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The Buccaneers and Filibusters
They were men who had shipwrecked or escaped from Spanish prisons,
or marooned sailors or runaways. They consisted of groups of English,
Dutch and French that existed solely on hunting. They inhabited primarily
the island of Española, on the north-western part of the island. This part
of the island was poorly inhabited by the Spaniards allowing the
foreigners to range freely. On this side of the island, there were large
number of domesticated animals (cattle, pigs, horses and dogs) that had
turned wild, and were available for the taking. There were very few women
or children in these groups, and the men lived wildly. Their only
processions were the weapons they carried, knives, cutlass and rifles.
They hunted the wild cattle and pigs with the help of packs of dogs, they
had captured and trained. The animals they killed, was smoked to preserve
the meat (no refrigeration), according to a method they learned from the
natives. Strips of meat were placed on a rack, made of branches and slowly
smoked over hot embers of charcoal. The natives referred to the smoked
meat, as "Bucan", the Europeans hunters, called the process,
"Buccaneering" and called themselves "Buccaneers".
The Buccaneers were distinctive cloths, which consisted of a coarse
shirt, which hung loosely over the pants. His pants were loose fitting and
normally only reached their knees. They carried their rifle, power
pouches, and collection of butcher knifes and a hat to protect them from
the sun. Originally, they proceeded the meat for their own consumption,
and limited trading with the Spaniards. They started trading with the
Pirates and other sailors that were sailing the Spanish Main. Towns
sprouted up in the area, in particularly, the area that is now Haiti.
Towns like Port Paix, Port Margot, Cape Francis, attracted more
Buccaneers, and grew. Up too them, the Spaniards did not bother with them;
but, as their towns grew larger, the Spanish declared war on them. The
Spaniards were successful in routing the Buccaneers, and those that
escaped, moved to an island on the north coast a short distance from Port Paix, that was named, Tortuga, because it had the shape of a turtle. Tortuga was a very defensible island, and the Buccaneers started to use it
has their fortress, from which to harass the Spaniards in Española and
then the Caribbean.
Originally, Tortuga's main inhabitants were English Buccaneers.
Later a Frenchman, Levasseur, settled there, and brought with him a large
number of French. The French eventually outnumbered the English, and it
became a French colony, with administrators being sent by the French
government.
The Spanish, in an attempt to get rid of the Buccaneers,
permanently, started killing most of the large animals in Española, to
deny the Buccaneers their lively hood. They were so successful in this
task, that the Buccaneers had to turn to piracy. Instead of hunting game,
they started to hunt Spanish Galleons. The Englishmen called themselves
"Freebooters", the Frenchmen called them "flibustier", and the English
then called the French, "Filibuster". Originally, the term, Buccaneer and
Filibuster were two different things, each meaning something different.
Eventually, both terms had the same meaning, they were either English or
French pirates.
A very important attribute of the Buccaneers, was that they were
excellent marksmen. Since they depended on the ability to shoot a wild
animal from a distance, and not waste valuable shot and powder. This skill
proved to be very deadly for the Spaniards in their battles with the
pirates. Over and over again, the skilled marksmen proved their worth when
they attacked Spanish shipping and
settlements. |
