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Trader Jack
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| Pirate Name:William Trader Jack | Born:1756 |
| Hailed from:Seville, Spain (assumed) | Died:1822 |
| Physical characteristics:Trader Jack was over six feet tall, muscular, broad of shoulder and narrow of hip, with the carriage of the trained fighting man. He had a long scar that ran the length of his face. Handsome, his features were regular, and clear cut with long dark hair and a black beard. Piercing dark blue eyes. | |
| Early Life:Much of his early life was never known. Some have said that he was the child of a Spanish nobleman and a peasant girl. He joined the Naval Academy and went on to become a well-respected Commander of a privateer. By the age of 27 he was an Admiral and naval attaché to the king of Spain. Some say he was actually a mercenary backed by the Spanish government and several New World investors to track down pirates and reclaim their stolen wares. | |
| How he became a pirate:Instead of being acclaimed a national hero, a jealous member of the Royal family accused him of becoming a pirate. Charges of theft were soon invented against him and his arrest was authorized. So Trader Jack commandeered a ship and sailed for the Americas and a life of piracy. Soon towns all over New England would each have their own tale of Trader Jack secreting his treasures in the darkness of night. | |
| His main territory:Cape Cod and the island of Martha’s Vineyard. The waters off the coast of New England down the North American coastline to the Florida peninsula. | |
| Famous/Infamous for:Martha’s Vineyard was home to many buccaneers and fishermen, but Trader Jack organized them into a company of privateers and smugglers. He built houses, cottages, warehouses, and stockades that held slaves awaiting auction, a cafe, gambling den, and brothel. His men numbered over a thousand; some came from many countries, and included navigators, gunners, carpenters, cooks, sail makers and riggers. They plundered cargoes of ships for slaves, silks, spices, jewels, furniture, household goods, art, food, and medicines. His fleet consisted of Martha’s Revenge and three other ships as well, the Alabama, the Shenandoah and a tender, which served the three fighting ships. He operated a vast smuggling network in and around Cape Cod and the islands for over twenty years. Many called him a pirate, others called him a friend, after his ship's famous battle with the more heavily gunned British frigate Endymion, and they all called him hero. | |
| Notable battles:No name was given to this battle with the more heavily gunned British frigate Endymion, off the southeastern tip of Martha's Vineyard. Some have called it The Battle of Noepe. | |
| Finally met his end:In the spring of 1822, on the very day Trader Jack and his crew were to begin dividing up the booty amassed during 38 years of pirating together a rich merchantman was seen, and the opportunity for one last prize just seemed too good to miss. Trader Jack and his crew put to sea in pursuit of the prize, but coming within range, they were shocked when she hoisted the flag of the US Navy and ran out her cannons. A fierce battle ensued; the American cannonballs repeatedly punctured the hull of Trader Jack’s flagship, while still more shattered her masts. Martha’s Revenge was sinking as the frigate USS Potomac approached to finish the job. Realizing he could not win it, Trader Jack wrapped himself in his anchor chain and leapt to Davy Jones' locker in the depths of the Atlantic, off the island of Martha’s Vineyard. The rest of his crew were either killed in the battle or were captured and tried as pirates, later to be executed. | |
| Biggest myths:Trader Jack is said to have more than a dozen wives scattered from the coast of Maine down to Florida. It was also rumored that he had a wife and son who had been educated at Harvard, living in Boston, though the truth of his early life was never known. |
More Detailed Bio
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ScurvyDog |
Latest page update: made by ScurvyDog
, Mar 23 2008, 3:06 PM EDT
(about this update
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Keyword tags:
Booty
It's All About the BOOTY
Jolly Roger
Martha's Vineyard
Pirate
Skull and Swords
Trader Jack
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