Jasper Seagar (died 1721) was a pirate active in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by ...

, best known for sailing with

Edward England Edward England ( –1721) was an Irish pirate. The ships he sailed on included the ''Pearl'' (which he renamed ''The Royal James'') and later the ''Fancy'', for which England exchanged the ''Pearl'' in 1720. His flag was the classic Joll ...

Olivier Levasseur __NOTOC__ Olivier Levasseur (1688, 1689, or 1690 – 7 July 1730), was a French pirate, nicknamed ''La Buse'' ("The Buzzard") or ''La Bouche'' ("The Mouth") in his early days for the speed and ruthlessness with which he always attacked his enem ...

, and Richard Taylor.

Identity

Some sources claim Edward England was born Edward Seegar, or that Jasper Seagar was England’s real name. Other accounts from trial depositions make clear that Seagar was a separate person, and that he took over captaincy of England’s ship after England was marooned by his crew: "...the sd Ship the ''Victory'' under ye Comand of the sd Richard Taylor and the ''Cassandra'' under the Comand of Jaspar Seater who was made Captain of her in the room of ye sd Edward England (who was turned out of Comand) proceeded to the East India...".

History

In 1719 pirate

Thomas Cocklyn Jeremiah Cocklyn, better known by the name Thomas Cocklyn (fl. 1717–1719), was an English pirate known primarily for his association with Howell Davis, Olivier Levasseur, Richard Taylor, and William Moody. History Cocklyn was among the hun ...

in the ''Victory'' put into

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

alongside Edward England’s ''Fancy'' and ''John Galley''. Cocklyn died there; England burned the ''John Galley'', transferring Cocklyn’s crew to the other two ships, and Richard Taylor was placed as captain aboard the ''Victory''. Seagar commanded the ''Fancy'' while England remained in command of the overall fleet. Off the island of

Johanna Johanna is a feminine name, a variant form of Joanna that originated in Latin in the Middle Ages, including an -h- by analogy with the Latin masculine name Johannes. The original Greek form ''Iōanna'' lacks a medial /h/ because in Greek Spiritus ...

they engaged the ''Cassandra'' under Captain

James Macrae James Macrae (1677 – July 1744) was a Scottish seaman and administrator who served as the President of Fort St George from 1725 to 1730. He is known for naval exploits against the pirate Edward England and for reforming the administration of ...

(also McCrae or Mackra), who was forced to beach his ship and flee inland but not before heavily damaging the ''Fancy'' and killing a number of pirates. The ''Cassandra'' had sailed with the ''Greenwich'' under Captain Kirby, who reported England commanding the ''Victory'' and Seagar commanding the ''Fancy''. Richard Lazenby, a carpenter's mate taken from the ''Cassandra'' and pressed into service by the pirates, later reported to the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sout ...

and named Seagar as captain of the ''Fancy'', with Taylor captaining the ''Victory''. Macrae eventually surrendered to the pirates. England spared him and gave him the crippled ''Fancy''; this enraged Taylor, who had England removed from command and

marooned Marooned may refer to: * Marooning, the intentional act of abandoning someone in an uninhabited area Film and television * ''Marooned'' (1933 film), a British drama film * ''Marooned'' (1969 film), an American science-fiction film * ''Marooned ...

. The ''Cassandra'' was fitted out for piracy and Jasper Seagar was placed in command. Sailing alongside Taylor, Seagar proceeded toward the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies), is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies refers to various lands in the East or the Eastern hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and aroun ...

and plundered several ships. After unsuccessfully engaging a fleet from

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the '' de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the sec ...

they put in at

Cochin Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Kerala, the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part ...

to sell their booty. From there they sailed out, repaired the ''Victory'', and in early 1721 captured ships near

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

, including ''Nossa Senhora do Cabo'', which carried the Bishop of Goa and the retiring Portuguese Viceroy and netted the pirates immense treasure. In his report on the incident the Viceroy noted Seagar as commanding the ''Fancy'', not the ''Cassandra'' (which the pirates may have renamed), and claimed Levasseur was commanding the ''Victory'', with Taylor serving as quartermaster. Sailing to

Île Sainte-Marie Nosy Boraha , previously known as Sainte-Marie, main town Ambodifotatra, is an island off the east coast of Madagascar. The island forms an administrative district within Analanjirofo Region, and covers an area of 222 km2. It has a popula ...

near Madagascar, they burned the ''Victory'' and fitted out the ''Cabo'' for piracy; Seagar died while on Madagascar of unknown causes. Levasseur captained the ''Cassandra'' after Seagar’s death, eventually exchanging ships with Taylor who sailed it to the Caribbean and traded it to the governor of Porto Bello for amnesty. Oliver Levasseur took the refitted ''Cabo'' until his retirement and recapture.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seagar, Jasper Year of birth missing 18th-century pirates British pirates 1721 deaths Piracy in the Indian Ocean

Identity

History

See also

Notes

References