In 1680, buccaneers ally themselves with the Kuna. Their enemy is the same, but their goals differ. The Kuna wish to rescue their leader’s granddaughter, a captive of the Spanish, and the buccaneers seek Spanish treasure. If successful, each pirate may acquire 12,000 pieces of eight. Quite a sum compared to the annual wages of a common laborer on a plantation, 100 pieces of eight per annum. Two impediments block their achievement of this fantastic goal: more soldiers than buccaneers and an impermeable jungle that is totally unknown to them. This is why they seek assistance from the Kuna.

One of the buccaneers records the meeting between Andreas, head of the Kuna, and the pirates. His name is Basil Ringrose, a navigator, a mathematician, and a first-time gentleman of fortune. Six others also write of their exploits: Lionel Wafer (surgeon and Ringrose’s friend), Bartholomew Sharp (veteran buccaneer adept at ferreting out prizes and devising tactical plans), John Cox (who has misgivings about the raid), William Dampier (naturalist), Edward Povey, and William Dick. Born to Be Hanged recounts their adventure from the onset of this raid through the end of their adventure together.* Some buccaneers die, some live, and some give up before they ever reach their destination. In addition to the scriveners, readers meet other men, such as Richard Sawkins, who escapes from Port Royal’s jail to join the expedition; Peter Harris, another veteran who loses a limb in the expedition; and John Watling, a religious man who tosses gambling dice into the ocean.

Interlaced throughout this journey are captains ousted because of no-confidence votes, a Spaniard who testifies in favor of the buccaneers, a bloody sea battle pitting thirty-six gentlemen of fortune against three Spanish warships, raids on other Spanish settlements, scurvy, a sea serpent, sabotage, irreconcilable differences, an accident that alters Wafer’s life, the capture of treasure more valuable than gold, and arrest warrants for several buccaneers upon their return to England. Maps, illustrations, a bibliography, endnotes, and an index enhance the text and make the information easily accessible. Readers also discover what happened to these men after the expedition ends.

Those familiar with pirate history know of Henry Morgan’s raid on Panama, but this attack is relatively unfamiliar. Relying on historical archives and the seven accounts of this expedition, Thomson adeptly weaves together details that make for a most intriguing 17th-century journey fraught with untold danger and intrepid courage. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the Buccaneering Era and a worthy addition to any pirate collection.

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