David Marteen

Dutch Pirate

Born: Unknown	Died: Unknown

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Captain David Marteen was one of the many pirates who attempted to make their fortunes by raiding the Spanish settlements of Mexico and Nicaragua during the years of 1663 to 1665. Although raids against the Spanish were prohibited under British law, he agreed to join Sir Henry Morgan's expedition and soon set sail from Port Royal along with John Morris and Captain's Jackman and Freeman under letters of marque issued by the previous governor, Thomas Modyford. Once in Mexico, the pirates anchored their ships at the mouth of the Grijalva River and marched 50 miles inland to Villahermosa, the capital of the Tabasco Province. Although the raiders had taken the garrison by complete surprise, when they returned to the coast they discovered that their ships had been overtaken by Spaniards in their absence.  The men stole 6 small boats and made their way south, to Trujillo, Honduras, where they seized a ship at anchor, proceeded to the mouth of the San Juan river where they hid their ships, then using the small boats they had captured, rowed nearly 100 miles up-river on Lake Nicaragua to Granada. The raid on the remote city of Granada was highly lucrative, motivating the raiders to think about quitting while they were ahead (and still alive).  The Pirates decided it was time to return to Port Royal, Jamaica, arriving there in 1665. This was an unparalleled voyage, consisting of several thousand miles, reaching far inland, and the siege of three New World towns of high importance. Although Marteen later served as a pirate hunter under Modyford during the next year, nothing more is known of his activities after this time.

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