While the porous nature of America’s borders continues to be a hot issue in the post-9/11 era, Homeland Security is hardly a new concept. Students of history realize that this nation has long been threatened by renegade forces seeking to undermine our sovereignty and exploit our weaknesses.
19th Century Corsairs Challenged Homeland Security
The Pirates Laffite
By William C. Davis
Harcourt; 706 PAGES; $28.00
By Patrick Burnson
Published: October, 2005
While the porous nature of America’s borders continues to be a hot issue in the post-9/11 era, Homeland Security is hardly a new concept. Students of history realize that this nation has long been threatened by renegade forces seeking to undermine our sovereignty and exploit our weaknesses.
Author, William C. Davis does an admirable job of telling a story which captures the calculating nature of piracy and its impact on the stability of a young republic.
When corsairs roamed the Gulf during the early 19th century, few pirates were more feared or widely respected than Jean and Pierre Laffite. The half-brothers from Bordeaux demonstrated an enterprising willingness to take advantage of whatever respected venture emerged in New Orleans after the Louisiana Purchase.
This included serving the burgeoning slave market which, one must remember, was then considered wholly respectable and necessary. But when the brothers started a criminal syndicate pitted against legitimate Spanish merchants, they were labeled buccaneers and hunted down by American authorities.
"What they might have made of themselves in France would never be known, for they were born into a changing and uncertain world," notes Davis, who also observes that the Bourbon kings of France lived in increasing isolation among an in-bred and "calcified aristocracy."
The Lafittes, then, are characterized as entrepreneurs who set sail for opportunities denied them at home. Their New Orleans syndicate comprised leading bankers, lawyers, merchants, and newly appointed U.S government officials. Real trouble for them began, when they betrayed these associates, too, and became spies for Spain.
The saga might have ended with both men hanging from yardarms, had it not been for the War of 1812. The Battle of New Orleans was waged just days after England’s surrender, but historians agree that Jean Lafitte played a key role in the city’s defense. With the reluctant blessing of General Andrew Jackson, Lafitte and his brigands outflanked the invading British and routed them. This act won a presidential pardon from James Madison, but only bought temporary relief for the Pirates Laffite.
As with most other books on this subject, the primary focus is placed upon Jean, rather than Pierre. Having been immortalized by Cecil B. DeMille in "The Buccaneer," historians have labored mightily to chip away at the romance and discover the true motives for his actions. But even a work of this scholarship is not likely to diminish the legend. Having had a national park and small municipality named after him, Jean Lafitte is a part of the Gulf’s rich and diverse culture.
San Franciscans familiar with Barbary Coast folklore will appreciate the non-judging tone of the writing here. Born of desperation and charged with earning a hard living, anarchists like the Lafittes ranged freely on the West Coast a generation later.
Patrick Burnson is the publisher of San Francisco Shipper.
