Buccaneering In NovemberDecember 1544, a
patax of 22
French corsairs, mates of a captain called
Pedro Braques by the Spanish, were apprehended off the coast of colonial Honduras. Their arrival marked the beginning of over three centuries of
piracy in the Bay of Honduras. French corsairs were (belatedly) followed into the Bay by
Elizabethan Sea Dogs three decades later. The earliest of these is thought to have been either
Sir Francis Drake in the
Minion, or
John Oxenham in the
Beare, who during 23 February 1573 – 22 March 1573 cruised the Bay and watered at
Guanaxa. English buccaneering activities in the Bay intensified in the ensuing decades. Notably, during October 1577 – April 1578, an English pirate or privateer, called
Francisco de Acles by the Spanish, with 60 men aboard two ships, sacked
Puerto Caballos and
Bacalar, possibly marking the earliest entrance of such sea dogs into Bacalar's [ie present-day Belize's] waters. It is commonly thought that, upon the 1570s discovery of the intricate, secluded reefs, cayes, and coastline which characterised the waters of Bacalar, English buccaneers promptly opted to base their operations in this portion of the Bay, it affording them safe haven and quick access to Spanish ports.
Smuggling Prior to 1630, Spanish smuggling with Anglo-Dutch pirate-merchants at ports in the Bay of Honduras is thought to have 'amounted to little more than evasion of duties and taxes,' with typical cases described as 'not spectacular.' However – Consequently, post-1630 smuggling in the Bay is thought to have been 'sporadic but fairly frequent,' especially in indigo and
logwood, 'large quantities' of which [illicitly] found their way to non-Spanish markets.
Logging File:NaturalhistoryCc1v2Cate 0207.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|
Lacertus [et] Lignum Camp. The earliest logwood cutting near the Bay of Honduras is commonly dated to 1562, and attributed to the Spanish
conquistador Marcos de Ayala Trujeque of
Valladolid, Yucatán. By the 1570s, Yucatanese
encomenderos were shipping to Spain some 200 tonnes of logwood per annum, principally via
Campeche. During this same decade, English pirates, privateers, or buccaneers are thought to have first recognised the commercial value of logwood, and consequently, to have increasingly sought it as prize. It is uncertain when and where exactly English pirates or buccaneers first began surreptitiously cutting logwood, as opposed to merely seizing Spanish-cut logwood. Proposals range geographically from Campeche to Belize, and temporally from 1599 to 1670.
English settlement The earliest English settlement near the Bay is thought to have been
Old Providence. Anglo-Dutch buccaneers are known to have watered or camped in the island, and
Cape Gracias a Dios, since at least 1616. English presence intensified shortly upon the 4 December 1630 chartering of the
Old Providence Company. In 1631, Anthony Hilton's settlement in
Tortuga was made a dependency of the Company. In 1633,
Sussex Cammock established a trading post in Cape Gracias a Dios for Old Providence. By 29 January 1636, the Company was granted letters of reprisal against the Spanish. On 8 June 1638, the Company granted
William Claiborne letters patent to settle
Roatan. And shortly after 17 May 1641, Old Providence refugees are thought to have established themselves at Cape Gracias a Dios or Roatan.
Maya revolt The 1638 Tipu rebellion against Bacalar, possibly (indirectly) aided by piratical raids of coastal and riverine Maya hamlets in that district, is thought to have significantly eroded Spanish dominion and presence in Bacalar's waters. == Incident ==