*
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.
March 29, 2024, 03:35:13 PM

Login with username, password and session length

Donate

We Appreciate Your Support

Members
Stats
  • Total Posts: 1686665
  • Total Topics: 118120
  • Online Today: 817
  • Online Ever: 2235
  • (October 29, 2023, 12:32:45 AM)
Users Online

Recent

Author Topic: 1671 Morgan attack in Panama  (Read 7182 times)

Offline Mpanko

  • Bookworm
  • Posts: 61
Re: 1671 Morgan attack in Panama
« Reply #15 on: September 15, 2019, 01:25:15 AM »
Sounds great...

Looking at the wiki page I am curious.  I have read no accounts of artillery being used in the battle against Morgan’s men.  So with that said I see a fortress as part of the diorama with many cannon in it.

Given that the Spanish knew Morgan was heading to them for weeks in advance it seems strange that they would not have done something with those guns... if this is accurate to the time of the attack.

Anyway...great stuff! lol

Offline Dolmot

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1499
Re: 1671 Morgan attack in Panama
« Reply #16 on: September 15, 2019, 11:59:52 AM »
Looking at the wiki page I am curious.  I have read no accounts of artillery being used in the battle against Morgan’s men.  So with that said I see a fortress as part of the diorama with many cannon in it.

Given that the Spanish knew Morgan was heading to them for weeks in advance it seems strange that they would not have done something with those guns... if this is accurate to the time of the attack.

Funny you should mention that! The museum label said:
Quote
This is a hypothetical reconstruction of Panamá city in the 17th century. It was originally created in 1995 based on research by Eduardo Tejeira Davis, Ph.D., and was modified in 2017.

The Wiki photo was uploaded in 2015. I visited in 2018 and lo and behold, all buildings on that island have changed! The fort is now simpler too, and there are no guns:



A few quotations of possible interest from various labels:
Quote
Military Architecture

Panamá Viejo barely had defenses. Its small Nativity Fort accommodated just 12 soldiers and 4 pieces of artillery. The Royal Houses had other functions, and by 16th century it was still made out of wood.

Two proposals were made to fortify Panamá Viejo: one by the engineer Bautista Antonelli (1586) and another by Cristóbal de Roda (1609). None was executed, due to high costs and bad timing. The city remained vulnerable to a pirate attack, which eventually arrived.

Quote
-- Meanwhile, Captain Juan Pérez de Guzmán organized the defense of the city with a poorly armed and unprepared militia composed mainly of civilians and slaves.

Quote
-- Despite possessing vast military experience, Pérez de Guzmán proved to be a mediocre strategist: for example, he deployed a retreating scheme when the buccaneers were crossing the Isthmus, and chose the worst possible place to fight them. --

And about the first stages of the battle in the morning:
Quote
The pirates descend from the hill in 4 squadrons of 300 men each, armed with muskets. Don Juan Pérez de Guzmán prepares the city's defense with 1,200 infantrymen and 400 cavalry units located on a plain next to a smaller hill. They have only 600 firearms, mainly arquebuses. Most of the defenders only carry hand-held weapons, like pikes and spears.

I don't know if you already got the same (or possibly conflicting?) information from elsewhere. However, based on the museum's descriptions, you might be looking at a grand total of 12 proper soldiers and mostly just militia without firearms. If that's the case, I wouldn't expect uniformed look there at all. :o


Edit: Maybe this is old news too, but looks like the engraving linked earlier comes from Alexandre Exquemelin's book The buccaneers of America : a true account of the most remarkable assaults committed of late years upon the coast of the West Indies by the buccaneers of Jamaica and Tortuga, both English and French, wherein are contained more especially the unparalleled exploits of Sir Henry Morgan, our English Jamaican hero, who sacked Porto Bello, burnt Panama, etc.. It gives an account of the whole Panama campaign in its part III, chapters V-VI. A 1924 edition of it is available online. Page 206 (book's numbering) mentions:
Quote
He discovered more, that in the city they had made trenches and raised batteries in several places, in all which they had placed many guns, and that at the entry of the highway which led to the city they had built a fort, which was mounted with 8 great guns of brass, and defended by 50 men.
--
They found much difficulty in their approach unto the city. For within the town the Spaniards had placed many great guns, at several quarters thereof, some of which were charged with small pieces of iron and others with musket-bullets. With all these they saluted the Pirates, at their drawing nigh unto the place, and gave them full and frequent broadsides, firing at them incessantly. Whence it came to carrying with pass that unavoidably they lost, at every step they advanced, great numbers of men.

Fascinating if true. It sounds like Pérez de Guzmán indeed wasted his troops in the open, while somewhat convincing defence could have been organised closer to the city. Who knows? Nevertheless, this makes interesting reading. I'll probably return to this later myself too. Today I should have been working on completely different things already but pirates are far too exciting. lol
« Last Edit: September 15, 2019, 01:30:03 PM by Dolmot »

Offline Mpanko

  • Bookworm
  • Posts: 61
Re: 1671 Morgan attack in Panama
« Reply #17 on: September 15, 2019, 05:39:29 PM »
Dolmont

Awesome post!  I have found disparity in the numbers of the Spanish in Panama but all have said they were a militia force with some cavalry.  There only seemed to be a limited amount of firearms and many were armed with pikes, spears and even bows in the case of the natives that were there.

This is very much a new period for me so a lot of reading goes along with my painting right now. 

Offline doctorphalanx

  • Bookworm
  • Posts: 71
    • doctorphalanx
Re: 1671 Morgan attack in Panama
« Reply #18 on: September 16, 2019, 08:56:03 AM »
I understand the Spanish pikes were probably half-pikes. Any views?

Offline Mpanko

  • Bookworm
  • Posts: 61
Re: 1671 Morgan attack in Panama
« Reply #19 on: September 16, 2019, 03:51:05 PM »
I have read both the Esquelmeling account and a book by Peter Earle called The Sack of Panama.  In Earle’s book he combines a couple of sources.

I have not read any reference to half pikes but then again perhaps the original sources made no such distinctions. 

Perhaps there is another source that states this.   I know the Blood and Plunder militia have spears but no pikes.

Offline Mpanko

  • Bookworm
  • Posts: 61
Re: 1671 Morgan attack in Panama
« Reply #20 on: September 18, 2019, 02:41:42 AM »
Playing around with contrast paints in my work up of the buccaneers for Panama.  First up is my version of Morgan from Foundry....and yes I did take the paint job inspiration from his namesake rum...

Offline DintheDin

  • Galactic Brain
  • Posts: 6214
Re: 1671 Morgan attack in Panama
« Reply #21 on: September 18, 2019, 06:47:42 AM »
An imposing figure and a good start!
This thread becomes more and more interesting! Cheers!
Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates. – Mark Twain, Life on the Mississippi

Offline Mpanko

  • Bookworm
  • Posts: 61
Re: 1671 Morgan attack in Panama
« Reply #22 on: September 18, 2019, 10:25:01 AM »
Next up is my take on Colonel Bradley, again from Foundry.  Bicorne ECW and Foundry figures immediately behind those as a part of the buccaneer force Morgan brings with him to attack Panama.

I was happy to see that the two aforementioned figure lines work together,  in the far background there are some 1672 French officers from North Star.  Being clad fabulously in red they are really part of my other pike and shot project for the Sun King’s wars.

My painting for this project as mentioned in an earlier approach is using a mix of contrast and regular paints to go as fast as possible to field a force to game with....so eyes are not painted, and there was no attempt to do anything more than the base paint followed by ink/ wash or just a contrast straight application.

Offline Mpanko

  • Bookworm
  • Posts: 61
Re: 1671 Morgan attack in Panama
« Reply #23 on: September 18, 2019, 08:23:27 PM »
Although these Spanish are not part of my buccaneers project I could not resist painting a few of the Tercio uniforms around this time period.  First time I have ever painted historical infantry in purple and red! lol

These will be added again to the European side of Spain’s wars in this time period.

Offline marco55

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1388
Re: 1671 Morgan attack in Panama
« Reply #24 on: September 25, 2019, 01:02:45 AM »
Here's a couple of books I just ordered that might be of interest to some.
Mark

Offline marco55

  • Mastermind
  • Posts: 1388
Re: 1671 Morgan attack in Panama
« Reply #25 on: September 25, 2019, 01:08:27 AM »
A painting guide, a little early but talks a little about uniforms after 1650.  https://balagan.info/spanish-painting-guide-for-the-thirty-years-war
Mark

Offline Mpanko

  • Bookworm
  • Posts: 61
Re: 1671 Morgan attack in Panama
« Reply #26 on: September 25, 2019, 10:02:11 PM »
I have read the Sack of Panama but not the second book.  I got it on Kindle a couple of days ago.  It is pretty good so far thanks for the recommendations.

Offline Mpanko

  • Bookworm
  • Posts: 61
Re: 1671 Morgan attack in Panama
« Reply #27 on: September 25, 2019, 10:07:30 PM »
First group of buccaneers painted and based in the Pikeman’s Lament 3-2-1 style.  This is a about 1/3 of what I am working on for the buccaneer side of this project.

Focus for me is getting these guys on the field versus really detailing them out.


Offline Mpanko

  • Bookworm
  • Posts: 61
Re: 1671 Morgan attack in Panama
« Reply #28 on: September 25, 2019, 10:14:20 PM »
The first Spanish force to face the buccaneers below.  I know earlier we talked about uniforms or not and I have leaned towards the mostly white coated militia for the 1670 time period.  This lets me use the great North Star sculpts along with a couple of Bicorne guys.  I still need to paint the Blood and Plunder natives and the pike / melee units I am using to represent the poorly armed rabble that formed part of the Army of Panama. 

All good stuff!

Offline Mpanko

  • Bookworm
  • Posts: 61
Re: 1671 Morgan attack in Panama
« Reply #29 on: September 25, 2019, 10:35:11 PM »
Some Spanish militia a bit closer, my iPhone photo skills need work probably.