The Pirate King

The New Governor - part 2

Vaughan’s displeasure with Morgan is clear in the letter he wrote to

Williamson first on 18 May 1675, wherein he said that he had:

so tired of him that he's perfectly weary of him, and frankly tells Williamson that he thinks it for His

Majesty’s provider he need to be eliminated, and the price of so vain an officer saved. What he strove for in

England was not a lot for Sir Henry as towards the dividing of the Commissions, which he considered

could motive disputes. What he has in addition discoursed to Sir Thos Lynch he'll speak. Has written

all of the Ministers the reality of this miscarriage, and believes His Majesty and His Royal Highness will a lot

resent it. Should the King make this transformation that in the absence or drawing near demise of the Governor he

should have power to appoint a becoming deputy.

And again, in September, Vaughan wrote:

Is each day more convinced of his imprudence and unfitness to have anything to do within the Civil

Government, and of what hazards the Island may also run by using so risky a succession. Sir Henry has made

himself and his authority so cheap on the Port, ingesting and gaming within the taverns, that Lord Vaughan

intends to eliminate thither quickly himself, for the reputation of the Island and protection of that area, even though

he pretends it's miles handiest to trade the air, having these days had a fever.

Morgan’s plantations—one at Lawrencefield and the other in Morgan Valley

—had been doing well so at this time he decided to look around for any other

plantation and bought 4,000 acres within the parish of St Elizabeth.

In the period in-between, Vaughan changed into placing together evidence that he was hoping could

deliver down Morgan and give him the ammunition he had to take away him

from power. To make matters worse, the Assembly had voted to offer Morgan

£six hundred ‘for his desirable offerings to the us of a throughout his Lieutenant Governorship,

however none to his successors.’

The capital of Jamaica turned into St Jago de los angeles Vega, in which Vaughan occupied the

king’s House, the authentic governor’s residence. Morgan, on the other hand,

stayed normally in Port Royal, which brought to Vaughan’s distrust of Morgan, as

he ‘saw him as being head of a “de facto” second capital of the island.’

To make topics worse, the Spanish were as much as their old tricks once more, because the

Secretary to the Council of Jamaica wrote to Lord Williamson:

My Lord [Vaughan’s] exceptional problem is to hold himself even with the Spaniards, for they are daily taking all

ships they are able to grasp, and are very excessive, for while His Lordship despatched to demand satisfaction they replied

they could appearance upon us as enemies, and take all they got here up with; and actually, had been not the French from

Tortuga each day galling them with their privateers, have to conclude ourselves in a few threat, even though if they

had conflict would now not query through carrying it to their doors, we ought to sufficiently shield our very own. The French

would prove very ill neighbours in warfare, and lots extra risky than the Spaniards.More incidents occurred that infuriated Vaughan. An admiralty court were

installation, which consisted of Henry Morgan, Major Beeston and Robert Byndloss,

with Vaughan because the Chief Judge. In early 1676 a ship arrived in Port Royal

sporting more than 300 slaves from West Africa. It have been seized at sea and

delivered into port, where it turned into observed that the master and group of the ship

did now not have an appropriate licence from the Royal African Company. Vaughan

ordered the deliver to be condemned as a prize and the case changed into heard through the

admiralty court docket with Morgan presiding, who after hearing the evidence

dismissed the case. This motion infuriated Vaughan a lot that he ordered a

new trial.

In addition there has been the case of Captain John Deane, commanding the St

David, a privateer who sailed into Port Royal. Vaughan had him arrested and

charged with piracy. Deane came earlier than the admiralty court docket however this time it turned into

Vaughan who attempted him, found him responsible and sentenced him to death. However,

this backfired on Vaughan and introduced to his dislike of both Morgan and

Bydnloss. Because the outcry against his decision become so loud from the

traders, planters and shopkeepers across Port Royal, Vaughan believed that

this competition have been stirred up with the aid of his two enemies as opposed to understanding he

was wrong in his sentencing of Deane.

All the documentation regarding Deane became sent to the Lords of Trade and

Plantations for their verdict and while Deane cooled his heels in jail, Vaughan

started out the completing touches on his proof towards Morgan. A letter dated 28

July 1676 from the Lords of Trade and Plantations later gave Vaughan his solution

regarding the Deane case. They determined that the trial that Vaughan had executed

and the proceedings have been ‘not warranted through the legal guidelines of this Kingdom, it no longer

performing that pirates have been de facto attempted by means of the civil regulation.’

During his time as governor, Vaughan behaved as though he was the king of

Jamaica. He believed that the government need to mirror the government of

England. It had an assembly, a council and the governor, the king’s

representative in Jamaica, and that made him king of the island, in his eyes. So it

galled him that there had been Jamaican ships owned in Port Royal flying French

flags. This became a flagrant brush aside for the law and Vaughan become positive that

Morgan became either at the back of it or involved in it in some way. In fact, he believed he

had evidence to prove it.

In July 1676 he pick a normal council assembly to offer his proof and

have Morgan removed. During the preceding December, Morgan were sworn

in as a member of the council, which also galled Vaughan. After complaining approximately Morgan, Vaughan had been informed to patch up the quarrel by Williamson

and positioned Morgan on the council.

Now here he turned into, six months later, approximately to give proof that he was hoping

might get Morgan off the council and removed from his function as lieutenant

governor. He wrote to Williamson complaining about Morgan:

What I most resent is, and which I don't forget as part of my responsibility to lay earlier than Your Honour, that I locate Sir

Henry, contrary to his responsibility and believe, endeavours to set up privateering, and has obstructed all my designs

and functions for the decreasing of those that do use that curse of lifestyles. Had via several proclamations declared

he would no longer allow the ones rapines and spoils, and that he would continue towards the offenders as pirates if

they got here into any of our ports. They went to Tortugas and took French commissions, and Sir Henry

advocated some of our English privateers to the French Government for commissions, became himself

concerned of their vessels, and put a deputation into his brother Byndloss’s palms to get hold of the tenths for

the King of France, and has ever on account that corresponded with them.

At the council assembly Vaughan laid his documents, in general copies of letters,

earlier than the council. He claimed that Morgan have been in touch with the

privateers and become the usage of his, Vaughan’s, call as governor:

Sir Henry become known as in and His Excellency proceeded to take a look at him on certain interrogatories in

reference to his dealings with the privateers in 1675 which comply with with his answers to same. Then His

Excellency exhibited sure articles towards Sir H. Morgan with the several proofs to every of them, the first

Article being that Morgan in March 1675 presumptuously made use of His Excellency’s call and authority

without his orders in divers[e] letters he wrote to the privateers, to that are added Morgan’s solutions to

each Article. Then comply with the Articles exhibited against Robert Byndloss with his answers to each of them,

that have additionally connection with Byndloss’s dealings with the privateers, mainly his correspondence with M.

Ogeron, Governor of Tortugas, approximately the healing of sure tenths due to the French Admiral via captains

of privateers who touched at Jamaica. Ordered that the examinations, articles, and solutions aforesaid, with

all of the letters, depositions, and proofs, be saved upon the Council record and entered upon the statistics, pretty

copied, and transmitted to His Majesty below the hand of the Clerk of the Council and the seal of His

Excellency.

The council meeting changed into basically a tribulation, where Vaughan claimed that Morgan

had written to privateers—Captains Thomas Rogers, John Barnett, Edward

Neville and others—announcing that he had the backing and electricity of the governor’s

workplace that every one privateers, together with the French, could be allowed to visit Port

Royal in protection and freedom. In addition, Vaughan claimed that Barré, Morgan’s

secretary, had achieved business on Morgan’s behalf with the privateers; a fact that

Barré denied.

Once Vaughan had made his accusations to the council it become time for

Morgan to be introduced in and wondered. He did now not have a defence however

replied the questions. His defence could be in the shape of depositions and letters to the Lords of Trade and Plantations. However, on the costs of dealing

with the privateers Morgan replied that he turned into sporting out diplomatic

family members. ‘If members of the family with the French have been f*******n, where was the written

order? Were there any mins or documents to show this?’ He also claimed that

any dealings he had directly with French privateers become because he desired to be

sure ‘the French have been no longer issuing commissions to buccaneers.’

Vaughan then grew to become his attention to Robert Byndloss and commenced wondering

him over his acting for the governor of Tortuga. When Vaughan requested Byndloss

for a written solution to the price, Byndloss to start with refused until threatened

with arrest, when he gave in and surpassed Vaughan a written announcement.

Breverton states that at this factor within the trial the council ‘have been sensing a sea-

alternate inside the relative positions of authority of Lord Vaughan and Admiral

Morgan.’ Indeed, it's miles Breverton who tells us that the council ‘had visible that there

changed into successfully no case to reply, and at the same time as the status quo reigned till

Whitehall got here to a selection, they knew that Vaughan had lost the jogging

conflict.’

The defence that Morgan and Byndloss organized blanketed a deposition from

Morgan’s secretary, Charles Barré. In the questioning from Vaughan, Barré had

told simplest a part of the story. The deposition he signed, witnessed through a magistrate,

for Morgan’s defence added that the letters Morgan requested him to draft to the

privateer captains have been given to Vaughan earlier than being despatched for his approval.

Vaughan did not ship the letters but held them as proof. However, those have been

no longer the finished letters and as such they had been handiest drafts, so have been therefore not

official. Barré’s deposition was despatched to the new secretary of the Lords of Trade

and Plantations, Sir Henry Coventry.

Deposition of Charles Barré, Secretary to Sir Henry Morgan, Lieutenant General of Jamaica. That about

March 1675 he did copy by using Sir Henry’s orders letters Sir Henry had written with layout to have sent

them to the captains of several privateers, to suggest to return to Jamaica with prizes and that they should be well

received, however understood Sir Henry wrote stated letters by using consent of Lord Vaughan and sent him copies of

every letter to underwrite his approbation, which the Governor deferring Sir Henry refused to send said

letters. Confesses accepting Captain Smith’s offer to move a buying and selling voyage with him, however definitely denies he

was despatched through Sir Henry to treat or act any enterprise with the French or English privateers neither did Sir

Henry. Also touching Lord Vaughan’s exam of this deponent after his go back from his said voyage.

Vaughan also positioned his accusations in writing to bolster his function with London.

In early August he wrote that he told Morgan that he ‘ought to not use his name

nor ought to he have written any such letters to the Privateers with out acquainting

the governor.’ In his long letter he persisted to accuse Morgan and Byndloss of appearing with the privateers. ‘But afterwards, taking note how little he regarded

what I said to him, and that his brother Byndloss and he were handiest persevering with to

act by means of themselves, and privately installation a privateer faction, I notion it my responsibility to

lay the whole count number before his Honour in December closing.’

In his defence Morgan wrote a letter to Secretary Coventry in November that:

If His Majesty have to be deaf to all and these items ought to give His Majesty event to place me out that he

could be graciously thrilled to order that I can be attempted right here at his Court of King’s Bench wherein the witnesses

are . . . And if ever I err in one title, then permit me ever be condemned for the greatest villain within the global, and

as God is my judge and witness I actually have by no means entertained a notion in my life but what hath been clearly

devoted to His Majesty’s provider and hobby nor never will.

With the letter have been the files on the whole from the privateer captains and

from his secretary that designated his moves inside the matter. He stated, ‘I sucked the

milk of loyalty and if I might have sold one little part of it I might have been

richer than my enemies ever might be.’ As for his brother-in-regulation, he said that he

knew:

nothing of crime in him, but his being related to Sir Henry, for he lives 20 miles from Port Royal, has a spouse

and 5 or six kids and one of the satisfactory estates in this island, therefore he's an understanding man and

could no longer venture that hazard and property in opposition to nothing. His sadness is he serves a superior right here that

is jealous of all his movements and placed himself to study Sir Henry’s spoil for what reason is aware of not.

The end of the 12 months saw the closure of this incident. The electricity had shifted to

Morgan, although there has been not anything respectable, but as Breverton tells us, Morgan

had extra sway in London than Vaughan did. ‘Morgan’s lobby become far in the direction of

the locus of electricity than Vaughan’s.’ But they would ought to look ahead to an professional

answer from Whitehall.