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Good Fortune

Brigantine of the West Indies pirate company that left Bartholomew Roberts on 18 April 1721, a fast vessel of far less force than her consort, last reported at large in June 1723 with twelve men aboard.

LaunchedNot establishedToNot establishedAlso writtenthe brigantine Good Fortune (Governor Hart to the Council of Trade and Plantations, 8 June 1723)

She was a brigantine at work in the West Indies from 1721 to 1723, christened by the company that stole her and given up by the company that kept her. Governor Hart, writing to the Council of Trade and Plantations on 8 June 1723, called her "the brigantine Good Fortune", and said where she was and how many men were in her. Nothing of her has been recovered: no wreck, no salvage site, no timber.3,4

How she got her name

She began as somebody's trade. At Dominica the company took a Dutch interloper and a brigantine belonging to Rhode Island, one Norton master. They burnt their own sloop, manned Norton's brigantine and sent her master away in the interloper "not dissatisfied". Then, with the Royal Fortune and the brigantine "which they christened the Good Fortune", they pushed towards the latitude of Deseada, being short of provisions again.5,6,1

The name is a trap. Fortune, Good Fortune, Royal Fortune and Ranger run so close together that they are easily confused. The Fortune is a different ship in Roberts's service, with a record of her own.7

An excellent sailer

Nobody wrote down her guns, only what she was beside a bigger ship. When the company took the Morning Star out of the Guinea trade, mounted her with 32 pieces of cannon and put a hundred men aboard her, the brigantine stood "of far less Force", and the bigger ship should by seniority have gone to Anstis as the elder officer. He stayed where he was, "she being an excellent Sailor", and gave the Morning Star to John Fenn, who had been his gunner. About seventy hands were aboard the brigantine when she left Roberts.8,9

Twice she was run down and twice she got clear. Off Grand Cayman, where the Morning Star had been wrecked, two men of war came upon them and the brigantine had just time to cut her cable and get to sea, with one of them after her and keeping within gunshot for several hours. The wind then died. Her people got out the oars and rowed away from a becalmed warship. At Tobago in April 1723, HMS Winchelsea came in while the company were cleaning, and she escaped again, in Johnson's phrase, "by having a light Pair of Heels".10,11

Where she lay hidden

Her boatswain found her a berth nobody could see. One Jones, boatswain of the Good Fortune, proposed an uninhabited island off the south-west end of Cuba that he had used in the late war, privateering against the Spaniards. At its east end lay a lagoon so narrow a ship could just go in, with 15 to 22 foot of water for almost a league up, and red mangrove growing thick enough on both sides that the entrance and the vessels inside it were hardly to be seen. They waited there while their petition for a pardon went home by a merchant ship out of Jamaica, in the name of "the Company, now belonging to the Ship Morning Star, and Brigantine Good Fortune".12,13,14

Careening was the dangerous part. After the Cayman chase she went to a small island near the Bay of Honduras to clean and refit, taking a Rhode Island sloop under Captain Durfey on the way. With her hull open, Durfey, some of the other prisoners and two or three of the pirates concerted a scheme to seize the chiefs and carry off the brigantine. It was discovered before she was fit for sailing.15,16

Whose ship was she?

Three men aboard her can be named: a boatswain, a carpenter, and a captain who cannot be settled. The carpenter was John Phillips, taken out of a West Country ship bound for Newfoundland the day after the desertion, kept in her until the company broke up at Tobago, and afterwards a pirate captain in his own right. Fenn is easier to follow: he lost the Morning Star at Grand Cayman, and in December 1722 went aboard a good ship taken from a Captain Smith and mounted with 24 guns. He was a one handed man.17,18

Who commanded her is a straight conflict. Johnson has Thomas Anstis separating from Roberts in her on 18 April 1721 and standing back for the West Indies. Hart, reporting the Antigua trial of 17 May 1723, writes instead of "Capt. Finn ... had been three years in the brigantine Good Fortune, which he commanded", and never uses the name Anstis anywhere in the letter. That is the same man Johnson spells Fenn and makes captain of the consort, convicted at St John's and afterwards hung in chains on Rat Island.19,2

Last seen

On 8 June 1723 she was still at large, with "but twelve men on board her, who run away with that vessell", while Captain Brand of HMS Hector was after the rest of the company at Tobago.20

After that she has one ending, and no date to it. The survivors of the Tobago disorder were put in irons, and the brigantine is said to have been surrendered at Curacao, a Dutch settlement, where the men who delivered her up were acquitted.21

What is missing is the ship. No tonnage, no dimensions, no draught, no rig beyond the word brigantine, no gun count, no crew list, no builder and no owner before Norton. There is no wreck to set against the paper and no artefact to display, so everything known about her comes from one period narrative and one colonial letter, and where those two disagree there is no third thing to ask.22

What the evidence does not settle

Ship particulars

  • Good Fortune's armamentPossible
  • Her tonnage, dimensions and rig
  • Johnson gives her as Norton's Rhode Island brigantine, taken at Dominica

Command

Final disposition

  • Whether the company surrendered Good Fortune at CuracaoPossible
  • She was last recorded at large on 8 June 1723

Each line is one question with its own grade, taken from the register where a claim carries it. Nothing here is graded as a whole.

Sources for this record

Every statement above that rests on a checked claim carries a small number; the numbers lead here. Each entry gives what is claimed, how far the record supports it, and where it comes from.

  1. The General History makes the Good Fortune brigantine a Rhode Island vessel taken at Dominica from a master named Norton and christened by Roberts's company after they burnt their own sloop, and therefore neither the Bristol galley of 16 guns (18 in Renos's deposition) taken on the Trepassey cruise of June 1720 and afterwards left to the French, nor the French ship of 26 guns the company christened the Fortune. Unverified Reported, not yet checked against the record. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), chapter IX, Of Captain Bartho. Roberts, and His Crew, attributed to Captain Charles Johnson
  2. HMS Winchelsea under Captain Henry Orme carried nine of the company from Tobago into Antigua in May 1723, where Governor John Hart examined them aboard and seven were tried at St John's on 17 May before fourteen commissioners; John Fenn, formerly gunner of the brigantine, was convicted and afterwards hung in chains on Rat Island, and Hart's own account of the sentences does not reconcile, so this record states no execution total. Unverified Reported, not yet checked against the record. Calendared state paper: Governor Hart to the Council of Trade and Plantations, St Christophers, 8 June 1723, item 576, with enclosed Antigua Council minutes, C.O. 152, 14. ff. 223-225, 226v.-230v., 232v., in Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies, volume 33, 1722-1723
  3. A pirate brigantine named the Good Fortune cruised in the West Indies between 1721 and 1723 and is named as the brigantine Good Fortune in Governor Hart's letter to the Council of Trade and Plantations of 8 June 1723. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Calendared state paper: Governor Hart to the Council of Trade and Plantations, no. 576, in Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies, vol. 33 (1722-1723), C.O. 152, 14. ff. 223-230
  4. No wreck, salvage site, artefact or archaeological evidence associated with the Good Fortune has been identified, and her history is documentary only. Confirmed Directly supported by the record. Corpus-level negative finding: A NEGATIVE FINDING across the material read for this record, A General History of the Pyrates (1724) and Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies, vol. 33 (1722-1723), no. 576, neither of which records any wreck, salvage or physical remains
  5. Johnson's Roberts chapter states that the company burnt their own sloop, manned the brigantine taken from a master named Norton at Dominica, and sent her master away in the Dutch interloper taken at the same time. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), chapter IX, Of Captain Bartho. Roberts, and his Crew, the disposal of the prizes after the mock trial (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  6. Johnson's Roberts chapter states that the company christened Norton's brigantine the Good Fortune and that she stood with the Royal Fortune towards the latitude of Deseada to look for provisions. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), chapter IX, Of Captain Bartho. Roberts, and his Crew (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  7. The brigantine Good Fortune is a distinct vessel from the Fortune, a separate ship in Bartholomew Roberts's service, and the similar names in the same chapters invite conflation. Likely More likely than not on the evidence we have. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), chapters IX and X, in which Fortune, Good Fortune, Royal Fortune and Ranger are used of different vessels (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  8. No armament is recorded for the Good Fortune, Johnson describing her only as of far less force than the 32-gun Morning Star, as an excellent sailer, and as carrying about seventy hands at the separation from Roberts. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), chapter X, Of Captain Anstis, and his Crew (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  9. Johnson states that the company took the Morning Star, bound from Guinea to Carolina, mounted her with 32 guns and about a hundred men, and that although the larger ship would have fallen to the brigantine's commander as elder officer he stayed in his own vessel and gave the Morning Star to his former gunner John Fenn. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), chapter X, Of Captain Anstis, and his Crew (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  10. Johnson states that at Grand Cayman, where the Morning Star was run ashore and wrecked, two men of war came down upon the pirates and the brigantine had just time to cut her cable and get to sea, one warship keeping within gunshot of her for several hours until the wind died and her crew got out their oars and rowed clear. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), chapter X, Of Captain Anstis, and his Crew (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  11. The Good Fortune escaped to sea when HMS Winchelsea surprised the pirates cleaning at Tobago at the beginning of April 1723, an escape Johnson attributes to her having a light pair of heels. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Calendared state paper and period narrative: Governor Hart to the Council of Trade and Plantations, no. 576, in Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies, vol. 33 (1722-1723); with A General History of the Pyrates (1724), chapter X (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  12. Johnson states that one Jones, boatswain of the Good Fortune, proposed as a place of retreat an uninhabited island off the south-west end of Cuba that he had used in the late war when privateering against the Spaniards, and that the pirates retired there. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), chapter X, Of Captain Anstis, and his Crew (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  13. Johnson describes the anchorage as a lagoon at the east end of the island, so narrow that a ship could just go in, with 15 to 22 foot of water for almost a league up and red mangrove growing so thick on both sides that the entrance and the vessels lying there were hardly to be seen. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), chapter X, Of Captain Anstis, and his Crew, the description of the island off Cuba (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  14. The petition for a pardon that Johnson prints is headed as the humble petition of the company then belonging to the ship Morning Star and brigantine Good Fortune, and was sent home by a merchant ship bound from Jamaica to England. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), chapter X, Of Captain Anstis, and his Crew, the printed petition to King George (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  15. Johnson states that after her escape the brigantine sailed to a small island near the Bay of Honduras to clean and refit, taking a Rhode Island sloop commanded by Captain Durfey on the way. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), chapter X, Of Captain Anstis, and his Crew (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  16. Johnson states that while the brigantine was cleaning, Captain Durfey, some of the other prisoners and two or three of the pirates concerted a scheme to seize the chiefs and carry the brigantine off, which was discovered before she was fit for sailing. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), chapter X, Of Captain Anstis, and his Crew (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  17. Johnson states that the forced carpenter John Phillips, taken out of a West Country ship bound for Newfoundland the day after the separation from Roberts, served as carpenter of the Good Fortune until the company broke up at Tobago and afterwards commanded a pirate company of his own. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), chapter XV, Of Captain John Phillips, and his Crew (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  18. Johnson states that about December 1722 the company took a good ship commanded by a Captain Smith, mounted her with 24 guns, and put her under Fenn, a one handed man who had commanded the Morning Star when she was lost. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), chapter X, Of Captain Anstis, and his Crew (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  19. The command of the Good Fortune is in conflict between the sources: Johnson makes Thomas Anstis her commander from the separation from Roberts on 18 April 1721, while Governor Hart's letter of 8 June 1723 states that Capt. Finn had been three years in the brigantine Good Fortune, which he commanded, and never names Anstis. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative and calendared state paper: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), chapter X (Gutenberg ebook 40580), against Governor Hart to the Council of Trade and Plantations, no. 576, in Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies, vol. 33 (1722-1723), C.O. 152, 14. ff. 223-230
  20. As of 8 June 1723 the Good Fortune was still at large with but twelve men on board her, who run away with that vessell, while Captain Brand of HMS Hector pursued the rest of the company at Tobago. Very likely Strong evidence, short of proof. Calendared state paper: Governor Hart to the Council of Trade and Plantations, no. 576, in Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies, vol. 33 (1722-1723), C.O. 152, 14. ff. 223-230
  21. Johnson reports that the survivors of the disorder at Tobago put the rest of the company in irons and surrendered themselves and the vessel at Curacao, a Dutch settlement, where those concerned in delivering up the vessel were acquitted; he gives no date, and no colonial paper read for this record notices her arrival. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Period narrative: A General History of the Pyrates (1724), chapter X, Of Captain Anstis, and his Crew (Gutenberg ebook 40580)
  22. No tonnage, dimensions, draught, rig description beyond the word brigantine, gun count, crew list, builder or owner before Norton survives for the Good Fortune, whose whole documentation consists of one period narrative and one calendared colonial letter. Possible Consistent with the evidence, not established. Corpus-level negative finding: A NEGATIVE FINDING across A General History of the Pyrates (1724), chapters IX, X and XV (Gutenberg ebook 40580), and Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies, vol. 33 (1722-1723), no. 576