John Quelch (166630 June 1704) was an English pirate who had a lucrative but very brief career of about one year. His chief claim to historical significance is that he was the first person to be tried for piracy outside England under Admiralty Law and thus without a jury. These Admiralty courts had been instituted to tackle the rise of piracy in colonial ports where civil and criminal courts had proved ineffective.

Pirate career

In July 1703, Governor

Joseph Dudley Joseph Dudley (September 23, 1647 – April 2, 1720) was a colonial administrator, a native of Roxbury in Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the son of one of its founders. He had a leading role in the administration of the Dominion of New England ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

sent out Captain Daniel Plowman of the ''Charles'' with a

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 ...

ing license to attack French and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

ships off the coast of

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

and

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

. John Quelch was Plowman's lieutenant. Before leaving

Marblehead, Massachusetts Marblehead is a coastal New England town in Essex County, Massachusetts, along the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore. Its population was 20,441 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town lies on a small peninsula that extends ...

, the ''Charless crew under

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 ...

Anthony Holding mutinied and locked the ailing Plowman in his cabin.New England Pirates
-ThePiratesRealm.com The crew elected Quelch the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, who turned the ''Charles'' south. Plowman was thrown overboard, although it was never established whether he was dead or alive at that moment. The crew plundered nine

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

ships off the coast of

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 gained a large sum of money,Gosse, P: "The Pirates' Who's Who Giving Particulars Of The Lives and Deaths Of The Pirates And Buccaneers", page 253. Lenox Hill Pub, 1968 even though

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 ...

and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

were at peace at the time. -Blind Kat Publishers The ''Charles'' contained large amounts of Brazilian sugar, hides, cloth, guns, gold dust and coins. The loot's total value is estimated at over £10,000 sterling (£ as of ).Quelch' Gold
-Summary of the book ''Quelch's Gold Before their capture, legend says the crew buried some of the gold on Star Island off the coast of

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

. In the 1800s some gold coins were found hidden in a stone wall there.

Death

When the ''Charles'' returned to Marblehead 10 months later, the crewmen scattered with their plunder. Some of the crew sailed with pirate and former privateer

Thomas Larimore Thomas Larimore ( fl. 1677-1706, last name occasionally Laramore, Larrimore, Laremore, or Laremoor) was a privateer and pirate active in the Caribbean and off the eastern seaboard of the American colonies. After helping suppress Bacon’s Rebelli ...

, who was also captured shortly afterward. Within a week, Quelch was in jail, because the

were not in his letter of marque and more importantly, Queen Anne and the

King of Portugal This is a list of Portuguese monarchs who ruled from the establishment of the Kingdom of Portugal, in 1139, to the deposition of the Portuguese monarchy and creation of the Portuguese Republic with the 5 October 1910 revolution. Through the n ...

had just become allies. He and others of his crew were taken to

to be tried. This was the first

admiralty Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings * Admiralty, Traf ...

trial outside

. It was called by one historian "the first case of judicial murder in America." On Friday, 30 June 1704, the pirates were marched on foot through

to Scarlet's Wharf accompanied by a guard of

musketeer A musketeer (french: mousquetaire) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare particularly in Europe as they normally comprised the majority of their infantry. The musketeer was a pre ...

s, various officials, and two ministers, while in front was carried a silver oar, the emblem of the Lord High Admiral. Upon reaching the

gallows A gallows (or scaffold) is a frame or elevated beam, typically wooden, from which objects can be suspended (i.e., hung) or "weighed". Gallows were thus widely used to suspend public weighing scales for large and heavy objects such as sacks ...

, the minister (reportedly

Cotton Mather Cotton Mather (; February 12, 1663 – February 13, 1728) was a New England Puritan clergyman and a prolific writer. Educated at Harvard College, in 1685 he joined his father Increase as minister of the Congregationalist Old North Meeting H ...

) gave the pirates a long and fervent sermon. All of the

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

showed

repentance Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better. In modern times, it is generally seen as involving a co ...

on their faces except Captain Quelch. Before he was hanged, Quelch stepped up while holding his hat and bowed to the spectators. He also gave a short address and warned them, "They should take care how they brought Money into

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

to be

Hanged Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging in ...

for it." Their bodies were buried in between the tide marks.

''Charles''

The ''Charles'' was an eighty-ton vessel built in Boston between 1701 and 1703. It was owned by some of the most prominent people in

and was equipped to go privateering off the coast of

and

Crew

Here follows a list of all the known crewmembers aboard the ''Charles'' while Quelch was captain. *Austin, James *Breck, John *Carter, Dennis *Carter, John *Chevalle, Daniel *Clifford, John *Chuley, Daniel *Davis, Gabriel *Dorothy, John *Dunbar, Nicholas *Farrington, Thomas *Giddens, Paul *Harwood, John *Holding, Anthony *Hutnot, Joseph *James, Charles *Johnson, Isaac *Jones, William *King, Charles *King, Francis *King, John *Lambert, John *Lawson, Nicholas *Lawrence, Richard *Miller, John *Norton, George *Pierse, George *Perkins, Benjamin *Parrot, James *Pattison, James *Perkins, Benjamin *Peterson, Erasmus *Pitman, John *Pimer, Matthew *Quelch, Captain John *Quittance, John *Rayner, William *Richardson, Nicholas *Roach, Peter *Scudamore, Christopher *Templeton, John *Thurbar, Richard *Whiting, William *Way, John *Wiles, William Of the above, six including Quelch were hanged. More than half the crew escaped capture. Parrot, Clifford, and Pimer had turned Queen's evidence and escaped prosecution. John Templeton was found to be only a servant on the ship and was not even 14, so he was released.

Old Roger

Popular myth has it that John Quelch flew a pirate flag referred to as Old Roger by his crew. It is sometimes considered to be the origin of the name

Jolly Roger Jolly Roger is the traditional English name for the flags flown to identify a pirate ship preceding or during an attack, during the early 18th century (the later part of the Golden Age of Piracy). The flag most commonly identified as the Jolly ...

. It is alleged that his theme was later borrowed by

Blackbeard Edward Teach (alternatively spelled Edward Thatch, – 22 November 1718), better known as Blackbeard, was an English Piracy, pirate who operated around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's Thirteen Colonies, North American colon ...

and also Bartholomew "Black Bart" Roberts. There is no evidence whatsoever that Quelch flew any flag other than the Flag of St. George or possibly a privateer's flag of St. George quartered on a red background similar to today's British merchant colors. Courtroom testimony from the crew maintained that the flag of England had been flown at all times. The origin of this myth of Quelch's flag being described as having "in the middle of it an

Anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having its ...

with an

Hourglass An hourglass (or sandglass, sand timer, sand clock or egg timer) is a device used to measure the passage of time. It comprises two glass bulbs connected vertically by a narrow neck that allows a regulated flow of a substance (historically sand) ...

in one hand and a

dart Dart or DART may refer to: * Dart, the equipment in the game of darts Arts, entertainment and media * Dart (comics), an Image Comics superhero * Dart, a character from ''G.I. Joe'' * Dart, a ''Thomas & Friends'' railway engine character * Dar ...

in the Heart with three drops of Blood proceeding from it in the other." most likely stems from the poetic license of Ralph D. Paine, a popular writer at the turn of the 20th century. None of the principals involved in the affair, not even the Governor or the prosecution, ever mentioned such colors being employed by Quelch.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Quelch, John 1666 births 1704 deaths Executed people from London British pirates People executed for piracy People executed by the Province of Massachusetts Bay People from Marblehead, Massachusetts People executed by the Thirteen Colonies by hanging