What was the west indies trade

For him the. He was strongly for Havana, as the largest and most striking acquisition that could be made1 ; also because, as it was the lastport ofcallof the Spanish homeward bound trade, and the place of assembly for the fleets, its destruction would be the most effective way of stopping the remittance of the treasure. But it was very strong, could only be attempted at certain times of the year, and was so far to leeward that while the British forces were attacking it, any enemy squadron anywhere in the West Indies could make a descent on Jamaica before they could return to its defence.

Prize money has often influenced a plan of cam- paign, sometimes fatally ; but no doubt Vernon was chiefly determined by his conviction that Havana was much too strong to be attacked with the forces at his command. It is significant that the Home Government, which was so anxious for an aggressive policy against the Spanish colonies in the early stages of the war, never made any plans on the same scale for the conquest of the French West Indies, and the only enterprise which was underta- ken in this war against the French colonies was in North America, where the interests and wishes of the English colonists were as favourable to expansion and conquest as they were hostile to it in the West Indies.

But it would be an exaggeration to attribute this mainly to the sinister interest of the sugar-planters. Turning now to the question , how far was the British trade with the French and Spanish West Indies promoted or interrupted by the war, we find it to some extent already answered, at least so far as concerns the Spanish colonies, by the foregoing discussion. There was on the one hand the unreflecting and conservative view that it was in itself unpatriotic and must contribute to the of the war.

But others made distinctions on this very point. Obviously some kinds of trade with the enemy must increase his ability to carry on the war, for instance, supplying him with contraband goods, or provisions. Those who regarded every bargain as a kind of battle in which one party must gain and the other must lose, natu- rally were for continuing in the war those trades in which we were thought to get the better of the enemy.

For instance, the Judge of the Yice Admiralty court at Boston thought it arguable that supplying the enemy with use- less luxuries and receiving in exchange gold and silver, the sinews of war, was the way to win the war, not to lose it : and he gave it to be understood that he would not con- demn such trade as unlawful1. In the same spirit, it was agreed in the House of Commons that we ought not to prohibit the insurance of enemy ships and effects, if our insurers chose to underwrite policies for them, because if they continued to do so they must be making a profit by it at the expense of the enemy 2.

Moreover, statesmen and merchanls found it « hard to see other Nations run away with the Navigation3 », and they were haunted by Ihe fear that a temporary diversion of a current of trade, caused by the prohibition of commerce with the enemy, might become permanent, in spite of ail attempts to restore it to its old channel.

This was a particularly serious danger for a predominantly manufacturing and mercantile nation such as Great Britain was beginningto become. Everybody who spoke on this side of the question referred with appro- val to the example of the Dutch. Some use was made of the sophistry fhat we must continue to supply the enemy with certain goods in order to bring him into such a dependence on us for those articles that the fear of being deprived of them will cause him to shrink from opposing our wishes.

It was, for instance, by this that the South Sea Company's factors at Gartagena justified their demand for permission to continue during the war to supply the Spanish Galleons with flour, at a time when the British fleet was possibly going to attack them 2.

This was the distinction between trade with the French and with the Spanish enemy. Nei- ther in Europe nor in America were the Spaniards seriously regarded as rivais of British trade or industry.

The chief exports of their American colonies were supplementary to the produce oi the British West Indies. Spanish cocoa and indigo having beaten the cocoa and indigo of Jamaica out. There was at this time little temptation to import Spanish sugar. The illicit trade with Spanish America was a great outlet for the British slave trade and British manufactures. The French on the other hand were rivais in Europe as manufacturers, and in the West lndies as producers of sugar and molasses.

Probably more manufactured goods were exported from the French to the British West lndies than from the to the French. Some objection had indeed been made to supplying Spanish America with negroes, but only because it raised their price in the British colonies ; the negro trade to the French West lndies, which was carried on even by British ships of war, in spite of the disapproval of the French authorities l, was open to the graver that it supplied the rivais of the British sugar planters with labour.

And, worst of ail, great quantities of French colonial produce, especially sugar, were secretly imported into the British West lndies, carried to England, and admitted paying only the duties laid on colonial produce of the Empire. Nothing was more contrary to the wishes of the planters, but they could not prevent it even in time of war.

French, it was partofa scheme to ruin the rival colonies themselves. A more obvious and necessary distinction was that which was made between the export to the enemy of classes of goods. The export of actual contraband of war — arms, ammunition, etc. Where no provisions or contraband goods were there was not the slightest objection to promoting the trade with Spanish America.

The Governors were to see that the British privateers respected Ihis right. This letter was not sent, perhaps because it was too definite ; but it represents the consistent attitude of the British Government, which had been definitely approved by the Cabinet. It looks as if ail this protection ren. The British privateers were not always so discreet as the Bristish navy.

A certain John Ford of Jamaica tried to seize British ships trading with the Spaniards, also those who came to deal with them. Christopher Edzery, also of Jamaica, even plundered the Spaniards at the South Keys by pretending to trade with them himself. Naturaliy the Spaniards lost confidence in the Jamaica traders on their coast and could hardly be induced to do any business with them. He was originally sent to treat for the ransom of some Spanish goods which had been made prize by the British, and were badly needed in Havana1.

This Avas a kind of trade to which a good deal of latitude was allowed by both sides ail over the West Indies ; but Estrada not only proposed to put it on a regular footing, but a little later exhibited full power from the Governor of Havana to introduce into Cuba " Negroes, Flower, Rice, Puise, Hams, Sheet-lead, Tin, Pictures, Lin- seed-Oil, Window Glasses, Cordage, Sail-Cloth, several sorts of Merchandize and other Effects, as Household Furni- ture, Diamonds set, Looking Glasses et other small things 2 ».

This trade was pursued for some time by friends and, it was suspected, partners of Trelawny, and was said to be very lucrative and to involve the export of great quantities of British manufactures. Walpole's bill did not pass ; but on February i! The export of provisions to the enemy was felt to be open to mqre objection. Also there were the obvious military reasons for distressing the enemy by depriving him of his supplies.

The French were more in this respect than the Spaniards, but the pro- blem arose early in the Spanish war, partly because the Spanish galleons at Cartagena needed victualling, partly because it was assumed to be no less necessary to distress the French, as potential enemies, than the Spaniards. As soon as the war broke out, the factors of the South Sea Company asked the Governor of Jamaica for to carry out their contract of supplying provisions to the Spaniards.

The request was repeated to Vernon, but he refused it more definitely. Large British, French and Spanish forces were expec- ted to winter in the West Indies, and it was necessary on the one hand to secure a good supply of victuals for the English forces, and on the other, to prevent the French and Spanish forces from having any at ail.

Vernon there- fore wrote a circular letter to the Governors of colonies, asking them to see that no provisions were exported unless the shippers gave bond to land them somewhere in the British dominions. Some colonies passed laws to this effect1. In fact this was so relished by the British West India interest that Knight proposed as a permanent policy to forbid, or at least to burden with a high duty, the export of provisions to foreign colonies2.

In a certain James Christie made a contract with the Viceroy of Santa Fe to import two thousand barrels of flour into Portobello. The war with France in » which was a much greater danger to the colonies, particularly in New England and the Leeward Islands, than the war with Spain, produced a new crop of local laws forbidding the export of provisions. But it was found perfectly impossible to enforce this prohibition, even where to relax it was to incurthe possi- bility of a great military danger.

Southern Ireland, which exported great quantities of sait beef, was in the same position. The islands were very small, and at most of them the arrivai of three or four small vessels together with the sarae kind of might easily glut the market and involve the super- cargoes in a long, expensive and irritating pursuit of pur- chasers.

This the islands of Antigua and S'Christophers found to their cost. In Jamaica the System followed was apparently one of licensed exports ; the Governor issued the license, and generally permitted ail classes of provisions to be expor- ted, except those which happened to be particularly dear in Jamaica2. The former supplied not only the Spanish settlements on the main- land, but Havana and Hispaniola, and S1 Eustatius perfor- med the same service for the French Windward Islands.

There was also a direct intercourse between North America and the French islands by means of Flags of Truce. The Flags of Truce had a legitimate origin. Large num- bers of prisoners were taken on both sides. They were expensive and, in islands with very small white even dangerous to keep. The colonial assemblies, whose chief method of recommending themselves to their constituents was avoiding so far as possible the imposition of taxes, generally refused to pay for the keep of the any longer than they could help.

In this way the enemy's privateers would havebeen reduced to inaction for want of crews, instead of being supplied over and over again with the same seamen who, however often captured, were always imme- diately returned. From North America the French prisoners were sent away, and the English prisoners returned, by twos and threes in mer- chand vessels. Sometimes care was taken to prevent the export of provisions through this channel ; most commonly it was not.

The commissions, which were issued by the Governors, were in great demand. It would not be worth. They did not always see eye to eye as the two most powerful leaders of the upper Connecticut Valley. His home was in Hartford.

Here he apparently had made a voyage for Pynchon. The timber may have been intended for the West Indies. It is the earliest rafting of timber that the editor has come across. The context suggests a dividend or commission for Samuel Partridge. Special wood was needed in the fabrication of blocks.

Samuel was commissioned captain of the Springfield trainband in He was associated with John Pynchon in the ketch Northern Venture.

Loose fibers from old hemp rope used in caulking the seams of vessels. Any form of ardent spirits taken as a drink, such as brandy or usquebaugh eaue de vie or whisky.

Farmers consumed large quantities of salt for preserving meats. Several of the masters of coasters mentioned below are no longer identifiable. He took off wheat from the minister of Springfield, Reverend George Moxon. He served as a carter and riverboatman for Pynchon. They could carry barrels and hogshead down to Enfield Falls and bring back imported English goods.

The bushels mentioned above were probably charcoal, the usual forge fuel. He was also a carter. Later a carter and laborer for Pynchon, from whom he leased a farm.

He was the second most prominent inhabitant of Springfield and an associate with Pynchon on the Hampshire Court. This mill was clearly a family enterprise. The buckets were not water-wheel buckets, which had not yet been devised. Laths were thin, narrow strips of wood used to form a groundwork for laying shingles. In he was licensed to keep an ordinary or tavern there.

Andrews were experienced millwrights whom Pynchon brought in from out-of-town. The lean-to was usually added later, but in this instance it was planned as part of the original building. This is a prime illustration of the way he received much of the land he owned. Justice John Pynchon ordered him returned to Manhattan. This was a costly judgment for the little town. In he had been chosen the Springfield deputy to the General Court.

What with Englishmen, Dutchmen, French Huguenots, and Indians, frontier Springfield was beginning to acquire a cosmopolitan population. In seventeenth-century New England, this was a rare occurrence. They may have been brothers. From to the close of the First World War graphite was mined intermittently there. They were also deeply involved in fur-trading and industrial ventures, such as the ironworks at Saugus and in Connecticut. In later years, Allyn kept the ordinary or tavern in the village.

See above, 73, note 5 for his services for Pynchon. He may have been an employee of John Winthrop, Jr. He was a tailor for Pynchon. Later he moved to Deerfield.

He was probably a tailor. See above, A Scot who served the Pynchon family and later rented a farm from John Pynchon, he frequently worked as a farm laborer for him. He was a mariner and traded between Boston and the Connecticut River towns.

He was lost at sea, probably in , leaving a son, also named Elias. This is an excellent example of rural intermarriage among leading families. He had an interesting account with John Pynchon that appears on pages — Terry may have been the Samuel Terry of Springfield, weaver, who was first apprenticed to William Pynchon, then to Benjamin Cooley of that town in He also worked as a carter and farm laborer for Pynchon. Russal: the Reverend John Russell, minister of Hadley.

This is the most detailed account with an Indian that the editor has found. Goodwin: of Hadley and often mentioned in the Account Books. See above, , note 1. Henry Clarke was apparently involved for the town of Hadley in land transactions with Pynchon.

John Russell, Sr. Perhaps John Pynchon, who knew them both, made a slip in recording. Killed in the Indian attack of No date for this agreement is given, but the context suggests In he was bound by the court to keep the peace. Cattle and sheep had to be grazed in separate fields because the sheep nibbled the grass so close to the ground that cattle could get none to chew.

See Pynchon Papers, I, 40, 76, 77, note 2. Whether they were settlers or merely acquiring land for resale is not clear. This agreement not only reveals how Pynchon rented his land, but is full of information for the historian of agriculture in early New England. Manuring the soil with cow dung was not widely practiced this early on either small holdings or large ones.

Here it may possibly mean clipped. He was allowed diet, like Buell. In he shingled Mr. Here he is providing diet for a sawyer from out of town. Simon Lobdell probably procured his bricks from Northampton. In any event, he supplied bricks for the House of Correction chimney. Round Hill was in Northampton. The clay of Northampton was apparently the most suitable for burning bricks, which must have been carried down to Springfield in long dugout canoes.

Joint would not mean to hang shingles. Possibly jointing meant to fit them or put them together for hanging or shingling. The context here suggests that a cowle was a tub with two ears for carrying water. Rearing suggests a frame for the brick building, which is not at all clear.

This is excerpted in material for the House of Correction. This one may have been an inside pump, an even greater rarity. First and last a considerable number of outside artisans were employed by Pynchon. Certainly he was not the indigent John Gilbert listed by Innes, Springfield, Many an English barn had a lean-to, either in the rear or at one end.

In he had land in Westfield. The small dimensions of the new warehouse, the cellar with an entrance from outside, and the lean-to are noteworthy features of the proposed structure. Sam Gaines may have lived in Suffield; he was not an inhabitant of Springfield. Because of his many ventures in building, John Pynchon acquired a very good knowledge of who were the best and most reliable workmen.

In England it was a quarter day, as it apparently was at Springfield. See glossary of cloth terms. In this case the letters must have been gilded. See Pynchon Papers, I, 51 note 2.

Peletiah Glover may be found in the Account Books, 11, 2; v, part 1, 6—9; and v, part 2, and The editor knows of no other records of this kind. At this time Mary was about thirteen years old. Patrick Cunningham died in He had been a merchant and competitor of John Pynchon.

These accounts add considerably to the little that is known about this prominent New Yorker who, in , wrote and published at London a Brief Description of New-York —the first work in English relating to this province.

Denton — spent much of his life at Jamaica, Long Island. While he was in England on business in , back at Jamaica his wife proved unfaithful to him. This led to a divorce in when she confessed to adultery.

By August or earlier, he had gone to Springfield, where on 24 April he married Hannah, the daughter of John Leonard, a substantial farmer of that place. He rented land and a cow from John Pynchon. Staying on at Springfield after the end of hostilities, he may have served as a schoolmaster as well as a physician. In he took the oath of allegiance as ordered by the General Court, and in September John Pynchon swore him as a freeman and he was admitted. In he called himself as of Westfield, but by he had been readmitted an inhabitant of Jamaica.

The rest is silence. Curiously, for over a century after the first settlement shad was looked upon as the food for poor men who did not have any salt pork. Denton may be found in the Account Books, v, part 2, —, and vi , 56 and See Pynchon Papers, I, 21 note 2. On several other occasions he was hauled into court, as in , when he was fined for striking William Morgan and breaking his nose! There was evidently much more intercourse between the English of the Connecticut Valley and the Dutch at Albany than formerly thought, as this and other evidence attest.

At this time the knife was provided with a sheath instead of a jointed blade or blades. They probably were imported from England and probably there was but one last to a size. Evidently Noble owned a horse and belonged to the Springfield cavalry commanded in person by John Pynchon. He was also a farmer and later on a lieutenant of the trainband of Springfield. This is the only instance of oiled breeches that the editor has come across: oiling probably made the breeches warmer, as well as more pliable.

He was a somewhat litigious person. He married Lydia Bliss in By trade he was a tanner and shoemaker. A habitual drunkard, he was frequently fined for drunken behavior and lasciviousness.

Either the New Englanders had larger feet or the scale of measurement was different from ours. This entry and the following seem to indicate that men, as well as their wives, wore French heels in frontier Springfield! Pynchon turned him over to Henry Smith. See Pynchon Papers, I, passim. Evidently the Connecticut practice prevailed at Westfield. Many old New England farmhouses had cellar walls of large stones fitted without any mortar.

See Pynchon Papers, I, 12, Cords: cords for holding and tightening the drum head. He was a selectman of Springfield thirteen times and three times a deputy to the General Court.

See Pynchon Papers, I, 26 note, — In Springfield a bit passed as 8 pence. He was landless and worked as a wage laborer. He worked for John Pynchon in as a wage laborer. For some unknown reason John Pynchon allowed him to attend the election at Hartford. His last name does not appear in the Pynchon Accounts.

The distance was about ninety-two miles. She was a wage servant and testified to the very early appearance of the servant problem in New England. Unfortunately this entry is undated. New England and Ireland had very few connections throughout the seventeenth century. John Wickins was a merchant of London with whom John Pynchon dealt. See Pynchon Papers, I, index, s.

John Wickins. See Pynchon Papers , I, 86 note. Toggle navigation Contents. Wise: an error for wide. By Mr Martins man for mending Boats. By Freight of goods in the Welcome to Barbados. Due to Giles Hamlin for Sugar. By Wheate for Capt Silvester To 7 li pd by you by Goodm Morrice which you wrote in your letter June To what your Father Grow pays you more for me. To 5 li 1 10s 2d due to me on acot for voyadge from Nov to May Too large a vessel took weeks to locate adequate return cargo and fully load.

On nearly every island, the ship captain found vast estates powered by enslaved Africans who produced sugar for export. Huge wooden rollers crushed the canes, and the juice was cooked down to a coarse brown sugar called muscavado and its waste product, molasses. Of the approximately 5, slaves in Connecticut at the time of the Revolutionary War , most came to the colony through the West Indies Trade. Between seven and nine million enslaved Africans were brought in chains to the Caribbean beginning in about to work in hot, humid fields and the dangerous boiling houses where the juice was cooked to crystal.

During the Colonial period, Britain tried to control the West Indies trade and her mainland colonies. Through the various Navigation Acts, the Molasses Act , and the Sugar Act , the Crown aimed to prevent trade and smuggling with non-British Islands and raise revenue.

Some historians contend that the powerful West Indies lobby in Parliament, made up of British bankers who held the debt of the planters, was behind the punitive acts. During the American Revolution, New Englanders raided island forts to seize valuable cannon, powder, and shot. Some West Indian assemblies opposed British policy toward their North American colonies for fear that they, in the islands, would starve without the corresponding trade; but none officially joined the fray.

During the first quarter of the 19th century, a series of events and circumstances brought the West Indies trade to a slow, agonizing end. The continued threat and reality of slave rebellions in the islands made for a very high cost of maintaining British soldiers there. The debt of island planters to British bankers grew as the productivity of their exhausted soil declined. Bankers in England found other, more reliable investments, such as railroads, canals, and the new, steam-powered factories.

This strategy, however, caused financial ruin for many in maritime communities, including those of Connecticut. Abolitionist forces in Britain made the slave trade illegal in and emancipated people held as slaves in British possessions in Freed people might work as freemen on their former plantations, but they also began to grow their own food in corner plots. The infrastructure of the trade collapsed, and plantations stopped improving their facilities with imported lumber and no longer feed their now-freed workforce with imported food.

The development of the sugar beet as an alternative sweetener took many Central European customers out of the market. The West Indies trade was based on captured and enslaved Africans forced to work in agricultural slavery on the sugar islands.

Many people in Connecticut profited from this trade, from the ship-owning merchant to the milkmaid who traded her cheese for sugar at the country store. Farmers expanded their cultivated fields and sent their sons to Yale with profits from the trade, and shipbuilding, which became a major industry, used the West Indies trade for research and development.

Furniture makers, portrait painters, and even clothiers created enduring works of art on commissions from these merchants. Advertisement, Connecticut Courant, Connecticut River Museum. Labaree, Benjamin Woods.