Henry Jennings

Henry Jennings († 1745 ) was a British privateer during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1713 / 14) and later head of the pirates of New Providence .

Little is known of his early days ; Jennings may have come from the Bermuda Islands ; first records mention him as a privateer on behalf of the British Crown during the War of the Spanish Succession. When the war ended with the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, his license (letter of misery) expired and he, like many privateers, had to look for a new job.

Although the exact time of his turn to open piracy is unknown, it is believed that from 1714 Jennings and Samuel Bellamy raided ports where the cargoes of sunken Spanish treasure ships were stored. What has been confirmed in any case is an incident in which Jennings raided a salvage fleet in East Florida in January 1716 with a fleet of three ships, including his flagship Bathsheba , and 300 men. The treasures recovered from the wrecks of the silver fleet that sank in 1715 were stored in the warehouse. Jennings captured up to 350,000 pesos in the attack . On the way back to Jamaica , Jennings robbed another ship and looted 60,000 pesos.

However, after his return on January 26, 1716, there were differences with the governor of Jamaica, who feared revenge on the part of the Spaniards. After a raid on a French merchant ship on April 3, 1716, Jennings was declared a pirate by King George I. Jennings then moved to New Providence in the Bahamas , which was then an important pirate base. There he became the unofficial mayor of the city, in whose harbor pirates could anchor safely for a fee.

In 1717 Jennings surrendered to the British authorities in Bermuda after Woodes Rogers , the governor of the Bahamas, had declared a general amnesty for pirates on the instructions of George I. In the war of the Quadruple Alliance (1718-1720) Jennings served again on behalf of the Crown as privateer and then settled down as a plantation owner and merchant in Bermuda.

In all likelihood Jennings was captured by the Spaniards during the War of the Austrian Succession in 1745 and died in prison.

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personal data
SURNAME	Jennings, Henry
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	British privateer and pirate
DATE OF BIRTH	17th century
DATE OF DEATH	1745