Author:Â Craig S. Chapman.
Hardback (6.3×9.3 inches). 256 pages. 2025.
Subtitle:Â The Life, Death and Subsequent Career of the Notorious George Lowther
This biography is a generally fast and sweet read about a British Royal Navy sailor who signs up on a ship that’s part of an expedition to reassert British hegemony over Gambia in Africa.
Alas, the expedition is under the aegis of the Royal African Company, sort of like a poor relative of the East India Company. Led by a corrupt RN commander and even worse local RAC officials, the expedition suffers starvation and disease until George Lowther schemes with an Army captain to seize the warship, defang the fort, and sail away to begin new careers as pirates.
It’s all delightfully told, not only the sea-going escapades of Lowther and company, but overall pirate life in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico in the early 1700s. Forget Hollywood. Forget the Pirates computer game. Most captures were simple affairs of shot across the bow and surrender. Every once in a while, some outgunned merchant ship put up a fight, but not for long. Far more dangerous for the pirates were the rare warships which patrolled the seas.
Nice to know that Lowther once may have considered heading into Lockwood’s Folly (North Carolina) as a safe harbor (p120).
Lowther comes across as a relatively humane pirate, as opposed to his fellow pirate Captain Low, who cuts a murderous swath through the region, especially against ships out of New England.
Lowther even manages to survive, marry, and remain alive in obscurity. He eventually aids the British during a war with Spain and receives a pardon.
He becomes a Royal Navy lieutenant aboard the British flagship. That’s all the more amazing since most pirates ended up dancing on air at the end of a rope.
The book contains 20 black and white illustrations, five color illustrations, nine black and white maps, and five color photos.
What an interesting book.
Enjoyed it.
–Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
