John Cole (pirate)
John Cole (died 1718) was a pirate active off the American eastern seaboard. His brief career is associated with Richard Worley and William Moody. He is known more for the unusual cargo of his pirate ship than for his piracy.
Biography
Governor Robert Johnson of the Province of South Carolina was worried about retaliatory attacks from pirates after the capture of Blackbeard’s associate Stede Bonnet. In October 1718 Johnson heard rumors that pirate William Moody was heading to Charles Town and commissioned four vessels to oppose him, including Stede Bonnet’s former ship Revenge.[1] Scouts reported two ships anchored nearby and Johnson’s fleet sailed to meet them. The smaller sloop was not Moody; it had been the New York’s Revenge captained by Richard Worley, another pirate well-known in the Carolinas.[2]
Eagle, the larger ship under John Cole, fled the battle with two of Johnson’s ships in pursuit.
The cargo of Cole’s New York Revenge’s Revenge turned out not to be treasure or trade goods: its hold was full of prisoners, including 36 women shipped from London and bound for Virginia to be sold as
See also
- Christopher Moody – Unrelated to William Moody, though their exploits are often conflated; some sources name the Moody who avoided Johnson off South Carolina as "Christopher", though Christopher Moody was never a Captain in his own right.
References
- ^ a b c d Hughson, Shirley Carter (1894). The Carolina Pirates and Colonial Commerce, 1670-1740. Baltimore MD: Johns Hopkins Press. pp. 113–123. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
- ^ "Dead Men Tell No Tales, But Pirate Historian and Author Captain Byrd Tells Plenty | The Daniel Island News". www.thedanielislandnews.com. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
- ^ ISBN 9781614239130. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
- ^ Gosse, Philip (1924). The Pirates' Who's Who by Philip Gosse. New York: Burt Franklin. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ Office, Great Britain Public Record; Redington, Joseph (1883). Calendar of Treasury Papers, 1556-7--[1728]: 1714-1719. London: Longmans, Green, Reader, and Dyer. p. 441.
- ^ Johnson, Charles (1724). The history of the pyrates: containing the lives of Captain Mission. Captain Bowen. Captain Kidd ... and their several crews. London: T. Woodward. Retrieved 26 July 2017.
