Destruction of the Spanish fleet on Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela by Henry Morgan, April 30, 1669
In 1666 he was made Colonel of the Port Royal Militia and elected Admiral by his fellow privateers. The ‘king of the privateers’ was then appointed Commander-in-chief of all Jamaican forces in 1669, and by 1670 he had 36 ships and 1800 men under his command.
In 1671 he led an attack on Panama City, the capital city of Spanish America and reputed to be one of the wealthiest cities in the world, a great prize for privateers. Although outnumbered by the Spanish, Morgan’s reputation preceded him; the defenders fled and the city fell, burning to the ground. However all the gold and silver had already been moved to safety before Morgan’ attack.
To make things worse, it appeared a treaty had been signed between England and Spain, and the attack on Panama had actually taken place at a time of peace between the two countries. Word of the treaty had not reached Morgan in time to stop the attack.
To appease the Spanish, an order to arrest Morgan was sent to the Governor of Jamaica who was at first reluctant to arrest his island’s most famous resident. However Morgan was transported to London under arrest where he remained a prisoner of state, charged with piracy.
Back in Jamaica, without their leader the privateers were reluctant to engage the enemy and England was now at war again with Holland. Hearing of the troubles in the Caribbean and the risks to the very lucrative sugar trade, King Charles II (right) enlisted the help of the notorious Captain Morgan. The charismatic ‘pirate’ Morgan was knighted by the King and returned to Jamaica in 1674 as Lieutenant Governor.
Morgan spent the rest of his life in Jamaica in Port Royal, a city infamous as the capital of piracy, where he spent his time on politics, his sugar plantations and drinking rum with his old privateer comrades. The exact cause of his death on August 25th 1688 aged 53 is uncertain; some sources say tuberculosis, whilst others cite acute alcoholism. At the time of his death he was a very wealthy man indeed, with large sugar plantations and 109 slaves.
Thanks to the ‘biographer’ Exquemelin and his tales of piratical exploits (and a brand of spiced rum!), Captain Morgan’s fame – or infamy – lives on.
by Ben Johnson
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