Cannibals.
The next day, early in the morning, the Duke came to our Tent, and told us, he had, in the night past, a long Audience of the King, who treated him in a kind manner; so that his Apprehensions of being kill’d and eaten were quite vanished: but he told us with the utmost Horrour, that the sacrificed Bodies had been taken away in the night by the common People, whohad boiled and feasted on them, as holy Food. This Story induced us to send for our Linguist, and take a walk to the place where we had seen the Carcases the evening before; and, to our great Surprize, we found they were all gone. Thereupon asking the Interpreter, what was become of them? he replied smiling, the Vultures had eaten them up. I told him, “That was very extraordinary indeed, to swallow Bones and all;” there being nothing remaining on the Place, but a great quantity of Blood. So he confessed, theFeticheers, or Priests, had divided the Carcases amongst the People, who had eat them in the manner the Duke had told us. And tho’ no doubt this will appear incredible to many Persons, yet I desire they will only make this one Reflection, That those who could be so cruel as to sacrifice their fellow-Creatures, might probably carry their Barbarity a Degree further.
However, as I relate nothing for matter of Fact, but what I was an Eye-witness to, so I shall leave the Reader to givewhat credit he pleases thereto. But as a further confirmation of their being Cannibals, I shall relate what I afterwards learn’d from one Mr.Robert More, who was a person of great Integrity, and at that time Surgeon of theItalian Galley. This Ship came toWhidawwhilst I was atJaqueen, and CaptainJohn Dagge, the Commander, being indisposed, sentMoreto the King ofDahomè’s Camp, with Presents for his Majesty. There he saw many strange things, especially human Flesh sold publickly in the great Market-place. As I was not in the Market during the time I was in the Camp, I saw no such thing: But I don’t doubt but that I should have seen the same, had I gone into that place, for there were many old and maimed Captives brought fromTuffoe, (besides those sacrificed) which noEuropeanswould have bought.
But to return from this Digression: On our return to the Tent, we sent our Linguist to the great Captain, to desire he would procure us an Audience from the King, to treat of Business: But he sentus word, That as his Majesty was very much engaged, we could not be heard that day; there being some Embassadors come from the inland Countries, who were to have an Audience forthwith. On this I sent again to the Great Captain, desiring he would please to be mindful of us, on the first Opportunity; and he was unexpectedly so that Afternoon.
Having then nothing to do but sit in our Tent, and make Memorandums of what we heard and saw; we asked the Linguist, “Whether we might, without Offence, go to see the MulattoPortugueseGentleman?” Thereupon he consulted with a principal Person belonging to the Court, who often came by the King’s Order to us, to enquire if we wanted any thing; And he approving of it, we prepared to go, but first had this Caution given us; that there being two Embassadors in the Camp from the King ofWhidaw, to offer his Subjection, if we should meet with any of their People in the Street, we should not hold any Conference with them. Which having promised,we went to thePortugueseGentleman’s House, who received us very kindly, thinking he could not make us welcome enough; and as we could understand him, we sent our Interpreter away, under pretence of an Errand to the Duke. After he was gone, the first thing we desired of this Gentleman, was, to give us some hints, how we should behave, when we came to treat of Business with the King; which he readily did, speaking so highly of the King’s Policy and Generosity, that we were much surprized, tho’ afterwards we experienced the full of what he told us. This Person had in the Court of his House two pretty Horses, each about thirteen hands high, which were every way much better than those we had seen atJaqueen. Upon our asking him, from whence he had them, he replied, “They came from the Kingdom ofJ-oe; which lies towards the North-East, many days Journey off, beyond a great and famous Lake, which is the Fountain of several large Rivers, that empty themselves into the Bay ofGuinea.And he further added, that several fugitive Princes, whose Fathers the King ofDahomèhad conquered and beheaded, fled to the King of this Country for Protection, and at last prevailed with him to make War on the King ofDahomè, which he did soon after the latter had conqueredArdra. The King ofJ-oesent, under the Command of a General, a great Army of Horse, consisting of many Thousands, (for they never use Infantry) wherewith he invaded theDahomesin their own Country: On this sudden and unexpected Invasion, the King ofDahomèmarched immediately fromArdrainto his own Kingdom, and made Head against theJ-oes. But as he had none but Infantry, whose Arms were Guns and Swords, he was hard put to it: For the Country being open and without Inclosures, the Horsemen, who were armed with Bows and Arrows, Javelins and cutting Swords, had certainly conquer’d, if the unusual noise of theDahomè’s Fire-Arms had not so frightned the Horses,that their Riders could never make a home-Charge on the Enemies Foot. However, the Dispute having lasted, at times, four days, and the King ofDahomèfinding his Soldiers so fatigued, that they could hold out but a little longer, he contrived this Stratagem: he had great quantities of Brandy by him, formerly bought atWhidaw, which is a principal Commodity theFrenchShips bring there, to exchange for Negroes. So the King resolved to retreat in the Night with his Army, and leave the Liquor as a Bait for the Enemy, with great quantities of valuable Goods, which were in store, in a large Town near the Camp. When Day came, theJ-oesthinking theDahomeswere fled, fell to plundering and destroying the Town, and drinking greedily of the Brandy: And as they seldom had tasted of that Liquor before, it so intoxicated them, that they fell asleep in great numbers on the Ground. The King ofDahomèbeing informed of this by his Spies, returnedwith the utmost speed, and attacking them while they were in this Disorder, routed them; but the greater part of theJ-oesescaped with the help of their Horses, and fled out of the Country: However, their Loss was so great, that the others esteemed it a compleat Victory. ThePortugueseGentleman added, that at the time of this Rout, he took the two Horses we had seen in his Yard, and a great many more were seized at the same time by theDahomèSoldiers. He said further, (but enjoined us Secrecy) That tho’ theDahomeswere exceeding proud of this Victory, they were still much afraid of a second Invasion, an Army of Horses being very terrible to them: And that the King had lately sent great Presents to the King ofJ-oe, to prevent his attacking him a second time. However, in case he did it, and they should not be able to withstand them, they comforted themselves with this Thought, that they might save their Persons, by flying to the Sea Coast, to which theJ-oesdurst not follow them. For as their nationalFetichewas the Sea, they were prohibited by their Priests from ever seeing it, under no less a Penalty than Death; which they made the People believe, would by their God, if they were so presumptuous, be inflicted on them.” This last Story seemed nothing strange to us, who had conversed with the CoastNegroes; for they have all their particularFetichesafter the same manner; some being prohibited eating Fowls that have white Feathers; others, on the contrary, are to eat none that have black: Some are to eat no Sheep, others no Goats. And abundance of such other superstitious Observances they have, which are most religiously kept, being assigned them by the Priest, the Day they have their name given them.
By this time it was past Noon, so we took our leave of thePortuguese, and went to our Tent to Dinner.
The Author has an Audience of the King ofDahomè.
About three a Clock that Afternoon, a Messenger came from the great Captain,to inform us, the King had appointed immediately to give us an Audience. This was an agreeable Surprize to us, for now we had hopes of being quickly dispatch’d, so we prepared our selves, and went to the King’s Gate, our Presents for his Majesty being carried before us.
On our coming into the Court, where we had seen the King at our former Audience, we were desired to stay a little, till the Presents were carried into the House, that his Majesty might view them. Soon after we were introduced into a small Court, at the further end of which the King was sitting cross-legg’d on a Carpet of Silk, spread on the Ground: He was himself richly dress’d, and had but few Attendants. When we approached him, his Majesty enquired in a very kind manner, How we did? ordering we should be placed near him; and accordingly fine Mats were spread on the Ground for us to sit on. Tho’ sitting in that Posture was not very easy to us, yet we put a good Face on the matter, understanding by the Linguist, that it was their Custom.
As soon as we were placed, the King ordered the Interpreter to ask me, What I had to desire of him? To which I answered, “That as my Business was to trade, so I relied on his Majesty’s Goodness, to give me a quick dispatch, and fill my Ship withNegroes; by which means I should return into my own Country in a short time; where I should make known how great and powerful a King I had seen.” To this the King replied by the Linguist, “That my desire should be fulfilled: But the first Business to be settled was his Customs.” Thereupon I desired his Majesty to let me know what he expected? There was a Person then present (I believe on purpose) whose name wasZunglar, a cunning Fellow, who had formerly been the King’s Agent for several Years atWhidaw; where I had seen him in my former Voyages. To him I was referred to talk about the Affair. SoZunglartold me, “his Master being resolved to encourage Trade, tho’ he was a Conqueror, yet he would not imposea greater Custom than used to be paid to the King ofWhidaw.” I answered, “As his Majesty was a far greater Prince, so I hoped he would not take so much.” ThisZunglarnot replying readily to, and the King observing it, (for the Linguist told him every word that pass’d between us) His Majesty himself replied, “That as he was the greater Prince, he might reasonably expect the more Custom; but as I was the firstEnglishCaptain he had seen, he would treat me as a young Wife or Bride, who must be denied nothing at first.” Being surprized at this turn of Expression, I told the Linguist, “I was afraid he imposed on me, and interpreted the King’s words in too favourable a manner.” His Majesty observing I spoke with some Sharpness, asked him what I said? Which the Linguist having told him, his Majesty smiled, and expressed himself again to the same purpose: Adding, “I should find his Actions answerable to his Words.” Being greatly encouraged by the King’s gracious Expressions towards me, I tookthe Liberty to represent to his Majesty, “That the best way to make Trade flourish, was to impose easy Customs, and to protect us from the Thievery of the Natives, and the Impositions of great Men; which the King ofWhidawnot doing, had greatly hurt the Trade. For the ill usage theEuropeanshad met with of late from him and his People, had caused them to send fewer Ships than formerly they did. And tho’ a large Custom might seem at first for his Majesty’s Advantage, yet it would soon be found, that a great number of Ships would thereby be hindred from coming to trade; so that in this respect he would lose far more in General, than he would gain by that Particular.”
The King took what I said in good part, telling me, “I should name my own Custom,” which I at first declined: But being prest to do it a second time, I told the Linguist to ask his Majesty, “Whether he would be pleased to take one half of what we used to pay atWhidaw?” To this the King readilyagreed; adding, “He designed to make Trade flourish; and I might depend upon it, he would prevent all Impositions, and Thievery, and protect theEuropeansthat came to his Country, saying, that his God had made him the Instrument to punish the King ofWhidaw, and his People, for the many Villanies they had been guilty of towards both Whites and Blacks: That the Embassadors now in his Camp from the said King, had informed him of me and my Character, and that by the account they had given him of my former dealings in their Country, he could put much Confidence in me.” Then his Majesty having asked me divers Questions concerning our former ill usage in the Country ofWhidaw, to which I answered as I thought proper; I took this Opportunity of pleading for the common People of that Kingdom; representing, “It was the great Men amongst them that had encouraged their thieving, in which they shared: But if his Majesty would be pleased to receivethem to Mercy, and restore them to their Country, on paying a certain Tribute, they would be of great advantage to him; because they were very industrious in cultivating the Land, and many of them understood Trade exceeding well, which his own People were little versed in. Moreover it was a Maxim amongst the white Princes, that the number of useful Subjects was their greatest Glory and Strength; and if his Majesty thought the same, he had an opportunity of adding many hundreds of thousands to his former Vassals.” To this the King replied, “He was sensible of the truth of what I alledged, but that the Conquest ofWhidawcould not be secured, till he had the King’s Head; and he had already offered the People to restore them to their Country, as soon as they should send him alive or dead to his Camp.” I did not think proper, on hearing this, to say any thing more on the matter, or observe to his Majesty, how wrong a Policy it was, to obligeSubjects to act so villanous a part towards their Sovereign. For as the Custom of these black Princes was little known to us, I was afraid of giving offence: So I only answered, “That as the King ofWhidawwas on an Island byPopoe, with many thousands of his People, the rest that were dispersed up and down the Country in the Bushes, could not possibly perform what his Majesty required of them: For if they were ever so ready to do it, yet having no Cannoes to ferry over to the Island, it was not in their Power to take the King from thence; and that I believed if he did not receive them to Mercy quickly, the far greater part of them would perish by Famine.”
Account ofBullfinch Lambe.
After this his Majesty fell into a variety of Discourse, and amongst other things complained of Mr.Lambe, (who, as I have related in the beginning of this Book, had been taken Prisoner in theArdraWar,) saying, “That tho’ he had given him, at his leaving the Court, three hundred and twenty ounces ofGold, witheightySlaves, and made him promise with a solemn Oath to return again in a reasonable time, yet twelve Moons had now pass’d, and he had heard nothing from him: Adding, He had sent a black Person with him, whose name wasTom, one who had been made a Prisoner at the same time, being aJaqueen-man, who spoke goodEnglish; and this Man he had ordered to return again with Mr.Lambe, that he might be informed, whether what that Gentleman had reported concerning our King, Customs, and manner of Living was true.” To this I replied, “That I had no personal Knowledge of Mr.Lambe, but had been informed, before I leftEngland, that he went fromWhidawtoBarbadoes, which is a Plantation where theEnglishemploy their Slaves in making Sugar, and which is at a great distance from our own Country; But I hoped he would prove an honest Man, and return again to his Majesty, according to his Promise and Oath.”
To this the King replied, “Tho’ he proved not as good as his Word, other white Men should not fare the worse on that account; for as to what he had givenLambe, he valued it not a Rush; but if he returned quickly, and came with never so large a Ship, she should be instantly filled with Slaves, with which he might do what he thought proper.”
Account of the black Man.
It may not be improper here to give a short account of theblack Manthe King mentioned to me, because he was inEnglandlast year, and the Affair was brought before the Lords of Trade, by whom I was examined about him.
Mr.Lambecarried this Person toBarbadoes, and several other Places, but at last left him with a Gentleman inMaryland. Afterwards Mr.Lambetrafficked for some Years, from one place to another in thePlantations; and coming to the Island ofAntegoa, where I had been in the year 1728, and told the foregoing story to some Gentlemen, and how kindly the King ofDahomèhad express’d himselfwith regard to the said Mr.Lambe, being by them informed of it, this induced him to return toMaryland; and the Gentleman who hadTomin his Custody was so good, as to deliver him again to Mr.Lambe, who came with him toLondon, the beginning of the year 1731.
Mr.Lambe, soon after his arrival, came to see me at my house, enquiring particularly about what I had related atAntegoa; which I confirmed to him. Then he desired my Advice about his going back to the King ofDahomè. To this I frankly answered, “It was my opinion, he had miss’d the opportunity, by not returning in a reasonable time, according to his promise; several years being now pass’d since he came from thence, and the State of Affairs much altered for the worse: Besides, he might justly fear the King’s resentment, as Mr.Testefolehad experienced lately to his cost, for abusing his Goodness; for tho’ he was Governour for theAfricanCompany atWhidaw, yet he had been put to death in a cruel manner.”
On this he left me; and the next news I heard, was, That Mr.Lambehad delivered a Letter to his Majesty King George as from the King ofDahomè, which being referred to the Lords of Trade, the Merchants trading to the Coast ofGuineawere sent for; and I being ordered to attend, informed their Lordships of what I knew of the matter.
The report from the Lords of Trade was to this Purpose, “That the Letter in their opinion was not genuine, but that theblack Manought to be taken care of, and returned to his King:” Accordingly he was put into the hands of theAfricanCompany, who took care of him for many Months; but he growing impatient, applied to their Graces the Dukes ofRichmondandMontague, who procured him a Passage on board his Majesty’s Ship theTigerCaptainBerkeley, then bound to the Coast ofGuinea.
Moreover, their Lordships having shewed him great Kindness, most generously sent by him several rare Presents to his King, which, no doubt, will make a goodimpression on him in favour of our Nation; and I have lately heard, that on his being put on Shore atWhidaw, he was forthwith sent to the King, who was then in his own Country ofDahomè, and was received graciously by him: That his Majesty sent down handsome Presents for CaptainBerkeley, but before the Messengers got toWhidaw, he was sailed, not having patience to wait so many days, as the return from so far inland a place required.
I had not made this Digression, but only to set this Affair in a true light; and undeceive those that may read this Book, and were so far imposed upon, as to suppose theBlack Manto have been an Embassador from the King ofDahomè, to his Majesty KingGeorge. I met with several that believed so, till I satisfied them of the contrary; for the jest was carried on so far, that several Plays were acted on his Account, and it was advertised in the News-Papers, that they were for the Entertainment of PrinceAdomo Oroonoko Tomo, &c.these jingling Names being invented to carry on the Fraud the better.
This black Person was born atJaqueen, and being from a Boy conversant with the English trading there, learned so well our Language, that he was employed by them, when grown up, as an Interpreter.
He happen’d to be atArdraon some business, at the time that Country was conquered, and so became Prisoner to the King ofDahomè. But ’tis time to have done with this Story, and go on where I left off.
After this Discourse concerning Mr.Lambewas over, I acquainted the King, that I daily expected another Ship belonging to my Owner, (who had five large Ships that used theWhidawTrade in particular) and I hoped his Majesty would not take more Custom from the Commanders of them, than he had been pleased to take of me. To which he answered with a Smile, “That it was a particular Grace to my self. However when any of them came, they should be used kindly in that matter, and the Captains might stay atJaqueenandWhidawas they thought fit, for that he now was Lord of both places.” And then his Majesty asked me, “Whether I would chuse the Slaves that were now in the Camp, or have them first sent down toJaqueen?” To which I answered, “I chose the latter; desiring the King would now please to fix the Price, with other matters.” AccordinglyZunglarwas called again, to inform his Majesty, what were the last Prices theEuropeanshad paid for Negroes atWhidaw, before the Conquest: But on my representing, That the Price had been raised there, much above what had been customary, on account of the War; the King moderated it himself, and I writ down with my Pencil, in his presence, every thing agreed on: Amongst which one was, That I should have three Males to one Female, and take none but what I liked. The reason of my mentioning this, is to explain more fully what happened to me afterwards, on account of these two Articles.
After this was done, the Duke, Brother to the Lord ofJaqueen, was sent for, and the King recommended me to the care of them both, declaring, “If I suffered by their People, either in Person or Goods, he and his Brother should answer for it: Moreover, if any Person stole my Goods, and could be taken, his Majesty ordered, they should be impaled alive on the Sea side, for an Example to the Porters, and others that bring our Merchandise from thence to the Town.”
By this time it was near nine a clock at night, and the Linguist was ordered by the King to tell us, his time of washing was come; so we rose up in order to take our leaves, humbly thanking his Majesty for all his Favours, and for his great Goodness towards us, in giving us so long an Audience; desiring he would be pleased to permit us to return next day toJaqueen: adding, I hoped God would give him many Days, for the good of his own People, and of theEuropeansthat should come to his Country. The King thanked us for our good Wishes,saying, he would dispatch us the next day, and then we paid our Respects, and so parted.
As we were almost five hours so near the King, I had a good opportunity of taking an exact View of him. He was middle-sized, and full bodied; and, as near as I could judge, about forty five years old: His Face was pitted with the Small Pox; nevertheless, there was something in his Countenance very taking, and withal majestick. Upon the whole, I found him the most extraordinary Man of his Colour, that I had ever conversed with, having seen nothing in him that appeared barbarous, except the sacrificing of his Enemies; which thePortugueseGentleman told me, he believed was done out of Policy; neither did he eat human Flesh himself.
Being made easy in all respects by this Audience, we returned to our Tent, and spent the evening cheerfully, theMulatto Portuguese, with several Courtiers supping with us. The next morning we were sent for again to the King’s Gate, and theOfficers told us, “It being the King’sFetiche-day, his Majesty could not see us; but that he had ordered them to present us with something in his name; adding, I might depend on what had been promised me, and that we were at Liberty to go forJaqueenwhen we pleased:” Our black Servants had likewise handsom Clothes given them to wear about their middle; (according to the custom of the Negroes, who never cover more than that part) with a small sum of Money to each of them, which made them very jocund, and almost forget the fear they had been put in at the sight of the Sacrifices.
This being over, our servants carried the Presents to our Tent, which consisted of Slaves, Cows, Goats and Sheep, with other Provisions: And then we went to the great Captain’s Tent, to take our leave of him. There we found the Duke, who told us, he could not have his Audience of leave from the King till the Evening; and earnestly desired us not to go without him; for that he would certainlyaccompany us the next Morning toJaqueen. Tho’ theDutchGentlemen and my self were very desirous of going before, yet we could not in honour leave the Duke; so we consented to stay for him, and went to our Tent to Dinner.
In the Afternoon, the Linguist came and told us, that the remainder of the Army, who had been plundering the Country ofTuffoe, were returning; and asked us, whether we would go and see them pass by the King’s Gate? We went accordingly to that place, and soon after they appeared, marching in a much more regular Order than I had ever seen before, even amongst theGold Coast Negroes; who were always esteemed amongst theEuropeansthat used the Coast ofGuinea, the best Soldiers of all the Blacks. I observed, this Army consisted of about three thousand regular Troops, attended by a Rabble of ten thousand at least, who carried Baggage, Provisions, dead Peoples Heads,&c.The several Companies of Soldiers had their proper Colours, and Officers, being armed with Musquets andcutting Swords; and with Shields. As they passed by the King’s Gate, every Soldier prostrated himself, and kissed the Ground; then rose with such agility, as was very surprizing. The place before the King’s Gate was four times as large asTower Hill; there they performed their Exercises, in the sight of innumerable Spectators, and fired at least twenty rounds with their small Arms, in less than two hours time: Then, by the General’s Order, the Soldiers retired to the part of the Camp they belonged to. This sight was well worth seeing even by usEuropeans.
I took notice, that abundance of Boys followed the Soldiers, and carried their Shields; and asked the Linguist, “What was the occasion of it?” He told me, “That the King allowed every common Soldier a Boy at the publick charge, in order to be trained up in Hardships from their Youth; and that the greatest part of the present Army consisted of Soldiers, bred up in this manner, and under this Establishment.” By which I judged, it was no wonder the King had made so large Conquests,with such regular Troops, and his Policy together.
After this Sight was over, we went again to the great Captain’s, whose eldest Son had been General in the Expedition against theTuffoes. TheMulatto PortugueseGentleman being then present, advised us to go and pay our Compliments to this Commander. Accordingly we went, and were received by him with great Civility; and having presented him with some Trifles, wherewith he was highly delighted, we returned to his Father’s Tent. After a short stay, telling him we were afraid we should not set out forJaqueenthe next day, he assured us we should certainly go the next morning early; and that he would accompany us part of the way: which Promise was highly pleasing to us, for we were quite tired of the Camp: Moreover my Business very much required my presence atJaqueen, in order to begin trading. I observed in the Great Captain’s Tent two black Gentlemen, who had long Gowns on, with a Cloth wreathed about theirHeads, like aTurkishTurbant, and Sandals on their Feet. This being a Dress I had never seen before amongst the Negroes, I inquired of the Linguist, who they were? He replied, “They wereMalayes, which is a Nation far inland, bordering on theMoors; and that these People were equal to the white Men in one thing, namely in writing: That at this time there was about forty of them in the Camp, who had been taken at several times in war, as they traded from one Country to another: and that the King treated them kindly, for they had the Art of dying Goat and Sheep-skins with divers Colours, which they made into Cartouch-boxes for the Soldiers; and also into Bags to hold loose powder, and for many other uses.” I was desirous of discoursing with these People, but the Linguist declined it, saying, “It would give offence to the Great Captain:” So we went from hence to take our leave of theMulatto PortugueseGentleman, and afterwards to our Tent to supper, and slept all night in our Hammocks.
The Author’s return toJaqueen.
Next Morning we rose early, and prepared for our Journey. As soon as all our things were in order, we sent the Duke word, that we waited for him. The Messenger returned forthwith, and desired us to go to the great Captain’s Tent, where we should find the Duke and his People all ready for going. Accordingly we went, but the Ceremony of taking leave of several great Men, who came to wish us a good Journey, detained us till nine a clock in the Morning: And then we set out; the musical Instruments of theNegroesmaking a great noise at our Departure. The great Captain, according to his Promise, accompanied us for an hour on the Road, and then took his leave under a Salute of Fire-Arms from his Soldiers, and our Servants. Our Hammock-men had no need of being press’d to make haste, and travel fast: For the Impression made on their Minds by the sacrificing the poor People ofTuffoe, still so much affected them, that they ran full speed with us, even beyond their Strength; so that by five a clock in theEvening, they brought us intoJaqueenTown, where the People received us with much Joy, having been under great apprehensions for our Safety, because we stayed longer than was expected.
The next day, being the 15th ofApril1727, I paid the King ofDahomè’s Officers the Custom agreed on; and in two days after, a great many Slaves came to Town, being sent by his Majesty for me to chuse such as I liked of them: Which having done, I offered to pay the Lord ofJaqueenhis usual Duties, but he insisted on a larger Custom than my Surgeon had agreed for with him at our first coming: So I refused to pay it, and put him in mind of the Injunction the King ofDahomèhad sent him by his Brother. This put him in a Passion, and he asked me sternly, Whether I designed to bring War on him, by informing the Conqueror of what he demanded? This being a tender Point, and hoping Time and Patience might bring him to do me Justice, I took my leave of him: For I had been told, it was not possible, no more than prudent,to engage any one to go with a Complaint to the King ofDahomè; for the Messenger would certainly be murdered on the Road by theJaqueens. Moreover, I was informed, they and their Lord had sent their beloved Wives and best Effects to an Island, which is about thirty Miles to the Eastward ofJaqueenon the Sea-Coast, and under the Protection of the King ofAppah, whose Country extends as far as the Bay ofBennin. And as they durst not trust intirely to the Conqueror’s Faith and Promises, so the Men were always ready to fly there themselves, on the least appearance of Hostility: There they could be in safety, theDahomesnot having Cannoes to follow them, or if they had, none amongst them understanding the Management of them.
A few days after the Lord ofJaqueenhad refused to take his usual Customs, another difficulty arose; for the Porters refused to bring up my Goods from the Sea side, except I would pay them double the price I did at my first coming. Thereupon I sent my Complaint to their Lord,who acknowledged it was a great Imposition, but he sent me word, “It was not in his Power to oblige those sort of People to do me Justice; for by the stranding of theDutchShip, they had got so many Goods, that it had made them rich and proud; and should he go about to force them to bring up my Goods at the usual rates, they would forthwith quit the Country, and fly toAppah.” Being in these melancholy Circumstances, imposed on by all hands, and without hopes of redress, an accident relieved me very unexpectedly. For a few days after this, the Lord of the place sent for me; and going to him, he told me, “He had just then received Advice, that anEnglishShip was arrived in the Road ofWhidaw; and he desired I would send my Boat there, to persuade the Captain to come toJaqueen.” I answered, “I did not doubt but that Ship was theItalianGalley, CaptainDagge, who was known to him; for I had expected him some time, his Ship belonging to the same Gentleman asmine did: But since I had received such bad usage from him and his People, he could not expect I would be so imprudent as to advise the Captain, who was in the same Interest with me, to come and receive the like Treatment: Adding, If I sent my Boat, it should be to desire CaptainDaggeto stay atWhidaw, and send a Messenger to the King ofDahomè, to represent the usage I had met with from him; tho’, to let him see how loth I was to give any Offence that way, I should intirely forget what was past, if he would make me easy.” This immediately brought him to do me Justice: He took his usual Custom that very day, and the following went himself to the Sea side, to the Towns where the Porters lived, and persuaded them to carry my Goods at the usual rates.
Soon after this I received a Letter from CaptainDagge, desiring I would let him know how Affairs flood atJaqueen. Having informed him of all matters, he concluded, it would be for our Owner’s Interestif he stayed atWhidaw, where he had great Success; for that People being in a starving Condition, and obliged to sell their Servants and Children for Money and Goods, to buy Food from their Neighbours ofPopoe; his Ship was soon filled withNegroes, and he had the good fortune to sail from the Coast three days before me. Not long after the Arrival of CaptainDagge, I was taken ill of a Fever; my Surgeon, a very eminent Man for Trade as well as his Profession, died in a few days after my being taken ill; and the rainy Season coming on, my white People both on board and on Shore grew sickly; and to add to my Misfortunes, the King ofDahomè’s Traders began to grow troublesome and imposing. Indeed I had one Comfort in this Distress; namely, that tho’ I was two days together without a white Man in the Factory with me, (occasioned by the Sickness) yet I had nothing stole from me, which I believe was owing to the severe Charge given by the King to the Lord ofJaqueenand his Brother, to take care of me and my Goods.But as to the King ofDahomè’s Traders, when I objected to them my Agreement with their Master, producing the Writing I had made in his Presence, and calling the Linguist to witness, that I was not to take any Slaves but such as I liked; yet it signified nothing: For tho’ the Interpreter was so honest as to own it, yet he was as imposing as any other, pretending the King’s Orders for what they did. Nay, I began at last not to think my self safe, one of the Traders being so insolent as to present his Fusil at me, for refusing to take his bad Slaves. For tho’ they came to trade, yet they were always armed with Sword and Dagger, and a Boy carried their Gun for them. These People were far different from the Traders we used to deal with atWhidaw: For these came always in a modest manner to deal with us, and tho’ sometimes I owed them Goods on my Notes for ten days together, because the badness of the Sea prevented our landing them; yet they shewed no Uneasiness about it: Whereas, on the contrary, theseDahomèTraders wouldcome ten times a day with their Notes; tho’ they were sensible the Sea was so great on the Shore, that we could land no Goods. And when I expostulated with them, about the needless trouble they gave me and themselves, in coming so often to me to read their Notes; it not being in my Power to pay them, ’till I could get goods landed; they angrily replied, “They did not like a bit of Paper for their Slaves, because the writing might vanish from it; or else the Notes might be lost, and then they should lose their Payment.” Upon that I used to shew them my Book, telling them their Notes were entered therein, and should they lose them by any Accident, yet I would pay them by my Book: And as to the writing it would never go off the Paper; but this did no ways satisfy them.
About this time severalPortugueseShips arrived in the Road ofWhidawand stay’d there, on a prospect of the Country’s being settled again; for the King ofDahomèhad permitted a great number of thecommon People to return, and they began to build them Houses near theEnglishandFrenchForts. But some time after it appeared, that it was only done to deceive theEuropeans. However the King ofDahomèbeing desirous of thePortugueseGold, which they bring to purchaseNegroeswith, his Majesty sent a great many Slaves down toWhidaw, which made Trade dull with us atJaqueen. For tho’ formerly great Numbers came to this place, from other Nations now destroyed by theDahomes, there remains at present only one Country calledLucamee, lying towards the North-East, forJaqueensto trade to. Which Nation, by means of a wide River, has escaped being made a Conquest to the barbarous and cruelDahomes. As I was in this melancholy state, one day, my old Acquaintance the Captain (who had been so civil to me at the Camp) came to visit me; and the Linguist not being in the way, I made use of a little black Boy, who spoke pretty goodEnglish, and was entertained by me in the Factory as a Servant, to be myInterpreter; ordering him to tell the Captain my Grievances, for which he seemed concerned. He told me he was a warlike Person, and so had no Knowledge of the Affairs of the Traders; but he was confident theJaqueenswere not tolerated in such things by the King. Then I bid the little Boy further inform him, That the Traders very much imposed upon the military Gentlemen of his Country, in selling them Muskets bought out of theFrenchFactory, for the sake of a small Present. These being made in imitation ofEnglishArms, were sent to the King, as if bought from me, by which means a bad repute was brought on our Arms; because theFrenchGuns split in firing, and hurt the Soldiers; which is owing to their not being proved as ours are, with a good load of Gunpowder, before they are put into a Stock and finished. I observed, this very much moved him, so I made him a Present of some things, with a promise of a greater Reward, if he would go to the King, and let his Majesty know my Complaints. Sohaving considered the matter a little while, he agreed to go, charging the little Boy to keep the thing secret, on pain of being put to cruel Torments if he divulged it; and I soon after experienced the good Effects of his Journey.
The People ofJaqueen, as I mentioned before, were in very uneasy Circumstances. The King ofDahomèbeing informed of it, resolved to send the great Captain to their Lord, to settle all things to their Satisfaction. The Captain my Friend being got to the Camp before the Great Captain set out, and acquainting the King with my Complaints, it much incensed him against the Traders, and he caused the great Captain to go forthwith toJaqueen, to settle all matters. He made such haste, that he brought the first news of his coming himself; and because he had a great Retinue, on the first report of his arrival, the Inhabitants ofJaqueenwere going to fly toAppah; believing he was come in a hostile manner: But he soon made them easy, ordering the far greater part of his People to remain on the otherside of the River, which runs on the back part of the Town; and he came only with one hundred Attendants into the place. Upon the first notice of his coming, the Duke, Brother to the Lord ofJaqueen, went to receive him; and all the white Gentlemen in the Town, both Merchants and Commanders of Ships, assembled at the Door of theDutchFactory, to salute him as he pass’d by that House. He was conducted to the Duke’s Court, with all the Honours the place could possibly afford. His Retinue was lodged near my Factory, which proved a great disturbance to me; for they made a dismal noise with their musical Instruments, both night and day; but on my complaining of it, they were afterwards removed.
It seems the Great Captain, at his first coming into the Town, had given orders to some of his Officers, to seize all theDahomèTraders. But by means of some Friend they had in their Retinue, notice was given them; whereupon several of them fled. However, about ten wereseized, and immediately sent in Irons to the King: And the Duke, brother to the Lord ofJaqueen, told me afterwards, “That when the Great Captain began to talk of Business with him, the first Question he asked, was, Whether the Traders had used me ill? To which he replied in the affirmative; Adding, He was in my Factory, when one of them presented his Piece at me, because I refused to buy the bad Slaves brought by him.” The great Captain upon that asked him, “Why he suffered me to be so used?” To which the Duke answered, “That not only he himself, but his Brother, had been treated by them with great Insolence; and that they were afraid to resent it, for fear they should represent their Actions in a bad Light to the King.” On this account the Great Captain said, they had talked enough upon that Point.
We understood afterwards, that this great Man, at his return to the King, acquainting him with the Misbehaviour of the Traders, his Majesty ordered the Personwho presented his Piece at me, to be beheaded, with another, who had highly insulted me at the same time: And the others were kept in bonds, fed only with Bread and Water; and whenever it rained, they were put out into the Prison Court, and exposed till it had done raining. By this I found, that the Traders and the Linguist had shamefully belied the King; however, in Prudence I did not think fit to complain of the Interpreter, but only chid him in private; at which he was so frighted, that he left me, when the great Captain returned to their King.
The next day after this Great Man’s arrival, all the white Gentlemen in the place went to wait on him at the Duke’s House, carrying him Presents; and I went amongst the rest. Upon my taking leave, I invited him to dine with me at my Factory the next day. He came accordingly with many Attendants, one of whom he admitted with the Duke, to sit at Table with us. He seemed to be much pleased with the Victuals, especially with a Ham; and was much surprized when I told him,it was part of a Hog that had been killed six Months ago. I was so much diverted to see him handle a Fork, which it seems he had never used before, that I could hardly keep my Countenance, so aukwardly did he manage it. Amongst other dishes there was brought to the Table a Pye of minced meat. Of this he eat greedily, asking me, “How it was prepared?” I told him the manner; adding it was done by my Wife, and being put up in earthen Pans, it would keep in so hot a Country as this was, for six Months at least.He then asked me, “How many Wives I had?” I told him we were allowed by our Laws but one; on which he fell a laughing, saying, “He had five hundred, and wished fifty of them could prepare such meat for him as mine had done.” After this the Servants broughtBananas, with other Fruit of the Country, onDelftPlates. These Plates he was much taken with, and desired I would give him that he eat on, with the Knife, Fork, and Napkin he used. I told him he was welcome toall on the Table: Of which the Linguist had no sooner informed him, but he spoke to his Servants, and they immediately swept all away, so suddenly, that they had like to have broke all the Plates, but they luckily escaped. I put on a good Face on the matter, tho’ I was something surprized to be so soon taken at my word, with the manner of it; so I said to him, “I would present him further with some Mugs and Cups, which I called for.”
I had almost forgot to relate another Circumstance, full as odd as this. When we first sat down to dinner, some of his principal Servants who stood behind his Chair, would every now and then snatch off his Plate, a Slice of Ham or Fowl; and observing he did not rebuke them for it, I bid the Linguist tell him, “His Servants should not want for Victuals after we had dined; for it was not the white Peoples custom, to let their Guests Attendants go home hungry;” so he ordered them to be quiet for the future.
After dinner we drank both our Kings healths, and he grew very merry, preferring Punch to other Liquors. When he took his leave of me in the Evening, he express’d great Satisfaction at his Entertainment: Moreover he told me, “He design’d to go and see the Sea the next day, (which was about three Miles off) and as he had never yet seen it, nor a Ship, he should be glad of my Company.” But I was obliged to excuse my self, on account of my late Illness, from which I was not perfectly recovered. So I told him, “I would order my Officer in the Tent, to entertain him in the best manner he could; and if he would be pleased to go on board my Ship to see her, all possible Care should be taken of him.”
I must now leave this great Man for a while, and give an Account of a remarkable thing that happened whilst he was at the Sea side. For the right understanding of it, the Reader is to know, That a few days before the great Captain came toJaqueen, the Linguist brought me twoFemaleNegroes, saying, “The King desired, I would buy them, and promise I would not let them be redeemed by any one that should offer to do it:” After I had viewed these Women, one of which was turned of fifty, and the other about twenty Years old, I told the Linguist, “The first was past her Labour, and not for my purpose; but I would buy the other.” He replied, “He could not part them; adding, It would highly oblige the King if I took them both:” But suspecting he made use of the King’s Name, to get rid of an old Woman, I refused it, and he carried them away. I little suspected then what would happen to this poor Creature, which I shall presently relate.
The great Captain, as he had told me, went the next day to the Sea side, accompanied by abundance of People who came from the inland Country, which indeed they daily did in great Numbers, to see so rare a sight, now the ways were open to them. There lay then at Anchor, in the Road ofJaqueen, theKatherineGalleywhich I commanded, being a fine Ship of near three hundred Tuns burthen; and twoPortugueseVessels. This sight exceedingly surprized him, as well as did the Sea, which came rolling and roaring with its Billows on the Shore; so that he stood for some time fixed as if he had been a Statue, till he heard the Guns fired from theKatherine, wherewith I had ordered him to be saluted, on a signal made from our Tent. Being by the Noise of the Guns roused out of his Astonishment, my Officer then invited him to go to the Tent to dinner, which he readily accepted. Whilst he was at dinner, he could not sit still three minutes together, his Curiosity still prompting him to go and look on the Sea and Ships.
As the Water near the Shore is very shallow, our Boats cannot approach nearer than within two Cables length, so that we are obliged to make use ofCannoes, which draw much less Water than our Boats, to land our Goods: And also the fresh Water for the Ship’s use, is raftedin Casks by Ropes from the Boats. The great Man was so pleased with the sight, that he went too near the Sea to see it; in which instant a Wave coming with great force, reached him so, that with the surprize he fell on his back; by which Accident some salt Water got into his Stomach. His Servants seeing him fall, immediately run to his Assistance; and taking him up, carried him to our Tent, where he drank half a pint of Brandy, to qualify the salt Water he had swallowed down. Tho’ he had met with this mischance, he stay’d at the Tent till the Evening, and then left the place with reluctance, to come to Town; so much delighted was he with this sight. It was about nine a clock at night when he returned toJaqueen, being usher’d in with the hideous noise of their musical Instruments, and the Acclamations of the People.
Soon after, one of his principal Servants, together with the Linguist, came to me, saying, “The Great Man had sent them to return me thanks for the kind Entertainmenthe had received at my Tent; that he designed to set out next day for the King’s Camp, and should be glad to see me before he went.”
The Servant being gone,the Linguist told mein private, “That the oldest Woman whom I had refused to buy, had that day been sacrificed to the Sea, by order of the great Captain. For she had highly offended the King, and as I would not take her, his Majesty had ordered her to be destroyed this way, in the room of another Victim that was designed for the same Purpose.” I asked him, What Crimes she had committed? He replied hastily, “Did I think he knew the King’s Secrets? adding, She had lived a long time in the Court, with good Repute till now.” I then wish’d in my mind I had bought her; but only said to the Linguist, “I wondered he should have a hand in such Cruelty, having been bred up amongst white People.” To which he answered, “Great Mens Commands were not to be disputed, especially there beingno one but himself of theDahomes, that durst go off in a Cannoe with her.” Whereupon he told me the following Story; “The Woman’s Hands being tied behind her, and her Feet across, she was put into theCannoe, and carried off about half a Mile from the Shore: And then he ordered the Rowers to throw her over board; which they had no sooner done, but he saw some Sharks (voracious Fishes very common in those Seas) tear her to pieces in an instant.” On hearing this Account I pitied the Fate of this poor Creature, for I intirely credited the Story, knowing full well the Barbarity of those People. But the next day I was greatly surprized, with a Letter from my chief Mate, informing me, that the Woman was on board our Ship: Which happened in this manner. It seems, neither my People at the Tent, nor those in our Boats, which lay at the Moorings near the Shore, knew any thing of the real occasion of the Cannoe’s going off. For the Woman was put very privately into theCannoe. They only thought the Linguist was gone, with a design to see some of the Ships. When he came on shore again, one of our Boats went just then from the Moorings, in order to go on board our Ship. Being got about half way, the Officer in the Boat spied something floating on the Sea, which at his coming nearer, he perceived to be a human Body lying on its back; and now and then spurting Water out at the Mouth. This showing it was still living, he ordered it to be taken into the Boat, being bound in the same manner as the Linguist had told me. Immediately they untied this poor Woman, chafed her Limbs, and rolled her Body about, whereupon she discharged a good quantity of salt Water out of her Mouth. Then they carried her on board the Ship, not knowing in the least the occasion of her being in the Sea, and extremely wondering she had escaped the Sharks, who are usually so voracious, that when a dead Person is thrown overboard, or a living one falls into the Sea by Accident, they are in an instant torn to piecesby those voracious Animals. So that this poor Creature seemed to have a miraculous Escape; and the knowledge of the greediness of these Sharks, I suppose, induced the Linguist to tell me, that he actually saw her torn to pieces; verily believing it would so happen, which his Fears would not let him stay to see, on account of the great swell the Billows of the Sea had at that time.
Upon my receiving the above-mentioned account from the Mate, tho’ pleas’d with the safety of the poor Woman, yet it filled me with Apprehensions, if the King ofDahomèshould come to know it: For he might pretend, hisFetiche, or God, being disappointed of this Sacrifice by us, would revenge it on me, or at least oblige me to make up the Affair with large Presents. So having considered of the matter, I writ to the chief Mate, to charge our People to keep the thing secret; it being of the utmost Consequence to us all to do it: Which they accordingly did. Some time after, going on board the Ship, I examined this Womanby the Linguist, but she would never confess the reason of the King’s displeasure against her; alledging she knew not that she had in any respect offended him. However, I found by the Linguist, that he suspected, it was on account of her assisting some of the King’s Women in their Amours.
This Woman being a sensible Person, did us good service in the Voyage. For she was known to several of the Negroes on board, and by her talking to and advising them, made them easy in their Minds: She observed to them, amongst other things, “That as we had shown such Kindness to her, first in saving her Life, and since in taking care of her, who might be reckoned an useless Person to us, on account of her Age; so they had all the reason in the World to believe we were much better people than their own Countrymen; and that the strange Stories they had been formerly told of white People, must be false.” The femaleNegroes, who used always to be the most troublesome to us,on account of the noise and clamour they made, were kept in such Order and Decorum by this Woman, that I had never the like in any Voyage before: And when I came toAntegoa,Charles DunbarEsq; Surveyor General ofBarbadoes, and theLeeward Islands, on my Recommendation, bought her, and I was not a little pleased she had got so generous and good a Master.
But to return again to the great Captain: When he was ready to depart fromJaqueen, all theEuropeansin the Place waited on him to the side of the River, that runs on the back part of the Town. Upon taking leave I told him, “I wanted but eightyNegroesto compleat my Cargo,” and he promised he would acquaint the King with it; and I might be sure his Majesty would send them down to me forthwith. However, this did not happen according to my Expectation; for I understood afterwards the King had no Slaves by him for sale, tho’ he had great numbers of captiveNegroes, which tilled his Grounds, and did other Work. For,it seems, after they are once inrolled for that Service, his Majesty never sells them, unless they are guilty of very great Crimes.
After the great Captain’s departure, I was obliged to wait a long while for a dispatch; at last the desired Time came, and the King’s Factors that brought theNegroesbehaved themselves so well towards me, that I had no reason to complain of them. The principal amongst them told me, “The King was much surprized, that I had not been dispatch’d before; and that his Majesty had punished those severely, who had been the occasion of my long stay atJaqueen: That if my Affairs would admit of my going to the Camp, the King was desirous to see me again there, to discourse, and settle Matters, for the mutual Interest of himself, and theEuropeanstrading to his Country; for when I was with him before, the great Hurry of Affairs his Majesty had then on his Hands, did not allow him sufficient time to talk of Business.” I desired the Gentleman toreturn the King my due Acknowledgments for all his Favours; “and that I should have been very glad and ready to have waited again on his Majesty at the Camp: But the bad state of health I was then in, did not allow it; of which himself being an Eye-Witness, I desired he would be pleased to inform the King of it: Adding, I should not fail, on my arrival intoEngland, to tell my Countrymen who trade to this place, how great and generous a Prince I had been entertained by; hoping (if God bless’d me) to return again in a twelvemonth at farthest.” So having made the Traders some small Presents, they took their Leaves, returning many thanks for what I had given them.
As soon as I had finished my Affairs with these People, I waited on the Lord ofJaqueen, and told him, “That having compleated my Ship’s Cargoe ofNegroes, I design’d to go on board in two days time, desiring he would be pleased to pay me the ballance of an account that was between us.” Thishe readily promised, but never performed it. Moreover, the next day, having paid his Brother the rest of the Customs, and my Servants their Wages, my Store-house was soon after plundered in a violent manner: But, by good fortune, there were in it, only things of small value. I complained of this Usage, but had no Redress. However, I did not think proper to threaten, as I had formerly done, “That I would inform the King ofDahomèof it;” but quietly putting up the Affront, I went to the Sea side the next day, where I was obliged to lie all night in our Tent, because the Sea ran high on the Shore; but the next morning it being calmer, I got on board to my great Satisfaction, having, through the goodness of Providence, compleated my Affairs, much beyond my Expedition, considering I had so melancholy a Prospect, when I first came to this Country.
The first ofJuly 1727, we sailed from the Road ofJaqueen, having on board above 600Negroes. I had a tedious Passage to theWest-Indiesof seventeen Weeks,which obliged us to stop at several places for Water and Provision. But at length we arrived atAntegoa, where the Cargo ofNegroes(who had stood very well) came to a good Market: And having lain there for a Cargo of Sugars, we sailed from thence the latter end ofFebruary, and got safe into the River ofThames, the 25th ofApril1728, having been sixteen Months on this remarkableVoyage.