John Watling
Encyclopedia
John, or George, Watling (died 1681) was a 17th century English
buccaneer
. It was said that he would never plunder on the Sabbath and refused even to allow his crew to play cards on this holy day.
John Watling is best known for making the island currently dubbed San Salvador Island
his headquarters and naming it Watling Island. Its name before Watling took control is not clear. It may have been the island Guanahani
that Christopher Columbus
discovered in 1492 and renamed San Salvador, though this is disputed by some. Watling Island was officially named San Salvador in 1925 after several scholars had argued that its features best matched Columbus' island.
aboard the Most Holy Trinity. However, certain members of the crew were unhappy with Sharp. Each buccaneer had amassed a fortune under Sharp's leadership, but many of them were outrageous gamblers and had gambled all of their money away. Sharp had not gambled and wanted to retire with his fortune. On the 6 January 1681 at Juan Fernandez
there was a mutiny
in which Sharp was deposed and Watling was elected as his successor. On the 12 January three armed Spanish
vessels approached Juan Fernandez and Watling and his crew were forced to flee the port, leaving behind a Mosquito Indian named Will (see for this castaway
-story Will (Indian)
) that they were unable to find in time. The buccaneers waited just out to sea, but the Spanish did not leave and so Watling slipped away on the night of the 13 January.
, Viceroyalty of Peru
. They had attacked Arica on a previous occasion, but could not find any of the rumoured riches. A captured Indian warned Watling that Arica was now heavily fortified, but much to Captain Sharp's displeasure, Watling did not believe the man and shot him.
It was four or five days walk from the coast to Arica, and as the 92 buccaneers had to carry their own water for the journey they were exhausted by the time they arrived. They had tried to approach the settlement without being spotted by the Spanish, but they were unsuccessful and the defenders were fully prepared for the attack. On January 30 Watling split his men into two groups, one to attack the fort with hand grenades and the rest to attack the town. Upon seeing how heavily outnumbered the men were in the town, Watling soon sent everyone to attack there. The fighting was successful and the buccaneers repeatedly forced the Spanish to retreat, however as a result of being outnumbered, every time they advanced the Spanish would re-take the land behind them. Finally the city was conquered and Watling determined to attack the fort again. However, the Spanish took this opportunity to regain the settlement and to surround Watling's men. Completely overwhelmed, the buccaneers fled from the settlement. Several men, including Captain John Watling, were shot during the retreat.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
buccaneer
Buccaneer
The buccaneers were privateers who attacked Spanish shipping in the Caribbean Sea during the late 17th century.The term buccaneer is now used generally as a synonym for pirate...
. It was said that he would never plunder on the Sabbath and refused even to allow his crew to play cards on this holy day.
John Watling is best known for making the island currently dubbed San Salvador Island
San Salvador Island
San Salvador Island, also known as Watlings Island, is an island and district of the Bahamas. Until 1986, when the National Geographic Society suggested Samana Cay, it was widely believed that during his first expedition to the New World, San Salvador Island was the first land sighted and visited...
his headquarters and naming it Watling Island. Its name before Watling took control is not clear. It may have been the island Guanahani
Guanahani
Guanahani was the name the natives gave to the island that Christopher Columbus called San Salvador when he arrived at the Americas. Columbus reached the island on 12 October 1492, the first island he sighted and visited in the Americas...
that Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
discovered in 1492 and renamed San Salvador, though this is disputed by some. Watling Island was officially named San Salvador in 1925 after several scholars had argued that its features best matched Columbus' island.
Juan Fernandez
In 1680–1681 John Watling sailed under Captain Bartholomew SharpBartholomew Sharp
Bartholomew Sharp an English buccaneer whose pirate career lasted only three years . His flagship was the Trinity....
aboard the Most Holy Trinity. However, certain members of the crew were unhappy with Sharp. Each buccaneer had amassed a fortune under Sharp's leadership, but many of them were outrageous gamblers and had gambled all of their money away. Sharp had not gambled and wanted to retire with his fortune. On the 6 January 1681 at Juan Fernandez
Juan Fernández Islands
The Juan Fernández Islands are a sparsely inhabited island group reliant on tourism and fishing in the South Pacific Ocean, situated about off the coast of Chile, and is composed of three main volcanic islands; Robinson Crusoe Island, Alejandro Selkirk Island and Santa Clara Island, the first...
there was a mutiny
Mutiny
Mutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
in which Sharp was deposed and Watling was elected as his successor. On the 12 January three armed Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
vessels approached Juan Fernandez and Watling and his crew were forced to flee the port, leaving behind a Mosquito Indian named Will (see for this castaway
Castaway
A castaway is a person who is cast adrift or ashore. While the situation usually happens after a shipwreck, some people voluntarily stay behind on a deserted island, either to evade their captors or the world in general. Alternatively, a person or item can be cast away, meaning rejected or discarded...
-story Will (Indian)
Will (Indian)
Will was an Indian of the Misquito tribe from what is now Honduras or Nicaragua. In history, he is known for having stayed as a castaway on uninhabited Robinson Crusoe Island, the largest of the archipelago of the Juan Fernández Islands, for more than three years...
) that they were unable to find in time. The buccaneers waited just out to sea, but the Spanish did not leave and so Watling slipped away on the night of the 13 January.
Arica
Several days later the buccaneers decided to make a new attack the on the rich Spanish settlement of AricaArica
Arica is a city in northern Chile. "Arica" may also refer to:Places* Arica and Parinacota Region, Chile* Arica Airport , Chile* Arica, Amazonas, town in Colombia* Rio Aricá-açu, tributary of the Cuiabá River south of Cuiabá, BrazilOther...
, Viceroyalty of Peru
Viceroyalty of Peru
Created in 1542, the Viceroyalty of Peru was a Spanish colonial administrative district that originally contained most of Spanish-ruled South America, governed from the capital of Lima...
. They had attacked Arica on a previous occasion, but could not find any of the rumoured riches. A captured Indian warned Watling that Arica was now heavily fortified, but much to Captain Sharp's displeasure, Watling did not believe the man and shot him.
It was four or five days walk from the coast to Arica, and as the 92 buccaneers had to carry their own water for the journey they were exhausted by the time they arrived. They had tried to approach the settlement without being spotted by the Spanish, but they were unsuccessful and the defenders were fully prepared for the attack. On January 30 Watling split his men into two groups, one to attack the fort with hand grenades and the rest to attack the town. Upon seeing how heavily outnumbered the men were in the town, Watling soon sent everyone to attack there. The fighting was successful and the buccaneers repeatedly forced the Spanish to retreat, however as a result of being outnumbered, every time they advanced the Spanish would re-take the land behind them. Finally the city was conquered and Watling determined to attack the fort again. However, the Spanish took this opportunity to regain the settlement and to surround Watling's men. Completely overwhelmed, the buccaneers fled from the settlement. Several men, including Captain John Watling, were shot during the retreat.