In 1686, a small group of mainly French buccaneers left the Caribbean for the South Sea. Instead of crossing the Isthmus of Panama, they loaded supplies on the east coast of North America, crossed the Atlantic Ocean to West Africa, and then headed for the Straits of Magellan. Until 1695, their exploits ranged from the Juan Fernández Islands and the coasts of Chile in the south, to the shores of the Viceroyalty of Peru and the Galapagos Islands, and finally reached the northern limits of Spanish viceregal administration along the coasts of New Spain (Mexico), including the peninsula of Baja California.

This last group of buccaneers had been preceded by the first party of mainly English buccaneers to enter the South Sea from across the Isthmus of Panama in 1680, and the much more numerous second wave from 1684-87, of both French and English buccaneers. Whilst the French had mainly arrived in the South Sea from across the Isthmus, many Englishmen pioneered the passage through through the Straits of Magellan after departing from North America for the coast of Africa and then crossing the South Atlantic.

Part 1 of this book constructs a new diary of the activities of the last buccaneers in English, created from the original French journal, in part anonymous and in part signed by F. Massertie, plus supplementary Spanish documents written in Mexico and Peru. These textual sources form Parts 2 and 3 of the work. Together they illustrate remarkable feats of navigation and endurance under the leadership of a Dutch captain named Franco in Spanish documemts, and Franz Rolle or Rools in other texts. The diary traces their hardships and daring in combats, especially on the northern coasts of Mexico and Baja California, the growing uncertainties that had driven them to seek alternative spheres of action in the South Sea, and the sometimes brutal methods they used to achieve their aims of personal enrichment. Yet, in some ways they contradicted typical Spanish perceptions of them, especially in Peru, and also offered critical descriptions of areas they visited. As a result of exploring the Gulf of California, at least as far as 28°N, they expressed doubts about maps that still depicted Baja California as an island, thereby predicting by more than a decade the findings of Eusebio Kino. Finally, as the age of buccaneering declined, their journal helped to inspire the new and profitable age of French commercial enterprise in the South Sea early in the 18th century.

CONTENTS Introduction Part 1 The Diary (1686-95) i) From the Caribbean to the South Sea, 1686-87 ii) New Spain, August 1687 to April 1689 iii) Galapagos Isles and N. Peru, June 1689 to July 1690 iv) New Spain, August 1690 to April 1691 v) Galapagos Isles and N. Peru, May to September 1691 vi) J. Fernandez Isles, October to November 1691 vii) Chile and S. Peru, December 1691 to June 1693 viii) The Voyage to France, July 1693 to September 1694 ix) The Story of the Santiaguillo, October 1693 to 1695 Commentary Part 2 Text of the French Journal Part 3 Related Spanish Documents Bibliography Index of Diary Names
	A French chasseur & a French flibustier	A French flibustier