Henry Morgan
Henry Morgan was born near in 1635 and the location has been either Monmouthshire or Llanrhymny or other parts of Wells. Life before turning to life on the sea is sparse and after becoming part of a crew with his determination advanced to the role of captain. With his allegiance to England to plunder towns under the control of Spain his role was now of a buccaneer and quickly gained experience and admiration of his fellow mariners. The alliance of yet another captain of Christopher Myngs in this naval formation proved to be advantageous to pursue his quest. The event that opened the way for him to gain more notoriety came in 16667 with a treaty between Britain and Spain not to plunder each other's ships. The truce did not last and it was discovered Jamaica would soon fall into the hands of the Spanish the governor advertised for soldiers of fortune for protection to which the pirates in the vicinity were willing to oblige. With this new development, Henry concluded it was more wealthy on land than the sea and less dangerous and he was not content with a few structures but rather plundering entire towns.
His first large conquest was Puerto del Principe as the defense was inadequate to repel any attack and the outcome was not just the riches found but also by keeping hostages for ransom. The next target was Porto Bello and after gaining access to the town but setting free English prisoners with the rest still inside of the castle he just raided exploded the structure. As the smoke cleared Henry and his men slipped away in the confusion and made their way to a second fort which yielded little opposition and the governor was killed. Not to be outdone Henry set his sights on Maracaibo and when they tried to leave the escape was thwarted by Spanish ships. When his offer to return what was stolen was rejected Henry surrendered to the Spanish but this was just a ruse as his ship was rigged with explosives and when they came close to the Spanish ship exploded sinking both. Not to be outdone and with higher ambitions with the offer of a privateer from the governor of Jamaica he planned to seize Panama. With war on the horizon with the Dutch it was decided by Britain for Henry to return to England and face charges but rather than punishment was knighted and sent to Jamaica as Deputy Governor.
His first large conquest was Puerto del Principe as the defense was inadequate to repel any attack and the outcome was not just the riches found but also by keeping hostages for ransom. The next target was Porto Bello and after gaining access to the town but setting free English prisoners with the rest still inside of the castle he just raided exploded the structure. As the smoke cleared Henry and his men slipped away in the confusion and made their way to a second fort which yielded little opposition and the governor was killed. Not to be outdone Henry set his sights on Maracaibo and when they tried to leave the escape was thwarted by Spanish ships. When his offer to return what was stolen was rejected Henry surrendered to the Spanish but this was just a ruse as his ship was rigged with explosives and when they came close to the Spanish ship exploded sinking both. Not to be outdone and with higher ambitions with the offer of a privateer from the governor of Jamaica he planned to seize Panama. With war on the horizon with the Dutch it was decided by Britain for Henry to return to England and face charges but rather than punishment was knighted and sent to Jamaica as Deputy Governor.
