IWUDD Barbados Cxr f887d tOtt or any other person to be King, or chief Magistrate, of England, or Ireland, or of any dominions belonging thereunto, by colour of inheritance, succession, election, or any other claim whatsoever, and, that, whoever con trary to the Act in this case made, presumed to proclaim King Charles, should be " deemed and adjudged, a traitor," and suffer accordingly. As to the Stuarts themselves, the Merry Monarch, as has been already seen, was then an exile on the Continent : so was his brother, the Duke of York, afterwards known as JAMES the SECOND; while the noble-spirited Duke of Gloucester, or Master Henry Stuart as he was then called, was at the time a State prisoner in England : CROMWELL'S idea that it would be a good thing to bring the lad up to a trade — with a preference for a shoemaker's — not being, however, carried into effect. Again, the Cavaliers of Barbados declared the Book of Common Prayer to be the only pattern of True Worship in the Island. In England, not only had the use of the Book of Common Prayer been for years abolished, but it was highly penal to make use of it, while the use of the " Directory of Public Worship," the work of the Assem bly of Divines at Westminster, was enforced under penalty. Even on the sad occasion of the burial of the late King at Windsor, when Bishop Juxon wished to use the Burial Service in the Prayer Book, Colonel WHICHCOTE, the Governor of the Castle, positively and roughly refused to allow it, saying : — " It was not lawful : " that the Common Prayer Book was put down, and he " would not suffer it to be used in that garrison where " he commanded ;" and, Lord Clarendon adds, " nor C2 12 Cavaliers and Roundheads. " could all the Reason, Persuasions, and Entreaties, pre- " vail with him to suffer it." The mention of Parish Churches where the Prayer Book was to be distinctly and duly read every Lord's Day, recalls the fact that the Church of England had been swept away, and the Presbytery had taken its place, while Archbishops and Bishops had been abol ished, as also had been Deans, and Arch Deacons, and all other Church Officers, down to the humblest. Some persons had even raised the question of pulling down the Cathedrals, on the ground that unless " the nests " were destroyed the birds would return to them:" while during the Civil War, Roundheads and Cavaliers had alike used these holy places as barracks and stables ; and it is recorded more especially against the Round heads that their horses had not only been stabled under the roof of St. Paul's, but had even been fed at the High Altar of that Cathedral. /#*%^ CHAPTER II. WESTWARD HO ! Some, to the Wars to try their fortunes there ; Some, to discover Islands far away. §F the way was not clear for English Colonies to settle in the West Indies, it had, at all events been found out, in the days of Queen ELIZABETH, when many a hero who had fought against the Armada, or had helped to singe the King of Spain's beard at Cadiz, sought the Caribbean Sea as a happy hunting ground for the Spanish treasure ships. Hither came, in ' shippes,' in ' barkes,' in ' pinnesses,' many a gallant English gentle man, who followed the lead of such famous commanders as Sir FRANCIS Drake, Sir Walter Rawlegh, Sir John Hawkins, Sir Martin Frobisher, Sir Richard Grenville, and the bold George Clifford, Earl of Cumberland, with other leaders of less renown, like Fenner, Knollys, and Winter. They scoured the Caribbean Sea and the Mexique Bay, now plunder ing the Plate ships, now landing and wrestling with the Spaniard within his Treasure houses, and sacking these, and, generally, dealing the Don such swashing blows as not only made him reel, but also broke his power 14 Cavaliers and Roundheads. of invading England.* Surely, the doughty deeds of the ELIZABETHAN seamen gave good cause for the Spanish proverb " Peace with England : War with the rest of the world !" The English had not, however, a monopoly of mauling and plundering the Spaniard. The French did some thing in that way. The Hollanders also, who, under the leadership of William the SiLENT, had so nobly broken the bloody yoke of iron which Spain had imposed * The following lists will give an idea of the English Armadas that from time to time visited the West Indies. In December, 1585, Sir Francis Drake arrived at Dominica with these ships and captains : — The Primrose Captain Martin Frobisher, Vice Admiral. The Galeon Leicester Francis Knolles, Rear Admiral. The Elizabeth Bonadventure... Master Thomas Vennor, under the General. Aide Edward Winter. Tygar Christopher Carliel, Lieulenant- General. Sea Dragon Henry White. Thomas ; Thomas Drake. Minion Thomas Seelie. ™bot 1 Barks ( —^- Bonner J ( Geo. Fortescue. Hope Edward Carelesse. White Lion James Erizo. Francis Thomas Moonc. Vantage John Rivers. Drake John Vaughan. George John Varney. Benjamin John Martin. Skout Edward Gilman. Ducke (Galliot) Richard Hawkins. Swallow Bitfield. Bond Robert Crosse. The names of the other four are not given, On the 23rd of May, 1596, the Earl of Cumberland arrived at Westward ho! 15 upon them in Philip the SECOND'S time, and had; with the aid of Queen ELIZABETH, set up as an independent people ; though their independence was not yet recog nized by their aforetime tyrants, with unflagging zeal pursued their purpose of spoiling the Spaniard and breaking up his monopoly of the New World. Wherever they found their oppressor they set upon and smote him hip and thigh-, while, regardless of consequences, they planted themselves on the banks of the various rivers of Dominica having the following ships in his fleet : — . The Earl. Malice Scourge J Capt. John Wats, outwards. I James Langton, homewards. Merchant Royal Vice Admiral Sir John Barkeley. Ascension Capt. Robert Flicke, Rear Admiral. Henry Clifford, after whose death at Samson ¦ Puerto Rico, Capt. Christopher Colthurst. Alcedo Mast. John Ley ; and homewards Thos. Cotch. Consent Capt. Francis Slingsby. „_ / Tames Langton, out. Prosperous \ ;,.,,, I John Wats, home. „ , . f Henrie Palmer, and after his death, his Centurion \ ,„.„. r» i I son, William Palmer. Gallion Constance ... Hercules Folyambe. Affection Flemming. ~ . f Christopher Colthurst, outwards. Guiana i _ ,...,„ , . i Gerard Middleton, homewards. Scout Henrie Jolliffe. . . r Robert Carcles, and after his death, \ Capt. Andrew Andrewes, Pegasus Edward Goodwin. Royall Defence Henrie Uromley. Margaret and John ... John Dixon. Barkley Bay John Lea. John William Harper. And two barges for landing troops.— Purchas, part iv. L. 6. C. I. P- "49- These lists are given in Captain Southey's West Indian Chronology, vol. I. pp. 205, and 227. 16 Cavaliers and Roundheads. the Wild Coast, and even preceded the English in making settlements on the West Indian Islands. In the year 1623, the Hollanders had eight hundred vessels employed in commerce and warfare in the West Indies ; and in the next thirteen years they captured from the Spaniards and Portuguese, prizes to the value of two and a half millions sterling, or equal to about nine millions now-a-days in purchasing power. This was, in part, the manner in which these Netherlanders paid off the cruel ties inflicted upon them during the persecution of Philip, Alva, and the Inquisition. The Spaniards had themselves neglected the smaller islands for the Empires which CORTEZ and PlZARRO had conquered in Mexico and Peru ; and the vast terri tories which their lieutenants had subdued in Venezuela, and other parts of the Continent, which, together with the old colonies in the noble islands of San Domingo, Cuba, Jamaica, and Porto Rico, attracted almost all the emi grants that left Spain to seek their fortunes in the New World. The fine island of Trinidad had become the home of a scant number of Spaniards, and some islets near the Main were resorted to by others for pearl fish ing ; but the islands in our time comprised in the Leeward and Windward Governments, and those now under the French and Danish flags, had been left to the Caribs, who dwelt in them, or resorted to them, untroubled by the white sea rovers who visited them from time to time, only in search of wood and water, or of a place for mustering their men. The Spanish galleons and the carracks of Portugal often touched at these Islands, but oftener passed them by, and it appears that Barbados very sel dom came in their course. It chanced, however, in 1563, Westward ho I 17 that Pedro a" Campos, then on a voyage to Margaritha; fell short of water, when, luckily for him, " he fortuned " to fall in with Barbados, and, being becalmed, went " ashore near the river formerly called ye Indian river, but " in ye map, Fontabelle." Finding water there, he felt him self bound to give the Island a name, which it has since borne. He likewise " left hoggs to breed upon it, which " ye Indians of St. Vincent coming to know, they did " some years after often visit it for hunting."* Englishmen who were venturesome enough to make settlements in the West Indies in the early years of the Seventeenth Century did so at their peril, for the Spaniards, who then dominated Portugal also and Por tugal's Colonies, still claimed the exclusive right to the Continent and Islands of the New World which they had set up at the time of the D'sc°very, and which had been affirmed to them by Papal Bull, and the assertion of which had provoked FRANCIS the FIRST of France to declare his desire " to see the clause in Adam's will * Sloane, MSS. 3,662, Folio 62 etseqs. The Description of Barbados in this manuscript is by John Scott. There is a supplementary notice of the Island, apparently by Sir William Dutton, at one time Governor there. Although John Scott's account of the manner of giving a name to Barbados has been adopted in the text, it is shown by the old maps which are preserved in the British Museum, and which are noticed by Sir Robert Schomburgk in his History of Barbados (pp. 256-257), that the Island had received a name somewhat earlier in the 16th century. There seems to be some reason for believing that St. Bernard was the original name : and, this conjecture is borne out by the fact that on a Map of America, by Ortelius, made at Antwerp in 1572, the Island is denoted as Baruodos y de S.B". This last mentioned Chart is not men tioned by the erudite Historian of Barbados, but it is to be found in the British Museum ("tuts-) D 18 Cavaliers and Roundheads. " which entitled his brothers of Castile and Portugal to " divide the New World between them." The power of Spain , had however been on the wane for some years, and its Empire, though still potent, no longer over shadowed the other Nations of Europe as it had done in the days of Philip the Second and Charles the Fifth : while, years before Sir Thomas Warner did so, there were Englishmen, Frenchmen, and Hollanders, stout hearted enough to transport themselves over sea, and, despite of Pope and Spaniard, to plant themselves on the " newly found-out lands" of North and South America. It is true that the settlements these pioneers had as yet made were very small, but, out of these small beginnings greater things were to grow, and thus, as the giant Republic of the United States and the flourishing Dominion of Canada have been developed from the infant English, French, and Dutch, plantations on the James River, at Plymouth Rock and Salem, and on the St.. Lawrence and the Hudson, so are, in a small way, the once wealthy, and still valuable, West Indian Colonies of England, France, and Holland, the outcome of the early settlements on the ' Wild Coast' of South America, as Guiana was called in the olden time. Of the numerous attempts at settlement which had been made by the English at various parts along the coast line of the country which lies between the Amazon and the Orinoco, none had hitherto attained much success ; when Captain Warner, afterwards Sir THOMAS, who had been an officer of King James's Body Guard, having gone out with Captain ROGER NORTH to the plantation on the Surinam, there met) Captain THOMAS PAINTON, " a very experienced seaman", who Westward ho I 19 suggested to him how much easier it would be to esta blish and maintain a colony in one of the small islands which were despised and neglected by the Spaniards. It is said that Captain PAINTON particularly recom mended for this purpose the island of St. Christopher's. WARNER returned to England in 1620, and, being joined by another Suffolk gentleman, Captain JOHN JEAFFRESON, and supported by Mr. Ralph Merrifield, a London merchant, the colonizing of St. Christopher's was under taken and begun in 1623, as already stated.* Up to this time there had been no real attempt on the part of the English to settle any of the West Indian Islands ; for, the fiasco at St. Lucia in 1605, when Sir OLIVER LEIGH'S ship the "Olive Blossom" put in there, after touching at Barbados on her way to Master Charles LEIGH'S plan tation on the Wiapoco, cannot be considered an act of colonization. In 1625, a French brigantine arrived at St. Kitts in a crippled condition, her commander Pierre Blain, Sieur D'Esnambuc, having gallantly engaged a Spanish war vessel of greater strength in the bay of Caymanas. The English had shortly before this driven the Caribs off the Island. Feeling sure that the warlike natives would return to St. Kitts to avenge themselves, WARNER welcomed D'ESNAMBUC to make a settlement, and, the latter fall ing in with the idea, the island was thereupon divided * There is an interesting notice of Colonel John Jeaffreson in Mr. John Cordy leaffreson's book, A Young Squire of the Seventeenth Cen tury, (London : Hurst and Blackett, 1878). The Colonel's son. The Young Squire, was born in St. Christopher's Island, whence his name, Christopher. D2 20 Cavaliers and Roundheads. between the French and English. Thus did St. Kitts become the cradle for two Empires in the West Indies.* " Barbados that splendid Island, my father at his first " settling those parts rejected, for the great want of water " was then upon it naturally, yet art and industry have " supplied those defects with cisterns, &c, so that " miriads of people are furnished." Thus wrote Colonel Philip Warner from the Tower of London, on the 17th of April, 1676, to Sir Robert Southwell: the writer, who had been "alwaies from 1 6 yeares of age " employed in His Majestie's Military and Civil affaires," * Du Tertre's Histoire des Antilles, Vol. I. p. 53. Egerton, MSS. 2395. Hilton's Relation. On the 9th of September 1862, a National Monument to the memory of D'Esnambuc was ereCted in the church of his birthplace, Allouville, near Yvetot. The inscription runs thus : — a la memoire de pierre belain. sr d'esnambuc. f1i.s de nicolas belain. sieur de quenonville et d'esnambuc. baptise. le 9 mars. 1585. dans cette eglise de st quentin. d'allouville. decede. aux antilles vers decembre. 1636. En 1626, D'Esnambuc, Capitaine de la Marine du Ponant, Aide1 d'une Compagnie de Commerce, s'&ablit a. Pile de Saint-Christophe. — En 1636, il prit possession, pour la meme Compagnie, de la Martinique, le 15 Septembre, et de la Dominique, le 17 Novembre accompagne' dans cette ile du Captain Baillardel. — D'Esnambuc fut le fondateur de la puissance Francaise aux Antilles, ou Ies Dyel de Vaudroques et du Parquet, fils de sa soeur Adrienne Belain, et leurs cousins les Dyel de Graville, Egalement du Pays de Caux, soutinrent son oeuvre et en recueillirent les fruits. See Belain D'Esnambuc et les Normands aux Antilles : Paris, 1863, pp. 75, 76. D'Esnambuc died in Martinique, and was buried somewhere on the Windward side of that island. Westward ho I 21 being then a State Prisoner.* And so it came about that, for want of water at Barbados, that "worthy " industrious gentleman," Sir Thomas Warner, having rejected that island, set about laying the foundation of the British Empire in the West Indian Islands at St. Christopher's, where, on the 28th of January, 1623-24, he was made welcome by King TOGREMAN, the Carib Chief of the Island, and allowed to plant himself and his companions at a place which has long been called Old Road : a spot where water abounds, as on either side of it a copious stream rushes headlong into the Bay beneath.f Although Sir Thomas Warner did not make a set tlement at Barbados, the Island is distinctly named in his first Commission to be the King's Lieutenant in the Carib- bee Islands, which bears date on the 13th of September, 1625, and was granted to him at the instance of the Earl of Carlisle. This fact has some bearing upon the question of the proprietorship of the Island,, which came afterwards in debate between the Earls of Carlisle and Pembroke, and, indeed, touched the pocket of the Earl of Marlborough also. * For an account of Colonel Philip Warner, see Antigua and the Antiguans (Saunders and Otley, 1844), vol. 1. pp. 44 to 47, and vol. 11. pp. 329 to 333. f Relation of the first Settlement of St. Christopher's and Nevis, by John Hilton, Storekeeper and Chief Gunner of Nevis. April 2Qth 1675. Egerton, MSS. 2395. King Togreman's welcome did not last long. He was soon ' minded to put them off.' Hilton and others state that Sir Thomas Warner made his settlement at St. Kitts in 1623. In Captain John Smith's account of the plantation in that island, Sir Thomas Warner is said .to have arrived there on the 28th of January, 1623, which would be 1624, according to the New Style. 22 Cavaliers and Roundheads. During the time of the bloody tyranny of the Duke of Alva, there fled to England", from Menden in the' Netherlands, a family named CURTEEN, or CoRTIN, or COURTEEN. The father entered upon trade in London, prospered, and died, leaving his sons, WILLIAM and PETER, very well off. These entered into partnership, in 1606, WILLIAM remaining in London, and PETER establishing himself at Middleburgh in Zealand. They did a vast business ; but, their joint operations appear to have been insufficient for the ambition of William CUR TEEN, who made large ventures to all sorts of outlandish places, as these were at the time esteemed. In, or about 1625, he even petitioned the King, pointing out that the lands in the Southern parts of the world were not yet traded to by the King's subjects, and praying for a grant of all such lands, with power to discover the same and to plant colonies thereon. As the CurteenS became ex tremely rich, they were honoured by the notice of the Stuart Kings, James and Charles, who were graci ously pleased to borrow very large sums of money from them, with somewhat painful results to the lenders. Both the brothers, however, received the further honour of Knighthood.* Quite in the way of their business, the CURTEENS sent out piivateers to prey upon the Spaniards in the West Indies. In 1624, one of these privateers, when returning * There is an interesting memoir of Sir William Courteen in Rose's Biographical Dictionary, vol. III. p. 481. Sir Peter Courteen appears to have been made a Baronet. In the Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, 1623-1625, there is mentipn of him in that quality in two places; pp. 273 ; 508. King James wrote to .Sir William Courteen from Hampton Court on Westward ho I 23 from Brazil, made Barbados, and, putting into the road since called Austin's, made a short stay there, * visiting ' all ye bays in ye West and Southerne parts of ye ' Island'. Those aboard this vessel found the land " to promise much of the nature of Brazil", and " adorned " with curious prospects rather than mountaines, and " stored with wild hogs". They " judged it worth " especial notice". In a short time, Sir PETER informed his brother that Barbados was " an island not inhabited " by any nation, of a good soyl, and very fit for a plan- " tation".* Simultaneously, Captain JOHN POWELL, who had been in CURTEEN'S privateer when that ship touched at Barbados, presented his observations to the Lord Chamberlain, Philip Herbert, Earl of Montgomery and afterwards Earl of Pembroke, a great favourer of plantations, as was his brother William, then Earl of Pembroke.t The latter is the Pembroke referred to in the charming verse upon their mother's tomb in the cathedral of Salisbury : — Underneath this marble kerse Lies the subject of all verse- Sidneys sister, Pembroke's mother, Death, ere thou hast slain another, Wise, and fair, and good as she, Time shall throw a dart at thee. the 30th September, 1624, recommending the son of Sir Richard Fleet wood, Baron of Newton, as a fit match for one of Sir William's daughters. His Majesty said he would take as a favour any increase of portion which Sir William might give to that daughter, beyond what he intended or would give with the other two. — Calendar, sls above, p. 346V * Sloane MSS. 3662. t Lord Clarendon always speaks disparagingly of Philip, Earl of Pembroke, whose consistent support of the Parliament's cause was an 24 Cavaliers and Roundheads. These brothers were both patrons of a great poet. To them was given the enviable distinction of the de dication of the first collected Edition of " Mr. William unpardonable sin in the eyes of the Royalist Historian. Of Lord Pem broke ; who, be it remembered, was one of the first to favour colonies ; ' The Chancellor ' gives this somewhat spiteful picture : — ' The .Earl of Montgomery, who was then Lord Chamberlain of the Household, and now Earl of Pembroke, and the Earl of Dorset were likewise of the Privy Council ; Men of very different talents, and quali fications. The former being r 1679 went from Barbados to Jamaica and settled on the northern side of the island. — (Archer's W. I. Epitaphs.) THE SOCIAL STATUS OF THE PLANTERS OF BARBADOS. Oldmixon says :— This Island was the soonest peopled of all our Colonies ; the Riches of the Planters produced by that of the Soil, tempted Gentlemen of Baronets, [or Knights.-] 110 Cavaliers and Roundheads. good Families and moderate Estates, to transport themselves thither to improve them. And tho' it seems trivial to relate Particulars of the Honours bestowed on private Persons ; yet for the Credit of Barbados^ there have been more of that Island knighted by the Kings of England, than of all the rest of the English Plantations in America ; for since the Settlement of the Island 13 Baronets and Knights were made, for the Incouragement of the Industry of the Inhabitants. Created Baronets [or Knights] the same Day, Feb. 18, 1661 :— Sir John Colliton, Sir James Modiford, Sir James Drax, Sir Robert Davers, Sir Robert Hacket, Sir John Yeomans, Sir Timothy Thornhill, Sir John Witham, Sir Robert Legard, Sir John Worsum, Sir John Bawdon, Sir Edwyn Stede, Sir Willoughby Chamberlayne, And indeed whoever will look over the Map of Barbados will find, the Country is not possessed by such a Set of Men as inhabit the other Plantations ; the Walronds, the Fortescues, the Collitons, the Thorn- hills, the Farmers, the Pickerings, the Littletons, the Codringtons, the Willoughbies, the Chesters, the Kendals, the Dimocks, the Hawleys, the Stedes, the Prideauxs, the Alleyns, the Quintines, the Bromleys, and others, whose Families are of the most ancient and honourable in England ; nor must we omit one, which is indeed a mighty Name, Palaeologus, who had a small Plantation near the Top of the Cliff. How he came by that Imperial Name, we have not heard fairly made out ; neither can we believe the Tradition of the Family, of whom one attested to the Author, that his Ancestors were originally Greek Fugi tives, and descended from the Emperors of Constantinople of that Name, who reigned in the East from the driving out of the French by Michael Palaeologus, in the thirteenth Century, to the Dissolution of that Empire under Constantine Palseologus, in the fifteenth Century, by Mahomet the Great. Enough of this Digression, which is onlj designed to shew, that the ' Far Barbados on the Western Main. ' 111 common Reflection made upon the Plantations, as to the Meanness of the Planters Origins, is groundless as to Barbados, where there are as many good Families as are in any of the Counties of England, where Commerce and Trade flourish. But were that reflection true, it would be far from lessening the Reputation of the present Inhabitants ; the vast Estates which many of them enjoy, as the Draxes, the Guys, the Walters, and the Hallets, are glorious Proofs of4- the Industry and Wisdom of their Ancestors ; and a fair Invitation for other Merchants in England to remove thither, and endeavour to acquire the same Pos sessions, equal to many of our Nobility and Gentry, of the first Rank in England. Indeed, the Pleasantness of the Country is such, that it might tempt over the most prosperous; and the Profit would be great enough, were it duly encouraged, to invite the most covetous to live there. Wealth and Pleasure, which are generally Strangers, dwell there together ; and an industrious prudent Man may grow rich with as much Delight, as a Prodigal grows poor in England. — History of the British Empire in America, Second Edition, London, 1 741, Vol. II. pp. 124.125. WHAT THE COLONISTS ATE AND DRANK. The provisions of this Country for victualls are several, first of the roote of a tree called Cassavi, comonly Cassadar, whereof bread is made, in manner following, they grate the roote, press out the Juce thereof, which being raw is poison but the Indians boile it with Guinea pepper and make of it an excellent and wholsome sauce, then they dry the grated roote and bake it uppon a stone or Iron, as they Bake Oate cakes in England, which becomes a wholsome and well tasted food. Then Potato which is the ordinary bread well knowne, and is in such abundance that it may be tearmed at all times the staff and supporte and in necessity the refuge of the Iland, of their pottato they have drinke called mobby, which after they are boyled, are beaten 112 Cavaliers and Roundheads. to mash then strained with water, through a bagg, and soe drink, it will not last above one day. Of their Cassavie they make a drinke called Pawarrow very good and strong, much like urto the best March beere in England : the chiefe fudling they make in the Island is Rumbullion, alias Kill-Devill, and this is made of suggar canes distilled, a hott, hellish and terrible liquor. Wines are transported hither out of Ffrance, Spaine, and the Madonas, beer out of England, and Holland: hogs, heere are some store, as alsoe turkies and ducks, all which thrive ex ceeding well, especially hoggs flesh, which Relisheth with as good a smack as our European Mutton : there are alsoe some quantities of Cowes, hens, &c. of sheepe and goats. I cannot bragg of the abundance of fowles : there be divers kinds such as we have in England, of fish many kinds, all not known in Europ, but exceeding good and dainty : of fruite there are severall kinds heere, platona, potato, plumes of severall sorts, nutts of strange kinds, pricle apple, pricle peare, pins (sic) [for pines] &c. The platona is a very good fruite, it hangs in one greate cluster on the tree, and when they are ripe, the tree is cut downe, which being of a soft substance is good meat for the hoggs and out Of the stump growes upp an other in a shorte time, the fruite tasteth like an old pippin, the pricle peare is in tast like straw berries, claret wins, and a litle sugger. The excellency of the pine (the prince of all fruits, whom nature hath adorned with a faire krowne) I cannot express, for I boldly affirme that the world affordeth not the like fruite, &c. — Trin. Coll., Dublin, MSS., G. 4, 15. — A briefs Description of the Island of Barbados- ^^cW^ CHAPTER VII. TROUBLES IN OLD ENGLAND. On either side loud clamours ring, " God and the Cause" " God and the King" 1 Right' English all, they rushed to blows With nought to win and all to lose." HE Puritans, who by Queen ELIZABETH had been looked upon only as " a troublesome sort of people," were by James the First regarded as nothing less than pestilent fellows, dangerous to Church and State alike.. If, however, the Scotch SOLO MON entertained a dislike for Puritanism in general, his pet aversion was Presbyterianism, as witness bis taking fire at the Hampton Court Conference on mention of the word 'Presbytery', when said he : "A Scotch Presbytery " agreeth as well with Monarchy as God and the Devil. " Then JACK and TOM, and WlLL and DlCK, shall meet " and at their pleasures censure me and my council, and " all our proceedings. Stay, I pray you, for one seven " years, before you demand that from me * * * * " for let that Government be once up, I am sure I shall " be kept in breath." The difference between the characters of the stout-hearted Queen and the timorous King does, not account for the more pronounced hostility 114 Cavaliers and Roundheads. of the latter to the Puritans, but rather must the cause. be found in the difference of conditions under which King JAMES, from his birth to his death, found himself face to face with the power of those extreme Protestants. Almost to a man, Scotland had adopted Presbytery, and the General Assembly was nothing less than an imperium in imperio which had become a rival to the Monarchy in Scotland. In the England of Elizabeth, on the other hand, the Puritans were but a very feeble folk, until the latter part of that Sovereign's reign, chief among their sects being the Brownists ; and, indeed, the ultra- Protestantism of these sects was rather a source of power than of weakness to Good Queen BESS, who had a strong Roman Catholic party to contend with. If, in her reign, a Puritan were excessively zea lous, and wrote a book criticising too freely the Book of Common Prayer, the good man was hanged, and there was an end of him ; but, not so could King JAMES deal with his Scottish subjects, who preached at him from their pulpits, railed at the memory of his dead mother, whom living, they had sorely tried ; and even, as in the case of ANDREW MELVILLE, went the length of holding His Majesty by the sleeve and rating him roundly for being an unfaithful servant of the Lord. The spirit in which King James took up the Crown of England was that of a martyr entering upon his rest. In England, at all events, he hoped to find that the Presbyterians would cease from troubling; but he was disappointed, for in the later years of ELIZABETH a generation had arisen who, born within the Church of England and bred up as Protestants, were much more inclined to Puritanism than hid been many of those Troubles in Old England. 115 half-hearted churchmen who had joined the Church of England to save their heads, or their lands, or because it was the vogue to conform. At first, the King might have thought, and with cause, that his hopes were to be realized, for Archbishops Whitgift and BANCROFT, who ruled the Anglican Church in the earliest years of his reign, were High Churchmen who opposed the growth of Puritanism : but, the Gunpowder Plot caused a powerful revulsion of feeling in favour of the latter ; the translation of the Bible into the English tongue had its influence ; while Archbishop ABBOTT, who succeeded Bancroft, was no persecutor, but even a suspected favourer of the Puritans. James had, however, the poor consolation of believing that he had successfully re-established Episcopacy in Scotland. Steeped in the faith of his own Divine Right of King ship, this most Dread Sovereign encountered in England a vigorous growth of political liberty and of Parliamentary power, and these he even fostered, by his own perverse way of dealing with the representations of his subjects : that is, by not summoning Parliaments, and by resorting to questionable expedients for getting money without them, as he also did by appointing as his Ministers mere favourites instead of experienced statesmen. And all this in spite of his recognizing the fa6t that Parliament had become a power. " Chairs ! chairs ! Here be twal Kings comin," ! he called out as he saw the twelve Members approaching him at Newmarket with the De claration against monopolies. His own fractious horse he had threatened to send to the five hundred Kings at Westminster, as they would be sure to tame the animal. Although he thought wisely he acted foolishly, as is Q 2 116 Cavaliers and Roundheads. testified by the way in which he dealt with the Declara tion of Liberties and Privileges of the Commons : it being recorded in the First Volume of the Commons' Journals how His Majesty treated that expression of his subjects' views and wishes ; and this was the petty manner — " King JAMES, in Council, with his own hand rent out this protestation." The King had at all events one loyal favourite in the Earl of CARLISLE, who advised his Sove reign to redress the grievances of his subjects and to keep on good terms with them, and thus make himself the envy of all other Princes.* The STUARTS, however, were not men to take good advice, or, at all events, to follow it, or * As a set off to the character for cynicism given to him by Lord Clarendon, it is well to hear the Earl of Carlisle's own sentiments upon matters of state. The following is the concluding portion of a long letter of respectful Counsel addressed to King James by the Earl On the 14th of February, 1623. It speaks for itself : — 3. And last of all, cast off, and remove jealousies which are between your Majestie and your people. Your Majestie must begin with the last, for upon that foundation, you may afterwards set what frame of building you please. And when should you begin (Sir) but at this overture of your Parliament by a gracious, clear, and confident discovery of your intentions to your People. Fear them not (Sir) never was there a better King, that had better subjects, if your Majestie would trust them. Let them but see, that you love them, and constantly rely upon their humble advice, and ready assistance, and your Majestie will see, how they will tear open their breasts, to give you their hearts, and having them, your Majestie is sure of their hands and purses. Cast but away some crums of your Crown amongst them, and your Majestie will see those crums will make a miracle, they will satisfie many thousands. Give them assur ance that your heart was alwayes at home, though your eyes were abroad ; invite them to look forward, and not backward, and constantly maintain, that with confidence you undertake, and your Majestie will find admirable effects of this harmonious concord. Your Majestie as the head directing, and your people as the hands and feet, obeying and Troubles in Old England. 117 the STUART family had given kings to England to this day, and JAMES died in 1635, having sown the wind for CHARLES to reap the whirlwind, bequeathing to his successor discontented subjects, and the Favourite BUCK INGHAM for a minister, a war with Spain, and an empty Exchequer. Charles Stuart was afflicted with a " distaste" for Parliaments, but as war with Spain and the ordi nary expenses of Government and of the Royal house hold required the command of money, Parliaments must needs be summoned. As, however, the King's applications for money were met by the demands from the Commons for the Redress of Grievances : which redress the ill-fated King would not give : no less than three Parliaments were in the first four years of his reign summoned and dissolved, without any further result than the giving of the royal assent to the Petition of Right. This was a Declaration against the exaction of money under the name of Loans ; against the imprisonment of those refusing to pay, and the suspension of habeas corpus ; against the billeting of soldiers on private per sons, and against Martial Law. CHARLES cared for co-operating for the honour, safety, and welfare of the bodie of the State. This will revive and reunite your friends abroad, and dismay, and disappoint the hopes of your enemies, secure your Majesties per son, assure your estate, and make your memorie glorious to posterity. Pardon I most humbly beseech your Majestie, this licentious free- dome, which the zeal of your safetie and service, hath extorted from a tongue-tyed man, who putteth his heart into his Majesties hand, and humbly prostrateth himself at your Royal feet, as being Your Majesties most humble, most obedient obliged creature, subject, and servant, Carlisle. —Cabala, pp. 270-271, London, 1654. 118 Cavaliers and Roundheads. none of those things, and in the following year a Remon strance presented by the Commons was burnt by Royal order. Dissolving the third Parliament in 1629, an<^ imprisoning some of the leaders of the popular party, of whom the most notable was the patriotic Sir JOHN Eliot, who died in the Tower, a martyr in the cause of Parliamentary Government, CHARLES now decided to govern without Parliaments and kept his purpose, for none was called until 1640. Of the miserable shifts to which the King was put to raise money by unconstitutional means ; of the oppression that arose in consequence ; of the perversion of jus tice by Judges, who were corrupted by Court influence ; and of the resistance by lawful means which was offered by JOHN HAMPDEN and other patriots to the growing despotism, this is not the place to tell : but, the English Nation was long suffering, and, no doubt, the preaching up of Divine Right, of Prerogative, and of Passive Obedience, by Archhishop Laud and Laudian Bishops and Clergy, was not without its effect. When the storm did break, it swept all before it. It was from the Scottish Nation that open resistance first came, when an attempt was made to force upon that people the Episcopal form of Church Government, with Liturgy and Canons. The Scotch took to arms and the Covenant, and when asked to renounce the latter, being a practical people, they not only declined to do so but suggested that the King should " tak it himsel." The English, recognizing that the Scotch were fighting for the English cause as well as for their own, gave CHARLES but feeble support in resisting the invasion of their friends from across the Border. The Scotch crossed the Tweed, Troubles in Old England. 119 the first man to do so being JAMES GRAHAME, then Earl of Montrose, who afterwards became so famous a Royal ist. As the English would not fight the Scotch, and the Scotch required that their travelling expenses should be paid before they returned homewards, CHARLES was obliged to have recourse to a Parliament. The first Par liament summoned in 1640, before the Scottish invasion, would not give any money until grievances were re dressed, and it was therefore speedily dissolved, but this Short Parliament was followed later in the same year by the Long Parliament. The Commons had now assem bled not so much to give subsidies to the King as to sit in judgment upon him and his Ministers. It was on the 3rd of November, 1640, that this Parlia ment met, which, under the guidance of masterful minds, did so much for the liberties of Englishmen. How they got the King to agree that they should not be dissolved without their own consent ; how they impeached his Ministers, and by degrees got themselves possessed of not only Civil Power, but the control of the Militia : these matters are recorded in History, where Laud and STRAF FORD, although in many ways excellent and estimable men, are condemned to fill the place of warnings, not of examples. Those who run riot in power, whether lawful or lawless, should remember the fate of Strafford, who, in one day, fell from extreme power into a prison, and not long after lost, his head for his efforts to establish absolutism. It must have been a sight to see when, on the nth of November, 1640, Pym appeared in the House of Lords and, in the name of the Commons of England, accused THOMAS, Earl of STRAFFORD, of High Treason : STRAFFORD'S coming into the House to find 120 Cavaliers and Roundheads. PYM performing this duty, when STRAFFORD had himself come thither to impeach Pym and other Members of holding treasonable correspondence with the Scotch : the Lords ordering STRAFFORD to withdraw : his sum mons back to the House, and the order for him to kneel and deliver up his sword : his committal to the Tower and leaving the House, " no man capping to him, before " whom that morning the greatest of England would have " stood discovered." And now, STRAFFORD'S life being taken, and LAUD being a prisoner, and other Ministers of the Royal Will having fled the Country, the Commons urged the redress of Grievances in a GRAND REMONSTRANCE which was adopted on the 22nd of November, 1641. In this famous impeachment of bad government, they complained of the dissolutions of Parliament and the imprisonment of Members ; of the illegal raising of moneys, and especially of Ship Money ; of the degradation of England in Foreign affairs ; of Monopolies : of the enlargement of Royal Forests at the expense of subjects ; of abuses in the Star Chamber ; of the selling of Titles of Honour, and of Judicial, and other, offices ; of abuses in Church Govern ment ; and of abuses in the Earl Marshal's Court, in the High Commission Court, in the Exchequer, in Chancery, in the Court of Wards ; and of the tendency to set the Prerogative of the King above the Law. Time fails to tell of the particulars of the several heads of Grievance, but the student of History will observe that most of the abuses dealt with, had their origin in devices for getting money to supply the King's needs.* * Mr. Ashton, in his Humour, Wit, and Satire of the Seventeenth Century, has reproduced the complaint of Mr. Tenter-hooke, the Projector Troubles in Old England. 121 Charles's promises, although made ' upon the word of a King', were made to be broken, whenever he could do so conveniently, for he looked upon concessions wrested from him by the Commons as a misappropria tion of his own Divine Rights. Instead of overcoming his " distaste" for Parliaments, he now determined to turn upon the leaders of the Commons ; and accordingly, on the 3rd of January, 1642, Sir Edward Herbert, his Attorney General, appeared in the House of Lords and exhibited articles of Treason against Lord KlMBOLTON (afterwards Earl of MANCHESTER, ancestor of the Presi dent of the Council of the Royal Colonial Institute), and against those five celebrated Commoners, JOHN HAMP DEN, John Pym, Sir Arthur Haselrigge, Denzil Holles, and William Strode, and demanded that these tribunes of the people should be delivered up. The demand was not complied with. On the following day the King, stung by the reproach of cowardice flung at him by his wife, the too high-spirited daughter of Henri Quatre, who urged him to drag the Members out of the House itself, himself went down to Westminster and Sir Thomas Dodger, the Patentee, by John Taylor, the Water Poet. It was first published in 1641. The following barbarous lines, taken from Sir Thomas Dodger's answers enumerate the several kinds tof Tobacco which had formed part of a great Monopoly : — " The Pagan Weed was our hope In Leafe, Pride Role, Ball, Pudding, Pipe, or Rope, Brasseele, Varina, Meavis, Trinidado, Saint Christopher's, Virginia, or Baroado ; Bermudas, Providentia, Shallowcongo, And the most part of all the rest, Mundungo.* That Patent with a whiffe is spent and broke, And all our hopes (in ficmo) turned to smoke." * Trashy Tobacco ; from the Spanish MondSngo, paunch, tripes, black-pudding. R 122 Cavaliers and Roundheads. from Whitehall, and, leaving his guard outside, entered the House and demanded the surrender of the Members. The Queen had too hastily confided to Lady CARLISLE the King's intentions, and, Lady CARLISLE having sent word to Pym accordingly, thus were the proscribed Commoners given time to go into the City whither they fled for refuge. The King uncovered his head as he entered the House, and approaching Speaker Lenthal said " By your leave, Master Speaker, I must borrow your Chair a little" ! Charles then looked towards the place where Pym usually sat, and asked " Is Master Pym here" ? There was a dead silence in the House at first. The King asked for each of the five, but got for answer only the following from LENTHAL, " May it please your " Majesty, I have neither eye to see nor tongue to " speak in this place, but as the House is pleased to " direct me, whose servant I am here " ! The King observed that he perceived " the birds were flown". Then, saying that he expected the five members to be sent to him, he left the house amidst cries of "Privilege! Privilege"! On the 5th, CHARLES went into the City, and unsuccessfully demanded the delivery to him of the five members. When leaving the City on his return to Whitehall, a pamphlet was thrown into his carriage which bore the ominous title "To YOUR TENTS, O ISRAEL" ! Finding that the crisis was now come, the doomed Monarch left London on the 10th for Hampton Court whence, on the 12th, he proceeded to Windsor. From this time, both sides prepared to fight out their differences. On the 22nd of August, 1642, the Royal Standard was raised at Nottingham. Shortly before the battle of Edgehill, Sir Edmund Troubles in Old England. 123 VARNEY, the King's Knight Marshal, one of whose sons was among the early settlers in Barbados, said to Mr. HYDE, afterwards Earl of CLARENDON, "You have " satisfaction in your conscience that you are in the " right ; that the king ought not to grant what is required " of him ; and so you do your duty and your business " together. But, for my part, I do not like the quarrel, " and do heartily wish that the king would yield and " consent to what they desire ; so that my conscience " is only concerned in honour and in gratitude to follow " my master. I have eaten his bread and served him " near thirty years, and will not do so base a thing as to " forsake him, and choose rather to lose my life, (which " I am sure I shall do,) than to preserve and defend " those things which are against my conscience to pre- " serve and defend. For I will deal freely with you, I " have no reverence for the Bishops for whom this quar- " rel subsists." The views of this brave man who, true to his word, fell bravely fighting, at the battle of Edgehil^ represented the opinions of one section of the Royalist party. Sir Beville Grenville writing to Sir John TRELAWNEY expressed the views of another set of men, those who were blindly loyal. " I cannot," said he, " contain myself within my doors when the King of " England's standard waves in the field upon so just " an occasion ; the cause being such as must make all " those who die in it little inferior to martyrs. And, for " miue own, I desire to acquire an. honest name or an " honourable grave." The sentiment of the people was put into General Skippon's address to the Trained-Bands, thus : — " Come " on my boys, my brave boys- ! Let us pray heartily and R 2 124 Cavaliers and Roundheads. " fight heartily. I will run the same hazard with you. " Remember the Cause is for God and the defence of " yourselves, your wives and children. Come my honest " brave boys, pray heartily and fight heartily, and God " will bless us" ! Cromwell's, " Trust in God, and " keep your powder dry ! " was equalled by the Royalist Sir JACOB ASTLEY'S address to the Almighty, before an impending battle, " O Lord, Thou knowest that I " shall be very busy fighting to-day, if I forget Thee, for- " get not thou me : March on, men !" The Round heads have been described as men who " sang a psalm " and drubbed all before them", but it is evident that the Royalists also, often times appealed to the God of Battles, as witness the statement in a letter from Sir Beville Grenville to his wife : — " After solemn prayer at the head of every division we marched ; I ledd the charge !" The Puritan gentleman who snuffled psalms as " out he rode a-colonelling," had no doubt much faith in the blood and iron policy, for carrying conviction to the minds of the sons of Belial, but, so had the Cavalier who followed the Royal Standard, and who hoped thus to overcome the Roundhead dogs who fought against him. The former could claim no monopoly of the des cription of the church militant given by Butler, for it is equally applicable to the latter, as it runs thus* : — " Of errant Saints whom all men grant " To be the true Church Militant ; " Such as do build their faith upon " The holy text of pike and gun ; " Decide all controversies by " Infallible artillery : " And prove their doftrine orthodox " By apostolic blows and knocks." * Butler's Hudibras. Troubles in Old England. 125 To fighting they fell, and at Edgehill ; Chalgrove Field, fatal to HAMPDEN ; Newbury, where FALKLAND fell ; Hopton Heath, where the Earl of NORTHAMPTON, with three sons as his companions in arms, refused to save his life by asking for quarter, disdainfully exclaiming ere he fell "I scorn your quarter, base rogues and rebels " as ye are : " at Lansdowne, Gloucester, Oxford, Bristol, and many another scene of fight ; at Marston Moor and Naseby, — men died and bled for the King, and for The Cause ; brother arrayed against brother and son against father. How cruel a thing is Civil War it is not neces sary to say : one instance of its bitterness will suffice. The Earl of DENBIGH was a Cavalier ; his eldest son, Lord FIELDING was a Roundhead. The Earl was killed at the taking of Birmingham in 1643, and it was at this time that his widow thus wrote to their son : — " I beg of you, my first born son, whom I do so dearly love, to give " me that satisfaction which you now owe me, to leave those that " murdered your dear father, for what else can it be called when he " received his death wound for saying that he was ' For the King ? ' " They showed no mercy to his grey hairs, but swords and shots, a " horror for me to think of. O my dear Jesus I put it into my son's " heart to leave that merciless company that was the death of his father ; " for now I think of his party with horror, before with sorrow. This " is the time that God and nature claim it from you. Before you were " carried away by error, now it seems monstrous and hideous. The " last words your dear father spoke was to desire God to forgive you " and to touch your heart. Let your dear father and unfortunate " mother make your heart relent, let my sorrow receive some comfort. 11 * * * I give you many thanks for the care you took in paying the " last rites to your father. I have a longing desire to see you, and if I " had any means I would venture for to do it. So with my blessing, I " take my leave. " Your loving Mother." The son, notwithstanding these entreaties, remained 126 Cavaliers and Roundheads. true to Parliament.* Not the men only, but the women also, played an active part in the great tragedy ; and, while Lathom House was nobly held by the Countess of DERBY, and Wardour Castle by Lady ARUNDEL, did not women, gentle and simple both, bestir themselves when the King's Army reached Brentford and threatened London itself : " Raised rumpiers with their own soft hands, " To put the enemy to stands ; " From ladies down to oyster wenches, " Laboured like pioneers in trenches, " Fell to their pick-axes and tools, " And helped the men to dig like moles ? " f Mere mention here is all there's need to say how, when the Cause of the People had triumphed, and the Royalists were laid low, the King, hoping against hope, negotiated now with the Parliament, now with the Independents, now with the Scots, but all in vain, and then betook himself to the Scottish army, still believing in the Divide and Govern principle : how the Scots, being unable to take him to Edinburgh, as he would not come to terms with them, and the Scottish Nation being unwilling to receive him on his own terms, the King was handed over to the Parliament, which, it should clearly be understood, at that time represented the Presbyterian party, and was not the Parliament of the Independents that afterwards caused the king to be put to death : how, being taken to Holmby House, he was thence taken by- Cornet JOYCE; who pointed to his troopers as sufficient warrant for his act, and carried to Childersley and after- * Lady Denbigh's letter is given in Warburton's Prince Rupert and the Cavaliers. f Butler's Hudibras. Troubles in Old England. 127 wards to Hampton Court, thus, passing into the power of the Army : how, still he intrigued, and then escaped to the Isle of Wight, where he was captured, and imprisoned in Carisbrooke Castle, only to intrigue fur ther, offering " accommodations" to the Parliament, while plotting with the Scots for his restoration by force of arms : how the Royalists rose in 1648 in Kent, Essex, Hertford, and Wales, and the Fleet in the Downs sent their cap tains on shore, hoisted the King's pennon, and blockaded the' Thames, and a Scottish Army, under the Duke of HAMILTON, came into England to fight for the King : how the Independent Army sternly resolved that if ever the Lord brought them back in peace they would " call " Charles Stuart that man of blood, to account for the " blood he had shed and mischief he had done to his utmost " against the Lord's Cause and People in this poor nation:" how the Independent Army crushed out the risings and scattered the Scottish forces, and how COLCHESTER surrendered and LlSLE and Lucas there met a tragic fate ; how, when too late, the King made satisfactory concessions to the Parliament : how Colonel Pride " purged " the Parliament, and the Rump was left to work the Army's will against the King : and how, on the 6th of January, 1649, the Rump, after the Peers had refused their concurrence, passed an ordinance creating a High Court of Justice to try " Charles Stuart, King of England " for treason in having made war against his Parliament : how the King was tried, after refusing to acknowledge the jurisdiction of BRADSHAW and his other judges, and had judgment of death passed against him.* * See the Note at the end of this Chapter, as to the alleged burial of Bradshaw in Jamaica. 128 Cavaliers and Roundheads. That the King should have been assassinated, the Royalists fully believed, for there had been precedents in the cases of EnwARD the SECOND and RICHARD the SECOND for putting away unfortunate monarchs ; but, that he should be solemnly brought to trial, condemned and executed, all in the light of day, was what astounded not only the English nation but all Europe.* Those who pass down Parliament-street nowadays may, by casting a glance at the Chapel Royal, Whitehall, which is nothing else than the old Banquet Hall of the STUARTS, observe the very place where on the 30th January, 1649, CHARLES 'bowed his comely head' ; for the scaffold was erected just outside of what was in 1649 the middle window in the lower row, and that window, curtained off, in the present use of the building, stands at the back of the Royal pew. Thus perished CHARLES STUART, King of England, a most estimable man in . domestic life, but whose own hand has recorded his failure as the King of a free people. In the last letter he wrote to his eldest son and successor he thus passes judgment upon himself : — " And in this, give belief to our experi- " ence, never to affeft more greatness or prerogative " than that which is really and intrinsically for the good " of subjects, not the satisfaftion of Favourites."t The Troubles in Old England had a marked effect upon * Warburton's Prince Rupert and the Cavaliers, Vol. III. p. 283. Writing to Prince Rupert from the Hague on the 28th February, 1649, Sir Edward Hyde, afterwards Earl of Clarendon, said : — " We are all " struck with amazement." . . . For though he had too " great " cause to look every day to hear of the death and murder of the King, " yet that it should be done in the light of the sun and in that manner, " I think no man would imagine.'' f History of the Rebellion, Vol. III. pp. 228-229. Troubles in Old England. 129 the Colonies, causing an exodus of Puritans from the Mother Country to New England chiefly, and afterwards of Cavaliers to the West Indies and Virginia. The thorough policy of Laud could not, however let the former people go in peace, so, on the 21st of July, 1635, a Proclamation — at that time Charles's Proclamations, took the place of Laws — was issued against departing out of the realm without licence, from which it appears that " Ministers unconformable to the discipline and cere- " monies of the Church " were in the habit of retiring to the Bermudas, to be safe from " the Prelates' rage," as Andrew Marvel sings. Not one was in future to go thither except by licence of the Archbishop of Canter bury, while those already there were to be brought back by a ship which the Earl of Northumberland, as Lord High Admiral, was ordered to fit out. As, notwith standing that Proclamation, the Puritans continued to emigrate to the Colonies, and not merely fellows of the baser sort, but also men of property, " subsidy men " as they were described, another Proclamation was issued on the 30th April 1637, imposing restrictions upon emigration to America, wherein the " rude forefathers " of the Great Republic were described as " men of idle and refractory " humours whose only or principal end is to live without " the reach of authority," who daily withdrew themselves with their families to the Plantations, where many disorders had been caused by them. In this second Proclamation it was ordained that no " subsidy men " should quit the country without the licence of the Privy Council, nor poorer men without the licence of the Justices. To be entitled to such licences, all were to produce certificates of having taken the oaths of Allegi- S 130 Cavaliers and Roundheads. ance and Supremacy, and the testimony of their parish minister as to conformity in Ecclesiastical matters.* On the ist of May, 1638, a fresh Proclamation was issued, forbidding persons to remove to New England except with a licence and certificate of Conformity from the Parochial Minister.t * In conformity with the requirements of the Law, the oaths of Alle giance and Supremacy were taken by all Emigrants before embarking. Hence the Certificate preceding most of the Lists of that date, of which the following is an instance : — " 19 Dec. 1635. — Theis underwritten names are to be transported to the Barbadoes, imbarqued in the Falcon, Thomas Irish, Master. The men have been examined by the Minister of the Towne of Gravesend touching their conformity to the Church Discipline of England : and also have taken the oath of Alleg. & Suprem. Die et Ao prd." + " I pass over the lives of many other divines and substantial gentlemen, who deserted their native country, for the peace of their consciences ; but it deserves a particular notice that there were eight sail of ships at once this spring in the river Thames bound for New England, and filled with Puritan families, among whom (if we may believe Dr. George Bates and Mr. Dugdale, two famous royalists) were, Oliver Cromwell, afterward proteCtor of the commonwealth of England, John Hampden, Esq., and Mr. Arthur Haselrigge who, seeing no end of the oppressions of their native country, determined to spend the remainder of their days in America ; but the council, being informed of their design, issued out an order dated May I, 1638, to make stay of those ships and to put on shore all the provisions intended for the voyage. And to prevent the like for the future, his majesty prohibited all masters and owners of ships, to set forth any ships for New England with passengers, without special licence from the privy.council ; and gives this remarkable reason for it. " Because the people of New England were factious and unworthy of any support from hence, in regard of the great disorders and want of government among them, whereby many that have been well affected to the church of England have been prejudiced in their estates by them." — Neale's History of the Puritans, Vol. I. p. 618. Troubles in Old England. 131 But, those who left their Fatherland for conscience sake and passed over sea to make homes for themselves in the Wilds of North America, were not to escape the watchful eyes of Archbishop Laud. That zealous prelate was one of a commission appointed on the 28th of April, 1634, for making laws and orders for the Government of English Colonies planted in Foreign parts, having among other powers those of imposing penalties and imprison ment for offences in Ecclesiastical matters.* Apparently however, the powers of that Commission were insufficient to secure uniformity among these wandering Colonial sheep, as, on the 10th of April, 1636, afresh Commission was issued to the Archbishop and others, among other things empowering them to constitute Ecclesiastical Courts in the Colonies as well as Civil Courts.t No Colony seems to have escaped this zealous high-priest's supervision. At one time the state of the Church in Bar bados is brought before him by parson LANE ; at another His Grace draws the attention of the Company of the Somers' Islands to the fact that non-conformists abound in the Bermudas ; while again, he has submitted to him * A similar eheck was placed upon the Clergy themselves, none being permitted to leave England save with the consent of the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Bishop of London. Ruskworth I, part II, p. 409, quoted by Anderson. t The Archbishop himself did not escape criticism from far-off colonists. In Anderson's History of the Colonial Church, Vol. II. pp. 8 and 9, the following instance is given of rigorous punishment being meted out on account of such criticism by a settler in Virginia : — " 1640. Stephen Reekes put in pillory two hours, with a paper on his head expressing his offence, fined fifty pounds sterling and imprisoned during pleasure for saying that His Majesty was at confession with my Lord of Canterbury." S2 132 Cavaliers and Roundheads. questions of Justification and Sanctification " which " have divided Mr. HOOKER and Mr. COTTON in New " England."* How refreshed the good man must have been by the correspondence of so sound a churchman as Sir DAVID KlRKE, who was the proprietor of Newfound land, and whence he wrote to the Archbishop on the 2nd of October 1639, that the air of Newfoundland agreed perfectly well with all God's creatures except Jesuits and schismatics. "A great mortality amongst " the former tribe so affrighted my Lord of Baltimore " that he utterly deserted the country." Many " fren zies", he said, were heard from New England ; and, with pious resignation, he observed, that the chiefest safety of the colonists lay in " a strict observance of the rites " and service of the Church of England."t In 1640 the Puritan Emigration to New England ceased, and soon afterwards many of the exiles returned to fan the flame of resistance, which had begun to burn and which soon devoured Church and State alike, clearing the way for the Commonwealth of "The people of England and of all " the Dominions and Territories thereunto belonging," which was established on the 19th of May 1649, and the Executive power of which was vested in a Council * It appeared to .the militant Archbishop that it was desirable that the schismatical settlers of New England should be placed under a Bishop's sway, and as the Episcopal authority might not be sufficient to enforce church discipline, His Grace purposed to back the Prelate in partibus with forces to compel, if he were not otherwise able to persuade obedience.— Heylin's Life of Laud, Vol. I., p. 369, quoted by Anderson. X Colonial Calendar, 1574 to 1660, p. 304. Troubles in Old England. 133 of State of forty-one members of what was left of the House of Commons.* * Defoe writes in his Shortest Way with the Dissenters .- — " The first execution of the laws against Dissenters in England was in the days of King James I. And what did it amount to? Truly the worst they suffered was at their own request to let them go to New England and ereft a new colony, and give them great privileges, grants, and suitable powers, keep them under protection, and defend them against all invaders, and receive no tax or revenue from them. This was the cruelty of the Church of England, fatal lenity. 'Twas the ruin of that excellent prince, King Charles I. Had the King sent all the Puritans to the West Indies, we had been a national unmixed Church ; the Church of England had been kept undivided and entire." This pleasant banter is followed by a serio-comic suggestion of banishment for persons attending conventicles, and of hanging for the preachers ! See p. 36 of Minto's Defoe, in the series of English Men of Letters. THE COLONY AT OLD PROVIDENCE ISLAND. The Island of Old Providence, or Catalina, off the Mosquito Coast, and now forming part of New Granada, has long since ceased to be an English possession. It is not so much with the Island, as with the Company of Adventurers which was formed to establish a plantation there, that History need concern itself. Founded in December 1630, not long after King Charles had determined to rule without Parlia ments, the Governor and Company of Adventureis for the Plantation of the Island of Providence, Henrietta, and the adjacent Islands, con tinued in aCtive existence until 1641, when Providence was taken by the Spaniards. Meanwhile, however, at its frequent meetings the Company afforded to the People's champions opportunities for association and 134 Cavaliers and Roundheads. combination and for the discussion of the troubles then affecting England, that must have been much valued at a time when neither Clubs nor Coffee Houses were in existence. It cannot but be considered note worthy that during the years between 1630 and 1641, and especially in 1638, there were frequent meetings of a Company which included among its members such famous Parliamentarians as the Earls of War wick and Holland ; Lords Say and Sele, Brooke, Robartes, and- Kim. belton ; Sir Benjamin Rudyerd, and Sir Gilbert Gerrard ; and Oliver St. John and John Pym. The last named masterful spirit, naturally took a leading part in the management of affairs, being for a long time Treasurer, and afterwards Deputy-Governor of the Company. Small wonder need there be, therefore, to find the Company, on the 30th of July, 1634, admonishing the Governor of Providence against grounding his authority '• >upon a supposed privilege which you call " prerogative as annexed to your place .... neither do " we like the use of that word." When, too, on the 5th of February, 1638, the claim of Governor Philip Bell against the Company is referred to two arbitrators, it does not cause surprise that the latter should name as their arbitrator, John Hampden. The mere gathering together of such leading Parliamentarians would have given welcome opportunities for consultation upon matters affecting the Cause ; but, when it is noted that on the 10th of February, 1631, at a meeting at Warwick House, it was ordered that a dinner " not exceeding the value of 40s." was to be pro vided for the Company at every General Court, any one can understand that the frequent coming together of so many of the assertors of the Liberties of England, must have powerfully influenced the course of events. — See Calendar of State Papers, Colonial, 1574-1660, passim. THE BURIAL PLACE OF PRESIDENT BRADSHAW. The following Query appeared in the West Indian Quarterly for October 1886:— Can any of our readers in Jamaica say whether the old tradition that President Bradshaw's remains were removed from England before the Troubles in Old England, 135 Restoration, and interred in Jamaica, has been definitely disposed of since Bryan Edwards referred to it in his History of Jamaica, P— The following extract from the Annals of Jamaica, by the Reverend George Wilson Bridges, shows that the Historian of the West Indies, Bryan. Edwards, had good reason for thinking the tradition well founded* :— The original of the following letter is in the possession of a branch of the ancient and respectable family of the Bradshaws, who possess property at Chipping Sodbury in Gloucestershire, and in whose hands are deposited the documents which ordained the execution of the first Charles. " January 13th, 1773. " My dear Sir, — I have great pleasure in obeying your commands in. regard to the epitaph I told you of on John Bradshaw. The circum stances of his burial in Jamaica are said to be these. The President died in England a year before Cromwell. His son, James Bradshaw, seeing from the general spirit which began to prevail, that the restora tion of the royal line would probably take place on the Protector's death, and being well assured on that event that such of the late king's judges as should be then living could have little hopes of safety, was apprehensive that even the grave would not protect his father's ashes from insult ; and having many friends and relatives among Cromwell's soldiers who had settled in Jamaica, on the conquest of that island from the Spaniards, he embarked thither with his father's corpse, which the soldiery on his arrival interred with great honour, on a very high hill, near a harbour now called Martha Brae, and placed a cannon on the grave by way of memorial. James's apprehensions were well grounded, for the parliament, on the restoration, ordered the bodies of Cromwell, Ireton, and Bradshaw to be dug up, and hung up at Tyburn, — a foolish and impotent mark of vengeance which, however, the remains of Brad shaw, through the pious care of his son, fortunately escaped. Certain it is that the body of Bradshaw could not be found in Westminster Abbey where it was supposed to be buried. " Such is the tradition which prevails in Jamaica : but though I always entertained a great respect for the memory of this distinguished person, as well from the firmness and ability which he displayed on the king's trial, as from his uniform conduct and steady virtue in his opposition afterwards to the tyranny of Cromwell, yet I should have treated the tradition as wholly fabulous, had not a gentleman of strict honour and veracity, now living in Jamaica, 136 Cavaliers and Roundheads. assured me, that in consequence of it he had caused a search to be made for the cannon said to be placed on the grave, which he actually found on the reputed spot. The place is now so entirely covered with wood, that he believes no human footstep has trod there for a century past, and it is clear that a great exertion of human strength, which is seldom bestowed (voluntarily at least) in such a climate, on trivial occasions, must necessarily have been employed in placing the cannon where it lies. This gentleman found also, by searching the public records, that the land was afterwards patented in the name of James Bradshaw. '' On this concurrent testimony it was proposed to erect a cenotaph to the President's memory ; and the lines which I repeated to you were intended by v/ay of inscription, a copy of which you have herewith. I wish this account may give you satisfaction, being, with great regard, &c, &c. " Bryan Edwards. Bridges says (pp. 444, 445) :— " It appears, from inquiries I have made, that there are still extant two patents of land, situated near the town of Martha Brae, in the name of James Bradshaw ; and which were surveyed, June 4th, 1688 ; one for 250 acres, the other for 650. Within their confines is a high hill which is marked, and still known, by the name of Gun Hill." CHAPTER VIII. TROUBLES IN LITTLE ENGLAND.* Ccelum non animum mutant qui trans mare currunt. THEN the year 1650 opened, it found the colonists c(lj^> °f Barbados in a state of division. The Treaty of Turkey and Roast Pig was now wholly disregarded, and the Cavaliers, finding themselves in a vast majority not only railed at the Parliament and at " The Army,'' but they determined to put aside the neutrality of the Colony, and to declare openly for the Prince of WALES as Charles the Second. Although Captain PHILIP BELL held his Commission, as Governor, from the Lord Proprietor of the Island, it must by that time have become known to the colonists that Francis, Lord WiLLOUGHBY of Parham, had been constituted by the same Lord Proprietor to be his Lieu- tenant-General of the Caribbee Islands for twenty-one years from Michaelmas 1646 ; that the late King and his * The main authorities for the Statements in this Chapter are Nicholas Foster's Brief Relation, of the late Horrid Rebellion acted in the Island Barbados, in the West Indies, London, 1650, and secondly, A Brief Relation of the Beginning and Ending of the Troubles of the Barbados, with the true causes thereof, set forth by A. B., a diligent Observer of the Times, London, 1653. T 138 Cavaliers and Roundheads. son, the present King in exile, had both approved of the arrangement ; and that Lord Willoughby intended to come out to Barbados and himself to assume the Govern ment.* It was also then known that Prince RUPERT and Prince MAURICE with a small Fleet were roving the seas, and the Cavaliers of Barbados hoped that these warlike brothers would come to their assistance. Having these assurances, and having got their partisans appointed to the Chief Civil offices in the colony — and the Governor himself being in sympathy with them ; and still more important the Governor's wife ; the Royalists caused the Militia to be raised, and men of their own party to be placed in command, on the pretext that the island should be placed in a state of defence to meet an attack which the Spaniards were said to contemplate making upon it. The chief promoter of the Royal cause in Barbados was Colonel Humphrey Walrond, a gentleman of an old Devonshire family, who, with several brothers and sons, had taken an active part in the West Country, on the Royalist side. When Bridgewater surrendered to the Parliament's soldiers, Colonel Walrond was one of the hostages given by the Royalist commander: while his * The Deed of Demise from the Earl of Carlisle to Lord Willoughby is dated 17th Feby., 1646-47. The Twenty -one years were to run " from " the feast of St. Michaell the Archangell last past before the date " hereof." Besides the stipulations as to paying the first Earl of Carlisle's debts, set forth in a Schedule annexed to the deed, it was provided that Lord Willoughby should pay five shillings as consideration money, and pay yearly ¦' one pepper corne if it be lawfully demanded." On the 18th of February 1646-47, the Earl of Carlisle executed a Deed of Revocation of all Offices granted to any person in the Caribbee Islands before that date. Both the above mentioned Documents are among the MSS. in Trinity College, Dublin, G. 4. 15. Troubles in Little England. 139 sacrifices in the losses he sustained in the King's Cause, were estimated at £30,000, or about £120,000 in money's worth now. His eldest son, GEORGE WALROND, had lost his right arm in battling for the late Sovereign. Edward Walrond, one of the Colonel's brothers, being a Member of the Temple, was a warm supporter in the Assembly of his elder brother's plans. But, while Colonel WALROND was the leader, the Island swarmed with men who had suffered much for him whom they looked upon as their martyred King, and for that Church which they regarded with loving reverence, but which their opponents had sacrilegiously desecrated. Many had served the King as Officers in his Army, and had only fled from England when all was lost and their lands were seques trated. Some had come to Barbados, as did Major BYAM, almost directly from the Tower of London, where, with other Officers who were taken prisoners at Bridgewater, he had been imprisoned until let out on a pass " to go "beyond seas."* How could men who had fought and * In 1644, Major Byam was among the officers in garrison at Bridge- water, and being on guard when an attempt was made by the Parliamen tary army to take the town by surprise, he defeated the forces with great slaughter, thereby averting for some time the fate of that important fortress. On the following year, Cromwell and Fairfax coming against Bridgewater with an overwhelming power, after a gallant and desperate resistance, the town was taken, and quarter only given to the garrison. The officers were immediately sent to London, and put at the disposal of the Parliament, whence they were despatched to the Tower and other public prisons. After remaining in the Tower for some months, Major Byam accepted a pass • to go beyond the seas," (as the term then was) and, with some of his military friends, he accordingly left the home of his fathers, and sought in Barbados— that last asylum for royalists — a retreat from the Oliverian power. —Antigua and the Antiguans, Vol. I, p. 40. 12 140 Cavaliers and Roundheads. suffered as these had done, fail to answer at WALROND's call, and, when he appealed to them, to throw up their caps and cry Heigh for King Charles ! By misrepresenting to the inhabitants that Colonel GUY MOLESWORTH, a staunch Royalist, who had rendered eminent service to the King's cause, was a violent Cavalier who had said that, It would not be well in the Island until the Roundheads' Estates were given to the poor Cavaliers, the Walronds had succeeded in 1649, in driving that officer from the honourable post of Treasurer of the Island, and in banishing him from the Island.* Encouraged by their success in this matter, they then contrived that their staunch supporterSerjeantMajor Byam should be appointed Treasurer, and also Master of the Magazines and Captain of the Platforms, t Shortly * Hist. MSS., 7th Report. Appendix, p. 146, (1879.) 1661, June, 18. Petition of Colonel Guy Moulesworth ; in the year 1649 petitioner being then an inhabitant of the island of Barbadoes was by the malice and false suggestion of Sir James Drax and others without any just cause made a close prisoner in the island for three months and after those persons calling themselves a Court of War endeavoured by tortures and other barbarous proceedings used towards certain persons to compel them to accuse petitioner in order that they might have some pretence to take away his life, but not being able to prove anything against him they proceeded to banish him whereby his interest in the island then being very considerable was totally lost and he with his wife children and forty persons in his family was forced to sea and exposed to all hazards in a vessel of no force and by that means fell into the hands of pirates to his utter undoing and damage of £20,000. Petitioner prays that the persons complained against may be ordered to appear before their Lordships and that he may receive some recompense.— See Lords' Journals, XI, 297. t The rank of Serjeant-Major was at that time analogous to that of Brigadier in our day. Troubles in Little England. 141 after this, an Agent from Bermuda arrived to request the Barbadian Colonists to make with them a League, offensive and defensive, and to furnish them with Arms and Ammunition to defend the Royal cause ; the Ber mudians having declared for the King, and banished the well-affected to the Parliament from their Island. The Walrond party were most anxious that the request should be complied with, but Colonel Draxe was suc cessful in opposing it, with the result that the Agent was told that he might buy what Ammunition he could get for his money. Thus thwarted in their desires, EDWARD WALROND, in the name of the Governor summoned some of the gentry to meet together, and, after being sworn to secrecy, to consider of the safety of the Island, which he, in a long and well-studied speech, represented to be endangered by a formidable and daily increasing party of malignants, who would in time become masters of the Island, when they would banish all those well- affected to the King. There were, he said, but two ways to prevent the danger : either to Extirpate the malig nants, or to Tolerate them. Walrond and the majority voted for Extirpation. The Governor was informed of the result of the voting, only after he had himself taken an oath of secrecy. The Legislature was now convened, and the Council and Assembly appointed a Committee of Public Safety to decide upon the course of action best to be adopted. These Commissioners were sworn to secrecy, and so were the Members of Council and Burgesses to whom they reported ; but, the plan proposed in their report was not long in leaking out, and was nothing else than the banishment of the Roundheads from the island : a course, however, which was not 142 Cavaliers and Roundheads. approved by the general body, as no just cause for such a proceeding could be shown. Upon the miscarriage ot the extreme measures which had been proposed, Colonel MODIFORD introduced and got passed by the Legislature, An Ad for the uniting of the Inhabitants of the Island, under the Government thereof In this Law, after declar ing that elsewhere (evidently meaning England) people had been " totally ruined in their lives and fortunes, being " given up as a prey to the rude souldiery", which was commonly done " under pretence of tendernesse of " conscience and differing in Religion from what is most " publicly professed in this Government", the abolition of coercive Ecclesiastical Laws was enacted, and all obedience was required to the Government of the island; while, for maliciously depraving, vilifying, or opposing the said Government, it was provided that the offender should be adjudged "an enemy to this island, and the " peace thereof", and be dealt with " according to his " offence". At the suggestion of EDWARD WALROND the following clause was added to the Bill : — All and every person or persons who shall goe or come to any conventicle, or shall labour or seduce any person or persons from repairing to the Public Congre gation, or in receiving of the Holy Sacrament, shall by any fustice of the Peace {upon complaint thereof to him made) be committed to prison, there to remain without bayle or maineprise till the next general sessions of the Assembly. Breaches of this Law were to be severely punished : for the first offence, by imprisonment for three months, with fine and ransom " at the pleasure of the Assembly," and for the second offence, with forfeiture of all Lands, Troubles in Little England. 143 Goods, Chattels, and Debts : the offender being then held to be an enemy to the peace of the Island, and to be proceeded against "accordingly." The WALRONDS did not like Colonel MODIFORD'S Law although it met with the approval of the majority of members. EDWARD WALROND, therelore, always ready at a pinch, not only managed to procure the clause against conventicles, and the enactment of the penal clauses, but, at his instance: quite after the manner of the Engagement instituted by the Parliament in England : it was enacted " for the sup- portation of the Government" that an oath, in a form provided, should be tendered to the Colonists, in which each person should " voluntarily and freely, without " feare or compulsion," acknowledge the divine institution of Civil Government generally, and the lawfulness and justness of that of Barbados especially, and, saving his " allegiance to our Sovereign Lord the King," pledge himself not to oppose the latter, but to his utmost to support it with life and fortune. The Act having been passed by the Legislature, and confirmed by the Governor on the 15th of April 1650, was ordered to be published in the several Parishes in the Island : a duty which in those days appertained to the clergy, there being then no newspapers published in the island, and apparently not even a printing press imported. Before, however, the Law was actually published, the Roundhead party in the Island had taken alarm and were bestirring themselves to checkmate their Cavalier fellow-colonists, by some of whom they had been ap prised of the plot that was a-foot. Whether or not the Royalist Planter, Colonel CHRISTOPHER CODRINGTON, had been indulging in that French brandy which LlGON 144 Cavaliers and Roundheads. describes as being " accounted wholesome, but extream " strong," it is nevertheless stated that he was the worse for liquor when he disclosed the intention of his friends to banish the Roundheads. For his offence, he was con demned to pay a fine of twenty thousand pounds of sugar, and to depart the Island.* But, there were still persons of either party who remained upon friendly enough terms for an interchange of news, and thus, one of the leading Cavaliers at the present juncture showed a copy of the Ad and Oath to some of the Roundheads, who, disliking it, as it tended to perpetuate the power of the Royalists, consulted with others of their own way of thinking, with the result that a deputation from the Roundheads waited upon Governor Bell and urged upon him that the Law should not be published. The Governor told the depu tation that he had allowed the Ad to pass, for the sake of Peace, as he had to deal with violent spirits, but that he saw objections to it, and if they would leave matters in his hand he would do the best he could. The peti tioners had not long been gone when Colonel HUMPHREY WALROND called upon the Governor. After some con versation, the Governor told Colonel WALROND that he * Colonel Codrington, after fighting in England on the King's side, settled in Barbados in 1649. His son Christopher became Governor and Lieutenant- General of the Leeward Islands, when he led a for midable expedition against Martinique. This Governor's eldest son. after taking part in the siege of Namur, became Governor of the Lee ward Islands, and is known to fame as the Christopher Codrington, who founded Codrington College at Barbados. Of other descendants of the first settler at Barbados, one commanded a ship at the battle of Trafalgar, and was afterwards the Sir Edward Codrington, of Navarino fame ; another, Sir William Codrington, commanded a division in the Crimean War. Troubles in Little England. 145 had that day received a letter from a Magistrate report ing that there were several errors in the written copies of the Ad and Oath, and that the clerks who had made the copies had written nonsense. Walrond agreed with the Governor that it was necessary the copies should be called in to be corrected. The Governor, upon this, wrote to the Clergy of the various parishes, directing them not to publish the Law : and thus was its operation deferred. Several copies of the Law having subsequently been pro cured by the Roundheads, who considered their liberties in danger, the leaders of the party now considered how the publication might be wholly prevented. Few though they were in number, the Parliamentarians in the Island were an influential body, counting as they did among their number men like Colonel JAMES Draxe, the founder of the Sugar Industry, Captain Reynold Alleyne, Captain Thomas Middleton, Colonel John Fitz James, Major William Fortescue, and others like Constant Silvester, John Clinckett, Thomas Matthews, John Bayes, and Richard Hawkins, some of whom had by their great industry chiefly pro moted the prosperity of the colony, being among the earlier settlers, and having, indeed, given hospitable welcome at their tables to the very chief of the Cavaliers, when these had come over to make a home in Barbados. Such men, backed as they were by the sympathy of the party that then ruled in England, were not likely tamely to submit to oppression. Accordingly, it was, after con sultation, decided upon to Petition the Governor for a new Assembly, and this was done on the 23rd of April 1650, by some of the inhabitants in each parish. The Petitioners set out with the assertion that it was the U 146 Cavaliers and Roundheads. '•' Liberty and Priviledge of free-born Englishmen, that " are inhabitants and free-holders in this Island, to chuse " the Gentlemen of the Assembly here once every year, " none having sat so long as the Assembly that now is." They then stated that to their great grief they perceived that by the passing of the Ad for the Uniting of the inhabitants the Assembly intended to set themselves above " legall or intended power", to the inslaving of the free inhabitants of the Island, in the compassing of which " some of good integrity had been over-borne" ; and, as by the continuance of the present Assembly such an ill consequence was like to ensue, they concluded by praying the Governor forthwith to issue forth warrants " for the speedy chusing of a new Assembly", and that a time be appointed yearly for the like election, it being (he " Rights and Liberties", of them. The Petitioners declared that if the Governor would act as they desiredi he would engage them to be ready to serve him with their lives and fortunes against all opposers ; and, they took the opportunity of presenting the Petition to Governor BELL when he was sitting with his Council, in deliberation upon the best thing to be done in the business of the Ad and Oath. The Governor declared his readiness to grant the prayer of the Petition. Upon this the Walronds in a rage ' rose up and divers of the Council with them, and deserted the Governor, leaving only two to sit with him'. The Governor, however, stayed the operation of the Act, and dismissed the Petitioners. The WALRONDS, on their part, now openly declared the Governor to be a Roundhead. As the dissolution of the Assembly might prove a fatal blow to their projects, the Royalists, after giving up Troubles in Little England. 147 their first idea of procuring cross Petitions, wherein "the country," should approve of their proceedings, and desire their continuance, decided to stir up the people against the Petitioners by stigmatizing these as Inde pendents, who designed to cut off all who were loyal to the King, and to alter the government of Church and State by bringing in the power of the Parliament of England, for establishing which they had commissions from the Council of State. It was high time, they said, to look about them, as otherwise they would all be dead men, for they could not expect fairer terms from those in Barbados than the late King and others received from their brethren in England. The further to inflame the minds of the colonists against the Roundheads, the leaders of the Royalist party wrote " several libells, and " scandalous papers, throwing some up and downe, and " putting others upon Posts." It is interesting to observe in the manifestoes that were at that period distributed by hand, or posted up throughout the Island, the originals of the political war-drum which nowadays is so valo- rously beaten by the Barbadian Press, when battling for the ancient liberties of " free-born Englishmen." Here is a specimen of plain speaking, not, however, very complimentary in its terms : — Friends, take my advice, There is in hand a most damnable designe, the Authors are Independents, their ayme is wholly to Casheere the Gentry and Loyall, and to change for our Peace Warre and for our Unity Division, Colonel Drax, that devout Zealot {of the deeds of the Devil, and the cause of that seven headed Dragon at Westminster) is the Agent: Now that the Workman may have his hire, I could wish that there U2 148 Cavaliers and Roundheads. were more Covenanters besides myself * for {truly I cannot conceal it) I have vowed to impeach him and to prosecute him, but not in point of Law, for then I know he would subdue me {but at the Point of Sword) : Let me desire such as tender Religion, the Loyall, the safety of the Island, and being of our present Govern ment, they be fore -armed against the pretence of Liberty, for thereby is meant Slavery and Tyranny. But I halfe repent this motion of the Pen, purposing with all expedition to Adion. My ayme is at Drax, Middleton; and the rest. Vivat Rex. These " libels and scandalous papers," were addressed variously To the Islanders, To the Gentlemen Cavaliers by the Planters, and the like ; and were of very feroci ous nature, the authors being apparently not scrupulous in the use of terms, and having a particular dislike to Colonel JAMES DRAXE. This leading man is now styled " a faithful " agent of Rebellion," then " the Type of that seven- " headed Dragon of Westminster," while one fire-eating Royalist declares that " I shall thinke my best rest but " disquiet until I have sheathed my sword in his Bowells " that first began it, unless regular power make an " appearance against it," adding that, he thinks about one hundred friends of his own are of the same mind. The following are two more of these inflammatory ad dresses to the Colonists, the latter of them dealing with certain " scandalous papers," which emanated from the Roundhead party : — Gentlemen Planters,— I have a good opinion of your Loyalty, I doubt not but you know the pretence for ruine, that of liberty, and dis- solution of our Government, whereby our peace only stands : some of you I believe are ignorant of the deceit that is in the cunning of self- will workers ; if you inquire after England's Troubles, her sadnesse, her Troubles in Little England. 149 sorrowes, her divisions, her Warres, her Rapines, her Murders, you will find that it came from pretence of Liberty ; such now is that of Draxe, (who as by letters appears) is factor for the Rebells in England, and here ,is to vent his trade of disloyalty, Rebellion, and Ruine, and to cleare this, if you looke upon the late Petition, there is the height of his charge of Roguery, not only with a party to overthrow our Assembly, but impeaching the judgements oi all the Islanders. Sirs, pray take notice, and dreame not, if the Devill can perform for you any good, then expect it from those Imps of the Devill, and not otherwise : for my owne part if no punishment extend to these Traitors, 1 must to exercise at Armes, to which I desire there may be a readinesse in you all. Vivat Rex. Till the next farewell. Gentlemen, — Having found a Libell dispersed to the scandall of the authority now in being, and undervaluing of the Judicious of the whole island, as to their chiefe of the Assembly, and their concurrence with them in outcries and exceptions against particular men, of known wealth and Loyalty, we could not but proceed to this Declaration. I. That conformity is the best step and advance to security, that those worthy gentlemen that are scandalized, having endeavoured thereto, we looke upon as the best helpers to this Common-wealth. 2. That whereas imprecations are vented against Lawyers, (to the remorse of those worthies the Waldronds be it spoken) from them is our Generall happinesse derived. 3. That whereas they are clamorous against the intended Oath with seditious Petitions spred as from the Generall, we declare the extent of the Oath to all peaceable being ; nothing therein binding further than submission, so the power proceeds from our Election, and vote of all men, and Loyalty to our King: That we disclaime the proceedings of Drax, Middleton, Alleyne, as most seditious disturbing of our Union and present being in peace, and the most horrid foundation of further intended mischiefe; as derived and taken from the practice of those imps of the Devill, and the devouring Rebells at Westminster. 4. That we looke upon countenancers of the late Petitions, as the most dangerous of Enemies, and in the resolution, and of present appearance, unless better satisfaction, we are resolved to live and dye, to the comfort of the Loyall. Vivat Rex. Broken Cavaliers still sought the Island as a place of refuge, and found warm welcome there ; and when the 150 Cavaliers and Roundheads. young Cavees, as the Cavaliers were conventionally called, came upon the scene, the rashness of youth impelled them to drink openly to the health of King CHARLES. Why should they not repair their fortunes in Little England by sequestrating the Estates of Roundheads there, as the Parliament had dealt with their own property in Old England ? Colonel WALROND assured them he would mount them shortly. Soon a troop of horsemen, bravely mounted, waited upon Colonel Walrond in St. Philip's Parish, where his plantation lay, and these bold dragoons swore they would sheathe their swords in the hearts of all those who would not drink a health to the Figure of II. (Charles II.), and then drink to the confusion of the Independent Dogs. " I wonder, gentlemen, you were " not the first, having horses to command! " said Colonel WALROND to these troopers. By this time, the people in St. Philip's Parish and the neighbourhood had been persuaded into the belief that their Roundhead fellow- colonists really had a design to cut off all those loyal to the Prince of WALES, and that they had commissions from the Parliament to set up its power in the Island, and that the petitions were only the first steps towards such ends. When Governor BELL found that the Royalists were not only scattering " scandalous papers " and spreading rumours and reports in many parts of the Island, but were also openly arming, he issued the following declara tion : — BV THE GOVERNOUR. Whereas notice hath been taken of the frequent scattering of scan. dalous Papers in many parts of this Island, and many false rumours and reports have been raised on purpose to beget intestine, and civil Troubles in Little England. 151 bcoyles, to the ruin and disturbance of the Peace and quiet which we now injoy, I do therefore declare that al! such persons as shall hereafter be found guilty of spreading any such scandalous Papers, false Rumours and Re ports, shall be proceeded against and punished as Enemies to the pub- lick Peace of this Island ; and I do hereby require all Justices of the Peace, and the Officers in the severall parts of this Island (whom it may concerne) carefully to apprehend all such persons, and send them as Rebells to the Gaole. And I do likewise forbid any person or persons to take up any Armes offensive to the Peace or in any hostile manner upon paine of Death. Given under my hand this 29th day of April, Anno Domini 1650. Philip Bell. But, a mere Proclamation could not now stay the Cavaliers, whose tactics had secured an increase of their party, and who had determined to possess the Island for the Royal Cause. So, when the Governor required Colonel Shelley, who commanded the first Regiment that took up arms, to disband his forces, that officer sent for an swer that his men would march up with bullets in their mouths. Itwas on May-Eve, 1650, that the WALRONDS persuaded Colonel Shelley, who was regarded by the Parliamentarians as ' a plain but over-credulous gentle man,' that the Independents, as the Roundheads were now styled, had a plot to seize the magazine, and to put all who loved the King to the sword. By the same policy they won over Colonel Reade. The Proclamation was issued on the 29th April, and, on the 30th, the Cavaliers were in a condition of warfare. On the Governor's learning to what a pass things had come, he issued Commissions to Lieutenant Colonel DRAXE and others, to raise forces for the preservation of peace ; but that officer had only time to get together about twenty horse and eighty or a hundred foot, and to 152 Cavaliers and Roundheads. arrest Major Byam of Colonel Shelley's Regiment, and one of Colonel Walrond'S sons, who were posting about to raise forces for the Army of Royalists, when it was found that the Cavaliers had raised an alarm and were advancing towards The Bridge. Thereupon, the Governor sent out a second Commission to Colonel DRAXE to apprehend the WALRONDS and their abettors as fomentors of Rebellion, and at the same time charged Commissary General John Par R ATT to require Colonel WALROND to appear before him. In the event of the Colonel's refusal, then the Commissary General was to demand his Commission from him, and, if that were not delivered, then WALROND was to be proclaimed a Rebel. This was on the ist of May. On the same day the Governor was to dine by invitation at The Bridge, at Master JOBSON'S Tavern, it would seem. As he was riding into Town from his plantation near the Indian river, with some neighbours in his company, he was met outside the Town by Colonel Edmund Reade with a troop of horse, who, after exchanging a few words with the Governor, wheeled about, and, leaving the Governor, rode with his troop towards The Bridge. Governor BELL went to his dinner, a meal which in those times was taken early in the afternoon. When Colonel WALROND received from Commissary General PARRATT a letter which the Governor had writ ten to him, he went along with the messenger to the Governor, to whom he presented himself " more like a " Saint than a Rebell, and pleaded Not guilty of any " intention of evil in the least". Upon hearing Wal- ROND'S representations, the Governor forthwith dis- Troubles in Little England. 153 charged him, when he at once repaired to the Royal ist Army, then marching towards The Bridge, and placed himself at its head. That very day Colonel Walrond and Colonel Edmund Reade, having now an army at their back, presented certain PROPOSI TIONS which were signed not only by those two officers, but also by the following influential persons who described themselves as " Well-affected to His Majesty", namely : — HENRY SHELLEY CHRISTOPHER GILL THOMAS MODIFORD JOHN WARR EDWARD WALROND PAUL GODWIN WILLIAM KIKTON THOMAS READE BENJAMIN BERRINGER CHARLES HARVEY THOMAS ELLIS DANIEL KENDALL JAMES BROWNE PHILIP MILLER WILLIAM BYAM ROBERT CARLETON. The whole tendency of the Propositions was to place the power of the Government in the hands of the Royalist Party, to suppress the Parliamentarians, and to declare openly for the Prince of WALES as CHARLES the SECOND. The Signers of the Propositions, set out by declaring their resolution with their lives and fortunes to maintain and defend Captain Bell as Governor of the Island: a resolution in which the Governor readily concurred. Then they demanded that Major Byam should be sent to them, which was done. They required that all Independents, " and the other disturbers of the Peace of this Island," should be disarmed : to which the Governor agreed, requiring, however, that the " well affected to His Majesty" should first engage for the safety of those per sons. Their fourth Proposition was that the Magazine at The Bridge should be so secured as that it should be X 154 Cavaliers and Roundheads. safe from seizure by " those knowne disaffected to His " Majesty, and the Peace of his Island ;" but, as the Governor's answer " It is already done, and upon my " honorable word I will have a care of it," did not meet -their wishes, they rejoined in plainer language " that the " Magazine be put in our trust and guard, until it can be " disposed of, according to the former orders of the " Assembly ;" and, as Captain Bell could not further evade the directness of their intention in this matter he yielded to their demand. Their fifth PROPOSITION required the condign punishment of those persons who had " any " wayes sought or endeavoured to obstruct the peace of " this Island, and laboured the ruine of those loyally " affected to His Majesty ;" and, to give effect to this, they required that twenty such persons, whom they would nominate, should be forthwith apprehended and put into custody, and that the Governor should call together the General Assembly for the Trial of the offenders, and that speedily, because, said they " our forces cannot disband "' till it be effected." As they engaged upon their honour that the alleged delinquents should not receive injury until they came to their Trial, the demand was allowed. The sixth PROPOSITION ran as follows : — " That our lawful soveraigne Charles the Second be instantly in a " solemn manner proclaimed King." To this demand the Governor demurred, that it was a matter of such consequence as should not be determined upon without consultation with the General Assembly, and the Memorialists agreed to its suspension, on con dition of the early convening of the Assembly as re quired by them. The seventh point was, that when the Assembly should be dissolved, only such men as were Troubles in Little England. 155 known to be " well affected to His Majesty, and con- '* formable to the discipline of the Church of England " formerly established," should be chosen and admitted to be members ; and this was granted. Their eighth PROPOSITION required an Ad of Oblivion "for the lawful arms " they had taken up for the defence of the Gover nor and the public, and that an Ad of Indemnity pass to all persons that had engaged with them ; and the Governor granted this. In the ninth place, a safe con duct from the Governor to " all officers of what degree " soever, being members of Assembly," should be given to them for going to and fro on their Legislative busi ness. This was granted. The Tenth and last PROPOSI TION was, that the Governor should place himself in the care of the Memorialists, coming to them, however, with out " any known disaffected person " in his company. The whole of the PROPOSITIONS, modified as stated, were agreed upon on the 3rd of May, and thereupon, as stated in Chapter I., CHARLES STUART, son of the late KlNG, was " with great solemnity proclaimed King of " England, Scotland, France, and Ireland, &c, and im- " mediately thereupon the Booke of Common Prayer " was declared to be the only Pattern of true Worship, " and commanded to be distinctly, and duly read in every " Parish Church, every Lord's day," &c. Those who are conversant with the History of the Civil War, will recognize that, in playing their part as above described, the Cavaliers of Barbados had taken their model from the Leaders of the Commons in the early days of the Long Parliament, doing no injustice to the originals, as witness these ardent Royalists, sword in hand, declaring to the Governor that they have taken X 2 156 Cavaliers and Roundheads. up " lawful armes" for the defence of " Yourself and the Publick," they having risen in arms in very despite of the Governor's Proclamation. It is all in the man ner of the Long Parliament, who levied war against the King in the King's own name, and, according to that Body, in the King's own defence ! Colonel WALROND, however, was a man who was not put to shifts for strategy in politics, if credence may be given to that worthy Roundhead gentleman, Captain NICHOLAS FOSTER, who in 1650 wrote A brief e Relation of the late Horrid Rebellion aded in the Island Barbados, in the West Indies. According to this authority, Colonel WALROND bethought himself that whilst he was active in raising forces he had given out that the Independents were in arms, intending to cut off the Loyal Colonists : he then well knowing that there were none in arms besides the Cavaliers, except only those troops levied by Colonel DRAXE by the Governor's order and Commission. In order, therefore, to justify his position, the chief of the Cavaliers resorted to a wile. Having consulted with Colonel THOMAS MODIFORD, who was then very '' high" for the King, it was agreed upon that Colonel MODIFORD should send an order to his Lieutenant Colonel and Major for the raising of his Regiment, which was to advance to a place appointed for rendezvous ; and, the better to effect this, Colonel MODIFORD repaired to the Governor, placed his regiment as a guard to attend him, at Captain BELL'S service, who, knowing nothing of the plot, gave his consent to the raising of the regiment. Whereupon, at Modiford's command, his men take to arms, appear in their, usual place of exercise, and there, at night, the word is given them to march, they Troubles in Little England. 157 being put upon the alarm by information from their officers that Colonel Walrond had raised forces and surprised the Governor, and that their march was for the Governor's relief. With Lieutenant Colonel Birch, the Major, and several Captains, in command, the regi ment marched, and that night pitched their colours in the field, expecting in the morning to march for the Governor's relief, but, when morning came, instead of a forward march, the order to counter march was given, and the men were dismissed to their homes, every one to return to his habitation on pain of death.* Of course, some of those who had taken up arms so readily for the Governor's protection were of the party not " well affected to his Majesty "; rank Roundheads, in fact, who would gladly have come to blows with the WALRONDS and their backers ; and this was just the very point that Colonel Walrond had de- * Captain Nicholas Foster is the authority for the account given in the text. In A. B.'s Relation the following somewhat different version is given of the r6le played by Colonel Modiford and his Regiment : — " But the poor old Governor now (though too late) saw throw the " inside of his (Colonel Humphrey Walrond's) mischievous intentions, " and therefore commanded Colonel Modyford (whom he had formerly " forbidden) to raise the Windward Regiment for his Restauration to " that authority which he was so easily fool'd out of ; who im- " mediately issued his orders to Lieut.-Col. Burch for that purpose, " which was by his activity effected in one night, so that Lieut.-Col. " Burch was upon his march with Fifteen hundred Foot and One " hundred and twenty Horse, and became very terrible to the Walronds, '" and would undoubtedly have turned the scale, had not the elder " Walrond by commanding tears to wait upon his deceitful professions "of zeal, faith, and honesty to the Governor, prevailed with him to " send a Warrant to command Lieut.-Col. Burch to disband his Forces, " and forthwith to repair to the Governor to attend his further pleasure." 158 Cavaliers and Roundheads. signed to encompass. He now urged that this Regi ment was raised in opposition to him, and that those who served with it were Delinquents and Disturbers of the peace, and must be proceeded against accordingly, and it was at such persons that the third and fifth PRO POSITIONS were specially aimed. On the 3rd of May, CHARLES STUART (II.) was pro claimed King of England, and of Barbados, and of all other English Plantations.* The feeble conduct of the Governor, and especially his allowing himself and his friends to be disarmed at the instance of Colonel WALROND, made all men afraid to act for the Governor. The WALRONDS on their side now carried things with a high hand. A diligent observer of the times, as an old writer describes himself, gives us an account of the position these gentlemen of Devonshire had now attained to. The weakness of the Governor, he says, ' made the WALRONDS look on them- • selves as absolute Princes, taking upon them in a very ' kingly way, to give orders, raise horses, grant commis- ' sions and, like Princes indeed, to forget the Articles ' made, keeping only such as were for their advantage ; ' imprudently alledging that no other promises ought to ' be kept, by persons in their condition.' Whilst all men began now to yield them, he adds, a true or feigned obedience. The pride of the WALRONDS was however now to have a fall. * See latter part of Chapter I., ante. Troubles in Little England. 159 THE OFFICE OF TREASURER OF BARBADOS. (See Pace 140.) In connection with the putting out of Colonel Guy Molesworth from the office of Treasurer of Barbados, in 1649, '' may De worth men tioning that to this day the House of Assembly of that Colony retains the right of appointing the Treasurer of the Colony, which it had main tained against an attempt at usurpation in Queen Anne's reign. Of that attempt to invade the right of appointment mention is made in a manuscript preserved in the British Museum. Writing from Barbados to his friend Mr. James Petiver, Apothecary to the Charter House, Captain Walduck says (8th March 1710-11): — " We have had for these 3 or 4 years last past a sett of very honest men in the Assembly, (whether High Church, Low Church, or no Church, I cannot tell. I wish I could say the same of the Queen's Council) who chose a very honest gentleman for their Treasurer, laid no taxes but what was necessary upon the people, no way burdened the country, that the Court party had no room to use their artifices, but at last the Queen's Council trumped up the device not to suffer the Assembly to choose their Treasurer (which was never disputed before), but they would put one upon them. So both houses have protested against each other (At him Dalton, to him Balton). No laws have been passed, no Taxes raised. No Excise Bill for near this two years, because no Treasurer to receive the Taxes, Excise, &c. They on both sides have laid their Grievances, Rules of their Houses, ancient custom, and Priviledges before the Queen, and by this Packet boat (which is the News), Her Majesty has sent instructions that the choice shall be in the Assembly, that they shall raise Taxes, &c„ choose their Treasurer, and to be passed by the Council, that now the Lower House has got the ascendant. The next day they sat, chose their Treasurer, passed the Excise Bill, raised 2 thousand pounds, and all in 6 hours time that they are seized with a calenture and going to run counter to all they did before, and I am afraid when Governor Lowther comes he will be a second Sir Beville Grenville. — Sloane, MSS. 2302. CHAPTER IX. LORD WILLOUGHBY ARRIVES AT BARBADOS. Charlie, over the Water! ilN the 29th of April 1650, the ship Elizabeth of London, of which Master WILLIAM HuBBERLY was Commander, arrived in Carlisle Bay, from Holland.* In this vessel came FRANCIS, LORD WiL LOUGHBY of Parham, who brought with him a Commission from the second Earl of CARLISLE to be his Lieutenant General of the Caribbee Islands, and another Commission from CHARLES the SECOND to be the King's Governor of Barbados and the other Islands.t Lord WiLLOUGHBY remained on board the Elizabeth for a few days before making his arrival publicly known. He per haps wished to make sure of being welcome to the * Captain Samuel Carrington, in a Petition on the 4th of December, 1664, says, he " bought a part of a shipp with ye Lord Willoughby of " Parham to proceed, as we did, in your Royal Majesty's service to " take in the Island of Barbados and the rest of the Caribbee Islands in " 1650, of which both Major-General Massey and Mr. Alderman Bunce " are well informed. They both were promoters and interested in sayd " designe."— Domestic Papers : Charles II., Vol. CVI. + Lord Clarendon says that, it was thought by the Council of the King in exile, to be advisable that this second Commission should be given because of the fact that there were so many Royalist officers in Barbados. Lord Willoughby's Arrival. 161 inhabitants, before he made claim to the Government. It was not until the 7th of May that Lord WiLLOUGHBY gave notice to the Governor of his presence in Carlisle Bay, acquainting Captain BELL that he had authority from the King and the Earl of CARLISLE to be Governor, and asking to be received accordingly. This was not welcome news to the WALRONDS, who could not, as ultra loyalists, with any face ignore the King's Com mission. Nevertheless, at first in private, they en deavoured to create distrust of Lord WiLLOUGHBY, saying that he was once a Roundhead, and might be one again, and, that, as things stood, it was easy to obtain anything from the King ; and, afterwards, in public, they opposed that Lord's being received as Governor. So great was their influence that, although it was decided that the Commissions should be accepted, this was only after Lord Willoughby on his part, at the request of the Governor, Council, and Assembly had agreed to defer his assumption of the Government of Barbados for three months " in respect of the uncertainty and distractions " of the present time" : which being interpreted means, that the WALRONDS and their partisans wished for time to work their wicked will upon their Roundhead fellow Colonists before giving over the reins of Government. In Captain FOSTER'S Relation the following record is given of the Resolution of the Legislature to receive Lord WiLLOUGHBY as Governor : — " At a Meeting of the Governor, Counsell and Assembly, May the 7, 1650, The Right Honorable, Francis Lord Willoughby of Parham, hav ing brought a Commission from the Right Honourable, James Earle of Carlile, as his Lieutenant Generall of all the Crebe Islands, his Honour was willingly, and humbly received, and his Commission accepted of according to the Power and Contents thereof ; And whereas it was the Y 162 Cavaliers and Roundheads. humble desires of the Governour, Councell, and Assembly, to the Right Honorable the Lieutenant Generall, That in respect of the uncertainty and distractions of the present Times, his Lordship would please to condescend to the continuance of this present Assembly, and Govern ment, under all offices both Civill, and Marshall, for the space of three moneths. His Lordship was pleased to assent thereto; and ordered accordingly. H. Goldwell, Sec" SAMUEL FARMER, a distinguished Royalist, who had taken part in the unsuccessful attempt to hand over Bristol to Prince Rupert, felt bound to point out to Lord WiLLOUGHBY that there was no reservation of alle giance to the King in the foregoing Declaration : not with any good result, as the noble Governor became very angry and would not forbear the publishing of it.* On the same day, CHARLES STUART was again pro claimed in Barbados as the lawful King of England. Lord WiLLOUGHBY was present at the Proclamation, giving the trumpeters money and as much wine as they could drink— and this in spite of the English Parliament's Proclamation that those should be deemed Traitors, and should suffer accordingly, who should presume to de clare Charles Stuart, son of the late Charles Stuart, commonly called the Prince of Wales, to be King or chief Magistrate of England " or of any dominions be longing thereunto." Later in the day there were high doings on board the ship Elizabeth, in Carlisle Bay. There, amidst agathering of Cavaliers, Lord WiLLOUGHBY, upon his knees, drank a health to the newly proclaimed King, ' all ye companye doeingeyelike/wearetold. Many * Calendar—Colonial, I66l to 1668, p. 364. Lord Willoughby's Arrival. 163 a Royalist must have gone on board to drink to the King, as it is stated that Lord WiLLOUGHBY remained on his knees half an hour and more ' till ye health was finished.' Among the gallant company there, was that ' known malignant ' Major William Byam, who knocked upon the ship's deck where they were drinking, and cried out, All you betwixt decks that love the King, down, down upon your knees /* Being ever a man of action, Lord WiLLOUGHBY made use of the three months of interval to visit the Leeward Islands of his Government, and there he proclaimed Charles the Second, with such effect that the King shortly afterwards commissioned Major General Sir Sydenham Poyntz, who like Lord Willoughby had deserted the Roundheads, to be Governor of those Is lands. Major Byam accompanied Lord WiLLOUGHBY from Barbados to Antigua, and then received a grant of land in that Colony. In Antigua, the BYAMS had been for more than two hundred years, landed proprie tors, when, a few years ago — by the death of Sir. WIL LIAM Byam, an old Waterloo officer, and President of the old time Council of Antigua, a man who had lived in much honour in the Island — Cedar Hill passed out of the family, and, at the same time, a race which had given many soldiers to the State, besides lawyers and divines, with a store of good planters as well, came to be remem bered only by the name they had made in our West In dian annals. f * Colonial State Papers: Vol. II. 1644-52, No. 25. f For a lengthy account of the Genealogy of the Byam Family, see Appendix 4, (pp. 314 to 325) of Vol. II. of Antigua and the Antiguans. London 1844. See p. 41 of Vol. I. for mention of Byam's visit to Antigua, in 1650. Y2 164 Cavaliers and Roundheads. To work, now went the WALRONDS and their parti sans to suppress the Parliamentary party in the Island, and THOROUGH was, if not the word, at all events the manner of their actions, as fully as it had been that of Laud and Strafford.* Forthwith they passed an Ad of Indemnity in their own behalf. Then the young Cavaliers, who were the first to make open profession of their loyalty, being now mounted on the choicest horses of the Island, rode up and down the country disarming those not loyally affected : which being done, the twenty persons referred to in the fifth PROPOSITlONSas Disturbers of the Peace of the Island, were named as follows f : — THOMAS MATHEWS CHRISTOPHER LYNE JOHN CLINCKETT SAMUEL HYAT JOHN BAYES HENRY MASSEY CONSTANT SILVESTER Lt. Colonel JAMES DRAXE Colonel JOHN fitz james Captain thomas middleton Major william fortescue Captain Reynold alleyne Lt. THOMAS Rous Captain DAVID bix Lt. John johnson Captain lewis morris RICHARD HAWKINS Captain JOHN hockeridge THOMAS pears Captain peter edney Some of these were men of the highest consideration in Barbados, who held much authority in the colony and were possessed of plentiful estates in it. Divers of them, however, knowing what sort of a trial awaited them, had taken ship and left the island. Those who remained re ceived a summons to appear before the General Assem bly to answer charges of endeavouring to ruin those loyally affected to His Majesty, and of endeavouring to * Had not Lord Willoughby arrived in the very nick of time and dis suaded them therefrom, they would have adjudged divers persons to death by a Council of War. t Foster's Brief Relation, p. 48. Lord Willoughby's Arrival. 165 alter the Government of Church and State as formerly established, and to bring in the Parliament's authority, with some other charges: the indictment concluding with the sentence of the General Assembly : — That for these their crimes and offences they should pay one Million of Sugars fine and be banished the Island. The proscribed gentlemen appeared and pleaded Not Guilty, asking to be allowed to answer to each charge separately. Such an inconvenient course could not, however, be allowed, and, when the impeached further demanded a legal trial, they were answered with the objection that the Army must be kept on foot till such a trial should be over, which would be a great charge and one they would themselves have to pay for ; it being even suggested to them that the Army should cosher them into good manners. The defendants were then committed to a guard for the night. The next morning they were again brought before the Assembly and con demned to fines in sugar in the manner hereinunder stated, namely*: — Lieut. Col. James Draxe to pay 80,000 lbs. of Sugar. Captain Thomas Middleton „ 20,000 „ „ Lieut. Thomas Rous ,, 20,000 ,. „ Lieut. John Johnson ,, 40,000 • „ ,, Constant Silvester „ 10,000 „ „ Captain John Hockeridge "I and Thomas Pearse J 10,000 Captain Reynold Alleyne „ 5,000 „ „ Thomas Mathews „ 5,000 „ ,, In those days the Council, and the Burgesses elected by the various parishes, appear to have sat together and formed the General Assembly : a body which not only * Foster's Brief Relation, p. 50. 166 Cavaliers and Roundheads. constituted the Legislature of the Colony but which seems to have acted also as a Supreme Criminal Court.* The next thing was the appointment of two Commis sions, one for compositions of Delinquents' Estates, and the other for the examination of witnesses concerning the late Disturbers of the Peace of the Island : the two Commissions sitting at the same time at Master John TOBSON'S Tavern. It was not without cause that the Roundheads pointed out how unfair a trial their leaders had been put upon when they were condemned first, and, after that, then a Commission had been appointed to collect evidence against them. On the nth and 23rd of May, Acts were passed ordering that between ninety and one hundred Independents, as they were termed, and their adherents, all of whom were named, should leave the Island on or before the 2nd of July. By the Act of the 23rd May, it was further ordered that, Captain John Maniford, Captain George Briggs, Captain Robert Hooper, Captain John Hokeridge, Captain Henry Ferris, and " all other adherents to the late dis turbers of the peace of this Island, who have commission either Marshall, or Civill, forthwith bring them in to the Commissioners of Examination at Master John JOBSON'S House to be cancelled, and act no more by virtue thereof." Not only men but women also, were thus banished. t JAMES * After the Restoration, on Lord Willoughby's reappointment to the Government of Barbados, his Patent gave him power to order the Council and Assembly to sit "together or apart," and on the 25th of August, 1663 it was ordered in Council that " the Assembly sit with the Council at this time," but that appears to be the last occasion on which the two bodies sat together as a General Assembly. t Captain Nicholas Foster gives a List of those banished. Their names will be found at the end of this Chapter. Lord Willoughby's Arrival. 167 CLINCKETT and his wife, of St. Peter's, JOHN CLINCKETT and his wife, and William MARSHALL and his wife, of St. Andrew's, and Francis Raynes and his wife, of St. George's, GEORGE Briggs, and others, were among those exiled.* Those of the delinquents who duly paid the fines to which they had "voluntarily consented", and submitted to their banishment were thereupon to be " pardoned, fully remitted and discharged of all the " crime and offence" with which they were charged, and were allowed to nominate to the management of their estates during their own banishment, such persons as they chose and " in whom the Public could confide". This must have been a fine time for Estates' attorneys. The two Commissions went to work with a will : that for Composition letting it be known that if Fines were not * In the Historical MSS. Commissioners' Seventh Report, (Appendix, p. 146 : 1879), there is an abstract of a Petition, dated 18th of June, 1661, from Francis Farrington, (who had lived in Barbados many years, where he gained an estate of ,£1,000 a year), against William Cham- berlalne of London, and Joseph Briggs. During the present century another Joseph Briggs, the late Joseph Lyder Briggs of Barbados, acquired much fame in the West Indies as the prime mover in establishing the New Barbados System of cane cul tivation, in his native Island : through adopting which Barbados pros. pered highly for many years, while Mr. Briggs himself at the same time acquired a large fortune. His only son is the present Sir Thomas Graham Briggs, Baronet. It is a noteworthy fact that Thomas Briggs, a brother of Joseph Lyder Briggs, was one of the first two members of the House of Assembly who proposed, early in the century, to give the free coloured people of Barbados " their oath": that is, to allow their testimony to be received in a Court of Justice. No other member sup ported this proposal, and, as Thomas Briggs stuck to his views, he was promptly turned out of the House by his constituents at the next election. He was, however, soon afterwards re-elected, and the measure itself was carried. 168 Cavaliers and Roundheads. promptly paid in, the Independents' estates would be sold, while the Commissioners for Examination called up the inhabitants of one parish this week and of another parish the week after. There being, up to the present time, no evidence of the Roundhead Plot of which the Cavalier party had said so much, and to resist which they had taken up arms and acted with so much violence, some of the Colonists began to ask why the Roundheads had been so highly fined and been condemned to banishment. If, moreover, these had been guilty of so horrid a plot as it had been given out that they were, why were they not prosecuted in law and severely punished ? It was also observed that most of those who had been fined and banished had lived a long time in the Island, many of them having been of eminence in places of authority, who had ever done their best for the colony ; that, as a rule, they were men of good estates in the colony and peaceable folks, while Colonel WALROND himself had not been many years on the Island, and most of his adherents were only newcomers and men having no fortunes in the colony ; that the Roundheads had not taken up Arms as had been pre tended, for the ruin of the other inhabitants, but only by the Governor's order, upon whose order they had also disbanded. Now, too, that the Independents had been disarmed, why was a Force still kept up, to the great prejudice of the Country, unless the Cavaliers intended to maintain themselves in power and to turn Barbados into a place of Refuge for Royalists? The soldiery asked to be disbanded, and many people, although Cava liers, murmured at the highhandedness of the proceed ings, insomuch that some of the latter were questioned, Lord Willoughby's Arrival. 169 and looked upon as adherents to and favourers of the In dependents, as the Roundheads were now invariably called. Meanwhile, the WALRONDS were practising all the arts of conciliation upon all who were likely to be of use to them. To those who were poor they promised shares of the Roundheads' Estates. To others who were out-and- out Cavaliers, they urged the danger of receiving Lord WiLLOUGHBY. To others again, whose chief aim was to secure liberty for the inhabitants, they proposed the setting up of a Popular Government, and they did not stick at saying that such was their object from the be ginning, and that they loved it above all other Forms. Colonel MODIFORD, who belonged to the Moderates, observed as to the Parliamentarians, that, " if he " acted so high in the business as the WALRONDS " did, he would hang good store of them, and by that " means engage the country in the quarrel : so that the " Country (if any opposition came) being as deeply en- " gaged as themselves, might stand by them." Feasting is said to have been at this time much in vogue with the Royalist leaders : in fact " the greatest of their employments."* At a feast given on the 12th of June, at which the grandees of the party were present, * In a little Black Letter Volume, with the title A Brief Treatise of the principal Fruits and Herbs that grow in Barbadoes, Jamaica, and other Plantations in the West Indies, the writer (pp. 52, 53) attributes to Intemperance rather than to Climate, the short lives of the English who settle in hot countries. Going into details, he says : — For to omit their Extravagances in ordinary diet, the vast quantities of Flesh and Fish which they unnecessarily devour, I have heard it credibly related and affirmed, that there has been the quantity of One thousand or one thousand two hundred bottles of Wine, Madeira and Z 170 Cavaliers and Roundheads.- with the officers of their army, some of the Cavaliers came into the room where the revellers were assembled and spoke to the following effect. They said there was much -discontent in the Country on account of the harsh way in which the Independents had been dealt with ; that it was feared Trade would thereby be obstructed ; which would be the certain ruin of the colony ; that by their bidding defiance to the Parliament " in so high a nature " they should be proclaimed Rebels to their na tive country (England); that when they were called to arms, it was pretended that it was only to show their loyalty and forwardness to and for His Majesty; and that there was nothing to show that there was such a plot among the Independents to destroy the Loyalists as had been alleged. To these remonstrances was added a request that steps should be taken to com pose all differences and thus prevent the ruin which many of the inhabitants apprehended. In reply, the Royalist leaders said, that the remonstrants need not trouble their minds with such an apprehension as that Par- liament^would take notice of their proceedings, as the Roundheaded Rebels of Westminster Hall had their hands fully employed otherwise — alluding of course to work CROMWELLhad in hand in Ireland, and to the work prepar ing for him in Scotland. If it were not so, they said, the Rump Parliament might fix their eye upon Virginia and the Bermudas, which had shown themselves a precedent for what they had done, and yet the Parliament had not Claret, consumed at one feast, made by a common planter of Barbadoes ; and that the like superfluity (as if they would vye for luxury with the old Romans in the declining age of their Empire) is not infrequent in that and other Western Plantations. Lord Willoughby's Arrival. 171 taken notice of it. These bold Cavaliers plainly declared that they would league themselves with the Hollanders. They neither did, nor would, nor had cause to mind the Parliament, or any thing the Parliament would or could do to them, they declared, " with .divers sleighting expressions and contumelious words to the same effect." Representations such as were made by the moderate Cavaliers were, however, highly inconvenient and objec tionable to the Walrond patty, and it was necessary that such indiscretions should be discouraged. On the following day, therefore, the General Assembly resolved to deal vigorously with the Independent party. Setting out with a declaration that Colonel JAMES DRAXE, Cap tain Thomas Middleton, Captain Reynold Alleyne, Master Edward Thompson, Master Constant SILVES TER, Lieutenant Thomas Rous, Lieutenant John John son, Master Thomas Perkins, and Master Christopher Lyne, had abused the freedom and liberty allowed them by the General Assembly, by travelling from place, to place to assert their own innocency, and the oppression of the General Assembly in punishing them, "which " shall upon their Tryall appear to the whole world to " the contrary, which shall with as much speed as may " be possible be prosecuted against them," the Resolu tion of the General Assembly, then indicted the Colonists aforenamed, with having used many " seditious and scandalous speeches," in order to. stir up many good people to engage with them, and with making "His Majesty's subjects in this Island" discontented by telling them that Trade with England was now lost.* But the * Nathaniel Sylvester, a brother of Constant Sylvester, Xor Silvester), was associated with Colonel Thomas. Middleton, Thomas Rous, amd Z 2 172 Cavaliers and Roundheads. offenders were charged with something worse than these delinquencies, in " impudently affirming that the General " Assembly are ashamed of what they have done" ! This would, indeed, have been the unkindest cut of all, had not a Roundhead writer disposed of it as false, with the sarcastic observation that if the spirit of grace had been as prevalent with the General Assembly as the spirit of deceit and falsehood was, then the Assemblymen would, and justly might, be ashamed of their proceedings. To " satisfy His Majesty's loving subjects," therefore, it was now ordered that the aforenamed Colonists should be committed prisoners to the house and Plantation of Lieut-Colonel James Draxe, and Colonels Walrond and MODIFORD were desired to raise a guard of eighteen musketeers, under a commissioned officer, for the safe keeping of these prisoners, at whose own charge the guard was to be maintained. All other persons named in the list of Delinquents to be banished were, at the same time, ordered to be confined to their houses and plantations until they departed from the colony. The Parliamentarians now found that Barbados had become too hot for them. The Royalists were becom ing somewhat sanguinary, and it was understood that they were bent upon condemning to death some of the Parliamentarians and confiscating their estates.* There Constant Sylvester, in the purchase of an island near New York. The manor hall there and many memorials of olden time remain to this day in possession of the Sylvester family. * A Correspondent of the Mercurius Politicus, writing from Amster dam the 21 July, 1651, says — Here are severall ships come from the Barbados, and divers passengers, some well-wishers to the Parliament ; hey are generally all of opinion that the country will not stand out long,. they affirme that if the Parliament did but send a matter of 1,500 Lord Willoughby's Arrival. 173 was nothing left to those sentenced to banishment but to accept their fate, and leave the Colony, and get to England, there to lay their grievances before the Parlia ment, from whom they counted upon getting help, and not without reason.* Why were they allowed to leave the Island without a trial for that dark Plot in which they had been said to have been so deeply engaged ? Punctually to the time fixed, Lord WiLLOUGHBY returned to Barbados and assumed the Government.t He sent for Colonel MODIFORD, and assured him that a policy of conciliation should now be observed ; all efforts would or 2,000 men, they would have a very short end of the businesse, there being divers places that they can land in Speight of the malignant party ; especially if they that goe did but cast out that they would free their servants of their service, and pay them out of the Estates of the malignant party, they would soone bee delivered up to justice. This is the opinion of some. It is thought that the Lord Willoughby will goe for the maine, and hath sent over the Marshall to buy a Frigot, here is also come over one of the sonnes of Colonel Waldron, and is bound for England ; whose Father was one of the cheefe Fomenters of all this mischief. And certainly if the Lord Willoughby had not come thither in the very nick of time as hee did, my son and diverse more had been put to death by a Councill of Warre ; which my Lord Willoughby told them they could not doe being no military men, and so put them off that course ; they are very jealous of him, so that he can do nothing of himselfe.- I have sent you the Declaration of the Barbados in English, many ships are still preparing to go for Barbados. * That ' most notorious, knowne malignant,' Major Byam, was heard to say that ' if his sense might have passed or his judgment bin received ' there should none have gone to England to have complained of any of • their aftions.' [Colonial State Papers, Vol. XI. 1644-52, No. 25.] t To maintain himself in his place as Governor, Lord Willoughby had 4 per cent, upon all goods exported, which in 1651 amounted to 300,000 16s. of sugar. Calendar, Colonial, 1574 to 1660, p. 388. 174 Caualiers arid Roundheads. be .made towards composing present distractionsand pre venting further differences between the Commonwealth and the Colony. Captain GEORGE MARTIN was now sent to England by Lord Wl LLOUGHBY, with instru<6tions to gain him a Commission from the Parliament,' which was what, he said, he desired above all things. Lord WILLOUGHBY'S was not a spirit to brook a rival near the throne, afld now, encouraged by the support of the Moderate Party, one of his first acts was to remove Colonel HUMPHREY Walrond and Colonel ELLIS from the Council, and to appoint in their stead Colonel Shelley and Captain Henry Guy, " as bad or worse than they could be ", as these are described in the " Humble proposals of several Barba- " deans ", made to the Council of State on the 22nd of November, 1650. On the meeting of the newly elected Council, Lord Willoughby sent a letter to Colonel Walrond informing him that the Council and himself, as Governor, had resolved that Lord WiLLOUGHBY should have command of a Regiment, and considered that no Regiment was so " fitt or convenient " for the purpose, as that which WALROND commanded, seeing that the militia men lived round about where Lord WiLLOUGHBY himself dwelt. Colonel WALROND was called upon to send in his Commission, and was told that the Governor " would take a view of the Regiment which were some- " thing large, and out of them would provide him " another." As Colonel Walrond refused the offer of the reduced Regiment, he now went out of power and out of office. The WALRONDS having thus been ousted, the Ads of Sequestration were repealed, and an Ad of Indemnity was passed. Many marks of favour were now shown to the sufferers and to the families of those Lord Willoughby's Arrival 175 banished, and all men generally looked upon Lord WiLLOUGHBY "as a blessing sent from GOD; to preserve them against the tyranny of the. two brothers." Lord WiLLOUGHBY at the same time, urged upon Colonel CoLLITON, that it was desirable that the latter should get ¦ the London Merchants to procure a Commission from the Commonwealth for the Governor. He also- requested Colonel MODIFORD and Colonel BIRCH to let the people know that he intended to persevere in moderating and composing all things. Meanwhile, the General Assembly had now been idle, and Acts had been passed, on the 3rd August for the security of persons who engaged to furnish the Island with means of defence, for the speedy fortification of the marine parts of the Island, and the better preserva tion of its present and future peace; and, on the 9th of August, for the better encouragement of trade ; and no doubt as accessory to this, another Act for the repeal of part of an Act for rating shirts, smocks, shoes, and draw ers. There was an addition to an Act for the confiscation of fugitives' Estates ; and -an Act for the more distinct reading and publishing by the Ministers of the Acts of Assembly of the Island. Steps were now taken to for tify the Island; and a Dutch ship was sent to Holland laden with ' greate quantitie of sugar,' to procure for the Islanders 'store of ammunition to oppose any power 1 that should be thither sent.' * About this time Prince Rupert went to Marseilles, intending to go thence to Barbados with vessels to sup port the Royalists of that colony. The Council of State * Colonial State Papers, Vol. XI. 1644-52, No. 25. 176 Cavaliers and Roundheads. and the Parliament, were also now astir in the business of Barbados.* On the 17th of October, an Act was passed, entitled " An acknowledgement and declaration of the inhabi- " tants of Barbados of His Majesty's right to the do- " minion of this Island ; and the right of the Right " Honourable the Lord WiLLOUGHBY of Parham ; and " also for the unanimous profession of the true religion " in this Island, and imposing condign punishment upon " the opposers thereof."t * Calendar, Colonial, 1574.1660, p. 301. t Calendar, Colonial, 1574-1660, p. 344, — The second Earl of Carlisle died in 1660 when he devised his in terest in Barbados to his cousin the Earl of Kinnoul, whose connection with Barbados is embalmed, with some error, in the pages of a recent publication entitled : Revelations of the Pension List. It will be allowed after reading the following extract from the Revelations, pp. 19-20, that the family of Hay did not lose by its venture in establishing Planta tions : — " Another pension which has a less reputable origin is that paid to the Earl of Kinnoul, better known on the racecourse as Lord Dupplin. In 1662, that monarch 'of pious memory', Charles II., granted the then Earl of Kinnoul ^1,000 a year for ever, under the following circumstances. At the accession of Charles I. the Earl of Carlisle had a grant of the Island of Barbadoes, in consideration of money he had expended about the Court in enabling Charles to keep up his extravagant and voluptu ous living. He died 1660, without issue, and the Earl of Kinnoul got hold of Barbadoes. In 1661 the island was ceded to Charles II, in con sideration of a grant to Earl Kinnoul and his heirs of ^1,000 a year for ever. Thus national property was given in exchange for money ex pended on the King's private affairs, and bought back again at the cost of national taxes. The amount now received on account of this pension is £676 4s. od. per annum. " The following is an extract from a Parliamentary Return, dated February gth, 1881 -.— ' Earl of Kinnoul, £676 4s. per annum. In 1627, Lord Willoughby's Arrival. 177 Charles I. granted the Caribbee Islands (as they were then called), in the West Indies, to James Hay, Earl of Carlisle. The grant devolved at the death of Lord Carlisle's son, to his cousin, the Earl of Kinnoul ; and in 1663, Charles II. bought back the proprietaiy rights over the Islands, which his father had granted to Lord Carlisle, settling, under Letters Patent of 19th July of that year, on the Earl of Kinnoul, in lieu thereof an annuity of .£1,000 a year payable out of the 4 J per Cent Duties levied on exports from the Islands. This annuity, which pro duced to the holder ^676 4s. net, was transferred to the Consolidated Fund at the accession of Her Majesty, together with all pensions charged on the Civil Lists of her predecessors, and on the 4} per Cent Duties. The annuity was assigned away by the Kinnoul family many . years ago, and has passed through various bands. In 1817 it was sold under a decree of the Court of Chancery, and it appears to have come into the possession of the family of the present holders about 1835. One moiety of it is now payable to George R. Carr, Esq., and the other moiety to Mrs. Georgians Carr. THE NAMES OF THE DELINQUENTS. From Foster's Relation, pp. 67 to 70. In Peters and All Saints Parish. William Garrit, Rich. Ormond, Robart Clark, John Wood, John Nokes, James Clinkett and his wife, Thomas Miller, Thomas Bennit, Thomas Martin, William Gibbs, Captaine Nathaniel Stark. In Andrew Over-Hills Parish. Hugh Lemmon, John Clincket, and his wife, John Parris, Humfrey Waterman, William Marshall, and his wife, Josias Gardiner, Capt. James Futter, John Thurburne, Adam Morgan, Thomas Wall, merchant. In Phillips Parish. Andrew Walmsley, Capt, Rich. Sanders, James Curtis, Nicholas Foster, John Lea, Lieut. Miles Brathwait, William Evans, Lieutenant AA 173 Cavaliers and Roundheads. Francis Whitfield, Robert Pike, Thomas Perkins, Chirurgion, Captaine Renoald Alline, Martin Linton, Martin Bently, Lieut. John Johnson, Lieutenant Thomas Rouse. In Georges Parish. Francis Reaines, and his wife, John Faune, Esq., John Bonner, Thomas Parker, Henry Thrall, Captaine Thomas Midelton, Lieutenant Colonel James Drax, Constant Silvester, James White, George Fry. In James, and Thomas Parishes. Thomas Smith, Nathaniel Watkins, Nicholas Simmons, Morgan Powell, John Bonner, Chir., John Dorrill, Thomas Ratsey, Thomas Nowell, Thomas Pearse, Captaine Edward Thompson, Francis Deane, Thomas Mathews, John Lake, Rodger CoUumbell, Serjant Major Ousley, Samuel Hall, James Teague, William Banester. Walter War, Josias Verin, Harris, dwelling with Bonner the Chir., George Balle, John Lownes, John Aldredy, Prat, a Carpenter, Giles Lorance. In Johns Parish. John Howlder, John Tot, George Foster, Peter Garrit, Mistris Pyard. In Michaels Parish. Anthony Laine, Samuel Clark, Captaine John Maniford, Nicholas Butler, John Redman, Christopher Line, Daniel Kempe, Captaine Howell Morris, Roger Hogburne, Thomas Browning. In Christ Church Parish. Richard Berry, Lieu. Christian Broukhaven, John Berre, Jarves Wiber, Jeremy Deacon, Lieutenant Thomas Hackelton. THE LORDS WILLOUGHBY OF PARHAM. In the days of the Plantagenets and Tudors the family of Willoughby gained for itself several peerages, among these being that of Parham, in Suffolk, conferred on February 16, 1547, upon Sir William Willoughby. a knight distinguished in the wars of Henry VIII. This peerage is sup. posed to have become extinct in 1779, on the death of George Willoughby, Lord Willoughby's Arrival. 179 the 17th Baron, without issue, but there is reason to believe that some heir may yet be found whose claims would be allowed by the House of Lords ; while any gentleman in the West Indies or North America, who may bear the family name should consult his pedigree. In 1663 Francis Willoughby, the 15th Lord, was commissioned by Charles II. as His Majesty's Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief of the Caribbee Islands, an appointment which he held until 1666, when pro ceeding to the Leeward Islands to attack the French Settlements, he was lost in a great hurricane along with Prince Maurice, a brother of the famous Prince Rupert. This Lord Willoughby died without male issue, and was succeeded in the barony of Willoughby of Parham by his next brother, William. William, the 6th Lord, succeeded his brother in the Government of the Caribbee Islands, and died at Barba dos on April 10, 1673, his body being sent to England for burial. This nobleman married Anne, daughter of Sir Philip Carey, Knight, of Stanwell, Middlesex, and by her had several sons, through some of whom the barony descended in right line to Charles, the 10th Lord. When the 10th Lord died, however, great irregularities followed, the barony apparently going a-begging, until, " contrary to the right and truth of the matter", the heir of the youngest son of the second Baron, Edward Willoughby, a foot-soldier serving in the allied Army under the Duke of Marlborough, assumed the title as nth .Baron, whereas, as afterwards appeared, there was then living in Virginia the heir of the second son of the second Baron. This latter, however.as Sir Bernard Burke observes, remained in ignorance of the failure of the elder line, and, putting in no claim to the title, it was presumed that the Virginian family had become extinct. Time went by until 1767, when the House of Lords adjudged Henry Willoughby, of Virginia, grandson of Henry Willoughby, who had emigrated to Virginia and died there in 1685, to be the lawful heir to the peerage, which he and his Virginian kinsmen, held until the death, without issue, in 1779, of George, the 17th Lord, when the barony was supposed to have become extinct. Now, investigation of the papers in the Public Record Office shows that William, the 6th Lord, who was Governor of the Caribbean Island for several years, left two sons, William and Henry, of whom no notice has been taken in Sir Bernard Burke's pedigree of the family ; and their descendants, if they had any, would have had a claim to the title, prior to that of even the Virginian Willoughbies. In his letter of July 9, 1668, to His Majesty's AA2 180 Cavaliers and Roundheads. Council, Lord Willoughby speaks of sending " a more perfect relation by my Sonne WlLLtAM, of the true state and condition of all His Majestie's Islands under my command." And also with reference to Antigua : — " The inhabitants earnestly solicited me to make my Sonne Henry their governor, whom I commissioned accordingly." The two sons and their issue, if any, appear to be entirely unaccounted for, though of Henry at least, from his high office in the Leeward Islands, there should be some record. His descendants, if any, would probably have removed to England, but the name of the Willoughbies is not unfrequently found in the Colonial State papers. A tomb-stone in St. Andrew's Parish, Barbados, records the death of Turpin Willoughby, on the 2nd of March 1741, aged 61 years. Meanwhile, there appears to be only a dormancy in the peerage of Willoughby of Parham. See pp. 348 to 352 of Vol. II of Antigua and the Antiguans for the Genealogy of the Willoughby Family, and especially for facts con cerning the connection of the 5th and 6th Lords, Francis and William, with the West Indies. /**H^ CHAPTER X. THE COMMONWEALTH AND THE COLONIES. Far as the eye can reach the billows foam, Survey our Empire and behold our Home. =52) ROM the end of the Fifteenth Century, when Henry the Seventh commissioned John and SI Sebastian Cabot to set up the King's Stand ard in the New World, and until the beginning of the Civil War, the Kings of England assumed, as Sovereign Lords, exclusive possession over lands newly found out by their subjects, to the preclusion of the State itself. The Plan tations, or Colonies, were the King's Foreign Dominions, his demesne lands in partibus externis, and not part of his Kingdom in England. The PROPRIETARY Colonies, like that of the Caribbee Islands, were erected into Pro vinces, within which the PROPRIETOR, as the King's De puty or Governor, was invested with all the same Royal powers which appertained to the King in his Palace, both Executive and Legislative. These Provinces were all virtually Counties Palatine, as was, for instance, Lord CARLISLE'S province of Carliola in the Caribbees, where in the PROPRIETOR had all the power and authority which 182 Cavaliers and Roundheads. the Bishop of Durham in his own county had, according to the custom of Durham.* When, therefore, in the days of King James the First, the building up of our ' Colonial ' Empire was set about, the right of the Parliament of England to legislate in Colonial concerns was not recognized, and an attempt on the part of that body to intervene in such affairs was deemed a rather impertinent invasion of the Royal Pre rogative. So much so that when, in 1621, the House of Commons put in the claim of the State to the Free Right of Fishery on the North American Coasts, and attempted to set up the jurisdiction of Parliament over that Right, members were told in the House by the Servants of the Crown that " It was not fit to make Laws '* here for those countries which were not yet annexed " to the Crown," and that " This Bill was not proper " for this House, as it concerneth America." When too, in 1624, the House was about to proceed upon a petition from the settlers in Virginia, to take cognizance of the affairs of the Plantations, — upon the Speaker's producing and reading to the House a letter from the King con cerning that petition, the petition was then by general resolution withdrawn.f Having thus asserted the Royal Supremacy as Sove reign Lord, the King and his Council then proceeded to treat the constitutions of the several Colonies as placing these in the same position as the island of Jersey, which was held as part of the Duchy of Normandy, and * See pp. 47 to 60 of The Administration of the Colonies, by Thomas Pownal : 4th Edition, London, 1768. t Pownal, ut sup. pp. 48, 49. The Commonwealth and the Colonies. 183 bad been associated with the Crown of England from the days of the Conqueror : and, thus it came about that appeals from the Colonial Courts were made, not to the Courts of Equity- or Common Law in England, or to the House of Lords, but to the King in Council, just as appeals from Jersey were brought before the King of England, as Duke of Normandy in his Council.* Afterwards, as the affairs of the Colonies multiplied, it was found necessary to appoint certain members of the King's Council to supervise their administration, and hence on the 28th of April, 1634, Lords Commissioners for the Plantations were appointed in the persons of William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury ; Thomas, Lord Coventry, Lord Keeper; Richard Neyle, Archbishop of York ; RICHARD, Earl of Portland, Lord High Treasurer ; Henry, Earl of Manchester, and of seven other officers of State.t The powers given to these Lords Commissioners were somewhat extended by a subsequent Commission, issued on the 10th April, 16364 To them, appeals from the Law Courts were referred; and, an attempt on the- part of Francis BLOUNT, acting as Adminis trator of the estate of Herbert Blount, who had been a member of Council in St. Christopher's, to sue * Pownal, ut sup. p. 61. t The Earl of Manchester's name which appears in the foregoing list, shows that from the earliest times the family of the President of the Council of the Royal Colonial Institute has been indentified with the Colonies, while in the last century one of its members attempted to found an English Colony in St. Lucia, and in the early part of this century another for twenty years governed Jamaica in the days of its grandeur. Calendar, Colonial, 1574 to 1660 p. 177. X Calendar, Colonial, 157410 1660, p. 232. 184 Cavaliers and Roundheads. Fitz-William Conisbye in the Court of King's Bench at Westminster in 1638, for goods which CONISBYE had received in St. Christopher's in the established course of Justice, was suppressed by order at Whitehall, on the 5th of November in that year, on the application of the second Earl of CARLISLE to the King, although the action had been set down for trial before Sir JOHN BRAMSTONE the Chief Justice of the King's Bench.* Soon after the rupture between the King and the Par liament, the latter, by an Ordinance of 1643, appointed ROBERT Rich, Earl of Warwick to be Lord High Admi ral of all the Plantations in America. With this " Stout Earl of Warwick " other Peers and Commoners were nominated by Parliament as Commissioners for Plantations.^ On the 24th of November, 1643, this body of notables issued a Commission to Sir THOMAS Warner appointing him Governor and Lieutenant General of the Caribbee Islands, under the Earl of War wick, Governor-in-Chief of all the Plantations in Ame rica. Governor WARNER'S commission was signed by the following among other memorable personages, PHILIP Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery ; EDWARD, Earl of Manchester ; Philip, Lord Wharton ; John, Lord Roberts ; Sir Gilbert Gerard ; Sir Arthur Haselrigg; Sir Henry Vane, the younger; Sir Ben jamin Rudyerd, John Pym, and Oliver Cromwell.J It is from this time that the control of Parliament over the affairs of the colonies began, the right of the Legis lature to deal with such matters being admitted by * Calendar, Colonial, 1574 to 1J0O. pp. 282, 283. t Pownal, ut sup. 63, 65. X Calendar, Colonial, 1574 to 1660, p. 324. The Commonwealth and the Colonies. 185 Charles the Second after the Restoration and main tained to the present day* The exercise of that right has from time to time been modified by the resistance of the colonists themselves, more especially in the case of the old Plantations in North America, which have now grown into such a magnificent State that the fact of their having once been English colonies seems likely to be forgotten by Englishmen, though it never will be by the descendants of the older colonists. On the 2nd March, 1650, the Council of State resolved that the whole Council, or any five of its Members should become a Committee for Trade and Plantations, f This was the body, with JOHN BRADSHAW, the Lord President, at its head, to whom the banished Barbadians would now appeal for redress.J Six months after the beheading of the King, that is to say, on the 24th July, 1649, tne Council of State caused letters to be written to the Plantations to notify the change of Government, and to require the colonists to continue their obedience as they looked for protection. § But no sooner did the Virginians and Bermudians hear that the King was dead than they proclaimed his son ; the colonists of the " Still vext Bermoothes", although a feeble folk, boldly declaring their defiance and detesta tion of the " horrid act", and requiring the Governor of * Pownal, ut sup., pp. 125, 139. t This Committee was given power to grant Commissions, and to settle Governors in all Islands, Plantations, or Places, and to settle and to do all just things, and to use all lawful means to settle and to pre serve the Plantations in Peace and Safety. — Pownal, ut sup. p. 122. X Calendar — Colonial, 1574 to 1660, p. 335. § Calendar— Colonial, 1574 to 1660, p. 330. BB 186 Cavaliers and Roundheads. the colony to proclaim the Prince of WALES for King as Charles the Second. And now colonists began to arrive in England from Barbados, who told how that colony had openly adopted the Royal Cause, and placed itself in rebellion to the Commonwealth. They said that Lord WiLLOUGHBY had accepted the Government on his promise to maintain what the Cavaliers had done : that he had made good his promise by suffering the well-affected to be banished from their estates, men from their wives, and women from their husbands, as in the case of Mrs. James Clin- KETT, who had come to England by the Paramore : that he suffered the unjustly imposed fines to be paid without remitments, and sequestrations were untaken off: that the interests of the King and of Lord Carlisle were still upheld and maintained, while none of the offenders thought any of them had acted any thing against the Commonwealth, for but two or three days before the Paramore came away an Act of the Assembly was pub lished, providing that, if any should assist the Fugitives, meaning the Petitioners who had fled, they should forfeit their estates, and that, if any of those banished should do any thing in England to disturb the Peace of Barbados, all their estates should be confiscated, and themselves should suffer as traitors if they came again to the island.* Forthwith, orders were given by the Coun cil of State to make stay in all the ports of England of any ships going to Barbados, while the Committee of the Admiralty, with the younger Sir HENRY Vane at their head, took steps to have a declaration prepared for * Colonial State Papers, Vol. XI. 1644-1652, No. 25. The Commonwealth and the Colonies. 187 Parliament, together with an Act for the prohibition of all trade with that Island ; the Commissioners of Customs were instructed to examine all ships from Barbados, to ascertain whether they had on board any goods belong ing to persons who stood out in rebellion to the Common wealth ; and, it was decided to report to Parliament that the Council of State found it necessary for the reduction of Barbados and other places which adhered to that Island, and for prevention of trade there, that a fleet should be despatched thither with all speed.* On the ioth of September Sir Henry Vane, the same person whom Cromwell afterwards, on dissolving the Rump, apostrophised, "Sir HARRY Vane, Sir HARRY " Vane, the Lord deliver me from Sir HarryVane" ! — Colonel MORLEY, Mr. Chaloner, and Mr. BOND, as the . Committee of the Admiralty considered the draft of an Act concerning the reducing of Barbados, Bermuda, and Virginia.f The draft was read in the presence of "divers Barbados men," but the matter of fact "not * Calendar— Colonial, 1574 to 1660, pp. 342, 343. t The following Extracts from Volume II, pp. 10-17, °f General Sir Henry Lefroy's valuable Memorials of the Bermudas show that the exiled colonists had made no secret of their intention to have their wrongs righted: — Governor Foster to the Company of Adventurers for the Sommer Islands : — " There is one thing more I must acquaint you withal, which is, That the Countrey will not admit of Captain Jennings to be captain of the Kings Castle, according to your Commission ; for that they have been informed, that he upon Treaty with other Gentlemen in England, hath condescended to give them admittance into our Harbour with Ship or Ships of force, whereby the Island may be lost, and the Government utterly destroyed : But for my part I hope better things of him, and do believe they can never make good their Charge against him, howsoever BB 2 188 Cavaliers and Roundheads. " appearing to be rightly stated ", it was ordered that Dr. Walker, the State's Advocate, be desired to attend Mr. Chaloner on the following day, at 7 o'clock in the morning, with " some of the gentlemen that came from " Barbados ", to confer together touching the right stat ing of the matter of fact, and to prepare it for the Com mittee for presentation to the Council of State, thence to be transmitted to the Parliament. The draft having been corrected by Lord President Bradshaw was I and the Council have thought good to suspend him from the Place for the present. This Ship brought with her Mr. Pitts, and other gentle men of these Islands, Passengers from S. Christophers, who do inform us, that meeting with certain Gentlemen of Barbadoes , who were either by the Government there sent out from thence, or voluntarily departed from their Plantations by reason of some troubles there ; And upon discourse with the said Gentlemen, they were heard to say. That they were bound for England, from whence they doubted not to procure a considerable Force to suppress their Enemies there, and to repair their great Losses : And for the better effecting thereof, they would in the first place invade this Island, under pretence that some in these Islands were the Causers of their troubles, and so make this a place for their Recruit. All which in bounden duty I ought to acquaint you with, referring the premised Relations to your more Judicious and wise Consultations". Extract from a Petition of some Inhabitants of the Sommer Islands to the Company : — " And whereas some Malignant spirits of our own, together with those Fugitives that fled from the Island of Barbado's have threatened to take this Island from you and us, and to make this their place of Rendezvous, that so they may the better effect their Designs upon the Barbado's : We do therefore earnestly desire you, that since it concerns you as much as ourselves to use diligence, to prevent their Plots at home, and like wise to send us some store of Arms and Ammunition, that so we may be the better enabled to give them entertainment if they shall come, and to preserve this Island, your just Rights and Interest, and the Lives and Estates of us the Inhabitants, from the fury and rapine of any that should oppose us." The Commonwealth and the Colonies. 189 "reported" on the 19th of September, and read a first and second time on the 27th, and was passed on the 3rd of October, 1650.* This act prohibited Trade and Commerce with Barbados, Antigua, Virginia, and the Somers' Islands, because of their Rebellion against the Commonwealth of England ; while the colonists were proclaimed Traitors to the Commonwealth. This Act laid the foundation of those NAVIGATION Laws under which, for the greater part of two centuries the commerce of the colonies was crippled by a monopoly, to the advantage of the Mother-country. By means of these Laws, however, Great Britain was enabled to build up that Naval Power which has been from time to time put forth for the protection and preservation of her own Colonial possessions, and for the destruction and annex ation of the Colonies of other nations : their operation it was that enabled Britannia to secure such a predomin ance on the Ocean as has been sung by the Poet Camp bell in his well known lines — Her march is o'er the mountain waves, Her home is on the deep. On the 3rd of October, Parliament also ordered that a strong fleet, with a number of Transports should be " despatched away with all possible speed, for reducing " the Island of Barbados, and all other English Plantations " that should persist in opposition to the Government of " this Commonwealth " and, that the Council of State should give orders to the " generals at sea " that they take care, in case any ships be found by them trading to Barbados, Bermuda, Virginia, Antigua, and other islands, contrary to the Act prohibiting trade to those parts, * Calendar— Colonial, 1574 to 1660, pp. 343, 344. 190 Cavaliers and Roundheads. that they should make stay of them until they should have given an account to Parliament or the Council of State and receive further instructions therein.* On the 9th of October, the Committee of the Admiralty, on learning that ten or twelve ships were about to sail for Barbados from Dutch ports, ordered the Commanders in the Downs, " to make stay of them " in the Channel ; and, on the 13th of November the Council of State ordered the Committee of the Admiralty to ascertain what goods w«*re in the Custom House belonging to any Planters in Barbados, and " the affection " of the owners to the Commonwealth, and to take steps for the delivery of such goods to the proprietors.? The men of iron will who then ruled England required little prompting to the course which they adopted, but they could not complain of want of interest on the part of the exiles themselves, whose complaints extended from the representations made by JOHN Webb,J that his tongue had been bored through with a hot iron in Barbados, and by Captain TlNEMAN and Lieutenant BRANDON, that they had been branded on their cheeks with the letter T ; to " Humble desires ", " Humble proposals", " Proposi- " tions", and "Thoughts", which were fired off at the Council of State by Merchants and Planters interested in Barbados. Colonel JAMES DRAXE, and his brother William, Captain Reynold Alleyne, and "learned Mr. John Bayes" were among those who represented the grievances of the banished islanders. § * Calendar— Colonial, 1574 to 1660, p. 344. t Calendar — Colonial, 1574 to 1660, pp. 344, 345. X Calendar — Colonial, 1574 to 1660, p.p. 340. § Calendar— Colonial, 1574 to 1660, 344 to 355. The Commonwealth and the Colonies. 191 The fleet which was ordered on the 3rd of October, 165CV was not reported as ready until the 22nd of January, 1651, when 7 ships mounting 236 guns, and manned with 820 men, were prepared for the " Barbados business." These vessels were called "the Barbados Fleet." Instead however of going to Barbados directly, they were used for the reduction of the Scilly Isles, which they successfully accomplished in June, when Sir JOHN GRENVILLE, the Royalist Governor of those Isles, was brought prisoner to England ; and, it was only on the 19th of June that the expedition for Barbados was finally taken in hand. The fleet left Plymouth on the 5th of August, 1 65 1, and consisted of the Rainbow, car rying Sir GEORGE AYSCUE, as Admiral, the Amity, with Captain Pack as Vice-Admiral, the Malaga Merchant, the Success, Ruth, Brazil and Increase of London. With these vessels went some six or seven merchant ships.* * Calendar, Colonial, 1574-1660, p. 362,— The strength of the several ships in men and guns, and the names of the respective Commanders are thus set forth in the printed Journals of the House of Commons for 1651, p, 70 : — Under the command of Sir George Aiscue, gone to the Barbadoes. Rainbow Sir George Aiscue 280 — 52 Amity Mich. Pack 150— 36 Success Edw. Witheridg 90 — 30 Ruth Edw. Thomson 80— 30 Brazeel Frigate Tho. Heath 70 — 24 Malaga Merchant Henry Collin 90 — 30 Increase of London Tho. Varvell 100- 36 860—238 The Rainbow was a 2nd Rate, of 548 tons, and her dimensions were : — Length of keel, 112 feet ; breadth 36 feet, 3 inches ; depth, 13 feet 6 inches. The Amity and Success were 4th Rates. — See Memoirs of the Rise and Progress of the Royal Navy, by Charles Derrick, Lon don, 1806 : pp. 70, 72, 192 Cavaliers and Roundheads. Sir GEORGE Ayscue or AYSCOUGH, who commanded the Fleet, was a Lincolnshire gentleman whose father had held an office at the Court of King Charles, and on whose account it would seem, rather than for claims of his own, the King had knighted AYSCUE and his elder brother EDWARD, at an early age. The Admiral had taken early to the sea, and had shown himself a good sailor, but he had. up to this time done nothing particular, except at the Scilly Isles, whence he had just returned : unless the command of the fleet which transported Oliver Cromwell's army to Ireland in 1649, be con sidered a title to fame. When, however, the Fleet had gone over to the King from the Parliament's side, AYS- CUE had kept his ship loyal to the latter. He was an honourable gentleman, with a high sense of duty, and his subsequent actions proved him a very capable Com mander. With Sir George Ayscue, were associated Daniel Searle and Captain Michael Pack, as Commissioners for reducing Barbados. The instructions given to these Commissioners were, that on their arrival they were to make known the cause of their coming, and to omit no opportunity to reduce the Island. If they found the inhab itants sensible as to their late defection, power was given to assure pardon and indemnity, except to such persons as the Commissioners should think fit to omit. Everything concluded by them was to be effectual and valid to all intents and purposes. They were to insist that the inhabitants of Barbados should submit to the Common wealth. The Acts of Parliament against Kingship, for abolishing the House of Lords, for abolishing the Book of Common Prayer, and for taking the Engagement, The Commonwealth and the Colonies. 1 93 with other Acts delivered to them, were to be published. All the inhabitants were to take the Engagement, and the Governors from time to time appointed by the Parliament were to be received. Those who had been damnified either in person or estate on account of their affection to the Commonwealth, were to have full restor ation. The charges for the reduction of the Is land were to be repaid " so far as you find it feasible " by the inhabitants whose rebellion and delinquency occasioned the expense All trade and intelligence with the Island were to be prohibited. The Commis sioners were given full powers to treat and conclude upon any other articles they might find advantageous to the Commonwealth. In case of the death of Admiral AYSCUE, then Captain Michael Pack was to command the Fleet : if Captain Pack died before Ayscue, then the latter was himself to nominate his successor.* Sailing from Plymouth on the 5 th of August, and carrying several merchants and planters of the colony as passengers (among them Colonel JAMES DRAXE, Mr. Raynes, Captain Reynold Alleyne, who seems now to have gone with the rank of Colonel, and Mr. JOHN Bayes), the Barbados fleet with its convoy made for Lisbon, to seek for Prince RUPERT, according to the orders of the Council of State, and the ships remained off th? Tagus for five days, from the ifith to the 21st of August, alarming the Portuguese, but unable to force them to fight. On the 21st, the fleet sailed for St. Vincent, in the Cape Verd Islands, arriving there on the 8th of September, and remaining ten days, during which •* Calendar— Colonial, 1574 to 1660, pp. 349, 350. cc 194 Cavaliers and Roundheads. time their beer got so bad that it stank, and had to be thrown over board. The ships having taken in water at St, Vincent then made for Barbados. Prince Rupert was not at Lisbon when Sir George AYSCUE came to the Tagus, but he was at that time cruis ing off the Western Islands. This he was doing much against his will, for the desire of his heart was to make a voyage to the West Indies and join forces with the Cavaliers there. When, however, in the early part of July he had made known his resolve to the Commanders of his ships, the majority of them, headed by Captain CHESTER of the Swallow, entered into a combination against his purpose, and, on one pretext after another, they carried their own point, and it was thus decided to cruise off the Western Islands. Among the arguments urged by the obstructives against the voyage to the West Indies, were these : that nothing but starvation could be expected there, that no considerable quantity of cassava was to be had there, and that the men could never be brought to feed on it : " which I have seen the contrary of by our men leaving good meat to eat it", says Captain PITTS, who was one of those in favour of the West Indian expedition. Time after time did the Prince renew his proposal, but as often did his ill-conditioned opponents succeed in thwarting the man whose charge had been found irresistible at Marston Moor, at Naseby Fight, and on many another field of battle. It was while in this enforced state of inaction, going backwards and forwards amongst the Azores, receiving now a " gallant reception " from the Governor of St. Michael's ; now a coldly civil reception from the Governor of Terceira, who " stood on his gravity ", that the Commonwealth's Fleet went The Commonwealth and the Colonies 195 by, undescried. At the end of the same month, Septem ber, in a terrible storm, the Prince's own ship, the Constant Reformation, was lost, with almost all hands in her. The Prince had determined to go down in her, but was by main force put into a boat, which just managed to take him safely to his brother's vessel. The brave way in which his comrades met their common fate has yet to be celebrated in English poetry.* * See Warburton's Prince Rupert and the Cavaliers, ^^Htt^ CC2 CHAPTER XI. A DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE. Sive reges, sive inopes — erimus coloni. wT was some time in the month of February 1651 qc) when news came to Barbados, by a ship from Hol land, that the Colonists had been proclaimed Re bels by Act of Parliament, and that a Fleet was to be sent out to reduce the Islanders to allegiance to the Commonwealth. The tidings thus brought stirred the Colonists to a6tion, they being resolved to fight for their self-preservation and to stand by one another to the last man. Lord WiLLOUGHBY now became openly defiant, when he heard of the violence of the exiled planters against him, and that Captain MARTIN, his Envoy, was like to be hanged for speaking for him. It so happened that the General Assembly was at the time in session, and the members of that body now called upon the Governor to put the Island in a posture of war, to which end, forces of both horse and foot were raised, which were to be paid by the Colony and kept as a standing army. On the 19th of February an Act was passed for the defence of the Government, Liberty, and Freedom, of Barbados, and to this Act was annexed an " Engagement", alter the manner of Hie Engagement A Declaration of Independence. 197 which the Parliament had established for the security of the Commonwealth, It was, however, on the previous day that Lord. WiLLOUGHBY and his Royalist Legislators made their Declaration against the English Parliament, in which the Lord Lieutenant General together with "the Lords of this Council and Assembly" sounded their counter-blast of defiance to the Independent Dogs of Westminster Hall. Any one reading the Declaration must admit that it has the ring of the old days of Rome about it : that it breathes the spirit of " free-born English men."* It runs thus : — " A Declaration of my Lord Willoughby, Lieutenant-General, and Governor of Barbados, and other Carabis Islands ; and also the Council of the Island belonging to it ; serving in answer to a certaine Act formerly put forth by the Parliament of England, the 3rd of October 1650, " A Declaration, published by Order of my Lord Lieutenant-General, the 18th of February 1651, the Lords of the Council, and of the Assemblie, being occasioned at the sight of certaine printed Papers, intituled, an Act forbidding Commerce and Traffic with the Barbados, Virginia, Bermudas, and Antego. " The Lord Lieutenant-General, together with the Lords f of this * The copy of the Declaration given herein is reproduced from the History of Barbados by Sir Robert Schomburgk, who has included it in the appendix (X) to his volume. See pp. 706 to 708. Schomburgk has adopted the Declaration as given in the appendix to Grey's edition of Neale's History of the Puritans. London, 1739, vol. iv., appendix 12, where it is inserted without note or comment. This Declaration is said to have received consideration from the North American colonists at the time of their troubles with the Mother Country. In the British Museum there is [E. &$±] a printed fl&ipy of the Decla. ration, (Hague. Printed by Samuel Brown, English bookseller, 165 1.) the wording of which is somewhat different from that of the copy given in. the text. The Museum edition has the Act and Engagement attached to it. A copy of the Declaration is preserved at the Record Office, London. See Calendar, Colonial, 1574 to 1660, p. 357- t Gentlemen, in the British Museum copy. 198 Cavaliers and Roundheads. Council and Assembly, having carefully read over the said printed Papers, and finding them* to oppose the freedom, safety, and well-being of this island, have thpught themselves bound to communicate the same to all the inhabitants of this island ; as also their observation and resolution concerning it, and to proceed therein after the best manner, wherefore they have ordered the same to be read publicly. " Concerning the abovesaid Aft, by which the least capacity may. comprehend how much the inhabitants of this island would be brought into contempt and slavery, if the same be not timely prevented : " First — They alledge that this island was first settled and inhabited at the charges, and by the esspecial order of the people of England, and therefore ought to be subject to the same nation. It is certain, that we all of us know very well, that wee, the present inhabitants of this island, were and still be that people of England, who with great danger to our persons, and with great charge and trouble, have settled this island in its condition, and inhabited the same, and shall wee there- fore be subjected to the will and command of those that stay at bome ? Shall we be bound to the Government and Lordship of a Parliament in which we have no Representatives, or persons chosen by us, for there to propound and consent to what might be needful to us, as also to oppose and dispute all what should tend to our disadvantage and harm ? In truth, this would be a slavery far exceeding all that the English nation hath yet suffered. And we doubt not but the courage which hath brought us thus far out of our own country, to seek our beings and livelihoods in this wild country, will maintaine us in our freedoms ; without which our lives will be uncomfortable to us. " Secondly— It is alledged that the inhabitants of this island have, by cunning and force, usurped a power and Government. " If we, the inhabitants of this island, had been heard what we cquld have said for ourselves, this allegation had never been printed ; but those who are destined to be slaves may not enjoy those privileges ; otherwise we might have said and testified with a truth, that the Government now used among us, is the same that hath always been ratified, and doth every way agree with the first settlement and Govern ment in these places ; and was given us by the same power and authority that New England hold theirs; against whom the Aft makes no objection. Wherein matter so highly concerning, in the Museum copy. A Declaration of Independence. 199 " And the Government here in subjection, is the nearest model of conformity to that under which our predecessors of the English nation have lived and flourished for above a thousand years. Therefore we conclude, that the rule of reason and discourse is most strangely mis taken, if the continuation and submission to a right well-settled Govern ment be judged to be an usurping of a new power, and to the contrarie, the usurpation of a new Government be held a continuation of the old. " Thirdly — By the abovesaid Aft all outlandish nations are forbidden to hold any correspondency or traffick with the inhabitants of this island ; although all the antient inhabitants know very well, how greatly they have been obliged to those of the Low Countries for their subsis tence, and how difficult it would have been for us, without their assis tance, ever to have inhabited these places, or to have brought them into order : and we are yet dayly sensible, what necessary comfort they bring us dayly, and that they do sell their commodities a great deal cheaper than our own nation will doe : But this comfort must be taken from us by those whose will must be a Law to us : But we declare, that we will never be so unthankful to the Netherlanders for their former help and assistance, as to deny or forbid them, or any other nation, the freedom of our harbours, and the protection of our Laws, by which they may continue, if they please, all freedom of commerce and traffiVk with us. " Fourthly— For to perfect and accomplish our intended slavery, and to make our necks pliable for to undergo the yoake, they got and forbid to our own countrymen, to hold any correspondency, commerce, or traffick with us, nor to suffer any to come at us, but such who have obtained particular licences from some persons, who are expressly ordered for that purpose, by whose means it might be brought about, that none other goods or merchandizes shall be brought hither, than siich as the licensed persons shall think fit to give way to ; and that they are to sell the same at such a price, as they shall please to impose on them ; and suffer no other ships to come hither but their own : As like wise that no inhabitants of this Island may send home upon their own account any island goods of this place, but shall be as slaves to the Companie, who shall have the abovesaid licenses, and submit to them the whole advantage of our labour and industry. " Wherefore, having rightly considered, we declare, that as we would not be wanting to use all honest means for the obtaining of a continuance of commerce, trade, and good correspondence with our country, soe wee 200 Cavaliers and Roundheads. will not alienate ourselves from those old heroick virtues of true English men, to prostitute our freedom and privileges, to which we are borne, to the will and opinion of any one ; neither do we think our number so contemptible, nor our resolution so weake, to be forced or persuaded to so ignoble a submission, and we cannot think, that there are any amongst us, who are soe simple, and soe unworthily minded, that $hey would not rather chuse a noble death, than forsake their ould liberties and privileges?"1 While Lord Willoughby now, more and more, allied himself with the violent party, he, at the same time, promised the moderates, that, if ever good terms were offered, he would accept them. In this way he secured the hearty support of most men in putting the Island into a state of defence : " the most Moderate, like true " Englishmen, resolved to sell themselves at a dear "rate, rather than to live less free than any of their "countrymen." But, as Lord WiLLOUGHBY now felt himself sure of his ground, he soon after this caused Sequestrations to be laid upon the estates of the banished planters, killed and destroyed their cattle and stock, and did them all alike as much injury as he could. To supply the sinews of war an Act was passed on the 3rd of April, 1651, " For the borrowing of goods for " the present defence of Barbados." Francis, Lord Willoughby of Parham, who now held Barbados against the Parliament of England, was a man of great courage, and of most resolute will. When the Civil War broke out he had taken the side of Par liament, and, notwithstanding that King Charles sent * In the copy preserved at the British Museum, the concluding words are : — And we cannot imagine that there is so means and baseminded a fellow amongst us, that will not prefer an honourable death before a tedious and slavish life; A Declaration of Independence. 201 him positive orders to the contrary, he was one of the first to raise forces in the Eastern counties for the Par liament. In those counties he had acted in conjunction with the Earl of MANCHESTER and OLIVER CROMWELL ; and, at Gainsborough and Newark, he had fought with much distinction.. When the Independents got the upper hand, Lord WiLLOUGHBY, who was a Presbyterian, sided with those Members of Parliament who opposed the power of the Army, and, in 1647, he was one of those Peers who were accused of treason by the House of Commons, and his property was sequestrated. This occasioned his flight to Holland, and his open declaration there for the King. The Duke of York then appointed him Vice Admiral of the Royal ships, a position which he held until relieved by Prince Rupert's appointment. He was not a sailor but a soldier, was weary of dealing with mutinous seamen, and wished to be rid of the duty. Lord Clarendon says : "The Lord Willoughby stay'd on " board purely out of duty to the King, though he liked " neither the place he had nor the people over whom he " was to command, who had yet more respect for him "than for any body else."* As has already been described, this nobleman came out to Barbados early in 1650, as Lieutenant General for the Earl of CARLISLE, the Proprietor of the Caribbee Islands, and as Governor there for the King. His wife was a daughter of that English General, Lord Wimbledon, who was called General Sit-Still, his family name being Cecil, in deri sion of his feeble action in the expedition against * History of the Rebellion, Vol. III., p. 199. DD 202 Cavaliers and Roundheads. Spain. Lady Willoughby remained in England, but promised to join her husband in Barbados.* i The same vessel that brought the news of what had been done, and was intended to be done, by the COMMON WEALTH, also brought letters to Lord Willoughby. Lady WiLLOUGHBY urged her husband to submit to the Par liament, but although, as he wrote to her, — " Poor soul ; " to hear of the sadness of thy condition, to be brought " to so low a stipend, cuts my heart ", his proud spirit would not bend to the storm, and he declared " since " they began so deeply with me, as to take away all at " one clap, and without any cause given on my part, I " am resolved not to sit down a loser, and be content to " see thee, my children, self ruined." Smarting under the ingratitude of the Parliament in whose cause he had done so much, he asks and answers himself, " and being " it is in my own power to help myself, shall I not do it, " but sit still like an ass, seeing the meat torn out of "thine and my children's mouths? No ! I will not do " it : and therefore, dear heart, let me entreat thee to "leave off persuasions to submit to them, who so un- " justly, so wickedly, have ruined thee and me and " mine". How resolved to resist was this bold baron of * In 1846, Messrs. Longmans and Company published a very instructive work of fiction, entitled The Diary of Lady Willoughby, 1635- 48. In 1848, the same firm issued a second volume with Some further Portions of the Diary of Lady Willoughby. For some notice of this work, see an article upon Spurious Antiques, in Fraser's Magazine for 1855, Vol. 2, p.106. Read especially the foot-note. A Memoir of Lady Willoughby's father has recently been published by Messrs. Sampson Low Sc. Co. under the title of Life and Times of General Sir Edward Cecil, Viscount Wimbledon, by Charles Dalton, F.R.G.S. A Declaration of Independence. 203 England can be seen from the following declaration to his wife : — " If ever they get the Island, it shall cost " them more than it is worth before they have it. And " be not frightened with their power and success : God " is above all. . . . One comfort we have, they " can neither starve us with cold, nor famish us for " hunger ; and why should they think so easily to put us " to it then" ?* Lord Willoughby of Parham had by this time begun a settlement on the river Surinam in Guiana, which is now adays remembered only by the corruption of Parham in the name of Paramaribo, the capital of Dutch Guiana. When writing to his wife, he thus describes the country of the Surinam as it had been described to him, apparently by ANTHONY ROUS, who was in charge of the settlement : at all events, by some one with imaginative powers : — "There is an enclosed note directed ' the Gentleman ' which I am confident, if you will, you may make use of, praying you not to omit the opportunity. I shall send him as much in sugar, when I hear from you that you have made use of this. Be not frightened nor perplexed for me ; I am confident yet God will bring us together in happiness ; for I have had a return of my discovery of Guiana, which I writ to you formerly of ; and the gentleman which I sent hath brought with him to me two of the Indian kings, having spoke with divers o\ them, who are all willing to receive our nation, and that we shall settt amongst them ; for which end I am sending hence a hundred mei. to take possession, and doubt not but in a few years to have many thousands there. " It is commended, by all that went, for the sweetest place that was ever seen; delicate rivers, brave land, fine timber. They were out almost five months : and amongst forty persons, not one of them had so much as their head ache. They commend the air to be so pure, and the water so good, as they never had such stomachs in their lives, eating * See Schomburgk's History of Barbados, pp. 273 to 277. See Cary's Memorials of the Great Civil War, London, 1842, p.312. DD2 204 Cavaliers and Roundheads. five timess day plenty of fish and fowl, partridges and pheasants in numerable : brave savanas, where you may, in coach or on horseback, ride thirty or forty miles. " God bless me into life. And if England will be a friend, or that we make them so by tiring them out, either their seamen by the tedious voyages, or the state by the great expense they must be at, which I am very confident we shall, being all so well-resolved to stand by one another to the last man, then I shall make thee a brave being there ; for since all is gone at home, it is time to provide elsewhere for a being."* The fortifying of the island went on apace. On the nth of June 1651, a Declaration was published by the Lord Lieutenant-General, the Council and the Assembly, for the satisfaction of the Islanders, in which: after in forming the inhabitants of what " those disaffected per sons gone hence", like Colonels Draxe and Alleyne, had been doing in England, and assuring them that the Council of State had resolved to force a Governor upon them, and a garrison of 1,200 men in arms, to be main tained by the island, and would require them, as the Council of State had " most wickedly done", to renounce their allegiance to the King : they declared their firm resolve never to permit His Majesty's undoubted right to Barbados to be questioned, and, to look upon all persons bringing propositions to that purpose as pro fessed enemies to the welfare of them all. Lord WiL LOUGHBY desired to pursue towards the Barbados Par liamentarians a different policy from that adopted by the WALRONDS. Not long after his assumption of the government he had sent Captain George Martin to England to invite those who had fled, or been banished from the island to return, but without success, as those " disaffected persons" were intent upon being reinstated * Schomburgk and Cary, ut sup. A Declaration of Independence. 205 with a strong hand.* It can therefore be understood that, when the Parliament had adopted the cause of the exiles as their own, the Royalists of the colony should take steps to avenge themselves upon " those runaway " bankrupt rogues, who durst stay no longer here, for " fear of a gaol, whereof learned Mr. Bayes is one ; " having by their villainy, done what in them lies to ruin "one of the best and sweetest islands in the English " possession, or in any others, except the Spaniards", as Lord WiLLOUGHBY described them to his wife.t Hence the following Proclamation which was issued on the 12th of September, 1651, and which shews how the * The banished Planters urged that the Commonwealth should send out a Governor to Barbados, and recommended for the appoint ment Edward Winslowe, whom they recommended on the following grounds : — 1. Because he is a man truly fearinge God, and of good report amongst all men. 2. A man endowed with large abilities to perform such an under. takinge. 3. A man well experienced in Plantations. — Colonial State Papers, Vol. XL, 1644.52, No. 25. On page 24 of John Camden Hotten's Original Lists of Emigrants, there is the following mention of Winslowe, who was among those Pas sengers by the Mayflower in 1620, who founded the New Plymouth Settlement : — Mr. Edward Winslow : Mr. W. afterwards chosen Governor, died in 1655, when on a Commission to the West Indies. Elizabeth, his wife, died the first winter. Mr. W. left two children by a second marriage. He went as one of the Commissioners with Penn and Venables, and died 8th May, 1655. See the Petition of his wife and son. — Calendar, Colonial — 1574 to 1660, p. 439. It appears from the Original Lists that some Winslowes were settled at Barbados. t Schomburgk and Carey, ut sup. 206 Cavaliers and Roundheads. Estates of the Parliamentarians were to be dealt with, if these " runaway bankrupt rogues" did not " make" reasonable composition for them : — A DECLARATION OF THE LORD WILLOUGHBY.* Whereas it hath been taken into serious consideration by this present Assembly, that all fair and gentle means have been used to induce those persons formerly fled from this Island to return and conform themselves to the Government of this place and quietly to enjoy their Estates as formerly they have done : by which it was hoped that all thoughts of hostility would have been laid aside, and the heat of their prosecution against us have been altogether extinguished ; but instead of these good effects, we find them heightened in malice and mischief against us daily, soliciting and provoking those enemies of our dread Sovereign to invade us, which they undoubtedly intend to do, as soon as their hands are freed of their more important affairs at home : and in the meantime these mischievous persons have prevailed with them to call us (the King's true Subjects) Rebels, interdicting trade with us and taking (if they can) all Nations that apply themselves to this island, which resolution upon divers Holland ships they have already executed ; and whereas it hath been further considered what great charge the well- affected people of this Island have been put to, and what further charge will arise, in order to our just defence, and holding it unfitting any more to lay assessment upon His Majesty's loyal subjects whilst these Rebels, the causes of these our troubles, have any Estate within this Government that may contribute to support the same ; be it therefore ordained and enacted and established by the Lord Lieutenant-General, the Council and Gentlemen of the Assembly, and by the Authority of the same, that all the Estates both real and personal, and all the debts, dues, and credits whatsoever, and the profits of the same belonging, or any wise, appertaining unto Col. James Drax, Capt. Allin Sergeant, and all others that shall be made to appear to have been active against us, in aiding, assisting or abetting them, be, and are for these their treasonable practices, and rebellious oppositions to this rightful Govern ment sequestred, until the 25th day of June next ensuing, the same to be forthwith seized on the said L. G. Warrant, and the profits of the See the French Intelligencer for the week ending 6th January, 1652. A Declaration of Independence. 207 said Estates to be disposed of by his said Lordship, for, and toward the defraying of the great charges, which this their unnatural opposition hath already, and will force us to undergo ; provided nevertheless, that out of the profits of their several Estates (so seized on) a fifth part shall be deducted for and towards the maintenance of such their wives and children as are now abiding in this Island ; and during the time of their abode within the same, they giving in security, that no part thereof shall be transported to the benefit of their husbands, or any other which now are, or shall be in opposition against this Island, to the intent that the whole world may judge that peace, quietness and freedom of trade is only our aim, and that we can no longer take those men for our enemies, than whilst the mischievous impressions of their malice are apparent to us, and themselves in open opposition to the welfare of this Island. Be it further ordained and enacted by the authority aforesaid that if the said persons or any of them shall before the 25th day of June next ensuing, submit themselves to his Sacred Majesty and to the Authority of His Majesty here settled, by the taking the oath of allegi ance, they shall be permitted to a reasonable composition for their estate, otherwise the said Estates to be forfeited. Given under my hand the 12th day of September 1651. To be published by the Minister of St. Philip's two several Sundays. Francis Willoughby. S**^ CHAPTER XII. THE BLOCKADE OF BARBADOS.* Oh, where was Rupert then ? His trumpet's blast were worth a thousand men. ]N the early part of October, 1651, the Colonists of Barbados were in great spirits, for a ship had arrived from Holland with news that the Prince of Wales — the King of Scots as the Commonwealth men called him, had come into England with an Army, and had marched within forty miles of London ; that the whole Country had risen in his cause, that the Army had been beaten and the Lord General CROMWELL been slain ; and, that the Fleet under Sir GEORGE AYSCUE had run away from England and intended to take Barba dos as a place of Refuge. The Dutchmen quite believed, they said, that King Charles was by that time in Lon don itself. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, that the exiled Royalists should upon such an occasion in dulge in that " greatest of their employments", Feasting : whereat they doubtless drank to Church and Crown, — congratulating one the other that the King had come to * The relation of facts given in this Chapter is founded to a great ex. tent upon State Papers in the Record Office, London. See Colonial Papers, Vols. XI. and XII., 1644.1652, The Blockade of Barbados. 209 his own again.* Such a Feast there was on the 16th day of October, at a Plantation some twelve miles from Town, Lord WiLLOUGHBY being present, " with a crew of Desperadoes, his officers", as one Parliament man describes them: "with all his grandees" says another. The Feast could not have been over when news was brought that the Commonwealth's Fleet was off the Coast, and that some ships of war were actually in Car lisle Bay itself. There must have been mounting in hot haste then, and much firing off of muskets, which, in the absence of Telegraphs and Telephones, was the manner of sending warnings of danger up and down the Island. The long threatened Fleet had indeed come at last, and had surprised the Islanders who, says Captain MICHAEL PACK, Sir GEORGE Ayscue's Vice Admiral, "like the " men of Laish of old, because we stayed so long con- " eluded we would not come at all." The Fleet made Barbados on the night of the 15th of October : and, a Council of War being held, it was decided that the Vice Admiral, Captain Pack, with three vessels, should sail onwards and into Carlisle Bay to surprise the shipping there ; or at least to prevent the ships there from running away to the Leeward Islands ; while the Admiral with the remainder of the Fleet should anchor * In a Letter in Mercurius Bellonicus, 18th to 25th February, 1652 there is mention of the false news taken to Barbados, and " which the said credulous souls believed (who fancy fables and make them their refuge), and upon these was made Bone-fires, ranting, tearing and danc ing, as if the Devil had been dead, or hell not space enough to receive them." Mercurius Politicus, of the 12th to 19th February, 1652, says, the inhabitants made Bonfires, drank healths, and called for damnation, EE 210 Cavaliers and Roundheads. in Austin's Bay. Austin's Bay was on the windward coast, and by lying there the Admiral was able to keep the Islanders in doubt as to what part of the country he would assail : as he could drop to leeward atany time, while the heavy ships could only with great difficulty " turn it " up again", in beating against the wind, " the wind " bloweing all the yeare long one waye." Accordingly on the 16th, Captain Pack in the Amity, with the Malaga Merchant, and the Success, stood in for Carlisle Bay, accompanied by a merchant ship commanded by Captain TOTTY, and anchored in the midst of the shipping lying there, the fire from the forts on shore doing the Parlia ment's vessels no injury. There were at the time four teen vessels in the Bay, mostly Dutch traders, some of them heavily armed. So amazed were the Hollanders at the position in which they found themselves, that they offered no resistance when the English Vice Admiral sent boats from his vessels to command the skippers to come on board the Amity, but surrendered themselves to that officer, who, when he had got them in his custody, and had put some of his men in charge of the Dutch ships, sent word of what he had done, to the Admiral, who was lying at Austin's Bay.* Meanwhile, in the absence from The Bridge of the Governor, his Marshal, BYAM, * In a letter from Leyden, dated 23rd Februrary, 1652, and published in Mercurius Politicus of the 19th to 26th February,- 1652, there is the following reference to the affairs of Barbados : — But that which most frets those in Zealand is, that, when we have lost our Sugar-Trade in Brazil, you will not permit us to make up our market in the Barbados and Carib Islands ; where your Fleet have taken our ships for trading, by virtue of an Act prohibiting Trade with those whom you call rebels. What reasons have we to take notice of The Blockade of Barbados. 211 came off to see who the new arrivals were, and was detained a prisoner. When the Admiral received word from Captain Pack of the latter's success, he at once weighed anchor and sailed with the rest of the fleet for Carlisle Bay. As the vessels were passing within musket shot of Needham's Point, on which was the strongest fort in the island, a man came off in a small boat and bearing a white flag, who hailed them, asking what the fleet was, and telling them that if they came to trade they should be welcome, but if they came as enemies they should stand on their guard. He had no sooner delivered his message than the fort began to fire into the fleet. In order to show that the Parliament's fleet did not wish to begin hostili ties, Sir GEORGE AYSCUE fired a gun to leeward : but, when the fort fired at him a second time he sent a broad side in answer, and, one by one, as the other vessels your Acts, whence we find sweetness ? Seeing we receive your Sugars brown, and return them to you refined again. He that brings these tidings to us saith the English Lord Willoughby there, that governs for the King, or rather for himself, hath strengthened all the Ports and Avenues there, as Carlile, Spike Bay, &c, so that part by the Brandewine wherewith we have furnihst him, the spirits of Rom- bullion, which our men there make him, and other good hopes we give him, he becomes very valiant. The poor black and white slaves have liberty proclaimed to them. You see my Lord is for liberty as well as you ; but, the whites glutted with Potatoes and Cassather, swim to your ships for a little beer and bisket, and so carry tales which my Lord likes not. In sum, we are afraid you will reduce the Caribes, and then we must get Sugar where we can. In No. 61 of A Perfect Account of the Daily Intelligence for 25th February to 3rd March, 1652, it is stated: — The Lord Willoughby hath declared liberty to the Nigers (who were always slaves) that they might join to fight with him. EE2 212 Cavaliers and Roundheads. came up so did they. One man killed in the Victualler, and two men wounded, was all the hurt the fleet sustained in this encounter. That night all the ships of war were anchored in Carlisle Bay, where they remained within reach of two of the enemy's forts, until the afternoon of the following day, by which time the manning and bringing out of twelve of the prize ships was carried on, without molestation from the shore. Two small vessels had been run ashore. On the Governor's returning to The Bridge on the 16th, and finding his Marshal had been made prisoner, he demanded that officer's release, but without success, as the follow ing correspondence will show : — (Lord Willoughby to Sir George Ayscue.J To Sir George Ayscue, these. Sr. — Understandinge by a letter from Capt. Packe that you Com mand these Shipps now in ye road, without whose order my Marshall now deteyned could not be released, I have returned this Drumer with this desire yt. you please immediately to send him unto me soe I rest — Yor. ffriend F. WlLLUGHBYE. Oftober 16th, 1651, 7 at Night. (Sir George Ayscue to Lord Willoughby.) Ffor ye Lord Willughbye, these present. My Lord, — I received yr Lrpp's. by yr Drume, yr Marshall is now on board me, and consideringe he came without any Message and yt. there hath bin since Acts of hostilitie comitted against this fflete under my charge I hope yr Lordship will excuse me if I doe not at present satisfie yr Lrpp's. request, but in ye Interim yr Marshall shal be civily treated by— Yr Lrpp's Servant George Ayscue. Oftober 16, 1651. On the 17th of October, Lord Willoughby had posted about '5,000 men at different places on the coast where the invader might effect a landing, and on the following The Blockade of Barbados. 213 day the number was increased, so that there were then about 6,000 foot and 400 horse in arms against the fleet. From some well-wishers, who swam from the shore, the Admiral received intelligence that the Islanders were almost to a man determined to fight him, and that no one of any influence was for the Parliament, but " everye one verie high and violent against the " State, in most wicked and bitter expressions and vio- " lent action". He was also informed that they were in high spirits over the news brought by the Hollanders that the Scots with their King were come into England, and were very near London : that all the counties came in to him ; that the Lord General Cromwell was slain and the Army was beaten : all which had been duly published in the Churches of the Island, as there were then no newspapers to spread the news. Nothing dis couraged by the state of affairs, Sir GEORGE Ayscue on the 1 7th October sent a trumpeter ashore with a letter, in which Lord Willoughby was called upon to surrender the Island " for the use of the Parliament of " England" : to which " strange demand" the high- spirited lord returned answer, that he acknowledged no supreme authority over Englishmen but the King and those having commissions from the King. To the indig nation of the Parliamentarians, Lord WiLLOUGHBY di rected this answer to the Admiral on board His Majesty's Ship The Rainbow, the Flag Ship having been one of the Royal Ships of War which had been taken over to the Parliament by Sir GEORGE Ayscue and others. The letters referred to ran as follows : — (Sir George Ayscue to Lord Willoughby.) My Lord,— The Parliament of England, the Supreme Authority of 214 Cavaliers and Roundheads. that nation, having been sensible of the defection of this Isle, from their disobedience, it being a Colony which ought to be subordinate, and to depend upon that Commonwealth ; And being tender of the good of this Island, to preserve the Inhabitants thereof in their Estates, and liberties ; As also being willing that they should be sharers with them in that liberty, which by the blessing of God they have purchased with such expence of blood, and money, they have sent me with this Fleet to indeavour the accomplishing of the Same ;. And I being desirous to avoid the effusion of blood, so by this make known the end of my com ing, in order to which I expeft a present rendition of this Island, with the fortifications thereof, for the use of the Parliament of England, your Answer hereunto I expeft by the Return of my Trumpet ; And rest your Lordships Servant,— George Ayscough. Aboard the Rainbow in Carlisle Bay. Oftober 17th, 1651. We are told that the Lord Willoughby having read it, without any long deliberation returned this answer to the last letter :— (Lord Willoughby to Sir George Ayscue.) Sir, — When I heard your Trumpet was arrived, I expected by him some overtures of Reparation for those Acts of Hostility acted by you upon the Ships in the Bay, and on the person of my Marshal, and not so strange a. demand. To which I briefly answer, that I acknowledge no Supreme Authority over Englishmen, but the King, and by his Commission ; and for him I do, and by God's assistance shall defend this place. Which be assured is the resolution of your servant, — Francis Willoughby. Oftober 17, 1671, at noon. The prize ships were found of great use to the Fleet on account of the provisions taken in them, while some served to fetch water from the Leeward Islands. There was also the consolation that their capture had prevented the Royalists from using them against the Fleet.* The * A Letter from the Hague, dated 1st March, 1652, published in Mer curius Politicus of the 25th February to 4th March 1652, says : — "There are 15 masters of ships, 11 Hollanders and 4 Zealanders, returned into Zealand, who were of the number of those that were taken The Blockade of Barbados. 215 strength on shore was, however, so great, that there was no prospect of reducing the defenders by the sword : so the Admiral determined to blockade the Island, hoping by preventing trade and keeping the inhabitants in a constant state of alarm, to starve and weary them into submission. The ships of war accordingly crnised off the Island, taking such Dutch ships as came their way. Some of these came from Brazil to load at Barbados, others from Holland with wine, beer, and other commo dities. At the same time, that no rational opportunity should be lost, to make "this subborn Island know their " duty to the Commonwealth of England," the Commis sioners found means to send ashore by persons swimming at night from the ships, and to disperse throughout the Island, a Declaration which they addressed to the Free holders and Inhabitants.* With this Declaration they sent a copy of their Summons to Lord Willoughby. They assured the Barbadians of their friendliness towards them ; of their wish to avoid the destruction of their " long-laboured for estates": dwelling upon the successes of the Parliament's forces by land and sea, and the at the Barbadas, and they report how the English turned them out of alt their ships, only gave them a small vessel wherewith to pass into Antigua, where it was supposed a Zealander would carry them home ; but he, wanting provisions for so many they were forced to sell the vessel that they came in, to buy them provisions ; by which meaus they are returned, but as poor as Job : so that in a great rage they went to Amsterdam, and threatened the Burgomasters, saying they would take an order with them, except they took a better course to defend them at sea. Some tumults have already been in Zealand and Rotterdam, upon the like occasion.*' * For a copy of Sir George Ayscue's Declaration see the Weekly In telligencer, 17th February to 24th February, 1651-1652, pp. 362 to 365. 216 Cavaliers and Roundheads. inability of the Island to subsist without free trade and protection from foreign enemies: both which the COMMON WEALTH would and could secure to them. The inhabitants were also urged to accept in time offers of peace and mercy, and to join in bringing about the submission of the Island. Indemnity was assured to them. As, from time to time, some very untrue accounts reached England of what was being done at Barbados, and these statements were published in the News Sheets of the day, — the Mercurius Politicus and the like — or in Broadsides, there is a good deal of reason to doubt the correctness of the Broadside narrative subjoined : and the more so, as there is no mention of the affair described in the reports made by Sir GEORGE AYSCUE, by Captain PACK, and the Governor SEARLE, of what actually occurred during the blockade. The following is the statement referred to, as it appears in a Broadside en titled "Bloody news from the Barbadoes, published for " general satisfadion. Printed for G. HORTONS, " 1652" :— Bloody news from the Barbados, being a true relation of a great and terrible fight between the Parliament's Navie commanded by Sir George Ayscue, and the king of Scots Forces under the conduct and command of the Lord Willoughby ; with the particulars of the fight, the storming of the Island, the manner how the Parlia ment's Forces were repulsed, and beaten off from Carlisle Bay and the Block House, and the number killed and wounded. London. Printed 1652, Feb. 24. By an express from the Parliament Fleet lying before the Barbados, it is certified, that Sir George Ayscue finding the Lord Willough by to be very resolute and obstinate, called a Council of Officers, whose result was, forthwith to storm Carlisle Block House, for effefting whereof, about 60 long boats were completely man'd with Seamen, who endeavo'red to storm the Fort, and to enter the Bay ; but so great was the repulse which they received, that The Blockade of Barbados. 217 they was inforced to make good their Retreat with tne loss of 15 men, and to betake themselves for Sanctuary to their Ships again. However, the loss is supposed to be equal on both sides : And the Lord Willoughby is exceeding vigilant, to make the best of a bad' cause, for he rides the Rounds (In person) every night, from Fort to Fort, promising his Souldiers the free prize of the Parliaments Navie ; but with this provisue, I beseech you, when they can catch it. The call to arms did not prevent the General Assem bly of the Island from sitting, and on the 5th of November the Martial Legislators joined in a Declaration of their' own which, after disposing of Sir GEORGE AYSCUE'S summons to surrender, and of the "loose and scandalous papers" scattered up and down the island as they termed the Commissioners' Declaration, they declared their resolution to "sticke to" Lord Willoughby, and to defend the Island to the utmost. It is not improbable that in the names subscribed to the Declaration as now given may be found those of the ancestors of some of the Founders of the North American Republic, for many persons subsequently left Barbados to settle in the older North American Colonies : — A declaracon sett forth by ye Representative bodye of ye Island of Barbados! znett together in ye Generall Assembly ye 4th of November, 1651. Whereas ye Present Assembly hath taken into their serious considera- cons ye sumons sent by Sr. George Ayscue for ye Rendicon of this Island into his hands, ehargeinge vs therein of revoltinge from ye power yt hath sent him to wch. neither ye Lawe doth nor our owne consents hath ever subjeoted us ; and of ye many Acts of hostilitie eomitted by ye Shipps now rideinge about this Island, as also of yt abiuft and poore Message sent by ye Late Marshall to shake (if it were possible) the fidelitie of our ever honoured Ld. Lt. General which by him together wth his contempt of such vnderhand dealinge hath bin fully declared vnto vs : And alsoe havinge taken notice of those Loose and scandalous papers wth much Industry scattered vpp and down our Island to poyson FF 218 Cavaliers and Roundheads. ye alleigeiance of ye good People here and as far as in them lyes to breed divisions and distraccons amongst vs either by sophosticall Argumts endeavouringe to persade some few ignorant People (for of others they can have noe hopes) to believe yt that Goverment wch they have with ye vtter ruine of our deere Brethren in England set vpp is farre better then yt under wch our Auncestors have these many hundred years past, lived wth out ye knowledge or sense of those many Miseries bloodshedding rapines and other oppressions wch yt bleedinge King- dome yet groanes vnder or ells they Endeavour wth menaces of vseinge force to drive vs from yt Pfession or Loyaltye to wch our soules are firmely vnited as to our bodies ; vpon ye consideracon of all wch and to lett ye whole world know how assured we are of ye vpprightnes and sinceritie of our cause and of our constancye to defend ye same We ye Repsentative Bodye of this whole Island doe hereby declare Resolve and vnanimously Pfesse That we will wh ye vttmost hazard of our Lives and fortunes defend his Majesty's Interrest and Lawfull Power in and to this Island as alsoe ye Person of ye right Honble Ffrancis Lord Wil- lughbye of Parrham or Lord Leivt. Generall, and yt we will adhere and sticke to him and wth our vttmost power manfully fight vnder his Coman['d] for ye defence of this Island and ye Goverment thereof as it is now setled and derived vnto him ye said Lord Willughbye from and by ye Letters Patents of his Majesty together wth our Comon Libertie ffreedomes and Imunities wch ever since ye setlinge of this Island we have to our greate happines and content enjoyed from which Resolucon no hopes of Reward nor feare of this present fforce now before vs or terror and Menace or future sufferings shall ever make vs to recede : In full and assured Confirmacon hereof we ye said Repsentative Bodye of this whole Island have hereunto vnanimously and cherefully sub scribed our names this 5th day of Novembr. 1651. Subscribed. Of ye Assemblye : RICHARD PEERS WM. BYHAM PETER WATSON THO. READ WM. FFORTESCUE GEORGE STANFAST ROBT. HOOPER WM. HEATHCOTT JABEZ WITTAKER WM. SANDYFORD *GERARD HAWTAYNE NICHOLAS EDWARDS » See Note on page 66 ante, in which Gerard Haughton, of Oxford shire, is mentioned. In Baker's Northamptonshire (Vol. I. p. 573), The Blockade of Barbados. 219 WM. CONSBTT ROBERT GIBBES JOHN WADLOB SYMON LAMBERT THOMAS MAYCOCKE. Of ye Councell : PHILLIP BELL THO. ELLICE HENRY HAWLEY JOHN BIRCH EDMUND READ HENRY GUYE THO. GIBBES BENJAMIN BERINGER HENRY SHELLEY WM. KIRTON THO. MODYFORD JAMES BROWNE. The 7th of November was kept in Barbados as a Thanks giving for the King's successes in England. On the following day a vessel from Barnstaple arrived with a packet from the Council of State in which the Admiral was informed of the " crowning mercy" of Worcester Fight. The bold manoeuvre which CHARLES had exe cuted, and by which he had avoided a battle with CROMWELL in Scotland, and then marched into England, hoping to gain London itself, had been rendered fruitless through the energy of CROM WELL, who by forced marches had come up with the Royal Army at Worcester, and had there completely crushed it. CHARLES Stuart became a fugitive within his own kingdom for nearly six weeks, wandering from place to place in a variety of disguises, until, after many romantic adventures and escapes he reached the sea coast, and, getting on board a vessel at Brighton, breathed freely at last on the shores of Normandy. Oliver Cromwell entered London in triumph, where he was received in state by the Speaker and principal members of Parliament, by the Lord Mayor and Magis trates of Loudon. The battle of Worcester was fought on Margaret Makepeace (daughter of Abel Makepeace, of Chipping War. don, gent.) is said to have married Gerard Hawtyn of Lee, in Oxford shire. See the Herald and Genealogist, 1867, p. 62. FF3 220 Cavaliers and Roundheads. the 3rd of September, 1651, and on the 9th of September, the Council of State ordered that a letter should be written to Sir GEORGE AYSCUE giving him a narrative of the victories " God hath given us against the enemy" since his departure. The same day the letter was writ ten. The Admiral was told of successes in England and Scotland, and was instructed to make use of them in promoting the work he had in charge : CHARLES STUART had not received the assistance he had counted upon, only " the trash of the people" had joined hkn, said the Council. On receipt of the welcome news of the victory of Worcester it was decided to send Lord Willoughby a second summons. Accordingly, the following letter was sent ashore by a trumpeter, and the opportunity was taken to send at the same time a relation of the victory and " some printed papers" : — (Sir George Ayscue to Lord Willoughby.) My Lord, — Having rec'd by a shipp from England an Expresse from ye Councell of State to advize me of ye wonderfull Mercyes of God towards ye Commonwealth of England by makeinge their Armies Vic torious in England and Scotland both at one time which hath putt a Ml period to ait other troubles, the Kinge of Scetts with his Artrtye at Worster being totally routed and destroyed, and Lieut. Generall Monke Comander in Chief in Scotland hath had such success there as yt we may count yt nation fully subdewed ; Truly my Lord the consideracons of these high blessings to ye Commonwealth of England doth presse irppon me to give your 'Lrpp. the accompt of them which you will more p'ticularly see by the inclosed papers thereby satisfyeiAge mine own Conscience that I had done my duty in avoydeinge what I can the shed- dinge of blood and ye ruine of this Island ; for although I may by some be looked upon as an Enemye yet really I doe ye office of a Friend in stateinge ye true and happy condition of England, Leavinge to your Lrpp. and those engaged with you to Judge of ye Necessitye of your Lrpp's. and their giveinge their due obedience to ye State of England The Blockade of Barbados. 221 or ells to suffer yourselves to be swallowed npp in ye destruccon which a little time must inevitably bringe uppon yon, which I cannot suppose rationall Men will doe. But ye power and Will of God yt hath soe visibly appr'd in aU other Warres must much more satisfie ye Judg ments of all Men unless such whom he hath utterly forsaken. My Lord — If ye due consideracon of ye State of Affaires doe truly represent to you, your condition, I know you wHl loose noe time to intimate to me your willingness to submit to ye power and government of your Native Countrey which your Lrpp. will best shew by yr deliver- inge into my hands for ye use of ye Commonwealth of England this Island of Barbados which can never be happy till yt. day ; your Lrpp's. answeare hereunto I expeft by ye Returne of my Trumpet, That if your Lrpp. shall refuse ye delivery upp of this Island My selfe with ye Commrs. may consider of other wayes for ye Reducement of it ; I shall not trouble your Lrpp. further but conclude yt I am, Your Lrpp's. Servant, George Ayscue. On board ye Rainbowe, I2th November, 1651. Postscript— My Lord in some Ltrs direfted to some Person in this Island, that arrived here yesterday from England there was amongst them a letter found for your Lrpp. I suppose from your Ladye inclosed in a paper direfted to another which as I reed, and ye pamphletts therewith inclosed, I here send your Lrpp. as alsoe a Letter from Coll. Ellys, a letter to Major Byham intercepted not long since cominge from Holland and another for Capt. Bell. G.A. Among the intercepted letters which accompanied the summons was one from Lady WiLLOUGHBY to her hus band in which she enclosed an account of the battle of Worcester and assured him that the account was true. She at the same time urged his submission to the Commonwealth. Although, no doubt, the unexpected news must have somewhat astonished the Royalist, the constancy of their leader did not fail him, and he refused to surrender the Island, accompanying his answer with 222 Cavaliers and Roundheads. a copy of the Declaration of the 5th November which has been already given : — (Lord Willoughby to Sir George Ayscue.) Ffor Sr. George Ayscue, These. Sir, — I received by your Trumpett some Letters and Papers inter cepted by you, though ye contents please me not at all, yet I must needs acknowledge your Civilities in conveighinge them to my hands ; only in your Advice given you seeme to look on me as one guided rather by successe and advantage than by Honor, or ye consideracon of ye Trust comitted to me which I assure you That I never served ye Kinge in Expeftacon soe much of his Prosperous condicon as in consideracon of my dutye : And if it have pleased God to add this sadd affliccon to his former I will not be a meanes of increasinge it by deliveringe this place to your keepinge of which as my faith obligeth me, ye unanimous Reso- lucon (which you may perceive by this inclosed) and courage of ye Inhabitants I hope will enable me, soe I rest, Your Servant, F. WlLLOUGHEYE. Barbados : ye 13th o,ber. 1651. In the following rejoinder Sir GEORGE AYSCUE deals with the question of the importance of Barbados to the; king — " If there were such a person as the king" — in so unbelieving a spirit, that his opinion will hardly now-a- days be approved by those of its inhabitants of the African race who, contented and happy and proud of their country, patriotically assert that " Barbados is a great nation " ! — (Sir George Ayscue to Lord Willoughby.) To ye Right Hon'ble Ye Lord Willughbye of Parham. My Lord, — I received your letter by ye returne of my Trumpett ye last night and Truly my Lord it became you as a person of Honor to Expresse yourselfe as you did in your Letter, But I did Expeft to meete as well with reason as Honor, for if there were such a Person as a Kinge you speake of, your keepinge this Island signifies nothinge to his advantage and therefore believe ye surrender of it would be a small The Blockade of Barbados. 223 addition of griefe to him. My Lord, you may please to knowe That I am not ignorant of ye Interest of this Island, and very well know ye impossibilitie of its subsistence without ye Patronage of England were not this fleet here, who though we have bin hitherto vnwillinge to Aft ye vtmost of our power as abhorringe ye destruccon of our Country men if fairer wayes might prevayle ; yet, My Lord, you may believe I have such a sense of Honor and of which is expefted from me in ye performance of my duty here either of which will not suffer me to leave this place (by God's Assistance) vntill it be reduced, which if by fforce will be a sadd catastrophe to your Lordship and those yt shall soe vnad- visedly join with you. I confesse I have bin very desirous fully to satisfie my Conscience that I have vsed my best endeavours to preserve this Island from ruine and destruccon which haveinge performed, I shall not trouble your Lordship or myselfe with more of these disputes, And I assure your Lordship I had not troubled you with this now, but only to convoye your Ladye 's Letter to you, for last night, perusing ye remainder of ye Letters yt came from England I found one of your Ladye's enclosed as it is here sent from, Your Lordship's Servant, George Ayscue. On board ye Rainbowe, in Maxwell's Bay, Ye 14th o,ber. 1651. Determined to do something to make the islanders feel the inconvenience of holding out, the Admiral decided to beat up their quarters, and first of all to attack The Hole, which had formerly been called James Town, a place where three or four guns had been mounted. Captain MORRIS in command of about 200 men landed there on the 22nd of November, beat off the defenders, spiked their guns, took about 30 prisoners, and came off with the loss of but one man. The ships continued to beat up and down the coast ; the weather being excep tionally calm, and nothing of special note occurred until the 1st of December, when a fleet of ships arrived at the Island. If the Royalists hoped that Prince RUPERT had come at last they were doomed to disappointment. 224 Cavaliers and Roundheads. The Virginia fleet had arrived, consisting of fifteen vessels bound to Virginia to reduce the Royalists there. The commissioners of the reduction of that colony had called at Barbados on their way, in accordance with instructions to do so given to them by the Council of State. The accession to his strength which Sir GEORGE AYSCUE thus received made up a fleet of more than forty vessels, including the prizes taken in Carlisle Bay and off the coast, and he now hoped that he might pre vail upon Lord Willoughby to deliver up the Island upon honourable terms. Upon this the Admiral sent a third summons to the Governor, but without result, as the correspondence following will show, it having been de bated in the General Assembly whether an answer should be sent to the summons : — (Sir George Ayscue to Lord Willoughby.) Ffor ye Right Hon'ble Ye Lord Willughbye of Parham. My Lord, — The great Addicon of strength which God hath pleased to bringe soe safely to vs makes it cleere to me yt he will owne vs in our attempts against you (as he hath hitherto done), yet to show you that I endeavour, what I can to avoyd ye sheddinge of blood, I have thought fitt to send this once more to your Lordship to deliver ye Island of Bar. bados, with ye Castles and strength thereof into my hands, for ye use of ye Commonwealth of England. This you may be assured wilbe your last opportunitye— which (if God have not infatuated your Councells,} you will take hold on by which you may receive such reasonable condi- cons as may be honourable for ye State to give. I expeft your Lord ship's answeare hereunto this Night by my Trumpett, and rest, Your Lordship's Servant, George Ayscue. On board ye Rainbowe, Xber 2d., 1651. The Blockade of Barbados. 225 (From Lord Willoughby to Sir George Ayscue) For Sr. George Ayscue, Knt., These. Sir, — Your former letters were all soe positive'and absolute that you could not in reason promise to yourselfe any other answeare than such as you have from me received, and although ye Accesse of fforce you mencon to become to you cannot at all shake our Resolutions or in ye least weaken our confidence of prevailing against you in our just de fence of this Place, yet if those conditions you mention shall appear to me to be both Honble for myselfe and safe for ye Inhabitants of this Place, (whose welfare I chiefly intend) you shall then be assured yt noe man is more tender of ye spillinge of English blood or more willinge to make upp ye unhappy breaches amonge my deare Countrymen than myselfe. In order whereunto I shall within two or three days (by ye advice of my Councell and Gentlemen of ye Assembly), send you in writeinge what shall be thought fitt to require on our parts. I rest Your servant, F. Willughbye. December 3. (Sir George Ayscue to Lord Willoughby.) To ye Rt. Hon'ble ye Lord Willughbye of Parham. My Lord, — I received your Lordships ye last night and conceive nothinge by its contents, but yet it might have had a quicker dispatch, which makes me judge you intend only delayes and am yet more con firmed in ye beliefe of it by the length of time you take to send proposals which if you had then not sent would have appeared to me and the Commissioners with me only a deferringe of time, and for yt cause we are resolved to receive noe such papers, but if your Lordship intend (as I doe), plainly and really I expeft you will appoint Commis sioners on your part which shall accordingly be done on ours whereby all objections on each side may be ye more speedily and clearely re moved and a period putt to ye danger yt now hanges over your head ; if your Lordship consent to treate by Commissioners, I expeft to heare from you this day, ye Number you desire to appoynt, and ye Place where to treate and ye Names and Number of Hostages to be given on each side which shall be indifferent to me provided ye time of Treatye beginne on Saturday next at Noone, and continue until Monday next, five of ye clocke and no longer with full power give to ye Commissioners to agree and conclude. My Lord, — I shall add this latter Part of my Letter in answeare to ye GG 226 Cavaliers and Roundheads. first Part of your last wherein you tell me that I did not offer conditions in my former summons. My Lord to you I say, I conceived conditions were to be understood, but I did putt yt word in my last summons to take away all objections on your part, and indeed conceiving it more became me as a Gentleman to be most ffree and open when I wast best able to affront ; My Lord, I expect my Trumpett's returne by 3 of ye clocke this day, with your Lordship's positive answeare. Your servant, George Ayscue. On board ye Rainbow in Austin's Bay, ye 4th of December, 1651. (Lord Willoughby to Sir George Ayscue.) For Sir George Ayscue, Knt. Sir, — I received yours this instant, in answeare to which I shall as sure you that 1 will not be diverted from yt resolution which I wrote you in my last. Not doubtinge but it will appear to all ye world yt your refusall thereof is ye cause of all ye evill yt may ensew thereon, so I rest Your servant, F. Willughbye. December 4th, 1651. All gentle measures failing, and the Virginia fleet being anxious to proceed to its destination, the crews being very sickly, and 200 men having died on their passage from England, it was resolved to beat up the enemy's quarters again before the departure of that fleet, and to endeavour to secure a piece of ground where the sailors might entrench and fortify themselves near the sea, and by so doing afford some of the islanders the means of coming over to the Parliament's side. Learn ing that at Speight's Town, but slender guards were kept, and that the fort there was not very strong, it was decided to attack that place. Early on the morning of the 7th December, under cover of darkness, a force of between 400 and 500 men, of whom about 130 were Scots The Blockade of Barbados. 227 taken out of the Virginia fleet, these being no doubt captives from Worcester Fight, was landed under the command of Colonel Reynold Alleyne, Major ANDREWES, and Captain MORRIS. Instead of surprising the Royalists, the invaders found that notice had been given four hours before their landing of their coming, and a force of about 1,200 foot and a troop of horse, under the command of Colonel GlBBES, was assembled to oppose them. Although, as Sir GEORGE Ayscue reported, the Commonwealth's men were " notably received on their landing", they nevertheless made good their footing, and the seamen " running in upon the enemy hallowing " and whooping in such a fierce disorder, the enemy was " so annoyed, that after a short dispute they all ran." The fort was then stormed and taken, and the ground was occupied that day and the next, but the sailors were so unmanageable that they would not entrench them selves but left the ground and returned to their ships. Before they left, however, they razed the fort, burnt many houses, threw into the sea the four great guns on the fort, one of which was a culverine, and three demi- culverines, all of which were afterwards taken on board the fleet. On the Roundhead side some 6 or 8 were killed in dispute, and about 30 were wounded, among those being Colonel ALLEYNE, Major AN DREWES and Captain MORRIS. The two latter recovered, but Colonel ALLEYNE died of a wound which he received from a musket shot when landing and was very much lamented by his party as " a man of worth and honour". On the Royalist side about 30 were killed on the field, and several died afterwards in the woods whither they had run from the invaders, while about 80 GG2 228 Cavaliers and Roundheads. were taken prisoners, among them being Lieutenant Bayly. Besides the four great guns taken, the Parlia ment men captured the colours in the fort with some 500 arms and a quantity of gunpowder. After the affair at Speight's Town the correspondence following took place between the chiefs of the two parties. It should be mentioned, however, that Sir GEORGE AYSCUE'S assumption of virtue for sending ashore prisoners after their wounds had been dressed is open to qualification, for the Admiral was in fact em barrassed by the presence of the prisoners aboard, fearing lest they should eat out the provisions of which the supply was sufficient for the wants of the Fleet only. Moreover, before the wounded were liberated they were duly instructed as to the state of affairs in England, and were educated into a knowledge of the fact that they were misled being at the same time requested to inform their neighbours and friends thereof on their going ashore. Two of the prisoners for complying with this request when they had landed were hanged. It is stated that about this time it was made death to speak against the ruling party in the Island, or to read any writings found in the Island that had come from the Fleet, before such writings were brought to Lord Wil loughby, and, that, whoever spake for peace or a treaty was forthwith imprisoned. (Sir George Ayscue to Lord Willoughby.) Ffor ye Right Hon'ble ye Lord Willughbye of Parham. My Lord, — Yor wounded Men wch we tooke, after care taken to dresse their wounds and giveinge them some refreshmt for their better recoveringe their hurts were sent Ion] shoare to their severall aboades, The Blockade of Barbados 229 beinge tender of ye condicon of those Misledd People ; I have diverse other of yor Men my Prisnrs wch shou[ld] it had bin more pper for yor Lordship whose Souldiers they were to have inquired after their wants than for me to mind you of it, yet I could not denye their Reasonable: request to me wch was to send you this note from them and seinge I have this occasion to send to yor Lordship I shall acquaint you That severall Persons are come to me from diverse good People of ye Island since ye lastsuceesse yt God hath bin pleased to owne us in, to know ye grounds of ye quarrell pressinge they know not That we have ever offered proffers for peace wherein to give them ye better satisfacion and for ye more acquithage of orselves before Cod and Man (beinge farr from srandinge uppon those advantages or late successe hath given us.) That I doe assure yor Lordship That yorselfe and those wth you may yet have such condioons as may stand wth ye honor of ye State to give and for ye happye and flourishinge condition of ye People and Inhabit ants of this Island. My Lord To this my offer I expeft yor speedy answeare by my Trumpett and rest. Yr Lopp's Servant, George Ayscue. On board ye Rainbow in Speight's Bay, ye nth of December, 1651. (Lord Willoughby to Sir George Ayscue.) Ffor Sr. George Ayscue, Knt., These present. Sir, — Before ye Receivinge your Last I had taken order for Pvision and other Necessaryes that might refresh or accomodate ye Prisoners on board to be sent for wch I intended to aske yor Pmission in ye grantinge of wch I must needes acknowledge yor courtesie to have pvented me. The generall accomodacon I looked on wth some hopes on yor last offer of good and hon'ble condicons for ye securinge of wch and yt all Interrestg might be satisfied I convened ye Councell and those Gentlemen Elected by all ye freeholders of ye Island to sitt in Assembly, where when we were considering of such posicons as might be safe, your positive refusall of receiveinge such came to me wch caused me imediately to send them to the severall parts of ye countrey for ye Necessary defence thereof wch all ye Inhitants find themselv[es] obliged to be more dilligent and resolute in since they are taught by ye spoyle and burninge of yt pt where yor fforces landed what would become of ye rest if in yor power. And yt any should be ignorant of yt 230 Cavaliers and Roundheads. Message you sent to me (wch I made publique to ye whole Island) I wonder as much as that they should send to you to know wt tearmes of peace they should have, beinge confident they relye more on — care then on ye courtesie of any yt bringe an Invasion on them, who seeke nothinge but an enjoyment of wt wh God's blessinge on their owne Industrye they have gained in a Place remote from their Native Coun- trey wch hath not bin soe easily gotten as now to be negligently defended. To wch purpose they only take armes and leave ye guilt of yt bloud and ruine at their doores who offer ye fforce in ye repellinge of which they shall never be desert. Yor Srvant, F. Willughbye. Xber. 12th, 1651. (Lord Willoughby to Sir George Ayscue.) Ffor Sr. George Ayscue, Knt. Sir, — I have sent by my Trumpett some ffresh Provisions for ye Prisoners you have on board and desire you would give them leave to advize me of their wants which I shall take care to have supplyed. Your Servant, F. Willughbye. Xber. 13th, 1651. Ffor ye Lord Willughbye of Parham. My Lord, — Your Trumpett hath spoake with Leiut Bayly and deliv . ered him ye pvisions were sent him ; as for ye list of ye Prisoners which your Lordship's Trumpett desired I shall not be able at present to send it in regard ye Prisoners are on board severall Ships which will aske longer time then I am willinge to stay your Trumpett. My Lord what Prisoners you have of mine may if you please be exchanged for such as I have of you Lordship's accordinge to numbe[rs] and qualitie. My Lord haveinge this opportunitie I shall acquitt myselfe from what you seeme to charge me with in your Letter, as for ye firinge howses on shore it was positively against my comand. But my men beinge mocked by some of your's who invite them on shore with a white fflagas if they meant a parley and when they were under comand of ye howses your men fired from thence upon mine contrary to ye Lawe of Armes not without some mischeife done which caused my men (I not beinge on ye place to hinder it) in their rage to fire those howses from whence they received such treacherous dealinge yet Notwithstandinge had I bin The Blockade of Barbados. 231 uppon ye Place I had hindred that Mischeife. And whereas your Lord ship chargeth on us ye bloud which your standinge out after many and severall offers of peace hath occasioned, we are able with cheeref ullnos to acquitt our harts to God as alsoe to ye world That noe wayes for prevention thereof have bin unattempted and should be gladd your Lordship could soe well cleere yourselfe in that point and not willfully drawe ye guilt of more bloud uppon you by standinge it out when soe many invitacons of peace have bin offered you by which ye People may enjoy ye peaceable and quiett possession of their longe laboured for Estates which is still ye desire and shalbe ye endeavour of Your Lordship's Servant, George Ayscue. On board ye Rainebowe in Speight's Bay, ye 14th Xber., 1651. Ffor Sr. George Ayscue. Sir, — Mrs. Allen hearinge that her husband is wounded hath desired my passe to goe on board to see him which I have granted her and desire yt my Drumemer and boate may be returned to, Your Servant, F. Willughbye. From my house, Xber. [17] 1651. Unable longer to remain at Barbados on account of want of water and the presence of the scurvy in some of the ships, the Virginia Fleet sailed away on the 14th of December. Two months had now elapsed since the Commissioners arrived, and yet they had made but little way in their business. Speight's Town itself, where the Fleet had been so successful on the 7th, was now again occupied by the Royalists, this time under the command of Colonel Shelley, the Fleet's success there having, as Sir Ayscue reported to the Council of State, " signified " nothing toward gaining the whole island, the enemy " having then about 5,000 horse and foot in arms". Of the effect upon the Royalists of their defeat at Speight's 232 Cavaliers and Roundheads. Town Captain Pack reported : " Yet this no way moved " them to any compliance, but rather exasperated their " spirits, especially ye Lord WiLLOUGHBY, who is as " unworthy a person as any amongst them, and sought " nothing more then ye Ruine of ye place". In this state of affairs the Admiral resolved to try to create a party in his favour among the Royalists. '^<2uo CHAPTER XIII. COLONEL MODIFORD DECLARES FOR THE PARLIAMENT, AND IS PROCLAIMED A TRAITOR.* Woe to the Traitor, Woe ! LTHOUGH the news of the overwhelming disaster at Worcester had made Lord WiL- LOUHBY and some of his thick and thin sup porters only more determined to resist, there were men in the Island with estates to lose, who thought that the impending ruin of the Colony might be avoided if honourable terms of surrender were assured to the inhabitants. Now that the Parliament had completely mastered England, Scotland, and Ireland, if even Prince RUPERT joined forces with the Islanders, and the Commonwealth's Fleet were beaten off the Coast, would not Blake, and perhaps the Lord General CROMWELL himself, with all the power of England at their backs, have to be afterwards contended with ? Sir GEORGE Ayscue having, therefore, got to know that Colonel MODIFORD was inclined for peace, desired one of the banished Roundheads on board the Fleet who was a * The State Papers mentioned in the foot-note to Chapter XII, and A. ffs Relation are the principal authorities for this Chapter. HH 234 Cavaliers and Roundheads. great friend of MODIFORD'S to write to him, and, to use the Admiral's own words, " to satisfy him in those things " I thought he might most scruple, and to give the best " encouragement I could to write him to join with us to " force them, the violent party, to a submission to " peace". It seems probable that the person who was asked to write to Colonel MODIFORD was Mr. FRANCIS Raynes. It should be stated by the way that, although Colonel MODIFORD was an ardent Royalist who had fought in the West of England in the King's service, when there was a King to fight for, he was a cousin of General Monk, who at this time was the able ruler of Scotland, but is better known as having afterwards brought about The Restoration. MODIFORD was a powerful man in the island and commanded the Windward Regiment. Hilliard's plantation, where he lived, was not far from Austin's Bay. Means were found of getting the letter to MODIFORD whom the Admiral found " master of a great deale of " reason, and truly sensible of the ruine of the Island if " they should longer be obstinate," and, after a time the Colonel listened to the representations made to him, and, with Colonel BlRCH, undertook to form a Peace Party in the Colony, provided Articles were granted which were in substance those upon which the Islanders subse quently capitulated. The correspondence was carried on clandestinely, without the knowledge of Lord WiL LOUGHBY and the bulk of the Royalists. At length Colonel MODIFORD wrote that he and his friends would like to speak to some of the Commissioners. A place of meeting was appointed in an out-of-the-way part of the island, and, Colonel Modiford proclaimed a Traitor. 235 with the consent of Sir George AYSCUE and Mr. Searle, Captain PACK, the Vice Admiral, accompanied by some Islanders, left the Fleet at midnight. The place where the meeting was held is mentioned in one account as "an obscuer place on shoare," and by the Vice Admiral as " a remote place of ye island, where no '' boat could land," he adding " but I was faine to swimme ashore." Several of these meetings were held and at length Articles were signed by the Commissioners, Colonel MODIFORD on his side declaring that he and his friends would press Lord WiLLOUGHBY and the General Assembly to send for a Treaty, and if that were " denied," then they would declare for the Commonwealth forth with. In accordance with the plans of the party for Peace, Lieutenant Colonel BiRCH of the Windward Regiment, who was a Member of Council, moved in the General Assembly for a Treaty, and he was supported by Colonel Modiford and Colonel Hawley, both also Councillors. Although " a Treaty was ever disrelished by the Lord WiLLOUGHBY," the Governor felt bound to make a show of treating with the Commissioners, and the letters following now passed between him and the Admiral, the one sending Articles which he demanded, the other, Articles which he was prepared to grant. (Lord Willoughby to Sir George Ayscue.) Ffor Sir George Ayscue, These. Sir, — Though I have greate reason to blesse God for the vnanimitye and resolution I find in ye Inhabitants of this Island to stand by me in ye just and necessary defence of themselves, their Rights and Liberties , yet I have thought fitt to confirme them in it by lettinge all see and know what they fight for which hath added to their courage, though ye occasion of vseinge it I hope will be taken away when ye same iustnes HH2 236 Cavaliers and Roundheads. of our cause which by this I hold out to your selfe shall induce you to quench this Wane kindled amongst Countrymen, and stopp that issue of bloud which will be required at their hands who cause itts vnreason- able sheddinge, of which you seeme to wash yours in all ye Messages sent me. An occasion is now offered to iustifie that Innocence and truly though ye guilt would be heavy on whomsoever it fall, yet I shalbe willinge it be layd on me if I insist on any thinge beyond ye rules of Honor or Comon Right, and pt of that labor which concerns my owne particular, I am willing to quitt for ye intire preservacon of that of ye Inhabitants. These reasons have caused me with a generall consent and approbacon to send ye inclosed Proposicons, that I might discharge ye duty of a good christian to compose soe vnnaturall a strife, and of a good Governor to prevent if possible ye many incon veniences of a Warre, ye Event of which I feare not at all. Haveinge given this satisfaccon to my conscience and ye world that I have endeavoured a iust and honourable peace, and received an assurance of this People that I shall not be forsaken in makeinge a Resolute defence, I comitt ye issue to God's Allmightye disposeinge who though he alwayes gives not success where there is right yet hath putt at this time meanes sufficient to repell any wronge in to ye hand of Your Servant, F. Willughbye. Ffrom my house, ye 25th Xber. 1651. (Sir George Ayscue to Lord Willoughby.) My Lord, — I am gladd to find in your Letter and by your Expressions there, ye desire you have of Peace, ye Realitye of which I doe by noe meanes doubt ; Neither neede your Lordship question but that it is our desire to effect it which I hope will be cleare to your Lordship and ye world when ye Proposalls Now sent your Lordship and the Assembly shal be proposed and considered on. Wherein you will find by severall Articles Proposed by vs That there is noe thinge in this our employ. ment we studye more then ye makeinge happye ye People of this Island. And that all thinges may be ye better carried on and for ye avoydinge of Mistakes and satisfyeinge of all Interrests if your Lordship thinke fitt (it beinge allready consented to by my selfe and ye Commissioners with me, vizt : Mr. Daniel Searle and Captain Michael Packe) to ap- poynt fitt Persons to come on board ye " Rainebowe", with Power to treate and conclude vppon all such thinges as may seeme to be in Colonel Modiford proclaimed a Traitor. 237 difference between vs ; And because I conceive your Lordship will ap prove of this reasonable and indifferent way and for ye avoydinge ye Losse of time I have sent herewith a Safe Conyoye for such Persons and soe many as your Lordship shall Judge fitt to treate with vs ye Commissioners, To whose Endeavours I doubt not but God will give his blessinge that this Island may be againe restored to Peace and happines which is ye hartye desire of Your Lordship's Servant, George Ayscue. On board ye Rainbowe, in Carlile Bay, Ye 27th Xber, 1651. My Lord, — I desire your Lordship's answeare with which convenient speede you may. G.A. Encouraged by the weakness of the Fleet, and backed by the assurances of the violent party, who now ' hated ' the WALRONDS for having doubted so true a Cavalier', Lord WiLLOUGHBY decided to break off negotiations with the Parliament's Admiral, with whom correspon dence was closed for the present by the letters follow ing :— (Lord Willoughby to Sir George Ayscue.) Ffor Sr. George Ayscue, These. Sir, — Though I am entrusted with ye management both of ye Warre and Peace yet I findinge your proposalls sent by you direfted to ye Councell and Assembly as well as to myselfe, I referred it to their con sideracons, as well that it may appeare to be noe private respects of mine owne that keeps ye Warre on ffoote, as that you may see their constancye in assertinge what with soe good reason they in ye proposi- cons sent to you, which they are resolved to insist on or what they can neither be safe nor happye without, soe That I have not sent Com. missioners whose office could have bin noe other but to returne with your consent (which a messenger may doe) to what hath bin by ye generall desire of ye inhabitants sent you. Your Servant, F. Willughbye. Barbados, 29th Xber., 1651. 238 Cavaliers and Roundheads. This was sent inclosed : We ye Gentlemen of ye Councill and Assembly, beinge summoned by our Lord Lieut. Generall to heare ye Proposicons sent from ye Com missioners lyeinge aboard ye ffleete now against us, doe returne this answeare that we doe unanimouslye adhere to ye ffirst Article in our Proposicons sent on board, and without a grannt ffirst had to that, we shall not yeild to allowe anv further treaty. By ye command of ye Lord Lieut. Generall in ye hehalfe of ye Councell and Assembly, Wm. Povey, Sefty. Barbados, 29th Xber., 1651. (Sir George Ayscue to Lord Willoughby.) To ye Right Hon'ble Ye Lord Willughbye of Parham. My Lord,— I have received your Lordship's and ye Resolve of ye Gent, of ye Councell and Assembly, and in regard they have not ex- plained their meaninge concerninge their first Article, We conceive noe otherwise but that what We have offered in our Proposalls in relacon to ye Government of ye Island is as full as may stand with the Libertye Peace and safetye of a ffree People ; And if your intents be contrary therevnto, We Judge it Proceedes from an aversenes to Peace as likewise by your Refusall to appoynt Commissioners to treate which might have given a right vnderstandinge on both sides by which ye People might have enjoyed an happy Peace. My Lord, we have dis charged our duty to God and Man, and shall waite vntill it shall please God to give vs an opportunitie to gaine Peace and Liberty for ye Interests of this Islann, which shalbe ye desire and endeavours of your Lhp's Servt., George Ayscue. " Rainebowe," in Carlile Bay, Xber. 16, 1651. The Royalists now " put forth a most bitter rayeling " declaration" against the Commonwealth, concluding it with " an earnest invitation to undergoe the trouble " of a warre for a season, rather then by a base sub- " je6tion to soe deceitfull an Ennimy permit them selfs " to be slaves for ever." Healths were drunk to the Colonel Modiford proclaimed a Traitor. 2S9 destruction of those who would have Peace; threats were given out against all Moderates ; and the Drunk ards, we are told, quibblingly alleged that all those who desired the Treaty were Traitors. On the failure of the attempts to bring about a Treaty, those on board the Fleet expected to hear from Colonel MODIFORD and his friends, who were now bound on their part to declare for the Parliament. There was no com munication from them until the 31st of December, when they sent word that they had all been betrayed by some one who had swum ashore from Captain HEATHE'S ship, and who had let Lord WiLLOUGHBY know of the cor respondence that had been held by Colonel Modiford and the officers of the Windward Regiment with the Fleet, for which they were all to be examined next morn ing at a Council of War. The Council of War was held on the First of January, but the matter was hushed, from a fear lest divisions among the leaders being known, divisions among the Islanders might follow, and a general pardon was granted to those suspected. On the 2nd of January the Commissioners received a message from Colonel MODIFORD that he would on the following day declare for them. The 3rd of January, 1652, was a Saturday. On that day after taking counsel with Colonel COLLETON, and with his own Lieutenant-Colonel, Colonel Birch with Captain HOOPER, and other officers, Colonel MODIFORD, on bringing down 500 men of his Regiment to relieve 500 others then on guard, drew up all together, and 120 horse, besides, and invited them to declare for the Par liament. In a short speech, Colonel MODIFORD * made ' them so sensible of the present distractions of the 240 Cavaliers and Roundheads. ' Country, of the likelihood of their continuance, the vio- ' lence of some men even in Council and the Assembly, ' whereby the freedom of votes and debates was lost ; ' the present wants of the country ; the willingness and ' abilities of those ships that lay before them to give all ' possible supply unto them ; and, finally, the Articles ' which they offered ', that all his men declared they would live and die with their Colonel in obtaining Peace upon those Articles. The Regiment then fired off three volleys, and the three guns on the Fort at Austin's were discharged and forthwith turned upon the Island, and on this signal being given some of the ships of the Fleet stood into Austin's Bay. A letter, with the Articles en closed, was forthwith despatched to Lord WiLLOUGHBY, beseeching him 'yet to show himself so much an Eng- ' lishman, and a Christian, as by an happy accord to ' shorten the miseries of this Island.' Colonel MODI FORD'S house, about seven miles off was, by his own or der, made a Garrison for the Commonwealth. The Windward men then entrenched themselves by the sea side, where they had the help of the shipping, which also furnished them with arms and other necessaries. In all there were now about 2000 foot and 120 horse prepared to bring Lord WiLLOUGHBY to reason, as those for a Treaty termed it. On being assured of the reality of the friendship of the Peace party, the Admiral himself went ashore and spoke to them, causing his Commission to be then read. Scarcely had this been done when it was found that Lord WiLLOUGHBY had drawn up at night 2000 foot and 400 horse within a quarter of a mile of where the Windward men wereen camped. A Council of War was held by the Royalists, and Lord WiLLOUGHBY Colonel Modiford proclaimed a Traitor. 241 for his part, designed to charge the Windward men with his body of horse in which he had a superiority over the latter; but while the Council yet deliberated, a shot fired from one of the great guns of the Windward party car ried away the head of the sentinel standing guard at the door of the house where the Council of War sat, beat open the door itself, and wounded some in the house. Whether or not as the effect of that uncomfortable in cident, the Royalists that night marched off to a dis tance of about two miles from Austin's where they en camped, watching day and night the movements of the Windward men ; and, as many of the Islanders were in clined to join the party for the Parliament, Lord WiL LOUGHBY placed guards upon all the avenues to the Windward camp. Between the 3rd and the 9th of January, 1652, rain fell incessantly in Barbados, so much so, Captain PACK says, that the soldiers could scarcely keep a match lighted. The two armies therefore lay close to one another inactive, the conviction of all being, according to Captain PACK, that when the rains ceased " ye sword must have decided ye businesse," for, as the corres pondence following will show, a last effort made by the Admiral, on the motion of the officers of the Windward Regiment, to bring about an honourable Treaty, was rejected by Lord Willoughby in a defiant spirit. (Sir George Ayscue to Lord Willoughby.) Ffor ye Right Hon'ble Ye Lord Willughbye of Parham. My Lord, — I have formerly sent you many Invitacons to p'swade you by a faire complyeance wth that Power yt governs yor Native Countrey to p'serve yor selfe and ye Gent, with you from a certeyne ruine, and this Island from that desolacon wch yor obstinacye may bringe uppon II 242 Cavaliers and Roundheads. it ; And although I have Now bin owned by a considerable part of ye Countrey, my Commission published unto them and myselfe reed as Governor appointed by ye State of England, amongst you, yet I am still ye same Man and hold forth ye same grace and favour to you I formerly did, beinge resolved noe change of ffortune shall change my nature in yt kind, and I am ye more induced to offer it now unto you, in regard you are Members of that whole of wch I have now possession of a greate part ; And therefore I am bound in Honor as well as good nature to Endeavour yor p'servacons To wch purpose I have enclosed sent you ye Articles wch ye Windward Regiment have accepted, to wch if you have any scruples or Excepcons in wch you may receive satisfaccon, lett me know them by yor Commrs. and I shall appoynt fitt p'sons to satisfie them, and by them you resolvinge to omitt nothinge on my pt to pvent ye effusion of bloud and which may p'serve yor Persons and Estates from ruine, I have heard yt some of you doubt mine and ye Commr's. Power to grannt, and others of our Performance of what shalbe agreed to ; As to the first any Person intrusted by you shall see it and be Judge of it and soe you truly Informed. To ye second I shall in ye behalfe of my selfe and ye Commrs. with me engage not onely mine owne but ye Honor of ye State of England wch is as much as can be required by any rationall Men soe I rest Yor Servant, George Ayscue. On board ye Rainebow, 5th January 1652, (Lord Willoughby to Sir George Ayscue.) Ffor Sir George Ayscue, these. Sir, — I have reed ye Letter sent by yor Trumpett wch mencons a paper Enclosed wch I findeinge not there jrou can Expeft noe Answere from Yor Servant, F. Willughbye. Ffrom my Quarters, This 6th January, 1652. (Sir George Ayscue to Lord Willoughby.) Ffor ye Rt. Hon'ble The Lord Willughbye of Parham, these present. My Lord, — I reed yor Lopp's by ye returne of my Trumpett, by wch I found my oversight in sendinge ye Articles menconed in my Letter, Colonel Modiford proclaimed a Traitor. 243 but I have bin now more circumspeft and have sent them inclosed in this Letter to yor Lopp., hopinge that yor Lopp and those Gent, wth you will consider ye publique interest of ye People and yor owne, and avoyd ye further spillinge of bloud by acceptinge of these faire Tearmes now offered you by Yor Lopp's Servant, George Ayscue. Rainebowe in Austin's Bay, 7th January, 1652. (Lord Willoughby to Sir George Ayscue.) Ffor Sir George Ayscue, these. Sir, — I reed the Articles in yor Letter enclosed ye same in effeft wch I reed formerly from you. I then acquainted ye Councell and Assembly wth them and returned their Resolucon to you, in wch they at psent wth me doe continue much wondringe That what is rightfully theirs and by Lawe they may clayme (the only wordes in yt posicon sent you wch they insist on) should be denyed them ; Neither hath ye Treacherye of one Man soe farre discouraged, or ye easines of many others beinge seduced by him soe much weakened vs as that We should accept either an vnsafe or dishonorable Peace, for ye pcuringe a good one None shall endeavour more than Yor Servant, F. Willughbye. Ffrom my Quarters, 7th January, 1652. That warlike Baron then put forth a Declaration inviting the Windward Regiment to rejoin him, and declaring Colonel MODIFORD a Traitor. The Parliament's Army now resolved to fall upon the Royalists at night, but the rain fell so incessantly, that the soldiers could not march.* On the morning of the * What can have given ground for the following statement : — 17 March, 1652. By an expresse from the Barbados it is certified, that Sir Geo. Ayscue hath stormed Carlisle Fort, and after a short and bloudy fight entred the Island, possessed himself of St. Peters, St. Andrews, St. Georges and St. James Mounts and Castles, putting about 700 to the sword ; but 112 244 Cavaliers and Roundheads. gth of January a Trumpeter from the Royalist camp brought the following letter in which Lord WiLLOUGHBY sent to desire a Treaty : — (From Lord Willoughby to Sir George Ayscue) Ffor Sr. George Ayscue, These. Sir, — My Nature not beinge more sensible of ye strift poynts of Honor than of humane comiseracon towards ye affliftion of others, especially my owne Countrymen ; And to cleere my conscience to God and ye World, That I seeke not to hold mine owne advantage in ye Ruine of others, I will offer yet my endeavour to p'vent ye calamities and effusion of Christian bloud wch followes a Civile Warre, and seinge yt ye fire is now dispersed and not gott into ye bowells of this Coun try, I have resumed ye consideracon of yor former offers for a Treatye, And though I doubt not but my fforce is sufficient, not only to keepe wt I yet have but to be continually regaininge wt was given away by others rather than lost by me ; yet finding it might be done with soe great a spoyle yt few weeks will turne yefface of a Countrey soe flourish ing, and soe greate an honor to our Nation into desolation and make it but a very sadd place of abideinge for ye unhappy Viftors while ye bloud not only of Countreymen but of those in nearest relation is spilt by one another, I have rather thought good to seeke a decision of this difference by reasons, in wch we have noe lesse advantage than in Armes and resolution. To ye end therefore that some faire Interp*ta- con may be given to ye ffirst Article of our propositions I have ap- poynted Sir Richard Pearce, Charles Pym, Esqr,, Colonel Thomas not without losse. The L. Willoughby (we hear) is fled to S. Philips Castle where he hath set forth the bloudy Flag, and declares that he is resolved to sell his life at a dear rate ; Since which time it is reported , that the English have stormed the said Castle and are become masters of the whole Island (which contains 8 Parishes) together with all the ordnance, Arms, and Ammunition ; A list whereof take as followeth -.— 70 pieces of Ordnance, 900 barrels of powder, 4,000 Muskets, 500 pistols and Carbines, 1,400 slain, 2,000 taken prisoners, amongst the rest the L. Willoughby, Sir Richard Pearse, Col. Walrond, Col. Gibson, Col. Meldrum, Lieut. Col. Ellis, Major Rumley, Major Gittens, Capts Martin, Guy, Standfast, Watson, Wadle and Overbury Colonel Modiford proclaimed a Traitor. 245 ElUce and Srjeant Major Wm. Byham to be Commrs. wch shall repaire to Oystens, on ye sending of yor safe conduft hither to meet with ye like Number of yors wth full power to Treate and conclude. If you think this fitt, I desire there may be a Cessation of Armes duringe ye Treatye on these conditions that none of yor fforces goe more than one Mile into ye Countrey from Oystens Bay ; Neere to wch none of mine shall have leave to come; And That Coll. Modyford's howse remaine as now it is, haveinge Leave only to take in ffresh p'visions and water, from day to day. I desire yor speedy Answeare by my Trumpett and rest Yor Srvant, F. Willughbye. Ffrom my Quarters, this 9th of January, 1652. If you admitt ye Treaty I desire you will send two of these safe Con duft "g of wch I have sent a Copye. F. W. In his reply to Lord WiLLOUGHBY, Sir George AYS CUE says that he will not dwell upon the great advantage he had from the assistance of the Colonists who had joined him ; but the good and wise Admiral in reporting to the Council of State declares that the enemy's strength was superior to his. His words are these : — " The Lord WiLLOUGHBY sent to desire a Treaty ; and " in regard his strength was much greater and that it " was apparent this goodly Island would have been " utterly destroyed, if this contest lasted but few days " longer (for in this time the enemy had much wasted " it), and also not knowing how our friends that join'd " with us for Peace, would have liked our refusall of '* Treating for it, hereupon we consented to a Treaty." (Sir George Ayscue to Lord Willoughby.) My Lord, — I have received yor Lo'pps by yor Trumpett, and although I have lately offered condicons of Peace to you and have rec-i noe satis factory returne yet, I am so greate a seeker after Peace and am 246 Cavaliers and Roundheads. passionately desirous to p'serve this Island from further Ruine, That I shall not stand vppon ye greate advantage that God hath now putt into my hands by ye Assistance of those Gentlemen who have joyned their fforces wth ors to gaine a speedye and happye Peace to their Countrey, but do accept of what yor Lo'pp P'poses as well by ye Treatye as to ye Cessation. In order to wch I have accordinge to yor desire sent a safe conduft for ye Persons you have named ; And vpon consultacon wth yor Commrs joyned with me, we have resolved that Col. Modyford and Col. Colleton doe joyne wth Daniel Searle Esqr. and Capt Packe who are ye Commrs joyned wth me to be ye Commrs to meet wth yors to morrow by Eight of ye Clocke in ye morninge at Mr. Turner's howse beinge ye signe of ye Meremayed in Austins, who have full power to Treate and conclude, duringe wch Treatye I expeft yt ye Cessation of Armes extend not only to this Place and Col Modyford's howse, but alsoe to all others where any Persons are now in Armes for me. And I desire yt ye Person that goeth wth this Trumpett may forthwith be dispatched to ye Comander of yor fforces before ye said Coll Mody- ford's howse signifyeinge your agreemt herein vnder yor Lo'pps hand, and yt ye said Person may be p'mitted to acquaint ye Comander wthin ye said howse of yr ffull Libertie to take in ffresh Provisions and water from day to day, And yt whensoever ye Treatye if it shall soe happen may be broken off noe advantage be taken before ye Comander of yt Garrison have an bower's notice thereof. And yt likewise duringe ye Treatye noe Man's goods or Cattle be destroyed or taken from them. Yor Lopp's Resolution to this I expeft wth yor Lopp's Commrs at ye time before appoynted, soe I rest Yor Lopp's. Servant, George Ayscue. On board ye Rainbowe in Oystens Bay, ye gth day of (anuary 1652. These are straightley to charge and Comand you That you pmitt Sr Richard Pearce, Charles Pym Esqr., Colloll Thomas Thomas Ellice and S'jeant Major Wm. Byham wth their servants to passe quietly wthout lett or disturbance to Oystens Bay and returne againe, they beinge Commrs appoynted by ye right Honble ye Lord Ffrancis Willughbye of Parham, to Treate wth ye like Number of mine, To whom I have given my p'mise and this my safe conduft that they come to yt place and returne at their pleasure, of this you are not to faile as Colonel Modiford proclaimed a Traitor. 247 you will answeare ye contrary at yor ottermost peril. Given vnder my hand and seale of Armes this of January 1651. George Ayscue. To all Officers and Souldiers, under my Command. Lord Willoughby's rejoinder ran as follows :— (Lord Willoughby to Sir George Ayscue.) I have accordinge to agreement and time appoynted, sent those Gentlemen whom I desired a safe conduct for, with full power to treate and conclude of such matters and things as may concerne ye compose. inge and setlinge ye unhappy distractions of this poore Island. In order to wch the Person who was by you desired to be sent to the Comander of my fforces before Col Modyford's howse was despatched. As for those other Places insisted by you for a cessation, I not knowing of any cannot tell wt directions to give, but shall cause all care to be taken that Noe spoyle be made of any Persons goods or Cattle other than what may be necessarye for ye supplye of my fforces, and rest Yor Servant, F. Willughbye. Ffrom my Quarters, ye 10th January 1652. COLONEL MODIFORD. Thomas Modiford, or Modyford, came out to Barbados in the ship Achilles, which vessel arrived in Carlisle Bay in September, 1647. He was a gentleman with the education of his time, for his fellow passen ger, Ligon, records (p. 1 o) that Colonel Modiford " writ a letter in Latin " to the Governor of one of the Cape Verd Islands, when the Achilles put in at that place on her voyage out. After the Restoration, Colonel Modiford was created a Baronet (1663-64), and on the 4th of June 1664 he settled himself and family in Jamaica. From 1668 to 1671 he was 248 Cavaliers and Roundheads. Governor of that Island. During his Government he greatly advanced the agriculture of the Colony. He is said by Oldmixon to have " set up " a Salt-work in the Parish of St. Katharine, planted Coco-Groves ; and " by his example put the people upon industry, and improvements in " planting and trade." Sir Thomas Modiford was a man of bold and self-reliant character, as is testified by the fact, recorded by Long, (Vol. I., p. 626), that he twice, ' on his own sole authority,' proclaimed War against the Spaniards. He died in Jamaica on the 2nd of Septem ber, 1679, an(I n's Baronetcy became extinft in 1703. Sir James Modiford, who was created a Baronet on the 18th of Feby., 1660-61, was a brother of Sir Thomas. The Baronetcy conferred upon Sir James became extinft in 1673. Dame Modiford's trust, which is administered by the Charity Commissioners, was probably founded by the widow of Sir James. This lady was a daughter of Sir Nicholas Slanning, the distinguished Royalist Officer. S***^ CHAPTER XIV. CAPITULATION OF THE CAVALIERS. Britons never shall be slaves. HE Commissioners appointed to treat from either side met at the " Meremayd"* in Austin's on the 10th of January, and on the following day they signed " The Charter of Barbados," the Articles in which are alike honourable to those who demanded and to those who granted them. Of the favourable terms secured by the Royalists on their Capitulation, the Vice-Admiral reported to the Council of State that " there were some things which we were very unwilling " to grant," but that, one month's war with two Armies on foot would, he said, have utterly ruined * The sign of the Mermaid was a popular one for Inns at that period. A signal instance was that of the famous Mermaid Tavern where, at an earlier date, Shakespeare, Rawleigh, Ben Jonson, Alleyne and others foregathered early in the seventeenth century. What is noteworthy is that people believed in Mermaids in those days; and, on the 2nd of November 1653, the news sheet called Mercurius Democritus gravely announced that " a perfect mermaid was, by the last great winde driven ashore near Greenwich, with her combe in one hand and her lookinge glass in the other. She seemed to be of the countenance of a most fair and beautiful woman, with her arms crossed, weeping out many pearly drops of salt tears ; and afterwards, she gently turning herself upon her back again, swamme away without being seen any more." — See Long man's Magazine, September 18S6, p. 504. KK 250 Cavaliers and Roundheads. the place, while so many men fell sick of the scurvy that nearly 200 men in the Fleet were hardly able " to go". The Council of State were informed by Sir GEORGE AYSCUE that he could not help granting favourable conditions. He wrote : " The Articles I herewith send ; " hoping that when our condition shall be well weighed, " and the many necessities that lay upon us, that what " your Commissioners have consented to in those Arti- " cles will not be thought too much. * * * * " I am sure the Commissioners did their best to serve " the Parliament as the case stood." Lord WiLLOUGHBY for his part, who had been impeached by the Parliament, and had his property in England confiscated, was by these Articles restored to all his rights of person and property. It is a fact to be remembered that the Arti cles as they were granted were approved and confirmed by Parliament on the 18th of August, 1652, as may be seen by the Commons' Journal.* They are thus set forth in an old collection of Laws of Barbadosf: — " The Charter of Barbados, or Articles of Agreement, had, made, and concluded ¦ the 1 ith day January 1652, by and between the Commis- * See Calendar — Colonial, 1574 to 1660, p. 388. The Articles were confirmed after a Report upon them by the Council of State. t " Afts and Statutes of the island of Barbados made and enacted since the reducement of the same, unto the authority of the Common wealth of England, and set forth the 7th day of September 1652, by the honorable the Governor of the said island, the worshipful the Council and gentlemen of Assembly. Together with the Charter of the said island, or articles made on the surrender and rendition of the same. Published for the public good. London, printed by William Bentley, and are to be sold by him at the India Bridge." An imperfect copy of this old collection is preserved in the British Museum. See the New Catalogue, 883, f. 29. The Articles are, given in Schomburgk's History, pp. 280 to 283. Capitulation of the Cavaliers, 251 sioners of the Right Honorable the Lord Willoughby, of Parham of the one part, and the Commissioners in the behalf of the Common wealth of England, of the other part in order to the Rendition of the island of Barbados, " And are as followeth : — " I. That a. liberty of conscience in matters of religion be allowed to all, excepting such tenents as are inconsistent to a civil government ; and that laws be put in execution against blasphemy, atheism, and open scandalous living, seditious preaching, or unsound doctrine sufficiently proved against him. " 2. That the courts of justice shall still continue, and all judgements and orders therein be valid, until they be reversed by due form of law. " 3. That no taxes, customs, imposts, loans, or excise shall be laid, nor levy made on any the inhabitants of this island without their con sent in a General Assembly.* " 4. That no man shall be imprisoned or put out of his possession of land and tenements which he has by any former warrant, or title derived from it, or other goods or chattels whatsoever, without due proceedings according to the known laws of England, and statutes and customs of this island in the courts of justice here first had, and judgement for the same obtained, and execution from thence awarded. " 5. That all suits between party and party, and criminal and com mon pleas be determined here, and none be compelled to go to England to assert or defend their titles to any estates which they have here, without the consent of the General Assembly. " 6. That an aft of indemnity be with all convenient speed passed in the Parliament of England, to save, keep harmless and unquestionable all and every the inhabitants of this island that are comprised in these articles, for or concerning any aft or thing whatsoever done by them, or any of them at any time or in any place ; or words spoken by them, or any of them before the date of these articles, and that they be cleared, acquitted and discharged thereof for ever, in respeft of the * This important Article is an early instance of the observance in the Government of Colonies, of the principle of no Taxation without •Re presentation. It required the American Revolution, and the addition ot .£120,000,000 to the Paternal Debt, however, to extend the application of the principle to the Colonies in general. See Extraft giving the pith of the Declaratory Aft, at end of this Chapter. KK2 252 Cavaliers and Roundheads. public power, as of any particular person concerning damage, or loss which they have received by reason of the present differences ; and urtil the said aft come hither, an instrument of indemnity to all such comprised in these articles to the purpose aforesaid, be assigned by Sir George Ayscue and the other Commissioners, and the said aft together with the said instrument of indemnity may be received into the Assembly here, and filed among the records, and that it be represented by Sir George Ayscue and the Commissioners to the Parliament of England, or the Council of State established by the authority of the Parliament : that an aft made the 3rd day of Oftober, whereby the inhabitants have been declared traitors, may upon this accord be taken off the file from among the records. " 7. That all and every the inhabitants of this island comprised in these articles be restored to all their lands and possessions, goods and moneys which they have in England, Scotland or Ireland. " 8. That no oaths, covenants,, or engagements whatsoever be imposed upon the inhabitants of this island, who receive the benefit of these articles against their consciences. " 9. That all port-towns and cities under the Parliament's power shall be open unto the inhabitants of this island in as great a freedom of trade as ever, and that no companies be placed over them, nor the commodities of the island be ingrossed into private men's hands ; and that all trade be free with all nations that do trade and are in amity with England. " 10. That whereas the excise upon strong liquor was laid for the payment of public debts, and other public uses ; it is therefore agreed that Lord Willoughby of Parham, and all employed by him, and all other persons whatsoever, shall be acquitted and discharged from the payment of any public debts, and that the same be discharged by the said excise, and such other ways as the General Assembly shall think fit : provided that care and respect therein be had to such as have eminently suffered in their estates. " 11. That all persons be free at anytime to transport themselves and estates when they think fit, first setting up their names, according to the custom of this island. " 12. That all persons on both sides be discharged and set free with the full benefit of enjoying these articles, and that all horses, cattle, servants, negroes and other goods whatsoever, be returned to their right owners, except such servants as had freedom given them, and came on board belure Saturday the third of January. Capitulation of the Cavaliers. 253 " 13. That such particular persons as are in this island, together with Sir Sydenham Pointz, who have estates in Antegoa, may peace ably return thither, and there enjoy the benefit of these articles. * " 14. That for a certain time all executions be stopped, sufficient caution being given, that at the expiration of it payment be made, and that the Commissioners, together with the General Assembly, be judges of the time and caution. " 15. That the three small vessels or barks now on ground before the Bridgetown do remain to their owners, and have liberty to go to any port laden. " 16. That the Lord Willoughby of Parham have all his lands rents or estate whatsoever real and personal in England (without any fine or composition paid) restored to him, or his assigns, free from all incumbrances laid on the same by the Parliament of England, or any by them authorised since the time of its first seizure or sequestration ; and that what settlements the said Lord Willoughby of Parham has made at Surinam, or any other he shall make on any part of the main of Guiana, shall be by him enjoyed and kept without any disturbance either of himself or those that shall accompany him thither, and that he has free liberty to bring servants from any part in England or Ireland, and that his plantation in Antegoa according to the bounds already laid out be reserved to him ; and that what state soever of right doth belong unto the said Lord Willoughby of Parham in this island of Barbados be to him entirely preserved. " 17. That all such persons of this island or elsewhere, whose estates have been sequestered or detained from them upon the public difference be forthwith restored to their plantations, goods or estates in the island. " 18. That the island of Barbados with all the forts, sconces and fortifications thereof, and all the artillery, all public arms and ammu- * " Upon the Restoration, Antigua held out for the Commonwealth, as strenuously as in 1651 it had opposed the pretensions of Cromwell, and for this cause, Charles II. appointed Major-General Poyntz, a former deserter from the Parliamentary power, to aft as governor, which situation he filled until 1663 (?)t when Lord Francis Willoughby, of Parham, obtained a grant of the entire island from Charles II. as a reward for his eminent services in the cause of that monarch ; and Major-General Poyntz retired to Virginia. During the period this latter gentleman resided at Antigua as governor, he owned and planted an estate called by him Cassada Garden, a title which it still bears." —Antigua and the Antiguans, Vol. I. p. 20. 254 Cavaliers and Roundheads. nitions be delivered up into the hands of Sir George Ayscue for the use of the States of England, before Monday twelve of the clock at noon, being the twelfth of this instant January, and that no garrison be kept here, but that all the forces shall be disbanded within twenty- four hours after the sealing of these articles ; and that for the safety of the island, the militia shall be disposed of as to the Parliament, Commissioners and future Governors shall seem fit ; these articles not to be construed to take away the private arms of any particular person within this island. ** 19. That the government of this island be by a Governor, Council, and Assembly, according to the ancient aud usual custom here : that the Governor be appointed by the States of England, and from time to time received and obeyed here, the Council be by him chosen, and an Assembly by a free and voluntary election of the freeholders of the island in the several parishes ; and the usual custom of the choice of the Council be represented by the Commissioners to the Parliament of England, or to the Council of State established by authority of Parliament with the desires of the inhabitants for the confirmation thereof for the future. ¦' 20. And whereas, it has been taken into serious consideration, that the main and chief cause of our late troubles and miseries has grown by loose, base and uncivil language, tending to sedition and derision, too commonly used among many people here : it is therefore fur ther agreed that at the next General Assembly a strift law be made against all such persons, with a heavy penalty to be inflicted upon them that shall be guilty of any reviling speeches of what nature soever, by remembering or raveling into former differences, and reproaching any man with the cause he has formerly defended. " 21. It is agreed that the articles may with all convenient speed be presented to the Parliament of England, to be by them ratified and confirmed to all intents, constitutions and purposes. " 22. It is further agreed that all laws made heretofore by General Assemblies, that are not repugnant to the law of England, shall be good, except such as concern the present differences. *' 23. That the right honorable the Lord Willoughby have free liberty to go into England, and there to stay or depart at his pleasure without having any oath or engagement put upon him, he afting or attempting' nothing prejudicial to the State or Commonwealth of England. "In witness whereof we the Commissioners appointed by the Lord Capitulation of the Cavaliers. 255 Willoughby of Parham, have hereunto set our hands and seals, this nth day of January 1652. THOMAS MODIFORD, RICHARD PEARSE, * JOHN COLLETON, * CHARLES PYM, * DANIEL SEARLE, THOMAS ELLIS, * MICHAEL PACK, WILLIAM BYAM. Commissioners appointed by the Commissioners appointed for the authority of the Commonwealth Lord Willoughby and island of of England. Barbados. (By the Governor.) " It is my pleasure that the above-written articles be published by the several ministers in this island. Given under my hand this 17th of January, 1652. George Ayscue. " This is a true copy with the original attested by me. " Jo. Jennings, Clerk of the Assembly." It will be observed that the Articles were agreed upon and signed on the nth of January 1652. The formal transfer of the fortifications appears to have taken place onthe 12th and 13th of January. Captain Pack, the Vice-Admiral, reported to the Council of the State that the island was given up on the I2th,f while DANIEL SEARLE who became Governor after Admiral AYSCUE sailed away to the Leeward Islands, subsequently for warded to the Council a " Journal touching the Barba dos business" in which the rendition is stated to have taken place on the 13th of January. J Sir GEORGE AYSCUE does not mention the date. On the 4lh of March 1652 an Ad was passed by the ' Representative Body' of the Island, requiring Lord * See notes at end of Chapter relative to these individuals. t Colonial Papers, Vol. XI. No. 43. X Calendar — Colonial, 1574 to 1660, p. 381. 256 Cavaliers and Roundheads. WiLLOUGHBY, by 12 o'clock Noon on Friday the 12th March 1652, to " repair on board the ship called the Red Lion", then riding at anchor in Hawley's Bay, which ship was appointed by the State's Commissioners for him. He was further required not to land thereafter at Barbados, under penalty of being proceeded against as an enemy to the Peace of the Island, excepting with the Parliament's leave. Power was given to him to appoint an Attorney for the management of his affairs in the Colony.* By another Ad passed on the same day Colonel Humphrey Walrond, Mr. Edward Wal rond, Colonel Sheluy, Major Byam.t Lieut. -Colonel Guy, Colonel Ellis, Captain Jarmin, Captain BOUCHER, and Captain USHER, were banished until the 25th of March 1653, under like penalty as Lord WiLLOUGHBY * See Act 52 in Jennings's Collection, ut sup. t " Major Byam retired to the then newly-founded settlement of Suri nam, which being composed chiefly of the refugee followers of Charles, they, in those times of turmoil, elected him, by united suffrages, governor of the colony in 1654. In this situation he continued for six Successive years, although Cromwell had despatched an officer of his own to take the command, being elefted by universal voice, until the Restoration when, in virtue of the proclamation at that time issued, he became governor for the crown. He was afterwards more formally confirmed in this appointment, in which he remained until the removal of the colony (or at least a large portion of it) to the island of Antigua, in virtue of the treaty of Breda, in 1667. Of this island he also became an early governor, as is still to be seen by many documents in the registrar's office, and resumed to himself that property which he had before acquired when on a visit to the island with Francis Lord Wil loughby in 1650 ; and, now, by letters patent for the crown, under date April, 1668, 20th, Charles II., among the estates of Lieutenant-General Byam renewed to him at this period, were the present Cedar Hill and his Willoughby Bay estate." — Antigua and the Antiguans, Vol. I, p. 41. Capitulation of the Cavaliers. 257 was subject to ; and on the 17th of September following by an Ad entitled An Ad for the continuance of the Peace of this Island, the banishment of these persons was made lasting. * The satisfaction which the news of Sir GEORGE Ays- CUE'S success gave to the chiefs of the Commonwealth, may be judged from the fact that the Council of State ordered that ten pounds should be paid to the person who brought the first news of the surrender of Barba- dos.t Besides reporting at length to the Council of State, Sir GEORGE addressed the following letter to the Speaker of the Parliament : — For the Right Honorable William Lenthall, Esquire, Speaker to the Parliament of the Commonwealth of England, these humbly present : Right Honorable, — Although I think it not manners for me to trouble your weighty affairs with giving your Honour an account of my pro- ceedings, having given that trouble to the Council at large ; yet, Sir, my duty obligeth me to acquaint your Honour that God hath blessed your servants in the performance of your commands (although with many difficulties and hardships.) After three months siege the Island of Bar bados was rendered up to your use and service ; and the people gene rally are sensible of their being formerly misled. And I have, since the surrender of the Island, settled the Militia and all Courts of Justice, all process being issued in the same form they are now in England, having published your Acts against Kingship, &c, on the third of March the General Assembly are to meet, which will complete the peace and settlement of the Island. About the middle of March I shall leave the Government of the Island to Mr. Searle, and go myself to Antigua to settle that place which is likewise reduced. From thence, having visited the other Leeward Islands in order to your service, as St. Christopher's, Nevis and Mount Surrat, whose respective Governors have showed cheerful obedience to your Authority, and have been a great relief to vour Fleet, by helping us to what refreshments those places could afford ; and giving entertainment, and taking care for the recovering of our sick men that we wre necessitated to send to those Islands for their recovery. Your assured, obliged, and humble Servant, George Ayscue. Barbados, Feby. 27, 1652. * See Acts Nos. 53 and 67 in Jennings, ut sup. + Calendar — Colonial, 1574 to 1660, p. 378. LL 258 Cavaliers and Roundheads. Somewhere about the 28th of May, 1652, Prince Rupert and Prince MAURICE with their Squadron sailed past Barbados, at night time, without seeing the island. Having overrun their reckoning while giving chase to a ship, they came in sight of St. Vincent and Grenada about sun-set on the following day. The Admiral's ship was leaking badly, and it was therefore hazardous to attempt to beat up to Barbados, which was the place they had intended making, they therefore made for St. Lucia and there came to an anchor under Point Comfort. The Governor of Martinique informed the Princes that all the English Islands had surrendered to the Parlia ment, whereupon RUPERT resolved to visit them as enemies. Early in the year Rupert had written to Sir Edward Hyde, afterwards Earl of Clarendon, " If I " can come handsomely to the Barbadoes, and they join, " I may, perhaps go on. When it is done it is done. I " need not tell you of more," but he had come too late to be of service to the Royalists of Barbados. Governor SEARLE caused guns to be mounted in the bays of that Island for the preservation of the shipping, for he thought the. Prince might visit Barbados. " What the " design of this grand pirate is we cannot imagine," wrote the Governor to the Council of State, but he said he did not fear Rupert, although since the noise of the Prince's coming some persons had been secured, who " out of the abundance of the heart had not been able " to refrain speaking" : others, he said, had left the island in boats by night, " which is a good riddance." Prince MAURICE was lost, with his ship and crew, in a hurricane, on the 13th of September, 1652. The Royalist sea-rovers remained in the' Caribbean Sea until Decern- Capitulation of the Cavaliers. 259 ber, 1652, when what survived of their squadron sailed for France where their vessels and booty were sold. In the interval they visited most of the Leeward Islands ; some of them, two or three times ; now attacking the Islanders, now making prize of vessels, now encamping on shore. Cavalier's Harbour in the Virgin Islands, and Rupert's Bay, Dominica, received their names at this time.* THE DECLARATORY ACT. The following extract from A Practical Summary of the Constitution of Grenada (p. 55), by the late William Darnell Davis, gives the pith of the Declaratory Aft : — The right of imposing taxes upon His Majesty's subjefts in the colonies and plantations was renounced by Aft of the British Legisla ture, 18th Geo. 3, c. 12, usually termed the "Declaratory Aft." It recites, that " taxation by the Parliament of Great Britain, for the pur pose of raising a revenue in His Majesty's colonies, provinces, and plantations in North America, has been found by experience to create great uneasiness and disorder among His Majesty's faithful subjefts, who may nevertheless be disposed to acknowledge the justice of con tributing to the common defence of the empire, provided such contri bution should be raised, under the authority of the General Court, or General Assembly of each respective colony, province, or plantation. And whereas, in order as well to remove the said uneasiness, and to quiet the minds of His Majesty's subjefts who may be disposed to return to their allegiance, as to restore the peace and welfare of all His Majesty's dominions, it is expedient to declare, that the King and Par- * Two accounts of the cruise of the Princes among the West Indian Islands are given in Warburton's Prince Rupert and the Cavaliers, LL2 260 Cavaliers and Roundheads. liament of Great Britain will not impose any duty, tax, or assessment, for the purpose of raising a revenue in any of the colonies, provinces, or plantations." And the aft then proceeds to declare " that from and after the passing of this aft, the King and Parliament of Great Britain will not impose any duty, tax, or assessment whatever, payable in any of His Majesty's colonies, provinces, or plantations in North America or the West Indies, except only such duties as it may be expedient to impose for the regulation of commerce, the net produce of such duties to be always paid and applied to and for the use of colony, province, or plantation in which the same shall be respectively levied, in such manner as other duties collected by the authority of the respective General Courts or General Assemblies of such colonies, provinces, or plantations, are ordinarily paid and applied. COMMISSIONERS, 1652. RICHARD PEARSE. " Sir Richard Peers, of Barbados, married a daughter of James Hawley, Esq., of Brentford, and sister of Henry Hawley, Governor of Barbados. Sir Richard was Governor of Barbados in 1631 ; he was afterwards a member of the Provisional Council in 1639-1651, and 1660. John Peers, who died in 1685, was a son of Sir Richard ; he was, with Colonel S. Barwick, appointed a Commissioner to take oaths in the Plantation. In 1673 he held no less than 1000 acres of land in Barba dos. By his first wife , Hester, he had issue, John, Richard, Margaret, and Elizabeth ; and by his second, Thomas, Frances, and Anne wife of Capt. Hale. Henry Peers was member for St. George's in 1706 ; Speaker of Assembly in 1733 ; Lieutenant-General and Governor of the island in 1740, in which year (Sept. 4) he died."— Lawrence Archer's Monumental Inscriptions, p, 365. JOHN COLLETON. On the 18th of Feby. 1661, Charles II. created Colonel Colleton a Baronet, and the title is still borne by his descendants. Sir Bernard Burke makes mention of the first Baronet in the following terms : — " John Colleton, b. in 1608; capt. of foot, and a most aftive partisan Capitulation of the Cavaliers. 261 of royalty in the beginning of the civil wars. Capt. Colleton had a col.'s commission to raise a regiment from Sir John Berkeley, afterwards Lord Berkeley, signed by the Prince of Wales ; which regiment he raised within ten days, and expended for the king's service ^40,000 besides losing considerably more than that sum by sequestration. He was obliged eventually to retire to Barbados ; but returning after the Restoration, Sir John Berkeley presented a memorial in his favour to the king, who in consequence, conferred upon him the dignity of Baronet, 18 Feb. 1660. Sir John, in conjunction with the Duke of Albemarle, and other distinguished personages, had a grant of large dominions in North America. He m. Katherine, dau. of William Amyf Esq. of Exon." CHARLES PYM. The Pym family removed to St. Christopher's, and in 1742, Pris cilla, the heiress of Charles Pym of that Island, married the second Lord Romney. Thus it came about that the Marsham family owned property in St. Christopher's until of late years. THOMAS ELLIS. Sir George Ayscue found Colonel Ellis more ready for a pacifica tion than any of the other negotiators. Calendar — Colonial, 1574 to 1660, p. 394. s^&fawfS YALE UNIVERSITY L 3 9002 08284 2395