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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Modyford found himself in a very embarrassing situation. The defence of Jamaica had been left to its own resources by the removal of the ships of the royal navy and the disbandment of the army. Those resources were mainly controlled by the privateers. He was absolutely powerless, and probably had little desire to punish the recent offenders, foremost among them being the nephew of the late lieutenant-governor and Sir Thomas Morgan, a friend of the powerful Duke of Albemarle.

He continued his fruitless efforts to restrain private ships of war from further hostilities against the Spaniards, which a knowledge of these successful raids had probably greatly stimulated as they had revealed at once the great wealth and the weakness of those provinces. Learning in November, after Colonel Cary had returned, that a raid was being planned upon Cuba, he directed Colonel Beeston to go with three or four privateers then in Port Royal in search of several others, with instructions to dissuade them from this project and induce them to attack the Dutch instead. After seeking for a squadron of privateers without success for several weeks, Beeston returned without having accomplished his mission. In his journal he stated that "this parcell of ships and privateers were commanded by Mansell, [Mansfield] and he cared for dealing with no enemy but the Spaniards, nor would go against Curacao, neither were any of them taken notice of for plundering the Spaniards, it being what was desired by the generality, as well the government as privateers."