The Cartago Fiasco
Receiving advice that the French forces are very much increasing at Tortuga and the south-west of Hispaniola, thought it high time to send a declaration thither, importing his intentions to grant commissions against the Spaniard, which the old privateers assure him will undoubtedly bring back the English and most of the Dutch and French to this port, where they have a better market for their goods.1
The Spanish were furious with Morgan’s actions at Granada. He had attacked and plundered the heart of the Spanish Main—towns and cities that hitherto the Spanish thought had been safe from the buccaneers. Now they knew differently. The Spanish began to liken his exploits to those of Francis Drake a century before. Indeed, Stephen Talty, in his book Empire of Blue Water, suggests that Morgan had acquired the nickname ‘El Draque’ by the Spanish.2
However, as we have seen, the world had moved on by the time the four captains returned wealthy heroes from their voyage. War with France and the Dutch was brewing and so King Charles II of England had turned to the Spanish to form an alliance. As a result he’d issued a proclamation for reigning in the privateers in Jamaica and stopping their raids against the Spanish. The trouble was, the Spanish empire of the West Indies was rich with treasure and every privateer and pirate knew it. If the English authorities in Jamaica would not give the buccaneers (privateers) commissions to attack Spain, the privateers knew that the French authorities at Tortuga would, so many headed for that island.
For most buccaneers it didn’t matter where they got their commissions or letters of marque from as long as they came from a legitimate government. For example, English privateers could have French or Dutch commissions to sail against the Spanish, while French and Dutch privateers could carry English commissions for attacking the Spanish, or each other, depending on the fickle political situation in Europe.
So by the time Morgan returned, the situation was much different. Now there were more than 1,500 buccaneers and privateers in Port Royal. Known as the Brethren of the Coast, the privateers were out of work. These were men of action and adventure and being stuck in a town with nothing to do could easily lead to lawlessness.
While many privateers moved to Tortuga to gain commissions against the Spanish, many others remained in Port Royal, causing the merchants to worry for their safety. But their fears were unfounded as the vast majority of privateers slowly left Port Royal, seeking commissions elsewhere. Yet the King’s orders to reign in the Brethren did not call for any reinforcements to Jamaica’s militia, nor did it provide for any Royal Navy warships. The only thing that kept the island safe was the privateers, and now they were leaving. A continual thorn in the side of the Spanish, Jamaica was wide open to attack, not just from the Spanish but from the French, the Dutch and from pirates.
Some locals decided to turn to privateering without permission and these were rounded up by Modyford and hung as an example. To make matters worse, his letters to the secretary of state in London, Lord Arlington, went unanswered. While he had permission to act in the best interests of the King and of the island, he knew very well that the instructions from the King regarding no attacks on Spanish holdings meant he could not allow Morgan to lead any expeditions against the Spanish Main.3 But something had to be done.
Modyford finally moved. On 22 February he called an emergency meeting of the council. He placed Morgan in charge of the local militia. That council meeting was extraordinary in one respect—it went directly against the King’s orders. The fine frightened men of the Council of Jamaica decided to start granting commissions against the Spanish. They concluded that doing this would provide safety for the colony, which would help the merchants and farmers that supplied and provisioned the Brethren on their expeditions. Granting commissions would also stimulate trade, enable the growth of the plantations and act as a deterrent or even revenge against the Spanish, who were continuing to commit hostile acts against Jamaica.4
Modyford decided to play it safe. Instead of attacking the Spanish, he granted a commission to attack the Dutch colony at Curaçao, more than a thousand miles away. In charge of this expedition was the experienced privateer Edward Mansfield (ironically, he was Dutch). According to some sources, Morgan was to remain behind and continue to build Fort Charles, a huge stronghold at the mouth of the entrance to the harbour at Port Royal.
The mission went wrong shortly after the fleet set sail from Jamaica. The Brethren decided that attacking Curaçao would not provide them with the riches they were after. The Dutch were fellow Protestants and they were nowhere near as wealthy as the Spanish, so they switched their target from Curaçao to Cartago, the Costa Rican capital.
The private soldiers aboard the Admiral were against it, averring publicly that there was more profit with less hazard to be gotten against the Spaniard, which was their only interest. Two of their fleet are gone to Tortuga, and the other four joining with two French rovers are gone to attempt the retaking [of] the island of Providence, where they intend to set up for themselves.5
The reason for switching targets was partly due to the intelligence the Brethren received from a man who had been a prisoner aboard a Spanish ship taken as a prize. This individual told of the riches to be had in the provincial capital of Cartago, which was, according to this person, virtually undefended and had never been attacked. The same prisoner told Mansfield and his captains that he could guide them to Cartago from Almirante Bay, a safe harbour where Mansfield could leave his ships at anchor.6
So they switched targets but it made little difference to the success of the mission. Arriving in Almirante Bay the fleet landed at Cape Blanco, where they disembarked more than 600 men who immediately began their long march inland to take the town. The invaders plundered small towns and villages for food as they marched towards Cartago. For almost 75 miles, the going was relatively easy before they turned west and began to cross the mountains to reach their target. On either side, peaks rose thousands of feet into the air while the buccaneers could only march through a narrow pass. Desperate to keep the element of surprise, they pressed on. The idea was that they would surprise the city, plunder it and leave wealthy men. However, this didn’t happen. An Indian woman raised the alarm and the Governor of Cartago roused the Spanish militia, who were ready and waiting for the Buccaneers when they arrived. In a letter to the Duke of Albemarle, Modyford states: ‘Understanding that the inhabitants had carried away their wealth, they returned to their ships without being challenged.’
According to Philip Lindsay, in his book The Great Buccaneer, they reached Cartago only to find that most of the inhabitants had fled the town with their wealth. To make matters worse, they now had to contend with the Spanish militia. In the town they:
destroyed whatever they could lay their hands on, wantonly killing the inhabitants and hamstringing the cattle. Then they enjoyed their favourite sport of smashing the images in the church before setting fire to what remained and turning their backs on a futile expedition.7
But the march back to their ships was a starvation march for they were not only without plunder but also without supplies. They’d sustained casualties in a fight against the Spanish, where they were soundly beaten.8
The details of the expedition are somewhat sketchy and some scholars believe that Morgan sailed on this ill-fated venture. Indeed, Philip Lindsay states: ‘There is every reason to believe that Morgan sailed with the fleet. It is unfortunate that he was not in command for Mansfield was growing old, and he dallied, not wishing to attack well-fortified Curaçao.’9 Breverton supports this idea in his book but goes even further by saying that ‘Morgan captained a ship under Admiral Mansvelt, and was made vice admiral because of his attack on Granada.’10
Not every scholar or historian believes that Morgan was involved in this mission. In his book Harry Morgan’s Way, Dudley Pope states: ‘Morgan is likely to have stayed behind in Port Royal when Mansfield went off to Curaçao because, better than most, he could organize the militia.’11 We can take this statement one step further because Morgan’s name did not appear on the list ‘of men recruited for the mission. Modyford had put him in charge of the militia and the defence of Jamaica.’12
The most heavily used source of information on Morgan, other than official letters and documents written by Modyford and others, is that of Esquemeling, who sailed on some of Morgan’s voyages and so was an eyewitness to the actions and exploits of the buccaneers. However, it is difficult to tell what is truth and what is embellishment in Esquemeling’s book, which was published in 1678. He states that Morgan did sail on the expedition and was made a vice admiral so it is likely that the proponents of this theory based their information on his book.
Every source agrees that the Mansfield attack on Cartago was a disaster that weighed heavily on Mansfield. To make amends he decided to attack the island of Old Providence.
On 12th inst arrived Capt Mansfield and one other ship, and complains that the disobedience of several officers and soldiers was the cause of their not proceeding on the design of Curaçao.13