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Lafitte graceful, charming, but still considered a pirate
Shreveport Times ^
| 12/14/03
| Editorial
Posted on 12/13/2003 11:26:10 PM PST by Holly_P
Contemporaries described the smuggler Jean Lafitte as "graceful and elegant in manners ... accomplished in conversation." Women found him charming. Some of the leading figures of New Orleans openly associated with him.
But to young Louisiana Gov. W.C.C. Claiborne, there was just one word for Lafitte: "pirate."
Even so, as historian Bennett H. Wall records, "It was not the privateering and occasional piracy ... that particularly annoyed Claiborne and the government of the United States. ... Rather, it was the fact that Lafitte and his men openly flaunted customs laws by selling their booty at much lower prices than legitimate merchants of New Orleans.
"Claiborne found it almost impossible to take effective action against the Baratarians. One gets a distinct impression that the Creoles of Louisiana admired the pirates' cheerful defiance of authority, and they certainly welcomed the 'bargains' they obtained for him."
Exasperated, Claiborne posted a $500 reward for anyone who would capture Lafitte. New Orleans snickered the next day when posters appeared saying Lafitte offered $1,500 for Claiborne's capture.
But a different battle was brewing in the Gulf of Mexico as Louisiana united itself with the United States.
Pirates' sails were overshadowed by those of British warships. And this new piece of U.S. territory, it's young governor and all of its people - pirates and patriots alike - would be forced to sink or swim together.
TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: americanhistory; claiborne; crime; criminal; govclaiborne; jeanlafitte; louisiana; louisianapurchase; mediabias; organizedcrime; pirate; propirate; slavetrader
1
posted on
12/13/2003 11:26:10 PM PST
by
Holly_P
To: Holly_P
Was he as charming as Jean La Foot, the barefoot pirate?
2
posted on
12/13/2003 11:30:32 PM PST
by
Jeff Chandler
(Chilling Effect-1, Global Warming-0)
To: Jeff Chandler
More like Pepe LePew
3
posted on
12/13/2003 11:33:24 PM PST
by
Holly_P
(It matters not whether you win or lose; what matters is whether I win or lose.)
To: Holly_P; Jeff Chandler
Have you ever been to Ye Olde Absinthe House?
That's where Andrew Jackson and Jean Lefitte plotted their strategery.
I thought the coming together of those two was quite brilliant.
4
posted on
12/13/2003 11:51:21 PM PST
by
dixiechick2000
(President Bush is a mensch in cowboy boots.)
To: Holly_P
Even so, as historian Bennett H. Wall records, "It was not the privateering and occasional piracy ... that particularly annoyed Claiborne and the government of the United States. ... Rather, it was the fact that Lafitte and his men openly flaunted customs laws by selling their booty at much lower prices than legitimate merchants of New Orleans. Jean Lafitte's smuggling operation included the importation of slaves (I believe into Galveston) when there was a prohibition on bringing more slaves to America. He was a pirate and he worked outside the law. He provided some assistance but in the end, he was still a criminal. I think that Lafitte put a price on Claiborne's head after territorial Governor Claiborne put a bounty on Jean Lafitte.
5
posted on
12/14/2003 12:08:33 AM PST
by
weegee
To: Jeff Chandler
"Lafitte and his men openly flaunted customs laws " I think he means flouted, not flaunted.
To: weegee
"Exasperated, Claiborne posted a $500 reward for anyone who would capture Lafitte. New Orleans snickered the next day when posters appeared saying Lafitte offered $1,500 for Claiborne's capture.".
"I think that Lafitte put a price on Claiborne's head after territorial Governor Claiborne put a bounty on Jean Lafitte."
You were right.
7
posted on
12/14/2003 12:24:10 AM PST
by
dixiechick2000
(President Bush is a mensch in cowboy boots.)
To: Holly_P
Arrrrrrrrrrrrr....
8
posted on
12/14/2003 1:25:25 AM PST
by
Thoro
("No one's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session."-Samuel Clemens)
To: stainlessbanner
ping
To: dixiechick2000
It was late/early when I posted but I didn't need to read the full text of this short article to start finding fault with their praise of a man who put a price on a governing American leader's head.
10
posted on
12/14/2003 10:49:49 AM PST
by
weegee
To: Thoro
Aiiiiiiiiiiiii...
There are few letters in the pirate's alphabet.
11
posted on
12/14/2003 10:50:38 AM PST
by
weegee
To: Libertarianize the GOP
"Yes I am a pirate, 200 hundred years too late
The cannons don't thunder, there's nothing to plunder....."
12
posted on
12/14/2003 10:53:35 AM PST
by
stainlessbanner
(Down at mile marker zero, people tend to go insane.)
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