Person

Thomas Paine

Not who you're looking for? Others named Thomas Paine: American Founding Father, philosopher, and political activis

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Overview

Thomas Paine (1632–1715) was a colonial American privateer who, during the late 17th century, raided several Spanish settlements. He participated in a raid with Jan Willems, looting Rio de la Hacha in 1680 as well as driving the French out of Block Island. In June of the same year, Paine joined forces with Michel de Grammont and a captain named Wright at Blanquilla Island. Together with 50 men they successfully raided the town of Cumana although it was defended by 2,000 Spanish soldiers. In 1682, Paine accepted a pardon from the governor of Jamaica. A resident of Jamestown, Rhode Island, Paine had received a commission from Jamaica's governor Sir Thomas Lynch which instructed him to "seize, kill, and destroy pirates"; however, in March 1683, he joined the privateers John Markham, Jan Corneliszoon, Conway Woolley and a French Captain "Bréhal" (actually a nickname of Michiel Andrieszoon) in a raid against the Spanish town of Saint Augustine, Florida. In command of an eight-gun barque, the Pearl, Paine led his crew of sixty men under the command of Captain Bréhal, who possessed a French privateering commission obtained from Jacques Nepveu, sieur de Pouanéay and governor of Saint Domingue. As did the others, Paine sailed under a French flag as the fleet arrived off the Florida coast. However, finding the Spanish had prepared for their arrival in advance, they were forced to withdraw, eventually abandoning their raid after looting the surrounding area (although they did release several captive before their departure).

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“Eloquence may strike the ear, but the language of poverty strikes the heart; the first may charm like music, but the second alarms like a knell.”
— The Case of the Officers of Excise (1772), p. 20
“And as to you, Sir, treacherous in private friendship (for so you have been to me, and that in the day of danger) and a hypocrite in public life, the world will be puzzled to decide whether you are an apostate or an impostor; whether you have abandoned good principles, or whether you ever had any.”
— Letter to George Washington (30 July 1796)
“It is a want of feeling to talk of priests and bells while so many infants are perishing in the hospitals, and aged and infirm poor in the streets, from the want of necessaries.”
— Worship and Church Bells (1797)
“I care not how affluent some may be, provided that none be miserable in consequence of it. But it is impossible to enjoy affluence with the felicity it is capable of being enjoyed, while so much misery is mingled in the scene.”
— Means by Which the Fund Is to Be Created
“When at first thought we think of a creator our ideas appear to us undefined and confused; but if we reason philosophically, those ideas can be easily arranged and simplified. It is a Being, whose power is equal to his will.”
— A Discourse, &c. &c.
“It is the duty of every man, so far as his ability extends, to detect and expose delusion and error.”
— The Theophilanthropist: Containing Critical, Moral, Theological and Literary Essays, in Monthly Numbers, p. 387

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.

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Not who you're looking for? Others named Thomas Paine: American Founding Father, philosopher, and political activis

Overview

Thomas Paine (1632–1715) was a colonial American privateer who, during the late 17th century, raided several Spanish settlements. He participated in a raid with Jan Willems, looting Rio de la Hacha in 1680 as well as driving the French out of Block Island. In June of the same year, Paine joined forces with Michel de Grammont and a captain named Wright at Blanquilla Island. Together with 50 men they successfully raided the town of Cumana although it was defended by 2,000 Spanish soldiers. In 1682, Paine accepted a pardon from the governor of Jamaica. A resident of Jamestown, Rhode Island, Paine had received a commission from Jamaica's governor Sir Thomas Lynch which instructed him to "seize, kill, and destroy pirates"; however, in March 1683, he joined the privateers John Markham, Jan Corneliszoon, Conway Woolley and a French Captain "Bréhal" (actually a nickname of Michiel Andrieszoon) in a raid against the Spanish town of Saint Augustine, Florida. In command of an eight-gun barque, the Pearl, Paine led his crew of sixty men under the command of Captain Bréhal, who possessed a French privateering commission obtained from Jacques Nepveu, sieur de Pouanéay and governor of Saint Domingue. As did the others, Paine sailed under a French flag as the fleet arrived off the Florida coast. However, finding the Spanish had prepared for their arrival in advance, they were forced to withdraw, eventually abandoning their raid after looting the surrounding area (although they did release several captive before their departure).

From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Notable quotes

“Eloquence may strike the ear, but the language of poverty strikes the heart; the first may charm like music, but the second alarms like a knell.”
— The Case of the Officers of Excise (1772), p. 20
“And as to you, Sir, treacherous in private friendship (for so you have been to me, and that in the day of danger) and a hypocrite in public life, the world will be puzzled to decide whether you are an apostate or an impostor; whether you have abandoned good principles, or whether you ever had any.”
— Letter to George Washington (30 July 1796)
“It is a want of feeling to talk of priests and bells while so many infants are perishing in the hospitals, and aged and infirm poor in the streets, from the want of necessaries.”
— Worship and Church Bells (1797)
“I care not how affluent some may be, provided that none be miserable in consequence of it. But it is impossible to enjoy affluence with the felicity it is capable of being enjoyed, while so much misery is mingled in the scene.”
— Means by Which the Fund Is to Be Created
“When at first thought we think of a creator our ideas appear to us undefined and confused; but if we reason philosophically, those ideas can be easily arranged and simplified. It is a Being, whose power is equal to his will.”
— A Discourse, &c. &c.
“It is the duty of every man, so far as his ability extends, to detect and expose delusion and error.”
— The Theophilanthropist: Containing Critical, Moral, Theological and Literary Essays, in Monthly Numbers, p. 387

Quotes via Wikiquote (CC BY-SA), each with its original source.