Raveneau de Lussan (born 1663 in Paris) 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 Stuart Restoration, the Restoration in 16 ...

. He belonged to a noble but impoverished family, and embraced a military career at the age of 14. In 1679 he embarked for

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

in search of fortune, but was unsuccessful, and joined the buccaneers under

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 ...

, sailing from

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 ...

, 22 November 1684. He soon left de Graaf at the head of a band of his own, and in 1685 pillaged the town of

El Realejo El Realejo is a municipality in the Chinandega department of Nicaragua. History The town of El Realejo was constructed in 1532, during the first years of Spanish colonization. During this period it served as Nicaragua's principal port, and remain ...

. In 1686 his band took part in the capture of

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 Pe ...

, and, not finding the booty they expected, set fire to the city. After this Lussan separated from the English pirates, but he joined them again for the purpose of attacking

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

, which they took with much booty. Lussan and a part of his followers then sailed for

Tehuantepec Tehuantepec (, in full, Santo Domingo Tehuantepec) is a city and municipality in the southeast of the Mexican state of Oaxaca. It is part of the Tehuantepec District in the west of the Istmo Region. The area was important in pre Hispanic period ...

, which they captured, and went as far north as

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...

. They returned to Mapala, a port north of El Realejo, and deliberated on the route they should take to reach the

Antilles The Antilles (; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Antiy; es, Antillas; french: Antilles; nl, Antillen; ht, Antiy; pap, Antias; Jamaican Patois: ''Antiliiz'') is an archipelago bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the south and west, the Gulf of Mex ...

. It was agreed to march to Nueva Segovia, a town situated on the

Coco River River Wangki in Miskitu or Río Coco, in Spanish, formerly known as the Río Segovia, Cape River, or Yara River, is a river located on the border of northern Nicaragua and southern Honduras. It is the longest river that runs entirely within the Ce ...

, which empties into the Atlantic. Of this expedition

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...

said: "The retreat of the ten thousand will always be more celebrated, but is not to be compared to it." Lussan formed four companies, of seventy men each, and made them swear to observe the severest discipline. On 2 January 1688, after praying together, and sinking their boats for fear they might fall into the power of the Spaniards, they began their march, and in ten days, during which they were almost constantly engaged in fighting superior numbers, they reached Nueva Segovia. One evening, in a defile surrounded by rocks of great height on which the Spaniards had intrenched themselves, the buccaneers sought hopelessly for a way of escape. Lussan proposed that, leaving eighty men to guard the sick, they should get in the rear of the mountains and then surprise the enemy. His advice was at first rejected, but was adopted when their case became desperate. They found a path which led behind the mountains, and, favored by a thick fog, they forced the intrenchments of the Spaniards and put them to flight. After this victory they chanted a

Te Deum The "Te Deum" (, ; from its incipit, , ) is a Latin Christian hymn traditionally ascribed to AD 387 authorship, but with antecedents that place it much earlier. It is central to the Ambrosian hymnal, which spread throughout the Latin Chur ...

. They then descended the Yara on the wretched boats of the country, and came in sight of

Cape Gracias a Dios Cabo Gracias a Dios is a cape located in the middle of the east coast of Central America, within what is variously called the Mosquito Coast and La Mosquitia. It is the point where the Rio Coco flows into the Caribbean, and is the border betw ...

on 9 February. Lussan embarked on an English lugger on 14 February, and reached Santo Domingo on 6 April. He had marched nearly 1,000 miles, constantly harassed by the Spaniards, although the distance from the point where he started to that which he wished to reach was but 240 miles in a straight line. Lussan published ''Journal du voyage fait à la mer du Sud avec les flibustiers de l'Amérique'' (Paris, 1688, 1690, 1705). It was dedicated to the minister of the navy, who, in common with most Frenchmen of the time, appeared to consider the exploits of Lussan worthy of approval. Although the work is confused, it contains curious and interesting details on the productions and manners of the natives of the countries he visited.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lussan, Raveneau de 1663 births Year of death missing French pirates