Читать книгу The Life of Sir Henry Morgan. With an account of the English settlement of the island of Jamaica онлайн

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Early in the year the governor, alarmed by persistent and very circumstantial reports of formidable preparations being made in Cuba for an invasion of the island, having obtained the advice and consent of the Council, issued a special commission to Colonel Henry Morgan commanding him "to draw together the English privateers and take prisoners of the Spanish nation, whereby you may gain information of that enemy to attack Jamaica, of which I have had frequent and strong advice".[133]

Morgan's military title seems to have been conferred upon him by a previous commission appointing him to the command of the militia regiment of Port Royal, in which he had held the rank of captain. In fact, Beeston's Journal at this time refers to him as General Morgan. He was thirty-three years of age, and must have acquired considerable reputation and local influence to justify such a mark of confidence. This commission has not been found but it is said to have restricted such hostilities to Spanish ships at sea.