Search
Search Results
Definition
Buccaneer
The buccaneers were privateers who attacked enemies of their state, namely Spain, in the Caribbean and on the American coast (the Spanish Main) throughout the 17th century. Initially hunters and then seamen and soldiers, the buccaneers successfully...
Definition
Henry Morgan
Sir Henry Morgan (c. 1635-1688) was a Welsh privateer who operated in the Caribbean against the Spanish Empire and then became Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. Morgan was a charismatic and able military leader who masterminded devastating...
Definition
François L'Olonais
François L'Olonais (also spelt L'Olonnais or L'Ollonais, c. 1630-1668), real name Jean-David Nau, was a French buccaneer and pirate who operated from Tortuga on Hispaniola. In 1667, he famously attacked Venezuela, then part of the Spanish...
Definition
William Dampier
William Dampier (1651-1715) was an English explorer, navigator, and naturalist, who was the first person to circumnavigate the world three times. He was also among the first Englishmen to step foot on Australian soil when he sailed into King...
Image
A Buccaneer by Howard Pyle
An early 20th-century illustration by Howard Pyle showing a buccaneer. The buccaneers terrorized the Spanish Main from 1620 to 1697. (From Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates: Fiction, Fact & Fancy Concerning the Buccaneers & Marooners...
Article
Ten Notorious Dutch Pirates
While there have been pirates and privateers of all nationalities, some Dutch mariners were particularly troublesome in the early modern period, targeting, in particular, the Spanish Main but also shipping in the eastern Atlantic and the...
Image
Sir Henry Morgan Cigarette Card
A late-19th century cigarette card showing the buccaneer turned lieutenant-governor Sir Henry Morgan (c. 1635-1688). Produced by Allen & Ginter. Lithographer: George S. Harris & Sons. (Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)
Image
Sir Henry Morgan
A 17th-century illustration of the buccaneer of the Spanish Main and Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica, Sir Henry Morgan (c. 1635-1688). (From an early edition of The Buccaneers of America by Alexandre Olivier Exquemelin)
Image
Henry Morgan's Attack on Puerto Principe
An illustration showing the attack of the buccaneer force led by Henry Morgan (c. 1635-1688) on Puerto Principe, Cuba in 1668. (From On the Spanish Main by John Masefield, 1939)
Image
17th Century Tortuga
A 17th-century illustration of the buccaneer and pirate base of Tortuga, located on the northwest coast of Hispaniola (modern Haiti and the Dominican Republic).