Henry Morgan (1635–1688) was one of the most famous privateers of British descent, who made a name for himself among the buccaneers of the Caribbean for his exploits in Portobello, Maracaibo, and Panama. He also came to occupy the position of Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica.
He stood out for playing a key role in the battle that Great Britain and Spain had for the Americas in the colonization stage. He was considered one of the most prominent enemies of the Spanish, after the Vice Admiral of the English Royal Navy, Sir Francis Drake (1540-1596).
Portrait of Henry Morgan, included in the collection of the National Library of Wales. Source: National Library of Wales
Morgan also became the owner of three large sugar plantations in the Jamaican lands. The memoirs published by one of his former shipmates tarnished his image and positioned him as a cruel corsair, a fame that would serve as inspiration for various works of fiction about the life of pirates.
Biography
Henry Morgan was born in 1635 in the town of Llanrumney, in Glamorgan, a historic county in Wales. He was the eldest son of Robert Morgan, an English squire and nephew of the Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica, Colonel Edward Morgan.
It is not known what his life was like during childhood and adolescence, although some versions indicate that he was a member of a group of assailants led by Sir Christopher Myngs in the early 1660s. The truth is that there are no records of his activity before 1665, when he began to be notable for his feats as a privateer.
Corsairs used to be mercenaries who were allowed to attack and loot enemy ships or ports. They were like pirates, but they counted on the “permissiveness” of the authorities, since they kept a large part of the loot in exchange for weakening the opposition forces.
Sack of Portobello
It was in the fall of 1665 that Morgan commanded a ship on one of the expeditions of privateer Edward Mansfield, leader of the buccaneers on Tortuga Island. Upon Mansfield's death during one of his assaults, his leadership was quickly replaced by Henry's, who was elected as admiral by the buccaneers themselves.
Before directing the ships to the north coast of Panama, he captured some prisoners in Cuba. It is said that he and his men, when occupying Portobello, sacked the city and cruelly massacred the Spanish garrison, for an alleged invasion that they were preparing for Jamaica.
There were more than 400 buccaneers against 300 Spaniards defending the port, which was well fortified. Morgan surprised them by entering at night through a swampy area, brutally exterminating them. His men kept the city practically kidnapped for about a month, demanding 100,000 pesos in exchange for not burning it, despite the fact that they had already looted it.
Incursion in Maracaibo
Henry Morgan: Recruiting for the Attack (1887). Source: Howard Pyle
His next stop was not in Cartagena, Colombia, where Spanish naval power was centered. The ships were directed rather towards Venezuela, to assault the cities of Gibraltar and Maracaibo.
The main defense of La Barra del Lago de Maracaibo was attacked in March of that 1669, but the Spanish warships managed to block them in the narrowest area of the fortress, entering at night.
The booty was minimal at that stop, although it was later offset by the assault on three Spanish ships carrying silver. During this period, Morgan became the naval commander of the area.
Attack on Panama
The third great feat of the English privateer was undoubtedly the assault on Panama. With the support of some 1,500 men that he had managed to gather, in 1671 he captured the fort of San Lorenzo and headed for the city.
The Spanish defending Panama were terrified by the fame of Morgan and his men, so many abandoned their posts, others were scattered, and a few did resist.
After the fight there was a devastating fire that destroyed everything in its path, but it is not clear if it was accidental or an order from the Spanish governor. The only certain thing is that the city was in ruins.
The raid was successful, although the booty was not so successful, because much of it had been removed and transferred to Spain, before the arrival of the English corsairs.
It was never known whether Morgan was unaware or had ignored the peace agreement between the English and the Spanish with the so-called Treaty of Madrid (1670), but diplomatic tensions did arise, for which Henry was arrested and sent to England.
The corsair was never punished for his raids. He was a popular hero, for which he was acquitted of his crimes and even received the title of knight from Charles II in 1674.
Last years
The life of an English privateer and his three famous expeditions in the Caribbean endowed Morgan not only with fame and influence, but with riches. He owned a large amount of land in Jamaica.
From 1674 he served as lieutenant governor of this island in the Caribbean Sea. His task was to suppress the buccaneers in the area, with whom he fought for the next 10 years.
In 1678 the published memoirs of one of his companions, the Dutchman Alexandre Exquemelin, caused a stir as he recounted the terrible exploits of Morgan and his buccaneers.
The author of Histoire d'avanturiers qui se sont signalez dans les Indes, received a libel suit, but Morgan's reputation was not cleared. An English translation of William Crook, Bucaniers of America, in 1684 was perhaps the perfect excuse to remove him in 1684.
On August 25, 1688, at the age of 53, one of the most famous Welsh buccaneers in the Caribbean died in Jamaica. It is said that he may have contracted tuberculosis, while other versions indicate that he had liver failure due to excess alcohol.
The ships anchored in the port fired in his honor and his body was transferred with military honors, from the king's house in Port Royal to the Church of St. Peter.
Today, some hotels and various tourist spots bear his name, such as Morgan's Valley in Jamaica, as well as Morgan's Cave on the island of San Andrés.
References
- Wikipedia contributors. (2020, January 9). Henry Morgan. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Recovered from en.wikipedia.org
- Cannon, J. (2019, December 29) Morgan, Sir Henry. The Oxford Companion to British History. Recovered from Encyclopedia.com
- Henry Morgan. (2019, November 09). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Recovered from es.wikipedia.org
- Encyclopædia Britannica (2020, January 1). Sir Henry Morgan. Recovered from britannica.com
- Henry Morgan. (2017, December 18). New World Encyclopedia. Recovered from newworldencyclopedia.org
- Minster, Christopher. (2019, June 5). Biography of Captain Henry Morgan, Welsh Privateer. Recovered from thoughtco.com