Pirates of Lanzarote: When the Island Lived in Fear of the Sea

For centuries, Lanzarote islanders lived in terror of pirate raids. An isolated, lightly protected island on the main trade routes to the Americas, it was highly vulnerable to attack from the sea.

Lanzarote was never a wealthy island, and the raiders did not come in search of gold or great riches. Instead, they would raid the island for supplies, pillaging anything of value, and would often engage in the lucrative business of people trafficking – in other words, slavery.

Islanders were often captured during raids, and locals would often be given the chance to buy them back for a ransom. If they could not afford this, the slaves would be transported to the north African coast to be sold at slave markets.

Pirate raids are the reason why towns like Teguise and San Bartolomé are located in the middle of the island, far from the coast. This gave locals the maximum amount of time to flee and hide in the event of a raid.

One of the places they would hide was the underground volcanic tunnel of the Cueva de los Verde. One such siege in 1618 lasted for several days until a scribe gave away the secret entrance that islanders were using to fetch food and water. Over 900 slaves were taken in that raid, many of whom drowned in a subsequent sea battle with the Spanish Navy. The island was left virtually unpopulated.

The daughter of María Ruíz and Blas Perdomo was six when she was taken in the 1618 raid, and it was not until 1632 when the couple were able to reach Andalusia, to try and negotiate her return from Algeria. Now a young woman, their daughter chose to remain in captivity, but the couple managed to return with two of María’s nieces who had also been abducted.

The Castillo de Santa Bárbara, perched on top of the volcano of Guanapay overlooking Teguise, was another refuge – built specifically to protect islanders from pirate raids. Weapons were hard to come by in those days, but the sides of the volcano, littered with stones and rocks, show how natives may have defended themselves.

Pirates came from many places. The Barbary coast of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisa; the Caribbean, and also from England. While British history books may refer to sailors such as Drake, Raleigh and Hawkins as explorers and adventurers, Spanish history recalls them as common pirates, privateers who plundered Spanish ships.

Raleigh landed in Arrecife in 1617 after unsuccessful attempt to find the mythical city of El Dorado, although accounts of what happened vary. Some claim his men burnt buildings in the port and stole wine from a moored ship, but whatever took place, it was enough to attract strong criticism from Spain, which was then at peace with Britain. Raleigh was executed shortly afterwards.

The two castles in Arrecife, San José and San Gabriel, were both built as fortresses to defend the coast from pirate attacks, and the Torre de Águila in Playa Blanca, built in 1741, also saw bloody skirmishes.

The fortifications on the coast and the decline of piracy on the high seas by the 19th century finally allowed Lanzarote’s ports and coastal villages to live in peace, and the island’s main port, Arrecife, took over from the ancient settlement of Teguise in the late 19th century.

The real Treasure Island?

The most famous pirate story is, without a doubt, Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island, but could the real island be lying off the coast of Lanzarote?

Stevenson published his novel in 1886, but set the action over a century earlier, and it is believed that two 18th century incidents, both involving Lanzarote, inspired the story.

In the novel, the Hispaniola sets sail after the young narrator, Jim Hawkins, discovers a mysterious map, on which “X marks the spot” where buried treasure lies. This tale is believed to have arisen from an incident in which pirates chased a British galleon laden with spoils down to the island of La Grasciosa. There, the sailors are said to have buried the treasure. Stevenson used the name of this real-life boat – The Walrus – for his fictional treasure ship. However, to this date no treasure has ever been discovered on La Graciosa.

In the novel, the ship’s cook, Long John Silver, and other sailors plan to murder Captain Smollett and steal the treasure. This crime is believed to be inspired by the murder of George Glas in 1765. Glas is a key figure in Lanzarote’s history as one of the first foreign writers to publish detailed descriptions of the island.

In 1764 Glas was arrested by the Spanish, who intended to frustrate his plans for a settlement on the African coast in what they considered to be their territory. He was held for a year before being released, when he boarded a ship called The Earl of Sandwich and headed back to London with his wife and daughter. The boat was laden with large amounts of gold coins and Glas himself also carried a considerable amount of wealth. This attracted the attention of four sailors: George Gidley, Peter McKinley, Andrew Zekerman and Richard St Quintin.

In the English Channel, the sailors mutinied and murdered the boat’s skipper, Captain Cochrane, and two other sailors who were not involved in the plot. Then they came for Glas. The Scot was a big man and a skilled swordsman, but was eventually overpowered and stabbed to death. His wife and young daughter were thrown overboard to drown.

The four mutineers changed course for Dublin, scuttled the ship off the coast of Waterford and headed for shore in a rowing boat loaded with coins. Once ashore, they spent wildly, unaware that the Earl of Sandwich had not sunk, and evidence of their crimes had been discovered.

All four were rapidly arrested, hanged in Dublin and their bodies displayed on gibbets. The pretty cove of Dollar Bay in County Wexford is named because of rumours that the murderers of Glas concealed some of their treasure there.