[Page of 16] The Golden Age of Piracy

Benjamin Hornigold

Benjamin Hornigold in Black Sails. Black Sails Wiki - https://black-sails.fandom.com/wiki/Black_Sails_Wiki Benjamin Hornigold is famous for founding the ‘Pirate Republic’ and ‘The Flying Gang’ of Nassau, but probably even more so for betraying the pirate cause. He is said to have been born around 1660 and little is known of his early life. It is thought to have been born in Norfolk, England, although other claims include Jamaica. He might have been married to Sarah Norris in England in 1679, but her fate is unknown. Hornigold was a privateer in The Spanish War of Succession, and later claimed he was continuing this conflict rather than committing acts of piracy. He had a puritan background and was a known patriot, constantly refusing to attack British and Dutch ships. He was also reluctant to take lives and generally treated his captives well.

Hornigold the pirate

Hornigold left Port Royal, Jamaica for Nassau in 1713, starting out in two piraguas, the second captained by John West.…

The 1715 Jacobite Uprising

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James Francis Edward Stuart, Prince of Wales by Alexis Simon Belle, circa 1712.

The Jacobite cause came into being after The Glorious Revolution of 1688. The reigning monarch, James II of England and VII of Scotland, was extremely unpopular due to a combination of being Catholic and harbouring absolutist ambitions. Fear of Catholicism, which was the religion of the traditional enemies France and Spain, and James II’s tendency towards absolutism pushed several Protestant nobles to invite Mary, the eldest daughter of James II, and her husband, James’s nephew William of Orange, to take the crown. When William invaded England mass defections and little resistance to William’s cause forced James II and his wife to flee to France, where they became guests of his cousin Louis XIV. In March 1689, James attempted to reclaim his throne by landing in Ireland with 6000 troops, but was soundly defeated at the Battle of the Boyne in July of that year, forcing him to flee back to France where he died in 1701.…

The pirate surgeon

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Medicine chest, wooden, iron-bound and brass covered, lock broken, decorated with studs and embossed design outside, and tooled leather and prints inside, containing 3 pewter topped glass bottles and one other bottle 1751-1800.

The ship’s surgeon was one of the most indispensable members of crew and was normally held in high esteem by them. They were always present on warships, but only occasionally on merchant vessels. Someone with medical knowledge was extremely valuable, as a ship was a dangerous place to live and work on. In the early 1700s there was a scarcity of physicians, so surgeons and apothecaries were essential. On board a ship, as well as serious accidents there were also mundane ailments to deal with such as rashes caused by constantly wet clothes, sunburn, and toothache, and common minor injuries like cuts, bruises and sores inflicted by daily work, which were usually treated by applying plasters. Also the crew needed a regular cutting of their hair, shaving, and the trimming of their beards with scissors and razors, which was also the responsibility of the surgeon. These men were often referred to as barber surgeons in society.…

Ned Lowe

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Capt. Edward Low in a hurricane which he and all the crew had like to perished. Illus. in: Charles Johnson, History of Most Famous Highway Men. London, 1734. Presuming all the tales of his exploits are true, Edward Lowe, also Low or Loe, was probably the most cruel and bloodthirsty pirate of the Golden Age, possibly second only to François l’Olonnais. He is reported to have been prone to violence from an early age. The legend of his savagery spread far and wide. With a fearsome reputation and a small fleet of ships, Lowe and his crew captured at least a hundred ships during his short career, burning most of them.

Early life

According to Charles Johnson’s A General History of the Pyrates, Edward Lowe was born in 1690 in Westminster, London. He was born into poverty and was active as a petty criminal like the rest of his family from an early age. His brother Richard was hanged for burglary in 1707 when Ned was only 17. He fled to Boston, Massachusetts in circa 1710 where he continued his life of crime.…

Pirates of The West Country

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Pirates of the West Country by E. T. Fox

Upon every ocean and sea, pirates have been ready to plunder, to rob and to murder for profit. England has always been a nation of mariners, and the West Country has for centuries been one of the busiest parts of maritime England. It is natural, therefore, that a great many of the pirates of history have been English, and that a good proportion of those have been men of the West. Discover the handful of true West Country pirates of the past and also those that voyaged from the West to the Caribbean and Indian Ocean in this compelling history. Herein lies a true account of piracy, often called the ‘oldest trade afloat’.