21. The Young Mutineer
Henry Avery was born in Plymouth, England, and went to sea at an early age. By 1694, he had risen in rank to become First Mate in the Charles II, a privateer serving the king of Spain. It was in that capacity that he led the disgruntled crew in a mutiny that seized the ship. Renaming the vessel the Fancy, the now-captain Avery issued a proclamation that English ships had nothing to fear from him. He then fell upon foreign vessels as he sailed into the Indian Ocean.
Avery arrived in Madagascar in 1695, where he had the Fancy refitted and modified for speed. Then, after seizing a French ship and convincing 40 of its crew to join him, he sailed north to intercept the Indian Mughal fleet as it returned from the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. In cooperation with 5 other pirate ships, Avery intercepted the Mughal fleet and captured a ship whose holds yielded about £60,000 – a sizeable haul in those days. He was just getting started.