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Red Heart Black Background Biography

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Francis Spriggs (roughly 1690-1725) was an English pirate captain who raided shipping in the Caribbean from 1723-1725. Before becoming captain of his own ship, Spriggs fought under George Lowther and Edward Low. He and his crew were known to be sadistic and capricious, more than usual for a pirate crew. His final fate is unknown.
Spriggs under Lowther and Low:

Nothing is known about Spriggs before he became a pirate. He was evidently an able seaman and pirate, because he rose in the ranks under both captains, serving as quartermaster under Low. Lowther and Low worked together for a while before amicably going their own separate ways in May of 1722: evidently Spriggs had originally been part of Lowther’s crew but decided to leave with Low. He served under the ruthless Low until late 1723. By then, Low had given Spriggs command of a 12-gun ship named Delight. It seems that one pirate had murdered another aboard the Delight, and Low and Spriggs fell out over how to discipline the murderer. Spriggs decided it was time to set out on his own and the Delight slipped off silently on Christmas night, 1723.
Captain Spriggs:

Following pirate tradition, a vote was taken for captain. Simply because Spriggs had previously been captain (and it was his idea to take off) did not mean he would serve as captain of the Delight once it went pirate. The crew elected him and they raised their pirate flag: it was the same one used by Low and consisted of a white skeleton jabbing a spear at a red heart with one hand and making a toast in the other on a black background. The crew fired their guns in salute and off they went.
Plunder and Torture:

For all of 1724, Spriggs and his men were the scourge of the Caribbean. They plundered ships from Honduras to Jamaica and Florida and everywhere in between, taking dozens of ships. They often tortured sailors they didn’t like. The crewmen of a Portuguese ship were made to run in a circle around the mast while the pirates poked at them with knives, forks and other sharp instruments. Later, they were set adrift in a small boat as their ship was burned. Crewmen on another ship were hoisted high in the rigging and then dropped onto the deck repeatedly “enough to break all the Bones in their Skins” (Defoe 356). On another occasion, the captain of a captured ship was forced to eat a plate of candles.
Points for Creativity:

Spriggs and his men had some memorable moments on board. Once, they captured a ship out of Rhode Island laden with supplies and horses. They stole the goods but took the horses out of the hold and rode them all around the deck, eventually punishing the crew for not thinking to bring spurs and boots. A couple months later, Spriggs plundered a slave ship but did not know what to do with the 25 slaves on board. Shortly thereafter, he captured another ship and, in need of more pirates, took all of the crew members, leaving only the captain behind but giving him the slaves to somehow teach to operate the ship.
A Long Memory:

Spriggs was a vengeful pirate. He spent much of 1724 searching for the Eagle, a ship commanded by Captain Walter Moore, who had been responsible for the capture of Spriggs’ former master, George Lowther. He also kept an eye open for Captain Peter Solgard who had been captain of the warship Greyhound when it had captured Charles Harris and his men. Spriggs had been on board the Fancy at the time, commanded by Low, and they had run, leaving Harris and his men to their fate. Spriggs never met either captain, which is just as well for them, as he no doubt had some sort of gruesome revenge in mind.
Legacy of Francis Spriggs:

Spriggs disappears from the historical record in 1725: he may have retired or been captured and executed by a nation that did not keep very good records. Perhaps his ship went down in some remote spot with the loss of all hands.

During his time as a pirate captain, Spriggs was very successful and greatly feared by his potential victims. He terrorized commercial ships in the Caribbean and off the coast of Central America and took dozens of prizes. His ruthlessness and violence helped inspire England to crack down on piracy.

Spriggs is one of the names that only pirate historians know today, however. Perhaps that is because there was little in his life to romanticize. He was not as fearsome as Edward "Blackbeard" Teach, as successful as "Black Bart" Roberts or as brazenly unrepentant as Charles Vane. He was simply a sadistic thug who learned well from his masters Lowther and Low and lived long enough to put his skills to use.

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