The buccaneers who, after plundering Porto Bello, crossed the Isthmus of Darien to the South Seas, had a remarkable history. For eighteen months they cruised up and down the Pacific coast of South America, burning and plundering Spanish towns, giving and taking hard blows with equal courage, keeping the Spanish provinces of Equador, Peru and Chili in a fever of apprehension, finally sailing the difficult passage round Cape Horn, and returning to the Windward Islands in January of 1682. Touching at the island of Barbadoes, they learned that the English frigate "Richmond" was lying in the road, and fearing seizure they sailed on to Antigua. There the governor, Colonel Codrington, refused to give them leave to enter the harbour. So the party, impatient of their dangerous situation, determined to separate, some landing on Antigua, and Sharp and sixteen others going to Nevis where they obtained passage to England. On their arrival in England several, including Sharp, were arrested at the instance of the Spanish ambassador, and tried for committing piracy in the South Seas; but from the defectiveness of the evidence produced they escaped conviction.419Four of the party came to Jamaica, where they were apprehended, tried and condemned. One of the four, who had given himself up voluntarily, turned State's evidence; two were represented by the judges as fit objects of the king's mercy; and the other, "a bloody and notorious villein," was recommended to be executed as an example to the rest.420
The recrudescence of piratical activity between the years 1679 and 1682 had, through its evil effects, been strongly felt in Jamaica; and public opinion was nowgradually changing from one of encouragement and welcome to the privateers and of secret or open opposition to the efforts of the governors who tried to suppress them, to one of distinct hostility to the old freebooters. The inhabitants were beginning to realize that in the encouragement of planting, and not of buccaneering, lay the permanent welfare of the island. Planting and buccaneering, side by side, were inconsistent and incompatible, and the colonists chose the better course of the two. In spite of the frequent trials and executions at Port Royal, the marauders seemed to be as numerous as ever, and even more troublesome. Private trade with the Spaniards was hindered; runaway servants, debtors and other men of unfortunate or desperate condition were still, by every new success of the buccaneers, drawn from the island to swell their ranks; and most of all, men who were now outlawed in Jamaica, driven to desperation turned pirate altogether, and began to wage war indiscriminately on the ships of all nationalities, including those of the English. Morgan repeatedly wrote home urging the dispatch of small frigates of light draught to coast round the island and surprise the freebooters, and he begged for orders for himself to go on board and command them, for "then I shall not much question," he concludes, "to reduce them or in some time to leave them shipless."421"The governor," wrote the Council of Jamaica to the Lords of Trade and Plantations in May 1680, "can do little from want of ships to reduce the privateers, and of plain laws to punish them"; and they urged the ratification of the Act passed by the assembly two years before, making it felony for any British subject in the West Indies to serve under a foreign prince without leave from the governor.422This Act, and another for the more effectual punishment of pirates, had been under consideration in thePrivy Council in February 1678, and both were returned to Jamaica with certain slight amendments. They were again passed by the assembly as one Act in 1681, and were finally incorporated into the Jamaica Act of 1683 "for the restraining and punishing of privateers and pirates."423
Footnote 332:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74, No. 367.
C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74, No. 367.
Footnote 333:(return)Ibid., Nos. 604, 608, 729; Beeston's Journal.
Ibid., Nos. 604, 608, 729; Beeston's Journal.
Footnote 334:(return)Ibid., Nos. 552, 602.
Ibid., Nos. 552, 602.
Footnote 335:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74, Nos. 608, 633.
C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74, Nos. 608, 633.
Footnote 336:(return)Ibid., No. 604.
Ibid., No. 604.
Footnote 337:(return)Ibid., Nos. 638, 640, 663, 697. This may be the Diego Grillo to whom Duro (op. cit., V. p. 180) refers—a native of Havana commanding a vessel of fifteen guns. He defeated successively in the Bahama Channel three armed ships sent out to take him, and in all of them he massacred without exception the Spaniards of European birth. He was captured in 1673 and suffered the fate he had meted out to his victims.
Ibid., Nos. 638, 640, 663, 697. This may be the Diego Grillo to whom Duro (op. cit., V. p. 180) refers—a native of Havana commanding a vessel of fifteen guns. He defeated successively in the Bahama Channel three armed ships sent out to take him, and in all of them he massacred without exception the Spaniards of European birth. He was captured in 1673 and suffered the fate he had meted out to his victims.
Footnote 338:(return)Ibid., Nos. 697, 709, 742, 883, 944.
Ibid., Nos. 697, 709, 742, 883, 944.
Footnote 339:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74, Nos. 733, 742, 796.
C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74, Nos. 733, 742, 796.
Footnote 340:(return)Ibid., No. 729.
Ibid., No. 729.
Footnote 341:(return)Ibid., Nos. 742, 777, 785, 789, 794, 796.
Ibid., Nos. 742, 777, 785, 789, 794, 796.
Footnote 342:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74, Nos. 742, 945, 1042.
C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74, Nos. 742, 945, 1042.
Footnote 343:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74, Nos. 733, 742, 779, 796, 820, 1022.
C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74, Nos. 733, 742, 779, 796, 820, 1022.
Footnote 344:(return)Ibid., Nos. 650, 663, 697. Seventeen months later, after the outbreak of the Dutch war, the Jamaicans had a similar scare over an expected invasion of the Dutch and Spaniards, but this, too, was dissolved by time into thin air. (C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74, Nos. 887, 1047, 1055, 1062). In this connection,cf.Egerton MSS., 2375, f. 491:—Letter written by the Governor of Cumana to the Duke of Veragua, 1673, seeking his influence with the Council of the Indies to have the Governor of Margarita send against Jamaica 1500 or 2000 Indians, "guay quies," as they are valient bowmen, seamen and divers.
Ibid., Nos. 650, 663, 697. Seventeen months later, after the outbreak of the Dutch war, the Jamaicans had a similar scare over an expected invasion of the Dutch and Spaniards, but this, too, was dissolved by time into thin air. (C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74, Nos. 887, 1047, 1055, 1062). In this connection,cf.Egerton MSS., 2375, f. 491:—Letter written by the Governor of Cumana to the Duke of Veragua, 1673, seeking his influence with the Council of the Indies to have the Governor of Margarita send against Jamaica 1500 or 2000 Indians, "guay quies," as they are valient bowmen, seamen and divers.
Footnote 345:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74, Nos. 697, 789, 794, 900, 911; Beeston's Journal.
C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74, Nos. 697, 789, 794, 900, 911; Beeston's Journal.
Footnote 346:(return)Ibid., Nos. 697, 789.
Ibid., Nos. 697, 789.
Footnote 347:(return)Ibid., Nos. 1212, 1251-5.
Ibid., Nos. 1212, 1251-5.
Footnote 348:(return)Ibid., No. 1259,cf.also 1374, 1385, 1394.
Ibid., No. 1259,cf.also 1374, 1385, 1394.
Footnote 349:(return)Ibid., No. 1379.
Ibid., No. 1379.
Footnote 350:(return)Ibid., 1675-76, Nos. 458, 467, 484, 521, 525, 566.
Ibid., 1675-76, Nos. 458, 467, 484, 521, 525, 566.
Footnote 351:(return)S.P. Spain, vol. 63, f. 56.
S.P. Spain, vol. 63, f. 56.
Footnote 352:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74, No. 1389;ibid.1675-76, No. 564; Add. MSS., 36,330, No. 28.
C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74, No. 1389;ibid.1675-76, No. 564; Add. MSS., 36,330, No. 28.
Footnote 353:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74, Nos. 888, 940.
C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74, Nos. 888, 940.
Footnote 354:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74, Nos. 1178, 1180, 1226;ibid., 1675-76, No. 579.
C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74, Nos. 1178, 1180, 1226;ibid., 1675-76, No. 579.
Footnote 355:(return)Ibid., 1669-74, No. 1423;ibid., 1675-76, No. 707.
Ibid., 1669-74, No. 1423;ibid., 1675-76, No. 707.
Footnote 356:(return)Ibid., 1675-76, No. 520.
Ibid., 1675-76, No. 520.
Footnote 357:(return)Ibid.
Ibid.
Footnote 358:(return)Ibid., 1669-74, Nos. 1335, 1351, 1424; S.P. Spain, vols. 60, 62, 63.
Ibid., 1669-74, Nos. 1335, 1351, 1424; S.P. Spain, vols. 60, 62, 63.
Footnote 359:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1675-76, No. 643.
C.S.P. Colon., 1675-76, No. 643.
Footnote 360:(return)Ibid., Nos. 639-643.
Ibid., Nos. 639-643.
Footnote 361:(return)Ibid., Nos. 633-635, 729.
Ibid., Nos. 633-635, 729.
Footnote 362:(return)Ibid., Nos. 693, 719, 720.
Ibid., Nos. 693, 719, 720.
Footnote 363:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74, Nos. 310, 704, iv. It was a very profitable business for the wood then sold at £25 or £30 a ton. For a description of the life of the logwood-cutterscf.Dampier, Voyages,ed.1906, ii. pp. 155-56. 178-79, 181ff.
C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74, Nos. 310, 704, iv. It was a very profitable business for the wood then sold at £25 or £30 a ton. For a description of the life of the logwood-cutterscf.Dampier, Voyages,ed.1906, ii. pp. 155-56. 178-79, 181ff.
Footnote 364:(return)Ibid., No. 580.
Ibid., No. 580.
Footnote 365:(return)Ibid., Nos. 587, 638.
Ibid., Nos. 587, 638.
Footnote 366:(return)Ibid., Nos. 777, 786.
Ibid., Nos. 777, 786.
Footnote 367:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74. No. 825.
C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74. No. 825.
Footnote 368:(return)Ibid., Nos. 819, 943.
Ibid., Nos. 819, 943.
Footnote 369:(return)Ibid., Nos. 954, 1389. Fernandez Duro (t.v., p. 181) mentions a Spanish ordinance of 22nd February 1674, which authorized Spanish corsairs to go out in the pursuit and punishment of pirates. Periaguas, or large flat-bottomed canoes, were to be constructed for use in shoal waters. They were to be 90 feet long and from 16 to 18 feet wide, with a draught of only 4 or 5 feet, and were to be provided with a long gun in the bow and four smaller pieces in the stern. They were to be propelled by both oars and sails, and were to carry 120 men.
Ibid., Nos. 954, 1389. Fernandez Duro (t.v., p. 181) mentions a Spanish ordinance of 22nd February 1674, which authorized Spanish corsairs to go out in the pursuit and punishment of pirates. Periaguas, or large flat-bottomed canoes, were to be constructed for use in shoal waters. They were to be 90 feet long and from 16 to 18 feet wide, with a draught of only 4 or 5 feet, and were to be provided with a long gun in the bow and four smaller pieces in the stern. They were to be propelled by both oars and sails, and were to carry 120 men.
Footnote 370:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74, Nos. 950, 1094; Beeston's Journal, Aug. 1679.
C.S.P. Colon., 1669-74, Nos. 950, 1094; Beeston's Journal, Aug. 1679.
Footnote 371:(return)Ibid., 1675-76, No. 566.
Ibid., 1675-76, No. 566.
Footnote 372:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1675-76, No. 673.
C.S.P. Colon., 1675-76, No. 673.
Footnote 373:(return)Ibid., No. 526. In significant contrast to Lord Vaughan's praise of Lynch, Sir Henry Morgan, who could have little love for the man who had shipped him and Modyford as prisoners to England, filled the ears of Secretary Williamson with veiled accusations against Lynch of having tampered with the revenues and neglected the defences of the island. (Ibid., No. 521.)
Ibid., No. 526. In significant contrast to Lord Vaughan's praise of Lynch, Sir Henry Morgan, who could have little love for the man who had shipped him and Modyford as prisoners to England, filled the ears of Secretary Williamson with veiled accusations against Lynch of having tampered with the revenues and neglected the defences of the island. (Ibid., No. 521.)
Footnote 374:(return)Ibid., No. 912. In testimony of Lord Vaughan's straightforward policy toward buccaneering,cf.Beeston's Journal, June 1676.
Ibid., No. 912. In testimony of Lord Vaughan's straightforward policy toward buccaneering,cf.Beeston's Journal, June 1676.
Footnote 375:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1675-76, No. 988.
C.S.P. Colon., 1675-76, No. 988.
Footnote 376:(return)Leeds MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm., XI. pt. 7, p. 13)—Depositions in which Sir Henry Morgan is represented as endeavouring to hush up the matter, saying "the privateers were poore, honest fellows," to which the plundered captain replied "that he had not found them soe."
Leeds MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm., XI. pt. 7, p. 13)—Depositions in which Sir Henry Morgan is represented as endeavouring to hush up the matter, saying "the privateers were poore, honest fellows," to which the plundered captain replied "that he had not found them soe."
Footnote 377:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1675-76; Nos. 860, 913.
C.S.P. Colon., 1675-76; Nos. 860, 913.
Footnote 378:(return)Statutes at Large, vol. ii. (Lond. 1786), pp. 210, 247.
Statutes at Large, vol. ii. (Lond. 1786), pp. 210, 247.
Footnote 379:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1675-76; Nos. 993-995, 1001.
C.S.P. Colon., 1675-76; Nos. 993-995, 1001.
Footnote 380:(return)Ibid., No. 1093.
Ibid., No. 1093.
Footnote 381:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 500, 508.
C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 500, 508.
Footnote 382:(return)Ibid., 1675-76, No. 916.
Ibid., 1675-76, No. 916.
Footnote 383:(return)Ibid., No. 1126.
Ibid., No. 1126.
Footnote 384:(return)Ibid., Nos. 998, 1006.
Ibid., Nos. 998, 1006.
Footnote 385:(return)Ibid., No. 1129.
Ibid., No. 1129.
Footnote 386:(return)Ibid., No. 1129 (vii., viii.);cf.also No. 657.
Ibid., No. 1129 (vii., viii.);cf.also No. 657.
Footnote 387:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1675-76, No. 1129 (xiv., xvii.).
C.S.P. Colon., 1675-76, No. 1129 (xiv., xvii.).
Footnote 388:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1675-76, Nos. 656, 741.
C.S.P. Colon., 1675-76, Nos. 656, 741.
Footnote 389:(return)Ibid., 1677-80, No. 313;cf.also Nos. 478, 486.
Ibid., 1677-80, No. 313;cf.also Nos. 478, 486.
Footnote 390:(return)Ibid., No. 368. A similar proclamation was issued in May 1681;cf.Ibid., 1681-85, No. 102.
Ibid., No. 368. A similar proclamation was issued in May 1681;cf.Ibid., 1681-85, No. 102.
Footnote 391:(return)Ibid., No. 375.
Ibid., No. 375.
Footnote 392:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 243, 365, 383; Egerton MSS., 2395, f. 591.
C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 243, 365, 383; Egerton MSS., 2395, f. 591.
Footnote 393:(return)In a memoir to Mme. de Montespan, dated 8th July 1677, the population of French San Domingo is given as between four and five thousand, white and black. The colony embraced a strip of coast 80 leagues in length and 9 or 10 miles wide, and it produced 2,000,000 lbs. of tobacco annually. (Bibl. Nat., Nouv. Acq., 9325, f. 258).
In a memoir to Mme. de Montespan, dated 8th July 1677, the population of French San Domingo is given as between four and five thousand, white and black. The colony embraced a strip of coast 80 leagues in length and 9 or 10 miles wide, and it produced 2,000,000 lbs. of tobacco annually. (Bibl. Nat., Nouv. Acq., 9325, f. 258).
Footnote 394:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 347, 375, 383, 1497; S.P. Spain, vol. 65, f. 102.
C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 347, 375, 383, 1497; S.P. Spain, vol. 65, f. 102.
Footnote 395:(return)A small island east of Curaçao, in latitude 12° north, longitude 67° 41' west.
A small island east of Curaçao, in latitude 12° north, longitude 67° 41' west.
Footnote 396:(return)Saint Yves, G. Les campagnes de Jean d'Estrées dans la mer des Antilles, 1676-78;cf.also C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 604, 642, 665, 687-90, 718, 741 (xiv., xv.), 1646-47.According to one story, the Dutch governor of Curaçao sent out three privateers with orders to attend the French fleet, but to run no risk of capture. The French, discovering them, gave chase, but being unacquainted with those waters were decoyed among the reefs.
Saint Yves, G. Les campagnes de Jean d'Estrées dans la mer des Antilles, 1676-78;cf.also C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 604, 642, 665, 687-90, 718, 741 (xiv., xv.), 1646-47.
According to one story, the Dutch governor of Curaçao sent out three privateers with orders to attend the French fleet, but to run no risk of capture. The French, discovering them, gave chase, but being unacquainted with those waters were decoyed among the reefs.
Footnote 397:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 1646-47.
C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 1646-47.
Footnote 398:(return)Dampier says of this occasion: "The privateers ... told me that if they had gone to Jamaica with £30 a man in their Pockets, they could not have enjoyed themselves more. For they kept in a Gang by themselves, and watched when the Ships broke, to get the Goods that came from them; and though much was staved against the Rocks, yet abundance of Wine and Brandy floated over the Riff, where the Privateers waited to take it up. They lived here about three Weeks, waiting an Opportunity to transport themselves back again to Hispaniola; in all which Time they were never without two or three Hogsheads of Wine and Brandy in their Tents, and Barrels of Beef and Pork."—Dampier,ed.1906, i. p. 81.
Dampier says of this occasion: "The privateers ... told me that if they had gone to Jamaica with £30 a man in their Pockets, they could not have enjoyed themselves more. For they kept in a Gang by themselves, and watched when the Ships broke, to get the Goods that came from them; and though much was staved against the Rocks, yet abundance of Wine and Brandy floated over the Riff, where the Privateers waited to take it up. They lived here about three Weeks, waiting an Opportunity to transport themselves back again to Hispaniola; in all which Time they were never without two or three Hogsheads of Wine and Brandy in their Tents, and Barrels of Beef and Pork."—Dampier,ed.1906, i. p. 81.
Footnote 399:(return)Charlevoix,op. cit., liv. viii. p. 120.
Charlevoix,op. cit., liv. viii. p. 120.
Footnote 400:(return)Bibl. Nat., Nouv. Acq., 9325, f. 260; Charlevoix,op. cit., liv. viii. p. 122.
Bibl. Nat., Nouv. Acq., 9325, f. 260; Charlevoix,op. cit., liv. viii. p. 122.
Footnote 401:(return)Ibid., p. 119; C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 815, 869; Beeston's Journal, 18th October 1678.
Ibid., p. 119; C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 815, 869; Beeston's Journal, 18th October 1678.
Footnote 402:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 569, 575, 618.
C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 569, 575, 618.
Footnote 403:(return)Ibid., No. 770.
Ibid., No. 770.
Footnote 404:(return)Ibid., Nos. 622, 646.
Ibid., Nos. 622, 646.
Footnote 405:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 770, 815, 1516: Beeston's Journal, 18th October 1678.
C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 770, 815, 1516: Beeston's Journal, 18th October 1678.
Footnote 406:(return)The Spanish ambassador, Don Pedro Ronquillo, in his complaint to Charles II. in September 1680, placed the number at 1000. (C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, No. 1498.)
The Spanish ambassador, Don Pedro Ronquillo, in his complaint to Charles II. in September 1680, placed the number at 1000. (C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, No. 1498.)
Footnote 407:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 1150, 1188, 1199, 1516; Beeston's Journal, 29th September and 6th October 1678. Lord Carlisle, in answer to the complaints of the Spanish ambassador, pretended ignorance of the source of the indigo thus admitted through the customs, and maintained that it was brought into Port Royal "in lawful ships by lawful men."
C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 1150, 1188, 1199, 1516; Beeston's Journal, 29th September and 6th October 1678. Lord Carlisle, in answer to the complaints of the Spanish ambassador, pretended ignorance of the source of the indigo thus admitted through the customs, and maintained that it was brought into Port Royal "in lawful ships by lawful men."
Footnote 408:(return)Sloane MSS., 2752, f. 29; S.P. Spain, vol. 65, f. 121. According to the latter account, which seems to be derived from a Spanish source, the loss suffered by the city amounted to about 100,000 pieces of eight, over half of which was plunder carried away by the freebooters. Thirteen of the inhabitants were killed and four wounded, and of the buccaneers thirty were killed.Dampier writes concerning this first irruption of the buccaneers into the Pacific:—"Before my first going over into the South Seas with Captain Sharp ... I being then on Board Captain Coxon, in company with 3 or 4 more Privateers, about 4 leagues to the East of Portobel, we took the Pacquets bound thither from Cartagena. We open'd a great quantity of the Merchants Letters, and found ... the Merchants of several parts of Old Spain thereby informing their Correspondents of Panama and elsewhere of a certain Prophecy that went about Spain that year, the Tenour of which was, That there would be English Privateers that Year in the West Indies, who would ... open a Door into the South Seas; which they supposed was fastest shut: and the Letters were accordingly full of Cautions to their Friends to be very watchful and careful of their Coasts."This Door they spake of we all concluded must be the Passage over Land through the Country of the Indians of Darien, who were a little before this become our Friends, and had lately fallen out with the Spaniards, ... and upon calling to mind the frequent Invitations we had from these Indians a little before this time, to pass through their Country, and fall upon the Spaniards in the South Seas, we from henceforward began to entertain such thoughts in earnest, and soon came to a Resolution to make those Attempts which we afterwards did, ... so that the taking these Letters gave the first life to those bold undertakings: and we took the advantage of the fears the Spaniards were in from that Prophecy ... for we sealed up most of the Letters again, and sent them ashore to Portobel."—Ed.1906, I. pp. 200-201.
Sloane MSS., 2752, f. 29; S.P. Spain, vol. 65, f. 121. According to the latter account, which seems to be derived from a Spanish source, the loss suffered by the city amounted to about 100,000 pieces of eight, over half of which was plunder carried away by the freebooters. Thirteen of the inhabitants were killed and four wounded, and of the buccaneers thirty were killed.
Dampier writes concerning this first irruption of the buccaneers into the Pacific:—"Before my first going over into the South Seas with Captain Sharp ... I being then on Board Captain Coxon, in company with 3 or 4 more Privateers, about 4 leagues to the East of Portobel, we took the Pacquets bound thither from Cartagena. We open'd a great quantity of the Merchants Letters, and found ... the Merchants of several parts of Old Spain thereby informing their Correspondents of Panama and elsewhere of a certain Prophecy that went about Spain that year, the Tenour of which was, That there would be English Privateers that Year in the West Indies, who would ... open a Door into the South Seas; which they supposed was fastest shut: and the Letters were accordingly full of Cautions to their Friends to be very watchful and careful of their Coasts.
"This Door they spake of we all concluded must be the Passage over Land through the Country of the Indians of Darien, who were a little before this become our Friends, and had lately fallen out with the Spaniards, ... and upon calling to mind the frequent Invitations we had from these Indians a little before this time, to pass through their Country, and fall upon the Spaniards in the South Seas, we from henceforward began to entertain such thoughts in earnest, and soon came to a Resolution to make those Attempts which we afterwards did, ... so that the taking these Letters gave the first life to those bold undertakings: and we took the advantage of the fears the Spaniards were in from that Prophecy ... for we sealed up most of the Letters again, and sent them ashore to Portobel."—Ed.1906, I. pp. 200-201.
Footnote 410:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, No. 1199.
C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, No. 1199.
Footnote 411:(return)Ibid., No. 1188.
Ibid., No. 1188.
Footnote 412:(return)Sloane MSS., 2572, f. 29.
Sloane MSS., 2572, f. 29.
Footnote 413:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 1344, 1370.
C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 1344, 1370.
Footnote 414:(return)Ibid., No. 1516.
Ibid., No. 1516.
Footnote 415:(return)Cf.Archives Coloniales—Correspondance générale de St Domingue, vol. i.; Martinique, vol. iv.
Cf.Archives Coloniales—Correspondance générale de St Domingue, vol. i.; Martinique, vol. iv.
Footnote 416:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 1420, 1425; Sloane MSS., 2724, f. 3.
C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 1420, 1425; Sloane MSS., 2724, f. 3.
Footnote 417:(return)Sloane MSS., 2724, f. 198.Coxon probably did not submit, for Dampier tells us that at the end of May 1681, Coxon was lying with seven or eight other privateers at the Samballas, islands on the coast of Darien, with a ship of ten guns and 100 men.—Ed.1906, i. p. 57.
Sloane MSS., 2724, f. 198.
Coxon probably did not submit, for Dampier tells us that at the end of May 1681, Coxon was lying with seven or eight other privateers at the Samballas, islands on the coast of Darien, with a ship of ten guns and 100 men.—Ed.1906, i. p. 57.
Footnote 418:(return)Ibid., f. 200; C.S.P. Colon., 1681-85, Nos. 16, 51, 144, 431. Everson was not shot and killed in the water, as Morgan's account implies, for he flourished for many years afterwards as one of the most notorious of the buccaneer captains.
Ibid., f. 200; C.S.P. Colon., 1681-85, Nos. 16, 51, 144, 431. Everson was not shot and killed in the water, as Morgan's account implies, for he flourished for many years afterwards as one of the most notorious of the buccaneer captains.
Footnote 419:(return)Ringrose's Journal.Cf.also S.P. Spain, vol. 67, f. 169; C.S.P. Colon., 1681-85, No. 872.
Ringrose's Journal.Cf.also S.P. Spain, vol. 67, f. 169; C.S.P. Colon., 1681-85, No. 872.
Footnote 420:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1681-85, Nos. 431, 632, 713; Hist. MSS. Commiss., VII., 405 b.
C.S.P. Colon., 1681-85, Nos. 431, 632, 713; Hist. MSS. Commiss., VII., 405 b.
Footnote 421:(return)C.S.P Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 1425, 1462.
C.S.P Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 1425, 1462.
Footnote 422:(return)Ibid., No. 1361.
Ibid., No. 1361.
Footnote 423:(return)C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 601, 606, 607, 611;ibid., 1681-85, No. 160; Add. MSS., 22, 676; Acts of Privy Council, Colonial Series I. No. 1203.
C.S.P. Colon., 1677-80, Nos. 601, 606, 607, 611;ibid., 1681-85, No. 160; Add. MSS., 22, 676; Acts of Privy Council, Colonial Series I. No. 1203.
On 25th May 1682, Sir Thomas Lynch returned to Jamaica as governor of the colony.424Of the four acting governors since 1671, Lynch stood apart as the one who had endeavoured with singleness and tenacity of purpose to clear away the evils of buccaneering. Lord Vaughan had displayed little sympathy for the corsairs, but he was hampered by an irascible temper, and according to some reports by an avarice which dimmed the lustre of his name. The Earl of Carlisle, if he did not directly encourage the freebooters, had been grossly negligent in the performance of his duty of suppressing them; while Morgan, although in the years 1680 and 1681 he showed himself very zealous in punishing his old associates, cannot escape the suspicion of having secretly aided them under the governorship of Lord Vaughan. The task of Sir Thomas Lynch in 1671 had been a very difficult one. Buccaneering was then at flood-tide; three wealthy Spanish cities on the mainland had in turn been plundered, and the stolen riches carried to Jamaica; the air was alive with the exploits of these irregular warriors, and the pockets of the merchants and tavern-keepers of Port Royal were filled with Spanish doubloons, with emeralds and pearls from New Granada and the coasts of Rio de la Hacha, and with gold and silver plate from the Spanish churches and cathedrals of Porto Bello and Panama. The old governor, Sir Thomas Modyford, had been popular inhis person, and his policy had been more popular still. Yet Lynch, by a combination of tact and firmness, and by an untiring activity with the small means at his disposal, had inaugurated a new and revolutionary policy in the island, which it was the duty of his successors merely to continue. In 1682 the problem before him, although difficult, was much simpler. Buccaneering was now rapidly being transformed into pure piracy. By laws and repeated proclamations, the freebooters had been offered an opportunity of returning to civilized pursuits, or of remaining ever thereafter outlawed. Many had come in, some to remain, others to take the first opportunity of escaping again. But many entirely refused to obey the summons, trusting to the protection of the French in Hispaniola, or so hardened to their cruel, remorseless mode of livelihood that they preferred the dangerous risks of outlawry. The temper of the inhabitants of the island, too, had changed. The planters saw more clearly the social and economic evils which the buccaneers had brought upon the island. The presence of these freebooters, they now began to realize, had discouraged planting, frightened away capital, reduced the number of labourers, and increased drunkenness, debauchery and every sort of moral disorder. The assembly and council were now at one with the governor as to the necessity of curing this running sore, and Lynch could act with the assurance which came of the knowledge that he was backed by the conscience of his people.
One of the earliest and most remarkable cases of buccaneer turning pirate was that of "La Trompeuse." In June 1682, before Governor Lynch's arrival in Jamaica, a French captain named Peter Paine (or Le Pain), commander of a merchant ship called "La Trompeuse" belonging to the French King, came to Port Royal from Cayenne in Guiana. He told Sir Henry Morgan and the council that, having heard of the inhuman treatment ofhis fellow Protestants in France, he had resolved to send back his ship and pay what was due under his contract; and he petitioned for leave to reside with the English and have English protection. The Council, without much inquiry as to the petitioner's antecedents, allowed him to take the oath of allegiance and settle at St. Jago, while his cargo was unloaded and entered customs-free. The ship was then hired by two Jamaican merchants and sent to Honduras to load logwood, with orders to sail eventually for Hamburg and be delivered to the French agent.425The action of the Council had been very hasty and ill-considered, and as it turned out, led to endless trouble. It soon transpired that Paine did not own the cargo, but had run away with it from Cayenne, and had disposed of both ship and goods in his own interest. The French ambassador in London made complaints to the English King, and letters were sent out to Sir Thomas Lynch and to Governor Stapleton of the Leeward Isles to arrest Paine and endeavour to have the vessel lade only for her right owners.426Meanwhile a French pirate named Jean Hamlin, with 120 desperadoes at his back, set out in a sloop in pursuit of "La Trompeuse," and coming up with her invited the master and mate aboard his own vessel, and then seized the ship. Carrying the prize to some creek or bay to careen her and fit her up as a man-of-war, he then started out on a mad piratical cruise, took sixteen or eighteen Jamaican vessels, barbarously ill-treated the crews, and demoralized the whole trade of the island.427Captain Johnson was dispatched by Lynch in a frigate in October 1682 to find and destroy the pirate; but after a fruitless search of two months round Porto Rico and Hispaniola, he returned toPort Royal. In December Lynch learned that "La Trompeuse" was careening in the neighbourhood of the Isle la Vache, and sent out another frigate, the "Guernsey," to seize her; but the wary pirate had in the meantime sailed away. On 15th February the "Guernsey" was again dispatched with positive orders not to stir from the coast of Hispaniola until the pirate was gone or destroyed; and Coxon, who seems to have been in good odour at Port Royal, was sent to offer to a privateer named "Yankey," men, victuals, pardon and naturalization, besides £200 in money for himself and Coxon, if he would go after "La Trompeuse."428The next news of Hamlin was from the Virgin Islands, where he was received and entertained by the Governor of St. Thomas, a small island belonging to the King of Denmark.429Making St. Thomas his headquarters, he robbed several English vessels that came into his way, and after first obtaining from the Danish governor a promise that he would find shelter at St. Thomas on his return, stood across for the Gulf of Guinea. In May 1683 Hamlin arrived on the west side of Africa disguised as an English man-of-war, and sailing up and down the coast of Sierra Leone captured or destroyed within several weeks seventeen ships, Dutch and English, robbing them of gold-dust and negroes.430The pirates then quarrelled over the division of their plunder and separated into two companies, most of the English following a Captain Morgan in one of the prizes, and the rest returning in "La Trompeuse" to the West Indies. The latter arrived at Dominica in July, where forty of the crew deserted the ship, leaving but sixteen white men and twenty-two negroes on board. Finally on the 27th the pirates dropped anchor at St. Thomas. They were admitted and kindly received by the governor, and allowed to bring their plunder ashore.431Three days later Captain Carlile of H.M.S. "Francis," who had been sent out by Governor Stapleton to hunt for pirates, sailed into the harbour, and on being assured by the pilot and by an English sloop lying at anchor there that the ship before him was the pirate "La Trompeuse," in the night of the following day he set her on fire and blew her up. Hamlin and some of the crew were on board, but after firing a few shots, escaped to the shore. The pirate ship carried thirty-two guns, and if she had not been under-manned Carlile might have encountered a formidable resistance. The Governor of St. Thomas sent a note of protest to Carlile for having, as he said, secretly set fire to a frigate which had been confiscated to the King of Denmark.432Nevertheless he sent Hamlin and his men for safety in a boat to another part of the island, and later selling him a sloop, let him sail away to join the French buccaneers in Hispaniola.433
The Danish governor of St. Thomas, whose name was Adolf Esmit, had formerly been himself a privateer, and had used his popularity on the island to eject from authority his brother Nicholas Esmit, the lawful governor. By protecting and encouraging pirates—for a consideration, of course—he proved a bad neighbour to the surrounding English islands. Although he had but 300 or 350 people on St. Thomas, and most of these British subjects, he laid claim to all the Virgin Islands, harboured runaway servants, seamen and debtors, fitted out pirate vessels with arms and provisions, and refused to restore captured ships and crewswhich the pirates brought into his port.434The King of Denmark had sent out a new governor, named Everson, to dispossess Esmit, but he did not arrive in the West Indies until October 1684, when with the assistance of an armed sloop which Sir William Stapleton had been ordered by the English Council to lend him, he took possession of St. Thomas and its pirate governor.435
A second difficulty encountered by Sir Thomas Lynch, in the first year of his return, was the privateering activity of Robert Clarke, Governor of New Providence, one of the Bahama Islands. Governor Clarke, on the plea of retaliating Spanish outrages, gave letters of marque to several privateers, including Coxon, the same famous chief who in 1680 had led the buccaneers into the South Seas. Coxon carried his commission to Jamaica and showed it to Governor Lynch, who was greatly incensed and wrote to Clarke a vigorous note of reproof.436To grant such letters of marque was, of course, contrary to the Treaty of Madrid, and by giving the pirates only anotherexcuse for their actions, greatly complicated the task of the Governor of Jamaica. Lynch forwarded Coxon's commission to England, where in August 1682 the proprietors of the Bahama Islands were ordered to attend the council and answer for the misdeeds of their governor.437The proprietors, however, had already acted on their own initiative, for on 29th July they issued instructions to a new governor, Robert Lilburne, to arrest Clarke and keep him in custody till he should give security to answer accusations in England, and to recall all commissions against the Spaniards.438The whole trouble, it seems, had arisen over the wreck of a Spanish galleon in the Bahamas, to which Spaniards from St. Augustine and Havana were accustomed to resort to fish for ingots of silver, and from which they had been driven away by the governor and inhabitants of New Providence. The Spaniards had retaliated by robbing vessels sailing to and from the Bahamas, whereupon Clarke, without considering the illegality of his action, had issued commissions of war to privateers.
The Bahamas, however, were a favourite resort for pirates and other men of desperate character, and Lilburne soon discovered that his place was no sinecure. He found it difficult moreover to refrain from hostilities against a neighbour who used every opportunity to harm and plunder his colony. In March 1683, a former privateer named Thomas Pain439had entered into a conspiracy with four other captains, who were then fishing for silver at the wreck, to seize St. Augustine in Florida. They landed before the city under French colours, but finding the Spaniardsprepared for them, gave up the project and looted some small neighbouring settlements. On the return of Pain and two others to New Providence, Governor Lilburne tried to apprehend them, but he failed for lack of means to enforce his authority. The Spaniards, however, were not slow to take their revenge. In the following January they sent 250 men from Havana, who in the early morning surprised and plundered the town and shipping at New Providence, killed three men, and carried away money and provisions to the value of £14,000.440When Lilburne in February sent to ask the Governor of Havana whether the plunderers had acted under his orders, the Spaniard not only acknowledged it but threatened further hostilities against the English settlement. Indeed, later in the same year the Spaniards returned, this time, it seems, without a commission, and according to report burnt all the houses, murdered the governor in cold blood, and carried many of the women, children and negroes to Havana.441About 200 of the inhabitants made their way to Jamaica, and a number of the men, thirsting for vengeance, joined the English pirates in the Carolinas.442
In French Hispaniola corsairing had been forbidden for several years, yet the French governor found the problem of suppressing the evil even more difficult than it was in Jamaica. M. de Pouançay, the successor of d'Ogeron, died toward the end of 1682 or the beginning of 1683, and in spite of his efforts to establish order in the colony he left it in a deplorable condition. The old fraternity of hunters or cow-killers had almost disappeared; but the corsairs and the planters were strongly united, and galled by the oppression of the West India Company, displayed their strength in a spirit of indocility which caused great embarrassment to the governor. Although in time ofpeace the freebooters kept the French settlements in continual danger of ruin by reprisal, in time of war they were the mainstay of the colony. As the governor, therefore, was dependent upon them for protection against the English, Spanish and Dutch, although he withdrew their commissions he dared not punish them for their crimes. The French buccaneers, indeed, occupied a curious and anomalous position. They were not ordinary privateers, for they waged war without authority; and they were still less pirates, for they had never been declared outlaws, and they confined their attentions to the Spaniards. They served under conditions which they themselves imposed, or which they deigned to accept, and were always ready to turn against the representatives of authority if they believed they had aught of which to complain.443
The buccaneers almost invariably carried commissions from the governors of French Hispaniola, but they did not scruple to alter the wording of their papers, so that a permission to privateer for three months was easily transformed into a licence to plunder for three years. These papers, moreover, were passed about from one corsair to another, until long after the occasion for their issue had ceased to exist. Thus in May or June of 1680, de Grammont, on the strength of an old commission granted him by de Pouançay before the treaty of Nimuegen, had made a brilliant night assault upon La Guayra, the seaport of Caracas. Of his 180 followers only forty-seven took part in the actual seizure of the town, which was amply protected by two forts and by cannon upon the walls. On the following day, however, he received word that 2000 men were approaching from Caracas, and as the enemywere also rallying in force in the vicinity of the town he was compelled to retire to the ships. This movement was executed with difficulty, and for two hours de Grammont with a handful of his bravest companions covered the embarkation from the assaults of the Spaniards. Although he himself was dangerously wounded in the throat, he lost only eight or nine men in the whole action. He carried away with him the Governor of La Guayra and many other prisoners, but the booty was small. De Grammont retired to the Isle d'Aves to nurse his wound, and after a long convalescence returned to Petit Goave.444
In 1683, however, these filibusters of Hispaniola carried out a much larger design upon the coasts of New Spain. In April of that year eight buccaneer captains made a rendezvous in the Gulf of Honduras for the purpose of attacking Vera Cruz. The leaders of the party were two Dutchmen named Vanhorn and Laurens de Graff. Of the other six captains, three were Dutch, one was French, and two were English. Vanhorn himself had sailed from England in the autumn of 1681 in command of a merchant ship called the "Mary and Martha,"aliasthe "St. Nicholas." He soon, however, revealed the rogue he was by turning two of his merchants ashore at Cadiz and stealing four Spanish guns. He then sailed to the Canaries and to the coast of Guinea, plundering ships and stealing negroes, and finally, in November 1682, arrived at the city of San Domingo, where he tried to dispose of his black cargo. From San Domingo he made for Petit Goave picked up 300 men, and sailed to join Laurens in the Gulf of Honduras.445Laurens, too, had distinguished himself but a short time before by capturing a Spanish ship bound from Havana for San Domingo and Porto Rico with about 120,000 pieces of eight to pay off the soldiers. The freebootershad shared 700 pieces of eight per man, and carrying their prize to Petit Goave had compounded with the French governor for a part of the booty.446