Howell Davis was a Welsh pirate, born around 1690. Davis had
become a pirate in 1718, and was ransacking ships along the African coast.
Having plundered several merchant ships, he had also taken a 32-gun Dutch ship
which he renamed the Rover.
In the bay of
Anamaboe, he had taken three more ships, one of which was called the Princess, on board which another
Welshman called Bartholomew Roberts was serving as a second-mate. When the ship
was boarded, Roberts somewhat-unenthusiastically joined the pirates.
Following this, Davis would soon make his biggest find, a
Dutch ship containing the Governor of Acra and almost £15,000 as well as other
valuable cargo.
However, following this, Davis had realised a far easier way
of getting rich than simple force; he decided to use his natural intelligence,
charm and charisma to make money. He began by meeting with the commander of a
Royal African Company slaving fort in Gambia, pretending to be a legitimate
privateer serving the King of Great Britain. The commander arranged for a
dinner to be held, welcoming Davis. However, during this dinner, the Welsh
pirate took the Commander hostage, seizing £2000 in gold in exchange for his
life.
Deciding that this method was more preferable to that of the
sword, Davis went next to the Portuguese-held island of Principe. Going ashore, having flown the British flag
from a captured Man-O-War , he met with the Portuguese Governor, pretending
that he was, once more, an English pirate-hunter. The Portuguese Governor fell
for this ruse, offering assistance against pirates. Davis accepted his help,
asking any bills for his men’s supplies to be sent to the King of England.
He promptly returned to his ship, just as a French ship
entered the harbour. ‘Explaining’ to the Governor that this was crewed by ‘pirates’;
he attacked and captured the ship, impressing the Governor and further earning
his trust.
Intending to completely earn the Governor’s trust, he
offered the Governor twelve slaves as a gift, intending to lure him aboard his
ship to kidnap him and hold him for ransom, aiming to receive £40,000 in
exchange for the Governor. However, the night before this could happen, one of
the slaves escaped, warning the Portuguese.
Thusly, when Davis went ashore the next morning to escort
his ‘guest’ to view his ‘gift’, the Portuguese had prepared an ambush for him,
killing him and many of his men.
His death in June or July 1719 is recorded in ‘Captain
Charles Johnson’s’ A General History of
the Pyrates:
“…just as he fell, he
perceived he was follow'd, and drawing out his Pistols, fired them at his
pursuers: Thus like a game Cock, giving a dying Blow, that he might not fall
unavenged."
(Johnson 193, quoted from http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/historyofthecaribbean/a/Biography-Of-Howell-Davis_2.htm)
By the time of his death, Davis had become the 14th
richest pirate, despite having only been one for 11 months.
Upon his death, his remaining crew appointed another
Captain, the Welshman Bartholomew Roberts, now regarded as one of the most
successful pirates in history. His first act as Captain was to avenge his
compatriot; assaulting the fort of Principe, looting it and tossing its cannons
into the ocean. The civilian population was forced into the woods as Roberts’
ship bombarded the town to rubble, burning two Portuguese ships in the harbour
before departing in satisfaction.
So ended a genuinely cunning pirate who had used one of
piracy’s more unknown tactics: trickery through skilled acting. A pirate who
considered violence a last resort and went against modern stereotypes is surely
noteworthy. It is a pity that men such as these are not better remembered, for
they present a far broader image of 18th Century pirates than most
know today.
Sources:
All the Countries We’ve Ever Invaded-by Stuart Laycock(The
History Press; 2012)
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