Treasurer (privateer)

''Treasurer'' was a sailing ship operating in the Atlantic Ocean in the early 1600s. Captained by Samuel Argall and then Daniel Elfrith, it is notable for its dealings with the Colony of Virginia, notably encounters with Pocahontas, and (along with the ''White Lion'') delivering the first Africans to Virginia and to Bermuda.

Early history (1610s)

Co-owned by Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick, Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr, and Samuel Argall, ''Treasurer'' was described as an "English man of war". Intended as an attack vessel for plundering non-English ships in and around the Spanish Main and Caribbean, the ship used Flushing, Netherlands, as a base of privateering.

In records, ''Treasurer'' was commissioned by the Virginia Company of London to transport English colonists, protect settlements, and provide relief for settlements in the 1610s. At least 17 surviving colonists claimed in the Muster of 1625 ( N.S.) to have traveled on ''Treasurer'' to Virginia between 1613 and 1618.

Trading and Pocahontas' capture (1612-1613)

In July, 1612, Samuel Argall took command of the ''Treasurer'' in England. Argall reached Virginia in September, after a 57-day direct route west--the fastest Transatlantic crossing recorded in the 1610s.

In March, 1613 (N.S.), Argall sailed ''Treasurer'' up the Rappahannock River to explore, then up the Potomac River. He was informed by natives that " Pokerhuntas" was with the Patawomeck people at Passapatanzy, Virginia.

At a village run by "Japazaws" (Iapassus), he invited a few of the Patawomeck leadership and Pocahontas to tour the ship and to spend the night aboard. The next morning, Argall absconded with Pocahontas to deliver her to the English at Jamestown.

Some time before May, 1613, Samuel Argall manned a different ship (a frigate) to explore the Chesapeake and Eastern Shore. ''Treasurer'' was left with an unnamed master at Old Point Comfort, to be overhauled for a long-term "fishing voyage".

Raiding French settlements (1613)

Samuel Argall returned from Chesapeake exploration in May, 1613, to retake command of the ''Treasurer''.Brown, Alexander. ''The First Republic in America: An Account of the Origin of this Nation, Written from the Records Then (1624) Concealed by the Council, Rather Than from the Histories Then Licensed by the Crown''. United States, Houghton, 1898. pp176
/ref> This planned "fishing voyage" was actually a military action--Argall had instructions to stamp out French Jesuit colonization in "North Virginia" (present-day Maine). Aboard the ''Treasurer'', Argall sacked French Acadian settlements of Saint-Saveur (on Mount Desert Island), Saint Croix Island, and Port-Royal. The raids lasted until November, 1613.

Transporting the Rolfes to England (1616)

''Treasurer''—the same vessel that captured Pocahontas and led her to become "Rebecca Rolfe"—transported Rebecca, husband John Rolfe, son Thomas Rolfe, Sir Thomas Dale, and a native entourage to London, England, to promote the Virginia Company's progress in the New World.

Captain Elfrith, the ''Neptune'', and the ''White Lion'' (1618-1619)

In 1618, Samuel Argall had a private commission with the ''Treasurer'' with a letter of marque from Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy. He was commissioned to plunder the West Indies.

In March, 1618, Samuel Argall commanded ''Neptune'' out of London, by a charter from the Virginia Company, with Thomas West, 3rd Baron De La Warr as a passenger. ''Treasurer'' then captained by Daniel Elfrith, met up with ''Neptune'' in the Azores and traded passengers. ''Treasurer'' stopped in Bermuda, while the ''Neptune'' had a difficult journey Virginia. Lord De La Warr became ill and died on the ''Neptune''. An investigation occurred in 1622 to discover the relationship of ''Neptune'' and ''Treasurer'', and where Thomas West was interred, no definitive conclusions occurred.

In 1618, a faction of the Virginia Company of London desired to recall then acting-governor Samuel Argall to initiate an investigation of "privateering history" (acts of piracy) with the ''Treasurer''.

In 1619, a refitted ''Treasurer'' was captained by Daniel Elfrith and piloted by a "Master Gray". In its travels around the Caribbean, Elfrith met up with the 160-ton '' White Lion (privateer)'' captained by a Calvinist minister John Colyn Jope. Jope took command and, using a letter of marque from the Prince of Orange, attacked Portuguese fluyt (sometimes written in Spanish form, ''San Juan Bautista''), captained by Manuel Mendes da Cunha. Elfrith still bore Argall's letter of marque from Duke of Savoy, a duchy which had recently made peace with the Spanish Empire and was united with Portugal. Near the Bay of Campeche, the crew of the ''White Lion'' and ''Treasurer'' plundered the Portuguese cargo: grain, tallow, and about 60 Angolans.

In August, 1619, with cargo split between them both ships sailed for Virginia, but were separated along the voyage. ''Treasurer'' arrived a few days after the ''White Lion'', The latter ship sold between 20-30 Angolan slaves to the James River plantations near Jamestown. ''Treasurer'' arrived at Old Point Comfort, badly needing resupply. Elfrith's privateering letter of marque was scrutinized by the inhabitants, alleging illegal piracy, thus the Angolans were considered "illicit goods". ''Treasurer'' absconded to Bermuda.

Final stop in Bermuda (1619-1620)

About 28 Angolans arrived in Bermuda, of which only one was later named: " Angela". The Angolans were unloaded and given to work on land owned by the Earl of Warwick. These were the first Africans in Bermuda. In 1620, governor Nathaniel Butler wrote to Nathaniel Rich: "...these slaves are the most proper and cheap instruments for this plantation that can be".

The ''Treasurer'' was described as "extremely ondition having all her upper works so rotten as she was utterly unable o go to sea again.

According to records, Angela and up to six other Angolans were re-boarded on the ''Treasurer'' to depart for Virginia in February 1620. Either the ''Treasurer'' sunk off a creek in the James River, or it was as intentionally sunk near St. George's Harbour, Bermuda.

See also

* Jamestown supply missions
* First Africans in Virginia
* Slavery in Bermuda
* '' White Lion (privateer)''
* ''Mary and John''

Notes

{{Jamestown Colony

English emigration
17th century in the Colony of Virginia
Ships of England
Age of Sail ships of England
Colony of Virginia
History of Bermuda
Shipwrecks of Bermuda
Virginia Company