a- si ureous odour. The island contains a boil- 
e Jig itain, and a hot marsh, which is very deceitful, 
dangerous to strangers. The islands, of which 
‘Guadaloupe is the chief, were discovered by Columbus 
‘in his second voyage, when he visited Dominica, Gua- 
daloupe, and Antigua. But they were at that time ne- 
plected by the in’ their eager lust of domi- 
nion and gold on the islands, and on the Ame- 
‘rican continent, the unexplored treasures of which were 
then fore aoa vote ition. 
‘No European nation had taken possession of Guada- 
loupe, when an expedition of five or six hundred French- 
‘men, under two adventurous leaders, arrived from Di- 
e in June'1635. The new settlers soon commenced 
a war with the native Caribs, for the — of supply= 
ing themselves with provisions, of which their own ex- 
ertions could not yet produce a sufficient quantity for their 
subsistence. Many uf these poor, simple and undiscipli- 
_ ned people, unable to maintain a ‘regular struggle with 
their more skilfal invaders, retired to'some of the other 
islands. Others of them concealed themselves in the 
natural be th ching their own, and hav- 
ing previous ‘destroyed ‘their plantations and stores, 
know] of the ‘country enabled them 
to'sally out u ectedly, and to inflict vengeance on 
such tating partie their opp as fell in their 
way. After a le; whieh ‘was’ kept up with vari- 
‘ous success, and which at length produced aterrible fa- 
‘mine, a peace was patched up between the contending 
‘in’ 16403 and the remnant of Eu , who 
ad‘escaped the calamities which they had drawn on 
themselvés, were joined by some discontented sailors 
and colonists from’ St Christophers. *The superior ‘ad- 
vatitages of Martinique’as a sea-port, induced many ad- 
‘venturers ‘to leave Guadaloupe, and pass over ‘to that 
island ; and from this time the Frerch administration 
‘bestowed for some years almost’ exclusive attention on 
‘the latter, which became the seat of government of the 
‘French islands. For the first sixty years of its occupa- 
tion by the French, Guadaloupe made little progress ; 
but in ‘the course of the ensuing fifty-five, its improve- 
ment was as rapid as it had formerly’ been slow. In 
April 1759, the island was uered by the English. 
‘In July 1763, it was restored to its former owners in a 
highly improved condition. The French government 
w began to’ see the value of this settlement, and an 
independent government was given to it. The island 
‘was taken by the British in’ 1794, but was retaken 
‘by the French under Victor Hughes in February 1795. 
Early in 1810; an English expedition, the naval part 
of which was conducted by vice-admiral Sir A. Coch- 
rane, and the military force b sername ae Sir 
G. Beckwith, prepared with the design of attacking 
Guadaloupe and St Eustatius, was ready to commence 
operations. | It was completely successful ; and thus the 
enemy were deprived of the last of their possessions in 
the Columbian islands. 
Guadaloupe continued under the power of the Bri- 
tish crown till 1813, when in a treaty dated March $d, 
‘between his Britannic Msi and the King of Sweden, 
it is agreed, that this valuable colony should be ceded 
‘to the latter, in consi of ‘an ent on his 
a furnish a force of 80;000 men, in aid of the al- 
‘lied powers against France. Swedish commissioners 
‘were accordingly sent, to make arrangements for ta- 
; ‘ possession of the island; but im ¢onsequence of 
- certai pen causes not yet fully explained, it was 
‘restored to its old possessors the French, at the restoya- 
tion of Louis XVIII. in terms of the general treaty of 
‘sighed May 30th 1814,. On the return of Bo- 
GUADALOUPE. 
531 
naparte from Elba in 1815, General Boyer, the yover- 
nor, hoisted the three-coloured flag. After the Soot 
Guada- 
loupe. 
restoration of the Bourbons, he was condemned to ,. 
death, but the sentence. has been commuted into 
twenty years imprisonment.. The sum of one mil- 
lion sterling'was the compensation given to Sweden, 
for our non-fulfilment of the stipulation by which it 
was to be delivered into her hands. . The general aston- 
ishment and a of the people.of Great Britain 
and Ireland, on finding, that by one of the articles in 
the treaty with Louis, the slave trade wasto be permit- 
ted to be carried on. by. the French for five years, in 
this island and Martinique, which British generosity 
had restored, are not ely described. Petitions pour- 
ed in upon both Houses of. Parliament, and addresses to 
the Prince Regent from every part of the united king- 
dom. -In consequence of these petitions, Lord Castle- 
reagh, the British negociator, was employing all his 
influence and skill in order to undo what he had 
done, and to! induce the government of Louis to re- 
ceive these islands under the express condition, that 
the odious traffic should instantly be definitively and 
for ever abolished by France. The consideration of 
this subject was taken up by the congress assembled at 
Vienna. But there appeared every reason to believe, 
that our benevolent endeavours would have. failed of 
success, when the irruption of the exiled usurper into 
France once more transferred this island to the soves 
reignty of Napoleon Bonaparte. By a stroke of policy, 
intended at once to show his power, and to conciliate 
the people of England, he issued a decree as soon as he 
felt himself replaced on his trembling throne, by which 
he declared the slave trade to be abolished in the French 
islands. In doing so indeed, he made no kind of allu- 
sion as to the immorality and wickedness of the traffic 
with Africa. ‘Besides, he knew that while the war 
should continue, and England ride triumphant on thé 
sea, he could carry on little foreign trade of any kind, 
and that these islands would probably fall es into 
our hands ; so that the sacrifice he appeared to make of 
interest to duty, was in fact only a nominal one, and 
as his decree was expressed just as*caldly as if he had 
been prohibiting the importation of flax or grain, he 
could easily, he well knew, and without any appearance 
of gross inconsistency, by another of: his. imperial de- 
crees, restore the trade, on the ground of alleged expe- 
diency, whenever he might be able to derive any ad- 
vantage from the renewal. This decree of Bonaparte, 
however, though no one could be deceived as to its mo- 
tive, had a happy effect on the great. cause ; for when 
Louis was a second time restored to his throne in sum- 
mer 1815, and’ when these islands, once more in the 
power of England, were to be delivered up to France, 
the example of Bonaparte himself could be quoted, to 
shame the new government into accordance with our 
wishes, Indeed England had now the means and the 
right to enforce compliance with her request. _Accord- 
‘ingly Louis, soon after his return, by a royal decree, 
declared the French slave trade to be definitively and 
absolutely abolished. 
History. 
The unsettled state of this island, may probably have Commerce. 
prevented any very accurate estimate either of its trade 
or population since the French revolution. _ In the year 
1700, the ae pT amounted only to about $82 indi- 
genous inhabitants or Caribs ; $25: free negroes ; and 
6725 slaves. 
In 1755, there were 
WAGE FOR RRA oe 9648 
Slaves’ 9 impr 4 10,0 
Sugarhouses . . . «+ - 834 
