Review | A real life Jack Sparrow: famous pirate Henry Every, who sparked history’s first global manhunt
- Every, captain of the English pirate ship the Fancy, pulled off one of history’s richest heists when he captured an emperor’s treasure vessel in 1695
- The story is told with swashbuckling aplomb in a new book that will fascinate readers whether they love history or not
Enemy of All Mankind: A True Story of Piracy, Power, and History’s First Global Manhunt, by Steven Johnson. Published by Riverhead. 4/5 stars
On September 7, 1695, just off the city of Surat in the Indian state of Gujarat, an English pirate ship captured the Fath Mahmamadi, a vessel owned by an Indian trader who, according to a contemporary source, did as much trade alone as England’s colossal East India Company did all together at the time.
The pirates had been waiting for it at the Bab-el-Mandeb strait between Arabia and the Horn of Africa, but the Fath Mahmamadi had slipped by them in the dark of night. The pirates, whose ship the Fancy was one of the fastest afloat, beat the Indian vessel back to its home port and laid in wait again. The Fath Mahmamadi surrendered after a single broadside, yielding more gold and silver than the pirates had ever seen in one place.
Just a few days later, a bigger prize came into view: the Ganj-i-Sawai, a treasure ship of the great Mughal emperor Aurangzeb himself, returning from pilgrimage to Mecca. The Fancy should have been no match for the Gunsway, as it was dubbed in English, but one of its cannons exploded and a lucky shot from the Fancy felled its main mast. The pirates boarded and found gold, silver, jewels and other treasure beyond measure.
The heist, one of the richest before or since, soon became legend, inspiring ballads, plays and novels. It also led to the first worldwide manhunt in recorded history: for the pirates’ captain, a man called Henry Every.
Steven Johnson tells the story with swashbuckling aplomb in Enemy of All Mankind: a True Story of Piracy, Power and History’s First Global Manhunt.
