The Journal of Negro History, Volume 4, 1919Various
History
The Journal of Negro History, Volume 4, 1919
Various
African Americans -- Periodicals
As may be surmised no great number of slaves was exported from
Barbadoes or Jamaica on this contract. Only one ship arrived at
Barbadoes from Cadiz desiring to secure one thousand slaves, but the
company's factors could obtain only eight hundred. Lord Willoughby
carefully reported that he had complied with his Majesty's command not
to exact any export duty for these slaves.[88] In Jamaica fewer
Negroes are known to have been sold on this contract to Spanish ships
which came from Cartagena.[89] There may have been other instances of
sales not recorded, but it is certain that the war interfered to such
an extent that the number of Negroes sold to Grillo fell far short of
what the contract called for. In order to keep the agreement intact
the company resolved, March 23, 1666, to lay the situation before the
king, and to ask him to permit Grillo's agents to buy sufficient
Negroes in the plantations to make up the required number, and that no
export duties be charged on them.[90] The king complied with the
company's request, and the desired orders were sent to the governors
of Jamaica and Barbadoes.[91] Some trouble had arisen in Jamaica,
however, between Grillo's agents and Governor Modyford. Since the
company believed that Grillo's agents were primarily to blame for
this, it resolved in the future to deliver Negroes only at Barbadoes
in return for ready money.[92]
This was virtually the end of the contract. In 1667 the company spoke
of the agreement as having been broken by the Grillos, and that it was
under no further obligation to carry out its terms. Altogether, it
declared, that no more than 1,200 Negroes had been delivered to
Grillo's agents.[93] Thus this project which the company at first
asserted would bring into the English kingdom 86,000 pounds of Spanish
silver per year[94] ended in this insignificant fashion.
Although the Grillo contract and the other attempts to begin a slave
trade with the Spanish colonies had proved much less successful than
the Company of Royal Adventurers had hoped, a great deal had been
accomplished toward bringing to light the fundamental difficulties of
this trade. In the first place not much could be accomplished in the
way of developing this trade so long as the Spanish government
maintained its attitude of uncompromising hostility toward all
foreigners notwithstanding the fact that the Spanish colonists would
gladly have welcomed the slave traders. Furthermore, although the
English government had signified its willingness to disregard the
restrictions of the Navigation Acts in this instance, the hostile
attitude assumed by the planters toward the trade in slaves to the
Spanish colonies also had to be taken into consideration. Whenever the
planters were able to do so they endeavored to prevent the exportation
to the Spanish colonies of slaves which they maintained were very much
needed on their own plantations.
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