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There had been interlopers in the Spanish Main since the first rush of American silver began being brought to the coast for transfer to ships in the first half of the 16th century. The Spanish crown’s insistence that all products of the [[New World]] must be sent back to Spain and that all manufactured items in the colonies must be supplied by Spanish ships soon caused a brisk clandestine trade  between Spanish colonists and various entrepreneurial adventurers from, mainly, France and England.  By the 1550s the Englishman, [[John Hawkins]] had begun trading [[Africa]]n slaves in the [[West Indies]] and it is he and other [[Elizabethan]] raiders/traders that inspired them.

There had been interlopers in the Spanish Main since the first rush of American silver began being brought to the coast for transfer to ships in the first half of the 16th century. The Spanish crown’s insistence that all products of the [[New World]] must be sent back to Spain and that all manufactured items in the colonies must be supplied by Spanish ships soon caused a brisk clandestine trade  between Spanish colonists and various entrepreneurial adventurers from, mainly, France and England.  By the 1550s the Englishman, [[John Hawkins]] had begun trading [[Africa]]n slaves in the [[West Indies]] and it is he and other [[Elizabethan]] raiders/traders that inspired them.

In 1655 the British captured the island of [[Jamaica]] giving the buccaneers a safe haven from Spanish reprisal. Indeed, Jamaica’s lieutenant-governor after 1774, Sir Henry Morgan, was a buccaneer himself and under his leadership the buccaneers had become a fighting force capable of sacking cities. They crossed the isthmus twice to raid [[Panama]]. After the second raid, in 1680, some of them used captured Spanish ships to maraud along the Pacific coast as [[Francis Drake|Drake]] had done 100 years before.  

In 1655 the British captured the island of [[Jamaica]] giving the buccaneers a safe haven from Spanish reprisal. Indeed, Jamaica’s lieutenant-governor after 1674, Sir Henry Morgan, was a buccaneer himself and under his leadership the buccaneers had become a fighting force capable of sacking cities. They crossed the isthmus twice to raid [[Panama]]. After the second raid, in 1680, some of them used captured Spanish ships to maraud along the Pacific coast as [[Francis Drake|Drake]] had done 100 years before.  

The first Englishman to round [[Cape Horn]] sailing from west to east was a buccaneer, one Captain Bartholomew Sharpe. His published descriptions of the voyage and the narratives of members of his  crew were much read and were of interest to the Royal Society. One of Sharpe’s crew, William Dampier would sail several times around the world. – his descriptions of the natives of [[New Holland]] (the[[ Australian Aborigine]]s are the first by an Englishman and are still in print. It was Dampier who both marooned and rescued Alexander Selkirk, the inspiration for Robinson Crusoe, on his “desert island.”

The first Englishman to round [[Cape Horn]] sailing from west to east was a buccaneer, one Captain Bartholomew Sharpe. His published descriptions of the voyage and the narratives of members of his  crew were much read and were of interest to the Royal Society. One of Sharpe’s crew, William Dampier would sail several times around the world. – his descriptions of the natives of [[New Holland]] (the[[ Australian Aborigine]]s are the first by an Englishman and are still in print. It was Dampier who both marooned and rescued Alexander Selkirk, the inspiration for Robinson Crusoe, on his “desert island.”

Reference:  "The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea."

Reference:  "The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea."

   

   

[[Category: Maritime history]]

[[Category: Naval History]]