English and French Buccaneers: The Second Wave (1684–9)

Abstract

The first successors of Henry Morgan’s crossing of the Isthmus of Panama were relatively few in number for most of their operations off the coasts of Peru, but the years from 1684 to 1689 were to find the South Sea invaded by more intruders than at any time since the Nassau Fleet. Their origins were diverse but their attraction to Peru was a common one, namely the aim of acquiring some portion of the wealth of the region, whether it be through trade or buccaneering. They sailed, therefore, in pursuit of their own personal enrichment or that of their private backers. They were John Cook whose voyage started in Virginia, John Eaton and Charles Swan who embarked in London, and several groups of buccaneers who followed the route pioneered by Sharp and company at the eastern end of the Isthmus. Those setting out from London represent a further stage in the fitful fascination of the English with Peru, re-established by Narborough but more vividly revived by the return of Sharp and friends to London and their subsequent trial. The buccaneers found their way there in a climate of increasing opposition to their lifestyle in the West Indies.¹