HMS Drake by Willem van de Velde the Younger

Joseph Bannister (died 1687, first name occasionally George) was an English pirate who operated in the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

during the

Golden Age of Piracy The Golden Age of Piracy is a common designation for the period between the 1650s and the 1730s, when maritime piracy was a significant factor in the histories of the Caribbean, the United Kingdom, the Indian Ocean, North America, and West Africa ...

. He is best known for defeating two

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 ...

warships in battle.

History

Bannister was captain of the merchant ship ''Golden Fleece'' and was tasked with making transatlantic voyages, delivering goods on the profitable route between London and Jamaica at least as early as 1680. In June 1684, Bannister ran away with the ship and its thirty to forty guns, picked up over a hundred men to serve as his crew, and began his career as a pirate. Bannister soon picked up additional crew and robbed a small Spanish vessel, but governor Thomas Lynch of Jamaica ordered ''HMS Ruby'' to give Bannister chase. ''Ruby'' was able to capture Bannister and take him to Jamaica where he awaited trial. Bannister maneuvered his way out of all the charges and was released; the sickly Lynch was so agitated that Bannister had escaped punishment that he fell ill and died within the month. Bannister then engaged in several unprofitable business ventures. Facing financial ruin, in February 1685 he again stole the ''Golden Fleece''. As he left he was briefly questioned by a British ship but protested that he intended to cut

logwood ''Haematoxylum campechianum'' (blackwood, bloodwood tree, bluewood, campeachy tree, campeachy wood, campeche logwood, campeche wood, Jamaica wood, logwood or logwood tree) is a species of flowering tree in the legume family, Fabaceae, that is na ...

, not to enter into piracy. Off Ile-a-Vache he joined a

buccaneer Buccaneers were a kind of privateers or free sailors particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from Stuart Restoration, the Restoration in 16 ...

flotilla including

Laurens de Graaf Laurens Cornelis Boudewijn de Graaf (c. 1653 – 24 May 1704) was a Dutch pirate, mercenary, and naval officer in the service of the French colony of Saint-Domingue during the late 17th and early 18th century. De Graaf was also known as Laurencil ...

Michiel Andrieszoon Michiel Andrieszoon (fl. 1683–1684) was a Dutch buccaneer who served as lieutenant to Captain Laurens de Graaf. He commanded the ''le Tigre'', with a 300-man crew and between 30 and 36 guns. He is occasionally referred to in English as Michel or ...

, Jan Willems,

Jacob Evertson Jacob Evertson (died 1688 or 1695, also known as James or Everson) was a Dutch buccaneer and pirate active in the Caribbean. He escaped Henry Morgan and sailed with Jan Willems for several years. Biography Early piracy Evertson captured a bri ...

Michel de Grammont Michel de Grammont (c. 1645 – 1686?) was a French privateer. He was born in Paris, Kingdom of France and was lost at sea in the north-east Caribbean, April 1686. His privateer career lasted from around 1670 to 1686 during which he commanded th ...

, and many others. One of the French buccaneers arranged a fake bill of sale for ''Golden Fleece'' so that Bannister, who feared English repercussions if he were caught, would not appear to have been serving under French command. When ''HMS Ruby'' located the buccaneer squadron, the Captain questioned Grammont, but Grammont protected Bannister and ''Ruby'' was forced to leave. That July the buccaneers sacked

Campeche Campeche (; yua, Kaampech ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Campeche ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Campeche), is one of the 31 states which make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. Located in southeast Mexico, it is bordered by ...

before parting company in September. Bannister continued raiding and capturing ships through the following spring. The British located Bannister in July 1686 when they found him

careening Careening (also known as "heaving down") is a method of gaining access to the hull of a sailing vessel without the use of a dry dock. It is used for cleaning or repairing the hull. Before ship's hulls were protected from marine growth by fasteni ...

''Golden Fleece'' in

Samaná Bay Samaná Bay is a bay in the eastern Dominican Republic. The Yuna River flows into Samaná Bay, and it is located south of the town of Samaná and the Samaná Peninsula. Wildlife Among its features are protected islands that serve as nesting site ...

. Bannister faced two British frigates, ''Falcon'' and ''Drake'', with a combined fifty-six cannon between them. Bannister placed two separate batteries of guns on island vantage points and battled the navy for two full days, until the warships ran out of ammunition and were forced to retreat. This unlikely victory earned Bannister a place in pirate legend, despite his name being largely lost over the years. ''Falcon'' and ''Drake'' rearmed and returned to finish Bannister off but found only the burned hulk of ''Golden Fleece'', Bannister having escaped in a

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 ...

. The crew of ''Drake'' captured Bannister in January 1687 on the

Mosquito Coast The Mosquito Coast, also known as the Mosquitia or Mosquito Shore, historically included the area along the eastern coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras. It formed part of the Western Caribbean Zone. It was named after the local Miskit ...

where he was living with natives. He was taken back to Port Royal, Jamaica, where, fearing another escape, new governor

Hender Molesworth Sir Hender Molesworth, 1st Baronet (''ca.'' 1638 – 27 July 1689), was made 1st Baronet of Pencarrow after serving as acting Governor of Jamaica This is a list of viceroys in Jamaica from its initial occupation by Spain in 1509, to its indep ...

had him hanged from the Drake's

yardarm A yard is a spar on a mast from which sails are set. It may be constructed of timber or steel or from more modern materials such as aluminium or carbon fibre. Although some types of fore and aft rigs have yards, the term is usually used to desc ...

without trial even before he could get off the boat. Joseph Bannister's ship ''Golden Fleece'' was found in early 2009 by American shipwreck hunters

John Chatterton John Chatterton (born 1951) is an American wreck diver. Together with Richie Kohler, he was one of the co-hosts for the History Channel’s ''Deep Sea Detectives'', for 57 episodes of the series. He is also a consultant to the film and televis ...

and

John Mattera John Joseph Mattera (born 1962) is a writer and American shipwreck explorer and the subject of the book '' Pirate Hunters'' by Robert Kurson. ''Pirate Hunters'' is the story of two US divers, John Chatterton and John Mattera, finding the lost ...

in the Dominican Republic, at Samaná Bay.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bannister, Joseph English pirates 17th-century pirates Year of birth missing 1687 deaths People executed for piracy Piracy in the Caribbean

History

See also

References