
Edward Davis or Davies (fl. c. 1680–1688) was an English
buccaneer
Buccaneers were a kind of privateer or free sailors, and pirates particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from the Restoration in 1660 u ...
active in the Caribbean during the 1680s and would lead successful raids against
Leon and
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
in 1685, the latter considered one of the last major buccaneer raids against a Spanish stronghold. Much of his career was later recorded by writer
William Dampier in ''A New Voyage Round the World'' (1697).
Early career
Possibly of
Flemish ancestry, he is first recorded as one of the members of the ''Pacific Adventure'' led by
Bartholomew Sharp and
John Coxon in 1680. But first and foremost he emerges in the Caribbean on a French privateer commanded by
Captain Yanky. He was transferred to
Captain Tristian's ship, the crew mutinied at
Petit-Goâve, southwest of
Port-au-Prince
Port-au-Prince ( ; ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Haiti, most populous city of Haiti. The city's population was estimated at 1,200,000 in 2022 with the metropolitan area estimated at a population of 2,618,894. The me ...
in
Saint-Domingue
Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1803. The name derives from the Spanish main city on the isl ...
(
Haiti
Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...
). Davis then sailed under Capt
John Cook arriving in April 1683 at Chesapeake Bay, where he met
William Dampier.
Briefly serving as a navigator, he and several others including
James Kelly left the expedition within a year and returned overland through Panama with John Cook.
Davis & Cook
On 23 August 1683, while selling captured prizes in
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
, he agreed to join a privateering expedition as a quartermaster under the pirate John Cook. Sailing eastward, they soon captured the 36-gun ''Delight'' (or ''Bachelor's Delight'') shortly after arriving off West Africa at Guinea. Sailing to the Pacific in November 1683 by way of
Cape Horn
Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...
, Davis and the others were joined by the buccaneer
John Eaton before raiding Spanish cities along the coast of
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...
.
In March 1684, ''Bachelor's Delight'' met ''Nicholas'', Capt John Eaton's ship off
Valdivia
Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder, Pedro de Valdivia, and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and ...
. They sailed to the
Juan Fernandez Islands where they were greeted by a
Miskito Indian, who had accidentally been left behind in January 1681 by Capt Bartholomew Sharp. On 3 May, Captains Cook and Eaton headed for the
Galapagos Islands.
Following the death of Cook on 19 July 1684, the crew of the ''Bachelor's Delight'' elected Davis Captain to succeed him. However, the expedition ran into some difficulty as a failed attack on
El Realejo,
Nicaragua
Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...
would result in the departure of Eaton as well as raids against
Paita, Peru and
Guayaquil
Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...
,
Ecuador
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
turning up little of value, although the capture of several slave ships resulted in 15 slaves joining the crew.
Turning back towards
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
, he raided Spanish shipping carrying silver from
Peru
Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...
to Spain before joining forces with a fleet under the command of
Francois Grogniet,
Pierre le Picard and
Francis Townley. Davis sailed for
Port St Helena. Sailing back towards
Ecuador
Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...
, he encountered the ''Cygnet'' on 2 October under Captain
Charles Swan and
Peter Harris (the nephew of privateer
Peter Harris killed in the ''Pacific Adventure'' only four years before) and persuaded them to join the expedition.
With the ''Bachelor's Delight'', the ''Cygnet'' and various smaller captured Spanish vessels, he would successfully lead an attack with
Charles Swan and others on against Panama. Although they planned to attack the Peruvian
silver fleet, Spanish officials managed to transfer over 500,000 pesos in two galleons and escorted by three smaller warships which was able to evade the awaiting pirate fleet by sailing in an outwardly westward course. While awaiting the treasure fleet, Davis and the others encountered a Spanish patrol off the coast of Peru on 8 June and were eventually chased by a Spanish fleet to
Corba Island. At this time Davis' ship was not flying English flags: "as he was furnished with a French commission, and France was still at war with Spain, he carried aloft a white flag, in which was painted a hand and sword."
Breakaway from Grogniet
Quarreling amongst themselves following their defeat, with many pirates blaming the Frenchman
Francois Grogniet, Davis left the expedition along with Swan on 3 September, Townley, Harris,
William Knight and sailed north with eight ships and 640
buccaneer
Buccaneers were a kind of privateer or free sailors, and pirates particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from the Restoration in 1660 u ...
s.
On 1 January 1685, Davis seized a Packet-boat bound for Lima with orders captured on the Plate silver fleet for Panama. On 7 January Davis and Swan sailed for Pear Island to intercept the silver fleet. By 15 February, it had still not arrived. About to abandon all hope, they sighted the fleet on 28 May. It had already ditched its cargo at
La Villa, as they redeployed buccaneer vessels in
Panama Bay. The pirates had foregathered, but in the
Battle of Panama they were outnumbered by the Spaniards by at least ten to one. The outcome was indecisive. Davis and Swan and two other ships split from the alliance - raids against Leon and Realejo met with little success resulting in the departures of Swan and Townley who left for Mexico and, Harris left after much of his crew died from
yellow fever in
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...
: the group splitting on 25 August 1685. Dampier sailed westwards across the Pacific to East Indies. With
William Knight, the 'cruising' buccaneers raided coastal settlements of Peru and Chile, but food was scarce. Knight departed for the West Indies. After arriving at the
Juan Fernández Islands
The Juan Fernández Islands () are a sparsely inhabited series of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, reliant on tourism and fishing. Situated off the coast of Chile, they are composed of three main volcanic islands: Robinson Crusoe Island, R ...
in November, Davis and Knight decided to divide the spoils with each crew member receiving £1,150 according to
Raveneau de Lussan with Knight leaving for the Caribbean. Davis spent Christmas 1685 at Juan Fernandez Island - the crew felt an earthquake at Callao and Lima 450 miles offshore at 4 am.
Davis raided and stole £25,000 in jewels and silver from the city of
Zaña, Peru in March 1686. Although later raids yielded smaller wealth, 39 African slaves were liberated from
Paita
Paita is a city in northwestern Peru. It is the capital of the Paita Province which is in the Piura Region. It is a leading seaport in the region. Paita is located 1,089 km northwest of the country's capital Lima, and 57 km northwest of ...
and later joined the expedition. Raiding five more towns between the months of May and June, including the failed attack on
La Serena, many priests and officials were killed attempting to hide the city's treasury until the defenders of Pisco agreed to pay £5,000 in ransom. Davis continued with 80 men and looted £10,000 from
Arica, Chile in February 1687. Learning from captives of Spanish plans to send a squadron from Peru against Captain
Pierre le Picard, he arrived at
Guayaquil
Guayaquil (), officially Santiago de Guayaquil, is the largest city in Ecuador and also the nation's economic capital and main port. The city is the capital (political), capital of Guayas Province and the seat of Guayaquil Canton. The city is ...
in May and helped defeat the fleet and split £50,000 with the French buccaneer. Leaving Guayaquil on June 12, Davis stopped at the
Galápagos Islands
The Galápagos Islands () are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the equator, west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of sli ...
and Juan Fernández Islands and also supposedly sighted
Davis Land while making his way down to
Cape Horn
Cape Horn (, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which is Águila Islet), Cape Horn marks the nor ...
, on his return voyage to the American colonies.
Davis and the ''Delight'' arrived in the
West Indies
The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
in early 1688 and eventually arrived in
Philadelphia
Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...
in May. Although he and
Lionel Wafer and
John Hingson would be arrested on 22 June 1688 for piracy in Virginia for two years as they crossed
Port Comfort to Elizabeth River. On 26 June 1688 at his trial, Davis denied ever being a privateer, saying he had been a resident of Jamaica for seven years. A black servant, Peter Cloise, contradicted the statement on 16 August 1688; Davis petitioned under King James II's Proclamation of 1685 for Privateering. In October 1686,
Lord Sunderland issued a
Council of Trade and Plantations instruction for their prosecution - but they may have received a royal pardon.
Davis was pardoned under the
1687/8 Act of Grace.
In August 1689, the Council of Virginia ordered the buccaneers to return to England. By November they had arrived, but without their possessions. In December 1687, Davis's expedition had found a land mass 500 leagues south of the Galapagos at 27°20′S; named
Davis Land, it is shown on the frontispiece to Dampier's ''A New Voyage Round the World''. In 1721,
Dutch West Indies Company, and three ships under
Jacob Roggeveen could not find the island, although it could be
Easter Island
Easter Island (, ; , ) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is renowned for its nearly 1,000 extant monumental statues, ...
.
Later years
Davis would eventually return to England in 1690 and successfully managed to have most of his former property and estates returned to him within two years. A royal order of March 1692 agreed to return Davis fortune, but £300 was retained by the Crown; and he kept about one quarter of the Jamestown property. The moneys may have been put toward building the
College of William and Mary
The College of William & Mary (abbreviated as W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III and Queen Mary II, it is the second-oldest instit ...
at Williamsburg, Virginia. In November 1693, the
Council of Virginia invited creditors of the three men forward. Davis signed with a cross and so may have been illiterate.
The ''Batchelor's Delight'' itself was sold to some of its former crew, and sailed for the Indian Ocean under Captain
George Raynor.
He is claimed as one of the earliest buccaneers to have buried treasure on
Cocos Island
Cocos Island () is a volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean administered by Costa Rica, approximately southwest of the Costa Rican mainland. It constitutes the 11th of the 15 districts of Puntarenas Canton of the Puntarenas Province, Province of ...
with his flagship, the ''Bachelor's Delight'', in 1684 and 1702. Anchoring in Chatham Bay, he supposedly left behind several chests containing ingots, pieces-of-eight and £300,000 in silver bar and plate taken from settlements in Peru and Chile.
He may or may not have been the same privateer to accompany Captain
William Kidd
William Kidd (c. 1645 – 23 May 1701), also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd, was a Scottish-American privateer. Conflicting accounts exist regarding his early life, but he was likely born in Dundee and later settled in N ...
to America after a meeting at
St. Mary's Island in 1697.
References
Bibliography
Notable Voyagers, W.H.G. Kingston and Henry Frith- Chapter XXI: Voyages and adventures of William Dampier — from A.D. 1674
* Rogozinski, Jan. (1996) ''Pirates!: Brigands, Buccaneers, and Privateers in Fact, Fiction, and Legend''. New York: Da Capo Press
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Edward
Year of death missing
English pirates
English explorers of the Pacific
Year of birth uncertain
Pardoned pirates
17th-century pirates
Piracy in the Pacific Ocean