Tortuga Île de la Tortue Latòti | |
|---|---|
Island | |
 Tortuga seen from space | |
  Tortuga A map of Haiti with Île de la Tortue to the north. | |
| Coordinates:20°02′23″N72°47′24″W / 20.03972°N 72.79000°W /20.03972; -72.79000 | |
| Country | Haiti |
| Department | Nord-Ouest |
| Arrondissement | Port-de-Paix |
| Settled | 1625 |
| Area | |
• Total | 180 km2 (69 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 459 m (1,506 ft) |
| Population (2003) | |
• Total | 25,936 |
| • Density | 144/km2 (370/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-05:00 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-04:00 (EDT) |
| Climate | Af |
Tortuga Island[1][2] (French:Île de la Tortue,IPA:[ildəlatɔʁty];Haitian Creole:Latòti;Spanish:Isla Tortuga,IPA:[ˈislatoɾˈtuɣa], 'Turtle Island') is aWest Indianisland that forms part ofHaiti, off the northwest coast ofHispaniola. It constitutes thecommune of Île de la Tortue in thePort-de-Paix arrondissement of theNord-Ouestdepartment of Haiti.
Tortuga is 180 square kilometres (69 square miles)[3] in size and had a population of 25,936 at the 2003 census. In the 17th century, Tortuga was a major center andhaven ofCaribbean piracy. Its tourism industry and references in many works have made it one of the most recognized regions of Haiti.
The first Europeans to land on Tortuga were the Spanish in 1492 during thefirst voyage ofChristopher Columbus into theNew World. On December 6, 1492, three Spanish ships entered theWindward Passage that separatesCuba andHaiti. At sunrise, Columbus noticed an island whose contours emerged from the morning mist. Because the shape reminded him of aturtle's shell, he chose the name of Tortuga.[4][5][6]
Tortuga was originally settled by a fewSpanish colonists under theCaptaincy General of Santo Domingo. In 1625,French andEnglish colonists fromSaint Kitts arrived on the island of Tortuga after initially planning to settle on mainlandHispaniola.[7] They were attacked in 1629 by Spanish forces commanded byDon Fadrique de Toledo, who expelled them before building a fort on the island and garrisoning it. As most of the garrison eventually left for Hispaniola to expel French colonists residing there, other French settlers returned in 1630, occupying and expanding the fort.
From 1630 onward, the island of Tortuga was divided into French and English colonies, allowingbuccaneers to use the island as their main base of operations. In 1633, the firstslaves were imported fromAfrica to aid in the plantations. However, by 1635 the use of slaves had ended. The slaves were said to be out of control on the island, while at the same time there had been continuous disagreements and fighting between French and English colonists on Tortuga.
In 1635, the Spanishexpelled the French and English colonists from Tortuga before leaving. As more English and French settlers soon returned, the Spanish returned to expel them again, only to leave because the island was too small to be of major importance. This allowed the return of both French and English colonists. In 1638, the Spanish returned for a third time to secure their claim to the island and expel the French andDutch settlers on Tortuga. They occupied the island, but were eventually expelled by the French and Dutch colonists in 1640, at which time the French builtFort de Rocher in a naturalharbour; the fort enabled the French to defeat a Spanish invasion force the following year.
By 1640, the buccaneers of Tortuga were calling themselves theBrethren of the Coast. The buccaneers population was mostly made up of French and Englishmen, along with a small number of Dutchmen. In 1654, the Spanishattacked the island for the fourth and last time, defeating a Franco-English force.[8]
In 1655, Tortuga was settled again by English and French colonists underElias Watts, who secured a commission from Col.William Brayne, thegovernor of Jamaica, to serve as governor of Tortuga. In 1664, French buccaneer Jeremie Dechamps sold the island for 15,000livres to theFrench West India Company after having tried to sell it to the English for 6,000pounds following an initial offer of 10,000 pounds by the French.[9] In the same year, 400 French colonists came to Tortuga fromAnjou, and they established Hispaniola's firstsugar plantations since thefirst wave of European colonization. This group of colonists spread to the coast of the mainland and became the nexus of the French colony ofSaint-Domingue.[7]
By 1670, the buccaneer era was in decline, and many of the pirates turned tolog cutting andwood trading as a new income source. At this time, Welsh privateerHenry Morgan started to promote himself and invited the pirates on the island of Tortuga to set sail under him. Morgan and some 2,000 privateers thenattacked and sacked Panama the following year. They were hired by the French as a striking force that allowed France to have a much stronger hold on the Caribbean region. Consequently, the pirates never really controlled the island and kept Tortuga as a neutral hideout for pirate booty.
In 1680, theParliament of England forbade English subjects to sail under foreign flags (in opposition to former practice). This was a major legal blow to theCaribbean pirates. Settlements were made in theTreaty of Ratisbon of 1684, signed by the European powers, that began to put an end to piracy. Most of the pirates after this time were hired by European powers to suppress their former buccaneer allies. The capital of Saint-Domingue had been moved from Tortuga toPort-de-Paix on the mainland of Hispaniola in 1676.
 | |
| Location | Tortuga, Haiti |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 19°59′49″N72°37′17″W / 19.9969°N 72.6214°W /19.9969; -72.6214 |
| Tower | |
| Constructed | 1924 |
| Construction | concrete tower |
| Height | 14 m (46 ft) |
| Shape | tapered cylindrical tower with light[10][11] |
| Markings | white and red horizontal band tower |
| Light | |
| Focal height | 23.5 m (77 ft) |
| Range | 14 nmi (26 km; 16 mi) |
| Characteristic | Fl(2) W 6s |
The island of Tortuga stands off the northern coast of Haiti. It is very mountainous and rocky; the rocks are especially abundant on the northern part of the island. At the beginning of the 17th century, the population lived on the southern coast of the island, where there was a port for ships to enter. The northern shore was described as inaccessible via both land and sea.
The inhabited area was divided into four parts; the first of these was called "Low Land" or "Low Country". This region contained the island's port and was therefore considered the most important. The town was calledCayona, and the richest planters of the island lived there. The second region was called the "Middle Plantation"; the farmers of this region were unfamiliar with the soil and it was only used to growtobacco. The third part was named "La Ringot", and was positioned on the western portion of the island. The fourth region was called the "La Montagne" (the Mountain); it is there that the first cultivated plantations were established upon the island.
This 17th century geography is known largely fromAlexandre-Olivier Exquemelin's detailed description in his bookZeerovers,[12] where he describes a 1666 journey to the island.
Tortuga has been portrayed in many works depicting piracy in the Caribbean in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Tortuga has been featured in numerous films, including
Books featuring the island include:
Tortuga is mentioned in multiple songs, including:
Tortuga is featured inRafael Sabatini'sCaptain Blood series and the movies based on it; the most famous isCaptain Blood (1935) starringErrol Flynn. It is the place where Blood and his crew find refuge after their escape fromBarbados in 1685. Blood receives aLetter of Marque from Tortuga's governor, D'Ogeron, and the island becomes his main base for the next four years. He starts his raids from Cayona, and several events in the books take place on Tortuga itself or on ships anchoring in the harbour of Cayona.
Sabatini usedExquemelin'sHistory of the Bouccaneers of America as a main source for his description of Tortuga, and therefore the island is portrayed as a place where many buccaneers,prostitutes, and other dubious professions operate, but theFrench West India Company, which rules Tortuga, makes profit off of those affairs.
Tortuga also features in Sabatini's novelThe Black Swan and the1942 movie based on it.[13]
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