Thomas Paine (1632–1715) was a colonial American

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 ...

who, during the late 17th century, raided several Spanish settlements. He participated in a raid with Jan Willems, looting

Rio de la Hacha Riohacha (; Wayuu: ) is a city in the Riohacha Municipality in the northern Caribbean Region of Colombia by the mouth of the Ranchería River and the Caribbean Sea. It is the capital city of the La Guajira Department. It has a sandy beach waterfr ...

in 1680 as well as driving the French out of

Block Island Block Island is an island in the U.S. state of Rhode Island located in Block Island Sound approximately south of the mainland and east of Montauk Point, Long Island, New York, named after Dutch explorer Adriaen Block. It is part of Washingt ...

. In June of the same year, Paine joined forces with

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 a captain named Wright at Blanquilla Island. Together with 50 men they successfully raided the town of Cumana although it was defended by 2,000 Spanish soldiers. In 1682, Paine accepted a

pardon A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the ju ...

from the

governor of Jamaica This is a list of viceroys in Jamaica from its initial occupation by Spain in 1509, to its independence from the United Kingdom in 1962. For a list of viceroys after independence, see Governor-General of Jamaica. For context, see History of Jamai ...

. A resident of Jamestown,

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

, Paine had received a commission from Jamaica's governor Sir Thomas Lynch which instructed him to "seize, kill, and destroy pirates"; however, in March 1683, he joined the privateers John Markham, Jan Corneliszoon, Conway Woolley and a French Captain "Bréhal" (actually a nickname of Michiel Andrieszoon) in a raid against the Spanish town of Saint Augustine,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. In command of an eight-gun barque, the ''Pearl'', Paine led his crew of sixty men under the command of Captain Bréhal, who possessed a French privateering commission obtained from Jacques Nepveu, sieur de Pouanéay and governor of

Saint Domingue Saint-Domingue () was a French colonization of the Americas, French colony in the western portion of the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, in the area of modern-day Haiti, from 1659 to 1804. The name derives from the Spanish main city in the islan ...

. As did the others, Paine sailed under a French flag as the fleet arrived off the Florida coast. However, finding the Spanish had prepared for their arrival in advance, they were forced to withdraw, eventually abandoning their raid after looting the surrounding area (although they did release several captive before their departure). Returning with Bréhal and Markham to

New Providence New Providence is the most populous island in the Bahamas, containing more than 70% of the total population. It is the location of the national capital city of Nassau, whose boundaries are coincident with the island; it had a population of 246 ...

, they were reportedly wanted by governor

Robert Lilburne Robert Lilburne (1613–1665) was an English Parliamentarian soldier, the older brother of John Lilburne, the well known Leveller. Unlike his brother, who severed his relationship with Oliver Cromwell, Robert Lilburne remained in the army. He i ...

, who wished to detain both Markham and Paine for violating England's peace agreement with Spain; however he was unable to do so "for want of a force", and they eventually left the Bahamas to join Corneliszoon and Woolley in salvaging the wrecked Spanish treasure galleon, the ''Nuestra Senora de las Maravillas''. Their efforts apparently met little success and he and Bréhal sailed north to resupply at Rhode Island. Although New England was traditionally friendly towards privateers, the two were arrested on orders by visiting governor

Edward Cranfield Edward Cranfield ( fl. 1680–1696) was an English colonial administrator. Cranfield was governor of the Province of New Hampshire from 1682 to 1685, in an administration that was marked by hostility between Cranfield and the colonists. Cranfiel ...

who charged Paine with carrying a counterfeit commission. Paine was eventually cleared and Bréhal allowed to leave. Paine stayed in Rhode Island and eventually went into semi-retirement, becoming involved in the cargo and resailing for local pirates including 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 ...

, who visited Paine in 1699.

References

Further reading