Sir Henry Morgan was a man of contradiction. On one side of the coin, he was an Admiral for the prestigious British Royal Navy and a feared privateer. On the other side of the coin, he was a pirate – one of the most notorious of his time. There’s no question which side of him is more known, as his legend grew as Captain Morgan – feared and ruthless pirate.

As we look back at the history of Captain Morgan, it makes sense to do a little bit of self reflection. Nowadays it is very easy to become overambitious. You feel that you are smarter than your boss, so you hate him/her. You think you deserve more and feel entitled and you lose patience. Sir Henry Morgan often made the most with what he had when it came to his ship and crew. His rise was the result of him being able to do a lot with very little. Thus, to the victor go the spoils – which can be said of loot and of a following.

Make the most of your situation and when your opportunity approaches, and it will, you will be more than capable of rising to the occasion. Rather than having people feeling like you’re just trying to throw them overboard, they’ll feel confident with you steering the ship.

Background on Sir Henry Morgan

In order to understand his legend better, it’s important to know him as a person. He was born to a family of power and soldiers, as his father descended from a cadet branch of the “Tredegar Morgans”. Henry had two uncles, his father’s brothers. There’s Major-General Sir Thomas Morgan who served for the Commonwealth during the English civil war before he became the Governor of Gloucester.

His other uncle, Edward Morgan, was the Lieutenant-Governor of Jamaica. He later on became his father in law, as Henry married his uncle Edward’s daughter, Mary.

The Rise of Captain Morgan

There are reports that Henry was the “Captain Morgan” who joined the Christopher Myngs fleet in 1663. He was with the expedition of John Morris when they captured the Spanish settlements of Granada, Trujillo, and Vildemos.

His first chance to command a ship came in the late 1665 when he was tasked to command a ship in the expedition of Edward Mansfield. The fleet was able to capture the islands of Santa Catalina Island in Colombia and Providencia. Mansfield was later on captured, and Sir Henry Morgan was elected admiral by the privateers after Mansfield was executed.

The Tales and Legend

His legend started in 1667 when he had his first independent command of 10 ships with 500 men. The fleet landed on Puerto Principe and sacked the whole place. He received the full trust of Sir Thomas Modyford, who went against the word of the King of England. After his successful capture of Puerto Principe, Morgan was sent off by Modyford on another expedition to attack the Spaniards, and Morgan went on to ravage Cuba’s coast.

It was during this expedition that his fleet encountered troubles due to a heavy storm. They decided to ransack Puerto Principe, but residents were warned of their impending plunder and they were able to flee. They were only able to plunder fifty-thousand pieces of eight, not enough to cover for the debts that they put up in Jamaica.

The Attack on Porto Bello

His legend was established with his attack on Porto Bello. He was able to rouse up his men to continue with the attack even with the imposing forts, and they were able to capture the city even with the larger and more powerful Spanish fleet. Sir Henry Morgan was able to gather 200,000 pieces of eight of treasures and ransom money.

Other Attacks

Here are the other attacks led by Morgan:

• Cartagena Raid
• Maracaibo and Gibraltar Raids
• Panama attack

How Captain Morgan is Remembered Today

Here are the different ways that Sir Henry Morgan is remembered today:

• A brand of rum called the “Captain Morgan”
• “The Unsinkable Henry Morgan” documentary
• Songs like “Captain Morgan”, “Head of the Buccaneer”, and many more
• Hotels and resorts like the Captain Morgan’s Retreat and Vacation Club and  the Hotel Henry Morgan