John Phillips (pirate)

John Phillips
John Phillips forces a captive to drink alcohol. Engraving from The Pirates' Own Book.
Born	Bristol, England
Died	April 18, 1724 Off Nova Scotia
Piratical career
Type	Pirate
Allegiance	None
Years active	April 19, 1721 - April 1722 August 29, 1723 - April 18, 1724
Rank	Captain
Base of operations	Atlantic Ocean, along east coast of North America, and Caribbean Sea

April 19, 1721 - April 1722

John Phillips (died April 18, 1724) was an English pirate captain. He started his piratical career in 1721 under Thomas Anstis, and stole his own pirate vessel in 1723. He died in a surprise attack by his own prisoners. He is noted for the articles of his ship, the Revenge, one of only four complete sets of pirate articles to survive from the so-called Golden Age of Piracy.

Phillips was a ship's carpenter by trade. While voyaging from England to Newfoundland, his ship was captured on April 19, 1721 by Thomas Anstis's pirates. Phillips was forced to join the pirates, as skilled artisans often were. Phillips "was soon reconciled to the life of a Pirate," and served Anstis as carpenter for a year.

In April, 1722, Anstis sent Phillips and some other men ashore on Tobago to careen a captured frigate. A British warship soon arrived, forcing Anstis to flee and abandon Phillips and his comrades. Phillips avoided capture by hiding in the woods, and later returned to Bristol in England with other abandoned shipmates, where they gave up piracy for a time.

Some of Phillips' pirate comrades were arrested and imprisoned shortly after their arrival in Bristol, prompting Phillips to take ship again for Newfoundland. There, he conspired to steal a ship and return to piracy. On August 29, 1723, with only four companions, Phillips seized a schooner belonging to William Minott from Petty Harbour, renamed her Revenge, and embarked on a new piratical voyage. Phillips' crewmen were John Nutt (sailing master), James Sparks (gunner), Thomas Fern (carpenter), and William White (tailor and private crewman). They agreed promptly to a set of articles. Significantly, Phillips' articles forbade rape under penalty of death; Anstis's crew had committed a notorious gang rape and murder while Phillips was serving with them.

Phillips set sail for the West Indies, capturing several fishing vessels on the way. Aboard one of these prizes was John Rose Archer, reputed to be a former crewman of Blackbeard; Archer joined Phillips and was elected quartermaster. On September 5, Phillips captured John Fillmore, great-grandfather of later U.S. president Millard Fillmore, aboard the sloop Dolphin, and forced him into service at White's suggestion. This increased the Revenge's total crew to 11. Proceeding to the Caribbean, Phillips and his men hunted for merchantmen near Barbados. They made no captures for three months, and ran severely short of food and supplies, before finally taking some French and English vessels. They went on to Tobago, where Phillips searched for some of his abandoned comrades from Anstis's crew, but found only one survivor, a black man named Pedro. Phillips careened the Revenge and took Pedro aboard.