Lafitte

The year is 1803. The Spanish Inquisition’s reign of terror was fading, the age of enlightenment was in full bloom, and the French Revolution was just around the corner. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic sat New Orleans. It had been under Spanish rule, French rule, and now, suddenly by the stroke of a pen, it was American.

Out of nowhere there appeared a handsome, well-dressed, eccentric, freethinker. The oceans were his highways, and his command of English, French, Italian, and Spanish was his ticket. His name was Jean Lafitte.

The people of New Orleans loved him. Along with his brother Pierre and a thousand loyal pirates, he would attack Spanish ships, commandeer their goods, and sell them cheap. He loved America, respected the American ideals and admired the constitution, yet he despised taxes, and opposed slavery. “Uneducated men are like wheel barrels. You must simply push them in the right direction.” said Lafitte.
Jean hated anything Spanish. Why? His maternal Grandparents were Spanish Jews. When Jean was a child, he watched “Papi” hauled away to the Grande Inquisitor’s Tribunal where he was starved, tortured, and murdered.
To the casual observer, Lafitte had a perfect life. In reality, his life was plagued by constant conflict. He had been married once, but his 18-year-old bride died quickly and tragically. He is now truly in love with his beautiful quadroon mistress, but his commitment will only go so far.
Twenty-six-year-old Governor Claiborne was determined to rid New Orleans of the lawless Lafitte and his brother Pierre. Lafitte, now a wanted man, was hunted by U.S. Marshals, wanted by the Customs Service, and despised by the local militia. This did not faze him in the least, and his empire continued to flourish…
Until Governor Claiborne found his weakness.
Jean’s brother Pierre had taken ill after suffering a stroke. Now vulnerable, Pierre was captured, shackled, and imprisoned without bail. Jean was devastated, doomed, but fate played into his hands.
It was the War of 1812 and British fleets were en route to New Orleans. Enter Andrew Jackson who was ready and willing to die fighting the British, but he was dangerously short on supplies and soldiers. Lafitte brokered a deal: provide Jackson with supplies and soldiers in return for full pardons. Lafitte and his men fought valiantly alongside Andrew Jackson. Jean Lafitte saved our nation.
But what’s a Pirate to do? On to Galveston, Texas, where he re-established his kingdom. But this time, the American Forces gave him an ultimatum: Evacuate or be destroyed.
Just as an American fleet of warships prepared to invade Lafitte’s Island, Lafitte vanished. His fate and fortune remain a mystery.
Could it be that he lived out his life to a ripe old age? Humbly and anonymously? His dusty memoirs, discovered in an old trunk in the 1950’s suggest just that.
“I guess if I were to summarize my life, I’d say I broke the law but saved the nation, so I’d say we’re even. And the vast wealth I accumulated? I gave it away. All of it. And I did so without ever leaving my name. After all, only politicians and those slight of intelligence find it necessary to blow their own horns”