The Battle of Cape Lopez: End of the Golden Age of Piracy.

this episode of the history guys brought to you by policy genius your loved ones deserve a financial safety net and you deserve a smarter way to find and buy it [Music] movies might have romanticized Pirates but make no mistake by their very nature they are thieves and murderers villains of the highest order for the most part in history they've also been cowards who prayed on the week and avoided any sort of fair fight with the vessels of war that were often hunting them but there were a few times in history where pirate ships fought legitimate Naval battles against ships of war and one of those some historians argue Mark the end of the golden age of piracy the 1722 Battle of Cape Lopez between the fourth-rate ship of War HMS swallow and the pirate ship Royal Fortune deserves to be remembered what are the odd things that you realize when you study history is that there are an awful lot of ways to die face it every one of us at some point is going to become history I have people who depend upon me and if I were to say be killed by Pirates the last thing that I would want is for them to have to worry about money a good life insurance plan gives you the peace of mind to know that if something happened to you that your family would have a safety net so they could do things like pay the mortgage or college cost or those other expenses and allow them to get back on their feed and focus on what's most important to me taking care of the people you love is a legacy that deserves to be remembered and policy genius offers you a smarter way for you to find and buy the coverage that is best for you and your family as a father of course I have life insurance but I sure wish I had known about policy genius when I first purchased it sometimes buying insurance today feels like you're still living in the past but policy Genesis technology is built to bring the life insurance industry into the present their technology makes it easy to compare life insurance quotes from America's Top insurers in just a few clicks to find your lowest price with policy genius you can find life insurance policies that started just 25 per month for a million dollars of coverage and some options offer coverage in as little as a week and avoid unnecessary medical exams and you can trust their guidance because their licensed agents work for you and not the insurance companies there are no edit fees in your personal details are private it is no wonder that policy genius has thousands of five-star reviews on Google and trustpilot your family deserves a financial safety net and you deserve a better way to find and buy it so head to policy genius.com the historyguy or click the link in the description to get your free life insurance quote now and see how much you can save it is not precisely clear when John Roberts a Welshman whom Parish tax records suggests came from pembrokeshire first went to see my some accounts he did so in 1695 at age 13. the 2004 edition of Wales online notes that it was a time when the British Empire was being born when not only the Royal Navy but also Pirates and Buccaneers ruled the waves whales along with the West country provided a rich seam of seafarers and Pirates in her 1974 book black Bart Roberts author Laura Sullivan speculated that like many young men he might have been looking for adventure or simply a paycheck if he did go to Sea there's no clear record on what ship or if he fought in any capacity in the 1701 to 1715 war of Spanish succession conflict Suzanne would lead to a surge in piracy what is known is that by 1718 he was third mate aboard a slaving vessel called the Princess of London by that time he had changed his name from John to Bartholomew although it isn't exactly clear why in mid-1719 the princess was in the small West African Port of ananabu bartering for slaves to be taken to the West Indies it was there on June 6 1719 that the princess was captured by a pirate another Welshman named Howell Davis who had been taking prizes all along Africa's Gold Coast in his 2006 book Bartholomew Roberts and his pirate crew author Aubry Burrell said of Roberts at the time of his capture he was tall older than most in his late 30s Rod shoulder dark-haired with a swarthy Stern face Brown from years at sea it was that dark complexion that would earn him the silver K black Bart although the name was coined to posthumously by biographers it was never used in his lifetime Davis and Roberts had more in common than both being Welsh Davis had also been a mate on a slave ship which had also been captured by a pirate an Irishman named Edward England enforced by some accounts against his will into piracy in fact England had been serving as a privateer during the war Hispanic succession when his ship was captured by a pirate and he too had been forced into piracy if it seems odd that so many Pirates became Pirates by being captured by Pirates understand that Not only was piracy rampant after the war of Spanish secession when many men who served as privateers during the war suddenly found themselves without other employment but that pirates routinely forced captured men into service if they were not sufficient volunteers as refusal usually meant death most men accepted their fate Roberts was not eager to volunteer in fact Earl writes that he and another member of the princess's crew made an attempt to escape the night of his capture although that attempt was thwarted and that might have worked against him as Burl notes Davis so admired their initiative that he promptly forced them to join him Roberts was a good choice Burl writes when Bartholomew Roberts was forced to become a pirate he was already an experienced Mariner in the prime of his life accustomed to the capricious sea used to giving orders of an audacious and Innovative mind quickly Davis who would converse with Robertson Welsh came to respect Robert's skill at navigation then just 13 days after being taken aboard Davis's ship the Royal Rover Davis hatched a plot to try to kidnap and Ransom the governor of the Portuguese island of Principe the plot was foiled and Davis was ambushed and killed David said left Roberts in charge while he had gone to Shore and hearing of his Captain's death Roberts had audaciously attacked the fort and bombarded the town in Revenge when the Royal Rover left Principe Earl writes she left destruction behind her the Bold actions started the Robert's Legend and his men declared that he was pistol proof that night Roberts was elected the new captain of the vessel less than two weeks after he had attempted to escape piracy Roberts was a pirate captain in his seminal although not always entirely reliable 1724 work a general history of the robberies and lives of the most notorious Pirates author Charles Johnson writes that Davis being cut off the company was under a necessity of filling up his role and Roberts had behaved so well before this accident though he had not been aboard six weeks among them that he was by a great majority elected captain and would often after this say an excuse of it that since he had dipped his hands in muddy water and must be a pirate it was better being a commander than a common man he was 38 years old there was much that was attractive about being a pirate whales online quotes Robert's biographer Terry brevverton to be honest life on a pirate ship was a lot more convivable and attractive than working on a slaver where life expectancy for the crew was only two or three years conditions were horrible for the crew as well as for the slaves the punishment and conditions on Royal Navy ships was also terrible that's why most crew members had to be press gagged life on a pirate ship was Far preferable there was a democracy All Ships officers were elected and could be deselected a captain only had Authority in battle Johnson quoted Roberts in an honest service there is thin comments low wages and hard labor in this punty and satiety pleasure at ease Liberty and power and who would not balance creditor on the side when all the hazard that is run for it at worst is only a sour look or two at choking no a merry life and a short one shall be my motto that last part would be prophetic but first he would become one of the most successful pirates in history ridding the Atlantic from Brazil to Newfoundland Wales online rights soon Barty became known as the great pirate bringing transatlantic shipping to a standstill by 1720 his reputation was such that the crews of over 20 ships abandoned them when he entered a harbor in Newfoundland brevverton told Wales online that he always dressed in red which could have been to disguise the blood in battle and showed that he just did not care he wore Scarlet breeches a red waistcoat and sported a Scarlet Flamingo plume but he was more than Brave he was smart he planned his attacks more carefully than Pirates commonly did kept his men in line with the careful agreement about conduct and shares of treasure that became known as the pirate code and earned their loyalty with success moreover he avoided the excesses that often resulted in a pirate's downfall Robertson notes as well as being a Christian teetoler he only drank tea and did not allow any gambling one of the reasons the ship was so successful was that he was not on the Razzle all the time like the rest of them in his 1964 book pirates of the Atlantic author Daniel Conlin wrote of Robert's Legacy the scale of Robert's operation made him unique and taken more than 400 ships his extravagant personal style of dress fondness for music flags and Mary living matched up to everything everyone wanted to believe about Pirates Roberts and yes the dread pirate Robbers from William Goldman's book The Princess Bride was inspired by him became so successful that now navies around the world were trying to find him in 1721 he moved his operation to the gold coast of Africa where he found even more success Conlan writes making another bold move into new Waters Roberts took his Fleet to West Africa in the spring of 1721. for months they rented the many slave ports the coast and the golden lady chips that came to buy slaves but even there he was being hunted and the Royal Navy had sent two fourth rate ships of the line to the Gold Coast seeking the captain including the 50 gun HMS swallow under the command of Captain shaliner Ogle the search was difficult for Ogle whose crew suffered from tropical Illness but finally he received intelligence from a captured pirate that Roberts had been Sheltering in a Cove called Cape Lopez off the coast of what is modern-day Gabon but Ogle would not have an easy time with the skilled pirate among the ships that Robert had captured were a French frigate which had made his Flagship and named Royal fortune and two smaller French warships a 16-gun Sloop of war that Roberts had named Ranger and a tin gun break named little Ranger Royal Fortune mounted 40 guns and Roberts was a skilled Commander with an experienced crew if Ogle encountered Roberts at Sea he would be in for a difficult fight Borough writes Just Before Dawn on February 5th the officer of the watch heard the sound of a ship's gone Ogle quickly dressed and came on Deck as the day brightened he could make out Cape Lopez he and his officers train their spy glasses on it the lieutenant claimed that he could see three ships Bartholomew Roberts had been discovered Lenovo first Came Upon Robert's Fleet Roberts was vulnerable the Pirates were flush with loot and unprepared little Ranger was Karine being turned to have her hole scraped and Royal Fortune was still listing from having been careened what happened next is still a matter of some controversy and his Ogle approached swallow turned away it's not clear if this was a strategy or if it had been a mistake of the Helmsman who had to turn quickly to avoid grounding on a bank but in any case Ogle did not attack Roberts when his fleet was most vulnerable rather Roberts thought the ship was a merchant vessel running away and not recognizing swallow as a man of war sent Ranger to capture her Pearl writes Ogle ordered the lower gunpots closed until Lieutenant's son to simulate the appearance of putting on all sail while in reality moving slowly enough for the Pirates to catch him in a few hours by then both ships would be Out of Sight and Sound of land Ranger was almost upon swallow when Ogle sprang the Trap Burl writes suddenly the swallow changed course running parallel with pirate her gun ports fell open and a broadside of 32-pound guns blasted into the Ranger outgun Ranger attempted to run but Pearl writes at two o'clock in the afternoon the Ranger Lost way and a long Tack and lay be calmed in fear and frustration the Pirates watched the man of war closing on them another broadside struck them and then another their own guns fired back sporadically at the Relentless foe the main top Mass collapsed in the splintering crash of spars in campus onto the Rangers deck the Black Flag fluttered feebly across the body of a pirate by three o'clock the ranger asked for quarter ten of Ranger screw had been killed and 20 more wounded the Pirates were imprisoned to board the damaged Ranger and sent to Principe for trial in the meantime Royal Fortune had been righted and trimmed for sale but Roberts had a stroke of what would turn out to be bad luck the Pirates had captured a merchant ship called the Neptune but the good fortune was badly timed as the Neptune had been carrying liquor among her cargo and while Roberts did not drink much of his crew was drunk at this point no one had suspected Ogle's ruse Roberts was unaware that Ranger had been captured when Ogle returned at first the Pirates assumed that it was Ranger but Roberts had a crewman who had been a deserter from the swallow and he recognized the ship for the first time Roberts realized that he was encountering a man of war the Royal Navy for a writes Robert sprung up the Pirates would have to fight he cursed years of easy victims that have made him careless now he was caught on the hip still he was confident Sylvan explains Roberts was confident as ever the man who had taken more than 400 ships and evaded the Royal Navy for years was not about to fear any ship even a man of war Ogle ship was barely more than a match and Roberts might have considered a fight but too many of his crew were drunk still the Wiley pirate had a plan Merle explains Roberts decided on a strategy that would bring the Pirates to safety if one desperate moment went well there would be no great fight there were too few sober pirates for Success against the powerful swallow so instead they would let the men of War come deep into the bay Against the Wind and then at the last moment the Royal Fortune would sail directly past her rather than maneuvering away the Pirates would have the benefit of the wind and speed enough to get out of the bay with a swallow wallowed on a long turn once at Sea the pirate ship would rapidly out distance Ogle the naval Captain would have one single chance for a broadside and then the danger would be gone it was a dangerous maneuver allowing the swallow a broadside but a brilliant one while little Ranger would have to be abandoned Ogle would again be foiled Roberts was confident Sullivan writes Roberts Rose in a leisurely fashion from The Breakfast they'd been sharing with the Neptune's captured captain and dressed in a fine suit of bright blood red cloth put a red feather in his hat on a gold chain with a diamond cross around his neck then arming himself with his sword and four pistols strapped across his body he commanded his ship to sail past the swallow Burl writes that the vessels were almost level a blasting of Cannon smashed into the Royal fortune and was returned by a broadside of 20 Cannon swivels and Small Arms spat and cracked the pirate ship sailed on away from the swallow as the man of war drifted helplessly towards the shore the Pirates Flags fluttered jubilantly Roberts had escaped the daring plan was almost a success but only almost the Helmsman was drunk and as he passed panicked and failed to keep the Royal Fortune straight a bad tack turned her so that the sails of the swallow stole her wind Burrell writes the battle would have to be fought again this time with both vessels abreast of each other when it would be almost impossible for either to drive ahead without suffering devastating damage still Roberts had won more than one fight bro continues while Roberts raged against the poop deck swearing that he would kill the next man who showed cowardice the swallow came alongside and delivered her second broadside above the impacting Thunder for guns the swivel snarled again and again grape shot and the winning chain shot swept across the pirates of the deck semen and the swallow's rigging poured down a fury of shots with pistols and muskets the fight was on or would have been but Sullivan writes there would be no slow trial or agonizing strangulation at the end of a hemp rope for Roberts nor would there be a last dramatic battle man to man with his foe among the cannonballs the swallow launched a round of many small cannonballs called grape shot that pierce Roberts in the throat as he stood defiantly on Deck the man who all Pirates had called pistol proof was able to be hurt after all Bartholomew Roberts collapsed he died instantly Roberts had asked his man that if he were to die in combat that his body be thrown in the ocean so that it couldn't be displayed and his men honored that last wish the battle continued Burl writes that for two hours the swallows guns crashed out their uneven bombardment the Royal Fortune more and more feebly returned fire for the dread pirate that would later be called by biographers black Bart the prediction of a merry life in a short one came true the survivors of the royal Fortune were tried some of the men who had been pressed into service were released and some of the men who had been freed from slave ships were re-enslaved conla notes that many died awaiting trial but 74 were acquitted and 54 were sentenced to death for piracy the Battle of Cape Lopez was one of the most spectacular of the golden age of piracy and Robert's last play very nearly worked Wales online notes the irony that the captain who never drank in the in-loss because his crew was blind drunk but the battle represented more than the death the one of the most successful pirates in history as conlon notes the ending of Robert's career was a Triumph for the Royal Navy and represented a turning point in the war against the Pirates of the golden age never again would pirate fleets Scout the Atlantic I hope you enjoyed this episode of the history guide check out our community on the historyguyguild.locals.com our webpage at thehistoryguy.com and our merchandise at teespring.com or book a special message from the history guy on Cameo and if you'd like more episodes of 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Channel: The History Guy: History Deserves to Be Remembered

Views: 55,824

Keywords: history, history guy, the history guy

Id: _tZJdXhZtCY

Length: 19min 2sec (1142 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 19 2023