Francois Groginet (died 1687) was a French

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 the Restoration in 1660 until about 1688 ...

and pirate active against the Pacific coast of Spanish Central America.

History

Groginet began his career as a (French buccaneer) in 1683, sailing a 70-man, 6-gun ship named ''St. Joseph'' (or ''St. Francis'') alongside fellow Frenchman L’Escayer. In March 1685 they and other Frenchmen joined forced with English buccaneers Francis Townley, Edward Davis, Charles Swan, and Peter Harris. With the addition of troops from

Mathurin Desmarestz Mathurin Desmarestz (1653-1700, last name also Demarais) was a French pirate and buccaneer active in the Caribbean, the Pacific, and the Indian Ocean. History Born Isaac Veyret (or Vereil) in 1653, son of Isaac Veyret and Esther Pennaud, Mathurin ...

and

Pierre le Picard Pierre le Picard (1624–1690?) was a 17th-century French buccaneer. He was both an officer to l'Olonnais as well as Sir Henry Morgan, most notably taking part in his raids at Maracaibo and Panama, and may have been one of the first buccanee ...

the French contingent had grown so large that the English gave them the captured Spanish prize ship ''San Rosario'' (''Sainte-Rose'' or ''Santa Rosa''). In exchange Groginet gave Davis French commissions to sail against the Spanish. That May they combined to attack the Spanish treasure fleet. The buccaneers had the advantage in number of ships and men but were heavily outgunned by the large Spanish galleons: only Davis’ and Swan's ships had cannon. When Groginet's unarmed 308-man ship kept its distance and held off engaging the Spanish, Davis called off the attack. The English blamed Groginet's reluctance for the plan's failure and the fleet split up. The French under Groginet raided up the coast into

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the countr ...

, looting towns along the way. At Remedios (or possibly Quibo) they were caught ashore when Spanish vessels appeared, who attacked and burned the French ships. Groginet and his buccaneers marched overland and by 1686 were planning to head across the

Isthmus of Darien An isthmus (; ; ) is a narrow piece of land connecting two larger areas across an expanse of water by which they are otherwise separated. A tombolo is an isthmus that consists of a spit or bar, and a strait is the sea counterpart of an isthmu ...

when they were found and rescued by Townley, who had split his forces from Swan's. Together they attacked Spanish settlements in

Grenada Grenada ( ; Grenadian Creole French: ) is an island country in the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea at the southern end of the Grenadines island chain. Grenada consists of the island of Grenada itself, two smaller islands, Carriacou and ...

in April before splitting up again in May. Groginet met with an English force again in January 1687, and combined forces to sack

Guayaquil , motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America , pushpin_re ...

. Groginet was wounded in the attack; he was carried back to sea where he died in April. The following month Davis and his company learned of Groginet's death, and heard that Townley had himself been killed the previous September in

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cost ...

. George Dew then took command of the Englishmen's forces while le Picard took the French , planning to march back to the Caribbean and sail the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater ...

instead.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Groginet, Francois 17th-century pirates Year of birth missing French pirates 1687 deaths Caribbean pirates

History

See also

Notes

References