77) Famous Pirates of the Caribbean: Henry Avery ( or Every or Evory) From 23.08.1659 –undetermined): The pirate that got away:

77) Famous Pirates of the Caribbean: Henry Avery ( or Every or Evory). From: 23.08.1659 –undetermined): The pirate that got away:

A two dollar coin issued by the New Zealand Mint on behalf of Niue Islands:

Henry Avery:

Henry Avery (or Evory or Every), was also known as John Avery. By some accounts, his birth name Henry Bridgeman or Benjamin Bridgeman, therefore he was also nicknamed “Long Ben” by his fellow pirates, because he was a tall strongly built man.   He was born at Newton Ferrers, Devon, England, (south-East of Plymouth) as such he was an English pirate.

Early sea-faring years with the Royal Navy, on board a slave-ship and a Privateer:

During his early years as a sea-farer, he served in the Royal Navy aboard a battleship the “HMS Rupert” from 1680 to 1690, when England formed a grand alliance with five other European nations and fought against France in the 9 years war and after a distinguished service on the “HMS Rupert”, he joined a larger ship the “HMS Albemarle” as “Master’s Mate”. Upto this point he lived the life of an honest sea-farer. 

Later, after leaving the Royal Navy, he served on slave ships owned by the Royal African Company from 1690 to 1692 and then, on a ship , the “Charles II”, (one of a four ship fleet of warships of the Spanish Expedition Shipping – a shipping company owned by Englishmen) for salvaging treasures from ship-wrecks , supplying arms to the Spanish and  tried to get listed as a “Privateer”, but they failed to get a “letter of Marque” from the Spanish authorities to plunder French ships. 

(A letter of Marque was a license granted by a Sovereign to a subject, authorizing him to make reprisals on the subjects of a hostile state for injuries done to him by the enemy’s armed forces. Hence, it included a license to fit out an armed vessel or privateer and employ it for capture of enemy merchant ships. The holder of the Marque was entitled by International Law to commit acts against the hostile Nation’s ships and property acts which would have otherwise been condemned as piracy).

Mutiny aboard the “Charles II” under Avery’s leadership when the crew was not paid its wages:

 A few crew members under Avery’s leadership, mutinied aboard the “Charles II” (when its Captain was dead drunk at night), as the fleet  had not been paid its wages by the owners for several months, and after renaming  the ship as the “Fancy” sailed under Avery’s command, going on a looting spree of five ships off West Africa. 

He issued a letter of warning to “English and Dutch  ship commanders”, that they should keep a respectable distance from his ship as he meant them no harm and if they drew near his ship to signal through their ensigns (flags) in a certain way mentioned by him, so that he would know their identity, being an Englishman himself, should they draw near to his ship and he would refrain from attacking them now that  his ship’s crew  was seeking their fortune  by attacking ships passing by , in other words, they were acting as “Privateers” (without having the authority to do so, which qualified them as being called “pirates”). 

In 1695, the “Fancy” continued its plundering sorties on French, East India Company ships on the agreed terms that each member of the crew would get one share of the loot while the captain would get two. Thus, although Avery tried to convince British shipping Captains that he was not attacking them, his actions spoke otherwise and the English declared him a pirate and were hunting for his ship.

Avery’s most famous success in the Arabian Sea : Capture of Aurangzeb’s, the Mughal Emperor’s  Treasure on board the “Ganj –i- Sawai” and the “Fateh Mohammad”:

Having heard about the success of another English pirate captain Thomas Tew in capturing an enormous prize in the Indian Ocean, Avery’s men patrolled the Indian Ocean for capturing ships sailing therein hoping to land a fat prize.

Their greatest adventure befell them, when sailing in the Arabian Sea, off the coast of India, they chanced upon a 25–ship Fleet of the Mughal Empire, carrying pilgrims on its way for a “Hajj” pilgrimage to the holy land of Mecca.  Avery along with Thomas Tew, joined forces for raiding the enormous Mughal Fleet with six ships and about 450 men at their disposal.

Tew was killed in the fierce chase of the Mughal Fleet and action/battle that ensued , while Avery concentrated on the two ships carrying the richest treasure, the “Ganj-i-Sawai” (literally meaning “Exceeding any other Treasure by a quarter”) and its escort, the “Fateh Mohammad” belonging to a wealthy Muslim businessman whose businesses equaled those of the East India Company. On board the "Ganj-i-Sawai was a daughter of Aurangzeb, the Mughal Emperor. 

The “Fateh Mohammad”, the smaller ship of 600 tons   which had taken part in the action in which Tew was killed and had taken a severe mauling in the engagement, was captured easily by Avery, along with its treasure of 60,000 Pounds, but the Ganj-i-Sawai” an enormous 1600 ton ship with 80 cannon and 400 musketeers fought the pirates hard for  several hours with hand to hand combat, resulting in killing of several pirates, but the ship was ultimately  captured by Avery after a cannon on board the Ganj-i-Sawai exploded, killing many soldiers but not before the remaining men and several women on board the ship had given a valiant fight to the pirates.

 The captured Treasure aboard the "Ganj-i-Sawai" was to the tune of about 6,00,000 Pounds in precious metals, jewels, valuables which was one of the richest pirate hauls of that time. 

(For a rough idea of the value of the captured treasure, it is estimated that 1000 pounds in those days is worth about 1.25 lac pounds present day). 

The looted ships were left with their remaining passengers and crew to sail back to India.

After effects for the East India Company:

The ransacking of the Mughal ships and the torture of the survivors to find out information of more hidden treasure on board both the captured ships and rape of the women on board, strained Aurangzeb’s, (the Mughal Emperor’s) relations with England (as Avery was an English pirate). 

Aurangzeb immediately closed four East India Company factories in India and imprisoned its officers and nearly ordered an armed attack against Bombay as he was determined to throw out the British from Indian soil. 

Bounty on Avery’s Head leading to World-wide manhunt:

The East India Company on seeing its tenuous hold in India coming under strain, used its good offices in England, and together with the Privy Council, in August 1696, offered a bounty of 1000 Pounds for Avery’s capture, starting the first biggest World-wide hunt for a pirate in its time, with every navy and pirate hunter on the look-out for Avery and his pirate crew.

Avery’s known whereabouts therafter to the Bahamas:

Avery fled to the Bahamas, briefly stopping at the pirate haven, New Providence, bribing (and sometimes threatening) local governors of the new colonies for their safe passage. 

The pirate crew dispersed at several places, including sailing back to the British Isles, British West Indies and fleeing to the North American Colonies as well as several undetermined destinations, under disguises/aliases. 

The “Fancy” was handed over to the Governor of Nassau after Avery posed as an English Captain, and paid a hefty bribe to the Governor Trott. When the East India Company authorities/pirate hunters caught up with Governor Trott, he denied that he had any knowledge of Avery and his crew being pirates, although he was hard pressed to explain how some Mughal gold and silver coins came to be in his possession.

Trott was forced to issue a warrant on Avery’s arrest but Avery and his pirate crew  made good their  escape . 

Only about two dozen of the 125 odd men of Avery’s crew were ever caught (mostly while trying to convert diamonds, jewellery and Mughal gold coins into cash through jewelers/men of means/ at hotels etc.) and after extensive judicial trials only about half a dozen were ultimately hanged for Acts of Piracy.

Avery’s last known journey to Ireland:

As regards Avery, it is speculated that he first tried to bribe some local Governors in the Bahamas to buy a Royal Pardon, but in view of the World-wide hunt for him, they refused to associate with him in any way. It was also rumoured that he reportedly offered to settle England's National Debt in exchange for a Royal Pardon.

 His last known trace was when he was sighted travelling towards Ireland on a sloop “Sea Flower”, but was recognized when he and a few of his men were unloading their treasure boxes. Avery escaped again while two of his men were caught.

It is speculated thereafter that he either returned to the British Isles under an assumed identity or settled on a tropical island to lead a rich retired life. 

Speculation regarding Avery’s Fate: The Pirate that disappeared into thin air:

One school of thought suggests that he was cheated when he attempted to sell his diamonds to some Bristol merchants, and was living in poverty. But this line of reasoning seems a little far-fetched because, he would have been identified by someone and captured by the authorities as a large bounty had been placed on his head.

 It is also speculated that he died sometime after 1696, but then nothing was ever heard of him ever after.

It has also been suggested that he changed his name and settled in Devon living a comfortable life without any further adventure, ultimately dying on 10^th June 1714.

The manhunt for Avery continued for about a decade, but despite several reported sightings, he was never caught.

Avery’s Legacy:

He was the archetypal pirate of his times, mostly active in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. His enemies and victims referred to him as the “King of the Pirates”. 

His guiles as a skillful pirate made him elude the pirate hunters and the Navies of several nations and he is one of the few pirates who retired from an active pirating career without ever being arrested by the Authorities or brought to trial. 

The highlight of his pirating career was carrying out the most profitable pirate operation to be ever carried out when he attacked the ships of the Mughal Fleet in the Indian Ocean. His pirating career lasted about two years, but his daring raids and final escape inspired others to look upon piracy as a “lucrative career", instilling a sense of romanticism in piracy as a “profession”. 

Several stories and literary pieces were inspired by his exploits.

Avery to sailors of his time was a kind of “benefactor” who exemplified that sailors resorting to rebellion and mutiny was an acceptable method of fighting back against dictatorial captains and social divides on board shipping in those days.

He proved to be an inspiration to pirates like Black Bart, Calico Jack, Stede Bonnet etc. who grew up hearing tales of Avery’s exploits, particularly aware of the fact that he was one of the pirates who was never caught by the authorities.

Avery’s flag (The Jolly Roger):

There are two versions of the Jolly Roger ascribed to Avery, one red and one black.

Avery’s pirate flag was red with a skull wearing a handkerchief/bandana  and an earring , above a saltire of two white crossed bones.

In this version of the Jolly Roger, also ascribed to Avery, the background is black.

Literature:

“The King of Pirates” by Daniel Defoe (1720), “The Life and Adventures of Captain John Avery”, by J. Baker (1709). He was the inspiration behind a comedy “The Pyrates” (1983) by George MacDonald Fraser and its BBC adaptation in 1986.

Avery has a sea shanty named after him “The Ballad of Long Ben”. 

Movies /films have been made on his legend – “The King’s Pirate” (1967). He figures in the “Doctor Who” serial “The Smugglers” (1966) where a search for his treasure is made, in the “Doctor Who” episode “The curse of the Black Spot” (2011). 

New Zealand Mint Coin:

New Zealand Mint has issued a set of four two-dollar denomination silver coins under its “The Real Pirates of the Caribbean” series. Henry Avery features on one of them having made it to the “Hall of Fame” of all time pirating history in his short career as a pirate.

The obverse of this coin features an image of Queen Elizabeth II, Sovereign of the Commonwealth of Niue.

The reverse of this coin features a coloured image of Henry Avery. These coins are legal tender of Niue Island. This coin has a diameter of 40.70 mm and is made of 0.999 Silver. The denomination of the coin is $2 and the year of issue is 2011.

For other Famous Pirates of the Caribbean please click on the undernoted Links:


1) Famous-Pirates-of- the Carribean: Captain William Kidd

2) Famous Pirates-of- the Caribbean : Edward Teach

3)Famous Pirates of the Caribbean: Bartholomew Roberts or Black Bart  

4) Famous-Pirates-of- the Caribbean: Jack Rackham or Calico Jack

5) Famous Pirates of the Caribbean : Sir Henry Morgan