Sir Christopher Myngs | |
|---|---|
 Christopher Myngs, bySir Peter Lely, 1666, part of theFlagmen of Lowestoft series | |
| Born | 1625 |
| Died | 1666 (aged 40–41) London, England |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of England |
| Branch |  Royal Navy |
| Rank | Vice-Admiral |
| Commands | Elisabeth Marston Moor Jamaica Station |
| Battles / wars | First Anglo-Dutch War Anglo-Spanish War Second Anglo-Dutch War |
Vice-AdmiralSir Christopher Myngs (sometimes spelledMings; 1625–1666) was anEnglish naval officer and privateer, most notably in theColony of Jamaica.
The date of Myngs's birth is uncertain, but is probably somewhere between 1620 and 1625. He came from aNorfolk family and was a relative of Admiral SirCloudesley Shovell.[1]Samuel Pepys' story of Myngs' humble birth ("his father being always and at this day a shoemaker, and his mother a Hoyman’s daughter; of which he was used frequently to boast"[2]) has now been evaluated by historians as being mostly fictitious in nature.[1]
It is probable that he saw a good deal of sea-service before 1648. He first appears prominently as the captain of theElisabeth, which after it had undergone action during theFirst Anglo-Dutch War brought in aDutch convoy with twomen-of-war as prizes. From 1653 to 1655 he continued to command theElisabeth, when he was high in favour with the council of state and recommended for promotion by the flag officers under whom he served.[3]
In 1655, he was appointed to thefrigateMarston Moor, the crew of which was on the verge ofmutiny. His firm measures quelled their insubordinate spirits, and he took the vessel out to theWest Indies, arriving in January 1656 in Jamaica where he became the subcommander of the naval flotilla on theJamaica Station, until the summer of 1657.[4]
In February 1658, he returned to Jamaica as naval commander, acting as acommerce raider during theAnglo-Spanish War (1654–1660). During this period Myngs acquired a reputation for unnecessary cruelty, sacking several Spanish colonial towns while in command of whole fleets ofbuccaneers. In 1658, after beating off a Spanish naval attack, he raidedSpanish colonies around the coast ofSouth America; failing to capture atreasure fleet, he destroyed the colonial settlements inTolú andSanta Marta inNew Grenada instead; in 1659 he plunderedCumaná,Puerto Cabello andCoro (all in present-day Venezuela) where a large haul of silver in twenty chests were seized.[1]
TheSpanish government, upon hearing of Myngs' actions, protested to no avail to theEnglish government ofOliver Cromwell on his conduct. Because he had shared half of the bounty of his 1659 raid, about a quarter of a million pounds, with the buccaneers against the explicit orders ofEdward D'Oyley, the English Commander of Jamaica, he was arrested for embezzlement and sent back to England in theMarston Moor in 1660.[1]
TheRestoration government retained him in his command however, and in August 1662 he was sent to Jamaica commanding theCenturion in order to resume his activities as commander of the Jamaica Station, despite the fact that the war with Spain had ended. This was part of a covert English policy to undermine theSpanish dominion of the area. In 1662 Myngs decided that the best way to accomplish this was to employ the full potential of the buccaneers by promising them the opportunity for unbridled plunder. He had the complete support of the new governor,Lord Windsor, who fired a large contingent of soldiers to fill Myngs's ranks with disgruntled men. That year he attackedSantiago de Cuba inSpanish Cuba and took and sacked the town despite its strong defences. In 1663 buccaneers from all over the Caribbean joined him for the announced next expedition. Myngs directed the largest buccaneer fleet as yet assembled, 14 ships strong and with 1,400 buccaneers aboard, among them theprivateersHenry Morgan andAbraham Blauvelt, where they went on tosack Campeche in February.[1]
During the attack on Campeche Bay, Myngs himself had been severely wounded leavingEdward Mansvelt in charge of his pirate army. In 1664 he returned to England to recover. Later the next year he was made Vice-Admiral inPrince Rupert's squadron. AsVice-Admiral of the White under theLord High AdmiralJames Stuart, Duke of York and Albany, he flew his flag during theSecond Anglo-Dutch War at theBattle of Lowestoft in 1665, and for his reward, he received the honour ofknighthood.[1]
In the same year he then served underEdward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich, asVice-Admiral of the Blue and after the disgrace of Montagu, he served under the next supreme fleet commander,George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle. He was on detachment with Prince Rupert's Green squadron, when on 11 June 1666 the greatFour Days' Battle began, but returned to the main fleet in time to take part on the final day, and in this action when hisflotilla was surrounded by that of Vice-AdmiralJohan de Liefde he received wounds – being hit first through the cheek and then in the left shoulder by musket balls fired by a sharpshooter when hisVictory was challenged by De Liefde's flagship, theRidderschap van Holland – of which he died shortly after returning toLondon.[3]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)Attribution:
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Myngs, Sir Christopher".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 113.| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
