David Marteen was a Dutch privateer based in Tortuga during the mid-17th century, known primarily as the sole non-English Captain who participated in the raids against Spanish strongholds in present-day Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

 and 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...

 during 1663 until 1665. Although raids against the Spanish were prohibited under British law, he agreed to join Sir Henry Morgan

Henry Morgan

Admiral Sir Henry Morgan was an Admiral of the Royal Navy, a privateer, and a pirate who made a name for himself during activities in the Caribbean, primarily raiding Spanish settlements...

's expedition and soon set sail from Port Royal

Port Royal

Port Royal was a city located at the end of the Palisadoes at the mouth of the Kingston Harbour, in southeastern Jamaica. Founded in 1518, it was the centre of shipping commerce in the Caribbean Sea during the latter half of the 17th century...

 along with John Morris

John Morris (pirate)

John Morris was a British within the Caribbean during early-1660s until the early-1670s. His son, John Morris the Younger, held a command of his own ship during his father's later expeditions against Portobello and Maracaibo...

 and Captain's Jackman and Freeman under letters of marque issued by Governor Thomas Modyford

Thomas Modyford

Colonel Sir Thomas Modyford, 1st Baronet was a planter of Barbados and Governor of Jamaica, 1664-70.Modyford was the son of a mayor of Exeter with family connections to the Duke of Albemarle, who emigrated to Barbados as a young man with other family members in 1647, in the opening stages of the...

.

After reaching the Grijalva River

Grijalva River

Grijalva River, formerly known as Tabasco River. is a 480 km long river in southeastern Mexico. It is named after Juan de Grijalva who visited the area in 1518. The river rises in Chiapas highlands and flows from Chiapas to the state of Tabasco through the Sumidero Canyon into the Bay of...

, Marteen and the others led their men 50 miles overland and successfully looted Villa Hermosa

Villa Hermosa

Villa Hermosa is a town in the La Romana province of the Dominican Republic.- Sources :* – World-Gazetteer.com...

 in a surprise raid. Returning to the coast, they discovered a Spanish patrol had captured their ships and, after a fierce battle, they managed to retake two 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...

s and four Indian canoes. Marteen eventually made his way back with the others, raiding Spanish villages on the way, until their arrival in Port Royal in November 1665. Although Marteen served as a pirate hunter under Modyford during the next year , nothing more is known of his activities after this time.

There have been reports that Marteen led a group that later established a base in Connecticut, near the Farmington River and were wiped out during King Philip's war in 1676. There are a few treasure hunters seeking the evidence of Marteen's settlement and possible remnants of any undiscovered treasure.

Further reading

• Rogozinski, Jan. Pirates!: Brigands, Buccaneers, and Privateers in Fact, Fiction, and Legend. New York: Da Capo Press, 1996. ISBN 0-306-80722-X