Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period Part 18

[Footnote 101: January 28, 1682, according to the other accounts.]

[Footnote 102: Speight's Bay, on the northwest coast of the island.

Bridgetown, where the chief harbor or roadstead lies, is at the southwest, and H.M.S. _Richmond_, which the pirates rightly viewed with apprehension, lay there; she had gone out to Barbados in 1680.]

[Footnote 103: Deseada, or Desirade.]

[Footnote 104: Falmouth is on the south side of the island of Antigua.]

[Footnote 105: Lt.-Col. Sir William Stapleton, governor-in-chief of the Leeward Islands 1672-1686. The pirates sent a valuable jewel to his wife, but he caused her to return it. As to those who sailed for England, as related below, (Sharp himself included), "W.D." reports, pp. 83-84, "Here several of us were put into Prison and Tryed for our Lives, at the Suit of Don Pedro de Ronquillo, the Spanish Emba.s.sador, for committing Piracy and Robberies in the South Sea; but we were acquitted by a Jury after a fair Tryal, they wanting Witnesses to prove what they intended.... One chief Article against us, was the taking of the _Rosario_, and killing the Captain thereof, and another man: But it was proved the Spaniards fired at us first".]

[Footnote 106: _I.e._, they had gambled away all their share of the plunder.]

[Footnote 107: Pet.i.t Goave in Haiti.]

[Footnote 108: The Danish island lately acquired by the United States.

The harbor and fort referred to are those of Charlotte Amalia, the latter completed in 1680. The small harbor a mile to westward was Gregerie Bay.]

[Footnote 109: The allusion is apparently to the mandate of the Danish West India Company, February 22, 1675, described in Westergaard, _The Danish West Indies under Company Rule_, pp. 43-44. The governor, next mentioned, was Nicholas Esmit [Schmidt?], a Holsteiner. On St. Thomas as a refuge of buccaneers, neutral to Spanish-English-French warfare and jurisdiction, see _ibid._, pp. 47-58. Professor Westergaard, p.

48, quotes from a letter of Governor Esmit, May 17, 1682, in the Danish archives at Copenhagen, regarding our seven remaining pirates: "There arrived here February 8 a ship of unknown origin, some two hundred tons in size, without guns, pa.s.sport, or letters, and with seven men, French, English, and German. On being questioned they replied that they had gone out of Espaniola from the harbor of Pet.i.t Guava with two hundred men and a French commission to cruise on the Spaniards.... [Summary of adventures on the Isthmus and in the South Sea.] I bought what little cacao they had; the rest of their plunder they brought ash.o.r.e and divided among our people. The ship was no longer usable. I have decided not to confiscate it, in order to avoid any unfriendliness with sea-robbers. The inhabitants of St. Thomas have decided that the said seven men shall remain among them". Later, Captain Sharp himself came and spent his last years at St. Thomas.]

[Footnote 110: Ooze.]

[Footnote 111: This sentence sounds as if our narrator, himself one of the seven, had finally reached England or Jamaica. If so, he was more fortunate than some of the others; see the next doc.u.ment.]

_46. Sir Henry Morgan to Sir Leoline Jenkins. March 8, 1682._[1]

[Footnote 1: Public Record Office, C.O. 1:48, no. 37. The writer, lieutenant-governor of Jamaica from 1674 to 1688, and at the time of writing acting governor, was the same Henry Morgan who in earlier years had been the most famous of buccaneers, capturing Portobello in 1668, Maracaibo in 1669, Panama itself in 1671--wonderful exploits, carried out with great bravery and cruelty. Now he is governor, holds piracy in abhorrence, and is determined to suppress it! It must be remembered, however, that his own exploits were carried out under commissions from proper authority, and legally were not piracy. His correspondent, Sir Leoline Jenkins, for twenty years judge of the High Court of Admiralty, and at this time also secretary of state, was one of the most learned admiralty lawyers England ever produced. Morgan's view of his own competence as admiralty judge in his colony is given with engaging frankness in a contemporary letter: "The office of Judge Admiral was not given 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 either in that or other laws, and have been much more used to the pike than to the book; and as for the profit, there is no porter in this town but can get more money in the time than I made by this trial. But I was truly put in to maintain the honour of the Court for His Majesty's service." _Cal. St.

Pap., Col._, 1677-1680, p. li.]

_May it Please your Honour_

Since I in obedience to his Majesties commands caused the Three Pyrates to be executed, The whole party which these two last yeares have molested the Spaniards in the South Seas are by the help of a Spanish Pilote come about to the windward Islands; Sixteen whereof are gone for England with Bartholemew Sharpe their Leader, the rest are at Antegoe and the Neighboring Islands, excepting four that are come hither, one whereof surrenderd himself to me, the other three I with much difficulty found out and apprehended my self, they have since been found guilty and condemned. he that surrendred himself is like as informer to obtain the favour of the Court. one of the condemned is proved a b.l.o.o.d.y and Notorious villain and fitt to make an exemple of, the other two as being represented to me fitt objects of mercy by the Judges, I will not proceed against till his Majesties further commands; and am heartely glad the Opinion of the Court is soe favorable, I much abhorring bloodshed and being greatly dissatisfyed that in my Short Government soe many necessities have layn upon me of punishing Criminels with death. The pa.s.sage of these people is extraordinarily remarkable, for in litle more then four monthes they came from Coquimbo in Peru five degrees South Lat.i.tude, to Barbados in thirteen North.

Our Logwoodmen have lately had eight of their Vessels taken from them and their people carried away prisoners, their usage appears by the inclosed Pet.i.tion. I am informed that in the Havana, Merida and Mexico many of his Majesties Subjects are prisoners and the Spanish Pylott that brought the People about (who is here) tells me That Sir John Narborow's Lieutenant and nine or ten others are at Lima in Perua.[2]

they are all great objects of mercy and Compa.s.sion, therefore I hope your Honour will not bee unmindful of them....[3]

HEN. MORGAN.

ST. JAGO DE LA VEGA this 8th of March 1681-2.

[Footnote 2: Sir John Narbrough (1640-1688), afterward a celebrated admiral, had in 1669-1671 voyaged to the South Sea, as a young lieutenant, in command of the _Sweepstakes_; in Valdivia bay the Spaniards had seized two of his officers, and, it seems, still detained them.]

[Footnote 3: The rest of the letter relates to quite other matters.]

_47. Deposition of Simon Calderon. 1682._[1]

[Footnote 1: Public Record Office, C.O. 1:50, no. 139.]

Relation of the South Sea men.

Simon Calderon, Natural de Santiago de Chile, Marinero de profession, yendo del callado a Panama en el Navio llamado el _Rosario_, cargado de Vinos, aguardientes, estano en Barras, y cantidad de Patacas, con beynte y quatro Hombres pasageros y todo, encontraron en la punta de Cabo pa.s.sado como a la mitad del Camino, al navio de la _Trinidad_ y le estimaron como de Espagnoles, pero luego que reconocieron ser de Piratas, procuraron ganarle el Barlavento, lo qual ganaron los Piratas, y luego empezaron a tirar mosquetarias, y de las primeras tres cargas mataron al Capitan del _Rosario_, que se llamaba Juan Lopez, y hizieron otras y apresaron el navio y sacaron con las favas todo lo que les parecio necessario del Vino y aguardientes y toda la plata y demas que havia de valor, y dieron tormento a dos Espagnoles para que descubriessen si havia mas plata y curtaron velas y Jarzias, menos la mayor, y alargaron el Navio con la gente menos cinco o seys, que trageron consigo y entre ellos el declarante.

De alli hecharon a la Isla de la Plata, donde estubieron tres dias y medio refrescando; y sospechando que los prisioneros se querian alzar con el navio mataron a uno y castigaron a otro; y de alli a Payta en donde hecharon dos canoas a tierra con treynte y dos hombres armados con animo de ganar a Payta, y hallando resistencia se bolvieron al navio; de alli Tiraron al estrecho de Magallanes; pero no pa.s.saron por el, sino al redidor de la ysla del fuego que estava como seys a ocho dias apartada del estrecho de Magallanes, este estrecho del fuego tardaron en pasarle hasta entrar en el mar del Norte cosa de nuebe Dias. Llegaron a Barbadas donde por haver encontrado un navio del Rey de Inglatierra no se atrevieron a entrar.

En el camino dividieron la presa y toco a quatrocientos pesos a cada uno de sesenta y quatro personas.

De Barbadas fueron a Antica donde fueron recividos sin hacerles molestia, antes buen acostimiento y de alli se dividieron unas a Niebes en una balandra, otras como diez y ocho de ellos a londres en el navio cuyo Capitan se llamaba Portin, otros ocho que erran los princ.i.p.ales se uieron en el Navio llamado la _Comadressa Blanca_ o cui Wihte, su Capitan Charles Howard, dos de ellos que eran los princ.i.p.ales cabos se llaman el Capitan Sharp, y el otro Gilbert Dike, y a este declarante le dexaron en Plymuth.

Los demas testigos dicen tambien haver oydo que estos Piratas andan comprando aora un Nabio para bolver a hacer el mismo viage o continuar esta pirateria.

_Translation._

Relation of the South Sea Men

Simon Calderon, native of Santiago de Chile, mariner, going from Callao to Panama in the ship called the _Rosario_ laden with wine, brandy, pigs of tin,[2] and artichokes, with 24 pa.s.sengers and all, they met off Cabo Pasado, about halfway in their voyage, a ship, the _Trinidad_, and supposed it to be Spanish, but when they perceived that it was a ship of pirates, they tried to obtain the weather-gauge, but the pirates obtained it, and then they began to fire musket-shots, and with the first three shots they killed the captain of the _Rosario_, who was called Juan Lopez, and fired other shots, and captured the ship, and took out with the hooks [?] all that they deemed necessary of the wine and brandy, and all the silver and other things that had value, and tortured two Spaniards in order to learn whether there was more silver, and cut down the sails and rigging, except the mainsail, and turned the ship adrift with the men, excepting five or six whom they took with them, and among others the deponent.

[Footnote 2: See doc.u.ment 45, above, note 80.]

Thence they went to the Isla de la Plata, where they remained three days and a half refreshing themselves, and suspecting that the prisoners were planning to rise and take the ship they killed one and flogged another; and thence they went to Payta, where they sent two canoes ash.o.r.e with 32 armed men, with design to capture Payta, but meeting with resistance they returned to the ship. Thence they sailed away to the Strait of Magellan, but did not go through it, but around the Isla del Fuego, which was some six or eight days' distance from the Strait of Magellan. In making this pa.s.sage of Fuego, to enter into the North Sea, they were delayed some nine days. They came to Barbados, where, because of finding there a ship of the King of England, they did not venture to enter.

On the voyage they divided the booty and obtained 400 dollars apiece, for each one of 74 persons.

From Barbados they went to Antigua, where they were received without injury, but rather with good treatment, and from there they divided, some going to Nevis in a bilander,[3] others, some 18 of them, to London in the ship whose captain was called Portin,[4] and eight others that were the princ.i.p.al ones fled in the ship called the _Comadressa Blanca_ (_White Gossip_),[5] Captain Charles Howard. Two of them, that were the princ.i.p.al chiefs, were called, [the one]

Captain Sharp, and the other Gilbert Dike; and this deponent was left at Plymouth.

[Footnote 3: A bilander was a small two-master, with the mainsail of lateen form.]

[Footnote 4: The _Lisbon Merchant_, Captain Porteen. Ringrose, p.

212.]

[Footnote 5: Or perhaps _Ermine_.]

Other witnesses say, however, that they have heard that these pirates are now proceeding to buy a ship to return and make the same voyage or continue this piracy.

THE _SALAMANDER_.

_48. Pet.i.tion of Paul Sharrett and Claes Pietersen. August 2, 1681._[1]

[Footnote 1: Suffolk Court Files, no. 2031, paper 1. The story of the _Salamander_ is curiously interwoven with the early history of the Prussian navy, on which something has been said in note 1 to doc.u.ment 43. The facts may be made out by a comparison of doc.u.ments 48 and 49 with data found in R. Schuck, _Brandenburg-Preussens Kolonial-Politik_ (Leipzig, 1889), I. 113-118, and in a monograph on "Brandenburg-Preussen auf der Westkuste von Afrika, 1681 bis 1721", in Heft 6 of the _Kriegsgeschichtliche Einzelschriften_ of the German General Staff (Berlin, 1885), pp. 102-105. In the First Brandenburg-Prussian fleet that ever sailed out of the Baltic (August, 1680), one of the six frigates was the _Churprintz_ (Kurprinz, Electoral Prince), 32 guns, Capt. Cornelius Reers, and there was a fire-ship, the _Salamander_, 2 guns, Capt. Marsilius (or Marcellus) c.o.c.k; the captains were probably all Dutch. The chief exploit of the squadron was to capture, in time of peace, a ship of the Spanish royal navy, which thus became the first of the elector's ships actually owned by him. Then Reers and a squadron of four frigates and the _Salamander_ sailed to the West Indies, and spent the winter of 1680-1681 in cruising against Spanish shipping, though with little success. If Samuel b.u.t.ton's story is true (doc.u.ment 48), it would seem that the original _Salamander_ must have been lost, and the _William and Anne_ subst.i.tuted in its place and renamed. The squadron got back to Prussia in May, 1681.]

To the Honnorable Simon Bradstreet Esq. Governor, Thomas Danforth Esqr Dept. Governor, and the Rest of the Honnorable a.s.sistants to sitt in Boston on the 4th of this Instant August 1681 as A Court of Admiraltie or a.s.sistants