James Plaintain ( fl. 1720–1728, John or James, last name also Plantain) was a pirate 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 ...

. He is best known for using his pirate wealth to found a short-lived kingdom on

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

History

Plantain was English, born in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

, and served as a sailor aboard

Edward England Edward England ( –1721) was an Irish pirate. The ships he sailed on included the ''Pearl'' (which he renamed ''The Royal James'') and later the ''Fancy'', for which England exchanged the ''Pearl'' in 1720. His flag was the classic Joll ...

’s pirate flotilla (having once served on

Christopher Condent Christopher Condent (fl. 1710s), born in Plymouth in Devon, was an English pirate who led the return to the Eastern Seas. Career Christopher Condent's real name is uncertain. He has been known under the surnames Condent, Congdon, Coudon, Connor o ...

's ''Dragon'') which captured the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

ship ''Cassandra'' from Captain

James Macrae James Macrae (1677 – July 1744) was a Scottish seaman and administrator who served as the President of Fort St George from 1725 to 1730. He is known for naval exploits against the pirate Edward England and for reforming the administration of ...

in 1720. After looting the ship the collected pirates sailed to Madagascar, divided their plunder, and sailed their separate ways. Plantain and a number of others remained behind, some voluntarily and some not. With two others he moved to Ranter Bay (site of modern

Rantabe Rantabe is a town and commune ( mg, kaominina) in Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Maroantsetra, which is a part of Analanjirofo Region. The population of the commune was estimated to be approximately 20,000 in 2001 commune census. Ranta ...

), spending his plunder and befriending the Malagasay natives to build a settlement. He styled himself “King of Ranter Bay.” He organized the locals to make war against their neighbors, using firearms to swing the battles his way. He kept himself and his allies supplied by trading with passing ships, offering food, water, supplies, and slaves taken as captives in wars against his neighbors in exchange for guns, gunpowder and shot, clothes, and other goods. The pirates, Plantain included, took multiple Malagasay wives and lavished them with treasures. He demanded the granddaughter of a neighboring king as his wife; the king refused, setting off a series of wars and counter-raids, from which Plantain eventually emerged victorious. A

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

squadron visited Madagascar in 1722 looking for Richard Taylor, Olivier Levasseur, and Edward England. Plantain advised them that the pirates had long since departed and invited the officers to visit his settlement. Reportedly England himself was present, haggard and near death; he had been deposed from command by Taylor on the grounds of being too kind to the ''Cassandra’s'' Captain. Having made too many enemies on Madagascar Plantain took his favored wife and moved to India in 1728, serving in the

Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

navy under the Maratha Admiral

Kanhoji Angre Kanhoji Angre (Marathi: कान्होजी आंग्रे, Help:IPA/Marathi, anʱod͡ʒiː aːŋɡɾe, also known as Conajee Angria or Sarkhel Angré (August 1669 – 4 July 1729) was a chief of the Maratha Navy in present-day Ind ...

. Plantain’s ultimate fate is not known. When he left to fight various battles he generally buried his wealth on the island and dug it up when he returned, but rumors of Plantain’s buried treasure persisted.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plaintain, James 18th-century pirates Year of birth missing Year of death missing 18th-century Jamaican people British pirates Malagasy pirates Piracy in the Indian Ocean

History

See also

References