Most biographies begin with a person’s birth
or the identity of his parentage, but Benjamin Hornigold
didn’t enter the historical record until 1713 following the
end of the War of the Spanish
Succession (also known as Queen Anne’s War). When Carlos
II
of Spain died in 1700, he had no children to inherit
his throne. The crown passed to Philippe,
duc d’Anjou, grandson of Carlos’
half-sister, Maria
Teresa, and Louis
XIV
of France. As a second son, Philippe was unlikely to
inherit the French throne. If,
however, his brother (who eventually become Louis XV), died
without issue, Philippe would rule not only Spain, but also
France, the Spanish colonies in the Americas, the Spanish
Netherlands, and a sizable chunk of Italy. Such supremacy
didn’t sit well with other European powers and in 1701 the
War of the Spanish Succession began. The Treaty
of Utrecht, signed in 1713, ended hostilities between
Spain, France, the Netherlands, and Britain.
With the cessation of the war, all English letters of marque
granted to privateers became null and void. This put many
seamen out of work and some went on the account. Benjamin
Hornigold may have been one of these men, but he still
considered himself a true privateer and attacked only enemy
ships.* In May 1716 the Boston News Letter reported that after
capturing a French ship, he informed the master that “they
never consented to the Articles of Peace with the French and
Spaniards” and that “they meddle not with the English or
Dutch.” After reading this account, Alexander
Spotswood, Governor of Virginia and an ardent enemy of
pirates, thought otherwise. In a letter to his superiors, he
wrote:
. . .there is
so little trust to be given to such a People, that it is
not to be doubted they will use all Nations alike whenever
they have an advantage. (Konstam, Blackbeard,
66)
Originally based in Jamaica,
Hornigold soon moved his base of operations to New
Providence, the perfect place for a pirate haven. It
was located near the Straits of Florida, the main shipping
lane vessels bound for Latin America traveled. The numerous
islands, cays, and islets that comprise the Bahamas provided
myriad hidden shelters for pirate vessels and plenty of food
and fresh water to feed their crews.
Spotswood was aware of this new “nest of pirates” and
impending danger. In July 1716, he forwarded to the Council
of
Trade and Plantations in London the deposition of John
Vickers, who had recently come from New Providence.
In Nov. last Benjamin Hornigold arrived at
Providence in the sloop Mary of Jamaica, belonging to
Augustine Golding, which Hornigold took upon the
Spanish coast, and soon after the taking of the said
sloop, he took a Spanish sloop loaded with dry goods
and sugar, which cargo he disposed of at Providence,
but the Spanish sloop was taken from him by Capt.
Jennings of the sloop Bathsheba
of Jamaica. In January Hornigold sailed from
Providence in the said sloop Mary, having
on board 140 men, 6 guns and 8 pattararas
[swivel guns], and soon after returned with
another Spanish sloop, which he took on the coast of
Florida. After he had fitted the said sloop at
Providence, he sent Golding's sloop back to Jamaica to
be returned to the owners: and in March last sailed
from Providence in the said Spanish sloop, having on
board near 200 men, but whither bound deponent knoweth
not.
These pirates weren’t the only riffraff
plaguing the islands, for Vickers also described around
fifty others who had plundered the wrecks of treasure
galleons.
[They] committ great disorders in
that Island, plundering the inhabitants, burning their
houses, and ravishing their wives. One Thomas Barrow
formerly mate of a Jamaica brigantine which run away
some time ago with a Spanish marquiss's money and
effects, is the chief of them and gives out that he
only waits for a vessell to go out a pirating, that he
is Governor of Providence and will make it a second
Madagascar, and expects 5 or 600 men more from Jamaica
sloops to join in the settling of Providence, and to
make war on the French and Spaniards, but for the
English, they don't intend to meddle with them, unless
they are first attack'd by them . . . .
The Lord
Proprietors had basically abandoned the Bahamas in 1703,
which made it easier for the pirates to gain control.
Thomas Walker acted as the deputy governor, but even he
was powerless against these men as shown in Vickers’
deposition, which can be found in the Calendar
of
State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies.
About a year ago one Daniel
Stillwell formerly belonging to Jamaica, and lately
settled on Isle Aethera, went in a small shallop, with
John Kemp, Matthew Low, two Dutchmen, and – Darvell to
the coast of Cuba and there took a Spanish lanch [launch] having on board 11,050
pieces of eight, and brought the same into Isle
Aethera; and Capt. Thomas Walker of Providence having
received advice thereof from the Governor of Jamaica,
seized Stillwell and his vessell, but upon the coming
of Hornigold to Providence, Stillwell was rescued and
Capt. Walker threatned to have his house burned for
offering to concern himself, Hornigold saying that all
pirates were under his protection. . . .
Signed, John Vickers.
Hornigold and his cohorts adopted the moniker
“the flying gang.” Vickers wasn’t the only one to provide
eyewitness testimony to what had befallen New Providence
and the risk the pirates’ presence posed to good English
citizens because of the raids on Spanish vessels and
territories. Walker wrote:
I was
formerly directed by H.E. Genll. Nicholson to render to
your Lordships an accot. of the state and condition of
ye Bohamia Islands
wch. has a long time bin without
governmts., The want of wch. has laid those Islands open
to be a recepticall and shelter of pirates and loose
fellows and gives ye inhabitants as well as ye trading
vessuals from other parts ye liberty
and oppertunity of inriching themselves by sideing and
dealing with, entertaining and releiveing such villians
who from time to time resort there to sell and dispose
of their piraticall goods, and perfusely spend wtt.[what?] they take from ye English, French and mostly
Spaniards, and as I am an inhabitant of New Providence
have bin an eye witness to those ellegiall and
unwarrantable practises commited both by ye piratts and
inhabitants and others tradeing there, and have used ye
uttmost of my endeavours to put by and prevent them, as
alsoe by my goeing to the Havana hath bin a means of
preventing ye design of ye provoked Spaniards comeing to
cut those Islands off for the piraces ytt. has since ye
peace bin commited even by some of the inhabitants of
those Islands.
The pirates daly increse to Providence and
haveing began to mount ye guns in ye Fort for there[their] defence and seeking ye oppertunity to kill mee
because I was against their illegall and unwarrantable
practices and by no means would consent to their
mounting of guns in ye Fort upon such accots. I was
thereupon forced with my wife and family to acquitt ye
Island to my great expence and damage and ye latter part
of June last arrived safe to this Province [South
Carolina] where I remaine upon expence in
hopes thatt H.M.[His Majesty] will be
gratiously pleased to take those Islands under his care
and protection, etc. that ye
Islands may become a flourishing plantation, etc.
In 1717 Captain Matthew Munthe went pirate hunting on orders
from Deputy Governor Robert Daniel of South Carolina, who
was concerned about the effects such men would have on trade
and the citizenry of the colony. An accident prevented
Munthe from carrying out part of his orders, but he did send
Daniel a report that included:
Five pirates
made ye harbor of Providence their place of rendezvous
vizt. Horngold, a sloop with 10 guns and about 80 men;
Jennings, a sloop with 10 guns and 100 men; Burgiss, a
sloop with 8 guns and about 80 men; White, in a small
vessel with 30 men and small arms; Thatch, a sloop 6
gunns and about 70 men. (Konstam, Blackbeard,
64)
During his brief stint as a pirate, Hornigold used a variety
of vessels. His first sloop was Happy Return,
although he merely sailed her. Jonathan Darvell owned the
sloop; unhappy with his share of the profits, Hornigold and
two other men bought a boat from an Eleutheran. With this
they captured two Cuban vessels carrying treasure valued at
46,000 pieces of eight. In 1715 he seized a sloop-of-war,
which he christened Benjamin. Two hundred
pirates manned her. When he later parted company with Samuel
Bellamy, he sailed a smaller sloop named Adventure.
At some point he may also have captained a vessel named Ranger armed with thirty-six guns.
At this point Benjamin Hornigold was one of the four most
influential pirates at New Providence. The others were Henry
Jennings, Josiah Burgess, and Edward
Teach. The last had learned the tricks of his trade
from Hornigold, who recognized Teach’s talents early on and
mentored him. As for Jennings, he considered Hornigold his
rival. For example, in 1716 Jennings tried to steal a rich
prize Hornigold had captured, but that crafty pirate eluded
him.
Not long after Hornigold escaped Jennings’ clutches, Samuel
Bellamy, Paulsgrave
Williams, and their men asked to join up with
Hornigold. These audacious New Englanders had just stolen
treasure from Jennings. This impressed Hornigold, who not
only welcomed them, but made Bellamy captain of the Marianne, even though others from his own
crew, including Edward Teach, were more deserving. When Olivier
La
Buse, captain of the Postillion, and
his men happened upon this new fleet of pirates, they
decided to sail in consort. Together they sailed the West
Indies in search of prey, capturing forty-one prizes in less
than one year.
When an English sail was sighted, the pirates wanted to
attack. Hornigold did not, but since majority ruled amongst
the brethren, they attacked the vessel. Amongst those
captured was twenty-five-year-old John Brown, who gave
testimony about what happened on 6 May 1717.
About a year
agoe he belonged to a Ship commanded by Captain
Kingston, which in her voyage with Logwood to Holland
was taken to the Leeward of the Havana by two Piratical
Sloops, one commanded by Hornygold and the other by a
Frenchman called Leboose, each having 70 men on board.
The pirats kept the Ship about 8 or 10 daies, and then
having taken out off her what they thought proper
delivered her back to some of the men, who belonged to
her. Leboose kept the Examinate on board his Sloop about
4 months, the English Sloop under Hornigolds command
keeping company with them all that time. Off Cape
Corante they took two Spanish Briganteens without any
resistance, laden with cocoa from Ma[l]aca. The
Spaniards, not coming up to the pirats demand about the
ransom, were put ashoar and their Briganteens burn'd.
They sailled next to the Isle of Pines, where meeting
with three or four English Sloops empty, they made use
of them in cleaning their own, and gave them back. From
thence they sailled in the latter end of May to
Hispaniola, where they tarried about 3 months. The
Examinate then left Leboose and went on board the Sloop
commanded formerly by Hornygold, but at that time by one
Bellamy, who upon a difference arising amongst the
English Pirats because Hornygold refused to take and
plunder English Vessels, was chosen by a great majority
their Captain, and Hornygold departed with 26 hands in a
Prize Sloop . . . .
Among those loyal followers
was Edward Teach, but within a few months, he, too, followed
his own path to become one of the most feared pirates of the
era, Blackbeard.
By now
the British Crown could no longer ignore the pleas of
merchants and citizens to suppress the pirates. To that end
George
II issued this royal proclamation on 5 September 1717:
Whereas We have received Information, That
several Persons, Subjects of Great Britain, have,
since the Twenty fourth Day of June, in the Year of
our Lord One thousand seven hundred and fifteen,
committed divers Piracies and Robberies upon the High
Seas in the West-Indies, or adjoyning to Our
Plantations, which hath, and may Occasion great Damage
to the Merchants of Great Britain, and others, Trading
into those Parts; And though We have appointed such a
Force as We Judge sufficient for Suppressing the said
Piracies: Yet the more effectually to put an End to
the same, We have thought fit, by and with the Advice
of our Privy-Council, to Issue this Our Royal
Proclamation; And We do hereby Promise and Declare,
That in case any of the said Pirates shall, on or
before the Fifth Day of September, in the Year of our
Lord One thousand seven hundred and eighteen,
Surrender him or themselves to One of Our Principal
Secretaries of State in Great Britain or Ireland, or
to any Governor or Deputy-Governor of any of Our
Plantations or Dominions beyond the Seas, every such
Pirate and Pirates, so Surrendring him or themselves,
as aforesaid, shall have Our Gracious Pardon of and
for such his or their Piracy or Piracies, by him or
them.
News of this amnesty reached the Bahamas in December. The
following February HMS Phoenix, a small
frigate in the Royal Navy, arrived in Nassau. Captain
Vincent Pearse noted fourteen other ships in the harbor.
These flew the colors of the Netherlands, England, France,
Spain, or the flags of no nation – the Jolly Roger.
Five were indeed prizes, but nine belonged to traders who
did business with the pirates, although they “pretended they
never did it till [after] the Act of Grace was published,”
according to Pearse. (Woodard, 233) He sent Lieutenant
Symonds ashore under a flag of truce to deliver the royal
proclamation. “He was received by a great number of Pirates
with much Civility.” (Woodward, 234) Those who were for
taking the pardon provided information to the lieutenant as
to where to find Charles
Vane, Edward
England, and their men.
Charles Vane (left)
and Edward England (right)
I met with
little opposition in coming in, but found a French
ship.(that was taken by the pirates
of 22 guns) burning in the harbour, which we were told
was set on fire to drive out H.M.S. the Rose who got in too eagerly
the evening before me, and cut here[her]
cables and run out in the night for fear of being burnt,
by one Charles Vane who command'd the pirates and at ours and
H.M.S. the Milford's near approach the next morning they finding it
impossible to escape us, he with about 90 men fled away
in a sloop wearing the black flag, and fir'd guns of
defiance when they perceiv'd their sloop out sayl'd the
two that I sent to chase them hence. On the 27th I
landed and took possession of the fort, where I read
H.M. Commission in the presence of my officers, soldiers
and about 300 of the people found here, who received me
under armes and readily surrendered, shewing then many
tokens of joy for the re-introduction of Governmt. I
sent officers ashoar at first coming in, but by means of
our ship and H.M. ship the Milford running aground I delayed my landing till this
day.
Vane had decided not to take the pardon after all, but
Hornigold did. Before long Governor Rogers decided the best
way to capture a pirate was to hire a reformed one to bring
his former colleagues to justice. He selected Hornigold, and
others, for the task. Hornigold directed all the talent and
ferocity that had made him a successful pirate to
accomplishing his new charge. His primary target was Vane.
Rogers wrote:
. . . every minute [we
expected] to hear of Vaine . . . for on 1st
Sepr. three men that came in a boat from Vaine who was
then on the coast of Cuba confess'd they promised to
meet him again about this time there; And the very day
after Capt. Whitney sailed, I had an express sent me
that three vessels supposed to be Vaine and his prizes
were at Green Turtle Key near Abacoa and since I had no
strenght to do better, I got a sloop fitted under the
command of Capt. Hornygold to send and view them and
bring me an accot. what they were. . .
As each day passed and no word arrived from Hornigold,
Rogers worried that he had made the wrong decision in
trusting the former pirate, whom he feared had joined forces
with Vane.
. . . but to my great satisfaction he return'd
in about three weeks having lain most of that time
concealed and viewing of Vaine the Pirate in order to surprize
him or some of his men that they expected would be near
them in their boats, but tho they failed in this Capt.
Hornygold brought wth. him a sloop of this place, that
got leave from me to go out a turtling but had been
trading wth. Vaine who had then wth. him two ships and a
brigantine, his sloop that he escaped hence in being run
away with by another set of new pirates,
the two ships he took coming out of Carolina one of 400
and the other of 200 tons loaded wth. rice, pitch and
tarr and skins bound for London the Neptune Capt. King being the largest he sunk and the Emperour Capt. Arnold Gowers
he left without doing her any damage except taking away
their provisions. I have secured the mercht. that traded
wth. Vaine and having not yet a power to make an example
of them here he remains in irons to be sent home to
England by the next ship.
. . . Capt.
Hornygold having proved honest, and disobliged his old
friends by seazing this vessel it devides the people
here and makes me stronger then[than] I
expected.
In a subsequent letter, following Hornigold’s successful
capture of John Auger and twelve others, Rogers wrote, “I am
glad of this new proof that Capt’n Hornigold has given to
the world to wipe off the infamous name he has hither been
known by Though he has admitted most people spoke well of
his generosity.” (Thomas, 113) And reports to
this effect had cropped up. In his pirating days, Hornigold
seized a sloop off the Honduran coast. “[T]hey did us no
further injury than the taking most of our hats from us,
having got drunk the night before, as they told us, and
toss’d theirs overboard.” Hornigold later detained another
sloop for two weeks before allowing “her to proceed on her
voyage having taken very little from her (to wit) only some
rum, a little sugar, powder and shott, cordage and small
sayles and four gun carriages with some provisions.” (Earle,
177)
When and how Benjamin Hornigold died is a mystery.
Captain Johnson said he “. . . was cast away upon rocks, a
great way from land, and perished. . . .” (Konstam, Blackbeard, 231) Most likely he encountered a
hurricane, somewhere in the Caribbean or Gulf of Mexico, and
drowned when his ship sank, or the ship grounded and he was
among those lost. When Woodes Rogers sent a letter to his
superiors in London in February 1720, he complained that he
needed ships to protect the colony, but said nothing of
Benjamin Hornigold. Most likely he had probably died.
*Evidence does exist to contradict this
declaration, but Hornigold returned the captured vessel to
its owners several months later.
Resources:
Botting, Douglas. The
Pirates. Time-Life, 1978.
British Piracy in the Golden Age: History
and Interpretation, 1660-1730 edited by Joel H.
Baer. Pickering & Chato, 2007.
British Royal Proclamations
Relating to America, 1603-1783. Volume 12. 1911.
Burgess, Douglas R., Jr. The Pirates’
Pact: The Secret Alliance between History’s Most
Notorious Buccaneers and Colonial America. McGraw
Hill, 2008.
Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America
and West Indies. Volume 28, 14 March 1715. (Entry
276 -- scroll down to specific number)
Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America
and West Indies. Volume 29, 3 July 1716. (Entry
240 -- scroll down to specific
number)
Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America
and West Indies. Volume 29, August 1716. (Entry
328 -- scroll down to specific
number)
Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America
and West Indies. Volume 30, 7 February 1718. (Entry
357 -- scroll down to specific
number)
Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America
and West Indies. Volume 30, 31 October 1718. (Entry
737 -- scroll down to specific
number)
Clifford, Barry. The Pirate Prince:
Discovering the Priceless Treasures of the Sunken Ship Whydah.
Simon & Schuster, 1993.
Cordingly, David. Under the Black Flag:
The Romance and the Reality of Life among the Pirates.
Random House, 1995.
Croce, Pat. Pirate Soul. Running
Press, 2006.
Duffus, Kevin P. The Last Days of Black
Beard the Pirate. Looking Glass Productions, 2008.
Earle, Peter. The Pirate Wars. Thomas
Dunne, 2003.
Konstam, Angus. Piracy: The Complete
History. Osprey, 2008.
Konstam, Angus. Pirates: Predators of the
Seas. Skyhorse, 2007.
Konstam, Anugus. The World Atlas of
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Pirates
and Privateers