Thomas Woolerly

Thomas Woolerly (fl. 1683–1687, last name occasionally Woolery, Wooley, Wollerly or Woollervy) was a pirate and privateer active in the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean.

History

Woolerly set out from Boston in 1683 alongside Christopher Goffe and Thomas Henley, headed for the Red Sea to plunder Arab and Malabar ships.[1] By 1684 they had returned to the Caribbean, where Goffe and Henley appeared with a Dutch prize ship.[2] Henley was arrested after they were declared to be pirates, despite having a privateering commission from Governor Lilburne of the Bahamas, but was soon released.[3]

In May 1687 Woolerly sailed to New Providence with Goffe aboard in a 40-gun Dutch East India vessel, but they were accused of piracy and refused permission to resupply, though Woolerly also had a commission from Lilburne.[4] Woolerly sailed away, purchasing a small ship and burning the Dutch vessel near Andrew's Island before dividing his pirated loot and leaving the area.[5] Governor Molesworth of Jamaica dispatched HMS Drake in August to capture Woolerly; Drake detoured to search for a pirate named Bear and consequently missed Woolerly, who was suspected to have returned to New England.[2] Woolerly subsequently vanished along with his treasure.[4]

See also
  • Pirate Round – later name for the voyage from America to the coast of Africa, then to the Indian Ocean via Madagascar, a route refined by pirate Thomas Tew.

References
  1. Gosse, Philip (1924). The Pirates' Who's Who by Philip Gosse. New York: Burt Franklin. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  2. Fortescue, J. W. (1899). America and West Indies: August 1687 | British History Online. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office. pp. 407–450. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  3. Little, Benerson (2007). The Buccaneer's Realm: Pirate Life on the Spanish Main, 1674-1688. Dulles VA: Potomac Books, Inc. ISBN 9781612343617. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  4. Marley, David (2010). Pirates of the Americas. Santa Barbara CA: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781598842012. Retrieved 17 August 2017.
  5. Gosse, Philip (2012). The History of Piracy. New York: Courier Corporation. pp. 320–321. ISBN 9780486141466. Retrieved 17 August 2017.


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