Yep, that’s right, the people who were opposing governments and stealing their ships decided to set up a loose government of their own in Nassau, Bahamas. That would come in handy for Charles Vane when the following year in 1717, he was leading his own crew after Jennings was chosen to become the unofficial mayor of the Republic of Pirates. I would be one of those people but Charles Vane probably wasn’t one. Some people might say that wasn’t a completely rational response. Jennings took his anger out by sinking Bellamy’s other smaller ships and canoes, killing whatever men were on it, then killing 20 English and Frenchman around, and finally burning down an innocent Englishman’s merchant ship. In 1716 Bellamy took control of one of Jennings’s ships and escaped. How ruthless? Well, one story involving Jennings being betrayed by another pirate Sam Bellamy should explain. In the end, they took off with 87,000 euros worth of gold, silver, and other items equivalent to over 5 million today.Ĭharles Vane was learning a lot from Henry Jennings including being ruthless. The crew reached the Florida camps and shipwreck, taking what they could and killing anyone who came in their way. Not much is known of Charles Vane prior to working with Jennings, he was possibly a privateer or part of the royal navy but what was known was his skill as a brilliant navigator and strategist on the high seas. What they didn’t realize is the moment their treasure hit the ocean it was as if a meal bell rang out to all the hungry pirates, one of which was Henry Jennings and his crew including Charles Vane. Over the next several months they tried to salvage their gold and silver from the ocean, building small camps along the coast. The Spanish fleet was hit by a terrible hurricane off the coast of Florida dumping all of their treasure into the sea while the men tried to salvage what they could, including their lives.īut almost 15 hundred sailors died in the storm with many others making their way to the sandy beaches of Florida. Now we all know that pirates were sailing the ocean blue looking for ships to plunder but we also know the sea is a harsh mistress no matter how well you treat her.
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