Background
Montbars was born to a wealthy family in Languedoc around 1645.
Montbars was born to a wealthy family in Languedoc around 1645.
Foreign several years, he was known as one of the most violent buccaneers active against the Spanish during the mid-17th century. He was well educated and raised as a gentleman. According to popular legend, Montbars" legendary hatred of the Spanish came from reading about the cruelties of the Conquistadors upon the New World, particularly a narrative describing atrocities carried out against the native Indians, written by Las Casas.
His uncle"s death served to further his hatred of the Spaniards.
Making his way to the pirate haven of Tortuga, he became a buccaneer captain soon afterwards. Montbars distinguished himself during an attack against a Spanish galleon, described by one account:
He attacked the Spanish settlements on the coast of Mexico, Cuba and Puerto Rico.
He also raided settlements in the Antilles and in Honduras, capturing Vera Cruz and Cartagena. He looted and set fire to Porto Caballo, San Pedro, Gibraltar and Maricaibo, among other Spanish strongholds, and captured or destroyed numerous other forts and settlements.
Although he did not murder in cold blood, as did some of his contemporaries, he gave no quarter to his enemies and was known to torture surviving Spanish soldiers.
One of his more infamous methods was to cut open the abdomen of one of his prisoners, extract one end of the large intestine and nail it to a post, then force the man to "dance to his death by beating his backside with a burning log". The circumstances of his death are unrecorded. However, he may have been lost at sea while on one of his voyages in 1707.
While more focused on warring against the Spanish, he was said to have amassed a considerable amount of wealth during his career.
Montbars is featured in several French dramas, most notably, the 1807 romance novel l"Exterminateur: ou le dernier des flibustiers. The character of Red Rackham from The Adventures of Tintin was based on John “Calico Jack” Rackham and Montbars the Exterminator.
Defending his act of vengeance against the Spaniards, he became known throughout the Spanish Main as "Montbars the Exterminator" for exacting his own cruelties against the Spanish.
He and members of his crew reportedly buried their fortune near Anse de Gouverneur or Grand Saline, although Montbars was said to have died before he could come back for his treasure.