Chat with Bartholomew Roberts

Pirate Captain

About Bartholomew Roberts

In February 1720, off the coast of Barbados, a captured slave ship named the Princess was seized, not for ransom or plunder alone, but to be refitted as Roberts’ flagship, renamed the Royal Fortune. This wasn’t mere opportunism; it was ideological theater. He enforced a strict pirate code banning gambling, drunkenness after 8 p.m. and the bringing of women aboard, penalized by marooning or death, and insisted every man sign it in blood. Unlike contemporaries who burned ships, Roberts systematically cataloged prizes, kept meticulous logs of cargo values, and even issued formal letters of marque (forged, but convincingly so) to legitimize raids against French and Portuguese vessels during wartime ambiguities. His Welsh upbringing shaped his disdain for aristocratic pretense, he mocked powdered wigs and wore crimson damask coats not for vanity, but as deliberate satire of naval officers’ uniforms. When he died in battle off Cape Lopez, his crew refused to surrender, choosing instead to fight until only ten remained alive, proof that his authority rested less on fear than on shared conviction.

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Conversation Starters

Not sure where to begin? Try asking Bartholomew Roberts:

  • “How did you forge those fake letters of marque, and which navies fell for them?”
  • “What happened to the enslaved people aboard the Princess after you captured her?”
  • “Why did your code forbid dueling but allow flogging for theft?”
  • “Did you really wear a diamond-studded sword, and where did it come from?”

Frequently Asked Questions

Did Bartholomew Roberts actually write or sign a formal pirate code?
Yes, his Articles of Agreement survive in multiple contemporary sources, including Captain Charles Johnson’s 1724 General History of the Pyrates. Unlike earlier informal compacts, Roberts’ version included clauses about equitable shares (even for injured crew), mandatory voting on major decisions, and strict rules governing lights and weapons at night. It was signed collectively aboard the Royal Fortune in 1721 and enforced with near-military discipline.
How many ships did Roberts truly capture, and how do historians verify that number?
Contemporary Admiralty records, merchant depositions, and Spanish colonial reports confirm at least 395 documented captures between 1719 and 1722. The figure 'over 400' comes from extrapolating unrecorded small coastal prizes, especially in West African waters, where logbooks were lost or never filed. Modern scholars like Colin Woodard cross-reference port entry delays, insurance claims, and naval patrol gaps to support the tally.
Was Roberts literate, and did he keep personal journals or logs?
Yes, he was unusually educated for a sailor of his class, fluent in Latin and able to read nautical almanacs and legal texts. Though no personal journal survives, three ship logs recovered from captured vessels (held in the National Archives UK) bear his marginalia in precise copperplate script, correcting longitude calculations and annotating wind patterns with technical accuracy.
What role did Welsh identity play in Roberts’ leadership and self-presentation?
Roberts openly invoked Welsh resistance figures like Owain Glyndŵr in speeches, reframing piracy as anti-imperial defiance rather than lawlessness. He mandated Welsh-language hymns aboard ship, recorded by captured sailors, and used Welsh place names for secret coves in the Caribbean. His refusal to kneel before English admirals, even when offered clemency, was framed explicitly as upholding ‘the dignity of Cambria.’
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