Francois Le Sage (died 1694) was a pirate and

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 ...

active in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

and off the coast of Africa. He is primarily associated with fellow buccaneers

Michiel Andrieszoon Michiel Andrieszoon (fl. 1683–1684) was a Dutch buccaneer who served as lieutenant to Captain Laurens de Graaf. He commanded the ''le Tigre'', with a 300-man crew and between 30 and 36 guns. He is occasionally referred to in English as Michel o ...

and Laurens de Graaf.

History

Le Sage, alternately described as Dutch or French, was first reported as part of Laurens de Graaf's fleet of ''flibustiers'' (French buccaneers) sailing against the Spanish in late 1682, and participating in the sack of

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

in early 1683. Later that year the Governor of

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

authorized a retaliatory raid on the Spanish at

Santiago de Cuba Santiago de Cuba is the second-largest city in Cuba and the capital city of Santiago de Cuba Province. It lies in the southeastern area of the island, some southeast of the Cuban capital of Havana. The municipality extends over , and contains t ...

, led by de Graaf but under the overall command of a militia Major. When the Major attempted to discipline one of the buccaneers, they mutinied and the raid was called off. Instead they sailed to Cartagena alongside Michiel Andrieszoon, Jan Willems,

Francois Grogniet Francois Groginet (died 1687) was a French buccaneer and pirate active against the Pacific coast of Spanish Central America. History Grogniet began his career as a (French buccaneer) in 1683, sailing a 70-man, 6-gun ship named ''St. Joseph'' ( ...

, and others, where they blockaded the port and captured two large Spanish ships in December 1683. de Graaf took one of the Spanish prizes as his own, giving his former ship to Willems. Andreiszoon took the other prize and gave his old ship ''Tigre'' (which was itself a former Spanish ship he had received from de Graaf) to Le Sage, who had lost the barca-longa off Cuba. Le Sage picked up 60 additional crew from

Jean Hamlin Jean Hamlin (fl. 1682–1684) was a French pirate active in the Caribbean and off the coast of Africa. He was often associated with St. Thomas's pirate-friendly Governor Adolph Esmit. History Hamlin began his career in 1682, sailing from Jama ...

’s ship ''Trompeuse'' (''Trickster''), which had been destroyed by the English in 1683. The

Governor of Jamaica This is a list of viceroys in Jamaica from its initial occupation by Spain in 1509, to its independence from the United Kingdom in 1962. For a list of viceroys after independence, see Governor-General of Jamaica. For context, see History of Jama ...

thanked de Graaf for his offer of assistance against he Spanish but noted that “Francois LeSage behaves very differently, for he has frequently injured and insulted our ships, and has by present report 60 pirates on board his ship taken from ''La Trompeuse''.” Now with the 30-gun, 130-man ''Tigre'', Le Sage attempted to sail south around the

Straits of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and the Tierra del Fuego archipelago to the south. Considered the most important natural ...

to raid in the South Seas. Poor timing and contrary winds prevented their making the Straits, so Le Sage turned eastward and attacked Dutch shipping off Africa's

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

coast for two years. Returning to the Caribbean, he joined de Graaf for various raids and counter-raids throughout the area. In 1694 he once more sailed with de Graaf for a raid on Jamaica. The raid was generally successful, capturing thousands of slaves, but Le Sage was killed ashore with fifty of his men while attacking fortified plantations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Le Sage, Francois 17th-century pirates Year of birth missing French pirates Pirates from the Dutch Republic 1694 deaths Caribbean pirates 17th-century Dutch criminals

History

See also

References