504. A. D. 1662. 



Gul. Ill, c. 15] which ordered, that where two or more crofs highways 

 met, a flone or port fhould be ereded, with an infcription in large let- 

 ters, directing to the next market town to which each of them leads. 

 It is much to be wifhed that the ftatute-breadth of the highways was 

 better obferved than it has beeti hitherto. 



It was in the year 1662 that the Englifh from the north continent of 

 America began to cut down the logwood trees, growing in infinite quan- 

 tities on the uninhabited coafts of Yucatan, and more efpecially in the 

 bay of Campeachy, where they made a fettlement for that end, as it 

 was not near to any Spanifh fettlement or inhabitants. Their firfl fet- 

 tlement was near Cape Catoche, next at the Laguna de Terminos, which 

 was found more convenient, and where the Englifh buccaneers were af- 

 terwards obliged to fettle, upon the treaty of Madrid between England 

 and Spain in the year 1667 ; which treaty, though it made no particu- 

 lar mention of America by name, exprefsiy flipulated ' a general firm 

 * and perpetual amity between the two crowns, as well by land as by 

 ' fea, and between all the countries under the obedience of either of 

 ' the kings.' By the year 1669, that Englilh fettlement was confider- 

 ably increafed, and much logwood was carried thence to New-England 

 and Jamaica. In the year 1670, Sir William Godolphin concluded at 

 Madrid the firfl treaty between England and Spain, which exprefsiy re- 

 lated to America, and therefor is ufually called the American treaty ; 

 whereby the then polTellions of both nations in America are confirmed. 

 This gave encouragement to many more of our people to join the log- 

 wood-cutters, as it was in a defolate and unplanted country, and the 

 Spaniards had not hitherto made any complaints about it. For it was 

 not till the year 1672 that they began to interrupt our logwood-cutters 

 there, or to make the leafl: complaint to our court againft their fettling 

 in that bay. Soon after", however, they became fo uneafy at that fet- 

 tlement and our logwood-cuttin;^, that they adually made prize of all 

 Englifh vefiels they met in the American feas, which had logwood in 

 them, of which the earl of Arlington, the Englifh fecretary of ftate, in 

 the year 1674, complained in a letter to Sir William Godolphin our 

 minifter at Madrid. For as the fole advantage our court had in view 

 by-concluding this famous American treaty of 1670, was, that our peo- 

 ple miglit, without interruption, trade to our own colonies, and peace- 

 ably enjoy our poflefllons in America, we were therein greatly fruftrated 

 by the court of Spain's orders to make prize of all fliips having logwood 

 in them. So that this treaty has ever fince afforded a pretence for the 

 Spaniards to feize our fhips failing along their American coafts, though 

 with no intention of carrying on any contraband trade > and on fom€ 

 occafions they have even feized veflels for having a quantity of pieces 

 of eight on board, if found near their American coafts. Yet, except- 

 ing two or three months in the year 1680, that the Spaniards, by a conr 



