Sir Henry Morgan was a buccaneer, but also known as a hero in Jamaica. From the beginning, Jamaica paid his way through all of his raids and attacks against different Spanish towns. After a while, his success started to aggravate the Spanish. Spain then created a treaty with the British and said that there would be no more raids on them. However, Sir Henry Morgan was never one for the rules. He did what he want when he wanted and how he wanted.
The buccaneers started to run out of money from their other voyages, so Sir Morgan led them on the Panama expedition. On January 28, 1671, Morgan reached Panama and secured the high ground early. With a devastating loss for Spain, they rushed off with what remaining fortunes they had and attempted to burn the city down to ensure that Morgan would not be able to occupy them. Spain was very successful in their attempts, but Morgan and his men still celebrated their win. They had only lost 15 men in the action, and even though the city had been burned down, they were able to find hidden money by the end of February and were able to head home. They brought home 175 mules loaded with silver and 600 prisoners. When they divided their winnings between them all, Morgan's men were very unhappy with him. Suspecting him of cheating them out of what they earned.
To some of his men he was cruel, but when he made it home to Jamaica he was praised. That praise was short lived as news traveled to Spain. The Spanish said that his attack on Panama violated their peace treaty. However, his only real punishment after all he did was to live in England under house arrest for two years where he was still free to do what he liked.
After all the death and destruction he left behind, two years of house arrest seems like a light sentence, do you agree?
http://todayinbritishhistory.com/2014/01/henry-morgan-sack-of-panama-city-28-january-1671/
Cordingly, David. "Sir Henry Morgan." Under The Black Flag. New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2006. Print.
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