Jacob Evertson (died 1688 or 1695, also known as James or Everson) was a Dutch

buccaneer Buccaneers were a kind of privateers or free sailors 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 until about 1688, ...

and pirate active in the Caribbean. He escaped

Henry Morgan Sir Henry Morgan ( cy, Harri Morgan; – 25 August 1688) was a privateer, plantation owner, and, later, Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Jamaica, he raided settlements and shipping on the Spanish Main, becoming ...

and sailed with Jan Willems for several years.

Biography

Early piracy

Evertson captured a

brigantine A brigantine is a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast and at least two sails on the main mast: a square topsail and a gaff sail mainsail (behind the mast). The main mast is the second and taller of the two masts. Old ...

near

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispan ...

in early 1681. Famed buccaneer Henry Morgan had become the Lieutenant Governor and dispatched a ship to capture Evertson's

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular ...

and his mixed Spanish-English crew. Morgan's men mounted a stealthy midnight attack, surprising the pirates and capturing their ships. Evertson and a number of his crew jumped ship and attempted to swim to safety. Morgan published accounts of the capture for the public; he announced that Evertson and the other escapees had been shot and killed as they tried to swim away. Captured Spanish sailors were deported to Cartagena; the English prisoners were tried, convicted of piracy, and hung. Morgan kept Evertson's sloop, using it as a scout for his frigate.

Another ship

In fact Evertson had survived the escape and continued his piratical career. Obtaining another ship, he partnered with fellow Dutch pirate Jan “Yankey” Willems, sailing together. After several years at sea they sailed to

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = "Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = G ...

in 1687 - possibly to retire or seek a pardon, though unsuccessfully - and soon returned to Jamaica. There they wrote to Governor

Molesworth Molesworth may refer to: Places *Molesworth, Cambridgeshire, a village in Huntingdonshire, Cambridgeshire, England *Molesworth (crater), a crater on Mars *Molesworth Station, New Zealand's largest farm *Molesworth Street, Dublin, Ireland * Moleswo ...

in September asking for a pardon. He welcomed them and offered a pardon on condition that Yankey and Evertson dismantle their ships to keep them from returning to piracy. At the time Yankey had a 40-gun 100-man Dutch ship while Evertson sailed a 26-gun, 50-man

barque A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts having the fore- and mainmasts rigged square and only the mizzen (the aftmost mast) rigged fore and aft. Sometimes, the mizzen is only partly fore-and-aft rigged, b ...

. Despite many of their men having deserted, the two pirates refused to destroy their ships, pleading with Molesworth, “We beg you to consider that if our ships are broken up we shall be left destitute of all livelihood in present and future, and to allow us the use of them. We have neither of us money to purchase an estate ashore.” Molesworth repeated his demand, and the pirates sailed away.

Larger crew

Their crews bolstered by sailors picked up from

Jean Hamlin Jean Hamlin (alternatively spelled Jean Hamlyn, fl. 1682–1684) was a French pirate active in the Caribbean and off the coast of Africa. He was often associated with St. Thomas's pirate-friendly Governor Adolph Esmit. History Hamlin began his ...

’s crew (and possibly

Joseph Bannister Joseph Bannister (died 1687, first name occasionally George) was an English pirate who operated in the Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy. He is best known for defeating two Royal Navy warships in battle. History Bannister was captain o ...

’s), the pair continued piracy. Partnering with

Laurens de Graaf Laurens Cornelis Boudewijn de Graaf (c. 1653 – 24 May 1704) was a Dutch pirate, mercenary, and naval officer in the service of the French colony of Saint-Domingue during the late 17th and early 18th century. De Graaf was also known as Laurencil ...

Michel de Grammont Michel de Grammont (c. 1645 – 1686?) was a French privateer. He was born in Paris, Kingdom of France and was lost at sea in the north-east Caribbean, April 1686. His privateer career lasted from around 1670 to 1686 during which he commanded t ...

, and other buccaneers, they took part in sacking Cartagena in 1683. Yankey, presumably with Evertson, captured a rich Spanish vessel off Havana in 1686. In early 1688 they attacked a Spanish “urca” cargo ship near Puerto Cavallos. After an eight-hour battle they captured it; Yankey may have taken it as his own.

Possible death

Though it is not recorded how or where they perished, by August 1688 both Yankey and Evertson were reported dead. At least one source reported Evertson still alive at

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 ( Distrito Nacional) , webs ...

the following year, dying in 1695 in English service. Their remaining crew members signed on with

Captain Peterson George Peterson (fl. 1686–1688) was a pirate active off New England and Nova Scotia and in the West Indies. History Peterson was a known pirate by 1686 when he was sighted near Newport, Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, where ...

References