Pierre Le Picard
The Shrewd Sea Wolf
Born around 1624, Le Picard first emerged from historical obscurity in 1666 as an officer in François L'Olonnais's legendary fleet. The Norman had already proven himself in earlier raids, earning the respect of his crews and the confidence of his commanders through the brutal calculus of Caribbean warfare.
During the Maracaibo expedition, Le Picard witnessed the systematic terror that made L'Olonnais both feared and successful. He watched Spanish citizens flee inland rather than face the French pirates' wrath. At Gibraltar, he participated in the brilliant deception capturing an impregnable Spanish fort. When the fleet returned to Tortuga with holds full of Spanish silver and gold, Le Picard's share established him as one of the wealthier men among the brethren of the coast.
The Honduras Disaster and Strategic Retreat
The following year brought both triumph and disaster. Le Picard again sailed with L'Olonnais's fleet toward the Central American coast. The expedition began promisingly with the successful capture of Puerto Cavallo, but the doldrums that cast them far north than intended and proved to be an omen of troubles ahead.
When Spanish forces ambushed L'Olonnais's men at San Pedro, shattering the French commander's reputation for invincibility, Le Picard demonstrated the quality that would define his long career—the wisdom to recognize when a situation had become untenable. As L'Olonnais grew increasingly desperate, proposing reckless ventures toward Guatemala, Le Picard joined forces with Moïse Vauquelin in open opposition to their commander's plans.
The decision to abandon L'Olonnais was not made lightly. These men had shared the greatest pirate victories of their age, but Le Picard understood that loyalty to a doomed leader was simply an elaborate form of suicide. Taking their ships and crews, Le Picard and Vauquelin sailed away to seek their own fortunes, leaving their former admiral with only a handful of desperate followers. It was a decision that would save their lives—L'Olonnais and most of those who remained with him would soon vanish forever in the jungles of Central America.
Independent Operations
Free from L'Olonnais's increasingly erratic command, Le Picard embarked on his own ventures along the Central American coast. He sailed for the town of Veraguas on the coast of Costa Rica, successfully capturing and plundering the settlement. These independent operations demonstrated his competence as a leader in his own right, capable of planning and executing profitable raids without the guidance of more famous commanders.
But Le Picard's greatest adventures still lay ahead. Sometime in the early 1670s, he made a decision that would set him apart from most of his Caribbean contemporaries—he joined Sir Henry Morgan's expedition against Panama. This transition from serving under French command to working with the English privateer revealed Le Picard's pragmatic approach to the piratical life. National loyalties mattered less than the promise of profit and the reputation of the commander.
With Henry Morgan
Under Morgan's command, Le Picard found himself once again raiding the familiar waters around Maracaibo, though this time serving English rather than French interests. His experience from the earlier L'Olonnais expedition made him a valuable advisor to Morgan, who was persuaded by the French captain to repeat the successful tactics that had worked so well for the buccaneers years before.
The Panama expedition of 1671 would prove to be one of the most ambitious and successful pirate ventures in Caribbean history. Le Picard's participation in this raid marked him as one of the few buccaneers to serve under both of the most famous pirate commanders of his generation. Where other pirates gained reputations for their cruelty or their leadership, Le Picard became known for his reliability and his uncanny ability to align himself with successful ventures.
Pioneer of the Pacific
Perhaps Le Picard's most remarkable achievement was becoming one of the first buccaneers to raid shipping on both the Caribbean and Pacific coasts. In the 1680s, he joined the growing number of buccaneers who crossed the Isthmus of Panama to prey upon Spanish shipping in the Pacific—a dangerous and difficult journey that only the most experienced and determined pirates attempted.
In 1685, he joined with Edward Davis, François Grogniet, and others in an ambitious attempt to intercept the Spanish treasure fleet off Panama. Though this particular venture met with limited success, Le Picard's presence in the Pacific demonstrated his continued appetite for adventure and profit well into his sixties.
He later assisted in the capture of Guayaquil, one of the most significant Pacific coast cities, proving that age had not diminished his effectiveness as a military commander. When François Grogniet was killed during these Pacific operations, Le Picard took command of the French filibustiers, planning to lead them back across Panama to the Caribbean.
The Final Years
In the early 1680s, Le Picard was reported by Governor Henry Morgan to be raiding both English and Spanish shipping off the coast of Jamaica, suggesting that he had transitioned from serving established commanders to operating as an independent pirate captain. This period marked his final known activities in Caribbean waters before his Pacific ventures.
Le Picard's exact fate remains unclear, but unlike many of his contemporaries who met violent ends, he appears to have survived well into the 1680s and possibly beyond. His longevity in such a dangerous profession speaks to his combination of courage, cunning, and—perhaps most importantly—the wisdom to know when to fight and when to retreat.