The Sack of Panamá: Captain Morgan and the Battle for the Caribbean

by Peter Earle

Captain Henry Morgan's capture of the city of Panamá in 1671 is seen as one of the most audacious military operations in history. In The Sack of Panamá , Peter Earle masterfully retells this classic story, combining thorough research with an emphasis on the battles that made Morgan a pirate legend.Morgan's raid was the last in a series of brutal attacks on Spanish possesions in the Caribbean, all sanctioned by the British crown. Earle recounts the five violent years leading up to the raid, then delivers a detailed account of Morgan's march across enemy territory, as his soldiers contended with hunger, tropical diseases, and possible ambushes from locals. He brings a unique dimension to the story by devoting nearly as much space to the Spanish victims as to the Jamican privateers who were the aggressors.The book covers not only the scandalous events in the Colonial West Indies, but also the alarmed reacions of diplomats and statesmen in Madrid and London. While Morgan and his men were laying siege to Panamá , the simmering hostilities between the two nations resulted in vicious political infighting that rivaled the military battles in intensity. With a wealth of colorful characters and international intrigue, The Sack of Panamá is a painstaking history that doubles as a rip-roaring adventure tale.

Genres: History, Pirates, Nonfiction, American History, Research

304 pages, Hardcover

First published March 5, 1982

About the author

Peter Earle formerly taught at the London School of Economics and is now Emeritus Reader in Economic History at the University of London.

Reviews

[Unwisely · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a random book pickup, and while it wasn't something I couldn't put down, it was pretty interesting. I actually am not sure I knew much about the privateers (except when they come up in Civilization games?), and I'm certain I didn't know Jamaica was uninhabited. So that whole conflict was pretty interesting.

I had forgotten how bureaucratic the Spanish Empire was, with all their reports and legal files, so he actually had pretty good sources on all this. The amount of discussion of the expense of everything (so maybe we won't do Thing X) was certainly familiar.

Thoughts I took away:
* Wow, communication was such a problem. Weeks or months to get information around the empire, even to neighboring cities...Spanish settlements were really more like isolated.
* Private fighting forces certainly have a long history!
* I suddenly want a rum-based cocktail...

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading Talty's book on Captain Henry Morgan (Empire of Blue Water), I went on to read this book by Peter Earle who Talty mentions several times in his work. Earle is quite good at engaging a reader in his narrative and kept me reading on about the taking of Panama by an entire army of pirates in the late 1600s.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is narrative history at its best. Earle skillfully weaves his primary-source research into a fast-paced and well-organized narrative. Truly a fine book.

[Troy Grube · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow what a slow weak book. Interesting premises, piracy in the West Indies has a long, interesting, and unsuspected history. I never knew the English maintained an alliance with the pirates, in fact considering pirates Jamacia's only naval defense. I never truly understood the breadth of the Spanish empire in the West Indies, and how its possible they could maintain that empire with such horrible leadership and communication. But overall this book was slow and boring. Worth passing over.

[Paul Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting with regard the whole practice of privateering and how it differed (or didn't) from piracy. This book got a little bogged down in numbers and statistics at times but was worth the effort. Every time I drink Captain Morgan now I will probably bother my drinking buddies with some trivia from this book.

[Colin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recalling the swarthy lads who pilfered the richest ports of the Spanish main. An enthralling read when in the midst of a raid, boring as bureaucracy when detailing the politics behind the mess in the West Indies.

[Terri Lynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This covers Captain Morgan's sack of Panama where he roasted women alive, put bands around heads of people he asked about where the loot was and squeezed so hard their eyes popped out among other atrocities but was a hero to the British since it was Spanish people he did it to.

[Tom Oman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good book on a hard to find subject. I feel like there could be a great book on this subject out there somewhere.

[Randhir Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Can't go through a page without struggling with my head that I don't want to sleep!

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sack of Panamá: Captain Morgan and the Battle for the Caribbean by Peter Earle – This book is why we started calling the South American colonialism class Rum and Pirates. Happy Reading!

[Guy Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book particularly for research on the history and the times. Very well illustrated. I used as research for a fiction.