Louis-Michel Aury | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | c. 1787 |
| Died | August 30, 1821 |
| Occupation(s) | sailor,privateer |
| Employer(s) | French government, Mexican government, self-employed |
| Known for | privateering andfilibustering efforts to overturn governments inEast Florida, Mexico,Spanish Texas, theCaribbean Sea, Central America, and South America |
| Military career | |
| Allegiance |  France |
| Branch |  French Navy |
| Years of service | 1802 or 1803–1811 |
Louis-Michel Aury (1788 – August 30, 1821) was aFrenchprivateer operating in theGulf of Mexico and theCaribbean during the early 19th century.
Louis Michel-Aury was born in Paris, France in the 1780s, likely between 21 July 1786 and 1788.
Aury served in theFrench Navy from 1802 or 1803 until 1811 as a sailor on a ship stationed in the French colonies of theWest Indies.[1] From 1802 he crewed onprivateer ships, and by 1810 he had accumulated enoughprize money to become the master of his own vessel. He participated in various privateering and filibuster efforts to overturn governments inEast Florida, Mexico,Spanish Texas, theCaribbean Sea, Central America, and South America.[citation needed]
Aury decided to support the Spanish colonies of South America in theirfight for independence from Spanish rule. In April 1813 he sailed fromNorth Carolina on his own privateer ship withVenezuelanLetters of Marque to attack Spanish ships. He was then commissioned as a commodore in the navy ofNew Granada (now Colombia),[2] at considerable personal expense, in December 1815 ran the Spanish blockade[3] and evacuated hundreds of people in his vessels from thebesieged fortress city ofCartagena de Indias (Colombia) toHaiti.[4] In spite of his success in this dangerous exploit he argued withSimón Bolívar, leader of the Latin American revolutionaries, over payment for his services in organizing the unsuccessful naval expedition toLos Cayos.[5]
Aury subsequently accepted an appointment as resident commissioner ofGalveston Island,Texas, made byJosé Manuel de Herrera, an envoy from thefledgling Republic of Mexico, who had declared Galveston a port of the Republic.[6] Aury established a privateering base there[7] in September 1816, where he continued his operations to smuggle enslaved persons into Spanish America.[8]
One of Aury's privateers had captured a Spanish vessel fromTampico, and letters found on board revealed that the port ofSoto La Marina on theSoto La Marina River (also called the Santander) in Mexico was undefended.[9] Learning this, Gen.Francisco Mina and Col. Henry Perry resolved to make a descent upon the place, and Aury agreed to transport them.[10] They sailed from Galveston April 6, 1817,[11] and the town was taken without a fight. The three commanders squabbled, and Aury left with his ships for Galveston. Mina, whose plan was to join the southern Mexican revolutionaries led byGuadalupe Victoria, marched inland and was captured by royal Spanish troops and executed by firing squad on a hill close to theFuerte de los Remedios.
However, while Aury was away, the pirateJean Lafitte had taken control of the base at Galveston.[12] On his return to Texas, Aury made an ill-fated attempt to establish another base atMatagorda Bay. He finally left Texas in 1817 to assist the Scottish adventurerGregor MacGregor, who claimed to be commissioned by representatives of the revolting South American countries,[13] in attackingSpanish Florida fromAmelia Island. MacGregor left the island on September 4, and Aury sailed into theport of Fernandina[14] on September 17, 1817. Following negotiations with MacGregor's lieutenants, Ruggles Hubbard andJared Irwin, Amelia Island was dubiously annexed to the Republic of Mexico on September 21, 1817, and its flag raised overFort San Carlos.[15] Aury surrendered the island to American forces under the command of Commodore J.D. Henley and Major James Bankhead on December 23, 1817. Aury remained over two months as an unwelcome guest; Bankhead occupied Fernandina and PresidentJames Monroe vowed to hold it "in trust for Spain". This episode in Florida's history became known as theAmelia Island Affair.[16][17]
On 4 July 1818 Aury capturedOld Providence Island (Isla de Providencia) in the western Caribbean with the help of 400 men and 14 ships. He found the island populated by white English-speaking Protestants and their slaves. Aury,Agostino Codazzi, and his team used the islands as his new base from which to pursue Central American independence and founded a settlement with a thriving economy based on captured Spanish cargo, while unsuccessfully trying to rebuild good relations with Bolívar. Under orders of Aury,Agostino Codazzi established the Fort Libertad on Saint Catherine Island.
With the merchants ofKingston,Benoît Chassériau and Jean-Baptiste Pavageau and the privateer shipowner Jean-Baptiste de Novion, Aury had imagined in 1820 conqueringPanama, then the possession of Spain. This project aimed to giveFrance the means to strengthen and secure its trade in this region of the world. Unofficially, the Minister of the Navy and the Colonies,Pierre-Barthélémy Portal d'Albarèdes, declined their bold offer.[18]
In 1820Guatemala City was still the capital of theCaptaincy General of Guatemala, soCentral America was seen as yet under thesway ofSpain, and thus was open to attack from its enemies. In an attempt to secure their independence, theGran Colombian insurgents and the Aury flotilla fitted a combined sea and land expedition to operate against the ports ofOmoa andTrujillo, in Honduras.
On 21 April 1820, the watch-tower at Capiro in Trujillo Port announced the approach of a Colombian flotilla. The port's garrison, commanded byJose M. Palomar, at once made emergency preparations for the impending attack. At two o'clock in the afternoon the approaching flotilla hoisted a flag with two blue bars and a white one between them showing anescutcheon in the center similar to theArgentinian flag; Aury dispatched a boat to shore to demand the port's surrender within one hour. The town did not comply. The following day Commodore Aury moved the flotilla to the mouth of the Guaimoreto River and began bombardment. The attack started at 9 AM and lasted until 2 PM. The firing ceased when the flotilla was ordered out to sea and out of the reach of the port's cannons. A portion of the land force then attempted to enter the town by the rear, but was detected and driven out.
During the night of the 24th, the Aury vessels dropped out of sight. On the 25th the flotilla appeared off the port of Omoa and for several days attempted to land. Commodore Aury failed and left the area on the 6th of May.
Some historians, for example Miguel Ángel de Marco,[19] suggest that the flags of theUnited Provinces of Central America and most of the states that composed it were inspired by theArgentine Flag that privateerHippolyte Bouchard took with him. Others claim that the flag was modeled on the Argentine flag, but introduced byCommodore Louis-Michel Aury.
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A document drawn up by the justice of the peace and chief of police of the isles of Santa Catalina and Old Providence[20] reported Aury's death on August 30, 1821, possibly from being thrown by a horse.[21] On September 3 of the same year, the same official made an inventory of Aury's possessions, which he left to his sister Victoire Aury (Madame Dupuis). Although he is not officially recognized by any of the countries he served, Aury was perceived as a member of theGreat Colombia liberation fighters because of his affiliation withSimon Bolivar.
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