John Bowen (pirate)
Encyclopedia
John Bowen was a pirate of Créole origin
active during the Golden Age of Piracy
. He sailed with other famous contemporaries, including Nathaniel North
(who would succeed him as captain of Bowen's final ship, the Defiant) and George Booth
, who was his captain when he served under him as a crewman aboard the Speaker. Over the course of a four year period, Bowen took around £170,000 in goods and coinage and retired to Bourbon
for a brief period of time before his death in 1704.
, Bowen moved to the proprietary colony
of Carolina
and joined an English ship, serving as Petty Officer
. After an unknown period of time, Bowen's ship was attacked and he was captured by French pirates. The pirates then crossed the Atlantic Ocean
, heading to Madagascar, but ran aground near Elesa to the south of the island. There Bowen, along with a number of English merchant captains and seamen who had also been imprisoned aboard the privateer's vessel, seized the ship's longboat and sailed the 15 leagues
(45 miles) to St. Augustine. Bowen remained there for the next 18 months before entering piracy - he joined the crew of Captain Read, leaving the island and being elected sailing master by the crew.
Following the capture of a large Indian ship by Read, Bowen returned to Madagascar and joined George Booth as a member of the crew. In April 1699 the pirates captured the 450 ton, 50-gun former slave ship
Speaker. Bowen continued to sail under Booth's command until, in 1700 George Booth was killed by Arabs at the settlement of Zanzibar
while attempting to negotiate the resupplying of the Speaker.
commanded by Captain Conway in November 1701, off the coast of Malabar. Despite these attacks, Bowen was able to continue to trade in local ports - following his attack on the East Indiaman, Bowen openly towed her into the nearby port of Callicoon and sold her in three shares to local merchants. The Speaker was lost in late 1701 when, during a voyage to Madagascar
, she ran aground St. Thomas' Reef off Mauritius
. However, Bowen and most of the crew were able to reach the shore. After three months on the island, they were able to purchase a sloop
and, after converting it into a brigantine
(later renamed as the Content) he and his crew left and, upon arriving at Madagascar founded a town and at fort Maratan
.
, for sale to Portuguese cocoa plantation owners in Africa. The brigantine was found to be useless and was burned, but the Speedy Return was refitted for action against commercial vessels. The Speedy Return and the Content later left Maratan together but, on the first night of the voyage, the Content ran aground on a ledge. Unaware of this, Bowen continued to sail for the Mascarene Islands
. There he expected to find the Rook Galley, as it had been previously sighted there by former members of Drummond's crew. However, the Rook Galley was absent and Bowen sailed to Mauritius to look for her. Finding the Rook once again absent, he refused to attack the ships present in the harbour as he feared the unknown strength they may have possessed. Bowen then sailed to Augustin Bay, putting in at Port Dauphin briefly, where he met the Content. However when the Content was surveyed she found to be worthless and was burned, with the crew coming aboard the Speedy Return.
In late 1702 Bowen once again met Thomas Howard
, who, after leaving Bowen's crew at Madagascar following the loss of the Speaker had, along with a group of pirates, taken the 36-gun Prosperous, at the port of Mayotta. By Christmas, Bowen and Howard decided to join their forces. In March of 1703 Bowen had the Speedy Return careened
and it was not until the August of 1703 that together they attacked and plundered the East Indiaman Pembroke near Johanna Island
, one of the Comoros Islands. Bowen and Howard then attacked two Indian ships in the Red Sea
, capturing the larger and renaming her Defiant.
. Following his retirement, Nathaniel North
was elected to replace him as Captain of the Defiant.
Bowen's career as a pirate was later profiled by Captain Charles Johnson
- commonly believed to be a pseudonym
of Daniel Defoe
- in A General History of the Pyrates
.
Creole peoples
The term Creole and its cognates in other languages — such as crioulo, criollo, créole, kriolu, criol, kreyol, kreol, kriulo, kriol, krio, etc. — have been applied to people in different countries and epochs, with rather different meanings...
active during the Golden Age of Piracy
Golden Age of Piracy
The Golden Age of Piracy is a common designation given to one or more outbursts of piracy in maritime history of the early modern period. In its broadest accepted definition, the Golden Age of Piracy spans from the 1650s to the 1730s and covers three separate outbursts of piracy:the buccaneering...
. He sailed with other famous contemporaries, including Nathaniel North
Nathaniel North (pirate)
Nathaniel North was a pirate during the Golden Age of Piracy who operated in the Indian Ocean. He served under John Bowen and succeeded him as captain of the Defiant following Bowen's retirement in 1704. After losing the Defiant, he was ruler of a pirate colony at Ambonavoula made up of his former...
(who would succeed him as captain of Bowen's final ship, the Defiant) and George Booth
George Booth (pirate)
George Booth was an English pirate who was one of the earliest active in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea during the late 17th century...
, who was his captain when he served under him as a crewman aboard the Speaker. Over the course of a four year period, Bowen took around £170,000 in goods and coinage and retired to Bourbon
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
for a brief period of time before his death in 1704.
Early life
Born on BermudaBermuda
Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida...
, Bowen moved to the proprietary colony
Proprietary colony
A proprietary colony was a colony in which one or more individuals, usually land owners, remaining subject to their parent state's sanctions, retained rights that are today regarded as the privilege of the state, and in all cases eventually became so....
of Carolina
Province of Carolina
The Province of Carolina, originally chartered in 1629, was an English and later British colony of North America. Because the original Heath charter was unrealized and was ruled invalid, a new charter was issued to a group of eight English noblemen, the Lords Proprietors, in 1663...
and joined an English ship, serving as Petty Officer
Petty Officer
A petty officer is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotion OR-6. They are equal in rank to sergeant, British Army and Royal Air Force. A Petty Officer is superior in rank to Leading Rate and subordinate to Chief Petty Officer, in the case of the British Armed...
. After an unknown period of time, Bowen's ship was attacked and he was captured by French pirates. The pirates then crossed the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, heading to Madagascar, but ran aground near Elesa to the south of the island. There Bowen, along with a number of English merchant captains and seamen who had also been imprisoned aboard the privateer's vessel, seized the ship's longboat and sailed the 15 leagues
League (unit)
A league is a unit of length . It was long common in Europe and Latin America, but it is no longer an official unit in any nation. The league originally referred to the distance a person or a horse could walk in an hour...
(45 miles) to St. Augustine. Bowen remained there for the next 18 months before entering piracy - he joined the crew of Captain Read, leaving the island and being elected sailing master by the crew.
Following the capture of a large Indian ship by Read, Bowen returned to Madagascar and joined George Booth as a member of the crew. In April 1699 the pirates captured the 450 ton, 50-gun former slave ship
Slave ship
Slave ships were large cargo ships specially converted for the purpose of transporting slaves, especially newly purchased African slaves to Americas....
Speaker. Bowen continued to sail under Booth's command until, in 1700 George Booth was killed by Arabs at the settlement of Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
while attempting to negotiate the resupplying of the Speaker.
As captain of the Speaker
Bowen was initially successful. He attacked a 13-strong fleet of Moorish ships and, despite a number of the ships escaping in darkness, captured a prize with an estimated value of £100,000. Following this, Bowen attacked a number of ships, including an English East IndiamanEast Indiamen
An East Indiaman was a ship operating under charter or license to any of the East India Companies of the major European trading powers of the 17th through the 19th centuries...
commanded by Captain Conway in November 1701, off the coast of Malabar. Despite these attacks, Bowen was able to continue to trade in local ports - following his attack on the East Indiaman, Bowen openly towed her into the nearby port of Callicoon and sold her in three shares to local merchants. The Speaker was lost in late 1701 when, during a voyage to Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, she ran aground St. Thomas' Reef off Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
. However, Bowen and most of the crew were able to reach the shore. After three months on the island, they were able to purchase a sloop
Sloop
A sloop is a sail boat with a fore-and-aft rig and a single mast farther forward than the mast of a cutter....
and, after converting it into a brigantine
Brigantine
In sailing, a brigantine or hermaphrodite brig is a vessel with two masts, only the forward of which is square rigged.-Origins of the term:...
(later renamed as the Content) he and his crew left and, upon arriving at Madagascar founded a town and at fort Maratan
1701 in piracy
See also 1700 in piracy, other events in 1701, 1702 in piracy, and Timeline of piracy.-Europe:*May 23 - William Kidd is hanged for piracy and murder at Execution Dock in London.-Indian Ocean:*John Bowen's crew builds a pirate base at Maritan in Madagascar....
.
As captain of the Speedy Return
In early 1702, Bowen and a number of pirates seized the Speedy Return, commanded by Captain Drummond, as well as an aged Brigantine which Drummond had planned to fill with slaves from Île Sainte-MarieÎle Sainte-Marie
Île Sainte-Marie, known as Nosy Boraha , is an island off the east coast of Madagascar. The main town is Ambodifotatra. The city covers an area of 222 km2, and had a population estimated at 16,325 in 2001.- City :...
, for sale to Portuguese cocoa plantation owners in Africa. The brigantine was found to be useless and was burned, but the Speedy Return was refitted for action against commercial vessels. The Speedy Return and the Content later left Maratan together but, on the first night of the voyage, the Content ran aground on a ledge. Unaware of this, Bowen continued to sail for the Mascarene Islands
Mascarene Islands
The Mascarene Islands is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar comprising Mauritius, Réunion, Rodrigues, Cargados Carajos shoals, plus the former islands of the Saya de Malha, Nazareth and Soudan banks...
. There he expected to find the Rook Galley, as it had been previously sighted there by former members of Drummond's crew. However, the Rook Galley was absent and Bowen sailed to Mauritius to look for her. Finding the Rook once again absent, he refused to attack the ships present in the harbour as he feared the unknown strength they may have possessed. Bowen then sailed to Augustin Bay, putting in at Port Dauphin briefly, where he met the Content. However when the Content was surveyed she found to be worthless and was burned, with the crew coming aboard the Speedy Return.
In late 1702 Bowen once again met Thomas Howard
Thomas Howard (pirate)
Thomas Howard was a pirate primarily active in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea during the Golden Age of Piracy. He served under other pirates of the time, including George Booth and John Bowen. He also commanded the 36-gun Prosperous. He later retired to Rapajura, in India, where he married a...
, who, after leaving Bowen's crew at Madagascar following the loss of the Speaker had, along with a group of pirates, taken the 36-gun Prosperous, at the port of Mayotta. By Christmas, Bowen and Howard decided to join their forces. In March of 1703 Bowen had the Speedy Return careened
Careening
Careening a sailing vessel is the practice of beaching it at high tide. This is usually done in order to expose one side or another of the ship's hull for maintenance and repairs below the water line when the tide goes out....
and it was not until the August of 1703 that together they attacked and plundered the East Indiaman Pembroke near Johanna Island
Anjouan
Anjouan is an autonomous island, part of the Union of Comoros. The island is located in the Indian Ocean. Its capital is Mutsamudu and its population as of 2006 is about 277,500. The total area of the island is 424 sq. kilometers Anjouan (also known as Ndzuwani or Nzwani) is an autonomous island,...
, one of the Comoros Islands. Bowen and Howard then attacked two Indian ships in the Red Sea
Red Sea
The Red Sea is a seawater inlet of the Indian Ocean, lying between Africa and Asia. The connection to the ocean is in the south through the Bab el Mandeb strait and the Gulf of Aden. In the north, there is the Sinai Peninsula, the Gulf of Aqaba, and the Gulf of Suez...
, capturing the larger and renaming her Defiant.
Return to Rajapura, retirement and death
After declaring the Speedy Return and Prosperous unsound, they were burned and Bowen took command of the Defiant. Having also taken a sum of £70,000, Bowen returned to the port of Rajapura where the plunder was divided, and Thomas Howard remained, and then on to the Mascarene Islands where he and 40 others left the Defiant, with his intention being to retire from piracy and to return to Madagascar. However, within six months Bowen died of an unspecified intestinal disease and was buried on BourbonRéunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
. Following his retirement, Nathaniel North
Nathaniel North (pirate)
Nathaniel North was a pirate during the Golden Age of Piracy who operated in the Indian Ocean. He served under John Bowen and succeeded him as captain of the Defiant following Bowen's retirement in 1704. After losing the Defiant, he was ruler of a pirate colony at Ambonavoula made up of his former...
was elected to replace him as Captain of the Defiant.
Bowen's career as a pirate was later profiled by Captain Charles Johnson
Charles Johnson (pirate biographer)
Captain Charles Johnson is the British author of the 1724 book A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates, though his identity remains a mystery. No record of a captain by this name exists. Some scholars have suggested that "Charles Johnson" was actually Daniel...
- commonly believed to be a pseudonym
Pseudonym
A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...
of Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe
Daniel Defoe , born Daniel Foe, was an English trader, writer, journalist, and pamphleteer, who gained fame for his novel Robinson Crusoe. Defoe is notable for being one of the earliest proponents of the novel, as he helped to popularise the form in Britain and along with others such as Richardson,...
- in A General History of the Pyrates
A General History of the Pyrates
A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates is a 1724 book published in Britain, containing biographies of contemporary pirates. Influential in shaping popular conceptions of pirates, it is the prime source for the biographies of many well known pirates...
.
External links
- John Bowen profile by David Stapleton
- Account of John Bowen's life by V'léOnica Roberts
- Brief biography of Bowen by Julien Durup