Thomas Tew: The Pirate Round and the Red Sea

Thomas Tew became famous for a highly profitable voyage into the Indian Ocean during the 1690s. His success helped make the long route around Africa attractive to other pirates and helped establish what became known as the Pirate Round.

Who was Thomas Tew?

Thomas Tew was a seventeenth-century privateer and pirate associated with Newport, Rhode Island. He became one of the best-known early figures connected with the Pirate Round, the route used by Atlantic pirates to reach wealthy shipping in the Indian Ocean.

How did he begin his voyage?

Tew initially sailed under a privateering commission. Rather than follow the intended mission, he and his crew chose to pursue richer opportunities farther east. This kind of shift from authorized privateering to unauthorized piracy was a recurring problem in the period.

What was the Pirate Round?

The Pirate Round linked Atlantic ports with routes around the Cape of Good Hope and into the Indian Ocean. Pirates hoped to intercept heavily laden merchant vessels trading between India, the Red Sea and other major commercial centers. See What Was the Pirate Round?.

Why was Tew’s first cruise so famous?

Tew’s crew captured a wealthy vessel and reportedly returned with unusually large shares. The exact totals differ in surviving stories, but the central point is clear: the voyage appeared profitable enough to inspire imitators.

Did Tew return to ordinary life?

For a time he returned to the American colonies and moved in respectable circles despite his pirate reputation. The porous boundary between privateering, piracy, trade and colonial politics made such contradictions possible.

Why did he go back to sea?

The prospect of another lucrative Indian Ocean voyage was powerful. Tew joined a later expedition that included other pirates and privateers heading toward the Red Sea shipping lanes.

How did Thomas Tew die?

During an attack on a large convoy in 1695, Tew was killed in battle. Later accounts say he was struck by cannon fire. His death ended his career just as other pirates were beginning to imitate the route he had helped make famous.

Was Tew connected with Henry Every?

The two men operated in the same wider Red Sea piracy episode. Henry Every’s later capture of the Ganj-i-Sawai became far more famous and provoked a major international crisis.

Why does Thomas Tew matter?

Tew helped demonstrate that pirates based in the Atlantic could make extraordinary profits by traveling into the Indian Ocean. That made him an important bridge between privateering culture and the later Golden Age.