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George Bond (pirate)

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For other people named George Bond, see George Bond (disambiguation).

George Bond (fl 1683-1684) was an English pirate active in the Caribbean. He was known for acting in league with the pirate-friendly Governor of St. Thomas, Adolph Esmit.

History

Bond had been master of the ship Summer Island out of London. On arriving in St. Thomas he purchased a Dutch ship from Governor Esmit, renaming it Fortune’s Adventure.[1] In 1683 aboard his new 100-man ship he seized the English merchant vessel Gideon; he presented it to Esmit, who protected the pirates, outfitted their ship, and rewarded each of them with an ounce of gold dust.[2] After Bond brought him a Dutch prize in December, Esmit maintained it had been salvaged as a shipwreck in order to deter an English party from reclaiming it.[3] The Dutch vessel was later recovered[4] but had been emptied of its cargo by Esmit.[2]

Governor William Stapleton sent the warship HMS Frances under Captain Carlile in August 1683 to bring in Bond[5], but by that October Bond was still at large: “There is now no pirate abroad but Bond with a small ship and one hundred men. He is expected at St. Thomas where Captain Carlisle is ready for him.”[2] Carlile was unable to capture Bond, and a frustrated Stapleton minced no words when speaking of Esmit’s support of Bond, Jean Hamlin, and other pirates: “My lords, there is no safe trading to or from these parts until that receptacle of thieves and sea-robbers be reduced or that Governor hanged who so openly protects them.”[2]

Around June 1684 Bond captured the formerly French sloop Fox and again brought it to Esmit, who refused the pleas from a Jamaican representative to return it.[6] Bond’s ultimate fate is unknown, though he reportedly sailed as a Spanish Guarda Costa privateer for a time.[3]

See Also

  • John Bear (pirate), another English captain who sailed as a Spanish Guarda Costa privateer.

References

  1. ^ Dookhan, Isaac (1974). A History of the Virgin Islands of the United States. Kingston, Jamaica: Canoe Press. p. 112. ISBN 9789768125057. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Fortescue, J.W. (1898). America and West Indies: August 1683, 1-15 | British History Online (Volume 11 ed.). London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  3. ^ a b Little, Benerson (2007). The Buccaneer's Realm: Pirate Life on the Spanish Main, 1674-1688. Washington DC: Potomac Books, Inc. ISBN 9781597971010. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  4. ^ Marley, David F. (2012). Daily Life of Pirates. Santa Barbara CA: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9780313395642. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  5. ^ Westergaard, Waldemar (1917). The Danish West Indies Under Company Rule (1671-1754): With a Supplementary Chapter, 1755-1917. New York: Macmillan. p. 53. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
  6. ^ Marley, David (2010). Pirates of the Americas. Santa Barbara CA: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781598842012. Retrieved 28 August 2017.
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