Robert Glover (pirate) facts for kids

Robert Glover was an Irish-American pirate. He sailed the seas in the late 1690s. His adventures took him to places like the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

Robert Glover's Pirate Adventures

Robert Glover was from Ireland. Around 1693, he got a ship called the Resolution ready in Rhode Island. This ship was quite big, about 200 tons, and had 18 guns and 60 crew members. Glover then went to New York. He wanted to get a special paper called a privateering commission from Governor Benjamin Fletcher. This paper would let him attack enemy ships legally, but sometimes these papers were given to real pirates.

Later, Glover met up with other pirates. A pirate named Joseph Faro had his ship, the Portsmouth Adventure, crash on an island called Mayotte. Faro and some of his crew were saved by Henry Every. But other crew members, including Dirk Chivers, were left behind. In 1695, Robert Glover's ship, the Resolution, picked up Chivers and the rest of the stranded crew.

With about 110 men now, Glover sailed to the Red Sea. He was looking for ships from the Mughal Empire, which were often rich. They missed the big Indian trading ships. So, they sailed to the west coast of India. Near a place called Rajapur, they captured a smaller ship from Muscat that had 12 guns.

After this, Glover started having arguments with his officers and crew. They had only captured one small ship. Because of this, Dirk Chivers led a mutiny, which means the crew took control of the ship. Glover and 24 of his supporters were put on the small, old Muscat ship. This ship was in bad shape. They sailed to a pirate-friendly place near Île Sainte-Marie in Madagascar. This place was run by a man named Adam Baldridge. Glover and his supporters stayed there until late 1697 or early 1698.

Meanwhile, Chivers and the Resolution joined up with another pirate, John Hoar. They captured more ships. Eventually, they also sailed to Madagascar to fix their ship. There, they found an old ship called the Amity. This ship used to belong to the famous pirate Thomas Tew. At the time, it was commanded by Richard Glover, who was not related to Robert. Chivers and his crew took supplies from the Amity to fix their own ship, the Resolution.

Robert Glover offered to forgive his old crew if they would let him be their captain again and sail back to the Americas. But Chivers and the crew had a different idea. They said they would take Glover back if he stayed in the Red Sea area and continued being a pirate. Robert Glover refused their offer. So, Chivers and the Resolution sailed away without him.

Less than a year later, the local people near Baldridge's trading post revolted. They attacked and destroyed the settlement. Many pirate captains and their crews were killed in the fighting. This included Robert Glover and Joseph Faro. Even though Baldridge said the uprising happened around July 1697, Robert Glover's will was dated September 1697. In his will, he left "all my silver and gold, coyned and in dust" to his three sons on Jamaica and Antigua. His will was officially approved in 1700.

See also

• John Ireland, another captain of the Amity.