USA > Louisiana > History of Louisiana, the Spanish domination > Part 9
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He also communicated to his government all the infor- mation he had been able to gather, in relation to the designs which he suspected the English to have formed against the colony of Louisiana. "The last news we have," said he, "were brought by the English vessels which navigate this river on their way to the settlements of that nation, and they are of a dubious character; for the insurgents and the royalists make contradictory reports. But, on weighing and comparing them care- fully, I have come to the conclusion that it may be
102
UNZAGA DESIRES HIS RECALL.
correctly estimated that Great Britain now disposes, in the waters of North America, of ninety vessels of war, carrying each from sixteen to fifty guns, and has an army of 25,000 men. It seems that, since the engage- ment at Boston, the English have not made much pro- gress, and have confined their operations to the blockad- ing of ports, &c., &c., and that the insurgents have taken Montreal, and raised the siege of Quebec, after having lost one thousand men, and the general who commanded them, &c., &c.
" I shall not, however, allow myself to be thrown off my guard, and cease to use those precautions which I ought to resort to in the present circumstances, because I suspect that, at any moment, the royalists and the in- surgents may make up their quarrel and unite their forces, in order to take possession by surprise of one of the domains of some European power, and thus to indemnify themselves for their losses and expenses, or in order to carry into execution any other designs, which I shall endeavor to penetrate by using all the means at my disposal ; and, to that effect, I have despatched a trusty man to Philadelphia, who, under the pretext of looking for flour, with a passport, and with permission to trans- port the flour to Cadiz in a Spanish vessel and with a Spanish crew, will endeavor to discover their designs by stopping at some of their ports."
On the 22nd of the same month, Unzaga, who had been made Brigadier-General, again petitioned the court to be allowed to retire to Malaga, with the pay of Colo- nel, on account of his advanced age, the bad state of his health and his impaired sight. He represented that he had served the king forty-one years in the army, the eight first years of which in Spain, Italy, and Africa, and the thirty-three remaining years in America, where
UNZAGA RECOMMENDS A BETTER ORGANIZATION. 103
the royal patronage had bestowed upon him the govern- ment of Louisiana, the duties of which he had been per- forming for more than six years.
On the 13th of August, he again communicated to his government all the information he had been able to collect in relation to the American war, and insisted on having leave of retiring from active service.
" On the 7th of September, he informed his govern- ment that he had despatched to Philadelphia a packet commanded by Bartholomew Beauregard, apparently for the purpose of procuring flour for the wants of New Orleans, but really to pry into the designs of the royalists and insurgents.
Unzaga, in a despatch of the 28th of December, called the attention of the government to the prejudice and injuries to which was exposed the safety of the colony from the fact that said colony was dependent, as to its + military administration and government, on the Governor and Captain General of the island of Cuba, and, among other reasons, he gave the following :
"In case of war, it is vain to hope for any help from Havana, nor for proper directions or orders from the captain general, who is not acquainted with the country and its localities. For want of such knowledge, the captain general would probably issue no orders, and the governor of Louisiana would then remain inactive, as he would not be willing to incur any responsibility ; and thus his hands being tied up, the opportunity of secur- ing the most important successes might be neglected, and the honor of the Spanish arms might be tarnished, the captain general of Cuba excusing himself, on the im- possibility in which he would be to act or to give orders, and the governor of Louisiana pleading the want of in- structions. I have been, for nearly seven years, the chief officer in command of this province. I have lived
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END OF UNZAGA'S ADMINISTRATION.
in that dependent state to which I allude, and, although I do not say that I have suffered from it, because I have always gloried in serving and obeying with implicit readiness, yet I must assure the king, on my honor, that, under the present colonial organization, the royal in- terests are liable to be put in jeopardy, and that the governor of this province, whoever he may be, will be exposed to many mortifications, more or less aggravating according to the humor of the captain general of Cuba."
The leave to retire from active service, with permis- sion to reside at Malaga, which Unzaga had prayed for, was refused, and he was appointed Captain General of Caraccas. He had won the esteem and affection of the population, and his departure caused unbounded regrets. His administration had been that of a gentle and indul- gent father, and his having dared to connive at the breach by the British of the fiscal and commercial laws of Spain, a strict observance of which would have been fatal, materially increased the prosperity of the colony. His conduct, in this respect, was not absolutely approved by the king's ministers, but it did not deprive him of the confidence of his sovereign, as is fully proved by his promotion.
CHAPTER III.
GALVEZ' ADMINISTRATION.
1777 to 1783.
MIRO'S ADMINISTRATION.
1784 to 1785.
BY a royal decree of the 10th of July, 1776, the govern- ment and intendancy of Louisiana had been ordered to be provisionally surrendered to Don Bernardo de Galvez, then colonel of the regiment of Louisiana. He entered on the duties of his office, as Unzaga's successor, on the 1st of February, 1777. He was then about twenty-one years old, and his talents, his energy and his activity would have secured him a brilliant career, even had he not possessed other means of success. But to these ad- vantages he joined that of being as powerfully connected as any subject in Spain. His father, Don Mathias de Galvez, was viceroy of Mexico, and his uncle, Don Joseph de Galvez, was almost king of Spain, for he was secretary of state and president of the council of the Indies, and was, as such, next to the crowned heads, the man who wielded the greatest power in Europe.
In 1776, it had been stipulated between the courts of France and Spain that Louisiana should be permitted to trade with the French West India Islands, on condition that the articles which might be wanted from Louisiana for those islands should be purchased (in order to
106
GALVEZ' ADMINISTRATION.
prevent smuggling) by two commissioners appointed by the French government, who should reside in New Or- leans. On the 12th of February, 1777, the two French commissioners, Villars and Favre d'Aunoy, arrived in Louisiana. It was through them that all the French vessels which should come to the colony were to get their cargoes. The appointment of Galvez was the sig- nal of a considerable change in the commerce of the province. The English had enjoyed the monopoly of it under Unzaga's administration, but it now passed into the hands of the French. The commissioners of that nation soon obtained from Galvez the grant of more privileges than were conceded in the treaty, and the French vessels were authorized to load not only at New Orleans, but also at any point on the river, provided they brought to the governor a declaration from the planters specifying the articles which they had shipped. Another encouragement was given to the commerce of the province by reducing to one-half the duty of four per cent., which used to be collected on the exportation of its produce. The French paid for the articles they bought, either in specie, bills of exchange, or Guinea negroes ; the introduction of those that were born in the colonies, or had remained long in them, having been prohibited. Vessels from Louisiana were permitted to bring European produce or goods from the island of Cuba, or from Campeachy. On the 30th of March, 1777, the French commissioners, Villars and Favre d'Au- noy, wrote to their government : "The facilities granted by M. de Galvez to the trade between Louisiana and the French islands, and also the liberal interpretation given by him to the clauses of the treaty, have revived the industry and activity of the merchants and planters, and opened a brilliant prospect to the colony." On the 26th of April, the same commissioners informed their govern-
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4
ENCOURAGEMENT TO COMMERCE AND AGRICULTURE. 107
ment that Galvez had seized eleven English vessels, richly laden, which were trafficking with the planters on the banks of the Mississippi, and said that, if the gover- nor persisted in the rigor with which he acted against the English, the French commerce in Louisiana would soon acquire a much greater extension.
The Spanish government sought also to give encou- ragement to agriculture, and informed the colonists that the king would, for the present, purchase tobacco to the amount of eight hundred thousand dollars, if they could raise so much of it, and that, for the future, he would buy their whole crop, however large it might be. A meeting of the planters was convened by the Governor, and they were invited to deliberate on the price at which they could afford to sell their tobacco. It was ultimately agreed to be seven livres a pound for leaf tobacco, and ten livres for tobacco in carots. The Spanish govern- ment had two objects in view, in thus fostering the cul- tivation of tobacco : 1º,-it was to draw from Louisiana, at a low price, all the tobacco necessary to the supply of its Mexican provinces, and thereby to raise its re- venue, through the duty which it imposed on this article in those provinces ; 2º,-it aimed at driving the English and the Dutch out of the French market, which they monopolized as to the tobacco trade.
"Enjoying a better climate than Maryland and Vir- ginia," said Villars and d'Aunoy, in one of their des- patches, "Louisiana, on account of its extent and fertility, could furnish the universe with tobacco. But its popu- lation, if not augmented, will not even permit the ac- complishment of the wish entertained by his Catholic Majesty, to supply with its produce the wants of the Mexican market. It is calculated that, in a territory measuring 1500 miles in length, there are hardly 8000 negroes, and that the whites muster from 6000 to 7000
108
JOINT DESPATCH OF VILLARS AND D'AUNOY.
souls only. The lands of Lower Louisiana, where is the great bulk of the population, are favorable to the lum- ber and timber trade, to the cultivation of rice, corn and indigo, but they are not adapted to' tobacco. These considerations have not escaped the attention of the Spanish ministry. They have granted an annual sum of $40,000, to facilitate the establishment of the new colonists who may come to Louisiana, and it is ordered that concessions be made to them, in those parts where it may suit them to settle. But, as Spain herself is wanting in population, and as those of her subjects who come to America show that they have very little dispo- sition to devote themselves to agriculture, her project is to draw here, either from France or from the French colonies, all the population which may be necessary to the execution of her views. The Spanish government acts in conformity with this plan, and requests our coasters to make the inhabitants of St. Domingo and the Windward islands acquainted with the advantages which await them in Louisiana. Considering that the tendency of this scheme, should it succeed, is to deprive France of a useful portion of her subjects engaged in the pursuit of agriculture, we hasten to inform you of it, in order that you may, should you think it advisable, put a stop to an emigration which cannot but be injurious to the interests of France. If it be Frenchmen who are to be relied upon for the cultivation of Louisiana, it seems to us more natural that his most Christian Majesty should resume the possession of this colony. France alone can raise it to that degree of prosperity to which it is en- titled." Fully alive to the policy of giving more exten- sion to the agriculture of Louisiana, the Court of Madrid issued a decree permitting the introduction of negroes into that province by French vessels, from whatever ports they might come.
109
GEORGE MORGAN'S LETTER TO GALVEZ.
In the mean time, the struggle which was going on between England and her American colonies was watched with intense interest by the Governor of Louisiana, and by the Spanish court, which sent several orders to afford secret assistance to the insurgents. In consequence of the favorable dispositions of Spain, which were conveyed to some of the leaders of the Americans in the West, several large boats had come this year, 1777, from Fort Pitt to New Orleans, where munitions had been collected by Oliver Pollock, with the occult aid of Galvez, for the use of the thirteen United States. "Captain Willing, of Philadelphia, who came in one of those boats," says Judge Martin in his History of Louisiana, " visited the British settlements on the Mississippi, and some of his companions crossed the lakes to Mobile, with the view to induce the inhabitants to raise the striped banner, and join their countrymen in the struggle for freedom. The people of both the Floridas, however, remained steadfast in their attachment to the royal cause. Perhaps those on the Mississippi and in Mobile, who remembered the fate of Lafrenière and his companions at New Orleans, were deterred from rising by the recollection of this late tragedy. The thin and sparse population of both the Floridas, their distance from the provinces engaged in the war, and the consequent difficulty of receiving any assistance from them, had also its influence on the conduct of the inhabitants."
Galvez kept up an active correspondence with Colonel George Morgan, who was in command of Fort Pitt, and who, in a letter of the 22d of April, gave the Spanish Governor a very able and lucid history of all the events which had occurred since the beginning of the Revolu- tion. "Should we be able," said the colonel, "to pro- cure transports in New Orleans, I think that we could easily surprise Mobile and Pensacola, destroy their for-
110
GEORGE MORGAN'S LETTER TO GALVEZ.
tifications, and possess ourselves of all their munitions, unless these ports be better fortified and defended than we imagine. I would pay liberally to have a plan of the fortifications, and correct information as to the gar- risons and naval forces which protect these places. If one thousand men were sufficient for the contemplated expedition, and if we could, in New Orleans, purchase or charter vessels, and procure artillery, on as short notice as possible, we could strike the most successful blow in a quarter where it is least expected. But we shall never proceed to any action on the subject, before having previously obtained the permission and co-opera- tion of your excellency, and before having secured all the transports, provisions, &c., of which we may stand in need. If we cannot, however, expect so much at your hands, we flatter ourselves that you will at least permit us to trade freely with New Orleans, and I beg your excellency to inform me by an express messenger of your decision, and this, of course, at my expense."
But Galvez had no idea, for obvious reasons, of per- mitting the Americans to set their foot, in military array, on the soil of Louisiana, and eluded to give any positive answer to Morgan's proposed plan of attack against the British possessions. He wrote to his government that, considering the turn which the war was taking, he feared the inconveniences which might result from the passage of the belligerents through the neutral territory of Loui- siana, and he informed the court of Madrid that, in order to endeavor to protect the Spanish interests on the river, he had caused to be built four boats, carrying, each, one 24 or 18 pounder. "These gunboats," said he, in a de- spatch of the 2d of June, "will be more useful in the river than two frigates, because, as they will be pro- pelled by wind and oar, they will be more than a match for any vessel of war that may enter the passes of the
GALVEZ PROVIDES FOR THE DEFENCE OF THE COLONY. 111
Mississippi, considering that those vessels of war, on account of the shallowness of the water, cannot be of a large size, and that their guns must be of a small calibre, such as twelve pounders at most; so that it will al- ways be in our power to choose our position and distance, and to do much injury without receiving any, on account of the wider range of our guns. All agree that one of those gun-boats will be able to sink any vessel of war lying at anchor, or becalmed, which must be the case, almost at every moment, when a vessel comes up the river, on account of the rapidity of the current, and because the wind, which is favorable at one bend of the river, becomes necessarily adverse beyond that point."
On the 10th of July, Galvez sent to his government a minute statement of the fortifications, the garrison, and. the other means.of defence of Pensacola and Mobile, and of the naval forces attached to these two points. He also informed his government that the Creeks, Choc- taws, and Chickasaws, who, he said, formed a population of 25,000 souls, including women and children, had de- clared that they would remain neutrals in the war be- tween the English and Americans, and would prevent the latter from violating their territory to attack any of the English possessions.
On the 15th of August (1777) the Spanish govern- ment informed Galvez: that in case the American colo- nists should seize the British settlements on the Missis- sippi, and should be disposed to deliver them up to his Catholic Majesty, he, Galvez, was authorized to receive them in trust or deposit, always taking care that this should not provoke any violent measures on the part of the English, which might be avoided by giving them to understand, that it must be more advantageous for them that those settlements should be, as a deposit, under the domination of the king, than in the possession of the
112 VIEWS OF SPAIN AS TO THE AMERICAN WAR IN 1777.
insurgents. But this was anticipating the happening of an event which was not likely to occur, for the Ameri- cans would have been very little disposed to avail them- selves of the officious proposition of the king of Spain to relieve them from the burden of keeping any of their acquisitions, and they would certainly have been inclined, and would probably have thought themselves able, to retain possession of their conquests, should they have made any.
Some of their incursions in the territory acknowledging the sway of Great Britain, west of the Ohio, and on the banks of the Mississippi, had proved highly successful, and the militia of Virginia had possessed themselves of Kaskaskia, and of some other posts on that river. By an act of the Legislature, the region which Virginia had thus acquired was erected into a county called Illinois, and a regiment of infantry and a troop of horse were raised for its protection, under the command of Colonel Clark. It will be recollected that, by the last treaty of peace between Great Britain and France, the Missis- sippi had been given to North Carolina as its western limit. But George III. had forbidden any settlement of white people to the west of the mountains of North Carolina. Notwithstanding this prohibition, a consider- able number of emigrants from that province had re- moved to the banks of the Watauga, one of the branches of the Holston. "They had increased to such a degree," says Judge Martin in his History of Louisiana, "that, in 1776, their claim to representation in the convention that framed the constitution was admitted. In 1777, they were formed into a county which had the Mississippi for its western boundary." Thus, at this early period of their history, had the United States extended their do- minion and carried their flag and their laws to the banks of that mighty stream over which they were destined to
113
GALVEZ GIVES ASSISTANCE TO THE AMERICANS.
exercise, in the short space of less than forty years, an exclusive jurisdiction.
In the month of January, 1778, Captain Willing re- turned to New Orleans for the second time, to enter into communication and concert with Oliver Pollock who, with the permission and support of Galvez, had now openly assumed the character of an agent for the insur- gents. The Court of Spain had gradually become less timid in its manifestation of hostility towards Great Britain; and Galvez, encouraged by his government, had gone so far as to give assistance to the Americans in arms, ammunition, provisions, &c., to the amount of seventy thousand dollars. By these means, the posts occupied by the militia of Virginia on the Mississippi had been strengthened, and the frontier inhabitants of Penn- sylvania had received material aid and comfort. Under such encouraging circumstances, Willing had not hesi- tated to increase in New Orleans the crew of his boats ; and with most of those same companions who had come down with him, and who were about fifty in number, he engaged in foraging and predatory excursions against the British planters on the Mississippi. This troop cap- tured a small vessel which was at anchor near the mouth of Bayou Manchac, and took possession of the fort, which was evacuated by its garrison of about fifty or sixty men, who crossed the Mississippi and sought refuge on the Spanish side. In the very vessel of which they had possessed themselves, the Americans proceeded up the river to Baton Rouge, stopping at the several plantations on the way, burning all the houses and other buildings, and carrying off the negroes.
A good many of the British planters, on hearing of the approach of these unwelcome visitors, crossed the Mississippi with their most valuable effects and slaves, and sheltered themselves under the Spanish flag, which
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114
CAPTAIN WILLING'S EXPEDITION.
floated on the right side of the river. The inhabitants on the left bank were scattered about, they were few in number, and therefore could not make any effective resistance. The invaders continued up as far as Natchez their course of devastation, laying waste the plantations, destroying the stock, applying the torch of the incendiary to the edifices, and carrying off such slaves as had not followed their masters in their flight. All the sympa- thies of the people of Louisiana were in favor of the Americans; "but," says Judge Martin in his history, "this cruel, wanton and unprovoked conduct towards a helpless community was viewed with great indignation and horror, much increased by the circumstance of Wil- ling's having been hospitably received and entertained, the preceding year, in several houses which he now committed to the flames." It must also be added, that most of the sufferers by these acts of vandalism were well known in New Orleans, where they used to resort to supply their wants, or for social intercourse; and that all of them had more or less extensive relations with the Spanish portion of Louisiana, in whose families some of them had married. This contributed to draw from those inhabitants a keener reprobation of the conduct of Cap- tain Willing, who was looked upon as having acted more like an Indian warrior than a civilized enemy.
The Americans, however, did not choose to attempt retaining possession of these posts, or of any portion of the territory they had thus devastated. In connection with these events, Villars and Favre D'Aunoy, the French commissioners at New Orleans, wrote to their government : "The Spaniards here see with regret these conquests, because it cuts off their hope of executing them on their own account, and of thereby securing for themselves the exclusive possession of the Gulf of Mexico. Besides, they feel that the mildness and the other advantages of the
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NEW FACILITIES GRANTED TO COMMERCE IN 1778. 115
climate of Louisiana may seduce the Americans, and attract them to a region, from which the communication with the Gulf of Mexico begins to be better and more practically known, presenting but trifling difficulties, &c. Therefore, it is the interest of Spain that France should recover the possession of Louisiana."
Such was not, however, the opinion of the Spanish government, which, to increase the prosperity of the colony, and to bring relief to the distresses from which it was suffering, was disposed to relax the severity of the commercial restrictions under which it was placed. In accordance with this more judicious policy, which was, at last, forcing itself upon the councils of Spain, Galvez, by a proclamation of the 20th of April, 1778, in order to facilitate the sale of the produce of the colony, per- mitted its exportation to any of the ports of France. This proclamation had been preceded by one issued on the 17th, which granted a similar privilege of trading with any part of the United States.
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