Pirates and slave ships

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Slave ships often became victims of pirates. If we follow the routes of the slave ships we will find pirate ships and if we search for pirate ships we find slave ships.

Here is a deposition, made by a ship's carpenter who became a pirate and jumped ship, when he got his first chance do do it.

 

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[Blak bart]

"Guerrero (ship) - Wikipedia" https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerrero_(ship)
A famous slaver and pirate from here in the keys !!

 

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"Guerrero (ship) - Wikipedia" https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guerrero_(ship)
A famous slaver and pirate from here in the keys !!

Thank you Black Bart, fantastic story!!!

 

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And here is the continuation of the pirate's deposition. Note how he followed the routes of the slave ships.


made Sierra Leone, and followed down the coast, generally anchoring at night, for they understood the coast to be full of ships. Their first prize was a Dutch interloper, from which they took all that they wanted and turned her into a fire-ship. They sold the goods to negroes for 2 lb. weight of gold. Next day we saw a large ship at anchor. The pirate as usual flew the King's Jack and pendant like an English man-of-war. The ship as she came near struck her colours and saluted; the pirate returned the salute and then anchoring before her forefoot poured in a volley and a broadside. She cut her cable, but could not escape, and was captured. She was a Flushinger, an interloper of twenty guns, with seventy pounds of gold on board and abundance of liquor. Everything was taken, and the prize turned into a pirate consort. Cruising on in company they came upon the interloper Sevenoaks, which, seeing them plying to and fro, thought they needed something and came to their relief. The La Trompeuse ordered the master to come on board, and on his refusal sent on board to fetch him, tortured him exceedingly, took all that he had, which was not much, and sunk the ship. Next day they took another interloper with some small quantity of gold, took everything out of her, put all the prisoners on board, and bade them begone to leeward. Next day passed Cape Coast Castle, saw first a pink and towards night two ships at anchor. Took them all three with little difficulty on the morrow; they tortured the men and got about twenty pounds weight of gold. Stood on for Accra, but overshot it, and went on towards Wheda. Captured three boats full of trading goods; took all the goods and men and sunk the boats. At Little Poapaw found an interloper at anchor; took her without resistance, and plundered her. Went on to Wheda, where found three of the African Company's ships. Drew near one, disguised as an English man-of-war, and poured in a broadside. The ship cut her cable and tried to sail out, whereupon the pirates boarded her, cutting down men right and left, captured her, and sent the men on board the pirate, where they tied the men up so tightly for the night that they were in torture. They found one chest of gold of fifty pounds weight, and, hearing of another, shot the gunner dead and flogged the rest of the men to make them confess where it was. They then sent on board another of the ships, which had been abandoned, and took 150 pounds weight of gold. The third ship cut her cable, and running ashore was wrecked, but the men saved the gold and took it ashore. The pirates then refitted and went off the coast to Cape Lopus, and in a few days came up with a large ship of the Dutch West India Company, mounting twenty guns. She surrendered without resistance, but had little on board but slaves. The pirates did not torture the Dutch, favouring them more than the English. Off Cape St. John's the pirates landed and divided the gold taken on the voyage, where, owing to quarrels, the company divided, and some went for the West Indies in La Trompeuse, and the rest in the other ship made for Cape Lopus. Before they parted they captured an interloper and a ship of the Royal African Company, and took what gold they had. La Trompeuse then sailed to Dominica, where forty men left her, and she kept but sixteen white men and twenty-two negroes on board. The blacks rose against the whites, but were beaten back with loss of three killed; and on 27th July the ship came to St. Thomas and made the private signal, and was admitted. They took their treasure ashore and were very kindly received by the Governor. H.M.S. Francis came in two days later, and was fired at both by the pirate and the forts. Hearing what ship the pirate was he set her on fire, and she blew up. Sworn before Edwyn Stede, 18 October 1683. 19 pp. [Col. Papers, Vol. LII., No. 9.]

 

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These artifacts were recovered from the site of the "La Trompeuse" mentioned in Phips deposition above.
It seems there is more than one connection with the Bahamas. Still investigating...will post when I have proof.

By the way, any help investigating shipwrecks is more than welcome. If several of us do research on the same subject, we can be very much more productive. I don't mind sharing what I have and find. There is enough for everyone.

 

[WRECKING]

View attachment 1934923

These artifacts were recovered from the site of the "La Trompeuse" mentioned in Phips deposition above.
It seems there is more than one connection with the Bahamas. Still investigating...will post when I have proof.

By the way, any help investigating shipwrecks is more than welcome. If several of us do research on the same subject, we can be very much more productive. I don't mind sharing what I have and find. There is enough for everyone.

So the story starts some 10 or 20 years earlier, but lets make it 1669. Isle a Vache, Haiti. Henry Morgan assembled 2000 men on 22 ships, to plunder Cartagena. These buccaneers were kind of democratic, so they voted on the plan.
Once everyone agreed, they made a big party on Henry Morgan's flag ship, the OXFORD. Many got drunk. One careless drunken buccaneer, accidently got a spark into the powder chamber and the Oxford blew up.
A different ship exploding, but you get the idea.

 

[WRECKING]

So the story starts some 10 or 20 years earlier, but lets make it 1669. Isle a Vache, Haiti. Henry Morgan assembled 2000 men on 22 ships, to plunder Cartagena. These buccaneers were kind of democratic, so they voted on the plan.
Once everyone agreed, they made a big party on Henry Morgan's flag ship, the OXFORD. Many got drunk. One careless drunken buccaneer, accidently got a spark into the powder chamber and the Oxford blew up. View attachment 1936206
A different ship exploding, but you get the idea.

The captains of all the ships were on the poop deck, sitting around a long table, carousing. The explosion brought down the mizzen mast on the table. The OXFORD sank immediately.
Only 4 people from the OXFORD survived. Henry Morgan, his ship's surgeon and 2 other captains who were sitting next to Henry Morgan.
How do we know all that? with such accuracy?
Because the ship's surgeon wrote a letter the day after. Here is the letter:

One more little detail: Spanish and Portuguese ships had the powder chamber aft. English and Dutch ships had the powder chamber forward. At least this is what I deduct from the scatter pattern of exploding ships from that time period that I worked on.
In the case of the OXFORD, it explains why Henry Morgan survived on the Poop deck.

 

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Henry Morgan's ship the OXFORD blew up in 1669 at a place called Isle a Vache

Henry Morgan's ship the OXFORD blew up in 1669 at a place called Isle a Vache.
Here is a map of the area.

 

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Treasure map with clues

Henry Morgan's ship the OXFORD blew up in 1669 at a place called Isle a Vache.
Here is a map of the area. View attachment 1936540

Where exactly is the shipwreck?

This picture was taken many years ago with the boat anchored on the site. Elevation is about 10 feet. Magnetometer signature of iron cannon, in a typical pattern of an exploding ship, exactly under the boat and area of maybe 100 feet distance.

 

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Henry Morgan's sword?

Where exactly is the shipwreck? View attachment 1936786

This picture was taken many years ago with the boat anchored on the site. Elevation is about 10 feet. Magnetometer signature of iron cannon, in a typical pattern of an exploding ship, exactly under the boat and area of maybe 100 feet distance.

So what? The Oxford was not a treasure galleon. Preparing for an attack on Cartagena, it would not carry treasure.

No this is not Henry Morgan's sword. It is not even a sword, it is a Rapier. From a different wreck site.
But Henry Morgan could very well have owned a similar rapier.
Th e bottom is deep mud. There is no better ground to preserve a shipwreck and all it's content.

The HM on the bottom of this pewter plate does not correspond to the initials of Henry Morgan. But it could be.
Note the knife marks. The user of the plate seems to have had the habit of cutting his bread on the back of his plate. You can wonder if Henry Morgan was cutting his roast pork on the back of his plate at the moment when the Oxford blew up.

 

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Remember where we started? The TROMPEUSE pirate ship.
I have to jump ahead, otherwise I don't remember where I started the story. True story, mind. Note the references to the archives.
So the story of the pirate ship TROMPEUSE, starts with Henry Morgan. There is a gap of a few years, we will come back to that later.
Or rather Henry Morgan will take us back.

 

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Henry Morgan



Henry Morgan and the French ship La Trompeuse year 1682

Note: Henry Morgan is not a pirate anymore. He is now government.

 

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There is lots of good stuff in this archive. Does anybody know if it can be accessed on line? I don't remember where I got this stuff, it is just floating in some of my old backup disks.

Col. Papers, Vol. XLVIII., No. 5A.

 

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Sharpe in the South Sea



How far does Henry Morgan's involvement in Sharpe's South Seas caper?
Sorry, I must say Sir Henry Morgan.


Ah, I have found some good stuff on the INTERNET ARCHIVE

 

[whydahdiver]

Both Whydah and Queen Anne's Revenge were previously slave ships and both picked up loads of slaves in Ouidah, anglicized as Whydah in 1717. Blackbeard lasted another year but Bellamy died on April 26, that year. Both wrecks are still revealing their secrets to this day.


WD

 

[WRECKING]

Both Whydah and Queen Anne's Revenge were previously slave ships and both picked up loads of slaves in Ouidah, anglicized as Whydah in 1717. Blackbeard lasted another year but Bellamy died on April 26, that year. Both wrecks are still revealing their secrets to this day.


WD

There seems to have been a symbiotic relationship between pirates, slavers and slaves. Esquemelin who wrote the book below, although of French origin, white, was an indentured servant. He was sold several times and ended up as a surgeon with the Buccaneers. If you are a servant and being sold to different masters, you are a slave, whatever your skin color may be.

He is one of the best sources of information about the Buccaneers.

 

[WRECKING]

View attachment 1937576

How far does Henry Morgan's involvement in Sharpe's South Seas caper?
Sorry, I must say Sir Henry Morgan.


Ah, I have found some good stuff on the INTERNET ARCHIVE

If you want to read the whole story, you can download it from the INTERNET ARCHIVE, free.

So this is what Henry Morgan is talking about above. Sharpe came back from the South Sea in the "Trinity" having sailed around the southern tip of South America.

What Henry Morgan did not know, is that the "Trinity" brought, what turned out to be possibly the most valuable treasure ever.