The pirates enjoyed a massive amount of wealth following their raid at the sunken treasure fleet camp and lived a life of luxury on the island enclave at the British controlled Bahamas.įor the next several years Vane and his cohorts would commit acts of piracy from their stronghold all throughout the West Indies and the rest of British North America. Using their massive windfall of wealth, Vane and the other Flying Gang members including Benjamin Hornigold, Thomas Barrow and others would go onto become one of the founding members of the Republic of Pirates at the pirate haven at Nassau on the island of New Providence. As the surviving Spanish tried to salvage what they could of the wrecks, the pirates raided the camps and made off with around £87,000 in recovered gold and silver. When the Treasure Fleet sunk it deposited tons of gold and silver on the seafloor that continues to show up on beaches to this day. The first action of Charles Vane and Henry Jennings along with many members of the future Flying Gang including Samuel Bellamy was to loot the fabled sunken treasure fleet that had sunk off the coast of La Florida after a devastating hurricane in 1715. Flying Gangġ715 Sunken Treasure Fleet Map - Herman Moll Coupled with the peace that the Treaty of Utrecht brought many of these privateers channeled their hatred of the Crown into becoming the most Pirates of all time.
When Archibald Hamilton was recalled to England to face charges of conspiracy related to the Jacobite Rebellion his privateer army was disbanded and thousands of sailors found themselves out of work. He likely served as a sailor throughout the War of the Spanish Succession and gained much valuable experience during this conflict.
Arriving in Port Royal sometime in the early 1700's he is first documented to have began his pirate career under captain Henry Jennings in 1716. This meant he would have been involved in the naval power of the Jacobite Rebellion and therefore this could explain his utter hatred of the British Empire. His early life is not well documented, however he probably started serving under Lord Archibald Hamilton's privateer army operating out of British Jamaica and the pirate haven at Port Royal. Their bodies would usually be gibbeted for months and years after as a would-be warning to others not to engage in the trade of piracy.Ĭharles Vane - Pirates of the Spanish Main (1888) While pirates like his good friend Edward 'Blackbeard' Teach and the infamous Bartholomew Roberts would die in battle, Vane and 'Calico' Jack Rackham and many others would be tried in the kangaroo courts of the British West Indies and sentenced to death. His eventual fate was the same as most of the outlaw pirates as well, a quick death at the end of the hangman's noose. While not as brutal as Edward Low, Vane was known to be one of the most ruthless of all the pirates and committed many acts of brutality against the merchants he occasionally captured. While the buccaneers generally attacked their political opponents the Flying Gang attacked anyone and everyone in the period of peace following the end of the War of the Spanish Succession. Overall Charles Vane represents the lawless and brutality that accompanied the 18th century outlaw pirates.
He is also important for helping launch the career of Edward England who was originally his quartermaster and ended up becoming a formidable pirate in his own right and was one of the only members of the Flying Gang to make the Pirate Round. While not the wealthiest or most successful pirate, he is known for virtually shutting down trade in the West Indies such as the Trans-Atlantic Triangular Trade. Vane continued to commit piracy until his capture and death, becoming one of the most popular pirates in culture due his story being written in A General History of Pyrates by Captain Charles Johnson. While not the luckiest or most wealthiest of the pirates either, Vane was mostly known for his defiance and complete embracing of the Pirates Culture. One of his most notorious acts was sending a combustible fireship at the British blockade of their pirate haven at Nassau by governor Woodes Rogers during the Blockade of Nassau. He is famous for being a member of the Flying Gang and one of the most brazen and ruthless pirates of them all.
Charles Vane - A General History of the Pyrates (1725)Ĭharles Vane (1680 – 29 March 1721) was an English pirate during the Golden Age of Piracy who operated for over three years from about 1716 to 1719 during the Post-Spanish Succession Period.
0 kommentar(er)
