Legendary Pirates During the Time of Skull & Bones - Robert Culliford
Legendary Pirates During the Time of Skull & Bones - Robert Culliford
The Developers making Skull & Bones at Ubisoft Singapore have already mentioned in interviews that we may be bumping ships with some Pirates who actually sailed the Indian Ocean during the Golden Age of Piracy. Unlike the Caribbean however, the Pirates of the Indian Ocean aren’t as frequently portrayed in pop culture. In fact most of us probably wouldn’t be able to name a famous Indian Ocean Pirate.
Not all of the Indian Ocean Pirates equally had incredibly illustrious or consistently successful careers, one of these Pirates was Robert Culliford.
Born in Cornwall Robert Culliford first began his Pirate career aboard a French Privateer vessel, Sainte Rose, in 1689. It was aboard this ship that Culliford met the man who would go on to become an infamous pirate, William Kidd.
Now, as an aside you may be wondering what the difference is between a Pirate, and a Privateer. The difference between the two is that a Pirate loots and plunders for their own gain, independent of any crown or sovereign. A Privateer is more or less a Pirate that is being paid and commissioned by a government to disrupt the maritime affairs of a rival foreign power. This is important because as Culliford and Kidd served under the French Privateer, the War of the Grand Alliance broke out. Also known as the 9 Years War, this saw Britain, Spain, Savoy, Sweden, the Holy Roman Empire and the Dutch Republic go to war with King Louis the XIV of France. As Englishmen aboard a French Privateer vessel Culliford, Kidd and their English cremates mutinied and took control of the ship with Kidd as the Captain and renaming it the Blessed William.
A few months later though Robert Culliford led his own mutiny against Kidd and they then instead installed William Mason as Captain. Culliford’s loyalty to Kidd obviously didn’t last very long for some reason. Under Masons captaincy Culliford sailed around the Caribbean, sacking ships as they went and was even tasked and commissioned by the Governor of New York to lay waste to two French Canadian towns.
This initial success however was halted when Culliford and his fellow Pirates sailed to India. They landed at Mangrol, a small port on the Western Coast of India, in 1692 and began robbing and terrorising the local population. Culliford and 17 of his shipmates were swiftly arrested and they spent the next four years in a Gujarati Prison until Culliford and some of his comrades would escape in 1696, commandeer an English East India Trading Company vessel and return to Piracy.
Now back at sea Culliford plundered and attacked any ships he could find, including some British vessels. After his mast was destroyed in a sea battle Robert Culliford retreated back to St. Mary’s Island where he plundered a French vessel, it was here that he came across an old nemesis.
William Kidd, the Captain that Culliford had mutinied against years before, had been hunting Pirates when he found Culliford at St Mary’s Island. He began plotting to capture Culliford’s ship but while he was planning William Kidd’s crew abandoned him and join up with Robert Culliford instead. Kidd’s ship was ransacked and Culliford and his new crew set sail leaving Kidd behind to fend for himself.
After leaving Kidd behind Culliford joined forces with fellow Pirates Dirk Chivers and Joseph Wheeler to capture a ship called The Great Mohammed in the Red Sea. The ship was carrying £130,000 in currency which in todays money would convert to approximately £11.3 Million making it one of the largest plunders ever recorded for Culliford.
Understandable Culliford then returned to Ile Sainte Marie near Madagascar and was living peacefully here until four British Warships arrived. The British troops offered the Pirates living on the island a Royal pardon, its not said what their other option was but one can assume it was either take the pardon or die. Regardless Culliford accepted the pardon but was arrested anyway. He was tried for Piracy and was to be hanged for plundering the Great Mohammed but was saved as he was needed in the trial of Captain Samuel Burgess, an old crewman of William Kidd.
After this Robert Culliford disappears from records, no one really knows if he was then thrown back into prison to live out the rest of his days or if he managed to achieve freedom and retire to the islands of Madagascar to live a humble life.
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