Battle of Cape Lopez facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Battle of Cape Lopez |
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| Part of the Golden Age of Piracy | |||||||
 An illustration of the battle by Charles Dixon |
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Great Britain |
 Pirates |
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| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
 Chaloner Ogle |
Bartholomew Roberts † |
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| Strength | |||||||
| 1 ship of the line | 1 frigate 1 brig |
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| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| None | 3 killed 272 captured 1 frigate captured |
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The Battle of Cape Lopez was a big fight that happened in early 1722. It was during a time called the Golden Age of Piracy. A ship from the Royal Navy, led by Captain Chaloner Ogle, fought against the famous pirate Bartholomew Roberts. The battle took place near Gabon, in West Africa. Captain Ogle's ship won.
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The Pirate Black Bart
Roberts was a very successful pirate. He captured over 400 ships. These ranged from small fishing boats to large warships. In April 1721, Roberts, also known as "Black Bart," was sailing near Martinique. He captured a large French warship. The governor of the French colony was on board. Roberts executed him.
This act made the French and Royal Navies very angry. They sent warships to hunt down the pirates. Roberts and his men captured two more French warships. These were the Comte de Toulouse and a smaller brig. Roberts renamed them the Ranger and Little Ranger. After this, the pirates sailed southeast towards what is now Gabon.
The Hunt for Pirates
On their way, near the Pepper Coast, Roberts captured another ship. It was a frigate called Onslow. He renamed it the Royal Fortune. This ship had over forty guns and about 250 crew members. But Roberts' good luck was about to change. Two Royal Navy warships began patrolling the waters of West Africa.
Roberts anchored his ships at Cape Lopez to clean and repair them. This process is called careen. The Royal Navy ships were HMS Swallow and HMS Weymouth. Both were large ships with fifty guns or more. Only the Swallow, led by Captain Chaloner Ogle, found Black Bart.
When Captain Ogle sailed around the cape, he saw four ships. Three were pirate ships, and one was a merchant ship. The merchant ship, named Neptune, was trading illegally with the pirates. Ogle saw a sandbar and quickly turned his ship away. He also raised a Portuguese flag to trick the pirates.
The pirates spotted the Swallow. Roberts thought it was a fleeing merchant ship. He allowed Captain James Skyrme in the Ranger to chase it. Captain Ogle let the pirate ship chase him for several hours. They went far away from the cape and out of sight of land.
Then, Ogle turned his ship around. He raised the White Ensign, which was the British flag. He then attacked Captain Skyrme. Skyrme still did not realize the Swallow was a Royal Navy warship. After a short fight, the Ranger was captured. Ten pirates were killed. Ogle then sailed back to Cape Lopez. He arrived five days later, on February 10, 1722.
The Battle Begins
Black Bart Roberts was eating breakfast on the Royal Fortune. One of his crew shouted that the Ranger was returning. But then they saw it was not their ship. It was the Swallow. A pirate named Armstrong, who had once been on the Swallow's sister ship, recognized the Royal Navy frigate. He told Captain Roberts.
Roberts was not afraid. He went to the Royal Fortune. As he did before all his battles, he dressed in his best clothes. He wore a red waistcoat and a red feather in his hat. He began to plan his escape. Most of the crew from the Little Ranger were told to join the Royal Fortune. This was to have as many pirates as possible on the main ship for defense. The Little Ranger was being cleaned and was left behind.
Roberts' plan was to sail directly past the Swallow. Then he would escape. If the Swallow had to turn around to chase him, it would give Roberts time to get away. But this plan had a problem. By sailing right past the Royal Navy ship, the Royal Fortune would be hit by one of the Swallow's powerful broadsides. A broadside is when all the guns on one side of a ship fire at once.
The Final Fight
Captain Roberts began his escape. He told the Little Ranger and the merchant ship to leave. The battle that followed went badly for the pirates. When the Royal Fortune was next to the Swallow, the British ship fired a huge broadside. It hit the pirate ship hard. The pirates fired back. Then another broadside from the Swallow hit the deck where Black Bart was standing.
The pirates tried to get away. They sailed ahead of the wind, leaving the Swallow behind. A strong tropical storm was happening. Just as the Royal Fortune seemed to have escaped, the ship entered the calm center of the storm. They were stuck for half an hour. This gave the Swallow time to catch up.
When they were close enough, the Swallow fired its swivel guns. These were small guns on the front of the ship that fired grapeshot. Grapeshot is like many small cannonballs. Three men died, and one of them was Bartholomew Roberts. A small piece of shot hit him in the throat. He died instantly. His crew buried him at sea, dressed in his fine clothes. He even had a diamond cross around his neck.
The pirates wanted to get revenge for their captain. They slowed their ship and turned around to keep fighting. The battle lasted about three hours. The cannon fire from the Swallow broke the pirate ship's masts. This allowed the British sailors to board the pirate ship. The Royal Fortune's flags were taken down by force. The remaining pirates were arrested.
What Happened Next
Bartholomew Roberts was killed at the very start of the battle. Many men were killed or hurt on both sides. A total of 272 pirates were captured. Many of them were wounded and died on their way to prison. Fifty-four pirates were hanged for their crimes. Thirty-seven were punished less severely.
Of the captured pirates, 65 were former African slaves. Roberts had freed them. They were returned to their former lives as slaves. Seventeen pirates went to prison in London. Twenty became servants for a trading company. Many pirates escaped punishment because they had been forced to join Roberts' crew.
Captain Chaloner Ogle gained a lot from this battle. He was made a knight and later became an admiral. He also took gold dust from the captured pirate ships. After defeating Roberts, Captain Ogle wanted to go back for the Little Ranger, which also had gold. But it and the merchant ship escaped. It is said that Captain Hill got most of the remaining gold.
With the death of "Black Bart," piracy in the Atlantic Ocean greatly decreased. The Golden Age of Piracy ended around 1730.
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