Laurens de Graaf

Laurens Cornelis Boudewijn de Graaf (ca. 1653, Dordrecht, Dutch Republic – probably 24 May 1704, Cap-Français, Saint-Domingue [http://www.zuidhoeks-zeerovers.nl/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=29&Itemid=44 Laurens de Graaf at Zuidhoek's Zeerovers] ] ) alias "Laurencillo" & "El Griffe" (Spanish), "Sieur de Baldran alias de Graff" (French), or "Gesel van de West" (Dutch: "Scourge of the West"), was a Dutch pirate, mercenary, and naval officer in the service of the French colony of Saint-Domingue. Henry Morgan characterized him as 'a great and mischievous pirate', and was described as tall, blonde, mustached and handsome.

Early life

A description that can't help but be romanticized, to the point that there was some serious speculation that de Graff was actually a mulatto ("el Griffe" was apparently a common appellation for those of mixed African and white heritage ). It is alleged that he was enslaved by the Spanish when captured in what is now the Netherlands and shipped at some point to the Canary Islands to work on a plantation.

The French Historian Vassiere asserts that he married his first wife, (Francois) Petronilla de Guzman, in 1674 before moving on to the Caribbean. The Spanish Governor of St. Augustine, Florida confirms his marriage in a letter written to the King of Spain in 1682 by referring to him as a "stranger who was married in the Canaries".

According to the Governor of Saint Domingue, Sieur de Pouancay, De Graaf was born in Dordrecht, Holland and had been sailing "on the account" since approximately 1675 or 1676 as the captain of a French privateer crew.

Pirate career

At some point in the early 1670s he escaped the galley and turned pirate. His first, reported, action as a pirate captain is recorded on March 1672, when a band of pirates attacked Campeche, torching a partially built frigate and capturing the town. The pirates captured a fat merchant ship, with over 120,000 pesos in silver and cargo, the next day when it sailed unknowingly into the harbor. Though he was given credit for this raid the year of his marriage in the Canary Islands makes this event highly improbable.

He is next mentioned in the autumn of 1679 when he is reported to have captured a Spanish frigate of 24-28 guns which he named the "Tigre".

In 1682, de Graff had become so successful that, in an ironic turn, Henry Morgan, in his official capacity for Jamaica, sent the frigate "Norwich" under command of Peter Haywood, pirate hunting with de Graff as his primary quarry. It is not reported if he ever met with deGraff.

During a brief stop in Cuba around the same time, DeGraff was told of the Armada de Barlovento's plans to seek him out by an informant known only as Montiel. Rather than waiting for the Barlovento, a pirate hunting fleet, he set sail immediately in search of them. After a running gun battle that lasted hours, the "Princesa" struck her colors, having lost fifty men to de Graff's 8 or 9 (in an act of kindness, de Graff put the seriously wounded captain of the "Princesa" and his own surgeon ashore). The ship happened to be carrying the payroll for Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo, about 120,000 pesos in silver.

The prize shared out, the buccaneers retired to Petit Goave to celebrate and refit, making the "Princesa" de Graff's new flagship. His next foray was a trip to Cartagena in company with Michiel Andrieszoon. Finding little in the way of shipping, they departed for the Gulf of Honduras. Finding two empty galleons de Graff decided to wait for them to fill up with cargo before attacking. The buccaneers retired to Bonaco Island to careen. The plans were ruined when Nicholas van Hoorn attacked the ships and captured them empty. When Van Hoorn reached Bonaco Island and tried to join forces with de Graff, he was bluntly turned away, having ruined any potential de Graff had had for the Spanish galleons. He was later to relent and join forces for an attack on Vera Cruz.

The pirates arrived off Vera Cruz on May 17, 1683, leading with two captured Spanish ships to mislead the town. De Graff and Yankey Willems slipped ashore with a force of men and routing the Spanish militia from their sleep, proceeded to remove any defenses. Van Hoorn, marching overland, joined with de Graff and attacked the town proper. On the second day of plundering, the Spanish Plate fleet appeared on the horizon, composed of numerous warships. Retreating with hostages to the nearby island of Los Sacrificios, the pirates waited the ransoms. A brief quarrel between Van Hoorn and de Graff over the treatment of the hostages left Van Hoorn with a slash across the wrist, that would turn gangrenous and result in his death two weeks later. Finally, giving up on further plunder the pirates departed past the Spanish ships without hindrance.

In late December 1683, de Graff and a fleet of seven ships arrived off Cartagena, only to be confronted by a force of three large ships, the smallest being a 28 gun galliot. After a poorly commanded battle that left the Spanish "San Francisco" (40 guns) grounded and the other two ships captured. Laurens de Graff took the "San Francisco" as his new flagship, renamed as the "Fortune". The pirates then proceeded to blockade the town. January 1684 brought an English convoy that was carrying a note for de Graff from his wife offering a Spanish pardon and commission. De Graff ignored the note, not trusting the Spanish to keep their promises.

In summer and fall of 1684 de Graff remained in Petite Goave. He was again aboard vessel and sailing away in November 1684. After little or no success in raiding the shipping lanes, de Graff is next seen on Isla de Pinos presiding over a gathering of buccaneers.

Failing to reach any decision as to a target, de Graff departed, only to be sought out off the Mosquito Coast, for a raid on Campeche. After several months the pirates finally attacked on July 6, 1685. After a protracted battle, the Spaniards fled the town, leaving the pirates with a city devoid of plunder, due to the length of the battle and delay in actually attacking. After two months in the town, the pirates, failing to secure a ransom began to burn the town and execute the prisoners. De Graff stepped in and helped to stop the violence. The pirates departed Campeche in September 1685, carrying many prisoners for ransom.

The pirates having split up, de Graff is next mentioned fleeing from a superior fleet on September 11, 1685 off the Yucatan. After a day long battle with two larger Spanish ships de Graff was able to escape by dumping all cargo and cannons overboard to lighten his ship. In February 1686, the Spanish staged a raid on de Graff's plantation on French Saint Dominque. As retaliation de Graff staged a raid on Tihosuco, where the buccaneers looted and burned. Returning to Petite Goave de Graff wrecked his ship while pursuing a Spanish barque, the proceeded to take the barque with his ship's boat.

In 1687, de Graff was reported as a French officer by local authorities. He also engaged in a ship battle off southern Cuba with a Biscayan frigate and the Cuban guarda del costa, sinking several piraguas and taking a small ship as prize. He is next seen defending the harbor at Petite Goave from Cuban invaders. December of 1689 sees de Graff taking ships off Jamaica, where he proceeded to blockade the Jamaican coast for over six months before leaving. He then proceeded to the Cayman Islands where he captured an English sloop.

In January 1691 he attacked near Santo Domingo and was soundly defeated by a Spanish force three times the size of his French force, narrowly escaping with his life.

In March of 1693, deGraff met and married Marie Dieuleveult (a name which means "God Wills It"). The legend says that deGraff had insulted Marie who promptly slapped him for the disrespect. It might be inferred that the insult was an illegitimate child. According to Vaissiere, the two were married in 1693 and their daughter is recorded to be twelve years old by the year 1704.

The summer of 1693 saw him leading another force of buccaneers against Jamaica in several raids. The English responded in May 1695 by attacking Port-de-Paix, sacking the town and capturing de Graff's family

Disappearance

The last known whereabouts of Laurens de Graff were in the direction of Louisiana to help set up a French colony near Biloxi, Mississippi. Some sources claim he died there, others claim locations in Alabama.

References

* http://pirateshold.buccaneersoft.com/roster/laurens_de_graff.html
* http://geocities.com/trebutor/
* David F. Marley: Pirates and Privateers of the Americas
* Bibiano Torres Ramirez: La Armada de Barlovento
* Ritsema, Alex (2008): Pirates and Privateers from the Low Countries, Lulu.com, ISBN 978-1-4092-0171-7
* Calendar of State Papers, Colonial Series