Henry Morgan - Maracaibo and Gibraltar Raids

Maracaibo and Gibraltar Raids

Reaching the town of Maracaibo, however, was no easy feat. The town was located on Lake Maracaibo, but to reach the lake they had to go through a narrow and shallow channel. Although the channel was only twelve feet deep, narrow, winding, and sprinkled with islands and sandbars, the French captain claimed that he could direct the ships safely through it. Unknown to him, the Spanish had built the fort San Carlos at the channel's narrowest point since the last time the captain had been there three years ago. When the fleet reached this point, they were unable to navigate the rough terrain because of the cannon and gun fire coming from the fort. Morgan was left with no choice but to order his men to land on the beach despite their lack of protection from the Spanish gun fire. Once nightfall arrived, Morgan and his men slowly entered the fort but found that there were no Spaniards there at all. Instead, the Spanish had left a slow-burning explosive as a trap for the buccaneers, which Morgan's crew discovered within 15 minutes of their arrival. Upon discovery, Morgan snatched away the lit match near the powder train saving himself and his men.

In order to protect his fleet for their voyage back through the channel, Morgan stole all of the supplies from the fort and ordered his men to bury the cannons in the sand. Because the Spanish already knew about Morgan's plan to attack Maracaibo, the men took canoes and small vessels through the channel to the town as opposed to the lengthy process of bringing the larger vessels. This modified plan was still not quick enough and the residents of Maracaibo were able to escape with their valuables before the buccaneers arrived. After searching the area and torturing any citizens they could find for three weeks, Morgan and his men loaded the large vessels with their provisions and booty, as well as prisoners to be used as messengers, and set off to attack the nearby town of Gibraltar on the southeastern shore of Lake Maracaibo.

After collecting the wealth of the town and ransoming its citizens, Morgan loaded the ships to return home. Returning to Maracaibo, Morgan found three Spanish ships, the Magdalena, the San Luis, and the La Marquesa, waiting at the inlet to the Caribbean; he destroyed the Magdalena, and captured the La Marquesa, while the San Luis's crew burned down their ship to stop the pirates from having it. In the time that Morgan was ransacking the two towns, the Spaniards had reinforced the fort San Carlos located at the narrowest point of the passage and barricaded the passage with three Spanish warships. Morgan and his men were given a choice to either surrender or be arrested, so they decided to fight for their freedom.

The buccaneers were outmanned by the Spanish, so they were forced to devise a clever plan to outsmart the Spanish. Morgan ordered the pirates' largest ship, the Satisfaction, to be turned into a "fire ship" that would be sailed directly into the Spanish flagship, the Magdalen. Hollowed-out logs were filled with explosives and dressed to look like a pirate crew, and the twelve men that manned the ship were instructed to throw grappling hooks into the riggings of the Magdalena so that it couldn’t sail away. Miraculously, Morgan's plan worked and Magdalena was destroyed. The second largest Spanish ship, the San Luis, was run ashore by the ship Morgan was now in control of. The final ship, La Marquesa, was taken by the pirates after the ropes tangled. After the battle, Morgan was still unable to cross the channel because of the fort, but the Spanish had no ships with which to attack Morgan. Finally, by an ingenious stratagem, he faked a landward attack on the fort which convinced the governor to shift his cannon, allowing Morgan to slowly creep by the fort using only the movement of the tide. In doing so, he eluded the enemy's guns altogether and escaped in safety. On his return to Jamaica he was again reproved, but not punished by Modyford.

The Spaniards for their part started to react and threaten Jamaica. A new commission was given to Morgan as commander-in-chief of all the ships of war in Jamaica, to levy war on the Spaniards and destroy their ships and stores - the booty gained in the expedition being the only pay. Thus Morgan and his crew were on this occasion privateers, not pirates. After ravaging the coasts of Cuba and the mainland, Morgan determined on an expedition to Panama.