The last buccaneers in the South Sea, 1686-1695

In 1686, a small group of mainly French buccaneers left the Caribbean for the South Sea. Instead of crossing the Isthmus of Panama, they loaded supplies on the east coast of North America, crossed the Atlantic Ocean to Africa, and then headed for the Straits of Magellan. Until 1695, their exploits ranged from the Juan Fernandez Islands and the coasts of Chile in the south, to the shores of the Viceroyalty of Peru and the Galapagos Islands, and finally reached the northern limits of Spanish viceregal administration along the coasts of New Spain (Mexico), including the peninsula of Baja California. Part 1 of this book constructs a new diary of their activities in English, created from the original French journal in part signed by F.Massertie and several supplementary Spanish documents written in Mexico and Peru, which form Parts 2 and 3 of the work. They illustrate remarkable feats of navigation and endurance under the leadership of Captain Franco, their hardships and daring in combats, especially on the northern coasts of Mexico, the growing uncertainties that drove them to seek alternative spheres of action in the South Sea, and the sometimes brutal methods they used to achieve their aims of personal wealth. Yet, in some ways they contradicted typical Spanish perceptions of them, especially in Peru, offered critical descriptions of areas they visited, and as a result of their exploration in the Gulf of California expressed early doubts about common configurations of the Baja California as an island on maps of the period. As the age of buccaneering declined, their journal helped to inspire the new and profitable age of French commercial enterprise in the South Sea early in the 18th century.