Nathaniel North
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Nathaniel North (c. 1671–1716) was a pirate during the
Golden Age of Piracy The Golden Age of Piracy was the period between the 1650s and the 1730s, when maritime piracy was a significant factor in the histories of the North Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Histories of piracy often subdivide the Golden Age of Piracy into th ...
, operating 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), ...
under John Bowen and then as captain of the ''Defiant'' following Bowen's retirement in 1704. After losing the ''Defiant'' he ruled a pirate colony at
Ambonaivo Ambonaivo is a town and commune in Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Ambovombe, which is a part of Androy Region. The population of the commune was estimated to be 6975 in 2018. It is situated 20 km west of Ambovombe. Only primary scho ...
made up of his former crew before returning to sea. North reportedly retired with great wealth in 1709, settling in
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 ...
and marrying a local woman, but was later murdered by her family.


Early life

In 1689 North was a crewman aboard an English
privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...
attacking French shipping during the
War of the Grand Alliance The Nine Years' War was a European great power conflict from 1688 to 1697 between Kingdom of France, France and the Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg), Grand Alliance. Although largely concentrated in Europe, fighting spread to colonial poss ...
. He was impressed into 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 ...
but made his way to
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 ...
. There he again met British press gangs, but escaped by jumping overboard and swimming to shore. By 1696 North was a crewman in a band of privateers (which included future captain George Booth) who captured the 18-gun brigantine ''Pelican'' off
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 ...
. While the privateer under new captain Robert Colley obtained a commission to attack French holdings in
West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...
, they instead travelled to
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 ...
where they searched for ships based out of ports on the Arabian and Swahili coasts. When they failed to find any ships, the ''Pelican'' instead raided villages on the
Comoro Islands The Comoro Islands are a group of volcanic islands in the Mozambique Channel, an arm of the Indian Ocean lying between Madagascar and the African mainland. Three of the islands form the Union of the Comoros, a sovereign nation, while Mayotte bel ...
. Upon returning to Madagascar, North was elected
quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land army, armies, a quartermaster is an officer who supervises military logistics, logistics and requisitions, manages stores or barracks, and distri ...
by the crew after Colley and a number of others died of illness; ship's cooper
Joseph Wheeler Joseph "Fighting Joe" Wheeler (September 10, 1836 – January 25, 1906) was a military commander and politician of the Confederate States of America. He was a cavalry general in the Confederate States Army in the 1860s during the American Civil ...
was made captain. The ''Pelican'' then joined
Dirk Chivers Dirk Chivers (, last name occasionally Shivers) was a Dutch pirate active in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. Early career Dirk Chivers is first recorded as a crew member of the ''Portsmouth Adventure'', , under Captain Joseph Faro (or Farrell) arou ...
and
Robert Culliford Robert Culliford (c. 1666 – unknown; last name occasionally reported as Collover) was a pirate from Cornwall who is best remembered for repeatedly ''checking the designs'' of Captain William Kidd. Early career and capture Culliford and Kidd f ...
and the three ships together captured the ''Great Mohammed''. Chivers and Culliford, however, refused to share the spoils from the ''Great Mohammed'', claiming that the ''Pelican'' had not taken part in the battle. Following this event, the ''Pelican'' left the trio and later captured three small ships, keeping one and renaming her ''Dolphin''. Damage caused to both ships in a hurricane forced a return to Madagascar, where the plunder was divided, with each of the pirates receiving around £700.


Early career

In 1699, North served again as quartermaster under captain Samuel Inless, who had been given command of the ''Dolphin''. After taking a large Danish ship they sailed 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 ...
and divided the plunder with each man receiving around £400. While at the Île Sainte-Marie, however, four British warships under Commodore Thomas Warren arrived, forcing Inless to burn the ''Dolphin''. While a pardon was offered to the pirates – several of whom accepted it – North instead fled in the ship's
longboat A longboat is a type of ship's boat that was in use from ''circa'' 1500 or before. Though the Royal Navy replaced longboats with launches from 1780, examples can be found in merchant ships after that date. The longboat was usually the largest bo ...
, escaping to Madagascar. In 1701, North turned to raiding settlements on land, leading a plundering expedition ashore in the
Comoros Islands The Comoro Islands are a group of volcanic islands in the Mozambique Channel, an arm of the Indian Ocean lying between Madagascar and the African mainland. Three of the islands form the Union of the Comoros, a sovereign nation, while Mayotte be ...
. His raiding party looted villages on
Ngazidja Grande Comore (; ) is an island in Comoros off the coast of Africa. It is the largest island in the Comoros nation. Most of its population is of the Comorian ethnic group. Its population is about 316,600. The island's capital is Moroni, which is ...
and held the sultan of
Mayotte Mayotte ( ; , ; , ; , ), officially the Department of Mayotte (), is an Overseas France, overseas Overseas departments and regions of France, department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is one of the Overseas departm ...
for ransom before returning to sea.


Later career and death

It was not until 1707 that North joined John Halsey as quartermaster on the
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 ...
''Charles''. During this period two British ships were captured, one of which Halsey took for himself and returned to Madagascar, leaving North in command of the ''Charles''. This proved to be short-lived, as the ''Charles'' ran aground shortly after. North then returned to Madagascar and lived with the King of Maratan. In 1709 North returned to Ambonavoula where he traded with
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 ...
and occasionally acquired slaves from
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 ...
. At some period after this, during a native conflict he was reportedly captured and later murdered by the opposing natives. While some historians claim North never existed, as his story is mostly known from the factually questionable 1724 '' General History of the Pyrates'', witness accounts do survive describing his piracy. A 1708 letter from the English settlement at Fort St. George, India describes how North lost the ''Charles'', having "lost all his Anchors and Cables amongst the Maldiva Islands, and was obliged to run the Briggantine ashore at Maratan." The writer had been captured by the pirates and noted, "we had been very secure had either
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
lived, or North their Quartermaster been there."


See also

* Robert Colley (pirate)


References

*Seitz, Don Carlos, Howard F. Gospel and Stephen Wood. Under the Black Flag: Exploits of the Most Notorious Pirates. Mineola, New York: Courier Dover Publications, 2002.


Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:North, Nathaniel 1670s births Year of death missing Bermudian pirates 18th-century pirates 17th-century pirates Murdered criminals 1710s deaths