Colonial Williamsburg Digital Library

Letter dated 1801 from Meltiah Green, St. Thomas (Caribbean), to his brother William E. Green, Worcester, Massachusetts. Green describes the island of St. Thomas, giving particular attention to the trees and Blackbeard's Castle. Green explains how Americans in St. Thomas circumvent American laws against the slave trade by having foreigners register their ships and flying them under the Danish flag. He also discusses the treatment of slaves, including their medical care and the religious practices of an enslaved Muslim who refuses to be Christianized. He further relates how slave women are sexually exploited by their white masters.

You may be supprised to find
a letter dated from this place but more so on seeing
from whom it comes. I am now in that part of
the world which was tho^t. to be totally uninhabited
by the ancients and not only so but under the
tropicks it was tho^t. impropable for man to subsist
I assure you I cannot express my fealings on first
landing in this Island every face bore such hard
looks compared with what had ever come under
my observation before that had I not the strong-
-est nerves in the world I shold have been in an-
other world for fear of being there. I shall take the
liberty to give you a short description of the Isla-
nd, at least that part of it which I have seen
S^t. Thomas is a small Island in the Carabian Sea
about Thirty miles in length from E to W it
contains Six thousand inhabitants of all Cullers
the situation of the only Town or City is peculiarly
unhealthy at all seasons it Contains Three 2 Three thousand dweling houses and Stores it is surround
ed with high mountains except at the mouth of
the harbour or inlett which is quite narrow I
cannot give you a better idea than what you
may have from this [illegible]. Picture to yourself
the lower part of Providence towards India point
and a small harbour before it and on the
back side mountains whose tops are almost always
hid in Clouds you will then have a faint Idea
of this place. The houses are small without any
Glass or Chimneys and principally built of wood
not any of them more than two story high with-
-out paint and of a dirty appearance. The inhabit-
-ants are from evry Country in the world not except
-ing New England and the country that produces
most scoundrels is that which furnishes the most
Colonists to the Danes. You may here find a hundred
men which will for the paltry sum of five Dols
swear any oath that should be required of them
The reason I mention five Dols as the sum is be-
cause this is the extent of their demand in such
cases and when I tell you that our American 3 Citizens are the principal employers of those wretches
you will hardly believe me. The principal trade is
carryed on by Americans under Danish Cullers as
by the Laws of the U. States the slave trade is prohib
ited which is the only trade from this place except
to the Spanish Main. The Americans come to this
Island and take out a set of Papers by means of
those poor wretches who I have before mentioned
who go forward to the Customhouse and clear
out the Vessel as Danish property he who does
the business gits a small fee and is obliged
to live on that until another opportunity offers
to purger himself a gain, in this manner is
avoided that humane art of the U. States to prevent
the enslaving of the poor unfortunate Africans
In this place there is Six (perhaps ten) Blacks to
one White yet through the ignorance and fatal
stupor in which the poor wretches are kept they
are not a ^bit remooved from the Broot creation in
point of treatment by the Whites in America
at least as far South as N. York the Blacks are
princes compared with them here. I have often 4 heard of the manner in which they were treated
but must say the cruelty which is excercised to-
-wards them is more than I had any conception
it was possable that a human being could bear
____ I am every day visiting the most celebrated
places of resort in the Country and making
my observations on every Tree & Plant which strikes
my eye with novelty but fearing to be thought
inquisitive /a thing which I hate in an other/ I
am not able to make all those enquireys which
are necessary to give you any propper discription
of them. I am situated in the most pleasant
part of the town and enjoy the best air which
can be had yet the perspiration is constantly pour
-ing from me and having nuthing but Cistern
or rain water to drink I find myself rather loos-
-ing flesh and was it not for my good spirits I
should have been sick once or twice already
but this is a digression. ____ The Trees most common
in this place are the Cocoa nut the Tamerend
and the Guava ____ The Cocoa Nut Treet is most
beautifull. it grows about forty to fifty feet 5 high perfectly strait within about ten feet of the
top the leaves or lims put out when the tree
is small or untill the nuts begin to grow which
is about ten years the lims or leaves fall as the
tree groes in hight until it arrives to perfection
the Bark is nearly of the culler of the Buck-
-thorn. The leaves or lims as I cannot direct them
are truly eligent they grow from the tree in
Circles horizontally and from the trunk to the
end they are ten or twelve feet and grow like
locust leaves not in shape but order. the leaves
are shaped like flags tapering from the center
to the point. | The fruit ^{or nuts} grows from the trunk
in large Bunches beginning where the first
lim sets on and tapering one bunch after an-
other to the top. you will laugh at my being
so particular but when I tell you that after
this discription you cannot scarcely conceive of
the beauty of this Tropical Tree. The Tamerind
Tree is large and eligent and had it any small
thorns I should say no more than that it must
be a species of Locust the leaf exactly resembles 6 that tree and the pod is not the least different
in shape and size from the honey Locust—
The size of the trees in this country is smaller
than in America. The Guava Tree is small
the trunk in form resembles the stock of a
Cabbage they never grow more than Twenty
feet high and about six inches over, the leaf
is like the Coffeee Bean from this tree is taken
almost all the fruit which is sent preserved
to America they are very prolific and like
man but short lived I shall send home some
of the gelly which you will be supprised to
taist. it is as far before any thing of the kind
we have in America as that country is
before this. The Fruit although a great [illegible]^{b[illegible]iry}
ay to the natives is very insipid to Foreigners
The low lands as we call them but savannahs
as they are called by us West Indians are all
covered with the sensative plant and it is
impossable for them to ever eradicate it as
the least fibre left in the earth will spring
up and soon cover a large Feald.— 7 I suppose I have grown tedious in dweling on
subjects so opposite to your profession but I
have long since finished my business at this
Island and only wait a passage to Mar-
-tinico where I shall find trash sufficient
to spoil a few sheats more. I can do nuthing
but stair and write and the former I am
sure you are well convinced I have done
enough of and the latter I am not yet done
with. ____ I will now discribe a plantation
to you as near as three days acquaintance
with an old Planter will enable me with
the knowledge I have gaind from ocular
demonstration in the same time. This plan-
tation is worked by Ninety Blacks it pro-
cesses cane which produces sugar & Rum
There is now under cultivation one hundred
acres of cane which is planted about half as
far apart as we generally plant corn
instead of hills it is in ditches or streams
where all the water can settle (for want
of which planters are often beggard) and 8 the plants stand much thicker than we let
corn. in this plantation they make two
crops Anually from the same ground.
The planters who^le dependance is on his crop
and should one fail he is obliged to pinch
his poor negroes from a mackrel a day
to half of one and a sea bisket. You have
no Idea of the manner these poor mis-
-erable creatures work early and late to
support an idle drunken master who
neather has pitty for their misery nor
thanks for their services. The cane will
on this Plantation will make seven hun-
dre Hhd^s. Sugar and half as many [pun-
-cheons] of rum. I am sure was it not
that I should be thought singular I
would never taist sugar or rum more
as it is the very Blood of the Africans
in the strictest sense of the word. On
every plantation they have small huts built
of small sticks and stuck to gether with clay in
which every insect which is disagreeable is
sure to 9 conceal it self and in the knight sally out upon
the poor weary Labourer. When one of the negroes
becomes sick he is immediately sent into quarters
to receive the service of the Doctor as he is call,d but
he generally speaking is a man who knows nuthing
about Physic more than simples. This man generally
is a relation of the Planter and will do every
kind of drudgery to curry favor having common-
-ly his eavenings to himself he then looks into the
Biliard room and often leaves it by drawing an
order for a large amo^t. on his planter you may
think the sick is well attended, but to the contrary
This man visits sick quarters every day and leaves
some medicine but the ignorence of the poor
unfortunate African will not allow him to know
what is necessary and not having any one to
administer relief to them they linger out a
most miserable existance through ignorance on
their part and unpardonable neglect on the
part of these buchers of Mankind. The negroes
have cause to commit suiside every day but to
the want of despiration add the hope which 10 they have of returning to the East again. I have
seen more solemnity in this place in worship
than I ever saw and I really think the thing
is worth relating. I observed to my old instructer
the Planter that one of the blacks had a coun-
-intance above his condition at the same time
pointing out poor, June, yes replyed the old
fellow he is the darndest heritick I ever saw
and he is the only ^man on my works which will
not be Baptised he will have his times of worship
and the lash will not beat out of his head the
worship of Allah. I asked the old man where he
proformed his worship. he on his return to the
house stop^d. at the place. You may judge my
astonishment at seeing the place of worship
of an old monark of the East, only covered
with some thatch and the inside made of
stones laid in a singular manner. The door
was arched and a regular assent for three
feet was made by plaising small stones in
the form of pavements until it reached the
back part which was seven feet. there was 11 placed a square stone faceing the East on which
was cut some carrictors which appeared to be ar-
rabick. at the foot of the stone was several pei-
ces of old dark parchment covered with letters
in the same language. Here every day at the
rising and going down of the sun this old
June came to worship. His face had something
in it which spoke better times than slavery
and could he have spoken my language I would
have had a conversation with him and used
my exertions to have made him more happy. At
eavening I attended at his place of service and
he soon arrived on his going into the place
he fell on his face and remained in that
postur for some moments he then steped for-
ward to his altar or table of commandments
and there red aloud in a singular tone of
voice with his finger following from place
to place on the stone as I supposed all that
was wrote on it. he then took up one piece
of the parchment after an other and red
making singular jestures. I observed he never 12 once turned his face from the East during all
the time of reading. his beard appeared to have
never been cut but lay smooth on his face. he
wept constantly from the time of falling
down and seeing the poor wretch so affected
I could not refrain from joinging in sympathy
(although my fealings are hard of moovement)
The old Planter said he should soon sell him
as he could not be trobled with his d—d odd
way but he said the man was too knowing
for a slave and that at the Havanna they
would make him a Cristion immediately
where he ment to send him. The planter prom
-ised to give me some of his writing which he
said he had in the house but by some means
had got mislaid. ____ I am well aware of my
unhappy way of expressing my ideas in dis-
criptive writing but know you will pardon
me where bad expressions creep in on any
occasion. I shall now give you a short dis-
cription of two old castles which have
been here for more than one hundred years 13 they were built By Blackbeard the most famus
pirot the British nation had produced in those times
You certainly have red of the Buckanneers who was
the terror of all the Spanish Colonies in America
They were not only in a manner governed by Black
beard but generally led on by him to action. They twice
took the City of Carthagena and ^{not only} plundered it but
Luguira they almost distroyed. They then retired to
this Island where they were determined to share
the plunder and defend themselves by fortifying
the high mountains at the foot of the Harbour
The Building which I examined was about
sixty feet high of a circular form the walls four
feet thick of a very strong kind of stone semented
together by a marine substance five different stories
high and covered with an oval a^an arch, in each
story is fifteen portholes large enough to admit a
swivel. Although these buildings have stood as appears
by some old Books found in them more than one
hundred & fifty four years yet they are quite
strong and the wood (which is of a kind not
known in America called Iron wood) is as perfectly sound as when first put in. The only
entrance is about Ten feet from the ground.
The walls being covered with a smooth plaster
renders it difficult to explore it. How happy would
it be for the good Citizens of the United States
to have all the pirots in these Islands confined
within these walls. ____ The Laws of this island
will not allow the Whites to mary into any family
of culler however there is more molattoes bred
than either whites or Blacks. The only thing I
can attribet it to is the great influx of for
eigners from Europe this being a free port in
times of peace & war. There is but few men
who do not keep a woman for the time they
remain in the place. I am sorry to see so great
a difference kept up between the blacks & molats
as soon the time will arrive when all these
Islands must be in the possession of the people
of culler. I have living in the next room to me
a woman who has received an education far
superior to any of the white Ladies who I
have been introduced to. She was four years at the famus school at Bethleham in Pensylvania
where she made every improvement which adorns
the human heart, but being doom,d to live under
laws which in every eye must appear unjust &
unnatural and having the common passions
of nature she has become the mistress of an English
Gentⁿ. of fortune. and is subject to the unpleasing
culumny of strangers who are not acquainted with
the cause from whence the eavil springs ____
She is truly beautifull when compared with the
women which I have seen ^here and was it not for
the difference of culler which is hardly to be per
-ceived she would eclipse "your unripened beauties
of the North."; The pleasure with which I converce
with hir is hightened when I consider hir pres
-ent situation was not of hir own choosing but
put upon hir by a mother who although rich
has a heart as cold as the best which contains
it. I am led to believe she is as strictly virtuous
as any marryed lady in the place. But she is
still subject to the caprice of the man who is
hir keeper for want of that solum tye which unstable man requires to keep him within due
bounds. ____ I hope soon to have the pleasure
of seeing you as I beforementioned my having
compleated my mission in the Island and
only wait the want of a passage to Martinico
where I shall be detained for some time. I
never felt the unpleasing want of Friends
more than in this place. I being a stranger
do not know who to confide in and of coarse
am obliged to be extreamly on my gard or
git into bad company. Every day I have
numberless invitations to the Biliard Tables
& Card partys but not being much acquainted
with either of those professions I chuse a walk to
the cuntry rather than the former. I have dined
out almost every day since my arrival but
have not fell in with the custom of the place
entirely which is to take more wine than is
necessary for the support of perspiration.
You may expect to hear further from me when
I arrive at Martinico until which I remain