What Comes Around Goes Around
More than a few pirates suffered as a result of bad karma. Early in his career, Scottish pirate Andrew Robertson once flogged a Spanish officer. Years later, Robertson was tossed overboard by a crew with whom he had fought. In an act of pure destiny, a Spanish ship rescued him from certain death — that is, until he was recognized by the ship's captain as the man who had once tortured him. With turnaround being fair play, Robertson was summarily flogged by his previous captive.
The same karmic payback was bestowed upon Englishman Walter Kennedy, a pirate who crewed with notorious rogues Black Bart and Howell Davis. After a plunderous career, Kennedy escaped to England to become a proud brothel owner. In this case, luck was no lady, as a member of his wenchery had him arrested for robbery and eventually piracy, for which he was hanged in 1721.
Ruthless murderer and pirate Joseph Thwaites received equal payback. Thwaites spent the 1760s robbing everyone and making enough to support both his English family and a trio of Armenian wives. He retired from piracy long enough to live in a newly built mansion, but ironically succumbed to the bite of a rattlesnake. Kennedy's demise was atypical for a pirate. Most were generally hanged, an execution that knew no sexual boundaries. What many individuals realize is that more than a few female pirates joined their contemporaries both during their wild adventures and at the gallows.
