Piracy has been in existence for centuries. The common image of a pirate is one of roguish, swashbuckling heroes involved in daring adventures at sea. This is , however, far from the reality of the incidents of gruesome murder, torture and theft carried out by cruel, greedy and often desperate men.
Here we take a look at some historical Welsh connections to piracy;
St Patrick (arguably from Wales) c. 432 was kidnapped by pirates, taken to Ireland and sold into slavery.
Prior to his conversion to Christianity, Saint Gwynllyw, King of Gwynllwg c. 450 (patron saint of Welsh pirates and the city of Newport) led a life of violence and piracy causing terror across the Bristol Channel.
In 1275, Edward I of England hired pirates to seize Eleanor de Montfort as she sailed from France to meet her future husband Llywelyn ap Gruffudd. Llywelyn was forced to make concessions to secure her release. Also when Edward began building his ring of Welsh castles, his supply ships were regularly attacked by Welsh pirates.
John Callis was a 16th-century pirate active for decades on the Welsh side of the Bristol Channel. His most well-known base was the Point House at Angle in Pembrokeshire and he would often sell his bounty in Laugharne and Carew. He was finally captured and hanged at Newport in 1576.
US author John Amrhein suggests that the story of 'Treasure Island' is connected to the brothers Owen and John Lloyd from Rhuddlan who had emigrated to the West Indies. There they seized 52 chests of treasure from a Spanish ship and buried it on a remote Caribbean island. John also had a wooden leg. Amrhein goes on to suggest that Captain Flint was a merchant captain who took his name from his native Flintshire.
However, the classic era of piracy and the one that is most often referred to is that which occurred in the Caribbean from around 1650 until the 1720s. This was when England, France the Dutch began to develop their competing empires. Consequently, there was a considerable amount of seaborne trade with many ships travelling with valuable cargoes and vast sums of money.
These ships became the targets for pirate attacks either by individual pirate gangs or in many cases by privateers, who were commissioned by their country's government to take possession of a rival country's ships.
Many of the pirates in this era were Welsh such as;
Harri Morgan (c.1635 – 1688) was a farmer's son from Llanrhymney who sailed to the Caribbean in his late 20's. Here he operated as a privateer during the rule of Charles II, plundering the Caribbean islands and the Mexican coast. In 1671 he sacked the Spanish colony of Panama, he was knighted and appointed as the Governor of Jamaica where died and was buried in 1688, a rum-soaked alcoholic.
Lionel Wafer (1640–1705) was a Welsh ship's surgeon,who settled in Jamaica . In 1679 he was persuaded to join a privateering venture but was marooned with the Cuna Indians in the Isthmus of Panama (the narrow strip of land linking North and South America). On his return to England, he wrote about his adventures and was hired as an adviser for The Darien Scheme (the unsuccessful Scottish colony of "Caledonia" on the Isthmus of Panama in the late 1690s).
Hywel Davies (c.1690 – 1719) from Milford Haven, was a mate on a slave ship. When the ship was captured by pirates, he converted to piracy. After the crew mutinied, he was elected captain and made his base at Coxen Hole, on the island of Roatán off the Honduras coast. From here he carried out many successful raids mainly around the west coast of Africa. However his career as a pirate lasted for less than 12 months as when his tactic of pretending to be a commissioned privateer was rumbled by the governor of the island of Príncipe, he was shot and killed.
Black Bart (1682 – 1722). Born John Roberts in Casnewydd-Bach (Little Newcastle) near Fishguard. Roberts was the third mate on a slave ship which was captured by the Welsh pirate, Howell Davis in the Gold Coast of West Africa. He was persuaded to pursue a career of piracy during which he captured almost 500 ships. He was killed by the Royal Navy at Cape Lopez on the western coast of central Africa but before his body could be captured, his crew wrapped him the ship's sail and threw him overboard.
John Evans (died c. 1723) decided to try his luck at pirating after losing his employment as the master of a merchant's sloop operating from the Caribbean island of Nevis. He captured a Spanish sloop with some friends and enjoyed a short but successful career before being shot through the head after a row with a crew member in the Grand Caymans.
Robert Edwards (died 1762) was a Welsh buccaneer given 77 acres of land in Manhattan by Queen Anne for disrupting Spanish sea lanes. After Edwards' death, the property was taken on a 99-year lease, after which it was to be returned to Edward's heirs. This never happened and recently became the centre of a controversy dubbed "THE EDWARDS MILLIONS" as to the rightful ownership, now valued at approximately 650 billion dollars.
Towards the mid 18th century, the improved efficiency of country's navies resulted in piracy being made far difficult and there being less safe bases from which pirates could operate. This spelt the end of the 'Golden Age of Piracy' but also saw an increase in smuggling.
At this time UK law did not apply on the Isle of Man and it was an ideal location to store illicit goods before landing them on the isolated beaches and hidden coves of Anglesey and Llyn Peninsula in North Wales, the beach at Morfa Bychan being particularly popular. William Owen, a vicious cut throat smuggler from Nevern in Pembrokeshire was active in this area until he was hanged in 1747.
In South Wales, the islands in the Bristol Channel such as Lundy, Flat Holm and Caldey Island were used to store the contraband by smugglers such as;
John Lucas from Port Eynon and William Arthur who were active on Gower Peninsula, with Culver Hole and Brandy Cove being popular landing locations.
John Knight of Lundy Island who was active in Llantwit Major and Barry Island during the 1780's.
Scottish-born John Paul Jones referred to by many as the "Father of the American Navy" who was active in the waters around Tenby at the later part of the 18th century. He has a beach named after him on Caldey Island.
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