Bernard Kock was an opportunist and entrepreneur who probably
started out with good intentions. His grand plan for colonizing
Ile A'Vache (Cow Island), Haïti with 5000
American black slaves was conceived when he attended the 1862
Great Exhibition in London. Kock was reported to own a cotton
plantation in Florida and in his words,
"was impressed by seeing two bales of excellent Hayti cotton on
display in London. Having knowledge of President
Fabre Nicolas Geffrard's (18.1.1859 - 13.3.1867)
interest in promoting immigration of American blacks to Haïti.4
Kock left Southampton, England for Haïti on 17 May 1862 arriving
there on 3 June. President Geffrard also had
grand plans for improving the country, including the
development of a true middle class using black immigrants from
America. This was an insightful goal at that time but to
this day it has still been unrealized. Kock proceeded from
Jacmel to Port-au-Prince on horseback where he was given a warm
greeting from President Geffrard. His
subsequent meetings with cabinet members were not so cordial.
Kock felt great reluctance by the cabinet to rent National Lands
to a white man. Their hard fought war of
independence from Spain, Britain and France was now part of the
national psyche. Kock then began difficult negotiations with
cabinet members and on 8 August 1862,
"in the 59th year of independence," an agreement was reached
for him to lease A' Vache Island for 10 years, with an option to
renew for another 10 years.
The agreement required Kock to pay the Haitian government rent
of 5 Gourdes (about $0.50 US) per carreau (3.5 acres) under
cultivation or the equivalent of $0.15 per
acre. In addition, he was also required to give the Haitian
government 35.25% of the lumber he cut on the island. In return
Kock was given exclusive use of the island but
as required to start operations within six months. He was to be
provided with the "protection and assistance of the République
d'Haïti" as well as being given an exemption
from "tonnage" for any lumber cut or any "customs house duties"
for importing food and other items for use on the colony. Kock
was allowed to have 10% white
overseers but in keeping with the spirit of the colonization
plan, was required to use only farm workers of “African or
Indian races.” The émigrés would be immediately
naturalized as Haïtians upon arrival and at the lease
expiration, they were to be given preference to become farmers
or landholders. The Haïti
constitution allows only people of African or Indian races to
own property.4
While in Haïti Kock says he formed a relationship with Dr.
Leopold Müller, the Surgeon-General of the country, who also
owned a cotton plantation near Aux Cayes, about
eight miles from A'Vache. Dr. Müller's partner, Mr. E. Dutertre
examined Ile a'Vache and reported that it was suitable for
growing 'sea island' cotton. Dutertre had
apparently viewed Kock's Florida plantation and stated that the
conditions on A'Vache were as favorable as on Kock's plantation.
Kock enlisted Müller and Dutertre to
conduct a trial cotton planting on the island, then left for
New York on 14 August 1862 arriving on 28 August 1862. A few
days later he left for Washington to meet President
Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865) who was already considering a
scheme to colonize blacks in New Granada, (now Panama) and
Liberia.5
Lincoln was an abolitionist but held a long standing
belief that colonization could play a role in solving the
slavery problem. After Lincoln
abandoned the Central American colonization plans, Kock felt
his chances with Lincoln would be good. But he ran into great
difficulty with the Secretary
of State William H. Seward (1861-1869) who opposed
colonization. Seward was the recipient of many complaints lodged
from Central American governments
about the possibility of millions of blacks coming to their
area. Kock was very determined and after being stonewalled by
the administration, went directly to President
Lincoln to ask why his proposal was not being acted upon. Kock
said Lincoln told him he had received reports of his
questionable character and others felt Kock would
"clear out" after receiving the bonus of $50 for each person of
"African extraction" he colonized. Kock refuted the allegations
and stated that he would relinquish all
payments until he actually had the colony in operation, as
verified by the local American agent in Haïti. Kock touted his
vision of A'Vache: churches, schools,
medical facilities, fair labor laws (only ten hours a day, six
days a week with worship on the Sabbath) and profit sharing for
the workers. This seemed to satisfy Lincoln
and he told Kock he would review his proposal the next day. The
agreement was signed by Lincoln and Kock on 31 December 1862.
This was Lincoln's last attempt
at colonization, as described in the
Emancipation Lecture by Edward Steers, Jr.,
"On January 1, 1863, Lincoln pulled the trigger and signed his
Emancipation Proclamation with no mention of colonization."
Kock then looked into possible recruitment of black émigrés in
the
Washington area, then left for New York to seek funding
partners for the venture
Kock had an office at 17 Broadway and found three partners, Paul
S. Forbes, L.W. Jerome and Charles H. Tuckerman, whose offices
were just around the corner
at 50 Wall Street. All professed abolitionists, they agreed to
put up $70,000 to fund the venture in return for 50% ownership.
An agreement was drawn up but not immediately
signed. Kock proceeded on trust to charter the British ship
Ocean Ranger and had it fitted-up to house 500 workers. He also
hired a Mr. W. J. Watkins as one of the plantation
supervisors who began interviewing, contracting and assembling
the émigrés at Fort Monroe, New York where they were to await
the arrival of the ocean liner. Kock says he planned
the project in great detail and had suppliers of each required
item awaiting orders. One of the most critical items was a
sawmill which was needed to produce lumber to house
the workers and to derive immediate revenue.
Then the first serious obstacle occurred. Mr. Forbes advised
that Washington would not execute the Kock agreement because
they still had concerns about his character.
Kock had no alternative but to sign over the rights to the US
and Haïti agreements to his partners. With this change,
Secretary Seward drew up a new agreement, inserting
a powerful clause requiring the Haïtian government to "guaranty
the performance of the contract." The partners knew the
possibility of obtaining Haïtian government
approval to this clause was remote and they would probably not
receive the $50 bonus. Kock insisted on proceeding with the
venture and the agreement was executed
with the US government on 3 April 1863. Kock, feeling pressure
from his partners, volunteered to reduce his stake to 25% and a
new partnership agreement was drawn up.
He made a critical mistake by trusting his partners to execute
this agreement. Kock had already passed the 6 month period for
starting the venture called for in the Haïti
agreement and on 13 April 1863 embarked on the Ocean Ranger
with some 500 workers for Haïti. The precise number of workers
was to be later questioned and reported
differently on several occasions. The partners said they would
send a second ship shortly with the sawmill and other critically
needed supplies.
During the voyage some of the workers had contracted smallpox.
Upon arrival Kock set up a small temporary hospital at the west
end of A'Vache where he
enlisted Dr. Müller to treat the patients. While his partners
had verbally agreed to the level of overall funding required,
they initially invested the minimal amount
to get started, hoping to recover that investment immediately
with a payment of the bonus from the US government. When that
fell through they under funded the venture
and didn't send enough food, medicines or lumber to properly
start the operations. Then Kock received another blow - a letter
from Tuckerman dated 20 April 1863
stating that no additional supplies would be sent until the
Haïtian government confirmed that the 500 initial workers were
properly in place. In this letter Tuckerman<
spelled out in great detail how he expected Kock to treat the
workers, that they should be properly housed and clothed while
still expressing confidence in Kock. Kock was
perplexed since he had little possibility in complying without
the necessary resources or credit from the partners. He was able
to get the requested certificate but the partners
continued to stall.
he contract Kock had made with the workers was for 4
years at a rate of $0.16 per day including board. In addition
they were to be paid 10% of the yearly profits according
to the amount of hours they worked. Kock's plan was to pay the
workers with his currency, seen above, which could only be used
in his stores on the island. The initial printing
of currency was dated 1.1.1863 and the "stones (dies) from which
it was struck (printed) were kept in New York by Jerome
Tuckerman and Paul S. Forbes." Additional issues of
currency could only have been done with the approval of the
partners. It is believed that only one production of currency
was printed since almost from the beginning, the venture
was very shaky with the partners questioning every expenditure.
A 1 Gourde Haïtienne/1 Haïtian Dollar is also reported to have
been printed at the same time.
It was later learned through Mr. W .S. Skinner, Kock's
plantation superintendent who stayed behind to shepard the
second shipment, that the partners had little concern for Kock'
or the colonists' well being. In an affidavit he made on
26.12.1863 Skinner said Forbes told him "how can I send out
another ship without knowing if the Ocean Ranger with all on
board might be lost?" Skinner protested saying that Kock left
with only 6 weeks of food to which Forbes replied "Kock is smart
enough to take care of himself; there is plenty of fish,
wild animals, and wild fruit on the island, and if they do not
know how to help themselves under such circumstances, they
deserve it." The partners did agree to send some
additional provisions but would only consider the sawmill if W.
S. Skinner reported favorably on the viability of the project.
Skinner then proceeded to A'Vache and submitted
a good report but the partners continued to hesitated to invest
additional funds.
In early June 1863 a Mr. A. A. Ripka arrived on the island
announcing that he was a new partner in the venture and
displayed to Kock his full power of attorney to run the island
operations. He further stated that Kock would not be getting a
signed contract for his share of the venture and the critical
sawmill would not be sent until the partners could
ascertain the ventures viability. Some additional food and
clothing arrived but the lack of housing and supplies caused an
armed rebellion of the workers. Kock had to enlist
15 Haïtian soldiers from Aux-Cayes to quell the rebellion and
had a dozen of the "ringleaders" arrested and sent to the
mainland. From this point forward he employed extreme
measures to control the restless workers. Kock agreed that they
had many valid grievances but they seemed most concerned about
success of the venture. Starting in July of 1863
Kock admitted that he stopped giving the workers rations "in
order to avoid their shirking work with full stomachs." but
agreed to pay them the equivalent of the meals missed. He
states exceptions to this policy were made for any worker who
was sick.
In August of 1863 Kock received a request from New York to
obtain a certificate from the Haïtian authorities attesting that
the workers were naturalized and the colony was
functioning properly. Kock drafted a certificate which the
government promptly signed. This was to be sent to the US
government in order to try again to obtain the $50 bonus
per head. Then the deal began to quickly unravel. Kock learned
that his partners, through their agent Mr. A. A. Ripka had
approached the Haïtian government and offered them
a 1/6 interest in the venture instead of rent. Kock was
incensed and went to President Geffrard to try to stop the
transfer of his rights. But the President told him the power of
attorney was proper and he had no legal rights, however, he
also said he would not accept this new deal. Dejected, Kock was
determined to press on with the plan. The on
24 October 1863 Kock received a letter from Brown, Ross and Co.
of Port-au-Prince on behalf of the partners relieving him of
his duties. Kock was advised that he should go to
the mainland until his status could be determined and during
that period he would be paid $300 per month.
Kock states that this money was never paid to him. His final
status was read to him on 31 October 1863 by Mr. A. A. Ripka
saying that the decision was that his position was
at an end. Kock then wrote a letter to the partners reiterating
their deal and his continued belief in the viability of the
venture. He mentioned that he had found a high grade
of valuable rosewood on the island, which he was promoting as
"West Indian Rosewood" that being the equal of Brazilian
rosewood. In addition he said he had obtained
approval from the Haïtian authorities for a similar lease on
Grand Cayemite Island and was holding it with a friend, later
announced as that of Surville Toussaint, a Senator
and planter, who was a signatory of Kock's contract with
Haïti. Kock ended his letter by stating that if he was not
re-instated within 8 days, he would sue and he threatened
to expose them by publishing all the facts surrounding this
debacle, something he ultimately did in 1864. Mr. A. A. Ripka
then tried to sell the partners interest to Brown, Ross
& Co. but the Haïtian government would not sanction the
transfer. Upon learning this the partners abandoned the venture.
Kock then tried to make a new contract with the government but
they refused. On 20 December 1863 Kock visited the island for
the last time. When he arrived at the island
he found the workers demoralized and "many of them had gone
actually mad, under the influence of some religious excitement,
to which they had surrendered themselves"
perhaps a veiled reference to Voodoo. Kock also found an agent
of the US government on the island who he was told by the
workers "had endeavored to persuade
them all to return to the United States, and enlist in the army
under him as their colonel."
On 22 December 1863 President Lincoln sent a ship to Haiti and
brought the remaining 453 workers back to the US. No
colonization plans have been found after this venture.
