Slavery and Pirates in Print

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a 1716 Edition of Woodes Rogers' Cruising Voyage 'Round the World in French.  Owned and Copyrighted by Chelsey Knyff and BHistorical

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Much of what can be documented of pirates and slavery is from original records in print.  Newspapers, insurance claims, dairies and more can go into details to help us learn about the past. 

The book pictured was written by a privateer by the name of Woodes Rogers.  He had been granted a letter of mark to go out searching for pirates and either take them into custody or have them sign a King's parden.  The book he wrote was published originally in 1715, with the copy shown being a French edition published in 1717. 

He mentioned multiple records of negros, and slaves found aboard vessels he and his men captured.  “Here were about 40 People aboard, including 11 Negro-Slaves, but little of European Goods, except some Iron and Cloth.” [1] His way of wording this sentence states how he includes the slaves in with the goods, which is telling of the era. 

Rogers was no stranger to slavery.  He states in his book about selling slaves to a town that they landed in. “They…sent back the Husband with Gold to purchase some Goods and two Slaves of us” [2]  Unfortunately, it is unclear where the slaves came from, if he was selling slaves taken from one of the many pirate vessels, or ones he had on board to begin with. 

Beyond that of just Rogers’ book, newspapers are another source of information about slavery and piracy.  Below are a few newspaper clippings about slavery.

From The Evening Post, 1716, Dec 18th.

“Letters from Cork import, that the Berkley Galley, Capt. Saunders from Jamaica, was in her Passage in the Gulph of Florida, attack’d by a Pirate, and after an Engagement for sometime, boarded and plunder’d of Gold and Silver to the Value of 1000 ƚ. Also of several Slaves belonging to the Owners and the Master…” [3]

Multiple cases like this exist across newspapers.  It is very rare that those who were stolen from knew who the pirates were, or that the pirates were one of the many notorious names known today.

From The Weekly Packet, 1718, Aug 2nd.

 “The Coulston and Society, both of this Port, were plunder’d by two Pirates of 30 Guns each, at Sera Leone. They took thirty seven Slaves out of the Coulston, and a considerable Quantity of Gold…” [4]

 

 

[1] Woodes Rogers, A Cruising Voyage Round the World, 2nd ed. (Paul Marret, 1716), 212.

[2] Woodes Rogers, A Cruising Voyage Round the World, 244

[3] E. T. Fox, Pirates in Their Own Words: Eye-Witness Accounts of the 'Golden Age' of Piracy, 1690-1728, vol. 2 (Devon, UK: Fox Historical, 2022), 31.

[4] E. T. Fox, Pirates in Their Own Words: Eye-Witness Accounts of the 'Golden Age' of Piracy, 1690-1728, vol. 2, 71

Slavery and Pirates in Print