BUCCANEERS. 



under that name, their hidory has been piiblifhed in the year 

 1686, by Alexander Oliver Oexemilia. 



Thefc adventurers had taken polFcfCon of the fmall iflaml 

 ofTortuga, as early as the year 16; 2, and found little dif- 

 ficulty, after having excluded the Spaniards, and foititicd 

 themfelves in this illand, in cllabliniiiig themfclves on the 

 northern coaft of Hifpaiiiola. Tticy at firft fubfillcd chiefly 

 by the hunting of wild cattle. Part of the beef they ate 

 frefli, and part they dried ; and the hides they fold to the 

 inafters of fuch veflels as came upon the coaft, and who 

 furnilhcd them, in return, with cloaths, liquors, fire-arms, 

 powder, and Ihot. Their drcf^ confiflcd of a (hirt dipped in 

 the blood of the animah they had (lai?i ; a pair of dirty 

 trowfers ; a leathern girdle, from w!ii^;h hung a fliort fabre, 

 ;ind fome Dutch knives ; a hat without any rim, except a 

 flap before, in order to enable them to pi:ll it off; and fhoes 

 made of raw hides ; but they wore no ftockings. Whin 

 the wild cattle became fcarce, thelc buccaneers were under 

 a necefllty of turning their indufbiy to other objofts. ■ The 

 more fobcr minded among them applied to the cultivation of 

 the ground, which abundantly requited their toil; while 

 thofe of a bold and reftlcfs dlfpofition afTocbted themfelves 

 with pirates and outlaws of all nations, and formed the moft 

 terrible band of ravagcrs that ever ir.fefted the ocean. To 

 thcfe ravagers, however, rendered famous by their courage 

 and their crimes, France and England are indebted, in fome 

 meafure, for the profperity of their fettlements in the Welt 

 Indies. 



Thefe piratical buccaneers, affumlng the name of tl'.e 

 " Brothers of the coafl," formed themfelves into fmall clans 

 or focieties ; and made their cxcurfions in open boats, each 

 of which generally contained between 20 and 30 men, e;:- 

 pofcd to the intemperature of the climate, and encountering 

 alternately the burnlng^ heat of the day, and the chilllnJ 

 damps of the night. The natural inconveniences, connefted 

 with this mode of life, were augmented by others arifing 

 from their licentious dilpofition. A love of freedom and in- 

 dependence, by which they were aftuated to a degree of 

 Irenzy, ia common with ether favages, renderc^d the bucca- 

 neers averfe from all rellraints which civilized men impofe 

 upon themfelves for their common happinefs ; and as the au- 

 thority, which they had conferred on their captain, was 

 chiefly reftrifted to giving orders in battle, they lived in the 

 greateft dilorder. Like favages, having no apprehenfion of 

 want, and taking no care to guard againlt famine by pru- 

 dent economy, they were frequently cxpofcd to all the ex- 

 tremities of hunger and thirtt. But deriving, even from 

 their dillrefles, a kind of courage that defied all danger, they 

 were tranfported with an ailoniihiuT degree of enthufiafm 

 whenever they faw a fall. On the mode of attack they 

 feldom deliberated, but it vras their cuftom to board the 

 (hips that fell in their way as foon as poflible. The fmallnefs 

 01 their own vcfTcls, and their dexterity in managinir tiicm, 

 prefcrved them from the fire of the enemy. Tney prefented 

 only to the broadfide of a rtiip their /lender prows, filled 

 with expert markfmen, w!io fired at the port-holes of the 

 enemy with fuch exaclnefs, as to confound the moil cx.- 

 perienced gunners. And when they could fix their gr>ppling 

 tackle, the largefl trading vcfTels generally were obliged to 

 ftrike. In cafes of extreme necelTity, they attacked the fh^ps 

 of every nation ; but thofe belonging to Spain were a2ai!ed as 

 the principal objefts of their piracy. They thought, that 

 the cruelties, which the Spaniards had exercifed on th<; na- 

 tives of the new world, furnilhcd a fufficient apology for any 

 violence that could be committed againlt them ; nor did they 

 ever embark on any expedition witl-.out publicly praying to 

 Heaven for fuccefi, nor return loaded with booty without 



folemnly returning thanks to God for their good fortune. 

 Tills booty was originally carried to the illand of Tortuga, 

 the common rendezvous of the buccaneers, and at firft their 

 only place of fafety ; but afterwards the French went to 

 fome of the ports of Hifpaniola, where they had eftablilhed 

 themfelves in defiance of the Spaniards, and the Englifh to 

 thufe of Jamaica, where they could difpofe of their prizes 

 to greater advantage, and lay out their money more to their 

 own fatisfaftion, either in bufincfs or in pleafure. Before the 

 di(lribut:on of the fpoil, each adventurer, holding up his 

 hand, protefted that he had fecreted no part of what he had 

 taken ; and if any one was conviitled of perjury, which ftU 

 dom occurred, he was puniflicd by being expelled the com- 

 munity, and by being left, at the firil opportunity, on fome 

 defcrt idand, as a wretch unworthy to live in fociety, even 

 among the dcllroyers of their fpecies. 



Alter havhin- provided for the fick, the wounded, and ths 

 maimed, and alter having fettled their refpeCllve Ihares, and 

 dillributed fuch as belonged to thole who had no relations 

 or friends, in charity to the poor, and to churches ; they 

 indulged in all kinds of licentioulnefs. When they were 

 af.ced, why they diffipated fo heedleDly and rapidly the fpoil 

 which they collefted with fo much perfonal danger ? they 

 replied, " Expofed as we are to a varivty of perils, our lives 

 are totally different from thofe of other men. Why fliould 

 we, who are alive to-day, and run the hazard of being dead 

 to-morrow, think oi hoarding ? Studious only of enjoying 

 the prefcnt hour, we never think of that which is to come." 

 The fliips that faih;d from Europe to America feldom tempt- 

 ed the avidity of the firft buccaneers, as the merchandize 

 they carried could not readily have been fold in the Wefl 

 Indies in thofe early times. But they eagerly watched the 

 Spanifh veffels on their reiurn to Europe, when they were 

 known to be laden with treafure. They commonly followed 

 the galleons and flota, tranfporting the produce of the mines 

 of Mexico and Peru as far as the channel of Bahama ; and 

 if any fliip was accidentally feparated from the fleet, theyi 

 inftantly befet her, and Ihe feldom efcaped. And they even 

 ventured to attack fevcral (liips at once, which were com- 

 monly iuncndered, when they came to clofe quarters ; for 

 the Spaniards confidered them as demons, and trembled at 

 their approach. The Spaniards, indeed, who found them- 

 felves a continual prey to thefe furious ravagers, were almoft 

 reduced to defpair ; they leflened the number of their (hips, 

 and the colonics gave up their conneflions with one another. 

 The buccaneers were thu'; emboldened; and inftead of con- 

 fining themfelves to. thofe invafions of the Spanifli fettle- 

 ments, which had for their objecl a fupply of provificas, 

 they determined, more efpccialiy as their opportunities o£ 

 makng captures by fea were dimlnilhed, to procure by land 

 that wealth which they could not obtain on the ocean. Ac- 

 cordingly, they formed themfelves into large bodies, and 

 phnKiercd many of the richeft and ilrohgeft towns in the 

 I'Jew World. Maracaybo, Campeaehy, Vera Cniz, Porto 

 Bello, and Carthagena, on this fide Crf the continent, and 

 Qiiayaquil, Panama, and many other places on the coafts of 

 the South Sea, feverely fuffcred from their depredations. 

 In a word, the buccaneers, the moll extraordinarv affocia- 

 tion of men that ever appeared on the face of the globe, but 

 whole duration was tranfiiory, fiibjefted to their arms, with- 

 out a regular fyftem of government, without laws, without 

 any permanent lubordination, and even without revenue, 

 cities and callles, which had baffled the utmoft eiforts of.na- 

 tloual force ; and if conqueft, not plunder, had been their ob- 

 jefl,. they mlg!it have made themfelves mafters of all Spaaifti 

 America. 



.\raong tlic buccaneers,, who firft acquired difiindiot! in 



, this 



