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Who were Sir Henry Morgans parents? Help please,i am trying to find a connection with my family.I have conflicting information that his father is John Morgan but also Robert Morgan according to , family search ( i know sometimes there are errors).How do i find the correct line to follow you always come up trumps on genes .Thanks Nicola
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Pirates: Sir Henry Morgan
Henry Morgan was born in around 1635, the eldest son of Robert Morgan, squire of Llanrhymny in Glamorgan, Wales. Although there is no mention of Morgan in historical record until 1665, it is generally accepted that Morgan came to Jamaica in 1658. Morgan’s uncle, Edward Morgan, was Lieutenant-Governor of Jamaica, and it was Edwards’s daughter Mary that Henry eventually married.
Morgan established a career as a privateer – a legal pirate. The Spanish, who owned much of the land in the West Indies, treated any foreigners that they discovered in their waters as pirates. It was felt that the Spaniards deserved any retaliation, and that force would be the only way to convince the Spanish to open their colonial ports. There was also collusion in the privateering trade from both the Crown of England and the Admiralty, who both received a share of the prizes taken at sea. Morgan’s pillaging was tacitly encouraged by the authorities, therefore.
Morgan entered Port Royal in August of 1665, accompanied by Captains Jacob Fackman and John Morris. They had embarked on an expedition in Central America which had lasted twenty two months – upon their return they discovered that a new Governor had been appointed in Jamaica, in the form of Thomas Modyford. Although Modyford was ordered to end privateering and promote peaceful trade, he turned a blind eye to the activities of Morgan and co., knowing well that it was the main basis for the island’s economy.
Modyford would later take a more active role – in 1667 he commissioned Morgan to capture Spanish prisoners in Cuba. There was thought to be the threat of attack on Jamaica by the Spanish, and Modyford wished to learn all he could about the situation. Morgan was hugely successful in his mission – as well as capturing ten ships and five hundred men, he went on to land on the island. Morgan captured and ransacked Puerto Principe, and then the town of Portobello in Panama. The total plunder of Portobello was thought to have been in excess of £80,000, about half the value of Barbados’ sugar exports. The governor of Panama vainly tried to expel Morgan, and eventually agreed to pay Morgan a large ransom to evacuate Panama – in the region of 100,000 pesos (£25,000). This was well beyond the scope of Morgan’s original commission, but Morgan received little more than a reproof for his actions. They were covered by the necessity of attacking the Spanish, and the Admiralty claimed ignorance of Morgan’s behaviour. Nonetheless, it was such daring raids that made Morgan’s mark as a successful and dangerous pirate in the eyes of the Spanish.
Morgan began a campaign against the Spanish, ravaging the coast of Cuba, sacking Maracaibo in Venezuela and torturing the rich residents of Gibraltar on Lake Maracaibo to discover hidden treasure. He famously took on three Spanish ships at once, and destroyed or captured them all, extracting a large amount of treasure in the process. Rather than being cast as a criminal, as Morgan’s pirate sucessors would have been, Morgan was made commander-in-chief of all the ships of war in Jamaica. His mission was to wage war upon the Spanish by destroying all stores and ships. His pay for this was solely the booty gained during these exploits. In this way, Morgan’s buccaneering was justified and made legal – he was a confirmed privateer in the eyes of the British Government.
In 1671, Morgan lead a campaign in Panama. Despite a difficult approach to the city, which saw Morgan’s men go without food for four days, they found that the city was poorly defended – while they had rallied 1000 men to fight, they were badly trained and sustained losses of 400-500 men to the 15 deaths on the privateers side. In the face of their defeat the citizens of Panama burnt the town, and many people escaped with their valuables, making disappointing plunder for the privateers. Upon Morgan’s return to Port Royal he was officially thanked – however, Morgan’s actions had violated a peace treaty between England and Spain.
A new Governor of Jamaica, Sir Thomas Lynch, was appointed. He arrived in Jamaica on 1st July 1671, and Lynch spent little time in sending both Modyford and Morgan to England under arrest. Morgan went home on the Welcome, arriving in April 1672, and being imprisoned in the Tower of London. Here he lived at his own expense; Morgan had not settled or invested his money, and the cost of this punishment was high for him. However, Morgan was released from the Tower in 1674 without trial for any offence. The King received Morgan warmly at court, and knighted him in November 1674 before appointing him lieutenant-governor of Jamaica. Morgan returned to the Caribbean in January 1675, and from that point on took a passive role in the privateering taking place from Jamaica.
By 1681 Morgan had fallen from the British King’s favour and was replaced by Thomas Lynch. By 1683, Lynch had also successfully had Morgan suspended from the Jamaican Council, charging him with ‘disorder, passions and miscarriages at Port Royal on various occasions’ (minutes of council of Jamaica, 12 Oct 1683, CSP col., 11, no. 1302).
Morgan’s bloodthirsty reputation, whilst clearly well deserved, was contributed to by the publication of De Americaensche Zee-Roovers (History of the Bouccaneers of America) by Alexandre Exquemelin. Although Morgan successfully brought a libel suit against Exquemelin, the tales of Morgan’s exploits established his place in the annals of pirate history.
Morgan died on 25th August 1688, probably at Lawrencefield, Jamaica, the cause of death given as ‘dropsie’. It has also been suggested that the real cause of death could have been liver failure, caused by his excessive drinking after his loss of the Governorship. Morgan had used his years in office to build a substantial fortune, owning 3 plantations, 122 black slaves, seven Indians, eleven white servants and amassing a personal wealth of around £5250.
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well that's interesting - he was born about four or five miles away from where I live in Cardiff!!!!
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Try Google lots of Info
sue
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Henry Morgan was born in around 1635, the eldest son of Robert Morgan, squire of Llanrhymny in Glamorgan, Wales. Although there is no mention of Morgan in historical record until 1665, it is generally accepted that Morgan came to Jamaica in 1658. Morgan’s uncle, Edward Morgan, was Lieutenant-Governor of Jamaica, and it was Edwards’s daughter Mary that Henry eventually married.
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Sue, Thanks i have tried Google previously but had come accross conflicting reports who his parents were, i know he wasnt meant to have had any children (hard to believe), i would like to find his siblings and see if they had children.
My Morgan relations were all from the Llanilid Pencoed area.
Thanks Nicola
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he was born in a suburb of Cardiff - now called Llanrumney
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Ann of Green Gables, i know my nearest relations lived in the Cardiff area,is Llanild near Llanrumney ?Nicola
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Pencoed is near Bridgend and is about thirty miles West of Cardiff
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Ann of Green Gables,
Thanks not very far then, so it is possible my Morgans are related.
Thanks Nicola
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well I wouldn't bank on that - Wales is jam packed with Morgans, Williams, Jones et al!!!!
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Hi Nicola,i used to live in Llanrumney,just up the road from what is now a public house called Llanrumney hall, This was the home and birthplace of Henry Morgan. he was the son of a squire,thay owned a lot of land,part of this is a park leading up to the house.If looking at a map it is on Ball Road llanrumner. Carole
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