The Origins of the Tradeger name goes back to a the Golden age of sailing.
An
adventurous young lad and his mates took a day trip from their home
town of Newport to Bristol. they landed up in a harbour side pub
drinking cheap grog and were nabbed by a press ganged and sent to sea.
He was put into the service as a cabin boy to the captain of one of Her
majesty’s Great Man of War. He took to his confinement like a fish to
water and soon learnt the ropes, navigation and skills to manage a ship
of his own.
Before his twenty first birthday he was captain of
his own vessel and by twenty five had a fleet of 3 trading ships working
the great triangle.
Luxury goods were bought in England and
taken to West Africa. The goods were traded for slaves who were taken
to the Caribbean and sold to work the sugar plantations. The proceeds
were used to buy land to grow sugar cane and also to buy sugar for
shipment back to England.
This triangle of trade brought great
wealth, which was used to buy up much of southern Wales. To earn the
respect of the peoples on his lands many churches and cathedrals were
built.
The profitability of the
route reduced as more and more sailors began plying the golden triangle
soaking up investors money. A way of increasing the value of the
cargoes had to be found.
The new world was a wash with men
seeking solace in a bottle of grog and breweries and distilleries had
been set up all over the Caribbean to meet this need. Our young lad was
no exception, and soon was ferrying rum to England, more valuable than
sugar and carried a premium price. This added to the estates coffers. At this time England was at war with Spain who were plundering the
wealth of South America. Any British merchant ship they could capture
and ransack was fair game.
Our young captain was not avers to spot another opportunity to increase his income. His time in the navy had taught him how to make his ships fast and agile and to use light armaments to great effect. He soon became the scourge of the Spanish. Not only did he capture numerous laden Galleons we was also the only leader to capture Panama City from the Spanish.
To celebrate the victory the fleet partied in Gibraltar taking over the
entire town for three week. This incensed the king of Spain who sent 3
mighty Spanish men of war to blockade the port and capture the little
English man. Our captain sailed out the port in his flagship laden with
gunpowder and a crew of 8. Once 2 of the Spanish Ships were lured into
the trap charges were set and the crew abandoned the ship in a long
boat. As the ship exploded the other ships of the fleet sailed out of
the harbour and captured the third man of war. The king of Spain lost 3
great ships that day.
other ships of the fleet sailed out of
the harbour and captured the third man of war. The king of Spain lost 3
great ships that day. When asked by the British Navy how he managed to motivate his crew to
achieve such feats of glory he replied "A cup of rum day". Until very
recently every sailor and officer in the Royal Navy received a daily tot
of rum.
The captain retired from the shipping business and to
oversee his sugar estates and Brewery. He was later appointed was
appointed Governor of the Caribbean
For his contribution to the
Empire Captain Morgan was Knighted and given the title Tradeger. He
built a grand country house outside his home town of Newport in South
Wales which is called Tradegar House.
