Profile: Henry Avery

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Henry Avery (also known as Henry Every) was an English pirate during the Golden Age. Born in 1659, he is best known for inspiring many others to assume the role of a pirate and seek their fortunes and raiding an impressive 11 vessels during the 2-year period he was active.

After serving in the Royal Navy and working on merchant and slave ships, Avery became the first mate of the Charles II, a privateering ship intending to attack French vessels in the Caribbean seas, in the early 1690s. However the Charles II remained in a Spanish port for many months as she waited for a letter of marque from Madrid. During this time, her crew went unpaid. In spring of 1694, Avery lead a mutiny and successfully seized the Charles II. He became captain in the process and renamed the ship the Fancy.

    Henry Avery's Jolly Roger
source: Wikipedia

The Fancy preyed on various ships around Africa and in 1695 pulled off its biggest heist: the plundering of the Fath Mahmamadi, a ship owned by the Grand Mughal of India carrying Muslim pilgrims and treasure from Mecca. While most of the 25-ship Indian fleet were able to outrun Avery and his crew, the Fancy was able to overtake the ship after a brief firefight. The Fancy plundered gold and silver worth about 50,000 British pounds.

After dividing up the booty from the Fath Mahmamadi amongst his men, Avery then attacked the Ganj-i-Sawai, another ship in the Indian fleet. After an hours-long battle with the 60-cannon ship, Avery’s men were victorious however they tortured and killed the men and raped the women. The plunders from the Ganj-i-Sawai are believed to be hundreds of thousands of pounds in jewels, silver, and gold and is considered to be the richest haul in the Golden Age of Piracy. The Fancy then sailed for New Providence Island where Avery bribed the governor to protect him and his men from authorities in England who were feeling the pressure from India to seek out and punish the robbers of their treasure fleet. While East India Company and Royal Navy vessels would sail the seas in search of Avery, he would ultimately elude them.


                      18-century depiction of Henry Avery with the Ganj-i-Sawai in the background
source: Wikipedia

Where Henry ended up remains a mystery to this day. Some believe he took his loot to Madagascar where he oversaw a large fleet. Others contend that he returned to England, was swindled out of a substantial amount of diamonds, and died broke between 1696 and 1700.

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