Born in Devon, Drake went to sea at a young age on a coasting ship belonging to an aged skipper. When the old man died he left his ship to Drake who soon thirsted for more adventure than mere ‘coasting’.

With adventure in mind, Drake sold the coaster and, at Plymouth, signed on to Sir John Hawkins’ ship and became part of the lucrative slave trade. In early 1566, Drake made several slaving voyages with Hawkins but on a number of occasions was outwitted and cheated by the Spaniards. English prisoners were taken and tortured by the Spanish Inquisition which made Drake, still in his twenties, equate Spain with Catholicism and both with the devil. Fighting for England against the spread of Catholicism was, for him, God’s work.

With this in mind he became a privateer, sharing any booty with the crown, and his experiences began at the end of 1568 when Captain Hawkins was brutally murdered by the Spaniards at San Juan de Ulua in the Gulf of Mexico.

After this Drake only sailed when he was in command and his success as an ‘adventurer’ led to him being licensed as a privateer with a Queen’s Commission. When war broke out between England and Spain he was given command of a royal ship.

In 1571 an attempt to capture a Panamanian stronghold failed although Drake succeeded in outmanoeuvring many Spanish ships with clever seamanship, wit and ruse and returned home famous.

Queen Elizabeth sought his aid and told him that she would be ‘gladly revenged on the King of Spain for diverse injuries that I have received’ whereupon they devised a secret plan to attack and plunder Spanish positions along the Pacific coast. In this famous voyage Drake renamed his ship ‘Golden Hind’ as he passed through the Straits of Magellan on September 6th 1578, continuing up the coast to attack and plunder Spanish positions. He returned to England in March 1580 an even greater hero, with plunder equalling a year’s revenue for the crown. His reward was a knighthood and leadership of the Royal Navy.

In 1585 Sir Francis sailed as commander of a fleet with 2,300 men and captured Santo Domingo, the seat of Spain’s wealth. The damage to Spain was considerable but Spain was still determined to wage war against England and the Queen authorised attacks against the Armada assembling in Lisbon and Cadiz.

In typical style, with unconventional tactics relying on surprise, Drake devastated the galleons at Cadiz and, overtaking a huge, treasure laden ship, the ‘San Felipe,’ brought her cargo home as a fantastic prize. But still the King of Spain continued with his plans for the invasion of England and the battle of the Armada took place, resulting in devastation where less than half of the huge Spanish fleet made it home.

Drake was 45 years old at this point and his luck seemed to have run out, with failed missions and loss of favour from the crown. Disillusioned and broken, he died in Porto Bello but, whether pirate or patriot, El Draque left behind a fantastic legacy and is still remembered with pride today.

by Terry Took © 2015

Terry Took was born in Yorkshire but has lived in Tynemouth for over 50 years. He spent 45 years in the Merchant Navy which included 27 years as North Sea Pilot. He then spent five years as a lecturer at the Marine Department of South Tyneside College.

He is now an Elder Brother in Trinity House and Marine Director.

If you have any comments or would like to contact Terry then please e-mail him at pilotone@pilotone.plus.com.

 

Henry Morgan, the ‘greatest buccaneer,’ at one time had a whole fleet at his disposal and is credited with forcing Spain to recognize English rights in the New World. However, he lacked the ‘quality of mercy’ and murder, rape and torture were his standard routines.

Morgan headed raiding parties on Spanish held Cuba after declaring that he was no longer a pirate but a privateer even though, at this time, Spain was not at war with England. As Cuban spoils were not considered satisfactory, he proceeded to Porto Bello on the Caribbean coast of Panama, which had lived untroubled for 70 years and was taken completely by surprise by Morgan’s attack. English colours were run up after only one day whilst Morgan and his men ran amok in their typical style for two weeks. They left only after exacting a huge ransom for captured victims.

With eight ships and 500 men, Morgan went on to attack the Venezuelan port of Maracaibo where he completely devastated the town, murdering and torturing throughout the countryside. Three Spanish warships blocked the narrow entrance to the Straits of Maracaibo but Morgan and his men escaped capture.

Jamaica’s governor, Sir Thomas Modyford, was compelled to condemn Morgan’s flagrant acts of hostility and barbarism. However, he defended them at the same time and assured England that the days of violence were over and that Morgan had settled down to quiet country living. Morgan then assembled a fleet that was more an official navy than a band of outlaws and set sail for Panama itself.

He found, after taking port after port, that the enemy in Panama were so indolent that the city soon went up in flame together with any spoils that Morgan desired. He was forced to ransom prisoners to extract wealth.

The raid caused great concern in Spain and remorse from King Charles in England, and an anti-buccaneer, Sir Thomas Lynch, was sent to arrest Modyford and take over as governor of Jamaica. Morgan likewise returned to England where, as his ship docked, he found the royal rage had subsided although Modyford was confined in the dreaded Tower for a while.

Morgan was welcomed as a hero and, instead of a trial, had a ‘hearing’ before the Board of Trade where, rather than being condemned for his actions, he was knighted and appointed Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. On eventually assuming governorship he turned on his erstwhile comrades and hypocritically declared that buccaneers were a ‘dangerous pestilence’ and ‘ravenous vermin’ and watched as they were hanged.

After the Panama venture, Morgan had become ill; he never really recovered and at the age of 53 was dying. Some blamed the climate but others felt it was the result of years of heavy drinking and high living. He was buried with full honours due to statesmen.

Four years after his death a huge earthquake destroyed much of Jamaica’s waterfront and his grave disappeared into the sea.

by Terry Took © 2015

Terry Took was born in Yorkshire but has lived in Tynemouth for over 50 years. He spent 45 years in the Merchant Navy which included 27 years as North Sea Pilot. He then spent five years as a lecturer at the Marine Department of South Tyneside College.

He is now an Elder Brother in Trinity House and Marine Director.

If you have any comments or would like to contact Terry then please e-mail him at pilotone@pilotone.plus.com.

 

Captain Kidd was born in Dundee in January 1645 and it is thought that he began his piratical career as a member of an English/French pirate crew. He and some of the members of the crew mutinied and sailed the ship to Nevis, a British colony. With his ship he joined a small fleet to defend the island against the French with whom England was now at war.

Then the powerful East India Company with its huge fleet of merchant ships claimed that it was being ‘jeopardised by pirates’ who were flourishing in the Red Sea areas.

Captain Kidd, although reluctant to agree, was chosen to command a ship named ‘Adventure’ as a privateer and was given 14 months to sail round the Cape of Good Hope to the Indian Ocean and capture freebooters and their ships to sail back to Boston.

He was disadvantaged from the outset as he was given a crew of misfits and society’s castoffs, not really fit for military life and discipline. The ‘Adventure’ was also unfit for service, being in very poor condition.

Kidd’s journey began on September 6th 1696 when he set sail for the Indian Ocean but, en route, a plague hit the ship and 30 of his men died, to be replaced by even more undesirable seamen.

Continuing up the Indian Ocean, Kidd managed to board a few small ships, gathering barely enough booty to satisfy his hungry and dissatisfied crew, who were sailing under the ‘no prey, no pay’ articles. But luck came in February 1698 when the ‘Quedah’ was captured. This ship was manned by Moors, owned by Indians but carried a French pass, thereby making it ‘legal’ for Kidd to attack.

As the ‘Adventure’ was now beyond repair he sailed the ‘Quedah’ with enough booty to satisfy all interested parties.

Meanwhile, stories of Kidd circulating in America and England claimed that he was a villainous and bloodthirsty pirate. As a result, when the ‘Quedah’ reached the Caribbean there was no sanctuary for Kidd. Not being of a criminal nature he did not know how to handle the situation, so moored his ship up a small river in Hispaniola and, taking a small amount of booty, purchased a sloop and sailed for home.

On the way he stopped at Gardiners Island off Long Island, New York to bury a chest of treasure, later dug up by John Gardiner who returned it to the authorities. The chest contained gold, coins, rings and precious stones amongst other valuable items, worth £4,500.

In England Kidd was arrested and imprisoned in Newgate with no access to counsel, no visitors and he was not even allowed to write letters. At trial he told the court that he was ‘the innnocentist person of them all’ but was convicted for murder on the evidence of deserters from his crew. No better or worse than most, he became one of history’s victims, the wrong man doing the wrong thing at the wrong time.

Captain Kidd was hanged.

by Terry Took © 2015

Terry Took was born in Yorkshire but has lived in Tynemouth for over 50 years. He spent 45 years in the Merchant Navy which included 27 years as North Sea Pilot. He then spent five years as a lecturer at the Marine Department of South Tyneside College.

He is now an Elder Brother in Trinity House and Marine Director.

If you have any comments or would like to contact Terry then please e-mail him at pilotone@pilotone.plus.com.

 

Strangely, this pirate was teetotal, drinking nothing stronger than tea. Amongst the more successful pirates, he managed to tame a pack of ravenous sea dogs into a team that looted or ransomed some 400 ships!

Born in Wales, he served 20 years as an honest seaman and was 2nd Officer aboard a slave ship when it was taken by a pirate vessel under the command of Howell Davis, one of his countrymen. He was impressed into service and learned pirating so well that when Davis was killed in action only six weeks later his shipmates elected him captain.

Black Bart, as he became known, was what pirates called ‘pistol proof’ but he was a skilled mariner and an excellent tactician but did not believe in the pirates’ creed of ‘hard liquor and soft women.’

Black Bart’s ‘uniform’ would have done justice in any opera with a damask waistcoat, breeches and silk stockings topped off by a tricorn hat with red plumes.

His greatest victory came early in his piratical career when he came upon a fleet of Portuguese armed vessels off Brazil and, sailing straight into the middle of the fleet, he selected the largest ship, the ‘Santiago Familia’ which carried 40 guns and 150 men, and headed towards her in his much smaller vessel. With a sudden broadside, he surprised the heavily laden treasure ship and captured her, losing only two of his men in the action, then sailed her out to sea before Portuguese men of war could react. The treasure ship’s cargo consisted of £5,000 worth of gold together with sugar, tobacco and hides.

According to one observer of the time, Robert’s men were ‘a parcel of furies’ and the governor of New England said, ‘one could not withhold admiration for their bravery and daring.’

Roberts sailed into Trepenny in Newfoundland with one ship, a sloop of 10 guns and 60 men, where there were 22 merchant ships, more than 1,200 men and 40 guns. He plundered and burnt many ships and took many prisoners. But he did not stop there – he took and plundered the entire port with his 60 men.

Towards the end of Black Bart’s three year career, he commanded three ships: ‘Royal Fortune’, ‘Great Ranger’ and ‘Little Ranger’, but his final defeat came at the hands of the British Navy where he was pursued by HMS ‘Swallow’ under Captain Chaloner Ogle with orders to destroy every pirate ship he met.

First to fall was ‘Great Ranger’ which the crew tried to blow up saying, ‘We will all go merrily to hell together.’ Next ‘Little Ranger’ was taken and finally, ‘Swallow’ caught ‘Royal Fortune’ by surprise along the African coast. Roberts headed his ship directly at ‘Swallow’ but, dressed in his finest outfit, he was killed by grapeshot before the manoeuvre could be completed.

54 of his men were hanged in England, most being unrepentant, the last meeting his doom on April 20th 1722. One prayed as he went to the gallows and told a fellow prisoner he was praying to go to heaven.

‘Heaven!’ shouted his shipmate, ‘No one heard of a pirate going there. Give me Hell, it’s a merrier place!’

by Terry Took © 2015

Terry Took was born in Yorkshire but has lived in Tynemouth for over 50 years. He spent 45 years in the Merchant Navy which included 27 years as North Sea Pilot. He then spent five years as a lecturer at the Marine Department of South Tyneside College.

He is now an Elder Brother in Trinity House and Marine Director.

If you have any comments or would like to contact Terry then please e-mail him at pilotone@pilotone.plus.com.

 

On obtaining a privateering commission from the Governor of Bermuda, Thomas Tew, a former British officer, set sail in December 1691 to raid a French trading post in Guinea. However, once in African waters he decided that raiding a French ‘factory’ would not be very profitable and urged the crew on board his ship the ‘Amity’ to join him in a pirating adventure in the Red Sea. His men vowed ‘A gold chain or a wooden leg, we’ll stand by you.’

In the Red Sea he soon came upon a prize equal to that of 50 ordinary ones, a vessel belonging to the Great Mogul of India which was easily taken despite there being some 300 soldiers on board. None of the pirates lost their lives and each man got booty worth between £1,200 and £3,000. Tew’s share came to over £8,000.

Tew then sailed for Newport but obtained another privateer’s commission from the Governor of Rhode Island for a fee of £500 with which he set sail again, this time for Madagascar in the Indian Ocean and en route encountered the infamous Captain Mission.

This pirate and his men had made Madagascar their home, where Mission had diplomatically married a ‘comely young princess’ to cement relations with the natives and even founded a city which he named Libertaria. Captain Mission took a liking to Captain Tew and made him a citizen of his city. Tew helped to fortify the city and joined Mission in raids upon ships of the Indian Mogul. Captain Tew was made Admiral of the Fleet and also married a native woman.

Almost invulnerable to attacks from the sea, they once turned away five Portuguese pirate ships, but Mission had failed to defend the city against attacks from land. They never expected the Madagascar natives to become enemies but one night they attacked the city, slaughtering many. Tew and Mission were lucky to escape with the ‘Amity’ and another sloop.

At sea, Tew ran into some of his old pirate friends and reverted to his old drunken ways, losing the Libertarian ship the ‘Victoire’ in a storm from which he was rescued by Captain Mission. Admiral Tew managed to persuade his friend to return to America with him where they could ‘live like gentlemen’ but Mission’s ship went down in a storm and he never reached his destination .

Admiral Tew did attain his goal and, on reaching Rhode Island, distributed £1,000 to each of his crew and kept £12,000 for himself. For more than a year he lived well but the lure of pirate booty was too great and in 1695, under a privateer’s commission, this time given by the Governor of New York, he joined a fleet of pirate ships commanded by Henry Every but was killed in action before he could take an ounce of treasure.

Of Admiral Tew, Daniel Defoe wrote, ’in the engagement, a shot carried away the rim of Tew’s belly, who held his bowels in his hands but when he eventually fell his crew were terror stricken and gave themselves up without any more resistance.’

by Terry Took © 2015

Terry Took was born in Yorkshire but has lived in Tynemouth for over 50 years. He spent 45 years in the Merchant Navy which included 27 years as North Sea Pilot. He then spent five years as a lecturer at the Marine Department of South Tyneside College.

He is now an Elder Brother in Trinity House and Marine Director.

If you have any comments or would like to contact Terry then please e-mail him at pilotone@pilotone.plus.com.