But no fasting, praying, or purging could restore the spirits of
men humbled by defeat, enfeebled by disease, and reduced to the necessity
of feeding on the horses belonging to the cavalry. The attempt was
abandoned;[b] but, on their return, the two commanders made a descent on
the island of Jamaica. The Spanish settlers, about five hundred, fled to
the mountains; a capitulation[c] followed; and the island was ceded to
England. Could its flourishing condition in a subsequent period have been
foreseen, this conquest might have consoled the nation for the loss at
Hispaniola, and the disgrace of the attempt. But at that time Jamaica
was deemed an inconsiderable acquisition; the failure of the expedition
encouraged men to condemn the grounds on which it had been undertaken; and
Cromwell, mortified and ashamed, vented his displeasure
[Sidenote a: A.D. 1654. April 28.]
[Sidenote b: A.D. 1654. May 3.]
[Sidenote c: A.D. 1654. May 10.]
on Penn and Venables, the two commanders, whom, on their arrival, he
committed[a] to the Tower.[1]
To many it seemed a solecism in politics, that, when the protector
determined to break with Spain, he did not attempt to sell his services to
the great enemy of Spain, the king of France. For reasons which have never
been explained, he took no advantage of this circumstance; instead of
urging, he seemed anxious to retard, the conclusion of the treaty with that
power; after each concession he brought forward new and more provoking
demands; and, as if he sought to prevail by intimidation, commissioned
Blake to ruin the French commerce, and to attack the French fleet in the
Mediterranean.
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