Wherefore, about a week after, Captain Kid, Nicholas Churchill, James How, Gabriel Loff, Hugh Parrot, Abel Owen, and Darby Mullins, were executed at Execution Dock, and afterwards hung up in chains, at some distance from each other down the river, where their bodies hung exposed for many years.
III.
CAPTAIN BARTHOLOMEW ROBERTS AND HIS CREW.
His beginning—Elected captain in the room of Davis—The speech of Lord Dennis at the election—Lord Sympson objects against a papist—The death of Davis revenged—Roberts sails southward in quest of adventures—The names of the prizes taken by them—Brazil described—Roberts falls into a fleet of Portuguese—Boards and takes the richest ship amongst them—Make the Devil’s Islands—An unfortunate adventure of Roberts—Kennedy’s treachery—Irishmen excluded by Roberts and his crew—Articles sworn to by them—A copy of them—Some account of the laws and customs of the pirates—An instance of Roberts’s cunning—He proceeds again upon business, and takes prizes—Narrowly escapes being taken—Sails for the Island Dominico—Another escape—Sails for Newfoundland—Plunders, sinks, and burns twenty-two sail in the harbour of Trepassi—Plunders ten sail of Frenchmen—The mad behaviour of the crew—A correspondence hinted at—The pirates caressed at the island of St. Bartholomew—In extreme distress—Sail for Martinico—A stratagem of Roberts—The insolent device in his colours—Odd compliment paid to Roberts—Three men desert the pirates, and are taken by them—Their trial—Two executed and one saved—the brigantine deserts them—Great divisions in the company—A description of Sierra Leone River—The names of English settled there, and way of life—The Onslow belonging to the African Company taken—The pirates’ contempt of soldiers—They are for entertaining a chaplain—Their skirmish with the Calabar negroes—The King Solomon, belonging to the African Company taken—The frolics of the pirates—Take eleven sail in Whydah Road—A comical receipt given by the pirates—A cruel action of Roberts—Sails for Anna Bona—The progress of the Swallow man-of-war, in pursuit of Roberts—Roberts’s consort taken—The bravery of Skyrme, a Welsh pirate—The surly humour of some of the prisoners—The Swallow comes up with Roberts—Roberts’s dress described—Is killed—His character—His ship taken—The behaviour of the pirates when prisoners—A conspiracy of theirs discovered—Reflections on the manner of trying them—The form of the commission for trying the pirates—The oath taken by the commissioners—The names of those arraigned taken in the ship Ranger—The form of the indictment—The sum of the evidence against them—Their defence—The names of the prisoners of the Royal Fortune—Proceedings against them—Harry Glasby acquitted—The particular trial of Captain James Skyrme—Of John Walden—Of Peter Scudamore—Of Robert Johnson—Of George Wilson—Of Benjamin Jeffries—Of John Mansfield—Of William Davis—The names of those executed at Cape Corso—The petition of some condemned—The court’s resolution—The form of an indenture of a pardoned pirate—The names of those pardoned upon indenture to serve seven years—The pirates how disposed of—The dying behaviour of those executed.
Bartholomew Roberts sailed in an honest employ from London, aboard of the Princess, Captain Plumb, commander, of which ship he was second mate. He left England November, 1719, and arrived at Guinea about February following, and being at Anamaboe, taking in slaves for the West Indies, was taken in the said ship by Captain Howel Davis. In the beginning he was very averse to this sort of life, and would certainly have escaped from them had a fair opportunity presented itself; yet afterwards he changed his principles, as many besides him have done upon another element, and perhaps for the same reason too, viz., preferment; and what he did not like as a private man he could reconcile to his conscience as a commander.
Davis having been killed in the Island of Princes whilst planning to capture it with all its inhabitants, the company found themselves under the necessity of filling up his post, for which there appeared two or three candidates among the select part of them that were distinguished by the title of Lords—such were Sympson, Ashplant, Anstis, &c.—and on canvassing this matter, how shattered and weak a condition their government must be without a head, since Davis had been removed in the manner before mentioned, my Lord Dennis proposed, it is said, over a bowl, to this purpose:
“That it was not of any great signification who was dignified with title, for really and in good truth all good governments had, like theirs, the supreme power lodged with the community, who might doubtless depute and revoke as suited interest or humour. We are the original of this claim,” says he, “and should a captain be so saucy as to exceed prescription at any time, why, down with him! It will be a caution after he is dead to his successors of what fatal consequence any sort of assuming may be. However, it is my advice that while we are sober we pitch upon a man of courage and skilled in navigation, one who by his council and bravery seems best able to defend this commonwealth, and ward us from the dangers and tempests of an unstable element, and the fatal consequences of anarchy; and such a one I take Roberts to be—a fellow, I think, in all respects worthy your esteem and favour.”
This speech was loudly applauded by all but Lord Sympson, who had secret expectations himself, but on this disappointment grew sullen and left them, swearing “he did not care who they chose captain so it was not a papist, for against them he had conceived an irreconcilable hatred, for that his father had been a sufferer in Monmouth’s rebellion.”
Roberts was accordingly elected, though he had not been above six weeks among them. The choice was confirmed both by the Lords and Commoners, and he accepted of the honour, saying that, since he had dipped his hands in muddy water and must be a pirate, it was better being a commander than a common man.
As soon as the government was settled, by promoting other officers in the room of those that were killed by the Portuguese, the company resolved to avenge Captain Davis’s death, he being more than ordinarily respected by the crew for his affability and good nature, as well as his conduct and bravery upon all occasions; and, pursuant to this resolution, about thirty men were landed, in order to make an attack upon the fort, which must be ascended to by a steep hill against the mouth of the cannon. These men were headed by one Kennedy, a bold, daring fellow, but very wicked and profligate; they marched directly up under the fire of their ship guns, and as soon as they were discovered, the Portuguese quitted their post and fled to the town, and the pirates marched in without opposition, set fire to the fort, and threw all the guns off the hill into the sea, which after they had done they retreated quietly to their ship.