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Home , Henry Morgan, Port Royal

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ln December1663 a Welshmancalled sailed five hundredmiles acrossthe Ca6bbeanto mounta spectacularraid on a Spanishoutpost called 9tqn Grenada,to the northof Lagode Nicaragua.The aim of the expeditionwas simple: to find and steal Spanishgold'- or any-Governor othermovable property. Whgn Morganan! hjs to 5 men got to Gran Grenàda,as the of Jamaicareported in a despatch Londàn,,[They] fired a voliey,overturned eighteen great guns...took the serjeant- great major's'hôusewherein were all their arms ànd ammunition,secured in the Church300 of the best men prisoners...plundered for 16 hours,discharged- the prisoners,sunk all the boatsand so cameaway.' lt was the beginningof one of the 10 seventeenthcentury's most extraordinary smash-and-grab 9Pr"ee9 It should never bé forgottenthat this was how the began: in a maelstromof seaborne violence and thefr. lt was not conceivedby selÊconscious imperialists,aiming to establishEnglish rule over foreign lands, or colonistshoping to builda new life ouér*e"r. Morganând his fellow''werethieves, trying to 15 stealtheproceeds of someoneelse's Empire. The buccaneerscalled themselvesthe ' and had a complex systemof profit-sharing,including insurance policies for injury.Ëssentially, however, they were engagedin-ôrganized crime. When Morganled anotherraid againstthe Spânisntowùiportobelô in ,in 1668,he cameback with so muchplunder 2A - in all a quarterof a millionpieces of eight - that the coins becarnelegal tender in .That amountedto Ê-60,000from just one raid.The Englishgovernment not London, only winkedat Morgan's-à activity; it positivelyencouraged him. Viewed from war against England'sprincipal buocaneeringwas bw-buddet way of waging '', European fJe, . In effdct, the Crown licensed the pirates 3s 25 Ègatizingtheir opàrations in returnfor a shareof the proceeds- (.-') TÈe striliingpoint, however, is what Morgandid with his plunderedpieces of eight. He mightliave optedfor a comfortableietirement back in Monmouthshire,like the ,gengjman'sson àt good quality'he claimedto be. lnsteadhe investedin Jamaican Ëal estate,acquirin! 836'acres of land in the Rio Minhovalley (Morgan'sVa!!!y 30 today).Later, ne addéd4,000 acres in the parishof St Elizabeth.The pointabout this land'wasthat it was ideal for growingsugar cane. And this providesthe key to a moregeneral change in the nalureoi gritisnoverseas expansion' The Empirehad Oeguriwiththe stealingof gold;it progressedwith the cultivationof sugar. In the 1670sthe BritiJhcrown spenithousands of poundsconstructing fortifications 35 to protectthe harbourat Port Ràyalin Jamaica.The walls still stand (thoughmuch furiher from the sea becausean earthquakeshifted the coastline).This investment was deemednecessary because Jamaica was fast becomingsomething much more than a buccaneerbasé. Already, the crownwas earningsubstantial sums from the duties on importsof Jamaicansugar. The island had becomea prime economic 4A asset,to be defendedat all costs. Significantly,the constructionwork at *às rrp"rvised by noneother than HénryMorgan - now Sir Henry.Just a few years after his pirate râid on Gran Grenada,Morgan was now not merelya substantial planter,but also Mce-Admiral,Commandaniof the Port RoyalRegiment, Judge of ifre nOmiraltycourt, Justiceof the Peace and even Acting Governorof Jamaica. now being employed.togovern a colony, 45 Once a licensedpirate, the freelancewa$ 'repeated Admittedly,Morgàn lost all his officialposts in 1681 after making divers extravagantexpiessions ... in his wine'.But his was an honourableretirement. When he died-inAugust 1688 the shipsin Port Royalharbour took turns to ftretwenty-two gunsalutes. processworked' lt perfectlyillustrates the way the empire-building Morgan'scareer the worldforever' frompiracy to politicatpowei'1nat would change was a transition penguinBooks,-2003. Pp' 1-2',11-12' NiapFERGusoN, Empire.Lotiuon' ,-t -. i\ (:Lct\ )

The Plumb-puddingin danger; - or - StateEpicures taking un PetitSouper JamesGillray, 1805 Etchingwith engraving http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/arUprinUexhibits/gillray/captionsfimagegS.html €ceQ Jim Hawkins,ffie boynanator, gæs on the shipthe Hispaniola,.wlh^Dr Livesey' ind squireTretainéy, b ctaim-buriedtreasure ttidden by plrates'offCaracas'. Some of the'sa,;tors,inaiaiig LongJahn and other ex-pirates,mutîny.and steal the Ààp n odei to taketÉe treâsure. When they anive gt the srrrt,with Jim, their 5 priéoner,it hasdisappeared. The doctar anives and explains. -jl$aq- Ben,in hislong, lonely wanderings about the island,had found the skeleton his x , nÀiËàrr"o tin& it tré rraofound'the treqsyrei he haddug it uq (it yvaqthe hafrof @kenintheexcavation);hehadcanieditonhisback,inmany -f 10 ù""ry journeyj,from the foot of a tallpinêto.a.cave he hadon the.two-qointçd hill at the north-eastangle of the island,and there it hadlain stored in safetysince two monthsbefore the arrivalof the Hispaniola. When.thedoctor had worrned this secret from him, on the afrernoonof theattack, andwhen next moming he sawtheanchorage deserted, he had9!ne to Silver,given 15 nimtfte chart,which wâs now useless - givenhim the stores,for BenGunn's cavê waswell supplied with goats'neat salted by hinæelf.-'giv-enanything.and everYthing to get a cfranceof *oving in safetyfrom thé stockadeto thetwo-pointed hill, there to be clearof malariaand keep a guardupon the money ntioryou, Jim,'he said,'it'weitagainbt my heart, bL$ | didwhat I thoughtbgstfor thosewho had stoodOy ineir duty;àndif ydu$,erç not one of these,whose fault u,as it?' Thatmorning, finding ,zlina that*ha* I| was'rac to*n beha involvedinrrnlvarl in thefhe horriddisappointn rcnt he had prepareotoi{ne'nufrn"er*,hehadrunal|thewaytothecave,and,|eavingq9 makingthe Lq,.r'ir"to guad the captain,f,aO taken Gray qqd 1l e maroon,and started, 25 ààgonafàcrosE the isiand, to beat handOêsiOe the pine.Soon, howevêr,.he saw thaiour partyhad the startof him;and Ben Gunn, being fieet.oT f99t' .had been àespatcheOin frontto do his bestalone. Then it hadoccurred to himto workupon the superstitionsof hisformer shipmates, and he vvasso far successfulthatGray and the doctorhad come up andwere already ambushed before the arrivalof the 30 -hunters. (-.iÀ gentleslope ran up fromthe beachto the entranceof the cave.At thetop, the squitefret us.Tô mehe wascordial and kind, saying.nothing of myescapade, either in-n" *"V of blameor praise.At Silver'spolite salute he somewhatflushed. 'you're - 'JohnSilver,' he said, a prodigiousvillain and impostor- 3. monstrous Butthe dead *3s irrpostor,sii. I am torrir am noi to oiosecr-rteyou. Well then, I not. rTFn,sir, hang about your neck like millstones.' 'Thankyou repliedLong John, again saluting' kindly,sir,' 'lt 'l dareyou to thankme!' cried the iquire. is a grossdereliction of myduty- Stand back.' Andthereupon we allenteredthe cave. ltwas a largeairy place,ry,tl a little9Rri1e anda pootbf dearwater, overhung with ferns. The floor was sand. Before a bigfire lay Cai*ainSmollett and in a far ùrner, onlyduskily flickered over by the blaze,I uénàro'gi"atheapi of æin andquadrilaterals built of barsof gold.That was Flint's treasuréthat we iradcome so fai to seek,and that had cost already the lives of 45 seventeenmen from the HLspaniola. How rnany it hadcost in theamassing, wttat bloodand sorrow, what gooà ships scuttled on the deep,what brave men walking the perhapsno flanf blindfold,what stràt of ,what shame and lies and cruelty, manalive could tell. Yet there were stilt three upon that island - Silver,and old Môrg"n,and Ben Gunn - whohad each taken his share in thesecrimes, as each 50 hadhoped in vainto sharethe reward' RobertLouis Stevenson, Tteasure lsland,1883, The RainbowLibrary, Didier, Paris, 1952. Pp. 175-177