Henry Mainwaring was born in Shropshire, England in 1587. He was from a well to do family and was intelligent and well educated. He graduated from Oxford University with a Bachelor of Arts degree when he was only 15 years old.

His First Orders

In 1610, Henry received a commission from the Lord High Admiral to capture the pirate Peter Easton. He was unsuccessful. He was given command as a privateer of a 160 ton vessel called the Resistance to attack Spanish shipping in the Caribbean.

Becoming a Pirate

While he was on his way to the Caribbean Henry decided to become a pirate. He set up a base on the Barbary Coast of North Africa. Soon he was in command of a large fleet of pirate ships.

Moving to Newfoundland

To recruit men and obtain supplies, Henry went to Newfoundland. He crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1614, and arrived in Newfoundland on June 4th. He sailed to Newfoundland with six ships and soon captured two more: one on the Grand Banks and another at Newfoundland.

According to John Mason, , Henry captured a French ship that was fishing in Carbonear and stole 10,000 salt fish from another French ship in Harbour Grace. He took all the wine and other provisions from any Portuguese ships he could find and left them with just some bread to eat. When Henry left Newfoundland on September 14, 1614, he took 400 men with him to add to his pirate crew. Some went willingly, but many others were forced to go.

An End to Piracy

In 1615, Henry was sued in the High Court of Admiralty for his attack on a ship called the Hound in Newfoundland. He was offered a pardon by King James I if he would give up being a pirate. Henry agreed. He was forgiven all his crimes in 1616 on the grounds that â??he had committed no great wrong."

A Changed Man

In thanks for his pardon, Henry wrote an essay called Of the Beginnings, Practices, and Suppression of Pirates, which he dedicated to King James I. He later  rescued a Newfoundland trading fleet captured by pirates near Gibraltar.

Henry was made a Knight in 1618 and later appointed a Lieutenant in Dover, England. He even served as a Member of Parliament for Dover. Later he wrote a Seaman's Dictionary that was considered so important it was printed in 1644 by an order of Parliament.

A Sad End

Henry took the king's side during the English Civil War and ended up paying for it. In 1646, he was sent into exile on Jersey Island with the king's son, Charles. He died there in poverty in 1651. He was 64 years old. He is buried in an unmarked grave in St. Giles's Church, Camberwell, England.

The Remembered Sailor

Henry was a great sailor. His skill in naval attack and the way he boarded and resisted  enemy vessels was without equal at the time.  He is remembered as one of the most skilled pirates of the 17th century.