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قراءة كتاب The English in the West Indies; Or, The Bow of Ulysses
تنويه: تعرض هنا نبذة من اول ١٠ صفحات فقط من الكتاب الالكتروني، لقراءة الكتاب كاملا اضغط على الزر “اشتر الآن"
The English in the West Indies; Or, The Bow of Ulysses
THE ENGLISH
IN
THE WEST INDIES
OR
THE BOW OF ULYSSES
BY
JAMES ANTHONY FROUDE
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS ENGRAVED ON WOOD BY G. PEARSON AFTER DRAWINGS BY THE AUTHOR
NEW EDITION
LONDON
LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO.
1888
Fürsten prägen so oft auf kaum versilbertes Kupfer
Ihr bedeutendes Bild: lange betrügt sich das Volk
Schwärmer prägen den Stempel des Geist's auf Lügen und Unsinn:
Wem der Probirstein fehlt, hält sie für redliches Gold.
Goethe.
PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION.
My purpose in writing this book is so fully explained in the book itself that a Preface is unnecessary. I visited the West India Islands in order to increase my acquaintance with the condition of the British Colonies. I have related what I saw and what I heard, with the general impressions which I was led to form.
In a few instances, when opinions were conveyed to me which were important in themselves, but which it might be undesirable to assign to the persons from whom I heard them, I have altered initials and disguised localities and circumstances.
The illustrations are from sketches of my own, which, except so far as they are tolerably like the scenes which they represent, are without value. They have been made producible by the skill and care of the engraver, Mr. Pearson, to whom my warmest thanks are due.
J.A.F.
Onslow Gardens: November 15, 1887.
CONTENTS.
| CHAPTER I. | PAGE |
| Colonial policy—Union or separation—Self-government—Varieties of condition—The Pacific colonies—The West Indies—Proposals for a West Indian federation—Nature of the population—American union and British plantations—Original conquest of the West Indies | 1 |
| CHAPTER II. | |
| In the train for Southampton—Morning papers—The new 'Locksley Hall'—Past and present—The> 'Moselle'—Heavy weather—The Petrel—The Azores | 10 |
| CHAPTER III. | |
| The tropics—Passengers on board—Account of the Darien canal—Planters' complaints—West Indian history—The Spanish conquest—Drake and Hawkins—The buccaneers—The pirates—French and English—Rodney—Battle of April 12—Peace with honour—Doers and talkers | 20 |
| CHAPTER IV. | |
| First sight of Barbadoes—Origin of the name—Père Labat—Bridgetown two hundred years ago—Slavery and Christianity—Economic crisis—Sugar bounties—Aspect of the streets—Government House and its occupants—Duties of a governor of Barbadoes | 32 |
| CHAPTER V. | |
| West Indian politeness—Negro morals and felicity—Island of St. Vincent—Grenada—The harbour—Disappearance of the whites—An island of black freeholders—Tobago—Dramatic art—A promising incident | 41 |
| CHAPTER VI. | |
| Charles Kingsley at Trinidad—'Lay of the Last Buccaneer'—A French forban—Adventure at Aves—Mass on board a pirate ship—Port of Spain—A house in the tropics—A political meeting—Government House—The Botanical Gardens—Kingsley's rooms—Sugar estates and coolies | 51 |
| CHAPTER VII. | |
| A coolie village—Negro freeholds—Waterworks—Snakes—Slavery—Evidence of Lord Rodney—Future of the negroes—Necessity of English rule—The Blue Basin—Black boy and crayfish | 66 |
| CHAPTER VIII. | |
| Home Rule in Trinidad—Political aspirations—Nature of the problem—Crown administration—Colonial governors—A Russian apologue—Dinner at Government House—'The Three Fishers'—Charles Warner—Alternative futures of the colony | 75 |
| CHAPTER IX. | |
| Barbadoes again—Social condition of the island—Political constitution—Effects of the sugar bounties—Dangers of general bankruptcy—The Hall of Assembly—Sir Charles Pearson—Society in Bridgetown—A morning drive—Church of St. John's—Sir Graham Briggs—An old planter's palace—The Chief Justice of Barbadoes | 88 |
| CHAPTER X. | |
| Leeward and Windward Islands—The Caribs of Dominica—Visit of Père Labat—St. Lucia—The Pitons—The harbour at Castries—Intended coaling station—Visit to the administrator—The old fort and barracks—Conversation with an American—Constitution of Dominica—Land at Roseau | 113 |
| CHAPTER XI. | |
| Curiosities in Dominica—Nights in the tropics—English and Catholic churches—The market place at Roseau—Fishing extraordinary—A storm—Dominican boatmen—Morning walks—Effects of the Leeward Islands Confederation—An estate cultivated as it ought to |