Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period Part 19

The humble pet.i.tion Libell and Complaint of Paul Sherrot Lift.[2] and Cloyse petterson, Mate or Pilot of the Ship or prize called the _Salamander_, now belonging to the great prince the Duke of Brandenburge, Burden one hundred Tonns or thereaboute, Loaden with Brandy and wynes--

[Footnote 2: Lieutenant.]

Humbly Sheweth

That your Pet.i.tioner entering into the Duke of Brandenburgs service and pay this 14 of April 1680 or thereaboute, on A ship of warr called _Coure Prince_ belonging to the Said Duke, Cornelyus Reise Capt. and Comander,[3] and sayling then from Quinborough[4] to the West Indies and at St. Martins in the West Indies tooke the above mentioned ship _Salamander_, Loaden as above, And put in Marcellus c.o.c.k Comander of said Ship _Salamander_, and Paul Sherrot Leift. and Cloys Peterson Mate or Pylot of said ship, to Carry the Said Ship home to Quinborough to the said Duke, But the said Marcellus c.o.c.k, under pretence of want of Proviscions and Leakenes of said Ship, brought her into Piscatuqua and there stayed about 3 months whiling away the time, and Repayring the ship, And while there so cruelly beate twelve of the ships Company, at the Capston and otherwise, As made them weary of their Lives, that they could not stay but gott on sh.o.a.r And left him, Loosing all their wages, except one, that the Capt. turned a sh.o.a.re, as he said for a Rogue, But the Governor of Piscataqua made the master pay him his wages, And now after 16 monethes and a halfe soar service, ventering and hazarding their lives, After the Authoritie at Piscatuqua tooke notice of the said Capt. c.o.c.ks Long Stay, and Conceiveing he Intended to sell the said Ship and deceive the Duke, ordering him to pay the said Sherret and Peterson our wages,[5] fell to threatening us first by turning the Pilot out of the Cabbin from his mess; and then swearing he would Pistoll the Leiften't and him if they came on board.

[Footnote 3: Cornelius Reers, vice-commander of the squadron mentioned in note 1, appears later as governor of Arguin on the west coast of Africa, 1685-1690. Schuck, I. 347, 350.]

[Footnote 4: So the English then called Konigsberg, capital of the duchy of Prussia.]

[Footnote 5: The pet.i.tioners are following closely the language of the vote of the council of New Hampshire, by which it was ordered that the ship should be taken to Boston for trial, and the mariners paid. _N.H.

State Papers_, XIX. 677; July 11, 1681. "Governor of Piscataqua", _i.e._, of New Hampshire, there was none at this time; they probably mean Maj. Richard Waldron, president of the council.]

The premises Considered wee humbly Intreat your honours to make such due order And provision that the Duke be not Deceived of his the sayd prize and that wee may have our full wages so dearly yearned and be freed as wee are and have been, from his the said c.o.c.ks Tiranicall service; And yo'r Pet.i.tion'rs shall forever pray etc.

PAUL SHARRETT.

CLAES PIETERSEN.

This libell I Rec'd this 2d of August, 1681.

EDW'D RAWSON, Secret.

_49. Deposition of Samuel b.u.t.ton. August 11, 1681._[1]

[Footnote 1: Suffolk Court Files, no. 2031, paper 8.]

Samuel b.u.t.ton of Boston declareth concerning the Ship now called the _Salamander_ in this harbour, Marcellus c.o.c.k commander. That in April last was twelve-months' hee was Shipped Carpenter of sd Ship at London then called the _Wm. and Anne_, Anthony Thorne of London Commander, mr. George Trumbal of London being their Owner of sd. Ship. wee Sailed with sd Ship from London to Bilboa where wee cleered our foremast men and Ship't Biscayers in their steed and from thence Sailed to the Canary's, where wee loaded brandy and wines, and our sd master there left the Ship and our Mate mr. Christopher Johnson was put in master, all the English men being cleered from her but myselfe, wee being bound for Carthagene,[2] from thence back to Canary's, so to Carthagene again and from thence to Canary's and from Canary's to London and proceeding on our voyage wee put in to Sta. Marke in the west Indies[3] to water; where the Governour forced our Stay to convoy a Galliote bound to Carthagene, and after wee had been two or three dayes in the Road, wee espied five Ships lying off and on by the s.p.a.ce of two or three dayes. at length they sent in their pinace with Dutch colours to the Gov'r to get liberty to wood and water, pretending to be Dutchmen come to cleer the coast of privateers; upon which the Gov'r granted them liberty to come in and the same day they came and anch.o.r.ed by us; they goeing ash.o.r.e to the Gov'r acquainted him they were of Middleborough,[4] Flushing, and Amsterdam (as I was informed) and rode with dutch colours abroad; after they had been there four or five dayes wee coming to saile in the night, all being buisy, they laid us on board. wee demanding what they were they answered they were Frenchmen; wee bad them keepe off, but they entring the Ship, the Ltt.

asked me if I was the Carpenter. I answered "yes," hee said "that's good, you bee an Englishman. that doth no harme," comanding me to keepe upon deck, declaring himselfe Capt. of the Ship, and when they tooke us they shewed no Colours but told me the next day they would shew me such Colours as I never saw, and then spread their Brandenburgh Colours, putting our Supra Cargo and all the prisoners ash.o.r.e at St. Marke, onely Christopher Johnson a Dutchman our then Ma[ste]r and myselfe, whom they carried with them to Jamaica. not being Suffered to Land any of their goods there, Sailed thence with this Ship in Comp'y of our English Fleete, pretending they were bound with her to the East Country,[5] putting our Master and myselfe on sh.o.r.e at Jamaica.

[Footnote 2: Cartagena on the Spanish Main is meant; see below.]

[Footnote 3: St. Marc on the west coast of Haiti, then French.]

[Footnote 4: Middelburg in Zeeland.]

[Footnote 5: Baltic lands.]

Samuel b.u.t.ton deposed in Court that what is above written is the truth and whole truth to his best knowledge. 11th of August 1681.

EDW RAWSON, Secret.

THE _CAMELION_.

_50. Agreement to Commit Piracy. June 30, 1683._[1]

[Footnote 1: This very curious doc.u.ment (for one does not expect to find pirates agreeing in writing to pursue a course of piracy) is found embedded in one of the indictments in the case of the _Camelion_, in vol. I. of the wills in the office of the surrogate, New York City, pp. 312-313 of the modern copy. Its presence among wills requires a word of explanation. The governor of a royal colony was usually chancellor, ordinary, and vice-admiral, and as such might preside in the courts of chancery, probate, and admiralty--courts whose common bond was that their jurisprudence was derived from the civil (or Roman) law, and not from the common law. Most of his judicial action was in testamentary cases. It was therefore not unnatural that the few admiralty cases and cases of piracy tried in these early days should be recorded in the same volume as the wills, though distinguished by the simple process of turning the book end for end and recording them at the back. In this case the record begins with our doc.u.ment 51; but the present doc.u.ment, copied into one of the indictments, is earlier in date. The substance of another pirates'

agreement (Roberts's company, 1720, see doc. no. 117) is given in Charles Johnson, _General History of the Pyrates_, second ed., pp.

230-232; another (Phillips's company, 1727, see doc. no. 120 and note 10), _ibid._, verbatim, pp. 397-398.]

_June the 30th day, 1683._ Articles of Agreement between us abord of the _Camillion_,[2] Nich. Clough Comander, that wee are to dispose of all the goods thatt are abord amongst us, every man are to have his full due and right share only the Commander is to have two shares and a half a share for the Ship and home[3] the Captain please to take for the Master under him is to have a share and a half. Now Gentlemen these are to satisfy you, as for the Doctor a Share and half, and these are our Articles that wee do all stand to as well as on[4] and all.

[Footnote 2: The _Camelion_ had in 1682 sailed for the Royal African Company to the slave-mart of Old Calabar on the west coast of Africa, thence with a cargo of negroes to Barbados, thence to Montserrat and Nevis, thence in June, 1683, to London with a cargo. Off Nevis, June 29, the crew took possession of the ship, then made this agreement on the 30th, sold part of the cargo at the Dutch island of Curacao, and brought the vessel to Sandy Hook. For their trial, see the next doc.u.ment.]

[Footnote 3: Whom.]

[Footnote 4: One. The larger shares for captain, master, and doctor were in accordance with custom. Clough, the master, was forced to join the mutineers.]

These are to satisfy you thatt our intent is to trade with the Spaniards, medling nor make no resistances with no nation that wee do fall with all upon the Sea. Now Gentlemen these are to give you notice that if any one do make any Resistances against us one any factery[5]

hereafter shall bee severely punish according to the fact that hee hath comitted and as you are all here at present you have taken your corporall oath upon the holy Evangelists to stand one by the other as long as life shall last.

[Footnote 5: _Sic._ They probably mean, on any pretext, or, on any occasion.]

JOHN HALLAMORE. HENERY MICHELSON.

the mark [Yt] of THOMAS ALBERT LASEN.

d.i.c.kSON. the mark [SW.] of SYMON ROBERT c.o.c.kRAM. WEBSON.

the marke of [X] JO. DARVELL. WILLIAM STROTHER.

the marke of [X] ARTHUR DAVIS. EDWA. DOVE.

the marke of [X] JNO. MORRINE. JOHN WATKINS.

JOHN RENALS EDWARD STARKEY.

the mark of [R] ROBERT DOUSIN. the mark of [/V] GEORGE PADDISSON.

JOHN COPPING.[6]

NICHO. CLOUGH. the mark of [_HL_] HENRY SAMLL. HAYNSWORTH. LEWIN.

DANIELL KELLY.

WILLIAM HEATH.

JOHN GRIFFIN.

[Footnote 6: Copping, it was testified, was the writer of this remarkable agreement.]

_51. Court for the Trial of Piracy: Commission. September 15, 20, 1683._[1]

[Footnote 1: Vol. I. of wills in surrogate's office, New York City, pp. 306-307.]

_Memorandum._ That Thursday the twenty day of September, in the five and thirtieth yeare of the Reigne of our Soveraigne Lord Charles the second, by the grace of G.o.d of England, Scottland, France, and Ireland King, Defender of the Faith, etc., at the Citty Hall of New Yorke in America, A speciall Court of Oyer and Terminer was holden by Vertue of this following Commission, Viz.

Thomas Dongan Lieutt. and Governour, and Vice Admirall under his Royall Highnesse of New Yorke and Dependences in America.

_Whereas_ his Royall Highnesse James Duke of Yorke and Albany, Earle of Ulster, etc., Lord high Admirall of Scottland and Ireland, and the Dominions and Islands thereof, As also Lord high Admirall of the Dominions of New England and Virginia, Barbados, St. Christophers, Antego, New Yorke in America, etc., hath by his Commission dated at St. James the third day of October in the yeare of our Lord 1682 and in the 34th yeare of his Ma'ties Reigne const.i.tuted and made mee his Vice Admirall of New Yorke, and the Maritime ports and Islands belonging to the same, and hath authorized and impowered mee to appoint a Judge, Register, and Marshall of a Court of Admiralty there;[2] I do therefore hereby make and appoint You Lucas Santen Esq., Judge of the said Court, and William Beekman, Deputy Mayor, John Lawrence and James Graham, Aldermen of the Citty of New Yorke, Mr.

Cornelis Stenwyck, Mr. Nicholas Bayard, Mr. William Pinhorne, and Mr.

Jacob Leysler, and you or any six of you, to hear and determine of any or all Treasons, Felonys, Robberys, Piracys, Murders, Manslaughters, Confederacys, breaches of trust, Imbezleing goods, or other Transgressions, contempts, Misprissions and Spoyles whatsoever, done or committed within the Maritime Jurisdiction aforesaid, on board the Ship _Camelion_ of London, Nicholas Clough commander, and I do also appoint Will. Nicolls to bee Register, and John Collier to bee Marshall of the said Court, and this Commission to bee of Force during the time of this Tryall only. Given under my hand and seale this 15th day of September, 1683, and in the thirty fifth yeare of the Reigne of our Soveraigne Lord Charles the second, by the Grace of G.o.d, of England, Scottland, etc. King, Defender of the Faith, etc.

THO. DONGAN.