‘Take What You Can’: Chase Parties and Their Plunder

            In the Windward Passage between Cuba and Hispaniola, Spanish ships were sometimes approached by small, single sail craft known as pinnace.  Scarcely able to stay afloat in rough seas, they would have appeared harmless to a naive onlooker aboard a sturdy Spanish galleon armed with cannon.  However, these small vessels were hardly humble when crowded with hungry predators conducting a raid.

            These raiders, or ‘chase parties’ as they were called, were initially formed by groups of volunteers among the Buccaneers.  A single hunting camp of Buccaneers could rarely supply the manpower necessary to capture large Spanish merchant vessel, so when the opportunity arose, they sent out runners to nearby camps to recruit allies and a vessel for the endeavor.  For larger prizes, the Buccaneers might even recruit more than one boat.

            Packed aboard their small pinnace, they selected a merchant vessel and attack before dawn or near dusk when the limited visibility was in their favor.  If they were lucky, they could sneak in close without being noticed---too close to be struck by Spanish cannon.  If recognized, a Buccaneer marksman, a superb shot from his experience hunting in the jungles, would seat himself at the bow of the pinnace and fire his musket at the Spanish steersmen, while the rest of the robbers fired away at anyone who looked out the portholes.  If there was more than one pinnace involved in the raid, the second boat might ram against the rudder of the Spanish vessel.

            With the Spanish ship unable to steer, the Buccaneers would swarm aboard and slash a path to the captain of the vessel.  Not only was defeating Spanish leadership an easy way to end a battle, but live Spanish officers might even be ransomed if other booty  was scarce.  Unless seasoned Spanish soldiers were aboard, Spanish sailors were scarcely a match for the Buccaneers who were hardened by their rugged life in the wilderness, where only the strongest had survived.  

            With this tactic, a pinnace carrying a chase party of a dozen or so men could capture a vessel many times their size.  Retaliation by the Spanish was often impossible since these small craft could maneuver across the patchwork of reefs surrounding the Windward Passage, through which bulkier Spanish warships could not follow. 

            These raids served as the early prototypes that defined the future of the Buccaneer’s highly effective tactics: close in swiftly, board, clash in hand to hand combat, take  the spoils, and then disappear into the hidden mountain harbors beyond the reefs.        

            The leader of the chase party was elected by the volunteers of the party.  His only job was to force the men to fight bravely and to the death, if necessary.  For this crucial duty their elected captain was given extra shares of the cache, which was otherwise divided equally.  Most of the time the chase parties captured small merchant ships, even fishing vessels and the inventory might be minor or very little, except whatever coins, trinkets, small arms, navigational equipment, gunpowder, etc, that might be found aboard.  Yet there were many things that the Spanish transported that suited the Buccaneers well enough, and they were ideally poised, for they lived on the coastlines near one of Spain’s greatest arteries of wealth.  The Windward Passage.

Next Week: Spices, Silks and Slaves: The Allure of Piracy, Part I

For much more on the subject, you can also read my historical novel, The Brethren Prince, available as an e-book at the Amazon Kindle store, Apple iBooks, Barnes and Noble, and other major e-book retailers.