governor gave us Liberty to come in, and the next day sent out hands to bring us in to the right harbor, under Commd. of the forte. the next day our cable brake and she drave ashore; but not being willing to loose her, gott her off with one Anchor and cable off, and one end of a cable ashore, and so gott her into the Soft woose,110 because wee would not be att the charge of Negro's and to pumpe her. thus the good shipp Trinity, which was Built in the South Seas, ended her Voyage, and through the Blessing of god brought us amounge our Cuntry men againe, and thiss being what I can think on att present, being the true actions of our Voyage as near as I can Remember, my Jornall being detained att St. Thomases and lost.111 The Lord be praised for all his mercyes to us. Finis.

46. Sir Henry Morgan to Sir Leoline Jenkins. March 8, 1682.1

May it Please your Honour

Since I in obedience to his Majesties commands caused the Three Pyrates to be executed, The whole party which Nicholas Esmit [Schmidt?], a Holsteiner. On St. Thomas as a refuge of buccaneers, neutral to Spanish-English-French warfare and jurisdiction, see ibid., pp. 47-58. Professor Westergaard, p. 48, quotes from a letter of Governor Esmit, May 17, 1682, in the Danish archives at Copenhagen, regarding our seven remaining pirates: "There arrived here February 8 a ship of unknown origin, some two hundred tons in size, without guns, passport, or letters, and with seven men, French, English, and German. On being questioned they replied that they had gone out of Espaniola from the harbor of Petit Guava with two hundred men and a French commission to cruise on the Spaniards. . . . [Summary of adventures on the Isthmus and in the South Sea.] I bought what little cacao they had; the rest of their plunder they brought ashore and divided among our people. The ship was no longer usable. I have decided not to confiscate it, in order to avoid any unfriendliness with sea-robbers. The inhabitants of St. Thomas have decided that the said seven men shall remain among them". Later, Captain Sharp himself came and spent his last years at St. Thomas.

110 Ooze.

...

This sentence sounds as if our narrator, himself one of the seven, had finally reached England or Jamaica. If so, he was more fortunate than some of the others; see the next document.

Public Record Office, C. O. 1:48, no. 37. The writer, lieutenantgovernor of Jamaica from 1674 to 1688, and at the time of writing acting governor, was the same Henry Morgan who in earlier years had been

these two last yeares have molested the Spaniards in the South Seas are by the help of a Spanish Pilote come about to the windward Islands; Sixteen whereof are gone for England with Bartholemew Sharpe their Leader, the rest are at Antegoe and the Neighboring Islands, excepting four that are come hither, one whereof surrenderd himself to me, the other three I with much difficulty found out and apprehended my self. they have since been found guilty and condemned. he that surrendred himself is like as informer to obtain the favour of the Court. one of the condemned is proved a bloody and Notorious villain and fitt to make an exemple of, the other two as being represented to me fitt objects of mercy by the Judges, I will not proceed against till his Majesties further commands; and am heartely glad the Opinion of the Court is soe favorable, I much abhorring bloodshed and being greatly dissatisfyed that in my Short Government soe many necessities have layn upon me of punishing Criminels with death. The passage of these people is extraordinarily remarkable, for in litle more then four monthes they came from Coquimbo in Peru five degrees South Latitude, to Barbados in thirteen North.

Our Logwoodmen have lately had eight of their Vessels taken from them and their people carried away prisoners, I am intheir usage appears by the inclosed Petition. formed that in the Havana, Merida and Mexico many of

the most famous of buccaneers, capturing Portobello in 1668, Maracaibo in 1669, Panama itself in 1671-wonderful exploits, carried out with great bravery and cruelty. Now he is governor, holds piracy in abhorrence, and It must be remembered, however, that his is determined to suppress it! own exploits were carried out under commissions from proper authority, and legally were not piracy. His correspondent, Sir Leoline Jenkins, for twenty years judge of the High Court of Admiralty, and at this time also secretary of state, was one of the most learned admiralty lawyers England ever produced. Morgan's view of his own competence as admiralty judge in his colony is given with engaging frankness in a contemporary letter: "The office of Judge Admiral was not given me for my understanding of the business better than others, nor for the profitableness thereof, for I left the schools too young to be a great proficient either in that or other laws, and have been much more used to the pike than to the book; and as for the profit, there is no porter in this town but can get more money in the time than I made by this trial. But I was truly put in to maintain the honour of the Court for His Majesty's service." Cal. St. Pap., Col., 16771680, p. li.

his Majesties Subjects are prisoners and the Spanish Pylott that brought the People about (who is here) tells me That Sir John Narborow's Lieutenant and nine or ten others are at Lima in Perua. they are all great objects of mercy and Compassion, therefore I hope your Honour will not bee unmindful of them.3. . .

ST. JAGO DE LA VEGA

this 8th of March 1681-2.

HEN. MORGAN.

47. Deposition of Simon Calderon. 1682.1

Relation of the South Sea men.

Simon Calderon, Natural de Santiago de Chile, Marinero de profession, yendo del callado a Panama en el Navio llamado el Rosario, cargado de Vinos, aguardientes, estaño en Barras, y cantidad de Patacas, con beynte y quatro Hombres pasageros y todo, encontraron en la punta de Cabo passado como a la mitad del Camino, al navio de la Trinidad y le estimaron como de Espagnoles, pero luego que reconocieron ser de Piratas, procuraron ganarle el Barlavento, lo qual ganaron los Piratas, y luego empezaron a tirar mosquetarias, y de las primeras tres cargas mataron al Capitan del Rosario, que se llamaba Juan Lopez, y hizieron otras y apresaron el navio y sacaron con las favas todo lo que les parecio necessario del Vino y aguardientes y toda la plata y demas que havia de valor, y dieron tormento a dos Espagnoles para que descubriessen si havia mas plata y curtaron velas y Jarzias, menos la mayor, y alargaron el Navio con la gente menos cinco o seys, que trageron consigo y entre ellos el declarante.

De alli hecharon a la Isla de la Plata, donde estubieron tres dias y medio refrescando; y sospechando que los

"Sir John Narbrough (1640-1688), afterward a celebrated admiral, had in 1669-1671 voyaged to the South Sea, as a young lieutenant, in command of the Sweepstakes; in Valdivia bay the Spaniards had seized two of his officers, and, it seems, still detained them.

The rest of the letter relates to quite other matters. 'Public Record Office, C. O. 1: 50, no. 139.

prisioneros se querian alzar con el navio mataron a uno y castigaron a otro; y de alli a Payta en donde hecharon dos canoas a tierra con treynte y dos hombres armados con animo de ganar a Payta, y hallando resistencia se bolvieron al navio; de alli Tiraron al estrecho de Magallanes; pero no passaron por el, sino al redidor de la ysla del fuego que estava como seys a ocho dias apartada del estrecho de Magallanes, este estrecho del fuego tardaron en pasarle hasta entrar en el mar del Norte cosa de nuebe Dias. Llegaron a Barbadas donde por haver encontrado un navio del Rey de Inglatierra no se atrevieron a entrar.

En el camino dividieron la présa y tocó a quatrocientos pesos a cada uno de sesenta y quatro personas.

De Barbadas fueron a Antica donde fueron recividos sin hacerles molestia, antes buen acostimiento y de alli se dividieron unas a Niebes en una balandra, otras como diez y ocho de ellos a londres en el navio cuyo Capitan. se llamaba Portin, otros ocho que erran los principales se uieron en el Navio llamado la Comadressa Blanca o cui Wihte, su Capitan Charles Howard, dos de ellos que eran los principales cabos se llaman el Capitan Sharp, y el otro Gilbert Dike, y a este declarante le dexaron en Plymuth.

Los demas testigos dicen tambien haver oydo que estos Piratas andan comprando aora un Nabio para bolver a hacer el mismo viage o continuar esta pirateria.

Translation.

Relation of the South Sea Men

Simon Calderon, native of Santiago de Chile, mariner, going from Callao to Panama in the ship called the Rosario laden with wine, brandy, pigs of tin,2 and artichokes, with 24 passengers and all, they met off Cabo Pasado, about halfway in their voyage, a ship, the Trinidad, and supposed it to be Spanish, but when they perceived that it was a ship of pirates, they tried to obtain the weather-gauge, but the pirates obtained it, and then they began to fire musket-shots, and with the first three shots they killed the captain of the 'See document 45, above, note 80.

Rosario, who was called Juan Lopez, and fired other shots, and captured the ship, and took out with the hooks [?] all that they deemed necessary of the wine and brandy, and all the silver and other things that had value, and tortured two Spaniards in order to learn whether there was more silver, and cut down the sails and rigging, except the mainsail, and turned the ship adrift with the men, excepting five or six whom they took with them, and among others the deponent. Thence they went to the Isla de la Plata, where they remained three days and a half refreshing themselves, and suspecting that the prisoners were planning to rise and take the ship they killed one and flogged another; and thence they went to Payta, where they sent two canoes ashore with 32 armed men, with design to capture Payta, but meeting with resistance they returned to the ship. Thence they sailed away to the Strait of Magellan, but did not go through it, but around the Isla del Fuego, which was some six or eight days' distance from the Strait of Magellan. In making this passage of Fuego, to enter into the North Sea, they were delayed some nine days. They came to Barbados, where, because of finding there a ship of the King of England, they did not venture to enter.

On the voyage they divided the booty and obtained 400 dollars apiece, for each one of 74 persons.

4

From Barbados they went to Antigua, where they were received without injury, but rather with good treatment, and from there they divided, some going to Nevis in a bilander, others, some 18 of them, to London in the ship whose captain was called Portin, and eight others that were the principal ones fled in the ship called the Comadressa Blanca (White Gossip), Captain Charles Howard. Two of them, that were the principal chiefs, were called, [the one] Captain Sharp, and the other Gilbert Dike; and this deponent was left at Plymouth.

Other witnesses say, however, that they have heard that these pirates are now proceeding to buy a ship to return and make the same voyage or continue this piracy.

A bilander was a small two-master, with the mainsail of lateen form.

The Lisbon Merchant, Captain Porteen. Ringrose, p. 212.

5

Or perhaps Ermine.