In the small English village of Newton Ferrers, Devonshire, on August 23, 1659, a baby was born who was destined to become one of the most famous and successful sea robbers of the 17th century. His name was Henry Avery. In terms of the amount of loot, he, even if he was inferior to one of the illustrious gentlemen of luck, is undoubtedly better than many of them managed to decide their own fate, avoiding punishment for the crimes committed.
Service in the British Navy
The future pirate was born in the family of the captain of the British Navy, and it is not surprising that he dreamed of the sea from early childhood. As soon as he reached the right age, Henry got a job as a young man on one of the merchant ships that made regular flights to the West Indies, and, after spending several years on board, turned into a real sailor. Own perseverance, as well as his father’s connections (well, where in this world without them) helped him in 1694 to get the position of first assistant captain of the large 30-gun frigate “Charles II”.
Thus began his sea robbery, with the only proviso that he was not allowed to plunder at sea not everyone in a row, but only ships sailing under the French flag. The fact is that England was then an ally of Spain in its war with France, and therefore the British captains, sending another French ship to the bottom, could appropriate everything that they could find on board. Of course, returning to their native shores, they had to share the loot with the treasury.
Captain of a pirate frigate
Together with other vessels of the Royal Navy, the frigate “Charles II”, where Henry Avery was the assistant to the captain, regularly went out for pirate fishing. This continued until a riot broke out on it, the cause of which was a many-month delay in paying salaries to the crew of the ship.
The sailors, whose claims were that they robbed, and the captain and the royal treasury got the booty, demanded to change the British flag on the mast to “Jolly Roger” (a pirate black flag with a skull and crossbones) and irrevocably take the path of piracy, without making any distinction between oncoming vessels.
The captain of the frigate (we must give him his due) turned out to be faithful to the oath and refused to obey the rebels. Then the newly-minted pirates left him and several others who persisted in a boat in the middle of the ocean, and themselves, having captured the ship and writing on its board a new name ─ “Fancy” (Imagination), set off to catch luck. By the decision of the team, the place of the displaced captain was taken by his former assistant Henry Avery.
Introducing Thomas Tew
The beginning of a new career was very successful for him. Heading to the Indian Ocean, where there was every chance of meeting rich Indian and Arab ships at sea, Avery and his thugs captured three English merchant ships and two more Dutch ships, which, incidentally, also engaged in piracy. He did not drown his trophies, and, having promised the teams a good profit, made up of them a small but mobile and combat-ready squadron, the sails of which were soon fanned by the winds of the Indian Ocean.
Making a stop in Madagascar, Henry Avery met another famous 17th-century pirate, Thomas Tew. This robber has long hunted in local waters, having under his command two high-speed sloops. They spent together on the island for about three months, after which Tew invited his new friend to go with the whole squadron to the Arabian coast, since, according to his knowledge, there would soon appear a caravan of ships delivering Indian pilgrims to Mecca.
Cheeky raid
Thomas Tew and Henry Avery launched their combined squadron, which initially consisted of six ships, but then reduced to four due to the fact that two of them were not fast enough. Slow speeds sank, and the crews disbanded for the rest of the ships. As a result, the mobility of the rest of the squadron was significantly increased, and after a few days the pirates reached the intended area.
Despite the fact that the caravan that brought Indian pilgrims to Mecca consisted of 25 transport vessels, it became easy prey for 4 beautifully armed pirate ships, the crews of which consisted entirely of notorious thugs. At the beginning of the operation, the robbers boarded the second largest ship, which was part of the caravan ─ “Fat-Makhmamadi”, and the very next day its fate was shared by the largest, it was called “Gang-i-Sawai”. On board were rich pilgrims from the Mughal Empire ─ the state that existed at that time on the territory of present-day India and Pakistan.
The capture of the Indian flagship was facilitated by the fact that Fancy was practically inferior to him in size, and the sides of both ships were on the same level. Thanks to this, the pirates did not even have to throw the ropes, but it was enough to use only small bridges. No matter how hard the Indians tried to repel the enemy attack, they could not resist the powerful onslaught of the enemy and soon surrendered.
Exceeding All Expectations
As it became known later, the pirates Henry Avery, Thomas Tew and members of their team seized wealth unprecedented in those days. A huge amount of gold and silver items fell into their hands, as well as whole chests full of jewels. In addition, they took possession of 9.5 thousand Indian rupees, which at that rate amounted to about 605 thousand pounds ─ an amount close to the annual budget of England.
To top it all off, the pirate’s daughter Magna Magola Fatima, who was accompanied by a large staff of maids, was on board the ship. It is not known whether this girl was beautiful, but Avery officially married her, becoming the son-in-law of the emperor ─ a direct descendant of Timur, thereby further raising her own prestige. One can only guess what fate befell her handmaidens aboard a pirate ship.
The elusive sea robber
From this time on, Henry Avery began to hunt internationally. The British government announced an unprecedented reward for those times for its capture ─ 550 pounds. Even more generous was the ruler of the Mughal Empire, who appreciated the head of his newly-born son-in-law almost twice as much. However, all attempts to capture him, alive or dead, turned out to be a failure.
The pirate always eluded safely from superior forces, and those whom he could handle he ruthlessly sent to the bottom. The last meeting with the English squadron sent to catch him took place near Cape Town, during the transition to the Caribbean Sea. Seeing on the horizon the sails of numerous ships, the sea robber considered it good not to tempt fate, but, taking advantage of the speed of his ships, to break away from the chase and hide.
The end of a pirate career
Apparently, realizing that sooner or later he, like all other gentlemen of fortune, was waiting for the gallows at best (in those days they approached the methods of execution creatively), Avery decided what was called “to tie up,” that is, to forever break with the profitable, but deadly criminal craft.
Having made a short stop on the uninhabited Ascension Island, he sent his squadron to the Bahamas. There, the pirates sold their ships, received a share due to them, and after that they parted where they looked. He completed his career and one of the most successful pirates of the 17th century ─ Henry Avery.
Life under a false name
In the company of 70 people ─ former sailors from his squadron, Avery moved to the United States, and opened a business with the funds taken out with him. History knows many examples of how yesterday's bandits became prominent businessmen and even politicians, but alas, in this case, everything turned out not so well. Accustomed to dashing boarding battles, Henry Avery could not find his niche in the business world and soon went bankrupt.
It is generally accepted that, having suffered a fiasco overseas, he bought fake documents and returned to Britain. As for his future fate, then she forever remained a mystery. It is not even known where the tomb of Henry Avery is located. The reason is that he led his future life under an assumed name, which should be carved on his tombstone.
The unsolved mystery of the treasure
However, if the circumstances associated with the final period of the pirate’s life arouse only idle curiosity in most people, the question related to the location of Henry Avery’s treasures deserves a different attitude, and they, according to researchers, should be hidden somewhere. It is believed that the wealth that was obtained as a result of the robbery of a caravan of Indian pilgrims, even after deducting the share of the remaining pirates, represented such a large amount of gold, silver and all kinds of jewelry that they could not be discreetly removed.
Over the next centuries, a real hunt was arranged for them more than once. Most of the attention of treasure hunters was drawn to Ascension Island, on which, as mentioned above, Avery stopped on the way to the Caribbean. This stretch of land, towering in the middle of the sea, was literally dug up meter by meter, but to no avail. Searched in the Caribbean, but also did not find anything.
The mystery of the treasure, not solved to this day, excites the imagination. At the beginning of the XVIII century, she inspired the outstanding English writer Daniel Defoe to create the image of Captain Singleton, and today has formed the basis of the plot of the popular computer game "Uncharted 4: The Grave of Henry Avery." Each time in its own way reflects the events of past centuries.