Pirates of the Florida Coast: Truths, Legends, and Myths

Preface

With each decade, there seems to be one historical period that grabs the imagination and attention of the public. Sometimes this is brought on by the anniversary of a significant historical event—like the bicentennial of the Revolutionary War in 1976. Sometimes the craze is sparked by a blockbuster motion picture. Western reenacting was extremely popular in the late 1990s after the release of "Tombstone." Beginning around 2005, there has been a renewed interested in pirates.

From my early childhood, I have been fascinated with different time periods and historical events. Since 1971, I have been heavily involved in historical reenacting and living history interpretation of one time or another from the Renaissance through the late 19th Century. The French and Indian War was my first era. That soon led to the Revolutionary War. Well, it had to. The year was 1974 and the entire country was gearing up for the Bicentennial.

Around 2005, my interests shifted to piracy. Not as a practicing participant in robbery on the high seas or illegally copying DVDs, but as a historical interpreter, reenacting the thrilling time of the Golden Age of piracy for the general public. For many decades, the bookstores of the world have been flooded with numerous volumes on pirates. But in researching this period, I quickly found that most of the events described in many books written about pirate history were highly contradictory. Also, there is very little written about how they lived, the clothes they wore, the weapons they used, the food they ate, and their often exciting and dangerous lives. Hard facts from contemporary documents concerning pirate history are scarce. After all, as a rule, they were a very secretive group. They seldom filed reports or kept logbooks. There is almost nothing about how they lived or felt about their comrades and their risky, often violent encounters.

But the real problem comes from the fact that the literary market has been flooded with hundreds of books professing to be historically correct—but they aren’t! Many modern works about pirates are simply rewrites of older books written many years ago or are based upon local legends and unverified stories. For the books based upon works from the 17th and 18th centuries, it has generally been accepted that those books were historically accurate simply because they were written at a time contemporary to the pirates themselves—but most were not. Many authors of the day were more interested in writing bestsellers than scholarly works of history. For the books based upon local legends, few authors checked the facts. Many of them were content to retell the legends as if they were true. This compelled me to write my first book, A Pirates Life in the Golden Age of Piracy. Digging deep into the true history of piracy over a ten-year period, I unearthed a treasure of information that not only tells the truth about these pirates but examines the politics that motivated them. I also delved into their lifestyles as I examined their clothing and fashions, weapons and tactics, food, ships, and attitudes which opened a window into how they lived and what they thought.

I am not a formally trained historian with years of experience researching facts in dusty archives and lonely corridors. I haven’t spent dozens of years of my life studying history in higher institutions of learning. I am an officer in the United States Marine Corps who retired after serving for 31 years. But in addition to my military service, for most of my life I have been a historical reenactor; a person dedicated to living history interpretation. I’m not a paid historian, but rather an amateur with a passion for history and historical accuracy. Being so involved with living history has given me a unique perspective on historical events. It has provided me with a first-hand look into the lives of people from the time periods I have recreated.

While selling my first book, A Pirates Life in the Golden Age of Piracy, I was frequently asked about pirates in Florida. That makes sense since I lived in Florida and most of my lectures, book signings, and sales events were in that state. Realizing the need for a follow-on book dealing specifically with piracy in Florida, I began examining the historical record and local legends about the pirates and privateers that operated along Florida’s 1,350 miles of coastline. But unlike most of the pirates of the 17th and early 18th centuries, where written accounts abound (accurate or not), most of the accounts of Florida’s pirates in the late 18th and early 19th centuries seem to primarily come from local legends. These legends are deeply rooted in local tradition and in some cases, have achieved the status of fact in the minds of many people.

Tourism has played a big role in the creation of many of the local pirate legends. Tales of swashbuckling pirates are good for business. Many local legends were invented by tour guides and in some cases fishing guides to amuse and please their clients. The original sources of many of these local pirate stories go back to the beginning of the Florida tourism industry in the late 19th century. Unfortunately for the historical record and for thousands of pirate enthusiasts who seek the truth, many of the late 20th and early 21st century publications about Florida pirates simply retell these invented and unverified local legends or quote older published sources that have done the same thing. In some cases, authors have even invented fictional stories about some of these pirates and represented them as factual.

Association with pirates goes far beyond local legend within the state of Florida. The presence of pirates in Florida has become institutionalized within the state’s tourism industry as is evident by the large number of pirate themed festivals. The most prominent one of these is the Gasparilla Pirate Invasion held each January and February in Tampa. Additionally, Florida has more pirate themed museums and gift shops than any other state. As if that isn’t enough to demonstrate Florida’s fascination with pirates, there are many athletic teams throughout the state with names like Pirates or Buccaneers.

I wrote my first book, A Pirates Life in the Golden Age of Piracy, to give the reader a comprehensive understanding of the events that transpired during the 17th and early 18th centuries. In Pirates of the Florida Coast: Truths, Legends, and Myths, I focus only on those who raided along Florida’s coasts. This includes the real pirates and privateers who are said to have visited Florida whether they actually did or not. It also includes the imaginary ones. But in order for the reader to fully understand the proper background and historical perspective of the Florida pirates and privateers, I have chosen to include several chapters and sections from my first book in a capsulized form. For those readers who have not read A Pirates Life in the Golden Age of Piracy, this will be vital in building the foundation for a full and complete understanding of the events that led up to Florida’s pirates and privateers. For those readers who have read my first book, this will serve as a review of the material that is essential to fully understand the pirates and privateers who operated along the east and west coasts of Florida.

But most importantly, in writing Pirates of the Florida Coast: Truths, Legends, and Myths, I hope to separate fact from fiction. Throughout this book, I shall examine the most commonly told stories of famous pirates and privateers who supposedly operated along the Florida coasts and compare local legend to documented fact. In the absence of documented facts, which is quite often the case with many of these legends, I shall examine and discuss the likelihood of truth.

Chapter 1

Let the Piracy Begin

It’s a sad but true commentary to say that the first human to build a boat was probably a merchant and the second was probably a pirate. Technically, a pirate is one who commits robbery at sea—well, on the water at any rate. I don’t want to limit the definition to just seagoing craft; there certainly have been plenty of river pirates throughout history. However, for the most part, I would like to keep this book focused on the more romanticized pirates and privateers who sailed the seas in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. We begin with the pirates who plundered the Spanish Main in the Caribbean and continue with those who plundered ships and settlements along Florida’s coasts.

The Golden Age of Piracy is an era that many scholars and authors have identified as approximately the second half of the 17th century to the middle of the 18th century. The exact beginning and ending dates between historians don’t always match, but generally this period covers the years from 1620 to 1730. I place the beginning date for my exposé on the Golden Age of Piracy at 1640 with the rise of the buccaneers and the ending date at 1722 with the death of the last great pirate, John Roberts, sometimes called Bartholomew Roberts, or just Black Bart. This was when pirates became stylized and our perception of what we think of when we say pirates became defined. However, in Florida, this time period was just the beginning. Many of the pirates and privateers who visited Florida did so between the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

In order to fully understand the pirates’ role in the political arena, we must first become familiar with the term "of marque" (pronounced mark) and understand the subtleties and differences between a pirate and a privateer. There actually was a huge difference between the two. Their victims wouldn’t make any distinction at all, but for the individuals attacking and taking a prize, it meant the difference between acting within the law of their country and acting as criminals. It’s the difference between having friendly ports to return to and having to operate in secrecy.

Between 1520 and 1720, it was just too expensive for most nations to maintain large naval fleets during peacetime. They did, of course, have some warships for protection of the major ports and to escort their kings and queens as they traveled abroad, but not enough to effectively wage a naval campaign. When war broke out, governments would have to rapidly expand their small peacetime navies into large wartime fleets. The best way to accomplish this was to hire one. Governments would issue letters of marque to any willing sea captain and crew with a suitable ship, regardless of their nationality, giving them legal permission to attack any nation’s ships that were listed in the letters. Those letters were also referred to as commissions. Captains and crewmen sailing under letters of marque were officially called privateers. The French referred to them as corsairs. During the Golden Age of Piracy, a percentage of the profits would be paid back to the government that issued those letters. In England during the 17th century, 1/15th of the profits went to the King and 1/10th to the minister of state or governor who issued the letters or who was appointed to supervise such activity. By the end of the 18th century, this percentage had increased to 50% going to the government. From the mid-16th to the mid-18th century, England, France, and the Dutch Republic all used privateers as part of their official state policy. Between 1702 and 1714 during the War of the Spanish Succession, Queen Anne of England issued 128 privateer commissions through the port of Bristol alone.

Privateers were quite literally naval mercenaries. The ones being attacked always regarded them as pirates, but these men were generally thought of as heroes rather than outlaws by the governments that issued the letters. They were brave naval warriors attacking the vicious enemy and bringing valuable revenue back to the local economy. During the American Revolution (1775–1783) the greatest naval hero of the United States was John Paul Jones. He is considered a hero of the Revolution and the father of the U.S. Navy. But, to the British, he was simply a pirate and was referred to as such. Letters of marque were also issued by heads of state in peacetime. It was a profitable way to wage a cold war against your enemies and generate some revenue at the same time. Governors also issued letters of marque to local privateers as a routine way of protecting their colonies and shipping lanes. As the English, French, and Dutch began colonization in the Caribbean, the use of privateers was an absolute necessity.

Privateer crews were normally a mix of sailors and landsmen. Those landsmen were commonly soldiers, craftsmen, adventurers, shopkeepers, and musicians. Privateer commissions often limited the number of seamen who could be taken aboard to not more than half of the total crew. A privateer captain didn’t need a ship full of sailors, he needed fighting men. Privateers only needed enough sailors to handle the ship, the rest were for boarding enemy ships or for attacking cities ashore. For example, in 1719 the English privateer, Captain Shelvocke, only had 20 sailors among his 101-man crew.

Recruiting privateer crews was often done in the same manner as recruiting for any other crew, by public advertising. Notices would be posted around the docks and taverns, coffeehouses, and even in the newspapers. One newspaper ad read, Captain Peter Lawrence is going a Privateering from Rhode Island in a good Sloop, about 60 Tons, six guns and 90 men for Canada and any Gentlemen of Sailors that are disposed to go shall be kindly entertained.

The first person to raid the Florida coastline was a privateer, Francis Drake. In the late 16th century and throughout most of the 17th century, just about everyone sailing the seas looking for loot was a privateer. Later in the early 19th century, this phenomenon was repeated, when colonies such as Mexico, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico began issuing unlimited letters of marque to anyone in support of their revolt against Spain.

Most of the pirates and privateers who sailed the waters off the coasts of Florida were based in other colonies. English pirates and privateers usually sailed from Jamaica, the Bahamas, or Carolina. French pirates and privateers usually sailed from the Caribbean or from Louisiana. Dutch pirates and privateers usually sailed from the Caribbean. Spanish pirates and privateers sailed from Florida, but they also sailed from the Caribbean. In order to gain the proper background and historical perspective of pirates and privateers who may have visited the Florida shores, it is necessary to fully understand the development of those colonies, especially with regard to the pirates and privateers who lived in those colonies in what many call The Golden Age of Piracy.

I place the beginning date for the period at 1640 with the rise of the buccaneers and the ending date at 1722 with the death of the last great pirate, John Roberts, sometimes called Bartholomew Roberts, or Black Bart. However, the golden age was not a single period. It was a process of development and growth and remarkable transition and change. As we shall see, the motivation, political support, and social acceptance for these pirates dramatically shifted four times during the years that mark the golden age. Some of these changes were brought about by war, some by political treaties, and some were brought about by the riches a country could gain through colonization. Religious freedom and political oppression also played a significant part. Therefore, this golden age can be divided into four distinct subcategories, or eras; 1640–1670 The Buccaneer Privateers; 1670–1702 The Buccaneer Pirates; 1702–1713 The Privateers of Queen Anne’s War; 1714–1722 The Pirates.

Chapter 2

The Spanish Main

Before we get into all the details of the pirates and privateers who raided or operated along Florida’s coasts, we must first understand how the Spanish established colonies in America. Spanish colonization of America began with Christopher Columbus’ second voyage in 1494. He claimed the island of Hispaniola for Spain. This island is known today as the Dominican Republic and Haiti. His brother Bartholomew established the capital city of Santo Domingo in 1496 and served as governor. The Treaty of Tordesillas signed by Spain and Portugal in 1497 drew an imaginary line around the world and granted Spain a total monopoly on trade west of that line in the Atlantic Ocean. The Spanish considered the Caribbean to be their own personal sea and North America as their rightful territory.

1500–1630

The Spanish control the Caribbean with well-established colonies in Mexico and in Cuba, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Trinidad, and many of the smaller islands.

The capital of the Spanish Caribbean remained Santo Domingo, from 1496 to the early 19th century. The port city of Havana on the island of Cuba was established as the main seaport, where all valuables from the Caribbean would be exported back to Spain. Additional seaports were established to connect their empire. These included Veracruz in Mexico, Maracaibo in Venezuela, and the two ports of Portobelo and Nombre de Dios on the Caribbean side of the Isthmus of Panama. In the Pacific, the primary ports were the City of Panama on the Pacific side of the isthmus and Acapulco along the Mexican coast. By the 1570s, a regular treasure route was established to take the riches from their colonies in the New World and from their colonies in the Pacific back to Spain.

Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztecs of Mexico in 1521. Francisco Pizarro conquered the Incas of Peru in 1536. Miguel López de Legazpi founded the first Spanish settlement in the Philippines in 1565 and later established Manila as the capital of the Spanish East Indies in 1571.

Throughout the year, huge amounts of gold and precious jewels plundered from the Aztecs were sent to Veracruz and then shipped to Santo Domingo. At the same time, valuable commodities from Venezuela and Colombia would also be shipped to Santo Domingo from the port of Maracaibo. On the Pacific side, vast amounts of gold and silver were either taken from the Incas or mined by slave labor. Those riches would be sent by ship to Panama on a regular basis. Meanwhile, riches such as pearls, spices, and other highly valuable commodities from their colonies in the Philippines were shipped across the Pacific Ocean to Acapulco onboard treasure ships known as Manilla Galleons and then sent on to the City of Panama. All the riches from the Pacific and from South America that accumulated in the City of Panama were then carried across the Isthmus of Panama by well-guarded mule caravans to either Nombre de Dios or Portobelo on the Caribbean side. From there, the riches were shipped to Santo Domingo. As the capital city of the Spanish Caribbean, Santo Domingo received all these riches for processing and accounting before transportation back to Spain. Once all the paperwork was complete, the valuables were sent to Havana where they remained in storage until it was time for the yearly treasure fleet to sail. Once a year, a huge treasure fleet containing all those riches that had been accumulating throughout the year departed Havana and made the perilous journey back to Spain. After leaving Havana, the fleet sailed past the Florida Keys then north through the Florida Straits and along the east coast of Florida. Once reaching the trade winds, the fleet turned eastward and crossed the Atlantic back to Spain.

1570s–1821

Yearly Spanish Treasure Fleets sailed from Havana to Spain.

Because the large treasure fleet was well armed, pirates and privateers were seldom a concern. The real threat came from hurricanes which are common along the Florida coast from May to October. A storm like that could quickly destroy an entire fleet and many Spanish treasure ships were lost during this time, the most famous being the Nuestra Señora de Atocha, which sank off Key West, Florida in 1622.

1618–1648

The Florida Straits connects the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean and is located between Florida (including the Keys) and Cuba and the Bahama Islands. The Gulf Stream is a 75-mile wide current that forms just off of Cancun, and then flows north almost to New Orleans, back down to Havana then up through the Florida Straits all at about the speed of a human walking. It maintains this speed beyond Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, where it veers off to the northeast and eventually dissipates in the North Atlantic. It is a 4,000 mile river in the ocean.

Figure 1:   The Spanish Caribbean

Chapter 3

Raiders of The Main

In Europe, Spain was attempting to take over virtually every country possible and had been almost constantly at war with the rest of Europe since 1556 when the Dutch officially allied themselves with England and France against Spain. At sea, Dutch and English pirates began redirecting much of Spain’s treasure stream to their own governments. The English called themselves Sea Rovers while the Dutch referred to themselves as Sea Beggars. The Spanish called both English and Dutch pirates Pechelingues. These privateers took prizes wherever they could, in European waters as well as in the Caribbean and the Pacific. Throughout this period, all the waters north of the coast of South America up to Bermuda were referred to as the Spanish Main. These waters included the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the waters around the Bahamas. It was called the Spanish Main because the Spanish government mainly considered them as the exclusive property of Spain. As such, the Spanish took a very strict view of any interlopers. In other words, no settlers allowed. Those who tried were met with immediate attack from the Spanish forces which resulted in either their death or enslavement.

The Protestant Reformation was started by Martin Luther in Germany in 1517

The Protestant reformation played a major role in the colonization of the New World, especially for France. Martin Luther began the Protestant Reformation in 1517 and in the 1530s, a French scholar named Jean Calvin began the Calvinist movement, also known as Calvinism. His teachings rapidly spread through Europe. In England, his followers were known as Puritans and in France, his followers were known as Huguenots. While Puritans were accepted in England in the 16th century, the Catholic French didn’t take very kindly to this new form of religion.

By the mid-17th century, the Spanish domination of the Caribbean islands and Mexico with all the resources they offered was becoming increasingly annoying to the other European powers. Beginning