collect a fee on the "recovered" slaves, and he would rebuy the slaves (essentially a "slave laundering" act) and then resell them to prospective buyers. The Lafittes (Pierre, in particular) spied for Spain through agents in Cuba and in Louisiana. They often provided solid material, but the Lafittes in fact played both sides, American and Spanish, always with an eye to securing their own interests. No doubt, the charm of Pierre and his reputation as a man in the know figured heavily in the weight he was given by his immediate handlers, but he was never trusted by higher-up Spanish interests. While running the island of Galveston for personal benefit, Pierre Lafitte tried to induce Spain to assault the island. That would have enhanced his standing with Spain but caused minimal real losses to the Lafitte operations. See also Battle of New Orleans Dominique Youx Jean Lafitte Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop, New Orleans Letter of marque Privateering Renato Beluche List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States Footnotes References Davis, William C. (2005), The Pirates Laffite: the treacherous world of the corsairs of the Gulf, Austin, TX: Harcourt Books, Ramsay, Jack C. (1996), Jean Laffite: Prince of Pirates, Austin, TX: Eakin Press, External links Lafitte, the Louisiana Pirate and Patriot - biography in the Louisiana Historical Quarterly French Quarter: An Informal History of the New Orleans Underworld, by Herbert Asbury Pages 154 - 171 Laffite Society Pirate's Legacy - Pierre Lafitte Pierre and Jean Laffite Collection at The Historic New Orleans Collection French pirates Pardoned pirates French slave traders 1770 births 1821 deaths 18th-century French people 19th-century French businesspeople 19th-century American people 19th-century pirates 19th-century spies American businesspeople American slave traders American people of the War of 1812 People from New Orleans People of Colonial Spanish Louisiana People of Louisiana (New France) People of Saint-Domingue Recipients of American presidential pardons Place of birth missing History of Louisiana Battle of New Orleans American folklore Louisiana folklore Maritime folklore