CONTENTS
PAGE
Chapter I [Who and What Were the Buccaneers?] 1
Pirates and buccaneers. How the buccaneers originated. The first buccaneers. Settlement of Tortuga. How the buccaneers received their name. How the first prizes were taken. Originators of accident insurance. Pieces of eight and the origin of the dollar. Organization of the buccaneers.
Chapter II [Some Buccaneers and Their Ways] 14
Pierre le Grand, the first famous buccaneer. How Le Grand took the admiral’s ship. Esquemeling and his chronicles. Bartholomew Portugues and his deeds. A remarkable escape. Rock Brasiliano. A brutal buccaneer. Brasiliano’s ruse. Francis L’Ollonois the cruel. The most bloodthirsty buccaneer. Cruelties of L’Ollonois. How L’Ollonois took Maracaibo. The death of L’Ollonois.
Chapter III [Morgan and His Road to Fame] 39
Bravery of Spaniards. Attitude of the buccaneers. Early life of Morgan. The truth about Morgan. Queer character of Morgan. Treatment of prisoners. Buccaneers and Indians. Port Royal, the lair of the buccaneers. Attack on Old Providence. Morgan’s first raids. Morgan’s attack on Puerto Príncipe. The buccaneers in Cuba. Morgan prepares to attack Porto Bello. The Gold Road. Capture of Porto Bello. Morgan’s brutality. An exchange of pleasantries.
Chapter IV [The Sacking of Maracaibo] 64
Morgan gathers a great fleet. Morgan’s treachery. Morgan’s narrow escape from destruction. Tortures and butcheries. Morgan is blockaded. The buccaneers defeat the Spanish fleet. Morgan’s ruse. The buccaneers escape from Maracaibo. [[iv]]
Chapter V [The Taking of San Lorenzo] 81
Morgan’s greatest undertaking. The buccaneers’ greatest fleet. The capture of St. Catherine. The governor’s treachery. The buccaneers sail for the Chagres. Attack on San Lorenzo. The battle. How accident won the day. Valiant Spaniards. Capture of the castle. The buccaneers start for Panama. Hardships of the journey. In sight of Panama.
Chapter VI [The Sack of Panama] 100
The Jolly Roger. Buccaneers’ standards. How the buccaneers dressed. The battle before Old Panama. The buccaneers take the city. Morgan’s fury. Burning of Panama. Looting and torturing. Morgan’s vengeance. Morgan demands ransoms. Morgan’s gallantry. The return to the coast. Division of booty. Morgan deserts his men.
Chapter VII [The Misfortunes of Monsieur Ogeron] 119
The golden altar of San José. Arrest of Morgan. Morgan knighted. The ex-buccaneer suppresses piracy. The end of Sir Henry Morgan. Ogeron sails for Curaçao. The buccaneers come to grief. How Ogeron escaped. Ogeron returns to Puerto Rico. Defeat of the buccaneers. Le Sieur Maintenon and his misfortunes. Odd characters among the buccaneers. The buccaneer poet. A buccaneer naturalist. The divinity student who was a buccaneer. Ringrose the navigator.
Chapter VIII [A Perilous Undertaking] 133
A mad scheme. The plan of Sharp and his fellows. The buccaneers start across Darien. A terrible journey. Aid from the Indians. The buccaneers sight El Real de Santa Maria. Attack on the town. The buccaneers’ chagrin. The buccaneers go on towards Panama. Humanity wins its reward. In sight of the town. The Spanish fleet. A daring attempt. How the buccaneers took the Spanish fleet. Capture of the Santissima Trinidad. Valuable prizes. Dissensions and desertions. Trading with the Dons. Messages from the governor. Sawkins remembers an old friend. Loss of Captain Sawkins. [[v]]
Chapter IX [The “Most Dangerous Voyage” of Captain Sharp] 150
More desertions. Captain Sharp tells his plans. An amazing program. An awful trip. What happened to Wafer. The transformed galleon starts on its cruise. Raids on the coast. At Juan Fernandez. The men want religion. Sharp is deposed. Watling and his ways. Sharp’s prophecy. The prophecy fulfilled. Watling’s death. Sharp takes command. The buccaneers repulsed. Mutinies and deserters. Sharp refits the Blessed Trinity. The buccaneers set forth on their most dangerous voyage. The buccaneers miss the Straits of Magellan. Around the Horn through unchartered seas. Up the Atlantic. At the journey’s end. The treasure the buccaneers threw away.
Chapter X [The Last of the Buccaneers] 174
The buccaneers in the South Sea. The cruise of the Revenge. The Bachelors’ Delight. Davis and his raids. The cruise of the Cygnet. Reunion of old friends. The buccaneers are disappointed. Swan’s defeat. Ringrose’s death. Across the Pacific. The buccaneers in Madagascar. Townley takes vast treasure. The end of Townley. The sack of Guayaquil. Back to the Antilles. Buccaneers in the East Indies. Red Legs. A moral pirate. Red Legs’ chivalry. The penalty of a scolding wife. Major Stede Bonnet. An unfortunate pirate. End of Bonnet. The pirates in the Virgin Islands. Hamlin at St. Thomas.
Chapter XI [Kidd, the Pirate Who Wasn’t a Pirate] 192
Pirate treasure in fact and fancy. The truth about pirate treasure. Kidd’s unfounded fame. The true story of Captain Kidd. Trial of Captain Kidd. Death of Captain Kidd. A Don Quixote of the sea. Prince Rupert of the Rhine. A romantic figure. Shipwreck of Prince Rupert’s fleet. The death of Prince Rupert.
Chapter XII [Picturesque Pirates] 208
The “Man with the glove in his hat.” My Lord, the Earl of Cumberland. The cruise of The Scourge of Malice. The Earl’s attack on Puerto Rico. The English [[vi]]take San Juan. The unseen foe. A losing battle. The Earl retreats. The most famous real pirate. Blackbeard. A monster in human form. Blackbeard’s courage. Blackbeard’s ways. Blackbeard’s castle. Origin of Blackbeard. How Blackbeard became a pirate. Blackbeard’s appearance. How Blackbeard amused his men. A pirate’s joke. A much-married pirate.
Chapter XIII [The End of Blackbeard] 225
Lieutenant Maynard’s attempt. The attack on the pirates. Maynard repulsed. A hand to hand battle. The fight. Maynard and Blackbeard fight a duel. A gruesome sight. Blackbeard’s death. The end of the pirates. The Lafitte brothers. Who the Lafittes were. The Baratarians. Smugglers. The governor’s proclamation. Denounced as pirates. Lafitte’s trial. The arrival of the British. Lafitte’s patriotism. The governor’s attack. The Baratarians destroyed. Lafitte proffers his services to General Jackson. Bravery of Lafitte and his men. Pardons. What became of the Lafittes. The end of piracy. What we owe the buccaneers. [[vii]]