tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68821516887938259182024-03-05T19:53:54.592-05:00Biography of Sir Henry MorganThe Life and Times of the King’s Privateercycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.comBlogger26125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882151688793825918.post-90373834516720529862021-01-22T07:00:00.696-05:002021-01-22T07:00:12.119-05:00Chapter 15.2 – Maracaibo, part III<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
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Fireship at Maracaibo (cropped) | by Geo. Alfred Williams
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<p style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="firstcharacter">T</span><span style="font-variant: small-caps; font-weight: 400;">he prospect of trying</span> to force a way past the Spanish blockade could not have been a pleasant one for Admiral Morgan. He expected word of his activity in Lake Maracaibo to reach other Spanish settlements in the region. Then it would be only a matter of time before he would have to face an even larger Spanish force. Morgan remained undaunted, however, and wrote a
message to the commander of the Spanish squadron. He demanded safe passage to the sea along with payment of a ransom for the town of Maracaibo. He threatened if the ransom was not paid, to set the town aflame.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Don Alonso responded two days later. He explained his position and offered free passage to the privateers so long as they returned all their booty. The following are excerpts from a translation of the Spanish commander’s 24 Apr 1669 letter. (There are two versions of this letter, but I believe this version is the one reproduced in Morgan’s own report.)</p>
<blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">My intent is to dispute with you your passage out of the lake and follow and
pursue you everywhere, to the end that you may see the performance of my duty.
Notwithstanding, if you be contented to surrender with humanity all that you
have taken, together with the slaves and all other prisoners, I will let you
pass freely without trouble or molestation; upon condition that you retire
home presently to your own country.</p></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Don Alonso closed his letter with a threat:</p>
<blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">But in case that you make any resistance or opposition unto those things that
I proffer unto you, I do assure that I will command boats to come from
Caracas, wherein I will put troops, and coming to Maracaibo, will cause you
utterly to perish, putting you every man to the sword. This is my last and
absolute resolution. Be prudent therefore, and do not abuse my bounty with
ingratitude. I have with me very good soldiers, who desire nothing more
ardently than to revenge upon you and your people all the cruelties and base
infamous actions you have committed upon the Spanish nation in America.</p></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Soon after receiving this letter, Harry Morgan assembled his officers and men
in Maracaibo’s market-square and read the letter aloud in English and then in
French. Afterwards, he called for a vote on whether they should surrender their plunder in exchange for a safe passage across the bar rather than make a
fight of it. To a man, they shouted that they would rather die than give up anything they had taken with such hard effort. It is unlikely a single man in that market-square believed the Spanish admiral would keep his word and let them sail out of the lake unmolested. Such was not their experience with the Spanish dons of the 17th Century. They knew
only too well that many an Englishman had been put to death or clapped in
irons after accepting similar terms of surrender from a Spaniard like Alonso
del Campo.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">With his privateers’ will made clear, Morgan attempted to negotiate a safe passage a second time. This time, he sent two of his officers to propose
to the Spanish admiral that his privateers leave Maracaibo without doing any
further damage or receiving a ransom for the town. Further, he offered to
surrender half of the slaves he had taken, to liberate of all his prisoners, and to free the four prominent hostages he had brought from Gibraltar, all
without further payment.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">These terms were firmly rejected by Don Alonso del Campo, however. He declared
Morgan’s terms to be dishonourable, and he replied that unless the conditions he had already offered were accepted within two days, he would begin an attack. By this time, though, Morgan had developed a plan to force a passage through the strait.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Some accounts credit an anonymous source from among the privateers for this plan, but the admiral claimed full credit for himself. Morgan set his men to work, preparing his fleet for battle. Work on two of his ships, though, was of special importance. One, a sloop, the privateers pretended to convert into a fire-ship, something the Spaniards would expect to hear about from their spies. The other was the large Cuban ship captured at
Gibraltar, which the privateers prepared as Morgan’s new flagship. They added more cannons and made a show of manning her with many men heavily armed with swords, muskets, and bandoliers. Or so it would seem to any distant observer.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">In fact, the sloop as a fire-ship was a ruse to misdirect the Spaniards and disguise the real fire-ship, which was the large Cuban ship. They spread all the pitch, tar and brimstone they found in the town throughout the larger craft. Then they lay about large quantities of powder and palm leaves smeared with tar. The cannon that could be seen pointing out through freshly cut portholes were imitations made of hollowed out and painted logs. Besides, the armed men on the deck were really “scarecrows”—arrangements of wood pieces dressed up with hats and adorned with weapons to imitate armed crewmen. By the time they were finished, the Cuban ship was fully disguised. To the Spaniards looking on, Admiral
Morgan’s flagship, his flag streaming in the wind, had decks that bristled with cannons and bore heavily armed boarding parties.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Adobe Garamond Pro",serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Minion Pro Med"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-font-kerning: 8.0pt; mso-ligatures: standard;">Brimstone
is sulphur in the form of a lemon-yellow coloured stone. When a brimstone is
exposed to air and a match is put to it, it burns like a liquid fire and emits
noxious fumes. The stone melts like wax, but the dripping is a peculiar thick
fire that acts like burning wax.</span></blockquote><p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The male prisoners had been placed aboard one ship, and the women and the most valuable plunder in another. In a third, they placed the less valuable cargo.
All three were crewed by only twelve sailors leaving as many privateers as possible for the other vessels and available for hand-to-hand
combat. As well, twelve reliable men were selected to sail the fire-ship.
</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj342e7Ix8YyO-MvHUZh-FM5hp0iELGFTsbvlPsNK_wa6S8caIXvXtRtiHNG1guxENKCoXfCG6fugGl_i6v3qo3zlAk6VBbhMFzODQKXPbtV_XTxanXDwnSuM27krJKI-Rl-Li7J1eWX3E/s600/MORGAN%25E2%2580%2599S+ATTACK+ON+MARACAIBO-The+Sea+Its+Stirring+Story+of+Adventure+etc+-+Frederick+Whymper.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="600" height="338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj342e7Ix8YyO-MvHUZh-FM5hp0iELGFTsbvlPsNK_wa6S8caIXvXtRtiHNG1guxENKCoXfCG6fugGl_i6v3qo3zlAk6VBbhMFzODQKXPbtV_XTxanXDwnSuM27krJKI-Rl-Li7J1eWX3E/w640-h338/MORGAN%25E2%2580%2599S+ATTACK+ON+MARACAIBO-The+Sea+Its+Stirring+Story+of+Adventure+etc+-+Frederick+Whymper.png" width="640" /></a> </td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morgan’s Breal-out at Maracaibo<br />The Sea Its Stirring Story of Adventure, etc. | by Frederick Whymper<br /></td></tr></tbody></table></div><p style="text-align: justify;">After a week of preparation, Admiral Morgan’s 13 ships sailed on the afternoon of 30 April to face the three Spanish ships that were still anchored in the middle of the channel. With the sun setting, Morgan gave orders to anchor just out of the Spanish guns’ range, daring the Spaniards to come at him.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">At daybreak the next day, Morgan saw the Spaniards had not moved. So, taking the initiative, he gave his ships the signal to weigh anchor and sail towards the Spanish men-of-war. Sailing with the tide and favourable winds, the fire-ship led the privateer flotilla. They quickly closed with the enemy, who now also cleared for action. The fire-ship was deftly handled and bore down on the towering <i>Magdalena </i>as if
Morgan intended to board her. And before the Spanish flagship discovered what was about to happen, the Cuban ship's skeleton crew flung grappling irons across to the <i>Magdalena</i>, locking both vessels together in a mortal embrace.
Immediately after this, the privateer crew lit fast-burning fuses and abandoned the disguised fire-ship.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The Spaniards were shocked and perplexed by Morgan’s plow. They were confident they would prevail in any encounter with the privateers.
Their confusion worsened when they saw flames racing about on what they had assumed was Morgan’s flagship. Recognizing something was dreadfully wrong, <i>Magdalena’s </i>crew struggled to fend off the smaller privateer with boathooks and pikes. But to no avail.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The fire
reached the Spanish flagship, forcing crewmembers to clamour over the side and leap into the uncertain waters below. Streaks of fire ran through the rigging and leaped onto the sails of both ships like angry spirits consuming everything in their paths. Within minutes, violent explosions on board the deserted fire-ship spread showers of embers and blazing fragments of wood. Finally, as if it had been struck by a bolt of lightning, <i>Magdalena’s </i>magazine blew up. Her hull broke apart completely and sank, leaving many of her crew swimming desperately for their lives or clinging grimly to floating spars. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Without the loss of one privateer, the pride of the <i>Armada de Barlovento</i> was lost.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl2xIZRZ21tvRENjHSAtkxQIBcY3oxUDo9xAAIyA9zwiPKJrg5IKIEtgU6Pzmd4e17UvmV3GnLj0P_UlMqnYP4E8Wf0HygQU1eF7x0df0PKMYoPO3CA1pyZrz47TF7iYcngfxAoR_fjhk/s800/Castillo_San_Carlos_Zulia-Maracaibo.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl2xIZRZ21tvRENjHSAtkxQIBcY3oxUDo9xAAIyA9zwiPKJrg5IKIEtgU6Pzmd4e17UvmV3GnLj0P_UlMqnYP4E8Wf0HygQU1eF7x0df0PKMYoPO3CA1pyZrz47TF7iYcngfxAoR_fjhk/w400-h266/Castillo_San_Carlos_Zulia-Maracaibo.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fortress on San Carlos Island</td></tr></tbody></table>Morgan’s men attempted to rescue some of the Spanish crewmen from the water,
but most refused assistance, preferring to perish than to owe their lives to their enemies. Seeing Magdalena consumed by flames, the captain of the <i>San Luis</i> sought the protection of the fort on San Carlos. In his haste,
however, he ran <i>San Luis</i> ashore. Then, to prevent the privateers from taking her, he ordered her scuttled and set on fire. The third Spanish ship, the
<i>Nuestra Señora de la Soledad</i> (known to some as <i>Soledad </i>and to others as <i>La
Marquesa</i>), was run down by a swarm of Morgan’s smaller ships. The privateers took Soledad as a prize after stiff resistance and before she too could be set on fire by the Spaniards. The <i>Soledad </i>was the last of the once-proud Spanish <i>Armada de
Barlovento</i>.<p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Don Alonso and many of his surviving soldiers and seamen eventually crowded into <i>Fuerte de La Barra</i> on San Carlos Island, which they further reinforced with whatever they could salvage from the <i>San Luis</i> wreck. This fort was now a more formidable barrier to the open sea than when Morgan’s privateers easily captured it. But the privateers were flushed with victory and felt nothing was impossible. For the rest of that day, Morgan’s men
assaulted the fort, and when they were driven back, they took cover and fired
their muskets at anything that showed above the high walls of the fort.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Meanwhile, Morgan moved his flag from <i>Lilly </i>to the captured <i>Soledad.</i> Then he returned to Maracaibo to refit and prepare to do battle once more. In his temporary headquarters at Maracaibo, Morgan assembled his prisoners for questioning. Among them was the former pilot of Soledad, who was not a Spaniard and who turned informer. He told about the <i>Armada de Barlovento’s</i> arrival in the West
Indies and the events leading up to the blockade of Lake Maracaibo. He also
told how Don Alonso had ignored a warning about the fire-ship rouse because
the Spanish don thought the privateers had not “<i>wit enough to build a
fire-ship.</i>” For his cooperation, the pilot received his freedom and chose to join the privateers. He then told Morgan that <i>Magdalena </i>had a cargo of silver worth about 40,000 pieces of eight.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Morgan ordered repeated attacks on the fort, without success and with the loss of 30 lives. By then, many of the inhabitants just wanted to be rid of the privateers and agreed to pay for peace. They gave the privateers 20,000 pieces of eight and 500 cattle in return for the hostages and Morgan to leave Maracaibo intact. The privateers received the cattle and some of the coin up front. Later, while the buccaneers preserved the beef for their voyage, they got the remainder of the coin. However, Morgan did not release the prisoners, for he knew full well that Don Alonso had not been party to the agreement and was unlikely to allow his flotilla to pass the fort.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">While the main force of privateers was attacking the fort and Morgan was negotiating the ransom, the admiral had also directed others to dive on the sunken
<i>Magdalena.</i> They recovered silver worth more than 20,000 pieces of eight. Included were quantities of coin that had been melted together by the heat of Magdalena’s fire to form lumps of silver bullion.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Admiral Morgan knew his time on the lake was running out, for surely the
Spaniards in the region knew of his presence, and reinforcements would arrive shortly. He made another attempt to negotiate. This time he promised the prisoners that if they could persuade Don Alonso to let them pass, they would be freed without paying a ransom. However, if the
Spanish commander disagreed, every prisoner would be hanged. Again Don Alonso refused to strike a bargain, though, not all the
Spaniards shared his view.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Morgan did not hang his prisoners, but chose to try another ruse.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">To prepare for escape through the heavily guarded straight, Morgan gave orders to share out the plunder so it would not be concentrated in one or two ships and possibly all be lost in the upcoming battle. Edward Long, the much-quoted historian, places the booty’s value at 250,000 pieces of eight. [<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"><i>The History of Jamaica,</i> 1774</span>]. This was about the same as the privateers took from Portobello. Long is clear that his estimates do not include “<i>quantities of silks, linens, gold and silver lace, plate, jewels, and other valuable commodities.</i>” Esquemeling wrote that the booty amounted to 250,000 crowns in money and jewels, besides a great quantity of merchandise and slaves. Sir
Thomas Modyford, on the other hand, wrote that the buccaneers received only
£30 per man, half their Portobello share. The differences can probably be
accounted for by the buccaneer tradition of pre-sharing some of their spoils before returning to Jamaica, where there would be an official division done by the Admiralty Court.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">As part of the escape plan, Admiral Morgan moved his flotilla closer to shore and well out of range of the fort’s guns. Next, he oversaw the loading of several open boats with heavily armed privateers and watched as they rowed ashore. They worked only during the day, taking care that the Spaniards in the fort saw everything they did. However, each boat landed at a point on the shore where thickets obscured the Spaniards’ view. After waiting for about the time Don Alonso would expect them to have unloaded the boats, two buccaneers rowed the empty boats back to the ships, on the side farthest from curious eyes at the fortress.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Of course, the privateers never really landed. Instead, they lay down in the bottom of their boats once out of sight and made the return trip to the ships. By repeating this several times, Morgan hoped that Don Alonso would believe a large force planned a night assault by land on the fortification’s most weakly defended side. Taken in by this simple ruse, the don ordered several of his great guns moved, so they pointed landward. This decreased the number of cannons
covering the channel and improved the likelihood of the privateers escaping Lake
Maracaibo. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Shortly after nightfall, Morgan’s ships silently slipped their anchors and “<i>by the light of the moon, without setting sail</i>” drifted gently with the ebbing tide until they came abreast of the fort. At that point, the privateers spread sail and made a dash for the open sea.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">When the Spanish sentries alerted Don Alonso, he realized there would be no land-based assault. But it was too late, for Morgan’s escaping flotilla benefitted from a favourable wind and was slipping quickly past the fortress. A barrage from <i>Fuerte de La Barra’s</i> battery did little damage, for too many of its cannons were pointing inland. They could not be brought to bear in time to be much of a factor.
According to Esquemeling, the privateers “<i>lost not many of their men nor
received any considerable damage to their Ships.</i>”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The following morning, when out of reach of <i>Fuerte de La Barra’s</i> guns, Admiral
Morgan released the remainder of his prisoners and the Gibraltar hostages.
Then, just before he departed, he “<i>ordered seven great Guns with Bullets to be fired against the Castle, as it were to take leave of them. But they answered
not so much as with a musket shot.</i>” [Esquemeling] Afterwards, Morgan’s fleet set a
course across the Caribbean Sea towards Port Royal, and so ended the Battle of the Bar of Maracaibo.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">❦❦❦</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
I BELIEVE IT IS worth repeating here that even after threatening to kill the
Spanish prisoners for nonpayment of ransom, Harry Morgan, set them free and
unharmed, unlike the treatment Englishmen and other Jamaicans received
regularly at the hands of the Spaniards. But that was Harry Morgan’s way. Time
and again, he freed prisoners even when their countrymen had reneged on paying
some or all of their ransom.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Despite the cruelties with which Morgan is charged by many, his own account stated that, during his occupation of Portobello, he offered
“<i>several ladies of great quality</i>” and other prisoners their release so they
could seek refuge in the President of Panama’s camp outside the city. But the
ladies refused, saying “<i>they were now prisoners to a person of quality, who
was more tender of their honours than they doubted to find in the President’s
camp among his rude Panama soldiers.</i>”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">It is also notable that official Spanish accounts of Harry Morgan’s raids on
Cuba and the Spanish Main do not seem not to have the number of libellous
accusations of wanton cruelty, attributed to Morgan personally, as do accounts
contained in Esquemeling’s popular book,<i> History of the Bucaniers</i>. I find it
curious that readers find truth in the words of an
admitted buccaneer and pirate, John Esquemeling, who held a personal grudge
against Morgan, but refuse to accept the word of Henry Morgan himself, a prominent landowner, council member, custos, general, admiral, governor and
English knight.</p>
cycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882151688793825918.post-89704564650721424632021-01-20T07:00:00.269-05:002021-01-20T07:00:03.862-05:00Chapter 15.1 – Maracaibo, part II<p style="text-align: justify;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUSjGNGBUzPEg17lmn6PcjUxq1ok-_G3hA43kAmtE7sGl2eL3Ipj3dJLQsapzfq32Oq0cjhZw1o1jbRCWFfUiDZ4dB8FtCnbaciio7K5XXP3CzL9as52m_pv-QcW3QR0R513tNkz6wNmA/s1024/Lake_Maracaibo_map-es.svg.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1010" data-original-width="1024" height="632" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUSjGNGBUzPEg17lmn6PcjUxq1ok-_G3hA43kAmtE7sGl2eL3Ipj3dJLQsapzfq32Oq0cjhZw1o1jbRCWFfUiDZ4dB8FtCnbaciio7K5XXP3CzL9as52m_pv-QcW3QR0R513tNkz6wNmA/w640-h632/Lake_Maracaibo_map-es.svg.png" width="640" /></a></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="firstcharacter">B</span><span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">y this time, the</span> privateers had plenty of fresh beef and pork for their
homeward voyage, but lacked what Morgan referred to as “dry provisions.”
Gibraltar, located on the south-east shore of Lake Maracaibo nearly 100 miles from the sea, was a small town that was rich in cocoa walks and grain crops that were just the sort of provisions Morgan needed.</p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">A plantation of cocoa trees (<i>Theobroma Cacao</i>) usually planted in rows with taller trees planted in between to shade them. The shadow of the taller-growing trees protects the young cocoa tree against the burning sun or strong wind. After five years, it is strong enough to survive and start producing cocoa.</p></blockquote><div><p></p>
<p></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The admiral sent a few of the prisoners on ahead to Gibraltar hoping they could convince their countrymen to surrender. But to no avail. </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">After the main
body of privateers arrived the next day, Morgan, while making a show of preparing for a frontal attack on the garrison, sent his French guide with a
party of privateers through the woods to cut off retreat. The garrison had second thoughts about defending the town and, after spiking their guns, took to the nearby hill, carrying their worldly possessions. The privateers were in hot pursuit and captured several inhabitants and a considerable number of slaves. One of the slaves offered to
guide Morgan to “<i>a certain River belonging to the Lake, where he should find a
Ship and four Boats richly laden with goods that belonged to the Inhabitants
of Maracaibo.</i>”</p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeBGdtTUJdaIirLwUAbOwMRAEtZKXFpUhQGGsv4qbY-uZmZtGgoRbYWjwLEKcusVwNNJUDgvS7pjNZteEo6xGLpu874ENTRNo6v_R8zU5qmV1waynto4b-tDXVhPhwsrzXh3SjmTSyYsM/s700/MORGANS+ATTACK+ON+GIBRALTAR-The+Sea+Its+Stirring+Story+of+Adventure+etc+-+Frederick+Whymper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="504" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeBGdtTUJdaIirLwUAbOwMRAEtZKXFpUhQGGsv4qbY-uZmZtGgoRbYWjwLEKcusVwNNJUDgvS7pjNZteEo6xGLpu874ENTRNo6v_R8zU5qmV1waynto4b-tDXVhPhwsrzXh3SjmTSyYsM/w460-h640/MORGANS+ATTACK+ON+GIBRALTAR-The+Sea+Its+Stirring+Story+of+Adventure+etc+-+Frederick+Whymper.jpg" width="460" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MORGAN’S ATTACK ON GIBRALTAR<br /><i>The Sea Its Stirring Story of Adventure, etc.</i> by Frederick Whymper<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Morgan split his forces. He sent 200 men in large boats towards the river the slave had mentioned. He took a second force of 250 men with him to look for the governor. The governor had retreated to a fort on a small mid-river
island. However, before Morgan reached the island, the man had moved to a
mountain stronghold reachable only by a very steep and narrow path. Morgan planned to give pursuit, but the rains came—buckets of it. Everything got soaked, including their prisoners, many of whom fell ill and died.</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Seeing the futility of the further pursuit of the governor,
Morgan returned to Gibraltar after 12 days. Two days later, the other group arrived at the town, bringing four boats and more prisoners. Most of the goods they had hoped to find had been taken away and hidden by the prewarned Spaniards. However, the Spaniards left in such haste they abandoned both the ship and the four boats partially loaded with a considerable amount of booty. These the privateers brought back with them to Gibraltar.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Much has been made in some accounts of the cruel treatment of the Spanish prisoners, many of whom were said to have been tortured. At least one historian, however, disputes that Harry Morgan ordered this or was even aware of it. Charles Leslie wrote the following:</p>
<blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The Truth of the Matter stood thus: Morgan having prevailed on a Slave to
discover where the Governor of Gibraltar and the most considerable of the
Inhabitants with their Effects lay concealed, went immediately with Two
Hundred Men to attack them there. He likewise ordered Two Hundred and Fifty
Men to march to a River which discharges itself into the Lake, in search of a
Ship and four Boats, which were richly laden with Goods, and in the time of
their Absence all the above named Cruelties were committed.
</p></blockquote>
<blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">In thirteen letters, Charles Leslie, whose family had strong Caribbean interests, covers Jamaica’s early history, including the exploits of Sir Henry Morgan. Leslie’s book first appeared as “<i>A new and exact account of Jamaica</i>” in Edinburgh in 1739, followed by a re-titled second edition, London, 1740, which contained an additional chapter. A Dublin edition followed in 1741, and a French translation in 1751.</p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Leslie also noted that he had “<i>seen a Manuscript writ by one who was concerned
on the Expedition, which contains a Journal of their whole Procedure. This
Relation, now in the hands of a considerable Planter here, vindicates Morgan
from these black Aspersions.</i>”
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
After about a month, the
prominent Spaniards who the privateers held as prisoners agreed to a ransom amount for
their lives and to save the town. The admiral steadfastly refused to give up
the slave who had acted as his informer and guide, for he believed that the
Spaniards wanted the man so that they could “<i>punish him according to his
deserts.</i>” [<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;">Esquemeling</span>] Morgan never received the full amount of the ransom, but
instead received four prominent citizens as hostages to act as surety for the
remainder.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
With his fleet fully provisioned, Morgan set sail for Maracaibo. The privateers had captured five vessels on Lake Maracaibo that they believed could make the voyage home. Most were small, but one was a large merchant ship from Cuba, which was bigger than any of the privateer fleet’s original eight vessels. The voyage across Lake Maracaibo took four days, and when his fleet arrived at
the town Morgan found the place deserted but for “<i>a poor distressed old man,
who was sick.</i>” From him, Morgan learned that three Spanish warships had taken up positions at the strait leading from Tablazo Bay to the open sea and were waiting there to block his escape. He also learned that <i>Fuerte de La Barra</i> on
San Carlos Island, which commanded the channel to the sea, had been repaired
and re-garrisoned by the Spaniards.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Morgan dispatched a ship to reconnoitre. Her captain returned with news that the largest of the three Spanish men-of-war carried 40 guns and her consorts 30 and 20, respectively. Furthermore, all three appeared to be well manned. If Lake Maracaibo could be thought of as a bottle, then the
Spaniards had truly put a cork in it. Morgan’s fleet was trapped with little prospect of escape.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
THE SPANISH SQUADRON OPPOSING Morgan’s fleet was what remained of the
formidable <i>Armada de Barlovento</i>, a fleet created by Spain to protect its
American territories from attacks by its European enemies, as well as attacks
from pirates and privateers. The fleet of three men-of-war was commanded by
Vice-Admiral Don Alonso del Campos y Espinosa.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The <i>Armada de Barlovento</i> had, until recently, consisted of five warships under
the command of Captain-General Don Agustin de Diostegui, but its two most
powerful men-of-war had been recalled to Spain along with <i>Diostegui</i>, leaving
Don Alonso in command of a 412-ton galleon or frigate, <i>Magdalena</i>, armed
with 36 canons and 12 swivel guns, a 218-ton frigate, <i>San Luis</i>, with the combined total of 36 cannon and swivel guns, and the 120-ton <i>Nuestra Señora de
la Soledad</i>, with 16 canons and eight swivel guns. And, although these
three ships were classified as only small to medium-sized men-of-war, each one
would be more than a match for any ship in Admiral Morgan’s fleet.</p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">Biographers Peter Earle and David Marley both list la <i>Soledad </i>at 50 tons. Earle says it had 10 guns, while Marley claims it had 14. Other accounts, however, list the ship as being larger and more heavily armed than this.</p></blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
When the fleet first arrived in the Caribbean, it was stationed first at San
Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico, but soon moved to Havana, Cuba. At about
the time <i>Diostegui </i>returned to Spain, Don Alonso received news that the
Jamaican privateers were gathering at <i>Île-à-Vache</i> intending to join the French <i>flibustiers </i>in an attempt on Cartagena. He immediately sailed east along the northern coasts of Cuba, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico,
hoping to sail far enough eastward to gain a wind advantage on Morgan’s fleet. (Along the Spanish Main, trade winds (prevailing winds) blow from east to west.)</p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">When the names of Puerto Rico and its capital were being officially registered, the names were reversed in error. The island should have been named San Juan and its capital Puerto Rico (Rich Port).</p></blockquote>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
At the Mona Passage, between Hispaniola and Puerto Rico, however, Don Alonso heard from a Dutch merchantman that Santo Domingo was in danger of an imminent attack from several French ships. Therefore, deciding to detour and reinforce Santo Domingo’s garrison, he altered course and arrived at Hispaniola’s capital on 25 Mar 1669. A French attack never materialized, but Don Alonso’s visit was not a waste of time. He learned that a Jamaican privateer fleet had been seen as it sailed by Santo Domingo. Later, he learned from another source that Morgan’s fleet was in Lake Maracaibo.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The <i>Armada de Barlovento</i> arrived off the Bar of Maracaibo in the Gulf of
Venezuela in mid-April, and once Don Alonso had determined Morgan’s flotilla
was still within the lake, he set his trap.
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Don Alonso gave orders to re-garrison and rearm <i>Fuerte de La Barra</i> by digging up some of the cannons Morgan’s men had spiked and re-drilling their touchholes. He also added spare cannon from a man-of-war the Spaniards had salvaged weeks earlier and two 18-pounder guns from <i>Magdalena</i>. Don Alonso then sent messages inland for
reinforcements in the form of ships and men he would need should a naval and
land assault against the privateers become necessary. Next, he lightened his
men-of-war to lessen their draught and, floating them across the bar,
positioned them just inside Tablazo Bay.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Don Alonso’s flagship, <i>Magdalena</i>, took up a position west of the island of
<i>Zapara</i>, while <i>Soledad </i>and <i>San Luis</i> anchored at equal distances to starboard.
Thus, the channel that ran between San Carlos and <i>Zapara </i>islands was blocked and the lake beyond blockaded. From that superior position, Admiral Don
Alonso del Campos lay in wait to engage Admiral Harry Morgan’s fleet in what would be known as the Battle of the Bar of Maracaibo.
</p>
<div style="text-align: right;">Continued … </div>
</div>cycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882151688793825918.post-11062876943415988882021-01-18T07:00:00.610-05:002021-01-18T07:00:05.223-05:00Chapter 15 – Maracaibo, Part I<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidYrNise1ud2P_bQs6Xyrj3E614zpWBLtEbaW0V1ZnDwegOmAMLbpFLSMyVS_lcvZdYZr92-lQjwcKtVHK9qW3ySWNeTjHqWz25pRTXxuGkmuK-qIXypbRsQIr4WAdb8LyctzEPlE7t3E/s1500/west+indies.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1111" data-original-width="1500" height="483" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidYrNise1ud2P_bQs6Xyrj3E614zpWBLtEbaW0V1ZnDwegOmAMLbpFLSMyVS_lcvZdYZr92-lQjwcKtVHK9qW3ySWNeTjHqWz25pRTXxuGkmuK-qIXypbRsQIr4WAdb8LyctzEPlE7t3E/w652-h483/west+indies.jpg" width="652" /></a>
</div><p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="firstcharacter">A</span><span style="font-variant: small-caps; font-weight: 400;">fter the destruction of</span> his flagship <i>Oxford</i>, Harry Morgan transferred to the much smaller <i>Lilley</i>, a 14-gun frigate, and with great effort reorganized his much-reduced squadron. The loss of five captains and scores of his best men had taken its toll on the admiral. However, his fleet was still a formidable force, for it consisted of fifteen sail and nearly 1,000 seamen and soldiers, a tribute to the high regard in which the privateers held him. His ships were small, though, the largest being armed with only fourteen guns while many others were no more than large boats.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Once the Admiral had restored order and the feeling of loss for so many of
their comrades had begun to fade, Morgan proposed the company beat a course to
Trinidad and then sail to leeward following the coast of the Main, picking up any Spanish prizes that happened to cross their path. His squadron having agreed on this as consolation for not being able to attempt Cartagena, for that target was much too strongly defended for his reduced force. Morgan
chose <i>Isla Saona</i> near the eastern tip of Hispaniola as the new rendezvous and
moved his vessels out to sea.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
On the way to his new anchorage, Morgan bought a small supply of provisions from a ship coming out from England. And, from time to time, he landed men on
Hispaniola to obtain food and fresh water. During one of these minor expeditions, soldiers sent out from the city of San Domingo attacked his foraging party while they were hunting cattle and horses, killing some before they could regain the safety of their boats. The Spaniards were finally driven off, however. When Harry Morgan learned what had happened to his hunting party, he became incensed. In retaliation, he landed on shore with a stronger force and retaliated by destroying several houses and plantations.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The tragedy that had befallen the crew of the <i>Oxford</i> must have had an intense effect on Morgan, for he seemed to lose his resolve and spent a month sailing aimlessly among the islands. Eventually, some of the ships that met him at <i>Isla Saona</i> sailed off in search of prizes. Captain Collier, in command
of <i>Satisfaction, </i>and with surgeon Richard Browne aboard, returned to the Point.
There <i>Satisfaction </i>took on supplies before sailing off on an independent cruise supporting logwood cutters in the Bay of Campeche. At one point, Morgan dispatched a contingent of buccaneers to make an attempt on a nearby town, but his men returned empty-handed after they found the area’s inhabitants were well prepared to defend themselves and their property.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
However, somewhat more than half of the privateers and eight rather small ships remained with Morgan, including his lieutenant John Morris, Jeffery Pennant, Edward Dempster, Richard Norman, Richard Dobson and Adam Brewster. There were one or two others, but I have not seen their names.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Finally, at <i>Isla Saona</i>, the admiral summoned his captains and senior officers to another council of war. During this meeting, a French seaman told the captains he had accompanied the French privateer, Jean-David Nau, better known as François l’Olonnais, during his 1667 sack of the city of Maracaibo in present-day Venezuela. He told how l’Olonnais had sailed from Tortuga with a fleet of eight ships and a crew of six hundred men and took the city in just a few hours. The Frenchman claimed he knew all the entries, passages,
forces, and other means of executing a similar raid.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The council soon arrived at a consensus: instead of beating all the way to
Trinidad, they resolved to sail their eight ships manned by 500 sailors and soldiers to the island of Aruba. There they would purchase provisions from the friendly
Indian inhabitants, then make for the Gulf of Venezuela. The privateers-buccaneers bragged loudly how they would outmaneuver and
outfight the Spanish defenders and take the city of Maracaibo much as
François l’Olonnais had done. They also agreed to hire the Frenchman, who had proposed the venture, as their guide.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Morgan arrived with his fleet, as planned, in the Gulf of Venezuela on 9
Mar 1669. They had been careful to avoid giving away their destination by leaving Aruba under cover of darkness and now anchored out of sight of the watch-tower at Lake Maracaibo’s entrance (<i>Largo de Maracaibo</i>).</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiNsQq-CpyYOCU8IkP9Y1b350d5eCwFcUi8y2SM4Xl09E_8VUf66Jn-ZPYac1ea4zQwF77JfJLDVUKFFL8Z6euVykHtfQzYyEuvyKkZXWr8foTiA0v1mpK8yI7bIW8OpT0lPV_E50Di2E/s792/Lake_Maracaibo_map.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="660" data-original-width="792" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiNsQq-CpyYOCU8IkP9Y1b350d5eCwFcUi8y2SM4Xl09E_8VUf66Jn-ZPYac1ea4zQwF77JfJLDVUKFFL8Z6euVykHtfQzYyEuvyKkZXWr8foTiA0v1mpK8yI7bIW8OpT0lPV_E50Di2E/s320/Lake_Maracaibo_map.png" width="320" /></a></div>Lake Maracaibo is the largest natural lake in South
America and, at more than 20-million years of age, the second most ancient lake on earth. It is connected to the Gulf of Venezuela and the Caribbean Sea by the narrow Tablazo Strait and Tablazo Bay in the north, making the lake water slightly saline—the water in the south is fresh but tidal influences make the northern waters brackish. Lake Maracaibo, which has a surface area of
5,100 square miles, is about 16 percent larger than Jamaica’s 4,400 square miles.
<p></p><p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">While still out of sight from land, Admiral Morgan and his fleet of small ships lay in wait until nightfall. Then he got underway again, timing his movements so his arrival would not be noticed until daybreak. The entrance to
Tablazo Bay is barred by a chain of small islands. In the middle of these is
<i>Isla de Zapara,</i> and to the west of it lies the island of <i>San Carlos</i>. The space between these two islands forms the shipping channel to Tablazo Bay and to the straights leading into Lake Maracaibo. The first change Morgan’s French guide noticed was a castle on San Carlos Island that covered the channel so that no ships could pass without coming into range of its guns. According to the Frenchman, this fortress had not been there two years before when l’Olonnais raided the port.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
This was <i>Fuerte de La Barra</i>, which had been built to guard the seaward approaches to Lake Maracaibo’s entrance and thus the city within. At the time of l’Olonnais’s raid, his flibustiers had, apparently, only to contend with a smaller fort located nearer the city. The guns of <i>Fuerte de La Barra </i>opened fire as soon as the privateers were sighted. “<i>The dispute continued
very hot on both sides,</i>” Esquemeling wrote, “<i>being managed with huge valour
from morning until dark night.</i>” The fort, though, was undermanned and
hard-pressed to hold off the Jamaicans—only one officer and eight soldiers
had been left to man the small fortress. When Morgan’s men did enter it, even those few defenders had fled. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Before abandoning their posts, however, the
Spaniards had left a little surprise: a slow-burning fuse they had attached to a large quantity of gunpowder—enough powder to demolish the fortress and kill all within it. Fortunately for the admiral and his men, Morgan discovered the booby trap before it could do any damage.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Morgan, apparently, debated whether or not to garrison the fort before giving orders to disarm it by driving nails into the touchholes of the cannons,
tipping them off the ramparts and burying them in the sand. Then the privateers loaded their ships with the large quantities of powder, shot and small arms they had found within the fortress. Next, Morgan led them with great care through the natural hazards guarding the way across Tablazo Bay and through the narrow strait of the same name.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
On the western shore of the Tablazo Strait—about 20 miles from <i>Fuerte de La
Barra</i>—lay Maracaibo, a small but prosperous and, except for a nearby battery, defenceless Spanish city. The city lay in a basin surrounded by the higher ground that blocked the steady, refreshing trade winds of the region; thus suffering from high temperatures and stifling humidity. This combination made
Maracaibo one of the hottest cities on the Main and arguably the most unhealthy. The local economy, though, was thriving from the abundance of sugarcane, cacao and livestock.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Harry Morgan was well aware that François l’Olonnais had ravaged the area only two years earlier, but he was betting that the city had recovered enough to make his visit worthwhile. Morgan knew too that when l’Olonnais arrived at the city, it was deserted and l’Olonnais had to send out search parties to round up inhabitants so they could be tortured until they revealed where they were hiding their valuables. Morgan obviously hoped he would be luckier and take the town before too many residents had fled.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
As the privateers moved towards the city, they found that only shallow-draft
boats such as canoes could navigate through the sand bars and shallow water. Consequently, they divided the powder and muskets they had captured from the abandoned fort and continued in smaller craft. Admiral Morgan’s luck did not hold,
however.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Morgan soon learned that Maracaibo was already deserted, except for “<i>a few miserable poor folk,
who had nothing to lose.</i>” [<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;">Esquemeling, <i>History of the Bucaniers</i> (1684)</span>] The inhabitants and their slaves had fled to the mountains in the west carrying as much of their valuables as they could. Apparently, the memory of l’Olonnais’s murderous raid was still fresh. Besides,
Morgan’s own reputation was well known along the Main, and no Spaniard expected him to be any less of a savage that the Frenchman had been.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Captain Sanchez, the Spanish garrison commander, had ordered a call to arms
“<i>on pain of their lives as traitors to the kingdom.</i>” But, when only twelve men answered his call, not nearly enough to make a stand, he too fled with the remnants of his militia. So when Morgan’s men reached the fort that guarded the city, they found it too had been deserted.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The privateers immediately ransacked Maracaibo, and Morgan ordered that a search party of
100 men be sent into the countryside to look for plunder and captives. These orders the privateers followed “<i>with complete liberty and no resistance</i>.” Thirty residents who had remained too close to the city were captured and held for interrogation. Livestock were rounded up, and hidden plunder ferreted out.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
At this point, the city of Maracaibo was <i>de facto</i> the property of the English King
Charles II and would be so for as long as Admiral Henry Morgan decided to hold it. Morgan’s privateers did what a typical 17th-Century army would:
they looted every building of the town. Later they billeted in whichever house they chose and caroused throughout the nights. After three weeks of raiding the surrounding area for miles in every direction, Morgan gave the order for an attack on the more strongly fortified town of Gibraltar.
</p><p style="text-align: center;">❦❦❦</p><p style="text-align: center;"><br /></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivetUDtjCpCEEP0QfrknIx38cckog9sfDq2jT7MDhzZhXt7VWU-J7p8xcQq5yOfRSqM3wRUoqiBibfY77OmW3djALhDgQFh1LdnXpqCOE7yrffMeM1gzu2k-1ZC_cGXGGhxyytd4wiYBc/s2048/Frontispiece+to+1st+edition+of_Buccaneers_of_America_1.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1523" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivetUDtjCpCEEP0QfrknIx38cckog9sfDq2jT7MDhzZhXt7VWU-J7p8xcQq5yOfRSqM3wRUoqiBibfY77OmW3djALhDgQFh1LdnXpqCOE7yrffMeM1gzu2k-1ZC_cGXGGhxyytd4wiYBc/w298-h400/Frontispiece+to+1st+edition+of_Buccaneers_of_America_1.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Frontispiece to 1st edition<br />De Americaensche Zee-Roovers</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">We’ll pause here so we can take a closer look at John (Alexandre Olivier) Esquemeling (abt. 1645–1707) — also spelled Exquemeling or Oexmelin. Esquemeling was a French, Dutch, or Flemish author of a sourcebook of 17th-century piracy. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">His book was published initially in Dutch as <i>De Americaensche Zee-Roovers</i>, in Amsterdam, by Jan ten Hoorn, in 1678, then in German in 1679, and in Spanish in 1681. His classic book was translated and published in London by W. Cooke in 1684. Since then innumerable editions and reprints have appeared.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Born about 1645, Exquemelin was a native of Honfleur, France. In 1666, he went to Tortuga and served the <i>French West India Company </i>as an indentured servant for three years. While there, he became a buccaneer and claimed to have sailed with Henry Morgan as a barber-surgeon during his Caribbean campaigns and wrote first-hand accounts of his adventures with the buccaneers. He returned to Europe in 1674 and settled in Amsterdam, where his name appeared on the 1679 register of the Dutch Surgeons’ Guild.</p><blockquote style="text-align: justify;">Note: Regarding John Esquemeling, aka Alexandre Olivier Exquemelin, biographer Brig.-Gen. Cruikshank wrote. “<i>It is now almost certainly established that the real author was Hendrik Barentzoon Smeeks (1643–1721), a surgeon-apothecary, living at Zwolle in the province of Overysel, who was an industrious and talented writer of pseudo-historical works. He was born in that small town in 1643 or 1645 and educated in an asylum for orphans.</i>” [source: Brig.-Gen E.A. Cruikshank, <i>The Life of Sir Henry Morgan</i> (MacMillan, 1935)]</blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">As anyone who has read Esquemeling’s <i>The History of the Buccaneers</i> or any of its versions can attest, he disliked Henry Morgan and may have turned on him through spite. Esquemeling held a grudge because he, among others, believed Morgan had cheated him when sharing out the purchase from the attack on Panama. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">We should also remember he wrote first for the French, Dutch, and Spanish markets—all bitter enemies of England in those days and often at war with that country. Perhaps he hoped that portraying Morgan as a black-hearted English villain of humble origin would boost sales of his book. Notwithstanding the many inaccuracies of his accounts and the lurid tales they inspired, we are indebted to that Dutchman for much of the surviving details and rich descriptions of the buccaneers’ daily lives and their daring exploits.</p><div><div style="text-align: right;">Continued … </div>
</div>cycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882151688793825918.post-56718252154644235652021-01-15T07:00:00.364-05:002021-01-15T07:00:02.100-05:00Chapter 14 – The Oxford Incident<p style="text-align: justify;"> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5CNjtiKwEHLTNgGE9Zt17-ze3SCZ8Ib-sxcM54uwRO1LnYtL_pBM8drKEf4CyWeYL36CP5uOxgksZVKFvnRAgFJ4ueUp_KKdYsADQ7W5eBTHkoiFtbykzKQYqeaEzL9l9e22GrgpkoGE/s1637/Thomas_Buttersworth_-_A_British_frigate_hove-to_with_her_jollyboat_preparing_to_pluck_a_man_from_the_sea.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1585" data-original-width="1637" height="620" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5CNjtiKwEHLTNgGE9Zt17-ze3SCZ8Ib-sxcM54uwRO1LnYtL_pBM8drKEf4CyWeYL36CP5uOxgksZVKFvnRAgFJ4ueUp_KKdYsADQ7W5eBTHkoiFtbykzKQYqeaEzL9l9e22GrgpkoGE/w640-h620/Thomas_Buttersworth_-_A_British_frigate_hove-to_with_her_jollyboat_preparing_to_pluck_a_man_from_the_sea.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Example of an English Frigate | by Thomas Buttersworth (Cropped)</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="firstcharacter">A</span><span style="font-variant: small-caps; font-weight: 400;">dmiral Henry Morgan did</span> not stay long in Jamaica after his triumphant return from Portobello in mid-August 1668. To Jamaicans, Morgan’s standing as a hero was approaching that of Sir Francis Drake, who was still much admired at the Point. To be sure, Morgan had received a mild reprimand from the governor, which he had accepted humbly.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">By all accounts, Jamaica was thriving, having grown rich through privateering and the produce of its plantations. Far from being merely a base for buccaneers and pirates, the island had become home for many noble families who owned large, prosperous estates and plantations.<sup>[1]</sup> As a much-heralded man about town, Morgan became sought after as a dinner guest of the most prominent of these, gaining the ear of those who were seen as the colony’s power-brokers.</p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><sup>[1]</sup>In Jamaica, sugarcane was grown on “estates”; pimento, tobacco and other crops were grown on “plantations”; coffee was grown on “mountains”; and cattle and hogs were raised on “pens.”</p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">Not all doors were open to him, however. There were some,
especially among Port Royal’s merchants, who would never be his friends and who never lost an opportunity to speak ill of him and cast his every action in the worst possible light.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Morgan’s buccaneers spent their hard-won booty lavishly, and what they did not
spend they lost in games of chance. Some invariably fell victim to the numerous
cheats who offered no end of schemes designed to rid the less cautious of
their money. Before long, they were clamouring for a return to sea and another
expedition.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFcdm_1dVBw2rJhUKTuQA-U5YRLyuHpq5ZmJO9969_wUMsvr6CoiuCSF8SJk_gxB88P9BxbpLTqKOxGxw7b9jPoJ05YO9oKN7KHURPPeTDru-6KZs3yKnW6AVPeOuEzUz6WGIoCwLLJNM/s863/hispaniola.-haiti-santo-domingo-dominican-republic-vintage-map-1935-412337-p.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="486" data-original-width="863" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFcdm_1dVBw2rJhUKTuQA-U5YRLyuHpq5ZmJO9969_wUMsvr6CoiuCSF8SJk_gxB88P9BxbpLTqKOxGxw7b9jPoJ05YO9oKN7KHURPPeTDru-6KZs3yKnW6AVPeOuEzUz6WGIoCwLLJNM/w640-h360/hispaniola.-haiti-santo-domingo-dominican-republic-vintage-map-1935-412337-p.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">After only a few weeks, with his fleet refitted and partially provisioned,
Morgan set sail for <i>Île-à-Vache</i>, his favourite rendezvous. At that time, the admiral had formed no definite plan or, if he had one, he kept it secret. It
is likely Morgan only wanted a quiet place away from the temptations of Port
Royal, where he could complete his provisioning and train his crews without being spied upon. The next target would have to be agreed upon in the usual manner, at a council of war with his other privateer captains.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
About the middle of October 1668, several weeks after Morgan’s fleet had left the Point, the <i>Oxford </i>arrived from England. The <i>Oxford </i>was a fifth-rate
frigate of the Royal Navy, carrying thirty-four guns and a crew of 160 men.
Captain Hacket had brought the ship from England with a letter to the governor from the secretary of state. Lord Arlington placed the <i>Oxford </i>under Modyford’s orders. He gave him instructions to recommission her as a private ship of war under the command of a veteran privateer Captain Hacket so that the crew could support themselves with their prizes, which was to include the capture of pirates and their cargos.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The <i>Oxford </i>took on supplies and set off on a six-month cruise off the coast of the Spanish Main. However, she was still at Port Morant in southeastern Jamaica when Captain Hacket fell out with the ship’s master and ran him through with his sword. After the master died of his wound, Hacket fled and,
in mid-December, the governor appointed a veteran privateer, Captain Edward
Collier, to replace him.<sup>[2]</sup></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><sup>[2]</sup><i>Calendar of State Papers, America and West Indies, No. 1892</i>, Browne to Williamson, 17th December, 1668.<span style="text-align: left;"> </span></p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">My version of the <i>Oxford </i>incident is supported by a letter dated 20 Jan 1669 from ship’s surgeon Richard Browne, who arrived in the Indies with that ship, to Sir John Williamson, Lord Arlington’s Under-Secretary of State. The letter contains Browne’s eyewitness account of the incident and contradicts John Esquemeling’s account. Although he was, apparently, not kindly disposed towards Morgan, Brown noted Morgan’s moderation towards prisoners, especially women, which seems to contradict Esquemeling’s accusations.</p></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Shortly thereafter, news that pirates were cruising off the coast of Hispaniola arrived at the Point. They had chased several Jamaican privateers,
damaging one of them. They were reported to be the crew of a slave ship who had mutinied and murdered some of their officers. Modyford ordered the <i>Oxford </i>to search them out. He also gave Collier instructions to investigate a charge of piracy laid by the master of a Virginia merchantmen recently plundered by French flibustiers.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSFMP-PTn3NDzWWH8ed2sDufr3L3LFLE5HNgi8naRgrblkFGA1PZiVHryQldLxHg07uNgBkU2xye89-O5tzC1k_Gw6WD09GiBCg9v5ThwOUvXf5IwsR2BtJKImMuB1HS3xR5IH1w-C8mE/s575/Cow+island+haiti.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="431" data-original-width="575" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSFMP-PTn3NDzWWH8ed2sDufr3L3LFLE5HNgi8naRgrblkFGA1PZiVHryQldLxHg07uNgBkU2xye89-O5tzC1k_Gw6WD09GiBCg9v5ThwOUvXf5IwsR2BtJKImMuB1HS3xR5IH1w-C8mE/w400-h300/Cow+island+haiti.png" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">The <i>Oxford </i>sailed on 20 December 1668 from Port Morant for <i>Île-à-Vache</i>, where Captain Collier found the French flibustiers in a ship, <i>Le Cerf Volant,</i> of la Rochelle anchored among Admiral Morgan’s privateer squadron. The ship was armed with 14 guns and under the command of a
Frenchman, Captain Vivien. <i>Le Cerf Volant</i> had come out to the West Indies intending to trade with the Spaniards, but, having found this difficult, decided to plunder them. Vivien’s crew were flibustiers from Tortuga who were anxious to share Morgan’s promised booty.</p><p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
After Captain Vivien refused Collier’s invitation to come aboard the <i>Oxford</i>,
Collier ran close alongside, intending to board her. At that,
Captain Vivien changed his mind and met with Collier on board the larger ship.
When he could not produce a valid commission, and after the master of the plundered Virginian ship positively identified him as the pirate that had robbed him, Collier seized <i>Le Cerf Volant </i>arrested Vivien and his crew of forty-five. Collier took the pirates to Port Royal, where Vivien was tried by the Court of Admiralty and convicted of piracy. <i>Le Cerf Volant</i> was condemned as a lawful prize, then recommissioned and renamed <i>Satisfaction</i>.
Later, Modyford sent it in company with the <i>Oxford </i>to join Morgan’s squadron,
which was still anchored at<i> Île-à-Vache</i>.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Captain Vivien was never hanged; he appealed his death sentence and was reprieved by the governor. However, I would not want to leave the impression that acts of piracy were condoned at Port Royal, for they were not. Privateers operating under valid commissions were welcomed, of that, there is no doubt. But piracy, especially against English subjects, was outside the law. Pirates who were caught and convicted usually hanged and their rotting corpses were left on display at Gallows Point to discourage similar acts. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Such was the case under every governor of Jamaica,
for piracy was a danger to the colony’s general wellbeing. Jamaica owed its growing prosperity to trade since it produced more products than its tiny population could be consume. Moreover, many of the island’s estates were located near the coast and were especially vulnerable to attack by pirates from the sea. The influential planters who owned these properties would hold to account any governor who did not take the problem of piracy seriously. Obviously, merchants who depended on the safety of their goods coming in and going out of the island would have a similar view.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjshOBU7hKDq5rd2cfN9xvV4_tMULZejw5O-O3_MVN71-l-ktcqb7hytUgXPYjUbbXc_E0vYRPC47arxV9Hn9WtIyVznVLBdFtOjLQNAU93h72PsArUumXy48WKYAbqqIL_oWQ3AOt-jII/s2048/Burning_of_the_uss_philadelphia.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1386" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjshOBU7hKDq5rd2cfN9xvV4_tMULZejw5O-O3_MVN71-l-ktcqb7hytUgXPYjUbbXc_E0vYRPC47arxV9Hn9WtIyVznVLBdFtOjLQNAU93h72PsArUumXy48WKYAbqqIL_oWQ3AOt-jII/w271-h400/Burning_of_the_uss_philadelphia.jpg" width="271" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What the Oxford Explosion <br />Might Have Looked Like</td></tr></tbody></table>
By the end of the year, Admiral Henry Morgan had assembled a large number of
Jamaican privateers at <i>Île-à-Vache</i>. There they collected supplies from the hunting grounds on that island and on the much larger island of
Hispaniola. By most accounts, Morgan had recruited a force of 900 to a 1,000 privateers and twelve ships, including the recently arrived <i>Oxford </i>and <i>Satisfaction </i>under
Captain Collier’s command.
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><p style="text-align: justify;">
On 2 Jan 1669, Morgan convened a general council of war on board the
<i>Oxford</i>, which he—as commander-in-chief of Jamaican forces—had chosen as his flagship. Attending were Morgan and eight captains besides some officers of lower rank, including Captains Aylett, Bigford, Collier, Morris (father and son), Thornbury and Whiting and the ship’s surgeon, Richard Browne.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">During dinner at a table set up on Oxford’s quarterdeck, Morgan proposed an attack upon Cartagena, which he had reconnoitred recently. T</span><span style="text-align: left;">hose present knew </span><span style="text-align: left;">Cartagena </span><span style="text-align: left;">was the strongest fortress on the eastern coast of Spanish America.
But even more important to them, the city was known to be a veritable storehouse of wealth. The council of war endorsed Morgan’s plan, but it was never executed.</span></p><div><p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The privateer commanders ate a celebratory dinner on the quarter-deck of the
<i>Oxford</i>, while her crew and those of the other vessels were having a rousing time eating, drinking, quarrelling and firing off the ship’s guns. At the height of their celebrations, <i>Oxford’s </i>gunpowder magazine exploded from an unknown cause and without warning. Besides most of the guests at the table with the admiral, nearly the entire crew of 200 were killed instantly, drowned, or horribly wounded.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Ship’s surgeon Richard Browne, who had been seated towards the foot of the
table on the same side as Morgan, saw the mainmasts blow out and fall “upon Captains
Aylett, Bigford and others, and knocked them on the head,” before he was
hurled into the sea and miraculously survived “by getting astride the
mizzen-mast.” Browne reported that, of the <i>Oxford’s </i>crew, only six men and four boys survived. Captain Aylett, who had commanded the <i>Lily</i>, and
Captains Bigford, Thornbury, and Whiting were killed by the explosion or drowned. The dead also included the namesake son of Morgan’s old friend and fellow Jamaican planter, John Morris, Jr. Admiral Morgan and Morris’s father,
his most senior lieutenant, were also flung into the sea and luckily survived, as did the captain of the <i>Oxford</i>, Edward Collier.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglnjtoisEx7Jz5E9zdkNWqDoFPgkxn-P0cIEbZ-0GKUe94rfJWlB_anET6PwfgT1B2pS6bibGkAtU2hkHeA9SNksQ0YcaeylXYV0LqA6ZfGPruCfvuUCj9ZPuHUE5JQb9lDBNys9ciOW8/s803/convento-de-la-popa.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="547" data-original-width="803" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglnjtoisEx7Jz5E9zdkNWqDoFPgkxn-P0cIEbZ-0GKUe94rfJWlB_anET6PwfgT1B2pS6bibGkAtU2hkHeA9SNksQ0YcaeylXYV0LqA6ZfGPruCfvuUCj9ZPuHUE5JQb9lDBNys9ciOW8/w640-h436/convento-de-la-popa.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Convento de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Before long, news of Oxford’s fate reached the Spanish Main. The residents of Cartagena, who had expected an attack from Morgan, saw in the accident divine intervention and attributed the miracle to their guardian and patron saint, <i>Nuestra Senora de la Popa</i>, whose shrine at that city was the convent-church known as <i>Convento de Nuestra Señora de la Candelaria</i> high atop a hill overlooking the ocean and easily seen by all vessels approaching the city. According to William Dampier, the Spaniards believed:
<p></p>
<blockquote><p style="padding-top: 1em; text-align: justify;">
Any misfortune that befalls the privateers is attributed to this lady’s doing;
and the Spaniards report that she was aboard that night the <i>Oxford </i>man-of-war
was blown up at the isle of Vacca near Hispaniola, and that she came home all
wet; as belike she often returns with her clothes dirty and torn with passing
through woods and bad ways when she has been out upon any expedition;
deserving doubtless a new suit for such eminent pieces of service.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">❦❦❦</p>
<p style="font-family: Cardo; font-size: small; padding-bottom: 1em; text-align: justify;"><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGgBDcNPfVdxF1gX9pLH6y_HKM4LeOpIFRii43XD3VkOxZexBoEdgkf2ntBHi0sDKKMgdkfyWuflJw331m-hFpJ6ePqkvkuRbZwFXlftx-e-sM9XtNoO-1_1mfUVpsOuO7B7jbuqw4CvE/s659/William+Dampier%252C+English+buccaneer%252C+sea+captain%252C+author.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="659" data-original-width="431" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGgBDcNPfVdxF1gX9pLH6y_HKM4LeOpIFRii43XD3VkOxZexBoEdgkf2ntBHi0sDKKMgdkfyWuflJw331m-hFpJ6ePqkvkuRbZwFXlftx-e-sM9XtNoO-1_1mfUVpsOuO7B7jbuqw4CvE/w131-h200/William+Dampier%252C+English+buccaneer%252C+sea+captain%252C+author.jpg" width="131" /></a></i></div><i>Captain William Dampier, </i>A New Voyage Round the World<i>. Dampier (1651–1715) was the first Englishman to explore parts of what is today Australia, and the first person to circumnavigate the world three times. He has also a much-quoted natural historian as well an important British explorer. Daniel Defoe, author of Robinson Crusoe, was likely inspired by accounts of real-life castaway, Alexander Selkirk, a crew member on Dampier’s voyages. In 1679, Dampier crewed with Captain Bartholomew Sharp on the Spanish Main of Central America, twice visiting the Bay of Campeche, or “Campeachy” as it was then known, on the north coast of Mexico. He is cited over 80 times in the </i>Oxford English Dictionary<i>, on words such as “barbecue,” “avocado,” “chopsticks” and “subspecies.” He may not have coined the words, but his use of them in his writings is the first known example in English.</i><p></p></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Needless to say, the accident put an end to any thought Harry Morgan had of making an attempt on Cartagena.
</p>
</div>cycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882151688793825918.post-54317473630789432992021-01-13T07:00:00.732-05:002021-01-13T07:00:03.042-05:00Chapter 13.1 – Raid on Portobello<p style="text-align: justify;"> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcaf6C1V71xrAwffpexKYBPFsa4OfOefOK4FLTxmQIft8Jx1Bb7MKo13DHDPopQWCgw3rDturogQenEjE7_vb4o6OGb7fWFYq_nmAWHxz5RVGxbQT5_VhJ8xhIBEWtv5gg6VDnBzrQcA8/s700/Kingston+Harbour%252C+Jamaica+-+The+Sea+Its+Stirring+Story+of+Adventure+Peril+%2526+Heroism.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="700" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcaf6C1V71xrAwffpexKYBPFsa4OfOefOK4FLTxmQIft8Jx1Bb7MKo13DHDPopQWCgw3rDturogQenEjE7_vb4o6OGb7fWFYq_nmAWHxz5RVGxbQT5_VhJ8xhIBEWtv5gg6VDnBzrQcA8/w640-h462/Kingston+Harbour%252C+Jamaica+-+The+Sea+Its+Stirring+Story+of+Adventure+Peril+%2526+Heroism.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kingston Harbour, Jamaica<br />From <i>The Sea Its Stirring Story of Adventure Peril & Heroism </i>by Frederick Whymper<br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span class="firstcharacter">A</span><span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">dmiral Morgan’s commission from</span> Governor Modyford, under which he had sailed to Portobello, allowed plunder taken on land to be shared only among himself and his men. Only prizes and their contents taken at sea were subject to deductions of the fifteenths, tenths, etc. These had to be condemned by the Admiralty Court at Port Royal before they could be liquidated and the proceeds shared out.<p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>
There was almost certainly some individual looting, but this was probably limited as one might expect each privateer would want to make sure he received a fair share and would not tolerate his associates taking more than they properly deserved. However, some evidence does support the practice of an entire company pre-sharing a portion of the plunder before reporting the official tally from which the king, etc<i>., </i>would deduct their share. So it is likely that Morgan’s privateers did very well indeed for a
few months’ work. Dangerous work, without question, but such men were used to danger and seldom shrank from it. Simple arithmetic suggests that each share of the plunder and ransom was about 600 pesos or £150, a considerable sum worth several years’ pay for a 17th-century soldier or seaman.
<p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Most accounts claim that the spoil’s sharing-out was done in the cays south of Cuba, after which Morgan returned to Jamaica in triumph, arriving there in mid-August 1668. Some days after his return, Admiral Morgan and his senior officers appeared before Sir Thomas Modyford and gave their account of the events at Portobello. Morgan’s verbal report (reproduced below) was written down and sent to Lord Arlington in London. This is the source of
most English accounts of the Portobello raid, and seems more reliable than
John Esquemeling’s more fanciful version.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Lato;">Admiral Henry Morgan’s official report to Governor Sir Thomas Modyford<br />(<span style="font-size: x-small;">with spelling and place names unchanged</span>)</span></div><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;">Source: <span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: Constantia, serif; line-height: 115%; text-align: justify;"><i>Calendar
of State Papers, America and West Indies</i>, No. 1838,<br />Information of Admiral
Henry Morgan and his officers, <br />Port Royal, 7th September, 1668.</span></div></span><p></p>
<p style="font-style: italic; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;">
Setting sail in May last, we fell in with the coast of Porto Bello, and being
informed of levies made there also against Jamaica, and also by some
prisoners who had made their escape from Providence that Prince Maurice and
divers Englishmen were kept in irons in the dungeon of the castle of the town,
we thought it our duty to attempt that place. The French wholly refused to
join in an action so full of danger; so leaving our ships on June 26, forty
leagues to leeward at Bogota, we took to our canoes, twenty-three in number,
and rowing along the coast, landed at three o’clock in the morning and made
our way into the town, and seeing that we could not refresh ourselves in quiet
we were enforced to assault the castle, which we took by storm, and found
well supplied with ammunition and provisions, only undermanned, being about
130 men, whereof seventy-four were killed, among whom the Castillano was one.
In the dungeon were found eleven English in chains who had been there two
years; and we were informed that a great man had been carried thence six
months before to Lima of Peru, who was formerly brought from Porto Rico, and
also that the Prince of Monte Circa had been there with orders from the King
of Spain to raise 2,200 men against us out of the Province of Panama, which
Porto Bello stands in, the certainty whereof was confirmed by all the
Grandees. The Governor of the second castle refusing to permit our ships free
entrance into the port, we were forced to attempt the taking of it, which
ended in the delivering up the castle and marching out with colours flying,
and the third castle immediately surrendered to five or six Englishmen. And
now having possession of the town and three castles, in the former were 900
men that bare arms, the fifth day arrived the President of Panama, with about
3,000 men; whom we beat off with considerable damage, in so much that next day
he proffered 100,000 pieces of eight for delivery of the town and castles in
as good condition as we found them. In the first castle there were 30 brass
guns besides iron, in the second 13, all brass, and in the third 14 guns. On
the 2d August, making the best of our way homewards, we arrived at Jamaica
about the middle of that month; only Captain Edward Collier put on shore in
the Bay of Cordivant, within four leagues of Santa Marta, for provisions, and
had the good luck to take the Governor’s kinsman prisoner, from whom he had
again information of the strong intention of the Spaniard against Jamaica as
also of the revolt of the Indians, their taking of Monposse and putting to
the sword men, women, and children, and in-tending to surprise Santa Fe, and
further that there was found the richest gold mine in the King of Spain’s
dominions, for keeping which they were fortifying strongly at Santa
Marta.
</p>
<p style="font-style: italic; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: justify;">
We further declare to the world that in all this service of Porto Bello, we
lost but eighteen men killed and thirty-two wounded, and kept possession of
the place thirty-one days; and for the better vindication of ourselves against
the usual scandals of that enemy, we aver that having several ladies of great
quality and other prisoners, they were proffered their liberty to go to the
President’s camp, but they refused, saying they were now prisoners to a person
of quality, who was more tender of their honours than they doubted to find in
the President’s camp among his rude Panama soldiers, and so voluntarily
continued with us till the surrender of the town and castles, when with many
thanks and good wishes they repaired to their former homes.
</p>
<blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">
In his report to Modyford, Harry Morgan mentioned news of Prince Maurice
(1620–52). He was the younger brother of Prince Rupert of the Rhine and a first cousin of King Charles II. While sailing near the Virgin Islands in
September 1652, Prince Maurice went down in <i>HMS Defiance</i> during a hurricane.
Rumours that he had survived the storm and was imprisoned in Porto Rico,
persisted for many years, however.
</p></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Governor Sir Thomas Modyford remained more convinced than ever that, to ensure
Jamaica’s safety from a Spanish attack in force, he must use the privateers to
keep the Spaniards on their heels. He had received a letter, dated 2 Feb 1667, from the Duke of
Albemarle approving his strategy:</p>
<blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">
And for your giving commissions to the privateers [against the Spaniards], I
think you have done pursuant to your own instructions and orders sent you,
until there shall be some other alternative of these orders. [<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"><i>Calendar of State Papers, America and West Indies, No. 193, i. </i>Enclosure in letter of 23rd August, 1669.</span>]</p></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
On 1 Oct 1668, Modyford again wrote to his cousin the duke and explained
that although Morgan had raided two Spanish <i>towns </i>with “commissions only against <i>ships</i>,” his actions were justified because:
</p>
<blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">
It is most certain that the Spaniards had full intention to attempt this
island [Jamaica], but could not get men; and they still hold the same minds,
and therefore I cannot but presume to say that it is very unequal that we
should in any measure be restrained while they are at liberty to act as they
please upon us, from which we shall never be secure until the King of Spain
acknowledges this island to be his Majesty’s and so includes it by name in the
capitulations. [<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;">Calendar of State Papers, America and West Indies, No. 1850, Modyford to Albemarle, 1st October, 1668.</span>]</p></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Along with his letter to Albemarle,
Modyford enclosed Francisco Martin’s deposition (discussed below). Martin was a Spanish seaman, who
reported the fate of Modyford’s missing son John who had been missing and
presumed lost at sea four years earlier. He said John “<i>was questionless
either murdered or sent into the South Seas by these [Spaniards], our cruel
neighbours.</i>” Modyford concluded by urging his cousin, “<i>so to present my behaviour
in this great affair, that no sinister construction may be put upon my
actions.</i>” [<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;">Calendar of State Papers, America and West Indies, No. 1859, ii. Declaration of Francis-co Martin, 12th September, 1668.</span>]</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Modyford’s privateer strategy must have suited Harry Morgan well. Morgan, with the governor’s blessing, set about
assembling a semi-permanent force with which he could launch successive
attacks designed to keep the Spaniards reeling.
</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">❦❦❦</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKLwujxG8safB6aLMGtrG_wnd-7h2bhznhKy7caKkVTAG4S3lq82fN1XMwFsG5uP_5WgMEmE9jyHUrKzbAN7SqqJQrFEYiowCXjiMxl6HZD4Fjmn4B4CKW0fg64fe7rIXKqWF3GoN4poE/s963/Henry_Bennet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="963" data-original-width="588" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKLwujxG8safB6aLMGtrG_wnd-7h2bhznhKy7caKkVTAG4S3lq82fN1XMwFsG5uP_5WgMEmE9jyHUrKzbAN7SqqJQrFEYiowCXjiMxl6HZD4Fjmn4B4CKW0fg64fe7rIXKqWF3GoN4poE/w244-h400/Henry_Bennet.jpg" width="244" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington</td></tr></tbody></table>About Modyford’s son: When Modyford arrived in Jamaica to take up his post as governor, his wife Lady Elizabeth had remained in England. Sir
Thomas dispatched his eldest son, John, with Captain Swart’s frigate <i>Griffin</i>, to bring his wife to Jamaica. Months passed, then years,
without news of either the ship or his son. Around the time Morgan returned from Portobello, Major Samuel
Smith, who Modyford had appointed commander of the garrison on Providence
Island in 1666, finally returned to Jamaica. That was on 18 Aug 1668. Smith had endured nearly two years of ill-treatment in Spanish prisons.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">He had sailed to
Providence Island aboard Sir Thomas Whetstone’s ship and took up his post there. At that time, he had only 51 men fit enough to defend five of the colony’s six forts. Still, he fully expected he’d receive additional manpower in due course so the King’s latest West Indian colony could be adequately defended. However, unbeknownst to Major Smith, Don Juan Perez de Guzmán, President of
Panamá had received the news of Edward Mansfield’s seizure of Spain’s <i>Santa
Catalina</i> colony and acted with surprising quickness. He chose José Sánchez
Jiménez, <i>sargento mayor</i> of the Portobello garrison and a trusted colleague he had brought from Puerto Rico, to lead an expedition to reclaim <i>Santa Catalina</i>.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
When the Spaniards attacked in force, Major Smith’s men resisted for three days. Finally, however, after having been driven out of four of the forts, he
agreed to surrender,
</p>
<blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">
“… upon articles of good quarter, which the Spaniards did not in the least
perform, for the English, about forty, were immediately made prisoners, and
all except Sir Thomas Whetstone, myself, and Captain Stanley, who were the
commanders, were forced to work in irons and chains at the Spaniards’ forts,
with many stripes, and many are since dead through want and ill usage. The
said three commanders were sent to Panama, where they were cast into a
dungeon and bound in irons for seventeen months.”
</p></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
According to Peter Earle’s account in <i>The Sack of Panamá</i>, José Sánchez Jiménez reported to President Guzmán that Major Smith surrendered on condition of “<i>el quartel de la vida</i>,” granting his and his men’s lives only. But this was certainly not what the Englishmen had intended or understood the terms to mean. They fully expected they would be treated as the former Spanish colonists had been in 1666 when the old privateer Admiral Edward Mansfield had granted them safe conduct and had landed them on the Spanish mainland. Smith was eventually sent to Havana, where he “<i>was clapped into goal</i>,” but finally liberated and allowed to return to Jamaica. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">This is what would really have caught Modyford’s attention, however. Smith reported further that many English
prisoners were then “lying in irons” at Havana, and he had been credibly
informed that the <i>Griffin</i>, commanded by Captain “Swaert,” had been sunk by a
Spanish galleon. [<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;">Calendar of State Papers, America and West Indies, No. 1826, Deposition of Major Samuel Smith, 18th August, 1668.</span>]</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Additional news of his son arrived a couple of weeks before Modyford wrote to Albemarle. Francisco Martin, a Spanish seaman, told officials in
Jamaica that he had been the master of a frigate and that, in August 1664, two
English ships had been wrecked on the coast of Florida with only five men surviving. After living for some months among the Indians, Spanish soldiers who had been searching for them captured the Englishmen and imprisoned them at San Augustin. One of the men was young and “of a pretty gross body, very good face, and light hair somewhat curling.” He called himself John and said his father was governor of Jamaica. The commandant ordered Martin to transport the prisoners to Havana and had given him instructions that they be then put on the first vessel sailing for Spain so that they could return to their own country. However, no means of transportation had been found for them while he was at Havana.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">That was the last Sir
Thomas heard of his son.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Such stories infuriated Jamaicans and hardened, even more, their hearts against the Spaniards who had treated their countrymen so dishonourably. One can only guess at Modyford’s personal view of the Spaniards when he learned of his son's fate at their hands. Moreover, Major Smith’s report played into the hands of those who believed in the philosophy, “there’d be no peace beyond the line.” Regardless of the
current status of the relationship between England and Spain in Europe, the
West Indian colonies, they believed, should continue to be belligerent so long
as Spanish officials obstinately refused to recognize the King of England’s sovereignty over Jamaica. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">There were prominent merchants in Jamaica—with influential backing from England—who still believed peace and open trade with their Spanish neighbours were possible, desirable, and profitable. And those who actively engaged in such were handsomely rewarded. This group was in the ascendency on the island, and it seemed certain the views of its members would prevail in time. Neither Morgan nor Modyford were among them, however.
</p><p style="text-align: center;">❦❦❦</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
When news of Morgan’s success at Portobello reached London, it was received as a much-needed morale
booster. England’s capital had suffered much hardship from two great tragedies in the previous four years.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
First there had been the plague of 1664–1665, which had killed over 68,000
people in less than a two-year span. Then early on the morning of Sunday, 2
Sep 1666, a fire started in the house of Charles II’s baker on Pudding
Lane near London Bridge. It soon spread to warehouses on Thames Street that were filled with combustibles. From there, fueled by a strong easterly wind,
it swept through central parts of the city until it was finally extinguished on Wednesday, 5 September.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI1xm-zcOzhR4j5gbKjh6PDpZPiDpjfEbId9rKObLMNgE9Lrw7LNatu310x0JNa9G3dAf_MZvsDvNUswVvrgHuNvId_bVA3It4zZ6fr33CNaa8_k3qEanssz0ZvuYReLAN_Orw3Psuqqg/s2048/Great_Fire_London.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1192" data-original-width="2048" height="372" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI1xm-zcOzhR4j5gbKjh6PDpZPiDpjfEbId9rKObLMNgE9Lrw7LNatu310x0JNa9G3dAf_MZvsDvNUswVvrgHuNvId_bVA3It4zZ6fr33CNaa8_k3qEanssz0ZvuYReLAN_Orw3Psuqqg/w640-h372/Great_Fire_London.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Great Fire of London</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The fire gutted the medieval City of
London inside the old Roman wall, and it threatened—though never reached—the upper-class districts of Westminster and King Charles’s Whitehall Palace.
The flames consumed as much as 80 percent of the inner city,
including 13,200 houses—most of which were wood and pitch construction with thatched roofs, all dangerously flammable. Also destroyed were 84 parish churches, dozens of Guild Halls, St Paul’s Cathedral, and most municipal buildings, leaving an estimated 100,000 homeless.
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
In Henry Morgan, Londoners had a hero to conjure up memories of Sir Frances
Drake and the glorious years of Queen Elizabeth’s reign. No one seemed inclined to punish Morgan for exceeding his commission when he raided Portobello. Not even the highest
levels—not King Charles nor his brother, the Lord High
Admiral, nor even the pro-Spanish Lord Arlington, the Secretary of
State—showed any desire to sanction him. By all appearances, these great men of England shared overriding objectives: firstly, Spain’s written recognition of England’s ownership of Jamaica and Cayman Islands; and secondly, breaking Spain’s monopoly on trade with her American colonies. To start with, Spain must grant English ships access to Spanish ports for water, wood and provisions, especially in times of emergency. And if Spain faced more of her richest cities being sacked by Harry Morgan and his buccaneers, perhaps it would be moved to grant such access. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The Spanish Ambassador to England was Antonio Francesca Mexia, Conde de
Molina. Even before Portobello, this nobleman had made complaints regarding the actions of the Jamaican privateers. In August 1668, he protested several hostile acts “committed upon the subjects and on the ships and territories of the King of Spain in America.” He supplied details, of which we can be sure there was no lack of supply. Molina’s complaints were considered by the Privy Council in December 1668 but effectively countered by several examples of Spanish aggression against Englishmen—which Sir Thomas Modyford had helpfully provided to Lord Arlington.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
One such was a deposition by Robert Delander, a privateer who said that when his ship was demasted off Cuba’s east coast, he had obtained permission to put into Havana to refit. Once in port, the governor ordered his ship confiscated and sold, and his crew sent to Seville as prisoners. They were detained for nine months before some English merchants paid for their release.
Besides, even though the English ambassador at Madrid had appealed to the
Spanish ministry on behalf of Delander and his crew, other than the men’s freedom, the Spaniards gave no other compensation.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">In another deposition, two privateers told how they had been chased by a
Spanish ship of war they recognized as the <i>Griffin</i>, formerly the Royal Navy vessel commanded by Captain Swart. As previously mentioned, the <i>Griffin </i>had mysteriously disappeared on her way to England in 1664.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Two other men described how Captain Edward Beckford had been fired-on by an armed ketch near the South Cays off Cuba’s coast. Beckford captured the ketch, and when he arrived at Port Royal, his prize was identified as Alexander Soares’ property. Eighteen months earlier, it had sailed from New
England and had not been heard of since.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Then too, there was an affidavit made by a Jamaican merchant before the High
Court of Admiralty in which he defended Governor Modyford’s position regarding Portobello. The merchant was visiting England and advised the Court of Modyford’s efforts to renew friendly relations with the Spaniards. He spoke of the polite letters the governor had sent to Spanish leaders immediately after taking up his post as governor, and how he had recalled of all privateers. He also described the capture of a pirate ship, the execution of some of her crew, and the restitution of her two Spanish prizes.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The Privy Council subsequently decided that the Portobello hostilities had occurred either before the treaty between Spain and England had been ratified or were mutual with both sides being at fault. Accordingly, the two nations should move forward with a
proposal for “<i>a total reciprocal amnesty and oblivion of all that is past, and
a settlement of mutual good intelligence for the future, as to kind reception
into the harbours and ports, affording all necessary refreshments of wood,
water, and victuals for their money.</i>”
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Ambassador Molina must surely have felt frustrated by the polite coolness and lack of
specific action his complaints were met with by the English king and his
ministers. However, he tried again, giving Lord Arlington even more specifics about the
Portobello attack. He referred to the recent arrival of the ship <i>George and
Samuel</i> from Jamaica. Its bill of lading revealed that, besides what the owners
and other merchants received in plate from the Portobello raid, “the share of
every soldier was 600oz., or £80 at half a crown per ounce.” The ambassador demanded restitution and that governor Modyford be punished for the breach of the treaty between Spain and England. [<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;">Calendar of State Papers, America and West Indies, No. 1899, Memorial of the Spanish ambassador, 7–17th January, 1669.</span>]</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Again Ambassador Molina’s protests received a polite reception but an irksome lack of action. However, it should be noted that Lord Arlington did sympathize with the Spaniard’s cause. He saw merit in securing a treaty that provided for open trade between his nation and Spanish America. Before he had been ennobled as Lord Arlington and became secretary of state,
Henry Bennet had been King Charles’s representative in Spain. This was during the days of the Commonwealth. He was one of the leaders of a faction that favoured negotiation rather than force. Though, they did acknowledge the threat of force—and occasionally its use—could be persuasive in negotiations. At this time, however,
Bennet could not be seen as being overly friendly with Spain. Too many at Court
held Harry Morgan in high esteem. Sir
Thomas Modyford’s strategy for ensuring the safety of his island colony was too much favoured at present. Besides, the very
highest circles in London were being tempted by talk of an alliance with
France to strip Spain of her American empire.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Those who shared Arlington’s views were not without some influence, however. Like the secretary of state, they wanted provocations like the raid on Portobello to end and saw in Modyford a significant impediment to peace with Spain. Among these was Thomas Lynch, a wealthy planter with properties in the parish of St. Thomas-in-the-East.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Lynch had first come to Jamaica with Penn and Venables in 1655. In 1660 he returned to Jamaica after spending time in England and was then described in the <i>Calendar of State Papers, America and West Indies</i> as a
captain. In 1661 he was appointed provost-marshal of the island for life and lieutenant-colonel of the newly created 5th regiment of militia a year later.
In April 1663, Lynch was sworn in as a member of the first Council of Jamaica.
In April 1664, he was elected president of that body and acted as interim governor for two months. In early 1665, however, Sir Thomas Modyford discharged Lynch from the Council and the office of chief justice without making his reason public. Lynch complained in a letter to Lord Arlington that
Modyford had either punished him for his “uncourtly humour of speaking plain
and true,” or the governor had been prejudiced against him by former governor
Colonel D’Oyley.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Until his dismissal from office, Thomas Lynch had intended to marry and make Jamaica his home. Instead, he returned to England and was still there during the raid on Portobello. After his return to Europe, Lynch spent a winter or more at
Salamanca learning the Spanish language and studying all he could about
Spanish America. Following this, he improved his knowledge and practiced his
language skills by talking with merchants and others in Salamanca and later in
Andalusia.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
For some years, Lynch had been the “slaving agent” for the Royal African Company and stood to benefit from trade with Spain, if only the governor would put a stop to the bothersome privateer raids against Spanish America. In time, his experience in Jamaica, along with his newly acquired skills in Spanish, brought him to the attention of those who believed Modyford must soon be replaced. They were looking for someone who saw peaceful trade with Spanish America as a priority for Jamaica.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Thomas Lynch became their man and, later, will feature more prominently in our story.</p>
cycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882151688793825918.post-25929872474851513022021-01-11T07:00:00.914-05:002021-01-11T07:00:03.896-05:00Chapter 13 – Raid on Portobello<p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
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<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCFL1_78N732YR-4Mis3Djs1PZ1jqBb6TM9JG8ozlvLOvFgdMCK-_ZSh0n1xtEoJYO7NqgqjDdV6nFMK7DvCrmMkgcduDlLGdRw1Kx_tKGvWh03NW1p7DFmh3Q9cZrLEovyEdTv8vR71k/s1060/Henry_Morgan%2527s_attack_on_the_Castillo_de_San_Jeronimo%252C_Porto_Bello%252C_1669.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1060" data-original-width="800" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCFL1_78N732YR-4Mis3Djs1PZ1jqBb6TM9JG8ozlvLOvFgdMCK-_ZSh0n1xtEoJYO7NqgqjDdV6nFMK7DvCrmMkgcduDlLGdRw1Kx_tKGvWh03NW1p7DFmh3Q9cZrLEovyEdTv8vR71k/w484-h640/Henry_Morgan%2527s_attack_on_the_Castillo_de_San_Jeronimo%252C_Porto_Bello%252C_1669.jpg" width="484" /></a>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Attack on the Castillo de San Jeronimo, Porto Bello<br />John Esquemelin,
1684. <i>The Buccaneers of America, etc.</i>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="firstcharacter">A</span><span style="font-variant: small-caps; font-weight: 400;">dmiral Morgan remained at</span> the Point only long enough to do any necessary refitting and resupply basics only available at Port Royal. While there, Captain Jackman joined him, bringing his fleet to nine vessels and 500 men. In May 1668,
Morgan ordered his privateers to set sail once again for the South Cays. There they could replenish food supplies at a far lower price than would be possible at the Point. However, knowing how vitally important it was to maintain the element of surprise on such ventures, the admiral did not divulge their final
destination—not to his captains, not even to his mentor Governor Modyford—for
Spain had spies everywhere.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
In fact, Admiral Morgan’s next target was the heavily fortified city of
Portobello<sup>[1]</sup> on the Isthmus of Panama. Why he chose this city is anybody’s guess, for its fortifications were so massive and well-built, some thought them impregnable.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"></p>
<blockquote>
<sup>[1]</sup>Various spellings include Puerto Bello, Portobelo and Puerto
Velo.
</blockquote>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Portobello lies some 20 miles northeast of Colón in present-day Panamá. It is
one of the oldest Spanish settlements on the Caribbean coast and was at the
heart of the Spanish Main. Portobello did not have a large permanent
population, as its main purpose was to serve as a port from which precious
metals and gems from the Americas could be shipped to Spain.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
From ore mined in <i>Cerro Rico</i> (rich mountain), Spain minted bars of
silver and pieces of eight and other coins at the city of <i>Potosí </i>in
present-day Bolivia (then known as “Upper Peru”) which came under the Viceroy
of Lima’s authority. <i>Potosí</i><i> </i>was the largest city in
the New World and the location of Spain’s colonial mint.
From <i>Potosí</i>, in the south-west of Bolivia, the Spaniards used heavily guarded llama and mule trains to transport the freshly minted silver and coin to the Pacific coast, from which they shipped their precious cargo north to Panama City. Back on land, they again used mule trains to haul it across the Isthmus of Panama to Portobello on the Caribbean side. At
Portobello, it was loaded onto ships of the <i>flota</i>, Spanish treasure fleet, and shipped to Spain. Also passing through the town were gold from various sources, large quantities of emeralds from Colombia, and pearls from the <i>Archipiélago de las Perlas</i> in the Gulf of Panamá.
</p>
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<p style="text-align: justify;">
The town of Portobello was famous for its annual fairs, which lasted for forty days. During these, goods of all sorts from Spain were exchanged for colonial South American products by merchants in booths and tents they erected in the square facing the Customs House. With the <i>flota </i>came merchant ships escorted by Spanish men-of-war and hordes of soldiers, sailors,
merchants, clerks, porters, buyers of all nationalities, and the usual onlookers and hangers-on, filling the port to overflowing.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
In the 75 or so years before Morgan decided to attempt Portobello and before its
defences had been strengthened, two attempts had been made on the town by
English privateers. In 1596, Sir Francis Drake had died during his attempt—though he died of dysentery, not of battle wounds. Five years later,
the English privateer William Parker succeeded in capturing the city and held
it for about 24 hours before withdrawing with 10,000 ducats from the treasury
and the considerable “spoil of the town, in money, plate, and merchandise.”
That was then. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Morgan concurred with the conventional wisdom of the Point: Portobello was one
of the best-fortified ports in Spanish America, with only Havana and Cartagena
more strongly defended. Three hundred artillerymen and infantry normally
garrisoned the port. And, should reinforcements be needed, an additional 900
militiamen could be quickly assembled. Besides, every ship entering
Portobello’s harbour had to run under the guns of three formidable
fortresses:<i> </i>
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"></p>
<ul>
<li>
<i>San Felipe de Todo Fierro</i> (known as the Iron Fort), at the entrance
to the bay and on a ship’s port side when entering the harbour;
</li>
<li>
<i>Santiago de la Gloria </i>on the opposite side of the harbour and closer
to the town; and
</li>
<li>
<i>San Gerónimo</i>, which was further in towards land and partially under
construction.
</li>
</ul>
However, as we know, Harry Morgan had faced similar challenges before and had
always devised the means to overcome defences and surprise his enemies. In
this instance, most chroniclers believe he had obtained inside knowledge
regarding some weakness he could exploit.
<p></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifCgyoHqu5MrgWmkC-KkUqxnbObz457qr7aiqVsUcawkcqTKo0GZ78c5dmEte6z3YlSITUNwVYstlhRkuITz3imSHkiFuLnSOYRPOKNng5CTrcTCIfZ-GpppigQeDNY0cqD_NU1fCjP9w/s4000/San_Jer%25C3%25B3nimo_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="3000" data-original-width="4000" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifCgyoHqu5MrgWmkC-KkUqxnbObz457qr7aiqVsUcawkcqTKo0GZ78c5dmEte6z3YlSITUNwVYstlhRkuITz3imSHkiFuLnSOYRPOKNng5CTrcTCIfZ-GpppigQeDNY0cqD_NU1fCjP9w/w400-h300/San_Jer%25C3%25B3nimo_1.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Present-day ruins of <i>Santiago de la Gloria</i></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">The small fleet lingered in the cays in Cuban waters for about a month so the privateers could further refit and provision their ships with dried and salted meat and a fresh supply of wood and water. Then it sailed south-west toward
<i>Cabo Gracias a Dios</i> on the Mosquito Coast of Central America. And,
after dealing with unobliging winds, the fleet arrived off the coast of Panamá
near the end of June 1668 and anchored at <i>Bocas del Toro</i>, which is in
Panamá near the border of present-day Costa Rica.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Here, Morgan identified their target as Portobello. This did not sit well with many, especially among the French contingent. After rejecting Morgan’s proposal, they split off and probably headed for Tortuga. This left
Morgan in command of nearly 500 men and somewhere between nine and twelve vessels of various sizes, which was still a formidable force and a testament to Morgan’s reputation and leadership skills. He had successfully convinced hundreds of independent-minded skeptical men to follow him in what most would have believed was a venture of the highest risk.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Morgan had already decided against a frontal attack on the port. Instead, he chose to approach the town in <i>piraguas</i>. Many buccaneers were experts in using these canoes, for they often used them in coastal waters. Each boat could carry about 20 well-armed men. Some carried two or three of their deadly long-barreled muskets. Many also armed themselves with a brace of
pistols, shot, the power that they were careful to keep dry, a razor-sharp
cutlass, and a knife. Most also carried one or more grenades.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
After assigning skeleton crews to the larger vessels he had hidden at
<i>Bocas del Toro</i>, Morgan transferred his men into 23 canoes and set out using paddle and sail on the 150-mile journey to Portobello. One Indian and an
Englishman, who had apparently been a prisoner in Portobello, acted as guides.
Along the way, Morgan obtained updates from local Indians, giving him the status of the town’s defences. These reports provided encouragement, for he learned that not only were Portobello’s three castles undermanned, but they were poorly maintained and otherwise not in sound fighting condition.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Morgan’s canoes made their way eastward along the coast, carefully avoiding detection from the many armed settlements on the mainland. Many lurid tales are told about Morgan’s methods of extracting intelligence from local sources. However, it’s unlikely the Indians of Panamá needed much
encouragement to betray the Spaniards, for they had suffered greatly under
Spain’s rule and were never too far from open rebellion against their overlords.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Over 400 of Morgan’s privateers landed three miles from the city and marched overland to attack Portobello on 10 Jul 1668. As one eyewitness reported, they
fired “<i>off their guns at everything alive, whites, blacks, even dogs, in order to
spread terror.</i>” [<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;">Source: </span><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"><i>Archivo General de Indias, Panama 81</i>, Evidence of Alonso Sánchez
Randoli, and Marley, <i>Pirates and Privateers of the Americas</i>, p.
264.</span>] The invaders lost little time in taking the town, which had no walls to protect it. There was some initial resistance from the partially built
<i>San Gerónimo</i> fortress, but it too soon fell to the privateers.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"></p>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;">
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<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGeb7dMPU8aK6rnRP_azXapc4RRQITvPPwCHquyXvZYcMPnLcoBhElPeijqKnTMBpo1RJmbl_QR5je1Y2VwyPwmFORw4SIkDLMVAWtZryZ6g3VgKi-aQu4I2l5IrYIv7cjvtlzdKU9kbw/s400/Portobelo-+Morgan+commanded+the+religious+men+and+women+to+place+the+ladders+against+the+walls-GEORGE+ALFRED+WILLIAMS.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="256" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGeb7dMPU8aK6rnRP_azXapc4RRQITvPPwCHquyXvZYcMPnLcoBhElPeijqKnTMBpo1RJmbl_QR5je1Y2VwyPwmFORw4SIkDLMVAWtZryZ6g3VgKi-aQu4I2l5IrYIv7cjvtlzdKU9kbw/w256-h400/Portobelo-+Morgan+commanded+the+religious+men+and+women+to+place+the+ladders+against+the+walls-GEORGE+ALFRED+WILLIAMS.jpg" width="256" /></a>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Illustration by Geo. Alfred Williams
</td>
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</table><p style="text-align: justify;">
As to the two great forts that protected the harbour, the first to fall to the
privateers’ onslaught was the <i>Santiago de la Gloria</i>. There had been no
time to spare as the news of the attack would soon reach Panamá, and a relief
column would certainly be dispatched. So Morgan had ordered a selection of
Portobello’s prominent citizens to be rounded up. They reportedly included the
<i>alcalde mayor</i>, two friars, several women and nuns and several old men.
The privateers then forced those unfortunate souls to march at gunpoint to <i>Santiago de la Gloria's main gate</i>. The privateers carrying axes and
flaming torches followed, using the hostages as shields. Then, when close, they
rushed forward and assaulted the gate.
</p><div>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The defenders fired at least one cannon loaded with chain shot, wounding two friars and killing a privateer. Morgan’s invaders went to work on the main gate with their axes and torches. Despite its “<i>30 pieces of artillery</i>,”
after only “<i>three or four hours of hard fighting,</i>” Morgan’s men were masters of the garrison. Several of the Spanish defenders refused to surrender and
“<i>were either killed, wounded, or cut to pieces.</i>” Next to submit was the fortress across the harbour, <i>San Felipe de Todo Fierro</i>, the
Iron Fort, which was armed with 12 pieces of artillery. It surrendered on
the following day “<i>after fighting three or four hours.</i>” <sup>[2]</sup>
</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
<sup>[2]</sup><i>Calendar of State Papers, America and West Indies</i>, No. 1899, i,
Statement of John Doglar annexed to the memorial of the Spanish
ambassador, 7-17th January, 1669. This was probably John Douglas, Morgan’s
Commissary-General. Several other sources also, including Esquemeling and
Morgan’s personal report to Modyford.
</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
English flags were raised over the forts, and Morgan’s fleet of twelve ships,
after sailing from <i>Bocas del Toro</i> and waiting outside the harbour, now sailed in. With his full force of privateers entrenched in the town and in its fortresses, and with his fleet’s added guns, Admiral Harry Morgan was truly master of Portobello.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">It did not take long for a Spanish horseman to cross the isthmus and report what was happening to Don Agustin de Bracamonte, who had been appointed interim president of Panamá. But despite the president’s initial haste to send a relief army from the capital, help arrived too late, and he was forced to enter negotiations with Admiral Morgan. The admiral demanded 350,000 pieces of eight to leave Portobello in peace. He added the threat that, should the ransom not be paid, he would garrison the Spanish forts and hold the town indefinitely, or depart and set it aflame.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Prolonged negotiations ensued, during which several members of both armies fell ill with fever. Evidently, Morgan reasoned that manpower
shortages would soon force him to withdraw and concluded that 100,000
pieces of eight were better than none. So the admiral accepted the offer presented on behalf of President Bracamonte. According to a Spanish
source<sup>[3]</sup> noted in Peter Earle’s, <i>The Sack of Panamá</i>, (1981), the ransom comprised 27 bars of silver valued at 43,000 pesos,<sup>[4]</sup> 13,000
pesos worth of silver plate, 4,000 pesos in gold coins and 40,000 pesos in silver coins.
</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><sup>[3]</sup><i>Archivo General de Indias, Panamá 81, 1669( III), fo. 46: Inventory of treasure.</i></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><sup>[4]</sup>A <i>peso </i>or Spanish dollar was equal to 8 reales and was also known as “pieces of eight.” It is the model on which the US & Canadian dollar is based, thus we get “two bits” meaning 25 cents.</p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Morgan had taken Portobello at the cost of eighteen killed and thirty-two
wounded. In the month they spent there, the privateers and buccaneers are said to have raped, pillaged and tortured. However, John Esquemeling’s <i>The Buccaneers of America</i> was the primary English source of these reports, in which were several known exaggerations. For example, the fort he reported as being blown up while filled with Spanish prisoners was still in place and in good repair ten years later when another English force visited Portobello.
Harry Morgan disputed other parts of Esquemeling’s account when it appeared in print and successfully sued Esquemeling’s English publishers, who issued retractions as part of their settlements.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Morgan excused his privateers’ behaviour by describing the deplorable conditions in which he had found eleven Englishmen who had been captured in the Spanish reconquest of Old Providence Island two years earlier. These unfortunates were found chained in a dungeon of unspeakable filth. Nearly
starved to death and covered with soars, they were the remnants of the
English colony that had been established after Edward Mansfield had captured the island. Among the colonists—though not among the rescued prisoners—had been the very popular Sir Thomas Whetstone and former shipmates of the privateers. The Spanish had imprisoned them in contravention of their terms of surrender. This treachery so incensed the buccaneers it undoubtedly led, at least in part, to excesses. Besides, the presence of José Sánchez Jiménez as commander of Portobello’s defences had further enflamed passions. He had led the recapture of Old Providence and so treacherously ignored the colonists’ surrender terms.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Official booty from Portobello included cannon, silks, silver plate, and gold and silver coin with an estimated worth of 250,000 pieces of eight [<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;">Edward Long, <i>History of Jamaica, </i>1774</span>]. As Admiral, Harry
Morgan got five men’s shares of the Portobello official and unofficial booty, according to Peter Earle’s <i>The Sack of Panamá</i>. He may also have received more as an investor and/or owner of one or more of the venture’s ships.
</p>
<div style="text-align: right;">Continued …</div>
</div>
cycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882151688793825918.post-77768382011772747592021-01-08T07:00:01.062-05:002021-01-08T07:00:00.208-05:00Chapter 12 – Harry Goes to War<p style="text-align: justify;"> </p>
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<br /><span class="firstcharacter">I</span><span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">n late 1667, Governor</span>
Modyford became increasingly alarmed by persistent reports of preparations being made in
Cuba for an invasion of the island. Consequently, he obtained the Council’s consent to issue a special commission to Harry Morgan, appointing him admiral and
commander-in-chief of Jamaican forces.<sup>[1]</sup> The commission<sup>[2] </sup>directed Morgan
to take Spanish prisoners and gather intelligence regarding Spain’s intentions
towards Jamaica. This amounted to an open-ended
letter-of-marque against Spain’s American interests and seemed to be a complete
reversal of recent policy.
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"></p>
<blockquote>
<sup>[1]</sup>He is also referred to in Beeston’s contemporary account as
“general Morgan.” See also,
<i>Calendar of State Papers, America and West Indies, No. 1838</i>,
Information of Admiral Henry Morgan and his officers, Port Royal, 7th
September, 1668.<br /><br /><sup>[2]</sup>His commission has not been found
but it is said to have restricted such hostilities to
<i>Spanish ships at sea</i>, but allowed the capture of prisoners wherever
they could be found.
</blockquote>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The Treaty of Breda had been signed on 31 Jul 1667 and brought an end to the
Second Anglo-Dutch War. The ensuing peace between England and both the Dutch
and the French, conveniently for Morgan and Modyford, left the English in the
West Indies with a free hand to attack the Spaniards.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Following Edward Mansfield’s death, Harry Morgan became generally accepted as the old buccaneer leader’s successor and unofficial admiral of the Brethren of the Coast. Interpreting his commission as admiral and commander-in-chief of
Jamaican forces broadly, Morgan made it known from the start that he intended to make an attempt on a Spanish settlement. With all the booty that promised,
recruits flocked to the Point. From this pool of eager battle-hardened men,
Morgan assembled ten vessels and about 500 men. Six of his captains were
Edward Collier, John Morris, Sr., Thomas Salter, John Ansell, Thomas Clarke,
and John Morris, Jr. Their crews consisted of former soldiers, veteran privateersmen, buccaneers from Jamaica and Hispaniola, and French <i>flibustiers </i>whose country was at war with Spain.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
In January 1668, Admiral Morgan sailed to Isle of Pines, the largest of the small islands south of Cuba and a favourite rendezvous. There, two ships carrying a total of two hundred men joined his flotilla. Those who sailed with
Morgan included Captain Charles Hatsell—who we met on Old Providence—and a few others who had escaped from prisons in Cuba and were familiar with the countryside. They and many others were driven as much by a desire for revenge as by the prospect of plunder. Though many had been reluctant to go against
Dutch targets, none hesitated when the objective was a Spanish settlement, for
Spain was the common enemy and was despised by those who sailed with Morgan.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Originally, Morgan’s privateers had planned to attack Havana by landing in the
Gulf of Batabanó. From there, they planned to march overland, being careful to avoid the guns of the three castles that guarded the harbour and, thereby,
taking Cuba’s capital by surprise. However, Morgan abandoned that plan when information reached him that Havana’s already formidable defences had been reinforced recently and were fully prepared for such an attack.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"></p>
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<br />Indecision reigned until the Admiral chose as his target the Cuban town of
<i>Santa Maria de Puerto Principe</i> (present-day <i>Camagüey</i>). Despite its
name, <i>Puerto Principe</i> lay fifty miles inland from the coast. The town was
said to be “the wealthiest place in Cuba,” next to Havana. It had become famous
for the profitable trade in cattle and hides, and its prosperous inhabitants had
gained a false sense of security being as they were set back and not easily
reached from the coast.
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
On 28 Mar 1668, Admiral Morgan arrived at the Gulf of Santa María. Within the
gulf lay the <i>Archipielago de los Jardines de la Reina </i>(Queen’s
Gardens)—a cluster of small islands and cays off the southern coast of Cuba
known to Jamaican seamen as the “South Cays.” This had long been a favourite haunt of privateers, for the area offered safety and the opportunity to obtain provisions from among large populations of turtle and wildfowl. Among these cays, Morgan hid his ships, with a few of his followers left to guard them. At daybreak two days later, he landed a large party on the shore and led the march overland as he had done before on other raids. As usual, the invaders needed guides and coerced local peasants to lead the way.
Astonishingly, Morgan’s men made the overland journey of more than 30
miles in just over 24 hours, arriving in the hills overlooking the fertile plain around <i>Puerto Principe </i>early in the forenoon of the following day. The men were hungry and weary from their hard journey but had no time to waste, for surprise was vital.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Despite their cautious approach, however, one of the peasant guides had slipped away in the darkness and sounded the alarm. The inhabitants of
<i>Puerto Principe</i> and the surrounding area lost no time and began to send their families and valuables into hiding. Meanwhile, the <i>alcalde ordinario </i>(municipal magistrate), a military man, hurriedly assembled 700 men on foot with 100 more mounted on mules and horses. With his
force armed with an assortment of weapons, the <i>alcalde </i>led them to meet
Morgan’s advancing privateers.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTvN6FLBkPOenIqOdCvo-w5Duucs1cOhE9POw7FUynoeHGEDscIEOL53_aHTI_r9SQ4bU4gYLKdMKoBamwX8xXIcz2HjiibPMQrHxifp1NT_yn7xaDnPDOwnRa1JK_NbwCcR856yswpDU/s881/On+the+Spanish+Main%252C+by+John+Masefield+-Puerto_del_Pr%25C3%25ADncipe_-_being_sacked_in_1668_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_19396.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="881" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTvN6FLBkPOenIqOdCvo-w5Duucs1cOhE9POw7FUynoeHGEDscIEOL53_aHTI_r9SQ4bU4gYLKdMKoBamwX8xXIcz2HjiibPMQrHxifp1NT_yn7xaDnPDOwnRa1JK_NbwCcR856yswpDU/w464-h640/On+the+Spanish+Main%252C+by+John+Masefield+-Puerto_del_Pr%25C3%25ADncipe_-_being_sacked_in_1668_-_Project_Gutenberg_eText_19396.jpg" width="464" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puerto del Príncipe being sacked in 1668<br /><i>On the Spanish Main</i>, by John Masefield</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The Spaniards showed courage but lacked the military discipline essential in such engagements. Their cavalry charge was met by several volleys of deadly musket fire, for buccaneers were renowned for their marksmanship. The Spanish defenders retreated, leaving the <i>alcalde </i>and several others mortally wounded or dead in the fields. However, they did not withdraw without a fight, resisting courageously in the streets and from their houses’ flat roofs. More than 100
Spaniards fell that day, with many others taken prisoner.
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
According to historian Jacob de la Pezuela, damage to the town’s buildings was minimal. [<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;">D. Jacob Pezuela, Historia de la Isla de Cuba (Madrid, 1868).</span>] This is confirmed in Morgan’s report to Modyford, in which he says that the town was not put to the flame. We can be sure, however, that
<i>Puerto Principe</i> was thoroughly searched for coins and plate and any other article of value that could be carried away to Morgan’s waiting ships.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Two weeks after Morgan’s initial assault and while still holding the town, one of his men
intercepted a letter from the governor of Havana to the citizens of <i>Puerto
Principe</i> that “he was fitting out some soldiers to relieve them.” At that,
Morgan made one last demand for ransom and gave orders to make preparations to withdraw from the town. He demanded the ransoms be paid the next day. An impossibility because of the short notice, as he came to realize, so he settled for 500 more “beeves,” and enough salt to preserve their meat. He insisted that these should be ready by the next morning on a beach near his anchored ships.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Morgan lost little time marching his men back to the coast, where they set about slaughtering and salting the cattle in the buccaneer way. He put prisoners to work alongside his privateers, for all had to be completed before the ships from Havana arrived. The privateers left the bloody hides on the sands, there not being time to dry them. Almost to a man, the <i>flibustiers </i>and buccaneers were well-practiced and skilful at this. Most could kill, skin, and cut up a steer in a few minutes. It must have been a grisly scene at that beach, with so many bones, skins, and quantities of curing meat about and done to a concert of seagull cries and the sight of turkey buzzards fighting over the discarded offal. Morgan’s enemy that day was not the Spanish ships he expected to appear on the horizon at any moment, but the heat of the tropical sun. If there was a delay in applying enough salt to all exposed surfaces, the meat would putrefy.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">During this furious activity, the French contingent had a quarrel with the Jamaican buccaneers.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The <i>flibustiers </i>had always tended to keep apart from the English
and Dutch buccaneers who were mainly protestants and spoke only a little French.
The <i>flibustiers</i>, however, shared with the buccaneers a mutual hatred of the
Spaniards and often cooperated in actions against them. These coalitions were tenuous in nature and would dissolve as quickly as formed. The following incident is an example of how quickly such alliances could end.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote>
A French privateer had set aside several marrow bones as a <i>bonne bouche</i> for
later enjoyment. Seeing the tasty treats unattended, an Englishman snatched one up and began sucking at the
<i>toute chaude</i>, the marrow so favoured by buccaneers. The <i>flibustier </i>became
incensed at what he considered an insult and challenged the
offending buccaneer to single combat—swords to be the weapon.
As calmer heads discussed the preliminaries for the duel and while the
Frenchman’s back was turned, the Englishman suddenly struck, stabbing the <i>flibustier </i>from behind and killing him instantly. A riot ensued with the <i>flibustiers </i>accusing their
former English comrade-in-arms of treachery.<br /><br />The Frenchmen demanded—as was their practice—Morgan order the attacker put to death. Friction between the <i>flibustiers</i> and buccaners was commonplace and neither side needed much to provoke a
falling-out. As the quarrel raged, Morgan separated them,
demanding they put down their swords. Next, he ordered the murderer clapped in
irons and sent aboard one of the Jamaican ships. Morgan assured the
<i>flibustiers </i>that the murderer would be hanged immediately, as soon as the
ships returned to Port Royal. The English contingent agreed the man deserved
such punishment, “for although it was permitted him to challenge his
adversary, yet it was not lawful to kill him treacherously, as he did.” [<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;">John Esquemeling, The Buccaneers of America.</span>]</blockquote><p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The Frenchmen reluctantly accepted Admiral Morgan’s decision, though, some did continue to mutter among themselves. The mutiny, such as it was, ended then, and they returned to their ships, carrying the last of the salted beef. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">With the hostages freed, Morgan ordered one of his ship’s guns to be fired, signalling the fleet to weigh anchor and set sail for <i>Île-à-Vache</i> (Cow Island or <i>Isla de las
Vacas</i>) off the extreme southwestern coast of Hispaniola. <i>Île-à-Vache</i> was another favourite buccaneer rendezvous for it offered a relatively safe harbour to assemble a large number of ships. Also, fresh meat and supplies could be obtained on the island itself or from nearby Hispaniola.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
There the plunder was heaped into piles. Whereupon the captains and other trusted veterans, who knew by experience what such goods would fetch in Jamaica, valued the various articles and divided the plunder according to the terms of the articles of association under which they sailed.
</p><p style="text-align: center;">❦❦❦</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitJuXygiLwrEgsQKafSmOLDk-8Gh868onen5zKGHfcKL__ktB4YEzK3fJtiKQmymXuEm8s5sn1G1wT3cdx66n3K0n0vrC7lKqrOSM_Hx494gotQ3C8lrhA2C6yTMCe6isKFh4mIx3nbJ4/s575/Cow+island+haiti.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="431" data-original-width="575" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitJuXygiLwrEgsQKafSmOLDk-8Gh868onen5zKGHfcKL__ktB4YEzK3fJtiKQmymXuEm8s5sn1G1wT3cdx66n3K0n0vrC7lKqrOSM_Hx494gotQ3C8lrhA2C6yTMCe6isKFh4mIx3nbJ4/s320/Cow+island+haiti.png" width="320" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">This might be a good time to explain a bit about how 17th-century privateers divided prize money and other plunder they acquired. </p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Most privateer ventures were carried out on the condition of <i>no purchase, no pay</i>. Although each specific venture was governed by its own articles of association, <i>chasse-partie</i>, spelled out the shares each individual received. The following should give an idea of the process:</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
First, a fifteenth went to the king, and a tenth went to the Lord High Admiral. Next was a share to the official who issued the letter-of-marque—for example, this might be the governor of Jamaica. Also,
many privateer vessels were owned, outfitted and/or provisioned by an individual or syndicate who expected a return on investment. Such an amount could be one-quarter or one-third of everything seized. In other cases,
expeditions were outfitted, provisioned and/or supplied by investors other than the ships’ owners in exchange for a share of the profits. The remainder would normally be divided among the men (“man to man” as it was said) who engaged in the action or stayed behind to guard ships.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">An individual could receive more or less than one man’s share. For example, boys might get half a share, while specialists such as surgeons and shipwrights might get more than one share. Captains got two or more shares, and officers received proportionately more than the ordinary soldier or sailor. A captain who owned his own ship might receive an additional four to ten shares, depending on the vessel’s size, while the injured usually received additional compensation. Other incentives and bonuses were offered to encourage bravery or activity under fire, such as being part of a “forlorn hope,” or throwing a grenade into an enemy fortification, or capturing an enemy flag.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">❦❦❦</p>
<p>
</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHioNqySkAm1YfR58uEy9aqTe4uar5_if9Yhr4xtFvRKTi1ZCN20hQsFmobCJG4SH_JW5YewcfcoxcZ6qFLsPv9BtEitT080yL6B_yuzpcNdLkje3Xm-Iy6Bq8mYQgIGlgoeNcQ1z4Vhk/s2048/Pyle%252C+Howard-_So_the_Treasure_was_Divided.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1394" data-original-width="2048" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHioNqySkAm1YfR58uEy9aqTe4uar5_if9Yhr4xtFvRKTi1ZCN20hQsFmobCJG4SH_JW5YewcfcoxcZ6qFLsPv9BtEitT080yL6B_yuzpcNdLkje3Xm-Iy6Bq8mYQgIGlgoeNcQ1z4Vhk/w640-h436/Pyle%252C+Howard-_So_the_Treasure_was_Divided.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So the Treasure was Divided | Illustrated by Howard Pyle</td></tr></tbody></table><br />As Admiral, Harry Morgan got additional shares of the official and unofficial booty from the raid on <i>Puerto Principe</i>. He may also have received more as an investor and/or owner of one or more of the ships used in the venture. However, a key point was the difference between plunder actually taken and that which was officially reported and subject to sharing with anyone other than those directly engaged in an action.
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Edward Long, in his 1774, <i>The History of Jamaic</i>a, estimates Admiral
Morgan’s raid on <i>Puerto Principe</i> officially yielded about 50,000 pieces of eight (£12,500). However, he added that his estimates of the plunder from Morgan’s raids were “<i>besides an immense quantity of silks, linens, gold and silver lace,
plate, jewels, and other valuable commodities; which probably amounted to near as much more.</i>” This is an important point, for the estimates
of the plunder won on Morgan’s raids as referred to in most serious accounts are taken as the total of all the plunder when, in fact, Long states these amounts do not include “immense quantity of silks, linens, gold
and silver plate, jewels, and other valuable commodities.” Besides, the value of captured slaves was often not included.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Morgan oversaw the division of the <i>Puerto Principe</i> plunder among his entire force. Many were disappointed because they considered their share too small a reward for their effort. Moreover, the <i>flibustiers s</i>till smarted from his refusal to summarily execute the privateer who had stabbed their comrade to death. As a result, many set
off for Tortuga, while Morgan and his remaining ships sailed for
Jamaica.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Readers should note that, although the spoils of the <i>Puerto Principe</i> raid were shared out at <i style="text-align: justify;">Île-à-Vache</i>, we should not assume Morgan would cheat his monarch and his friend and mentor Governor Modyford by not reserving their fair shares. For, had he not done so, how likely is it Modyford would have remained so supportive of his future expeditions or remain so personally loyal to him? And, for that matter, would the king ever have rewarded Morgan with a knighthood? </p><p style="text-align: justify;">One reason for pre-sharing the spoils of a venture resulted from the precarious nature of buccaneer enterprises. So close to the legal line did these resolute men sail, they sometimes crossed that line and for one reason or another had a price on their heads and could not safely return to the Point.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">My belief is that though some cheating undoubtedly occurred and protocols ignored, a reasonable and believable share would have been allotted to the officials and presented to them later so as to ensure their future cooperation and support. Nevertheless, I acknowledge that many chroniclers do insist that the purpose of pre-sharing the booty before appearing in front of an admiralty court was to deny government officials and other stakeholders their fair share. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: justify;">
After anchoring at the Point, the admiral ensured the murderer was hanged just as he had promised. The poor fellow’s corpse was left dangling from the gibbet at Gallows Point as a deterrent to others. [<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;">Gallows Point was in a part of Port Royal that disappeared under the sea in
the earth-quake of 1692.</span>]
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Admiral Morgan’s official report was brief. In it, he told Sir Thomas Modyford:
</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
We were driven to the south keys of Cuba where, being like to starve, and
finding French in like condition, we put our men ashore, and finding all
the cattle driven up country and the inhabitants fled, we marched 20 leagues
to Porto Principe on the north of the island, and with little resistance
possessed ourselves of the same. There we found that 700 men had been pressed
to go against Jamaica; that the like levy had been made in all the island,
and considerable forces were expected from Vera Cruz and Campeachy to
rendezvous at the Havannah and from Porto Bello and Cartagena to rendezvous
at St. Jago of Cuba, of which I immediately gave notice to Governor
Modyford. On the Spaniards’ entreaty we forbore to fire the town, or bring
away prisoners, but on delivery of 1,000 beeves, released them all.<sup>[3]</sup>
</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
As would be expected, Morgan’s attack on a city so far inland as <i>Puerto
Principe</i> caused a great deal of consternation in Havana and <i>Santiago de Cuba</i>,
the provincial capital. We see this reflected in the provincial governor, Pedro de Bayona Villanueva’s, report to the Queen Regent:<sup>[4]</sup>
</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The appearance of English and French ships on this coast, constantly
reconnoitering its harbours, watering-places, and hunting grounds leads me
to believe that having sacked Puerto Principe, and the fact that some of the
neighbouring inhabitants have been in the habit of paying this kind of
ransom to the pirates, they intend other attacks. I have thought proper to
summon the sergeant-major and the alcalde in ordinary before me, having
already laid a charge against them for misconduct, to hear what excuse they
can offer for the loss of that town having such a greatly increased
population, when the advantages of its position and the rugged nature of the
mountains in an extended march of fourteen leagues, should have enabled a
body of native soldiers, acquainted with the country and trained in
hill-fighting, although two-thirds less in number, to destroy the enemy. If
the evidence in the case warrants a conviction, they ought to be punished as
a warning to those other towns, whose inhabitants may be disposed to yield
to any insignificant number of the enemy rather than risk their lives in so
good a cause as the defence of their country and their Sovereign.<sup>[5]</sup>
</p>
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
<sup>[3]</sup><i>Calendar of State Papers, America and West Indies</i>, No. 1838, Information
of Admiral Morgan and his officers, Port Royal, 7th September, 1668.
<br /><br /><sup>[4]</sup>Spain’s king was Charles II (1661–1700) who was a physically
and mentally disabled child at the time. His mother, Mariana of Austria
(1634–1696), ruled Spain as queen-regent.<br /><br /><sup>[5]</sup>Letter from Bayona
Villanueva, quoted by Pezuela, <i>Historia de la Isla de Cuba</i>, II, pp. 165-6 as
translated in E.A. Cruikshank, <i>The Life of Sir Henry Morgan</i> (MacMillan,
1935).
</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Harry Morgan’s attack on </span><i style="text-align: left;">Puerto Principe</i><span style="text-align: left;"> was the first in a series of increasingly fierce </span><span style="text-align: left;">military actions against Spain, which would etch his name in history. He had gained the respect of the buccaneers and held the unofficial title of Admiral of the Brethren of the Coast. </span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Esquemeling wrote,</span></p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote><span style="text-align: left;">…Morgan, who always communicated vigour with his words, infused such spirits into his men as were able to put every one of them instantly upon new designs; the being all persuaded by his reasons, that the sole execution of his orders would be a certain means of gaining great riches. This persuasion had such influence upon their minds, that with inimitable courage they all resolved to join him.</span></blockquote><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Harry Morgan’s mastery of military tactics and leadership skills so evident in Cuba would bedevil the Spanish dons and drain their treasuries—all to the credit of England and its Jamaica colony.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></p>
cycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882151688793825918.post-48522417723040780892021-01-06T07:00:01.101-05:002021-01-06T07:00:00.206-05:00Chapter 11.1 – Harry Takes a Wife<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCa1nYypTJ23qk9trQZ5lTJenEnEEN3wUWbJoIVNj7_fK8M7-EeAsLB8hjANK1wcgh3DP-ksMdESZq2LTvhlpZEquJacHbTx3Z6uhh9gybbOQGGpmDRM9XLjqEoTiXsXYynQSHpj4N7UA/s604/morgan-1947+book.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="604" data-original-width="386" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCa1nYypTJ23qk9trQZ5lTJenEnEEN3wUWbJoIVNj7_fK8M7-EeAsLB8hjANK1wcgh3DP-ksMdESZq2LTvhlpZEquJacHbTx3Z6uhh9gybbOQGGpmDRM9XLjqEoTiXsXYynQSHpj4N7UA/w410-h640/morgan-1947+book.jpg" width="410" /></a></div><br /><span class="firstcharacter">A</span><span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">s mentioned earlier, Harry Morgan</span>
was unlikely to have been part of Admiral Edward Mansfield’s buccaneer
campaign against Spanish America—the <i>Viceroyalty of New Spain</i>—in
April 1666. The newly-married Morgan had recently returned from an arduous
22-month campaign of his own, he was newly married, and he had other family
commitments that obligated him to stay at home in Jamaica. Nevertheless, we
will cover Mansfield’s engagements in some detail because it informs our
understanding of the environment in which Harry lived. Military campaigns
launched by England against Spanish territories were commonplace in the
mid-seventeenth century. And the overwhelming majority of the significant ones
originated in Jamaica and were fought mainly by adopted Jamaicans. Harry was
at first a minor participant, then a major player in some. Others he missed
entirely, though many chroniclers would have him at the centre of most if not
all buccaneer battles.<p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
After Admiral Edward Mansfield accepted his buccaneers’ refusal to attack the
Dutch at Curaçao, he seemed willing enough to accede to their demands to use
their Portuguese letters-of-marque against Spain. Accordingly, he led his
fleet to the coast of Costa Rica. Arriving on 8 Apr 1666, the buccaneers
marched 90 miles inland in the hope of taking the city of <i>Cartago </i>by
surprise. In those days, Cartago was the capital of both <i>Cartago </i>province and Costa Rica, then a part of the
<i>Captaincy General of Guatemala</i>, nominally part of the
<i>Viceroyalty of New Spain</i>. In practice, the captaincy general was a
largely autonomous entity within the Spanish Empire.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
As Mansfield led his men inland, his army of about 600 men of several
nationalities plundered plantations and settlements but secured little in the
way of provisions. Moral suffered as the men argued among themselves over the
sharing of their limited food supply. Tensions ran high between the English
and the French buccaneers. The next target was the mountain stronghold of
<i>Turrialba</i>, which<i> </i>lay east of <i>Cartago. </i>But, by
the time Mansfield’s force reached <i>Turrialba</i>, the Spaniards had
been forewarned and had prepared for the attack. The buccaneers entered the
town and plundered it, but soon a large force of Spanish militiamen launched
an effective counter-attack, forcing the invaders to retreat. At a council of
war, the buccaneer leaders agreed it was more prudent to cut their losses and
retreat to the coast and the safety of their ships. Mansfield reasoned that
the people of <i>Cartago</i> were by now forwarned and had probably
hidden their valuables and assembled a strong enough force to resist further
attacks,
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2DdQBv8DA7AVoJrUEivMTU1U5Oc3DB1lmFcR7_vZ70N-4ib4kA6MYUmi1KSGAOu-myMEYL-nG1hst7jcqAEBsdXGpvTsgZvY9qNJlPlOdlg3OyBkYBksRl-PTQyGwqA5mMaShQ2rHbnI/s659/Fortress_Louis_Michel_Aury_La_Providencia_Colombia.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="338" data-original-width="659" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2DdQBv8DA7AVoJrUEivMTU1U5Oc3DB1lmFcR7_vZ70N-4ib4kA6MYUmi1KSGAOu-myMEYL-nG1hst7jcqAEBsdXGpvTsgZvY9qNJlPlOdlg3OyBkYBksRl-PTQyGwqA5mMaShQ2rHbnI/w640-h328/Fortress_Louis_Michel_Aury_La_Providencia_Colombia.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</td>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Fort of Freedom at Old Providence | Drawn by Louis Pérou de Lacroix
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<br />On 23 Apr 1666, the exhausted buccaneers boarded their ships with little
to show for their efforts. Four ships then deserted, two of which returned to
the Point at Port Royal, and two sailed for Tortuga. Unprepared to return to
Jamaica empty-handed, Mansfield decided to capture the strategically located Old
Providence (<i>Isla de Providencia</i>). The tiny island lay off the eastern
coast of Nicaragua, almost equidistant from <i>Cartagena</i>,
<i>Puerto Bello</i>, and Jamaica, and close to the usual route Spanish ships
sailed between their ports on the Main, Havana, and <i>Vera Cruz</i>. The
fertile island, well supplied by freshwater springs, had been an English Puritan
colony during Cromwell’s time, and in its last days had become a base for
English privateers. However, after a little over ten years of English
occupation, the Spaniards expelled the settlers, killing some and cruelly
mistreating others.
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Mansfield still commanded four English and two French privateers, totalling
about two hundred men. This reduced force sailed along the rocky coast and,
after an early morning landing, marched nearly 14 miles to surprise the
governor, <i>Don Estaban del Campo</i>. The buccaneers took the governor
prisoner along with 170 other captives. And, following a promise to be set
free on the mainland, the defenders surrendered.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
On 26 May 1666, the English and French buccaneers captured the fort along with
twenty-six pieces of ordnance—many with Queen Elizabeth of England’s coat of
arms engraved on them—100 barrels of powder and some shot. Mansfield claimed
very little other plunder was found, though, he did admit to capturing 150
slaves. This is likely a case of the privateers sharing most of the loot and
declaring a much smaller amount to Port Royal officials. Of course, the
Spanish inhabitants’ estimate was much higher, as many hoped for compensation
from Spain.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
More likely than not, there would have been some coin in the island’s
treasury. Besides, since the island was surprised and the Spaniards had
little time to hide their valuables, the inhabitants almost certainly would
have had some coin and other valuables worth stealing. One estimate puts the
total, excluding the value of the slaves, at about 55,000 pieces of eight, or
about £13,750. This the privateers probably divided among themselves, with no
share going to the King or the Lord High Admiral. Not much by today’s
standards, perhaps, but it is likely that each of Mansfield’s men took away
with them the equivalent of from one to five years’ pay of a seaman of the
mid-1600s.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
It took nearly two weeks to loot and secure the island. Once that had run its
course, Mansfield left Captain Charles Hatsell<sup>[1]</sup> as “keeper of the
magazine” and appointed a French privateer captain from Tortuga,
<i>Le Sieur Simon</i>,<sup>[2]</sup> as commander of Old Province’s small
garrison. The Frenchman was to serve until Mansfield returned with
reinforcements from Jamaica. Some accounts claim it was Hatsell who was left
in charge. I question this, however, for as we will see later, it was Simon
who the Spaniards sent to greet an English ship that visited Province after
the Spaniards had once again conquered the island.
</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
<sup>[1]</sup>Other spelling: Hadsell, Hattsell; formerly master of the ship
<i>Prosperous</i>, which was captured by a Spanish royal man-of-war and
taken to San Domingo. After being kept in prison there for fourteen months,
he was sent to Havana, and from there he had made his escape with five other
English prisoners.<br /><br /><sup>[2]</sup>James Burney,
<i>History of the Buccaneers of America</i>, (London: Swan Sonnenschein,
1891).
</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Regardless of who Mansfield left in command, most accounts agree that he left
a garrison of only thirty-five men and fifty negro slaves to defend the island
until he reported back to Jamaica and could arrange for Modyford to send
reinforcements.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Mansfield arrived at Port Royal on 12 Jun 1666 to proclaim his success and
invite the governor to furnish a garrison of soldiers to retain his conquest
as a dependency of Jamaica. On his way there, Mansfield had stopped in Panamá
and disembarked the former governor of Providence Island,
<i>Don Estaban del Campo</i>, and his fellow captives under their terms of
surrender. This honouring of the surrender terms was in contrast to the
practice of the “haughty Spanish dons” who too often ignored surrender terms
and shackled English prisoners before setting them to work as slaves—or simply
executed them.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
We believe that Morgan had become one of Modyford’s confidants and knew the
governor considered Mansfield’s seizure of Old Providence technically illegal.
We also believe he concurred with Modyford’s belief that Mansfield had
corrected an injustice when he recaptured the former English colony. After
all, both men would have known England was the rightful owner of Old
Providence, for it had been the English who were the first Europeans to settle
there. Therefore, it stood to reason that it was the Spanish who occupied it
illegally. Besides, both understood only too well how bitterly the Spaniards
complained of being harassed by English <i>corsarios </i>during times of
peace. The same Spaniards that seized English ships and committed other acts
of war, seemingly without a second thought.
</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The Providence Island Company established Providence (<i>Isla de Providencia</i>) as an English Puritan colony in 1629. It was <span style="text-align: left;">founded by a group of “friends,” including several of England’s richest
peers and </span>leading commoners. In its last days, the colony had become a favourite base
for English privateers, who preyed on the Spaniards of the region. In 1641,
the Spaniards captured the island, killing some of its inhabitants and
cruelly mistreating others. The Spaniards’ actions were the subject of a
complaint by Oliver Cromwell. In his letter to Major General Fortescue, he
said it was a place he “<i>could heartily wish were in our hands again, believing it lies so
advantageously in reference, and especially for the hindrance of the Peru
trade and Cartagena, that you might not only have great advantage thereby
of intelligence and surprise, but even block up the same.”</i>[<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;">Carlyle, Cromwell, Letter 141, to Fortescue, 30th October, 1655; Newton,
Puritan Colony.</span>]
</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Men were living in Jamaica who had been expelled from Old Providence when the
Spaniards captured that island. Not surprisingly then, news of its recovery
was widely applauded. So, reasoning that he had little choice in a matter that
was by then a <i>fait accompli</i>, Modyford officially “reproved” Mansfield
“for doing it without order,” but retroactively approved the taking of
Old Providence and set about reinforcing its garrison.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Jamaica no longer had a standing army to draw from, so Governor Modyford
called for volunteers to reinforce Old Providence. He chose Major Samuel Smith
to be the commander. Accompanying him were Captain Stanley, “an honest old
soldier” already in his sixties, and 32 men [<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;">Beeston’s Journal</span>]. The adventurous Sir Thomas Whetstone, now a successful and experienced
privateer and speaker of the Jamaica House of Assembly, volunteered to go
along and offered his ship as transport.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Mansfield’s recapture of Old Providence came at a time of renewed optimism at
the Point. Colonel Harry Morgan had organized the reinforcement of the port’s
defences and had helped rebuild the ranks of the local militia, which now
totalled a respectable 400 fighting men. Besides, David Martien, who Modyford
referred to as “the best man of Tortuga,” had committed to using Port Royal as
his base and had promised to move his two ships there. Moreover, the vessels
of the Curaçao expedition had returned to be refitted. These, along with
several others, provided much-needed employment for many of the Point’s
labourers and tradesmen. In short, Port Royal was back in business.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Major Smith and Thomas Whetstone set sail from Port Royal and arrived at
Providence Island with their small party at the end of July. There he found
England’s newest colony thinly defended with only 51 men to defend both
Providence and the nearby smaller island of <i>Santa Catalina</i>. In August,
another small party left Jamaica to join Major Smith. When Whetstone did not
return to the Point as expected, Jamaicans became concerned about the new
colony’s plight. Finally, on 5 Oct 1666, disappointing news arrived to say
that Providence had once again been lost to the Spaniards.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The news reached the Point when Richard Rawlinson, Isaac Webber, and Richard
Cree, “emaciated and wretched men,” made their escape from captivity at
<i>Puerto Bello</i> and told their pitiful tale. The escapees had surrendered
on condition of being supplied with a ship to take them to Jamaica. In their
depositions, the three men declared:
</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
But when they laid down their arms, the Spaniards refused them the barque
and carried them as slaves to Porto Bello, where they were chained to the
ground in a dungeon ten feet by twelve, in which were thirty-three
prisoners. They were forced to work in the water from five in the morning
till seven at night, and at such a rate that the Spaniards confessed they
made one of them do more work than three negroes, yet when weak with want of
victuals and sleep, they were knocked down and beaten with cudgels, and four
or five died. Having no clothes, their backs were blistered in the sun,
their necks, shoulders, and hands raw with carrying stones and mortar, their
feet chopped, and their legs bruised and battered with the irons, and their
corpses noisome to one another. The daily abuse of their religion and King,
and the continual trouble they had with friars would be tedious to mention.
[<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;">Source: Calendar of State Papers, America and West Indies, No.
1851, Depositions of Richard Rawlinson, Isaac Webber, and Richard Cree,
5th October, 1666.</span>]
</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Once the story became public, Jamaicans were enraged. At the best of times,
most locals needed little justification for their hatred towards their Spanish
neighbours. If no quarter was offered to them, Jamaicans, in turn, would give
none. Full details of the Spanish attack on Providence Island were not known
for several more months, however. Nor were Jamaicans aware of the fate of
Major Smith or Sir Thomas Whetstone.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
During the next year, news of Edward Mansfield’s death reached the Point. Soon
after his return to Port Royal in the summer of 1666, the old buccaneer had
sailed on another cruise. During that cruise, his ship was captured by a
Spanish man-of-war and taken to Havana, Cuba. Later, he and many of his crew
were put to death by order of Cuba’s governor, who was said to have executed
more than 300 pirates within two years. (Another account has the buccaneer
chief returning the Tortuga and dying there in early 1667.) This news was
received with sadness at the Point, for Mansfield had served that community
well for many years. Harry Morgan must also have felt some sadness at the
demise of his old mentor.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Shortly after Christmas of 1666, Morgan received more upsetting news. After
nearly a year of hostilities between England and France, the latter had
declared war against England. This meant Jamaica could expect attacks from the
Tortuga-based French. English shipping and seaside plantations on the
north side of the island would be especially vulnerable.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Bertrand d’Ogeron, the French governor of Tortuga, had warded off any plan by
Modyford to occupy Tortuga. In doing so, he made his tiny island a safe haven
for both a powerful privateer fleet and for other adventurers who might more
accurately be described as pirates. He attracted many of these men from other
popular ports and hideaways throughout the Caribbean by a promise to forego
his claim to the share of their booty to which his office entitled him. And,
as mentioned earlier, he was able to obtain for them Portuguese
letters-of-marque against Spain, since France was nominally at peace with that
country. Moreover, d’Ogeron had begun the unusual practice of advancing
interest-free loans to those buccaneers who continued hunting feral cows and
hogs and wished to build permanent houses.
</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">❦❦❦</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
JOHN ESQUEMELING, A BUCCANEER who sailed with Harry Morgan on his later
voyages, wrote that Morgan had accompanied Edward Mansfield on his expeditions
to Cuba and Central America and was with the buccaneer admiral when he
captured Old Providence. Esquemeling’s account lacks accuracy in other areas,
and, as expressed earlier, I doubt Morgan was directly involved in any of
those raids. Morgan probably did have something to do with garrisoning Old
Providence, however.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
We see evidence of this when it is to Morgan—and not any of the other
experienced “old guard”—that Modyford turns when next he fears an invasion. It
must have taken months of personal contact with Modyford for Morgan to have
acquired the reputation and local influence needed to justify the governor’s
confidence in him. Had Morgan been with Mansfield on the raids mentioned
above, how likely is it that Modyford would have gotten to know him well
enough to so wholly trust him with the command of the colony’s defences?
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
According to Esquemeling’s account, Morgan wanted to keep Old Providence as a
pirate base, implying Morgan himself was a pirate. This seems fanciful to me
for Providence was considered an official territory of England. In fact, not
knowing the Spaniards had retaken the islands, the Privy Council in London had
gone so far as to appoint Thomas Modyford’s brother, Sir James Modyford, to
act as Providence’s governor, thereby placing the island colony within
England’s jurisdiction and under its protection.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Besides, far from being a pirate, Harry Morgan was scrupulous about obtaining
a genuine commission signed by Jamaica's governor to cover his raids. By any
legal sense of the word, Morgan was not a pirate. Unfortunately, Morgan’s
history was first popularized by John Esquemeling, a malcontent who had served
under Morgan’s command, and by his Spanish enemies. Those first impressions
have stuck and have been embellished over the centuries.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Esquemeling wrote first and foremost for the Dutch and Spanish markets, and
Spain especially had been for centuries a bitter enemy of England. The English
edition of his book, <i>The Buccaneers of America</i>, was made from a
translation of the Spanish edition in which Morgan was demonized with no fear
of penalty for libelling him. When the English edition appeared, Morgan did
sue and won.
</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">❦❦❦</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-variant: small-caps; font-weight: 400;">Although Harry Morgan had</span> overseen the upgrading of Port Royal’s defences, the
island was sorely in need of a Royal Navy presence. Those in command believed
two fifth-rate frigates would be sufficient and argued their cause with
London’s Privy Council committee. Two Royal Navy men-of-war, the Jamaicans
reasoned, would allow the governor to coerce the privateers into defending
Jamaica and attacking their enemies’ interests in the West Indies. It was
generally accepted in Jamaica that, without naval power to keep them in line,
the privateers would continue “<i>to prey upon the Spaniards whether countenanced at Jamaica or not,</i>” for these were not men who would give up their way of life and become
farmers. In truth, their neighbours invited attack for the Spaniards “<i>have so inveterate a hatred against the English in those parts that they
will not hear of any trade or reconciliation, but any of the islanders that
they can cowardly surprise, they butcher inhumanly.</i>”
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
William Beeston’s journal entry for 15 Jul 1667 stated that Sir James
Modyford, the governor’s brother, arrived in Jamaica on that day. As noted
earlier, the Privy Council in London had appointed Sir James as governor of
Providence. So, with that island colony once again in Spanish hands, his
brother named Sir James lieutenant-general of Jamaica, captain of the fort and
governor of Port Royal. And in the same entry, Beeston noted that “the private
men-of-war went in and out and brought in prizes frequently,” but it appears
that buccaneers cruised independently and undertook no combined major
operation.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The requested English warships were not soon forthcoming, however. Not until
14 Oct 1668 did the frigate HMS <i>Oxford </i>arrive at Port Royal, “<i>for the defence of his Majesty’s plantation of Jamaica, and suppressing the
Insolence of Privateers upon that Coast, the Governor and Planters of
Jamaica.</i>” [<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;">Acts of the Privy Council, I, No. 762, 13 Mar 1668.</span>] <i>Oxford </i>was a 26-gun fifth-rate ship launched at Deptford in 1656.
She had been assigned to Jamaica station several months earlier, but her
refitting had been interrupted by frequent delays.
</p>
cycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882151688793825918.post-54723096665905632342021-01-04T07:00:00.725-05:002021-01-04T07:00:05.619-05:00Chapter 11 – Harry Takes a Wife<p style="text-align: justify;"> </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVfsF7vmfaMZFZm95TPcFepaW9tP3IPtMh_Ci9ngV2xDfDGY76z29iOGGd4QbdyPHhog5I_p5ZN8KKVkihkmHOMFpoM-eZQWXUEbolHrHi0PjKXoNBuKkqSY7eXZPNzPKaztBKq5UUBKg/s800/Henry+Morgan+2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="521" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVfsF7vmfaMZFZm95TPcFepaW9tP3IPtMh_Ci9ngV2xDfDGY76z29iOGGd4QbdyPHhog5I_p5ZN8KKVkihkmHOMFpoM-eZQWXUEbolHrHi0PjKXoNBuKkqSY7eXZPNzPKaztBKq5UUBKg/w416-h640/Henry+Morgan+2.jpg" width="416" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sir Henry Morgan | by Frederick Hendrik van Hove<br />Line engraving, late 17th century<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="firstcharacter">B</span><span style="font-variant: small-caps; font-weight: 400;">y the time of</span> his return to the Point, flush with victory over the Spaniards at Grenada, Harry Morgan was a celebrity with an enthusiastic following among the Brethren of the Coast and bonds of friendships among prominent and influential islanders. Of course, Morgan was one of the “old guard,” one of Venables’s originals from 1655 who together had endured hardship and deprivations of the kind that bind men in friendships that last a lifetime. He had many such friends,
including two future brothers-in-law, Robert Byndloss and Henry Archbould who
were both well-to-do planters on the island.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
We do not know if Morgan was expecting his uncle, Sir Edward, to come out to Jamaica in
1664, but one supposes the news pleased him. He would also have been pleased to find he now had six cousins living on the island. However, whatever pleasure he took
from their company would soon be interrupted, for the Morgan family
received belated news that Sir Edward had died in action during the taking of
St. Eustatius earlier that summer.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Morgan was left with six cousins, all minors, to be concerned about. The
orphaned girls would surely find husbands, for there was always a
shortage of white women on the island and no shortage of white men to marry
them. In the meantime, however, Sir Edward’s children required protection and
sound council, both of which Harry Morgan could and presumably did offer.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Morgan was undoubtedly pleased and would surely have approved when he learned later that year that Sir Edward’s eldest surviving daughter, Anna Petronella,
would become the wife of his friend, Major Robert Byndloss. Byndloss had been a member for Cagway in the first House of Assembly. Now, he was the current commander of Fort Charles and a member of the Jamaica Council. Byndloss also owned a
fine 2000-acre estate in the Vale of St. Thomas. Shortly thereafter, Harry Morgan himself married Sir Edward’s second surviving daughter, Mary Elizabeth. We do not know the date of their marriage, but it probably took place at Port Royal. Unfortunately, that parish’s register of marriages for that time has been lost. The parish records for St. Catherine parish do survive, however, and they show
that, some six years later, on the 30 Nov 1671, Joanna Wilhelmina, Sir
Edward Morgan’s third surviving daughter was married to the much older
Colonel Henry Archbould, also a member of the Council and the owner of one of
the largest estates on the island.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
England was still at war with the Dutch, so there must have been
pressure on Morgan to return to duty as an officer in the Port Royal militia.
And, although the record is not clear on this, a contemporary account claims he joined with Edward Mansfield in an attempt on the Dutch at Curaçao in the autumn of 1665. It is debatable whether this actually occurred for Morgan and his family would still be in mourning after the death of Sir Edward. Furthermore, his orphaned cousins were all minors, with only 20-year-old Charles Morgan to head up the family in Harry Morgan’s absence. Besides, one would expect that Harry would require several weeks to recover from his prolonged expedition. One might also expect him to have affairs to arrange and settle. We must remember that he had become a man of some means, though perhaps not yet wealthy. He had received a land-grant for his army service, so he had a plantation to manage. Moreover, he had marriage plans to make, and he’d want to spend as much time as he could with his new wife.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Nevertheless, the 17th Century <i>History of the Bucaniers</i> does state that Edward
Mansfield selected Morgan as his second in command of the Brethren of the
Coast, and that Morgan accompanied the old buccaneer to Old Providence. These stories have been repeated by several later chroniclers, but I question their accuracy.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Whether or not Morgan was involved, Modyford commissioned Edward Mansfield, as admiral, to lead 600 buccaneers against Curaçao in the autumn of 1665. In addition to his privateer commission, Modyford had granted against the Dutch, Mansfield held a Portuguese letter-of-marque against Spain. So, convinced there was little chance of booty in Curaçao, the buccaneer admiral chose instead to attack
Spanish targets. Many Jamaica-based
buccaneers were Dutch. David Martien and Edward Mansfield himself, whose real name was Mansvelt, were examples. Several other buccaneers had personal ties with other Dutchmen. It is not surprising, therefore, that they were reluctant to go against the Dutch colonies. So, it should not surprise us that, instead of attacking the less profitable Curaçao per his
instructions from Modyford, Mansfield would use his Portuguese
letter-of-marque and lead his force against the
Spanish Main.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">In November, Colonel Theodore Cary returned from Sir Edward Morgan’s ill-fated campaign against the Dutch at St. Eustatius and Saba. From Cary, Modyford learned that a raid on Cuba was being planned by the buccaneers. Having received the King’s proclamation
against such actions, the governor could not condone this and directed
William Beeston to take three or four privateers still at the Point and search for Mansfield’s squadron. Modyford gave Beeston instructions to dissuade the buccaneers from their Cuban project and induce them to attack a Dutch target instead.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
However, after seeking Mansfield’s squadron without success for six weeks, Beeston abandoned his search and returned to the Pont. In his journal, Beeston wrote:</p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">“this parcell [sic] of ships and privateers were
commanded by Mansell, [Mansfield] and he cared for dealing with no enemy but
the Spaniards, nor would go against Curacao, neither were any of them taken
notice of for plundering the Spaniards, it being what was desired by the
generality, as well the government as privateers.”
</p></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The name William Beeston is mentioned several times in our story, for not only did he play a part in the actions covered, but he kept a handy journal which survives to this day. Beeston, who was born at Titchfield in Hampshire in
1636, arrived in Jamaica in May 1660. In 1664 he was elected as a member for
Port Royal to Jamaica’s first house of assembly, and in December of the same year, he was made Judge of the Court of Common Pleas. Beeston also served as an officer in the Port Royal militia.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
While Beeston searched in vain for him, Mansfield was landing on the south coast of Cuba with the alleged intention of purchasing provisions. But when the Spaniards refused to deal with the buccaneers, he led his army against the Cuban town of <i>Sancti Spíritus</i>. After marching between 200 and 300
buccaneers 42 miles inland, Mansfield “routed a body of 200 horse” and sacked the town. With <i>Sancti Spíritus</i> in flames, the buccaneers rounded up several dozen prisoners and marched them back to their boats. Later, they ransomed the prisoners for 300 much-needed cattle, which the Cubans delivered to their ships anchored off the coast.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
During Mansfield’s raid, Morgan appears to have stayed home and
resumed his responsibilities as an officer in the volunteer Port Royal
Militia. Records show that in early 1666, he was promoted to the rank of colonel. And, when Governor Modyford realized how rundown the Point’s defences had become, it was to his new friend Harry Morgan that he turned, assigning him to supervise the repair and expansion of the harbour defences.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
In early 1665, Modyford had made his concerns regarding the island’s future known to Albemarle in London. Acting as chairman of the <i>Committee of the
Privy Council on the affairs of Jamaica</i>, the duke had written to Modyford
later that year giving him permission to grant commissions against the
Spaniards at his discretion, “as should seem most to the advantage of the
King’s service and the benefit of the island.” However, the governor had not exercised his discretion very often, for he still hoped he could convince his Spanish neighbours to trade with his colony. The Spaniards had been slow to reciprocate, and now he feared they never would.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Meanwhile, the decision to shut down private actions against Spanish targets took a huge toll on the Point. As buccaneers drifted off to other sanctuaries,
mainly Tortuga, fewer vessels visited the Point to be refitted and supplied.
The population was in decline, and the need for tradesmen of different stripes diminished to the point that many in the town were unemployed and destitute. To punctuate this general decline, the manpower of the volunteer-militia regiment had shrunk from 600 to about 150.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The colony sorely missed the plunder—the coin,
bullion, cocoa, logwood, hides, tallow, indigo, cochineal, etc.—the privateers had regularly brought in to be sold to residents of Jamaica at irresistible prices. Local planters suffered too, for many of them relied on income from the provisions they sold to the private men-of-war. Bertrand d’Ogeron, the French governor of the buccaneer colony of Tortuga, made matters even worse. Believing that France would soon declare war against
England, he was making a bid to attract the Jamaican privateers to his island. He offered them Portuguese letters-of-marque to use against Spain as an enticement, France having made peace with Spain. Many found his inducement irresistible, for it offered a means to continue plundering Span’s settlements and doing it legally.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Modyford had hoped that he could retain 1,000 to 1,500 buccaneers at the Point, thereby ensuring the town’s viability and the protection of his island colony. Unfortunately, his inducement was letters-of-marque against the Dutch and Mansfield’s recent behaviour dispelled any hopes the governor had of that happening.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">However, the clear and present threat posed by Spain had not diminished so far as the governor was concerned. Modyford remained convinced preparations were being made in Cuba to send a large force to retake Jamaica. Furthermore, Spain continued taking English ships and treating captured Englishmen as common pirates, even when it was apparent they sought only to engage in trade. Former captives who had gained their release or engineered their escape told chilling accounts of their mistreatment at the hands of the Spaniards. What’s more, news often reached the island of Englishmen held under appalling conditions in Spanish prisons. Making matters worse, the subjects of these accounts frequently had friends or family at the Point, and they craved retaliation against the Spaniards. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Such reports were nothing new, for the governor had been hearing such things since taking up his appointment in 1664. They did, though, illustrate how ineffective his policy had been of markedly reducing the number of privateer commissions. Clearly, Jamaica was no closer to free trade with its Spanish neighbours than when he arrived on the island.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
We get some appreciation of the governor’s frustration with the <i>status quo</i> from paragraph 12 of a resolution of the Council of Jamaica in favour of resuming the granting of letters-of-marque against the Spaniards. The
resolution passed unanimously and was entered in the Minutes of a meeting of
22 Feb 1666:
</p>
<blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">
12. It seems to be the only means to force the Spaniards in time to a free
trade, all ways of kindness producing nothing of good neighbourhood, for
though all old commissions have been called in and no new ones granted, and
many of their ships restored, yet they continue all acts of hostility, taking
our ships and murdering our people, making them work at their fortifications
and then sending them into Spain, and very lately they denied an English
fleet, bound for the Dutch colonies, wood, water, or provisions. For which
reasons it was unanimously concluded that the granting of said commissions did
extraordinarily conduce to the strengthening, preservation, enriching, and
advancing the settlement of this island. [<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;">Source: </span><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;">Calendar of State Papers, America and West Indies, No. 1138, Minutes of the Council of Jamaica.</span>]</p></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">After Beeston’s return</span>, Modyford employed Colonel Cary to find Mansfield and once again try convincing him to attack Curaçao. Dutch forces had recovered St. Eustatius and Saba, but Captains Searle and Stedman had taken Tobago. Accordingly, Cary met with Mansfield and his captains on one of the Cays south of Cuba. He left the meeting with the belief the buccaneer captains had agreed unanimously to undertake the mission. Back in Jamaica, Cary reported to Modyford that the buccaneers had again chosen Edward Mansfield as their admiral and had sailed towards Curaçao. And further that they had even given him a letter to deliver to Modyford, “<i>professing much zeal in his Majesty’s service and a firm intention to attack Curacao.</i>” </p><p style="text-align: justify;">After reading the letter, Modyford observed, “<i>They [buccaneers] are much wasted in numbers, many being gone to the French, where Portugal commissions are of force against the Spaniard.</i>”</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The governor heard nothing further from Mansfield until two of the ships that had sailed with him arrived at the Point. They reported the admiral’s failure to accomplish anything against the Dutch. The report claimed that Curaçao might have been
taken, but “<i>the private soldiers aboard the Admiral were against it, averring
that there was more profit with less hazard to be gotten against the Spaniard,
which was their only interest.</i>” </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Also reported was the news that after Mansfield’s
buccaneer army had made an abortive attempt on the Costa Rican town of
<i>Cartago</i>, he had set out to capture <i>Providencia</i>—an island off the coast of Central America known to many as “Old
Providence.”</p>
<div style="text-align: right;">Continued …</div>
cycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882151688793825918.post-4230918371771369072020-12-30T07:00:00.083-05:002020-12-30T07:00:00.139-05:00Chapter 10 – Morgan’s Entente Cordiale<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWGIQh7a3V4KVejzN-VGF1RfCGVjwuM85-JjDOVVl9pksxt_0wcBESueptM-GNdBFZVs6Neq52c5TTe2rgxKCqxniz1itEiPRL2RllKcxaD34X3FjHrrZnllkKb6OEp42qYKX-XqqAJnw/s2048/Port_Royal_and_Kingston_Harbours.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1479" data-original-width="2048" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWGIQh7a3V4KVejzN-VGF1RfCGVjwuM85-JjDOVVl9pksxt_0wcBESueptM-GNdBFZVs6Neq52c5TTe2rgxKCqxniz1itEiPRL2RllKcxaD34X3FjHrrZnllkKb6OEp42qYKX-XqqAJnw/w640-h462/Port_Royal_and_Kingston_Harbours.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Edward Long, <i>The History of Jamaica, etc.</i> (London: T. Lownudes, 1774)</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="firstcharacter">H</span><span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">arry Morgan returned to</span> the Point in late-August 1665. He had been on a
22-month privateering cruise following the sacking of <i>San Francisco de
Campeche</i>. He soon found many changes had occurred during his absence. Besides
Lord Windsor’s return to England and Sir Thomas Modyford having replaced him,
England had reversed its official policy as regards privateering, at least,
so far as Spanish shipping and colonies were concerned.</p><p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Arriving ahead of Morgan was his fellow privateer Captain Fackman,<sup>[1]</sup> who landed at the Point on 20 Aug 1665. Shortly afterwards, Captain David
Martien arrived but left as soon as he heard England and Holland were at war. With them came the news that they had taken the towns of <i>Tabasco </i>and
<i>Villahermosa </i>in the Gulf of Mexico. There was a mixed reaction to this for,
according to Jamaican officials, there had been peace with the Spaniards during the time the privateers were making war. In other words, they had acted without valid commissions. The town anxiously awaited the arrival of the leaders in this questionable series of raids.
</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
<sup>[1]</sup>Colonel William Beeston’s Journal, 20 Aug 1665 entry. Elsewhere reported
as Captain Freeman, but my copy of Beeston’s journal uses the name Frackman.
</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Until this point in our story, Harry Morgan’s life has been told more by inference than from direct reference to documentation, so little evidence of his earlier years having survived. However, from mid-August 1665, his exploits can more easily be traced directly from—English and Spanish—state papers, letters penned by the man himself, his enemies, and his friends. I have also seen reference to his personal journal that others are said to have read, but they do not seem to have survived to the present day.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Within days of Captain Fackman’s arrival with news about the buccaneers’ raids on the Gulf of
Mexico and Central America, Captains Henry Morgan, Jacob Jackman and
John Morris dropped anchor at the Point and were informed they must meet with the new governor. Accordingly, Morgan and his fellow privateers presented themselves to Sir Thomas Modyford for the first time. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibIx_aIVP1yYlLRBxQhn6-ZEzHsYca9o03DborUYZRKswlaHh-CrrRTDmjUz7T2g7hB-P2aq4z-utxg9dtSWfqdz8nvB5pu1VJsySVqhU_d92cAgOJwMheOYSWrrOzpzn_NLJ60Ah-UZ4/s1473/Morgan.jpg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1473" data-original-width="1318" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibIx_aIVP1yYlLRBxQhn6-ZEzHsYca9o03DborUYZRKswlaHh-CrrRTDmjUz7T2g7hB-P2aq4z-utxg9dtSWfqdz8nvB5pu1VJsySVqhU_d92cAgOJwMheOYSWrrOzpzn_NLJ60Ah-UZ4/w179-h200/Morgan.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="text-align: justify;">Exquemelin’s Henry Morgan</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUd70pQ-pF_SFFbSvt7i9MGWFxS7jKuSHj-J20qnFTAWTyw6kakYGFacB3FNvei8Br9jHtz8nBBVFbuiy9SBbuqQNDgoF4NigVi0rUbWWum23cFMYbqaOEfSn3eU-Gw4s6GYP617Po_80/s529/image.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="529" data-original-width="431" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUd70pQ-pF_SFFbSvt7i9MGWFxS7jKuSHj-J20qnFTAWTyw6kakYGFacB3FNvei8Br9jHtz8nBBVFbuiy9SBbuqQNDgoF4NigVi0rUbWWum23cFMYbqaOEfSn3eU-Gw4s6GYP617Po_80/w163-h200/image.png" width="163" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Young Harry Morgan</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">As far as we are aware, only two likenesses of Sir Henry Morgan have survived that might be his true likeness. A portrait of him as a young man hangs in Tredegar House, a Morgan-family mansion in Wales. The other is of a rather stout, middle-aged Henry Morgan, which is a copy of an illustration published in 1684 in a book by Alexandre Exquemelin. Other illustrations that abound are likely postmortem artists’ impressions, some of which we offer throughout this account for your entertainment.</p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">[Exquemelin, Alexandre (1684). <i>The Buccaneers of America: A True Account of the Most Remarkable Assaults Committed … by the Buccaneers of Jamaica and Tortuga</i>. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.]</p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">Using these as a guide and with research into the practices and fashions of those times, I have drawn a mental image of the man. And it is with this image in mind that I write this story.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Harry Morgan was now thirty years old. He’d be considered handsome in most quarters: steady, piercing eyes set well apart, straight nose, full-lipped mouth and a solid chin. His mustache was light in the centre and fluffed out and curled upwards at the ends. Just below his bottom lip was a small triangular tuft of hair that barely served as a beard. His hair was close-cropped, but on this occasion, he wore a dark shoulder-length wig, which was too hot to wear on less formal occasions in a tropical country like Jamaica. When not wearing a wig, he wore a red bandanna tied around his head and almost always carried his wide-brimmed hat in his left hand or tucked beneath that arm. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Welsh-Jamaican’s medium-height frame had filled out and become thick-set. Weighing perhaps 175 pounds, his neck was thick and short, descending onto wide shoulders. His face was tanned and showed signs of furrowing in the brow. Overall, though, he exuded an impression of good health and goodwill. He had, in fact, demonstrated remarkable health and seemed immune to the
fevers and other tropical maladies that were so often suffered by his fellow
Europeans who had tried to make a home on the island.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
His everyday dress was fashionable but functional and set him apart as a man of some means: white linen shirt covered by a vest trimmed with silver, linen breeches, knee-high hose and square-toed shoes, except while on military duty. When on duty, he always wore bucket-topped calfskin boots. He was seldom without a sword hanging from his belt, and sometimes he had a pistol stuck in it. His coat was made of heavy silk and brocade, but he seldom wore it because of the year-round tropical heat.
</p><p style="text-align: justify;">When he spoke, it was in a clear, commanding voice with a somewhat musical accent—a pronounced rhythmic inflection with strong and weak stress on alternating syllables. And he had a habit of rolling the letter “R,” though not nearly so much as do the Spaniards.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">He was a veteran of more than two years of nearly continuous campaigning. In fact, he had lived his entire life in times of war, if you include the English Civil Wars during his childhood. Yet, he showed none of the signs of the wear and tear one might expect from such a life.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Morgan would certainly have understood that his arrival with Jackman and Morris would place Modyford in an embarrassing position, for Morgan almost certainly knew the governor had recalled all privateering commissions. But he would also know Modyford faced a dilemma.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The removal of all Royal Navy’s ships and the army's disbandment had left Jamaica’s defence in a precarious position. Therefore, it was to privateers-buccaneers like Morgan that the governor would need if his colony was threatened. Besides, despite the peace, Spanish ships of war continued to take English vessels whenever they could and treated all English prisoners as pirates. And, at that time, there were English captives imprisoned in Europe and Spanish
America who were still waiting to obtain their freedom. Moreover, Spain continued to demand that England restore Jamaica to its rule.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Morgan was right, of course. We know the governor felt powerless to act, for he had little desire to punish these men, and in particular, their leader. This haughty privateer was the nephew of his late deputy-governor Sir Edward and Sir Thomas Morgan, a close friend of the Duke of Albemarle. He knew as well that Morgan had well-liked and respected relatives on the island.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The meeting between Morgan and Modyford was momentous, for from it, there emerged a lasting political alliance, an <i>entente cordiale</i> and personal friendship. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Morgan spoke for his fellow captains. He told Modyford a straightforward story of how they had been gone for about 22 months and,
consistent with the privateer commissions they held from Lord Windsor, they had made war on the
Spaniards. He claimed not to have heard of the cessation of hostilities between
England and Spain. They were 750 miles away in what they believed was enemy territory, he explained.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Was Harry telling the truth? We believe mostly but not entirely so. Did the governor believe them? We really will never know. However, what we do know is he didn’t sanction them in any way. Rather, he had their statements taken down in narrative form and sent to the Duke of Albemarle in London. [<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;">Source: </span><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;">Calendar of State Papers, America and West Indies, No. 1142, i.</span>] Modyford’s cousin and patron was chairman of the <i>Committee of the Privy Council on the affairs of Jamaica</i>, and perhaps the governor believed he would be more sympathetic to the plight
of the buccaneer leaders than would the pro-Spanish secretary of state, Lord
Arlington, to whom he usually reported.</p><p style="text-align: center;">❦❦❦</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
As Harry told Governor Modyford, immediately following Christopher Myngs’s plundering of <i>San
Francisco de Campeche</i>, John
Morris and Dutch-born David Martien led about 200 Jamaicans on a raiding expedition. Morris and Martien were supported by Morgan in his sloop and captains Jacob
Jackman and Thomas Freeman. Their first stop was at the mouth of the Grijalva
River on the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico near the town of <i>Frontera</i>.
They anchored there and, after disembarking 107 buccaneers, they sought out local Indians living in the town to act as guides. The Indians, of course,
hated the Spaniards and were only too pleased to help.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Then began an arduous march inland through rough, wet tropical jungle to take the capital of <i>Tabasco </i>province, <i>Villahermosa</i>, completely by surprise.
<i>Villahermosa </i>was only about 50 miles inland, but the buccaneers chose—with the
Indians to guide them—a far more circuitous route of some 300 miles to bypass all towns and settlements and avoid the impassable swamps that guarded shorter approaches to the town. The buccaneers captured <i>Villahermosa</i>, plundered it in the manner of the times and took many prisoners—one report claims as many as 300. General practice on such raids was to capture as many prisoners as possible and ransom them back to friends and relatives.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Although Harry could not be expected to realize it at the time, this was a seminal event in his life, for it was probably the first time he had acted as the commanding officer of a joint force of buccaneers.
Chroniclers seem to agree that, at the outset, the more-experienced Morris and Martien were the expedition’s leaders. Many, though, believe that—given his experience as a veteran of land warfare in Hispaniola and especially the five-year guerrilla war in Jamaica—Morgan was the better choice to lead the trek through the jungle and the battle to take <i>Villahermosa</i>. This was a job more suited to a soldier than a sailor.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
When Morgan and the buccaneers returned to <i>Frontera</i>, luck deserted them. Their ships had been taken by the
Spaniards, who according to Modyford’s letter to his cousin, “soon attacked them with
ships and 300 men.” However, Morgan and his men fought off the Spaniards and did so without losing a single man.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The buccaneers were stranded and desperately needed transportation. After a brief search, they captured and fitted out two barques and four large canoes. These they loaded with plunder and supplies from <i>Villahermosa </i>and headed north toward the
Caribbean, landing now and again to take on fresh water and to replenish food suppliers. They rounded the top of the Yucatán Peninsula and sailed and paddled along the coastline towards Honduras. Eventually, they reached Trujillo, where they landed a force and took the town and a ship at anchor there.</p>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNK8g4y_vX1Pzd_1Wrj07fFQh5K-_SVKdpsyNeaUq-e3j3lzZw8d0qZB56m8IcUFoEVto7iNduGCwxnDkWWkkj6O1klKqkPy_PPZoo4bE_an9lW78FGwNMGLJbPrVeXTz0kGcOQtFeyW4/s1171/Nicaragua.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1171" data-original-width="1056" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNK8g4y_vX1Pzd_1Wrj07fFQh5K-_SVKdpsyNeaUq-e3j3lzZw8d0qZB56m8IcUFoEVto7iNduGCwxnDkWWkkj6O1klKqkPy_PPZoo4bE_an9lW78FGwNMGLJbPrVeXTz0kGcOQtFeyW4/w578-h640/Nicaragua.png" width="578" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;">Next, as Morgan reported, he and his buccaneers travelled south some 450 miles along the Mosquito Coast (Nicaragua) before anchoring at Monkey Point, south of Bluefields. There they met up with nine Indians who were hostile to the Spaniards. The objective was a city the buccaneers knew as <i>Gran Granada</i>, which they believed held great wealth. <i>Gran Granada</i> lay on the western shore of a large inland lake, <i>Lago de
Nicaragua </i>(aka <i>Lago Cocibolca</i>), over 150 miles as the crow flies west of Monkey Point. The freshwater lake lay so far inland that the inhabitants gave little thought to an attack by Caribbean buccaneers. They had not yet met the intrepid Harry Morgan,
however.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">After hiding their larger vessels in an inlet at Monkey Point, the buccaneers loaded nine piraguas with men, arms and some supplies. Next, they headed inland, using the San
Juan river whenever they could. They took very little food with them, for they planned to live off the land. With the Indians as their guides, Morgan and the buccaneers travelled
along the twisting, winding river past three waterfalls and into the southern tip of <i>Lago de
Nicaragua</i> at a place called <i>San Carlos</i>. It was gruelling work requiring much skill and not something the Spaniards would expect.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
From <i>San Carlos</i>, sheltering among small cays and low islands during the day and rowing at night, Morgan’s party traversed nearly the lake's full length and width to reach <i>Gran Granada</i>. Once there, the buccaneers lost no time and,
as Modyford later transcribed from Harry Morgan’s report:
</p>
<blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">
… landed near the city of Gran Granada, marched undiscried into the centre of
the city, fired a volley, overturned 18 great guns in the Parada Place, took
the serjeant-major’s [sic] house, wherein were all their arms and ammunition,
secured in the Great Church 300 of the best men prisoners, abundance of which
were churchmen, plundered for 16 hours, discharged the prisoners, sunk all the
boats and so came away.
</p></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><i>
Gran Granada</i> was said to be bigger than Portsmouth with seven churches, a cathedral, several schools and monasteries, all built of stone, as were most of the town’s houses. For defence, the Spaniards had six horse and foot companies and a large number of Indians and slaves.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Believing the buccaneers intended to stay, more than 1,000 Indians
“joined the privateers in plundering the city and would have killed the prisoners, especially the churchmen.” However, on learning Morgan’s army planned to leave, the Indians headed for the safety of some nearby mountains, though a few did join Captain Martien’s crew. As we know, Captain Martien sailed back to Jamaica with the bulk of Morgan’s flotilla, but he learned Holland was at war with England, and being a Dutchman, he feared imprisonment at Port Royal. So Martien had slipped out of the harbour unnoticed and sailed on to Tortuga.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Modyford took no action against the privateer captains. He cast his letter to the Duke of Albemarle in such a way as to imply their expedition was more of a reconnaissance of Spain’s mainland defences. He completed his letter with his recommendations regarding England’s future military ambitions in the region. And there, apparently, the matter rested.</p>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
cycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882151688793825918.post-23194202718808691402020-12-28T07:00:01.061-05:002020-12-28T07:00:03.270-05:00Chapter 9 – Thomas Modyford<p style="text-align: justify;"></p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
<tbody>
<tr>
<td style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_aw9aHmb7jGX_M3hCVdO1sntHHDvYjPLgh1aVbayp75Qvff-srljOGx7VsZMrZaQOu4KBAoau4diJpgt9M9Iw4OuQPs3U3vmmc0Da-xTPQI8RCrI0Wy-HQeEydfrr6E6hnWApN_A6H40/s1693/Map_Jamaica_1671.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1270" data-original-width="1693" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_aw9aHmb7jGX_M3hCVdO1sntHHDvYjPLgh1aVbayp75Qvff-srljOGx7VsZMrZaQOu4KBAoau4diJpgt9M9Iw4OuQPs3U3vmmc0Da-xTPQI8RCrI0Wy-HQeEydfrr6E6hnWApN_A6H40/w640-h480/Map_Jamaica_1671.jpg" width="640" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Map of Jamaica Ordered by Sir Thomas Modyford<br />
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<span class="firstcharacter">T</span><span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">he population of Jamaica</span>
had been increasing at a remarkable rate, chiefly by immigration from the other
English colonies of the West Indies. A census for the purpose of enrolling the
militia had reported 1,717 families consisting of 15,298 persons in seven
parishes, more than half of them living at Port Royal and in the vicinity of
Spanish Town. Besides these, about two thousand were spread over the five more
distant parishes. Nearly all the colonists were living in the lowlands on the
southern shore, with very few settlers on the north side of the island, which
was more exposed to raids from Cuba.
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The most notable of the recent immigrants was Colonel Sir Thomas Modyford, 1st
Baronet (1620–1679). He was the son of a mayor of Exeter who became a
barrister of Lincoln’s Inn and had served in the king’s army during the civil war. In June 1647, he sailed with his family to Barbados. There he invested in property and quickly became a wealthy planter. Later, he held the offices of governor and speaker of the assembly.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Readers may remember Sir Thomas as one of Oliver Cromwell’s advisors who
favoured a strike by England against Spanish America in 1655 (the Western
Design). And it was he who had been so helpful in securing Barbadian recruits for the army commanded by Venables.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm0aWlB9gISj3613MDcofj4-AmWT0E0FlOccCm62wY4LyTqNmOmbmNRHSIoE25RAvzHzj6xTGR-804Ic5OrZEDUJ2dD8LOVHENFRi8XqeEAiXo-wy9g5XOqFxGIWIkGvYjUA3_D0QfUeY/s544/George+Monck+b1608-1st+Duke+of+Abermarle-by+Peter+Lely.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="544" data-original-width="416" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm0aWlB9gISj3613MDcofj4-AmWT0E0FlOccCm62wY4LyTqNmOmbmNRHSIoE25RAvzHzj6xTGR-804Ic5OrZEDUJ2dD8LOVHENFRi8XqeEAiXo-wy9g5XOqFxGIWIkGvYjUA3_D0QfUeY/w306-h400/George+Monck+b1608-1st+Duke+of+Abermarle-by+Peter+Lely.jpg" width="306" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">George Monck, 1st Duke of Abermarle | Peter Lely</td></tr></tbody></table>Modyford was a kinsman of General George Monck, an English soldier and
politician who played a key role in the English Civil War and the subsequent
Restoration. To repay his service, King Charles II made Monk <i>Gentleman of the Bedchamber</i>, <i>Knight of the Garter</i>, <i>Master of the Horse and Commander-in-Chief</i>. The king also raised the general to the peerage with the titles of <i>baron</i>, e<i>arl of Torrington</i> and <i>duke of Albemarle</i>, and allotted him a pension of £7000 a year. [<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;">1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Vol 18.</span>] Also, King Charles appointed him chairman of the <i>Committee of the Privy Council on the affairs of Jamaica</i>, giving him the monarch’s ear and great influence in London’s halls of power.
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
On 15 Feb 1664, Colonel Sir Thomas Modyford was appointed governor of Jamaica with very full powers and instructions to take any settlers from Barbados willing to accompany him. On 18 February, he was created a baronet to increase his authority.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Sir Thomas arrived in Jamaica on 4 Jun 1664 aboard <i>HMS Marmaduke</i>. He
was destined to play a significant role in public affairs and the development of agriculture in Jamaica. Modyford is generally credited with establishing Jamaica’s sugar industry, which became the island’s principal crop. The arrival of sugar cane also created the foundation for Jamaica’s slavery-based plantation society—what some would call its plantocracy—for it was the labour-intensive cultivation of sugar cane and its processing into sugar, molasses and rum that primarily created the need and the justification for a large captive labour force.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Modyford would also form an <i>entente cordiale</i> with Henry Morgan
that would secure their places in Jamaica’s history and that of the British
Empire. His appointment as governor ushered in the golden era of the
buccaneers and the emergence of England as Spain’s chief rival in the New
World. No longer could the Caribbean be described as a Spanish lake. With its world-class harbour and its position at the geographic centre of the Caribbean, Port Royal was an English bayonet poised at the very heart of Spanish America.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
On his way out from England, Modyford had stopped for some weeks on Barbados.
He believed the island was overpopulated and offered free passage and liberal
grants of land to several local planters on condition they emigrate to
Jamaica, a much larger island. Through these efforts, he attracted several hundred planters who he brought with him to Jamaica.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
While at sea, Sir Thomas wrote a polite letter to the governor of San Domingo. He announced his appointment as governor of Jamaica and stated that the King had instructed him to enforce a ban on attacks on ships or territories of Spain. Modyford offered peace with his Spanish neighbours in
exchange for a cessation of hostilities on their part and freedom of the
English colonists to trade with them. To this, the Spanish governor returned a
courteous though evasive reply, which arrived in Jamaica ahead of
Modyford.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
When the Spanish governor’s response was shown to Colonel Lynch in Jamaica, he reacted with cynicism, stating officially that there was already far too much bad blood between his colonists and their Spanish neighbours for any mutual trade agreement to be useful to Jamaica.
</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">❦❦❦</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Modyford chose Colonel Sir Edward Morgan as his deputy-governor and military commander. Sir Edward was one of Harry Morgan’s paternal uncles who we met in an earlier chapter. Sir Edward almost certainly received the post on advice from George Monck, who was then the chairman of the
<i>Committee of the Privy Council on the Affairs of Jamaica</i>. Monk, as we
have also seen, was closely associated with Sir Edward’s brother,
Thomas.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Sir Edward had spent many years in the Low Countries and learned the Dutch language and their military systems. In case of war with Holland—something already being contemplated in London—there would surely be an attempt to capture the Dutch colonies in the West Indies. In which case, Sir Edward’s knowledge would be valuable. When appointed, Sir Edward was given wide scope to carry out his duties. He was also supplied with arms and munitions, but he
was instructed to enlist soldiers in Jamaica, for none could be sent out from
England.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Sir Edwards’s wife Anna had died in 1662, so it was with his children only
that he set sail for Jamaica aboard <i>HMS Watergate </i>and the ketch
<i>Swallow</i>. Sadly, his eldest daughter died before he arrived at Port
Royal, two-and-a-half weeks ahead of Modyford. He came ashore at the Point in
mid-May 1664, took control immediately of the government, and dissolved the
Council. Later, Governor Modyford approved wholeheartedly of his actions.
Along with his son Charles, Sir Edward also began clearing the land he had received as a grant to go with his new appointment. In time, Charles Morgan would himself become a prominent planter and member of the assembly.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
It seems that the king was serious about curtailing hostilities between his
West Indian subjects and those of Spain, for he was anxious to engage in peaceful trade with England’s traditional enemy. His instructions to Modyford certainly reflect this.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Accordingly, on 12 Jun 1664, Sir Thomas Modyford published a proclamation declaring all hostilities against the Spaniards must cease. Following this, a
special messenger was dispatched to inform the governor of Cartagena, even though Modyford seemed to doubt prospects for the success of the king’s policy. In a letter to his brother in England written about this time, Sir
Thomas revealed he had other concerns: with “no less than 1,500 lusty fellows
abroad, who, if made desperate by any act of injustice or oppression, may
miserably infest this place and much reflect on me.” [<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;">Calendar of State Papers, America and West Indies, No. 786, Sir Thomas
Modyford to Sir James Modyford.</span>]
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Not many weeks later, however, a letter was received from the king himself,
informing Modyford as follows:
</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
His Majesty cannot sufficiently express his dissatisfaction at the daily
complaints of violence and depredation done by ships, said to belong to
Jamaica, upon the King of Spain’s subjects, to the prejudice of that good
intelligence and correspondence which His Majesty hath so often recommended
to those who have governed Jamaica. You are therefore again strictly
commanded not only to forbid the prosecution of such violences [sic] for the
future, but to inflict condign punishment upon offenders, and to have entire
restitution and satisfaction made to the sufferers.
</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
After this letter came before the Jamaica Council, it ordered the seizure and restoration to their owners of a Spanish ship and a
barque recently brought to Port Royal by Captain Robert Searle. Notice of this action was ordered to be sent to the governor of Havana. Also ordered was
that:
</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
“… all persons making further attempts of violence upon the Spaniards be
looked upon as pirates and rebels, and that Captain Searle’s commission be
taken from him and his rudder and sails taken ashore for security.” [<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;">Calendar of State Papers, America and West Indies, No. 789, Council of
Jamaica Minutes.</span>]
</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Evidence was soon provided that this order had to be taken seriously and could not—as too often had occurred in the past—be disregarded with impunity.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Near the end of the year, Captain Munro, who had obtained a Jamaican commission as a privateer, “turned pirate” and plundered several English ships on their way to Jamaica. Captain Ensor in the armed ketch
<i>Swallow </i>pursued and overtook Munro’s vessel. Munro’s stubborn resistance resulted in the death of some of his crewmembers. The rest of the crew were taken prisoner, tried, convicted and hanged. They were left hanging
in chains on the public gallows at the Point for all to see as they entered
Port Royal harbour.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">However, a certain ambiguity still persisted for one of Harry Morgan’s
friends, Colonel William Beeston, recorded in his journal that, despite the proclamation, Captain Maurice Williams had brought in “a great
prize with logwood, indigo, and silver.” And that several other privateers had
left in search of prizes and, further, that Bernard Nicholas came in “with a
great prize.”
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Ambiguity could also be found when the Privy Council on the affairs of Jamaica recommended that the Lord High Admiral command all privateers in the West Indies to cease hostilities against the Spaniards and await further orders. However, these same orders gave the privateers
permission to attack the Dutch at Curacao and their other plantations, after
which they should be invited “to come and serve his Majesty in these parts.”
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The foregoing illustrated that while England saw a use for the
privateers-buccaneers in other conflicts—in this case in the Anglo-Dutch
War—it now sought peace with Spain. Notwithstanding the official policy
banning action against Spain for the sake of promoting trade, the prevailing view in
Jamaica continued to be one of skepticism. In their view, there could never be peaceful trade with the Spanish provinces. One contemporary wrote:
</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The fortune of trade here none can guess, but all think that the Spaniards
so abhor us that all the commands of Spain and the necessity of the Indies
will hardly bring them to an English port….
</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">A shared anxiety among the island’s leaders persisted. If the privateers could not dispose of their prizes at Port Royal as was their custom, would they transfer to Tortuga? If they did, the king would lose 1,000
to 1,500 men. Besides, if the buccaneers used Tortuga as a base to continue to attack the Spaniards, trade with Jamaica would be disrupted regardless of the king’s policy. Furthermore, without Port Royal to call their home, if England went to war with Holland, whose side would the buccaneers take? Would they turn against Jamaica and join with the Dutch at Curacao? </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Many believed—and advised the governor of such—it would be advantageous to the Spaniards if the governor permitted the buccaneers to sell their prizes at Port Royal and become planters and hunters. This would keep
them on the island and available to the king if needed in the future to take
Tortuga or Curacao. And all agreed there were none more fit for such tasks.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Modyford seemed to see the wisdom of this advice, for he invited the privateers to return to Port Royal. Upon their arrival, he gave them permission to dispose of their captures and either become planters or accept letters-of-marque against the Dutch. In a letter to Lord Arlington,<sup>[1]</sup>
England’s secretary of state, Modyford, stated Bertrand d’Ogeron, the French governor of Tortuga, had given commissions to some English privateers. He would deal with Tortuga after he had finished with the Dutch, he wrote.
</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
<sup>[1]</sup>Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington KG, PC (1618–1685), who was Baron
Arlington at the time (1668). In 1672, he was made Earl of Arlington and
Viscount Thetford, and was re-granted the title of Baron Arlington, with a
special remainder allowing it to descend to male and female heirs, rather
than male heirs only, as was customary with most peerages. Lord Arlington
was a member of the pro-Spanish faction at court.
</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Nevertheless, Modyford seemed confident that those privateers would return to
Jamaica and take commissions against Holland. Some six weeks later, he was
able to announce with considerable satisfaction that “upon my gentleness
towards them, the privateers come in a-pace and cheerfully offer life and
fortune to his Majesty’s service.”
</p><p style="text-align: justify;">And the king’s policy did seem to be having the desired effect. Reports claimed many of the former soldiers had become hunters and killed an estimated thousand hundredweight of wild hogs per month, for which they found an eager market at a good price. While several others focused on developing their land-grants into productive income-generating estates and plantations.</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">❦❦❦</p>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<p>
Relationships between England the Holland deteriorated over far-away
conflicts in the East Indies. England demanded reparation be paid by the
Dutch for damages they had done to ships and factories of the East India
Company. England displayed its resolve by appropriating an unprecedented
£2,500,000 to equip the Royal Navy. The two nations had been engaged in open hostilities in both the East and West Indies, the Mediterranean, at many places on the west coast of Africa, and in North America. Supremacy in international trade was at stake. War was not actually declared by England until 17 Mar 1665, however. </p>
<div>
When a formal declaration of war seemed inevitable, Jamaicans began preparations for an expedition to capture the Dutch islands. Colonel Sir
Edward Morgan was given command with Colonel Theodore Cary and Major Richard
Steevens, both veteran officers of the old army, as his immediate subordinates. Sir Edward’s relative, Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Morgan, also sailed with him.
</div>
<p>
Before embarking, Sir Edward made his will, bequeathing his plantation to his two sons. To his second daughter, Mary Elizabeth Morgan, he left his
house in London, mortgaged for £200, and his “pretence upon Lanrumney,”
representing his claim on an estate in Wales. The remainder of his property was to be divided between his other three daughters and his youngest son.
The rights in his pension of £300 annually and in his father’s will, he passed to his daughter Mary Elizabeth.
</p>
<div>
Sir Edward sailed from Port Royal on 16 Apr 1665 aboard the 18-gun
<i>Speaker </i>and nine other ships—all crewed with privateers. Indeed,
so well manned were they that Morgan expected to be able to land 500 men. He
reported as follows:
</div>
<blockquote>
<p>
They are chiefly reformed privateers, scarce a planter amongst them, being
resolute fellows, and well armed with fusees and pistols. Their design is
to fall upon the Dutch fleet trading at St. Christopher’s, capture St.
Eustatia, Saba, and Curacao, and on their homeward voyage visit the French
and English bucca-neers at Hispaniola and Tortugas. All this is prepared
by the honest privateer, at the old rate of no purchase no pay, and it
will cost the King nothing considerable, some powder, and mortar
pieces. [<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;">Calendar of State Papers, America and West Indies, No. 979, Modyford to Arlington, 20th April, 1665.</span>]</p>
</blockquote>
<div>
His overly-ambitious objectives were never fully realized, however. Sir
Edward’s flotilla first visited the Isle of Pines, where he had expected several other privateers to join his venture. After considerable delay, he had only nine serviceable ships with about 650 men. The most notable names of these vessels with those of their
commanders were: <i>The Speaker</i>, 18 guns, Maurice Williams; <i>St. John</i>, 12 guns,
John Harman; <i>Civilian</i>, 16 guns, Garret Garretson; <i>Pearl</i>, 9 guns, Robert
Searle; <i>Olive Branch</i>, 6 guns, John Outlaw; <i>Trueman</i>, 6 guns, Albert
Bernardson; <i>Susannah</i>, 2 guns, Nath. Cobham; <i>Mayflower</i>, 1 gun, John Bamfield;
<i>Galliott</i>, 1 gun, Abr. Malarka. On the passage southward to the Leeward Islands, two ships parted company in a storm and another deserted, with a loss of 150 men. So when Sir Edward arrived and landed on the Dutch island of St. Eustatius, he led just three hundred men.</div>
<p>
The Jamaicans met with little opposition. As they hit the beach, Sir Edward leapt from his craft and led the charge at the outnumbered Dutch islanders.
Unfortunately, the old warrior died abruptly from heart failure—likely due to over-exertion. Colonel Cary took command, and, about three weeks later, Major Richard Steevens took the tiny Dutch island of Saba.
</p><blockquote><p>Colonel Cary in his official narrative of the expedition reported that: “<i>The Lieutenant-General [Morgan] died, not with any wound, but being ancient and corpulent, by hard marching and extraordinary heat fell and died, and I took command of the party by the desire of all.</i>” [<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;">Source: Calendar of State Papers, America and West Indies, No. 1086, Narrative by Colonel Theod. Cary of the expedition against the Dutch.</span>]</p></blockquote><p>The expedition captured four colours, twenty cannons, many small arms and munitions, 942 slaves and several horses, goats and sheep.
Besides, more than three hundred Dutch inhabitants were deported. However, any chance of further success was soon lost, for the privateers dispersed in search of other spoils. Consequently, Colonel Cary and his officers were forced to return to Jamaica, leaving their spoils behind. A Dutch
squadron recovered most of the abandoned spoils before the end of the same year. Furthermore, the expedition never did make an attempt on Curacao, nor did it even try to expel the French from
Tortuga.</p>
<p>
At least in Modyford’s eyes, Sir Edward Morgan’s reputation was not diminished, notwithstanding his venture’s complete failure. In fact, after
knowing the man for only a short time, the governor had formed a high
opinion of him, as indicated by this remark, “I find the character of
Colonel Morgan short of his worth and am infinitely obliged to his Majesty
for sending so worthy a person to assist me, whom I really cherish as my
brother ….”
</p>
<div><br /></div>
</div>
cycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882151688793825918.post-72503277043848163232020-12-23T07:00:00.452-05:002020-12-23T07:00:00.737-05:00Chapter 8 – Harry Goes to Sea<p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmOzqmv9sjEga6zz7IWmX1YKTmPfLAmgMSby3QRwEGaPvgCXzwcXh2WskrkF6R_rY0cNp7tPUXQbrjcBkJ4u0Ag0AoETH683HP14_6NokE7eeIwsw_eZUZYvImuFf7XXdR6m0g1DACyWw/s2048/Bay_of_Honduras.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1627" data-original-width="2048" height="508" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmOzqmv9sjEga6zz7IWmX1YKTmPfLAmgMSby3QRwEGaPvgCXzwcXh2WskrkF6R_rY0cNp7tPUXQbrjcBkJ4u0Ag0AoETH683HP14_6NokE7eeIwsw_eZUZYvImuFf7XXdR6m0g1DACyWw/w640-h508/Bay_of_Honduras.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Campeche is located on the Upper Left of Map.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="firstcharacter">F</span><span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">earing reprisals from Cuba</span>, the Council of Jamaica ordered that five of the copper cannon captured at <i>Santiago </i>be sold and the proceeds applied to the completion of the fortification at Fort Charles (formerly known as Fort Cromwell). All revenue due to the Crown was called in, and forty men were set to work on the fort. It was small then, consisting only of a round stone tower surrounded by an embankment of sand. By the end of 1662, however, a new demilune battery was built, and in it, several guns were mounted.</p><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">Cruising was profitable, but Harry Morgan also had obligations on the island that needed his attention. Harry owned land under cultivation, and he had duties to perform as an officer in the local militia. Unlike most buccaneers, he was careful with his prize money—more inclined to invest for the longer-term rather than to squander his money on short-term entertainment. Therefore, Harry welcomed a pause in Commodore Myngs’s operations against the Spaniards. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">By December 1662, however, concerns about retaliation for the <i>Santiago </i>raid had
subsided, and Sir Charles Lyttleton and the Council of Jamaica—pressed by
Myngs—authorized another expedition, which would be led by Myngs and Mansfield against Campeche in the Gulf of Mexico. The Royal Navy’s <i>Centurion </i>and <i>Griffin </i>and several other vessels were fitted out and stocked with provisions, and men were quickly enlisted. At any given time in those days, Port Royal had many men ready and able enough for any such undertaking. The smaller craft were mostly privateers manned by buccaneers and
former English soldiers and included ships commanded by Edward Mansfield,
Myngs’s second-in-command, and Harry Morgan. Among the other captains sailing alongside Morgan was his friend John Morris.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Sources differ as to the numbers of ships and men. Still, all agree that several hundred volunteers set sail on 12 Jan 1663 in the <i>Centurion—</i><span style="text-align: left;">a 4th rate frigate of the Royal Navy, carrying 46 guns and a crew of 180 men</span><i>—</i>and at least eleven other ships. The fleet sailed for the coast of the Yucatán and around its northern coast into the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way, four French vessels from Tortuga and three Dutch privateers joined the Jamaican fleet. They sailed in dangerous waters, and three (some say four) privateer vessels became separated from the fleet. Assuming they were lost, the main force pressed on towards Campeche.</p><p style="text-align: left;">Six weeks after the fleet had left the Point, unsettling news reached Jamaica <span style="font-family: serif;">when a privateer returned from the Bay of Campeche with a report that three of the invading vessels had been wrecked, with much loss of lives. The report also stated that the Spaniards had been forwarned and had stationed l</span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: serif;">ookouts along their coast. However, within</span></span><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: serif;"> a day or two, spirits were again buoyed when another privateer arrived at the Point with news of the expedition’s </span></span><span style="font-family: serif;">success. H</span><span style="font-family: serif;">owever,</span><span style="font-family: serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: serif;">because of unfavourable winds,</span><span style="font-family: serif;"> t</span><span style="font-family: serif;">he </span><i style="font-family: serif;">Centurion </i><span style="font-family: serif;">and most of the other ships did not return for more than a month.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
When the flotilla had reached <i>San Francisco de Campeche,</i> the citadel protecting the town and harbour seemed strong and well-armed, but Myngs was not discouraged. Instead, he demanded that the governor surrender. After waiting in vain for the governor’s reply for three days, Myngs launched boats filled with men and arms and boldly attacked the town—with Myngs himself leading the charge. Some of his captains had recommended a night-assault, but Myngs replied that he would be ashamed to steal a victory in the dark and landed his men in broad daylight.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Three small batteries were taken quickly. Bloody fighting ensued with each of the town’s many strongly-built,
flat-roofed stone houses putting up a stiff defence. By nightfall,
nevertheless, the Spaniards and their Indian allies were chased into the woods. Besides the town, fourteen heavily laden ships were taken. In all, thirty attackers were killed and many more wounded. One was captured and taken north to Merida, where he was closely questioned, “civilly treated,” and released. The Spanish lost about fifty lives. Many Spanish prisoners were taken, but when the fleet left, they too were released. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">Myngs received severe wounds to his face and thighs, and the buccaneer leader Edward Mansfield assumed command. This easy transference of leadership of an official English naval operation demonstrates how tightly integrated the privateers/buccaneers were with the Royal Navy forces—at least those stationed in Jamaica. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">With the battle over and Campeche plundered, Myngs arrived back in Jamaica on
23 Apr 1663 with the captured ships<sup>[1]</sup> and boatloads of plunder. The booty allegedly amounted to 150,000 pieces of eight (£33,750, a very considerable sum in an era when a merchant ship could be bought for about £300). In July
1663, Christopher Myngs sailed to England to recuperate from his wounds.</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
<sup>[1]</sup>Ships captured from the Spanish by the Royal Navy or by privateers were
condemned as prizes of war by the Admiralty Court at Port royal and were
usually sold to private inter-ests, providing a ready source of vessels for
future privateering ventures.
</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Harry Morgan and four fellow privateer captains may or may not have returned with Myngs to Port Royal. They claimed later that they had not. They said they continued cruising for another two years. However, one might conclude they had to return to collect their share of the prize money and refit their vessels for such a long cruise. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Council of Jamaica’s 22 Aug 1664 minutes alludes to raids on
Central America by Captain Thomas Morgan. However, Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Morgan (Harry’s distant cousin) was occupied elsewhere at that time, so we assume it was Henry Morgan who was discussed at that meeting. In his <i>History of Jamaica</i> (1774), Edward Long states that in 1664 Henry Morgan made a cruise off Cartagena.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
What is generally accepted is that four privateers accompanied Henry Morgan’s sloop: Captain John Morris, Captain David Marteen, Captain Thomas Freeman and Captain Jacob Jackman. All possessed the commissions they had received from Governor
Windsor and used them as permission to carry out attacks against Spanish targets over a period of nearly two years following Myngs’s Campeche raid. Their venture proved to be enormously profitable, making the five captains rich men. During this cruise, which had included taking the towns <i>Villahermosa de Tabasco</i> and <i>Granada</i>, Morgan emerged as the acknowledged leader of the group.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Being in ill health, Sir Charles Lyttleton obtained permission to return to
England, and was instructed to authorize the Council to administer the island in his absence. Colonel Thomas Lynch, a wealthy planter in the parish of St.
Thomas-in-the-East was elected president. He had come to Jamaica as an officer under Venables in 1655. Since then he had held the office of provost marshal and had commanded the largest regiment of the militia. On his departure, Lyttleton gave him a
commission to command all the military and naval forces and to act as Chief Justice.
</p>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
cycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882151688793825918.post-71292690068928603172020-12-21T07:00:00.535-05:002020-12-21T07:00:06.495-05:00Chapter 7 – Lord Windsor<p> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHoy1gXeknrTUNppbPYYUc4KQ65WztBtWqYBTKsv2-WUtSJbHhkSN9lecCvv6zBrWzwimFvPNMFcdJl75lcjPD8vpSVDprLDMm9s_6Ha0peL_-cJEzdYG7gQqtpssBDLWtphA-plzXf0/s2048/Castillo_del_Morro_by_Glogg_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1333" data-original-width="2048" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHoy1gXeknrTUNppbPYYUc4KQ65WztBtWqYBTKsv2-WUtSJbHhkSN9lecCvv6zBrWzwimFvPNMFcdJl75lcjPD8vpSVDprLDMm9s_6Ha0peL_-cJEzdYG7gQqtpssBDLWtphA-plzXf0/w640-h416/Castillo_del_Morro_by_Glogg_4.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Castillo del Morro, Santiago de Cuba | by Peter Glogg, Switzerland</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="text-align: justify;">Thomas, Lord Windsor arrived in Jamaica on 11 Aug 1662 and succeeded D’Oyley as governor of Jamaica. His name was Thomas Hickman-Windsor, and when he arrived, he held the title Baron Windsor, later he became 1st Earl of Plymouth. With Lord Windsor came new royal instructions, one article of which directed him to “grant such commissions as to you may seem requisite for the subduing of all our enemies by sea and land, within and upon the Coast of America.” Also, he was instructed as follows:</span></p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">You shall endeavour by all fitting means to obtain and preserve a good corre-spondence and free commerce with the plantations and territories belonging to the King of Spain, for all such our subjects as shall trade there with security to their persons, ships, and goods, and with regulations for the benefit of trade as shall seem to you and the council most advantageous to the same; but if the governor of the King of Spain shall refuse to admit our subjects to trade with them, you shall in such case endeavour to procure and settle a trade with his subjects in those parts by force… [Calendar of State Papers, No. 278].</p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">These orders were of special significance to Harry Morgan because they clearly authorized the new Governor Windsor to use force against Spain if that nation refused to trade with his West Indian colony—even though England and Spain were at peace in Europe. By extension, Windsor had the King’s authority to issue privateering commissions or letters of marque, legitimizing the use of private armies and navies against Spanish colonies in the New World. So, whatever we might think about the morality of the Jamaicans’ attack on Spain’s colonies, most had the protection of English Law.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Lord Windsor brought out with him back pay of £12,274 for the 1,523-strong Jamaican garrison. And, as he was required to do, he released over 1,000 soldiers with full pay and a gratuity for their past service. He replaced them with 400 foot soldiers and 150 horsemen “under command and discipline as long as shall be thought fit for the preservation of the island with two ships of war constantly plying upon that coast.” The released soldiers became available to volunteer for future operations against the Spanish. An additional £2,000 was granted for “perfecting the fort of Cagway.”</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The militia was divided into five regiments distributed throughout the island, which Windsor had divided into seven administrative areas called parishes. The name, Port Royal, was applied to one of the new parishes and the port and town at the Point, formerly known as Cagway. The new parish encompassed the Point, the Palisadoes—which was still little more than a series of small cays separated by marshy areas—and a portion of the Jamaican mainland. (In 1866, the mainland portion was merged with the parishes of Kingston and St. Andrew.)</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Augmenting the small full-time army, all the male inhabitants capable of bearing arms were enrolled in the new militia. The 27-year-old Captain Henry Morgan was among the officers appointed to the regiment at Port Royal. He had been one of the 1,000 or so army officers and men who became civilians when Lord Windsor disbanded Cromwell’s army in Jamaica.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Harry Morgan had received his land grant and had applied for and received a privateering commission from Lord Windsor. He was now a part-time officer in the new militia and used his newfound time and freedom of movement to seek out, purchase and equip a small ship, which he owned jointly with Jamaican friends.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On a stopover at Barbados on his way to Jamaica, Lord Windsor had made what seems like a conscientious effort to promote trade with the Spanish islands. He sent the frigate <i>Griffin </i>with messages to the Spanish governors at San Juan, Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo, Hispaniola offering to trade with those islands. His application was curtly refused in both cases, and Spain’s representatives remained unrelentingly hostile to Jamaica.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This response was welcomed by more than a few Jamaicans, for many of the disbanded soldiers were eager to undertake any adventure that promised to be profitable. Not surprisingly, with a council comprised almost entirely of former army officers who favoured war, the resolution passed. This one declared that since the governors of Porto Rico and Santo Domingo would not engage in trade, Lord Windsor, according to His Majesty’s instructions, was authorized to use force against the Spanish colonies. They also stated that in their opinion, the proclamation declaring peace with Spain applied only in Europe. In other words, there <i>was </i>no peace beyond the line.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">With the blessing of the colony’s governing council, Jamaicans once again went on the offensive. The target was <i>Santiago de Cuba</i>, the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital of <i>Santiago de Cuba</i> Province on the south-eastern coast of the island, about 100 miles north of Jamaica. The Cuban city, which had acted as an advance base in efforts to reconquer Jamaica, had for some years been a potential target for a retaliatory raid.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Cleared of all charges in London, Commodore Sir Christopher Myngs had returned to Jamaica with Lord Windsor in the 46-gun frigate <i>Centurion </i>to once again take up his post as Commander-in-Chief of naval forces at Port Royal. This was his third Jamaica posting. Myngs’s officers set about recruiting from among the former soldiers of the army who gladly enlisted. In all, about 1,300 men were assembled and equipped. Ships were fitted out and provisioned. Ten of them were privateers, and two were Royal Navy warships, Commodore Myngs’s flagship the <i>Centurion </i>carrying a crew of 180 men and its consort, the 14-gun <i>Griffin </i>commanded by Captain Swart. Among the privateers was Edward Mansfield (aka Mansvelt), who, commanding a large contingent of buccaneers (Brethren of the Coast), sailed as second-in-command to Commodore Myngs. Also among the privateers sailing with the fleet was Harry Morgan.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">By this time, Harry Morgan was well known by Commodore Myngs and the privateers operating from the Point, and especially among the former soldiers, some of whom Morgan had served with for more than five years. He held the rank of captain, for he continued to be a member of the Port Royal militia regiment, but he also “captained” his own small ship. Harry had become somewhat of a protégé of Edward Mansfield, who commanded the buccaneers, with the buccaneer admiral frequently seeking private counsel from the younger man. It was also to Harry that Mansfield looked when he needed someone to lead a crucial operation.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">This diverse force of Royal Navy sailors, former soldiers and officers of Cromwell’s army and former cow-killers had one important aspect in common: they hated Spaniards. From them, they expected no quarter, and to them, they had none to give. With their raid on <i>Santiago de Cuba</i> in October 1662, these resolute warriors would unleash a ferocious two-decade-long whirlwind of violence against the coastal communities of Spanish America unlike anything witnessed before or since.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Myngs’s fleet joined up with Sir Thomas Whetstone and seven other Jamaican stragglers off eastern Cuba. And, helped by the intelligence Whetstone provided, the raid on <i>Santiago de Cuba</i> surpassed expectations—at least, from an English point of view. After being delayed by calms and contrary winds, the fleet arrived off Cuba’s south coast on 5 October. With no time to waste because the element of surprise had to be maintained, Myngs and Mansfield landed 1,000 men ashore and marched two miles across rugged and thickly overgrown terrain. By the following day, they had fought themselves into the Cuban town.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Don Christobal Arnaldo de Ysassi, the old governor of Jamaica, was among the town’s defenders. The former governor was in command of several Spanish-Jamaican refugees. As it turned out, the inhabitants did have time to prepare a defence, and the first English charge had been met with artillery and musket fire from behind hastily improvised barricades. Within a day, however, six small vessels had been seized and the town captured.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The victorious Jamaicans spent the rest of that day ransacking deserted buildings. The following morning, the commanders divided 500 men into several search parties and sent them out in different directions to hunt for fleeing Spaniards. Those they captured were taken prisoner and ransomed back to their families. Myngs also sent 100 seamen to reinforce the fleet, which he had left with orders to attack the harbour’s defences. </p><p style="text-align: justify;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUn8OMY19HCA7zOM-eGiqxEZrqlsP0C1IIbT4Z3gslDak2ags9r_aG_GSpNhQ8rD9H5kMdkf1HrfNauOpca7MHPZNWj-vUlF8-xJ8GQqeONh3r8XTbNYOqDjx3XAXTMkk-PPLoZ-TyzGw/s950/castillo-san-pedro-roca-del-morro-santiago-de-cuba.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="692" data-original-width="950" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUn8OMY19HCA7zOM-eGiqxEZrqlsP0C1IIbT4Z3gslDak2ags9r_aG_GSpNhQ8rD9H5kMdkf1HrfNauOpca7MHPZNWj-vUlF8-xJ8GQqeONh3r8XTbNYOqDjx3XAXTMkk-PPLoZ-TyzGw/s320/castillo-san-pedro-roca-del-morro-santiago-de-cuba.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">San Pedro de la Roca | by Manfred Lentz</td></tr></tbody></table>The following day, the Jamaicans attacked the tall stone castle called the “<i>Morro</i>” or “<i>San Pedro de la Roca.</i>” This formidable fortress had previously been thought impregnable. The fort occupied a steep, rocky promontory and was surrounded by 63-feet-high landward facing walls. It was armed with thirty-four cannon and had quarters for 1,000 soldiers. However, only one subaltern and 30 men defended the fort on this day, so it fell with surprising ease after the charging Jamaicans shouted fiercely, made menacing gestures and fired a few musket-shots.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Myngs’s fleet was now free to enter the inner harbour. And holding the town for five days, large parties were sent out to plunder and lay waste neighbouring plantations and settlements. In so doing, they destroyed several sugar-works and about 2,000 houses before razing the castle and carrying away all the cannons they could.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">On 22 October, the victors made a triumphant return to Port Royal. Myngs led his fleet into the harbour at the Point with the prize ships, and the captured sugar, hides, wine, silver plate, negro slaves, artillery and even some churchbells. Morgan and his men were lionized as news of Myngs’ stunning success spread throughout the island and set the pattern for Jamaican raids for the next two decades.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The damage the expedition had caused at <i>Santiago de Cuba</i> in destroyed buildings, fortifications and burned-out sugar works and plantations was estimated at the time to be £500,000, but that was probably exaggerated. Only six men had been killed in battle, but 20 others had died from accidents or disease.</p><p style="text-align: center;">❦❦❦</p><p style="text-align: justify;">James, Duke of York and Albany, was the King’s brother and heir to England’s crown. After the Restoration, James had been confirmed as Lord High Admiral of England, an office to which he had been appointed at three years of age. The position was initially honorary but became substantive after the Restoration and James had become an adult.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">The Lord High Admiral’s authority was extended to include all colonial possessions. As such, James issued commissions to all colonial governors, appointing them vice-Admirals and empowering them to establish courts of admiralty. Consequently, Lord Windsor appointed a judge of the admiralty court in Jamaica with authority to hear complaints, condemn lawful prizes and impose penalties for infractions of the Navigation Acts. Moreover, the King was entitled to receive one-fifteenth and the Lord High Admiral one-tenth of the value of all captures condemned and declared lawful prizes. And so the King and his brother became partners with Harry Morgan and every other privateer.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Now that news of Commodore Myngs’s success at <i>Santiago de Cuba</i> had spread far and wide, other adventurers acquired small vessels and applied to Lord Windsor for letters-of-marque against Spain. Satisfied that Myngs’s success at Santiago had removed the immediate danger of an invasion from Spain, the governor freely granted these commissions. Thus many more privateers put out to sea under the protection of their licenses. There they hoped to make their fortune, leaving the <i>Centurion </i>and some smaller ships of the Royal Navy free to remain in or near Port Royal for protection of the colony. However, Lord Windsor did not enjoy financial rewards due to him.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Blaming ill health and having had enough of the tropics, he sailed for England on 28 Oct 1662. His achievements were substantial, however. In a very few months, Lord Windsor had disbanded the army, replaced it with a new militia, divided the island into parishes, granted patents to landowners and taken <i>Santiago de Cuba</i>.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Sir Charles Lyttleton, the deputy governor, assumed the administration, and Myngs, in recognition of his recent success in Cuba, was sworn in as a member of the Council.</p>cycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882151688793825918.post-56867235826271857662020-12-18T07:00:00.324-05:002020-12-18T07:00:00.130-05:00Chapter 6 – The Restoration<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
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Charles II | by Sir Peter Lely
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<p style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="firstcharacter">B</span><span style="font-variant: small-caps; font-weight: 400;">y 1660, Jamaica was</span>
finally rid of Spaniards, and the increasingly frequent raids by privateers
and elements of the English navy stationed at Cagway kept Spanish forces at
home and committed to the defence of their own territories. In late July 1660,
news reached Jamaica that Charles II had been restored to the English
throne on 8 May.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
This must have caused anxiety in the minds of many officers and soldiers
stationed in Jamaica, some of whom had faithfully served Parliament and the
Protector for nearly twenty years. Surely they feared being denounced and
brought to trial for their opposition to the monarch. And they would have been
concerned that, though they had received land-grants, none had been issued
patents, i.e., legal documents transferring Crown land (land held in the name
of the monarch) to a private owner. Besides, it was widely accepted that
during his exile, King Charles II had made a treaty with Philip IV of Spain to
restore Jamaica to Spanish rule. Accordingly, Jamaicans feared they would lose
their hard-won conquest of the island and the rewards promised them.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
But Charles II did not honour the terms of the secret treaty and informed
Spain to that effect. However, Jamaicans knew nothing of this until 29 May
1661, a year after the King’s restoration. This, too, is when Edward D’Oyley
finally received his commission and royal instructions as Governor of Jamaica.
This came in the form of a proclamation in the name of Charles, “<i>King of England and Lord of Jamaica</i>.” This latest news relieved many colonists’ anxiety for they learned the
king had instructed the governor to encourage agriculture and commerce and to
allot and register grants of land. Also, to honour the restoration of Charles
II, Cagway was renamed Port Royal, and Fort Cromwell was christened Fort
Charles.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
During the year between the arrival of news of the restoration and the report
confirming Jamaica as an English colony, Cromwell’s republican commonwealth
supporters had mutinied unsuccessfully. D’Oyley dealt harshly with the leaders
of the revolt, and Colonels Raymond and Tyson were tried by court-martial and
shot as mutineers.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
What part Harry Morgan might have played in the mutiny is unknown. We know
that his friend and future brother-in-law, Henry Archbould, became embroiled
in the intrigue before being cleared by a court of enquiry. We also know that
Morgan rose to the rank of Major in the Liguanea Regiment and was later
promoted to lieutenant-colonel and transferred to another regiment. So it
seems safe to say that if he did play a role, he was not one of the
ringleaders.
</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">❦❦❦</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
A census taken in 1661 of the population and land under cultivation showed a
total of 2,458 men, 454 women, 44 children, 514 negroes, 618 arms and 2,588
planted acres. The colony was entering a new, more mature, phase with
many at Port Royal and Spanish Town craving peace with Spain so they could
trade legitimately—and even more profitably—with their neighbours. And for
that reason, they were encouraged to hear that London was negotiating a treaty
with Spain that would ensure peace between those traditional enemies, which
should inevitably result in more opportunities for commerce between their
colonies in the New World.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
On 5 Feb 1662, Governor D’Oyley published a second proclamation at the Point,
addressed to “all Governors of Islands, captains of ships, officers and
soldiers under his command.” It announced that “<i>His Majesty having commanded a cessation of hostilities, they are hereby
ordered to cease from all acts of hostility against the King of Spain or any
of his subjects</i>.” With that, D’Oyley ordered all privateers operating under letters of
marque issued by him to return to Port Royal immediately to receive new
orders. Such orders would not have been liked by the many privateer captains
operating from the Point for, as far as they were concerned, “<i>In peace or war in Europe, there was no peace beyond the line</i>.”<sup>[1]</sup> And so we can assume this order was, as Shakespeare put it, “more
honoured in the breach than in the observance.”
</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
<sup>[1]</sup>The two “Lines of Amity” drawn up at the 1559 Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis,
which led to the cliché among pirates and privateers, “no peace beyond the
line.” The lines were the Tropic of Cancer and the Meridian passing through
Ferro in the Canaries (46° W). On the European side (north and east) of the
lines the treaty was to be binding; west and south of them it had no force.
This had the effect that, even during peacetime in Europe, the Spanish could
take whatever measures they considered necessary for their own defence in
the Caribbean and France and England could attack Spain’s interests in the
New World without jeopardizing peace in Europe.
</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
At about this time, a legislative council of twelve was formed with the
governor as its president. The first meeting of the “Council of 12”<sup>[2]</sup> was
held at Port Royal on the 18 Jun 1661, at which the following members were
present:
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
General Edward D’Oyley, Governor and President.
<br />Col. Samuel Barry<br />Col. Philip Ward<br />Col. Richard Wilbraham<br />Lt.-Col.
Henry Archbold<br />Major Thomas Fairfax<br />Major John Cope<br />Capt.
William Valet<br />Capt. Thomas Ballard<br />Capt. Cornelius Burroughs<br />Capt.
John Harrington<br />Capt. Humphrey Groves.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Richard Povey, Island Secretary.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote><sup>[2]</sup>W.A. Feurtado, Official and Other Personages of Jamaica from 1655 to 1790 (on-line).</blockquote><p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Each member of the Council was appointed a <i>Justice of the Peace</i> for
various parts of the island and was authorized to choose three or more
constables in his area. The Council enacted much-needed ordinances and levied
taxes for the expenses of the civil government. The budget for the first year
was estimated at £1,640. Formerly the colony had been under martial law, and
breaches of the peace were brought before a court-martial. Once the new
Council was formed, however, it appointed judges and justices of the peace to
preside in civil courts—though, most of the appointees were officers of the
army. Determined to demonstrate that the civil authorities were in control of
the colony, D’Oyley—when confirming a sentence of death passed by the new
civil court—remarked it was necessary, “to let them see that the law could do
as much as a court-martial.”
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
A royal proclamation was published extolling the fertility and other
advantages of the colony and offering a free grant of 30 acres of land to
every resident over twelve years of age or anyone else who would move to
Jamaica within two years. It also declared that all children of English
subjects who were born in Jamaica would themselves be free subjects of
England.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Immigrants began migrating from other smaller English colonies in the West
Indies—Barbados, Nevis and Bermuda—and some even came from New England. They
were allotted tracts of land and began planting and breeding horses, cattle,
and hogs, for which Jamaica was especially well suited. Among these new
immigrants were veterans of the English Civil Wars and the recent war with
Spain, who had come to the West Indies hoping to make their fortunes as
planters and privateers—some preferring the latter occupation only while
others like Harry Morgan became both.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
One notable example was Sir Thomas Whetstone. A nephew of Oliver Cromwell but
a royalist at heart, Whetstone had been so loyal to the exiled King Charles,
the King had sent him on a special mission to the Baltic squadron to win over
its commander, Edward Mountague. After the restoration, bankrupt and starving,
Whetstone found himself imprisoned for debt in Marshalsea. Without any
prospect of release, he petitioned Secretary of State Sir Edward Nicholas in
September 1661, pleading for assistance. Nicholas saw it as expedient for
Whetstone be advanced a £100 to enable him to obtain his freedom and passage
to Jamaica. Apparently, Whetstone received the money, for two years later, he
was in command of a small squadron of privateers. Moreover, in October 1664,
he was elected to the House of Assembly for the parish of St. Catherine and
was chosen as the Assembly’s first Speaker.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
For much of his term in Jamaica, D’Oyley had lived under harsh conditions. By
1661, he was worn out and requested that he be relieved of duty and given
permission to return to England.
</p>
cycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882151688793825918.post-81892191398660999942020-12-16T07:00:00.725-05:002020-12-16T07:00:00.134-05:00Chapter 5.1 – Port Royal<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<p style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="firstcharacter">D</span><span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: justify;">uring the two years </span>following the invasion of Jamaica, the fleet of 38 warships that had arrived in 1655 had been greatly reduced in number. The larger ships had returned to
England with Admiral Penn and, as other vessels became unseaworthy, they too were sent back to England. By 1657, Governor D’Oyley and Admiral Goodson had maybe eleven seaworthy warships to defend the new colony.
Exactly which ships these were, we do not know. However, we do know that after
Penn sailed for England, the following ships remained on station in Jamaica:
<i>Torringyton, Martin, Gloucester, Marston Moor, Laurel, Dover, Portland,
Grantham, Selby, Hound, Falmouth, </i>and <i>Arms of Holland</i>, with three brigs and a dogger.
</p>
<blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Readers should remember that in the Age of Sail the term “ships”
meant <i>full-rigged ships</i>, i.e., a sailing vessel with at
least three square-rigged masts and a full bowsprit. Brigs, therefore, were
not classed as ships for they were two-masted vessels, square-rigged on both
foremast and mainmast. Other types of vessels were also defined by their
sail plan, e.g. barques, brigantines, etc.
</p>
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Governor D’Oyley saw the situation as desperate, for he knew the Spaniards would almost certainly outnumber his forces in a counter-attack from their many nearby settlements. Therefore, Jamaica’s fate as an English colony depended on disrupting any attempt by Spain to mobilize and transport forces to his colony. In other words, D’Oyley believed Jamaica
needed a much stronger naval presence than was currently available at the
Point.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Desperate situations require desperate solutions, and Governor D’Oyley believed he had one. To that end, D’Oyley wrote a fateful letter in 1657 inviting
Tortugans to transfer operations to Jamaica, thereby augmenting the state-owned ships he had on station at the Point with privately-owned vessels operated by the Brethren of the Coast. Here was his quid pro quo: The buccaneers would help defend the English colony against Spain. In return, they would have a safe harbour at the Point at which to purchase food and other supplies, careen and repair their vessels and dispose of their prizes and loot.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The Tortugans also had another talent. Many were experienced hunters, for, as we saw in an earlier chapter, they had once made a living hunting and curing feral livestock on Hispaniola. Jamaica desperately needed such men for,
although the army had wantonly slaughtered and wasted livestock left behind by the fleeing Spanish planters, many feral horses, cattle and hogs remained in the woods and the foothills throughout the central parts of the island. With a
contingent of experienced hunters who could handle themselves in difficult
tropical terrain and who could ward off Spanish harassment when necessary, the
governor could provide meat, fresh and cured, to his much-undernourished
forces.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
How many buccaneers became hunters, we’ll never know. We do know, though, that several hundred transferred to Jamaica and provided a pool of experienced manpower available to the increasing number of privateers being outfitted and provisioned at the Point.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Although we have no documentation to tell us if Harry Morgan participated in these early seaborne raids by Goodson and Myngs, it is safe to infer that he had somehow earned a reputation as a man of action and leader of men. And we do know that he owned and captained a small ship in 1662. Therefore, he would have needed such a reputation to have attracted a fighting crew for his ship and received a privateer’s commission from the governor. Moreover, it is hard to explain how, on a junior infantry officer’s pay, Morgan had been able to acquire sufficient means to build or buy and equip a small ship. A reasonable
explanation is that he had shared in the loot obtained from one or more of
Myngs’s raids.
</p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9-mefDQELVHN62ui8ffjjauBaivNarSGamRZOqYxDx4pMYmmA9scLBYXaRiO_KcgOsF_5qrUZKg3aOX6BN-hv28GRpiyFEwBguorMHHe44Nya-tDAj97Mm344ojRmLDum1RX8woVMuLY/s1022/Blakesstgeorgeatsantacr.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="767" data-original-width="1022" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9-mefDQELVHN62ui8ffjjauBaivNarSGamRZOqYxDx4pMYmmA9scLBYXaRiO_KcgOsF_5qrUZKg3aOX6BN-hv28GRpiyFEwBguorMHHe44Nya-tDAj97Mm344ojRmLDum1RX8woVMuLY/w640-h480/Blakesstgeorgeatsantacr.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (1657)
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<p style="text-align: justify;">
The Point at Cagway played a significant role in the Caribbean operations of the Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660). It was from that port at the heart of
Spain’s New World empire that England was able to launch several successful naval campaigns.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
As Commander-in-Chief, Jamaica Station, Vice-Admiral Christopher Myngs undertook another retaliatory raid early in 1659. Again, he targeted the flourishing communities of the Spanish Main. With three frigates,
<i>Marston Moor, Hector, </i>and <i>Cagway</i>, and with their crews augmented by buccaneers, Myngs sailed some six hundred miles south-east of Jamaica to present-day Venezuela. Once off the coast, and taking the enemy by surprise, Myngs plundered the port of <i>Cumaná</i>, capital of the province of <i>Sucre</i>. Myngs next turned his attention to
<i>Puerto Cabello</i> in the province of <i>Carabobo</i>. Recognizing the need to maintain the element of surprise, his fleet reached
<i>Puerto Cabello</i> before news of the sacking of <i>Cumaná</i>.
<i>Puerto Cabello</i> was, in fact, taken by surprise, and it too was looted.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The next target was the mainland town of <i>Coro </i>in
<i>Falcón </i>province, south of the Dutch island, Aruba. To attack the town,
Myngs had first to land his men at the port of <i>La Vela de Coro</i> and march seven miles inland. Despite the extra time, he arrived ahead of the news of his earlier successes and caught the enemy totally unprepared.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Myngs raids on <i>Cumaná </i>and <i>Puerto Cabello</i> yielded only moderate amounts of treasure, but <i>Coro </i>was another story entirely. Among the plunder sized, there were 22 chests of silver ingots belonging to the King of Spain. Each chest was said to weigh 400 pounds, and the total value of the chests was placed at 1,500,000 pieces of eight or about £375,000, with some estimates running as high as £500,000. Thus Myngs returned to Cagway, “with more plunder than ever was brought to Jamaica,” to the delight and enrichment of the increasing number of Cagway’s inhabitants.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
After his arrival at the Point and officials had examined his treasure, Myngs admitted that a significant portion had already been shared with his men—a
common practice among privateersmen. However, this led to a dispute with
Governor D’Oyley, who in 1660 suspended his naval commander and ordered his return to England on the <i>Marston Moor </i>to stand trial. But, by the time he arrived, Charles II had been restored to the throne. And, because Myngs had been an early supporter of the monarch, the king cleared of all charges and restored him to his post. He did not return to Jamaica until 1662, however.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The success of Myngs’s raids encouraged privateers stationed at the Point to undertake expeditions of their own. Besides, the lure of such riches saw more private ships of war equipped and provided with the governor’s letters-of-marque.
</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">❦❦❦</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
In early 1656, Robert Sedgewick had published a proclamation encouraging army officers to settle down on their land-grants and become planters. Those that did became the backbone of Jamaica’s emerging society. However, many—like
Harry Morgan—were battle-hardened veterans who were not content merely to live out their lives peacefully as planters and merchants. Some, who did become planters, chose to augment their fortunes by obtaining privateering commissions. Others who were men of means outfitted vessels and contracted with captains and crews to sail them on their behalf. In this way, fortunes were secured without the inherent personal danger—though still bearing the financial risk.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">So, by 1660, we find at Cagway army-trained commanders of private vessels of war,
manned by crews recruited from a growing pool of ex-soldiers—Spanish resistance had ended and so too had the need for so large an army—and the best fighting men in the West Indies at that time, buccaneers. These were, of course, the buccaneers who had emigrated from Tortuga and Hispaniola. And this at a time when the fleet Vice-Admiral William Goodson had commanded in 1655 had dwindled so that soon after 1660, there was at times no naval vessels at all in
Jamaica. The colony had no shortage of enemies, however.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Legitimate privateers—those holding official letters of marque—often joined
forces with the buccaneers who styled themselves as the <i>Brethren of the
Coast</i>. Together with the few
English naval vessels available from time to time at the Point, they formed Jamaica’s navy. These were commanded by able, resolute, resourceful, and ruthless men like Edward Mansfield, Sir Thomas Whetstone (a maternal nephew of
Cromwell), Harry Morgan, John Morris and son, Maurice Williams, David Martien and
Captains Jackman and Freeman, to name but a few. By the end of 1663, there were at least 22
full-time privateering craft using facilities at the Point.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Other buccaneer contingents of the Brethren of the Coast were headquartered
elsewhere (principally Tortuga) and sailed under French and Dutch commanders.
During substantial operations, the buccaneers elected an “admiral” to lead them. Edward Mansfield led Jamaica’s contingent.
</p><p style="text-align: justify;">As described earlier, Cagway and the Point, which we know as Port Royal, made up the last of a series of cays that
formed a narrow sand spit, which became known as the “Palisadoes.” Between these cays were marshy areas that separated each tiny island. Within a very few years, it became so crowded with houses and other buildings, it became necessary to fill in the marsh to make room for expansion. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><i>
Villa de la Vega</i>, which became known as Spanish Town, was officially the colony’s capital, as it had been under Spain’s rule. People flocked to Cagway, though, for that was where the wealth was. Plundered emeralds and pearls, gold and silver began circulating as freely as guineas and pounds on the streets of London. Merchants opened shops and set up booths to exchange English products for gold, silver and other loot raided from Spain’s colonies. The Spanish copper coins called <i>maravedíes </i>and Spanish silver dollars we know as “pieces of eight” were Jamaica’s <i>de facto</i> legal tender. And Jamaicans began to receive increasing amounts of these from the contraband trade with Spanish colonies. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Spain continued to claim a monopoly on trade with its American colonies but was unable to enforce its embargo for, at the best of times, Spain’s inadequate merchant fleet had been unable to supply the growing need for cloth, tools and other essential and luxury items. After losing treasure fleets in both 1656
and 1657, Spain’s trade with its American colonies virtually halted with no
Spanish fleets sailing to the New World for seven years.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
English merchants at Cagway were only too pleased to step in and satisfy those colonists’ day-to-day needs. Soon, the spacious protected harbour at Cagway began to fill with large English merchantmen, which came laden with cargoes of textiles, tools, glass and other items the Spanish colonists could not manufacture for themselves.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Upon arrival at the Point, these commodities were distributed to smaller, swifter vessels that could slip past Spanish authorities into numerous small bays where they could be traded for Spanish coin. So ubiquitous and symbiotic did this illegal trade become that Spanish officials, whose jobs were to prevent such trade, often looked the other way.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
As the population and commercial activity—legal and illicit—at the Point increased, so did the need for worldly pleasures. In his book, <i>Jamaica; Its Past and Present State </i>(London, 1843), James Phillippo of Spanish Town wrote about Port Royal of those days:</p>
<blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">
The character of the white population was deplorable—composed of disbanded
soldiers, Spanish refugees, hordes of pirates and buccaneers, convicts, and
indentured servants, and dregs of the three kingdoms, who exhibited every
kind of excess, and perpetrated almost every degree of wickedness.
</p></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Author Robert Marx (<i>Port Royal Rediscovered,</i> Doubleday, 1973) tells us that in 1661, Jamaica’s Council issued “40 new licenses for taverns, grog-shops,
and punch houses during the month of July alone.” Before long, Cagway/Port Royal became notorious as “the most wicked city in the world.” </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">This was only the beginning, however. Jamaica was entering a new phase as a
fully functioning English colony with a civilian administration and a
diversified population of planters, pen-keepers, wharfingers, merchants,
judges, lawyers, surgeons, tradesmen of several sorts, soldiers and seamen,
supported by labourers and servants, some of whom were slaves, and inevitably, ladies of dubious virtue.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">By 1662, Jamaica had been divided into 10 districts, including the district of “Upon Point Cagway.” And, after Sir Thomas Modyford became governor in 1664, he divided the island into seven parishes. (Jamaican parishes are the island’s main units of local government.) At that time, the district of Upon Point Cagway (renamed Port Royal) was made a parish. The parish encompassed not just the Point, but what is now Kingstown and parts of current-day St. Andrew parishes. The Point, though, continued to be the main attraction.</p>
cycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882151688793825918.post-24213507250958192082020-12-14T07:00:00.124-05:002020-12-14T07:34:39.454-05:00Chapter 5 – Port Royal<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5bCYw7kzm_aoL3U35O3X4ezG47SKdjmzVvYMo9xUHP8U99aRfxmkuXtqKyQk3egcZlIArRQpz3iyNH3VhEF16QNkXBe2K7-mMsWW6XjMSAaO8fHdVnYb_Ecu2Eg-kD81ZZcgLGmG6EDQ/s1196/Port+Royal+Harbour.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="834" data-original-width="1196" height="446" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5bCYw7kzm_aoL3U35O3X4ezG47SKdjmzVvYMo9xUHP8U99aRfxmkuXtqKyQk3egcZlIArRQpz3iyNH3VhEF16QNkXBe2K7-mMsWW6XjMSAaO8fHdVnYb_Ecu2Eg-kD81ZZcgLGmG6EDQ/w640-h446/Port+Royal+Harbour.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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View of the Town and Harbour of Port Royal in Jamaica from the Sea<br />
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<p style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="firstcharacter">T</span><span style="font-variant: small-caps; font-weight: 400;">he living conditions of</span> those English forces remaining in Jamaica were harsh.
They suffered from a shortage of food and supplies, and their morale was low.
Many were ill from dysentery and fevers. Famine threatened. Despite such difficulties, the new masters of Jamaica began consolidating their victory. In the weeks following the conquest, their priority became defence, for they were certain of Spain’s determination to recapture the island.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
On the southeast coast of Jamaica, a long sandspit curves south and then west away from the island to form one of the Western Hemisphere’s largest naturally protected deep-water harbours, which is about seven miles long and four miles wide. We know it now as Kingston Harbour. The sandspit—more like a
series of low-lying cays covered with Seagrape and palm trees—which is known as Palisadoes, separates the harbour from the Caribbean Sea and acts as a
breakwater.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The Spaniards called the cay at the tip of the sandspit <i>Cayo de Carena</i>, and the fort that guarded the approach to their inland capital, <i>Villa de la Vega</i>,
they called <i>Caguaya</i>. Later that fort became known as Passage Fort. The first Englishmen to occupy Jamaica mispronounced <i>Caguaya </i>and named the entire area “Cagway.” Apparently, they did not realize the Spaniards used the term to refer only to the fortress. The local English settlers and those who visited regularly called the very end of the long sandspit “the Point.”</p>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxCDlwfbPK8SAEwoduhBTTPOU61LIiJ1Ql7ZgEA97St2Y2_n-CvDpYdLvpK7Jrz009yQNtNEMO3RcvrbDTCuUSuNOaAz0JdhCcWzdtBhQjV6BJoGZdb-1DiBqh_eG2Bn3A9WibuU0l-yw/s1497/Port_Royal.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="894" data-original-width="1497" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxCDlwfbPK8SAEwoduhBTTPOU61LIiJ1Ql7ZgEA97St2Y2_n-CvDpYdLvpK7Jrz009yQNtNEMO3RcvrbDTCuUSuNOaAz0JdhCcWzdtBhQjV6BJoGZdb-1DiBqh_eG2Bn3A9WibuU0l-yw/w640-h382/Port_Royal.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-size: 13.3px; text-align: start;">Old map of Port Royal | Drawn from </span><i style="background-color: #f8f9fa; color: #202122; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 13.3px; text-align: start;">The Gentleman’s Magazine</i><span style="background-color: #f8f9fa; text-align: start;"><span face="sans-serif" style="color: #202122;"><span style="font-size: 13.3px;"> 55 (1785)</span></span><br /><span face="sans-serif" style="color: #202122;"><span style="font-size: 13.3px;">The light section at the top and going down toward the right is the part of the city lost in the 1692 earthquake; the slightly shaded middle section, the part of the city that was flooded; the darkly shaded bottom section is the part of the city that survived. [Wikipedia.org]</span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Under Spain’s rule, the Point had been unoccupied, and so was Kingston harbour until 1520 when the Spaniards moved from their capital on the north coast to <i>St. Jago de la Vega</i>. However, the English soon saw the strategic advantage of Cagway as a protection to both the harbour and their renamed capital, Spanish Town.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">During these early days, aside from low morale and shortages of almost everything, the invaders had to deal with sudden, unexpected changes in command. In October 1655, Major-General Richard Fortescue, who had succeeded Venables as commander of land forces, died of fever. That same month,
Major Robert Sedgwick arrived in Jamaica to take up the post of civil commissioner, superseding Colonel Edward D’Oyley. Cromwell’s original civil commissioner for the Penn-Venables expedition had been Edward Winslow—former governor of England’s Plymouth Colony in North America. However, Winslow had contracted
yellow fever and died on 7 May 1655, two days before the fleet reached
Jamaica. Shortly after arriving on the island, Sedgwick received a promotion to major-general.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Once Cromwell had dealt with Penn and Venables in London, he seemed to have reconsidered their expedition’s failure to take Hispaniola. He embraced their
success in taking the strategically located Jamaica and published a
proclamation describing the island as:
</p>
<blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">
… spacious in extent, commodious in its harbours and rivers within itself,
healthful by its situation, well stored with horses and other cattle, and
generally fit and worthy to be planted and improved to the advantage, honour,
and inter-est of this nation.
</p></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Cromwell had laws and government orders published and surveyors appointed to
layout parcels of land for settlers, who he hoped to attract with an announcement that all “<i>planters and adventurers to that island</i>” would be
exempted from paying excise or customs duty “<i>on goods and necessaries
transported thither for seven years, and that no customs or other tax or
impost would be laid upon any product imported from thence into any other
English possession for the next ten years.</i>”
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
To begin the process of populating the new colony, Cromwell invited New
England colonists, who at that time were facing several difficulties, “<i>to
remove themselves or such numbers of them as shall be thought convenient, out
of those parts where they now are to Jamaica.</i>” He also promised to resupply
General Fortescue’s army and instructed Admiral Goodson that the war must be carried on in the spirit of a crusade.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Apparently, Thomas Modyford and Thomas Gage, both of whom had gained Cromwell’s ear, convinced the Lord Protector that other Spanish colonies would be easy prey to his forces. Moreover, Jamaica would provide an excellent base from which attacks against Spain’s provinces could be launched. Modyford was a prominent Barbadian planter, of whom we will hear more later. Gage was an Englishman who became a Dominican priest and served several years in Mexico and Guatemala. After returning to England, he
publicly abandoned the Roman Catholic Church for a Puritanical form of
Anglicanism. Gage served as chaplain and guide to the Penn-Venables expedition that had captured Jamaica.
He fell ill and died at Spanish Town in 1656.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Sickness and desertion were depleting the army at an alarming rate. Besides,
letters from England—confirmed by statements given by Spanish prisoners—warned that Spain had issued orders for a large fleet to sail from Spain to recapture the island. Jamaica’s commanders, Sedgewick and D’Oyley, took the warnings to heart. In March 1656, they completed the initial construction of Fort Cromwell on the southwest (seaward) side of the Point (<i>Cayo de
Carena</i>).</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Fort Cromwell was not very grand then, but it was grand enough to control the narrow entrance to the strategically-critical harbour. Prevailing winds,
currents and a narrow channel would force arriving ships to pass within range of the new fort’s guns before entering the harbour. The Spaniards’ main fortress, now called Passage
Fort,<sup>[1]</sup> was not as well located strategically, for it was on the mainland and could only attack enemy ships once they had already entered the harbour.</p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><sup>[1]</sup>I have read accounts that claim Passage Fort (formerly <i>Caguaya</i>) was another name for Fort Cromwell, but that is not so. Fort Cromwell (named Fort Charles in 1660) was at Port Royal while Passage Fort was at the mouth of the <i>Rio Cobre</i>, six miles from present day Spanish Town.</p></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">On 15 Oct 1655, England officially declared war on Spain—though, obviously, hostilities had begun months earlier. Cromwell gave as his reason for Spanish aggressions against English colonies in the West Indies. With the building of Fort Cromwell, the Point soon grew into a small community. In
1660, the name of the town and surrounding area would be changed from Cagway
to Port Royal, and Fort Cromwell would be renamed Fort Charles in honour
of the restoration of Charles II to the English monarchy.</p><p style="text-align: center;">❦❦❦</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">On 4 Jan 1656, General Sedgewick published a proclamation jointly with Admiral
Goodson, urging the soldiers to cultivate plots of land that would be allotted for them. Dissension had become common within the army’s ranks,
however, and some of the officers opposed the proclamation in a petition, advising instead that England should abandon the island. However, Goodson continued to maintain tight discipline within his fleet, reduced then to nine small men-of-war and four supply ships. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Even in those early months, Goodson kept his squadron active against Spanish ships. His cruisers often ventured into Spanish waters and captured prizes. On 10 Aug 1655, aboard <i>Torrington</i>, he embarked with some soldiers and a small flotilla. Sailing south from Cagway to the Spanish Main,
he took <i>Santa Marta</i> on 3 Oct and, over 15 days, sacked the city and the surrounding area. Unfortunately, there was little in the way of booty, though he did capture 30 guns. As so often happened, the inhabitants of <i>Santa Marta</i> had time to collect their valuables and flee before the English attacked the city. Goodson also fancied an attack on Spain’s stronghold at Cartagena but thought better of it. He lacked a large enough force to ensure victory, so he returned to the Pont.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHaDZ_Cow36bAWQQ4GdtiR01kqH_LqEjYy9bvqPy3cqA7rXO-lAzMzjteRjAfiIMzD2u6i8dS-TInxd8eaZNYzf4623bFECpnkH69DxUzxE0k6zLdg0-k0fEgH3uZKV1G6V3nWOrPFOP4/s1469/Christopher_Myngs-Painted+by+Sir+Peter+Lely+in+the+Flagmen+of+Lowestoft+Collection+at+the+National+Maritime+Museum+in+London+4x6.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1469" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHaDZ_Cow36bAWQQ4GdtiR01kqH_LqEjYy9bvqPy3cqA7rXO-lAzMzjteRjAfiIMzD2u6i8dS-TInxd8eaZNYzf4623bFECpnkH69DxUzxE0k6zLdg0-k0fEgH3uZKV1G6V3nWOrPFOP4/w261-h320/Christopher_Myngs-Painted+by+Sir+Peter+Lely+in+the+Flagmen+of+Lowestoft+Collection+at+the+National+Maritime+Museum+in+London+4x6.jpg" width="261" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christopher Myngs | by Sir Peter Lely</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Goodson set sail again in early April 1656 with 10 ships. His
second-in-command was Christopher Myngs (1625-1666), captain of the 52-gun
frigate <i>Marston Moor</i>. Myngs had arrived at Cagway in January 1656. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">This time, Goodson cruised the Caribbean looking for Spanish ships and ended up at
Riohacha (<i>Rio de la Hacha</i>), a port of some importance in Columbia.
Again forewarned, the Spanish inhabitants had time to escape with their belongings to the hills and nearby woods. As at <i>Santa Marta,</i> there wasn’t much plunder—four brass cannons and not much more. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Leaving Riohacha in flames, Goodson sailed down the coast, and, after stopping at Cartagena without attacking it, he returned to Jamaica. On his way, Goodson captured two small Spanish ships. Goodson also made unsuccessful attempts against the Spanish plate fleet in 1656 before retiring to England in early 1657, complaining of ill-health. Myngs followed him there a month later with three ships, including the <i>Marston Moor</i>. Before leaving for England, however, Goodson did make one more considerable contribution to the new colony of Jamaica. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">In October 1656, under Admiral Goodson’s command and encouragement, about 1,400 planters, their families and their servants sailed to Jamaica from Nevis. Nevis was an English colony that had become overcrowded. The newcomers settled at Morant Bay on the eastern tip of the island. This came at a time when Jamaica was in dire need of settlers who were loyal to England.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Before his death on 24 May 1656, Sedgewick had grudgingly supported Goodson in his strikes against the
Spanish Main. He left little doubt, though, he thought them unseemly and unprofitable—not even worth the powder and shot expended. Goodson was a capable and courageous officer, and there is no doubt that he operated under difficult circumstances. Nevertheless, he did seem to lack that special instinct required in a commander-in-chief that might have allowed him to maximize his opportunities. Fortunately for Jamaica, his successor suffered no such handicap.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">General Sedgewick’s death had placed Colonel D’Oyley in command of the colony. But once again he was superseded, this time by the arrival of Major
General William Brayne. Brayne, however, died suddenly in September 1657,
leaving D’Oyley again in command.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Commodore Christopher Myngs returned to Jamaica on 20 Feb 1658 for his second tour of duty. Myngs, who was no less active and, perhaps, more enterprising than Goodson, received a cordial welcome from D’Oyley, who was not as troubled by scruples as Sedgewick had been.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
As the new commander-in-chief of Jamaica’s naval squadron, Myngs quickly made his presence felt. His first action was along the north coast of the island, where he repelled an invasion by Spanish forces. Next, with a few hundred soldiers on board his ships, Myngs sailed from the Point on a ten-week cruise to retaliate against Spain. With him were the <i>Marston Moor</i>, the <i>Hector</i>, the <i>Coventry</i>, the
<i>Blackamoor </i>and the <i>Cagway</i>.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
That same summer, Myngs took and sacked the port town of <i>Tolú </i>in present-day Colombia. His squadron had also landed at <i>Santa Marta</i>, which had been sacked by Goodson in 1655. But the Spaniards had not repopulated the town, and although his men marched several miles inland, they found little of value. On his return voyage to the Point, Myngs’s squadron intercepted and captured three Spanish merchantmen. He sailed these prizes to the Point and sold them to men
who would become formidable privateers and deadly foes of Spain: Robert
Searle, Dutchman Laurens Prins (aka Lawrence Prince) and John Morris. Morris and his son, whose name also was John, became two of Harry Morgan’s closest friends and comrades in arms.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Christopher Myngs’s assaults on the Spanish Main and his taking of
Spanish merchant ships were accomplished with the approval and support of the
English authorities at Cagway. They believed he had acted legally. So long as England continued to be at war with Spain, and so long as prizes were brought in to the Point to be condemned at the Admiralty Court there, any private citizen with a duly authorized letter-of-marque could make war on Spain and do so with impunity. This was the English government’s official position and, by extension, that of their representatives in Jamaican.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Besides, Myngs’s actions, which resulted in “more plunder than ever was brought to Jamaica,” stood in contrast to Goodson’s less profitable efforts. And this point wasn’t lost on the residents of Cagway, who began to realize just how lucrative war with Spain could be. By 1658, Myngs had become a national hero and model for others at Cagway. More buccaneers and former soldiers volunteered to join his expeditions, increasing his capacity to attack larger, more prosperous Spanish settlements.
</p>
<p style="text-align: right;">Continued …</p>
cycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882151688793825918.post-18088070335889335352020-12-11T07:00:00.001-05:002020-12-11T11:20:13.060-05:00Chapter 4.2 – The Buccaneers<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuHSKd4W8nl6MRU2vE6OuphN3NbzrEo4yRuoHxujk3HEZYwpsBMX5n3Y02pc4zOqMOQexlpZuJzAS7OQS3hBgv837801FASEFr1S3K2ciZFWUy5zJFHhfGHOIKdaTEXwnX05x4VwRzkJc/s500/buccaneer+cruising+ground.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="398" data-original-width="500" height="510" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuHSKd4W8nl6MRU2vE6OuphN3NbzrEo4yRuoHxujk3HEZYwpsBMX5n3Y02pc4zOqMOQexlpZuJzAS7OQS3hBgv837801FASEFr1S3K2ciZFWUy5zJFHhfGHOIKdaTEXwnX05x4VwRzkJc/w640-h510/buccaneer+cruising+ground.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="firstcharacter">A</span><span style="font-variant: small-caps; font-weight: 400;">ccording to historian Clarence</span> Henry Haring (1885–1960), “The Spanish ships of
the 16th and 17th centuries were notoriously clumsy and
unseaworthy.” Their towering poop decks and forecastles have been likened to “mansions that had gone a-sailing.” Combined with their short keels, this caused them to respond slowly to the tiller and made them easy prey to the swifter sloops and barques of the buccaneers. Besides, Haring notes:
</p>
<blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">
Although the king expressly prohibited the loading of merchandise on the
galleons except on the king’s account, this rule was often broken for the
private profit of the captain, the sailors, and even of the general. The
men-of-war, indeed, were sometimes so embarrassed with goods and passengers
that it was scarcely possible to defend them when attacked. The galleon which
bore the general’s flag had often as many as 700 souls, crew, marines and
passengers, on board, and the same number were crowded upon those carrying the
vice-admiral and the pilot. Shipmasters frequently hired guns, anchors,
cables, and stores to make up the required equipment, and men to fill up the
muster-rolls, against the time when the visitadors came on board to make their
official inspection, getting rid of the stores and men immediately afterward.
Merchant ships were armed with such feeble crews, owing to the excessive
crowding, that it was all they could do to withstand the least spell of bad
weather, let alone outmaneuver a swift-sailing buccaneer.
</p></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
As the buccaneers closed on the target ship, they loaded their muskets and their best marksmen—excused from rowing so their arms would be rested and their hands would be steady—took up positions in the bows. From there they picked off the helmsman and any officers on which they could draw a bead and fired at any gun-ports which happened to be open. If a buccaneer noticed the prey attempt to yaw so as to train her guns on their boats, he called out so the helmsman could adjust the tiller to keep the masts of the quarry in a
line, and so approach from astern.
</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1_ZoCvHEEJiXGSSq3NV8AwoxiANKsV901ZL-Lb9P9GFJgy5dB2wZpsyELlUHYg6Xrsqc7kjfmwhd0e4depbmXFHal9AasuZtDnHjRXDxWgS3l7ZOomTbrU1eek3lcN6Jn3m3jXNfXViY/s2048/howard+Pyle_An+Attack+on+a+Galleon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1372" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1_ZoCvHEEJiXGSSq3NV8AwoxiANKsV901ZL-Lb9P9GFJgy5dB2wZpsyELlUHYg6Xrsqc7kjfmwhd0e4depbmXFHal9AasuZtDnHjRXDxWgS3l7ZOomTbrU1eek3lcN6Jn3m3jXNfXViY/w428-h640/howard+Pyle_An+Attack+on+a+Galleon.jpg" width="428" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An Attack on a Galleon | Howard Pyle<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">Coming up to the stern of their prey, they jammed her rudder with wooden chocks, then swarmed up her side and attacked her crew with cutlasses, knives and pistols—the first man to get aboard receiving an extra portion of the spoils.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
After taking the prize, the buccaneers rounded up the crew and passengers, questioned them, and robbed all of their valuables. They frequently stripped the captives and stole their clothes—each buccaneer had the right to take a full change of clothes from each prize captured. They ransacked the ship and inspected the cargo to assess its value. The ship itself was also assessed, with an eye to using her as a cruiser.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUe3KDI2-K9yvjSklN89eVg29gRHTGI4yCGaIMwhLfrjdRs8xwBkrEFrEXtBTnHxUTE8FlSQfH6n4Rx3v6n9-MPGrXreT0Ja_0d1Q6yAI8A05YRD3Ya4mqvJoxFopAzDd6NXIQTXdPaPw/s400/illus013.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="252" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUe3KDI2-K9yvjSklN89eVg29gRHTGI4yCGaIMwhLfrjdRs8xwBkrEFrEXtBTnHxUTE8FlSQfH6n4Rx3v6n9-MPGrXreT0Ja_0d1Q6yAI8A05YRD3Ya4mqvJoxFopAzDd6NXIQTXdPaPw/w253-h400/illus013.jpg" width="253" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dividing the Treasure</td></tr></tbody></table><p style="text-align: justify;">As a rule, the buccaneers put their prisoners ashore at the earliest opportunity but held some until they could sell them as slaves. If the ship were old, leaky or otherwise valueless, they either stripped her of her guns and turned her adrift with her crew, or ran her ashore in a remote cove,
where she could be burnt and her ironwork salvaged. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The prizes they took usually contained a valuable cargo, for the buccaneers who had turned to sea-raiding were skilled at recognizing different types of merchantmen, or sometimes they had insider information to go by. They sailed these prizes to a Dutch, French or English port, where they sold her cargo—usually at a fraction of its real value. Then, as they had done when they were cow-killers, they’d carouse and engage in all manner of debauchery. Later, after their money had run out, they’d go back to sea.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
If a prize was sound, swift and with a shallow draft—they preferred to sail in small ships—the buccaneers kept her as a new or additional cruiser. Once they had removed her cargo, they sponged and loaded her guns, adding more cannon where they could and making other necessary repairs. Then, after loading new provisions, the sea-raiders laid their mats on her deck, secured their boats astern and embarked in search of new plunder.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
A buccaneer ship’s captain was elected by his followers and had little control over them except in times of action. During those occasions, his word was law. Some leaders were former soldiers with a respected knowledge of warfare, and others were skilled navigators. Some, however, were simply known as lucky leaders. During a
cruise, the captain had the same single vote as any other man on board. The men were poorly disciplined on board their ships and did only work that had to be done. They did little else that did not please them. No cruise came to an end until a majority of the company declared themselves satisfied with the amount of plunder taken. The decision, like all other important ones, was debated at the mast and decided by a vote.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
During night watches, while some slept, some sang songs, danced on the open deck, fired guns and drank to the health of their comrades. Others gambled at cards and dice day and night, which nearly always led to quarrels and fights. To stop the gaming, a captain needed the support of the majority of his crew. Otherwise, his men could simply outvote him. Sometimes a few lucky gamblers would win all the plunder from a cruise, and the majority would call for a
re-division of the spoil. Those who had differences that they could not settle peacefully were allowed to go ashore at the first opportunity, where they settled their differences with duels.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Augmented by captured Spanish vessels, the buccaneer fleet grew in size.
Frequently, they sailed as privateers under <i>letters-of-marque</i>: official
commissions from various European nations with interests in the Caribbean.
Such commissions provided the <i>Brethren of the Coast</i> with the legal right to take prizes on a similar basis as the national navies of the countries they represented. However, these were resourceful and audacious men, and they stretched the terms of their commissions to the legal limit—and sometimes beyond. By 1665, the Brethren of the Coast had grown to the size of a national navy. About 1,500 French <i>flibustiers </i>used
Tortuga as their base. There they were given protection by the governor who issued letters-of-marque against the Spanish. Many took wives who they imported and settled down in the small colony. Some became planters in the western parts of Hispaniola that we know as Haiti.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
In the late 1650s, the English buccaneers, at the urging of the governor of
Jamaica, chose Cagway (renamed Port Royal in 1660) as their main base. And by the time England had consolidated its foothold on that island, the buccaneers were loosely integrated into its military and naval forces. Moreover,
due primarily to the exploits of the Brethren of the Coast and the plunder they brought back to the city, Port Royal earned the reputation as the wickedest town in the world. Between 1665 and 1675—which included Harry Morgan’s heyday as admiral of the fleet—Port Royal may also have been the richest town of its size.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The buccaneers maintained an uneasy alliance with the Caribbean colonies, for they needed a place to dispose of their plunder and obtain supplies. The colonist, for their part, needed protection from their Spanish neighbours. Besides, they benefitted economically from the rock-bottom prices they paid for Spanish loot and the sky-high prices they charged the carousing buccaneers.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Even as their numbers swelled, buccaneers cruised mainly in separate companies, usually of less than 100 members. From their base at <i>The Point</i> at Port Royal, they raided Spanish settlements and captured Spanish ships.
Individual leaders included Bartholomew Portugues, Roche Brasiliano, Lewis
Scott, John Davis, Richard Guy, Sir Thomas Whetstone (a cousin of Cromwell),
John Morris, David Martien, Jacob Jackman, Thomas Freeman and dozens more.
Eventually, the buccaneers banded together to form a powerful fleet capable of taking on even the heaviest fortified settlements and cities. Their first
“admiral” was a Dutchman named Edward Mansvelt, known to the English as Edward
Mansfield. Harry Morgan became his successor.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The buccaneer era spanned a period in the 17th century from some date before 1630 to the signing of the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697. They came later
than—and should not be classified with—the Elizabethans: Drake, Hawkins,
Raleigh, Gilbert, Grenville and Frobisher. Nor should they to be included in the
<i>Pirate Era</i> that succeeded them, for men like John Rackham, Edward Teach (Blackbeard), and Bartholomew Roberts (Black Bart) were simple sea robbers who were not acting under legal government commissions.</p>
cycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882151688793825918.post-30569417981093969052020-12-09T07:00:00.178-05:002020-12-11T11:19:52.241-05:00Chapter 4.1 – The Buccaneers<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkVswnFIHe6z78mlva1TGCMFoRr48EaWPFwX_JHf43BNQ9FOkQwN8aLsrQEigyzT1Z6YyzhGxLHO80sbgkAHZPWwCCUTDOBHsxvw8Qc66eBSMHFJI83xw0z3BZUxvJ93adTrgcVw_5ZgM/s1210/hispaniola_buccaneer1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1130" data-original-width="1210" height="598" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkVswnFIHe6z78mlva1TGCMFoRr48EaWPFwX_JHf43BNQ9FOkQwN8aLsrQEigyzT1Z6YyzhGxLHO80sbgkAHZPWwCCUTDOBHsxvw8Qc66eBSMHFJI83xw0z3BZUxvJ93adTrgcVw_5ZgM/w640-h598/hispaniola_buccaneer1.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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A Hispaniola buccaneer as seen by a French artist
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<p style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="firstcharacter">B</span><span style="font-variant: small-caps; font-weight: 400;">uccaneers started their daily</span> hunts before dawn, with their dogs leading the way. When they sighted their first animal, the band’s chief would have the right of the first kill and would bring down the beast with his <i>fusil boucanier</i>.
Should the animal somehow survive, he would chase after it and sever the tendons of its hind legs, bringing it to the ground. Thereupon, the chief would singlehandedly cut the throat and skin the carcass. Next, he would cut out the big marrow bones and share them among the group who would breakfast on
<i>toute chaude</i>, raw marrow, which they would suck from the bones. </p><p style="text-align: justify;">No one could
eat until an animal had been killed. Once the fallen animal had been flayed,
the best meat would be sent back to the base camp to be roasted for their midday meal, and the remainder of that first kill would belong to the dogs. And so the hunt continued until every man had killed an animal and had loaded himself with its skin and the portion of its meat most suitable to making bukan (also spelled, boucan). Thus loaded, they returned to the base camp to eat and later to work on the process of curing their meat.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
When the hunt was over, the buccaneers returned to their homes on the coast.
So tasty was their bukan that its fame spread, and soon passing ships were sending boats ashore to obtain it. The buccaneers exchanged their hides,
tallow and the tasty meat they did not use for themselves to these ships in return for coin and tobacco, muskets, powder, shot and clothing. A hundred pounds of bukan sold for three pieces of eight (one pieces of eight was worth five English shillings). </p><p style="text-align: justify;">During their hunting expeditions, buccaneer life was laborious and their diet sparse. However, once at home and after they had sold the products of their labour, the buccaneers indulged in every sort of extravagance and debauchery until they ran out of money and were again compelled to return to the severe, unforgiving life of the hunt.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The buccaneers lived by a few simple laws that corresponded well with the state of their primitive society. If two men quarrelled, each man pleaded his side to the wisest of their comrades, and if they could not agree on a
settlement, they decided their dispute by duel. They fought their duels with knives, cutlasses, pistols or the same long-barreled weapons with which they hunted. When a duel was fought with pistols, the combatants stood back to back ten or twelve paces apart and, turning round, fired at the command of an observer. If both shots missed, the argument was decided with cutlasses, and the man who drew first blood was declared the winner. The contest was observed closely, and if it were found that an adversary had taken an unfair advantage, he was immediately tied to a tree and shot through the head. If a man were proved to be a coward, he was either shot or mutilated and expelled from their company.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Over the decades following Columbus’s colonization of Hispaniola, the island’s population had become concentrated in and around Santo Domingo, leaving vast areas unpopulated except for herds of the aforementioned feral cattle and hogs. Considering the buccaneers and the French <i>habitants </i>to be dangerous intruders, the Spaniards started slaughtering the cattle and hogs, depriving the hunters of their livelihood. Eventually, the Spanish drove hunters and <i>habitants</i> <span style="text-align: left;">completely </span>off the island, with many finding refuge on Tortuga, a tiny offshore island. But, to the Spaniards, even Tortuga was too close, so they ousted the unwelcome intruders from there also. Try as they might, however, the Spaniards failed
to prevent some of the buccaneers from returning to the Haitian portion of
Hispaniola.<sup>[1]</sup> And by then, the buccaneers had developed an enduring hatred of Spain.</p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><sup>[1]</sup>French colonization of Hispaniola was officially recognized by King Louis XIV in 1665. The new French colony was named, <i>Saint-Domingue</i>, and Spain formally ceded Tortuga Island and the western third of the island to France in the 1697 Treaty of Ryswick.</p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">Shortly thereafter, about 300 Tortugans returned to their island colony. And, in 1641, the French governor-general at St. Christopher,
responding to Tortugans’ plea for official protection, sent a Huguenot named
Levasseur and 50 other Protestants to set up headquarters on Tortuga. The tiny colony prospered and grew. But, by 1653, Levasseur had become power-mad
and was murdered. His replacement was hardly in place when the Spaniards struck and again tried to oust the colonists. Early in 1655, though, the
Spaniards were forced to return to Santo Domingo to defend against the impending English attempt on that city.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
By 1655, with no safe haven and with much of the feral cattle and wild boar slaughtered, Tortugans looked for other ways to earn a living and, at every opportunity, to rob and kill Spaniards. Some became sea-raiders and began calling themselves <i>Brethren of the Coast</i>. Operating from small,
shallow-drafted canoes known as <i>piraguas</i>, they preyed on Spain’s coastal settlements and shipping—Spain’s were the only merchantmen sailing in nearby waters at that time. <i>Piraguas </i>were dugout canoes made from silk cotton or cedar trees of up to 40 feet in length and six in breadth. They had a single mast and no decking. The indigenous people who had developed the canoes used paddles to propel them, but Europeans altered the design to allow the use of oars.
</p>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCwGMukFaDZodMn13SuvRDT2isuXFYYqtoHkqBVu-ZtyC75NBiXBLYK8plyWRG27yUtgKXLqIN58V92Wz_qFtFayJcQDcb3B0Lp9szsRfOu_mHCTP0fJuPbPgesakcxFIkasg3tR8tevI/s400/Boarding+a+ship-GEORGE+ALFRED+WILLIAMS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="258" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCwGMukFaDZodMn13SuvRDT2isuXFYYqtoHkqBVu-ZtyC75NBiXBLYK8plyWRG27yUtgKXLqIN58V92Wz_qFtFayJcQDcb3B0Lp9szsRfOu_mHCTP0fJuPbPgesakcxFIkasg3tR8tevI/w258-h400/Boarding+a+ship-GEORGE+ALFRED+WILLIAMS.jpg" width="258" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boarding a Ship | George Alfred Williams</td></tr></tbody></table>
Although buccaneers were scrupulously honest when dealing with communal property, many were ruthless, fearless, lawless rogues capable of chilling cruelty. They expected no quarter and gave none. They sailed under a stern
code of discipline documented in articles, the principal one of which was,
“<i>No purchase, no pay</i>.” Plunder was pooled and shared according to their articles. Extra compensation was given to those who performed acts of conspicuous courage or became disabled during an engagement.
</p><p>Life in an open boat is far from pleasant for most, but these were a special breed of men used to a tough life and harsh environments. Some were strong, sturdy men who had cut logwood at Campeche and were known to carry three or four hundredweight. Others had been indentured workers on farms and plantations where they’d toil for hours under the scorching tropical sun. They would sit upon their benches, rowing with long, slow strokes for hours without complaint or sign of fatigue. Nearly all were above average in strength and had been in the tropics long enough to have become acclimatized. </p>
<p>
Sometimes a raiding party would row—with the help of a small sail—their <i>piraguas </i>all the way to the Main. There, in boats crammed with heavily armed men, the buccaneers lurked among coastal islands and inlets until a
merchantman came by from one of the many Spanish ports along the coast. If she seemed a
reasonable prey—Spanish-owned without too many guns and not too high-built
for them to climb her sides—they put their backs to the oars to dash out and engage the hapless vessel.</p><p style="text-align: right;">Continued …</p>
</div>
cycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882151688793825918.post-30790493660068306072020-12-07T07:00:00.326-05:002020-12-11T11:19:11.800-05:00Chapter 4 – The Buccaneers<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibxHj0noffqTvGlI7G6adtNAE0fhxJS1t5wuh4v8NEVV00D816jJwXGe85s4IF_KSFCwmI7x7uZhFyTv170t_OyW3BQFkD0vm1kdu3saKdAFIfSY_l7wNTJHYdOJKq7sXoCM9jnrdy7iU/s1001/The+Buccaneer+was+a+Picturesque+Fellow.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1001" data-original-width="640" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibxHj0noffqTvGlI7G6adtNAE0fhxJS1t5wuh4v8NEVV00D816jJwXGe85s4IF_KSFCwmI7x7uZhFyTv170t_OyW3BQFkD0vm1kdu3saKdAFIfSY_l7wNTJHYdOJKq7sXoCM9jnrdy7iU/w410-h640/The+Buccaneer+was+a+Picturesque+Fellow.jpg" width="410" /></a>
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The Buccaneer was a Picturesque Fellow | Howard Pyle’s Book
of Pirates
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<p style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="firstcharacter">A</span><span style="font-variant: small-caps; font-weight: 400;">lthough the early history</span> of the buccaneers does not include Harry Morgan, there’s is little doubt it was his leadership of them from his home base at Port Royal that brought them fame and fortune in their golden era. Except for when Harry led foraging expeditions in the interior of Jamaica to hunt fresh meat for the English army during the early days of the conquest, he was never a cow-killer in the way of the buccaneers. As we will see, his associations with them came later after they had banded together to launch major assaults against Spanish American settlements. Still, given the buccaneers’ significance in Morgan’s life, we can benefit from, at least, a basic understanding of who these men were.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The term buccaneer came from the French term, <i>boucanier</i>, which in turn was derived from the
Carib word, <i>bukan</i>, meaning the method they used to preserve beef and pork with
a combination of heat and smoke and with the use of a minimal amount of salt. Although
the French coined the term to refer to hunters (known as “cow-killers”) on the
island of Hispaniola and Cuba, the English adopted it as, “buccaneer,” and
much later used it to also refer to the sea-raiders and freebooters of the
17th century Caribbean.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The French continued to use their term, <i>boucanier</i>, to refer to the cow-killers; they used the term <i>flibustiers </i>when they meant freebooters,
sea-raiders and pirates. The Dutch term for these was <i>zeerover </i>and the
Spanish called them <i>corsarios luteranos </i>(Lutheran corsairs).
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
For decades unauthorized settlers had arrived on remote areas of the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola and remained there undisturbed. Spaniards were far more interested in settling on the “Main,” where the prospect of finding, or stealing, gold and silver were far better. Large settlements throughout the
Caribbean islands were abandoned, and the domesticated animals once raised there were left to go wild. These newcomers were a mixture of adventurers,
runaway apprentices, religious refugees, social outcasts, criminals and remnants of indigenous Taíno tribes.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
They were joined by English and French settlers displaced from Saint
Christopher and Nevis. In 1629, a Spanish force had cleared those islands of foreign settlements—Spain still claimed them even though its people had not occupied them for decades. Others came too: former logwood cutters from Campeche,<sup>[1]</sup> escaped African slaves, and Irish and Scottish prisoners of war who had been shipped to England’s West Indian colonies by Oliver Cromwell.
They were predominantly French with significant numbers of English, Irish,
Scottish and Dutch. Land and food were plentiful. Aside from the fertile soil,
there were herds of cattle and pigs that had been brought to the islands by
Spanish settlers and had grown under the care of Taínos. As the Spaniards left their farms in favour of towns on the Spanish Main and the Taínos died out,
the animals wandered off and became wild.
</p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><sup>[1]</sup><i>Haematoxylum campechianum</i>, the logwood tree, is native to southern Mexico and northern Central America. The tree was of great economic importance in the 17th century when Europeans used a purplish-red natural dye obtained from it to dye their fabrics. The state of Belize (formerly British Honduras) evolved from 17th century English logging camps.</p></blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
We are most interested in the men who settled on Hispaniola,
more especially in the northwest third of the island (present-day Haiti) and on nearby Tortuga. <i>Isla Tortuga</i> or Turtle Island is a small
island off the northwest coast of Hispaniola, just east of the Windward
Passage. Those who settled there and planted crops became known as <i>habitants</i>,
while those who became hunters of feral cattle and hogs were the ones the
French called <i>boucaniers.</i> Those who went cruising the French called <i>flibustiers</i>. Of course, <i>boucaniers </i>might sometimes go cruising and therefore became <i>flibustiers.</i> And so the two terms eventually became interchangeable to the
English who anglicized the term to “buccaneers” and used it to refer to both categories of those early Haitians and Tortugans.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The buccaneers set out on their hunting expeditions in large bands. They carried small tents made of linen, which they pitched wherever they intended to spend the night. When they reached a place suitable to act as a
base camp, they erected small sheds of thatched palm leaves. They pitched their tents inside the sheds, which then became their homes throughout the hunting season.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">While on the hunt, buccaneers dressed similarly: a coarse shirt, short trousers and rawhide shoes. Their shirts were very long, and they wore them belted at the waist and outside their trousers, so the garments became black and stiff with bloodstains. On their heads, they wore Spanish-style hats with a broad brim to shade their eyes.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">They worked in pairs known as “matelots” or in small teams. They owned everything in common and lived in a surprising degree of harmony, for they placed the common goal of their association above private jealousies or animosities. They developed tight bonds and fierce personal loyalties, some hunting feral cattle exclusively, while others chose to hunt wild boar.<sup>[2]</sup> Otherwise, they were alike in all ways.
</p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;"><sup>[2]</sup>Feral domestic pigs start to take on the physical characteristics of wild boar after just one or two generations of being in the wild.</p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">The hunters became skilled marksmen with their long-barreled muskets and were past masters at the use of knives. They treasured the <i>le fusil boucanier</i>, a
unique matchlock musket made by French gunsmiths, Brachère of Dieppe and Galin of Nientes.</p><p style="text-align: justify;"></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyiPs-TlG9TFGu14B1HYzT8SM4OrOBZUXHF4RMpB0VO5BxmkzrbO0GNV3L5M89uEi_RSpU6iJzqUkqAQEpw41iv9cQ3NM-Va-QVx7FLsA_Vh5lXdrQDPsSr9thaV9-Dej0ln05pvLGv6E/s800/Le+fusil+boucanier+.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="147" data-original-width="800" height="118" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyiPs-TlG9TFGu14B1HYzT8SM4OrOBZUXHF4RMpB0VO5BxmkzrbO0GNV3L5M89uEi_RSpU6iJzqUkqAQEpw41iv9cQ3NM-Va-QVx7FLsA_Vh5lXdrQDPsSr9thaV9-Dej0ln05pvLGv6E/w640-h118/Le+fusil+boucanier+.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Le fusil boucanier</td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p style="text-align: justify;">It measured four and a half feet long and was smooth-bored and broad-butted, with gleaming fittings made of brass. Every buccaneer carried a powder horn, a razor-sharp cutlass—as both a tool and a weapon—and at least one equally sharp knife. Each hunter was accompanied by a small pack of dogs, one or two of which were specifically trained for tracking prey. The hunters also took their own servants with them. Servants shared the same fare and generally worked alongside their masters. However, servants were otherwise treated
no better and had no more freedom than was customary for the time, and they were frequently treated with great cruelty.</p><p style="text-align: right;">Continued …</p>
<div><br /></div>
cycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882151688793825918.post-52546758032491251462020-12-04T07:00:00.044-05:002020-12-11T11:19:01.309-05:00Chapter 3.1 – Conquest of Jamaica<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;">
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<p style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="firstcharacter">S</span><span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">panish resistance on the</span>
newly captured and renamed island of Jamaica took the form of a prolonged
guerilla war led by Don Christobal Arnaldo de Ysassi and by two “Spanish
Negros,” Juan Lubolo (aka Juan de Bolas) and Juan de Serras. Ysassi had been given a commission as governor of Jamaica, making him the last Spanish governor of the island. Their guerilla armies comprised former Spanish settlers, who had chosen not to flee to Cuba, and of <i>Cimarrons</i>—freed and runaway slaves—later known as <i>Maroons</i>. From strongholds in a large
area of rugged hills and pasture lands on the north side of the island, the
Spaniards waged a long, costly war.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
From 1655 to 1660, Ysassi made several unsuccessful attempts to recapture
Jamaica. From time to time, small bands of Spanish soldiers landed to reinforce the guerillas. They came from Havana, San Domingo and Porto Rico. They were joined by <i>Santiago’s </i>former residents, who had fled to Cuba immediately after the English invasion but returned to join in the resistance.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Harry Morgan was one of the fortunate few among the new English colonists to survive frequent outbreaks of malaria, yellow fever and dysentery in those first five years. For much of this period, the Spaniards controlled the mountainous interior and most if not all of the north coast. From there, they successfully staged raids on new English plantations, limiting the ability of the invaders to grow crops to augment supplies shipped to them by sea. The
Spaniards also harried and ambushed those who ventured into the hills searching for cattle that had been released and driven there to deny the invaders a ready supply of fresh meat.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
When the English had first arrived, fresh meat was readily available from the abundant supply of cattle abandoned by the Spanish. Most of these had either been wastefully slaughtered by the invaders or driven deep into the rugged highlands. English war parties passing through dense woods and rocky gorges searching for fresh meat and guerillas were ever in danger of ambushes.
Accordingly, their soldiers tended to remain near their own strongholds on the southeast portion of the island.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Sources claim that, at times, the invaders were quite literally starving. They survived on a diet that included dogs, rats, snakes and iguana lizards. Of the
original 7,000 to 8,000 soldiers, barely 4,500 (and I’ve seen lower estimates)
survived their first year on the island. Those who did survive had little choice: toughen up or die. And, from what we know of young Harry Morgan’s later life, we can be sure he chose the former. Considering his family’s
military tradition, and given the manpower shortage, we can assume that Ensign
Morgan participated in the guerilla war. Harry would have served under the
command of the <i>de facto</i> governor, Colonel Edward D’Oyley
(1617–1675).
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
When Penn and Venables departed Jamaica, they left Vice-Admiral William
Goodson as naval Commander and Major General Richard Fortescue as commander of land forces, but Fortescue died of fever in October 1655. That same month,
Major Robert Sedgwick arrived at Jamaica to take up the post of civil commissioner, superseding D’Oyley. A few months later, Sedgwick received
Cromwell’s commission as major-general and commander-in-chief, but Sedgwick died in June 1656. Sedgewick’s sudden death placed D’Oyley once again in
command until he was again superseded by the arrival of Major General William
Brayne. Brayne died in September 1657, leaving a blank commission, given to him by Cromwell, that Brayne had filled in with D’Oyley’s name.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
When Brayne arrived, he brought a thousand recruits with him. This did little to improve the situation, however. Brayne reported in the following April:
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"></p>
<blockquote>
The soldiers are forced to neglect the strictness of their martial duty by
rambling abroad to seek a livelihood; so that if the enemy from Spain should
attempt us in this condition, I greatly fear the soldiers would make but a
weak resistance, their spirits have been so dejected for want of necessary
food and raiment. But many of the officers seem resolved (through the
assistance of God), to sell their lives as dearly as they can. [Source:
Cundall, <i>Jamaica under the Spaniards</i>, p. 56.]
</blockquote>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
However, over time, the tide of war began to ebb for Ysassi as
English tactics evolved. On land, D’Oyley’s men became better at anticipating and defending against ambushes. They also began using their ships to better effect. English commanders, rather than risk Spanish ambushes on inland trails, used ships to transport their men around the eastern end of the island and attacked the Spaniards at strongholds like St. Ann’s Bay. They used ships to cut supply lines from Cuba and elsewhere and reduce the opportunity for reinforcements reaching Ysassi.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Then came the crucial battle.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Harry Morgan may have been present at the most important battle ever fought on
Jamaican soil, the Battle of <i>Rio Nuevo</i>, when Edward D’Oyley defeated a
large force under Ysassi’s command at <i>Rio Nuevo</i> on the north shore in late June 1658. The English killed more than 300 Spaniards and captured great quantities of food and arms, including much-needed cannons that the English used to strengthen their own fortifications.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Ysassi and the remnants of his force withdrew inland to the hillsides and forests. They held out until 26 Feb 1660 when Lieutenant-Colonel Tyson, with a party of eighty men, surprised Ysassi’s camp near Moneague. Ysassi’s lieutenant and fifty others of his men were killed.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Following that engagement, the two sides began negotiations for a treaty of surrender, but they could not reach an agreement. The final blow came, though,
when the English captured a boat, bringing supplies to Ysassi, in the bay at Ocho Rios. That loss was crucial to Ysassi and made it painfully obvious to him that further resistance was hopeless.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Ysassi and what was left of his followers fashioned two large canoes from silk cotton tree logs, and, using improvised sails, they left the island from the little north-coast harbour we know today as Runaway Bay. From there, they crossed a hundred miles or so to safety in Cuba. With their departure, Spanish rule over Jamaica came to an end. Not until 1670, however, did Spain officially cede control of Jamaica to England. This was done under the
<i>Treaty of Madrid</i>.
</p>
<p style="text-align: center;">❦❦❦</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Since leaving England, Harry Morgan’s military education directly influenced his future success as a leader of irregular military forces. He’d learned how to lead men across difficult tropical terrain, live off the land and, especially, how to detect, avoid and defend against ambush while doing so. He’d also learned the value and limitations of naval power against land-based installations.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Moreover, Harry Morgan had ample opportunity to assess the different military strategies and tactics of tropical warfare used by Ysassi’s guerillas and by his own commanders. He learned how he could adopt and adapt these for future use. Most importantly, this time allowed Harry to
develop lifelong friendships and allegiances with others who had accompanied
Venables to Jamaica. As we will see, these friendships with men like his future brothers-in-law, Robert Byndloss and Henry Archbould, would stand him in good stead for years to come.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Though I have found no documentary evidence of Harry’s service in these first
five years, I believe it safe to assume he must have served with some
distinction for documentation does exist that tells us that, in 1662, he held
the rank of captain in the army/militia. (His captaincy was not the navy rank
of the same name, which is at least three ranks higher.)
</p>
cycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882151688793825918.post-67547760890457478132020-12-02T07:00:00.013-05:002020-12-11T11:18:47.341-05:00Chapter 3 – Conquest of Jamaica<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPhy2kMiYqsY-O-6vQ-FNeZJ5EVs1Qctk6kr5CmQh3xdiQumQ0TRnxdawUE5w9qqtYjCDBqNbAvqcv-BYEb2JZSzq191tIwJ_e1O4JYygcUxQRTUT2TqDSRmsE9wnCcIl5TIcOG8gsJgI/s2544/Hakewill%252C_A_Picturesque_Tour_of_the_Island_of_Jamaica%252C_Plate_01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1236" data-original-width="2544" height="310" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPhy2kMiYqsY-O-6vQ-FNeZJ5EVs1Qctk6kr5CmQh3xdiQumQ0TRnxdawUE5w9qqtYjCDBqNbAvqcv-BYEb2JZSzq191tIwJ_e1O4JYygcUxQRTUT2TqDSRmsE9wnCcIl5TIcOG8gsJgI/w640-h310/Hakewill%252C_A_Picturesque_Tour_of_the_Island_of_Jamaica%252C_Plate_01.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">King’s Square, St. Jago de la Vega (Spanish Town) | James Hakewill<br />A Picturesque Tour of the Island of Jamaica (1825)</td></tr></tbody></table>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="firstcharacter">F</span><span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: justify;">ollowing their abortive attempt</span> to capture Santo Domingo, Penn and
Venables were loath to return to England empty-handed and face the Lord
Protector. They needed somehow to salvage their professional reputations—they needed a consolation prize. To that end, the English commanders turned their attention to <i>Santiago</i>, the third-largest in the Caribbean, next to Cuba and Hispaniola. By the middle of the 17th century, <i>Santiago </i>had become a relatively insignificant provisioning base that they expected to be thinly peopled and weakly garrisoned.</p>
<p>
On 9 May 1655, Admiral Penn’s 38-ship fleet entered <i>Puerto de Caguaya</i> on
Santiago’s southeast coast. Penn transferred to William Vesey’s 6th rate <i>Martin</i>, because it drew less water, saying “he would not trust the army if he could come near with his ships.” Other small vessels followed the <i>Martin </i>under the walls of the <i>Caguaya</i> fort (later renamed Passage Fort), which was on the shore of a small bay at the Rio Cobre’s mouth. The larger ships anchored in the harbour. The <i>Martin</i> maintained a<i> </i>brisk cannonade until all ships had disembarked their troops. At this, the Spaniards took flight without waiting for the English to attack.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Venables would not land until he saw that the Spaniards were not resisting. As one source put it: </p><blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">“… he continued walking about, wrapped up in his cloak, with his hat over his eyes, looking as if he had been studying of physic more than like the general of an army.”</p></blockquote><p style="text-align: justify;">Venables’ troops had landed about six miles southeast of the capital, <i>Villa de la Vega </i>and—as inefficient as these land forces undoubtedly were—they captured the town from the outnumbered Spaniards on 11 May and the whole island by 17 May. Bad luck and mismanagement continued to plague the invaders, however. The first piece of bad luck came in the form of fishermen sighting the English fleet as it approached Jamaica and setting off the alarm, thereby giving the Spaniards enough time to gather their food and valuables and flee before the English entered the town. By the time Venables’ land force entered <i>Villa de la Vega</i>, the Spanish islanders had fled.
And before leaving, they freed their cattle and other livestock or drove them into the hills. Some of the Spanish planters fled to Cuba, while others withdrew to the mountains with their slaves and continued to resist. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Soon after taking control of <i>Villa de la Vega</i> and the surrounding area, the
English renamed the island “Jamaica” using their form of its original Taíno
name, “Xaymaca.” They also renamed the capital “Spanish Town.”</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Luck was still not on the side of the invaders, however. On 25 May (according to the <i>Swiftsure’s </i>log), Thomas Wills’ <i>Discovery </i>caught fire in the steward’s room. In time the flames reached her magazine and all her 120 barrels of gunpowder blew up, endangering the <i>Swiftsure</i>, which rode next to her. The loss of the 4th rate <i>Discovery</i> was made greater by the loss of provisions she had onboard. And, only that day, <i>Swiftsure’s </i>lower deck guns had been transferred to her. Fortunately, most of the guns were recovered.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Penn and Venables stayed in Jamaica for a month, overseeing to the pacification of the island and sending cruisers along the Spanish Main. However, since Spain did not have a strong naval presence in the Caribbean, the English land forces did not need a large fleet to defend them. Besides, provisions were running low and had become hard to replenish in Jamaica. Accordingly, the English commanders resolved to return home and take most of the fleet with them, believing the ships would be more useful nearer to home. The ships left in Jamaica were the <i>Torringyton</i>, <i>Martin</i>, <i>Gloucester</i>, <i>Marston Moor</i>, <i>Laurel</i>, <i>Dover</i>, <i>Portland</i>, <i>Grantham</i>, <i>Selby</i>, <i>Hound</i>, <i>Falmouth</i>, and <i>Arms of Holland</i>, with three brigs and a dogger.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Once the capital was in English hands, Penn, hoping to be the first to give his version of events to Cromwell, rushed back to England. When he left Jamaica on 25 Jun, he appointed Vice-Admiral William Goodson as naval Commander. Penn arrived at Spithead on 31 Aug. The ailing Venables followed Penn, arriving in September 1655. Major General Richard Fortescue succeeded Venables as commander of land forces in Jamaica.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Penn and Venables were not warmly welcomed, however. Cromwell stripped them both of their commands for abandoning their posts, and he had them imprisoned in the Tower of London. Their imprisonment was brief, however, and both were released in October 1655 on condition of surrendering their commissions and commands and making the appropriate apologies. Penn withdrew from public life and retired to his estate in Ireland. He died on 16 Sep 1670. Penn’s eldest son was William Penn (1644–1718), the Quaker who founded Pennsylvania.</p><p style="text-align: justify;">Venables’s ruined career had a brief revival in 1660 when he was appointed governor of Chester by General Monck. He was soon replaced, however, and retired to Cheshire. In 1662, he published a successful book on angling: <i>The Experienced Angler</i>. He died on 10 Dec 1687.</p><div style="text-align: justify;">Together, these men had established Jamaica as a
central base at the heart of Spain’s America, from which England could launch attacks. However, the new English colony presented too
great a danger to trade routes and treasure ships to be easily abandoned by
Spain.</div><p style="text-align: right;">Continued …</p>
<div><br /></div>
cycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882151688793825918.post-65937311293708281812020-11-30T07:00:00.010-05:002020-12-11T11:18:35.330-05:00Chapter 2.1 – The Western Design<table
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<a
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style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"
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alt="The Western Design Route"
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Western Design Route
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<p style="text-align: justify;"><span class="firstcharacter">O</span>
<span style="font-variant: small-caps; font-weight: 400">n 13 Apr 1655,</span> Harry Morgan and the English fleet arrived off Santo Domingo,
the settlement on Hispaniola, which Sir Francis Drake had successfully raided
in 1586. According to the <i>Swiftsure’s </i>log, the army
contingent—4,000 strong—landed about 25 miles from the town at the mouth of
the River Nizao. They were supplied with three days’ provisions but without
entrenching tools and other appropriate equipment. The fleet did not land the
remainder of the force until 14 Apr.
</p>
<div>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The delay caused by a three-day march through the difficult tropical terrain
to Santo Domingo proved decisive because any hopes Venables had of
surprising the Spanish were dashed. Consequently, the colonists had time to
reinforce their defences and prepare for his assault. Besides, t<span
style="text-align: left;"
>he expedition had not been well equipped for the terrain they
encountered—water bottles, for example, had not been provided. As a
result, the English suffered greatly from the unaccustomed heat and the
lack of freshwater—at the time, Santo Domingo was suffering from a
drought. Many, including Venables, fell ill.</span
>
</p>
<div>
<p align="justify">
The English force reached Santo Domingo on 17 Apr, but before they could
launch an attack, they were ambushed. And, had it not been for Goodson’s
sea regiment, the inexperienced and poorly disciplined infantry surely
would have been routed.
</p>
<p align="justify">
General Venables ordered a withdrawal and personally retired to his cabin
to be nursed by his wife. He had embarrassed himself by allowing his
wife to accompany him. <span style="text-align: left;"
>His men, though, stayed onshore for about a week while they recovered.
Many were sick, and most were without shelter or adequate supplies
throughout their stay.</span
>
</p>
<p align="justify">
The attempt on Santo Domingo was probably young Ensign Morgan’s first
taste of battle, and it was certainly his first experience at trekking
over and through tropical terrain. Both experiences would serve him well
in the future, however. He likely acquitted himself well on both accounts,
for he would later excel in such actions. It is also likely the young
officer impressed his seniors, some with whom he served in several similar
actions.
</p>
<p align="justify">
Shared experiences such as those Harry had on Hispaniola frequently lead
to lifelong bonds of trust, friendship, and loyalty between
comrades-in-arms. As we will see as our story develops, several of the men
who sailed with Penn and Venables would remain fast friends for decades to
come and fight alongside each other many times.
</p>
<p align="justify">
On 24 Apr, Venables led a second land assault on Santo Domingo with Penn’s
fleet bombarding the town from the sea. But, once more, a Spanish ambush
ended the land attack. And again, it was Goodson’s better-disciplined
seamen that held firm and, in doing so, helped avoid a disaster of even
greater proportions. <span style="text-align: left;"
>Penn offered to support the army with the fleet if they decided on
another attack</span
><span style="text-align: left;"
>, but he found the land officers were not so inclined “</span
><span style="text-align: left;"
>for they [the army contingent] would never be brought </span
><span style="text-align: left;">to stand.”</span>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<span style="text-align: left;"
>So that was that. The expedition was a dismal failure, and its
commanders agreed to abandon any further attempt on Hispaniola.</span
>
</p>
<p align="justify">
<span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span>
</p>
<hr />
<br />
<p>
<span style="font-family: Playfair Display;"
>William Penn’s fleet to the Caribbean in 1654-1655</span
><br /><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"
>(38 ships of which 20 were un-named transports)</span
>
</p>
<p></p>
<ul>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"
>2nd Rate Swiftsure, 60 guns 350 sailors and 30 soldiers William Penn,
General and Jonas Poole flag captain</span
>
</li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"
>2nd Rate Paragon, 54 guns 300 sailors and 30 soldiers William
Goodson, Vice-Admiral</span
>
</li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"
>3rd Rate Torrington, 54 guns 280 sailors and 30 soldiers George
Dakins, Rear-Admiral</span
>
</li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"
>3rd Rate Martson Moor, 54 guns 280 sailors and 30 soldiers Edward
Blagg</span
>
</li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"
>3rd Rate Gloucester, 54 guns 280 sailors and 30 soldiers Benjamin
Blake</span
>
</li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"
>3rd Rate Lion, 44 guns 230 sailors and 30 soldiers John Lambert</span
>
</li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"
>3rd Rate Mathias, 44 guns 200 sailors and 30 soldiers John
White</span
>
</li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"
>3rd Rate Indian, 44 guns 220 sailors and 30 soldiers James
Terry</span
>
</li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"
>4th Rate Bear, 36 guns 150 sailors and 30 soldiers Francis
Kirby</span
>
</li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"
>4th Rate Laurel, 40 guns 160 sailors and 30 soldiers William
Crispin</span
>
</li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"
>4th Rate Portland, 40 guns 160 sailors and 30 soldiers Richard
Newberry</span
>
</li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"
>4th Rate Dover, 40 guns 160 sailors and 30 soldiers Robert
Sanders</span
>
</li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"
>4th Rate Great Charity, 36 guns 150 sailors Leonard Harris</span
>
</li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"
>4th Rate Heartsease, 30 guns 70 sailors and 160 soldiers Thomas
Wright</span
>
</li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"
>4th Rate Discovery, 30 guns 70 sailors and 160 soldiers Thomas
Wills</span
>
</li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"
>4th Rate Convertine, 30 guns 75 sailors and 200 soldiers John
Hayward</span
>
</li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"
>4th Rate Katherine, 30 guns 70 sailors and 200 soldiers Willoughby
Hannam</span
>
</li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"
>20 ships for transports with 352 guns 1,145 sailors, 1,830 soldiers,
and 38 horses</span
>
</li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"
>6th Rate Martin, 12 guns 60 sailors William Vesey</span
>
</li>
<li>
<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"
>4 small craft</span
>
</li>
</ul>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"
>[Source: Wm. Laird Clowes, The Royal Navy, A History, From the
Earliest Times to the Present Vol II (Sampson Low, Marston and Company
Limited, 1898), Page 205</span
><span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small;">]</span>
</div>
</div>
</div>
cycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882151688793825918.post-75463039769704135002020-11-27T07:00:00.288-05:002020-12-11T11:18:21.674-05:00Chapter 2 – The Western Design<p align="justify"></p>
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<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Oliver Cromwell | by Samuel Cooper
</td>
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</table>
<p align="justify;">
<span class="firstcharacter">T</span><span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal;">he expeditionary force in</span>
which Henry Morgan, known informally as “Harry,” enlisted as an ensign was
part of The Lord Protector of England, Oliver Cromwell’s, 1655 Western
Design. Harry was about 20-years-old at the time.</p>
<p align="justify">
Dudley Pope, in Harry Morgan’s Way, was the first biographer I have seen pick up on Morgan’s nickname. I believe we can be sure Sir Henry was commonly known as Sir Harry, for that is traditionally the diminutive or nickname of men named Henry, which was common practice in his day. Harry is
also the name used in the log-book of the ship <em>Assistance</em> when noting
Morgan’s death.<sup><a href="#_ftn1_5296" name="_ftnref1_5296">[1]</a> </sup>Besides, there is the slogan, “That is Harry Morgan’s way,” which became known throughout the West Indies.<sup><a href="#_ftn2_5296" name="_ftnref2_5296">[2]</a></sup><a href="#_ftn2_5296" name="_ftnref2_5296"></a>
</p>
<blockquote>
<p align="justify">
<a href="#_ftnref1_5296" name="_ftn1_5296"><sup>[1]</sup></a> National
Archives of the UK (PRO): “August, 1688, Saturday 25th. This day about
eleven hours morn’g, Sir Harry Morgan died. On the 26th was brought over
from Passage Fort to the King’s House at Port Royall, from thence to the
church, and after a sermon, was carried to the Pallisadoes and there buried.
All the forts fired an equal number of guns. Wee fired two and twenty, and
after wee and the Drake had fired, all the merchantmen fired.”
</p>
<p>
<a href="#_ftnref2_5296" name="_ftn2_5296"><sup></sup></a><sup><a href="#_ftnref2_5296" name="_ftn2_5296">[2]</a> </sup>Cruikshank,
The Life of Sir Henry Morgan, p. 121
</p>
</blockquote>
<p align="justify">
Cromwell’s “Western Design” was for land and naval forces to be sent out from
England to secure a base in the Caribbean to threaten Spain’s monopoly on trade routes throughout the hemisphere. If accomplished, this would weaken
England’s main enemy of the day and lessen Roman Catholic influence in the New
World.
</p>
<p align="justify"></p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikScDjJOG23f1qvcGj7M-v11BLQBs95eqCUqRgBW7esgd2YTgZ1DhTvqq_O-fwsbomG9dAdZI_ALTQrmTqbi-PW-DC-7qziXxTQN9B-R9OA4dIV_VsLjppz4et-zum7aGzJFUBUw6bLcc/s768/William_Penn+by+peter+lely.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="624" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikScDjJOG23f1qvcGj7M-v11BLQBs95eqCUqRgBW7esgd2YTgZ1DhTvqq_O-fwsbomG9dAdZI_ALTQrmTqbi-PW-DC-7qziXxTQN9B-R9OA4dIV_VsLjppz4et-zum7aGzJFUBUw6bLcc/w163-h200/William_Penn+by+peter+lely.jpg" width="163" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Penn</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p align="justify">
As a puritan, Cromwell had no love for Catholics. Such a scheme would have been popular in England at that time because many English people saw Spain as a cruel and unbending national enemy. Cromwell spoke of this in his speech to
Parliament on 17 Sep 1656. “Abroad, our great enemy is the Spaniard,” he said.
To Cromwell, conflict with Spain was a just and holy war.
</p><p align="justify">Cromwell also believed he could wage war on Spain in the West Indies by taking advantage of the old doctrine of “no peace south of the line” without making a formal declaration of such in Europe.</p>
<p align="justify">
<span style="text-align: left;">The naval force came under the command of General-at-Sea, Vice-Admiral
William Penn. General Robert Venables commanded the land force. While both were experienced and competent officers, neither was given the expedition’s overall command, which would prove unwise. Penn and Venables were given to
believe the Spanish colony of Hispaniola (modern-day Haiti and the Dominican
Republic) was weakly defended and could be taken easily, so it became the target.</span>
</p><p align="justify"><span style="text-align: left;">Here is an excerpt from William Laird Clowes’s <i>The Royal Navy, A History, From the Earliest Times to the Present Vol II </i>of 1898:</span></p><p align="justify" style="text-align: left;"></p><blockquote style="text-align: justify;">Penn’s commission was dated October 9th. After enumerating Spanish outrages in America, assaults on planters, and the like, it went on to suggest that the King of Spain’s object then was “the ruin and destruction of all the English plantations, people, and interest in those parts.” Penn and Venables were therefore appointed for the express purpose of attacking that monarch [of Spain] in the West Indies. Besides dealing with his shipping, they were authorized to land men upon any of the dominions and possessions of the King of Spain in America.</blockquote><p></p>
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<a href="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1tR27LGvrr94QLx2dUmERU-MW0reZ9i8o" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Gen Robert Venables" border="0" height="244" src="https://drive.google.com/uc?id=1ATiq6PrLP8MJLmdGd99ugVr10yGu8W63" style="background-image: none; display: inline; float: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 10px;" title="Gen Robert Venables" width="181" /></a>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">
Gen. Robert Venables
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p align="justify">
Under their joint command, and apparently, without a hard and fast plan, eighteen warships and twenty transport vessels set sail from Spithead on 25 Dec 1654. Penn's flagship was the 2nd rate warship <i>Swiftsure</i>.</p><p align="justify">A month later, the fleet reached the Caribbean island, Barbados, where Venables intended to add more recruits. The target size of his land forces <span style="text-align: left;">was 8,000 men, but he had been unable to recruit that number in
England.</span></p><p align="justify"><span style="text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: justify;">While at Barbados, they found the Dutch were trading illegally with that colony and seized eight Dutch ships. </span></span><span style="text-align: left;">Penn also ordered the formation of a 1,200-man regiment to be
used onshore as a naval brigade.</span><span>
He appointed Vice-Admiral William Goodson of the 2nd rate <i>Paragon </i>as its onshore colonel and Benjamin Blake of the 3rd rate <i>Gloucester </i>as lieutenant-colonel. </span><span style="text-align: left;">About 3,000 volunteers from among the island’s indentured servants and freemen enrolled at Barbados. War with Spain was always popular and usually profitable. </span><span style="text-align: left;">The fleet sailed from Barbados on 31 Mar 1655, making stops to recruit a smaller number—about 1,300 in all—from the colonies on the islands of Antigua, Montserrat, Nevis, and
St. Kitts.</span></p>
<p align="justify">
Though their numbers were impressive on paper, Venables’ men were largely untrained and lacked military discipline. Many were more familiar with a
prison cell than with an army barracks. Furthermore, supplies were already
running low, and friction was developing between the joint commanders, Penn and
Venables. Later, one of Venables’ officers would write:
</p>
<blockquote style="text-align: justify;">
We now find by sad experience that but few of them were old Soldiers, but
certainly most of them were Apprentices that ran from their Masters, and
others that came out of Bridewell, or one Gaol or another, so that in our poor
Army we have but few that either fear God or reverence man.
</blockquote>
<p align="justify">
Morale among the infantrymen suffered further when their commanders proclaimed that the Spanish settlements would not be plundered, depriving the men of much-anticipated booty. The English authorities wished to capture the colony intact to speed up later English colonization.</p><p style="text-align: right;">Continued …</p><p></p>
cycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882151688793825918.post-80918688062503277082020-11-25T07:00:00.023-05:002020-12-11T11:18:09.839-05:00Chapter 1.1 – The Early Years<h4 style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Lato;">… Chapter 1 continued</span>
</h4>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy60FpBb5b3ZIjZb1cWqWDon4SsMD-WlZl_OOHoyRfvpYF3X-1a8ULtOmbWJ1qO9a4bc0wGBOZwoWA3Xc831gQM8xIC6490o22X-f_7gWdUcZr2oroGux-64lo_ourWFJflaatwjvIA6M/s843/old+port+royal.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="843" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjy60FpBb5b3ZIjZb1cWqWDon4SsMD-WlZl_OOHoyRfvpYF3X-1a8ULtOmbWJ1qO9a4bc0wGBOZwoWA3Xc831gQM8xIC6490o22X-f_7gWdUcZr2oroGux-64lo_ourWFJflaatwjvIA6M/w640-h450/old+port+royal.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<span style="font-family: Lato;">Old Port Royal</span><br />
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</table><p style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="firstcharacter">A</span>
<span style="font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; text-align: justify;">mong Henry Morgan’s relatives</span>
of past generations who had distinguished themselves were Sir Thomas Morgan,
General Sir Charles Morgan and Sir Matthew Morgan. All were knights who
had held commands in the Low Countries during the Eighty Years’ War
(1568–1648), which is also known as the Dutch War of
Independence. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Sir Thomas Morgan, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, was the first to command
Thomas Morgan’s Company of Foot, later to become the famous English Army
regiment known as The Buffs. Sir Thomas was the governor of the Dutch city of
Bergen-op-Zoom in 1594. His nephew, General Sir Charles Morgan, who succeeded
him, was a greatly admired commander during the Eighty Years’ War and became a
member of the privy council of King Charles I. A brother of Sir Charles, Sir
Matthew Morgan, served at the 1591 siege of Rouen and was wounded there.
</p>
<p></p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisQl6GY9bbIJdMrLkr0bD9YIvdvstdTazeD4tSFRn8D-FH07kxpa9iSWiTGLl3PwUU6giuYhrSUf5SxI3oh2UJFubxIiLCVcgq-MRh8tw18F4a2-nB1scFXPftwCI8y-qQm7KlKmP8ExE/s2048/Major-General_Sir_Thomas_Morgan_1604-1679.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 0em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1274" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisQl6GY9bbIJdMrLkr0bD9YIvdvstdTazeD4tSFRn8D-FH07kxpa9iSWiTGLl3PwUU6giuYhrSUf5SxI3oh2UJFubxIiLCVcgq-MRh8tw18F4a2-nB1scFXPftwCI8y-qQm7KlKmP8ExE/w199-h320/Major-General_Sir_Thomas_Morgan_1604-1679.png" width="199" /></a>
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<td style="font-family: Lato; font-size: xx-small; padding: 0px; text-align: center;">
Major-General Sir Thomas Morgan<br />Engraving at the British Museum
</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<p></p>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
As far as I can tell, Henry Morgan’s father, Robert Morgan, was not a soldier,
but he had two brothers who were. Henry’s uncles were Colonel Sir Edward
Morgan (circa 1610–1665) and Major-General Sir Thomas Morgan
(1604–1679). Both were knights who have been described as soldiers of
fortune. They served with distinction in wars in Germany and Holland and
nearer to home in the English Civil War—Edward with the Royalists and Thomas
with Oliver Cromwell’s Parliamentarians.
</div>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Edward Morgan fought in the Thirty Years’ War as a mercenary—an honourable
profession in those times. He served in the Low Countries and in Westphalia,
where he met and married Anna Petronilla, the sister of Johan Ernst, Freiherr
von Poellnitz, governor of Lippstadt.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
During the English Civil War, Edward returned to Wales and joined the
Royalists. He received a commission in 1649 as captain-general in South Wales
serving under the Earl of Carbery. Following the final defeat of the Royalists
and the execution of King Charles I, Edward went into exile for several years,
during which time he and Anna lived as guests of his brother-in-law on the
family’s estates at Aschbach near Bamberg. After the restoration of Charles
II, Edward returned to England, where he sought and received recognition for
past services to the Crown. And, as part of his reward, he was appointed
deputy-governor of Jamaica in 1664. We’ll hear more about Sir Edward later in
our story.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Henry Morgan’s other uncle, Sir Thomas Morgan, was known as The Warrior. He
had also seen service in the wars of the Low Countries. Thomas served with Sir
Horace Vere’s Protestant volunteer expedition and with the army of Prince
Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar in the Thirty Years War. Sir Thomas married De La
Riviere Cholmondeley, the daughter and heiress of Richard Cholmondeley of
Brame Hall in Spowford, Yorkshire, and they had nine sons, including John, the
eldest, and one daughter. (see <i>The English Baronetage – Baronets Created by King Charles II</i>
– Vol. 3, Pt. 1 (1741), pg. 224.)
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
In 1642 or 1643, Sir Thomas sided with Oliver Cromwell’s Parliamentarians and
fought under Thomas Fairfax in the English Civil War. In 1645, he was
appointed governor of Gloucester. From 1651 to 1657, he served under General
George Monck (1608–1670), the future 1st Duke of Albemarle, during his
subjugation of Scotland. Sir Thomas rose to the rank of major-general and
Monck’s second in command in Scotland.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
In 1657, Cromwell appointed Sir Thomas second in command of an expedition to
assist the French against the Dutch in Flanders. There Sir Thomas is said to
have acted as the de facto commander in chief. He distinguished himself in the
battle of the Dunes near Dunkirk, and for that, he was lavishly praised by
Richard Cromwell who knighted him on 25 November 1658.
</p>
<blockquote style="text-align: justify;">
Note: Richard Cromwell was the son of Oliver Cromwell. After his father died
on 3 September 1658, Richard succeeded him as Lord Protector.
</blockquote>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Sir Thomas rejoined Monck in Scotland and supported the latter in the pivotal
role he played in the restoration of Charles II to the English throne in 1660,
for which King Charles rewarded Sir Thomas with a baronetcy and retained him
in the Royal army. In December 1665, King Charles named Thomas governor of the
island of Jersey, which was under threat of invasion by France. Thomas died on
13 April 1679.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><br /></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
THOUGH WE KNOWN LITTLE for certain about Henry Morgan’s youth, we can surmise
with some confidence that he would have known and been influenced by his
uncles and their military careers. Henry was about seven years old when the
English Civil War began in 1642, so his childhood would have coincided with
several years of turbulent times. And who knows what amount of stress his
family had to endure because of his uncles’ decisions to fight on opposite
sides of the conflict. We do know that—perhaps because of the war—he did not
receive much in the way of formal education, for while he was acting as
governor of Jamaica, Morgan himself gave us a glimpse into his past when he
wrote:
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"></p>
<blockquote>
The office of Judge Admiral was not given to me for my understanding of the
business better than others, nor for the profitableness thereof, for I left
the schools too young to be a great proficient in that or other laws, and have
been more used to the pike than the book.
</blockquote>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The English Civil Wars ended in 1651 so Henry Morgan, who would have been
about 16 at the time, was unlikely to have participated in a direct way. It is
not totally out of the question that he did, however. His uncle, Sir Thomas,
is said to have enlisted in Sir Horace Vere’s expeditionary force at the age
of 16. Sir Henry Percy, son of the 1st Earl of Northumberland, led his first
siege at Berwick in 1378 at the age of 14. Christopher Monck, who would become
a great friend of Henry Morgan, entered politics at the age of 13, having been
elected Member of Parliament for Devon in 1667. So Henry might very well have
enlisted at an early age.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Whether or not he had previous military experience, the military tradition of
his family does seem to have influenced young Henry, for it was an army rather
than navy career he chose when he joined General Venables’ expeditionary
force. Had Henry preferred the navy, I think we can assume his
Major-General uncle—who was a favourite of the Duke of Albemarle, who was
himself a favourite of Cromwell—could easily have obtained a berth for him on
one of Admiral Penn’s ships in the naval contingent of the same expedition.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
I find it odd that Henry Morgan has been so closely associated with maritime
adventure, for he became far more a soldier than ever he was a sailor. As has
been noted by others, there do not exist descriptions of him being involved in
blue-water actions. The Battle of the Bar of Maracaibo for which he is so
famous was forced on him and is alone as a naval action in which broadsides
and boarding were involved. Besides, as noted by Adolphe Roberts, had
engagements at sea “meant anything to his vanity, he would have boasted about”
them “and scribes like Esquemeling would have made some reference to them.” As
we will see later, Morgan’s theatre of action was land, and it was on land
that he would distinguish himself, using ships for transportation and as
artillery platforms in support of assaults he led against the Spanish.
</p>
<div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>
cycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6882151688793825918.post-52120255171432544542020-11-23T07:00:00.005-05:002020-12-11T11:17:28.057-05:00Chapter 1 – The Early Years<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQX2JioSKSudDKQkiZUh7lGwoXKf4YYKQ3rx-Xh7H1Gs3Ypqp85WLDe1EyZbD0OJ3jsVKcqqHbYLBuxKywA3Pzb8Z8vEsuHi2wp1CB2SRIJYBtlWSW0cl5ATK-h6Xit7Q9fIYqPxHG_p8/s2048/Sir+Henry+Morgan+portrait+copy+6-1-2017.jpg" style="color: #2196f3; font-family: Cardo; font-size: 18px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-decoration-line: none;"><img alt="Henry Morgan as a young man, © Data Wales 2001" border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1674" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQX2JioSKSudDKQkiZUh7lGwoXKf4YYKQ3rx-Xh7H1Gs3Ypqp85WLDe1EyZbD0OJ3jsVKcqqHbYLBuxKywA3Pzb8Z8vEsuHi2wp1CB2SRIJYBtlWSW0cl5ATK-h6Xit7Q9fIYqPxHG_p8/w522-h640/Sir+Henry+Morgan+portrait+copy+6-1-2017.jpg" style="border-style: none; height: inherit; max-width: 100%;" width="522" /></a>
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<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: small; text-align: center;">Sir Henry Morgan (1635 – 1688)</span>
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<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: x-small;"><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: center;">Henry Morgan as a young man, © Data Wales 2001</span>
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<p style="text-align: justify;">
<span class="firstcharacter">H</span><span style="font-variant: small-caps; font-weight: 400;">enry Morgan’s 53-year life</span> had three distinct periods: the first thirty
years, of which we know little; a central period, 1665 to about 1680, which is
well documented and during which Morgan won fame and fortune; and his last
eight years of steady decline and failing health, when he became increasingly
embroiled in political controversy and which culminated in his death in 1688. Because few details of Henry’s youth survive, I have chosen to
write about events he was a part of and about the lives of some of those with
whom he had family, friendship or service connections. </p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Our saga begins with Henry John Morgan’s birth sometime in 1635. Most historians calculate his birth year by working back from an affidavit made by him in Jamaica in 1671, which gives his age as thirty-six. So far as I have determined, no documentary evidence exists to confirm this, however.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Most modern accounts place Henry’s birth at Llanrumney (Welsh Llanrhymni),
though some say it may have been at Penkarne. Both places are in
Monmouthshire, near Cardiff, and were associated with the Morgan family for generations. Henry gave us a hint when he named his favourite estate in
Jamaica, Llanrumney. It was located on the north coast near Port Maria in the parish of St. Mary. However, to leave just a shadow of a doubt, he named another of his estates, Penkarne.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
During Morgan’s lifetime, different stories circulated about his origins. Most had him serving as an indentured servant on the island of Barbados. A
frequently told version had him kidnapped in Bristol and sold to a planter in the West Indies.
Another version claimed he bound himself voluntarily as an indentured servant for a term of four years. Apparently, documentation exists that shows a “Henry
Morgan” left Bristol for Barbados as an indentured servant in 1655. That name,
though, is a common one in Wales, and this is almost certainly a coincidence. Besides, what reason would Henry have for indenturing himself to a master in the West Indies? He had two well-connected uncles who would undoubtedly have been able to find a place for him in England’s military for, as time would show, Henry never shrank from a good fight.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
John Esquemeling claimed to have sailed with Morgan during his Caribbean campaigns and made records of his adventures with the buccaneers. Esquemeling wrote in <i>De Americaenshe Zee-Roovers</i> (1678) that Morgan was the Welsh
son of “a rich yeoman or farmer.” He also wrote that Morgan went to
Barbados as a “bondservant.” However, when Esquemeling’s book was published in
England in 1683/84 by William Crooke and separately by Thomas Malthus as,
<i>The History of the Bucaniers,</i> Morgan flatly denied this account and the accuracy of other passages. Consequently, he sued both publishers for libel,
forcing a retraction.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
The publishers acknowledged, among other things, that Morgan was “a Gentleman’s
son of good quality in the county of Monmouth, and was never a Servant unto
anybody in his life, unless unto his Majesty, the late King of England.” As additional settlement for the libel, each publisher paid Morgan £200 in damages—a tidy sum in those days. This case established the legal precedent of awarding money for a successful libel action.
</p>
<p></p>
<blockquote style="text-align: justify;">
Note: John Esquemeling, aka, Alexandre Olivier Exquemelin. “It is now almost
certainly established that the real author was Hendrik Barentzoon Smeeks
(1643–1721), a surgeon-apothecary, living at Zwolle in the province of
Overysel, who was an industrious and talented writer of pseudo-historical
works. He was born in that small town in 1643 or 1645 and educated in an
asylum for orphans.” [source: Brig.-Gen E.A. Cruikshank,
<i>The Life of Sir Henry Morgan</i> (MacMillan, 1935)]
</blockquote>
<p></p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
In addition to Henry Morgan’s objections, the editor Philip Ayres’s preface to
a contemporary account,
<i>The Voyages and Adventures of Capt. Barth. Sharp</i> (1684) also refutes,
and passionately so, much of what Esquemeling writes about Henry Morgan’s family background and his alleged acts of cruelty—especially during his attack on Panama. Ayres wrote that “it is sufficiently known that he [Morgan] was
descended from an honourable Family in Monmouthshire, and went at first out of
England with the Army commanded by General Venables for Hispaniola and
Jamaica.”
</p>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-U7VBsHsD6r3Z1CLW66Q1VMB1ZQt_AbBYe-YVqmIE6GLEgiJvcaHlMzZsxnmbgz_NP7h-N8q9s87nnl2kGs2FxH8JGUtrkpENnurNfKJvKVqoDQlC9RbC5W8z_arWJ_azbh5eFMwQ8wQ/s374/Llanrumney+Hall+in+Wales+claims+to+be+Henry+Morgan%25E2%2580%2599s+birthplace.jpg" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="280" data-original-width="374" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-U7VBsHsD6r3Z1CLW66Q1VMB1ZQt_AbBYe-YVqmIE6GLEgiJvcaHlMzZsxnmbgz_NP7h-N8q9s87nnl2kGs2FxH8JGUtrkpENnurNfKJvKVqoDQlC9RbC5W8z_arWJ_azbh5eFMwQ8wQ/w200-h150/Llanrumney+Hall+in+Wales+claims+to+be+Henry+Morgan%25E2%2580%2599s+birthplace.jpg" width="200" /></a>
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<span style="font-family: Lato; font-size: xx-small;">Llanrumney Hall in Wales<br />Claims to be Henry Morgan’s
birthplace</span>
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<p style="text-align: justify;">
The editor also stated, “All those cruelties [alleged by Esquemeling],
contrary to the nature and temper of an Englishman, I have heard absolutely
contradicted by persons of infallible credit.”
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
As anyone who has read <i>The History of the Bucaniers</i> can attest, John
Esquemeling disliked Henry Morgan and may have spoken more harshly of him because of spite. Esquemeling held a grudge because he believed Morgan had cheated him when sharing out the purchase from the attack on Panama. He may
also have thought that portraying Morgan as a black-hearted English villain of
humble origin would help sales of his book in countries like Holland and
Spain, which were traditional enemies of England and often at war with that country.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
Regardless of Esquemeling’s motives, his uncomplimentary characterization has
survived to become grist to the Hollywood movie and pulp fiction mills.
Notwithstanding the many inaccuracies of his accounts and the lurid tales they
inspired, we are indebted to that Dutchman for much of the surviving details
and rich descriptions of the buccaneers’ exploits.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
I have concluded from my research that, far from being of humble birth, as the
eldest son of Robert Morgan, Henry Morgan belonged to a lesser line of one of
the “great families” of Wales. He was a member of a cadet branch of the
Morgan family of Tredegar. A family whose members had already distinguished
themselves. Henry Morgan himself claimed a close relationship with the Morgans
of Tredegar in his will. He made a bequest to his sister, Catherine Lloyd, “to
be payed [sic] into the hands of my ever-honest Cozen, Mr. Thomas Morgan of
Tredegar.” Besides, Henry is known to have married his first cousin, who was
one of the daughters of Sir Edward Morgan of whose heritage there is little
doubt.
</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Lato;">To be continued … </span>👉
</p>
cycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02490311366799495559noreply@blogger.com0