Hi, I'm wondering if anyone can tell me if there is any evidence that the writer Alexandre Exquemelin actually sailed with Sir Henry Morgan? I have read allusions to crew lists, but nothing concrete. Thanks!
I don't know of any original crew lists for Henry Morgan's 1671 attack on Panama but based on the contents of The Buccaneers of America which Exquemelin published about his experiences in 1678 it seems almost certain that he was actually there himself or at the very least had taken his account from someone who was there. Even if it is exaggerated or embellished as Henry Morgan claimed when he sued the English publishers of the book for libel in 1684 (and won, probably due to political influence), the many specific details included in the book definitely seem to point to coming from someone who was really there or else someone extremely imaginative. Alexandre Exquemelin is also definitely confirmed to have been on the muster rolls for the 1697 French attack on Cartegena (26 years after the Attack on Panama) so that's conclusive evidence that he did engage in buccaneering. Taken together, I think the evidence is very strong that Alexandre Exquemelin was with Henry Morgan at Panama.