Pirates in Cozumel

History is one. The only thing that changes is the way to tell it, and the side on which the one who speaks is has a lot to do with it. The world wasn’t very different back in the 16th century: there was a global superpower and it was Spain, resting calmly over the wealth obtained in the conquered territories all over. Spain had so many lands that Queen Elizabeth claimed the sea for England.

Apart from the Catholic church for a while then, and isolated from Europe by the English Channel, this decree meant total freedom at sea for England and its subjects. As an example: what the Spanish Empire considered the worst of the curses was object of an appointment by the English Kings with nobility titles for heroism and bravery. The fame of pirates grew so much that they become fantasy, horror and romance even now.

One of the most feared ones by the Spanish Crown was the Welsh Sir Henry Morgan, who started his attacks in Santiago of Cuba to then besiege the New Spain ports of Campeche and Villahermosa. Legend has it that in his way out to the Caribbean he found Cozumel Island. The island was abandoned by then, Mayans migrated little by little to the continental land since the Spanish arrival, and this ones abandonded it when they found safer ports in the gulf.

Morgan found the island so ideal, for its inlets and caves, that he stablished here his hide-out for many years. He also found tombs and remains of Mayan cities, the perfect place to hide his loots. Here he would have planned and prepared attacks to many ports and cities throughout Central America and the Caribbean.

The fame of his exploitment was about to provoke a war between Spain and England, therefore he was told to return to London to be arrested, so they said. This never happened; it was a sham in order to calm the Empire. At 45 Sir Henry Morgan was the Governor of Jamaica. Although it was brief, his peaceful stay in Cozumel is remembered in a prestigious restaurant name.