[MUSIC PLAYING] When you hear the
name, "Captain Morgan," you may think of spiced rum
fueling loud conversations at a sweaty college party. But while there were plenty of
pirates whose reputations were built on boozing it
up with bar wenches, the real Captain Morgan
was not one of them. While "Sir Henry
Morgan" might not sound like the name of one of
the most terrifying pirates in history, the man propelled
himself to fame and riches by ruthlessly
terrorizing his enemies and seizing a fortune in
gold from the Spanish. Today, we're going to take a
look at how the real Captain Morgan was way cooler than
the rum named after him. But before we get started, be
sure to subscribe to the Weird History Channel, and let us
know in the comments below what other pirate-related topics
you would like to hear about. OK, we got a little
Captain here for you. So if there's one thing that's
clear from the advertising for Captain Morgan's rum,
it's that Captain Morgan was a pirate, except he wasn't. Technically, the real
Morgan was a privateer, licensed by the
British government to attack the Spanish any time
the two countries were at war, which, much to his good fortune,
was pretty much all the time in the 1600s. When Captain Morgan
did things like raid the fortified Spanish town
of Porto Bello in 1668, it was completely legal. That being said, Morgan could
be as dastardly as any pirate. When he took Porto
Bello, he defeated the town's numerous guards
by using their Catholic faith against them. The captain anchored his ships
far away to conceal his attack and struck at night by canoe. Two of the three Spanish
forts quickly fell, but to take the
third, Morgan had to use captured nuns
as human shields. The real captain was not so
easygoing as rum Captain. But his nun shield paid off. The captain took the city
and a handsome pile of gold for his trouble. Capturing Porto Bello
was only the first step. Captain Morgan knew the Spanish
would pay pretty much anything to get the port back, since
all the gold and silver from Peru passed through Porto
Bello on the way to Spain. That being the case, he sent a
ransom note for the entire city to the governor of Panama. He demanded 100,000
pieces of eight, which was the Spanish
coin-based currency of the time. If he got all his
money, he would return the port and its inhabitants. If he didn't, he'd burn
the place to the ground. Spicy. Then, in what has to rank
among the cockiest things anyone has ever done, Morgan
sent the governor a pistol, along with a message
that it was so easy to take the city that
he would return in a year and do it again to
get his pistol back. The frightened governor
paid the entire ransom. News of Captain Morgan's
success in Porto Bello spread, and the fame helped him
recruit even more followers. Morgan was known to reward
his men for their service, and he was often even more
generous than the Royal Navy. In 1670, as he planned
his assault on Panama, Morgan drew up what
was essentially a contract with his followers. The captains of each ship
would receive a hefty share of the treasure, while
every man was covered by disability
compensation, in case they were harmed during the raid. The pirates could even get a
bonus of 50 pieces of eight for bravery. Most amazing of all,
Morgan only claimed 1% of the profits for himself,
sharing the rest with his men. However, that generosity ended
when it came to prisoners. Captain Morgan had no chill
when it came to using violence. If he needed information
out of a prisoner, Morgan would happily
strap a leather cord around the person's head and
tighten it with a metal bar until his eyeballs popped out. Like all clever
pirates, Captain Morgan was adept at taking advantage of
enemies who underestimated him. In 1669, Morgan
sailed seven ships to the Venezuelan
port of Maracaibo. Although they outnumbered
the Spaniards, the Spanish flagship
had more firepower than Morgan's entire fleet. But Captain Morgan still
sent a demand for surrender to Don Alonso del
Campo y Espinosa, who led the Spaniards. Espinosa refused, a choice
he would soon regret. Morgan ordered his men to
pack one of their seven ships with explosives and aim
it toward the Spaniards. Espinosa learned of the
plan from an informant, but he dismissed
the tip, because he felt the Pirates lacked the wit
for such an advanced tactic. Captain Morgan sent
12 men on the ship, which was disguised
with wooden guns and packed with explosives. At the last minute, those
men lit the ship on fire and aimed directly at
the Spanish flagship. Fire quickly spread
in the Spanish ships, and the pirates
easily took Maracaibo, earning 250,000 pieces
of eight in ransom money. Captain Morgan was one of the
most successful privateers in history, and because
his devilish raids were so profitable, men
were lining up to join him. By the raid on
Porto Bello in 1668, the captain already
had 500 followers. The next year, that
number had risen to 650. And after taking the
250,000 pieces of eight, Morgan had even more men
eager to sail with him. After Maracaibo, Morgan
called for recruits. A stunning 2,000
men and 37 ships answered that call at
Tortuga on October 24, 1670. Everyone was eager to hear
Captain Morgan's next target, and it was going to be a doozy. After successful raids in
Porto Bello and Maracaibo, Captain Morgan chose
a new target, Panama, which happened to be the second
largest city in the new world. But taking Panama
wouldn't be easy. This would be the biggest
city Captain Morgan had ever attempted to take,
and he was leading a much larger force
of men than in his previous successful raids. Moreover, Panama was on the
Pacific side of the isthmus, so Morgan would have
to lead about 1,000 men through the jungle before they
could take the fortified city. Despite danger and difficulty,
in January of 1671, Captain Morgan reached
the gates of Panama. He prepared for an
assault on the city against the president
of Panama, who led 1,200 men and a cavalry of 400. The assault on Panama
began on January 28, 1671. Captain Morgan's enemies
had more men, more mounted fighters, and some
oxen they planned to stampede toward the
pirates, but in the end, it didn't matter. The Spanish cavalry was no
match for Captain Morgan's sharpshooters, and when the
Spanish infantry charged, Morgan quickly repelled them and
turned the battle into a rout. Not even the oxen
phase the pirates. Most of the cattle simply ran
away from the noisy battle, while the few that made
it to the enemy side were easily killed. Sorry, oxen. Far from an offensive
weapon, the oxen turned out to be more of a gift. Morgan's men were
starving after crossing through the jungles of
Panama, and they used the oxen for a victory barbecue. At the end of the
day, 500 Spaniards were gone, while Morgan
only lost 15 of his men. Eventually, Captain
Morgan became the leader of a group
of pirates called the Brethren of the
Coast, and they completely dominated the Caribbean. The Brethren sprang
up around 1618 during the Thirty Years' War. The Spanish were using their
colonies in the Caribbean to fund the war effort,
so the Dutch and English encouraged private captains
to attack Spanish ships. By the time that Captain
Morgan led the Brethren, they had bases all
across the Caribbean in places like Port Royal,
Nassau, and Tortuga. The Brethren raided
Spanish ships, halted the flow of gold
and silver to Spain, and got filthy rich
in the process. During their decades of
dominating the Caribbean, the Brethren would also help
develop the pirate code. These rules would define
pirate life for centuries, but more importantly, they would
eventually play a central role in the plot of Disney's Pirates
of the Caribbean movies. The code. As set forth by Morgan
and Bartholomew. Captain Morgan was
a privateer, which meant he had official
sanction from the English to raid the Spanish
during times of war. When the two nations
were at peace, Morgan was to stand down,
which he did not do. In fact, during his
most infamous attack when Morgan took
Panama, the Spanish had already signed a
peace treaty with England. So officially speaking,
Captain Morgan was an illegal pirate
committing war crimes. And, indeed, when Captain
Morgan returned to Jamaica after taking Panama, the
governor arrested him, and Morgan was sent to
England to stand trial. But Morgan was treated like
a celebrity back in England, and even though the
Spanish were furious, King Charles II knighted
Captain Morgan in 1674. The Captain eventually
returned to Jamaica, where he served as acting
governor for several years. For Morgan, crime does pay. There's something you
must know before that. Here, everybody
takes orders from me. Captain Morgan's
reputation was so powerful that he is considered one of the
greatest privateers in history. In 1922, Rafael Sabatini even
based his famous Captain Blood on Captain Morgan's life. But Morgan only spent part
of his life as a privateer. After the successful
raid on Panama, he retired and devoted the
rest of his life to Jamaica. By then, Morgan had
used much of his wealth to buy up land on
the island, and he served as lieutenant
governor and acting governor over the island
until his death in 1688. He was so loved by
the English that he was given a state funeral. So now, the big question-- how
did Captain Henry Morgan become associated with one of the
most popular brands of spirits in the United States? Well, the Seagram company
began using his name in 1944, though Captain Morgan Original
Spiced Rum didn't reach the United States until 1984. Since then, it has become
a quintessential brand, especially among college
students and the spring break crowd. Still, it's kind of
odd that Henry Morgan became the inspiration
for Captain Morgan's rum. He was a profound military
strategist and planner who was extremely loyal to the
King of England and to Jamaica, and he used his years of
piracy to propel himself into the richest
classes of society. Later in life, he also
established himself as a politician and
proponent of peaceful trade, leaving behind piracy for life
as a rich, respected landowner. Mm, Captain Morgan--
enjoy the contradiction. Captain. Captain. Captain. Captain. Captain. Captain. Captain. Captain. Captain. Captain. Captain. Captain. So what do you think? What's the better
Captain Morgan-- the rum or the man? Let us know in the comments
below, and while you're at it, check out some of these other
videos from our Weird History.
