THE EXECUTION OF THE PIRATE BONNET
The fate of the pirate Steed Bonnet pushes philosophical arguments. He was born in 1688 in Bridgetown on the island of Barbados in the family of a landowner. After his father’s death, he inherited 400 acres of land, became a wealthy and respected man, the father of a family. He had three sons and one daughter. During the War of the Spanish Succession, Steed Bonnet served in the Barbados militia and held the rank of major. What prompted the major and the planter to become a pirate is unknown. There is a version that the bitchy nature of his wife. But the more likely reason is the thirst for wealth.
Steed Bonnet and Blackbeard
It is said that the turning point in the fate of Bonnet was a chance meeting in a pub with the famous pirate Edward Tich, nicknamed «Blackbeard». Apparently Edward painted pirate romance to Steve so colorfully that Bonnet spat on all his integrity. Bonnet bought at his own expense a sloop, named by him «Rivenge» («Revenge»), armed it with 10 guns, assembled a team of 70 people and went and went with a Black Beard to surf the seas in search of pirate loot. They became partners in filibustering campaigns. And they have seriously enriched themselves in a short time. Both Teach’s and Bonnet’s ships were bursting with the loot they had to share. And then the cunning of the real pirate Teach appeared in all its splendor. He not only robbed Bonnet, but also abandoned Bonnet and his men to their fate, tricking them into shallow water, where their ship ran aground.
Colonel Rhett captured Bonnet’s pirate crew and brought them to Charleston. There was no public prison in the city, the pirates were kept in the guardhouse under the protection of the local militia, and Bonnet was in the marshal’s house, near which two sentries were posted every night. However, despite the guards, Steed Bonnet and his navigator David Herriot managed to escape. They sailed out to sea in a stolen canoe. Popular rumor accused the governor of their escape, allegedly he received a bribe from the pirates. Then the governor announced a reward of 700 pounds sterling to anyone who caught Bonnet, and sent several vessels with armed men in pursuit of him.
Bonnet and Herriott were chased on Sullivan’s Island, to which the fugitives landed to replenish supplies. During the arrest, the skipper was shot, and the pirate captain chose to surrender.
The session of the Vice Admiralty Court opened in Charleston on October 28, 1718. Bonnet’s 22 comrades were found guilty of committing acts of piracy at sea and hanged at White Point on Saturday, November 8. And soon the chairman of the court Trot read the verdict to their captain:
«Major Steed Bonnet, you are standing here, convicted on two charges of piracy; one by the verdict of the court, the other by your own admission. Although you have been charged with only two counts of piracy, you are nevertheless aware that at your trial it was fully proved, even by unwitting witnesses, that since sailing from North Carolina you have pirated and robbed at least thirteen ships…
I do not know how many of those who prevented you from committing the aforementioned piracy have been killed. But we all know that, apart from the wounded, you killed at least eighteen persons from among those who were sent by the legitimate authority to suppress you and put an end to the robberies that you committed daily…
The sentence which the Law has ordered to be executed on you for your crimes, and which has therefore been pronounced by the present Court, is that you, the aforementioned Steed Bonnet, are going from here to the place from which you came, and from there to the place of execution, where you will be hanged by the neck, and will hang so until you die.
And may the Lord, in His infinite mercy, forgive your soul.»
Drawing by Angus McBride
When Trott sentenced the pirate captain to death, some noble ladies, who remembered the convict as a respectable gentleman, wept in the courtroom. A request was sent to Governor Johnson to pardon the pirate, but he upheld the sentence. On December 10, 1718, Bonnet was taken to White Point on a cart with a coffin on it. When the cart reached the gallows, it turned out that one of the sympathizers sawed the crossbar at night.
After some delay caused by the repair of the gallows, Bonnet had to stand on his own coffin to climb onto the platform. A noose was tightened around his neck, after which the executioners grabbed his legs and pulled him down until he suffocated.
And in principle, he could probably live quietly and comfortably, managing his sugar plantations.
Oleg Loginov
*Translated using an electronic dictionary. The original text in Russian and much more on the criminal topic can be selected on the main page of the site — http://crimerecords.info/
