Jasper Seagar [a] (died 1721) was a pirate active in the Indian Ocean, best known for sailing with Edward England, Olivier Levasseur, and Richard Taylor.
Some sources claim Edward England was born Edward Seegar, [1] or that Jasper Seagar was England's real name. [2] Other accounts from trial depositions make clear that Seagar was a separate person, [3] and that he took over captaincy of England's ship after England was marooned by his crew: "...the sd Ship the Victory under ye Comand of the sd Richard Taylor and the Cassandra under the Comand of Jaspar Seater who was made Captain of her in the room of ye sd Edward England (who was turned out of Comand) proceeded to the East India...". [4]
In 1719, pirate Thomas Cocklyn in the Victory put into Madagascar alongside Edward England's Fancy and John Galley. [4] Cocklyn died there; England burned the John Galley, transferring Cocklyn's crew to the other two ships, and Richard Taylor was placed as captain aboard the Victory. [4] Seagar commanded the Fancy while England remained in command of the overall fleet. [3]
Off the island of Johanna they engaged the Cassandra under Captain James Macrae (also McCrae or Mackra), [4] who was forced to beach his ship and flee inland but not before heavily damaging the Fancy and killing a number of pirates. [5] The Cassandra had sailed with the Greenwich under Captain Kirby, who reported England commanding the Victory and Seagar commanding the Fancy. [3] Richard Lazenby, a carpenter's mate taken from the Cassandra and pressed into service by the pirates, later reported to the East India Company and named Seagar as captain of the Fancy, with Taylor captaining the Victory. [2] Macrae eventually surrendered to the pirates. England spared him and gave him the crippled Fancy; this enraged Taylor, who had England removed from command and marooned. [5]
The Cassandra was fitted out for piracy and Jasper Seagar was placed in command. [4] Sailing alongside Taylor, Seagar proceeded toward the East Indies and plundered several ships. After unsuccessfully engaging a fleet from Bombay they put in at Cochin to sell their booty. [4] From there they sailed out, repaired the Victory, and in early 1721 captured ships near Mauritius, including Nossa Senhora do Cabo, which carried the Bishop of Goa [7] and the retiring Portuguese Viceroy [4] and netted the pirates immense treasure. In his report on the incident the Viceroy noted Seagar as commanding the Fancy, not the Cassandra (which the pirates may have renamed), and claimed Levasseur was commanding the Victory, with Taylor serving as quartermaster. [8]
Sailing to Île Sainte-Marie near Madagascar, they burned the Victory and fitted out the Cabo for piracy; Seagar died while on Madagascar of unknown causes. [4] Levasseur captained the Cassandra after Seagar's death, eventually exchanging ships with Taylor [4] who sailed it to the Caribbean and traded it to the governor of Porto Bello for amnesty. [2] Oliver Levasseur took the refitted Nossa Senhora do Cabo until his retirement and recapture. [9]
Condent, born in Plymouth in Devon, was an English pirate who was best known for his piracies in the Indian Ocean.
James Plaintain was a pirate active in the Indian Ocean. He is best known for using his pirate wealth to found a short-lived kingdom on Madagascar.
John Taylor, born Richard Taylor, was an English pirate active in the Indian Ocean, best known for participating in two of the richest pirate captures of all time.
Edward England was an Irish pirate. The ships he sailed on included the Pearl and later the Fancy, for which England exchanged the Pearl in 1720. His flag was the classic Jolly Roger — almost exactly as the one "Black Sam" Bellamy used — with a human skull above two crossed bones on a black background. Like Bellamy, England was known for his kindness and compassion as a leader, unlike many other pirates of the time.
Henry Every, also known as Henry Avery, sometimes erroneously given as Jack Avery or John Avery, was an English pirate who operated in the Atlantic and Indian oceans in the mid-1690s. He probably used several aliases throughout his career, including Benjamin Bridgeman, and was known as Long Ben to his crewmen and associates.
The Golden Age of Piracy is a common designation for the period between the 1650s and the 1730s, when maritime piracy was a significant factor in the histories of the North Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
Howell Davis, also known as Hywel and/or Davies, was a Welsh pirate. His piratical career lasted just 11 months, from 11 July 1718 to 19 June 1719, when he was ambushed and killed. His ships were the Cadogan, Buck, Saint James, and Rover. Davis captured 15 known English and French ships.
Olivier Levasseur, was a French pirate, nicknamed La Buse or La Bouche in his early days for the speed and ruthlessness with which he always attacked his enemies as well as his ability to verbally attack his opponents. He is known for allegedly hiding one of the biggest treasures in pirate history, estimated at $1 billion, and leaving a cryptogram behind with clues to its whereabouts.
Jeremiah Cocklyn, better known by the name Thomas Cocklyn, was an English pirate known primarily for his association with Howell Davis, Olivier Levasseur, Richard Taylor, and William Moody.
Christopher Moody was a pirate as a member of Bartholomew Roberts' crew but was never a captain in his own right. He is best known not for his own actions but for a popular Jolly Roger flag mis-attributed to him as well as for later authors confusing him with unrelated pirate William Moody.
The Pirate Round was a sailing route followed by certain, mainly English, pirates, during the late 17th century and early 18th century. The course led from the western Atlantic, parallel to the Cape Route around the southern tip of Africa, stopping at Madagascar, then on to targets such as the coast of Yemen and India. The Pirate Round was briefly used again during the early 1720s. Pirates who followed the route are sometimes referred to as Roundsmen. The Pirate Round was largely co-extensive with the routes of the East India Company ships, of Britain and other nations.
See also 1718 in piracy, 1720 in piracy, 1719 and Timeline of piracy.
See also 1720 in piracy, other events in 1721, 1722 in piracy and Timeline of piracy.
See also 1719 in piracy, 1721 in piracy and Timeline of piracy.
James Macrae was a Scottish seaman and administrator who served as the President of Fort St George from 1725 to 1730. He is known for naval exploits against the pirate Edward England and for reforming the administration of Madras Presidency.
Richard Frowd was a pirate active in the Caribbean. He is best known for sailing with William Moody. He was one of a number of pirates to have both white and black sailors in his crew.
Don Benito was a Spanish pirate and guarda costa privateer active in the Caribbean.
William Fox was a pirate active in the Caribbean and off the African coast. He was indirectly associated with a number of more prominent pirates such as Bartholomew Roberts, Edward England, and Richard Taylor.
The Fort Nossa Senhora da Conceição of Lourenço Marques, nowadays known as the Maputo Fortress is located at Praça 25 de Junho and represents one of the main historical monuments of the city of Maputo, former Lourenço Marques, in Mozambique.