A DOMZNZCAN APOSTLE IN TRINIDAD

island of Trinidad off the north-eastern coast

of West Indian islands known as the Lesser Antilles, though it is nearer than any other to the coast of ,Venezuela. I t was discovered by Christopher Colum- bus on July 31st, 1498, when on his third voyage he touched the American Continent. The natives called it Yere, and it belonged to Spain until 1797, when it was seized by the English and definitely ceded to Great Britain by the Treaty of Amiens in 1802. With the adjacent island of Tobago it forms a separate British Colony of about a quarter of a million inhabi- tants. The climate is tropical, with only a dry and a rainy season, since it is within ten degrees of the &Equator.

That valiant Protector of the American aborigines, Fray BartolomC de las Casas, has left us an interesting account of the condition of the island at the time of its discovery, and the cruel treatment of the natives by adventurers of all nations who followed in the wake of Columbus. But it may be well to give first a bhef sketch of this intrepid apostle before quoting from his hitherto unpublished manuscript, Historia General de Zas I d i a s 1492-1520, in the Royal Library of Madrid.

Fray BartolomC de las Casas, or Casaus, was born in Seville probably on August 24th, 1474. His father (Francisco de las Casas) accompanied Columbus to Hispaniola in 1493, and, according to one account, returned with considerable wealth to Seville in 1498. But another account states that he was with Columbus in the third voyage of 1496, returning home in 1500. In that year BartolomC we.nt to Salamanca for a coupe

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THE of South America is considered part of the group

of Jurisprudence, and subsequently obtained his Licentiate. In 1502 he decided to go to America, setting forth with Don Nicolas Ovando,' then going out as Governor of Hispaniola. We find that eight years later Fray BartolomC was ordained priest, pro- bably in Hispaniola, though one account says the ordination took place in Spain. I t seems certain that he sang his first Mass in the West Indies at Vega Real, for the occasion was made one of extraordinary solem- nity, since it was the first time this event had taken place in the New World.

Soon afterwards the Governor of Cuba, Don Diego Velasquez,' who had immense confidence in Fray BartolomC, took him as companion on his journey to that island. In 1515 our apostle, led by his boundless devotion to the cause of the poor natives, returned to Spain, landing at Seville, and proceeding immediately to Plasencia, where Ferdinand then was. But this King, dying in I 5 I 6, before anything- could be accom- plished, Fray Bartolomk set out for Germany to make application to Charles V,3 and mainly through the influence of Cardinal Gisneros obtained from the new Sovereign the appointment of a Council for the Indies to supervise the conduct of the Governor of the new dominions. He also applied for the nomination of some learned and pious prelate to be attached to the Court in the quality of Protector of the Indians, and for the despatch to America of officials armed with full powers to defend their rights. Only the former request

Don Nicolas de Ovando, 1460-1518, was appointed by Fer- dinand and Isabella. Fray BartolomC says he was of great prudence and capacity, but unfitted for the government of the Indians, on whom his rule inflicted many hardships.

Don Diego Velasquez, 1460-1523, founded a colony in Cuba in 1511, and was appointed Governor in that island.

Charles V was Regent for his mother, Juana la Loca, 1479 1555, during the greater part of her long reign.

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2 Dominican Apostle in Trinidad

was granted, and he was himself selected for the office of Protector, yet he was, nevertheless, asked to return to America.

H e reached Santo Doming0 early in 1517, and his first act was to claim the suppression of the reparti- mientos or fiefs under which the poor Indians were most cruelly exploited. This drew upon him the rage of the Colonists, who originated a campaign of calumny against him and succeeded in persuading the authorities to request him to leave the island. Find- ing that the Council of the Indies at home did not feel able to intervene until they understood exactly the state of the country, he returned to Spain to plead the cause of the Indians before the Emperor-King.

His adversaries attribute to him the suggestion to substitute negro for Indian slaves, but this is in direct contradiction to his own written statement, for he de- clares that ' the slavery of the former is quite as iniqui- tods as the latter, and that the Divine lustice would surely hold responsible those whose contrary opinion had done so much injury to the wretched Africans.'

H e returned to America in 1520, not before his efforts had obtained from Charles a Royal edict declar- ing the Indians to be free men. He accompanied General Narvaez' in his expeditions, and began to build a monastery in Cumana,' but during one of his absences it was attacked and destroyed, and the in- mates perished.

In 1543 the activity of his enemies induced him to withdraw from the Court, but not until he had obtained another Royal edict confirming that of 1520, and de- claring the absolute freedom of the Indians. H e then entered the Dominican Order, and in 1547 went to

4Panfilo de Narvaez, born at Valladolid in 1470, died in

' Cumana, a city of Venezuela, founded as Nuevo Toledo, Florida in 1528.

circa 1520.

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the Convent at Valladolid, where the Court then re- sided. Here he continued his life work, and in 1566, at the age of 92, removed to the new capital, Madrid, (where the seat of Government had been translated in I 562), relaxing none of his labours for the poor Indians until his death three years later in the Convent of Santo Doming0 de Atocha, where his remains still lie.

In his Historia he says it would be impossible to describe the misery wrought by the invaders along the coast, extending some six hundred miles from the peninsula of Paria to the Gulf of Venezuela, from the time of its discovery in 1510. Referring particularly to Trinidad, he says : ' It is quite near the mainland, for the promontory

of Paria stretches out towards it. Of greater extent than Sicily, the soil is extremely fertile, and at the time of its discovery it was densely populated.'

' In 1516 one of the European adventurers landed on the island with about seventy followers, all eager for plunder. They told the natives they wished to settle peaceably among them, and in this belief the poor Indians hastened to bring them an abundance of presents. They hoped, I'f the new settlers were contented, to find in them protection and defence against other marauders who were attacking them.' The natives set to work, at the desire of the Captain, to build him a large wooden house, as he said he and his company would all live together. When this building was some twenty feet high the Captain made pretence of a feast, and collected a couple of hundred natives inside. H e then divided his company into two parts, one half to remain in the building, the other outside, all well armed and laden with cords. The party within then drew their swords, and intimated to the Indians that they should yield themselves up as slaves. Many complied through fear, and were im-

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mediately bound ; others, endeavouring to resist, though naked and unarmed, either perished at the point of the sword or were mortally wounded. Some, however, in spite of the height of the palisade, managed to break it down, only to fall into the hands of the party outside. A very few escaped, and took to flight. The Europeans then collected the bound savages, imprisoned all the wounded in the wooden building, and set fire to it, burning the unfortunates alive.

' The rest of the tribe, infuriated at this outrage, hastened to fortify themselves, as well as they might, in their huts. But the invaders set fire to their de- fences, and destroyed the entire population, with the exception of those whom they had secured bound. These, about two hundred, were put on the ship and sold, one half at Puerto Rico and the other half at Santo Domingo.' ' I was then at the island of Puerto Rico,' continues

Fray Bartolome, ' and I took the Captain to task for this perfidious and unwarrantable outrage. H e answered that the responsibility was not his. His in- structions were positive to obtain slaves for these two places, no matter how; if there were no war captives he was instructed to capture peaceable natives, indios de paz si no lia6ia indios de p e r r a . Indeed, fie con- fessed to his own greater shame that nowhere in the Americas had he received a kindlier or more generous welcome than in the island of Trinidad, but that, nevertheless, he had done as I have related, for such were his orders.' ' Now, the Superiors of my Order of St. Dominic

hail decided to send to Trinidad a very virtuous and learned Religious, a Master in Theology, in company with a lay brother. The Indians received both these Friars with the greatest delight, treating them with extreme reverence and listening most attentively to

Bla&iars

their instructions. Without hesitation, these poor savages submitted to their direction, and great num- bers abandoned idolatry and became Christians. They wished to be given names like the Europeans, and this was granted them, and everything was going on nicely when a most tragic occurrence came to disturb their tranquillity. A ship full of European adventurers stopped at the island. They were received with mar- vellous courtesy by the Indians, who believed they would behave well for the sake of the two Religious, their compatriots. The Europeans then contrived to excite the curiosity of the islanders, so that great numbers came to see them on the ship. Among those who went on board were the principal chief of the place, Don Alfonso, his wife, and various other per- sons of rank who had been invited to a banquet. No sooner did it ap_pear that a sufficient number of the natives were collected in the vessel than the Ca tain set sail for Hispaniola, where he sold them all as s P aves to the planters. Those left behind in Trinidad were extraordinarily affected by this barbarous and unex- ampled treachery, for they were devoted to their Chief and his family.’

‘Some, more infuriated than the rest, demanded that vengeance should be taken on the two Religious, whom they accused of complicity. At length, they allowed themselves to be persuaded of the innocence of the Friars, and spared them on their promise to write and demand justice for the outrage and the return to their homes of Don Alfonso. his wife and the

* other islanders. Soon occurred the arrival of another ship, by which the letter was forwarded. It had no result ; the poor Indians were already sold, and among the purchasers were the Authorities themselves, who thus would not receive the complaint. The Friars had asked for four months’ grace for the return of the prisoners. The Indians, seeing that neither in

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four nor yet in eight months was iustice done, re- turned to the conclusion that the Friars were accom- plices, and put them to death. The Religious, indeed, gained the crown of martyrdom, but Spain lost the advantage of peaceful possession of the island.’

‘On another occasion two Dominicans and one Franciscan were put to death in consequence of the various cruel tyrannies of these adventurers, which had excited the vengeance of the Indians. Of this I was myself eye witness included in the same peril as the Religious, and delivered therefrom by an especial interposition of Divine Providence. I will recount this circumstance in detail on another occasion.’

Fray BartolomC goes on: ‘Near to Cape Cadera was a settlement whose chief, called Higoroto, was so generous that he gave all kinds of help and presents to the Discoverers who anchored there. His amiabi- lity was well known, and he was esteemed by every- one, not merely by the few honourable navigators, but even by the pirates, for the mere fact of being a European was a sufficient passport to his favour. Many times he delivered European fugitives from certain death, though he could justly have allowed them to perish by merely denying his help. Higoroto’s territory was known by the name of the Spaniard’s Hostel, Meson de Zos Espa8oZes, and even the pirates did not do him injury, so that his people had come to treat them without defiance, and go on board their ships without fear.’

‘But this was all changed by one miscreant, who abused their confidence. H e arranged a banquet and dance on board his ship, and invited a great number of people, admitting all who came, even if they had not been invited. When he had collected a goodly number on board he set sail for Puerto Rico, where he sold them all into slavery..

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' I was then in Trinidad, and saw, with my own eyes, the atrocious deed, and heard the lamentations of the tribe on the depopulation of their settlement. The conduct of this adventurer seemed so cruel that even the other pirates murmured because of his having deprived their ships of the constant and generous help always given to mariners at this port.

' Without referring to other outrages, I will content myself with saying that the forementioned depreda- tors took away captive more than two million indi- viduals from the villages here, and thus, with the number who were murdered in their native places, they had nearly depopulated the whole island. Those kid- napped were sold in Hispaniola and in Puerto Rico, where death only awaited them in the midst of starva- tion, fatigue and privations of all sorts. Their masters were almost unconcerned if they died, for others could be purchased at SUCK a low price. The mortality in the ships was also excessive, and was estimated at a third of the number captured. The reason for this is well known..

' The captains, armadores (for such is the title given to the marauders who set out in their ships to capture gold and slaves) are in the habit of taking but little food with them through excessive parsimony, and they only give the Indians a very trifling proportion of in- ferior quality, and sometimes nothing at all. Thus hunger and thirst, added to their unhappy condition, kill off a great number. Indeed, one of the sailors of these slave-trading vessels assured me that you could navigate the seventy leagues between Trinidad and Hispaniola without chart or compass, merely by following the trace of the corpses thrown out of the vessels. The disembarkment, again, was a most pitiable sight. All the Indians, naked, feeble, half- dead from hunger and thirst and depression, are collected together like so many sheep ; counted to see

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how many shall be allotted to each partner in the shipment; finally sorted into heaps, which are drawn for. When the owner notices in his heap an old man or a sick person he complains that the individual in question is valueless, and will be nothing but an ex- pense-practically a sentence of death for the poor slave. Each owner tries to dispose separately of his lot, with the result that husbands, wives, fathers, sons, brothers, and sisters are separated for ever.’

One can easily trace in this record the kindly bene- volence of the good Dominican and his zeal to alleviate the pitiable lot of the poor savages to whom lie had devoted his life. We have seen that he obtained the Royal decrees, declaring them free subiects of the Crown of Spain, and that throughout his long life he did not desist from his efforts on their behalf.

FRANCIS MONTGOMERY.