Edward England

Edward England, born Edward Seegar in Ireland, was a famous African coast and Indian Ocean pirate from 1717 to 1720. The ships he sailed on included the "Pearl" (which he renamed "The Royal James") and later the "Fancy", for which England exchanged the "Pearl" in 1720. His flag was the classic Jolly Roger with a skull above two crossed thigh bones on a black background.

He differed from many other pirates of his day in that he did not kill captives unless it was absolutely necessary. However, this ultimately led to his downfall, for his crew mutinied against him when he refused to kill sailors from the "Cassandra", an English trading ship, captained by James Macrae. He was subsequently marooned on Mauritius with two other crew members, where they fashioned a small raft and made it to St. Augustine's Bay in Madagascar. England survived for a short while by begging for food and died around the end of 1720. Fact|date=August 2007

External links

* [http://tinpan.fortunecity.com/lennon/897/flags.html Pirate flags]
* [http://www.vleonica.com/england.htm Edward England section on V'lé Onica's "Pirate Cove" website]
* [http://thewayofthepirates.com/famous-pirates/edward-england.php Merciful Pirate, Edward England]