The Pirate King

part 2

The combat become taking too long and Morgan had already lost suitable guys. He wished

some thing to evoke the guys and make one closing push. Those he had despatched to take

San Felipe got here to his rescue whilst he and his buccaneers saw the English flag

raised over this citadel and its guns became silent. ‘They noticed the English flag flying

from the smaller fortress and a troop in their fellows coming near, shouting

“Victory!”,’ writes Esquemeling.

However, Fort Triana was nonetheless a trouble, for no longer only changed into Sanchez within the

castle however so had been the leading residents of Portobello, as Esquemeling explains,

‘with their gold and silver and jewels and the silver adorns from the

church buildings’.

Buoyed by the success of the guys who had taken San Felipe, Morgan rallied

his troops and ordered a dozen huge ladders to be built for scaling the walls of

Fort Triana.

The chronology of events on this warfare differs from supply to supply. For

example, Stephen Talty, in his e-book Empire of Blue Water, states that San Felipe

Castle changed into now not taken with the aid of the buccaneers until day after today. Indeed, he says

that the flag that became raised turned into the crimson flag, which stood for no area. ‘The

men swarmed over the ramparts and cut down the last of the defenders in their

phase of the fortress, then raised the notorious pink flag.’

thirteen So this indicates the flag

that the English noticed was now not at San Felipe however in any other section of Santiago

(Fort Triana) due to the fact the primary frame of guys had been nevertheless ‘assaulting the the front gate

of the fort and shortly joined up with their compatriots. Seventy-four of the

Spanish defenders lay dead, such as the castellan.’

Talty’s account is based totally on Esquemeling’s, as well as on Spanish reports, so

there is probable extensive accuracy in his element. However, if we move again to the

account of the battle as specified by way of Pope in his e book Harry Morgan’s Way, which

is just like Esquemeling’s, we come to a component inside the tale this is contentious.

Morgan had a dozen huge ladders made, broad sufficient for four guys to climb at the identical time. He fetched

out all of the monks and nuns, and the Governor changed into informed that except he surrendered the fort these

people would be made to set the scaling ladders against its walls.

The governor replied that the buccaneers could no longer take the fortress so long as he

turned into alive. So, consistent with Esquemeling, the ladders had been indeed brought out,

‘carried via the priests, monks and ladies, entreated on by means of the buccaneers, who

by no means thought the governor would fireplace on his own people—however he spared them as low as he had the raiders.’ Their cries for the governor to give up the citadel

fell on deaf ears and the governor ordered his men to open fire.

But Captain Morgan become fully deceived in his judgment of this layout for the Governor, who acted like a

courageous soldier in overall performance of his responsibility, used his utmost endeavour to smash whosoever got here near the

partitions. The spiritual males and females ceased not to cry to him and beg of him, with the aid of all the saints of heaven, to

supply the fortress, and spare each his and their very own lives; but not anything ought to prevail together with his obstinacy and

fierceness.

Many of those people were killed however the ladders were positioned against the

walls and the buccaneers swarmed up them, ‘having fireballs in their fingers, and

earthen pots full of powder; all which things, being now at the top of the walls,

they kindled and solid in most of the Spaniards.’

The interesting factor about this part of the tale, wherein Morgan efficaciously

uses the clergymen and nuns as human shields, is that Morgan later won a libel healthy

over Esquemeling’s publishers, which we are able to have a look at in element later. So this

unique incident may additionally or may not have any basis in truth—but it remains

in maximum translations.

Esquemeling offers us with the detail of the end of the warfare:

The Spaniards ought to not face up to nor defend the citadel, which become now entered. Hereupon they all threw

down their fingers, and craved zone for his or her lives; handiest the governor of the town would crave no mercy, however

killed many of the pirates along with his very own palms and not some of his very own squaddies; due to the fact they did not stand

to their hands. And even though the pirates asked him if he would have region; yet he continuously replied, ‘By

no method, I had alternatively die as a valiant solider, than be hanged as a coward.’ They endeavoured as an awful lot as

they could to take him prisoner, however he defended himself so obstinately, that they have been pressured to kill him,

however all of the cries and tears of his personal spouse and daughter, who begged him, on their knees, to

demand zone, and keep his existence.

According to Esquemeling, by way of night time of the primary day the buccaneers had taken all

3 castles. Remember that Talty states they'd yet to take San Felipe. Indeed,

his account states that Morgan sent two hundred men to take that fortress, which was held through

a handful of Spaniards, and after a short fight the castellan surrendered it to

Morgan below generous phrases of capitulation.

But the buccaneers, states Talty, reneged at the terms of surrender, which

allowed the Spaniards to go away the citadel with their muskets and flags flying. They

were stripped of the entirety however their swords, and the castellan, now weighed

down by guilt, requested for a vial of poison, which he become given and he drank it.

With the town now of their fingers, Esquemeling states that the buccaneers ‘fell

to ingesting and consuming, as usual; that is committing in both all manner of debauchery and extra, so that fifty brave men may without problems have retaken

the town, and killed all the pirates.’

Pope indicates that Esquemeling now enters the realm of delusion because he

states that Morgan’s guys, not able to extort riches from their prisoners, started out to

torture them, and a few died underneath this remedy. Talty does no longer mention this in

his ebook either.

Panama City was not a whole lot extra than 70 miles away and had been alerted to

the attack on Portobello through a Spanish horseman who had escaped and controlled

to get to Panama. Esquemeling states that this rider alerted the viceroy of the

Province of Panama, Don Juan Perez de Guzman, who then started to raise an

military of 3,000 guys and set out to retake Portobello.

He employed all his care and enterprise to raise forces to pursue and forged out the pirates thence; but those

cared little for his preparations having their ships at hand, and determining to hearth the town, and retreat.

Stephan Talty tells us that the individual alerted was the president of Panama, Don

Agustin de Bracamonte, and it changed into he who sent drummers thru the streets of

Panama seeking to drum up sufficient men for the navy to take back Portobello. He

also states that Bracamonte had 800 men at his disposal, who right away left for

Portobello without the essential provisions to keep them sustained. The

provisions caught up later.

The tale that Esquemeling tells at this point is that Morgan had all the loot

they’d accrued loaded onto the ships, which were sailed into the harbour.

With all three castles now in his arms, Morgan grew to become to the prisoners and

demanded a hundred,000 portions of 8 as a ransom for the city, or he could burn it

to the floor. To get the money, he demanded the prisoners send guys to

the president of Panama. The president changed into already on the march together with his forces

when these two guys arrived and gave him ‘an account of all’.

Morgan was alerted to the oncoming military marching over the mountains and

via the jungles towards them with the aid of the local Indians, who, as we've seen,

were no buddies of the Spanish. The Spanish treated the Indians very badly and

the various diverse buccaneers on expeditions on this part of the Spanish Main

had made friends with the disgruntled Indians. Hearing of the imminent

military, Morgan decided to lead a force of about a hundred men into the jungle,

down the simplest passable road (no longer lots greater than a track) up to a slim bypass

in which he knew the oncoming forces could need to go through. Here he set up an

ambush and waited. It wasn’t lengthy before the forward sentries he’d published announced the Spanish

forces were massing in the slender passage. The Spanish had no chance towards

Morgan’s properly-armed men, who ‘at the primary stumble upon put to flight a great birthday celebration

of those of Panama,’ writes Esquemeling.

After this ambush the Spanish had no actual pressure left to take lower back Portobello.

They would ought to supply in to Morgan’s demands. So for the final phrase in this

action we are able to flip to Morgan himself, who states:

On the fifth day arrived the President of Panama with approximately three,000 guys; whom they beat off with

widespread harm, insomuch that subsequent day he proffered one hundred,000 pieces of 8 for shipping of the town,

castles, and three hundred n*****s, which being paid, they repaired on board leaving the city and castles in as appropriate

condition as they determined them.

Part of the loot that Morgan loaded onto his ships changed into the brass cannon they’d

discovered within the castles. ‘In the primary citadel there have been thirty brass guns except iron,

within the 2d, 13, all brass, and in the third, fourteen guns.’ This is quite

probably the reason why it took see you later to load the booty into the ships.

The turning in of the money turned into now not pretty as surprising as Morgan claims.

According to Stephen Talty there was huge negotiation among him and

the Spaniards (underneath Bracamonte). The sum that Morgan demanded was

350,000 pesos. Negotiations went to and fro till the sum of 100,000 pesos

in cash became in the end agreed upon. Esquemeling picks up the story:

Thus in a few days more the miserable citizens accrued the contributions required, and taken 100,000

pieces of eight to the pirates for a ransom in their cruel captivity: however the President of Panama changed into tons

surprised to don't forget that four hundred guys should take the sort of exquisite town, with so many sturdy castles, mainly having

no ordnance, wherewith to elevate batteries.

With the money agreed and received—gold cash and silver—and the rest of the

loot loaded onto the ships, Morgan and his men sailed away from Portobello.

Their haul amounted to greater than 250,000 portions of eight plus the money they

might acquire from the sale of products such as material, linen and silks, as well as the

slaves they’d taken. At their prearranged rendezvous point off Cuba, the

buccaneers divided up their plunder and set sail for Jamaica.

Morgan had proven the Spanish that he should attack their heart with digital

impunity and the way prone the Spanish had been.

They further declared to the sector that in all this provider of Portobello, they lost but eighteen guys killed and

thirty- wounded, and stored possession of the area thirty-one days; and for the higher vindicating

themselves in opposition to the same old scandals of that enemy, they aver that having numerous ladies of terrific first-class and

different prisoners they had been proffered their liberty to go to the President’s camp, but they refused, announcing they had been now prisoners to someone of great, who was greater soft of their honours than they doubted to locate

in the President’s camp among his impolite Panama soldiers, and so voluntarily continued with them till the

surrender of the metropolis and castles, while with many thank you and proper wishes they repaired to their former houses.