A legacy of piracy: Henry Every; Image Source: History of Yesterday

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If you’re a big fan of the Pirates of the Caribbean and have watched all the five series, starting from The Curse of the Black Pearl to Dead Men Tell No Tales, and still can’t stop binge-watching them on Sunday nights, then you’re at the right place. We are about to board ThisDay time machine that will teleport us to a time where black patches and flintlock pistols were no less than a profession.

Formally defining piracy, we could say that these are acts of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically intending to steal cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, while the dedicated ships that pirates use are called pirate ships.

The story of piracy started in the 14th century BC with the coming of the Sea Peoples who were considered to be a group of ocean raiders and were always engaged in attacking the ships of the Aegean and Mediterranean civilizations. The ship routes also give opportunities for the pirates to easily pass through them.

One of the most interesting tales of piracy dates back to the 17th century when the notorious English Pirate Henry Every captured the famous ship of Ganj-i-Sawai which belonged to the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Before delving deep into the ocean to find out more about this amazing incident, let’s meet Henry Every who was considered as “The King of Pirates”.

> Henry was born in England and had several aliases throughout his career. People knew him by several names including Henry Every, Henry Avery, Jack Avery, John Avery, Benjamin Bridgeman, and Long Ben. But for our convenience, we will stick to his “so-called original name” Henry Every.

He usually waited for his prey in the Atlantic and Indian oceans. Some famous research scholars monikered him as “The Arch Pirate and “The King of Pirates” because of his ability to escape with his loot without getting arrested or killed. Though his career was as short as two years, the amount of public recognition that he got during the 17th century was incredible and he further inspired many others to take up piracy as their career.

One can find his mentions in several literary works like the novel, *The Pyrates* written by George Macdonald Fraser, and *Enemy of All Mankind: A true story of piracy, power, and history’s first global manhunt* by Steven Johnson. A popular video game *Unchartered 4: A Thief’s End* developed by Naughty Dog, shows two brothers who hunt for Henry’s looted treasures. Several TV series and movies are also based upon Henry like *Doctor Who* and *Black Sails*. The anime series named *One Piece* too depicts Every as the “Pirate King”.

> Henry’s pirate career began with the famous warship called Charles II. When the ship was stuck at Corunna, the sailors started getting agitated and began a mutiny. This is where Every was selected as the captain of the ship and rose to prominence.

After he attacked the famous Mughal ship, the world’s first manhunt was conducted to capture him and many of his fellow mates were arrested. But Henry mysteriously vanished from the face of the earth along with the loot amount that he had accumulated by plundering various ships. It is believed that he had changed his name and identity and lived on an island for the rest of his life until his death. His treasure too was never recovered even after many attempts.



Every and his notorious crew; Image Source: Britannica

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> Now that we have finished the interesting tale of Henry, let’s find out how he managed to cause one of the greatest plunders in the history of piracy without getting arrested for it till his last breath.

All of it started when a ship named Ganj-i-Sawai set its sail in the waters of Mecca, which belonged to the powerful Mughal emperor, Aurangzeb. The ship consisted of pilgrims who were returning from their Hajj in Mecca to their home at Surat along with gold worth Rs. 52 lakhs. Setting his eyes for the “Golden Ship”, Avery along with his ruffian mates set out for a sail to the mouth of the Red Sea and awaited their prey. As soon as the ship entered the Red Sea, they immediately captured and destroyed the flagship’s escort, the Fateh Muhammed. But the treasure did not come into their hands without a proper fight. Every’s crew not only lost three pirate ships of their own but were also heavily outnumbered by the Mughal army. After days of struggle, Every was finally able to destroy the mainmast of the ship.

When Ganj-i-Sawai met Pirate Every; Image Source: The Saturn Herald

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> According to *The History of India, as Told by its Own Historians*, written by Muhammad Khafi Khan, after getting full control of the ship and its passengers, the hooligans not only took away all the wealth and precious possessions but also tortured the men and raped the women.

With the looted wealth, Every’s gang went away happily to the Bahamas for a sun-tanning session, but little did they know of the rage of the Emperor who was furious beyond imagination, not only because of the enormous loss but the maltreatment of his innocent countrymen. As a result, Aurangzeb assumed that no mere pirate would have dared to touch his ship without the help of the EIC. He immediately arrested all the Englishmen in Surat and closed all the factories that were operating in India.

But the EIC was entirely dependent upon the trade relations with Mughals that were extremely profitable. To impress the Emperor, the British Parliament not only issued the first and largest manhunt of the world to find the notorious pirate but also paid a heavy compensation for all the losses faced by Mughal Empire. Though several years went by, people could neither find Henry nor his looted treasures.

There were several speculations regarding Henry Every and his treasures. Some said that there was a pirate kingdom in Madagascar with Henry as its king. A book named *The Life and Adventures of Capt. John Avery* states that the notorious pirate kidnapped Aurangzeb’s granddaughter who was on the ship and together they lived a happy married life in Madagascar. Yet another rumour says that Every had returned to his home but was plundered by some merchants and he died penniless in a gutter.

Well, stories go on and history sails with it. With a few tweaks here and there, tales are narrated and re-narrated. But the legend of Henry and Ganj-i-Sawai continues to live. People still search for his treasure in the hope to get lucky at some point, but the man and his treasures have just vanished from the face of the earth. Maybe, he is still alive in the world where he came from, maybe he is still among us, roaming in his pirate avatar. After all, every “Maybe” carries a new story with it and so does the tale of Every and the ship.

Stormy seas, tumbling ships, Jolly Rogers swaying with the wind, brass knuckles clicking on wooden boards, swords being sharpened now and then, we welcome you onboard to the world of the merciless pirates who are all-ready with their flintlock pistols and cannonballs. Don’t forget to bring your eyepatches and Jolly Rogers because we are going on a sail to meet one of the most notorious pirates of the world named Henry Every who stole the Mughal Baadshaah’s ship.