7. Jack Blewitt: The Soldier, Sailor, and Slave who become a Highway Robber.
Jack Blewitt never enjoyed much luck. He converted to Catholicism in an attempt to gain promotion in the army of King James II- only for the Protestant William of Orange to oust the Catholic King. Next Jack tried his luck at sea. He joined a slaver bound for Nigeria and was sent ashore to trade leftover copper bars with the locals- only to be overcome and enslaved himself. Blewitt spent the next 14 months passing from master to master until his final owner ransomed him to an English ship. Finally, back in England, penniless and without prospects, Blewitt decided to turn to highway robbery.
Blewitt stole a horse-only only to realize it was useless to him without pistols. So he took his mount to Smithfield market, intending to sell it and steal another later. However, the horse’s original owner spotted the creature, and before the day was out, Jack Blewit found himself in Newgate Prison. For a time his luck turned, and a sympathetic judge spared him. Once out of prison, Jack took to highway robbery once more. However, Jack Blewit‘s meager luck finally ran out in 1713 after he killed a farmer’s daughter for £14. Blood splatters on his coat identified Blewit as the murderer, and he hung in the town of Hereford.