Robert Sample (died 1719, first name occasionally Richard, last name occasionally Semple) was a pirate active off the coast of Africa and 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 ...

. He is best known for sailing with

Edward England Edward England ( –1721) was an Irish pirate. The ships he sailed on included the ''Pearl'' (which he renamed ''The Royal James'') and later the ''Fancy'', for which England exchanged the ''Pearl'' in 1720. His flag was the classic Joll ...

History

In late 1718 Edward England, aboard his ship ''Royal James'' (renamed from the recently captured ''Pearl'') had been looting ships between

Cape Verde , national_anthem = () , official_languages = Portuguese , national_languages = Cape Verdean Creole , capital = Praia , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , demonym ...

and the

Azores ) , motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace") , anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores") , image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg , map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union , map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...

. He took a number of ships off Cape Coast Castle near

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 ...

in spring of 1719. Several he plundered and let go, a few he burned, but he refitted two for piracy. One of them was the 6-gun, 14-man ''Elizabeth and Katherine'', commanded by Captain Bridge out of

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

, which he captured on 27 June. Four of the ''Elizabeth and Katherine'' crew joined England's pirates. England refitted and crewed the ''Elizabeth and Katherine'' and renamed it ''Flying King'', naming Richard Sample as captain. Sample sailed with Robert Lane, who captained England’s other refitted vessel. They looted several ships in the Caribbean then stopped to

careen 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 biofouling, marine growth ...

their vessels. In November they sailed toward

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

"and did a great deal of mischief" among Portuguese shipping. A Portuguese

man-of-war The man-of-war (also man-o'-war, or simply man) was a Royal Navy expression for a powerful warship or frigate from the 16th to the 19th century. Although the term never acquired a specific meaning, it was usually reserved for a ship armed wi ...

("a very unwelcome guest to them") chased them soon after. Lane escaped, but he and his crew died when their ship was lost offshore. Sample was unable to evade the warship and tried to escape by beaching the ''Flying King''. Twelve of its crew had been killed; the Portuguese captured the rest, hanging 38, almost all of whom were English.

References

Year of birth missing 18th-century pirates British pirates 1719 deaths Caribbean pirates {{Pirate-stub

History

See also

References