‘A certain false, malicious, scandalous and famous libel’: Sir Henry Morgan’s legal action against a London publisher of Alexandre Exquemelin, 1685

Abstract

This research examines the surviving plea roll from Sir Henry Morgan’s 1685 libel action against London publisher Thomas Malthus, presenting what it reveals about the substance of the complaint in the context of contemporary English libel law and Morgan-related sources. Malthus and rival printer William Crooke had produced competing English translations of buccaneer Alexandre Exquemelin’s memoir of Morgan-led operations against the Spanish, which included passages Morgan objected to through his attorney. The document (in the UK National Archives) summarizes the form and resolution of the lawsuit in the Court of King’s Bench against Malthus, and offers insight into what Morgan’s attorney considered libellous; these points probably echo Morgan’s concerns about the edition printed by Crooke, who settled out of court. Though the truth of Exquemelin’s contested statements was never tested in court, the episode can be seen as marking the first step in an ongoing critical appraisal of the buccaneer-turned-author’s veracity.