To his most sacred Majesty George, by the grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, etc.
The humble petition of the company, now belonging to the ship Morning Star, and brigantine Good Fortune, lying under the ignominious name and denomination of pirates.
Humbly showeth,
That we your Majesty’s most loyal subjects, have, at sundry times, been taken by Bartholomew Roberts, the then captain of the abovesaid vessels and company, together with another ship, in which we left him; and have been forced by him and his wicked accomplices, to enter into, and serve, in the said company, as pirates, much contrary to our wills and inclinations: and we your loyal subjects utterly abhoring and detesting that impious way of living, did, with an unanimous consent, and contrary to the knowledge of the said Roberts, or his accomplices, on, or about the , leave, and ran away with the aforesaid ship Morning Star, and brigantine Good Fortune, with no other intent and meaning than the hopes of obtaining your Majesty’s most gracious pardon. And, that we your Majesty’s most loyal subjects, may with more safety return to our native country, and serve the nation, unto which we belong, in our respective capacities, without fear of being prosecuted by the injured, whose estates have suffered by the said Roberts and his accomplices, during our forcible detainment, by the said company: we most humbly implore your Majesty’s most royal assent, to this our humble petition.
This petition was sent home by a merchant ship bound to England, from Jamaica, who promised to speak with the petitioners, in their return, about 20 leagues to windward of that island, and let them know what success their petition met with. When this was done, the pirates retires to the island before proposed, with the ship and brigantine.
This island (which I have no name for) lies off the southwest end of Cuba, uninhabited, and little frequented. On the east end is a lagoon, so narrow, that a ship can but just go in, though there’s from 15 to 22 foot water, for almost a league up: on both sides of the lagoon grows red mangrove trees, very thick, that the entrance of it, as well as the vessels laying there, is hardly to be seen. In the middle of the island are here and there a small thick wood of tall pines, and other trees scattered about in different places.
Here they stayed about nine months, but not having provision for above two, they were forced to take what the island afforded, which was fish of several sorts, particularly turtle, which latter was the chiefest food they lived on, and was found in great plenty on the coasts of this island; whether there might be any wild hogs, beef, or other cattle, common to several islands of the West Indies, or that the pirates were too idle to hunt them, or whether they preferr’d other provisions to that sort of diet, I know not; but I was informed by them, that for the whole time they eat not a bit of any kind of flesh-meat, nor bread; the latter was supply’d by rice, of which they had a great quantity aboard: this was boil’d and squeez’d dry, and so eat with the turtle.
There are three or four sorts of these creatures in the West Indies, the largest of which will weight 150 or 200 pound weight or more, but those that were found upon this island were of the smallest kind, weighing 10 or 12 pounds each, with a fine natural wrought shell, and beautifully clouded; the meat sweet and tender, some part of it eating like chicken, some like veal, etc. so that it was no extraordinary hardship for them to live upon this provision alone, since it affords variety of meats to the taste, of itself. The manner of catching this fish is very particular; you must understand, that in the months of May, June and July, they lay their eggs in order to hatch their young, and this three times in a season, which is always in the sand of the seashore, each laying 80 or 90 eggs at a time. The male accompanies the female, and come ashore in the night only, when they must be watch’d, without making any noise, or having a light; as soon as they land, the men that watch for them, turn them on their backs, then haul them above high water mark, and leave them till next morning, where they are sure to find them, for they can’t turn again, nor move from the place. It is to be observ’d, that besides their laying time, they come ashore to feed, but then what’s very remarkable in these creatures, they always resort to different places to breed, leaving their usual haunts for two or three months, and ’tis thought they eat nothing in all that season.
They pass’d their time here in dancing, and other diversions, agreeable to these sort of folks; and among the rest, they appointed a mock court of judicature to try one another for piracy, and he that was a criminal one day was made Judge another.—I had an account given me of one of these merry trials, and as it appeared diverting, I shall give the readers a short account of it.
The court and criminals being both appointed, as also council to plead, the judge got up in a tree, and had a dirty taurpaulin hung over his shoulders; this was done by way of robe, with a thrum cap on his head, and a large pair of
