Historical Notes St Vincent and the Grenadines

1. Return of the military posts and works in the island of Saint Vincent 1st July 1823

STATIONS – REMARKS

Berkshire Hill

Or Fort Charlotte – Mounts 18-32 pounders – 11-24 pounders; 4- 10 inch mortars and 3-8 inch Howitzers and has Barracks for Six hundred Men with Officers in proportion of

Old Woman’s Point

Under the Works of Fortification – Mounts 3-24 pounders and one 10 inch Mortar Barrack for 120 men and officers in proportion of.{{more}}

Dorsetshire Hill – Barrack for 120 men-Quarters for field Officer & Captain; 6 Sub-alterns and a Hospital the whole of which are nearly uninhabitable having been originally built of Wood and very old.

Cane Garden Point – Mounts 8. 24 pounders has Barrack for 7 Men

Fort Duvernette – Mounts 8. 24 pounders & 2. 8 inch Mortars and has a

Barrack for one Officer and 20 men

Wilkies Point – A Colonial Battery mounting one. 24Pounder

Owia – formerly a Military Post at the Northern extremity of the Island, the Works were destroyed by an eruption of the Soufriere in 1812 it has a Magazine for 50 Barrels of Powder and two Nine pounders mounted on iron Carriages.

ESTABLISHMENT

Sir Charles Brisbane – governor – Appointed November 1808

Charles B.Brisbane – Treasurer – Appointed September 15, 1823

CHARLES SHEPHARD – Acting Provost Marshall General, & Sergeant of Arms – appointed 20th April 1823

POPULATION

Whites (Exclusive of King’s troops) – 1053

Free Blacks – 1482

Slaves – 24,920

Total = 27, 455- Kings Troops 412; Total including troops – 27,867

The number of Negroes in this government attached to Estates on January 1, 1824 was 20, 122

Marriages of free people was 9

2. State of the Negro Population 1799

Whitehall August 10, 1799 To President Ottley – re letter of June 6

Reference to progress in bill ‘calculated to promote the welfare and population of the Negroes in St.Vincents. From the account you give of the increasing population of these people, and the disposition of the Legislature to promote their increase and thereby finally to render the importation of Negroes unnecessary, I look with impatience to receive from you, before the commencement of the next session of Parliament, or early in course of it, the particulars of the measures which the legislature of St.Vincents will have taken for the attainment of the great and salutary object recommended by the resolution of the House of Commons of the 6th of April 1797.

I so entirely agree with you in opinion, respecting the importance of Religious instruction for the Negroes, that I consider some specific and adequate provision for that purpose as absolutely necessary to make a part of the Legislative measures now in contemplation in St.Vinceents – I therefore desire to refer you to what has been done by the Legislature of Jamaica as far as it relates to that point and to what is contained in the suggestion which accompanied my letter to the Governor of St.Vincents of the 23rd of April, 1798.