The Buccaneers in the West Indies in the XVII Century   By: Clarence Henry Haring (1885-1960)

BY

C.H. HARING

WITH TEN MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS

METHUEN & CO. LTD. 36 ESSEX STREET W.C. LONDON

First Published in 1910

PREFACE

The principal facts about the exploits of the English and French buccaneers of the seventeenth century in the West Indies are sufficiently well known to modern readers. The French Jesuit historians of the Antilles have left us many interesting details of their mode of life, and Exquemelin's history of the freebooters has been reprinted numerous times both in France and in England. Based upon these old, contemporary narratives, modern accounts are issued from the press with astonishing regularity, some of them purporting to be serious history, others appearing in the more popular and entertaining guise of romances. All, however, are alike in confining themselves for their information to what may almost be called the traditional sources Exquemelin, the Jesuits, and perhaps a few narratives like those of Dampier and Wafer. To write another history of these privateers or pirates, for they have, unfortunately, more than once deserved that name, may seem a rather fruitless undertaking. It is justified only by the fact that there exist numerous other documents bearing upon the subject, documents which till now have been entirely neglected. Exquemelin has been reprinted, the story of the buccaneers has been re told, yet no writer, whether editor or historian, has attempted to estimate the trustworthiness of the old tales by comparing them with these other sources, or to show the connection between the buccaneers and the history of the English colonies in the West Indies. The object of this volume, therefore, is not only to give a narrative, according to the most authentic, available sources, of the more brilliant exploits of these sea rovers, but, what is of greater interest and importance, to trace the policy pursued toward them by the English and French Governments.

The "Buccaneers in the West Indies" was presented as a thesis to the Board of Modern History of Oxford University in May 1909 to fulfil the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Letters. It was written under the supervision of C.H. Firth, Regius Professor of Modern History in Oxford, and to him the writer owes a lasting debt of gratitude for his unfailing aid and sympathy during the course of preparation.

C.H.H.

Oxford, 1910

CONTENTS

Preface

CHAP. PAGE

I. Introductory Part I. The Spanish Colonial System 1 Part II. The Freebooters of the Sixteenth Century 28 II. The Beginnings of the Buccaneers 57 III. The Conquest of Jamaica 85 IV. Tortuga, 1655 1664 113 V. Porto Bello and Panama 120 VI. The Government Suppresses the Buccaneers 200 VII. The Buccaneers Turn Pirate 232 Appendices 273 74 Bibliography 275 Index 289

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Map of the West Indies Frontispiece From Charlevoix' Histoire de S. Domingue .

FACING PAGE

Spanish Periagua 1

From Exquemelin's Histoire des Aventuriers Trevoux , 1744.

Buccaneer Vessels 76

From Exquemelin's Histoire des Aventuriers Trevoux , 1744.

A Correct Map of Jamaica 85

From the Royal Magazine , 1760.

Map of San Domingo 86

From Charlevoix' Histoire de S. Domingue .

Plan of the Bay and Town of Portobelo 154

From Prevost d'Exiles' Voyages .

The Isthmus of Darien 164

From Exquelmelin's Bucaniers , 1684 5.

'The Battel between the Spaniards and the pyrats or Buccaniers before the Citty of Panama' 166