By 1721, pirate captain Bartholomew Roberts ruled the Caribbean Sea. Three years earlier, the tall and stoic Roberts had taken over the piracy operation of his fellow Welshman, Howell Davis. Although Davis had coerced him into piracy in the first place, Roberts had proven himself a highly competent captain: literate, teetotal, with exceptional organisational leadership skills, a sense of discipline and dedication to orderly conduct.
Over the years, Roberts had suffered some great successes but also some severe setbacks; nearly dying of dehydration and starvation twice. But through luck and determination he had made a triumphant return to the Caribbean, raiding dozens of ships to the great personal profit of himself and his crew. In the meantime, Roberts and the other pirates of the time caused so much disruption that efforts by Caribbean colonists to establish and maintain long-term profitable Caribbean trade had completely stalled.
After spending a year raiding in the Caribbean, Roberts believed the real money was in the lucrative West African slave trade. He was not interested in the slaves themselves, only the cargoes and provision that sailed with them. He arrived on the West African coast in mid- 1721 and began a series of successful raids up and down the coast.
The Royal Navy
If you are wondering where was the Royal Navy was in all this, well, they were there… they were just not willing to take Roberts on.
There were several reasons for their reluctance. There was no profit in pirate-hunting for naval commanders who preferred to line their personal pockets by escorting merchant ships for a price. Even if they had been motivated by some kind patriotic fervor, the Navy’s ships were completely unsuited to the task anyway. Large, slow and very undermanned, British warships lacked the speed and maneuverability needed to pursue pirates with superior navigational ability and knowledge of the complex Caribbean waterways and islands.
Another reason was… well, they were scared. The sight of a large well-armed ship flying a black pirate flag, a crew of a 100+ men all brandishing cutlasses with grim determination, was enough to fill anyone with fear, including very lowly paid naval seamen.
Eventually, in 1721, the Admiralty finally acted on the pleas of the local merchants. A powerful Royal Navy force had gathered near Sierra Leone. The Admiralty had sent two 50-gun ships in pursuit of Roberts: the Weymouth captained by Mungo Herdman; and the Swallow captained by the more senior Chaloner Ogle.
Chaloner Ogle
The flamboyantly named Chaloner Ogle was the son of a Newcastle barrister and joined the Royal Navy aged 16. In 1714, Ogle married Henrietta Issacson and slowly worked his way up the Navy’s ranks. He had not led a particularly distinguished career until placed in command of the Swallow.
For six months, Ogle, Herdman and their fleet tracked Bartholomew Roberts along the West African coast, always coming up just a few days short. Eventually though, a stroke of good fortune came their way. Off the coast of the town of Whydah (modern day Nigeria), Ogle learned that Roberts was trapped by ill-winds at Cape Lopez, near the equator (modern day Gabon). Well aware of the Navy fleet’s pursuit, Roberts was trying to escape to Brazil but the uncooperative winds had forced him to stay near the African coast.
The Navy Fleet began the tedious and slow task of tacking south, hoping to encounter Roberts, or any other pirates along the way.
Meanwhile, Roberts’ crew, already notorious for excessive alcohol consumption and debauchery, were growing increasingly frustrated with their situation. They spent their days drunk. So when Ogle finally encountered them in early February 1722, Roberts, the only sober one among them, faced a battle for his life with a mob of drunken miscreants.
After several days of pursuit, battle and surrender, Roberts was killed by grapeshot and Ogle captured some his crew off Cape Lopez.
At Roberts’ request, his crew wrapped him in a sail, weighted his body down and threw him overboard. The body was never recovered.
Aftermath
The Court at Cape Coast Castle acquitted around 60 per cent of Roberts’ crew, finding Roberts had forced them in to piracy.
In April 1723, Chaloner Ogle received a knighthood for his defeat of Roberts, becoming the first Naval Officer to be knighted for fighting pirates. He was soon promoted to commodore, then Commander-in-Chief of the Jamaica Station.
Ogle personally retained Roberts’ ships and plunder, a rich cargo of gold dust. ‘The quantity of Gold I have got out of all the prizes will amount to about 3000l, and I beg ... that the Prizes may be shared among the Captors,’ Ogle wrote in his report on the capture.
Yet, despite this statement, Ogle refused to share it with his officers and crew until he was forced to give up £1,940 by the courts three years later.
In 1740, Ogle was promoted again to rear-admiral of the Blue Squadron. He was ordered to escort an expedition of over 8,000 to attack Spanish possessions in the Caribbean. The attack on Cartagena was a disaster; and other attacks on Cuba failed miserably. The mission’s failure caused a violent fight between Ogle and the Governor of Jamaica. Ogle was convicted of assault and other offences.
The convictions did not stop his career. He became vice-admiral of the Blue Squadron, then admiral of the White Squadron, then its commander-in-chief.
After Henrietta died in 1737, he married Jane Isabella. There is no record of any children. Ogle died on 11 April 1750 in London.