Stede Bonnett
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Salty Dog
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 Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2017 7:16 pm Post subject: Stede Bonnett |
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Stede Bonnet was born to a wealthy English family perhaps around the mid-1680's. He grew up well educated and may have served as a major in the King's Guards during the war with Spain before retiring to Barbados as the owner of a sugar plantation.
Bonnet was a well-known and respected family man and member of the highest ranks of the island's society, yet he knew nothing of sailing or navigation. One day, he decided to become a pirate.
Whether it was his wife's nagging, the boredom of plantation living, a mental disorder, or all three, Stede Bonnet was driven to buy a sloop, ten cannon, and a crew without his family's knowledge. He then set out on the 'Revenge' one night in the spring of 1717 to go 'on the account'.... dressed in gentleman's clothes.
Bonnet cruised the coast off the Carolinas and Virginia, managing to take several vessels in spite of himself. From the beginning, he would burn any captured ship from Barbados to keep the news from returning home, something a true pirate would care little about. He learned while heading north that New York was a great place to sell his loot without trouble; he later bought provisions and returned south to what he considered more profitable waters.
During the next few weeks of taking prizes as far south as Charles Town (now Charleston), South Carolina, the crew's initial bemusement with their captain had grown to an uneasiness. There may soon have been a mutiny, had not the amateur crossed paths with the professional pirate Blackbeard sometime in late 1717 or early 1718.
Occuring somewhere between the Carolinas and the Bay of Honduras, the meeting was one of amusement for Blackbeard, who might have merely had plans to increase the size of his flotilla. They set off together from the Bahamas toward the Carolinas, and Blackbeard soon realized he needed one of his own to sail Stede Bonnet's 'Revenge'. Bonnet agreed under duress and became somewhat of a prisoner on the 'Queen Anne's Revenge', reading his books and felling frustrated that he let his pirate fantasy be hijacked. The cruise itself was successful, with Blackbeard adding to his fleet from among the dozen or so captures.
Charles Town
By most accounts, Stede Bonnet was with Blackbeard during his famous siege of Charles Town in May of 1718 and the return to Ocracoke, North Carolina. In June, He was then swindled out of his share of any loot when Blackbeard convinced him to go receive a pardon from Governor Eden in Bath Town; Blackbeard meanwhile sailed from Ocracoke inlet with the goods.
Bonnet changed his name to Captain Edwards (and then Captain Thomas) and his sloop to the 'Royal James', as he apparently intended to sail to the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean and become a privateer after his pardon. He was sidetracked by a short pursuit of Blackbeard, and once again chose piracy. Some would say that he paid attention while under Blackbeard's care, for he captured as many as ten vessels off the coast of Virginia before returning to the Cape Fear Inlet for repairs in September 1718.
Stede Bonnet's next big mistake was to release the crew of a ship that he took for its wood; the released went to Charles Town and fed the furor over pirates in the area. From then on, Bonnet-Edwards-Thomas was swallowed up in the storm caused by pirates like Charles Vane and Blackbeard. Blackbeard in the Carolinas
In Charles Town, Governor Johnson and the local authorities sent Colonel William Rhett in the 'Henry' and the 'Sea Nymph' to capture Charles Vane and others like him. Rhett arrived in the Cape Fear River inlet after chasing a rabbit trail south that Vane had created, and on September 27, 1718, Bonnet surrendered after a protracted time of maneuvering and battle.
Bonnet HangsEveryone aboard the 'Royal James' were caught and taken to Charles Town to be placed under guard except for Bonnet. As a gentleman, he was placed in better quarters in the Marshall's house, joined later by two officers who turned state's evidence. While awaiting trial, he sent letters to the governor begging for forgiveness and pledging reform, but all hopes for a pardon were dashed after he escaped and had to be retaken 14 days later.
The trial of his crew yielded an unsurprising conviction, and they were hanged on November 8, 1718, to be later buried at the low water mark according to Admiralty tradition. Stede Bonnet lost his desperate appeals and was hung on December 10. He was buried next to his crew. |
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Pirate
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| Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2017 4:33 am Post subject: |
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He might have been the only pirate to start his career buy buying his own boat. I've heard too he kept muntiny at bay many times because he had enough money to pay his crew rather then having to depend on success in pirating to pay them with. Since he wasn't a seaman to start with my guess would be his only chance to start out as a captain would be with a pile of cash and he probably did just as good if not better than anyone else who didn't know anything about seamanship would have done. Be about as easy to win the Daytona 500 after passing your learners permit at the DMV. |
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corsair91
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corsair91
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| Posted: Fri Nov 19, 2021 12:31 am Post subject: |
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The Gentleman Pirate
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrGf4nJWVOU
Incognito Mode
6 Nov 2020
The story of Stede Bonnet, a man who had an early mid-life crisis and decided to go a-pirating. |
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corsair91
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| Posted: Sun Nov 28, 2021 4:23 am Post subject: |
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https://www.ign.com/articles/2004/11/11/the-pirates-of-pirates-2
The Pirates of Pirates!
Firaxis
Stede Bonnet
Famous in history as "the gentleman pirate," Stede Bonnet might more accurately be called, "the dumb pirate," or "the inept pirate," or "the cowardly pirate." Stede Bonnet is primarily remembered for two things: first, for being a snappy dresser, and second, for having no sense whatsoever.
Bonnet lived on the island of Barbados, where he owned a large estate. In 1717 the wealthy young man purchased a 10-gun sloop, named her Revenge, and sailed off to be a pirate. No one is sure exactly why he did this -- the best guess is that he turned to piracy to get away from his shrewish wife.
Once at sea Bonnet made his way up the coast of North America. His relations with his crew quickly deteriorated as they discovered that he had no knowledge of the sea at all. In March of 1718 the Revenge fell in with the Queen Anne's Revenge, commanded by the pirate Blackbeard.
It didn't take Blackbeard long to determine the true measure of his compatriot, and he politely insisted that Bonnet remain aboard his own ship as a "valued guest," assigning one of his own lieutenants to command Bonnet's vessel in his absence. Blackbeard was so polite and deferential that it took Bonnet quite some time to realize he had been deposed.
After cruising up and down the coast for a while, things began to get a little hot for the pirates, and both decided to accept a pirate amnesty being offered by the British.
Back in command of his own ship, the "reformed" Bonnet then headed out to sea, where within a few short weeks he was once again attacking British shipping. Eventually two British Navy sloops caught up with him in Cape Fear River. After a nasty river battle Bonnet and his crew were captured and taken in chains to Charles Town. There, after a failed escape attempt, Bonnet stood trial and was sentenced to death.
Bonnet did not go to his doom with dignity. When he learned of his sentence, Bonnet said to the judge, "Cut off my arms and cut off my legs so that I may sit and read from the scriptures and, please sir, I will for ever sing praises to our Lord. But, whatever you do, please don't hang me!"
The ladies present at court were much moved by the handsome young man's pleas -- the judge wasn't. Bonnet was hanged on December 10, 1718. Bonnet's body was buried secretly in the marshes outside of town. Local legend says that Bonnet requested that his bones be hidden because he feared that his wife would seek vengeance on his body after his death. |
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corsair91
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| Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2022 9:23 pm Post subject: |
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corsair91
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corsair91
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| Posted: Tue Nov 22, 2022 8:50 pm Post subject: |
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The tryals of Major Stede Bonnet and other pirates, viz. Robert Tucker, Edward Robinson, Neal Paterson, William Scot, Job Bayley, John-William Smith, Thomas Carman, John Thomas, William Morrison, William Livers alias Evis, Samuel Booth, William Hewet, John Levit, William Eddy alias Nedy, Alexander Annand, George Ross, George Dunkin, John Ridge, Matthew King, Daniel Perry, Henry Virgin, James Robbins, James Mullet alias Millet, Thomas Price, John Lopez, Zachariah Long, James Wilson, John Brierly, and Robert Boyd, who were all condemn'd for piracy : as also, the tryals of Thomas Nicols, Rowland Sharp, Jonathan Clarke, and Thomas Gerrat for piracy, who were acquitted at the Admiralty Sessions held at Charles-Town in the province of South Carolina, on Tuesday the 28th of October 1718, and by several adjournments continued to Wednesday the 12th of November following : to which is prefix'd an account of the taking of the said Major Bonnet and the rest of the pirates.
https://www.loc.gov/item/33008758/ |
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corsair91
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corsair91
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| Posted: Sun Jan 07, 2024 5:06 pm Post subject: |
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Bonnet, Stede
https://ncpedia.org/biography/bonnet-stede
Redeeming Stede Bonnet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKatGsiB4Ag
Gold and Gunpowder
Stede Bonnet is one of those pirates that has become a pop-culture icon in the recent years. He was a sugar plantationer that left behind his family and property to become a pirate, and was eventually hanged for it. Most of his coverage agrees that he was an incompetent, silly man, who turned to piracy for nonsensical reasons. If you really dig deeper, another potential narrative starts to present itself. Rather than hopping onto the bandwagon, I want to present you an alternative view of Stede Bonnet, which is hopefully - more nuanced, more refreshing, and perhaps more realistic. In the end, I hope to have provided you with enough information to make up your own mind.
0:00 Introduction
2:05 Family Tree
6:15 Bonnet Begins
9:55 Blackbeard
13:15 The Protestant Caesar
15:13 Alliance ends
18:34 Endgame
22:23 A gentleman pirate
27:02 Outro
Gold and Gunpowder
https://www.youtube.com/@GoldandGunpowder |
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