His Pirate life came to an end because of his kindness to Captain Mackra
Edward England, (real name Edward Seegar,) was born in Ireland, place and date unknown.
England was working as first mate on a sloop that was taken by the pirate Captain Winter while on trip from Jamaica to Providence. As normal in pirate circles, Captain Winter conscripted men from the sloop into his crew and England was one of those that took to the life. He fought well and as time went on so gained their confidence that he was made captain of one of the captured vessels in the pirate fleet.
Later when Governor Woodes Rogers arrived in the Bahamas offering free pardons, the other pirates surrendered, but England refused and sooner than be hunted down, left the Caribbean behind and sailed to Africa.
It was a good move and they successfully took several vessels including one out of Bristol called the “Cadogan” that was commanded by a Captain Skinner. Unfortunately there had been bad blood between him and some of England’s crew over unpaid wages when they had worked for him in past, so they tied him to a windlass, used him for target practice with bottles, then whipped him around the deck until he collapsed and finally when they’d had their sport with him, shot him through the head. The dead captain’s crew were conscripted by England and one of the crew members, a man called Howell Davis, so impressed captain England that he was given the “Cadogan”.
Later as he continued his cruise he came across and captured a ship called the “Pearl” which he took a fancy too, so he fitted her out with guns, renamed her “Royal James” and took her as his flagship. He was fortunate in his choice and took many ships, some large, some small, and after over wintering in the west, set off once more in the spring 1719 for Africa. On the way two pirate ships the “Revenge” and the “Flying King” left the fleet and returned to the West Indies.
On reaching the River Gambia, England and his crew sailed south along the coast towards Cape Corso, taking several vessels on the way, some they emptied of goods and set free, some they burnt and some they incorporate into their company. Further down the coast, he captured the “Peterborough” out of Bristol and kept her. Next he took a ship called the “Victory” but this time after taking what he need of her cargo he let her go free. He also went after two other ships but was foiled when they took shelter beneath Cape Corso Castle.
Further down the coast they reached Whydah Road but there was no plunder to be had because another pirate Captain La Bouche had cleaned out the area. With no prey to be had Captain England took them into the harbour where they stayed for several weeks while they careened the “Royal James” and fitted out the “Peterborough” renaming her the “Victory” But that wasn’t all they did, the drunken pirates ran amuck raping, pillaging and generally causing mayhem amongst the native population. Finally after several of the locals were killed and one of their villages was set on fire, the natives could take no more and rose up against the pirates, so they decided it was time to leave.
Once at sea the pirates voted to sail to the Island of Madagascar and not long after reaching their destination set off on a cruise and took two Indian vessels and a Dutch ship. They exchanged the Dutch ship for one of their own and sailed back to Madagascar. Back on the island having heard that another pirate, Avery had set up a base, Captain England sent out a search party, but they were unsuccessful in their search and returned to the ship.
Not long after this England set off for the Island of Johana and met with three Indiamen two of them were English and one Dutch. With three of them against two, one of the English ships, the “Cassandra” commanded by Captain Mackra engaged the pirates fully expecting the other Englishman and Dutchman to come to his aid. As it turned out they did not and the outnumbered Mackra ended up in a bloody battle with the pirates that lasted three hours. He managed during the engagement to hole one of them near the waterline so that she stood off and peppered him with cannon, forcing him in towards the shore. Captain England in the “Fancy” close in, but as the water grew shallower, first the “Fancy” and then the “Cassandra” grounded on sandbanks. Unfortunately for Captain England the “Cassandra” was in a more adventitious position and the “Fancy” took a pounding by cannon that caused a lot of damage.
As the other pirates closed in Captain Mackra, having thirteen of his men dead and twenty-four wounded, finally decided it was time to abandon ship and he and his crew fled ashore into the jungle. However, after while, having no way of escaping the island and with a price on their heads, put their by the pirates, they returned to the shore where the pirates waited. Captain England, who was impressed by Mackra’s bravery, promised him protection if he came on board for a parley.
As they sat drinking on deck in parley, Captain Taylor of the other pirate ship wanted to kill Mackra and his crew, Captain England wanted to set them all free and the argument continued until Taylor became so drunk that he agreed with England and then passed out. Captain England took the “Cassandra”, gave Mackra some of his cargo back and then the pirates sailed off, leaving him and his crew to patch up the battered “Fancy”.
Captain England, however, had done himself no favour by being merciful to Mackra and with ninety of the pirates killed in the engagement, the rest turned on him marooning him with three of his followers on the Island of Mauritius. Captain Taylor, who was the main instigator of the revolt against England, took his place in command of the pirates.
As to Captain England, he and his companions managed to build a small vessel, either some sort of boat or raft and eventually reached St Augustine’s Bay, Madagascar. Poverty stricken, with neither ship nor crew, Captain England was forced to live on handouts from other pirates and eventually died in poverty.
Jamaica to Providence. As normal in pirate circles, Captain Winter conscripted men from the sloop into his crew and England was one of those that took to the life. He fought well and as time went on so gained their confidence that he was made captain of one of the captured vessels in the pirate fleet.