1718 in piracy
Encyclopedia
See also 1717 in piracy
, other events in 1718, 1719 in piracy
, and Timeline of piracy
.
October 23 - Vane sacks a brigantine
and a sloop off Long Island
, New York
.
1717 in piracy
See also: 1716 in piracy, other events in 1717, 1718 in piracy, and Timeline of piracy.-----Caribbean Sea:*January - bombards and destroys several pirate vessels careening on St...
, other events in 1718, 1719 in piracy
1719 in piracy
See also 1718 in piracy, other events in 1719, 1720 in piracy, and Timeline of piracy.-Caribbean Sea:*Late February - Vane's sloop is wrecked in the Bay of Honduras by a waterspout. Most of the pirates are drowned, and Vane is stranded on an island...
, and Timeline of piracy
Timeline of piracy
This is a timeline of the history of piracy.*1600s: 1600 - 1601 - 1602 - 1603 - 1604 - 1605 - 1606 - 1607 - 1608 - 1609*1610s: 1610 - 1611 - 1612 - 1613 - 1614 - 1615 - 1616 - 1617 - 1618 - 1619...
.
Baltic Sea
- Lars GathenhielmLars GathenhielmLars Gathenhielm, , before knighthood 1715 Lars Andersson Gathe, aka Lasse i Gatan, was a Swedish merchant and privateer.- Biography :Lars Gathenhielm was born on the estate Gatan in Onsala Parish in Halland...
dies and his wife Ingela GathenhielmIngela GathenhielmIngela Olofsdotter Gathenhielm née Hammar, , was a Swedish privateer in service of King Charles XII of Sweden during the Great Northern War.- Biography :...
succeed him as the head of the Privateer and Pirate fleet of the Baltic Sea.
Caribbean Sea
- March - Edward Teach, alias BlackbeardBlackbeardEdward Teach , better known as Blackbeard, was a notorious English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of the American colonies....
, captures the sloop Adventure and the ship Protestant Caesar in the Bay of Honduras. - March-April - Charles VaneCharles VaneCharles Vane was an English pirate who preyed upon English and French shipping. His pirate career lasted from 1716 - 1719. His flagship was a brigantine named the Ranger....
and 12 pirates capture a JamaicaJamaicaJamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
sloop in the Bahamas, retaining her for his own use. - April - Vane captures the sloop Lark in the Bahamas and transfers his crew to her.
- April-July 4 - Vane robs seven French and English vessels in the Bahamas.
- Summer - Howell DavisHowell DavisCaptain Howell Davis was a Welsh pirate. His piratical career lasted just 11 months, from July 11, 1718 to June 19, 1719, when he was ambushed and killed. His ships were the Cadogan, Buck, Saint James, and Rover...
is turned in as a pirate by the Cadogans crew and is imprisoned on BarbadosBarbadosBarbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
. He is eventually released for lack of evidence. - July 24-25 - Woodes RogersWoodes RogersWoodes Rogers was an English sea captain, privateer, and, later, the first Royal Governor of the Bahamas. He is known as the captain of the vessel that rescued the marooned Alexander Selkirk, whose plight is generally believed to have inspired Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe.Rogers came from an...
arrives at Nassau, BahamasNassau, BahamasNassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...
with two warships to assume his post as governor. Most of the pirates welcome him, except Vane, who sails away shooting at Rogers' vessels. - July 27 - Vane captures a sloop from BarbadosBarbadosBarbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
and incorporates it in his fleet. - July 29 - Vane captures the John and Elizabeth, looting some pieces of eightSpanish dollarThe Spanish dollar is a silver coin, of approximately 38 mm diameter, worth eight reales, that was minted in the Spanish Empire after a Spanish currency reform in 1497. Its purpose was to correspond to the German thaler...
. - Autumn
- Howell DavisHowell DavisCaptain Howell Davis was a Welsh pirate. His piratical career lasted just 11 months, from July 11, 1718 to June 19, 1719, when he was ambushed and killed. His ships were the Cadogan, Buck, Saint James, and Rover...
leads a mutinyMutinyMutiny is a conspiracy among members of a group of similarly situated individuals to openly oppose, change or overthrow an authority to which they are subject...
on Rogers' sloop Buck and turns back to piracy. He captures two French ships and a Spanish sloop off HispaniolaHispaniolaHispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
. - Vane plunders the inhabitants of Isleatherer (EleutheraEleutheraEleuthera is an island in The Bahamas, lying 50 miles east of Nassau. It is very long and thin—110 miles long and in places little more than a mile wide. According to the 2000 Census, the population of Eleuthera is approximately 8,000...
?).
- Howell Davis
- October - Richard Worley's pirates seize a sloop and a brigantine in the Bahamas.
- Late November - Vane attacks a French vessel in the Windward PassageWindward PassageThe Windward Passage is a strait in the Caribbean Sea, between the islands of Cuba and Hispaniola. The strait specifically lies between the easternmost region of Cuba and the northwest of Haiti.80km wide, the Windward Passage has a threshold depth of 1,700m...
, but flees upon discovering it is a warship. The incident causes bad blood between Vane and his quartermasterQuartermasterQuartermaster refers to two different military occupations depending on if the assigned unit is land based or naval.In land armies, especially US units, it is a term referring to either an individual soldier or a unit who specializes in distributing supplies and provisions to troops. The senior...
, Calico Jack Rackham, who favored continuing the attack. - December - Vane captures a sloop and two periaguaPeriaguaPeriagua is the term formerly used in the Caribbean and the eastern seaboard of North America for a range of small craft including canoes and small sailing vessels...
s off northwest Jamaica. - December 9-10 - John Augur and eight of his pirates are convicted and sentenced to death for piracy at Nassau, BahamasNassau, BahamasNassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...
- December 16 - Vane captures the sloop Pearl in the Bay of Honduras.
North America
- May - Blackbeard blockades Charleston, South CarolinaCharleston, South CarolinaCharleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
with a flotilla of four ships. Five vessels are captured, all merchant traffic is stopped, and several Charleston citizens are held hostage until a ransom of medicines is paid. - Early June - Blackbeard and Stede BonnetStede BonnetStede Bonnet was an early 18th-century Barbadian pirate, sometimes called "the gentleman pirate" because he was a moderately wealthy landowner before turning to a life of crime. Bonnet was born into a wealthy English family on the island of Barbados, and inherited the family estate after his...
surrender to North CarolinaNorth CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
governor Charles EdenCharles EdenCharles Eden was the second Governor of the separate Colony of North Carolina.-Public service:Eden was appointed Governor of North Carolina on 13 July 1713. He is best known for his actions to end piracy in the area...
and are pardoned under the Act of Grace, but both soon return to piracy. - Late June - Blackbeard captures five ships between BermudaBermudaBermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
and North Carolina. - June-July - Bonnet in the sloopSloopA sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
Royal James (ex-Revenge) captures 13 vessels between North CarolinaNorth CarolinaNorth Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
and Delaware BayDelaware BayDelaware Bay is a major estuary outlet of the Delaware River on the Northeast seaboard of the United States whose fresh water mixes for many miles with the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It is in area. The bay is bordered by the State of New Jersey and the State of Delaware...
. - August 12 - Bonnet captures a shallop in the Cape Fear RiverCape Fear RiverThe Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina in the United States. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The overall water quality of the river is continuously measured and monitored by and conducted by the , , and the...
. - August 30 - Vane takes and ransacks the ships Neptune and Emperor off the Carolinas.
- Early September - Vane attacks the shipping off Charleston, capturing five vessels. Vane's subordinate, Yeats, defects to the Charleston governor with a sloop, surrendering and accepting a pardon under the Act of Grace.
- September - Pirates led by Richard WorleyRichard WorleyRichard Worley was an English pirate who was active in the Caribbean Sea and the east coast of the American colonies during the early 18th century. He is credited as one of the earliest pirates to fly the first version of the skull and crossbones pirate flag...
, in an open boat, rob a shallop and commandeer two sloops in the Delaware RiverDelaware RiverThe Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
. - September 27 - Bonnet and his men are captured by Colonel William RhettWilliam RhettColonel William Rhett moved to the Province of Carolina in 1698. He soon became successful and gained a high rank and social status as a colonial leader. In 1706 it was Rhett who commanded a flotilla that fought off a Franco-Spanish attack on Charles Town...
with two sloops in the battle of Cape Fear River.
October 23 - Vane sacks a brigantine
Brigantine
In sailing, a brigantine or hermaphrodite brig is a vessel with two masts, only the forward of which is square rigged.-Origins of the term:...
and a sloop off Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
- October 24-November 5–33 men captured from Bonnet's sloop Royal James are put on trial before Sir Nicholas TrottNicholas TrottNicholas Trott was an 18th century British judge, legal scholar and writer. He had a lengthy legal and political career in Charleston, South Carolina and served as the colonial chief justice from 1703 until 1719...
in Charleston. 29 are convicted and sentenced to death. - Late October - Pirate captain Richard WorleyRichard WorleyRichard Worley was an English pirate who was active in the Caribbean Sea and the east coast of the American colonies during the early 18th century. He is credited as one of the earliest pirates to fly the first version of the skull and crossbones pirate flag...
is killed and his two vessels captured in a battle with a squadron of four South Carolinian vessels in Charleston harbor. - November 8–22 pirates of Stede Bonnet's crew are hangedHangingHanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
in Charleston. - November 10-12 - Stede Bonnet is tried for piracy, convicted, and sentenced to death by Sir Nicholas Trott in Charleston.
- November 22 - Blackbeard is killed and his crew captured by Robert MaynardRobert MaynardCaptain Robert Maynard RN was a lieutenant and later captain in the Royal Navy, First Lieutenant of HMS Pearl, most famous for defeating the infamous English pirate Blackbeard in battle.- Naval commands and battles :...
's men in a battle at Ocracoke InletOcracoke InletOcracoke Inlet is an estuary located in the Outer Banks, North Carolina, United States that separates Ocracoke Island and Portsmouth Island. It connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Pamlico Sound. It is the southern terminus of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. It is the northern terminus of the...
. - December 10 - Bonnet is hanged in Charleston.
West Africa
- Summer-Autumn - Edward EnglandEdward EnglandEdward England, born Edward Seegar in Ireland, was a famous African coast and Indian Ocean pirate captain from 1717 to 1720. The ships he sailed on included the Pearl and later the Fancy, for which England exchanged the Pearl in 1720...
prowls off Sierra LeoneSierra LeoneSierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, capturing several vessels including the snowSnow (ship)A snow or snaw is a sailing vessel. A type of brig , snows were primarily used as merchant ships, but saw war service as well...
Cadogan, whose commanding officer, Captain Skinner, is murdered. England then gives the Cadogan to his mate, Howell DavisHowell DavisCaptain Howell Davis was a Welsh pirate. His piratical career lasted just 11 months, from July 11, 1718 to June 19, 1719, when he was ambushed and killed. His ships were the Cadogan, Buck, Saint James, and Rover...
.
Deaths
- Late October - Richard WorleyRichard WorleyRichard Worley was an English pirate who was active in the Caribbean Sea and the east coast of the American colonies during the early 18th century. He is credited as one of the earliest pirates to fly the first version of the skull and crossbones pirate flag...
, American pirate captain (birthdate unknown). - November 22 - Edward Teach, alias BlackbeardBlackbeardEdward Teach , better known as Blackbeard, was a notorious English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of the American colonies....
, killed in battle (born c. 1680). - December 10 - Stede BonnetStede BonnetStede Bonnet was an early 18th-century Barbadian pirate, sometimes called "the gentleman pirate" because he was a moderately wealthy landowner before turning to a life of crime. Bonnet was born into a wealthy English family on the island of Barbados, and inherited the family estate after his...
, the so-called Gentleman Pirate, hanged (born c. 1688). - April 25 - Lars GathenhielmLars GathenhielmLars Gathenhielm, , before knighthood 1715 Lars Andersson Gathe, aka Lasse i Gatan, was a Swedish merchant and privateer.- Biography :Lars Gathenhielm was born on the estate Gatan in Onsala Parish in Halland...