Emergency we should be forc'd to break off the Union of the Crowns and enter again into a French Alliance It 's in vain for them to Object that in such a case we should betray our Religion for we see the persecuted Hungarians were protected in that by the Turks tho' sworn Enemies to it Nor is it impossible but there may be a change as to that matter in France L. XIV is not immortal And even Julian the Apostate himself found it his Interest for some time to protect the Orthodox Christians whom he mortally hated But supposing as indeed there 's no great likelihood of it that no such Alliance as this should ever happen yet however if these two Nations be not more closely united it may be of ill Consequence to England if any of their Kings at any time should be so far disgusted as to betake themselves to us What a Field of Blood and Slaughter must England have become had we carried off K. Charles I. when he came to our Army or iâ— we had join'd him against the Parliament of England What great Efforts did a Party of our Nation make to inthrone K. Charles II. when England was against him And how did our Concurrence afterwards with General Monk effect it How soon did our Espousing the Duke of York's Interest turn the Tables upon those that opposed him in England And if our Nation had likewise Espous'd his Cause before the Revolution the Viscount of Dundee gave a sufficient proof what we could have done for him This makes it evident That it is not the Interest of England to slight an Union with us so much as they have done For so long as we remain divided any King that is so minded may make use of us and any envious Neighbour whose Interest it is to keep this Island low will be sure to blow the Coals If they 'd but turn the Tables and make our Case their own they would quickly be satisfied of the Truth of what we advance Supposing that the Government of Scotland should traverse the Actings of the Government of England in relation to their Trade c. as they have done ours and supposing that a Parliament of Scotland when the King were there should question him for the Navigation Act and that for the Incouragement of Trade in England by King Charles II. which lays us under such hard Circumstances and Restrictions the English would certainly very much resent it and speedily tell us we meddled with what did not belong to us Then why should they deny us the like liberty in reference to their Proceedings against us seeing we are a free Nation as well as they Nor can any thing less than joining with us and protecting that Settlement against all opposition in case of Attacks by the French or others sufficiently atone for what is already done or heal the Wound those Proclamations have giv'n to the common Interest of the Island ANSWER These several Pages are no more than a Repetition of what he has urged before with this difference only that he intermixes them with some bitter and unseemly Expressions which are altogether insufferable in a private Person and a Subject He as good as denounces War against England in case the Scots should miscarry and sounds alarm without any publick Authority I cannot forbear to take notice of one Passage when he says That if the Scots had carried off K. Charles I. when he came to their Army what a Field of Slaughter and Blood must England have become whereas before to excuse the Scots for their surrendring the said King he had told us with a great deal of Confidence that they were necessitated so to do What he says concerning their Endeavours to Inthrone King Charles II. is not altogether to be denied but he might also have remembred upon what Terms they did it which is I think a sufficient warning to any King not to relie upon their Gencrosity and he might have very well saved himself the trouble of offering the Assistance of the Scots to the English Court there being no great likelihood thanks be to God at this time that they will have any occasion for them or if they should they would scarce think fit to accept of them Their Concurrence with General Monk has been spoken off before as most of all the other Points which he treats of here so that we think it needless to make a Repetition of them here And so will take a short View of his Description of Darien WE come in the next place to give a Description of the Isthmus of Darien It lies betwixt the 8th and 10th Degrees of Northern Latitude and in the narrowest place is betwixt 60 and 80 Italian Miles over We shall not trouble our selves with the Description of any more of it than is in the possession of the Natives which is in length from E. to W. on the N. side from the mouth of the River Darien to Port Scrivan above 140 Italian Miles from Caret Bay to the River of Cheapo on the Southside it is about 160 in length It is supposed to take its Name from the great River of Darien that bounds its Northern Coast to the Eastward It is bounded on the North and South with the vast Oceans that carry the names of the North and South Seas It s Situation is very pleasant and agreeable and very commodious for a speedy and short Communication of Trade betwixt the North and South Seas and preventing that vast Compass that must otherwise be fetch'd round either of the Extremes of North and South America By this means also it lies convenient for a speedier Communication of Trade betwixt Europe and the East Indies than any that hath hitherto been found out Mr. Dampier says That from Cheapo or Santa Maria River a Man may pass from Sea to Sea in three days and that the Indians do it in a day and a half There are abundance of valuable Islands on both sides the Isthmus which prevent the breaking in of the Ocean upon it at once and besides the Conveniences of Wood Fish Fowl and Water afford good and safe Riding in all Weathers to any number of Ships especially those call'd the Sambaloes that lie along the Northern Coast The Continent is agreeably intermix'd with â—â—ills and Valleys of great variety for height depth and extent The Vallies are water'd with Rivers Brooks and Springs which take their rise from a great ridge of Hills that run along the Isthmus but nearest to the Northern Shore from which it is seldom above 15 Miles distant and from whence the Sambaloes Islands and the various Makings of the Shore and the continued Forest all along the Country gratifie the Eye with a very fine prospect The Rivers on the Northern Coast are generally small because their Course from the above-mentioned ridge of Hills is but short yet the River of Darien is very large but the depth of its entrance not answerable to its width yet
THE DEFENCE OF THE SCOTS Settlement AT DARIEN ANSWER'D Paragraph by Paragraph By Philo-Britan LONDON Printed and Sold by the Booksellers of London and Westminster 1699. THE DEFENCE OF THE SCOTS Settlement AT DARIEN ANSWER'D WHEN this Pamphlet came first to my Hands these bold and unaccountable Insinuations with which I found it stuff'd up from the very beginning to the end invited me to make some Reflections upon it for my own Diversion and the Use of some few of those whom I knew to be both my Friends and constant Adherers to the present Government in England not questioning but that some more able Pen than mine would take this Task in Hand and convince the World of the unreasonableness of such an Undertaking by a private Hand which amounts to no less than charging both His Majesty and the present English Government with Injustice and a mistake of their own Interest as will more evidently appear out of the following Sheets The Dedication which if rightly considered is nothing else but an Introduction to the rest is to make the World believe that the English stand much indebted to the Scots for suffering themselves to be united with them under one Head and cannot discharge this Obligation unless they maintain them in their present Settlement of Darien which if they don't do they must expect to be treated as an Ungrateful and Unjust People by the Scots who if we will take this Gentleman's Word for it are powerful enough either by themselves or with the Assistance of their Allies to reduce us to a more pliable Temper That this is the main design of the Dedication as well as the whole Treatise will sufficiently appear to any one who will take the Pains carefully to peruse them for tho' he is pleased to tell His Majesty at the beginning of the Dedication that his Design is to vindicate the Settlement of the Scots in Darien against the Aspersions of the Spanish Memorial yet when not long after he says That those cannot be look'd upon as Friends to His Majesty's Dignity as King of Scots who call in question what he enacts in the Parliament of Scotland I say these Words are an undeniable Proof that the whole is more levell'd against England than Spain I will not pretend to make particular Reflections upon each Passage here because I shall have occasion to do it hereafter but I cannot forbear to take notice of that unaccountable Arrogance which has emboldened some of our Modern Writers to foster the Inventions of their own Brains and their speculative Politicks upon the World under the Cloak of the Royal Authority Will not Posterity stand amazed when they see a Person whose Faith has not only been call'd in question but also condemn'd by a legal Sentence to cover his Zeal Self-Interest and private Passion under the Veil of His Sacred Majesty's Name But we will proceed to the Book it self which begins thus DEFENCE The Heads propos'd to be insisted upon in the following Sheets are The Legality of the Scots Establishment The Advantage or Disadvantage that may redound from it to England Whether the Scots without the Assistance of the English may be able to maintain their footing in America and what may probably be the Consequences if the Scots should be oppos'd therein by the English and miscarry in the Vndertaking ANSWER These sâ—veral Heads give us sufficiently to understand what I mentioned just now to wit That the chief aim of this Author was against the English and that what is said in relation to the Spaniards is only a Preparative to the rest as will more plainly appear out of the following Sheets Upon the first Head he says further thus DEFENCE The chief Objections against the Legality of their Establishment arise from the Memorial delivered in against it to the King by the Ambassador Extraordinary of Spain May 3 1699. O. S. as follows ANSWER As these Animadversions were intended at first only for a private use so I had not the opportunity of informing my self whether the following Spanish Memorial be Authentick in all its Parts or not which therefore I insert here barely upon our Author's Credit as it is extant in his Defence c. THE Vnder-Subscriber Ambassador Extraordinary from His Catholick Majesty finds himself oblig'd by express Orders to represent to Your Majesty that the King his Master having receiv'd Information from different places and last of all from the Governour of Havana of the Insult and Attempt of some Scots Ships equipp'd with Men and other things requisite who design to settle themselves in His Majesty's Soveraign Demains in America and particularly the Province of Darien His Majesty receiv'd those Advices with very much Discontent and looks upon the same as a Rupture of the Alliance betwixt the Two Crowns which His Majesty hath observed hitherto and always observes very Religiously and from which so many Advantages and Profits have resulted both to Your Majesty and Your Subjects as a Consequence of which good Correspondence His Majesty did not expect such sudden Insults and Attempts by Your Majesty's Subjects and that too in a time of Peace without pretext or any cause in the very Heart of his Demains All that the King desires is That this may be represented to Your Majesty and that Your Majesty may be acquainted that he is very sensible of such Hostilities and unjust Procedures against which His Majesty will take such Measures as he thinks convenient Given at London May 13 3. 1699. It were easie says the Author of the Defence of the Scot's Settlement to make proper Remarks upon the Weakness Insolence and Ingratitude of this Memorial but it is not worth while all the World knows what the Crown of Spain owes to His Majesty of Great Britain and therefore a more civil Application might reasonably have been expected to a Prince who had not only sav'd the Netherlands but prevented his Catholick Majesty from being insulted on his Throne at Madrid But these things we pass over and come to the chief Point in the Memorial which is That the Scots have posted themselves in the King of Spain 's Demains in America contrary to the Alliance betwixt the two Crowns If this be prov'd to be false then the Cause of the great Complaint ceases and His Majesty of Great Britain hath reason to demand Satisfaction for the Affront offered thereby to his Justice and Sovereignty To prove the Falshood of the Allegation That the Province of Darien is part of the King of Spain's Demains It is positively denied by the Scots who challenge the Spaniards to prove their Right to the said Province either by Inheritance Marriage Donation Purchase Reversion Surrender Possession or Conquest which being the only Titles by which they or any other People can Claim a Right to those or any other Dominions if the Spaniards cannot make out their Right by these or any of these their Claim must of consequence be null and void ANSWER It is a most
by the Restoration of King Charles II. and above all or generous and frank Concurrence with them in the late happy Revolution and Advancement of King William III. We did verily think that all these things deserv'd a better Treatment And to evince that they did we shall beg leave to insist a little upon the first and last The English have no cause to think that we were ignorant of the Reason why their Politick Henry VII chose rather to Match his Eldâ—st Daughter with the King of Scots than with the King of France because he foresaw that if the King of Scots should by that means come to the Crown of England he would remove the Seat of his Government thither which would add to the Grandure and Riches of England Whereas if the King of France did by that means fall Heir to the English Crown he would certainly draw the Court of England to Paris This the Scots were so far from being ignorant of that many of the Nobility and Gentry did express their dislike of the Union of the Crowns as well knowing that it would reduce our Kingdom into a Subjection and Dependance upon England and drain us of what Substance we had and therefore some of them express'd themselves on that occasion That Scotland was never Conquer'd till then Yet such was our Zeal for the Common Welfare of the Island the Interest of the Protestant Religion and of Europe in general which were then almost in as much danger by Spain as they have been since by France that we quietly and freely parted with our King and suffer'd him to accept the English Crown rather than that Nation should be involv'd in War and Confusion and the Protestant Religion endanger'd by another Successor as it must necessarily have been had the Infanta of Spain whose Title was then promoted by the Popish Interest succeeded And all the Reward we had for this Condescension and Kindness was a Contemptuous and Disdainful Refusal on the part of England of an Union of the Nations when proposed tho' the same would visibly have tended to the Benefit of the whole Island the general Advantage of Europe and the Security and Increase of the Protestant Interest And our King was so little thankful on his part that tho' he promis'd solemnly in the Great Church of Edinburgh before his Departure that he would visit his Ancient Kingdom once in three Years he never saw it after but once and that not till Fourteen Years after And by the influence of that same Faction in England who are still our Enemies he made Innovations both in Church and State These were the first Advantages we had by the Union of the Crowns His Son King Charles I. had scarce ascended the Throne when we had new Proofs of the Disadvantages we labour'd under by that Union for he by the Advice of some Enemies to our Nation did in an Imperious and Arbitrary manner send for our Crown tho' the only Monument almost left us of our Independency and Freedom but was generously answer'd by him that had it in keeping That if he would come and be Crown'd in Scotland he should have all the Honour done him that ever was to his Ancestors but if he did not think it worth his while they might perhaps be inclin'd to make choice of another Soveraign or to that effect as recorded in the Continuation of Sir Richard Baker's History Another Disadvantage we had by that Union of the Crown was this That that Unfortunate Prince being inspir'd with an Aversion to the Constitution of our Country by his Education made War upon us to bring us to a Conformity with England in Church-Matters We shall not here offer to debate which of the Churches was best Constituted or most agreeable to the Scripture-Pattern It suffices for our Argument That we were Injur'd in having a Foreign Model offer'd to be obtruded upon us which was the Consequence of the Union of the Crowns and of having our King Educated in another Nation but that was not all another mischievous Effect of the Union was this That whatever King Charles had deserv'd at our Hands yet out of Natural Affection Conscience and Honour we were oblig'd to do what we could to prevent his Illegal Trial and Death and to defend his Son's Title which threw us into Convulsions at Home occasion'd us the loss of several Armies and expos'd our Nation afterwards to Ruine and Devastation by our implacable Enemy the Usurper which together with the Ungrateful Retributions made us by the Government after the Restoration were enough to have wearied any Nation under Heav'n but our selves of the Union of the Crowns ANSWER Our Caledonian as I believe being somewhat mistrustful of the strength of the Scotâ— Title as well as of his Arguments to perswade the English that it is for their Interest to maintain the Scots in their New Settlement thinks it best to take other Measures now and to try whether he can hector them into a Compliance with the Scots he sets the best Countenance upon the Matter and labours very hard to give the World to understand that the English are highly indebted to the Scots for suffering as he terms it their Crown to be United with that of England I will not enter into a Dispute with him about the design of Henry VII in Marrying his Daughter to the King of Scots I will allow him to have acted in this Point as much for the Interest of England as our Author would have him but what is all this to their suffering the two Crowns to be United under one Head I hope he will grant me that both the English and Scots Crowns were Hereditary and being such how was it in the Power of the Scots to alter the Succession upon that Score I will further allow him that whenever two Kingdoms or States are United under one Head the less Potent will in some measure be independent on the other But I would also have him grant me this Position That if at that Juncture the Infanta of Spain had succeeded in England the Protestant Interest both in England and Scotland must have been brought into no small Jeopardy and our Author would have had no great occasion at this time to brag of the Soveraignty and Independency of the Scots He makes a large Rehearsal of the Miscarriages in the Reign of King James I. and King Charles I. especially of their Innovations in Church Matters in Scotland but our Author might have remembred if they introduced Episcopacy among them they were not behind hand in furnishing England with Presbytery What he alledges concerning their Sufferings in the Civil Wars for the Defence of K. Charles I. and his Sons Title ought not to be put upon the English Score I wonder how he can be so forgetful as not to remember That the Scots Covenanters were of that Gang that begun the Dance and all the reason in the World they should help to pay the Fidler And
surprising thing to see the Author Charge one of the greatest Kings in Europe who thinks himself touch'd in the most sensible part of his Sovereignty with Insolence and Ingratitude against His Britannick Majesty when he who owns himself a private Person and his Subject uses so many reflecting Expressions throughout the whole Treatise upon the English Government That Spain owes in a great measure its preservation to His Majesty of Great Britain is scarce disputed by any but he must be but indifferently vers'd in the Politicks of Europe who does not know That the Councils of Princes are sway'd more by the Considerations of their present Interest than by the Remembrance of pass'd Obligations Amongst all those Titles which he Assigns for the Spaniards to prove their Claim by the Three last seem to be the most likely to do their Business and supposing they should be able by either one of them or perhaps all Three together to prove their Claim What will then become of our Author 's bold Challenge But let us hear what he further says upon this Head DEFENCE It is Evident says he That the Spaniards cannot pretend a Title to that Country by Inheritance Marriage or the Donation of Prince and People and as to Conquest it would be ridiculous to alledge it since the Dariens are in actual possession of their Liberty and were never subdued nor receiv'd any Spanish Governour or Garrison amongst them Nay they wâ—re so far from it that Wafer Dampier and others that have wrote of that Country do all agree that they mortally hate the Spaniards were in War with them and that the Spaniards had no Commerce with those Indians nor Command over them in all the North-side of the Isthmus a little beyond Porto-Bello Captain Sharp in the Journal of his Expedition published in Captain Hacke's Collection of Voyages gives an Account That in 1680 he landed at Golden Island with 330 Men and being join'd by one of the Darien Princes whom they call'd Emperor and another to whom they gave the Title of King Golden Cap with some hundreds of their Men took Sancta Maria attempted Panama and made Prize of several Spanish Ships which is the more remarkable because Captain Sharp was afterwards tried in England for Robbery and Piracy on this very Account but acquitted because of his Commission from those Darien Princes which is a plain Demonstration that the Government of England did then look upon Darien to be no way subject to Spain whatever some who are Enemies to the Scots do now say against the Legality of their Settlement in that Country This same Expedition against the Spaniards by the assistance of the Darien Indians is confirm'd by Mr. Dampier in his Introduction to his New Voyage round the World And the Bishop of Chiapa a Prelate of their own in his Relation of the Spanish Voyages and Cruelties in the West-Indies Pag. 217. owns That the Spaniards had no Title to the Americans as their Subjects by right of Inheritance Purchase or Conquest We have likewise a large Account and a full Confirmation of the War and perpetual Enmity betwixt the Dariens and Spaniards in the History of the Buccaneers of America Vol. 2. Part 4. wrote by Basil Ringrose who was one of their Company There he informs us That the Indians of Darien and the Spaniards are commonly at War with one another and that the Buccaneers were invited into that Country and join'd by the Darien Princes Captain Andreas Captain Antonio and the King of Darien who assisted them in the taking of Sancta Maria and their attempt upon Panama and the King whose Daughter the Spaniards had stole away promised to joyn the Buccaneers with 50000 Men. This is the more remarkable because those very Princes or their Successors are now in League with the Scots and have joyfully receiv'd them into their Country So that it is the strangest position that can be put upon any Nation and one of the most audacious Affronts that ever was put upon so Great a Prince as K. William for the Spaniards to pretend a Right to Darien and accuse him of a Breach of the Peace because a Colony of his Subjects have settled themselves there when it is so well known to the World that the Crown of Spain has no manner of Title to that Province Then as to any Claim by virtue of Possession the Spaniards have not the least ground of Plea All they can alledge on this Head is That they were once admitted by the Consent of Captain Diego another of the Darien Princes to work on some Golden Mines within 15 Leagues or there abouts of the Scots Settlement But it is plain that this makes nothing for their purpose That Prince admitted them only as Labourers but not as Proprietors And when they broke the Conditions on which they were admitted viz. To allow the Dariens such â—â—d such Sharâ—â— of the Product they were expell'd again by force and ever since that time the Dariens refuse to have any further Dealings with the Spaniards who made themselves odious to them by their Treachery and Insolence So that Mr. Wafter tells us Pag. 133. They allow a distinguishing Mark of Honour to him who has kill'd a Spaniard And Pag. 179. That Cascata one of the chief of the Darien Princes did in his Converse with him express his Sense and Resentment of the Havock made by the Spaniards in the West of America at their first coming thither ANSWER Our Philo-Calydon as he calls himself pretends to prove here That the Spaniards can lay no Claim to Darien as a Conquest His Reasons are Because they were never subdued but I would fain ask this Gentleman how he came to know this 'T is possible some of his Countrymen have been told so by some of the Dariens but this will be but a slender Argument against the Spaniards It is most unquestionable that there is much more probability on the Spaniards side than on the other For how can it be supposed that the Spaniards who have conquer'd such a vast Tract of America and several Plantations there should not have been able to force a few petty Indian-Lords who are enclosed within their Dominions to a Submission His Arguments by which he would prove them a free People is much more ridiculous than the pretended Conquest of the Spaniards it being evident that a few Cottages inhabited by a barbarous and unarmed People headed by many Leaders resembling the Heads of Clans in Scotland did require neither a Spanish Governour nor Garrison What he alledges concerning the Hatred they bear to the Spaniards and their joyning with the Buccaneers against them does not in the least invalidate the Title of Spain to Darien And all what Wafer Dampier and the History of the Buccaneers says upon this Subject proves no more than that those Petty Indian Lords who formerly either voluntarily or by force submitted to the Spaniards took this opportunity to shake off the Spanish Yoke and to
prevent the going out of vast numbe s of their Youth who follow the same sort of Imployment or betake themselves to the Sword in Denmark Sweden Poland Mâ—sâ—â—oy Germany Holland and France by which means the Government of Gâ—â—at Britain may furnish their Fleets and Armies â—t a much cheaper and easier rate than formerly and with as good Mariners and Soldiers as â—ny in the World 6. The English by joyning with the Scots and supporting their â—olony at Darien may have their Pâ—aâ—e brought home in their own Bottoms and from their own Mines with which we are assured that Country abounds without being obliged to touch at Cadiz or any Foreign Port being liable to the vexatious Indulto's of Foreign Princes or in such hazard of being intercepted as they many times were during the late War 7. The English may by joyning with the Scots render themselves more capable than ever of keeping the Balance of Europe in their hands a Trust which Nature and Providence seems to have assign'd 'em since their Situation and Naval Force not only makes it proper for them but they have had an opportunity put into their Hands in little above the Revolution of one Century of twice breaking the Chains of Europe when threatned with Slavery first by the Spaniards and then by the French This is so much the more evident that by being possess'd of Darien they will be able either to prevent the uniting the Spanish and French Monarchies or if not so to render that Union so much the less dangerous when it will be in their power to seize their Treasure and Dominions in the Indies without which that bulky Monarchy must fall by its own weight This is likewise of so much the greater importance that it may very probably either prevent a Religious War towards which the Papists discover so much inclination or at least bring it to a speedier Conclusion For we have as good reason to look upon the Spanish Mines in the West-Indies to be Antichrist's Pouch by which he maintains his War against the Church as the Old Taborites had to call the Silver Mines in Bohemia by that Name It is certainly the surest Method of destroying Antichrist to seize his Purse for if he once be depriv'd of Judas's Bag he will quickly drop St. Peter's Keys It 's by the Charms of her Gold that the Babylonish Whore hath made the whole World to wonder after her and the Kings of the Earth to be drunk with the Cup of her Fornication ANSWER By this Cant of Antichrist's Pouch the Babylonish Whore and some other Expressions our Calidonian makes use of in this Treatise one would shrewdly suspect him to be a Disciple of the Old Covenanting Crew the more because I find he has a great Itch after the Spanish Mines a Property belonging in a most peculiar manner to that Gang who sold their King for Money as Judas did Christ. But to return to our more serious Considerations I think we have all the reason in the World to hope that since England has been twice instrumental in breaking the Chains of Europe and keeping up that Balance which is absolutely necessary for the Repose of Europe without the Assistance of the Scots it may be able to maintain its ancient Glory without their New Settlement at Darien which in my Opinion will contribute but very little either to prevent the Union of the Spanish and French Monarchies or to render it less dangerous for I am well Convinced that if the last should happen the French would soon tell the Scots Veteres migrate Coloni For if they would not take the Compliment they would find some other way to send them back to the Highlands He promises the English Golden Mountains and that without any trouble free from all Imposts and Danger but if these Mines should prove Abortive if it should happen with them as the Poet says Parturiunt Montes would not the English deserve to be Laugh'd at to expose their Spanish Commerce to hazard for the uncertain hopes of some imaginary Mines promised them by an unknown Gentleman who can give no better Account of them than what has been told him by others who perhaps have it no more than by hearsay themselves We are obliged to this Gentleman however for the Kindness he is pleased to shew for England in easing us of the Scotch Pedlars but the Danger is that in case the Scots should be permitted to furnish England with Muslins Silks c. as he mentioned before they would all turn Wholesale Men and those that now are gone to carry their Packs upon their Backs would go about the Country with as many Pack-Horses as a Carrier that comes to London freighted with all sorts of Commodities DEFENCE 8. By this means the English may be better able to prevent the Ruine of their Trade in the Mediterranean and West-Indies if the French should possess themselves of the Kingdom of Spain And they will likewise be the better able to prevent their possessing themselves of the Netherlands which if once they should do and get Ports there capable of holding a Fleet they would also ruine their Eastland Trade and put a period to the Liberties of Great Britain 9. It will effectually Unite the Scots to England by an inseparable Tie if the English join us in this Undertaking Their Ancestors would have gladly purchased this Union at a much dearer rate but were always outbid by France And the want of that Union made the English not only an easie Prey to their successive Conquerors but lost them all the large Provinces that they enjoy'd beyond Sea which were their Natural Barriers gave them a free Access to the Continent and made the English Name so glorious in the Days of their Ancestors ANSWER I can't for my Life conceive how this Scots Settlement should prove of such vast consequence as to support our Mediterranean and West-India Trade against the French if they should become Masters of Spain much less how it should influence our Affairs so near Home as to prevent them from possessing themselves of the Netherlands unless the whole be built upon the hopes of his Mines but as the same hitherto are but imaginary so he would have done very well to have given us some more satisfactory reason for this Assertion What he says of the English being made an easie Prey to their Conquerors for want of an Union with Scotland ought to be look'd upon as a piece of Romance and this Gentleman has forgot what he alledged not long before viz. how instrumental the Scots had been in defending the Island against any Foreign Invaders All that the Scots have to brag of in this Case is that the great distance and unkindness of their Climate secured them against the Attempts of those who being possess'd of the Fertile Grounds of England did not think it worth their while to look after them among the Cold and Barren Mountains It must be confess'd that their frequent Inroads
this is so unquestionably true that many of the wiser sort are of Opinion That the Presbyterian Faction would never have carried Matters to that heighth under that unfortunate Prince's Reign if they had not been back'd by the Covenanting Party in Scotland So that England may in a great measure lay the Calamities of the late Civil Wars and its fatal Consequences to their Doors which our Author would fain put altogether upon the English But let us see how he goes on in magnifying his beloved Scots DEFENCE Yet such was our Zeal for the Protestant Interest the Welfare of the Island and the Liberty of Europe that tho' we had a fair opportunity of providing otherwise for our security and the Advancement of our Trade and of forming our selves into a Commonwealth or of bringing England to our own Terms yet we frankly and generously concurr'd with them to settle our Government on the same Persons and in the same manner as they did theirs and all the Reward we had from them is that an Union of the Nations tho' twice propos'd by His Majesty in Parliament hath been rejected To this they have added an opposition to our receiving Foreign Subscriptions at Hamburgh and elsewhere refus'd us a Supply of Corn for our Money to relieve us in our Distress and discourag'd our Settlement at Darien by forbidding their Subjects to Trade with us there If these continued Slights be not enough to make us weary of the Union of the Crowns let any Man judge To discover a little of the unreasonableness of this sort of Treatment we dare Appeal to the calm thoughts of such of our Neighbours in England as prefer the Interest of the Publick to private Animosities and foolish ill-grounded Piques either as to Church or State whether at the time of the Revolution and before we declar'd our selves they would not have been willing to have assur'd themselves of our Friendship at the rate of Uniting with us as one Nation Had we but demurr'd upon forfeiting the late K. James or made but a Proffer of renewing our ancient League with France and joyning with that Crown to keep that Prince upon the Throne of Great Britain they know we might have made what Terms we pleas'd with the late King and Louis XIV on that condition and might have been restor'd to all the Honours and Privileges that our Ancestors enjoy'd in France which were almost equal to those of the Natives and yet that gallant Nation thought it no disparagement to them however we be despis'd and undervalued now by a certain Party in England Had we but seem'd to have made such Overtures the English must needs have foreseen that the natural Consequences of such a Design if it had taken effect must have been these viz. The late King's Adherents in England would certainly have join'd us and our Nation would have afforded them a safe Retreat in case of any Disaster till they could have concerted Matters to the best Advantage The late King would not have yielded himself such an easie Conquest not disbanded his Army in such a manner as he did Ireland had certainly revolted since every one knows that the Revolution was begun and in a great measure perfected there by the Scots of the North so that England must have become the Theatre of the War and been liable to an Invasion from France These must certainly have been the Consequences of our adhering to the late King and the English would have thought they had had a very good Bargain if they could have bought us off in that case with Uniting both the Kingdoms into one and granting us a joint Trade to their own Plantations whereas now they will not allow us to settle a foreign Colony of our own and treat us as Foreigners in theirs ANSWER Our Author has so entangled himself in pleading for the Scots that he is almost beyond his Senses for what Man who is in his right Wits could propose an Alliance with France which is in effect no less than to make Scotland a Province of France as more advantageous to the Scots than their Concurrence with England in the last Revolution for if they were become so indifferent as to their so much bragg'd of Liberty and Soveraignty and their Religion to Boot what need they have chang'd Masters since King James would have eased them of both and it appears to me as if our Caledonian was rather for the last since he takes so much pains to represent to us the consequences of it in the most passionate manner that could be But if the matter be duly weigh'd he has shot much beyond the mark for supposing the Scots to have stood it out against England for King James tho' I must confess it implies almost an absurdity to suppose it the consequences would not have been half so terrible as he would persuade us for Scotland being by reason of its Situation not easie to be relieved by France as long as the English and Dutch were Masters at Sea they might perhaps have proved troublesome but not so dangerous Neighbours as to make England the Theatre of War and it is I think odds on the English side that they might have served them as Cromwel did that is to bring them under an entire Subjection whereas they now enjoy many Priviledges beyond other Foreigners and have born but a very slender share in those vast Sums expended for the Glory and Interest of the Island in general It is not to be denied but that their ready Concurrence did hasten the Conquest of Ireland but I am apt to believe that their refusal would scarce have appear'd so dreadful to the English as to make them receive Laws from the Scots I cannot pass by in silence here with what Arrogance he is pleased to reflect upon the Measures taken in England on the account of the Scots East-India Company when it is beyond all question That every independent Nation has an inherent Right to secure their Commerce against the encroachments of a Neighbouring Nation which is the true state of the Case which our Author terms Ingratitude and I know not what in the English who did no more than to represent their Grievance to His Majesty's Consideration He runs on further thus DEFENCE To shew that this is not a mere Conjecture that has no other ground but a Vision of the Brain they may be pleas'd to consider the honourable Privileges granted us by their Ancestors and some of the greatest Princes that ever sway'd their Scepter viz. King Edward and William the Conqueror who by the Consent of the States in Parliament assembled Enacted That the Scots should be accounted Denizons of England and injoy the same Privileges with themselves because of their frequent Intermarriages with the English and that they did ever stood stoutly as one Man with them for the common Vtility of the Crown and Kingdom against the Danes and Norwegians fought it most valiantly and unanimously against the common
Enemy and bore the burden of most fierce Wars in the Kingdom This they will find in a Book call'd Archaionomia translated from the Saxon by William Lambard and Printed at London by John Day in 1568. It must be granted that the Reasons of such a grateful Retribution are redoubled now Intermarriages betwixt the two Nations are more frequent than ever the Union of the Kingdoms under one Crown for almost 100 years the generous Concurrence of the Scots in the last Revolution their loss of so many gallant Officers and brave Soldiers in the common Cause during the late War and the preservation of Ireland which hath been twice owing to our Country-men might reasonably entitle us to the same Privileges now that our Ancestors were formerly allow'd by K. Edward and William the Conqueror We need not insist on another sort of Obligation that we have put upon England twice within this 60 years viz. The delivering them from their Oppressions in the time of K. Charles I. the Anarchy of the Rump and several Models of Armies and Junto's by encouraging General Monk's Undertaking for it cannot be denied that we had the Balance of Europe in our hands at the time of the last Revolution and that we turn'd the Scale to the advantage of England in particular and of Europe in general which must be allow'd to be as great a Service as that which was so thankfully rewarded by Edward and William the Conqueror whence it is evident that those Englishmen who at present oppose our Settlement in America don't inherit the gratitude of their Ancestors when they not only will not allow us to Trade in Conjunction with them but withstand our doing any thing that may advance a Trade by our selves If they object That what we did in all those Cases was no more than our Duty and what we ow'd to our own Preservation as well as to theirs it is easie to reply That admitting it to be so yet by the Laws of God and Men People are incourag'd to perform their Duties by Rewards and their Ancestors were so sensible of this that tho' they knew we were equally concern'd to defend the Island against foreign Invaders as well as they yet they thought themselves oblig'd in Policy as well as Gratitude to Reward us which they not only did by that Honorary Praemium of allowing us to be Denizons of England as above-mention'd but sometimes gave to us and at other times confirm'd to us the three Northern Counties of Northumberland Westmorland and Cumberland to be held in Fee of the Crown of England It is likewise very well known with how much Honour the Parliament of England treated us when they courted our Assistance against King Charles I. and what large Promises that Prince made us if we would have but stood Neuter which tho' we had reason to think many of those that opposed him had no great kindness neither for our Civil nor Ecclesiastical Constitution yet the sense that we had of the common Danger that our Religion and Liberties were in at that time made us proof against all those Tentations so that after all Endeavours for a Reconciliation betwixt the King and the Parliament of England prov'd unsuccessful we sent in an Army which cast the Balance on the side of the latter who before that time were reduc'd low enough by the King's Army as is very well known to such as are acquainted with the History of those times and is own'd by my Lord Hollis in his Memoirs lately publish'd ANSWER Our Caledonian most extreamly misses his aim in relating those Matters as Obligations done to England for which they have but little reason to be thankful to them Their behaviour under the Reign of K. Charles I. was such that the English ought to keep it in eternal Remembrance and in lieu of Acknowledgment rather ought to take care of them so that they may not be able for the future to be the Incendiaries of a Civil War as they were at that time For after they had put all England into Confusion by their Encouraging and afterwards declaring for the Presbyterian Faction after I say they had been instrumental in bringing this unfortunate Prince to his fatal End they took the opportunity of siding with his Son not out of any love to his Person or to maintain his rightful Title as may appear by those Conditions they imposed upon him but to Revenge themselves upon those who had wrested the Power out of their Hands and afterwards made them bear their share in those Miseries they had brought upon England Certainly our Author must think the English to be very ill versed in their own History when he alledges the Scots to have had any share in General Monk's Undertaking who can be so ignorant as not to know that all what this General desired from and was granted by the Convention of the Scots was to furnish him with so much Money as might maintain his Army in their march to London and there is no question but they understood their Interest so well as that they would have parted with a far greater Sum to rid their hands of a conquering Army in their Bowels and to set the English together by the Ears among themselves by which means they might hope to recover their lost Liberty For the rest it is sufficiently evident That if General Monk had at that time any Thoughts of recalling the King which I much question he had more Prudence than to Communicate it to the Scots or any body else For if the Rump had had the least suspicion of his design they would scarce have made him General of all the Forces in the three Nations This is the true state of the Case as to the first of these Obligations our Calidonian brags of What he says of Scotland's turning the Balance in the time of the late Revolution when it was in their hands shews so much Vanity and want of Judgment in point of Policy that it deserves no Answer and I am apt to believe the wiser sort among the Scots will owe him but little thanks for representing them as a People who could fall under a possibility of mistaking their own Interest and Preservation so far as to let slip so extraordinary an opportunity as was offered them by Providence to secure their Religion and Liberty and in lieu of that to Embrace a foreign Protection or to speak truer to submit their Necks under a Foreign Yoke rather than to Unite themselves with the English under one Head who perhaps notwithstanding their foreign Alliances might have taken this opportunity to bring them once for all to Reason as Cromwel did who 's Title to Scotland as their Conqueror was own'd by all Europe He goes on thus DEFENCE But to return to the last Revolution Tho' we must own that we owe our Deliverance to His Majesty and were oblig'd in Conscience and Honour to concur with him yet who could have blam'd us to have stood
there is a Party in that Nation who bear ours no good will it 's to be hop'd they will never be able so far to leaven the sound part of the English Nation as to occasion a Rupture betwixt them and us Yet we must needs say that we look upon their way of treating us to be a very unaccountable thing and that it was no small Surprize to us to find that the English should look on our taking Subscriptions in England in order to admit them Joint-Sharers with our selves in the Benefit of the Act to encourage our Trade to be no less than a high Misdemeanour We have reason likewise to complain of their constant practice of pressing our Seamen in time of War as if they were their own Subjects and that they should treat us in other respects as if we were Aliens And sometimes confiscate Ships by reckoning Scots Mariners as such So that the English have not only depriv'd us of the warm Influences of our Court the want of which is a considerable addition to the natural coldness of our Climate but they likewise oppress us on all occasions and do manifestly endeavour to prevent our Application to Trade We know there 's a Party in that Nation who think we sustained no great loss by the removal of our Princes but we would wish them to consider what a murmuring they themselves make when the King goes annually to the Netherlands tho' the Safety of Europe requires it because of the Damp it puts upon Trade and the Money it carries out of the Kingdom Let them consider then what our Nation has suffer'd in that respect now for almost an Hundred years besides the lessening our esteem in the Eyes oâ— the World and yet they will neither admit us to the Privileges of Fellow-Subjects with themselves nor suffer us to take such measures as may inable us stand on our own bottom We know that it was a Maxim in some of the late Reigns That it would never be well till all that part of Scotland on this side Forth were reduc'd to a Hunting-field but we were in hopes the bitterness of those days had been past yet it seems that Party have still so far the ascendant amongst our Neighbours as to procure a publick opposition to all our Endeavours for raising our Nation by Trade It will upon due Examination be found as bad Policy as it is Christianity to urge as some of our Neighbours do that it is the Interest of England to keep the Scots low because they are an independent and free Nation and were our ancient Enemies and therefore may be dangerous Neighbours if they grow rich and potent Nothing but Rancour and inveterate Malice can suggest such sour thoughts as these It were fit that sort of Men should be purg'd of their Choler The Scots to obviate all dangers from that Head have tho' they be much the ancienter Nation condescended so far as several times to propose an Union which the Gentlemen of that Kidney have hitherto prevented and therefore we would wish them to look back into their Histories and upon casting up their Accounts make a true Estimate of whatever they gain'd by a War with Scotland They will find that their Ancestors as well as the Romans have been sensible as Tacitus expresses it Quâ—s sibi Viros Caledonia sepâ—suerit and that as it was true what our Historian says of the War made upon us by Edward I. that Scotorum Nomen pene delevit it was also true what he says on the other hand that Angliam vehementer conâ—ussit So that those Gentlemen take the direct way by opposing us to run into those Dangers they would avoid for they may assure themselves that if the English Opposition to our American Settlement should once break out into Hostilities the Scots will find some Allies ancient or new that will be glad of the opportunity to join with them Or if which is most probable tho' highly impolitick the English should so far neglect the Scots as to suffer them to be over-power'd by the French they may be sure that the Scots when put to their last shift can always make an honourable Capitulation with France It 's not to be doubted but that Crown would be very willing to renew their ancient Alliance with us and besides allowing us a share at least in the Trade of Darien would on condition of giving them the Possession of New Caledonia restore us likewise to all our ancient Privileges in France They would think it a very good purchase if they could secure themselves of that Colony by doing so granting us what security we could resonably desire for the uninterrupted Injoyment of the Protestant Religion and a Freedom of Trade to all places of the World where it did not actually interfere with their own Settlements and Colonies So that if this should be the case we leave it to our Neighbours to judge what would become of their East and West-India Trade and Plantations and whether they would not find it difficult to stand out against France and us now that they have no footing on the Continent since formerly when they had so many Provinces of that Kingdom in their possession they found it a hard matter to do it and at last lost every foot of their French Dominions whereas had they been in Union with us they might certainly have retained them and by consequence have prevented the great Calamities that Europe hath since groan'd under by the prodigious Increase of the French Monarchy This we think sufficient to convince those angry Gentlemen in our Neighboring Nation that are so very much disgusted with our American Settlement that it is the Interest of England to join with us and support it and that it may be of dangerous consequence to them either to oppose or neglect us Whereas by joyning cordially in this matter they may unite us inseparably to themselves for ever inrich their own Nation secure and advance the Protestant Interest keep the Balance of Europe in their hands and prevent the returns of its danger their own expence of Blood and Treasure to save its being threatened with Slavery any more either by the House of Bourbon or Austria Therefore we cannot believe after all but our wise and politick Neighbours will at last see it their Interest to protect and incourage us in this matter that we may mutually strengthen and support one another against the French who are loudest in their Clamours against our Settlement because if incouraged and improved it will defeat all their ambitious and Antichristian Designs and thereby we shall also be in a condition to assist the English Plantations in the West-Indies who as we find by the proceedings of the Earl of Bellamont and the Assemblies of New England and New York are sufficiently sensible of their danger from the incroaching temper of the French which increases every day and it is evident that their new design'd Colony in Mississipi River looks
House live Ambrosio and his Son-in-Law Don Pedro with both their Families consisting of about 40 Persons We saw Ambrosio's Grandmother there who is 120 years old and yet was very active in getting things ready for an Entertainment She has six Generations descended from her now in the House with her The People live here to 150 and 160 years of Age but those that converse much with Europeans and drink strong Drink don't live so long From the Samballoes to the River of Conception the Country is commanded by one Corbet who is altogether in the French Interest he having contracted a Friendship with their Priveteers 7 years ago and done them many good Offices They promised to reward him if he would go to Petit Guaves and in his way thither he was taken by an English Privateer and carried to Jamaica whence the Governor of Petit Guaves got him releas'd He was with Ponti at the taking of Carthagena and has a Commission from the French to be General of all the French and Indian Forces on that Coast and to take sink and destroy Spaniards or any other Enemies Yet the French themselves and the sensible part of the Indians don't put any confidence in him and Ambrosio who is the bravest of all those Indian Captains keeps him in Awe and within Bounds Next to Corbet there 's another of their Captains call'd Nicola who is said to be a wise brave and good natur'd Prince insomuch that the Indians had a mind to have set him up instead of Ambrosio who is of a rugged military Temper But Ambrosio's Authority and Power is so great that they did not find it practicable Nicola is a mortal Enemy to the Spaniards and can never entertain a good thought of them since the Governor of Porto-Bello robb'd him of a curious Fusee that had been presented him by some of the Buccaneers and being out of order he sent it thither to be mended upon which the Governour taking a liking to it kept it to himself and sent Nicola another sorry piece instead of it Since we came hither there have been an English a Dutch and a French Ship in our Bay The English Ship was Captain Long in the Rupert Prize He had been in the Gulf of Oâ—ba but he himself and his Men own'd that they had not then been ashore there He hath some way or other disoblig'd the Captains Ambrosio and Diego Tho' we treated him with all possible Civility yet we are since inform'd that he hath been a days Journey into the Gulf and endeavour'd to incense the Indians against us telling them that we were Privateers and that the King of England would not protect us He left some Men in the Bay who had since kill'd some Spaniards and came to us for Arms and Ammunition but we told them we could not grant them any and that they had done what they could not justifie We gave them however what was necessary for sitting up a Boat and as a Reward they intic'd away the Carpenter and Mate of one of our Ships call'd the Vnicorn The Dutch Ship that came hither was afraid of the Spanish Barlâ—vento Fleet and put in here for Protection that Fleet having made Prize of another Dutch Ship of 32 Guns and of two English Sloops for Trading on those Coasts The French Ship that put in here was that which was order'd to carry back the Church Plate c. to Carthagena did afterwards bulge on a Rock and was cast away in our Harbour We sav'd all their lives and Captain Pincarton our Commodore endanger'd his own life to save that of the French Captain He inform'd us That the French had four Men of War of 50 Guns each who thinking we had a Design on the River Mississipi were gone to the Gulf of Mexico in quest of us The French have been very industrious in cultivating their Interest both with the Natives and Spaniards in this part of America and doubt not of having a good share in those Countries after the King of Spain's Death They have got a great Interest with Captain Ambrosio by means of his Son-in-Law Don Pedro whom they caress extreamly and design'd to have carried him to Petit Guavus and from thence into France to acquaint the French King with the favourable Sentiments the Indians have entertain'd of the French and of their design to surrender themselves to his Majesty This has been projected by the French a long time but the King of Spain's Indisposition and their Pretensions to that Crown made them refer it and there 's no doubt but our Settlement will quicken those Resolutions Captain Andreas Captain Pedro his Brother Captain Diego and Captain Pousigo our Neighbours have no manner of Correspondence with the French The latter hath acquainted us that there are several Gold Mines within two Miles of our Settlement which he hath promis'd to shew us and he hath actually let us see several Samples of fine Gold This being the Substance of several Journals that were sent from our Colony in Darien upon their first Settlement there we hope it 's sufficient of it self to satisfie our Neighbours in England of the Justice of our Cause of the Equity of our Proceedings of the true Reason why the French are so much our Enemies in this matter of the greatness of the Providence that has put us in possession of that Post and that it is England's Interest to joyn with and protect us by which the Designs of the French against Europe in general and Great Britain in particular may be defeated and the English West-India Trade secur'd But since by the Proclamations before menâ—â—on'd our Ships may be in danger of being attack'd by other Nations as Pirates and our Colony discountenanc'd and oppos'd on that Account by the Natives there 's no reason that our Neighbours should think strange if we complain of that unkind usage and endeavour to lay before them what may probably be the Consequences of such Proceedings without being construed either to threaten or to wish that any such things should happen â—t being evident that by offering to admit the English as Joint-sharers in our Trade we entertain no Sentiments but what are friendly towards that Nation being satisfied that all those who wish well to the Protestant Religion and true Liberty are Enemies to any thing that may occasion a Breach of the Union and good Understanding betwixt us Yet it must be own'd that we have but too great reason to complain of the Hardships we suffer which it is in the power of England to remedy by complying with the gracious Proposals of Uniting the Nations repeated in Parliament by His Majesty who like a true Father of His Country has expos'd himself to the greatest of Dangers to procure the Welfare and Peace of His Subjects by which He has made an absolute Conquest of the Hearts of all good Men who are unanimous to join in the like Prayer for him that the Israelites of old put up for their Kings viz. That he may live for ever FINIS