William Jackson (pirate)
Encyclopedia
William Jackson was an English privateer who, based in Guanaja
and Roatan
http://www.mayaparadise.com/castilloe.htm, was in the service of the Providence Island Company
from 1639 until around 1641. During that year, he captured a Spanish slave ship at the port of and received a ransom of 8,000 pounds of indigo
as well as 2,000 pieces-of-eight and two gold chains. Leaving the Providence Island Company, he sailed to England where he sold sugar and indigo to obtain supplies for another privateering expedition and, upon receiving a three year letter of marque
from the Earl of Warwick
, he set sail commanding a fleet including such prominent privateers as Samuel Axe
, William Rous
and Lewis Morris
in 1642. It was during this expedition that Jackson's fleet captured Jamaica
in the name of Great Britain.
Although Jackson's later activities are not recorded, another Captain William Jackson led a small fleet consisting of over 1,000 buccaneers from St. Kitts and Barbadoes looting and plundering throughout the Spanish Main
including looting the cities of Maracaibo
and Truxillo during 1642 and 1643.
Anchoring in the harbor of present day Kingston
on March 25, he led a party of 500 men against the nearby town of St. Jago de la Vega which he captured after heavy resistance by the town's defenders at a cost of around forty men. Threatening to burn the town, he received a ransom of 200 cattle, 10,000 pounds of cassava bread, and 7,000 pieces-of-eight. Many of the English buccaneers became with the tropical island and, during their stay, twenty three men left to live among the Spaniards.
Whether the two men are one and the same is unclear by traditional accounts, however both were in the same location at roughly the same period.
Guanaja
Guanaja is one of the Bay Islands of Honduras, and is in the Caribbean. It is about 70 km off the north coast of Honduras, and 12 km from the island of Roatan. One of the cays off Guanaja, also called Guanaja or Bonnaca or Low Cay , is near the main island, and contains most of the...
and Roatan
Roatán
Roatán, located between the islands of Útila and Guanaja, is the largest of Honduras' Bay Islands. The island was formerly known as Ruatan and Rattan...
http://www.mayaparadise.com/castilloe.htm, was in the service of the Providence Island Company
Providence Island Company
The Providence Company or Providence Island Company was an English chartered company founded in 1629 by a group of Puritans including Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick in order to settle Providence Island, off the Spanish Mosquito Coast of what became Nicaragua.Besides Lord Warwick, among the twenty...
from 1639 until around 1641. During that year, he captured a Spanish slave ship at the port of and received a ransom of 8,000 pounds of indigo
Indigo
Indigo is a color named after the purple dye derived from the plant Indigofera tinctoria and related species. The color is placed on the electromagnetic spectrum between about 420 and 450 nm in wavelength, placing it between blue and violet...
as well as 2,000 pieces-of-eight and two gold chains. Leaving the Providence Island Company, he sailed to England where he sold sugar and indigo to obtain supplies for another privateering expedition and, upon receiving a three year letter of marque
Letter of marque
In the days of fighting sail, a Letter of Marque and Reprisal was a government licence authorizing a person to attack and capture enemy vessels, and bring them before admiralty courts for condemnation and sale...
from the Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick
Earl of Warwick is a title that has been created four times in British history and is one of the most prestigious titles in the peerages of the British Isles.-1088 creation:...
, he set sail commanding a fleet including such prominent privateers as Samuel Axe
Samuel Axe
Samuel Axe was an English privateer in Dutch service during the early 17th century.Serving with English forces in the Netherlands during the Dutch War of Independence, Axe traveled to the British colony of Providence Island, in the western Caribbean Sea, where he assisted in the construction of its...
, William Rous
William Rous
William Rous was a 17th century English privateer in the service of the Providence Island Company. He was later enlisted by William Jackson to accompany him on his expedition to the West Indies.-Biography:...
and Lewis Morris
Lewis Morris
Lewis Morris was an American landowner and developer from Morrisania, New York. He signed the U.S. Declaration of Independence as a delegate to the Continental Congress for New York....
in 1642. It was during this expedition that Jackson's fleet captured 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...
in the name of Great Britain.
Although Jackson's later activities are not recorded, another Captain William Jackson led a small fleet consisting of over 1,000 buccaneers from St. Kitts and Barbadoes looting and plundering throughout 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...
including looting the cities of Maracaibo
Maracaibo
Maracaibo is a city and municipality located in northwestern Venezuela off the western coast of the Lake Maracaibo. It is the second-largest city in the country after the national capital Caracas and the capital of Zulia state...
and Truxillo during 1642 and 1643.
Anchoring in the harbor of present day Kingston
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley International Airport to the rest of the island...
on March 25, he led a party of 500 men against the nearby town of St. Jago de la Vega which he captured after heavy resistance by the town's defenders at a cost of around forty men. Threatening to burn the town, he received a ransom of 200 cattle, 10,000 pounds of cassava bread, and 7,000 pieces-of-eight. Many of the English buccaneers became with the tropical island and, during their stay, twenty three men left to live among the Spaniards.
Whether the two men are one and the same is unclear by traditional accounts, however both were in the same location at roughly the same period.
Further reading
- Lane, Kris E. Pillaging the Empire: Piracy in the Americas - 1500-1750. London: M.E. Sharp, 1998. ISBN 0-7656-0256-3
- Rogozinski, Jan. Pirates!: Brigands, Buccaneers, and Privateers in Fact, Fiction, and Legend. New York: Da Capo Press, 1996. ISBN 0-306-80722-X
- Vaitilingam, Adam, Polly Thomas and Polly Rodger Brown. The Rough Guide to Jamaica. New York: Rough Guides Ltd., 2004. ISBN 1-84353-111-9