The Life of Henry Morgan

Born as a Prominent and Wealthy Wales Farmer

Born in 1635 to a prominent and wealthy Wales farmer, Henry Morgan was a famous Caribbean pirate who was known for his successful expeditions, and especially the attack on Panama. Many scholars have documented his life, with few regarding his childhood and upbringing and most borrowing from other sources on the same. The book The Pirates of Panama by Alexandre Olivier or famously known as Exquemelin provides detailed accounts of life at the islands South to America, including the pirates’ raids on the same. Exquemelin also dedicates a few chapters to Morgan’s life and rise to captainship, with the larger part focusing on his infamous attack on Panama. In a comparison to other sources documenting Morgan’s life and expeditions, Exquemelin describes him as a ruthless, but intelligent and resilient pirate, but differs on the accounts of the years before he became a pirate.

Prior to Becoming a Pirate

Prior to becoming a pirate, Morgan had served as a slave after running away from his home for he did not wish to follow his father’s footsteps and become a farmer (Exquemelin, 2008; Piatt, 1998). At the Coast, he found ships bound for Barbados and being without employment, went aboard to serve one of them. On arriving at the ship’s destination, Morgan was quickly sold to slavery. After earning his freedom, Morgan set sail to Jamaica where he joined the pirates as a final resolution because he was void of employment (Exquemelin, 2008). Here, Exquemelin describes Morgan as a motivated and fast learner person who was quick to comprehend the ways of the pirates at the coast of Jamaica. No sooner than later, Morgan had become conversant with the pirates’ manner of living that he joined hands with other men on the ship and purchased a ship and was unanimously made captain. Exquemelin explains, “… having performed three or four voyages with profit and success, he agreed with some of his comrades, who had got by the same voyages a little money, to join stocks, and buy a ship.” (2008) This, according to Exquemelin, was the beginning of Morgan’s expeditions on different Caribbean islands.

Opposing Views on Morgan’s Background

However, while Exquemelin’s detailed accounts on Morgan’s life were first-hand, some scholars give opposing views, claiming that the former’s description of how Morgan became a pirate are misleading and “simply not true.” (Piatt, 1998). According to this scholar, Morgan on learning about Exquemelin’s book, had profusely denied being a slave in any Caribbean island. The pirate stated that he did not serve any other being except his majesty. In 1655, the Englishmen had defeated Spain, forcing them to cede Jamaica as their territory (Piatt, 1998). It is at this period that Morgan claims to have arrived at the island as a young soldier and under the servitude of his majesty. In fact, after the release of Exquemelin’s book in 1678, Piatt (1998) writes that Morgan sued the publishers for the false information, but this matter was settled outside the confines of the court. Some of the next publications modified Exquemelin’s book on Morgan’s accounts of his childhood, but unfortunately, the original version had gained so much popularity and continued to spread (Piatt, 1998). To this day, most historians beginning to learn on the pirates of the Caribbean islands believe that Morgan was initially an indentured servant before becoming a pirate.

Confirmation of Exquemelin’s Bias

Confirming the bias in Exquemelin’s accounts of his life, other scholarly works on the famous pirates at the Caribbean islands affirm that at no point was Morgan an indentured servant. Hager (2008) explains that Morgan grew up with his father and even joined school. However, he was not inclined to becoming a farmer and, therefore, joined his two uncles who were both soldiers of high-ranking during the civil war. Morgan later joined the Navy under Admiral Penn and General Venables, and went on his first mission which was to capture Hispaniola, an island in the West Indies (Hager, 2008). From this point, Morgan learnt the ways of the seas and soon became a famous pirate, feared by most governors of the Caribbean islands. However, in all of the above documentations of Morgan’s life, all the three works unanimously affirm that he was a resilient, but ruthless soldier. His resiliency is well depicted in his actions during most of his raids as a pirate. For instance, after the death of Mansvelt, Morgan quickly took over the men remaining and managed to conduct other successful expeditions (Exquemelin, 2008). Additionally, Morgan did not give up in his quest to keep St. Catherine island as a safe haven for pirates even after sending numerous letters to other pirates and receiving minimal replies (Exquemelin, 2008). In a summary of Morgan’s attack on Panama, Piatt (1998) argues that it is the intelligent application of combat power that granted him this success. However, most of this scholars also concur on Morgan’s ruthlessness during his expeditions. When meeting the pirate, the governor of Panama, well aware of their ruthlessness, “thought it his duty to meet them with a body of men.” (Exquemelin, 2008). Additionally, Davis (2015) describes Morgan as one who was easily provoked to violence.

Conclusion

Historical records are bound to provide differing accounts of people’s lives and it is no different with that provided by Exquemelin and other scholars on Captain Henry Morgan’s life. All these accounts unanimously agree that Morgan was known to be ruthless among the governors of Caribbean islands. Morgan’s bravery and resiliency is also well documented, and especially during his expeditions. However, other sources consulted differ with Exquemelin claims that Morgan was an indentured servant in Barbados before he set sail to Jamaica and joined the pirates. This suggests that even historical records are prone to mistakes and it is thus, advisable to consult a variety of sources when documenting a person’s life or event.

References

Davis, J. R. (2015). From Harry to Sir Henry: Social mobility in the 17th century Caribbean. Western Carolina University.

 Hager, J. L. (2008). The Pirate and the Privateer: A Comparative Study of Sir Francis Drake and Henry Morgan. Appalachian State University.

Olivier, A. (2008). The Pirates of Panama. Retrieved from http://www.gutenberg.org/files/26690/26690-h/26690-h.htm

Piatt, W. E. (1998). The attack on Panama City by Henry Morgan. Lock Haven University: Master of Military Art and Science.