Early in 1810, an English expedition, the naval part of which was conducted by vice-admiral Sir A. Cochrane, and the military force by lieutenant-general Sir G. Beck with, prepared with the design of attacking Guadaloupe and St Eustatius, was ready to commence operations. It was completely successful ; and thus the enemy were de prived of the last of their possessions in the Columbian islands.
Guadaloupe continued under the power of the British crown till 1813, when in a treaty, dated March 3d, between his Britannic Majesty and the King of Sweden, it was agreed, that this valuable colony should be ceded to the latter, in consideration of an engagement on his part to furnish a force of 33,030 men, in aid of the allied powers against France. Swedish commissioners were accordingly sent, to make arrangements for taking possession of the island ; but in consequence of certain political causes not vet fully explained, it was restored to its old possessors the French, at the -restoration of Louis XVIII. in terms of the general treaty of peace, signed May 30th 1814. On the return of Bonaparte from Elba in 1815, General Boyer, the governor, hoisted the duce-coloured flag. After the second restoration of the Bourbons, he was condemned to death, but the sentence has been cynmuted into twenty years imprisonment. The sum of one million sterling was the compensation given to Sweden, for our non-fulfilment of the stipulation by which it was to be delivered into her hands. The general astonishment and indignation of the people of Great Britain and Ireland, on finding, that by one of the articles in the treaty with Louis, the slave trade was to be permitted to be carried on by the French for five years, in this island and Martinique. which British generosity had restored, are not easily described. Peti tions poured in upon both Houses of Parliament, and ad dresses to the Prince Regent from every part of the unit ed kingdom. In consequence of these petitions, Lord Castlereagh, the British negociator, was employing all his influence and skill in order to undo what he had done, and to induce the government of Louis to receive these islands under the express condition, that the odious traffic should instantly be definitively and for ever abolished by France. The consideration of this subject was taken up by the congress assembled at Vienna. But there appear ed every reason to believe that our benevolent endeavours would have failed of success, when the irruption of the exiled usurper into France once more transferred this island to the sovereignty of Napoleon Bonaparte. By a
stroke of policy, intended at once to show his power, and to conciliate the people of England, he issued a decree as soon as he felt himself replaced on his trembling throne, by which he declared the slave trade to be abolished in the French islands. in doing so, indeed, he made no kind of allusion as to the immorality and wickedness of the traffic with Africa. Besides, he knew that while the war should continue, and England ride triumphant on the sea, he could carry on little foreign trade of any kind, and that these islands would probably fall speedily into our hands ; so that the sacrifice he appeared to make of interest to duty, was in fact only a nominal one, and as his decree was expressed just as coldly as if he had been prohibit ing the importation of flax or grain, he could easily, he well knew, and without any appearance of gross incon sistency, by another of his imperial decrees, restore the trade, on the ground of alleged expediency, whenever lie might be able to derive any advantage from the renewal. This decree of Bonaparte, however, though no one could be deceived as to its motive, had a happy effect on the great cause ; for when Louis was a second time restored to his throne in the summer 1815, and when these islands, once more in the power of England, were to be delivered up to France, the example of Bonaparte himself could be quoted, to shame the new government into accordance with our wishes. Indeed England had now the means and the right to enforce compliance with her request. Ac cordingly Louis, soon after his return, by a royal decree, declared the French slave trade to be definitively and ab solutely abolished.
The unsettled state of this island, may probably have prevented any very accurate estimate either of its trade or population since the French revolution. in the year 1700, the population amounted only to about 382 indigenous in habitants or Caribs ; 325 free negroes; and 6725 slaves.
Several productions of Guadaloupe were formerly sent to Martinique ; and America received some of its liqueurs, and other commodities, and sent in return, wood, cattle, flour, and cod fish.
In 1789, the population of all descriptions was about 104,000. The island is well stored with horned cattle, sheep, horses, Stc. and produces a vast abundance of sugar, coffee, rum, ginger, cocoa, logwood, Ste.