laft voyage; and as the French were not behind their neighbours in their endeavours to find out fo defirable a country, fome attempts for this purpose were likewife made by that nation much about the fame time, which at laft coming to nothing, the adventurers took up their refidence on the island of Cayenne. In 1643, fome merchants of Rouen united their flock, with a defign to fupport the new colony, but committing their affairs to one Poncet de Bretigny, a man of a ferocious difpofition, he declared war both against the colonists and favages, in confequence of which he was foon maffacred. This catastrophe entirely extinguished the ardour of thefe affociates; and in 1651 a new company was established. This promifed to be much more confiderable than the former; and they fet out with fuch a capital as enabled them to collect feven or eight hundred colonists in the city of Paris itself. These embarked on the Seine in order to fail down to Havre de Grace, but unfortunately the Abbé de Marivault, a man of great virtue, and the principal promoter of the undertaking, was drowned as he was stepping into his boat. Another gentleman who was to have acted as general, was affaffinated on his paffage; and twelve of the principal adventurers who had promifed to put the colony into a flourishing fituation, not only were the principal perpetrators of this act, but uniformly behaved in the fame atrocious manner. At laft they hanged one of their own number, two died, three were banifhed to a defert ifland, and the rest abandoned themfelves to every kind of excefs. The commandant of the citadel deferted to the Dutch with part of his garrifson. The savages, roused by num berlefs provocations, fell upon the remainder; fo that the few who were left, thought themfelves happy in efcaping to the Leeward iflands in a boat and two canoes, abandoning the fort, ammunition, arms, and merchandise, fifteen months after they had landed on the ifland.

In 1663, a new company was formed, whofe capital amounted only to eight thousand seven hundred and fifty pounds. By the affil tance of the miniftry they expelled the Dutch, who had taken poffeffion of the island, and fettled themselves much more comfortably than their predeceffors. In 1667, the island was taken by the Englith, and in 1676 by the Dutch, but afterwards restored to the French, and fince that time has never been attacked. Soon after, fome pirates, laden with the spoils they had gathered in the South feas, came and fixed their refidence at Cayenne, refolving to employ the treasures they had acquired in the cultivation of the lands. In

1688, Ducaffe, an able feaman, arrived with fome fhips from France, and propofed to them the plundering of Surinam. This propofal exciting their natural turn for plunder, the pirates betook themfelves to their old trade, and almoft all the reft followed their example. The expedition, however, proved unfortunate; many of the af failants were killed, and all the reft taken prifoners and fent to the Caribbee iflands. This lofs the colony has never yet recovered.

The ifland of Cayenne is about fixteen leagues in circumference, and is only parted from the continent by two rivers. By a particular formation, uncommon in iflands, the land is highest near the water fide, and low in the middle. Hence the land is fo full of moraffes, that all communication between the different parts of it is impoffible, without taking a great circuit. There are fome finall tracts of an excellent foil to be found here and there; but the generality is dry, fandy, and foon exhaufted. The only town in the colony is defended by a covert way, a large ditch, a very good mud rampart, and five baltions. In the middle of the town is a pretty confiderable eminence, of which a redoubt has been made that is called the fort. The entrance into the harbour is through a narrow channel, and ships can only get in at high water owing to the rocks and reefs that are scattered about this pafs.

The first produce of Cayenne was the arnotto, from the produce of which, the colonifts proceeded to that of cotton, indigo, and lafily, fugar. It was the first of all the French colonies that attempted to cultivate coffee. The coffee tree was brought from Surinam in 1721, by fome deferters from Cayenne, who purchased their pardon by fo doing. Ten or twelve years after they planted cocoa; we have very little account of the produce with respect to quantity, but as far back as the year 1752, there were exported from Cayenne two hundred and fixty thousand five hundred and forty-one pounds of ainotto, eighty thoufand three hundred and fixty-three pounds of fugar, feventeen thousand nine hundred and nineteen pounds of cotton, twentyfix thoufand eight hundred and eighty-one pounds of coffee, ninetyone thousand nine hundred and fixteen pounds of cocoa, fix hundred and eighteen trees for timber, and one hundred and four planks.

DUTCH

(216

DUTCH POSSESSIONS

IN

SOUTH-AMERICA.

SURINAM, OR DUTCH GUIANA.

THIS province, the only one belonging to the Dutch on the con

tinent of America, is fituated between 50 and 7° north latitude, having the mouth of the Oronoko and the Atlantic, on the north; Cayenne, on the east; Amazonia, on the fouth; and Terra Firma on the weft.

The Dutch claim the whole coaft from the mouth of Oronoko to the river Marowyne, on which are fituated their colonies of Effequibo, Demerara, Berbice, and Surinam. The latter begins with the river Saramacha, and ends with the Marowyne, including a length of coast of one hundred and twenty miles.

A number of fine rivers pass through this country, the principal of which are Effequibo, Surinam, Demerara, Berbice, and Conya. Effequibo is nine miles wide at its mouth, and is more than three hundred miles in length. Surinam is a beautiful river, three quar ters of a mile wide, navigable for the largest veffels four leagues, and for fmaller veffels fixty or feventy miles farther. Its banks, quite to the water's edge, are covered with evergreen mangrove trees, which render the paffage up this river very delightful. The Demerara is about three quarters of a mile wide where it empties into the Surinam, is navigable for large veffels one hundred miles; a hundred

miles farther are feveral falls of eafy afcent, above which it divides. into the fouth-weft and fouth-east branches.

The water of the lower parts in the river is brackish, and unfit for ufe; and the inhabitants are obliged to make use of rain water, which is here uncommonly fweet and good. It is caught in cifterns. placed under ground, and before drinking, is fet in large earthen pots to fettle, by which means it becomes very clear and wholefome. These cifterns are fo large and numerous, that water is feldom scarce.

In the months of September, October, and November, the climate is unhealthy, particularly to strangers. The common diseases are putrid and other fevers, the dry belly-ach, and the dropfy. One hundred miles back from the fea, the foil is quite different, a hilly country, a pure, dry, wholesome air, where a fire fometimes would not be difagreeable. Along the fea coaft the water is unwholefome, the air damp and fultry. The thermometer ranges from 75° to 90° through the year. A north-east breeze never fails to blow from about nine o'clock in the morning through the day, in the hottest seasons. As the days and nights throughout the year are very nearly of an equal length, the air can never become extremely heated, nor the inhabitants fo greatly incommoded by the heat, as those who live at a greater distance from the equator. The seasons were formerly di vided regularly into rainy and dry; but of late years fo much dependence cannot be placed upon them, owing probably to the country's being more cleared, by which means a free paffage is opened for the

air and vapours.

Through the whole country runs a ridge of oyfter fhel's, nearly parallel to the coaft, but three or four leagues from it, of a confiderable breadth, and from four to eight feet deep, composed of shel's exactly of the fame nature as thofe which form the present coast: from this and other circumftances, there is great reafon to believe that the land, from that distance from the fea, is all new land, rescued from the water by fome revolution in nature, or other unknown

caufe.

On each fide of the rivers and creeks are fituated the plantations, containing from five hundred to two thousand acres each, in number about five hundred and fifty in the whole colony, producing at prefent annually about fixteen thousand hogfheads of fugar, twelve million pounds of coffee, feven hundred thousand pounds of cocoa, eight hundred and fifty thousand pounds of cotton: all which articles,

VOL. IV.

1

cotton excepted, have fallen off within fifteen years, at least one third, owing to bad management, both here and in Holland, and to other caufes. Of the proprietors of these plantations, not above eighty refide here. The fugar plantations have many of them water mills, which being much more profitable than others, and the fituation of the colony admitting of them, will probably become general; of the reft, fome are worked by mules, others by cattle, but from the lownefs of the country none by the wind. The eftates are for the greatest part mortgaged for as much or more than they are worth, which greatly difcourages any improvements which might otherwise be made. Was it not for the unfortunate fituation of the colony in this and other refpects, it is certainly capable of being brought to a great height of improvement; dyes, gums, oils, plants for medicinal purposes, &c. might, and undoubtedly will, at fome future period, be found in abundance. Rum might be distilled here; indigo, ginger, rice and tobacco, have been, and may be farther cultivated, and many other articles. In the woods are found many kinds of good and durable timber, and fome woods for ornamental purposes, particularly a kind of mahogany called copic. The foil is perhaps as rich and as luxuriant as any in the world; it is generally a rich, fat, loamy earth, lying in fome places above the level of the rivers at high water, which rife about eight feet, but in most places below it. Whenever, from a continued courfe of cultivation for many years, a piece of land becomes impoverished, for manure is not known here, it is laid under water for a certain number of years, and thereby regains its fertility, and in the mean time a new piece of wood land is cleared. This country has never experienced thofe dreadful scourges of the We-Indies, hurricanes; and droughts from the lowhefs of the land it has not to fear, nor has the produce ever been deftroyed by infects or by the blaft. In fhort, this colony, by proper manage ment, might become equal to Jamaica, or any other. Land is not wanting; it is finely interfected by noble rivers, and abundant creeks; the foil is of the best kind; it is well fituated, and the climate is not very unhealthy: it is certainly growing better, and will continue fo to do, the more the country is cleared of its woods, and cultivated.

The rivers abound with fish, fome of which are good; at certain feafons of the year there is plenty of turtle. The woods abound with plenty of deer, hares, and rabbits, a kind of buffaloe, and two fpecies

of