Henry Morgan: Welsh Raider of the Spanish Main
The model was created in 2018 to coincide with Wales’ Year of the Sea when the country was be celebrating its outstanding coastline and inviting visitors to discover new epic experiences all around its shores. We’re no stranger to the word ‘epic’ and so we decided join in the celebrations by delving into Wales’ maritime history and explore the murky world of its most infamous buccaneer, Admiral Sir Henry Morgan. The builders on this project were James Pegrum, Dan Harris, Simon Pickard and Colin Parry.
This page is also available in Welsh.
This page is also available in Welsh.
Who was Henry Morgan?
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Henry Morgan was born in around 1635 in Llanrhymny, which is now part of Cardiff. How ended up in Jamaica twenty years later is uncertain, but when he was there he forged a career as the most successful buccaneer the world had ever seen. In the pay of the English government, he raided the Spanish Main and disrupted their shipping, amassing enormous personal wealth in the process. At home, he was a hero, being knighted in 1674 and holding the office of Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica on several occasions. To the Spanish he was no more than a pirate, whose activity sat well outside of the rule of law. He died on August 25th 1688 having played a major role in setting the unfolding American geo-political scene.
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What’s a Buccaneer?
Buccaneers were a kind of privateer or free sailor who sailed the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Buccaneers usually sailed under the protection of a letter of marque granted by British, French or Dutch authorities. This meant that what they were doing was sort of legal, even though they often pushed their limits and exploited every opportunity to pillage Spanish targets. For example, when Henry Morgan attacked Panama City in 1671, it was not at all authorised by the English government. Usually, these unauthorised activities were ignored by the governors who issued the letters, who themselves always took a cut of the loot and saw the buccaneers as an important and often only defence against the Spanish Empire.
The Spanish of course did not recognise the legality of the letters of marque and would torture, hang or garrotte any buccaneers they captured.
Buccaneers were a kind of privateer or free sailor who sailed the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries.
Buccaneers usually sailed under the protection of a letter of marque granted by British, French or Dutch authorities. This meant that what they were doing was sort of legal, even though they often pushed their limits and exploited every opportunity to pillage Spanish targets. For example, when Henry Morgan attacked Panama City in 1671, it was not at all authorised by the English government. Usually, these unauthorised activities were ignored by the governors who issued the letters, who themselves always took a cut of the loot and saw the buccaneers as an important and often only defence against the Spanish Empire.
The Spanish of course did not recognise the legality of the letters of marque and would torture, hang or garrotte any buccaneers they captured.
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Raid on Lake Maracaibo
Our model is based on Morgan's 1669 raid on Lake Maracaibo in modern-day Venezuela.
The raid opened with the capture of the San Carlos de la Barra Fortress, which guarded the entrance to the tidal lake. The small and undersupplied garrison had little chance of defending against the well armed and numerically superior buccaneers and the engagement did not last long. Our fort is based on the design of San Carlos de la Barra Fortress, but has been shrunk to so that it does not appear too large in comparison to the rest of the model; it was created by Dan Harris.
The buccaneers decided to leave the Fortress unmanned and so spiked and buried the fortress' guns to stop them being used against them on their escape. They then went on to loot the city of Maracaibo, but finding little treasure there, sailed across the lake to Gibraltar where they fought their way into the town.
Our town was built by James Pegrum and Colin Parry. They studied elements of Spanish architecture and colonial town planning to come up with their design.
Our model is based on Morgan's 1669 raid on Lake Maracaibo in modern-day Venezuela.
The raid opened with the capture of the San Carlos de la Barra Fortress, which guarded the entrance to the tidal lake. The small and undersupplied garrison had little chance of defending against the well armed and numerically superior buccaneers and the engagement did not last long. Our fort is based on the design of San Carlos de la Barra Fortress, but has been shrunk to so that it does not appear too large in comparison to the rest of the model; it was created by Dan Harris.
The buccaneers decided to leave the Fortress unmanned and so spiked and buried the fortress' guns to stop them being used against them on their escape. They then went on to loot the city of Maracaibo, but finding little treasure there, sailed across the lake to Gibraltar where they fought their way into the town.
Our town was built by James Pegrum and Colin Parry. They studied elements of Spanish architecture and colonial town planning to come up with their design.
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While the buccaneers were busy looting, a Spanish fleet of three large ships turned up, blocking the passage to the open sea. To make matters worse, the Spanish rearmed San Carlos de la Barra - the buccaneers were trapped!
Morgan tried to negotiate his way out - but the Spanish were under orders to end piracy; battle was inevitable! As he was heavily outgunned, Morgan had to use cunning to get to safety. For this he took a captured vessel and turned it into a fire ship, disguising vertical logs of wood with headwear to fool the Spanish into thinking it was fully crewed. Our ships were built by James Pegrum and Simon Pickard.
Morgan tried to negotiate his way out - but the Spanish were under orders to end piracy; battle was inevitable! As he was heavily outgunned, Morgan had to use cunning to get to safety. For this he took a captured vessel and turned it into a fire ship, disguising vertical logs of wood with headwear to fool the Spanish into thinking it was fully crewed. Our ships were built by James Pegrum and Simon Pickard.
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On the 1st May 1669 Morgan’s flotilla attacked the Spanish squadron. The fire ship worked, destroying the largest of the Spanish vessels. The second largest tried to move away from the burning mess, but a problem with the rigging meant that she drifted aimlessly. The buccaneers were able to board her and claim her as their own. The third Spanish vessel was also sunk, leaving only the fortress to overcome.
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Again Morgan tried to negotiate, threatening to sack and burn Maracaibo if he was not allowed to pass. The Spanish in the fort refused.
Morgan had little taste for another fight; it would likely be costly and he had been told that more Spanish ships were on their way. However, he noticed that the Spanish had set their cannon for a landward attack as this had been how the fort had been captured in the first place. To trick the Spanish into believing an attack from the land would happen, Morgan had his buccaneers canoe over to the mainland within sight of the fort but land just out of sight. To the Spanish it looked like a large force was gathering just beyond their walls, but what was actually happening was that the buccaneers were returning straight back to their ships, hidden behind the hull of their canoes. There were in fact no buccaneers on land at all! During the night, with the Spanish fixated on the jungle beyond them, Morgan’s flotilla lifted anchor without unfurling their sails and floated unseen out of the lake on the tide, only unfurling their sails when they were out of range of the fort. They took around 250,000 pesos, a huge quantity of merchandise and a number of hostages with them; a huge prize at the time! |
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Like most of our large models, Henry Morgan: Welsh Raider of the Spanish Main only existed as a whole during the year of its creation. However elements of it, such as the impressive ships, remain extant and are still available to rent. Contact us for more information.
Brick to the Past proudly use LEGO bricks to build our displays, but we are not endorsed, authorised or affiliated with the LEGO Group in any way.
LEGO is a trademark of the LEGO Group of companies. The material on this site is copyright Brick to the Past.
LEGO is a trademark of the LEGO Group of companies. The material on this site is copyright Brick to the Past.
