John Roberts, born in Wales in 1682, was only 13 years old when he set his sights on a seafaring life and headed out. There was plenty of work at sea in those days since most trade was handled by boat. War and disharmony had long been shared between Europe and everybody else, so ships also carried soldiers/sailors to fights regarding land or possessions or privileges. Likewise, slaves were stolen/kidnapped/taken and shipped off to faraway countries via ships during that time, making a very small number of people very rich.
It was on a slave transporting ship that John Roberts was crewing in 1719, as second mate, when they were attacked off the coast of Ghana (formerly known as the Gold Coast of West Africa) by the Welsh pirate Howell Davis.
Pirating wasn’t a long career path. The intense and constant fighting took its toll on the crew of any pirate ship so when a ship such as the Princess, the one John worked on at the time, was attacked and overpowered, there was great interest in picking through the conquered crew for new ‘recruits’. John Roberts came to the attention of Captain Davis, who decided that he had some skills as a navigator and forced Roberts to join the pirate crew.
Not long into this new appointment, our John had a change of heart. He’d been working on merchant ships for 24 years but was still just making pocket change. He had no chance of ever captaining his own vessel, and the food was terrible. Here on the ship of the pirate Howell Davis, he was quick to see that the crew were all given a share of the plunder they collected. They ate much better than average sailors and decisions were collectively made based on the needs and wants of the hands aboard rather than by directives ordered by landlubbers who had never been to sea.
That made sense to him so John Roberts changed his name to Bartholomew Roberts and threw himself into his newfound lifestyle. Within 6 weeks of Bartholomew’s capture, Captain Howell Davis was ambushed and killed on his way to a drinks date with the governor of a Portuguese island whom he thought would be an easy mark to kidnap and hold for ransom. No such luck.
That left the captainless pirate crew in need of a new skipper. They voted, holding true to their one-man-one-vote ideology, and Bartholomew became their new pirate captain! Bart’s first command was for the crew to return to the Portuguese island to teach those pirate murderers a lesson. They landed under the cover of night, stole as much loot as they could carry, and killed a large number of local men.
After another vote, the privateers set sail for Brazil, where they encountered absolutely no other ships to blunder. Disappointing. They eventually changed their plans, deciding to head for the West Indies. As they set out from the uninhabited Brazilian Island where they had been docked for nine boring weeks, they came across a fleet of 42 ships hanging around in a bay waiting for the arrival of their armed guards (2 warships equipped with 70 guns each) to accompany them to Portugal. The pirates ferreted out which of the 42 ships held the most riches and ransacked it, gaining 40,000 gold coins and jewellery, including a cross inset with diamonds that was destined for the Portuguese king. It became Captain Roberts’ signature piece.
A few weeks later, after one of his own crewmen ran off with one of the fleet’s ships while no one was looking, Captain Roberts, who by this time had earned the nickname Black Bart, put together what came to be known as The Pirates’ Code. Among the points covered were the details of how everyone had a vote on major decisions, that everyone would get a share of the loot (some would get more than one share depending on their position), that there was to be absolutely no fighting on board, and that musicians had Sundays off but had to strike up a tune on any other day when someone asked for a song. A paid out early-retirement plan was put in place for any pirate injured at work so they wouldn’t end up penniless just because they’d lost an arm during a skirmish. If anyone stole from another pirate on board, they were to have their nostrils and ears slit and be put ashore at an inhabited place, but one where they were sure to endure hardships anyway. Bedtime was at 8pm and there would be no complaints. The Pirates’ Code, which all crew swore on the Bible to uphold, became their version of the law.
Although the black flag of piracy was flown on all pirate ships (except for those pretending they were legit, until it was too late), Black Bart was the first pirate to call it a “Jolly Roger”. There were plenty of variations on the skull and crossbones theme, but Bartholomew Roberts’ version showed an arm brandishing a cutlass alongside a skull.
It was this flag that was flying from his ship on June 21st, 1720, when he sailed into Trepassey Bay, Newfoundland before dawn, accompanied by a chorus of beating drums and blaring trumpets—a tactic that he used to intimidate his quarry into surrender. It worked. There were 22 merchant ships and 150 fishing vessels in harbour that morning and by the time Black Bart dropped anchor, the captains and crews had fled in panic, leaving the pirates to pillage their way through all of the boats. The pirates finally left the harbour at the end of June, after they’d set fire to all of the other boats in the bay. Pirates can be such jerks.
By February 1722, Bart found himself off the coast of West Africa. His crew had taken down a ship the day before and were hammered after a night of enthusiastic celebrating. Suddenly a ship from the Royal British Navy ambushed them just after breakfast. Although orders were snapped out by Captain Bart to his crew, they struggled to keep in the fight and John Bartholomew Roberts was hit in the throat by grapeshot and killed while he stood on the deck of his ship. In accordance with his wishes, his body, still wearing the diamond encrusted cross meant for the King of Portugal, along with his usual guns and swords, was pushed off the ship into the water and was never seen again.
Needless to say, the pirates lost that final battle. 3 pirates were killed, including Roberts, while 272 were taken prisoner. The British guy who led the capture was given a knighthood. AND he took for himself the huge quantity of gold dust that Captain Roberts had kept in his cabin. Stealing from a dead pirate? Cold.
All in all, the defeat of this pirate and this crew was seen as the end of what is called the “Golden Age of Piracy”. Clearly, piracy continues to be a nasty blight even today, but pirate legends are no longer woven about people who decide to slip away from the rules of civilization, yet insist on an 8pm bedtime.
Happy Talk-Like-A-Pirate Day.
