Robert Lane (pirate)

Last updated

Robert Lane
Died
Brazil
OccupationPirate
Known forSailing with Edward England
Piratical career
Base of operationsCaribbean and off the coast of Africa
CommandsQueen Anne's Revenge

Robert Lane (died 1719) was a pirate active in the Caribbean and off the coast of Africa. He is best known for sailing with Edward England.

Contents

History

Edward England had taken the ship Pearl (renamed Royal James) in late 1718, pirating between the Azores and Cape Verde. [1] In spring 1719 he took a number of ships near Gambia. [2] Several he burned or looted and let go, but he kept two. [1] One of them was the 4-gun, 18-man Mercury, commanded by Captain Maggot out of London, which he captured on 29 May. [3] A few of the Mercury's crew joined England's pirates. England crewed and refitted the Mercury and renamed it Queen Anne's Revenge, appointing Robert Lane as captain. [3]

Lane sailed alongside Robert Sample, who captained the other vessel England had refitted. They sailed to the Caribbean, looting several ships before careening their vessels. [2] That November they sailed to Brazil "and did a great deal of mischief", plundering Portuguese ships. [2] They were approached by a Portuguese man-of-war ("a very unwelcome guest to them") who chased the two pirates. [2] Sample was forced to beach his ship and was captured. Lane escaped the man-of-war, but he and his crew perished when the Queen Anne's Revenge was lost ashore. [2]

Robert Lane's ship Queen Anne’s Revenge should not be confused with Blackbeard’s ship Queen Anne's Revenge , which had been grounded and wrecked at Topsail Inlet in spring 1718. [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blackbeard</span> English pirate (1680–1718)

Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, was an English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's North American colonies. Little is known about his early life, but he may have been a sailor on privateer ships during Queen Anne's War before he settled on the Bahamian island of New Providence, a base for Captain Benjamin Hornigold, whose crew Teach joined around 1716. Hornigold placed him in command of a sloop that he had captured, and the two engaged in numerous acts of piracy. Their numbers were boosted by the addition to their fleet of two more ships, one of which was commanded by Stede Bonnet, but Hornigold retired from piracy toward the end of 1717, taking two vessels with him.

Benjamin Hornigold (1680–1719) was an English pirate who operated during the tail end of the Golden Age of Piracy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stede Bonnet</span> Barbadian pirate (1688–1718)

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.

<i>Queen Annes Revenge</i> Pirate Blackbeards ship

Queen Anne's Revenge was an early-18th-century ship, most famously used as a flagship by Edward Teach, better known by his nickname Blackbeard. The date and place of the ship's construction are uncertain, and there is no record of its actions prior to 1710 when it was operating as a French privateer under the name La Concorde. Surviving features of the ship's construction strongly suggest it was built by French shipwrights, based on differences in fastening patterns in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. After several years of service by French sailors, she was captured by Blackbeard in 1717. Blackbeard used the ship for less than a year, but captured numerous prizes using her as his flagship.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward England</span> Irish pirate (c. 1685 – 1721)

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.

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.

Israel Hands, also known as Basilica Hands, was an 18th-century pirate best known for being second in command to Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard. His name serves as the basis for the name of the villainous sidekick in Robert Louis Stevenson's 1883 novel Treasure Island.

Caesar, later known as “Black Caesar”, was a West African pirate who operated during the Golden Age of Piracy. He served aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge of Edward Teach (Blackbeard) and was one of the surviving members of that crew following Blackbeard’s death at the hands of Lieutenant Robert Maynard in 1718. Myths surrounding his life - that he was African royalty and terrorized the Florida Keys for years before joining Blackbeard - have been intermixed with legends and fictional accounts as well as with other pirates.

True Caribbean Pirates is a documentary which aired on The History Channel in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Cape Fear River (1718)</span> 1718 naval battle in the Cape Fear River

The Battle of Cape Fear River, also known as the Battle of the Sandbars, was fought in September 1718 between two sloops from the Province of South Carolina led by William Rhett and a group of pirate ships under the command of Stede Bonnet. Rhett's sloops defeated the pirates in the Cape Fear River estuary which led to Bonnet's eventual execution by hanging in Charleston, South Carolina.

Edward Teach, better known as Blackbeard, was a notorious English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of the American colonies during the early 18th century. He captained the Queen Anne's Revenge, a 200-ton frigate originally named the Concord, and died in a fierce battle with troops from Virginia on November 22, 1718, at Ocracoke Island.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piracy in the Atlantic World</span>

The Atlantic World refers to the period between European colonisation of the Americas (1492-) and the early nineteenth century. Piracy became prevalent in this era because of the difficulty of policing this vast area, the limited state control over many parts of the coast and the competition between different European powers. The best known pirates of this era are the Golden Age pirates (c.1650-1730) who roamed the seas off the coast of North America, Africa and the Caribbean.

David Herriot was a ship’s master and pirate best known for serving under Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flying Gang</span> Group of pirates in 18th century

The Flying Gang was an 18th-century group of pirates who established themselves in Nassau, New Providence in the Bahamas after the destruction of Port Royal in Jamaica. The gang consisted of the most notorious and cunning pirates of the time, and they terrorized and pillaged the Caribbean until the Royal Navy and infighting brought them to justice. They achieved great fame and wealth by raiding salvagers attempting to recover gold from the sunken Spanish treasure fleet. They established their own codes and governed themselves independent from any of the colonial powers of the time. Nassau was deemed the Republic of Pirates as it attracted many former privateers looking for work to its shores. The Governor of Bermuda stated that there were over 1,000 pirates in Nassau at that time and that they outnumbered the mere hundred inhabitants in the town.

William Moody was a London-born pirate active in the Caribbean and off the coast of Africa. He is best known for his association with Olivier Levasseur and Thomas Cocklyn, crewmembers who succeeded him as captains in their own right.

Robert Sample was a pirate active off the coast of Africa and in the Caribbean. He is best known for sailing with Edward England.

Lieutenant Richards was a pirate active in the Caribbean and off the Carolinas. He is best known for sailing alongside Blackbeard.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1717–1718 Acts of Grace</span> Proclamations promising pardons for acts of piracy

The Proclamation for Suppressing of Pirates was a royal proclamation issued by George I of Great Britain on 5 September 1717. It promised a pardon for acts of piracy committed before the following 5 January to those pirates who surrendered themselves to the correct authority before a deadline. Originally, the surrender had to occur on or before 5 September 1718; this was later extended by a second proclamation to 1 July 1719.

References

  1. 1 2 Grey, Charles (1933). Pirates of the eastern seas (1618-1723): a lurid page of history. London: S. Low, Marston & co., ltd. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Johnson, Captain Charles (1724). A General History of the Pyrates. London: T. Warner. Retrieved 18 June 2017.
  3. 1 2 Seitz, Don Carlos (1925). Under the Black Flag: Exploits of the Most Notorious Pirates. New York: Dial Press. p. 167. ISBN   9780486421315.
  4. "Blackbeard Museum in North Carolina | Queen Anne's Revenge Project". www.qaronline.org. Retrieved 12 July 2017.