Pirates and piracy from centuries past are now viewed in a rose tinted romantic light, and the names of many live on into the current day, including the likes of Blackbeard and Captain Kidd. Less well known today is Captain John Avery, even though he was one of the most famous in his day, and although not prolific he was successful, and managed to retire before meeting the gibbet.
- The Birth of John Avery
There is not a great deal known about the early life of Avery, although it is presumed he was born in 1653, in the Cat Down suburb of Plymouth, in Devon, England. Cat Down no longer exists although it roughly equates to the Cattledown area of the city which lies next to the River Plym in the south-east of the city.
- The Early Career of Captain John Avery
It would appear that there was only one career open to the young John Avery, and it seems that he served on various Royal Navy craft. It is thought that he was at Algiers with the English fleet when they were bombarding the fleet in 1671. From there he is thought to have been a buccaneer off of the Spanish Main as well as captain of a logwood freighter in the Bay of Campeachy. John Avery then became a privateer working for Captain Nicholls in 1691 and 1692, as well as being employed by the Governor of Bermuda as a slave trader. This trade involved the buying of slaves from the coastal areas of West Africa and then transporting them to the Caribbean and the east coast of America.
In 1694 Avery was the first mate onboard the Charles II, a 46 gun privateer in the fleet of Sir James Houblon operating out of La Coruna. The ship was under the command of Captain Gibson, an unpopular captain, who was directed to attack French smugglers operating in the area. One night though the crew mutinied, partially due to the drunken actions of the captain, and partially because it had been many months since the crew had been paid. The mutineers put Captain Gibson ashore and elected John Avery to be the ship's new captain.
As he entered into a career as a pirate he became wildly known as Henry Every, although he was known as John Every, Long Ben and Captain Benjamin Bridgeman. He was also known by the public as the "Arch Pirate".
- John Avery's Year of Crime
John Avery's entire career as a pirate is condensed into a twelve month period. The Charles II left La Coruna and was renamed the Fancy. The crew were desperate to make their fortunes so they headed towards Madagascar. At the Cape Verde Islands, Avery had his first successes as a pirate, where he took three English merchantmen, as well as French pirate ship. His crew was growing all the time and he soon had a compliment of 150 on the Fancy. With a few modifications made at Johanna, the Fancy was quickly made the fastest ships in the Indian Ocean.
It was from Johanna that Avery wrote his famous letter explaining that he would not attack any English ship, ignoring the fact that he already had. Avery then started to take payments from ships of the East India Company and the Indian Mughal, for safe passage.
- The Taking of the Ganj-J-Sawai
On arrival off the Arabian coast in August 1694, Avery and the Fancy were joined by the ships of Thomas Tew, William May, Thomas Wake and William Want. Avery was now in command of a pirate fleet. Sailing together they ships missed a twenty five strong convoy but soon came across the biggest prize ever taken by a pirate, the Ganj-J-Sawai and its escort ship the Fatah Muhammad. The Ganj-J-Sawai was the biggest ship in the fleet of the Great Mogul.
Initially the Fateh Muhammad did its job fighting off an attack by Thomas Tew, killing the captain in the process. The Fancy though soon took her, and gave up a prize of 50,000. The Ganj-J-Sawai though was a bigger vessel, comprising 62 guns, 600 passengers as well as 450 musketeers.
The pirate ships had more guns but it should have been a difficult fight. Initially the Ganj-J-Sawai gave flight but was soon overtaken; it was then that the ship's captain let down his vessel. The captain, Ibrahim Khan, rather than organising a defence hid amongst his concubines. John Avery also had some luck, as one of the first volleys from the pirate ships managed to brake the mainmast of the Indian vessel. Also one of the guns onboard the Ganj-J-Sawai exploded. A two hour battle eventually ended with the pirates from the Fancy boarding the Indian ship. A period of hand-to-hand fighting soon ended with only minimal losses to Avery's crew.
With victory the treasure onboard both ships were looted. Captives were also taken and tortured in an attempt to reveal further treasures. The women captives were raped, although many are known to have committed suicide rather than having to face humiliation. When all the treasure was taken, the male captives were released, the Ganj-J-Sawai was taken, and the remaining women kept.
The pirate fleet made their way to Reunion where the loot was divided, although the women prisoners were no longer with the fleet. At Reunion each pirate received one thousand pounds; Avery took twice that amount as captain. The thousand pounds equated to eighty years of pay for a paid seaman. Avery himself is said to have taken gemstones that had been meant as a gift to the Great Mogul himself.
Following the division of the loot, the allies parted company. Avery took the Fancy from Reunion and made his way to Nassau in the Bahamas. Avery made more money by selling some of the captured goods. On arrival in the Bahamas, the governor, Nicholas Trott, was bribed with seven thousand pounds and the Fancy to allow them refuge. Trott though could not be bribed to provide a pardon for Avery and his crew. Avery was too infamous and the Grand Mogul had placed a bounty on his head, Avery would not find welcome in any British colonial port.
With those of his crew willingly to travel, John Avery brought a small sloop, called the Isaac, and sailed from the Bahamas to Ireland. There some of the crew were arrested and hung shortly after landing, although the majority made their escape.
- The End of John Avery?
As John Avery and the remnants of his crew landed in Ireland, so the mystery of John Avery commences. John Avery managed to disappear, he was never caught by the authorities and there is no record of him passing away. The popular story has always been that he died a pauper in Bideford in Devon in 1696. He is said to have been cheated from his booty by merchants in Bristol. There is though no historical evidence for this, and the stories come from Captain Charles Johnson, who was an eighteenth century pirate biographer, with no corroborating evidence. At the time of the disappearance of John Avery there were stories that he had married the daughter of the Grand Moghul. These though were thought to be ridiculous at best. That was though until a plaque was discovered in 1967.
A plaque was discovered at Fort Colaba, south of Mumbai, which recorded in the Modi language, the message "Henry Every County Donegal, Ireland Death 1699". Made of stone it is though to either be a grave stone or a crematory marker. There is no evidence that this is the same Henry Every that was also known as John Avery. There were though plenty of European privateers who hired themselves out to help the Marratta navy that operated in the area. It is a romantic end to the story to think that John Avery escaped those who were hunting him and managed to keep his fortune. There are still people to be found living in the area with the names Henry and Every, so did he really survive and start a family with a local princess?
Despite the disappearance of John Avery, his name still reverberated around England. He became even more of a celebrity and Daniel Defoe used him as the inspiration for the novel "Life, Adventures, and Pyracies of the Famous Captain Singleton" in 1720. Defoe also wrote "The king of the pirates, being an account of the famous enterprises of Captain Avary", four years later. A play was also put on, called "The Successful Pyrate" it told the tale of a pirate who lived out his life a rich man. The glamorisation certainly meant that many men turned to the pirate's way of life.
The English government though couldn't allow the acts of Avery to go without comment. Senior Whigs commissioned Captain William Kidd to hunt down pirates that were disrupting world trade, and Avery was specifically excluded from future pardons. This was down in no small part due to the reaction of the Mughal emperor who took retribution against the East India Company for the actions of Avery and other pirates.
It may not be a popular modern theme to think of a criminal getting away with their actions, but it is a romantic view to think that Avery managed to live the last few years of his life in comfort, rather than dying a penniless seaman in a Devon town. Avery was one of the great pirates, although his name is now mostly overlooked when compared to more ruthless and vicious counterparts.