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ln December1663 a Welshmancalled Henry Morgan sailed five hundredmiles
acrossthe Ca6bbeanto mounta spectacularraid on a Spanishoutpostcalled9tqn
The aim of the expeditionwas simple:to
Grenada,to the northof Lagode Nicaragua.
othermovableproperty.Whgn Morganan! hjs
find and steal Spanishgold'- or any
-Governor
of Jamaicareportedin a despatchto
men got to Gran Grenàda,as the
,[They]
fired a voliey,overturnedeighteengreat guns...took the serjeantLondàn,
great
major's'hôusewhereinwere all their arms ànd ammunition,securedin the
the
dischargedChurch300 of the best men prisoners...plunderedfor 16 hours,
prisoners,sunk all the boatsand so cameaway.'lt was the beginningof one of the
smash-and-grab
century'smostextraordinary
seventeenth
9Pr"ee9
how the British Empire began: in a
was
It should never bé forgottenthat this
maelstromof seaborneviolenceand thefr. lt was not conceivedby selÊconscious
aimingto establishEnglishruleoverforeignlands,or colonistshopingto
imperialists,
thieves,tryingto
builda new life ouér*e"r. Morganând his fellow'buccaneers'were
stealtheproceedsof someoneelse'sEmpire.
The buccaneerscalled themselvesthe Brethren of the Coast' and had a complex
includinginsurancepoliciesfor injury.Ëssentially,however,
systemof profit-sharing,
they were engagedin-ôrganizedcrime.When Morganled anotherraid againstthe
Spânisntowùiportobelô in Panama,in 1668,he camebackwith so muchplunder
- in all a quarterof a millionpiecesof eight - that the coins becarnelegal tender in
fromjust one raid.The Englishgovernmentnot
Jamaica.That amountedto Ê-60,000
activity;it positivelyencouragedhim.Viewedfrom London,
only winkedat Morgan's
-à
principal
buocaneeringwas bw-buddet way of waging war against England's
'privateers',
European fJe, Spain. In effdct, the Crown licensed the pirates 3s
Ègatizingtheir opàrationsin returnfor a shareof the proceeds- (.-')
TÈe striliingpoint,however,is what Morgandid with his plunderedpiecesof eight.
like the
He mightliave optedfor a comfortableietirementback in Monmouthshire,
,gengjman'sson àt good quality'he claimedto be. lnsteadhe investedin Jamaican
Ëal estate,acquirin! 836'acres of land in the Rio Minhovalley (Morgan'sVa!!!y
today).Later,ne addéd4,000acresin the parishof St Elizabeth.The pointaboutthis
land'wasthat it was ideal for growingsugar cane. And this providesthe key to a
moregeneralchangein the nalureoi gritisnoverseasexpansion'The Empirehad
with the cultivationof sugar.
Oeguriwiththe stealingof gold;it progressed
In the 1670sthe BritiJhcrownspenithousandsof poundsconstructingfortifications
to protectthe harbourat Port Ràyalin Jamaica.The walls still stand (thoughmuch
furiher from the sea becausean earthquakeshifted the coastline).This investment
was deemednecessarybecauseJamaicawas fast becomingsomethingmuchmore
than a buccaneerbasé.Already,the crownwas earningsubstantialsumsfrom the
duties on importsof Jamaicansugar. The island had becomea prime economic
asset,to be defendedat all costs. Significantly,the constructionwork at Port Royal
*às rrp"rvised by noneotherthan HénryMorgan- now Sir Henry.Just a few years
after his pirate râid on Gran Grenada,Morganwas now not merelya substantial
planter,but also Mce-Admiral,Commandaniofthe Port RoyalRegiment,Judge of
ifre nOmiraltycourt, Justiceof the Peace and even Acting Governorof Jamaica.
a colony,
Once a licensedpirate,the freelancewa$ now being employed.togovern
'repeated
divers
Admittedly,Morgànlost all his officialposts in 1681 after making
When
retirement.
honourable
extravagantexpiessions... in his wine'.But his was an
he died-inAugust1688the shipsin Port Royalharbourtookturnsto ftre twenty-two
gun salutes.
processworked' lt
the empire-building
way
the
illustrates
perfectly
career
Morgan's
wouldchangethe worldforever'
powei'1nat
was a transitionfrompiracyto politicat
penguinBooks,-2003.Pp' 1-2',11-12'
Niap FERGusoN, Empire.Lotiuon'
-.
,-t
i\
(:Lct\
)
The Plumb-pudding
in danger;- or - StateEpicurestakingun PetitSouper
JamesGillray,1805
Etchingwithengraving
http://www.nypl.org/research/chss/spe/arUprinUexhibits/gillray/captionsfimagegS.htm
€ceQ
5
ffie boynanator,gæson the shipthe Hispaniola,.wlh^DrLivesey'
Jim Hawkins,
Some
ttiddenby plrates'offCaracas'.
treasure
ind squireTretainéy,b ctaim-buried
the
steal
mutîny.and
inaiaiig LongJahnSilverandother ex-pirates,
of the'sa,;tors,
Ààp n odei to taketÉetreâsure.Whentheyanivegt the srrrt,withJim,their
Thedoctaranivesand explains.
priéoner,
it hasdisappeared.
-jl$aqaboutthe island,hadfoundthe skeleton
Ben,in hislong,lonelywanderings
his
, nÀiËàrr"o tin& it tré rraofound'thetreqsyreihe haddugit uq (it yvaqthe hafrof
@kenintheexcavation);hehadcanieditonhisback,inmany
hillat
he hadonthe.two-qointçd
-f 10 ù""ry journeyj,fromthefootof a tallpinêto.a.cave
angleof the island,andthereit hadlainstoredin safetysincetwo
the north-east
monthsbeforethe arrivalof the Hispaniola.
of theattack,
When.thedoctorhadworrnedthissecretfromhim,on the afrernoon
had
he
deserted,
9!ne to Silver,given
andwhennextmominghe sawtheanchorage
1 5 nimtfte chart,whichwâsnowuseless- givenhimthe stores,for BenGunn'scavê
everYthing
anything.and
waswellsuppliedwithgoats'neatsaltedby hinæelf.-'giv-en
hill,
to get a cfranceof *oving in safetyfromthé stockadeto thetwo-pointed thereto
be clearof malariaandkeepa guarduponthe money
myheart,bL$| didwhatI thoughtbgstfor
ntioryou, Jim,'he said,'it'weitagainbt
thosewhohadstoodOyineir duty;àndif ydu$,erçnot oneof these,whosefaultu,as
x
it?'
,zlina *ha*
*n be
ha involved
inrrnlvarl in
in the
fhe horriddisappointn
rcnt he had
wasto
that|I 'rac
finding
Thatmorning,
prepareotoi{ne'nufrn"er*,hehadrunal|thewaytothecave,and,|eavingq9
to guad the captain,f,aOtakenGrayqqd1le maroon,andstarted,makingthe
Lq,.r'ir"
saw
the pine.Soon,howevêr,.he
theisiand,to beat handOêsiOe
25 ààgonafàcrosE
f99t'.hadbeen
thaiour partyhadthe startof him;andBenGunn,beingfieet.oT
himto workupon
to
occurred
had
it
in frontto do hisbestalone.Then
àespatcheO
Grayand
andhe vvasso far successfulthat
of hisformershipmates,
the superstitions
the doctorhadcomeup andwerealreadyambushedbeforethe arrivalof the
30 treasure-hunters.
(-.iÀ gentlesloperanupfromthe beachto the entranceof the cave.At thetop,the
either
of myescapade,
squitefret us.Tô mehewascordialandkind,saying.nothing
flushed.
praise.At Silver'spolitesalutehe somewhat
in-n" *"V of blameor'you're
'JohnSilver,'hesaid,
monstrous
villainandimpostor-3.
a prodigious
you.Wellthen,I willnot.Butthedead
to
oiosecr-rte
noi
* 3 s irrpostor,sii. I am torrir am
rTFn,sir,hangaboutyournecklikemillstones.'
'Thankyoukindly,sir,'repliedLongJohn,againsaluting'
'l dareyouto thankme!'criedtheiquire.'lt is a grossdereliction
of myduty-Stand
back.'
we allenteredthecave.ltwas a largeairyplace,ry,tla little9Rri1e
Andthereupon
withferns.Thefloorwassand.Beforea bigfire
anda pootbf dearwater,overhung
lay Cai*ainSmollettandin a far ùrner, onlyduskilyflickeredoverbythe blaze,I
builtof barsof gold.ThatwasFlint's
uénàro'gi"atheapi of æin andquadrilaterals
treasuréthatwe iradcomeso fai to seek,andthathadcostalreadythelivesof
wttat
niola.Howrnanyit hadcostin theamassing,
menfromthe HLspa
45 seventeen
bloodandsorrow,whatgooàshipsscuttledon the deep,whatbravemenwalkingthe
whatshameandliesandcruelty,perhapsno
whatstràtof cannon,
flanf blindfold,
manalivecouldtell.Yettherewerestiltthreeuponthatisland- Silver,andold
Môrg"n,andBenGunn- whohadeachtakenhissharein thesecrimes,as each
50 hadhopedin vainto sharethereward'
RobertLouisStevenson,
Tteasurelsland,1883,
The
Rainbow
Library,Didier,Paris,1952.Pp.175-177