demned. Those who could escape the tyranny of the Spaniards had followed him in his retreat.

The Spaniards soon overcame the Indians. Hatney was taken in the woods, and condeinned to be burned. When he was fastened to the stake, and waited only for the kindling of the fire, a priest advanced towards him, and proposed the ceremony of baptism as a means of entering the Christian paradise. "Are there," said the cacique, "any Spaniards in that happy place?" "Yes," replied the priest. "I will not," replied Hatney, "go to a place where I should be in danger of meeting one of them. Talk to me no more of your religion, but leave me to die."

Velasquez found no more enemies. All the caciques hastened to do him homage. After the mines had been opened, and it was found that they did not answer, the inhabitants of Cuba, having become useless, were exterminated. A small part only of this island is cleared; there are only some traces of cultivation at St. Jago, and at Matanzas; the fine plantations are all confined to the beautiful plains of the Havana.

Havana, the capital of Cuba, is a fine city, and the harbour one of the safest in the world. The English took it in the year 1762, but it was restored at the peace of 1763, since which time prodigious pains have been taken to render this key to all the Spanish American colonies impregnable

HAYTI, OR ST. DOMINGO.

THIS island was discovered by Columbus in 1492, and is, next to Cuba, the largest of the West India islands. It is upwards of four hundred miles in length, from east to west, and averages, more than one hundred in breadth. Having taken possession of it in the name of Spain, Columbus founded the town of La Isabella on the north coast, and established in it, under his brother Diego, the first settlement of the Spaniards in the New World. It was in high estimation for the quantity of gold it supplied; but this wealth diminished with the inhabitants of the country, whom they compelled to perpetual labour in the mines; and it was entirely lost when those wretched victims were no more. The cruelties of the Spaniards almost exceed belief. It is computed, that considerably more than a million of natives (the number at the time of its discovery) perished in the space of fifty years, by the hands or through the means of the conquerors.

The gold mines have failed for want of hands to dig them. The Span iards thought of procuring slaves from Africa, to re-open them, and numbers were imported but the mines on the continent having been begun to be worked with good effect, those of St. Domingo were no longer of importance. The settlers then turned their thoughts to agriculture, which was cultivated with success. Sugar, tobacco, cocoa, cassia, ginger and cotton, were among their productions at the close of the sixeenth century. The immense fortunes raised in Mexico, and other parts, induced the inhabitants of St. Domingo to despise their settlements, and they quitted the island in numbers in search of those regions of wealth. This conduct ruined St. Domingo. It had no intercourse with the mother, country, but by a single ship, of no great burden, received from thence every third year; and the whole colony, in 1717, consisted of only eighteen thousand four hundred and ten, including Spaniards, Mestees, Mulattoes and Negroes.

The Spaniards retained possession of the whole istaland till 1665, when the French obtained a footing on its western coast, and laid the foundation of that colony which sfterwards became so flourishing. The French settlers increased very fast; and sugar works were erected in great num

bers; the planters became rich, and the negroes became numerous, until the fatal measure of giving liberty to the slaves was adopted, without preparatory means, by the French national convention. At that period the negroes in the French part of St. Domingo were estimated at about five hundred thousand; and while the revolutionary terrorists in France were hourly exhibiting scenes of barbarity, and recommending their actions as worthy of imitation by all other nations, the inhabitants of St. Domingo were precisely in that unsettled situation which seemed to favour the commission of similar atrocities, under the pretext of avenging past injuries and redressing present grievances. In October, 1790, James Oge, a free mulatto who had been in Paris, and who is described as an enthusiast for liberty, but otherwise humane, returned from France, and put himself at the head of the insurgent people of colour; but being defeated, in March, 1791, was betrayed by the Spaniards, to whom he had fled for refuge, and, with Mark Chavane, his lieutenant, broke alive on the wheel.

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At this time eight thousand troops arrived from France; and Maudit, the new governor, was murdered by his own soldiers, with circumstances of horrid barbarity. By a decree of the national assembly of the 15th of May, 1791, people of colour were declared eligible to seats in the colonial assembly. And on the 11th of September, a concordat, or truce, was But the operation of this signed between the whites and mulattoes. truce was destroyed by an absurd decree of the national assembly repealing the decree of the 15th of May. Open war in all its horrors was now renewed. It was no longer a contest for victory, but a diabolical emulation to outvie each other in barbarous atrocities. On the 23rd of August, 1791, Cape François was burnt; and it was computed that in the space of two months, upwards of two thousand persons perished by these horrible massacres, while not fewer than ten thousand of the mulattoes and negroes died by famine and the sword, besides numbers that suffered by the executioner, Meantime three commissioners arrived from France, accompanied by six thousand of the national guards; and citizen Galbaud was appointed governor. Their attempts, however, to stop these enormities, proved fruitless, though they proclaimed the total abolition of slavery, and a general indemnity.

In October, 1793, a body of British under Colonel Whitelock, landed and took possession of Tiburon, Treves, Jérémie, Leogane, Cape Nicholas Mole, and upwards of ninety miles of the eastern coast, with little opposition. It was, however, a disastrous acquisition to the English, for in less than six months after their arrival, not less than six thousand, of whom one hundred and fifty were officers, fell victims to disease. Leogane was soon after re-taken by the negroes, who now amounted to above one hundred thousand, under their general Touissant L'Ouverture: and Tiburon was taken by the French under General Rigaud. To remedy these disasters another expedition was undertaken by the British, but was attended with vast expense and the loss of many brave troops. Colonels Brisbane and Markham were killed; and at length, in 1798, the British having surrendered Port au Prince and Cape Nicholas Mole to General Hedonville, the island was totally abandoned by them. At this time the name of Port au Prince was changed to Port Republicain; and the Spanish part of the island was taken possession of by L'Ouverture; a man of superior talents and character, whose unremitting exertions were directed to the laudable object of healing the wounds and improving the condition of every class in the island. The beneficial effects of such an administration were soon visible. The wasted colony began to revive; the plantations were again brought into a fertile state; the ports were opened to foreign vessels; and notwithstanding the ravages of a ten years' war, the commerce of St. Do

mingo was rapidly recovering; while the population also increased with astonishing rapidity.

In 1798, when the British forces evacuated the island, the military establishment of St. Domingo did not exceed forty thousand; but in two years it was more than double that number. Touissant was regarded as an extraordinary being by his soldiers, and no European army was ever subject to a more rigorous discipline. Every officer commanded, pistol in hand; and had the power of life and death over the subalterns. Sixty thousand men were frequently reviewed and exercised together; on which occasions two thousand officers were seen in the field, carrying arms, from the general to the ensign, yet with the utmost attention to rank, and without the smallest symptom of insubordination. In these reviews, says M. de la Croix, Touissant appeared like an inspired person, and became the fetiche or idol of the blacks who listened to him. In order to make himself better understood, he frequently addressed them in parables, and often made use of the following:-In a glass vessel full of grains of black maize, he would mix a few grains of white maize, and say to those who surrounded him, “you are the black maize; the whites, who are desirous of enslaving you are the white maize." He would then shake the vessel, and presenting it to their fascinated eyes, exclaim," see the white here and there!" in other words," see how far the whites are apart in comparison to ourselves." The gleam of prosperity, however, which resulted from his wise administration, was but of short continuance. The independence of St. Domingo was proclaimed on the 1st of July, 1801; and while the inhabitants were indulging the hope of future happiness, a storm was gathering, which burst upon them with accumulated fury. Scarcely was the peace of Amiens concluded, when a formidable armament of twenty-six ships of war was equipped by order of the first consul, with the determination of reducing the revolted colony of St. Domingo. On board this fleet were embarked twenty-five thousand chosen troops, amply furnished with all the apparatus of military slaughter; and the chief command was confided to General Le Clerc, the brother-in-law of Bonaparte. Before proceeding to hostilities, however, recourse was had to various perfidious acts. Attempts were made to sow disunion among the free people of St. Domingo. Proclamations and letters, expressed in all the delusive jargon of the republic, were widely circulated. The chiefs of both colours then in France, and the two sons of Touissant himself, who had sent them thither for instruction, were pressed into the service of the expedition.

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The French forces arrived in January, 1801; yet so little did Touissant expect to have any enemy to combat, that he was at the time making a tour round the eastern part of the island, and had given no order for resistance in case of attack. After the French troops had disembarked, and previously to commencing operations in the interior of the country, Le Clerc thought proper to try what effect the sight of his two sons, and a specious letter from Bonaparte, would have upon Touissant. Coisnon, their tutor, who had accompanied them from France, and was one of the chief confidential agents in this expedition, was accordingly deputed on this errand, with instructions to press Touissant's instant return to the Cape, and to bring back the children in case he should not succeed. On arriving at Touissant's country residence, and learning that its owner would not return from his excursion until the next day, the wily Frenchman availed himself of this delay to work upon the feelings of their mother, whose tears, and the solicitations of the children, when their father returned, for a while shook his resolutions. But being at length confirmed in his suspicions of the snare that was laid for him, by the conduct and language of Coisnon, Touissant suddenly composed his agitated countenance; and, gently disengaging himself from the embraces of his

wife and children, he took their preceptor into another apartment, and gave him this dignified decision:-" Take back my children; since it must be so, I will be faithful to my brethren and my God." Unwilling to prolong this painful scene, Touissant mounted his horse, and rode to the camp; and although a correspondence was afterwards opened between him and Le Clerc, it failed to produce his submission.

Hostilities now commenced. After several obstinate conflicts in the open field, and the burning of several towns, the blacks found themselves overpowered, and were compelled to retire into the inaccessible fortresses of the interior, whence they carried on, under their brave chieftain, Touissant, a desultory, but destructive warfare against detached parties of their enemies. At length, however, the negroes and cultivators were either subdued by the terror of the French army, or cajoled by the deceitful promises of the French general, who had published in his own name, and in that of the first consul, solemn declarations that the freedom of all the inhabitants of St Domingo, of all colours, should be preserved inviolate. But no sooner did Le Clerc find that his plans succeeded than he threw aside the mask, and issued an order restoring to the proprietors, or their attorneys, all their ancient authority over the negroes upon their estates. This order at once opened the eyes of the negro population; Touissant and Christophe united their forces; and such was the fierce and active nature of their attacks, that Le Clerc was obliged to abandon most of his former conquests, and seek refuge in the town of Cape François; where he again issued a proclamation, couched in such specious terms that the blacks and their leaders accepted the conditions of his proffered amnesty. This master-piece of deception having thus succeeded, and the French now having the dominion of the island, began to put in execution their meditated system of slavery and destruction; and, as a preliminary step towards this object, Le Clerc caused Touissant to be privately seized in the night, together with his family, and, putting him on board a fast-sailing frigate, he was conveyed to France, as a prisoner, (May, 1802). There, under a charge of exciting the negroes to rebel, he was committed to close custody, and was no more heard of by his sorrowing countrymen, till his death was announced in the following year as having taken place in the fortress of Joux.

Aroused by the treachery of Le Clerc, the black chieftains, Dessalines, Christophe, and Clervaux, again raised their standards, and were soon found at the head of considerable bodies of troops, ready to renew the struggle for liberty, and determined to succeed or perish in the attempt. Many and desperate were the contests which ensued; Le Clerc died, and was succeeded in the command of the French army by Rochambaud; but the losses they sustained by disease as well as by this harrassing warfare rendered any escape from Hayti preferable to a continuance there; and, as war had then recommenced between Great Britain and France, the French gladly surrendered themselves prisoners of war to a British squadron, and were conveyed to England. The independence of Hayti, which had been first proclaimed in 1800, was thus consolidated, and Dessalines erected the west or French part of the island into an empire, of which he became emperor, with the title of Jacques I. (January 1, 1804). But his reign was of short duration; the cruelties he perpetrated caused a conspiracy to be formed against him; and, two years after his coronation, he was surrounded by the conspirators at his head-quarters, and, struggling to escape, received his death-blow.

The assassination of Dessalines caused another division of the island, and another civil war. In the north, Christophe assumed the government, with the modest designation of chief of the government of Hayti; while Pétion, a mulatto, asserted his claim to sovereign power. For several years these rival chieftains carried on a sanguinary contest, with various

success, until the year 1810, when hostilities were suspended; and, though no formal treaty was concluded, the country enjoyed the blessings of peace. Christophe was crowned king of Hayti in March, 1811, by the title of Henry I.; and Pétion, as president of the republic of Hayti, governed the southern part until 1818, when he died, and was succeeded by General Boyer, whom he was allowed to nominate his successor. Both governments evinced a praiseworthy solicitude for the encouragement of agriculture, as the basis of their national prosperity; and both were persevering in their endeavours to promote the intellectual instruction of the rising generation. Christophe, in imitation of other monarchs, created various orders of nobility, together with numerous officers of state, &c. His dynasty, however, was like his predecessor's, short-lived. In 1820, a successful conspiracy was formed against him; and, finding himself completely surrounded by an overwhelming force, he committed suicide. Boyer now took possession of his dominions; and, the Spanish portion of the island having, in 1821, voluntarily placed itself under his government, he became master of the whole of Hayti.

Though nominally republican, the government of Hayti is in reality an elective military monarchy; vested ostensibly in a president, senate, and chamber of representatives; but the whole efficient authority is wielded by the chief officer. The president is charged with all the executive duties; commands the army and navy; makes war, peace, and treaties, subject to the sanction of the senate; appoints all public functionaries, &c. In 1825, Boyer concluded a treaty with France, by the provisions of which the independence of Hayti was fully recognized, and its ports thrown open to all nations, but with certain exclusive advantages to the French. The Haytians also agreed to pay one hundred and fifty millions of francs to France, in five annual payments, as an indemnity for the losses of the colonists during the revolution. The first instalment of thirty millions was paid in 1836; but it being evident that the annual exaction was beyond the ability of Hayti to repeat, it was agreed, in 1838, to reduce the original sum to sixty millions of francs, to be paid in six instalments, by 1867.

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PORTO-RICO.

PORTO-RICO was discovered by Columbus in 1493; it is about one hundred miles in length, from east to west, and forty from north to south. The Spaniards neglected it till 1509, when thirst of gold brought them thither from St. Domingo, under Ponce de Leon, to make a conquest, which afterwards cost them dear. Ambition, revenge, and love of gold prompted the Spaniards to the most atrocious outrages. They found the inhabitants brave and fond of liberty; and as they looked up to the European visitants as a superior order of beings, to their authority they voluntarily submitted. It was not long, however, before they wished to shake off the intolerable yoke under which they groaned, and postponed the enterpise only till they could assure themselves that they were not immortal. A cacique, named Broyo, was entrusted with this commission; and chance soon favoured the design, by bringing to him Salzedo, a young Spaniard, who was travelling. Broyo received him with the greatest respect, and, at his departure, sent some Indians to attend him on his way, in quality of guides. When they came to the bank of the river, which they were to pass, one of them took him on his shoulders to carry him across; but no sooner had he got into the middle of the stream, than he threw the Spaniard into it, and, with the assistance of his companions, he kept him there till no signs of life remained. They then dragged him to the bank, but, as they were still in doubt whether he was dead or living,