494 
HISTORY OF THE TRADE TO GUINEA. 
ships and cargoes, if they had fallen into the hands of the Portuguese, 
who claimed an exclusive right of trade there. In 1553 captain 
Thomas Windham traded along the coast with one hundred and forty 
men in three ships, and sailed as far as Benin to take in a load of 
pepper. Next year John Locke traded along the coast as far as 
D’Elmina, when he brought away considerable quantities of gold and 
ivory. He speaks well of the natives, and says, that- “ w'hoever will 
deal with them must behave civilly, for they w ill not traffic if ill-used.” 
In 1555 William Towerson traded in a peaceable manner with the 
natives, who complained to him of the Portuguese at D’Elmina, saying, 
“They were bad men, who made them slaves if they could take them, 
putting irons on their legs.” 
Th is bad example of the Portuguese was soon followed by some 
Englishmen, for captain Towerson says, that “in the course of his 
voyage he perceived the natives near D’Elmina unwilling to come to 
him, and that he was at last attacked by them, which he understood 
was done in revenge for the wrong done them the year before by one 
captain Ganch, who had taken away the negro captain’s son, and 
three others, with their gold, &c. This caused them to join the 
Portuguese, notwithstanding their hatred of them, against the English. 
Next year captain Tow'erson brought these men back again ; where- 
upon the negroes shewed him much kindness. Soon after this, another 
instance occurred, in the case of captain George Fenner, who, being 
on the coast w'itli three vessels, was attacked by the negroes, who 
W'ounded several of his people, and violently carried three of his men 
to their town. The captain sent a messenger, offering any thing tliat 
they desired for the ransom of his men : but they refused to deliver 
them, letting him know, that “ three weeks, before, an English ship 
which came in the roads, had carried off three of their people ; and 
that till they w'ere brought back again, they w'ould riot restore his 
Jiien, even though they should give their three ships to release them.” 
It was probably the bad conduct of these and several other English- 
men, which occasioned what is mentioned in Hill’s Naval Historv, viz. 
that “ when captain Hawkins returned from his first voyage to Africa, 
queen Elizabeth sent for him, when she expressed her concern lest 
any of the African negr’oes should be carried off without their free 
consent, which she declared would be detestable, and would call dow n 
the vengeance of Heaven upon the undertakers.” Hawkins made 
great promises, but did not pei’forrn them ; for his next voyage to the 
coast seems pr’incipaily to procure negro slaves, and sell them to 
the Spaniards in the West Indies, upon which the same author has 
these remarkable words : “ Here began the horrid wmrk of forcing 
the Africans into slavery : an injustice and barbarity, which, so sure 
as there is vengeance in Heaven for the worst of crimes, will some 
time be the destruction of all who act, or who encourage it.’^ 
This captain Flawkins, afterwards sir John Hawdtins, seems to have 
been the first Englishman who gave public countenance to this w icked 
traffic; for Anderson says, that “in 1562, captain Hawkins, assisted by 
subscriptions of certain gentlemen, now fitted out three ships; and hav- 
ing learnt that negroes were a very good commodity in Hispaniola, he 
sailed to the coast of Guinea, took in negroes, and sailed with them, for 
