Thomas Woolerly
Thomas Woolerly[a] (fl. 1683–1687) was a pirate and privateer active in the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean.
History
[edit]Woolerly set out from Boston in 1683 alongside Christopher Goffe and Thomas Henley, headed for the Red Sea to plunder Arab and Malabar ships.[1] By 1684 they had returned to the Caribbean, where Goffe and Henley appeared with a Dutch prize ship.[2] Henley was arrested after they were declared to be pirates, despite having a privateering commission from Governor Lilburne of the Bahamas, but was soon released.[3]
In May 1687 Woolerly sailed to New Providence with Goffe aboard in a 40-gun Dutch East India vessel, but they were accused of piracy and refused permission to resupply, though Woolerly also had a commission from Lilburne.[4] Woolerly sailed away, purchasing a small ship and burning the Dutch vessel near Andrew's Island before dividing his pirated loot and leaving the area.[5] Governor Molesworth of Jamaica dispatched HMS Drake in August to capture Woolerly; Drake detoured to search for a pirate named Bear and consequently missed Woolerly, who was suspected to have returned to New England.[2] Woolerly subsequently vanished along with his treasure.[4]
See also
[edit]- Pirate Round – later name for the voyage from America to the coast of Africa, then to the Indian Ocean via Madagascar, a route refined by pirate Thomas Tew.
Notes
[edit]- ^ First name sometimes given as William, last name occasionally Woolery, Wooley, Wollerly or Woollervy.
References
[edit]- ^ Gosse, Philip (1924). The Pirates' Who's Who by Philip Gosse. New York: Burt Franklin. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
- ^ a b Fortescue, J. W. (1899). America and West Indies: August 1687 | British History Online. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. pp. 407–450. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
- ^ Little, Benerson (2007). The Buccaneer's Realm: Pirate Life on the Spanish Main, 1674-1688. Dulles VA: Potomac Books, Inc. ISBN 9781612343617. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
- ^ a b Marley, David (2010). Pirates of the Americas. Santa Barbara CA: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781598842012. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
- ^ Gosse, Philip (2012). The History of Piracy. New York: Courier Corporation. pp. 320–321. ISBN 9780486141466. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
