Jean L’Escuyer

Jean L’Escuyer[1] (fl. 1685) was a French pirate active on the Pacific coast of Central America. He sailed and fought alongside a number of prominent buccaneers such as Edward Davis, Francois Grogniet, William Dampier, and others.

History

L’Escuyer 11-gun vessel[2] sailed alongside Francois Groginet in 1685 when they led a large contingent of flibustiers (French buccaneers) and a few English to join a growing group of Englishmen under Captains Charles Swan, Townley, Davis, and more.[3] The Frenchmen had mostly arrived in canoes and open boats after marching across Panama, and so Davis granted them the captured Spanish prize ship San Rosario, which ended up with over 300 Frenchmen aboard.[4]

There are varying accounts of L’Escuyer’s involvement in subsequent events. The account of Raveneau de Lussan, leader of another group of French flibustiers who joined the group a few months later, indicates that L’Escuyer’s crew “had recently lost their captain” and that the San Rosario was under the sole command of Grogniet. This would place L’Escuyer’s death in mid-1685.[5]

Other accounts claim that L’Escuyer was part of the French contingent from that point forward, participating in the blockade of Panama, the group’s failure to capture the Spanish treasure fleet, and their sack of Guayaquil. He was also with them when the Spanish burned their ships at Quibo, as well as their subsequent attacks on Nicaragua alongside Townley. Whether L’Escuyer stayed with Grogniet or left with other Frenchmen who followed Pierre le Picard is not recorded.[6]

See also

  • Mathurin Desmarestz, a French buccaneer who survived the same campaign as L’Escuyer and went on to have a pirate career of his own.

References

  1. ↑ Last name also Lescuier, Lescuyer, Lequie, L'Escayer, or L'Escuier.
  2. ↑ Little, Benerson (2007). The Buccaneer's Realm: Pirate Life on the Spanish Main, 1674-1688. Dulles VA: Potomac Books, Inc. ISBN 9781612343617. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  3. ↑ Exquemelin, Alexandre Olivier; Powell, Henry; Ringrose, Basil (1911). The Buccaneers of America. g. Allen, Limited. p. xxv. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  4. ↑ Burney, James (1891). History of the Buccaneers of America. London: Swan Sonnenschein. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  5. ↑ Marley, David (2010). Pirates of the Americas. Santa Barbara CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 205. ISBN 9781598842012. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  6. ↑ Gosse, Philip (1924). The Pirates' Who's Who by Philip Gosse. New York: Burt Franklin. Retrieved 23 June 2017.


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