The Union Cause in St. Louis in 1861 - An Historical Sketch #228042

This was a source of evil, which three hundred years later, most cruelly exterminated the White race from that West Indian Para dise. While Queen Isabella discountenanced the enslavement of Indians by Columbus and even returned large numbers from Spain to their native island, they were still compelled to work in the mines and in other ernployments, which owing to the cruel greed of the Spaniards, finally ground them out of existence. It was at this time that Negro slaves born in Spain, were first imported into the West Indies. Of this event Washington Irving says: It is a fact worthy of observation that Hispaniola, the place where this flagrant sin against nature and humanity was first introduced into the New World has been the first to exhibit an awful retribution. This came in San Domingo in the year 1791; a few refugees from this awful catastrophe found afterwards a sheltering home in St. Louis. Upon the share which Columbus had in introducing Slavery in San Domingo, Washington Irving says.