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Back in 1701, the people of the Bahamas rebelled against their governor, Elias Haskett. They deported him, Attempting to ship him back to England, but he escaped in New York. There are some fascinating accusations and counter accusations about who was involved in what kind of illegal business (answer: all of them). There are allll kinds of ridiculous stories surrounding this rebellion, but the following is part of Haskett's responses to a number of accusations made of him by the inhabitants*:
When I arrived at Providence, there were not above 20 people lawfully married, and the wives of part of those 20 were taken from them by those that had more strength and riches than the husbands, which occasioned great animosities. For example, Elding** forcibly took away the wife of one Perryman (sic) Trott.*** Lightwood**** deserted his own wife and took the reputed wife of the late Governor Trott. One Holmes took one Harris' wife, and drove him off the Island. Samuel Thrift forcibly took away the wife of one Starr, and detains her from him, and most of the rest live after the same manner by daily changing of wives and mistresses. I ordered the Grand Jury to enquire into all such disorders, so that upon their first meeting they presented about 20 such persons, and some proceedings being set on foot to punish, several petitioned me to grant them licence to marry the women they had lived with. Their charges amounted to three or four pounds, but for any licence granted by me I never took more than five pieces of eight, which fee is taken by all the Governors throughout the whole Indies. But the Minister was so covetous, he refused to marry these poor people if they could not present him with 24s. I myself paid for several of them.
*The particular accusation he is addressing here is as follows: He demands and receives from 6l. to 9l. for each licence to marry, and denies the banns of matrimony to be published in Church according to the Canons thereof. By which means the honest intentions of several poor people, who cannot comply with his unreasonable demands, may by such methods be (in a manner) forced to live disorderly and incontinent lives.
**Read Elding, an ex-Red Sea pirate (not necessarily an ex-pirate) of mixed race who had been the locally-elected acting governor before Haskett showed up. Haskett had him arrested on various charges, which led directly to the rebellion. That's right, the eighteenth-century Bahamians rebelled because of the mistreatment of their half-black pirate governor. <3
***Trott's uncle (or father, I forget) had been governor before, and he was also hilariously corrupt.
**** Ellis Lightwood was elected governor after they deported Haskett. If you are wondering whether the inhabitants had any legal authority whatsoever to be electing their own governors, you may not be surprised to hear that the answer is no, not even a little.
When I arrived at Providence, there were not above 20 people lawfully married, and the wives of part of those 20 were taken from them by those that had more strength and riches than the husbands, which occasioned great animosities. For example, Elding** forcibly took away the wife of one Perryman (sic) Trott.*** Lightwood**** deserted his own wife and took the reputed wife of the late Governor Trott. One Holmes took one Harris' wife, and drove him off the Island. Samuel Thrift forcibly took away the wife of one Starr, and detains her from him, and most of the rest live after the same manner by daily changing of wives and mistresses. I ordered the Grand Jury to enquire into all such disorders, so that upon their first meeting they presented about 20 such persons, and some proceedings being set on foot to punish, several petitioned me to grant them licence to marry the women they had lived with. Their charges amounted to three or four pounds, but for any licence granted by me I never took more than five pieces of eight, which fee is taken by all the Governors throughout the whole Indies. But the Minister was so covetous, he refused to marry these poor people if they could not present him with 24s. I myself paid for several of them.
*The particular accusation he is addressing here is as follows: He demands and receives from 6l. to 9l. for each licence to marry, and denies the banns of matrimony to be published in Church according to the Canons thereof. By which means the honest intentions of several poor people, who cannot comply with his unreasonable demands, may by such methods be (in a manner) forced to live disorderly and incontinent lives.
**Read Elding, an ex-Red Sea pirate (not necessarily an ex-pirate) of mixed race who had been the locally-elected acting governor before Haskett showed up. Haskett had him arrested on various charges, which led directly to the rebellion. That's right, the eighteenth-century Bahamians rebelled because of the mistreatment of their half-black pirate governor. <3
***Trott's uncle (or father, I forget) had been governor before, and he was also hilariously corrupt.
**** Ellis Lightwood was elected governor after they deported Haskett. If you are wondering whether the inhabitants had any legal authority whatsoever to be electing their own governors, you may not be surprised to hear that the answer is no, not even a little.
amused