Pirates

Will They Ever Go Away?

Pirates wanted money, valuable goods, and important people to ransom, but not all of them were cruel.  Stede Bonnet was a bad pirate; he would make foolish mistakes, but he was not at all cruel.  Charles Gibbs, however, would murder all the crewmen he captured in cold blood.  Not all pirates were men though, Anne Bonny was one pirate that was a girl!  Cuba was a haven for pirate families.  But most pirates cruel or not, would be hanged.  Charles Gibbs was hanged on April 27, 1831. Some pirates though, would ask for a pardon.  Thomas Pound was pardoned and when he died in 1803 he was honored by all as a respectable businessman.  Charles Towne, SC (now Charleston, SC) was a target for many pirates because it was very wealthy.  Blackbeard blockaded Charles Towne and subdued the proud port without firing a shot!

One famous pirate named John Davis attacked St. Augustine because a surgeon named Piques wanted revenge on the fort’s commander, Guerra, because he had cheated him out of money.  Davis did not want to attack the fort because he was only used to sea battles.  To encourage him, Piques told Davis that the fort was wooden and could easily be destroyed.  That made Davis confident.  He planned to attack at night, but when they were sneaking into the town, a man spread an alarm.  While they were attacking the fort, Piques saw Guerra and fired is gun, but he missed.  Davis also fired but it hit Guerra’s secretary instead.  Personally, I think Piques was tricking Davis into attacking the fort!

Meanwhile, the pirates were killing anyone who got in their way.  But instead of attacking the fort, they started plundering the town.  Davis tried to make them attack by firing pistols over their heads and the pirates started attacking the fort, but the Spanish repelled them time after time.  Finally, Davis withdrew.  He wanted to try to attack again, but behind his back pirates were taking the loot and rowing back to the ship to deliver it.  More pirate ships also came for their share of the booty.  Davis watched helplessly as 80 Spaniards arrived to reinforce the fort.  Finally, Davis went back to his ship without Piques , but when he got there he saw that his men had captured 70 men, women, and children.  What was he supposed to do with them?  He counted 11 pirates dead and 19 wounded.  John Davis never attacked a settlement again!