La Gazette Pirate References - 1717-1719

p. 323:

From London on June 14, 1717

The Parliament of this country is still extended until August 16. We have heard from Jamaica that the Forbans [Pirates] who have taken a lot of the English, in the American Seas, have seized Isle of Providence, in the Gulf of Florida, after having done a lot of captures, which caused a great prejudice to the Merchants: & they make new instances to obtain aid from three Vessels of war, in order to increase the squadron which is in these countries.

p. 334:

From London, July 1st, 1717

According to the last letters of Jamaica, the Forbans [Pirates] continued their piracies; & one of their Vessels mounted with forty eight guns, had recently taken five richly loaded English Ships, which caused a great disturbance in commerce.

p. 454:

From London, September 9, 1717

... Merchants & others Interested in American Commerce, have obtained a general pardon from Roy [king], for the English Pirates who have done more than a year of damage in the country. This resolution was taken, because we saw that many were ready to accept it, & that it seemed more advantageous to pile in to bring them back by softness, than to use forces as considerable, that it would be necessary to destroy them.

p. 478-479:

From London there on September 10, 1717.

... The Negotiators obtained that the general pardon, which they requested for the Corsairs, who made many [prizes] in America, will be granted to them; & we confirm that Captain Roger, who was made Governor of the Isle of Sapience [Providence?], will wear it, in order to have it published. As this Isle served as their main retreat, it was resolved to make new fortifications there, the Fort which was there being not of great defense, and needing to be repaired. The interested in the commerce of the English Colonies of America, offered to contribute to the greater part of the expense, & to increase the armament which must be employed to oblige these Corsairs to be subjected. This resolution seems all the more necessary, because by a [vessel] recently arrived from America, we received that two of their Vessels: one of forty, the other of thirty-two guns, had taken recently several English vessels & others, on the coasts of Carolina & Virginia, & that they were to join seven or eight others in the Gulf of Florida [possibly a reference to the pirate fleet gathering at Long Island in the lower Bahamas - indicates plans to do so before the taking of La Concorde by Edward Thache].
... A ship from Virginia which arrived in Kinsale in Ireland, met on the road a Forban [Pirate] of those who run indifferently on the Vessels of all Nations, who met him on the road, by the crossing of the Grand Bank, where he had made other takes. Several New Dealers have formed an Insurance Company for Merchant Vessels, the bottom of which must be two million pounds sterling, and they will expect to receive the payments on the 17th of next month.

p. 59:

From London, January 17, 1718.

... We have heard that an English Vessel coming from Buenos Airés, with a considerable load of rich goods, had been attacked near Jamaica, where it had gone to make water, by a forban [pirate ], who had become master of it, after a long resilience in vengeance in which these Corsairs had massacred the whole crew.

p. 129:

From London, March 10, 1718.

On the 3rd of this month, the Commons examined the State of the English Colonies in America, and resolved to request the communication of the Memoirs sent to the Admiralty Commissioners, touching the Pirates who have extremely disturbed the trade in this country: number of the Ships who have been there send, and instructions given to the Commanders, to pursue them, and to destroy them.

p. 154-155:

From London, March 24, 1718

... On the 13th, they examined various clauses added to the Act for the transport of thieves: others relating to the repairs of the Port of Douvre, & on a draft Act which looks at specific regulations for the City of Bristol, in which according that he proposed, it is claimed that there are dangerous consequence clauses for the Anglican Church. Today, they heard the Advocars of the Merchants, who complain about the clauses inserted in the Act, to prevent smuggling, & claim that it gives excessive power & against the Loix, to the Customs & Excise Officers & that the penalties imposed on Ship Masters in the event of a violation are too harsh. The Act for the transport of thieves, passed after various changes, as well as that which ensures the effects of the Vessels which will be wrecked, to prevent them from being plundered. According to the latest news received from the English Colonies in America, the Corsairs, most of the English pirates, as well as had been offered Amnesty on very favorable terms, threatening them with no quartering, if they refused to to submit within the term prescribed by the proclamation published on this subject, had had no regard for it, and they continued their piracy as much as ever. They had recently taken eleven richly loaded English Vessels, and most of the Sailors and soldiers of the crews, had taken sides with these Corsairs, who thus became fortified. Those who had refused to take sides, had been knocked down on the next coasts, when they had surrendered without resistance: the others who had defended themselves, had obtained no quarter. The letters from Lisbon also note that three Corsairs of Salé, notwithstanding the three-month Treve concluded with the King of Morocco, had taken a merchant ship from Bristol: that another from this city which they had attacked, had jumped in the air, with all the crew, the fire having started there with the first cannon shots. The Pirates who are cut off in Bombay, & at Fort Saint Georges, also disturb the trade of the East Indies. The Company has obtained letters patent, to make the trial on the spot, to all those who may be caught. It has resolved to reduce to four percent the interest it paid to individuals, starting June 24, according to the old stile. The squadron of sixteen warships, two Galiotes with bombs & two Brulots designed for the Mediterranean Sea, which was at Buoy de Nore, was ordered to sail, and we still armed such a number of Vessels.

p. 185:

From Madrid, April 5, 1718.

... Some vessels have been detached, to cross on the coasts, in order to hunt down the Corsairs of Barbary [North Africa], particularly those of Salé * & some English Forbans [Pirates] who made various captures.

*The Salé Rovers, also Sale Rovers or Salle Rovers, were a dreaded band of Barbary corsairs in the 17th century. They formed the Republic of Salé on the Moroccan coast. The most famous of the rovers was Jan Janszoon, a Dutchman who had been a pirate for Holland in the Mediterranean.

p. 190-191:

From London, April 14, 1718.

... The opinions coming from the English Colonies of America, oblige to a larger armament than that which to have been resolved, to go to drive them from the Isle of Providence, where they are fortified in such a way that it it is difficult to attack them, if not with greater force, all the more since they had armed several buildings which they had taken: whether the sailors and the soldiers who were on them, had enlisted with them willingly or because they did not see no quarter given to those who have refused to do so, and thus continue their piracies with more boldness than ever. Captain Rogers, who was commanded with a warship & a few others to attack them, was ordered to postpone his enterprise, until other measures were taken, to try to reduce them.
... Three of the Pirates [see below] of America who were caught some time ago, were sentenced to death at the sessions of the Old-Baily, for having taken the Vessel Anglesey, and used it to race, after to have exposed the Captain & another Officer in a desert Isle, without letting them eat anything.

Boston News-Letter "London, April 3 [1718]" in 25 Aug 1718 issue.

From Proceeding of the Old Baily:

Tuesday, May 27. 1718.

NB. Those that enquire after, or are desirous to see the strange and unaccountable Letter lately sent to the Ordinary of Newgate, may read it (with Animadversions thereon) in the Printed Paper giving an Account of Tho. Peacock, a Pirate, executed at Wapping on Friday the 25th of April last, and Sold by J. Morphew.

p. 197:

From Madrid, April 12, 1718.

... We write from A Coruña, that four warships of the Squadron that cruises on the costes for the safety of the trade, against the Corsaires de Barbarie [Salé] and some English Forbans [Pirates], arrived there on the 3rd, & that they had brought two Vessels of Salé: one of forty, the other of forty-eight pieces of cannon: that of two hundred and eighty men of crew, the other of two hundred, which they taken at the height of Vigo [in Galicia, Spain], after a very stubborn fight of more than three hours. They also brought three prizes, two Portuguese and an English one that these Corsairs had made, across the Cape of Finisterre. Two Vessels of the same Wing, arriving on the same day in A Coruña in the evening, with two English Forbans [Pirates] that they took outside of Bilbao, where they have been cruising for a month & disturb the navigation of the Merchants. The orders have been given to cause Cadiz to take all the Corsairs who have been taken, and who number more than six hundred, in order to strengthen the Chiourmes des Galeres [slave-rowed royal galleys]. The two Vessels of Salé must be refitted, having been very damaged in combat; As they make new & good sailboats, they intend to be joined to those who make up the two Wings of nine Vessels each, so one will cross on the costes of Andalusia: the other on the costes of Galicia &: Biscay.

p. 169-170:

From Madrid, May 24, 1718.

... On the 18th, there arrived a Gentleman despatched by the Commander of the South Sea Wing, who had left Cadiz in the first days of 1717, to hunt down the Pirates, who disturbed the commerce of the Nation , & to the Foreigners, who against the old Loix [SE coast of France] of Navigation, & the defenses of their Sovereigns, negotiated on the sides of Peru and Chile. He brought letters of December 9, which learn that this Wing had chased & taken in the ports of Arica & Cobija six large Vessels & a Boat load booty or goods, the value of which was estimated at more than three million piastres. The Commandant having brought them to the port of Callao, two leagues from Lima, where he had had the goods unloaded and put in the store, and he had established an Intendant to make them sell, and receive the rights which belong to the King. As the Vessels were good & ready to serve, three of the best were given to the Prince of San Bono Viceroy of Peru, to strengthen the South Sea fleet, to chase the Corsairs, to prevent the smuggling trade, & ensure the navigation of the Spanish, & the transport of troops, ammunition, & goods, from one Province to another.

p. 306:

From Madrid, June 14, 1718.

... But we learned that the negotiation of the English to obtain Peace,
or a Treve with the King of Morocco, was broken, and that the Corsairs of Salé, had started again to run on Vaille to the merchants of the Nation, and that they had already taken some of them. The orders have been sent to Bilbao & A Coruña, to prefer the arming of some Vessels destined to increase the Wing which believe of this coast there, to give hunt to three or four Ostend Shipowners, who appeared in these seas, with the Emperor's flag, & to English Forbans [Pirates]. We are eagerly working on the construction of several Transport Vessels, and a few others. We have heard from Lisbon, that the Brazilian fleet was not far from the coast, and that two vessels had been detached, to go forward, and escort it against the Corsairs of Barbary.

Printing error on this - page 351

p. 360-361:

From London, July 18, 1718.

... Others who had been condemned to death at the Assizes, must be transported to the Colonies of America, where we sent full powers, to grant the pardon promised by a proclamation to the English Forbans [Pirates], who will come submit. Five Vessels order to go to Portsmouth, where they must be equipped, according to a certain opinion of the naval army of the Republic: it was only believed that the junction of Vessels and Galleys was made.

p. 373:

From London, August 4, 1718

... The Captain of the Ostend Vessel who had taken a loaded Vessel for Bilbao from the Dunes, seeing that he would be condemned as Pirate, promised to return it to the interested parties, provided that he was granted his freedom.

p. 394:

From London. August 11, 1718.

... We have heard from the Colonies of America that several Forbans [Pirates] have provided themselves, and that they have accepted the pardon that had promised them by the proclamation published in the country: but that there were several others who did not take pains to take advantage of this grace, but who continued their pirations, and who had made many considerable catches. Among others a Vessel [Edward Thache's QAR] which carries a black flag, with death tests[tête=head?], & three or four large Rowboats with bloody flags, had taken on the coast of Honduras, a Vessel of four hundred tons, of fifty men of crew, & of twenty-six guns, names the Cesar Protestant [Protestant Caesar]; & having looted all the goods, they had put Captain [William Wyer of Boston] & all his people on the ground, then they had set fire to it.

[Note: though perhaps generic, this reference tells of a black flag not unlike that of Samuel Bellamy, with a skull - not the type with a full skeleton, hourglass, and a spear in a bleeding heart, like that later described for Edward Low]

p. 406:

From London, August 18, 1718.

... That of America is no less so by the Forbans [Pirates], several of whom did not turn away, & who did not want to accept Amnesty, continued their course, and took several English vessels & Dutch.

p. 454-455:

From London, September 15, 1718.

... We also learn from the letters of the English Colonies of America, that the Forbans [Pirates] are starting to disturb trade more than ever: that they had made several considerable takes, and that they had led them to the Isle of Providence, where they fortified themselves in such a way, that it was necessary to send considerable forces there to reduce them. Some of those who had accepted the pardon which they had granted to them, went back to racing, which troubles trade out of this country.

p. 491:

From London there on October 6, 1718.

... We have heard from America that the Scarborough has taken a 30-gun Forban [Pirate] of 300 crew members. There are always quite a number of others, who persist in refusing the forgiveness which has been offered to them, & which are frequent catches.

p. 5:

From Lisbon, December 1, 1718

... The letters of the Bay of all Saints, state that the Count of Vimieyro who is its Governor, arrived there, after seventy-eight days of navigation, but in poor health, because he had embarked before that were fully healed of a disease which he had attacked before his departure. He met on the road a Corsair who wore the Dutch flag & who approached his Vessel, did the black flag & fired a broadside, including a gunner & a soldier who were wounded. But at the first discharge, the Corsair went ill-treated, withdrew by means of veils, & he escaped. It is believed that it can be one of the Forbans [Pirates] which made many takes on the English & other Nations in the Seas of America, because we had noticed that some carried the black flag.

p. 46:

From London, January 19, 1719.

... According to the last withdrawals from the Colonies, the Forbans [Pirates] who committed so many disorders in these countries continued their piracies notwithstanding the offers that had been made to them recently, to forgive them the past, & that of them had taken a Vessel on which were embarked several of those who had been condemned to death, obtained that their punishment would be commuted, in obligation to serve a number of years in America.

p. 70:

From London, February 2, 1719

We heard from Jamaica that the Forbans [Pirates] were continuing their races, and that the Spaniards arm several vessels, to run against the English.

p. 166-167:

From London, March 23, 1719

... The Commons continued to work on the Acts proposed & put into Committee; & on the 20th, the Lottery Act passed in their Room. She also ordered that whoever had to pay for the powder stores would be put on the net. We ask from Barbados that the Pirates of this country continue their races, and that they had taken in January a Merchant Ship from this City: another coming from Guinea, with two hundred and forty Negroes, & gold dust, another from New England is a Françoise Rowboat. They had plundered all these buildings, and they had released two, sunk one to the bottom, and took away the fourth.

p. 262:

From London, May 18, 1719.

... We heard from Lisbon that the Neptune Vessel from Porto, loaded with three hundred pipes of wine, was perished ... Interested in the Compagnie de la Mer du Sud, impatiently await news from several of their Ships, richly charged, fearing that they may have been taken by Forbans [Pirates], who are always very much in disorder, or that they may have been arrested by the Spaniards.

p. 285-286:

From London, on May 20, 1719.

... We press their departure and that of the relief destined for this country, especially since the Negotiators of the English Colonies have already lost several Vessels, some of which have been taken by Spanish Shipowners, & others by the Forbans [Pirates], who are always very hard to exterminate. It is said from Jamaica that, at the wish of Port-Royal, a Spanish shipowner from the island of Trinidad had taken the Kingston from London, whose cargo was very rich. The Frigate the Scarborough, was taken at the height of the Isle of Saint Christopher, by a Forban [Pirate], who after having cannonaded it for a long time, approached it and took it, the Captain & some Officers having been killed. A Spanish Shipowner of forty guns, took the Merchant Ship Saint George, which passed from Cork to Gibraltar & two others including one coming from New England, & the other from Cornouaille. Two other English vessels, other English vessels which preceded Lisbon, were taken by an owner of six pieces of cannon. The Commissioners for the sale of confiscated goods have recommenced the exercise of their Commission, which was suspended during the tenure of Parliament.

p. 526-527:

From London, October 19, 1719.

No news came from the squadron which had left Sainte Helene, with the troops which had assembled at the Isle of Wight; & as during a few days the wind was favorable, we thought it arrived towards the costes of Spain: but we had no opinion yet. On the 14th, the Britannia Vessel pierced with one hundred and twelve pieces of cannon, was launched in Wolwich, in the presence of a large number of people; but the Prince & Princess of Wales who had been invited, attended; point, & he must be taken to Chatam. Two or more vessels of seventy pieces of cannon are being built at Wolwich, and there are a few others on site. The Commissaries of the Admiralty assembled to deliberate on the means of ensuring navigation, which is disturbed on all coasts by the Corsairs, or by the Spanish Shipowners. We had notice from the English Colonies of the Coste de Guinée on July 1, that a Forban [Pirate] whose Nation we do not know, because he had changed their flag, had taken two Vessels which belonged to the Company of Africa; & that after having looted them & put the crews on the ground, he had taken these same Vessels, on which he had put a part of his [crew?], & that he had started to use them, to continue the race along the coasts.

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La Gazette Pirate References - 1720

p. 45-46:

From London, January 18, 1720

We heard from Harwich that on the 15th & 16th, two Transport Vessels, on which eight hundred Dutchmen had embarked, had sailed, and that the preceding days, six hundred others had left on other vessels, en route to The Netherlands. Two ships of thirty guns order to go against the Corsairs [Pirates], who continue to disturb trade in the Colonies of America & the Coast of Guinea, where they appear in greater numbers than ever. They burned several takes they made, & we learn from letters from Barbados, that they looted or burned forty English Vessels of this Colony & other neighbors, & twenty on the coast of Guinea, from different Nations . According to the latest advice from this country, Captain Maxwel, who passed from old Calabar to Virginia, having on board a hundred Negros, had been taken near Isle of Cariscoe [Corisco] by three of these Pirates [almost certainly Olivier LeVasseur, Jeremiah Cocklyn, and Richard Taylor]; that they had taken him to serve as their Pilot; and having learned that two ships from London and one from Bristol had gone to the neighboring coasts to buy Negroes, they had sailed from this coast, and had taken them, as well as another vessel from Glascow. They have since made their way to the Gold Coast, & according to the report of Captain Maxwel who fled at night in a Rowboat, their intention was to go cruising towards the Cape of Good Hope, to await the Vessels returning there from East Indies. In the last sessions of the Justices of the Peace, it was ordered to the Connestables or Commissars of the districts, to have the Loix enforced against those who have seditious libels, or who sing insolent songs in the streets.

p. 214:

From London, April 25, 1720

The Duke of Shandois & others, Bought, the Patent of the Company of Africa, for two hundred and fifty thousand pounds sterling. We learn from Virginia that the Pirates started their races again, and that they had taken two Bristol Ships.

p. 227:

From London, May 2, 1720

The letters from America and the costes of Africa are known that the Pirates continue to make great disorders there, ransoming or plundering almost all the merchant ships they meet, & even attacking some of them under the cannon of the Forts. Several highway robbers have been executed to death here and in the Provinces, but thefts are very frequent.

p. 370-371:

From London, July 25, 1720

[excellent context:]
The Directors of the African Company wishing to restore their trade which was considerably diminished by the losses which the Pirates caused him to suffer there, made equip ten ships, to send there, besides the two warships of fifty piece of cannon that the Lords Justiciers granted them. The purpose of the Company is to fortify the ports where it has trading posts, & to put them out of insult, because their buildings were not there in rage, & to make a new establishment in the river of Gambia, ten leagues or so from its mouth, hoping by this means to attract the principal trade in elephant teeth, gold dust, and other merchants of the country, with the Cafres [of Southeast African origin] on the continent. She sent for this purpose a large number of all strong laborers, and quantity of materials, in addition to two hundred soldiers divide into four Companies each commanded by a Lieutenant, who will enter in garrison in the Fort which it is intended to build there . The Lords Justiciers having examined the project sent from Ireland, to establish in Dublin a Bank similar to that of England, had approved it: but on the admonitions which were made to them of the prejudice that this one could suffer from it, they have suspended the execution of the project until further notice. Some ships have arrived from Virginia, and others are expected to load tobacco and other country goods. We learn that the Pirates are causing disorder every day, & that the Spaniards have recently taken an English Vessel, because the suspicion of all hostilities, was not yet published in this country. The East India Company has made the sale of the goods which are loaded with the last Vessels which make them arrive, and it has been about seven hundred thousand pounds sterling, instead that above it was much stronger. We attributed this decrease to
little debit that the painted canvases and other manufactures of the Indies had, which the Merchants had obliged to give at low price, because of the Acts of the last Parliament. Notwithstanding the penalties imposed by the last Act of Parliament, highway robbers continue to cause a great deal of disorder: some of their leaders have been arrested, they have declared their accomplices, who are being researched. The Actions on the South Sea Company are today a thousand miles away.

p. 382:

From London, July 29, 1720

... The Directors of the Africa Company having resolved to establish a new dwelling in the Gambia river, ten leagues or approximately from its mouth, must send workers there incessantly, to build a fort there which can put the costes under cover from pirates who take a lot of it, we have even learned recently that they had taken three English Vessels, of which the Officers and the Sailors had been made slaves. On the assurance that the Resident of the Czar in this Court gave the Merchants that they could send their Vessels to the ports of Estats du Roy his Maistre, & traffic freely there, they sent several of them to Russia, & they ship goods every day for these countries.

p. 406-407:

From London there on August 15, 1720.

... The Merchants learned that the Pirates had kidnapped several of their Vessels in the Gambia river, which caused them great losses. They hope that the warships that the Government has granted to the different Companies, for the safety of their Trade, will deliver these Costes from all these Pirates. We write from Plymouth, that there had passed three Vessels from the Mediterranean Sea Wing, and we await the rest of this fleet. It is believed that that which was intended for this Sea, and which was to be commanded by Admiral Wager, will be disarmed, and we have already sent orders to two of the Vessels which compose it, to set sail, to go to the Costes of Guinea, & to assure there the Trade of the Company of Africa, which must make leave at the same time its Vessels. We continue to transport a lot of gold & silver for France, & for Holland.

p. 418-419:

From London, August 22, 1720.

The Lords Justiciers who had referred to the ordinary Judges the decision of the concertation which is between My lord Craven & My lord Londondery, for the property of the Isles of Bahama in America, examined this affair for a third time, in the Council which was held on the 20th of this month, & it was ordered that the Attorney General would draw up an Act to annul the Charter which was granted to My Lord Craven under the reign of Charles II & to reunite these Isles to the Crown. This judgment did not, however, prevent the Company formed by My lord Londo [n] dery in favor of a Patente which was given to him by the Roy [king], to continue his projects to make an establishment in these Isles & she must send there immediately any strong of workers, on the Vessels which leave at the end of the month for the Isle of Providence. The Duke of Grafton, Viceroy of Ireland, to whom the Lords Justiciers had referred the examination of a Request, to establish in Dublin a Insurance Company for fire, having made a very favorable report to this establishment, the interestez hope more than ever to obtain a Charter which authorizes it, & they have chosen a Governor & Directors of this Company, whose project is to establish Insurance Offices in London, Dublin, & in all Trade cities of the Kingdom of Ireland. The South Sea Company Books have been opened to receive new Subscriptions, but the eagerness has not been so great for a few days, which causes them to close them until next week. The East India Company & that of Africa, always continue to engage Officers, soldiers & workers, to send in their establishments, and work to build new there. They become more and more everyday necessary, all the news of these countries containing only the various catches made by the Pirates who make them become so powerful on these coasts, that the Merchant Vessels no longer dare to go to sea without escort.

p. 575-576:

From London, November 21, 1720

... The Attorney General has handed over to the Court of Bench of Roy [king] the information he has given by order of the Lords Justiciers against Mr. Lowther Governor of Barbados who is to be tried at the next term. For the past few days, there have been several proceedings against the commitments made between individuals on the Shares of the Compagnie de la Mer du Sud, but it appears that the Judges will decide nothing on these strong cases only when they will be informed of the intentions of Parliament on these commitments. Interested in the latest Subscriptions, await the Assembly of Parliament with great impatience; & they still hope it will do them justice. There are a very large number of Briefs which must be presented on this case, and particularly against Directors who hope to glue them to justify themselves of what is imputed to them on the discredit of Actions, the price of which has been further reduced since the news come from the considerable bankruptcies that take place in Holland. Six large Vessels & six others a little smaller which belong to the Company of Africa made sail of the Dunes last week, under the escort of two Vessels of war, & there are still in the Thames two large vessels which must incessantly put sailing. This Company has embarked on these Vessels a large number of soldiers and workers, to build new Forts in their establishments. The warships escorting these vessels are ordered to hunt down the Pirates & destroy them entirely, so the Company, whose trade has been much smaller for some time, hopes to make it much more profitable, and to build up Your credit, Don Hyacinthe Pereyra de Castro Envoy Extraordinary of the King [king] of Portugal in this Court, died here on the 20th of this month. Four thousand three hundred and thirteen ounces of gold were sent to Douanne this week for Holland, and two hundred ounces for being transported to France. The shares of the Compagnie de la Mer du Sud are now two hundred and ten.

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Quest for Blackbeard: The True Story of Edward Thache and His World

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La Gazette Pirate References - 1722

p. 10:

From London on December 25, 1721

... The vessel La Marguerite arrived from Cadiz on the 15th, with twelve tons of piastres for the part which goes to the merchants of this city of the interests which they had in the last flotilla of Spain. We have received notice that the Hamilton Vessel returning from Jamaica to Bristol, under the command of Captain Smith, had been taken in its route by a Spanish vessel, without any reason being angry; but that both of them having been attacked then by a Pirate, had been burned after a few hours of combat. We have just learned that the Rebecca destined for Petersburg had perished in the Baltic Sea near the Isle of Bornholm.

p. 46:

From London, January 15, 1722

... We have received notice that the Onslow vessel commanded by Captain Gée had it taken by the Pirates on the coast of Guinea: that the Rebecca coming from Bilbao, was lost at the entrance of the English Channel: that the Thomas & Hannah from Maryland had broken in the rocks of the Cape of Virginia: that the Charlotte from Jamaica had failed on the coast of France, & that the Robynson had been taken by the Pirates.

p. 69-70:

From London, January 29, 1722.

... Vice-Admiral Wager received orders to return to the Ports, the warships which were to compose the squadron intended against Portugal, and we received advice from Lisbon that the Sieur Windfîels Negocient Anglois & le Sieur Robert, his partner, had been sentenced to death on the 8th of this month by the Court of Justice, which had been instructed to hear their trial, but that on the 9th the Roy [king] of Portugal had sent them their pardon by the Count of Prado his first Gentleman of the House, & that on the 10th they had been released & in possession of all the effects that had been saved

... We equip a warship to escort the ship which must transport the Duke incessantly of Portland to his Government of Jamaica. The Merchants of this City received notice that the Morning Star vessel belonging to the City of Bristol & which was going from Costes from Guinea to Carolina, had been taken recently by the Pirates, as well as another ship which was heading for New Yorck. The large number of vessels which these Corsairs have taken for some time has compelled the merchants of this Kingdom to submit a request to His Majesty, to beg her to send a greater number of warships to sea, so that the Trade is not interrupted by the races of these Pirates.

p. 127:

From London, February 26, 1722

... We have received notice that the Cassandre vessel belonging to the East India Company, which had been taken some time ago by the Pirates, had just been taken over by the Falkland warship commanded by Captain [Barrows] Harris, after a a very obstinate combat, in which the Pirates had lost more than three hundred men of their crew, & the English one hundred men or about [Is this a false report? The pirate Cassandra is still in the Indian Ocean at this time - possibly a diff. pirate vessel here]. We learned from letters arrived this week from various Ports of this Kingdom, that the Weymouth warship of fifty pieces of cannon, had been taken on the Coast of Guinea by two Pirates, one of forty, & the other of thirty-eight guns: that they had also removed another ship which returned from the slave trade, &. which was destined for Jamaica; & that three vessels loaded with Tobacco, returning from Virginia, were lost in the Rocks, in the West of Ireland.

p. 138:

From London on March 5, 1722

... According to the language of the English vessels that the Pirates have taken, burn or sink to the bottom for five years, both on the African coast, and in America, it seems that England has lost one hundred and thirty-six during this time ; This is what commits his Majesty to arm six warships to chase the pirates, & to restore in these seas the security of commerce interrupted by their races. The East India Company launched the three new Vessels it had built last year. On the 17th of last month, twenty-five Lords, Members of the House of Peers, protested against the decision of the House to admit the Bill which had just been presented there, to enhance the freedom of Elections for Members of a new Parliament; but on the 2nd of this month, their protests having been heard and examined, it was resolved to the plurality of fifty-five votes to twenty-two, that they would strike the registers off, and that there would be no regard for them. The Shares of the South Sea Company today make "ninety-eight."

p. 169:

From London on April 1, 1722.

... On the 19th, the bishop of Salisbury accompanied by several other prelates of this Kingdom, put in the name of Roy [king] the first stone of the Church of Saint Martin des Champs which was rebuilt. We put the same day in commission six warships of the fourth rank, two of which are intended to raise those who serve in the Mediterranean, three to cross on pirates along the coast of Guinea, & the sixth to reinforce the escort vessels that go to the cod fishery.

p. 225-226:

From London, April 23, 1722

... The Merchants of this City have received notice that the Mercy, one of their vessels, had been taken recently by the Pirates, on the Coste de Guinée: that the Pencel had escaped their rot, & that the Neptune loaded for Venice, was lost near Avero (?), The Company of the South Sea, currently makes load the Prince Royal of all strong of goods, whose first purchase amounts to nearly three hundred and thirty thousand pounds sterling.

p. 250:

From London, 7 May 1722

... The Comte de Clancarty, who was exiled outside the Kingdom for the cause of rebellion, obtained his pardon from the King and should arrive here in a few days. Le Guillaume & Elisabeth, arrived at the Dunes of Saint Christophe, having been looted by the Pirates a few days after I left.

p. 256-257:

From Lisbon, April 16, 1722.

From Lisbon -

An Order must be published immediately against those who defraud the rights of the Roy [king], & nineteen traders of this city accuse & convinced of having made further declarations of their goods, were condemned these days proceed to be transported to India , & they have embarked on the ship that left for Goa, from where they will no longer have the freedom to return.
... We have received notice - by a courier of Don Louis d'Acunha Minister of Roy [king] from there Majeste Trés-Chrestienne, that Don Louis L'ouis de Meneses Comte d'Ericeyra, above Viceroy des Indes Orientales, quoting from Goa to return to this Kingdom, embarked on a Portuguese vessel which had the misfortune of being attacked & taken by the Forbans [Pirates], at the height of the Isle of Saint Laurent or of Madagascar: that these Pirates, after having taken all its effects & plundered the Vessel, had put it ashore at the Isle of Bourbon: that it had embarked there a few days later on a Vessel of the Compagnie des Indes from France, & that he had happily arrived at the Port d'Orient in Brittany.

p. 347:

From London, July 2, 1722

... We received advice from Barbados, that the Hyrondelle, warship commanded by Captain Ogle, had surprised on the Coste de Guinee three Forbans [Pirates], one of thirty-eight guns commanded by the famous Robert[;] the Comte de Toulouze, French ship of thirty guns, which a few years ago captured by these Pirates, and a third of lesser consequence, and that he had led them to Cape-Coast, with two hundred crew members who were locked up in the Chasteau [Castle].

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Quest for Blackbeard: The True Story of Edward Thache and His World

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Pirate References in Le Nouveau Mercure - June 1718

p. 174-175:

OF JUNE

SPAIN, AND PORTUGAL
In Lisbon, June 8

... A large English forban [pirate] having entered the River on the 3rd during a very thick fog, landed a vessel of his Nation, which to have its charge, cut the Cables, took it away with impunity: it has just arrived a [French frigate] which led here a Corsair of Salé, assembled of 38 pieces of Canon & 130 men of crew: He had taken an English vessel coming from the Ladders of the Levant.

We have just heard that the flotilla from Brazil was within reach of the Coasts of Portugal. Two richly loaded Spanish vessels, coming from the South Sea, before met on their way to the sea, joined her to take advantage of her escort, & for not to be surprised by the Forbans [pirates] who crossed in these Seas.


p. 212-213:

JOURNAL OF PARIS.

... On the 30th, we learned that 3 Maloinish [Malines, the French name for the Flemish city of Mechelen in modern Belgium] Vessels escaping from Sieur Martinet in the South Sea, have returned to S. Malo. Their return consoled the Maloins a little for the loss of the former. There is no more surprising advance war than that which happened to them on the way. They meet at the height of S. Domingue, 2 pirates, one of 250 men of crew, & the other, of 200. These before sent on board a boat with six officers, came to offer them piastres, to barter for some goods they said they needed. They were gladly satisfied on the spot: But, the boat would not soon have rejoined its vessels, that these pirates were flying the black flag with the skulls. As the Maloins were too weak to resist, they decided to echo each other, at the risk of perishing. Honestly for the latter, it rose a moment after a wind so violent, that it raised them up and threw them back into the open sea, without being damaged. On the contrary, these corsairs having begun a little too much to follow their [prey?], the same wind which had saved some, soon caused the loss of the others; since the largest of these pirates went to burn a moment later, against a Rock, & the second was carried on a sand bank where he ground. It was not possible for the Maloins to approach it, because the wind thwarts they deem it more appropriate to continue their journey. They report that there are on these 2 vessels, more than 12 million in piastas, taken from the Portuguese.

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Quest for Blackbeard: The True Story of Edward Thache and His World

2020 Updated 2nd Kindle Edition
by Baylus C. Brooks (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

Price: $19.99