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

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 ...

and pirate active in the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

. He escaped

Henry Morgan Sir Henry Morgan (; – 25 August 1688) was a Welsh privateer, plantation owner, and, later, the lieutenant governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Jamaica, he and those under his command raided settlements and shipping ports o ...

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. Ol ...

near

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

in early 1681. Famed buccaneer Henry Morgan had become the Lieutenant Governor and dispatched a ship to capture Evertson's sloop 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 South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

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 *Moleswor ...

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 ship, sailing vessel with three or more mast (sailing), masts of which the fore mast, mainmast, and any additional masts are Square rig, rigged square, and only the aftmost mast (mizzen in three-maste ...

. 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 (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 career in 1682, sailing from Jama ...

’s crew (and possibly

Joseph Bannister Joseph Bannister (died 1687, first name occasionally given as George) was an English pirate who operated in the Caribbean during the Golden Age of Piracy. He is best known for surviving an attack from two Royal Navy warships. History Bannister w ...

’s), the pair continued piracy. Partnering with Laurens de Graaf,

Michel de Grammont Michel de Grammont ( 1645 – 1686?) was a French privateer. He was born in Paris, 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 the flagship ' ...

, 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 Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

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

References