The Untold Truth Of Jean Lafitte, The Pirate Of New Orleans

As StMU History relates, the ban on imports caused by the Embargo Act led to a scarcity of resources that Americans had grown used to, and higher taxes meant those goods that did get through were very expensive. The fact Jean Lafitte cut out the middleman by simply stealing these goods directly from the merchants

As StMU History relates, the ban on imports caused by the Embargo Act led to a scarcity of resources that Americans had grown used to, and higher taxes meant those goods that did get through were very expensive. The fact Jean Lafitte cut out the middleman by simply stealing these goods directly from the merchants meant he was able to provide New Orleans with the clothes, tools, and food (and, uh, slaves) they were used to at greatly discounted prices. As a result, the Lafitte brothers became folk heroes among people of New Orleans, kind of bayou Robin Hoods. Law enforcement would sort of let the Lafittes slide because of their popularity, and in fact Jean and Pierre Lafitte were only arrested once in their lives, briefly in 1812, but they both soon escaped.

Johnny Law didn't always turn a blind eye, however. NBC News reports on a famous incident of the futility of trying to arrest Lafitte that sounds apocryphal. According to the story, Louisiana Governor William C. C. Claiborne had had enough of the Lafittes' antics and put out a $500 reward for the capture of the beloved pirate. In response, Lafitte put up his own identical ones offering a $1,500 reward to anyone who could catch Claiborne and bring him to Barataria. An extremely Robin Hood move.

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