298 THE SEA. 



silver, pearls, and other jewels in great store. His name, therefore, be praised for 

 evermore. Amen ! " They did not consider that they had been engaged in a most 

 iniquitous traffic, nor was it, indeed, the opinion of the times. " Hawkins/' says 

 Southey, "then, is not individually to be condemned, if he looked upon dealing in negroes 

 to be as lawful as any other trade, and thought that force or artifice might be employed 

 for taking them with as little compunction as in hunting, fishing, or fowling." He had 

 a coat of arms and crest bestowed upon him and his posterity. Among other devices it 

 bore " a demi-Moor, in his proper colour, bound and captive, with annulets on his 

 arms," &c. 



On his next expedition for slaving purposes he had six vessels. Herrera * says that 

 two Portuguese had offered to conduct this fleet to a place where they might load their 

 vessels with gold and other riches, and that the queen had been so taken with the idea 

 that she had supplied Hawkins with two ships, he and his brother fitting out four others 

 and a pinnace. The force on board amounted to 1,500 soldiers and sailors, who were to 

 receive a third of the profits. When the expedition was ready, the Portuguese deserted 

 from Plymouth, and went to France, but as the cost of the outfit had been incurred, it 

 was thought proper to proceed. Hawkins obtained, after a great deal of trouble, less 

 than 150 slaves between the Rio Grande and Sierra Leone. At this juncture a negro 

 king, just going to war with a neighbouring tribe, sent to the commander asking his aid, 

 promising him all the prisoners who should be taken. This was a tempting bait, and 

 120 men were sent to assist the coloured warrior. They assaulted a town containing 

 8,000 inhabitants, strongly paled and well defended, and the English losing six men, 

 and having a fourth of their number wounded, sent for more help ; " whereupon," says 

 Hawkins, "considering that the good success of this enterprise might highly further the 

 commodity of our voyage, I went myself; and with the help of the king of our side, 

 assaulted the town both by land and sea, and very hardly, with fire (their houses being 

 covered with dry palm-leaves), obtained the town, and put the inhabitants to flight, where 

 we took 250 persons, men, women, and children. And by our friend, the king of our side, 

 there were taken 600 prisoners, whereof we hoped to have had our choice; but the negro 

 (in which nation is seldom or never found truth) meant nothing less, for that night ho 

 removed his camp and prisoners, so that we were fain to content us with those few that 

 we had gotten ourselves." They had obtained between 400 and 500, a part of which 

 were speedily sold as soon as he reached the West Indies. At Rio de la Hacha, "from 

 whence came all the pearls," the treasurer would by no means allow them to trade, or 

 even to water the ships, and had fortified the town with additional bulwarks, well manned 

 by harquebusiers. Hawkins again enforced trade, by landing 200 men, who stormed their 

 fortifications, at which the Spaniards fled. "Thus having the town," says Hawkins, 

 "with some circumstance, as partly by the Spaniards' desire of negroes, and partly by 

 friendship of the treasurer, w'e obtained a secret trade, whereupon the Spaniards resorted 

 to us by night, and bought of us to the number of 200 negroes." 



This voyage ended most disastrously. Passing by the west end of Cuba, they 



* " Historia General." 



