#bucaneers

On the 9th of February, 1663, the Sack of Campeche occurred; a raid by pirates led by Christopher Myngs and Edward Mansvelt, which became the model for later coastal pirate raids during the buccaneering era. Myngs had previously assembled the largest buccaneer fleet (so far, of the time) ever assembled, fourteen ships with around 1,400 pirates, including Henry Morgan. The primarily English fleet was bolstered by four more French ships, and three Dutch Privateer vessels, and had departed from Port Royal. On February 8th, Myngs had landed about 1,000 men a short distance from Campeche .

The book is broken up into four parts, each separately numbered. They were originally written in a number of different languages, including Dutch, Spanish, and French, and this book collects these stories and translates them into English. The particular worth and interest of this collection is that, besides the translation, these are primary sources of the pirate adventures that are so common in our popular culture. The stories were written by the buccaneers themselves, or at the very least, their companions. This gives a fascinating insight into what the reality behind the stories really is.

One particularly nice feature of this book is a number of fold out illustrations spread throughout the book. Among these are a number of different maps drafted at the time, which allows an interesting insight into the geographic assumptions of the era. Other illustrations include portraits of the various buccaneers that the stories focus on and drawings of cannon battles between various warships. These illustrations were done in a popular method of the time, that being copper plate.

These stories offer a bit of a personal insight into a part of history that often becomes a bit fantasized by popular culture. While Johnny Depp is nowhere to be found within these pages, the tales that lie within these pages are no less interesting for that exclusion. Primary sources can truly make history come alive, and if that’s something you’re looking for, come check it out here at Special Collections.