One of the most successful British Pirates ever
If Black Beard (Edward Teach) was the most famous
of pirates, Bartholomew Roberts was the most successful and menacing. He had
a brief career (less than four years), yet he captured a mind staggering
total of more than 400 ships. Before Roberts captained a ship, he was a
skilled mate aboard a Royal vessel. Off the coast of Africa his ship was
boarded by Howel Davis, another great pirate of the era and Roberts was
forced into his crew. Reluctant to piracy at first, his illustrious
appointment began in 1719 after Davis was killed in battle less than a month
after Roberts' capture. In his short time on the pirate ship Roberts proved
his competency and superiority, so the crew elected him Howel's successor.
Roberts stated, "It is better to be a commander than a common man, since I
have dipped my hands in muddy water and must be a pirate." Henceforth the
man who became known as "Black Bart" sailed the seas looting wherever he
went. He pillaged along the coast of Brazil, and north to the French
settlement of Guiana. He was then turned away by the Royal Navies before
entering the Caribbean, for at this time governments had finally established
much control of piracy on the Spanish Main.
Continuing north Roberts made his way up the North American coast taking
many a prize until reaching Newfoundland. There he captured another half a
dozen ships, or so, and turned back to the South. Reaching the Bahamas he
tried to sail back to Africa but met with unfavorable winds and was forced
to turned back.
Then, in the boldest of actions, he proceeded to loot in the Caribbean
attacking and pillaging anything in sight including the town of St. Kitts.
By 1721 Roberts had nearly single handedly halted shipping to and from the
Spanish Main, having lasted over a year in the Navy infested waters of the
At this time he returned across the Atlantic to sell his stolen wares, and
then proceeded to plunder the African coast. This eventually led to a
confrontation with a Royal Navy patrol commanded by Captain Chaloner Ogle.
Roberts attempted to flee by setting sail before the wind so that his ship
had the advantage, but then for reasons, which remain opaque, he turned the
ship back towards their pursuer, the Swallow.
Once in range Ogle sent a bombardment of cannon fire to the pirates and
immediately Roberts' men responded in kind. When the smoke cleared, the crew
saw that Bartholomew Roberts was slumped over a cannon and had been killed
in the first and only barrage. With a devastated moral, the pirates
attempted to flee, but they were over taken easily. Because their mizzen
topmast had been damaged, they sailed ineffectively. All were taken prisoner
and later tried for their crimes, subsequently resulting with fifty-two
hangings that when on for a fortnight. After this piracy almost completely
died. While this most certainly would have had the effect of striking fear
into the hearts of other pirates it adds little to the explanation for why
piracy suddenly ended.
Literally thousands of pirates at large simply disappeared. The harsh living
conditions of the poor people continued as well as the severity of life in
the Navy ships. It remains a mystery why these men simply gave up their life
of plundering and faded into history. The names of these men reached
immortality even if their lives were short, and although piracy would flare
up every now and again it never reach the intensity of the Golden Age.
Marked with Roberts death, the era of piracy, itself, died.
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