John Graham (

fl. ''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...

1683–1686, last name also Grayham) was an English pirate active off

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

and the African coast.

History

A merchant captain operating out of Port Royal, Jamaica in June 1683 reported being captured by Graham, and traveled to

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

to deliver a deposition against him. Jamaican Governor Thomas Lynch wrote a year later that Graham was not from Jamaica but was “chief pirate” among the locals. “Doctor John Graham” was recorded as a ship's doctor aboard a vessel which left Jamaica in 1684 on a trading and

privateering 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 ...

mission. Graham led a mutiny, marooning the previous commander and turning the ship to piracy. A captured sailor reported, “Thence they sailed for Virginia and New England, thence to the Guinea Coast (

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

), and back to

Carolina Carolina may refer to: Geography * The Carolinas, the U.S. states of North and South Carolina ** North Carolina, a U.S. state ** South Carolina, a U.S. state * Province of Carolina, a British province until 1712 * Carolina, Alabama, a town in ...

, where she was wrecked.” They had taken several ships off

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

, possibly under a different captain, possibly under Graham. After arriving back off the American coast, Graham was captured and jailed in

Nantucket Nantucket () is an island about south from Cape Cod. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck and Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and County of Nantucket, a combined county/town government that is part of the U.S. state of Massachuse ...

. He escaped with the help of some

Cape Cod Cape Cod is a peninsula extending into the Atlantic Ocean from the southeastern corner of mainland Massachusetts, in the northeastern United States. Its historic, maritime character and ample beaches attract heavy tourism during the summer mont ...

locals.

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

and

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

officials put out alerts and warned officers to be ready to arrest him. Later in 1685 merchant Captain John Prentice put into

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decades ...

, where a

sloop A sloop is a sailboat with a single mast typically having only one headsail in front of the mast and one mainsail aft of (behind) the mast. Such an arrangement is called a fore-and-aft rig, and can be rigged as a Bermuda rig with triangular sa ...

under

Captain Veale “Captain Veale” was the name shared by two unrelated Massachusetts pirates active in the 17th century. The first, Thomas Veale, was known for legends of his buried treasure. The second Veale attacked ships along New England from Virginia to B ...

anchored by his ship. Onshore he observed Veale and his cargo master trying to buy cannons. Another merchant captain recognized Veale as a pirate who had attacked him off

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

and alerted the authorities, causing Veale to sail away. Prentice set sail a few days later, noticing Veale's sloop alongside a 14-man

shallop Shallop is a name used for several types of boats and small ships (French ''chaloupe'') used for coastal navigation from the seventeenth century. Originally smaller boats based on the chalupa, the watercraft named this ranged from small boats a l ...

, which he saw was commanded by Graham. They pursued Prentice, exchanging cannon fire until Prentice was able to escape under cover of a thunderstorm. He sailed to Boston, where Graham's reputation preceded him, and informed officials that Graham and Veale were nearby. Boston authorities sent out a privateer barque under Samson Waters to arrest them, but the pirates had made a getaway toward

Cape Ann Cape Ann is a rocky peninsula in northeastern Massachusetts, United States on the Atlantic Ocean. It is about northeast of Boston and marks the northern limit of Massachusetts Bay. Cape Ann includes the city of Gloucester and the towns of ...

. In 1686 Graham and Veale were still sailing in concert, cruising off New England. Samson Waters was again commissioned by

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

to hunt them down, again unsuccessfully.

References

Year of birth missing Year of death missing English pirates 17th-century pirates Caribbean pirates {{Pirate-stub

History

See also

References