Bartholomew Roberts

Bartholomew Roberts, born John Roberts on the 17th of May 1682 in Casnewydd Bach, Pembrokeshire, was a Welsh pirate who operated in the Americas, Caribbean and West Africa in the early 18th Century. He is the undisputed most successful pirate during the Golden Age of Piracy, having taken over 470 ships in his career, making his earnings in today's money equivalent to £22.5 million. It isn't known exactly when he changed his name to Bartholomew, but it was likely as a pirate alias, perhaps inspired by a famous buccaneer of the time, Bartholomew Sharp.

Roberts is thought first to have gone to sea at the age of 13, but then he disappears from records until 1718, where he is listed as a mate aboard a Barbados sloop. In 1719, he was third mate aboard a slave ship named Princess, when the vessel was seized by pirate Captain Howell Davis. Davis pressed Roberts into his service, who quickly proved himself as a navigator. It is said that Davis would use Welsh to communicate with Roberts, keeping it hidden from the rest of the crew.
Davis then hoisted English colours and sailed to the Portuguese island of Principe, and posing as an English captain, invited the Governor for lunch aboard his ship, intending to hold him hostage. However, the Portuguese somehow discovered that Davis was a pirate, and invited him for a glass of wine at the fortress first, and he his party were ambushed and shot dead en route.
This meant a new captain had to be elected. The ship had a parliamentary system, and the men aboard were divided into "Lords" and "Commons". Commons could vote in the election of a captain, but only Lords could nominate candidates. Within six weeks of his capture, Roberts was elected captain, which was particularly curious given that he often protested being on board at all.

Roberts' first act as captain was to avenge Captain Davis, and sailed the inherited Royal Rover back to Principe and viciously sacked the island. Soon afterwards he captured a Dutch Guineaman, then two days later a British ship called the Experiment. While the ship took on water and provisions at Anamboe, a vote was taken on whether the next voyage should be to the East Indies or to Brazil. The vote was for Brazil. Roberts and his men spent nine weeks searching Brazilian waters without success, when as they were about to return to the West Indies, they encountered a fleet of 42 Portuguese ships in the Todos os Santos' Bay. Roberts quietly captured one of the vessels and ordered the captain to point out the richest ship in the fleet. He pointed out a ship of 40 guns and a crew of 170, which Roberts and his men boarded and captured. The ship proved to contain 40,000 gold moidores and jewellery including a cross set with diamonds, designed for the King of Portugal.
Roberts, now vastly wealthy, sailed for Devil's Island off the coast of Guinea to spend the loot. After a few weeks there, they sailed to the River Surinam and captured a sloop. When a brigantine was sighted in the distance, Roberts and forty men chased it in the faster sloop, leaving Kennedy in charge of the Royal Rover. Due to unfortunate weather, the sloop became wind-bound for eight days, and when Roberts was finally able to return, he discovered that Kennedy had sailed off with the Royal Rover and what remained of the loot. Roberts and his crew renamed their sloop the Fortune and between them drafted a charter of eleven rules now known as the Pirate Code:

1. Every man shall have an equal vote in affairs of moment. He shall have an equal title to the fresh provisions or strong liquors at any time seized, and shall use them at pleasure unless a scarcity may make it necessary for the common good that a retrenchment may be voted.
2. Every man shall be called fairly in turn by the list on board of prizes, because over and above their proper share, they are allowed a shift of clothes. But if they defraud the company to the value of even one dollar in plate, jewels or money, they shall be marooned. If any man rob another he shall have his nose and ears slit, and be put ashore where he shall be sure to encounter hardships.
3. None shall game for money either with dice or cards.
4. The lights and candles should be put out at eight at night, and if any of the crew desire to drink after that hour they shall sit upon the open deck without lights.
5. Each man shall keep his piece, cutlass and pistols at all times clean and ready for action.
6. No boy or woman to be allowed amongst them. If any man shall be found seducing any of the latter sex and carrying her to sea in disguise he shall suffer death.
7. He that shall desert the ship or his quarters in time of battle shall be punished by death or marooning.
8. None shall strike another on board the ship, but every man's quarrel shall be ended on shore by sword or pistol in this manner. At the word of command from the quartermaster, each man being previously placed back to back, shall turn and fire immediately. If any man do not, the quartermaster shall knock the piece out of his hand. If both miss their aim they shall take to their cutlasses, and he that draw the first blood shall be declared the victor.
9. No man shall talk of breaking up their way of living till each has a share of 1,000. Every man who shall become a cripple or lose a limb in the service shall have 800 pieces of eight from the common stock and for lesser hurts proportionately.
10. The captain and the quartermaster shall each receive two shares of a prize, the master gunner and boatswain, one and one half shares, all other officers one and one quarter, and private gentlemen of fortune one share each.
11. The musicians shall have rest on the Sabbath Day only by right. On all other days by favour only.

The traitor Kennedy proved a very poor pirate with no knowledge of navigation, and following his betrayal, Roberts excluded any Irishman from joining his crew. Kennedy and his crew intended to give up piracy and sail for Ireland, but being a poor navigator hit the west coast of Scotland. Seventeen of the crew were arrested near Edinburgh and put on trial for piracy, with nine of them being hanged. Kennedy slipped away and reached Ireland. Having soon spent all his ill-gotten gains in Dublin, he went then to Deptford where he is said to have kept a brothel. When one of his prostitutes accused him of theft, he was sent to the Bridewell Prison, where he was denounced as a pirate by the mate of a ship he had taken. Kennedy was transferred to the Marshalsea prison and put on trial for piracy. He was hanged at Execution Dock on the 21st of July, 1721 amid a rather long winded speech.

Roberts meanwhile, had returned to the Caribbean and in February 1720, was attacked by naval sloops from Barbados and Martinique, and the Fortune was forced to flee battle with heavy damage.Roberts swore vengeance against the inhabitants of Barbados and Martinique. He had a new flag made with a drawing of himself standing upon 2 skulls, one labelled ABH (A Barbadian's Head) and the other AMH (A Martiniquian's Head).

Roberts' flag

After making repairs, Roberts sailed north to Canada to ravage Newfoundland. After raiding Canso, Nova Scotia, capturing a number of ships around Cape Breton and robbing the Newfoundland banks, Roberts raided the harbour of Ferryland and captured a dozen vessels. On the 21st of June he attacked the larger harbour of Trepassey, sailing in with black flags flying. All the ships in the harbour were abandoned by their panic-stricken captains and crews, and Roberts seized Trepassey without any resistance being offered. Roberts had captured 22 ships, but was angered by the cowardice of the captains who had fled their ships. Every morning when a gun was fired, the captains were forced to attend Roberts on board his ship; they were told that anyone who was absent would have his ship burnt.
Roberts replaced his Fortune with a brig from Bristol, and fitted her with 16 guns. When the pirates left after about a week, all the other vessels in the harbour were set on fire. During July, Roberts captured nine or ten French warships and commandeered one of them, fitting her with 26 cannons and changing her name to the Good Fortune. With this more powerful ship, Roberts captured many more vessels before heading south for the West Indies. In September the same year he renamed it the Royal Fortune, the first of several ships to be given this name by Roberts. Then he spent several months successfully roving the Caribbean and taking dozens of prizes. It is also said that he attacked and captured the governor of Martinique at sea, and hanged him from the yardarm of his ship.

By the spring of 1721, Roberts had almost completely paralysed trade in the West Indies, and so crossed the Atlantic for West Africa. It was there that the Royal Fortune proved to be leaky, and so the pirates moved to another ship, the Sea King that belonged to an allied pirate, and then renamed the Royal Fortune. Roberts then captured two large ships at Point Cestos, one of these was the frigate Onslow, transporting soldiers bound for Cabo Corso Castle. A number of the soldiers wished to join the pirates and were eventually accepted, but as landlubbers were given only a quarter share. The Onslow was converted to become the fourth Royal Fortune.

By this time, Royal Navy ships had left England in search of Roberts. On the 5th of February, the HMS Swallow found several of Roberts' ships carousing by the Calabar River. The Swallow veered away to avoid a shoal, making the pirates think that she was a fleeing merchant ship. The Ranger, commanded by James Skyrme, departed in pursuit. Once out of earshot of the other pirates, the Swallow opened her gun ports and opened fire. Ten pirates were killed and Skyrme had his leg blown off by a cannonball, but refused to leave the deck. Eventually, the Ranger was forced to strike her colours and the surviving crew were captured.

Five days later, on the 10th of February, the Swallow returned to the Calabar River where The Royal Fortune and others were still moored. At first, the pirates thought that the approaching ship was the Ranger returning, but a deserter from the Swallow recognized her and informed Roberts while he was at breakfast. Most of the crew were drunk, and unfit for duty. As he usually did before action, Roberts dressed himself in his finest clothes:

"Roberts himself made a gallant figure, at the time of the engagement, being dressed in a rich crimson damask waistcoat and breeches, a red feather in his hat, a gold chain round his neck, with a diamond cross hanging to it, a sword in his hand, and two pairs of pistols slung over his shoulders ..." 

Roberts' plan was to sail past the Swallow, which meant exposing themselves to a broadside. Once past, they would have a good chance of escaping. However, the helmsman failed to keep the Royal Fortune on the right course, and the Swallow was able to approach to deliver a second devastating broadside. Roberts was killed by a grapeshot, which struck him in the throat while he stood on the deck. Before his body could be captured, Roberts' wish to be buried at sea was fulfilled by his crew, who weighed his body down and threw it overboard after wrapping it in his ship's sail. It was never found.

The battle continued for another two hours, until the Royal Fortune‍ '​s mainmast fell and the pirates surrendered. Only three pirates, including Roberts, had been killed in the battle. A total of 272 men had been captured by the Royal Navy. Of these, 65 were black, and these were sold into slavery. The remainder, apart from those who died on the voyage back, were taken to Cape Coast Castle. 54 were condemned to death, of whom 52 were hanged and two reprieved. Another twenty were allowed to sign indentures with the Royal African Company. 17 men were sent to the Marshalsea prison in London for trial, while over a third of the total were acquitted and released.

Captain Chaloner Ogle who commanded the Swallow was rewarded with a knighthood, the only British naval officer to be honoured specifically for his actions against pirates and eventually became an Admiral. This was a decisive battle in the war against piracy, and many consider the death of Roberts to be the end of the Golden Age of Piracy.