R.I.P. Captain Morgan
August 25th, 1688 - Captain Henry Morgan dies from what is believed to be cirrhosis of the liver after a life of EXTREMELY hard-living, both on the open seas and in taverns. Before becoming the cartoon spokesman for a British rum company in 1944, the Welsh pirate spent most of his career terrorizing the Caribbean, lead a small invasion on Panama, was thrown in prison, and even became Lt. Governor of Jamacia.
During his invasion of Panama, Captain Morgan attempted to finesse Panama City by diverting his men around the back way. The strategic maneuver was expected to be a 1-2 day trek through the jungle BUT ended up taking 9 days. Without enough food for the long trip, the men were forced to eat their leather boots and belts by thinly slicing them into strips and cooking them like bacon.
When Morgan's raiding party arrived, they plundered the city while torturing the townspeople to point them to more treasure. The trip cost him about 1/3 of his squad, but The Captain managed to leave with 100,000 lbs of stolen treasure.
When Morgan arrived back in England, he was thrown in prison for his raid completely violating a treaty with Spain, BUT due to the amount of wealth Morgan brought back to England & The Queen, he was released, knighted, and appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Queensport, Jamaica.
As governer, The Captain was supposed to fix Queensport's #1 problem - piracy. Instead, one of the most successful pirates of all-time turned a blind eye to piracy in the Caribbean, and the port town remained a safe haven for pirates.
While in office Captain Morgan drank harder than he ever had before, and after 9 years as Queensport's governor, Morgan was removed from office in 1688, right before his death.
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