John Stout

On possible shipwrecks: Ships may have been lost at sea in 1699, but records of such wrecks are difficult to find. There are a few ships that were lost at sea in 1700:

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1. In 1699 the Henrietta Marie sailed from England on the first leg of the triangular trade route with a load of trade goods, including iron and copper bars, pewter utensils, glass beads, cloth and brandy. The ship sailed under license from the Royal African Company (which held a monopoly on English trade with Africa), in exchange for ten percent of the profits of the voyage. It is known to have traded for African captives at New Calabar on the Guinea Coast. The ship then sailed on the second leg of its voyage, from Africa to the West Indies, and in May 1700 landed 191 Africans for sale in Port Royal, Jamaica. The Henrietta Marie then loaded a cargo of sugar, cotton, dyewoods and ginger to take back to England on the third leg of the triangular route. After leaving Port Royal the ship headed for the Yucatán Channel to pass around the western end of Cuba (thus avoiding the pirates infesting the passage between Cuba and Hispaniola) and catch the Gulf Stream, the preferred route for all ships leaving the Caribbean to return to Europe. The Henrietta Marie wrecked on New Ground Reef near the Marquesas Keys, approximately 35 miles west of Key West. There were no survivors, and the fate of the ship remained unknown for almost four centuries.

References:

Cottman, Michael H. (2001) "The Slave Ship Henrietta Marie". In Brian Lamb, ed. Booknotes: Stories from American History. Public Affairs. ISBN 1-58648-083-9. Pp. 46-48. Found at:

• http://books.google.com/books?id=sNlTQrTmrIQC&pg=PA46&lpg=PA46&dq=%...

Konstam, Angus. (1999) The History of Shipwrecks. The Lyons Press. ISBN 978-1-58574-620-0. Pp. 140-141. Found at:

• http://books.google.com/books?id=qKEdrqnExSkC&printsec=frontcover&d...

Malcom, Corey. (Merchant ship) "The Henrietta Marie an English merchant slave ship"

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2, 3, or 4.

Residents of Lewes were said to have even bartered with the notorious buccaneer William Kidd in 1699, only a year after pirates had raided the town. Also in 1699, when Captain John James, commander of the pirate ship Providence Frigate, arrived at the entrance of Chesapeake bay, it was not to trade, but with the specific intention of capturing the Royal Navy guardship Essex Prize. He very nearly accomplished his objective. In 1700, a pirate fleet under the direction of French freebooter Lewis Guittar, in the 20-gun ship Le Paix, came to off the Virginia capes and captured and sank the sloop George, the ship Pennsylvania Merchant, and an unidentified vessel near Cape Henry before being defeated in bloody battle by HMS Shoreham, Captain John Passenger commanding.

From Shipwrecks, sea raiders, and maritime disasters along the Delmarva Coast, Pp 16-17:

• http://books.google.com/books?id=ttn82hcr6nUC&pg=PA16&lpg=PA16&dq=S...