Fleet Info

Pirate Related Info

One of the most predominant myths about pirates is the belief that they were all a bunch of evil men completely lacking in any moral standards or beliefs. This was simply not true. Yes some pirates were rapists and murders, and some were truly sadistic killers. But most pirates were not much different in their moral beliefs then the other sailors of their time. Some worked as privateers and some on military ships before becoming pirates. Furthermore, not all buccaneers volunteered to serve as pirates of their choosing. Some were pressed men who were forced into serving when their ships were captured by pirates. Other men were abducted in ports and forced to join the pirates crew. (Note: Abducting seamen in ports to serve aboard naval warships was also a common practice in the military back then. As was the use of black slaves to do some of the back breaking manual labor and dangerous tasks aboard ship.) Not to try and justify their actions but in a world of poverty and little opportunity for most, some found in the brutal life of piracy a risk worth taking.


The majority of these pirates were by nature rebellious and lazy. However they took their work quite seriously, and in most cases before a crew would sail off on a voyage, a set of written articles was drawn up which every member of the ships company was expected to sign. These articles regulated the distribution of plunder among the crew, the scale of compensation for injuries received in battle, and set out the basic rules for shipboard life and the punishments for those who broke the rules. The written articles varied from one ship to another but most were generally very similar. These articles were well needed as pirates were tough and ruthless men, notorious for their foul language, and prolonged bouts of drinking, which frequently led to quarrels and violence. They came together in a rather uneasy partnership, attracted by the lure of plunder and the desire for an easy life.

PIRATE
    The word pirate simply means one who robs or plunders at sea. Piracy is a term for sea-robbery. Reason tells us that pirates were no more than common criminals, but some still see them as figures of romance. As they are associated with daring deeds on the Spanish Main, with rakish black schooners and exotic tropical islands and sea chests overflowing with gold and silver coin.

    Over the years many stories have been told and fact has merged with fiction. In reality seamen who resisted a pirate attack were commonly hacked to death and thrown over the side. The plunder was not usually chests full of doubloons and pieces of eight, but typically a few bales of silk and cotton, some barrels of rum or tobacco, spare canvas for sail, carpentry and navigation tools, food or medicine, and perhaps a half dozen slaves.


CORSAIR
    These were pirates or privateers who operated in the Mediterranean. The most famous were the Barbary Corsairs from the Barbary Coast of North Africa who were authorized by their governments to attack the shipping of Christian countries. Some of these states even helped organize the pirates and the ones that operated from them were called corsairs. Among these states were Morocco, Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli.

    One of the most famous Barbary corsairs was Barbarossa. Less well known were the corsairs of Malta. They were sent out to loot shipping by the Knights of St. John, a military order created during the crusades to fight the Muslims on behalf of the Christian nations. At first these men were driven by religion but after a while the rewards of piracy became to great.

    The Barbary Corsairs intercepted ships traveling through the Strait of Gibraltar or coming from the trading ports of Alexandria and Venice, swooping down on the heavily laden merchantmen, in their swift galleys powered by oars and sails. They looted their cargos, captured their passengers and crews, and held them for ransom or sold them into slavery.


PRIVATEER
    The term privateer could apply to an armed vessel, its captain or its crew. Many of the pirates of the Golden Age of Piracy began their careers as privateers. Privateers worked under letters of marque from the various countries that used them to basically wage a form of economic warfare on there enemies. Maritime nations made use of privateers in times of war as a cheap way of attacking enemy shipping (saving the cost of building and maintaining a navy).

    Usually the limits of the Marque were vague, leaving it up to the captain and crew to determine what they could undertake. Privateers often worked beyond the limits as detailed by their letter of Marque, many attacking neutral countries as well as hostile nations. These men did the same kind of things as pirates, but unlike pirates who were regarded by most as villains, they were seen by some as patriots by their respective countries because they were only suppose to attack hostile nations ships, and shared a part of their plunder with their countries rulers.

    When the various countries with interests in the New World were openly competing for the riches found there, some men saw that it could be quite rewarding becoming a privateer. But eventually most of these countries began to turn away from the use of privateers as they made peace with there rivals, and many of these men where unwilling to give up their wicked ways....and so began a career in piracy.


BUCCANEER
    Originally hunters of cattle and pigs on the island of Hispanola (now Haiti and Dominica), buccaneers got their name from the French word boucan which means barbeque. This was because of the way they barbequed their meat on grills. Driven out by the Spanish, the hunters joined the groups of runaway slaves, deserters and others who preyed on the ships of the hated Spanish. These buccaneers called themselves "The Brethren of the Coast".

    By the end of the 17th century the word buccaneer was being applied generally to most of the pirates and privateers who had bases in the West Indies. The buccaneers established their headquarters on the little island of Tortuga. Later they used Jamaica as a base of operations. One of the most famous buccaneers was Sir Henry Morgan. Under his command five hundred buccaneers from Tortuga and one thousand buccaneers from Jamaica captured Panama in 1671.

Captain Thomas Anstis

Captain Samuel Bellamy

The few definite facts about his life before pirating are that Bellamy left a wife and child in Canterbury, England and set out to look for sunken treasure off the coast of Florida. So in the beginning of the year 1716 he aquired a sloop and set off for North America. He stopped en route in Eastham Harbor of the outer Cape Cod and met a 15 year old girl named Maria Hallett. He promised to return for her with all his gold and jewels. She waited for him and meantime gave birth to Bellamy's child who then died, was jailed and then driven out of town. However she remained on the shore watching for Bellamy's return. Bellamy after leaving the Cape, sailed south and at Newport met Paulsgrave Williams who came from a successful family. Williams joined Bellamy on his adventure for gold. They had no luck diving for treasure off the coast of Florida. Not wanting to go back to New England with no treasure, they resorted to going after moving, visible boats on the surface of the water. The two men joined Captain Benjaman Hornigold's pirate crew; Hornigold was the captain whose ship Blackbeard first joined upon coming to the Caribbean. In June 1716 the pirates of Hornigold's ship voted to attack ships of all nations in opposition to their captain who would only attack French and Spanish ships. The crew elected Bellamy as captain. With Bellamy as Captain and Williams as quartermaster and second in command, they went on an "orgy of plundering" in the Caribbean for the next several months. In February 1717 Bellamy and Williams each in command of their own ships and working together, went after the ship the Whidah Galley headed for Jamaica from London. The pirates chased the Whidah Galley for three days before finally capturing it. They gave the captain and crew of the Whidah Bellamy's old ship the Sultana and kept the Whidah or Whydah with all its gold, silver and ivory for themselves. By sometime in March 1717 Bellamy and Williams headed their ships toward New England. There was a brief stop in the Chesapeke where Bellamy was afraid of encountering a war ship. On their way north again, they captured and plundered another ship with a Captain Beer. Bellamy's crew wanted to sink Beer's ship, Beer refused to join the pirates, and Bellamy known for his speeches to prisoners told Beer: "Damned my Blessed, I am sorry they won't let you have your sloop again, for I scorn to do any one a Mischief, when it is not for my Advantage. Damn the sloop, we must sink her, and she might be of Use of you. Tho' damn ye, you are a sneaking Puppy, and so are all those who will submit to be governed by Laws which rich men have made for their own security....." Almost within reach of Maria Hallet on April 26, 1717, Bellamy was sailing along the outer shore of Cape Cod at night when a strong storm sunk the Whydah. The ship went down with all aboard except for eight pirate crew members who managed to get to shore and were captured. Six were hanged, the other two pleading that Bellamy had held them against their will.

Blackbeard

 
Anne Bonny

Anne was born in Ireland (about 1700-1705), an illegitimate child of prominent lawyer, William Cormac, and the family maid, Peg Brennan. Her father fled the scandal surrounding the birth taking mother and child with him to Charlston, South Carolina. Although the father prospered as a merchant in the colonies, he and the mother appear to have been somewhat less successful as parents. Anne was troublesome, headstrong and ill-tempered. While many of the stories were exaggerated, they include a stabbing incident with a servant girl and the sound thrashing of a would be rapist. Anne eventually married the unsuccessful James Bonny. The marriage faired poorly as James, taking his wife to the pirate haven of New Providence, had a hard time supporting his wife. He eventually turned informer for the new governor, Woodes Rogers, further alienating his headstrong wife. Disillusioned with her husband, Anne transferred her affections to the peacock like figure of Calico Jack Rackam. Rackam returned Anne's affections by lavishing her with gifts. When James Bonny refused Rackam's offer to buy Anne, the couple snuck aboard a merchant sloop with a handful of Rackam's old pirate buddies and took over the ship. Thus began Anne's pirate carreer. While Calico Jack looked the part of the dashing pirate, his career was somewhat lackluster, at least after taking up with Anne. The prizes taken seem to have been mostly coastal traders and fishing boats. Mary Read seems to have joined the pirates when a Dutch trader she was serving on was taken by the pirates. At some point during Anne's time with Calico Jack she is said to have gotten pregnant and have been set ashore in Cuba to deliver the baby. She was later picked up and carried on with Rackam as before. In late October, 1720, off the coast of Jamaica, a British Navy sloop, commanded by a Captain Barnet, came across Rackam's anchored ship. With most of the crew drunk the only resistance the pirates put up was offered by Anne and Mary. Realizing that the fight was lost the women turned on their less than courageous crewmates, killing one and wounding others, screaming at them to 'fight like men'. Anne and the others of the pirate crew were captured and put on trial for piracy. All were sentenced to death, but Anne and Mary escaped the noose by pleading their bellies (no English court would kill an unborn child). Anne seems to have disappeared from the world's stage at this point, there is some conjecture that her wealthy father bought her release after the birth of the child. This is one version of her life after the trial. Anne's child, born five months after the trial, on April 21, 1721, was named John Cormac Bonny. John Rackham seems to have been listed as the illegitimate child's father. After the child's birth the mother and child return to Virginia via South Carolina. There are some records that imply that she married a Joseph Burleigh at this time, 1721. It is guessed that this marriage was arranged by Anne's father to get her started upon a clean slate when she returned (one can only imagine the dowry required to get a man to marry a woman reputed to be such a wildcat). The Anne thus recorded gave birth to eight more children with her husband, three of whom died young. This Anne is said to have died on April 25, 1782 (which would have put her age at somewhere around 70-80) and was buried in a place called Sweethaven (possibly in York County, Virginia)

Captain John Callice

Born in southeastern Wales, Callice moved to London as a youth, became a retailer and sailor, and joined the navy in about 1571. In early 1574, while commanding a royal ship, he seized an Italian merchantman and sold her cargo in Cardiff and Bristol. For the next four years, Callice plundered mercilessly, and other captains sailed under his leadership. Arrested in May 1577, Callice was imprisoned in London and charged with six major cases of piracy and many minor ones. He was sentenced to hang for the six important crimes, which occurred near Cornwall, off France and Denmark, and as far south as the Azores. Callice normally disposed of his booty in Wales, where he was intimate with local landowners and royal officials, including the Vice-Admiral. He apparently had friends of even higher status, for Queen Elizabeth pardoned him in November 1577 at the request of Scotland's king. Callice was paroled in July 1578 but soon fled and became a pilot for Sir Henry Knollys in Sir Humphrey Gilbert's expedition. Gilbert planned to plunder the Spanish Caribbean, but Knollys and Callice instead attacked ships in English waters. From 1580, Callice raided in the north (he captured two ships near Hamburg, Germany) but continued to visit Wales. In August 1582, he was appointed captain by William Fenner, who had a commission to arrest pirates at sea. In March 1583, Callice instead looted two Scottish merchantmen and took their cargo to Portsmouth. He kept one Scottish prize renamed the Golden Chalice but abandoned her soon after to avoid arrest. The ship passed to Sir Humphrey Gilbert and formed part of his 1583 Newfoundland expedition. In 1584, William Fenner was licensed to take Spanish and Portuguese prizes, and Callice served as his lieutenant. In December, Callice took command of a captured French warship and was separated from Fenner in foul weather. Although he was arrested in Ireland, he soon was released or escaped and captured several French vessels. By 1585, Callice apparently felt that Wales and Ireland no longer were safe havens. He henceforth operated from the Barbary States, and was killed in the Mediterranean in 1586 or 1587.

Captain Peter Easton

Captain Peter Easton, was commissioned by the Queen of England in 1602, to take three British Warships to Newfoundland to enforce a British peace among the lawless fishermen of many nations who were living along the hundreds of miles of coastline. When James I came to the throne in 1603 and the Spanish Armada was defeated in 1604, the war with Spain ended suddenly. James I decreased the size and power of the English navy, so Easton and the members of his crew were stranded in Newfoundland without pay and they began to talk about organizing pirate crews. Most of the English officers and men took an oath of blood brotherhood along with Captain Easton. They took over the vessels which they had formerly sailed as British warships and they set out for the Spanish Main to plunder shipping and communities along the coast. By 1610 the British referred to Easton as a "Notorious Pirate". He had become the most powerful pirate in the Western Hemisphere. He was very wealthy and had thousands of men in his crew. He had a fleet of forty ships which were stationed near Bristol at the mouth of the river Avon. From this site he was able to hold up all the traffic in the English Channel. His plundering drove the Bristol merchants to seek the help of the Lord Admiral, Earl of Nottingham to get rid of him. Easton returned to Newfoundland in 1610. And in 1612 with his fleet he plundered along the rugged coasts, he swept everything before him like a barbarian, capturing ships, cannons, and $100,000 worth of bounty. He even enlisted 500 more men for his crews, most of whom joined gladly, but some of whom were tortured into submission. With his captured cannons, Peter Easton fortified Harbour Grace Bay, and a little island off the harbor still bears his name. He built a fort just east of Caplin Cove. He made his headquarters across the bay from Harbour Grace on Kelly's Island. While he was living on Kelly's Island he captured the king's representative in the colony, Sir Richard Whitbourne. Sir Richard had been sent to Newfoundland to attempt to bring order, and had set up the first English court of law in the New World. According to Sir Richard's book (which was not published until 1620), he was kept on the ship for 11 weeks. During that time Easton lavished him with excellent treatment, in order to persuade him to join as his first lieutenant. He wanted Whitbourne to rule Newfoundland with him, using the colony as a base to conquer the New World. Although Whitbourne refused to participate in Easton's scheme, he did agree to go to England and support a petition for pardon, which would enable him to return to England and spend his days living in royal splendor on his loot. Easton realized that Harbour Grace could be easily attacked by sea should the King decide to send a fleet against him, so moved his base to Ferryland and fortified the harbor. He now had his armada of 40 ships, a fortress which was virtually unassailable, including Isle au Bois, off Ferryland, which later defied the French navy. From this fortress he sent an ultimatum to England. If he were pardoned, he would go home and settle quietly for the rest of his life. If not, he would continue to rule the high seas according to his own fancy. The Government of England capitulated and sent the pardon, but Easton never received it. He lived for two years in Ferryland, waiting for it to arrive, and built a splendid palace on Fox Hill, the site of which may still be seen. He conducted raids against merchant ships out of Ferryland, and from nearby Aquaforte, where he always kept part of his fleet. He grew impatient at the delay in the arrival of the pardon, and sailed for the Azores to intercept the Spanish fleet that were making for home. He was next sited on the Barbary Coast in 1614 with fourteen ships heavily laden with plunder. He made an alliance with the King of Algiers. Together, they fought a very profitable war against Spain. Then Easton disbanded his armada, divided his vast treasure, and bought a palace in the pirate kingdom of Savoy - at Ville Franche, near the present Principality of Monaco. There he lived to a ripe old age in great splendor and extravagance on a bounty that was reported to be worth two million pounds in gold, perhaps the most successful pirate who ever lived. Captain John Smith, of Pocahontas fame in Virginia, published in 1629, that Easton was so wealthy that he had the title, Marquis of Savoy.

Captain Edward England

Edward England's career as a pirate began when the sloop that he was a mate on was taken by a pirate Captain Winter during a trip from Jamaica to Providence. It seems that England was looked upon with such favor by the pirates that he was soon given command of a sloop of his own sailing out of New Providence until it was settled by the English and the pirates there surrendered to the amnesty offered by Woodes Rogers in the name of the Crown. He then sailed for the coast of Africa, where they took the snow Cadogan, and after torturing the captain, Skinner, for past misdeeds to some of the crew that remembered him from an earlier time, gave the ship to Howel Davis. Next England took a ship called the Pearl and exchanged it for his sloop, renaming it the Royal James. In 1719 the pirates returned to Africa and between the River Gambia and Cape Coast took ten ships; three of which they released after plundering, four they burned, and two others, the Mercury and the Elizabeth and Katherine, they refitted as pirates naming them the Queen Anne's Revenge and Flying King respectively. A Captain Lane was given command of the Queen Anne's Revenge and a Captain Robert Sample was given command of the Flying King. These two ships then left Edward England and sailed to the Caribbean. After which England took two more ships, the galley Peterborough and the Victory, releasing the latter and keeping the former. Coming close to Cape Coast Castle they saw two ships at anchor, but before the pirates could reach them they let go their anchors and sailed up close under the guns of the castle, the ships being the Whydah and John. After being put off by gun fire from the castle the pirates sailed down to Whydah Road, only to find that another pirate, Captain la Bouche had already taken any plunder of value. England and crew then sailed to another harbor and careened their ships, and renamed the Peterborough as the Victory. The pirates spent the better part of a month partying, killing several of the natives and setting fire to one of the native villages. Finally putting out to sea again they set course for the East Indies, arriving enroute in Madagascar in the beginning of 1720, heading thence for the Malabar coast. Here they took several Indian vessels and a Dutch ship which they exchanged for one of their own. The next stop was Juanna where they ran across two English and an Ostend Indiaman. The captain of one of the English ships, the Cassandra, put up a fierce battle. So damaging the pirates Dutch ship, now called the Fancy, that the pirates kept the Cassandra and gave the Fancy, in its ill shape, to the English captain. The other English ship, the Greenwich, and the Ostender deserted the Cassandra and ran off. Edward England, having released the captain of the Cassandra, made several enemies among his crew and was marooned with three others on the small island of Mauritius, and sailed off under a Captain John Taylor. England and the men made a small boat of scrap wood and sailed it to Madagascar, St. Augustine Bay. Here England survived for a short while off the charity of others before finally dieing in late 1720 or early 1721. As an aside one of the men marooned with England was described by Captain Johnson as "a man with a terrible pair of whiskers and a wooden leg, being stuck round with pistols," and is said to have been the model for Robert Louis Stevenson's character, Long John Silver. Like most pirates, England's end was neither in fame nor riches. England was said to have been one of the more humane of the pirate captains and only allowed the crew to torture victims when he could not persuade them otherwise.
 

Captain Henry Every

John Avery, Long Ben, Benjamin Bridgeman, are just some of his aliases. By all accounts Every was the most highly renowned pirate of his time. Books and plays were written about his life (or what many supposed it to be in their romanticised way). Yet for all his celebrity and the uncertainty some accounts, most sources say that he died in poverty. The first accounts of Henry Every, the 'arch pirate' was born in the west of England near Plymouth in Devonshire. His early life seems to have been spent at sea on a variety of merchantmen. Differing accounts place him as a Royal Navy tar at the bombardment of the pirate base in Algiers in 1671, as a buccaneer on the Spanish Main, as a logwood freighter captain in the Bay of Campeachy, as a pirate in 1691 and 1692 under Captain 'Red Hand' Nicholls and definitely as a truely underhanded slaver employed by the Governor of Bermuda along the African Guinea coast. In June of 1694 he was first mate aboard a private ship of 46 guns being outfitted by some Bristol merchant to harrass French shipping in New Spain at the request of the Spanish government. The ship's name seems to have been the Charles II (or the Duke by other acounts); its captain was a notorious drunk. One evening as the captain, Captain Gibson, lay sleeping off his latest bout with rum, Every and several confederates slipped out of the Spanish port of La Coruna and set sail with the purpose of pursuing a career of piracy. Every and crew set sail for Madagascar with the intent to make their fortunes at the expense of others. Along the way they plundered three British ships off the Cape Verde Islands, captured a French privateer near the island of Johanna along with loot taken from the Moors. It was here at Johanna that Every wrote his famous letter. To All English Commanders. Let this satisfy that I was riding here at this instant in the Fancy, man-of-war, formerly the Charles of the Spanish expedition who departed from La Coruna 7th May 1694, being then and now a ship of 46 guns, 150 men, and bound to seek our fortunes. I have never yet wronged any English or Dutch, or ever intend whilst I am commander. Wherefore as I commonly speak with all ships I desire whoever comes to the perusal of this to take this signal, that if you or any whom you may inform are desirous to know what we are at a distance, then make your ancient [ship's flag] up in a ball or bundle and hoist him at the mizzen peak, the mizzen being furled. I shall answer with the same, and never molest you, for my men are hungry, stout, and resolute, and should they exceed my desire I cannot help myself. As yet an Englishman's friend, At Johanna, 18th February 1695 - Henry Every Here is 160 odd French armed men at Mohilla who waits the opportunity of getting any ship, take care of yourselves. Arriving off the Arabian coast, and joined by 5 other pirate vessels (including 4 from the American colonies) the small fleet ran across one of the Great Mogul's ships, the Gang-i-Sawai and its escort the Fateh Mohamed. The Fateh Mohamed put up little fight and yielded about 50,000. The Gang-i-Sawai sailed with only one escort as it was a vast 62 gun ship carrying 400-500 musketeers and 600 passengers. A variety of luck helped Every as one of the Gang-i-Sawai's guns exploded on the first salvo, followed shortly by one of Every's guns snapping the great ship's mainmast. Through lack of leadership or the fierceness of the pirates, the Indian ship surrendered after a two hour pitched battle on its deck. The pirates proceeded to brutalize and rape the passengers. The treasure aboard the ship was the stuff of pirate dreams, 500,000 pieces of silver and gold, jewels, a saddle set with rubies meant as a gift for the Great Mogul. When the pirates finished plundering the ships they set them adrift, but without the surviving women. The Indian ships eventually made their way to Surat, but the fate of the women is unknown, most likely they were thrown overboard or put ashore at Reunion, where the pirates put in to share out the plunder. Estimates of the treasure put the value at between 325,000 and 600,000, of which each pirate's share was more than 1,000 (Every got two shares as captain). Every's fleet split up at this point with Every's band heading eventually to St. Thomas to further fatten their purses by selling off some of the various cargo. At the Bahamas, the pirates showered the governor with gifts and bribes to the tune of some 7,000, even going so far as to give him the Fancy. Unfortunately, the attack on the Gang-i-Sawai had settled badly with the Great Mogul and he cut off all trade with the East India Company until they made reparations and put a 500 bounty on all of Every's band. The result being that they were not welcome in the West Indies or any of the British colonies. Purchasing a small sloop the remaining crew and Every (who now changed his name to Benjamin Bridgeman) made their way back to Ireland. All told 24 of the crew were arrested of which six were hanged. Every slipped away, and some say he retired from piracy a wealthy man living in a life of luxury. It is also told that he tried to sell off his share of the treasure, mostly in diamonds, only to be cheated by the merchants he was dealing with. The result being that he was soon reduced to begging for food and dying without the price of a coffin. Whether he died rich or poor it is certain that the taking of the Gang-i-Sawai and Every's resulting celebrity inspired quite a few to turn to a life of piracy.

Captain William Kidd

In 1689 William Kidd served on the pirate ship "Blessed William". The ship surrendered at Nevis, an island in the Caribbean. Kidd was given license to attack the French by the governor of Nevis. In December 1689, he participated in the plunder of Marie Galante as well as attacking several French ships. In February 1690, Kidd's crew fearing for their safety in war decided to steal the ship "Blessed William" while Kidd was ashore. Kidd was given the "Antigua" and gave chase, chasing the "Blessed William" to New York. New York at the time was embroiled in civil war. Kidd allied himself with the winning side and married a wealthy widow in May 1691. He remained at New York for a few years aquainting himself with political leaders. One of those he made aquaintance with was Robert Livingston whom was an ambitious entrepreneur. In 1695, He and Livingston sailed to London where they met with Richard Coote, earl of Bellomont and recently appointed Governor of New York and Massachusetts. Kidd had hopes of securing a privateering license. The three concocted a scheme to capture pirates and keep the booty for themselves instead of returning it to its owners. The three signed a contract in October with Coote staking £ 6,000 for outfitting Kidd in his expedition. ( Coote made several other arrangements secretly that involved the Secretary of State, heads of the Admiralty and Judiciary Courts, and the King himself. ) Kidd was granted three commissions by the king. The first allowed for the capture of French ships, the second allowed for the capture of pirates everywhere, and the third and most important to their cause, the suspension of all captured booty having to go through the courts. This allowed Kidd to keep the booty until time for surrender of booty to Governor Coote in Boston. The three bought the "Adventure Galley", a 300 ton, 34-gun ship. Kidd left England in May, 1696 sailing for New York where he recruited his crew. He promised his crew 60% of all booty even though he had already promised 60% to Coote. In September, He sailed to the Indian Ocean by way of the African coast. He stopped along the way at Madagascar, careening his ship at Johanna Island ( Anjouan ). In April 1697, Kidd left Johanna Island where he sailed for the Red Sea planning to plunder pilgrim ships returning from Mecca to India. He ignored his second commission ( capture of pirates), for the pirates John Hoar and Dirk Chivers were encounterd and ignored along the way by Kidd at Saint Mary's Island. On August 15th, Kidd encountered an Indian squadron escorted by an East India Company ship. The British ship opened fire on Kidd. Kidd retreated to northwestern India. On the 19th, Kidd seized a small ship near Janjira. He tortured the Indian sailors, and impressed the British captain into acting as pilot for several months. Kidd then continued south, fighting off two Portuguese warships and stopping in September at Laccadive Island for repairs. At Laccadive Island, Kidd's crew forced the inhabitants to work, used their boats for firewood, and raped their women. In November, Kidd encountered another East India Company ship. His crew wanted to attack but Kidd convinced them to let the ship go. About mid-November, they encountered a Dutch ship. It is alleged that William Moore, the "Adventure Galley"'s gunner and Kidd had a dispute over whether to attack the ship or not. Kidd is said to have killed Moore by smashing a bucket over Moore's head. At the beginning of December, Kidd captured the Dutch ship the "Rouparelle". She flew the French flag and had a French letter of marque. He renamed her the "November". In January, 1698 Kidd achieving his most glorious moment in pirate annals by capturing the "Quedah Merchant", an Armenian ship leased to the Indian government. The "Quedah Merchant" was sailing from Bengal to Surat with a rich cargo of muslins, silk, iron, sugar, saltpeter, guns, and gold coins. Kidd sold some of her cargo for £ 10,000. Proceeding south he captured a small Portuguese ship and was unsuccessful in the pursuit of two East India Company ships, the "Dorrill" and "Sedgewick". Kidd landed at Saint Mary's Island in April 1698. Robert Culliford's ship the "Mocha" was anchored at the island. Since Culliford was among those who stole Kidd's ship "Blessed William" in 1690, both Kidd and Culliford were extremely cautious. Kidd was able to quell the apprehension when he reassured the pirates that he was as bad as they were. The crew divided the "Quedah Merchant"'s booty at the isle. Most of Kidd's crew joined Culliford, and Kidd burned the "Adventure Galley". He renamed the "Quedah Merchant" the "Adventure Prize" and left Saint Mary's in November, 1698. The East India Company already suffering at the hands of Henry Every, and now with the loss of the "Quedah Merchant" had the threat of European expulsion by the Emperor of India to contend with. The company under pressure, compensated the merchants of the goods aboard the "Quedah Merchant", paid bribes, and agreed to send patrols to the South Indian Sea. The Indian officials were not placated as pirate attacks continued. The British government, trying to retain their trade interests in India denounced Kidd as a pirate and omitted Kidd's name in a general pardon issued in 1698. An all-out manhunt for Kidd was ordered in November, 1698. In April, 1699 Kidd reached Anguilla in the Caribbean, where he would learn the news after being refused protection by the Danish governor of Saint Thomas. He then went to Mona Island and Savona Bay in Hispaniola where he abandoned the "Adventure Prize" in exchange for a sloop he had purchased. After stopping at New Jersey and Long Island, Kidd went to Boston where he was arrested in July 1699 by Governor Coote. Kidd was expedited to London in 1700. A political scandal broke out with members of opposite parties attacking each other with slander and accusations. He was convicted of the murder of William Moore and piracy in May 1701 as he was to dangerous a witness for the political parties involved. He was sentenced to hang on May 23, 1701. Kidd's hanging was not a pretty sight as the rope snapped under Kidd's weight. Kidd was hauled up and hanged a second time. After his death, his body was covered in tar, bound in chains, his head covered with a metal harness and hung at Tilbury Point as a warning to all those passing. The body remained there until it was totally rotted away.

Captain George Lowther

George Lowther set sail from London down the River Thames aboard the ship, the Gambia Castle, a slaver for the Royal Africa Company. He had signed on as First Mate to Captain Charles Russell. Also on board was an Army officer Captain Massey and his Company of soldiers. Lowther had never been on a Slave ship and was not aware of what lay ahead of him. The Royal Africa Company was in the business of collecting slaves around the Gambia River. As it was the slave ships would remain off the coast for months on end until they had enough slave to make their efforts worthwhile. There was little for the crew to do, no place to go on shore, and little to do on ship. To make matters worse, the weather was unbearable, and diseases such as dysentery, malaria, and Scurvy would take there toll on the crew. Lowther had from the beginning of the trip found favor with the crew. Captain Russell, while not a bad Captain, was more concerned with the slave shipment than with the health of his crew. He distrusted Lowther because of how "familiar" he had became with the crew. The division between captain and crew reach a critical point when Russell order Lowther flogged for a minor infraction, and many of the crew took up their marlin spikes and dared anyone to pick up a whip. What had caused such a division among the crew was the appalling conditions aboard the ship after reaching Gambia in May of 1721. The slave trade was almost at a stand still and the ship remained docked for a long time. The Royal Africa Company seemed to care little about the crew and to make matters worse, Captain Massey and his soldiers had to retreat from their fort and set up headquarters on board the over crowded ship. It seems that the governor of the Royal Africa Company in Gambia had taken ill from all the mosquitoes and the fort was in such a poor state that it had become unlivable. Massey was furious over the state of affairs his troops were in. He and Lowther met to discuss their situation one night when Captain Russell was not on board and they both decided that they should leave. With any further discussion, the ship set sail on June 13th 1721, leaving Russell behind. At this point Massey was in mind to return to England but Lowther had other thoughts. He immediately summoned the whole crew, plus Massey's soldiers before him and told them of his intentions. He explained there was no turning back for himself, for he knew that England would not excuse his actions but if the crew were to vote to return to England his only request was to be set ashore someplace safe. Then he explained his intentions to go "on the account". This was met with a resounding cheer, and all aboard signed the articles of Piracy, electing Lowther as Captain. (It should be mentioned that Massey originally intended to return to England.) Massey and Lowther formed an uneasy but workable alliance and together the crew of the newly named ship, Delivery, went on to pillage many a ship. But Massey found it very difficult to adjust to the slow pace of the Sea. He therefore put forth a plan to sack a town. Lowther was completely against such an endeavor due to the many risks it involved. However, as pirate custom demanded, it was put to a vote. Massey lost by a large margin and he then requested that he and his supporters be allowed to go their own way. Lowther had obtained a second smaller sloop from a previous plunder and was happy to be rid of Massey and his followers. With that Massey and his men parted company. This sort of separation was common practice aboard pirate ships with two strong personalities. Lowther then set sail in late 1721 to the Carolinas. It is reported he put in to careen his ship, debauch, loot and pillage. More likely he careened, debauched and spent his loot. In any case, shortly after his careening he left for the Grand Caymans in his newly named Happy Delivery, again on the account. On the way he came upon the Greyhound command by Benjamin Edwards. Lowther ran up his Jolly Roger and signaled with a cannon shot for the Greyhound to come to. To his amazement the Greyhound gave him a broadside back. Lowther and his crew prepared Grapplers and Swivel guns and moved in for the fight. The engagement was brief and shortly after the Pirates managed to board, Edwards struck his ensign. The usual penalty for such an act was no quarter, and while there is no evidence that every man was killed, it is clear that the Edwards and his crew were beaten and whipped and the Greyhound was put to the torch. By now Lowther had several small ships under him as well as the Happy delivery and again went ashore in Guatemala to careen. Unfortunately when his men were in the middle of careening they were attacked by Indians and had to set sail. Several of his crew were lost and some of his ships were left or damaged. Lowther had no choice but to transfer all of his men and their meager supplies to one ship, the Revenge, and continue on. In May of 1722, they were prowling off the island of Diseada where they took another brigantine. Several ships later, off the coast of South Carolina, the pirates ran afoul of a ship, the Amy, that was in no mood to surrender to the pirates and after several broadsides forced the pirates to beach and escape ashore. The crew wintered ashore and repaired their ship. In the spring of 1723 they set to sea again and made for Newfoundland, where they took a couple of ships before returning to warmer climates among the islands. It was now time to careen again and clean the ships. Lowther chose a small cay called Blanquilla, which is northeast of Tortuga. It was a small island but very well concealed. Lowther ordered guns, provisions and crew on shore, which was customary, and commenced careening his ships. They had almost finished when the sloop Eagle commanded by Walter Moore spotted the ship. Lowther, a cabin boy, and three of his crew tried to run but it was fruitless, as the little island held no real cover for them. A search party was sent ashore to hunt down his men and bring them back in irons. Lowther must have realized that his time was running out to have chosen his next course of action. For it was some time later that the search party recovered Lowther. In a secluded spot along the beach they found him with an empty pistol in his hand and a bullet through the brain. He had chosen to kill himself rather than face the Hangman. Lowther and his crew had threatened the Caribbean and the east coast of America for over two years and they were fairly successful. One of the things that Lowther's story brings out is the need to careen regularly, and the vulnerability of the pirates while in this state.

Captain Christopher Mings

Sir Christopher Mings was born at Norfolk and joined the royal navy as a cabin-boy. Staying with the navy he would rise through the ranks to become captain. Mings, in January 1656, brought the 44-gun frigate "Marston Moor" to Jamaica which had been recently occupied by English forces. From here he took part in a raid upon Santa Marta, Venezuela in May, 1656. In January, 1657 he took command of the naval squadron anchored at Jamaica. In October 1658, Ming having his eye on the Spanish treasure fleet, hid his squadron along the Central American coast. When the treasure fleet arrived however, Mings' forces were not up to full strength for several English ships had left to obtain fresh water. The "Marston Moor" and another ship passed through the 29 Spanish ships trying to scatter them but they were unsuccessful. With his plan failing, the English fleet burned Tolu ( now in Columbia ), captured two large ships in the harbor, and devastated Santa Marta. In 1659 he sailed east against prevailing head winds in a daring effort to take Spanish colonists by surprise. His plan worked, for Mings taking only the "Marston Moor" and two other warships, plundered Cumana, Puerto Caballos, and Coro in Venezuela. (Mings' booty was the largest haul ever taken into Jamaica, estimated at £ 200,000 to £ 300,000.) At Jamaica, the booty was split and Mings refused to give the government any share in the prize. He was arrested by the governor of Jamaica and sent back to England to be tried for his offense. When word of the huge plunder got out, dozens of pirate captains from all ports of call, came to Port Royal, wanting to be among those who sailed with Mings. Now, back in England, King Charles II was returned to power and during the confusion, Mings' charges were dropped. He returned to Jamaica in command of the "Centurion" in 1662. In October 1662, Mings had captured Santiago which was Cuba's second largest city. The Spanish fortress was blown up and six ships were captured. Mings next with government consent launched a second expedition. His fleet consisted of 12 pirate ships and 1,500 buccaneers. His force was comprised of English, French, and Dutch men. His reputation of bringing in large hauls attracted notable captains such as Edward Mansfield and Abraham Blauvelt as well as younger pirates such as Henry Morgan, John Morris and Jack Rackham. In February 1663, Mings' force had taken control of San Francisco in the Bay of Campeche. San Francisco was a large town which had never been attacked. 14 Spanish ships were taken as well as 150,000 pesos. The Spanish government was outraged at the sacking of San Francisco and Santiago and halted the sailing of the treasure fleet until warships could arrive. The Spanish protests to the English government were persuasive for King Charles II forbade any future assaults in April 1663. Mings not having any reason to stay in the Caribbean went back to England in 1665, where he became vice-admiral of a squadron fighting the Dutch forces in the English Channel. For his actions for the crown, Mings was knighted in the same year. In 1666 he was wounded in battle and died as a result of his wounds.
 

Sir Henry Morgan

Sir Henry Morgan, often referred to as the greatest of all the "Brethren of the coast," was a Welshman born at Llanrhymmy in Monmouthshire in the year 1635. The son of a well-to-do farmer, Robert Morgan, he took to seafaring at an early age. Morgan's only recorded words on this period of his life were, "I left school too young and have been more used to the pike than the book." As a young man Morgan went to Barbados, and afterwards settled in Jamaica. It is likely that he was part of the original expeditionary force sent by Cromwell to wrest the island from Spanish control. In any event it remained his home for the rest of his life. The most thorough and colorful contemporary account of piracy, The Buccaneers of America, deals at great length with Morgan's exploits. Written originally in Dutch by the adventurer, Henri Esquemelin, who sailed with Morgan as a surgeon, the book was an immediate success. Translated into English it went through numerous editions. The portrait of Morgan that emerges from the book is that of a man of terrific energy and one possessed of great powers of persuasion. Esquemelin's depiction of Morgan's cruelty was probably exaggerated, though there is no doubt that he could be absolutely unscrupulous when it suited his ends. Morgan actually sued William Crooke, the English publisher of the book, for libel. He made it clear, however, that he was more offended by the author's claiming that he had been kidnapped in Wales and sold, as a boy, into slavery, and sent to Barbados, than by any allegations of barbarism. As a result of this trial Crooke paid 200 francs for damages to Morgan and published a long and groveling apology. Later editions of the book tone down the general character of the pirate. Clearly Morgan saw himself as a patriot, out to defend the English Crown against the depredations of its most deadly enemy, Spain. He sailed as a privateer. But his behavior was at times indistinguishable from that of the most mercenary pirate. For example, when returning from his successful assault on the city of Panama in I67I, he left most of his faithful followers behind in Chagres, without ships or food, while he slipped off in the night with most of the booty to Jamaica. Morgan served his apprenticeship with Sir Christopher Mings, an intrepid seaman who had commanded a ship during the invasion of Jamaica. Mings ravaged the Spanish Main and in an incredible stroke of good fortune stumbled upon a store of Spanish silver containing 1.5 million pieces of eight, an astronomical sum. The first document that mentions Morgan by name refers to Captain Henry Morgan as commander of one of ten ships sailing under letters of marque in Mings's admiralty. Returning to Jamaica Morgan entered into partnership with the buccancers Jackman and Morris, successfully plundered the coast of present day Central America, and returned once more a wealthy and highly regarded man. While he was away his uncle, Edward Morgan, had been named lieutenant governor of Jamaica, a post Henry Morgan later held. In the spring of 1665 Edward Morgan assumed command of an attack on the Dutch island of St. Eustatius. The exertion proved too much for him he died of "surfeit" while pursuing the enemy. His nephew asked for the hand of his late uncle's daughter, Mary Elizabeth, and was married early in the following year. Morgan now found himself in a uniquely favorable position. Married to one of the belles of island society and on friendly terms with the government, he was at the same time well-known and respected by the buccaneers who frequented the West Indies in search of booty. In 1668, when he was 33 years old, Morgan was commissioned by the Jamaican government to gather together a force of privateers. Spain and England were again at war, and Morgan was made admiral of the fleet. His first sortie was an attack on the Cuban city of Puerto Principe. Unfortunately, the Spanish got wind of his plans and managed to hide most of their treasure. The attack netted him the negligible sum of 50,000 pieces of eight. His next move proved more rewarding. He sailed for Portobello, a collection point for Spanish treasure on the Caribbean coast of Panama. With a combination of guile and courage he and his men took the city and spent 31 days in unrestrained looting. Warned by the local Indians, who hated the Spaniards, he was able to set an ambush for an expeditionary force that was sent overland to retake the town. He returned to Jamaica with spoils valued at more than œ100,000 and was met with general rejoicing. Although Morgan was becoming rich, his buccaneer companions were not faring nearly so well. At their urging he put to sea again with a motley fleet of twelve vessels. His flagship was a handsome frigate called the Oxford. One evening when Morgan was hosting a banquet for all the captains of his fleet, a sudden explosion gutted the ship. Practically the entire crew was killed. By a stroke of good luck Morgan and a few of his dinner guests survived. Apparently unruffled by his close escape from death, Morgan seized a fine ship, the Cour Volant, from a French pirate, made her his own flagship, and christened her the Satisfaction. He then set off to raid the port of Maracaibo on the Gulf of Venezuela. Unknown to him, the Spanish had recently fortified the area. Once again his ability to rethink his strategy according to conditions on the ground served him well. He attacked by land and took the fort, and over the course of the next two months succeeded in divesting the inhabitants of almost œ50,000 worth of silver and jewels. By now the Spanish fleet was out to get him. Three warships lay at the mouth of the only passage out of the gulf. Decisively out-gunned, Morgan sent a ship right at the Spanish flagship, the Magdalen. The admiral confident in his superiority let it approach and prepared to board it, when all at once it exploded. The flames spread quickly to the Magdaler', and Morgan made his way into the channel and from there to a triumphant return to Jamaica. Now Morgan began preparations for what was to be the greatest coup of his career the sacking of Panama. Morgan's first action in the raid was to land a party that took the Castle of San Lorenzo at the mouth of the Chagres River. Morgan left a strong garrison there to cover his retreat and on January 9, 1671 pushed on up the river with 1,400 men in a fleet of canoes. The journey across the isthmus, through the tropical jungle, was very hard on the men, particularly as they, expecting to find provisions to supply their needs along the way, had carried no food with them. They practically starved until the sixth day, when they stumbled across a barn full of maize that the fleeing Spanish had neglected to destroy. On the evening of the ninth day a scout reported he had seen the steeple of a church in Panama. Morgan, with that touch of genius that so often brought him success, attacked the city from a direction the Spanish had not thought possible, so their guns were all placed where they were useless. They were compelled to do just what the buccaneer leader wanted them to do namely, to come out of their fortifications and fight him in the open. The battle raged fiercely for two hours between the brave Spanish defenders and the equally brave but nearly exhausted buccaneers. When at last the Spanish turned and ran, the buccaneers were too tired to immediately follow up their success. But after a brief rest they advanced, and at the end of three hours of street fighting the city was theirs. The first thing Morgan now did was to assemble all his men and strictly forbid them to drink any wine, telling them that he had secret information that the wine had been poisoned by the Spanish before they left the city. This was, of course, a scheme of Morgan's to stop his men from becoming drunk, when they would be at the mercy of the enemy should they return to attempt to retake the city. Morgan now set about plundering the city, a large part of which was burnt to the ground, though whether this was done on his orders or by the fleeing Spanish governor has never been established. After three weeks the buccaneers started back on their journey to San Lorenzo, with a troop of 200 pack mules laden with gold, silver, and goods of all sorts, together with a large number of prisoners. The rearguard of the march was under the command of a relative of the admiral, Colonel Bledry Morgan. On their arrival at Chagres the spoils were divided, amidst a great deal of fighting, and in March 1671, Morgan sailed off to Port Royal, Jamaica, with a few friends and the greater part of the plunder, leaving his followers behind without ships or provisions. On May 3, 1671, the Jamaican legislature passed a vote of thanks to Morgan for his successful expedition, and this in spite of the fact that in July of the preceding year a treaty had been concluded at Madrid between Spain and England for "restraining depredations and establishing peace" in the New World. The political winds were changing and with them Morgan's fortunes. His friend, the governor, was removed from power, and in order to appease the Spanish court, Morgan was placed under arrest. In April 1672 Morgan was carried to England as a prisoner on board the frigate Welcome. But because of his enormous popularity he was never incarcerated or convicted. In fact, he passed much of his time in London consulting with high government officials, and in 1674 he was knighted and returned to Jamaica, this time as lieutenant governor. Morgan was a man of action and a "normal" life ashore proved tiresome to him. We learn from a 1674 report sent home by the governor, Lord Vaughan, that Morgan "frequented the taverns of Port Royal, drinking and gambling in unseemly fashion." But nevertheless the Jamaica assembly voted the lieutenant governor a sum of œ600 as a special salary, hardly a sign of disfavor. In 1676 Vaughan brought definite charges against Morgan and another member of the government, Robert Byndloss, of giving aid to certain Jamaican pirates. Morgan made a spirited defense and, no doubt owing largely to his popularity, got off, and in 1678 was granted a commission as captain of a company of 100 men. The governor who succeeded Vaughan was Lord Carlisle. Carlisle seems to have had a soft spot for Morgan, in spite of his jovial "goings on with his old buccaneer friends in the taverns of Port Royal. Carlisle speaks in his letters of Morgan's "generous Manner," and hints that despite whatever allowances are settled on him "he will be a beggar." In 1681 Sir Thomas Lynch was appointed governor, and trouble at once began between him and his deputy. Among the charges the former brought against Morgan was one of having been overheard to say, "God damn the Assembly!" for which he was suspended from that body. In April 1688 the king, at the urgent request of the Duke of Albemarle. ordered Morgan to be reinstated to the Assembly, but Morgan did not live long to enjoy his restored honors he died on August 25, 1688. An extract from the journal of Captain Lawrence Wright, commander of H.M.S. Assistance, dated August 1688, describes the burial ceremonies for Morgan held at Port Royal that show how important and popular a man he was. It states: Saturday 25. This day at about noon Sir Henry Morgan died, & the 26th was brought over from Passage-fort to the King's house at Port Royall, from thence to the Church, & after a sermon was carried to the Pallisades & there buried. All the forts fired an equal number of guns, we fired two & twenty & after we & the Drake had fired, all the merchantmen had fired. Morgan's will, which was filed in the Record Office at Spanish Town, apparently made provisions for his wife and near relatives. He was given a hero's burial.
 

Captain Nathaniel North

North was a crewman aboard a privateer attacking French shipping during the Nine Years' War. He was pressed into the royal navy but eventually made his way back to Jamaica where he once again set about privateering. He met again with the royal navy press gangs but escaped by jumping overboard and swimming to shore. Around 1696, he was with the privateer that captured the 18-gun "Pelican" off Newfoundland. The privateers next secured a commission to raid the French in West Africa but went to Madagascar instead. They intended to rob the Moors but had no luck finding any prizes. Determined to not return home empty-handed the pirates raided villages in the Comoro Islands, after which they returned to Madagascar. Once at Madagascar, North was elected quartermaster and then cruised in partnership with Dirk Chivers and Robert Culliford in the Red Sea. It was during this time that the ship "Great Mohammed" was captured by the three, but Culliford and Chivers refused to share the large booty of gold coins with the "Pelican" saying that she had not joined in the battle. Disenchanted with the partnership, the "Pelican" left to pursue her fortunes along the Malabar coast of India. The pirates seized three small ships keeping one of the ships and renaming her the "Dolphin". During a hurricane, the ships were badly damaged and the pirates were forced to return to Madagascar for repairs. At Madagascar the pirates split their booty with each man receiving about £ 700. North then sailed as quartermaster under Captain Samuel Inless who was given command of the "Dolphin". The pirates plundered a large Danish ship in 1699. The pirates then went to Saint Mary's Island to divide their loot. They arrived there in May and each received about £ 400. While at Saint Mary's Island, four British warships arrived. Rather surrender to the British, Captain Samuel Inless burned the "Dolphin". The British offered a pardon and several men accepted, but North not trusting the English commodore took a ship's boat and fled to Madagascar. North's boat was overturned during a storm and North swam 12 miles to shore losing everything he owned. During the years 1701 to late 1703, North sailed as quartermaster with George Booth and after Booth's death with John Bowen. Late in 1703, Bowen retired at Mauritius. North was elected as captain of the pirates at Madagascar. The pirates intervened in native wars to gain slaves and women. At the beginning of 1707, North was once again quartermaster. This time under John Halsey aboard the "Charles". During this time the "Charles" captured two British ships. Halsey took one of the prizes and sailed back to Madagascar leaving North in command of the "Charles". North's stint as captain of the "Charles" was brief for she was wrecked on a reef a short time later. North made it home and was found sailing in Madagascar waters in 1709. Some years later, North was killed by local tribesmen.
 

Captain Jack Rackham

 Jack Rackham was nicknamed "Calico Jack" because of the calico britches and coat that he usually wore. He was not one of the most infamous pirates in history, but is better known because of his connection to the two famous female pirates, Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Rackham is first mentioned in pirate history as the quartermaster of the pirate ship 'Treasure' in 1717 under the captain Charles Vane. Rackham later deposed Vane as captain of the ship after Vane was ruled incompetent by the other crewmembers for neglecting to attack a French ship which seemed promising. Rackham then sailed to a small deserted isle for some rest. While at the island 2 sloops from Jamaica surprised Rackham and his ship was seized. Rackham found his way to Providence Island where he asked for a pardon from Governor Rogers. He was granted his pardon in May 1719. It was while he was at Providence Island that he met Anne Bonny who was the wife of James Bonny. Calico Jack is best known for his relationship with Anne Bonny, whom he stole away (willingly) from her wastrel husband. Rackham and Bonny along with others stole a sloop in late 1719. The pirates sailed between Haiti and Bermuda taking several small ships. They fought side by side in battle, and eventually he turned over control of the ship to the two women, Anne Bonny and Mary Read. In late October, 1720, off the coast of Jamaica, a British Navy sloop, commanded by a Captain Barnet, came across Rackam's anchored ship. With most of the crew drunk the only resistance the pirates put up was offered by Anne and Mary. Rackham and his crew were tried along with Anne Bonny and Mary Read in November, 1720. All were convicted and sentenced to hang. Read and Bonny were spared their lives as they were both pregnant. Rackham was hanged on November 28th. Calico Jack Rackham would probably have gone down in history as an inconsequential figure of his day if it were not for his association with the two women pirates.

Mary Read

Mary Read was born in England, some where in the country, although some tales put her birth in London and one says Devonshire around 1685. She was born illegitimate as her mother's husband had been away at sea too long to have been the rightful father. Mary had an older brother, who died soon after her birth. The mother in financial difficulties and living off a stipend from her mother-in-law, sought to disguise Anne as the now dead infant brother in order to stay in the in-laws good graces and continue the support. (In this day and time it would not have been terribly difficult, given the clothing and limited personal interaction.) Eventually the mother-in-law died and Mary was forced to seek employment as a French lady's foot-boy at the age of thirteen. It was not long before Mary signed on a man-of-war and made her way to Flanders to carry arms in a foot regiment, although she gained the respect of her peers she could not gain a commission and changed to a horse regiment. This is where she fell in love with a young and handsome, Fleming. She contrived to let him know of her sex and without going into a load of speculation as to their relationship, they fell in love and married. Gifts were given by many in the regiment and the newlyweds bought an eating house or ordinary, named the Three Trade Horses (another account has it named The Three Horseshoes and places it in Breda, Holland). The happiness was fleeting as the young man soon died of fever and the Peace of Ryswick reduced the traffic through the area. Mary again donned male attire and set to sea in a Dutch merchant bound for the West Indies, after a short stint in a Dutch foot regiment. Here accounts differ somewhat, some say that Mary's ship was taken by unnamed pirates and some say her ship was taken by Jack Rackam's ship. It is possible that she may have married in the West Indies and have taken advantage of the King's Pardon around 1709. Regardless of which, she signed with the pirates and eventually made it to New Providence and eventually joined up with Rackam and Anne Bonny as privateers against the Spanish. Privateering soon gave way to piracy. This eventually led to the meeting with Captain Jonathan Barnet in late October of 1720 off the coast of Jamaica, where that fateful scene in which the two women were the only resistence to capture as the rest of the crew hid below decks either drunk or recovering from a drunk. Along the way Mary fell in love with one of the men on board ship and again contrived to disclose her secret to this man. In another incident Anne Bonny took Mary to be a handsome gent and flirted with her, involving Rackam's jealousy and revealing the true nature of both Anne's and Mary's sex to the three. Accounts again differ as to the events of the trial, some say Mary's lover was hanged, some say he was set free as having been forced into service with the pirates against his will. Mary herself, at the age of 36, had her death sentence commuted by her pregnancy, although she died within months of a fever, possibly on April 28, 1721.

Captain Simon Simonson

Simon Simonson was born in Dordrecht, Holland. Simonson moved around 1606 from Marseilles to Algiers, with experience as a shipbuilder, leaving his family behind. At Algiers, Simonson's fame quickly grew and within 3 years he was given the name Delli Reis by the locals. Simonson had been using captured ships and was teaching the Muslim captains how to sail them. He personally captured around 40 prizes all of which were incorporated into the corsair fleet. Simonson had also led the corsairs through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Atlantic. Once in the Atlantic, they hunted Spanish treasure fleets and raided as far north as Iceland. After reeking much havoc with the barbary corsairs, Simonson feeling homesick wished for a return home. In 1609, his chance came. He used Jesuit priests which had been captured off Valencia to negotiate with the French court. The french conceded to his requests, and after a quarrel between his men and several Algerians erupted, he fled back to Marseilles. Simonson's flight from Algiers wasn't without consequence however for Simonson stole four ships and booty worth 400,000 crowns, as well as killing 150 Algerians and stealing two large brass cannons belonging to the Algerian government. Once back in Marseilles he rejoined his family and had his citizenship restored. In 1610, Simonson had a plan to raid the city of Algiers, which he presented to the royal court. His plans were denied but Simonson was paid to maintain a squadron patrolling against the corsairs. During one of his patrols, Simonson was captured by the corsairs, taken to Tunis, and there executed in 1616.

Captain Thomas Tew

Thomas Tew was a famous pirate, whose headquarters was at Madagascar. He was mentioned by name as a specially "wicked and illdisposed person" in King William III's 1695 Royal Warrant to Captain Kidd, which commissioned him to hunt for pirates. Tew sailed in consort with Captain Dew from Barbados, with a commission from the governor to join with the Royal African Company in an attack on the French factory at Goori, in Gambia. But instead of going to West Africa, Tew and his crew turned pirates and sailed to the Red Sea. There he encountered a richly provisioned Indian ship and promptly attacked. Prevailing in the battle, he took her as a prize. The booty was so rich that each man of Tew's crew received œ3,000 as his share. Laden with this new-found wealth, they sailed to Madagascar. Tew was soon held in high esteem by the pirates who resided in that favorite stronghold. There are some questions as to the subsequent course of Tew's career. What follows is based on the account in Captain Johnson's, A General History of Pirates. According to Johnson it was at this time that Tew met the legendary French pirate Misson, in his garden city of Libertalia. (Contemporary scholars have questioned the existence of both Misson and Libertalia.) Johnson portrays Misson as a thoroughly idealistic pirate whose ship was run upon republican principles. His career is said to have culminated with the founding of Libertalia, a pirate utopia. A quarrel arose between Misson's French followers and Tew's English pirates. A duel was arranged between the two leaders, but by the tact and intervention of another pirate an a defrocked Italian priest all was settled amicably. Tew was appointed Admiral and the diplomatic ex-priest suitably chosen as Secretary of State to the little republic. Tew had such a reputation for kindness that ships seldom resisted him; upon learning who their assailant was they gave themselves up freely. Around this time some of Tew's men sailed off to start a colony on their own. The Admiral followed trying to persuade them to return to the fold at Libertalia. The men refused, and while Tew was arguing with them, his ship was lost in a sudden and fierce storm. Tew was soon rescued by the ship Bijoux with Misson on board, who, with a few men had narrowly escaped being massacred by the natives. Tew must have realized that the eastern waters were becoming less hospitable to pirates. Furnished with an equal share of gold and diamonds from Misson's last venture, he made his way to back to America and settled down in Rhode Island. Tew was now a wealthy man. With an honesty rarely encountered in those who pursued his trade, he kept a promise to his friends in Bermuda, who had originally set him up with a ship, and sent them fourteen times the original cost of the sloop as their share of the profits. In the end Tew found the call of the sea and the lure of the grand account irresistible. He consented to take command of a pirate ship enroute to the Red Sea. Soon after his arrival, Tew attacked a large ship belonging to the Great Mogul and during the battle was mortally wounded. His biographer tells us " a shot carried away the rim of Tew's belly, who held his bowels with his hands for some space. When he dropped, it struck such terror to his men that they suffered themselves to be taken without further resistance." Thus fell fighting a fine sailor, a brave man, and a successful pirate, and one who cheated the gallows awaiting him at Execution Dock.

Captain Charles Vane

There is little documentation of Charles Vane's early career. The one exploit that comes down to us tells of the wreck of a Spanish galleon in the early eighteenth century in shallow water off the coast of Florida. While many other pirates fought over the site, the Spanish sent in some warships. The warships drove off the pirates. Conserving his resources, Vane waited for the Spanish to recover the riches from the wreck then waylaid the recovering ship, taking one of the richest prizes in pirate history. Vane came to prominence at the time when Woodes Rogers assumed the post of governor of New Providence, July 1718. Vane was one of the few pirates then operating out of that haven that was willing to stand up to Rogers and unwilling to accept the British pardon. Vane stalled Rogers' arrival in New Providence by setting a ship afire and sending it into the British frigate Rose. The next day Vane raised all sail and escaped the harbor with a ship full of plunder. Vane ranged freely for much of the next three years. At one point he had built a fleet of three ships. There was some dissension in the ranks as a small portion of his crew, led by a pirate named Yeats, took a prize ship and escaped to Charleston where they surrendered and accepted the British pardon. One of the notorious events of Vane's career seems to have been an extended (from mid-September to early October 1718) binge with Blackbeard's crew at Ocracoke Inlet in North Carolina. Vane and his crew continued to range north as far as Long Island. At one point off New Jersey, Vane's small fleet ran into a French warship and being a prudent leader Vane decided to retreat. Lead by Jack Rackham, the crew voted Vane out as captain and cast him and a small contingent loyal to him out in an unarmed sloop. Undaunted, Vane rebuilt his fleet of ships and fame to a greater height over the next three months. Not long afterward a hurricane in the Bay of Honduras stranded him, as the sole survivor of his ship, on a tiny island where he survived on fish and bananas. After a while a Jamaican sloop captained by Vane's once friend Holiford, now reformed, stops at the island. Knowing his past friend too well, Holiford refuses to take Vane on board for fear of having him turn his crew against him and 'run away with my ship apirating'. Not long after another ship picked up Vane, not knowing his reputation, but before Vane could return to pirating he was recognized and taken to Port Royal, where he was turned over to the authorities. Vane a pirate who had twice risen to the heights of piracy was hanged within the week.
 

Captain Richard Worley

His was a short career but in the area of pirate flags his may have been important. He started his short lived adventure in September 1718 and it ended in February 1719. Some sources claim that his crudely drawn skull superimposed over cross bones was the first true jolly roger of its kind. Richard Worley set out from New York with eight others in a small open boat; they were ill equipped and carried few supplies. The crew set out in late September 1718. Their ship was hardly seaworthy so they set out down the coast and up the Delaware River where they captured a boat laden with household goods (this was not constituted as piracy, but rather burglary since it did not take place upon the sea). The next prize taken by these men was more in keeping with their needs, a sloop out of Philadelphia. They took the sloop and increased the size of their band to 12. Within a couple more days they had taken another sloop that they felt more well kept than the prior ship and transferred to it. At this time the governor issued a proclamation for the apprehension of all pirates who had not availed themselves of the King's pardon, and ordered out the Phoenix, a ship of 20 guns, to enforce this proclamation. However, Worley and his band set out to sea and missed the Phoenix which was searching for them in the coastal waters. Six weeks later the pirates returned, having taken another sloop and a brigantine among the Bahama Islands. The company had increased to 25 during this trip and their sloop now mounted 6 guns. Captain Worley and his crew had also adopted the skull and crossbones in their ensign (flag). Articles were signed and the crew were officially 'on account' that they would fight to the end, no quarter asked or given. They were next sighted off North Carolina where they paused to clean and refit their ship. The governor received this information and outfitted two ships of 8 and 6 guns to trap the pirates, but to no avail as they were gone by the time the ships arrived. Unfortunately, Worley came in sight of the ships and mistaking them for merchants moved to prevent them from entering the Jamestown harbor. Instead of preventing their entry, he ended up trapping himself in the harbor with two ships blocking his escape. True to their articles the pirates fought to the end, taking a broadside from one of the Carolina ships before being boarded. All of the pirates died on board, except for the captain and one other, who were very seriously wounded. Both captured pirates were hanged the next day, February 17th 1719, for fear that their wounds might prevent them from receiving the punishment that was felt due.