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Pierre Francois
Pierre Francois (Anglicized as "Peter Francis") was a mid-17th-century ''flibustier'', or French buccaneer, active in the Caribbean. He is best known for a single attack on a Spanish pearl-diving fleet. His story appears only in Alexandre Exquemelin's ''History of the Buccaneers'' and the truth of his account is uncertain. History No definitive dates are given for Francois' exploits. According to Exquemelin, Francois had been lying in wait for Spanish ships traveling between Campeche and Maracaibo but had little success. His 26-man crew grew restless so they elected to raid the Spanish pearl-diving operations off Riohacha, Rio de le Hacha. Francois tried to slip in unnoticed but the small pearl-diving boats fled under the guns of a man-of-war for protection. When they let down their guard Francois instead attacked the Vice-Admiral's 8-gun, 60-man ship, capturing it after a fierce boarding action. He sunk his old leaking vessel and forced the Spanish crew to help man the new ship. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Buccaneer
Buccaneers were a kind of privateers or free sailors particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from Stuart Restoration, the Restoration in 1660 until about 1688, during a time when governments were not strong enough and did not consistently attempt to suppress them. Originally the name applied to the landless hunters of wild boars and cattle in the largely uninhabited areas of Tortuga (Haiti), Tortuga and Hispaniola. The meat they caught was smoked over a slow fire in little huts the French called ''boucans'' to make ''viande boucanée'' – ''jerked meat'' or ''jerky'' – which they sold to the French corsairs, corsairs who preyed on the (largely Spanish) shipping and settlements of the Caribbean. Eventually the term was applied to the corsairs and (later) privateers themselves, also known as the Brethren of the Coast. Though corsairs, also known as ''filibusters'' or ''freeb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
