Talk:History of Trinidad and Tobago
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The section on the Prehistory comes from Basil Reid's Ph.D. dissertation Developing GIS-based weights of evidence predictive model or pre-Columbian sites in Trinidad. It's obviously limited to Trinidad, so if anyone knows much about Tobago, please add it. Guettarda 22:16, 14 Nov 2004 (UTC)
Contents |
[edit] Removed Joke
(some assert that mathematical education in Trinidad and Tobago has never recovered from this blow).
Joke didn't really belong.
[edit] 'Prehistory'
Does anyone else find the term 'prehistory' offensive? Wouldn't a term such as 'Pre-Colonial Period' be more accurate? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.101.87.207 (talk • contribs)
- It's the standard term for the time period before recorded records. Guettarda 17:44, 22 September 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Hosay massacre
Where does the Hosay massacre belong in this article? It's relevant to the article, but it's currently in the Agricultural Section after an event that happened 50 years before it. If anyone knows anything about it, please move it to a more suitable location.
Lifthrasir1 02:52, 20 December 2006 (UTC)
Trinidad – the main starting point of the insurrection
During Miranda’s stay in France, the plan for the separation of Spain from its American colonies had not completely been forgotten by England. Among the British, with whom Miranda had shared his hopes, was Nicholas Vansittart, a young lawyer and politician whose career was on the rise. Motivated by his mercantile interests, in August 1796, the same month in which France and Spain had signed a non-aggression treaty, Vansittart proposed a bold plan in which Britain would organise an expedition to invade and conquer South America and Mexico.
The clash of England, France and Holland against Spain coincided with the beginnings of the independence movements in the Spanish American colonies. Trinidad, Jamaica and Haiti supported these rebel movements, by offering asylum and moral support.
The loss of Trinidad in 1797 to the English, perhaps the only important British campaign against Spain during the war, signified for the Spanish Crown not only a considerable reduction of political and commercial control in the Caribbean but worse still, the risk of revolutionary invasion from the island, commanded by Miranda, and assisted ideologically, politically, militarily and economically by the British authorities, with especial help from governor Picton, which was probably the reason for the presence of the “treacherous Albion” on continental territory with its obvious consequences.
An able Scottish politician, friend of William Pitt, then Prime Minister of England, called Henry Dundas, Minister of War, was greatly interested in the commercial relations between Spanish America and the British West Indies. In April of 1797, Dundas gave instructions to Thomas Picton, who had just been appointed governor of the recently captured Trinidad, to pay particular attention to the methods by which trade between the colony and the Spanish Main could be encouraged.
He informed governor Picton to tell Spanish colonists in opposition to the repressive politics of the mother country (Spain) that they would receive help from England in their fight for independence. This encouraged Picton to initiate a huge drive to make and distribute material, which was considered subversive in those times.
This gesture however, was far from being considered the complete conversion of the British government to the cause of independence for Venezuela, as they made serious objections to a policy which implied a change in the existing order of things. Great Britain objected strongly to the principles of government practised by the French Revolution and did not want French Republicans in Spanish America. This attitude can be seen clearly in the Picton-Manuel Gual incident.
It is important to point out that, when the British became interested in the independence of the Spanish colonies, it was only with hostilities in mind but perhaps thanks to Miranda, in the beginning years of the 19th Century, they began to realise the importance of commerce between the two which was far more beneficial to their cause. Between January 1800 and January 1801, cargo to the value of 639,220 pesos was registered at the port of Port of Spain from the Spanish Main. Between 1801 and 1802, cargo amounting to the value of 847,330 pesos was received and in the first six months of 1803 cargo totalling a value of 528,380 pesos was recorded, which demonstrates an increase in the first six months over the previous year and gives an idea of the amount of trade taking place between the two countries.
By the same token, with the arrival in Trinidad of printing presses, a pamphlet campaign was organised to flood eastern Venezuela and naturally, English newspapers and books considered impious by the Catholic Church, followed swiftly in the wake of the pamphlets. The Spanish Court was soon made aware of the arrival of this questionable literature on Spanish colonial soil and on 7th June 1797, the Spanish Government ordered the Captain General of Venezuela to collect all the books and papers that were prejudicial to the purity of religious thought, public peace and colonial subordination that had been brought into the colony.
At this same time, in the French Assembly in Paris, the idea of inciting Spanish colonists to get rid of their burdensome yoke of colonial rule was germinating and Cotein wrote a manifesto which was sent to the Spanish colonies. The Conde de Floridablanca was apprised of this and the Captain General of Venezuela, on 23rd September 1789, was ordered to prohibit the introduction of these papers, whose primary objective was to foment revolution and religious laxity”. There was good reason for the Spanish government to be alarmed. From March 1792 the French government busied itself with hostilities towards the Spanish colonies.
France began to foment insurrection in the Spanish colonies when it appointed Francisco de Miranda to the post of Commandant General of the French West Indies. His base was the French colony of St. Domingue (Pickering Mss. XXIV, 150).
The French Republicans resident on the island, together with Venezuelan patriots took it upon themselves to distribute “The Rights of Man” on the Spanish Main, which was a nightmare for the Spanish colonial government. On 1st November 1794, the Captain General of Venezuela announced to the Governors and Prelates of the provinces that “The Rights of Man” had begun to appear in Bogotá and gave the address of the printer in Trinidad. This work had been condemned by the Inquisition on 13th December 1789 and was the object of persistent persecution because it was thought that its intention was to capture the interest of those of loose morals and religious laxity and to provoke civil disorder against the established government in the dominions of S.M.I (His Imperial Majesty) of the Viceroy Expeleta, 5th September 1794 of the Viceroyalty of Lima, 12 December 1794).
The same Captaincy General, in 1798 mentioned “the inevitable introduction of pamphlets from foreign islands and the Old World, in spite of the active vigilance of the magistrates to prevent it”. “Among these pamphlets was one from neighbouring Trinidad which contained the most advanced ideas on the independence of the entire continent”.
The pamphlet referred to was Governor Thomas Picton’s proclamation in 1797. The Captaincy General commented as follows: “The suggestions of the British commander of the island of Trinidad, who has not only inundated the coast with printed matter and manuscripts but has added offers of powerful protection and free trade to the people of Caracas that will make them happy”. Discussing the affair, the Royal Advocate of Caracas said “the English have been distributing pamphlets and manuscripts all over the coast, exciting the inhabitants to revolt by offering free trade and successful achievement of independence to those discontents who were seduced by the first maxims of revolution”. (Asp. I,371).
In this context, Thomas Picton wrote to Henry Dundas, British Minister of War – “The only way to open extensive trade with our country is to produce a revolution, which can easily prove successful by arming the country in general.” (Picton to Dundas. September 18th , 1797. P.R.O. Trinidad).
The governor of Trinidad then, as already stated in dispatches of the Captaincy General, flooded eastern Venezuela with printed subversionary matter according to official reports from the Governor of Cumana on 23rd April 1797 and of Margarita on 13th and 28th of the same month, in which they quoted as follows from pamphlets encountered: “Good Fortune is offered to the inhabitants of the Spanish Main: complete and entire liberty for all your commercial activity; suppression of duties both incoming and outgoing; permission to cultivate whatever is desired and to sell the fruits thereof; election of the Government of their desire, under the protection of the British Armed Forces. (Archives of the Academia de la Historia).
“It will not be difficult, says Picton to his Government, “to excite a rebellion in the Spanish provinces of Cumana and Caracas, whose effect and example will encourage the whole continent to revolt” (Picton to Dundas, P.R.O. Trinidad).
It is evident from official and confidential correspondence between the Spanish authorities in South America, confronting this imminent danger, that they are very worried and fearful. Miguel Herrera, Governor of Margarita wrote to the Captain General of Caracas, Manuel de Guevara y Vasconcelos, the following: “Dear Capitan General, In my zeal to execute my responsibilities in the service of the king, and the peacefulness of his possessions, I am always watchful for news of the Islands, and in particular, Trinidad from where I received the following communication from an informant: “This government thinks about antagonizing the Spanish Main, contributing to its uprising, for which they await the arrival of Miranda, who has designed the project, sending some booklets of 30 pages, which contains talk against the governments and suggests ways of terminating them with all manner of perverse things and infernal ideas; […] Also, one of my confidants has assured me that an order of the British government has been issued to gather up all the fugitives from the gaols of the Spanish Main and render them protection, and those fugitives who bring news as well, and that one of the most important duties of Picton is to take advantage of the disillusionment of the inhabitants and to make them happy, and in conclusion, says he knows a lot and will send me a copy of one of the booklets, but there is a huge plan and that Miranda is the author of it”. A booklet of 30 pages, without doubt the letter of Viscardo. (Margarita 23 August 1803), Archive of the Indies, Estado 71, n.6, Margarita, 08-23-1803.
The booklet - “Lettre aux Espagnols-Americains” was the work of Juan Pablo Viscardo y Guzman which, probably at the instigation of Miranda, was published in Philadelphia in 1799. It was one of the first and most ardent publications for Spanish American emancipation and soon became used as a vehicle for spreading the “freedom gospel”. In a letter to Gual of 4th October 1799, Miranda instructed him to ask the Governor of Trinidad for a copy of the booklet which had been sent to Trinidad for circulation in South America. “Ask him for one, says the Venezuelan, and you will find in it the most solid arguments and rationale our compatriot Viscardo gives for the beauty and Justice of our cause” Four months later, Gual informed Miranda that he had read the booklet with “sacred enthusiasm” (Paper found by me from one of the addresses of the Jesuit Rossi to the English government in 1797. Mir. MSS.,t. XLV).
It was in eastern Venezuela and in Caracas that the revolutionary clandestine press did the most damage to the Spanish government, which was not the case in the west of the country. For example, the island of Curacao was only interested in contraband trade and it is for this reason that subversive material never arrived either in Coro or Maracaibo and these two cities remained completely faithful to Spain, and were the first disembarkation points chosen by Miranda for his expedition.
In a letter of the Captain General to the Secretary of State on 23rd June 1799, on the subject of the introduction of subversive literature, the following is evident: “Similar leaflets are very useful for spreading false and prejudicial opinions to the masses on the just and impartial system of the Spanish Government and its laws, which is the hope of the Governor of Trinidad and also the Minister in London”. Undoubtedly, the government of Picton protected this propaganda, even though it was the work of isolated patriots in the Island. As they were the leaders of the rising of 1797, the retired Captain of the battalion of veterans of Caracas, Manuel Gual; (el Justicia Mayor) the Magistrate of Macuto, José María España and the lawyer, Manzanares; also José María Casañas, originally from Guiria; the aragonese resident in La Guaira, active collaborator of España and Gual, José Montesinos Rico; the old Cuban sailor, Carlos Cañero; the Venezuelan planter, resident in Trinidad, Francisco Febles, the brother-in-law of José María España, Domingo Sanchez; and Andres España, the son of Jose Maria, among others.
This group of men together, formed part of an ardently active spy ring; who not only dedicated themselves to the distribution of the independence ideals of Miranda to the Spanish Main but also to inform Miranda on the progress of the movement in South America. Trinidad was transformed during the period into a centre of espionage; where macabre plans were carried out, such as the poisoning of Manuel Gual in St. Joseph on 25th October 1800 by a Spaniard called Valecillo, who, has always been a complete mystery. The validity of this conclusion became apparent in 1806, when the attempt at annexation and emancipation ended in total failure. Neither the conquest of Buenos Aires by Admiral Sir Home Popham nor the expedition commanded by Miranda to liberate Venezuela were officially approved by the British Government., although both parties claimed that their efforts had the approval of the British Prime Minister, William Pitt. Unfortunately Pitt died in 1806 during Miranda’s stay in Trinidad and to the surprise of the new English cabinet, did not leave any documentary evidence of the participation of Britain in the Miranda expedition.
In 1807, a new British Government was formed and Lord Castlreagh assumed the leadership and closed an important chapter in the activity of espionage in Trinidad. Castlereagh, after evaluating the situation between the two powers, concluded that the annexation of South America was totally outside the sphere of influence of his government and that in any plan of liberation. Great Britain would only play the role of moral support and protection.
Among the Miranda documents, are copies and extracts of confidential documents of the time sent to Miranda by different agents in Trinidad, where relations between the two neighbouring powers in the Gulf of Paria, are discussed.
Inhabitants of Trinidad in 1804.
White English ...................................... 363 Spaniards ……...................................... 419 French ……........................................... 1571 Total White ........................................... 2353. Free People of Colour mostly French 6,407 Indian Natives ....................................... 1.071
Slaves 1/3 French …............................ 20.919 Total Inhabitants ................................. 30.750,
We assume that the reader has already put together the events of the Miranda expedition from the foregoing reports. However, we now reproduce a series of documents relative to the expedition which will give the reader an even better opportunity to come to his own conclusions on the subject of the Expedition. This chapter, attempts to show Miranda’s life and activity in Trinidad. It is in two parts: the first part covers the period from the end of May to July 1806 and the second covers the much longer stay from November 1806 to August 1807, when he decided to leave for London. This chapter, therefore is one of the most important, as it reveals in its correspondence and descriptive documents, Miranda’s zeal and activity.
John Sherman, a member of Miranda’s expeditionary team, tells us in the following account of his triumphant arrival in Trinidad in 1806, as a celebrity: “He is 5 feet 10 inches in height, well-proportioned and active. He has healthy looking, rosy-tinged dark skin: his light almond-coloured eyes are penetrating, lively, intelligent and expressive. His teeth are excellent and he looks after them very well. His nose is perfect, more English than roman; his chest is broad and prominent; he has long grey hair and wears it tied at the back and powdered. His sideburns and grey hair are strong and abundant. His expression is one of tenacity and pride. He is well-dressed rather than elegant. He has the habit of continually picking his teeth. He is constantly in movement, even when sitting, almost like the movement of the pendulum of a clock. He sleeps for a few minutes every day after lunch and then he is active until bed-time at midnight. He is an example of moderation. Bad or meagre meals do not elicit complaints from him. He does not drink. Warmth and charm, he says, are the best medicine. Bitterness and coldness are the scourge of humanity. His manners are those of a gentleman and he conducts himself with dignity and grace. He is of even temperament, except when he is furious and then he assumes the look and tone that suits him. In general, he appears haughty and impressive. He loses his aplomb when he is upset and is impatient when contradicted. In conversation he is logical in his presentation of ideas; and seems to forget nothing. He has a prodigious memory for names, dates, officials …..”(John Sherman, from his account of the Expedition of General Miranda to South America and of the Judgement and Sentence to death of 10 of his officials).
From 1802, a heterogeneous society began to develop in Trinidad as a result of the different cultural origins of the population that, in the previous century, showed little semblance of unity towards the creation of a single national identity. It is the beginning of another history – the story of two worlds that would eventually come together, although still mistrustful and distant with each other. For Anglo Trinidadians, their continental neighbours were considered Spanish, set apart from the new order of British ascendancy. “This qualification does not only refer to the active presence of mutually established historical perceptions in the Caribbean among the population of areas of distinct colonial influence, but also to the persistence of ideological-cultural elements that were articulated to them and that had their origin in deeply-rooted images of the collective conscience. (Serbin, 1986:25).
To this new Trinidad, Miranda arrived - in the first instance for a stay from June to July 1806 to prepare for a re-start of his expedition to the continent. Having been disappointed at Ocumare on 28th April, in Trinidad, Miranda was able to disassociate himself from the Captain Lewis, who proved to be most untrustworthy, with whom 40 sailors and 2 contramaestres mutinied, all of them involved in contraband and discordant behaviour on the Miranda expedition. Miranda is guest of honour at Government House and he was accorded all the attentions and courtesies of an illustrious visitor by Governor Hislop.
During this period, Miranda concentrated on the training of the men who would go with him on the expedition as well as dealing with the ensuing problems of the cultural differences between North Americans, French and Spanish-speaking men. An almost endless collection of notes and general orders edited by the General himself demonstrate that this heterogeneous group of men were extremely difficult to discipline.
Miranda was at the time living between the Governor’s house and the Leander, in order to properly monitor the general conduct of the men and to maintain military discipline. To give the reader an idea of what it was like to live in the Government House of that time, which was occupied by Thomas Hislop between 1803 and 1810, the following is an interesting description given by Mr. Thomas James St. Hill in 1920 to Mr. C.B. Franklin, six months before his death at the age of 90. He had lived in the house at one time. It is also interesting to note that this is the same house that Governor Woodford, who arrived in 1813 to take up his duties, lived in but who complained bitterly on numerous occasions about its total inappropriateness as the residence of the Governor of the island, and who eventually was able to persuade the British Government to purchase the Peschier family estate of Hollandaise, where Government House now stands. The present house however, was built in the latter part of the 19th Century and was therefore not the house that Woodford occupied.
“The house had no pretensions to architectural beauty, but the interior was nicely furnished. The ceiling and sides were of plaster of Paris; the walls were of tapia made from black pick-mock roseau, grown in the forest, split into three, with the pith scooped out and tapia laid between. The tapia was covered with white lime plaster, and plaster of Paris was laid over all the interior walls. There was a chandelier in each of the two large rooms, the drawing room and the ballroom. Stucco work was around the chandeliers, while a gilt frieze ran around the rooms at the top. The doors were of cedar and nicely worked in design; the locks were brass ones about 8 or 9 inches wide. The staircase was six feet wide, the balustrade of which was of mahogany with turned rails. A marble stair ran from the ground floor to the landing, comprising 12 steps of black and white. There was a front gallery twelve feet wide, and, apart from the two large rooms described above the interior was not otherwise large, so this gallery was often used as a dining veranda for balls and other purposes, the principal doors were of glass; there were no jalousie windows, but glass sashes; the reception room was marble tiled and the staircase to the West, leading from the dining room to the garden was of red tiles. The upper part that ran to the north was two-storied, otherwise it was a one-storey building”. (Franklin’s Trinidad, Select Documents, 1803-1854, by C.B. Franklin Government House, Belmont Hill, ‘The Book of Trinidad” by Gerard Besson and Bridget Brereton, Paria Publishing Company Limited). Today the Hilton Hotel is on the very site of Government House on Belmont Hill which overlooks the city and harbour of Port of Spain.
Miranda frequently visited the prominent families of the island. Here we quote from V.S. Naipaul’s book “The Loss of El Dorado”: “In Trinidad Miranda loyalists have died as is the case with his childhood friend Manuel Gual, abandoned by Picton’s government. Miranda gathered all the information he could about the death of his friend and as a final tribute, he went to St. Joseph to get his death certificate” Further on, Naipaul writes: “The death of Gual was one of the big mysteries of that time. In 1811 the Venezuelan patriots had asked governor Hislop for permission to exhume Gual’s body, which was refused. However, he told them that the parish priest of St. Joseph, the same one who, seven years before, had given Miranda Gual’s death certificate, had informed him that Gual’s remains were not at the cemetery in St. Joseph as they had thought, but that his body had been thrown into the Caroni River as he had died unrepentant.
This certificate was found among Miranda’s Trinidad correspondence. With a view to getting more English help and to reorganise his army, Miranda went to Barbados to see Admiral Cochrane, who was in charge of the British squadron in the West Indies. Cochrane offered him an escort for the Leander to the mainland, but refused military aid. On his return to Trinidad, he managed to recruit 300 volunteers and some small boats. On 23 June he writes to Brigadier General Thomas Hislop, who had replaced Picton as Governor of Trinidad: I have received news from the Colombian continent that obliges me to go to the immediate assistance of my beloved country, to relieve it from the repressive yoke of Spain, or its conversion to the slavery of France, Holland and Switzerland. It is only these considerations that impel me to leave Trinidad, as the number of volunteers falls far short of the numbers required for such an important project as the one we are trying to achieve”. It is in Trinidad where Miranda makes his proclamation “……My friends and countrymen The glorious opportunity now presents itself, of relieving from oppression and arbitrary Government, a People who are worthy of a better fate, who ought to enjoy the blessing of the finest Country in the Universe, which bountiful Providence has given them, but who are shacked by despotism too cruel for Human Nature longer to endure — groaning under their present afflictions, they aid with extended arms, the noble cause of freedom and independence and call upon you to share with them in the Godlike action of relieving your distressed fellow creatures. Hasten then to join the standard of one who has the happiness to call himself your countryman, and is determined to rescue his country, and to shed the last drop of his blood in promoting it's happiness; an object of which he has never lost sight for a moment of his life. There will be made a liberal distribution of land at the expiration of a twelve month, according to ranks and privates from the instant of their enrolment, will be entitled to provisions and clothing, with a quarter of dollar a day, of pay, not subject to any deduction. And you, brave volunteers of the Island of Trinidad who have nobly come forward, to partake with us our honours; and to share with us our prosperity, hasten to follow those officers under whose care you have already been trained and who are impatient to lead you on to victory and wealth. The Gulph that Columbus first discovered and honoured with his presence, will now witness the illustrious actions of our gallant efforts”.
In Port of Spain, Miranda was lucky enough to have recruited some foreign volunteers, of whom James Briggs said: “ Among the gentlemen that arrived to be our associates in Trinidad, there were some of good breeding and respectability who had been in regular, active service in the armies of Britain, France and Spain. Among the candidates were some young men who would shine if given the opportunity to go on an expedition of that nature, to conquer the continent and the chance to make a fortune in the new Republic of Colombia.” Biggs described them as follows: “men of education and culture—Who had no trouble aligning themselves with a such a glorious and noble cause that offered the prospect of a brilliant future as opposed to an ordinary, run-of-the-mill, poorly-remunerated, job”. Genuine heroes that would make Venezuela proud to count on in the process leading to its eventual independence from Spain. These were: James Adrien, interpreter and engineer; Lt. Alexander Bruce; Lt. Daniel Crone; Col. John Downie; Lt. De Sine; Dupino Frances, Col. in the Hussars, mentioned by the Commandant of Coro, Juan de Solas in his answer to the articles relating to the expedition which he had passed to Guevara-Vasconcelos. George Fitzwilliam, talented and educated man, Miranda’s chief secretary, who was wounded in the capture of Coro; Col. William Gage Hall, engineer; Lt. Horatio Hathaway, Artillery; Capt. Johnson, who came expressly from Barbados to command the Leander and who contributed a sum of money to the expedition, was captured, together with 15 other comrades on the coast of Coro, while they were trying to obtain water for the boats and were never seen again. Johnson was a particular enthusiast of Miranda’s cause. Le Frecier Loppenot, A.D.C to Miranda; Lt. Robert McCullagh; Lt. Phillip Nihell; Lt. Robert Roscow; Trelawney de Belhay, Squadron Commander, had fought for Austria and England and was considered of the best officers, called “Col of the Hungarians” by the Commandant of Coro, Juan de Solas an old friend of Miranda, who formed part of his committee when he arrived in New York in 1805. Lt. Samuel W. Walcott; Col. Count de Rouvray, in whom Miranda had great confidence.
On the 24th July Miranda sailed away from Trinidad commanding the Leander, escorted by some British ships; on 3rd August he entered the Gulf of Coro and divided his small force into two segments. He came ashore in La Vela and after a short spell of firepower, he defeated the 600 men who guarded the royal plaza.
In order to facilitate reading, Miranda’s documents pertaining to his stay in Trinidad have been divided into 2 periods; that is, from June to July 1806 and then from November 1806 to August 1807. However, in between these two periods, the author has taken the liberty of including various important missives which will give the reader a broad overview of Miranda’s activities on the mainland and his departure for Trinidad.
It is common knowledge in the history of both countries, the result of Miranda’s expedition to Coro, without any help, without reinforcements, without a population to back him up, who had not received the subversive pamphlets distributed in other parts of the country in previous years, urging the populace of Venezuela to rise against the oppressive yoke of Spain—Miranda had no other alternative but to re-embark on the Leander and leave.
On 13th December 1806, he went, under British naval escort, to Aruba, a Dutch possession. Miranda considered the possibility of taking the Island, as Holland was then occupied by Napoleon. He wrote to Admiral Cochrane who, instead of sending reinforcements, ordered him to abandon Aruba with his volunteers, and he set sail for Trinidad. “Finding himself abandoned by the British admiral, who had promised him powerful help, he decided to return to Trinidad, where he suffered cruel taunts by the British generals there who mocked him, as well as by people in general who previously clung to him when they thought that he would soon return as the leader of a new state. (Dauxion, 1967:216).
In his book “history of the Adventure and sufferings of Moses Smith”, Moses Smith tells us: “the freedom fighters arrived in Trinidad, their heads bowed in disgrace, their flags and uniforms, yellow, blue and red, which they had worn with such pride, as Colombians, now showed their defeat. In spite of this, they were received in Trinidad, as men who had fought for freedom.”
The Statesman, in its issue of 16th February published details such as the permanency of Miranda’s stay in Trinidad and “the hope of a new attempt”. On 28th February, the same newspaper gives an account of Miranda’s arrival in Barbados. Other London newspapers during the month of March confirm the permanency of Miranda in Trinidad and even report that he was staying in General Hislop’s country house. A Trinidad newspaper of 28th February, however, corroborated the information given in the London newspapers but added that Miranda was pursued by his creditors and that the government continued to offer him protection. The following note from John Black to Miranda, tells us at the end, in the address send to, where Williamsfield Estate, the property of Admiral Cochrane was located…….“in Maracas Valley”. Michael Anthony, the Trinidadian historian in his book entitled “Towns and Villages of Trinidad and Tobago” gives the following economic picture of this valley. “Fifteen years of British rule saw the picture change sharply, for a statement of 31st of December 1811 from Governor William Monro to the Secretary of State for the Colonies shows that the population of the valley had doubled, It's 496 people were made up of 74 whites, 190 free blacks and 232 slaves. At this point the valley was predominantly under cocoa. In fact there were 350 acres under cocoa, as compared to just 35 of sugar-cane. Coffee covered about 80 acres. However, sugar, on its comparatively small acreage, was yielding almost as much as cocoa in terms of poundage, and undoubtedly it was greater in value. In 1811 Maracas Valley produced 63,000 pounds of sugar to 64,000 pounds of cocoa. Coffee, on its 80 acres, yielded just 3,000 Ibs. No value was given for this produce. So Maracas Valley was a key area of produce, very much esteemed both by its own settlers and by the authorities. But not, of course, by the slaves, who bore the brunt of the hard work, the sweat, and the tears”. Meanwhile, Miranda, in order to pay his volunteers’ debts, decides to sell the “Leander” in Port of Spain to John B. Litlepage and William Dickinson. He had already heard about the two failed attempts by the British to take Montevideo and Buenos Aires. On March 9th 1807 he writes to the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Vansittart on 9th March 1807: “The recent catastrophe of Buenos Aires should make the British Government see how absurd is their idea of the conquest of South America. I make no mistake with respect to this question, nor with respect to the ease with which it would be possible to penetrate these countries if the independence and freedom of its population was the fundamental object of such an undertaking”.
Now, not staying at Government House in Port of Spain, Miranda moves to Williamsfield Estate in Maracas Valley, owned by Admiral Cochrane and managed by Lt. Col. Alexander Briarly until 1807; when he decided to move out because of differences of opinion with Briarly on the subject of the Buenos Aires incident. Later, in his papers, we find that he spent a few days in an inn frequented by British Army officers, close to the port and next to the military barracks, where months before he had trained his men for the second expedition. The owner of this inn was a man called McKay. After a few days, Joseph Lambot of the Montalembert family, landed gentry of much prestige in the Island, extended a helpful hand, and offered him accommodation at their home to the north of the city, about 1 league from the port where he remained for the rest of his stay in Trinidad. We continue with events during the year 1807, with a selection of letters in which the reader will find some important information on Miranda’s sojourn in Trinidad. The reader who wishes to know more about Miranda’s life should read the book by Miriam Blanco-Fombora de Hood called “El Enigma de Sarah Andrews, esposa de Francisco de Miranda”, Caracas 1981 where the subject is dealt with in depth.
The singularity of this letter is perhaps the concrete position of Miranda relevant to British policy on South America. It is surprising that Miranda, who was very much under the protection of the British in Trinidad, should speak his mind so freely in a slightly reproachful manner to Admiral Cochrane, which for Miranda was not only an insult but the attempted invasion of Buenos Aires as reported in the press of 1807 was also very poor strategy together with the disaster of Montevideo. Also of note in this letter is the last paragraph, where Miranda discusses the properties owned by the Admiral in Trinidad, especially Williamsfield, where he spent a great deal of his time.
The following notes show Miranda’s tireless mission to bring about the independence of the continent. From Trinidad, Miranda attempts to encourage his agents in England and convince the British Government that he could still have a successful expedition. These notes are testimony of the incredible faith of Miranda in his lifelong desire for independence and his consequent willingness to postpone his dream and accept exile. An important aspect in the life of Miranda was his practice of visiting the hospitals and prisons of whatever town or city he happened to be staying in. We find many instances of this in his diaries while living in Europe. In Trinidad, he followed the same pattern and in his archive for 1807 we find a letter to Miranda from a Swiss citizen by the name of Froberg, describing his problem during his stay in the Port of Spain prison: “My dear General, I have taken the liberty of writing to you twice since I have been imprisoned, to seek help through you for some relief and guidance on this unhappy position I find myself in …..” Later there is another letter which is a reply from his good friend Col. John Downie dated 26th June 1807, from the St. James Barracks, an extract from which informs “yesterday we freed from incarceration, thanks to your intervention, the little Swiss”. We also highlight the ongoing correspondence Miranda maintained with Admiral Cochrane and other generals in neighbouring islands:
Miranda spends much of his time waiting for news and indulges in a large amount of correspondence. Above all, he maintains good relations with the populace in general and continues to visit prisons and forts, among them the recently built Fort George which largely owed its existence to the efforts of Governor Hislop, who took a personal interest in its establishment. Miranda, who was an extraordinary human being, enjoyed the admiration and respect of people from all walks of life. In his personal archives, the reader will find a vast amount of reading material relating to his sojourn in Trinidad, always trying to find the way to the eventual liberation of the continent he so loved.
For 10 months, Miranda waited patiently for the least sign from both sides of the “Gulf of Desolation” or the Gulf of Paria that the time had come for another attempt. That moment of glory would not arrive until 1811.
On 24th October 1807, Miranda leaves Trinidad for London. In Port of Spain, he had left behind, arms, ammunition and 4 trunks of personal effects which later on, after the disastrous fire that destroyed almost all of Port of Spain in 1808, he would claim compensation for from the British government in a Memorandum of the same year.
After this, there is a collection of letters which take the reader to the end of Miranda’s stay in Trinidad. This final chapter contains an interesting and detailed account of a visit Miranda paid to the south of the island in a small party of friends, over a period of a month, staying at various estates. There is also a series of notes and letters of great importance in the life of our revolutionary hero and on the part played by Trinidad during the period 1808 to 1811, this final year being considered the most important of all. It was the year that his life’s work, his dream became reality. The Republic of Colombia came into existence even though only for a brief period of almost a year.
Works Consulted
-V.S. Naipaul The Loss of El Dorado;1969. -John Sherman Relación Compendiada de la Expedición del General Miranda a Sudamérica y del Juicio y Sentencia a Muerte de Diez de sus oficiales.1808 Testigos Norteamericanos de la Expedición de Miranda; 1992. -Miranda’s Expedition; The Atlantic Monthly. Volume 5, Issue 31, May 1860. -Jesús Rosas Marcano El times de Londres y la expedición de Miranda a Venezuela (1806) materiales de investigación y consideraciones sobre la prensa inglesa en la época; Universidad Central de Venezuela Caracas 1964. -Edgardo Mondolfi Testigos norteamericanos de la expedición de Miranda; Monte Ávila Editores, 1992. -Olga J. Mavrogordato Voices in the Street, Port of Spain, 1987. -Francisco de Miranda América Espera; Biblioteca Ayacucho -William Spence Robertson La Vida de Miranda, Caracas 1982 -V.S. Naipaul A Way in the World, New York 1995 -Archivo del General Miranda Negociaciones, Tomos XV hasta XXIII, La Habana,1930-1950 -Funk and Wagnalls Forjadores de Norteamérica, Buenos Aires, tomo II 1962 -Gerard Besson The Book of Trinidad, Port of Spain 1992 -Pedro Grases Gran Bretaña y la Independencia de Venezuela y Colombia, Caracas 1983 -J.M.Siso Martínez El Paisaje Histórico de Don Francisco de Miranda, Caracas 1966 -E.L Joseh History of Trinidad, Port of Spain 1838 -Miriam Blanco-Fombona de Hood El Enigma de Sarah Andrews, Esposa de Francisco de Miranda, Caracas 1981 -Carmen L. Bohórquez Morán Francisco de Miranda, Precursor de la Independencia de la América Latina, Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, Caracas, Venezuela 2001. -Miguel Castillo Didier Grecia y Francisco de Miranda, Precursor, Héroe y Mártir de la Independencia Hispanoamericana; Centro de Estudios Griegos, bizantinos y Neohelénicos, “Fotios Malleros”, Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades Universidad de Chile, 2002.
-Sara Almarza Costa Fuentes para la Historia de la República, Volúmen XII, Francisco de Miranda, Diario de Viaje a Estados Unidos 1783-1784. Centro de Investigaciones Diego Barros Arana, Ediciones Biblioteca, Archivos y Museos, Santiago de Chile, 1998. -Leonard Anduze When the Lion Stumbled, a History of the St. Ann’s, The Fondes Amandes Valleys of Trinidad 1779-1932. Paria Publishing Company Limited, Port of Sapin, Trinidad y Tobago 1989. -Paul Verna Pedro Antonio Leleux, El Francés Edecan Secretario y Amigo de Confianza de Miranda y Bolívar. Comité Ejecutivo del Bicentenario de Simón Bolívar, Caracas, Venezuela 1982. -Antonio Egea López El Pensamiento Filosófico y Político de Francisco de Miranda, Biblioteca de la Academia Nacional de la Historia, 1983. -Eric Williams Documents of West Indian History 1492-1655, PNM Publishing Co.LTD 1963, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. British Historians and Wets Indies, PNM Publishing Co.LTD 1964, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. -J.G.Lavretski Miranda. Biblioteca de la Academia Nacional de la Historia, Caracas, Venezuela 1991. -Christian Ghymers H. Francisco de Miranda y Bernardo O’Higgins en la Emancipación Hispanoamericana. Instituto O’Higginiano de Chile, 2002. -Francisco de Miranda El Colombiano. Publicaciones de la Secretaría General de la Décima Conferencia Interamericana. Caracas, Venezuela 1952. -César García Rosell Miranda y los Ex-Jesuitas Desterrados. Ediciones del Instituto de Estudios Históricos Mirandino, Caracas, Venezuela. 1970. -Alain Woodrow Los Jesuitas, Historia de un dramático conflicto. Ediciones Planeta. Madrid, España. 1984. -Josefina Rodríguez de Alonso y Manuel Pérez Vila. Documentos Fundamentales de Francisco de Miranda. Biblioteca Ayacucho, Caracas, 1992. -Juan Uslar Pietri La Revolución Francesa y la Independencia de Venezuela. Cuadernos Lagoven , Caracas, Venezuela 1989. -Stuart F. Halpine The Altar of Venus. 1st Books Library Bloomington.IN.US. 1999.
-David Ruiz chataing y Edgardo Mondolfi Miranda la aventura de la Libertad tomo I y II. Monte Avila Editores, Caracas 1990. -Sir Robert Ker Porter’s Caracas Diary, a British Diplomat in a Newborn Nation. Editorial Arte, Caracas, Venezuela 1967. -Merrill D. Peterson Thomas Jefferson, Writings. The Library of America New York.N.Y. US.1984. -Teresa Pinto González y Mike Aguilar Fagundez Rebeliones, Alzamientos y Movimientos Preindependentistas en Venezuela. Ediciones de la Presidencia de la República, 2001. -Raúl Díaz Legorburu 5 Procesos Históricos. Biblioteca de la Academia Nacional de la Historia, Caracas, Venezuela. 1981 -Andrés Serbin Etnicidad, Clase y Nación en la Cultura Política del Caribe de Habla Inglesa. Biblioteca de la Academia Nacional de la Historia, Caracas, Venezuela 1987. -Josefina Rodríguez de Alonso El Siglo de las Luces visto por Francisco de Miranda. Ediciones de la Presidencia de la República. Caracas, Venezuela. 1978. -C. Parra-Prez Páginas de Historia y de Polémica. Litografía del Comercio. Caracas, Venezuela. 1943. -Albert Gallatin Mackey The History of Freemasonry. Its Legendary Origins.Gramercy Books. New York.N.Y.US. 1996. -Mariano Picón Salas Obras Selectas, Miranda.Ediciones Edime. Caracas, Venezuela. 1953 -Bridget Brereton A History of Modern Trinidad 1783-1962. Heinemann. London. England 1981. -Hadelis Jiménez López The Venezuelan Navy In The War of Independence. Caracas, Venezuela. 2001 -Venezuela Analítica -National Archive of Trinidad and Tobago. -National Library of Trinidad and Tobago. -Gran Logia Mixta de Chile.R.L.Francisco de Miranda Nº37 -Supreme Court Library of Trinidad and Tobago —Preceding unsigned comment added by Gilberto Jaimes-Correa (talk • contribs) 20:04, 18 February 2008 (UTC)
Trinidad – the main starting point of the insurrection by Gilberto Jaimes-Correa
During Miranda’s stay in France, the plan for the separation of Spain from its American colonies had not completely been forgotten by England. Among the British, with whom Miranda had shared his hopes, was Nicholas Vansittart, a young lawyer and politician whose career was on the rise. Motivated by his mercantile interests, in August 1796, the same month in which France and Spain had signed a non-aggression treaty, Vansittart proposed a bold plan in which Britain would organise an expedition to invade and conquer South America and Mexico.
The clash of England, France and Holland against Spain coincided with the beginnings of the independence movements in the Spanish American colonies. Trinidad, Jamaica and Haiti supported these rebel movements, by offering asylum and moral support.
The loss of Trinidad in 1797 to the English, perhaps the only important British campaign against Spain during the war, signified for the Spanish Crown not only a considerable reduction of political and commercial control in the Caribbean but worse still, the risk of revolutionary invasion from the island, commanded by Miranda, and assisted ideologically, politically, militarily and economically by the British authorities, with especial help from governor Picton, which was probably the reason for the presence of the “treacherous Albion” on continental territory with its obvious consequences.
An able Scottish politician, friend of William Pitt, then Prime Minister of England, called Henry Dundas, Minister of War, was greatly interested in the commercial relations between Spanish America and the British West Indies. In April of 1797, Dundas gave instructions to Thomas Picton, who had just been appointed governor of the recently captured Trinidad, to pay particular attention to the methods by which trade between the colony and the Spanish Main could be encouraged.
He informed governor Picton to tell Spanish colonists in opposition to the repressive politics of the mother country (Spain) that they would receive help from England in their fight for independence. This encouraged Picton to initiate a huge drive to make and distribute material, which was considered subversive in those times.
This gesture however, was far from being considered the complete conversion of the British government to the cause of independence for Venezuela, as they made serious objections to a policy which implied a change in the existing order of things. Great Britain objected strongly to the principles of government practised by the French Revolution and did not want French Republicans in Spanish America. This attitude can be seen clearly in the Picton-Manuel Gual incident.
It is important to point out that, when the British became interested in the independence of the Spanish colonies, it was only with hostilities in mind but perhaps thanks to Miranda, in the beginning years of the 19th Century, they began to realise the importance of commerce between the two which was far more beneficial to their cause. Between January 1800 and January 1801, cargo to the value of 639,220 pesos was registered at the port of Port of Spain from the Spanish Main. Between 1801 and 1802, cargo amounting to the value of 847,330 pesos was received and in the first six months of 1803 cargo totalling a value of 528,380 pesos was recorded, which demonstrates an increase in the first six months over the previous year and gives an idea of the amount of trade taking place between the two countries.
By the same token, with the arrival in Trinidad of printing presses, a pamphlet campaign was organised to flood eastern Venezuela and naturally, English newspapers and books considered impious by the Catholic Church, followed swiftly in the wake of the pamphlets. The Spanish Court was soon made aware of the arrival of this questionable literature on Spanish colonial soil and on 7th June 1797, the Spanish Government ordered the Captain General of Venezuela to collect all the books and papers that were prejudicial to the purity of religious thought, public peace and colonial subordination that had been brought into the colony.
At this same time, in the French Assembly in Paris, the idea of inciting Spanish colonists to get rid of their burdensome yoke of colonial rule was germinating and Cotein wrote a manifesto which was sent to the Spanish colonies. The Conde de Floridablanca was apprised of this and the Captain General of Venezuela, on 23rd September 1789, was ordered to prohibit the introduction of these papers, whose primary objective was to foment revolution and religious laxity”. There was good reason for the Spanish government to be alarmed. From March 1792 the French government busied itself with hostilities towards the Spanish colonies.
France began to foment insurrection in the Spanish colonies when it appointed Francisco de Miranda to the post of Commandant General of the French West Indies. His base was the French colony of St. Domingue (Pickering Mss. XXIV, 150).
The French Republicans resident on the island, together with Venezuelan patriots took it upon themselves to distribute “The Rights of Man” on the Spanish Main, which was a nightmare for the Spanish colonial government. On 1st November 1794, the Captain General of Venezuela announced to the Governors and Prelates of the provinces that “The Rights of Man” had begun to appear in Bogotá and gave the address of the printer in Trinidad. This work had been condemned by the Inquisition on 13th December 1789 and was the object of persistent persecution because it was thought that its intention was to capture the interest of those of loose morals and religious laxity and to provoke civil disorder against the established government in the dominions of S.M.I (His Imperial Majesty) of the Viceroy Expeleta, 5th September 1794 of the Viceroyalty of Lima, 12 December 1794).
The same Captaincy General, in 1798 mentioned “the inevitable introduction of pamphlets from foreign islands and the Old World, in spite of the active vigilance of the magistrates to prevent it”. “Among these pamphlets was one from neighbouring Trinidad which contained the most advanced ideas on the independence of the entire continent”.
The pamphlet referred to was Governor Thomas Picton’s proclamation in 1797. The Captaincy General commented as follows: “The suggestions of the British commander of the island of Trinidad, who has not only inundated the coast with printed matter and manuscripts but has added offers of powerful protection and free trade to the people of Caracas that will make them happy”. Discussing the affair, the Royal Advocate of Caracas said “the English have been distributing pamphlets and manuscripts all over the coast, exciting the inhabitants to revolt by offering free trade and successful achievement of independence to those discontents who were seduced by the first maxims of revolution”. (Asp. I,371).
In this context, Thomas Picton wrote to Henry Dundas, British Minister of War – “The only way to open extensive trade with our country is to produce a revolution, which can easily prove successful by arming the country in general.” (Picton to Dundas. September 18th , 1797. P.R.O. Trinidad).
The governor of Trinidad then, as already stated in dispatches of the Captaincy General, flooded eastern Venezuela with printed subversionary matter according to official reports from the Governor of Cumana on 23rd April 1797 and of Margarita on 13th and 28th of the same month, in which they quoted as follows from pamphlets encountered: “Good Fortune is offered to the inhabitants of the Spanish Main: complete and entire liberty for all your commercial activity; suppression of duties both incoming and outgoing; permission to cultivate whatever is desired and to sell the fruits thereof; election of the Government of their desire, under the protection of the British Armed Forces. (Archives of the Academia de la Historia).
“It will not be difficult, says Picton to his Government, “to excite a rebellion in the Spanish provinces of Cumana and Caracas, whose effect and example will encourage the whole continent to revolt” (Picton to Dundas, P.R.O. Trinidad).
It is evident from official and confidential correspondence between the Spanish authorities in South America, confronting this imminent danger, that they are very worried and fearful. Miguel Herrera, Governor of Margarita wrote to the Captain General of Caracas, Manuel de Guevara y Vasconcelos, the following: “Dear Capitan General, In my zeal to execute my responsibilities in the service of the king, and the peacefulness of his possessions, I am always watchful for news of the Islands, and in particular, Trinidad from where I received the following communication from an informant: “This government thinks about antagonizing the Spanish Main, contributing to its uprising, for which they await the arrival of Miranda, who has designed the project, sending some booklets of 30 pages, which contains talk against the governments and suggests ways of terminating them with all manner of perverse things and infernal ideas; […] Also, one of my confidants has assured me that an order of the British government has been issued to gather up all the fugitives from the gaols of the Spanish Main and render them protection, and those fugitives who bring news as well, and that one of the most important duties of Picton is to take advantage of the disillusionment of the inhabitants and to make them happy, and in conclusion, says he knows a lot and will send me a copy of one of the booklets, but there is a huge plan and that Miranda is the author of it”. A booklet of 30 pages, without doubt the letter of Viscardo. (Margarita 23 August 1803), Archive of the Indies, Estado 71, n.6, Margarita, 08-23-1803.
The booklet - “Lettre aux Espagnols-Americains” was the work of Juan Pablo Viscardo y Guzman which, probably at the instigation of Miranda, was published in Philadelphia in 1799. It was one of the first and most ardent publications for Spanish American emancipation and soon became used as a vehicle for spreading the “freedom gospel”. In a letter to Gual of 4th October 1799, Miranda instructed him to ask the Governor of Trinidad for a copy of the booklet which had been sent to Trinidad for circulation in South America. “Ask him for one, says the Venezuelan, and you will find in it the most solid arguments and rationale our compatriot Viscardo gives for the beauty and Justice of our cause” Four months later, Gual informed Miranda that he had read the booklet with “sacred enthusiasm” (Paper found by me from one of the addresses of the Jesuit Rossi to the English government in 1797. Mir. MSS.,t. XLV).
It was in eastern Venezuela and in Caracas that the revolutionary clandestine press did the most damage to the Spanish government, which was not the case in the west of the country. For example, the island of Curacao was only interested in contraband trade and it is for this reason that subversive material never arrived either in Coro or Maracaibo and these two cities remained completely faithful to Spain, and were the first disembarkation points chosen by Miranda for his expedition.
In a letter of the Captain General to the Secretary of State on 23rd June 1799, on the subject of the introduction of subversive literature, the following is evident: “Similar leaflets are very useful for spreading false and prejudicial opinions to the masses on the just and impartial system of the Spanish Government and its laws, which is the hope of the Governor of Trinidad and also the Minister in London”. Undoubtedly, the government of Picton protected this propaganda, even though it was the work of isolated patriots in the Island. As they were the leaders of the rising of 1797, the retired Captain of the battalion of veterans of Caracas, Manuel Gual; (el Justicia Mayor) the Magistrate of Macuto, José María España and the lawyer, Manzanares; also José María Casañas, originally from Guiria; the aragonese resident in La Guaira, active collaborator of España and Gual, José Montesinos Rico; the old Cuban sailor, Carlos Cañero; the Venezuelan planter, resident in Trinidad, Francisco Febles, the brother-in-law of José María España, Domingo Sanchez; and Andres España, the son of Jose Maria, among others.
This group of men together, formed part of an ardently active spy ring; who not only dedicated themselves to the distribution of the independence ideals of Miranda to the Spanish Main but also to inform Miranda on the progress of the movement in South America. Trinidad was transformed during the period into a centre of espionage; where macabre plans were carried out, such as the poisoning of Manuel Gual in St. Joseph on 25th October 1800 by a Spaniard called Valecillo, who, has always been a complete mystery. The validity of this conclusion became apparent in 1806, when the attempt at annexation and emancipation ended in total failure. Neither the conquest of Buenos Aires by Admiral Sir Home Popham nor the expedition commanded by Miranda to liberate Venezuela were officially approved by the British Government., although both parties claimed that their efforts had the approval of the British Prime Minister, William Pitt. Unfortunately Pitt died in 1806 during Miranda’s stay in Trinidad and to the surprise of the new English cabinet, did not leave any documentary evidence of the participation of Britain in the Miranda expedition.
In 1807, a new British Government was formed and Lord Castlreagh assumed the leadership and closed an important chapter in the activity of espionage in Trinidad. Castlereagh, after evaluating the situation between the two powers, concluded that the annexation of South America was totally outside the sphere of influence of his government and that in any plan of liberation. Great Britain would only play the role of moral support and protection.
Among the Miranda documents, are copies and extracts of confidential documents of the time sent to Miranda by different agents in Trinidad, where relations between the two neighbouring powers in the Gulf of Paria, are discussed.
Inhabitants of Trinidad in 1804.
White English ...................................... 363 Spaniards ……...................................... 419 French ……........................................... 1571 Total White ........................................... 2353. Free People of Colour mostly French 6,407 Indian Natives ....................................... 1.071
Slaves 1/3 French …............................ 20.919 Total Inhabitants ................................. 30.750,
We assume that the reader has already put together the events of the Miranda expedition from the foregoing reports. However, we now reproduce a series of documents relative to the expedition which will give the reader an even better opportunity to come to his own conclusions on the subject of the Expedition. This chapter, attempts to show Miranda’s life and activity in Trinidad. It is in two parts: the first part covers the period from the end of May to July 1806 and the second covers the much longer stay from November 1806 to August 1807, when he decided to leave for London. This chapter, therefore is one of the most important, as it reveals in its correspondence and descriptive documents, Miranda’s zeal and activity.
John Sherman, a member of Miranda’s expeditionary team, tells us in the following account of his triumphant arrival in Trinidad in 1806, as a celebrity: “He is 5 feet 10 inches in height, well-proportioned and active. He has healthy looking, rosy-tinged dark skin: his light almond-coloured eyes are penetrating, lively, intelligent and expressive. His teeth are excellent and he looks after them very well. His nose is perfect, more English than roman; his chest is broad and prominent; he has long grey hair and wears it tied at the back and powdered. His sideburns and grey hair are strong and abundant. His expression is one of tenacity and pride. He is well-dressed rather than elegant. He has the habit of continually picking his teeth. He is constantly in movement, even when sitting, almost like the movement of the pendulum of a clock. He sleeps for a few minutes every day after lunch and then he is active until bed-time at midnight. He is an example of moderation. Bad or meagre meals do not elicit complaints from him. He does not drink. Warmth and charm, he says, are the best medicine. Bitterness and coldness are the scourge of humanity. His manners are those of a gentleman and he conducts himself with dignity and grace. He is of even temperament, except when he is furious and then he assumes the look and tone that suits him. In general, he appears haughty and impressive. He loses his aplomb when he is upset and is impatient when contradicted. In conversation he is logical in his presentation of ideas; and seems to forget nothing. He has a prodigious memory for names, dates, officials …..”(John Sherman, from his account of the Expedition of General Miranda to South America and of the Judgement and Sentence to death of 10 of his officials).
From 1802, a heterogeneous society began to develop in Trinidad as a result of the different cultural origins of the population that, in the previous century, showed little semblance of unity towards the creation of a single national identity. It is the beginning of another history – the story of two worlds that would eventually come together, although still mistrustful and distant with each other. For Anglo Trinidadians, their continental neighbours were considered Spanish, set apart from the new order of British ascendancy. “This qualification does not only refer to the active presence of mutually established historical perceptions in the Caribbean among the population of areas of distinct colonial influence, but also to the persistence of ideological-cultural elements that were articulated to them and that had their origin in deeply-rooted images of the collective conscience. (Serbin, 1986:25).
To this new Trinidad, Miranda arrived - in the first instance for a stay from June to July 1806 to prepare for a re-start of his expedition to the continent. Having been disappointed at Ocumare on 28th April, in Trinidad, Miranda was able to disassociate himself from the Captain Lewis, who proved to be most untrustworthy, with whom 40 sailors and 2 contramaestres mutinied, all of them involved in contraband and discordant behaviour on the Miranda expedition. Miranda is guest of honour at Government House and he was accorded all the attentions and courtesies of an illustrious visitor by Governor Hislop.
During this period, Miranda concentrated on the training of the men who would go with him on the expedition as well as dealing with the ensuing problems of the cultural differences between North Americans, French and Spanish-speaking men. An almost endless collection of notes and general orders edited by the General himself demonstrate that this heterogeneous group of men were extremely difficult to discipline.
Miranda was at the time living between the Governor’s house and the Leander, in order to properly monitor the general conduct of the men and to maintain military discipline. To give the reader an idea of what it was like to live in the Government House of that time, which was occupied by Thomas Hislop between 1803 and 1810, the following is an interesting description given by Mr. Thomas James St. Hill in 1920 to Mr. C.B. Franklin, six months before his death at the age of 90. He had lived in the house at one time. It is also interesting to note that this is the same house that Governor Woodford, who arrived in 1813 to take up his duties, lived in but who complained bitterly on numerous occasions about its total inappropriateness as the residence of the Governor of the island, and who eventually was able to persuade the British Government to purchase the Peschier family estate of Hollandaise, where Government House now stands. The present house however, was built in the latter part of the 19th Century and was therefore not the house that Woodford occupied.
“The house had no pretensions to architectural beauty, but the interior was nicely furnished. The ceiling and sides were of plaster of Paris; the walls were of tapia made from black pick-mock roseau, grown in the forest, split into three, with the pith scooped out and tapia laid between. The tapia was covered with white lime plaster, and plaster of Paris was laid over all the interior walls. There was a chandelier in each of the two large rooms, the drawing room and the ballroom. Stucco work was around the chandeliers, while a gilt frieze ran around the rooms at the top. The doors were of cedar and nicely worked in design; the locks were brass ones about 8 or 9 inches wide. The staircase was six feet wide, the balustrade of which was of mahogany with turned rails. A marble stair ran from the ground floor to the landing, comprising 12 steps of black and white. There was a front gallery twelve feet wide, and, apart from the two large rooms described above the interior was not otherwise large, so this gallery was often used as a dining veranda for balls and other purposes, the principal doors were of glass; there were no jalousie windows, but glass sashes; the reception room was marble tiled and the staircase to the West, leading from the dining room to the garden was of red tiles. The upper part that ran to the north was two-storied, otherwise it was a one-storey building”. (Franklin’s Trinidad, Select Documents, 1803-1854, by C.B. Franklin Government House, Belmont Hill, ‘The Book of Trinidad” by Gerard Besson and Bridget Brereton, Paria Publishing Company Limited). Today the Hilton Hotel is on the very site of Government House on Belmont Hill which overlooks the city and harbour of Port of Spain.
Miranda frequently visited the prominent families of the island. Here we quote from V.S. Naipaul’s book “The Loss of El Dorado”: “In Trinidad Miranda loyalists have died as is the case with his childhood friend Manuel Gual, abandoned by Picton’s government. Miranda gathered all the information he could about the death of his friend and as a final tribute, he went to St. Joseph to get his death certificate” Further on, Naipaul writes: “The death of Gual was one of the big mysteries of that time. In 1811 the Venezuelan patriots had asked governor Hislop for permission to exhume Gual’s body, which was refused. However, he told them that the parish priest of St. Joseph, the same one who, seven years before, had given Miranda Gual’s death certificate, had informed him that Gual’s remains were not at the cemetery in St. Joseph as they had thought, but that his body had been thrown into the Caroni River as he had died unrepentant.
This certificate was found among Miranda’s Trinidad correspondence. With a view to getting more English help and to reorganise his army, Miranda went to Barbados to see Admiral Cochrane, who was in charge of the British squadron in the West Indies. Cochrane offered him an escort for the Leander to the mainland, but refused military aid. On his return to Trinidad, he managed to recruit 300 volunteers and some small boats. On 23 June he writes to Brigadier General Thomas Hislop, who had replaced Picton as Governor of Trinidad: I have received news from the Colombian continent that obliges me to go to the immediate assistance of my beloved country, to relieve it from the repressive yoke of Spain, or its conversion to the slavery of France, Holland and Switzerland. It is only these considerations that impel me to leave Trinidad, as the number of volunteers falls far short of the numbers required for such an important project as the one we are trying to achieve”. It is in Trinidad where Miranda makes his proclamation “……My friends and countrymen The glorious opportunity now presents itself, of relieving from oppression and arbitrary Government, a People who are worthy of a better fate, who ought to enjoy the blessing of the finest Country in the Universe, which bountiful Providence has given them, but who are shacked by despotism too cruel for Human Nature longer to endure — groaning under their present afflictions, they aid with extended arms, the noble cause of freedom and independence and call upon you to share with them in the Godlike action of relieving your distressed fellow creatures. Hasten then to join the standard of one who has the happiness to call himself your countryman, and is determined to rescue his country, and to shed the last drop of his blood in promoting it's happiness; an object of which he has never lost sight for a moment of his life. There will be made a liberal distribution of land at the expiration of a twelve month, according to ranks and privates from the instant of their enrolment, will be entitled to provisions and clothing, with a quarter of dollar a day, of pay, not subject to any deduction. And you, brave volunteers of the Island of Trinidad who have nobly come forward, to partake with us our honours; and to share with us our prosperity, hasten to follow those officers under whose care you have already been trained and who are impatient to lead you on to victory and wealth. The Gulph that Columbus first discovered and honoured with his presence, will now witness the illustrious actions of our gallant efforts”.
In Port of Spain, Miranda was lucky enough to have recruited some foreign volunteers, of whom James Briggs said: “ Among the gentlemen that arrived to be our associates in Trinidad, there were some of good breeding and respectability who had been in regular, active service in the armies of Britain, France and Spain. Among the candidates were some young men who would shine if given the opportunity to go on an expedition of that nature, to conquer the continent and the chance to make a fortune in the new Republic of Colombia.” Biggs described them as follows: “men of education and culture—Who had no trouble aligning themselves with a such a glorious and noble cause that offered the prospect of a brilliant future as opposed to an ordinary, run-of-the-mill, poorly-remunerated, job”. Genuine heroes that would make Venezuela proud to count on in the process leading to its eventual independence from Spain. These were: James Adrien, interpreter and engineer; Lt. Alexander Bruce; Lt. Daniel Crone; Col. John Downie; Lt. De Sine; Dupino Frances, Col. in the Hussars, mentioned by the Commandant of Coro, Juan de Solas in his answer to the articles relating to the expedition which he had passed to Guevara-Vasconcelos. George Fitzwilliam, talented and educated man, Miranda’s chief secretary, who was wounded in the capture of Coro; Col. William Gage Hall, engineer; Lt. Horatio Hathaway, Artillery; Capt. Johnson, who came expressly from Barbados to command the Leander and who contributed a sum of money to the expedition, was captured, together with 15 other comrades on the coast of Coro, while they were trying to obtain water for the boats and were never seen again. Johnson was a particular enthusiast of Miranda’s cause. Le Frecier Loppenot, A.D.C to Miranda; Lt. Robert McCullagh; Lt. Phillip Nihell; Lt. Robert Roscow; Trelawney de Belhay, Squadron Commander, had fought for Austria and England and was considered of the best officers, called “Col of the Hungarians” by the Commandant of Coro, Juan de Solas an old friend of Miranda, who formed part of his committee when he arrived in New York in 1805. Lt. Samuel W. Walcott; Col. Count de Rouvray, in whom Miranda had great confidence.
On the 24th July Miranda sailed away from Trinidad commanding the Leander, escorted by some British ships; on 3rd August he entered the Gulf of Coro and divided his small force into two segments. He came ashore in La Vela and after a short spell of firepower, he defeated the 600 men who guarded the royal plaza.
In order to facilitate reading, Miranda’s documents pertaining to his stay in Trinidad have been divided into 2 periods; that is, from June to July 1806 and then from November 1806 to August 1807. However, in between these two periods, the author has taken the liberty of including various important missives which will give the reader a broad overview of Miranda’s activities on the mainland and his departure for Trinidad.
It is common knowledge in the history of both countries, the result of Miranda’s expedition to Coro, without any help, without reinforcements, without a population to back him up, who had not received the subversive pamphlets distributed in other parts of the country in previous years, urging the populace of Venezuela to rise against the oppressive yoke of Spain—Miranda had no other alternative but to re-embark on the Leander and leave.
On 13th December 1806, he went, under British naval escort, to Aruba, a Dutch possession. Miranda considered the possibility of taking the Island, as Holland was then occupied by Napoleon. He wrote to Admiral Cochrane who, instead of sending reinforcements, ordered him to abandon Aruba with his volunteers, and he set sail for Trinidad. “Finding himself abandoned by the British admiral, who had promised him powerful help, he decided to return to Trinidad, where he suffered cruel taunts by the British generals there who mocked him, as well as by people in general who previously clung to him when they thought that he would soon return as the leader of a new state. (Dauxion, 1967:216).
In his book “history of the Adventure and sufferings of Moses Smith”, Moses Smith tells us: “the freedom fighters arrived in Trinidad, their heads bowed in disgrace, their flags and uniforms, yellow, blue and red, which they had worn with such pride, as Colombians, now showed their defeat. In spite of this, they were received in Trinidad, as men who had fought for freedom.”
The Statesman, in its issue of 16th February published details such as the permanency of Miranda’s stay in Trinidad and “the hope of a new attempt”. On 28th February, the same newspaper gives an account of Miranda’s arrival in Barbados. Other London newspapers during the month of March confirm the permanency of Miranda in Trinidad and even report that he was staying in General Hislop’s country house. A Trinidad newspaper of 28th February, however, corroborated the information given in the London newspapers but added that Miranda was pursued by his creditors and that the government continued to offer him protection. The following note from John Black to Miranda, tells us at the end, in the address send to, where Williamsfield Estate, the property of Admiral Cochrane was located…….“in Maracas Valley”. Michael Anthony, the Trinidadian historian in his book entitled “Towns and Villages of Trinidad and Tobago” gives the following economic picture of this valley. “Fifteen years of British rule saw the picture change sharply, for a statement of 31st of December 1811 from Governor William Monro to the Secretary of State for the Colonies shows that the population of the valley had doubled, It's 496 people were made up of 74 whites, 190 free blacks and 232 slaves. At this point the valley was predominantly under cocoa. In fact there were 350 acres under cocoa, as compared to just 35 of sugar-cane. Coffee covered about 80 acres. However, sugar, on its comparatively small acreage, was yielding almost as much as cocoa in terms of poundage, and undoubtedly it was greater in value. In 1811 Maracas Valley produced 63,000 pounds of sugar to 64,000 pounds of cocoa. Coffee, on its 80 acres, yielded just 3,000 Ibs. No value was given for this produce. So Maracas Valley was a key area of produce, very much esteemed both by its own settlers and by the authorities. But not, of course, by the slaves, who bore the brunt of the hard work, the sweat, and the tears”. Meanwhile, Miranda, in order to pay his volunteers’ debts, decides to sell the “Leander” in Port of Spain to John B. Litlepage and William Dickinson. He had already heard about the two failed attempts by the British to take Montevideo and Buenos Aires. On March 9th 1807 he writes to the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Vansittart on 9th March 1807: “The recent catastrophe of Buenos Aires should make the British Government see how absurd is their idea of the conquest of South America. I make no mistake with respect to this question, nor with respect to the ease with which it would be possible to penetrate these countries if the independence and freedom of its population was the fundamental object of such an undertaking”.
Now, not staying at Government House in Port of Spain, Miranda moves to Williamsfield Estate in Maracas Valley, owned by Admiral Cochrane and managed by Lt. Col. Alexander Briarly until 1807; when he decided to move out because of differences of opinion with Briarly on the subject of the Buenos Aires incident. Later, in his papers, we find that he spent a few days in an inn frequented by British Army officers, close to the port and next to the military barracks, where months before he had trained his men for the second expedition. The owner of this inn was a man called McKay. After a few days, Joseph Lambot of the Montalembert family, landed gentry of much prestige in the Island, extended a helpful hand, and offered him accommodation at their home to the north of the city, about 1 league from the port where he remained for the rest of his stay in Trinidad. We continue with events during the year 1807, with a selection of letters in which the reader will find some important information on Miranda’s sojourn in Trinidad. The reader who wishes to know more about Miranda’s life should read the book by Miriam Blanco-Fombora de Hood called “El Enigma de Sarah Andrews, esposa de Francisco de Miranda”, Caracas 1981 where the subject is dealt with in depth.
The singularity of this letter is perhaps the concrete position of Miranda relevant to British policy on South America. It is surprising that Miranda, who was very much under the protection of the British in Trinidad, should speak his mind so freely in a slightly reproachful manner to Admiral Cochrane, which for Miranda was not only an insult but the attempted invasion of Buenos Aires as reported in the press of 1807 was also very poor strategy together with the disaster of Montevideo. Also of note in this letter is the last paragraph, where Miranda discusses the properties owned by the Admiral in Trinidad, especially Williamsfield, where he spent a great deal of his time.
The following notes show Miranda’s tireless mission to bring about the independence of the continent. From Trinidad, Miranda attempts to encourage his agents in England and convince the British Government that he could still have a successful expedition. These notes are testimony of the incredible faith of Miranda in his lifelong desire for independence and his consequent willingness to postpone his dream and accept exile. An important aspect in the life of Miranda was his practice of visiting the hospitals and prisons of whatever town or city he happened to be staying in. We find many instances of this in his diaries while living in Europe. In Trinidad, he followed the same pattern and in his archive for 1807 we find a letter to Miranda from a Swiss citizen by the name of Froberg, describing his problem during his stay in the Port of Spain prison: “My dear General, I have taken the liberty of writing to you twice since I have been imprisoned, to seek help through you for some relief and guidance on this unhappy position I find myself in …..” Later there is another letter which is a reply from his good friend Col. John Downie dated 26th June 1807, from the St. James Barracks, an extract from which informs “yesterday we freed from incarceration, thanks to your intervention, the little Swiss”. We also highlight the ongoing correspondence Miranda maintained with Admiral Cochrane and other generals in neighbouring islands:
Miranda spends much of his time waiting for news and indulges in a large amount of correspondence. Above all, he maintains good relations with the populace in general and continues to visit prisons and forts, among them the recently built Fort George which largely owed its existence to the efforts of Governor Hislop, who took a personal interest in its establishment. Miranda, who was an extraordinary human being, enjoyed the admiration and respect of people from all walks of life. In his personal archives, the reader will find a vast amount of reading material relating to his sojourn in Trinidad, always trying to find the way to the eventual liberation of the continent he so loved.
For 10 months, Miranda waited patiently for the least sign from both sides of the “Gulf of Desolation” or the Gulf of Paria that the time had come for another attempt. That moment of glory would not arrive until 1811.
On 24th October 1807, Miranda leaves Trinidad for London. In Port of Spain, he had left behind, arms, ammunition and 4 trunks of personal effects which later on, after the disastrous fire that destroyed almost all of Port of Spain in 1808, he would claim compensation for from the British government in a Memorandum of the same year.
After this, there is a collection of letters which take the reader to the end of Miranda’s stay in Trinidad. This final chapter contains an interesting and detailed account of a visit Miranda paid to the south of the island in a small party of friends, over a period of a month, staying at various estates. There is also a series of notes and letters of great importance in the life of our revolutionary hero and on the part played by Trinidad during the period 1808 to 1811, this final year being considered the most important of all. It was the year that his life’s work, his dream became reality. The Republic of Colombia came into existence even though only for a brief period of almost a year.
Works Consulted
-V.S. Naipaul The Loss of El Dorado;1969. -John Sherman Relación Compendiada de la Expedición del General Miranda a Sudamérica y del Juicio y Sentencia a Muerte de Diez de sus oficiales.1808 Testigos Norteamericanos de la Expedición de Miranda; 1992. -Miranda’s Expedition; The Atlantic Monthly. Volume 5, Issue 31, May 1860. -Jesús Rosas Marcano El times de Londres y la expedición de Miranda a Venezuela (1806) materiales de investigación y consideraciones sobre la prensa inglesa en la época; Universidad Central de Venezuela Caracas 1964. -Edgardo Mondolfi Testigos norteamericanos de la expedición de Miranda; Monte Ávila Editores, 1992. -Olga J. Mavrogordato Voices in the Street, Port of Spain, 1987. -Francisco de Miranda América Espera; Biblioteca Ayacucho -William Spence Robertson La Vida de Miranda, Caracas 1982 -V.S. Naipaul A Way in the World, New York 1995 -Archivo del General Miranda Negociaciones, Tomos XV hasta XXIII, La Habana,1930-1950 -Funk and Wagnalls Forjadores de Norteamérica, Buenos Aires, tomo II 1962 -Gerard Besson The Book of Trinidad, Port of Spain 1992 -Pedro Grases Gran Bretaña y la Independencia de Venezuela y Colombia, Caracas 1983 -J.M.Siso Martínez El Paisaje Histórico de Don Francisco de Miranda, Caracas 1966 -E.L Joseh History of Trinidad, Port of Spain 1838 -Miriam Blanco-Fombona de Hood El Enigma de Sarah Andrews, Esposa de Francisco de Miranda, Caracas 1981 -Carmen L. Bohórquez Morán Francisco de Miranda, Precursor de la Independencia de la América Latina, Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, Caracas, Venezuela 2001. -Miguel Castillo Didier Grecia y Francisco de Miranda, Precursor, Héroe y Mártir de la Independencia Hispanoamericana; Centro de Estudios Griegos, bizantinos y Neohelénicos, “Fotios Malleros”, Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades Universidad de Chile, 2002.
-Sara Almarza Costa Fuentes para la Historia de la República, Volúmen XII, Francisco de Miranda, Diario de Viaje a Estados Unidos 1783-1784. Centro de Investigaciones Diego Barros Arana, Ediciones Biblioteca, Archivos y Museos, Santiago de Chile, 1998. -Leonard Anduze When the Lion Stumbled, a History of the St. Ann’s, The Fondes Amandes Valleys of Trinidad 1779-1932. Paria Publishing Company Limited, Port of Sapin, Trinidad y Tobago 1989. -Paul Verna Pedro Antonio Leleux, El Francés Edecan Secretario y Amigo de Confianza de Miranda y Bolívar. Comité Ejecutivo del Bicentenario de Simón Bolívar, Caracas, Venezuela 1982. -Antonio Egea López El Pensamiento Filosófico y Político de Francisco de Miranda, Biblioteca de la Academia Nacional de la Historia, 1983. -Eric Williams Documents of West Indian History 1492-1655, PNM Publishing Co.LTD 1963, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. British Historians and Wets Indies, PNM Publishing Co.LTD 1964, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. -J.G.Lavretski Miranda. Biblioteca de la Academia Nacional de la Historia, Caracas, Venezuela 1991. -Christian Ghymers H. Francisco de Miranda y Bernardo O’Higgins en la Emancipación Hispanoamericana. Instituto O’Higginiano de Chile, 2002. -Francisco de Miranda El Colombiano. Publicaciones de la Secretaría General de la Décima Conferencia Interamericana. Caracas, Venezuela 1952. -César García Rosell Miranda y los Ex-Jesuitas Desterrados. Ediciones del Instituto de Estudios Históricos Mirandino, Caracas, Venezuela. 1970. -Alain Woodrow Los Jesuitas, Historia de un dramático conflicto. Ediciones Planeta. Madrid, España. 1984. -Josefina Rodríguez de Alonso y Manuel Pérez Vila. Documentos Fundamentales de Francisco de Miranda. Biblioteca Ayacucho, Caracas, 1992. -Juan Uslar Pietri La Revolución Francesa y la Independencia de Venezuela. Cuadernos Lagoven , Caracas, Venezuela 1989. -Stuart F. Halpine The Altar of Venus. 1st Books Library Bloomington.IN.US. 1999.
-David Ruiz chataing y Edgardo Mondolfi Miranda la aventura de la Libertad tomo I y II. Monte Avila Editores, Caracas 1990. -Sir Robert Ker Porter’s Caracas Diary, a British Diplomat in a Newborn Nation. Editorial Arte, Caracas, Venezuela 1967. -Merrill D. Peterson Thomas Jefferson, Writings. The Library of America New York.N.Y. US.1984. -Teresa Pinto González y Mike Aguilar Fagundez Rebeliones, Alzamientos y Movimientos Preindependentistas en Venezuela. Ediciones de la Presidencia de la República, 2001. -Raúl Díaz Legorburu 5 Procesos Históricos. Biblioteca de la Academia Nacional de la Historia, Caracas, Venezuela. 1981 -Andrés Serbin Etnicidad, Clase y Nación en la Cultura Política del Caribe de Habla Inglesa. Biblioteca de la Academia Nacional de la Historia, Caracas, Venezuela 1987. -Josefina Rodríguez de Alonso El Siglo de las Luces visto por Francisco de Miranda. Ediciones de la Presidencia de la República. Caracas, Venezuela. 1978. -C. Parra-Prez Páginas de Historia y de Polémica. Litografía del Comercio. Caracas, Venezuela. 1943. -Albert Gallatin Mackey The History of Freemasonry. Its Legendary Origins.Gramercy Books. New York.N.Y.US. 1996. -Mariano Picón Salas Obras Selectas, Miranda.Ediciones Edime. Caracas, Venezuela. 1953 -Bridget Brereton A History of Modern Trinidad 1783-1962. Heinemann. London. England 1981. -Hadelis Jiménez López The Venezuelan Navy In The War of Independence. Caracas, Venezuela. 2001 -Venezuela Analítica -National Archive of Trinidad and Tobago. -National Library of Trinidad and Tobago. -Gran Logia Mixta de Chile.R.L.Francisco de Miranda Nº37 -Supreme Court Library of Trinidad and Tobago —Preceding unsigned comment added by Gilberto Jaimes-Correa (talk • contribs) 20:05, 18 February 2008 (UTC)
[edit] and what about Francisco de Miranda and Count Gastón de Rouvray; found in Gilberto Jaimes's books
A Trinidadian by birth, Gaston, Count de Rouvray, became the premier diplomat of the Mirandan Columbia of 1806 and the principle Trinidadian link to continental independence
Gilberto Jaimes-Correa
The towns of Trinidad and Tobago and Venezeula, 200 years after the Liberation Expedition of Francisco de Miranda of 1806, are still looking for that historical link, that “bridge” connecting the two countries, which is now more than 42 years in social and economic construction,
The 1806 Liberation Expedition was the first international attempt at independence carried out by the commander in chief, Francisco de Miranda, native of the city of Caracas. 1806 was the initial “launch” of the “universal creole” (Miranda) and his stage was the Caribbean at large. One of the principal events was his visit to Trinidad, which was divided into 2 periods. The first period in the months of June and July and the second, during December and almost the whole of 1807.
The English newspaper, “The Times” of 13th September 1806 in an article of 4 paragraphs, at the end of which states that …..250 volunteers gathered in the islands, some of whom were sons and relations of respected families who lived in Trinidad ….”
Would these 250 volunteers be, in 1806, the lost link in Trinidad and Tobago/ Venezuelan relations? As far as we are concerned, the volunteers are the link, and especially the contribution of de Rouvray. Trinidad played an important part in the Mirandian Liberation Expedition and is therefore included in the glorious list of nations that were part of the continental liberation movement.
It was Gaston de Rouvray, with his Rouvray Lancers Division, who carried out the orders of Miranda on board “H.M.S. Lily” on 1st august 1806, to disembark and attack the Spanish batteries of the punta de la vela. It was de Rouvray, who on 2nd August of this same year, sent a note to the General saying “The fort has been taken as well as its 4 cannons”. It was to de Rouvray that Miranda referred in his letter to the Cabildo and town Council of the city of Coro on 3rd August in La Vela de Coro of 1806, when he said” The Count de Rouvray, Commander of the advanced troops of the Army, is authorized to have discussions with Your Excellencies on this important affair and to take possession of this City, while preventing disorder or disputes with the civil or ecclesiastic authorities, who should remain in the city in accordance with the instructions of the attached proclamation.
De Rouvray is the person that James Biggs refers to in his book “Historia del Intento de don Francisco de Miranda para Efectuar una Revolucion en Sur America”, when he describes the events surrounding the retirement of Miranda and the expeditionaries to the island of Trinidad. In a letter dated 21st September 1806 on the island of Aruba, he relates the following: “the Count de Rouvray paces up and down in a straight line, without looking either to the right or the left, neither noticing anyone passing by; he appears to be completely lost in thought. Unless I am on the wrong track, I would say that the count is “searching his mind for “a good idea” to present to His Excellency Miranda for conversion into a practical plan of action. The forge in which our strategies and measures for action are produced is like a factory. The Count de Rouvray presents the crude mineral called “options”, from the depths of his mind. This is then put into the high temperature melting oven of the General which always burns ardently and is therefore ready to produce the fusion.”
On 3rd November 1806 on board H.M.S. Northumberland” in Carlisle Bay, Barbados, Miranda appoints Colonel Gaston, Count de Rouvray, as his representative to the British Ministers for the purpose of presenting the position of the expeditionaries and negotiating the future of the expedition. In December 1806 in London, de Rouvray began a round of visits and negotiations, which lasted approximately 8 months during 1807, related to the 1806 expedition. These negotiations ended with a change in the cabinet of the British Government and the arrival of Miranda in Britain.
Who was de Rouvray? And what do we know of him? We know from a Memorandum signed by Governor Thomas Hislop to the officers commanding the Corps of Militia of Trinidad, that de Rouvray, with the rank of Colonel, commanded the Corps of Light Horse of the island. Through this same Memorandum we learn of Hislop’s official permission to conduct the Liberation Expedition. But perhaps, where we discover the most information about him is in a letter of Francisco de Miranda to Nicholas Vansittart, written on 3 November 1806 from Carlisle, Barbados in French, in which he says: “for this purpose we have sent in an armed ship, the Count de Rouvray, an officer of rank and ability who has been my constant assistant and who is capable of giving the Ministers all pertinent information on this important matter. He has property in Trinidad and is related to Governor Hislop, who recommended him to me as an efficient and trustworthy person, and it is for the experience that I have had with him in this campaign that the Admiral and I agree he is the right person to entrust with our dispatches”.
Furthermore, in a letter to Francisco de Miranda from his good friend John Turnbull in London dated 3rd september 1807 we learn of his loyalty and generosity towards the cause of Miranda. I cannot send this letter without once more expressing the high opinion I have of the Count de Rouvray and his superior merit and suitability to represent you and be useful to your interests and point of view. Be assured of being able to count on such an astute gentleman who is totally suited to the mission that has been conferred on him, as the Count de Rouvray”.
The knowledge that we have of de Rouvray comes entirely from the “Negotionas” volumes of the archives of General Miranda. It is also from these volumes that we know of the circumstances of his death; in a letter to Francisco de Miranda from Admiral Alexander Cochrane dated 19th July 1808, as follows: “I am very sorry to inform you of the death of de Rouvray. He had been ill for some time but succumbed to a fever which took him ……” We know from a newspaper cutting that Miranda kept, of a poetic eulogy by a lady of the island of Trinidad, that de Rouvray died at the tender age of 35 of yellow fever.
Bibliography:
“Historia del Intento de Don Francisco de Miranda para Efectuar una Revolución en Sur América” , James Biggs ; Translated by Jose Nucete-Sardi; Publication of the National Academy of History; Avila grafica-1950, Caracas. P.150-151
“Archivo del General Miranda” Negotiations volumes XVIII 1806-1807 p.43. 75-76; p. 109-112; p. 201-203; p. 3550-353, XIX 1805-1807, XX 1806-1808 p. 326-327, XXI 1808 p. 351. Editorial Lex. Havana 1950.
Gilberto Jaimes-Correa is a graduate of International Law, and a culture and history researcher. This Venezuelan Diplomat with 14 years of experience has being for the last six years head of the Cultural Sections at the Embassies of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Santiago de Chile and in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. For four years, Coordinator of the Venezuelan Institute for Culture and Cooperation in Port of Spain. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Gilberto Jaimes-Correa (talk • contribs) 20:08, 18 February 2008 (UTC)
[edit] and Trinidad and its roll in the Independence of South America? Mr. Jaimes, has a lot to say about that!
Trinidad – the main starting point of the insurrection by Gilberto Jaimes-Correa
During Miranda’s stay in France, the plan for the separation of Spain from its American colonies had not completely been forgotten by England. Among the British, with whom Miranda had shared his hopes, was Nicholas Vansittart, a young lawyer and politician whose career was on the rise. Motivated by his mercantile interests, in August 1796, the same month in which France and Spain had signed a non-aggression treaty, Vansittart proposed a bold plan in which Britain would organise an expedition to invade and conquer South America and Mexico.
The clash of England, France and Holland against Spain coincided with the beginnings of the independence movements in the Spanish American colonies. Trinidad, Jamaica and Haiti supported these rebel movements, by offering asylum and moral support.
The loss of Trinidad in 1797 to the English, perhaps the only important British campaign against Spain during the war, signified for the Spanish Crown not only a considerable reduction of political and commercial control in the Caribbean but worse still, the risk of revolutionary invasion from the island, commanded by Miranda, and assisted ideologically, politically, militarily and economically by the British authorities, with especial help from governor Picton, which was probably the reason for the presence of the “treacherous Albion” on continental territory with its obvious consequences.
An able Scottish politician, friend of William Pitt, then Prime Minister of England, called Henry Dundas, Minister of War, was greatly interested in the commercial relations between Spanish America and the British West Indies. In April of 1797, Dundas gave instructions to Thomas Picton, who had just been appointed governor of the recently captured Trinidad, to pay particular attention to the methods by which trade between the colony and the Spanish Main could be encouraged.
He informed governor Picton to tell Spanish colonists in opposition to the repressive politics of the mother country (Spain) that they would receive help from England in their fight for independence. This encouraged Picton to initiate a huge drive to make and distribute material, which was considered subversive in those times.
This gesture however, was far from being considered the complete conversion of the British government to the cause of independence for Venezuela, as they made serious objections to a policy which implied a change in the existing order of things. Great Britain objected strongly to the principles of government practised by the French Revolution and did not want French Republicans in Spanish America. This attitude can be seen clearly in the Picton-Manuel Gual incident.
It is important to point out that, when the British became interested in the independence of the Spanish colonies, it was only with hostilities in mind but perhaps thanks to Miranda, in the beginning years of the 19th Century, they began to realise the importance of commerce between the two which was far more beneficial to their cause. Between January 1800 and January 1801, cargo to the value of 639,220 pesos was registered at the port of Port of Spain from the Spanish Main. Between 1801 and 1802, cargo amounting to the value of 847,330 pesos was received and in the first six months of 1803 cargo totalling a value of 528,380 pesos was recorded, which demonstrates an increase in the first six months over the previous year and gives an idea of the amount of trade taking place between the two countries.
By the same token, with the arrival in Trinidad of printing presses, a pamphlet campaign was organised to flood eastern Venezuela and naturally, English newspapers and books considered impious by the Catholic Church, followed swiftly in the wake of the pamphlets. The Spanish Court was soon made aware of the arrival of this questionable literature on Spanish colonial soil and on 7th June 1797, the Spanish Government ordered the Captain General of Venezuela to collect all the books and papers that were prejudicial to the purity of religious thought, public peace and colonial subordination that had been brought into the colony.
At this same time, in the French Assembly in Paris, the idea of inciting Spanish colonists to get rid of their burdensome yoke of colonial rule was germinating and Cotein wrote a manifesto which was sent to the Spanish colonies. The Conde de Floridablanca was apprised of this and the Captain General of Venezuela, on 23rd September 1789, was ordered to prohibit the introduction of these papers, whose primary objective was to foment revolution and religious laxity”. There was good reason for the Spanish government to be alarmed. From March 1792 the French government busied itself with hostilities towards the Spanish colonies.
France began to foment insurrection in the Spanish colonies when it appointed Francisco de Miranda to the post of Commandant General of the French West Indies. His base was the French colony of St. Domingue (Pickering Mss. XXIV, 150).
The French Republicans resident on the island, together with Venezuelan patriots took it upon themselves to distribute “The Rights of Man” on the Spanish Main, which was a nightmare for the Spanish colonial government. On 1st November 1794, the Captain General of Venezuela announced to the Governors and Prelates of the provinces that “The Rights of Man” had begun to appear in Bogotá and gave the address of the printer in Trinidad. This work had been condemned by the Inquisition on 13th December 1789 and was the object of persistent persecution because it was thought that its intention was to capture the interest of those of loose morals and religious laxity and to provoke civil disorder against the established government in the dominions of S.M.I (His Imperial Majesty) of the Viceroy Expeleta, 5th September 1794 of the Viceroyalty of Lima, 12 December 1794).
The same Captaincy General, in 1798 mentioned “the inevitable introduction of pamphlets from foreign islands and the Old World, in spite of the active vigilance of the magistrates to prevent it”. “Among these pamphlets was one from neighbouring Trinidad which contained the most advanced ideas on the independence of the entire continent”.
The pamphlet referred to was Governor Thomas Picton’s proclamation in 1797. The Captaincy General commented as follows: “The suggestions of the British commander of the island of Trinidad, who has not only inundated the coast with printed matter and manuscripts but has added offers of powerful protection and free trade to the people of Caracas that will make them happy”. Discussing the affair, the Royal Advocate of Caracas said “the English have been distributing pamphlets and manuscripts all over the coast, exciting the inhabitants to revolt by offering free trade and successful achievement of independence to those discontents who were seduced by the first maxims of revolution”. (Asp. I,371).
In this context, Thomas Picton wrote to Henry Dundas, British Minister of War – “The only way to open extensive trade with our country is to produce a revolution, which can easily prove successful by arming the country in general.” (Picton to Dundas. September 18th , 1797. P.R.O. Trinidad).
The governor of Trinidad then, as already stated in dispatches of the Captaincy General, flooded eastern Venezuela with printed subversionary matter according to official reports from the Governor of Cumana on 23rd April 1797 and of Margarita on 13th and 28th of the same month, in which they quoted as follows from pamphlets encountered: “Good Fortune is offered to the inhabitants of the Spanish Main: complete and entire liberty for all your commercial activity; suppression of duties both incoming and outgoing; permission to cultivate whatever is desired and to sell the fruits thereof; election of the Government of their desire, under the protection of the British Armed Forces. (Archives of the Academia de la Historia).
“It will not be difficult, says Picton to his Government, “to excite a rebellion in the Spanish provinces of Cumana and Caracas, whose effect and example will encourage the whole continent to revolt” (Picton to Dundas, P.R.O. Trinidad).
It is evident from official and confidential correspondence between the Spanish authorities in South America, confronting this imminent danger, that they are very worried and fearful. Miguel Herrera, Governor of Margarita wrote to the Captain General of Caracas, Manuel de Guevara y Vasconcelos, the following: “Dear Capitan General, In my zeal to execute my responsibilities in the service of the king, and the peacefulness of his possessions, I am always watchful for news of the Islands, and in particular, Trinidad from where I received the following communication from an informant: “This government thinks about antagonizing the Spanish Main, contributing to its uprising, for which they await the arrival of Miranda, who has designed the project, sending some booklets of 30 pages, which contains talk against the governments and suggests ways of terminating them with all manner of perverse things and infernal ideas; […] Also, one of my confidants has assured me that an order of the British government has been issued to gather up all the fugitives from the gaols of the Spanish Main and render them protection, and those fugitives who bring news as well, and that one of the most important duties of Picton is to take advantage of the disillusionment of the inhabitants and to make them happy, and in conclusion, says he knows a lot and will send me a copy of one of the booklets, but there is a huge plan and that Miranda is the author of it”. A booklet of 30 pages, without doubt the letter of Viscardo. (Margarita 23 August 1803), Archive of the Indies, Estado 71, n.6, Margarita, 08-23-1803.
The booklet - “Lettre aux Espagnols-Americains” was the work of Juan Pablo Viscardo y Guzman which, probably at the instigation of Miranda, was published in Philadelphia in 1799. It was one of the first and most ardent publications for Spanish American emancipation and soon became used as a vehicle for spreading the “freedom gospel”. In a letter to Gual of 4th October 1799, Miranda instructed him to ask the Governor of Trinidad for a copy of the booklet which had been sent to Trinidad for circulation in South America. “Ask him for one, says the Venezuelan, and you will find in it the most solid arguments and rationale our compatriot Viscardo gives for the beauty and Justice of our cause” Four months later, Gual informed Miranda that he had read the booklet with “sacred enthusiasm” (Paper found by me from one of the addresses of the Jesuit Rossi to the English government in 1797. Mir. MSS.,t. XLV).
It was in eastern Venezuela and in Caracas that the revolutionary clandestine press did the most damage to the Spanish government, which was not the case in the west of the country. For example, the island of Curacao was only interested in contraband trade and it is for this reason that subversive material never arrived either in Coro or Maracaibo and these two cities remained completely faithful to Spain, and were the first disembarkation points chosen by Miranda for his expedition.
In a letter of the Captain General to the Secretary of State on 23rd June 1799, on the subject of the introduction of subversive literature, the following is evident: “Similar leaflets are very useful for spreading false and prejudicial opinions to the masses on the just and impartial system of the Spanish Government and its laws, which is the hope of the Governor of Trinidad and also the Minister in London”. Undoubtedly, the government of Picton protected this propaganda, even though it was the work of isolated patriots in the Island. As they were the leaders of the rising of 1797, the retired Captain of the battalion of veterans of Caracas, Manuel Gual; (el Justicia Mayor) the Magistrate of Macuto, José María España and the lawyer, Manzanares; also José María Casañas, originally from Guiria; the aragonese resident in La Guaira, active collaborator of España and Gual, José Montesinos Rico; the old Cuban sailor, Carlos Cañero; the Venezuelan planter, resident in Trinidad, Francisco Febles, the brother-in-law of José María España, Domingo Sanchez; and Andres España, the son of Jose Maria, among others.
This group of men together, formed part of an ardently active spy ring; who not only dedicated themselves to the distribution of the independence ideals of Miranda to the Spanish Main but also to inform Miranda on the progress of the movement in South America. Trinidad was transformed during the period into a centre of espionage; where macabre plans were carried out, such as the poisoning of Manuel Gual in St. Joseph on 25th October 1800 by a Spaniard called Valecillo, who, has always been a complete mystery. The validity of this conclusion became apparent in 1806, when the attempt at annexation and emancipation ended in total failure. Neither the conquest of Buenos Aires by Admiral Sir Home Popham nor the expedition commanded by Miranda to liberate Venezuela were officially approved by the British Government., although both parties claimed that their efforts had the approval of the British Prime Minister, William Pitt. Unfortunately Pitt died in 1806 during Miranda’s stay in Trinidad and to the surprise of the new English cabinet, did not leave any documentary evidence of the participation of Britain in the Miranda expedition.
In 1807, a new British Government was formed and Lord Castlreagh assumed the leadership and closed an important chapter in the activity of espionage in Trinidad. Castlereagh, after evaluating the situation between the two powers, concluded that the annexation of South America was totally outside the sphere of influence of his government and that in any plan of liberation. Great Britain would only play the role of moral support and protection.
Among the Miranda documents, are copies and extracts of confidential documents of the time sent to Miranda by different agents in Trinidad, where relations between the two neighbouring powers in the Gulf of Paria, are discussed.
Inhabitants of Trinidad in 1804.
White English ...................................... 363 Spaniards ……...................................... 419 French ……........................................... 1571 Total White ........................................... 2353. Free People of Colour mostly French 6,407 Indian Natives ....................................... 1.071
Slaves 1/3 French …............................ 20.919 Total Inhabitants ................................. 30.750,
We assume that the reader has already put together the events of the Miranda expedition from the foregoing reports. However, we now reproduce a series of documents relative to the expedition which will give the reader an even better opportunity to come to his own conclusions on the subject of the Expedition. This chapter, attempts to show Miranda’s life and activity in Trinidad. It is in two parts: the first part covers the period from the end of May to July 1806 and the second covers the much longer stay from November 1806 to August 1807, when he decided to leave for London. This chapter, therefore is one of the most important, as it reveals in its correspondence and descriptive documents, Miranda’s zeal and activity.
John Sherman, a member of Miranda’s expeditionary team, tells us in the following account of his triumphant arrival in Trinidad in 1806, as a celebrity: “He is 5 feet 10 inches in height, well-proportioned and active. He has healthy looking, rosy-tinged dark skin: his light almond-coloured eyes are penetrating, lively, intelligent and expressive. His teeth are excellent and he looks after them very well. His nose is perfect, more English than roman; his chest is broad and prominent; he has long grey hair and wears it tied at the back and powdered. His sideburns and grey hair are strong and abundant. His expression is one of tenacity and pride. He is well-dressed rather than elegant. He has the habit of continually picking his teeth. He is constantly in movement, even when sitting, almost like the movement of the pendulum of a clock. He sleeps for a few minutes every day after lunch and then he is active until bed-time at midnight. He is an example of moderation. Bad or meagre meals do not elicit complaints from him. He does not drink. Warmth and charm, he says, are the best medicine. Bitterness and coldness are the scourge of humanity. His manners are those of a gentleman and he conducts himself with dignity and grace. He is of even temperament, except when he is furious and then he assumes the look and tone that suits him. In general, he appears haughty and impressive. He loses his aplomb when he is upset and is impatient when contradicted. In conversation he is logical in his presentation of ideas; and seems to forget nothing. He has a prodigious memory for names, dates, officials …..”(John Sherman, from his account of the Expedition of General Miranda to South America and of the Judgement and Sentence to death of 10 of his officials).
From 1802, a heterogeneous society began to develop in Trinidad as a result of the different cultural origins of the population that, in the previous century, showed little semblance of unity towards the creation of a single national identity. It is the beginning of another history – the story of two worlds that would eventually come together, although still mistrustful and distant with each other. For Anglo Trinidadians, their continental neighbours were considered Spanish, set apart from the new order of British ascendancy. “This qualification does not only refer to the active presence of mutually established historical perceptions in the Caribbean among the population of areas of distinct colonial influence, but also to the persistence of ideological-cultural elements that were articulated to them and that had their origin in deeply-rooted images of the collective conscience. (Serbin, 1986:25).
To this new Trinidad, Miranda arrived - in the first instance for a stay from June to July 1806 to prepare for a re-start of his expedition to the continent. Having been disappointed at Ocumare on 28th April, in Trinidad, Miranda was able to disassociate himself from the Captain Lewis, who proved to be most untrustworthy, with whom 40 sailors and 2 contramaestres mutinied, all of them involved in contraband and discordant behaviour on the Miranda expedition. Miranda is guest of honour at Government House and he was accorded all the attentions and courtesies of an illustrious visitor by Governor Hislop.
During this period, Miranda concentrated on the training of the men who would go with him on the expedition as well as dealing with the ensuing problems of the cultural differences between North Americans, French and Spanish-speaking men. An almost endless collection of notes and general orders edited by the General himself demonstrate that this heterogeneous group of men were extremely difficult to discipline.
Miranda was at the time living between the Governor’s house and the Leander, in order to properly monitor the general conduct of the men and to maintain military discipline. To give the reader an idea of what it was like to live in the Government House of that time, which was occupied by Thomas Hislop between 1803 and 1810, the following is an interesting description given by Mr. Thomas James St. Hill in 1920 to Mr. C.B. Franklin, six months before his death at the age of 90. He had lived in the house at one time. It is also interesting to note that this is the same house that Governor Woodford, who arrived in 1813 to take up his duties, lived in but who complained bitterly on numerous occasions about its total inappropriateness as the residence of the Governor of the island, and who eventually was able to persuade the British Government to purchase the Peschier family estate of Hollandaise, where Government House now stands. The present house however, was built in the latter part of the 19th Century and was therefore not the house that Woodford occupied.
“The house had no pretensions to architectural beauty, but the interior was nicely furnished. The ceiling and sides were of plaster of Paris; the walls were of tapia made from black pick-mock roseau, grown in the forest, split into three, with the pith scooped out and tapia laid between. The tapia was covered with white lime plaster, and plaster of Paris was laid over all the interior walls. There was a chandelier in each of the two large rooms, the drawing room and the ballroom. Stucco work was around the chandeliers, while a gilt frieze ran around the rooms at the top. The doors were of cedar and nicely worked in design; the locks were brass ones about 8 or 9 inches wide. The staircase was six feet wide, the balustrade of which was of mahogany with turned rails. A marble stair ran from the ground floor to the landing, comprising 12 steps of black and white. There was a front gallery twelve feet wide, and, apart from the two large rooms described above the interior was not otherwise large, so this gallery was often used as a dining veranda for balls and other purposes, the principal doors were of glass; there were no jalousie windows, but glass sashes; the reception room was marble tiled and the staircase to the West, leading from the dining room to the garden was of red tiles. The upper part that ran to the north was two-storied, otherwise it was a one-storey building”. (Franklin’s Trinidad, Select Documents, 1803-1854, by C.B. Franklin Government House, Belmont Hill, ‘The Book of Trinidad” by Gerard Besson and Bridget Brereton, Paria Publishing Company Limited). Today the Hilton Hotel is on the very site of Government House on Belmont Hill which overlooks the city and harbour of Port of Spain.
Miranda frequently visited the prominent families of the island. Here we quote from V.S. Naipaul’s book “The Loss of El Dorado”: “In Trinidad Miranda loyalists have died as is the case with his childhood friend Manuel Gual, abandoned by Picton’s government. Miranda gathered all the information he could about the death of his friend and as a final tribute, he went to St. Joseph to get his death certificate” Further on, Naipaul writes: “The death of Gual was one of the big mysteries of that time. In 1811 the Venezuelan patriots had asked governor Hislop for permission to exhume Gual’s body, which was refused. However, he told them that the parish priest of St. Joseph, the same one who, seven years before, had given Miranda Gual’s death certificate, had informed him that Gual’s remains were not at the cemetery in St. Joseph as they had thought, but that his body had been thrown into the Caroni River as he had died unrepentant.
This certificate was found among Miranda’s Trinidad correspondence. With a view to getting more English help and to reorganise his army, Miranda went to Barbados to see Admiral Cochrane, who was in charge of the British squadron in the West Indies. Cochrane offered him an escort for the Leander to the mainland, but refused military aid. On his return to Trinidad, he managed to recruit 300 volunteers and some small boats. On 23 June he writes to Brigadier General Thomas Hislop, who had replaced Picton as Governor of Trinidad: I have received news from the Colombian continent that obliges me to go to the immediate assistance of my beloved country, to relieve it from the repressive yoke of Spain, or its conversion to the slavery of France, Holland and Switzerland. It is only these considerations that impel me to leave Trinidad, as the number of volunteers falls far short of the numbers required for such an important project as the one we are trying to achieve”. It is in Trinidad where Miranda makes his proclamation “……My friends and countrymen The glorious opportunity now presents itself, of relieving from oppression and arbitrary Government, a People who are worthy of a better fate, who ought to enjoy the blessing of the finest Country in the Universe, which bountiful Providence has given them, but who are shacked by despotism too cruel for Human Nature longer to endure — groaning under their present afflictions, they aid with extended arms, the noble cause of freedom and independence and call upon you to share with them in the Godlike action of relieving your distressed fellow creatures. Hasten then to join the standard of one who has the happiness to call himself your countryman, and is determined to rescue his country, and to shed the last drop of his blood in promoting it's happiness; an object of which he has never lost sight for a moment of his life. There will be made a liberal distribution of land at the expiration of a twelve month, according to ranks and privates from the instant of their enrolment, will be entitled to provisions and clothing, with a quarter of dollar a day, of pay, not subject to any deduction. And you, brave volunteers of the Island of Trinidad who have nobly come forward, to partake with us our honours; and to share with us our prosperity, hasten to follow those officers under whose care you have already been trained and who are impatient to lead you on to victory and wealth. The Gulph that Columbus first discovered and honoured with his presence, will now witness the illustrious actions of our gallant efforts”.
In Port of Spain, Miranda was lucky enough to have recruited some foreign volunteers, of whom James Briggs said: “ Among the gentlemen that arrived to be our associates in Trinidad, there were some of good breeding and respectability who had been in regular, active service in the armies of Britain, France and Spain. Among the candidates were some young men who would shine if given the opportunity to go on an expedition of that nature, to conquer the continent and the chance to make a fortune in the new Republic of Colombia.” Biggs described them as follows: “men of education and culture—Who had no trouble aligning themselves with a such a glorious and noble cause that offered the prospect of a brilliant future as opposed to an ordinary, run-of-the-mill, poorly-remunerated, job”. Genuine heroes that would make Venezuela proud to count on in the process leading to its eventual independence from Spain. These were: James Adrien, interpreter and engineer; Lt. Alexander Bruce; Lt. Daniel Crone; Col. John Downie; Lt. De Sine; Dupino Frances, Col. in the Hussars, mentioned by the Commandant of Coro, Juan de Solas in his answer to the articles relating to the expedition which he had passed to Guevara-Vasconcelos. George Fitzwilliam, talented and educated man, Miranda’s chief secretary, who was wounded in the capture of Coro; Col. William Gage Hall, engineer; Lt. Horatio Hathaway, Artillery; Capt. Johnson, who came expressly from Barbados to command the Leander and who contributed a sum of money to the expedition, was captured, together with 15 other comrades on the coast of Coro, while they were trying to obtain water for the boats and were never seen again. Johnson was a particular enthusiast of Miranda’s cause. Le Frecier Loppenot, A.D.C to Miranda; Lt. Robert McCullagh; Lt. Phillip Nihell; Lt. Robert Roscow; Trelawney de Belhay, Squadron Commander, had fought for Austria and England and was considered of the best officers, called “Col of the Hungarians” by the Commandant of Coro, Juan de Solas an old friend of Miranda, who formed part of his committee when he arrived in New York in 1805. Lt. Samuel W. Walcott; Col. Count de Rouvray, in whom Miranda had great confidence.
On the 24th July Miranda sailed away from Trinidad commanding the Leander, escorted by some British ships; on 3rd August he entered the Gulf of Coro and divided his small force into two segments. He came ashore in La Vela and after a short spell of firepower, he defeated the 600 men who guarded the royal plaza.
In order to facilitate reading, Miranda’s documents pertaining to his stay in Trinidad have been divided into 2 periods; that is, from June to July 1806 and then from November 1806 to August 1807. However, in between these two periods, the author has taken the liberty of including various important missives which will give the reader a broad overview of Miranda’s activities on the mainland and his departure for Trinidad.
It is common knowledge in the history of both countries, the result of Miranda’s expedition to Coro, without any help, without reinforcements, without a population to back him up, who had not received the subversive pamphlets distributed in other parts of the country in previous years, urging the populace of Venezuela to rise against the oppressive yoke of Spain—Miranda had no other alternative but to re-embark on the Leander and leave.
On 13th December 1806, he went, under British naval escort, to Aruba, a Dutch possession. Miranda considered the possibility of taking the Island, as Holland was then occupied by Napoleon. He wrote to Admiral Cochrane who, instead of sending reinforcements, ordered him to abandon Aruba with his volunteers, and he set sail for Trinidad. “Finding himself abandoned by the British admiral, who had promised him powerful help, he decided to return to Trinidad, where he suffered cruel taunts by the British generals there who mocked him, as well as by people in general who previously clung to him when they thought that he would soon return as the leader of a new state. (Dauxion, 1967:216).
In his book “history of the Adventure and sufferings of Moses Smith”, Moses Smith tells us: “the freedom fighters arrived in Trinidad, their heads bowed in disgrace, their flags and uniforms, yellow, blue and red, which they had worn with such pride, as Colombians, now showed their defeat. In spite of this, they were received in Trinidad, as men who had fought for freedom.”
The Statesman, in its issue of 16th February published details such as the permanency of Miranda’s stay in Trinidad and “the hope of a new attempt”. On 28th February, the same newspaper gives an account of Miranda’s arrival in Barbados. Other London newspapers during the month of March confirm the permanency of Miranda in Trinidad and even report that he was staying in General Hislop’s country house. A Trinidad newspaper of 28th February, however, corroborated the information given in the London newspapers but added that Miranda was pursued by his creditors and that the government continued to offer him protection. The following note from John Black to Miranda, tells us at the end, in the address send to, where Williamsfield Estate, the property of Admiral Cochrane was located…….“in Maracas Valley”. Michael Anthony, the Trinidadian historian in his book entitled “Towns and Villages of Trinidad and Tobago” gives the following economic picture of this valley. “Fifteen years of British rule saw the picture change sharply, for a statement of 31st of December 1811 from Governor William Monro to the Secretary of State for the Colonies shows that the population of the valley had doubled, It's 496 people were made up of 74 whites, 190 free blacks and 232 slaves. At this point the valley was predominantly under cocoa. In fact there were 350 acres under cocoa, as compared to just 35 of sugar-cane. Coffee covered about 80 acres. However, sugar, on its comparatively small acreage, was yielding almost as much as cocoa in terms of poundage, and undoubtedly it was greater in value. In 1811 Maracas Valley produced 63,000 pounds of sugar to 64,000 pounds of cocoa. Coffee, on its 80 acres, yielded just 3,000 Ibs. No value was given for this produce. So Maracas Valley was a key area of produce, very much esteemed both by its own settlers and by the authorities. But not, of course, by the slaves, who bore the brunt of the hard work, the sweat, and the tears”. Meanwhile, Miranda, in order to pay his volunteers’ debts, decides to sell the “Leander” in Port of Spain to John B. Litlepage and William Dickinson. He had already heard about the two failed attempts by the British to take Montevideo and Buenos Aires. On March 9th 1807 he writes to the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Vansittart on 9th March 1807: “The recent catastrophe of Buenos Aires should make the British Government see how absurd is their idea of the conquest of South America. I make no mistake with respect to this question, nor with respect to the ease with which it would be possible to penetrate these countries if the independence and freedom of its population was the fundamental object of such an undertaking”.
Now, not staying at Government House in Port of Spain, Miranda moves to Williamsfield Estate in Maracas Valley, owned by Admiral Cochrane and managed by Lt. Col. Alexander Briarly until 1807; when he decided to move out because of differences of opinion with Briarly on the subject of the Buenos Aires incident. Later, in his papers, we find that he spent a few days in an inn frequented by British Army officers, close to the port and next to the military barracks, where months before he had trained his men for the second expedition. The owner of this inn was a man called McKay. After a few days, Joseph Lambot of the Montalembert family, landed gentry of much prestige in the Island, extended a helpful hand, and offered him accommodation at their home to the north of the city, about 1 league from the port where he remained for the rest of his stay in Trinidad. We continue with events during the year 1807, with a selection of letters in which the reader will find some important information on Miranda’s sojourn in Trinidad. The reader who wishes to know more about Miranda’s life should read the book by Miriam Blanco-Fombora de Hood called “El Enigma de Sarah Andrews, esposa de Francisco de Miranda”, Caracas 1981 where the subject is dealt with in depth.
The singularity of this letter is perhaps the concrete position of Miranda relevant to British policy on South America. It is surprising that Miranda, who was very much under the protection of the British in Trinidad, should speak his mind so freely in a slightly reproachful manner to Admiral Cochrane, which for Miranda was not only an insult but the attempted invasion of Buenos Aires as reported in the press of 1807 was also very poor strategy together with the disaster of Montevideo. Also of note in this letter is the last paragraph, where Miranda discusses the properties owned by the Admiral in Trinidad, especially Williamsfield, where he spent a great deal of his time.
The following notes show Miranda’s tireless mission to bring about the independence of the continent. From Trinidad, Miranda attempts to encourage his agents in England and convince the British Government that he could still have a successful expedition. These notes are testimony of the incredible faith of Miranda in his lifelong desire for independence and his consequent willingness to postpone his dream and accept exile. An important aspect in the life of Miranda was his practice of visiting the hospitals and prisons of whatever town or city he happened to be staying in. We find many instances of this in his diaries while living in Europe. In Trinidad, he followed the same pattern and in his archive for 1807 we find a letter to Miranda from a Swiss citizen by the name of Froberg, describing his problem during his stay in the Port of Spain prison: “My dear General, I have taken the liberty of writing to you twice since I have been imprisoned, to seek help through you for some relief and guidance on this unhappy position I find myself in …..” Later there is another letter which is a reply from his good friend Col. John Downie dated 26th June 1807, from the St. James Barracks, an extract from which informs “yesterday we freed from incarceration, thanks to your intervention, the little Swiss”. We also highlight the ongoing correspondence Miranda maintained with Admiral Cochrane and other generals in neighbouring islands:
Miranda spends much of his time waiting for news and indulges in a large amount of correspondence. Above all, he maintains good relations with the populace in general and continues to visit prisons and forts, among them the recently built Fort George which largely owed its existence to the efforts of Governor Hislop, who took a personal interest in its establishment. Miranda, who was an extraordinary human being, enjoyed the admiration and respect of people from all walks of life. In his personal archives, the reader will find a vast amount of reading material relating to his sojourn in Trinidad, always trying to find the way to the eventual liberation of the continent he so loved.
For 10 months, Miranda waited patiently for the least sign from both sides of the “Gulf of Desolation” or the Gulf of Paria that the time had come for another attempt. That moment of glory would not arrive until 1811.
On 24th October 1807, Miranda leaves Trinidad for London. In Port of Spain, he had left behind, arms, ammunition and 4 trunks of personal effects which later on, after the disastrous fire that destroyed almost all of Port of Spain in 1808, he would claim compensation for from the British government in a Memorandum of the same year.
After this, there is a collection of letters which take the reader to the end of Miranda’s stay in Trinidad. This final chapter contains an interesting and detailed account of a visit Miranda paid to the south of the island in a small party of friends, over a period of a month, staying at various estates. There is also a series of notes and letters of great importance in the life of our revolutionary hero and on the part played by Trinidad during the period 1808 to 1811, this final year being considered the most important of all. It was the year that his life’s work, his dream became reality. The Republic of Colombia came into existence even though only for a brief period of almost a year.
Works Consulted
-V.S. Naipaul The Loss of El Dorado;1969. -John Sherman Relación Compendiada de la Expedición del General Miranda a Sudamérica y del Juicio y Sentencia a Muerte de Diez de sus oficiales.1808 Testigos Norteamericanos de la Expedición de Miranda; 1992. -Miranda’s Expedition; The Atlantic Monthly. Volume 5, Issue 31, May 1860. -Jesús Rosas Marcano El times de Londres y la expedición de Miranda a Venezuela (1806) materiales de investigación y consideraciones sobre la prensa inglesa en la época; Universidad Central de Venezuela Caracas 1964. -Edgardo Mondolfi Testigos norteamericanos de la expedición de Miranda; Monte Ávila Editores, 1992. -Olga J. Mavrogordato Voices in the Street, Port of Spain, 1987. -Francisco de Miranda América Espera; Biblioteca Ayacucho -William Spence Robertson La Vida de Miranda, Caracas 1982 -V.S. Naipaul A Way in the World, New York 1995 -Archivo del General Miranda Negociaciones, Tomos XV hasta XXIII, La Habana,1930-1950 -Funk and Wagnalls Forjadores de Norteamérica, Buenos Aires, tomo II 1962 -Gerard Besson The Book of Trinidad, Port of Spain 1992 -Pedro Grases Gran Bretaña y la Independencia de Venezuela y Colombia, Caracas 1983 -J.M.Siso Martínez El Paisaje Histórico de Don Francisco de Miranda, Caracas 1966 -E.L Joseh History of Trinidad, Port of Spain 1838 -Miriam Blanco-Fombona de Hood El Enigma de Sarah Andrews, Esposa de Francisco de Miranda, Caracas 1981 -Carmen L. Bohórquez Morán Francisco de Miranda, Precursor de la Independencia de la América Latina, Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, Caracas, Venezuela 2001. -Miguel Castillo Didier Grecia y Francisco de Miranda, Precursor, Héroe y Mártir de la Independencia Hispanoamericana; Centro de Estudios Griegos, bizantinos y Neohelénicos, “Fotios Malleros”, Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades Universidad de Chile, 2002.
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