Henry Morgan

Sir Henry Morgan was a noted Welsh privateer who became a plantation owner and also served as the lieutenant-governor of Jamaica thrice. A friend of the then-governor of Jamaica, Sir Thomas Modyford, Morgan received a letter of marque from Modyford, thereby gaining the license to attack and capture Spanish vessels after diplomatic relations between Spain and England strained in 1667. Keeping Port Royal, Jamaica, as his base, Morgan earned a fortune raiding settlements and shipping on the Spanish Main and emerged as Spain’s worst enemy after Sir Francis Drake. Some of the most notable attacks of Morgan were those on Portobello and Puerto Principe; Maracaibo and Gibraltar, on Lake Maracaibo; and on Panama City. He bought three large sugar plantations in the Caribbean with the prize money received from such raids. Morgan was arrested after England signed a peace treaty with Spain. He was summoned to England. However, he received a hero’s welcome. He was made a “Knight Bachelor” by Charles II and sent back to Jamaica, where he was made the lieutenant-governor of Jamaica thrice and also served on the ‘Assembly of Jamaica’ till 1683.