Thomas Sutton (pirate)

Last updated

Thomas Sutton (1699-1722) was a pirate from Berwick, Scotland, active off the coast of Africa. [1] He was best known for sailing alongside Bartholomew Roberts.

Contents

History

General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates - Captain Bartholomew Roberts with two Ships, Royal Fortune and Ranger General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates - Captain Bartholomew Roberts with two Ships.jpg
General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates - Captain Bartholomew Roberts with two Ships, Royal Fortune and Ranger

Thomas Sutton had been a gunner aboard Howell Davis' 32-gun Royal Rover as they cruised off the Gold Coast taking a number of prizes in 1719. Davis tried tricking the governor of Principe into boarding his ship; the governor saw through his deception, turned the tables, and had his soldiers ambush and kill Davis as he came ashore. The Rover's crew elected former prisoner Bartholomew Roberts as their new captain. Sutton continued sailing with Roberts, even as Thomas Anstis and Walter Kennedy abandoned Roberts by stealing the prize ships he had given them to command.

Roberts took a large number of prize ships and amassed a huge crew during his cruises. In 1721 near the coast of Guinea two French ships pursued Roberts but were themselves captured. Roberts renamed one Little Ranger and gave command of it to James Skyrme to use as a storeship; the other, Comte de Toulouse, he renamed Ranger and selected Thomas Sutton as captain. [2]

The fleet captured a number of other vessels near Sierra Leone and Liberia, stopping in December 1721 to careen on Annobón. There Roberts gave command of the Ranger to James Skyrme. In February 1722 Roberts's Royal Fortune and its two escorts were intercepted by the warship HMS Swallow under Captain Chaloner Ogle. The ensuing battle was fierce; Skyrme was maimed and Roberts was killed, and all three ships were captured.

Imprisoned, Sutton was chained in the hold next to a man who prayed constantly. When the man said he hoped to achieve Heaven, Sutton responded:

"Heaven, you Fool, did you ever hear of any Pyrates going thither? Give me Hell, it's a merrier Place; I'll give Roberts a Salute of 13 Guns at Entrance." [3]

Ogle took the prisoners to Cape Coast Castle in Ghana, where most were tried and convicted. Some were sentenced to labor in the mines or simply hanged. Sutton had been among a group of Roberts' officers known as the "House of Lords" - sailors who had stayed with Roberts since his early days - and had been called "Lord Sutton". [4] In the end he was among 18 pirates hung "in chains", gibbeted:

"YOU Dav. Simpson, William Magnes, R. Hardy, Tho. Sutton, Christopher Moody, and Val. Ashplant.
Ye, and each of you, are adjudged and sentenced, to be carried back to the Place from whence ye came, from thence to the Place of Execution, without the Gates of this Castle, and there within the Flood-Marks, to be hanged by the Neck till ye are dead.
After this, ye, and each of you shall be taken down, and your Bodies hanged in Chains." [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bartholomew Roberts</span> Welsh pirate (1682–1722)

Bartholomew Roberts, born John Roberts, was a Welsh pirate and the most successful pirate of the Golden Age of Piracy, taking over 400 prizes in his career. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calico Jack</span> English pirate

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".

John Taylor was a pirate active in the Indian Ocean, best known for participating in two of the richest pirate captures of all time.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Low</span> English pirate (1690–1724)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Anstis</span>

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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Vane</span> English pirate

Charles Vane was an English pirate who operated in the Bahamas during the end of the Golden Age of Piracy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howell Davis</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Kennedy (pirate)</span> English pirate

Walter Kennedy was an English pirate who served as a crew member under Howell Davis and Bartholomew Roberts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christopher Moody</span>

Christopher Moody (1694–1722) 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.

John Fenn was an early 18th-century English pirate who sailed with Captain Bartholomew Roberts and later had a brief partnership with Thomas Anstis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chaloner Ogle</span> 18th-century British Royal Navy officer and politician

Admiral of the Fleet Sir Chaloner Ogle KB was a Royal Navy officer and politician. After serving as a junior officer during the Nine Years' War, a ship he was commanding was captured by three French ships off Ostend in July 1706 in an action during the War of the Spanish Succession.

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.

See also 1721 in piracy, 1723 in piracy and Timeline of piracy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Phillips (pirate)</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Cape Lopez</span> 1722 defeat of the pirate Bartholomew Roberts

The Battle of Cape Lopez was fought in early 1722 during the Golden Age of Piracy. A Royal Navy man-of-war under Captain Chaloner Ogle defeated the pirate ship of Bartholomew Roberts off the coast of Gabon, West Africa.

James Skyrme was a Welsh pirate best known for Captaining two of Bartholomew Roberts’ prize ships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Leadstone</span> 18th century pirate and slaver

John Leadstone was a pirate and slaver active off the west coast of Africa. Often called “Captain Crackers” or “Old Captain Cracker,” he is best known for his actions against the English Royal African Company and for his brief involvement with Bartholomew Roberts.

References

  1. ↑ Sanders, Richard (2007). If a Pirate I Must Be...: The True Story of Black Bart, King of the Caribbean Pirates. New York: Skyhorse Publishing Inc. ISBN   9781602390195 . Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  2. ↑ Humanity, History of. "Infamous Pirates | Bartholomew Roberts". www.goldenageofpiracy.org. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  3. ↑ "Quotations From Real Pirates". Owlcation. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  4. ↑ Conlin, Dan (2009). Pirates of the Atlantic: Robbery, Murder and Mayhem Off the Canadian East Coast. Halifax: Formac Publishing Company Limited. p. 32. ISBN   9780887807411 . Retrieved 7 June 2017.
  5. ↑ Johnson, Captain Charles (1724). The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Pyrates, by Daniel Defoe. London. Retrieved 7 June 2017.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.