John Philip Bear, last name also spelled Beare, was a 17th-century English

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

active in the Caribbean who also served with the Spanish and French.

History

Bear was granted a

privateer A privateer is a private person or ship that engages in maritime warfare under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign or deleg ...

ing commission in September 1684 by Governor William Stapleton of

Nevis Nevis is a small island in the Caribbean Sea that forms part of the inner arc of the Leeward Islands chain of the West Indies. Nevis and the neighbouring island of Saint Kitts constitute one country: the Federation of Saint Kitts and ...

, which he used to attack Spanish ships despite the commission only giving him leave to attack Indians and pirates. The Dutch Governor of Curacao in January 1685 ordered Bear tried for capturing a Spanish ship while the Dutch were at peace with Spain, which Bear avoided. However, in April 1686 Bear led a raid on

Tortola Tortola () is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It has a surface area of with a total population of 23,908, with 9,400 residents in ...

, capturing slaves and abusing Dutch and English prisoners. As a result, the Dutch abandoned Tortola's fledgling colony. That July Stapleton renewed Bear's commission when Bear appeared in a different ship, claiming his former sloop was leaking which forced them to transfer to the frigate ''James''. Stapleton confirmed Bear's capture of the Spanish ship ''La Soldad'' in October; Bear claimed he had been searching for the ship that assaulted Tortola when ''La Soldad'' attacked him. Captain St. Loe of HMS ''Dartmouth'', the

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 ...

warship on station at Nevis, complained at length about Stapleton and Nevis' Deputy Governor Russell ("a great favourer of privateers"), who went out of their way to enable and protect Bear's piracies. In turn Russell complained of St. Loe: "His insolence to me, and his abuses to all Deputy-Governors and Councils of these Islands want a better pen than mine to describe". Governor Molesworth of

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 ...

wrote in August 1687 that Bear had turned pirate, openly attacking English ships. Bear had transferred his allegiance to Spain, marrying a supposed noblewoman in

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

with much celebration. Molesworth was not fooled: "The nobleman's daughter is a strumpet that he used to carry with him in man's apparel, and is the daughter of a rum-

punch Punch commonly refers to: * Punch (combat), a strike made using the hand closed into a fist * Punch (drink), a wide assortment of drinks, non-alcoholic or alcoholic, generally containing fruit or fruit juice Punch may also refer to: Places * Pun ...

-woman of Port Royal". Bear apparently had kept his soon-to-be wife aboard his ship, dressed in men's clothes. Under Spanish colors he sailed as a ''guarda costa'' privateer, patrolling from Havana and Puerto Rico. Molesworth dispatched HMS ''Guernsey'' "to demand the surrender of the pirate Bear, or failing that, to seek him out and destroy him", though the Spanish would not give him up. Bear was still there by February 1688, and may have moved to Vera Cruz that May where he and others had captured at least six more English vessels. A rescued English prisoner claimed that after Bear swore allegiance to Spain his English crewmen refused to sail with him; Bear then took aboard a Spanish crew and threatened the Englishmen that they had to sail with him or face prison. The Spanish plundered Santo Domingo and

Anguilla Anguilla ( ) is a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean. It is one of the most northerly of the Leeward Islands in the Lesser Antilles, lying east of Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands and directly north of Saint Martin. The terr ...

in March 1689, again led by Bear. After England allied with Spain thanks to

King William's War King William's War (also known as the Second Indian War, Father Baudoin's War, Castin's War, or the First Intercolonial War in French) was the North American theater of the Nine Years' War (1688–1697), also known as the War of the Grand All ...

, Bear continued to hunt English ships, having sailed to

Petit Goave Petite or petite may refer to: *Petit (crater), a small, bowl-shaped lunar crater on Mare Spumans * ''Petit'' (EP), a 1995 EP by Japanese singer-songwriter Ua * Petit (typography), another name for brevier-size type * Petit four * Petit Gâteau * ...

to take a French commission from the Comte de Blenac. In French service he turned against his former Spanish sponsors, joining with Jean-Baptiste du Casse for a time, then sailing to France where he received a fresh commission before returning to the Caribbean and sacking Caracas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bear, John (pirate) Year of birth missing Year of death missing English privateers English pirates 17th-century pirates Caribbean pirates

History

See also

References