Bartholomew Roberts (Black Bart)
- 1718: Black Bart was a Second Mate on the 'Princess', a ship that was captured by force by Howel Davis, another Welsh pirate.
- Black Bart had to serve Davis, who took him prisoner on his ship.
- 1719: After six weeks, Black Bart was elected Captain of the ship after Howel Davis was shot dead.
- Black Bart once sailed into a fleet of 42 Portuguese ships, and having worked out which was likely to be the richest, boarded, and sailed off with her.
- Many people feared Black Bart. Following periods of success, he and his crew went ashore to stay in places such as Surinam and Sierra Leone.
- One of the first ships that Black Bart captured was a frigate built ship of the Royal African Company. He re-named it 'The Royal Fortune'.
- 1722: Black Bart was killed and his body, in all its pirate finery, thrown overboard as he had previously requested.
- Captains of pirate ships had to be courageous, and Roberts was known to be adventurous and daring was incredible. But he was also a compassionate man.
- It is said that Black Bart took 400 ships during his career, which was confirmed by colonial governors and the testimony of some of his victims.
‘A merry and a short life will be my motto.’ – from Richard Sanders, ‘If a Pirate I Must Be’ (Aurum 2007), page 1.