USA > California > The history of Oregon and California & the other territories of the northwest coast of North America > Part 46
USA > Oregon > The history of Oregon and California & the other territories of the northwest coast of North America > Part 46
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ROBERT GRAY, JOSEPH INGRAHAM.
* Vancouver here writes, - using the first person, as if copying the words of the American captains, -" In conversation afterwards on this subject, as we were in- formed, (say these gentlemen,) - for we were not present during this transaction, - some dispute arose in the Princesa's cabin; on which Don Martinez ordered the Ar- gonaut to be seized. Soon after this the Princess Royal returned," &c .; the rumor that " Colnett insulted the commodore by threatening him, and drew his sword in the Princesa's cabin," being omitted.
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OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS RELATIVE TO THE DISPUTE BETWEEN GREAT BRITAIN AND SPAIN IN 1790 .*
(1.)
Message from the King of Great Britain to Parliament, May 5th, 1790.
GEORGE R.
His majesty has received information that two vessels, belonging to his majesty's subjects, and navigated under the British flag, and two others, of which the description is not hitherto sufficiently ascertained, have been captured at Nootka Sound, on the north-western coast of America, by an officer commanding two Spanish ships of war; that the cargoes of the British vessels have been seized, and that their officers and crews have been sent as prisoners to a Spanish port.
The capture of one of these vessels had before been notified by the ambassador of his Catholic majesty, by order of his court, who, at the same time, desired that measures might be taken for preventing his majes- ty's subjects from frequenting those coasts, which were alleged to have been previously occupied and frequented by the subjects of Spain. Com- plaints were also made of the fisheries carried on by his majesty's subjects in the seas adjoining to the Spanish continent, as being contrary to the rights of the crown of Spain. In consequence of this communication, a demand was immediately made, by his majesty's order, for adequate satis- faction, and for the restitution of the vessel, previous to any other dis- cussion.
By the answer from the court of Spain, it appears that this vessel and her crew had been set at liberty by the viceroy of Mexico; but this is represented to have been done by him on the supposition that nothing but the ignorance of the rights of Spain encouraged the individuals of other nations to come to those coasts for the purpose of making establishments, or carrying on trade, and in conformity to his previous instructions, re- quiring him to show all possible regard to the British nation.
No satisfaction is made or offered, and a direct claim is asserted by the court of Spain to the exclusive rights of sovereignty, navigation, and commerce, in the territories, coasts, and seas, in that part of the world.
His majesty has now directed his minister at Madrid to make a fresh representation on this subject, and to claim such full and adequate satis- faction as the nature of the case evidently requires. And, under these circumstances, his majesty, having also received information that consid -. erable armaments are carrying on in the ports of Spain, has judged it indispensably necessary to give orders for making such preparations as may put it in his majesty's power to act with vigor and effect in support of the honor of his crown and the interests of his people. And his
* The following papers, with the exception of the last, are taken from the London Annual Register for 1790. The translations of the Spanish notes are evidently made with little care. See chap. ix. of this History.
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majesty recommends it to his faithful Commons, on whose zeal and public spirit he has the most perfect reliance, to enable him to take such meas- ures, and to make such augmentation of his forces, as may be eventually necessary for this purpose.
It is his majesty's earnest wish that the justice of his majesty's demands may insure, from the wisdom and equity of his Catholic majesty, the sat- isfaction which is so unquestionably due, and that this affair may be termi- nated in such a manner as to prevent any grounds of misunderstanding in future, and to continue and confirm that harmony and friendship which has so happily subsisted between the two courts, and which his majesty will always endeavor to maintain and improve, by all such means as are consistent with the dignity of his majesty's crown and the essential interests of his subjects.
G. R.
(2.)
Declaration of the King of Spain to all the other Courts of Europe. ARANJUEZ, June 4th, 1790.
THE king, being apprized of the particulars laid before his ministers, on the 16th of May, by Mr. Merry, his Britannic majesty's minister, relative to the unexpected dispute between this court and Great Britain, as to the vessels captured in Port St. Lawrence, or Nootka Sound, on the coast of California, in the South Sea, has commanded the undersigned, his majesty's first secretary of state, to answer to the said minister of England, that he had the honor to make known personally, and in writing, to the said minister, upon the 18th of the same month, that his majesty at no time pretended to any rights in any ports, seas, or places, other than what belongs to his crown by the most solemn treaties, recognized by all nations, and more particularly with Great Britain, by a right founded on particular treaties, the uniform consent of both nations, and by an imme- morial, regular, and established possession ; that his majesty is ready to enter upon every examination and discussion most likely to terminate the dispute in an amicable way, and is willing to enter into immediate con- ference with the new ambassador, and, if justice requires it, will certainly disapprove of the conduct, and punish his subjects, if they have gone beyond their powers. This offer and satisfaction will, it is hoped, serve as an example to the court of London to do as much on its part.
As the two courts of London and Madrid have not yet received proper and authenticated accounts and proofs of all that has really passed in these distant latitudes, a contradiction in the development of facts has by this means been occasioned. Even at this moment, the papers and min- utes made up by the viceroy of New Spain on this matter are not arrived. Posterior letters, indeed, say that the English vessel, the Argonaut, had not been seized and confiscated till legally condemned, and that the small vessel, called the Princess Royal, which had afterwards arrived, was not seized or confiscated, but that, on the contrary, full restitution was made by the viceroy, and an obligation only taken from the captain to pay the price of the vessel, if she was declared a lawful prize; and on the precise same terms he had liberated a Portuguese vessel belonging to Macao, and two American vessels. These particulars will be more explicitly proved and elucidated on the arrival of the necessary papers.
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The first time that our ambassador made a public notification of this matter to the ministry at London, on the 10th of February last, many of the circumstances that are now certain were then doubtful. The rights and immemorial possession of Spain to that coast and ports, as well as several other titles proper to be taken into view in a pacific negotiation, were not quite certain ; and, if the court of London had made an ami- cable return to the complaints made by his majesty relative to those mer- chants whom Spain regards as usurpers and the violators of treaties, and had showed any desire to terminate the affair by an amicable accommo- dation, a great deal of unnecessary expense might have been saved. The high and menacing tone and manner in which the answer of the British minister was couched, at a time when no certain information of the par- ticulars had arrived, made the Spanish cabinet entertain some suspicions that it was made not so much for the purpose of the dispute in question, as a pretext to break entirely with our court; for which reason it was thought necessary to take some precautions relative to the subject.
On a late occasion, a complaint was made to the court of Russia, as to some similar points relative to the navigation of the South Sea. A candid answer being returned by that court, the affair was terminated without the least disagreement. Indeed, it may be asserted with truth, that the manner, much more than the substance, has produced the dis- putes that have taken place on this head with Great Britain.
Nevertheless, the king does deny - what the enemies to peace have industriously circulated - that Spain extends pretensions and rights of sovereignty over the whole of the South Sea as far as China. When the words are made use of, " In the name of the king, his sovereignty, navi- gation, and exclusive commerce to the continent and islands of the South Sea," it is the manner in which Spain, in speaking of the Indies, has always used these words; that is to say, to the continent, islands, and seas, which belong to his majesty, so far as discoveries have been made and secured to him by treaties and immemorial possession, and uniformly acquiesced in, notwithstanding some infringements by individuals, who have been punished upon knowledge of their offences : and the king sets up no pretensions to any possessions, the right to which he cannot prove by irrefragable titles.
Although Spain may not have establishments or colonies planted upon the coasts or in the ports in dispute, it does not follow that such coast or port does not belong to her. If this rule were to be followed, one nation might establish colonies on the coasts of another nation, in America, Asia, Africa, and Europe, by which means there would be no fixed boundaries - a circumstance evidently absurd.
But, whatever may be the issue of the question of right, upon a ma- ture consideration of the claims of both parties, the result of the question of fact is, that the capture of the English vessels is repaired by the resti- tution that has been made, and the conduct of the viceroy : for, as to the qualification of such restitution, and whether the prize was lawful or not, that respects the question of right yet to be investigated ; that is to say, if it has been agreeably to, or in contradiction to, the treaties relative to the rights and possessions of Spain. Lastly, the king will readily enter into any plan by which future disputes on this subject may be obviated, that no reproach may be upon him as having refused any means of recon- ciliation, and for the establishment of a solid and permanent peace not
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only between Spain and Great Britain, but also between all nations; for the accomplishment of which object, his majesty has made the greatest efforts in all the courts of Europe, which he certainly would not have done if he had any design to involve England and the other European powers in a calamitous and destructive war.
EL CONDE DE FLORIDA BLANCA.
(3.)
Memorial of the Court of Spain, presented by Count de Florida Blanca, the Spanish Minister of State, to Mr. Fitzherbert, the British Ambas- sador at Madrid.
MADRID, June 13th, 1790.
By every treaty upon record betwixt Spain and the other nations of Europe, for upwards of two centuries, an exclusive right of property, navigation, and commerce, to the Spanish West Indies, has been uniformly secured to Spain, England having always stood forth in a particular man- ner in support of such right.
By article 8th of the treaty of Utrecht, (a treaty in which all the European nations may be said to have taken a part,) Spain and England profess to establish it as a fundamental principle of agreement, that the navigation and commerce of the West Indies, under the dominion of Spain, shall remain in the precise situation in which they stood in the reign of his Catholic majesty Charles II., and that that rule shall be invi- olably adhered to, and be incapable of infringement.
After this maxim, the two powers stipulated that Spain should never grant liberty or permission to any nation to trade to, or introduce their merchandises into, the Spanish American dominions, nor to sell, cede, or give up, to any other nation its lands, dominions, or territories, or any part thereof. On the contrary, and in order that its territories should be preserved whole and entire, England offers to aid and assist the Spaniards in reestablishing the limits of their American dominions, and placing them in the exact situation they stood in at the time of his said Catholic majesty Charles II., if, by accident, it shall be discovered that they have undergone any alteration to the prejudice of Spain, in whatever manner or pretext such alteration may have been brought about.
The vast extent of the Spanish territories, navigation, and dominion, on the continent of America, isles and seas contiguous to the South Sea, are clearly laid down, and authenticated by a variety of documents, laws, and formal acts of possession, in the reign of King Charles II. It is also clearly ascertained, that, notwithstanding the repeated attempts made by adventurers and pirates on the Spanish coasts of the South Sea and adja- cent islands, Spain has still preserved her possessions entire, and opposed with success those usurpations, by constantly sending her ships and vessels to take possession of such settlements. By these measures and reiterated acts of possession, Spain has preserved her dominion, which she has ex- tended to the borders of the Russian establishments, in that part of th world.
The viceroys of Peru and New Spain having been informed that these seas had been, for some years past, more frequented than formerly,
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that smuggling had increased, that several usurpations prejudicial to Spain and the general tranquillity had been suffered to be made, they gave orders that the western coasts of Spanish America, and islands and seas adjacent, should be more frequently navigated and explored.
They were also informed that several Russian vessels were upon the point of making commercial establishments upon that coast. At the time that Spain demonstrated to Russia the inconveniences attendant upon such encroachments, she entered upon the negotiation with Russia, upon the supposition that the Russian navigators of the Pacific Ocean had no orders to make establishments within the limits of Spanish America, of which the Spaniards were the first possessors, (limits situated within Prince William's Strait,) purposely to avoid all dissensions, and in order to maintain the harmony and amity which Spain wished to preserve.
The court of Russia replied, it had already given orders that its sub- jects should make no settlements in places belonging to other powers, and that, if those orders had been violated, and any had been made in Spanish America, they desired the king would put a stop to them in a friendly manner. To this pacific language on the part of Russia, Spain observed that she could not be answerable for what her officers might do at that distance, whose general orders and instructions were, not to permit any settlements to be made by other nations on the continent of Spanish America.
Though trespasses had been made by the English on some of the islands of those coasts, which had given rise to similar complaints having been made to the court of London, Spain did not know that the English had endeavored to make any settlements on the northern part of the Southern Ocean, till the commanding officer of a Spanish ship, in the usual tour of the coasts of California, found two American vessels in St. Laurence, or Nootka Harbor, where he was going for provisions and stores. These vessels he permitted to proceed on their voyage, it appearing, from their papers, that they were driven there by distress, and only came in to refit.
He also found there the Iphigenia, from Macao, under Portuguese colors, which had a passport from the governor; and, though he came manifestly with a view to trade there, yet the Spanish admiral, when he saw his instructions, gave him leave to depart, upon his signing an en- gagement to pay the value of the vessel, should the government of Mexico declare it a lawful prize.
With this vessel there came a second, which the admiral detained, and, a few days after, a third, named the Argonaut, from the above- mentioned place. The captain of this latter was an Englishman. He came not only to trade, but brought every thing with him proper to form a settlement there, and to fortify it. This, notwithstanding the remon- strances of the Spanish admiral, he persevered in, and was detained, to- gether with his vessel.
After him came a fourth English vessel, named the Princess Royal, and evidently for the same purposes. She, likewise, was detained, and sent to Port St. Blas, where the pilot of the Argonaut made away with himself.
'The viceroy, on being informed of these particulars, gave orders that the captain and the vessels should be released, and that they should hare leave to refit, without declaring them a lawful prize; and this he did, on
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account of the ignorance of the proprietors. and the friendship which subsisted between the two courts of London and Madrid.
He also gave them leave to return to Macao with their cargo, after capitulating with them in the same manner as with the Portuguese cap- tain, and leaving the affair to be finally determined by the Count de Revillagigedo, his successor, who also gave them their liberty.
As soon as the court of Madrid had received an account of the detention of the first English vessel at Nootka Sound, and before that of the second arrived, it ordered its ambassador at London to make a report thereof to the English minister, which he did on the 10th of February last, and to require that the parties who had planned these expeditions should be punished, in order to deter others from making settlements on territories occupied and frequented by the Spaniards for a number of years.
In the ambassador's memorial, mention was only made of the Spanish admiral that commanded the present armament, having visited Nootka Sound in 1774, though that harbor had been frequently visited, both before and since, with the usual forms of taking possession. These forms were repeated more particularly in the years 1755 and 1779, all along the coasts as far as Prince William's Sound; and it was these acts that gave occasion to the memorial made by the court of Russia, as has been already noticed.
The Spanish ambassador at London did not represent in this memo- rial at that time, that the right of Spain to these coasts was conformable to ancient boundaries, which had been guarantied by England at the treaty of Utrecht, in the reign of Charles II., deeming it to be unneces- sary ; as orders had been given, and vessels had actually been seized on those coasts, so far back as 1692.
The answer that the English ministry gave, on the 26th of February, was, that they had not as yet been informed of the facts stated by the ambassador, and that the act of violence, mentioned in his memorial, necessarily suspended any discussion of the claims therein, till an adequate atonement had been made for a proceeding so injurious to Great Britain.
In addition to this haughty language of the British minister, he fur- ther added, that the ship must in the first place be restored ; and that, with respect to any future stipulations, it would be necessary to wait for a more full detail of all the circumstances of this affair.
The harsh and laconic style in which this answer was given, made the court of Madrid suspect that the king of Great Britain's ministers were forming other plans; and they were the more induced to think so, as there were reports that they were going to fit out two fleets, one for the Mediterranean and the other for the Baltic. This, of course, obliged Spain to increase the small squadron she was getting ready to exercise her marine.
The court of Spain then ordered her ambassador at London to pre- sent a memorial to the British ministry, setting forth that, though the crown of Spain had an indubitable right to the continent, islands, harbors, and coasts, of that part of the world, founded on treaties and immemorial possession, yet, as the viceroy of Mexico had released the vessels that were detained, the king looked upon the affair as concluded, without entering into any disputes or discussions on the undoubted rights of Spain ; and, desiring to give a proof of his friendship for Great Britain, he should rest satisfied if she ordered that her subjects, in future, respected those rights.
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As if Spain, in this answer, had laid claim to the empire of that ocean, though she only spoke of what belonged to her by treaties, and as if it had been so grievous an offence to terminate this affair by restitution of the only vessel which was then known to have been taken, it excited such clamor and agitation in the Parliament of England, that the most vigorous preparations for war have been commenced; and those powers disinclined to peace charge Spain with designs contrary to her known principles of honor and probity, as well as to the tranquillity of Europe, which the Spanish monarch and his ministers have always had in view.
While England was employed in making the greatest armaments and preparations, that court made answer to the Spanish ambassador, (upon the 5th of May,) that the acts of violence committed against the British flag "rendered it necessary for the sovereign to charge his minister at Madrid to renew the remonstrances, (being the answer of England already mentioned,) and to require that satisfaction which his majesty thought he had an indisputable right to demand."
To this was added a declaration not to enter formally into the matter until a satisfactory answer was obtained; "and at the same time the memorial of Spain should not include in it the question of right ; " which formed a most essential part of the discussion.
The British administration offer, in the same answer, to take the most effectual and pacific measures, that the English subjects shall not act " against the just and acknowledged rights of Spain, but that they cannot at present accede to the pretensions of absolute sovereignty, com- merce, and navigation, which appeared to be the principal object of the memorials of the ambassador ; and that the king of England considers it as a duty incumbent upon him to protect his subjects in the enjoyment of the right of continuing their fishery in the Pacific Ocean."
If this pretension is found to trespass upon the ancient boundaries laid down in the reign of King Charles II., and guarantied by England in the treaty of Utrecht, as Spain believes, it appears that that court will have good reason for disputing and opposing this claim ; and it is to be hoped that the equity of the British administration will suspend and restrict it accordingly.
In consequence of the foregoing answer, the chargé d'affaires from the court of London at Madrid insisted, in a memorial of the 16th of May, on restitution of the vessel detained at Nootka, and the property therein contained; on an indemnification for the losses sustained, and on a repa- ration proportioned to the injury done to the English subjects trading under the British flag, and that they have an indisputable right to the enjoyment of a free and uninterrupted navigation, commerce, and fishery ; and to the possession of such establishments as they should form with the consent of the natives of the country, not previously occupied by any of the European nations.
An explicit and prompt answer was desired upon this head, in such terms as might tend to calm the anxieties, and to maintain the friendship, subsisting between the two courts.
The charge d'affaires having observed that a suspension of the Spanish armaments would contribute to tranquillity, upon the terms to be communicated by the British administration, an answer was made by the Spanish administration, that the king was sincerely inclined to disarm upon the principles of reciprocity, and proportioned to the circumstances
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of the two courts; adding that the court of Spain was actuated by the most pacific intentions, and a desire to give every satisfaction and indem- nification, if justice was not on their side, provided England did as much if she was found to be in the wrong.
This answer must convince all the courts of Europe that the conduct of the king and his administration is consonant to the invariable principles of justice, truth, and peace.
EL CONDE DE FLORIDA BLANCA.
(4.)
Letter from Count de Fernan Nuñez, the Spanish Ambassador at Paris, to M. de Montmorin, the Secretary of the Foreign Department of France.
PARIS, June 16th, 1790.
SIR,
I have the honor to address you, with this, a faithful extract of all the transactions which have hitherto passed between my court and that of London, on the subject of the detention of two English vessels, which were seized in the Bay of St. Lawrence, or Nootka, situated in the 50th degree to the north of California, and which were afterwards taken to the port of St. Blas.
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