Pirates – Renegades of the Sea
Pirates and piracy, a scourge and spectacle intertwined with the very history of maritime navigation, have existed almost as long as the concept of seafaring itself. The origins of this illicit profession, fueled by the enduring human flaw of greed, can be traced back to the earliest instances of waterborne transport. As soon as rudimentary rafts and, later, more sophisticated boats began to ferry worldly possessions across waterways, the temptation to seize those goods arose in the hearts of some. These individuals, branded as robbers on land, found their counterparts on the open water, earning the infamous title of pirates.
Even ancient texts, such as the Bible, allude to powerful "Princes of the Sea," figures who instilled fear and dread in the lives of law-abiding individuals. The renowned Roman Emperor Julius Caesar himself experienced the indignity of capture at the hands of pirates. Similarly, historical figures often walk a fine line between hero and villain. Sir Francis Drake, celebrated as a great English sea captain, was viewed by many as a pirate. John Paul Jones, a celebrated naval hero during the American Revolution, faced accusations of piracy from the British. Thomas Jones, the captain of the Mayflower, the vessel that transported the Pilgrims to the New World, had previously been imprisoned on charges of piracy, highlighting the blurred lines and complex motivations surrounding this dangerous occupation.
The allure of easy riches and the thrill of the chase made piracy an enduring problem. Long before the establishment of the first permanent English settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, piracy thrived off the coast of North America. Spain, having gained a significant advantage over other European powers in colonizing the New World, rapidly accumulated immense wealth. The vast reserves of gold and silver extracted from the mines of Mexico and Peru were transported back to Spain, enriching the nation’s coffers. England, a staunch rival of Spain at the time, saw an opportunity to weaken its adversary. Instead of actively suppressing piracy, the English government secretly encouraged it, as long as the targets were exclusively Spanish ships.
The Spanish galleons, massive and majestic vessels that plied the seas, became prime targets for swift and agile pirate ships. The waters surrounding the Spanish mainland colonies, known as the "Spanish Main," became a favored hunting ground for pirates. The strained relationship between England and Spain ensured that the Spanish Main teemed with English pirates, who were not always meticulous in distinguishing between English and Spanish vessels, sometimes plundering both indiscriminately. The English islands in the West Indies, conveniently located near this lucrative hunting ground, became havens for these renegades of the sea.
The term "Buccaneer," frequently used to describe pirates, originated in the West Indies. Initially, it referred to Frenchmen who had fled their homeland, often political or religious refugees or escaped criminals. They found their way to the West Indies and integrated with the native Carib Indians. Many settled on the western part of Hispaniola (modern-day Haiti), which was sparsely populated but abundant in cattle and pigs. From the indigenous people, they learned a method of preserving meat without fire, using a wooden frame called a "boucan." Consequently, they became known as buccaneers, a term that gradually encompassed all pirates.
As the ranks of the buccaneers swelled, men of diverse nationalities joined their ranks. Many migrated from Hispaniola to the uninhabited Tortuga Island, also known as Tortoise Island. From this island, they launched attacks on merchant ships that frequented the nearby sea lanes. Tortuga soon evolved into a pirate republic, entirely controlled by these seafaring outlaws. Other pirate strongholds emerged on various islands. New Providence (present-day Nassau) in the Bahamas and Port Royal in Jamaica became prominent headquarters for those who sailed under the Jolly Roger, the infamous pirate flag. It was estimated that as many as 3,000 pirates operated from New Providence alone. Due to the overwhelming presence of lawless individuals, Port Royal acquired the reputation as "the wickedest city in the world."
By the year 1700, the British government recognized the urgent need to dismantle this burgeoning nest of pirates. The buccaneers had become too indiscriminate in their choice of targets, targeting English ships as frequently as those of other nations. Recognizing the necessity of employing a pirate to combat pirates, Captain Woodes Rogers, a renowned privateer, was appointed Governor of the Bahama Islands in 1717, with explicit instructions to eliminate the freebooters.
King George I reissued an old Royal Proclamation that offered a full pardon to all pirates who surrendered and pledged to become law-abiding citizens. Many accepted this offer and attempted to lead peaceful lives. However, after taking the oath and accepting the pardon, some found the mundane existence of honest men unbearable and returned to the allure of the Black Flag. A significant number of these individuals were later captured and met their demise at the end of the hangman’s rope. Others, unwilling to change their ways, set sail for the North American mainland. Among them was Edward Teach, who would later become infamous as Blackbeard.
Piracy had become a thriving enterprise in the American mainland colonies as early as 1689. The period from this date until 1718 is often referred to as "The Golden Age of Piracy." The English Parliament, the primary legislative body of Great Britain, inadvertently contributed to the warm reception that pirates received in the colonies. Unpopular trade laws had been enacted, which significantly hampered colonial trading activities. These laws were so resented that smuggling was not considered morally wrong, and when pirates began to offer cheaper goods without customs duties, no questions were asked, except regarding the price. The illicit trade proved so profitable that many otherwise respectable citizens became indirectly involved with piracy.
By the late 17th century, a well-established "Pirate Round" operated from New England. A group of seamen, backed by wealthy merchants, would equip a ship in one of the New England ports. While ships were plentiful in New England, vessels were sometimes specifically constructed for use in piracy. Once armed and equipped, these crews would set course for the Far East, targeting vessels in the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, Madagascar, or near India. After overpowering and plundering the vessels of native traders, their holds would be filled with gold, silks, ivory, and other exotic goods from the mysterious Orient. Upon returning to the colonies, they found a ready market for their stolen goods. These pirates were not only a source of inexpensive luxury goods, but their lavish spending ensured a warm welcome from local merchants and tavern owners. One colonial official complained in 1696, "There is every year one or two vessels fitted to the Red Sea, under the pretense of going to the West India plantations."
This official was Edmund Randolph, the Surveyor-General of Customs in the American Colonies. He was a diligent man who waged a near single-handed campaign to eliminate pirates and smugglers in America. The governors of the individual colonies, who should have been his primary allies, were reluctant to support his efforts. In a report to the Council of Trade and Plantations in England in 1696, Randolph alleged that pirates were welcomed in all American ports, specifically naming Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and Carolina as the worst offenders.
He claimed that the governors were fully aware of these law violations in all of the colonies. All the laws passed in England against pirates were ineffective in the colonies without proper enforcement. Randolph accused Sir William Phips, the late governor of Massachusetts, of inviting Pennsylvania pirates to establish their headquarters in Boston, assuring them that they would be unharmed. Rhode Island, he claimed, had become the "Chief Refuge for Pyrates." Pennsylvania’s Governor William Markham allegedly offered protection to pirates in exchange for a fee, and his daughter married one of the buccaneers. Markham’s son was denied a seat in the legislature due to his past dealings with the freebooters. Governor Benjamin Fletcher’s involvement with pirates was so blatant that his successor urged him to be arrested, returned to England, and tried for piracy himself. Randolph also charged that Governor John Archdale of Carolina "favors illegal trade."
Even before Archdale’s administration, piracy flourished in Carolina. As early as 1685, it was suggested that the governor of Carolina should not reside in Charleston, "which is so near the sea as to be in danger from a sudden invasion of pirates." Later, one of Governor James Colleton’s Council members was expelled "for holding correspondence with pirates." During the same period, Seth Sothel, one of the colony’s proprietors and governor of the Albemarle section, used accusations of piracy to enforce his arbitrary will.
At one point, buccaneers openly roamed the streets of Charleston and, if arrested and brought to trial, circumvented justice by bribing public officials and even juries. Law-abiding citizens could only voice their anger in protest. The growing importance of Charleston prompted the appointment of governors who would take a firmer stance against these pirates. The South Carolina Assembly passed laws curbing the activities of pirates, and, for a change, these acts were enforced. As a result, the buccaneers began to avoid the port and sought more favorable conditions further north.
The term "Carolina" in the 17th century encompassed both present-day North and South Carolina. The region known as "Carolina south and west of Cape Fear," or modern South Carolina, experienced much faster growth than modern North Carolina. South Carolina had an excellent port in Charleston, which attracted trade and people. North Carolina’s coastline, characterized by shallow coastal sounds and inlets, offered limited opportunities for harbor development. However, these same shallow waters provided an ideal haven for pirates. By 1700, Edmund Randolph was reporting to England that North Carolina had gained a reputation as "a place which receives pirates, runaways, and illegal traders."
Because the colony showed little promise as a trade center, the English authorities neglected to emphasize or encourage its development. The thinly scattered population was ideal for pirates. Some unscrupulous residents of North Carolina welcomed the pirates as a source of additional revenue. However, many North Carolinians wished to rid the colony of this menace, a task that would not be easy.
When people think of pirates, Captain Kidd often comes to mind. However, it is debatable whether William Kidd was ever a pirate. Based on his actions at sea, he would not rank among the top 100 pirates in history. Yet, more has been written about this much-maligned man than any other captain in the trade.
Kidd appears to have been a privateer rather than a pirate. At 50, he was a successful and respected sea captain, living with his family in a fine brick house in New York. As the prosperous owner of several merchant ships, he had no desire to become a buccaneer. England was suffering from pirate raids on English merchant vessels in the Red Sea. The nation was also at war with France and could not spare ships to suppress this threat to its prosperity. Several prominent Englishmen provided financial backing for an expedition to crush the Red Sea pirates, hoping to profit from the sale of goods seized from the renegades of the sea.
One of the key promoters of this expedition was Lord Bellomont, soon to become governor of New York. The investors included the Lord High Chancellor of England, the First Lord of the Admiralty, two of the King’s Secretaries of State, and other dignitaries. Even King William III was to receive 10% of the proceeds from the voyage. Captain Kidd was selected to command the expedition and received a commission as a privateer.
In 1696, Kidd set sail in the 34-gun Adventure Galley. He captured two vessels that were sailing under French passes or permits, which were considered legal war prizes due to the war between France and England. Upon Kidd’s return, he found himself charged with piracy. Taken back to England in chains, his case became a political pawn. Certain factions attempted to remove some of his financial backers from public office, and Kidd’s trial provided a means to discredit them. Even then, he was acquitted of piracy but convicted of killing a mutinous seaman by striking him on the head with a water bucket. As a ship captain, Kidd had the right to discipline a crew member, but this was not considered in the verdict. After being hanged on May 23, 1701, his body was displayed in chains as a warning to other errant mariners. Although Captain Kidd does not belong to the list of Carolina pirates, it is important to clarify the misconceptions surrounding his career. As he declared at his trial, Kidd was "the most innocent of them all," yet few Carolina pirates, who were far more active in the bloody business, ever achieved his fame.
However, many notorious pirates terrorized shipping off the coast of Carolina, especially after some fled the West Indies in 1717. The isolated shallow sounds were an attraction, and rumors of a friendly governor led many buccaneers to favor the colony. It was estimated that at least 2,000 pirates were operating off the North American coast. Governor Alexander Spotswood of Virginia sent a plea for aid to England, stating that "Our coast is now infected with pirates."
Not all pirates were swashbuckling bearded males. One of the more famous pirates was Anne Bonny (sometimes spelled Bonney), who grew up in Carolina. Born in Ireland, she was the daughter of an Irish lawyer who emigrated to Carolina and prospered as a plantation owner. After her mother’s death, the young Anne managed the household for her father. Even then, she was said to have a "fierce and courageous" temper and killed one of the house servants in a fit of rage.
Anne met a handsome but penniless young sailor named James Bonny and fell in love. This angered her father, who disowned her. She and her husband moved to the West Indies. He appears to have been a pirate, as he surrendered and took the oath from Woodes Rogers after arriving there. Anne could not tolerate the dull life of a housewife ashore. Shortly afterward, she joined the pirate crew of Captain John Rackham, also known as "Calico Jack" because of his striped breeches.
According to stories from that time, Anne once again fell in love, this time with a crew member. This affair ended abruptly when Anne discovered that the other pirate was also a woman! This other female pirate was Mary Read, whose past had been even more adventurous than Anne Bonny’s. She had served in the English army, disguising herself by wearing the uniform of a regular soldier.
Anne Bonny and Mary Read became close companions and were almost inseparable. They typically wore women’s clothes on shipboard until a prize was sighted. Then, they would quickly change into men’s jackets, long trousers, and knotted handkerchiefs. In battle, they fought alongside the other crew members, and it was later testified at their trials that they were just as cruel and bloodthirsty as any other pirates. When Rackham’s crew was eventually captured and tried, the two women were sentenced to hang along with the other men, but neither was ever executed. Mary Read died in jail from a fever. Anne Bonny received multiple reprieves, and her fate remains uncertain, as there is no record of her execution.
While Rackham’s activities were mainly in the West Indies, many others like him plagued the Carolina coast. Captain Edward Low’s Fancy captured several prizes in the waters off North Carolina. His black flag, featuring a red skeleton, struck terror into the hearts of many honest seamen. He was feared more than other pirates because he was believed to be insane. Writers of the period described him as a "ferocious brute" known for his cruelty to prisoners. He particularly hated seafarers from New England. His quick temper led to numerous mutilations of his captives. This may have been due to his disfigured face, which had been severely slashed by a cutlass. After arguing with his surgeon, Low attempted to stitch the wound himself, resulting in a grotesque mess. From then on, his misshapen face only added to his terrifying reputation. One of his favorite tactics was to cut off a victim’s ears and inflict small sword cuts on various parts of the body. He would tear down the masts of captured vessels and set the crew adrift in the vast expanse of the sea. On occasion, he was even reported to have chained a crew aboard their vessel before setting it on fire. Low was never captured, and his fate remains unknown. He simply vanished.
Edward Low had learned his trade under Captain George Lowther of the Happy Delivery, another notorious pirate. Lowther, like many pirates, was a coward and rarely attacked a ship unless his opponent was significantly weaker. One fall day, he opened fire on the merchant ship Amy, commanded by Captain Gwatkins. Instead of fleeing in terror or surrendering meekly, Gwatkins boldly returned the pirates‘ fire. This upset Lowther and his crew, who fled and ran their ship aground near the shore. Noticing they were still being pursued, they abandoned their vessel, rowed ashore, and hid in the thick forests. They remained in hiding until the following spring, spending the winter in one of North Carolina’s shallow inlets. When they ventured out again, they left the Carolina coast behind and sailed to the fishing grounds off Newfoundland, where smaller and lightly armed fishing vessels would offer less resistance. Lowther also escaped the hangman’s noose, eventually killing himself with his own pistol to avoid capture.
Among those pirates who fled the increasingly strict regulations in the West Indies was Captain Charles Vane, also known as Vaughn. When Woodes Rogers arrived in the Bahamas, Vane and his men scorned the offered pardon. While other buccaneers accepted the king’s pardon, Vane sailed defiantly out of Nassau harbor, flaunting his black flag and firing a derisive salute. Like many of his kind, he discovered the lucrative hunting grounds off Carolina. He roamed up and down the coast, sometimes as far south as Florida and sometimes as far north as New York. He would linger outside busy harbors and capture merchant vessels as they left port. At one point, he operated near Charleston, South Carolina. Vane alarmed the Carolinians, who sent out an expedition to capture him, resulting in the apprehension of Stede Bonnet, another notorious pirate. Vane proved to be a coward, refusing to attack a heavily armed French ship despite his crew’s urging. Disgusted, they voted him out of command and set him adrift in a small boat. After a shipwreck, Vane was rescued and taken to Jamaica, where he was tried and hanged.
Christopher Moody, only 23 in 1717, became captain of a pirate crew that plundered ships off the Carolina shore. His life was short. In 1722, at not yet 30, he was hanged in London, with little mourning from his former comrades. Although Moody had a reputation as a gentleman pirate, he was known to have cheated his men out of some of the loot they had acquired off Carolina.
Captain William Lewis of the Morning Star was one of the bolder daredevil freebooters. He impressed his men by claiming to derive his strength from the devil. Once, off Carolina, he attacked and subdued a slave ship amid heavy seas during a raging storm. His crew consisted mainly of Frenchmen and Black men. Distrusting the English members of his crew, he disposed of them by setting them adrift in a small boat. This proved to be his downfall, as the disgruntled French members of his crew eventually killed Lewis.
William Fly, a brutal ex-prizefighter, had one of the shortest careers, lasting just over a month. He led a mutiny aboard the ship Elizabeth and was elected captain by the crew after killing the captain and most of the officers. Renaming the ship Fame’s Revenge, he captured several vessels off the North Carolina coast. He was captured while attempting to repeat these feats in New England waters. He was tried and hanged in Boston in 1726. His behavior at his execution suggested that the blows he had received as a prizefighter had damaged his brain. Drawn to the gallows in a cart, Fly stood with a bouquet of flowers in his hands, laughing, bowing, and smirking at the spectators who lined the way.
These are just a few of the pirates who plied their trade off the Carolina coast. Many others existed, but their names and deeds were never recorded. Among them all, the two most famous were Stede Bonnet and Edward "Blackbeard" Teach.
Where there is a sea there are pirates
– Greek proverb