Caribbee

by Thomas Hoover

CHAPTER EIGHT

  The Declaration

  “We find these Acts of the English Parliament to op­pose the freedom, safety, and well-being of this island. We, the present inhabitants of Barbados, with great danger to our persons, and with great charge and trou­ble, have settled this island in its condition and inhab­ited the same, and shall we therefore be subjected to the will and command of those that stay at home? Shall we be bound to the government and lordship of a Par­liament in which we have no Representatives or persons chosen by us?

  It is alleged that the inhabitants of this island have, by cunning and force, usurped a power and formed an independent Government. In truth the Government now used among us is the same that hath always been rati­fied, and doth everyway agree with the first settlement and Government in this place.

  Futhermore, by the above said Act all foreign nations are forbidden to hold any correspondency or traffick with the inhabitants of this island; although all the in­habitants know very well how greatly we have been obliged to the Dutch for our subsistence, and how dif­ficult it would have been for us, without their assis­tance, ever to have inhabited these places in the Americas, or to have brought them into order. We are still daily aware what necessary comfort they bring us, and that they do sell their commodities a great deal cheaper than our own nation will do. But this comfort would be taken from us by those whose Will would be a Law unto us. However, we declare that we will never be so unthankful to the Netherlanders for their former help and assistance as to deny or forbid them, or any other nation, the freedom of our harbors, and the pro­tection of our Laws, by which they may continue, if they please, all freedom of commerce with us.

  Therefore, we declare that whereas we would not be wanting to use all honest means for obtaining a contin­uance of commerce, trade, and good correspondence with our country, so we will not alienate ourselves from those old heroic virtues of true Englishmen, to prosti­tute our freedom and privileges, to which we are born, to the will and opinion of anyone; we can not think that there are any amongst us who are so simple, or so un­worthily minded, that they would not rather choose a noble death, than forsake their liberties.

  The General Assembly of Barbados”