Antoine d'Arcy, Lord of La Varenne, born around 1656 and died in Toulon on March 27, 1732, was a French naval officer and colonial administrator of the 17th and 18th centuries.
A former naval captain, he served briefly as Governor of Martinique (January 7–May 23, 1717).
---------
Colonies M. de la Varenne
At Fort Royal, Martinique, March 15, 1717
I have the honor to inform the Council that Mr. Lowther, Governor of Barbados—who writes to me from time to time—inquires in his latest letter whether the King's frigates I was expecting from France have arrived, so that we may jointly take measures to destroy the pirates who are ravaging the entire coastlines of the islands belonging to both Crowns, by dispatching our vessels simultaneously to various locations. He further advises me that, during the final days of February, a 36-gun frigate belonging to the King of England arrived in Barbados from London, accompanied by a newly constructed 18-gun brigantine and a large 8-gun sloop. He states that these vessels are to be deployed in such a manner that they hope to capture some of the pirates and strike terror into the others. He adds that he is expecting, any day now, the frigate *Scarborough*—a 40-gun vessel that has long served as a guard ship for the English islands—and that he will dispatch her again as soon as she has taken on provisions. Reports reach us from all quarters that the pirates are committing boundless depredations, having captured several English and French ships, as well as other vessels of various nations. As I see no sign of the ship from La Rochelle—which was supposed to follow us closely to deliver flour and bales of clothing for our soldiers—I greatly fear that it may have been captured by them; consequently, our soldiers are bound to suffer considerably. Nothing is more imperative than to dispatch, without delay, the frigate and the longboat I have requested, ensuring they are well-armed, for the pirates possess large crews and are a courageous lot.
Mr. Hamilton has also recently written to me from Antigua in much the same vein as Mr. Lowther; attached hereto is an excerpt of the intelligence he sent me, translated from English into French.
La Varenne
https://recherche-anom.culture.gouv.fr/ark:/61561/zn401awwuuo/daogrp/0/1/idsearch:RECH_ec4d3dfb31a7848aedd633a5ab3dc3d7?id=https%3A%2F%2Frecherche-anom.culture.gouv.fr%2Fark%3A%2F61561%2Fzn401awwuuo%2Fcanvas%2F0%2F1
No comments:
Post a Comment