Morgan's Attacks Panama................... AGAIN!

On July 1668 Henry Morgan planned on leading a surprise attack on Panama. Sailing in with twelve ships and 500 men, he was ready to sneak attack Panama. Late at night on July 11th Morgan and his men had reached Portabello. The attack was successful they left  Panama with 250,000 pesos.


Years later on January 28, 1671 Morgan led an army of pirates into the Panamanian jungle. His goal? To capture Panama.  The small army was split into four squadrons. Morgan was smart he knew a straight up attack on the town would not work, so he sent one squadron to capture the hill to the right of the city. As the squadron went to capture the hill, Don Juan sent his men to attack thinking Morgan and his men were retreating, he was oh so very wrong. with the help of French sharpshooters, Morgan and his men tore through Don Juan's men. Don Juan threw everything he could but to no success. After the death of many Spanish soldiers, they retreated towards the town, Morgan and his men charging behind them. Don Juan knew realized he was loosing and ordered for the town to be burnt. "By nightfall the whole of the central part of the city was in flames, and by morning only the stone tower of the cathedral and some of the public buildings built of stone were still standing" (Cordingly). Morgan had defeated the Spanish. "On February 24, the pirates began the march back with 175 pack animals laden with treasure" (Guttman). They had 600 prisoners. After all that work they managed to plunder only 30,000 pounds, which meant men didn't get that much money for their bravery (only 15 pounds per men). "In 1672, Morgan was transported back to England to be tried for piracy, but he was received rather more as a romantic hero than as a vicious criminal" (Guttman). Morgan was a "hero". After all of this he went back to his home in Jamaica where he died a wealthy man, loved and praised by many.

Cordingly, David. Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the            Pirates. New York: Random House Trade Paperback, 1996. Print

Guttman, Robert. (1991, October). Henry Morgan: The Pirate Who Invaded Panama in 1671.http://www.historynet.com/henry-morgan-the-pirate-w ho-invaded-panama-in-1671.htm

The Time a Pirate got Knighted

Sir Francis Drake was a great naval commander praised by many. On one of his voyages to the Americas in 1571, Drake attacked Nombre de Dios (a Spanish City in Panama) in attempt to steal Spanish treasure. It took a couple of tries but eventually in July 1572 he was successful walking away with 100,000 pounds worth of silver.  That attack on the Spanish made him famous, respected by others.  Years after Nombre de Dios he left for another voyage on the Golden Hind. "He plundered and looted every Spanish vessel he could lay his hands on and made himself a rich man" (Cordingly). He basically became a very biased pirate attacking and raiding only Spanish ships, the most famous being the Cacafuego (Yup that means SHITFIRE). Although he claimed that he had permission while attacking, he had no warrant, so he was doing all of this as a PIRATE, not a naval commander. After some years he finally decides to return to England, where the Queen knights him for his impressive bravery. "The total value of the treasure in 1580 was probably around 500,000 pounds, which would be worth more than 68 million pounds today" (Cordingly). So Drake gave some money to England hid the rest and carried on with the rest of the booty!

Cordingly, David. Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the            Pirates. New York: Random House Trade Paperback, 1996. Print