Murderous 1600s pirate hid out in US colonies with impunity | AP News
Category: News & Politics
Via: perrie-halpern • 3 years ago • 97 commentsBy: WILLIAM J. KOLE (AP NEWS)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
WARWICK, R.I. (AP) — One tarnished silver coin at a time, the ground is yielding new evidence that in the late 1600s, one of the world's most ruthless pirates wandered the American colonies with impunity.
Newly surfaced documents also strengthen the case that English buccaneer Henry Every — the target of the first worldwide manhunt — hid out in New England before sailing for Ireland and vanishing into the wind.
"At this point, the amount of evidence is overwhelming and indisputable," historian and metal detectorist Jim Bailey, who's devoted years to solving the mystery, told The Associated Press. "Every was undoubtedly on the run in the colonies."
In 2014, after unearthing an unusual coin engraved with an Arabic inscription at a pick-your-own-fruit orchard in Middletown, Rhode Island, Bailey began retracing Every's steps.
Research confirmed that the exotic coin was minted in 1693 in Yemen. Bailey then discovered that it was consistent with millions of dollars' worth of coins and other valuables seized by Every and his men in their brazen Sept. 7, 1695, sacking of the Ganj-i-Sawai, an armed royal vessel owned by Indian emperor Aurangzeb.
Historical accounts say Every's band tortured and killed passengers aboard the Indian ship and raped many of the women before escaping to the Bahamas, a haven for pirates. But word quickly spread of their crimes, and English King William III — under enormous pressure from a scandalized India and the influential East India Company trading giant — put a large bounty on their heads.
Detectorists and archaeologists have since located 26 similar coins stretching from Maine to the Carolinas. All but three coins turned up in New England, and none can be dated later than when the Indian ship was captured.
"When I first heard about it, I thought, 'Wait a minute, this can't be true,'" said Steve Album, a rare coin specialist based in Santa Rosa, California, who helped identify all of the silver Arabic coins found in New England.
"But these coins have been found legitimately and in a few instances archaeologically, and every single one predates the sacking of the ship," said Album, who has lived in Iran and has traveled widely in the Middle East.
Detectorists have also unearthed a gold nugget weighing 3 grams (a tenth of an ounce) — slightly heavier than a U.S. penny — from a potato field perched on a hilltop in seaside Little Compton, Rhode Island.
There's no documented evidence that naturally occurring gold has ever been found in the state. Bailey and other experts believe that the nugget likely originated somewhere along Africa's Gold Coast, a center for the slave trade in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Adding to the intrigue, two silver Arabic coins were recovered not far from the nugget, and Every is known to have seized a considerable amount of gold while sailing off the coast of West Africa.
The latest evidence putting Every on American soil isn't just metallic — it includes paper and pixels.
Bailey had already found records showing that the Sea Flower, a ship used by Every and his men after they ditched the vessel they'd used in their murderous raid, arrived in 1696 in Newport, Rhode Island. He's since surfaced documents that show that the pirate captain was accompanied by three Rhode Islanders he took aboard from another pirate vessel when he fled India. All three came ashore with Every in the Bahamas on March 30, 1696, and Bailey said that they essentially served as getaway drivers in exchange for plunder.
Captured pirates William Phillips and Edward Savill testified on Aug. 27, 1696, that one of two ships that left the Bahamas went to Virginia and New England before reaching Ireland. Critically, Bailey said, the records clarify a muddy timeline that long has been misinterpreted by historians to suggest Every lingered two months on the Caribbean island — something he'd never have done as a fugitive.
"There's no way he stayed in the Bahamas to sit on the beach and work on his tan while waiting to be captured," Bailey said. "Indeed, Every was in New England for over a month weighing his options for starting his life anew in the colonies or going back home to England."
Every's exploits have inspired Steven Johnson's book "Enemy of All Mankind," and the final installment of PlayStation's popular "Uncharted" video game franchise. Earlier this year, Sony Pictures released a movie adaptation starring Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg and Antonio Banderas.
Bailey's next challenge: figuring out what happened to Every after the trail ran cold following his arrival in Ireland on June 20, 1696. It's the mystery's elusive final chapter — one he hopes to detail in a forthcoming book about the cold case.
"We're chasing down the lost history behind one of the greatest crimes of the 17th century," he said.
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Every what?
Henry Every
Oh, shows how little I know about Harry Potter, or is it Pirates of the Caribbean?
Never watched the pirate movies so I can't help ya there.
Arrrrrrr you sure? Look me in the aye ...
“I don’t want to be a pirate…”
I can't hear you; you're a low talker. Just wear the damn shirt.
“Just wear the damn shirt.”
It’s all about the second button.
I'll stick with rum,
Cause I ain't dumb.
Britney's got whisky,
Butt she's bloody risky.
I say that I get a big win with gin.
Others say gin can damage your short-term memory.
If that's the case, just imagine what gin can do.
I don't like gin,
Even though it rhymes with sin.
You should stick with wry,
Cause your humor is dry.
Last night I had one too many and couldn't tell the difference between a wry allusion and a rye illusion, it was so confusion.
Maybe drinking wry,
Caused a sty,
In your eye.
I can still see
a wise guy.
People drink rye,
I ask myself why
blah blah blah
Don’t get sperm in your eye
Is that good?
There's a good reason for drinking the stuff, but I can't remember what it is.
Henry Avery changed the world. /s
Prior to his reign of terror, there were most certainly pirates.
They always identified themselves by either flying a solid red or solid black flag.
A flag you did not want found on your ship if you were boarded by the English.
Every/Avery wanted to be recognized.
He invented a new flag.
He started a pirate fashion craze of signature pirate flags which
collectively became known as The Jolly Roger.
James Avery charmed the world.
This is their winter flag.
Of course there were no US colonies in 1600's because there was no US in the 1600's
The Pilgrims migrated to the American Colony of Plymouth in 1620. The first American colony, Jamestown, was founded in 1607...
Actually, that was a British Colony.
That was also a British Colony.
From roughly 1700 onwards Europeans living in the colonies referred to the collective states as America.
They may have referred to themselves as British colonies up to about 1753 by which point they were identifying themselves by the state they hailed from, i.e., Virginia, New York etc.
The French & Indian War hastened the development of American identity that left the British Crown in great debt which started the taxes which brought about the Revolution.
By the end of the Revolution, those who stayed became Americans, the rest fled north to what would one day become Canada.
I guess over time there were many American colonies, some were Spanish, others were French but the survivors were predominantly British.
The British referred to America, Australia, New Zealand and Ruperts Land as
"the colonies" and still do.
Thanks, the British colonies in North America sent delegates in late 1774 to form a Continental Congress for the coordination of their resistance to Britain.
Open warfare began on April 19, 1775. The Continental Congress declared the British King a tyrant and they declared to be free and independent on July 4, 1776.
After protracted combat, a combined American and French force captured the British army in the fall of 1781 and the war ended. This makes the beginning of the United States of America.
Evening split..we usually aren't referred to as the Colonies anymore as that ended in 1901. It's rather an antiquated term now.
We are usually referred to as the Commonwealth same as with the Kiwis, Canadians etc...
Or in our case and even better!!!....
"Those bloody colonials and convicts from Australia"....and we love it..😁🦘
My son's girlfriend, who works for a US Rep, says that many diplomats refer to Australia as "the Texas of the Commonwealth".
Curious if you've ever heard that. It's new to me.
Morning Jack...nope a new one on me...
I was hoping I wasn't the only one.
Are you having a conversation with yourself or an imaginary friend?
Of course no one said anything about US colonies in the article or in the discussion.
But the continent was named America in 1507 so technically they were on American soil
which was mentioned in the article.
I guess you forgot or ignored the title of the article which says:
Of course, they are in the US now. I guess you should take it up William J Kole and try to correct him.
British colonies would have been a misnomer since they had more than 100 colonies worldwide.
American colonies would be equally inaccurate as they had colonies across Ruperts Land, Central America and South America as well as the 13 survivors in what became the USA. The Americas stretch from the Artic to the Antarctic.
Perhaps Mr. Kole could have specified them as the "former 13 North American colonies
now included in the USA", or maybe he just used the two letters that were direct and to
the point if not correct to your liking.
The fact remains that there were no US colonies in the 1600's since there was no US at that time. The US did not come into existence until the 18th century(1700's) and didn't have anything like colonies until the 19th century((1800,s).
Like I said, write a letter to the author or the editor at the AP.
They also erroneously believe that is when African slaves came to the New World, thank you 1619 Project.
They who? Some people? Oh the horrors. How about the descendants of those slaves?
1619's point was that was it was the first deliverance of slaves to a successful North American colony which thrived as did slavery.
The failures in 1526 and acknowledgement of earlier enslavement of Native Americans throughout the Americas wasn't denied.
It just had little to do with the "first success" of black slavery in North America and its continued influence on today's society as seen through the eyes of a black female journalist.
You're so smart. Very turnie-onie.
How about them?
How are you defining success?
I think that the first documented African slave arrival in the Americas was in 1520.
Why is 1619 relevant to this seed? This is about pirates, booty, and flying the Jolly Roger.
Yeah! I too thought it was about pilates, tight booty and Jolly Ranchers.
That depends on which account of Allyon's you read. His expeditions started in 1520 or 1521 and included black slaves.
In 1526 some 700 people eventually settled near the confluence of the Santee and Cape Fear Rivers.
Some say there was a slave uprising, others a mutiny and others say disease wiped out the SC colony rather quickly. Their supply ship sank in the Cape Fear River as they moved inland crippling the entire endeavor.
The slaves supposedly escaped to the interior in 1526 when the 150 survivors moved down the coast to Georgia before returning to Spain.
It was about exercise, tight butts and candy?
Kinda like the ButtHeads Headquarters and Friendship Center on old NV.
“I think that the first documented African slave arrival in the Americas was in 1520.”
Making us a nation condoning slavery, repeat slavery…until the Emancipation Proclamation and a Civil War some three hundred, repeat some three hundred years later.
Pick which ever date fits the preferred narrative, but there is no denying our history. And sadly, a history that has yet to be reconciled and to this day, 500 years later by some counts, continues to haunt us.
Along with Portugal, Britain, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Denmark, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Columbia, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Bolivia, etc and of course the Africans that sold the slaves.
That's probably one of the most elaborate examples of whataboutism as I've ever seen.
Doesn't haunt me. I had nothing to do with it nor did any of my family. Many in my family were virtual slaves under the Russians and the Germans and most of my family that remained in Europe were killed by the Germans in WW two. When do they send me reparations
The Romans held slaves from all over their empire. I don't see the Italians handing out any checks.
If you feel so bad about how some people were treated in this country hundreds of years ago, by all means, give them any or all of your personal funds to the if it will help your guilt.
“… if it will help your guilt.”
The only guilt we should all share is in diminishing the horrors of slavery and how those horrors still reverberate to this day.
Are you responsible? Am I responsible?…of course not.
Any guilt should fall to anyone of us who denies our history, anyone one of us who minimizes the ramifications of that denial, and anyone of us who refuses to acknowledge we can and must do much more…at the very least in addressing the myriad issues left too long ignored.
Great comment. Really great comment. You house a beautiful soul.
I accept it as intended with great appreciation…in acknowledgement of the depth of character from which it comes.
Peace or piece, and hopefully both coming your way this holiday season…whichever and whatever may give you the most pleasure…
My history has nothing to do with slavery. It is too bad that some people were forced into it but that was over 150years ago it is time to get over it.
I'll tell you what. I will agree to give a payment to anyone that can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were born in this country as a legally owned slave. All the others whining and crying about slavery can just shut the "F" up
It is BS.
Of course it is to you, arkie. Of course it is.
We haven't interacted in a while, arkie. Hope you're doing well and looking forward to having a very Merry Christmas.
There are white people, let's call them MAGA for convenience sake, who want to extoll the good things about Americas past (founding fathers, military victories, church going) but want to disregard and even deny the bad things about Americas past. Most Americans are stunningly ignorant about the real history of this country.
Since you apparently don't know, Germany paid tens of billions of dollars in reparations after World War 2.
Shhhh. Don't confuse arkie with facts.
Really? Germany paid billions in cash to distant descendants of those who actually suffered from Nazi crimes?
Prove it. Or are you just making a silly apples to garbage comparison?
Well I never got compensated for my family members that were killed by them. I want my share.
That right: People who actually were the victims of a government program of genocide were compensated by roughly the same generation of Germans.
For a true comparison, Germany would have to wait another 80 years or so to start.
Cite
In an article dated October 2021, it seems additional German funds were set aside for additional reparations.
Cite
Yes, Germany paid reparations to a class of actual victims.
Germany did not wait 160 years to pay their victims’ great great great children for the suffering their ancestors actually endured.
Those bastards! Send them a reminder postcard.
This is G's comment:
So have Germans paid tens of billions of dollars in reparations or not? Maybe they would have had to wait for 160 years if they had not paid to the actual victims. Reparations that are being inquired about now is due to any relative, ancestral or otherwise, not receiving any reparation whatsoever.
So, yes. German has paid tens of billions of dollars of reparations. Just because you changed the goal post from the original content doesn't mean G was incorrect. His comment as intended is absolutely, unequivocably correct.
G's comment was responding to arkpdx's "demand" for reparations for the damages Germans caused to others in his family, not him. So Germany paying reparations to some of the people they hurt does not address his point.
No one said Germany never paid any reparations to anyone.
He's pointing out the Germans, Italians etc have not paid reparations to the descendants generations after hurting their ancestors.
So have Germans paid tens of billions of dollars in reparations or not?
Of course.
if they had not paid to the actual victims.
Exactly. They paid reparations to some of their actual victims. That's not nearly the same thing as waiting four or five generations and giving cash to people based on others' suffering.
Just because you changed the goal post from the original content
The only people who moved the goalpost were you and G2. The whole discussion is about paying reparations to people who were never personally injured, not actual victims.
Why would that matter?
Again, this whole discussion is about paying reparations to people who never suffered themselves on behalf of their distant ancestors. That Germany paid reparations to some of the people they actually injured is not in dispute nor is it relevant to the discussion about paying people reparations for what their distant ancestors went through.
Sean. If it's about distant relatives, how can that be proven? That was one of your comments. Prove it, you said. How can something that has not yet happened be proven? We would have to wait 160 to prove that. I'm so damn tickled right now. Not a hard guffaw, but chuckling best describes it.
G's comment is true. Germany has paid tens of billions of dollars in reparations.
Good question. I agree, on top of everything else, it's a logistical nightmare to pay people for something that was done to their ancestors. What if the had ancestors on both sides? Do they just pay themselves repartations?
. Prove it, you said
I did. He didn't. That's not what your link says either. Germany is not paying reparations to distant descendants of WWII victims.
We would have to wait 160 to prove that
Well, no. If Germany decided to pay reparations to the GGGrandchildren of WWII victims today, you would have a point.
G's comment is true
Again, no one is claiming Germany did not pay any reparations. Germany is not, however, paying reparations to distant descendants of WWII victims. Nor are they paying reparations to the descendants of victims of the 30 years war. You've fallen for a simplistic debating trick where someone makes a statement that while true in of itself, doesn't actually address the issue at hand.
It cannot be proven. If you would have left off the "prove it", we wouldn't be having this conversation. Some people from WWII are still with us. If you would have used logic instead of knee-jerking a reaction and phrased what you meant in a more cohesive manner, it wouldn't be as ridiculous an argument as it appeared.
All that said, G's comment is correct.
Have a great day!
Sean. Stop. Silly and not worthy of you. You asked for proof of something that cannot yet be proven. It's not 160 years in the future. We'll just have to agree that we vastly disagree.
All that said, G's comment is correct. Tens of billions of dollars in reparations have been made to the victims of Nazi transgressions.
There are yet to be distant descendants. Cannot be proven until there are. If you filed this argument in court, it would be dismissed with prejudice.
Your comment is completely irrelevant, nonsensical and utterly inane. You seem to be unable to comprehend both the issue presented by Comment 7 and my response.
Try trolling someone else.
Of course it can. Show me the Germans paying reparations to distant family members of actual WWII victims and it would be proven.
Some people from WWII are still with us.
Only a tiny percentage. The overwhelming majority of victims are dead, and have been for a long time.
ll that said, G's comment is correct.
Lol. Its correct like claiming the earth orbits the sun. It's fine and dandy, but not really relevant when the topic is Saturn.
I have no idea what you are even attempting to argue here. Please phrase it more cohesively. .
Why would I ever do that? The idea of paying reparations to the distant descendants of those who sustained actual injuries is idiotic. Take that argument up with those who think reparations for slavery are rational.
Smoke and mirrors Sean.
You're wrong and G is right. You hate being wrong and will go through ridiculous machinations to make yourself appear credible. It's silly and sad sorta. But amusing. The subject is closed because you're wrong. Again. Keep trying to save face.
Meh. Your ignorance makes you totally irrelevant. Amusing, but irrelevant.
Have a good evening!
I dated a girl in college who had a Dirty Pirate fetish. It was news to me really, I had no idea people were into that sort of stuff. I suppose i lived a very sheltered life as a child. I never felt right about it.
Okay, that's adorably funny!
That should have been interesting
You arrrrrrn't kidding!!
I've heard of Dirty Sanchez, maybe he was a Pirate?
Oh no you didn't!!
But out of disgusted curiosity ... American version or British? Asking for a friend.