Henry Morgan the Privateer

Henry Morgan was an admiral of the Royal Navy In his time, commissioned, but most found him crazy Such that the Spanish called him a pirate rebellious Whilst he considered himself with the truth not hazy He took Campeche in 1663 as a captain And attacked Spanish ships off Mexico’s main Whilst disobeying his boss, Thomas Modyford But not one of his crew did ever complain Modyford came onto Morgan’s side in righteousness Told Charles II where to go, called him piousness And so Morgan became somebody in Jamaica in dignity Irrespective of the king’s warnings against his faithlessness Mansvelt then helped Morgan attack another settlement Then he headed for Spain, to Providence for the instalment But the buccaneers could not run the town effectively So Spain retook it, and Modyford reproved their impeachment Morgan then imprisoned many Spaniards without question Wearing bright, dazzling silk, gold and jewels for adulation So people talked about him and his reputation won him The best pirates in the land, only those with a commendation The Spanish were threatening to attack Jamaica grand So he took his men to sack Puerto Principe on the Island But as they were short of food and water most precious They left Havana and had things stolen out of their hand He took Portobello, which sent a strong message around And then attacked the Spanish main, they were bound But had a drinking accident that night, so became depleted And put the French against him, this Englishman so found But some French men who were his prisoners knew a town, Maracaibo, which he did raid, albeit difficultly and with a frown; He succeeded, but by a fire bomb plan and by faking an attack, Which Modyford disapproved of, but no punishment was thrown. Spain then took their chance when Morgan’s fleet was small, But Morgan became the chief of Jamaica’s ships, its haul, And so he regained his status as a pirateer, not a pirate, To head for an assault on Panama, the Caribbean coast tall. But since Spain had a Panama treaty with the land of England, Morgan was stopped by the English for being a rough hand, But he just claimed ignorance of this statute, legislation, And became the governor of Jamaica, and did stalwartly stand. However, in old age he was replaced by Thomas Lynch, a rival, Because he was unhappy with British links to Jamaica, convivial, And so gained an horrific amount of weight, did slip and regress, And undid his reputation, replacing it for drunkenness trivial.