James Skyrme (died 1722, last name occasionally Skyrm) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

pirate best known for Captaining two of

Bartholomew Roberts ) , type=Pirate , birth_place = Casnewydd Bach, near Puncheston, Pembrokeshire, Wales, Kingdom of England , death_place = At sea off of Cape Lopez, Gabon , allegiance= , serviceyears=1719–1722 , base of operations= Off the coast of the Americ ...

’

prize ship In admiralty law prizes are equipment, vehicles, vessels, and cargo captured during armed conflict. The most common use of ''prize'' in this sense is the capture of an enemy ship and her cargo as a prize of war. In the past, the capturing force ...

History

In the summer of 1720 James Skyrme sailed from

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

as first mate of ''Greyhound''. That October off

St. Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerin ...

Bartholomew Roberts took over a dozen vessels, ''Greyhound'' included. Captured, Skyrme signed their

Articles Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article may also refer to: G ...

and joined Roberts’ crew while Roberts burned ''Greyhound''. Two French ships attacked Roberts in April 1721, but were themselves captured by the pirates. Renaming the vessels, Roberts gave command of ''Ranger'' to

Thomas Sutton Thomas Sutton (1532 – 12 December 1611) was an English civil servant and businessman, born in Knaith, Lincolnshire. He is remembered as the founder of the London Charterhouse and of Charterhouse School. Life Sutton was the son of an official ...

and gave Skyrme ''Little Ranger'', which Roberts used as a storeship. Sailing alongside Roberts, they captured a number of other ships and their crews. Later that year Roberts put into

Cape Lopez Cape Lopez () is a headland on the coast of Gabon, west central Africa. The westernmost point of Gabon, it separates the Gulf of Guinea from the South Atlantic Ocean. Cape Lopez is the northernmost point of a low, wooded island between two mouths ...

to careen, replacing Sutton with Skyrme as captain of ''Ranger''. In February 1722 Captain

Chaloner Ogle Admiral of the Fleet Sir Chaloner Ogle KB (1681 – 11 April 1750) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. After serving as a junior officer during the Nine Years' War, a ship he was commanding was captured by three French ships off Ostend i ...

of HMS ''Swallow'' baited Roberts into attacking his 50-gun warship. Mistaking it for a fleeing merchantman, Roberts sent Skyrme in ''Ranger'' to capture it. Once ''Ranger'' was alone, Ogle sprung his trap and opened fire on the pirates. After a short battle ''Ranger'' was heavily damaged, a number of pirates had been killed, and Skyrme's leg was sheared off by cannon fire. Skyrme tried to continue the fight but ''Ranger'' eventually struck its colors and surrendered. Desperate pirates tried to blow up ''Ranger'' by firing a pistol into a barrel of gunpowder but failed and were badly burned. Five days after defeating Skyrme, Ogle returned to Cape Lopez and wiped out the rest of Roberts' fleet; Roberts died early in the battle. ''Swallow'' took the survivors and a badly wounded Skyrme to

Cape Coast Castle Cape Coast Castle ( sv, Carolusborg) is one of about forty "slave castles", or large commercial forts, built on the Gold Coast of West Africa (now Ghana) by European traders. It was originally a Portuguese "feitoria" or trading post, establish ...

where they were tried and most of them, Skyrme included, were hung that March. ''Ranger'' itself survived the battle against Ogle's ''Swallow'', though it did not last much longer. Returned across the Atlantic as a

, it sank off Port Royal when a hurricane devastated the town in August 1722.

References

18th-century pirates British pirates People executed for piracy 1722 deaths Caribbean pirates {{Pirate-stub

History

See also

References