26

pended. The reputed riches of the New World;,d the w
spaces of open sea which its discovery made kno'
thither maritime adventurers from the oats cfL Europ<-.
of degraded character and boundless daring, finding it dific
to procure a subsistenwe by piracy and outraband trade
their old eastern haunts, now, from the newly-awakened sphi
of maritime enterprise, fr-quented, it' not scoured, by the ve
sels of England, llAland, and France, hurried away with fr
hopes into the western ocean, and swarmed wherever plunde
seemed likely to reward their reckl:.s hardihood.
 Of these, known in history as the bLuceanc-cr, a party to
 possession (1630) of the isle of Tortuga, which lies off
 northwest of Hayti. With this as a centre of operation, the
 carried on ceaseless depredations against Hayti, the coars ol
 which they disturbed and plundvrcd, putting an end to itM
 trade, and occupying iLt capital. The court of Madrid, bei
 roused in self-defence, .s.-nt a fl-r to Tjrtuga, -who, taking po,.
 session of the island. destroyed whatever of the buccaneers they
 could find; but the bU-cess ouly madl- the pirates more wary
 and more enterpris;ng. When th.- dflct had quitted Tortuga,
 they again, in 1038, made themselves masters there, and, aflet
 fortifying the island and establishing a sort of constitution. made:
 it a centre of piratial rc-.'ur,-c. and angr,.-i.,n., whencel they
 at their pleasure sallied r'lhr to plurhl r and de-tr..v ahlip4 oufall
 nations, wreaking their % Ine.-s.u .: I-nIflth on '-uh as caine frlom
 Spain. In time, howine.r, thi.:-e <ursairs met with due punish-2
ment at the hands of c('ilized nations.
 A remnant of the buccaucers, of Fronm h extra-.tion, .effe.ted
a settlement on the southwestern Ahorre of Iayti, the possesson
of which they succes-fiully maintained against Spain, the then
recognized mistress of the island. In their new posses.siion they
applied to the tillage of the land ; but, bc-roming aware 1If the
ditliE ulty of maintaining their hold without as-i-tanei., the.y ap-
plied to France. TIr-ir claim wa. heard. In Ld1,, )Dageron
was sent to Hayti, with authority to take its government into
his haids, and accordingly effected there, in JlijJ5, a regularly