Why did Europeans settle on this island in the first place? What makes Galveston Island so attractive? Like lots of big questions like this, the answers are surprisingly simple, and in this case, geography and money. The Spanish first saw strategic value in the region and laid claim to what we now call Texas in the early 15 hundreds.
But for this island, which didn't yet have an official European name. But rather a nickname given by Cabeza de Vaca when he shipwrecked on or near Galveston Island, calling it Isla Deras or Snake Island for 300 years. The Spanish Empire pretty much maintained control over the Gulf Coast, but France, the Colonies, Britain and the United States never really took their eyes off of it.
The northeastern edge of the Gulf, especially, was just a short sail away from New Orleans and was increasingly tempting to fortune seekers. The coast of Texas remained pretty wild and uncolonized until the Eighteen-Tens, and then the island was on everyone's radar.
Bear in mind that the Karankawa and other indigenous people have had a very long history on what is now called Galveston Island. The Karankawa, the peoples often associated with Galveston Island, were nomadic between the coast and interior of Texas, and groups of Karankawa frequently camped on the barrier islands of Texas, including Galveston Island, archeologists, and modern scholars alongside living members of the tribe, now known as the Karankawa-Kadla, have been able to unearth and bring to light lots of this deep history in the region.
When it comes to studying and talking about history, most of our information and primary sources come from written records, which Indigenous people just didn't do like the Europeans did. So, when we're talking about the early history of the island, most of what we know comes from European sources only because they were the ones writing it down.
And many of these records came from not just settlers and pioneers but pirates. First off, when it comes to pirates, should we call them pirates or privateers? The only difference is whether or not their activity has been legally sanctioned, usually by an official letter of marque from a government. Now, the issuance of a letter of marque is essentially granting a government license that authorizes a private person called a privateer to attack and capture enemy shifts during wartime.
It turns private vessels into a legal naval force, and without a letter of marque, attacking and plundering other ships would be considered piracy. Now, at this time in history, in the 1810s, many governments just didn't have enough ships to control and monitor their quickly growing area of ocean territory. So, some private citizens were given permission to engage in battles and keep a portion of the spoils, also known as booty.
Some of the earliest settlers on Galveston Island were engaged in piracy and privateering. It's safe to say that the Lafitte brothers embraced both methods and yes, Jean and Pierre Lafitte. There were at least two Lafittes who worked together in the scheming. But Jean, in particular, is usually credited with establishing the first, let's say, European pirate colony on Galveston Island. Now, depending on where you look, some historical sources say that the Lafitte Brothers claim to have been born in France, with Pierre being about 10 years older than Jean.
They first showed up in New Orleans in the early 1800s when they established a blacksmith shop, which still stands on Bourbon Street in the French Quarter. There. The brothers quickly realized how much money could be made from trading, smuggling, and privateering, but not just that, but also the illegal slave trade along the Gulf Coast.
As they began building their fortune and wealth, they became well-known and respected members of New Orleans High Society. In fact, Jean Lafitte even helped the Americans defeat the British forces at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815. During the War of 1812, the Lafitte's were doing very well for themselves and saw room to expand their personal empire,
but he couldn't pull it off all alone, and he certainly wasn't the only one who wanted it at this point. Texas was owned by Spain, and the island may have been legally a part of Spain, but people in Spanish Mexico, which included Texas, began organizing to rebel for independence against Spain. Those organizing the Mexican rebellion saw the potential value of controlling Galveston Island ports, forts, and men were needed to successfully rest the territory away from Spain.
A man named Louis-Michel Aury, also a French pirate and Privateer, was one of these men. He reached the island first and established the first camp in July of 1816. The flag of rebellion was raised over Galveston Island on September 13th, 1816. Aury quickly built a shanty town on the east end of Galveston Island, a settlement of rebel fighters who killed time and raised money privateering and pirating mainly against Spanish vessels in the maritime commerce-rich Gulf of Mexico.
Over the following months, reinforcements arrived until over 200 men were living on the island in April of 1817. Aury's gathered forces mounted up and left the island and began sailing south towards Spanish, Mexico for an offensive invasion to gain independence. This expedition for independence, like many others against Spain, did not work out.
Around the same time Aury was leaving on this expedition, Jean Lafitte had been expelled from New Orleans and later Louisiana, mainly for his involvement in piracy and smuggling there. Although he helped the US during the War of 1812, he returned to illegal activities afterward; the US government and Louisiana authorities saw him as a threat to law and order.
Eventually, they shut down his base at Barataria and forced him out. But Jean Lafitte's men sailed into Galveston Bay in Aury's wake. Because of Galveston's deep natural harbor. The island was an attractive place for Lafitte's various businesses. A man named Bartholome Lafon was enlisted to help, and in a very practical sense, he was actually responsible for building the colony.
Lafon was another New Orleans notable and a jack of all trades. He was an architect, land developer, cartographer, and pirate, too. Before Lafitte personally arrived to stay, though he had almost certainly visited before, Lafon first brought the materials to build the colony in May 1817 on his ship, the Carmelita. In fact, Lafon is likely responsible for designing and building Lafitte's home, which is known as Maison Rouge, in French, or Red House.
From 1817 to 1820, their pirate colony called Campeche was Jean Lafitte's home base of operations. Over a thousand people lived here at the time. Now, one key piece to this operation that is often overlooked is that Lafitte and his men continued to engage in the illegal slave trade here, along with other nefarious dealings. Lafitte's men would assist in smuggling enslaved people across the Spanish, Texas, and Louisiana border into the United States and then turn them in for a bounty at a US Customs house and have associates purchase these enslaved people back. Acquiring the legal documents to then sell these enslaved people throughout the early 18 hundreds United States.
But the Karankawa people, still nomadic and occasionally living on the island, weren't too happy to share it with these shady Europeans. They might be able to trade, mingle, and live alongside each other, but they definitely did not trust each other. Tensions peaked at the battle of the three trees, culminating in a complete standoff between these pirates and the indigenous people. The Karankawa ended up leaving, and nothing too terrible happened. However, things were certainly getting less friendly for Lafitte and his men on this island.
Ultimately, this endeavor wasn't sustainable for the Pirates, and by 1820, the United States government was also having problems with Jean Lafitte and his outfit. They had inadvertently attacked a US merchant ship, and if you know anything about the history of the US and their ships... The United States does not play when you touch their boats. The government drew a hard line, and the United States Navy came sailing in.
Jean Lafitte and his outfit were ordered to leave Galveston Island, and Lafitte abandoned the colony without a fight. However, his last wish for Campeche was to burn the entire colony completely to the ground.
So, go to the earliest or just best recorded European stories of life on Galveston Island. Only scattered archaeological evidence and documents remain to record this legacy. But of course, where there are pirates, there are stories of lost treasure left behind. But for some people, the stories left behind are the real treasure of Galveston Island, and while Lafitte himself vanished into history, the myth of his buried treasure still lingers, proof that some legends are too rich to ever be buried for good.
