Woodes Rogers

The next in line of our characters to meet from the script of Pirate Queens is man that was governor of the Bahamas at the time of Anne and Mary's tale, Woodes Rogers.

No one looked less like what he was -- a genuine hero -- than Woodes Rogers

Tall, a little paunchy, with soft auburn hair and almost a perpetual look of tranquility about him, his portrait shows a cherubic-like face and a cordial but unsmiling face.

He was also a most effective leader of men.  This was so not only because of his innate qualities but also because he had learned the secret of command: to give only the most necessary orders, to give them as if it were the most natural thing in the world to carry out, and never to demand that men act against their own convictions, no matter how shallow or false those convictions might be.

In 1708 Rogers, already a veteran sea captain at twenty-nine, readily agreed to lead a privateering expedition that was funded by a syndicate of Bristol merchants.  While on that expedition the two ships under his command -- the Duke and Duchess -- engaged in battle with a pirate galleon.  During the battle, Rogers had been badly wounded.  A pistol ball had lodged in his upper jaw, shattering the bone and most of his teeth.  Although in agony, he maintained an amazing calm.  For a moment they broke from the galleon and he called together his officers -- one of whom was William Dampier -- to discuss whether or not to press the attack.  He had advised against continuing the assault of the larger, and more heavily armed ship.  However, since most of his officers were comprised of gentlemen from Bristol, he and William were outvoted and he was ordered to pursue the pirate vessel.

They soon found her and for more than seven hours the English ships engaged in battle with the galleon.  During the battle Duchess was badly mauled, her rigging and masts severely damaged, and twenty of her men were killed.  Duke suffered fourteen men wounded, among them Captain Rogers, who was again hit, this time by shrapnel that tore away part of his left heel.  Unable to shout commands because of the wound to his jaw, and unable to stand because of his torn-up heel, Rogers nevertheless continued to conduct the battle.  Seated, with his foot propped up on a cushion, Rogers used hand signals to give his orders.

Statue of Woodes Rogers outside the Hilton British Colonial Hotel, Nassau

Rogers and his men were victorious in battle, but days after the encounter Rogers suffered a high fever and his jaw and throat were so swollen from his wound that he could barely whisper.  He was so weak that he was unable to stand up.  Yet he endured his agony with amazing humor and courage.  Three days later Rogers managed to cough up slivers of his jaw-bone that had been lodged in his throat since he had received his wound.  From that point on his condition improved rapidly.

In 1718 Woodes Rogers was appointed the governor of the Bahamas.  It was charged to him to put an end to the "Republic of Rebels" and restore English order to the Caribbean.  Under his watch, the pirate threat was reduced almost immediately as his reputation alone made most either flee for Madagascar or, in the case of Captain Ben Hornigold, took an offered pardon and became part of Rogers' militia, turning those that were pirates into pirate hunters themselves.  His rule over the Bahamas saw the end of the most notorious pirates such as Charles Vane and the most famous, Blackbeard himself.

At the time of Pirate Queens, the likes of Vane and Teach have already been dealt with.  Vane was displaced with no small thanks to Calico Jack.  In fact when we meet both Jack and Woodes, it is in the Governor's mansion and Jack is weighing the option of accepting a pardon from Woodes, much as Hornigold did.  It is no small coincidence this is also where Jack and Anne meet.  There is a grudging friendship between the two men, that makes Woodes' assignment all the more bitter in the end.

The story of Anne and Mary, and to a lesser extent, Jack, is one that should be told.  Pirate Queens is an original play in three acts that entertained audiences at seated readings and now needs to be put on stage.  And we can do it with your help!

Please click on the link above and visit our GoFundMe page to see how you can help and how we will gladly reciprocate your generosity!  Also, visit the links below to learn more about this original work, Pirate Queens!