Pirate Round
Encyclopedia
The Pirate Round was a sailing route followed by certain Anglo-American pirates
, mainly during the late 17th century. The course led from the western Atlantic, around the southern tip of Africa, stopping at Madagascar, then on to targets such as the coast of Yemen
and India
. The Pirate Round was briefly used again during the early 1720s. Pirates who followed the route are sometimes called Roundsmen. The Pirate Round was largely co-extensive with the routes of the East India Company
ships, of Britain and other nations.
, Nassau
, New York City
, and La Coruña, depending on where the pirate crew initially assembled. The course then lay roughly south by southeast along the coast of Africa
, frequently by way of the Madeira Islands. The pirates would then double the Cape of Good Hope
, and sail through the Mozambique Channel
to northern Madagascar
. Pirates would frequently careen
and refit their ships on Madagascar and take on fresh provisions before proceeding onward toward their targets further north. Particularly important pirate bases on Madagascar included the island of St. Mary's
(often called by its French name, Île Sainte-Marie
) and Ranter Bay, both on the northeastern side of the island. Pirates also utilized the nearby Comoros
islands in preparation for the final leg of their cruise.
From Madagascar or the Comoros, a number of profitable destinations were available to pirates. Most important were Perim
(a.k.a. Bab's Key) or Mocha
at the mouth of the Red Sea
. This was the ideal position for intercepting and robbing Mughal
shipping, especially the lucrative traffic between Surat
and Mecca
, carrying Muslim
voyagers on the Haj
pilgrimage. Other pirates struck toward the Malabar
and Coromandel
coasts to rob Mughal merchants or richly laden East Indiamen. Pirates also might find East Indiamen at Réunion Island.
If the cruise were successful, pirates might then return to the Atlantic by a similar route. Usually there would be a stop again at Madagascar to reprovision, careen, and in some cases await the turning of the monsoon
wind.
, but for most of the 17th century the Spanish Empire
was the principal target of Anglo-American pirates. The Pirate Round proper as the main route of Anglo-American pirates begins in 1693 with Thomas Tew
. Tew's enormously successful cruise and low casualties attracted the attention of others and led to a flood of pirates following his route.
Key to the initial success of the Pirate Round was the trade route between Adam Baldridge
on Île Sainte-Marie and merchant Frederick Philipse in New York City. Baldridge bought naval stores, clothing, alcohol, and other necessaries from Philipse and supplied them to pirates in Madagascar. Baldridge's flight from Madagascar in 1697 contributed to the subsequent decline of the Pirate Round.
One of the most successful Roundsmen was Henry Every
, who captured a ship personally owned by the emperor Aurangzeb
of India, looting more than ₤325,000. Aurangzeb's enraged reaction against the British East India Company
, and the Company's consequent appeals to Parliament for suppression of pirates, led to the disastrous decision to fund a privateer to hunt down the pirates. The privateer chosen, Captain William Kidd
, turned Roundsman himself, unsuccessfully attacking Mughal ships and their British East Indiaman escorts, and capturing the unoffending neutral merchant vessel Quedagh Merchant, which Kidd seized on the basis of its French passes.
Another notable rover on the Pirate Round was Robert Culliford
, a longtime associate of Kidd, to whom most of Kidd's crew eventually deserted. The pirate cruises of John Bowen
, Thomas Howard
, Abraham Samuel
and Thomas White in 1700 ended the Pirate Round's first period of popularity.
, which from 1701 to 1713 provided Anglo-American seamen with legally sanctioned, less arduous opportunities for plunder in the naval and privateer services.
The end of British participation in the war in 1713 led to an explosive increase in piracy in the Caribbean
, but did not yet revive the Pirate Round. However, in 1718 Woodes Rogers
pacified Nassau, while colonial Virginia
and South Carolina
prosecuted aggressive anti-pirate campaigns, destroying Blackbeard
, Stede Bonnet
and Richard Worley
. Caribbean and Atlantic pirates began to seek safer hunting grounds, leading to a brief resurgence in the Pirate Round. Meanwhile, James Plantain founded a new pirate base at Ranter Bay in Madagascar.
, John Taylor
, Oliver La Buse
and Christopher Condent
. Taylor and La Buse reaped the greatest prize in the history of the Pirate Round, the plunder of the Portuguese East Indiaman Nossa Senhora Do Cabo at Réunion in 1721, netting diamonds and other treasures worth a total of about ₤800,000. Condent was also successful, although Edward England was marooned
on the Comoros by Taylor and La Buse and died not long after.
Despite the successes of Taylor, La Buse, and Condent, the Pirate Round quickly declined again. The last great robber captains, Edward Low, George Lowther
and Bartholomew Roberts
, ignored the route. Plantain left Madagascar in 1728. The ever-tightening grip of the British East India Company, competition from native Indian pirates, the end of the Mughal Empire and the descent of India into civil war may have contributed to this second, and final, abandonment of the Pirate Round.
Piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
, mainly during the late 17th century. The course led from the western Atlantic, around the southern tip of Africa, stopping at Madagascar, then on to targets such as the coast of Yemen
Yemen
The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. The Pirate Round was briefly used again during the early 1720s. Pirates who followed the route are sometimes called Roundsmen. The Pirate Round was largely co-extensive with the routes of the East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
ships, of Britain and other nations.
Geography
The Pirate Round started from a variety of Atlantic ports, including BermudaBermuda
Bermuda 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...
, Nassau
Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau 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...
, New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, and La Coruña, depending on where the pirate crew initially assembled. The course then lay roughly south by southeast along the coast of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, frequently by way of the Madeira Islands. The pirates would then double the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
, and sail through the Mozambique Channel
Mozambique Channel
The Mozambique Channel is a portion of the Indian Ocean located between the island nation of Madagascar and southeast Africa, primarily the country of Mozambique. It was a World War II clashpoint during the Battle of Madagascar...
to northern Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
. Pirates would frequently careen
Careening
Careening a sailing vessel is the practice of beaching it at high tide. This is usually done in order to expose one side or another of the ship's hull for maintenance and repairs below the water line when the tide goes out....
and refit their ships on Madagascar and take on fresh provisions before proceeding onward toward their targets further north. Particularly important pirate bases on Madagascar included the island of St. Mary's
Île Sainte-Marie
Île Sainte-Marie, known as Nosy Boraha , is an island off the east coast of Madagascar. The main town is Ambodifotatra. The city covers an area of 222 km2, and had a population estimated at 16,325 in 2001.- City :...
(often called by its French name, Île Sainte-Marie
Île Sainte-Marie
Île Sainte-Marie, known as Nosy Boraha , is an island off the east coast of Madagascar. The main town is Ambodifotatra. The city covers an area of 222 km2, and had a population estimated at 16,325 in 2001.- City :...
) and Ranter Bay, both on the northeastern side of the island. Pirates also utilized the nearby Comoros
Comoros
The Comoros , officially the Union of the Comoros is an archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar...
islands in preparation for the final leg of their cruise.
From Madagascar or the Comoros, a number of profitable destinations were available to pirates. Most important were Perim
Perim
Perim is a volcanic island strategically located in the Strait of Mandeb at the southern entrance into the Red Sea, off the southwestern coast of Yemen, at . It has a surface area of 13 square kilometers and rises to an altitude of 65 meters. The island has a natural harbour on its southwestern...
(a.k.a. Bab's Key) or Mocha
Mocha, Yemen
Mocha or Mokha is a port city on the Red Sea coast of Yemen. Until it was eclipsed in the 19th century by Aden and Hodeida, Mocha was the principal port for Yemen's capital Sana'a.-Overview:...
at the mouth of the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
. This was the ideal position for intercepting and robbing Mughal
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
shipping, especially the lucrative traffic between Surat
Surat
Surat , also known as Suryapur, is the commercial capital city of the Indian state of Gujarat. Surat is India's Eighth most populous city and Ninth-most populous urban agglomeration. It is also administrative capital of Surat district and one of the fastest growing cities in India. The city proper...
and Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, carrying Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
voyagers on the Haj
Háj
Háj may refer to:* Háj in Turčianske Teplice District, Slovakia* Háj in Košice-okolie District, Slovakia...
pilgrimage. Other pirates struck toward the Malabar
Malabar Coast
The Malabar Coast is a long and narrow coastline on the south-western shore line of the mainland Indian subcontinent. Geographically, it comprises the wettest regions of southern India, as the Western Ghats intercept the moisture-laden monsoon rains, especially on their westward-facing mountain...
and Coromandel
Coromandel Coast
The Coromandel Coast is the name given to the southeastern coast of the Indian Subcontinent between Cape Comorin and False Divi Point...
coasts to rob Mughal merchants or richly laden East Indiamen. Pirates also might find East Indiamen at Réunion Island.
If the cruise were successful, pirates might then return to the Atlantic by a similar route. Usually there would be a stop again at Madagascar to reprovision, careen, and in some cases await the turning of the monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
wind.
History of the Pirate Round
The Pirate Round was most active from about 1693 to 1700 and then again from about 1719 to 1721. It is described as follows by David Cordingly: "Some pirates made the additional journey around the Cape of Good Hope to the Indian Ocean and attacked ships loaded with the exotic products of India. . . . which came to be known as the Pirate Round." . Jenifer G. Marx writes that "Ambitious sea outlaws began to leave for the East on what became known as the Pirate Round: a route that, for some thirty years beginning in 1690, linked ports in the Caribbean and the North American colonies with Madagascar."Initial burst of piracy
Anglo-American piracy in the Indian Ocean goes back at least to King James IJames I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
, but for most of the 17th century the Spanish Empire
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
was the principal target of Anglo-American pirates. The Pirate Round proper as the main route of Anglo-American pirates begins in 1693 with Thomas Tew
Thomas Tew
Thomas Tew , also known as the Rhode Island Pirate, was a 17th century English privateer-turned-pirate. Although he embarked on only two major piratical voyages, and met a bloody death on the latter journey, Tew pioneered the route which became known as the Pirate Round. Many other famous pirates,...
. Tew's enormously successful cruise and low casualties attracted the attention of others and led to a flood of pirates following his route.
Key to the initial success of the Pirate Round was the trade route between Adam Baldridge
Adam Baldridge
Adam Baldridge was an English pirate and one of the early founders of the pirate settlements in Madagascar.Fleeing from Jamaica after being charged with murder, Baldridge sailed to Madagascar and, by 1685, had established a base of operations on the island of St. Mary's. By the following year,...
on Île Sainte-Marie and merchant Frederick Philipse in New York City. Baldridge bought naval stores, clothing, alcohol, and other necessaries from Philipse and supplied them to pirates in Madagascar. Baldridge's flight from Madagascar in 1697 contributed to the subsequent decline of the Pirate Round.
One of the most successful Roundsmen was Henry Every
Henry Every
Henry Every, also Avery or Avary, , sometimes given as John Avery, was an English pirate who operated in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans in the mid-1690s. He likely used several aliases throughout his career, including Benjamin Bridgeman, and was known as Long Ben to his crewmen and associates...
, who captured a ship personally owned by the emperor Aurangzeb
Aurangzeb
Abul Muzaffar Muhy-ud-Din Muhammad Aurangzeb Alamgir , more commonly known as Aurangzeb or by his chosen imperial title Alamgir , was the sixth Mughal Emperor of India, whose reign lasted from 1658 until his death in 1707.Badshah Aurangzeb, having ruled most of the Indian subcontinent for nearly...
of India, looting more than ₤325,000. Aurangzeb's enraged reaction against the British East India Company
British East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
, and the Company's consequent appeals to Parliament for suppression of pirates, led to the disastrous decision to fund a privateer to hunt down the pirates. The privateer chosen, Captain William Kidd
William Kidd
William "Captain" Kidd was a Scottish sailor remembered for his trial and execution for piracy after returning from a voyage to the Indian Ocean. Some modern historians deem his piratical reputation unjust, as there is evidence that Kidd acted only as a privateer...
, turned Roundsman himself, unsuccessfully attacking Mughal ships and their British East Indiaman escorts, and capturing the unoffending neutral merchant vessel Quedagh Merchant, which Kidd seized on the basis of its French passes.
Another notable rover on the Pirate Round was Robert Culliford
Robert Culliford
Robert Culliford was an English pirate from Cornwall who is best remembered for repeatedly checking the designs of Captain William Kidd.-Early career and capture:...
, a longtime associate of Kidd, to whom most of Kidd's crew eventually deserted. The pirate cruises of John Bowen
John Bowen (pirate)
John Bowen was a pirate of Créole origin active during the Golden Age of Piracy. He sailed with other famous contemporaries, including Nathaniel North and George Booth, who was his captain when he served under him as a crewman aboard the Speaker...
, Thomas Howard
Thomas Howard (pirate)
Thomas Howard was a pirate primarily active in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea during the Golden Age of Piracy. He served under other pirates of the time, including George Booth and John Bowen. He also commanded the 36-gun Prosperous. He later retired to Rapajura, in India, where he married a...
, Abraham Samuel
Abraham Samuel
Abraham Samuel, also known as "Tolinar Rex," born in Martinique , was a mulatto pirate of the Indian Ocean in the days of the Pirate Round in the late-1690s...
and Thomas White in 1700 ended the Pirate Round's first period of popularity.
Interval of decline
From 1700 to 1718, the Pirate Round went into decline. The causes included 1) the aforementioned loss of Baldridge's base on Madagascar, 2) increased convoying and protection of Indian and Arab shipping in cooperation with heavily armed British East Indiamen, and 3) the War of the Spanish SuccessionWar of the Spanish Succession
The War of the Spanish Succession was fought among several European powers, including a divided Spain, over the possible unification of the Kingdoms of Spain and France under one Bourbon monarch. As France and Spain were among the most powerful states of Europe, such a unification would have...
, which from 1701 to 1713 provided Anglo-American seamen with legally sanctioned, less arduous opportunities for plunder in the naval and privateer services.
The end of British participation in the war in 1713 led to an explosive increase in piracy in the Caribbean
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
, but did not yet revive the Pirate Round. However, in 1718 Woodes Rogers
Woodes Rogers
Woodes 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...
pacified Nassau, while colonial Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
and South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
prosecuted aggressive anti-pirate campaigns, destroying Blackbeard
Blackbeard
Edward Teach , better known as Blackbeard, was a notorious English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of the American colonies....
, Stede Bonnet
Stede Bonnet
Stede 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...
and Richard Worley
Richard Worley
Richard 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...
. Caribbean and Atlantic pirates began to seek safer hunting grounds, leading to a brief resurgence in the Pirate Round. Meanwhile, James Plantain founded a new pirate base at Ranter Bay in Madagascar.
Brief renaissance
Among the last pirates to frequent Madagascar waters from 1719 to 1721 were Edward EnglandEdward England
Edward 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...
, John Taylor
John Taylor (pirate)
John Taylor was a pirate who lived in the early 18th century.At Reunion Island in April 1721, he together with Olivier Levasseur captured the most valuable prize in pirate history, variously described as "Nostra Senora della Cabo", "Nostra Senhora do Cabo", or "Nossa Senhora do Cabo" .-Further...
, Oliver La Buse
Olivier Levasseur
Olivier Levasseur , was a pirate, nicknamed La Buse or La Bouche in his early days, called thus because of the speed and ruthlessness with which he always attacked his enemies.-History:...
and Christopher Condent
Christopher Condent
Christopher Condent , born in Plymouth in Devon, was an English pirate who led the return to the Eastern Seas. He and his crew fled New Providence in 1718, when Woodes Rogers became governor of the island....
. Taylor and La Buse reaped the greatest prize in the history of the Pirate Round, the plunder of the Portuguese East Indiaman Nossa Senhora Do Cabo at Réunion in 1721, netting diamonds and other treasures worth a total of about ₤800,000. Condent was also successful, although Edward England was marooned
Marooning
Marooning is the intentional leaving of someone in a remote area, such as an uninhabited island. The word appears in writing in approximately 1709, and is derived from the term maroon, a word for a fugitive slave, which could be a corruption of Spanish cimarrón, meaning a household animal who has...
on the Comoros by Taylor and La Buse and died not long after.
Despite the successes of Taylor, La Buse, and Condent, the Pirate Round quickly declined again. The last great robber captains, Edward Low, George Lowther
George Lowther (pirate)
George Lowther was an 18th century English pirate who, although little is known of his life, was active in the Caribbean and Atlantic...
and Bartholomew Roberts
Bartholomew Roberts
Bartholomew Roberts , born John Roberts, was a Welsh pirate who raided ships off America and West Africa between 1719 and 1722. He was the most successful pirate of the Golden Age of Piracy. He is estimated to have captured over 470 vessels...
, ignored the route. Plantain left Madagascar in 1728. The ever-tightening grip of the British East India Company, competition from native Indian pirates, the end of the Mughal Empire and the descent of India into civil war may have contributed to this second, and final, abandonment of the Pirate Round.