Moise Vauquelin | |
|---|---|
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| Born | fl. 1650 |
| Died | 1670 |
| Piratical career | |
| Type | Buccaneer |
| Allegiance | France |
| Years active | 1650-1670 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Base of operations | Tortuga |
Moïse Vauquelin orMoses Vanclein (fl. 1650–1670) was a 17th-century Frenchbuccaneer. During his four-year career as a pirate, he served as an officer underFrançois l'Olonnais and formed a brief partnership withPierre Le Picard. He andPhilippe Bequel later co-wrote a book detailing their explorations of the Honduran and Yucatán coastline.
Vauquelin first arrived in the Caribbean fromNormandy,France around 1650. He was part of a buccaneering fleet being organized by l'Olonnais at the pirate haven ofTortuga, which would loot and plunder Spanish settlements throughout theSpanish Main during the next two years. Vauquelin was one of several officers serving in this expedition and was present at the raids againstMaracaibo andGibraltar in 1666 andPuerto de Cavallo andSan Pedro in 1667.
L'Olonnais and his fleet eventually split up, arguing over l'Olonnais' desire to sail forGuatemala shortly after the capture of a Spanish ship off the coast of the Yucatán. Vauquelin and Pierre le Picard chose to leave the expedition, with some accounts suggesting they were the ringleaders and instigators of the fleet's disbandment,[1] and began privateering together for a time. Sailing along the coast ofCosta Rica, Vauquelin captured the town ofVeraguas, although he was driven from the area when he failed to take the nearby town ofNata; the two privateers split up soon after. This defeat was later recorded inAlexander Esquemeling'sThe Buccaneers Of America almost twenty years later.
Vauquelin seems to have lost his ship after this, although the circumstances are unrecorded. He did, however, manage to join the French pirateChevalier du Plessis later that year. After du Plessis' death, Vauquelin was elected as his successor by the crew. He and his crew were able to successfully capture a Spanish prize carrying a large cargo ofcacao near the port ofHavana, Cuba before returning to Tortuga. In 1670, he and fellow buccaneerPhilippe Bequel wrote an account of their careers at the Vice-AdmiralJean d'Estrées. The book contained detailed information of the geography of the Caribbean and West Indies, particularly the coasts of Honduras and the Yucatán, which were used by theRoyal French Navy as well as later buccaneers.
