Historian gives talk about pirate Capt. Henry Every

LINCOLN – At 2 p.m. on Sunday, February 13th, Historian Jim Bailey will offer a presentation on the voyage and great escape of Pirate Captain Henry Every, at the Blackstone Valley Historical Society, North Gate – 1873 Old Louisquisset Pike.

An avid detectorist for over 35 years, Bailey’s recovery of a late 17th century Arabian coin in Middletown, led to years of research that ultimately connected the coin to plunder taken by Every and his men of the pirate ship Fancy. Publication of his work in a research journal of the American Numismatic Society in 2017 shed new light on the first worldwide manhunt in history for one of the most notorious criminals of the 17tth century. Henry Every captured one of the richest ships in the history of piracy – a large Mughal

vessel off the coast of India in 1695. He later returned to England and vanished from the pages of history, eventually earning titles befitting his infamy – The Pirate King, The Successful Pirate, and The Arch-Pirate. Bailey’s research into the recovery of his coin and other 17th century Arabian coins in southern New England was covered by the Associated Press in April of 2021 and made worldwide headlines as an opening of the world’s oldest cold case. From the recovery of an obscure silver coin no bigger than a thumbnail, a secret from well over three centuries ago was finally revealed: Before returning to England, Every traveled to the American Colonies in the guise of a slave trader and spent time hiding out in Newport, RI. When he sailed for England, he left behind nearly 40 of his men seeking new lives of comfortable obscurity in the American Colonies.

Jim Bailey is a lifelong Rhode Islander from Warwick.

His discoveries into the unknown history of Henry Every’s infamous pirating career is under development for possible book and documentary film projects.

North Gate Toll House, located at 1873 Old Louisquisset Pike (Route 246), Lincoln, RI, is the headquarters of the Blackstone Valley Historical Society, which is dedicated to the history and antiquities of the Northern Rhode Island communities of Pawtucket, Central Falls, Lincoln, Cumberland, North Smithfield and Woonsocket. Although all programs are free, donations are gratefully accepted, and all interested persons are invited to join the organization.