Henry Morgan(1631 — 1688)
Henry Morgan
royaume d'Angleterre
7 min read
A Welsh privateer in the service of England, Henry Morgan terrorized Spanish possessions in the Caribbean during the 1660s and 1670s. Knighted by Charles II, he ended his life as lieutenant governor of Jamaica.
Frequently asked questions
Key Facts
- Born around 1635 in Wales, he joined the Caribbean as part of England's colonial expansion
- In 1668, he sacked Portobelo (Panama), a heavily defended Spanish stronghold
- In 1669, he led a devastating raid against Maracaibo (in present-day Venezuela)
- In 1671, he captured and burned the city of Panama, the most spectacular feat of his career
- Knighted by Charles II, he was appointed lieutenant governor of Jamaica and died at Port Royal in 1688
Works & Achievements
Morgan's first major operation as a fleet commander, showcasing his ability to coordinate several buccaneer crews.
A spectacular strike against one of the best-defended Spanish ports in the Caribbean, which established his reputation as a daring leader.
An expedition into Lake Maracaibo capped by a famous escape from the Spanish blockade thanks to a fire ship.
His most ambitious operation: crossing the isthmus and destroying one of the largest Spanish cities in the Americas.
Official recognition by Charles II, who turned the buccaneer into a senior colonial official.
Now a figure of authority, Morgan had to hunt down his former privateering comrades to enforce the peace with Spain.
A pioneering press-law case: Morgan won damages for passages deemed false about his origins.
Anecdotes
In 1671, Morgan crossed the Isthmus of Panama at the head of around 1,400 men to seize Panama, one of the richest cities in the Spanish empire. The city was burned and looted, but its inhabitants had had time to evacuate much of the gold by ship: Morgan found a far leaner haul than he had hoped for.
Trapped in 1669 in the lagoon of Maracaibo by three Spanish warships, Morgan escaped the snare through cunning: he sent against them a fire ship disguised as a warship, with logs of wood dressed up as fake sailors on deck. The Spanish flagship caught fire and Morgan's fleet slipped away.
According to the account of the surgeon Alexandre Exquemelin, during a banquet aboard his ship the *Oxford* in 1669, the powder magazine exploded and killed a good part of the crew. Morgan, seated on the side of the table spared by the blast, survived almost unharmed.
After the sack of Panama, Morgan was arrested and taken to London: his raid had taken place after the signing of the Treaty of Madrid, the peace agreement between England and Spain. But instead of being punished, he was knighted by **Charles II** in 1674 and appointed lieutenant governor of Jamaica — the pirate became the authority charged with stamping out piracy.
When Exquemelin's book appeared in English, Morgan, now a man of standing, took his publishers to court: he accused them of having written that he had been sold as an indentured servant. He won his case in 1685 and was awarded damages — one of the first libel suits in the history of English publishing.
Primary Sources
An account, by an eyewitness who had served among the buccaneers, of the expeditions waged against the Spanish towns and possessions of the West Indies, and notably the captures of Portobelo, Maracaibo, and Panama led by Henry Morgan.
The two crowns agree to cease hostilities in the West Indies and to mutually recognize each other's possessions; each sovereign pledges to no longer issue letters of marque against the other.
Letters and dispatches exchanged between the governors of Jamaica and London discussing Morgan's expeditions, his recall before the Council, then his appointment as lieutenant governor and his efforts to contain the buccaneers of Port Royal.
Key Places
The region Morgan came from, born into a family of minor Welsh gentry. He left the country young to make his fortune in the Caribbean.
A great free port and buccaneers' den, Morgan's base and later the seat of his authority as lieutenant-governor. He died there and was buried there.
A fortified Spanish port in the Caribbean, a stopping point for the silver trade from Peru. Morgan seized it by surprise in 1668.
A town on Lake Maracaibo plundered by Morgan in 1669; it was at the mouth of the lagoon that he outwitted the Spanish blockade using a fire ship.
A wealthy Spanish city on the Pacific, reached after crossing the isthmus and burned down in 1671. Morgan's most famous and most controversial raid.
Morgan was brought back here in 1672 to answer for the sack of Panama, before being knighted and sent back to govern Jamaica.