Bartholomew Roberts was born in 1682 in…
June 1719 CE
Bartholomew Roberts was born in 1682 in Casnewydd-Bach, or Little Newcastle, between Fishguard and Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire, Wales.
His name was originally John Roberts, and his father was most likely George Roberts.
It's not clear why Roberts changed his name from John to Bartholomew, but pirates often adopted aliases, and he may have chosen that name after the well-known buccaneer Bartholomew Sharp.
He is thought to have gone to sea when he was 13 in 1695 but there is no further record of him until 1718, when he was mate of a Barbados sloop.
In 1719, he was third mate on the slave ship Princess, under Captain Abraham Plumb.
In early June of that year, the Princess had been anchored at Anomabu, at this time spelled Annamaboa, which is situated along the Gold Coast of West Africa (present-day Ghana), when she was captured by pirates in two vessels, the Royal Rover and the Royal James, led by captain Howell Davis.
Davis, like Roberts, is a Welshman, originally from Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire.
Several of the crew of the Princess had been forced to join the pirates, including Roberts.
Davis had quickly discovered Roberts' abilities as a navigator and had taken to consulting him.
He is also able to confide to Roberts information in Welsh, thereby keeping it hidden from the rest of the crew.
Roberts is said to have been reluctant to become a pirate at first, but soon came to see the advantages of this new lifestyle.
It is easy to understand the lure of piracy; in the merchant navy, Roberts' wage had been less than £3 per month and he had no chance of promotion to captaincy.
A few weeks later, the Royal James had had to be abandoned because of worm damage.
The Royal Rover had headed for the Isle of Princes, now Príncipe.
Davis has hoisted the flags of a British man-of-war, and is allowed to enter the harbor.
After a few days, Davis invites the governor to lunch on board his ship, intending to hold him hostage for a ransom.
As Davis has to send boats to collect the governor, he is invited to call at the fort for a glass of wine first.
The Portuguese have by now discovered that their visitors are pirates, and on the way to the fort Davis' party is ambushed and Davis himself shot dead.
A new captain now has to be elected.
Davis' crew is divided into "Lords" and "Commons", and it is the "Lords" who have the right to propose a name to the remainder of the crew.
Within six weeks of his capture, Roberts is elected captain.
This is an unusual move, since he is openly against his even being on board the vessel, and is probably due to his navigational abilities and his demeanor, which history reflects was outspoken and opinionated.
His first act as captain is to lead the crew back to Príncipe to avenge the death of Captain Davis.
Roberts and his crew spring onto the island in the darkness of night, kill a large portion of the male population, and steal all items of value that they can carry away.
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