Theodore Paleologus (; –1693), alternatively Theodorious or Theodorus and sometimes referred to as Theodore III by modern historians to distinguish him from his grandfather and his uncle, both by the same name, was the only known son of Ferdinand Paleologus. Through Ferdinand, Theodore might have been the last living male member of the

Palaiologos The House of Palaiologos ( Palaiologoi; grc-gre, Παλαιολόγος, pl. , female version Palaiologina; grc-gre, Παλαιολογίνα), also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greek f ...

dynasty, rulers of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...

from 1259 to its fall in 1453. Theodore was a sailor and

privateer 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 ...

on board the ship '' Charles II'', captained by Charles Gibson. A year after Theodore's death, the ship's first mate

Henry Every Henry Every, also known as Henry Avery (20 August 1659after 1696), sometimes erroneously given as Jack Avery or John Avery, was an English pirate who operated in the Atlantic and Indian oceans in the mid-1690s. He probably used several aliases ...

would take control of it and become a renowned pirate. Theodore lived in

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appl ...

, London with his wife Martha Bradbury, from Barbados. He died in 1693 and was buried in Spain at

A Coruña A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...

. Martha was pregnant at the time of his death and he had a

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ...

daughter,

Godscall Paleologue Godscall Paleologue or Paleologus (12 January 1694 – ?) was the last recorded living member of the Paleologus family, and through them possibly the last surviving member of the Palaiologos dynasty, rulers of the Byzantine Empire from 1259 to i ...

, the last known living member of their family.

Biography

Theodorious, or Theodore, Paleologus was born 1660 as the only child of Ferdinand Paleologus and Rebecca Pomfrett, the daughter of a Barbadian landowner. In accordance with Greek naming customs, Theodore was named after his grandfather by the same name. As the son of Ferdinand Paleologus, Theodore might have been one of the last living descendants of the

Palaiologos dynasty The House of Palaiologos ( Palaiologoi; grc-gre, Παλαιολόγος, pl. , female version Palaiologina; grc-gre, Παλαιολογίνα), also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greek ...

, rulers of the

from 1259 to 1453. The family's lineage can be verified as true with the exception of an ancestor called John, purported to be the son of

Thomas Palaiologos Thomas Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Θωμᾶς Παλαιολόγος; 1409 – 12 May 1465) was Despot of the Morea from 1428 until the fall of the despotate in 1460, although he continued to claim the title until his death five years late ...

but absent in contemporary sources, making their descent from the emperors plausible, but somewhat uncertain. None of their contemporaries doubted their imperial descent. Theodore is first attested in Ferdinand's will, dated to 26 September 1670, wherein his name is spelled with the unusual spelling ''Theodorious''. The will designated Theodore as the heir to half of Ferdinand's estate (the other half going to Rebecca), to be employed for his "maintenance and education, together with the increase of his Estate, until he attains the age of fourteen years". Rebecca remarried at some point between the death of Ferdinand in October 1670 and July 1672, when the will of her brother (Theodore's uncle) Abraham Pomfrett refers to her as "Rebecca Beale". Her new husband was probably Captain Alexander Beale, recorded in the census papers of 1679 as the owner of 111 acres of land and 70 slaves. A 1685 map of Barbados identifies a plantation near St John's church as the "Paleologus and Beal" plantation. This indicates that Ferdinand's former plantation had been split by Theodore and his mother and that Theodore was now the business partner of Alexander Beale. On the map, the plantation is marked with a drawing of a pineapple, meaning that Theodore and Beale might have cultivated pineapples in addition to cultivating sugar. With her second husband, Rebecca had further children, half-siblings of Theodore, including a son also named Alexander Beale. She continued to be active in economic and political matters in Barbados for the rest of her life, together with her new husband, who seems to have taken over much of Ferdinand's role in the local church, becoming a churchwarden in 1677. On 14 October 1684, Theodore married Martha Bradbury, the daughter of a Christopher Bradbury, in the St Michael's Church near Bridgetown. They eventually left Barbados, moving to

in London. Theodore worked as a sailor, serving on a ship called the '' Charles II''. Theodore made a will on 1 August 1693, appointing his wife, "Martha Paleologua" as his executor. The will had been made at sea and was witnessed by the ship's commanding officer, Charles Gibson, and three others (presumably officers themselves). He died at sea that same year, off the coast of Spain, and was buried in the nearby

shortly thereafter under the name ''Theodorus Palaeologey''. The precise location of his grave in A Coruña is not known, but it is likely to be in the Cemiterio Inglés ("English Cemetery"). Henry Every

Although a popular legend is that Theodore served in the

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 ...

, there are no records of his name, nor of the ''Charles II'' or of Charles Gibson, in Admiralty records. Some believe that he served on a slave ship, perhaps having learnt the trade of sailing during his background in the family plantation. There are however records of a ship called the ''Charles II'' and a Captain Gibson, which turned out to not be a slave ship at all, but a formidable armed warship in Spanish service. Theodore would thus probably have been a

, not a slaver. The first mate of the ''Charles II'' in Theodore's time was

, who just a year after Theodore's death would lead a mutiny and take control of the ship, renaming it to ''Fancy'' and becoming a renowned pirate. Theodore and Martha had a daughter, born after her father's death, on 12 January 1694. Almost nothing is known of this daughter, who was given the unusual name

. Godscall was the last known living member of the

Paleologus The House of Palaiologos ( Palaiologoi; grc-gre, Παλαιολόγος, pl. , female version Palaiologina; grc-gre, Παλαιολογίνα), also found in English-language literature as Palaeologus or Palaeologue, was a Byzantine Greeks, ...

family. Theodore also had a son, born in Stepney, but this son probably predeceased him since Theodore's will only mentions his wife. Theodore was the last known male member of his family.

Legacy

Theodore is a central figure in a series of novels by British author

Jane Stevenson Jane Barbara Stevenson (born 12 February 1959) is a British historian, literary scholar, and author. Since 2017, she is Senior Research Fellow at Campion Hall, Oxford. From 2007 to 2017, she was Regius Professor of Humanity at the University of ...

. In ''The Pretender'' (2002), he is called Lieutenant Theodore Paleologue, son of "Sir Ferdinando", living in

Restoration England The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to b ...

. Instead of being a privateer, Theodore is a valiant officer in the Royal Navy and is described as having a short, pointy beard and an aquiline nose. In his first appearance, on the banks of the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

, he exclaims to the passing-by lowlife that "If all had their rights, I should be emperor of the world". His parents are depicted as particularly lenient slave owners and Theodore marries a native

Kalina Kalina may refer to: People * Kalina people, or Caribs, an indigenous people of the northern coastal areas of South America * Kalina language, or Carib, the language of the Kalina people * Kalina (given name) * Kalina (surname) * Noah Kalina, ...

woman, not the historical Martha Bradbury. In Stevenson's ''Empress of the Last Days'' (2003), set in the present, the hero of the book falls in love with a young black-skinned Barbadian girl by the name Melita Paleologue and they trace her lineage to the marriage between a daughter of King

James VI & I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...

, Elizabeth Stuart (called "the Winter Queen"), and a dark-skinned physician (Elizabeth Stuart was actually married to

Frederick V of the Palatinate Frederick V (german: link=no, Friedrich; 26 August 1596 – 29 November 1632) was the Elector Palatine of the Rhine in the Holy Roman Empire from 1610 to 1623, and reigned as King of Bohemia from 1619 to 1620. He was forced to abdicate both r ...

). In the novel, Theodore dies a hero in battle at A Coruña, rather than as a privateer, and his daughter Godscall marries a son of the Winter Queen. A historical delegation sent to Cornwall during the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

in the 19th century in search for descendants of the old imperial dynasty also appears in the novel, but is portrayed as discounting the proof presented by Godscall's descendants on account of their skin color.

References

Cited bibliography

* * * * * * * *

Cited news

* {{Paleologi of Cornwall 1660 births 1693 deaths Palaiologos dynasty English sailors Colony of Barbados people Privateers 17th-century travelers People who died at sea 17th-century English people