The Conquest of Nassau occurred in 1715, when British forces under the command of the newly named Royal Governor of New Providence, Woodes Rogers, successfully reclaimed the island in the name of the British Empire.
History[]
Background[]
Woodes Rogers was able to convince King George I to allow him to offer Royal Pardons to the pirates of Nassau in exchange for their surrender. With the help of a number of creditors, he assembled a fleet of eight ships, including three Royal Navy ships, 700 British Regulars and a number of colonists. Former pirate Benjamin Hornigold captained one of these ships, and the former trade boss of Nassau, Eleanor Guthrie, was taken on as an advisor in exchange for her death sentence being commuted. Rogers was determined to win the island peacefully, fearing that taking it by force would take too long. He had promised Spain, who was one of his creditors, that he would return the entirety of the Urca gold within eight weeks. Failure to fulfill this promise would result in a fleet of ten ships and 1,500 soldiers being sent to raze Nassau to the ground.
Meanwhile, the pirates of Nassau had just captured the Urca de Lima gold. Jack Rackham, the gold’s captor, along with James Flint and Charles Vane formed a ruling triumvirate, with Jack paying the other pirate crews stipends in exchange for their support in defending Nassau should it be threatened. Should any threat appear, Vane would command the militia on the beach while Flint would lead their fleet. Jack also attempted to pay various crews to aid in the rebuilding of the fort, but they were prone to laziness and demanding higher wages, resulting in Jack having to resort to slave labor.
Shortly before the British forces arrived in Nassau, Flint was defeated into battle by Hornigold and believed to be dead after being chased into a storm. The newly returned Edward Teach, known by his moniker “Blackbeard,” volunteered to take Flint’s place as the commodore of the Pirate Fleet. However, many of the pirates were skeptical about the feasibility of resisting the British, especially with only six guns supporting them from Fort Nassau.
The Conquest[]
The British Arrival[]
When Woodes Rogers’ fleet arrived, they found the Pirate Fleet assembled at the mouth of the harbor in a firing line, ensuring that any attempt to approach the harbor would result in significant losses to the fleet. Rogers gathered his advisors in the cabin of his flagship, the Delicia, in order to decide on the best course of action. Commodore Peter Chamberlain advocated withdrawing, as he saw no way forward without risking heavy losses. Rogers, adamant that they succeed, suggested that he be put in a launch and rowed ashore to read his address to the pirates. Chamberlain vetoed this, saying that he is also responsible for Rogers’ safety, and refused to agree to such a reckless plan. Eleanor then suggests that Rogers send Hornigold. All of the pirates know and respect him, and many even revere him. She believes that they will grant him safe passage under a flag of truce, and if they didn’t, she points out that Rogers does not really care about him.
Meanwhile, Captain Throckmorton and Jacob Garrett assembled the pirate militia on the beach, while Captains Vane and Rackham led the Colonial Dawn crew in manning Fort Nassau.
The Parley[]
Hornigold is sent in a rowboat flying the white flag ashore, and he is granted safe passage as Eleanor predicted. Once ashore, he reads Rogers’ speech. The address promises the pirates of Nassau a full pardon in exchange for their surrender. Furthermore, a bounty of £10,000 is placed on the head of Charles Vane. Throckmorton, weighing his options, is the first to surrender. The rest of the pirates follow suit, effectively killing any defense they had hoped in mounting in its cradle.
The Standoff[]
With the surrender of the pirates on the beach, the only remaining resistance to Rogers being able to establish himself were the Pirate Fleet, which Teach retained control of, and Vane and Rackham’s men in Fort Nassau. However, the Fleet had no way to resupply or escape due to Rogers’ blockade, and an increasing number of bounty-seekers were approaching the fort. Eventually, the Colonial Dawn crew voted to expel Vane in the hopes that it will put them in the good graces of the new governor, who will then allow them to keep the gold and the fort.
Escape from the Fort[]
In order to allow Vane a path to escape and for Jack Rackham and Anne Bonny to make off with their cache of gems, as well as undoing all of the progress they had made on rebuilding Fort Nassau, Rackham blows up the powder magazine, which completely demolishes one of the walls. This provides Jack and Anne the diversion necessary to escape.
Meanwhile, Vane makes his way to the jetty to try and rendezvous with Teach, however, he is beset by a number of bounty-seekers. Despite successfully fighting a number of them off, he is eventually surrounded. However, he is saved at the last minute by Edward Teach, and the two then cut and shoot their way to safety,
Escape from the Bay[]
With Nassau Town lost, Teach and Vane then focus their efforts on escaping Rogers’ blockade. With no way to slip around their line, they need to figure out a way to break it. They decide to send a schooner sailing straight at their flagship flying a white flag in the dead of night.
Eventually, Rogers and his men spot the ship sailing towards them. Rogers asks how the ship got so close and Chamberlain explains that it was hidden behind the pirates’ line, and by the time she emerged she was fully underway. However, he is unconcerned, and says that the schooner is subject to the fleet’s broadsides. Rogers orders that they cut their anchor cables. Chamberlain is aghast at the prospect of breaking their line in the face of a mere schooner, but Rogers insists.
At that moment, Vane and his men ignite their ship, which has been filled with flammable materials, and begin abandoning ship in order to return to the rest of the fleet. Vane waits until the last moment possible to depart in order to steer the ship. As their fleet scrambles, Rogers’ gun crews first try to sink the fireship by firing at the waterline to sink her, but Rogers realizes this isn’t working and orders them to redirect to the schooner’s rigging. However, it is too late and the fireship collides with the Willing Mind, and soon the two ships are caught in a blaze. An explosion also causes flaming debris to shower the deck of the Delicia.
Shootout on the Beach[]
Before escaping the fort, Jack and Anne left the slave pen unlocked, allowing the dozens of slaves who had been working on restoring Fort Nassau to escape. After receiving a Royal Pardon, Mr. Scott offered to Hornigold, who was leading the British occupation of the island, to try and locate and return the slaves. However, unbeknownst to almost anyone on the island, Scott was secretly the leader of a large community of Maroons (escaped slaves), and had been using his position in Nassau to supply them for years.
Mr. Scott finds the slaves preparing to depart for the Maroon Island in longboats on a secluded beach. He tells them not to enter the forest until the Maroons find them, and promises them that they’ll be taken care of at the Camp. Two patrolling Redcoats happen upon the scene, and ask what’s going on. Scott urges the slaves to leave and tries to diffuse the situation, promising to the Redcoats that he will explain the situation to Captain Hornigold. The Redcoats order that they disembark and lower their weapons, and despite Scott’s pleas the two sides open fire. Scott is hit in the gut and the slaves take him with them as they flee. Meanwhile, one Redcoat is killed and the other tries to crawl away wounded but ultimately succumbs to his injuries.
Aftermath[]
Ultimately, Rogers is victorious, having been able to pacify New Providence Island without significant losses or delays. With the pirates gone, he was able to establish himself in Nassau Town and win over the vast majority of its populace. However, he was plagued by the issue of the Urca gold after learning that Spain knew about the exchanges of gold for gems. Two caches existed, one of which he was offered as a bribe by Max but was forced to include with the rest of the gold being returned to Havana after learning that Spain knew of it.
Rogers began a hunt for the remaining cache in Jack Rackham’s possession. After Jack was arrested after trying to obtain a pardon, he had Anne Bonny hide with the cache. Ultimately, Rogers was able to get ahold of it as part of a plan that Anne hatched with Flint and his Maroon allies that culminated in the Rescue of Jack Rackham.
Trivia[]
- Rogers conquered Nassau fairly similarly to how the show portrays it. One scene in particular is the fireship episode, for Vane did actually escape Nassau by using a fireship to break the British line. Unlike in the show however, none of Rogers' ships were hit, and the fireship was a large French vessel rather than a schooner.