Category Archives: Navy
Horatio Nelson to Simon Taylor, 10 June 1805
21/02/1807
Horatio Nelson first met Simon Taylor during the American Revolutionary War, while stationed in Jamaica. The two remained in touch. As Nelson remarks towards the end of this letter, by 1805, they had been acquainted for about three decades. The letter was written while Nelson pursued the French fleet in the Caribbean, during the months […]
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Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 17 June 1790
17/06/1790
Taylor saw the proposal to end the slave trade as a breach of faith between Britain and the colonies of the British West Indies. Despite the apparent impossibility of Jamaica seceding from the British empire in the same manner as the thirteen mainland colonies during the American Revolution (due to the reliance of white colonists […]
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Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 23 September 1788
23/09/1788
In September 1788, Taylor looked forward to the meeting of the Assembly, convened earlier in the year than usual to discuss the issues raised by British demands for the abolition of the slave trade. He also made some of his boldest statements about the prospect of abolitionism driving white West Indian colonists into a rebellion […]
Also posted in Abolitionism, Defence of slavery, Kingston, Slave trade abolition, The Letters Tagged Chaloner Arcedeckne, Simon Taylor Comments Off on Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 23 September 1788
Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 1 May 1787
01/05/1787
Taylor’s discussion of breadfruit relates to the infamous 1787 expedition of the HMS Bounty, commanded by Captain William Bligh, to collect plants in Tahiti and introduce them to the West Indies, where it was anticipated that they would help provided food for the enslaved people on sugar estates and other properties. Taylor’s discussion on this […]
Also posted in British Government, Disease/health, Enslaved people, Food/provisions, Hurricanes, Sugar, Taxes/duties, The Letters, Trade Tagged Chaloner Arcedeckne, Simon Taylor, William Bligh, William Pitt Comments Off on Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 1 May 1787
Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 8 May 1782
08/05/1782
The victory of Sir George Rodney over the combined French and Spanish fleet at the Saintes on 12 April 1782 ensured that Jamaica would not face an invasion. Taylor remained fearful of the number of enemy troops who remained in the region and worried about the diminution of the white population of Jamaica. Nevertheless, with […]
Also posted in Armed forces, Army, France, Kingston, Militia, North America/USA, Spain, St Domingue/Hispaniola, The Letters, War Tagged Chaloner Arcedeckne, Simon Taylor Comments Off on Simon Taylor to Chaloner Arcedeckne, 8 May 1782