Conspiracy and contraband: Trinidad and the Spanish Main, 1797-1802

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dc.contributor.advisorKnox, A. J. Graham
dc.contributor.authorRadhay, Keith Kevin
dc.coverage.spatial2000001665en
dc.coverage.spatial2000001666en
dc.date.accessioned2005-07-21T20:31:49Z
dc.date.available2005-07-21T20:31:49Z
dc.date.issued1983
dc.descriptionBibliography: p. 227-233.en
dc.description.abstractIn February, 1797, the British forces captured the Spanish Island of Trinidad in the eastern Caribbean. The conquerors immediately set about to transform the Island into a centre for British contraband and conspiracy against the neighbouring Mainland provinces of the captaincy general of Caracas. The newly appointed Governor of Trinidad, Thomas Picton, zealously undertook his two- fold task, which was facilitated by the Island's strategic location at the mouth of the Orinoco waterway and vitiI'- easy reach of the coasts of Cumana . Trinidad's lucrative trade with the Spanish provinces was enhanced by the stranglehold that the British navy imposed on maritime commerce in the Caribbean. This left Main landers with little choice but to secretly conduct their business at Trinidad. The British Governor ' s conspiratorial efforts were boosted by the discovery in July 1797 of the Conspiracy of La Guaira which was aimed at the establishment of an Independent Venezuelan state. Its two leaders, Gual and Espafia, were collaborating with Picton in Trinidad by the following year. The Governor and the two fugitives agreed on a tentative plan to precipitate a British- assisted Independence movement on the Mainland during the penultimate months of 1799. The plan never got off the ground. Espana clandestinely returned to La Guaira to prepare the way for the invasion but was captured and executed . Picton's fervent appeals for the extension of British military and naval assistance to the revolutionaries were answered with warnings to de-escalate his conspiratorial efforts since Britain did not seriously contemplate a direct intervention in Spanish America. Picton's interest in Venezuelan Independence began to fade rapidly. Moreover, at this point, the Venezuela authorities succeeded in creating the impression that they were about to embark on a re conquest of Trinidad. As the plan to revolutionise Tierra Firma in late 1799 disintegrated Gual undertook a correspondence with his famous compatriot Fransisco de Miranda in London. Miranda at this time, had been unsuccessfully negotiating with the British Government for either assistance to liberate his home land or a passport to Trinidad. The Venezuelan authorities learnt of Gual's continuing correspondence with Miranda and they resolved to eliminate the threat he posed. His death in October, 1800, marked the end of the first serious attempt to create an Independent Venezuela.
dc.description.notesThis title is not available online. Access options are: - consulting the copy from Archives in our reading room in person - https://asc.ucalgary.ca/visiting/ - borrowing a circulating copy from the Library catalogue – https://ucalgary.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?vid=01UCALG_INST:UCALGARY&lang=en
dc.format.extentvii, 233 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm.en
dc.identifier.citationRadhay, K. K. (1983). Conspiracy and contraband: Trinidad and the Spanish Main, 1797-1802 (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/23327en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/23327
dc.identifier.isbn0315263369en
dc.identifier.lccF 2161 R32 1986en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/22843
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.publisher.placeCalgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subject.lccF 2161 R32 1986en
dc.subject.lcshSpanish Main
dc.subject.lcshTrinidad - History
dc.subject.lcshVenezuela - History - To 1810
dc.subject.lcshSmuggling - Trinidad - History
dc.subject.lcshSmuggling - Spanish Main
dc.titleConspiracy and contraband: Trinidad and the Spanish Main, 1797-1802
dc.typemaster thesis
thesis.degree.disciplineHistory
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgary
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Arts (MA)
ucalgary.thesis.accessionTheses Collection 58.002:Box 488 82485512
ucalgary.thesis.notesUARCen
ucalgary.thesis.uarcreleasenoen
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