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William Fly

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William Fly
Died12 July 1726
Boston, Massachusetts
Cause of deathExecution by hanging
Known forConsidered one of the last pirates of the Golden Age of Piracy
Criminal chargePiracy
Criminal penaltyExecution by hanging
Criminal statusExecuted
Piratical career
Allegiancenone
Years active1726
RankCaptain
CommandsElizabeth / Fames Revenge

William Fly (died 12 July 1726) was an English pirate who raided New England shipping fleets for three months in 1726 until he was captured by the crew of a seized ship. He was hanged in Boston, Massachusetts, and his body publicly exhibited in a gibbet as a warning to other pirates. His death is considered by many to mark the end of the Golden Age of Piracy.[1]

Career

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William Fly's career as a pirate began in April 1726, when he signed on to sail with Captain John Green to West Africa on the Elizabeth. Green and Fly began to clash until one night Fly led a mutiny that resulted in Green being tossed overboard; Fly then took command of the Elizabeth.[2] Having captured the ship, the mutineers "caused a Black Flagg to be hoisted", renamed the ship Fames' Revenge, elected Fly as captain, and sailed to the coast of North Carolina and north toward New England.[3] They captured five ships in about two months before being captured themselves. Following Fly's capture, Cotton Mather tried and failed to get Fly to publicly repent.[4]

William Fly and his crew were hanged at Boston Harbor on 12 July 1726.[5] Reportedly, Fly approached the hanging with complete disdain and even reproached the hangman for doing a poor job, re-tying the noose and placing it about his neck with his own two hands. His last words were, roughly, a warning to captains to treat their sailors well and pay them on time – "Our Captain and his Mate used us Barbarously. We poor Men can’t have Justice done us. There is nothing said to our Commanders, let them never so much abuse us, and use us like Dogs."[6] Fly urged that "all Masters of Vessels might take Warning of the Fate of the Captain that he had murder'd, and to pay Sailors their Wages when due."[7] Pastor Benjamin Colman of Boston also preached to Fly and the condemned pirates. He described Fly's unrepentant trip to the gallows: "Fly briskly and in a way of bravery jumpt up into the Cart, with a nose gay in his hand, bowing with much unconcern to the Spectators as he pass'd along, and at the Gallows he behaved still obstinately and boldly till his face was covered for death."[8] Following Fly's execution, his body was hung in chains (gibbeted) on Nixes Mate Island in Boston Harbor as a warning to others not to turn to piracy.[7]

References

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  1. ^ Flemming, Gregory N. (2014). At the point of a cutlass: the pirate capture, bold escape, & lonely exile of Philip Ashton. Lebanon, NH: ForeEdge, an imprint of University Press of New England. ISBN 978-1611685152.
  2. ^ Rediker, Marcus (2004). Villains of All Nations. Boston: Beacon Press Books. pp. 3–5. ISBN 9781844670086.
  3. ^ "The Tryals of sixteen persons for piracy, &c. Four of which were found guilty, and the rest acquitted. At a special Court of Admiralty for the Tryal of Pirates, held at Boston within the province of the Masachusetts-Bay in New-England, on Monday the fourth day of July, anno dom. 1726. Pursuant to His Majesty's commission, founded on an act of Parliament, made in the eleventh and twelfth years of the reign of King William the Third, intitled, An act for the more effectual suppression of piracy. And made perpetual by an act of the sixth of King George". Evans Early American Imprint Collection. Joseph Edwards. March 2005. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  4. ^ Mather, Cotton (1726). "The vial poured out upon the sea. A remarkable relation of certain pirates brought unto a tragical and untimely end. Some conferences with them, after their condemnation. Their behaviour at their execution. And a sermon preached on that occasion". Evans Early American Imprint Collection. Printed by T. Fleet, for N. Belknap. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  5. ^ Stapleton, David. "William Fly". Pirates Roster. Archived from the original on 19 September 2011. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  6. ^ Leeson, Peter T. (December 2007). "An-arrgh-chy: The Law and Economics of Pirate Organization". Journal of Political Economy. 115 (6). University of Chicago Press: 1049–1094. CiteSeerX 10.1.1.612.4147. doi:10.1086/526403. JSTOR 10.1086/526403. S2CID 16692227.
  7. ^ a b Konstam, Angus (2006). Blackbeard. John Wiley & Sons. pp. 49–50. ISBN 9780471758853.
  8. ^ Colman, Benjamin (1726). "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. A sermon preached to some miserable pirates July 10. 1726. On the Lord's Day, before their execution. / By Benjamin Colman, Pastor of a church in Boston. ; To which is added some account of said pirates". Evans Early American Imprint Collection. Printed for John Phillip and Thomas Hancock. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
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