Thomas Modyford

Sir Thomas Modyford, 1st Baronet (* around 1620 ; † September 2, 1679 ) was an English plantation owner and governor of Jamaica from 1664 to 1670 .

He was the patron of the privateer Henry Morgan , from whose raids on the Spanish possessions in America he profited.

Life

He was the son of one of Devonshire originating plantation owner on Barbados . In February 1664 he was appointed governor of Jamaica. On March 1, 1664 he was given the hereditary English title of Baronet , of Lincoln's Inn in the County of London . In June 1664 he arrived in Jamaica and set up the plantation economy there.

As governor of the English crown, Modyford issued several letters of piracy for Morgan, thereby providing Henry Morgan with political backing for his raids against Spanish Caribbean ports . It made them both wealthy men. For example, Morgan raided the port city of Portobelo in 1668 - surprisingly from the land side due to the strong fortifications - and 215,000 piasters were looted. In 1669 he carried out a raid on the city of Maracaibo in what is now Venezuela , and in 1670 he sacked Panama , which was then the largest settlement in the Spanish colonial area. Panama was attacked by Morgan using 36 ships; 175 mules were required to transport the gold they captured.

When the protests of the Spaniards against this procedure increased, the English crown felt compelled to act. She deposed Modyford as governor and had him taken to England with Morgan. His successor was Thomas Lynch . Modyford was for two years in the Tower set, Morgan, however, was pardoned in 1674 by King Charles II. In the knighthood collected and ultimately something later as lieutenant governor in Jamaica used, where he became even successfully fought against pirates.

Web link

• John Knox Laughton : Modyford, Thomas . In: Sidney Lee (Ed.): Dictionary of National Biography . Volume 38, Smith, Elder & Co., London 1893, pp. 94 f.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Baronetage: Modyford of Lincoln's Inn, London in Leigh Rayment's Peerage

predecessor	Office	successor
New title created	Baronet, of Lincoln's Inn 1664-1679	Thomas Modyford