George Booth (died 1701) was an English pirate who was active in the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

and the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

. Counted among his crew were several pirates who would later become prominent captains including

Nathaniel North Nathaniel North (ca. 1671 - ca. 171?) was a Bermuda-born pirate during the Golden Age of Piracy, operating in the Indian Ocean under John Bowen (pirate), John Bowen and then as captain of the ''Defiant'' following Bowen's retirement in 1704. Aft ...

, Thomas Howard and Booth's eventual successor, John Bowen.

History

He is first recorded as a gunner aboard the ''Pelican'' under captain Robert Colley about 1696, and later on the ''Dolphin'' under captain

Samuel Inless Samuel Inless (floruit, fl. 1698–1699) was a pirate captain in the Indian Ocean, best known for serving as Captain over Nathaniel North and George Booth (pirate), George Booth. History When captain Robert Colley (pirate), Robert Colley of the ...

, both operating in the Indian Ocean. While he was a gunner on the ''Dolphin'', it and several other pirate vessels were trapped at St. Mary's Island by a British fleet in September 1699. The crewmen were offered a pardon by the British commander,

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 ...

. Some of the pirates such as

Robert Culliford Robert Culliford (c. 1666 - ?, last name occasionally 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 first met as shipmates ...

accepted the offer, but Booth, North, and others escaped after burning the ''Dolphin''. They captured a French merchant ship by pretending to be merchants, asking to trade liquor and other goods for slaves. Booth was elected their captain, and the pirates sailed to Madagascar. Booth encountered fellow British pirate John Bowen, and joining forces, they captured the 450-ton 50-gun slave ship ''Speaker'' near

Majunga Mahajanga (French: Majunga) is a city and an administrative district on the northwest coast of Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: Rép ...

in April 1699. Now elected captain of the 54-gun ''Speaker'', Booth sailed towards

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...

in late 1700. In early 1701 he stopped to rescue pirate Thomas Howard; Howard had been a member of John James’ crew, marooned when James’ ship was wrecked after rounding the Cape of Good Hope. Tom Collins, who later sailed with Howard, also joined Booth's crew. While going ashore at Zanzibar for provisions, Booth and Bowen were attacked by Arab troops and Booth was killed in the fighting. After the death of Booth, Bowen was voted by the crew to replace Booth as captain of the small fleet.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Booth, George 17th-century births 1701 deaths English pirates 17th-century pirates 18th-century pirates Year of birth missing Piracy in the Indian Ocean

History

See also

References