Colonial Virginia’s War Against Piracy: The Governor & the Buccaneer
The story of a high stakes rivalry between Governor Francis Nicholson and pirate captain Louis Guittar.
Governor Francis Nicholson of Virginia was a proven pirate-hunter and enforcer. By the spring of 1700, his concerns about pirate activity in the Chesapeake Bay and rivers of Virginia were at a fever pitch. Nicholson was unimpressed with the HMS Essex Prize and its commander, John Aldred, who had been tasked with keeping colonial shores safe from smuggling. The HMS Shoreham was sent to Virginia to secure the area from the scourge of piracy, and its arrival brought some relief. Then, the arrival of the ship La Paix, commanded by buccaneer captain Louis Guittar, brought Nicholson on high alert and ready for action.
Author Jeremy Moss tells the stories of Nicholson and Guittar through their fateful battle on the Lynnhaven Bay.
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Praise for Colonial Virginia’s War Against Piracy: The Governor & the Buccaneer
“Colonial Virginias War Against Piracy is a must-read for pirate historians and enthusiasts alike! Moss presents a meticulously researched and utterly gripping history of colonial Virginia and Governor Nicholson’s fervor to clamp down on piracy.” Luke Kuhns, International Crime Writer and Reviewer
The Life and Tryals of the Gentleman Pirate, Major Stede Bonnet
Major Stede Bonnet was living the good life by the age of 28. Bonnet was a wealthy, well-married father of three children, and the family lived on a 400-acre estate on the lush Caribbean island of Barbados.
Then Bonnet had a “humor to go a-pirating,” and left it all behind…
An heir to an established land-owning aristocratic family in Barbados, Major Stede Bonnet enjoyed luxuries equal to those of the finest houses in London. “A Gentleman of good Reputation” and a “Master of a plentiful Fortune,” he was given “the Advantage of a liberal Education,” but the call of the sea-and perhaps more significantly, the push of his obligations as a father and husband-cast Major Bonnet onto an unlikely and deliberate course toward piracy.
Easily likable, by friend and foe, many would be drawn to Bonnet. In his two short years of piracy, Stede Bonnet stood alongside some of the New World’s most notorious pirates, including Charles Vane, Charles Condent (also known as “Billy One-Hand”), Robert Deal, “Calico” John Rackham, Israel Hands, Benjamin Hornigold, William Kidd, Mary Read, Anne Bonny, and the pirate to whom Bonnet would forever be connected, Edward Thatch (infamously known around the world as “Blackbeard”).
Follow Major Bonnet through his improbable and exciting journey in the Golden Age of Piracy…
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Praise for The Life and Tryals of the Gentleman Pirate, Major Stede Bonnet
“It is said that truth is often stranger than fiction…and Major Bonnet’s story is proof of that saying. Moss breathes life into the tale of one of history’s most puzzling pirates. Exhaustively researched and lively as a salty sea breeze, this book succeeds in both educating and entertaining.” Laura Sook Duncome, author of Pirate Women and A Pirate’s Life for She
“Moss’s book is well researched and beautifully written. He weaves for the reader a sordid tale of piracy and intrigue, digging deep into the life of the Gentleman Pirate Stede Bonnet. This is a must-read for any pirate lover!” Dr. Jamie L.H. Goodall, staff historian at the U.S. Army Center of Military History and author of Pirates of the Chesapeake Bay
“A rollicking high-seas adventure…that is completely true.” Scarlet Ingstad, author of The She-Wolf (Pirate Queen of the Caribbean) and Krekania
“Take whatever you thought you knew about the pirates of the Caribbean and throw it overboard. This is the true story of the pirates of the Caribbean.” Scarlet Ingstad, author of The She-Wolf (Pirate Queen of the Caribbean) and Krekania
“A gentleman, aristocrat, and a scholar…turned pirate. The true tale of one of the most unique figures during the Golden Age of Piracy.” Scarlet Ingstad, author of The She-Wolf (Pirate Queen of the Caribbean) and Krekania
“A thoroughly researched, true story about the Gentleman Pirate and the Golden Age of Piracy.” Scarlet Ingstad, author of The She-Wolf (Pirate Queen of the Caribbean) and Krekania
“The notorious pirate Major Stede Bonnet’s life has been wonderfully recreated by Jeremy Moss in a dramatic, yet, extremely factual fashion. Jeremy Moss’s nice narrative presents the sad story of the life, career and execution of the one and only gentleman pirate.” John V. Quarstein, Director Emeritus, USS MONITOR Center, The Mariners’ Museum and Park
“Jeremy R. Moss has written a swashbuckling stranger-than-fiction account of the life and death of one of the most fascinating real-life Pirates of the Caribbean.” Paul Brown, author of Sins Dyed in Blood: The Lost Pirate of Blackbeard’s Golden Age
“Jeremy Moss’ The Life and Tryals of the Gentleman Pirate Major Stede Bonnet, is at once a compelling biography of Stede Bonnet and an insightful history of 18th century piracy itself. In presenting a well-articulated book about Stede Bonnet’s connections to other pirates, such as “Blackbeard” (Edward Thatch), Moss demonstrates both the perils and potential power of such associations. The readers of The Life and Trials of Stede Bonnet will no doubt gain an additional appreciation for this fascinating period of history, as well as discover some of the pitfalls of the popular imagining of 18th century piracy.” Dr. David W. Price, author of A World of Darkness, Cotton Mather and the 1692 Salem Witchcraft Trials
“The best gift from this book is the crisp comparison between the aristocratic Scarlet Pimpernel-like Bonnet and other pirates, a rugged and nasty gaggle of criminals.” Diane Carey, author of Banners and the Star Trek series
“Strong factual research about Stede Bonnet, a colorful and unusual Pirate during the Golden Age of Piracy.” Barbara McLennan, author of Blackbeard’s Legacy
“Get aboard this read! Moss brings Bonnet and other pirates to life so you can hear, feel, and even smell them as if you were in their crew. Meticulously researched, but never boring, you need to batten down and start turning pages.” Northcott Mayes, author of The Killdeer
Of Captain Worley and His Crew: An Excerpt from A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates by Captain Charles Johnson (Foreword by Jeremy R. Moss)
For decades, pirates have captured the hearts of Americans – we are fascinated by the sea rovers and robbers. Pirates lived outside the rule of law, plundered provisions, ammunition, money and slaves from the wealthy trading classes and traveled to exotic locales.
This book, Of Captain Worley and His Crew, is a part of the “General History of Pirates” series presented by Captain’s Row Publishing Co. highlighting the stories of pirates originally published in A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates.
A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates is a veritable “who’s who” of the Golden Age of Piracy, featuring biographies of Anne Bonny, Bartholomew (“Black Bart”) Roberts, Edward Teach/Thatch (“Blackbeard”), “Calico” Jack Rackham, Charles Vane, Edward England, Edward Lowe, Francis Spriggs, George Lowther, Henry Every, Howell Davis, Israel Hands, James Martel, John Evans, John Gow, Mary Read, Richard Worley, Philip Roche, “The Gentleman Pirate” Stede Bonnet, Thomas Anstis, Christopher Condent, John Bowen, John Halsey, Nathaniel North, “Black” Samuel Bellamy, Samuel Burgess, Thomas Howard, Thomas Tew, William Fly and William Kidd.
Much of what we know of Richard Worley’s early career in piracy comes from A General History of the Pyrates. But, additional details are available throughout the historical record.
Starting out with only a small boat and a crew of eight men, Worley set off from New York in search of plunder and fortune. It is unclear whether Worley and his crew intended to be pirates (they would not fly a pirate flag and sign articles until a later stint in the Bahamas), but it is clear they intended to engage in criminal behavior.
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An Act to prevent the delivery up of Merchants Shipps, and for the Increase of good and serviceable Shipping; The Piracy Act of 1670 (Foreword by Jeremy R. Moss)
By 1670, pirates were wrecking havoc on international shipping channels and the English crown was taking notice.
Among one of the more troubling aspects of piracy to the crown was the apparent unwillingness of English ship captains to take up arms to protect their ships and the goods they were carrying.
The implications of the practice to surrender, especially when the captains had sufficient force to defend themselves was huge – the “Honour of the English Navigation” suffered, shipping began to “decay.” Stated simply, failure to fight affected the “Wealth, Honour and Safety” of England.
In response to this practice, the Act to prevent the delivery up of Merchants Shipps, and for the Increase of good and serviceable Shipping was enacted in 1670. The Act was among the many statutory efforts of the crown to suppress piracy.
With new foreword by Jeremy R. Moss, author of The Life and Tryals of the Gentleman Pirate, Major Stede Bonnet (www.AuthorJeremyMoss.com; Twitter @StedesRevenge).
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