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Governor Colonel Daniel Parke​—​His birth-place and parentage​—​His actions at the battle of Holchet and Blenheim​—​His arrival at Antigua​—​Dissensions with the Antiguans​—​Complaints against him sent to England​—​Results of the applications at the court of Queen Anne​—​Tyrannical behaviour of Colonel Parke​—​Events of the 7th December, 1710​—​Death of Colonel Parke.

The year 1706 is celebrated in the annals of Antigua as that in which that abominable and atrocious governor, Daniel Parke, arrived to blast for a time with his unhallowed breath this beautiful little island. Parke was an American of rather low birth, a tobacco-planter in the state of Virginia, but who succeeded in marrying a lady of good fortune, and of a respectable family in that province. As money was the only thing he cared for in this alliance, he contrived to secure that, and then left his wife a prey to sorrow and regret, for having sacrificed her peace for a handsome but unworthy man. After acting in this inhuman manner to a woman whose only fault was her love for him, Parke proceeded to one of the northern states, where he committed a crime at a gaming-table, which obliged him to fly to England to escape the punishment so justly due. Here he purchased an estate, situated near Whitchurch, county of Hants, of about 500l. a year, and got himself returned member for that borough. He was, however, expelled the House for bribery, and ordered to be prosecuted, but through the interference of the Earl of Pembroke, he eluded his trial. His next action was to form a liaison with a lady, the wife of a captain in the Guards; and, to escape the vengeance of the incensed husband, he left England, and fled into Holland, where he entered into the army as a volunteer, under the celebrated John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough.

The Duke of Marlborough appears to have been caught with Mr. Parke’s insinuating manners and agreeable person, and made him one of his aides-de-camp at the battle of Hochet; but having had a quarrel with an officer in the Queen’s Guards, Parke quitted the service a few days previous to the memorable battle of Blenheim. He still, however, remained within the precincts of the camp until the very day when that decisive action was fought; and when victory was about to be declared for the allied army, he presented himself before Marlborough, and requested that he might be the bearer of a line or two to acquaint the Queen of the glorious conquest likely to be achieved. The brave General reined up his panting war-horse, and with a heart bounding with exultation, and a face flushed with expected success, wrote, with a lead pencil, the following brief and soldier-like billet to his duchess:—

August 13, 1704.

“I have not time to say more, than to beg of you to present my duty to the Queen, and let her majesty know that her army has had a glorious victory. Monsieur Tallard and two other generals are in my court, and I am following the rest. The bearer, my aide-de-camp, Colonel Parke, will give her majesty an account of what has passed; I shall do it in a day or two, by another, more at large.

“Marlborough.”

At the English court, Colonel Parke gained the patronage of Sarah, the haughty but fascinating Duchess of Marlborough; through whose interest he became such a favourite with Queen Anne, that she presented him with her picture, richly set in diamonds, a purse of one thousand guineas, and afterwards made him governor and captain-general of Antigua and the rest of the Leeward Islands; where he arrived 6th July, 1706, in the squadron commanded by Capt. Kerr, and where he gave full scope to his licentious disposition.

Upon the first arrival of Colonel Parke, the assembly voted him 1000l. a year for house-rent, and great satisfaction was expressed at his appointment. It was not long, however, before this fair prospect of colonial happiness changed; and the governor, by his arbitrary behaviour, forfeited all claims to the good feeling and respect of the inhabitants. One of the earliest offences Colonel Parke gave the Antiguans, was his making a low man he brought to the island with him a member of the assembly. Being a vulgar man, he delighted in vulgar associates; and becoming acquainted with a private named Ayon, belonging to a regiment of foot stationed in Antigua, he prevailed upon the governor to appoint him provost- marshal. To the remonstrance of the Antiguans against this proceeding, Parke replied, he should make whom he chose provost-marshal; and that he would never appoint any person to that office who did not agree to act exactly as he wished, as well as empannel such juries as he should direct.

The next act of the governor gave equal displeasure. This was calling upon the Codrington family to shew their right to the Island of Barbuda,³⁸ (which had been granted to General Codrington by William III.;) and the Antiguans not only felt interested in the affairs of him who had been their friend and governor, but they supposed Parke would also be calling upon them to shew their claim to their estates​—​an indignity which they felt no inclination to put up with.

Another crime of huge magnitude was the seduction of Mrs. Chester, the wife of Edward Chester, Esq., one of the most opulent of the Antiguan merchants, and a member of the house of assembly. Not content with injuring this gentleman in the deepest manner by thus robbing him of the affections of his wife, Colonel Parke, in his office of governor, proceeded to offer Mr. Chester every insult which a little mind was capable of. Upon one occasion, the governor had all his cocoa and other merchandise seized, on an unfounded suspicion of its being illegally gained; and then, supposing that all these several aggravations would cause him to be justly disliked, he (Colonel Parke) accused Mr. Chester of joining with other disaffected parties, in endeavours against his government; and, upon the plea of doing it for the establishment of the public peace, he broke into Mr. Chester’s house one evening, when that gentleman was entertaining a few of his friends, who were obnoxious to the governor​—​and, by the assistance of some of his armed sycophants, among whom was the provost-marshal, dragged Mr. Chester and his friends to prison. In order to give some face to his proceedings, Colonel Parke accused other gentlemen of joining in this pretended insurrection, and, accordingly, he sent some of his brutal partisans to an estate called “Denbows,” with orders to take into custody Mr. Ffrye and Mr. Cockran, (members of the assembly,) and bring them to town to stand their trial upon that charge. While the magistrates were taking depositions in this case, Sergeant Bowes, a creature of the governor, beat Captain Kallabane (one of the witnesses for the defendant) in the open court. For this offence the sergeant was broke by his colonel, and ordered to be whipped; but when this circumstance came to the ears of the governor, he immediately restored Bowes to his rank of sergeant, and protected him from all further punishment.

Another source of dissatisfaction, upon the part of the assembly, arose from the circumstance of the governor taking the soldiers off duty to watch his private property. The following extract, taken from a message addressed to his excellency from the members of the house of assembly, relates to this subject:—​“We always conceived her Majesty’s troops were sent to do duty on our standing guards, and not to be altogether employed in guarding your excellency’s person, your several buildings, your lumber, your heaps of bricks, mortar, and pantiles.”

It must not be supposed that these were the only complaints alleged against Colonel Parke. His whole conduct, both in public and private life, was arbitrary in the extreme; and so supercilious was his treatment of the magnates of the island, that before he had held the government for twelve months, articles of impeachment were prepared to be forwarded to England.

In 1707, a petition was drawn up and signed by eighty of the principal inhabitants, praying for his recall; a sum of money raised in order to defray the expenses of sending Mr. Nevin to England, to lay their grievances before her Majesty and council; and letters were written to Richard Cary, Esq., the colonial agent, calling upon that gentleman to assist them in their designs.

While these measures were pursued by the disaffected party, the governor, who was not ignorant of these cabals against him, lost nothing of his arrogance of manner, which so incensed his adversaries, that at length an attempt was made upon his life. As he was riding along the high road, leading from St. John’s to English Harbour, a negro, named “Sandy,” fired at him from a piece of canes belonging to the plantation of the Honourable Otto Baijer,³⁹ and dangerously wounded him, of which deed Colonel Parke accused Mr. Jacob Morgan and some of the other members of the assembly, with being the instigators.

About this time, Colonel Parke thought proper to accuse Barry Tankard, Esq., (a proprietor of sugar estates in Antigua, and an intimate friend of Colonel Codrington,) of caballing against his government; and accordingly he despatched his emissaries to the estate of that gentleman, with orders to seize his person, and bring him into town. Upon their arrival at Mr. Tankard’s house, they were informed of his absence from home; but doubting the truth of this information, they broke open the door of Mrs. Tankard’s chamber, (who was confined to her bed from severe indisposition,) and so alarmed that lady, that for some time her life was in danger. This arbitrary behaviour on the part of the governor led Barry Tankard to resent it, by calling his excellency out in a duel; but Colonel Parke, considering it beneath the dignity of the queen’s representative to accept the challenge of a private gentleman, the matter ended.

While these dissensions were going on in Antigua between the governor on the one side, and the members of the assembly and the principal inhabitants on the other, Mr. Nevin and Mr. Cary were using their best endeavours to get a favourable answer to their complaints from the home government. At length, after many delays, Mr. Nevin returned to Antigua, bringing with him the queen’s letter, directing that witnesses should be examined to prove the several articles of impeachment sent home against the governor, as well as his excellency’s answers to the same. “The depositions and answers were sworn before Edward Byam, Esq., one of the council, and Nathaniel Crump, Esq., speaker of the house of assembly, and were ordered to be sealed with the broad seal of the island, and forwarded immediately to England.” The governor, however, refusing to seal the affidavits of the complainants, upon the plea that his own answers were not ready, from the delays of the justices before whom they were sworn, his opponents were obliged to use another seal, and then despatch them, under the care of Mr. Nevin, to England.

During the year 1709, Queen Anne recalled Colonel Parke from his government, to the great joy of the Antiguans. To this command the infatuated man, however, would pay no attention; and, exasperated by the triumphant looks of his accusers, which they could not, or would not, conceal, he proceeded to measures which could be only deemed those of a maddened despot.

The year 1710 was ushered in with no better feeling between the governor and the members of the legislature. One of their first causes of complaint alleged against his excellency arose from the following circumstance:—

It had ever been the privilege of the house of assembly to choose their own “clerk;” but during this despotic administration, the governor overlooked this, and wished to appoint to that office a friend of his own​—​a Mr. Hinton.⁴⁰

This encroachment upon the assembly’s privileges gave rise to a great deal of ill feeling, and many acrimonious messages passed between his excellency and the members of that body. The following paragraph, copied from one of the governor’s speeches, alludes to this subject:—

“If you still persist that it is your undoubted privilege to choose your ‘clerk,’ and will do no business until that be yielded to you, you certainly will have the ‘Lords’ Committee’ opinion. It is an undutiful attempt upon her majesty’s prerogative; and I do assure you, gentlemen, if the queen does not appoint any other before I go, I will leave you time enough to raise money during this crop to pay off all the public debt!”⁴¹

This unhandsome taunt of the governor’s was deeply felt, and resented by the “house,” who, in reply to it, remarks—

“We cannot but observe how severe and bitter your excellency reflects upon, and reproaches our country with, the not paying its debt, but compounding the same. We well remember, when the country paid your excellency 1000l. in sugar, at 12s. 6d., your excellency sold that very sugar for 18s.; so that we hope your excellency has but little reason to complain of the public compounding their debt.”

And then, in reference to a recommendation of the governor’s to enlarge the provision for the clergymen, they go on to mention—

“Your excellency next recommends to provide a better maintenance for the clergy. They are already allowed 100l.; but as we are a people so much in debt, as your excellency observes, it cannot be expected, during these troublesome times, for us to advance their salaries, especially such scandalous persons as too many of the present clergy are.”

This was only the third meeting of the legislature since the election, after a recess of three years; although, from the unsettled condition of the West Indies, (arising from the state of affairs in Europe, where Marlborough, at the head of the British forces, was engaged in frequent skirmishes with the French,) the Antiguans were in momentary expectation of an invasion. After being prorogued from the 18th of November to the 27th, (1710,) the legislature again met, but without any better feeling between the governor and the members of the assembly. A fresh cause of dispute arose, from his excellency having caused a Mr. Hill to be sworn in as clerk of the assembly, (in place of his former favourite, Mr. Hinton,) but whom the members would not recognise; and after a great deal of altercation upon the subject, that body addressed the following to the governor:—

“If your excellency’s resentment so far prevails as to despise these our propositions, and that the public affairs must with us still suffer, as unworthy your regard and consideration, we do then, as the only and last expedient, humbly propose your excellency’s visiting some other island of the government; thereby to afford us the opportunity and means, in conjunction with the lieutenant-governor and council, to provide for the public security, to heal our divisions, restore discipline, and our broken constitution, after the best manner we can. And we are unanimously of opinion, that in case your excellency rejects this our humble motion, and will not surcease such administration, as afore-mentioned, (which is so very opposite to the nature of our constitution, to the opinion of the lieutenant-governor, the council, as well as this house, and to the sense of the inhabitants in general,) we shall be under the unhappy necessity of withdrawing our obedience from you as chief governor, which, by your dispensing with her majesty’s positive command for leaving the government, we shall, in duty to her and justice to ourselves, (which we ought long since to have done;) and that this her colony, our persons and estates, may no longer be exposed to such unhappy conduct and administration, which seems entirely​—​we must say, foully​—​devoted to the ruin and destruction of all.”⁴²

After receiving this message, the unhappy, infatuated governor sent the following to the house:—

“Gentlemen—​You are adjourned until Thursday, the 7th of December, then to give myself and council a meeting at the town of St. John’s, by eight of the clock in the morning.

“By command,” &c.

Alas, that very morning, the sun arose for the last time to him! and by a fearful and unhallowed death, he was sent with all his sins upon his head, to render in an account of his stewardship.

The cause which led to this melancholy event was this:—​Worn out with the proceedings of Colonel Parke, and looking upon him as an usurper of the government, the Antiguans threw off all restraint; and as the last remedy, determined to arm against, and force him to quit the island.

Accordingly, upon the morning of the 7th December, 1710, a large body of men, in number about 500, proceeded to Government House, in two parties​—​the one headed by Mr. Piggot, then speaker of the house of assembly; the other, by Captain Painter, another member of that body. Colonel Parke, who was not ignorant of these proceedings against him, had quartered in Government House, some time before, the soldiers stationed in the capital; and who, along with many of his private friends, (among whom was Mr. French, his historian,) had made arrangements for resisting any attack upon the governor.

Upon the approach of the armed party, Colonel Parke sent the provost-marshal (the man whose appointment to that office had given the Antiguans such offence) with a proclamation, ordering them to disperse immediately. This they refused to do; but in order, if possible, to save an effusion of blood, they despatched Nathaniel Crump, Esq., (the former speaker of the assembly,) and George Gamble, one of the council, to the governor, desiring him, in the name of the inhabitants, to discharge his guards, and quit the government, without any further contest. Colonel Parke returned for answer, “that neither threats nor fear of death should make him do so; for the queen had intrusted him with it.” Through the delegates, Mr. Crump and Mr. Gamble, he bid the assembly “sit at Parham, if they were afraid of the troops at St. John’s,” but consented at the same time to dismiss the soldiers, if six of the principal inhabitants would remain with him as hostages. As the negotiators considered the proposal of the governor’s to be far preferable to commencing hostilities, they agreed to be two of the hostages, and endeavour by their influence to obtain four more from among the assembled multitude. Many of their party, upon hearing this proposition of the governor’s, agreed with them in their opinions, and laid down their arms; but the majority of the people, fearful of any agreement made with the governor, and thinking that delays might induce others of the group to withdraw also, determined to commence the attack, and endeavour to secure the person of the governor. The two companies, headed by Captain Piggot and Captain Painter, immediately drew up before Government House, which they saluted with a warm discharge of musketry. This was returned by the governor’s party; volley succeeded volley from within and without; the balls whistled hotly around; until at length the assailants burst open the doors, and rushed into the dwelling. Captain Piggot fell by the hand of Colonel Parke, at the commencement of the affray, although it was the belief of many that Ayon, the provost-marshal and ci-devant foot-soldier, came behind him and shot him in the back. After some deaths on both sides, Colonel Parke, who had retired into his bedroom, received a shot in his thigh, which, breaking the bone, disabled him from further retreating, and the people rushing upon him, literally tore him to pieces while alive. They afterwards burnt down Government House, the ruins of which remain to this day a memento of his dreadful crimes and fearful punishment. Colonel Parke was dragged into the streets by some of his adversaries, where he remained for some time, still sensible, but suffering agonies impossible to describe, until at length his mutilated body was carried to the house of a person named Wright, who lived near to the spot, where he shortly expired. His body was deposited in the vault of the old church; but so detested was his memory, that the people broke down the pew which had been appropriated for him and his predecessors.

Some writers maintain that only the common people were concerned in the last act of this tragedy; that those of the higher rank proceeded to the house of John Yeamans, the lieutenant-governor, and quietly laid down their arms. Mr. French, the historian of Colonel Parke, writes, however, very differently upon this part of the subject; but it ought to be taken into consideration, that he was a particular friend of Colonel Parke, and consequently might give a higher colouring to the melancholy picture. He says, that when Colonel Parke lay in the street suffering the pangs of a dismembered body, the members of the house of assembly stood round reviling and insulting him in his last agonies; that among the number were Andrew Murray, Francis Carlisle, Mr. Tomlinson, and Captain Painter. I cannot believe this assertion. Although Parke was their common foe, still they must have been possessed of those feelings of honour, if not humanity, which would forbid them to triumph over a dying enemy. Mr. French goes on to state, that it was Colonel Byam who was most active in convening the inhabitants, and appointing a certain day for them to come into town well armed. This, too, has been contradicted. There were not many clergymen then upon the island; but among their number, Mr. James Field, rector of St. John’s, took the part of the people; and Mr. Baxter, rector of Parham, that of Colonel Parke.

All writers upon the West Indies mention the crimes and fate of Parke; and consequently I am obliged to follow in the wake, or else I should have buried his errors​—​or, more properly speaking, his vices​—​in oblivion.⁴³

38 Barbuda is a small island, about twenty miles broad, and lies twenty-six miles to the north of Antigua. It has belonged to the Codrington family from about the year 1691, when William III. granted it to General Codrington, then governor-general of the Leeward Islands. It raises a great number of horned cattle, ponies, donkeys, &c., and its shores are very prolific in turtle and various kinds of fish; while its beach is strewed with many beautiful shells. Deer, also, range amid its sylvan glades; and their flesh occasionally affords another dish at a West Indian dinner. The chief emoluments arising from this island, however, are the number of wrecks; three or four sometimes occurring in a year. The reason of these frequent maritime disasters is, that the island lies so low, and is generally encompassed with fogs, that vessels are upon the reefs (by which it is almost entirely surrounded) before they are aware. It was upon one of this chain of reefs, that H. M. S. Woolwich was wrecked.

Barbuda contains about 1500 inhabitants, of which the greater part are employed as huntsmen and fishermen: the former make use of the lazo to catch the wild horses, &c.

³⁹ This spot is now appropriated for the Wesleyan burial-ground.

⁴⁰ The following is an authentic copy of Mr. Hinton’s commission and warrant, as drawn out in Colonel Parke’s own handwriting:—

“By his Excellency Daniel Parke, Esq., Captain-General and Governor-in-Chief in and over all her Majesty’s Leeward Caribbee Islands in Antigua.

“I do hereby authorize and appoint you, Gabriel Hinton, of the said island aforesaid, to be clerk to the assembly of this island, and which is this day appointed to meet; and to receive all fees, proffitts, and perquisites thereto belonging, for which this shall be your sufficient warrant and commission.

“Given under my hand and seal this twenty-second day of May, 1710.

(Signed) “Daniel Parke.”

⁴¹ At this period, the island had fallen considerably in debt; and the legislature not having met for some time, from the unhappy differences between them and the governor, they had no opportunity of relieving themselves from their burdens; which difficulties were pleasing to Colonel Parke, in the hopes of their being compelled to make a general compromise.

⁴² It may be well to remark, that any peculiarities in the diction of the foregoing extracts must be attributed to the time in which they were written: they having been copied verbatim.

For a list of the members of the house of assembly at this time, see Appendix, No. 11.

⁴³ The last will of Governor Parke will be found in Appendix, No. 12.