George Cusack
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George Cusack (died 18 January 1675) was an Irish pirate active in northern Europe and the
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in the late 17th century.


History

Cusack served as a gunner and sailor on several ships but his attempts at mutiny landed him in
Marshalsea The Marshalsea (1373–1842) was a notorious prison in Southwark, just south of the River Thames. Although it housed a variety of prisoners—including men accused of crimes at sea and political figures charged with sedition—it became known, ...
prison for a time. On his release in 1668 he traveled to Cadiz and signed aboard the ''Hopewell'' out of
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as a gunner. He and several associates mutinied and seized the ship, setting the officers adrift in a rowboat. They renamed the vessel ''Valiant Prince'' and had a forced merchant draw up false papers for it. Cusack also had
Articles Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article(s) may also refer to: ...
written out which he had his crew swear to, generally referred to as his "Obligations." He threw out the previous captain's papers to avoid incriminating himself in piracy. He even threw out the ship's
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; as the captured merchant Thomas Power recalled, Cusack “could not be perswaded to save a great large Bible that constantly lay upon the great Cabbin Table, from the mercy of the Waves, which whiles some of his own Crew endeavoured to perswade him to, he replyed, ‘''You Cowards, what do you think to go to Heaven and do such Actions as these? No, I will make you Officers in Hell under me''’; and with that threw the Bible out at the great Cabbin window, saying ‘''Go thou thy way Divinity, what have we to do with thee?''’” They sailed to the
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and tried to take several small vessels but soon were captured while ashore, ending up imprisoned in
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. They escaped and captured a 250-ton 28-gun
frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...
they named ''Flying Devil'', which they sailed up the
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before abandoning it and sailing back to England aboard smaller boats. Cusack then served as a
privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...
for the
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during the Anglo-Dutch Wars, taking several Dutch prizes. When those conflicts ended in 1674 he falsely obtained a French commission to hunt Spanish and Dutch ships. He kept a small crew, forcing sailors to serve as needed, including his surgeon Jacob Marrelly. With only 23 men he took a cargo ship leaving
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, a 500-ton vessel called ''Saint Anne'' out of
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under Captain Shorter. Cusack and his pirates put the ship's crew aboard a
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they had taken earlier as a prize, leaving them no gear or provisions, and set them adrift. They put into
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to sell the ''Saint Anne'', claiming it was a Dutch ship they had found abandoned, and hid its paperwork to conceal their crime. Unfortunately for Cusack the crew they had set adrift was picked up by a passing merchantman and returned to
Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...
. They spread news of Cusack's piracy and the ''Saint Anne'' was seized. Cusack and his men heard of this and avoided Aberdeen, sailing up the
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to
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to clean their ship. They spent their booty in local towns, who were glad to have the money, but which gave away their presence. They were pursued by local marshals and two armed vessels under Colonel Kennedy, who captured them and delivered Cusack back to Marshalsea prison with his crew. Cusack claimed to the Admiralty court that he had a commission, and when challenged tried to explain that his invalid commission was a mistake. The Court noted that valid or not, no commission would have allowed him to rob an English vessel, and he was convicted. He was executed on 18 January 1675 with thirteen of his crew, the rest acquitted for having been forced into piracy.


Obligations

Cusack's
pirate code Pirate articles, or articles of agreement were a code of conduct for governing ships of pirates, notably between the 17th century, 17th and 18th century, 18th centuries, during the so-called "Golden Age of Piracy". The typical pirate crew was an u ...
, or Articles, are one of the very few pirate articles preserved from the 17th and 18th centuries, and one of only two complete sets from the 17th century (the other belonging to
Nicholas Clough Nicholas Clough (fl. 1682-1683) was a merchant captain, slave trader, and pirate active in the Caribbean and off the coast of Africa. He is best remembered for leaving behind a well-documented Pirate Code, his "Articles of Agreement". History The ...
). As reported, they read: :''"...declaring their resolution of running away with the Ships and Cargo, and of taking or sinking all Ships or Vessels they should meet with belonging to any Nation, English only excepted: promising to all persons aboard that joyned with them, their proportion and shares of the Ship and Cargo; together with all other Ships they should afterwards take or surprize, according to the Lawes of Pleron: to which end he ordered to be drawn up in Writing an Obligation to himself as Captain, and the said Parslow as Lieutenant, expressing the Resolutions of the Subscribers upon their Oaths to live and die with them in this their present design..."''


See also

*
Rolls of Oléron The Rolls of Oléron ( French: ''Jugements de la mer, Rôles d'Oléron'') are the oldest and best-known sea law regulating medieval shipping in North-western Europe. The Rolls of Oleron were the first common sea law written in the Isle of Oléro ...
– the 12th century laws regarding maritime conduct which Cusack referred to as the "Lawes of Pleron", and which may have formed the basis of Cusack's and other pirate articles. *
Jean Charpin Jean Charpin (fl. 1688–1689) was a French pirate and buccaneer active in the Caribbean and off the coast of Africa. He is best known for sailing alongside Jean-Baptiste du Casse as well as for his Articles, or “Pirate Code.” History Dutch pi ...
– A French 17th century pirate whose Articles have also been preserved.


Further reading


The Word and the Grand Pirate, Captain George Cusack
also availabl
here
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- A psychological and philosophical analysis of Cusack's piracies.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cusack, George Year of birth missing 1675 deaths 17th-century executions by England 17th-century Irish people 17th-century pirates Irish escapees Irish people executed abroad Irish pirates Mutineers People executed by Stuart England People executed for piracy Inmates of the Marshalsea Prisoners and detainees of Barbados English privateers Royal Navy personnel of the Anglo-Dutch Wars Place of birth missing