Jean Fleury was a French privateer from Dieppe, sailing under license from the merchant Jean Ango and King Francis I. In June 1523 his squadron intercepted three Spanish ships off Cape St. Vincent, Portugal, capturing two that were carrying Aztec treasure Hernán Cortés had shipped from Mexico, including gold ingots, hundreds of pounds of gold dust and pearls, and ceremonial featherwork. The seizure enraged Spain and helped fund Francis I’s rivalry with Charles V. Fleury continued raiding Iberian shipping until 1527, when Spanish forces captured him at sea and hanged him as a pirate in Toledo.
Jean Fleury
