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($130,000) and the diamond
studded gold cross, which he wore from then on, it was to
be a gift for the king of Portugal.
He was
a very fancy dresser, wearing a rich waistcoat & breeches,
a hat with a red feather & his diamond cross which hung
on a heavy gold chain around his neck. He would wear fine
clothes while in battle. During battle, he carried two pairs
of pistols at the end of a silk sling across his shoulder.
His fellow pirates thought he was a bit of a dandy when it
came to his choice of attire, though his valor was never questioned.
Roberts
seem to be the most successful pirate. Between 1719 and 1722,
he captured more than 400 ships off the coast of West Africa
and Canada and the Caribbean. Roberts was a religious man
and banned his crew from gambling. He was cruel to his prisoners.
Bartholomew
Roberts, referred to as the " Great Pirate Roberts",
roamed the seas in the early eighteenth century. He traveled
the coasts of North and South America. His reputation had
grown so immense that guard ships stationed in the West Indies
were reluctant to get involved with him, and even seemed to
sail out of their way to avoid confrontation.
His
boldness was reflected in his reliance on the unusual, relying
on the both surprising and awesome. For example he was recalled
to have sailed into Trepassey in Newfoundland, in a sloop
of ten guns manned by sixty men, with "black colors flying,
drums beating and trumpets sounding." The crews of the
twenty-two ships in anchor in the harbor, immediately withdrew
from the site and fled to safety off shore.
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Bartholomew's
Articles
1.
All important decisions to be put to a vote.
2.
Any man caught stealing shall be marooned.
3.
All pistols and cutlasses will be kept clean.
4.
No women allowed on board.
5.
Any man who deserts ship in battle shall be put to death.
6.
All crews quarrels will be settled on shore.
7.
The captain and quartermaster to receive two shares
of the booty; the master gunner, and boatswain, one
and a half shares; other officers one and a quarter
shares; all others, one shares each.
8.
Injuries to be compensated. Any man who loses a limb
in battle shall receive extra booty.
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Roberts
held so much hatred for the people of the islands of Martinique
and Barbados, that he created his black flag to illustrate
it. On it was an image of himself holding a flaming sword
in one hand, and dagger in the other. His feet resting on
two human skulls. Under one the initials A.M.H., for A Marinican’s
Head, and beneath the other, A.B.H., for A Barbadian Head.
Roberts
career came to an end when he was killed at sea in a conflict
off the coast of Africa.
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