Edward Jordan (c. 1771–1809) was an Irish rebel, fisherman, and pirate in Nova Scotia. He was typical of the violent but short-lived pirates in the 19th century following the end of the " Golden Age of Piracy" in the 18th century. Born in

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ga, Contae Cheatharlach) is a county located in the South-East Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Carlow is the second smallest and the third least populous of Ireland's 32 traditional counties. Carlow Cou ...

, Ireland, he took part in the Irish rebellions of 1797–1798 but was pardoned and attempted to start a new life as a fisherman in Nova Scotia. However, his seasonal fishing operation based at Gaspe Bay was unsuccessful, and he racked up large debts. Halifax merchants seized his fishing

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoon ...

, ''The Three Sisters'', and on 13 September 1809, desperate to avoid losing the schooner, he tried to murder all of the crew sent to seize the ship. He killed two sailors but the captain, John Stairs, was only wounded and managed to escape overboard. Stairs was rescued by a passing fishing schooner and survived to spread the alarm. A few weeks later the Royal Navy schooner captured Jordan. Jordan was convicted of piracy and executed in Halifax, Nova Scotia later that year. His body was covered in tar and hanged from chains in an iron cage called a gibbet at Black Rock Beach in Point Pleasant as a warning to others. His gibbet joined those of four others across the harbour on McNabs Island who had been executed for mutiny aboard the

brig A brig is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: two masts which are both square rig, square-rigged. Brigs originated in the second half of the 18th century and were a common type of smaller merchant vessel or warship from then until the ...

in the same year. His skull was eventually deposited at the Nova Scotia Museum. Dan Conlin. (2009). ''Pirates of the Atlantic: Robbery, murder and mayhem off the Canadian East Coast'' Halifax: Formac Publishing, pp. 58-59 It was recently displayed in the exhibit "Pirates: Myth and Reality" at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax.

Citations

References

"Pirate Fact Sheet"
''Maritime Museum of the Atlantic'' Halifax, 2007 * MacMechan, Archibald "Jordan the Pirate", ''Sagas of the Sea'', London, 1923, pages 43–55. * Peirce, Elizabeth, ''The Pirate Rebel: The Story of Notorious Ned Jordan'', Halifax: Nimbus Publishing, 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Edward 1770s births 1809 deaths 18th-century Irish people 19th-century Canadian criminals 19th-century executions by the United Kingdom 19th-century pirates 19th-century Irish criminals Colony of Nova Scotia people Canadian pirates Irish expatriates in Canada Canadian murderers Irish people executed abroad Irish murderers Irish pirates People executed by Nova Scotia People executed for piracy People from County Carlow People of the Irish Rebellion of 1798 Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) Recipients of British royal pardons United Irishmen Executed people from County Carlow