On this day in history...

[William Brand]

November 22 -

On this day in history in 1684, French Buccaneer, Raveneau de Lussan, joined other buccaneers under Laurens de Graaf, sailing from Petit-Goâve to try the sweet trade.

On this day in 1718, Samuel Odell was emancipated by Lieutenant Maynard from Blackbeard. In the fight Odell received at least seventy wounds, but recovered. He stood trial for piracy later at Williamsburg, Virginia, but was acquitted. Edward 'Blackbeard' Teach was killed in the battle with Lieutenant Maynard at Ocracoke, a Province of Carolina, having been shot no fewer than five times and cut about twenty. Captain Gordon would write the following later in a letter sent to the Admiralty about the death of Blackbeard.

"…in less than ten minutes time Tatch (Teach) and five or six men were killed; the rest of these rogues jumped in the water where they were demolished."

The following members of Blackbeard's crew were killed during the same battle.

Husk, John.

Jackson, Nathaniel.

Roberts, Owen. From Wales. Carpenter.

Morton, Philip. Gunner.

Miller, Thomas. Quartermaster.

Brooks, Joseph, Sr..

Curtice, Joseph..

Gibbens, Garrat. Boatswain on board Blackbeard's "Adventure.

[William Brand]

November 23 -

On this day in 1718, a force made up of Captain Brand, Colonel Moore, Captain JeremiahVail, and a number of North Carolinians arrived within 3 miles of Bath, North Carolina searching for Edward 'Blackbeard' Teach. Moore went into the town to see if Teach was there, reporting back that he was not, but that the pirate was expected at "every minute", as the force was yet unaware of Teach's death the day before.

[William Brand]

November 24 -

On this day in 1642, Abel Janzoon Tasman discovered Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania).

And on this day in 1718, Captain Brand, unaware of Edward Teach's death, sent two canoes down Pamlico River to Ocracoke Inlet, to see if Edward 'Blackbeard' Teach and his men could be seen. They returned two days later and reported on what had already transpired with the death of Teach.

On November 24, 1696 the House of Commons passed legislation ordering that after December 1, 1696 hammered English coinage would no longer be current except by weight at 62d (5s2d) per ounce. To encourage the exchange of hammered English silver and to bring more plate to the mint an order was enacted that for the eight month period from after November 4, 1696 to before July 1, 1697 the mint would purchase all hammered English silver coinage brought to them at the rate of 64d (5s4d) per sterling ounce. This was a premium of 2d above the rate at which sterling coinage was produced (8&9 Guilielmi III cap. 2, Statutes vol. 7, pp. 162-164 and Ruding, vol. 2, pp. 48-49). In order to pay these premiums, a bill was passed in the House of Commons on February 24, 1697 levying a tax on paper, parchment and vellum for a period of two years from March 1, 1697; the tax was £20 per £100 value on paper and £25 per £100 value on imported paper, over and above the current duties. Importers were give a 10% discount for ready cash or were given the option of making the duty payment within a three month period if they gave security (8&9 Guilielmi III cap. 7, Statutes vol. 7, pp. 189-196).

As additional silver was needed, the act encouraging silver plate to be brought to the mint was extended and revised so that it was similar to the act concerning hammered coinage. On March 6, 1697 the House of Commons passed an act with a retroactive starting date that, "Any wrought Plate of any sort or kind whatsoever" with the mark of the Hall of Goldsmiths in London (thus verifying its purity as sterling) could be brought to the mint between January 1, 1696/7 and November 4, 1697 where it would be purchased at 64d (5s4d) per troy ounce. The earlier stipulation on when the plate had been produced was dropped. If the silver did not have a goldsmith's mark the individual could accept an offer made by the mint or request an assay. As the mint was now accepting hammered English coins there was no need for stipulations that would exclude coinage. However, to prevent newly minted milled English coins, which were issued at 62d per troy ounce, from being melted down into plate for the 2d per ounce profit, it was stipulated all wrought plate produced after March 25, 1697 was to be above the sterling standard (which was 11 oz. 2 dwt.) at 11 oz. 10 dwt. of fine silver per troy pound (8&9 Guilielmi III cap. 8, Statutes vol. 7, p. 196). It is quite likely several eight reales were melted by goldsmiths into sterling silver to be traded at the mint as this would represent the highest rate offered in England for the eight reales, at 64d (5s4d) per ounce, or 1d per 7.5 grains, at this rate a full weight eight reales of 420 grains would be valued at 56d (4s8d). Of course, this valuation was only for a short period.

[William Brand]

November 25 -

On this day in 1500, Governor Francisco De Bobadilla of Santo Domingo captured Columbus on charges and accusations of mismanagement.

[PhilJohnson]

And here we are with a whole country built on mismanagement because of him. :)

[William Brand]

November 26 -

On this day in history, the Southern part of England was hit by one of the most sever natural disasters of all time. Called 'The Great Storm of 1703', observers at the time recorded barometric readings as low as 973 millibars (measured by William Derham in south Essex), but it has been suggested that the storm may have deepened to 950 millibars over the Midlands.

In London, approximately 2,000 massive chimney stacks were blown down. The lead roofing was blown off Westminster Abbey and Queen Anne had to shelter in a cellar at St. James's Palace to avoid collapsing chimneys and part of the roof. On the Thames, around 700 ships were heaped together in the Pool of London, the section downstream from London Bridge. HMS Vanguard was wrecked at Chatham. Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell's HMS Association was blown from Harwich to Gothenburg in Sweden before way could be made back to England. Pinnacles were blown from the top of King’s College Chapel, in Cambridge.

There was extensive and prolonged flooding in the West Country, particularly around Bristol. Hundreds of people drowned in flooding on the Somerset Levels, along with thousands of sheep and cattle, and one ship was found 15 miles inland. At Wells, Bishop Richard Kidder was killed when two chimneystacks in the palace fell on the bishop and his wife, asleep in bed. This same storm blew in part of the great west window in Wells Cathedral. Major damage occurred to the south-west tower of Llandaff Cathedral at Cardiff.

At sea, many ships (many returning from helping the King of Spain fight the French in the War of the Spanish Succession) were wrecked, including on the Goodwin Sands, HMS Stirling Castle, HMS Northumberland, HMS Mary, and HMS Restoration, with about 1,500 seamen killed particularly on the Goodwins. Between 8,000 and 15,000 lives were lost overall. A ship torn from its moorings in the Helford River in Cornwall was blown for 200 miles before grounding eight hours later on the Isle of Wight. The number of oak trees lost in the New Forest alone was 4,000.

The storm of 1703 caught a convoy of 130 merchant ships and their Man of War escorts, the "Dolphin", the "Cumberland", the "Coventry", the "Looe", the "Hastings" and the "Hector" sheltering at Milford Haven. By 3pm the next afternoon losses included 30 vessels.

So...be thankful.

[William Brand]

November 27 -

On this day in history the 'Great Storm of 1703' began to subside, but not before exacting a heavy toll.

Winstanley's tower (known as the first Eddystone Lighthouse) was almost completed erased from existence. Winstanley himself was on the lighthouse, completing additions to the structure. No trace was found of him, or of the other five men in the lighthouse.

In the English Channel, fierce winds and high seas had swamped some vessels outright and drove others onto the Goodwin Sands, an extensive sand bank situated along the southeast coast of England and the traditional anchorage for ships waiting either for passage up the Thames estuary to London or for favorable winds to take them out into the Channel and the Atlantic Ocean. The Royal Navy was badly affected, losing thirteen ships, including the entire Channel Squadron, and upwards of fifteen hundred seamen drowned.

- The third rate Restoration was wrecked on the Goodwin Sands; of the ship's company of 387 not one was saved.

- The third rate Northumberland was lost on the Goodwin Sands; all 220 men, including 24 marines were killed.

- The third rate (battleship) Stirling Castle was wrecked on the Goodwin Sands. Seventy men, including four marine officers, were saved, but 206 men were drowned.

- The fourth rate Mary was wrecked on the Goodwin Sands. The captain and the purser were ashore, but Rear Admiral Beaumont and 268 other men were drowned. Only one man, whose name was Thomas Atkins, was saved. His escape was very remarkable - having first seen the rear admiral get onto a piece of her quarter-deck when the ship was breaking up, and then get washed off again, Atkins was tossed by a wave into the Stirling Castle, which sank soon after. From the Stirling Castle he was swept into a boat by a wave, and was rescued.

- The fifth rate Mortar-bomb was wrecked on the Goodwin Sands and her entire company of 65 were lost.

- The sixth rate advice boat Eagle was lost on the coast of Sussex, but her ship's company of 45 were all saved.

- The third rate Resolution was lost at Pevensey on the coast of Sussex; all her ship's company of 221 were saved.

- The fifth rate Litchfield Prize was wrecked on the coast of Sussex; all 108 on board were saved.

- The fourth rate Newcastle was lost at Spithead. The carpenter and 39 men were saved, and the other 193 were drowned.

- The fifth rate fire-ship Vesuvius was lost at Spithead; all 48 of her ship's company were saved.

- The fourth rate Reserve was lost by foundering off Yarmouth. The captain, the surgeon, the clerk, and 44 men were saved; the other 175 members of the crew were drowned.

- The second rate Vanguard was sunk in Chatham harbour. She was not manned and had no armament fitted; the following year she was raised for rebuilding.

- The fourth rate York was lost at Harwich; all but four of her men were saved.

Lamb (1991) claimed 10,000 seamen were lost in one night, a far higher figure, about 1/3 of all the seamen in the British Navy. HMS Shrewsbury narrowly escaped a similar fate. Over 40 merchant ships were lost.

The Great Storm also coincided with the increase in English journalism, and was the first weather event to be a news story on a national scale. Special issue broadsheets were produced detailing damage to property and stories of people who had been killed.

Daniel Defoe produced his full-length book, The Storm, published in July 1704, in response to the calamity, calling it "the tempest that destroyed woods and forests all over England." He wrote: "No pen could describe it, nor tongue express it, nor thought conceive it unless by one in the extremity of it." Coastal towns such as Portsmouth "looked as if the enemy had sackt them and were most miserably torn to pieces." Winds of up to 80mph destroyed more than 400 windmills. Defoe reported in some the sails turned so fast that the friction caused the wooden wheels to overheat and catch fire.

[William Brand]

November 28 -

On this day in 1520, Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan entered the Pacific Ocean with three ships, becoming the first European explorer to reach the Pacific from the Atlantic.

And on this day in 1716, Blackbeard attacked Guadeloupe.

Also on this day in 1717, Captain Benjamin Hornigold captured the slave ship La Concorde de Nantes, which would later become the Queen Anne's Revenge near the island of Martinique. Hornigold turned her over to one of his men —Edward Teach, later known as Blackbeard—and made him her captain.

And finally on this day in 1720, Anne Bonny and Mary Read were tried and convicted of piracy. Although sentenced to hang, they 'plead their bellies' (being pregnant) and their executions were stayed until after the births of their children.

[William Brand]

November 30 -

Joseph de la Fontaine, of France, was one of Shelvocke’s men. When the Speedwell was in need of provisions and wood, and repairs were necessary to the gale-battered vessel, De la Fontaine told Shelvocke that everything she wanted was to be found on the island of Chiloe off the Chilean coast. The soil of the island was very fertile, he said, producing fruits and grains, with fine pasturing for herds of sheep and cattle, there were plenty of fowl and geese. Some industry too, he said, carpets and clothes, and woodwork and furniture, expertly carved - the whole of Chili and Peru were supplied with hams and tongues, and lumber. What was more, the island and the main town Valdivia could be taken easily. On this day in 1719, Speedwell entered the channel between Chiloe and the mainland, flying French colors. Shelvocke tried to barter rather than to plunder.

And on this day, Captain Cook begin his third and last trip to the Pacific (South Seas).

[William Brand]

December 1 -

On this day in 1718, the HMS Lyme reported the following (From page 263 of "The Last Battle").

"Soon after dawn on Thursday, December 1, lookouts on board the two British warships spotted two sloops approaching from seaward. It was Maynard, returning in triumph, with Blackbeard's head still swinging from the bowsprit of the Jane. The log of HMS Lyme recorded the event in the usual nonchalant, understated manner adopted by the Royal Navy: "Light Wind, Fair Visability, Wind WSW. This Morn. Sloops returned from ye exhibition in N. Carolina." Over two hundred sailors raced into the rigging and lined the sides of the two warships, cheering the arrival of their victorious shipmates. The battered men of Maynard's command cheered back. They had plenty to cheer about. They had survived a hard-fought battle with the pirates, they had been promised a bonus - and they expected a share of the plunder."

Also on this day in 1968, Pirate Radio Modern (259) began transmitting in England.

[William Brand]

December 2 -

On this day in history, 1547, Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro died at Castilleja de la Cuesta, Castile.

Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century. Cortés was part of the generation of Spanish colonizers that began the first phase of the Spanish colonization of the Americas.

Born in Medellín, Spain, to a family of lesser nobility, Cortés chose to pursue a livelihood in the New World. He went to Hispaniola and later to Cuba, where he received an encomienda and, for a short time, became alcalde (magistrate) of the second Spanish town founded on the island. In 1519, he was elected captain of the third expedition to the mainland, an expedition which he partly funded. His enmity with the Governor of Cuba, Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, resulted in the recall of the expedition at the last moment, an order which Cortés ignored. Arriving on the continent, Cortés executed a successful strategy of allying with some indigenous people against others. He also used a native woman, Doña Marina, as an interpreter; she would later bear Cortés a son. When the Governor of Cuba sent emissaries to arrest Cortés, he fought them and won, using the extra troops as reinforcements. Cortés wrote letters directly to the king asking to be acknowledged for his successes instead of punished for mutiny. After he overthrew the Aztec Empire, Cortés was awarded the title of Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca, while the more prestigious title of Viceroy was given to a high-ranking nobleman, Antonio de Mendoza. In 1541 Cortés returned to Spain, where he died peacefully but embittered, six years later.

Because of the controversial undertakings of Cortés and the scarcity of reliable sources of information about him, it has become difficult to assert anything definitive about his personality and motivations. Early lionizing of the conquistadors did not encourage deep examination of Cortés. Later reconsideration of the conquistadors' character in the context of modern anti-colonial sentiment also did little to expand understanding of Cortés as an individual. As a result of these historical trends, descriptions of Cortés tend to be simplistic, and either damning or idealizing.

On this day in 1636, Sir William Beeston was born at Tichfield, Hampshire, England. Beeston would receive many appointments to judge and negotiate with pirates during his career.

And on this day in 1677, Jacob Binckes of Koudum, Holland, and Fleetcommander in service of the Amsterdam Admiralty, died.

He had fought in seabattles against the English in 1666 and in the infamous war-raid to Chatham in 1667. Binckes distinguished himself in actions against Barbary corsairs. He also worked as an admiral in 1676 until his death in Caribbean waters. He once captured Tobago and withstood an attack by a French esquadron lead by d’Estrées. Once, he ordered his captain J.E. Reyning to take a British ship, though England and Holland were not warring at that moment. Reyning played so much havoc on the poor vessel that she burst into flames, capsized and sank.

Also on this day in 1717, the two ships, Ranger and Jane, under command of Maynard sailed for Williamsburg, the head of Blackbeard still hanging from the bowsprit of the Jane.

And finally on this day in 1755, the second Eddystone Lighthouse was destroyed by fire.

[William Brand]

December 3 -

On this day in 1679, William Coles, Jon Baxter and Joseph Bullivant committed acts of piracy under command of Guyther when taking a Galliot-Hoy (called De Liefde of Rotterdam) bound from Bordeaux , Franceto Dordrecht, Netherland and laden with 160 tun of wine, and prunes. They were committed to the Marshalseas Prison, London.

And on this day in 1775, the first official US flag (Grand Union Flag) was raised aboard naval the vessel USS Alfred.

December 4 -

On this day in 1619, 38 colonists from Berkeley Parish in England disembarked in Virginia and gave thanks to God. This is considered by many to be the first Thanksgiving in the Americas.

December 5 -

On this day in 1492, Columbus discovered Hispaniola.

On this same day in 1578, Drake reached Valparaiso, Chili, and from sheer joy captured a rich prize and sacked the town.

On this day, Henry Carle, while in command of the ship Philip wrote that "on the Vth of December last 16[?], near Cape St. Vincent, did set upon and take St. Mary", a Portuguese ship of 180 tons burden ("and had a new gallery and was painted red besides, and had a new foremast and a new bowspritte in her, and two overloppes (...) in her XXVI great chests of sugar, one hundreth and twenty kintalls of brasill woode and a pipe and a haulfe of St. Tomas sugar, for the accompte of the poor of Zeeland.") The ship, bound for Venice, was owned in Middelburg in Dutch Zeeland (Sealand). After the ship was taken her master was "stripped and searched to his skin. And that night X of XII of his men were stripped naked on borde and pushed into pinnaces while their blood sprung oute." Apparently the Philip-crew had found nothing worthwhile for their efforts; with stripping and wounding and shoving them naked in small boats they probably hoped "to cause them to confess where every pearle, every jewell and money were stored." Carle did not have either a commission or a letter of reprisal or whatever to justify his deed.

Also on this day in history, French buccaneer, Charles François d’Angennes, Marquis de Maintenon is born. As the oldest son of Louis d’Angennes de Rochefort de Salvert, Marquis de Maintenon et de Meslay, and Marie Le Clerc du Tremblay, and as oldest son, he inherited the title of Marquis de Maintenon and the castle which came with the title. He chose not to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors and sold the castle and joined the Navy in 1669.

And on this day in 1715, the seventeenth-century pirate and former officer under Henry Avery, Alexander Dalzeel was hanged. Dalzeel was born in Port Patrick, Scotland, Dalzeel and went to sea as a child. By the age of 23, he was captain of his own ship with six successful voyages to his credit. Earning a reputation for dishonesty, Dalzeel arrived in Madagascar in 1685 and soon enlisted into the ranks of Captain Avery. According to pirate lore, Dalzeel participated in the capture of the treasure ship Ganj-i-Sawai, which carried The Great Mogul's daughter to her arranged marriage. Avery, who had decided to take her as his own wife, gave Dalzeel his own ship and crew within Avery's fleet. Dalzeel would continue to serve under Avery until finally leaving for the West Indies on his own.

His final words to the prison chaplain… “[He] would not attend in the Chapel nor receive any public or private admonition from me [chaplain P. Lorrain] but with his dying breath declared that I was the cause of his death, and he would do me some mischief or other before he died or haunt me afterwards.”

Also this same day in 1717, Edward Teach stopped the merchant sloop Margaret off the coast of Crab Island, near Anguilla. Her captain, Henry Bostock, and crew, remained Teach's prisoners for about eight hours, and were forced to watch as their sloop was ransacked. Bostock, who had been held aboard Queen Anne's Revenge, was returned unharmed to Margaret and was allowed to leave with his crew.

Biddy, Robert Biddy of Liverpool, England and a sailor in the sloop Margaret of St. Christopher when boarded and taken after a single shot over the bow by Edward Teach wrote that the pirates "did not seem to want provisions" but did seize a number of live cattle and hogs as well as books [on navigation], instruments, cutlasses and firearms." Blackbeard’s vessel was "a 36-gun Dutch built guinea man, manned by a crew of 300," Margaret’s master later reported. Three men were forced to serve aboard the pirate. Biddy joined Blackbeard ("a tall sparse man with a very black beard which he wore very long") voluntarily.

And finally on this day in 1719, two piraguas full of armed men under the command of Shelvoke, landed on a small island commanding the harbor mouth (Isla Mancera) supported by two powerful castles at both sides of the entrance (Niebla and Amargos), built there after 1645 to repel Dutch invaders. A governor assumed Shelvocke was a pirate and asked him to leave immediately, which was what Shelvocke did, after getting provisions from Indian plantations and farms. He had the decks packed with live cattle (including guanacos, or lama), poultry and plenty of wheat, barley, potatoes, maize – enough for four months rations.

[William Brand]

December 6 -

On this day in 1677, D'Estrees arrived at Tobago, having destroyed the Dutch slaving station of Goree in West Africa while en route.

Also on this day in 1699, the House of Commons convened to discuss the subject of William Kidd's original commission and its legality. The subject was so hotly debated between the Tories and Whigs that it went on for over nine hours and candles had to be brought in to light Parliament after dark. That first vote went in Kidd's favor with 189 votes for him and 133 against.

December 7 -

On this day in 1716, Alonso Felipe de Andrade exited Campeche with 100 soldiers and 280 volunteers under privateer Captain Sebastian Garcia, sailing aboard the hired frigate Nuestra Senora de la Soledad, two other frigates, a sloop, two coast guard galliots under Captain Jose de Leon, plus a pair of piraquas, toward the English logwood establishments in the Laguna de Terminos. En route, his flotilla was joined by another sloop and two piraquas from Tabasco, bearing an additional 220 men.

[William Brand]

December 9 -

On this day in 1658, Dutch troops occupied the harbor city Quilon (Coilan) India.

On this day in 1718, Peter Courant and Josias Burgess, two pardoned pirate captains, had their crew drawn up in two lines to greet the new governor, Woodes Rogers upon his arrival in the Bahamas. Nothing more is known about him Peter Courant, except that he served as one of eight judges in the court of the new governor. Woodes Rogers, convened his court in the guardroom of his still unfinished fort and there brought the ten men captured by Captain Hornigold to trial. Nine were convicted, and Rogers had eight hanged three days later, reprieving the ninth on hearing he was of good family. One of the condemned, Thomas Morris, quipped as he climbed the gallows, "We have a good governor, but a harsh one." The executions so cowed the populace that when, shortly after Christmas, several residents plotted to overthrow Rogers and restore the island to piracy, the conspirators attracted little support. Rogers had them flogged, then released as harmless.

William Dowling of Ireland was among those tried by Woodes, he was a mariner based in Nassau, New Providence in the Bahama’s. He was captured by Hornigold at the island of Exuma, 130 sm Southeast of New Providence. Along with Bunce and Morris, William Dowling had boarded the sloop Lancaster and Mary, on the 5th or 6th 5 of October 1718. Bunce asked for a bottle of beer for each of the men in their sloop Batchelor’s Adventure, which was given. “Then took up arms and took the captains and some loyal men prisoner and forced them to go ashore at Green Key Island, a desolate place.” William Dowling stood trial Tuesday December 9, 1718 with nine others. One of the charges against them was a damning one: having accepted a royal pardon, yet returning to piracy, combining together to mutiny, steal and take the vessels Batchelors Adventure, Lancaster and Mary, their cargoes, provisions and tackle and also having marooned some people on Green Cay.

December 10 -

In the 16th century. Francis Derham was arrested on a charge of piracy but tried because he “had carnal knowledge of the Queen [Katheryne] before her marriage.” He was sentence to be hanged at Tyrburn, cut down alive, disemboweled and beheaded.” He died thus the 10th day of December.

On this day in 1652, at the sea battle at Dungeness, lt-admiral Maarten Tromp beat the English fleet.

On the same day in 1672, New York Governor Lovelace announced monthly mail service between New York and Boston.

Then on this day In 1690, Mass Bay became the first American colonial government to borrow money.

And on this day in 1718, Stede Bonnet was hanged at the gallows of White Point Garden, Charleston. His body was buried in the marsh below the low water mark.

Records of the day state that the hanging on December 10, 1718 took place near the corner of Water and Meeting Streets, also called White Point, Charleston, "another landmark in the war against piracy". Accompanied by the drumbeat sounding his death knell, the cart bore a stooped young man, holding a wilted bouquet in manacled hands and loosing a last shred of dignity when he nearly fainted as he approached the scaffold. The militia pirate was held upright by the deputies as the noose was tightened around his neck. His body and those of 29 of his crew (only 3 were acquitted) were all buried within the flowing of the sea "which had witnessed so many of their dark deeds".

Then there is this account from that same year about the piracies and cruelties of John Augur, WiU Ham Cunningham, Dennis Mackarthy, William Dowling, William Lewis, Thomas Morris, George Bendall, and William Ling, who were tried, condemned, and executed at Nassau, on Friday, the 10th of December. Also, some account of the pirates, Vane, Rackham, and others.

The following is the sentence pronounced upon the prisoners : —

"THE COURT having duly considered of the evidence which hath been given both for and against you the said John Augur, William Cunningham, Dennis Mackarthy, William Dowling, William Lewis, Thomas Morris, George Bendall, William Ling, and George Rounsivel ; and having also debated the several circumstances of the cases, it is adjudged, that you the said John Augur, William Cunningham, Dennis Mackarthy, William Dowling, William Lewis, Thomas Morris, George Bendall,. William Ling, and George Rounsivel, are guilty of the mutiny, felony, and piracy, wherewith you and every of you stand accused. And the Court doth accordingly pass sentence, that you the said John Augur, William Cunningham, Dennis Mackarthy, William Downing, William Lewis, Thomas Morris, George Bendall, William Ling, and George Rounsivel, be carried to prison from whence you came, and from thence to the place of execution, where you are to be hanged by the neck till you shall be dead, dead, dead; and God have mercy on your souls. Given under our hands this 10th day of December, A. D. 1718."

Here is an added account of John Augur, John…

John was an indecisive person who first appeared pompous, then foolish. He accepted the 1718 New Providence-pardon but took to piracy hardly one week later when sharing a mutiny led by Phineas Bunce. He lost his ship to Spanish coast guards , but escaped to Long Island. Governor Rogers had Augur arrested through two ex-searovers, Hornigold and Cockran. One day after the trial, December 10 1718, Augur and some others "looked through the hemp window", a pirate's last chance to attract attention and to live on in the memories and tales of the living. Augur did not make a brilliant impression. He drank a small glass of a bottle of wine and toasted on the success of New Providence and governor Rogers. But alas, his neck remained in the noose, the governor extended the royal hand of mercy to George Rounsivil. The crowd, for the best part his former shipmates and a load of harlots, mockingly told Augur he better repent of his wicked ways of life. John Augur replied angrily: "I do heartily repent I have not done more mischief; and that we did not slit the throats of them that took us, and I am extremely sorry that you can't all be hang'd as well as we."

Bonnet wrote to Governor Johnson to ask for clemency, but Johnson endorsed the judge's decision, and Bonnet was hanged in Charleston on 10 December 1718.

[William Brand]

December 11 -

1695 December 11: Amity arrives in Madagascar after death of Thomas Tew.

Also on this day in 1695, Bellomont, who was now governing New York, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, asked the "trusty and well beloved Captain Kidd" to attack Thomas Tew, John Ireland, Thomas Wake, William Maze, and all others who associated themselves with pirates, along with any enemy French ships. This request, if turned down, would have been viewed as disloyalty to the crown, the perception of which carried much social stigma, making it difficult for Kidd to have done so. The request preceded the voyage which established Kidd's reputation as a pirate, and marked his image in history and folklore.

Also on this day in 1719, the first recorded display of Aurora Borealis in the Colonies.

[madPete]

December 28 -

1706 December 28: HMS Romney, Cptn. William Coney, HMS Fowey , Cptn. Richard Lestock, and HMS Milford, Cptn. Philip Stanhope, took French privateer Content off Malaga

[madPete]

December 29 -

1609: 18 pirates hanged at Execution Dock, Wapping

1829: With the exception of Benito de Soto, the convicted pirates who attacked the Morning Star are hanged in Cadiz.

[William Brand]

Thank you. I'm way behind.

December 26 -

On this day in 1689, Sir Thomas Thornhill sailed from Nevis with 500 troops aboard ten vessels to subdue Saint Barthelemy by January 4, 1690.

December 27 -

On this day in 1670, Henry Morgan gained possession of the fortress of San Lorenzo on the Caribbean coast of Panama, killing 300 men of the garrison and leaving 23 alive.

December 28 -

On this day in history, 1814, the British began firing at the American lines at New Orleans, but were repulsed by an artillery crew manned by two of Jean Lafitte's former lieutenants, Renato Beluche and Dominique Youx.

December 29 -

On this day in history, 1720, John Clipperton and his crew took on fish, wood and water at Cocos Island, located off the shore of Costa Rica. A shack was set up on the beach there to shelter a large number of scurvy invalids among the crew.

This is not pirate related, but some things should be remembered, for on this day in 1890 some 150 Lakota men, women and children were massacred by the US 7th Calvary Regiment near Wounded Knee Creek on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Some estimate the actual number was closer to 300.

[madPete]

January 13 -

On this day in 1690, Captain Thomas Pound, after being captured with his crew the previous month, is tried in Boston, Massachusetts, and found guilty of piracy although he is later reprieved.^[1] Thomas Hawkins, an

officer under Captain Pound, is also found guilty and similarly given a reprieve. Later sent to England, he is killed during a fight with a French privateer.

On this day in 1798, Lt. Lord Camelford, commanding HMS Favorite (16), shot dead Lt. Charles Peterson commanding, HMS Perdrix(22), for mutiny in an argument over seniority at English Harbour, Antigua.

[madPete]

January 18

On this day in 1670, British privateer Sir Henry Morgan captures Panama

[madPete]

January 20

On this date in 1801, HMS Mercury, Cptn. T. Rogers, captured Sans Pareille, Lt. Gabriel Renault, off Sardinia.

On this day in 1649, At the conclusion of the English Civil War, King Charles I was brought before a high court of justice at Westminster Hall on charges of treason. The Civil War had been fought over whether the King's power was absolute or was limited by the powers of Parliament. Oliver Cromwell had led the Parliamentary forces to victory over the Royals. In the trial that followed, Charles was found guilty and condemned as "a tyrant, traitor, murderer, and public enemy" and was beheaded several days later in front of Whitehall Palace in London.

[madPete]

January 24

On this day in 1808, HMS Iris Cptn. John Tower, captured the French privateer lugger Marsouin off the Lizard

[madPete]

January 27

On this day in 1671, Pirate Henry Morgan lands at Panama City

[William Brand]

February 1 -

On this day in 1662, the Dutch surrendered Formosa to Zheng Cheng-Gong (Koxinga).

And on this day, John Clipperton recaptured the Prince Eugene as explained below.

John Clipperton of Ireland had sailed as first officer with Dampier in 1703-‘4. He mutinied in Panama Bay with 20 other men and went off in a small prize on his own account before returning to England. Eleven years later in command of the ship Prince Eugene, and in consort with another pirate vessel, he took two Spanish vessels off Paita on the Pacific coast of South America in 1715. The loot comprised goods and money to a value of 400.000 pesos. Clipperton was captured early in 1716.

Clipperton became a Commander of 36-gun privateer Success in company of Shelvocke’s Speedwell during the war between Spain and England/France/Holland in 1719 and 1720. After Shelvocke had belittled him as a tradesman and a freebooter, he more or less took over the position as a commodore of the two ships. Sailed the same route but refused to meet his consort, even when, in the Pacific, both ships were continually drawn to each other. He recaptured Prince Eugene, 1 February 1720, , the same vessel which had been taken from him on his previous cruise, and captured with her the Marquis of Villa-Rocha and the family of the Marquis on their way to Lima. Clipperton, accompanied by these prizes, steered for the Port of Velas at the Western extremity of Nicoya peninsula.. With the war over he tried to win the Manila galleon in Philippine waters and thus crossed the Pacific, missing the galleon by two months, reaching Guam in May of 1722. He there attacked a 20-gun ship in the roads but, in approaching her, ran his Success on the rocks within range of the other ship’s guns, which began to hammer her. Now Clipperton’s mind "plunged into depressive neurosis," wrote historian K. Poolman, "He drank a bottle of brandy and fell down in a drunken stupor on deck, where he lay snoring as shot from the Spaniard whistled around them." Lieutenant Davison took command and fought the ship well, until he was killed. Second lieutenant Cook then took over, and also put up a good defense. After 48 hours on the rocks the ship was got afloat again. His crew deserted and Success was condemned at Macao, China. Clipperton as jailed but released after presenting his commission from the English king. Basically this circumnavigation was no act of piracy but one of a privateer. finally he reached Europe again in a Dutch ship and died a few days afterwards.

February 2 -

On this day in 1653, New Amsterdam was formally incorporated as a city.

And on this day in 1690, Robert Culliford stole the Blessed William and went on account.

[William Brand]

February 3 -

On this day in 1685, Rod Cap, one of Cowley’s men, succumbed to the great scourge of the period during the epic passage to Guam, almost 8.000 nautical miles.

"We throwed overboard Rod Cap, who died with the scurvy."

Also on this day in 1735, a Dutch East Indiamen called The Vligenthart (Flying Hart) was lost after striking a sand bank off the coast of Vissingen, Zeeland. Every one of the 461 sailors, soldiers and merchants aboard perished.