EXTRA! EXTRA! Pirate of ze Wales, Sir Henry Morgan...

Issue: 1 -THE PIRATE POST -Est. February 1, 1671

By: Taylor Reynolds

(Sir Henry Morgan & the Raiding of Panama)

  SIR Henry Morgan has done it! He has earned the title of knighthood and has successfully pulled off the heist of the century. After all that he's been through, you'd think he'd deserve something a little more permanent than all that money. But, let's really look into what happened...
   
     Henry Morgan, "inconspicuously sanctioned by England," he planned an attack on a port, Portobello, in 1668, in which the Spanish had moved their riches and product too when Nombre de Dios was attacked by Sir Francis Drake years earlier. "Lionel Wafer....described it as having 'a very, fair and commodious harbor...," in which intrigued Morgan to the fullest. He figured he could ambush the two castles that were poorly stocked with lowly soldiers, who hadn't a clue of what they were supposed to be doing. Not manning a fort should be punishable by the gallows if I do say so myself.

     But, nevertheless, Morgan planned to use a fleet of 12 ships, take out the lookout posts, capture the towns, and finally, deliver a fatal blow to the President of Panama. Everything pretty much went according to plan: lookout posts, and maybe some soldiers, taken out. Then, after scaring off more citizens, the towns were taken over. It was time to deliver a knock-out message to the President, Don Agustin, to either give Morgan and his crew 350,000 pesos, or send his own fleet and battle it out. Eventually, although refusing at first, the President agreed and sent around 250,000 pesos in gold and silver, in which he took off to his home in Jamaica. 

     Later, early this year, Morgan planned another attack on Panama, in which he was restricted by an order to not raid anything having to do with the Spanish. England and Spain were at war, and raiding was a crime at the time. Morgan went through with his plan anyways, and reversed his previous feat. He did not plan a frontal attack, and even with a win, he was arrested for breaking the law... BUT, by the power of God himself, the Queen of England has granted Morgan a pass and has even given him the title of a KNIGHT. By the power vested in the Queen herself, we shall all shout for joy at this miraculous achievement!

Arghhh... Captain Taylor Reporting...

In Under the Black Flag, page 52, it says that Don Juan, the President of Panama, set his ships ablaze in order to discourage Morgan from taking their valuables (their treasure). On the other hand, in Buccaneers and Pirates, page 160-161, Stockton writes that Morgan crashed his ships right into Juan's fleet, burning them to the ocean's floor. What exactly happen and which is really true? We know that Morgan did gather the treasure from the sea floor, taking a lot of 'booty,' but did Morgan come to pick up the pieces of his attack or did he come back to pick up the President's?

ARGH, BUT HOW DID MORGAN ESCAPE THE SCURVY-RIDDEN PLACE OF MARACAIBO??

He simply sent his men in small boats, canoes of some sort, tricking the people into thinking he was planning a frontal, land assault. BUT, he simply had his men get to his ship. Avast! And the Spanish admiral had no idea! He should walk the plank for not seeing through that trick, if walking the plank wasn't a myth.......

Cordingly, David. UNDER THE BLACK FLAG. NEW YORK, NEW YORK: RANDOM House, 1995. Print.

Arrrrgh... questions from BEYOND DAVY JONES' LOCKER...

1. Why was Panama so important to both Drake and Morgan?
Panama was so important to Drank because on the port of Nombre de Dios, a lot of silver and gold was delivered from Peru and Bolivia, to be sent to Spain; it was a great port to attack for all the riches the Spaniards wanted to take with them. Morgan, on the other hand, since Nombre de Dios was stripped of its port and changed to Portobello, had the same idea; he pulled off two different attacks, frontal and on the sea, at Portobello.

2. What was a Cimaroon and how did they help Drake?
They were natives  from Sudan (Africa) in Panama, whom were once slaves to the Spanish, in which they revolted and had two kings of their own. Because of the tension between them and Spain, they helped Sir Francis Drake to defeat the Spanish conquest.

3. How was Drake similar to a pirate?
He plundered Nombre de Dios, the port, of Spanish gold and silver, and afterwards, carried on the plunder a numerous amount of ports in Africa and the West Indies.

4. How did Drake fool the Captain of the Spanish ship Cacafuego?
He dressed his ship, the Golden Hind, as a merchant ship, in order to trick the Captain of the Cacafuego into thinking he could win. When the captain refused to surrender to this lowly, little, merchant ship, the Golden Hind started firing, and defeated the other ship's men.

5. What did Francis Drake accomplish that made him world famous?
He was the first captain to circumnavigate the world and make it, unlike Magellan, whom died during his voyage. He also brought back around 500,000 pounds for himself and the Queen, in which would be about 68 million pounds today.

6. How many voyages did Christopher Columbus make?
He made 4 voyages around the world in his search of India and their silk and spices; his first landed him in the Bahamas, his second in Dominica, and his third and fourth landed him on the Coast of South America and the Gulf of Darien.

7. In what ways is he considered a pirate in the narrative "Masters of Piracy"?
The book states, "robbery, murder, and the destruction of property...who have no warrant or commission for their conduct, is the same as piracy..." which is what Columbus was doing when his mindset supposedly "changed."His mindset was altered when he found out that these new lands were filled with riches beyond his imagination of just silk and spices from India.

8. In "Plundering and Treasure Ports" (UBF) we learn of other "explorers" who were de facto pirates. Choose one and learn more about him.
Pizzaro: Franciso Pizzaro had heard about the gold and silver that the Incas had in Peru, and he set off with his crew in 1532. He was nothing like Cortes, and he was illiterate and came from peasantry. He did successfully capture the Inacans' ruler, Atahualpa, took over the capital of Cuzco, and had the Incan ruler executed.

9. On p 40 of UBF, we learn about a ship's surgeon, Alexander Exquemelin. What did he write and why is it so important to the study of pirates?
He published a work about Henry Morgan's impact on Panama city, and it featured different things about the "lives and customs of buccaneers." This educated and entertained he public it sold to.

10. Write down some details about Sir Henry Morgan.
There's a debate whether or not he was a pirate, privateer or corsair, although he mainly plundered for England. He did do some off-site plundering of his own while England and Spain were at peace.

The BIG Picture - Connecting the Pieces

1. Overall, what statement can you make about Sir Francis Drake, Henry Morgan, Columbus and the other explorers that would be part of the bigger picture of piracy and "discovery" of the New World?

Morgan, Drake, and Columbus all had their share in pirating by plundering each place they landed on: Panama, the Bahamas, etc... but, it did pave the way for new lands to be discovered and settled in, and it paved the road (and sea) for the New World.

EXTRA! EXTRA! Pirate of ze Wales, Sir Henry Morgan...

Issue: 1 -THE PIRATE POST -Est. February 1, 1671

By: Taylor Reynolds

(Sir Henry Morgan & the Raiding of Panama)

  SIR Henry Morgan has done it! He has earned the title of knighthood and has successfully pulled off the heist of the century. After all that he's been through, you'd think he'd deserve something a little more permanent than all that money. But, let's really look into what happened...
     Henry Morgan, "inconspicuously sanctioned by England," he planned an attack on a port, Portobello, in 1668, in which the Spanish had moved their riches and product too when Nombre de Dios was attacked by Sir Francis Drake years earlier. "Lionel Wafer....described it as having 'a very, fair and commodious harbor...," in which intrigued Morgan to the fullest. He figured he could ambush the two castles that were poorly stocked with lowly soldiers, who hadn't a clue of what they were supposed to be doing. Not manning a fort should be punishable by the gallows if I do say so myself.
     But, nevertheless, Morgan planned to use a fleet of 12 ships, take out the lookout posts, capture the towns, and finally, deliver a fatal blow to the President of Panama. Everything pretty much went according to plan: lookout posts, and maybe some soldiers, taken out. Then, after scaring off more citizens, the towns were taken over. It was time to deliver a knock-out message to the President, Don Agustin, to either give Morgan and his crew 350,000 pesos, or send his own fleet and battle it out. Eventually, although refusing at first, the President agreed and sent around 250,000 pesos in gold and silver, in which he took off to his home in Jamaica.
     Later, early this year, Morgan planned another attack on Panama, in which he was restricted by an order to not raid anything having to do with the Spanish. England and Spain were at war, and raiding was a crime at the time. Morgan went through with his plan anyways, and reversed his previous feat. He did not plan a frontal attack, and even with a win, he was arrested for breaking the law... BUT, by the power of God himself, the Queen of England has granted Morgan a pass and has even given him the title of a KNIGHT. By the power vested in the Queen herself, we shall all shout for joy at this miraculous achievement!