Tortuga
Île de la Tortue, Haiti
What happened
Tortuga is a small island off the northwest coast of Haiti. In the early 1600s hunters on nearby Hispaniola smoked meat to sell to passing ships, and they became known as buccaneers. French and English settlers arrived on Tortuga in 1625, and from the 1630s the island became a major buccaneer base for raids on Spanish ships and towns.
Why it matters
Tortuga was one of the great buccaneer havens of the Caribbean, with Port Royal and Petit-Goave. Spain, France and England all struggled to control it.
What came next
France officially took over the island in the 1660s, and in 1676 the capital of the French colony moved to Port-de-Paix on the mainland of Hispaniola.
Did you know?
Columbus named the island Tortuga, Spanish for turtle, because its outline looked like a turtle's shell from the sea.
Timeline
- 6 December 1492Columbus sees the island and names it Tortuga.
- 1625French and English settlers arrive.
- 1630sTortuga becomes a major buccaneer haven.
- 1676The French colony's capital moves to Port-de-Paix.