West Indies collection, 1728-1883.

ArchivalResource

West Indies collection, 1728-1883.

West Indies collection, 1728-1883.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/86142667

Selected public documents reflect land tenure in the Parish of Vere, Jamaica, principally for George Radcliff, a sugar planter (1816-1839). Other documents pertain to lands in the West Indies and include a conveyance for the sale of a plantation, slaves, and livestock on the island of Antigua and a mortgage and lease for two coffee plantations in the colony of Berbice, British Guiana (1813, 1817). One item documents the surrender of the charter of the Levant Company (1825). Copies of letters and petitions (1728-1739) relate to the conflict between the British and Spanish governments prior to the War of Jenkin's Ear (1739-1741), and especially to claims of British subjects against Spanish depredations which disrupted commerce with the American colonies and the West Indies. Documents include letters of Sir Benjamin Keene, translations of accords between the British and Spanish governments, petitions of grievances to Parliament presented before the committee of the House, and the report of the committee. A diary (Jan. 14-March 13, 1795) kept by Captain Leigh provides information concerning army and navy procedures relative to the handling of prisoners, the opening of ports to American vessels, the handling of civil suits, the state of the militia at Martinique, the geography of Martinique, the customs of the French people (particularly the wealthy planters), the backgrounds of small planters, and the destruction of property caused by French patriots on the island. Included with the diary is a copy of a letter by detachment commanders explaining why a retreat by British forces on the island of Grenada was necessary, and a copy of a letter from Captain Leigh to Sir I. Vaughan, commander-in-chief of the British Army at Martinique, requesting reinforcements to quell an insurrection. The collection also includes several letters by employees of merchants and slave traders active in the West Indies. A letter by Golden Dearth to Edward Spalding, a shipping merchant and slave trader from Bristol, R.I., based in Matanzas, Cuba, describes the capture of a pirate ship by a party of Americans close to Dearth's seat of operations in Trinidad, Cuba. A letter book of Edward Spalding contains copies of letters largely written to the firm of Jacob, Babbitt, & Co. concerning the loading of cargo and the shipment of goods, market conditions for sugar and molasses, and the arrival of slave ships in the harbor. Finally, a letter by David Beekman, a slave trader, written to Chistopher Champlin, a general merchant based in Newport, R.I., describes a tedious ocean journey, apparently from West Africa, and the high value of slaves from the Gold Coast and the prices they fetch.

38 items.1 ms. v. ; 32 x 20 cm.

Louisiana State University, LSU Libraries