For my wife Petra without whose help this book would not have been possible, and for my children, Carol-Lynn and Sean, and grandchildren, Zachary, Eli and Griffin. Cover by Petra Benbow BRAVE BENBOW By William A. Benbow (Copyright 1987 by William A. Benbow All rights reserved Registration NO. 360746) CANADIAN CATALOGUING IN PUBLICATION DATA Benbow, William A. Brave Benbow Bibliography: ISBN 0-9692991-0-9 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER: 87-670036 e-Edition 2017 www.bravebenbow.com [email protected] Victoria, BC, Canada Preface Once upon a time, my father told me a tale of a renowned ancestor, an Admiral in the British Navy, who was part pirate and part hero, who had fought bravely on the Spanish Main, captured many enemy ships and died in a famous battle in the West Indies, in the midst of a mutiny. This family legend has led me on two quests, to search for my roots and to find Admiral Benbow. William A. Benbow Victoria, B.C. June 1988. ADMIRAL JOHN BENBOW Benbow! On the roll of fame Thine stands forth a honoured name; Britain mourned her gallant son, Wilst recounting trophies won; England’s Queen with pity moved Mourned the hero England loved. Many a year has passed since then, Many a race of gifted men: Heroes, statesmen, princes, kings, Borne on Time’s relentless wings In their turn have passed away, Mingling with their kindred clay. Yet the memory of the brave Dies not with the opening grave, But like some sweet perfume cast Lives, all fragrant, to the last. So Salopia, thy brave son In mem’ry lives through vict’ries won! F.P.A., The Salopian and West-Midland Monthly Illustrated Journal, May 1879. Contents HISTORICAL BACKGROUND............................................................................................ 8 THE ADMIRAL'S MUCH DISPUTED ANCESTRY.....................................................13 THE EARLY YEARS............................................................................................................24 THE CHANNEL WAR ........................................................................................................42 THE WEST INDIES ............................................................................................................63 THE LAST VOYAGE ...........................................................................................................86 THE MUTINY....................................................................................................................101 THE COURT-MARTIAL..................................................................................................119 COLONEL RICHARD KIRKBY......................................................................................140 ADMIRAL BENBOW'S LEGACY..................................................................................158 IN MEMORIAM.................................................................................................................167 ADMIRAL BENBOW'S PROGENY..............................................................................175 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...............................................................................................................184 APPENDIX..........................................................................................................................187 THE WILL OF VICE-ADMIRAL JOHN BENBOW..............................................187 WILL OF JOHN BENBOW ........................................................................................189 THE WILL OF MARTHA BENBOW.......................................................................190 HISTORICAL DATES..................................................................................................191 BALLADS.......................................................................................................................192 PEDIGREES .......................................................................................................................196 Come all ye seamen bold, lend an ear, lend an ear, Come all ye seamen bold, lend an ear: Tis of our admiral's fame Brave Benbow called by name, How he fought on the main you shall hear, you shall hear, How he fought on the main you shall hear. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND "Whosoever commands the sea commands trade; whosoever commands the trade of the world commands the riches of the world, and consequently the world itself". Thus did Sir Walter Raleigh in the early 1600's set the stage for the rise of maritime powers and the clash of emerging empires. One of the key figures in this conflict at the end of that century was the merchant admiral John Benbow. Spain and Portugal had laid claim to much of the new worlds they had discovered. Portugal had led the way south around the cape of Good Hope and on to the Spice Islands of the East Indies; while Spain capitalized on the West Indies. The two nations had grown in power as they mastered navigation and other essential seafaring skills and monopolized trade upon the sea. They divided the world trade with the assistance of Pope Alexander Vl who drew a line down the Atlantic Ocean on May 3 and 4, 1493 in his bull Inter Caetera. This line extended north and south through a point 300 miles west of the Portuguese Azores. This granted to the Spanish King all lands in the New World discovered or to be discovered and forbade all persons without Spanish permission to go there for the sake of trade or any other reason. The treaty of Tordesillas in June 1494 reiterated Portugal's monopoly along the African coast and interests in the East Indies. However the two powers continued to compete with Portugal ignoring the Inter Caetera and bringing slaves from Africa to the West Indies. This was a particularly lucrative business as Spain tended to ignore the needs of its colonies while it concentrated on looting the new world of its gold and silver. This attracted French and English and Dutch privateers who first intercepted returning ships near the coast of Spain and then ventured into the Caribbean itself. One of the earliest attempts of the English to trade beyond the line were the voyages of John Hawkins in the 1560's. In 1580 Spain conquered Portugal and so rid itself of that competition and thought itself lord of the seas. The northern Europeans were stirring, however, and by the turn of the 17th Century two new maritime powers emerged and Spain was eclipsed. Both Holland and England had long claimed authority along their coasts. England insisted on all foreign ships lowering their flags in salute in the English Channel. The United Provinces of the Netherlands were breaking away from Spanish control and sending out fleets of armed merchantmen to wrest African and Far Eastern markets from the Spanish Crown. These "Sea Beggars" as they were called attracted French 8 Huguenots who had no qualms about crossing the Papal line. French privateers under Francois le Clerc attacked Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Santiago and Havana in 1553. In 1556 French privateers captured ten of the Spanish Galleons. The English under Francis Drake further probed the Caribbean and even set up trading posts. Drake sacked several Spanish cities including Portobelo and Carthagena in the 1580's. Philip ll of Spain responded by sending the Armada to attack England in 1588. The English established their superiority over the Spanish by defeating the Armada off Calais. The English ships were more streamlined and were more manoeuvrable and faster. The Dutch were challenging Spain in the Molucca's for the Spice trade and in the Mediterranean itself. With the death of Queen Elizabeth l, James Vl of Scotland became James l of England, the first of the Stuarts. He launched a period of peace with Spain and attempted to solidify this by proposing marriage between his son and the Spanish Infanta. He tried to negotiate an English presence in the West Indies by promising to forbid his people from going anywhere in the West Indies where the Spanish were already established, but allow them to develop any area not already settled. The Spanish did not agree but a truce was in place. Similarly the French acknowledged that their corsairs sailed in the Indies at their own risk and action between the Spanish and them would not damage official relations between the two countries. The Spanish even entered negotiations with the Dutch. Thus the northern European countries attempted to establish more peaceful relations with Spain and so remained officially out of the West Indies. However, unofficially English French and Dutch interests continued to trade and began to settle some of the smaller islands which had been ignored by the Spanish. These smaller Islands, the Lesser Antilles, form a semi-circular barrier stretching north and south from Trinidad to Antigua like a ring of forts overlooking the valley of the Caribbean and the Greater Antilles of Puerto Rico, Hispaniola, and Cuba. The Spanish had seen no use for these small islands when they laid claim to the larger ones and the main land of New Spain (Central America and Mexico) and the Spanish Main (South America). This was a strategic error of gigantic proportions as this chain of small islands once occupied by the northern Europeans allowed them to control the Caribbean Sea and intercept Spanish traffic. Their position is particularly significant in that the Easterly Trade Winds place them to windward of the main Spanish possessions. In the Caribbean, generally speaking, the wind blows strongly from the East and so in the days of sailing ships movement was best executed