Port Royal’s Pirate Legacy: Legends That Outlived the Gallows

Other Notable Pirates of Port Royal

Beyond the legendary figures covered in the foregoing pages, Port Royal hosted many other rogues and privateers during its heyday. Here are a few other notable pirates who lived in or frequented Port Royal:

• Edward Mansvelt (Mansfield) – A predecessor of Henry Morgan, Mansvelt was a Dutch buccaneer who led raids from Port Royal in the 1660s. He once mustered a large buccaneer force and captured the Spanish island of Providence. Mansvelt used Port Royal as a base and mentored younger pirates like Henry Morgan.
• John Davis – An English buccaneer of the 1660s who operated out of Port Royal. Davis was known for his cunning surprise attacks on Spanish towns. He is credited with daring raids in Nicaragua and Honduras, always returning to Port Royal to recruit crews and divide plunder.
• Sir Christopher Myngs – A former Royal Navy officer turned buccaneer, Myngs isn’t a “pirate” in the outlaw sense but was a privateer captain who in the 1660s led major assaults from Port Royal. He sacked Campeche in 1663 with a multinational pirate crew and paved the way for Morgan’s campaigns. Myngs’ success and tactics heavily influenced the Port Royal buccaneers.
• Bartholomew Portuguez – Sometimes called Bartholomew the Portuguese, he was an early pirate (mid-17th century) who reputedly also found refuge in Port Royal. He is famous for a daring escape from Spanish capture and is featured in many pirate tales. His exploits inspired others like Roche Braziliano.
• Laurens de Graaf – A Dutch-French buccaneer of the 1680s, de Graaf raided Spanish cities (like Veracruz) and although he operated mostly from Saint-Domingue, he had dealings in Port Royal’s pirate circles. English authorities at Port Royal at times tried to cooperate with him against the Spanish.
• Henry Jennings – A later-era pirate, Jennings was a Jamaican privateer who turned to piracy after 1715. When a Spanish treasure fleet wrecked off Florida, Captain Jennings led a daring raid on the Spanish salvage camp, stealing huge quantities of recovered silver. Based partly in Port Royal (where he had estates) and in New Providence, Jennings became one of the instigators of the post-1715 pirate outbreak. He eventually accepted a pardon and retired, but not before cementing his name in Port Royal’s pirate lore.
• William Kidd – Although more associated with New York and the Indian Ocean, Captain Kidd touched Port Royal’s story as well. Originally commissioned as a privateer to hunt pirates, Kidd visited Port Royal and other Caribbean ports in the 1690s. Ironically, he himself was later branded a pirate. Some of his crew were arrested in Jamaica, and legend holds that Kidd may have buried a portion of his treasure in Jamaica (though none was ever found). Kidd’s execution in London in 1701 sent ripples through Jamaica, marking the turning of the tide against pirates.

These and many others – men like George Spottiswood, Robert Searle, Edward “Ned” Low, and Calico Jack’s mentor Charles Vane – all left their footprints in Port Royal. In the latter half of the 17th century, Port Royal truly was the crucible of Caribbean piracy, a place where outlaw captains congregated, shared news of prizes, refitted ships, and spent their loot in riotous fashion. The very names of its streets and cays (like Rackham’s Cay) are reminders of the larger-than-life characters who once thrived there. Though the city’s pirate era ended by the 1720s – snuffed out by natural disaster and colonial crackdowns – the legends of Port Royal’s pirates continue to captivate us.

From the swaggering Sir Henry Morgan to the fiery Anne Bonny, the pirates of Port Royal lived lives of adventure and infamy that have echoed through history. Their stories, grounded in historical fact but amplified by myth, paint an immersive picture of a time and place where the call of freedom, fortune, and folly drew the bold and the desperate to Jamaica’s shores. Port Royal, the “wickedest city on Earth,” was their stage – and these famous pirates its most infamous players. Their tales remain a testament to a turbulent era when the line between lawful privateer and lawless pirate was as thin as a piece of eight, and when a sun-scorched port in Jamaica became the backdrop for legend.

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Sources:

Historical accounts and research on Port Royal and Golden Age piracy, including Charles Johnson’s 1724 General History of the Pyrates and modern analyses. The Port Royal archaeological and historical research (e.g. UNESCO, National Geographic) also provide context on the city’s fate. The episodes of each pirate are drawn from primary sources of the era and summaries by historians, as we step into the swashbuckling world of Port Royal’s past.