Clinton Atkinson (Pirate)
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Clinton Atkinson (also known as ''Clinton'') was a 16th-century British pirate, active in the 1580s in the sea surrounding
Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
and
Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
in southwestern Britain. Clinton and his confederate Thomas Walton were widely reported on at the time with, three broadsheet accounts being published shortly after their hanging in 1583.
Thomas Heywood Thomas Heywood (early 1570s – 16 August 1641) was an English playwright, actor, and author. His main contributions were to late Elizabethan and early Jacobean theatre. He is best known for his masterpiece ''A Woman Killed with Kindness'', a ...
documents their lives and deaths in his
Fortune by Land and Sea ''Fortune by Land and Sea'' is a Jacobean era stage play, a romantic melodrama written by Thomas Heywood and William Rowley. The play has attracted the attention of modern critics for its juxtaposition of the themes of primogeniture and piracy ...
and there was also a two-part pamphlet published about them -''A True Relation of the Lives and Deaths of the two most Famous English Pyrats, Purser, and Clinton.'' In common with other petty pirates of his region and time, Atkinson maintained close relationships with local landowners such as John Killigrew of Arnwick, in order to ensure safe harbor for the disembarkation of stolen goods. When Atkinson was captured in 1583 and imprisoned in Exeter jail, his connections ensured a friendly testimonial from the mayor, which was read at his trial. Despite the mayor's endorsement, Atkinson was sentenced to death and transported to London for execution. His death is recorded in the 1583 parish records for St Botolph's Aldersgate, near Wapping Dock, which read:
"Clinton Atkinson some tyme a housekeeper & dwelling at grace church street & sold haberdashery wares, was for piracy executed at wapping 31 August 1583."Forbes 1970, p. 520


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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Clinton, Atkinson English pirates British pirates