430 



in the whites, or the mingled casts. Comput- 

 ing, in 1800, the total population of the seven 

 united provinces at nine hundred thousand 

 souls, it appeared to me, that the Indians made 

 only one ninth ; while at Mexico they form 

 nearly one half of the inhabitants. 



Among the casts that compose the popula- 

 tion of Venezuela, that of the Blacks, which 

 awakens at once the interest due to misfortune, 

 and the dread of a violent reaction, is not im- 

 portant from it's number ; but it is so from it's 

 accumulation on a small space of territory. 

 We shall soon see, that in all the Capitania- 

 General the slaves do not exceed a fifteenth of 

 the whole population. In the island of Cuba, 

 of all those in the West Indies where the Ne- 

 groes bear the smallest proportion to the Whites, 

 they were, in 1811, as one to three. The seven 

 united provinces of Venezuela have sixty thou- 

 sand slaves ; Cuba, the extent of which is eight 

 times less, has two hundred and twelve thou- 

 sand. Considering the sea of the West India 

 islands, of which the Gulf of Mexico makes a 

 part, as an interior sea with several mouths, 

 it is important to fix our attention on the politi- 

 cal relations, that result from this singular con- 

 figuration of the New Continent, between coun- 

 tries placed around the same basin. Notwith- 

 standing the isolated state, in which the greater 

 part of the mother countries endeavour to 



