His success, added
to other political differences and ambitions, was not long in
provoking a war with France, which, with short intervals, lasted the
lifetime of the two princes.
* * * * *
Spain was most vulnerable in her ultramarine possessions. They offered
tempting prizes to the unscrupulous, adventurous spirits of the
period, and the merchants on the coast of Normandy asked and obtained
permission to equip privateers to harass Spanish commerce and attack
the unprotected settlements.
San Juan was one of the first to suffer. An official report dated
September 26, 1528, informs us that "on the day of the Apostle Saint
John a French caravel and a tender bore down on the port of Cubagua
and attempted to land artillery from the ship with the help of Indians
brought from Margarita, five leagues distant. On the 12th of August
they took the town of San German, plundered and burned it; they also
destroyed two caravels that were there...."
French privateers were sighted off the coast continually, but it would
seem that the island, with its reputation for poverty, its two
settlements 40 leagues apart, and scanty population, offered too
little chance for booty, so that no other landing is recorded till
1538, when a privateer was seen chasing a caravel on her way to San
German. The caravel ran ashore at a point two leagues from the capital
and the crew escaped into the woods.
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