Peter Easton was among the most wealthiest and most successful pirates.
Peter Easton was born in England to a respectable family and he was raised to serve in Queen Elizabeth I's navy as a privateer. A privateer was a person who was commissioned by the government to seize and destroy any merchant ship from other countries.
Easton was a commander of a small British fleet doing convoy duty for some fishing boats. On his way to Newfoundland, he rescued "The Irish Princess" Sheila NaGeira from a Dutch warship. Sheila was the daughter of the King of Connaught. Legend has it that after Easton saved her, she fell in love with Easton's First Lieutenant, Gilbert Pike. He left Easton's crew and they got married and settled in Mosquito, which is now known as Bristol's Hope in Conception Bay.
In 1602, England and Spain were at war and at the end of the war, England did not need their navy anymore. So Easton was out of a job and he and his crew were stranded in Newfoundland with no money. He and his mates turned to piracy. He first tried pirating in the English Channel. But later in 1612, he set up headquarters in Harbour Grace, Newfoundland. He raided ships along the coasts of Trinity Bay to Ferryland, Newfoundland. He sailed along the Eastern coast of North America, the Caribbean and as far west as the Azores. All the time adding to his wealth and his fleet. On just one of his trips, Easton looted thirty English ships in St. John's and French and Portuguese ships in Ferryland. Easton now commanded a crew of 500 men and 9 ships. He would force the captured men to join his fleet, this is called shanghaiing,.
One of the legends of Peter Easton tells us that while returning to Harbour Grace on
one occasion, he was attacked by five Biscayne and French pirates just off of Harbour
Grace Island. Easton was aboard the Great Spanish Galleon, St. Sabastian, which is
said to have been carrying the greatest treasure ever to have been captured on the Carribean
Sea. The warfare which ensured was described as the greatest battle ever fought in
Conception Bay. During the clash, Easton sunk the largest of his attackers, the St.
Malo, by forcing it onto Eastern Rock. In commemoration of the battle, Eastern Rock
was renamed to Easton's Rock. (www.hrgrace.ca/history.html)
In 1612, Peter Easton captured Sir Richard Whitbourne and held him for eleven weeks,
Sir Richard Whitbourne was the Admiral of the English Fishing Fleet. He was sent to Newfoundland to bring everything up to scratch and set up a court of law. Easton wanted Whitbourne to become his First Lieutenant.
Although Whitbourne refused to participate in Easton's scheme, he did agree to
go to England and support a petition for pardon, which would enable Easton to
return to England and spend his days living in royal splendor on his loot.
(www3.nf.sympatico.ca/mayad/princess/pete.htm)
So while waiting for his pardon to come, he realized that
Harbour Grace could be easily attacked by sea should the King decide to send a
fleet against him, so Easton moved to Ferryland and fortified the harbor. He now
had his armada of 40 ships, a fortress which was virtually unassailable.
(www3.nf.sympatico.ca/mayad/princess/pete.htm)
When Easton did not receive his pardon in two years, he thought he would leave Newfoundland. He sailed for the Azores to capture the treasure ships of the Spanish Fleet. He seized three ships that were brimming with treasure. This was one of the most richest plunders by a pirate.
So in 1614, he left for Villefranche, Savoy which was a free port for pirates with a reported two million pounds in gold and he became the "Duke of Savoy". After he married a Lady of noble birth and considerable wealth, he became the "Marquis of Savoy". He built an enormous mansion in Savoy and Easton and his wife lived there. After this, there is no record of whatever happened to Peter Easton.
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