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Edward Collier
English Buccaneer
Although nothing is known about his earlier career, Collier was an experienced captain when he took part in Sir Henry Morgan’s expeditions. Many witnesses, both English and Spanish, claimed he tortured prisoners even more cruelly than Morgan and the other Buccaneer captains.
Collier commanded a pirate vessel during Morgan’s 1668 raid on Portobelo. At the end of 1668, the 34gun Oxford was sent to defend Jamaica and to put down piracy. The island’s governor gave Collier command, when her previous captain killed the ship’s master during a quarrel. Collier captured Captain la Veven, a French pirate, whose ship was seized and renamed the Satisfaction.
Soon after, Collier joined Morgan, who was gathering the Buccaneers for his raid on Maracaibo and Gibraltar, Venezuela. The drunken pirates blew up the Oxford in January 1669, but Morgan and Collier were among the lucky survivors. Following this disaster, Collier went off on his own, taking the Satisfaction on an 18-month independent cruise to Mexico and possibly to Cuba.
In September 1670, Collier enlisted in Morgan’s Panama expedition and was named “vice-admiral.” While the pirates were gathering off southwestern Haiti, Collier took six ships to Venezuela to gather food and information. At Rio de la Hacha, he captured the fort and garrison and ferociously tortured his prisoners. He enjoyed his victims’ agonies too much for efficient interrogation, for he missed 200,000 pesos hidden by the fort’s commander. After extorting a ransom in salt, com, and meat, he rejoined Morgan’s main fleet early in December. When Morgan routed Panama’s defenders in January 1671, Collier commanded the Buccaneers’ left wing. He and his men chased after and slaughtered the fleeing enemy. After the Spaniards surrendered, Collier killed one of their chaplains, a Franciscan friar.
Collier took ample plunder during his voyages. In 1668, Jamaica’s governor
gave him a 1,000-acre plantation next to one of Morgan’s estates. Plantations of
this size were granted only to men with substantial funds to purchase slaves and
tools. Collier did not share Morgan’s disgrace after the assault on Panama.
Although a new governor arrested Morgan, Collier remained in Jamaica and led
preparations to defend the island against a possible foreign invasion. |
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