On This Day… Captain Morgan Attacked Panama!
Written by: George Chittenden : 30 Jun 2019
It was on this day, 18th January, back in 1671, when a Welsh Privateer led a gang of criminals to attack the second largest city in the Western Hemisphere. Captain Henry Morgan’s attack on Panama is legendary. They say that Morgan’s reputation as a pirate leader was so great that, when he called for recruits, two-thousand men in thirty-seven ships turned out.
They assembled at Tortuga on October 24th, 1670, ready to begin their campaign. Several skirmishes with the Spanish took place in the weeks that preceded Panama’s fall, but it was on this day when several thousand Spanish troops marched out of the city and squared off with one of the most unusual armies ever assembled. Even though the pirates were outnumbered they held their ground and after hours of fighting they were victorious.
Before pillaging the city, Morgan ordered his men not to drink any wine in case the inhabitants had poisoned it. When Henry Morgan was eventually arrested, he was transported back to London. In 1674 King Charles II knighted Henry Morgan and sent him out again as Deputy Governor of Jamaica, where he lived as a wealthy and respected planter until his death.
Search
By Era
To 5000 BCE 5000 - 2000 BCE 2000 BCE - 0 0 - 400 CE 400 - 800 CE 800 - 1100 CE 1100 - 1500 CE 1500 - 1700 CE 18th Century 19th Century 1900's 1910's 1920's 1930's 1940's 1950's 1960's 1970's 1980's 1990's 2000's 2010'sBy Topic
Royal British Roman North American Egyptian Nautical European Social WW1 Military Viking Asian African Australian South American Political Celebrity WW2 Religion
We promote history by...
offering free articles and videos, providing free history experiences for children in schools and on weekends. Next year we will be visiting hospitals and providing unforgettable experiences to children who really need it and give them a chance to forget their condition, their treatment and their reality.
Please join others who support our free projects by giving a small donation. We can only continue our great work with your help.
