Perhaps French pirate Jean Lafitte Perhaps Lafitte was offended by the reward amount, thought it should be much more. Caesar laughed at the pirates who kidnapped him when they told him how much they intended on ransoming him for.
The pirate Jean Lafitte is a character born out of facts and rumors, some that made him larger than life. There was even a rumor around this time that Lafitte rescued Napolean Bonaparte in exile and they lived out the rest of their lives together in Louisiana.
Embargo Act of 1807 meant American trade ships could not visit foreign ports. Lafitte and other pirates filled the new demand for illegal goods by bringing them to the Louisiana Bayou.
Pirate Jean Lafitte set up his station on the island of Baratria, which is carefully chosen to be remote and far from any U.S. naval base. Baratria Bay became a haven for pirates in the Bayou.
The 1815 Battle of New Orleans was a battle where American forces were greatly outnumbered by British Army and Navy. Andrew Jackson called upon Jean Lafitte’s Baratarians to aid in his attempt to repel the British.
During the Battle of New Orleans Lafitte proved to be a substantial help to the American navy by providing his own ships to help defend New Orleans from the British. But patience grew thinner and thinner with Lafitte as his antics grew bolder.
Louisiana Governor Puts Bounty On Lafitte
Louisiana Governor William C. C. Claiborne, put a reward out for the pirate Jean Lafitte, a $500 bounty. What did Lafitte do in response? He put out his own bounty for Claiborne and made it much larger, $5000.
No one in Lousiana was ever able to collect the bounty on Lafitte’s head, and no harm ever came to the Governor.
Lafitte was chased out of Barataria and he moved his station to Galveston, Texas next. He later died in the Gulf of Honduras after attacking two trade ships that turned out to be heavily armed Spanish military ships.
Where Is Lafitte’s Buried Treasure?
People to this day search for the lost treasures of Jean Lafitte, encouraged by the rumors and historical facts all the same.
Two brothers who believe themselves to be related to Jean Lafitte, pitched a reality show where they search for evidence of Lafitte’s lost treasures, but it never took off.
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