John Nutt (before 1600 – after 1632) was an English pirate. He was one of the more notorious

brigands Brigandage is the life and practice of highway robbery and plunder. It is practiced by a brigand, a person who is typically part of a gang and lives by pillage and robbery.Oxford English Dictionary second edition, 1989. "Brigand.2" first record ...

of his time, raiding the coast of southern Canada and western England for over three years before his capture by Sir John Eliot in 1623. His arrest and conviction caused a scandal in the English court, after Nutt paid Eliot £500 in exchange for a

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...

, and was eventually released by Secretary of State

George Calvert George Calvert, 1st Baron Baltimore (; 1580 – 15 April 1632) was an English politician. He achieved domestic political success as a member of parliament and later Secretary of State (England), Secretary of State under James VI and I, King Ja ...

Biography

Born in

Lympstone Lympstone is a village and civil parish in East Devon in the English county of Devon. It has a population of 2,100. There is a harbour on the estuary of the River Exe, lying at the outlet of Wotton Brook between cliffs of red breccia.

, near

Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort situated on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe, southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of settl ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, John Nutt arrived in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

as a gunner on a Dartmouth ship around 1620. He decided to settle in the area permanently and moved his family to live in

Torbay, Newfoundland and Labrador Torbay is a town located on the eastern side of the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The town is located north of the capital city of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's and is part of the St. John's metropoli ...

. He soon organized a small crew with whom he seized a small French fishing boat as well as two other French ships (another account claims the ships were

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

Flemish Flemish may refer to: * Flemish, adjective for Flanders, Belgium * Flemish region, one of the three regions of Belgium *Flemish Community, one of the three constitutionally defined language communities of Belgium * Flemish dialects, a Dutch dialec ...

) during the summer of 1621 before returning to the western coast of England. He continued using unemployed sailors, particularly those conscripted to

press gangs Impressment, colloquially "the press" or the "press gang", is a type of conscription of people into a military force, especially a naval force, via intimidation and physical coercion, conducted by an organized group (hence "gang"). European nav ...

, and actually lured away a significant number from 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 ...

paying regular wages and commissions. He also offered his services to protect French and English settlements including the

Colony of Avalon The Province of Avalon was the area around the English settlement of Ferryland in what is now Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada in the 17th century, which upon the success of the colony grew to include the land held by Sir William Vaughan and ...

then under the leadership of

. He continued raiding shipping both in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

for over three years, often avoiding attempts to apprehend him, before he requested a royal pardon from John Eliot, the Vice Admiral of Devon. Eliot agreed in exchange for a £500 bond, however he was arrested by Eliot and imprisoned once back in England. Tried and convicted for piracy, Nutt was about to be hanged when George Calvert, then Secretary of State, intervened on his behalf having been a friend and associate of his while Nutt and his family were living in the

Avalon Colony The Province of Avalon was the area around the English settlement of Ferryland in what is now Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada in the 17th century, which upon the success of the colony grew to include the land held by Sir William Vaughan and ...

. Nutt was given his pardon and also granted £100 in compensation while Eliot, for his betrayal, was charged with

malfeasance in office Malfeasance in office is any unlawful conduct that is often grounds for a Just cause (employment law), just cause removal of an elected official by statute or recall election, or even additionally a crime. Malfeasance in office contrasts with Mi ...

and imprisoned.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''

Biography

References

External links

Further reading