with a brief notice of the neighbouring tribes, soil, productions, &c. and some observations on the facility of Colonizing that part of Africa, with a View to Cultivation; and the introduction of letters and religion to its inhabitants: but more particularly as the means of gradually abolishing African Slavery relative to an attempt to establish a British Settlement on the Island of Bulama, on the Western Coast of Africa, in the year 1792
with a brief notice of the neighbouring tribes, soil, productions, &c. and some observations on the facility of Colonizing that part of Africa, with a View to Cultivation; and the introduction of letters and religion to its inhabitants: but more particularly as the means of gradually abolishing African Slavery relative to an attempt to establish a British Settlement on the Island of Bulama, on the Western Coast of Africa, in the year 1792
African Memoranda. S3 I had waited near two hours on the beach before the gover-.JJ^* nor appeared, being told that he was at mass (it was Sunday) May and would come to me when it was over ; at length about noon he made his appearance; the whole town had long since been collected around us. I told him that the motive of my landing was to thank him for the pilots whom I had brought on shore again, no longer wanting them as the wind was favourable to our proceeding immediately to Teneriffe ; and, at the same time, to avail myself of his permission to take off the refreshments, for the women and children, which he had yesterday promised I should have for that purpose this morning. He asked for our bill of health which 1 had not brought on shore, thinking it un necessary as nothing had been said about it yesterday, and said that he could neither receive back the pilots, nor suffer me to purchase any thing until he had seen it. I assured him that we had not a sick person on board, which was really the case, and hoped he would therefore, in this instance, wave that piece of formality, and suffer me, on the score of humanity, to take off refreshments for the women under any precautions which he thought necessary, as it was easy for us to load the boat without coming in contact with any of the inhabitants; this he posi tively refused, and said that I should have nothing from the island, and should take back the pilots, for he would not suffer them to return to their families after having been on board our ship. Having for more than an hour endeavoured, without success, to prevail upon him to accede to my request by all th<* arguments and reasoning in my power, I changed the ground of my application, and said that what I had hitherto solicited as a favour I now demanded as a right; that the ship was in the same situation as one in distress; and that by the usage of all F