Historical Figure Meme

Apparently it is a morning of memes for which I have been tagged! Derek has passed along a meme in which you talk a little about a favorite historical figure. Here are the rules:

Instructions:

1. Link to the person who tagged you.
2. List 7 random/weird things about your favorite historical figure.
3. Tag seven more people at the end of your blog and link to theirs.
4. Let the person know they have been tagged by leaving a note on their blog.

Got it? Good! Moving on…

Only in Louisiana are children brought up to admire pirates. As a kid, I was captivated with stories of Jean Lafitte, who roamed the Gulf of Mexico in the early 1800’s. Here goes my 7:

1. It is apparent that Lafitte had a preference for biracial women. Both his wife and his lover were biracial.

2. He is credited with the founding of two “kingdoms”: Barataria (now in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana) and Campeche (on the island of Galveston, Texas).

3. When the British attacked New Orleans in 1815, Andrew Jackson called upon Lafitte and his band of brigands to assist. Popular folklore says that New Orleans is still “French” because Lafitte led more than 3,000 men into battle to preserve the city’s honor.

4. There is one school of thought that suggests that Lafitte was Jewish, and that his family had been forced to convert to Roman Catholicism, but still secretly practiced Judaism. This theory is dependent on his Journals, the authenticity of which are debatable.

5. A story exists that the provincial governor of Louisiana once put a bounty on Lafitte’s head. Lafitte responded by doubling the bounty on the Governor’s head.

6. Lafitte was run out of the Coastal U.S., and ended up dying in Mexico at the age of 47, with little to show for his pirate’s life.

7. As a child I was told that his ghost still walks the grounds of Destrehan Plantation, protecting his treasure that is buried there.

Who to tag? How about Sheryl, Art, Chris Halverson, PS, Rich, Dave (the soon to be Lutheran Rev) and Dave (the Cube Rev).