Michel de Grammont (c. 1645 – 1686?) was a
French privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
. He was born in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...
and was lost at sea in the north-east Caribbean, April 1686. His privateer career lasted from around 1670 to 1686 during which he commanded the flagship ''Hardi''. He primarily attacked Spanish holdings in
Maracaibo
)
, motto = "''Muy noble y leal''"(English: "Very noble and loyal")
, anthem =
, image_map =
, mapsize =
, map_alt = ...
,
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
,
Trujillo,
La Guaira
La Guaira () is the capital city of the Venezuelan state of the same name (formerly named Vargas) and the country's main port. It was founded in 1577 as an outlet for Caracas, to the southeast. The town and the port were badly damaged during ...
,
Puerto Cabello
Puerto Cabello () is a city on the north coast of Venezuela. It is located in Carabobo State, about 210 km west of Caracas. As of 2011, the city had a population of around 182,400. The city is home to the largest and busiest port in the coun ...
,
Cumana and
Veracruz
Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...
.
Biography
Chevalier de Grammont was a nobleman who came into disfavour after killing his sister's
suitor
Courtship is the period wherein some couples get to know each other prior to a possible marriage. Courtship traditionally may begin after a betrothal and may conclude with the celebration of marriage. A courtship may be an informal and private m ...
in a duel. Forced to leave France, he went to
Hispaniola
Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...
where he was given a French ship and served as a
privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...
. His first success was the capture of a
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
convoy, valued at about 400,000 livres (US$4 million). On his next voyage he ran on a
reef
A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...
and sank. Grammont moved to
Tortuga where he bought and outfitted a new ship which he used to attack Spanish shipping. When the
Franco-Dutch War
The Franco-Dutch War, also known as the Dutch War (french: Guerre de Hollande; nl, Hollandse Oorlog), was fought between France and the Dutch Republic, supported by its allies the Holy Roman Empire, Spain, Brandenburg-Prussia and Denmark-Nor ...
broke out between France and the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
in 1678, he joined a fleet under the command of
Comte d'Estrées for an abortive raid on the Dutch island of
Curaçao
Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...
; however, the entire fleet of 17 vessels was wrecked on the
Las Aves Archipelago
The Las Aves Archipelago is a pristine archipelago in the Caribbean Sea, and is part of the Federal Dependencies of Venezuela. It is located north of the Venezuelan states of Aragua and Carabobo, between the Dutch island Bonaire in the west, an ...
.
In June 1678 he was made commander of the six ships and 700 men salvaged from the Las Aves Disaster. De Grammont landed his men in Spanish-held
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
and captured
Maracaibo
)
, motto = "''Muy noble y leal''"(English: "Very noble and loyal")
, anthem =
, image_map =
, mapsize =
, map_alt = ...
, as well as several smaller towns including
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
, penetrating as far inland as
Trujillo. For the next six months the pirates plundered the entire region.
On February 22, 1679, he decided to make an incursion on the inland settlement of Puerto Principe, now Camaguey city, in Cuba. At dawn on the next day, Grammont was a few leagues from the town, as he led his 600 men, they were spotted in the early morning mist by Prebyster Francisco Garcerán, who was at that time on the road, immediately he turned around and at full gallop returned to town, he went to the main church and rung the bells to alert everyone of the approaching danger, the inhabitants took all their valuables away, so Grammont and his men were not able to get much plunder, and to make matters worse, on the way back to the ships on the coast, his forces were ambushed and they had to fight their way out, suffering heavy casualties, but managed to get away with the rest of his men and sailed away.
In May 1680, de Grammont joined forces with
Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine (born Thomas Pain; – In the contemporary record as noted by Conway, Paine's birth date is given as January 29, 1736–37. Common practice was to use a dash or a slash to separate the old-style year from the new-style year. In th ...
and
William Wright at
Blanquilla Island
Blanquilla is an island, one of the Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, located in the southeastern Caribbean Sea about 293 km (182 miles) northeast of Caracas. It is a popular location for divers, as well as famous for its white sand beac ...
. Their target was La Guaria, the port of Caracas. Of his 180 followers only forty-seven took part in the actual seizure of the town, which was amply protected by two forts and by cannon upon the walls. On the following day, however, he received word that 2000 men were approaching from Caracas, and as the enemy were also rallying in force in the vicinity of the town he was compelled to retire to the ships. This movement was executed with difficulty, and for two hours de Grammont with a handful of his bravest companions covered the embarkation from the assaults of the Spaniards. Although he himself was dangerously wounded in the throat, he lost only eight or nine men in the whole action. He carried away with him the Governor of La Guayra and many other prisoners, but the booty was small. De Grammont retired to the Isle d'Aves to nurse his wound, and after a long convalescence returned to Petit Goave.
Following his recovery, de Grammont commanded eight ships but had no success until 1682 when, at the request of the governor of
Petit-Goâve
Petit-Goâve ( ht, Ti Gwav) is a coastal commune in the Léogâne Arrondissement in the Ouest department of Haiti. It is located southwest of Port-au-Prince. The town has a population of approximately 12,000 inhabitants.
History
The town is ...
(actual Haiti), he joined
Nicholas van Hoorn
Nicholas van Hoorn (c. 1635 in Vlissingen – buried 24 June 1683, in Isla Mujeres) was a merchant sailor, privateer and pirate. He was born in the Netherlands and died near Veracruz after being wounded on the Isla de Sacrificios. ''Nikolaas'' or ...
to harass Spanish shipping. During this period they attacked ships which unknown to them belonged to the Dutch pirate
Laurens de Graaf
Laurens Cornelis Boudewijn de Graaf (c. 1653 – 24 May 1704) was a Dutch pirate, mercenary, and naval officer in the service of the French colony of Saint-Domingue during the late 17th and early 18th century.
De Graaf was also known as Laurencil ...
. On meeting de Graaf on Bonaco Island they asked him to join them. De Graaf initially refused but later agreed.
On May 17, 1683, de Grammont, van Hoorn,
Yankey Willems
Jan Willems (died 1688), also known as Janke or Yankey Willems, was a 17th-century Dutch buccaneer. Based out of Petit-Goâve, Willems participated in a number of expeditions against the Spanish during the early to mid-1680s with other well-know ...
,
Jacob Evertson
Jacob Evertson (died 1688 or 1695, also known as James or Everson) was a Dutch buccaneer and pirate active in the Caribbean. He escaped Henry Morgan and sailed with Jan Willems for several years.
Biography
Early piracy
Evertson captured a bri ...
,
Jean Tristan, de Graaf, and several others
sacked Veracruz in Mexico, taking 4,000 prisoners for ransom.
Using two captured Spanish galleons in the
vanguard
The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force.
History
The vanguard derives fr ...
, Yankey Willems and Laurens de Graaf were able to sneak into the Spanish harbor during the early morning hours and landed a small force on shore. The buccaneers caught the garrison off guard, many of the soldiers still sleeping, and took out the city's defenses allowing the rest of the fleet to enter the harbor. After three or four days, Willems and the others looted the town before retreating at the sight of the New Spain fleet.
[Konstam, Angus. ''Pirates: An Illustrated History''. New York: Skyhorse Publishing, 2007. (pg. 118-119) ] Later Grammont raided Spanish Florida settlements, including
St.Augustine and the
Mocama mission province, forcing further southward migrations.
[
In July 1685, de Grammont and de Graaf sacked the Mexican city of ]Campeche
Campeche (; yua, Kaampech ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Campeche), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by ...
: however, after two months of plundering the city with little result, de Grammont sent a demand for ransom to the governor, who refused. De Grammont then commenced to execute prisoners as retaliation, but de Graaf stopped the executions and de Grammont parted company from his allies.[
De Grammont was last seen in April 1686 heading northeast to sail off of St. Augustine, Florida, planning a raid alongside French buccaneer ]Nicolas Brigaut
Nicolas Brigaut (1653–1686) was a French pirate and buccaneer active in the Caribbean. He was closely associated with fellow corsair Michel de Grammont.
History
Brigaut first went to sea in 1679, surviving a shipwreck before joining the ''flib ...
. Spanish soldiers captured and executed Brigaut when his ship was grounded near Matanzas Inlet
Matanzas Inlet is a channel in Florida between two barrier islands and the mainland, connecting the Atlantic Ocean and the south end of the Matanzas River. It is south of St. Augustine, in the southern part of St. Johns County. The inlet is no ...
as Brigaut waited for Grammont to rescue him and his sailors. The rescue never came: Grammont's ship was caught in the same storm that wrecked Brigaut's vessel and was lost with all hands.
See also
*List of people who disappeared mysteriously at sea
Throughout history, people have mysteriously disappeared at sea, many on voyages aboard floating vessels or traveling via aircraft. The following is a list of known individuals who have mysteriously vanished in open waters, and whose whereabouts r ...
References
Books
*Pickering, David (2006) ''Pirates''. CollinsGem. HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is one of the Big Five English-language publishing companies, alongside Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, and Macmillan. The company is headquartered in New York City and is a subsidiary of News Cor ...
Publishers, New York, NY. pp-59.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grammont, Michel de
1640s births
1680s missing person cases
1686 deaths
17th-century French people
Death in Florida
Military personnel from Paris
Missing person cases in Florida
French military personnel of the Franco-Dutch War
French nobility
French privateers
People lost at sea
French duellists