Editing Henry Morgan (section)

==In Jamaican politics (1675–1688)==
[[File:John Vaughan, 3rd Earl of Carbery by Sir Godfrey Kneller, Bt.jpg|thumb|upright|John Vaughan, 3rd Earl of Carbery]]

On his arrival in Jamaica, the 12-man [[House of Assembly of Jamaica|Assembly of Jamaica]] voted Morgan an annual salary of £600 "for his good services to the country"; the move angered Carbery, who did not get on with Morgan.{{sfn|Breverton|2005|p=108}} Carbery later complained of his deputy that he was "every day more convinced of&nbsp;... [Morgan's] imprudence and unfitness to have anything to do with civil government".{{sfn|Cordingly|2006|p=55}}{{sfn|Pope|1978|p=277}} Carbery also wrote to the Secretary of State to bemoan Morgan's "drinking and gaming at the taverns" of Port Royal.{{sfn|Pope|1978|p=277}}

Although Morgan had been ordered to eradicate piracy from Jamaican waters,{{sfn|Talty|2007|p=271}} he continued his friendly relations with many privateer captains, and invested in some of their ships. Zahedieh estimates that there were 1,200 privateers operating in the Caribbean at the time, and Port Royal was their preferred destination. These had a welcome in the city if Morgan received the dues owed to him.{{sfn|Zahedieh|2004a}} As Morgan was no longer able to issue letters of marque to privateer captains, his brother-in-law, [[Robert Byndloss]], directed them to the French governor of [[Tortuga (Haiti)|Tortuga]] to have a letter issued; Byndloss and Morgan received a commission for each one signed.{{sfn|Breverton|2005|p=112}}{{sfn|Pope|1978|p=276}}

In July 1676 Carbery called for a hearing against Morgan in front of the Assembly of Jamaica, accusing him of collaborating with the French to attack Spanish interests. Morgan admitted he had met the French officials, but indicated that this was diplomatic relations, rather than anything duplicitous. In the summer of 1677 the Lords of Trade said they had yet to come to a decision on the matter and in early 1678 the king and the [[Privy Council]] recalled Carbery from Jamaica, leaving Morgan as governor for three months. In July 1678 [[Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle]], was appointed governor.{{sfn|Breverton|2005|pp=111–113}}{{sfn|Allen|1976|pp=145–146}}

By the late 1670s France became an increasing threat in the Caribbean, and Morgan took control of the defence of Port Royal. He declared [[martial law]] in 1678 and 1680 – both during his periods as temporary governor of the island&nbsp;– because of the threat of invasion, re-built the fortifications surrounding the town, and increased the number of cannon from 60 to more than 100 in the five years up to 1680.{{sfn|Zahedieh|2004a}}{{sfn|Pope|1978|pp=295–297}}

Morgan and his allies on the Assembly of Jamaica made earnest efforts to deal with privateers and pirates. However, he was soon undermined by his secretary Rowland Powell, who forged his name to an illegal proclamation establishing the monopoly of the [[Royal African Company]].<ref>[https://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/colonial/america-west-indies/vol11/pp65-80  Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies: Volume 11, 1681–1685.] Originally published by Her Majesty's Stationery Office, London, 1898. June 13, Sir Henry Morgan to [Sir Leoline Jenkins?] pp. 65–80.</ref> Criticism of Morgan's governance was also fomented in London by two former governors of Jamaica, Carbery and Lynch.{{sfn|Burnard|2004}}{{sfn|Breverton|2005|p=120}} After Lynch paid £50,000 to Charles II, Morgan's commissions as lieutenant-governor and lieutenant-general were revoked and Lynch was appointed as the island's governor; Morgan still retained his position on the Assembly of Jamaica.{{sfn|Burnard|2004}}{{sfn|Pope|1978|p=244}} Morgan had been a heavy drinker for several years;{{refn|Thomas opines that while Morgan drank to excess, "the drinking was not that of a sad man or a man that drank to forget; it was because he was a larger than life character who spent many of his evenings smoking and drinking, exchanging stories of wild adventures with his peers".{{sfn|Thomas|2014|loc=3879–3885}}|group=n}} he felt his reputation tarnished and received the news of the revocation of his positions badly, increasing his intake of alcohol to the point where his health began to suffer.{{sfn|Pope|1978|p=244}}{{sfn|Thomas|2014|loc=3949}} Lynch removed Morgan's supporters from the Assembly of Jamaica by 1683, and in October that year he removed Morgan and his brother-in-law, leaving the assembly packed with men loyal to him. In 1684 Lynch died, and was temporarily replaced as governor by his friend, the lieutenant-general, [[Hender Molesworth]].{{sfn|Thomas|2014|loc=3970}}

[[File:Henry Morgan libel news.png|thumb|Report from ''[[The London Gazette]]'' regarding Morgan's successful libel action]]
In 1684 an account of Morgan's exploits was published by Exquemelin, in a Dutch volume entitled ''De Americaensche Zee-Roovers'' (trans: ''About the Buccaneers of America''). Morgan took steps to discredit the book and successfully brought a libel suit against the book's publishers William Crooke and Thomas Malthus. In his [[affidavit]] he stated that he had "against evil deeds, piracies and robberies the greatest abhorrence and distrust", and that "for the kind of men called buccaneers", he "always had and still has hatred". The court found in his favour and the book was retracted; damages of £200 were paid to him.{{sfn|Cundall|1936|pp=70–71}}

In December 1687 Lynch's permanent replacement arrived in Port George, Morgan's friend from his time in London, [[Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle]]. He dismissed Molesworth and gave Morgan an unofficial role as advisor.{{sfn|Breverton|2005|p=127}} In July 1688 Albemarle persuaded the king to allow Morgan to regain a position on the Assembly, but the former privateer was too ill to attend.{{sfn|Pope|1978|p=342}} [[Hans Sloane]], Albemarle's private physician, inspected Morgan and diagnosed [[Edema|dropsy]]; he also saw Morgan was drinking to excess and ordered him to reduce his alcohol intake, a directive which Morgan ignored. Sloane described his patient as

<blockquote>lean, sallow-coloured, his eyes  a little yellowish and belly jutting out or prominent&nbsp;... He complained to me of want of appetite for victuals, he had a kicking&nbsp;... to vomit every morning and generally a small looseness attending him, and withal is much given to drinking and sitting up late, which I supposed had been the cause of his present indisposition.{{sfn|Talty|2007|p=280}}</blockquote>