François l'Ollonais
Encyclopedia
Jean-David Nau (c. 1635 – c. 1668, Panama
), better known as François l'Olonnais (fʁɑ̃swa lolɔnɛ), was a French pirate, active in the Caribbean
during the 1660s. In his 1684 account The History of the Buccaneers of America, Alexander Exquemelin notes l'Olonnais's place of birth as Les Sables-d'Olonne
.
during the 1650s. By 1660, his servitude was complete and he began to wander the various islands, before finally arriving in Saint-Domingue
and becoming a buccaneer
, preying on shipping from the Spanish West Indies
and Spanish Main
.
A year or two (dates regarding l'Olonnais are unclear) into his piratical career, l'Olonnais was shipwreck
ed near Campeche
, in Mexico. A party of Spanish soldiers attacked l'Olonnais and his crew, killing almost the entire party. L'Olonnais himself survived by covering himself in the blood of others and hiding amongst the dead. After the Spanish departed, l'Olonnais, with the assistance of some slaves, escaped and made his way to Tortuga. A short time later, he and his crew held a town hostage, demanding a ransom
from its Spanish rulers. The governor of Havana
sent a ship to kill l'Olonnais' party, but l'Olonnais captured and beheaded the entire raiding crew save one, whom he spared so that a message could be delivered to Havana: "I shall never henceforward give quarter to any Spaniard whatsoever."
. En route, l'Olonnais crossed paths with a Spanish treasure ship, which he captured, along with its rich cargo of cacao, gemstone
s and more than 260,000 pieces of eight
.
At the time, the entrance to Lake Maracaibo
(and thus the city itself) was defended by a fort of sixteen guns that was thought to be impregnable. L'Olonnais approached it from its undefended landward side and took it. He then proceeded to pillage the city, but found that most of the residents had fled and that their gold had been hidden. L'Olonnais' men tracked down the residents and torture
d them until they revealed the location of their possessions. They also seized the fort's cannon
and demolished most of the town's defence walls to ensure that a hasty retreat was possible.
L'Olonnais himself was an expert torturer, and his techniques included slicing portions of flesh off the victim with a sword, burning them alive, or "woolding", which involved tying knotted rope around the victim's head until their eye
s were forced out.
Over the following two months, l'Olonnais and his men raped, pillaged and eventually burned much of Maracaibo before moving south to Gibraltar
, on the southern shore of Lake Maracaibo
. Despite being outnumbered, the pirates slaughtered 500 soldiers of Gibraltar's garrison
and held the city for ransom. Despite the payment of the ransom (20,000 pieces of eight and five hundred cows), l'Olonnais continued to ransack the city, acquiring a total of 260,000 pieces of eight, gems, silver
ware, silk
s as well as a number of slaves. The damage l'Olonnais inflicted upon Gibraltar was so great that the city, formerly a major centre for the exportation of cacao, nearly ceased to exist by 1680.
Word of his attack on Maracaibo and Gibraltar reached Tortuga, and l'Olonnais earned a reputation for his ferocity and cruelty and he was given the nickname
"Bane of the Spanish" . Seven hundred pirates enlisted with him when he mounted his next expedition, this time to the Central American mainland, later that year. After pillaging Puerto Cabello
, l'Olonnais was ambushed by a large force of Spanish soldiers en route to San Pedro
. Only narrowly escaping with his life, l'Olonnais captured two Spanish. Exquemelin wrote:
Horrified, the surviving Spanish showed l'Olonnais a clear route. However, l'Olonnais and the few men still surviving were repelled, and retreated back to their ship. They ran aground on a sandbar on the coast of Darien, the province of Panama. Unable to dislodge their craft, they headed inland to find food, but were captured by the Kuna tribe in Darién
. He was eaten by the natives
. Exquemelin wrote that the natives:
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
), better known as François l'Olonnais (fʁɑ̃swa lolɔnɛ), was a French pirate, active in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
during the 1660s. In his 1684 account The History of the Buccaneers of America, Alexander Exquemelin notes l'Olonnais's place of birth as Les Sables-d'Olonne
Les Sables-d'Olonne
Les Sables-d'Olonne is a seaside town in western France, by the Atlantic Ocean. It is a commune and a sub-prefecture of the Vendée department.-Events:...
.
Early life
L'Olonnais first arrived in the Caribbean as an indentured servantIndentured servant
Indentured servitude refers to the historical practice of contracting to work for a fixed period of time, typically three to seven years, in exchange for transportation, food, clothing, lodging and other necessities during the term of indenture. Usually the father made the arrangements and signed...
during the 1650s. By 1660, his servitude was complete and he began to wander the various islands, before finally arriving in Saint-Domingue
Saint-Domingue
The labour for these plantations was provided by an estimated 790,000 African slaves . Between 1764 and 1771, the average annual importation of slaves varied between 10,000-15,000; by 1786 it was about 28,000, and from 1787 onward, the colony received more than 40,000 slaves a year...
and becoming a buccaneer
Buccaneer
The buccaneers were privateers who attacked Spanish shipping in the Caribbean Sea during the late 17th century.The term buccaneer is now used generally as a synonym for pirate...
, preying on shipping from the Spanish West Indies
Spanish West Indies
The Spanish West Indies was the contemporary name for the Spanish colonies in the Caribbean...
and Spanish Main
Spanish Main
In the days of the Spanish New World Empire, the mainland of the American continent enclosing the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico was referred to as the Spanish Main. It included present-day Florida, the east shore of the Gulf of Mexico in Texas, Mexico, Central America and the north coast of...
.
A year or two (dates regarding l'Olonnais are unclear) into his piratical career, l'Olonnais was shipwreck
Shipwreck
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached. Whatever the cause, a sunken ship or a wrecked ship is a physical example of the event: this explains why the two concepts are often overlapping in English....
ed near Campeche
Campeche, Campeche
San Francisco de Campeche is the capital city of the Mexican state of Campeche, located at,...
, in Mexico. A party of Spanish soldiers attacked l'Olonnais and his crew, killing almost the entire party. L'Olonnais himself survived by covering himself in the blood of others and hiding amongst the dead. After the Spanish departed, l'Olonnais, with the assistance of some slaves, escaped and made his way to Tortuga. A short time later, he and his crew held a town hostage, demanding a ransom
Ransom
Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or it can refer to the sum of money involved.In an early German law, a similar concept was called bad influence...
from its Spanish rulers. The governor of Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
sent a ship to kill l'Olonnais' party, but l'Olonnais captured and beheaded the entire raiding crew save one, whom he spared so that a message could be delivered to Havana: "I shall never henceforward give quarter to any Spaniard whatsoever."
The sacking of Maracaibo
In 1667, l'Olonnais sailed from Tortuga with a fleet of eight ships and a crew of six hundred pirates to sack MaracaiboMaracaibo
Maracaibo is a city and municipality located in northwestern Venezuela off the western coast of the Lake Maracaibo. It is the second-largest city in the country after the national capital Caracas and the capital of Zulia state...
. En route, l'Olonnais crossed paths with a Spanish treasure ship, which he captured, along with its rich cargo of cacao, gemstone
Gemstone
A gemstone or gem is a piece of mineral, which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments...
s and more than 260,000 pieces of eight
Pieces of Eight
Pieces of Eight is the eighth studio album and second concept album by Styx, released September 1, 1978.The album was the band's follow-up to their Triple Platinum selling The Grand Illusion album....
.
At the time, the entrance to Lake Maracaibo
Lake Maracaibo
Lake Maracaibo is a large brackish bay in Venezuela at . It is connected to the Gulf of Venezuela by Tablazo Strait at the northern end, and fed by numerous rivers, the largest being the Catatumbo. It is commonly considered a lake rather than a bay or lagoon, and at 13,210 km² it would be the...
(and thus the city itself) was defended by a fort of sixteen guns that was thought to be impregnable. L'Olonnais approached it from its undefended landward side and took it. He then proceeded to pillage the city, but found that most of the residents had fled and that their gold had been hidden. L'Olonnais' men tracked down the residents and torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
d them until they revealed the location of their possessions. They also seized the fort's cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
and demolished most of the town's defence walls to ensure that a hasty retreat was possible.
L'Olonnais himself was an expert torturer, and his techniques included slicing portions of flesh off the victim with a sword, burning them alive, or "woolding", which involved tying knotted rope around the victim's head until their eye
Human eye
The human eye is an organ which reacts to light for several purposes. As a conscious sense organ, the eye allows vision. Rod and cone cells in the retina allow conscious light perception and vision including color differentiation and the perception of depth...
s were forced out.
Over the following two months, l'Olonnais and his men raped, pillaged and eventually burned much of Maracaibo before moving south to Gibraltar
Gibraltar, Venezuela
Gibraltar is a town located in Zulia State in Venezuela between Bobures to the south and Boscan to the north. It is on the shore of Maracaibo Lake. The population is around 4,000....
, on the southern shore of Lake Maracaibo
Lake Maracaibo
Lake Maracaibo is a large brackish bay in Venezuela at . It is connected to the Gulf of Venezuela by Tablazo Strait at the northern end, and fed by numerous rivers, the largest being the Catatumbo. It is commonly considered a lake rather than a bay or lagoon, and at 13,210 km² it would be the...
. Despite being outnumbered, the pirates slaughtered 500 soldiers of Gibraltar's garrison
Garrison
Garrison is the collective term for a body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it, but now often simply using it as a home base....
and held the city for ransom. Despite the payment of the ransom (20,000 pieces of eight and five hundred cows), l'Olonnais continued to ransack the city, acquiring a total of 260,000 pieces of eight, gems, silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
ware, silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
s as well as a number of slaves. The damage l'Olonnais inflicted upon Gibraltar was so great that the city, formerly a major centre for the exportation of cacao, nearly ceased to exist by 1680.
Word of his attack on Maracaibo and Gibraltar reached Tortuga, and l'Olonnais earned a reputation for his ferocity and cruelty and he was given the nickname
Nickname
A nickname is "a usually familiar or humorous but sometimes pointed or cruel name given to a person or place, as a supposedly appropriate replacement for or addition to the proper name.", or a name similar in origin and pronunciation from the original name....
"Bane of the Spanish" . Seven hundred pirates enlisted with him when he mounted his next expedition, this time to the Central American mainland, later that year. After pillaging Puerto Cabello
Puerto Cabello
Puerto Cabello is a city on the north coast of Venezuela. It is located in Carabobo State about 75 km west of Caracas. As of 2001, the city has a population of around 154,000 people. The city is the home to the largest port in the country and is thus a vital cog in the country's vast oil...
, l'Olonnais was ambushed by a large force of Spanish soldiers en route to San Pedro
San Pedro, Coahuila
San Pedro is a city located in the southwestern part of the state of Coahuila in Mexico. San Pedro lies east-northeast of the city of Torreón and serves as the seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name....
. Only narrowly escaping with his life, l'Olonnais captured two Spanish. Exquemelin wrote:
- "He drew his cutlass, and with it cut open the breast of one of those poor Spanish, and pulling out his heart with his sacrilegious hands, began to bite and gnaw it with his teeth, like a ravenous wolf, saying to the rest: I will serve you all alike, if you show me not another way."
Horrified, the surviving Spanish showed l'Olonnais a clear route. However, l'Olonnais and the few men still surviving were repelled, and retreated back to their ship. They ran aground on a sandbar on the coast of Darien, the province of Panama. Unable to dislodge their craft, they headed inland to find food, but were captured by the Kuna tribe in Darién
Darién Province
Darién is a province in eastern Panama. It is also the largest province in Panama. It is hot, humid, heavily forested, and sparsely populated, having 48,378 habitants...
. He was eaten by the natives
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
. Exquemelin wrote that the natives:
- "tore him in pieces alive, throwing his body limb by limb into the fire and his ashes into the air; to the intent no trace nor memory might remain of such an infamous, inhuman creature."