13. From Naval Officer to Pirate
After his uncle’s death, Montbars left the French Navy and headed to the buccaneer haven of Tortuga, an island off Haiti’s coast. Between his professional expertise as a naval officer, and his immense hatred of Spain, the buccaneers’ main foe, Montbars was welcomed with the open arms. Before long, he was captain of his own buccaneer ship. He made a name for himself in an early action against a Spanish vessel: “Montbars led the way to the decks of the enemy, where he carried injury and death; and when submission terminated the contest, his only pleasure seemed to be to contemplate, not the treasures of the vessel, but the number of dead and dying Spaniards, against whom he had vowed a deep and eternal hatred, which he maintained the whole of his life“.
