The West Indian Web Improvising Colonial Survival in Essequibo and Demerara, 1750-1800
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The West Indian Web Improvising colonial survival in Essequibo and Demerara, 1750-1800 Bram Hoonhout Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of History and Civilization of the European University Institute Florence, 22 February 2017 European University Institute Department of History and Civilization The West Indian Web Improvising colonial survival in Essequibo and Demerara, 1750-1800 Bram Hoonhout Thesis submitted for assessment with a view to obtaining the degree of Doctor of History and Civilization of the European University Institute Examining Board Prof. dr. Jorge Flores (EUI) Prof. dr. Regina Grafe (EUI) Prof. dr. Cátia Antunes (Leiden University) Prof. dr. Gert Oostindie, KITLV/Royal Netherlands Institute of Southeast Asian and Caribbean Studies © Bram Hoonhout, 2017 No part of this thesis may be copied, reproduced or transmitted without prior permission of the author Researcher declaration to accompany the submission of written work Department of History and Civilization - Doctoral Programme I Bram Hoonhoutcertify that I am the author of the work The West Indian web. Improvising colonial survival in Essequibo and Demerara, 1750-1800 I have presented for examination for the Ph.D. at the European University Institute. I also certify that this is solely my own original work, other than where I have clearly indicated, in this declaration and in the thesis, that it is the work of others. I warrant that I have obtained all the permissions required for using any material from other copyrighted publications. I certify that this work complies with the Code of Ethics in Academic Research issued by the European University Institute (IUE 332/2/10 (CA 297). The copyright of this work rests with its author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This work may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. This authorisation does not, to the best of my knowledge, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that this work consists of 114,250 words. Statement of inclusion of previous work: I confirm that chapter 4 draws upon earlier articles I published as "Smuggling for Survival: Self-organized, Cross-imperial Colony Building in Essequibo and Demerara, 1746-1796" in: Cátia Antunes and Amélia Polónia (eds) Beyond Empires: Global, Self-Organizing, Cross-Imperial Networks, 1500-1800 (Leiden/Boston: Brill), 212-235; and as "De noodzaak van smokkelhandel in Essequebo en Demerary, 1750-1800" ["The Necessity of Smuggling in Essequibo and Demerara, 1750-1800"], Tijdschrift voor Zeegeschiedenis 32:2 (2013) 54-70. Statement of language correction: This thesis has been corrected for linguistic and stylistic errors. I certify that I have checked and approved all language corrections, and that these have not affected the content of this work. Signature and date: 1-2-2017 Contents Acknowledments v List of maps, tables and figures vi List of abbreviations viii Introduction 1 1 The borderland: Cooperation, conflict and entanglement 19 Frontiers, borderlands and entanglement 21 The Spanish side 28 The Dutch side 33 The Amerindian side 41 The British side 47 Conclusion 51 2 The political arena: Strong words, weak institutions and the need for negotiation 59 Negotiated authorities 62 Internal institutional bickering (1750-1780) 66 War and occupation (1780-1784) 74 The Dutch revolutionary moment (1784-1787) 79 The international revolutionary moment (1795-1803) 93 Conclusion 98 3 The slavery regime: Slave refugees, deserters and insurgents 101 Regimes of slavery compared 104 The deserters 111 The rebels 128 Conclusion 148 4 The commercial web: Mercantilism, cash crops and captives as contraband 153 Poor mercantilists 154 Provisions by the barrel 167 Clearing out cash crops 173 Trading enslaved Africans 180 Conclusion 191 5 The web of debt: Cheap money, expensive mortgages and financial entanglement 195 Financing plantation economies 196 Financial entanglement and preference problems 206 Comparing Dutch and British approaches 219 Conclusion 226 6 Inter-imperial individuals: Personal regional, intra-American and trans-Atlantic networks 231 A planter society? 232 Regional connections 239 Intra-American networks 246 Trans-Atlantic ties 256 Conclusion 264 Conclusion: The shape of empire 267 Bibliography 273 Acknowledgements Writing a thesis inevitably involves incurring many debts. Firstly, therefore, I would like to thank Jorge Flores. His support, timely reactions and flexibility greatly facilitated the writing of this thesis. Furthermore, his encouragement to go beyond my comfort zone of pure economic history made this thesis a much more balanced work. Secondly, my thanks to go Regina Grafe, who made sure I did not forget about the economic side either. Her cheerfulness and willingness to discuss chapters over Skype or over pasta are much appreciated, as are her incisive comments and broad knowledge of Atlantic history. Thirdly, I owe a Deutz-sized debt to Cátia Antunes. While it can impossibly be recounted in full here, suffice to say that her unfaltering faith, as well as the many talks and rounds of feedback have been fundamental to my academic development over the past seven years. Her dedication to “her” PhD students (broadly conceived) is a model for any advisor. Fourthly, I would like to thank Gert Oostindie, who saw the potential of the project from the beginning and retained interest along the way. I am very glad he was willing to be on my committee. I also like to thank “Team Catia” for “adopting” me. And for the Monday morning meetings, which were sometimes tedious, but always full of useful feedback. So, thanks to Kate, Joris, Erik, Éli, Julie, Kaarle, Edgar, Hasan, Noelle, Miguel, Susana, João Paolo and Karwan. Many people at the EUI made life enjoyable, in academic settings, in town and on the Schifanoia pitch, so thanks to Roel, Matthijs, Martijn, Florian, Sanne, Diana, Marijn, Bouke, Niccolò, Bartosz, Jonas, Esther, Stephanie and Miquel. Additionally, I would like to thank the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds for generously funding my research in Guyana, Barbados and the United States. I am also grateful to Paul Koulen, Johan van Langen, Roelof Hol, Ben ter Welle, Syeade and Jerry Lagra who all contributed in one way or another to research in Guyana. Of course, many thanks go out to the many archivists who have helped me in my quest for sources. Finally, I would like to thank friends and family, particularly my parents, who have been very supporting in my endeavour to become a historian. And of course, my greatest thanks go to my dearest Anouk. List of maps, tables and figures Maps Map 1.1 The Orinoco-Essequibo borderland Map 2.1 Detail from the mouth of the Demerara River, 1784 Map 3.1 The three main desertion routes from Essequibo to Venezuela Map 3.2 Plantations and planters involved in the 1772 revolt in Demerara Map 3.3 Plantations involved in the 1789 bomba insurgency Map 3.4 Uprisings, desertion and maroon attacks in 1795 Map 5.1 Caerte van de rivier Demerary van Ouds Immenary, gelegen op Suyd Americaes Noordkust op de Noorder Breedte van 6 Gr. 40 Min, 1759 Map 5.2 Carte de la Colonie de Demerary, 1784 Map 5.3 Generale en speciale kaart der Colonien van de republicq der Ver. Nederl., geleegen in Guyana, langs de Zeekust der rivieren Poumaron, Essequebo, Demerary; van de grensen van Berbice tot de rivier Morocco aan de grens in de Spaansche Bezitting Oronoco, 1796 Map 6.1 Estates of the individuals mentioned in the text Tables Appendix 1.1 Table of the missions of the Reverend Father Capuchins of Catalonia of the Province of Guiana, 1788 Appendix 1.2 List of goods ordered for 1,000 Amerindians (1803) Table 2.1 Number of plantations in Essequibo and Demerara, 1716-1803 Table 3.1 Enslaved Africans in Essequibo and Demerara, 1735- 1832 Table 4.1 Vessels arriving in Essequibo and Demerara, 1700-1799 (annual average) Table 4.2 Exports from Essequibo and Demerara, March 1784- February 1785 Table 5.1 Overview of mortgage funds active in Essequibo and Demerara Figures Figure 4.1 The intra-American supply network of Demerara in July- December 1775 Figure 4.2 Population of enslaved Africans in Essequibo and Demerara, actual numbers compared to counterfactual numbers based on registered imports, 1762-1795 Figure 5.1 Registered exports from Essequibo and Demerara 1798-1802, in pounds sterling Figure 5.2 Figure 5.2: Registered exports from Essequibo and Demerara, 1745-1801, in lbs Figure 6.1 Portrait of Gardiner Greene, unknown artist, unknown date Figure 6.2 Portrait of Thomas Cuming, by Henry Raeburn, unknown date List of abbreviations ACA Amsterdam City Archive, Amsterdam, the Netherlands BGBB British Guiana Boundary Books — BCC — British Counter Case — VCC — Venezuelan Counter Case BL British Library, London, United Kingdom BPL Boston Public Library, Boston, United States BT Board of Trade CO Colonial Office CUST Boards of Customs, Excise, and Customs and Excise, and HM Revenue and Customs IISH International Institute for Social History, Amsterdam, the Netherlands LRS Liverpool Record Office, Liverpool, United Kingdom MCC Middelburgse Commercie Compagnie (Middleburgh Commercial Company) MHS Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston, United States NAG National Archives of Guyana, Georgetown, Guyana NL-HaNA Dutch National Archives, The Hague, the Netherlands NRS National Records of Scotland, Edinburgh, United Kingdom NYHS New York Historical Society, New York, United States RAB Raad der Amerikaanse Bezittingen (Council of American Possessions) RdK Raad der