Thomas Tew

By Crusader1307

Thomas Tew was born in England in 1640. When young, he and his family emigrated to the New England Colony (America). It was said that he was married with two children and was well off enough to have enjoyed the Colonial social life of New York at the time. Exactly how (or why he needed) to go into Piracy is unclear. He showed up in The Caribbean around 1692 and received a Letter of Marque from the Governor of Bermuda to serve as a Privateer (against Spanish and French interests). His ship The “Amity” was small (a 6 gun Sloop), but served to capture several French ships immediately. Seeing the lucrative nature of his work, Tew sent word back to the Governor that he intended to become “free lance”. A bounty was put on his head. Earning around $10,000 (USD) during his first “cruise”, in 1694 Tews decided to retire. It didn't last long. In 1696, Tew “brought” a Letter of Marque from a fellow Pirate Captain. With this pretense, Tew recruited a 50 man crew and took a ship. He sent about raiding Arabian shipping in The Indian Ocean. Encountering the Arabian ship “Fateh Muhammed” (which would one day fall to another Pirate Captain) – his ship was wrecked, with Tew being cut in half by a cannonball. Tew's claim to Pirate History is that he was one of the founders of the mythical Pirate Nation of Libertalia.