I
Of Captain Avery, and His Crew
None of these bold adventurers were ever so much talked of, for a while, as Avery; he made as great a noise in the world as Meriveis does now, and was looked upon to be a person of as great consequence; he was represented in Europe, as one that had raised himself to the dignity of a king, and was likely to be the founder of a new monarchy; having, as it was said, taken immense riches, and married the great mogul’s daughter, who was taken in an Indian ship, which fell into his hands; and that he had by her many children, living in great royalty and state; that he had built forts, erected magazines, and was master of a stout squadron of ships, mann’d with able and desperate fellows of all nations; that he gave commissions out in his own name to the captains of his ships, and to the commanders of his forts, and was acknowledged by them as their prince. a play was writ upon him, called, The Successful Pirate; and, these accounts obtained such belief, that several schemes were offered to the council for fitting out a squadron to take him; while others were for offering him and his companions an act of grace, and inviting them to England, with all their treasure, lest his growing greatness might hinder the trade of Europe to the East Indies.
Yet all these were no more than false rumours, improved by the credulity of some, and the humour of others who love to tell strange things; for, while it was said, he was aspiring at a crown, he wanted a shilling; and at the same time it was given out he was in possession of such prodigious wealth in Madagascar, he was starving in England.
No doubt, but the reader will have a curiosity of knowing what became of this man, and what were the true grounds of so many false reports concerning him; therefore, I shall, in as brief a manner as I can, give his history.
He was born in the West of England near Plymouth in Devonshire, being bred to the sea, he served as a mate of a merchantman, in several trading voyages: it happened before the Peace of Ryswick, when there was an alliance betwixt Spain, England, Holland, etc. against France, that the French in Martinique, carried on a smuggling trade with the Spaniards on the continent of Peru, which by the laws of Spain, is not allowed to friends in time of peace, for none but native Spaniards are permitted to traffic in those parts, or set their feet onshore, unless at any time they are brought as prisoners; wherefore they constantly keep certain ships cruising along the coast, whom they call guardacosta, who have the orders to make prizes of all ships they can light of within five leagues of land. Now the French growing very bold in trade, and the Spaniards being poorly provided with ships, and those they had being of no force, it often fell out, that when they light of the French smugglers, they were not strong enough to attack them, therefore it was resolv’d in Spain, to hire two or three stout foreign ships for their service, which being known at Bristol, some merchants of that city, fitted out two ships of thirty odd guns, and 120 hands each, well furnished with provision and ammunition, and all other stores; and the hire being agreed for, by some agents for Spain, they were commanded to sail for A Coruña or the Groyne, there to receive their orders, and to take on board some Spanish gentlemen, who were to go passengers to New Spain.
Of one of these ships, which I take to be call’d the Duke, Capt. Gibson Commander, Avery was first mate, and being a fellow of more cunning than courage, he insinuated himself into the goodwill of several of the boldest fellows on board the other ship, as well as that which he was on board of; having sounded their inclinations before he opened himself, and finding them ripe for his design, he, at length, proposed to them, to run away with the ship, telling them what great wealth was to be had upon the coasts of India. It was no sooner said than agreed to, and they resolved to execute their plot at the night following.
It must be observ’d, the Captain was one of those who are mightily addicted to punch, so that he passed most of his time onshore, in some little drinking ordinary; but this day he did not go onshore as usual; however, this did not spoil the design, for he took his usual dose on board, and so got to bed before the hour appointed for the business: the men also who were not privy to the design, turn’d into their hammocks, leaving none upon deck but the conspirators, who, indeed, were the greatest part of the ship’s crew. At the time agreed on, the Dutchess’ longboat appear’d, which Avery hailing in the usual manner, was answered by the men in her, Is your drunken boatswain on board? Which was the watchword agreed between them, and Avery replying in the affirmative, the boat came aboard with sixteen stout fellows, and joined the company.
When our gentry saw that all was clear, they secured the hatches, so went to work; they did not slip the anchor, but weigh’d it leisurely, and so put to sea without any disorder or confusion, though there
