Kitabı oku: «History of the Buccaneers of America», sayfa 5
CHAPTER VI
Treaty of America. Expedition of the Buccaneers against Panama. Exquemelin's History of the American Sea Rovers. Misconduct of the European Governors in the West Indies
1670. In July 1670, was concluded a Treaty between Great Britain and Spain, made expressly with the intention of terminating the Buccaneer war, and of settling all disputes between the subjects of the two countries in America. It has been with this especial signification entitled the Treaty of America, and is the first which appears to have been dictated by a mutual disposition to establish peace in the West Indies. The articles particularly directed to this end are the following: —
Treaty between Great Britain and Spain, called the Treaty of America. Art. II. There shall be an universal peace and sincere friendship, as well in America, as in other parts, between the Kings of Great Britain and Spain, their heirs and successors, their kingdoms, plantations, &c.
III. That all hostilities, depredations, &c. shall cease between the subjects of the said Kings.
IV. The two Kings shall take care that their subjects forbear all acts of hostility, and shall call in all commissions, letters of marque and reprisals, and punish all offenders, obliging them to make reparation.
VII. All past injuries, on both sides, shall be buried in oblivion.
VIII. The King of Great Britain shall hold and enjoy all the lands, countries, &c. he is now possessed of in America.
IX. The subjects on each side shall forbear trading or sailing to any places whatsoever under the dominion of the other, without particular licence.
XIV. Particular offences shall be repaired in the common course of justice, and no reprisals made unless justice be denied, or unreasonably retarded.
When notice of this Treaty was received in the West Indies, the Buccaneers, immediately as of one accord, resolved to undertake some grand expedition. Many occurrences had given rise to jealousies between the English and the French in the West Indies; but Morgan's reputation as a commander was so high, that adventurers from all parts signified their readiness to join him, and he appointed Cape Tiburon on the West of Hispaniola for the place of general rendezvous. In consequence of this summons, in the beginning of December 1670, a fleet was there collected under his command, consisting of no less than thirty-seven vessels of different sizes, and above 2000 men. Having so large a force, he held council with the principal commanders, and proposed for their determination, which they should attempt of the three places, Carthagena, Vera Cruz, and Panama. Panama was believed to be the richest, and on that City the lot fell.
A century before, when the name of Buccaneer was not known, roving adventurers had crossed the Isthmus of America from the West Indies to the South Sea; but the fate of Oxnam and his companions deterred others from the like attempt, until the time of the Buccaneers, who, as they increased in numbers, extended their enterprises, urged by a kind of necessity, the West Indies not furnishing plunder sufficient to satisfy so many men, whose modes of expenditure were not less profligate than their means of obtaining were violent and iniquitous.
Expedition of the Buccaneers against Panama. The rendezvous appointed by Morgan for meeting his confederates was distant from any authority which could prevent or impede their operations; and whilst they remained on the coast of Hispaniola, he employed men to hunt cattle, and cure meat. He also sent vessels to collect maize, at the settlements on the Tierra Firma. Specific articles of agreement were drawn up and subscribed to, for the distribution of plunder. Morgan, as commander in chief, was to receive one hundredth part; each captain was to have eight shares; provision was stipulated for the maimed and wounded, and rewards for those who should particularly distinguish themselves. December. They take the Island Sta Katalina. These matters being settled, on December the 16th, the whole fleet sailed, from Cape Tiburon; on the 20th, they arrived at the Island Sta Katalina, then occupied by the Spaniards, who had garrisoned it chiefly with criminals sentenced to serve there by way of punishment. Morgan had fully entered into the project of Mansvelt for forming an establishment at Sta Katalina, and he was not the less inclined to it now that he considered himself as the head of the Buccaneers. The Island surrendered upon summons. It is related, that at the request of the Governor, in which Morgan indulged him, a military farce was performed; Morgan causing cannon charged only with powder to be fired at the fort, which returned the like fire for a decent time, and then lowered their flag.
Morgan judged it would contribute to the success of the proposed expedition against Panama, to make himself master of the fort or castle of San Lorenzo at the entrance of the River Chagre. For this purpose he sent a detachment of 400 men under the command of an old Buccaneer named Brodely, and in the mean time remained himself with the main body of his forces at Sta Katalina, to avoid giving the Spaniards cause to suspect his further designs.
Attack of the Castle at the River Chagre. The Castle of Chagre was strong, both in its works and in situation, being built on the summit of a steep hill. It was valiantly assaulted, and no less valiantly defended. The Buccaneers were once forced to retreat. They returned to the attack, and were nearly a second time driven back, when a powder magazine in the fort blew up, and the mischief and confusion thereby occasioned gave the Buccaneers opportunity to force entrance through the breaches they had made. The Governor of the castle refused to take quarter which was offered him by the Buccaneers, as did also some of the Spanish soldiers. More than 200 men of 314 which composed the garrison were killed. The loss on the side of the Buccaneers was above 100 men killed outright, and 70 wounded.
1671. January. March of the Buccaneers across the Isthmus. On receiving intelligence of the castle being taken, Morgan repaired with the rest of his men from Sta Katalina. He set the prisoners to work to repair the Castle of San Lorenzo, in which he stationed a garrison of 500 men; he also appointed 150 men to take care of the ships; and on the 18th of January 167111, he set forward at the head of 1200 men for Panama. One party with artillery and stores embarked in canoes, to mount the River Chagre, the course of which is extremely serpentine. At the end of the second day, however, they quitted the canoes, on account of the many obstructions from trees which had fallen in the river, and because the river was at this time in many places almost dry; but the way by land was also found so difficult for the carriage of stores, that the canoes were again resorted to. On the sixth day, when they had expended great part of their travelling store of provisions, they had the good fortune to discover a barn full of maize. They saw many native Indians, who all kept at a distance, and it was in vain endeavoured to overtake some.
On the seventh day they came to a village called Cruz, the inhabitants of which had set fire to their houses, and fled. They found there, however, fifteen jars of Peruvian wine, and a sack of bread. The village of Cruz is at the highest part of the River Chagre to which boats or canoes, can arrive. It was reckoned to be eight leagues distant from Panama.
On the ninth day of their journey, they came in sight of the South Sea; and here they were among fields in which cattle grazed. Towards evening, they had sight of the steeples of Panama. In the course of their march thus far from the Castle of Chagre, they lost, by being fired at from concealed places, ten men killed; and as many more were wounded.
Panama had not the defence of regular fortifications. Some works had been raised, but in parts the city lay open, and was to be won or defended by plain fighting. According to the Buccaneer account, the Spaniards had about 2000 infantry and 400 horse; which force, it is to be supposed, was in part composed of inhabitants and slaves.
27th. The City of Panama taken. January the 27th, early in the morning, the Buccaneers resumed their march towards the city. The Spaniards came out to meet them. In this battle, the Spaniards made use of wild bulls, which they drove upon the Buccaneers to disorder their ranks; but it does not appear to have had much effect. In the end, the Spaniards gave way, and before night, the Buccaneers were masters of the city. All that day, the Buccaneers gave no quarter, either during the battle, or afterwards. Six hundred Spaniards fell. The Buccaneers lost many men, but the number is not specified.
The City burnt. One of the first precautions taken by Morgan after his victory, was to prevent drunkenness among his men: to which end, he procured to have it reported to him that all the wine in the city had been poisoned by the inhabitants; and on the ground of this intelligence, he strictly prohibited every one, under severe penalties, from tasting wine. Before they had well fixed their quarters in Panama, several parts of the city burst out in flames, which spread so rapidly, that in a short time many magnificent edifices built with cedar, and a great part of the city, were burnt to the ground. Whether this was done designedly, or happened accidentally, owing to the consternation of the inhabitants during the assault, has been disputed. Morgan is accused of having directed some of his people to commit this mischief, but no motive is assigned that could induce him to an act which cut off his future prospect of ransom. Morgan charged it upon the Spaniards; and it is acknowledged the Buccaneers gave all the assistance they were able to those of the inhabitants who endeavoured to stop the progress of the fire, which nevertheless continued to burn near four weeks before it was quite extinguished. Among the buildings destroyed, was a factory-house belonging to the Genoese, who then carried on the trade of supplying the Spaniards with slaves from Africa.
The rapacity, licentiousness, and cruelty, of the Buccaneers, in their pillage of Panama, had no bounds. 'They spared,' says the narrative of a Buccaneer named Exquemelin, 'in these their cruelties no sex nor condition whatsoever. As to religious persons and priests, they granted them less quarter than others, unless they procured a considerable sum of money for their ransom.' Morgan sent detachments to scour the country for plunder, and to bring in prisoners from whom ransom might be extorted. Many of the inhabitants escaped with their effects by sea, and went for shelter to the Islands in the Bay of Panama. Morgan found a large boat lying aground in the Port, which he caused to be lanched, and manned with a numerous crew, and sent her to cruise among the Islands. A galeon, on board which the women of a convent had taken refuge, and in which money, plate, and other valuable effects, had been lodged, very narrowly escaped falling into their hands. They made prize of several vessels, one of which was well adapted for cruising. This opened a new prospect; and some of the Buccaneers began to consult how they might quit Morgan, and seek their fortunes on the South Sea, whence they proposed to sail, with the plunder they should obtain, by the East Indies to Europe. But Morgan received notice of their design before it could be put in execution, and to prevent such a diminution of his force, he ordered the masts of the ship to be cut away, and all the boats or vessels lying at Panama which could suit their purpose, to be burnt.
Feb. 24th. The Buccaneers depart from Panama. The old city of Panama is said to have contained 7000 houses, many of which were magnificent edifices built with cedar. On the 24th of February, Morgan and his men departed from its ruins, taking with them 175 mules laden with spoil, and 600 prisoners, some of them carrying burthens, and others for whose release ransom was expected. Among the latter were many women and children. These poor creatures were designedly caused to suffer extreme hunger and thirst, and kept under apprehensions of being carried to Jamaica to be sold as slaves, that they might the more earnestly endeavour to procure money to be brought for their ransom. When some of the women, upon their knees and in tears, begged of Morgan to let them return to their families, his answer to them was, that 'he came not there to listen to cries and lamentations, but to seek money,' Morgan's thirst for money was not restrained to seeking it among his foes. He had a hand equally ready for that of his friends. Neither did he think his friends people to be trusted; for in the middle of the march back to Chagre, he drew up his men and caused them to be sworn, that they had not reserved or concealed any plunder, but had delivered all fairly into the common stock. This ceremony, it seems, was not uncustomary. 'But Captain Morgan having had experience that those loose fellows would not much stickle to swear falsely in such a case, he commanded every one to be searched; and that it might not be esteemed an affront, he permitted himself to be first searched, even to the very soles of his shoes. The French Buccaneers who had engaged on this expedition with Morgan, were not well satisfied with this new custom of searching; but their number being less than that of the English, they were forced to submit.' On arriving at Chagre, a division was made. The narrative says, 'every person received his portion, or rather what part thereof Captain Morgan was pleased to give him. For so it was, that his companions, even those of his own nation, complained of his proceedings; for they judged it impossible that, of so many valuable robberies, no greater share should belong to them than 200 pieces of eight per head. But Captain Morgan was deaf to these, and to many other complaints of the same kind.'
As Morgan was not disposed to allay the discontents of his men by coming to a more open reckoning with them, to avoid having the matter pressed upon him, he determined to withdraw from his command, 'which he did without calling any council, or bidding any one adieu; but went secretly on board his own ship, and put out to sea without giving notice, being followed only by three or four vessels of the whole fleet, who it is believed went shares with him in the greatest part of the spoil.'
The rest of the Buccaneer vessels soon separated. Morgan went to Jamaica, and had begun to levy men to go with him to the Island Sta Katalina, which he purposed to hold as his own, and to make it a common place of refuge for pirates; when the arrival of a new Governor at Jamaica, Lord John Vaughan, with orders to enforce the late treaty with Spain, obliged him to relinquish his plan.
Exquemelin's History of the Buccaneers of America. The foregoing account of the destruction of Panama by Morgan, is taken from a History of the Buccaneers of America, written originally in the Dutch language by a Buccaneer named Exquemelin, and published at Amsterdam in 1678, with the title of De Americaensche Zee Roovers. Exquemelin's book contains only partial accounts of the actions of some of the principal among the Buccaneers. He has set forth the valour displayed by them in the most advantageous light; but generally, what he has related is credible. His history has been translated into all the European languages, but with various additions and alterations by the translators, each of whom has inclined to maintain the military reputation of his own nation. The Spanish translation is entitled Piratas, and has the following short complimentary Poem prefixed, addressed to the Spanish editor and emendator: —
De Agamenôn cantó la vida Homero
Y Virgilio de Eneas lo piadoso
Camoēs de Gama el curso presurosso
Gongora el brio de Colon Velero.
Tu, O Alonso! mas docto y verdadoro,
Descrives del America ingenioso
Lo que assalta el Pirata codicioso:
Lo que defiende el Español Guerrero.
The French translation is entitled Les Avanturiers qui se sont signalez dans les Indes, and contains actions of the French Flibustiers which are not in Exquemelin. The like has been done in the English translation, which has for title The Bucaniers of America. The English translator, speaking of the sacking of Panama, has expressed himself with a strange mixture of boasting and compunctious feeling. This account, he says, contains the unparalleled and bold exploits of Sir Henry Morgan, written by one of the Buccaneers who was present at those tragedies.
It has been remarked, that the treaty of America furnishes an apology for the enterprises of the Buccaneers previous to its notification; it being so worded as to admit an inference that the English and Spaniards were antecedently engaged in a continual war in America.
1671. The new Governor of Jamaica was authorized and instructed to proclaim a general pardon, and indemnity from prosecution, for all piratical offences committed to that time; and to grant 35 acres of land to every Buccaneer who should claim the benefit of the proclamation, and would promise to apply himself to planting; a measure from which the most beneficial effects might have been expected, not to the British colonists only, but to all around, in turning a number of able men from destructive occupations to useful and productive pursuits, if it had not been made subservient to sordid views. The author of the History of Jamaica says, 'This offer was intended as a lure to engage the Buccaneers to come into port with their effects, that the Governor might, and which he was directed to do, take from them the tenths and fifteenths of their booty as the dues of the Crown [and of the Colonial Government] for granting them commissions.' Those who had neglected to obtain commissions would of course have to make their peace by an increased composition. In consequence of this scandalous procedure, the Jamaica Buccaneers, to avoid being so taxed, kept aloof from Jamaica, and were provoked to continue their old occupations. Most of them joined the French Flibustiers at Tortuga. Some were afterwards apprehended at Jamaica, where they were brought to trial, condemned as pirates, and executed.
1672. A war which was entered into by Great Britain and France against Holland, furnished for a time employment for the Buccaneers and Flibustiers, and procured the Spaniards a short respite.
1673. Flibustiers shipwrecked at Porto Rico; In 1673, the French made an attempt to take the Island of Curaçao from the Dutch, and failed. M. d'Ogeron, the Governor of Tortuga, intended to have joined in this expedition, for which purpose he sailed in a ship named l'Ecueil, manned with 300 Flibustiers; but in the night of the 25th of February, she ran aground among some small islands and rocks, near the North side of the Island Porto Rico. The people got safe to land, but were made close prisoners by the Spaniards. After some months imprisonment, M. d'Ogeron, with three others, made their escape in a canoe, and got back to Tortuga. The Governor General over the French West-India Islands at that time, was a M. de Baas, who sent to Porto Rico to demand the deliverance of the French detained there prisoners. The Spanish Governor of Porto Rico required 3000 pieces of eight to be paid for expences incurred. De Baas was unwilling to comply with the demand, and sent an agent to negociate for an abatement in the sum; but they came to no agreement. M. d'Ogeron in the mean time collected five hundred men in Tortuga and Hispaniola, with whom he embarked in a number of small vessels to pass over to Porto Rico, to endeavour the release of his shipwrecked companions; but by repeated tempests, several of his flotilla were forced back, and he reached Porto Rico with only three hundred men.
And put to death by the Spaniards. On their landing, the Spanish Governor put to death all his French prisoners, except seventeen of the officers. Afterwards in an engagement with the Spaniards, D'Ogeron lost seventeen men, and found his strength not sufficient to force the Spaniards to terms; upon which he withdrew from Porto Rico, and returned to Tortuga. The seventeen French officers that were spared in the massacre of the prisoners, the Governor of Porto Rico put on board a vessel bound for the Tierra Firma, with the intention of transporting them to Peru; but from that fate they were delivered by meeting at sea with an English Buccaneer cruiser. Thus, by the French Governor General disputing about a trifling balance, three hundred of the French Buccaneers, whilst employed for the French king's service under one of his officers, were sacrificed.
