The Pirates of Panama: or, The Buccaneers of America; a True Account of the Famous Adventures and Daring Deeds of Sir Henry Morgan and Other Notorious Freebooters of the Spanish MainExquemelin, A. O. (Alexandre Olivier)
History
The Pirates of Panama: or, The Buccaneers of America; a True Account of the Famous Adventures and Daring Deeds of Sir Henry Morgan and Other Notorious Freebooters of the Spanish Main
Exquemelin, A. O. (Alexandre Olivier)
Buccaneers; Pirates; Spanish Main; West Indies -- History
Captain Morgan, with his men, now on the march, found the avenues to the
town unpassable; hereupon they took their way through the wood,
traversing it with great difficulty, whereby they escaped divers
ambuscades; at last they came to the plain, from its figure called by
the Spaniards La Savanna, or the Sheet. The governor seeing them come,
detached a troop of horse to charge them in the front, thinking to
disperse them, and to pursue them with his main body: but this design
succeeded not, for the pirates marched in very good order, at the sound
of their drums, and with flying colours; coming near the horse they drew
into a semicircle, and so advanced towards the Spaniards, who charged
them valiantly for a while; but the pirates being very dextrous at their
arms, and their governor, with many of their companions, being killed,
they retreated towards the wood, to save themselves with more
advantage; but before they could reach it, most of them were
unfortunately killed by the pirates. Thus they left the victory to these
new-come enemies, who had no considerable loss of men in the battle, and
but very few wounded. The skirmish lasted four hours: they entered the
town not without great resistance of such as were within, who defended
themselves as long as possible, and many seeing the enemy in the town,
shut themselves up in their own houses, and thence made several shots
upon the pirates; who thereupon threatened them, saying, "If you
surrender not voluntarily, you shall soon see the town in a flame, and
your wives and children torn to pieces before your faces." Upon these
menaces the Spaniards submitted to the discretion of the pirates,
believing they could not continue there long.
As soon as the pirates had possessed themselves of the town, they
enclosed all the Spaniards, men, women, children, and slaves, in several
churches, and pillaged all the goods they could find; then they searched
the country round about, bringing in daily many goods and prisoners,
with much provision. With this they fell to making great cheer, after
their old custom, without remembering the poor prisoners, whom they let
starve in the churches, though they tormented them daily and inhumanly
to make them confess where they had hid their goods, money, &c., though
little or nothing was left them, not sparing the women and little
children, giving them nothing to eat, whereby the greatest part
perished.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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