6B. Challenge to Spain's Monopoly 1.docx
Piracy
The Pirate King- Henry Morgan
Born 1635 in Monmouth shire, Wales.
Died 1688 in Jamaica.
Titles held by Morgan during his colorful lifestyle were:
Buccaneer and Pirate.
Admiral and General.
Country gentleman and planter.
Customs and judge of the court of Vice Admiralty, governor and knight.
Arrived in Barbados around 1655 as an indentured labor.
Escaped and joined Cromwell’s Western Design to sack and capture Hispaniola, hence arrived in Jamaica.
Governor in Jamaica was Modyford.
In the late 1660’s Governor Modyford named Morgan commander of the militia in Port Royal.
By the year 1668 Morgan was already on English vice admiral of a fleet of 15 ships, and was elected by the pirates as leader of all pirate activities in Jamaica (succeeding Edward Mansfield)
Henry became the terror of all Spaniards in the West Indies.
1668- Led fleets against Spanish- held Puerto Principe in Cuba with the intent of uncovering any Spanish plots to invade Jamaica.
Morgan cut his losses and moved on to Puerto Bello, Panama one of the strongest and wealthiest of the Spanish cities.
Soon the city was his, along with 250,000 pieces – of – eight and 300 slaves.
1669: Morgan headed towards the Venezuelan city of Maracaibo sacking it.
His fleet moved on to Gibraltar where he and his men stayed for weeks and gaining about 5000 pieces-of-eight.
1670 January, he embarked on the largest venture of his career, the gold of Panama.
2000 buccaneers and 36 ships joined forces with him.
The Spanish were forced to retreat and the city belonged to Morgan, along with 100,000 English Pounds.
By this time England and Spain was no longer at war and so Morgan and Modyford were recalled to England to stand trial.
In 1673: King Charles II knighted him Lt. Government of Jamaica and Modyford made Chief Justice.
In Jamaica Morgan ordered that those refusing to give up piracy would be hung at Gallows’ Point (Execution Dock).
Under Morgan’s watch Port Royal was lined with warehouses, goldsmiths, taverns and brothels and house rentals.
In 1692, Port Royal was destroyed by a terrible earthquake.
Piracy was no longer ‘legal’ although it was still alive.
Settlement
In the 17th Century, Spain’s rivals (French, Dutch and English) opened their own settlements on islands that were most neglected by Spain. These were the Lesser Antilles. The Spanish had neglected these islands because:
The Greater Antilles were much larger and had better economic prospects
The Lesser Antilles held little appeal, because of the very difficult voyage to the Windward
The Lesser Antilles was occupied by the aggressive Kalinagos
In their attempt to settle, they ensured that they stayed clear of lands already occupied by the Spanish. However, between 1624 and 1644, the Dutch and English aimed at setting up colonies in Trinidad and Tobago.
The earliest attempts to settle and establish settlements were made in the regions of the Guiana’s - the mainland ‘Wild-Coast’, which was supposedly rich in gold. This area was neglected by the Spanish because of the numerous problems they encountered there. Firstly, the climate and the vegetation were unfamiliar to the Europeans and secondly, because of the hostility of the Kalinagos. The rivals of Spain were all tempted by the Guianas, but it was hard territory to explore and tame. It was not until 1616 that the English and the Dutch established a lasting colony on the river banks of Essequibo. No gold was found hence colonist resorted to planting tobacco.
Initially, colonization by non- Spanish countries was left to individuals as governments did not direct it. For the Dutch, their policy was to set up trading stations. Hence they concentrated in the East Indies, on small unoccupied islands, especially in 1636 when they realized that they lacked the manpower to establish large colonies. Hence they concentrated on three islands off the Venezuelan Coast i.e. Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao which dominated, and three islands in the Leewards dominated by St. Eustatius (Tortuga).
The French dominated the Windwards to a greater extent having interests in Guadeloupe and Grenada. Also, between 1627- 1660 France Colonized Martinique in the West Indies.
In the 17th century, the English colonies were despised, having Barbados 500 miles south of St. Kitts, Jamaica 1000 miles west of St. Kitts. During the 17th century, Jamaica was the only non- Spanish Colony in the Greater Antilles.
Dutch island Colonies
In comparison, the Dutch were the most reluctant colonists than the French and English, as they preferred the profits of trade. The truce that had been signed between the Dutch and the Spanish ended in 1621. Hereafter, they contested places in the Caribbean. Dutchmen concentrated their settling in three main areas, i.e. on the mainland in Guiana, on a batch of islands off the coast of Venezuela of which Curacao was the largest and on other tiny islands just north of St. Kitts, including St. Eustatius.
NB: The Dutch’s interest in these areas was merely to establish trading depots, as islands were of no great importance.
In Guiana, the Dutch set up settlements, mainly a few miles inland on the larger rivers. By 1616 settlements were present on the Courantyne, the Essequibo and the Cayenne. Ten years later, about 1624, a settlement was found on the Berbice further inland. In 1621, the Dutch West Indian company was established and the truce with Spain expired. The Dutch continued to struggle against the Spanish for their independence and in 1648 when the war and struggle ended, the Dutch had become the most successful traders in the West Indies (Treaty of Munster).
Prior to this in 1634, they drove the Spanish from Curacao and occupied Aruba and Bonaire, which were ideal base for trading with the mainland and by 1640, islands of St. Eustatius, St Martin and Saba which were ideal for trading with the English and French colonists in the Leeward Islands. The islands were well-placed for smuggling illegal goods into the Spanish empire and attacking Spanish ships. The ABC islands had deposits of salt and the Dutch grew crops in Guiana and on most other islands. For a while, the Dutch held onto Tobago but preferred to concentrate on illegal trading rather than conquest. It was virtually impossible to prevent the Dutch from trading with the colonies and the English government preferred English colonists trading with themselves. Needless to say it is unlikely that early English and French settlements could have survived without them.
1634 - Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao 1640 - St. Eustatius, Saba
English Island Colonies
Countless attempts and failures to gain control of the Wild Coast of the South American Mainland, led the English then to the Lesser Antilles. In 1622 Thomas Warner landed in St. Christopher, disappointed from failure on the mainland. Warner returned to England, and in 1624 Warner and Ralph Merrifield (merchant) came back and established settlement, thus claiming St Kitts as the First English island colony by a tiny group of settlers. Growing tobacco was one of their intentions. Frenchmen also began arriving on the island, led by Pierre d’ Esnambuc and du Rossey, who assisted in chasing away the Caribs that lived there.
In 1627 Warner agreed to share St. Kitts with the French settlers acquiring the Northern and Southern ends and the English remaining in the centre. This lasted until 1713 when the French gave up their share of the island.
Warner was later appointed governor of St. Kitts, Nevis, Barbados and Montserrat. John Powell claimed Barbados for England in 1624, and 1628 they settled in Nevis and Antigua, and Montserrat in 1632. Barbados too concentrated on growing tobacco for export to England and Europe. Problems existing on the colonies, except for Barbados, resulted in almost extinction for the English and French. For example:
Raids by the Caribs of St. Kitts
Destruction of first tobacco crop by hurricane
Fighting between the English and French
However, by mid-1630’s, the English and French rebuilt what had been destroyed and were not firm in possessing islands. Dutch traders were providers of food and equipment which the settlers heavily relied on. In 1632, the English also settled in Anguilla and Barbuda and in 1655 the island Jamaica was colonized by them.
NB: St. Kitts was called the ‘Mother Colony’ since it also gave rise to the other colonies, such as Nevis, Montserrat and Antigua
1624 - St. Kitts
1627- Barbados
1628 - Nevis, Antigua
1632 - Montserrat, Anguilla, Barbuda
1655 - Jamaica
NB: Cardinal Richelieu was the King’s chief Minister
French Island Colonies
Throughout the 17th century the French held on to the two ends of St. Kitts which was shared with the English. However, this was unsatisfactory for them and in 1635 Richelieu organized what was referred to as the Campagnie des Isles d’Amerique (Company of the Isles of America), in an effort to extend French possessions and to impose a governmental control over French territories. D’Esnambuc was appointed governor-general and by the end of 1635 France was able to claim Guadeloupe and Martinique, which became the principal French West Indian islands. In 1648, the French moved Northwards from St. Kitts to St. Croix, St Bartholomew and St. Martin by the Treaty of Mt. Concordia which was for an agreement to share with the Dutch. In the mid-17th century they went further south to the Windward Islands taking over St. Lucia and Grenada. In 1678, Tobago was taken from the Dutch under the ruler ship of Louis XIV of France. Additionally, the French also gained themselves territory on the mainland at Cayenne in Guiana in 1674.
The fall into bankruptcy of the Company of the Isles of America witnessed the selling of French islands to proprietors. From as early as 1649, a group of islands including Guadeloupe made up the first sale. Hence the French islands were ‘parceled’ out to three proprietors. This proprietary system however was disastrous as colonies experienced problems of underdevelopment due to private feuds and personal self-interest
NB: In the 1660’s Louis XIV served with Minister Jean Colbert who organized the founding of new French West Indian Company.
The French West Indian Company in 1664, took over the French West Indian Islands so that France was able to establish an official and united policy in the government, society and economy of the islands ending the proprietary system in 1674.
1626 - St. Kitts (North/South)
1635 – Guadeloupe, Martinique
1648 - St. Croix, St. Bartholomew, St. Martin
1674 - St. Lucia, Grenada
1678 - Tobago
Spain’s response to the Challenges
The constant fear of raiders and attackers forced the Spanish to put in place proper defense both at sea and land. Pedro Mendez de Aviles recommended the following for a proper defense system.
Regular Sea Patrol (1582) armadillas (swift cruises) would patrol shipping lanes e.g. the Mona Passages; a new Spanish fort was built at St. Augustine guarding Florida and Bahamas Shipping Channels.
Fortification of Towns and Cities e.g. Cartagena, Havana, San Juan and Santo Domingo.
The Convoy System- Flota (1543) ships went to Vera Cruz, Hispaniola, Cuba and PR to collect and leave supplies. The Galleones (1564-1566).
The Asiento- in an attempt to stop the illegal trafficking of slaves this license was issued to the mother countries
Portugal 1515- 1580
Dutch 1580- 1676
French 1670- 1713
British 1713- 1807
Treaties
Treaty of Tordesillas - 1494 (Spain and Portugal)
Treaty of Munster- 1648 (Spain and Holland- Dutch)
Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis - 1559 (Spain and France)
Treaty of Madrid - 1670 (Spain and England)
Treaty of Ryswick- 1697 (Spanish and French)
Treaty of Westminister- 1654 (English and Dutch)
Piracy
The Pirate King- Henry Morgan
Born 1635 in Monmouth shire, Wales.
Died 1688 in Jamaica.
Titles held by Morgan during his colorful lifestyle were:
Buccaneer and Pirate.
Admiral and General.
Country gentleman and planter.
Customs and judge of the court of Vice Admiralty, governor and knight.
Arrived in Barbados around 1655 as an indentured labor.
Escaped and joined Cromwell’s Western Design to sack and capture Hispaniola, hence arrived in Jamaica.
Governor in Jamaica was Modyford.
In the late 1660’s Governor Modyford named Morgan commander of the militia in Port Royal.
By the year 1668 Morgan was already on English vice admiral of a fleet of 15 ships, and was elected by the pirates as leader of all pirate activities in Jamaica (succeeding Edward Mansfield)
Henry became the terror of all Spaniards in the West Indies.
1668- Led fleets against Spanish- held Puerto Principe in Cuba with the intent of uncovering any Spanish plots to invade Jamaica.
Morgan cut his losses and moved on to Puerto Bello, Panama one of the strongest and wealthiest of the Spanish cities.
Soon the city was his, along with 250,000 pieces – of – eight and 300 slaves.
1669: Morgan headed towards the Venezuelan city of Maracaibo sacking it.
His fleet moved on to Gibraltar where he and his men stayed for weeks and gaining about 5000 pieces-of-eight.
1670 January, he embarked on the largest venture of his career, the gold of Panama.
2000 buccaneers and 36 ships joined forces with him.
The Spanish were forced to retreat and the city belonged to Morgan, along with 100,000 English Pounds.
By this time England and Spain was no longer at war and so Morgan and Modyford were recalled to England to stand trial.
In 1673: King Charles II knighted him Lt. Government of Jamaica and Modyford made Chief Justice.
In Jamaica Morgan ordered that those refusing to give up piracy would be hung at Gallows’ Point (Execution Dock).
Under Morgan’s watch Port Royal was lined with warehouses, goldsmiths, taverns and brothels and house rentals.
In 1692, Port Royal was destroyed by a terrible earthquake.
Piracy was no longer ‘legal’ although it was still alive.
Settlement
In the 17th Century, Spain’s rivals (French, Dutch and English) opened their own settlements on islands that were most neglected by Spain. These were the Lesser Antilles. The Spanish had neglected these islands because:
The Greater Antilles were much larger and had better economic prospects
The Lesser Antilles held little appeal, because of the very difficult voyage to the Windward
The Lesser Antilles was occupied by the aggressive Kalinagos
In their attempt to settle, they ensured that they stayed clear of lands already occupied by the Spanish. However, between 1624 and 1644, the Dutch and English aimed at setting up colonies in Trinidad and Tobago.
The earliest attempts to settle and establish settlements were made in the regions of the Guiana’s - the mainland ‘Wild-Coast’, which was supposedly rich in gold. This area was neglected by the Spanish because of the numerous problems they encountered there. Firstly, the climate and the vegetation were unfamiliar to the Europeans and secondly, because of the hostility of the Kalinagos. The rivals of Spain were all tempted by the Guianas, but it was hard territory to explore and tame. It was not until 1616 that the English and the Dutch established a lasting colony on the river banks of Essequibo. No gold was found hence colonist resorted to planting tobacco.
Initially, colonization by non- Spanish countries was left to individuals as governments did not direct it. For the Dutch, their policy was to set up trading stations. Hence they concentrated in the East Indies, on small unoccupied islands, especially in 1636 when they realized that they lacked the manpower to establish large colonies. Hence they concentrated on three islands off the Venezuelan Coast i.e. Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao which dominated, and three islands in the Leewards dominated by St. Eustatius (Tortuga).
The French dominated the Windwards to a greater extent having interests in Guadeloupe and Grenada. Also, between 1627- 1660 France Colonized Martinique in the West Indies.
In the 17th century, the English colonies were despised, having Barbados 500 miles south of St. Kitts, Jamaica 1000 miles west of St. Kitts. During the 17th century, Jamaica was the only non- Spanish Colony in the Greater Antilles.
Dutch island Colonies
In comparison, the Dutch were the most reluctant colonists than the French and English, as they preferred the profits of trade. The truce that had been signed between the Dutch and the Spanish ended in 1621. Hereafter, they contested places in the Caribbean. Dutchmen concentrated their settling in three main areas, i.e. on the mainland in Guiana, on a batch of islands off the coast of Venezuela of which Curacao was the largest and on other tiny islands just north of St. Kitts, including St. Eustatius.
NB: The Dutch’s interest in these areas was merely to establish trading depots, as islands were of no great importance.
In Guiana, the Dutch set up settlements, mainly a few miles inland on the larger rivers. By 1616 settlements were present on the Courantyne, the Essequibo and the Cayenne. Ten years later, about 1624, a settlement was found on the Berbice further inland. In 1621, the Dutch West Indian company was established and the truce with Spain expired. The Dutch continued to struggle against the Spanish for their independence and in 1648 when the war and struggle ended, the Dutch had become the most successful traders in the West Indies (Treaty of Munster).
Prior to this in 1634, they drove the Spanish from Curacao and occupied Aruba and Bonaire, which were ideal base for trading with the mainland and by 1640, islands of St. Eustatius, St Martin and Saba which were ideal for trading with the English and French colonists in the Leeward Islands. The islands were well-placed for smuggling illegal goods into the Spanish empire and attacking Spanish ships. The ABC islands had deposits of salt and the Dutch grew crops in Guiana and on most other islands. For a while, the Dutch held onto Tobago but preferred to concentrate on illegal trading rather than conquest. It was virtually impossible to prevent the Dutch from trading with the colonies and the English government preferred English colonists trading with themselves. Needless to say it is unlikely that early English and French settlements could have survived without them.
1634 - Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao 1640 - St. Eustatius, Saba
English Island Colonies
Countless attempts and failures to gain control of the Wild Coast of the South American Mainland, led the English then to the Lesser Antilles. In 1622 Thomas Warner landed in St. Christopher, disappointed from failure on the mainland. Warner returned to England, and in 1624 Warner and Ralph Merrifield (merchant) came back and established settlement, thus claiming St Kitts as the First English island colony by a tiny group of settlers. Growing tobacco was one of their intentions. Frenchmen also began arriving on the island, led by Pierre d’ Esnambuc and du Rossey, who assisted in chasing away the Caribs that lived there.
In 1627 Warner agreed to share St. Kitts with the French settlers acquiring the Northern and Southern ends and the English remaining in the centre. This lasted until 1713 when the French gave up their share of the island.
Warner was later appointed governor of St. Kitts, Nevis, Barbados and Montserrat. John Powell claimed Barbados for England in 1624, and 1628 they settled in Nevis and Antigua, and Montserrat in 1632. Barbados too concentrated on growing tobacco for export to England and Europe. Problems existing on the colonies, except for Barbados, resulted in almost extinction for the English and French. For example:
Raids by the Caribs of St. Kitts
Destruction of first tobacco crop by hurricane
Fighting between the English and French
However, by mid-1630’s, the English and French rebuilt what had been destroyed and were not firm in possessing islands. Dutch traders were providers of food and equipment which the settlers heavily relied on. In 1632, the English also settled in Anguilla and Barbuda and in 1655 the island Jamaica was colonized by them.
NB: St. Kitts was called the ‘Mother Colony’ since it also gave rise to the other colonies, such as Nevis, Montserrat and Antigua
1624 - St. Kitts
1627- Barbados
1628 - Nevis, Antigua
1632 - Montserrat, Anguilla, Barbuda
1655 - Jamaica
NB: Cardinal Richelieu was the King’s chief Minister
French Island Colonies
Throughout the 17th century the French held on to the two ends of St. Kitts which was shared with the English. However, this was unsatisfactory for them and in 1635 Richelieu organized what was referred to as the Campagnie des Isles d’Amerique (Company of the Isles of America), in an effort to extend French possessions and to impose a governmental control over French territories. D’Esnambuc was appointed governor-general and by the end of 1635 France was able to claim Guadeloupe and Martinique, which became the principal French West Indian islands. In 1648, the French moved Northwards from St. Kitts to St. Croix, St Bartholomew and St. Martin by the Treaty of Mt. Concordia which was for an agreement to share with the Dutch. In the mid-17th century they went further south to the Windward Islands taking over St. Lucia and Grenada. In 1678, Tobago was taken from the Dutch under the ruler ship of Louis XIV of France. Additionally, the French also gained themselves territory on the mainland at Cayenne in Guiana in 1674.
The fall into bankruptcy of the Company of the Isles of America witnessed the selling of French islands to proprietors. From as early as 1649, a group of islands including Guadeloupe made up the first sale. Hence the French islands were ‘parceled’ out to three proprietors. This proprietary system however was disastrous as colonies experienced problems of underdevelopment due to private feuds and personal self-interest
NB: In the 1660’s Louis XIV served with Minister Jean Colbert who organized the founding of new French West Indian Company.
The French West Indian Company in 1664, took over the French West Indian Islands so that France was able to establish an official and united policy in the government, society and economy of the islands ending the proprietary system in 1674.
1626 - St. Kitts (North/South)
1635 – Guadeloupe, Martinique
1648 - St. Croix, St. Bartholomew, St. Martin
1674 - St. Lucia, Grenada
1678 - Tobago
Spain’s response to the Challenges
The constant fear of raiders and attackers forced the Spanish to put in place proper defense both at sea and land. Pedro Mendez de Aviles recommended the following for a proper defense system.
Regular Sea Patrol (1582) armadillas (swift cruises) would patrol shipping lanes e.g. the Mona Passages; a new Spanish fort was built at St. Augustine guarding Florida and Bahamas Shipping Channels.
Fortification of Towns and Cities e.g. Cartagena, Havana, San Juan and Santo Domingo.
The Convoy System- Flota (1543) ships went to Vera Cruz, Hispaniola, Cuba and PR to collect and leave supplies. The Galleones (1564-1566).
The Asiento- in an attempt to stop the illegal trafficking of slaves this license was issued to the mother countries
Portugal 1515- 1580
Dutch 1580- 1676
French 1670- 1713
British 1713- 1807
Treaties
Treaty of Tordesillas - 1494 (Spain and Portugal)
Treaty of Munster- 1648 (Spain and Holland- Dutch)
Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis - 1559 (Spain and France)
Treaty of Madrid - 1670 (Spain and England)
Treaty of Ryswick- 1697 (Spanish and French)
Treaty of Westminister- 1654 (English and Dutch)
