Pirates of the Caribbean: Island Treasure
August 1571: Martin Frobisher’s two ships arrive in St. Brendan’s, bringing with them much needed supplies for the small colony: a transparent ruse to get in the good graces of the Glorianans. It works, although not on Lord Brendan, who is furious that his hard-won colony is becoming a haven for pirates. Frobisher and his crews spend money freely, and openly flatter the colonists with compliments on how well the new settlement is coming. The process of building a fortress at Cape Anne has begun, and many of the colonists are hard at work, quarrying limestone in the hot subtropical sun in preparation for the start of construction. While the privateers are amusing to many of the colonists, after a time they become wearying, and when Frobisher forms a fragile alliance with Le Testu and Jamie Alday and the little fleet sets sail, the colonists are glad to see them go. “Let them make their mischief elsewhere,” writes Francis Drake in his logbook.
Brendan, meanwhile, is less trusting that they’ve seen the back of the privateers. He orders cannon moved into strategic positions around the settlement, and doubles the drill of the local militias he’s organized.
September 1571: Frobisher, Alday, and Le Testu raid Santo Domingo, making off with thousands of pounds of treasure as well as numerous African slaves. Burning the Spanish ships at anchor, they flee north, only to encounter a small flotilla of vessels under the command of Martin de Bertendona, an experienced officer whose family boasts a long seafaring tradition. Although the privateers manage to avoid a stand-up fight, Bertendona pursues them north as they attempt to flee. Weighed down by treasure, the privateers must rely on their superior firepower to keep the Spanish at bay until they reach a friendly port, while the Spanish must keep their distance and pepper the English with cannon fire until they surrender and give up their cargo. The race is on.
The ocean is vast, and Frobisher hopes that by darting in and out of the various Bahamas, he can lose Bertendona. He is unsuccessful, and by the time they pass Grand Bahama, it is clear he cannot shake the Spaniard. His only hope is to press on to St. Brendan’s, where with luck Knollys and other privateers will be, who can add their guns to his.
The privateers just barely make it into St. Brendan harbor before the Spanish. Now safely docked and under the protection of the guns Lord Brendan has moved into place, Frobisher feels rather smug--until the Spanish send a longboat ashore under the flag of truce.
Bertendona, who has come into port under a white flag, meets with Brendan at Brendan’s small house. He is not particularly impressed by the standard of living among the English, but keeps that to himself. His position is simple: the privateers are pirates, and thus afforded no protection by law. Although they may claim to have letters of marque from Queen Elizabeth, undoubtedly these are forgeries, as no Christian monarch would encourage such lawlessness. Therefore Brendan, as the English Crown’s appointed representative in the New World, should turn over these criminals to Bertendona, the Spanish Crown’s appointed representative.
Brendan considers Bertendona’s proposal, and after some thought counters with one of his own: No. He admits the privateers are little more than pirates, but denies that the Spanish have jurisdiction over them. Since they are in an English port, they come under English jurisdiction. He, as magistrate, will try them as appropriate. While Frobisher and the rest are extremely unhappy to be called pirates, they nonetheless recognize that Brendan is doing what he must to defuse the situation. Their ships are trapped at port, and Brendan is not a friendly host to them. So they go along with it.
The Spanish commander is not pleased at all; the treasure and slaves the privateers have taken are property of the Spanish Crown, and must be returned. Frobisher isn’t too worried; undoubtedly Brendan will decline this offer, and besides, they’ve already managed to smuggle a lot of gold off the ships, and who’s to say how much they stole in the first place. He’s confident they’ll still make a profit. However, Brendan, smiling while Frobisher, Alday, and Le Testu fume, agrees with Bertendona: the treasure must be returned.
Dropping his smile, he informs Bertendona: the slaves stay.
According to the Queen’s decree of August 1570, “Let it be known that all who be imprisoned, save those who have done murder or treason, or bound fast in gaol by debt, or enchained in some other manner, should they accept transportation to the county of Brendanshire, in the realm of Gloriana which lies in the islands of the New World, shall have their sentences commuted”. As far as Brendan is concerned, this applies just as much to the slaves the privateers have brought back as it does to Englishmen. Having slapped the cheeks of both the Spanish and the pirates, he announces the new policy. Slavery is effectively illegal in Brendanshire, and since, for the moment, Brendanshire is the whole of English territory in the New World, slavery is illegal in English America. Slaves are just as subject to the Queen’s decree as anyone else, and thus become free upon setting foot in English territory. John Hawkyns, Lord Brendan, has absolutely no affection for Africans or natives of any kind; he’s doing this mainly to jab the Spanish in the eye. But he has set the policy: no slavery on Glorianan soil.
Bertendona goes away from the meeting incensed. He has no choice but to accept Brendan’s settlement. He lacks the guns to take the colony, but as he watches his men loading up gold retrieved from the pirate ships, he swears that there will be a reckoning for this.
Frobisher and the other privateers are thinking the same thing.
August 1571: Martin Frobisher’s two ships arrive in St. Brendan’s, bringing with them much needed supplies for the small colony: a transparent ruse to get in the good graces of the Glorianans. It works, although not on Lord Brendan, who is furious that his hard-won colony is becoming a haven for pirates. Frobisher and his crews spend money freely, and openly flatter the colonists with compliments on how well the new settlement is coming. The process of building a fortress at Cape Anne has begun, and many of the colonists are hard at work, quarrying limestone in the hot subtropical sun in preparation for the start of construction. While the privateers are amusing to many of the colonists, after a time they become wearying, and when Frobisher forms a fragile alliance with Le Testu and Jamie Alday and the little fleet sets sail, the colonists are glad to see them go. “Let them make their mischief elsewhere,” writes Francis Drake in his logbook.
Brendan, meanwhile, is less trusting that they’ve seen the back of the privateers. He orders cannon moved into strategic positions around the settlement, and doubles the drill of the local militias he’s organized.
September 1571: Frobisher, Alday, and Le Testu raid Santo Domingo, making off with thousands of pounds of treasure as well as numerous African slaves. Burning the Spanish ships at anchor, they flee north, only to encounter a small flotilla of vessels under the command of Martin de Bertendona, an experienced officer whose family boasts a long seafaring tradition. Although the privateers manage to avoid a stand-up fight, Bertendona pursues them north as they attempt to flee. Weighed down by treasure, the privateers must rely on their superior firepower to keep the Spanish at bay until they reach a friendly port, while the Spanish must keep their distance and pepper the English with cannon fire until they surrender and give up their cargo. The race is on.
The ocean is vast, and Frobisher hopes that by darting in and out of the various Bahamas, he can lose Bertendona. He is unsuccessful, and by the time they pass Grand Bahama, it is clear he cannot shake the Spaniard. His only hope is to press on to St. Brendan’s, where with luck Knollys and other privateers will be, who can add their guns to his.
The privateers just barely make it into St. Brendan harbor before the Spanish. Now safely docked and under the protection of the guns Lord Brendan has moved into place, Frobisher feels rather smug--until the Spanish send a longboat ashore under the flag of truce.
Bertendona, who has come into port under a white flag, meets with Brendan at Brendan’s small house. He is not particularly impressed by the standard of living among the English, but keeps that to himself. His position is simple: the privateers are pirates, and thus afforded no protection by law. Although they may claim to have letters of marque from Queen Elizabeth, undoubtedly these are forgeries, as no Christian monarch would encourage such lawlessness. Therefore Brendan, as the English Crown’s appointed representative in the New World, should turn over these criminals to Bertendona, the Spanish Crown’s appointed representative.
Brendan considers Bertendona’s proposal, and after some thought counters with one of his own: No. He admits the privateers are little more than pirates, but denies that the Spanish have jurisdiction over them. Since they are in an English port, they come under English jurisdiction. He, as magistrate, will try them as appropriate. While Frobisher and the rest are extremely unhappy to be called pirates, they nonetheless recognize that Brendan is doing what he must to defuse the situation. Their ships are trapped at port, and Brendan is not a friendly host to them. So they go along with it.
The Spanish commander is not pleased at all; the treasure and slaves the privateers have taken are property of the Spanish Crown, and must be returned. Frobisher isn’t too worried; undoubtedly Brendan will decline this offer, and besides, they’ve already managed to smuggle a lot of gold off the ships, and who’s to say how much they stole in the first place. He’s confident they’ll still make a profit. However, Brendan, smiling while Frobisher, Alday, and Le Testu fume, agrees with Bertendona: the treasure must be returned.
Dropping his smile, he informs Bertendona: the slaves stay.
According to the Queen’s decree of August 1570, “Let it be known that all who be imprisoned, save those who have done murder or treason, or bound fast in gaol by debt, or enchained in some other manner, should they accept transportation to the county of Brendanshire, in the realm of Gloriana which lies in the islands of the New World, shall have their sentences commuted”. As far as Brendan is concerned, this applies just as much to the slaves the privateers have brought back as it does to Englishmen. Having slapped the cheeks of both the Spanish and the pirates, he announces the new policy. Slavery is effectively illegal in Brendanshire, and since, for the moment, Brendanshire is the whole of English territory in the New World, slavery is illegal in English America. Slaves are just as subject to the Queen’s decree as anyone else, and thus become free upon setting foot in English territory. John Hawkyns, Lord Brendan, has absolutely no affection for Africans or natives of any kind; he’s doing this mainly to jab the Spanish in the eye. But he has set the policy: no slavery on Glorianan soil.
Bertendona goes away from the meeting incensed. He has no choice but to accept Brendan’s settlement. He lacks the guns to take the colony, but as he watches his men loading up gold retrieved from the pirate ships, he swears that there will be a reckoning for this.
Frobisher and the other privateers are thinking the same thing.
