This article will talk about the last "hero" of the great era of filibusters - John Roberts, better known as Bartholomew Roberts or Black Bart. He was a cruel man, but at the same time, God-fearing and rather educated, a teetotaler and an opponent of gambling, he loved good music (and even kept musicians on his ship). In the 2008 Forbes list of the most successful pirates of all time, he was ranked fifth, ahead of Henry Morgan (9th) and Edward Teach (10).
Roberts began his career as a pirate in 1719 and ended it in 1722 - at the Ivory Coast in Africa. During these three years, he managed to capture more than 400 ships (researchers call the figure from 456 to 470) and received loot in the amount of 32 to 50 million pounds. He even managed to write his own version of the "Pirates' Code" (the authors of other versions of the "pirate code" were Henry Morgan, George Lauter, Bartolomeo of Portugal - all these codes were mandatory only for the members of their teams who signed this agreement).
John Roberts: the beginning of the journey
Like Morgan, Roberts was Welsh - he was born in 1682 in Pembrokeshire. The Roberts family could not boast of either nobility or wealth. Therefore, at the age of 13, John was forced to get a job on a merchant ship as a cabin boy. Apparently, he still managed to get some kind of education, because in the future he served as a navigator on different ships. In 1718 we see him on the island of Barbados in the position of assistant captain of a small sloop, and a year later he serves as the third mate on the ship "Princess" assigned to the port of London, which transported slaves from Africa to America.
In early June of that year, off the coast of Ghana, his ship met and was captured by two pirate ships, the Royal Rover and Saint James. The commander of the pirates, by a strange coincidence, turned out to be a Welshman from Pembrokeshire Howell Davis, who, apparently out of emotion, took his fellow countryman into his team. However, Roberts, as we remember, was also a navigator, and sailors of this profession could always count on a good reception on corsair ships.
Captain Davis seems to have been a great original, because he divided the crews of his ships into "lords" and "community members" (no other pirate ship had such a division). Roberts, thanks to his specialty, got into the "lords". It was then that he changed his name, taking as a "pseudonym", the name of the famous and authoritative filibuster buccaneer Bartholomew Sharp. The pirates shortened this new name to "Bart", adding the epithet "Black" to it - not for cruelty, as many think, but for hair color.
According to the testimony of contemporaries, Davis and Roberts quickly found a common language, and among the pirates, Bart's authority literally grew before our eyes.
Meanwhile, the ships of the pirate squadron headed for Principe Island (Gulf of Guinea).
On the way, they were lucky: they managed to capture a Dutch brig, which, among other goods, turned out to be worth 15,000 pounds of gold. But on the other hand, one of the ships gave a serious leak - "Saint James", whose crew had to switch to "Royal Rover". Having reached the island, Davis invited the Portuguese governor to his ship, hoping to keep him there and demand a ransom. But everything did not go according to the script of the pirate captain, who, as a result, was killed in the ensuing firefight. When choosing a new captain, the "lords" (the most authoritative members of the crew) unexpectedly voted for Roberts, who was on their ship for no more than 6 weeks. Surprised Roberts at first refused such a "high honor", but then said that "since he got his hands dirty in dirty water and must be a pirate, it is better to be a captain than a simple sailor." The corsairs did not have to regret their decision. The new captain immediately gave the order for an artillery bombardment of Fort Principe, the purpose of which was declared revenge for the deceased Davis. After that, the "Royal Rover" left the inhospitable island at sea, where very soon another Dutch brig and an English ship carrying black slaves were captured by pirates.
Captain Bartholomew Roberts
As we remember, the pirate republic in Nassau had already ceased to exist, and the booty had to be sold, so Bart sent his ship to the shores of Brazil. In September 1719, the pirates approached the coast of the province of Bahia, where they unexpectedly saw a Portuguese flotilla: 42 merchant ships guarded by two frigates. The order to attack this caravan seemed suicidal to many, but at night one of the small ships was captured, and then one of the warships, which was taken on board, was cut off from the main group. Roberts himself led the boarding team.
On board this ship, among other valuables, there was a gold cross decorated with diamonds - a gift intended for the king of Portugal.
Subsequently, a merchant sloop from Rhode Island was captured, from whose skipper information was obtained about a brigantine heading here with a rich cargo. Having put 40 people on the captured sloop, Roberts went in search of this ship.
However, it turned out that not all crew members liked the newcomer's election: the acting assistant Walter Kennedy declared himself captain, promising the rest to fairly share the rich booty so that they could "scatter" wherever they went. He took away the Royal Rover, and Roberts then vowed that he would never add a single Irishman to his team.
Kennedy ended his life, like most pirates: he was executed in London.
But back to our hero. Calling the captured sloop "Fortune" ("Luck" - apparently, in spite of fate), Roberts went on it to hunt for merchant ships. Luck, indeed, was on the side of the novice corsair: he captured several more ships, and then safely sold the booty in the ports of New England. From there, in the summer of 1720, he sailed to the coast of Newfoundland, where he very quickly captured 26 ships. They said that during the attack, the musicians on board his ship would certainly play some kind of warlike melody - do you remember that Roberts was a great music lover?
Bart's reputation already at that time was such that when his 10-gun sloop (the same - "Luck") entered Trepassey Bay (Newfoundland) to the sound of music, the sailors of 22 ships standing there simply jumped into the water, giving him the opportunity to calmly and slowly plunder their ships. Here Roberts captured an 18-gun whaleboat and a French frigate with 28 guns on board, which he made the flagship of his squadron, giving him the name "Royal Fortune" ("Royal Fortune").
Black Bart's Caribbean Adventures
From the shores of North America, Roberts wanted to go to Africa, but unfavorable weather conditions and the lack of fresh water forced him to return. In the fall of 1720, he came to the Caribbean, luck again accompanied him, and fame reached its limit.
First, he attacked the harbor of St. Kitts, captured one ship there and burned several others.
Then, already at sea, in just four days - from 28 to 31 October, he captured and robbed 15 French and British ships. On the courage, Roberts tried to capture the French island of Martinique, but the landing operation was unsuccessful. The governors of French Martinique and English Barbados joined forces in an attempt to capture the elusive corsair. Roberts was so outraged by the "arrogance and audacity" of these officials that he changed the flag on his ship: now it was a black canvas depicting a pirate standing on two turtles, one of which symbolized the governor of Martinique, and the other - Barbados.
In early 1721, a 32-gun slave frigate flying the Dutch flag was boarded. He sent this ship to Martinique, in view of the harbor, his people with the help of flags conveyed an invitation to the island of Saint Lucia, where, allegedly, a sale of slaves at extremely low prices would take place. Roberts' hopes for the greed of the French planters were justified: 15 ships went to sea and were captured or burned by a pirate squadron. A particularly valuable "prize" was the 18-gun ship "Brigantine", which Roberts rightfully gave a new name - "Great Luck".
In April 1721, Bartholomew Roberts captured the 50-gun frigate of the governor of Martinique, which he, fulfilling his promise, hung on the yard. This ship became the new flagship of the pirate squadron. The name of Bart's flagship remained unchanged: "Royal Fortune".
Last trip to Africa
Africa still attracted Roberts, and he went to its shores immediately after the capture of the governor's frigate. At his disposal were 2 large ships: "Royal Fortune" with a crew of 228 people, 48 of whom were blacks, and "Great Fortune", on board which were 140 sailors, including 40 blacks. And here the story of the riot of the crew of one of the ships suddenly repeated itself: Thomas Anstis, the captain of the "Big Fortune", a veteran of Roberts' crew, inherited from Howell Davis, took his ship away from him. Bart again did not pursue the traitors, he continued on his way, and luck did not change him: four ships were captured, three of which were burned, the fourth, renamed "Little Ranger" ("Little Tramp"), replaced Enstis's ship.
In June 1721, the pirates approached the shores of Africa, another frigate was captured here, also attached to their squadron. Roberts was apparently tired of coming up with new names for the captured ships, and perhaps decided that it was impossible to give this frigate a better name than "Royal Fortune". And now there were two Royal Fortune in his squadron. Off Nigeria and the Ivory Coast, 6 slave ships were captured, off the coast of Benin - 11 more. One of the newly captured frigates became the new flagship of the squadron - Roberts named it "Ranger".
You will probably remember that the name of Bart's first ship, which he inherited from Davis - "Royal Rover", can be translated as "Royal Tramp". Now in the squadron of Roberts there were as many as two "Tramps", which may indicate some sentimentality of this pirate.
Roberts no longer robbed the captured ships, but took ransom from the captains. Only one of the owners of these ships, a Portuguese, refused to pay, and two of his ships were burned. In August 1721, pirates even managed to capture the city of Onslow (in what is now Liberia), which was the headquarters of the Royal African Company.
Roberts was already going to go to Brazil to implement the captured values, however, to his misfortune, two British military frigates approached the shores of Africa. One of them - "Swallow" ("Swallow"), captured the flagship of the pirate squadron - "Ranger", which recklessly attacked the British, mistaking him for a merchant ship. Roberts was not on the "Tramp": at the "Royal Fortune" he attacked and captured another "merchant" at that time. But this was the last success of the famous corsair.
The death of the last hero of a great era
Probably, many remember the ironic "Song about the dangers of drunkenness" from the Soviet cartoon "Treasure Island":
Lords, sirs, peers, Know a sense of proportion
Avoid drunkenness -
You are trapped.
The path is not close
And the stronger the whiskey
So much the shorter, sir, your days will be."
When the Swallow appeared, most of the pirates were drunk. This circumstance causes some bewilderment, because we remember that Roberts was a supporter of a "healthy lifestyle" and forbade drinking on his ships. This contradiction is easy to explain: the pirates drank on the shore, where the captain's power was significantly weakened. He could leave some particularly "abusive" on the shore, taking a new sailor in his place, but it was not in his power to forbid his subordinates to "heal for stress" outside the ship.
At first, the drunken pirates even mistook the Swallow for the Vagabond returning with the booty. Having lost precious time, the three remaining pirate ships still went to sea. It is said that Roberts went to his last battle in a scarlet jacket, silk breeches and a smart hat with a red feather. His chest was adorned with a gold chain with a cross studded with diamonds, a sword in his hand, two pistols behind his belt. Alas, already the second volley of the British struck Black Bart, who was standing on the captain's bridge. If not for his early death, perhaps the outcome of the battle would have been different. The death of Roberts, who, until then, was considered an invulnerable lucky one, demoralized his subordinates.
Left without a captain, the pirates soon surrendered to the British, but before that, fulfilling Bart's last will, they wrapped his body in a piece of canvas and threw it into the water. Captivity was escaped by some pirates of the "Little Tramp", who, together with their captain, reached the coast in a boat. The rest were taken to Ghana, where the court sentenced 44 of them to execution, 37 were sent to hard labor, but 74, for some reason, were acquitted - they probably managed to prove that they were “recruited” from other ships to the pirate ship by force and nothing especially illegal they did not have time to commit. Black pirates, who, as we remember, were also on Roberts' crew, were sold into slavery. The captain of the Swallow, Chaloner Ogle, was promoted to a knight for this battle, and later he was promoted to the rank of admiral.
Thus died Bartholomew Roberts, who was said to be the last great pirate of the "golden age" of the corsairs of the Caribbean and the Atlantic Ocean.
In the XI chapter of the novel "Treasure Island" L. Stevenson says about this:
“I had a leg amputated by a scientist surgeon - he was in college and knew all Latin by heart … He was pulled up like a dog to dry in the sun … next to others. These were the people of Roberts, and they died because they changed the names of their ships. Today the ship is called "Royal Happiness", and tomorrow it is somehow different. And in our opinion - as the ship was christened, so it should always be called. We did not change the name of "Kassandra", and she safely brought us home from Malabar after England captured the Viceroy of India. Didn't change his nickname and "Walrus", Flint's old ship"
The era of filibusters was steadily coming to an end. There were fewer and fewer areas of land that were uninhabited and not under the control of the authorities of any country. More and more warships appeared in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. The sea ceased to be hospitable, and the land not only on the mainland, but also on the islands of the West Indies was already literally burning under the feet of the corsairs. Every year they became less and less, until, finally, piracy became the lot of individuals doomed to rapid destruction. But what happened to Nassau and the other islands of the Archipelago after Britain took control of New Providence?
Bahamas after the pirates
At the end of the 18th century, New Providence, like other islands in the Archipelago, was attacked by the Spaniards, who occupied the Bahamas in 1781, but in July 1783 the British regained their rule over them.
Nassau was also attacked by the Americans, who in March 1776, even before the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, attacked this city with the aim of seizing weapons and gunpowder evacuated there by the authorities of Virginia.
This raid is considered the first US Marine Corps operation in the United States. In her honor, the name "Nassau" was given at different times to 2 US warships.
During the American Revolutionary War, about 7,000 loyalists moved to the Bahamas.
In 1973, the city of Nassau became the capital of a new state - the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, which is a member of the British Commonwealth of Nations.
Currently, about 275,000 people live in Nassau. The city receives numerous tourists, especially during the "dry" season - from November to April. In addition, huge cruise ships dock at Nassau Harbor almost every day. Only a small pirate museum on the corner of George and Marlborough streets now reminds of the turbulent "filibuster" past of Nassau and New Providence.
At the Pirate Museum, Nassau:
Another popular structure that is usually associated with the era of filibusters - Fort Charlotte, in fact, was built much later - during the time of George III, in 1788.
