HMS ''Scarborough'' was a 32 gun

fifth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a fifth rate was the second-smallest class of warships in a hierarchical system of six " ratings" based on size and firepower. Rating The rating system in the Royal N ...

ship built at the

Sheerness Dockyard Sheerness Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the Sheerness peninsula, at the mouth of the River Medway in Kent. It was opened in the 1660s and closed in 1960. Location In the Age of Sail, the Royal Navy would often establish shore ...

and launched by the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

in 1711. Her captain was Tobias Hume. In 1717, the ''Scarborough'' caused the destruction of a pirate

galley A galley is a type of ship optimised for propulsion by oars. Galleys were historically used for naval warfare, warfare, Maritime transport, trade, and piracy mostly in the seas surrounding Europe. It developed in the Mediterranean world during ...

and a sloop near

Saint Croix Saint Croix ( ; ; ; ; Danish language, Danish and ; ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent Districts and sub-districts of the United States Virgin Islands, district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an Unin ...

, but failed to capture the crew, who would go on to join

Samuel Bellamy Captain Samuel Bellamy ( 23 February 1689 – 26 April 1717), erroneously known as "Black Sam" Bellamy, was an English sailor turned pirate during the early 18th century. He is best known as one of the wealthiest pirates in the Golden Age of Pi ...

. Records of the time also indicate the ''Scarborough'' was in the vicinity of

Blackbeard Edward Teach (or Thatch; – 22 November 1718), better known as Blackbeard, was an English pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's North American colonies. Little is known about his early life, but he ma ...

the

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

and his crew in February 1717 near Nevis. The deposition of Henry Bostock recounts that the pirates "had met the Man of War on this station, but said they had no business with her, but if she had chased them they would have kept their Way."David Moore. (1997) "A General History of Blackbeard the Pirate, the Queen Anne's Revenge and the Adventure". In Tributaries, Volume VII, 1997. pp. 33–34. (North Carolina Maritime History Council) In 1720, she was rebuilt at the

Deptford Dockyard Deptford Dockyard was an important Royal Navy Dockyard, naval dockyard and base at Deptford on the River Thames, operated by the Royal Navy from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. It built and maintained warships for 350 years, and man ...

as a

sixth-rate In the rating system of the Royal Navy used to categorise sailing warships, a sixth-rate was the designation for small warships mounting between 20 and 28 carriage-mounted guns on a single deck, sometimes with smaller guns on the upper works an ...

20 gun ship. She was finally sold to Deptford Dockyard in 1739.

References

External links

When Blackbeard Scourged the Seas
, History.org

, Elite Magazine {{DEFAULTSORT:Scarborough (1711) 1710s ships Ships built in Sheerness Ships of the Royal Navy Ships involved in anti-piracy efforts