Title: Trinidad through the eyes of Francisco de Miranda's correspondence
First published: 2004
Description: The clash of England, France and Holland against Spain coincided with the beginnings of the independence movements in the Spanish American colonies.   Trinidad, Jamaica and Haiti supported these rebel movements, by offering asylum and moral support.

The loss of Trinidad in 1797 to the English, perhaps the only important British campaign against Spain during the war, signified for the Spanish Crown not only a considerable reduction of political and commercial control in the Caribbean but worse still, the risk of revolutionary invasion from the island, commanded by Miranda, and assisted ideologically, politically, militarily and economically by the British authorities, with especial help from governor Picton, which was probably the reason for the presence of the “treacherous Albion” on continental territory with its obvious consequences.

An able Scottish politician, friend of William Pitt, then Prime Minister of England, called Henry Dundas, Minister of War, was greatly interested in the commercial relations between Spanish America and the British West Indies.  In April of 1797, Dundas gave instructions to Thomas Picton, who had just been appointed governor of the recently captured Trinidad, to pay particular attention to the methods by which trade between the colony and the Spanish Main could be encouraged.

He informed governor Picton to tell  Spanish colonists in opposition to the repressive politics of the mother country (Spain) that they would receive help from England in their fight for independence.  This encouraged Picton to initiate a huge drive to make and distribute material, which was considered subversive in those times.

This gesture however, was far from being considered the complete conversion of the British government to the cause of independence for Venezuela, as they made serious objections to a policy which implied a change in the existing order of things.  Great Britain objected strongly to the principles of government practised by the French Revolution and did not want French Republicans in Spanish America.  This attitude can be seen clearly in the Picton-Manuel Gual incident.

It is important to point out that, when the British became interested in the independence of the Spanish colonies, it was only with hostilities in mind but perhaps thanks to Miranda, in the beginning years of the 19th  Century, they began to realise the importance of commerce between the two which was far more beneficial to their cause.  Between January 1800 and January 1801, cargo to the value of 639,220 pesos was registered at the port of Port of Spain  from the Spanish Main.  Between 1801 and 1802,  cargo amounting to the value of 847,330 pesos was received and in the first six months of 1803 cargo totalling a value of 528,380 pesos was recorded, which demonstrates an increase in the first six months over the previous year and gives an idea of the amount of trade taking place between the two countries.

By the same token, with the arrival in Trinidad of printing presses, a pamphlet campaign was organised to flood eastern Venezuela and naturally, English newspapers and books considered impious by the Catholic Church, followed swiftly in the wake of the pamphlets.  The Spanish Court was soon  made aware of the arrival of this questionable literature on Spanish colonial soil and on 7th June 1797, the Spanish Government ordered the Captain General of Venezuela to collect all the books and papers that were prejudicial to the purity of religious thought, public peace and colonial subordination that had been brought into the colony.

At this same time, in the French Assembly in Paris, the idea of inciting Spanish colonists to get rid of their burdensome yoke of colonial rule was germinating and Cotein wrote a manifesto which was sent to the Spanish colonies.  The Conde de Floridablanca was apprised of this and the Captain General of Venezuela, on 23rd September 1789, was ordered to prohibit the introduction of these papers, whose primary objective was to foment revolution and religious laxity”.  There was good reason for the Spanish government to be alarmed.   From March 1792 the French government busied itself with hostilities towards the Spanish colonies.      

France began to foment insurrection in the Spanish colonies when it appointed Francisco de Miranda to the post of Commandant General of the French West Indies.  His base was the French colony of St. Domingue (Pickering Mss. XXIV, 150).

The French Republicans resident on the island, together with Venezuelan patriots took it upon themselves to distribute “The Rights of Man” on the Spanish Main, which was a nightmare for the Spanish colonial government. On 1st November 1794, the Captain General of Venezuela announced to the Governors and Prelates of the provinces that “The Rights of Man” had begun to appear in Bogotá and gave the address of the printer in  Trinidad.  This work had been condemned by the Inquisition on 13th December 1789 and was the object of persistent persecution because it was thought that its intention was to capture the interest of those of loose morals and religious laxity and to provoke civil disorder against the established government in the dominions of S.M.I (His Imperial Majesty) of the Viceroy Expeleta, 5th September 1794 of the Viceroyalty of Lima, 12 December 1794). 

The same Captaincy General, in 1798 mentioned “the inevitable introduction of pamphlets from foreign islands and the Old World, in spite of the active vigilance of the magistrates to prevent it”.  “Among these pamphlets was one from neighbouring Trinidad which contained the most advanced ideas on the independence of the entire continent”.

The pamphlet referred to was Governor Thomas Picton’s proclamation in 1797.   The Captaincy General commented as follows:  “The suggestions of the British commander of the island of Trinidad, who has not only inundated the coast with printed matter and manuscripts but has added offers of powerful protection and free trade to the people of Caracas that will make them happy”.   Discussing the affair, the Royal Advocate of Caracas said “the English have been distributing pamphlets and manuscripts all over the coast, exciting the inhabitants to revolt by offering free trade and successful achievement of independence to those discontents who were seduced by the first maxims of revolution”.  (Asp. I,371).

In this context, Thomas Picton wrote to Henry Dundas, British Minister of War – “The only way to open extensive trade with our country is to produce a revolution, which can easily prove successful by arming the country in general.”  (Picton to Dundas.  September 18th , 1797.  P.R.O.  Trinidad).

The governor of Trinidad then, as already stated in dispatches of the Captaincy General, flooded eastern Venezuela with printed subversionary matter according to official reports from the Governor of Cumana on 23rd  April 1797 and of Margarita on 13th and 28th of the same month, in which they quoted as follows from pamphlets encountered: “Good Fortune is offered to the inhabitants of the Spanish Main:  complete and entire liberty for all your commercial activity; suppression of duties both incoming and outgoing; permission to cultivate whatever is desired and to sell the fruits thereof;   election of the Government of their desire, under the protection of the British Armed Forces.  (Archives of the Academia de la Historia).

“It will not be difficult, says Picton to his Government, “to excite a rebellion in the Spanish provinces of Cumana and Caracas, whose effect and example will encourage the whole continent to revolt” (Picton to Dundas, P.R.O. Trinidad).

It is evident from official and confidential correspondence between the Spanish authorities in South America, confronting this imminent danger, that they are very worried and fearful.  Miguel Herrera, Governor of Margarita wrote to the Captain General of Caracas, Manuel de Guevara y Vasconcelos, the following:  “Dear Capitan General, In my zeal to execute my responsibilities in the service of the king, and the peacefulness of his possessions, I am always watchful for news of the Islands, and in particular, Trinidad from where I received the following communication from an informant: “This government thinks about antagonizing the Spanish Main, contributing to its uprising, for which they await the arrival of Miranda, who has designed the project, sending some booklets of 30 pages, which contains talk against the governments and suggests ways of terminating them with all manner of perverse things and infernal ideas; […]  Also, one of my confidants has assured me that an order of the British government has been issued to gather up all the fugitives from the gaols of the Spanish Main and render them protection, and those fugitives who bring news as well, and that one of the most important duties of Picton is to take advantage of the disillusionment of the inhabitants and to make them happy, and in conclusion, says he knows a lot and will send me a copy of one of the booklets, but there is a huge plan and that Miranda is the author of it”.  A  booklet of 30 pages, without doubt the letter of Viscardo.  (Margarita 23 August 1803), Archive of the Indies, Estado 71, n.6, Margarita, 08-23-1803.

The booklet -  “Lettre aux Espagnols-Americains” was the work of Juan Pablo Viscardo y Guzman which, probably at the instigation of Miranda, was published in Philadelphia in 1799.  It was one of the first and most ardent publications for Spanish American emancipation and soon became used as a vehicle for spreading the “freedom gospel”.  In a letter to Gual of 4th October 1799, Miranda instructed him to ask the Governor of Trinidad for a copy of the booklet which had been sent to Trinidad for circulation in South America.  “Ask him for one, says the Venezuelan, and you will find in it the most solid arguments and rationale our compatriot Viscardo gives for the beauty and Justice of our cause”  Four months later, Gual informed Miranda that he had read the booklet with “sacred enthusiasm”  (Paper found by me from one of the addresses of the Jesuit Rossi to the English government in 1797.  Mir.  MSS.,t. XLV).

It was in eastern Venezuela and in Caracas that the revolutionary clandestine press did the most damage to the Spanish government, which was not the case in the west of the country.  For example, the island of Curacao was only interested in contraband trade and it is for this reason that subversive material never arrived either in Coro or Maracaibo and these two cities remained completely faithful to Spain, and were the first disembarkation points chosen by Miranda for his expedition.

In a letter of the Captain General to the Secretary of State on 23rd June 1799, on the subject of the introduction of subversive literature, the following is evident:  “Similar leaflets are very useful for spreading false and prejudicial opinions to the masses on the just and impartial system of the Spanish Government and its laws, which is the hope of the Governor of Trinidad and also the Minister in London”.  Undoubtedly, the government of Picton protected this propaganda, even though it was the work of isolated patriots in the Island.  As they were the leaders of the rising of 1797, the retired Captain of the battalion of veterans of Caracas, Manuel Gual; (el Justicia Mayor) the Magistrate of Macuto, José María España and the lawyer, Manzanares; also José María Casañas, originally from Guiria; the aragonese resident in La Guaira, active collaborator of España and Gual, José Montesinos Rico; the old Cuban sailor, Carlos Cañero; the Venezuelan planter, resident in Trinidad, Francisco Febles, the brother-in-law of José María España, Domingo Sanchez; and Andres España, the son of Jose Maria, among others. 

This group of men together, formed part of an ardently active spy  ring;  who not only dedicated themselves to the distribution of the independence ideals of Miranda to the Spanish Main but also to inform Miranda on the progress of the movement in South America. Trinidad was transformed during the period into a centre of espionage; where macabre plans were carried out, such as the poisoning of Manuel Gual in St. Joseph on 25th October 1800 by a Spaniard called Valecillo, who, has always been a complete mystery. The validity of this conclusion became apparent in 1806, when the attempt at annexation and emancipation ended in total failure.  Neither the conquest of Buenos Aires by Admiral Sir Home Popham nor the expedition commanded by Miranda to liberate Venezuela were officially approved by the British Government., although both parties claimed that their efforts had the approval of the British Prime Minister, William Pitt.   Unfortunately Pitt died in 1806 during Miranda’s stay in Trinidad and to the surprise of the new English cabinet, did not leave any documentary evidence of the participation of Britain in the Miranda expedition.

In 1807, a new British Government was formed and Lord Castlreagh assumed the leadership and closed an important chapter in the activity of espionage in Trinidad.  Castlereagh, after evaluating the situation between the two powers, concluded that the annexation of South America was totally outside the sphere of influence of his government and that in  any plan of liberation. Great Britain would only play the role of moral support and protection.
Subjects: History, Revolutionaries
Places: Venezuela, Trinidad and Tobago
People: Francisco de Miranda (1750-1816)
Time periods: 19th century
LC classification: F2120 .J35 2004