John or George Watling ( John / George Watling ; d. 1681 ) - an English baker of the XVII century. Contemporaries recalled that he never robbed on Saturday and did not allow his team to play cards on this holy day.
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He is best known for setting up a base on the island of San Salvador and calling it Watling Island. It is believed that this island (called the local population of Guanahani ) was the first New World island seen by Christopher Columbus in 1492. In 1925, the State of The Bahamas officially recognized San Salvador as the first island to be seen by Columbus.
Content
- 1 Rebellion and assumption of command
- 2 Arica
- 3 See also
- 4 notes
Rebellion and assumption of command
In the years 1680-1681, John Watling sailed under the command of Captain Bartholomew Sharpe aboard the Holy Trinity [1] . Some crew members were unhappy with Sharpe. All the pirates made a fortune under his leadership, but many managed to lose everything. Sharpe did not play and wanted, having returned with his wealth, to retire.
On January 6, 1681, on the Juan Fernandez Islands, the team rebelled and overthrew Sharpe, electing Watling as his successor. On January 12, three Spanish armed vessels approached the island, and Watling and their crew set sail. They left a Miskito Indian on the island named Will , whom they could not find before a hasty departure. The pirates were waiting for the Spaniards to leave, but they stopped on the island, and on January 13, Watling went into the open sea.
Arica
A few days later, the Buccaneers decided to attack the rich Spanish settlement of Arica , in the Viceroyalty of Peru [1] . They attacked Arica earlier, but did not find riches about which there were many rumors. The captured Indian warned Watling that Arica was very fortified, but Watling thought that he was trying to trick him, and shot him.
Since there were four to five days from the coast to Arica, and each of the 92 pirates had to carry water, they reached the city completely exhausted. They tried to approach the settlement in secret, but were spotted by the Spaniards, who prepared for the defense. On January 30, Watling divided his people into two groups, one with grenades was supposed to attack the fort , and the other on the city. Seeing that there were many more people in the city, Watling soon sent all his forces there. The pirates repeatedly forced the Spaniards to retreat, but since they were in the minority, they did not succeed for a long time. In the end, the pirates still captured the city, and Watling turned to the fort. The Spaniards, meanwhile, surrounded the people of Watling. Completely wrecked, the pirates fled, having lost several people dead, including Captain Watling, who was shot dead during the retreat [1] .
See also
- Bahamas History
Notes
- β 1 2 3 Esquemeling (1893), Buccaneers