Researchers argue that the pirate's craft was sometimes profitable, but they did not make fortunes with it. Meanwhile, myths about pirate treasures excite seekers even today. And one of the reasons supporting interest in the topic is the fate of Henry Avery - the most successful corsair in the history of mankind. Although not much is known about this man. Only that he was born in 1659 near Plymouth. And he'd been dreaming of the sea since he was a boy. Doesn't seem like much for a legend.

We almost certainly know that Henry Avery, nicknamed “Archipirate” and “Longshanks Ben”, was real. For the simple reason that the whole world was after him, but that was at the height of his career. And until then, in the family of the captain grew a boy who dreamed of distant travels. And the dream was stronger than common sense.

Henry ran away from home and enlisted as a young man on a ship of the West India Trading Company. Apparently, he served well, because in 1694 he got the place of assistant captain on a 30-gun frigate, which was immediately equipped as a corsair, focused on the French. True, there was a difficulty. England then acted in concert with Spain, and therefore the ship was required, arriving in the zone of activity, to secure the permission of the Spanish. And Madrid delayed this matter. The shareholders of the scheme from London did not try to normalize the situation. So the corsairs for a long time remained without prizes and wages - investors were not going to invest additional money.

At that time it was normal practice to pay the sailors every six months. But the crew of the brig had not seen any money for 8 months. In addition, the captain forbade the crew to go ashore, and he himself fell into drunkenness. As a result, the expected thing happened - a mutiny.

The drunken captain was simply locked in his cabin and the brig was taken out to the open sea. After 15 miles from the shore, the captain was offered a choice: to become a pirate leader or to get to land in a skiff. The captain chose the latter, and some of the officers went with him. According to the laws of the time, a rebellious crew became social outcasts, so the sailors of the brig, which changed its name to “Fancy” (an extremely polysemantic word), had no choice but to go out and rob everyone and everything. They did so, electing Henry Avery as their new captain.

We decided to go to the Indian Ocean. The area of the busy Arab and Hindu pilgrimage routes. But on the way they captured three English merchants. And then they added a couple of Dutch pirates to their prizes - Avery's boys did not like foreign competitors. But when they met Thomas Tew, they decided to act together. He had just accumulated 100 thousand pounds and decided to retire. And he was going with Avery as a farewell tour.

The brig Avery was cleaned of barnacles and all deck superstructures were removed before the voyage. The brig Avery was cleaned of barnacles before the campaign and all deck superstructures were torn down. There were six ships in the joint flotilla, but one of them was soon burned - too slow. The crew moved to Avery. Later they lost another one, lost in the night. So the four of us arrived at the target square.

And almost immediately, the pirates get lucky. They came across a fleet of two dozen and a half ships. It was a fleet carrying pilgrims and treasure. And on board one of the ships was either the daughter or niece of one of the Mughals.

The battle was short-lived. First, the pirates capture the second largest ship of the flotilla (September 6, 1695). And then the flagship - “Gang-i-Savai” (September 7, 1695). On which were the main treasures. The pirates got a booty of 9 million rupees. Or over 64 tons of silver, or 600,000 pounds at the time. In order to understand the scale of pirate profits, we inform you that the annual budget of the whole Britain at that time was 4 million pounds.

Interestingly, the Ganges-i-Savai was well armed - 62 guns. And there were a thousand guards with muskets on board. But during the prelude, when the opponents were exchanging volleys, several guns burst on the Indian. Which resulted in the death of several soldiers and demoralized the crew. Therefore, after getting closer (the sides of the ships were on the same level), 113 pirates led by Henry Avery boarded the Indian, losing only 20 men killed.

Tew was killed in the battle with the merchants, and Avery loaded all the booty onto his ship. He fled quietly at night to get rid of the extra payoffs. Eventually, the abandoned pirates took their frustrations out on the captured ships and went on a rampage. And Avery's boys got a huge bounty. A thousand pounds in coin alone for each privateer. And the gems were said to have been shared with spoons.

The Great Mogul did not like this and demanded the pirate's head from the British Crown. They agreed. And a worldwide manhunt for Avery began. So the pirates agreed to retire. Now they each had a good amount of capital. So as not to anger the rulers, they decided to go to the New World. Except that all the coins from the Indian flagship were Indian or Yemeni minted. And anyone who had too many of them was immediately under suspicion.

Nearly two dozen of Henry Avery's associates were caught in America. But they could not know where their former leader had gone. Those who settled in Pennsylvania were not found at all, thanks to a corrupt governor, with whom they managed to make a deal (for a hundred pounds, as it were). The former ship's doctor bought a farm and made a good living as a planter, about the others nothing is known at all. And Avery himself, according to rumors, got to England and tried to settle in Devon. He tried to settle in Devon to make a rich man's life, but the plan failed.

It is not clear where and how Avery squandered the cash part of his prize, but there is evidence that he tried to sell the gems. But a Jewish merchant, who promised a good price for goods of dubious origin, took the stones, and instead of money threatened the owner with denunciation. And he preferred to stay without the goods rather than go to the gallows. So the most successful pirate died in poverty somewhere around 1714. But it's not certain - only rumors.