A Pirate’s Life for Gentleman Stede Bonnet

go with Steed for today. But if one of us says it the other way, or we flipped back and forth just now, we're just honoring the possibilities with that. But Steed Bonnet was a wealthy plantation owner, a family man, a former major in the Barbados Militia. Bonnet, though, was also a gentleman who was struck with quote a humor of going pirate ng You really hear humor and hiating so much together. But Steve is an interesting kind of guy.

He was born in sixt to Edward and Sarah Bonnet, who were a wealthy couple that owned an estate of over four hundred acres southeast of Bridgetown. Bridgetown today is the capital of the island of Barbados, but then this was part of a colony of the British Empire, so a little bit different than today. Though the family were originally from England, Steve was born into the second or

possibly third generation of Bonnets of Barbados. His parents died young, though, and Steve inherited the family's four hundred acre sugar plantation. He married Mary Alamby in seventeen o nine and lived on the estate with their three sons, Olumby, Edward, and Steed,

and their daughter Mary. The record of Bonnet's life really begins with his military service, though although the details do get a little bit fuzzy, we do know that he held the rank of major in the Barbados Militia, and in fact Major became a nickname that's stuck with him throughout his life. Though his time with the militia coincided with the War of Spanish Succession, there is no record

that he actually took part in combat. It is though highly likely that he was involved in suppressing armed uprisings by enslaved persons who were fighting for their freedom at the time. This was an important function of the militia. Any such uprisings would also have been something of a personal matter to Bonnet as well, as he relied on enslaved labor to keep his sugar plantation successful. That successful

business owner decided to reinvent himself as a pirate. He was not really your typical pirate, if there really is such a thing as a typical pirate. He wasn't the only pirate to do so. That he chose piracy over his aristocratic lifestyle. Many pirates, such as unemployed sailors or laborers, chose the lifestyle because they didn't have many options. That raises the question why did Bonnet leave his home and

take to the seas. A lot of historians suggests that while he was wealthy and led a respectable life, he was kind of just looking for something bigger and more adventurous, and all of these stories that he was hearing about pirates were very appealing. There's a book called A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most Notorious Pirates, and it's an almost encyclopedic account of piracy, as well as biographies of many of the pirates during in particular

the rise of the Golden Age of piracy. It was published in sevento, which was after Bonnet's death, but it included stories of details about everyone from Blackbeard and Bonnie, Bartholowy, black Bart, Roberts and Steve Bonnet. So this two volume set quickly became a hit and became the go to source for the stories of a lot of well known

pirates of the time. And the details may be embellished in fact most historians agree that are, but it is generally believed to be at least based in factual information largely garnered from such sources as trial records and personal letters, and it turned the pirates of this era into exotic and colorful characters. Their stories became myth. The author's name, Captain Charles Johnson, is widely considered to have been a pseudonym, and there is a great speculation that it may have

actually been Daniel Defoe who authored that work. Defoe, as you probably know, was a British novelist, but he did a lot of other things in his lifetime. He worked as a journalist, as a political pamphleteer, and even a spy. Many of us know his name because he wrote Robinson Crusoe, and these books really are responsible for shaping our perception of pirates, including some fact such as black beards, flaming beard,

and some myth like wooden legs and parrots. Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, as well as J. M. Barry's character Captain Hook and Peter Pam borrow from these very stories. Bonnett was living in the golden age of piracy, and becoming a pirate could have definitely seemed an adventurous new beginning if that's what he was looking for. Some suggest that maybe he was having a midlife crisis. Few sources report that one of the Bonnet children passed away and

he took up piracy as he grieved. One more theory this point is recorded in a general History of the Pirates, is that Bonnet turned to piracy because of quote discomforts he found in a married state, something made him unhappy enough to make a big life change. That's what we do know. Many experts, though, actually believe it was probably a combination of the personal pressures of his family life

along with his politics. The theory here is that he may have been a Jacobite in support of James Stewart as King of England rather than George. The first historian and author of the Republic of Pirates, Colin Woodard, writes that quote, most pirates at the time thought of themselves as in revolt against King George. We're going to take a quick break now for a word from our sponsor, and when we're back we'll get into how someone like

Bonnet could meet someone like black Beard. Welcome back to Criminalia. Let's talk about how Steve had a whole lot of enthusiasm but absolutely no idea what he was doing. The way that pirate crews typically worked was that crew members moved up the ranks. Typically they'd start as part of the crew and then move on to stealing their first ship, or maybe rise to captain a ship in a larger

pirate fleet. The infamous pirate Blackbeard, for instance, worked his way up from deckhand to captain of his own forty gun warship known as Queen Anne's Revenge. But instead of stealing his first ship, Steeve bought one. He named it the Revenge, and outfitted it to hold at least a dozen cannons. He hired a crew of seventy or eighty men, whom he paid out of his own pocket, and this too was not at all typical. The captain and crew

would normally be paid wages from what they stole. The Revenge also carried a library of books, mainly in the captain's stateroom, which is not something we've uncovered on any other pirate ships so far this season. It's like a wave riding cruise ship. Bonnet had absolutely no idea what he was doing. During the beginning of his life of piracy.

He and his crew, who he completely relied upon, again because he was green as could be, spent much of their time running up the Jolly Roger and looting ships along the Virginia coast. He did have a few pirty successes, pillaging rum and sugar and kidnapping enslaved individuals from ships along the seaboard from New York to South Carolina. At this time, these were, of course, all part of the

British colonies. Bonnet was a very inexperienced pirate, and when he attacked what he thought was a merchant's vessel off the coast of Florida, he quickly realized he had made a considerable mistake. He had actually attacked a Spanish man warship, a ship that was definitely not interested in trading. The battle ravaged the crew of the Revenge, and as many as half the crew were killed or injured. Bonnet and his ship, both also injured, limped back to Caribbean waters.

It's about this time that Bonnet met Edward Teach or Thatch, also known of course as black Beard, and while there don't seem to be really many solid and reliable details about their meeting, we do know that it happened in the late September of seventeen seventeen on the island of New Providence in the Bahamas. It is here, while he was injured, that Bonnet may have given temporary command of

the Revenge to Blackbeard. Some suggest that black Beard, who was both an observant and opportunistic man, took the ship upon noticing that the crew of the Revenge didn't seem to have much respect for their captain. The crew, writes historian Lindley Butler, complained about their leaders quote personality weaknesses and poor seamanship, not good not good, personality weaknesses, stings. It was also a better ship than the one that black Beard had at the time, and it has also

been suggested the men traded for it. There is a whole long list of possibilities as to what exactly happened, but ultimately Blackbeard took control of the revenge. However it went down, Bonnet was no longer a pirate captain. He had no ship. Again, we have multiple versions of this story, and at this point Bonnet either became what we're going to air quote colleague guest on Blackbeard's ship, or he became a passenger on what had been his own ship.

He spent his time in his stateroom on whichever ship, reading and not participating in much piracy really at all. Black Beard, with the Revenge now part of his fleet, sailed north to terrorize the coastline along the Chesapeake Bay area. Black Beard and Bonnet together must have been quite appair to see. Bonnet, of course, was accustomed to silk stockings and powdered wigs, very fancy man, and he continued to

dress that way as a pirate. In addition to his fancy coats and his leather shoes, black Beard, in comparison, was known for wearing a feathered tricorn hat, draping himself with swords and pistols, and frightening enemies by igniting bits of hemp or small candles that were tucked into his beard. While it's been written that Bonnet saw himself as black Beard's right hand ma'am, it's more likely that black Beard

just saw Bonnet as a sucker. There is a reference in a general History of the Pirates that suggests Bonnet may have had at least once second thoughts about his new pirates life, saying that quote, he would gladly leave off that way of living, being fully tired of it, but he should be ashamed to see the face of any Englishman again. Therefore, if he could get to Spain or Portugal, where he might be undiscovered, he would spend the remainder of his days in either of those countries.

The volume of pirate activity was becoming exasperating to authorities and to locals as well. Black Beard was known to anchor near the Carolina's and that was not just for

a vacation. With a fleet of four ships, including the Revenge Bonnet still along for the ride, plus several hundred men, black Beard sailed into the harbor at Charlestown in the province of South South Carolina, which is of course now Charleston, and in what many historians considered to be his boldest act in his pirrating career, Blackbeard set up a blockade of the port and took several ships and their passengers hostage for six days. Basically, no one could get in

or out of the harbor. Everyone was turned loose when his demands for medicine were met. It's theorized among those who have studied his life that black Beard might have been trying to treat syphilis among his crew, and that's what he was there for in terms of medicine, but there is actually no solid answer as to what medications he may or may not have wanted. It was after this brazen act that authorities were determined to stamp out

piracy once and for all. The relationship between these two pirates was reportedly complicated, which I'm sure we can all imagine, and the two parted ways in the summer of seventeen. The end came when Bonnet, tricked by Blackbeard, lost not only his crew and command of his ship, but then everything he had on the revenge. As there always seems to be, there are two versions of what happened um and it's the same in this case. Between Bonnet and

black Beard. The first version is actually pretty straightforward, and it goes like this, While Blackbeard and his fleet were docked in North Carolina, Bonnet went ashore, and when he returned to his ship, it had been looted and marooned the end of version one. The second version has a little bit more detail and goes like this. Black Beard, in an effort to get Bonnet away from the crew and the fleet, lied saying he was going to take what the King of England was offering to stop piracy,

a no questions asked royal pardon. Bonnet decided to follow suit. But when Bonnett returned from receiving his pardon from the governor of the province of North Carolina, a man named Charles Eden, he found he'd been double crossed. Blackbeard may or may not have been given amnesty, but he had definitely louded the revenge. There were somewhere between five to maybe twenty five crew who remained, and Blackbeard was nowhere to be found. Bonnet, now seeking revenge, returned to piracy.

Despite his royal pardon. He began to go by the name of Captain Thomas, using that and other aliases to conceal his real identity from the authorities who had just pardoned him. Steve Bonnet isn't doing it Captain Thomas's. We also read that he may have used the name Captain Edwards, but those records are a bit unclear as to win. So really, his efforts to conceal his movements worked, at

least as far as the historical record is concerned. He also re christened the Revenge to the Royal James, assembled a crew of forty men and sailed off in pursuit of black Beard, rumored to be anchored off the coast of Ogracoke Inlet. As it turns out, he set out on a two month trip that would not end as he expected. Always fun to do a little foreshadowing. Unfortunately for Bonnet, black Beard did have a headstart, and he

did have greater skill. Bonnets skills, though, had improved since he had first taken to the seas, but he wasn't nearly up to the task as Blackbeard was. He had also learned from black Beard and other pirates he had encountered just what was most often expected from being a pirate captain. So the once gentle captain who paid his crew a salary out of his own pocket, took to abusing his crew, killing prisoners, and threatening civilians. We're gonna take a quick break for a word from our sponsor.

When we're back, we will talk about who Colonel William Rhett was and how he met Steve Bonnet. Welcome back to Criminalia. Let's talk about how just short lived Steve's life of piracy actually was. Late summer of seventeen eighteen, while he was captaining the Royal James is considered really the peak of its career. He captured several vessels as he trawled the Atlantic seaboard. In July, for instance, Bonnet, as Captain Thomas and his crew captured a merchant sloop

called the Fortune off the coast of Delaware Bay. Just two days later, they seized the sloop Francis. Bonnet was beginning to gather a small fleet by pretending he was a legitimate merchant hoping to trade, and then seizing the merchant ships that he had duped. About two weeks after they sailed out of the Delaware Bay area, Bonnet and his crew reached the mouth of the Cape Fear River

in the province of North Carolina. Bonnet needed to perform routine repairs on the Royal James, which was taking on water from recent skirmishes. They sailed into a small waterway and remained there for about a month or so, intending to wait out the hurricane season before moving along. Bonnet captured and broke up the first ship it said that entered the area and used it as replacement parts for his sloop. It's reported that he also forced the crew of the captured Chip to most of the hard work.

As all of this was happening, the governor of the province of South Carolina was organizing a force in an effort to capture pirates along his coastline. That force was commanded by Colonel William Rhett, who was a British plantation owner and a pirate hunter, and his force consisted of two sloops, the Henry and the Sea Nymph. Each of those carried eight guns. It's believed that Rhett knew that pirates were gathering around Cape Fear because people told him so.

There actually wasn't a lot of detective work that he needed to do. Among the informants was Bonnet's own ignacious pell Hell was probably very likely bonnets quartermaster, which would have given him the most authority on board, second to the captain. He was Bonnet's right hand man, bonnets sailing master. The ship's navigator, David Harriet, was also implicated. Based on Pell and Harriet's good intelligence, Rhett found the Royal James

just where he expected. After about five to six hours of fighting, Bonnet and his crew were captured on September eighteen. Bonnet threatened to blow up himself and the ship before he would ever surrender, but Rhet's men managed to overwhelm him and take the ship. But it wasn't only Bonnet who Rhet was looking for. Rhett had information he'd also find Blackbeard as well as the notorious pirate captain Charles Vane, a name you've surely heard us mentioned many times this season.

Bone It was not the only pirate said to be lurking there, but Bonnet was the one captured by red Land transported in chains into Charlestown. It said that he hoped he would be given a lenient sentence and that he would never be executed the pirate way by hanging, because he was a former gentleman. But Bonnet's hopes were dashed. There were no proper ales or prisons in the province of South Carolina, and there wouldn't be until the early

seventeen seventies. However, because he was, at least before his acts of piracy, an affluent, educated man who was a former officer in the militia, Bonnet was allowed to be imprisoned in the home of the local marshal. That came with a certain but small amount of free reign and a gentleman's agreement that he would not escape. Bonnet was held during the month between his capture and his trial.

Pell and Harriet testified against their captain and crew in exchange for clemency, and they were held for three weeks while waiting to be questioned. They too were also held in the marshall's house. That sounds tense. Despite that gentleman's agreement, Bonnet escaped. He may have bribed those guarding him to look the other way, but the escape probably happened with the aid of locals, in particular a local merchant named Richard Tuckerman. Bonnet and Harriet were also able to flee.

But what about Pell. Hell was in protective custody because he was to provide the prosecution with valuable evidence during that upcoming trial. Rhett was relentless, though, and tracked Bonnet to nearby Sullivan's Island, where he captured him again. The trials took place over the course of three weeks until November twelve. Trials plural because there was not just one. There were actually several small trials held for Bonnet and his crew, basically charging them with a variety of different

things and trying each of them separately. Ultimately, thirty six prisoners were found guilty of piracy. Most of the crew were charged with primarily two crimes, one the capture of the sloop Francis and to the capture of the sloop Fortune. Sailors who had been aboard those vessels could and did

testify against Bonnet and his crew. There were an additional two charges, the theft of goods out of the captured sloops, the Francis and the Fortune, but according to court records, just a handful of the crew were found guilty of those charges. There were no defense attorneys in the courtroom,

and there was no legal counsel for the crewmen. Bonnet and educated man acted as his own defense, but with little success and may not seem like a fair and just trial, but it was what you could expect in the Anglo American justice system in the early eighteenth century. Bonnet had his own trial, and after the jury found him guilty, he was given what sources referred to as

a quote stern lecture by the judge. During the trial, Judge Trot alluded to Bonnet's quote liberal education, and during sentencing referred to the fact that he was quote generally

esteemed a man of letters. Not much as known or recorded about if or where or when Bonnet received his educationation, but many sources referred to him as quote bookish, and of course he did have that impressive library in his stateroom when it was sentenced to execution by hanging, and on November twelve, Judge Trott handed down the same sentence he had delivered to the pirate grew we quote that you that said state Bonnet shall go from hence to the place where once you came, and from thence to

the place of execution, where you shall be hanged by the neck till you are dead. Bonnet's fortune gained through piracy was added into the state treasury. Between sentencing and when his day of execution would be carried out, Bonnet wrote letters pleading his case as a gentleman to local authorities everything he claimed was really Blackbeard's faults. To the governor, he made a plea that is hard to imagine or stomach.

He asked instead to have his arms and legs cut off to ensure that he would never sail again, rather than be hanged, but his request for clemency went unanswered. At the end of the trials, just four men were found not guilty. Bonnet and roughly thirty members of his crew were to be given a pirates execution, and Bonnet himself was hanged on December tenth, seventeen eighteen, at the

gallows near Whitewood Garden in downtown Charlestown. Ignatious pal, who turned King's evidence and was a witness for the prosecution, was never indicted and he was never tried for anything. David Harriet, who had escaped the Marshall's house with Bonnet, was indicted, but he was killed on Olivan's Island before

the trial concluded. According to witnesses and noted by Charles Johnson's last possibly Daniel Dafoe quote, all his resolution failed him, and his fears and agonies so wrought upon him that he was scarce sensible when he came to the place of execution. His piteous behavior under sentence very much affected the people of province, particularly the women, and great application was made to the governor for saving his life. But

in vain. Bonnet's body was buried below the low tide mark in a muddy marsh, as were the rest of his crew, done so no trace of the men would remain. Well, maybe it's not the end you'd expect for an eighteenth century gentleman plantation owner. It maybe exactly what you may imagine for a bunch of pirates. Although his pirate career was short, Steve Bonnet was part of a gang of

unaffiliated pirates who plundered the Caribbean. These are the pirates quote responsible for the images we have of pirates today. According to historian Colin Woodard, Bonnet never did find black Beard to enact whatever revenge plan he had in mind. But not only our Bonnet and Blackbeard's legends intertwined. They have some parallels. They both had short lived careers in piracy, and both were captured and executed at the end of

seventeen eighteen. Black Beard was killed fighting British soldiers near Okracoke is Land off the coast of the province of North Carolina on November eighteen in a notoriously gruesome story that includes his beheading, and of course, Bonnet was executed just a couple of weeks later on December tenth that same year, Irate Captain Bartholomew Roberts, who was a contemporary of black Beard and Bonnet, once declared, and we quote,

a merry life and a short one shall be my motto. Bonnett, who may have been living out his dream, was thirty years old when he was executed. What a peppy place to land marine, you know. And now I don't even feel like inviting you into the groggery. I just want to come into the groggery because it's delicious today. So which a servant. So, in thinking about Mr Bonnet, one of the things I was thinking about was his gentleman history. And so I came up with a drink called the

powdered Wig. I was hoping you were going to go with something about his fashion. Yes, of course I didn't. This drink also has its own roots in history. Um it's a flip. Do you know what that is? I actually may have heard of it, but I couldn't tell you what it is. You're about to. A flip is a class of drinks. That term was first used in the late seventeenth century. And a flip has no cream,

so it's not a nog. But the idea is that you emulsify the ingredients, just sometimes called flipping or frothing them to the point that they've become very creamy. Originally, a flip was a mix of beer and rum and sugar, and it was served hot. You would actually stick a red hot iron into the mug where it was mixed together, so it would heat up and kind of froth. That's not how we do that anymore. I mean, I guess

you could, but please don't. Our version is easier, it's rather luxurious, and it reflects kind of how flips are made today because now they involve the use of a raw egg. I don't like eggs. I still I'm working with you on it. I'll get there, Maria, you're missing out now. Obviously we should give the warning, the caveat that eating uncooked or raw things always comes with a bit of risk. I'm a big fan of the egg drink, so baby, this one okay. So here's what's a flip.

It's so easy to make and it is velvety, so um it Also, you know hearkens back to bonnets style because I'm sure he had some velvet garments in there. And it starts with two ounces of vanilla coniac, which is brain bending, and then an ounce of so bull syrup and then an egg, the whole egg. This is in a whites only situation, so you don't have to separate your egg into white and yolk. I'm sorry I made a face. I mean I should you did, girl, I'm telling you what I'm listening. I'm with you. I'm

back your judgment. Truck up out of this parking lot because it's delicious. I won't give it a try. Then you put this in your shaker and you just shake it like the Dickens. You don't have to put ice in it. It's usually served a little room temperature. Ice can mess up with how the egg emulsifies. Sometimes if it's too cold, like you won't get it quite right. You pour it into I like a slightly chilled glass,

with a chilled chilled glass. I put it in a coupe and then you sprinkle something like nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice on top. You might have you the little nutmeg on top, you might. I imagine that the texture is amazing. And if you handed it to me and you didn't tell me what was in it, I'd be like, this is fantastic. That is correct because it doesn't taste egg. Eat that vanilla brandy. It very much tastes like a dessert beverage. It does taste very fancy and luxurious. I

bet Steed bonnet with love one. He's making him in his stateroom, like I am. Literally, I'm so in love with it. I don't even know how to deal with myself. For the non alcoholic version, you will just sub out a low sugar apple juice for the vanilla brandy, and then instead of simple syrup, use of vanilla syrup, or if you don't have a vanilla syrup, use your simple syrup and then just like a dash of vanilla extract. Oh man, it's so good. I don't even I'm telling you.

I'm waxing rhapsodic above this beverage because I love it that much. Um So that is the powdered wig. I'm going to be drinking a lot of these this autumn and winter. I can tell you that feels like a good automny winter beverage, even before you sprinkle them a meg on it. Well, the nice thing is that it feels fancy. But it is the easiest thing on earth to throw together. And you can find flips in a with a law lot of other spirits as the primary component,

like a regular coneyak. You'll find those a lot of the time. I'm kind of obsessed with vanilla coniak right now. Some will will have rum instead, like you can mess around with what that includes, but I'm not coniac. It's got a nice, full and deep flavor profile, very warm for this season. So that's the powdered wig. We hope you enjoy it if you give it a world. Don't be like Marianne fear the egg. It's delicious egg. I

don't fear the egg. I just don't like eggs. But it's not like this is a scrambled egg we're putting in things to it might be fine, right, No, it's delicious. It's amazing. Um. I hope if you are trepidacious about eggs that you you know, give it a word. You never know your favorite thing could be out there and you don't even know it yet because you haven't tried it yet. So I'm always a big fan of trying things. You don't like it, hand it to a friend, but always,

you know, experience all the world has to offer. Much like steep On it tried to do and then messed it up. Thank you for hanging out with us today while we talk about pirates on Criminalia. We will be right back here next week with another pirate and another cocktail and hopefully a lot more fun. Criminalia is a production of Shonda land Audio in partnership with I Heart Radio.

For more podcasts from Shonda land Audio, please visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.