19. The Great Double Cross
Seizing the Ganj-i-Sawai was a great coup, but Henry Avery did not want to share its loot with the other pirate ships that had participated in its capture. So Avery and his men tricked them. They loaded Fancy’s hold with the £600,000 worth of loot seized from the Mughal ship, and made arrangements with the other pirate ships to meet and divide the bounty. Then they took off. The Fancy, recently modified for speed, soon out-sailed the other pirate ships, who followed in her wake in impotent rage, until she disappeared below the horizon.
The Fancy made it to the Caribbean, and after the loot was divided, the crew split up and Avery disappeared from history. It is commonly assumed that he established a new identity somewhere and lived his remaining days in great wealth. However, some sources claim that he returned to England, only to get swindled out of his riches, and end his days an impoverished pauper.