sirhenrymorgan

I recommend you don't go to Jamaica and say these things. They would hang you for words like that, even today. He is still considered a hero of the people of the island, and isn't that what's really important. I certainly don't need to read second and third hand accounts to know of Morgan's exploits. I've sat in the Jamaican archives, I've read through Mordyford's papers, I've talked with the historians in the country. So I'm pretty confident on my read of Morgan and his exploits there. If you want to consider him a pirate, go ahead. But I don't know of any pirates in the true sense who were soldiers and landsmen. Sir Henry didn't like going to sea, didn't do well there and certainly had no love of it. Ships were like airplanes to him. It was a way to get from point A to point B. And there's absolutely no record that he bought off anyone anywhere for his titles or positions. He was a brilliant military strategist and commanded more than 36 ships with 240 guns on them and 1830 troops. I can't imagine an ordinary pirate being able to command such a fleet... hhm. And yes, history is full of revisionists and revisionism. Half they stuff I learned from so called history experts 20 years ago in school has been proven wrong today. Give me a break. History is full of revisionism. Back then Sir Francis Drake was portrayed as an explorer - the word privateer and pirate never entered the lexiconn in regard to him. Had I only known he was just a lowly pirate... -- Sir Henry

And ecactly therein lies the "secret" of Morgan. He bought patrons in high places who protected him against the (entirely justified) charges. After all, he did attack Spanish possessions and committed atrocities in peacetime. His excuse "I had not heard that a state of peace existed betweeen Englad and Spain when I attacked Panama" is ridiculous at best. If Morgan was so innocent, then why was Modyford, his accomplice in crime, arrested after having confessed to having received 1,000 pounds p.a. in pirate bribes (Moran being among them)? The answer is a simple one: Modyford was unable to bribe important persons, and, after all, somebody had to take the fall for the Panama raid. The only reason Morgan is whitewashed even today, is that a Henry Morgan was hardly well connected in England. His entire career had been spent in Jamaica. Hid deeds on behalf of the crown is what got him off - his being brought to England was simply to keep the Spanish at bay. There is no record of him buying anyone off there. Like other members of his rank, he was treated by society with appropriate honor and his fame preceded him. The issue of the raid of Panama extends far beyond who was at peace and who was at war. Jamaica was a thorn in the side of Spain's desires for control all of the Caribbean. His raids on Spanish towns was designed to disrupt expansionism and instead require Spain to spend vast amounts of resources on fortifying towns and building armadas to protect them. It created economic chaos for Spain as shipments of riches from the new world dwindled just as they needed it most. The raid on Panama was conducted with a Commission from the Governor and was legitimate. Esquemeling's own publishers posted a famed retraction following Sir Henry's libel suit against him. The judgement found that Sir Henry was indeed libeled in several pages, including several key points: "... the style of the Letter to the Spanish Admiral unto him is wrong: for he styled him Captain Morgan, Head of the English Fleet, and not Commander of the Pirates." "The Expedition performed by Admiral Morgan against Panama was not undertaken without Commission from the Governor of Jamiaca, and it was upon account of new Acts of Hostility, and fresh Abuses that had been committed by the Spanairds upon the King of England's Subjects of Jamiaca, as by Council minute may sufficiently appear to any that desire full satisfaction herein; and also by the said Commission, which may see herein inserted." This was followed by a copy of the commission as presented by Modyford to Morgan. Were the charges of treason appropriate for our forefathers? Was it entirely justified? Of course. But the ends justified the means. And such was the case of Henry Morgan in his time. Revisionist historians can say all they want but Henry's presence in Jamaica and his raids on the Spanish is what kept the Jamaican's from having to learn to like flan. -- Sir Henry

Morgan always had a commission, being Admiral of the Jamaican Fleet, particularly under Modyford and then Lynch. He was a buccaneer first and foremost, serving under Mansfield and took over for him in executing Modyford's grand plans for Jamaica. He was first and foremost a soldier on land. He wrecked three ships he commanded because he was not a sailor nor a man of the sea. In fact, on his trip back to England he became horribly seasick like and landsmen. He returned to England because Lynch had to accept the request from the crown for his return. However, he was never charged, never imprisoned. He frequented the taverns and inns and the soirees of the royal and wealthy during this three years there. He never once was imprisoned as a criminal would be. Hardly. Even aboard ship, he had his own cabin and played cards with a fellow captain on the voyage over. His wife stayed in Jamaica, tending to his plantation and affairs. I hardly think Mary Elizabeth would have stayed there if there was any chance at all Henry would not be coming back. They had quite the relationship, you know. He always carried a letter of marque though, even if the reasons it was issued by Lynch or Modyford were dubious. Hence, he was not a pirate in any sense of the term, but a privateer. Again, he thought pirates were lowlifes and hung them with zeal during his tenure as Lieutenant Governor and Acting Governor of Jamaica. -- Sir Henry

Revisionism has made Henry Morgan a pirate. He was a buccaneer and fought for England and its interests in the Caribbean. He never went out on account on his own or attacked English ships. In fact, Henry hung pirates after being made Acting Governor. He despised them in fact, believing them to be nothing more than common criminals. He was never considered an outlaw to his government and whether he was ever a prisoner is a matter of conjecture. He was indeed called back to England but he was never imprisoned in the traditional manner as Modyford was. In fact, he was courted by high society during his time there and was considered a hero by the populace because he helped keep Jamaica free from the hands of the Spanish and French. One of his best friends while there was the Duke of Albermarle, General Monck's son and a second cousin of Lord Modyford. England was at war with the Dutch at the time and only brought Henry back to appease Spain since they didn't need a second enemy. He was knighted and sent back to Jamaica in large part to protect the island from the Dutch and to keep Spain at bay in the Carribbean. He returned to Jamaica in January 1675 having never been charged with any crime or ever brought to a hearing. He never turned on his love for Jamaica or England itself. -- Sir Henry

Didn't anyone mention Shut the Box? It was actually used aboard ship as a gambling game at one point (not GAOP) but is also great for teaching kids math concepts? http://www.frontporchclassics.com/_classic/index.php Our family loves the game and it's a great way to win free drinks in a bar. -- Sir Henry

The morning came all too soon. The tepid heat of the evening made sleep difficult at best. My upbringing in the cold of Wales never taught me to enjoy the heat here, especially at this time of year. The lack of wind across Port Royal made this a particularly unpleasant month. I rose from my bed and looked out the window at the slowly rising sun. I called for my manservant to bring me some tea and my day clothes. I also asked for the note that had been left on the table the night before. As I waited for the tea, I opened the note and read: To Sir Admiral Morgan I plead to thee, good Sir for your influence in apprehending a threat. A man who followed my dear Sister about Port Royal in unexplained reasons and whom I dare say could very well possibly be a Spaniard spy. My sister and I request your intervention to apprehend and locate this man. Beware, he no doubt will attempt to lie to save his neck which deserves to be stretched for his possible plans of dishonoring my dear Sister. Again, I beg and plead for your assistance, Sir Admiral. We lay anchored in harbour aboard the good ship RESURRECTION and are able to make haste to meet you by dawns light if required. Your Obediant Servant, Wm Graves Interesting. Hardly the common request I receive day in and day out. I should attend to this once I get a chance. I made a note to speak with Major Beckwith about this and readied myself for the day's events. I called to my assistant to review my schedule. Two slaves are sentenced to be hung at 10, sir. Lord Modyford requests your presence there. And then you are to meet with Major Beckwith again on the noon, along with his lordship. Seems there are some matters to attend to in regards to completing the fort. It seems the plantation owners are up in arms once again about your declaring martial law to get enough slaves sent down to do the necessary work. Perhaps we should stop hanging so many able bodied workers, eh Mr. Blanchard? Send word to Mister Graves aboard the Resurrection that I shall want to meet with him around 3 today. He may call upon me at my home. I finished dressing and glanced in the mirror that dear Elizabeth had sent for in England as an anniversary present. It was a fine French make and I was pleased to see that I looked splendid on this day. I called for my coach and waited impatiently by the door as it drew to the front of my home. The footman opened the door and I bounded in. To The Sugar Loaf... I have a hunger that matches my thirst from the evening before. As the horses galloped off down High Street, I had what I would find to be one of the few moments to myself on this day.

Ah, but within the context of the times, pirates were hardly any more vicious than society at large. If you read about life in Europe at the time, the supposed horrendous deeds pirates were doing were being replicated all over. It was indeed a violent time, so I don't believe most pirates acted any differently than what society did at large. Certainly reading about London in the time of Morgan makes him seem pretty normal. For instance, public dunking, hanging and torture was pretty much the norm then. So why would torture be so barbaric to pirates of the time. Have you ever read what was going on in the prisons then? The pirates would have been hard pressed to be worse. And the Spanairds set the standard for torture - they were extremely creative, particularly where it regarded the English. And as Captain Enigma so well put, terrorist and patriot are hardly far apart. Our forefathers were terrorists in the eyes of the English while many pirates were seen as saviors to the colonists in terms of supply economic wealth and goods. It's all relative. But I don't think the labels take away from their influence on geography, politics, economics or maritime accomplishments. -- Sir Henry

Outside of the over dramatization about the democratic aspects of ship life, I think he's pretty spot on. If it weren't for the constant harassment of Henry Morgan and his buccaneers, Spain would have probably still held onto much of what became British colonies, including Jamaica. He stretched Spains resources to the point where they also couldn't populate Florida as much as they wanted to. As far as commerce, pirates did indeed help the colonies economically. Not only did they spend their wealth in the colonial cities, but they brought in much needed goods. Certainly, Port Royal benefitted greatly from the added commece and economic wealth. Prior to the earthquake, it's economic engine rivaled that of colonial Boston. It was due entirely to the buccaneer and pirate trade. I don't think their attitude toward slavery was any different than others of the times. Some captured slaves did indeed join the crews, but others remained slaves and the trading of slaves in pirate strongholds (again, I know of Port Royal mostly) was brisk. The greatest contributions, certainly in buccaneer times, was the disruption of trading by privateers acting on behalf of the English. Spain simply couldn't keep up economically or strategically, thanks in large part to this supplemental force of offensive forces. So I think overall his basis of thought is pretty accurate, at least from the standpoint of buccaneers who served country as opposed to pirates who typically served their own interests. And, of course, the terms are used so interchangably it would be unfair to separate them in responding to this research. Just my humble opinion... of course. Sir Henry

I haven't had a chance to fire them so I haven't had the chance to get all that in order. Our weapons master Willie and I have a date to do so over at his house. Got to love the fact that they are not considered weapons - as long as no one complains about the noise, you can fire them in Florida with no problem. They only fall under the noise ordinance. -- Sir Henry

Keep in mind that Exquemelin's book was a bit of fiction as well. Sir Henry Morgan successfully sued the author for libel and won one of the first cases of such. Several scenes, including the one that depicted Sir Henry using monks and nuns to hoist ladders to storm the fort are largely works of Exquemelin's beef with Morgan at the time. The current version of the book has a disclaimer to the effect as it was required as a result of the court's decision: "There have been lately printed and published two works, one by Wil. Crook, the other by Tho. Malthus, both initialed The History of the Bucaniers: both which books contained many false, scandalous and malitious reflection on the life and actions of Sir Henry Morgan, of Jamaica, Kt. The said Sir Henry Morgan hath by judgment had in the Kingsbench-Court, recovered against the said libel 200£ damages. And on the humble solicitation and request of William Crook, hath been pleased to withdraw his action against Crook, and accept of his submission and acknowledgment in print." Otherwise, good stuff, except for much of the Morgan passages... -- Sir Henry

This is an intriguing site to play with as well. It calculates buying power from 1665 to present. http://eh.net/hmit/ppowerusd/ I used it once to show that a friend's house he purchased for 40,000 in 1975 and was appraised at $145,000 in 2005 hadn't really appreciated in value in terms of buying power. Shot him right through the heart as his $105,000 in profit vanished in the face of inflation. -- Sir Henry

Try this: http://disneyshopping.go.com/DSProductMore..._More_Info_Id=Z Use the interactive zoom feature in the pull down menu. Then you can do screen captures to catch the detail of the piece. - Good luck! -- Sir Henry

The watch that accurately shows the time of the Port Royal earthquake in 1692 was a pocket watch that was made in 1668 in England. So timepieces, at least in Port Royal, certainly weren't too rare. In fact, two different pocket watches found during the very small excavations of the ruins both had the same time on them when they stopped - 11:43 a.m. -- Time does indeed stand still in times of disaster. -- Sir Henry

It had been a long day to say the least. The visit by the Major had only extended it. But the matters of war were urgent enough that the days would only get longer in the coming weeks. Preparations needed to be made, men pressed into action, even if against their will, commissions to be drawn up, arms to be readied and a Council to mollify. The hour was late. I prepared for bed. How I missed my dear wife on these sultry nights in Port Royal. I longed to be back at the plantation with her. But duty called and matters of the heart must wait another day. I undressed and put the light out. As I began to slumber, I heard a knock on the door. On of the servants answered it. It was no doubt another request from some villager for one thing or another. Oh, well. It can certainly wait until morn. The servant greeted the man at the door and received a letter for Admiral Morgan. The writing was from a beautiful hand. He placed it on the stand next to the door and retired for the evening as well.

These would be the buildings that served this purpose in Port Royal. Basically, they mirrored the typical houses or buildings in London. The floors were typically red brick herringbone. The buildings themselves were of wood. Here is a color painting of the architecture as well. Forgive some of the image's look - an earthquake is occurring... The roofs are slate and the brick fronts are simpy facades. The buildings themselves were of timbers and board. In another two years, my new house will have this as its back yard, around a pond. Sir Henry I can't wait to play in the town.

I just got a matching pair of the doglocks from Loyalist - the 64 caliber versions, one black, one brown. They are incredible. Can't wait to shoot someone with them. -- Sir Henry

It was the Major. I nodded to welcome him, but before I would ask the nature of his business, he interrupted, handing me a sealed letter as he spoke: "Correspondence, from my father. I am not privy to its exact contents, but it is my understanding that it contains vital information concerning movements of Spanish troops throughout the Caribbean Sea. My father's business ensures his employees hear and see a great deal more than the common man might think." I had hoped this dispatch would arrive aboard one of the many ships arriving in port this day. It did not come unexpectedly. At ease, Major. I broke the seal and read through the pages once, then again. It was what I had expected. The Spanish were preparing to sail with a fleet of 2,000 troops to fortify their colonies in Cartegena, believing that we were planning to strike the treasure ships heading out of South America. It was the port from which all the mined and struck silver and gold from the mountains of Peru flowed. The ruse had worked. The prisoners that I had tortured in Cuba had spread the message I had hoped. And the Spanish had taken the bait with alarming ease. Not only did they not plan to attack Jamaica in retaliation, but they were planning to fortify the wrong port, leaving Portobello open to our own attack. Why thank you Major. Your father has been most helpful to the Crown and the people of Jamaica as always. I trust that we can meet tomorrow, perhaps around noon, for lunch and discuss our mutual interests. It is late now, and I must retire for the evening.

Once a year we are forced to listen to music about the cold and snow. And it lasts at least a month or so. Haven't you ever heard the music they play at Christmas time? You can't go anywhere without having to listen to Christmas music between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. `Blackie` Yeah, I remember those days. The first thing I did when I got here is toss my parka, sweaters and ice scraper. Could use the sweaters though now. It gets down into the 50s a couple times a year. I've heard those songs sung in Key West during the holidays. They sound kind of stupid when its 85 and sunny... If I never see snow again, I will be very, very happy. -- Sir Henry

It was the oil and wax treatment. It softened up quite a bit in the heat of the Tropics. -- Sir Henry

No offense, luv, but California doesn't qualify for the Tropics. It wouldn't be that whacked for someone there was yearn for a vacation where it's white. After all, you have mountains there where you can ski... I was more shooting for Florida, the Caribbean, French Polynesia and even Central America.... You definitely won't hear someone in Key West or Kingston singing songs like, "I Wanna Go and Sling Some Snow in Wisconsin." -- Sir Henry

I love San Francisco - lived there for a very short time and visited many more. I've heard that about islanders - they get island happy because there's no where to go. Ah, but I have to say I still haven't tired of the swaing palms, warm waters and white sand... - Sir Henry

It dawned on me today that a lot of people listen to tropical music up north and how nice it would be to escape to fun in the sun under the palm trees ... i.e., Buffett, Sunny Jim, Barefoot, and a plethora of other bands that sing about life in the sun. I used to listen to it all the time when I live in the north. Now that I live here, I notice know one in the tropics ever listens to songs about how wonderful it would be to live in the cold, the damp and the snow. Hhm. -- Sir Henry

Just don't wear them in the tropics. We were in Jamaica and one of our crewe member's hats softened up - guess the treatment on the hat couldn't take 90 degree plus heat and 100% humidity. Started to turn to goo... -- Sir Henry

Although angry at the intrusion, I couldn't help but admire this man's honesty and fighting spirit. I do believe he would have been some good sport, if we had taken to oaths and swords. But he would be much more use to me alive than dead. Good sir, I appreciate your honest and fight, I said. Major, see he gets what he needs from the King's Warehouse as well. Looks like he could use a little spiffing up... The captains chuckled. I bid my fond adieus to my friends and strolled out into the somewhat cooling air. A breeze had stirred up from the ocean and the temperature had went from sweltering to tepid. I made my way back to my quarters near the King's House. As I walked by the place, I couldn't help but amuse myself at its downtrodden look. Not a single governor had taken a liking to the place, which was cursed with poor ventilation and dim lighting. Now it was only used for formal dinners, though I couldn't help but wonder what visiting dignitaries thought of its faded curtains, dust and cracking walls. My home lie just beyond it, on High Street. I stepped in. My manservant met me and took my hat and helped me doff my shoes. He handed me a pipe and I strode into the main living space and took a seat. I pondered the events of the evening. I wondered how Captain Sterling was doing and pondered the voyage to come. Portobello was indeed a huge gamble. Well fortified with three forts guarding the harbor. Sir Francis Drake himself couldn't take it with a huge fleet. All I had was a ragtag fleet of ships and canoes. And the French. After I had to hang one of my own to satisfy their need for justice, how could they be trusted to have the guts to attack the most well protected city in the Americas. It was indeed bold. Thankfully, the last raid left the lads with about 10 pounds of coin to spend. Hardly enough to retire on. Most of them had spent it the night they arrived back at port. I hoped the thought of new wealth would blind them to the risk they would run, trying to take Portobello. My manservant entered the room. "Sir, there is someone to see you. He says it's urgent." Send him in I said. I wondered who it was. Since I was never sure who was a friend or foe in these waters, I took the liberty of cocking my pistol and placing it in my lap, tucked under a small blanket. My finger rested on the trigger. Oh, it's you, I said, as the figure walked in, dimly lit by the hurricane lamps on the wall and table. I'm not too surprised.

Actually, the incidents of homosexuality aboard ship was rare - true homosexuals within the population was about what it is now. Also, most of these men were religious and homosexuality was considered a sin by them. So, while it's romantic to think there was a bugger-fest going onboard, the facts and the literature of the time hardly supports it. -- Sir Henry