The Rosario Raid was a punitive mission launched against the pirates of Nassau.
History[]
Prelude[]
During the War of the Spanish Succession, many pirates and privateers made Nassau their base, and they would attack Spanish ships. During that time, Richard Guthrie, a wealthy merchant, used his family company's ships to fence their cargo.
Months before the raid, there were whispers that Spain meant to retaliate against the pirates. Mr. Scott, a slave in Guthrie's service, arranged for his wife and daughter to be transported to the Maroon Island, to keep them out of harm's way.
The Raid[]
Due to the disrepair the fort had fallen into, 200 Spanish soldiers were easily able to land. They burned the tent city on the beach and then the structures in town before moving inland, burning and killing as they went.
Aftermath[]
Hundreds of people, many of them slaves, were killed during the raid. Richard's wife was one such person, and he moved to Harbour Island, leaving his daughter and business in the care of Scott in Nassau. Scott spread the story that his wife and daughter had been killed during the raid.
After this, an unofficial rule was established amongst the pirates, Spanish ships were to be avoided out of fear of reprisals against Nassau.
As the years went on, Eleanor Guthrie desired to replace her father as the head of the fence business. To win the pirates' respect, she organized a coup against Edward Teach.
Trivia[]
- The Spanish raided Nassau in October of 1703 during the war and again in 1706. It is not entirely clear which raid this is referring to.
