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 approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

, 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 Jolly Rog ...

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") or () in his early days for the speed and ruthlessness with which he always attacked ...

, 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, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

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 (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 that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

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. 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'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

and plundered several ships. After unsuccessfully engaging a fleet from

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

they put in at

Cochin Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernaku ...

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

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

, 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 , also 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 population e ...

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 ''Nossa Senhora do Cabo'' until his retirement and recapture.

Notes

References

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

Identity

History

See also

Notes

References