The catastrophic earthquake of 1692 practically destroyed Port Royal, and in 1694 the island of Tortuga was deserted. But the great era of filibusters was far from over. Their ships also sailed in the Caribbean, ferocious corsairs terrified merchant ships and coastal cities.
Bahamas archipelago and New Providence island on the map
For effective and successful sea robbery, not only corsair ships and experienced, ready for anything crews are needed. Pirate ships, after their raid, may need repairs, corsairs - treatment and rest, besides, they need to be able to guarantee the sale of their loot. Filibusters needed a new base - and it appeared, this time in one of the Bahamas.
Bahamas: Discovery and Colonization
The Bahamas archipelago includes 29 large and 660 small islands, as well as 2,000 coral reefs located 1300 km from Florida to Haiti. The total area of all these islands is 13,938 sq km - about the same as that of one island, Jamaica.
Bahamas on Caribbean map
The largest island in the archipelago is Andros, but we are much more interested in New Providence, where the city of Charleston was founded in 1666, which was soon renamed Nassau (now the capital of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas). Other large islands are Grand Bahama, Bimini, Inagua, Eleuthera, Cat Island, Long Island, San Salvador, Aklins. There are currently 40 Bahamas inhabited.
The Bahamas archipelago was discovered by Columbus during his first expedition, and the island of Watlinga (San Salvador) became the first land of the New World that Europeans saw, it happened on October 12, 1492.
1 dollar banknote depicting Christopher Columbus, Commonwealth of the Bahamas
5 dollar coin, dedicated to the entry of Christopher Columbus to the island of San Salvador - the first land discovered by him in the New World
The indigenous Indian population of the archipelago was destroyed by the Spaniards in the 16th century. But Spain did not have enough resources to colonize the Bahamas - the settlements they founded in 1495 were abandoned 25 years later. Therefore, in 1629, English colonies began to appear in the Bahamas (the first was on the island of Eleuthera, it was founded by immigrants from the settlements of Bermuda).
On November 1, 1670, King Charles II Stuart granted the Bahamas to the six Lords-owners of Carolina, who appointed the governor of the new colony.
New corsair base in the Bahamas
The first of the British governors of the Bahamas who decided to issue letters of marque was Robert Clark (1677-1682). In 1683, his marque certificates were declared illegal, Clark was dismissed, however, the new governor, Richard Lilburn, unable to fight the filibusters on his own, was forced to compromise with them.
In March 1683, English captain Thomas Paine, at the head of a small squadron of corsairs, sacked the Spanish city of San Augustin (Florida). He delivered the captured prey to the island of New Providence in the Bahamas.
In the fall of this year, Samuel Jones on the frigate Isabella and Richard Carter on the sloop Mariant left the harbor of New Providence and in April 1684 robbed the Spanish port of Tampico. The friends-captains were unlucky: on the way back, their ships were intercepted by a squadron commanded by Andres Ochoa de Zarate. These raids were used by the Cuban authorities as a pretext for a retaliatory expedition against New Providence. The Spaniards were led by Juan de Larco, who on January 18, 1684 captured the main city of this island - Charleston, taking 20 thousand pounds sterling of loot, he took many captive colonists to Havana.
In December 1686, a new batch of settlers arrived on New Providence Island: not from Bermuda, but from Jamaica, a sloop arrived here and landed a new batch of colonists. The captain of the ship that delivered the colonists, Thomas Bridges, was elected "president" of the island. At the same time, the construction of the first fort began. Bridges later admitted that "obvious pirates" were based on the island at that time - John Thurber, Thomas Wooley and Christopher Goff, who did not ask him for permission to operate, and he did not have the strength to "expel them from the island". The situation was resolved in April 1688, when Captains Spragg and Lanham, sent to New Providence by the Jamaican authorities, arrested all suspected of illegal and unauthorized activities.
New Providence Island Medieval Map
The Enchanted Island New Providence
Apparently, the climate in the Caribbean at that time was such that any newly appointed official (even the governor of Tortuga, even Port Royal) immediately had an irresistible desire to organize a predatory expedition against Spanish cities, or, at least, to give out a privateer to one of the corsairs. certificate. Governors of New Providence Island and Nassau did not even try to resist this "magic".
After the accession of William III to the English throne, the island of New Providence was appointed governor of Cadwallader Jones, who "was very kind to those pirates who came to Providence." In addition, he was caught selling gunpowder to pirates and refusing to investigate the "theft" of 14 guns from the arsenal. In every possible way, favoring the pirates, Jones, without trial or investigation, threw honest settlers who were dissatisfied with his rule into prison. As a result, in January 1692, the colonists revolted and arrested Jones. But already in February of the same year "some desperate robbers, pirates and others gathered in a rebellious, ignorant crowd … with the help of weapons they rescued the governor, proclaimed him again and restored him to the despotic power he occupied."
Pirate with a parrot, pewter figurine
Jones was dismissed in 1694, when the Lords-owners of the Bahamas archipelago appointed a new governor - Nicholas Trott. It was he who renamed the restored city of Charleston to Nassau (this is the hereditary title of William III - Willem van Oranier-Nassau). It was under this governor that the famous pirate Henry Avery (Bridgeman) arrived in Nassau in April 1696. This captain on the 46-gun ship Fancy (with a crew of 113) pirated in the Indian Ocean, taking a huge booty of 300 thousand pounds sterling there. They even said that, in addition to the fabulous "prize", the daughter of the Great Mogul Fatima was aboard the ship Gang-i-Sawai captured by him. The fate of this girl is similar to the fate of the famous "Persian princess" Stenka Razin. According to one version, Avery raped and killed her, according to another - first "married" and only then killed.
Henry Avery
Trott later made excuses that he was forced to give refuge to the pirates because at that time there were only 60 people under his command. However, in August of this year, John Deng, one of the Fancy crew, testified that “Avery's men collected 20 piastres per person and 40 piastres from the captain to give to the governor, not counting elephant tusks and some other goods worth about £ 1,000. ". Another pirate, Philip Middleton, confirmed this information. It turned out that the pirate ship was bought from Avery Trott and merchant Richard Tagliaferro. After that, the corsairs, dividing the booty, tried to "legalize" in the colonies of North America and Bermuda. So, Avery and 19 of his subordinates bought the ship "Sea Flower", which got to Boston. From there Avery moved to Ireland, then to Scotland, where his traces are lost. Another group of pirates (23 people) acquired a sloop and set off on it to Carolina.
As a result, in November 1696, Trott was fired and replaced by Nicholas Webb, who, in the words of North American customs inspector Edward Randolph, "was no better than Trott or Jones." And the governor of Boston believed that Webb "followed in the footsteps of his predecessor Trott, who … was the largest pirate broker in America."
Pirate ship in Nassau, illustration
"Reckless" pirates of the island of New Providence
In 1698, the Bahamian captain Kelly no longer robbed a Spanish ship, but the ship "Endeavor" from Jamaica. This was already too much, and Webb instructed his deputy, Reed Elding, to find and arrest Kelly at sea. Instead, Elding hijacked another British ship, the Bahama Merchant, which he declared abandoned "with a blue eye", which allowed the ship to be recognized as a "legitimate prize." Even when the owner of the Bahama Merchant filed a formal complaint with the Governor of Jamaica, in which Webb was named a pirate, and the crew of the ship testified against Elding, the court did not return the ship to him. He just changed the wording, recognizing the ship as "abandoned and floating cargo on the surface" - and the Bahama Merchant passed from Elding, who had captured it, to the English king.
But when the pirates seized the ship "Swipstake", which was owned by Webb and a certain Mr. Jeffries, the same Elding, on the orders of the governor, immediately began searching for "outrageous and thugs." As a result, famous corsairs were arrested - Unk Gikas, Frederic Phillips, John Floyd, Hendrik van Hoven (who at that time was considered "the main pirate of the West Indies"). They were accused of sailing "under a bloody flag … like ordinary pirates and robbers" ("the blood-red flag tells us that this brig is our pirate ship" - article Filibusters and buccaneers, remember?), Were found guilty of capturing one sloop and burning another, and hanged on October 30, 1699.
Illustration in the collection of pirate novels by Gustave Aimard
The corsairs of Tortuga and Port Royal, as a rule, observed the "rules of the game" and did not attack the ships of their compatriots (the French and the British, respectively). The New Providence Island pirates often ignored these conventions. So, the famous pirate captain Benjamin Hornigold (a very serious man, Edward Teach himself was his assistant at one time) was even removed by his team from his post because he did not want to attack the English sloop. But he was released "in an amicable way" - on the still captured ship, along with the 26 remaining loyal corsairs.
Benjamin Hornigold
In general, the Bahamian pirates were so "frostbitten" and uncontrollable that not only the Spaniards, but also the authorities of other British colonies - Jamaica, Bermuda, South Carolina, Virginia - began to fight them. The Governor of Bermuda, Samuel Day, for example, sent a squadron of 12 ships against them.
Elias Haskett, who replaced Webb as governor of the Bahamas, in October 1701 tried to bring the already familiar Reed Elding to trial. It ended with the fact that the speaker of the local assembly, John Warren, instead of Elding arrested the chairman of the vice-admiralty court, Thomas Walker. The new governor "not understanding" was sent to New York by the nearest passing vessel. Before that, his money and property were carefully "confiscated".
Pirate Republic of Nassau
The outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1713) gave Britain's opponents the right to strike a serious blow at Nassau. Two frigates under the command of captains Blas Moreno Mondragon and Claude Le Chenet landed Spanish soldiers and French filibusters ashore, the fort was destroyed, 14 small ships, 22 guns were captured, and the new governor, Ellis Lightwood, was among the prisoners. In 1706, another blow was dealt to New Providence, and most of the English colonists left the troubled island. But the filibusters, against whom the blow was struck, remained. Until 1718, Britain effectively lost control of the Bahamas.
1713 g.became a landmark for the island of New Providence, because, after the end of the War of the Spanish Succession, hundreds of privatizers left out of work went to Nassau, turning into ordinary pirates.
Pirate, painted tin miniature, 18th century
According to 1713 data, there were more than 1,000 filibusters in the Bahamas at that time. Only three corsair captains had some contact with the British authorities: Barrow and Benjamin Hornigold, who "appointed" themselves "governors" of New Providence, and Philip Cochrame of Harbor Island. The rest did not bind themselves even with the slightest conventions.
Pirate with a pistol, pewter figurine, 18th century
As for civilians, from a message to London from the Governor of Bermuda, Henry Pellin (1714), it is known that only about two hundred families "were in a state of complete anarchy" in the Bahamas at that time.
But those "businessmen" who were associated with the repurchase of loot and the organization of "pleasant rest" of pirates in Nassau flourished.
Brothel in the West Indies, engraving
In July 1716, Virginia Governor Alexander Spotswood wrote to the new King George I:
“A pirate nest is being created on New Providence Island. If the pirates receive the expected replenishment from various rags from Campeche Bay, Jamaica and elsewhere, it is likely that they will pose a serious threat to British trade, unless timely measures are taken to suppress them."
In the summer of 1717, he again asked the government to expedite the dispatch
"Sufficient forces to these shores to protect trade, and especially to the Bahamas, to drive the pirates out of where they have established a common meeting place, and seem to regard these islands as their own."
At the same time, the Governor of South Carolina, Robert Johnson, turned to London with a similar request, who reported that his colony was actually blocked from the sea by Edward Teach's flotilla.
Edward Teach, Blackbeard, engraving
Captain Matthew Munson wrote in 1717 to the Board of Trade and Plantations that New Providence is the base of the famous pirate captains Benjamin Hornigold, Edward Teach, Henry Jennings, Samuel Burgess, White.
The list is far from complete, since other sources also name such pirate captains as Charles Wayne, Samuel Bellamy (Black Sam), John Rackham, Howell Davis, Edward England (Seager), Steed Bonnet, Christopher Condon.
Edward England
Charles Wayne
As a result of all these appeals, on September 5, 1717, George I issued a proclamation addressed to the pirates of the Bahamas archipelago, in which he promised forgiveness to those of them who, before September 5, 1718, "voluntarily surrender to one of the secretaries of state in Great Britain or to the governor in the overseas possessions." …
This document was delivered to Nassau by the son of the Governor of Bermuda Benjamin Bennett. The royal amnesty was then decided to take advantage of 5 captains, the most famous among whom were Henry Jennings and Benjamin Hornigold.
But the former subordinate of Hornigold - Edward Teach, who later became known under the nickname "Blackbeard", did not obey the authorities.
Ray Stevenson as Edward Teach, TV series Black Sails, 2016. It was this pirate who served as the prototype for Captain Flint from Stevenson's novel Treasure Island. ).
Edward Teach, Blackbeard
This corsair was born in Bristol in 1680. His real name is Drummond. Many believe that his first nickname - Teach ("teacher", "master" - from the English word teacher), he got because he began his career as a naval sailor, who rose to the rank of instructor teaching newcomers to the maritime business. It is believed that he got to the Caribbean during the War of the Spanish Succession. This circumstance is also associated with the origin of the name of his famous ship - "Queen Anne's Revenge" (in Britain this war was also called "Queen Anne's War"). Some believe that, at first, he thus pretended not to know about the end of the war. It would hardly have helped him a lot, but just in case. When the death of Queen Anne could no longer be ignored, Teach did not change the name of his ship, which had already become widely known, on the mast of which he raised not the notorious Jolly Roger, but his own flag: on a black canvas - a skeleton piercing a red heart with a spear and an hourglass.
Queen Anne's Revenge ship flag
Many merchants refused to resist when they saw this terrible flag. This was facilitated by the fact that Teach never killed those who surrendered to him without a fight. But those who tried to resist were killed without any pity.
Edward Teach earned his fame as a bloodthirsty and ruthless pirate largely because he "could not drink" - under the influence of alcohol, he became cruel and had little control over his behavior.
Edward Teach, pewter figurine
Teach, as we remember, began his career as a corsair on the ship of Benjamin Hornigold in 1716. Holyfield was still not a pirate at that time, but a privateer, but when the war ended and his privatization certificate was revoked, "he could not stop." After this pirate accepted the amnesty of George I, Teach left him. Then he took the nickname "Black Beard" (eyewitnesses claim that before the battle he weaved burning wicks into his beard), and began to pirate on his own.
Soon the number of ships in his squadron increased to four. However, in the future he "optimized" his flotilla: got rid of the "ballast", disembarking half of the crew ashore and leaving only two ships for himself. For a while, Teach settled on the shore - with his friend Charles Eden, the governor of Bath (North Carolina), who even found him a wife - a certain Mary Ormond. There is information that the pirate was going to settle down, build a house and engage in sea trade. But Virginia Governor Alexander Sportswood, who had been informed of the myriad treasures that Teach allegedly kept on his ship, sent Lieutenant Maynard to capture him.
On November 22, 1718, disguised as a merchant, Maynard's ship, in whose hold numerous soldiers were hiding instead of goods, approached Blackbeard's ship. The temptation was too great for the pirate: he attacked Maynard, and was killed during a boarding battle.
Blackbeard's last stand
It was reported that before his death, Edward Teach managed to receive five bullet and 20 (according to other sources - 25) stab and chopped wounds.
No special valuables were found on Teach's ship, this angered Maynard so much that he ordered the already dead pirate to be chopped off the head, which was hung on the bowsprit of his ship, and the corpse was thrown into the sea. Popular legend claims that before drowning, a headless body swam around the ship 7 times. 13 captured pirates were hanged at Williamsburg.
5 dollar coin depicting Edward Teach, Commonwealth of the Bahamas
Edward Teach, Blackbeard, mark of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas
Former corsair Woods Rogers and his fight against pirates
But back to New Providence Island. On July 26, 1718, a squadron of five ships under the command of the new governor of the Bahamas, the former corsair of Woods Rogers, approached the harbor of Nassau. Seeing the government ships, Captain Charles Wayne ordered the French ship he had captured to be set on fire and, demonstratively raising the black flag, went out to sea. Then Edward England went to the shores of Africa. The rest chose to stay and see what happened next. There was little good for them: the next day, a notice was published about the introduction of "martial law" on the island, and an inventory of the cargoes of ships staying in the harbor began. A garrison was placed in the fort, squadrons were formed to "hunt" pirate ships. As a result, according to Rogers himself, many "were looking for an opportunity to seize boats at night and escape on them."Captain John Auger, who had received the amnesty, again took up piracy, his ship attacked and robbed two merchant sloops. Former “colleagues”, Hornigold and Cochrame, were sent to capture him, and they successfully coped with this task. Ten captured pirates were hanged in Nassau. In addition, by the end of the year, 13 pirates were sent to England for trial. In May 1719, Captain John (according to other sources - Jack) Rackham, known by the nickname "Calico Jack" ("Calico Jack" - by the name of a special type of fabric, which was brought from the Indian port of Calicut), voluntarily surrendered. Historians argue about the origin of this nickname: according to the first version, Rackham began his career with the smuggling of this fabric, according to the second, he always wore clothes from this particular fabric.
Monument to Woods Rogers, Nassau
Rackham was previously Quartermaster of Charles Wayne's ship (who is a quartermaster and his duties on a corsair ship was described in the article The Golden Age of Tortuga Island), whom he replaced as captain.
Captain Rackham ("Calico Jack")
The fact is that Charles Wayne in the West Indies was known not only for his cruelty, but also for his greed, reaching the point that when dividing the spoils, he deceived his own crew (which, to put it mildly, was categorically discouraged on the ships of the corsairs). As a result, he was once even removed from the post of captain, which was occupied by Rackham. But Wayne was lucky: he was appointed captain of a new ship, captured as a prize.
This is how the viewers of the TV series "Black Sails" saw Charles Wayne
Charles Wayne 5 dollar coin, Commonwealth of the Bahamas
Calico Jack and his "Amazons"
Anne Bonnie, Mary Reed & Rackham, Illustration Chris Collingwood
Rackham pirated well (19th place in the rating of the most successful pirates according to the Forbes magazine in 2008), but he was most famous not for his exploits at sea, but for the fact that it was on his ship, disguised as men, that two women served - Mary Reed and Anne Bonnie (Cormac).
This is how we see Mary Reed and Anne Bonnie in an old engraving
Mary Reed and Anne Bonnie on a Jamaica postage stamp
Anne was Irish whose family moved to South Carolina when she was 5 years old (in 1705). From the house of her father, a wealthy planter, with some sailor, she fled to the island of New Providence, where she met with Rackham. On his ship, Anne at first hid that she was a woman, but after pregnancy and childbirth (she left the baby on the shore), she stopped hiding.
Calico Jack and Anne Bonnie in the TV series Black Sails
Rackham did not get along with the new governor (Woods Rogers). It is said that Rogers accused him and Bonnie of plotting the assassination of his beloved, and, as punishment for both, ordered Rackham to whip Anne with his own hands. On the same night, the offended lovers persuaded their old crew to seize the sloop "Carlew" in the harbor of Nassau, on which they left the now inhospitable island of New Providence forever. Soon, Mary Reed moved from another pirate ship to their ship.
Mary Read killing her antagonist, engraving
But the audience of the film "The Adventures of Mary Reed", 1961 saw this heroine as such a romantic beauty.
Mary was born in London and was 15 years older than Ann. Her fate, apparently, was strongly influenced by the fact that, being an illegitimate child, from early childhood she was forced to portray her deceased brother (in order to divert suspicions from her mother). At the age of 15, she left for Flanders, where, under the guise of a man, she entered an infantry regiment as a cadet, then continued her service in the cavalry. Here she fell in love with one of the colleagues she married. After the death of her husband, Mary dressed again as a man and got a job on a Dutch ship sailing to the West Indies. On the way to the Caribbean, this ship was hijacked by pirates, to which she switched as a crew member - this happened in 1717. Later, either her ship captured the ship of Rackham and Anne Bonnie, or vice versa. But, in the end, they all ended up on the same ship, where Ann no longer hid her gender, and Mary was still pretending to be a man. Everything finally became clear after Anne Bonnie began to show her overly explicit signs of attention. These ladies were not lesbians, therefore, having found out what's what, they became just friends.
By the way, the history of the flag of the Rackham ship is curious. At first it was a typical Jolly Roger, but then the sailors began to say that the crossed bones on this canvas are the same ones from which Ann and Mary were created. Rackham took this as a mockery, and ordered to draw instead of them two crooked knives.
Jack Rackham flag
In 1720, Rackham's ship was captured by a government ship only because the entire crew was drunk - including the captain, but excluding these women and another sailor who tried to organize resistance.
Anne Bonnie and Mary Reed's last fight, illustration
On the island of Jamaica, before his execution, Rackham asked to see Anne. She told him:
"If you fought like a man, you wouldn't have to die like a dog!"
Anne bonney
Reed and Bonnie said they were pregnant, so their execution was postponed until they had children. Mary, who, according to many researchers, was still not Rackham's mistress (with such a hot Irish "friend" as Anne Bonnie, it is somehow unsafe with other girls to "twist" cupids, especially on the same ship), died from what fever in a Jamaican prison. It is known about Ann that she gave birth to a boy in April 1721. There is no reliable information about her further fate.
Anne Bonnie, mark of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas
Such a funny brand of the Turks and Caicos Islands: Mary Reed, Anne Bonnie, Calico Jack Rackham with a gang of pirates after the robbery of the ship "Bella Christina"
Of course, the robbery in the Caribbean did not stop immediately after the British authorities took control of Nassau. According to the estimates of the same Rogers, about 2,000 more pirates continued at that time to attack ships in the Caribbean. Among them was such a "hero" as John Roberts (Bartholomew Roberts, Black Bart).
It will be discussed in the next article of the cycle.
