A View of the Past and Present State of Jamaica. 



t97 



institutions is such, as to place tiieni 

 in a state of extreme ilejrradation, for 

 Africa is a coiuitrj' cliitfly inhabited by 

 tyrants and slaves. 



When the slave-trade is abolished 

 by all those nations who have hitherto 

 carried it on, on the western shores of 

 Africa, it is probable the chiefs inhabit- 

 ing those parts will direct tlieir attention 

 to obtaining from the soil those products 

 for which tliey can obtain in exchange 

 such articles as they have been accus- 

 tomed to receive in barter for slaves. 

 But wherever the trade in slaves exists, 

 the cultivation of the soil, and the 

 obtaining the natural and valuable 

 products of the country, for sale to the 

 Europeans, is neglected. 



It is to be presumed, then, that the 

 first approaches of the Africans towards 

 a state of civilization, and an ameliora- 

 tion of their condition, will be first 

 observable in those iiihabiliiig the 

 western coast, and aftc-r the slave trade 

 has totally ceased to exist. Wars of 

 aggression will become less fre<inent, 

 as the principal excitement to them 

 will have ceased to operate ; and the 

 chiefs will then find it indisprnsable to 

 direct their attention to the cultivation 

 of the soil, in order to olitain from it, 

 tor barter, its natural products. 



It must, however, be expected, that 

 their exertion in this way will be ex- 

 tremely limited for a considerable pe- 

 riod, because Europeans cannot be in- 

 corporated with them, so us to set them 

 an example of industry, and instruct 

 them in the skill and knowledge neces- 

 sary, in consefpionce of the extreme un- 

 Leallhiness of the climate. 



GREAT INTEIUOll LAKR. 



Many of the slaves of the Housa na- 

 tion, with whom 1 have conversed, both 

 at Ardrali and Lagos,* and also on 

 board ot vessels slaving there, have in- 

 variably stated, that they travelled on 

 foot from their <jwn country through 

 that of Hio; and that there is an im- 

 mense lake in Ilousa, which they com- 

 pared to the sea ; that persons w ere fre- 

 quently days and nights on it without 

 seeing any land ; and that the sun is 

 observed to rise and set on its water. 



• I have little doiibt but the Niger 

 might be visited by way of Ardrali and 

 Hio, with less personal risk to the travel- 

 ler, from tile natives, tliaii by any other 

 route we arc at present iicqiiainted with. 

 HorscH are to be obtained at Ardiuli, and 

 ah» natives who nnder^taiid both the Hio 

 dud l-'rcneh Unguajjcs. 



They described having seen white peo- 

 ple in its vicinity with long hair like 

 Europeans (meaning Moors, of course) ; 

 but that I coukl never learn from them, 

 that Honsa had any communication 

 whatever by any river with the sea- 

 coast, by which they could be trans- 

 ported to it. Slaves of the Housa 

 nation are brouglit to Ardrah by tlio 

 Hio tradei^, and then sold, either to 

 Euiopean or black traders, belonging to 

 Lagos anti Badagry. Their attenuated 

 bodies, on their first arrival, proves their 

 jomuey to have been long, tedious, and 

 exhausting. 



A VIEW 



OF THE 



PAST AND PIIESENT STATE 

 OF THE 



ISLAND or JAMAICA; 



WITH REMARKS 



On the Moral and P/ii/firal Condillon of the Slaecf 

 and on the Abolition uf Slaveri/ in the Colonict. 



By J. STEWART, 



Late of Jamaica. 

 Octavo. 10s. 6d. 



[Mr. Stewart, like Capt. Adams, has pro- 

 duced a book on a subject on which 

 there has been a scarcity of wnters. 

 Atrica is an ol)ject of great curiosity, 

 but Jamaica is one of immediate na- 

 tional interest, and a work treating of 

 this Island, by an enlightened author, 

 has long been a desideratum ; such a 

 person is Mr. Stewart, an opinion iii 

 which we shall be justified by every 

 reader of the lollowni;; passages. We 

 regret that, from a due respect to the 

 interest of the author, we could not 

 consider ourselves justified in making 

 our extracts still more copious. There 

 is no person, who, after reading Mr. 

 Stewart's book, will desire further in- 

 formation relative to this important 

 Island.] 



THIi MAROONS. 



THOUGH Jamaica has, since its 

 possession by the English, been 

 little molested by foreign enemies, there 

 has arisen, at dill'erent limes, within its 

 own bosom, a foe more terrible than 

 any external enemy — namely, the 

 slaves; and, at a later period, (viz. in 

 1795), a formidable tribe of the Ma- 

 roons. 



The first alarming insurrection of the 

 slaves took place in 1G90; but the 

 enormities committed were chiefiy con- 

 lined to the parish of Clarendon. In 

 17()0 a most formidable insnrreclion 

 of the Coromantces, one of the most 

 ferocious of the Aliican tribes, broke 



out 



