As a Caribbean Pirate, Black Bart had a different type of business attire.
Black Bart Roberts was born John Roberts. It was not until after his death was he commonly referred to as Black Bart. He was the most successful pirate of the golden age of piracy, capturing far more ships than some of the best known Caribbean pirates of this era such as Blackbeard or Captain Kidd. He is said to have captured over 470 vessels.
Roberts was born in 1682 in the village of Casnewydd-Bach, (Little Newcastle), Wales. His name was originally John Roberts, and his father is thought to have been George Roberts. He changed his name from John to Bartholomew but the reason is unknown. He apparently went to sea at the age of 13 in 1695 but there is nothing more of him until 1718, when records shows he was mate on a Barbados sloop. In 1719 he was third mate aboard the slave ship Princess of London, under Captain Abraham Plumb. Early in June of that year the Princess was anchored at Anomabu, (Ghana) when it was captured by pirates. The pirates were on two ships, the Royal Rover and the Royal James, and were led by captain, Howell Davis. Davis was a fellow Welshman. Several of the crew of the Princess of London were forced to join the pirates, including Roberts. Davis quickly discovered Roberts’ abilities as a navigator and took to seeking his advice.
A few weeks later the Royal James had to be abandoned because of worm damage. The Royal Rover headed for the Isle of Princes. Davis hoisted the flags of Britain, and was allowed to enter the harbor. After a few days Davis invited the governor to lunch on board his ship, intending to hold him hostage for a ransom. When Davis had to send boats to collect the governor, he was invited to the fort for a glass of wine first. The governor and his military had by now discovered that the visitors were pirates. On the way to the fort, Davis' party was ambushed and Davis himself shot dead.
A new captain now had to be elected. Davis’ crew was divided into "Lords" and "Commons", and it was the "Lords" who had the right to propose a name to the remainder of the crew. Within six weeks of his capture, Roberts was elected captain. This was an unusual move since he was openly against his even being a pirate, this election was due to his navigational abilities and his behavior, which history reflects was outspoken and opinionated. Once he was captain he lead the crew back to Principe to get revenge for the death of Captain Davis, by bombarding the town and burning the fort. During the night, the crew entered and killed a large number of the males and stole anything that was of value. A few days later they captured a Dutch Guinea man and then the Experiment, an English ship. The ship and crew then headed for Brazil.
The Royal Rover crossed the Atlantic and waited on the uninhabited island of Ferdinando, near Brazil. When two months had past and not a single ship had been spotted. The Caribbean Pirates were starting to leave for the West Indies when they encountered a fleet of Portuguese ships in the Todos os Santos Bay. These ships were waiting for two man–of–war ships to escort them to Lisbon. Black Bart took one of the vessels, and ordered her master to point out the richest ship in the fleet. He pointed out a ship of 40 guns and a crew of 170, which Roberts and his men boarded and captured. The ship treasure contained 40,000 gold moidors and jewelry including a cross set with diamonds, designed for the King of Portugal. He quickly headed to Devil’s Island for protection and to enjoy spending some of the treasure. Shortly out of port they captured a couple more ships and then spotted a brigantine. Black Bart took 40 men in the sloop to capture it. He left Walter Kennedy in command of the Rover. Because of the weather he did not immediately return, but when he did the Rover was gone along with the remainder of the treasure. Roberts and crew renamed their sloop the Fortune and made new articles.
Blac Bart Roberts dressed for battle in a crimson damask waistcoat and trousers, a hat with a red plume, and a gold chain and diamond cross. He seldom drank aboard ship but on land he loved his beer. He reprimanded his crew if they were drunk when they were to go into battle.
In February of 1720 he was joined by a French pirate Montigny la Palisse in Sea King, another sloop. The inhabitants of Barbados equipped two well armed ships, the Summerset and the Philipa, to try to put an end to the piracy. Mid February they encountered the two pirate sloops. The Sea King quickly fled, and after considerable damage the Fortune was able to escape. Black Bart headed for Dominica for repairs. There were two other sloops from Martinique out searching for the pirates, and Roberts swore vengeance against the inhabitants of Barbados and Martinique.
Black Bart's new flag showed him standing on two skulls, representing the heads of a Barbadian and a Martiniquian (labeled ABH–A Barbadian's Head and AMH–A Martiniquian's Head). He had been to both islands and found the people disagreeable.
The Fortune now headed towards Newfoundland. After capturing a number of ships around the Newfoundland coast, Black Bart raided the harbor of Ferryland, and captured around a dozen vessels. Late in June he attacked the larger harbor of Trepassey, sailing in with black flags flying. All the ships in the harbor were abandoned by their panic-stricken captains and crews, and the pirates were masters of Trepassey without any resistance being offered. Roberts had captured 22 ships, but was angered by the cowardice of the captains because they had fled their ships. One brig ship from Bristol was taken over by the pirates to replace the sloop Fortune and fitted with 16 guns. When the pirates left in late June, all the other vessels in the harbor were set on fire. During July, Roberts captured nine or ten French ships and commandeered one of them, he fit her with 26 cannons and changing her name to the Good Fortune. With this being a more powerful ship, the pirates captured many more vessels before heading south for the West Indies. They were accompanied by Montigny la Palisse's sloop, which had rejoined them.
In September 1720 the Good Fortune was damaged and repaired at the island of Carriacou being renamed the Royal Fortune. He named several of his later ships the same. In late September the Royal Fortune and the Fortune headed for the island of St. Christopher's, and entered Basse Terra Road flying black flags and with their drummers and trumpeters playing. They sailed in among the ships in the Road, all of whom promptly struck their flags. The next landing was at the island of St. Bartholomew, where the French governor allowed the pirates to remain for several weeks to carouse. By mid October they were at sea again, off of St. Lucia, they captured up to 15 French and English ships in the next three days. Among the captured ships was the Greyhound, whose chief mate, James Skyrme, joined the pirates. He would later become captain of Black Bart's consort, the Ranger.
In early April 1721 the Caribbean pirates captured a French man of war and discovered that one of the passengers was the Governor of Martinique. Roberts had him hung from the yardarm. By the spring of 1721, his actions had almost brought sea trade in the West Indies to a standstill. The Royal Fortune and the Good Fortune therefore set sail for West Africa. In April 1721, Roberts sailed to Africa to trade his goods for gold. The Royal Fortune at this time had a crew of 228, including 48 blacks. The Good Fortune carried 100 white and 40 black seamen. To keep control of these large and often drunken crews, Black Bart became increasingly dictatorial. On the way to Africa, Thomas Anstis deserted with the Good Fortune, but Roberts had kept the best loot on board his own ship
By late April, Black Bart was at the Cape Verde islands. The Royal Fortune was found to be leaky, and was left there. The pirates transferred to the Sea King, which was renamed the Royal Fortune. Over the next several months Roberts and his men captured several more ships. His fleet was growing, the largest was a Royal Navy frigate
Black Bart now headed for Sierra Leone. Here he was told that two Royal Navy ships, H.M.S. Swallow and H.M.S. Weymouth, had left at the end of April, planning to return before Christmas. In August he captured two large ships at Point Cestos. One of these was the frigate Onslow, transporting soldiers bound for Cape Coast Castle. A number of the soldiers wished to join the pirates. The Onslow was converted to become the fourth Royal Fortune. In November and December the pirates had repairs and maintenance done on their ships and relaxed at Cape Lopez and the island of Annabon. Sutton was replaced by Skyrme as captain of the Ranger. They captured several more vessels in January 1722, and then sailed into Ouidah harbor with black flags flying. All the eleven ships at anchor there immediately struck their colors.
Rogers decided to return to Brazil to disband his crew. Meanwhile, two British men-of-war had been pursuing the pirates along the coast. On February 5, the Swallow, under Captain Challoner Ogle, caught up with Roberts' squadron near Cape Lopez in Gabon. Mistaking the warship for a Portuguese trader, the Great Ranger chased the Swallow and surrendered after a gun battle.
The Swallow returned to Cape Lopez on February 10 and found the Royal Fortune at anchor. The pirates had taken a prize the previous night, and most either helplessly drunk or hung over. Roberts dressed for battle, ordered with his usual boldness. Black Bart Roberts sent the Royal Fortune toward the Swallow to escape with the wind. Grapeshot from the Swallow's broadside brought instant death. Before his body could be captured by Ogle, Black Bart Roberts' wish to be buried at sea was fulfilled by his crew, who weighted his body down and threw his body overboard. The Royal Fortune surrendered about three hours later. Captain Ogle's men found about 300 pounds of gold dust in Roberts' three ships.
Only three Caribbean pirates, including Roberts, had been killed in the battle. A total of 272 men had been captured by the navy. Of these, 75 were black, and were sold into slavery. The remainder, apart from those who died on the voyage back, was taken to Cape Coast Castle. 54 were condemned to death, of whom 52 were hanged and two reprieved. Another 20 were allowed to sign indentures with the Royal African Company. Seventeen men were sent to the Marshalsea prison in London for trial, while over a third of the total were acquitted and released. Captain Chalonor Ogle was rewarded with a knighthood; the only British naval officer to be honored specifically for his actions against pirates. He also profited financially, taking gold dust from Black Bart's cabin, and eventually became an admiral. Captain Ogle claimed to have missed out on the treasure which the pirates had left on the Little Ranger when they went out to engage him. Of the loot Ogle did accept having taken possession of, the crew did not receive their share until Ogle was reluctantly forced to give it to them legally three years later.
The defeat of Black Bart and the subsequent obliteration of piracy off the coast of Africa was a turning point in the slave trade and even in the larger history of capitalism.
Black Bart was not as cruel to prisoners as some pirates. His boldness was his trademark. He led his crew into action wearing a number of pistols tucked into a silk bandolier and carrying a sharp cutlass. He attacked ships of all nations, but particularly singled out France and its colonies. A tall, handsome man who loved fine clothes he was also a gifted leader of men, and held his crews together by the use of prize money, codes of conduct and above all, constant success.
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