The Capture of the Urca de Lima Gold was the final attempt by pirate raiders out of Nassau to claim the cargo of the Spanish treasure galleon, which carried a cargo of five million dollars worth of gold prior to her wreck. Jack Rackham was able to successfully lead the crew of the Colonial Dawn against the surviving Spanish sailors in battle.
History[]
Background[]
Captain Flint was defeated by the Spanish Man O' War in the Battle in Division Bay during his attempt to claim the gold. He was able to return to Nassau after boarding the Spanish Man O' War and replenish his numbers by allying himself with Benjamin Hornigold and the Royal Lion Crew, in an effort to oust Charles Vane from Fort Nassau. During this time, Flint also worked on trying to free Abigail Ashe from Vane's captivity in an effort to further his goal of getting the pirates of Nassau a Royal Pardon.
John Silver, thinking that Flint's goals were beginning to be at odds with each other, decided to take matters into his own hands. When the lookouts returned with the news that most of the Spaniards had died of a plague that struct their camp, he engineered a plan. The lookouts said that the gold was reclaimed by the Spanish. Meanwhile, they sold the location of the gold to a smaller crew in exchange for shares that would end up being larger.
The Battle[]
Very little is known about the battle, except for the fact that the remaining, healthy Spanish soldiers "fought like hell" to defend the gold. Ultimately, the pirates won the day with minimal casualties.
Aftermath[]
Jack returned to Nassau with his ship as well as the Walrus, which he repaired and refitted because he needed the hold space for all the gold. When Flint learned of this, he was furious and was prepared to kill Jack, but Vane convinced him not to.
Flint, Vane and Rackham agree to a partnership. Flint and his men return to the Walrus, which was repaired by Rackham for the hold space. The Man O' War is left in the bay as a floating battery. Should any threat to Nassau arrive, Flint would command their naval forces while Vane commanded the militia on the beach. Jack provides a stipend to the other crews on the island with the agreement that they would all band together to defend Nassau if necessary.
Jack also tries to pay men to work on repairing Fort Nassau, which is overseen by Mr. Scott. However, the pirates are lazy and often refuse to work. Eventually, he has to resort to sending Vane to unwittingly capture a Dutch Slaver.
The Spanish Empire is enraged by the theft of the gold, and they financially back Woodes Rogers' expedition to install himself as Governor of New Providence Island. However, they require that within eight weeks of his arrival in Nassau, he send the entirety of the gold to Havana. Should he fail to do so, Havana's Fleet of ten ships would be launched carrying 1,500 soldiers to raze Nassau to the ground.
Trivia[]
- In real life, the salvaged treasure of the 1715 fleet was captured by Henry Jennings and Charles Vane under somewhat similar circumstances.