THE ENGLISH PRISONERS IN MEXICO.[147]

Florez, the Viceroy, who had sent the Nootka expedition, had no news from Martinez until late in the summer. Shortly after the arrival at San Blas of the first prize, the Argonaut, the commandant of that port dispatched a special messenger to Mexico. This messenger arrived August 26, bearing Martinez’s letters and the papers from the captured ships. The Viceroy’s anxiety was far from being relieved when he found himself involved, not with the Russians, but with the English. The question now was what should be done with the prizes sent for his adjudication. He was embarrassed by the fact that he was to retire from the viceroyalty within a few weeks, and whatever measures he might determine upon would have to be carried out by his successor. He decided to take no decisive step without the new Viceroy’s concurrence. Within a day after the messenger’s arrival the more important documents had been copied and Florez had written his report. They were hurried off to the Government at Madrid. In this report he told briefly of Martinez’s voyage to Nootka, of his taking formal possession of the port and fortifying it, of his finding the American vessels and allowing them to continue their voyage, and of his seizing the Iphigenia and the Argonaut, releasing the former on bond and sending the latter as a prize. To this account he added some reflections concerning the importance of retaining the port of Nootka. He would send re?nforcements and supplies to Martinez at once. The question as to whether the vessels were good prize he would leave to his successor.[148]

Two days after sending this account to the home Government, Florez sent orders to the commandant and commissary[345] at San Blas for the temporary disposition of the prize. The officers and men were to be kindly treated and supplied with lodgings and other accommodations according to their rank. Fresh food was to be furnished at public expense, an account being kept of the cost. All of their clothing was to be turned over to them, but no arms. They were to be given complete liberty within the port, but were to be closely watched to see that no one abused his privileges. A complete inventory should be made in the presence and with the help of the English captain. The latter should sign it and receive a copy for his security and protection, whatever the fate of his vessel. The perishable part of the cargo was to be sold and the rest deposited separately in the royal storehouses. The ship, after being unloaded, was to be examined, cleaned, and repaired at governmental expense, with the approval of the English commander, who should have a copy of the account.[149] The fact is not stated in this order, but in a letter to Madrid it appears that the ship, when repaired, was to be used in collecting supplies and re?nforcements for Martinez at Nootka.[150] From Colnett’s published account, it seems that the Englishmen were induced to do the work on the ship in the false hope of an early release. He says:

Under a promise that our detention could not be long, they persuaded us to heave down and repair the Argonaut, new copper her bottom, and fit new rigging. The idea of release stimulated us to work on the ship with great alacrity. So much so that our exertions threw several into fevers; and on the vessel being nearly ready, the Government threw off the mask, informing us she was to be employed for their use, and laughed again at our credulity.[151]

After receiving news of the arrival at San Blas of the second English prize, the Princess Royal, Viceroy Florez wrote again to the Madrid Government. This letter was dated September 26, and told of the steps taken with regard to the captured ships since his account written a month before. He had considered the matter carefully, and, although he had decided to leave the disposition of the prizes to his successor, yet he gave his own conclusions. He knew of no precedent[346] for the capture except the conduct of the Viceroy of Peru toward the governor of Juan Fernandez, on account of the latter’s not having detained the American ship Columbia when he found she was bound for California.[152] This, he said, was based on the royal order of 1692, a copy of which he inclosed.[153] He added that conditions had changed in a century. However, he would not disapprove the conduct of Martinez, since, he said: “Article 11 of my instructions, ‘to repel force by force and to prevent hostile ships from making establishments and trading with the Indians of our coasts,’[154] could not have been enforced without detaining the vessels.” He concluded: “For the sake of economizing expenses and avoiding hard feelings between our court and that of London, it seems to me best to allow both vessels to return to Macao, placing their commanders under bond, as Martinez did the captain of the Iphigenia.” Everything taken from the vessels he would restore or pay for, deducting the cost of keeping the men and the expense for repairing the ship. He had not time to attend to this, but would leave it to his successor, if that official approved.[155]

On August 27, the day that Florez had written his first hurried account to the home Government, he had also written an account to Revilla-Gigedo, who was soon to succeed him in the viceroyalty. The correspondence that followed is valuable as showing the divided opinion in official circles regarding the justice of the seizures, and as illustrating the evolution of the new Viceroy’s final decision regarding the prizes. In the first letter Florez explained briefly that, as a result of the last expedition ordered by the King, he had, without loss of time, sent Martinez to take possession of Nootka. He then recounted the grave consequences, which made it necessary to take most prudent measures, and added:

For my part I have not ventured to enter upon them, in view of the fact that I am so soon to surrender the government to your excellency.[347] I look upon this business as more important than any other, and if you rank it the same I hope you will hasten your coming.[156]

Three days later the new Viceroy, who was attending to some public business at Veracruz, replied that he came fully instructed from the higher authorities of all the steps taken by Florez in the Nootka matter, of their approval by the junta of state, and the consequent royal order. In view of the attempt to represent the English expedition as a governmental enterprise, he especially commended Florez for having inserted in Martinez’s instructions the order of the English Admiralty office to Cook telling the latter not to touch at Spanish ports except in case of necessity and then to leave as soon as possible. He thought that that wise council would not now have sent an expedition with such contrary instructions. He believed it had come simply from Botany Bay or some establishment in India. He said that it did not appear necessary for Florez to await his coming to take steps regarding the captured ships, since Florez was so well informed. As to the possibility of another English expedition being sent to dislodge Martinez, he thought there was no danger. England was too remote, and the Spanish could supply re?nforcements when necessary. The English Cabinet would not undertake anything so likely to fail. In the end the unhappy affair would be settled between the Spanish and English Courts. However, he would not delay his coming to Mexico a moment longer than necessary.[157]

On September 2, the same day that Florez received the letter just reviewed, he answered it. In his answer there is a tone of impatience which seems to be partly because Revilla-Gigedo had not dropped everything else to attend to the prizes, and partly because the latter’s approval was not enthusiastic. The new Viceroy had suggested, that since the English expedition did not appear to have been sent by the Government it would have been better if Martinez had told the captains to return when they chose to the parts from whence they had come. Florez retorted: “I explained to your excellency that, according to the documents which Martinez[348] sent to me, these prizes have been made with good cause, and I think your excellency will indorse my opinion when you have given careful attention to their contents.” He inclosed copies of them, and called attention to the positive representations of the English captain. He continued: “Whether the English Court had any part in the plan for occupying Nootka, or whether it did not, we have often seen them lay claim to ports and territories occupied by the merchants or subjects of their nation; and there is no doubt but that they have ready naval forces incomparably greater than those which we can send from San Blas.” He enlarged on the insufficiency of vessels in that port for present needs, and told of the preparations that he was making to use the captured ships to convey re?nforcements and supplies to Martinez. In closing he said: “But since your excellency can not give it the preferential attention asked I have suspended my orders relative to Nootka affairs until your excellency gives me your final decision concerning the liberating or retention of the English ships.”[158]

The loyalty with which Florez supported Martinez, and his resentment when he found Revilla-Gigedo inclined to disavow the seizures, may have arisen from a personal relation, since, as stated above, Colnett says that Martinez represented himself as the nephew of Florez.[159]

After having read the copies of Martinez’s letters and documents, which Florez had sent, Revilla-Gigedo replied, September 9, that he was pleased to find that his opinion of the unofficial character of the English expedition was confirmed; that Colnett had been sent, not as a governor, but as a merchant; that he was not to establish a fortification but a factory, which was to be located not necessarily at Nootka, but wherever it might be with convenience, and that Fort Pitt was simply the name to be given to the factory. Had the English expedition taken any sort of possession of Nootka, he said that it would doubtless have afforded some subsequent claim. But since it had not succeeded, and since the English captain had asked permission to sail, all such fears ought to have vanished. There was the more reason[349] for this, since not only had England been prevented from taking possession, but Spain actually possessed it. Since Florez had already referred the matter to the Spanish Court, it seemed to him that they could take no further step until the decision of His Majesty should arrive. He agreed that in the meantime the captured ships should be used to convey supplies to Martinez if no others were available. He had read with pleasure the timely and prudent orders of Florez for caring for the captured ships and prisoners. The weakened forces at San Blas were being strengthened and the necessary ships could be constructed. A new commandant of that port with re?nforcements had set out from Veracruz the preceding day.[160]

In this Revilla-Gigedo maintained his former position that Martinez had insufficient ground for making the captures. He seems not to have considered what would have been the consequences if the English ships had not been seized and had established a colony elsewhere on the coast. He gave a qualified approval of the steps taken by Florez while awaiting an answer from the home Government, but he did not definitely commit himself on the question to which Florez had tried to elicit an answer—that is, whether he would declare the ships good prize.

On September 16 Florez replied that he had decided to continue his preparations for sending supplies and re?nforcements to Nootka, since Revilla-Gigedo had approved using the captured ships for that purpose.[161]

The new Viceroy took control of the government October 18.[162] A few days later he wrote to the home Government concerning Nootka affairs:

When my predecessor, Don Manuel Antonio Florez, surrendered this government to me we had many extended conferences, but either because of forgetfulness or on account of preference for other weighty affairs, he did not mention the matter of the English ships captured at Nootka. He ought to have done it, since he left the business for me to settle. … My verdict has always been opposed to the seizure of the vessels, but since my predecessor has seen fit to refer the matter to the home Government, I have concluded that I ought to do[350] nothing further until I have received the decision of the King. Since there were no others available at San Blas, he had made use of the captured ships, he said, to bring arms from Acapulco to that port. After their return from this trip he would send them in January with supplies and re?nforcements for Nootka. By the time these operations should be completed the King’s orders for detention or release would have come.[163]

About the time that the new Viceroy took possession of the government, letters arrived from the captains of the captured English vessels. Mention has been made of the letter which Florez wrote to the commandant and commissary at San Blas immediately after receiving news of the arrival of the first prize. Besides this letter giving orders for the care of the prisoners, the repairing of the vessels, and making an inventory of the cargo, he seems to have given instructions for obtaining a full statement of their case from the English commanders. Their letters were addressed to Florez. These are the accounts of Colnett and Hudson to which frequent reference has been made above.[164] In closing, Colnett said:

Your excellency will pardon me for venturing to write such a long letter, in which I have dwelt on affairs of such little importance. But if I have done so, it has been at the instance of the commandant of this port, who has told me that it was your excellency’s wish. As reflecting the treatment received at San Blas [he said], I beg permission to add that all of the bad treatment which I received at Nootka and the cruelty which was practiced on me in my passage from thence hither has been entirely wiped out by the attentions and humanity of the official whom I find here in the position of commandant, Don José Comancho.[165]

This letter bears no date, but that of Hudson which accompanied it is dated September 18.[166] Inclosed with these letters was a copy of an inventory giving the original cost of each article. It was signed by Colnett and Duffin, and apparently included the cargo of the Argonaut only. On October 1 Colnett wrote another letter, in concluding which he said:

[351]

The climate of San Blas has proved to be very bad for me and my officers and crew. We should consider it a great favor if you would permit us to make a journey on horseback some miles inland, or allow part of us to pass a few days at some distance from the port.[167]

It fell to the lot of Revilla-Gigedo to answer the letters. On October 21 he wrote to Colnett:

I have read the representations which you and Captain Hudson made to my predecessor, the Most Excellent Se?or Don Manuel Antonio Florez. He has turned over to me all of your complaints against the proceedings of the commandant of Nootka, Don Estevan José Martinez. My dealings shall be based on the laws of reason, equity, and justice. This is all that I can or should say at present. I assure you and Captain Hudson that yourselves and all the people of your vessels shall be treated with such attention as is demanded by the friendship and harmony existing between our Sovereigns.[168]

Having thus temporarily disposed of the question of the captured ships, the Viceroy busied himself about carrying out a “royal order of the 14th of last April for sustaining with vigor our new establishment at Nootka.” He wrote to his superior at Madrid how he had planned to send, in the following January, a new expedition of three vessels with complete equipment, supplies, and re?nforcements. It was to be commanded by a military official. He was to succeed Martinez as commandant of Nootka, and was to receive from Martinez complete instruction regarding the country and its inhabitants. This would contribute the greatest possible security to the establishment in that port. But the plan had been completely overthrown by the return of Martinez with all of his ships to San Blas December 6.[169] At first this had caused the Viceroy great inquietude, but soon he had modified his plan and was again pushing it to completion. The new commandant was to be Eliza, and Martinez should accompany him in the office of pilot. The Spanish possession of Nootka was to be vigorously maintained if any foreign power should attempt to dispute it. One of the three ships was to be the captured Princess Royal. The Argonaut had already gone to Acapulco and returned to San Blas loaded with artillery to furnish armament for the[352] expedition.[170] This new enterprise may be dismissed for the present to follow the fate of the English prisoners.

Before turning to the dealings of the Viceroy with the Englishmen it is interesting, though not essential to the narrative, to notice the final exit of Martinez from the stage that his rashness had brought into prominence. In a letter of February 26, 1790, the Viceroy mentioned a royal order of October 13, 1789, “informing me that at the instance of Do?a Gertrudis Gonzales, wife of Don Estevan José Martinez, ensign of the navy, the King had resolved that I should arrange to transfer this official to those dominions [Spain], or that in case his continuance at San Blas was necessary to the service that I should withhold a third part of his salary, to be applied to the support of his wife and of one daughter 17 years old.”[171] Thus it appears that while Martinez was getting himself and his Government into trouble in America his family in Spain was in trouble because he had neglected their support. The Viceroy gave orders at once for Martinez’s return from Nootka on the first vessel coming to San Blas, in order that he might go to Spain and rejoin his family. His services were no longer necessary, it was said, there being enough officials without him. It should be noticed that this order was given more than two months before news reached Spain of Martinez’s operations at Nootka. So that could have had no influence on his recall.

The request for a change of climate made by Colnett in his second letter to the Viceroy, mentioned above, was granted. In Colnett’s published account he says: “We were removed 60 miles up the country; here we were allowed great liberty and better treatment,”[172] and permitted to remain “the six latter months of our captivity.”[173] This was at a place called Tepic. Not only was this favor granted, but the English commanders were allowed to go in person and plead their case before the Viceroy. Speaking of Bodega y Quadra, the new commandant of San Blas, Colnett says:

[353]

To this officer I am greatly indebted for his kind attention and obtaining permission for me to go to Mexico to claim redress for our past treatment.[174]

In Revilla-Gigedo’s first account of the matter to the home government he had mentioned the English captain’s complaint of the bad faith and worse treatment of Martinez. He said he had offered to give them a hearing in court, but it would be impossible to do this without giving Martinez a hearing at the same time.[175] When writing this he supposed that Martinez was at Nootka and would remain until relieved of his command. But although Martinez returned to Mexico shortly thereafter, still the trial was not held, since he had to go again to Nootka as pilot of the expedition under Eliza. The Viceroy, in his published “Informe,” tells of the promised trial and why it was not held:

The captain of the Argonaut, James Colnett, and that of the Princess Royal, Thomas Hudson, his subaltern, asked and I gave them permission to come to this capital. They produced their complaints against Martinez and I ordered the case to be drawn up. But it could not be continued, because the defendant and some of the witnesses were necessarily employed in the royal service and the plaintiffs wished to be set free as soon as possible.[176]

Speaking of his stay at the capital, Colnett says:

On my arrival at Mexico and during my residence there I was treated by the Viceroy, Don Revilla-Gigedo, with greater politeness and humanity, and, indeed, by all ranks of people in that city.[174]

The time of the arrival of the English captains at Mexico seems to have been about the first of the year. They received no definite answer to the question whether their ships should be condemned or released until late in April. The Viceroy was waiting for an answer from the home Government to the first account of the seizures which Florez had written the previous August. This account had not reached the Government until December 30.[177] Florez’s second account was received three days later.[178] Thus by the second day of[354] the new year the Government had a full account of the seizures and copies of all of the documents. No reply was made until January 26. When this reply reached the Viceroy, greatly to his surprise and disappointment, it gave him no advice, but instead it asked for his determinations concerning the question whether the ships were good prize.

Revilla-Gigedo resolved to wait no longer for advice, and so took the responsibility upon himself. In answer to the request from Madrid, he wrote, on May 1, 1790, his conclusions, as follows:

They have been to liberate the English prisoners on the conditions shown by inclosed letters. Colnett, who came to Mexico with my consent to present his complaints, will now return to San Blas, where he will receive his ship, the Argonaut. Embarking there with all of the English and Chinese,[179] he will return to Macao or wherever he wishes. At Nootka he will receive from the commandant, Don Francisco Eliza, the sloop Princess Royal, which will be turned over to her master, Thomas Hudson. These foreigners are warned not to delay, trade, nor establish themselves on our Spanish coasts under threat of punishment for violation. I have felt compelled to release them, considering that I ought not to hold as good prize a few little vessels found on a distant and deserted coast of our colonies of California; and considering the uselessness of burdening the royal treasury with some 60 men, whose scanty sustenance has to be provided for in the feeble and expensive establishment of San Blas in order that the just sentiments of humanity might not be violated, and that the plans of my predecessor might be carried out.[180]

This action of Revilla-Gigedo and the grounds here given for the release of the English ships are consistent with the position taken by him as soon as he heard of the affair, namely, that the vessels ought never to have been seized. It will be interesting to notice the subsequent change in his position.

Colnett had been informed of the decision of the Viceroy on April 27.[181] On the same day orders were sent to San Blas for carrying it out. The commandant, Bodega y Quadra, was to surrender the Argonaut to Colnett in good condition, and was to give orders to Eliza at Nootka to[355] surrender the Princess Royal to Hudson in the same condition. The small schooner, since it could not be taken apart to be put on the larger vessel, was to be paid for. All belongings were to be returned to the prisoners. The supplies deposited in the royal storehouses were to be given back, an equivalent was to be given for everything applied to the royal service, and whatever had been lost was to be paid for. All this was to be done in such a manner as to avoid complaint.[182] Besides having all of their belongings restored, the commissary was to pay wages to all, extending from the day of their capture until they were released. Colnett was to be paid as a lieutenant of the navy, and all others according to their rank as regulated by the scale of wages for the South Sea. A general account was to be made of all expenses occasioned by the captured ships.[183] The Viceroy argued, in a letter to the home Government, that the English South Sea Company, under whose license Colnett was navigating, should repay to the royal treasury of Spain all expenses occasioned by the captured ships. His reason was that their agents made the seizure necessary by coming to the coast of California, where they could neither establish themselves nor enjoy commercial advantages by right.[184]

In the packet which Revilla-Gigedo sent on May 1 he inclosed a letter from Colnett to the British ambassador at Madrid, presenting his complaints against Martinez.[185] The Viceroy added that he hoped these would be considered when Martinez reached Spain.

The Viceroy considered that he was treating Colnett very liberally, and it does seem that he had allowed about all that could be expected if his orders should be faithfully carried out. Colnett, however, was not fully satisfied and presented a number of formal requests. He enumerated a list of things which he requested should be sent from Mexico to fit out his ships. These were granted. He asked that all of the[356] wages of both crews be paid to him as commander, which was granted also. He demanded payment for himself as commandant of an expedition, but he was allowed pay only for a lieutenant, which was less than half as much. He demanded the return of the schooner which he had brought in the Argonaut, but which Martinez had taken. He was to have pay for it. He wished the Princess Royal to return to San Blas for her crew, but he was compelled to wait until he should get to Nootka for her. He demanded a money payment of not more than ￡3,000 to reimburse himself for personal valuables and nautical instruments lost. The Viceroy refused this, since he had ordered that all of these should be returned or paid for at San Blas. He asked for a special interpreter to be appointed for him, but this was refused as unnecessary. His request for the return of his servant, a Sandwich Islander, was at first refused, but later granted. The Viceroy was attempting to keep this man, who was said to be chief of one of the islands, ostensibly that he might be converted to the Catholic religion; but probably the real reason was to use him in getting an opening for a Spanish settlement on the Sandwich Islands. He had flattered the vanity of the savage by promising to send him to see the King of Spain. Colnett’s persuasion prevailed. The most important request was that for a passport which should allow greater privileges than the Viceroy’s order for his release had granted.[186]

The Viceroy had forbidden the Englishmen to make any establishment, to trade, or even to tarry on the coast; and in his first reply to Colnett’s demands he repeated the prohibition. Three days later Colnett wrote again, using very plain language. He called attention to the instructions under which he had sailed with a license from the British Government. Those instructions required him to trade with the Indians and to form an establishment for that purpose. The Viceroy’s instructions had ordered him to sail directly to Macao, without stopping on the coast. He pointed out the inconsistent position in which he was placed. The right of Spain to the coast was a point to be settled—he[357] hoped, in a friendly manner[187]—between the Cabinets of Madrid and St. James. It was clear that the right was not recognized by the English, as was shown by the patent and instructions which he bore. That same year the privilege granted to his company would expire. Let Spain see, in a friendly manner, that it should not be renewed, but the Viceroy should not oppose the pacific execution of a commercial undertaking attempted in good faith and at so great an expense. He demanded a passport with only one prohibition, namely, to trade with Spanish ports.[188]

Colnett’s arguments had the desired effect. On May 11 the Viceroy sent him a passport with only the one prohibition and expressly stating that he might carry on his operations in places not actually under Spanish dominion.[189] In the letter inclosing the passport he trusts that they will not think of making an establishment on the coast or of trading to the prejudice of the Spanish nation.[190]

It is noteworthy that in this passport the Viceroy reversed his decision of ten days before and declared that Martinez’s seizure of the vessels was well founded. He cited laws and royal orders which he said not only absolutely forbade the navigation, establishment, and trade of foreign nations on the American coasts of the South Sea, but ordered them to be looked upon and treated as enemies. His reason for freeing the English ships, he now said, was to preserve harmony and a good understanding between the subjects of His Catholic Majesty and the King of Great Britain. The change in his mental attitude seems to have been brought about by the stubborn persistence with which Colnett urged his demands in the meantime. By the latter part of May, when he wrote again to the home Government, the Viceroy had formulated his decision. He declared:

The coasts north of California are truly and justly the dominions of our Sovereign. According to the royal order of November 25, 1692,[358] of which my predecessor sent a copy, and according to the treaty, to which it refers, of 1670, ratified and confirmed by article 2 of that of 1783, all of the vessels which Don Estevan José Martinez, ensign of the royal navy, found in Nootka were legitimate prizes. The release of the packet boat Argonaut and the sloop Princess Royal has been the result of pure generosity.[191]

This is a complete reversal of his decision quoted above from his letter of twenty-six days earlier. In his “Informe” of three years later the Viceroy cited in addition as grounds for his decision an article of the orders of the royal navy, and also a royal order of October 18, 1776, “to detain, seize, and prosecute any foreign ship which arrives in our ports of the South Sea.”[192]

A royal order had been finally given, March 23, definitely instructing the Viceroy to liberate the captured ships. In a letter of June 26 Revilla-Gigedo said that the royal order of March 23 had been completely satisfied by his accounts of May 1 and 27. He was pleased that he had conformed so happily to the decisions of the King.[193]

According to Colnett’s published account, he found on his return to San Blas that the Argonaut was in a bad condition on account of the treatment she had received. He says that the Viceroy’s liberality in allowing wages was counterbalanced by the charges for maintenance, traveling expenses, medical assistance, and an allowance of eight months’ provisions. He says also that before he was allowed to sail he was compelled to sign a paper expressing his complete satisfaction with their usage.[194] That paper was signed July 8, 1790, and is as follows:

I have the honor of informing your excellency that to-day I have been dispatched from San Blas; and I also have the satisfaction of adding that I have reason to be content with the treatment of the commandant and commissary of this department.

With all proper submission, I ask permission of your excellency to add that the money which I have received here is little more than the amount of my individual loss, and is not the fifth part of the damages by the most moderate calculation. Since I shall have to[359] turn matters over to the company which employs me, I hope that your excellency will have consideration in keeping with your known generosity, and will not allow them to suffer such losses.[195]

This, if true, indicates that Colnett’s apprehensions of illiberal treatment at San Blas were well founded. On his arrival at Nootka the Princess Royal was not there. June 11 of the next year she was dispatched from San Blas to be surrendered to Colnett or some other representative of the company in China.[196] Colnett fell in with her and she was handed over at the Sandwich Islands.[197]

This closes the Nootka affair as far as events on the American continent are concerned. Before the Viceroy had finally decided to liberate the prisoners, the matter had been taken up by the home Governments, and all Europe was ablaze with excitement over an expected war. The center of interest now shifts to the diplomatic controversy, which is the most important phase of the Nootka incident.[198]

[360]

What has been discussed so far might be briefly summarized as follows: As far as discoveries and explorations, which could give definite claims, are concerned, the Spanish were the earlier; but the English were made in ignorance of the Spanish, and the results of the English were published first. Spain could claim a prescriptive title from the fact that she had maintained for so long an undisputed claim, and from the additional fact that the land was contiguous to her settled Mexican dominions; but the English were the first to attempt to develop the country by exploiting the fur trade. The first actual establishment was made by the English, and, although it was temporarily abandoned in the autumn, it was with the evident intention of renewing, enlarging, and making it permanent in the spring; but unfortunately for what was, in the autumn of 1789, an unquestionably superior claim, it was counterbalanced by the arrival of a Spanish expedition in the spring of 1790, a few days before the English returned to resume their occupation, and when there were no signs of previous or intended occupation. The fact that the Spanish expedition was public while the English was private, favored the former. From these recapitulations it is plain that there was abundant ground for disputing the respective rights.

As to the justice or injustice of the seizures at Nootka, there is also room for dispute. The Iphigenia, by pretending to be a Portuguese when she was really an English ship, aroused a just suspicion, and what was probably a harmless trick, meant solely to deceive the Celestials, assumed[361] a grave appearance when the added suspicion of piracy was aroused. But this suspicion of piracy was based on a mistake made by the Spaniard in translating the ship’s instructions. Having seized her on the ground of this double suspicion, for the sake of consistency and to hide his blunder, Martinez justified his rash act on a totally different ground, but one which was plausible from the Spanish view. When the Argonaut arrived her captain made the mistake of rashly declaring his purpose before he knew his opponent’s strength, and of manifesting too much impatience to get out of the power of a man who would probably have allowed him to depart in peace had he been patient. Then a quarrel, caused largely by the mistakes of a blundering interpreter, ended in the Spaniard’s making another rash seizure, this one without so much as having had the Englishman’s papers translated.

When the matter was transferred to the officials in Mexico, the outgoing Viceroy, instead of shouldering the responsibility and acting at once, attempted to shift it to his successor. The failure of the two to agree led to an awkward delay of several months. Then after the new Viceroy finally declared that the vessels were not good prize, a quarrel with the liberated Englishman led him to reverse his decision, so far as the principle was concerned, though his change did not affect the fact of the Englishman’s freedom.

The whole episode to this point seems to have been a series of blunders, and would not merit careful consideration had not the consequences been so serious for the home Governments.