Blackbeard's Accomplice On Trial!

November 10, 1718 - Blackbeard's accomplice and pirate, Stede Bonnet, is brought to trial before Sir Nicholas Trott, sitting in his capacity as Vice-Admiralty judge in Charleston, SC. Trott had already sat in judgment of Bonnet's crew and sentenced most of them to hang. Bonnet was formally charged with only two acts of piracy, against the Francis and the Fortune, whose commanders were on hand to testify against Bonnet in person. Ignatius Pell (Bonnet's boatswain) had turned King's evidence in the trial of Bonnet's crew and now testified, somewhat reluctantly, against Bonnet himself. Bonnet pleaded not guilty and conducted his own defense without assistance of counsel, cross-examining the witnesses to little avail, and calling a character witness in his favor. Trott rendered a damning summation of the evidence, and the jury delivered a guilty verdict. Two days later, after treating the convicted man to a stern lecture on his violation of Christian duties, Trott sentenced Bonnet to death. READ MORE

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