In the early 1800's, piracy along the coast of Florida as well as in the Caribbean increased. US Navy ships had operated against these pirate ships, but only on an adhoc basis, there was no permanent squad to protect American merchants on the seas of the Caribbean. Then in 1821, three American merchant ships were massacred off the coast of Mantanzas, Cuba.
Here is an excerpt from a gentlemen at Matanzas describing the incident:
"The brig Hannah, of Philadelphia, has been plundered of 460 bags of coffee, $5000 worth of tortoise shell, and $1000 in specie. The crew were most horribly treated—the captain, his brother and five passengers, were nearly roasted to death, to make them confess that money was on board, by building a large fire around them, they being tied; they were also nearly killed by being beaten with swords!"
This incident served as the catalyst that put the president and congress into action, and congress authorized Commodore James Biddle to deploy a fleet of ships to the Caribbean. In his 1821 annual address to congress, President James Monroe outlined his reasoning for quick and decisive action:
"Vessels have likewise been employed in cruising along the Atlantic coast, in the Gulf of Mexico, on the coast of Africa, and in the neighboring seas. In the latter many piracies have been committed on our commerce, and so extensive was becoming the range of those unprincipled adventurers that there was cause to apprehend, without a timely and decisive effort to suppress them, the worst consequences would ensue. Fortunately, a considerable check has been given to that spirit by our cruisers, who have succeeded in capturing and destroying several of their vessels. Nevertheless, it is considered an object of high importance to continue these cruises until the practice is entirely suppressed."
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i now have found the meaning of life after reading about james monroe and the pirates of the caribbean. but its sad that disney will probably be removing this article due to copyright claims.
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