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XII.
Ancient State of the Spanish Colony.—The Town of St. Domingo established by Bartholomew Columbus in 1498.—Pillaged by Drake in 1586.—Conjectures and Reflections concerning its present Condition, and the State of Agriculture in the inte rior Country.—Numbers and Character of the prefent Inha bitants.—Their Animosity towards the French Planters, and Jealousy of the English.—Conjectures concerning the future Si tuation of the whole Ifland ; andJome concluding Reflections.
THE Spanifh colony in Hifpaniola (the name St. D o JL mingo being properly applicable to the chief city only) was the earlieft eftablifhment made by the nations of Europe in the new world; and, unhappily, it is too notorious to be denied, that it was an eftablifhment founded in rapacity and ce mented with blood ! The fole object of the firft Spanifh adven turers was to ranfack the bowels of the earth for filver and gold; in which frantick purfuit, they murdered at leaft a million of the peaceful and inoffenfive natives ! As the mines became exhaufted, a few of the more induftrious entered on the cul tivation of cacao, ginger, and fugar; but the poverty of the greater part of the inhabitants, and the difcovery of new mines in Mexico, occafioned a prodigious emigration;—the experi ence of paft difappointments not proving fufficiently powerful to cure the rage for acquiring wealth by a fhorter courfe than that of patient induftry. In lei's than a century, therefore, Hif paniola was; nearly deferted, and nothing preferved it as a coA a lony,
CHAP.
XII.