The Real Pirates of the Caribbean

The Real Pirates of the Caribbean

Khalid Elhassan - January 7, 2020

The Real Pirates of the Caribbean
The death of Francois L’Olonnais. Metropolitan Museum of Art

23. The Monster of Maracaibo Gets Eaten by Cannibals

Upon his arrival at Maracaibo with a pirate fleet, Francois L’Olonnais discovered that the citizens had fled. So he plunged into the surrounding jungle after them, tracked them down, and tortured them into revealing where they had hidden their valuables. He and his men then spent two months in an orgy of widespread rape, pillage, and murder. They finally put the town to the torch and tore down its fortifications before leaving.

The following year, L’Olonnais led an even bigger pirate expedition against Central America, only for his men to get ambushed and massacred in Honduras. He was one of the few survivors who managed to escape back to a ship, but it ran aground off the coast of Panama. Disembarking, L’Olonnais led his men inland in search of food, only to get captured, killed, and eaten by an indigenous tribe.

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