A marine archaeologist and a British wreck hunter lift the veil on the best-kept mystery in the history of piracy, that of one of the most famous English pirates: Henry Avery.
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In the 17th century he was nicknamed the king of pirates: Henry Avery, born an orphan, who was said to have chosen the path of piracy out of revenge when a governor had stolen his inheritance. In 1695, with 160 men in his service, Henry Avery carried out the most lucrative heist in the history of pirates, that of the ship of the richest man in the world, the Mughal emperor of India Aurangzeb and found himself at the head of a colossal treasure. He then becomes the most wanted criminal of his time, dead or alive. But it disappears forever, or almost.
Because, in a book published Tuesday April 2, entitled The Pirate King: The Strange Adventures of Henry Avery, Sean Kingsley, marine archaeologist, and Rex Cowan, a wreck hunter, lift the veil on the best-kept mystery in the history of piracy. As told by GuardianHenry Avery is undoubtedly the pirate “to whom the most books, poems and plays have been dedicated”. But the secret of his disappearance lay in a coded letter, signed “Avery the Pirate”, dated 1700, four years after his disappearance. This letter links Avery to one of the first major spy networks, which allegedly included Daniel Defoe, the author of Robinson Crusoe, and Thomas Tenison, the Archbishop of Canterbury.
The pirate who became a spy in the service of the king
This letter had remained forgotten, misclassified in archives in Scotland, but its authenticity leaves little doubt. We discover that Henry Avery, who was sometimes said to have died penniless in Devon, sometimes fled to Madagascar, had in reality entered the service of King William III of England, as a spy, after having exchanged a part of his spoils in exchange for a royal pardon. Which shows, as Céline wrote, that “everything that is interesting definitely happens in the shadows” and that we often have to wait a very long time before knowing the true history of men.