I recently came across a really interesting story about some of my ancestors..
Back in the early 1700s the Salt Trade was flourishing. In those days salt was extremely valuable...necessary for us humans to live, as part of our diet, but also as a preservative for food as well as many other uses.
Bermudian entrepeneurs used to sail to the Turks and Caicos Islands (about 1,200 nautical miles) and manufacture and rake the salt that would gather in salina ponds after allowing salt water from the ocean to flow in and then subsequently allowing the sun to evaporate the water. It was a dangerous business in those days, due to roving pirates, Spanish and French interference as well as the threat of wreaking one's ship on the coral reefs that are prevalent in that area.
In 1738 two Bermudian ships were attacked and taken as prizes by the Spanish, operating from what is now the Dominican Republic. The next year the Bermudians decided to do something about it!
A Bermudian ship under the command of a Captain Hall sailed to the port from which the Spanish raidrs were based disguised as innocent traders. When the Spanish merchants went out to the ship to trade they were immediately put in chains. The crew then assaulted the large fort that protected the town...the name escapes me right now....totally surprising the garrison defending it. Five Spaniards were killed..the rest were held as prisoners. Meanwhile the raiding crew returned to their ship for reinforcements and then they besiged the town.
They pillaged the town and then burned it to the ground.
Knowing full well that the wrath of the Spanish would soon be on them the succesfull band of privateers then sailed back to the Turks and then back to Bermuda. Captain Hall and his crew lived very well off of the spoils of that little raid.
It seems that even in those days the "Trojan Horse" tactic was still being used effectively.
The moral of the story....don't f_ck with Bermudians.
