Few persons of the present day are aware how extensivelypiracy prevailed two centuries ago. There was no part of thehigh seas that was free from the depredation of roving robbers.At times they threatened towns on the coast, and at othersthey attacked ships on mid-ocean; and they seem to have followedtheir lawless pursuits at will. When caught, there waslittle delay in bringing them to trial and securing a conviction;and trivial technicality in forms played no part in reachingresults. At times there were multiple executions, and in thecommunity there was no morbid sentimentality shown for themiserable wretches. Not the least of their torture was sittingin the meeting-house on the Sunday before execution and listeningto their own funeral sermons, when the minister toldthem what they might expect in the next world if they gottheir just dues. On June 30, 1704, six poor victims were hung,on the Boston side of the Charles River bank, for piracy andmurder; and there was a great crowd to witness the tragedy.Among the spectators on this occasion was Chief-Justice Sewall,one of the judges of the Admiralty Court which had convictedthe pirates, who did not think it beneath his dignity to bepresent. It was then considered a public duty to invest thescene of execution with as much awe as possible, and it wasthought that official station would emphasize this feeling.
The following extract from "The Boston News-Letter,"August 21, 1721, shows how in early times piratical craft,heavily manned and carrying many guns, sailed the high seas[4]and pursued their unlawful calling. The vessel was takensomewhere in the Sargasso Sea, off the coast of Africa.
These are to Certifie all Persons concerned that on the 7th Dayof May last, William Russel, Master of the Ship Mary of Charlstown,in his Voyage from Madera to Surranam in the Lat. 22 Deg.and 27 N. and Long. 25 and 27 W. from London was taken by aPirate Ship upwards of 50 Guns, Commanded by Capt. Roberts,about 300 Men, who robb'd him of part of his Cargo, and Forcedaway from him two of his Men, against his and their own consent,viz. Thomas Russel born in Lexintown near Charlstown and theother Thomas Winchol born in Portsmouth, New-Hampshire inNew England.
I have been led to make these introductory remarks on accountof a manuscript recently given to the Library by Mrs.William B. Rogers, eldest daughter and sole surviving child ofMr. James Savage, who was for more than sixty years a memberof this Society and for fourteen years its President. It consistsof an extract from a letter written by her uncle William Savageto her father, dated at Havana, December 31, 1818, giving anaccount of the capture by pirates of the ship Emma Sophia, offthe Florida coast, of which vessel he was supercargo. Sincethe receipt of the paper from Mrs. Rogers I have found in the"Boston Daily Advertiser," February 3, 18