Mansfield, Edward

Mansfield, Edward, d. 1667, West Indian buccaneer. Possibly born in Curaçao of Dutch parentage, he is also called Edward Mansveld. He was engaged (1665) by the British governor of Jamaica, Sir Thomas Modyford, to take Curaçao from the Dutch. He set sail with a fleet of 15 vessels, with Henry Morgan as his lieutenant, and made, instead, for Cuba where he sacked Sancti Spiritus. He took the island of Old Providence, ascended the San Juan River to take Granada, Nicaragua, and plundered and burned Spanish possessions along the Central and South American coasts before he returned to Jamaica, where he was mildly reproved by Governor Modyford for his activities. He died shortly afterward and his reputation as chief of the buccaneers passed to Henry (later Sir Henry) Morgan.