Michel de Grammont

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Michel de Grammont (born c.1645 - died 1686?) was born in Paris, France and was lost at sea, north-east Caribbean, April 1686. His pirate career was from c.1670 - 1686. His flagship was the Hardi.

[edit] Pirate Career

Michel de Grammont may have served in the French navy before emerging as a buccaneer commander, operating out of Tortuga and Saint-Domingue against Spanish shipping. When war broke out between France and Holland in 1678, he took part in an abortive raid on the Dutch island of Curaçao, and was appointed commander of the buccaneers.

In June 1678 he led six ships and 700 men into Spanish-held Venezuela, penetrating as far inland as Trujillo. This was followed by another successful raid on the Venezuelan port of La Guaira, captured in a daring night attack, though the buccaneers only escaped with difficulty when attacked by a larger Spanish force.

In May 1683, de Grammont and Dutch buccaneer Laurens de Graff sacked Vera Cruz in Mexico, taking 4,000 prisoners for ransom.

In 1685, the pair also sacked the Mexican city of Campeche and held it for three months.

[edit] Disappearance

He was last seen heading in the north-east direction of the Caribbean in April 1686, and was considered lost at sea.

[edit] References

Pickering, David. "Pirates". CollinsGem. HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY. pp-59. 2006.