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His self-made kingdom, from the Gulf of Mexico through the villages and plantations to and including New Orleans, was a part of an untamed wilderness that came as part of the package called the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. This delta was a new and lusty territory, overgrown with willows and wildlife.His kingdom was called Barataria,a French term meaning fraudulence at sea. His exploits at sea earned him the name"Terror of the Gulf",some people called him a pirate, a name he hated,he considered himself a buccaneer.He attacked no American ships,only foreign ships.He was later imprisoned,they even destroyed his Kingdom.But the governor and the rest of burgeoning America were to learn that his importance to this new territory meant much more to him than his own personal prosperity. When men were needed to keep New Orleans and the entire Mississippi River from enemy hands,He and his men stepped up and defended them.He was pardoned by Andrew Jackson and was then known as the "Hero of New Orleans".Call him what you may pirate,buccaneer or hero... He was Jean Lafitte! Return to Jean Lafitte's homepage
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