Daniel Montbars (1645–1707?), better known as Montbars the Exterminator, was a 17th-century French

buccaneer Buccaneers were a kind of privateer or free sailors, and pirates particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from the Restoration in 1660 u ...

. For several years, he was known as one of the most violent buccaneers active against the Spanish during the mid-17th century. His reputation as a fierce enemy of the Spanish Empire was matched only by François l'Olonnais and Roche Braziliano.

Biography

Montbars was born to a wealthy family in Languedoc around 1645. He was well educated and raised as a gentleman. According to popular legend, Montbars' legendary hatred of the Spanish came from reading about the cruelties of the

Conquistadors Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

upon the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

,Greenburg, Harriet. ''St. Martin, St. Barts & Anguilla Alive!''. Edison, New Jersey: Hunter Publishing, 2003. (pg. 20) particularly a narrative describing atrocities carried out against the native Indians, written by Las Casas. Leaving his native France in 1667, he embarked at

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

to serve with his uncle in the Royal French Navy during the

War of Devolution The War of Devolution took place from May 1667 to May 1668. In the course of the war, Kingdom of France, France occupied large parts of the Spanish Netherlands and County of Burgundy, Franche-Comté, both then provinces of the Holy Roman Empire ...

against

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. He accompanied his uncle to the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

, where their ship was sunk and the uncle killed near

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in a battle with two Spanish warships. His uncle's death served to further his hatred of the Spaniards. Making his way to the pirate haven of Tortuga, he became a buccaneer captain soon afterwards. Montbars distinguished himself during an attack against a Spanish galleon, described by one account: He attacked the Spanish settlements on the coast of Mexico, Cuba and Puerto Rico. He also raided settlements in the Antilles and in

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, capturing Vera Cruz and Cartagena. Defending his act of vengeance against the Spaniards, he became known throughout the

Spanish Main During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the Spanish Main was the collective term used by English speakers for the parts of the Spanish Empire that were on the mainland of the Americas and had coastlines on the Caribbean Sea or Gulf of ...

as "Montbars the Exterminator" for exacting his own cruelties against the Spanish. He looted and set fire to Porto Caballo, San Pedro, Venezuelan

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and Maricaibo, among other Spanish strongholds, and captured or destroyed numerous other forts and settlements. Although he did not murder in cold blood, as did some of his contemporaries, he gave

no quarter No quarter, during War, military conflict or piracy, implies that combatants would not be taken Prisoner of war, prisoner, but executed. Since the Hague Convention of 1899, it is considered a war crime; it is also prohibited in customary interna ...

to his enemies and was known to torture surviving Spanish soldiers. One of his more infamous methods was to cut open the abdomen of one of his prisoners, extract one end of the

large intestine The large intestine, also known as the large bowel, is the last part of the gastrointestinal tract and of the Digestion, digestive system in tetrapods. Water is absorbed here and the remaining waste material is stored in the rectum as feces befor ...

and nail it to a post, then force the man to ''"dance to his death by beating his backside with a burning log"''. Known for having a romantic relationship with Christine Biccah Montauban, daughter of Count Montauban, responsible for the Trade Commission of the Bahamas, and the peacekeeper between the France Government and Buccaneers Brotherhood. In 1690, Christine gave Daniel Montbars a son named Claude Jacques Biccah Montauban Montbars. Christine Biccah Montauban and her son were rescued by Roche Braziliano, a friend and fellow member of Buccaneers Brotherhood, after an attempt of executing Daniel Montbars by the Spanish Fleet. Braziliano placed them harmless in South America.

Death

The circumstances of his death are unrecorded; however, he may have been lost at sea while on one of his voyages in 1707. While more focused on warring against the Spanish, he was said to have amassed a considerable amount of wealth during his career. He and members of his crew reportedly buried their fortune near Anse du Gouverneur or Grande Saline on Saint Barthelemy, although Montbars was said to have died before he could come back for his treasure.

In popular culture

*Montbars is featured in several French dramas, most notably, the 1807 romance novel ''l'Exterminateur: ou le dernier des flibustiers''. * The character of Red Rackham from ''

The Adventures of Tintin ''The Adventures of Tintin'' ( ) is a series of 24 comic albums created by Belgians, Belgian cartoonist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name Hergé. The series was one of the most popular European comics of the 20th century. By 2007, a c ...

'' was based on John Rackham and Montbars the Exterminator.

Biography

Death

In popular culture

Notes

References

Further reading