Captain Samuel Burgess was a member of Captain

William Kidd William Kidd (c. 1645 – 23 May 1701), also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd, was a Scottish-American privateer. Conflicting accounts exist regarding his early life, but he was likely born in Dundee and later settled in N ...

's crew in 1690 when the ''Blessed William'' was seized by

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 some of the crew, with William May named as captain. In 1693, Edward Coates became captain and Burgess left the ship and went to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. He arrived in April, bought a house and took on a job with

Frederick Philipse Frederick Philipse (born Frederick Flypsen;Appleton, W.S. ''The Heraldic Journal, Recording the Amorial Bearings and Genealogies of American Families'', Wiggen & Lunt, Boston, 1867 1626 in Bolsward, Netherlands – December 23, 1702), first Lord ...

, New York's wealthiest merchant. Over the next few years Burgess made many profitable voyages to Madagascar selling supplies and guns to pirates in exchange for gold and slaves. Around September 1699, Burgess was in command of the ''Margaret''. Near Saint Mary's Island he ran into a British squadron under

Thomas Warren Thomas Warren (fl. 1727–1767) was an English bookseller, printer, publisher and businessman. Warren was an influential figure in Birmingham at a time when it was a hotbed of creative activity, opening a bookshop in High Street, Birmingham arou ...

. Pirates there (including

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 ...

) accepted an offer of pardon for any piratical activities from Warren, and about 20 of them bought passage home on the ''Margaret''. Burgess sailed to

Cape Town, South Africa Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...

; by December he reached his destination. Captain Lowth of 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 ...

, seized Burgess' ship and took it to

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 ...

. Lowth also took its

treasure Treasure (from from Greek ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions legally define what constit ...

and

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. The owners of the ''Margaret'' brought suit against the East India Company and Burgess was taken to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

around 1701 and accused of piracy. With Captain

's testimony, Burgess was convicted. Eventually he secured a pardon for his crimes and signed aboard a privateer, sailing for the Pacific. Burgess then became first mate aboard the ''Neptune'' and went 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 ...

to trade liquor for slaves. When a sudden storm wrecked the pirates' ships, Burgess helped John Halsey seize the ''Neptune''. Burgess was made Quartermaster but lost it soon after, when Captain Halsey died . After losing his position, Burgess stayed at Madagascar, dealing in slaves with David Williams. Supposedly, following an argument concerning prices with a black chief, Burgess died of poison, presumably at the chief's hand.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burgess, Samuel 1650s births 1716 deaths Businesspeople from New York City English pirates Pirates from the Thirteen Colonies 17th-century American slave traders 17th-century American businesspeople 17th-century pirates 18th-century pirates Interlopers (business) Merchants from the Province of New York 17th-century American merchants Pardoned pirates William Kidd