When Black Bart Burned Trepassey
It was June 21st, 1720 and the sun was just rising over Trepassey, Newfoundland. The fishermen listened to the songbirds and gentle surf on the rocks as they readied their boats. Everything indicated a beautiful day ahead.
Then the birds stopped singing.
In the distance, there was a rumble of canon fire. On the breeze came the sound of trumpets and drums. Under an ominous black flag emblazoned with a skull and cutlass The sloop Fortune swept into the harbour.
Black Bart, the dreaded pirate, had come to town.
Who Was Black Bart?
Black Bart wasn’t just a pirate, he may have been THE pirate.
“In an honest service, there is thin commons, low wages, and hard labour. In this, plenty and satiety, pleasure and ease, liberty and power.”
He was born as John Roberts in Wales in 1682. He went to sea as a young man and became a skilled navigator. In 1719, he was second mate on a slave ship anchored off Ghana. The ship was captured by pirates. Legend has it that Roberts was reluctantly ‘forced’ into piracy but, however hesitant his initiation, he was soon won over to the lifestyle and quickly gained power.
It was somewhere around this time he assumed the name Bartholomew. Nobody really knows why. It may have been that he thought an alias would be useful in a life of piracy.
Bartholomew Roberts, Public Domain
Regardless of the origin of his name, he soon set about making sure it would live in infamy. The charismatic Roberts reigned in terror on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean. From west Africa to the Caribbean and up the North American coast, Roberts captured more ships than anyone else (400 or more), murdered governors, and brought trade in the West Indies to a standstill.
And did it all with style.
Roberts favourite battle outfit consisted of a crimson damask waistcoat and breeches, a red feather in his hat, a gold chain with diamond cross around his neck. He carried a sword in his hand, and two pairs of pistols hanging at the end of a silk sling over his shoulders.
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For all of Roberts’ misbehaviour he appreciated good order among his crew. He tolerated drinking among his men but was no fan of alcohol himself and forbade gambling. His aversion to these vices gave him the nickname ‘The Puritan Pirate’.
Like a lot of pirates Roberts wrote a pirate code that outlined expected behaviour, punishments and even workers compensation.
It’s an interesting set of rules:
Every man has a vote in affairs of moment; has equal title to the fresh provisions, or strong liquors, at any time seized, and may use them at pleasure, unless a scarcity makes it necessary, for the good of all, to vote a retrenchment.
Every man to be called fairly in turn, by list, on board of prizes because, (over and above their proper share,) they were on these occasions allowed a shift of clothes: but if they defrauded the company to the value of a dollar in plate, jewels, or money, marooning was their punishment. If the robbery was only betwixt one another, they contented themselves with slitting the ears and nose of him that was guilty, and set him on shore, not in an uninhabited place, but somewhere, where he was sure to encounter hardships.
No person to game at cards or dice for money.
The lights and candles to be put out at eight o'clock at night: if any of the crew, after that hour still remained inclined for drinking, they were to do it on the open deck
To keep their piece, pistols, and cutlass clean and fit for service.
No boy or woman to be allowed amongst them. If any man were to be found seducing any of the latter sex, and carried her to sea, disguised, he was to suffer death
To desert the ship or their quarters in battle, was punished with death or marooning.
No striking one another on board, but every man's quarrels to be ended on shore, at sword and pistol.
No man to talk of breaking up their way of living, till each had shared one thousand pounds. If in order to this, any man should lose a limb, or become a cripple in their service, he was to have eight hundred dollars, out of the public stock, and for lesser hurts, proportionately.
The Captain and Quartermaster to receive two shares of a prize: the master, boatswain, and gunner, one share and a half, and other officers one and quarter.
The musicians to have rest on the Sabbath Day, but the other six days and nights, none without special favour.
“A merry life and a short one shall be my motto.”
Like many pirates, Bartholomew Robert’s career was short. He was killed by the Royal Navy near Africa in 1722 — 3 years after becoming a pirate. His cruel exploits during those years have kept his name alive for 300 years and earned him the posthumous nickname “Black Bart.”
Black Bart’s Newfoundland Story
In the spring of 1720 Bartholomew Roberts had been making his way north from the Caribbean. He hoped to avoid the hurricane season and was well aware that poorly-defended Newfoundland coastline offered a unique opportunity to enrich his fleet.
One of Bartholomew Roberts’ flags as described in the Boston Gazette in 1720 shortly after he was at Trepassey, Newfoundland.
Image by: RootOfAllLight, this file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
As the story goes, Roberts first port of call in Newfoundland was Ferryland. During a brief stop over, perhaps just to let Newfoundland know who they were dealing with, he set fire to the largest ship in the harbour.
From Ferryland he went to Trepassey.
300 years ago, Trepassey was an important port in the Newfoundland migratory cod fishery and, compared to a lot of other stations on the coast, it was well-provisioned. It was also relatively close to the trade routes used by wealthy North American/European merchants. It was an appealing destination for a pirate and Roberts found it to his liking.
On June 21, 1720, Bartholomew Roberts’ ship descended on Trepassey with black flag flying and canons firing. Music from the on board ‘orchestra’ hailed his arrival. It was an auspicious start to what would become, a 2-week occupation.
With little resistance in the port, Roberts was able to loot and pillage at leisure. He sank some vessels and burned others. He sent the unarmed crews to shore. According to some reports, when all was said and done, Roberts had destroyed as many as 26 vessels.
Without doubt, Roberts biggest coup in Trepassey was finding himself a new ship. A large merchant galley was in port and he quickly decided it was better than his own boat the Fortune. He seized it, had the best of his armament moved aboard and christened it with a name befitting it’s higher status — the Royal Fortune.
When the time came to leave, he sent his men ashore for one last raid. The people of Trepassey fled and the pirates landed unopposed. They ransacked the fishing station, taking anything of value and setting fire to the stages. With Trepassey in flames, the Royal Fortune swept out to sea, attacking vessels and, occasionally, convincing a local sailor to join his crew (including the famed John Walden/Miss Nanny).
That’s the most popular tale of Black Bart’s time in Newfoundland but it’s not the only story that’s been told.
For instance, for all that he supposedly stole, Roberts may have left something behind.
Something Left Behind
According to a not-incredibly-well-sourced article by Alex A. Parsons in the Newfoundland Quarterly (1922), Roberts had a romance while in Trepassey.
He fell in love with the daughter of a planter and fathered a child. Supposedly, the child stayed with its mother in Newfoundland, grew up and passed the Roberts DNA on to generations of islanders.
It’s quite a claim.
Is Any Of It True?
Well, I’m not remotely convinced he had a child.
But yes, it’s well-documented that 300 years ago Roberts wound up in Trepassey and spent a period of time there. He obtained a new ship and it seems likely he destroyed some vessels.
There isn’t a lot of evidence to back-up the claims of mass destruction and burning. In a Newfoundland Quarterly (2015), Olaf U. Janzen points out that official reports made about the fishing business in 1720 failed to mention any losses due to Roberts. That doesn’t mean there weren’t any but, if he really did destroy 20-plus vessels and burned a community’s fishing infrastructure, it seems odd it wasn't worth a mention.
But who knows?
That’s The Problem with Pirates
With pirates, it’s hard to know where the fact ends and the fiction begins. Swords and pistols weren’t a pirate’s only weapons — a fearsome reputation served them well. They encouraged legends of terrible exploits because, if their prey was afraid, it made their work that much easier.
Murder, marauding and mis-information — it’s the pirate way.
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Bartholomew Roberts, Encyclopedia of NL
Radiographs and Snapshots of History and Biography, Alex. A. Parsons, J. P, Newfoundland Quarterly, July 1922
Eric Cobham: The Pirate Who Never Was, Olaf U. Janzen, Newfoundland Quarterly, Fall 2015
Black Bart’s Music, Encyclopedia of NL
Pirates & Outlaws of Canada: 1610-1932, Harold Horwood
