They crossed without misadventure
to St. Domingo, where Hawkins represented that he was on a voyage of
discovery; that he had been driven out of his course and wanted food and
money. He said he had certain slaves with him, which he asked permission
to sell. What he had heard at the Canaries turned out to be exactly
true. So far as the Governor of St. Domingo knew, Spain and England were
at peace. Privateers had not troubled the peace of the Caribbean Sea,
or dangerous heretics menaced the Catholic faith there. Inquisitors
might have been suspicious, but the Inquisition had not yet been
established beyond the Atlantic. The Queen of England was his
sovereign's sister-in-law, and the Governor saw no reason why he should
construe his general instructions too literally. The planters were eager
to buy, and he did not wish to be unpopular. He allowed Hawkins to sell
two out of his three hundred negroes, leaving the remaining hundred as a
deposit should question be raised about the duty. Evidently the only
doubt in the Governor's mind was whether the Madrid authorities would
charge foreign importers on a higher scale. The question was new. No
stranger had as yet attempted to trade there.
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