Everyone was satisfied, except the negroes, who were not asked their
opinion. The profits were enormous. A ship in the harbour was about to
sail for Cadiz. Hawkins invested most of what he had made in a cargo of
hides, for which, as he understood, there was a demand in Spain, and he
sent them over in her in charge of one of his partners. The Governor
gave him a testimonial for good conduct during his stay in the port, and
with this and with his three vessels he returned leisurely to England,
having, as he imagined, been splendidly successful.
He was to be unpleasantly undeceived. A few days after he had arrived at
Plymouth, he met the man whom he had sent to Cadiz with the hides
forlorn and empty-handed. The Inquisition, he said, had seized the cargo
and confiscated it. An order had been sent to St. Domingo to forfeit the
reserved slaves. He himself had escaped for his life, as the familiars
had been after him.
Nothing shows more clearly how little thought there had been in Hawkins
that his voyage would have given offence in Spain than the astonishment
with which he heard the news. He protested. He wrote to Philip. Finding
entreaties useless, he swore vengeance; but threats were equally
ineffectual.
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