Thomas White (died 1708) was an English pirate active 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 ...

and the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

. He was only briefly a captain on his own, but served under several more prominent captains such as George Booth, John Bowen, Thomas Howard, John Halsey, and

Nathaniel North Nathaniel North (ca. 1671 - ca. 171?) was a Bermuda-born pirate during the Golden Age of Piracy, operating in the Indian Ocean under John Bowen (pirate), John Bowen and then as captain of the ''Defiant'' following Bowen's retirement in 1704. Aft ...

History

Originally a

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 ...

sailor, White made his way from

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

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). ...

where he captained the merchant trading vessel ''Marigold''. Off of

Guinea Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

in 1698 his ship was captured by French pirates. They killed a number of English crewmen but a sympathetic French pirate spared him. The French pirates kept the ''Marigold'' and burned their own ship, then burned the ''Marigold'' when they took another vessel. Some sources say the French pirates had been captured by John Bowen and George Booth. White refused to join them as a pirate and they made him a slave instead. White escaped when Booth and Bowen wrecked their ship near

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 ...

in 1701. After a number of adventures in captured ships, he then signed on as

quartermaster Quartermaster is a military term, the meaning of which depends on the country and service. In land armies, a quartermaster is generally a relatively senior soldier who supervises stores or barracks and distributes supplies and provisions. In m ...

with Thomas Howard’s ship ''Prosperous'' until Howard shared out the voyage’s loot and retired in 1703. Other sources say Booth and Bowen were aboard the ship but the French were still in control when the drunken French sailors wrecked the ship in 1701. White escaped, cared for by a local chieftain whose tribesmen killed the French pirates who came ashore. When pirate William Read stopped by, White joined him willingly. Read died at sea, replaced by a Captain James, and after trading their vessel for a captured prize ship near

Mayotte Mayotte (; french: Mayotte, ; Shimaore: ''Maore'', ; Kibushi: ''Maori'', ), officially the Department of Mayotte (french: Département de Mayotte), is an overseas department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is loc ...

they took several vessels before returning to port. White then sailed with Nathaniel North. When White and thirty of the crew went ashore on Madagascar to resupply, North sailed away without them. White and his men located an abandoned ship in 1704 and sailed it into the

Red Sea The Red Sea ( ar, البحر الأحمر - بحر القلزم, translit=Modern: al-Baḥr al-ʾAḥmar, Medieval: Baḥr al-Qulzum; or ; Coptic: ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϩⲁϩ ''Phiom Enhah'' or ⲫⲓⲟⲙ ⲛ̀ϣⲁⲣⲓ ''Phiom ǹšari''; T ...

, plundering several vessels. They continued through August 1706, capturing British ships, and divided their plunder. He briefly settled on Madagascar and married a native, but in 1707 signed on as quartermaster to John Halsey. White retired to Madagascar when Halsey returned there in 1708, where White died that March of illness and alcoholism. At his funeral he was buried with much ceremony. In his will he asked that his son be returned to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

for his education, which was done.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Thomas 1708 deaths 17th-century pirates 18th-century pirates English pirates People captured by pirates Piracy in the Indian Ocean Year of birth missing

History

See also

Further reading

References