Passion of Pirates > Quest for Captain Morgan’s Pirate Ship

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Henry Morgan was the most famous of all buccaneers, amassing a fortune by plundering Spain’s Caribbean colonies during the late seventeenth century. Through his leadership, courage, ruthlessness, and phenomenally successful expeditions, he ensured the survival of English interests in the Caribbean and his name became legendary in the annals of piracy.

Born in 1635 in Glamorganshire, Wales, Morgan’s early maritime career is quite murky. By the early 1660s, he had fought with English forces in the Caribbean and captained several privateering ships. In 1668, he was commissioned Admiral of the Buccaneers in Jamaica and successfully led a dozen ships to Puerto del Principe, Cuba, capturing the city and hoards of hidden treasure. Later that year, in an extraordinarily daring feat, his buccaneers sacked the well-fortified city of Portobello—a collection point for Spanish treasure on the Isthmus of Panama—where he used Catholic priests and nuns as human shields to charge the city walls. Morgan returned victoriously to Port Royal with hundreds of thousands of pieces of eight.

The following year, the scourge of the Spanish Main arranged a rendezvous of his English fleet with French buccaneers for a joint attack on the treasure city of Cartagena. But during the final stages of preparations, Morgan’s flagship, the Oxford, was destroyed in a freak magazine explosion off the southeast coast of Hispaniola, killing over 200 men and scuttling Morgan’s plans.

Regrouping after the disaster, Morgan attacked Maracaibo and Gibraltar before organizing the greatest expedition of his infamous career in late 1670. With thirty-six ships and nearly two thousand bold buccaneers, Morgan set out to capture the richest city of the Spanish-American Empire, Panama City.

Morgan succeeded where Sir Francis Drake failed a century earlier. His men fought savagely to capture Fort San Lorenzo on the Caribbean side of Panama, and then set out on a grueling march through hostile jungle for over a week. When they were confronted by an army of Spanish infantry, Morgan’s outnumbered but ferocious buccaneers forced the Spaniards to break ranks and run for cover. Rather than have their precious city fall into Morgan’s hands, the Spanish burned it to the ground. Nevertheless, Morgan’s crew managed to load 175 mules with precious booty before returning to their waiting ships.

Since the Treaty of Madrid had been signed and England was supposedly at peace with Spain, their furious king threatened war with England if the pirates who destroyed Panama were not punished. King Charles II, hoping to preserve peace, ordered Morgan—and Jamaica’s Governor Modyford, who had sanctioned the expedition—transported to England in chains. But instead of prison or execution, the English public celebrated Morgan’s triumph over Spain and the king eventually knighted him.

Sir Henry Morgan returned to Port Royal as the newly appointed Lieutenant Governor. He was extremely rich and powerful, with vast land holdings in Jamaica and friends on both sides of the law. He died in 1688 of natural causes precipitated by too much alcohol.

The Pirate Ship.

The 34-gun frigate HMS Oxford was sent to Port Royal, Jamaica on the orders of the Duke of York to protect the island. Less than two months later, Governor James Modyford sent the warship to rendezvous at Ile a Vache (island off Hispaniola) with Henry Morgan’s fleet of ten lesser ships and over 800 seasoned buccaneers. On January 2, 1669, Morgan hoisted his flag on the Oxford and called a council of war with his captains to celebrate their decision to capture the Spanish treasure port of Cartagena led by his new flagship. Morgan’s crew was partying pirate-style throughout the ship when the celebration ended with a mighty bang as some accidental spark ignited the Oxford’s magazine. Over 200 men were killed. Only Morgan and his captains who sat on the same side of the great table in the admiral’s cabin survived the explosion and were later recovered from the floating debris.

The Explorers.

In January 2004, entrepreneur Pat Croce recruited historic shipwreck explorer Burt Webber to help achieve his mission of locating the rare remains of Henry Morgan’s famous pirate ship Oxford. Through Croce’s ties to the archeological community (via his Pirate Soul Museum in Key West, Florida) his research uncovered the likes of Webber and his historic discovery of the Spanish treasure ship Concepcion off the waters of the Dominican Republic in 1979. Croce also enlisted the services of archeologist/diver Bob Cembrola, who is currently at the Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

Although Croce and Webber engaged the best Haitian maritime law firm to guide them through the Third World politics of Haiti, they still had to overcome numerous obstacles and setbacks over the past 3 ½ years in hopes of fulfilling their pirate quest - ranging from the onset of a Haitian civil war to the mysterious departure of Haiti’s President Aristide to the dangerous threats of kidnappings and beheadings. (Webber’s in-country associate was kidnapped last year.) But this delicate exercise in persistence and patience is about to pay off as these two passionate men are finally close to obtaining the legal exclusive contract with the government of Haiti to survey, salvage, and conserve this world-famous discovery.

Explore and Discover.

Follow the exploits of a crew of archeologists, historic shipwreck explorers, pirate historians, and experienced divers as they search the waters off the southwestern shores of Haiti for the virgin discovery of Henry Morgan’s infamous warship Oxford – and the vast treasures aboard. Be onboard as this dangerous mission (present-day pirates and revolutionaries) unfolds and the explorers pursue their dream.

Click here to read PC's Captain Morgan Log