More than one adventure novel has been written about corsairs, pirates, filibusters, buccaneers and other "gentlemen of fortune" and more than one film has been shot. Shrouded in a halo of romance, these charismatic sea robbers often become role models, because many of them supposedly joined the pirates not at the call of the heart, but because of circumstances.
However, in real life, everything did not look so attractive. The annals of history, from time immemorial, are filled with bloody pages of murders, extortions and robberies, which were repaired by pirates. Amaro Pargo, Olivier Levasser, Henry Morgan and many others gained dubious fame, terrifying seafarers and coastal cities.
Ancient craft
Robbery appeared at the dawn of civilization along with the development of trade. Merchant ships, loaded with expensive goods, but poorly armed, became easy prey for pirates. The first written records of sea robbers date back to the time of the Egyptian pharaohs.
In ancient times, pirates freely plowed the expanses of the Adriatic, Aegean and Mediterranean Seas. Ancient Greek policies fought periodically with their dominance, but it did not bring tangible results. Pirates continued to rob merchant ships, and sell passengers and crew into slavery.
Later, the Roman Empire was able to effectively resist sea robbery. Pompey in the I century BC, collecting 500 ships and an army of 120 thousand people, within three months cleared the Mediterranean of pirates. Only with the fall of Rome in the 5th century AD in this region, sea robbery began to revive again.
The Age of Geographical Discoveries
By the end of the Middle Ages, Europeans had made great strides in shipbuilding and navigation. The Spaniards and the Portuguese learned how to build caravels - spacious, fast and light ships, capable of sailing against the wind.
The development of cartography, along with the use of a compass, now allowed swimming in the open sea, and the hypothesis of the sphericity of the Earth gave hope to reach the rich East, heading west. All this prepared the Great geographical discoveries.
For two hundred years, starting in the second half of the XV century. and ending in the middle of the 17th century, European explorers explored previously unknown oceans, seas, continents and islands. On the one hand, geographical discoveries were a step forward, but, on the other, they gave impetus to colonial conquests and an unprecedented surge in sea robbery.
It was this era that prepared the conditions for the appearance of pirates, whose names are still not forgotten. Especially if they are associated with the search for looted treasures. For example, the cryptogram of Levasser, the leader of the cutthroats who worked first in the Caribbean and then in the Indian Ocean, remains unsolved today.
Legal piracy
At first glance, it may seem surprising that the European monarchies themselves to a certain extent caused unprecedented activity of pirates, who subsequently persistently fought. However, this is so.
Holland, Portugal, Great Britain, Spain and France in the XVI-XVII centuries. competed because of new colonies and superiority in world trade. The stakes in such a struggle were very high, so the states involved in it neglected scrupulousness when it came to choosing funds.
Thus privateering appeared - legalized piracy. At first, the government granted patents for the robbery of enemy merchant ships only for the period of hostilities. However, the mouth-watering privateers were in no hurry to leave a relatively easy way to make money after they ended.
According to some reports, the aforementioned Olivier Levasser began his career as a privateer, robbing Spanish ships in the Atlantic Ocean on behalf of the French government. True, soon he, like many of his comrades in the profession, chose to "work" for himself.
Caribbean Piracy
Robbery played an important role in the colonization of America and the process of the initial accumulation of capital in Western Europe. The vast majority of pirates and privateers were Dutch, French, Spanish, English, and Portuguese.
In the middle of the XVII century. the period began, called by historians the Golden Age of sea robbery. It lasted about 80 years, and the main arena of pirate activity at that time was the Caribbean, where ships carrying gold, tobacco, silver, indigo, sugar and other goods cruised.
Towards the end of the same century, when the colonial states finally divided the spheres of influence, they began to jointly eradicate sea robbery in the Caribbean. For this reason, many pirates, including Olivier Levasser, moved to other parts of the globe to continue their illegal fishing without interference.
A man without a past
Reliable information about the origin of Levasser did not survive. Some researchers believe that he belonged to the same family as Paul Levasser, another French pirate from Calais. However, there is no documentary evidence for this hypothesis.
There is also an assumption that Olivier hails from Tortuga - an island in the Caribbean, where Francois Levasser was the governor in the 40s of the 17th century. If so, then he belonged to a noble family from Conyer (Department of Maine).
The same applies to the year of birth of Olivier Levassoire. The exact date is unknown to us. Most likely, he was born between 1680 and 1690. The only source dating back to the time when Olivier Levasser traded in the Caribbean and then in the Indian Ocean is the “History of the Most Famous Pirates” by Charles Johnson, released in 1720.
Forced migration
During the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1714), the government of Louis XIV generously granted patents to privateers who robbed ships in the Atlantic Ocean. However, after its end, France joined the coalition of European powers created to eradicate piracy in the region.
It is known that in 1716, Levasser, nicknamed La Buz, commanded a crew of 70 sea robbers. Cruising in the Caribbean, they successfully plundered Dutch, Spanish and English ships bound for Europe or America.
Around the same time, a meeting of pirate leaders took place in the Bahamas, where the majority spoke in favor of moving to more peaceful places, as the campaign against sea robbery was gaining momentum. Among those who decided to migrate was the pirate Olivier Levasser.
In the waters of the Indian Ocean
West Africa became the place where he hunted by robbery in 1718-1719. along with captains Koklin and Davis. Having robbed at least 15 ships at the mouth of the Sierra Leone River, they parted. This time the French pirate went with his crew to the Indian Ocean through the Cape of Good Hope.
In the summer of 1720, near one of the Comoros, the ship of Levasser wrecked. His team was picked up by England and Taylor - the captains of two pirate ships. Soon, England was deposed and landed on the island of Mauritius, and Levasser was elected in his place.
Together with Taylor, they captured first two Arab ships, and then the cargo of an English squadron owned by the East India Company. The prey was great, and the pirates profitably sold it to the Dutch merchants in the Indian city of Cochin. From there, they again turned towards Mauritius.
Fabulous Trophy
Replenishing supplies and repairing ships, Taylor and Levasser headed for Madagascar. On their way lay the island of Reunion, which at that time was called Bourbon. Pirates approached him on April 8, 1721 and found a Portuguese ship, battered by a storm, on a raid.
Information about subsequent events can be found in the archives of various European countries, because the production captured by a gang of sea robbers is considered one of the largest in the history of piracy.
On board the Portuguese flagship was the Archbishop and Viceroy of Goa, but most importantly - mountains of diamonds, jewelry, expensive fabrics, furniture, silver and gold ingots, dishes, objects of worship, money, etc. According to historians, the cost of only diamonds at today's exchange rate ranges from 3 to 4 million dollars.
Dilemma
The division of production took place in Madagascar. Each received 42 diamonds and 4 thousand pounds. At the beginning of the XVIII century - it was an unprecedented wealth, allowing you to live comfortably in Europe.
Nevertheless, the pirates did not even think of leaving profitable fishing. It is known that in 1722 they robbed an Arab ship traveling with goods from China, after which they moved from Madagascar to Delagoa Bay (East Africa). The local Dutch garrison not only did not resist the sea robbers, but also joined their ranks in full force.
It took pirates several months to fix the ships and decide what to do next: return to the Caribbean or stay in the Indian Ocean. In the end, Taylor sailed to the West Indies, and Levasser, with a crew of 250 people, continued to rob merchant ships off the coast of East Africa, while his ship, stranded, wrecked. Since that time, Levasser settled in Madagascar.
End of career
The island of Reunion in 1642 became a French colony. It is only 700 km from Madagascar. In 1724, the governor of the island promised Levasser and his gang an amnesty if they break with piracy and move to Reunion. Wishing to find a little. Most, including La Buza, refused.
Over the next six years, they continued to hunt in the Indian Ocean, making their base the small island of Sainte-Marie. In 1730, the captain of the French ship Medusa tricked Levasser into captivity and delivered him in shackles to Reunion. Here the pirate appeared before the court, which sentenced him to hanging.
It was rumored that one of the members of the Council governing the island was particularly active in promoting the capture and execution of La Buza, as he intended to take possession of his wealth. If true, he was most likely puzzled by what happened next.
The secret of the treasure
The execution took place in July 1730 on the main square of Saint-Paul, which at that time was the administrative center of the island. Before climbing the scaffold, the pirate threw a scrap of paper into the crowd of spectators, saying that his treasures would go to someone who could decrypt the notes.
Skeptics consider this story a legend. However, a cryptogram does exist. And now, for about three centuries, the treasures of Olivier Levasser continue to excite the minds of treasure hunters from different countries. They can be understood, given the size of the booty captured by the pirates from the Portuguese in 1721. But this was only one of the episodes in the career of La Buza.
Be that as it may, the treasure of Olivier Levassoire continues to be sought today in the islands of the Indian Ocean, located not far from Madagascar. True, so far no one has been able to correctly decrypt the cryptogram of the cunning pirate. Consequently, it’s too early to put an end to the history of La Buza's treasures.