Buccaneer Settlements in Yucatan—The Pirates Engage in Wood-cutting—Governor Figueroa Ordered to Expel Them—Raid of the Wood-cutters on Ascension Bay—They are Driven Back by the Governor—Their Settlement in Belize Destroyed by Figueroa-They Return in Stronger Force—Further Expeditions against Them—The Wood-cutters under British Protection—They are Attacked by Governor Rivas—The Boundaries of Belize Defined by the Treaty of Versailles—Stipulations of a Later Treaty—Further Encroachments of the English.

Not the least valuable among the spoils obtained by the buccaneers during their depredations on the Spanish main were the quantities of dye-wood which they found deposited at certain points on the coast of Yucatan and Honduras awaiting shipment. With the decline of their lawless pursuits, the more industrious, especially the English, turned their attention to the cutting and shipment of dye-woods and mahogany, and with this object established settlements on the coasts of these two provinces. The most extensive of their settlements were those in the bay of TÉrminos. Here they remained for many years, varying their industrial pursuits with occasional incursions into the surrounding country, or attacks on the Spanish vessels which plied between Campeche and Vera Cruz.

Neighbors so dangerous could not long be tolerated, and, as soon as circumstances permitted, the authorities of New Spain took measures to expel them. The wood-cutters successfully resisted the many expeditions sent against them, not unfrequently retaliating by laying waste the Spanish settlements, until about 1717, when they were finally driven from that part of the coast and their establishments destroyed.

In the latter half of the seventeenth century that portion of Yucatan bordering on the bay of Honduras was abandoned by Spaniards, owing to the destruction by pirates and Indians of the town of Bacalar.[XXXIII-1] Its henceforth isolated position, together with the ruggedness of the surrounding country and the numberless reefs and shoals on its sea-coast, made it peculiarly fitted for the haunts of the buccaneers. One of these, Peter Wallace, a Scotchman, landed with some eighty companions at the mouth of the Belize river, and erected on its banks a few houses, which he enclosed with a rude palisade. His name was given both to the river and settlement, and subsequently to the whole region occupied by the English. By the Spaniards this territory was variously termed Walis, Balis, and Walix, and the word became finally corrupted into the present name of Belice or Belize.[XXXIII-2]

The district was rich in dye-woods and mahogany, and wood-cutting soon became the chief occupation of the freebooters, whose numbers had gradually increased. With the same object, many Mosquito Indians had also settled in the country. The buccaneers who were driven from the bay of TÉrminos also harbored in Belize, and after attempting in vain to retake their settlements finally settled there.

The existence of the piratical establishment of Wallace and his companions was not discovered by the Spaniards until the beginning of the eighteenth century. In 1725 Antonio de Figueroa y Silva was ordered to expel the English from Yucatan, and for this purpose was appointed governor of that province.[XXXIII-3] Soon afterward, in obedience to instructions from the crown, he visited the ruined town of Bacalar, or Salamanca, as it was also called, and erected a fort which he garrisoned with forty-five men. This fortress, situated on a lake of the same name and connected with the bay of EspÍritu Santo by a navigable river, was to serve as the base of future operations. To insure its permanency it was decided to rebuild the town. The want of settlers in Yucatan, however, compelled the transportation of a colony from the Canary Islands, the first portion of which did not arrive until several years later.[XXXIII-4]

Meanwhile governor Figueroa began the preparations for a combined sea and land expedition against the English settlements, which, it was hoped, would result in their complete destruction. Apprised of this design, the wood-cutters of Belize not only prepared for a determined resistance, but with their usual intrepidity resolved to anticipate the Spaniards by invading their territory. A large force of Indians was obtained from Mosquitia, and an expedition despatched by sea to Ascension Bay marched on the important town of Tihosuco. The first settlement encountered, named ChuhuhÚ, was taken and sacked, but ere long Figueroa arrived with a large force and drove them back to their vessels with considerable loss.[XXXIII-5]

This event induced Figueroa to hasten his preparations, but it was not until about the end of 1732, or the beginning of the following year,[XXXIII-6] that the expedition set out for Bacalar. The land force it would appear numbered considerably over seven hundred men,[XXXIII-7] but of those who went by sea no mention is made. Arrived at Bacalar the troops embarked, and the fleet sailed in the direction of Belize.

The wood-cutters in the mean time had strengthened their fortifications at the mouth of the Belize river, mustered all their available force, and were said to have received aid from the governor of Jamaica. Their number at this time it is difficult to ascertain. According to the report of a Spanish missionary in 1724, there were at that date about three hundred English, besides Mosquito Indians and negro slaves, these latter having been introduced but a short time before from Jamaica and Bermuda. It is equally difficult to ascertain the extent of territory occupied by the wood-cutters at this period, for although previous to 1718 their settlements extended between the rivers Hondo and Belize,[XXXIII-8] in 1733 they were apparently confined to the course of the latter river.[XXXIII-9]

Figueroa's plan was to land his troops on the coast at some distance from the mouth of the Belize, and while the fleet engaged the attention of the enemy by a feigned attack in front, to make a detour with a land force and fall on the rear of the town. This proved successful, for while the English were eagerly awaiting the approach of the fleet, Figueroa suddenly appeared in their rear, and attacked them with such impetuosity that despite their efforts their town with nearly all its defenders was within three hours in the hands of the Spaniards. Having destroyed the town and fortifications, and all other settlements on the river, and seized or destroyed the vessels and other property, the expedition returned.[XXXIII-10]

The Spaniards were greatly rejoiced at this success, but their joy was short-lived. The wood-cutters soon returned with reËnforcements and a strong fleet, reoccupied their former settlements, successfully resisted all subsequent attempts to expel them, and, as we shall see, the English government afterward extended over them its protection. In 1736, after various unsuccessful efforts to dispossess them, the governor of Yucatan proposed to the Spanish crown that a strong fort be erected at the mouth of the Belize River to prevent the passage of vessels, but this suggestion does not appear to have been acted on.[XXXIII-11]

In 1739 war again broke out between Spain and England, and, compelled to defend their coasts from a powerful English fleet, the Spaniards desisted for a time from further operations against Belize, although the determination to regain their territory thus usurped had not been abandoned. Peace was declared in 1748; but it was not until two years later, in a subsequent treaty, that the commercial relations between the two countries were settled. The damage caused by Figueroa had in the mean time been made the subject of diplomatic negotiations, and though no definite understanding was reached, the efforts of England appear to have been limited to the protection of her subjects from molestation in the bay of Honduras, while the Spanish government continued secretly to adopt measures for their expulsion.[XXXIII-12]

In April 1754, a formidable attempt was made to expel the wood-cutters. An expedition of fifteen hundred men was organized for this purpose at Peten, Guatemala, but upon reaching the coast after a long and difficult march, they were met by two hundred and fifty of the English and completely defeated. This appears to have been the last expedition sent against Belize for several years.[XXXIII-13]

During the seven years' war in Europe, which began in 1756, England, in her endeavors to induce Spain to join her against France, offered among other things to evacuate the establishments made by her subjects in the bay of Honduras since October 1748, including Mosquitia, all of which had been made the subject of complaint. This does not necessarily imply, as certain Spanish writers would have us believe, that England thereby acknowledged the illegality of the wood-cutter's right to occupy that territory.[XXXIII-14]

Indeed, it is clearly evident that England considered, or pretended to consider, that her subjects in Belize had acquired the right to cut and ship dye-woods and mahogany in this and other districts, without molestation, for in the subsequent treaty with Spain, in 1763, although agreeing to demolish "all fortifications which her subjects may have constructed in the bay of Honduras, and other places of the territory of Spain in that part of the world," England insisted upon the insertion of a clause in the treaty whereby the cutters of log-wood were guaranteed the right to continue unmolested the cutting and shipping of the same, and the erection of the necessary buildings for this purpose, within those districts.[XXXIII-15]

This weakness on the part of Spain, attributed to the incapacity of her commissioner, the marquÉs de Grimaldi, though apparently a simple relaxation in favor of the English of the law which excluded all foreigners from the Spanish colonies, was virtually a recognition of the right of the English to occupy indefinitely a portion of her territory; and though not explicitly surrendering her sovereignty, no limits were fixed to the encroachments of the wood-cutters, nor were they in any way made subject to the Spanish authorities. Thus the way to future complications was opened.[XXXIII-16]

Soon after the ratification of this treaty, the English government commissioned Sir William Burnaby to proceed to Belize, establish the limits within which wood-cutting was to be confined, and draw up a code of laws for the regulation of the colony. This he did; and though we have no information as to the limits fixed, for many years the Burnaby Code, as it was called, formed the only laws by which Belize was governed. The establishment of limits, however, availed but little; for, emboldened by their previous success in resisting the Spaniards, and encouraged by the protection of the English government, they gradually extended their wood-cutting operations beyond these boundaries, and carried on smuggling to the great prejudice of Spanish commerce. In consequence, the governor of Yucatan forbade all communication between Belize and the Spanish settlements; required that all persons settling in Belize should present a permit to that effect from either the English or Spanish government; expelled the wood-cutters from the coast district of the Hondo River, and ordered that all wood-cutting should be confined to the region lying between the Belize and New rivers, and not farther than twenty leagues from the coast.

As a result of these measures the business of the wood-cutters was injured, as they claimed, to the extent of one hundred and eighty thousand pesos. In the latter part of 1764 a demand for the satisfaction of these losses was presented by the English minister at the court of Spain, who also insisted that the governor of Yucatan be reproved for his conduct, and that the wood-cutters be permitted to return to the Hondo River district. The English minister intimated that war would be the result if these demands were not granted; but after a protracted correspondence he succeeded only in obtaining permission for the return of the wood-cutters to the districts from which they had been expelled; and the claims were added, for future settlement, to the long list of those already pending between the two governments.[XXXIII-17]

During the next five years there is no evidence that the wood-cutters were disturbed; but in 1779, war having broken out afresh between Spain and England, the former determined to profit by the opportunity to give the final blow to the existence of the English settlements in her territory. In that year Don Roberto Rivas Vetancur, the recently appointed governor of Yucatan, in accordance with his instructions began to organize an expedition against Belize, Bacalar as before becoming the base of operations. The wood-cutters were soon informed of the declaration of war, and made all haste to fortify the mouth of the Belize River and St George Key, which lies directly opposite. Not content with this, they determined again to anticipate the Spaniards by capturing Bacalar, which ever since its reËstablishment they had regarded as a standing menace to their safety. In this, however, they were disappointed; for Governor Rivas, informed of their design, hastily organized a force of some eight hundred men, and procuring canoes and piraguas hastened on to Bacalar. Thence, though his men were ill equipped, he proceeded against the English; and having driven them from the Hondo River district, and captured and armed three small vessels, he sent a strong force against St George Key, and captured the fort with its garrison.

Further operations were prevented by the sudden appearance of three English vessels of war sent by the governor of Jamaica. The Spaniards had barely time to escape with their prisoners and prizes, the latter including many small craft. Proceeding up New River they drove the English from this region, destroying over forty establishments, and inflicting a loss on the wood-cutters of more than five hundred thousand pesos. At this juncture reËnforcements arrived for the wood-cutters, and Rivas was compelled to abandon their territory; but in consideration of the important results accomplished with so small a force, his conduct was approved by the Spanish crown.[XXXIII-18]

The sixth article of the treaty of Versailles, signed September 3, 1783, defined the limits of Belize and the rights of the wood-cutters. The boundaries now fixed as unalterable were the Belize and Hondo rivers, the north-western boundary being almost a straight line between the two rivers so as to pass through the source of New River, the south-eastern boundary being the coast. The navigation of these two rivers was to be open to both nations; certain places, to be agreed upon by the respective commissioners, were to be marked out where the wood-cutters might erect all necessary buildings; and it was provided that the foregoing stipulations should not be "considered as derogating in any wise" to the rights of Spanish sovereignty. All English subjects in the Spanish colonies, in whatever part, were to retire within this district before the expiration of eighteen months, dating from the ratification of the treaty; and the right of fishery on the coast and among the adjacent islands was granted, but no establishments could be made on such islands.[XXXIII-19]

Although this treaty so clearly defined the boundaries subject to British colonization, there were certain points which had been omitted, and accordingly another and final treaty was celebrated between Spain and England "to prevent even the shadow of misunderstanding which might be occasioned by doubts."

This treaty was signed at London July 14, 1786. While confirming the former one of 1783, and expressly stating that "all the lands in question" were "indisputably acknowledged to belong of right to the crown of Spain," it contained the following additional privileges and restrictions. The Sibun, or Jubon river, was made the western boundary of Belize, which included all the territory between it and the Belize as far inland as the source of the Sibun. Within six months, all possible facilities being provided by the Spanish government, English subjects in any part whatsoever of the Spanish colonies were to retire within the boundaries of Belize; in addition to the existing privilege of cutting dye-woods, that of cutting all other woods, mahogany included, was granted; all the natural or cultivated products of the soil could be used and carried away, but no "plantations of sugar, coffee, cacao, or other like articles, or any fabric or manufacture by means of mills or other machines," saw-mills excepted, could be established under any pretext. On account of the insalubrity of the adjacent coast St George Key was granted for the purpose of settlement, but it could not be fortified, nor could any armed force be stationed there. Certain small islands off the coast about midway between the mouths of the Sibun and Belize rivers were granted, together with the intervening waters, for the purpose purely of refitting ships; no government, either military or civil, could be established except such as could be agreed upon by the two powers for the maintenance of peace and order. To preserve entire the right of Spanish sovereignty over the territory granted, such settlements only would be permitted as should be necessary for the trade in wood and fruits. Finally, two commissioners, one from each government, were to visit the country twice a year to see that these stipulations were observed.[XXXIII-20]

By these treaties the respective rights of the two countries in the territory of Belize were clearly defined. Spain held undisputed sovereignty; England's right was limited to an indefinite occupation for purposes of trade. But it is not always sufficient to declare rights; the powers of Europe keep their agreements when compelled by force of arms, and this, Spain, with her declining strength, was eventually unable to do.

Colonel Enrique de Grimarest, the Spanish commissioner, arrived in Belize early in 1787 and was soon joined by the English commissioner and superintendent of the colony, Colonel Edward M. Despard. Article thirteen of the treaty of 1786 required that all other portions of the Spanish colonies should be evacuated by the English before the new grants could take effect. The Mosquito kingdom appears to have been the only territory then occupied by the English besides Belize, and nearly all of its inhabitants having arrived at this latter colony by the middle of 1787, the commissioners proceeded to mark the boundaries; but the formal transfer of the territory between the Sibun and Belize rivers was not made until the 11th of August. In the course of the survey of the Belize River it was found that the wood-cutters had anticipated this new grant of territory by extending their operations beyond the former boundaries, the country for some distance on the western side of the river not only being stripped of mahogany, but several establishments were found in active operation outside the boundaries newly assigned. These the owners were compelled to abandon and retire within the limits of the colony, but it was hardly to be expected that men who claimed independence, and denied even the right of England to make their laws, would respect the boundaries after the departure of the Spanish commissioner. Indeed they openly declared their intention of establishing a government and framing laws of their own. The Spanish commissioner complained of this condition of affairs, but without any apparent result.[XXXIII-21]

In October 1796 England declared war against Spain, and upon the receipt of this news in Yucatan, Arturo O'Neill, the governor of that province, began immediate preparations for an attack on Belize. It was not until May 20, 1798, however, that the expedition, consisting of between two and three thousand men and a large fleet of small vessels, departed for Belize, escorted by two Spanish frigates. The frigates accompanied them only part of the way, returning, it is said, on account of lack of provisions, and the shallowness of the water on the coast. The remainder of the expedition continued the voyage. Nothing was accomplished, however, as the settlers were fully prepared; and being reËnforced by many of the planters who had been ordered to abandon Mosquitia, and aided by the English sloop-of-war Merlin, they prevented the Spaniards from effecting a landing. After hovering off the coast for a few days the expedition returned to Yucatan.[XXXIII-22] This was the last attempt made by the Spaniards to expel the men of Belize. Thenceforth the stipulations of treaties were disregarded, and the territory as far south as the Sarstun was gradually taken possession of and held by right of conquest, the subsequent revolution throughout the colonies rendering the Spaniards powerless to prevent these encroachments.[XXXIII-23]