that Spain and England were at peace.
Not only were Paine and Wright English, but they transported Governor Sebastian and the others to the English island of Jamaica and held them there. Paine demanded four thousand pieces of eight for the return of the governor as well as the release of an unnamed French pirate held prisoner at Cartagena.
To make matters worse, the demand for the release of the pirate and the money arrived in Cartagena aboard a barque from Jamaica. And the final straw, the demand itself was cowritten by the governors of Jamaica and Tortuga. The outraged Spanish ambassador in England, Don Pedro de Ronquillos, wrote to Charles II:
For though it be said that Frenchmen did it [invaded Santa Marta], yet it is certain that English were with them, and that they sailed with their prisoners to the port of Jamaica, where the governor ought to have chastised your Majestyâs subjects and not consented to demand a ransom for them. 2
All that year, Paine and Wrightâs activities continued to plague the Spanish. Again Don Pedro wrote to Charles II:
[T]he captain of the Armado de Barloventoâ¦[experienced] the infraction of the peace, in that a small vessel under his charge was taken by [from] him in company of an English frigate, a bark and a flat-bottomed boat. This is affirmed in the declaration of theinhabitant of Margarita aforesaid, who says that the captain of one ship was called Thomas Pem [Paine] and of the other Heohapireray [possibly a corruption of Wright], both English, and that the men were also English, with a commission from the French Governor of Tortue. 3
The commission alluded to is presumably the one issued by Governor M. de Pouançay to all of the buccaneers hired at Tortuga for the attack on Curaçao. If this is so, then it is unlikely that a two-year-old commission would still be considered valid by any honest jurisdiction. It was, however, good enough for the buccaneers. Since piracy of thelate seventeenth century had a decidedly political flavor to it, it was probably good enough for English and French authorities, too, so long as grand theft was confined to the Spanish.
Don Pedro goes on to describe the wild spree on which Paine and his cohorts were engaged:
These same and other pirates also landed in Honduras, and after many insolencies plundered the Kingâs magazine and, among other things, carried off a thousand chests of indigo [a valuable purple dye] which they are known to have sold in Jamaica as they do the rest of their booty and prizes. These are not the only insolencies of these pirates; they infest the Isles of Barlovento, and have plundered Porto Bello, the most important city on the coast. 4
R ENEWED A LLIANCES
While Paine and Wright were rampaging across the Spanish Main, the Chevalier de Grammont tarried in Tortuga, enjoying the fruits of his piracy. In May 1680, a year and a half after Maracaibo, he was once more ready for action.
The Chevalier met Paine and Wright at Isla La Blanquilla, about two hundred miles west of Grenada, part of present-day Venezuela. This meeting was fortuitous, at least for the buccaneers. Paine and Wright decided to join de Grammont on his latest venture, perhaps the boldest and most audacious he would ever undertake.
The target was La Guaira, the port of Caracas, a place well protected by two forts and with cannons mounted on the cityâs walls. Dampier reports that the Frenchman was acting on the strength of an old commission granted him by de Pouançay. De Grammont, like Paine, was using his old papers to give his activities the thinnest veneer of legitimacy. For the buccaneers, it was good enough.
14
The Sack of Caracas
Oh the palms grew high in Avès, and fruits that shone like gold,
And the colibris and parrots they were gorgeous to behold;
And the Negro maids to Avès from bondage fast did flee,
To welcome gallant sailors, a-sweeping in from sea.
ââTHE LAST BUCCANEERâ
Charles Kingsley
J
Not only were Paine and Wright English, but they transported Governor Sebastian and the others to the English island of Jamaica and held them there. Paine demanded four thousand pieces of eight for the return of the governor as well as the release of an unnamed French pirate held prisoner at Cartagena.
To make matters worse, the demand for the release of the pirate and the money arrived in Cartagena aboard a barque from Jamaica. And the final straw, the demand itself was cowritten by the governors of Jamaica and Tortuga. The outraged Spanish ambassador in England, Don Pedro de Ronquillos, wrote to Charles II:
For though it be said that Frenchmen did it [invaded Santa Marta], yet it is certain that English were with them, and that they sailed with their prisoners to the port of Jamaica, where the governor ought to have chastised your Majestyâs subjects and not consented to demand a ransom for them. 2
All that year, Paine and Wrightâs activities continued to plague the Spanish. Again Don Pedro wrote to Charles II:
[T]he captain of the Armado de Barloventoâ¦[experienced] the infraction of the peace, in that a small vessel under his charge was taken by [from] him in company of an English frigate, a bark and a flat-bottomed boat. This is affirmed in the declaration of theinhabitant of Margarita aforesaid, who says that the captain of one ship was called Thomas Pem [Paine] and of the other Heohapireray [possibly a corruption of Wright], both English, and that the men were also English, with a commission from the French Governor of Tortue. 3
The commission alluded to is presumably the one issued by Governor M. de Pouançay to all of the buccaneers hired at Tortuga for the attack on Curaçao. If this is so, then it is unlikely that a two-year-old commission would still be considered valid by any honest jurisdiction. It was, however, good enough for the buccaneers. Since piracy of thelate seventeenth century had a decidedly political flavor to it, it was probably good enough for English and French authorities, too, so long as grand theft was confined to the Spanish.
Don Pedro goes on to describe the wild spree on which Paine and his cohorts were engaged:
These same and other pirates also landed in Honduras, and after many insolencies plundered the Kingâs magazine and, among other things, carried off a thousand chests of indigo [a valuable purple dye] which they are known to have sold in Jamaica as they do the rest of their booty and prizes. These are not the only insolencies of these pirates; they infest the Isles of Barlovento, and have plundered Porto Bello, the most important city on the coast. 4
R ENEWED A LLIANCES
While Paine and Wright were rampaging across the Spanish Main, the Chevalier de Grammont tarried in Tortuga, enjoying the fruits of his piracy. In May 1680, a year and a half after Maracaibo, he was once more ready for action.
The Chevalier met Paine and Wright at Isla La Blanquilla, about two hundred miles west of Grenada, part of present-day Venezuela. This meeting was fortuitous, at least for the buccaneers. Paine and Wright decided to join de Grammont on his latest venture, perhaps the boldest and most audacious he would ever undertake.
The target was La Guaira, the port of Caracas, a place well protected by two forts and with cannons mounted on the cityâs walls. Dampier reports that the Frenchman was acting on the strength of an old commission granted him by de Pouançay. De Grammont, like Paine, was using his old papers to give his activities the thinnest veneer of legitimacy. For the buccaneers, it was good enough.
14
The Sack of Caracas
Oh the palms grew high in Avès, and fruits that shone like gold,
And the colibris and parrots they were gorgeous to behold;
And the Negro maids to Avès from bondage fast did flee,
To welcome gallant sailors, a-sweeping in from sea.
ââTHE LAST BUCCANEERâ
Charles Kingsley
J
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