In 1671, that fleet, consisting of 38 ships and more than 2,000 men, laid waste to the Spanish Main as they murdered their way to Panama City. Now Panama City would have to learn the hard way that hell hath no fury like an insulted Captain Morgan. Things went badly during the battle until a "freak incident" turned the tide for Bradley and the buccaneers.

Captain Morgan Captain Morgan

However, between 1650 and 1750 the difference between pirates and privateers became more pronounced as war grew more organized. The governor had already escaped with literal boatloads of treasure, so the heist wasn't as lucrative as expected, but Morgan got his revenge. Morgan outright denied ever being kidnapped and sold, and later characterized many of Exquemelin's claims about him as libelous. Presumably the gunpowder ignited the arrow, which struck one of the fort's thatched roofs, and a massive fire ensued, intensified by grenades. There was little consideration of how perilous it would be, and Morgan and his men went through hell.As for how he reached the Caribbean, Exquemelin alleged that Morgan took to the sea to escape the agrarian lifestyle but was abducted and sold into indentured servitude.

Captain Morgan Tiki | Captain Morgan Captain Morgan Tiki | Captain Morgan

Panama City was one of the richest ports in the New World, and just getting there would require surviving 70 miles of disease-infested jungle. They also placed flaming palm leaves underneath him, burned his face, set his hair on fire, placed heavy stones on his joints, and starved him within an inch of his life.With partial funding from the Captain Morgan rum company, archaeologist Frederick Hanselmann led an expedition to find Morgan's sunken ships. When Morgan forced Panama City's governor to pay a massive ransom for the town of Portobello in 1668, exchanges between the two men got pretty testy. According to The English Conquest of Jamaica, England's Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell was overconfident and underprepared when he set out to occupy the island. According to the Classic Journal, it's likely that Exquemelin took at least some creative license when describing Morgan's exploits, but that doesn't mean he lied outright, and the claim Morgan denied most vehemently –- that he was an indentured servant –- was supported by concrete evidence.