Jean-David Nau(pronounced[ʒɑ̃davidno]) (c. 1630 – c. 1669), better known asFrançois l'Olonnais(pronounced[fʁɑ̃swalolɔnɛ]) (alsol'Olonnois,LolonoisandLolona), was a French pirate active in theCaribbeanduring the 1660s.
François l'Olonnais | |
|---|---|
 An illustration of François lOlonnais from a 1684 edition ofThe History of the Buccaneers of America | |
| Born | Jean-David Nau 1630 |
| Died | 1669 (aged 38–39) |
| Piratical career | |
| Nickname | Flail of the Spanish |
| Type | Buccaneer |
| Allegiance | None |
| Years active | c. 1660 – c. 1668 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Base of operations | Caribbean |
Early life
editAccording toAlexandre Exquemelin's 1684 accountThe History of the Buccaneers of America,l'Olonnais' was born inLes Sables-d'Olonnein theFrance.He first arrived in the Caribbean as anindentured servantduring the 1650s. By 1660 his servitude was complete. He began to wander various islands before arriving inSaint-Domingue– in what is now Haiti – and becoming abuccaneer.He preyed upon shipping from theSpanish West Indiesand theSpanish Main.
A year or two (dates regarding l'Olonnais are uncertain) into his piratical career, l'Olonnais was shipwrecked nearCampechein Mexico. A party of Spanish soldiers attacked l'Olonnais and his crew, killing almost the entire party. L'Olonnais 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 escaped slaves, made his way to the island ofTortuga.A short time later, he and his crew held a town hostage, demanding a ransom from its Spanish rulers. Thegovernor of Cuba,Francisco Oregón y Gascón, sent a ship to kill l'Olonnais' party. l'Olonnais captured and beheaded the ship's entire 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
editIn 1666, l'Olonnais sailed from Tortuga with a fleet of eight ships and a crew of 440 pirates to sackMaracaiboin what is modern dayVenezuela,joining forces with fellow buccaneerMichel le Basque.[1]En route, l'Olonnais crossed paths with a Spanish treasure ship which he captured, along with its cargo of cocoa beans, gemstones, and more than 260,000Spanish dollars.
At the time the entrance toLake Maracaiboand thus the city itself was defended by theSan Carlos de la Barra Fortresswith sixteen guns, which was thought to be impregnable. He approached it from its undefended landward side and took it in few hours. He then proceeded to pillage the city, and found that most of the residents had fled and that their gold had been hidden. L'Olonnais' men tracked down the residents and tortured 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 tying knotted "woolding" (rope bound around a ship's mast to strengthen it) around the victim's head until their eyes were forced out.
Over the following two months, l'Olonnais and his men tortured, pillaged, and eventually burned much of Maracaibo before moving toSan Antonio de Gibraltar,on the eastern 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 cattle), l'Olonnais continued to ransack the city, acquiring a total of 260,000 pieces of eight, gems, silverware, and silks, as well as a number of slaves. Word of his attack on Maracaibo and Gibraltar reached Tortuga, and l'Olonnais earned a reputation for his ferocity and cruelty. He was given the nickname "The Bane of Spain" (French:Fléau des Espagnols).
Expedition to Honduras
edit
Seven hundred pirates enlisted with l'Olonnais when he mounted his next expedition, this time to theCentral Americanmainland. In 1667, after pillaging Puerto Cavallo on the coast of Honduras, l'Olonnais was ambushed by a large force of Spanish soldiers while en route toSan Pedro.Only narrowly escaping with his life, l'Olonnais captured two Spaniards. 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 tobite and gnaw itwith 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 Spaniard showed l'Olonnais a clear route to San Pedro. L'Olonnais and the few men still surviving were repelled, and retreated back to their ship. They ran aground on ashoalon the Pearl keys from Nicaragua. Unable to dislodge their craft, they headed inland to find food. From here, he ran several operational attacks to Campeche, San Pedro Sula and Guatemala, and was trying to penetrate Nicaragua inland cities through the Nicaraguan river (now called El Rio Grande de Matagalpa). He was defeated and almost killed by the natives of the region. He escaped and went to Cartagena in Colombia, looking for food. He was captured by the natives fromDarién,a modern-day province of Panama. They were captured by theindigenousKunatribe, which killed l'Olonnais. 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".
At some point before his death, he sailed briefly toJamaicato sell off a prize ship. It was purchased in 1668 byRoc Brasiliano,who sailed withJelles de Lecatagainst the Spanish alongsideHenry Morgan.[2]
In popular culture
editThe Japanese transliteration of l'Olonnois (Roronoa) served as inspiration for the name ofRoronoa Zoroin the manga seriesOne Piece.[3]The appearance of another character in the series, the swordsman Dracule Mihawk, is likely based on L'Olonnais' 1684 portrait as well. In the 1980 filmThe Island,it is revealed that a secret enclave of pirates had been in existence for three hundred years, after it was established by Jean-David Nau (also known as François l'Olonnais). Furthermore, his South American exploits might have been partial inspiration for theErrol Flynncharacter, Geoffrey Thorp, inThe Sea Hawk.
Nau is one of nine historical pirates who can be fought inSid Meier's Pirates!
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Marley, David (2010).Pirates of the Americas.Santa Barbara CA: ABC-CLIO. pp. 16, 284.ISBN9781598842012.Retrieved12 September2017.
- ^Marley, David (2010).Pirates of the Americas.Santa Barbara CA: ABC-CLIO.ISBN9781598842012.Retrieved22 August2017.
- ^Oda, Eiichirō (July 14, 2004).One Piece. Vol. 4, The Black Cat Pirates.Amemiya, Naoko. (Shonen Jump graphic novel ed.). San Francisco, CA: Viz, LLC. p. 48.ISBN1-59116-337-4.OCLC55999352.
Further reading
edit- Exquemelin, Alexander.The History of the Bucaniers of America,1684.
- Talty, Stephan.Empire of Blue Water: Captain Morgan's Great Pirate Army, the Epic Battle for the Americas, and the Catastrophe That Ended the Outlaws' Bloody Reign,2007.