75mm

Francois L´ Olonnais

Francois L´ Olonnais
Manufacturer : Pegaso Models
Item Code : 75-040
Scale : 75 mm
Material : White metal
Sculptor : Maurizio Bruno

Jean-David Nau (1635 -1668), better known as François l'Olonnais, was a French pirate active in the Caribbean during the 1660s. His birth place is noted as Les Sables-d'Olonne, a seaside town of western France, by the Atlantic Ocean.
L'Olonnais first arrived in the Caribbean as an indentured servant during the 1650s. By 1660, his indenture was complete and he began to wander the various islands, before finally arriving in Saint-Domingue and becoming a buccaneer, preying in its vicinity on shipping from the Spanish West Indies and the Main.
A year or two into his piratical career, l'Olonnais was shipwrecked near Campeche, in Mexico. A party of Spanish soldiers attacked l'Olonnais and his crew, killing almost the entire party. L'Olonais himself survived by covering himself in the blood of others and hiding amongst the dead. After the Spaniards departed, l'Olonnais, with the assistance of some slaves, escaped and made his way to Tortuga. Shortly after this, he and his crew held a town hostage, demanding a ransom from its Spanish rulers. The governor of Havana sent a ship to kill l'Olonnais' party, but l'Olonais captured and beheaded the entire crew save one, whom he spared so that a message could be delivered to Havana. In the message, l'Ollonais declared: I shall never henceforward give quarter to any Spaniard whatsoever.