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-{{About|the pirate captain Edward (Seegar) England|the West Virginia Attorney General|Edward T. England}}
-{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
-{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
-{{Infobox pirate
-|name=Edward England
-|birth_date=c.1685
-|death_date= 1721 (aged approx. 36)
-|image= England, Edward.JPG
-|caption=An 18th century woodcut of England.
-|nickname= Ned
-|type=Pirate<br/>Former Privateer
-|birth_place =Ireland
-|death_place =St. Augustine's Bay, [[Madagascar]]
-|allegiance= Great Britain (War of Spanish Succession)
-|base of operations= West Indies
-|rank=Captain
-|commands=Several vessels, most famously the Royal James & the Fancy.
-|battles= Battle with the ''Cassandra'' that caused his crew to mutiny and maroon him for sparing some captives.
-|wealth=
-|laterwork=
 }}
+[[
-[[File:Flag of Edward England.svg|thumb|300px|right|Edward England's flag.]]
-'''Edward England''', born '''Edward Seegar ''' (c.1685–1721)<ref>David Marley (2010), ''Pirates of the Americas: Volume 1'', p. 583.</ref><ref>Angus Konstam and David Cordingly (2002), ''The History of Pirates'', p. 132.</ref> was a famous African coast and Indian Ocean [[pirate]] captain from 1717 to 1720.  The ships he sailed on included the ''Pearl'' (which he renamed ''The Royal James'') and later the ''Fancy'', for which England exchanged the ''Pearl'' in 1720.  His flag was the classic [[Jolly Roger]] — almost exactly as [[Samuel Bellamy|"Black Sam" Bellamy]] used — with a [[human skull|skull]] above two crossed bones on a black background.
-==Early life==
-Born in Ireland as Edward Seegar sometime around 1685<ref>Pirates & Privateers in Mauritius
- By Denis Piat</ref> He was probably raised as a Catholic <ref>Pirates of the Americas, Volume 1
- By David F. Marley</ref> and was said to be an educated man.<ref>Rediker, Marcus. Villains of All Nations: Atlantic Pirates in the Golden Age</ref> Seegar changed his surname to England when he turned pirate.<ref>Pirates of the Americas, Volume 1
- By David F. Marley</ref> England made his way to Jamaica and during the [[War of the Spanish Succession|War of Spanish Succession]] he served as a [[privateer]].<ref>Piracy: The Complete History
- By Angus Konstam</ref> He was captured by the pirate captain Christopher Winter and forced to join the crew.<ref>Charles Johnson (1724), ''A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates'', p. 113.</ref>  Winter most likely took England to the pirate base on [[Nassau, Bahamas]].{{Citation needed|date=April 2016}}  England took part in [[Henry Jennings]] assault on
-the Spanish salvage camp at Palma de Ayz, Florida, stealing £87,000 in gold and silver.<ref>Contemporary Maritime Piracy: International Law, Strategy, and Diplomacy at Sea By James Kraska</ref> England is next reported as [[Charles Vane]]'s [[quartermaster]], in March 1718.  Vane's sloop, the ''Lark'' was captured by the Royal Navy, but England and the rest of the crew were released to induce the other pirates of Nassau to accept the King's pardon.<ref>Colin Woodard (2008), ''The Republic of Pirates'', ISBN 0-15-603462-X, p. 234-35.</ref>
-==Captaincy-Coast of Africa==
-Vane granted England command of a captured vessel in mid-1718. England decided not to accept the King's pardon. He sailed to the Coast of Africa, after the arrival of [[Woodes Rogers]] in [[New Providence]]. During the voyage to the Coast of Africa
-he took several ships, particularly the ''Cadogan''  captained by a man called Skinner.
-Some of England's crew murdered Skinner who they had previously served under because he had failed to pay their wages. As soon as Skinner came on board, he saw his old Boatswain, who said, ″Ah! Captain Skinner is it you, I
-am much in your debt, and now I shall pay you in your own coin″. They immediately seized Captain Skinner, bound him to the
-windlass and pelted him with glass bottles. Afterwards they said, because he had been a good Master he should have an easy death, and so shot him through the head. England also encountered [[Howell Davis]] on that ship. Davis was a likeable man and easily gained favour with England, however Davis refused to sign articles with the pirates saying he would rather die. This impressed England who saw a lot of potential in Davis and he gave the command of the ''Cadogan'' to him.<ref>THE LIVES AND ADVENTURES
-OF SUNDRY
-NOTORIOUS PIRATES by C. Lovat Fraser</ref> England eventually exchanged his sloop for a larger ship called, the ''Pearl''   renaming it the ''Royal James'' and returned to Africa in the spring of 1719. Between the River Gambia and Cape Coast, the pirates took ten ships. After which England took two more ships, one the pirates named her ''Victory'' and made [[John Taylor (pirate)|John Taylor]] the captain.
-England and his crew stayed for some time in an African town, but a conflict arose over the pirates' treatment of the local women.  Fighting broke out, the pirates burned the town, and set sail.
-==Indian  Ocean==
-By 1720, England had reached the Indian Ocean, where he met with fellow pirate Captain [[Olivier Levasseur|Oliver la Buse]]. England captured a thirty-four gun Dutch ship, which he named ''Fancy'' in honour of [[Henry Every]], and he made the ''Fancy'' his new flagship. England decided to attack an East Indiaman under the command of [[James Macrae]], the ''Cassandra'', near the island of [[Comoros]]. A long and bloody battle ensued, and both ships ran aground. Macrae and his surviving crew escaped and hid on the island for ten days. Finally Macrae, who was injured, tired, and hungry, went aboard England's consort the ''Victory'', hoping for mercy, and surrendered to the pirates. The cargo of the ''Cassandra'' was valued at £75,000. Ninety of the ''Fancy's'' crew died in the attack on the ''Cassandra''.<ref>A General History of the Robberies & Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates by Captain Charles Johnson</ref> England had a good nature and unusual kindness, in that he didn't believe in torturing captives unless they couldn't otherwise be persuaded.<ref>A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates by Captain Charles Johnson</ref> England ordered Macrae's life spared, and the pirates kept the ''Cassandra'' and gave the heavily damaged ''Fancy'' to Macrae. England's quartermaster, John Taylor, who was now captain of the ''Victory'', resented this choice, and only agreed after England got him drunk.
-England then captured a small English ship near [[Kochi|Cochin]], the drunk captain reporting a false rumour that Macrae was preparing a fleet to chase the pirates. This enraged the pirates, particularly Taylor, who had wanted to kill Macrae. Around this time, Taylor organised a vote to remove England from command.
-[[File:Pirate England.jpg|thumb|An engraving depicting the pirate Edward England with, in the background, the fight of the Fancy (left) and the Cassandra.]]
-==Marooning in Mauritius==
-England was subsequently [[Marooning|marooned]] on [[Mauritius]] with three other crew members without adequate provisions.<ref>The Pirates Own Book edited by Charles Ellms</ref> After about four months they built a small boat and managed to sail across the Indian Ocean and made it to St. Augustine's Bay in [[Madagascar]].<ref>Pirates & Privateers in Mauritius
- By Denis Piat</ref> One of the men marooned with England who had also defended Macrae was described as "a man with a terrible pair of whiskers and a wooden leg, being stuck round with pistols," and is said to have been the model for Robert Louis Stevenson's character [[Long John Silver]].<ref>A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates by Captain Charles Johnson</ref>{{Unreliable source?|certain=|reason=this book was published in 1724, 160 years before Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island|date=August 2015}} England survived for a while on the charity of other pirates,<ref>A General History of the Robberies & Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates by Captain Charles Johnson</ref> possibly some of [[Henry Every]]'s old crew.<ref>The Republic of Pirates by Colin Woodard</ref> He died in 1721,<ref>''The Book of Pirates'' by Michael MacLeod, Christine Lampe and Jamaica Rose</ref>
-from ″severe Strings of his Conscience″ according to the unreliable account of a sailor named Downing.<ref>''Treasure Neverland: Real and Imaginary Pirates'' by Neil Rennie</ref>
-==Legacy==
-Edward England is known today as one of the more humane pirate captains of the [[Golden Age of Piracy]].
-''He had a great deal of good Nature, and did not want for Courage ; he was not avaritious, and always averse to the ill Usage of Prisoners received : He would have been contented with moderate Plunder, and less mischievous Pranks, could his Companions have been brought to the same Temper, but he was generally over-rul'd, and as he was engaged in that abominable Society, he was obliged to be a Partner in all their vile Actions.''—Captain Charles Johnson.<ref>A General History of the Robberies & Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates by Captain Charles Johnson p80</ref>
-==References==
-{{Reflist}}
-==External links==
-{{Portal|Biography}}
-*[http://www.cosmosmith.com/jolly_roger.html Pirate Flags]
-*[http://www.vleonica.com/england.htm Edward England section on V'lé Onica's ''Pirate Cove'' website]
-*[http://thewayofthepirates.com/famous-pirates/edward-england.php Merciful Pirate, Edward England]
-*[http://www.lyricskid.us/lyrics/timedivers-lyrics/farewell-to-edward-england-lyrics.html Farewell To Edward England Song]
-*[http://www.gutenberg.org/files/31673/31673-h/31673-h.htm  Project Gutenberg EBook of The Rose of Paradise by Howard Pyle]
-*[http://www.marinersmuseum.org/stamp-history/pirates-edward-england Edward England Stamp.]
-*[http://pieces-of-eight.tripod.com/Pirates%20page.htm The Black Fleet.]
-*[http://www.heritage-history.com/?c=read&author=langjohn&book=golden&story=england England and Davis]
-*[http://cardjunk.blogspot.ie/2010/09/happy-talk-like-pirate-day.html Allen & Ginter Card]
-{{pirates}}
-{{DEFAULTSORT:England, Edward}}
-[[Category:1680s births]]
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