Early English Jamaica

8/13/2019 Early English Jamaica

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Trade, Plunder, and Economic Development in Early English Jamaica, 1655-89

Author(s): Nuala ZahediehSource: The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 39, No. 2 (May, 1986), pp. 205-222Published by: Wileyon behalf of the Economic History SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2596150.

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EconomicHistoryReview, 2nd ser. XXXIX, 2 (I986), pp. 205-222

T r a d e P l u n d e r n d Economicevelopment n E a r l y E n g l i s hJamaica I655-89

By NUALA ZAHEDIEHdam Smith concluded The Wealth of Nations with a fierce attack onthe value of empire, "not a gold mine, but the project of a gold mine: aproject which has cost . . . immense expense without being likely to bringany profit."' Smith focused his attention on the West Indian colonies, whichcontemporaries widely considered to be the most valuable part of the empire.He claimed that from the introduction of the Navigation Acts the stock whichhad improved and cultivated the sugarcolonies had been sent out of England,for "[their] prosperity has been, in a great measure, owing to the great richesof England, of which a part has overflowed, if one may say so, upon thosecolonies."2 He added that this investment represented a diversion of resourcesaway from what would have been more profitable employment at home.Furthermore, colonization imposed high costs which offset an additional partof any gains: the costs of preferences on sugar borne by the British consumer

and the costs of administration and defence of empire borne by the Britishtaxpayer. Whilst the individual return for many planters and merchants washigh, the social rate of return for Britons at large was low or even negative.3Smith's assertions have provoked discussion in the last 200 years. However,this has tended to focus on the latter'parts of the argument. Little thoughthas been given to the initial assertion about where the capital for colonizationcame from and most commentators implicitly assume that it did, as Smithclaimed, flow from the mother country.4 This paper examines his assertion in1 AdamSmith,An InquiryntotheNatureandCauses f theWealth f Nations 1776), II, p. 587.2 "When,by the actof navigation,Englandassumed o herself he monopolyof the colony rade,theforeigncapitalswhichhad beforebeen employed n it were necessarilywithdrawn rom it. The Englishcapitalwhichhad beforecarried n but a partof it was now to carryon the whole . .. [prior o this]theisland of Jamaicawas an unwholesomedesart,little inhabitedand less cultivated."SmithcontrastedFrenchandEnglishcolonialdevelopmentn theWest Indies."The stock, it is to be observedwhich hasimprovedhe sugarcoloniesof France .. has beenraisedalmostentirely rom he gradualmprovementandcultivation f those colonies .. But the stockwhich has improved ndcultivated he sugarcoloniesof Englandhas, a greatpartof it, been sent out fromEngland,and has by no meansbeen altogetherheproduceof the soil andindustryof the colonists." bid. pp. i87, 197, 199.3 Smithexpandshis views on the financing f the colonies n the sections"Causes f the prosperity fnew colonies"and "Ofthe Advantageswhich Europehas derived romthe discovery f America." bid.pp. 157-256.4 R. P. Thomas, The SugarColoniesof the Old Empire:Profitor Loss for GreatBritain,'Economic

HistoryReview,2nd ser. xxi (i968), pp. 30-45;P. R. P. Coelho, The Profitabilityf Imperialism: heBritishExperiencen the West Indies,1768-1772,' Explorationsn Economic istory, (1973), pp. 253-80.Sheridan resents he counter rgumenthat he WestIndiesyieldedaneconomicurpluswhichcontributedto the growthof the metropolitanconomy. R. Sheridan, The Wealthof Jamaica n the EighteenthCentury,'Econ. Hist. Rev. 2nd ser. xviii (i965), pp. 293-311; idem, 'The Wealth of Jamaica n theEighteenthCentury:A Rejoinder,'bid. xxi (i968), pp. 46-6i. Also see, F. W. Pitman,TheDevelopmentof theBritishWest ndies, 700-63 (New Haven, Conn. 1971), pp. 334-60;EricWilliams,Capitalism ndSlavery ChapelHill, N. Carolina, 944), pp. 209-12.205

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206 NUALA ZAHEDIEHthe light of the funding of what was to be England's richest sugar colony,Jamaica, and concludes by discarding it. It shows how the capital for plantingJamaicawas locally generated and, furthermore, that this capitalonce earned,could not easily have been more profitably employed in the mother country.

Debate about "profit and loss" has focused on the West Indian islandsbecause they most nearly approached the contemporary colonial ideal. TheCaribbean colonies stimulated the expansion of long distance trade, "to thebenefit of navigation"; they had no manufacturing industries of their own andso imported goods from England; above all, they "cultivated a plentiful soil,productive of commodities not to be had elsewhere".5 They produced tobacco,cocoa, indigo, ginger, dyeing woods and, most important, sugar. Sugar quicklybecame England's leading colonial import and, from its first arrival on themarket in the i640s, yielded a far higher and steadier profit than any otherAmerican cash crop.6 Sugar gave rise to levels of wealth and conspicuousconsumption which bolstered the image of the Indies as a source of fabulousriches-the land of El Dorado.Thereis no one commodity hatdoth so muchencouragenavigation dvance heKing'scustoms and our landand is at the same timeof so greata universaluse,virtue andadvantage s this kingof sweets.7

Jamaica was England's leading sugar exporter for most of the eighteenthcentury and in the I770S surpassed all the other English islands combined.Production more than quadrupled between the I720S and the I770s andaggregate levels of capital investment must have increased in similar measure.8However, as contemporary planters remarked, "a plantation once made maybe improved to as much as one will only by its own produce".9 Once thesugar industry was established the plough-backof profitsmeantthat expansioncould be self-financing.10This paper looks at the early period when the firstEnglish settlers faced the daunting task of amassingthe resources to get sugarplanting underway-to clear the land; build roads, houses, forts, harbours;support the labour force until the first crops appeared. This was the periodwhen the colonists' need for outside assistance was apparentlyat its height.

IJamaica was seized by the English in i655 and was their last Caribbeanacquisitionin the seventeenth century. The settlers were spared the experimen-tal phase passed through in earlier colonies in which pioneers searched for

5The southern olonieswere highlyvaluedby contrastwiththe 'Northward arts'whichwere seen asvery njurious o themothercountry."The Northward artshavedrainedus most of peopleand yetyieldcommodities f littlevalue":CharlesD'Avenant. On the PlantationTrade' I698), in ThePoliticalandCommercial orks fCharlesD'Avenant, d. C. Whitworth177i), II, p. 20. See alsoJosiahChild,A NewDiscourse f TradeI692), pp. 204-6;John Cary,An Essayon theStateof England n Relationoits Trade(Bristol,I695), pp. 68-70,204-205.6 R. Davis,'EnglishForeignTrade,I660-1700,' Econ.Hist.Rev.2nd ser.VII 1954),pp. 150-66; dem,

'EnglishForeignTrade, 1700-1774,' ibid. xv (i962), pp. 285-303; R. Dunn, Sugarand Slaves(ChapelHill, N. Carolina, 972), p. i88.7 Thomas Tryon, Tryon'sLetters,Domestick nd Foreign o SeveralPersonsof QualityOccasionallyDistributedn Subjects1700), p. 221.8 R. Sheridan, ugarandSlavery:AnEconomic istory f theBritishWest ndies, 623-I775 (Barbados,1974), pp. 487-9.9B. L. Add. MS 11410, fo. 527, Sir ThomasLynch to Lord Cornbury,9 March 671.10RobertNash claimsthat the growing ndebtedness f the West Indies after the 1730s camefromfinancing onspicuousonsumption mongstheplantersather han inancinghesugar ndustry.R. Nash,



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TRADE, PLUNDER, AND DEVELOPMENT IN JAMAICA 207profitablecash crops and ways to man the fields. AlreadyBarbadoshaddemonstratedhe potentialprofitsof tropicalagriculturewith a firmlyestab-lished sugar and slave economy. This island, laudedas "one of the richestspots of groundin the wordell""1 rovideda modelfor Jamaicawhich herEnglishmasterssuccessfullyemulatedby the earlyeighteenthcentury.Thisachievementwas impressive.TheEnglishconquerors ad nheritedittle fromthe Spaniards,who had scarcely ettled or plantedthe island;'2Jamaicahadonly seven sugarworks in i655 producingnegligible quantities.'3In thefirst decadeprogresswas slow and in i67I there were still only 57 sugarplantations.14 Clearly many were as yet in their infancy, as legal exportswere only about i,ooo hogsheads containing ,ooo lbs. each) per annum.15Thereafter,progressaccelerated.A mapof i685 shows that Jamaicahad246sugar plantations.16By i689 Jamaicansugar productionwas over I2,000hogsheadsper year and was approachinghe Barbadian evel of I5,000 to20,000 hogsheads TableI). The Frenchwarscausedconsiderable isruption;progresswas temporarilyhalted. However, it was resumedafterthe Treaty

Table I. J7amaica'sAgriculturalExportsAccordingto the Naval Officer,I67i-I678 and I682-I689Sugar Indigo Cocoa Hides Cotton Logwood(hhds.) (hhds.) (hhds.) (bags) (tons)

i671 (6 months) 585 32 8 i,6i6 460i672 i,I69 64 i6 3,232 920i673 i,I69 64 i6 3,232 920i674 I,I69 64 i6 3,232 920I675 2,512 II8 6 4,931 430I676 2,512 ii8 6 4,931 430I677 2,512 II8 6 4,931 430I678 5,I65 90 26 Ii,865 554I682 io,66i - - 22,535 1,937 623I683 9,533 - - I6,107 1,309 5o6i686 12,855 - - 7,462 1,505 651I687 ii,i86 - - 8,468 1,296 5o6i688 12,129 - - 842 648 1,079I689 11,574 - - 576 903 1,132

Sources:I671-I678, P.R.O. CO 1/43, fo. 59. Given as aggregates, from June I67I-I674, I675-I677, andI678: I682-I689, P.R.O. CO 142/13. Thesefiguresaretaken rom he NavalOfficer's eturnswhichwerekept to ensurecompliancewith the NavigationActs.Thus, theyincludeonly legalexports o England rEnglishcolonies.It is evidentfrom merchants' apers hatillegalexports entdirectly o Europeor viathe Dutchentrepotat Curaqaowereveryconsiderablelso. The tableexcludes ndigoand cocoaexportsin the i68os as there s no standard nit of measurementn the records.

'EnglishTransatlantic rade,i660-1730: A Quantitativetudy' unpublished h.D. thesis, University fCambridge,982), pp. 31-51.11 B. L. Sloane MS 3926, fo. 8, 'Henry Whistler's Journal.'12 F. CundallandJ. Pietersz, amaica Under heSpaniardsKingston,Jamaica, 91i9).13 'LettersConcerninghe EnglishExpeditionnto the SpanishWestIndies n i655,' in C. H. Firth,ed. TheNarrative f GeneralVenablesI9oo), p. 139.14B. L. MapK123 (44), 'Novissima ndAccuratissimaamaicaeDescriptio erJohannumOgilivium,'I671.15 P.R.O. CO 1/43, fo. 59, 'An Accomptof what Passengers, ervants nd Slaveshas beenbrought othis Islandwith accountof what goods hath been exported rom25 January671 to 25 March1679'(hereafter'Account of what . . . brought to this Island').16B.L. Map80710 (17), 'A New Map of the Islandof Jamaica,'685.



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208 NUALA ZAHEDIEHof Utrecht in I7I3, after which Jamaicaquickly became England's eadingsugarproducer.17The Barbadianmodel foragricultural evelopmentwas expensive.A sugarplantation,with its combinationof industrialand agricultural perations,requireda very large-scalecapital investmentby seventeenth-centurytan-dards.The costs of raisinga workingplantationof ioo acres are laid out in

Table 2a. CapitalCost of Raisinga Plantationof i00 AcresinJamaica, i690 ? s. d.50 blacksat averagenventoried alueof ?i6 12S. 830 0 07 whiteservants t average nventoried alueof ?12for4 years'service 84 0 03 artists which are paid wages - - -5 horsesat average nventoried alue of ?5 25 0 08 bullocksat averagenventoried alueof ?2 4s. 17 12 0Purchase of uncleared land - - -Costsof landclearance-3 yearsworkingchargesonthe plantation s shown n Table 2b. 988 i9 0Stills, mills, coppers,etc.; clothes, tools, provisions I,ooo 0 0Interestat 8%p.a. on capital nvestmentorfirst3 years 674 19 10

3,620 10 10

Table 2b. AnnualCharges ncurred n the Same Plantation? s. dWages or 3 artistsat 30 shillingspermonth 54 0 0Wearandtear on tools, accordingo Thomas 6o 0 0Clothesandprovisions,accordingo Thomas 120 0 0Replacement at io% p.a. ofSlaves 83 0 0Servants 8 8 0Livestock 4 5 0

329 13 0Sources:Dalby Thomas,An Historical ccount f theRise and Growth f theWest ndia Coloniesi690),pp. 14-i5;JamaicaArchives,SpanishTown,InventoriesB/i 1/3, iII; Lynch o LordCornbury,9 March

i672, B.L. Add. MS 11410 fos. 525-33; Somerset Record Office, Taunton, Helyar MSS, DD/WHh 1o89-90, 115i Addenda Papers 12.Tables2a and 2b whichare basedon a computationmadeby DalbyThomasin i690.18 However,as Thomaswaspleading hecase forareductionn sugardutieshe wantedto show thatplanters'profitswerebeing squeezedandit isassumedhe weightedthe evidenceaccordingly.Wherepossible,his valueshave been replaced by figurestaken from Jamaican nventoriesand tradepapersof the sameperiod. The resultingcalculationhat it requiredalmost?4,000 to raise a working plantation s borne out by other contemporarycomments.19A planterwho made an investmentof ?3,620 could eventuallyexpect areasonable eturneven whenJamaican ugarpriceswere at their lowest as in

17 Sheridan,SugarandSlavery,pp. 487-9.18 Dalby Thomas,An HistoricalAccount f theRise and Growth f the West ndia Coloniesi690), pp.14-15.19B.L. Add. MS 11410, fo. 532, Lynch to Cornbury, 29 March i672.



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TRADE, PLUNDER, AND DEVELOPMENT IN JAMAICA 209i688 (Table 3). The annualanticipated utput of 8o hogsheadsof sugarand28 hogsheadsof molasseson Thomas'splantation20 ouldproducea turnover

Table 3. Returns n a SugarPlantation, 688? s. d.a) Capital nvestment Table 2a) 3,620 10 10Annualcharges Table 2b) 329 I3 0Averageprice per hogsheadof sugarandmolasses n Jamaica 6 IO 0Annual turnover 702 0 0Capitalappreciationn value of cleared and at 8%p.a. 79 0 0Annualproduction 8ohh. sugarand28 hh. molasses

Per centofcapital? s. d. investmentb) Net income (without interest on capital) 372 7 0 IO-28Net income + 8% capital appreciationin land value(without interest on capital) 45I 7 0 I2.46Net income (with 8% interest on capital) 82 I4 0 2-28Net income + 8% capital appreciation in land value(with 8% interest on capital) 6i I4 0 4.46of about?702 per annum n i688; a net incomeof ?372 7S. (I0.28 per cent)if no interest s chargedonthe capital;anetincomeof ?82 I4s. (2.28 per cent)if interest s chargedat 8 per cent, a typical level in Jamaicaat this time.21The ratesof returnwould be substantiallyreaterat I2.46 per centand 4.46per cent respectively f allowance s made for a capitalappreciationn landvaluesat much the same levelasthe interestrateof 8 percent. However,theplantercouldnot expectto see anyvisiblereturn or at least threeyearsafterhe madethe initial nvestment.A sugarplanterneedednotonly plentifulcashresources o invest, but also hadto be in a positionto defer gratificationorseveralyears.As GovernorThomasLynch remarked,"plantings a work oftime, it requires vast expense . . . wherefore who will plant, must (like thebuilders n theGospel) aketheirmeasures eforehand, ndfurnish hemselveswithmoneyandpatience."22

Clearly t needed a large-scalecapitalinvestmentto establishJamaicanagriculturen the seventeenthcentury.Whilst it is not possibleto calculatethe aggregateum withprecision hepreceding alculations osuggestvariousindicators.They showthat it cost ?45 5s. to produceone hogsheadof sugarper year n goodconditions.This indicates hattherehad been an investmentof ?540,330 5s. in order to producethe island'sannualaveragerecorded20 Thomas xpectedone acre o yieldone hogshead er annum.Thomas,Historical ccount, p. I4-I5.However, he yieldof sugarper acrevariedwidelyaccordingo site conditions nd evelsof management.One writergave the following nformation bout classesof yields of muscovado:or plant cane,3,200poundsper acre,"uncommonly reat"; ,400 poundsper acre,"I0 per centof all estates"; ,6oo pounds

per acre,"maybe a savingaverage";orratoons,6oo poundsper acre,"very ew"; ,200 poundsper acre,"good"; 00 poundsper acre,"above hecommonmedium".Anonymous,Remarks pon Book,Entitled,ThePresent tateof the SugarColoniesConsideredI73).21 Interest atesusuallyexceededEnglish evels n the Caribbean. . A. Fortune,MerchantsndJews:TheStruggleorBritishWest ndianCommerce,6So-i750 (Gainesville, lorida, 984), p. i55. At timestheysoared.SirJamesModyford'sransactionsn i668 reveal"the bare nterestof thisplace"wasi6 percent. By courtesyof the Dean and Chapterof Westminster,WestminsterAbbeyMuniments hereafterW.A.M.), II92I, SirJamesModyfordo SirAndrewKing,4 Nov. i668.22 B.L. Add. MS II4I0, fo. 532, Lynch to Cornbury,9 March672.



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2I0 NUALA ZAHEDIEHexportsof I I,94i hogsheadsbetween 686 and i689. If allowances madeforillegal exports, which were reportedto be considerable,23 nd the manymisfortuneswhich could befall a plantation, he investmentmust have beenfargreater.

The maincost of sugarplantingwas labour.One acre in canes producedone hogsheadof sugarper yearin good conditionsandrequiredone man toTable 4. LabourRequirements f Sugar Plantation Describedby Dalby Thomas, i690Plantation size ioo acresNumberof slaves 50Area in cane 8o acres(areaharvestedannually) 40 acresSlavesperacre harvested I-2Annualproduction f muscovado 8o hogsheads of i,000 lbs.)Annualproduction f muscovado erslave i,6oo lbs.

Source:DalbyThomas,An Historical ccount f theRise andGrowth f theWest ndia Coloniesi690),pp. I4-I5.cultivatet (Table4). Survivingnventories onfirm heliterary vidence hat,despiteconcernabout securityrisks, Jamaican lantingwas largelybased onblack slavelabourfrom the first.They reveala servant o slaveratioof i to24 in i674-i675 and i to 54 in i686-i696 (Table 5). This acquistion of a largeslave labour force requireda substantialoutlay and provides yet anotherindicationof the scale of the capitalresources equired o establishJamaica'splantationeconomy. By i689 the island's5,000 or so whites owned about25,000 slaves (Table 6). The inventories surviving for the period i686 to i689giveanaveragevalue of ?i6 M2s. or a slaveso that theblack abour orcewasworthat least?4I5,ooo. But, the plantersneededto spendperhaps wicethissumto acquire heir25,000 slaves as very highmortality atesand desertioncaused substantialwastage.Assuming a mortalityrate of i0 per cent perannum asin the estimates nTable6), planterswouldhavehadto buy30,000slaves between i68o and i689 to increasethe total from 2I,500 to 25,000.This representsan investmentof ?498,ooo in that decadealone, an annualoutlay of ?49,800.

IIDid this large capital nvestmentmade in Jamaican griculturelowfromthe mothercountryas Adam Smith suggested?The manner n whichJamaicawas acquiredhad a considerablebearingon this question. Unlike earliercolonial projectsJamaicansettlement was not initiated by a joint stockcompany or lords proprietors, who might have provided the first capital.24The Jamaicanprojectwas backed by the state, but more by accidentthandesign. The islandwas a consolationprizeacquired n whatwas little more23 The frequent ontemporaryssertionshatthe Navigationawswerewidely gnoredby the Jamaicansareconfirmed y evidence n merchants' apers.P.R.O.C II0/I52, ChanceryMastersExhibits,Brailsfordv. peers (hereafterBrailsford apers),Halls to Brailsford,5 Sept. i688, 20 Sept. i689.24 R. Pares,Merchantsand Planters (Cambridge,960), pp. I-I4.



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TRADE, PLUNDER, AND DEVELOPMENT IN JAMAICA 2IITable 5. Number of Servants and Slaves onJamaican Plantations,I674-5 and I686-96

Number of servantsi674-i675 0 I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 I0 TotalNumber ofplantationswith0- Islaves 25 2 I - - - - - - - -

II- 20 8 I I I - - - - - -2I- 50 8 2 3 I - _ _ _ I - _5I-I00 I - - 2 - I - - - - I0I+ I - - - - - - - - - -Numberofplantations 43 5 5 4 - I - _ I _ I 6oNumberofslaves 7i8 85 83 i65 - 55 - - 44 - 6o I,2IONumber of

slaves perplantation I7 I7 I7 4I - 55 - - 44 - 6o 20Slave toservant ratio I7 8 I4 - II - - 5.5 - 6 24Number of servants

I686-I696 0 I 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 I0 II TotalNumberofplantationswitho- io slaves 52 5 - - - - - - - - - - 57

II- 20 29 6 I - - - - - - - - - 362I- 50 26 2 I 2 - - - _ _ - - - 3I50-IO0 I2 I 3 I 2 - 2 - - - I - 220I + 4 - - - - - - - - - I 5Number ofplantations I23 I4 5 3 2 - 2 - _ _ I I I5INumber ofslaves 2,856 266 259 II2 i84 - i6i - - - 64 io6 4,oo8Number ofslavesperplantation 23 I9 52 37 92 - 8i - _ _ 64 io6 27Slave toservant ratio I9 26 I2 23 - I3 - _ _ 6 II 54

Source:Inventories,Jamaica Archives, Inv. iB/II/3, I and IIIthan a state-sponsored uccaneering aid on the SpanishIndies;25 ventureconceivedwith the intentionof makinga large,immediateprofit n Spanishtreasure,not a long-terminvestment in agriculture.26 nglanddid retainJamaicabut neither Cromwell,nor his successors,felt disposedto spendmoneyon it. Landwasreserved orthe state,but it was neverdevelopedandwas finally abandoned in i678.27Otheroutside interestswereequallyreluctant o make a direct nvestmentin Jamaican griculture.This is not verysurprising.The dramaticprofitsof

25Cromwell ad no provocationorhis attackwhichwas launchedwhileSpainwastrying o negotiatean alliancewith England. A. MacFayden, Anglo-SpanishRelations, 625-i66o', (unpublishedPh.Dthesis, University of Liverpool, i967), pp. 56-65.26 B.L. Add. MS II4I0, fos. 6i-8o, 'A Copieof the OriginalDesignuponwhichCromwellettout thefleetfor the takingof the islandof Hispaniola'.27 P.R.O. CO I38/3, fo. 482, Carlisle o RobertSouthwell, i July i68i.



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2I2 NUALA ZAHEDIEHTable 6. The Population of Jamaica, 1662-i689

i662 i670 i673 i68o i689White men 2,458 3,000 4,050 c.4,000women 454 2,oo6children 448 I,200 I,7I2Total whites 3,360 4,200 7,768 c.5,600 c.4,600Privateers I,500 I,500-2,000 I,500 I,200 I,200Negroes 514 2,500 9,504 2I,500 25,000

Sources: i662: P.R.O. CO I/I5, fo. I92.i670: Ibid., CO I/25, fo. 5.i673: Journals f House of Assemblyof Jamaica,663-i826 (Jamaica,8iI-29), I, pp. 20, 28.There is no head count available or i68o or i689. Figures for i68o basedon the Naval Officer'sinformation n arrivals, 673-i679. The figure or blackswas doubled o allow or illegaldeliveries; othfigureswere adjusted o allowfor a mortality ateof io% p.a. P.R.O. CO I/43, fo. 59.i689: Figure or whitesbasedon annualaverage rrivals alculated romthe Naval Officer'sReturns,i686-i688. The figure or blacks s basedon the RoyalAfricanCompany's eliveries680-i689, doubledto allow for illegaldeliveriesand then reducedby 25% o allowfor sales to the Spaniards.Bothfigureswere adjusted to allow for a mortality rate of io% p.a. P.R.O. CO I42/I3; T 70/IO, I2, i5, i6; T 70/938-944. The mortality ate s based on planters' xpectationsn the i68os. For example,BodleianLibrary,Oxford,MS Rawl.A348,fo. 4, "Affairs ndinstructions or the careof a plantation".The figure or slaves s broadly onfirmed y the following heck. Map of i685 shows690 plantations;averagenumberof slavesper plantationn inventories, 684-I694 s 27. This gives totalsof I8,630 slaves.In addition here was an estimated ,500 slaves n Port Royaland SpanishTown. Total ig,630 slaves.The trendsarealso confirmed y literary vidence.Contemporariesemarkedhatthe whitepopulationbarelymaintainedtself n the I670Sanddeclined n the i68os. Meanwhile,heblackpopulationncreasedrapidly.P.R.O. CO I38/3fo. 332, Carlisle o Coventry, 5 Sept. I679; Instituteof Jamaica,Kingston,MS I59, fo. 63. The State of JamaicaUnder Lord Vaughan;P.R.O. CO I38/7, fo. I29, PresidentandCouncil o Committee,Sept. 28, I692; P.R.O. CO I38/9, fo. I4, SomeConsiderations elating o theIslandof Jamaica,Oct. i696.the early sugardaysin Barbadoswere over.The returnsnow looked far lesstempting. Production had outstrippeddemand, and the English price ofmuscovado ell by 6o percent from about40 shillingsperhundredweightni66o to a low pointof i6 shillingsper hundredweightn i686/i687.28 It wasstill possibleto makea handsomeprofitfrom a sugarplantation,even whenpriceswere at bottom,asshown n Table 3. However, hese profitsdependedonclose,careful upervision f theestateasmanyanunhappyabsenteeownerdiscovered.One such was WilliamHelyar,an English squirewho inheritedaJamaican ugarplantationromhisbrothern I672. Underthemanagementof irresponsible ndcorruptoverseers he estate neveryieldeda penny profitexceptwhen the squire'sownson took briefcontrol n the i68os.29As Lynchremarked"servants,attorneys,etc. areaptto dye or remove,and this ayreIthinkdisposespeoplemore to covetnousness n yt of Europe . . those thatare absent can do nothing, but loose all".30Absentee investment n sugarplantingwas a very riskyand generallyunattractive roposition.The patternof land ownershipwas reflected n a surveyof JamaicaofI670. This shows that a totalof almost2IO,OOOacres had been patented.31

28 J. R. Ward, The Profitability f SugarPlanting n the BritishWest Indies, i650-i834', Econ.Hist.Rev. 2nd ser. XXXI I978), pp. I97-2I3; Dunn, Sugarand Slaves, p. 205; Sheridan, Sugarand Slavery,pp. 496-7.29 SomersetRecordOffice,Taunton hereafter .R.O.), HelyarMSS, DD/WHh o89-90,I I5I AddendaPapers 2.30 B.L. Add. MS II4IO, fo. 532, Lynch to Cornbury, 29 March i672.31 P.R.O. CO I38/I fos. 6i-8o, 'Surveyof Jamaica,'670.



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TRADE, PLUNDER, AND DEVELOPMENT IN JAMAICA 2I3Contemporaries bservedthat those aiming to produce cash crops wouldusuallypatent over I ,000 acres.There was only one absenteeamongst he I3men with tracts larger han2,000 acres; Lord Clarendonwhoseportionwastotally uncultivated.The 34 patenteeswith between iooo and 2,000 acresrevealed similarpattern.Of the26 who couldbe identified, 5 wereresidents.Therewas only one absentee,JosiahChilde,who patented and n partnershipwith SamuelBache,a PortRoyalmerchant.Clearly he groupof 47 men whopossessedover iooo acres(anaggregate f 80,386 acres,or 42.5 percent ofthe total patentedby i670) wereoverwhelmingly amaican esidents.Therewas no similarsurveyat the end of the period, but it is clearthat the patternof land ownershipchanged little. The file of Land Patents in the JamaicaArchives howsthatat least74 out of the 88 personswho patentedover2,000acres n the seventeenthcenturywere residents.A sampleof conveyances nthe Island Record Office in Spanish Town indicates that sales were alsooverwhelmingly mong residents.Outside interests were almost as wary of making an indirectas a directinvestmentn earlyJamaican lanting.The inventories nddeeds n the IslandRecordOfficeshow thatit wasunusual or planters o owemoneyoutsidetheisland. Meanwhile, there was an active internal credit market. The oneimportant utsidecreditorwas the RoyalAfricanCompany.Thetotalamountowed to it in Jamaica ose from?56,583 in i683 to about?iooooo in i689.32Almosthalfof thiswasshort-term reditgiven to planters.Partwas interest.33However,even the totalsum represents he valueof only 5,422 slavesat theaveragenventoried alueof ?I6 I2S. oraboutIOpercent of the totalnumbersdelivered o the island.Unwillingness n England to become too heavily involved in the riskybusinessof funding a distant colonial ventureis reflected n the dispersednatureofJamaicanrade.The Londonportbooks ndicate hatalargenumberof individualswere involved n tradewith the island, mainly n a smallway.Between 29 December i685 and 30 June i686, 298 merchantsimported goodsfromJamaican 30 ships. Of these, only 62 peoplehadgoodson more thanone ship, and only 20 had goods on three or more ships.34These mainlysmall-scale dventurersmighthave felt able to extendshort-term radecreditto theirJamaican ustomersbut few wishedto makethe large,andfrequentlyrisky, long-term nvestmentnecessary o get Jamaican lantingunderway.

IIIIt is clear that it was largely eft to the early Jamaican esidents o makewhatthey could of the island'sagricultural otential.Outsidersplayedlittlepart. How did the first colonistsaccumulate he necessaryresources?Veryfew arrivedwith sufficient apital o developaplantation.Therewas no large-scaletransfer f capital seenumberof slavesbrought romtheothercolonies,32 P.R.O. T 70/i6, fo. 52; P.R.O. CO 138/6, fo. 227, 'Petitionof RoyalAfricanCompany,' 5 Julyi689.33 Interest hargeswere high. "The companywith theirown chapmen .. taking wentyper centthefirstsix monthsand fifteenafter."P.R.O. CO i38/3, fo. 479, 'Paperpresented y Planters f Jamaicao-Lords of Trade', i68o.34 P.R.O. E 190/143/I, LondonOverseas mportsby Denizens,i686.



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214 NUALA ZAHEDIEHTable 7. Migration to Jamaica from Other Colonies,I16718 and I686-9

Whites BlacksI671-4 793 1,491i675-7 989 1,585I678 92 95

Total I,874 3,171Annualaverage 296 396I686 90 82i687 49 2i6i688 46 109I689 0 86

Total i85 493Annualaverage 46 123Sources:P.R.O. CO 1/43, fo. 59; CO 142/13.

Table 7) and expertisefrom the smaller islands, despite their complaintsabout land shortageand soil exhaustion.35The conqueringexpeditiondidrecruit4,000 men (mainly indenturedservants) n the Caribbean,but fewsurvivedeven the first yearof settlement.After this, West Indiansdisplayeda markedreluctance o transfer o Jamaica Table 7). Sugarprobablydid notseem to offer richenoughrewards n this period o offsetthe storiesof disease,death and generalgloom which circulated romJamaica.Someplantersofsubstancemade the move-Luke Stokes, Sir ThomasModyford,who wasappointedgovernor n i664, the two groupsof settlers rom Surinamn thei670s; but they werefew and far between. It wasoften remarked hat thosewho did transfer o Jamaicawere usuallythe "looser sorts" who went "inhopes of plunder"-not to plant.36Settlerswho arrived romthe mother countryalso came to the Indiesinexpectation f makinga fortuneonce there:veryfewbroughtonewith them.Thosewhomthediarist,JohnTaylor, istedas the island's"chiefandprincipalgentlemenand planters" n i688 were "for the most part (thoughnow rich)formerly ude andof mean birth,men of theirwits, which havehere advancttheirfortune."37They were youngersons like Hender Molesworthor CaryHelyar; uniorofficers ike ThomasLynch; smalltraders ike PeterBeckford;craftsmen ike Robert Bindlosswho was said to have been a ship's surgeon.Onlyone of the I2 residentswho hadpatentedover2,000 acresby i670 camewith sufficientcapital o set up a plantation:ThomasModyford,a successfulBarbadian ugar planter.The six army officersand the five merchantswhomadeup thegrouphadfirstto accumulateundsbefore heycould"falluponplanting".38In fact, the earlysettlerswerenot first attractedo Jamaicaby its futureasa plantation.It was often remarked hat "few come particularly r only to

35E. Hickeringill, amaicaViewed i66i), p. 59. B.L. EgertonMS 2395, fo. 286B, 'Considerationsabout the Peoplingand Settling he IslandJamaica,'66o.36 B.L. EgertonMS 2395, fos. 640-I, ColonelLynch 'Concerninghe SugarPlantations'.37 Instituteof Jamaica,Kingston hereafter .J.), MS 105, JohnTaylor, Multum n Parvo', o. 589.38 P.R.O. CO 138/2, fo. 117, 'Stateof Jamaica',675.



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TRADE, PLUNDER, AND DEVELOPMENT IN JAMAICA 2I5plant, but to merchandize."39 heir interest in Jamaicawas arousedby itsgeographical ocation, "in the Spaniard'sbowels and in the heart of histrade."40 t was this strategicposition whichattracted ettlersto the islandand it was their successfulexploitation f the locationwhichenabled hem toaccumulate he necessaryresources o beginplanting ree of overseas ies.Men had beenattracted o the Indiesbyvisionsof El Doradosince the firstdiscoveries.The abundant reasureof the mines of MexicoandPeru arousedthe avidity of all Europe. Spaintried to reservethis wealth for herself bydeclaringa monopolyof trade and navigation n the area; but what otherscould not have by agreement, the newcomerstook by force or stealth-privateersand smugglers raided and traded.41 As the Spaniards ound itincreasingly ifficult o defend their empire rom depredationst was likenedto a "deadcarcassuponwhomall the rest do prey".42The first half of the seventeenthcentury was the great age of Dutchcommerical xpansion; he Hollanders urned the Caribbean lmostinto aDutchlake.43The acquisitionof Curaqaon i634 gavethemanidealbaseforexpanding heir tradingoperationson the Spanish Main. Meanwhile, theEnglishwerehamperedn bothcontrabandradingandplunderby theirlackof a suitableheadquartersn theCaribbean.44 he Englishsettlementswhichsurvived his early period were all situatedon the peripheryof the region,wheretheyweresafely awayfromSpanishharassment, utequally ll-placedto tradeorplunderon the Main.45The colonistswereconfined o agriculturaldevelopmentby necessityratherthan choice. Jamaicawas different.It was"inthe centreof the most valuablepartof the West Indiesat aneasydistancefrom the Spanishsettlements."46The island was ideally situatedfor bothtrade and plunder.The English oundeda townat PortRoyalwith its large,shelteredharbourimmediately fterthe seizureof Jamaica.The portquicklybecamea base forfreebootingactivitiesagainstthe Spaniards,attractingdisorderlyelementsfrom all overthe Caribbean. n i663 Jamaicahad a fleet of i5 privateers.Byi670, the islandhadover20 such vesselswithabout2,000 men.47Marauders

39Ibid.40 Hickeringill,amaica Viewed,p. i6.41 R. D. Hussey,'SpanishReaction o ForeignAggressionn the Caribbeano about i68o', HispanicAmerican istoricalReview, X (1929), pp. 286-302; VioletBarbour, Privateers nd Pirates n the WestIndies',American istorical eview,xvi (i9i i), pp. 526-66; K. R. Andrews,TheSpanishCaribbean: radeand Plunder, i530-i630 (New Haven, Conn. 1978).42 I.J. MS 390, Letterto Nottingham,March 689.43 Dunn,Sugar and Slaves, p. i6; C. H. Goslinga,The Dutch in the Caribbean, 58o-i68o (Gainesville,Florida,1971), pp. 52-60.44 An EnglishCompanydid settle the islandsof Providence SantaCatalina),HenriettaSanAndreas)andTortugan i630, whichprovideddealbases orprivateering. heSpanish xpelledhem romTortugain i635 and Providence n i641. A. P. Newton, The ColonisingActivities of the English Puritans (Yale,1914).45 All foreigncoloniesestablishedn the Antilles n theearlyseventeenth entury acedseriousdangerof a Spanishattack.The Spanish xpelled he Frenchand English rom TrinidadandTortugan i634;they expelled he FrenchandEnglish romSt. ChristopherndNevis in i629; the DutchfromSt. Martinin i633; and the English rom St. Catalinan i64i. Hussey,'SpanishReaction o ForeignAggession',p.

299.46 H. of L. Journals, vii, p. 5i0. Reportof Admiralty apersRelating o ViceAdmiralGreydon, 3March1703.47 B.L. Add. MS 11410, fo. I1, 'An Accountof the PrivateShips of War belonging o Jamaica ndTortudosn i663'; P.R.O. CO I/25, fo. 5, CharlesModyford'sReporton Jamaica,670; M. Pawsonand0. Buisseret,Port Royal, Jamaica (Oxford,1975), pp. 6-i9.



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2i6 NUALA ZAHEDIEHcontinued to operate from Port Royal throughout he seventeenthcenturydespitethe Anglo-SpanishTreatyof Madrid,promisingpeaceand friendshipin i670. Both opponentsand advocatesof so-called"forced rade"declaredthatthe town'sfortunehad the dubiousdistinctionof being foundedentirelyon the servicingof the privateers'needs and a highlylucrative rade n prizecommodities.48A reportthat the 300 men who accompaniedHenry Morganto Portobello n i668 returned o the town with prize to spendof at least?6oeach(twoor three times the usual annualplantationwage) eaves ittle doubtthatthey were right.49AlthoughJamaican lantinghadscarcelybegun(TableI), the port'strade ncreased ivefold n the i66os. It attracted bout20 shipsa year in i66o, and i00 by the end of the decade.50As GovernorLynchadmitted n i67I, scarcelyone quarterof what was shippedfrom the islandwas of its own growth.51The Portobelloraid alone producedplunderworth?75,ooo,52more than seven times the annualvalue of the island's sugarexports,which at PortRoyal prices did not exceed ?io,ooo at this time.Port Royalwas also ideally situated or contrabandradewith the Spanishcolonists. Foreignershad long obtained a substantialshareof the officialSpanishcolonial radewhich wasconducted n two, supposedlyannual, leetsfromSeville or Cadiz. The goods were shippedto Portobelloand Vera Cruzwherethey were exchanged or rich American ommodities,mainlybullion.However, the traders'profits were eroded by innumerabledifficultiesanddelays,particularly s the fleetsbecame ncreasinglyrregular ndhigh defencecosts pushed up charges.53The advantages f direct trade via a base in theCaribbeanwere apparent o both sellers and customers.Suppliersreducedcosts and delays considerably(Peter Beckford, a Port Royal merchant,reckoned hatdirect tradereducedshippingand freightcharges o halfwhatthey were with the fleets),54which enabled them to increaseturnoverandprofits.The Spanishcolonistscould buy goods morecheaplyanddisposeoftheirown productsmore regularlywhich wasparticularlymportant f theywereselling perishable gricultural ommodities.The economic ogicwas toostrongto be denied and, despite the Spanishauthoritiespersistentrefusal ocondone he trade, t grewandflourished,attractingmerchantso PortRoyalwhoparticipatedn theirown,and theircorrespondents'ehalf.55 artof this

48 P.R.O. CO 1/23, fo. i9i, Bowne to Williamson, 17 Dec. i688; W.A.M. 11913, Sir James Modyfordto SirAndrewKing, 27 Dec. i667.49 W.A.M. 11920, Sir JamesModyford o Sir AndrewKing, 4 Oct. i668; P.R.O. CO 1/24, fo. 145,'Narrative f Sir Thomas Modyford', 3 Aug. i669; P.R.O. CO 1/24, fo. i, 'Memorial f SpanishAmbassador', Jan. i669.50 P.R.O. CO 140/I, fo. 6, Minutes of Council of Jamaica, i8 June i66i; P.R.0 CO 138/I fo. 107-I1,'List of WhatVesselsArrived n Port Royal, i668-i670'.51P.R.O. CO 1/28, fo. 9, Lynch to Willamson,6 June i672.52 W.A.M. 11920, SirJamesModyfordo Sir AndrewKing, 4 Oct. i668.53 Sailing of Fleets Galeones FlotaI670s 3 5i68os 2 4H. Kamen, Spain in the Later SeventeenthCentury ig80), p. 133.54C.S.P. Col. i675-i676, No. 735, Peter Beckford o Williamson, Dec. i675. Caryclaimed hatdirecttradewiththe Spanish ndieswasfivetimes moreprofitablehan the Cadizroute;Cary,Essayonthe State of England, pp. 115-i6.55 B.L. Add. MS 28140, 'An Essayon the Natureand Methodof Carrying n a Tradeto the SouthSeas," fos. 24-24b; P.R.O. C 110/152, Brailsford Papers.



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TRADE, PLUNDER, AND DEVELOPMENT IN JAMAICA 2I7

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2i8 NUALA ZAHEDIEHtrade was conducted in the island's own sloop fleet, stimulating its growthfrom40 in i670 to 8o in i679 and about o in i689.56 A furtherconsiderablepart was carried on by English and colonial ships which called at Port Royalbefore making for the Spanish Indies, but did not return to Jamaicaon theirway home. Reginald Wilson, the Naval Officer, reported that 40 of the 87ships which had sailed from Port Royal in i679, had gone on to trade withthe Spaniards in this way.57 A close examination of Wilson's returns in thei68os suggests that it continued to be usual for about half the ships enteringPort Royal to be destined for Spanish markets58 (ships with a recordedarrival but no recorded departure in Table 8). Jamaican agents hired skilledsupercargoesand strengthened the ships' crews, earning commission for theirservices.59Contemporarycomment confirms the importance of the Jamaicanentrepot trade and, as Cary remarked in i695, its steady growth was alsoreflected in a decline of English commerce by the old route to the Indies, viaOld Spain.60The contraband trade was mainly carried on "underhand" in bays andcreeks or the smaller towns. The larger, strongly fortified towns of Portobello,Cartagenaand Havana were more difficult and risky to penetrate. The onecommodity which could open their doors was slaves, for the Spaniards didnot pretend to provide them for themselves, and so had to turn to a middlemanwho did. The contractors, or asientistas, obtained supplies where they couldand Jamaicawas ideally situated to serve them; transport costs being 20 percent lower than they were from the rival Dutch base at Curaqao.61There isno record of a formal agreement to supply the Spaniardsin the early yearsbut there are references to their coming to Jamaica. By the i68os the tradewas substantial. The African Company alone sold about 25 per cent of itsannualsupplies to the Spaniards (i.e. an averageof about 500 slaves, see Table9) and there are also records of large sales by interlopers. However, it was asmall group of merchants who benefited most. They bought slaves from theAfricanCompany, then sold them to the Spaniards, providing their customerswith an armed convoy and accepting payment in the Spanishhome port. TheSpaniards paid 35 per cent extra for this convenience.62 It was a highlylucrative and relatively safe business which was, as the planter John Helyarremarked, "a much easier way of making money than making sugar".63

56 P.R.O. CO 1/43, fo. 59, 'An Account of what ... brought to this Island; I.J. MS 105, Taylor,'Multum n Parvo,' o. 499.57 P.R.O. CO 1/43, fo. 59, 'An Accountof what... brought o this island'.58 P.R.O. CO I42/I3, Naval Officer's Returns, Jamaica, i680-1705.59 P.R.O. C 110/152, Halls to Brailsford,3 and14 March 688; NualaZahedieh, The Merchants fPortRoyal,Jamaica ndSpanishContraband rade, 655-92', William and Mary Quarterly,3rd ser.XLIII(i986).60 "The West Indies... is very plentifully upply'dby us with manufacturesnd manyother thingsfromJamaica . . this I taketo be the true reasonwhy our vent for them at Cadiz s lessenedbecausewesupplyNew Spaindirectwiththose things theyused to have thencebefore."Cary,EssayontheStateofEngland,pp. Ii5-i6. Kamenclaims hat the Andalusianradeand Englishparticipation eclinedduringthe lateseventeenth entury.There s little statistical videncebut the English n Spainwereconscious fa decline. Kamen, Spain in the LaterSeventeenthCentury,p. i i8.61 B.L. Egerton MS 2395, fos. 502-502b, 'Considerations about the Spaniardsbuying negroes of theEnglishRoyal Company'.62 P.R.O. CO 138/6,fo. 288, 'Address f Counciland Assemblyof Jamaica', 6 July i68i.63 S.R.O. HelyarMSS, WHh/Io89,John Helyar o father, i6 Sept. i686.



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TRADE, PLUNDER, AND DEVELOPMENT IN JAMAICA 2I9Table 9. Royal African Company'sDeliveries to Jamaica,I680-I689

No. ofNo. of ships slaves deliveredi68o 7 I,602i68i 5 1,56iI682 5 1,577I683 9 I,892I684 8 1,905I685 9 I,908i686 '4 3,574i687 I I 3,075i688 I 103i689 7 2,176Total 76 19,373AnnualAverage 7.6 1,937

Sources:P.R.O. T 70/10, 12, I5, i6; T 70/938-944; CO 142/13.The asiento trade also provided Jamaican merchants with an opportunity tosmuggle manufacturedgoods into the major Spanish towns, which had provedso difficult to penetrate.64Unfortunately the lack of detailed statistical evidence makes it impossibleto quantify the value of Port Royal's Spanish trades, either peaceful or forced,with any precision. However, their combined importanceis clear. It was mostobviously reflected in the unusual abundance of cash in Jamaica, whichenabled the islanders to use coins as currency, rather than commodities as inother colonies. In i683 a visitor remarked that "there was more plenty ofrunning cash proportionately to the number of its inhabitants than is inLondon."65 Furthermore, although there were no continuous figures forJamaica'sbullion exports a number of scattered estimates show that they wereconsiderable. Governor Lord Inchiquin claimed that the fleet carried away?ioo,ooo worth of bullion in i690,66 whereas sugar exports recorded by theNaval Officer the previous year were worth only ?88,ooo at the current inlandprice. In addition a large quantity of bullion was earnedin the entrepot tradewith the Spanish colonies and shipped straight back to England.The value of the Spanish commerce is also indicated by the fact thatthe growth and prosperity of Port Royal predated the development of theagriculturalhinterland. Although the island's sugar trade was in its infancythe port's white population increased from 630 in i662 to almost 3,000 ini68o and 3,000 to 4,000 in i689, making it the largest English town in theCaribbean67 Table io). The importanceof trading opportunities in attractingpeople to Port Royal is shown by the very large number of merchants in the

64 P.R.O. CO 138/5, fo. 47, Moleswortho Committee f Trade,24 March 684; the trade s discussedin C. P. Nettels, 'Englandand the SpanishAmericanTrade, i680-1715', Journalof ModernHistory,n(1931), pp. 1-33.65 F. Hanson,ed. Laws of Jamaica i683), Introduction.66 P.R.O. CO 138/7, fo. i9, Inchiquin to Lords of Trade, 12 Aug. i69i.67 The population f Bridgetown,Barbados,was2,927 in i68o. P.R.O. CO i/44, fos. 142-397, Censusof Barbados,68o. The populations said to have been stableor falling n the i68os. The population fBoston,the largest own in mainlandNorth America,was 6,ooo in i69o. JamesA. Henretta, EconomicDevelopment nd SocialStructuren ColonialBoston',William ndMaryQuarterly,rd ser.XXII (i965),p. 75.



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220 NUALA ZAHEDIEHTable io. Population of Port Royal, i662-i679

Whites Blacks Total Privateersi662 630 40 670 1,500i673 i,669 312 I,98I 1,500i68o 2,o86 845 2,931 1,200i689 approx. 4,000 not available not available 1,200

Sources: .R.O. CO 1/15, fo. 192. 'A Brief Accountof the Several nhabitantsn the Precincts n theIsland', 662; Journals f JamaicanAssembly,app. I, p. 40; P.R.O. CO 1/45, fos. 97-109, 'Account ofInhabitants oth mastersand servantsof Port Royal Parish',26 May i68o. Unfortunatelyhere is noreliable igure or i689. The diarist,Taylor,who wasprone o exaggerate, laimed hatthe townhad5,000whiteinhabitants nd as manyslaves n i688. Instituteof Jamaica,Kingston,MS 105, fo. 499. In I692theCouncilasserted hat before heearthquakehe towncouldmuster ,000 men whichsuggests hatthetotal whitepopulationwas about4,000. P.R.O. CO 138/7,fo. 129, President ndCouncil o Committeeof Trade, Sept.28, I692.town. There are I I8 Port Royal inventories surviving from the period i686-i694, a fair-sized sample of a town with about i,000 households in I689; 49of these were merchants.Port Royal was also the busiest port in the English Caribbean. By the i68osthe Naval Officer's returns show that it was attracting I50 to 200 ships a year.Barbados was still the leading English sugar producer but in i688, the onlycomplete year for which figures survive in this period, it attracted only I02ships (although they were of slightly higher average tonnage).68Visitors remarked on Port Royal's easy lifestyle. Taylor, the diarist, descri-bed the merchants and gentry living "in the height of splendour", served bynegro slaves in livery. The craftsmen also lived better than in England. Therewas plentiful employment and wages were three times as high as at home.There was abundant food. Three daily markets were well stocked with fruit,fish and meat. Luxuries were easily available too. There was also a wealth ofentertainment:a bear-garden, cock-fighting, billiards, music houses, shootingat targets and also "all manner of debauchery" which the prudish blamedupon "the privateers and debauched wild blades which come hither". Manyraised eyebrows at the large number of alehouses and the "crue of vilestrumpets and common prostratures"which crowded the town, undeterredby frequent imprisonment in a cage near the harbour.69All this reflected thesurplus cash in the place. The Port Royal inventories which survive from theperiod I674-I694 also indicate that it was a prosperous town. In the wholeperiod 44 out of a total of 2I2 left estates worth over Li,ooo (Table i I). Thissuggests that the townspeople had succeeded in making themselves at least asrich as their famous New England counterparts.70As Taylor remarked"withthe help of the Spaniards' purse" inhabitants of the island "have advancedtheir fortune" and were now rich.71

IVThe successful exploitation of Jamaica's strategic geographical location,

and the rise of Port Royal as a trading post based on Spanish plunder andcontraband, provided the early residents with the capital necessary to embarkon plantation agriculture. William Claypole's study of the extensive land68 P.R.O. CO 390/6, fo. 26, 'ShipsTradingat Barbados'.69 I.J. MS 105, Taylor, 'Multum n Parvo', os. 491-507.70 BernardBailyn, TheNew EnglandMerchantsn theSeventeenth entuty Harvard, 979); Henretta,'EconomicDevelopment.. in ColonialBoston',p. 84.71 I.J. MS 105, Taylor, Multum n Parvo,' o. 589.



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TRADE, PLUNDER, AND DEVELOPMENT IN JAMAICA 221Table I I. Values of Port Royal Inventories, i674-i694

Volume I Volume II Volume IIIi674-i675 i679-i686 i686-i694Value in ? No. % No. % No. %0- 49 8 20-5 7 13 II 950- 99 8 20-5 7 13 20 17

100- 499 10 25 i6 30 47 39.5500- 999 7 I8 13 24 14 121,000-1,999 4 10 6 II 10 82,000+ 2 5 5 9 17 14Total 39 54 ii8

Source:Jamaica Archives, Inv. iB/il/3, I-III, Inventories i674-94.recordsavailablen Jamaica ndicatesthat PortRoyal'smerchantsprovidedthe largestsource of capital nvestment n agriculture.72Many patentedandplanted and on theirown account-at least 275 of 5o8 merchants dentifiedin PortRoyalbetween 664 and1700purchased gricultural roperty.Twelveof the23 Port Royalestates nventoried s over?2,000 indicatean involvementin aplantation.The debts listedin the inventories lso show that PortRoyal'sresidentswere the majorsource of credit for the planters.Port Royal grewrich "out of the Spaniard'spurse": the profits of tradingand looting wereused to buildup Jamaica'splantations.The mechanisms clearlyreflected n Taylor's ist of the island's"principalgentlemenand planters" n i688.73 Almost without exceptiontheir debt tothe Spaniardss apparent.The mosttellingexamplewasHenryMorgan, hemostcelebratedof the privateers,who built up a substantialplantationwithI22 negroes,valued at ?5,263 on his death.74Lynch, Molesworth,Beeston,Bindlossand the others had all participatedn Port Royal'srise as a tradingpost.75The mostspectacularlyuccessfulof these early mmigrantswasPeterBeckfordwho arrived n PortRoyalin i66i "breda seamanand merchant"and at firstprosperedby doingbusiness n prizecommodities.76n the i68oshe was asientoagent in Jamaica.77Meanwhilehe also beganto patentandplant land.78When he died in I7Io he had accumulated 0 estates, I,200slavesand hadfounded,what Noel Deerrdescribedas "perhaps he greatestfortune ever made in planting."79

VAdam Smith was wrong. The prosperityof Jamaicawas not "owing tothe greatriches of Englandof which a parthad overflowed".80 lantationagriculture n Jamaicawas largelyfinancedby Spanishsilver earned in alucrativellicittradebasedonplunderand contraband.Nor did the investment72 IslandRecordOffice,SpanishTown (hereafter .R.O.), Deeds, OS, I-III. Claypoleanalysed heserecordswithsomecare n histhesis. W. Claypole, TheMerchants f PortRoyal, 655-I700' unpublishedPh.D. thesis, University of the West Indies, 1974), pp. 174-95.73 I.J. MS 105, Taylor, Multum n Parvo,' o. 326.74 JamaicaArchives,SpanishTown (hereafter .A.), Inv. iB/il/3, fos. 259-267,Inventoryof Henry

Morgan, 688.75 Zahedieh, The Merchants f PortRoyal'.76 P.R.O. CO 138/4, o. 25b, 'Namesof Persons it to beCouncillors",6 Feb. i684; I.R.O. Deeds OSI fo. 115b;P.R.O. CO 1/34, fo. 71, Beckford o Williamson,5 March1675.77 P.R.O. CO 138/6, fos. 292-293, Addressof CouncilandAssemblyof Jamaica, 6 July i689; TheRoyalAfrican ompany's actorsreportedBeckford's ealingswithinterlopers.P.R.O. T 70/10, fo. 296.78 P.R.O. CO 138/i, fos. 6i-8o, 'Surveyof Jamaica', 670.79 N. Deerr,History f Sugar 1949), I, pp. 175-6.Beckford's on's nventory f 1739 indicates hathiswholefortunemayhave amounted o ?300,000or so. J.A. Inv. IB/II/3, xviII, fo. io8.80 Smith, Wealth f Nations, I, p. i87.



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Early English Jamaica

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Transcript of Early English Jamaica