Captain Howell Davis (or Davies) (ca. 1690 – June 1719) was a Welsh pirate. The Welsh people ( Welsh: Cymro ("Welshman" Cymraes ("Welsh woman" Cymry ("Welshmen/women" Cymry Piracy is Robbery committed at sea or sometimes on shore without a commission from a sovereign Nation (as distinct from Privateering His piratical career lasted just 11 months, from July 1718 to June 1719, when he was ambushed and killed. His ships were the Cadogan, Buck, Saint James, and Rover.
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A Short Career
Born in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, Wales, Davis started out in piracy in 1718 when the slave ship Cadogan, on which he was serving as a mate, was captured by the pirate Edward England. Milford Haven (Aberdaugleddau meaning "mouth of the two Rivers Cleddau" is a town in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales. Geography Pembrokeshire is a maritime County, bordered by the sea on three sides by Ceredigion (Cardiganshire to the northeast and by Edward England, born Edward Seegar in Ireland was a famous African coast and Indian Ocean Pirate from 1717 to 1720 Deciding to join the pirates, Davis was given command of the Cadogan and set out for Brazil. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld However, his crew mutinied and sailed to Barbados instead. Barbados ( Portuguese word for bearded-ones, bɑrˈbeɪdoʊz -dɒs situated just east of the Caribbean Sea, is an independent Island nation Here Davis was imprisoned on the charge of piracy, but was eventually released and sought shelter in the pirate den of New Providence in the Bahamas. Piracy is Robbery committed at sea or sometimes on shore without a commission from a sovereign Nation (as distinct from Privateering New Providence is the most populous island in the Bahamas. While the first European visitors to the Bahama Islands were Bermudian salt rakers gathering With New Providence being cleaned out by Governor Woodes Rogers, Davis left on the sloop Buck and conspired with six other crew members, who included Thomas Anstis and Walter Kennedy, to take over the vessel off Martinique. Woodes Rogers (ca 1679 &ndash 16 July 1732 Nassau Bahamas) was an English Privateer and later the first royal governor of the Bahamas. For the military definition of sloop see Sloop-of-war. For the open learning project see SLOOP Project. Thomas Anstis (d 1723 was an early 18th century pirate who served under Captain Howell Davis and then Captain Bartholomew Roberts, before setting up on his own Walter Kennedy (died 19 July 1721) was an Irish pirate who served as a crew member under Howell Davis and Bartholomew Roberts. Martinique is an Island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, having a land area of 1128 km² Davis was elected captain and conducted raids from his base at Coxon's Hole. Coxen Hole, also called Roatan Town, is the largest city on the island of Roatán, and the capital of the Bay Islands department of
Subsequently, he crossed the Atlantic to terrorize shipping in the Cape Verde Islands. The Republic of Cape Verde ( Portuguese: Cabo Verde, 'kabu 'veɾdɨ is a Republic located on an Archipelago in the Macaronesia One of the prizes he took there became the new flagship of Davis' pirate fleet, the 26-gun Saint James. flagship is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels a designation given on account of being either the largest fastest newest most heavily armed or for publicity purposes the most well He then formed a partnership with a French pirate Olivier Levasseur, known as La Buse, and another pirate captain, Thomas Cocklyn, which lasted until they fell out in a drunken argument. Olivier Levasseur ( Calais, 1680 or 1690 - Réunion, 7 July 1730) was a Pirate, nicknamed La Buse or La Bouche Thomas Cocklyn was an 18th-century English Pirate, known primarily for his association and partnership with Howell Davis and Oliver La Buze. Transferring to the 32-gun Rover, Davis sailed south and captured more rich prizes off the Gold Coast. This article is about the British colony in west Africa 1821-1957 One of his prisoners was fellow Welshman Bartholomew Roberts, who was destined to become even more famous as a pirate. Born John Roberts ( May 17, 1682 &ndash February 10, 1722) Bartholomew Roberts was a Welsh Pirate who raided shipping
Trickery and Deception
A clever and charming man, Davis pretended to be a legitimate privateer to deceive the commander of a Royal African Company slaving fort in Gambia. A privateer was a private Warship authorized by a country's Government by Letters of marque to attack foreign shipping The Royal African Company was a slaving company set up by the Stuart family and London merchants once the former retook the English throne in After capturing the commander at a welcoming dinner, Davis held him for ransom.
He once seized a more powerful French vessel by flying a black pirate flag from another large but lightly armed ship he had recently taken. The French ship quickly surrendered, thinking she was outgunned.
However, when he tried his pretence of being a privateer in order to kidnap the governor of the Portuguese island of Príncipe, the governor saw through it. Príncipe is the smaller of the two major islands of São Tomé and Príncipe lying off the west coast of Africa Davis was invited to call at the fort for a glass of wine. On the way there, the pirates were ambushed and Davis shot dead. Bartholomew Roberts was elected to succeed him and later raided the island in retaliation.
Character
Captain William Snelgrave, the master of the Bird, a vessel captured by the pirates in 1719, later wrote an account of his experience. William Snelgrave was an English Sea captain, Slave trader, and ivory trader on the West African coast His ship was taken by Thomas Cocklyn's men, who abused him. However, when informed of this, Davis protected Snelgrave and obviously made a favourable impression on him. Snelgrave concluded that Davis was a man "who (allowing for the Course of Life he had been unhappily engaged in) was a most generous humane Person". [1]
References
- ^ Breverton p. 252
- Breverton, Terry (2003) The book of Welsh pirates and buccaneers. Glyndwr Publishing. ISBN 1-903529-09-3
- Pickering, David. "Pirates". CollinsGem. HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY. pp 80-82. 2006.
External links
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