page_title: San Andrés (island)
section_title: 17th century
hierarchical_section_title: San Andrés (island) / History / 17th century
caption_attribution_description: English: Welsh buccaneer Henry Morgan.
context_page_description: San Andrés is a coral island in the Caribbean Sea. Politically part of Colombia, and historically tied to the United Kingdom, San Andrés and the nearby islands of Providencia and Santa Catalina form the department of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina. San Andrés, in the southern group of islands, is the largest of the department. The official languages of the department are Spanish, English, and San Andrés–Providencia Creole.
  While San Andrés is located 50 km south of Providence, the Colombian archipelago is approximately 750 km north of the Colombian mainland. This archipelago encompasses a total area of 57 km², including the outer cays, reefs, atolls and sand banks, with the area of the islands being 45 km². In 2000, it was declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, named "Seaflower Biosphere Reserve", which not only includes the islands but also about 10% of the Caribbean Sea, amounting to a vast marine area of 300,000 km². The purpose of this declaration is to ensure that the ecosystem, which is rich in biodiversity, is well preserved and conserved.
  The department's capital is located on the northern end of the island.
context_section_description: The English Puritans were the first to arrive; they hailed from Barbados and also from England. Between 1627 and 1629 they came to settle in the salubrious climate and take advantage of the fertile land of the islands.
  The Anglo Puritans evicted the Dutch settlers in 1631. Settlers also came from Wales. All colonists first came to San Andrés and later moved to the Providence Island colony on what is now Providencia Island as its mountain terrain provided fresh water resources and safety from invaders. Enslaved people of West African birth or descent were brought in by British shipowners in 1633 from Jamaica. They were initially brought to work in lumbering, as well as to grow cotton and tobacco.
  In 1635, the Spaniards, realizing the economic importance of the island, attacked the archipelago. However the Spaniards were driven out soon after they occupied the islands.
  Pirates also operated from here, including Welsh privateer Sir Henry Morgan, who used it in 1670 as one of the centers of his operations. The pirates attacked Spanish ships carrying gold and other precious material that sailed in the Caribbean waters but the convoy system of the Spanish treasure fleet made it more difficult. They also attacked Panama and Santa Maria. The bounty looted by the pirates is still believed to be hidden in some underwater cave in the area.
caption: Pirate Henry Morgan
exif: {"Image XResolution": "72", "Image YResolution": "72", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "72", "Thumbnail YResolution": "72", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "160", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "7556"}