Engraving of Bonnet with a Jolly Roger flag from A General History of the Pyrates (1724)
Born
1688
Bridgetown, Colony of Barbados, British West Indies
Died
(aged 30)
Charles Town, South Carolina, British America
Cause of death
Execution by hanging
Spouse
Mary Allamby
(m. 1709)
Children
Edward Bonnet, Allamby Bonnet, Stede Bonnet, Mary Bonnet
Piratical career
Nickname
The Gentleman Pirate
Type
Pirate
Allegiance
None
Years active
1717–1718
Rank
Captain
Base of operations
Atlantic Ocean, along East Coast of the British Colonies, and Caribbean Sea
Commands
Revenge, later renamed Royal James
Battles/wars
Battle of Cape Fear River
Stede Bonnet (1688 – 10 December 1718)[a] was a Barbadian-born pirate and military officer, known as the Gentleman Pirate[1] because he was a moderately wealthy landowner before turning to a life of crime. Bonnet was born into a wealthy English family on the island of Barbados, and inherited the family estate after his father's death in 1694. Despite his lack of sailing experience, Bonnet decided he should turn to piracy in the spring of 1717. He bought a sailing vessel, the Revenge, and travelled with his paid crew along the Eastern Seaboard of what is now the United States, capturing other vessels and burning other Barbadian ships.
Bonnet set sail for Nassau in the Bahamas, to the haven for pirates known as the "Republic of Pirates", but he was seriously wounded en route during an encounter with a Spanish warship. After arriving in Nassau, Bonnet met the infamous pirate Blackbeard. Incapable of leading his crew, Bonnet temporarily ceded his ship's command to Blackbeard. Before separating in December 1717, Blackbeard and Bonnet plundered and captured merchant ships along the East Coast. After Bonnet failed to capture the Protestant Caesar, his crew abandoned him to join Blackbeard aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge. Bonnet stayed on Blackbeard's ship as a guest, and did not command a crew again until summer 1718, when he was pardoned by North Carolina governor Charles Eden and received clearance to undertake privateering against Spanish shipping interests. Bonnet was tempted to resume his piracy but did not want to lose his pardon, so he adopted the alias "Captain Thomas" and changed his ship's name to Royal James. He had returned to piracy by July.
In August, Bonnet anchored Royal James on an estuary of the Cape Fear River to careen and repair the ship. In late August and September, Colonel William Rhett, with the authorization of South Carolina's governor Robert Johnson, led a naval expedition against pirates on the river. Rhett's and Bonnet's men engaged in combat for hours, but the outnumbered pirates ultimately surrendered. Rhett arrested the pirates and brought them to Charles Town (now Charleston, South Carolina) in early October. Bonnet escaped on 24 October, but was soon recaptured on Sullivan's Island. On 10 November, Bonnet was brought to trial and charged with two acts of piracy. Judge Nicholas Trott sentenced him to death. Bonnet wrote to Johnson to ask for clemency, but Johnson endorsed the judge's decision, and Bonnet was hanged in Charles Town on 10 December.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
StedeBonnet (1688 – 10 December 1718) was a Barbadian-born pirate and military officer, known as the Gentleman Pirate because he was a moderately wealthy...
addition to their fleet of two more ships, one of which was commanded by StedeBonnet, but Hornigold retired from piracy toward the end of 1717, taking two...
Indies. When Hornigold retired in 1717 and gave his head title to Teach, StedeBonnet joined Teach's crew. In November 1717, Teach attacked a French merchant...
Piracy, the series follows the misadventures of gentleman-turned-pirate StedeBonnet (Rhys Darby) and his crew aboard the Revenge as they try to make a name...
golden age in the Caribbean attempted to flee North to the Americas. StedeBonnet, an accomplice of Blackbeard, supposedly began to plunder ships along...
History of the Pyrates, as the magistrate who tried notorious pirate StedeBonnet in 1718, he was the author of several published books including a lexicon...
(2022), and Next Goal Wins (2023). Starting March 2022, he starred as StedeBonnet alongside Taika Waititi in the HBO Max period romantic comedy series...
However, the Adventure also grounded and was abandoned. Teach, Hands and StedeBonnet took approximately half the pirates, marooning the rest, and set sail...
Nicholas Trott (uncle of the Nicholas Trott who presided at the trial of StedeBonnet), with gold and silver, and by leaving him the Fancy, still loaded with...
Charleston harbor. November 8–22 pirates of StedeBonnet's crew are hanged in Charleston. November 10–12 – StedeBonnet is tried for piracy, convicted, and sentenced...
justifications for piracy. StedeBonnet, a rich Barbadian land owner turned pirate solely in search of adventure. Bonnet captained a 10-gun sloop named...
Rhett failed to find Vane, but his ships located and captured the pirate StedeBonnet. In August, Vane careened his ship near Abaco, where his accomplice Nicholas...
sources, notably by the pirate crews of William Fly, William Kidd, and StedeBonnet. French historian Alexandre Exquemelin reports the buccaneer François...
John Evans John Gow Jolly Roger Mary Read Richard Worley Philip Roche StedeBonnet Thomas Anstis Volume II features: Christopher Condent John Bowen John...
he commanded two chartered sloops and defeated the Barbadian pirate StedeBonnet in the Battle of Cape Fear River. Rhett was a colonel in the colonial...
Hurwood. Powers' novel features real historical figures like Blackbeard, StedeBonnet, Woodes Rogers, and Juan Ponce de León alongside fictional ones. The...
may have been flown by Blackbeard. Traditional depiction of StedeBonnet's flag, though Bonnet was only described in trial documents as having flown a "death's...
famous Edward Teach, known as "Blackbeard", along with Sam Bellamy and StedeBonnet. Jennings was mentor to Charles Vane, "Calico" Jack Rackham, Anne Bonny...
Ignatius Pell was a pirate who served as the boatswain to Captain StedeBonnet aboard the Royal James, a ship previously named Revenge. He was arrested...
overboard". In September 1717, Hornigold and Teach met Major StedeBonnet and his ship Revenge. Bonnet, having been wounded in battle, ceded his command to Teach...
week later. Blackbeard allows StedeBonnet to command the Revenge (which is renamed the Royal James) once again. Bonnet rescues 25 sailors abandoned by...
ship’s master and pirate best known for serving under Blackbeard and StedeBonnet. Herriot was master of the 80-ton 8-gun Jamaican logwood hauler Adventure...
Boston: Kingfisher Publications ISBN 0-7534-5786-5 The Tryals of Major StedeBonnet, and Other Pirates. London: Printed for Benj. Cowse at the Rose and Crown...
recorded of Low than of other equally prolific pirates such as Teach and StedeBonnet. Howard Pyle, in an 1880 children's book on pirates, said: "No one stood...
queer comedy about the romantic relationship between Blackbeard and StedeBonnet which quickly became a hit. Ortiz says that their interactions with fans...
Global Information