William Burke (pirate)

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William Burke
Died	1699
Piratical career
Base of operations	Caribbean, Newfoundland

William Burke (died 1699, first name occasionally Thomas,^[1] last name occasionally Burk, Burt, Bourck, Burch, or Burcke) was an Irish^[2] pirate and trader active in the Caribbean and near Newfoundland, best known for aiding William Kidd.

History

Burke had been active through early 1699 as a pirate off Newfoundland in his 140-man, 24-gun^[3] ship Marigold. He was known to colonial governors as "very strong, and said to have a good ship".^[3] After menacing the Newfoundland fishing fleets he sailed to the Caribbean, trading slaves between Barbados and Curacao.^[4]

In May 1699 he visited Governor Lorentz of St. Thomas offering to fence goods from William Kidd, who had been in the area to sell off his remaining plunder and sell or replace his leaking ship Quedagh Merchant (which Kidd had renamed Adventure Prize).^[5] Burke had purchased Kidd's pirated loot just a few weeks earlier, before Kidd left for New York to try clearing his name.^[4] The Governor had already rebuffed Kidd's entreaties^[3] and refused Burke as well. The local Brandenburg representative Van Belle accepted Burke's offer and through intermediaries took possession of Kidd's merchandise.^[4] Six of Kidd's sailors left the Quedagh Merchant with Burke, who sailed for Curacao.^[5] Governor Lorentz had Burke arrested on June 1, though he was released a week later; Van Belle paid Burke's fines.^[4]

In August 1699 Burke's ship was lost in a hurricane. He and all but 7 or 8 of his crew perished.^[3] Governor Bellomont of New York, who had written the King complaining of Lorentz and other Caribbean governors protecting Burke and Kidd, hailed this: "Tis good news."^[3]

References

^ Marley, David F. (2012). Daily Life of Pirates. Santa Barbara CA: ABC-CLIO. p. 175. ISBN 9780313395642. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
^ Gosse, Philip (1924). The Pirates' Who's Who by Philip Gosse. New York: Burt Franklin. p. 72. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Office, Great Britain Public Record; Fortescue, Sir John William (1908). Calendar of State Papers: Colonial series ... London: Longman. pp. 459, 489–493, 554. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Westergaard, Waldemar (1917). The Danish West Indies Under Company Rule (1671-1754): With a Supplementary Chapter, 1755-1917. New York: Macmillan. pp. 115–118. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
^ ^a ^b Zacks, Richard (2003). The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd. New York: Hachette Books. ISBN 9781401398187. Retrieved 11 July 2017.

Piracy

Periods

Types of pirate

Areas

Atlantic World	Caribbean British Virgin Islands Spanish Main Lake Nicaragua Venezuela Gulf of Guinea
Indian Ocean	Horn of Africa Somali Coast Indonesia Persian Gulf Strait of Malacca Nosy Boraha
Other waters	Baltic Slavic piracy Barbary Coast Falcon Lake South China Coast Sulu Sea
Pirate havens and bases	Barataria Bay Île Sainte-Marie Libertatia Lundy Mamora Port Royal Republic of Pirates Republic of Salé Saint Augustin Saint-Malo Tortuga

Major figures

Pirates

Pirate
hunters

Pirate ships

Pirate battles and incidents

Piracy law

Acts of grace (1717–1718 Acts of Grace)

International piracy law

Letter of marque

Paris Declaration Respecting Maritime Law

Piracy Act (1536, 1698, 1717, 1721, 1837, 1850)

Piracy Law of 1820

Slave trade

Pirates in
popular
culture

Fictional pirates	Askeladd Tom Ayrton Barbe Rouge Captain Birdseye Captain Blood Captain Crook Captain Flint Captain Hook Captain Nemo Captain Pugwash Captain Sabertooth Captain Stingaree Charlotte de Berry Davy Jones Edward Kenway Elaine Marley Elizabeth Swann Franky Guybrush Threepwood Hector Barbossa Jack Sparrow Jacquotte Delahaye José Gaspar Joshamee Gibbs Long John Silver Monkey D. Luffy Vaas Montenegro Mr. Smee Nami Nico Robin Roronoa Zoro Sandokan Sanji Tony Tony Chopper Usopp Will Turner Zanzibar
Novels	The Pirate The Pilot: A Tale of the Sea Treasure Island Facing the Flag On Stranger Tides Jim Hawkins and the Curse of Treasure Island Castaways of the Flying Dutchman The Angel's Command Voyage of Slaves Long John Silver Pirate Latitudes Mistress of the Seas Silver: Return to Treasure Island
Tropes	Buried treasure Davy Jones's locker Eyepatch Jolly Roger skull and crossbones Keelhauling Marooning No purchase, no pay Pegleg Pet parrot Pirate code Pirate utopia Treasure map Walking the plank
Miscellaneous	Air pirate Space pirate International Talk Like a Pirate Day Pirates versus Ninjas

Miscellaneous

History

See also

References