The Carteret, Captain Snow, of London, taken the 28th of May, having 4 Guns and 18 Men on Board, 5 of which turned Pyrates.
The Mercury, Captain Maggott, of London, taken the 29th of May, having 4 Guns and 18 Men on Board, 5 of which turned Pyrates.
The Coward Galley, Captain Creed, of London, taken the 17th of June, having 2 Guns and 13 Men on Board, 4 of which turned Pyrates.
The Elizabeth and Katherine, Captain Bridge of Barbadoes, taken June the 27th, having 6 Guns and 14 Men on Board, 4 of which turned Pyrates.
The Eagle Pink being bound to Jamaica, the Sarah to Virginia, and the Buck to Maryland, they let them go, but the Charlotte, the Bentworth, the Carteret, and the Coward Galley, they burnt; and the Mercury, and the Elizabeth and Katherine were fitted up for Pyrate Ships, the former was new nam’d Queen Ann’s Revenge, and commanded by one Lane, and the other was call’d the Flying King, of which Robert Sample was appointed Captain. These two left England upon the Coast, sail’d to the West-Indies, where they took some Prizes, clean’d, and sail’d to Brasil in November; they took several Portuguese Ships there, and did a great deal of Mischief, but in the height of their Undertakings, a Portuguese Man of War, which was an excellent Sailor, came a very unwelcome Guest to them, and gave them Chace; the Queen Ann’s Revenge got off, but was lost a little while after upon that Coast; and the Flying King, giving herself over for lost, ran ashore: There were then 70 Men on Board, 12 of which were kill’d, and the rest taken Prisoners, of whom the Portuguese hang’d 38, of which 32 were English, three Dutch, two French, and one of their own Nation.
England, in going down the Coast, took the Peterborough Galley of Bristol, Captain Owen; and the Victory, Captain Ridout; the former they detained, but plundered the latter, and let her go. In Cape Corso Road, they saw two Sail at Anchor, but before they could reach them, they slipp’d their Cables and got close under Cape Corso Castle, these were the Whydah, Captain Prince, and the John, Captain Rider: The Pyrates upon this made a fire Ship of a Vessel they had lately taken, and attempted to burn them, as tho’ they had been a common Enemy, which if effected, they could not have been one Farthing the better for it; but the Castle firing warmly upon them, they withdrew, and sail’d down to Whydah Road, where they found another Pyrate, one Captain la Bouche, who getting thither before England arrived, had forestall’d the Market, and greatly disappointed their Brethren.
Captain England, after this Baulk, went into a Harbour, clean’d his own Ship, and fitted up the Peterborough, which he call’d the Victory; they liv’d there very wantonly for several Weeks, making free with the Negroe Women, and committing such outragious Acts, that they came to an open Rupture with the Natives, several of whom they kill’d, and one of their Towns they set on Fire.
When the Pyrates came out to Sea, they put it to a Vote what Voyage to take, and the Majority carrying it for the East-Indies, they shap’d their Course accordingly, and arrived at Madagascar, the Beginning of the Year 1720. They staid not long there, but after taking in Water and Provisions, sail’d for the Coast of Malabar, which is a fine fruitful Country in the East-Indies, in the Empire of the Mogul, but immediately subject to its own Princes: It reaches from the Coast of Canara to Cape Camorin, which is between 7° 30, and 12° North Lattitude, and in about 75° East Longitude, counting from the Meridian of London. The old Natives are Pagans, but there are a great Number of Mahometans inhabiting among them, who are Merchants, and generally rich. On the same Coast, but in a Province to the Northward lies Goa, Surat, Bombay, where the English, Dutch, and Portuguese have Settlements.
Hither our Pyrates came, having made a Tour of half the Globe, as the Psalmist says of the Devils, Going about like roaring Lions, seeking whom they might devour. They took several Country Ships, that is, Indian Vessels, and one European, a Dutch Ship, which they exchanged for one of their own, and then came back to Madagascar.
They sent several of their Hands on Shore with Tents, Powder, and Shot, to kill Hogs, Venison, and such other fresh Provision as the Island afforded, and a Whim came into their Heads to seek out for the Remains of Avery’s Crew, whom they knew to be settled somewhere in the Island.—Accordingly some of them travell’d several Days Journey, without hearing any Intelligence of them, and so were forc’d to return with the Loss of their Labour, for these Men were settled on the other Side of the Island, as has been taken Notice of under the Chapter of Avery.