William Wright (privateer)
Encyclopedia
William Wright was an English
privateer
in French
service and later buccaneer
who raided Spanish
towns in the late 17th century.
Little is known of William Wright before he settled in French Hispaniola in the mid 1670s. Accepting a French commission of war from the French Governor in 1675 he later raided the Spanish colony of Segovia
(present day Nicaragua
) with several other privateers.
Sailing to the San Blas Islands
in 1679 he recruited several sailors before traveling to the Mosquito Coast
encountering an old friend John Gret. Returning to the San Blas Islands, Gret negotiated on Wright's behalf to form an alliance with the local natives. However despite this alliance the privateers, led by Jean Bernanos, were defeated after an attempted attack on the Spanish town of Chepo several weeks later.
Soon after the raid Wright left Petit Goâve
with Captain Thomas Paine
sailing
the Spanish Main
from Cartagena
to Caracas
capturing a ship escorted by the Spanish Armada de Barlovento.
In May 1680, while at Isla Blanca, Wright and Paine joined French buccaneer Captain Michel de Grammont
later capturing La Guayra seaport in Caracas before being driven off by the Spanish defenders in July.
In May of the following year Wright commanded a small barque
of four guns with a crew of forty men. Joined by eight other privateers, in addition to fifty English South Sea
buccaneers, Wright sailed from the San Blas Islands intending to raid a Spanish city, most likely the city of Cartago
in Costa Rica
, however many of the privateers missed the rendezvous at San Andrés Island. Wright continued on capturing a Spanish tartane
which he gave to thirty of the English South Seas sailors who had refused to sail under the French privateer whom they had sailed with from San Blas Island.
Wright, with French Captains Archembeau and Toccart, sailed to Corn Island and then to Bluefield's River
where he left the French privateers. Arriving in Bocas del Toro
several weeks later Wright joined with Dutch Captain Yankey Willems, who himself had no commission, and departed with Yanky from Boca del Toro in September sailing south along Colombia
where Yanky captured a Spanish merchant ship carrying sugar
and tobacco
. Wright receiving Yanky's barque, as Yanky kept the merchant ship, burned his own ship and sold the Spanish tartane he had taken near Cartago to one of the Jamaica
n traders onboard. At Curaçao
they attempted to sell the Spanish cargo but were forced to leave by the Dutch Governor. They continued to sail to the Isla Aves
and Islas Roques where they remained until February 1682.
While there is nothing more known about Wright after this date however it is likely he later returned to his home in French Hispaniola.
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...
privateer
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
in French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
service and later 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...
who raided 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...
towns in the late 17th century.
Little is known of William Wright before he settled in French Hispaniola in the mid 1670s. Accepting a French commission of war from the French Governor in 1675 he later raided the Spanish colony of Segovia
Segovia
Segovia is a city in Spain, the capital of Segovia Province in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is situated north of Madrid, 30 minutes by high speed train. The municipality counts some 55,500 inhabitants.-Etymology:...
(present day Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
) with several other privateers.
Sailing to the San Blas Islands
San Blas Islands
The San Blas Islands of Panama is an archipelago comprising approximately 378 islands and cays, of which only 49 are inhabited. They lay off the north coast of the Isthmus, east of the Panama Canal...
in 1679 he recruited several sailors before traveling to the Mosquito Coast
Mosquito Coast
The Caribbean Mosquito Coast historically consisted of an area along the Atlantic coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras, and part of the Western Caribbean Zone. It was named after the local Miskito Indians and long dominated by British interests...
encountering an old friend John Gret. Returning to the San Blas Islands, Gret negotiated on Wright's behalf to form an alliance with the local natives. However despite this alliance the privateers, led by Jean Bernanos, were defeated after an attempted attack on the Spanish town of Chepo several weeks later.
Soon after the raid Wright left Petit Goâve
Petit Goâve
Petit-Goâve is a coastal town in Ouest Department, Haïti. It is located southwest of Port-au-Prince. The town has a population of approximately 12,000 inhabitants.-History:...
with Captain Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine
Thomas "Tom" Paine was an English author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...
sailing
the Spanish Main
Spanish Main
In the days of the Spanish New World Empire, the mainland of the American continent enclosing the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico was referred to as the Spanish Main. It included present-day Florida, the east shore of the Gulf of Mexico in Texas, Mexico, Central America and the north coast of...
from Cartagena
Cartagena, Colombia
Cartagena de Indias , is a large Caribbean beach resort city on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region and capital of Bolívar Department...
to Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
capturing a ship escorted by the Spanish Armada de Barlovento.
In May 1680, while at Isla Blanca, Wright and Paine joined French buccaneer Captain Michel de Grammont
Michel de Grammont
Michel de Grammont was a French pirate. He was born in Paris, France and was lost at sea, north-east Caribbean, April 1686. His pirate career was from c.1670 - 1686. His flagship was the Hardi.-Pirate career:...
later capturing La Guayra seaport in Caracas before being driven off by the Spanish defenders in July.
In May of the following year Wright commanded a small barque
Barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...
of four guns with a crew of forty men. Joined by eight other privateers, in addition to fifty English South Sea
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
buccaneers, Wright sailed from the San Blas Islands intending to raid a Spanish city, most likely the city of Cartago
Cartago, Costa Rica
- See also :* Cartago Agrarian Union Party* Provincial Integration Party Three* Cartago in Spanish...
in Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, however many of the privateers missed the rendezvous at San Andrés Island. Wright continued on capturing a Spanish tartane
Tartane
A Tartane or tartan was a small ship used both as a fishing ship and for coastal trading in the Mediterranean. They were in use for over 300 years until the late 19th century. A tartane had a single mast on which was rigged a large lateen sail, and with a bowsprit and fore-sail. When the wind was...
which he gave to thirty of the English South Seas sailors who had refused to sail under the French privateer whom they had sailed with from San Blas Island.
Wright, with French Captains Archembeau and Toccart, sailed to Corn Island and then to Bluefield's River
Bluefields
Bluefields is the capital of the municipality of the same name, and of Región Autónoma del Atlántico Sur in Nicaragua. It was also capital of the former Zelaya Department, which was divided into North and South Atlantic Autonomous Regions...
where he left the French privateers. Arriving in Bocas del Toro
Bocas del Toro Province
Bocas del Toro is a province of Panama. Its extension is 4,643.9 square kilometers comprising the mainland and nine main islands. The province consists of the Bocas del Toro Archipelago, Bahía Almirante , Laguna de Chiriquí , and adjacent mainland. The capital is the city of Bocas del Toro on Isla...
several weeks later Wright joined with Dutch Captain Yankey Willems, who himself had no commission, and departed with Yanky from Boca del Toro in September sailing south along Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
where Yanky captured a Spanish merchant ship carrying sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
and tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...
. Wright receiving Yanky's barque, as Yanky kept the merchant ship, burned his own ship and sold the Spanish tartane he had taken near Cartago to one of the Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
n traders onboard. At Curaçao
Curaçao
Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...
they attempted to sell the Spanish cargo but were forced to leave by the Dutch Governor. They continued to sail to the Isla Aves
Isla Aves
Isla de Aves , or Aves Island, is a Caribbean dependency of Venezuela. It has been the subject of numerous territorial disputes between the neighboring independent islands, such as Dominica, and European mother countries of surrounding dependent islands, such as the Netherlands. It lies to the west...
and Islas Roques where they remained until February 1682.
While there is nothing more known about Wright after this date however it is likely he later returned to his home in French Hispaniola.
External links
- William Wright at Liberty StarCastle's World of Pirates