Jacques de Sores
Jacques de Sores | |
|---|---|
 Jacques de Sores looting and burning Havana | |
| Born | 16th century |
| Died | 16th century |
| Nationality | French |
| Movement | Huguenotpirates |
Jacques de Soreswas a Frenchpirateandcorsairwho attacked and burntHavana,Cubain 1555.
Other than his attack on Havana, little is known of de Sores. He was nicknamed "The Exterminating Angel" ( "L'Ange Exterminateur" ).[1]He was the leader of a band ofHuguenotpirates and a lieutenant or former lieutenant of another French pirate,François Le Clerc,who was called "Pegleg" or "Jambe de Bois" on account of his wooden leg.[1]Le Clerc and Sores had set out from France in 1553 with three royal ships and a number of privateers under commission fromFrancis I of Francewho was envious of the riches returning to Spain from theNew World.Le Clerc had raidedSantiago de Cubain 1554, and some accounts mention a raid on Santiago de Cuba by de Sores, although whether this was as part of the attack by Le Clerc is not clear. He may have usedCayo RomanoandCayo Cocoin the archipelago ofJardines del Reyadjacent to the northern Cuban coast as a base of operations.
Details of the attack on Havana are also sketchy: the number of ships that de Sores used in the attack varies in different accounts from 2 to 20. Regardless of the number of ships involved, de Sores had little trouble in capturing the lightly defended town. Most accounts make it clear that he was expecting to find stores of gold in the town, while some claim he ransomed important members of the population. All agree that whatever his intention he was frustrated: he did not find vast reserves of gold in the city, and if he ransomed the population the ransom was mostly not paid. He destroyed the fortress of La Fuerza Vieja in today's Calle Tacón and burnt most of the town. He also burnt the shipping in the harbour and laid waste to much of the surrounding countryside, and seems to have found time to organise a play "to insult the pope".[1][ambiguous]The ease with which de Sores had captured the town prompted the Spanish crown to start a massive fortification programme. TheCastillo de la Real Fuerzawas built to replace the Vieja Fuerza and later theCastillo de los Tres Reyes Magos del Morroand the smallerCastillo de San Salvador de la Puntawere built on opposite sides of the entrance to Havana harbour.
On the morning of 15 July 1570, offSanta Cruz de La Palma,Canary Islands,he sighted the Portuguese merchant galleonSão Tiago(also spelledSantiago), which was carrying Jesuits and colonists toBrazil.[2]His five carracks approached the São Tiago andboarded,capturing it.[2]He murdered 40 Jesuit Portuguesemissionaries,dismembered[2]and threw their bodies into the sea offTazacorte– crosses on the sea floor still mark the site at Malpique today.Inácio de Azevedowas one of theForty Martyrs of Brazil,beatified byPope Pius IXin 1854.
See also
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Notes
[edit]- ^abc"Les anges noirs de la liberté"(in French). Géo. July 2001. Archived fromthe originalon 10 January 2007.Retrieved20 March2007.
- ^abcSaturnino Monteiro, Armando da Silva (1996).Batalhas e Combates da Marinha Portuguesa(PDF)(in Portuguese). Lisbon: Livraria Sá da Costa. p. 325.
References
[edit]- "Les anges noirs de la liberté"(in French). Géo. July 2001. Archived fromthe originalon 10 January 2007.Retrieved20 March2007.
- "Jardines del Rey: History".Jardines del Rey. 2002.Retrieved20 March2007.
- David Cordingly (1997).Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates.Harvest Books. p. 320.ISBN0156005492.
- Rachel Carley (2000).Cuba: 400 Years of Architectural Heritage.Watson-Guptill. p. 224.ISBN0823011283.
