Bartholomew Roberts (born John Roberts; 17 May 1682 – 10 February 1722) was a Welsh pirate who was, measured by vessels captured, the most successful pirate of the Golden Age of Piracy.[2] During his piratical career, he took over 400 prize ships, although most were mere fishing boats.[3][4] Roberts raided ships off the Americas and the West African coast between 1719 and 1722; he is also noted for creating his own pirate code, and adopting an early variant of the Skull and Crossbones flag.

Roberts' infamy and success saw him become known as The Great Pyrate and eventually as Black Bart (Welsh: Barti Ddu, though this was a later attribution and was not used in his lifetime), and made him a popular subject for writers of both fiction and non-fiction.[5][6] To this day, Roberts continues to feature in popular culture, and has inspired fictional characters (such as the Dread Pirate Roberts).

Early life

Bart Roberts' memorial stone in Casnewydd Bach

He was born John Roberts in 1682 in Casnewydd Bach,[7] between Fishguard and Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire, Wales. His father was most likely George Roberts.[8] It is unclear why Roberts changed his name from John to Bartholomew,[9] but pirates often adopted aliases. He may have chosen his first name after the well-known buccaneer Bartholomew Sharp.[10] He was thought to have gone to sea when he was 13 in 1695, but there is no further record of him until 1718, when he was mate of a Barbados sloop.[11]

In 1719, Roberts was second mate on the slave ship Princess under Captain Abraham Plumb. In early June that year, the Princess was anchored at Anomabu (then spelled Annamaboa, which is situated along the Gold Coast of West Africa, present-day Ghana) when she was captured by pirates. The pirates were in two vessels, Royal Rover and Royal James, and were led by captain Howell Davis. Davis, like Roberts, was a Welshman, originally from Milford Haven in Pembrokeshire. Roberts and several other of the crew of the Princess were forced to join the pirates.

Davis quickly discovered Roberts' abilities as a navigator and took to consulting him.[12] Roberts is said to have been reluctant to become a pirate at first, but quickly came to see the advantages of this new lifestyle and saw it as a great opportunity for him.[13] Captain Charles Johnson reports him as saying: