Jamaica at the earnest request of Governor Modyford, for a "nimble
frigate," to help keep control over the increasingly turbulent buccaneers.
Collier's first act was to seize a French man-of-war, a privateer called
the _Cour Volent_, of La Rochelle, commanded by M. la Vivon, his excuse
being that the Frenchmen had robbed an English vessel of provisions.
Collier was appointed to be Morgan's Vice-Admiral, and a few days later
the _Oxford_ was blown up accidentally while a conference of buccaneer
captains was taking place.
In 1670, with six ships and 400 men, the buccaneers sailed for the Spanish
Main and sacked the city of Rio de la Hacha. Collier led the left wing in
the famous and successful attack on Panama City with the rank of colonel.
Richard Brown reports that Collier could on occasions be very cruel, and
that he even executed a Spanish friar on the battlefield after quarter had
been given to the vanquished. On their return to the coast after the
sacking of Panama, Collier was accused, with Morgan and the other
commanders, of having cheated the seamen of their fair share of the
plunder, and of deserting them, and then sailing off in the ships with the
supplies of food as well as the plunder.
COLLINS, THOMAS.
This Madagascar pirate was a carpenter by trade, who had by 1716 retired
from the sea and lived in splendour in that island. Collins was made
Governor of the pirate colony, and built a small fort for its defence,
which the pirates armed with the guns taken out of their ship, which had
by long use grown old and crazy, and was of no further use to them.
COMRY, ADAM.
Surgeon to the ship _Elizabeth_, taken by Captain Bartholomew Roberts's
squadron. Gave evidence at the trial of George Wilson and another
sea-surgeon, Scudamore, that the former had borrowed from Comry a "clean
shirt and drawers, for his better appearance and reception." When visiting
Captain Bartholomew Roberts's ship, Comry was forced to serve as surgeon
on board one of Roberts's vessels.
CONDENT, CAPTAIN, _also_ CONGDON or CONDEN.
Born at Plymouth in Devonshire.
Condent was quartermaster in a New York sloop, at the Island of New
Providence, when Governor Woodes Rogers arrived there in 1718. The captain
of the sloop seems to have thought best to leave rather than wait to
welcome the new Governor. When only a few days out, one of the crew, an
Indian, who had been cruelly treated, attempted, in revenge, to blow up
the ship. This was prevented by Condent, who with great courage leapt into
the hold and shot the Indian, but not before the latter had fired at him
and broken his arm. The crew, to show the relief they felt at being saved
from a sudden death, hacked to pieces the body of the Indian, while the
gunner, ripping open the dead man's belly, tore out his heart, which he
boiled and ate.
Turning their attention from cannibalism to piracy, the pirates took a
prize, the _Duke of York_, but disputes arising, the captain and part of
the crew sailed in the prize, while Condent was elected captain of the
sloop, and headed across the Atlantic for the Cape Verde Islands, where he
found the salt fleet, of twenty small vessels, lying at anchor off the
Island of Mayo, all of which he took. Sailing next to the Island of St.
Jago, he took a Dutch ship. This proving a better ship than the sloop,
Condent transferred himself and crew into her, and named her the _Flying
Dragon_, presenting the sloop to the mate of an English prize, who he had
forced to go with him. From thence Condent sailed away for the coast of
Brazil, taking several Portuguese ships which, after plundering, he let
go. After cleaning the _Flying Dragon_ on Ferdinando Island, the pirates
took several more prizes, and then one day met with a Portuguese
man-of-war of seventy guns. Coming up with her, the Portuguese hailed the
pirates, and they answered "from London bound for Buenos Ayres." The
man-of-war, to pay a compliment to the ship of her English ally, manned
the shrouds and cheered him, and while this amicable demonstration of
marine brotherly feeling was taking place, Captain Condent came up
alongside and suddenly fired a broadside and a volley of small arms into
the man-of-war, and a smart engagement followed, in which the pirates were
worsted, and were lucky to escape.
Sailing away round the Cape of Good Hope, Condent arrived at the pirate
stronghold at the Island of Johanna, where he took on board some of
Captain Halsey's crew, and, reinforced by these skilled masters in the
craft of piracy, took several rich East Indiamen off the Malabar coast.
Calling in at the Isle of St. Mary, one of the Mascerenas group, he met
with another Portuguese ship of seventy guns, which he was fortunate
enough to make a prize of. In this ship they found amongst the passengers
the Viceroy of Goa. Carrying this rich prize to Zanzibar, they plundered
her of a large amount of money.
Having now gathered a vast fortune, they thought it time to give up
piracy, so they returned to the Island of St. Mary, where they made a
share of their plunder, and the company broke up, many of them settling
down amongst the natives. Captain Condent and some others sent from here a
petition to the Governor of Mauritius asking for a pardon, and received
answer that he would take them into his protection if they would destroy
their ships. Having done this, they sailed to Mauritius, where they
settled down, and Captain Condent married the Governor's sister-in-law.
A few years later the captain and his wife left the island and sailed to
France, settling at St. Malo, where Condent drove a considerable trade as
a merchant.
COOK, CAPTAIN EDWARD, or EDMUND.
Was on the Pacific coast with Captains Sharp and Sawkins, 1680. Being
unable to keep order amongst his unruly crew, he resigned his ship and
command to Captain John Cox, a New Englander. He commanded a barque in the
successful sacking of Porto Bello in the same year in company with Sharp,
Coxon, and others.
On land engagements his flag was a red one striped with yellow, on which
was a device of a hand and sword.
COOK, GEORGE, _alias_ RAMEDAM.
An English renegade amongst the Barbary pirates of Algiers. Was gunner's
mate when captured in the _Exchange_ in 1622. Brought to Plymouth and
hanged.
COOK, WILLIAM.
Servant to Captain Edmund Cook, and was found, on being searched, to have
on him a paper with the names of all his fellow pirates written on it, and
was suspected of having prepared it to give to some of the Spanish
prisoners. For this, Captain Walters put him in irons on January 7th,
1681.
He died on board ship on Monday, February 14th, 1681, off the coast of
Chile.
COOKE, CAPTAIN JOHN.
This buccaneer was born in the Island of St. Christopher. "A brisk, bold
man," he was promoted to the rank of quartermaster by Captain Yankey. On
taking a Spanish ship, Cooke claimed the command of her, which he was
entitled to, and would have gone in her with an English crew had not the
French members of the crew, through jealousy, sacked the ship and marooned
the Englishmen on the Island of Avache. Cooke and his men were rescued by
another French buccaneer, Captain Tristram, and taken to the Island of
Dominica. Here the English managed to get away with the ship, leaving
Tristram and his Frenchmen behind on land. Cooke, now with a ship of his
own, took two French ships loaded with wine. With this valuable cargo he
steered northward, and reached Virginia in April, 1683. He had no
difficulty in selling his wine for a good price to the New Englanders, and
with the profits prepared for a long voyage in his ship, the _Revenge_. He
took on board with him several famous buccaneers, including Dampier and
Cowley, the latter as sailing master. They first sailed to Sierra Leone,
then round the Horn to the Island of Juan Fernandez. Here Cooke was taken
ill. His next stop was at the Galapagos Islands. Eventually Cooke died a
mile or two off the coast of Cape Blanco in Mexico. His body was rowed
ashore to be buried, accompanied by an armed guard of twelve seamen. While
his grave was being dug three Spanish Indians came up, and asked so many
questions as to rouse the suspicions of the pirates, who seized them as
spies, but one escaping, he raised the whole countryside.
COOPER, CAPTAIN.
Commanded a pirate sloop, the _Night Rambler_. On November 14th, 1725, he
took the _Perry_ galley (Captain King, commander), three days out from
Barbadoes, and the following day a French sloop, and carried both prizes
to a small island called Aruba, near Curaçao, where they plundered them
and divided the spoil amongst the crew. The crews of the two prizes were
kept on the island by Cooper for seventeen days, and would have starved if
the pirate's doctor had not taken compassion on them and procured them
food.
Upton, boatswain in the _Perry_, joined the pirates, and was afterwards
tried and hanged in England.
COOPER, CAPTAIN.
On October 19th, 1663, he brought into Port Royal, Jamaica, two Spanish
prizes, one the _Maria of Seville_, a royal azogue carrying 1,000 quintals
of quicksilver for the King of Spain's mines in Mexico, besides oil, wine,
and olives. Also a number of prisoners were taken, including several
friars on their way to Campeachy and Vera Cruz. The buccaneers always
rejoiced at capturing a priest or a friar, and these holy men generally
experienced very rough treatment at the hands of the pirates.
Cooper's ship was a frigate of ten guns, and a crew of eighty men.
CORBET, CAPTAIN.
Sailed with Captain Heidon from Bantry Bay in the _John of Sandwich_ in
1564 to search for a good prize in which he might go a-pirating on his own
account. The ship was wrecked on the Island of Alderney, and all the crew
arrested. Corbett and several others escaped in a small boat.
CORNELIUS, CAPTAIN.
A contemporary of Howard Burgess North and other Madagascar pirates.
DE COSSEY, STEPHEN JAMES.
With three other pirates was tried and convicted in June, 1717, before the
Vice-Admiralty Court at Charleston. The President of the Court was Judge
Trot, a terror to all pirates, as he never failed to hang a guilty one. De
Cossey and the other prisoners were found guilty of piratically taking the
vessels _Turtle Dove_, _Penelope_, and the _Virgin Queen_.
COWARD, WILLIAM.
In November, 1689, with three men and a boy he rowed out to the ketch
_Elinor_ (William Shortrigs, master), lying at anchor in Boston Harbour,
and seized the vessel and took her to Cape Cod. The crew of the ketch
could make no resistance as they were all down with the smallpox. The
pirates were caught and locked up in the new stone gaol in Boston. Hanged
on January 27th, 1690.
COWLEY, CAPTAIN C.
M.A. Cantab.
A man of high intelligence and an able navigator. In the year 1683 he
sailed from Achamach or Cape Charles in Virginia for Dominica as sailing
master of a privateer, the _Revenge_ (eight guns and fifty-two men), in
company with Dampier and Captain John Cooke. As soon as they were away
from the land, they turned buccaneers or pirates, and sailed to Sierra
Leone in West Africa. Thence to the coast of Brazil, round the Horn, where
Cowley mentions that owing to the intense cold weather the crew were able,
each man, to drink three quarts of burnt brandy a day without becoming
drunk.
On February 14th the buccaneers were abreast of Cape Horn, and in his
diary Cowley writes: "We were choosing valentines and discoursing on the
Intrigues of Woman, when there arose a prodigious storm," which lasted
till the end of the month, driving them farther south than any ship had
ever been before; "so that we concluded the discoursing of Women at sea
was very unlucky and occasioned the storm." Cowley, who was addicted to
giving new names to islands, not only named one Pepys Island, but when he
arrived at the Galapagos Islands, he rechristened them most thoroughly,
naming one King Charles Island, while others he named after the Dukes of
York, Norfolk, and Albemarle, and Sir John Narborough. Feeling, no doubt,
that he had done enough to honour the great, and perhaps to have insured
himself against any future trouble with the authorities when he returned
home, he named one small island "Cowley's Enchanted Isle."
The Earl of Alington, Lord Culpepper, Lord Wenman, all had islands in this
group christened with their names and titles.
In September, 1684, Cowley, now in the _Nicholas_, separated from Davis,
and sailed from Ampalla for San Francisco, and then started west to cross
the Pacific Ocean. On March 14th, 1685, at seven o'clock in the morning,
after a voyage of 7,646 miles, land was at last seen, which proved to be
the Island of Guan.
The Spanish Governor was most friendly to the visitors, and when complaint
was made to him that the buccaneers had killed some of his Indian subjects
he "gave us a Toleration to kill them all if we would." Presents were
exchanged, Cowley giving the Governor a valuable diamond ring, one, no
doubt, taken off the hand of some other loyal subject of the King of
Spain. Here the pirates committed several atrocious cruelties on the
Indians, who wished to be friends with the foreigners.
In April they arrived at Canton to refit, and while there, thirteen Tartar
ships arrived laden with Chinese merchandise, chiefly valuable silks.
Cowley wanted to attack and plunder them, but his crew refused to do so,
saying "they came for gold and silver, and not to be made pedlars, to
carry packs on their backs," to Cowley's disgust, for he complains, "had
Reason but ruled them, we might all have made our Fortunes and have done
no Christian Prince nor their subjects any harm at all." Thence they
sailed to Borneo, the animals and birds of which island Cowley describes.
Sailing next to Timor, the crew mutinied, and Cowley and eighteen others
bought a boat and sailed in her to Java, some 300 leagues. Here they heard
of the death of King Charles II., which caused Cowley to get out his map
of the Galapagos Islands, and to change the name of Duke of York Island to
King James Island. At Batavia Cowley procured a passage in a Dutch ship to
Cape Town. In June, 1686, he sailed for Holland after much health drinking
and salutes of 300 guns, arriving in that country in September, and
reaching London, "through the infinite Mercy of God," on October 12th,
1686.
COX, CAPTAIN JOHN. Buccaneer.
Born in New England, and considered by some of his fellow buccaneers "to
have forced kindred upon Captain Sharp"--the leader of the fleet--"out of
old acquaintance, only to advance himself." Thus he was made Vice-Admiral
to Captain Sharp, in place of Captain Cook, whose crew had mutinied and
refused to sail any longer under his command. Cox began his captaincy by
getting lost, but after a fortnight rejoined the fleet off the Island of
Plate, on the coast of Peru, "to the great joy of us all." This island
received its name from the fact that Sir Francis Drake had here made a
division of his spoils, distributing to each man of his company sixteen
bowlfuls of doubloons and pieces of eight. The buccaneers rechristened it
Drake's Island.
Cox took part in the attack on the town of Hilo in October, 1679, sacked
the town and burnt down the large sugar factory outside. He led a mutiny
against his relative and benefactor, Captain Sharp, on New Year's Day,
1681, being the "main promoter of their design" to turn him out. Sharp
afterwards described his old friend as a "true-hearted dissembling
New-England Man," who he had promoted captain "merely for old
acquaintance-sake."
COXON, CAPTAIN JOHN. Buccaneer.
One of the most famous of the "Brethren of the Coast."
In the spring of 1677, in company of other English buccaneers, he
surprised and plundered the town of Santa Marta on the Spanish Main,
carrying away the Governor and the Bishop to Jamaica.
In 1679 Coxon, with Sharp and others, was fitting out an expedition in
Jamaica to make a raid in the Gulf of Honduras, which proved very
successful, as they brought back 500 chests of indigo, besides cocoa,
cochineal, tortoiseshell, money, and plate.
Coxon was soon out again upon a much bolder design, for in December, 1679,
he met Sharp, Essex, Allinson, Row, and other buccaneer chiefs at Point
Morant, and in January set sail for Porto Bello. Landing some twenty
leagues from the town, they marched for four days, arriving in sight of
the town on February 17th, "many of them being weak, being three days
without any food, and their feet cut with the rocks for want of shoes."
They quickly took and plundered the town, hurrying off with their spoils
before the arrival of strong Spanish reinforcements. The share of each man
in this enterprise came to one hundred pieces of eight. A warrant was
issued by Lord Carlisle, the Governor of Jamaica, for the apprehension of
Coxon for plundering Porto Bello, and another was issued soon after by
Morgan, when acting as Governor, but nothing seems to have resulted from
these. Sailing north to Boca del Toro, they careened their ships, and were
joined by Sawkins and Harris. From this place the buccaneers began, in
April, 1680, to land and cross the Isthmus of Darien, taking the town of
Santa Maria on the way. Quarrels took place between Coxon, who was, no
doubt, a hot-tempered man, and Harris, which led to blows. Coxon was also
jealous of the popular young Captain Sawkins, and refused to go further
unless he was allowed to lead one of the companies. After sacking the town
of Santa Maria, the adventurers proceeded in canoes down the river to the
Pacific. Seizing two small vessels they found there, and accompanied by a
flotilla of canoes, they steered for Panama, and, with the utmost daring,
attacked, and eventually took, the Spanish fleet of men-of-war--one of the
most remarkable achievements in the history of the buccaneers.
Coxon now quarrelled again with his brother leaders, and began a march
back across the isthmus; his party of seventy malcontents including
Dampier and Wafer, who each published accounts of their journey. By 1682
Coxon seems to have so ingratiated himself with the Jamaican authorities
as to be sent in quest of a troublesome French pirate, Jean Hamlin, who
was playing havoc with the English shipping in his vessel, _La Trompeuse_.
Later in the same year Coxon procured letters of marque from Robert
Clarke, the Governor of New Providence Island, himself nothing better than
a pirate, to go cruising as a "privateer." Coxon was continually being
arrested and tried for piracy, but each time he managed to escape the
gallows. We do not know the name of the ship Coxon commanded at this date,
but it was a vessel of eighty tons, armed with eight guns, and carrying a
crew of ninety-seven men.
COYLE, CAPTAIN RICHARD.
Born at Exeter in Devonshire.
An honest seafaring man until, when sailing as mate with Captain Benjamin
Hartley, they arrived at Ancona with a cargo of pilchards. Here the
captain took on board a new carpenter, called Richardson, who soon became
a close friend of the mate's. These two brought about a mutiny, attacked
the captain, and threw him, still alive, over the side to drown. Coyle was
elected captain, and they sailed as pirates, in which capacity they were a
disgrace to an ancient calling. After a visit to Minorca, which ended with
ignominy, they sailed to Tunis, where Coyle told such a plausible yarn as
to deceive the Governor into believing that he had been the master of a
vessel lost in a storm off the coast of Sardinia. The pirates were
supplied with money by the British Consul in Tunis; but Coyle, while in
his cups, talked too freely, so that the true story of his doings got to
the Consul's ears, who had him arrested and sent to London to be lodged in
the Marshalsea Prison. Tried at the Old Bailey, he was sentenced to death,
and was hanged at Execution Dock on January 25th, 1738.
CRACKERS, CAPTAIN.
A retired pirate who settled at Sierra Leone, and was living there in
1721. He had been famous in his day, having robbed and plundered many a
ship. He owned the best house in the settlement, and was distinguished by
having three cannons placed before his door, which he was accustomed to
fire salutes from whenever a pirate ship arrived or left the port. He was
the soul of hospitality and good fellowship, and kept open-house for all
pirates, buccaneers, and privateersmen.
CRISS, CAPTAIN JOHN, _alias_ "JACK THE BACHELOR."
A native of Lorne in the North of Ireland.
His father was a fisherman, and little Jack used to go out with him, and
then help him sell his fish at Londonderry. The lad grew up into a bold
and handsome young fellow, "and many a girl cocked cap at him and he had
great success amongst the ladies, and intrigued with every woman that gave
him any encouragement."
Tiring of the monotony and low profits of a fisherman's calling, Jack
turned smuggler, carrying cargoes of contraband goods from Guernsey to
Ireland. Making a tidy sum at this, he bought himself a French galliot,
and sailing from Cork, he began to take vessels off the coast of France,
selling them at Cherbourg. The young pirate took no risks of information
leaking out, for he drowned all his prisoners. Cruising in the
Mediterranean, Criss met with his usual success, and, not content with
taking ships, he plundered the seaport of Amalfi on the coast of Calabria.
Calling at Naples, Criss put up at the Ferdinand Hotel, where one morning
he was found dead in his bed. It was discovered afterwards that, in spite
of his nickname, he was married to three wives.
CULLEN, ANDREW.
Of Cork in Ireland.
Brother of Pierce Cullen. One of the crew of Captain Roche's ship. After
the crew had mutinied and turned pirate he posed as the supercargo.
CULLEN, PIERCE.
Of Cork in Ireland.
One of Captain Philip Roche's gang.
CULLIFORD, CAPTAIN, of the _Mocha_.
A Madagascar pirate.
Little is known of him except that one day in the streets of London he
recognized and denounced another pirate called Burgess.
CUMBERLAND, GEORGE, THIRD EARL OF, 1558-1605.
M.A., Trinity College, Cambridge.
After taking his degree at Cambridge he migrated to Oxford for the purpose
of studying geography.
So many books have been written about this picturesque and daring
adventurer that it is not necessary to do more than mention his name here,
as being perhaps the finest example of a buccaneer that ever sacked a
Spanish town.
He led twelve voyages to the Spanish Main, fitting them out at his own
expense, and encountering the same dangers and hardships as his meanest
seaman.
He married in 1577 at the age of nineteen, and sailed on his first voyage
in 1586. Cumberland was greatly esteemed by Queen Elizabeth, and always
wore in his hat a glove which she had given him.
There is sufficient evidence to show that the Earl was not prompted to
spend his life and fortune on buccaneering voyages merely by greed of
plunder, but was chiefly inspired by intense love of his country, loyalty
to his Queen, and bitter hatred of the Spaniards.
CUNNINGHAM, CAPTAIN WILLIAM.
Had his headquarters at New Providence Island, in the Bahamas. Refused the
royal offer of pardon to the pirates in 1717, and was later caught and
hanged.
CUNNINGHAM, PATRICK.
Found guilty at Newport in 1723, but reprieved.
CURTICE, JOSEPH.
One of Captain Teach's crew in the _Queen Ann's Revenge_. Killed on
November 22nd, 1718, off the coast of North Carolina.
DAMPIER, CAPTAIN WILLIAM. Buccaneer, explorer, and naturalist.
Born at East Coker in the year 1652.
Brought up at first to be a shopkeeper, a life he detested, he was in 1669
apprenticed to a ship belonging to Weymouth, and his first voyage was to
France. In the same year he sailed to Newfoundland, but finding the bitter
cold unbearable, he returned to England. His next voyage, which he called
"a warm one," was to the East Indies, in the _John and Martha_, and suited
him better.
Many books have been written recounting the voyages of Dampier, but none
of these are better reading than his own narrative, published by James and
John Knapton in London. This popular book ran into many editions, the best
being the fourth, published in 1729, in four volumes. These volumes are
profusely illustrated by maps and rough charts, and also with crude cuts,
which are intended to portray the more interesting and strange animals,
birds, fishes, and insects met with in his voyages round the globe.
In 1673 Dampier enlisted as a seaman in the _Royal Prince_, commanded by
the famous Sir Edward Spragge, and fought in the Dutch war.