Francis Farrington Spriggs | |
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Francis Spriggs (died 1725?) was a British pirate who, associated with George Lowther and Edward Low, was active in the Caribbean and the Bay of Honduras during the early 1720s.
Francis Farrington Spriggs | |
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Francis Spriggs (died 1725?) was a British pirate who, associated with George Lowther and Edward Low, was active in the Caribbean and the Bay of Honduras during the early 1720s.
Although much of his early life is unknown, Francis Spriggs was first recorded serving as a quartermaster for Captain Edward Low [1] (possibly as part of the original crew members who left the service of Captain George Lowther). However, after being given command of the recently captured the 12-gun British man of war Squirel (renamed Delight shortly thereafter), he and Low apparently had a falling out over the disciplining of one of the crew around Christmas 1724, resulting in Spriggs and Lowther deserting Low in the night.
Fisherman Philip Ashton had been forced into service by Low and his new quartermaster John Russell in June 1723 but escaped the following year when Low's flotilla stopped near Roatan. In 1724 he and a few other castaways spotted an incoming vessel and hoped for rescue. When they realized the sailors were Spriggs' pirates (and afraid Spriggs might recognize him), Ashton hid, preferring to take his chances on Roatan rather than return to piracy. [2]
After leaving Low, Spriggs and the crew began flying a black flag similar to Captain Low's and set sail for the West Indies. By January 28, 1725, he had looted a Rhode Island slaver captained by Richard Duffie. [3] Capturing a Portuguese bark en route, they looted the ship's stores while the crew were put through "the sweats" or a "sweat", a form of torture in which a ring of candles was lit in a circle around the mainmast and each crewman was made to enter the circle and run around the mast while the pirates poked and jabbed at them with pen knives, forks and other weapons in a sort of gauntlet. After they had finished, the crew were put back on their ship and the pirates set fire to it.
Upon their arrival in the West Indies, Spriggs and his crew captured a sloop near St. Lucia, a Martinique merchantman, and a vessel with a cargo of logwood, which they tossed into the sea after carrying away as much as they could take. In early 1724, while in New England waters, Spriggs and Delight received word of the death of King George I and discussed the possibility of gaining a royal pardon within the year after sailing from Rhode Island on March 27, 1724.
By early-April, Spriggs anchored off Roatan near the Bay of Honduras, where he ordered many of the prisoners captured during the voyages to be put ashore. Many of these prisoners displayed wounds inflicted by the pirates during their captivity and were subject to forms of torture such as being forced to eat plates of candle wax.
Refitting their ship on a nearby island west of Roatan, Spriggs and Delight sailed for Saint Kitts with the intentions of encountering a Captain Moor of Eagle, a sloop that had earlier attacked George Lowther near Blanco.
However, they were soon met by a French man of war and forced to flee. After their escape, they captured a schooner near Bermuda and then, as they neared Saint Kitts, they captured a sloop on July 4, 1724. During this latest capture, the crew were tortured by Spriggs and his crew by hoisting the prisoners as high as the main or top sails and dropping them against the deck.
Shortly after this, a ship out of Rhode Island was captured; the pirates were riding several of the horses it had been carrying on the deck (after several accidents, however, the captives were blamed for not bringing along boots and spurs).
Here Spriggs rejoined forces with Captain Shipton, who had been given command of Low's ship Merry Christmas after Low's crew mutinied. After the capture of a sloop off Port Royal, Spriggs was forced to retreat from two British warships, HMS Diamond and HMS Spence. After their most recent escape, Spriggs captured another sloop and, on his return to the Bay of Honduras, took yet another ten or twelve English vessels before being chased off by a British man of war.
Briefly staying in South Carolina, Spriggs again sailed to the Bay of Honduras where he captured sixteen more vessels before fleeing from the same British warship he had previously encountered. He again managed to avoid capture, although his fleet broke up when he became separated from Shipton. It may have been around this time that Spriggs' quartermaster Philip Lyne took the prize ship Sea Nymph and left Spriggs to sail for Newfoundland. [4] Little is known of his later career; according to newspaper accounts, he was still active in the region and, as of April 1725, had captured several more ships.
One newspaper account does suggest Spriggs was still active as late as 1726 when he was marooned on an island with Shipton and another famous pirate, Edward Low. The report comes from the Post-Boy dated June 25, 1726. The only known original of the Post-Boy newspaper still in existence is owned by Eric Bjotvedt and states, in a front-page report, that a sloop from the Bay of Honduras was taken by a Spanish vessel, but that later the Spaniards were captured and "...put on board the " Diamond Man of War, who had taken a Pyrate, commanded by one Cooper, and had a great many Prisoners on board, and was bound to Jamaica with them ... [and] that Lowe and Spriggs were both maroon'd, and were got among the Musketoo Indians." According to another source, Spriggs and Shipton were still being pursued by HMS Diamond and Spence; Spriggs' men were captured alongside a sleeping Shipton, while both Spriggs and Low himself escaped again, [5] and Cooper blew up his ship with gunpowder rather than be captured. [6]
Bartholomew Roberts, born John Roberts, was a Welsh pirate who was, measured by vessels captured, the most successful pirate of the Golden Age of Piracy. During his piratical career, he took over 400 prize ships. Roberts raided ships off the Americas and the West African coast between 1719 and 1722; he is also noted for creating his own pirate code, and adopting an early variant of the Skull and Crossbones flag.
John Rackham, commonly known as Calico Jack, was an English pirate captain operating in the Bahamas and in Cuba during the early 18th century. His nickname was derived from the calico clothing that he wore, while Jack is a nickname for "John".
Benjamin Hornigold (1680–1719) was an English pirate who operated during the tail end of the Golden Age of Piracy.
Stede Bonnet was a Barbadian-born pirate and military officer, known as the Gentleman Pirate for the reason that he was a moderately wealthy landowner before turning to a life of crime. Bonnet was born into a wealthy English family on the island of Barbados, and inherited the family estate after his father's death in 1694. Despite his lack of sailing experience, Bonnet decided he should turn to piracy in the spring of 1717. He bought a sailing vessel, the Revenge, and travelled with his paid crew along the Eastern Seaboard of what is now the United States, capturing other vessels and burning other Barbadian ships.
Philip Ashton (1702—1746) was a castaway on then-uninhabited Roatán island in the Gulf of Honduras for 16 months in 1723/1724. His memoirs about his solitary stay were published in book form in Boston in 1725. While some people believed it was a novel in the style of Robinson Crusoe (1719), Ashton's book was the account of a genuine experience. He was born in Marblehead, Massachusetts in 1702 and married twice.
Edward "Ned" Low was a notorious pirate of English origin during the latter days of the Golden Age of Piracy, in the early 18th century. Low was born into poverty in Westminster, London, and was a thief from an early age. He moved to Boston, Massachusetts, as a young man. His wife died in childbirth in late 1719. Two years later, he became a pirate, operating off the coasts of New England and the Azores, and in the Caribbean.
George Lowther was an English pirate who, although little is known of his life, was reportedly active in the Caribbean and Atlantic during the early 18th century. His first mate was Edward Low.
Thomas Anstis was an early 18th-century pirate, who served under Captain Howell Davis and Captain Bartholomew Roberts, before setting up on his own account, raiding shipping on the eastern coast of the American colonies and in the Caribbean during what is often referred to as the "Golden Age of Piracy".
See also 1717 in piracy, 1719 in piracy, and Timeline of piracy.
See also 1718 in piracy, 1720 in piracy, 1719 and Timeline of piracy.
Charles Harris (1698-1723) was an English pirate active in the 1720s. He is best known for his association with George Lowther and Edward Low.
Michiel Andrieszoon was a Dutch buccaneer who served as lieutenant to Captain Laurens de Graaf. He commanded the le Tigre, with a 300-man crew and between 30 and 36 guns. He is occasionally referred to in English as Michel or Mitchell, and is often erroneously given the nickname "Bréha Michiel".
John Phillips was an English pirate captain. He started his piratical career in 1721 under Thomas Anstis, and stole his own pirate vessel in 1723. He died in a surprise attack by his own prisoners. He is noted for the articles of his ship, the Revenge, one of only a few complete sets of pirate articles to survive from the so-called Golden Age of Piracy.
The capture of the sloop Ranger was a naval battle which occurred on June 10, 1723 near Block Island in the Atlantic Ocean. Two pirate ships under the command of Englishmen Edward Low and Charles Harris attacked HMS Greyhound, a post ship of the British Royal Navy which they mistook for a civilian whaler. The resulting engagement lasted for several hours and ended with Harris' sloop Ranger being captured by Greyhound while Low's schooner Fancy escaped. All surviving crew of Ranger were captured and brought to Newport, Rhode Island, where they were placed on trial, sentenced to death and executed.
The Battle of Cape Lopez was fought in early 1722 during the Golden Age of Piracy. A Royal Navy ship of the line under the command of Captain Chaloner Ogle defeated the pirate ship of Bartholomew Roberts off the coast of Gabon, West Africa.
Richard Shipton was a pirate active in the Caribbean, best known for sailing alongside Edward Low and Francis Spriggs. In 1723 Shipton was elected captain of Merry Christmas, and he subsequently captained ships such as Royal Fortune, York, and John and Mary. Forced to beach his vessel on western Cuba by pirate hunters, in early 1726, he was found ashore in his bed and presumed to have died shortly afterwards.
Philip Lyne was a pirate known for his cruelty and his association with Francis Spriggs.
Joseph Cooper was a pirate active in the Caribbean and the American east coast. He was best known for sailing alongside Francis Spriggs, and for the manner of his death.
William Lewis was a pirate supposedly active in the Caribbean, off the American east coast, and off the west coast of Africa in the 18th century. He was known for sparing his victims and for being killed after announcing he had made a pact with the Devil. He is likely the fictional creation of "Captain Charles Johnson" who presented his story among those of real historical pirates.
John Russell was a pirate active from Nova Scotia to the Caribbean to the African coast. He is best known for his association with Edward Low and Francis Spriggs, and for his involvement with two well-known and well-documented maroonings.
