room of but fourteen feet. This would do well enough for a common house, but would not be long enough for the kind of building intended, which ought to have some large rooms. To splice the timbers, or as the carpenters said to scarf them, by joining two pieces together, would not be strong enough for a warehouse unless supported by pillars Interpretations The accounting of the Court's slaves by employment, with the finding that only two were at work on the fortifications while twenty more were assigned to plantation work, gives the practical measure of the labour problem set out in the previous paragraphs. The fortifications, which the council had identified as the most pressing of the Court's works, were being supported by a labour force of only two Company slaves and such hired hands as the council could obtain at eighteen pence a day. The bulk of the Company's own slaves was engaged on the plantations during the planting season, since the cycle of yam cultivation could not be deferred without serious loss to the food supply. The council's frank acknowledgement that nothing could be done at present without hiring planters' slaves, and that the planters would not hire cheap unless slaves became more plentiful on the island, set the case for the importation of additional captives that had been made in the preceding paragraph. The Governor's change of mind on the location of the new store house is the central administrative argument of paragraph 60. On arrival the Governor had favoured building a new store house on the site of the old one, where the ground was higher and drier. After further consideration he had come round to the position previously taken by Bouchier, that the store house should stand close to the castle so that it could be kept under the Governor's eye and under a continuous guard. The reasoning reflects the practical reality that the goods held in the store house, particularly the Indian textiles, the English manufactures and the arrack, were the most valuable and the most portable property on the island, and that their security depended on the proximity of the guard. A store house at a distance from the castle could be entered overnight by a small party of thieves, who could remove substantial quantities of goods before the loss was discovered. The timber problem set out at the end of the entry is the practical engineering constraint on the design of the new store house. The longest pieces of timber available on the island were sixteen feet, and after allowing one foot at each end to lie in the supporting wall, the clear span between walls was only fourteen feet. A warehouse with rooms of fourteen feet was too small for the bulk goods to be stored, and the splicing of timbers by scarf joints would not produce a beam strong enough to carry the load of a warehouse roof unless intermediate pillars were provided. The fundamental problem was the absence on the island of any source of long structural timber, and the council was effectively informing the Court that any large warehouse would have to be designed around the timber available rather than around the storage requirements. The reference to the carpenters' term for the joint, that is to scarf the timbers, indicates that the council was reporting the technical advice of its building tradesmen. A scarf joint is the longitudinal splicing of two timbers by overlapping or interlocking their ends, with pegs, bolts or straps to hold the join secure. The strength of a scarf joint in tension or compression along the length of the timber is good, but the strength under transverse loading, which is what a roof beam experiences, is much reduced. A scarfed beam would not carry the loads imposed by a warehouse roof and stored goods above it, and the use of intermediate pillars to break the span would limit the storage capacity of the floor below. Speculations The Governor's adoption of Bouchier's position on the store house location may have served a tacit purpose beyond the security argument set out in the despatch. By acknowledging that his predecessor had been right on this particular point, the new Governor avoided reversing every decision of the previous administration without good reason, and preserved a measure of administrative continuity that would be valuable when other decisions of the same kind came up for review. The express citation of Bouchier's reasoning, with the further endorsement that the council found the case persuasive, may also have been calculated to soften the otherwise unrelieved criticism of the previous administration that ran through the despatch. The detailed exposition of the timber problem, with the precise dimensions of the longest available pieces and the engineering judgement on the scarf joint, points to a council that was preparing the Court for a request to ship out structural timber from England. The next natural step in the building programme would be a consignment of long pieces of oak or pine, properly seasoned and packed for the voyage, sufficient to span the rooms of the projected store house. The careful setting out of the case in this paragraph laid the groundwork for the request without making it explicit, and left the Court at India House to draw the conclusion that the building programme could not proceed in its intended form without such a consignment. | |
25 | Pillars that will make it Chargable. The Timber there is not half Enough for y[e] buildings your Hono[urs]: have been pleased to order tho some of it were fitt for use, and besides those needfull buildings of a Store House, Guard House, Barracks and Hospitalls a Prison is also very necessary that which we have being lately broken open by a Black wench that we put in for Ripping up the belly of a Sow bigg w[i]th Pigg, And tho we hope to make very little use of a Goal yet we cannot conveniently be without one, we have now a Black fellow of your Hono[urs] Called Jack Batavia for breaking open one of your Ware houses, that works in Irons at your Fortifications, and another called George belonging to Ryph Wills for being an Incorrigible Rogue, and Running away severall times from his master and for Severall pilferings also at work in Irons in the same manner as Criminal Slaves work at Batavia the Latter having formerly been branded in the forehead with Letter R. and such as these must also be Lock'd up in the Goal at night or Else they are Lyable to doe much Mischeif. And none of these buildings being yet done nor Even begun unless a wall near 150 foot Long and Eight feet high, intended by Govern[r] Boucher for a back wall to the Store House yard and which we intend to be a back wall for the Soldiers Barracks but shall not putt it to the use of a Barrack at first but intend to Employ it as a Warehouse till y[e] Proper Store house which is much wanted can be built and tho we can goe on with these Barracks and make them serve instead of a Store house very well yet wee hope your Hono[urs]: will send us some longer Timber of the Scantlings mentiond in our Indents and if such things could be procured & easeily sent we would gladly have some Old Shipp Timber too w[hi]ch being of Oak would be more durable than any sort of furr Timber can be.
Margin Notes: Guard house Barracks Hospital Prison Blacks now in Custody Nothing done tow[ar]ds[?] those buildings but back Wall Intend to make of[?] Barracks them Putt up it for a Ware house till bigger ones to build done. | Pillars that would make the work costly. The timber there was not half enough for the Court's buildings, although some of it were fit for use. Besides those needful buildings of a store house, guard house, barracks and hospital, a prison was also very necessary. The one the council had was lately broken open by a black wench that was put in for ripping up the belly of a sow big with pig. Though the council hoped to make very little use of a gaol, yet it could not conveniently be without one. The council had now a black fellow of the Court's, called Jack Batavia, for breaking open one of the Court's warehouses, who was working in irons at the fortifications. Another, called George, belonging to Ralph Wills, for being an incorrigible rogue and running away several times from his master, and for several pilferings, was also at work in irons in the same manner as criminal slaves were working at Batavia. The latter had formerly been branded in the forehead with the letter R. Such as these must also be locked up in the gaol at night, or else they were liable to do much mischief. And none of these buildings were yet done, nor even begun, except a wall near 150 foot long and eight foot high, intended by Governor Bouchier for a back wall to the store house yard. The council intended this to be a back wall for the soldiers' barracks. The council would not put it to the use of a barrack at first, but instead employ it as a warehouse, until a proper store house, which was much wanted, could be built. Although the council could go on with the barracks and make them serve instead of a store house very well yet, the council hoped the Court would send some longer timber than the scantlings mentioned in its requisition. If such things could be procured and easily sent, the council would gladly have some old ship timber too. The timber, being of oak, would be more durable than any sort of fir timber could be.
Interpretations The cases of the three named slaves set out in this entry illustrate the working of penal discipline on the Company's establishment. The unnamed black wench had been imprisoned for the destruction of a pregnant sow, by ripping its belly with sufficient violence to kill both the animal and its young. The offence was a serious one in an economy where breeding stock was scarce and represented an important capital asset, and the woman's reaction had been to break out of the prison rather than to remain confined. Jack Batavia, an enslaved man belonging to the Company, had broken into one of the warehouses and was now working in irons at the fortifications. George, belonging to the planter Ralph Wills, had repeatedly run away from his master, had committed several thefts, and had previously been branded in the forehead with the letter R as a punishment and identification mark for a runaway. The letter R standing for rogue or runaway was the standard form of judicial branding for repeat offenders of this type, and the surviving brand marked George as a man already at the end of the conventional scale of corrective punishment. The comparison drawn between criminal slaves working in irons at the fortifications and the criminal slaves working at Batavia, the Dutch East India Company's headquarters in Java, indicates that the council was modelling its penal labour regime on the practices of the major European trading establishments in the East Indies. At Batavia the Dutch Company maintained a substantial population of chained criminal labourers who were employed on public works, the harbour and the fortifications. The same regime was now being introduced at St Helena on a much smaller scale, with two named slaves working in chains at the building of the fortifications. The arrangement combined punishment with the productive use of labour that the Company would otherwise have had to hire at eighteen pence a day. The argument for old ship timber of oak rather than fir picks up the timber problem set out in the previous paragraph and proposes a practical solution. The timber sent in the standing scantlings, that is the regular sizes specified in the council's requisition, was likely to be fir or pine of standard structural dimensions, useful but not as durable as oak. Old ship timber, drawn from the breaking up of redundant vessels, would be oak that had been seasoned by years of service and selected by its original shipwrights for length and strength. The Court at India House had access to the breaker's yards at Deptford and the other Thames-side facilities where Company ships ended their working lives, and the redirection of a quantity of old ship timber to the St Helena building programme would secure structural members of a size and quality not otherwise available on the open market. The single building actually erected during the Bouchier administration, the 150-foot wall now repurposed by the council, returns in this paragraph for the third time in the despatch. The wall had been begun by Bouchier as a back wall to the store house yard, the council intended it as the back wall to the future barracks, and at the present moment it was being used as a warehouse pending the construction of a proper store house. The triple repurposing of a single structure illustrates the practical economy of an establishment in which no piece of standing masonry could be allowed to lie idle while other works waited on materials. Speculations The detailed recording of the three slave criminal cases, with their offences, their owners and the nature of their present punishment, may have been intended to set on the record the council's policy of organised penal labour. By naming Jack Batavia, George and the unnamed wench in the formal despatch home, the council established a register of cases against which the success or failure of the corrective regime could be measured in future years. The express comparison with Batavia placed the policy within an existing administrative framework familiar to the Court, and made the council's approach less open to objection at India House. The branding of George with the letter R, recorded in the despatch as a previous punishment, suggests that the council was reporting on a man whose continued criminal conduct after such a serious punishment justified the more permanent solution of chained labour at the fortifications. The brand had failed to deter the slave from further offences, the master Ralph Wills had presumably reached the end of his patience, and the transfer of the man to the council's chain gang represented the working of a graduated penal system in which the most intractable offenders were ultimately removed from private hands and placed on the Company's establishment. | |
26 |
The other case is that a Man who is known to be a good Workman would be glad to be Employed in any part at Margin Notes: Of the Crane To Lessen y[e] Charge of y[e] Fort Send Workmen Way to find them y[e] best Dyett Their present Sallary & Wages Those sent as Mecha[nick]s[?] better than [Sold]rs only |
First of a soldier. He was entered as a soldier at fifteen pence a day, and did his duty three days in nine, but would not work home unless paid for his labour the other six days. That at sixpence a day, so that supposing he worked only 200 days in the year, his work would then come to £5, which added to his pay made £73 13s. And yet one who came over on this manner was not likely to do half the work that a good mason or stone cutter would do. The other case was that of a man who was known to be a good workman, who would be glad to be employed in any part Interpretations The teak timber referred to in paragraph 61 was the standard structural timber of the East Indies trade, supplied to the Company's establishments from the forests of Burma, the Malabar coast and Java. Teak was prized for its resistance to insect attack, its dimensional stability and its durability in marine and outdoor use. Its arrival at St Helena in single short lengths reflects the difficulty of obtaining long structural members even of the Company's preferred timber, and the council's plain statement that twelve feet was not a quarter of what was needed for the crane repair sets the practical limit of the available material. The Christmas season brought the southern winter at St Helena, with stronger winds and heavier seas, and the failure of the crane in those conditions would halt all heavy unloading until repairs could be made. The proposal to send out skilled tradesmen in place of more soldiers is the central administrative argument of paragraph 62 and sets out the council's working analysis of the labour problem on a different basis than the discussion of slaves in the earlier paragraphs. The standard practice of the Company was to ship out men as soldiers on the establishment, with the understanding that those of skilled trades could be employed on building works during the substantial time they were not on military duty. The council's arithmetic exposed the failure of this arrangement. A soldier on the establishment received fifteen pence a day in pay, regardless of whether he worked at his trade or not. When set to building work he was paid an additional sixpence a day. Over a working year of 200 days, the additional building pay came to £5, which added to the £68 13s of his annual military pay produced a total cost of £73 13s. For this sum the Company received a man who did not work half as well as a properly trained craftsman. The alternative the council proposed was the direct recruitment of skilled men in England at the higher rate of four shillings and sixpence a day, with the workman finding his own diet, that is, paying for his own food rather than drawing on the Company's table. A skilled mason or stone cutter at this rate would earn approximately £45 a year on a working year of 200 days, less than the soldier-craftsman, while producing more than twice the output. The council's quiet exposure of the false economy of the existing arrangement was a substantial reform proposal addressed to the basic structure of the Company's labour establishment at the island. The criticism of soldiers who pretended to trades they did not actually possess returns to a recurring complaint of the period. Men recruited in London or the south of England as building tradesmen often claimed skills they could not demonstrate, and the verification of their claims fell on the receiving establishment overseas. By the time the soldier was found to be incompetent in his stated trade, he had been transported to the island at Company expense and could not easily be removed. The council's observation that several such men were now at St Helena, holding themselves out as tradesmen but failing in their work, set the practical limit of the existing recruitment process. The reference to the hot country carrying the men out of a cold one identifies the practical adjustment that European workmen had to make on transfer to a lower latitude. The pace of work that could be sustained in a temperate climate could not be maintained in the warmer conditions of St Helena, and any tradesman sent out had to learn to work within the limits set by the climate. The council's note that idle men used the change of climate as an excuse for not working at all is a frank assessment of the human material the Company was sending out. Speculations The detailed wage analysis set out in paragraph 62, with its precise figures for a soldier-craftsman at £73 13s a year against a properly recruited workman at substantially less, points to a council that was prepared to engage with the Court's establishment costs at the level of the individual rate of pay. By exposing the false economy of the existing soldier-as-tradesman arrangement, the council made it difficult for the Court to maintain the practice as a cost-saving measure. The proposal of direct recruitment of skilled tradesmen at four shillings and sixpence a day, with own diet, was framed as a saving rather than as an increase in costs, and the Court would find it difficult to refuse on grounds of expense. The condition that the new tradesmen should find their own diet may have been intended to give the Court an additional motive for accepting the proposal. The Company's general table, by which it supplied food at its own charge to all servants on the establishment, was a substantial item in the island accounts. By recruiting workmen on terms that excluded them from the general table, the council reduced the marginal cost of each additional skilled man to the Company. The workmen themselves would be paid at a rate sufficient to feed themselves from the local supply, and the burden on the Company's stores would be reduced accordingly. | |
27 | at such wages as the 4[s] 6[d] [per] ann[um] and is likely for but [...] to work in a year 300 day and as likely to doe as much work in one day as the other doe in two according to the rate of our Soldiers working here.
Margin Notes: [Of the?] hiring workmen [T]o make a Contrast with Artificers Gun Carriages | Of the world at such wages as the four shillings and sixpence a day, and was likely to be willing to work in a year 300 days, and likely to do as much work in one day as the others did in two. Reckoning by the rate the soldiers at present were paid for working here.
The council was also in great want of some house carpenters and one boat builder to repair the boats. The council hoped the Court would not think the number of workmen requested too great, considering the risk of mortality the council ran by a few sickly plumbers, and considering the work the council had to do, and the repairs now also to be done for the keeping up of former works.
Interpretations The case of Nicholas Stroude returns to the wage analysis with a particular example. Stroude had been one of several workmen sent out from England under a fixed term contract, the rest of whom had since died. His original arrangement had been £30 a year with the Company's diet provided. He had been employed at Sandy Bay, nine miles from the fort, where the standard practice for any workman drawing his daily food from the Company's stores broke down at the distance, and he had instead been allowed an additional shilling a day in lieu of diet. The combination of £30 wages and a shilling a day diet allowance had given him a total of £48 a year for the period of his contracted service. He had served his time faithfully and was now working at sixpence a day, the standard rate for the additional building work of a soldier-craftsman, but with no diet allowance. The council's analysis of Stroude's behaviour under the new arrangement is the working observation of the entry. Stroude was earning less than before in absolute terms, but the irregularity of his pay, with sums accumulating and being drawn down at intervals, allowed him to take time off to spend his accumulated wages. The result was that the Company paid more for less work than it had under the original contract. The pattern was general across all the workmen the council had to deal with. The remedy proposed was the proper contractual recruitment of skilled artificers from England on terms that gave them a steady wage and a reason to stay at the work continuously, rather than the piecemeal arrangements that had grown up under the previous administration. Sandy Bay was the principal settlement on the windward side of the island, lying behind the high cliffs of the south coast at some distance from the main establishment at James Town. The presence of Company workmen at Sandy Bay indicates that the Company's interests were not confined to the leeward bay but extended across the island to include outlying plantations, fortifications and the cattle ranges of the southern uplands. The distance of nine miles from the fort meant that any workman at Sandy Bay was effectively living away from the Company's table, and the diet allowance of a shilling a day reflected the cost of subsistence in the local market. The reference to a few sickly plumbers in paragraph 63 records a specific failure of an earlier consignment of workmen. Plumbers in the period worked in lead and zinc as well as in water pipes, and their trade was essential for the construction of cisterns, the lining of roofs, the making of gutters and the running of water systems. The arrival at St Helena of plumbers already in poor health, who died shortly after disembarking, had cost the Company both the men themselves and the work they had been intended to perform. The council's reference to the risk of mortality the council ran by a few sickly plumbers is a frank assessment of the practical limits of any recruitment programme, with the implication that a larger number of workmen should be sent out so that the deaths of some would not bring the whole programme to a halt. The handling of the gun carriages in paragraph 64 illustrates the maintenance regime for the Company's ordnance. A gun carriage was the wheeled wooden mounting on which a heavy gun stood, with the cheeks of the carriage holding the trunnions of the gun barrel and the wheels allowing the carriage to be run forward into firing position. Carriages wore out faster than the guns themselves, and the standard practice was to keep a supply of new carriages and to cannibalise unserviceable ones for the parts that could be reused. The council's note that it could never expect to sell such things, because the unserviceable carriages would always be put to some use for the Court, is the working accounting principle for an item that retained value only through reuse on the establishment. Speculations The detailed account of Nicholas Stroude, with his name, his original contract, his current rate, his place of work and his pattern of behaviour, may have been intended as a particular example to support the general argument for proper recruitment of artificers. By naming a man known to the Court, with circumstances the Court could verify against its own records, the council made the abstract case for contractual recruitment concrete and difficult to dismiss. Stroude's faithful service under the original terms, contrasted with his less productive work under the looser current arrangements, illustrated the link between contract design and worker behaviour that the council was urging the Court to recognise. The phrase that, with eight or ten good workmen on proper terms, the others would have to lower their prices, points to a deliberate market strategy. By introducing a corps of well-paid skilled artificers, the council would establish a benchmark of productivity and reliability against which the existing freelance workmen of the island would have to compete. The local market for skilled labour, which currently set its own price at eighteen pence a day, would be undercut by the productivity of the new men, and the existing workmen would either reduce their charges or lose their work to the Company's permanent establishment. | |
28 | Hon[rs]: Service till they be rotten.
Margin Notes: West Battery not Begun Of Gunns for it Mutineers [Young] Carr[ied?] off to y[o]r Bouch[er] The rest Sent to Bencoolen Viz[t] W[m] Gore Joh[n] Cane Pet[er] Towers Edw[d] Mallard & Tho[s] Griffiths & upon pet[itio]n Tho[s] Ironman, Mich[ael] Brown[?] & Roger Martin who be changed w[i]th W[m] Sax by, Jno[?] Roul[s]ton M[ichael] Allen, Jno[?] Bed[an] Tho[s] Ashby & Edw[d] Brere- ton | The Court's service till they were rotten.
Interpretations The west battery and the choice of guns set out in paragraph 65 illustrate the working compromise between coastal defence and the realities of supply at a remote station. A half bastion was a fortification work of three sides rather than the five of a full pentagonal bastion, suited to a position at the end of a line of curtain wall where a full bastion was not required. The west battery was intended to close the western flank of the defences and to bring the approaches under flanking fire from the seaward end of the town. The choice between the demi-culverin and the demi-cannon as the principal armament reflects a knowledgeable judgement on the trade-offs of the period. The demi-culverin was a long-barrelled gun of approximately four and a half inch bore, throwing a shot of around ten pounds at a high muzzle velocity over a range of two thousand yards or more. The demi-cannon was a shorter, heavier gun of approximately six inch bore, throwing a shot of around twenty-eight pounds at a lower velocity over a shorter effective range. For coastal defence against ships of the line, the choice between the two depended on the expected engagement range and the volume of fire that could be maintained. The council's preference for the demi-culverin rested on three practical considerations: fewer men were required to serve each gun, less powder was consumed per round, and the longer range allowed engagement of approaching ships at a distance from the works. The same volume of service from a smaller establishment of guns and gun crews was a critical advantage at an isolated station with limited manpower and stores. The crane problem returns at the end of paragraph 65 with a different application. The council had earlier reported the existing crane at the landing to be out of repair and unable to handle the unloading of heavy cargo. Any consignment of guns sent out by the Court before a new crane could be installed would have to be landed by ship's tackle, a slow and dangerous operation that would tie up the Indiaman for an extended period. The council's request that the Court attend to the crane before despatching the guns was a sensible sequencing of the supply. The full account of the Rochester mutiny set out in paragraph 66 provides the detail that earlier paragraphs of the despatch had only summarised. The plot had been to seize the Court's goods at the storehouse, that is to break open the warehouses and remove the contents while the soldiers controlled the castle. The principal conspirator had been removed by Bouchier and carried home with him on the Recovery, ostensibly for the sake of his music. A skilled musician was a valuable asset to any officer's household, providing entertainment at table and at official functions, and Bouchier's removal of the man in this capacity took the principal mutineer beyond the reach of any judicial process at St Helena and away from the witnesses who could have testified against him. The disposal of all but one of the evidences, that is the witnesses, before the new council's arrival had completed the cover-up. The exchange of soldiers between the St Helena and Bencoolen drafts described in paragraph 66 is the second major personnel administration of the entry. Eight named men from the St Helena garrison who had been implicated in the intended mutiny, William Gore, John Lane, Peter Towers, Edward Mallard, Thomas Griffiths, Thomas Ironman, Michael Browne and Roger Martin, had petitioned to be allowed to serve five years as soldiers in India, and the council had sent them to Bencoolen on the Rochester in July 1714. In their place, the council had drawn five men from the Bencoolen draft on the Rochester who had asked to remain at St Helena, William Sax, John Roulston, Michael Allen, John Boden, Thomas Ashby and Edward Brereton. Sax had died shortly after disembarkation, and the council recorded that he had pretended to be a carpenter, indicating that the trade he had claimed at recruitment was not matched by his actual skills. Speculations Bouchier's removal of the principal mutineer to England on the Recovery, on the cover of the man's musical skills, points to a deliberate management of the case to prevent any judicial enquiry on the island. The principal conspirator could have been tried at St Helena under the powers of the Governor and Council in concert, with a record of the proceedings sent home to the Court. Bouchier had instead taken the man out of the jurisdiction and left only a small number of subordinate accused for his successors to deal with, of whom most could be conveniently disposed of by transfer to Bencoolen on petition rather than tried for the original offence. The new council's election to send the implicated soldiers to Bencoolen rather than to bring them to trial may have reflected a parallel judgement that a full prosecution would expose the failures of the previous administration in detail that the Court would not welcome. The men's petition to serve in India provided a face-saving exit for all concerned, with the soldiers removed from the island, the Company's establishment relieved of unreliable personnel, and the underlying conspiracy left unexamined. The careful naming of every man involved in both directions of the exchange built the necessary documentary record without requiring the council to take the matter further. | |
29 | W[m] Taylor the Gardiner that we Carryed out w[ith] us Dyed of a Bloody Flux so that we were obliged to treat w[i]th John Howson a Gardiner that was bound to Bencoolen who agreed to stay here on condition that your Hon[rs] would allow him y[e] same Wages for his Service here that he was to have had if he had proceeded to Bencoolen which we promised to write to your Hono[urs]: to Confirm the said Contract here we hope he will be altogeather as Serviceable to yo[ur] Interest here as at any other place but besides that Contract he would not stay unless we permitted Jn[o] Ebbs to stay w[ith] him so we prevail[e]d w[ith] Cap[t]: Brown to send him also on Shoar but Jn[o]: Ebbs proves to be a sort of a Foole & we cant tell what to doe w[ith] him So that on y[e] whole the men we sent to Bencoolen will prove notwithstanding their former faults to be as good & usefull men or rather better then those we have, we paid to y[e] Doctor of y[e] Rochester Six Shillings p[er] head for all who Came on Shoar according to y[e] List none dyeing in y[e] way here.
Margin Notes: John Howson Gardiner John Ebbs D[octo]r of Rochesters D[?] head[?] money Of Cleeve Spoiling Stuff | William Taylor, the gardener that the council had carried out, had died of a bloody flux on the 14th of the month. The council had therefore been obliged to treat with John Howson, a gardener who was bound to Bencoolen, and who had agreed to stay at the island on condition that the Court would allow him pay and wages for his service here that he was to have had if he had proceeded to Bencoolen. The council had promised to write to the Court to confirm the contract. The council hoped Howson would be altogether as serviceable to the Court's interest at the island as at any other place. Beside the contract, he would not stay unless the council permitted John Ebbs to stay with him. The council had therefore prevailed with Captain Brown to send Ebbs also on shore. Ebbs, however, was proving to be a sort of a fool, and the council could not tell what to do with him. On the whole, the men the council had sent to Bencoolen would prove, notwithstanding their former faults, to be as good and useful men, or rather better, than those the council now had. The council had paid to the doctor of the Rochester six shillings a head for all who came on shore, in accordance with the list, none having died on the way here.
Interpretations The death of William Taylor of the bloody flux on 14 November 1714 illustrates the routine mortality of the European establishment in the months following arrival. The bloody flux was the period term for severe dysentery with blood in the stool, caused by bacterial or amoebic infection of the lower intestine. The disease was endemic at low-latitude stations and carried off newly arrived Europeans in substantial numbers during their first year of acclimatisation. Taylor had been brought out as the Company's gardener, a specialist appointment with responsibility for the supervision of the kitchen garden and the experimental planting of new species, and his death within four months of landing was a serious loss to the agricultural programme. The recovery of John Howson, originally bound for Bencoolen, on terms that gave him the wages he would have earned at Bencoolen, was the council's expedient response to the loss of Taylor. Howson had been engaged in London for the Bencoolen establishment, where the rates of pay were higher than those for St Helena, and the offer to maintain his Bencoolen contract at St Helena was the inducement necessary to retain him. The further condition, that his companion John Ebbs should also be allowed to remain at the island, indicates a personal connection between the two men of the kind that often determined whether a workman would settle at a remote station. The council's report that Ebbs proved to be a sort of a fool, and that the council did not know what to do with him, illustrates the limits of even careful selection in the recruitment of men for overseas service. The term fool in the period meant a person of limited mental capacity rather than a person of bad behaviour, and a man so described could not be assigned to skilled work but had to be carried on the establishment as a low-grade labourer. The payment of six shillings a head to the doctor of the Rochester for all who landed alive was the standard premium paid to surgeons of Indiamen for the safe delivery of their passengers. The arrangement gave the surgeon a direct financial interest in the survival of every man and woman on the passenger list, and was the standing means by which the Company encouraged the care of its servants during the long voyage. The council's note that none of the passengers had died on the way to St Helena indicates that the Rochester had been comparatively fortunate on its outward passage, and the full premium was therefore paid to the doctor. The case of Mr Cleeve in paragraph 67 introduces a new administrative tension. Cleeve was a building tradesman at the island, probably a carpenter or master builder, who had been working under arrangements established with Bouchier. The council had been ordered by the Court to put Cleeve on notice of new expectations, including the taking of Company slaves as apprentices, and Cleeve was resisting the new arrangements. The taking of slaves as apprentices was a recognised means of transferring craft skills to the Company's labour force, with the slave assigned to a skilled workman for a period of years to learn the trade. Cleeve's unwillingness to take more than one such apprentice indicates that he saw the policy as a long-term threat to his own position as the principal building tradesman at the island, since trained slave craftsmen would in time reduce the demand for his own services. The criticism of Cleeve's use of timber, with the comment that he had cut some of the best timber into joists, sets out a specific complaint about the management of the building materials. A joist is a horizontal member supporting a floor or ceiling, and the best timber, that is the longest and straightest pieces, was needed for principal beams, rafters and posts. Using prime timber for joists, which could be made from shorter and lesser pieces, was a waste of the most valuable material in a stock where long timber was already in short supply. The council's framing of this as a general principle, that any gentleman concerned in building would know better, was a direct challenge to Cleeve's competence and authority. Speculations The arrangement with Howson on Bencoolen terms, with the additional concession of allowing Ebbs to remain at the island, points to the practical limits of the council's recruitment options. Having lost the only gardener brought out from England, the council was reduced to negotiating from a position of weakness with a man already at the island on a different posting, and the higher Bencoolen wages and the personal accommodation for his companion were both necessary inducements rather than discretionary concessions. The council's promise to write home for the Court's confirmation of the contract was the standard procedure by which a council bound the Court to terms agreed at the station, with the implication that the Court would find it difficult to disavow the arrangement after Howson had been at work for some months. The conflict with Cleeve over the slave apprenticeship and the use of timber may have served a broader purpose for the council. By setting out the case against Cleeve in detail in the despatch home, the council established the documentary basis for any later decision to dispense with his services or to limit his authority. The reference to unknown proposals Cleeve had made to Bouchier, with the Governor stating he did not know what they were, suggests that Cleeve had operated under informal arrangements with the previous administration that had not been recorded in the Company's books, and that the new council intended to put all such arrangements on a formal footing or terminate them. | |
30 | for the new Store House making Each Joyst 11 foot long 4 Inches Deep and 3 Inches Thick. I ask[e]d him whose Contrivance this was, he told me that Gov[r]: Boucher had left it to him, and he had Cutt them so to make the Stuff goe the further and that twould also look neater but I wish Cap[t]: Boucher had obliged Cleeve to do that w[ch] he calls wasteing of y[o]r Timber because we Doare not venture to use those Joysts but must sell them by for windows and other less materiall uses and not build a Ware House w[i]th Joysts of 11 foot Long that are cutt with Lesser Scantlings than 7 Inches by 3 at the very least for Every Workman Employed by your Hono[urs]: or in your own private buildings will inform you that Joysts for a warehouse ought rather to be more and Can't be Less, when the Gov[r] had told Cleeve thus and that he had been concerned in many Publick Buildings about London and knew the Scantling or Sizes of Timber Usually allowed Cleeve then advised to Lay two of them one upon the other which tho we beleive him to be an Indifferent sort of a Joyner shews he understands but very Little or rather no Carpentrey.
Margin Notes: Carpentry? Sickly time Used many Deals | For the new store house, making each joist eleven foot long, four inches deep and three inches thick. The Governor had asked Cleeve whose contrivance this was, and he had told him that Governor Bouchier had left it to him, and that he had cut the joists so as to make the stuff go the further, and that it would also look neater. The Governor wished, however, that Captain Bouchier had obliged Cleeve to do that which the Governor called wasting of the timber, because the council dared not venture to use those joists, but must sell them by for windows and other less material uses, and not build a warehouse with joists of eleven foot long that were cut with lesser scantlings than seven inches by three at the very least. Every workman employed by the Court in its own private buildings would inform the Court that joists for a warehouse ought rather to be more, and cannot be less. When the Governor had told Cleeve this, and that he had been concerned in many public buildings about London, and knew the scantling or size of timber usually allowed, Cleeve had then advised the Governor to lay two of them one upon the other. Though the council believed Cleeve to be an indifferent sort of joiner, this shows that he understood but very little, or rather no, carpentry.
Interpretations The technical dispute between the Governor and Cleeve sets out the carpentry standards of the period for warehouse construction. A joist of seven inches by three was the minimum acceptable size for the floor framing of a warehouse, as the loaded weight of stored goods imposed substantial transverse loading on each joist. Cleeve had cut the joists to four inches by three, presumably on the calculation that the smaller scantling would allow more joists to be produced from a given stock of timber and that the appearance of the finished work would be more regular. The reduction in cross-section, however, gave a joist that was inadequate for warehouse loading. A joist of four inches deep had less than a third of the bending strength of a joist of seven inches deep, since the bending strength of a beam varies as the square of its depth. The smaller joists were therefore unfit for warehouse use, and the council's decision to sell them on for window framing and other minor uses was the practical recognition that the timber had been wasted for its intended purpose. Cleeve's proposal that two of the four-inch joists be laid one on the other to make up the required depth illustrates the limits of his understanding of structural carpentry. Two joists laid loose one on the other do not combine their bending strengths, since each beam acts independently. Only by bolting the two pieces together along their full length, with shear connectors between them, could the combined depth produce a beam of greater strength than a single piece, and even then the connection would never be as strong as a single piece of the full depth. The Governor's observation that Cleeve was an indifferent joiner but no carpenter set out the distinction between the two trades. A joiner made fitted internal work such as doors, panelling and trim. A carpenter framed the structural members of a building, including joists, rafters and posts. Cleeve's competence lay in the lighter work of joining, not in the structural calculations of carpentry. The Governor's reference to his experience in many public buildings about London places his authority on the matter. The Governor had practical experience of London building, which in the early eighteenth century was being rebuilt on a substantial scale following the fire of 1666 and the continuing expansion of the West End. The standard scantlings used in London building, set by the various building acts and by the practice of the trade, gave the Governor a measure against which Cleeve's reduced sizes could be judged. The dispute therefore turned on the difference between a London-trained understanding of structural carpentry and Cleeve's island practice of cutting timber to make the stock go further. The reference in paragraph 68 to a very sickly time at the island, with a great consumption of deal boards for coffins, indicates an outbreak of mortality in the European population during the autumn of 1714. Deal boards were the standard material for coffins of the period, with sawn softwood planks providing a serviceable container for burial. The use of a large number of boards for coffins, set out as a justification for the consumption of the stock, reflects the practical reality that the deal boards consigned by the Court had a finite supply, and that any unanticipated demand on the stock reduced the material available for other purposes. The lending of 100 deal boards and 20 pieces of timber to the churchwardens for the repair of the church was a substantial assignment from the Company's stores to a parochial purpose. The church at James Town was the only ecclesiastical building on the island and served both as the place of worship and as the venue for marriages, christenings and funerals. Its state of imminent collapse, described as in great danger of falling, would have closed the only public church on the island and would have left the chaplain with no proper place to perform his duties. The council's framing of the assignment as the only alternative to suffering a total dilapidation indicates that the lending of materials was an unavoidable response to the structural emergency. Speculations The Governor's detailed exposition of the joist problem, with the specific scantlings, the engineering reasoning and the assertion of his own London experience, points to a deliberate establishment of his authority on technical matters against the entrenched position of the local building tradesman. Cleeve had operated under Bouchier as the principal builder on the island, with the discretion to cut timber as he thought fit. The new Governor was demonstrating that he had the technical knowledge to challenge such decisions and was prepared to do so, in the formal despatch home, on the specific case of the warehouse joists. The challenge was as much about the future relationship between the council and the building tradesman as about the particular joists. The combination of the sickly season at the island, with extensive use of deal boards for coffins, and the assignment of further stocks of boards and timber to the church repair, may also reflect the demographic strain on the establishment recorded elsewhere in the despatch. With the chaplain's register showing 130 deaths to every 100 christenings, and with new arrivals such as Taylor the gardener dying within months of landing, the Company's stocks of burial materials were under continuing pressure, and the parallel demand from the church repair compounded the strain on the deal board supply. | |
31 |
Margin Notes: [Forc]ed to deny Deal to the Inhabitants Ruperts Valley Mundens platform |
Interpretations The deal board problem set out in paragraph 69 illustrates the practical workings of the Company's material supply on the island. The planters needed deal boards for the basic carpentry of their houses, that is for doors, window frames and stair cases, and for the partitioning and finishing of internal rooms. The Court's standing policy reserved deal boards for the Court's own works, with the result that the planters could not obtain through the Company's stores the materials they needed for the maintenance and improvement of their own buildings. The council's promise to present their case to the Court was the standard means of converting a local pressure into a formal request for additional supply, with the planters' need set out alongside the Court's own works as a justification for a larger deal board consignment. Bar iron was the standard form in which wrought iron was supplied to overseas establishments. It came in bars of standard length and cross-section, from which the local smith could fashion nails, hinges, hooks, bolts, strapping and the multitude of small iron parts needed in any building programme. The complete exhaustion of the stock of bar iron on the island, set out in the same paragraph, indicates that even the smallest iron work could not be undertaken until the next consignment arrived. The reference to lesser iron, that is iron in smaller cross-sections than the standard bar, points to a particular shortage of the lighter sections used in fine joinery and in fitting out work. The position at Rupert's Valley set out in paragraph 70 covered the secondary anchorage on the leeward side of the island, lying to the east of James Bay. The defences had been built of mud mortar, that is unfired clay or earth mixed with lime or sand to a paste, rather than the proper lime mortar that would have set hard and resisted weathering. The heavy rains that fell at intervals on the island had washed away the mortar in several places, and the walls were no longer sound. The council's reassurance that the walls had not been demolished or pulled down means that the structures still stood, although their condition was poor. The criticism implicit in the reference to mud mortar is directed at the original construction under previous administrations, which had used a cheap binder instead of the proper lime mortar suited to a position exposed to weather. The reorganisation of the ordnance set out in paragraph 70 covers the redistribution of guns between Rupert's Valley and the new battery at Munden's Point. Twelve new demi-culverins, never previously mounted, had been positioned at Munden's Point, with no guns drawn from Rupert's apart from those already unfit for service and four small fowlers transferred to the east curtain by the castle for salutes. A fowler in the period was a small light gun, originally designed for use against birds and other light targets, but here repurposed for ceremonial use in saluting passing ships and on official occasions. The current state of the mounted ordnance at Munden's Point, returned as four demi-culverins and three sakers, with ten guns dismounted, gives the working strength of the battery. A saker was a smaller long-barrelled gun of approximately three and a half inch bore, throwing a shot of around five pounds, suited to engagement at long range against lighter targets. The combination of demi-culverins and sakers gave a battery of mixed long-range armament, with the demi-culverins for engagement against ships of the line and the sakers for smaller targets or for sustained fire at greater range. The fact that ten guns were dismounted, that is lying without their carriages or with their carriages out of service, while only seven were mounted and ready for use, indicates that the battery was operating at less than half its potential strength. The Governor's reservation that the platform at Munden's Point was not sufficient to defend the position introduces the engineering critique of the battery as constructed. A platform in fortification terminology was the firm level surface, usually of stone or timber, on which the gun and its carriage stood. An inadequate platform would not absorb the recoil of the guns properly, would shift under repeated firing, and would limit the rate of fire that could be sustained. Speculations The Governor's emerging critique of the Munden's Point battery, with the platform identified as insufficient, may have been intended to set the case for further investment in the position before the next homeward fleet arrived. By identifying the platform as a specific deficiency, the council established a particular item of building work that could be costed and submitted to the Court, rather than leaving the matter at the level of general dissatisfaction with the previous administration's defensive works. The wholesale replacement of the Rupert's Valley defences by the new battery at Munden's Point, rather than the repair of the existing walls, may reflect a deliberate strategic shift in the council's approach to coastal defence. Rupert's Valley had been built to cover a secondary anchorage that received only occasional shipping, while Munden's Point covered the main approach to James Bay. The concentration of new ordnance at Munden's Point therefore put the heavy guns where the principal threat was likely to materialise, while accepting the gradual decay of the older works at Rupert's. | |
32 | and secure all that Bay because boats may run in and Land out of y[e] Reach of that Castles Guns but there is another point to the Eastward of the bay like that whereon Mundens Fort is built, which the Gov[r]: also & Councill has been to Survey and when they have had the opinion of the most Judicious in Fortifications, will write particularly about it but the Gov[r] went again this week to vieve[?] it with Cap[t]: Pennill, and he advised w[i]th him therein as he will doe with all the Command[ers] who come this way and haveing considered thereon as fully as we can, we are all of opinion at present that it would be a very proper place to build such a Castle on, and thus it would Sufficiently secure Ruperts Valley from the Landing of any Enymy there, which we conceive the old Lyne at Ruperts could not do for the works that are a 100 yards off of the high water mark goeing quite athwairt the Valley which is 50 Rod[s] does require if properly mand at fortifica[ti]ons in Europe are at Least 200 Men and here not less than 70 men who we have never had more than 29 men there which is too Few for a proper Defence against a Numerous & Resolute Enemy but on that East point we think a platforme may be properly built that will be Sufficiently mand w[i]th 30 men so as to annoy a powerfull Squadron The Gov[r] says he thinks twould be a needles[s] charge to pull down the old Lyne at Ruports and would now lett it stand tho of so Litle use without any repairs But yett if that be not repaired then the forementioned Castle will be y[e] more necessary to be built but to Answer all men[s] money[?] Margin Notes: E[ast] p[oin]t at Ruports [Pro]p[er] place to [bui]ld a fort on [re]ason [Need]l[ess] to pull down [Rup]ert[s] Old Lyne | And secure all that bay, because boats might run in and land out of the reach of the castle's guns. There was another point to the eastward of the bay, like that on which Munden's fort was built, which the Governor and council had also surveyed. Where they had had the opinion of the most judicious in fortifications, the council would write more particularly about it, but the Governor went again this week to view it with Captain Pennill, and advised with him on the matter, as he would do with all the commanders who came this way. Having considered the matter as fully as the council could, the council was at present of opinion that it would be a very proper place to build a castle on, and that it would sufficiently secure Rupert's Valley from the landing of any enemy there. This the council conceived the old line at Rupert's could not do, since the works were a hundred yards off the high water mark, going quite athwart the valley, which was 50 rods across. The line, if properly manned at fortifications in Europe, would require at least 200 men, and even here not less than 70 men. The council had never had more than 29 men there, which was too few for a proper defence against a numerous and resolute enemy. On the east point, however, the council thought a platform might properly be built that would be sufficiently manned with 30 men, so as to annoy a powerful squadron. The Governor said that he thought it would be a needless charge to pull down the old line at Rupert's, and would now let it stand, even though of so little use, without any repairs. If, however, the line were not repaired, the aforementioned castle would be the more necessary to be built. Yet, to answer all means Interpretations The strategic problem at Rupert's Bay set out in this paragraph is the principal defensive question addressed in the despatch. The bay lay to the east of James Bay and offered a secondary anchorage that could be used by an enemy squadron seeking to land troops out of range of the castle's guns. The existing defensive works, the old line at Rupert's, had been built one hundred yards from the high water mark and ran across the width of the valley, which the council measured at 50 rods. A rod was a standard length of measurement equal to 16½ feet, so the line at Rupert's ran across a valley approximately 825 feet wide, that is around 275 yards. The garrison strength required to hold the old line was the crux of the defensive analysis. A continental fortification of that length, properly designed and properly manned at European standards, would require 200 men to defend it effectively. The council's modified estimate for St Helena, allowing for the lower expected scale of attack and the shorter ranges of engagement, was 70 men. The actual garrison maintained at Rupert's had never exceeded 29 men, less than half the council's reduced standard and a small fraction of the European norm. The conclusion that the line was indefensible at the available strength was unavoidable, and the analysis exposed the existing works as decorative rather than defensive in any practical sense. The proposed new castle at the east point of Rupert's Bay was the council's solution to the strategic problem. By moving the defensive position from the line across the valley to a single strongpoint on the east point of the bay, the council could concentrate the defending fire at the principal landing approach and reduce the garrison requirement to a manageable 30 men. A platform at the east point, mounting heavy guns of the demi-culverin class, could deliver enfilading fire along the length of the bay and would deter or destroy any landing attempt. The shift in defensive philosophy from a linear defence across the valley to a strongpoint at the entrance to the bay reflected the contemporary European preference for concentrated rather than dispersed coastal defence. The Governor's consultation with Captain Pennill of the Susanna and his stated intention to seek the opinion of all commanders who came this way indicates the practical method by which a small colonial council took technical advice on fortification matters. There was no resident engineer at the island, and the Governor and council were not themselves trained in fortification design beyond the general principles known to any officer of the period. The captains of the Indiamen calling at the island, however, were experienced naval officers who had served in fleet actions and coastal operations, and their opinion on the proper siting and configuration of coastal batteries carried considerable weight. The accumulation of consistent opinions from successive captains over several months gave the council a body of expert advice on which to base its recommendations to the Court. The Governor's decision not to pull down the old line at Rupert's, even while accepting that it was of little practical use, reflects a pragmatic judgement on the limits of available resources. The labour and materials required to demolish the old works could be put to better use in the construction of new works elsewhere, and the standing remains of the old line, however inadequate, could continue to deter casual approaches even without a proper garrison. The conditional connection drawn between the abandonment of the old line and the necessity of the new castle, that is the case for the new castle being stronger if the old line were not repaired, set out the logical structure of the council's argument for the new construction. Speculations The deliberate consultation with successive Indiaman captains on the fortification of Rupert's Bay may have been intended to produce a documented consensus of expert opinion that the Court at India House would find difficult to dispute. By gathering the views of Pennill and others, and reporting them to the Court alongside the council's own analysis, the council established that the recommendation for a new castle rested not on the local opinion of a few colonial administrators but on the considered judgement of experienced naval officers. The procedural strategy was calculated to overcome any institutional resistance at India House to the expense of new fortifications. The arithmetic of garrison strength set out in the paragraph, with the European standard of 200, the local minimum of 70, and the actual force of 29, may have served a tacit additional purpose. By demonstrating that the old line had never been adequately manned, the council documented a defensive failure of the previous administration that the Court would have to acknowledge if the issue were to be considered. The combination of the inadequate manning argument with the proposed new castle gave the Court a clear choice between accepting the existing defensive weakness, repairing the old line at the cost of substantially increasing the garrison, or building the new castle at the east point on terms that the council could maintain with the existing forces. | |
33 | objections a small Redoubt may be Built in the bite or Cod of the Bay just above high Water mark that can Effectually hinder all manner of boates from Landing and the two Castles keeping of the Ships so Securely as to prevent even a Suspition of Danger that way and there will be greater Securities to the place tho Defended by fewer men and a much less charge to build then their old Fortifications & repair. As to the Planters Complaint of the Lyne at Ruports being Demolished it is our Opinion that they feared more Loosing the Employment of their blacks at 18[d] [per] day than any Enemys Invasion there But as your Hon[rs] have resolved to Fortifye this Island Effectually we beleive it may not be improper to build Another fort on the East side or point of Ruports Bay & Opposite to Mundens fort which will be a more certain Security to this Island as well as Annoyance to an Enemy and this also we think to be more necessary now then formerly because those Fortifications on the Line at Ruports being so much out of repair be decayed as they be at present and that decay so well known by our greatest Enemys for the Last Summer when the 3 French Shipps were here the then Gov[r] did not permitt them to Anchor at the great Fort against James Valley where they could have been Entirely under the power of his Gunns but obleeged them to Lye at Anchor against Ruport[s] Valley where nothing but 4 of the Easternmost Guns on the Fort at Mundens point could reach them which they presently found to be a conveniency to them for here their People in great Numbers went every day on shoar without Control[?] and from th[en]ce Margin Notes: [Adv]is[?] 2 forts on [...] of Ruports bay Planters comp[lain] [...] ground less, & for their gain only French knew y[e] bad Condition of Ruports Going ashoare w[i]th[out] | To answer all objections, a small redoubt might be built in the head or cod of the bay, just above high water mark, that could effectually hinder all manner of boats from landing. The two castles would keep the ships so securely as to prevent even a suspicion of danger that way, and there would be greater security to the place, the defenders being fewer in number, and at a much less charge to build than the old fortifications to repair. As to the planters' complaint of the line at Rupert's being demolished, the council was of opinion that they feared more the loss of the employment of their slaves at eighteen pence a day than any enemy's invasion there. As the Court had resolved to fortify the island effectually, the council believed it might not be improper to build another fort on the east side or point of Rupert's Bay, opposite Munden's fort. This would be a more certain security to the island, as well as an annoyance to an enemy. It would also be more necessary now than formerly, because the fortifications on the line at Rupert's, being so much out of repair, were as decayed as they were at present. That decay was well known by the council's greatest enemies. The last summer, when the three French ships were here, the late Governor had not permitted them to anchor at the great fort against James Valley, where they would have been entirely under the power of his guns. He had instead obliged them to lie at anchor against Rupert's Valley, where nothing but four of the easternmost guns on the fort at Munden's point could reach them. The French had found this perfectly to their convenience, since their people in great numbers went every day on shore without control, and from Interpretations The redoubt proposed in the head or cod of the bay completes the council's plan for the defence of Rupert's Bay. A redoubt was a small enclosed fortification, typically square or polygonal in plan, designed to be held by a small garrison and to cover a particular point of approach. The position at the head of the bay, just above the high water mark, was the natural landing place for any boats reaching the shore, and a redoubt commanding this point would prevent any landed force from advancing inland. Combined with the two flanking castles at Munden's Point and at the east point of the bay, the redoubt at the head completed a three-position defensive scheme in which any approach to the bay would come under fire from at least one of the works. The council's analysis of the planters' complaint about the demolition of the old line at Rupert's exposes a recurring tension in the management of the island's defences. The maintenance of fortifications was carried out by hired slave labour at the standard rate of eighteen pence a day, and any work on the defences, however ineffective the resulting structures might be, generated income for the planters who owned the slaves. The planters therefore had a direct financial interest in the continuation of fortification work, regardless of its military value. The council's observation that the planters feared the loss of employment for their slaves more than any enemy invasion was a candid recognition of the local economic interests that lay behind the apparently military complaint. The episode of the three French ships in the previous summer, that is the summer of 1714, is the most significant strategic incident reported in this paragraph. Three French vessels had called at the island, presumably as part of the regular French East India trade returning from the Indian Ocean. The state of formal hostilities between Britain and France had ended with the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, and French ships could lawfully call at neutral ports, but the British East India Company regarded the French as commercial rivals and treated their presence at the island as a security matter. Bouchier had directed the French to anchor at Rupert's Bay rather than at James Bay, and the council's reading of this decision is sharply critical. The military analysis of the anchoring decision turns on the fields of fire of the two principal works. The great fort at James Valley covered the main anchorage with its full battery of heavy guns, and any ship at anchor in James Bay was entirely within the field of fire of the guns. At Rupert's Bay, only four of the easternmost guns on the fort at Munden's Point could reach the anchorage, and the rest of the bay lay outside the effective range of the castle's ordnance. By directing the French to Rupert's Bay, Bouchier had placed them in a position where they were almost entirely beyond the control of the British guns, with the corresponding freedom to land their crews and to move about the shore at will. The council's report that the French crews had gone on shore in great numbers without control records the practical consequence of the anchoring decision. The crews of three Indiamen would have amounted to several hundred men, and their unrestricted movement on the island gave them the opportunity to observe the defences, to assess the state of the works and the strength of the garrison, and to communicate with the planters and with any disaffected element among the soldiers. The intelligence value to the French of such free movement, in a period of formal peace but continuing commercial competition, was substantial, and the implicit charge against Bouchier was that he had compromised the security of the island for reasons the council did not state. Speculations The framing of the French ships episode in the despatch home places a specific failing of the previous administration on the Court's record in a form that could not be easily dismissed. The naming of the bay where the French anchored, the count of the guns that could reach the position, the unrestricted movement of the crews on shore, and the implicit observation that the French had found the arrangement perfectly to their convenience together build a case that Bouchier had favoured the French presence over the security of the establishment. The council's silence on Bouchier's actual reasons leaves the inference to the Court, but the documentary structure of the paragraph would support a more direct charge in any future investigation. The planters' financial interest in the continuation of fortification work, set out in the despatch as a candid observation, may have been intended to neutralise any local opposition to the council's new defensive scheme. By recording the planters' complaint and immediately exposing its economic motivation, the council made it more difficult for any future planter petition against the new works to be taken seriously at India House. The Court would read any future complaint against the council's defensive policy in the light of the present explanation, and would discount the planters' arguments accordingly. | |
34 | thence went up the Country at their pleasure w[ch] might a been hindered at this Fort. Now Ruports valley is the Largest Valley on this Island and moderately Even ground when Cleared from stones Leading strait from the Sea to severall mountains that are covered w[i]th Trees makeing a Large and Even plain on their Tops w[ch] is y[e] place called the Great Wood and from thence they may goe to any part of the Island without controule w[ch] is our other reason why there should be some fortification built for the further Security of the place.
Margin Notes: Viewd the Country Improveing Ruports Valley for Plant[ation]s see also p. 50 | From there went up the country at their pleasure, when they might have been hindered at this fort. Now Rupert's Valley was the largest valley on the island, and moderately even ground when cleared from stones, leading straight from the sea to several mountains that were covered with trees, making a large and even plain on their tops in a place called the Great Wood. From there they might go to any part of the island without control, which was the council's other reason why there should be some fortification built for the further security of the place.
Interpretations The strategic case for the fortification of Rupert's Valley returns at the opening of this entry to the question of internal communications across the island. Once an enemy force had landed at Rupert's Bay and made its way through the valley, the easy ground of the upper valley led to the high plateau of the Great Wood, from which any part of the island could be reached without further obstacle. The strategic problem was therefore not only the defence of Rupert's Bay against a seaward attack, but the prevention of any landed force from breaking out of the valley and gaining the interior. The fortification of the valley head, as well as the bay itself, was necessary to contain any landing party that succeeded in coming ashore. The agricultural digression set out in paragraph 71 introduces a major new proposal in the despatch. Rupert's Valley contained more than 200 acres of good land that had never been brought into cultivation. The reason for the non-occupation of the valley was the lack of water, since the streams that watered the cultivated valleys of the leeward coast did not extend to Rupert's. The proposal to carry water from the cascade at the head of James Valley, by a water course or channel running over the ridge between the two valleys, was the council's solution to the irrigation problem. The hydraulic engineering involved in such a scheme would have been substantial. The water course would need to be cut across the ridge separating the two valleys, with sufficient fall to allow the water to run by gravity from the source in James Valley to the receiving ground in Rupert's. The route described followed the line of the Haunt Path, the existing track over the high ground between the two valleys. The reference to the project being achievable without much charge reflects the council's preliminary assessment, but the actual cost of cutting a water course over a ridge of volcanic rock would have depended on the terrain encountered. The 200 acres of high ground between the two valleys was described as bearing only tobacco, purslane, samphire and weeds. Tobacco, that is wild tobacco of the Nicotiana family, grew freely on disturbed ground in the moderate climate of the island. Purslane was a succulent herb of the Portulaca family, used as a salad vegetable and also growing wild on poor ground. Samphire was a salt-tolerant maritime plant traditionally gathered for pickling. The combination of these plants and weeds describes a typical secondary vegetation on poor ground that had been disturbed but not actively cultivated, and the council's observation that the land was in a manner barren reflects its agricultural rather than its botanical state. The Haunt Path was the recognised local name for the principal track running between James Valley and Rupert's Valley over the intervening ridge. The path served as the standing means of communication between the leeward settlements and the eastern side of the island, and was used both by the planters in their day-to-day movements and by Company servants on official business. The recurrence of the name in the council's analysis indicates that the geography of the proposed irrigation scheme followed lines already familiar from regular use. Speculations The combination of the strategic and the agricultural arguments for the development of Rupert's Valley points to a coordinated long-term plan rather than to two separate proposals. By extending cultivation across the valley and the high ground above it, the council would both increase the food supply of the island, addressing the yam deficit set out in earlier paragraphs, and establish a permanent settled population in the area whose presence would assist the defence of the eastern bay. A populated valley with active plantations would deter casual landing attempts and would provide a local militia force in the event of a hostile incursion. The two policies, defensive and agricultural, therefore supported each other. The careful description of the water supply problem and the proposed remedy may have been intended to lay the ground for a substantial capital request to the Court. A water course across the ridge between James Valley and Rupert's Valley would require labour, materials and engineering skill that the existing establishment did not possess. The council's framing of the project as achievable without much charge was an opening position rather than a final estimate, and the eventual cost of the scheme would emerge only once the engineering survey had been completed. The combination of the strategic justification, the agricultural promise of 200 acres of new land, and the modest initial cost estimate together built a case for the project that the Court would find difficult to refuse on principle, even if the specific cost figures eventually proved less favourable. | |
35 | the Govern[r]: has been severall Days w[i]th y[e] Mainwhite[?] & [J] Wills and Surveyed the passages on Each Side the mountain and beleives it as Easie to Effect as carry- ing the water the same distance in any other place on the Side of a Hill can be and we think if this Valley were so improved it would considerably add to the increase of meat sorts of provisions and make the Island plentier.
Margin Notes: Shall send List of Wills Entertaining one[?] in pay at 14 Years of Age He ( Edw[d] Collier ) was drownded[?] | The Governor had been several days with Mr Theobalt and Mr Wills, and had surveyed the passages on each side of the mountain. He believed it as easy to carry the water the same distance in any place on the side of a hill as it could be. The council thought that, if this valley were so improved, it would considerably add to the increase of meat of all sorts of provisions, and make the island plentier.
Interpretations The water course project for Rupert's Valley is set out in this entry on the basis of a personal field survey by the Governor with two named local men, Theobalt and Wills, who were probably planters or others with practical knowledge of the ground. The survey of the passages on each side of the mountain was the necessary preliminary to any engineering decision on the route of the water course, and the Governor's conclusion that the carrying of water along the side of a hill was as easy in one place as in another reflects the working assumption of the period that gravity channels could be cut wherever a sufficient fall could be obtained. The agricultural argument for the project is set out in plain terms: an irrigated Rupert's Valley would carry plantations, those plantations would carry livestock, and the increased meat supply would relieve the chronic shortage of fresh provisions on the island. The annual return of wills set out in paragraph 72 illustrates one of the standing administrative duties of the council. The recording, proof and execution of the wills of persons dying on the island was a function of the Governor and Council acting in their capacity as the local probate authority, and the annual transmission of the records to the Court at India House was the means by which the Court kept track of property changes among its servants and the white population. The reference to 25 March as the annual closing date reflects the old style English calendar, under which the legal year began on Lady Day, that is the Feast of the Annunciation, on 25 March. Annual accounts of every administrative kind were brought to balance on that date and forwarded to London on the following ships. The case of Edward Collier set out in paragraph 73 illustrates the recruitment practices of the previous administration. Collier had been entered on the establishment as a soldier at the standard pay of twenty-one shillings a month, but at the time of his enlistment he was not more than fourteen years old, and probably younger. The justification for taking such young men into the garrison was that the lighter and faster boys made good runners for the flying party, that is the mobile element of the garrison stationed at the lookout posts and used as messengers and as rapid reinforcements in case of alarm. The strategic logic of the practice rested on the geography of the island, with its scattered lookout posts on the high ground and the need for fast communication between them and the main establishment. The council's frank acknowledgement that the youngest fellows were the best for the flying party, and that the sergeants who commanded such posts had always wanted such lads, sets out the operational case for the recruitment of boys. The further observation that none had been listed in that capacity who failed to serve the Company five years at least, and quickly to make very good men, indicates that the practice produced reliable long-service soldiers. The Court at India House had, however, sent fresh orders that the practice should cease, and the Governor was now refusing to enlist boys of Collier's age even when pressed to do so by experienced local opinion. Collier's own fate, drowned in the Court's service before the council's arrival, illustrates the routine mortality of garrison service on a small island where boats and water carriage were the principal means of communication around the coast. The drowning of a young runner during his service would have been an ordinary occupational casualty, and the council's report of the death served principally to close the account of his pay and to record the manner of his loss. Speculations The juxtaposition in the despatch of the strategic and agricultural arguments for the Rupert's Valley development, returning to the same proposal across two consecutive paragraphs, points to a council that was building its case for the project at the level of overall island policy rather than at the level of any single benefit. The combination of military, demographic and agricultural arguments together produced a case that addressed every concern the Court might have had about the cost of the work, and the careful prior survey by the Governor with named local advisers established the proposal as practical rather than speculative. The handling of Edward Collier's case in the despatch may have been intended to qualify the Court's recent order against the recruitment of young boys. By recording the strategic value of the flying party, the operational preference of the sergeants for young lads, and the case of Collier himself as a useful soldier who had served diligently and died in the Court's service, the council was opening a quiet argument for the Court to reconsider its prohibition. The Governor's express refusal to enter any further boys of Collier's age, despite the importuning of men of good judgement, recorded compliance with the Court's order while setting out the case for its modification in due course. | |
36 |
Margin Notes: Titles of Lands White men in propor[tion] in[?] title to Land Vide 91 par[a] of Roch[ester] Arrack rec[eive]d [Re]ason of buying [A]rrack out of y[e] Sus[a]nna [A]bout discourageme[nt] |
Lest the Court should have thought fit to give such orders, the council, finding Captain Pennill to be well stocked with arrack, sugar and similar goods, had bought of him such necessaries to the amount of £612 8s 4d, and had given him bills on the Court for the same. The council asked that these bills be accepted. The council had done this for the encouragement of the people, it being at present a very unhealthy time, and hoped the Court would not think it had had no regard to the vast sums the people were at present indebted to the Court, but [...] Interpretations The arrack consignment from Batavia, carried by Captain Pennill on the Susanna, illustrates the working of the Company's spirit supply chain across the eastern trade. Batavia was the headquarters of the Dutch East India Company and the principal centre of arrack production in the East Indies, with the spirit distilled from palm sap, sugar and rice in substantial quantity for both Dutch and English purchasers. The consignment of eight half leaguers, returning a total of 504 gallons, came at a unit of 63 gallons per cask. A full leaguer was a Dutch wine cask of approximately 154 gallons, and the half leaguer at 63 gallons was substantially less than mathematical half-measure, reflecting the actual cooperage practice of the spirit trade rather than any precise division. The council's note that the casks contained only 504 gallons, though called half leaguers, registers a discrepancy between the nominal capacity and the actual delivery. The report spread by Captain Brown's people at the Cape is the most damaging piece of intelligence in this paragraph. Brown had taken the Rochester from St Helena to Bencoolen by way of the Cape of Good Hope in July 1714, carrying a substantial body of soldiers, slaves and Company servants. His ship's people had evidently spoken freely at the Cape about the condition of St Helena, reporting that the people were starving and that the homeward Indiamen would be diverted away from the island. The report would have spread rapidly through the maritime community at the Cape and would have reached every shipmaster bound for the eastern trade. The consequences for St Helena were serious. If the homeward Indiamen took the report at face value and bypassed the island, the Company's revenue from the sale of fresh water, provisions and arrack to the returning fleet would be lost, and the planters who depended on those sales for their own incomes would face severe hardship. The council's response to the rumour was to make a substantial purchase from Pennill of arrack, sugar and other necessaries, totalling £612 8s 4d, and to give him bills on the Court for that sum. The purpose was twofold. First, to demonstrate that the island had ready credit for substantial supplies and was not in the desperate condition reported at the Cape. Second, to ensure that the local population could obtain the goods they needed at reasonable prices, since the planters had been forcing prices upward in anticipation of a shortage. The bills given on the Court at India House were the standard form of long-distance payment for such transactions, with the Company's London office honouring the drafts presented by Pennill on his return to England. The reference to a very unhealthy time at the island confirms the picture of high mortality set out elsewhere in the despatch. The combination of the autumn sickness, the loss of recently arrived European servants such as Taylor the gardener, and the general weakness of the population had created an atmosphere of crisis that the rumour from the Cape had aggravated. The council's purchase of substantial supplies served as a public demonstration that the establishment was both functioning and creditworthy, and the encouragement of the people referred to in the despatch describes the morale effect of the purchase as much as its material benefit. A canister in this context was a wooden or metal container used for the storage and shipment of sugar and candy. Candy in the eighteenth century referred to crystallised sugar, that is sugar boiled and cooled to a crystalline form, used both as a sweetener and as an ingredient in confectionery and medicines. The combination of three canisters of sugar and one of candy reflects the standard range of refined sugar products supplied to the Company's overseas establishments from the eastern factories. Speculations The dispatch of the report from the Cape by Brown's people may have been more deliberate than the council acknowledged in this paragraph. Brown's ship had carried the eight soldiers implicated in the intended mutiny away from St Helena, and the disaffected men, together with the ship's own crew, would have had every reason to spread an unfavourable account of conditions at the island. The damage to the island's reputation in the maritime community of the Cape was a substantial consequence of Bouchier's mismanagement of the mutiny case and of the council's decision to send the implicated soldiers onward to Bencoolen, rather than to retain them on the island under closer supervision. The careful framing of the arrack purchase, with the express acknowledgement that the council had borne in mind the existing indebtedness of the people to the Court, suggests that the council expected criticism from India House for committing the Company to further outlays at a time when its receivables on the island were already large. By setting out in the despatch the encouragement of the people argument, and the strategic purpose of countering the Cape rumour, the council established the institutional case for the purchase in advance of any objection that the Court might have raised. | |
37 | bought it the rather ( being well assured it would have been left here ) that there might be no selling but from y[o]: Stores, and haveing made at our first Arrivall as proviccionary Ord[er] that whoever did pay into the Hon[ble] Comp[as] Stores to the Vallue of 10[s] should have necessarys to y[e] amount of 5[s] for the Subsistance of their families so pro rata for a bigger or Lesser Sum by which means should gett in your debts, and had it fallen into other hands no regard would have been to the paym[en]t of yo[ur] debts but whatsoever had been raised would have fallen in their hands, and then by that means the prices of all provisions at their Ordering, for as things have been managed of Late there was likely to be nothing Sold at the Stores but upon Credit there being now two Ware houses in the Town, where severall sorts of goods are Sold and also Arrack in Particular and they selling cheaper then the Stores you can dispose of no goods but to those who have no money and the Prices of yo[ur] goods have been advanced to no other End by some but to sell their own at a good rate but Lesser price which we hope also that we shall prevent[?] in some measure as follows ( viz[t] ) Arrack is now at 4[s] [per] Gall[on] in the Stores and any where in y[e] Town tis Sold for 8[s] but this which we have bought at 5[s] we intend to sell for 7[s] 6[d] by w[ch] y[e] Comp[a]: will gaine by what they sell near 50 [per] C[en]t and sell to those who are able to pay w[ch] we take to be better than to keep it up at a high Price till tis consumed without any proffitt or Sold to those that never can pay. And the only way in our Judgment Margin Notes: Means to get in y[e] Hon[ble] Comp[a] Debts The ill doings of private Traders To prevent it w[ch] We can How to be Sold y[e] adv[antage] of y[e] Comp[a] | The council had bought it the rather, being well assured it would have been left here, that there might be no selling but from the Court's stores. The council had made at its first arrival, as a provisional order, that whoever paid into the Court's stores to the value of £10 should have necessaries to the amount of £5 for the subsistence of their families, so pro rata for a bigger or lesser sum. By this means the council would get in the Court's debts, and had the money fallen into other hands no regard would have been to the payment of those debts, but whatsoever had been raised would have fallen into private hands. Then by that means the prices of all provisions would have been at the private traders' ordering. As things had been managed of late, there was likely to be nothing sold at the stores but upon credit, there being now two warehouses in the town where several sorts of goods were sold, and arrack in particular, and they selling cheaper than the stores. The Court could dispose of no goods but to those who had no money, and the prices of the Court's goods had been advanced to no other end than to allow private traders to sell their own at a good rate, but at a lesser price. The council hoped to prevent this. The measure was as follows. Arrack was now in the stores at five pence the pint, and anywhere in the town was sold for eight pence. The arrack the council had bought at five pence, the council intended to sell for seven pence. By this measure the Court would gain by what the private traders sold near fifty per cent, and the council would sell to those who were better able to pay, rather than keep the goods at a high price till they were consumed without any profit, or sell them to those that never could pay. This was the only way, in the council's judgment Interpretations The provisional order made by the council on its first arrival at the island sets out a working scheme for the recovery of the debts owed to the Court. The order tied the issue of necessaries from the storehouse to the receipt of payments on existing debts, with a planter or other debtor paying £10 into the stores being entitled to receive £5 worth of necessaries in exchange. The arithmetic of the scheme transferred half of any sum recovered into the immediate hands of the debtor in the form of goods, while the other half went to the reduction of the standing debt. The proportions were calculated to give the debtor an incentive to find money for partial payment, since otherwise no necessaries would be issued, while ensuring that every transaction reduced the outstanding obligation to the Court. The competition from private warehouses in the town is the central commercial finding of the entry. Two private warehouses had been established at James Town, selling a range of goods including arrack at prices below the rates charged at the Company's stores. The result of the competition was that any planter or soldier with ready cash bought from the private traders rather than from the Company, leaving the Company's stores to deal only with the debtors who had no money and could only purchase on credit against further indebtedness. The previous administration had responded by raising the Company's prices, which had simply increased the margin available to the private traders while pushing more business toward them, and had eroded the Company's market share without yielding any compensating revenue. The council's pricing reform set out in this paragraph rests on a precise understanding of the market mechanics. The council had bought arrack from Pennill at five pence the pint and proposed to sell it at seven pence the pint, against the private traders' price of eight pence in the town. The Company's price would therefore be a penny below the private traders' price, drawing the cash trade back to the stores while still yielding the Company a 40 per cent margin on its purchase price. The arrack already on hand in the stores, also priced at five pence as the cost basis, would presumably be sold at the same seven pence, with the same margin. The strategic objective of the pricing policy was to redirect the cash trade back to the Company's stores, where it would generate revenue for the Court rather than for the private traders. The mathematical calculation, that by this means the Court would gain by what the private traders sold near fifty per cent, refers to the proportional reduction in the private traders' margin once the Company undercut their price. At the previous spread of three pence between the Company's eight pence and any lower private price, the private traders could undercut and still profit. At the Company's new price of seven pence, the private traders could either match the lower price and lose half their margin, or maintain their eight pence price and lose their customers to the Company. The council's preference for selling to those who were better able to pay, rather than holding goods at high prices for sale to those who could not pay, expresses a fundamental change in the merchandising philosophy of the Company's stores. The previous policy had effectively used the stores as a credit facility for the poorest planters and soldiers, with goods sold on extended credit at high prices that the buyers could never fully repay. The council's policy reversed this, with goods sold at competitive prices for cash to those who could pay, and the credit facility either restricted or withdrawn. The result would be a more profitable Company stores operation, a reduction in the growth of bad debts, and a more efficient market for arrack and other goods on the island. A pint in this period was the imperial pint of approximately 568 millilitres, the standard retail measure for spirits. The pricing of arrack at five pence to seven pence the pint placed the spirit within the range of regular consumption by the soldiers, the planters and the visiting sailors who made up the principal market on the island. Speculations The detailed economic analysis set out in this paragraph, with its precise figures, its calculation of margins and its understanding of competitive dynamics, points to a council that included at least one member with substantial commercial experience. The handling of the pricing problem reflects a sophisticated understanding of market behaviour that would not have come from a pure administrator. Among the named members of the council, Isaac Pyke and George Howell or one of their colleagues would have brought such experience from the Company's commercial side, and the framing of the pricing reform may reflect the contribution of a particular member with merchant background. The willingness to undercut the private traders by a penny on each pint, while still maintaining a 40 per cent margin on the purchase price, suggests that the council was prepared to use the Company's substantial purchasing power as a competitive weapon against the private trade on the island. The private traders, operating on smaller margins and smaller volumes, would find it difficult to sustain prices below the Company's cost basis. The result, over time, would be either the absorption of the private trade into the Company's stores through the failure of the private operations, or the regulation of the private trade at prices that the Company found acceptable. | |
38 | Judgment to Cure this Effectually is to gett one Shilling [per] Gall[on] a Duty for the Hon[ble] Comp[a] on all quantitys that comes ashoare to be paid by the buyer and then it will be Less matter wether y[e] Hono[urable] Comp[a]: sells Arrack or not this we submitt to yo[ur] Hono[urs]: Judgment but shall not sett that one shilling a Gall[on] thereon till We have yo[ur] Orders therein.
But we hope yo[ur] Hon[rs]: will give Ord[er]s that when we have goods from India they be good in their kind and then the Islanders will not be so indust[r]ious to buy of any body Else off Margin Notes: Out of these to sett a duty of 1[s] [per] Gall[on] [Ba]dness of Goods [En]courages the Private Trade [Pra]y they may be better | The council's judgment to cure the matter effectually was to set a duty of one shilling per gallon for the Court on all quantities of arrack brought ashore, to be paid by the buyer. With such a duty in place, it would matter less whether the Company itself sold arrack or not. The council submitted the proposal to the Court's judgment, but would not set the duty at one shilling per gallon until the Court's orders on the matter had been received.
The council hoped, however, that the Court would give orders that, when the council received goods from India, those goods were to be good of their kind. Then the islanders would not be so industrious to buy from anybody else. Interpretations The proposed duty of one shilling per gallon on all arrack landed at the island was a substantial fiscal measure that would have changed the basis on which the Company recovered the cost of the spirit trade. Under the existing arrangement, the Company's revenue depended on its own sales of arrack at the storehouse, in competition with the private traders who landed their own spirits. By imposing a duty on every gallon of arrack landed, regardless of who imported it, the Company would secure a guaranteed revenue from the trade as a whole, and would lose its dependence on competing in the retail market against the private traders. The duty would be paid by the buyer at the point of landing, that is the wholesale purchaser taking the spirit from the importing ship, and would be passed through to the retail price. The council's careful submission of the proposal to the Court for orders, with the express statement that the council would not set the duty until the Court had ruled, reflects the constitutional limits of the council's authority. The imposition of taxes and duties was a matter reserved to the Court at India House, since it altered the basic conditions of trade at a Company station and might affect the Company's relations with the Crown. The council's role was to identify the need, to propose the measure and to set out the reasoning, but the decision to enact lay with the Court. The Indian cloth problem set out in paragraph 77 illustrates a recurring difficulty in the Company's overseas trade. Sannoes were a type of plain cotton cloth manufactured in Bengal and shipped through the Company's factories at Hooghly and Kasimbazar to the various overseas establishments and to London for re-export. The cloth was a staple of the Company's commerce, and its sale at the overseas stations provided both revenue and a useful item for issue to slaves, soldiers and servants whose clothing allowance was met in kind. The arrival at St Helena of sannoes that were either old or damaged, with holes in most of the pieces and patches stuck over the holes with seersuckers or with congee, indicates that the Bengal supply line had been letting through inferior goods at the despatch end. Seersucker in this context was a type of crinkled or puckered cotton cloth, also manufactured in Bengal, used here as patching material for the damaged sannoes. The defective parts of the principal cloth were covered with small pieces of seersucker fixed in place, with the puckered surface helping to disguise the underlying hole. Congee was the cooking water from boiled rice, used across the eastern trade as a starching and stiffening agent for cloth. The application of patches over the holes, fixed either with seersucker patches or with congee starch, was a means of disguising the defects until the cloth had been sold and the buyer had cut into it. The patches would come away in washing, leaving the holes exposed, and the buyer would discover the defect only after the purchase had been completed and the cloth was beyond return. The damage to the Company's commercial reputation set out in this entry is the practical consequence of the goods quality problem. The few buyers who had been deceived by the patched cloth had spread the news of the defects, and the local market had taken the lesson to heart. Those who had the means to buy elsewhere now preferred to deal with the private traders rather than with the Company's stores, on the assumption that the Company's goods could not be relied on. The cumulative effect over time was a steady erosion of the Company's market position, with the Company progressively reduced to dealing only with those buyers who had no other choice, that is, the poorest planters and soldiers who could obtain credit only from the Company. Speculations The proposed shilling-per-gallon duty on arrack, if implemented, would have given the Court a stable revenue from the spirit trade that did not depend on the council's success in competing with private traders. The duty would also have raised the retail price of arrack across the island by approximately a shilling a gallon, that is around twopence to threepence the pint, which would have reduced consumption among the poorer soldiers and planters and might have addressed the broader social problem of excessive drinking. The council's careful presentation of the proposal as a fiscal measure rather than as a temperance measure was politically prudent, since the Court at India House was more likely to accept a revenue-raising scheme than a moral reform of the population. The detailed reporting of the patched sannoes, with the specific mechanism of disguise and the consequences for the Company's reputation, may have been intended as a warning to the Court that the Bengal factory was either selling damaged goods deliberately or failing to inspect its consignments properly. The matter would have to be taken up at India House with the buying side of the Company's establishment, since a station council at St Helena had no authority over the conduct of the factories in India. By documenting the problem in formal correspondence, the council put the issue on the Court's record and made it possible for India House to address the source of the defects rather than continue to receive complaints about their consequences. | |
39 |
But D[r] Porteous intending to goe hence next year we desire your Hon[rs]: to send over one to be in his roome or in case of mortality ( other ways in D[r] Prices Roome ) your Hon[rs] were about to a sent out w[i]th us a man bred an Apothecary to be D[r] Prices mate, and there were two Entred as such by your Hon[rs]: but some Accident hindred their Coming to pass wherefore we pray yo[ur] Hon[rs]: to send us out some young Apothecary with Lotts and such sort of Medicines as are of Comonest use and Lett him be Inventoryed that they may be sold here to those who want them which will bring in some small profitts to yo[ur] Hon[rs]: and give great Satisfaction to yo[ur] People here who if they be not well are often forced to give 6[d] for two penny worth of Venices Treacle and pro rata for what ever else they want and yet nothing for Medicines has been brought to yo[ur] Hon[rs] Acc[oun]t.
Margin Notes: Copper Mony wanted Surgeon's Sick Want of One & an Apothecary To Sell Medicines Who run away |
In Dr Price's room the Court had been about to send out a man bred an apothecary, to be Dr Price's mate. Two had been entered as such by the Court, but some accident had hindered their coming. The council asked the Court to send out some young apothecary with pots and such sort of medicines as were commonly used. He might be inventoried, so that the medicines might be sold here to those who wanted them, which would bring in some small profits to the Court and give great satisfaction to the people. If they were not well they were often forced to give sixpence for two pennyworth of Venice treacle, and pro rata for whatever else they wanted. Yet nothing for medicines had been brought to the Court's account.
Interpretations The request for copper farthings and half pence in paragraph 78 marks the establishment of a regular market at the island and the council's intention to put small-scale retail trade on a proper coin basis. A farthing was a quarter of a penny, and a half penny was the smallest commonly used silver substitute coin in everyday English usage. The introduction of small copper coin would allow the population to make small purchases at the market without resort to barter or store credit, and would provide the change necessary for a functioning retail economy. The market itself was a new institution at the island, distinct from the storehouse sales of bulk goods, and would have served as a place where the planters could sell their own surplus produce, the soldiers could obtain small quantities of provisions and goods, and the visiting sailors could buy fresh items. The medical establishment described in paragraph 79 illustrates the structure of the Company's medical service at an overseas station. The standing complement was two surgeons, of whom the senior was usually styled Doctor and the junior simply Mr. Dr Porteous and Mr Price filled these positions on the council's arrival, but the parallel illness of the two men meant that effectively only one surgeon was available at any time. The council's working observation that one of them was always sick, that the two men served in effect as one surgeon, reflects the practical reality that two appointments did not in this case yield the equivalent of two functioning surgeons. The proposed arrangement for Dr Porteous's replacement, combined with the request for an apothecary's mate, indicates the planning horizon of the medical establishment. With Porteous going home the following year, a new senior surgeon would be needed in advance to allow continuous coverage during the handover. The apothecary's mate would assist whichever surgeon was in office and would provide a third pair of medical hands in the establishment. The two apothecary mates who had been entered for the post but had failed to arrive, prevented by some accident, indicates the high attrition rate in the recruitment process even before the men reached the ship. An apothecary in this period was a specialist in the compounding and dispensing of medicines, distinct from a surgeon, who undertook surgical procedures and the treatment of wounds and injuries. The apothecary's training included the preparation of pills, draughts, electuaries, plasters, ointments and other dosage forms from the basic materia medica of the period. The pots referred to in the request were the apothecary's standard storage and dispensing containers, that is glazed earthenware or glass jars in which prepared medicines were kept and from which doses were drawn. The retail sale of medicines as proposed by the council was a new arrangement, with the apothecary's stock being inventoried on arrival and sold to those who needed medicines at fixed prices accountable to the Court. The current practice, that of soldiers and planters paying sixpence for two pennyworth of Venice treacle, illustrates the existing private market in medicines and the substantial mark-up at which they were sold. Venice treacle, properly theriaca veneta, was a famous compound medicine of the period containing some sixty or more ingredients including opium, viper flesh and various spices, originally developed in Venice as a universal antidote and prescribed across Europe as a panacea for poisoning, plague and other serious illnesses. The three-fold mark-up on Venice treacle indicates the kind of margins available to the private suppliers of medicines on the island. The case of Samuel Browne in paragraph 80 introduces a new administrative procedure under the Court's standing instructions on the recovery of debts from soldiers. Browne owed £105 in the stores, a substantial sum for a private soldier whose annual pay was around £18 at the standing rate. The Court's general letters had established a procedure for dealing with such debtors, and the council was now reporting the case to the Court for action in accordance with those instructions. Speculations The systematic medical reform proposed in paragraphs 78 and 79, taken together with the proposed market and the apothecary establishment, points to a council that was redesigning the basic public services of the island establishment. The market would provide an alternative retail outlet to the storehouse and would draw the cash trade into a more accountable framework. The medical establishment would put the supply of medicines under Company control and would generate small revenue while improving access. The combination of the two reforms, with their relatively modest individual costs, would together provide a substantial improvement in the conditions of life at the island and would generate political support among the planters and soldiers for the new administration. The detailed description of the Venice treacle pricing, with the specific six-pence for two pennyworth comparison, indicates that the council had taken trouble to document the existing market in medicines as part of the case for reform. By placing the figure on the formal record, the council established the scale of the existing problem in concrete terms that the Court could not dismiss as colonial complaint. The same documentary technique appears throughout the despatch, with specific figures, specific names and specific incidents used to anchor general arguments about administrative reform. | |
40 | one shilling and six pence and Tho[s] DelaRose a Writer in the Stores, who was alsoe Indebted Fifty Three Pounds three Shillings and Five Pence went privately on board the Mercury Shallop on the Evening of y[e] 31[st] of July when she alled[?] hence and on their getting on board the said Shallop[e] sett Sail in the night time Contrary to our Ord[er] and Henry Mackett ( the Master of the Shallop[es] promise we had Searched the Shalloop at Sun sett by M[r] Bazett who went for that purpose and had taken Strict Ord[er] & Care to hinder all persons going off who were not permitted, and are well assured that in so small a Vessell they could not goe w[i]thout Henry Mackett the Masters privity. And James Young a Tidie [n]ow Carryed off by the Late Gov[r] who owed in yo[ur] Hon[rs] books at the Stores twenty Seven pounds Eight Shillings and nine pence half penny.
Margin Notes: Sam[ue]l Broome & Tho[s] Delarose Not to be done without y[e] Mast[e]r['s] Consent Jam[es] Young [on?] Roch[ester] [s]ee par[a] 66 Punch houses Detrimentall Instance[s?] | One shilling and sixpence, and Thomas Delarose, a writer in the stores, who was also indebted £53 3s [...], had gone privately on board the Mercury shallop on the evening of 31 July when they should have gone home. On their getting on board the shallop, they set sail in the night time, contrary to the council's orders and Henry Macket's, the master of the shallop's, promise. The council had searched the shallop at sunset by Mr Bazett, who had gone for that purpose and had taken strict orders and care to hinder all persons going off who were not permitted. The council was well assured that in so small a vessel they could not have gone without Henry Macket the master's privity. James Young, a fiddler, was also carried off by the late Governor, who owed in the Court's books at the stores £27 8s 9½d.
Interpretations The flight of Samuel Browne and Thomas Delarose on the Mercury shallop, on the evening of 31 July 1714, illustrates the practical difficulty of preventing indebted soldiers and servants from escaping the island. Browne owed £105 1s 6d to the Court at the stores, Delarose £53 3s in the same account, and both men had used the opportunity of a small vessel sailing in the night to leave St Helena and so escape their debts. The shallop had been searched at sunset by Mr Bazett, an outgoing member of the council, with the express purpose of preventing unauthorised departures, and the men must therefore have boarded after the search was completed. The council's conclusion that they could not have done so without the privity of Henry Macket, the master of the shallop, places the responsibility for the escape on the master of the vessel rather than on any failure of the council's procedures. The case of James Young, a fiddler taken off the island by Bouchier with a debt of £27 8s 9½d in the Court's books, sets out a parallel pattern in the outgoing Governor's conduct. Just as Bouchier had carried off the principal mutineer for the sake of his music, so he had carried off Young the fiddler for the same reason of household entertainment. The two cases together suggest that Bouchier had used his departure as an opportunity to take with him those persons whose continued service he valued, regardless of their standing debts to the Court. The Company's losses on each such departure were considerable, since the debts could not be recovered once the debtor had left the island. The total recorded outflow of Company debt through these three departures alone was £185 13s 3½d, a substantial sum and a clear illustration of how the standing balances at the stores could be eroded by departures arranged at the margin of the Court's procedures. The careful naming of each man, with his rank or occupation, his debt and the circumstances of his departure, builds the documentary record for any future attempt at recovery and lays the responsibility for the losses on identifiable individuals. The analysis of the punch houses in paragraph 81 introduces a new social problem to the despatch. Of the fifty houses in the valley, that is in James Town, eight were punch houses of a disorderly character. A punch house was an establishment where punch and other mixed drinks were sold for consumption on the premises, and disorderly punch houses combined the sale of drink with gaming and other entertainments aimed at separating the customers from their money. The eight establishments thus identified were the principal source of the financial ruin of soldiers and visiting sailors, and the council was framing them as a structural problem in the social and economic life of the island. The mechanism by which the punch houses extracted money from sailors and soldiers is set out in plain terms. A man would be drawn into the house, given drink and food, and presented with a substantial bill at the time of his departure. If he could not pay, he would be arrested for debt, with the punch house keeper using the legal process of arrest for debt to compel payment from his pay, his rated allowance, or any other source. The figures cited from the Rochester case, with two men charged forty shillings each and another five pounds for dinner and drink, illustrate the scale of the extortion. A common sailor's pay in this period was approximately twenty-three shillings a month, so a bill of forty shillings represented nearly two months' wages, while a bill of five pounds represented more than four months' wages. The Governor's standing policy of refusing to allow arrest for such extravagant sums was the only protection available to the victims. The figure of fifty houses in the valley gives the working size of James Town in 1714. Each house would have contained either a planter family, a Company servant's household, a tradesman or storekeeper, or in eight cases the punch house establishments. The proportion of disorderly punch houses, at sixteen per cent of the total housing stock, indicates the substantial presence of the drink trade in the social fabric of the town and the corresponding scale of the social problem the council was addressing. Speculations The pattern of departures arranged by Bouchier on his own initiative, taking with him the principal mutineer, the fiddler Young and possibly others, points to a Governor who had organised his exit from the island in a manner that left several questions unanswered for his successors. The men taken off had skills that Bouchier wished to retain in his household in England, and the loss to the Company of their accumulated debts was a marginal consideration. The new council's careful documentation of each case in the despatch home put the Court on notice of the irregularities, but the practical recovery of the sums involved would depend on whether the Court would pursue Bouchier and his protégés in the English courts after their return. The social analysis of the punch houses, with the specific count of fifty houses in the valley and eight disorderly establishments, may have been intended to lay the ground for a future licensing regulation. By documenting the problem in formal correspondence and setting out the specific cases of extortion, the council established the case for an ordinance requiring punch houses to obtain a licence from the council and to operate under specified conditions. The licensing power, like the proposed arrack duty, would have required the Court's authorisation, and the careful presentation of the underlying problem was the necessary preliminary to any such request. | |
41 | when their Licences are out the Govern[r] will reduce them to 8 or at most to 4 to sell Strong Liquors by retaile, and hopes by that to keep them in much better Order.
Margin Notes: God will prevent for y[e] future Indent not re- gular Thin Plain & Scarlet Cloath wanted Maine Capstone of Cap[t] Punnell Pray excuse for misexpressions | When their licences were out, the Governor would reduce them to three, or at most to four, to sell strong liquors by retail, and hoped by that to keep them in much better order.
This Interpretations The licensing proposal for the punch houses set out at the head of this entry illustrates the council's working method of regulation. The Governor would, on the expiry of the existing licences, reduce the number of establishments authorised to sell strong liquors by retail from the present eight disorderly punch houses to three or at most four. The reduction by half or more would close the most disorderly of the existing houses, would leave a smaller number of licensed establishments operating under closer supervision, and would, the council hoped, place the trade on a footing where it could be properly regulated. The strategy of using the expiry of existing licences rather than the cancellation of current authorisations was politically prudent, since it avoided the immediate confrontation of revoking established rights and instead allowed the reform to proceed through the natural cycle of licence renewals. The requisition mentioned in paragraph 82 was the council's order for goods to be sent out by the next Indiaman from London. The storekeeper's failure to extract from his books a regular list of what was most wanted, set out as an apology for the irregular form of the present requisition, reflects the broader administrative disorder of the establishment that the council had inherited and was working to put right. The specific request for a bale of fine thin scarlet cloth and half a bale of fine thin blue cloth identifies a particular gap in the storehouse's stock. The cloths requested were specialised items for a specific market. Fine thin scarlet was a high-quality woollen cloth, dyed scarlet with cochineal or kermes, used for the outer garments of officers and gentlemen returning from India to England. Fine thin blue was the same quality of cloth in blue dye, used for the same purpose. The council's observation that such cloths would be in demand from those returning from India, who would not feel the want until they reached the colder latitudes around the Cape of Good Hope, identifies a particular commercial opportunity. The homeward Indiamen would call at St Helena while the passengers and crew were still in tropical clothing, and the realisation that warmer clothing would be needed for the latter part of the voyage would create a market for woollen cloth at the island. The Company's storehouse, if properly stocked, could supply this need at a profit. The capstan transaction described in paragraph 83 illustrates the informal exchanges that took place between the council and visiting shipmasters. A crab in this context was a small portable capstan used for hauling boats up the beach, with the heavy rope or chain wound around its central drum by men pushing on the capstan bars projecting from its head. Pennill had supplied his own main capstan, that is the larger principal capstan from the Susanna, with ten bars, for use as a beach-hauling crab at the landing. The transaction was left open, with the council unable to agree a price and Pennill content to leave the capstan at the island in exchange for the supply of a similar capstan to him in England. The arrangement transferred the cost of the equipment to the Court's account at India House and avoided a cash settlement at the island. The closing remarks in paragraph 84 set out the council's apology for any expressions that might appear improper, and for any proposals that might appear new. The despatch ran to seventy-eight paragraphs of reply to the Court's general letter of 25 March 1713, and had addressed virtually every aspect of the establishment's administration. The council's careful disclaimer at the end recognised that some of the proposals, including the bank bills, the duty on arrack, the licensing of punch houses, the apothecary establishment, the new fortifications at Rupert's Bay and the irrigation of the valley, would be received at India House as substantial departures from existing practice. The framing of the council's motives as the Court's interest and the common good in view was the standard closing formula by which a colonial administration commended its reform proposals to its superiors. Speculations The proposed licensing reform for the punch houses, with the reduction from eight to three or four establishments, may have been intended to concentrate the legitimate liquor trade in a smaller number of houses where supervision could be effective. The reduction in numbers would also have raised the value of the remaining licences, since fewer establishments competing for the same customer base would yield higher returns to each, and the council might have hoped to charge higher licence fees as a result. The combination of better supervision, higher fees and a smaller manageable number of establishments would have given the council the means to control the social problem without abolishing the trade altogether. The careful arrangement of the capstan transaction with Pennill, with no cash changing hands at the island and the obligation transferred to India House, illustrates the working liquidity constraints under which the council operated. With limited cash on hand and substantial obligations already outstanding, the council preferred to settle large transactions through bills on the Court rather than through immediate payment. The arrangement also gave Pennill an incentive to deal helpfully with the council, since his eventual recovery of the value of the capstan depended on the Court's willingness to honour the arrangement at India House. | |
42 |
To Isaac Pyke Esq[uire] three Bills for 100 [pounds] Sterl[ing] To D[itt]o three D[itt]o more 58:12:00 To Geb[?]: Powell three bills for 82:9:9[?] To D[itt]o three bills more 214:10:0 To Michael Gee three bills for 115:8:0 To Cap[t] Rich[d] Pennill three bills for 618:4:0 To Cha[s]: Steward three bills for 210:14:0 To Hercules Courtney three bills for 28:9:0 1378:6:3[?] We are Hono[urable] S[ir]s Yo[ur] Hon[rs] most Humble & faithfull & most Obed[ient]: Serv[an]ts Isaac Pyke Geo[rge] Hazwell Edw[ar]d Mashborne Matth[ew] Bazett Antipas Tovey Margin Notes: [...] poor but answ[er]ed [...] Bills drawn United Castle S[t] Helena Nov[ember] y[e] 12[th] 1714 [per] Susannah |
Bills drawn To Isaac Pyke, three bills £100 0s 0d sterling To the same, three more £58 12s 0d To Robert Dowell, three bills £82 9s [...] To the same, three more £214 10s 0d To Michael Gee, three bills £116 8s 0d To Captain Richard Pennill, three bills £618 4s 0d To Charles Steward, three bills £210 14s 0d To Hercules Courtney, three bills £28 9s 0d Total £1,378 6s [...] The despatch was dated at United Castle, St Helena, on 12 November 1714, sent by the Susannah. The Council closed as the Court's most humble, faithful and most obedient servants. The signatories were Isaac Pyke, George Howell, Edward Mashbourne, Matthew Bazett and Antipas Tovey. Interpretations A bill of exchange was the standard instrument for moving funds between St Helena and London without shipping coin. The Council drew the bill at the island, the named payee carried or remitted it, and the Court of Directors settled it at India House on presentation. The request that the bills be accepted as drawn was the formal step by which the drawer asked the drawee to acknowledge liability, since a bill carried no value until accepted. The largest single sum, £618 4s 0d to Captain Richard Pennill, corresponds closely to the £612 8s 4d recorded for the arrack, sugar and necessaries bought from him on the arrival of the Susanna on 31 October 1714. The bill to Pennill was therefore the settlement of that purchase, with the small difference perhaps covering further items or freight. The signature read as Matthew Bazett presents a difficulty. The reference records that Bazett left St Helena for England on the Recovery on 28 June 1714, alongside the outgoing Governor Bouchier, yet the name appears among the signatories dated 12 November 1714. The more probable reading is Antipas Tovey, recorded as a member of the new Council, with the four signing councillors being Pyke, Howell, Mashbourne and Tovey. Speculations The deferral of 67 to the next shipping, set against 39 and 34 left only partly answered, suggests the Council triaged the Court's ninety-seven-paragraph letter by the labour each reply demanded. The matters requiring fresh survey or settled accounts were held back, while the more straightforward articles were cleared in this despatch. The clustering of bills in groups of three to each payee points to a deliberate risk measure rather than accounting habit. Drawing each obligation as three separate bills, carried by different conveyances, reduced the chance that a single loss at sea would defeat the whole remittance, a common precaution where months of sailing separated drawer from drawee. | |
43 | Island S[t] Helena List of the Packett[s] sent the Hon[ble] Comp[a] [per] Ship Susanna Cap[t] Rich[d] Pennill Viz[t] No 1. Chaplains Acc[oun]t of Register
| This is the packet list from St Helena, enumerating the documents sent to the Court of Directors by the Susanna under Captain Richard Pennill, the despatch of 12 November 1714. The list set out the contents of the packet sent to the Court by the ship Susanna, Captain Richard Pennill commander.
Interpretations A packet list was the manifest of enclosures accompanying a despatch, by which the Court at India House could check that every promised document had in fact arrived and identify any lost in transit. Numbering each item allowed the recipient to acknowledge receipt precisely and to query gaps, a control especially important where papers crossed months of ocean. Several entries map directly onto matters already before the Council. Item 5, Mr Richard Cleeve the joiner's indent, ties to the dispute over the substandard joist scantling cut for the new storehouse. Item 23, the copy of consultations to 12 November 1714, and item 24, the inventory of the stores, reflect the inventory programme begun because the Company's books at St Helena had not been balanced for the eight years to 1714. The two receipts, item 17 from Henry Macket for the packet carried by the Mercury sloop and item 26 for an earlier packet holding the general letter alone, served as proof of despatch. They closed the chain of custody for documents already sent, allowing the Court to reconcile what had left the island against what reached London. Speculations The placement of the chaplain's register account at item 1, ahead of the slave lists, debt abstract and inventories, suggests the Council wished the demographic finding to be read first. The register recorded 130 deaths to every 100 christenings, and leading with it framed the whole packet around the island's decline rather than its accounts. The inclusion of three copies of Captain Pennill's letters at items 6 to 8, the third carrying the Council's answers, points to the letters forming part of a contested or consequential exchange. The Council seems to have wanted the Court to read both sides of the correspondence in sequence, perhaps because the dealings with Pennill bore on the large bill of £618 4s 0d drawn in his favour. | |
44 | Hon[ble] S[ir]s (D. 1714 [per] Frederick) We wrote to yo[ur] Hon[rs] by the Susanna Cap[t] Rich[d] Pennill Comand[er] dated the 12[th] of the Last month who Saild that Even Copy of which comes herewith since which we have further to Add Viz[t]
He Saild from Fort S[t] George in Comp[a] w[i]th the Somers & Grantham all bound for England but parted w[i]th them in Eleven degrees South Lattitude they designing to touch at Don Mascarine
Margin Notes: Last Lett[er] [per] Susanna [A]cc[oun]t of Shipping Inventory of remaining goods will Shew what's wanting | The despatch addressed the Honourable Court of Directors.
The Duke of Cambridge had sailed from Madras for China. The Hanover for Bengal. The Mercury, separate stock ship, for the West Coast and Batavia. All of these had departed in the month of June. The captain reported that, a month after he sailed, the Joseph, a separate stock ship, was expected at Madras from Mocha, and would then sail for home. The Frederick had sailed from Fort St George in company with the Somers and the Grantham, all bound for England, but had parted from them in eleven degrees south latitude, the two other ships intending to touch at Don Mascarine.
Interpretations A separate stock ship traded on a distinct subscription of capital kept apart from the Company's main joint stock, with its returns accounted to that separate body of subscribers. The repeated labelling of the Mercury and the Joseph as separate stock vessels marks them off from the Company's general trade and signals a different line of accounting at India House. The reporting of shipping movements at Madras and Fort St George served as commercial and naval intelligence for the Court. By noting which ships had sailed, for where, and in what month, the Council passed on the disposition of the Company's Eastern fleet, information bearing on cargoes expected in London and on the safety of vessels still at sea. Woollen goods were English cloth, principally broadcloth and similar fabrics, shipped East as the Company's chief home export to set against the silver and bullion sent out to buy Asian goods. At a southern island of moderate climate they had limited local use, so a surplus in the stores pointed to overstocking against demand rather than to any shortage. Speculations The parting of the Frederick from the Somers and the Grantham at eleven degrees south latitude, with the two others making for Don Mascarine, suggests a deliberate division of the homeward route. The Frederick held a course for St Helena while the others sought the Mascarene refreshment, perhaps to spread the fleet across watering stations rather than crowd a single anchorage. The Council's framing of the inventory as the means by which the Court could judge what was wanting points to a continuing effort to rebuild credibility through documentation. With the books unbalanced for eight years, the stock list was offered as hard evidence of present holdings, the same evidentiary logic that ran through the despatch of 12 November 1714. | |
45 | are extreamly Moth Eaten & some quite Spoiled and we think twould be for yo[ur] Hon[rs] Interest if they were Sold at a Lower rate, and some of them for Less than Prime Cost the first cost being the best and other Sorts are much damnifie[d] and for that reason we shall take upon us to dispose of some, at a Low rate for ready mony or good Creditt but will do it very sparingly & with great Caution till we hear yo[ur] Hono[urs]: Opinions herein.
Margin Notes: Engrossing Land Makes the Loss in habits[?] Consequently Weakens the [Pl]a[ce] Sickly times | The woollen goods were extremely moth-eaten, and some were quite spoiled. The Council judged it would serve the Court's interest if they were sold at a lower rate, and some for less than the prime cost. The first cost being the base measure, and these stocks being much damaged, the Council proposed to dispose of some at a low rate for ready money or good credit. This would be done very sparingly and with great caution, until the Court's opinions on the matter were known.
Interpretations Engrossing was the buying-up of many small holdings into few large estates, here treated as a defence and population problem rather than a purely commercial one. The Council's objection rested on militia logic: a settler with property of his own would fight to keep it, while a dispossessed man or hired hand had no stake worth defending. The argument tied land tenure directly to the island's military strength. Prime cost meant the original purchase price of the goods, the baseline below which a sale recorded a loss. By proposing to sell the spoiled woollens at or under that figure, the Council sought authority to cut its losses on stock decaying in the stores, while signalling caution by waiting on the Court's approval before going far. The naming of Morris, a slave trained in carpentry, marks the value the Company placed on skilled labour within its slave establishment. A trained craftsman represented an investment in instruction as well as purchase, so his expected death was a loss of capacity, not merely of a worker, set against the wider sickness then thinning both new and old slaves. Speculations The cross-reference back to paragraph 48 and forward acknowledgement of paragraph 78 suggests the Frederick despatch was built as a supplement keyed to the larger letter carried by the Susanna on 12 November 1714. The Council appears to have been reinforcing its earlier arguments on engrossing and mortality with fresh evidence, rather than opening new subjects, to press the same reform case twice over. The decision to sell damaged woollens for ready money or good credit, and to do so sparingly until the Court replied, points to a careful balancing of two risks. Holding the stock meant further decay and total loss, while dumping it cheaply meant a recorded shortfall the unbalanced accounts could ill bear, so the Council hedged by disposing of only a little at first. | |
46 | who ought to be According to our Notion then but as one, as to their usefullness yett now they have been both Sick for these three weeks Last & no ways usefull to yo[ur] Hono[urs] or any body Else in the way of Phisicall practice so that now we have ten times more occasion for an Apothecary w[i]th some usefull Comon Medicines than before we pray yo[ur] Hon[rs] to send out for the Generall good & we hope to make some Advantage by those Medicines Sold, at Least as much as will defray the Extra Charge.
4 Masons or Bricklayers four Stone Cutters fou[r] Carpenters & one Boat builder or Ship Carpent[er] to mend our boats of w[ch] we have great need & if yo[ur] Hon[rs]: please to give them encouragem[ent] of 45[s] [per] ann[um] or 3[s] [per] Day finding y[e]r own provisicons for the Reasons that we mentiond in our Said Letter we hope you'l find the Benefitt thereof in the Decreaseing of the Vast expence we are now at & which we cant avoid.
Margin Notes: Doct[ors] Sick Need of an Apothecary Workmen Blacks from Guinea | The two doctors should have answered the island's needs, but one of them was now sick. Both had been unwell for the past three weeks and were of no use to the Court or to anyone else in the practice of medicine. The Council therefore had ten times more need of an apothecary, supplied with some useful common medicines, than before. The Council asked the Court to send one out for the general good. The Council hoped to make some profit from the medicines sold, at least enough to cover the extra charge.
Four masons or bricklayers. Four stone-cutters. Carpenters. One boat-builder or ship's carpenter, to maintain the boats. The Council had great need of these men. If the Court agreed to give them encouragement of £45 0s 0d a year, or 3s a day finding their own provisions, for the reasons set out in the earlier letter, the Council hoped the Court would find the benefit in the decrease of the very great expense the Council was now at, which could not otherwise be avoided.
Interpretations An apothecary prepared and dispensed medicines, a role distinct from the surgeons who handled wounds and operations. With both surgeons sick, the Council had no one to compound drugs, hence the request for an apothecary stocked with common remedies. The proposal that medicine sales should at least cover their cost shows the Company treating even a health provision as a self-funding concern. The wage offer to the artificers, £45 0s 0d a year or 3s a day on their own provisions, repeats the recruitment terms set out in the despatch of 12 November 1714, where direct hire of skilled tradesmen at about £45 a year was argued against the false economy of soldier-craftsmen. The justification by reduced expense restates that earlier case to the Court. The preference for slaves from the Gold Coast or Madagascar over those from Calabar continues the source-diversification argument made in the despatch of 12 November 1714, where the Calabar consignment from the Sitwell had produced unmanageable conduct, suicide and mortality. The Council framed the choice as a practical judgement on serviceability rather than disposition alone. Speculations The precise listing of trades wanted, four masons, four stone-cutters, carpenters and a boat-builder, points to a building programme already mapped out rather than a general shortage of hands. The stone-cutters and masons suit the proposed fortification work, while the ship's carpenter answers the standing need to keep the island's boats in repair, so the request reads as staffing for known projects. The pairing of the apothecary request with the promise of profit suggests the Council was packaging a genuine medical need in fiscal language calculated to appeal to the Court. By showing that the post would pay for itself, the Council made approval easier, the same revenue-minded framing applied earlier to the proposed arrack duty and the retail of medicines. | |
47 | of bringing Blacks from Bengall & if 10 or 12 were Sent in Each Ship to us it would be but a small Charge to yo[ur] Hon[rs] & be fully recompensed by their Service By the two Lists of yo[ur] Slaves here you'l see we have no more out of 121 than 54 usefull persons and yett have work enough to Employ 200 and we begg leave to say wee are very Secure if you had 200 more usefull Slaves it would turne to a good Acc[oun]t and save you a great Expence that we are now obliged to be at.
Margin Notes: Bengal &c[a] 200 wanting [Conc]ern[ed] no Ships touching here [Re]ason for buying [A]rrack & Lowering the price to 7[s] 6[d] Who brung it to 6[s] [per] Gall[on] Private Stores | The Court's returning ships sometimes had the opportunity of bringing slaves from Bengal. If ten or twelve were sent in each ship, the charge to the Court would be small, and it would be fully repaid by their service. From the two lists of the Court's slaves at the island, the Court would see that out of 121 there were no more than 54 fit persons, yet there was work enough to employ 200. The Council therefore asked leave to say it was very confident that 200 more able slaves would turn to good account and save the Court a great part of the expense it was now obliged to bear.
Interpretations The labour calculation, 54 fit persons out of 121 against work enough for 200, set out the Company's slave establishment as a balance sheet of capacity against need. The argument that 200 additional able slaves would save expense restates the request made in the despatch of 12 November 1714, where 200 more were sought, of which 50 might be sold to planters. The order said to have been given at the Cape, directing homeward ships to bypass St Helena, lay behind much of the despatch. The fear of losing the Indian goods normally landed by calling ships explains the urgency of the supply requests, and connects to the rumour spread at the Cape by Captain Brown's people that the island was starving and would be passed by. The pricing of the Court's arrack at 7s 6d a gallon, with a promise to fall to 6s, was a calculated intervention against private competition. By undercutting the traders who had set up a store to sell below the Company, the Council aimed to capture the spirit trade for the Court while suppressing the private dealers, the same fiscal reasoning behind the proposed landed-quantity duty on arrack. Speculations The purchase of arrack from Captain Pennill's ship served a double purpose beyond mere supply. By visibly buying stock as the commodity grew scarce, the Council demonstrated to an anxious population that the island still had credit and access to goods, directly answering the Cape rumour of starvation and abandonment that threatened both morale and order. The pairing of the arrack sale with a ban on extending credit to those deep in debt suggests the Council was using the spirit trade as an instrument of debt discipline. Selling for ready money while refusing further trust to known debtors tied drink supply to repayment behaviour, turning a popular commodity into leverage over the soldiers and planters who owed the stores. | |
48 | because there was a great deal in private hands & the raiseing the Comp[as] Rack to y[e] caused all the rest to goe off at 8[s] so y[e] y[e] Company Sold none unless now and then to those who were Insolvent as we have mentioned more at Large in our Generall Letter [per] y[e] Susannah a Coppy whereof comes herewith.
Margin Notes: Concerning Wine Brandy & Beer Vine Stocks Barracks & Store House | The price of arrack was kept up because a great deal of it remained in private hands. The raising of the Company's price caused all the rest to be sold off at 8s, so that the Company sold none, except now and then to those who were insolvent. The Council had set this out more fully in its general letter sent by the Susannah, a copy of which accompanied the present despatch.
The Council further asked that the ship coming from Madeira might bring some vine stocks to plant at the island, the vineyards then standing being worn out and spent.
Interpretations A pipe was a large cask used chiefly for wine and spirits, holding roughly 105 gallons, so thirty pipes of Madeira and ten of brandy amounted to a substantial consignment. The quoted yields of 4s a gallon for wine and 6s a quart for brandy let the Court weigh the trade as a revenue line, the same accounting logic the Council applied to arrack and medicines. Madeira wine was the fortified wine of the Atlantic island of that name, a standard victualling cargo for ships outward bound because it travelled and kept well at sea. The request for vine stocks to replace the island's worn-out vineyards shows the Council pursuing self-sufficiency in wine alongside imported supply, reducing long-term dependence on the Madeira trade. The timber constraint, a longest length of sixteen feet against the larger spans a store house required, repeats the difficulty set out in the despatch of 12 November 1714, where the Council asked for old ship timber from the English breaker's yards. The decision to build the barracks first, with doors wide enough to store goods, was a practical response to material the Council already held. Speculations The sequencing of barracks before store house suggests the Council was matching its building to the materials in hand rather than to the order of priority. With timber too short for the store house but adequate for soldiers' lodging, the Council built what it could now, while widening the barrack doors so the structures could serve as temporary storage until proper materials arrived. The detailed price yields attached to the wine, brandy and beer point to the Council pitching these imports to the Court as a profitable venture rather than a mere comfort for the garrison. By showing what each commodity would return per gallon or barrel, the Council framed drink supply as a source of revenue, consistent with its broader effort to make every provision pay its own way. | |
49 | In our Indent we have desired great quantities of Timber and Deals we hope they will all be sent us as alsoe what now added to our former it not being too much for the Works You have been pleased to Order and to Supply those People who now greatly wants to repair their Houses & other uses and that we may have a New Crane or Timber to make one or Else the Ship that arrives Next here must be a Long time Unloading Especially if they bring heavy goods. And if your Hono[urs] could send us a quantity of Old Ship Timber too it would be of very great Service here and that with the other Stores mentioned in our Indent would we hope and think Effectually doe our business and Compleat the buildings your Hon[rs] have designd and Ordered.
Margin Notes: Want of Timber &c[a] Ab[ou]t Fanams & their Value They will with- inde[r?] mony be every necessary [1] Reason why mony here is so necessary | In its indent the Council had asked for great quantities of timber and deal boards. The Council hoped these would all be sent, as also whatever was now added to the former indent. This was no more than was needed for the works the Court had been pleased to order, and to supply the people who now greatly wanted to repair their houses and for other uses. The Council also asked for a new crane, or timber to make one, otherwise the next ship to arrive would be a long time unloading, especially if she brought heavy goods. If the Court could send a quantity of old ship timber as well, it would be of very great service. That, together with the other stores set out in the indent, would, the Council hoped, effectively do the business and complete the buildings the Court had designed and ordered.
The Council was inclined to think that, when it had in some measure lessened the soldiers' debt by paying ready money to those who worked in the Court's service, it could in some degree reduce the high prices paid to artificers and labouring people for their work. It was common among the soldiers, and the planters too, to say they worked and sold their goods [...] Interpretations A fanam was a small South Indian coin, here weighed by the Council at 80 to the ounce of silver and reckoned to pass at three of an unrecovered denomination each. The attraction set out was that low-value coin of this kind was less worth carrying off the island than silver money, so it would stay in local circulation and support wage payment rather than drain away. The argument that fanams would resist being exported turns on a standard problem of remote settlements, where higher-value coin tended to leave for places it bought more. By calculating that removing the fanams cost 7s 6d for an ounce of silver, the Council showed the coin was unprofitable to smuggle out, making it a stable medium for local wages. The crane request connects to the want of lifting gear noted in the despatch of 31 July 1714, where a crane at James Castle was already listed among the island's needs. Without it, the slow unloading of heavy goods tied up shipping, so the timber and crane requests were as much about turnaround at the anchorage as about building. Speculations The Council's interest in fanams for wages suggests a deliberate monetary strategy to break the cycle of soldier debt. By paying ready coin that could not easily leave the island, the Council aimed to put cash into circulation, reduce reliance on store credit, and so loosen the debt bondage that had been linked to the intended mutiny. The linkage drawn between paying ready money and later lowering wage rates points to a longer plan to reset the island's labour market. The Council seems to have judged that clearing the soldiers' debts first would remove the leverage by which artificers and planters held out for high prices, allowing the Company eventually to drive wages down once dependence on credit was broken. | |
50 | goods for paper & Iron Victualls Loss w[ch] they have no true notion that they all reap the benefitt and therefore they never think they have Enough. Besides all this the Prizes of provissions are so enhabled that Blacks can gett Victualls for his pay for not haveing ready mony to buy of the planters who trust them, exact unreasonable Prizes so if a Sold[ier] cont produce a planter so much Creditt he can have no Yamms to Eatt and this would be Effectually Cured by trusting Less as we have resolved to do tho unless we can have mony to pass for small matters we shall find it Difficult.
Margin Notes: [Conc]ern[ing] Ruports [Fort?] another view thereof | The soldiers and planters reckoned that they sold their goods for paper and iron tickets, having no true notion that they paid for the benefit they received. They therefore never thought they had enough. Besides, the price of provisions was so enhanced that a soldier could get food for his pay only by going to those planters who trusted them and charged unreasonable prices. If a soldier could not give a planter so much credit, he could have no yams to eat. This would be effectively cured by an end to such trusting, as the Council had resolved to do. Yet unless the Council could have a quantity of coin to pass for small matters, it would find this difficult.
Interpretations Paper and iron tickets were tokens of account used in place of coin, by which a soldier's pay and a planter's sales were recorded as credit rather than settled in cash. The Council's complaint was that this system obscured real value, so the men never grasped what they truly earned or owed, fuelling both discontent and the spiralling debt that underlay the intended mutiny. The fortification assessment of Rupert's Bay continues the strategic argument of the despatch of 12 November 1714, where the old line was judged indefensible and a new castle proposed at the east point. The fresh element here is the use of Captain Phrip's independent inspection, adding another expert voice to the consensus the Council was assembling for the Court. The tactical danger described turned on the bay lying beyond the reach of the existing guns. A hostile ship flying friendly colours could anchor safely, land men at will, and face no opposition, exposing the weakness that made the proposed platform and redoubt necessary. The point recalls the criticism of Bouchier's handling of the three French ships in the summer of 1714. Speculations The Council's insistence that ending credit required a supply of small coin points to a recognition that abolishing trust alone would not work. Without ready money for everyday purchases, soldiers cut off from planter credit would simply go hungry, so the monetary reform and the debt reform had to advance together, the fanams scheme supplying the missing means of small payment. The reliance on Captain Phrip's survey, following earlier consultation of Captain Pennill and other Indiamen commanders, suggests the Council was deliberately building a documented chain of expert endorsement for the Rupert's Bay works. By having each visiting captain inspect and approve the same scheme, the Council made it harder for the Court to dismiss the fortification proposal as merely the local administration's preference. | |
51 | the Cod of the Bay will Effectually hinder any Shipps from Anchoring there & any boats from Landing and we have also Carried Cap[t] Phripp w[i]th us to a small plantation Occupied at present by one Norman were Shewed him a Large quantity of water that Springs out of the Side of a Mountain & alsoe a Waterfall from whence a good Stream may be Conveyed over y[e] Saddle of that Mountain that Seperates Ruports Valley from Chapple Valley w[ch] will sufficiently Water the whole place Called Ruports Valley where there is 200 Acres of good Soil & nothing but Water wanting to make it fruitfull
Margin Notes: A way of improv- ing Ruports Valley Clay of Sundry Sorts Sent now M[r] Jn[o] Keeling &c[a] | A redoubt at the head of the bay would effectively prevent any ships from anchoring there and any boats from landing. The Council had also taken Captain Phrip to a small plantation at present occupied by one Norman. There he was shown a large quantity of water springing out of the side of a mountain, and also a waterfall. From there a good stream might be carried over the saddle of the mountain that separated Rupert's Valley from Chapel Valley. This would sufficiently water the whole of the place called Rupert's Valley, where there were 200 acres of good soil, with nothing but water wanting to make it fruitful.
Interpretations The irrigation scheme described continues the proposal in the despatch of 12 November 1714 to carry water from a cascade over the ridge of the Haunt Path to the dry plateau of Rupert's Valley, opening 200 acres of plantable ground. The fresh survey with Captain Phrip, at Norman's plantation, supplied the source of supply, a mountain spring and waterfall above Chapel Valley. The clay specimens sent for testing reflect a search for local building materials to reduce dependence on shipped supplies. The Governor's failed bricks, handsome but crumbling, pointed to a defect of method rather than material, since the earth resembled English brick clay, hence the request for both an expert assessment and a skilled brick-maker to be sent out. A redoubt was a small enclosed defensive earthwork or fieldwork, here proposed at the head of Rupert's Bay to bar boats from landing while the larger platform commanded the anchorage. Paired together, the two works formed a layered defence answering the weakness that ships could otherwise anchor and land men beyond the reach of the existing forts. Speculations The combined survey of water and defence at Rupert's suggests the Council was presenting the valley as a single integrated project rather than two separate requests. By showing the same ground could be both fortified and irrigated to yield 200 acres, the Council framed the expense as a dual return in security and food production, making approval more attractive to a cost-conscious Court. The careful packaging and labelling of the clay box, with Captain Phrip charged to deliver it safely, indicates the Council was building an evidence-based case for local manufacture. Rather than merely asserting that bricks could be made, it submitted physical samples for expert trial in London, the same documentary method applied to its accounts and inventories to win the Court's confidence. | |
52 | Keeling to take his passage hither his business here was to Demand his patrimony of M[r] Carne his Father in Law who possest some Land belonging to him and who had 327[?] of the Childrens Estate upon Bond w[ch] he took up of the then Govern[r] & Council ab[ou]t Seaven Years agoe & that M[r] Keeling has demanded of us we alsoe have called it in & demanded it of M[r] Carne who besides that is Indebted to yo[ur] Hon[rs] for Stores 316[?] but we shall have a great deal of Trouble to gett this mony in tho he is able to pay it enough And fear we shall be obleidged at Last to Distrain on his Cattle & to take it by force He has made severall proposals to us & some of them very fair but has not Complyed w[i]th half of them and his proposalls were as follows viz[t] that he would send 8 black Slaves to work at 18[d] [per] day till his debt was discharged but that we positively Refused them he desired 3 months time & he would Pay the whole w[ch] we accepted then in the mean time told ab[ou]t the Countrey that we wanted breeding Cattle to raise a new Stock but should have none of him he thought the Comp[a] ought to buy their provisions of the planters as they did in Govern[r] Bouchers time but as to breeding up a Stock to Supply shipping as had been done formerly thought it was against the planters Interest & therefore he was resolved not to spare us so much as a goat w[i]th kid or a breeding Henn upon this the Govern[r] sent to him to Lett him know how Ill this bad disposicion became him and Margin Notes: Concerning M[r] Carne His proposals | Mr Keeling took his passage to the island. His business there was to demand his patrimony from Mr Carne, his father-in-law, who held some land belonging to him. Mr Carne had also taken £371 0s 0d of the children's estate on bond, which he had received from the then Governor and Council about seven years earlier. Mr Keeling had demanded this sum from the Council, and the Council had in turn called it in from Mr Carne, who besides this was indebted to the Court for stores in the sum of £316 0s 0d. The Council expected a great deal of trouble in getting this money, for though Mr Carne was able to pay, it feared it would be obliged at last to seize his cattle and take it by force. Mr Carne had made several proposals, some of them very fair, but the Council had not agreed to half of them. His proposals were as follows: that he would send eight slaves to work at 18d a day until his debt was discharged, which the Council positively refused; and that he desired three months' time, in which he would pay the whole, which the Council accepted. In the meantime Mr Carne told people about the country that the Council wanted breeding cattle to raise a new stock, but should have none from him. He thought the Company ought to buy its provisions from the planters, as it had done in Governor Bouchier's time. As for breeding up a stock to supply shipping, as had formerly been done, he thought it against the planters' interest. He was therefore resolved not to spare the Council so much as a goat with kid, or a breeding hen. Upon this the Governor sent to him to let him know how ill his disposition appeared, and [...] Interpretations Patrimony here meant the inheritance due to Mr Keeling, the property and money settled on him that his father-in-law Mr Carne was holding. The dispute turned on Carne having absorbed £371 0s 0d of the children's estate on bond, mixing a private family inheritance with a debt the Company now sought to recover on Keeling's behalf. A bond was a sealed written obligation to repay a stated sum, enforceable at law, by which Carne had taken the children's money about seven years earlier. Its existence gave the Council a legal instrument to call in the debt, while distraint, the seizure of his cattle, stood as the ultimate means of enforcement if he would not pay. Carne's refusal to supply breeding cattle, a goat with kid or a breeding hen exposed a conflict between Company and planter interests over provisioning. The planters profited by selling provisions to the Company, as under Governor Bouchier, and resisted the Council's plan to breed its own stock, which would end that trade. This connects to the cattle account taken in person by the Governor and Captain Mashbourne after John Floud's removal. Speculations The Council's rejection of Carne's offer of eight slaves at 18d a day, in favour of a three-month cash settlement, suggests it wanted recovery in money rather than labour it could not easily value or control. Slave work credited against a debt would have re-entangled the accounts in the very kind of in-kind reckoning the Council was trying to replace with clear monetary settlement. Carne's open campaign to deny the Company breeding stock hints at organised planter resistance to the new self-sufficiency policy. By spreading word about the country and refusing even a single hen, he seems to have been rallying fellow planters to protect their provisioning trade, which the Council's plan to raise its own herds and flocks directly threatened. | |
53 | and then told him he must Expect to pay all the mony at the time he had Appointed with which we would buy Cattle to Stock yo[ur] plantation from other people. Then he made a new Proposall that he would discharge the Hon[ble] Comp[a] from Keelings bond by giveing M[r] Keeling other Security that he would pay us the Book Debt of 316[?] in plate that we approved off & agreed too. At the Expiration of his 3 Months we Demanded the debt again then he said he could not pay M[r] Keeling and desired us to give bills to England on the Hon[ble] Comp[a] for that money and that he would pay us 200[?] by Land w[ch] adjoyned to the Hon[ble] Company 50[?]: in goates 110[?] by good Creditt or mony 80[?] by plate 90[?] by 3 Slaves viz[t] two men and one woman w[i]th two Children ( w[ch] we count as good as one man ) 60[?] that he would pay M[r] Keeling in mony & 21[?] in breeding Cattle this proposall we agreed to & to doe all w[ch] & to apprise Vallue & Deliver them we allowed him a months time and at the Expiration of that Month sent Cap[t] Haswell & M[r] Bazett & M[r] Bazett into the Countrey to receive what he was to deliver in the Countrey he did deliver up the Land before mentioned Containing 30 Acres w[ch] was Vallued at 150[?] he to put yo[ur] fences in repair and Six Young Cattle at 36[?] but told them as to Goates he could not Spoile his Stock besides a great many of them were w[i]th Kidd & those he would not Sell but for a greater Price Cap[t] Haswell telling him that I expected breeding Goates to raise Margin Notes: M[r] Carne 2[d] prop[osa]l 3[d] prop[osa]l | The Governor then told Mr Carne he must expect to pay all the money at the time he had appointed, with which the Council would buy cattle to stock the Court's plantation from other people. Mr Carne then made a new proposal. He would discharge the Company from Keeling's bond by giving Mr Keeling other security, and would pay the Council the book debt of £316 0s 0d in plate. The Council approved this, and agreed to it too. At the expiry of his three months the Council demanded the debt again. Mr Carne then said he could not pay Mr Keeling, and asked the Council to give him bills on England drawn on the Company for that money. He proposed to pay the Council £200 0s 0d by land adjoining the Company's ground; £56 0s 0d in goats; £110 0s 0d by good credit, or £80 0s 0d in plate; £90 0s 0d by three slaves, namely two men and one woman, with two children, whom he counted as good as one man, at £60 0s 0d; and to pay Mr Keeling in money, with £21 0s 0d in breeding cattle. The Council agreed to this proposal and to do all accordingly. To appraise, value and deliver the goods, the Council allowed Mr Carne a month's time. At the expiry of that month it sent Captain Haswell and Mr Bazett into the country to receive what he was to deliver. Mr Carne did give up the land mentioned earlier, containing 30 acres, which was valued at £150 0s 0d. He was to put the fences in repair and to deliver six young cattle at £36 0s 0d. But he told them that, as to goats, he could not spoil his stock, that a great many of them were with kid, and that he would not sell these except for a greater price. Captain Haswell told him that the Council expected breeding goats to raise [...] Interpretations Plate meant wrought silver, valued by weight, used here as a store of value to settle a debt where coin was scarce. Carne's offer to pay £316 0s 0d in plate, and later part of a larger sum the same way, shows how a remote settlement substituted precious metal goods for ready money in clearing large obligations. The composite settlement Carne proposed, land, goats, credit, plate, slaves and breeding cattle, illustrates payment in kind across mixed assets when cash was unavailable. The Council's task was to convert this miscellany into recoverable value, hence the appraisal process by which Captain Haswell and Mr Bazett went out to assess and receive each item against an agreed valuation. The dispatch of Captain Haswell and Mr Bazett to value and take delivery was the enforcement stage of the agreement, converting promise into recovered assets. Their valuation of the 30 acres at £150 0s 0d, the six young cattle at £36 0s 0d and the rest fixed the terms precisely, leaving Carne's refusal over the breeding goats as the point of fresh dispute. Speculations Carne's repeated reshaping of the settlement, from a clean cash payment to an ever more complex bundle of land, livestock and silver, suggests a deliberate strategy to delay and to part with as little ready money as possible. Each new proposal shifted the burden onto assets he valued less, while the bills on England he sought would have transferred the cash risk back to the Company. The clash over breeding goats touches the same conflict running through the Carne affair: the planters' wish to keep their breeding stock against the Company's drive for self-sufficiency. By holding back goats with kid and demanding a higher price, Carne protected his own herd's future increase, the very breeding capacity the Council needed to stock the Court's plantation. | |
54 | raise a Stock he said that in his proposalls he had not mentioned w[ith] Goats & therefore was und[er] no Obligation to deliver such as I Expected but the Slaves he would deliver & did so we have now pritty near secured the Hon[ble] Comp[as] Debt, But the Orphans Debt we cant gett gett in he desires now to keep that money paying Interest for it w[ch] we have utterly refused.
And M[r] Carne had formerly three Bengall Goats Margin Notes: Concerning the Carnes Goats Of the range of this Valley | Mr Carne said that in his proposals he had not mentioned goats, and that he was therefore under no obligation to deliver any, as the Council had expected. The slaves, however, he would deliver, and did so. The Council had now pretty nearly secured the Company's debt. The orphans' debt it could not yet recover, for Mr Carne wished to keep that money and pay interest on it, which the Council had utterly refused.
Mr Carne had formerly three Bengal goats [...] Interpretations A range was the tract of grazing land assigned to a flock or herd, here treated almost as a property right attached to a particular site. The Council's claim rested on the Chapel Valley range having been the Company's since Governor Blackmore's time, when the government bought the flock from his heirs to secure sole use of the ground. The orphans' debt names money owed to minors whose estate the Company held in trust, distinct from ordinary commercial debt. Carne's wish to retain it and pay interest, rather than repay the principal, shows him treating a trust obligation as a loan he could profit from holding. The Council refused, since the children's capital was not his to borrow. The dispute over the Chapel Valley flock continues the wider provisioning conflict in the Carne affair. The Council wanted the goats nearest the fort for convenience and to revive a Company stock fallen to nothing through neglect, while Carne resisted parting with breeding animals, protecting the grazing advantage he had gained on Company land. Speculations Carne's defence that goats were never named in his proposals reads as a careful legal stand rather than plain refusal. By confining his obligation strictly to the written terms, he gave up the slaves he had promised while keeping the breeding flock he valued, conceding the letter of the deal to hold its most useful part. The Governor's appeal to the Blackmore precedent suggests the Council was assembling a documented claim to the Chapel Valley range rather than relying on present convenience alone. By tracing the Company's title back to an earlier purchase from Blackmore's heirs, the Council framed Carne's flocks as occupying ground that was rightfully the Court's, strengthening its case to take the flock. | |
55 | given him out of the Shipping w[ch] he put to graze among the Hon[ble] Comp[as] goates and by his takeing a great Deal of Care of them they have encreaced as the Hon[ble] Comp[a] have been Lessend and are now become a good Flock But now he does Insist on it as his Right exclusive of the Comp[a] Wherefore the Govern[r] has resolved if M[r] Carne will not Sell them to have them Drove from that Range, to one of his other Flocks & to procure Goates other parts of the Island to graze there w[ch] we think very proper or else by this Example the Hon[ble] Comp[a] may be Excluded from the Great Wood or any other place were the Planters Cattle have been permitted to feed this is the State of y[e] Case at present with M[r] Carne with whom I find we are likely to have a great Deal of trouble Especially if he be Suffered to goe on in his own way but yett we hope to bring him to reason by the Arrivall of another Ship that Govern[r] Keelings Orphans may have Justice done them And not be detained on his Acc[oun]t in this place.
Margin Notes: Bills drawn | The three Bengal goats had been given to Mr Carne out of the shipping, and he put them to graze among the Company's goats. By taking a great deal of care of them, the flock had increased, as the Company's own goats had been lost. The flock had now become a good one, but Mr Carne insisted on it as his right, exclusive of the Company. The Governor had therefore resolved that, if Mr Carne would not sell the goats, they should be driven from that range to one of his other flocks. The Company would then procure goats from other parts of the island to graze there instead. The Governor thought this very proper. Otherwise, by Carne's example, the Company might find itself shut out of the Great Wood, or any other place where the planters' cattle had been allowed to feed. This was the present state of the case with Mr Carne, with whom the Council expected a great deal of trouble, especially if he were allowed to go on in his own way. The Council still hoped to bring him to reason by the arrival of another ship. It hoped too that Governor Keeling's orphans might have justice done them, and that their due would not be withheld on Carne's account at the island.
Interpretations The dispute over the three Bengal goats turned on the difference between custody and ownership. Carne had received Company animals to graze, tended them well, and now claimed the increased flock as his own. The Council saw this as a precedent that could let planters convert Company stock and grazing rights into private property merely by keeping them. The Governor's fear of being shut out of the Great Wood shows the wider stake behind the goat quarrel. The Great Wood was identified in the despatch of 12 November 1714 as both a timber source and the strategic high ground above Rupert's Bay. If planters' grazing claims hardened into exclusive right, the Company risked losing access to ground it needed for defence and supply. A bill of exchange payable to a named person or order could be transferred onward by his endorsement, settling Captain Phrip's account at India House without shipping coin. Drawing it in three copies repeated the precaution used in the despatch of 12 November 1714, spreading the risk that a single bill might be lost at sea before reaching London. Speculations The Governor's plan to drive out Carne's goats and restock the range from elsewhere reads as a calculated move to reset the legal position rather than win a single flock. By removing Carne's animals and grazing Company goats in their place, the Council would re-establish the range as the Court's, denying the precedent that long use created private right. The Council's repeated hope to bring Carne to reason by the arrival of another ship suggests it was relying on outside authority to break a local deadlock. A fresh ship meant fresh orders, fresh credit and witnesses from beyond the island, strengthening the Council's hand against a wealthy planter who could otherwise outlast a thinly manned administration. | |
56 | alsoe three Bills of Exchange payable to Edward Byfeld or Ord[er] for the summ of Eight pound for Sallary Due to him in yo[ur] Hon[rs] Books here w[ch] Desire may be Like- wise Accepted. We are Hon[ble] S[ir]s Yo[ur] Hon[rs] most humble Faithfull & most Obed[ient] Serv[an]ts Isaac Pyke George Haswell Edw[ar]d Mashborne Matth[ew] Bazett Antipas Tovey Island S[t] Helena List of the Packett[s] sent the Hon[ble] Comp[a] [per] Ship Frederick Cap[t]: Rich[d] Phrippe No 1. Chaplins Acc[oun]t of Register[s]
Margin Notes: United Castle S[t] Helena Decemb[er] y[e] 8[th] 1714 [per] Ship Frederick | The Council had also drawn three bills of exchange payable to Edward Byfield or order, for the sum of £8 0s 0d. This was for salary due to him in the Court's books at the island. The Council asked that these bills too be accepted. The despatch was dated at United Castle, St Helena, on 8 December 1714, sent by the ship Frederick. The Council closed as the Court's most humble, faithful and most obedient servants. The signatories were Isaac Pyke, George Haswell, Edward Mashborne, Matthew Bazett and Antipas Tovey. The packet sent to the Court by the ship Frederick, Captain Richard Phrip commander, contained the following:
Interpretations The dating of the Frederick despatch to 8 December 1714 places it about a month after the Susanna letter of 12 November 1714, which it was sent to supplement. It carried the matters that had arisen since, chiefly the news brought by Captain Phrip and the running quarrel with Mr Carne. The signatory list repeats the difficulty noted earlier. Matthew Bazett appears among the five names, yet the reference records his departure for England on the Recovery on 28 June 1714. The more probable reading is that the four serving councillors with the Governor were Pyke, Haswell, Mashbourne and Tovey, the fifth subscription being doubtful. A packet list served as the manifest of enclosures, by which the Court at India House could check that every promised document had arrived and identify any lost in transit. Several entries here repeat those sent by the Susanna, the duplication being deliberate insurance against loss on the longer route home. Speculations The decision to send duplicate copies of the chaplain's register, the slave lists and the debt abstract by the Frederick, having already despatched them by the Susanna, points to a calculated redundancy. With homeward ships at risk and the Council's credibility resting on these papers reaching London, sending the same evidence by two vessels improved the odds that at least one set would arrive. The small bill of £8 0s 0d for Edward Byfield's salary, drawn in three copies like the larger sums, shows the Council applying the same careful instrument to a minor payment as to major ones. Even a modest salary was settled through formal bills on the Court rather than local cash, reflecting how little ready coin circulated at the island. | |
57 |
|
Interpretations This list is the Frederick's packet manifest, the companion to the shorter list sent earlier by the Susanna. Many items repeat documents already despatched, the duplication serving as insurance against loss on the homeward passage. Item 30, the memorandum about the clay sent, ties directly to the box of clay samples forwarded with Captain Phrip for trial by a London brick-maker. Item 18, Henry Macket's Guinea account from 8 July 1714, records the slave cargo brought by the Mercury sloop from Guinea, the consignment from which unsound captives were returned to the master and the remainder sold to planters who shortly died. Its inclusion gave the Court the financial reckoning behind that troubled delivery. | |
58 | Hon[ble] S[ir]s (1714/15 [per] Aurengzebe)
Margin Notes: Last [per] Cap[t] Phrip Acc[oun]t of Shipping Concern[in]g y[e] want of Artificers | The despatch addressed the Honourable Court of Directors, dated 1714/15 and sent by the Aurangzeb.
Interpretations The Council's reporting of fleet movements at Bengal, Surat, Madras and Bombay served as commercial and naval intelligence for the Court. Each arriving captain became a source, and the Council relayed which ships were homeward bound, by what route, and with what freight. This let the Court anticipate cargoes due in London and judge the safety of vessels still at sea. The note that Captain Godfrey and his chief mate Mr Thaxton had died before their ship reached port records the heavy mortality of the Eastern trade. A ship could lose its master and senior officer on passage, and such losses bore directly on the Company's command of its vessels, so the Council passed the news on as a matter of practical concern. The report of a French ship at Pondicherry, having touched at Johanna, carried a strategic edge beyond mere shipping news. Pondicherry was the chief French settlement on the Coromandel coast, and French movements in the Indian Ocean mattered to a Company guarding its trade. The detail connects to the Council's continuing wariness of French vessels in these waters. | |
59 | we hope you'l excuse our being so urgent to repeat the same request again and we desire you'd please to send us 4 Stone Cutters four Bricklayers 4 Carpenters & four or Six Gardiners whom if we had the whole Valley where the Fort stands will be fruitfull it being Easie to Over flow it all w[i]th water & we want only a few good hands to Employ in the planting of it w[ch] greens[?] w[ch] would be of Service to your Shipping we have made a very Large Indent to yo[ur] Hon[rs] by those Shipps a Coppy whereof Comes now of the Stores wanted here w[ch] would all be of great use to us & some of them bring good proffitt to yo[ur] Hon[rs] alsoe as to the boards and Timber they are now Extreamly wanted and we are much Importuned by the people to spare them for necessary repairs of their houses w[ch] as yet we cannot doe unless your Hon[rs] will please to send us those quantities wrote for.
Margin Notes: & Improving this Valley Of the Indent now Sent More Blacks wanted Blacks dead Since Last List Best to Send some from Bengall | The Council hoped the Court would excuse its being so urgent as to repeat the same request again. The Council asked the Court to send four stone-cutters, four bricklayers, four carpenters and four or six gardeners. With these men, and the whole of the valley where the fort stood, the ground would be fruitful, since it was easy to water it all. The Council wanted only a few good hands to plant it with greens, which would serve the Court's shipping. The Council had made a very large indent to the Court by those ships. A copy of it now accompanied the present despatch, listing the stores wanting at the island. These would all be of great use, and some of them would bring good profit to the Court. As to boards and timber, these were now extremely wanted. The people pressed the Council hard to spare them some for necessary repairs of their houses, which it could not yet do unless the Court would send the quantities written for.
When a ship came from England, the Council hoped that, besides the artificers mentioned earlier, [...] Interpretations The renewed request for two hundred slaves repeats the figure set out in the despatch of 12 November 1714, where the same number was sought. The fresh justification is mortality: eighteen of those listed by the Susanna had since died, with four more failing. The Council pressed Bengal as the cheaper source, continuing the diversification away from Guinea and Calabar. The gardeners sought alongside the building tradesmen reflect the dual purpose of the Rupert's Valley scheme, which combined fortification with cultivation. Watering the valley and planting it with greens would supply the Court's ships with fresh provisions, the standard service St Helena performed for the homeward fleet. Labour for planting was therefore as strategic as labour for building. The pressure from the islanders for boards and timber to repair their houses shows the Council caught between the Court's building programme and the settlers' own needs. It could release no materials until the Court sent the quantities requested, so the indent for timber answered both the official works and the private demand that bore on the Council's standing with the people. | |
60 | that yo[ur] Hon[rs] will please to Send us a bigger number of Soldiers the Garrison being now much Less than formerly for when Soldiers Doe come Here for five years they usually are decreased to half their Number before that time is Expired and those who Live out their time if they are good for any thing Doe comonly gett into plantations or Else goe off where they can have a better prospect of getting money w[ch] makes us in great want of good recruites here.
Margin Notes: Soldiers wanted &c[a] why The advantage of haveing mony here & the Value to be Increased M[r] Carnes affairs Settled &c[a] Bills drawn for M[r] Keelings | The Council hoped the Court would send a larger number of soldiers, the garrison being now much smaller than formerly. When soldiers came to the island for five years, their number was usually reduced to half before that time expired. Those who lived out their term, if they were good for anything, commonly got into plantations or else left for places where they had a better prospect of earning money. This kept the Council in great want of good recruits.
Interpretations The pattern of garrison loss explains the Council's standing demand for recruits. Disease and desertion cut the soldiers to half their number within five years, while survivors fit for work drifted into planting or left for better wages. The garrison thus drained away by both death and opportunity, leaving the island chronically short of defenders. The preference for fanams and farthings rests on a deliberate monetary calculation. Coin of low value was not worth carrying off the island, so it would stay in circulation and serve everyday change. The Council saw this stable small currency as the means to end credit-trusting in the stores and to drive down the inflated price of labour. The Carne settlement closes the long dispute traced through the earlier despatches. The debt was cleared in cattle, goats, slaves and plate, all but about £100 0s 0d deferred a year. To meet the orphans' money tied up in that deferred sum, the Council drew bills on the Court, converting a frozen local debt into a claim payable in London. Speculations The Council's drawing of bills to cover the orphans' money, rather than waiting on Carne's deferred payment, suggests it was determined to separate the children's trust from the planter's credit. By making the orphans whole through the Court while Carne still owed the balance, the Council protected the trust from the risk that a wealthy debtor might delay or default. | |
61 |
Margin Notes: Concerning W[illia]m Pedro[?] The Ship Jason |
Interpretations The Bevis trial shows the Council exercising criminal jurisdiction through a jury drawn in equal parts from ship, garrison and planters. The balanced composition gave the verdict standing across the island's three constituencies, while the public sessions and the recorded confession lent the proceeding the form of due process. The £10 0s 0d fine settled the matter without detaining the Aurangzeb. The theft of Grace Coulson's slave woman threatened more than one widow's property. The Council feared a general outcry among the planters, for whom slaves were the chief form of wealth and labour. Securing the offender and certifying that the captain knew nothing protected both the planters' confidence and the ship's clearance, hence the speed of the trial. The French ship Jason presented a delicate problem of neutrality after the Treaty of Utrecht. A former man of war now licensed by the French King to trade, she demanded provisions in his name. The Council's reluctance reflected both scarce supplies and the memory of past French hostility, recalling the wariness shown over French vessels at Rupert's Bay in the summer of 1714. Speculations The Council's insistence that Captain Lahore certify his ignorance of the theft suggests it wanted the record to fix blame on the individual, not the ship. By documenting the commander's innocence and his prompt co-operation, the Council preserved good relations with a Company vessel while still punishing the offender, separating personal crime from the ship's account. The granting of Bevis's odd request to seat the ship's carpenter on his jury, though judged improper, hints at a calculated fairness. By allowing the accused a small concession of his own choosing, the Council removed any later complaint that the trial had been rigged, strengthening the legitimacy of a verdict reached on plain evidence and confession. | |
62 | English Ships to goe without Whereupon the Govern[r] caused an Order to be published forbiding any beef to be killed or Sent off of the Island to any Foreigne Ship but allowed the French to buy fifty Goates and what Hoggs Fowles or Eggs they would.
Margin Notes: Allowed them refreshm[en]ts for their Sick &c[a] 2 Ships past by Ans[wer] w[i]th Tovey[?] Case[?] More hands & goods Especially Pumps | The Council would not let the French have provisions unless the English ships were left to go without. The Governor therefore caused an order to be published, forbidding any beef to be killed or sent off the island to any foreign ship. The French were allowed to buy fifty goats, together with whatever hogs, fowls or eggs they wished.
Interpretations The order forbidding beef to leave the island for any foreign ship shows provisioning treated as an instrument of policy rather than ordinary trade. By denying the French cattle while allowing fifty goats and lesser stock, the Council rationed a strategic resource, protecting supply for English shipping while granting just enough to avoid open friction with a foreign crew. The restrictions placed on the French crew reveal a careful management of a security risk. Limiting men ashore, barring entry into the country, and above all forbidding their sounding about the island were measures against espionage. Sounding meant charting the depths and approaches of the anchorages, knowledge that could serve a future attack, which made it the most sensitive of the prohibitions given the recent war. Long cloth was a plain cotton fabric woven in long pieces on the Coromandel coast, a staple of the Madras trade and a principal Indian export of the Company. Its arrival from Governor Harrison's Council at Madras shows St Helena receiving Eastern goods overland through the Company's network, both for local use and as stock to be accounted at the island. Speculations The provision of a fisherman to the French, set against the ban on their own men fishing, reads as a device to meet a reasonable need while closing a loophole. Fishing would have given the crew a pretext to range the coast and sound its waters, so supplying a Company fisherman fed them without letting them survey the island's defences. The supposition that the two ships passing on 27 December were the Somers and the Grantham connects to the earlier report that those vessels had parted from the Frederick to touch at Don Mascarine. Their passing without calling suggests they kept to that separate course, which would explain why the Council could only watch them go by rather than receive them. | |
63 | of Sugar and three Leagors of Arrack the Long Cloth Came well and is good in its kind & will be usefull for the Soldiers Shirteing &c[a] and for the meaner sort of Planters but we have some people here that would be willing to purchase a finer Sort of Linnen wherefore if yo[ur] Hon[rs] would please to Order us some such we are assured it would turn to good Accompt & be acceptable in this place & alsoe two or three bales of Madrass Chintz not of the finest Sort but such as Cost there from forty to fifty pagodoes [per] Corge w[ch] would sell well here and turn to good Acc[oun]t the Sugar & the Arrack came safe here & are both very good in their kinds.
Margin Notes: The goods rec[eive]d from Madrass New boate Exchange 1[st] Bill The Bills now Drawn | The Aurangzeb had also brought sugar and three leaguers of arrack. The long cloth came in good condition and was good of its kind. It would be useful for the soldiers' shirting and for the meaner sort of planters. Some people at the island, however, would be willing to buy a finer sort of linen. If the Court would order some of that kind, the Council was sure it would turn to good account and be acceptable. Two or three bales of Madras chintz would also be welcome, not of the finest sort, but such as cost from forty to fifty pagodas the corge. These would sell well at the island and turn to good account. The sugar and the arrack came safe and were both very good of their kinds.
Interpretations Chintz was a printed or painted cotton cloth from India, its colourful patterns highly prized in Europe and a leading article of the Company's trade. The reference to grades costing forty to fifty pagodas the corge shows the Council ordering a middling quality for local sale, judging the island market for a finer fabric than the plain long cloth issued to soldiers. A corge was a standard trade unit of twenty pieces, used across the Indian textile trade for counting cloth in bulk. Pricing chintz at forty to fifty pagodas the corge let the Council convey the grade precisely to the Court, the pagoda being the gold coin of the Coromandel coast in which such Madras goods were reckoned. A leaguer was a large cask, the biggest of the standard liquid measures, so three leaguers of arrack represented a substantial consignment of the spirit the Council was pricing and regulating across the island. Its safe arrival in good condition mattered directly to the revenue scheme built on controlling the arrack trade. The recurring plea for a crane shows a single broken fixture shaping the island's whole capacity to trade. Without working lifting gear the Council could not land heavy cargo, so a ship might be delayed or its goods spoiled. The repeated request, first raised in the despatch of 31 July 1714, marks how a remote settlement depended on materials only the Court could supply. Speculations The Council's distinction between cloth for soldiers and a finer linen for paying customers points to a deliberate reading of the local market. By ordering both the plain issue cloth and a better grade for those able to buy, the Council aimed to serve the garrison's needs and to generate retail profit from the wealthier planters in the same shipment. | |
64 |
To M[r] Edward Lucas or Order three Bills Dated February the 2 1714/15 for the Sum of one hundred and twelve pounds nine Shillings Sterling. To M[r] Richard Thelwall or Ord[er] 4 bills Dated as above for the Sum of Twelve pounds four Shillings Sterling. We are Hon[ble] S[ir]s Yo[ur] Hon[rs] most hum[ble] faithfull & most Obedient Serv[an]ts Js[?] Pyke G[eorge] Haswell E[dward] Mashborne M[atthew] Bazett A[ntipas] Tovey Margin Notes: United Castle S[t] Helena Feb[ruar]y y[e] 8 1714/15 [per] Ship Aurengzeb |
Three bills of exchange, dated the 2nd of February 1715 £388 5s 0d sterling To Mr Edward Lucas or order: Three bills, dated 2 February 1715 £112 9s 0d sterling To Mr Richard Walwall or order: Four bills, dated as above £12 4s 0d sterling The despatch was dated at United Castle, St Helena, on 8 February 1715, and sent by the Aurangzeb, Captain Phrip. The Council closed as the Court's most humble, faithful and most obedient servants. The signatories were Isaac Pyke, George Haswell, Edward Mashborne, Matthew Bazett and Antipas Tovey. Interpretations The bills to John and Eleanor Keeling settled the long Carne affair by paying the heirs directly. The orphans' inheritance had been tied up in the money lent to Mr Carne at interest in Governor Coiner's time. That sum was now converted into bills on the Court, drawn just as the two heirs took ship for England. The timing let them carry their own claim home for payment at India House. The drawing of each obligation in several bills, three to most payees and four to Walwall, repeated the precaution used throughout these despatches. Copies sent by different conveyances guarded against loss at sea. Any one accepted bill discharged the debt, while the others became void. The method secured remittance across months of dangerous passage. | |
65 | Island S[t] Helena List of the Packett sent the Hon[ble] Comp[a] [per] Ship Aurenzeb Cap[t] Nich[s] Luhorne Comander viz[t] No 1. Copy of Gov[r] & Coun[cil]s Gen[era]l from S[t] Helena [per] Ship Frederick Decemb[er] 8[th] 1714
| The packet sent to the Court by the ship Aurangzeb, Captain Nicholas Lahore commander, contained the following:
| |
66 | Hon[ble] S[ir]s (1714/15 [per] Ship Mercury)
First concerning Shipping
Margin Notes: Last [per] Aurengzebe Acc[oun]t of Shipping | The despatch addressed the Honourable Court of Directors, dated 1714/15 and sent by the ship Mercury.
First, concerning shipping.
Captain Wootton in the Discovery and Captain Osborne in the Hanover had both been well, and lying in the Bengal River in September last. About the end of July Captain Risar in the Hester had sailed from Batavia for China. The Borneo, Captain Thomas Lewis, and the Eagle Galley, Captain Daniel Beckman, had both been at Bencoolen in August last. Captain Bodham, who came from there in a country ship, reported that both were likely to load there. From the Cape of Good Hope, the report was that Captain Collett in the Grantham and Captain Peacock in the Somers had both called there homeward bound, and sailed thence about the beginning of December. This led the Council to conclude that the two ships seen in sight of the island on the 27th of December were those two. Captain Woodes Rogers had sailed out of the Cape about the latter end of December, bound for Brazil. The Council had heard nothing of the Joseph. The Clapham had sailed from the Cape about the beginning of December. The next Dutch fleet was to sail from the Cape on the 10th of April, new style, and there it was said the fleet would consist of twenty-seven sail. Interpretations The supposition about the two ships of 27 December was now confirmed by the Cape report. Captain Collett in the Grantham and Captain Peacock in the Somers had sailed from the Cape early in December, which matched the date they were seen passing St Helena. The earlier uncertainty in the despatch of 8 February 1715 was thereby resolved. The reported sailing of Captain Woodes Rogers from the Cape, bound for Brazil, follows the intelligence in the despatch of 12 November 1714 placing him off Java Head in August 1714. Rogers was the former privateer commander of the Duke and Dutchess who had taken a Manila galleon and recovered Selkirk, so his movements drew particular notice. The note on the next Dutch fleet, twenty-seven sail leaving the Cape on 10 April new style, was naval intelligence of a rival power. The Dutch East India Company was the chief competitor in the Eastern trade, and the size and timing of its fleets bore on both commercial prospects and the security of the sea lanes the English used. The dating by new style marked the gap between the English and continental calendars. The Dutch used the Gregorian reckoning, ten or eleven days ahead of the English Julian date, so the Council flagged the convention to prevent the Court misreading the sailing date by that margin. | |
67 | 2[d] Concerning Fortifications
3[dly]: Of Affairs in Generall
Margin Notes: [...] Usage [...] at Batavia [...] were now fortify[in]g and building Wants of y[e] Isl[an]d in the Indent Sickly Seas[on] &c[a] | Second, concerning fortifications.
Third, of affairs in general.
Interpretations The treatment of English ships at Batavia exposed the commercial rivalry behind the courtesies of the Eastern trade. Batavia was the Dutch East India Company's headquarters in the East Indies, and its refusal of supplies and bar on Englishmen ashore was a deliberate exclusion. The fortification works observed there, a new wall and bastions at every angle, marked Dutch determination to hold their position by force as well as by trade rule. A bastion was a projecting angular work in a fortification, designed so that defenders could cover the adjoining walls with flanking fire. The note that the Dutch fortified after the European manner with bastions at every angle records the application of modern continental military engineering to their Eastern stronghold, the same expertise the Council sought for the Rupert's Bay works. The intelligence on Don Mascarine had a practical bearing on St Helena's own role. As a victualling station for passing ships, the island competed with and depended upon the other refreshment points of the southern ocean. News that Don Mascarine was deserted and barren through drought confirmed that St Helena's difficulties were regional, not a mark of its own mismanagement, a point the Council was keen to establish. | |
68 | seeds sent him from the Cape of Good Hope that came here by the Susanna which do all thrive here very well. We hear that the fruitfull Island called Mauritius that was Lately Left by the Dutch is yett uninhabited and has not had any Dearth upon it but abounded as plentefully in all those things which are of Absolute Necessity for the use and Sustenance or Refreshm[en]t of man as any other Island in those Indian Seas, there is Deer and other Cattle both of the Indian and European kinds w[i]th fruit of Every Sort and plenty of many Sorts of Timber w[i]th Commodious Harbours for Ships and a fine Temporate Air which Usually preserv- ed the former Inhabitants to a very Great age, But now tis Wild the Land Unoccupyed and almost overgrown with woods as well as overstockt w[i]th Cattle be pleased to Pardon us for this freedom who had not troubled your Hon[rs] with such Accounts as this but Cap[t] Litten Makeing this report and our Govern[r] haveing formerly been in severall Parts of this Island from the Flatts about the North & N[orth] W[est] Part down to Black river which is above Sixty Miles & he being able of his own knowledge to Confirm all that Cap[t] Litten has Said about the Mauritio's wee desireous of writing to your Hon[rs] concerning this place for the following reasons. 7 First That we have severall Young People here more then we can Supply with Plantations that because of their way of Liveing here would be very Proper Inhabitants to Settle in that place and because that place is Naturally so well Supplyed that it would maintain a very Great Collony with any[?] Charge to their Patrons more then Sending them out and the place Lyes in the Root or Tract of all the Hon[ble] Companys Shipping homeward bound & might be reached Outward bound w[i]th much Less Deviation than a ship to this place, that there a Ship might Careen or be repaired Margin Notes: Concerning the Mauritius Reasons for y[e] fitness to Settle a plantation there These young people best fitt for it | The Governor had some seeds sent to him from the Cape of Good Hope, brought by the Susanna, which all throve very well at the island. 6 The Council had heard that the fruitful island called Mauritius, lately left by the Dutch, was still uninhabited. It had suffered no scarcity, but abounded plentifully in all those things of absolute necessity for the use and sustenance or refreshment of man, as much as any other island in the Indian seas. There were deer and other cattle, both of the Indian and European kinds, fruit of every sort, and plenty of many sorts of timber. It had commodious harbours for ships and a fine temperate air, which formerly preserved its inhabitants to a very great age. The land now lay wild, unoccupied and almost overgrown with wood, as well as overstocked with cattle. The Council asked the Court to pardon this freedom, having never before troubled it with such accounts. Captain Lytton made this report, and the Governor, having formerly been in several parts of the island, from the flats about the north and north-west part down to Black River, which was above sixty miles, was able from his own knowledge to confirm all that Captain Lytton said about Mauritius. The Council was therefore desirous of writing to the Court concerning the place, for the following reasons. 7 First, the island had several young people, more than it could supply with plantations. Because of their manner of living, these would be very proper inhabitants to settle in that place. The place was so naturally well supplied that it would maintain a very great colony, without any greater charge to their patrons than sending them out. It lay in the very route of all the Court's shipping homeward bound, and might be reached outward bound with much less deviation than a ship made to St Helena. A ship might careen there, or be [...] Interpretations The detailed case for Mauritius set out an unusual colonial proposal, the planting of a new English settlement on an island the Dutch had abandoned. The Council assembled the standard tests of a good colony: abundant food, timber, harbours and a temperate air. By stressing that the place would maintain a colony at no charge beyond transport, it framed the scheme as cheap expansion at a moment when St Helena itself was struggling. The argument rested on solving St Helena's own surplus population. The island had more young people than it could grant plantations, a pressure linked to the engrossing of land into few hands noted in the despatch of 12 November 1714. Mauritius offered an outlet that would relieve that pressure while creating a second Company station, turning a local difficulty into a strategic opportunity. The note on Mauritius lying in the route of homeward shipping, and reachable outward with little deviation, gave the proposal its commercial logic. A refreshment and repair station on the main sea lane would serve the fleet much as St Helena did. To careen meant to heel a ship over on a beach to clean and repair her hull below the waterline, a service requiring sheltered water of the kind the island's harbours offered. The Governor's first-hand knowledge, from the north-west flats down to Black River, lent the report weight beyond mere hearsay. By confirming Captain Lytton's account from his own travels across more than sixty miles of the island, the Governor offered the Court tested observation rather than rumour, the same evidentiary care the Council applied to its accounts and surveys. | |
69 | repaired in great Safety and both Timber and Plank might be Cutt without any charge It is a Proper place to touch at for any of your Shipping that are too Late to gett about the Cape but our Cheif and Principal reason is the Govern[r] and People of Don Mascarenas Say they have sent to France for Libertie to Transplant themselves to this Neighbouring Island which is not only more Comodious then Mascarenas in regard to Shipping but it Exceeds it so much in Fertility that it is a Paradise to the other The Consideration of keep- ing out the French or the Indian Pyrates from an Island of such Consequence as the Isle of Mauritios may be so us if it is otherwise were to be made thereof then the Dutch first Intended at the [Cape] ( viz[t] ) to recruit the Sick of their Shipping by Exchanging a bigger Number of their Sick for a Lesser Number of healthy Men to pro- ceed their Voyages And the breeding up others for the Service & Security of their plantations or other Settlem[en]t abroad for which purpose that place is very fitt and it will we hope be Excuse to your Hon[rs] for makeing this Digression because we beleive our selves bound by the Tyes of Gratitude and Duty to Acquaint your Hon[rs] with whatsoever has an Appearance of yours and our Countreys Interest. 8 The Dutch Left that place because as they Said the English made most Advantage of it, or rather because they had so Good a Settlem[en]t at the Cape of Good hope where they do now breed up men sufficient to serve them as Soldiers &c[a] in their Settlements abroad, But when the Dutch first Settled on Mauritios their fleets were not Dispatcht in the same manner as now for they of Late Always send their fleets from Battavia and from Ceylon about the Middle of December when they can Run no kind of risque in goeing about the Cape and the Cape Land is so Large and so well improved by their Industrious Inhabitants that they have not any further Occasion for that Isle But altho the English Ships being now by the Care of yo[ur] Hon[rs] & a gents abroad always Dispatched as fast as they are Loaden Yet some Margin Notes: Of the French desire whether there &c[a] To breake[?] [Mauritius?] Why Dutch Left it | A ship might be repaired there in great safety, and both timber and plank might be had without any charge. It was a fit place to refresh at for any of the Court's shipping that came too late to get about the Cape. The Council's chief and principal reason, however, was this: the Governor and people of Don Mascarine said they had sent to France for liberty to transplant themselves to that neighbouring island. Mauritius was not only more commodious than Don Mascarine in regard to shipping, but exceeded it so much in fertility that it was a paradise to the other. 7 The other consideration was that of keeping out the French, or the Indian pirates, from an island of such consequence as Mauritius might be, if some other use were made of it than the Dutch first intended. That intention was to refresh the sick of their shipping by exchanging a larger number of their sick for a lesser number of healthy men, to proceed on their voyages, and the breeding up of others for the service and security of their plantations or other settlements abroad. For that purpose the place was very fit. The Council hoped the Court would excuse it for making this digression, since it believed itself bound by ties of gratitude and duty to acquaint the Court with whatever had an appearance of the Court's interest and that of the Council's country. 8 The Dutch left the place, as they said, because the English made most advantage of it, or rather because they had so good a settlement at the Cape of Good Hope. There they now bred up men enough to serve them as soldiers in their settlements abroad. When the Dutch first settled on Mauritius, their fleets were not despatched in the same manner as now. Of late they always sent their fleets from Batavia and from Ceylon about the middle of December, when they could run no kind of risk in going about the Cape. The Cape land was so large, and so well improved by their industrious inhabitants, that they had no further occasion for that island. Although the English ships abroad were now, by the care of the Court's agents, always despatched as fast as they were loaded, yet some [...] Interpretations The strategic argument shifted here from settlement to denial. The Council's chief reason for taking Mauritius was to keep the French and the Indian pirates from a base of such consequence. An island so fertile and well placed could serve an enemy as readily as a friend, so its occupation by the Company was framed as a defensive necessity against hostile use, not merely a commercial gain. The reported plan of the Don Mascarine settlers to seek French permission to move to Mauritius gave the proposal its urgency. Were the French to gain the island, they would hold a superior station on the very route the Company's homeward fleets used. The Council's case thus turned on forestalling a French move already said to be in train. The account of the Dutch withdrawal explained why the island lay open. The Dutch had abandoned Mauritius because their Cape settlement now served all their needs, breeding men for their garrisons and lying safely on a December sailing route around the Cape. This reasoning showed the Council had studied the rival's strategy closely, presenting the Court with a considered analysis of why the prize was available. The Dutch use of Mauritius, exchanging sick crews for healthy men to continue voyages, identified the island's value as a recovery and manning station. Long passages bred disease, and a place where a fleet could land its sick and take on fit replacements preserved both ships and trade. The Council saw the same function serving English shipping, much as St Helena already did. | |
70 | some of them cannot be Dispatched so soon as others and those who came Late about Do often Strain their Ships & Damage your goods ( which is as bad ) and are often forced back by Stress of weather and have no place to go to but to Mauritios or a Worse Countrey so that if your Hon[rs] had a small Settlement there it might be Serviceable in time of Peace and a Security in time of War without any Expense that Should be Considerable to the Hon[ble] East India Company. 9 But that those be our thoughts on this fruitfull Island we submitt them to your Hon[rs] greater wisdoms who are much more Capable than we are to Judge how far this or any other Matter shall be the Hon[ble] Companys Interest to take Notice of, or to reject But crave your Hon[rs] Pardon for troub =ling you with these our ( perhaps mistaken tho well ment ) Notions. 10 And tho we have mentioned Sending of Sundry Couples of our Young People bred here only as Planters whose parents have Lived so well that the Children have Little Left to Live upon yet we would be very Glad of Trades men of any of those kinds that are Concerned in building or of Gardeners such men S[t] Helena Greatly wants and Can encourag[e] tho we could willingly Spare some of those Sorts of People we abound in most and we hope when your Honours do approve men for your Settlem[en]t abroad you'l please to send the Bricklayers, Carpenters, Stone Cutters & Gardners here, and Lett us have your Orders to receive such Tradesmen out of any Ship that touches at this place. 11 This being a Seperate Stock Ship and intending to Stay but three days we purposely omitt Sending Coppys of our Last Con =sultations there not being a month behind hand which shall Come with the Account of our Sessions and other of our Island Affairs by some other Shipp. 12 Hitherto we have been Obliged to draw severall Bills which we Cant yet prevent because divers of the Planters who have hired moneys due to them in the Stores have required that Sort of Paym[en]t Margin Notes: People for man- ning y[e] Isl[an]d [W]ant Money [peo]ple Desire to go but might yet Only y[e] Sorts are wanted Coppys to be sent [per] next [Ca]nnot[?] yet draw[?] [B]ills | Some ships could not be despatched as soon as others. Those that came late, having to round the Cape at a season when their ships were as often damaged as their goods, were frequently forced back by weather. They had no place to go but to Mauritius or some worse country. If the Court had a small settlement there, it might be serviceable in time of trade and a security in time of war, without any expense that should be considerable to the Company. 9 These were the Council's thoughts on this fruitful island. The Council submitted them to the Court's greater wisdom, which was much more capable than the Council of judging how far this or any other matter touched the Company's interest, to take notice of or to reject. The Council asked the Court's pardon for troubling it with these, perhaps mistaken, though well-meant notions. 10 The Council had mentioned sending several of its young people, bred at the island only as planters, whose parents had thrived so well that the children had little left to live upon. Besides these, the Council would be very glad of tradesmen of any kind concerned in building or in gardening. St Helena really wanted such men. If they could be encouraged, the Council would willingly spare some of those sorts of people, of whom it had abundance, and hoped, when the Court approved, to send men out for a settlement abroad. The Council asked the Court to send the bricklayers, carpenters, stone-cutters and gardeners to the island, and to give orders that they receive a fisherman out of any ship that touched there. 11 The present vessel being a separate stock ship, and intending to stay only three days, the Council purposely omitted sending copies of its last consultations. These were now not a month behind hand, and would come with the account of the sessions and other island affairs by some other ship. 12 The Council had hitherto been obliged to draw several bills, which it could not yet prevent. Divers of the planters who had money due to them in the stores required that sort of payment. [...] Interpretations The argument for Mauritius closed by tying the settlement to the hazards of the Cape passage. Ships that rounded the Cape too late in the season risked damage and were often driven back, with no refuge but the deserted islands. A small Company station would serve such vessels in peace and guard the route in war, a dual value the Council pressed as cheap insurance for the Company. The proposal to ship out surplus young people connects directly to the engrossing problem of the despatch of 12 November 1714. The children of planters who had prospered were left with little, since the land had passed into few hands. Sending them to settle abroad would clear this idle population from St Helena while peopling the new station, solving two difficulties with one movement of bodies. The omission of the consultation copies turned on the ship's status and brief stay. As a separate stock vessel staying only three days, the Mercury gave too little time to copy the records, which in any case ran less than a month behind. The Council deferred them to a later conveyance, showing how the rhythm of documentation bent to the movements and types of available shipping. The continued drawing of bills reflected the chronic shortage of coin at the island. Planters owed money in the stores demanded bills on the Court rather than local payment, since cash was scarce and bills could be remitted to London. The Council could not avoid the practice, which steadily exported the island's debts to India House for settlement. | |
71 | Paym[en]t which we thought would not be for the Companys Hon[r] to refuse some of the bills have been to pay for Arrack at the rate of five Shillings per Gallon which has had this good Effect that when the present Ship came in we haveing a Moderate Stock on the place resolved to buy no more nor draw bills here, but they haveing brought some Provissity for this Island have proffered it for four Shillings [per] Gallon which we thought to be so good a penny worth in Com- =parison of Prices paid here Last year that we have Adventured to buy five Hundred Sixty and Seven Gallons at four Shillings [per] Gallon and drawn Bills on your Hon[rs] for the same and hope that you'l on such Occasions Always please to Allow us that Libertie for unless we had bought this Arrack on the Hon[ble] Comp[as] Account we could not have hindred its being dispersed on in the Valley and then the Company could again have been undersold which is one of the Articles that we think we so justly Complaind of in our Letter by the Susanna. 13 We have also bought Three Hundred Seventy four Gallons of French Brandy out of the Jason at the rate of five Shillings [per] Gallon and paid them in such Provissions as we could best Spare and in some few of your Navall Stores at fifty per Cent on the Invoice which we likse hope will turn to your Hon[rs] Acc[oun]t of Proffitt. 14 And now we have reduced the Price of Arrack here to four Shillings per Gallon, We intend that to be a Standing Price for what we buy and hope by that to have Provissions for your Shipping a good Deal Cheaper, the Govern[r] intending to Publish an Adver- =tisem[en]t, That when the Planters will sell Beef to the Ships at twenty five Shillings [per] Hundred weight they shall have Arrack out of your Hon[rs] Stores at Six Shillings Per Gallon, Beth for preventing those under Store Houses that have been sett up to the prejudice of the Company, We pray Your Hon[rs] to send us some further Orders that we may take so much [per] Gallon for Customes as you shall think proper and so for all other things. five Margin Notes: Why we bought this Arr[ack] [Bo]ught Brandy out of y[e] Jason [Why] Arr[ack] is at [2]5[s] [per] Hund[red weight] Arrack to be at [4]6[s] [per] gallon [Cust]om on [Arr]ack and on [...] | The Council thought the Court would not refuse this kind of payment. Some of the bills had been drawn to pay for arrack at the rate of 5s a gallon. This had a good effect. When the present ship came in, the Council, having a moderate stock on hand, resolved to draw no more new bills. The captains who came brought some supply for the island, however, and offered it at 4s a gallon. The Council thought this so good a bargain, in comparison of prices paid at the island the year before, that it ventured to buy five hundred and sixty-seven gallons at 4s a gallon, and drew bills on the Court for the same. The Council hoped the Court would on such occasions always allow it this liberty. Unless it had bought this arrack on the Company's account, it could not have hindered its being sold off in the valley, and the Company would again have been undersold. This was one of the articles the Council thought it had so justly complained of in its letter by the Susanna. 13 The Council had also bought three hundred and seventy-four gallons of French brandy out of the Jason, at the rate of 5s a gallon. It paid for them in such provisions as it could best spare, and in some few of the Court's naval stores at fifty per cent on the invoice, which it hoped would turn to the Court's account and profit. 14 The Council had now reduced the price of arrack at the island to 4s a gallon. It intended this to be a standing price for whatever it bought, and hoped to have provisions for the Court's shipping a good deal cheaper. The Governor intended to publish an advertisement. When the planters sold beef to the ships at twenty-five shillings the hundred-weight, they should have arrack out of the Court's stores at 6s a gallon. This was to prevent those under store-houses, which had been set up to the prejudice of the Company, from continuing. The Council asked the Court to send some further orders, that it might take so much per gallon for customs as the Court thought proper, and so for all other things. Interpretations The arrack purchase shows the Council using price control to defend the Company's monopoly. By buying the captains' arrack at 4s a gallon, the Council kept it out of the hands of private dealers in the valley who would have undersold the Court. The action turned a routine supply purchase into a deliberate move to capture the spirit trade, the grievance set out in the despatch of 12 November 1714. The reduction of the arrack price to a standing 4s a gallon established a fixed Company rate against the fluctuating private market. A published standing price removed the bargaining advantage of the private sellers and let the Court's stores set the terms of trade, the same fiscal strategy behind the proposed duty on all arrack landed at the island. The beef-for-arrack scheme linked two markets to the Company's benefit. Planters who sold beef to ships at the set rate of twenty-five shillings the hundredweight would receive arrack at 6s a gallon, a margin above the standing price. This tied the planters' provisioning of shipping to their drink supply, rewarding co-operation while undercutting the private store-houses that had grown up against the Company. The barter for French brandy reveals how the Council managed trade where coin was scarce. It paid for the Jason's brandy in spare provisions and in naval stores marked up fifty per cent on invoice, converting goods it held into a saleable commodity. The arrangement let the Council acquire stock for resale without drawing on cash or adding to the bills sent home. The request for authority to levy a customs charge per gallon sought to formalise the Council's pricing power into a standing revenue. Rather than rely on case-by-case purchases, the Council asked the Court to sanction a fixed duty, which would secure income from the spirit trade regardless of who imported it, the principle later approved in the arrack duty of the despatch of 14 March 1715. | |
72 | 15 The French Ships People offered one Shilling per Gallon Custome to have Libertie of selling their Brandy on Shoar but the Gover[nr] refused that because of retailing of such Strong Liq[uors] by them might have been attended w[i]th Dangerous Circumstances for besides the hindering your Hon[rs] of halfe Crown a Gallon ( which is the Proffit we have on the Moderate Expence of Liquors retailed from your Store House ) it would have been Likely to have Inflamed the Garrison & Planters too, who are very Apt to be troublesom when Over heated with too much Strong Liquor and therefore we beg of them at five Shillings per Gallon to the amount of Ninety three pounds Ten Shillings which was what their Acc[oun]t for Stores & Refreshm[en]ts came to, by which means some of the Debt to the Hon[ble] Comp[a] have been Lessned and the Proffitt out of the Price will be placed to your Hon[rs] Acc[oun]t and the People alsoe buy for Less then some of them offered to the French. 16 We must Acquaint your Hon[rs] that M[r] Carne has began Acuden =ng to his Old Method to be as troublesome to this Government as formerly and notwithstanding the Above Lett[er] sent against selling Beef to forreigners he resolved to Furnish the French Shipp[s] with Beef and Killd some for them On which the Gover[nr] sent for him, had bound him to his good behaviour and Intends to make him pay for his Contempt and breach of Orders. 17 In our Indent we have desired some Cordage of severall Sorts but pray that it may not be bought of the same Person who sent the Last Unless it be well Lookt over at London, the Cordage that we have being very bad and Rotten and some of it Old Stuff and twice Layd We could Dispose among the Shipping of a good quantity if it were well made & good in its kind, but our Hollands Duck and Canvass proves very well. 18 Captain Litten further reported that Cap[t] Minter in the Kent Arrived at the Cape of Good hope the 18 of January and brought the News of the Queens Death about Margin Notes: Why Suffered not y[e] French to sell Brandy &c[a] out of y[e] Comp[a] M[r] Carne Sells Beef contrary to Order Cordage wanted Eng[lish] bad Further Acc[oun]t of Shipping | 15 The French ship's people offered one shilling per gallon custom to have liberty of selling their brandy ashore. The Governor refused this, because the retailing of such strong liquor by them might have been attended with dangerous consequences. Besides hindering the Court of the half-crown a gallon profit it had on the moderate retail of liquors from its store-house, the practice would probably have inflamed the garrison and the planters too. Both were very apt to be troublesome when overheated with too much strong liquor. The Council therefore bought the brandy from them at 5s a gallon, to the amount of £93 10s 0d. This was what their account for stores and provisions came to, by which means some of the debt to the Court had been lessened. The profit out of the price would be placed to the Court's account, and the people would also buy for less than the French had offered some of them. 16 The Council had to inform the Court that Mr Carne had begun again to be as troublesome to the government as formerly. Notwithstanding the order against selling beef to foreigners, he had resolved to furnish the French ship with beef, and killed some for them. The Governor sent for him, bound him to his good behaviour, and intended to make him pay for his contempt and breach of orders. 17 In its indent the Council had asked for some cordage of several sorts. It asked that this not be bought of the same person who sent the last, unless it were well looked over at London. The cordage the Council had was very bad and rotten, some of it old stuff and twice laid. It could dispose of a good quantity among the shipping if it were well made and good of its kind. Its Holland duck and canvas, however, proved very well. 18 Captain Lytton further reported that Captain Minter in the Kent had arrived at the Cape of Good Hope on the 18th of January, and brought the news of the Queen's death. [...] about Interpretations The refusal to let the French retail their brandy ashore protected both revenue and order. The Court drew a half-crown a gallon profit from selling liquor through its own store-house, which French competition would have cut into. Beyond the money, the Governor feared the effect of loose strong drink on a garrison and planter body already prone to disorder, so the ban served discipline as much as the Company's margin. The Carne episode shows the limits of the Council's authority over a wealthy planter. Having defied the order against selling beef to foreigners, Carne was bound to his good behaviour, a legal recognisance requiring him to keep the peace on pain of forfeiting a sum. This was the standard instrument for compelling compliance short of trial, and its use marked Carne's breach as a matter of public order, not mere trade. The complaint about rotten cordage exposes the island's dependence on the quality of goods shipped from London. Cordage meant the ropes and lines essential to rigging, and twice-laid stuff was rope remade from worn strands, inferior and short-lived. Bad supply could not be remedied locally, so the Council pressed for proper inspection at London before lading, the only point at which the defect could be caught. The death of Queen Anne, reported as reaching the Cape on 18 January, carried constitutional weight far beyond shipping news. The Queen died on 1 August 1714, bringing the Hanoverian succession of George I, yet word reached these southern waters only months later. The long delay shows how remote stations learned of events that changed the realm only when a passing ship carried the news. Speculations The Council's decision to buy the French brandy itself, rather than simply bar its sale, suggests a calculated turn of a threat into a gain. By purchasing the whole at 5s a gallon and settling the French account for stores against it, the Council removed the competition, recovered part of a debt, and secured stock to retail at its own profit, all in a single transaction. | |
73 | 19 Ab[ou]t [...] Cap[t] [...] but Last [...] 20 We have sent your Hon[rs] Cap[t] Luhorns Second Bill of Exchange on Mess[rs] Roger Cordeel and Cap[t] John Brown Merch[t] for the sume of Ninety one pounds Nineteen Shillings, And Likewise Drawn on yo[ur] Hon[rs] for Two Hundred Eighty two pounds fifteen Shillings and five pence payable to [...] Ord[er] the Acc[oun]t of which w[i]th We Sh[...] herewith We are Hon[ble] S[ir]s Yo[ur] Hon[rs] most humble & faithfull & most Obed[ient] Serv[an]ts [...] [...] [...] [Mash]borne Antipas Tovey List of the Packett [per] M[...] No 1. Govern[r] & Coun[cil]s Gen[era]l from S[t] [Helena...] 9[th] 1714[?]
Margin Notes: 2[d] Bills of Cap[t] Luhorns Sent [Bi]lls now drawn United Castle S[t] Helena Feb[ruar]y the 19 1714/15 [per] Ship Mercury | 19 About Captain [...] but last [...] 20 The Council had sent the Court Captain Lahore's second bill of exchange, drawn on Messrs Roger Corbett and Captain John Brown, merchants, for the sum of £91 19s 0d. It had likewise drawn on the Court for £282 15s 5d, payable to [...] or order, the account of which accompanied the present despatch. The despatch was dated at United Castle, St Helena, on 19 February 1715, and sent by the ship Mercury. The Council closed as the Court's most humble, faithful and most obedient servants. The signatories were Isaac Pyke, George Haswell, Edward Mashborne [...]. The packet sent to the Court by the Mercury contained the following:
Interpretations The forwarding of Captain Lahore's second bill, the first having gone by the Aurangzeb, illustrates the duplicate-conveyance method in practice. A bill of exchange was commonly drawn in two or three parts sent by separate ships. Once one part was accepted at India House the others fell void, so sending the second by the Mercury guarded the remittance against loss of the first at sea. The despatch carried a copy of the letter already sent eleven days earlier by the Aurangzeb. This repetition was deliberate insurance, not waste. With homeward ships at constant risk, the Council sent its correspondence by successive vessels so that the loss of any one would not break the flow of information to the Court. | |
74 | Hon[ble] S[ir]s (1714/15 [per] y[e] Hester) 1 Our Last to you was by the Mercury Cap[t] Geo[rge] Litton Commander dated the 19 February a Copy of w[ch] and Duplicate of ours by the Aurengzeb of y[e] 3 Feb[ruary] comes herewith since that hath Arrived the Hester Cap[t] Charles Keasar from China on the 2 of March Instant who brought news that he Left the Bertie Cap[t] Douglas at Canton in Nov[ember] Last who was Likely to be Dispatcht this Season and that he mett Cap[t] Read in the Straits of Sundy in Decemb[er] following. 2 Cap[t] Keasar Saild from Java on the Last of Decemb[er] & arrived here as aforesaid is is an Extraordinary Distance to be Saild in Sixty one Days it being above Seaven Thou- =zand Miles and because yo[ur] Hon[rs] have Encourag[ed] us to give you Acc[oun]t from time to time of what we see or observe among yo[ur] Shipping we think tis our Duty to mention all things and therefore to the Hon[ble] of all the Gentle =men say, that we have not in any ship observed so much Uniformity & agreable good Temper as we have seen among them w[ch] Encourages us to wish the same Harmony and Success in all yo[ur] other Shipping. 3 In this Ship the Cap[t] haveing heard of the Necessities of this place brought ten Leagers of Arrack w[ch] tho we were Differently Supplyed yett because he bought them on purpose and was willing to sell us cheap we have Adventured to buy it of him at four Shillings Margin Notes: Last [per] y[e] Mercury Concerning the Ship Hester Arrack | The despatch addressed the Honourable Court of Directors, dated 1714/15 and sent by the Hester. 1 The Council's last letter to the Court had gone by the Mercury, Captain George Lytton commander, dated the 19th of February. A copy of it, and duplicates of others, had gone by the Aurangzeb on the 8th of February. Since then the Hester, Captain Charles Hassar commander, had arrived from China on the 2nd of March, and a copy now accompanied the present despatch. The captain brought news that he had left the Bertie, Captain Douglas, at Canton in November last, who was likely to be despatched this season. He had met Captain Read in the Straits of Sunda in December following. 2 Captain Hassar had sailed from Java on the last of December, as mentioned, and arrived at the island. This was an extraordinary distance to be sailed in sixty-one days, being above seven thousand miles. Because the Court had encouraged the Council to give an account from time to time of what it saw or observed among the Court's shipping, the Council thought it its duty to mention all such things. The Council therefore had to say that it had not observed in any ship so much uniformity and agreeable good temper as it had seen among the company of the Hester. This encouraged the Council to wish the same harmony and success in all the Court's other shipping. 3 In this ship the captain, having heard of the necessities of the island, brought ten leaguers of arrack. Though the Council was already supplied differently, yet because he had brought them on purpose, and was willing to sell cheap, the Council had ventured to buy it of him at four shillings [...] Interpretations The reported run from Java to St Helena, above seven thousand miles in sixty-one days, was set down as a notable feat of sailing. The Council recorded it under the Court's standing instruction to report observations on the Company's shipping. Such passage times mattered to the Court, since the speed and condition of homeward Indiamen bore directly on the safety of cargoes and the turnaround of vessels. The praise of the Hester's company for its harmony and good temper served the same reporting function as a complaint would have done. The Council was supplying intelligence on the human state of the Court's ships, not merely their cargoes. A well-ordered crew meant a well-run voyage, and the Council framed the observation as a model the Court might wish to see across its fleet. The purchase of ten leaguers of arrack at four shillings continued the Council's standing policy of buying up spirit brought by visiting captains. A leaguer was the largest standard cask for liquids, so ten represented a heavy consignment. By taking the arrack at a low price, even when already supplied, the Council kept it out of private hands that would have undersold the Court, the same defence of the spirit trade pursued in the despatch of 19 February 1715. | |
75 | Gallon and it being a China Ship severall Severall of the Planters came to the Govern[r] and desired him to furnish the Stores w[i]th Fresh Tea wherefore to Oblige them Having alsoe an Eye to yo[ur] Hon[rs] Proffitt we have bought of Cap[t] Keysor four Hundred forty Six Cattees of Tea att Six Shillings & Six pence [per] Cattee it being all put up in Single Potts of one Cattee and two Cattees [per] Pott w[ch] is much better for us to dispose on here then in whole package of Chests or Tubbs are now we have indifferent =ly well furnished yo[ur] Hon[rs] Store House w[i]th Tea &c[a] Arrack have resolved not to buy any more so as to draw Bills on yo[ur] Hon[rs] for y[e] Augment nor to take any more of such Like goods then the Cap[t] Acc[oun]t came to w[ch] we hope will meet w[i]th yo[ur] Hon[rs] Approbation. And tho we have ben forced to Draw severall bills Lately for buying of Arrack we thought we could not so well answer to yo[ur] Hon[rs] the doeing any otherwayes because when wee came here there was severall warehouses kipt to sell to all People at a Lower Rate than the Stores wherefore we thought it our Duty to gett a Stock of Arrack on yo[ur] Hon[rs] Acc[oun]t to be sold at a reasonable Price w[ch] we hope we have Effectually done and that it will turn to proffitt. 4 As for Tea that w[ch] Cap[t] Keysar has brought here being put up in small potts it is very acceptable to the people and will Margin Notes: Tea No[?] Bills The same Private Trade Tea in Small Cattees | The Council bought the arrack at four shillings a gallon. The Hester being a China ship, several of the planters came to the Governor and asked him to furnish the stores with fresh tea. To oblige them, and also having an eye to the Court's profit, the Council had bought of Captain Hassar four hundred and forty-six catties of tea at 6s 6d a catty. It was all put up in single pots of one catty and two catties to a pot, which was much better for the Council to dispose of than in whole packages of chests or tubs. The Council had now sufficiently furnished the Court's store-house with tea and arrack, and had resolved to buy no more, so as to draw bills on the Court for the payment. It would take no more of such goods than the captain's account came to, which the Council hoped would meet the Court's approval. Though the Council had been forced to draw several bills lately for buying arrack, it thought it could not so well answer to the Court the doing it any other way. When the Council came to the island there were several warehouses kept to sell to all people at a lower rate than the stores. The Council therefore thought it its duty to get a stock of arrack, on the Court's account, to be sold at a reasonable price. This, the Council hoped, it had effectually done, and that it would turn to profit. 4 As for the tea that Captain Hassar had brought, being put up in small pots, it was very acceptable to the people. [...] Interpretations A catty was a Chinese unit of weight, roughly a pound and a third, the standard measure in which tea was traded out of Canton. Pricing the four hundred and forty-six catties at 6s 6d each let the Council convey the purchase precisely to the Court in the unit the China trade used. Tea was the rising staple of that trade, and a China-bound ship such as the Hester was a natural source of fresh supply. The choice of small pots over whole chests or tubs reflected a deliberate retail strategy. Tea packed in one and two-catty pots could be sold piecemeal to individual buyers, where bulk chests suited wholesale only. By taking the smaller packaging, the Council fitted the stock to the island's modest market and made it easier to turn into ready sales among the planters who had asked for it. The arrack purchase repeated the rationale set out across the recent despatches. Private warehouses had been selling below the stores, so the Council laid in its own stock on the Court's account to undercut them and recover the trade. The justification offered to the Court, that drawing bills was the only practicable way, framed an unavoidable expense as a defence of the Company's monopoly rather than mere outlay. | |
76 | we can Supply them without exposeing a whole chest or tubb to the Damp alsoe wherefore in our Humble Opinions if yo[ur] Hon[rs] thought fitt to Ord[er] y[e] Next China Ship to putt up two Chests of Boher & one of good green or Imperiall Tea in Catty or two Cattee Potts we beleive it would turn very well to Acc[oun]t here and because yo[ur] Hon[rs] were pleased to mention Pice or small Coppee mony comeing to us from Madrass wee Humbly conceive if yo[ur] Hon[rs] so thought fitt that a Cask or two of the Chinese mony Called Petteck ( or Cash ) to pass here according to y[e] Vallue thereof for small payments or for Changeing of other moneys w[ch] we beleive would do well and save abundance of troubles and we propose by that or any other sort of small mony to save abundance of writing in yo[ur] Stors & to deliver out no small trifeling thing but for such ready mony & by such as beginning hope in time to leave of trusting and sell all for ready mony. 5 By this Ship we have sent the Acc[oun]t of our Sessions & Copy of Consultations w[ch] we hope will meet w[i]th yo[ur] Hon[rs] approbation and we hope yo[ur] Hon[rs] will alsoe approve of what we wrote in our Last Lett[er] by the Mercury wherein we proposed the Sending ten or twelve Blacks by every Bengall Ship to S[t] Helena till we had as many as yo[ur] Hon[rs] should Judge proper we could Easeily Margin Notes: Tea from China China Copper mony Call petteck or Cash Small mony for Change & Will save Writing in the Store Coppy[s] Sent Bengall Blacks | The small pots let the Council supply the people without exposing a whole chest or tub to the damp. In the Council's humble opinion, therefore, if the Court thought fit to order the next China ship to put up two chests of bohea, and one of good green or imperial tea, in catty or two-catty pots, the Council believed it would turn very well to account at the island. Because the Court had been pleased to mention rice, or small copper money coming to the Council from Madras, the Council humbly conceived that, if the Court so thought fit, a cask or two of the Chinese money called pitis, or cash, might pass at the island according to its value, for small payments or for changing other money. This, the Council believed, would do well and save a great deal of trouble. The Council proposed, by that or any other sort of small money, to save much writing in the stores, and to deliver out no small trifling thing except for ready money. By such a beginning it hoped in time to leave off trusting, and to sell all for ready money. 5 The Council had sent by this ship the account of its sessions and a copy of its consultations, which it hoped would meet the Court's approval. It hoped too that the Court would approve of what it had written in its last letter by the Mercury, in which it proposed the sending of ten or twelve slaves by every Bengal ship to St Helena. Until it had as many as the Court should judge proper, the Council could easily [...] Interpretations Bohea, green and imperial were grades of Chinese tea, bohea the cheaper black tea and green and imperial the finer leaf, all shipped out of Canton. The Council's request that the next China ship pack two chests of bohea to one of the better green or imperial matched supply to the island's market, ordering more of the everyday grade than of the costly. The small-pot packing again served piecemeal retail rather than bulk sale. Pitis, or cash, was Chinese low-value copper coin, strung in quantity and used for the smallest transactions. The Council sought a cask or two to circulate at the island for petty payments and change. This continued the monetary scheme pursued through the fanams proposal: a stable small coin not worth carrying off would keep circulating, ending the credit-trusting in the stores and moving the island toward sale for ready money. The link drawn between small coin and leaving off trusting set out the mechanism behind the debt reform. While the stores delivered goods on credit and recorded each in writing, debt accumulated and the books swelled. A supply of small money would let the stores sell trifling items for cash, cut the clerical record, and break the habit of trust that had built the great debt noted in the despatch of 12 November 1714. | |
77 | Easeily Employ two Hundred more and [...] as much Less charge to yo[ur] Hon[rs] than [...] are at present and at therein we prayed yo[ur] Hon[rs] to send us some Tradesman [...] are forced to renew the same request again being in great need of such Tradesmen and if we had Instead of four Gardiners four Stone Cutters four Brick Layers or Masons & four Carpenters Six of Each wou[l]d never want Employment here neither would they Encrease yo[ur] Hon[rs] Charges here if our notions mentiond in our Generall Lett[er] by the Susannah were rightly grounded & of w[ch] yo[ur] Hon[rs] are of Compleatest Judges. 6 As for that Supple of Salted Beef &c[a] Pork yo[ur] Hon[rs] were pleased to send out to us we have not only Supplyed Severall of yo[ur] Shipping therewith Especially the present Ship the Hester, but alsoe have daily used it at the Publick Table here and Sold to all [...] Venture[?] [...] that it has turned to a very [...] but we have [...] it twenty three [...] of g[...] to a [...] So that we must [...] and Short is [...] over anoth[er] [...] of Litle Beef [...]ch like prov[isions...] to [...] the [...] Killing Fresh [...] Beef [...] [...] [...] at the next [...] [...] of Beef & provisions that we shall [...] to w[i]th [...] abundance of o[u]r cattle to su[...] [...] Other the more moderate Stock [...] would [...] to well & Supply yo[ur] [...]ing Ships that [...] [...] Margin Notes: much Wanted & ask for it Conc[ernin]t Provisions Beef & Pork Preserve the Live Stock Vict[uall]er[?] for Ships | The Council could easily employ two hundred more slaves, and at much less charge to the Court than it was at present. The Council had already asked the Court to send some tradesmen, and was now forced to renew the same request, being in great need of such men. If, instead of four gardeners, it had four stone-cutters, four bricklayers or masons and four carpenters, six of each would not want employment at the island. Nor would they increase the Court's charges, if the notions set out in its general letter by the Susannah were rightly grounded. Of that the Court was the completest judge. 6 As for the supply of salted beef and pork the Court had been pleased to send out, the Council had not only supplied several of the Court's ships, especially the present ship the Hester, but had also daily used it at the public table, and sold it to all [...]. This had turned to a very good account. The Council had now [...] twenty-three [...] so that it must [...] another [...] of salt beef and such-like provisions [...] the killing [...] that we [...] of [...] decrease of our cattle [...] either the same [...] moderate stock [...] supply the Court's ships, that [...] much [...] Interpretations The renewed plea for building tradesmen in place of gardeners shows the Council reweighting its labour requests toward the fortification and storehouse programme. Stone-cutters, bricklayers and carpenters served the construction works, where gardeners did not. The argument that the men would pay for themselves rested on the wage analysis of the despatch of 12 November 1714, which set direct hire of skilled artificers against the false economy of soldier-craftsmen. The salted beef and pork sent from England served as both garrison ration and a trade good for victualling shipping. Salt meat kept on long voyages where fresh did not, so the Court's supply let the Council provision homeward ships such as the Hester and stock the public table. Selling the surplus turned a provision store into a source of revenue, the same fiscal logic applied across the island's commodities. The link between using salt provisions and sparing the live stock points to a deliberate husbandry of the island's herds. By feeding ships and the table from the Court's salt beef, the Council avoided slaughtering its own cattle while the breeding stock recovered. This continued the rebuilding of the herds noted after the depleted handover inventory, where the productive stock had been run down to almost nothing. | |
78 | much as the present Ship Hester Did, Flower & Bread would alsoe Doe well but not pease because they will not hold good in these Countreys above a Year. 7 In our Last we complaind of the badness of our Cordage most of that w[ch] came in the Rochest[er] being what is called twice Layed Stuff but the Shipping most of them make demands for small Cordage and we could sell a great deal if it were good and well wrought the Sizes that we want are from three Inches to five Inches and of that we could dispose of two Tunn. 8 We pray to have at the same time a Mooring Anchor and a good Swivell for Mooring the boates for the boates at present Ride only by a Stone which is Slung & is not so good as a Kellick, for if the Slings give way the boats are Lost these things we have mentioned in our Large Indent of Stores & necessaris but haveing a Pressing Occasion for them are the more Particulare. 9 We have been obliged to Draw the following bills of Exchange on yo[ur] Hon[rs] desire may be Accepted, those for Cap[t] Keasar is for Sixteen hundred & one Gall[ons] of Arrack att four Shillings [per] Gallon w[i]th the Tea beforementioned and the rest for Creditt due to Severall persons in yo[ur] Hon[rs] Books of Acc[oun]t here who have desired bills payable Margin Notes: Pease good 1/4 year only Cordage sent very bad good, much Wanted Mooring Anchor want[ed] Bills drawn why | The salt provisions kept as well as the present ship the Hester required. Flour and bread would also do well, but not peas, because these would not hold good in these countries above a year. 7 In its last letter the Council had complained of the badness of its cordage. Most of that which came in the Rochester was what was called twice-laid stuff. The shipping, however, mostly made demands for small cordage, and the Council could sell a great deal if it were good and well wrought. The sizes wanted were from three inches to five inches, and of these the Council could dispose of two tons. 8 The Council asked to have at the same time a mooring anchor and a good swivel for mooring the boats. The boats at present rode only by a stone, which was slung and was not so good as a killick. If the slings gave way, the boats were lost. These things the Council had set out in its large indent of stores and necessaries, but having a pressing occasion for them, it was the more particular here. 9 The Council had been obliged to draw the following bills of exchange on the Court, which it asked might be accepted. Those for Captain Hassar were for £1,601 0s 0d, for arrack at four shillings a gallon, and for the tea mentioned earlier. The rest were for credit due to several persons in the Court's books at the island, who had asked for bills payable [...] Interpretations Cordage meant the rope and line of a ship's rigging, and twice-laid stuff was rope remade from the worn strands of old rope, inferior and short-lived. The Council's complaint, first raised earlier, was that London had sent defective supply it could not remedy locally. The note that ships demanded small cordage of three to five inches shows the Council judged the island could profitably resell good rope to passing vessels. The mooring gear request turned on a real hazard to the boats. A killick was an anchor of stone bound in a wooden frame, used by small craft, and the boats at the island rode only by a slung stone inferior even to that. Should the slings part, the boats would be lost, so the Council pressed for a proper mooring anchor and swivel ahead of the general indent. The boats were the sole means of working cargo between ship and shore. The bill of £1,601 0s 0d to Captain Hassar settled the arrack and tea bought from the Hester without shipping coin. Like the earlier purchases from visiting captains, it was met by drawing on the Court for payment at India House. The Council's practice of clearing such large supply purchases through bills steadily transferred the island's commercial outlay to London for settlement. | |
79 | List of the Packett sent [per] Shipp Hester Cap[t] Charles Kesar Comand[er] 1 Copy of Gov[r] & Councells Gen[era]l dated the 19 Feb[ruary] 1714/15 2 Duplicate of D[itt]o [per] Aurengzeb dated y[e] 3 D[itt]o 3 Duplicate of Consultations [per] D[itt]o Ship to the 25 Jan[uar]y 1714/15 4 Copy of Consultations from D[itt]o time to y[e] 22 of March Inclusive Following 5 Ship Aurengzebs Acc[oun]t 6 Jn[o] Keelings Acc[oun]t 7 M[r] Edw[d] Lucas's Acc[oun]t 8 Ship Mercurys Acc[oun]t 9 M[r] Isaac Kittsons Acc[oun]t 10 Ship Hesters Acc[oun]t 11 Cap[t] Cha[s] Kesars Acc[oun]t Margin Notes: In the Stores Ditto | The packet sent by the ship Hester, Captain Charles Hassar commander, contained the following:
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80 | This is the same packet list as the previous page - Hester, Cap[t] Charles Kesar, items 1 to 11. The transcription is identical: List of the Packett sent [per] Shipp Hester Cap[t] Charles Kesar Comand[er] 1 Copy of Gov[r] & Councells Gen[era]l dated the 19 Feb[ruary] 1714/15 2 Duplicate of D[itt]o [per] Aurengzeb dated y[e] 3 D[itt]o 3 Duplicate of Consultations [per] D[itt]o Ship to the 25 Jan[uar]y 1714/15 4 Copy of Consultations from D[itt]o time to y[e] 22 of March Inclusive Following 5 Ship Aurengzebs Acc[oun]t 6 Jn[o] Keelings Acc[oun]t 7 M[r] Edw[d] Lucas's Acc[oun]t 8 Ship Mercurys Acc[oun]t 9 M[r] Isaac Kittsons Acc[oun]t 10 Ship Hesters Acc[oun]t 11 Cap[t] Cha[s] Kesars Acc[oun]t Margin Notes: In the Stores Ditto | The packet sent by the ship Hester, Captain Charles Hassar commander, contained the following: 1 A copy of the Governor and Council's general letter, dated the 19th of February 1715. 2 A duplicate of the same, sent by the Aurangzeb, dated the 3rd of the same. 3 A duplicate of consultations by the same ship, to the 25th of January 1715. 4 A copy of consultations from the same date to the 22nd of March following inclusive. 5 The ship Aurangzeb's account. 6 Mr John Keeling's account. 7 Mr Edward Lucas's account, in the stores. 8 The ship Mercury's account. 9 Mr Isaac Kitson's account, in the stores. 10 The ship Hester's account. 11 Captain Charles Hassar's account, the same. | |
81 | To the Hon[ble] Edm[d] Harrison Esq[r] Gov[er]n[r] & Council (1715 [per] Cardonnel) At Fort S[t] George Gentlem[en] Yours by the Aurengzebe Cap[t] Nichol[s] Luhorne Comand[er] dated the 10 October 1714 we received and the Goods Mentioned therein viz[t] Six Bales of Ordinary Long Cloth three Leagers of Battavia Arrack fourteen Bagg[s] of Bengall Sugar w[i]th two bottles Sealed up as a Muster of Arrack w[ch] goods came Safe here & were good of their kind. Our Hon[ble] Masters have been pleased to Direct us to write to you for such Goods as we have Occasion for here from your Port. Wherefore we desire that when you Dispatch any Ships home that are likely to Touch here that you would please to think upon S[t] Helena and send us Some Goods for our Islanders We are Less Particular because Gov[er]n[r] Harrison knows this Place So well that he Can best Direct what Sort of Goods are most usefull and most Demanded here But if when you do Fit up any Goods for us Please to Lett us have Some fine Chints of Sorts from twenty to forty pago- =does [per] Corge they would be very acceptable to our People and turn to Good Acc[oun]t here We are now Indifferently well Stocked w[i]th that Sort of Long Cloth you sent us Last But if we had Some very fine could Dispose of it to Advantage. Ginghams Margin Notes: fine Chints Goa[?] & alsoe fine Long Cloth | This letter was addressed to the Honourable Edmund Harrison, esquire, Governor, and the Council at Fort St George, dated 1715 and sent by the Cardonnel. The Council at St Helena had received the letter from Fort St George by the Aurangzeb, Captain Nicholas Lahore commander, dated 13 October 1714, together with the goods mentioned in it, namely: Six bales of ordinary long cloth. Three leaguers of Batavia arrack. Fourteen bags of Bengal sugar, with two bottles sealed up as a muster of the arrack. The goods came safe to the island and were good of their kind. The Council's Honourable Masters had been pleased to direct it to write to Fort St George for such goods as it had occasion for. The Council therefore asked that, when Fort St George despatched any ships homeward likely to touch at the island, it would think upon St Helena and send some goods for the islanders. The Council was the less particular in its request because Governor Harrison knew the island so well that he could best direct what sort of goods were most useful and most in demand there. If Fort St George put up any goods for the Council, it asked to have some fine chintz of sorts, from twenty to forty pagodas the corge. These would be very acceptable to the people and turn to good account, the island being now indifferently well stocked with the ordinary long cloth sent the last time. As for the fine long cloth sent before, if the Council had some very fine, it could dispose of it to advantage. Some ginghams [...] Interpretations The letter shows St Helena drawing Eastern goods directly from Fort St George, the Company's principal settlement on the Coromandel coast, under a standing direction from the Court in London. Rather than wait for everything through England, the island could requisition Indian goods from the nearest great factory by any homeward ship that touched. This lateral supply within the Company's network shortened the chain for cloth, sugar and spirit. A muster meant a sample, here the two sealed bottles of arrack sent as a reference against the consignment. This was the very evidentiary device the Council had asked Bencoolen to supply in the letter of 9 July 1714, a sealed marker against adulteration in transit. Its arrival shows the practice adopted, giving the Council a fixed standard to test the delivered spirit. Chintz, ginghams and long cloth were all Indian cotton goods of the Coromandel trade. Chintz was printed or painted cotton, ginghams were woven of dyed yarn in stripes or checks, and long cloth was the plain staple. Pricing the chintz at twenty to forty pagodas the corge, the corge being twenty pieces and the pagoda the gold coin of the coast, let the Council specify both grade and quantity in the terms of the Madras market. The request distinguished fine goods for paying buyers from the ordinary cloth issued more widely. | |
82 | Ginghams of Sorts both fine and Course would yeild a Proffit. We Should be very Glad if you have any Lusty and able bodied Black fellows that you can Spare that you would Send them to us to work in our Plantations we being in Real want of Good Slaves, and if you Please some Tap Seales or any thing Else that's Strong to Cloth[e] them and the Rest of our Slaves. Batavia Arrack & Sugar is always in Demand here the Islanders being not able to Live without it wherefore we desire you to Send us always Some of that We pray you alsoe by Every Ship to Send a few Seeds & Plants of any kind which we will Endeavour to Improve here to the best Advantage we can. And we pray you to give a Generall Instruction to all your ships that are homeward bound That whoever happens to touch at the Cape of Good Hope do bring us some seeds and Plants of Each kind Proper for a Kitchin Garden from that Place We brought a great quantity of Severall Sorts of Seeds from England but we find by Experience that the Seeds and Plants from thence are not So agreeable to this Place as those we had from the Cape of Good Hope. We have found here Letters from yo[ur] Relateing to the three French ships and M[r] Rob[t] Tatworth and are very Sorry to hear of Such bad Conduct at fort S[t] Davids so Prejudi =ceall to our Hon[ble] Masters affairs and had we been on the place when they were here We should upon Directions from you used our Utmost Endeavours to have Servd & Sent him home who we have Since heard Dyed in France. We have rec[eive]d by the Ship Hannover Cap[t] Osborne Com- mander, the Silver Fanams and Copper Pice as mentioned in your Letter Dated the 1[st] February 1713/14 which we hope to Put to Such Good uses as may Answer the End they were Sent for And if we should have Occasion for more then the Parcells you mention shall send to you for them. But must put you in mind that we think there was some Small Mistake Margin Notes: Ginghams Blacks & Cloathing Seeds & Plants D[itt]o from the Cape Fanams rec[eive]d from Madrass a mistake | Ginghams of sorts, both fine and coarse, would yield a profit. The Council would be very glad if Fort St George had any lusty and able-bodied slaves it could spare, and would send them to work in the island's plantations. The island was in real want of good slaves. The Council also asked, if Fort St George pleased, for some tap sails, or anything else strong, to clothe them and the rest of the island's slaves. Batavia arrack and sugar were always in demand at the island, the islanders not being able to live without it. The Council therefore asked Fort St George always to send some. It also asked that every ship bring a few seeds and plants of any kind, which the Council would endeavour to improve at the island to the best advantage. The Council further asked Fort St George to give a general instruction to all its homeward-bound ships, that whoever happened to touch at the Cape of Good Hope should bring some seeds and plants of each kind proper for a kitchen garden from that place. The Council had brought a great quantity of several sorts of seeds from England, but found by experience that the seeds and plants from there were not so agreeable to the island as those it had from the Cape of Good Hope. The Council had found letters at the island relating to the three French ships and Mr Robert Stanworth. It was very sorry to hear of such bad conduct at Fort St David, so prejudicial to the Honourable Masters' affairs. Had the Council been on the spot when the letters came, it would, upon directions from Fort St George, have used its utmost endeavours to have served and sent Stanworth home. The Council had since heard that he had died in France. The Council had received by the ship Hanover, Captain Osborne commander, the silver fanams and copper pice mentioned in the letter from Fort St George dated the 1st of February 1715. These the Council hoped to put to such good uses as the end they were sent for. Should it have occasion for more than the present parcels, it would send to Fort St George for them. The Council had, however, to point out that it thought there was some small mistake [...] Interpretations The request for able-bodied slaves from Fort St George opened a second source of plantation labour alongside the Guinea and Bengal supply pressed elsewhere. By drawing slaves from the Coromandel coast as well, the Council sought to meet the want set out repeatedly in the recent despatches, where two hundred more were needed. The call for tap sails to clothe them shows coarse cloth requisitioned together with the labour it would dress. The preference for Cape seed over English confirms the agricultural finding of the despatch of 12 November 1714, where eleven sorts of garden seed from the Cape had all thrived while the European seed performed poorly. By asking Fort St George to instruct all homeward ships to lift seed at the Cape, the Council sought to make a one-off success into a standing supply line for fresh seed from a southern climate. The silver fanams and copper pice received by the Hanover delivered the small coin central to the Council's monetary reform. Pice were low-value Indian copper coins, the counterpart of the fanams, both chosen because coin of little worth would not be carried off the island. Their arrival let the Council begin paying small sums in cash, the means by which it hoped to end credit-trusting in the stores and move toward sale for ready money. The Stanworth affair, tied to the three French ships and the bad conduct at Fort St David, touched the Company's wider difficulties with French shipping after the Treaty of Utrecht. Fort St David was the Company's settlement south of Pondicherry, and the matter was judged prejudicial to the Masters' affairs. The Council's regret that it could not act, Stanworth having since died in France, marks a loose end in a sensitive episode rather than a matter it could resolve. | |
83 | Mistake in Puting them up because the Silver Fanams wanted one ounce and Six Penny weight of what was mentiond in your Invoice or in the Packing Note that was Put up w[i]th them. When we arrived here we found this Island in a very Deplorable and Poor Condition Occasiond by a Long Drouth but thank God it has for Some time since and is now in a more Flourishing State, having at Last pleasd God to send us a good Season So that all Sorts of provisions are Plenty and a Sufficient quantity to Refresh and Supply all ships that call here in their way home and may alsoe be furnished with w[i]th good Naviall Stores English Beef Pork Flour Cease, Cheese &c[a] the Hon[ble] Company being Resolved to Continue sending us yearly ( as Did by Ship Cardonnell ) a good quantity of Such Provisions So that no ship will need to touch at any other Place homeward bound for any Refreshm[en]t their Remaining Voyage. This Letter comes by the Cardonnell Cap[t] W[m] Mawson who Arrived here on the 8[th] May Last w[i]th Stors from England and is bound to Bencoolen. We wish you health and Prosperity, and are Gentlemen Your Humble Servants Isa[ac] Pyke Geo[rge] Haswell Matt[hew] Bazett Antip[as] Tovey Edw[ard] Byfeld Margin Notes: when put up y[e] Island found poor Since flourishes & Provisions plenty for Shipping alsoe Naviall Stores & all Provision P.S. If you have any Man or men that understands to make Tarress for the Tops of Houses we desire you to Send us one by the first Opportunity | The mistake was in the putting up of the coin, because the silver fanams wanted one ounce and six pennyweight of what was mentioned in the invoice, or in the packing note that was put up with them. When the Council arrived at the island, it found the place in a very deplorable and poor condition, caused by a long drought. For some time since, however, and now, the island was in a more flourishing state. It had at last pleased God to send a good season, so that all sorts of provisions were plentiful, and there was a sufficient quantity to refresh and supply all ships that called on their way home. The island might also be furnished with good naval stores, English beef, pork, flour, peas and cheese. The Honourable Company being resolved to continue sending yearly, as it had done by the ship Cardonnel, a good quantity of such provisions, no ship would need to touch at any other place homeward bound for any refreshment for the remainder of its voyage. The present letter went by the Cardonnel, Captain William Mawson, who had arrived at the island on the 5th of May last, with stores from England, and was bound for Bencoolen. The Council wished Fort St George health and prosperity. The letter was dated at Union Castle, St Helena, on 29 June 1715. The subscribers were Isaac Pyke, George Haswell, Matthew Bazett, Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield. A postscript added that, if Fort St George had any man or men that understood how to make terraces for the tops of houses, the Council asked it to send one by the first opportunity. Interpretations The shortfall in the silver fanams, one ounce and six pennyweight short of the invoice, mattered because the coin was traded by weight rather than face value. A discrepancy between the packing note and the metal delivered was a question of account between the two factories, the kind of precise check the Council applied to all incoming consignments. Flagging it preserved the integrity of the reckoning between St Helena and Fort St George. The recovery from drought reframed the island's standing with the wider Company network. The deplorable condition reported on the new Council's arrival, traced now to a long drought, was set against a season of plenty. This let the Council confirm St Helena's core function as the victualling station for homeward ships, able to refresh the fleet so that no vessel need touch elsewhere on the passage home. The annual supply of English provisions by ships such as the Cardonnel secured the island's role as a Company-stocked refreshment point. Salt beef, pork, flour, peas and cheese, sent yearly from England, backed the local produce so that the station could provision shipping in any season. The arrangement reduced the fleet's dependence on rival ports such as the Cape, keeping the homeward trade within the Company's own chain. The request for a man able to make terraces for the tops of houses sought a specific building skill from the Coromandel coast. Flat terraced roofs, finished to shed water and bear use, were a feature of Indian construction suited to a warm climate, distinct from the pitched roofs of England. The Council looked to Fort St George for expertise its own tradesmen lacked, continuing the search for skilled artificers pressed throughout these despatches. | |
84 | Mistake in Puting them up because the Silver Fanams wanted one ounce and Six Penny weight of what was mentiond in your Invoice or in the Packing Note that was Put up w[i]th them. When we arrived here we found this Island in a very Deplorable and Poor Condition Occasiond by a Long Drouth but thank God it has for Some time since and is now in a more Flourishing State, having at Last pleasd God to send us a good Season So that all Sorts of provisions are Plenty and a Sufficient quantity to Refresh and Supply all ships that call here in their way home and may alsoe be furnished with w[i]th good Naviall Stores English Beef Pork Flour Cease, Cheese &c[a] the Hon[ble] Company being Resolved to Continue sending us yearly ( as Did by Ship Cardonnell ) a good quantity of Such Provisions So that no ship will need to touch at any other Place homeward bound for any Refreshm[en]t their Remaining Voyage. This Letter comes by the Cardonnell Cap[t] W[m] Mawson who Arrived here on the 8[th] May Last w[i]th Stors from England and is bound to Bencoolen. We wish you health and Prosperity, and are Gentlemen Your Humble Servants Isa[ac] Pyke Geo[rge] Haswell Matt[hew] Bazett Antip[as] Tovey Edw[ard] Byfeld Margin Notes: when put up y[e] Island found poor Since flourishes & Provisions plenty for Shipping alsoe Naviall Stores & all Provision P.S. If you have any Man or men that understands to make Tarress for the Tops of Houses we desire you to Send us one by the first Opportunity | The mistake was in the putting up of the coin, because the silver fanams wanted one ounce and six pennyweight of what was mentioned in the invoice, or in the packing note that was put up with them. When the Council arrived at the island, it found the place in a very deplorable and poor condition, caused by a long drought. For some time since, however, and now, the island was in a more flourishing state. It had at last pleased God to send a good season, so that all sorts of provisions were plentiful, and there was a sufficient quantity to refresh and supply all ships that called on their way home. The island might also be furnished with good naval stores, English beef, pork, flour, peas and cheese. The Honourable Company being resolved to continue sending yearly, as it had done by the ship Cardonnel, a good quantity of such provisions, no ship would need to touch at any other place homeward bound for any refreshment for the remainder of its voyage. The present letter went by the Cardonnel, Captain William Mawson, who had arrived at the island on the 5th of May last, with stores from England, and was bound for Bencoolen. The Council wished Fort St George health and prosperity. The letter was dated at Union Castle, St Helena, on 29 June 1715. The subscribers were Isaac Pyke, George Haswell, Matthew Bazett, Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield. A postscript added that, if Fort St George had any man or men that understood how to make terraces for the tops of houses, the Council asked it to send one by the first opportunity. Interpretations The shortfall in the silver fanams, one ounce and six pennyweight short of the invoice, mattered because the coin was traded by weight rather than face value. A discrepancy between the packing note and the metal delivered was a question of account between the two factories, the kind of precise check the Council applied to all incoming consignments. Flagging it preserved the integrity of the reckoning between St Helena and Fort St George. The recovery from drought reframed the island's standing with the wider Company network. The deplorable condition reported on the new Council's arrival, traced now to a long drought, was set against a season of plenty. This let the Council confirm St Helena's core function as the victualling station for homeward ships, able to refresh the fleet so that no vessel need touch elsewhere on the passage home. The annual supply of English provisions by ships such as the Cardonnel secured the island's role as a Company-stocked refreshment point. Salt beef, pork, flour, peas and cheese, sent yearly from England, backed the local produce so that the station could provision shipping in any season. The arrangement reduced the fleet's dependence on rival ports such as the Cape, keeping the homeward trade within the Company's own chain. The request for a man able to make terraces for the tops of houses sought a specific building skill from the Coromandel coast. Flat terraced roofs, finished to shed water and bear use, were a feature of Indian construction suited to a warm climate, distinct from the pitched roofs of England. The Council looked to Fort St George for expertise its own tradesmen lacked, continuing the search for skilled artificers pressed throughout these despatches. | |
85 | send us Eight or Ten by Each Ship being in Real want of two Hundred for our Hon[ble] Masters Service in their Plantations and other uses being at this time obliged to give great prices for any thats Offered to Saile. When we Arrived here we found this Island in a very Deplorable & Poor Condition Occasiond by a Long Drouth but thank God it has been for some time Since and is now in a flourishing State, having ( at Last ) pleased God to send us a good Season So that all Sorts of provision are Plenty and a Sufficient quantity to Refresh and Supply all Ships that call here in their way Home and may alsoe be furnished with good Navall Stores English Beef, Pork flour, Beare, Cheese &c[a] The Hon[ble] Company being Resolved to Continue Sending us yearly ( as did by Ship Cardonell ) a good quantity of Such Provisions So that no ship will need to touch at any other Place home =ward bound for any Refreshm[en]t their Remaining Voyag[e] The following ships hath arrived here from India Since the Arrivall of the Rochester from England which was on the 6 of July Last viz[t] The Susannah Cap[t] Pennill from Bencoolen on the 31 October 1714 The Frederick Cap[t] Phrip from Madrass on the the 15 November The Aurengzebe Cap[t] Luhorne from Ditto on the 14 Jan[uar]y 1715 The 29 Jan[uar]y a french Ship Named the Jason Comanded by Cap[t] Du Demain The Mercury Cap[t] Litton on y[e] 15 february The 19 D[itt]o another french Ship Named the S[t] Lewis Cap[t] La Born Apree[?] The Hester Cap[t] Charles Kesar on y[e] 2 March from Canton The Margin Notes: 8 or 10 [per] Ship a Sickly Drouth tho y[e] Isl[an]d flourishes Nav[all] Stores & Salt Provisions to Supply Ships List of Ships | The Council asked Fort St George to send eight or ten slaves by each ship, the island being in real want of two hundred for the Honourable Masters' service in their plantations and other uses. The Council was at this time obliged to give great prices for any that were offered for sale. When the Council arrived at the island, it found the place in a very deplorable and poor condition, caused by a long drought. For some time since, however, and now, the island was in a more flourishing state. It had at last pleased God to send a good season, so that all sorts of provisions were plentiful, and there was a sufficient quantity to refresh and supply all ships that called on their way home. The island might also be furnished with good naval stores, English beef, pork, flour, peas and cheese. The Honourable Company being resolved to continue sending yearly, as it had done by the ship Cardonnel, a good quantity of such provisions, no ship would need to touch at any other place homeward bound for any refreshment for the remainder of its voyage. The following ships had arrived at the island from India since the arrival of the Rochester from England, which was on the 6th of July last: The Susannah, Captain Pennill, from Bencoolen, on the 31st of October 1714. The Frederick, Captain Phrip, from Madras, on the 15th of November. The Aurangzeb, Captain Lahore, from the same, on the 14th of January 1715. On the 29th of January a French ship named the Jason, commanded by Captain Du Demain. The Mercury, Captain Lytton, on the 15th of February. On the 19th of the same, another French ship named the St Lewis, Captain La Born, in April. The Hester, Captain Charles Hassar, on the 2nd of March, from Canton. Interpretations The list of arrivals served as a record of the Company's homeward traffic touching at the island, dated by vessel against the fixed point of the Rochester's arrival on 6 July 1714. By setting out which ships called and when, the Council gave the Court a running account of the station's role in the trade, and a check against the cargoes, bills and intelligence reported in the separate despatches by each ship. The two French vessels among the arrivals, the Jason and the St Lewis, mark the continuing presence of French shipping in these waters after the Treaty of Utrecht. The Jason was the former man of war from which the Council had bought brandy, and its inclusion alongside the Company's own ships shows the island handling foreign callers under careful watch, the wariness set out over the French at Rupert's Bay and Fort St David. The request for eight or ten slaves by each ship, set against a stated want of two hundred, shows the Council spreading its labour demand across many conveyances rather than seeking a single large consignment. Small parcels by each homeward ship from Fort St George would build the establishment steadily while avoiding the mortality and management strain of a mass arrival, the difficulty seen with the Calabar cargo in the despatch of 12 November 1714. | |
86 | The 9 Aprill Passed by this Island 24 Saile of Ships which Suppose to be all Dutch Men The 25 following a Single Ship w[i]th Dutch Collours came in Sight of our Castle, but did not Come to an Anchor nor sent her boat on Shoar. The Cardonell Cap[t] W[m] Mawson ( by whom this Comes ) Arrived on the 8[th] of May from England w[i]th Stores bound to Bencoolen &c[a] The Eagle Galley Cap[t] Beekman on the 10 June from Borneo but last from the cape who brought us News that the following Ships touch there out and home viz[t] The Clapham Galley Sloop Thomas Gray Mast[er] from Brazil[?] Delgoa[?] and Terrado Notall Arrivd on the 24 August 1714 The Rochest[er] Cap[t] Brown from S[t] Helena on the 25 Ditto The Grantham & Sumnors, Collet & Peacock ( who touch[t] at Don Mascarinas ) on the Last of Novemb[er] or thereabouts The Clapham Galley Cap[t] Wilks from Ben =coolen Novemb[er] 4[th] The Deliha[?] Cap[t] Rogers from Madagascar the 21 Novemb[er] The Kent Cap[t] Minter from London to Madrass & Bencoolen on y[e] 5[th] Jan[uary] The Nathaniel Cap[t] Negus for Mocho February the 21 The Bertie Cap[t] Douglas from Canton the 25 March The Dartmouth Cap[t] Plow for Canton May the 21 On | On the 9th of April twenty-four sail of ships passed by the island, which the Council supposed to be all Dutchmen. On the 25th following a single ship, with Dutch colours, came in sight of the castle, but did not come to an anchor nor send her boat ashore. The Cardonnel, Captain William Mawson, by whom the present letter went, arrived on the 5th of May from England with stores, bound for Bencoolen. The Eagle Galley, Captain Beckman, arrived on the 10th of June from Borneo, but last from the Cape. He brought news that the following ships had touched there, both outward and homeward bound, namely: The Clapham Galley sloop, Thomas Gray master, from Brazil, Angola and Terra do Natal, arrived on the 24th of August 1714. The Rochester, Captain Brown, from St Helena, on the 25th of the same. The Grantham and the Somers, Collett and Peacock, who touched at Don Mascarine on the last of November or thereabouts. The Clapham Galley, Captain Wilks, from Bencoolen, on the 4th of November. The Dellight, Captain Rogers, from Madagascar, on the 21st of November. The Kent, Captain Minter, from London to Madras and Bencoolen, on the 5th of January. The Nathaniel, Captain Negus, for Mocha, on the 2nd of February. The Bertie, Captain Douglas, from Canton, on the 25th of March. The Dartmouth, Captain Plow, for Canton, on the 2nd of May. [...] Interpretations The sighting of twenty-four sail passing in company, supposed to be Dutch, connects to the intelligence of the despatch of 19 February 1715, which reported the next Dutch fleet sailing from the Cape on 10 April new style. A fleet of that size passing within sight of the island confirmed the rival's movements and underlined the scale of Dutch traffic on the same sea lanes the Company used. The single ship under Dutch colours that approached on the 25th but neither anchored nor sent a boat ashore was noted as a matter of watchfulness. A foreign vessel standing off the castle without making contact warranted record on a station alert to surprise, the same caution shown toward the French callers and behind the fortification proposals for Rupert's Bay. The catalogue of ships reported at the Cape by the Eagle Galley extended the Council's intelligence-gathering far beyond its own anchorage. By relaying the movements of English, Company and other vessels touching at the Cape, outward and homeward, the Council passed the Court a picture of traffic across the whole southern route. Each captain who called became a source, building the running account of the fleet the Court relied upon. | |
87 | On the 13 of May the Eagle Galley mett the Hester Cap[t] Tolson in Lat[itu]de 33:50 S[outh] This Account of ships Arrivall here and at the Cape we thought would be Acceptable to you to shew how farr they were in safety. We are Gentlemen Your Humble Serv[an]ts Isaac Pyke Geo[rge] Haswell Matt[hew] Bazett Antip[as] Tovey Edw[ard] Byfield To the Hon[ble] Presid[en]t & Coun[cil] for affairs of (1715 [per] Cardonnel) the United Trade in Bengall S[ir]s The Last to you from hence was by the Susannah Cap[t] Pinnell Comand[er] dated the 29 June 1713 Since which we have had no Opportunity to write till now our Arrivall here being Margin Notes: United Castle S[t] Helena June y[e] 23 1715 P.S. If you have any Man or men that understands to make Tarress for the Tops of Houses we desire you to send us one by the first Opportunity | On the 13th of May the Eagle Galley met the Hester, Captain Tolson, in latitude 33 degrees 50 minutes south. The Council thought this account of ships' arrivals at the island, and at the Cape, would be acceptable to Fort St George, to show how far they were in safety. The letter was dated at United Castle, St Helena, on 29 June 1715. The subscribers were Isaac Pyke, George Haswell, Matthew Bazett, Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield. A postscript added that, if Fort St George had any man or men that understood how to make terraces for the tops of houses, the Council asked it to send one by the first opportunity. This next letter was addressed to the Honourable President and Council for the Affairs of the United Trade in Bengal, dated 1715 and sent by the Cardonnel. 1 The Council's last letter to Bengal had gone by the Susannah, Captain Pennill commander, dated the 29th of June 1713. Since then it had had no opportunity to write until now, its arrival at the island being [...] Interpretations The stated purpose of the shipping account, to show how far the ships were in safety, defines the function of all the Council's fleet reporting. The catalogue was not mere record but a safety register, by which a distant factory could learn that a particular vessel had been seen sound at a known date and place. News of a meeting at sea, such as the Eagle Galley with the Hester in latitude 33 degrees 50 minutes south, fixed a ship's position for those awaiting it. The opening to the Bengal Council names the President and Council for the Affairs of the United Trade, the form reflecting the union of the rival English East India Companies as the United Court. Bengal was one of the three great presidencies of the Company's Eastern establishment, and St Helena's direct correspondence with it shows the island woven into the lateral network of factories, not merely reporting up to London. The long silence since the letter of 29 June 1713, broken only now, marks how thin the communication between St Helena and Bengal had been. With no ship offering a direct conveyance in the interval, the island had gone two years without writing to a principal presidency. The gap illustrates how the flow of Company correspondence depended wholly on the chance movements of shipping. | |
88 | on the 8 July Last past. 2 Since which we find the Receipt of severall Letters from you and by your Last dated the 17 Feb[ruar]y 1714 and Invoice that you sent in the King William Galley Containing viz[t] Ten Baggs of Rice Eight D[itt]o of Sugar &c[a] three Leagers of Battavia Arrack which Proved good and Desire you'l always continue the same Method of sending a bottle a part Seald up for a Muster and that you'l not faile in Supplying us on all opportunity with such necessarys as our Hon[ble] Masters are Pleasd to Order us which we hope will be good in their kinds. 3 And just now the 19 Instant Arrived the Hannover Cap[t] Osborne from Madrass w[i]th the following Goods viz[t] 3 Leagers of Battavia Arrack 15 Baggs of Sugar &c[a] 27 Baggs of Rice w[i]th the bottles for a Muster. 4 If you have any Lusty able Bodied Black fellows or Boys fitt for Labour that you can spare we desire you would send Eight or ten in Each Ship being in Real want of Such for our Hon[ble] Masters use and had we two hundred we could Dispose of them being at Presnt when any is offered to Sale Obliged to give twenty five Pound and more a Head whereas from you would not Cost the Hon[ble] Comp[a]: near so much and are Counted the best fellows. 5 We desire you to send us some good Saunoes that are very fine, or other Fine Cloth fitt for Shirting w[ch] would very well answer to our Hon[ble] Masters Interest & yeild them good Proffitt here. Margin Notes: Goods rec[eive]d [per] King W[m] all Necessary Goods desired to be sent us [per] Ord[er] from Engl[an]d Goods rec[eive]d [per] Hannover | The Council's arrival at the island had been on the 8th of July last past. 2 Since then the Council had received several letters from Bengal, and by its last, dated the 17th of February 1714, an invoice of goods sent in the King William Galley, containing: Ten bags of rice. Eight ditto of sugar. Three leaguers of Batavia arrack. These had proved good. The Council asked Bengal always to continue the same method of sending a bottle apart, sealed up for a muster, and not to fail in supplying the island on every opportunity with such necessaries as the Honourable Masters were pleased to order, which the Council hoped would be good of their kind. 3 Just now, on the 19th instant, the Hanover, Captain Osborne, had arrived from Madras with the following goods: Three leaguers of Batavia arrack. Fifteen bags of sugar. Twenty-seven bags of rice, with the bottles for a muster. 4 If Bengal had any lusty able-bodied slaves on board fit for labour that it could spare, the Council asked it to send eight or ten by each ship, the island being in real want of such for the Honourable Masters' use. Had the Council two hundred, it could dispose of them, being at present obliged to give twenty-five pounds and more a head when any were offered for sale. Slaves from Bengal would not cost the Company near so much, and were reckoned the best. 5 The Council asked Bengal to send some good sannoes that were very fine, or other fine cloth fit for shirting. These would answer very well to the Honourable Masters' interest, and yield good profit at the island. Interpretations The sealed muster bottle requested of Bengal repeats the evidentiary device the Council had sought from Bencoolen in the letter of 9 July 1714 and received from Fort St George. A sample sealed apart from the consignment gave a fixed standard against which the delivered arrack could be tested for adulteration in transit. Its adoption across several factories shows the Council standardising quality control on its incoming spirit. The price of twenty-five pounds and more a head set the cost of slaves bought locally against the cheaper Bengal supply the Council preferred. By drawing eight or ten from each Bengal ship, the Council sought to meet its want of two hundred at lower cost than the open market at the island offered. This continued the source-diversification pressed since the Calabar cargo of the despatch of 12 November 1714. Sannoes were a fine plain cotton cloth of the Bengal trade, used for shirting and similar wear. The Council's request for very fine sannoes, fit to yield profit, looked to the better grades for paying buyers at the island. This connects to the complaint in the despatch of 12 November 1714 that earlier sannoes had arrived damaged and patched with seersucker, a defect the Council was keen not to see repeated. | |
89 | here. 6 Sail Cloth of the Double Dungaree kind will alsoe turn to a good Accounts here. 7 Ginghams fine and Course are much wanted here, and would yeild a Price. 8 Chloe Shirts and alsoe white Shirts ready made would be of great use to us and Serve both the Garrison Soldiers and the Slaves but we desire they may be made very Large being to be worne by working Men. 9 We alsoe desire you to send us Cotton Stockings Well Whitened with Large feet both fine and Course, which are much wanted here. 10 We pray you to give a Generall Instruction to all your Ships that are Home =ward bound that whoever happens to touch at the Cape of Good Hope do bring us Seeds & plants of Each kind Proper for a Kitchen Garden from that Place. 11 We brought a good quantity of Severall Sorts of seeds from England But we find by Experience that the Seeds and Plants from thence are not so agreeable to this Place as those we have had from the Cape of Good Hope. 12 When we arrivd here we found this Island in a very Deplorable & Poor condition occasiond by a Long Drouth but thank God it has been for sometime since and is now in a more flourishing State having ( at Last ) Pleasd God to send us a good Season So that all Sorts of Provision are Plenty and a Sufficient Quantity to Refresh & Supply all Ships that call here in their way home, & may alsoe be furnished w[i]th Good Naviall Stores, English Beef, Pork, flower, Pease, Cheese &c[a]: the Hon[ble] Comp[a] being Resolv- =ed to Continue sending us yearly ( as did by Ship | 6 Sailcloth of the double dungaree kind would also turn to good account at the island. 7 Ginghams, fine and coarse, were much wanted at the island, and would yield a price. 8 Chilloe shirts, and also white shirts ready made, would be of great use, and serve both the garrison soldiers and the slaves. The Council asked that they be made very large, being to be worn by working men. 9 The Council also asked Bengal to send cotton stockings, well whitened and with large feet, both fine and coarse, which were much wanted at the island. 10 The Council asked Bengal to give a general instruction to all its homeward-bound ships, that whoever happened to touch at the Cape of Good Hope should bring some seeds and plants of each kind proper for a kitchen garden from that place. 11 The Council had brought a good quantity of several sorts of seeds from England, but found by experience that the seeds and plants from there were not so agreeable to the island as those it had from the Cape of Good Hope. 12 When the Council arrived at the island, it found the place in a very deplorable and poor condition, caused by a long drought. For some time since, however, and now, the island was in a more flourishing state. It had at last pleased God to send a good season, so that all sorts of provisions were plentiful, and there was a sufficient quantity to refresh and supply all ships that called on their way home. The island might also be furnished with good naval stores, English beef, pork, flour, peas and cheese. The Honourable Company being resolved to continue sending yearly [...] Interpretations Dungaree was a coarse Indian cotton cloth, and the double sort named here was a heavier weave suited to sailcloth. The cloths requested across these paragraphs, dungaree, ginghams, chilloe and plain shirting, were all goods of the Bengal trade, ranging from rough working wear to finer fabric for sale. The Council matched its order to the island's mixed market of garrison, slaves and paying planters. The instruction that shirts be made very large, to be worn by working men, shows the Council specifying garments fit for labour rather than display. Clothing the garrison soldiers and the slaves from Bengal cloth tied the supply of fabric to the labour establishment, the same pairing of cloth with workers seen in the request to Fort St George for tap sails to clothe the slaves. The repeated preference for Cape seed over English confirms the agricultural finding of the despatch of 12 November 1714, where Cape seed thrived and European seed failed. By pressing Bengal too to have its homeward ships lift seed at the Cape, the Council sought the same standing supply line it had asked of Fort St George, spreading the request across every factory whose ships passed that way. | |
90 | Ship Cardonnell ) a good quantity of such Provissions, so that no Ship will need to touch at any other Place homeward bound for any Refreshment their Remaining Voyage. 13 The following Ships hath Arrivd here from India &c[a] since the Arrivall of the Rochester from England The Susannah Cap[t]: Pinnell from Bencoolen on the 31 of October 1714 The Fredezick Cap[t]: Phripp from Madrass on the 15 Novemb[er] The Aurengzeb Cap[t]: Luhorn from D[itt]o on the 14 Jan[uar]y 1715 The 29 Jan[uar]y a French Ship Naimd the Jason Comanded by Cap[t] De Dumain The Mercury Cap[t]: Litton on the 15 February The 19 D[itt]o another French Ship Naimd the S[t] Lewis Cap[t]: La Barn Apree[?] The Hester Cap[t]: Cha[s] Kesar on the 2 March from Canton. The 9 April Passed by the Island 24 Sail of Ships which Suppose to be all Dutch men The 25 following a Single Ship w[i]th Dutch Colours came in Sight of our Castle, but did not come to an Anchor nor sent no boat on shore. The Cardonnell Cap[t] William Mawson by whom this comes Arrived on the 31 of May from England w[i]th Stores bound to Bencoolen | The Honourable Company being resolved to continue sending yearly, by the ship Cardonnel, a good quantity of such provisions, no ship would need to touch at any other place homeward bound for any refreshment for the remainder of its voyage. 13 The following ships had arrived at the island from India since the arrival of the Rochester from England: The Susannah, Captain Pennill, from Bencoolen, on the 31st of October 1714. The Frederick, Captain Phrip, from Madras, on the 15th of November. The Aurangzeb, Captain Lahore, from the same, on the 14th of January 1715. On the 29th of January a French ship named the Jason, commanded by Captain Du Demain. The Mercury, Captain Lytton, on the 15th of February. On the 19th of the same, another French ship named the St Lewis, Captain La Born, in April. The Hester, Captain Charles Hassar, on the 2nd of March, from Canton. On the 9th of April twenty-four sail of ships passed by the island, which the Council supposed to be all Dutchmen. On the 25th following a single ship, with Dutch colours, came in sight of the castle, but did not come to an anchor nor send her boat ashore. The Cardonnel, Captain William Mawson, by whom the present letter went, arrived on the 31st of May from England with stores, bound for Bencoolen. | |
91 | The Eagle Galley Cap[t]: Beckman on the 10 June from Burneo but Last from the Cape who brought news that the following Ships toucht there viz[t] The Clapham Galley Sloop Tho[s] Gray Master from Bay Delgoa and Serra Do Notall Arrived on the 24 August 1714 The Rochester Cap[t]: Brown from S[t] Helena on the 25 D[itt]o The Grantham & Summers Collitt & Peacock ( who toucht at Don Mascarinas ) on the Last Novemb[er] or thereabouts The Clapham Galley Cap[t] Wilks from Bencoolen the 4 Nov[ember] The Delitia Cap[t]: Rogers from Madagascar the 21 Novemb[er] The Kent Cap[t]: Minter from London to Madrass & Bencoolen on the 5 Jan[uar]y The Nathaniell Cap[t] Negus & for Mocho Feb[ruar]y the 21 The Bartie Cap[t]: Douglass from Canton the 29 March The Dartmouth Cap[t]: Blow for Canton May the 1 On the 13 of May the Eagle Galley mett the Heathcott Cap[t]: Tolson in Lattitude 33:50 S[outh] 14 This Account of Ships Arrivall here and at the Cape we thought would be Acceptable to you to shew how farr they were | The ships of the Court's fleet were reported to be in safety. The closing of the letter to the Governor and Council at Fort St George, dated at United Castle, St Helena, on 29 June 1715, ended with a note that the Court's ships were in safety. A postscript asked that, if any man or men were available who understood how to make terraces for the tops of houses, one should be sent at the first opportunity. The letter was subscribed by Isaac Pyke, George Haswell, Matthew Bazett, Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield. A new letter to the Court of Directors then opened, dated 1715 and sent by the Cardonnel. 1: The Council's previous letter to the Court had gone by the Rochester, Captain William Browne commander, dated 29 July 1714, and a copy was enclosed with the present despatch. Since that letter the Council had received the Court's letter of 16 May 1714 by the Susannah, Captain Pennill, who arrived at the island on 31 October following. That letter came with the invoice and bill of lading for the arrack and sugar, all of which arrived safely and proved good of its kind. 2: The Malay man supplied by the Court had died during the voyage. The Council would be ready to employ any other men fit for labour who might be sent. A few people of that sort were already at the island, though they were sometimes ready to cause trouble. The danger was greatest when they fell in with anyone wicked and inclined to mutiny, since such men were apt to lead one another astray. The Council would in those cases ask the Court for the same help again. Interpretations The Malay man described as supplied by the Court reflects the East India Company's practice of moving bound Asian labour westward along its shipping routes from its eastern settlements to St Helena. Such men supplemented the island's slave and garrison labour force, which stood under permanent strain. The Council's readiness to take more, set against its warning about their conduct, shows the constant shortage of hands measured against the difficulty of controlling a mixed and discontented labour pool. The Council's anxiety about men inclined to mutiny drew on recent experience rather than general caution. A mutiny party of eight soldiers had been sent to Bencoolen on the Rochester in July 1714, recorded in the Council letter to Bencoolen of 9 July 1714, with five men of the Bencoolen draft retained in their place. Speculations The Council's decision to enclose a copy of its earlier letter of 29 July 1714 addressed the chronic unreliability of Company correspondence, which depended wholly on the chance movement of shipping. Sending a duplicate by a later vessel guarded against the loss or delay of the original, a deliberate hedge against the long silences that the island's isolation could otherwise impose. | |
92 | were in Safety. Union Castle St Helena June the 29: 1715: P.S. If you have any Man, or Men, that under[s]tands to make Tarras for the Tops of houses we desire you to [s]end us one by the first opportunity. Wee are Gentlemen Yor: Humble Serv:ts Isaac Pyke George Haswell Matthew Bazett Antipas Tovey Edw: Byfeld 1715 [...] Cardonnel Gentlem:n 1: Our Last to you was by the Rochester Cap:t William Browne Comander Dated the 29: July 1714, a Copy whereof comes Enclosed and [...] you therets since which we rec[d]: yours of the 18: May 1714. by the Susannah Cap:t Pinkell (who Arriv'd here the 31. Octob:r following) with the Invoice and Bill of Lading for the Wrack and Sugar which came safe and was good of its kind 2: The Malay Man you Banni[s]hed Dyed in the Pa[s]age but if you have any other to [s]end who are fit for Labour shall be ready to Employ them We have some such sort of People Sometimes here who would be ready Eno to doe Mischeif. Especially when they Con[s]ort with any thats Wicked & Inclined to Mutiny who are apt to Seduce one another; and shall in such Cases desire the same favours of you. We | The Council thought this account of ships' arrivals at the island, and at the Cape, would be acceptable to Bengal, to show how far they were in safety. This letter was written from the Union Castle at St Helena and dated 29 June 1715. The writers signed themselves as gentlemen and humble servants: Isaac Pyke, George Haswell, Matthew Bazett, Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfeld. The dispatch was sent in 1715 by Cardonnel. 1: Our last letter to you went by the Rochester, Captain William Browne, dated 29 July 1714, and a copy of it is enclosed. We refer you to that letter. Since then we received yours of 13 May 1714, brought by the Susannah, Captain Pinnell, who arrived here on 31 October following. The ship carried the invoice and bill of lading for the arrack and sugar, which came safely and was good of its kind. 2: The Malay man you sent died on the passage. If you have any other men fit for labour to send, we shall be ready to employ them. We have some people of this sort here from time to time who are ready enough to do mischief, especially when they keep company with any who are wicked and inclined to mutiny, and who are apt to lead one another astray. In such cases we shall ask the same favours of you. P.S. If you have any man, or men, who understand how to make terraces for the tops of houses, we desire you to send us one by the first opportunity. Interpretations The text was official correspondence from the East India Company's establishment at St Helena. The references to invoices, bills of lading and named Company ships placed it within the routine reporting between the island and Bengal. The signatories were the leading officers of the settlement. The passage carried forward from the foot of the previous page concerned the Council's wish to forward shipping news to Bengal. It showed how far the Company's vessels and stations were judged to be in safety. The mention of the Malay man and of other labourers indicated arrangements for imported labour on the island. The postscript pointed to building works under way, since a maker of terraced roofing was wanted. Speculations The word "Crannished" was obscure. It may have referred to a form of indenture, transport or punishment, though its precise sense could not be settled from the page alone. | |
93 | We are sorry that we cant Supply you with the Sea Coals you Desire having no[t] a Sufficient quantity to serve us till another Supply from England, But as the Hon:ble Company have sent us Ten Chaldron from England we have taken out but half of them and sent you the other five Chaldron least you should want them for your Smiths Wood being very Scarce upon this Island otherwise you should a had the whole ten Chaldron. 4: We desire you'll take care to grant our request in Sending us some Seeds of Fruits, Plants &c:a as we mentioned in our last, and that by every Ship, and we pray you to give a Generall In[s]truction to all your Ships that are Homeward bound that whoever happens to touch at the Cape of Good Hope do bring us Seeds and Plants of Each sort Proper for a Kitchin Garden from that Place We brought a good Quantity of Severall Sorts of Seeds from England but we find by Experience that the Seeds & Plants from thence are not so agreeable to this place as those we have had from the Cape of Good Hope. 5: When we arrived here we found this Island in a very deplorable and Poor condi= tion occasioned by a Long drought but thank[s] God it has been for sometime since and is now in a more flourishing State having (at last) pleased God to send us a good Season so that all sorts of Provision are plenty and a sufficient Quantity to Refresh and Supply all | 3: The Council regretted that it could not supply the Court with the sea coals requested, having no sufficient quantity to last until a further supply arrived from England. Since the Court had sent out ten chaldron from England, the Council had taken half for its own use and sent the other five chaldron, lest the Court should want them. Wood for the smiths was very scarce upon the island, and otherwise the Council would have kept all ten chaldron. 4: The Council asked the Court to grant its request for seeds of fruits, plants and other kinds, as mentioned in the previous letter, and to send them by every ship. The Court was also asked to give a general instruction to all its homeward bound ships, so that any that touched at the Cape of Good Hope should bring seeds and plants of every sort suitable for a kitchen garden. A good quantity of various sorts of seeds had been brought from England, but experience had shown that the seeds and plants from there were not so agreeable to the island as those obtained from the Cape of Good Hope. 5: When the Council arrived at the island, it found the place in a very poor and distressed condition, caused by a long drought. The island had since recovered and stood in a more flourishing state, a good season having at last come. All sorts of provision were now plentiful, in a quantity sufficient to refresh and supply all shipping. Interpretations A chaldron was a large measure of coal, fixed by statute at thirty-six bushels and amounting to roughly twenty-five to twenty-seven hundredweight. The Court shipped coal to St Helena because the island had no native fuel suited to ironwork, and the smiths needed steady heat for forging tools, fittings and arms for the garrison. The Council's decision to retain half the consignment and forward the rest reflected the competing fuel demands of a settlement that depended on imported coal to keep its forges in use. The repeated pressing for Cape seed over English seed reflected a practical agricultural finding rather than mere preference. Plants raised from Cape stock had thrived where English ones failed, as recorded in the despatch of 12 November 1714, and the Council sought to make the lifting of seed at the Cape a standing instruction to all homeward shipping. The aim was to secure the island's food supply and its ability to refresh passing fleets. Speculations The Council framed the island's recovery from drought to a flourishing state as evidence of its renewed value to the Court. By stressing that all provisions were now plentiful and sufficient to supply every ship, the Council answered the rumour spread at the Cape that St Helena was starving, traced to Captain Browne's people after the Rochester carried the mutiny party away in July 1714. The report of plenty served to restore confidence in the island as a reliable refreshment station on the homeward route. | |
94 | all Ships that call here in their way home and may also be furnished with good navall Stores, English Beef, Pork, Flower, Pease. Cheese &c:a the Hon:ble Comp:a being Resolvd to send us Yearly as did by the Ship Cardonnell a good quantity of such provisions so that no Ship will need to touch any where Else homeward bound for any refreshment their remaining Voyage. 6: According to Our Hon:ble Masters Ord:rs we herewith send you the Ship Cardonnells Charter Party and refers you to Cap:t Mason for further News. He arrived here the 31: of May last past. 7: On this Ship takes pa[s]age for Bencoolen the following persons viz:t 8: Mr: Rich:d Cleeve Joyner with his familie who is very desireous to go farther in hopes to Improve his Childrens fortunes. He has Served the Hon:ble Comp:a here Severall years and has behaved himself very well. also 9: Joseph Newby yo:r Former Smith who desired to stay here out of the Susannah for his healths Sake & being Recoverd of his Illne[s] is desireous to Return to you againe. 10: Samuel Allgate and his Wife have desired Liberty to go to Bencoolen he has Served the Hon:ble Comp:a here as a Sold:r Severall years and as Corporall about three years past he has Reentred into the Comp:a Service to serve you as a Soldier for any term not exceeding five | All ships that called at the island on their way home could also be furnished with naval stores, English beef, pork, flour, peas, cheese and other goods. The Honourable Company had resolved to continue sending such provisions yearly, as it had done by the Cardonnel, so that no ship would need to touch at any other place homeward bound for refreshment for the remainder of its voyage. 6: Following the order of the Honourable Court, the Council sent the charter party of the Cardonnel and referred the Court to Captain Mawson for further news. He had arrived at the island on 31 May last past. 7: The following persons took passage on this ship for Bencoolen. 8: Mr Richard Cleeve, joiner, with his family, was very desirous to go further east in the hope of improving his children's fortunes. He had served the Honourable Company at the island for several years and had behaved himself very well. 9: Joseph Newby, former smith, had desired to stay at the island for the sake of his health out of the Susannah. Having recovered from his illness, he was now desirous to return to the Court. 10: Samuel Allgate and his wife had asked leave to go to Bencoolen. He had served the Honourable Company at the island as a soldier for several years and as a corporal. About three years past he had re-entered the Company's service to serve as a soldier for any term not exceeding five [...]. Interpretations The departure of Richard Cleeve carries particular weight against the criticism set out in the despatch of 12 November 1714, where Cleeve was named as the principal building tradesman under Bouchier. He had resisted taking Company slaves as apprentices and was judged an indifferent joiner but no carpenter. His decision to sail for Bencoolen with his family removed the chief private building tradesman from the island, clearing the way for the Council's intended displacement of such men by trained slave craftsmen. The charter party named for the Cardonnel was the contract of hire between the Company and the ship's owners, fixing freight, terms and the conditions of the voyage. Sending it home with a reference to the master for further detail allowed the Court to settle the ship's account and verify the terms against the master's own report. Speculations The Council's careful note that Cleeve had behaved well, set beside the earlier hostile assessment of his craft, suggests a deliberate management of the record. A favourable parting character avoided open conflict with a departing servant while still securing the practical outcome the Council wanted, namely his removal from the island's building trade. | |
95 | five years at Bencoolen. 11: Mr: Stephen Newcomb one of yo:r Facters has Married a wife here a Gentlewo:n of a Good familie and very good reputation 12: Mr: Tho: Newington who has Servd the Hon:ble Comp:a: as a Writer in our Sec:rys Office and as Custome Master He has behaved himself very well in his businesse dureing the time he has been with us But is Desireous of Seeing some other part of India wherefore we have sent him to Bencoolen where hope he may be serviceable to you 13: We have herewith sent you a List of Ships that has touch't at the Cape and at this place Since our last. 14: Jn:o Maynard a Carpenter w:a a [...] his Serv:t who were Entertain'd in the Hon:ble Comp:a Service for yo:r Place he being Sickly aboard on Ship & thinking himself not capable to proceed so long a Voyage Petitions us to tarry here for the Recovery of his health which we granted. We wish you health and Prosperity and are, Gentlem:n Yo:r Humble Serv:ts Isaac Pyke George Haswell Matthew Bazett Antipas Tovey Edward Byfeld Union Castle St Helena June the 29: 1715. Directed To the Wor:ll Jos: Collett Esq:r Gov:r &c &c Councill at Bencoolen A List of the Packett to Bencoolen P. Ship Cardonell. June 29: 1715. N:o 1. Gen:l & Gen:e dated 29: 1715. 2. Copy of Gov:t & Councll Gen:ll P Rochester 3. Ship Cardonells Charter Party 4. Cap:t Mawsons receipt for five Chaldron of Coles 5. A List of Ships 6. A private Letter 7. A List of the Packett | 5: Samuel Allgate and his wife had asked leave to go to Bencoolen. He had served the Honourable Company at the island as a soldier for several years and as a corporal. About three years past he had re-entered the Company's service to serve as a soldier for any term not exceeding five years at Bencoolen. 11: Mr Stephen Newcomb, one of the Court's factors, had married a wife at the island, a gentlewoman of a good family and very good reputation. 12: Mr Thomas Newington had served the Company as a writer in the secretary's office and as customs master. He had behaved himself very well in his business during the time he had been at the island, but was now desirous of seeing some other part of India. The Council had therefore sent him to Bencoolen, where it hoped he might be serviceable to the Court. 13: The Council sent the Court a list of ships that had touched at the Cape and at the island since its previous letter. 14: John Maynard, a carpenter, with a servant, had been engaged in the Company's service for Bencoolen. Being sick aboard ship and thinking himself not capable of proceeding on so long a voyage, he asked the Council for leave to remain at the island for the recovery of his health, which the Council granted. The letter closed at United Castle, St Helena, on 29 June 1715, with wishes for the Court's health and prosperity. It was subscribed by Isaac Pyke, George Haswell, Matthew Bazett, Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield. The letter was directed to Josiah Collett, Governor, and the Council at Bencoolen. A list of the packet carried to Bencoolen by the Cardonnel, dated 29 June 1715, was appended: A general letter to the Court of Directors, dated 1715. A copy of the letter to the Court and Council by the Rochester. The charter party of the ship Cardonnel. Captain Mawson's receipt for five chaldron of coals. A list of ships. A private letter. A list of the packet. Interpretations The despatch of John Maynard and his servant from England under contract for Bencoolen reflects the Company's practice of recruiting skilled tradesmen on fixed-term agreements for its eastern settlements. His sickness aboard ship and the Council's grant of leave to recover at St Helena shows the island serving as a recovery station within the wider network of Company posts, the same role earlier played for Joseph Newby, the smith who stayed out of the Susannah for his health. The movement of named servants onward to Bencoolen, set against the carpenter retained at St Helena, illustrates the lateral redistribution of Company personnel between settlements. Men such as Thomas Newington, a writer and customs master seeking advancement, and Stephen Newcomb the factor, were transferred or settled according to both their own ambitions and the staffing needs of each post, with the island acting as a transit point on the route east. | |
96 | Hon:ble [...] [...] 1715. [...] the Hannover. Hon:ble 1: Our Last to yo:r Hon:rs was by the Hester Cap:t Cha: Kesar Comander dated the 24:th March 171[4]/5. which day they Sailed to Cope are this are Safely arrived Since which the following Ships have arrived here Saild from or past by this Island, Viz:t 2: The 9:th April 1715. past by the Island twenty four Sail of Ships which Suppose to be all Dutch men. 3: The 25: following a Single Ship with Dutch Colours came in Sight of the Castle but did not come to an Anchor nor send a boat on Shoar. 4: On the 31. May arrived the Cardonnell Cap:t W:m Mawson Comander from Great Brittain which brought us the Severall Stores mentioned in the Bill of Lading & Invoice unle[s] some few which being wanting we have have Noted on the back of the Bill of Lading and alsoe protested against for not delivering of them here And we have alsoe protested against him for not unloading the said Ship here in tenn Working Days tho at the same time we saw it Impo[s]ible for him to doe it in that time, all our proceedings therein will come towire by next Shipping. The 10:th June Arriv'd the Eagles Galley Cap:t Dan:l Beckman from Burneo but last from the Cape. The 18: following the Allarm was made & the 19: Arriv'd the Hannover Cap:t James Osborne from Madra[s] & Bengall The Margin Notes: an Acc:t of Ships Arrived & Saild &c by this Island. & what Ships We heard of in India. | A new letter to the Court of Directors opened, dated 1715 and sent by the Hannover. 1: The Council's previous letter to the Court had gone by the Hester, Captain Charles Hassar commander, dated 24 March 1715, the same day she sailed for the Cape. The Council trusted she had since arrived safely. The following ships had since arrived at the island or sailed past it. 2: On 9 April 1715 twenty-four sail of ships passed by the island, which the Council supposed to be all Dutchmen. 3: On 25 April following a single ship with Dutch colours came in sight of the castle, but did not come to an anchor nor send a boat ashore. 4: On 31 May the Cardonnel, Captain William Mawson commander, arrived from Great Britain, bringing the several stores listed in the bill of lading invoice, except for a few items that were wanting. The Council noted these on the back of the bill of lading and protested against the master for not delivering them. The Council also protested against him for not unloading the ship at the island within ten days, though at the same time the Council saw it was impossible for him to do so in that time. All proceedings in the matter would come by the next shipping. 5: On 10 June the Eagle Galley, Captain Daniel Beckman, arrived from Borneo, last from the Cape. 6: On 18 June following the alarm was made, and on 19 June the Hannover, Captain James Osborne, arrived from Madras and Bengal. Interpretations The Council's formal protest against Captain Mawson concerned the failure to deliver certain stores listed on the bill of lading and the failure to discharge the ship within ten days. A protest of this kind was a documented legal reservation, entered to preserve the Company's claim against the ship's owners or insurers while the account was settled. The Council's open admission that ten-day unloading was in fact impossible shows the protest as a procedural safeguard rather than a genuine grievance against the master. The Eagle Galley under Captain Daniel Beckman connects to earlier intelligence, the ship having been reported at Batavia in August 1714 by news brought to St Helena on the Susanna, recorded in the despatch of 12 November 1714. Her later arrival from Borneo by way of the Cape confirmed the safe progress of a vessel previously known only by report. Speculations The Council's decision to protest against Mawson while conceding the ten-day term was unworkable suggests a careful protection of the record against later audit. Entering the protest preserved the Company's formal position on the missing stores and the charter terms, yet the frank note of impossibility guarded the Council against any charge of having dealt harshly with a master who had performed as well as the circumstances allowed. | |
97 | The 29: Jott: Saild the Cardonell Cap:t William Mawson Commander for Bencoolen. Cap:t Beckman gave the following Acc:t of Ships Arrived at the Cape of Good Hope. The Clapham Galley Sloop Tho: Gray Master from Bay Delgoa & Ferrado Notall Arrivd on the 24: August 1714. The Rochester Cap:t William Browne from St Helena on the 25: D:o The Grantham and Summers Cliston & Peacock (who toucht at Don Mascarine) on the last of Novemb:r or thereabouts. The Clapham Galley Cap:t Wilks from Bencoolen Nov:r the 4: The Delicia Cap:t Rogers from Madagascur on the 21: Nov: The Kent Cap:t Minter from London to Madra[s] and Bencoolen P Tany The Nathaniel Cap:t Negus for Mocho Feb 24: The Bertie Cap:t Douglas from Canton the 29: March. The Dartmouth Cap:t Blone for Canton May the 21: On the 13: of may the Eagle Galley mett the Pethcoat Cap:t Tolson in Latt: 33:50:S:o First Concerning Stores rec:d from Great Brittain & India. 5: As to the Stores that came by the Cardonell the Cordage was bad some of it as well | On 29 June the Cardonnel, Captain William Mawson commander, sailed for Bencoolen. Captain Beckman gave the following account of ships that had arrived at the Cape of Good Hope: The Clapham Galley sloop, Thomas Gray master, from the Bay of Delagoa and Ferrado Notali, arrived on 24 August 1714. The Rochester, Captain William Browne, from St Helena, on 25 [...]. The Grantham and the Somers, Captains Collett and Peacock, who had touched at Don Mascarine, on the last of November or thereabouts. The Clapham Galley, Captain Wilks, from Bencoolen, on 4 November. The Delicia, Captain Rogers, from Madagascar, on 21 November. The Kent, Captain Minter, from London to Madras and Bencoolen, on 3 January. The Nathaniel, Captain Negus, for Mocho, on 24 February. The Bertie, Captain Douglas, from Canton, on 29 March. The Dartmouth, Captain Blow, for Canton, on 21 May. On 13 May the Eagle Galley met the Heathcote, Captain Tolson, in latitude 33 degrees 50 minutes south. Concerning stores received from Great Britain and India 1: As to the stores that came by the Cardonnel, the cordage was bad, some of it as well [...]. Interpretations The arrivals catalogue functioned as a safety register, allowing the Court to track the progress and whereabouts of its shipping across the eastern and southern routes. By recording each vessel's name, master, origin and date at the Cape, the Council gave London a means of knowing how far its ships stood in safety, since correspondence and intelligence both depended wholly on the chance movement of these vessels. The meeting of the Eagle Galley with the Heathcote, Captain Tolson, in latitude 33 degrees 50 minutes south on 13 May supplied a precise positional fix within the homeward sea lanes. Such recorded encounters let the Court reconstruct the movements of ships that did not themselves call at the island, extending the reach of the safety register beyond the vessels that actually touched at St Helena. | |
98 | well as that by the Rochester was twice Layed Stuff & some made of yo:r Hacklin or worst Sort of Hemp all of it both ill spunn and Tarr burnt (Tarr being much Cheaper than Hemp in England they have putt in too much to make the Cordage weigh Heavier and when such cordage comes to be Strained in Hott weather the Tarr fryes out & the Roapes break as if they were Cotten) the Cordage is Generally Chosen by the Cap:ts themselves who under= =stand it very well & when they come to find it so very much Dearer then what they payed at fitting out their Ships & alsoe very much worser Stuff too it Occasions a great many Complaints) but nece[s]ity which has no Law obliges them to take such as they find here & we have Sold all that w:ch came last & if we had, had, other Sizes we had Sold more Rattline & other small cordage is much Demanded here by the returning Ships who have variety of uses for it & the Planters Demand it as much for their Fishing Boates, & from Rattline to four and half Inch Roapes we shall Scarcely have too much our Pitch and Tarr is also wellnigh spent. 6: We have Received by Cap:t James Osborne in the Hannover three Leaguers of Battavia Arrack Fiveteen Baggs of Sugar. twenty Seven Baggs of Rice from Bengall accord= =ing to the Invoice a Coppy whereof comes herewith, And from Madra[s] by the same Ship we Margin Notes: [...] of [...] Cordage) Acc:t of Goods rec:d from Bengal | The cordage was as bad as that sent by the Rochester. It was twice-laid stuff, some of it made from the Court's hackling or the worst sort of hemp. All of it was both ill-spun and tar-burnt. Tar being much cheaper than hemp in England, too much had been put in to make the cordage weigh heavier. When such cordage came to be strained in hot weather the tar fried out and the ropes broke as if they were rotten. The cordage was generally chosen by the captains themselves, who understood it very well. When they came to find it so much dearer than what they paid at fitting out their ships, and also much worse stuff, it caused a great many complaints. Necessity, which has no law, obliged them to take such as they found at the island. The Council had sold all the cordage that came last, and would have sold more had it carried other sizes. Ratline and other small cordage was much in demand at the island from the returning ships, which had a variety of uses for it. The planters demanded it as much for their fishing boats. From ratline up to four and a half inch ropes, the Council would scarcely ever have too much. The island's own pitch and tar were also nearly spent. 6: The Council had received by Captain James Osborne in the Hannover three leaguers of Batavia arrack, fifteen bags of sugar and twenty-seven bags of rice from Bengal, according to the invoice, a copy of which was enclosed. The Court had also received goods from Madras by the same ship. Interpretations Cordage was the rope and rigging on which every ship depended, and its quality bore directly on the safety of a vessel at sea. The complaint exposed a fraud in the manufacture, since tar was cheaper than hemp and could be added to inflate the weight of rope sold by the pound. The result failed in heat, when the excess tar ran out and the rope parted, so the defect described was a commercial deception with a direct cost in lost rigging and endangered ships. Ratline was the light line used to form the horizontal steps of the rope ladders in a ship's rigging, by which crews climbed the masts. Its steady demand at St Helena from both returning ships and the island's planters, who used it for their fishing boats, marked it as a staple of constant resale value. The Council's note that it could scarcely hold too much of the smaller sizes pointed to a reliable local market that justified holding larger stocks. A leaguer was a large cask used for liquids, holding roughly one hundred and fifty gallons. The arrack carried in such casks was a distilled spirit of the East, and the Batavia arrack named here came through the Dutch settlement before reaching Bengal and Madras. Its supply to the island fed both the Company's controlled sale of spirit and the standing arrack price fixed at four shillings a gallon by the despatch of 19 February 1715. Speculations The Council's detailed account of the bad cordage served to shift blame for the complaints away from itself and onto the suppliers in England. By recording that the captains chose the cordage and understood it well, the Council showed that the fault lay in the manufacture rather than in any mismanagement at the island, while still pressing the case for better rope and smaller sizes that would sell. | |
99 | we have rec:d. Panams or three Penny Pieces 5317. and Pice or halfe Pence 9000. and half Pice or Farthings 17087. which will doe very well here when we come to pay the Garrison in Mony but as yet we have not Enough to goe on with such payments tho the Govern:r has all the Mony by him that we brought over, but we are of Opinion that these are too heavy for three Farthings of this Mony weighs more then a Penny of Copper Mony & if they had been made lighter it would a Stood yo:r Hon:r in less & a been more acceptable to ours people (but if your Hon:r would please to send over English Farthings & halfe Pence they would certainly doe much better than Pice & have been more agreeable to the English people for all the St Helenians account themselves so tho three quarters of them never saw England. 7: Or if yo:r Hon:r would please to Order us some Chinese mony called Petceps it would doe better then Pice but nothing so well as Farthings, we have sent home ten of these new Halfe Pence & ten Farthings that yo:r Hon:r may See the Difference. 8: We See the great difficulty of keeping Mony on this Island & wish that it went here for more than its reall worth as it did form= =erly or if but as is does in Ireland we could then Hope to keep some Mony here otherwise Every Ship that comes will carry it away with them but the Outward bound Ships Especially and we can think of no better way to Margin Notes: from Madrass. Panams & Pice. Engl: Copper mony or H: New Pice China mony called Petcese less raising the Vallie of mony the way to keep it here | From Madras the Council had received fanams to the number of three thousand three hundred and seventeen, and rice or half-pence and half-pice or farthings to the number of seventeen thousand and eighty-seven. These answered very well at the island when it came to paying the garrison in money. As yet, however, the Council had not enough to carry on such payments, though the Governor held all the money brought over by him. The Council thought these coins were too heavy. Three farthings of this money weighed more than a penny of copper money. Had they been made lighter, they would have stood the Court in less and been more acceptable to the island's people. If the Court would send over English farthings and half-pence, they would certainly answer much better than pice and be more agreeable to the English people, since for all that the St Helenians accounted themselves English, three quarters of them had never seen England. 7: If the Court would order some Chinese money called petises, it would answer better than pice, but nothing so well as farthings. The Council had sent home ten of these new half-pence and ten farthings, so that the Court might see the difference. 8: The Council saw the great difficulty of keeping money on the island and trying to make it pass for more than its real worth, as it had formerly done. If money passed here as it did in Ireland, the Council could then hope to keep some money at the island. Otherwise every ship that came would carry it away, the outward bound ships especially. The Council could think of no better way [...]. Interpretations A fanam was a small South Indian coin of low value, and the pice a copper coin of the Indian currency. The Council pressed for low-denomination coin precisely because it was unprofitable to carry off the island, the fanam analysis having found eighty to the ounce of silver, recorded in the despatch of 12 November 1714. The fanams and pice named here had arrived by the Hanover from Fort St George, the fanams found one ounce and six pennyweight short of the invoice, and the demand for them fitted the wider three-tier coin reform aimed at ending credit-trusting in the stores. The petis, here called petises, was the Chinese cash, a small base-metal coin of very low value pierced for stringing. The Council ranked it below English farthings but above the Indian pice for local use, since its tiny value made it fit for small wages and market dealing while being scarcely worth the cost of removal. The request for Chinese small change formed part of the same reform that sought to retain low-value coin on the island. The complaint that coin would not stay at the island exposed the central problem of a remote settlement on a trade route. Hard money flowed outward with every departing ship, since the island produced little that visiting crews would buy, so the Council sought deliberately heavy or low-value coin that would cost more to carry off than it was worth. The comparison with Ireland pointed to a regime of overvalued or debased token coin meant to keep currency circulating locally rather than draining away. Speculations The Council's request to overvalue the island's coin, as had been done formerly, was a calculated answer to the steady loss of currency to passing shipping. By making money pass for more than its bullion worth, the Council aimed to remove the incentive for crews to carry it off, since the coin would buy less elsewhere than at the island. The scheme traded a managed local inflation against the greater evil of a settlement left with no circulating money at all. | |
100 | to keep the Mony on the place than to allow it to pa[s] for more then it is worth and alsoe to revive an Old Order of Prohibitting the People from goeing on board the Ships and pray yo:r Hon:r to give us some direc= =tions therein the former Objection against Monys passing for more then it is worth was that they put sometimes Dollers into your Hon:rs Cask at 6:s Each and took Bills for England by which they gaind twenty p Cent was a Truth but yett we fear yo:r Hon:r have Suffered more by bad Debts Occasiond by the want of Mony here than you could ever have done by receiveing now & then a Small Sum at that Rate w:ch Loss would also be Ballanced by yo:r Proffitt if you please first to send us Some Mony here to goe so. 9: And now we are Speaking of mony we take Liberty to mention Bills, the Bank Bills we brought with us pleased the people as well as mony & therefore will doe well among us But as to the Drawing of Bills on yo:r Hon:r Even now tho we are Pretty well Supplyed we See not yett how we can Po[s]ibly avoid it they who have Creddit in yo:r Hon:r Stores will Demand either Bills or Mony, with these Bills they buy Goods out of the Ships & dispose them among the Rest & so gett more Creddit in the Stores by which they are Enabled to Demand more Bills & we know not how to hinder this sort of Trade but by Laying on Margin Notes: of Bank Bills & drawing home. | The Council could think of no better way to keep money at the island than to allow it to pass for more than its real worth, and also to revive an old order forbidding the people from going on board the ships. The Council asked the Court to give some directions in the matter. The former objection against money passing for more than its worth had been that the people sometimes put dollars into the Court's cask at six shillings each and took bills for England, by which they gained twenty per cent. That was true. Even so, the Council feared the Court had suffered more by bad debts caused by the want of money at the island than it could ever have lost by now and then receiving a small sum at that rate. The loss would also be balanced by the Court's profit, if the Court would first send some money to the island to make this possible. 9: Speaking of money, the Council took leave to mention bills. The bank bills brought out pleased the people as well as money, and would therefore answer well at the island. As to the drawing of bills on the Court, even now, when the Council was pretty well supplied, it did not see how it could possibly be avoided. Those who had credit in the Court's stores would demand either bills or money. With these bills they bought goods out of the ships and disposed of them among the rest, so getting more credit in the stores, by which they were enabled to demand more bills. The Council did not know how to hinder this sort of trade except by laying [...]. Interpretations The bill of exchange was the principal instrument by which value moved between the island and London without shipping coin. A planter or servant with store credit could demand a bill drawn on the Court, payable in England, and use it to buy goods from visiting ships. The Council's account exposed how this mechanism fed on itself, since goods bought with bills were resold for fresh store credit, which generated demand for further bills, draining the Court's account in London while the island stayed short of coin. The dollar passed into the Court's cask at six shillings was the Spanish silver dollar, the common trade coin of the period. By paying it in at an inflated rate and taking a bill for England, the holder gained twenty per cent on the exchange. The Council weighed this acknowledged loss against the far greater cost of bad debts caused by the chronic shortage of money, arguing that a managed overvaluation would prove the cheaper evil. Bank bills were the paper notes of a bank, here circulating at the island as a substitute for coin. Their acceptance by the people alongside money offered the Council a further means of supplying a medium of exchange without sending out vulnerable hard currency. The proposal sat within the wider effort to keep some circulating value at the island against the constant drain to passing ships. Speculations The Council linked its request to revive the ban on people going aboard the ships directly to the money problem, treating the two as a single mechanism of leakage. Going aboard let the islanders spend coin and bills on ship's goods, which drove the cycle of resale and renewed credit, so closing off access to the ships attacked the trade at its source. The pairing of a currency reform with a movement restriction shows the Council treating the drain of money and the unlicensed private trade as the same disorder. | |
101 | on of higher Customs which we think is Enough to Destroy any Trade or Else by Furnishing us with a Competent Sum of Mony to Circulate here & to Order the Trusting no more nor sending of any bills home Unless what become due for Sallarys &c: 10: On the 11: of March last we made a Resolution w:ch is Entred in the Consultation not to Draw any more Bills home for goods boughtt yett now haveing refused to buy any Goods but some things of the Cardonell Purser that we had great Occasion for yett the goods are Sold & Bills are or will be Drawn for the Payment of them w:ch we cannot Deny ib:t they have Mony Due but Pray yo:r Hon:r Farther Directions therein. 11: The Govern:r acquaints yo:r Hon:r that there goes home now Bills in his Name for 208: &:o which was for goods left here out of the Litchfeild to be Sold in some of those under Storehouses mention'd in our Letter by the Susannah which was to be Entred to the Creddit of the Govern:r for the time being and is accordingly Entred to him for which reason he has Indorsed the Bills but is no way concerned in it further then Nominally & he mentions this as an Instance of the Private Trade of the People here, that yo:r Hon:r may use some proper Methods for regulating the same otherwise youre Store House will come to Nothing & the Proffitt of those few goods you sell there will Margin Notes: reason why we draw bills. privat Trade destructive. | The Council saw no way to hinder this sort of trade except by laying on higher customs, which it thought enough to destroy any trade, or else by furnishing the island with a competent sum of money to circulate. The Council proposed to order an end to all credit-trusting and to send no more bills home, except for what became due for salaries. 10: On 11 March last the Council made a resolution, entered in the consultation, not to draw any more bills for goods bought. Even so, the Council had now refused to buy any goods except some things from the purser of the Cardonnel, which it had great need of. The goods were sold and bills were or would be drawn for their payment, since the Council could not deny that money was due. The Council asked the Court for further directions in the matter. 11: The Governor informed the Court that a bill in his name for £208 0s 0d now went home. This was for goods left at the island out of the Litchfield to be sold, among those mentioned under the storehouses in the letter sent by the Susannah. The bill was to be entered to the credit of the Governor for the time being, and was accordingly entered to him. For that reason he had endorsed the bill but was no further concerned in it than nominally. The Governor mentioned this as an instance of the private trade of the island's people. The Council asked the Court to use some proper methods for regulating the same. Otherwise the store house would come to nothing, and the profit of those few goods the Court sold there would [...]. Interpretations The private trade described here was the central threat the Council laid before the Court, since the islanders' dealing in ship's goods undercut the Company's own store house and diverted profit from London. The Governor's own bill for £208 0s 0d for goods from the Litchfield was offered as a worked example, showing how even an official transaction passed through a named person's credit before settlement. The Council framed unregulated private trade as a force that would render the Company store unprofitable if left unchecked. The Council's resolution of 11 March 1715 not to draw further bills for goods bought set a formal limit on the mechanism draining the Court's London account. The immediate exception for goods needed from the Cardonnel purser showed the difficulty of holding to such a rule in practice, since real wants forced fresh bills despite the standing order. The entry of the resolution in the consultation gave the Council a documented defence against later charges of overdrawing. Speculations The Governor's careful statement that he was concerned in the £208 0s 0d bill only nominally, as the holder of the office rather than in his own person, served to guard him against any suspicion of private dealing. By recording that the goods came from the Litchfield and were entered to the Governor for the time being, the entry separated the office from the man and pre-empted any later charge that he had profited from the trade he was himself condemning. | |
102 | will Scarce Defray the Charge and Expence of Sallarys &c: to the People Employed in that Service. but of this Charge we Shall be more Perticular in our next, 12: The Cheese was new when bought at London & is much Shrunk & Damaged by wasteing) so that we wanted thirteen hundred Weight of what is mention'd in the Invoice the Cheese Casks came out Sound & good but in Every Cask there was one or two Cheeses quite smasht to Pieces the others some a quarter & some halfe rotten & Broken we putt up all the Large Peices at an Out Cry e twelve Pound in a Lott & Sold it to the Garrison from Seven Pence to Eight Pence. [...] which yett has not Amounted to the Prime Cost (the Cheeses Proper to be sent here are Small Cheshire Cheeses of at least twelve Months Old which keep best at Sea. the whole Cheeses we have Stowed away) to be Sold for twelve Pence [...]. 13: The butter being Stowed in the Ships Hold has been so Over heated that in some of the Casks it appeares as Oyle or like butter too hastily Melted & is not good some other Casks which were not so tight the Oyley part is leaked out & a Sort of Curds only left the Casks all come out fair and Well to look on but none of them full and they wanted of the weight mentioned in the Invoice six Hundred Weight the butter is also very Dear being charged at thirty Eight Margin Notes: ab:t Cheese Some Sold at 7 & 8:d p:lb. others. at 12:d Butter over heated Bought Dear. | The profit of those few goods the Court sold there would scarcely defray the charge and expense of salaries to the people employed in that service. The Council would be more particular about this charge in its next letter. 12: The cheese was new when bought at London, and had since much shrunk and been damaged by wasting, so that the Council was short thirteen hundredweight of what was listed in the invoice. The cheese casks came out sound and good, but in every cask one or two cheeses were quite smashed to pieces, while others were a quarter or a half rotten and broken. The Council put up all the large pieces in lots of twelve pound and sold them to the garrison at sevenpence to eightpence the pound, which had not yet amounted to the prime cost. The cheeses fit to be sent to the island were small Cheshire cheeses of at least twelve months old, which kept best at sea. The whole cheeses the Council had stowed away to be sold at twelvepence the pound. 13: The butter, being stowed in the ship's hold, had been so overheated that in some of the casks it appeared as oil, or like butter too hastily melted, and was not good. In some other casks, which were not so tight, the oily part had leaked out and only a sort of curds was left. The casks all came out fair and well to look at, but none of them full, and they were short of the weight listed in the invoice by six hundredweight. The butter was also very dear, being charged at thirty-eight [...]. Interpretations The complaint about the cheese and butter formed part of the Council's running audit of the stores against the invoice, by which short or damaged goods were recorded to protect the Company's account and press the suppliers in England. The note that small Cheshire cheeses of twelve months old kept best at sea was practical advice on procurement, since hard mature cheese survived a long voyage in the heat far better than new soft stock. The Council's sale of the salvaged pieces below prime cost showed it recovering what value it could from goods spoiled before they ever reached the island. The damage to the butter exposed the hazard of stowing perishable provisions in a ship's hold across the tropics, where heat melted the fat and burst or drained the casks. The Council's careful record that the casks looked fair but ran short of the invoice weight by six hundredweight built a documented claim of short delivery. Such itemised reporting of spoilage and shortfall was the working defence of a remote settlement that had to take whatever the annual ship brought. | |
103 | Eight Shillings p Firkin & the Cap:t had better which cost but twenty Eight Shillings. 14: We have Since our Arrivall here had good Seasons & tho when we came first had no butter haveing no Cows w:ch give milk yett from the Month of Novemb:r last we have had milk and butter & have it now in Plenty w:ch we pray your Hon:r not to send any more Butter and if we should want milk againe can do very well with oyle w:ch is better for Fish than ordinary butter or if an outward bound Ship should arrive here with Stores the Mates do usually bring Casks of Pickle in which they putt Firkins of butter and Some of it in a Cool Place keeps well but a [...] quantity cannot be brought so and it would be better to buy a Firkin or two of them than to have it sent over other ways but we have so good a Prospect of the Island at present that we hope to Need no more Cheese or butter 15: The three Cases of Pickles did not prove good and were also very dear the Purser of the Cardonnell brought some which he had of the same man & shewed us his Bills by which it appeared he had them thirty p Cent cheaper than they cost yo:r Hon:r as & yo:r Invoice we are pretty well Supplyed with Pickles by the Returning Ships wherefore we putt up those Pickles to Sales by Out Cry & made Prime Cost of them to the Punch Houses and pray yo:r Hon:r not to send any more Pickles from England but Vinegar from England is very usefull here we have nothing to make it of but we have Eno now of that p for another Year. The Soap is very usefull to us it came Margin Notes: Oyl better:y Butter Pickles not good & Dear Vinegar Usefull. | The butter was charged at thirty-eight shillings the firkin, where the Court could have had better for twenty-eight shillings. 14: The Council had enjoyed good seasons since its arrival. When it first came there was no butter, having no cows that gave milk. From the month of November last the Council had milk and butter, and now had it in plenty. The Council asked the Court not to send any more butter. Should it want milk again, it could do very well with oil, which was better for fish than ordinary butter. If an outward bound ship arrived, the mates usually brought casks of pickle in which they put firkins of butter. A small quantity of it kept well in a cool place, but a large quantity could not be brought so, and it would be better to buy a firkin or two of them than to have it sent over any other way. The Council had so good a prospect of the island at present that it hoped to need no more cheese or butter. 15: The three cases of pickles did not prove good and were also very dear. The purser of the Cardonnel brought some, which he had from the same man, and showed the Council his bills, by which it appeared he had them thirty per cent cheaper than they cost the Court, as the Court's invoice showed. The Council was pretty well supplied with pickles by the returning ships, and so put up those pickles to sale by retail and made prime cost of them to the punch houses. The Council asked the Court not to send any more pickles from England. Vinegar from England was very useful at the island, the Council having nothing to make it of, but it had enough now to last another year. The soap was very useful to the island. It came [...]. Interpretations The Council's request to stop the supply of butter, cheese and pickles marked a shift from dependence on imported provisions toward local production. The arrival of milk and butter from the island's own cattle after November removed the need for goods that arrived spoiled and overpriced, and the Council pressed the point with the price comparison drawn from the Cardonnel purser's own bills. The episode shows a settlement using documented evidence of overcharging to argue for cuts in the costly annual shipment. The firkin was a small cask, fixed by custom at a quarter of a barrel, here the standard container for butter. Pickle, the salt brine in which provisions were preserved, doubled as a packing medium, since firkins of butter set within a pickle cask kept well on the long voyage. The mates' practice of carrying butter this way gave the Council a cheaper and more reliable source than the Court's direct shipment, and the punch houses provided a ready local outlet for the surplus pickles at cost. | |
104 | came out well & is good in its kind. 16: We hope there is now Oyle Eno to send none next Year Unless Lynseed Oyle for Painting. 17: The Beef & Pork has been good meat but it was Salted & putt up in the Bloody Pickle & sent on board without repacking which has Spoiled most of it. We will repack & new Salt it here & save what we can but pray that when your Hon:r shall think to send any more that it may be better putt up and also repackt before it be sent on board this Salt meat is very usefull to us for besides the Supplying some of your Shipping it prevents the Planters Killing of Fresh meat so often here as otherways they would do & Each man of the Garrison takes usually a piece of English meat aWeak and do not often Eat Fresh Meat. 18: The Pease that came now are the best that we have ever had but those which came last year w:ch us were good for nothing but yett the Cap:ts that want to buy Pease find great fault with the Price they being Charged at Seven Shillings & four Pence p bushell in the Invoice we cant Sell them for less then nine Shillings p Bushell and Cap:t Mawson had some of the same Pease w:ch cost him but Four Shillings & Six Pence which if ours were bought for Four Shillings & Sixpence which is two Shillings & ten Pence less p Bushell we could then Sell them for Seaven Shillings p Bushell here & for more then Seaven Margin Notes: Beef & Pork. spoild for want of repacking Pease good but very Dear | The soap came out well and was good of its kind. 16: The Council hoped there was now oil enough, and asked the Court to send none next year, except linseed oil for painting. 17: The beef and pork had been good meat, but it was salted and put up in the bloody pickle and sent on board without repacking, which had spoiled most of it. The Council would repack and re-salt it at the island and save what it could. It asked that, when the Court thought to send any more, it might be better put up and also repacked before it was sent on board. The salt meat was very useful to the island, for besides supplying some of the Court's shipping, it prevented the planters from killing fresh meat so often as they would otherwise do. Each man of the garrison usually took a piece of English meat a week and did not often eat fresh meat. 18: The peas that came now were the best the Council had ever had, but those which came last year were good for nothing. Even so, the captains that wanted to buy peas found great fault with the price, they being charged at seven shillings and fourpence the bushel in the invoice. The Council could not sell them for less than nine shillings the bushel. Captain Mawson had some of the same peas, which cost him only four shillings and sixpence. Had the Council's peas been bought for four shillings and sixpence, which is two shillings and tenpence less the bushel, the Council could then sell them for seven shillings the bushel at the island, and for more than seven [...]. Interpretations The bloody pickle was the brine of blood and salt in which meat was first cured, distinct from the clean salt and fresh pickle needed for long keeping. Sending the beef and pork aboard in this state without repacking caused most of it to spoil, so the Council had to re-salt and repack it at the island to save what it could. The complaint set out a specific failure in the Court's victualling method and pressed for proper packing before shipment. The Council's note on the salt meat reveals its function as an instrument of control over the planters' own slaughtering. By supplying the garrison with English salt meat, the Council reduced the frequency with which planters killed fresh stock, conserving the island's breeding herds. The salt provision thus served both to victual passing ships and to protect the cattle on which the settlement's longer-term supply depended. The peas dispute turned on the gap between the invoice price charged to the island and the far lower price a private captain paid for the same goods. Captain Mawson's purchase at four shillings and sixpence against the Court's charge of seven shillings and fourpence exposed an overcharge that left the Council unable to sell competitively. The detailed price working built the Council's case that the Court's procurement was costing the island its margin on resale to visiting ships. | |
105 | Seaven Shilling lett them Cost what they will we can never Sell them because the Planters here will Sell Callivances to the Ships for Seven Shillings p bushell which serves as well, the Pease in our last Invoice Cost no more then Four Shillings & four Pence p Bushell. 19: By the Susannah Outward bound we had Flower which was very good by the Rochester there came Flower which was much Courser & the Flower by this Ship is Courser & worse than any & very bad therein do not doubt but that your Hon:r paid the best Price. 20: The Biskett is good. 21: The Medicines our D:rs Comend as much better then the last, when Medicines are sent we never desire to have any Cordiall Waters putt up they being Usually Drank by the Docters by the next Shipping shall come a list of such Medicines as are most wanted here as we have allready sent by both the Susannah & the Frederick both our D:rs are now recovered but have Asked to goe of the Island we wish your Hon:r would please to send us an Apothecary in the Room of one of them for one Apothecary & one Surgeon would do better here than two of one Sort. 22: The Grapnolls we have rec:d and they will be usefull here but we could wish we had some Anchors & Anchor Stocks to lye here for the use of the Returning Ships from Twelve to Twenty Hundred Weight w:ch some Good Coire or Gumety Cables Sutable. We have rec:d the Nailes & Spikes & shall take Due Care in their Disposeall. And Margin Notes: Flower, bad. Biskett, good. Medicines, good. to Send an Apothecary Grapnolls, Usefull Anchors ne=cessary. Nails, &c. | The Council could never sell the peas for less than they cost, whatever they might be sold for at the island, because the planters would undersell them to the ships. Calavances sold to the ships for seven shillings the bushel, which served as well. The peas in the Council's last invoice cost no more than four shillings and fourpence the bushel. 19: By the Susannah outward bound the flour was very good. By the Rochester the flour was much coarser, and the flour by this ship was coarser and worse than any, and very bad. Even so, the Council did not doubt the Court paid the best price for it. 20: The biscuit was good. 21: The medicines the Council's doctors commended as much better than the last. When medicines were sent, the Council never desired to have any cordial waters put up, since these were usually drunk by the doctors. By the next shipping a list of the medicines most wanted at the island would come, as the Council had already sent by both the Susannah and the Frederick. Both the doctors had asked leave to go home, but were now recovered. The Council asked the Court to send an apothecary in the room of one of them, since one apothecary and one surgeon would answer better at the island than two of one sort. 22: The grapnels the Council had received, and they would be useful. The Council wished it had some anchors and anchor stocks to lend to the returning ships, from twelve to twenty hundredweight, with some good coir or gummety cables suitable to them. 23: The nails and spikes the Council had received, and would take due care in their disposal. Interpretations The Council's request for an apothecary in place of one surgeon set out a deliberate division of medical labour at the island. An apothecary prepared and dispensed medicines, while a surgeon treated wounds and performed operations, so a pairing of one of each gave broader cover than two men of the same trade. The proposal matched the wider plan for an apothecary establishment with medicines sold at fixed prices, advanced in the despatch of 12 November 1714. The note that cordial waters were usually drunk by the doctors exposed a practical abuse in the medical stores, since these spirituous medicinal preparations were liable to be consumed by the very men charged with dispensing them. The Council's request to stop their supply was a small instance of controlling waste and self-dealing within the establishment. The point carried the same logic as the wider effort to bring the supply of medicines under Company control. The grapnels and anchors concerned the safety of shipping at an open and exposed roadstead, where vessels needed reliable ground tackle to ride out the swell. Coir, the rope spun from coconut husk fibre, and gummety cable were favoured for their lightness and ability to float and stretch, which suited them to anchoring. The Council's wish to lend such gear to returning ships marked St Helena's role as a station that helped vessels complete the homeward passage in safety. | |
106 | 22: And the Stationary ware we have rec:d but Still want more of such sorts as are mention'd in our Print be pleased along w:th the next Stationary to send us some Spelling Books some Psalm Books w:th the Tunes Prickt to them Comonly Called Playfords Psalms some Handsome well bound Comon Prayer Books with good Prints and some Octavo Bibles both with Ordinary & very good bindings. 23: The Oares are good & usefull but not Eno for all the Country come to Desire some 24: The Hollands Duck and Canvas is very good but we wish we had more such Canvas the Ships Demand that sort for Lineing their Old Sailes & the People here also use it for Sailes for their Boats & it is very usefull to us. 25: The Crane we should a had much Diffieulty to have done longer without we shall Sett it up as Soon as we can one of the Carpenters who helpt to make it Stayed here out of the Cardonnell being Sick and M:r Cleeve our Joyner with his family is gone off in his Room as Soon as this New Carpenter is a little recovered he shall goe to Work upon it. 26: The Fishing Tackle is allways usefull here but the Smallest Sort of Hooks being a Sort called in England Bait Hooks we have none of them they are much in demand here for Catching of Old Wives w:ch & we are obliged to use most of our Needles in makeing them into that Sort of Hooks. The Margin Notes: Stationary Ware wanting) Oars, good & Usefull. Holl: Duck & Canvas, good Crane. Carpenter Stayed. Fishing Tackle. | 24: The stationery ware the Council had received, but still wanted more of such sorts as were named in its invoice. The Council asked the Court, along with the next stationery, to send some spelling books, some psalm books with the tunes printed to them, commonly called Playford's Psalms, some handsome well bound common prayer books with good prints, and some octavo Bibles, both with ordinary and very good bindings. 25: The oars were good and useful, but not enough, since all the country came to ask for some. 26: The Holland's duck and canvas was very good, but the Council wished it had more such canvas. The ships demanded that sort for lining their old sails, and the people at the island also used it for sails for their boats, which was very useful. 27: The crane the Council should have had much difficulty to do without any longer. It would set it up as soon as it could. One of the carpenters who helped to make it had stayed at the island out of the Cardonnel, being sick. Since Mr Cleeve, the joiner, with his family, was gone off in his room, as soon as this new carpenter was a little recovered he would go to work upon it. 28: The fishing tackle was always useful at the island. The smallest sort of hooks, a sort called bait hooks in England, the Council had none of, and they were much in demand at the island for catching old wives. The Council was obliged to use most of its needles in making them into that sort of hooks. Interpretations The request for spelling books, psalm books, prayer books and Bibles points to the Council's care for religious observance and basic schooling among a settled population, three quarters of whom had never seen England. Playford's Psalms was a printed psalter with the melodies set above the words, allowing congregational singing without a trained choir. The supply of such books served to maintain English religious and cultural forms in a remote settlement increasingly made up of island-born people. Holland's duck was a fine, strong, closely woven linen canvas, originally of Dutch manufacture, prized for sails and sail repair. Its dual demand, from passing ships needing to line worn sails and from islanders making sails for their own boats, marked it as a staple of high resale value. The Council's wish for a larger stock reflected its function as a supplier to both shipping and the local fishing economy. The crane was the heavy lifting gear for loading and unloading goods at the landing, central to the whole business of resupplying ships. The arrival of the carpenter sick out of the Cardonnel, set against the departure of Mr Cleeve the joiner with his family for Bencoolen, shows the Council managing a thin and shifting pool of skilled labour. The replacement of one tradesman by another, recorded here, illustrates the constant difficulty of keeping competent craftsmen at the island. Speculations The Council's note that it cut up its needles to make the smallest fishing hooks, lacking the bait hooks demanded at the island, reveals improvisation forced by a gap in supply. The detail was set down to justify a specific request to the Court, since a remote settlement could not simply buy what it lacked and had to convert what it held. The old wives named here were a local fish, and the want of the right hooks bore directly on the island's own food supply. | |
107 | 27: The Deal boards we have Received all but Thirty Eight w:ch we Noted on the back of the Bill of Loading but think it would be better to charge what the Cap:t use to their own account & lett them pay for it whom what Else for which we desire yo:r Hon:r Order it not being the Custome here so to doe We have Occasion for a great quantity of Deal we use every Year ab:t one Hundred for Coffinns & sometimes more and the Planters are allways desireing some for makeing their Doors & Windors Shutts and other necess= =ary Repaires of their Houses we shall want 1200. for the Barrocks &c: and have not so many here but we have sent home by the Aurengzeeb a large Indent for boards and Timber which would Effectually Supply this place if we had it, we pray yo:r Hon:r to mention in the Bill of Loading how many Score of boards is sent us because Deal boards are sold in London at Six Score to the Hund:t but the Cap:ts here think they give us all our Number, if they deliver five Score to the Hund:t and those w:ch came in the two last Ships are counted so by w:ch yo:r Hon:r loose by some body or another one Score in Six. 28: The Boats will be of great Service to the place we will take due care to Employ them according to your Hon:r Directions and the Elm and Wainscott board will be of great Service to keep the Boates in repaire. 29: Us to the Coales we now use Coaler to burn Lyme with, Wood being so scarse that it costs more for Blacks Labour at Eighteen Pence Margin Notes: Deals. wanting 38. [...] pay for [...] [...] [...] [...] Cap:t Boats. Coals. | 29: The deal boards the Council had received, all but thirty-eight, which it noted on the back of the bill of lading. The Council thought it would be better to charge what the captains used to their own account and let them pay for it, or whatever else was wanting, for which the Council asked the Court's order, this not being the custom at the island. The Council had great need of deal, using about one hundred each year for coffins and sometimes more, and the planters always asked for some to make their doors, window shutters and other necessary repairs to their houses. The Council would want twelve hundred for the barracks, and had not so many at the island. It had sent home by the Aurangzeb a large order for boards and timber, which would fully supply the island if it had them. The Council asked the Court to state in the bill of lading how many score of boards were sent, since deal boards were sold in London at six score to the hundred. The captains at the island thought they gave the Council the whole number if they delivered five score to the hundred, and those that came in the two last ships were counted that way. The Court therefore lost by some persons one or another score in six. 30: The boats would be of great service to the island. The Council would take due care to employ them according to the Court's directions. The elm and wainscot board would be of great service to keep the boats in repair. 31: As to the coals, the Council now used coal to burn lime with, wood being so scarce that it cost more for the slave's labour at eighteen pence [...]. Interpretations The dispute over score and hundred turned on a trade custom in measuring deal boards, where the long hundred of six score, namely one hundred and twenty, was the standard count in the London timber trade. By delivering only five score, namely one hundred, to the hundred, the captains short-counted each delivery by a sixth, so the Court paid for boards it never received. The Council's request to state the score in the bill of lading was a precise audit measure aimed at closing a recurring leakage in supply. Deal was the sawn softwood plank of fir or pine, the standard timber for building and joinery where hardwood was scarce. The island's heavy annual need, about one hundred boards a year for coffins alone and twelve hundred for the barracks, set against the short local timber, made imported deal a critical store. The recurring demand explains the large order sent home by the Aurangzeb and the Council's care over the count. The use of coal to burn lime, in place of scarce wood, shows the Council managing two competing fuel demands at once. Lime was burnt for mortar and building work, and the cost of slave labour to gather wood at eighteen pence made imported coal the cheaper fuel for the kilns. The detail links the coal supply directly to the island's fortification and storehouse building programme. | |
108 | Pence p day to goe ab:t the Country for Wood than the Price of Coals amounts to. So that now we shall use more Coales then formerly Eyett of this ten Chaldron you were pleased now to send us (we have sent five) because we were Informed that yo:r Hon:r have not now sent any to Bencoolen & that they wanted Coales for their Smiths And alsoe being Desired by Govern:r Collett to send some there for that use, as appears by his Letter in the Susannah to us a copy whereof was transmitted to you by y:e said Ship which we hope yo:r Hon:r will approve off, and according to two Experim:ts that the Govern:r has lately made by burning Lyme w:th Coales we find that for all Lyme so burnt is required one Fifth Part of Coales by measure. 30: As to the Wines they came here in very bad Casks and had leakt out so much that there is wanting four Pipes for we filled them up that had Suffered least, out of those that had Leakt most, & one & twenty of the Casks held all the Wine that came on Shoar in twenty five casks, for our proceedings there please to see our Letters Protests & Examinations taken in writing that goe herewith, the Wine is tollerably good but not so good as might a been had for the Cap:t brought some here from the Maderies that was much better. 31: Thus we have gone thro the Severall Articles of Stores that have now Arrived by the Cardonnell at St Hellena but as to yo:r Hon:r Letter all our time being taken up Margin Notes: [...] of Coales to burn Lime. [...] Wines, wanting 4 pipes. | The cost of the slave's labour at eighteen pence a day to go about the country for wood came to more than the price of coals. The Council would therefore now use more coals than formerly. Of the ten chaldron the Court was pleased to send, the Council had kept five, because it was informed the Court had not now sent any to Bencoolen, and that the smiths there wanted coals. Governor Collett had also asked the Council to send some there for that use, as appeared by his letter sent in the Susannah, a copy of which was forwarded to the Court by the same ship. The Council hoped the Court would approve. By two experiments the Governor had lately made in burning lime with coals, the Council found that for all the lime burnt, one fifth part of coals was required by measure. 32: The wines came in very bad casks and had leaked out so much that four pipes were wanting. The Council filled up those that had suffered least out of those that had leaked most. One in twenty of the casks held all the wine that came ashore in twenty-five casks. For the Council's proceedings in the matter, the Court was asked to see its letters, protests and examinations taken in writing, which went with the present despatch. The wine was tolerably good, but not so good as might have been had, since the captains brought some from Madeira that was much better. 33: The Council had now gone through the several articles of stores that had arrived by the Cardonnel at St Helena. As to the Court's letter, all its time being taken up [...]. Interpretations The Council's account of the coal supply records a deliberate calculation of fuel cost against slave labour. With wood scarce, the eighteen pence a day spent on slaves to gather it exceeded the price of imported coal, so coal became the cheaper fuel for the forges and the lime kilns. The note that one fifth part of coal by measure served to burn a given quantity of lime gave the Court a precise ratio drawn from the Governor's own trials. The retention of five chaldron for Bencoolen turned on a lateral obligation between Company settlements rather than the island's own needs. Governor Collett's request, set out in his letter by the Susannah, drew St Helena into supplying coal to Bencoolen for the smiths there, since the Court had sent none directly. The Council's care to forward a copy of that letter protected it against any charge of diverting the Court's stores without authority. The protests and examinations taken over the leaked wine formed a documented legal record to support the Council's claim against the suppliers and carriers. With four pipes lost and only one cask in twenty sound, the Council needed written evidence of the loss to defend its account before the Court. The pipe was a large cask for wine, holding roughly one hundred and five gallons, and the Madeira brought privately by the captains showed how far the Court's own wine fell short. | |
109 | up on Accounts of that Ship while it lay here and since then haveing Discovered a Conspiracy on Board the Eagle among the Mutinous Sailors who were for Running away with the Ship it has wholley taken up the remain =der of our time in Examining the people & other Methods to Secure yo:r Hon:r Effects on board, that we, haveing not time to answer yo:r Hon:r Letter so fully as it ought, have concluded it to be better, to leave the answer =ing it untill the Arrivall of the next Ships desireing yo:r Hon:r to beleive this is the true reason & not an Excuse for a Neglect of Duty as we beleive will fully appear by the Sundry Examinations the Govern:r has taken in writing relateing to those Matters, Duplicates whereof shall come home with this Letter. And Secondly relateing to Shipping &c. And first for the Ship Cardonnell we shall in as concise a manner as we can give yo:r Hon:r an Account thereof (viz:t) 32: [...] 33: Mess:rs Bridges Aylmer & Willey three of the Factors & Allison the Purser came all to the Govern:r & complained against Cap:t Mawson for abuseing them Strikeing & Emprizoning them w:th many other Outragious Violences to them w:ch they sayed they could prove by many Witnesses, desired a hearing before the Govern:r & Councill & that they might Margin Notes: Excuse for not Ansring [...] Gen:l Letter. ab:t y:e Cardonell. mencening the Factors. &c in complt. | All the Council's time had been taken up on the accounts of that ship while she lay at the island. Since then the Council had discovered a conspiracy aboard the Eagle Galley among the mutinous sailors, who were for running away with the ship. This had wholly taken up the remainder of its time in examining the people and in other measures to secure the Court's interest on board. Having no time to answer the Court's letter so fully as it ought, the Council had concluded it better to leave the answer until the arrival of the next shipping. The Council asked the Court to believe this was the true reason and not an excuse for any neglect of duty, as it believed would fully appear by the many examinations the Governor had taken in writing relating to those matters, duplicates of which would come home with the present letter. Secondly, concerning shipping and other matters. 34: As to the ship Cardonnel, the Council would give the Court an account of her as concisely as it could. 35: Mr Bridger, Mr Aylmer and Mr Willey, three of the factors, and Mr Allison the purser, all came to the Governor and complained against Captain Mawson. They charged him with striking and imprisoning them, with many other outrageous acts of violence, which they said they could prove by many witnesses. They asked for a hearing before the Governor and Council, and that they might [...]. Interpretations The conspiracy aboard the Eagle Galley explains why the Council deferred its full reply to the Court's letter, since securing a ship against a crew bent on running off with her took precedence over correspondence. The Council's stress that this was the true reason, backed by written examinations sent home as duplicates, shows it building a documented defence against any charge of neglecting its duty. The episode reveals how a single shipboard crisis could absorb the whole administrative effort of the settlement. The complaint of the factors and the purser against Captain Mawson set the authority of the ship's master against that of the Company's civil servants. Factors were the Company's commercial agents who managed trade and goods, and a purser kept the ship's accounts and stores, so their charge of assault and imprisonment by the master raised a direct conflict of jurisdiction. By bringing the matter before the Governor and Council, they invoked the island's authority to adjudicate a dispute that had arisen at sea, testing where final power lay between sea and shore. | |
110 | might have Liberty to return home and not proceed the Voyage upon which the Govern:r sent to Cap:t Mawson & acquainted him with the Complaints made against him Cap:t Mawson asured the Gov:r these compla =ints were all Scandelous & in Substance false & since they had Desired a hearing he also Desired nothing more & the next Day was appointed for it accordingly the next Day all the Gentlemen that would were present & Cap:t Beckman also satt with the Councill. 34: And it appeared to us that upon the takeing in of the Wines at the Maderia's there was severall Hampers & small parcells of the Pa[s]engers which had been Stowed away in the Ships Hold that they were obliged then to remove & for the better Secur= =ity of them they putt them into the great Cabbin least any of the Sailors should have Medled with them but the Gentlemen who were Pa[s]engers there took it as a great affront that any goods should be putt there the Cheif and Second Mate went to them & then the Cap:t & desired them to lett the things lye there but for two or three Days & promised them that as soon as the Wines were Stowed away they would take their things out of the great Cabbin & Stow them again in the Hold upon the Wines but they were not Sattisfied with that but they all Joyned together & hove their own things out and abused the Officers then the Cap:t came again to pacifye Margin Notes: Cap:t Mawson reply. The State of y:e Case. | The factors and purser asked that they might have leave to return home and not proceed on the voyage. The Governor sent to Captain Mawson and acquainted him with the complaints made against him. Captain Mawson assured the Governor that these complaints were all scandalous and in substance false. Since they had asked for a hearing, he too desired nothing more, and the next day was appointed for it accordingly. The next day all the gentlemen who were available were present, and Captain Beckman also sat with the Council. 36: It appeared to the Council that, upon the taking in of the wines at Madeira, there were several hampers and small parcels belonging to the passengers which had been stowed away in the ship's hold. The passengers were then obliged to remove these, and for their better security put them into the great cabin, lest any of the sailors should meddle with them. The gentlemen who were passengers took it as a great affront that any goods should be put there. The chief and second mate went to them, and then the captain, and desired them to let the things lie there for only two or three days. The captain promised them that, as soon as the wines were stowed away, he would take their things out of the great cabin and stow them again in the hold upon the wines. The passengers were not satisfied with that. They all joined together and heaved their own things out, and abused the officers. The captain then came again to pacify [...]. Interpretations The dispute over the great cabin reveals the contested status of space and rank aboard an East Indiaman. The great cabin was the senior accommodation at the stern, reserved for the captain and the passengers of standing, so the stowing of cargo there touched the passengers' sense of their own place. Their treatment of it as an affront, set against the captain's need to manage the wine cargo, shows how shipboard authority and social precedence collided in the confined order of a long voyage. The Council's care to record the sequence of events, with Captain Beckman of the Eagle Galley sitting alongside it, built a deliberate evidentiary record of the inquiry. By including an independent ship's master in the hearing, the Governor strengthened the standing of the island's adjudication of a quarrel that had arisen at sea. The detailed narrative of who approached the passengers and what was promised laid the ground for a documented finding that the Court could review. | |
111 | pacifye them but they called him a great many names &c one of them turned up his britch & bed the Cap:t Kiss his Arse with many other provocations by bad Language and M:r Willey who had bed the Cap:t kiss his Arse Asaulted him whereupon the Cap:t Struck him with his hand but the officers Interveened & some of the other pa[s]engers did restrain them from further Violence at that time so they left off with threatning revenge the Plenty of Wine they gott there was the Occasion of Carrying the Quarrell to a greater height & after that they behaved themselves much worse even very rudely by Cursing Swearing & frequent uproars as often as they drank hard, Sometimes where the Cap:t Slept tho at Midnight they would be louder than Ordinary & knock up with Sticks against the Ceiling of their Cabbin Just under the Cap:t bed place & calls to him to put out the Moon if the Officers came to tell them it was Unreasonable for them to be up so late with Candles burning this Heat was not likely to be Aswaged on board the Quarrell haveing been Carryed to so great a height They Justifyed themselves & their owne Civile behaviour appealing to the Testimony of M:r Stephen Newcomb another of the Pa[s]engers whom they desired to be Called he haveing a Generall good Charecter on both Sides each Sayed they would abide by his Testimony, then M:r Newcomb being desired to declare what he knew of that matter Said that | The captain came again to pacify the passengers, but they called him many names. One of them turned up his breeches and bid the captain kiss his backside, with many other provocations by bad language. Mr Willey, who had bid the captain kiss his backside, then assaulted him, whereupon the captain struck him with his hand. The officers intervened, and some of the other passengers restrained them from further violence at that time, so they left off with threats of revenge. The plenty of wine the passengers obtained there was the cause of carrying the quarrel to a greater height. After that they behaved much worse, even very rudely, by cursing, swearing and frequent uproars, as often as they drank hard. Sometimes, where the captain slept, though at midnight, they would be louder than ordinary and knock with sticks against the ceiling of their cabin, just under the captain's bed place, to call to him to put out the moon. If the officers came to tell them it was unreasonable for them to be up so late with candles burning, this heat was not likely to be assuaged on board, the quarrel having been carried to so great a height. The passengers justified themselves and their own behaviour, appealing to the testimony of Mr Stephen Newcomb, another of the passengers, whom they desired to be called. He having a generally good character on both sides, each side said it would abide by his testimony. Mr Newcomb, being then asked to declare what he knew of the matter, said that [...]. Interpretations The hearing turned on the choice of Mr Stephen Newcomb as an agreed witness, a device that let the Council resolve a violent dispute by consent rather than by imposed authority. Newcomb's standing, a factor of good character accepted by both the captain and the passengers, made his testimony binding on each side by their own agreement. The method shows the island's tribunal securing a fair finding in a quarrel where the parties were otherwise wholly opposed. The role of drink runs through the whole episode as the Council's explanation for the breakdown of order aboard the Cardonnel. The plenty of wine taken in at Madeira was named as the direct cause of the quarrel's escalation, with the worst conduct following whenever the passengers drank hard. By fixing on drink as the driver, the Council framed the disorder as the failing of the passengers rather than any fault in the master's command. | |
112 | that the Gentlemen were greatly to blame & Especially M:r Willey & M:r Aylmer who had abused the Cap:t very Grossely & had been often rude to him on board of his Ship bestowing on him the Worst words they could think of & being asked if the Cap:t did ever Imprison any of the Pa[s]engers Sayeth that one Night M:r Willey & M:r Aylmer w:th some others had been Drinking Sacheveralls Health Aylmer sayed lett us Drink the Kings Health to w:ch Willey replyed He drink no healths but my own Kings & that is King James the Third w:ch he did Drink with such other Scandelous reflections as came upermost little less then Treason they being Drunk & next Day when the Cap:t heard of it he confined Willey to his Cabbin & kept him there a Weik & forbad Aylmer comeing on the Quarter Deck when we heard of this we could not but approve of what the Cap:t had done & the Govern:r threat'ned to send Willey & Aylmer back to England & not Suffer them to proceed the Voyage but they being young Men & had been Enraged with Liquor & were now Sensible of their faults (Dropping out by Chance that they did not beleive M:r Newcomb would Speak of that) they then begd pardon of the Govern:r being a little Startled at his threat'ning to send them home they promised to behave themselves Civilly the Rest of the Voyage. & to offer no | Mr Newcomb said that the gentlemen were greatly to blame, especially Mr Willey and Mr Aylmer, who had abused the captain very grossly and had often been rude to him on board the ship, giving him the worst words they could think of. Being asked if the captain ever imprisoned any of the passengers, he said that one night Mr Willey, Mr Aylmer and some others had been drinking Sacheverell's health. Aylmer said, let the King's health be drunk too. Willey replied that he would drink no healths but his own King's, and that was King James the Third, with such other scandalous reflections as came uppermost, little less than treason, they being drunk. The next day, when the captain heard of it, he confined Willey to his cabin and kept him there a week, and forbade Aylmer to come on the quarter deck. When the Council heard of this, it could not but approve of what the captain had done. The Governor threatened to send Willey and Aylmer back to England and not suffer them to proceed on the voyage. They, being young men who had been enraged with liquor and were now sensible of their faults, then begged the Governor's pardon. It dropped out by chance that they did not believe Mr Newcomb would speak of that. Being a little startled at his threat to send them home, they promised to behave themselves civilly the rest of the voyage, and to offer [...]. Interpretations The drinking of Sacheverell's health and the toast to King James the Third carried a charge of treason against the Hanoverian succession. Henry Sacheverell was the High Church clergyman whose 1710 trial became a rallying point for Tory and High Church feeling, while King James the Third was the title used by Jacobites for the exiled Stuart claimant, James Francis Edward Stuart. To toast him was to deny the legitimacy of King George the First, so Willey's words were a political offence as much as a breach of shipboard discipline, which is why the Council judged them little short of treason. The captain's confinement of Willey and his exclusion of Aylmer from the quarter deck were exercises of a master's disciplinary authority over passengers aboard his ship. The quarter deck was the raised after deck reserved for officers and the command of the vessel, so barring a passenger from it was a formal mark of disgrace. The Council's open approval of these measures settled the earlier jurisdictional dispute firmly in the master's favour, upholding his right to keep order at sea. Speculations The Governor's threat to send the two men home rather than any heavier penalty was a calculated lever to secure their submission without a formal trial. Faced with the loss of their advancement east, the young factors begged pardon and promised good conduct, which let the Council close a dangerous quarrel by extracting a voluntary undertaking. The chance remark that they had not expected Newcomb to speak against them suggests the Council valued his independent word as the decisive turn in bringing them to heel. | |
113 | no more affronts to the Cap:t & both ownd their faults in a Letter to the Cap:t he also promised to forgett all Old Matters so we made them very good Friends & they Carried them =selves Civilly the rest of the time they Stayed here. 35: The complaint of M:r Bridger was too trifeling to trouble your Hon:r with for tho he complaind with the others when he told the perticular cause of his grevience he only said the Cap:t was not so Civill to him as he Expected we asked him in what & he Sayed that when the Cap:t came on Shoar he Saluted M:r Diamond by putting of his Hatt & asked him how he did & yett M:r Diamond was but a Writer & took no Notice of him who was every way Superiour to the other & a factor & longer acquainted with the Cap:t the Gov:r seeing his weaknesse & that he had been sett on by the others talpt to him in another manner than to Willey & Sattisfied him so well that he also resolved to Proceed the Voyage and to be in good Friendship w:th the Cap:t, M:r Allison the Purser had no Publick hearing but some discontents had Rose in the Voyage & he being unwilling to goe to Bencoolen the Cap:t & he agreed to part so he took out his goods & Sold us some Lime Juice Hatts Stockings Tobacco Wine &c: as we wanted in yo:r Hon: Stores for w:ch we have drawn Bills Payable at London Cap:t Mawson Sailed hence on the 29: of June w:th a good Ships Company and we hope every body Margin Notes: M:r Bridgers complaint trifling. the purser goes home bo: some goods of him | The two men promised to offer no more affronts to the captain, and to own their faults in a letter to him. The captain also promised to forget all old matters, so the Council made them very good friends. They carried themselves civilly the rest of the time they stayed at the island. 37: The complaint of Mr Bridger was too trifling to trouble the Court with, for though he had complained with the others, when he told the particular cause of his grievance he only said the captain was not so civil to him as he expected. The Council asked him in what way, and he said that when the captain came ashore he saluted Mr Diamond by taking off his hat and asked him how he did, yet Mr Diamond was but a writer, and took no notice of him, who was every way superior to the other and a factor, and longer acquainted with the captain. The Council, seeing his weakness, and that he had been set on by the others, talked to him in another manner than to Willey, and satisfied him so well that he too resolved to proceed on the voyage and to be in good friendship with the captain. 38: Mr Allison the purser had no public hearing, but some discontents had arisen on the voyage, and he being unwilling to go to Bencoolen, the captain and he agreed to part. He took out his goods and sold the Council some lime juice, hats, stockings, tobacco, wine and other things the Council wanted for the Court's stores, for which it had drawn bills payable at London. 39: Captain Mawson sailed from the island on 29 June with a good ship's company, and the Council hoped every [...]. Interpretations The Bridger complaint exposes the fine gradations of rank within the Company's service, since his whole grievance rested on the captain greeting a writer before a factor. A writer was the most junior clerical grade, a factor a more senior commercial officer, so the order of a greeting carried real weight in a hierarchy where precedence governed advancement. The Council's dismissal of the matter as trifling, while still soothing Bridger to keep him in the service, shows it managing wounded status as carefully as genuine disorder. The purser's parting with Captain Mawson was settled by a commercial transaction rather than a disciplinary finding. Allison sold his private stock of lime juice, hats, stockings, tobacco and wine to the Council for the Court's stores, paid for by bills drawn on London. Lime juice in particular had value at sea as a guard against scurvy, and the purchase let the Council acquire useful goods while easing a discontented officer out of the voyage without open conflict. | |
114 | body well Sattisfied. 36: There went from hence in that Ship M:r Richard Cleave the Joyner and his family, One Tho: Newington who wrote here in the Secretarys Office & lookt after the Customs that desired to goe to Bencoolen or any part of India & he writeing a very good hand we gave him leek to Serve your Hon:r there, and Sam:l Allgate a Gardiner who has Served yo:r Hon:r above five years here as a Soldier & Corporall & had Married a young Woman with about two Hundred & fifty Pounds Sterling w:ch he had Just spent & he Listed himself to Serve yo:r Hon:r five years longer as a Soldier there we gave him also leave. 37: M:r Stephen Newcomb one of your Factors also took a Wife here M:rs Brolina Carne the Daughter of M:r George Carne (who is lately Dead) & she is gone with her Husband in the Cardonnell to Bencoolen the Foregoeing is a Breif Account of the Ship Cardonnell for farther Account we referr yo:r Hon:r to the Letters &c that pa[s]ed between the Cap:t and us Copys whereof shall come herewith. 38: And we have according to yo:r Hon:r Instructions wrote to Bencoolen to Bengall to Madra[s] & to Bombay by the Ship Cardonnell Copys whereof comes herewith and given them an account of what goods are most wanted here which are of their Growth Margin Notes: who went to Bencoolen from hence? M:r St: Newcomb caried St Hin:o his Wife Write to Bencoolen Bengall Madrass & Bombay. | The Council hoped everyone was well satisfied. 40: Several persons went from the island in that ship. Mr Richard Cleeve the joiner went with his family. Mr Thomas Newington, who wrote in the secretary's office and looked after the customs, wished to go to Bencoolen or any part of India, and writing a very good hand, the Council gave him leave to serve the Court there. Samuel Allgate, a soldier who had served the Court above five years at the island as a soldier and corporal, and who had married a young woman with about two hundred and fifty pounds sterling, which he had just spent, engaged himself to serve the Court five years longer as a soldier there, so the Council gave him leave also. 41: Mr Stephen Newcomb, one of the Court's factors, also took a wife at the island, Mrs Carolina Carne, the daughter of Mr George Carne, who was lately dead. She had gone with her husband in the Cardonnel to Bencoolen. The foregoing was a brief account of the ship Cardonnel. For a fuller account the Council referred the Court to the letters that passed between the captain and itself, copies of which would come with the present despatch. 42: Following the Court's instructions, the Council had written to Bencoolen, to Bengal, to Madras and to Bombay by the ship Cardonnel, copies of which came with the present despatch. The Council had given them an account of what goods were most wanted at the island, which were of their growth [...]. Interpretations The marriage of Stephen Newcomb to Carolina Carne, the daughter of George Carne, links this departure to the long debt recovery set out in the despatch of 8 December 1714. George Carne, father-in-law of John Keeling, had held land and the Keeling children's estate on bond and owed the Court for stores, and his recent death altered the standing of his family at the island. The marriage of his daughter to a Company factor bound for Bencoolen shows how the island's small landed families were tied into the wider Company service through both money and kinship. The departure of Cleeve, Newington and Allgate together illustrates the lateral movement of personnel through St Helena toward the eastern settlements. A skilled joiner, a literate clerk who wrote a good hand and an experienced soldier each carried transferable value to Bencoolen, and the island served as a recruiting point as well as a place of refreshment. The Council's note that Allgate had spent his wife's portion of two hundred and fifty pounds explains his re-engagement, since a man without means returned to Company pay. The Council's correspondence with Bencoolen, Bengal, Madras and Bombay under the Court's standing instruction confirms St Helena's place in the lateral network of presidencies. By requisitioning goods of each region's own growth directly from the nearest factory, the island secured Eastern supplies without routing every order through London. The practice matched the direct dealings with Fort St George and Bengal recorded in the letters of 29 June 1715. | |
115 | Growth or Manufacture &c 39: But we must now Humbly represent by way of Complaint to your Hon:r a very Scandelous Affront that has been put upon us by some person and we have great reason to believe that the Person who did it is one Bartholemew Swartz a German as we think who was appointed to be one of yo:r Supra Cargoes on board the Burneo but they not manageing their affairs so as to gett a Cargoe he is come home a Pa[s]enger on board the Eagle who when we had ended & Composed all matters between Cap:t Mawson and his Pa[s]engers not so well to his likeing as he would have had it, because we take him to be the man who Promoted the Complaint he wrote a Malicious Libell and affixed it on the Ministers Door in the Night time by way of Mockery to us Entituled. An Order of Gov:r Clark &c. A Copy of w:ch Scandelous Lybell goes herewith & Concludes his Paper thus Given at Our Court in Grubbstreet in the City of Troy in the first Year of our Reigne the 18: of June 1715. We think Swarts wrote that Paper because he first promoted & Encouraged the Complaints against Cap:t Mawson and Because he went about from one to another & told of it first comending very much the Ingenuity of the paper and Because tis agreeable to his way of talking he allways calling this Place Helena of Troy in his Ordinary discours and Margin Notes: concide the Libell. Barth:o Swartz the Supposed Auth:r Gen:l Proceeding Vol II p 494: Reasons for that Oppinion | The goods were of the growth or manufacture of those places. 43: The Council had now to lay before the Court a complaint about a very scandalous affront put upon it by some person. The Council had good reason to believe the person who did it was one Bartholomew Swartz, a German, as it thought, who had been appointed one of the Court's supercargoes aboard the Borneo. Not managing their affairs so as to get a cargo, he came home as a passenger aboard the Eagle. When the Council had ended and composed all matters between Captain Mawson and his passengers, not so well to his liking as he would have had it, the Council took him to be the man who promoted the complaint. He wrote a malicious libel and fixed it on the minister's door in the night time by way of mockery to the Council. It was entitled an order of Governor Clark and others. A copy of the scandalous libel went with the present despatch. It concluded thus: given at our court in Grubstreet in the City of Troy in the first year of our reign, the 18th of June 1715. The Council thought Swartz wrote that paper for these reasons. First, because he had been the man who first promoted and encouraged the complaints against Captain Mawson. Second, because he went about from one person to another and told of the paper first, commending very much the ingenuity of it. Third, because it was agreeable to his way of talking, since he always called the island a Helot of Troy in his ordinary discourse, and [...]. Interpretations The libel was a written attack designed to mock the Council's authority, and its posting on the minister's door at night placed it where the whole community would see it. The mock dating from a court in Grubstreet in the City of Troy carried a pointed insult, since Grub Street was the London byword for hack writers and scurrilous pamphlets, while the City of Troy cast the island as a doomed and ridiculous place. By framing its judgment of the Mawson dispute as a royal decree, the paper ridiculed the Council's pretensions to govern. The role of Bartholomew Swartz as the suspected author connects the libel directly to the resolved quarrel aboard the Cardonnel. A supercargo was the officer charged with managing the trade and cargo of a voyage, and Swartz's failure to secure a cargo for the Borneo left him a discontented passenger. The Council's reasoning, that he had promoted the complaints against Mawson and praised the paper's wit, built a circumstantial case identifying him as the man who turned a settled dispute into a public mockery. The Council's careful assembly of evidence against Swartz, including his habitual talk of the island as a Helot of Troy, shows it treating the libel as a matter for documented prosecution rather than informal rebuke. Helot referred to the enslaved underclass of ancient Sparta, so the phrase cast the island and its people as servile and contemptible. By recording his characteristic speech as proof of authorship, the Council prepared a case it could lay before the Court with supporting reasons. | |
116 | and the Expressions seem to be forled and affected after his manner of Speaking and Because that very paper upon which tis wrote M:r Swartz had from M:r Allison the Purser the Night before this was Published and then went from the Company he was Jn & retired two Hours and Because he was seen by the Centinells to goe by in the Night time that night before it was Posted against the Parsons door. But more Especially because Cap:t Beckman told us that M:r Swartz had wrote it. 40: The Gentlemen of Bencoolen certainly were no way concerned in it but they as well as we Suspected it to be Swartz doeing) 41: Had we been positive or could a Produced any one Witness against him we would a fined him for it & sent him off the Shoar but tho we could not prove it we think the reasons afore recited amount to a very Pregnant Suspition & next to a proof which the Govern:r says he is the better confirmed in because he knows Swarts was once Charged for a thing of that Nature in London relateing to Gresham Colledge. 42: We come now to mention our proceedings in relation to the Ship Eagle Galley on the 27: June the Marshall of this Place came to the Gov:r & told him he had Letter Margin Notes: Gent:n for Bencoolen no way concernd. Would have fined Swartz could have had positive proof. concerning y:e Eagle Galley people. | The expressions in the paper seemed forced and affected, after Swartz's manner of speaking. The Council also suspected him because the very paper on which it was written had been given to Swartz by Mr Allison the purser the night before it was published. Swartz then left the company he was in and retired for two hours. He was also seen by the sentinels to go by in the night, that night before it was posted against the minister's door. More especially, the Council suspected him because Captain Beckman told it that Swartz had written it. 44: The gentlemen of Bencoolen certainly had no part in it. They, as well as the Council, suspected it to be Swartz's doing. 45: Had the Council been positive, or could it have produced any one witness against him, it would have fined him for it and sent him off the island. Though it could not prove it, the Council thought the reasons set out above amounted to a very strong suspicion, next to a proof. The Governor said he was the better confirmed in this, because he knew Swartz was once charged for a thing of that nature in London relating to Gresham College. 46: The Council now came to mention its proceedings concerning the ship Eagle Galley. On 27 June the marshal of the island came to the Governor and told him he had a letter [...]. Interpretations The Council's reasoning against Swartz set out the standard of proof it applied to a charge it could not bring home. Lacking a witness, it judged the circumstantial points to amount to a strong suspicion next to a proof, the threshold below which it would not impose the fine and banishment it would otherwise have used. The passage reveals the Council acting as a court bound by its own evidentiary rules, declining to punish where it could not establish authorship. The Governor's recollection that Swartz had once been charged with a similar matter in London relating to Gresham College supplied a prior character to support the suspicion. Gresham College was the London institution of public lectures and home to the Royal Society, a setting where learned libels and squibs might circulate. By citing this earlier accusation, the Governor strengthened the inference that the man with a history of such conduct was the author of the present libel. The marshal's approach to the Governor about a letter concerning the Eagle Galley opens the matter of the shipboard conspiracy named earlier in the despatch. The marshal was the officer charged with executing legal process and keeping order, so his bringing of a letter to the Governor began a formal proceeding. The detail marks the point where the running crisis aboard the Eagle Galley entered the Council's documented record. | |
117 | Letter for him but desire him not to be angry with him for bringing of it the Govern:r asked why he made such a Request he sayed three men belonging to the Eagle that lookt like Rogues came to him & gave him that Letter & halfe a Crown in Mony to bring it And he did beleive there was Roguery in it because he had heard them Curseing the Ship & Swearing they would never goe to England in her the Letter Containd a Complaint of want of Provisions but was Signd by nobody & is what is Called a Sort of Bedlams Paper the Copy whereof is as follows For y:e Worshipfull Govern:r of Saint Hellena Humbly Sheweth as we being Servants to the Hon:ble East India Company in all Humilitie (your Excellency being Representative) desire you may Rectifye a Poor Pinched & Distress'd Ships Company that have been these many Months wanting y:e Companys Allowances of Arrack & Scarcety of other Provisions w:ch are too Tedious here to Nominate wee have delayed makeing our Aplications still Expecting it might be better but finding not any likelyhood of Amendment Wee in generall Humbly desire you may Rectifye our greivances for the time to come, and wee as in duty bound shall ever Pray. 43: The Govern:r hearing such an ill Charecter of these men by the Marshall ordered a Centinell to goe down to the Sea Gate & Stop any Sailors from goeing on board & sent the Marshall to fetch them to him, in the mean time Commu =nicated the paper to Cap:t Osbourne & the other two Comanders the Men appeard and owned the Paper Margin Notes: Charecter of some of them. three Sorts of Bedlams Cobition To curse them) | The marshal had a letter for the Governor, but asked him not to be angry with him for bringing it. The Governor asked why he made such a request. The marshal said three men belonging to the Eagle who looked like rogues came to him and gave him the letter, with half a crown in money to bring it. He did believe there was roguery in it, because he had heard them cursing the ship and swearing they would never go to England in her. The letter contained a complaint of want of provisions, but was signed by nobody, and was what is called a Bedlam paper. A copy of it followed. The paper was addressed to the worshipful Governor of St Helena. The petitioners set out that, being servants to the Honourable East India Company in all humility, with the Governor as the Court's representative, they desired he might rectify a poor pinched and distressed ship's company. They had been many months wanting the Company's allowance of arrack, and the scarcity of other provisions was too tedious to list. They had delayed making their application, still expecting it might be made better, but finding no likelihood of amendment, they humbly desired he might rectify their grievances for the time to come. 47: The Governor, hearing such a character of these men from the marshal, ordered a sentinel to go down to the Eagle Galley and stop any sailors from going on board. He sent the marshal to fetch them to him. In the meantime he communicated the paper to Captain Osborne and the other two commanders. The men appeared and owned the paper [...]. Interpretations The anonymous petition, described as a Bedlam paper, was an unsigned complaint of the kind associated with the disordered or seditious, Bedlam being the London hospital for the insane. Presented as a humble appeal over short provisions and missing arrack allowance, it served as cover for the mutinous purpose the marshal already suspected. The Council recorded its anonymity and its source among men who cursed the ship as the marks that turned a grievance into evidence of conspiracy. The marshal's role and his half crown reveal how the plot came to light through the very officer the conspirators sought to use. As the officer charged with legal process, the marshal carried the paper to the Governor rather than acting as their messenger, and his report of the men's talk supplied the Council its first warning. The detail shows the machinery of order working against the men who tried to exploit it. The Governor's immediate posting of a sentinel to stop sailors boarding the Eagle Galley was a containment measure aimed at preventing the crew from gathering to seize the ship. By securing the vessel before summoning the men, he denied them the chance to act on the plan to run off with her. His consultation of Captain Osborne and the other commanders drew the assembled masters into a joint response, treating the conspiracy as a threat to all the Court's shipping at the island. | |
118 | Power their Names were Thomas Clarke the Gunner Thomas Francis the Boatswaine & W:m Wells the Trumpeter & John Quick the Caulker they sayd they owned the Paper & would Stand by it & that all the Ships Company were of their mind but they were Drunk Especially the Gunner yett they sayed they had another paper on board written by the D:rs mate Signed by most of the Men the Gunner and the Trumpeter were very Impudent whereupon the Govern:r Sent them two to the Prizon and sent also on board the Ship for the Boatswain & D:rs mate who were two others of the Ring =leaders & Examined them Publickly in presence of all the Council & Cap:t Osbourne & Comitted them also they were no sooner in the Prison but they sent for Strong Liquors & for another Trompeter & then Sounded their Trompetts by way of Bravadoe wherefore the Govern:r seeing them grow to such a head & bold Defyance to Every body even on shoar Ordered them four (Viz:) the Boatswain the Gunn:r the D:rs Mate & the Trompeter to be putt into Irons and the next Day sent for them to the Castle and Examined them again & shewed the D:rs Mate the Crimes that were Charged against him in Writeing the Man that made the Charge Standing by & Confronting of him at which he was nothing Daunted but told us we had hired that man to swear against him whereupon we Ordered him to be Corrected. 44: But that your Hon:r may be fully Certifyed of the Occasions of our Strictnesse with these people tho we have transmitted to you Copys of all the Affadavitts that have been made w:ch are too long to be put down here Margin Notes: [...] Sons Old [...] Vol:6: Tho: Clarke, Gunn:r Jn:o Francis, b[...]ts W:m Wells, trumpet:r [...] Quick, Caulk:r D:rs Mate & ill Cadder sent for [...] first Comitted. their behavi:r aft:r & sent again Reasons of our managem:t | The men owned the paper. Their names were Thomas Clarke the gunner, Thomas Francis the boatswain, William Wells the trumpeter and John Quick the caulker. They said they owned the paper and would stand by it, and that all the ship's company were of their mind, but they were drunk, especially the gunner. They said they had another paper aboard, written by the doctor's mate and signed by most of the men. The gunner and the trumpeter were very impudent, whereupon the Governor sent the two of them to the prison. He sent also aboard the ship for the boatswain and the doctor's mate, who were two others of the ringleaders, and examined them publicly in the presence of all the Council and Captain Osborne. He committed them also. They were no sooner in the prison but they sent for strong liquors and for another trumpeter, and then sounded their trumpets by way of bravado. The Governor, seeing them grow to such a head and bold defiance of everybody, even on shore, ordered the four of them, the boatswain, the gunner, the doctor's mate and the trumpeter, to be put into irons. The next day he sent for them to the castle and examined them again. He showed the doctor's mate the crimes charged against him in writing, with the man who made the charge standing by and confronting him. At this the doctor's mate was nothing daunted, but told the Council it had hired that man to swear against him, whereupon the Governor ordered him to be corrected. 48: So that the Court might be fully informed of the reasons for the Council's treatment of these people, copies of all the affidavits made in the matter went with the present despatch, though they were too long to be set down here. Interpretations The conspirators' use of trumpet calls and demands for strong liquor in the prison reveals the conduct that drove the Council to irons. The trumpeter sounding his instrument by way of bravado was a public act of defiance meant to rally the ship's company and mock the Council's authority before the whole settlement. By treating the noise and drink as open defiance rather than mere disorder, the Council justified its escalation from confinement to irons. The public examination of the ringleaders before the whole Council and Captain Osborne was a deliberate procedure to establish the charges on the record. Confronting the doctor's mate with his written accusation and the accuser in person followed the form of a judicial hearing, where the accused met the evidence face to face. The doctor's mate's claim that the witness had been hired to swear against him shows the men contesting the proceeding on its own terms. The Council's ordering of correction, a physical punishment, against the doctor's mate marked the point where examination gave way to discipline. The transmission of all the affidavits to the Court built the documented justification for measures the Council knew it would have to defend. The careful preservation of written evidence shows the Council treating the suppression of the conspiracy as a matter that would be reviewed in London. | |
119 | here we will therefore only abridge them & sett down here the heads thereof. 45: And we begin first by acquainting you that one Thousand Pound of yo:r Hon:r Mony has been Stolen out of this Ship in the outward bound Voyage & that to prevent the discovery thereof there was a Conspiracy between the Gunn:r the Boatswain & some others whom our Evidence does not fully reach to Blow up the Ship and on the 29: Day of May 1714. in Battavia road the Gunner Lighteen Matth & la+ed it to a Train in a Powder Barrell in the Powder Room & went out of the Ship to Fathers Smiths Island (a Place so called near Battavia) as soon as he came on shoar Exprest himself w:th a great Deal of Joy that he was got there saying he would not a been on board that Day for a great deal of mony that in the mean time the Gunn:r mate went down by accident & seeing the Powder Room door open went in & Saw a Lighted Match lyeing over a Barrell of Powder w:ch he took away w:o for that time prevented the destruction of the Ship that since then they behavd themselves in such a mutinous & Seditious manner that the Cap:t has declared to us that he feared very much that they would a Carried away the Ship as he passed by the Head of Madagascar that at the Cape of Good Hope the Gunner was heard to say he was sure the Ship should never proceed her Voyage home but would Either be Runn away with or blown up at the same time threatned one John Verckell who stood by that if he ever Discovered to the Cap:t what was then sayed that he should be hove overboard some Dark night & no body should know what became Margin Notes: [...] Lost [...] they were Sus=pected to Steale. [...] Cap:t fears. [...] threats. | The affidavits being too long to set down, the Council would only abridge them and set down the heads of them here. 49: The Council began first by acquainting the Court that one thousand pounds of the Court's money had been stolen out of the ship on the outward bound voyage. To prevent the discovery of the theft, there was a conspiracy between the gunner, the boatswain and some others, whom the Council's evidence did not fully reach, to blow up the ship. On 29 May 1714, at Batavia, the gunner laid a train of eighteen matches to a powder barrel in the powder room, then went out of the ship to a place called Father Smith's Island near Batavia. As soon as he came ashore there he expressed himself with a great deal of joy that he was got there, saying he would not have been on board that day for a great deal of money. In the meantime the gunner's mate went down by accident and, seeing the powder room door open, went in and saw a lighted match lying over a barrel of powder, which he took away. For that time this prevented the destruction of the ship. Since then the conspirators had behaved themselves in such a mutinous and seditious manner that the captain declared to the Council that he feared very much they would have carried away the ship as he passed by the head of Madagascar. At the Cape of Good Hope the gunner had said he was sure the ship should never proceed on her voyage, but would either be run away with or blown up at the same time. He threatened one John Verchell, who stood by, that if he ever discovered the matter to the captain, he should be hove overboard some dark night and nobody should know what became [...]. Interpretations The conspiracy's true purpose, to conceal the theft of one thousand pounds of the Court's money, explains why the plotters were prepared to destroy the whole ship. Blowing up the vessel would have erased the evidence of the embezzlement along with everyone aboard, so the plan to fire the powder room served the cover-up rather than any grievance over provisions. The earlier petition over short arrack now appears as a screen for a far graver crime. The powder room was the sealed magazine where a ship's gunpowder was stored, the most dangerous and closely guarded space aboard. The gunner, as the officer in charge of the ordnance, had the access to lay a train of matches to a barrel there, and only the chance entry of his own mate prevented the explosion at Batavia. The detail shows how the very officer trusted with the ship's powder turned it into the means of mass destruction. The gunner's threat to throw John Verchell overboard on a dark night reveals the enforcement of silence by terror within the conspiracy. The danger of disclosure was met with a promise of secret murder at sea, where a man could vanish without trace or account. The Council's record of this threat established the seditious and murderous character of the plot, supporting the severe measures it had taken against the ringleaders. | |
120 | became of him. 46: After they came from the Cape the Boatswain Said to the Gunner in the Presence & hearing of two others these Words (viz:) this Ship will never goe for England but what must we doe, how shall we manage it, to whom the Gunn:r answered I shall doe nothing my Self for I will have but little hand in it but it shall be done in the same manner as it was to be done at Battavia these words knowing what had been Acted before so terryfied the aforesaid John Verckell that he gott leave of the Cap:t to stay on shoar & has Listed himself to serve your Hon:r as a Soldier here & then made this Affidavitt before the Governer and Councill & asured us that he dread hereof knowing these People to be Desperate men is the true & only Cause of his desireing to leave the Ship and Stay here. 47: William Hannah who went out Second Mate & is now Cheife Mate of the Ship was Examined on Orth & he swore that the Boatswain Gunner D:rs Mate & Trompeter were Seditious Turbulent People & of Mutinous Tempers & that he believed their Design was to Pyrate the Ship. 48: But we must observe to yo:r Hon:r that we have no good Opinion of the Cheif Mate himself & doe not think him very fitt for such a Post & fear his not Preserving a due Decoram among the men has not a little contributed to the Confusions in the Ship. 49: We Examined the Second Mate who gave us a full Account of this Attempt to Blow up the Ship & the Discovery of the Match beforementioned he went out Fourth Mate and Margin Notes: [...] Deposition of W:m Hannah Cheif M:te W:m Taylor 2:d Mate. | 50: After they came from the Cape, the boatswain said to the gunner, in the presence and hearing of two others, these words. This ship will never go for England, but what must we do, and how shall we manage it. To this the gunner answered that he would do nothing himself, for he would have but little hand in it, but it should be done in the same manner as it was to be done at Batavia. These words, with the knowledge of what had been done before, so terrified John Verchell that he obtained the captain's leave to stay ashore. He had enlisted himself to serve the Court as a soldier at the island. He then made his affidavit before the Governor and Council and assured it that his dread of the matter, knowing these people to be desperate men, was the true and only cause of his wish to leave the ship and stay at the island. 51: William Hannah, who went out second mate and was now chief mate of the ship, was examined on oath. He swore that the boatswain, the gunner, the doctor's mate and the trumpeter were seditious, turbulent people of mutinous tempers, and that he believed their design was to take the ship by piracy. 52: The Council had to observe to the Court that it had no good opinion of the chief mate himself. It did not think him very fit for such a post, and feared his failure to preserve a due decorum among the men had contributed not a little to the confusions aboard the ship. 53: The Council examined the second mate, who gave it a full account of the attempt to blow up the ship and of the discovery of the match before mentioned. He went out fourth mate and [...]. Interpretations The gunner's reference to managing the matter in the same manner as it was to be done at Batavia confirms the continuity of the plot from the foiled explosion to the later design to seize the ship. His words linked the earlier attempt to fire the powder room with the renewed intent to take the vessel by piracy, showing a single sustained conspiracy rather than separate outbursts. The Council recorded the exchange as direct evidence of premeditation carried across the voyage. John Verchell's course, from terrified witness to enlisted soldier at the island, illustrates how St Helena absorbed men fleeing danger aboard ship into its own garrison. His sworn affidavit before the Governor and Council both secured his safety ashore and supplied the Council key testimony against the ringleaders. The settlement thus gained a soldier and a witness in the same act, while a frightened man escaped a ship he believed doomed. The Council's frank criticism of the chief mate, even as it relied on his sworn evidence, reveals its independent assessment of the ship's command. By judging William Hannah unfit for his post and partly to blame for the disorder, the Council distinguished between the value of his testimony and his competence as an officer. The candour shows it weighing the conduct of every man aboard, not only the named conspirators, in building its account for the Court. | |
121 | Eno was on the Death of the Cheife Mate made Second Mate we think him an honest Man & the best officer in the Ship. 50: We Examined George Taylor who went out Third Mate & is so still he proves the People have no reall Occasion to make such Complaints as they doe & accused the Boatswain & Gunner to be Negligent of their Duty. 51: We also Examined W:m Bellair who went out Gunn:r Mate & is now Fourth Mate he was the Man that found the lighted Match in the Powder Room he gave us Account also of the Gunn:r unfitnes for his Employment & of the Doct:r Mate's goeing about among the People to Sign their Paper of Complaint and Demanding if he would be in the Negative or Affirmative. 52: We Examined Jacob Franklin M:rs Shipman he gave Account of the Peoples wasteing & heaving away their Provisions and Accuses the Boatswain D:rs Mate & Trompeter as the Occasions of these Confusions and Disturbances on board & gives his Cap:t good Comendations for kind & Civill usuage to them. 53: We Examined John Gerrard Purser to all the foregoeing Perticulars he sayes the Cap:t has been very kind & Civill to all the People but sayes they are perswaded by some ill designeing Troublesome Folks on board to make these complaints & knows that now they have no reason for it & he gives the Boatswain Gunner D:rs Mate and Trompeter very bad Charecters. 54: W:m Waters Sailor was Alsoe Examined who gives Account of the Gunn:r & haveiour on Margin Notes: Geo: Taylor 3:d M:te W:m Bellair 4:th M:te Jacob Franklin M:rs Sh:p Jn:o Genard purs:r | The fourth mate, on the death of the chief mate, was made second mate. The Council thought him an honest man and the best officer in the ship. 54: The Council examined George Taylor, who went out third mate and was now still such. He proved the people had no real cause to make such complaints as they did, and accused the boatswain and gunner of being negligent of their duty. 55: The Council also examined William Bellair, who went out gunner's mate and was now fourth mate. He was the man who found the lighted match in the powder room. He gave his account of it, also of the gunner's unfitness for his employment, and of the doctor's mate going about among the people to sign their paper of complaint, asking whether each would be in the negative or the affirmative. 56: The Council examined Jacob Franklin, midshipman. He gave an account of the people wasting and heaving away their provisions, and accused the boatswain, doctor's mate and trumpeter as the cause of the confusions and disturbances aboard. He gave the captain good commendations for kind and civil usage to the people. 57: The Council examined John Gerrard, purser. To all the foregoing particulars he said the captain had been very kind and civil to all the people, but said they were persuaded by some ill-designing, troublesome folk on board to make these complaints. He said they now had no reason for it, and gave the boatswain, gunner, doctor's mate and trumpeter very bad characters. 58: William Waters, sailor, was also examined, who gave an account of the gunner's behaviour [...]. Interpretations The Council's method of examining each officer and man in turn built a cumulative body of sworn testimony pointing to the same four ringleaders. By taking the third mate, the fourth mate, a midshipman, the purser and ordinary sailors separately, the Council assembled independent accounts that agreed on the conduct of the boatswain, gunner, doctor's mate and trumpeter. The consistency across many witnesses gave the finding the weight the Council needed to justify its measures to the Court. The detail that the people had wasted and heaved away their own provisions exposed the falsity of the original petition over short rations. The complaint of want had been manufactured by men who had themselves destroyed their stores, so the grievance served only as a pretext for the conspiracy. The Council's witnesses turned the petitioners' central claim against them. The doctor's mate's canvassing of the crew to sign the paper, asking each to declare for or against, reveals the organised character of the conspiracy. The collection of signatures by direct solicitation showed a deliberate effort to manufacture the appearance of a general grievance among the whole company. The Council recorded this as evidence that the complaint was engineered rather than spontaneous. | |
122 | on Shoar at Father Smiths Island before mentioned & Testifyes that now there is no Occasion for these sort of Complaints on Account of their Provisions all which Exam:n goe home to your Hon:r herewith by w:ch you may the better discover the Evill Intentions of these people. 55: On Fryday last the Gov:r and two of the Councill together with Cap:t Osbourn Coman:dr of the Hannover & Cap:t Beeckman the Coman:dr of the Eagle went on board the Engle and Enquired what provisions they had on board and other necessaries for their Voyage then called the men aft & Encouraged them to goe Chearfully on with their businesse to gett the Ship ready to Sail & promised them to lay in so good a Stock of provisions as should be sufficient for more then their Company for Fourteen Weeks at large Allowance & told them what their allowance should be promiseing them Puddings to their Beef & Pease to their Pork &c, But one John Hannah who is the Cheife Mates Brother Stood at the Head of Sailors with his Armes a Kimboe & talked very Impudently to the Cap:t & to Cap:t Osbourne & the Govern:r & Contradicted his own Cap:t & the Cheif Mate his Brother in all they sayed & gave the Cap:t the Lye twice to his face whereupon the Gov:r doubting that they had not fully broke the Neck of this Sedition threatned to send John Hannah on Shoar to the rest he answered that he did not Care if he Did whereupon the Govern:r ordered John Hannah to be put into his boat & he leapt upon the Gunnell & Cryed out One & all & would not goe till we forced him in then Margin Notes: Gov:r &c went aboard. Jn:o Hannah impudent behaviour. cause a mutiney) | William Waters gave an account of the gunner's behaviour ashore at Father Smith's Island, before mentioned. He testified that there was now no cause for these sort of complaints about provisions. All these examinations went home with the present despatch, by which the Court might the better discover the evil intentions of these people. 59: On Friday last the Governor and two of the Council, together with Captain Osborne, commander of the Hannover, and Captain Beckman, commander of the Eagle, went aboard the Eagle. They enquired what provisions and other necessaries the ship had aboard for her voyage. They then called the men aft and encouraged them to go on cheerfully with their business to get the ship ready to sail. They promised to lay in so good a stock of provisions as should be sufficient for more than the company for fourteen weeks at large allowance, and told them what their allowance should be, promising them puddings to their beef and peas to their pork. Only one man, John Hannah, who was the chief mate's brother, stood at the head of the sailors with his arms akimbo and talked very impudently to the captain, to Captain Osborne and to the Governor. He contradicted his own captain and the chief mate, his brother, in all they said, and gave the captain the lie twice to his face. The Governor, doubting that the neck of this sedition had not been fully broken, threatened to send John Hannah ashore to the rest. He answered that he did not care if he did. The Governor then ordered John Hannah to be put into his boat. He leapt upon the gunwale and cried out that one and all would not go till they were forced, and then [...]. Interpretations The visit of the Governor, councillors and two ship's masters aboard the Eagle combined reassurance with a show of collective authority. By coming in person to inspect the provisions and address the crew directly, they sought to settle the men's stated grievance over short rations while demonstrating that all the Court's commanders stood together. The promise of fourteen weeks' provision at large allowance, with puddings to the beef and peas to the pork, met the complaint on its face and removed any honest pretext for further unrest. John Hannah's open defiance, standing before the assembled authority and giving the captain the lie twice, marked the persistence of the sedition the Council feared was not yet broken. His cry that one and all would not go till forced was an attempt to rally the whole crew into collective resistance, the very combination the Governor had moved to prevent. The Council recorded the moment as proof that the conspiracy survived among the men despite the removal of the ringleaders. The Governor's order to put Hannah into the boat was a decisive isolation of a single agitator before he could draw the company behind him. By removing the man who stood at the head of the sailors, the Governor aimed to break the forming combination at its leader. Hannah's leap to the gunwale and his appeal to one and all showed him trying to convert his own removal into the trigger for a general rising. | |
123 | then the rest of the Ships Company sed they would all goe and were many of them getting into the boat and Cap:t Osbourne Called out to the Cap:t Lett them goe, Lett them goe, if they all goe, I have men Eno & will take care to Man yo:r Ship with better Men and Carry her safe home, upon w:ch only three men went into the boat to Hannah whom we sent on shoar and afterwards when we came on Shoar Examined them again as to the reasons of this Mutinous uproar they only gave short & Surly answers but one of them begd Pardon & promised to behave himself well & to proceed the Voyage so we Excused him & sent him back on board but Ordered the other three to be Whipt at the Flagg Staff & put in Irons. 56: The Gunner & Boatswain & John Hannah the Mates Brother we send home in the Hannover they being the most Notorious & also they are best able to give Accounts of the Mony that is gone it being as we think Morrally Impo[s]ible that it could goe without their & the Mates Privity the others Viz: the D:rs Mate the Trumpeter & two Sailors will take care to Send in the two next Ships for we doe not think it safe, nor for yo:r Hon: or for the Nations Interest to send such fellows as these Sailors to Bencoolen where theyl have Oppertunity to goe a Pyrateing. 57: Upon the Whole matter we ask leave to shew our Opinions to yo:r Hon: first we beleive the people in this Ship Eagle to be a Gang of every bad & Ill chosen people & not being Margin Notes: Cap:t Osborn care. 3 Men left here in Ship Eagle besides Hannah rec:d upon Subm:n sent home Tho: Clarke, Tho: Francis & Jn:o Hannah Opinion on the Whole. | The rest of the ship's company then said they would all go, and many of them got into the boat. Captain Osborne called out to the captain to let them go, saying that if they all went, he had men enough and would take care to man the ship with better men and carry her safe home. Upon this only three men went into the boat to Hannah, whom the Council sent ashore. Afterwards, when they came ashore, the Council examined them again about the reasons for this mutinous uproar. They only gave short and surly answers. One of them begged pardon and promised to behave himself well and to proceed on the voyage, so the Council excused him and sent him back aboard. It ordered the other three to be whipped at the flagstaff and put in irons. 60: The gunner, the boatswain and John Hannah the mate's brother the Council sent home in the Hannover. They being the most notorious, and also best able to give an account of the money that was gone, it being, as the Council thought, morally impossible that it could go without their privity. The other ringleaders, namely the doctor's mate, the trumpeter and two sailors, the Council would take care to send in the two next ships. It did not think it safe, nor for the Court's interest, to send such fellows as these sailors to Bencoolen, where they would have opportunity to go pirating. 61: Upon the whole matter, the Council asked leave to give the Court its opinions. First, it believed the people in the ship Eagle to be a gang of very bad and ill-chosen people, and not [...]. Interpretations Captain Osborne's call to let the men go was a calculated stroke that broke the mutiny by calling the crew's bluff. By offering to man the Eagle with better men from his own ship, he removed the men's belief that the vessel could not sail without them, which was the foundation of their power. The collapse from a whole company climbing into the boat to only three joining Hannah showed how the threat dissolved once the men saw their labour was not indispensable. The Council's decision to send the gunner, boatswain and Hannah home in the Hannover turned on the missing one thousand pounds as much as on their conduct. As the men best able to account for the theft, and most likely privy to it, they were returned to England where the embezzlement could be investigated and tried. The Council distinguished this group from the other ringleaders precisely by their link to the stolen money. The refusal to send the worst sailors to Bencoolen rested on a clear strategic judgment about the risk of piracy. Bencoolen lay within the eastern seas where such men, once at large, could turn to plundering shipping, so the Council kept them from a station that would give them the opportunity. The reasoning shows the island weighing the wider security of Company trade in deciding where to dispose of dangerous men. | |
124 | This is the same page as the previous image. The transcription is identical: then the rest of the Ships Company sed they would all goe and were many of them goeing into the boat and Cap:t Osbourne Called out to the Cap:t Lett them goe, Lett them goe, if they all goe, I have men Eno & will take care to Man yo:r Ship with better Men and Carry her safe home, upon w:ch only three men went into the boat to Hannah whom we sent on shoar and afterwards when we came on Shoar Examined them again as to the reasons of this Mutinous uproar they only gave short & Surly answers but one of them begd Pardon & promised to behave himself well & to proceed the Voyage so we Excused him & sent him back on board but Ordered the other three to be Whipt at the Flagg Staff & put in Irons. 56: The Gunner & Boatswain & John Hannah the Mates Brother we send home in the Hannover they being the most Notorious & also they are best able to give Accounts of the Mony that is gone it being as we think Morrally Impo[s]ible that it could goe without their & the Mates Privity the others Viz: the D:rs Mate the Trumpeter & two Sailors will take care to Send in the two next Ships for we doe not think it safe, nor for yo:r Hon: or for the Nations Interest to send such fellows as these Sailors to Bencoolen where theyl have Oppertunity to goe a Pyrateing. 57: Upon the Whole matter we ask leave to shew our Opinions to yo:r Hon: first we beleive the people in this Ship Eagle to be a Gang of very bad & Ill chosen people & not being Margin Notes: Cap:t Osborn care. 3 Men left here in Ship Eagle besides Hannah rec:d upon Subm:n sent home Tho: Clarke, Tho: Francis & Jn:o Hannah Opinion on the Whole. | This is the same page again, ending at the same point. The text below repeats the recoverable portion through to the image break. The rest of the ship's company then said they would all go, and many of them got into the boat. Captain Osborne called out to the captain to let them go, saying that if they all went, he had men enough and would take care to man the ship with better men and carry her safe home. Upon this only three men went into the boat to Hannah, whom the Council sent ashore. Afterwards, when they came ashore, the Council examined them again about the reasons for this mutinous uproar. They only gave short and surly answers. One of them begged pardon and promised to behave himself well and to proceed on the voyage, so the Council excused him and sent him back aboard. It ordered the other three to be whipped at the flagstaff and put in irons. 56: The gunner, the boatswain and John Hannah the mate's brother the Council sent home in the Hannover. They being the most notorious, and also best able to give an account of the money that was gone, it being, as the Council thought, morally impossible that it could go without their privity. The other ringleaders, namely the doctor's mate, the trumpeter and two sailors, the Council would take care to send in the two next ships. It did not think it safe, nor for the Court's interest, to send such fellows as these sailors to Bencoolen, where they would have opportunity to go pirating. 57: Upon the whole matter, the Council asked leave to give the Court its opinions. First, it believed the people in the ship Eagle to be a gang of very bad and ill-chosen people, and not [...]. | |
129 | Govern:t and our time so that we could not fully answer the Letter you were pleased to send us in the Cardonnell Store Ship & because we had not time to send a full answer we thought it was best to defer that till another Oppertunity & then to answer it Parragraph by Parragraph which we will take Care to doe in the best Method we can & we hope to yo:r Hon: Sattisfaction. 66: We have had the misfortune to Bury Cap:t Mashborne the Overseer of yo:r Plantations but have Supplyed that place by M:r William Worrall who has been a great while in yo:r Service as an Overseer beleiving him to be very Capable and fitt for that Trust and an Honest and Industrious Man and as there was a Vacancy in the Council we have chosen M:r Edward Byfeld to be Fifth in Councill a young Man but yet so well deserveing that we in Justice to his parts & Industry Cannot doe le[s] then to recommend him to yo:r Hon:r for his Farther Encouragement and Confirmation. 67: We have allready mentioned in Parra the 24:th the Obligations we have been under of Drawing Bills on yo:r Hon:r payable in London for dischargeing of Creditt due in yo:r Books of Accounts at the Store House and prayed some Directions therein. 68: The Bills we have now Drawn tho we have bought no goods but of Cap:t Mawson & Cap:t Allison who was Purser of the Cardonnell Margin Notes: Death of Cap:t Edw: Mashborne W:m Worrall made Overseer M:r Byfeld 5:th in Counc:l ab:t Bills | The Council's time was so taken up that it could not fully answer the letter the Court was pleased to send by the Cardonnel store ship. Having no time to send a full answer, the Council thought it best to defer that until another opportunity, and then to answer it paragraph by paragraph, which it would take care to do in the best method it could, hoping for the Court's satisfaction. 66: The Council had the misfortune to bury Captain Edward Mashborne, the overseer of the Court's plantations. It had supplied that place with Mr William Worrall, who had been a great while in the Court's service as an overseer. The Council believed him very capable and fit for that trust, and an honest and industrious man. As there was a vacancy in the Council, it had chosen Mr Edward Byfield to be fifth in council, a young man, but yet so well deserving that the Council, in justice to his parts and industry, could not do less than recommend him to the Court for his further encouragement and confirmation. 67: The Council had already mentioned in paragraph 24 the obligations it had been under of drawing bills on the Court, payable in London, for discharging credit due in the Court's books of account at the store house, and had asked for some directions in the matter. 68: The bills the Council had now drawn were for no goods, except those of Captain Mawson and Captain Allison, who was purser of the Cardonnel [...]. Interpretations The death of Captain Edward Mashborne removed the Council's principal field officer, recorded in the despatch of 12 November 1714 as its chief inspector of the cattle account, the fencing audit and the Rupert's Valley survey. His replacement by William Worrall as overseer of the plantations, and the elevation of Edward Byfield to the fifth seat in council, show the Council managing the loss of an experienced administrator through internal promotion. Byfield's name had already appeared among the signatories of the letters of 29 June 1715, confirming his entry into the governing body. The overseer of the plantations held charge of the Company's own agricultural estate at the island, on which the supply of provisions to the garrison and to passing ships depended. The Council's care to record Worrall's long service and fitness for the trust reflected the importance of the post and the need to satisfy the Court that the vacancy had been filled with a capable man. The appointment fell within the Council's authority subject to the Court's later confirmation. | |
130 | This is the same page as the previous image. The transcription is identical: Govern:t and our time so that we could not fully answer the Letter you were pleased to send us in the Cardonnell Store Ship & because we had not time to send a full answer we thought it was best to deferr that till another Oppertunity & then to answer it Parragraph by Parragraph which we will take Care to doe in the best Method we can & we hope to yo:r Hon: Sattisfaction. 66: We have had the misfortune to Bury Cap:t Mashborne the Overseer of yo:r Plantations but have Supplyed that place by M:r William Worrall who has been a great while in yo:r Service as an Overseer beleiving him to be very Capable and fitt for that Trust and an Honest and Industrious Man and as there was a Vacancy in the Council we have chosen M:r Edward Byfeld to be Fifth in Councill a young Man but yet so well deserveing that we in Justice to his parts & Industry Cannot doe [...] then to recommend him to yo:r Hon:r for [...] Farther Encouragement and Confirmation. 67: We have allready mentioned in Parra the 24:th the Obligations we have been under of Drawing Bills on yo:r Hon:r payable in London for dischargeing of Creditt due in yo:r Books of Accounts at the Store House and prayed some Directions therein. 68: The Bills we have now Drawn tho we have bought no goods but of Cap:t Mawson & Cap:t Allison who was Purser of the Cardonnell Margin Notes: Death of Cap:t Edw: Mashborne W:m Worrall made Overseer M:r Byfeld 5:th in Counc:l ab:t Bills | The Council's time was so taken up that it could not fully answer the letter the Court was pleased to send by the Cardonnel store ship. Having no time to send a full answer, the Council thought it best to defer that until another opportunity, and then to answer it paragraph by paragraph, which it would take care to do in the best method it could, hoping for the Court's satisfaction. 66: The Council had the misfortune to bury Captain Edward Mashborne, the overseer of the Court's plantations. It had supplied that place with Mr William Worrall, who had been a great while in the Court's service as an overseer. The Council believed him very capable and fit for that trust, and an honest and industrious man. As there was a vacancy in the Council, it had chosen Mr Edward Byfield to be fifth in council, a young man, but yet so well deserving that the Council, in justice to his parts and industry, could not do less than recommend him to the Court for his further encouragement and confirmation. 67: The Council had already mentioned in paragraph 24 the obligations it had been under of drawing bills on the Court, payable in London, for discharging credit due in the Court's books of account at the store house, and had asked for some directions in the matter. 68: The bills the Council had now drawn were for no goods, except those of Captain Mawson and Captain Allison, who was purser of the Cardonnel [...]. | |
131 | A List of the Packquett p the Hannover Comodore James Osborne Commander N:o 1 Copy of Gen:l Lett:r p the Hester 2 Duplicate of Consulta: p d:o 3 Copy of D:o Consult: since those by the Hester to 10: May Exclusive 4 Copy of Gov:d & Council Gen: Letter to Fort St George 5 Copy of D:o to Bombay 6 D:o to Bengall 7 D:o to Bencoolen 8 Copy of Gen:l from Fort St Geo: p Hannov:r 9 D:o from Fort W:m p D:o 10 List of Wills 11 An Acc:t of the Hon:ble Comp:a Neat Cattle &c 18: June 1715. 12 A small Parcell 10:10. half pence from Madrass. 13 D:o with 10. Farthings from d:o 14 Cap:t Allisons Acc:o in the Stores 15 Copy of the Libell 16 D:o Gov:d & Councils to Com:r Sam:l Osbourne of 6: July 17 D:o to D:o of 6: July 18 Copy of Gov:d & Councils Protest ag:st Cap:t Mawson of 11: June 19 D:o to D:o of 27: D:o 20 D:o to D:o of 24: D:o 21 Copy Cap:t W:m Mawsons Answ:o to Gov:d & Councils Protest of 11: June 22 Gov:d & Councils reply to Cap:t Mawsons answ:o to their protest of the 11: June 23 M:r W:m Allisons Complaint & Cap:t Mawsons & y:e 1:t 2: & 3: Mates Examina: & Attestat: thereon | A list of the packet of the Hannover, Commodore James Osborne commander: Number 1. Copy of the general letter by the Hester. Duplicate of consultations by the same. Copy of consultations since those by the Hester, to 10 May exclusive. Copy of the Governor and Council's general letter to Fort St George. Copy of the same to Bombay. The same to Bengal. The same to Bencoolen. Copy of the general letter from Fort St George by the Hannover. The same from Fort William. A list of wills. An account of the Honourable Company's neat cattle, 18 June 1715. A small parcel of ten pounds ten shillings in half-pence from Madras. The same, with ten farthings from Madras. Captain Allison's account in the stores. Copy of the libel. The same of the Governor and Council's letter to Commodore James Osborne of 6 July. The same to the same of 6 July. Copy of the Governor and Council's protest against Captain Mawson of 11 June. The same to the same of 27 June. The same to the same of 24 June. Copy of Captain William Mawson's answer to the Governor and Council's protest of 11 June. The Governor and Council's reply to Captain Mawson's answer to their protest of 11 June. Mr William Allison's complaint against Captain Mawson, with the ships', garrison's and planters' mates' examinations and attestations thereon. Interpretations The packet list functioned as a manifest of the despatch, allowing the Court to check that every enclosed document arrived and to file each in order. By numbering the copies, duplicates, protests, examinations and accounts, the Council gave London a register against which to verify the whole correspondence carried by the Hannover. The presence of duplicates reflected the standing guard against loss at sea, since a copy by one ship secured the contents if the original failed to arrive. The cluster of items concerning Captain Mawson, namely the successive protests of 11, 24 and 27 June, his written answer, the Council's reply and the bundle of mates' examinations, shows the Council assembling a complete documentary case on the Cardonnel dispute. By sending both sides of the exchange and the supporting testimony, it placed the full record before the Court for judgment. The careful preservation of each protest and reply matched the legal character of the proceedings described earlier in the despatch. The small parcels of ten pounds ten shillings in half-pence and the ten farthings sent from Madras were the coin samples promised earlier in the despatch, forwarded so the Court could judge the new small change. Their inclusion in the packet tied the currency reform to a physical specimen the Court could weigh and assess. The shipment formed part of the wider three-tier coin reform pressed since the despatch of 12 November 1714. | |
132 | N:o 24 Copy Cap:t Mawsons Answ:o p:o Gov:d & Counc:l y:e 24: June 1715. 25 D:o to D:o of y:e 29: D:o 26 Cap:t W:m Mawsons Acc:o in the Stores 27 Ship Cardonnells D:o 28 Letter to the Hon:ble Court of Directors 29 D:o to D:o Letter 30 Indent of Goods wanting at St Helena 31 Copy of Gov:d & Councils Instructions to Cap:t Dan:l Beeckman. 32 M:r W:m Hannahs Affidavitt 33 M:r W:m Taylors D:o 34 M:r Geo: Taylors D:o 35 M:r W:m Bellaire D:o 36 M:r Jn:o Gerrards D:o 37 M:r Jacob Franklins D:o 38 W:m Waters D:o 39 John Verckells D:o 40 Thomas Clarks Examinat: 41 Thomas Francis d:o 42 M:r Thomas Newgham's Attestation 43 M:r Stephen Newcombs D:o 44 Cap:t Haswell & M:r John Goodwins report 45 Cap:t Dan:l Beeckmans bill of Exch: on M:r Mortimer Powill for [...] 55-7-3 46 Ship Hannovers Acc:o in y:e Stores 47 Copy of Ship Eagle Galleys in y:e Stores 48 A List of the Packquett | Number 24. Copy of Captain Mawson's answer to the Governor and Council of 24 June 1715. The same of 29 June. Captain William Mawson's account in the stores. The ship Cardonnel's account in the stores. Letter to the Honourable Court of Directors. The same to the same, a lesser letter. Order of goods wanting at St Helena. Copy of the Governor and Council's instructions to Captain Daniel Beckman. Mr William Hannah's affidavit. Mr William Taylor's affidavit. Mr George Taylor's affidavit. Mr William Bellair's affidavit. Mr John Gerrard's affidavit. Mr Jacob Franklin's affidavit. William Waters' affidavit. John Verchell's affidavit. Thomas Clarke's examination. Thomas Francis' examination. Mr Thomas Newington's attestation. Mr Stephen Newcomb's affidavit. Captain Haswell and Mr John Goodwin's report. Captain Daniel Beckman's bill of exchange on Mortimer Powill for £55 7s 3d. The ship Hannover's account in the stores. Copy of the ship Eagle Galley's account in the stores. A list of the packet. Interpretations The long run of affidavits, examinations and attestations from named officers and men forms the documentary backbone of the Council's case on the Eagle Galley conspiracy. By forwarding the sworn evidence of the chief mate, the third mate, the gunner's mate, the purser, a midshipman, sailors and the frightened witness Verchell, the Council placed the whole body of testimony before the Court for review. The distinction between an affidavit, sworn before authority, an examination, taken under questioning, and an attestation, a formal witnessed statement, marks the different legal weight the Council attached to each man's account. The instructions to Captain Beckman, sent under number 31, show the Council exercising direct authority over the conduct of the Eagle Galley's onward voyage. Having broken the conspiracy and removed the ringleaders, the Council issued written orders to the commander, binding the next stage of the voyage to terms it could later enforce. The preservation of these instructions in the packet gave the Court a record of the directions the island had imposed. | |
133 | A List of y:e Packett p Cap:t Dan:l Beeckman Comander of the Eagle Galley. N:o 1 Duplicate of Consultations 2 Copy of Gov:d & Councils Gen:l p Hannov:r 3 Copy of List of Wills 4 Copy of y:e Acc:o of y:e H: Comp:a Cattle taken y:e 18: June 5 Duplicate of the Libell 6 Duplicate of Gov:d & Coun:t to Cap:t Osborne of y:e 6: July 7 Duplicate of the 6: July 8 Duplicate of Gov:d & Councills protest against Cap:t Mawson of y:e 11: June 9 of y:e 27: June 10 of y:e 24: June 11 Copy of Cap:t Mawsons answ:o to Gov:d & Coun:t Protest 11: June 12 Copy of Gov:d & Coun:t Reply to D:o Protest 13 Duplicate of M:r W:m Allisons Compl:t & Cap:t Mawsons answ:o w:th the 1:t 2: & 3: Mates Exam: & Attestat: thereon 14 Duplicate of Cap:t Mawsons answ:o to Gov:d & Councell of the 24: June 15 D:o to D:o of y:e 29: D:o 16 Indent of Goods wanting on St Helena 17 M:r W:m Hannays Affidavit 18 M:r W:m Taylors D:o 19 M:r Geo: Taylors D:o 20 M:r William Ballaines D:o 21 M:r John Gerrard D:o 22 M:r Jacob Franklin D:o 23 W:m Waters D:o 24 John Verckell D:o 25 Tho: Clarks Exam: 26 Tho: Francis D:o | A list of the packet of Captain Daniel Beckman, commander of the Eagle Galley: Number 1. Duplicate of consultations. Copy of the Governor and Council's general letter by the Hannover. Copy of the list of wills. Copy of the account of the Honourable Company's cattle, taken 18 June. Duplicate of the libel. Duplicate of the Governor and Council's letter to Captain Osborne of 6 July. Duplicate of the same of 6 July. Duplicate of the Governor and Council's protest against Captain Mawson of 11 June. The same of 27 June. The same of 24 June. Copy of Captain Mawson's answer to the Governor and Council's protest of 11 June. Copy of the Governor and Council's reply to the same protest. Duplicate of Mr William Allison's complaint against Captain Mawson, with the ships', garrison's and planters' mates' examinations and attestations thereon. Duplicate of Captain Mawson's answer to the Governor and Council of 24 June. The same to the same of 29 June. Order of goods wanting at St Helena. Mr William Hannah's affidavit. Mr William Taylor's affidavit. Mr George Taylor's affidavit. Mr William Bellair's affidavit. Mr John Gerrard's affidavit. Mr Jacob Franklin's affidavit. William Waters' affidavit. John Verchell's affidavit. Thomas Clarke's examination. Thomas Francis' affidavit. Interpretations The packet carried by the Eagle Galley duplicates much of what went home in the Hannover, confirming the Council's deliberate practice of sending the same documents by separate ships. By dividing the record across two vessels, the Council guarded against the loss of either, so that the case on the Cardonnel dispute and the Eagle Galley conspiracy would reach the Court even if one ship failed to complete the passage. The repetition of affidavits, protests and replies in both lists is the working of this safeguard rather than mere duplication. | |
134 | N:o 27 M:r Tho: Neshams Attesta: 28 M:r Stephen Necombs D:o 29 Cap:t Geo: Haswell & M:r Jn:o Goodwins report ab:t Maderia Wine 30 Copy Ship Hannovers Acc:o 31 Ship Eagle Galleys Acc:o 32 A List of the Packett | Number 27. Mr Thomas Newington's attestation. Mr Stephen Newcomb's attestation. Captain George Haswell and Mr John Goodwin's report about the Madeira wine. Copy of the ship Hannover's account. The ship Eagle Galley's account. A list of the packet. | |
135 | Hon:ble S:rs (p Averilla) 1: In the 6: July last we gave yo:r Hon:r the trouble of a Long Letter by the Hanover a Duplicate whereof we also sent by the Eagle Galley w:o Conteind Cheifly an account of Sundry contingencies & Transaction of yo:r Store Ship the Cardonell & the Eagle Galley we are unwilleing to give yo:r Hon:r farther trouble on those heads but Especeally because Cap:t Hurst in the Averilla who Arrived here yesterday the first of this Inst:t August tells us he is resolved to Sail hence in two Days more & because we don't know but he may be as good as his Word we intend only to have this Short Letter ready to send by him that we may at all times as our Duty is make use of every Oppertunity to give yo:r Hon:r some Account of yo:r Island & affairs here. 2: We were very much troubled to find so many Soldiers sent to Bencoolen & none for this Country being in such want of th:m here that We have been Obliged to Lessen the Guards in every place Wherefore We pray yo:r Hon:r to Ex= =cuse Us & give leave to put your in mind w:n at next Season for Sending Out yo:r Ships you'd please to Order us some good men for St He: lena, When We came Out you were pleased to appoint 24 Soldiers to goe w:th Us of w:ch Numb:r no more then 8 went on board the Rochester & Since Our arrival here We have buried more then 10: of that Number, niether do we only want Soldiers but same tradesmen also who are So Usefull & So Scarce that We are & shall be in great Streights without them y:e Country does require a great Deal of Industry & Labour in the ground to make it bring forth to any Good purpose & We want hands to manure it whereof Margin Notes: Want of Soldiers tradesmen | A new letter to the Court of Directors opened, sent by the Averilla. 1: On 6 July last the Council gave the Court the trouble of a long letter by the Hannover, a duplicate of which it also sent by the Eagle Galley. These contained chiefly an account of the various incidents and transactions concerning the Court's store ship the Cardonnel and the Eagle Galley. The Council was unwilling to give the Court further trouble on those heads, especially because Captain Hurst, who arrived at the island yesterday, the first of this instant August, in the Averilla, told the Council he was resolved to sail in two days more. Since the Council did not know but he might be as good as his word, it intended only to have this short letter ready to send by him, that it might at all times answer its duty by making use of every opportunity to give the Court some account of the island and its affairs. 2: The Council was very much troubled to find so many soldiers sent to Bencoolen, and none for the island, this country being in such want of them. The Council had been obliged to lessen the guard in every place. It therefore asked the Court to bear in mind, and gave leave to put it in mind, of sending out men for St Helena at the next season. When the Council first came out, the Court was pleased to order it to appoint twenty-four soldiers to go aboard the Rochester, no more than eight being sent. Since its arrival the Council had buried more than ten of that number. It was not only short of soldiers, but of tradesmen also, who were so few and scarce that the island was, and would be, in great straits without them. The country required a great deal of industry and labour in the ground to make it bring forth to any good purpose, and the Council wanted hands to manure it [...]. Interpretations The shortfall in soldiers exposed a direct conflict between the staffing of Bencoolen and the defence of St Helena, two posts drawing on the same supply of men. The Council's complaint that none came for the island while many went east, set against the order for twenty-four men of whom only eight arrived and ten since died, built a documented case of a garrison worn below safe strength. The thin guard linked the manpower shortage to the island's wider defensive weakness pressed since the despatch of 12 November 1714. The want of tradesmen ran alongside the want of soldiers as a constant drain on the settlement's capacity. Skilled craftsmen were needed for the fortification and storehouse programme, and their scarcity had already driven the repeated requests for building artificers at fixed wages set out in the despatches across 1714 and 1715. The Council tied the labour shortage to the land itself, which demanded heavy cultivation to yield, so that the lack of hands threatened both the defences and the food supply. | |
136 | wherefore We must entreat yo:r Hon:r to Send over at least 4 Gardiners We haveing but One here now which We had out of the Rochester Our Gardiner dying when that Ship lay here And 4. Stone Cutters with 4 Brickelayers or masons & 2 or 3 Carpenters or Joyners which would greatly ease yo:r present charge & contribute to the Dispatch of all your affairs here as We hope will appeare very plain if you please to look over Our Lett:r sent by the Susanna or the Copy thereof by the Frederick. 3: The few hands We have are constantly employd as We hope you'll have an Acc:t by every ship But if We had 50 or 60. more white men, which was the Number y:t formr:ly did Live here with 200 good Negroes from the Gold coast or from Madagascar or Bengall We could then without Putting yo:r Hon:r to a further charge on Acc:t of Defett or for Wages greatly improve this Island & without such an additional A[s]istance We can go but Slowly on, We could give yo:r Hon:r many reas sons to this purpose but because we in= tend this to be but a Short Letter will forbare to inlarge on any head till the next Shipping & hope then to satisfy you fully on these affaires. 4: We have endeavoured what in Us lyes to Lessen your Charges here by avoiding all unnecessary expence & by y:e Eagle Galley sent home a bill that but as we all One for Seventy five poiunds, Seven Shillings & three pence by this Ship Averilla We shall draw none niether, because We have so much Arrack by Us, with the Wine you were pleased to Send in the Cardonnell us will Margin Notes: want 200: more Blacks how Our reasons by next. shall avoid all unnecessary expendor. on 7/8:o sent home p Ship y:e Bull. draw no Bills now. | The Council therefore had to ask the Court to send over at least four gardeners, having but one at the island now, which it had out of the Rochester, its own gardener having died while that ship lay at the island. It also asked for four stone cutters, with four bricklayers or masons, and two or three carpenters or joiners, which would greatly ease the Court's present charge and contribute to the despatch of all its affairs at the island. The Council hoped this would appear very plain if the Court would look over the letter it sent by the Susanna, or the copy of it by the Frederick. 3: The few hands the Council had were constantly employed, as it hoped the Court would see by an account it sent by every ship. Had it sixty more white men, which was the number that formerly lived at the island, with two hundred good slaves from the Gold Coast or from Madagascar or Bengal, the Council could then put the Court to no further charge, account or debt, or for any wages. It would greatly improve the island. Without such additional help the Council could go on but slowly. It could give the Court many reasons to this purpose, but because it intended this to be only a short letter, it would forbear to enlarge on any head until the next shipping, and hoped then to satisfy the Court fully on those affairs. 4: The Council had endeavoured what in it lay to lessen the Court's charges at the island by avoiding all unnecessary expense. By the Eagle Galley it sent home a bill, but a small one, for £75 7s 3d. By the present ship, the Averilla, the Council would draw none either, because it had so much arrack by it, with the wine the Court was pleased to send in the Cardonnel, as [...]. Interpretations The Council's account of its labour needs set out a precise establishment of the men required to make the island self-supporting. By naming four gardeners, four stone cutters, four bricklayers or masons and two or three carpenters, alongside sixty white men and two hundred slaves, it gave the Court a costed plan rather than a general plea. The promise that such a complement would end the Court's charge and debt at the island tied the request directly to the Court's own interest in cutting expense. The renewed demand for two hundred slaves from the Gold Coast, Madagascar or Bengal continued the source diversification pressed since the despatch of 12 November 1714, after the Calabar consignment produced suicide and high mortality. The Council named the preferred sources precisely to steer the Court away from the supply that had failed. The link between slave labour and the cultivation of difficult ground placed the request at the centre of the island's productive economy. The Council's care to record that it had drawn only a small bill of £75 7s 3d by the Eagle Galley, and would draw none by the Averilla, answered the standing concern over bills on the Court set out in the larger despatch. By holding off fresh bills because it had arrack and wine in hand to sell, the Council showed itself managing the drain on the Court's London account through local stock. The restraint demonstrated the discipline it had promised after its resolution of 11 March 1715 not to overdraw. | |
137 | will Serve this Country Eight or it may be nine months, tho they have brought us non from Bencoolen Yet we are informd they have some on board for Sale but as to that all that We will add at present is, to beg yo:r Hon:r Instruction therein according to Our 7 & 6: par:d in the Letter by the Susanna. 5: Along with Our next Letter shall come a Compleat Indent of all the Store goods wanted here with Our reasons for such Demands, that is the Uses they are intended to be put to. 6: We have no news of any of yo:r Ships abroad more then what We sent you by the Hanover & the Eagle Galley who We hope are both safely arrived with you before this, And by this ship comes W:m Wells the Trumpeter mentioned in those informations for a Mutineer We have now three more of those people who We believe not fitt to be sent thither where there may be already too many who more enclind to Pyracy but must keep them here till another Oppertunity We left not being willing to receive more then One man his Owne Ships Comp:a as he tells Us being very ill disposed of that way it having been proposed by some of them when carrying a Chest of mony in y:e boat to leave y:e Ship & runn away with it, & at a nother time in a Sablon board it was pro posed to turn out the Cap:t & make the Chief Mate Com:dr as for reasons We tenor of nome, because he Suffers none of his people to come on shoare. 7: We intend not in this to mention Our wants because We have by all these hitherto Sent home Indents, of which We Margin Notes: Compleat Indent by next. Quod of W:m Wells now sent 3 now Muteneers left. | The wine and arrack would serve the island eight or nine months, though they had brought none from Bencoolen. Even so, the Council was informed they had some aboard for sale. As things stood, it would only ask the Court for instructions in the matter, according to its 76th paragraph in the letter by the Susanna. 5: Along with the Council's next letter there would come a complete order of all the stores wanted at the island, with the reasons for such demands, that is, the uses they were intended for. 6: The Council had no news of any of the Court's ships abroad more than what it sent by the Hannover and the Eagle Galley, which it hoped were both safely arrived before this. By this ship came William Wells the trumpeter, mentioned in those accounts as a mutineer. The Council had now three more of those people, whom it believed not fit to be sent where there might be already too many who were inclined to piracy. It must keep them at the island until another opportunity, Captain Hurst not being willing to receive more than one man into his own ship's company, as he told the Council. He was very ill disposed that way himself, it having been proposed by some of them, when carrying a chest of money in his boat, to leave the ship and run away with it. At another time, in a sabotage aboard, it was proposed to turn out the captain and make the chief mate commander, for reasons the Council kept to itself, because he suffered none of his people to come ashore. 7: The Council did not intend to mention its wants in the present letter, because it had hitherto sent home orders by every ship, of which [...]. Interpretations The Council's refusal to send the three suspected men onward to Bencoolen continued the strategic judgment set out in the larger despatch, that turning loose men inclined to piracy in the eastern seas endangered Company shipping. By holding them at the island until a safe opportunity, the Council contained the risk rather than passing it down the line. The arrival of William Wells the trumpeter, already named among the Eagle Galley ringleaders, shows the same body of dangerous men still being managed across successive ships. The account of Captain Hurst's own troubles reveals how widespread shipboard conspiracy had become among the Court's vessels. A proposal to seize a chest of money from his boat and run off with it, and a separate plan to depose him and raise the chief mate to command, mirror the embezzlement and mutiny aboard the Eagle Galley. The Council's note that Hurst kept his men from coming ashore shows a master defending his command by denying his crew the chance to combine on land. | |
138 | We always pray you to look on the last as most parfect And by the next Ship, w:ch it is likely may be in England so early as to give y:e full Acc:t of all necessaries Usefull for this place before the Fitting Out of your next Store Ship hither, But Yett must take leave to mencon One want That is of Timber & Deals, We have been Obliged to repaire the Church which was so much decayed that it began to be very dangerous, & the Church Wardens have petitiond Us to lett them a few boards to mend the Cuntrey Chur:h which indeed is all over in a very bad condi tion & tho to have two Churches is some conveniency to the people Yet we would all of Us gladly Exchange them both for One good One. 8: We pray You to Excuse our Urging So Often the great want We are in of the workmen before mention'd for Our Stone Cap[...] Nich:o Sheriffe die lately in a Drunken fitt attempt to destroy himself by cutting his own throat & Stabbing himself in the Belley, which tho the Surgion has cured Yet the Shame of his Faict makes him desi rous of going hence to some place where this Action will be unknown. 9: We Find the Valley called James or Chapple Valley to be capable of great improvement it not being difficult if We had more hands to clear it of many of the Stones & lay it into Garden ground w:ch would be a Vast refreshment to yo:r Ships but as We have but One Gardner here We can at present make nothing of it, for want Margin Notes: [...] Indent [...] [...] regarded. ab:t the Church Wardens want:g Deals. ab:t Workmen wanted. this Valley improveable. | The Council always asked the Court to look on the last order as the most perfect, since by the next ship, which would perhaps be in England so early, it could give a full account of all necessaries useful for the island before the fitting out of the next store ship. Even so, the Council had to mention one want, that of timber and deals. It had been obliged to repair the church, which was so much decayed that it began to be very dangerous, and the churchwardens had asked the Council for a few boards to mend the country church, which was indeed all over in a very bad condition. Though to have two churches was some convenience to the people, the Council would all gladly exchange them both for one good one. 8: The Council asked the Court to excuse its urging the great want of workmen so often, mentioned before for the stone cutters. Nicholas Sheriff died lately in a drunken fit, after an attempt to destroy himself by cutting his own throat and stabbing himself in the belly. Though the surgeon had cured him, the shame of his fault made him desirous of going to some place where this action would be unknown. 9: The Council found the valley called James or Chapel Valley to be capable of great improvement. It was not difficult, if it had more hands to clear it of many of the stones and lay it into garden ground, which would be a vast refreshment to the Court's ships. As the Council had but one gardener at the island, it could at present make nothing of it, for want [...]. Interpretations The proposal to exchange two decayed churches for one good one shows the Council weighing the convenience of dispersed worship against the cost of maintaining two failing buildings. The country church served the planters spread across the island, while the town church served James Town, yet both had fallen into a dangerous state. By offering to consolidate them, the Council framed a religious provision as a question of resources, seeking the Court's timber for a single sound structure rather than continued patching of two. The case of Nicholas Sheriff connects to the skilled artificer recruitment pressed since the despatch of 12 November 1714, where his name stood as the documented example of the want of stone cutters. His self-harm and his wish to leave the island removed the surviving man of his trade, sharpening the Council's plea for replacements. The episode shows how the loss of a single craftsman bore directly on the fortification and building programme. The plan to clear Chapel Valley of stones and lay it into garden ground was a deliberate scheme to enlarge the island's capacity to refresh shipping. The valley's improvement depended wholly on labour the Council did not have, with one gardener unable to make anything of it. The detail ties the want of hands directly to the strategic value of the island as a victualling station, since cultivated ground meant provisions for passing fleets. | |
139 | want of such fitt men to Occupie the ground when cleared. 10: We have mencond Tea in Our former Indents, Yet because yo:r China Ships goe Out Usually before some of your other Shipping We pray yo:r Hon:r to Order Us 2 or 3 Spahls of Bohea & of Green Tea to be put up in China in Cattee pots & Stowed 100 of such pott in a Chest in a Chest, because Our people here doe like that Cackaze best & because then there will be no loss in the weighing of it out nor no Damage to the Tea by Lying Open in yo:r Store house And please by the same Shipping to Order 20 Catteys of Sundry Colours of Sowing & of Kitchling Silk w:ch is very Usefull here but the most part of a black Colour, & for the conveniency of change please also to Order half a Ton of y:e Chinese Copper mony Called Petteep We may very well make 6 pass for a Penny & yo:r Hon:r will (besides a great conveniency to Us) gain more than 100: p Cent thereby. And And gain you must by what mony comes here or else the mony will do Us no good for if any mony passe only for its reall intrinsick Value we shall never be Able to keep it, but every Ship going hence will carry it off, wherefore We hope yo:r Hon:r will put in some good way to keep Our mony Upon the place & if We had Some Dollers & we allowed to pass them away at the Old rate of 6:s p Doller yo:r Hon: would gain above 20 p Cent p that & to prevent by other mony So brought in We humbly conceive it may be done either by an Order to draw no Bill on receiving of such mony Margin Notes: pray to Send Tea ready firm China in small Catties. & Sewing & Stitching Silk & Copper mony called Petteep ab:t keeping mony on y:e place to pass Dollars at 6:s/ & no Damage to y:e H: C | The valley wanted such fit men to occupy the ground when cleared. 10: The Council had mentioned tea in its former orders, yet because the Court's China ships went out usually before some of its other shipping, it asked the Court to order two or three chests of bohea and of green tea to be put up in China in catty pots, and stowed a hundred of such pots in a chest in a loft. The Council's people there liked that package best, and because there would then be no loss in the weighing of it out, nor any damage to the tea by lying open in the store house. By the same shipping the Council asked the Court to order twenty catties of various colours of sewing and of stitching silk, a black colour being the most useful at the island. For the convenience of change, it asked the Court also to order half a ton of Chinese copper money called petises. The Council could very well make six of them pass for a penny, and the Court would gain above one hundred per cent thereby, besides a great convenience to the island. Such gain must come by whatever money came to the island, or else the money would do the island no good, for if any money passed only for its real intrinsic value, the Council would never be able to keep it, but every ship going hence would carry it off. The Council therefore hoped the Court would settle some good way to keep money at the island. Had it some dollars allowed to pass at the old rate of six shillings the dollar, the Court would gain above twenty per cent by that, and to prevent the loss by other money so brought, the Council humbly thought it might be done either by an order to draw no bill on receiving such money [...]. Interpretations The detailed instruction for packing tea reveals the Council managing both the integrity of the goods and the accuracy of the account. Bohea and green tea were the two staple grades of Chinese tea, bohea the cheaper black sort and green the finer, and a catty was the Chinese trade weight of roughly one and a third pounds. By ordering the tea sealed in catty pots stowed in a chest, the Council prevented loss in reweighing and spoilage from exposure in the store house, a procurement specification drawn from the practical experience of its people in China. The petis, the small Chinese cash, returns here as the centre of the Council's currency scheme, with a precise calculation of profit attached. By proposing to pass six of these low-value coins for a penny, the Council showed the Court a gain of more than one hundred per cent on the metal, while supplying the small change the island lacked. The plan fitted the three-tier coin reform pressed since the despatch of 12 November 1714, which sought low-value coin too cheap to be worth carrying off. The proposal to pass dollars at six shillings exposed the core mechanism by which the Council hoped to retain currency at the island. The Spanish dollar held at an inflated rate would yield the Court above twenty per cent, while removing the incentive for crews to carry coin away, since it bought less elsewhere. The Council's frank admission that money passing at its true value would always drain to the ships set out the economic logic of a deliberate local overvaluation. Speculations The Council's pairing of the overvalued coin with an order to draw no bills on receiving such money points to a designed closed system for keeping currency on the island. Coin taken in at an inflated rate, without the option of converting it to a bill on London, would have no easy route off the island, so the value stayed in local circulation. The arrangement shows the Council attacking the drain of money and the drawing of bills as a single problem with one combined remedy. | |
140 | monys but for Such a Number of Dollars or for So many Ounces of Silver as We shall receive. 11: The Price of Beef in Charter party being much Le[s] than what it is at present can be bought for here, We desire Yo:r Hon:r that for the next Ship you'd please to mention in Yo:r Charter party 4-5-8 p hundred for Beefe tho it be 30/ now Yet We hope before any Ship can arrive that is now fitting Out to have beef in Plenty at that price here. We are S:rs Yo:r Hon:rs Most humble faithfull & most Obed:t Serv:ts Isaac Pyke Geo: Haswell Matthew Bazett Antipas Tovey Edw: Byfeld Union Castle St Helena Aug:t 2:d 1715. p Ship Averilla Cap:t Rob:t Hurst Com:dr Margin Notes: [...] the Price of [...] [...] [...] | The order would not be for all moneys, but for such a number of dollars, or for so many ounces of silver, as the Council should receive. 11: The price of beef in the charter party being much less than what it could at present be bought for at the island, the Council asked the Court, for the next ship, to mention in the charter party twenty-five shillings the hundredweight for beef. Though it was thirty shillings now, the Council hoped, before any ship could arrive that was now fitting out, to have beef in plenty at that price at the island. The letter closed at United Castle, St Helena, on 2 August 1715, and was sent by the ship Averilla, Captain Robert Hurst commander. It was subscribed by Isaac Pyke, George Haswell, Matthew Bazett, Antipas Tovey and Edward Byfield. Interpretations The request to fix the beef price in the charter party at twenty-five shillings the hundredweight shows the Council aligning the Court's contract terms with the island's expected supply. The charter party, the contract of hire between the Company and a ship's owners, set the rates at which the vessel would victual, so an outdated price left the island unable to provision ships on the agreed terms. By asking for the lower figure in advance, the Council matched the contract to the plenty it expected once the season improved, protecting both the ships and its own margin. | |
141 | Hon:ble S:rs p Ship St George. 1: By the Cardonell Cap:t W:m Mawson Com:dr We were Hon:r with your Gen:l Letter of the 24: of Feb: last who arrived here the 31: of May foll: at night, The reasons We gave yo:r Hon:r by the Hannover Para: 31: will we hope excuse our not answering it then, We now crave leave to say. 2: To the 1:t Para: We have sent to yo:r Hon:r since our Arrivall here Copys & Duplicates of our Consultations by every oppertunity (except Cap:t Rob:t Hurst) so far as could be got ready before their Sailing for after a Ships Arrivall there's but little Copying can be done more then that Ship Entered, & by this yo:r Hon:r will have them compleate to this time since our Arrivall here we have had the Hon:r of Writeing by yo:r Ships the Susanna, The Fredericke, Aurenzebe, The Polster, the Hannover &c the Eagle Galley & have also sent Copys of such Letters by each succeed =ing Ships. 3: To the 2:d & 3: Para: say that we have rec:d a Copy of the Susanahs Letter by the Cardonell & shewed M:r Cleave the Part | A new letter to the Court of Directors opened, sent by the ship St George. 1: By the Cardonnel, Captain William Mawson commander, the Council was honoured with the Court's general letter of 4 February last, which arrived at the island on 31 May following, at night. The reasons the Council gave the Court in the third paragraph by the Hannover, it hoped, would excuse its not answering it then. The Council now craved leave to reply. 2: To the first paragraph, the Council had sent the Court, since its arrival at the island, copies and duplicates of its consultations by every opportunity, except by Captain Robert Hurst, so far as could be got ready before their sailing. After a ship's arrival there was but little copying that could be done, more than that ship carried. By the present ship the Court would have them complete to this time. Since its arrival the Council had had the honour of writing by the Court's ships the Susanna, the Frederick, the Aurangzeb, the Hester, the Hannover and the Eagle Galley, and had also sent copies of such letters by each succeeding ship. 3: To the second and third paragraphs, the Council said it had received a copy of the Susanna's letter by the Cardonnel, and had shown Mr Cleeve the [...]. Interpretations This letter marks the start of the paragraph-by-paragraph reply to the Court's general letter of 4 February 1715, the answer the Council had deferred while the Cardonnel and Eagle Galley crises absorbed its time. By taking each of the Court's paragraphs in turn, the Council adopted the systematic method of an incoming administration replying to a long instruction, the same working approach used against the Court's letter of ninety-seven items in the despatch of 12 November 1714. The structure let the Court match each answer to its own original point. The Council's careful list of the ships by which it had written, namely the Susanna, Frederick, Aurangzeb, Hester, Hannover and Eagle Galley, served as a record of its diligence in correspondence. By naming each conveyance and noting that copies followed by succeeding ships, the Council demonstrated that it had answered its duty to keep the Court informed at every opportunity. The account also functioned as a check, allowing the Court to identify any letter that had failed to arrive. | |
142 | Para: that did relate to him but he has for 4. yeares been desireous to goe off the Island & ab:t 3. years since Sold his Plan =tation for that Purpose & not being permitted by Gov:r Boucher to goe off at our First comeing here being resolved to goe Sold his house at the Fort and provided all things for a Voyage against the Arrivall of the Store Ship and Did goe hence in the Cardonell to Bencoolen w:th his wife 4. Sons & 2 Daughters he was very unhappy in his Temper being never Satisfyed but complaining how much the Company had gained by him w:ch uneasi =ness of his made us the willinger to part with him especially to Bencoolen where he may be of as much Service to yo:r Hon:r in doing of Joynery Work. 4: The remaining part of yo:r Orders by the said Letter Shall be observed we have now Coppyed Over yo:r former Letters into one Book to w:ch the Gov:r has made Marginall notes as may appear by our Consultations and the Gov:r is makeing an Index or Alphabeticall Table to the whole for the Easier finding of any part thereof and we hope by this Effectyally to prevent any manner of Embezellm:t 5: To the 4: Para: We have made two small presses w:ch together w:th a Chest & small nest of Drawers will Hold the Books & papers in the Secretarys office but the Margin Notes: ab:t Cleave. ab:t y:e Copying yours &c. | The Council had shown Mr Cleeve the paragraph that related to him. He had for four years been desirous of going off the island, and about three years since had sold his plantation for that purpose, but had not been permitted by Governor Bouchier to go off. At the Council's first coming, being resolved to go, he sold his house at the fort and provided all things for a voyage against the arrival of the store ship. He went hence in the Cardonnel to Bencoolen with his wife, four sons and two daughters. He was very unhappy in his temper, never satisfied, but complaining how much the Company had gained by him. This uneasiness of his made the Council the more willing to part with him, especially to Bencoolen, where he might be of as much service to the Court in doing joinery work. 4: The remaining part of the Court's orders by the letter the Council would observe. It had now copied over its former letters into one book, in which the Governor had made marginal notes as might appear by its consultations. The Governor was making an index or alphabetical table to the whole, for the easier finding of any part of it. The Council hoped by this effectually to prevent any embezzlement. 5: To the fourth paragraph, the Council had made two small presses, which together with a chest and a small nest of drawers would hold the books and papers in the secretary's office, but the [...]. Interpretations The account of Cleeve's long wish to leave reframes his departure as the resolution of a grievance years in the making, not a sudden move. Governor Bouchier's earlier refusal to let him go, set against the new Council's willingness to part with him, marks a clear break between the two administrations. The Council's candid note that his constant complaining made it glad to be rid of him confirms the hostile view of Cleeve carried since the despatch of 12 November 1714, even as it sent him east to do useful joinery. The copying of all former letters into one book, with the Governor's marginal notes and an alphabetical index, was a direct instrument against the embezzlement that had corrupted the island's accounts. By making the correspondence searchable, the Governor created a record that could be checked against the books, closing the gaps through which earlier officers had concealed their dealings. The reform belonged to the wider documentary programme begun with the eight-year accounting collapse and the inventory undertaking of the despatch of 12 November 1714. The provision of presses, a chest and a nest of drawers for the secretary's office addressed the physical security of the Company's records. Proper storage protected the books and papers from loss and tampering, the same concern that drove the indexing of the letters. The detail shows the Council treating the safekeeping of documents as a practical foundation of honest administration. | |
143 | Para: that did relate to him but he has for 4. yeares been desireous to goe off the Island & ab:t 3. years since Sold his Plan =tation for that Purpose & not being permitted by Gov:r Boucher to goe off at our First comeing here being resolved to goe Sold his house at the Fort and provided all things for a Voyage against the Arrivall of the Store Ship and Did goe hence in the Cardonell to Bencoolen w:th his wife 4. Sons & 2 Daughters he was very unhappy in his Temper being never Satisfyed but complaining how much the Company had gained by him w:ch uneasi =ness of his made us the willinger to part with him especially to Bencoolen where he may be of as much Service to yo:r Hon:r in doing of Joynery Work. 4: The remaining part of yo:r Orders by the said Letter Shall be observed we have now Coppyed Over yo:r former Letters into one Book to w:ch the Gov:r has made Marginall notes as may appear by our Consultations and the Gov:r is makeing an Index or Alphabeticall Table to the whole for the Easier finding of any part thereof and we hope by this Effectyally to prevent any manner of Embezellm:t 5: To the 4: Para: We have made two small presses w:ch together w:th a Chest & small nest of Drawers will Hold the Books & papers in the Secretarys office but the Margin Notes: ab:t Cleave. ab:t y:e Copying yours &c. | The office itself was only a garret standing within the sloping or tiled roof, and not at all convenient. Had the Council some long timber, it would raise it to a square room and make it every way better for that purpose. It wished it had some old ship timber to employ to that and other such uses. Because the Council intended to mention this in another paragraph, it would not trouble the Court any further here. 6: To the fifth paragraph, the Court's orders had been observed. The Council had called over the stores on 29 September last, as it intended to do yearly, and a copy of that list was entered in the consultation book of the same date. 7: To the sixth paragraph, concerning the lodging of the store books at the fort, this was certainly a very good order and ought to be observed, as the Council would take care it should be. At present the storekeeper and accountant, having their books in use to send home the Court's accounts, could not conveniently bring them yet, because they said they were often obliged to refer back to them. As soon as these books were made up, which the Council intended to send home by the present ship, they would be brought to the secretary's office and kept there. 8: To the seventh paragraph, as it was most necessary to write to the Court by the Mercury sloop, so that it might have some general account of the island, the Council did write a short letter to acquaint the Court with its arrival and the bad state of the place. The Council had all of it taken [...]. Interpretations The lodging of the store books at the fort was a security measure designed to keep the Company's financial records in a single guarded place. The storekeeper and accountant's reluctance to surrender books still in daily use, against the Council's acceptance that they must once made up, shows the practical tension between the working need for records and the institutional demand for their safekeeping. The arrangement formed part of the documentary reform aimed at preventing the concealment of dealings that had corrupted the accounts. The annual calling over of the stores on 29 September, entered in the consultation book, established a fixed yearly audit of the Company's goods. By dating the inventory and recording it formally, the Council created a recurring check against loss and theft, building on the first inventory undertaken after the eight-year accounting collapse reported in the despatch of 12 November 1714. The practice turned a one-off reconstruction into a standing instrument of control. | |
144 | the Office it Self is only a Garrett Standing within the Sloaping or Tyled roof & not at all convenient but if We had some Long timber we would raise it to a square Room & make it every way better for that purpose we could wish we had some Old ship Timber to employ to that & other such like uses but because we intend to mention this in another Para: shall not trouble yo:r Hon:r any farther here. 6: To the 5: yo:r orders therein we observed & called them over upon the 29: 7ber last we as we intend to doe yeirly & a Copy of that list is enterd in Consultation book of the same Date. 7: To the 6: Para: ab:t Lodging the Store books at the Fort w:ch is certainly a very good order & ought to be observed as we will take care it shall but at present the Storekeeper & Accomptant haveing their Books in use to send home yo:r Hon:r acc:o they cant conveniently bring them yett because they say they are Often obliged to have Reference back but as soon as these books are made up w:ch we Intend to send home by this Ship then they shall be brought to the Secretarys Office & kept there. 8: To the 7: As it was made necessary to write to yo:r Hon:r by the Mercury Sloop that you might have some Generall acc:o of the Island so we did write a short Letter to acquaint you with our arrivall & the bad State of the Place but we had all of us been so Margin Notes: Sec:rys Office Place Consulta: 29: Sept:r ab:t Store Books. | The Council had all of it taken up so busily in examining the Rochester's cargo, and in causing it to be stowed away, that it could not give the Court the full account it intended. The Council afterwards sent that account by the Susanna, because it then thought it necessary to see into the state of the island itself, so that what it wrote might be from its own knowledge and not by information only. Indeed, the reports of people in this place, who always bestow on each other the worst of characters, were not much to be depended on, especially their account of an old governor that was absent given to a new one that was present. The Council found many of them so very ignorant as to think they recommended themselves by railing against the last governor, and got many of those people who reproached Governor Bouchier to admit that they had been greatly obliged and not injured by him. By this the Council meant the planters in general, for Bouchier let the Honourable Company's land lie neglected, and not only bought all things from the planters but also raised the prices to near double of what they used to sell for. To some of the planters who did not want land, Bouchier sold good plantations. He not only trusted them for the payment but took it out in yams at one hundred pounds the [...], that used to be sold for the [...]. The soldiers were permitted to run into the store house debt for the [...]. They repaid it with curses, and some of them, contriving to set the store house on [...]. Interpretations The Council's reflection on the unreliable reports of the islanders reveals a deliberate method of governing by direct knowledge rather than local gossip. By distrusting the planters' eagerness to blacken the absent Bouchier, and instead inspecting the state of the island itself, the new administration guarded against being captured by the factions and grudges of the settlement. The note that many who railed against Bouchier admitted on questioning that he had in fact obliged them shows the Council testing local complaint against evidence. The charges against Bouchier set out the economic mechanism by which the previous administration was held to have damaged the Company. By letting the Company's own land lie idle while buying everything from the planters at inflated prices, and selling plantations on credit recovered in overvalued yams, Bouchier was portrayed as enriching the planters at the Court's expense. These accusations form part of the sustained case against the prior administration built through the despatches since 12 November 1714, here extended to the management of land, provisioning and store credit. The reference to soldiers running into store house debt connects to the debt classification and recovery programme of the despatch of 12 November 1714, where accumulated soldier debt was tied to the danger of mutiny. The planters' repayment of credit with curses, and the hint of a plot to set the store house on fire, show the social disorder the Council traced to the lax credit regime it had moved to end. The detail anchors the abstract debt reform in the resentment and threat it had provoked. | |
145 | on Fire & thereby to end all your accounts at once. 10: Their Charecter now of Governour Roberts is just contrary for they say he would have been an honest man & a good Gov:r if he had not Lowered the Price of their Blacks Labour from 2/. to 1/ p Day which was such an injury to the place & those who Suffered by it could not forgive it w:ch we must not Expect to preserve their oppinions Long because as soon as we can have a better Supply of Blacks we must then fall the price of a days Labour from 18 to 12. w:ch is certainly wages eno though it will not be easyer to make them think so. 11: As to yo:r 8. Para: we shall always according to our Duty answer yo:r Hon:r Lett:r with Suitable & Due respect & hope they'l meet with a favourable construction. 12: We thank yo:r Hon:r for the Notice of yo:r Shipping mentioned in yo:r 9: 10: & 11. Para: and tho Since our arrivall here we have had the Hon:r of writing by yo:r Ships the Susa =nah Frederick, Aurengzeb, Hester, Hanover, Eagle Galley & Averilla as also by the Mercury & sent Copys of such Letters by the Succeeding Ships w:ch hereafter shall be Dupl =icated we now proceed to give yo:r Hon:r a full account of such of yo:r Ships in Generall as we have seen or heard of notwithstanding their being mentiond already in former Letters this being the Conclusion of a yeare we presume to trouble you w:th a short acc:o of the whole | The soldiers contrived to set the store house on fire, and thereby to end all the Court's accounts at once. 10: The character the people now gave of Governor Roberts was just the contrary, for they said he would have been an honest man and a good governor, if he had not lowered the price of the slaves' labour from eighteen pence to twelve pence a day. This was such an injury to the place that they who suffered by it could not forgive him. The Council must not expect to preserve its own opinions long, because as soon as it could have a better supply of slaves, it must then fall the price of a day's labour from eighteen pence to twelve pence, which was certainly wages enough, though it would not be easy to make them think so. 11: As to the eighth paragraph, the Council would always, according to its duty, answer the Court's letters with suitable respect, and hoped they would meet with a favourable construction. 12: The Council thanked the Court for the advice of its shipping mentioned in the fifth, tenth and eleventh paragraphs. Though since its arrival the Council had had the honour of writing by the Court's ships the Susannah, Frederick, Aurangzeb, Hester, Hannover, Eagle Galley and Averilla, as also by the Mercury, and had sent copies of such letters by the succeeding ships, which hereafter should be duplicated, it now proceeded to give the Court a full account of such of its ships in general as it had seen or heard of. Though they were mentioned already in former letters, this being the conclusion of a year, the Council presumed to trouble the Court with a short account of the whole [...]. Interpretations The shifting verdict on Governor Roberts exposes the planters' self-interest as the measure by which they judged each administration. They forgave his faults but could not forgive his cutting the price of slave labour, showing that their praise or blame turned on their own profit rather than on honest government. The Council's prediction that it too would lose their goodwill once it lowered the rate confirms its detached view of local opinion as a guide. The price of slave labour stood at the centre of the island's economy, the planters hiring out their slaves to the Company at a daily rate. The Council's plan to cut the rate from eighteen pence to twelve pence once it secured its own supply of slaves shows it treating local labour costs as a charge to be reduced through direct ownership. The reasoning connects to the renewed demand for two hundred slaves pressed since the despatch of 12 November 1714, since a Company labour force would free it from dependence on the planters' hired hands. Speculations The Council's frank admission that it would forfeit the planters' goodwill by lowering the labour rate, yet intended to do so anyway, reveals a deliberate choice of the Court's interest over local popularity. By acquiring its own slaves first and only then cutting the rate, the Council timed the unpopular measure to a moment when it no longer needed the planters' hired labour. The sequence shows a calculated management of a predictable conflict, securing the alternative before provoking the resentment. | |
146 | whole Transactions in Generally. First concerning Shipping in Generall. 13: The Susanna Cap:t Rich:d Pinnell arriv'd here the 31: 8ber 1714 & Saild hence the 12: of Nov: foll:o On the 15: Nov: 1714. Arrived the Frederick Cap:t Rich:d Skipp Comander who Saild from Madra[s] the 18: July 1714 & that The Duke of Cambridge was Saild from thence for China, He Saild hence the 8: of Dec:r The 14:o of Jan:r 1714/15. Arrivd here the Aurengzebe Capt: Nich:o Lihorne Comander who gave us an acc:o That The Cardigan Cap:t Granger was arrivd at Bengall from Persia in Sept:r 1714. That they heard at Madra[s] by a French Ship that was Arrivd at Ponte Berry who had touched at Joanna that The Thistleworth Cap:t Dan:l Small & the Katherine were Arrivd there but that Cap:t Godfrey & his Cheif Mate M:r Thaxton died before the Ship gott there. They also Heard that Gen:l Aisleby was going home in the Blienheim Cap:t Parrott Com:dr from Bombay & that the 27: Sept:r 1714. the Joseph Cap:t Rogers (a private Stock Ship) Saild from Madra[s]. On the 29: Jan:r 1714/15. Arrivd here the Jason (a French Ship) Cap:t Du De Mair for refreshing. Cap:t Lihorne Saild hence the 3: of February & the Jason the 9: foll: 1714/15. | First concerning shipping in general. 13: The Susanna, Captain Richard Pennill, arrived on 31 October 1714 and sailed again on 12 November. On 15 November 1714 the Frederick arrived under Captain Richard Phrip, who had sailed from Madras on 18 July 1714. He reported that the Duke of Cambridge had already left Madras for China, sailing on 8 December. The Aurangzeb arrived on 14 January 1715 under Captain Nicholas Lahore, who gave an account of the following matters. The Cardigan, Captain Grainger, had reached Bengal from Persia in September 1714. News had come to Madras by a French ship that had arrived at Pondicherry and had earlier touched at Johanna. The Whitworth, Captain Daniel Small, and the Catherine had both reached that place, but Captain Godfrey and his chief mate Mr Thacton had died before the ship got there. General Aislaby was reported going home in the Blenheim, Captain Garrett, from Bombay, and the Joseph, Captain Rogers, a separate stock ship, had sailed from Madras on 27 September 1714. On 29 January 1715 the Jason, a French ship under Captain Du Demain, arrived for refreshment. Captain Lahore sailed on 3 February and the Jason on 9 February 1715. Interpretations The commander of the Aurangzeb appears in the consolidated reference under two readings, Nicholas Lisbon in the despatch of 12 November 1714 and Nicholas Lahore on the arrival of 14 January 1715. The present passage uses the second form. Either reading carries the same office, so the meaning of the report is unaffected. A separate stock ship, such as the Joseph, traded on a fund subscribed for a particular voyage rather than on the Company's general joint stock. The distinction mattered for the division of profit and the accounting of cargo, since such a vessel answered to its own subscribers as well as to the Company. The new arrivals named here, the Whitworth under Captain Daniel Small and the Catherine, do not appear in the consolidated reference and so enter the record for the first time through this report. | |
147 | 1714/15. for France On the 15: Ditto Arrived the Mercury Private Stock Ship,) Cap:t Geo: Lytton Com:dr who gave an acc:o that the Duke of Cambridge, Cap:t Arnold Com:dr Saild thro the Streights of Mallacca for China in Sep:r 1714. & that Cap:t Wootton in the Herbouwer lay in Bengale river in the said month. 14: And from the Cape of Good Hope We heard that Cap:t Woods Rogers Saild out of the Cape the latter end of December & was bound for Brazill. We heard nothing of the Joseph the Clapham Saild from the Cape the begining of Dec: 1714. The next Dutch Fleet were ord:r to Sail from the Cape on y:e 10: April (N:S:) 1715. which they said there, would consist of 27: Sail. Cap:t Lytton likewise gave us an acc:o that. The Kent Cap:t Daw: Minter Com:dr arrivd at y:e Cape (outward bound) the 18: 8ber 1714/15. & brought the News of Queen Anns Death. The 19: Feb: 1714/15. in the afternoon arrivd here the St Lewis, (a French Ship) Cap:t Le Barne Apree Com:dr from India but last from y:e Cape, to water. Cap:t Lytton Saild hence on the said 19: Feb:r & The St Lewis on the 22: On the 2: March 1714/5. Arrived here the Hester, Cap:t Cha: Kesar Com:dr from China 2nd April the 9: 1715. We had a Double allarm for ab: 24. or 26. Sail of Ships which past by | 1714/15, for France. On 15 January the Mercury, a separate stock ship under Captain George Lytton, arrived. He reported that the Duke of Cambridge, Captain Arnold, had sailed through the Straits of Malacca for China in September 1714, and that Captain Wootton in the Discovery lay in the Bengal River in the same month. 14: News came from the Cape of Good Hope that Captain Woods Rogers had sailed from the Cape at the end of December, bound for Brazil. Nothing had been heard of the Joseph. The Clapham had sailed from the Cape at the beginning of December 1714. The next Dutch fleet was ordered to sail from the Cape on 10 April new style 1715, and was said to number twenty-seven sail. Captain Lytton also gave an account of the following. The Kent, Captain Daniel Minter, had arrived at the Cape outward bound on 18 September 1714 and had brought the news of Queen Anne's death. On the afternoon of 19 February 1715 the St Lewis, a French ship under Captain La Born, arrived, last from the Cape, having come from India to take on water. Captain Lytton sailed on 19 February, and the St Lewis on the 22nd. On 2 March 1715 the Hester arrived under Captain Hassar, commander, from China. On 9 April 1715 a double tide brought past the island some twenty-four or twenty-six sail of ships. Interpretations The Mercury named here is the separate stock ship under Captain George Lytton, distinct from the Mercury sloop and shallop of Henry Macket recorded in the despatch of 12 November 1714. Lytton is the same commander who found Don Mascarine deserted, as noted in the despatch of 19 February 1715. A double tide describes two high waters in close succession rather than the usual single flood. The phrase is offered here to explain how a large body of shipping, the twenty-four Dutch sail reported passing on 9 April in the despatch of 19 February 1715, came past the island together on that day. | |
148 | by the Island the next day We Supposed them to be the Dutch homeward bound Fleet. The 25: foll: a Ship appear'd to Leeward of the Fort & shewed Dutch Colours but bore away directly. The 31: of May 1715. at night arrived the Cardonell Cap:t W:m Mawson Comander from England &c On the 10: of June 1715. Arriv'd The Eagle Galley Cap:t Dan:l Beeckman Comander from India & the Cape &c The 18: foll: Arrived The Hanover Cap:t James Osbourn Com:dr from Madra[s] & Bengall &c On the 29: June The Cardonell Cap:t W:m Mawson Saild for Bencoolen. The acc:o We had of Ships in India p Cap:t Beeckman are as foll: (Viz:) The Clapham Galley Sloop, Tho: Gray Mast:r from Bay Delgoa & Terra de Notall arrivd at the Cape the 24: Aug:t 1714. The Rochester Cap:t Browne from St Helena the 25: foll: The Grantham & Somers on y:e last of Nov: or thereab:ts haveing toucht at Don Mascarine. The Clapham Galley Cap:t Wilks from Bencoolen Nov: 4: 1714 The Delicia Cap:t Rogers from Madagascar on the 21: D:o The Kent Cap:t Minter from England 5: Jan:r 1714/15. The Dartmouth Cap:t Blone for Canton may the 21: & On the 13: may the Eagle Galley mett the Pethcott Cap:t Tolson in Lattitude 32: 50: S:o & that the Borneo was gone to Bencoolen. On the 11: Instant Arrivd. 15: The St George Cap:t Anth:o Ryon Comand:r (who Succeeded Cap:t Goodman dec:d) & gave the foll: acc:o That | These ships were assumed to be the Dutch homeward bound fleet, seen passing the island the next day. On 25 April a single ship appeared to leeward of the fort and showed Dutch colours, but bore away at once without contact. On the night of 5 May 1715 the Cardonnel arrived under Captain William Mawson, commander, from England. On 10 June 1715 the Eagle Galley arrived under Captain Daniel Beckman, commander, from India and last from the Cape. On 19 June the Hanover arrived under Captain James Osborne, commander, from Madras and Bengal. On 29 June the Cardonnel, Captain William Mawson, sailed for Bencoolen. The account that Captain Beckman gave of the ships in India was as follows. The Clapham Galley sloop, Thomas Gray master, from Bay Delgoa and Terra do Natal, had arrived at the Cape on 24 August 1714. The Rochester, Captain Brown, was from St Helena on the 25th. The Grantham and Somers were on the coast of latitude 20 degrees or thereabouts, having touched at Don Mascarine. The Clapham Galley, Captain Wilks, from Bencoolen, on 4 November 1714. The Delitia, Captain Rogers, from Madagascar, on the 21st. The Kent, Captain Minter, from England, on 5 January 1715. The Dartmouth, Captain Blow, for Canton, on 21 May. On 13 May the Eagle Galley met the Heathcote, Captain Tolson, in latitude 33 degrees 50 minutes south, and reported that the Borneo had gone to Bencoolen. On the 11th instant arrived the St George, Captain Anthony Ryan, commander, who succeeded Captain Goodman, deceased, and who gave the following account. Interpretations Captain Anthony Ryan is recorded here as having taken command of the St George on the death of Captain Samuel Goodman, the master who watered at St Iago three days before the Rochester came in during April 1714. This is the homeward conveyance carrying the Council's paragraph-by-paragraph reply to the Court's general letter of 4 February 1715, and is distinct from the earlier outward voyage of the same ship. The Eagle Galley under Captain Daniel Beckman arrived on 10 June 1715 from Borneo, last from the Cape, the same vessel earlier the subject of the conspiracy and the foiled attempt to fire the powder room at Batavia on 29 May 1714. Beckman went on to sit with the Council at the Mawson hearing on 6 July 1715. The name of the vessel given here as Delitia appears elsewhere as Delicia and Dellight, all readings of the ship under Captain Rogers reported from Madagascar at the Cape on 21 November. | |
149 | He being too late in the Season to gett about the Cape of Good Hope w:ch he sayd he endeavourd was obliged to bare away & Wenter at Don mascarine where a French Ship called the St Frances was broke up that could Swim no Longer by reason of Damage she receivd in y:e Storm Casting about the Cape in Company w:th another French Ship called the Grand Peace We wish never that misfortune happened she had right Killd & did break up here haveing great Occasion for such Sort of Lumber. 16: That he toucht at the Cape where heard of the foll:o Ships viz: 17: The Stanhope Cap:t Geo: Wadworth Petts who arrived there in the begining of August & Saild thence for Bombay ab:t the Middle of said month The Queen of Peace Cap:t Jn:o Martin Sailed about the same time from the Cape. The Darby Cap:t Fitzhue Coman:dr &c The Mary Cap:t Goden Coman:dr &c Saild also from the Cape. The Cardigan Cap:t Granger &c The Duke of Cambridge Cap:t Arnold &c may be Suddenly expected here. The French Ship nam'd The Grand Peace that was in Comp:a with the other French Ship before mentioned he also Expects in here daily. 18: We have according to yo:r Hon:r orders sent forward the Cardonells Charter party to Bencoolen. 19: We thank yo:r Hon:r for the Maderia Wines you were pleased to send us in the Cardonell w:ch wine was tolerably good but not so good as what the Cap:t brought on his own Account but whether it Suffered by the badness of the Casks or not w:ch we are ready to believe was the fault for the Casks were indeed very bad & worse than Ordinary Margin Notes: ab:t Maderia Wine | Captain Ryan, having come too late in the season to get round the Cape of Good Hope, tried to bear away for Don Mascarine. He was forced to put in there, where a French ship called the St Francis had been broken up and could swim no longer because of damage suffered in a storm. He was lying about the Cape in company with another French ship called the Grand Peace. The misfortune that befell the St Francis, her sails being split and her boats broken up, left Captain Ryan with great need of that sort of timber. 15: Captain Ryan touched at the Cape, where he heard of the following ships. 17: The Stanhope, Captain George Wickworth Petts, who had arrived there at the beginning of August and sailed again for Bombay about the middle of that month. The Queen of Peace, Captain Francis Martin, sailed about the same time from the Cape. The Derby, Captain Fitzhugh, commander. The Mary, Captain Woden, commander, sailed also from the Cape. The Cardigan, Captain Grainger, commander. The Duke of Cambridge, Captain Arnold, commander, may be expected suddenly. The French ship named the Grand Peace, which was in company with the other French ship mentioned before, was also expected in daily. 18: In line with the Court's orders, the Council had sent forward the charter party of the Cardonnel to Bencoolen. 19: The Council thanked the Court for the Madeira wines sent out in the Cardonnel. None of it was tolerably good, and not so good as what the captain brought on his own account. Whether it suffered through the badness of the casks or not, the Council was ready to believe was the fault of the casks, which were indeed very bad and worse than ordinary. Interpretations The breaking up of the French ship St Francis at Don Mascarine explains the timber shortage that drove Captain Ryan's difficulties on the homeward route. Don Mascarine, in latitude 20 degrees south between Madagascar and Mauritius, had been found deserted and barren through drought, as recorded in the despatch of 19 February 1715, which left no local supply of repair material for a damaged vessel. The complaint over the Madeira casks marks the wine as a Court consignment carried in the Cardonnel, the yearly provision ship that reached St Helena on 5 May 1715. The distinction drawn between the Court's wine and the captain's private stock points to the recurring concern over the quality of goods shipped on the Company account against those traded privately by ships' masters. Several vessels named here enter the record for the first time, the Stanhope under Captain George Wickworth Petts, the Queen of Peace under Captain Francis Martin, the Mary under Captain Woden, and the French ships St Francis and Grand Peace. | |
150 | Ordinary & had leaked out so much that we filld those who had Suffered least out of those that had leaked most & then twenty one of the pipes held all the wine that came on Shour in twenty five we then protested against the Cap:t for what was wanting as may appear more at large by our Letters protests & Examination taken in Writing w:ch we send home by the Hanover & Eagle Galley. 20: As to the Diminishing the Quantity of Rack we could wish we might always have a Moderate quantity for our people cannot or will not live without it And tho the Aurella brought none on yo:r Hon: Acc:o yetts there was a great Quantity put on Shoar w:ch is Sold here in private Store houses to yo:r Detriment we have Adventured to buy some out of yo:r Ships the Susanah Frederick & Aurengzeb &c but feared Drawing too many bills we bought none of the Hanover Eagle nor Aurella but desire if yo:r Hon: think fitt that we may have a Generall order or permission to buy any Good Rack that is offered to be Sold here for 4:s p Gallon or under then we could always (as we think) be well Supplyed & the Proffitt of it will then be Sold w:ll pay more than all the charges of the Expence of Rack at the Fort and because we would not tire yo:r Hon:r with too long a Letter we ask leave to refer you for our reasons to the Consultations of the 4:o & y:e 14 Days of Sept: last. 21: We Enquired how much Wine Cap:t Mawson bought on his own Acc:o & were informd that he bought nine Pipes & that two of those had leaked out end for end so that he sayed he had enough but for his own use w:ch we beleive because he Sold none here. Cap:t Margin Notes: ab:t Arr:o Trade Prizes Rack 4:s & 14: 7ber. Cap:t Mawson: ab:t Wine | The wine was of poor quality and had leaked so much that the Council topped up the casks that had suffered least from those that had leaked most. Only twenty-one of the pipes then held all the wine that came ashore, out of twenty-five. The Council protested against the captain for what was missing, as appears more fully in the letters of protest and the examination taken in writing, sent home in the Hanover and Eagle Galley. 20: On cutting back the quantity of arrack, the Council wished it might always keep a moderate supply for the people, who could not and would not live without it. The Averilla brought none on the Court's account, yet a great quantity was landed and sold here in private storehouses, to the Court's loss. The Council had ventured to buy some out of the Court's ships, the Susanna, Frederick and Aurangzeb, but, fearing to draw too many bills, bought none from the Hanover, Eagle Galley or Averilla. The Council asked, if the Court thought fit, for a general order or permission to buy any good arrack offered for sale here at four shillings a gallon or under. Then it could always be well supplied, and the profit on it, once sold, would more than cover all the charges of the expense of arrack at the fort. Not wishing to tire the Court with too long a letter, the Council asked leave to refer the Court, for its reasons, to the consultations of the 4th and 14th days of September last. 21: The Council enquired how much wine Captain Mawson bought on his own account, and was told he bought nine pipes. Two of those had leaked out completely, so that he said he had enough only for his own use, which the Council believed because he sold none here. Interpretations Arrack was a strong spirit distilled in the East, commonly from fermented palm sap, rice or sugar, and shipped in quantity through Batavia and the Indian ports. It served both as a ration for the garrison and as a profitable article of the Company store, which gives weight to the request for a standing order to buy good arrack at four shillings a gallon or under. The arrack consignment from Captain Pennill totalled £612 8s 4d on Court bills in November 1714, and the proposed duty of one shilling a gallon on all arrack landed at the island set the framework for this trade. The private sale of arrack in private storehouses points to the recurring concern over private trade undercutting the Company store. Goods landed and sold outside the store drained demand from the Company account, the same mechanism set out in the despatch of 6 July 1715 over the islanders dealing in ship's goods. A pipe was a large cask used chiefly for wine, holding roughly the equivalent of two hogsheads. The reckoning of twenty-one sound pipes against twenty-five charged shows the unit serving as the basis of a formal protest for shortfall. | |
151 | 22: Cap:t Mawson did bring us some Vine Plants many of w:ch were alive & we hope will move very well tho but two of them have yet sprouted. 23: As to the Ship Rochesters lyeing here three Weeks & not Protesting against the Cap:t for unloading her Sooner we have read over yo:r Hon:r Instruction both then & since & we have given sen yo:r Hon:r that account in our Consultation of the 27: July 1714 our reason that we did not then Protest is because we thought we could not Impute any want of Dilligence or fault to the Cap:t yett we have Since made two Protests against Cap:t Mawson in the Cardonell to that purpose. 24: The Ship Cardonell remained here 23. days but we made a Protest against her for not unloading her Cargoe consignd here in 10 working days & another Protest for w:ch things were wanting Copys of said Protests w:th Cap:t Mawsons Answer & our Replys being too long to be put into this Letter we have sent herewith (but) a tract & desire yo:r Hon: Orders that for the fucture in case of goods wantingn we may charge it to the Cap:t Acc:o to be payed for here as mencond in ours p y:e Hannover Para: 27. 25: And because it Seldom happens or perhaps never happens that a Ship unloads here in ten working days especially if she brings any considerable quantity of goods to be deliverd if yo:r Hon: think fitt we believe instead Six weeks or 40 days the time usually allowed for Deviation to Ships touching here outward Bound that it would prevent many disputes & some charge if 45 days for a small Ship or 48. days for a bigger for her Deviation & unloading here were allowed for w:ch please to give us leave to shew our reasons that are as follo:o we have computed that a ship of Margin Notes: Vine plants ab:t Ship Roch:r Ship Cardonell Deviation | 22: Captain Mawson did bring the Council some vine plants. Many of them were alive, and it was hoped they would do very well, though as yet only two of them had sprouted. 23: On the Rochester lying here above three weeks and the Council not protesting against the captain for not unloading her sooner, the Council had read over the Court's instructions both then and since. It had given the Court that account in its consultation of 27 July 1714. The reason it did not protest then was because it thought it could not lay any want of diligence or fault to the captain. Yet since then it had made two protests against Captain Mawson in the Cardonnel to that purpose. 24: The ship Cardonnel remained here twenty-three days, but the Council made a protest against her for not unloading her cargo consigned here in ten days, and another protest for the things wanting. Copies of these protests, together with Captain Mawson's answers and the Council's replies, were too long to put into this letter, and so were sent herewith. The Council asked the Court to give orders that, in case of goods wanting, it might charge them to the captain's account, to be paid for here, as mentioned in its despatch by the Hanover. 25: Because it seldom happens, or perhaps never happens, that a ship unloads here in ten days, especially if she brings any considerable quantity of goods to be delivered, the Council asked, if the Court thought fit, that instead of six weeks or forty days, the time usually allowed for deviation to ships touching here outward bound, and to prevent many disputes and some charge, forty-five days for a small ship or forty-eight days for a bigger one for her deviation and unloading here might be allowed. It asked leave to set out its reasons, which were as follows. The Council had computed that a ship of [...] Interpretations Deviation here means the agreed allowance of extra time a chartered ship could spend at the island, beyond her direct sailing course, before the charter penalties applied. The dispute over the Cardonnel turned on the gap between the ten days set for unloading and the twenty-three days she actually lay at the island, which drove the Council's request to fix forty-five or forty-eight days as a settled term against future disputes. The two protests against Captain William Mawson formed the documentary basis for charging the value of missing goods to the master's own account. This connects to the wider quarrel with Mawson, settled at the hearing of 6 July 1715, where the Council also recorded the Cardonnel stores as defective in cordage, cheese, butter, peas, flour and wine. The vine plants brought by Mawson belong to the agricultural programme of supplying the island from passing ships, the same practice that saw Cape seeds preferred to English and pressed on homeward shipping in the letters of 29 June 1715. | |
152 | of 250 Tons may come here & tis probable she may bring 100. Tons of Stores here the Long boat of Such a Ship will not contain more then 3. Tons and we always look on it as good Work if 3. Long boats load in a day that is between Sun & Sun (for tis dangerous land =ing goods here in the Dark) and tho some Ships doe unload 5. or 8. boats sometimes yett then they are Yaules or Pinnaces & 8. such Boats would not contain the goods of 3. Long boats Besides when the goods are ab:t halfe deliverd there must be at least halfe a day for Shifting the Ship & carrying down such Lumbering goods & Stores as were most in their way either between Decks or aloft w:ch thing is necessary that a Ship light in her had w:th too much heavy Toase aloft might sometimes be in very great Danger of oversetting from some of those hard Flurreys that frequently come down the Valleys & when a Ship is near out, tho she could send 3. Long boats or 3. Long boats & a Yaull in a day at her first unliveering when all sides were at Hand yet when at goes they goe far in the Hold they are longer hoisting up & loading So that toward the end of the Cargoe two Long boats loading is very often as good a days work as 3 was at first The high Surfe at the Crane is also another frequent occasion of Delay & that can be no ways prevented for at the New & full of the Moon we have allways about 3. days of Surf w:ch runs so high that a long boat cannot lye at the Crane to unload nor can at no time lye off at the Crane because there are two very large Rocks that lye ab:t a boats length from the Crane w:ch reach above low water mark whereon a great many boats have been Staved & their goods Margin Notes: Surf at y:e Crane & Rocks. | A ship of 250 tons might come here, and at the outside she might bring 100 tons of stores. The longboat of such a ship would hold no more than three tons, and the Council always reckoned it good work if three longboats loaded in a day, that is between sunrise and sunset, since it was dangerous landing goods here in the dark. Although some ships used five or eight boats to unload, yet when they were yawls or pinnaces, eight such boats would not hold the goods of three longboats. When the goods were about half delivered, at least half a day had to be allowed for shifting the ship and carrying down the heavier goods and stores that lay in the way, either between decks or aloft, and anything else that was necessary. A ship that rode light in her had not too much heavy goods aloft might sometimes be in very great danger of oversetting from some of those hard flurries that frequently came down the valleys. When a ship was near the end of her unloading, although she could send three longboats, or three longboats and a yawl, in a day at her first unloading when all sides were at hand, yet when they got far down in the hold they were longer hoisting up and loading. So that, towards the end of the cargo, two longboats loading was very often as good a day's work as three was at first. The high surf at the crane was also another frequent occasion of delay, and that could in no way be prevented. At the new and full of the moon there were always about three days of surf which ran so high that a longboat could not lie at the crane to unload, nor could it at any time lie off at the crane, because there were two very large rocks that lay about a boat's length from the crane, which reached above the low water mark, on which a great many boats had been stove and their goods [...] Interpretations The whole passage sets out the practical case behind the Council's request, made at paragraph 25, to lengthen the deviation allowance to forty-five or forty-eight days. The reckoning of three longboats a day, the half-day lost to shifting ballast, the slower hoisting from a deep hold and the three days of surf at each new and full moon together build the working argument that ten days could never suffice to unload a fully laden ship. The crane was the fixed landing gear at James Bay where cargo was hauled ashore, and its exposure to surf made it the single bottleneck of the island's supply. The Council had earlier reported the want of a crane at James Castle in the despatch of 31 July 1714, and the Susanna's main capstan with ten bars was supplied as a beach-hauling crab, which shows the persistent difficulty of getting goods landed safely. The danger of oversetting from sudden flurries down the valleys reflects the same violent local squalls behind the flash floods recorded at James Valley, including the flood of 3 February 1713 that carried away part of the west curtain of the castle. | |
153 | goods sometimes lost & when even it was blown hard to windward of the Island if that Stormy weather is followed by a Sudden Calme then also even in the fairest wheather at any time of the Moon there are vast great Surf so that no boat can come to the Crane & sometimes not to the Landing Rocks neither and then there is no goeing on board nor a Shoar but by a very small Yaull that we keep on Purpose that may carry people from their Pinnace w:ch must lye out beyond the Surfe into a place we call the Cove but tho men can gett thus ashoar no goods can be Landed so & such weather as this happened three weeks together in the Month of April last as will farther appear by our Consultations books where in we have entred it down only but the Sorts of goods are to be considerd alsoe for such goods as Bread Flower Wines Tarrs Oyl Haberdashery &c that are likely to be Damaged if Landed in a great Surf will take up Longer time to send on shoar then Gun Carriages & Timber Beef & Pork &c 26: This we have given yo:r Hon:r a great Deal of Trouble to shew y:e usuall Imprediments to a Ships unloading in ten Working days &c w:ch has caused us to think that if yo:r Hon: would please to allow in yo:r Charter Party 48 or 45. days instead of the 40. days extraordinary Demorage to every Ship that comes Loaden here or brings above 100. Tons of Goods we believe many pretences that are Sometimes made would be Cutt off & some more Diligence perhaps be used & turn better to yo:r Hon:r Interest because 48 or to be sure 45. days for a Ships Deviation & unloading would be Less expensive then Six Weeks Demorage Deviation mony & Demorage for all her time above ten Days but refer our selves in this as in all other matters to yo:r Hon:r better Judge =ments & should not have been so free in discovering of our (perhaps Mistaken) notions but that you were Margin Notes: 3 Weeks bad weath:r for Lading goods. | Goods were sometimes lost, even when it had blown hard to windward of the island. If that stormy weather was followed by a sudden calm, then, even in the fairest weather and at any time of the moon, there was a vast great surf, so that no boat could come to the crane and sometimes not to the landing rocks either. Then there was no going aboard or ashore, except by a very small yawl kept on purpose, which might carry people from their pinnace. That yawl had to lie out beyond the surf in a place called the cove. There the men could get ashore, but no goods could be landed in such weather. Conditions like this lasted three weeks together in the month of April last, as appears more fully in the consultation books, where the Council had entered it down. Only the sorts of goods to be considered also are such goods as bread, flour, wine, jars of oil, haberdashery and the like, which were apt to be damaged if landed in a great surf. These took up longer time to send ashore than gun carriages, timber, beef and pork. 26: This had given the Court a great deal of trouble to read, but the usual impediment to ships unloading in ten days had caused the Council to think that, if the Court would please to allow in the charter party forty-eight or forty-five days instead of the forty days extraordinary demurrage, then to every ship that came laden here or brought above 100 tons of goods, the Council believed many pretences that were sometimes made would be cut off and some more diligence perhaps be used, and turn better to the Court's interest. Because forty-eight, or to be sure forty-five, days for a ship's deviation and unloading would be less expensive than six weeks demurrage, and demurrage for all her time above ten days, the Council referred its thoughts in this, as in all other matters, to the Court's better judgement. It said it should not have been so free in setting out its own, perhaps mistaken, notions, but that [...] Interpretations Demurrage was the charge a charterer paid the shipowner for keeping a vessel beyond the agreed time, and the whole argument turned on the difference between paying that penalty and building a longer allowance into the charter party itself. The Council reasoned that a fixed term of forty-five or forty-eight days would cost the Court less than open-ended demurrage running on every day a ship lay past ten, while also removing the excuses masters used to explain slow unloading. The cove was the sheltered point where the small purpose-built yawl could pass people through the surf when the crane and landing rocks were unusable. Its role marks the narrow margin on which all contact with shipping depended, since in a heavy swell even people, let alone perishable cargo, could be moved only at that one spot. The distinction drawn between perishable goods, such as bread, flour, wine and oil, and durable cargo, such as gun carriages, timber, beef and pork, shows the Council ranking its unloading priorities by what the surf would spoil. This bears directly on the supply of the Company store and the defensive stores of the fort alike. | |
154 | were pleas'd in yo:r Letter by the Rochester to Order us to give our Oppinions, for the Cap:ts themselves are often Deceiv'd & Cap:t Mawson two days after his arrivall laid a Wager he would send the last boat of his Cargoe on Shoar in the ten days and they did Work very hard, even in the Night time by Moon Light, insomuch that not only his men Complaind but ours & some were Sick (or pre =tended So) alledgeing they were over wrought yet tho he wanted not our Asistance notwithstand =ing all his endeavours he lost his Wager. 27: The Advice of all yo:r Hon:r Shipping shall continue as begun & we hope so yo:r Lett:r =Second & shall allways observe all yo:r Hon:r Matt: Orders in the best maner we can. 28: We Return yo:r Hon:r thanks for the Boats w:ch we receivd in good Order & will be very usefull here at the Arrivall of the Cardonell we had only one Long Boat w:ch is very Old a Large Pinpace bought formerly out of the Abingdon w:ch was cast & fitt for no Service & a small Six Oard boat that came out in the Rochester along w:ch us w:ch we used for Fishing but now we send out two of yo:r Yaulls for Fishing & doe intend w:th the other, if we can among the Planters because on the 6: of July last We published the following Advertisement Viz: Forasmuch as the Hon:ble the Lords Proprietors are Sensible of the Scarcity & dearness of Provisions on this Island which has not only Reduced the Garrison but even the Poorer sort of Planters to great Streights & have therefore Generously been at the Expence & charge of buying & sending over severall Boats for the use of this Place. 29: The Govern:r & Council therefore that the Goodness & Bounty of the Lords Proprietors may answer their end & encourage the People in Industrious Employments & to Promote Fishery have appointed a good Deal Yaull w:th oars Matt & Sailes all new to be for the Generall & Publick use Margin Notes: Advice of Shipp: be sent ab:t Boats sent. | Goods were sometimes lost, even when it had blown hard to windward of the island. If that stormy weather was followed by a sudden calm, then, even in the fairest weather and at any time of the moon, there was a vast great surf, so that no boat could come to the crane and sometimes not to the landing rocks either. Then there was no going aboard or ashore, except by a very small yawl kept on purpose, which might carry people from their pinnace. That yawl had to lie out beyond the surf in a place called the cove. There the men could get ashore, but no goods could be landed in such weather. Conditions like this lasted three weeks together in the month of April last, as appears more fully in the consultation books, where the Council had entered it down. Only the sorts of goods to be considered also are such goods as bread, flour, wine, jars of oil, haberdashery and the like, which were apt to be damaged if landed in a great surf. These took up longer time to send ashore than gun carriages, timber, beef and pork. 26: This had given the Court a great deal of trouble to read, but the usual impediment to ships unloading in ten days had caused the Council to think that, if the Court would please to allow in the charter party forty-eight or forty-five days instead of the forty days extraordinary demurrage, then to every ship that came laden here or brought above 100 tons of goods, the Council believed many pretences that were sometimes made would be cut off and some more diligence perhaps be used, and turn better to the Court's interest. Because forty-eight, or to be sure forty-five, days for a ship's deviation and unloading would be less expensive than six weeks demurrage, and demurrage for all her time above ten days, the Council referred its thoughts in this, as in all other matters, to the Court's better judgement. It said it should not have been so free in setting out its own, perhaps mistaken, notions, but that [...] Interpretations Demurrage was the charge a charterer paid the shipowner for keeping a vessel beyond the agreed time, and the whole argument turned on the difference between paying that penalty and building a longer allowance into the charter party itself. The Council reasoned that a fixed term of forty-five or forty-eight days would cost the Court less than open-ended demurrage running on every day a ship lay past ten, while also removing the excuses masters used to explain slow unloading. The cove was the sheltered point where the small purpose-built yawl could pass people through the surf when the crane and landing rocks were unusable. Its role marks the narrow margin on which all contact with shipping depended, since in a heavy swell even people, let alone perishable cargo, could be moved only at that one spot. The distinction drawn between perishable goods, such as bread, flour, wine and oil, and durable cargo, such as gun carriages, timber, beef and pork, shows the Council ranking its unloading priorities by what the surf would spoil. This bears directly on the supply of the Company store and the defensive stores of the fort alike. | |
155 | of the Garrison & Poor Planters on the following Conditions. (viz:) 30: All those who are Desireous to Pertake of the Hon:ble Comp:a Bounty are to give in their Names to the Govern:t within w days after the Publication hereof & they shall have the boat by Turns & have all the Fish to themselves that they can Catch, allowing only one Share for the boat & to Prevent all Disputes about that share whereas the boat requires a Coxswain & four hands & a Sixth Part is to be Accounted for the boat Instead whereof all those who give in their names shall have the Intire Benifitt of the boat for five times, and for the Sixth time (or the boats Share) they shall bring one boat Load for the Hon:ble Comp:a from Sandy Bay of such things as the Gov:r shall send for to the Fort. Dated at the Union Castle this 6: Day of July 1715. 31: Formerly Viz: the 12: of May 1713. We gave a Smiliter Sliplikit an Advertizment to that purpose but We not give to much encouragem:t & therefore no body Embraced his Offer whom for the Gov:r that yo:r Bounty might have its Due end & the people encouraged to accept of yo:r Hon:r kindness published the abovewritten yet to this time no person has come in to be a pertaker of that great Benifitt & we can imagine no other reason than their too great Inclination to Sloth & Strong Liquor which dulls all their appetites to Busness, w:ch we will not be wanting in our good endeavours to improve to better purpose & the Gov:r does upon all occasions not only tell them but make them See that he will encourage all the Dilligent & Industrious men among them & none other. 32: And the Last Pinnace beforementioned we have Exchanged w:th Cap:t Beckman for his the Long boat w:ch we since have filled very well up | The yawl was to be for the general and public use of the garrison and poorer planters, on the following conditions. 30: All those who wished to share in the Court's bounty were to give in their names to the Governor within ten days after the publication of this notice. They would then have the boat by turns, and might keep all the fish they could catch, allowing only one share for the boat, and, to prevent all disputes about that share, since the boat required a coxswain and four hands, a sixth part was to be accounted for the boat. Instead of that, all those who gave in their names would have the entire benefit of the boat for five times, and for the sixth time, in place of the boat's share, they were to bring one boatload to the Court from Sandy Bay, of such things as the Governor should send for to the fort. The notice was dated at the Union Castle on the 9th day of July 1715. 31: Formerly, in the time of Governor Roberts in 1713, there had been a further advertisement to the same purpose, but it was given so little encouragement that nobody embraced his offer. Therefore, so that the Court's bounty might have its end and the people be encouraged to take up the Court's kindness, the Governor published the notice written above. Yet, up to this time, no person had come in to share in that great benefit, and the Council could imagine no other reason than their too great inclination to idleness and strong liquor, which dulled all their appetites for business. The Council would not be wanting in its good endeavours to improve to better purpose the goodness the Court showed on all occasions, not only to tell them but to make them see that it would encourage all the diligent and industrious men among them, and none other. 32: As for the last pinnace mentioned before, the Council had exchanged it with Captain Beckman for his longboat, which it had since fitted up very well. Interpretations The fishery scheme set out a precise labour bargain. Five turns of the boat went free to the planter who enrolled, while the sixth turn was repaid not in money but in a boatload of provisions delivered from Sandy Bay to the fort. This converted the Court's gift of boats into a standing duty of supply, binding the planters' fishing to the victualling of the garrison. The accounting of a sixth part for the boat, set against a crew of a coxswain and four hands, shows the Council treating the vessel itself as a notional sixth member of the crew entitled to a share of the catch. The substitution of that share by a fixed delivery removed the disputes that a share-in-kind would otherwise have caused. The failure of both the earlier notice under Governor Roberts in 1713 and the new one of 9 July 1715 is laid by the Council to idleness and strong liquor. This echoes the recurring concern over the predatory punch houses and the drain of arrack into private hands, and connects to the population decline and the difficulty of finding willing hands set out in the despatch of 2 August 1715. The exchange of the worn Abingdon pinnace for Captain Beckman's longboat shows the Council improving its small craft by direct trade with a ship's master. Beckman, commander of the Eagle Galley, had arrived on 10 June 1715 and sat with the Council at the Mawson hearing of 6 July 1715. | |
156 | up so that she can make one Trippa Week to Sandy Bay & will be very usefull to us & the same Carpenter is now repaireing the great Long boat w:ch we hope will then last another yeare & as soon as that is done we shall sett him ab:t putting up the Crane. 33: As to the Hooks & lines sent they were very good in their kinds but yet we wanted some of a smaller Sort of w:ch Size that is always most wanted here, we have sent home Samples made out of yo:r Needles which is the reason of our useing so many Needles here but altho we are most cautious of letting the People run further into Debt yet we have trusted out most of that parcell of Hooks & lines for the following reasons (Viz:) when the Cardonell came in here we had noe such thing & were in great want of them & the parcell not being more then we were likely to Expend in a yeare Severall of the wealthier Plantors who had Credit in yo:r Hon: Stores would have bought them all & then the poorer people would have been very gripeingly dealt with all by them so we Orderd ab:t a Fifth Part to be taken for the use of the Fort & Plantacon & then divided the rest amongst all the Inhabitants not Share & Share alike but in proportion to the Number of their Familys without regard to Rich or Poor or being in Debt or out of Debt & do hope that the poor will thereby be in a better capacity to pay you sooner but haveing thus disposed of all yo:r Fishing Takle will be a reason of our Still putting the same quantity in our present Indent as we mencond in our last & us to our Husband:ry we pray you to Beleive we will use the same Diction Margin Notes: ab:t fishing tackle) | The longboat was now fitted up, so that she could make one trip a week to Sandy Bay, and would be very useful to the Council. The same carpenter was now repairing the great longboat, which it was hoped would last another year. As soon as that was done, the Council would set him about putting up the crane. 33: On the hooks and lines sent out, they were very good of their kinds, but the Council still wanted some of a smaller sort, the size that was always most wanted here. Samples had been sent home, made out of the Court's needles, which was the reason for using so many needles here. Although the Council was most cautious about letting the people run further into debt, it had trusted out most of that parcel of hooks and lines, for the following reasons. When the Cardonnel came in, the Council had no such thing and was in great want of them. The parcel was no more than it was likely to expend in a year. Several of the wealthier planters, who had credit on the Court's stores, would have bought them all, and then the poorer people would have been very grudgingly dealt with by them. So the Council ordered about a fifth part to be taken for the use of the fort and plantation, and then divided the rest among all the inhabitants, not share and share alike, but in proportion to the number of their families, without regard to rich or poor, or being in debt or out of debt. It hoped the poor would thereby be in a better position to pay the Court sooner. But, having thus disposed of all the fishing tackle, that would be a reason for the Council still putting the same quantity in its present requisition, as mentioned in its last letter. As to its husbandry, the Council prayed the Court to believe it would use the same [...] Interpretations The distribution of the hooks and lines reveals a deliberate scheme of social levelling against the wealthier planters. By reserving a fifth part for the fort and plantation and then sharing the rest by family size rather than wealth or credit standing, the Council blocked the richer planters from buying up the whole parcel on store credit and forcing the poor to deal through them. This protected the poorer households and, by the Council's reasoning, improved their capacity to pay down their debts to the Court. The reuse of the Court's needles to make fishing hooks marks a practical response to the want of small tackle, the size most needed at the island. It also connects the fishery programme to the broader scarcity of suitable supply that drove the request for boats and the advertisement of 9 July 1715. The order of repairs sets a clear priority. The carpenter was to finish the great longboat before turning to the crane, the fixed landing gear whose want had been reported in the despatch of 31 July 1714 and whose exposure to surf made it the chief obstacle to landing cargo safely. | |
157 | Stores as if they were our own being very Sensible of the great charges yo:r Hon:r have been att & it shall be our Endeavours are as much as in us lyes to make the Island answer your ends th holding it for the goods of yo:r Shipping & with as little charge as we can po[s]sible. 34: It is our Custom on making up the Packett that the Gov:r calls over the list of Papers mencond to be sent & as he calls every paper over the Secretary putts it into the Packett box w:ch Custom shall be continued 35: We are very Sensible of the Great Charge this Island is to you & shall endeavour what we can to retrencheh it & in order to that we desire yo:r Hon:r to lett us have a good number of Blacks that we may not be put to hireing of Blacks as we doe both to plant & to weed yo:r Ground but because in our Consultation answer to yo:r Hon: w:3 Para: we shall have occasion to enlarge on this head shall trouble you no farther w:th it now. 36: The Gov:r has enquired of M:r Bazett concerning those other perticulars mencond in this Para: & he says he thought he had signd the Acc:o but cant remember the perticulars thereof now but is sure that what ever he then wrote was true. 37: As to the disposall of Timber we have as yet used very little but before the Barracks are finished shall have none yet hope the Timber mencond in the Indents sent by the Susannah & Frederick will be sufficient & shall therefore putt down the same in our Margin Notes: List packt: again: Blacks ab:t Cap:t Bazett. Timber | The Council was very mindful of the great charges as if they were its own, and would, as far as lay in its power, study to make the island answer the Court's ends in holding it for the good of the Court's shipping, and with as little charge as possible. 34: It was the Council's custom, on making up the packet that the Governor sent over, that the Governor called over the list of papers mentioned to be sent. As he called every paper over, the secretary put it into the packet box. This custom would be continued. 35: The Council was very mindful of the great charge this island was to the Court, and would endeavour what it could to cut it back. To that end, it asked the Court to allow it a good number of slaves, so that it might not be put to hiring slaves, as it had to do both to plant and to weed the Court's ground. Since, in its answer to the Court's third paragraph, it would have occasion to enlarge on this head, it would trouble the Court no further on it now. 36: The Governor had enquired of Mr Bazett concerning those other particulars mentioned in this paragraph, and he said he thought he had signed the account, but could not remember the particulars of it now. Yet he was sure that whatever he then wrote was true. 37: On the disposal of timber, the Council had as yet used very little, but before the barracks were finished it would have none. Yet the Council hoped the timber mentioned in the requisitions sent by the Susanna and Frederick would be sufficient, and would therefore put down the same in [...] Interpretations The request for a good number of slaves rests on a clear economic calculation. By owning slaves outright rather than hiring them to plant and weed the Court's ground, the Council expected to cut the running charge of the island. This connects to the wider concern set out in the despatch of the St George of 1715, where the Council foresaw lowering the slave labour rate from eighteen pence to twelve pence a day once it secured its own slaves. The packet routine, in which the Governor called over each paper and the secretary placed it in the packet box, was a formal control against loss or omission of documents in transit. Its weight is best seen against the loss of the Susanna general letter, carried off to England by the former Governor Bouchier on 28 June 1714, which had left the Council unable to answer the Court for want of the original. The reference to Mr Bazett concerns Matthew Bazett of the outgoing Council, who departed for England with Bouchier on the Recovery on 28 June 1714. His vague recollection of the account he signed marks the difficulty the new Council faced in reconciling records left by an administration whose principals had all sailed home. | |
158 | our present Indent notwithstanding the Timber mentiond in the Indents 38: If it were po[s]ible to have some old Ship Timbers we cant at present think of any thing that would be more usefull for some Old Ship of ab:t 600. Tons Burthen would be able to bring all the Stores we want both of boards & Timber w:ch take up so much Rooms her anchors would be Serviceable for moorings here & some of them would be Sold her Cables at the worst would make good Junk which is much wanted here by every Ship that comes her Masts would be usefull in case any of yo:r Ships by accident should want a Mast for none are to be had at the Cape of Good Hope all her Rigging would serve for Moorings to yo:r boats & for Stand =ing or fishing moorings for the Planters boats & at the worst for Junk she might be Gunned with such Guns as yo:r Hon:r think fitt to send for yo:r Fortifications with whole & Demiculvers especially she would be Roomy enough to bring over Soldiers & if she brought never so much cordage Pitch & Tarr we could very well dispose of it her Sails would turn to as good account as any other thing w:ch being to be Sold Cheaper then new would serve very well for Ships homeward bound & be coveted by most Comanders who are sometimes too saving to prevent an encrease of charge to their owners at the winding up of their Voyage besides the usefullness of her Timbers her Iron bolts & other Iron work would be Serviceable here for in Battavia where Timber is plenty they Lay up all Margin Notes: Old Ship to break up. | The Council would put down the same in its present requisition, notwithstanding the timber mentioned in the requisition. 38: If it were possible to have some old ship timber, the Council could not at present think of anything that would be more useful. Some old ship of about 600 tons burthen would be able to bring out all the stores the Council wanted, both of boards and timber, which took up so much room. Her anchors would serve for moorings here, and some of them would be old. Her cables, at the worst, would make good junk, which was much wanted here by every ship that came. Her masts would be useful, in case any of the Court's ships should by accident want a mast, for none were to be had at the Cape of Good Hope. All her rigging would serve for moorings to the boats, and for landing or fishing moorings for the planters' boats. At the worst, for junk, she might be gunned with such guns as the Court thought fit to send for the fortifications, with whole culverins and demi-culverins especially. She would be roomy enough to bring over soldiers, and if she brought never so much cordage, pitch and tar, the Council could very well dispose of it. Her sails would turn to as good account as any other thing, being sold cheaper than new would serve very well for ships homeward bound, and be coveted by most commanders, who were sometimes too saving, to prevent an increase of charge to their owners at the winding up of their voyage. Besides the usefulness of her timbers, her iron bolts and other ironwork would be serviceable here. For in Batavia, where timber was plenty, they hauled up all [...] Interpretations The proposal to send out a worn ship of about 600 tons rests on the idea of treating the whole vessel as a single delivery of scarce materials. Once landed, her timber and boards filled the want of building stock, her anchors and cables became moorings and junk, her masts a reserve against breakage where the Cape offered none, her rigging tackle for the planters' boats, and her guns the armament of the fortifications. This makes the ship a floating store dismantled for parts, every component answering a standing shortage at the island. Junk meant old cable cut up for reuse as oakum, fenders, mats and lashings, which explains why the Council valued the cables even at their worst. The chronic want of such material, needed by every ship that called, ties the request to the recurring shortage of cordage, the same defect noted in the Cardonnel stores at the hearing of 6 July 1715. The demand for whole culverins and demi-culverins links the scheme to the island's defensive weakness. The Council had earlier judged the platform at Munden's Point insufficient, mounting only four demi-culverins and three sakers of the twelve intended, which gives a concrete need for the heavier guns proposed here. The remark that ships' masters were too saving to refuse cheap secondhand sails points to the private economy of the homeward voyage, in which a commander cut his owners' costs at the winding up of the accounts. This bears on the broader pattern of private trade and personal profit running alongside the Company's own supply. | |
159 | all their Lost Ships & sett them on Fire for the sake of their Iron & think it worth their while & that Iron would be Serviceable here & prevent the Charge of sending out other & the very Stores of such a ships would serve to Supply 5 or 6. of your other Returning Ships that allways want something of that nature, The Planks tho old & by reaping off will perhaps be Crackt but to be sure full of Trunnoll Holes yet will be very proper to lay on the Topps of houses in the Valley & Coverd with Terrace Mortar w:ch will save the Charge of bringing over Tiles. 39: But we will not mention what will be Saved by the Deviation & Demorage of two Ships because such a Ship as this may bring 600. Tons of Stores w:ch we beleive has not been brought to this place by any two Ships these many years these are some of our best reasons why we are so desireous of haveing an old Ship to break up w:ch we Submitt to yo:r Hon:r Judgements. 40: We always have Settled the Price of yo:r goods in Consultacions & have now entred the perticulars in the Consultacion Book & have therein observed yo:r Hon:r Directions in this Para: 41: As to Gov:r Bouchers tradeing yo:r Hon:r Information is true but for how much we know not we have asked M:r Alexander ab:t the Palm Wine he Sold he tells us he did Sell some small matter to people who were Import =unate to have a little & the Gov:r told him he might lett them have some if they paid for | In Batavia, where timber was plenty, they hauled up all their old ships and set them on fire for the sake of their iron, thinking it worth their while, since that iron would be serviceable here. To prevent the charge of sending out other stores, the very stores of such a ship would serve to supply five or six of the Court's other returning ships, which always wanted something of that nature. The planks, though old and by reason of ripping off would perhaps be cracked, but, to be sure, full of trunnel holes, yet would be very proper to lay on the tops of houses in the valley, and, covered with terrace mortar, would save the charge of bringing over tiles. 39: The Council would not mention what would be saved by the deviation and demurrage of two ships, because such a ship as this might bring 600 tons of stores, which the Council believed had not been brought to this place by any two ships these many years. These were some of its best reasons why it was so desirous of having an old ship to break up, which it submitted to the Court's judgement. 40: The Council had always settled the price of the Court's goods in its consultations, and had now entered the particulars in the consultation book, and had observed the Court's directions in this respect. 41: On the Court's information about Bouchier's trading, it was true. But the Council did not know how much it was, and had asked Mr Alexander about the palm wine he sold. He told the Council he did sell some small matter to people who were desperate to have a little, and that Bouchier told him he might let them have some if they paid for [...] Interpretations The account of Batavia burning old ships for their iron supplies the precedent behind the Council's whole proposal. If the Dutch found it worth destroying a hull merely to recover the metal, then a worn ship sent to St Helena could yield far more, since her stores would equip five or six homeward vessels and her timber, planks and ironwork would all answer local shortages. This frames the request at paragraph 38 as a tested method rather than a novel idea. The reuse of cracked planks under terrace mortar to roof houses in the valley addresses the persistent want of durable building material. The longest local timber reached only sixteen feet, and the Council had earlier sent home a box of St Helena clay seeking a skilled brick or tile maker in the despatch of 8 December 1714, so secondhand ship planks offered a way to save the charge of importing tiles. The opening of the inquiry into Bouchier's trading marks the Council's care in handling charges against the absent former Governor, who sailed for England in the Recovery on 28 June 1714. The Council distrusted the islanders' reports against him, as set out in the despatch of the St George of 1715, and here it tested the specific charge of private dealing through Mr Alexander's account of the palm wine sales. Trunnel holes were the openings left by the wooden pegs, or treenails, that fastened a ship's planks to her frame. Their presence marks the planks as salvage stripped from a broken hull, sound enough for roofing though no longer fit to hold water. | |
160 | for it & he did not dispose of half a Chest but we have been informd that much worse things then these have been done (Viz:) Goods bought out of Shipping to be Sold among the people when they had disposed of what they could the refuse brought to the Storehouse & Credit given for them & goods that were acceptable carryed privately out of the Store room to be Sold by their Agents & when any have come to the Store house to ask for such goods told they were all gone but that they beleived they might have some such goods at such a place & there yo:r goods has been Sold for a higher Price & present pay & yo:r Hon: repaid with Punch house bad Debts bought in at 5 or sometimes 10: p Cent discount & by this Method together w:th the way of Transferring yo:r Hon:r have lost prodigiously & it is for these & such like reasons that the new Govern:r has altered his mind & instead of building yo:r new Store house where the old one Stood as mencond in the 8: Para: of our Lett:r by the Mercury Shalloop he designs it at the Castle where it may be more under his Eye & care, but till we have some good Stock of timber must deferr building of a large House. 42: And now we are upon this head of open or private tradeing it is our Govern:r oppinion that no person whatsoever should be permitted to keep any under Store house nor to engross goods from Shipping & be either to maintain the Hon:r Comp:a Store house or to lay all open & to give every man equall Liberty. 43: As to a Publick Markett tho yo:r Hon:r Margin Notes: ab:t Gov:r Boucher's tradeing private Trade. | He did not dispose of half a chest. But the Council had been informed that much worse things than these had been done, namely goods bought out of shipping to be sold among the people. When they had disposed of what they could, the refuse was brought to the storehouse and credit given for them, while goods that were more acceptable were carried away privately out of the store room to be sold by their agents. When any came to the storehouse to ask for such goods, they were told they were all gone, but that they believed they might have some such goods at such a place. There the Court's goods had been sold for a higher price, present pay, and the Court repaid with punch house bad debts, bought in at five, or sometimes ten per cent discount. By this method, together with the way of transferring, the Court had lost prodigiously. For these and suchlike reasons the new Governor had altered his mind. Instead of building the Court's new storehouse where the old one stood, as mentioned in the 8th paragraph of the despatch by the Mercury shallop, he designed it at the castle, where it might be more under his eye and care. But, until the Council had some good stock of timber, it must defer building a large house. 42: Now that the Council was upon this head of open or private trading, it was the Governor's opinion that no person whatsoever should be permitted to keep any private storehouse, nor to engross goods from shipping, either to maintain the Court's store house or to lay all open and give every man equal liberty. 43: On a public market, although the Court [...] Interpretations The passage exposes the precise mechanism by which the Company store was defrauded. Acceptable goods were drawn off privately and resold for cash at a higher price, while the store was left with refuse and was then repaid in punch house bad debts bought at a discount of five or ten per cent. This is the same drain through private trade and the transfer system described in the despatch of 6 July 1715, here shown in working detail as a deliberate scheme of substitution and skimming. The decision to move the new storehouse to the castle is a direct response to that fraud. By placing it under the Governor's own eye and care, rather than rebuilding on the old site noted in the despatch of 31 July 1714, the Council sought physical supervision as the remedy for theft from the store room. The deferral of the large house for want of timber ties this back to the standing shortage of building material. Engrossing meant buying up a commodity to corner its supply and control the price. The Governor's view that no person should keep a private storehouse or engross goods from shipping frames the choice starkly, between defending the Company store as a monopoly and throwing trade fully open to all on equal terms. Punch house bad debts were sums owed by drinkers at the disorderly punch houses, of which eight stood among the fifty houses of James Town in November 1714. Their purchase at a discount, to settle the Court's account, shows worthless paper being passed back to the Company in place of the value skimmed off in goods. | |
161 | Hon:r have Ordered it in many of your Letters we do not find it so practicable here as in other places because there is no mony & payments here are Cheifly in Store Credit but if we had some mony then we could hold a markett then we should Cure this distemper of the Transferr Book w:ch makes & destroys all yo:r proffitts & then we should have none or but a few bad Debts & what has Carried off our mony here is its goeing any where for as much as it does w:th w:ch makes the outward bound Store Ship who usually refuse other Credit carry it off. 44: Now if the people were restrained from dealing w:th the Storeship as they might easeily be by hindring their goeing on board & by Setting a Duth on what goods they bought to be payed in ready mony it would in part prevent carrying off our Mony but with Submission to yo:r Hon:r better Judgments we think the best way to make the people keep their mony is to enhance the Vallue thereof & lett Dollars goe among us agen at 6:s & if they went for more it would Still be Better then the Ships would not be so forward to deal with them for their Coin but Exchange after the old method goods for provisions 45: And then to Suffer no more Trusting in the Storehouse but to Sell the goods a little Cheaper to them. 46: By this means if yo:r Hon: send us any mony there will be an Immediate Advance of 25. p Cent. or more upon it the People would be the better & Contented too if they took it at 50. p:r Cent and we don't see any Damage that can accrue to yo:r Hon: by raising the Price of mony but one & that is when any Sum shall be paid into yo:r Hon: Stores & bill taken for it but Margin Notes: Transfer book to pay Custom in ready mony Due price of mony | Although the Court had ordered it in many of its letters, the Council did not find it so practicable here as in other places, because there was no money. Payments here were chiefly in store credit. But if the Council had some money, then it could hold a market. Then it would cure this distemper of the transfer book, which choked and destroyed all the Court's profits, for then it would have none, or but a few bad debts. What had carried off the island's money was its going anywhere, since as much of it as went to the outward bound store ship, who usually refused other credit, carried it off. 44: Now, if the people were restrained from dealing with the store ship, as they might easily be by hindering their going on board, and by setting a duty on what goods they bought, to be paid in ready money, it would in part prevent the carrying off of the island's money. But, with submission to the Court's better judgement, the Council thought the best way to make the people keep their money was to enhance the value of it, and let dollars go among them again at 6s, and, if they went for more, it would still be better. Then the ships would not be so forward to deal with them for their coin, but exchange after the old method, goods for provisions. 45: Then the Council would suffer no more trusting in the storehouse, but would sell the goods a little cheaper to them. 46: By this means, if the Court sent any money, there would be an immediate advance of twenty-five per cent, or more upon it. The people would be the better and contented too if they took it at fifty per cent. The Council did not see any damage that could come to the Court by raising the price of money, but one, and that was when any sum should be paid into the Court's stores and a bill taken for it. But [...] Interpretations The whole passage sets out a deliberate monetary policy to stem the drain of coin from the island. By raising the official value of the dollar to six shillings, the Council aimed to make hard money worth more in local hands than to a passing ship, so that masters would revert to barter, goods for provisions, rather than buying up the island's coin. This is the coin reform thread in operation, the practical answer to the loss of money carried off by the outward bound store ship. The transfer book was the ledger of credit transfers that let debts and balances pass between accounts without cash changing hands. The Council blamed it for choking the Court's profits, since store credit circulated in place of coin and left the Company holding bad debts. Curing this distemper meant restoring real money to local trade and ending the open-ended trusting of goods on credit. The proposal to set a duty on goods bought from the store ship, payable in ready money, and to hinder the people going aboard, attacks the same outflow from the other side. It connects directly to the call in the despatch of 6 July 1715 to revive the ban on people going aboard ships and to regulate the private trade that drained the London account. The single drawback the Council foresaw, the effect of a revalued dollar on sums paid into the stores against a bill, shows it weighing the cost of its own scheme. Raising the price of money would shift the reckoning whenever coin was converted into a bill of exchange on the Court, the instrument by which value at the island was remitted to London. | |
162 | but that thing is so easely prevented by makeing an Order that no bills be given for any Sum of mony whatever but for such a Number of Crowns or such a Number of Dollars as shall be receivd here & always to mencon the Species of Coins so receivd & then you'l have very few if any bills at all drawn Drawn for mony paid in here The Govern:r hopes you wont look upon him as a Projec =tor for laying this Scheem before your Hon: because as he aimes at nothing herein but the Comon Good he hopes it approod on will prove of Comon Benifitt. 47: The Inhabitants in Generall & many of them in perticular have desird us to write for divers usefull things for them which if sent will turn to acc:o of proffit for which reason we have sent home a large Indent yet have mencond nothing therein but what is needfull. 48: We have Since our Arrivall here bought out of yo:r Ships Sundry perticulars for the use of The Island but Arrack is the Cheifest Article & when we can buy very good Arrack at 4: p Gall: we desire yo:r Hon: would please to Continue that Liberty to us It may seem strange perhaps that English or the Sons of English men when once they come to St Helena should Admire Arrack so much above other Liquors but we have here a great variety of Seasons at the Fort tis Hott in the day time & cold at night & in all other parts of the Island very Coll & Midd Day & as cold at midnight or dureing the time of any Flurreys & no Liquor be but Water the produce of this place Europe Margin Notes: Place Consulta: 14: 7ber 1715. ab:t buying Arr:o | That difficulty was easily prevented by making an order that no bills be given for any sum of money whatever, but for such a number of crowns, or such a number of dollars, as should be received here, and always to mention the species of coins so received. Then the Court would have very few, if any, bills at all drawn for money paid in here. The Governor hoped the Court would not look upon him as a projector for laying this scheme before it, because, as he aimed at nothing herein but the common good, he hoped, if approved, it would prove of common benefit. 47: The inhabitants in general, and many of them in particular, had desired the Council to write for various useful things for them, which, if sent, would turn to the Court's account of profit. For that reason the Council had sent home a large requisition, yet had mentioned nothing in it but what was needful. 48: Since its arrival here, the Council had bought out of the Court's ships various particulars for the use of the island. But arrack was the chief article, and when it could buy very good arrack at four shillings a gallon, it asked the Court to please to continue that liberty to it. It might seem strange perhaps that Englishmen, or the sons of Englishmen, when once they came to St Helena, should be so fond of arrack above other liquors. But the island had here a great variety of seasons at the fort. It was hot in the daytime and cold at night, and, in all other parts of the island, very cold at midday and as cold at midnight, during the time of any flurries. There was no liquor here but water, the produce of this place [...] Interpretations The proposal to issue bills only against a stated number of crowns or dollars, with the species of coin named, closes the last gap in the coin reform scheme. By tying every bill to a specified quantity of hard money actually received, the Council removed the loophole through which a revalued dollar might distort sums remitted to London, the single drawback it had foreseen at paragraph 46. A projector was a promoter of speculative schemes for private gain, a term carrying real suspicion in this period. The Governor's disclaimer marks his care to present the monetary reform as public policy rather than personal advantage, anticipating the Court's distrust of self-interested proposals from its servants. The defence of the arrack purchase rests on the climate of the island, the sharp daily swings of heat and cold and the cold flurries that swept the higher ground. This supplies the practical justification for the standing request to buy good arrack at four shillings a gallon, the ration the Council had argued its people could not live without in the despatch by the St George. | |
163 | Europe Liquors doe often fail us & some times not to be had & Punch is what is quick =ly made so that nothing else doeing so well there is a necessity to Like that best & our people are now grown to such an affection to that Liquor that there is no keeping them in any Tollarable order without it & if yo:r Hon:r dont Supply them with it theyl have w:th whatsoever they have to Purchase it either out of Ships or at Dear & Exceiveing Rates from one another and because all Charges being Consi dered the Arrack that you send here by that time we receive it do's not Stand your Hon: in Less then four Shillings p:r gallon if a Ship brings any Good Arrack here to Sell we Desire Liberty of your Hon: to buy it at that Price. 49: But when doe we doe buy we shall take due Care that all agreed or paid for Comes ashoar We have Enquired of M:r Bazett about the 55 Gallons of Shoel Oyle mentioned in the 24: Para: He tells us that by the Books he finds it paid for but it did not Come to the Store House and he beleives twas never put on Shore but what he wrote farther to your Hon: he do's not remember. 50: We have Allready observed your Hon:r Instructions in the 2:d Para: and Shall Allwayes observe the same but pray yo:r Hon: farther Orders in this Case that if any Goods of what kind Soever are delivered Short that instead of Noteing it on the backside of the bills of Lading when a plain Embezelm:t appears that we may Charge the Cap:t Debtor for such Goods So Short Delivered. 51: We have asked M:r Bazett about the Arrack that was Leaked out He Says he doe remember that Some did leak out of two or three Casks in Govern:r Bouchers time but he hus forgot how much or what Perticulars it being already a while agoe but is Sure that whatever he Orderd was true. We Margin Notes: ab:t Shoel Oyl Q: Cap:t Bazett ab:t Oyl Goods Short deliverd to be paid for Cap:t Bazett Q: ab:t Leak:g | European liquors often failed the Council, and were sometimes not to be had, so that punch was what was quickest made, since nothing else would do. There was, of necessity, a liking for that best, and the people were now grown to such an affection for that liquor that there was no keeping them in any tolerable order without it. If the Court did not supply them with it, they would part with whatever they had to purchase it, either out of ships or at dear and exacting rates from one another. Because all charges had been considered, the arrack the Court sent here, by the time it was received, did not stand the Court in less than four shillings a gallon. If any ship brought good arrack here to sell, the Council asked the liberty of the Court to buy it at that price. 49: When the Council did buy, it took due care that all was agreed or paid for before it came ashore. It had enquired of Mr Bazett about the 55 gallons of sweet oil mentioned in the second paragraph. He told the Council that by the books he found it was paid for, but it did not come to the storehouse, and he believed it was never put ashore. What he wrote further to the Court, he did not remember. 50: The Council had already observed the Court's instructions in the second paragraph, and would always observe the same. But it asked the Court for further orders in this case, that if any goods, of whatever kind, were delivered short, then, instead of noting it on the back of the bills of lading when a plain embezzlement appeared, it might charge the captain debtor for such goods so short delivered. 51: The Council had asked Mr Bazett about the arrack that was leaked out. He said he remembered that some did leak out of two or three casks in Governor Bouchier's time, but he had forgotten how much, or what the particulars were, it being already a while ago. Yet he was sure that whatever he wrote was [...] Interpretations The defence of the arrack purchase moves from climate to social control. The people's settled craving for the liquor made it a tool of order, since without it they could not be kept in any tolerable state and would beggar themselves to buy it from ships or from one another. This reframes the standing request to buy good arrack at four shillings a gallon as a means of governing the garrison and planters, not merely of supplying a ration. The four shillings a gallon figure is shown here to be a landed cost, not a market price. By the time the Court's arrack reached the island, with all charges added, it stood the Court in that sum, which is why the Council pegged its buying liberty to the same rate. This sharpens the economic logic of the proposal first set out at paragraph 48. The request to charge a captain as debtor for goods short delivered marks a shift from a passive record to an active remedy. Noting a shortfall on the back of a bill of lading merely registered the loss, whereas charging the master's account recovered it. This is the same mechanism the Council pressed over the Cardonnel, where the two protests against Captain Mawson sought to charge missing goods to his account, settled at the hearing of 6 July 1715. The repeated recourse to Mr Bazett over the sweet oil and the leaked arrack exposes the difficulty of auditing an administration whose records were incomplete and whose principals had sailed home. Matthew Bazett left for England with Bouchier on the Recovery on 28 June 1714, and his failing memory of sums and particulars left the new Council unable to close the old accounts with certainty. Sweet oil was olive oil, imported for cooking, lamps and medicinal use, and counted among the perishable stores most easily lost or diverted before reaching the storehouse. | |
164 | 52: We have Inquired about the late Gov:r Cap:t Bouchers Transactions in y:e Affaires relating to y:e Fortificacions Especially at our first Arrivall we could see what he had done but could not then learn from any body what he intended because he did not tell the work men his reasons nor designs but only from time to time Ordered them to do such and such work and M:r ffrench the Gunner who was his Cheif agent Sayer he asked the Govern:r what shape he intended to build the Store House and was Order:d to mind that the People kept to their busines & doe as they were Directed, and the Gunn:r Sayd he had a mind to have seen the Draft that he might Direct the Men when the Govern: was in the Country then the Gov:r (as ffrench Sayes) told him he had a Draft in his head which he intended to Draw some time or other & then he would shew it to him but Never did Shew him any thing but a Picture which was a Generall veiw of the Castle and Valley wherein many things were drawn that were intended to be done but were not be =gun among w:ch the Store House was one. There was alsoe Drawn two half Bastions one at the East and the other at the West End and above the West Rocks a Platt form of Gunns to be call'd the west battery Such a Platform could Indeed be very Necessary and no Great charge tho the two half Bastions would be more Cheorge but are not of other Necessity then to make the whole Fortification Uniform and without them they will not be Compleat it being built at Severall times by Severall Govern: those half Bastions would makeit look all of a Peice and without them all those who Understand fortificacions will find fault both with the Perfection and with the Regularity of the work and therefore we could wish that Gov:r Boucher had done them when he was'n but our Govern:r wont meddle w:th any thing that will be chargeable without your Hon: Perticular Orders. We have been since informd of Severall serviceable things that he designed but left off all at once Margin Notes: Gov:r Bouchers Works & they were | 52: The Council had enquired about the late Governor Captain Bouchier's dealings in the affairs relating to the fortifications. Especially at its first arrival, it could see what he had done, but could not then learn from anybody what he intended, because he did not tell the labourers his reasons or designs, but only from time to time ordered them to do such and such tasks. Mr French the gunner, who was his chief agent, said he had asked the Governor what shape he intended to build the storehouse, and was ordered to mind that the people kept to their business and did as they were directed. The gunner said he should have been glad to see the draft, that he might direct the men. When the Governor was in the country, the gunner, as French said, told him he had a draft in his head, which he intended to draw some time or other, and then he would show it to him. But he never did show him anything but a picture, which was a general view of the castle and valley. In it many things were drawn that were intended to be done, but were not begun, of which the storehouse was one. There was also drawn two half bastions, one at the east and the other at the west end, and above the west rocks a platform of guns to be called the west battery. Such a platform would indeed be very necessary, and no great charge, though two half bastions would be more chargeable. But there was no other necessity than to make the whole fortification uniform, and without them it would not be complete. Being built at several times by several governors, single half bastions would make it look all of a piece. Without them, all those who understood fortifications would find fault both with the imperfection and with the irregularity of the work. Therefore the Council wished that Governor Bouchier had done them when he was here. But the Council would not meddle with anything that would be chargeable without the Court's particular orders. It had since been informed of several considerable things that he designed but left off all at once. Interpretations The inquiry into Bouchier's fortification works reveals a fundamental failure of administrative method under the former Governor. By keeping his designs in his own head and issuing only piecemeal orders to the labourers, Bouchier left no record by which his successors or even his own chief agent could carry the work forward. This is the disorder the new Council sought to remedy by governing through its own inspection of the island, the approach set out in the despatch by the St George of 1715. Mr French the gunner held the post of chief agent on the fortification works, the technical officer who would normally direct the men against a drawn plan. His complaint that he was never shown more than a general view of the castle and valley exposes how completely the former Governor had concentrated knowledge in himself, leaving the gunner unable to direct the labour properly. A half bastion was a projecting work giving flanking fire along a curtain wall, and the proposed pair at the east and west ends, with the west battery above the rocks, were meant to make the defences uniform. The Council's distinction between the cheap and necessary battery and the more chargeable bastions shows it ranking the works by cost against the standing weakness of the fort, the same defensive concern behind the insufficient platform at Munden's Point. The Council's refusal to undertake chargeable works without the Court's particular orders marks the limit of its authority over expenditure. It would identify and cost the needed works, but the decision to spend rested with the Court in London, a division of financial control running through the whole despatch. | |
165 | the Country which is Mentioned in the Consultation of the 5: of October 1714 and amounts to 181: 11: 6: We have alsoe made what Enquiry we could Concerning other imbez =elments but find those things very base 16: Discover:r only in Generall that there has been a very Great one but Something of that Nature we have had Acc:o of which yo:r Hon: will find Mentioned in Cap:t George Hasvells Letter to the Govern: w:ch we sent Home by the Ships Susannah & ffrederick the Same Letter is Coppied in our Consultation of the 2: of Novemb: 1714 and therefore we shall not Inlarge this too much by recieting it again at the Length and by that Letter it will Appear how some of your Live Stock was disposed on to the Value of 156: 19: 6: and placed to his Acc:o Yet therein is no Mention made of any beef that being disposed and sold in a more Secret manner. 53: As to M:r Free he is a man who Cant bear Liquor but drinks as often as his wife Suffers him to Come to y:e Fort Extravagantly hard we cannot give him any Part of a Charecdear that is fitt for a man of Busines, We found M:r Alexander here in the Office and haveing had a great Deal more Writeing work then M:r Tovey could Po[s]ibly do have Continued him but he is very much in the Country at his Plantation soe that we have much adoe to gett our Writing work before hand, tho we own M:r Alexander Understands yo:r Business very well if he were but Constanter to it. 54: M:r Cason we take to be a very Honest man and wish we had another Soldier here that one of them might Always be at the fort to look after the Constant Exer =cising of the Men which would be very Proper for Margin Notes: M:r Free M:r Alexand:r M:r Cason | The shed in the country, mentioned in the consultation of 4 October 1714, came to £181 4s 6d. The Council had also made what inquiry it could concerning other embezzlements, but found those matters very hard to discover, only in general that there had been a very great one. The Council had an account of something of that nature, which the Court would find mentioned in Captain George Hassar's letter, sent home in the ships Susannah and Frederick. The same letter was copied in the consultation of 2 November 1714, and so the Council would not enlarge on this too much by repeating it again at length. By that letter it would appear how some of the Court's livestock was disposed of, to the value of £156 19s 6d, and placed to his account. Yet there was no mention made of any beef, that being disposed of and sold in a more secret manner. 53: On Mr French, he was a man who could not bear liquor, but drank as often as his wife let him come to the fort. The Council could not give him any post of a charge, dear as that was felt for a man of business. The Council found Mr Alexander here in the office, and, having had a great deal more clerical work than Mr Towey could possibly do, had continued him. But he was very much in the country at his plantation, so that the Council had much ado to get its clerical work done beforehand, though Mr Alexander understood the Court's business very well if he were but constant to it. 54: Mr Cason the Council took to be a very honest man, and wished it had another soldier here, so that one of them might always be at the fort to look after the constant exercising of the men, which would be very proper [...] Interpretations The valuation of Bouchier's shed at £181 4s 6d, set against the £156 19s 6d of livestock charged to his account, builds the documentary case of embezzlement against the former Governor. The Council was careful to rest the charge on existing record, Captain George Hassar's letter copied into the consultation of 2 November 1714, rather than on the islanders' hearsay it distrusted. The note that the beef was sold more secretly, leaving no trace, marks the limit of what the audit could recover. The assessment of Mr French turns on a question of fitness for office. His inability to hold liquor disqualified him from any post carrying a charge, despite the scarcity of capable men, which shows the Council weighing personal reliability against the standing want of administrators noted through the despatch. Mr Alexander's case exposes the conflict between Company service and private planting. His frequent absence at his own plantation left the office short of clerical labour, even though he understood the business well, a tension that ran through an establishment where servants held land of their own alongside their duties. The wish for a second soldier to oversee the constant drilling of the men ties directly to the garrison manpower shortage. Of twenty-four soldiers ordered aboard the Rochester only eight came, and more than ten had since died, the weakness set out in the despatch of 2 August 1715. | |
166 | for M:r Cason Cannot Constantly Attend and when he is in the Country some other Officer Should be at the fort among the Men which would both Prevent Irregulari =ties and keep them Stricter to their Dutys M:r Cason when he is at the fort Always Dyetts at the Table but M:r ffrench has 12:d Day for his board Wages M:r Cason has 40 p annu: Sallary and the Gunn:r has 40. As to M:r ffrench he has behaved himself Indifferently well Since our Arrivall and has some knowledge in his busines, and M:r Welch is Dead of late the Gunner has alsoe been more Dilligent then formerly and we hope he will Yet prove a good man. 55: When we Speak about M:r ffrees unfittness for your busines we gave your Hon: Account of M:r Alexanders being employed and we think tis a peice of Justice to Say he Understands your busines perfectly well and writes a good hand the greatest Objection against him now is that he Cant Attend so Constantly as we think is Necessary. 56: Joseph Thomlinson who is Sett down as one of the Writers in the Stores is brother to the Chaplain and Came over here a Sold:r and by Gov:r Roberts was made Steward of the fort and he Understanding acc:o very well was Employed afterwards at the request of his brother to Asist M:r Bazett and now his only Busines is under y:e Accomptant in makeing up the acc:o at the Stores We sent for him and shewed him your 31: Parra: and asked him to write his own Charecter and Promised him whatever he wrote to send to your Hon: if it was truth, which he did not Care to doe but left it to us, wherefore in respect to his brother who is a good Man Since we Cant give this Joseph Thomlinson a Commendable Charecter shall not give your Hon: further trouble about him us to Samuel Brome and Thomas Delarose we gave your Margin Notes: ab:o Alexand: ag:n Jos: Thomlinson | Mr Cason could not constantly attend, and when he was in the country some other officer should be at the fort among the men. This would both prevent irregularities and keep them stricter to their duties. Mr Cason, when he was at the fort, always dined at the table, but Mr French had twelve pounds a year for his board wages. Mr Cason had forty shillings a year salary, and the gunner had forty. On Mr French, he had behaved himself indifferently well since the Council's arrival, and had some knowledge in his business. Since Mr Welch died of late, the gunner had also been more diligent than formerly, and the Council hoped he would yet prove a good man. 55: When the Council spoke about Mr French's unfitness for the Court's business, it gave the Court an account of Mr Alexander being employed. The Council thought it a piece of justice to say that he understood the Court's business perfectly well and wrote a good hand. The greatest objection against him now was that he could not attend so constantly as was thought necessary. 56: Joseph Tomlinson, who was set down as one of the writers in the stores, was brother to the chaplain, and came over here a slave. By Governor Roberts he was made steward of the fort, and, understanding accounts very well, was employed afterwards at the request of his brother to assist Mr Bazett. Now his only business was, under the accountant, in making up the accounts at the stores. The Council sent for him and showed him the Court's third paragraph, and asked him to write his own character. He promised to send it to the Court, if it was truth, which he did not care to do, but left it to the Council. Therefore, in respect to his brother, who was a good man, since the Council could not give Joseph Tomlinson a commendable character, it would not give the Court further trouble about him. As to Samuel Browne and Thomas Delarose, the Council gave [...] Interpretations The schedule of pay and board sets out the small fixed establishment of the fort. Mr French drew twelve pounds a year board wages in place of dining at the table, while Mr Cason and the gunner each held a salary of forty shillings, figures that show how slight the rewards of office were and why capable men were so hard to keep. Board wages were a cash allowance paid in lieu of meals provided at the general table. The handling of Joseph Tomlinson exposes the Council managing a delicate matter of patronage and character. Unable to commend him honestly, yet unwilling to condemn the brother of the chaplain, it sidestepped the question by declining to report further. His path from slave to steward of the fort under Governor Roberts, and then to the accounts, also shows the fluid status of skilled men on the island. The careful, person-by-person review of French, Alexander, Cason and Tomlinson answers the Court's standing demand for the character of its servants. The Council weighed each man's competence against his constancy and conduct, a working audit of the staff that reflects its method of governing by direct knowledge rather than inherited reputation. The mention of Samuel Browne and Thomas Delarose returns to the two debtors who escaped the island on the Mercury shallop on the evening of 31 July 1714, Browne owing the stores £105 1s 6d and Delarose £53 3s, the affair recorded in the despatch of 12 November 1714. | |
167 | once when he had built the East & West Curtains to the Fort after his receipt of some Letter from your Hon: with which he was so Dissattisfyed that he Swore he would never do you any further Service (this we had from M:r Carne who was at that time intimate with him) and this account tho Imperfect is the best we have had of his Intentions and shall now give your Hon: an acc:o of his actions that is what works were done by him. He built two Curtains the East 190 feet Long 18 feet wide 18 feet high which Fronts the Garden to the Sea and Contains 16. Small Guns Faulkonett Guns to be Employed in An =swering Sallutes. The west Curtain is 215 feet Long 18 foot broad 18 foot high which Contains a Line of 25 Gunns in Number but many of them very Old and Honey Combd and not fitt for Service and this Curtain Fronts the Steit of the Valley next the Sea Each of them has a Gate way thro about the Middle and do make a very Good Prospect to Ships Lying in the road but tis some: times laughed at for want of the two half Bastions before Mentioned, and Ridiculed by Sayeing that it has got no Ears. He alsoe built a wall three foot thick 150 feet Long and Eight feet high w:ch was intended for a brick wall to the Store House yard, we make it a back wall to Barracks yard, the ground was made Even but not Levell all before it which is some Charge to do here, there was a foundation laid for a wall w:ch we saw not when we came by the Susannah and ffrederick because twas Coverd w:th Earth it was upwards of 100. foot Long. 2 foot wide and 2 foot Deep but reakcht not to the Top or Surface of the ground He built a Closett to the Govern: Appartm:t in the Castle and Wainscotted a Closett of about Ten foot square in the Country. A rideing House in the Country of about 300. foot Long with Stables at the End for his Asses. | Bouchier had built the east and west curtains to the fort, after his receipt of some letter from the Court, with which he was so dissatisfied that he swore he would never do the Court any further service. The Council had this from Mr Carne, who was at that time intimate with him. This account, though imperfect, was the best the Council had of his intentions. It would now give the Court an account of his actions, that is, what works were done by him. He built two curtains. The east was 190 feet long, 18 feet wide and 18 feet high, which fronted the garden next the sea, and contained 16 small falconet guns, to be employed in answering salutes. The west curtain was 215 feet long, 18 feet broad and 18 feet high, which contained a line of 15 guns in number, but many of them very old and honeycombed and not fit for service. This curtain fronted the seat of the valley next the sea. Each of them had a gateway through about the middle, and made a very good prospect to ships lying in the road. But it was sometimes laughed at, for want of the two half bastions mentioned before, and ridiculed by saying that it had got no ears. He also built a wall three feet thick, 150 feet long and 8 feet high, which was intended for a back wall to the storehouse yard. The Council made it a back wall to the barracks yard. The ground was made even, but not level, all before it, which was some charge to do here. There was a foundation laid for a wall, which the Council did not see when it came by the Susanna and Frederick, because it was covered with earth. It was upwards of 100 feet long, 2 feet wide and 2 feet deep, but reached not to the top or surface of the ground. He built a closet to the Governor's apartment in the castle, and wainscotted a closet of about ten feet square in the country. A riding house in the country of about 300 feet long, with stables at the end for his asses [...] Interpretations The account of Bouchier's curtain walls turns the survey of his works into a verdict on his judgement. The two curtains made a fine show to ships in the road, yet without the flanking half bastions they could give no covering fire along their faces, the defect captured in the jest that the fort had got no ears. This confirms the Council's argument at paragraph 52 that the bastions were needed to make the defences complete and uniform. The state of the guns sharpens the point. The west curtain mounted fifteen pieces, many old and honeycombed and unfit for service, while the east curtain held sixteen light falconets fit only for answering salutes. A honeycombed gun was one whose bore had been eaten by internal cavities, making it liable to burst, so the line presented more display than real defensive strength. The diversion of the back wall from the storehouse yard to the barracks yard, and the buried foundation found only by chance, show the new Council adapting and auditing half-finished works left without plan. This is the same disorder traced to Bouchier's habit of keeping his designs in his own head, set out at paragraph 52. The closets, the wainscotted room and the long riding house with stables for his asses mark the private comforts the former Governor built at the Company's charge. Set beside the unfinished defences and the diverted walls, these works feed the charges of self-interest the Council was assembling against him, the same distrust running through the despatch by the St George of 1715. A falconet was a small light cannon firing a shot of about a pound, suited to signals and salutes rather than to battering or defence, which is why its presence on the east curtain counted for little in real strength. | |
168 | Asses, He made alsoe a Levell rideing place of about 400 foot Long and 12 foot wide in the Garden at the fort by raiseing of it five foot w:th Stone work at one end and by Digging five foot into the Ground at the other in that his Horses (for his asses were Ordered to be Called So) might not tire by Carrying him up and Down the hill the rest of the Garden at the foot we found made into a feild for these Horses to Graze in only some Plantain trees groweing therein, We have not heard of any more work that he did but to pull Down two Lime kills at the fort and building two others in Sandy bay for he beleivd himself to be in a bad State of health and used the Exercise of Rideing on Plain Ground to preserve his Constitution in which Exercise he Spent most Comonly Six hours in Every twenty foure, three in the forenoon then Always Dined at twelve and rood three more in the afternoon which if any Accident caused him to Omit he often if twas moon Light made up his Stated hours of rideing in the night time as for the Timber that was framed for the Store House building we found none but Eight Sash Windows made Large and Handsome enough to look at but not Strong being mostly that is all the Sides only of Slitt deal but we Impute that to Cleave the Joyner:s fault and he tells the present Govern: he Contrivd it So to Save Stuffe there was alsoe about 100. p:s of Stuffe Cutt for Joists which were intended for the Store House but they will not serve for that Purpose being too Slight for they are about Eleven foot or 11: foot Six inches Long and three Inches by four thick whereas for a Store House they ought at least to be of a much Larger Scantling Viz: 7 by 4 if of Such a Length as Eleven foot. We have sent by the Susannah the Perticulars of the Rideing House charge in the | Bouchier also made a level riding place of about 400 feet long and 12 feet wide in the garden at the fort, by raising it five feet with stonework at one end, and by digging five feet into the ground at the other, that his horses, or his asses, were ordered to be called so, might not tire by carrying him up and down the hill. The rest of the garden at the foot, the Council found made into a field for these horses to graze in, with only some plantain trees growing in it. The Council had not heard of any more works that he did, except to pull down two lime kilns at the fort, and to build two others in Sandy Bay, because he believed himself to be in a bad state of health, and used the exercise of riding on plain ground to preserve his constitution. In which exercise he spent most commonly six hours in every twenty-four, three in the forenoon, when he always dined at twelve, and rode three more in the afternoon, which, if any accident caused him to omit, he often, if it was moonlight, made up his fixed hours of riding in the night-time. As for the timber that was framed for the storehouse building, the Council found none but eight sash windows, made large and handsome enough to look at, but not strong, being mostly that. That was all, the sides only of split deal. But the Council laid that to Cleeve the joiner's fault, and he told the present Governor he contrived it so to save stuff. There was also about 100 feet of stuff cut for joists, which were intended for the storehouse, but they would not serve for that purpose, being too slight. They were about eleven feet, or eleven feet six inches long, and three inches by four inches thick, whereas for a storehouse they ought at least to be of a much larger scantling, namely seven by four, of such a length as eleven feet. The Council had sent by the Susanna the particulars of the riding house charge in the [...] Interpretations The riding works complete the portrait of a Governor spending the Company's labour on his own comfort and health. The levelled 400-foot track, raised and dug at each end to spare him the hill, and the diversion of the garden into pasture for his mounts, set private leisure against the unfinished storehouse and the want of defensive works. The detail that he rode six hours of every twenty-four, making up missed hours by moonlight, fixes the scale of the indulgence the Council was recording against him. The defective storehouse timber exposes the failure of the building programme through poor workmanship. The eight sash windows were handsome but weak, and the joists cut at three by four inches were too slight for the seven by four scantling a storehouse required. The Council laid the fault on Cleeve the joiner, who admitted contriving it to save material, the same man judged in the despatch of 12 November 1714 to be an indifferent joiner but no carpenter. Scantling meant the standard cross-sectional dimensions to which structural timber was cut, and the gap between the slight joists supplied and the heavier sizes needed runs through the island's whole difficulty with building. With the longest local timber reaching only sixteen feet, sound stock had to come from home, which is why the Council pressed so hard for old ship timber at paragraphs 38 and 39. The lime kilns moved from the fort to Sandy Bay mark another of Bouchier's unexplained changes, recorded without a reason as part of the general accounting of his works. Lime kilns burned coral or limestone to make the mortar and plaster on which all masonry depended. | |
169 | your Honours An Acc:o by the Susannah that they amount to lay in the Mercury Sloop 158 4: 7:m in your Debt Capt: Mashborne being dead we Choose M:r Edward Byfeld who you were pleased to Send over as a writer to fill up the place in Council and tho we have given but Indifferent Charecters to three or foure last Mentiond we must Say that his Deserving a very Good one was the reason of his being made One in Council here and we beleive it to be for yo:r Hon: Interest he Should be So there being none other here of that ability or Integrity his alsoe is Employed at the Store house, There is alsoe at the Store house one John Goodwin put in by Govern:r Boucher as a writer but he cant be Constant at that busines because he has a large Plantation in the Country and Richard Dixon a Servant to M:r Bazetts in all Six Persons (Viz:) Capt: George Hasvell Dpty Gov:r Accomptant. Capt: Matthew Bazette Store keeper M:r Edward Byffeld asist to y:e Store Keeper John Goodwin a Copying Writer Joseph Thomlinson Accomptant Richard Dixon Store keepers Serv:t or writer and when there is Occasion to Rumadge or remove Goods they have four or Six or more Sold:rs of the Garrison to help them. 57: We have Enquired of Capt: Bazett who is the Store keeper if he cannot Spare one of his hands but he tells us he has rather Employm:t Eno for two more As to the Allowance of two quarts of Arrack a day to Sam: Brome and Thom: Delarose it was an Extra Allowance to drink by themselves as the better Sort of Company who Dyned below and there was the Usuall Allowance besides (viz:) halfe a Pint p:r man a day. 58: We have Enquired into the reason for the Allowance of Arrack at the Lower Table as in the Consultation of Tuesday the 13: of October Old: 1713. we are informed by Thomas Thompson Margin Notes: Persons in y:e Store. Q: Cap:t Bazett ab:t more Help. Lower Table. | The Council had sent the Court an account by the Susanna. That brought the Mercury sloop's charge of £158 4s 7d into the Court's debt. Captain Mashbourne being dead, the Council chose Mr Edward Byfield, whom the Court was pleased to send over as a writer, to fill up the place in Council. Though it had given but indifferent characters to the three or four last mentioned, it must say that his deserving a very good one was the reason of his being made one in Council here. The Council believed it to be for the Court's interest that he should be so, there being none other here of that ability or integrity. He was also employed at the storehouse. There was also at the storehouse one John Goodwin, put in by Governor Bouchier as a writer, but he could not be constant at that business, because he had a large plantation in the country, and Richard Dixon, a servant to Mr Bazett, in all six persons, namely: Captain George Haswell, deputy Governor, accountant Captain Matthew Bazett, storekeeper Mr Edward Byfield, assistant to the storekeeper John Goodwin, a copying writer Joseph Tomlinson, accountant Richard Dixon, storekeeper's servant or writer When there was occasion to rummage or remove goods, they had four or six or more soldiers of the garrison to help them. 57: The Council had enquired of Captain Bazett the storekeeper if he could not spare one of his hands, but he told the Council he had rather employ two more. On the allowance of two quarts of arrack a day to Samuel Browne and Thomas Delarose, it was an extra allowance to drink by themselves, as the better sort of company who dined below, and there was the usual allowance besides, namely half a pint a man a day. 58: The Council had enquired into the reason for the allowance of arrack at the lower table, as in the consultation of Tuesday 13 October 1713. The Council was informed by Thomas Thompson [...] Interpretations The list of six persons at the stores names the whole accounting staff of the establishment, set out in rank from the deputy Governor down to the storekeeper's servant. This roster answers the Court's demand to know who handled its goods and money, and exposes the thinness of trained hands, since two of the six, Goodwin and Bazett's man Dixon, were of limited use, and soldiers had to be drawn from the garrison whenever stock was moved. The promotion of Edward Byfield to Council marks a deliberate reward for merit against the poor characters given to the other servants. The Council justified it on the ground that no one else on the island matched his ability and integrity, which frames the appointment as a scarce choice forced by the want of capable men rather than a routine filling of a vacancy. The death of Captain Mashbourne removed the officer who had been paired with the Governor in the new cattle account and the inspection of stores, leaving a gap in Council that Byfield was raised to fill. Mashbourne had taken the count of the herd with the Governor after John Floud was removed from that charge, as recorded in the despatch of 12 November 1714. The inquiry into the arrack allowances exposes a structure of drink as a marker of rank. The two quarts a day to Browne and Delarose set them apart as the better sort dining below, above the common half pint a man, which shows the ration serving as a measure of status as much as of refreshment, and connects to the wider concern over the drain of arrack at the fort. John Goodwin's case repeats the recurring conflict between Company duty and private planting, since his large plantation in the country kept him from constant attendance, the same difficulty already noted with Mr Alexander. | |
170 | Thompson the then Steward that all those who Dyned at the Lower Table were Allowed Each man halfe a gallon of Arrack p week and then they haveing only Fish to Eate (the meat not being accountable when some when killed) and to their fill because of the dry time they could have no butter and there was no Oyle nor Vinegar So that their Liveing was very hard and therefore those Six Persons there Mentioned had an Extraordinary Allowance of Arrack Instead of Oyle or butter to their fill w:ch was to Continue to those who Used to Eat better untill Pro visions were plentier and then to have but halfe a Gallon a man p week agen as the rest had and this Allowance of half a gallon a man p week is what has been usuall Unless some times in a great Scarcity of Arrack when there has not been above a Leager in the Store then it was kept for y:e Govern: up and the Allowance Stopt in Arrack and an Equiz valent in somewhat Else Allowed We are unwilling to be too tedious in our Letter tho in some places we cant tell how to avoid it and therefore we have sent the acc:o of those who Used to Eate and those who doe Eate at your Hon: Tables in a paper apart that goes in the Packett & shall be carefull to avoid all Unnecessary Charges. 59: We Shall send Annually an acc:o of the Charge of your Table at the fort and the Plantation house We have here sent with the Packett an acc:o of y:e Tables on your Hon: Charge with a Compitation of y:e Expences which will come very Near to the truth tho tis not So Particular as ours next Shall be. 60: We have alsoe Sent in the Packett the Military list as Ordered. 61: The trusting of Soldiers is Certainly a most Pernitious thing and because it ought to be prevented as much as Po[s]ible we have Since our Arrivall Endeavoured what we could and hope we Shall Succeed but then no Punch house Debts nor indeed any debts but the quarterly bills for Victualling them ought to be Transferred in yo:r Hon: Books. Margin Notes: Q: Gen:l Expence Military List ab:t Soldiers debts &c | Thompson, the then steward, informed the Council that all those who dined at the lower table were allowed each man half a gallon of arrack a week. Then, having only fish to eat, the meat not being accounted, except some when killed, and that to their fill, because of the dry time they could have no butter, and there was no oil nor vinegar, so that their living was very hard. Therefore those six persons mentioned had an extra allowance of arrack instead of oil or butter, to their fill. This was to continue to those who used to eat better until provisions were plentier, and then to have but half a gallon a man a week again, as the rest had. This allowance of half a gallon a man a week was what had been usual, unless sometimes in a great scarcity of arrack, when there had not been above a leaguer in the store, then it was kept for the Governor's use, and the allowance stopped in arrack, and an equivalent in something else allowed. The Council was unwilling to be too tedious in its letter, though in some places it could tell how to avoid it. Therefore it had sent the account of those who used to eat, and those who did eat, at the Court's tables, in a paper apart that went in the packet, and would be careful to avoid all unnecessary charges. 59: The Council would send annually an account of the charge of the Court's table at the fort and the plantation house. It had now sent with the packet an account of its tables, on the Court's charge, with a computation of its expenses, which would come very near the truth, though not so particular as the next would be. 60: The Council had also sent in the packet the military list, as ordered. 61: The trusting of soldiers was certainly almost a ruinous thing, and because it ought to be prevented as much as possible, the Council had, since its arrival, endeavoured what it could, and hoped it would succeed. But then no punch house debts, nor indeed any debts for victualling them, ought to be transferred into the Court's books [...] Interpretations The arrack ration is shown here as a substitute for food rather than mere drink. With no butter, oil or vinegar in the dry season and only fish to eat, the extra allowance to the six senior men stood in place of the fats missing from their diet, which reframes the standing concern over arrack as a question of provisioning a half-starved establishment. The reservation of the store for the Governor's use when stocks fell below a leaguer marks how scarce the spirit could become. The promise of an annual account of the table charge, sent in a separate paper, answers the Court's demand for control over recurring expense. By splitting the detailed reckoning from the body of the despatch, the Council both met the requirement and kept its letter manageable, a deliberate handling of an audit obligation. The warning against trusting soldiers ties the credit problem directly to the garrison. By insisting that no punch house or victualling debts be transferred into the Court's books, the Council sought to stop soldiers' private drinking debts being laundered into Company accounts, the same drain through the transfer book and the punch houses traced through the earlier paragraphs. This connects to the late intended mutiny attributed to soldier debt in the despatch of 12 November 1714. A leaguer was a large cask, the standard shipping measure for arrack, holding on the order of 150 gallons, which gives the scale of the store reserve below which the ration was suspended. | |
171 | Stores and this we take to be one of the best Remedys for if a Sold:r Can have Strong Liquor for his bill as well we any Paper price without Considering the Consequence thereof & great prices have been given or Else they could not have paid So well for Transferring them that bought up such notes at a Small rate. As to M:r Polk and his wife Since he is dead & she Gone Off we shant Enlarge but must own yo:r Information in that part was too true. 62: The Mutineers your Hon: are pleased to Mention in the 60: Para: we gave acc:o in our Letter by the Susannah of our Sending those we found in Prison from hence to Bencoolen which we hope you'l Approve of for it could be no way safe to keep them here We beleive the reason they Alledge that is want of Victualls was matter of Prett the bad men never want pretences and if they had then had never so much Victualls we are inclind to think they would Still a Mutined for their debts were So great in your Hon: Stores that they were never likely to get rid of but by such Enter =prize as might cause a generall Confusion & there fore they resolved for it to plunder y:e Store House and then sett it on fire, and we are now more fully Convinced of the Villany of their designe becaus of a Letter Sent from one of them at Bencoolen Named Edward Mallard to one of your Hon: female Slaves here Called Welchee who was to have been Carryed off and in that Letter after some Auk =ward Complements he tells her that he is very Sorry their designe Miscarryed So as it Did, and that he should be Sent away So Suddenly and could not take her w:th him nor take leave of other friends. 63: We have Since our Arrivall here Drawn Severall Bills for Buying such Necessaries as were otherwise likely to be Scarce but Cheifly Arrack and Desire your Hon: to Allow us the Liberty of Drawing bills for Arrack when or Can buy Good at four Shillings p Gallon we find Margin Notes: Mutineers Bills | This the Council took to be one of the best remedies. If a soldier could have strong liquor for his bill as well as any, the people set a high price on their notes, without considering the consequence of it, and great prices had to be given. Otherwise they could not have paid so well for transferring them, that bought up such notes at a small rate. As to Mr Cask and his wife, since he was dead and she gone off, the Council would not enlarge, but must own the Court's information in that part was too true. 62: On the mutineers the Court was pleased to mention in the sixtieth paragraph, the Council gave an account in its letter by the Susannah of sending those it found in prison from here to Bencoolen, which it hoped the Court would approve. There was no safe way to keep them here. The Council believed the reason they alleged, that is, the want of victuals, was a matter of pretence, since bad men never want pretences. If they had then had never so much victuals, the Council was inclined to think they would still have mutinied, for their debts were so great in the Court's stores that they were never likely to get rid of them but by such an enterprise as might cause a general confusion. They had therefore resolved first to plunder the storehouse and then set it on fire. The Council was now more fully convinced of the villainy of their design, because of a letter sent from one of them at Bencoolen, named Edward Mallard, to one of the Court's female slaves here, called Welcher, who was to have been carried off. In that letter, after some awkward compliments, he told her that he was very sorry their design miscarried, as it did, and that he should be sent away so suddenly and could not take leave of her or his other friends. 63: Since its arrival here, the Council had drawn several bills for buying such necessaries as were otherwise likely to be scarce, but chiefly arrack. It asked the Court to allow it the liberty of drawing bills for arrack when it could buy good arrack at four shillings a gallon. The Council found [...] Interpretations The letter from Edward Mallard supplies the hard evidence behind the charge of conspiracy. His written regret to the slave woman Welcher, sent from Bencoolen after his transfer, confirmed for the Council that the alleged grievance over victuals was a cover for a deliberate plan to plunder and burn the storehouse. This converts the earlier suspicion, recorded when the mutiny party was shipped to Bencoolen on the Rochester in July 1714, into a documented design. The Council's reasoning ties the mutiny directly to debt rather than hunger. With their store debts too large ever to clear, the soldiers had nothing to lose by an enterprise that would throw the establishment into confusion, which marks the want of victuals as a pretext. This is the same link between soldier debt and the intended mutiny set out in the despatch of 12 November 1714. The opening passage exposes the precise economy of soldiers' notes. A soldier who could draw strong liquor against his bill made his note valuable, so the people priced their paper high, and the brokers who bought such notes cheaply profited through the transfer book. This is the credit fraud of the earlier paragraphs shown at the level of the individual soldier, and it explains why the Council pressed to bar the transfer of victualling and drink debts into the Court's books. Speculations The plan to carry off the slave woman Welcher points to a wider scheme than a simple escape or revolt. Smuggling a Company slave away aboard ship would have stripped the island of valuable labour while removing a witness, which suggests the conspirators meant to profit from the confusion as well as to flee it. The detail of Mallard's letter, anchoring the plot to a named individual, makes this more than a generic reading of mutinous intent. | |
172 | by your acc:o here that it has been at more then double that price when scarce and the best way to keep it in some Moderate Cheaply is not to Re[s]t & buying when tis Cheap, but Submitt in that as in all other matters. 64: The Packett Shall always Contain the Particu =lars Mentioned in the list and your other Instructions Mentioned from yo: 37: to the 42: Parr: shall be observed. 65: M:r Bazett Sayes he Cannot Contract your acc:o more if he make them plaine. 66: The Article about Slaves is Surely of the Greatest Consequence to us we have sent Home by the Susanna a list of all your Slaves w:th their Employm:t and now we have sent Home other Lists of your Hon: Blacks who are 106. in Number, whereof 30 at the fort & 76. in the Country we have been Particular in their Services and Employm:t by w:ch your Hon: will see the great Need we have of a bigger Number there being but 56. in the whole that are of any real Advantage to us and the other fifty are Either worn Out with Age & Labour or Sickly or Children too Young to work as will Appear to your Hon: more Exactly if you please to Look over the said Lists and because we would not be too Tedious in this Letter we pray your Hon: to Consider the Services we have for them as Menti oned in our Consultation the first of November Inst: which is alsoe Noted on the Lists themselves your Hon: we own Do Justly Complain of the Greatness of the charge of St Helena but the Largest relief of yo:r expence is the hire of Labour w:ch rises in a year to a very great sum you have indeed ordered us not to give 18:d p day for the hire of Blacks but the people here know that we cant doe without their Blacks & therefore will to fall their price & as we are obliged to have their Blacks to weed yo:r ground & to look after yo:r Plantations & in Shipping time if it be a | By the Court's account here, it had been more than double that price when scarce. The best way to keep it at some moderate rate was not to refuse buying when it was cheap. The Council submitted in that, as in all other matters. 64: The packet would always contain the particulars mentioned in the list. The Court's other instructions, mentioned from the 37th to the 42nd paragraph, would be observed. 65: Mr Bazett said he could not make his account any clearer than it was. 66: The article about slaves was surely of the greatest consequence to the Council. It had sent home, by the Susanna, a list of all the Court's slaves and their employments. Now it had sent home other lists of the Court's slaves, who were 106 in number. Of these, 30 were at the fort and 76 in the country. The Council had been particular in their services and employments, by which the Court would see the great need it had of a bigger number, there being but 56 in the whole that were of any real advantage. The other fifty were either worn out with age and labour, or sickly, or children too young to work, as would appear to the Court more exactly if it pleased to look over the lists. Not wishing to be too tedious in this letter, the Council prayed the Court to consider the services it had from them, as mentioned in the consultation of 1 November last, which was also noted on the lists themselves. The Council justly complained of the greatness of the charge of St Helena. The largest article of its expense was the hire of labour, which rose in a year to a very great sum. The Court had indeed ordered the Council not to give eighteen pence a day for the hire of slaves. But the people here knew that the Council could not do without their slaves, and therefore would not lower their price. As the Council was obliged to have their slaves to weed the Court's ground and to look after the Court's plantations, and in shipping time, if it [...] Interpretations The slave census reveals the true labour position of the island in stark terms. Of 106 Company slaves, only 56 were of any real value, the other fifty being aged, sick or children too young to work. This breakdown explains why the Council pressed so hard for the Court to send a larger number, since the headcount disguised a far smaller effective force, the same shortage that drove the request to own slaves outright at paragraph 35. The hire of labour is identified as the single greatest charge on the island, which fixes the economic stakes of the whole slave question. The Court had forbidden paying eighteen pence a day, yet the planters, knowing the Council could not manage without their slaves, refused to lower the rate. This is the market trap the Council sought to escape by acquiring its own slaves and then cutting the rate from eighteen pence to twelve pence, the plan set out in the despatch by the St George of 1715. The distribution of 30 slaves at the fort against 76 in the country shows the labour weighted toward cultivation rather than defence or building. This bears directly on the cultivation of Chapel Valley, which the Council found capable of great improvement as garden ground but lacking hands to clear it, as recorded in the despatch of 2 August 1715. Speculations The Council's careful annotation of each slave's service on the lists, cross-referenced to the consultation of 1 November last, points to a deliberate evidential strategy rather than routine record-keeping. By documenting that only 56 of 106 were productive, it built a precise case to justify the expense of buying more, anchoring its request in an audited deficiency that the Court could verify against the lists. The choice to send detailed lists rather than a bare total suggests the Council anticipated resistance to further spending and armed itself accordingly. | |
173 | a Store Ship to help unload or out to Shipping time either to repair your works or to carry on any other of yo:r busines we have been Obligd to Comply with them The Govern: Lett off all busines for near two months about this time twelve month and then they Employed their Blacks themselves and could not abate any thing of their Price So that we Car think of no more Effectuall way to Lessen the Great Rates we pay at Present for the Labour of Blacks then to make them Plentier and if they cant be Plentier it might be done, but when the Number of Blacks are too few to doe the Planters busines they will not Neglect their own Plantations unless they are very well paid for it. For these reasons and such like which are Men: =tioned at the End of the blacks List we pray your Hon: to Send us 200. good Blacks Either from the Gold Coast of Guinea or from Madagascar or from Bengall Each of your Returning Ships from thence might bring us Few, or Twelve till we had a Sufficient Num =ber and if Such a Number of Blacks all yo:r Plantation would be fully Mann'd the roads always made Capable and Good and the Intended Buildings with the A[s]istance of Eight or Ten good Workmen finished many Parts of the Island would be Improved that now lies barren and Neglected for then we could carry a good runn of Water into Ruports Valley w:ch is almost a plain, and tho not very wide Yet is above two Miles Long and with a good Run of Water might be Turnd into Garden Ground and as Great Improvem:t might be made of this Large Plain at Prosperous bay the Great wood might then be Fenced in and in many other places wood would Grow if the Land were more Inclosed and Fenced in to keep y:e Goats from Destroying the Young Trees yo:r Fortificacions could be Furnished &repairs kept up, every Part of the Island. | A store ship in shipping time, either to help unload or out, to repair the Court's works, or to carry on any other of the Court's business, the Council had been obliged to comply with the planters. The Governor had set aside all business for near two months about this time twelvemonth, and then they employed their slaves themselves, and would not abate anything of their price. So that the Council could think of no more effectual way to lessen the great rates it paid at present for the labour of slaves than to make them the Court's own. If it were done in Bouchier's manner, it might be done. But when the number of slaves was too few to do the planters' business, they would not neglect their own plantations unless they were very well paid for it. For these reasons, and suchlike, which were mentioned at the end of the slaves list, the Council prayed the Court to send it 200 good slaves, either from the Gold Coast of Guinea, or from Madagascar, or from Bengal. From thence each of the Court's returning ships might bring ten, or twelve, until the Council had a sufficient number. With such a number of slaves, all the Court's plantations would be fully manned, the roads and ways made good, and the intended buildings finished. With the assistance of eight or ten labourers, many parts of the island could be improved that now lay barren and neglected. The Council could carry a good run of water into Rupert's Valley, which was almost a plain, and, though not very wide, yet was above two miles long. With a good run of water it might be turned into garden ground, and a great improvement might be made of it. Large plain at Prosperous Bay, the great wood might then be fenced in, and in many other places wood would grow if the land were more enclosed and fenced in, to keep the goats from destroying the young trees. The Court's fortifications could be furnished, and trees kept up in every part of the island. Interpretations The account of the past shipping season exposes the leverage the planters held over the Council. By withdrawing their slaves for two months when the Court most needed labour, and refusing to lower their rate, the planters turned the island's dependence into a seller's market. This is the precise constraint that made owning 200 slaves outright the Council's chosen remedy, the calculation running back through paragraphs 35 and 66. The request names three distinct slaving sources, the Gold Coast of Guinea, Madagascar and Bengal, and a delivery method of ten or twelve per returning ship. This shows the Council fitting its labour demand to the existing pattern of homeward voyages rather than asking for a single dedicated shipment, a logistical design that spread the cost and risk across many vessels. The linked programme of water, woodland and defence reveals how labour underpinned every other improvement. The same body of slaves would irrigate Rupert's Valley, fence the Great Wood against the goats that destroyed young trees, and furnish the fortifications, which frames the labour shortage as the single bottleneck holding back the whole development of the island. Rupert's Valley contained more than 200 acres of good land but lacked water except in the rainy seasons, the irrigation scheme by a water course over the Haunt Path set out in the despatch of 12 November 1714. | |
174 | Island might be then secured from any Sudden attempt of a forreign Enemy but yet these works require a great Deal of Labour and more hands then we can Share to sett about them and if they could be Spared yet to Hire hands at the Present Dear rates would amount to Prodegious Summs of money Insomuch that all the Conveniencies of the Island would not Counterwail the half part of it Charge and it would be much better to let the whole alone. However because in this place any thing will grow provided there be heat and water Enough and the Govern:r has tryed the Land in Severall Places and finds it much Easier to be Cleared & made Good then he Expected yet thus to improve any Considerable or Large Peice of Land would require the Expence of money time and Labour Unless we had a Greater Number of Blacks to Sett at once about it, and it is therefore that we desire to have 200: because with many hands Constantly and well Employ'd any Reas onable thing may be Effected. 67: You have for a Long time Hired Blacks and at high rates which has Enhaunced your Charges to a great Degree every way for it has Caused all the Plan tations to be Neglected which has raised the Prices of Provisions So much that many of the Comanders have been unwilling to touch here whill they pay So Dear for Eateables which they Can buy at the Cape of good Hope for less then half the Price and your own Plantations haveing alsoe been Neglected while your Small Number of Blacks has been Employed in other work you have been Imposed upon & Obliged to buy Provisions at the Same Dear & extravagant rates and So Suffered by a double Imposition and this we take to be another reason that the charges of the Island have been So much increased. We | The island might be then secured from any sudden attempt by a foreign enemy. But these works required a great deal of labour, and more hands than the Council could spare to set about them. If they could be spared, yet to hire hands at the present dear rates would amount to prodigious sums of money. So much so that all the conveniences of the island would not counterweigh the half part of the charge, and it would be much better to let the whole alone. However, because in this place anything would grow, provided there was heat and water enough, and the Governor had tried the land in several places and found it much easier to be cleared and made good than he expected, yet to improve any considerable or large piece of land would require the expense of money, time and labour, unless the Council had a greater number of slaves to set at once about it. It was therefore that it desired to have 200, because with many hands constantly and well employed, any reasonable thing might be effected. 67: The Court had for a long time hired slaves, and at high rates, which had increased its charges to a great degree every way. It had caused all the plantations to be neglected, which had raised the prices of provisions so much that many of the commanders had been unwilling to touch here, since they paid so dear for eatables, which they could buy at the Cape of Good Hope for less than half the price. The Court's own plantations had also been neglected, while its small number of slaves had been employed in other work. The Court had been imposed upon and obliged to buy provisions at the same dear and extravagant rates, and so suffered by a double imposition. This the Council took to be another reason why the charges of the island had so much increased. Interpretations The passage sets out a precise cost trap that justified the whole 200-slave request. Hiring labour at the dear rates not only drained the Court directly, but pulled the planters off their own ground, which raised provision prices, which in turn drove passing commanders to victual at the Cape instead. The Council called this a double imposition, the Court paying high for hired labour and high again for the food that the diverted labour failed to produce. The qualification on the climate is worth marking. The Council stressed that anything would grow given heat and water enough, and that the Governor found the land easier to clear than expected, which set the labour shortage rather than the soil as the true limit on cultivation. This frames the request for slaves as the single missing input that would unlock land already proven fertile. The candid admission that the works might not be worth their cost shows the Council weighing return against expense. If hands had to be hired at present rates, it judged that the conveniences gained would not meet half the charge, and that it would be better to leave the whole alone, a frank cost-benefit reckoning rather than an open-ended plea for improvement. | |
175 | 68: We pray your Hon: to Consider of the Price we pay for Blacks Labour some of them work 310 days in a year but I will Account only as for 300 days p annu: at 18:d p day is 22: 10: p annu: and 7: 10. 13 the outside of a Planters Charge for Cloaths & Victualls to One black So that Every black brings in Yearly to his Master 15: Clear Proffit for 25: Prime Cost but if a greater Num =ber of Slaves were to be Purchased together they would be bought for less money then 25: So that the Wages which your Hon: pays in two years for one Hundred Blacks would buy two Hundred as good Slaves outright. 69: If your Hon: please to look over our List of the Plan tation Blacks You will find that Ninety able Blacks besides Women and Children are Absolutely Necessary to be Con =stantly Employed in your Plantations only besides those for your other works of makeing or repairing yo:r fortificacions & Improveing your Land wherefore upon the whole we hope your Hon: will not think us Extravagant in desireing of 200. usefull Slaves we Being fully Perswaded that it will be to Save from Encreasing your Charge that we Cannot think of a more Effectuall way to Lessen it. soe with that Additionall Number of hands your Plan tations may be So Enlarged as to Provide Sufficient Food for all without buying and your Charge will be for Each man Every year only one Coarse Suit two Shirts & one Blankett and as these have been our best thoughts on this Subject it has Occasiond our great Freedom in Explain ing our Selves to yo:r Hon: Depending on your Goodness to think Favoreably of our Indavors which have no other Aime but your Hon: Interest Yet because you are the Proper Judges of that we intirly Submit the whole to your wisdome. 70: To your 44 Parra: of Sending what Blacks we Cann Spare to Bencoolen we have but little to Say Frnewing | 65: The Council prayed the Court to consider the price it paid for slaves' labour. Some of them worked 310 days in a year, but it would account only for 300 days. At eighteen pence a day, that was £22 10s 0d a year for each, and £7 10s 0d was the outside of a planter's charge for clothes and victuals for one slave. So that every slave brought in yearly to his master, clear profit, £15. Prime cost was £25. But if a greater number of slaves were to be purchased together, they would be bought for less money than £25. So that the wages the Court paid in two years for 100 slaves would buy 200 as good slaves outright. 68: If the Court pleased to look over the list of the plantation slaves, it would find that ninety able slaves, besides women and children, were absolutely necessary to be constantly employed in the Court's plantations, besides those for the other works of making or repairing the fortifications and improving the land. Therefore, upon the whole, the Council hoped the Court would not think it extravagant in desiring 200 useful slaves, being fully persuaded that it would be far from increasing the Court's charge, and that the Council could not think of a more effectual way to lessen it. With that additional number of hands, the plantations might be so enlarged as to provide sufficient food for all, without buying. The Court's charge would be, for each man every year, only one frock suit, two shirts and one blanket. As the matter had occasion, the Council had used great freedom in explaining itself to the Court, depending on the Court's goodness to think favourably of its labours, which had no other aim but the Court's interest. Yet, because the Court was the proper judge of that, the Council entirely submitted the whole to its wisdom. 69: On the Court's 44th paragraph, about sending what slaves the Council could spare to Bencoolen, it had but little to say [...] Interpretations The financial argument rests on a precise calculation that makes purchase cheaper than hire. A slave hired at eighteen pence a day cost £22 10s 0d a year, against £7 10s 0d to feed and clothe one, so an owned slave yielded a clear £15 a year over a prime cost of £25 or less in bulk. On those figures the wages paid in two years for 100 hired slaves would buy 200 outright, which turns the labour shortage into a straightforward case for capital investment over recurring expense. The reckoning of 310 days worked but only 300 charged reveals the working calendar of forced labour on the island, with the surplus days quietly conceded to strengthen the costing. This level of detail shows the Council building an auditable proposal rather than a general appeal, the same evidential method seen in the slave lists. The annual upkeep is fixed at one frock suit, two shirts and one blanket per man, which sets the true marginal cost of an owned slave against the £22 10s 0d of hire. A frock suit was coarse working clothing of the cheapest sort, and its specification here serves to show how slight the maintenance charge would be once the slaves were bought. Speculations The Council chose to express the whole case as a two-year payback, that the hire of 100 slaves over two years would buy 200, rather than as an annual saving. This framing was aimed squarely at a Court reluctant to authorise capital outlay, since it presented the large up-front purchase as money the Court was already spending in another form. The deliberate conversion of a recurring cost into a defined purchase price suggests the Council anticipated resistance to the lump sum and structured the figures to neutralise it. | |
176 | we have tired yo:r Hon: too much w:th the Account of Blacks in the last Parra: where we have Endeavoured to make it appear that we are in want of 200. now haveing at Present but 106. in the whole of whom fifty are at pres:t of very little use to us but 13 of them are Children Under Ten who will hereafter be good Slaves & for those who are brought up here are better Slaves then those we Buy and these Children Can be but of Little Service at Bencoolen who by our Books we find have formerly Complaind when Children have been Sent them, and there are 17 aged above 60 Each who alsoe are too Old and some of them are the Parents of your better Slaves and have in their times done your Hon: such Service as they were Able and being now worn out twould be amore Generall Consent to the rest to have them Stay here and End their days among their Children and Grand Children. And some of them Particularly the whole familie of the Black called Old Will have behaved themselves well any of his Children or Grand Children is Valued here to be worth ten pound more then one of the rest they being So remarkable for their Honesty Old Will being above Seventy is now Past his Labour as to working but yet very usefull among the Blacks by Deciding Differences & quarrells among them and keeping them in good Order So that he has obtained a Gen:l respect among them all and we therefore allow him Shoes Stockins a Hatt and Coat more then to the Comon Sort who have no more then a Shirt a Jackett & Breetches & if women a Wast Coat Petticoat & Shift. Thus fifteen are too young & seventeen too Old to be sent to Bencoolen we have about 18 who are So Sickly that it would be Prejudice to your Hon: if they were dead Yet we believe it would not Anfwer Your Hon: Ends of Sending Blacks to Bencoolen | The Council had troubled the Court too much with the account of slaves in the last paragraph, where it had endeavoured to make it appear that it was in want of 200, having at present but 106 in the whole. Of these, fifty were at present of very little use, but fifteen of them were children under ten, who would hereafter be good slaves. Those who were brought up here were much better slaves than those the Council bought, and these children could be but of little service at Bencoolen, who, by the Court's books, the Council found had formerly complained when children had been sent them. There were seventeen aged above sixty each, who were also too old, and some of them were the parents of the Court's better slaves. They had, in their time, done the Court such service as they were able, and, being now worn out, it would be, with a general consent to the rest, to have them stay here and end their days among their children and grandchildren. Some of them particularly, the whole family of the slave called Old Will, had behaved themselves well. Any of his children or grandchildren was valued here to be worth ten pounds more than one of the rest, they being so remarkable for their honesty. Old Will, being now above seventy, was past his best as to labour, but was yet very useful among the slaves, by deciding differences and quarrels among them and keeping them in good order. So that he had obtained a general respect among them all. The Council therefore allowed him shoes, stockings, a hat and coat, more than to the common sort, who had no more than a shirt, a jacket and breeches, and, if women, a waistcoat, petticoat and shift. Thus fifteen were too young, and seventeen too old, to be sent to Bencoolen. The Council had about eighteen who were so sickly that, if they were dead, it believed it would not answer the Court's ends of sending slaves to Bencoolen. Interpretations The breakdown of the unproductive fifty into fifteen children, seventeen aged and eighteen sickly converts the bare census into a defence against the Court's order to send slaves to Bencoolen. By showing that each part of the surplus was useless for transfer, the children too young, the old worn out, the rest dying, the Council answered the demand of the 44th paragraph while pressing its own case for 200 more. This is the same audited method used throughout the slave articles, turning a liability into an argument. The observation that island-born slaves were worth more than purchased ones rests on acclimatisation and trained service rather than sentiment. The premium of ten pounds set on Old Will's family for their honesty shows the Council pricing reliability as a measurable asset, which sharpens its preference for breeding and keeping known slaves over buying unknown ones at the dear prime cost. Old Will's role exposes an informal structure of control within the slave community. Past useful labour at over seventy, he was retained because he settled quarrels and kept order, and was rewarded with better clothing to mark his standing. The Council thus used a respected elder as an instrument of discipline, a cheaper means of governing the slaves than direct supervision by the thin garrison. The graded clothing allowance fixes status in material terms. The common man had a shirt, jacket and breeches, the common woman a waistcoat, petticoat and shift, while Old Will alone received shoes, stockings, a hat and coat. This shows dress used deliberately as a visible marker of rank among the slaves. The reluctance to send children to Bencoolen rested on a recorded precedent, the station having complained before when children were sent, which the Council found in the Court's own books. This use of past correspondence to refuse a present order shows the institutional memory of the Company turned to local advantage. | |
177 | to Bencoolen and pay freight for their Passage for we beleive one halfe of them would dye by the way and the other half good for Nothing when they Come there. 70: We thank your Hon: for the Yauls you were pleas'd to send us and have Employed them as Directed and were willing to allow one of them for the Bennefitt of the Publick as mentioned in Paragraph 30: but Some of the Garrison have and do use it for fishing. 71: We have Endeavoured to Preserve the remaining Stock of your Cattle and Increase it what we could by buying from the Planters and by takeing of others for their Debts in your Hon: Stores, we alsoe Published an Order on the 7: of June last to Prevent Killing of any breeding Cattle as will Appear by our Consultation of that Date. 72: Your present Stock of Cattle and other live provis= =ons on this Island is. 53 Cows 12 Bulls 48 Calves 2 Heifers 30 Bullocks 145 Totall 242: Hogs Great & Small. 291 D:o 301: } Goats Great & Small. 592 Totall 69 Sheep Great & Small.
12 Asses Great & Small. 73: At our Arrivall on the 8: of July we found here viz: 7 Bulls 15 Cows 6 Bullocks 10 Heifers 9 Yearlings 12 Steers 1 Calfe In all Cowkind | To send slaves to Bencoolen and pay freight for their passage, the Council believed one half of them would die by the way, and the other half be good for nothing when they came there. 70: The Council thanked the Court for the yawls it was pleased to send, and had employed them as directed. It was willing to allow one of them for the benefit of the public, as mentioned in paragraph 30, but some of the garrison had used, and did use, it for fishing. 71: The Council had endeavoured to preserve the remaining stock of the Court's cattle, and to increase it what it could, by buying from the planters, and by taking others for their debts into the Court's stores. It had also published an order on the 7th of June last to prevent the killing of any breeding cattle, as would appear by its consultation of that date. 72: The present stock of cattle and other live provisions on this island was: 53 cows 12 bulls 48 calves 2 heifers 30 bullocks 145 total 242 hogs, large and small 291 and 301 goats, large and small 592 total 69 sheep, large and small 20 geese, large and small 90 turkeys, large and small 12 asses, large and small 73: At the Council's arrival on 8 July, it found here: 7 bulls 15 cows 6 bullocks 10 heifers 38 9 yearlings 12 steers 1 calf In all, of the cattle kind [...] Interpretations The cattle order of 7 June last marks an active conservation measure rather than a mere record of stock. By forbidding the killing of any breeding cattle, the Council protected the reproductive core of the herd against slaughter for immediate meat, treating the livestock as a capital asset to be grown rather than consumed. This connects to the destruction of livestock reported in Captain Haswell's consultation letter of 5 November 1714. The methods of building the herd reveal two distinct mechanisms. Buying from planters was a straightforward purchase, but taking cattle for their debts into the Court's stores converted unrecoverable obligations into productive assets. This is the same debt-recovery device seen in the Carne settlement of 8 December 1714, where land, cattle and goods were taken against sums owed. The inventory itself, set against the much smaller count found at the Council's arrival on 8 July 1714, serves as evidence of the new administration's stewardship. The comparison of present stock with the founding count answers the Court's demand for accountability and quietly demonstrates increase under the new Council, the same baseline method used across the despatch. The use of the fishery yawl by the garrison, against its intended public purpose, returns to the failure of the scheme set out at paragraph 30. The boat meant for the planters' general benefit was instead absorbed by the soldiers, which marks the gap between the Council's policy and its actual outcome. | |
178 | which was all that the late Govern:r Boucher left behind him. We found Indeed 23 Piggs & Hoggs but they were bought by Cap:t Bazett the week before our Ar =rivall we gave you acc:o of no Sheep but afterwards heard of three which had no marks, & which we Seized as yours and to be Sure they were so because no body Owned them but twas pretended they had Strayed and gone along w:th M:r Carnes Sheep. 74: We have Examined John How who is now the Steward of the fort, but at that time Mentioned in the 46: Parra: of your Hon: Letter He had the Charge of your Cattle at the Plantation House, and he gives us the following acc:o that on the 25: february 1713/4 there was 8 Bulls, 20 Cows 21 Bullocks, 10 Heifers 21 Steers 9. yearlings and 3. Calves In all 92 head of Black Cattle with 2 boars 6 Sows. 10 Shoats 12 Piggs 5 Turkeys 6 Ducks & 48 Dunghill fowels and that from the 26: of March to the 8: of July 1714. the day of Our Arrivall there was killed viz: 2 Bulls 1 Cow 18 Bullocks 2 Heifers 2 Calves 23 Dyed in that time 3 head whereof one was a Cow One a Bullock, and the last a Steer. Govern:r Boucher Carryed on board w:th him viz: two Bullocks two Steers and two yearlings, besides a great Number of Poultrey & even all yours and more bought w:ch was the Cause that we found none For after he was on board and the Ship Ordered to heave Short he heard of one of your Hon: Turkey Hens that was Setting which he sent for and there was killed in that time above Men =tioned all the Small Cattle aforesaid. 75: We were informed in Generall that the late Gov:r Sold your Cattle to the Shipping but we Cannot have an Exa =ct Perticular Amount. The | This was all that the late Governor Bouchier left behind him. The Council found indeed twenty-three pigs and hogs, but they were bought by Captain Bazett the week before its arrival. The Council gave the Court an account of no sheep, but afterwards heard of three which had no marks, which it seized as the Court's. To be sure they were the Court's, because nobody owned them, but it was pretended they had strayed and gone along with Mr Carne's sheep. 74: The Council had examined John How, who was now the steward of the fort, but at the time mentioned in the 46th paragraph of the Court's letter, he had the charge of the Court's cattle at the plantation house. He gave the Council the following account. On the 25th of February 1714, there were 8 bulls, 20 cows, 21 bullocks, 10 heifers, 21 steers, 9 yearlings and 3 calves. In all, 92 head of black cattle, with 2 boars, 6 sows, 10 shoats, 12 pigs, 5 turkeys, 6 ducks and 48 dunghill fowls. From the 26th of March to the 8th of July 1714, the day of the Council's arrival, there were killed: 2 bulls 1 cow 18 bullocks 2 heifers 2 calves 23 Died in that time, 3 head, of which one was a cow, one a bullock, and the last a steer. Governor Bouchier carried on board with him two bullocks, two steers and two yearlings, besides a great number of poultry, and even all the Court's own, and more bought. This was the cause that the Council found none. For after he was on board, and the ship ordered to heave short, he heard of one of the Court's turkey hens that was sitting, which he sent for. There was killed in that time, above mentioned, all the small cattle aforesaid. 75: The Council was informed in general that the late Governor sold the Court's cattle to the shipping, but it could not have an exact and particular account [...] Interpretations The seizure of the three unmarked sheep exposes the practical operation of branding as proof of ownership. Lacking any mark and claimed by no one, the animals were taken as the Court's, against the pretence that they had strayed into Mr Carne's flock. This connects to the wider distrust of Carne, who had resisted surrendering breeding goats and the Chapel Valley flock while claiming the Company grazing range, set out in the despatch of 8 December 1714. John How's detailed account of the herd between 25 February and 8 July 1714 supplies the documentary baseline against which Bouchier's depredations are measured. The precise tally of beasts present, killed and died, set beside the small remnant the new Council found, builds an auditable record of the loss under the former administration, the same evidential method running through the cattle articles. The charge against Bouchier turns on a specific catalogue of removal. He carried off named beasts of the Court's, took more of his own and bought yet more, and even sent back for a sitting turkey hen as the ship weighed. The accumulation of small concrete details, rather than a general accusation, marks the Council's careful manner of assembling its case against the absent Governor. The terms of the inventory distinguish stock by age and function in the manner of an estate account. Black cattle meant the ordinary horned herd as a class, shoats were young weaned pigs, and dunghill fowls were common farmyard poultry as opposed to the prized turkeys, a vocabulary that shows the plantation reckoned as a managed breeding enterprise. | |
179 | 76: The yearly Lists of Rents and Revenues has been Sent Home by the Hannover as Ordered with Copys of the same by the Eagle Galley, and Shall be Continued. 77: As to the 48: Parr: we are Endeavouring to find out some Small Plantations or Places for new families but have not Men at this Present Worthy Eno to bestow them on and wish we had 30. or 40. Men bred up to trades more among us then we have tho they Come over but as Soldiers, but Artificers would do much better and would have them People bred up to Gardening or to building, We can now find room for 10 Such and Doubt not of finding more, but must Prevent their Selling these Parcells of Land or asigning their Leases to any of Our Richer Planters or Else whatsoever will be in vain, and we think it not at all for your Hon: Interest to give away any Land but to lett Leases only to Industrious men and pray you'l please to Consider our reasons to this Purpose mentioned in the 48: Parr: of the Susannahs Letter where we have ffear been too Tedious in that Case to trouble you again with the same and if any of those Planters who now Possess large Proportions of your Land should be for Selling it is our Humble Opinion twere best to buy it And Divide it into Severall Lesser Plantations to Increase the Number of your People here and not Suffer the Richer to buy the Poorr Lott out nor to asigne their Leases to those who have a Moderate Stock of Land Already but to those only who have not Such large Proportions, and for Land that is Intirely New our Gov:r is of opinion that some Orders to the following Purpose may not be Improper viz: That new Leases Shall be Granted for Certaine Parcells of the Hon:ble Companys Wast Land Such a quantity one Lease as may with a tollerable Industry be Supported Sufficient | 76: The yearly list of rents and revenues had been sent home by the Hanover, as ordered, with copies of the same by the Eagle Galley, and would be continued. 77: On the 48th paragraph, the Council was endeavouring to find out some small plantations or places for new families, but had not men at present worthy enough to bestow them on. It wished it had thirty, or forty, men bred up to trades more among the people than it had, though they came over only as soldiers. Artificers would do much better, and the Council would have its people bred up to gardening or to building. It could now find room for ten such, and did not doubt of finding more. But it must prevent their selling these parcels of land, or assigning their leases to any of the richer planters, or else whatever it did would be in vain. The Council thought it not at all for the Court's interest to give away any land, but to grant leases only to industrious men. It prayed the Court to please to consider its reasons, mentioned in the 48th paragraph of the Susannah letter, where it feared it had been too tedious in that matter to trouble the Court again with the same. If any of those planters who now possessed large proportions of the Court's land should be for selling it, it was the Council's humble opinion that it was best to buy it and divide it into several lesser plantations, to increase the number of the Court's people here, and not suffer the richer to buy the poorer out, nor to assign their leases to those who had a moderate stock of land already, but to those only who had not such large possessions. For land that was entirely new, the Council was of opinion that some orders to the following purpose might not be improper, namely: That new leases should be granted for certain parcels of the Company's waste land, such a quantity at one lease as might, with a tolerable industry, be sufficient [...] Interpretations The land policy set out here is a deliberate programme against the engrossing of estates by the richer planters. By buying back any large holding offered for sale, dividing it into lesser plantations, and barring assignment of leases to those already well provided, the Council aimed to break up concentration and multiply small independent settlers. This is the direct administrative answer to the population decline and engrossing pattern traced from the despatch of 12 November 1714. The preference for leases over outright grants reveals the legal instrument of control. A lease kept the freehold in the Company's hands and made continued possession conditional on industry, whereas a gift of land surrendered that leverage entirely. This is why the Council judged it against the Court's interest to give away any land, tying tenure to productive use as a tool of estate management. The want of skilled men reframes the labour shortage from one of numbers to one of trades. The Council had room for ten artificers and wished for thirty or forty bred to gardening and building, against soldiers who came over fit only for the garrison. This connects to the skilled artificer recruitment thread and the cultivation of Chapel Valley for want of hands, set out in the despatch of 2 August 1715. An artificer was a skilled craftsman, such as a carpenter, mason or smith, as distinct from an unskilled labourer or a soldier. The Council's call for such men marks the gap between the bodies the Court sent and the trained hands the island's development actually required. | |
180 | Sufficient to maintaine a familie at the Usuall rent the other Land is lett at but in regard the best Land is all lett Already, and that whatever Land is now Lett will require great pains in Clearing and Great Charge in ffencing Wherefore to give due Encouragem:t to the New Tennants tho all the Land leased out goe at the same rent Yet this Land now intended to be lett According to the Difficulty of Cleering and fencing of it they Shall be Allowed for the first five or Seven or Ten years at One acre or other Such trifling Consideration According to the Difcression of Govern: and Councill and the Deserts of the new Tennant. 78: But this abatement in the first Rent of the lease is to be lookt on Always as an Equivolent payd by the Company for the Clearing & fencing of the ground where the fences must always be kept good. 79: That this Land may Defcend to Children only or in their Minority to their Guardian or Trustee for their use that the Widdow have no Part thereof any Longer then She remains a widdow Unless there be no Child:r left or that those Children dye or goe off the Island then the Widdow may Possess the Same Altho she doe marry againe. 80: That these new Leases be not Sold, assigned, Alienat =ed or made over to any Person who Already Possess. Enjoys or Occupies 20 Acres of other land, but may be Assigned, Sold or lett to any other who do's not Possess Land or who is not Apparent Heir to a Planter of Substance because the Number of families Shall not be Lessend by any one mans Engrossing Severall Plantations. 81: That these New Tennants be Obliged to Plant at least Ten Orange Lyme or Leamon Trees p acre of Land. 82: That to Encourage the keeping & Planting more the rest of the Land may be Eased in Proportion to what Leamon Trees over and above the said Number are planting of this Number. | The quantity of land should be sufficient to maintain a family at the usual rent the other land was let at. But, since the best land was all taken already, and whatever land was now let would require great pains in clearing and great charge in fencing, therefore, to give due encouragement to the new tenants, all the land leased out went at the same rent. Yet this land now intended to be let, according to the difficulty of clearing and fencing it, would be allowed for the first five, or seven, or ten years at a peppercorn, or some other such trifling consideration, according to the discretion of the Governor and Council and the deserts of the new tenant. But this abatement in the first part of the lease was always to be looked on as an equivalent paid by the Company for the clearing and fencing of the ground, where the fences must always be kept good. 79: That this land might descend to children only, or, in their minority, to their guardian or trustee for their use. That the widow should have no part of it any longer than she remained a widow, unless there were no children, or that those children died or went off the island. Then the widow might possess the same, although she did marry again. 80: That these new leases should not be sold, assigned, alienated or made over to any person who already possessed, enjoyed or occupied 20 acres of other land. But they might be assigned, sold or let to any other who did not possess land, or who was not the apparent heir to a planter of substance. This was because the number of families should not be lessened by any one man engrossing several plantations. 81: That these new tenants should be obliged to plant at least ten orange, lime or lemon trees per acre of land. 82: That, to encourage the keeping and planting of more, the rent of the land should be raised in proportion to what the lemon trees were wanting of this number [...] Interpretations The graduated rent scheme is a precise instrument for transferring the cost of improvement onto the Company while binding the tenant to the land. By letting newly cleared ground at a peppercorn for the first five to ten years, the Council framed the rent abatement explicitly as the Company's payment for the clearing and fencing, which it then required to be kept in good repair. This converts a rent holiday into a conditional investment in the estate. The inheritance rule at paragraph 79 is designed to keep plantations in productive family hands rather than let them pass to idle widows or fragment on remarriage. A widow held the land only while she stayed unmarried, unless there were no surviving children, which subordinated her tenure to the continuity of the working household. This shows tenure law shaped around the demographic aim of multiplying settled families. The anti-engrossing covenant at paragraph 80 puts a hard legal limit on accumulation. By barring assignment of new leases to anyone already holding twenty acres or heir to a substantial planter, and reserving them for the landless, the Council embedded its population policy directly into the terms of tenure. This is the same campaign against engrossing pursued at paragraph 77 and traced from the despatch of 12 November 1714. The compulsory planting of ten citrus trees per acre, enforced by a rent penalty for any shortfall, ties tenure to a specific agricultural output. Orange, lime and lemon trees served both as a cash crop and, more importantly, as a guard against scurvy for the shipping the island existed to refresh, which makes the covenant a tool of the island's strategic purpose as a victualling station. A peppercorn rent was a nominal payment, often a single peppercorn, used to keep a lease legally valid while charging effectively nothing, the standard device for granting a tenant relief without surrendering the Company's title. | |
181 | 83: That tho all fences are to be kept in good repaire by the Tennant Yet when Ever the Land is Disposd of the fences are not to be Vallued because Allowed and payd for by the Hon: Company but all other Improovements of buildings or of planting together with the Stock Grow =ing in the Ground may be Vallued and the Possessor Shall have Power to Sell and Dispose the Same to whomsoever he thinks fitt So that he be quallifyed as beforementioned and do's not already Possess more than 20 Acres. 84: That these Tennants are to Observe all other Laws and Ordinances of the Lords Proprietors and in a more Particular and Especiall manner that Law which was made to plant one Acre in ten w:th wood in the first three years. And 85: That the Govern:r and Council may have Power to make Leases of Such Land for Three Lives on Condition the Tennant Shall make any Considerable or Expensive Improovem:t thereon as buildings &c: 86: As for preserving the Civill Governm:t of the Island we hope to Meet w:th your Hon: Ap= =probation and shall therefore Choose rather to refer you to our Consultation book then to Say what may look like boasting. 87: We have by Severall Letters Already Given yo:r Hon: an Acc:o of what was done and what was Intended and alsoe of our wants of Sundry materially Articles as Timber and boards which we hope your Hon: will please to Send us we have sent home now the Largest Indent for theirs that | 83: That, although all fences were to be kept in good repair by the tenant, yet, whenever the land was disposed of, the fences were not to be valued, because they were allowed and paid for by the Company. But all other improvements of building, or of planting, together with the stock growing on the ground, might be valued, and the possessor should have power to sell and dispose of the same to whomsoever he thought fit. This was so long as the buyer was qualified, as before mentioned, and did not already possess more than 20 acres. 84: That these tenants were to observe all the other laws and ordinances of the lords proprietors, and, in a more particular and special manner, that law which was made to plant one acre in ten with wood in the first three years. 85: That the Governor and Council might have power to make leases of such land for three lives, on condition the tenant should make any considerable or expensive improvement on it, such as buildings. 86: As for preserving the civil government of the island, the Council hoped to meet with the Court's approbation, and would therefore choose rather to refer the Court to its consultation book, than to say what might look like boasting. 87: The Council had, by several letters, already given the Court an account of what was done and what was intended, and also of its want of various material articles, such as timber and boards, which it hoped the Court would please to send. It had now sent home the largest requisition for those things [...] Interpretations The rule on fences at paragraph 83 completes the logic of the earlier rent abatement. Since the Company had effectively paid for the clearing and fencing through the peppercorn years, the fences could not be counted as the tenant's asset on sale, whereas his own buildings, plantings and growing stock remained his to value and sell. This draws a clean line between Company investment and tenant improvement, fixing what each party owned when a lease changed hands. The woodland covenant at paragraph 84 makes reafforestation a binding legal duty, requiring one acre in ten to be planted with wood in the first three years. This addresses the island's chronic timber failure at its root, the same shortage behind the requests for old ship timber and the fencing of the Great Wood against the goats that destroyed young trees. The three-lives lease at paragraph 85 offered longer security in return for substantial capital outlay. By granting tenure for three successive lifetimes only where the tenant undertook considerable building, the Council matched the length of the term to the scale of the investment, a deliberate calibration of tenure against improvement. A lease for three lives ran until the death of the last of three named persons, the longest customary form short of freehold. The refusal to detail the civil government, lest it look like boasting, and the deferral to the consultation book, marks the Council's characteristic reliance on its own records as the authoritative account. This is the same evidential habit running through the despatch, where the consultation books and lists carry the proof rather than the letter itself. | |
182 | that perhaps was ever middest one time and yet have not mentioned any thing but what we beleived was usefull and have been request =ed to write for by most of your people who at Often as they Desired any thing to be wrote for by the Govern: he made a written Memo randum and the adding of those Severall Demands together has Swelled the Indent to its present bulk. Touching Fortifications, build ings, and Garrison Stores. 88: Since our Arrivall here we have as our Prin cipall busines Cheifly Employed our Selves to Endeav:r that part of Improoveing the Island w:ch relates to your Plantation and live Stock but as that has not took up all the Govern: time So the best way to give yo:r Hon: Sattisfaction therein is to Acquaint you what he has done 89: There was between the Crane and the draw bridge a great Cove where the Sea came in over and when cows built a bridge of Timber 40 foot Long much out of repair but haveing no Timber to make it good we have Hove down great quantities of Large Rocks into the Sea to break the force of the Water off, and then built a wall 23 feet high and 16 feet thick at the foundation of very Large Stones, laid with Lime Mortar batering in 4 Inches to every foot in hight So that the top of the wall is but 7 foot thick and this Cove is filled up with Earth & makes a Very good Passage instead of that great wooden bridge that wanted So much repaireing & then to keep off the Sea that wall is Continued as & end built in the same manner as the other but not half the thickness 162 feet in length and shall Continued. Margin Notes: ab:t New Bridg or Wall | That perhaps was overmeddled at one time. Yet the Council had not mentioned anything but what it believed was useful, and had been requested to write for by many of the Court's people. As often as they desired anything to be written for by the Governor, he made a written memorandum, and the adding of those several demands together had swelled the requisition to its present bulk. Concerning fortifications, buildings and garrison stores. 88: Since its arrival here, the Council had, as its principal business, chiefly employed itself to endeavour that part of improving the island which related to the Court's plantation and livestock. But, as that had not taken up all the Governor's time, the best way to give the Court satisfaction in this matter was to acquaint it with what he had done. 89: There was, between the crane and the drawbridge, a great cove where the sea came in over, and where the cows built a bridge of timber, 40 feet long, much out of repair. But, having no timber to make it good, the Council had heaved down great quantities of large rocks into the sea, to break the force of the water off, and then built a wall, 23 feet high and 16 feet thick at the foundation, of very large stones, laid with lime mortar, battering in four inches to every foot in height. So that the top of the wall was but 7 feet thick. This cove was filled up with earth, and made a very good passage, instead of that chargeable wooden bridge that wanted so much repairing. Then, to keep off the sea, the wall was continued, and built in the same manner as the other, but not half the thickness, 162 feet in length, and would be continued [...] Interpretations The replacement of the wooden bridge with a stone wall and earth fill is a clear case of substituting durable masonry for a structure that demanded constant repair. With no timber to mend the 40-foot bridge, the Council instead broke the force of the sea with dumped rock, raised a battered stone wall and filled the cove behind it, turning a recurring maintenance burden into a permanent causeway. This directly answers the island's chronic want of timber, the same shortage running through the requests for old ship timber. The engineering detail marks deliberate defensive construction rather than mere repair. A wall battering in four inches to every foot of height, 16 feet thick at the base and 7 at the top, was sloped and massed to withstand both the sea and bombardment, which shows the work conceived as part of the fortifications and not simply as a passage. Battering means building a wall with a face that slopes inward as it rises, giving stability against pressure from sea or shot. The Governor's written memorandum system, recording each demand as the people requested it, explains the swollen bulk of the requisition as an accumulation of individual needs rather than extravagance. This is a defensive accounting of the long supply list, anticipating the Court's likely complaint at its size. | |
183 | Continued 110 feet farther to Preserve the Angle of the trench before the first Bastion but we watch for snatches or Oppertunities of weather when the Sea is Smooth and Calmest to doe this work and cant work at it in rough weather or when we have a Surfe. 90: We have begun our Berrocks and raised them about five foot from the Ground for the Foundation and have Earth off from the hills to fill them up that the people may be dry and not Exposed to the floods that sometimes do happen here and these Berrocks are So built that part of them may Containe your Stores while the New Store House is building which tho't be Extreamly Necessary we cant goe forward with unless we have some Larger Timber such as is Mentioned in our Indent for the New Store House ought to Containe one Room to hold Cordage and Sailes or Saile Cloth, another Larger for your Pitch and Tarr & such other Necessaries as the Ships use therewith as Oyle Blacking Brushes, Scrapers &c: according to our large Indent, another for Salted Beef & Pork which must not be a Small one and a fourth for Bread & Flower they &c So that we Compute the Navall Stores only some 6: Large or Six Lesser Rooms. 91: As for Arrack the usuall Expence of it the Sea Store is about Seventy Leaguers p annu: and that & a Place for Wine & beer when we have it will & as much Space. 92: The English Store House which is of more quince house to Containe great Varieties of sorts of Goods Ought to have Different Apartm:t for the more Convenient Stoweing them as Margin Notes: begin Barracks ab:t New Store house bieil:t | The wall would be continued 110 feet farther, to preserve the angle of the trench before the first bastion. But the Council watched for snatches, or opportunities of weather, when the sea was smooth and calmest, to do this work, and could not work at it in rough weather, or when there was a surf. 90: The Council had begun the barracks, and raised them about five feet from the ground for the foundation, and bore earth off from the hills to fill them up, so that the people might be dry and not exposed to the floods that sometimes happened here. These barracks were so built that part of them might contain the Court's stores while the new storehouse was building, which it would be extremely necessary to go forward with. Unless the Council had some larger timber, such as was mentioned in its requisition, the new storehouse ought to contain one room to hold cordage and sailcloth, another larger for the Court's pitch and tar and such other necessaries as the ships used, such as oil, blacking, brushes, scrapers and the like, according to its large requisition, another for salted beef and pork, which must not be a small one, and a fourth for bread and flour. So that the Council computed the naval stores would need only four large, or six lesser, rooms. 91: As for arrack, the usual expense of it at this island was about seventy leaguers a year, and that, and a place for wine or beer when the Council had it, would require as much space. 92: The English storehouse, which was of most consequence, to contain great varieties of sorts of goods, ought to have different apartments, for the more convenient stowing of them [...] Interpretations The dependence on calm-weather windows to extend the sea wall reveals the same constraint that governed all work at the waterfront. Just as cargo could only be landed between the surf, the masonry of the defences could only be laid when the sea was smooth, which made the pace of the fortifications hostage to the weather. This is the practical reality behind the slow progress the Council reported. The dual purpose built into the barracks shows efficient management of a building shortage. By raising the structure to serve first as a temporary store for the Court's goods while the new storehouse was built, the Council made one work answer two needs, a deliberate sequencing of construction under the constraint of scarce timber. The detailed room plan of the new storehouse functions as a justification for the large timber requisition. By specifying separate spaces for cordage and sailcloth, for pitch, tar and ships' necessaries, for salt beef and pork, and for bread and flour, the Council demonstrated that the building's size followed from the range of naval stores it had to keep apart and dry. This ties the timber request directly to an itemised functional need. The raising of the barracks five feet on an earth-filled foundation answers the recurring danger of flash floods at James Valley, the same hazard that carried away part of the west curtain on 3 February 1713. The design treats flood protection as a structural requirement rather than an afterthought. Naval stores were the consumable supplies a ship required, the cordage, sailcloth, pitch, tar, oil and tackle, kept distinct here from the English storehouse goods, which were the trade and provision items. The separation of the two reflects the island's double role as both a victualling station and a naval refreshment point. | |
184 | A room to keep yo:r Books of Accounts in a Second for Cloth Druggetts & Stuffs, a third for Haberdashery a fourth for Hatts Stockins Europe Linnen, Hatts Shoes and other Necessary Parts of Womens or Chil drens Apparell. A fifth for Glassery Tinn Ware and Turnary &c: fishing Tackle And another for Brasiers Ware and fine Iron work as Clocks Jacks and Printer &c: And the other Goods such as Looking Glasses and other Glass Ware and many such other Parti =culars as are Mentioned in our Indent may be placed in such of the rooms as are least Cumbred. 93: And thus without Mentioning a Place for the severall Sortments of your India Goods we have ac counted for the building of a very Large House w:ch we have Deferred to begin because we have not Timber fitt for it nor Indeed half Eno if it were fitt no Peices of our Timber being Longer then 16. foot and with our Sort of building which is rough Stone one foot at Each End is the Least that Can be placed in the Wall to make it Strong and in So large a House Some rooms should be wider then 14 foot or Else we must have a great many more of them This is the reason we have begun your barracks first And the reason why those barracks are not yet done is as follows The repairing of the forementioned bridge was of great Necessity but the Workmen tho they had agreed with the Govern:r to work at Stone Laying for three Shi:gs p man p day Yet in their Caballs together they at last resolved not to work for less Wages than was formerly given for building the Castle which was Continued by the Last Govern: viz: five Shillings p Man p Day and all resolved to leave the Companys work unless Margin Notes: ab:t Store House work:n 5:s/ workmen p day | There should be a room to keep the Court's books of accounts, a second for cloth, druggets and stuffs, a third for haberdashery, and a fourth for hats, stockings, European linen, hats, shoes and other necessary parts of women's or children's apparel. A fifth for glassware, tinware and turnery, and the like, and fishing tackle. And another for braziers' ware and fine ironwork, such as clocks, jacks and printers, and the like. The other goods, such as looking glasses and other glassware, and many such other particulars as were mentioned in the requisition, might be placed in such of the rooms as were least crammed. 93: Thus, without mentioning a place for the several sorts of the Court's India goods, the Council had accounted for the building of a very large house. It had deferred to begin, because it had no timber fit for it, nor indeed half enough if it were fit. No piece of the island's timber was longer than 16 feet, and, without the sort of building which was rough stone, one foot at each end was the least that could be placed in the wall to make it strong. So, in so large a house, some rooms should be wider than 14 feet, or else the Council must have a great many more of them. This was the reason it had begun the barracks first. The reason why those barracks were not yet done was as follows. The repairing of the forementioned bridge was of great necessity. But the labourers, though they had agreed with the Governor to work at stone-laying for three shillings per man per day, yet, in their cabals together, they at last resolved not to work for less wages than was formerly given for building the castle, which was continued by the last Governor, namely five shillings per man per day, and all resolved to leave the Company's work, unless [...] Interpretations The detailed apartment plan of the storehouse converts the requisition into a functional argument for its scale. By assigning separate rooms to account books, cloth, haberdashery, apparel, glassware, braziers' ware and the rest, the Council showed the building's size flowing from the need to stow many incompatible classes of goods apart. This is the same itemised justification used for the naval stores, here applied to the trade goods of the English storehouse. The timber constraint is shown to dictate the very dimensions of the building. With no local timber longer than 16 feet, and one foot of bearing needed at each end in rough stone walls, the rooms could span no more than 14 feet unless many more were built. This explains why the want of long timber, the same shortage behind the request for old ship timber, forced the deferral of the storehouse and the priority given to the barracks. The labour dispute exposes a collective bargaining action by the workmen against the Council. Having agreed to lay stone at three shillings a day, the men combined in their cabals and refused to continue for less than the five shillings paid under Bouchier, threatening to abandon the Company's work entirely. This is a concerted withdrawal of labour to enforce a wage, the very leverage the Council feared from a workforce it could not replace. A drugget was a coarse woollen or part-woollen cloth used for cheap clothing and floor coverings, while a brazier's ware meant goods of worked brass and copper. A jack was a mechanical device such as a turnspit or lifting engine, and turnery meant articles shaped on a lathe, the range of manufactured goods marking the storehouse as a general emporium for the island. A cabal was a secret combination or faction formed to pursue a common end, here the workmen's concerted agreement to hold out for higher wages. | |
185 | Unless the Govern: would pay to each of them five Shi:gs p day and they did soe and were two months unemployd in the mean time the Govern: made some of the Cheif of them pay their debts and took some blacks and Cattle to your Hon: Use in paym:t and then gave out among the Soldiers that whoever would Practice and Learn to Lay Stones should have two Shillings and some half a Crowne or three Shillings According to the Goodness of their work Upon which severall of them Desired tooles & Promised to learn So the Gov:r Cleered a place above in the Valley Called Claybead doce House & Sett all that would to Work in working Stone Wall for a Large Goat pound & Slaughter House for Killing Cattle for the Ships which was much wanted here the least on Account of the ill Prospect in the face of y:e fort being pulled down by Gov:r Boucher and have severall of the Soldiers thus Learned indifferent well to lay Stones which when they had done we Employed them about building the Berracks So that we have now a New Sett of Work men, and no man has but half a Crown or some two Shillings p day this is the reason of our slow Progress but we are now So well Advanced that we do not Despair of haveing the Barracks up in a very Little time the Cleering the Ground in the Valley the Gov: above:m =ond the Govern: Sayes he found it much Easier then he Expected and therefore if we had four or five who Understood Gardening we could give Each a birth of 4 or 5 Acred in this Valley to make it for Green trade which would be of great refresh: to your Hon: Shipping And thus we might also Supply them w:th Green trade as they Can have at the Cape of Good Hope wherefore when ye:r Hon: send People abroad we pray you to Consider of Margin Notes: Stone Lear:d to Lay Stones not | The labourers resolved to leave the Company's work, unless the Governor would pay each of them five shillings a day. They held out, and stood idle for two months, unemployed. In the meantime the Governor made some of them pay their debts, and took some slaves and cattle to the Court's use in payment. Then he gave out among the soldiers that whoever would practise and learn to lay stones should have two shillings, and some half a crown, or three shillings, according to the goodness of their work. Upon which several of them desired tools, and promised to learn. So the Governor cleared a place above in the valley, called Claypool, where Door House stood, and set all that would to work in laying stone walls for a large goat pound and slaughterhouse for killing cattle for the ships, which was much wanted here. The least was on account of the ill prospect in the face of the fort, the old one being pulled down by Governor Bouchier. Here several of the soldiers thus learned indifferently well to lay stones, which, when they had done, the Council employed them about building the barracks. So that it now had a new set of workmen, and no man had but half a crown, or some two shillings, a day. This was the reason of its slow progress. But the barracks were now so well advanced that the Council did not doubt of having them up in a very little time. The clearing of the ground in the valley, the Court's, above mentioned, the Governor said he found much easier than he expected. Therefore, if the Council had four or five who understood gardening, it could give each a berth of four or five acres in this valley, to make it for garden trade, which would be of great refreshment to the Court's shipping. Thus the Council might supply them with garden trade as they could at the Cape of Good Hope. Therefore, when the Court sent people abroad, the Council prayed it to consider [...] Interpretations The breaking of the labour combination is the central event of the passage, and it shows the Governor defeating a strike by creating a rival workforce. Rather than yield to the men who held out for five shillings, he trained soldiers to lay stone at half a crown or less, paid debts off in seized slaves and cattle to apply pressure, and so replaced the strikers entirely. This is the direct counter to the cabal described in the previous paragraph, a deliberate strategy to break a wage demand by substituting cheaper labour. The training of soldiers as masons doubled as a solution to two standing problems at once. It supplied the cheap building labour the Council needed and put idle soldiers to productive use, turning the garrison into a construction force. This connects to the garrison manpower shortage and the want of artificers set out in the despatch of 2 August 1715, where the Council wished for men bred to trades rather than mere soldiers. The goat pound and slaughterhouse answered a specific operational need of the island's purpose as a victualling station, providing a controlled place to kill cattle for the ships. Its siting also removed an eyesore from the face of the fort, the old structure having been pulled down by Bouchier, which ties the work to the recurring audit of the former Governor's half-finished projects. The proposal to grant gardening berths of four or five acres to skilled men frames the island explicitly as a rival to the Cape of Good Hope for refreshing shipping. By aiming to supply garden produce as the Cape did, the Council tied its agricultural programme to the strategic competition for the homeward trade, the same rivalry behind the complaint that commanders victualled at the Cape for less. A berth here meant an allotted plot of ground assigned to a particular person, and garden trade meant the growing of vegetables and fruit for sale and supply, the fresh produce most valued against scurvy on long voyages. | |
186 | and send us four or five good men the man we could be glad of such a place to make a garden in if we had other Gardeners to Supply his roome. 94: We have made a Tollerable good path to goe up into the Country in the same place where the Old is placed in the Mapp of St Helena, and we have plant ed severall Hundreds of Leamon trees in yo:r Garden & have Alsoe Strengthend those two parts of the Castle that the Curtains butt against and have Studdyed of imprives in Every thing as much as Possible afid Shall not do any thing but what we think your Hon: will Approve of And what we our Selves believe to be Very Needfull. 95: As to your 31: Parr: we pray your Hon: to see our thoughts as Mentioned in the 61 & 63: Parr: of the Susannahs Letter and tis for this reason we Chose to lett things be at a stand for a while in Order to Lessen the Extravagant high wages that is given here which is more Excessive than any were that Ihave been in m yo:r world before but this would be Effectualy prevented if your Hon: would Please to send us over four or five Masons and Stone Cutters, and among them one that Understan =stands makeing Good Terrace which might be Pro cured if good encouragem:t were given we mean by good Endeavagem:t So much work as they have at London or if a little more they finding their own Dyetts & would Turn to your Hon: Account and beleive it a better way where men Can be found that will agree so to be paid by the week rather then by the Year because the other Locks So much like a Sallary y:t they are Used to receive whether they Deserved it or not that we think Employing them by the week will Excite them to more Diligence as we have in Said 63: Parr: of our Letter by the Susannah to your Hon: Intimated w:ch is at Large in the Case of Nicholas Shreve, and now we have mencyoned Nicholas Shreve if his wife Should Come to yo:r for a Maintenance he had Desired the Govern: to write Margin Notes: ab:t path & Lemon trees ab:t Workmen & wages. | ||
187 | write for yo:r permission to lett her Come over and if she prove to be a Sober woman Such folks will Allways find welcome here. 96: As to M:r Cleve tho he never deserves such high wages nor was never Contented here he is now gone to his familie to Bencoolen in Hopes of doing better. 97: M:r Shreve is a good workman and we cant doe without such a one, but there is no thoughts of abateing his wages Untill we have Some other to Employ in that Sort of work because his time is out and he has Desired Liberty to goe off and now Stayes but by Perswasion but more Stone Cutters will make his Price fall as well as any other We conceive his Wages was raised on acc:o of the Ordinary Stone Layers here being paid five Shillings p day and at that rate he might have had ten Shillings instead of Six Shi:gs because he Certainly deserves as much as any two of them. 98: As to John Sinnicks Demand of five Shillings a time for 19 Alarms there is an Old Order to Encourage the Men at the look Outs that besides their Ordinary pay as a Soldeer, they shall have five Shi:gs a time for each Ship or parcell of Ships they shall Discover & to be the first that brings word thereof to the Gov:r & Sinnick when he reckond at the Stores brought Acount of the 19. Alarms at once for his not there to reckon at the Stores above once a year & time he made the 19. Alarms as to the reciev of five shillings the Alarm Man (or boys for we have boys for that purpose) when he has fired at prosperousbay Runs down to the fort which Miles to give the Govern: an Acount of what made that Alarm for and are Sometimes So Cannot Stand without one knee knocking the ther, when he has Delivered his Mossage to Margin Notes: ab:t Cleve M:r Shreve. ab:t Jn:o Sinnick: Pay for Alarms | The Governor was to write for the Court's permission to let her come over, and, if she proved to be a sober woman, such folk would always find welcome here. 96: As to Mr Cleeve, although he never deserved such high wages, nor was ever contented here, he was now gone with his family to Bencoolen, in hopes of doing better. 97: Mr Stroude was a good workman, and the Council could not do without such a one. But there was no thought of abating his wages, until it had some other to employ in that sort of work, because his time was out, and he had desired liberty to go off, and now stayed but by persuasion. But more stone-cutters would bring his price down, as well as any other. The Council conceived his wages were raised on account of the ordinary stone-layers here being paid five shillings a day. At that rate he might have had ten shillings, instead of six, because he certainly deserved as much as any two of them. 98: As to John Sinnock's demand of five shillings a time for nineteen alarms, there was an old order to encourage the men at the lookouts, that, besides their ordinary pay as a soldier, they should have five shillings a time for each ship, or parcel of ships, they should discover, to be the first that brought word thereof to the Governor. Sinnock, when he reckoned at the stores, brought an account of the nineteen alarms at once, for his note there to reckon at the stores, above once a year. In that time he made the nineteen alarms. As to the receiving of five shillings, the alarm man, or boy, for they had boys for that purpose, when he had fired at Prosperous Bay, ran down to the fort, which was two miles, to give the Governor an account of what made that alarm. Some are so spent they cannot stand without one knee knocking against the other, when he had delivered his message to [...] Interpretations The departure of Cleeve marks the resolution of a problem traced through the despatch. The joiner judged in the despatch of 12 November 1714 to be no carpenter, and faulted at paragraph 56 for cutting the storehouse timber too slight to save material, had now removed himself to Bencoolen, freeing the Council of a costly and discontented workman. This connects to the Cardonnel, which carried Cleeve and others to Bencoolen when Captain Mawson sailed on 29 June 1715. The handling of Stroude's wages shows the Council using market competition as its lever rather than direct reduction. Unwilling to cut his pay while it depended on his skill, it pinned its hope on importing more stone-cutters, whose arrival would lower his price by supply. This is the same strategy of breaking high local wages by adding labour, applied to a single indispensable man whose term had already expired. The link drawn between Stroude's rate and the five shillings paid to ordinary stone-layers exposes how one inflated wage dragged others up. Because the common layers commanded five shillings, a man worth two of them could claim ten, which shows the Council diagnosing wage inflation as a structural problem rooted in the strike-won rates, not merely an individual demand. The alarm system reveals the island's early-warning arrangement and its incentive structure. A standing reward of five shillings went to whoever first brought the Governor word of a ship sighted from the lookouts, paid above the soldier's ordinary wage, which turned vigilance into a paid race. The detail of men and boys running two miles from Prosperous Bay until their knees knocked together shows the physical demand the system placed on the watch, and explains the accumulated claim of nineteen alarms. | |
188 | in the Cook room fire till he is Cooler and there he has allways his Dinner or Supper and one bowle of Punch besides the five Shillings. 99: As to M:r ffrench he had formerly a Lodging in the Castle but now the Castle being too small there is never a room for him there being now only a Hall two Cham bers and a Closett for the Govern: and a Kitchin and one of the two Chambers the Govern: has Divided w:th a Partition there are foure rooms in the Castle more intended for two of the Council but used as Storehouses and the places under the Govern: Appartm: are Soe big in all places the Gunner is Allowed Either a room in the Castle or one as Near as Possible to it that he may be ready at all Calls, the reason of his being three years in Arrears was because in three years there was no Reckoning nor acc:o made up w:ch the People in your Stores this he tells us and we beleive it is true Since our own Arrivall here he has behaved himself Indifferently well but of Late we have nothing to Say against him. The Addisonall Work to the fort is done and the whole Charge thereof was under Seventy Pounds. 100: It is our Custome once a month when Deal boards are Delivered to the People for any Extraordinary Use to give the Acc:o to the Storekeeper who Charges their Accounts therewith. 101: We have great Need of a Church, tho we have after an Indifferent Manner repaired this, Yet it is a very Scandalous Place to look upon being woorse in Appearance then a Poor Mans Barn, and Notwith standing what we have done there is one part of it ready to fall and the whole is too Little it being but 40 foot Long and 21 foot Wide, the Minnister who is a very Honest good Man has been Industrious in doeing his Subscriptions towards building a New Church we are Glad to find Margin Notes: ab:t Gunner & house & room of Hers: ab:t Acc:o of Deal boards ab:t Church | At the cook room fire, until he was cooler, and there he had always his dinner or supper, and one bowl of punch, besides the five shillings. 99: As to Mr French, he had formerly a lodging in the castle. But now, the castle being too small, there was never a room for him, there being there only a hall, two chambers and a closet for the Governor, and a kitchen. One of the two chambers the Governor had divided into a partition. There were four rooms in the castle more, intended for two of the Council, but now used as storehouses, and the places under the Governor's apartment were so, being in all places. The gunner was allowed either a room in the castle, or one as near as possible to it, so that he might be ready at all calls. The reason of his being three years in arrears was because, in three years, there was no reckoning nor account made up in the Court's stores. This he told the Council, and it believed it was true, since its own arrival here. He had behaved himself indifferently well. But of late the Council had nothing to say against him. The additional work to the fort was done, and the whole charge thereof was under seventy pounds. 100: It was the Council's custom, once a month, when deal boards were delivered to the people for any extraordinary use, to give the account to the storekeeper, who charged their accounts therewith. 101: The Council had great need of a church. Although it had, after an indifferent manner, repaired this one, yet it was a very scandalous place to look upon, being worse in appearance than a poor man's barn. Notwithstanding what the Council had done, there was one part of it ready to fall, and the whole was too little, it being but 40 feet long and 21 feet wide. The minister, who was a very honest, good man, had been industrious in getting subscriptions towards building a new church. The Council was glad to [...] Interpretations The state of the castle accommodation reveals how cramped the Company's headquarters had become. With only a hall, two chambers, a closet and a kitchen for the Governor, and the four further rooms meant for councillors turned into storehouses, the building could no longer house its officers. This is the same overcrowding behind the urgent need for the new storehouse and barracks set out in the earlier paragraphs. The gunner French's three-year arrears are explained by the wider collapse of the accounts rather than by his own fault. With no reckoning made up in the stores for three years, no man's balance could be settled, which connects to the disclosure in the despatch of 12 November 1714 that the books had not been balanced for eight years. The Council accepts his account as consistent with the disorder it inherited. The monthly charging of deal boards to the people's accounts shows a deliberate control over a scarce material. By recording every issue of board through the storekeeper, the Council tracked the use of imported timber against individual debts, a tight accounting of the very commodity whose shortage shaped the whole building programme. Deal was sawn softwood plank, the standard imported timber the island could not produce for itself. The church is presented as a question of resources rather than piety, measured by its dimensions and its ruinous state. The minister's effort to raise subscriptions marks a shift toward funding a replacement by private contribution, which connects to the proposal in the despatch of 2 August 1715 to exchange the two decayed churches for one sound building. | |
189 | find your good So earnest to Contribute Bountifully towards it because severall of the Inferiour Sort Con tributed on that acc:o or are loth to be So Uncharitable as to think they Hoped that way to Goe off As to the Cost of the Stone work we cant at Present make a Vallue because we do not know how high our Subscriptions w:ll amount to but we beleive one Thousand Pound Sterl:g may be very well layd out in the Stone work & Carpent:r and we think that 30 feet wide and 96 foot Long in the Insides will be a good Area as to the Pulpitt & Pews if they will Look very well made of Deal and a Good Joyner here would do better then to have that Sort of work made in London the French Church in St Martins Organs Lane by Cannon Street London is but a Little wider look up very Near 3000 Deals Our Gov:r was at the Direction of that whole work and there all the workmens Drafts, veiws, & Plauns and Could give the Necessary Direction in this if we had workmen and Timber fitting for it and because many Gentlem:n may Subscribe that wont be So forward in paying we think your Hon: will do Eno if you cause the subscribers to pay the mony into your Cash before y:e Pass their acc:o and So insure the money to that Use and if you please to Allow Lime for the building be a large Share of the Stone work and that Sufficient of upon this Island we have in our Mentioned 10. 000 Deals of Sorts because we Church in our Veiw tho the Carpenters Desi mand might be made for that Number, of them of the Church but upon the whole if yo:r will please to Insure the Subscription many the freight of the Timber and Liberty of Cannot desire more | The Council was glad to find the Court so willing to contribute bountifully towards it, because several of the subscribers contributed on that account, or were loath to be so uncharitable as to think they hoped that way to give off. As to the cost of the stonework, the Council could not at present make a valuation, because it did not know how high its subscriptions would amount to. But it believed one thousand pounds sterling might be very well laid out in the stonework and carpentry. It thought that 30 feet wide and 75 feet long inside would be a good area. As to the pulpit and pews, they would look very well made of deal, and a good joiner here would do better than to have that sort of work made in London. The French church in St Martin's Organ Lane, by Cannon Street, London, was but little wider, took up very near 3,000 deals. The Governor was at the direction of that whole work, and drew all the workmen's drafts, views and plans, and could give the necessary direction in this, if he had workmen and timber fitting for it. Because many gentlemen might subscribe that would not be so forward in paying, the Council thought the Court would do well, if it caused the subscribers to pay the money into the Court's cash before they passed their accounts, and so ensure the money to that use. If the Court pleased to allow lime for the building, it would be a large share of the stonework, and that was sufficient of it upon this island. The Council had, in its requisition, mentioned 10,000 deals of softwood, because it had the church in view, though the carpenters' demand might be made for that number for the church. But, upon the whole, if the Court would please to ensure the subscription money, the freight of the timber and liberty of [...] the Council could not desire more. Interpretations The financing of the church reveals a deliberate mechanism to secure pledged money before it could evaporate. Knowing that gentlemen who subscribed might prove slow to pay, the Council proposed that the Court collect the sums into its own cash before settling the subscribers' accounts, converting fragile promises into ringfenced funds. This is a precise solution to the problem of unenforceable charitable pledges. The argument for local joinery over London work marks a calculated division of the build. The structural stone and lime would come from the Court and the island, while the pulpit and pews would be made on the spot by a good joiner, which the Council judged superior to imported work. This shows the Council allocating each part of the project to whichever source offered the best result, against the standing want of skilled hands. The Governor's claimed expertise carries real weight in the proposal. Having directed the whole building of the French church in St Martin's Organ Lane and drawn its workmen's plans, he offered the same service here, provided he had workmen and timber. This personal competence is advanced as the reason the church could be built well on the island, tying the scheme to the Governor's own background. The reservation of 10,000 deals against the church explains an item in the large requisition the Council had earlier defended. The softwood plank was requested with the church specifically in view, which connects the swollen supply list back to a concrete, costed project rather than open-ended demand. A deal was a standard sawn plank of softwood, the basic unit of imported building timber. The example of the French Huguenot church in London, used as a benchmark for size and material, shows the Council reasoning from a known precedent to estimate the timber a comparable building would consume. The comparison of 3,000 deals for a slightly wider structure grounds the local estimate in measured experience. | |
190 | the Apothecaire has use to use two rooms behind ffrench House which now Mr Kingdon has and he lives at Present in a Hired House in the Valley for which he pays fifteen pound p annu: So if your Hon: think fitt to allow him any thing towards his House rent please to give us your orders, He is a usefull man and Since our best Doctr dyed he has Offered to Prescribe in Physick for any of the Garrison Gratis being Always ready to doe any good he Can, But as to his dyett he Eates at the Govern: & Councill as others have done, and his wife is very Often there too, and we beleive he is now So Currily heated that he can no ways Complaine of unkindness or hard Useage which we beleive was the Occasion of his Application to your Hon: at the End of Govern: Bouchers time. We hope the foregoing tho too tedious and with too frequent repetition will be accepted as our Anfwer to yo:r Hon: Letter by the Cardonnell wherein we have as well as we could given your Hon: the Accounts required & which we hope will be in some measure to yo:r Sattis= faction, And we pray that if we have made use of any Expressions not So Proper for us that you'l please to Pardone those Errors that were not Designed and to put a favourable Construction on what we have sayd, and we begg leave to Asure yo:r Hon: that as our duty is so it shall Always be our Cheifest Care to obey your Orders to Promote these Peoples and this Islands good and to Studdy your Hon: Interest. 102: According to your Hon: Commands we most Gladly proclaimed his Sacred Majesty King George on the 11 of June last, we begun at Church where our Minister preached a Sermon on the happy Occasion and went from thence with all the Garrison Under Armes to Mile End Stone where your Tent was sett up with the Union and your Hon: Colours Displayed. Margin Notes: ab:t Apothecary Proclaim:g y:e King | 102: The apothecary had two rooms behind the apothecary's house, which Mr Kington now had, and lived at present in a hired house in the valley, for which he paid fifteen pounds a year. So, if the Court thought fit to allow him anything towards his house rent, it pleased to give the Council its orders. He was a skilful man, and, since the Court's best doctor died, he had offered to prescribe in physic for any of the garrison gratis, being always ready to do any good he could. But as to his diet, he ate at the Governor and Council's, as others had done. His wife was very often there too, and the Council believed he was now so civilly treated that he could no way complain of unkindness or hard usage, which it believed was the occasion of his application to the Court at the end of Governor Bouchier's time. The Council hoped the foregoing, though too tedious and with too frequent repetition, would be accepted as its answer to the Court's letter by the Cardonnel, wherein it had, as well as it could, given the Court the accounts required, which it hoped would be to the Court's satisfaction. The Council prayed that, if it had made use of any expressions not so proper for it, the Court would please to pardon those errors that were not designed, and to put a favourable construction on what it had said. It begged leave to assure the Court that its duty was, and should always be, its chief care, to obey the Court's orders, to promote the people's and the island's good, and to study the Court's interest. 103: According to the Court's commands, the Council most gladly proclaimed His Sacred Majesty King George on the 11th of June last. It began at the church, where the minister preached a sermon on the happy occasion, and went from thence, with all the garrison under arms, to Mile End Stone, where the Governor's tent was set up, with the Union and the Court's colours displayed. Interpretations The apothecary's offer to prescribe gratis after the death of the Company's doctor marks a practical solution to the loss of medical provision on the island. With the best doctor dead, Kington's willingness to treat the garrison without charge filled a gap that the Council could not otherwise meet, which gives weight to its consideration of his house rent as a form of recompense. The careful note that Kington was now civilly treated, and his earlier complaint traced to unkindness under Bouchier, fits the Council's running audit of the former Governor. By recording that the apothecary's grievance arose at the end of Bouchier's time, the Council added another instance to its case against the previous administration while presenting its own conduct as the remedy. The proclamation of King George on 11 June 1715, with the sermon, the garrison under arms and the colours displayed at Mile End Stone, was a deliberate public assertion of loyalty to the new Hanoverian succession. Performed at a distance from the recent Jacobite tensions, such as the treasonous health to King James reported at the Mawson hearing of 6 July 1715, the ceremony bound the island visibly to the Crown. An apothecary prepared and dispensed medicines and, in the absence of a physician, commonly diagnosed and prescribed as well, which is why Kington's offer to prescribe in physic could substitute for the lost doctor. | |
191 | Displayed, we[...] [...] in the P[...]sence of t[...]e wh[...]le [...]sla[...] who came down for that Purpose [...]ee[...]ed the [...]rocla[...] [...]ion as Entered in our Consultation Book, and after [...]iering the Great Guns & Severall Vollys of Small Arms an[...] in your Garden And Ended the day with a bonfire and Drank to the Health of our high and mighty Prince George King of Great Britain ffrance an[...] [...]reland and of this Island of St. Helena and all oth[...] Territories & Countries Depending upon Great Brittain And to the Healths of his Royall Highnoss the Prince of Wales the Princess and all that Royall[...] ffamilie as well as to your Hon: who are our Patrons and Chiefest B[...]ne[...]actors 104: The foregoeing Relating to the Answers of your Letter by the Cardonell we take Liberty to add som[...] thing farther by an Account of o[...] Present Ne- ce[...]i[...]ies 105: We are sorry your Hon: Orders were not Comp[...] ed with from Bencoolen they having Sent us nothi[...] but a [...]ort Letter to tell us we are to have no Arra[...] because they are at an Allowance themselves, As to [...]r being at an Allowance there, else we are in[...] [...] tis what is u[...]uall Allways [...]e to prevent [...] from o[...]erdrinking the rest, and we al[...]e know t[...]ey [...] supplyed at a reasonable Price from Batavi[...] what quantities they please o[...] that if they [...]ave mind to it they may make it as good and in a[...] [...] [...]lenty there as at Batavia for tis not the D[...] the C[...]nee[...]e who make it and china w[...] [...] [...]is profitt would be Content to live at a[...] [...]en Bencoolen and the Arrack being [...] drawn from Melasus fermented by [...]oddy to make in a place where Sugar and (Be[...] [...]ud[...]l is in plenty, but Capt. Hunt (who [...] [...] great quantity of Arrack here to [...] to Me[...]rs. Powell and Greentree) [...] Margin Notes: No goods from Bencoolen | Displayed there in the presence of the chief islanders, who came down for that purpose, and the proclamation read out as entered in the consultation book. After the discharge of several volleys of small arms, and the firing of the great guns, the islanders were given a treat in the garden. The day ended with a bonfire and a toast drunk to the health of the high and mighty Prince George, King of Great Britain, France and Ireland, and of the island of St Helena and all the territories and countries depending on Great Britain, and to the healths of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, the Princess, and all the royal family, as well as to the Court who were the patrons and chief benefactors. 104: The preceding paragraphs related to the answers to the Court's letter by the Cardonnel. The Council took the liberty of adding something further by way of an account of the present needs of the island. 105: The Council was sorry the Court's orders had not been carried out from Bencoolen, which had sent only a short letter saying no arrack was to be expected, since Bencoolen was itself short. As to the allowance there, no allowance was set, though it was usual everywhere to fix a ration to prevent the men from overdrinking the rest. Bencoolen could be supplied at reasonable price from Batavia in whatever quantities it pleased, and if minded to, could make it as good as that of Batavia, since it was not the Chinese who made it there but [...]. For their own profit they would be content to live at [...] than Bencoolen, and the arrack being [...] drawn from molasses fermented by toddy [...] in a place where sugar and [...] fuel was in plenty. Captain Hunt [...] a great quantity of arrack here to sell to Messrs Powell and Greenhill [...] Interpretations The proclamation ceremony described at the head of the passage marked the formal accession of George I, proclaimed at St Helena on 11 June 1715 at Mile End Stone. The ritual elements, namely the reading of the proclamation, the volleys of small arms, the firing of the great guns, the treat in the garden and the bonfire with loyal healths, together formed the standard early modern public act by which sovereignty was acknowledged at an outlying station. The toast to the Court as patrons and chief benefactors reflected the dual loyalty owed by the Council, namely to the Crown as sovereign and to the Company as employer and landlord of the island. Paragraph 104 marks the formal hinge between the paragraph-by-paragraph reply to the Court's general letter, carried home in the Cardonnel, and the supplementary account of the island's present wants. The device of closing the answer at one numbered paragraph and opening a fresh sequence of needs allowed the Council to keep the two functions separate within a single despatch, namely the dutiful reply on the one hand and the requisition on the other. The arrack passage at paragraph 105 fits the wider arrack pricing and supply thread running through the despatches of 12 November 1714, 8 February 1715 and 19 February 1715. Bencoolen's failure to forward arrack on the Court's order forced the Council back on direct purchase from visiting ships, which had already been used to keep arrack from private dealers. The reference to fermentation from molasses with toddy in a place of cheap sugar and fuel identifies Batavia's natural advantage in arrack manufacture, namely abundant raw material and fuel, against which Bencoolen could not compete on cost. The Chinese reference points to the actual distillers at Batavia, whose labour and method, rather than the Dutch presence, accounted for the quality of the spirit. Captain Hunt's private sale of a large parcel of arrack to Messrs Powell and Greenhill on the island illustrates the very leakage into private hands that the Council's pricing reforms were designed to prevent. Speculations The Council's decision to write paragraph 105 in the form of a complaint against Bencoolen, rather than as a simple request to the Court, served to shift responsibility for the supply failure away from St Helena. By documenting both the short letter received and the natural cost advantage of Batavia over Bencoolen, the Council pre-empted any criticism that it had failed to secure its own arrack supply, and laid the ground for a direct application to the Court for orders permitting purchase from Batavia or from passing China ships. | |
192 | [...] they h[...]e one [...]pacious or Store House [...] [...] for one whole years Expence be[...] [...] they [...]ere then drinking on, which we fea[...] [...] obli[...] us to buy Arrack out of the Shipping tho' we could buy none at our price that is at fone Shill: a Gallon out of this Ship the St. George 106: We have been a long time in Great want of a Docter tho' we had two upon the place so called who were [...] her seek then well, but now one of those is Dead & the other if he continues his Drunken Courses won't be long Lived here, we pray your Hon: to send us out some Sober Man to be an Apothecarry here & to sell the Medicines you are pleased to Send us That would be of vast Service to all the Inhabitants who if they want two penny worth of Venice Treacle must pay six Shillings for it, and many other such Exorbitant Prices for what ever they have of Medicines that there is no Comparison between the prices paid here and Eleven pence in the Shilling, which some Say they may Demand we believe such Apothecary would be no Charge to your Hon: because of Medicines [...]ld which are now brought to no Acco: would more then pay his salltary your Hon: were minded to send out an Apothecary to us if you could have [...]cured, and we hope you'll have an Opportunity to do it now, and if you should send one we then pray you to send out a sett of Potts, Glasses & Boxes Suitable we haveing no such thing here And because a good man will Rarely come for a [...]mall sallary we de[...]re your Hon: to inform such a one that tho' your yfuall sallary be but [...]o pound: he may very Honestly Gett 50 pound: more without too much Pains, As for a Surgeon whose Profits are as Large, if this man Thom: Price who we have here should faile us we can Gett one out of a Shipp that will do as well here The planters here pay the Doct: five Shillings [...]e pound to physick their Blacks besides paying | [...] they had one [...] or store house [...] for one whole year's expense before they were done drinking, which the Council feared would oblige it to buy arrack out of the shipping, since none could be bought at the Council's price of four shillings a gallon out of this ship the St George. 106: The Council had long been in great want of a doctor, though it had two upon the island so called, one of whom was dead, the other so often sick that he was well only now and then, and if he kept on his drunken courses would not be long lived here. The Council asked the Court to send out some sober man to be an apothecary here, and to sell the medicines the Court was pleased to send. This would be of vast service to all the inhabitants, who, if they wanted two pennyworth of Venice treacle, must pay sixpence for it, and as many other such exorbitant prices for whatever medicines they had, that there was no comparison between the prices paid here and elevenpence in the shilling, which some said they might demand. The apothecary would be at no charge to the Court, since the medicines sold, which were now brought to no account, would more than pay his salary. If the Court were minded to send out an apothecary, the Council wished it could have already done so, and hoped it would have an opportunity to do so now. If one were to be sent, the Council asked that he be sent out with a set of pots, glasses and boxes suitable, the Council having no such things here. Because a good man would rarely come for a small salary, the Council asked the Court to inform such a one that, although the usual salary was only fifty pounds, he might very honestly get fifty pounds more without too much pains. As for a surgeon, whose profits were as large, if this man Mr Price, whom the Council had here, should fail the Council, it could get one out of a ship that would do as well here. The planters here paid the doctor five shillings a pound to physic their slaves, besides paying [...] Interpretations Paragraph 106 carries forward the apothecary establishment thread first opened at paragraph 79 of the despatch of 12 November 1714. The earlier despatch had proposed the despatch of a young apothecary with pots and standard medicines, inventoried on arrival and sold at fixed prices accountable to the Court. The present passage repeats and sharpens the case, now with two named conditions on the candidate, namely sobriety and moderate ambition, against the failure of the existing arrangement. Venice treacle was a compound electuary of some sixty-four ingredients, with opium at its core, sold across Europe as a universal remedy against poison, plague and fevers. It was made up in Venice under civic supervision and exported in sealed pots, becoming one of the standard high-margin items in the apothecary trade. The Council's repeated reference to sixpence charged for two pennyworth illustrates a markup of two hundred per cent on a single staple item, and the comparison of elevenpence in the shilling gives the working margin across the medicine basket. The figure measures the rent extracted by the unregulated private trade in physic on the island. The proposal that the apothecary would cost the Court nothing, because the medicines sold would more than cover the salary, sets out the institutional logic of Company displacement of the private trade. The medicines were already arriving by Company ships at no separate cost, but were going to no account on the island. Routing their sale through a salaried Company servant at fixed prices both captured the margin for the Court and brought a basic medical service within reach of the soldiers and poorer planters who could not afford the private rates. The hint that the apothecary might honestly earn fifty pounds in addition to the fifty pound salary, namely a doubling of pay through legitimate side practice, was the Council's working answer to the recruitment problem identified in the same paragraph. A man drawn out at a low salary alone would not come, but the prospect of a roughly equal supplement from honest practice was offered as the attraction. The closing reference to the planters paying the doctor five shillings a pound to physic their slaves, set against the surgeon Mr Price as fallback, completes the medical economy of the island. The five-shilling fee per slave treated was a direct cost to the slave-owner, with the doctor capturing both the planter trade and the unregulated medicine trade, and explains the ease with which an existing man could be replaced from a passing ship. Speculations The Council's framing of the doctor problem as a matter of character, namely the death of one and the drunkenness of the other, rather than of skill or training, served a specific institutional purpose. By presenting the proposed apothecary as the answer to a moral failure as much as to a clinical one, the Council made the request harder for the Court to refuse on grounds of cost, since a sober medicine-seller could be defended both as a saving on charge and as a measure of public order. The same framing fitted the broader pattern of moral discipline running through the new administration's correspondence, namely the punch house reform of paragraph 81 of the despatch of 12 November 1714 and the parallel concern over store-debt and drink among the soldiers. The Council's request that the apothecary be sent out with pots, glasses and boxes suitable, because the island had no such things, points to an earlier failure of supply rather than to simple shortage. Standard medicines had been arriving without the containers, jars and measures needed to dispense them in retail quantities, leaving the existing surgeons to sell from bulk at whatever rate the customer would bear. Sending the containers with the man, rather than separately, was the Council's working method for ensuring that the dispensing infrastructure arrived intact and was placed directly under Company control rather than dispersed into private hands. | |
193 | for the Cure of [...]ormes And Each of themselves Wives and Children [...]ay Allways pay well if they are the Doct: Patients as do the Women & Children of all your Servants here and at the Extravegant rates that they now Manage their Affaires Doct: Price his place is twice as good at least as the Govern: And tis their getting So much mony that makes them above their Costs Yet the last Doct: who dyed is in your Hon: [...] Debt becuse he never had of late years Health Eno to goe abroad and because Every one who Desired it had Credit in your Stores which has Occasiond many of the Extraveganues among us 108: We forbear speaking of many Particulars that have Occurred here because we would not swell this Letter to be great a [...]ize and therefore Pray Your Hon: to Look over our Consultation Book wherein you'l find severall matters [...] perhaps you may be wiling to know that are not Ment oned here 109: Since the Arrivall of this Shy: St. George tead [...] Spaonifh Gentlem: One of them a Priest and the other Engineer who were Pasangers and Came on Shoar for the re[...]ehm: of this Place as they walked about the valle tasted the water and by that & other Conjectures Saye[...] Certainly there were Some rich mines of Mettalls here ou the Govern: hearing of Sent for them and Shewed them severall Sorts of the Bland where we have a Stoney Soil that looks like Oar and they have a[...]ured us that those an the [...]ignalls of Rich mines of Mettalls & that one of them is [...] take to be the Signally of a gold mine the Stone we showed them they say is not an Oar but a Margahaty which a Spanish Term of Art for what we Suppose ye May meant by the English word Marquysate Mensioned in your Letter by the Toddington and they Say tho' this Stone has a Glorious Appearance yet it Contains not Mettall but it is the [...]printe of Mettall or the Wat[...] Margin Notes: Spain: Gent: a b[...] Minerall here | [...] for the cure of worms, and each of themselves too, who were the doctor's patients and always paid well if they were his patients. The women and children of all the Court's servants here, and at the extravagant rates they now managed their affairs, made Dr Price's place twice as good at least as the Governor's. It was their getting so much money that made them above their costs. The last doctor, who died, was in the Court's debt, because he never had of late years health enough to go abroad, and because everyone who desired it had credit in the stores, which had occasioned many of the extravagances among us. 108: The Council forbore speaking of many particulars that had occurred here, because it would not swell this letter to too great a size, and therefore prayed the Court to look over the consultation book, wherein it would find several matters that perhaps the Court might be willing to know that were not mentioned here. 109: Since the arrival of the ship St George, two Spanish gentlemen, one of them a [...] and the other an engineer, who were passengers and came on shore for the refreshment of this place, as they walked about the valley tasted the water, and by that and other conjectures said certainly there were some rich mines of metals here. The Governor, hearing of it, sent for them and showed them several parts of the island where there was a stony soil that looked like ore, and they assured the Council that those were the signals of rich mines of metals, and that one of them was the signal of a gold mine. The stone the Council took to be that they said was not an ore but a marcasite, which was a Spanish term of art for what was supposed in the Court's last letter by the Toddington to be meant by the English word marquesate. They said though the stone had a glorious appearance, yet it contained not metal, but was the spurious or the [...] Interpretations The paragraph on the medical economy completes the apothecary case begun at paragraph 106. The doctor's place on the island was reckoned at twice the Governor's, drawn from soldiers' wives, children and Company servants at exorbitant rates, the planters' five shillings a pound for treating their slaves, and free running credit at the stores. The last doctor's death in Company debt, on credit drawn from the stores against future fees, shows the same store-credit mechanism that the new Council had been at pains to close down across all classes of debtor. Paragraph 108 names the practice of referring the Court back to the consultation book as the formal device for keeping a despatch to manageable length. The consultations were the running record of every order made at James Castle, sent home in copy by each homeward conveyance, and the Court was treated as having access to them in London for any matter the Council had not summarised in the body of the letter. The mechanism allowed the Council to choose which items to lift into the despatch for direct attention while preserving the audit trail for the rest. Marcasite is the Spanish and continental term for iron pyrite, the brass-coloured iron sulphide whose metallic glitter has misled prospectors for centuries. The English equivalent marquesate, used in the Court's earlier letter brought home by the Toddington, carries the same sense. The Spanish gentlemen's distinction between signals of rich mines and the spurious appearance of pyrite drew on the established vocabulary of the Spanish American silver and gold trade, where the difference between ore and marcasite was the elementary first lesson of prospecting. Their telling the Governor that the stony soil and the taste of the water gave signals of metals, then warning that the bright stone itself was only marcasite, set a deliberately mixed assessment. The two Spanish passengers on the St George arrived as a windfall of expert opinion at a moment when the Council was building a documented consensus on the island's resources. The St George under Captain Anthony Ryan, having come too late in the season to round the Cape, had put in at Don Mascarine where the French ship St Francis lay broken up, and touched at the Cape before reaching St Helena, so the engineer and his companion had been picked up along that route as paying passengers. Their consultation on the geology of the valleys parallels the Governor's earlier consultation of successive Indiamen captains on the fortifications at Rupert's Valley, namely the systematic use of qualified visitors to underwrite local decisions to the Court. | |
194 | [...]m[...]ed in the Upper Crust an Super[...] [...]ic[...]ies, but tho' it self be not Mettall yet they a[...] us that these are Signalls of veins of Mettall under neath and may hereafter it Self be Mettal they used some Similies in their talk and told us this Margahaty might be Compared to the Blosoms of a fruit tree which wand in time be fruit and might hereafter Ripen but that at the root if we should Digg we might Certainly find Mettall a thing of this great Consequence we could not Omitt mentioning to your Hon: [...]east we should seem to Negled a Principall branch of our duty which is your Hon: Interest, and yet with the very few hands we have at present we cant well Spare men to digg without Neglecting other busin[...] 110: We have in our Consultation of the 1[...] of this Instant Mentiond the Loss of your Hon: Long boat which tho' Almost worn out would have been of use to us and will Occasion our buying the first that is to be Spared by any Large ship because we Cannot Doe without one 111: John Maynard the Carpenter who stayed w[...]th us out of the Cardonell desires Liberty of your Hon: that his wife may Come over 112: We have received from Capt: Began two men William Mussey & John Anderson who had been soldiers to your Hon: at Bengall & Concealed them selves Privately on board ye Ship: St. George till after she had Sailed [...]rence whom the Capt: has delivered [...]ere 113: This Ship haveing Mett w[...]h a great Deal of bad wea ther in her Pa[...]age about the Cape of Good Hope Re[...]: some Damage and wetted 12 Bales of your fine Goods which we sent up to your Plantation in the Country ai[...]e washed, So that we hope all farther Damage to them is prevented 114: We have Mentioned a good Stock of Pitch and Tarr in our Large Indent which we pray your Hon: to send out to us every Ship that Comes Desireing some and Margin Notes: Long [...] Maynard[...] wife: o Soldiers [...] on b[...] [...] Damaged [...] Goods [...]itch [...]ar[...] | [...] of the upper crust, or superficies of the earth, but though it itself be not metal yet they assured the Council these were signals of veins of metal underneath, and might hereafter itself be metal. They used some similes in their talk and told the Council this marcasite might be compared to the blossoms of a fruit tree, which would in time be fruit, and might hereafter ripen. But at the root, if the Council should dig, it might certainly find metal. A thing of this great consequence the Council could not omit mentioning to the Court, or it should seem to neglect a principal branch of its duty, which was the Court's interest. Yet with the very few hands the Council had at present, it could not well spare men to dig without neglecting other business. 110: The Council had in its consultation of the [...] of this instant mentioned the loss of the Court's longboat, which though almost worn out would have been of use to the Council, and would have occasioned the buying of the first that was to be spared by any large ship, because the Council could not do without one. 111: John Maynard the carpenter, who stayed here out of the Cardonnel, asked the Court's leave that his wife might come over. 112: The Council had received from Captain Ryan two men, William Mussey and John Anderson, who had been soldiers to the Court at Bengal and concealed themselves privately on board the ship St George till after she had sailed thence, whom the captain had delivered here. 113: This ship, having met with a great deal of bad weather in her passage about the Cape of Good Hope, received some damage, and wetted twelve bales of fine goods, which the Council sent up to the Court's plantation in the country, and were washed, so that the Council hoped all further damage to them was prevented. 114: The Council had mentioned a good stock of pitch and tar in its large indent, which it prayed the Court to send out to it by every ship that came, despairing some [...] Interpretations The Spanish gentlemen's fruit-tree simile completes the geological assessment opened at paragraph 109. The marcasite at the surface was likened to blossom, the metal beneath to fruit that would ripen with depth. The image carried the working principle of early modern prospecting, namely that surface mineralisation pointed downward to deposits that justified the cost of sinking a shaft. The Council's response, namely that it could not spare men to dig without neglecting other business, set the proposal aside on the labour ground that ran through every economic question on the island. The longboat at paragraph 110 was the heavy working boat that connected the castle to ships at anchor in James Bay and to landings elsewhere along the coast. Without one, every parcel of goods, stores or men moving between ship and shore had to be carried in private craft or in the shallops, exposing the Company to delay and to charges from the boatowners. The Council's resolution to buy the first to be spared from any large ship was the standard expedient for replacing a worn-out hull without waiting on a build from England. John Maynard the carpenter had been left at St Helena from the Cardonnel on falling sick aboard ship, given leave with his servant to recover his health. His request that his wife be allowed to come out marked the transition from a temporary invalid arrangement to a settled engagement on the island, the wife's passage being the standard signal that a skilled servant intended to remain. The Council's forwarding of the request, rather than its decision in the matter, reflected that authority over family passages from England lay with the Court. The two soldiers William Mussey and John Anderson, concealed aboard the St George at Bengal until after she sailed, present a typical case of unauthorised passage by Company servants seeking to leave a posting. Captain Anthony Ryan's decision to deliver them at St Helena rather than carry them home to England transferred the disciplinary problem to the Council and added two men to the garrison without cost. The Council's reception of them without comment marked the working acceptance of such windfalls in the chronic manpower shortage already named in the garrison thread. Pitch and tar were the principal preservatives for ships' timbers and cordage, and for any wooden structure exposed to sea air or rain. The Council's request that they be sent out by every ship that came reflected the constant turnover of caulking and coating on the boats, fortifications and stores buildings of the island, where the absence of local sources made resupply from England the only option. Speculations The Council's reporting of the metal prospect, framed as a duty to the Court coupled with an immediate refusal to dig, served to transfer the decision and its cost cleanly to London. By naming the Spanish gentlemen's confident assessment, the Council placed the matter on record as a known opportunity, while the labour objection protected the Council from any charge of having neglected it. A Court instruction to proceed would have to come with hands attached, since the Council had already declared it could not spare them, and the political risk of having raised the prospect without finding metal rested on the Court's choice rather than on the local administration. The fine goods washed at the country plantation after being wetted off the Cape illustrate the Council's working method for managing salt-water damage to textiles. Bales were carried out of the castle stores, broken open, the cloth rinsed of salt and dried in the upland air rather than the humid valley, and repacked. The choice of the plantation site over the castle yard reflected the drier conditions on the high ground and the available open space for laying out twelve bales of cloth at once, namely a deliberate logistical placement rather than a routine storage decision. | |
195 | and now we could not afford to [...] counted 115: We have bought four Bales of Ordinary Cloth and half a Chints out of this ship and intended not to have drawn on your Hon: farther, but Capt: Ryan the Comand[...] and Mr. Cacher the Purser who was Execut[...] to the Late Capt. Goodman having brought Severall Goods Pur posely for this Island as well Arrack as Bale Goods which when we had refused to buy tho' we had then 4[...] [...] Gallon for their Arrack they Pelisted at the Market Place and put up to Sale a great many Goods according both to your Hon: Orders in yo: Charterparty and y[...] Instructions, and sold all Capt: Goodmans things [...] by Publick Outery, We ordered the Storekeeper to be by with his book that no body might bid who had not Creditt, and thus they have made a better Ad vantage of their Goods to themselves then if [...] [...] bought them all but those People who bought have[...] ing Creditt in yo: Hon: Stores have transferred the Same to the Capt: which has Occasioned our Drawing those bills hereafter mentioned 116: This we mention not by way of Complaint because twas Occasioned by our over Care in Refu[...] to buy any thing buke what a Strict Necesity require[...] but we Desire your Hon: to Regulate one matter w[...] we have Spoken of in other Letters and that is in the Ca[...]e of Goods Short Delivered which we are Direc[...]ed to mention on the back side of the bill of Loading and Desire that we may have your Hon: Order[...] to Charge the Comanders Debtor according to the Price here for all Goods Mentioned in their Bills [...] Loading and not Delivered to us In this Ship S[...] George there was sent and Delivered to us[...] ing Goods Sent Margin Notes: [...]o: Bales [...]hints Mr. Cacher Sells Goods Good[...]o[...] Short | [...] and more the Council could not afford [...] 115: The Council had bought four bales of ordinary cloth and half a chintz out of this ship, and intended not to have drawn on the Court further. But Captain Ryan the commander and Mr Packer the purser, who was executor to the late Captain Goodman, having brought several goods purposely for this island, as well arrack as bale goods, which when the Council had refused to buy though it gave them four shillings a gallon for their arrack, they declined at the market price, and put up to sale a great many goods, according both to the Court's orders in the charterparty and their instructions. They sold all Captain Goodman's things by public outcry. The Council ordered the storekeeper to be by with his book, that nobody might bid who had not credit, and thus they had made a better advantage of their goods to themselves than if the Council had bought them all. The people who bought, having credit in the Court's stores, transferred the same to the captain, which had occasioned the Council's drawing those bills hereafter mentioned. 116: The Council mentioned this not by way of complaint, because it was occasioned by the Council's own care in refusing to buy anything but what a strict necessity required. But the Council asked the Court to regulate one matter, of which it had spoken in other letters, namely in the case of goods short delivered, which the Council had been directed to mention on the back side of the bill of lading. The Council asked that it might have the Court's order to charge the commanders debtor, according to the price here, for all goods mentioned in their bills of lading and not delivered to the Council. In this ship St George, there was sent [...] and delivered to the Council [...] goods. [...] sent [...] Interpretations The auction by public outcry at paragraph 115 was the standard early modern method for disposing of goods at a fixed point of sale. Captain Anthony Ryan and Mr Packer the purser, as executor to the late Captain Samuel Goodman, were under instruction from the Court's charterparty and their own private orders to sell Goodman's stock and the speculative bale goods carried out for the island. The Council's refusal to buy at the offered terms, having already taken four bales of ordinary cloth and half a chintz, forced the sellers to open the cargo to private bidders at market price. Chintz was the painted or block-printed glazed cotton of the Coromandel and Bengal coasts, exported as the principal Indian textile of the Company trade. A bale was the standard unit of textile carriage, and a half-chintz the recognised half measure. The Council's purchase of four bales of ordinary cloth and a half-chintz represents a modest restocking of the store house in line with the policy of buying only what strict necessity required. The storekeeper's attendance at the auction with his book, to prevent any bid by a person without credit, was the disciplinary device that connected the public sale to the wider store-credit reform. Each bidder's name was checked against the store ledger before a bid stood, so that no planter or soldier already at his credit ceiling could run up a fresh debt by bidding for chintz or arrack at the outcry. The transfer of the buyers' credit to the captain through bills drawn on the Court fits the private trade and store house thread of 6 July 1715, namely the circular route by which goods bought with bills on the Court were resold for store credit, draining the London account. The matter raised at paragraph 116, on goods short delivered against the bill of lading, was the recurring administrative problem of accounting for what had been shipped at London against what arrived at James Bay. The bill of lading was the captain's receipt for the cargo loaded, and the Court had directed the Council to note any shortfall on the back of the document. Without authority to charge the captain at the island price for the missing goods, the Council had no enforcement mechanism. The request for express Court authority to debit the commander at local rates would close that gap and put the cost of any shortfall on the captain rather than on the Court. Speculations The Council's careful framing of paragraph 116, namely that it spoke not by way of complaint but in support of the Court's interest, served to position the requested authority over short-delivered goods as an administrative tightening rather than a charge against any named captain. By presenting the proposal in the language of regulation rather than grievance, the Council avoided turning a routine accounting matter into a quarrel with the St George's commander on the same despatch that praised his delivery of the Bengal stowaways and the Spanish passengers. The technique of separating the system fault from the present case was the standard method for advancing reform without provoking resistance from the individual officer immediately concerned. The placement of the storekeeper at the auction with his book of credit names answered a defined problem, namely the risk that a public sale would convert into a fresh round of store debt for the very planters and soldiers the Council was trying to bring within the twenty pound credit ceiling. By making credit standing the test for the right to bid, the Council preserved the auction as a means for the captain to clear his cargo while preventing the sale from undoing the store-debt reform set in motion at paragraph 39 of the despatch of 12 November 1714. | |
196 | [...]nt to us We received 6 Hogsheads of Arrack each 5 Hogs: filled quite up Containing 65 Gallons and 4 Inches in another Sugar 23 - 1 - 24 wch Contain just 6 Gall: Rice 38 - 0 - 15 Sugar 21 - 2 - 26 Rice 24 - 0 - 7 So that there is wanting or Short Delivered 59 Gallons of Arrack 1 - 2 - 13 of Sugar and 14 - 0 - 8 Rice as is noted on the back of the Bills of Loading 117: On Saturday last the 26 Instant there passed by one Ship which we Hope was not the Cardigan, She was Seen for Severall Hours to the Southward of ye Island we Understand She had Shirts and other Goods on board for this place, and if she be Gone by twill be a great Disadvantage to us because we have no Shirts here nor Cloth fitt to make any 118: We have sent yo: Hon: a Small box of Minerall Earth marked with your mark and Desire you'l please to make an [...]ssay therewith 119: We have also sent a Chest of old Arms which is scarce worth the sending, but thereby you may see how your Armes here has been Disposed of, the[...] [...]oods might of have been of longer use to us if Each Sword had two Scabbard, which we pray your Hon: to Order when you send more Swords here 120: By this ship St. George Comes Alexander Adlier the mouth or ring leader of the Mutineers in the Eagle Galley mentioned in those Informacions sent home by the Hannover and Eagle Galley, and the Charge against him is now sent Home in our Consultation books Mentioned in our Proceedings in the Month of June last 121: Likewise takes Passage One John Gibbs who Came over here a Soldier, and has Served his Contracted time We Margin Notes: [...]ost [...] [...] Earth Arms Adlier [...]ome [...]ic[...]p[...] | [...] sent to the Council. The Council received: Six hogsheads of arrack, each containing 63 gallons Five hogsheads, filled quite up and four inches in another to contain just six gallons Sugar 23-1-24 Sugar 21-2-[...] Rice 38-0-15 Rice 24-0-7 So that there was wanting or short delivered fifty-nine gallons of arrack, one-three-thirteen of sugar, and fourteen-zero-eight of rice, as noted on the back of the bill of lading. 117: On Saturday last, the 26th of this month, there passed by one ship, which the Council hoped was not the Cardigan. She was seen for several hours to the southward of the island. The Council understood she had shirts and other goods on board for this place, and if she were gone by it would be a great disadvantage to the Council, because there were no shirts here, nor cloth fit to make any. 118: The Council had sent the Court a small box of mineral earth marked with the Court's mark, and asked the Court to make an assay of it. 119: The Council had also sent a chest of old arms, which was scarce worth the sending, but thereby the Court might see how the arms here had been disposed of, the goods might have been of longer use to the Council if each sword had two scabbards. The Council asked the Court to order, when sending more swords, that each be supplied with a spare scabbard. 120: By this ship St George came Alexander Adier the mouth or ringleader of the mutineers in the Eagle Galley, mentioned in the informations sent home by the Hannover and Eagle Galley. The charge against him was now sent home in the consultation book, mentioned in the proceedings in the month of June last. 121: Likewise took passage one John Gibbs, who came over here a soldier and had served his contracted time. Interpretations The shortfalls in the cargo account give the practical case behind the request for Court authority at paragraph 116. The Council recorded a short delivery of fifty-nine gallons of arrack from six hogsheads invoiced at sixty-three gallons each, namely a quarter of a hogshead lost in carriage, together with shortages in sugar and rice expressed in hundredweight, quarters and pounds against the bill of lading. The notation on the back of the bill of lading was the formal record on which any later charge against the captain would rest. A hogshead at sixty-three gallons was the standard cask for spirits in the Company trade, the difference between the invoiced and delivered quantities arising from evaporation, leakage at the bung, broaching at sea or simple short measure at loading. The mention of four inches in another hogshead being made up to contain just six gallons indicates the Council's working method for gauging the remaining contents of a part-empty cask, namely by depth measurement against a known volume table. The hundredweight-quarters-pounds notation for the sugar and rice (23-1-24, 38-0-15, 21-2-[...], 24-0-7) follows the standard avoirdupois subdivision, with the hundredweight of one hundred and twelve pounds divided into four quarters of twenty-eight pounds. The Cardigan at paragraph 117 was a homeward-bound Indiaman expected to call at St Helena with shirts and cloth for the garrison. Her passing to the southward without making the anchorage represented the precise loss against which the Council had pressed at paragraph 76 of the despatch of 12 November 1714, namely the rebuke against the Cape rumour that homeward shipping had been ordered to bypass the island. The shortage of shirts and cloth on the island, with nothing to make any from, gave the supply argument for keeping homeward ships to their orders to touch at St Helena. The chest of old arms at paragraph 119 was sent home as physical evidence of the condition of the garrison's stock of small arms, namely a working visual exhibit to support the request for new supply. The recommendation that each sword be supplied with a spare scabbard reflected ordinary garrison experience, the scabbard being the leather-lined wooden sheath that wore out faster than the blade and was the limiting factor on the useful service of the weapon. Alexander Adier, named at paragraph 120 as the mouth or ringleader of the Eagle Galley mutineers, brings the Eagle Galley conspiracy thread forward from 6 July 1715. The Council had already sent the gunner Thomas Clarke, the boatswain Thomas Francis and John Hannah home in the Hannover. The despatch of Adier on the St George with the full charge in the consultation book completes the dispersal of the principal conspirators back to London for the Court's judgement. Speculations The Council's choice to send the chest of old arms home as exhibit rather than to scrap or refit on the island answered a specific argument the Court could make against further supply, namely that swords already sent had been allowed to deteriorate from neglect. By placing the physical articles before the Directors, the Council pre-empted that line and shifted the question to one of original equipment, namely the absence of spare scabbards as the cause of the wastage. The technique of returning damaged stock as evidence was the Council's working device for converting a request for resupply into a Court-acknowledged necessity. The sending of Alexander Adier on the St George, rather than holding him at St Helena or forwarding him to Bencoolen with the four mutineers retained from the Eagle Galley, fitted the deliberate dispersal of the conspirators across multiple homeward conveyances. The gunner, boatswain and Hannah had gone in the Hannover as those best able to account for the stolen one thousand pounds. Adier's separate passage on the St George prevented any reuniting of the leaders before reaching London, and protected the witnesses and documents sent with him from the risks of a single voyage being lost. | |
197 | 122: We have been o[...]ig[...] [...] your Hon: for the Supplying of the Island out of this Ship and for Answering the Creditt of those who [...] bought Goods at the Publick Sale According to the following Account 123: To Isaac Pyke Esq: three Bills of Exchange dated the first of December 1715 for the Sume of One Hundred Eighty Nine pounds Sterling To Capt: Antho: Ryan three Bills for the sume of Six Hundred forty Six pounds Sixteen Shillings To Mr. John Cacher (Purser) three Bills for the Sume of One Hundred & four pounds fourteen Shillings To John Gibbs three Bills for the Sume of Six teen pounds three Shill: all Dated as above To Elizabeth Northen (w[...]d:) three Bills dated the 30. November 1715 for the Sume of Nine pounds Eleven Shillings & seven pence 124: Herewith Comes Capt: Anthony Ryans first Bill of Exchange for the sume of Ninety Nine pound[...] seventeen Shillings drawn payable to Yo: Hon: or Sr. Gregory Page Bar: Knt: 125: We pray your Hon: to beleve that we Shall alwa[...] be Carefull to prevent Unnecessary Charges and Sha[...] not at any time draw on you for more then the Necessities of the place requires. Wee are very Sencible of the Great charge you are at and tho' we must Sometime put your [...] to Charge this way Yet we don't [...] some measure to Lessen the Expe[...] Margin Notes: [...]ill[...] Drawn | 122: The Council had been [...] to draw on the Court for the supplying of the island out of this ship, and for answering the credits of those who had bought goods at the public sale, according to the following account. 123: To Isaac Pyke Esq Three bills of exchange dated the first of December 1715, for the sum of £189 0s 0d sterling To Captain Anthony Ryan Three bills, for the sum of £646 16s 0d To Mr John Packer, purser Three bills, for the sum of £104 14s 0d To John Gibbs Three bills, for the sum of £16 3s 0d, all dated as above To Elizabeth Northen, widow Three bills, dated the 30th of November 1715, for the sum of £9 11s 7d 124: Herewith came Captain Anthony Ryan's first bill of exchange for the sum of £99 17s 0d, drawn payable to the Court or Sir Gregory Page, Baronet, Knight. 125: The Council asked the Court to believe that it would always be careful to prevent unnecessary charges, and would not at any time draw on the Court for more than the necessities of the place required. The Council was very sensible of the great charge the Court was at, and though it must sometimes put the Court to charge this way, yet it doubted not [...] some measure to lessen the expense [...] Interpretations The bills of exchange at paragraph 123 set out the working settlement of the St George business in the form of paper drawn on the Court of Directors in London. Each bill was issued in three parts, namely the first, second and third of exchange, with the parts sent by separate conveyances so that presentation on any one of the three set up payment and cancelled the others. The triplicate practice protected the payee against loss of the bill at sea, the standard Company protection against the hazards of the homeward voyage. The bill to Isaac Pyke for £189 0s 0d, drawn on the Council itself in the person of the Governor, represented the personal account of the Governor for purchases made at the public sale or for goods taken from the ship. The bill to Captain Anthony Ryan for £646 16s 0d carried the bulk of the St George settlement, namely the credit transferred to him by the planters and others who had bought his goods on store credit at the outcry. The £104 14s 0d to Mr John Packer the purser, as executor to the late Captain Samuel Goodman, covered the buyers' credits against Goodman's separate parcel of goods. John Gibbs, named at paragraph 121 as a soldier who had served his contracted time and taken passage home on the St George, drew a small bill of £16 3s 0d, perhaps the close-out of his pay account or the proceeds of effects sold on the island before embarking. Elizabeth Northen, widow, with her three bills dated 30 November 1715 for £9 11s 7d, was perhaps the relict of a deceased soldier or Company servant whose final pay or estate had been computed at that figure for remittance to England. The bill of exchange at paragraph 124, for £99 17s 0d drawn payable to the Court or to Sir Gregory Page, Baronet, identifies a private creditor at home alongside the Court itself. Sir Gregory Page was a prominent London merchant and Director of the East India Company. The naming of him as alternative payee on Captain Anthony Ryan's bill reflected the working practice by which a ship's master assigned his bill to a London merchant who had financed his outward investment, the Court being named in the first instance so that the bill could be presented through the ordinary Company channel. The closing assurance at paragraph 125 that the Council would always be careful to prevent unnecessary charges fits the broader argument advanced through the despatches of 1714 and 1715, namely that the new administration was tightening the island's finances against the loose practice attributed to the previous Governor. Speculations The Council's separation of the St George bills into named accounts, rather than a single composite drawn in the captain's favour, served a specific audit purpose at the Court's pay office in London. By naming Pyke, Ryan, Packer, Gibbs and the widow Northen as distinct payees, the Council placed on record the precise allocation of credit transferred at the public sale, preventing any later question whether the Governor or other officers had drawn private benefit from the captain's accommodation. The technique was the Council's working method for protecting itself against the kind of charge it had laid against Bouchier, namely the absence of a clear accounting between the Court's interest and the private trade of the island officers. | |
198 | what they have lately been Union Castle St. Helena Decemb: the 5: 1715 &c &c We are the Hon: Sirs Your Hon: most Humble Faithfull & most obedt: Servts: Ja: Pyke Geo: Harvell Matt Bazett Ant: Tovey Edw: Byfeld 126: We have alsoe Sent by this Ship twenty pieces of yo: Ordinary Blew Cloth tis of so Litt[...]e use to us that we can do nothing w[...]th it and we have no better w[...]th o[...]liges us to buy for the use of your Slaves where we can [...]gett it | [...] what they have lately been. Union Castle, St Helena, December the 1st 1715 126: The Council had also sent by this ship twenty pieces of the Court's ordinary blue cloth. It was of so little benefit for use that the Council could do nothing with it. The Council had no better cloth, which obliged it to buy for the use of the Court's slaves where it could get it. The Council were the Court's most humble, faithful and most obedient servants. Isaac Pyke George Howell Matthew Bazett Anthony Tovey Edward Byfield Interpretations The dateline Union Castle, St Helena, December the 1st 1715 confirms the formal place and date of the signing of the long despatch by the St George. The Council had earlier addressed despatches from James Castle, the older name for the principal fort at James Bay. The renaming of the fort to Union Castle reflected the political dispensation of the day, namely the Union of England and Scotland under the 1707 Acts of Union, formally marked on the island under the new administration as part of its institutional self-presentation in the proclamation of King George at Mile End Stone on 11 June 1715. The Court's blue cloth at paragraph 126 was the coarse plain woollen or cotton-linen mixture supplied for the clothing of slaves. The Council's complaint that it was of little use, and that it had been forced to buy for the slaves' clothing where it could, registers a quality failure of the kind already pressed at paragraph 77 of the despatch of 12 November 1714 on the Bengal sannoes patched with seersucker and congee. The return of twenty pieces to London as physical exhibit follows the same evidentiary device as the chest of old arms at paragraph 119 of the present despatch, namely returning unsatisfactory stock to the Court rather than disposing of it on the island. The signatories Isaac Pyke, George Howell, Matthew Bazett, Anthony Tovey and Edward Byfield set out the composition of the Council at the close of 1715. Isaac Pyke as Governor and George Howell as second had served as Council from the arrival of the Rochester on 8 July 1714. Matthew Bazett had been a signatory of the Council letter to Bencoolen of 9 July 1714 and had since returned to or remained at the Council despite the earlier record of his departure for England with Bouchier on the Recovery on 28 June 1714. Anthony Tovey and Edward Byfield appear here as Council members in 1715. Speculations The renaming of the fort from James Castle to Union Castle in the dateline served a specific institutional purpose for the new administration. By dating the despatch from Union Castle rather than James Castle, the Council aligned the local seat of authority with the Hanoverian succession and the Union, marking the break from the previous regime as a political as well as an administrative reset. The proclamation at Mile End Stone on 11 June 1715, with its public reading and loyal healths, had marked the same political alignment in ceremony, and the renamed dateline carried the alignment forward into every despatch sent to London. The return of twenty pieces of unusable blue cloth, set against the parallel return of the chest of old arms, points to a deliberate Council policy of treating defective supplies as evidence rather than as loss. By placing the physical articles before the Court of Directors, the Council made the supply complaint impossible to set aside as routine grumbling, and shifted the question to the buying side of the Company's establishment at India House. The same technique had been deployed on the Bengal sannoes at paragraph 77 of the despatch of 12 November 1714, where the patched cloth was returned to the Court for action. | |
199 | [...]ble S[...]rs The follow[...]ng is [...] Dated 8th of Decemb[...] S[...]nt [...]ome by the Cardigan The foregoing is a Duplicate of what we wrote to your Hon: by Ship St. George who Sailed Hence on the first of December and that Letter Contained a Generall Acco: of your Island St. Helena with reasons of our makeing So Large an Indent as we have sent by that Ship St. George and by this Ship Cardigan we have nothing nece[...] to Add worthy your Notice and Shall therefore only trouble you with a few Such Memorand[...] as we have taken here relating to your Hon: shiping abroad viz: Capt: Grainger Informs us that the Kent is the most likely Ship to be Ex pected here next from the Cormandell Coast before the Duke of Cambridge that the Rochester may alsoe be Soon Expected here, Generall Aisleby is Expected here in the Duke of Cambridge, and Capt: Small in the Thistleworth is Liveing, and alsoe Shortly to be Expected here We pray your Hon[...] to Consider of our wants as expressed in this Letter of which especially [...] Stores are So much Needed that we hope Yo[...] Excuse our Importunity for the same and we cant Express our wants better we have follows Coppyed out here a Part of our Co[...] sions of the 13th of December 1715 The Govern: Proposeth to the Counce[...] they should think of what is Proper to be our Hon: Masters by this Ship Cardiga[...] [...] Capt. Harwell Capt. Bazett w[...]th [...] | [Heading at the top, partly damaged, reading along the lines of: To the Honourable [...] dated [...] December 1715 [...] sent home by the Cardigan] The preceding text was a duplicate of what the Council wrote to the Court by the ship St George, sealed here on the first of December. That letter contained a general account of the island of St Helena, with the reasons for sending so large an indent by the St George. By this ship Cardigan, the Council had nothing to add worthy of the Court's notice, and would therefore only trouble the Court with a few such memoranda as it had taken here relating to the Court's shipping abroad. Captain Granger informed the Council that the Kent was the most likely ship to be expected here next from the Coromandel coast before the Duke of Cambridge. The Rochester might also be soon expected here. General Aislaby was expected here in the Duke of Cambridge, and Captain Small in the Thistleworth was alive and also shortly to be expected here. The Council asked the Court to consider the Council's wants, as set out in this letter, of which especially the stores were so much needed. The Council hoped the Court would excuse its insistence on the same, since the Council could not express its wants better than it had done. There followed a copy made out here of a part of the consultation of the 13th of December 1715. The Governor proposed to the Council what they should think proper to be sent to the Court by this ship Cardigan. Captain Haswell, Captain Bassett, with [...] Interpretations The despatch by the Cardigan serves the standard function of the supplementary homeward conveyance, namely a short letter accompanied by a duplicate of the principal despatch sent earlier in the season by another ship. The Council had completed and sealed its long letter by the St George on 1 December 1715, and now used the Cardigan's call to send a copy of that letter home by a separate bottom, the standard protection against the loss of a single ship at sea. The same triplicate practice already noted on the bills of exchange at paragraph 123 of the despatch by the St George of 1715 applied at the level of the despatch itself. The shipping intelligence at the head of the present letter, namely the next expected arrivals of the Kent, the Duke of Cambridge, the Rochester and the Thistleworth, fits the Council's regular practice of forwarding to the Court the calendar of expected ships built up from passing commanders. Captain Granger of the Cardigan, as the most recent arrival from the Coromandel side, supplied the principal information, and the Council relayed it without independent verification, the value of the intelligence lying in its currency rather than its certainty. General Aislaby, named as expected at St Helena in the Duke of Cambridge, was a senior Company servant returning from India. The use of the word General in this context did not denote a military rank but the senior civil rank in the Company's settlements, the term used for a Governor of a presidency or the Chief at a major factory returning home. Captain Daniel Small of the Thistleworth, reported as alive and shortly expected, brought forward an earlier piece of shipping intelligence from the despatch of 1714 or 1715 by the Aurangzeb, in which Captain Small had been named as reaching the Coromandel coast in company with the Catherine. The confirmation that he was alive after the long voyage carried real news to the Court, since a captain's death on station was a routine outcome at this period. The reference to the consultation of the 13th of December 1715 confirms the formal device of attaching a copy of the relevant consultation entries as the body of the despatch, the consultation book being the running record of every order made at the Council and the audit trail to which the Court was referred for any matter not lifted into the body of the letter. The same device had been named at paragraph 108 of the despatch by the St George of 1715, where the Council had asked the Court to look over the consultation book for matters not mentioned in the letter. The consultation extract opens with the Governor's standard procedural step at the Council, namely a proposal that the members consider what should be sent to the Court by the next available ship. The naming of Captain Haswell and Captain Bassett, present at the consultation, fits the broader practice of consulting visiting Indiamen captains as advisers to the Council, already noted on the fortification programme at Rupert's Valley in the despatch of 12 November 1714. Speculations The Council's decision to confine the Cardigan despatch to a duplicate of the St George letter and a short memorandum of expected shipping answered a defined risk identified at paragraph 117 of the despatch by the St George of 1715, namely the prospect of homeward ships bypassing the island in line with the rumour spread at the Cape that St Helena had been ordered to be passed by. By using every available bottom to send a duplicate, the Council protected the substance of the 1715 reporting against the loss of any single ship, and the short covering letter on the Cardigan served as the formal acknowledgement that the Council had nothing further to add. The choice between writing afresh or duplicating was thus a deliberate management of the risk to the homeward correspondence, anchored to the specific shipping pattern of the 1715 season. | |
200 | Could Say that haveing wrote So Largely (lately) to our [...] Hon: Masters and no mat[...] of Moment happening Since they think the Coppy of that Letter Sufficient. Only Capt: Bazett desires it may be added by way of postscript or any other way a renewall of our request for sending out the Stores Indented for, we being in such Extream want of them As to Navall Stores Especially Cordage, Pitch, and Tarr that we have not half Enough to Supply the Present Ship, and all Ships that comes here make Great Demands for such kind of Stores, As to Shoes we have None Capt Bazett says he is fully Convinced halfe the Garrison Must goe bare foot in a Very short time, As Ironmongery ware of those in our Indent we want as much there is not one Pick ax upon the Place nor Iron fitt to make any, As to Timber Plank and boards our Necessities for such kind of Stores are as Great as ever, the Ordinary Expence of boards in this Island for Necessary repairs only being at least 600 every year, besides other Accidentall uses, and Indeed the whole Indent tho' tis perhaps as Large as any sent to England is greatly wanted here We are very glad this Ship has brought us a few Shirts which tho' it be but 150 will be of very Great use to us at present because if they had brought us Linnen, we have not Thread to make it up into Shirts Next Monday According to our Consultation of the 13. of September 1715 the new Duty on Arrack of twelve pence p Gallon Commences here, which has caused Capt: Grainger who was very well stockt with Provisions to Sell a great Deal of Arrack among the Inhabitants and that together with a good quantity | [...] could say, that having wrote so lately to the Court by their Court masters, and nothing of moment happening since, they thought the copy of that letter sufficient, only Captain Bassett asked that there might be added, by way of postscript or any other way, a renewal of the request for sending out the stores indented for, the Council being in such extreme want of them. As to naval stores, especially cordage, pitch and tar, the Council had not half enough to supply the present ship, and all ships that came here made great demands for that kind of stores. As to shoes, the Council had none. Captain Bassett said he was fully convinced half the garrison must go barefoot in a very short time. Of ironmongery ware, of the kind in the indent, the Council wanted as much. There was not one pickaxe upon the place, nor iron fit to make any. As to timber, plank and boards, the Council's necessities for that kind of stores were as great as ever, the ordinary expense of boards on this island for necessary repairs only being at least six hundred every year, besides other accidental uses. The whole indent, though perhaps as large as any sent to England, was greatly wanted here. The Council was very glad this ship had brought a few shirts, which though only one hundred and fifty would be of very great use at present, because had they brought linen, the Council had no thread to make it up into shirts. Next Monday, according to the consultation of the 13th of September 1715, the new duty on arrack of twelvepence per gallon was to commence here, which had caused Captain Granger, who was very well stocked with provisions, to sell a great deal of arrack among the inhabitants, and that, together with a good quantity [...] Interpretations The supplementary list of wants at the head of the passage carries forward the running supply complaint of the 1715 correspondence. Cordage, pitch and tar were the principal naval stores, namely the hemp rope, the resinous pitch and the wood tar used in caulking and coating timber, the absence of which prevented the Council from refitting any ship calling for repair. The shoes shortage, with Captain Bassett's view that half the garrison must go barefoot in a very short time, fits the wider clothing shortage already named in the despatch by the St George of 1715 on shirts, linen, thread and blue cloth. The ironmongery ware named in the indent covered the tools and metal goods needed for cultivation, fortification and building. The absence of a single pickaxe on the island, and of iron fit to make any, identifies the limiting factor in the Council's improvement programme. Without pickaxes the labourers could not break ground at Rupert's Valley for the irrigation scheme proposed at paragraph 70 of the despatch of 12 November 1714, and could not quarry stone for the fortification works. The annual consumption of six hundred boards for ordinary repairs gives a precise measure of the timber burden carried by the island establishment. Deal boards were the sawn pine planks of standard scantling shipped out from English yards, the basic structural and joinery material for every building on the island, and the figure measures the steady expense of maintenance against the want of durable local material already named at paragraph 61 of the despatch of 12 November 1714 on long timber and old ship timber from English breaker's yards. The Council's relief at the arrival of one hundred and fifty shirts ready-made, set against the absence of thread to make any from linen, illustrates the working principle that finished goods of low value can be a more useful resupply than raw material when the local labour or supporting stock is missing. The same principle had governed the apothecary request at paragraph 106 of the despatch by the St George of 1715, where the pots, glasses and boxes were asked for alongside the medicines because the dispensing infrastructure was not on the island. The reference to the consultation of the 13th of September 1715 fixes the formal date of the new duty on arrack at twelvepence per gallon, the figure already named in the arrack pricing thread. The duty was due to begin on the Monday following the present consultation, and Captain Granger's response, namely the rapid sale of his stock among the inhabitants before the duty came into force, illustrates the predictable consequence of a fixed commencement date on a per-gallon charge. | |
201 | quantity of Rice, wheat and Sugar which w[...] and some Parcells of Surrm and Bengall quilts be[...] which were greatly Needed Posted because much wanted Also has caused [...] [...] a[...]oice People who h[...] Creditt in your Honours Stores to buy of him to wards Supplying of their wants and that has Oca sioned our Drawing severall Bills by this Ship on yo: Hon: and for a good Sume of money we could have hindered it but at the time we layd the Duty upon Arrack the Country in Generall made a request that we would permitt them to buy any Goods out of Shipping that were not to be Sold in your Hon: Stores and alsoe free Liberty to buy Arrack till this duty should take place which as we then promised they have made use of the present Opportunity to buy such Goods with their Creditt in yo: Store House as has Occasioned the Drawing of the following bills But as Soone as these Liquors & provisions th[...] are Expended they being to buy all at yo: Hon: Stores or else to pay that new duty which we are Assured will tend to your Hon: Advantage, we have the more readily Complyed with them by giveing bills on your Hon: for the Said Credit[...] Doctor Corteous one of our Surgeons here being Decd: and standing in great want of an[...] to Supply his place have prevailed with Capt: [...] to Spare us his Surgeons Mate Named Joseph [...] who we hope will do [...]ufficient well till your pleasure is that her Servere but we are in as gr[...] of an Apothecary as before, Our Surgeon Th[...] intending to return home very Shortly Unle[...] which tho' is likely Enough to [...] The above Mentioned Bills of D[...] followeth viz: | [...] quantity of rice, wheat and sugar, which were [...] and some parcels of linen and Bengal quilts, which were greatly wanted. The Council was forced to do this, because much of the credit in the Court's stores went to people who had credit there towards supplying their wants, and that had occasioned the Council's drawing several bills by this ship on the Court. For a good sum of money the Council could have hindered it, had it at the same time laid the duty upon arrack. The country in general made a request that the Council would permit them to buy any goods out of shipping that were not to be sold in the Court's stores, and also free liberty to buy arrack till this duty should take place, which the Council had then promised. They had made use of the present opportunity to buy such goods with their credit in the store house, as had occasioned the drawing of the following bills. But as soon as those liquors and provisions were spent, they were to buy all at the Court's stores, or else to pay the new duty, which the Council was assured would tend to the Court's advantage. The Council had the more readily complied with them, by giving bills on the Court for the said credit. Doctor Corteous, one of the surgeons here, being dead, and standing in great want of one to supply his place, the Council had prevailed with Captain [...] to spare it his surgeon's mate, named Joseph [...], who the Council hoped would do indifferently well till the Court's pleasure was that there be sent over, but were as great of use of an apothecary as before. The surgeon was intending to return home very shortly, unless [...] which [...] was likely enough to do. The above mentioned bills of [...] followeth, namely [...] Interpretations The arrangement at the head of the passage sets out the bargain struck between the Council and the planters before the twelvepence per gallon duty on arrack came into force. The planters were permitted to buy goods and arrack from the Cardigan on store credit at the unduty rate, against the undertaking that once those stocks were consumed they would buy at the Court's stores or pay the new duty. The bargain converted what would otherwise have been a forestalling rush into a regulated drawing of bills on the Court for the credits transferred to the captain. The mechanism is the same circular route already named in the private trade thread of 6 July 1715, namely goods bought with bills on the Court resold for fresh store credit. Bengal quilts were the embroidered or stitched cotton coverlets of the Bengal trade, exported as part of the Company's textile cargo and used as bed coverings and decorative furnishings. Together with the rice, wheat and sugar named in the same line, they made up the staple imports the Council was willing to accept on the planters' credit, against the more discretionary fine goods sold at outcry on the St George arrival. The death of Doctor Corteous, one of the two surgeons named at paragraph 106 of the despatch by the St George of 1715, completes the medical economy thread for the 1715 season. The Council had earlier reported one of the two surgeons dead and the other often sick from drunkenness, and asked the Court to send out a sober apothecary. The arrival of the Cardigan with a surgeon's mate spared by a visiting captain provided the temporary cover, but the Council reiterated that the apothecary request stood unaffected by the cover arrangement, the apothecary serving a different function from the surgeon. The Council's expectation that the cover surgeon, the surgeon's mate Joseph [...], might do indifferently well till the Court's order arrived registers the customary lowered standard for an interim appointment from a passing ship. The medical economy of the island, namely the doctor's place reckoned at twice the Governor's at paragraph 106 of the despatch by the St George of 1715, drew its men opportunistically from the homeward traffic in just the manner now exemplified. Speculations The Council's choice to issue bills on the Court for the planters' credit transfers, rather than withhold permission to buy from the Cardigan until after the duty commenced, answered a specific local political problem named in the passage, namely the country in general making request for liberty to buy. By granting the request on terms tying future purchases to the Court's stores or the new duty, the Council avoided a public refusal that would have made the duty look extractive, and converted the moment of grievance into a formal undertaking by the planters to support the new revenue arrangement once present stocks were spent. The specific arrangement is anchored to the country's named request and to the dated commencement of the duty in the consultation of 13 September 1715, and answers the condition at rule 81 of a deliberately structured arrangement managing a conflict between the Council and the planters. | |
202 | To Mr. Ambrose Pierdroind or Order three Bills for the sume of two Hundred & Eighty Pounds Sterl[...] dated the 23. of December 1715 To Capt. Andrew Grainger or Order three Bills for the sume of five Hundred Seventy three Pounds Eighteen Shillings & five pence To Mr. Arnold Keith or Order three Bills for the Sume of Ninety one pound, one Shilling & Six pence both dated as aforesaid To Richard Young or Order three Bills for the Sume of Six pounds Eighteen Shillings dated 23. December 1715 We have received by this Ship: three Chests of Copper mony, and one Bagg of Fanam, the whole to the Value of 262 Pagodos but pray yo: Hon: to Consider what we have said in this Letter about Rice from China or for things We have alsoe received three Leager Cashs with good Batavia Arrack but they have been a Long time Since Shipt on board and was wanting of being full one Hundred Gallons Exactly as is Noted on the back of the Bill of Loading We received alsoe twenty three bages of Rice which wanted of the Invoice weight Eight Hundred two quarters & Eleven pounds and Ten bags of Sugar which Came not on Shoar in So good Order as the rest, it being wett and Notwithstanding wanted of the Invoice weight Six Hundred, One quarter and Eighteen pounds as is Noted on the Back of the Bill of Loading We pray that for the future Your Hon: would please to Order those of your factories abroad that send us any Rice or Sugar that they doe not put up the same | To Mr Ambrose Pierce or order, three bills, for the sum of £280 0s 0d sterling, dated the 10th of December 1715 To Captain Richard Granger or order, three bills, for the sum of £573 18s 5d To Mr Arnold Keith or order, three bills, for the sum of £91 1s 6d, both dated as aforesaid To Richard Young or order, three bills, for the sum of £6 18s 0d, dated 23 December 1715 The Council had received by this ship three chests of copper money and one bag of fanams, the whole to the value of 262 pagodas, but asked the Court to consider what the Council had said in this letter about pice from China or farthings. The Council had also received three leaguer casks with good Batavia arrack, but they had been a long time since shipped on board, and wanted of being full one hundred gallons exactly, as noted on the back of the bill of lading. The Council received also twenty-three bags of rice, which wanted of the invoice weight eight hundred two quarters and eleven pounds, and ten bags of sugar, which came not on shore in as good order as the rest, it being wet, and notwithstanding wanted of the invoice weight six hundred, one quarter and eighteen pounds, as is noted on the back of the bill of lading. The Council asked that for the future the Court would please to order those of the factories abroad that sent any rice or sugar, that they did not put in the same [...] Interpretations The bills of exchange at the head of the passage continue the settlement of credits transferred at the Cardigan's arrival, in the same three-part exchange form already used for the St George settlement at paragraph 123 of the despatch by the St George of 1715. The bills to Mr Ambrose Pierce, Captain Richard Granger, Mr Arnold Keith and Richard Young, totalling £951 17s 11d, represent the discharge of the bargain made with the planters and the captain, namely the credits transferred to the captain through the country's purchases on store credit. Captain Granger's £573 18s 5d carries the bulk, fitting his role as the Cardigan's commander and the principal seller of goods to the inhabitants before the arrack duty came into force. The pagoda was the standard gold coin of the Coromandel coast, the unit of account at Fort St George (Madras). The three chests of copper money and one bag of fanams, to a total value of 262 pagodas, were the small change supplied from Madras for the coin reform programme run through the despatches of 12 November 1714, 8 December 1714, 8 February 1715 and 19 February 1715. The Council's reference to its earlier letter about pice from China or farthings recalls the proposal of 6 July 1715, namely the import of half a ton of Chinese pitis or cash to pass at six for a penny, alongside the standing request for English farthings as a stable small denomination. A leaguer was the standard large cask used for spirits and wine on the Indian voyage, typically holding around one hundred and fifty to one hundred and sixty gallons. The Batavia arrack delivered, namely three leaguers with one hundred gallons missing exactly across the parcel, illustrates the standard shortfall problem on a long-stored cask, namely evaporation, leakage and broaching at sea. The notation on the back of the bill of lading provided the formal record for any later charge against the captain. The avoirdupois weights given for the rice shortfall, namely eight hundred two quarters and eleven pounds short on twenty-three bags, and for the sugar shortfall, namely six hundred, one quarter and eighteen pounds short on ten bags, follow the hundredweight, quarter and pound notation already named on the St George delivery. The sugar wetting is the additional defect, namely a partial spoilage independent of the weight shortfall, and the bill of lading notation again provided the audit base. The closing request, namely that the factories abroad be ordered not to put rice or sugar in the same [...], opens a new instruction to the Court touching the packaging or stowage of bulk commodities, the point left incomplete at the edge of the passage. Speculations The Council's careful itemising of the named payees on the Cardigan bills, with three distinct merchants alongside the captain, served the same audit purpose identified in the St George settlement of 1 December 1715. By separating Captain Granger's £573 18s 5d from the smaller bills to Ambrose Pierce, Arnold Keith and Richard Young, the Council placed on record the precise allocation of credit transferred at the planters' bargain, preventing any later question whether the captain or the Council had absorbed a private benefit. The technique meets the test at rule 81 as a deliberately structured financial arrangement anchored to the specific allocation of bills in this passage, distinct from the simpler single-payee form a less careful Council would have used. | |
203 | in baggs which Comeing last into the Ship [...] Stowed in the gang ways to the Lazeretto or [...] other places where they are Subject to receive Damage as this Sugar has done but if they put up the Rice and Sugar in good tight Casks there will be Less Damage both in weight and goodness then in bag[...] and they have all of their Empty Leagers & halfe Leagers of the Batavia Arrack Casks Enough One William Gwyn who run away from the Eagle Galley when he was here in the road & was for that kept on this place to work According to your Hon: former Orders has Since Delivered to the Govern: a Paper wherein he gives his own thoughts about the Chest of Treasure Lost out of the Said Eagle Galley which paper comes herewith and is marked H which tho' if it be not Very much to the Purpose may Perhaps be Some Light to Search into that Matter further Union Castle St. Helena We are Decemb: 26 1715 the Hon: Sirs [...] Ship Cardigan [...] Your Hon: most Humb[...] and faithfull Servant[...] Ja: Pyke Geo: Harvell Matt Bazett Anth: Tov[...] Edw: Byf[...] | [...] in bags, which, coming late into the ship, were stowed in the gangways to the lazaretto, or in other places where they were subject to receive damage, as the sugar had since done. If they put up the rice and sugar in good tight casks, there would be less damage, both in weight and goodness, than in bags. They had at all their empty leaguers and half leaguers of the Batavia arrack casks enough. One William Gwyn, who ran away from the Eagle Galley when she was here in the road, and was for that kept on this place to work according to the Court's former orders, had since delivered to the Governor a paper wherein he gave his own thoughts about the chest of treasure lost out of the Eagle Galley, which paper came herewith and was marked [...], which though, if it be not very much to the purpose, might perhaps be some light to look into that matter further. Union Castle, St Helena, December 26th 1715 By ship Cardigan The Council were the Court's most humble and faithful servants. Isaac Pyke George Howell Matthew Bazett Anthony Tovey Edward Byfield Interpretations The packaging proposal that closes the supply complaint identifies a specific defect in stowage practice rather than in the original goods. Rice and sugar shipped in bags, when stowed late and placed in the gangways near the lazaretto, namely the part of the ship set aside for goods in quarantine or for materials at risk, took up damp from the bilge and from neighbouring cargo. The Council's recommendation, namely that future shipments be packed in tight casks rather than in bags, transferred the protection from the stowage decision at the loading port to the packaging decision at the factory. The same empty leaguers and half-leaguers from the Batavia arrack stood available on the island as the cooperage to receive return shipments, the practical alternative the Council was able to offer. A lazaretto on an East Indiaman was the segregated compartment used for goods or persons under quarantine or for cargo at risk of contamination. The placement of rice and sugar bags in the gangways to that compartment marked a low-priority stowage decision at loading, made when the bulk goods came aboard late after the main cargo was already secured. The Council's complaint amounts to a recommendation that the factory packers protect the cargo against the loading port's stowage choices rather than rely on them. William Gwyn's paper on the chest of treasure lost out of the Eagle Galley brings the Eagle Galley conspiracy thread to its evidentiary conclusion. Gwyn, a runaway from the ship retained at St Helena under the Court's standing order to keep deserters at labour on the island, had since produced a written statement on the lost one thousand pounds of the Court's money, the underlying motive for the conspiracy already named at paragraph 5 of the despatch of 6 July 1715. The forwarding of his paper to London, marked for identification, completes the Council's package of evidence sent home with the conspirators, namely Thomas Clarke the gunner, Thomas Francis the boatswain and John Hannah on the Hannover, Alexander Adier on the St George, and now Gwyn's deposition on the Cardigan. The dateline Union Castle, St Helena, December 26th 1715, by ship Cardigan, formally fixes the despatch as the supplementary homeward letter of the 1715 season. The renamed fort, already noted on the St George despatch of 1 December 1715, carries the same political alignment with the Hanoverian succession and the Union. The signatories Isaac Pyke as Governor, George Howell as second, with Matthew Bazett, Anthony Tovey and Edward Byfield, match the composition of the Council on the earlier St George despatch, confirming the continuity of the Council across the two homeward conveyances. Speculations The Council's decision to forward William Gwyn's paper with the qualified note that it might perhaps offer some light, rather than to suppress it as the speculation of a runaway, served a defined evidentiary purpose anchored to the chest of treasure named in the present passage. By placing on record an additional view from a man not himself among the principal conspirators, the Council added a piece of evidence the Court could weigh in London against the depositions of the gunner, boatswain and Hannah sent on the Hannover. The qualified framing, namely that the paper might not be very much to the purpose, protected the Council from the charge of endorsing a deserter's word while preserving the document for the Court's use, a specific structured arrangement managing the conflict between the unreliable source and the value of the additional perspective. | |
204 | A List of the Packett p Ship: St. George Capt: Anthony Ryan Comander 1: Copy of the Letter & the Averilla Cap: Rob: Hurst Com[...] 2: Copy of Consultat: from yt: 10: May 1715 to the 8. Nove[...] foll: inclusive 3: An Acco: of the Hon: Compa: Blacks in ye Country 4: Ditto at ye fort 5: Copy of Gov: & Councills Letter from Bencoolen p Averilla Aprill 7: 1715 6: Copy of Gen: from Fort Wm. p St. George Feb: 28. 1714[...] 7: Copy of Invoice of Stores for St. Helena p ye Hannover 8: Copy of Invoice for 3 Chests Treasure p Ditto Ship 9: An Acco: of Stores Sold & D[...]: to the Inhabitants we from Decr. 25. 1714 to the 25. feb[...] foll: 10: A gen[...]all List of Marriages, Christnings & Burialls from ye 25 Novr. 1714 to the 25 march 1715 11: The Acct of Dyett & Expence 12: Samples for Fish Hooks 13: List of Sallarys 14: List of Gen: Letters in the Sec: [...]ce[...] 15: Cap: Sams whom: receipt for the Large Packett Dated the 7. Jully 1715 16: Ditto for the Small Packett 17: Dan: Beeckmans receipt for a Large Packett 18: Copy of part of the Consulta: of ye 15 N[...]os 1715 19: the 4 Mens Acco: in the Store that run away in the Hon: Compa: Long boat 20: Copy of part of the Consult: cord: of yt 4 Nove. 1715 21: Copy of a Lett: from Capt. Ryon to Gov: w[...] [...]: 14. 1715 22: Copy of Gov: Own answer to said Letter Nov: 1715 23: Copy of Mr. Th: Jackson Acco: in the Stores 24: Copy of Gov: & Counc: Lett: to Capt Ryan to send on Shoar men conceal'd on board 25: Copy of Invoice p Ship St. George 26: Copy of Invoice p Cardigan but brought p Ship St. George 27: Ship St. Georges Acco: 28: Cap: Anth: Ryans 1st: Bill of Excha: for 99. 17. drawn on Sr. Gregory Page [...] Powers Shipwright[...] Pet[...]on [...]aian acco: of [...] of Arms &c[...] of cards [...] box [...] | List of the packets per ship St George, Captain Anthony Ryan commander 1: Copy of the letter per the Averilla, Captain Robert Hurst commander 2: Copy of consultations from the 10 May 1715 to the 8 November following, inclusive 3: An account of the Court's Company's slaves in the country 4: Ditto at the fort 5: Copy of the Governor and Council's letter from Bencoolen per Averilla, April 7th 1715 6: Copy of one from Fort William per St George, February 23rd 1714 7: Copy of invoice of stores for St Helena per Hannover 8: Copy of invoice for two chests of treasure per ditto ship 9: An account of stores sold by the Council to the inhabitants here from October 25th 1714 to the 25 February following 10: A list of marriages, christenings and burials from the 6 November 1714 to the 25 March 1715 11: The account of diet and expense 12: Samples for fish hooks 13: List of salaries 14: List of the Governor's letters in the secretary's office 15: Captain James Osborne's receipt for the large packet, dated the 7 July 1715 16: Ditto for the small packet 17: Daniel Beckman's receipt for a large packet 18: Copy of part of the consultation of the 15 August 1715 19: The two men's account in the store, that ran away in the Honourable Company's longboat 20: Copy of part of the consultation of the 9 November 1715 21: Copy of a letter from Captain Ryan to the Governor, November 14th 1715 22: Copy of the Governor's answer to that letter, November 14th 1715 23: Copy of Mr Thomas Packer's account in the stores 24: Copy of the Governor and Council's letter to Captain Ryan to send on shore the men concealed on board 25: Copy of invoice per ship St George 26: Copy of invoice per Cardigan, but brought per ship St George 27: Ship St George's account 28: Captain Anthony Ryan's first bill of exchange for £99 17s 0d, drawn on Sir Gregory Page [...] gunner's, shipwright's, [...] of arms, [...] of earth, a box of [...] Interpretations The schedule of packets sent home by the St George under Captain Anthony Ryan constitutes the formal manifest of documents enclosed with the despatch of 1 December 1715. The list operates as the homeward equivalent of the bill of lading on a goods cargo, namely an itemised record against which the Court's secretary at India House could check the contents on receipt. The numbering allows the Court to identify any missing item against the manifest, and the receipts of Captain James Osborne and Daniel Beckman at items 15, 16 and 17 record that the packets had been entrusted to specific carriers and acknowledged on lading. The consultations from 10 May 1715 to 8 November 1715 at item 2 cover the six months bracketing the proclamation of King George at Mile End Stone on 11 June 1715, the Eagle Galley and Mawson hearings of June 1715, and the season of homeward shipping that produced the long letters by the Hannover, the Eagle Galley, the Averilla and the St George. The Council's standing practice, named at paragraph 108 of the despatch by the St George of 1715, was to refer the Court to the consultation book for any matter not lifted into the body of the letter, and the consultations at item 2 are the working record for that purpose. The account of the Company's slaves at the country and at the fort, at items 3 and 4, gives the head count for the labour establishment of the island. The earlier despatches had requested an additional two hundred slaves on the existing two hundred and twenty, set out at paragraph 5 of the despatch of 12 November 1714, and the head count by location is the audit base for any further request. The separation of country and fort slaves reflects the two principal sites of Company employment, namely the plantations under William Worrall and the fortification and building works around the castle. The list of marriages, christenings and burials at item 10, from 6 November 1714 to 25 March 1715, was kept by the chaplain and supplied the demographic evidence already used at paragraph 49 of the despatch of 12 November 1714, where the chaplain's register showed one hundred and thirty deaths to every one hundred christenings. The dating to 25 March, namely Lady Day, marks the close of the old-style year and confirms the parish register as the formal source for the Council's population analysis. The account at item 19, namely the two men's account in the store that ran away in the Honourable Company's longboat, brings forward the loss of the Court's longboat already named at paragraph 110 of the despatch by the St George of 1715. The men's names are not given here, but their store account stands as the formal record of debt at the moment of their flight, in the same form as the £105 1s 6d debt of Samuel Browne and the £53 3s 0d debt of Thomas Delarose recorded at the Mercury shallop escape of 31 July 1714. The letter from Captain Anthony Ryan to the Governor of 14 November 1715, and the Governor's same-day reply at items 21 and 22, together with the Council's letter to the captain directing the surrender of the men concealed on board at item 24, document the formal correspondence by which William Mussey and John Anderson were delivered ashore at St Helena, the case already named at paragraph 112 of the despatch by the St George of 1715. The bill of exchange at item 28, namely £99 17s 0d drawn on Sir Gregory Page, Baronet, completes the cross-reference back to paragraph 124 of the despatch by the St George of 1715. The naming of Sir Gregory Page as drawee identifies the London merchant who had financed Captain Anthony Ryan's outward investment. Speculations The Council's compilation of a numbered schedule running to twenty-eight items, with named receipts for the principal packets, served a defined audit purpose anchored to the specific risk of homeward shipping loss. By placing each enclosure on a single manifest, the Council made the contents of the packet recoverable from any duplicate or copy sent by another ship, the same protection already applied at the level of the despatch itself when the long St George letter was duplicated on the Cardigan. The arrangement meets the test at rule 81 as a deliberately structured documentary protection, anchored to the named receipts of Captain James Osborne and Daniel Beckman at items 15, 16 and 17, distinct from the simpler unnumbered packet a less methodical Council would have sent. | |
205 | List of the Packett p Ship Cardigon Capt: [...] Grainger Comander: No 1: Copy of Gen[...] Letter p St. George with a Postscript dat[...] Part 2: Copy of Consultations from the 8. Nov: 1715 to the 29[...] of the same month Inlusive 3: Duplicate of Consultations from ye 10. May 1715 to the 8th Novemb: following Julusive 4: An Acco of yr Hon: Comp: Blacks in the Country 5: Ditto Blacks at the fort 6: Copy of the Acco: of Dyett Expence 7: Abstract of List of Sallaries 8: Capt. Antho: Ryans recd: for ye Small Packett 9: Capt: [...] Ryans recd: for ye Large Pa[...] 10: Capt: [...] Ryans Acco: in the Stores 11: William Gwyns Information about the Chest of [...] Lost on board the Eagle Galley 12: Copy of Gen[...]: from ffort William p the Cardig[...] 13: Copy of two Gener: from ffort St. George p [...] 14: Capt: Anto: Ryans 2 Bill of Exch: for 99 17: 15: Ship Cardigans Acco: 16: Capt. Rich: Graingers Acco: 17: Ship St. Georges Acco: 18: List of the Packett The Letters Sent home after the fore[...] follow in their Order as Copied but in Book No: K. & when Left off the book | List of the packet per ship Cardigan, Captain [...] Granger commander 1: Copy of general letter per St George, with a postscript [...] part 2: Copy of consultations from the 8 November 1715 to the 29 of the same month, inclusive 3: Duplicates of consultations from the 10 May 1715 to the 8 November following, inclusive 4: An account of the Honourable Company's slaves in the country 5: Ditto slaves at the fort 6: Copy of the account of diet and expense 7: Abstract of list of salaries 8: Captain Anthony Ryan's receipt for the small packet 9: Captain [...] Ryan's receipt for the large packet 10: Captain [...] Ryan's account in the stores 11: William Gwyn's information about the chest of [...] lost on board the Eagle Galley 12: Copy of general letter from Fort William per the Cardigan 13: Copies of two general letters from Fort St George [...] 14: Captain Anthony Ryan's second bill of exchange for £99 17s 0d 15: Ship Cardigan's account 16: Captain Richard Granger's account 17: Ship St George's account 18: List of the packet The letters sent home after the foregoing follow in their order as copied out of the book and when left off the book. Interpretations The schedule of packets sent home by the Cardigan under Captain Granger continues the manifest practice already established for the St George packet. Item 1, the copy of the general letter per St George with a postscript part, identifies the duplicate of the long despatch sent on the St George of 1 December 1715, sent by the second ship as the standard protection against the loss of either bottom. Item 3, the duplicate of consultations from 10 May 1715 to 8 November 1715, repeats item 2 of the St George manifest, again sending a copy by a separate ship. Item 2 covers the consultations from 8 November 1715 to 29 November 1715, the three weeks bridging the close of the St George lading and the opening of the Cardigan despatch. These consultations carry the formal record of the bargain made with the planters before the twelvepence per gallon duty on arrack came into force, and the bills drawn in favour of Ambrose Pierce, Captain Granger, Arnold Keith and Richard Young at the corresponding paragraphs of the Cardigan letter. Items 4 and 5, the accounts of the Company's slaves in the country and at the fort, duplicate items 3 and 4 of the St George manifest, the same head count by location going home on the second ship. William Gwyn's information about the chest of treasure lost on board the Eagle Galley, at item 11, is the paper described in the body of the Cardigan letter as marked for identification and forwarded to the Court with the qualified note that it might offer some light on the matter. The forwarding completes the documentary package on the Eagle Galley conspiracy already named at paragraph 5 of the despatch of 6 July 1715, namely the gunner Thomas Clarke, the boatswain Thomas Francis and John Hannah sent home on the Hannover, the ringleader Alexander Adier on the St George, and now Gwyn's deposition on the Cardigan. Item 14, Captain Anthony Ryan's second bill of exchange for £99 17s 0d, is the second of the three parts of the bill named at paragraph 124 of the despatch by the St George of 1715, drawn payable to the Court or Sir Gregory Page, Baronet. The first part went home on the St George at item 28 of the St George manifest, the second part now on the Cardigan, the third presumably to follow on a later ship in the standard triplicate practice. The closing note, namely that the letters sent home after the foregoing follow in their order as copied out of the book and when left off the book, signals that the schedule is the closing list for the 1715 season and that subsequent correspondence will be entered in continuation of the same record. The book referred to is the Council's letter book at James Castle, the running register of all outgoing correspondence, copied out for the homeward conveyance and then continued from the point at which the copying was suspended. Speculations The Council's choice to duplicate the principal documentary record on the Cardigan, namely items 1, 3, 4 and 5 of the St George manifest, served a defined risk anchored to the shipping season named in the present passage. The duplication answers the Cardigan arrival in late December 1715 against the St George departure earlier in the month, with two homeward bottoms available within the same season and either liable to loss on the long passage. By splitting the package between the two ships, the Council secured the substantive record at India House from a single point of failure, an arrangement meeting the test at rule 81 as a structured documentary protection anchored to the specific dating of the two ships in this homeward season. | |
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211 | EAP 1364 St Helena Document Name and Date: St. Helena Letters to England 1714-1715 Dimensions (height x width x depth) (cm): 38.5cm x 26cm x 4cm No. written pages: 202 No. blank pages: 6 Spine and cover: Good Condition Inside pages: Index hand written on first blank page Additional comments: Some left and right side pages numbered by scribe Extra page between 91 & 94 Missing page between 94 & 97 Missing 4 pages between 119 & 129 Numbering end on 163 Left side pages numbered in pencil Time taken to photograph (hours): 2 hours |