PROCEED 

The Buccaneers of St. Lucia

Caribbean 1650

A man seeking opportunity falls in with dangerous company.

These are the days before Henry Morgan.

Port Royal on Jamaica is the important place.  

Musket for long distance sniping.  Pistol, fired then used as a club or thrown.  Then cutlass for close work.

Life at sea was boring. Fights were common.  The captain often intervened and controlled them with either fear or respect,  but he did not have the last word.  In many cases the vessel was run democratically.  

Bottled beer was preferred over water as water would soon become undrinkable. Hard tack a tough biscuit was often all that stood between a pirate and starvation and limes would be provided as a source of vitamin c. The smart ones would have a few hens on board to provide both fresh eggs and meat. They liked the turtles that thrived in the Caribbean.

Their reputation as wastrels was well founded. They squandered their loot on booze and whores until broke they had to return to their lawless ways. At times spending thousands of pieces-of-eight in a single night ( 10 pieces-of-eight could buy a small herd of cattle). 

But it was no wonder. Life ashore was nothing better than endless chores overhauling and preparing the ship for the next voyage. Barnacles and seaweed would need to be careened (scraping debris from the bottom of the ship). Battle damaged sails and rigging would also have to be replaced or repaired. 

They had a code. When it was breached, the crew was often without pity or remorse in punishing the guilty. Sometimes skillful fighters were exempted. 

For example Captain shall have one full share and a half in all Prizes; the Master, Carpenter, Boatswain and Gunner shall have one Share and quarter. 

*    If any man shall offer to run away, or keep any Secret from the Company, he shall be marroon'd with one Bottle of Powder, one Bottle of Water, one small Arm and shot.

*    If any shall steal any Thing in the Company, or game, to the Value of a Piece of Eight, he shall be marroon'd or shot. 

*    If at any Time we should meet another Marrooner (that is Pirate) that Man that shall sign his Articles without the Consent of our Company, shall suffer such Punishment as the Captain and Company shall think fit. 

*    That Man that shall strike another whilst these Articles are in force, shall receive Mose's Law (that is 40 stripes lacking one) on the bare back. 

*    That Man that shall snap his Arms, or smoak Tobacco in the Hold, without a cap to his Pipe, or carry a Candle lighted without a Lanthorn, shall suffer Punishment.

*    That Man that shall not keep his Arms clean, fit for an Engagement, or neglect his Business, shall be cut off from his Share, and suffer such other Punishment as the Captain and the Company shall think fit.

*    If any Man shall lose a Joint in time of an Engagement he shall have 400 pieces of Eight; if a limb 800. 

*    If at any time you meet with a prudent Woman, that Man that offers to meddle with her, without her Consent, shall suffer present Death. 

The life as a pirate was a very hazardous one prone to serious injury. Besides death, a pirate's worst fear was becoming disabled. If the injured pirate survived the amputation he received some sort of primitive substitute for his arm or limb (usually a spare plank).  Such pirates were compensated for their loss  Actually, most pirate crews organized fairly sophisticated and favorable conditions for injured crew members. Injured pirates were not only compensated financially, but oftentimes they were also offered to do non-physically demanding work on the ship. Such work could include operating cannons, cooking meals, and washing the ship decks.

When pirates commanded a superior vessel they could easily confront any victim with cannon fire, crippling the ship and stimulating a quick surrender. However, pirates rarely commanded superior vessels, in fact, most often pirates commanded small lightly armored but highly maneuverable ships. They seldom relied on fire power. Instead, pirates generally preferred to quickly board the enemy ship and rapidly retreating.

In 1640 the buccaneers of Tortuga began calling themselves the Brethren of the Coast. In this same year Jean Le Vasseur is commissioned to take full posession of the island. He was able to expel the ill-organised English
colonists by 1641. The population of pirates and privateers on Tortuga consisted of a mix of most Europeans, but the largest parts were French and English. A Spanish report from 1646 again mentions the buccaneer hideout and informs us that in 1645 the population consisted of Dutchmen and Englishmen.  The French governer imported several hundred prostitutes round 1650, hoping to regularize the lives of the unruly pirates, some of whom lived in a kind of homosexual union known as matelotage. 

Le Vasseur is assassinated by his own followers in 1653. During his years as a Governor the island was heavily fortified against attacks from Spanish forces.  His successor, Chevalier de Fontenay, was attacked in January 1654 by Spanish forces from Santo Domingo. A garrison was left to hold the island but it was withdrawn in 1655 to aid in the defence of Santo Domingo against English forces in the area. When some Englishmen heard of this they sailed from Jamaica to reoccupy Tortuga. This they did from 1655 to 1659. From the island they frequently attacked the few Spanish settlements that still remained on Hispaniola. As a consequence these were destroyed. Colonel Edward D'Oyley, then Governor of Jamaica, tried to establish an English government on Tortuga from 1658 to 1659. Despite help from French deserters he failed and a French government was set up by the colonists.
 


So...decision time...PROCEED or ABORT

ABORT