John Eaton ( fl. 1682-1686) was an English

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 the Restoration in 1660 until about 168 ...

and pirate active off the coasts of Spanish Central and South America. He circumnavigated the world before returning to England.

History

Originally a merchant captain, Eaton commanded the 80-man, 250 ton, 20-gun ''Nicholas'' out of London when he sailed for Danish St. Thomas in 1683. After a visit to Cape Verde and a raiding spree along the Brazilian coast (including time spent alongside pirate George Bond), Eaton rounded the Strait of Magellan in early 1684. It was there he met the ''Cygnet'' under Charles Swan, who tried to conduct legitimate trade with the Spanish before turning to piracy. ''Nicholas'' soon met with the ''Bachelor's Delight'' under John Cook (who soon died and was replaced by Edward Davis) and separated from ''Cygnet''. Eaton and Davis sailed together for several months, attacking Spanish shipping off Peru and other settlements. They met at

Cocos Island Cocos Island ( es, Isla del Coco) is an island in the Pacific Ocean administered by Costa Rica, approximately southwest of the Costa Rican mainland. It constitutes the 11th of the 13 districts of Puntarenas Canton of the Province of Puntarena ...

, La Plata, and Juan Fernandez before Davis sailed on alone. Eaton elected to sail west across the Pacific, resupplying at Gorgona then leaving for the East Indies (via

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

), which he reached in early 1685. Some of his men - including chronicler

Ambrose Cowley William Ambrosia Cowley was a 17th-century English people, English buccaneer who surveyed the Galápagos Islands during his circumnavigation of the world while serving under several Captains such as John Eaton (pirate), John Eaton, John Cook (pir ...

, who had transferred from Davis - deserted at

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

, while others remained with Eaton to raid local shipping near Canton and

Timor Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia, in the north of the Timor Sea. The island is divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia on the western part. The Indonesian part, also ...

. They had captured so much treasure that when their sails were damaged, they fashioned new sails of Chinese silk. One source claims Eaton died after ''Nicholas'' reached Madras, where his remaining crew divided: some went ashore while others continued to raid up and down the coast, and still others returned to England aboard ''Nicholas''. Other sources say Eaton survived the trip through the Indian Ocean, eventually returning to London in 1686. Some of Eaton's crew who'd elected to continue their piracy in the Indian Ocean eventually took over an

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 South ...

vessel named ''Good Hope'' and convinced its navigator Duncan Mackintosh to serve as their Captain.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eaton, John 17th-century pirates Year of birth missing Year of death missing English pirates Piracy in the Indian Ocean

History

See also

References