Pirate Latitudes
by Michael Crichton
Jamaica in 1665 is a rough
outpost of the English crown, a minor colony holding out against the vast
supremacy of the Spanish empire. Port Royal, Jamaica?s capital, a cut-throat
town of taverns, grog shops, and bawdy houses, is devoid of London?s luxuries;
life here can end swiftly with dysentery or a dagger in your back. But for
Captain Edward Hunter it is a life that can also lead to riches, if he abides by
the island?s code. In the name of His Majesty King Charles II of England, gold
in Spanish hands is gold for the taking. And law in the New World is made by
those who take it into their hands.
Word in port is that the
Spanish treasure galleon El Trinidad, fresh from New Spain, is stalled in
nearby Matanceros harbor awaiting repairs. Heavily fortified, the impregnable
Spanish outpost is guarded by the blood-swiller Cazalla, a favorite commander
of King Philip IV himself. With the governor?s backing, Hunter assembles a
roughneck crew to infiltrate the enemy island and commandeer the galleon, along
with its fortune in Spanish gold. The raid is as perilous as the bloody legends
of Matanceros suggest, and Hunter will lose more than one man before he finds
himself on the island?s shores, where dense jungle and the firepower of Spanish
infantry are all that stand between him and the treasure.
With the help of his
cunning crew, Hunter hijacks El Trinidad and escapes the deadly clutches of
Cazalla, leaving plenty of carnage in his wake. But his troubles have just
begun. . . .
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