Le Clerk, Francois

Francois Leclerc ( fr. Francois Le Clerc ;? - 1563 ) - one of the most famous French filibusters , nicknamed "Wooden Leg", operating in the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean . He was killed in the attack on the Spanish galleon .

Native to Normandy . He commanded his own ships, and also financed campaigns undertaken by other captains. Steadily striving for battle, Leclerc lost his leg and seriously injured his hand in battles with the royal troops (possibly in a battle with the British at Guernsey in 1549). For the courage shown in one of the battles of 1551, he was granted noble dignity.

Despite his injuries, Leclerc led a major campaign against the Spaniards, who gave him the nickname "Wooden Leg". In 1553, the Frenchman led the squadron, which included seven privateer ships and three ships of the French naval forces (the captains of the latter were Leclerc, Jacques de Sor and Robert Blondel). This powerful squadron hit San Herman ( Puerto Rico ), after which it began to systematically rob coastal settlements in Hispaniola ( Haiti ), taking everything from skin to guns. Even richer trophies awaited the French on their return trip when the corsairs robbed Las Palmas on the island of Gran Canaria and captured Genoese Karak.

Leclerc again visited the West Indies in 1554 , having under the command of 8 large ships and 300 soldiers. Leclerc's assistant, Jacques de Sor, attacked the city of Santiago de Cuba , robbed him for a month, and then departed with a ransom, which cost 80,000 pesos. The corsairs so thoroughly devastated the first capital of Cuba that for a very long time she vegetated in poverty, losing her position to Havana .

In April 1562, Protestants from several Norman cities rebelled against their Roman Catholic king. Elizabeth I sent the British troops, who, occupying Le Havre , held him until June 1563. If Leclerc had any religious convictions, it must be admitted that he was a Catholic (unlike de Sora or Sir Francis Drake , he did not defile churches during his robber attacks on Spanish cities). However, the pirate sided with the English invaders and began to rob French merchant ships.

In March 1563, he turned to the British with a request for the appointment of a large pension as a reward for betrayal. Deeply wounded by the failure of Queen Elizabeth, he went to the Azores and after some time found his death in an attack on the ship of the Spanish treasury fleet.