Captain Samuel Burgess was a member of Captain

William Kidd William Kidd, also known as Captain William Kidd or simply Captain Kidd ( – 23 May 1701), was a Scottish sea captain who was commissioned as a privateer and had experience as a pirate. He was tried and executed in London in 1701 for murder a ...

's crew in 1690 when the ''Blessed William'' was seized by

Robert Culliford Robert Culliford (c. 1666 - ?, last name occasionally Collover) was a pirate from Cornwall who is best remembered for repeatedly ''checking the designs'' of Captain William Kidd. Early career and capture Culliford and Kidd first met as shipmates ...

and some of the crew, with William May named as captain. In 1693, Edward Coates became captain and Burgess left the ship and went to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He arrived in April, bought a house and took on a job with

Frederick Philipse Frederick Philipse (born Frederick Flypsen;Appleton, W.S. ''The Heraldic Journal, Recording the Amorial Bearings and Genealogies of American Families'', Wiggen & Lunt, Boston, 1867 1626 in Bolsward, Netherlands – December 23, 1702), first Lord ...

, New York's wealthiest merchant. Over the next few years Burgess made many profitable voyages to Madagascar selling supplies and guns to pirates in exchange for gold and slaves. Around September 1699, Burgess was in command of the ''Margaret''. Near Saint Mary's Island he ran into a British squadron under

Thomas Warren Thomas Warren ( fl. 1727–1767) was an English bookseller, printer, publisher and businessman. Warren was an influential figure in Birmingham at a time when it was a hotbed of creative activity, opening a bookshop in High Street, Birmingham aro ...

. Pirates there (including

Dirk Chivers Dirk Chivers (, last name occasionally Shivers) was a Dutch pirate active in the Red Sea and Indian Ocean. Early career Dirk Chivers is first recorded as a crew member of the ''Portsmouth Adventure'', , under Captain Joseph Faro (or Farrell) around ...

) accepted an offer of pardon for any piratical activities from Warren, and about 20 of them bought passage home on the ''Margaret''. Burgess sailed to

Cape Town, South Africa Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislature, legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the sec ...

; by December he reached his destination. Captain Lowth of the

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 Southea ...

, seized Burgess' ship and took it to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

. Lowth also took its

treasure Treasure (from la, thesaurus from Greek language ''thēsauros'', "treasure store") is a concentration of wealth — often originating from ancient history — that is considered lost and/or forgotten until rediscovered. Some jurisdictions leg ...

and

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. The owners of the ''Margaret'' brought suit against the East India Company and Burgess was taken to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

around 1701 and accused of piracy. With Captain

's testimony, Burgess was convicted. Eventually he secured a pardon for his crimes and signed aboard a privateer, sailing for the Pacific. Burgess then became first mate aboard the ''Neptune'' and went to

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

to trade liquor for slaves. When a sudden storm wrecked the pirates' ships, Burgess helped John Halsey seize the ''Neptune''. Burgess was made Quartermaster but lost it soon after, when Captain Halsey died . After losing his position, Burgess stayed at Madagascar, dealing in slaves with David Williams. Supposedly, following an argument concerning prices with a black chief, Burgess died of poison, presumably at the chief's hand.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burgess, Samuel 1650 births 1716 deaths Businesspeople from New York City English pirates American pirates American slave traders 17th-century American businesspeople 17th-century pirates 18th-century pirates Interlopers (business) People of the Province of New York Colonial American merchants Pardoned pirates