Cindy Vallar's Blog - Posts Tagged "virginia"

Colonial Virginia's War Against Piracy: The Governor the Buccaneer by Jeremy R. Moss

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Mention Virginia and fighting pirates and most readers think of Governor Alexander Spotswood and his determination to bring down Blackbeard. But two decades earlier, another Virginian wages war against pirates and even takes part in the final battle that results in the capture of a notorious buccaneer.

In December 1698, Colonel Francis Nicholson set foot in Jamestown as Virginia’s new governor. It wasn’t his first stint as a colonial administrator. He had served as the colony’s lieutenant governor until stepping down in 1692. He spent the next six years governing Maryland. No matter where he served, he tended to make both friends and enemies. The former saw his as a protector, a devout defender of the colony and the church. The latter abhorred his temper and thought him arbitrary and overbearing. Moderation was a word that was absent from his vocabulary; its absence showed in his hatred of piracy and his determination to enforce the law, even though turning a blind eye to illicit trade was the norm among Britain’s American colonies.

In 1699, Louis Guittar came to piracy as a victim. He was one of the original buccaneers, a hunter who had skills that the pirates needed. For this reason, they forced him to become not just a fellow pirate but also their captain. His successes eventually garnered him a crew of 125. In the battle that brought about his downfall, the government expended a massive amount of gunpowder and shot.

Moss also discusses other pirates who preyed in Virginian waters. One of these accounts concerns a pirate who claimed to be William Kidd (he was not) and whose treasure amounted to £3,000,000. More importantly, he captured vital intelligence from a navy ship that helped further his piratical adventures.

Whenever possible, Moss relies on original source material to recount the story of Nicholson and Guittar, and he incorporates snippets from these primary documents throughout the narrative. Also included are maps, illustrations, end notes, and an index (although the last isn’t as detailed as some researchers might prefer). He contrasts Nicholson’s handling of pirates with two governors who colluded with them. Moss also explains how three buccaneers ended up funding the College of William and Mary in greater detail than is often found in pirate histories.

What sets this short volume of pirate history apart from others is its coverage of two men rarely mentioned in piratical accounts. Moss presents the information in a compelling way and incorporates details that expand on episodes that usually receive scant coverage. The fact that Nicholson actually participated to bring down Guittar, rather than sitting on the sidelines and having others do the hunting for him, is both fascinating and a rarity in piratical history. Colonial Virginia’s War Against Piracy is a welcome and enlightening addition to collections that focus on the buccaneering era of piracy.


(This review was originally published at Pirates & Privateers: http://www.cindyvallar.com/JMoss.html...)



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Hidden Galleon: The True Story of a Lost Spanish Ship and the Legendary Wild Horses of Assateague Island by John Amrhein Jr.

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A sunken Spanish ship. Legendary ponies. A barrier island off the Virginia coast. These are ingredients that inspired Marguerite Henry to craft what became a well-known children’s story, Misty of Chincoteague.

Oftentimes, legends have their basis in fact. As centuries pass, divining what is truth and what is fiction becomes difficult. Research plays a key role in this endeavor, as this narrative clearly demonstrates. In this case, the journey begins at the National Archives in Washington, DC. Amrhein discovers a letter, written by a Spaniard, to Maryland’s governor in 1750. The information leads Amrhein to believe it will be easy to find what remains of the sunken vessel. (Yes, that incident actually occurred.) It also leaves him with an unanswered question: If finding the wreck is so simple, why has no one done so? As he soon learns, his supposition is anything but easy. The journey will span years and involve a court-martial, a con man, a ship that never sets sail, fraud, uncooperative governments, and legal battles.

The true beginning of this voyage is neither the ponies nor the hunt for a hidden shipwreck. It starts in August 1750 in Havana, Cuba, where Don Daniel Huony is the captain of La Galga de Andalucia, a worn-out warship built nearly two decades earlier. She can carry 632 tons worth of cargo and measures 120 feet from stem to stern, but numerous tweaks and modifications have left her less seaworthy than in her early days. After taking on cargo and passengers, including English prisoners taken captive by Spanish privateers, La Galga escorts five merchants on their journey to Spain. It is late in the year to be voyaging, but delays have left Huony little choice. They encounter a hurricane soon after their departure, which scatters the fleet. La Galga successfully navigates the seething water and wind until Assateague Island, where she strikes an impediment that damages her hull. Unable to stem the water flowing into the ship, Huony orders those aboard to abandon ship; all but five make it to shore.

Amrhein uncomplicates a series of convoluted episodes from recent and distant history to provide readers with a comprehensive and straightforward account that fascinates and astonishes. To further enhance the reading experience, he provides endnotes, a bibliography, an index, illustrations, diagrams, charts, and two sections of color plates. For those who enjoy mysteries and tales of searching for shipwrecks, The Hidden Galleon masterfully achieves both.


This review originally appeared inPirates and Privateers (March 2023) at http://www.cindyvallar.com/adultpirat...



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