Bartholomew Roberts

Bartholomew Roberts, was a Welsh pirate and the most successful pirate of the Golden Age of Piracy taking over 400 prizes in his career.

He was known for his strict code of discipline and his refusal to attack other pirates. Roberts began his career as a pirate in 1719 and quickly gained a reputation for his daring raids and his ability to evade capture.

An extract from the Archive

The Royal Fortune: This was Roberts' flagship, which he captured in 1719. It was a heavily-armed ship with 40 guns and a crew of 150 men. He used this ship for many of his most successful raids and it was considered one of the most powerful pirate ships of the time

Roberts raided ships off the Americas and the West African coast; he is also noted for creating his own Pirata Codex, and adopting an early variant of the Skull and Crossbones flag. He was also known for his eloquence and intelligence and for his habit of quoting scripture and poetry to his crew. Roberts' infamy and success saw him become known as The Great Pyrate and eventually as Black Bart.