Peter Easton
The details of his life before joining the ranks of seamen turned pirate of Peter Easton (sometimes also Eston) are few other than he was born around 1570 other than he was possibly the son of a wealthy family. the first mention of his deeds was of being loyal to England and his family may have fought against Spain at one time and even the crusades. Easton accepted an offer from Elizabeth I of England with authority to secure safe passage of ships in Newfoundland as a privateer and it included other ships under his command in 1602. This lasted until 1604 when James I replaced her as ruler and to secure goodwill between both England and Spain chose to counterman her previous proclamation and canceled the privateer ranks. This was something Easton did not agree to and instead continued as before to attack vessels against England which not placed him in the realm of piracy. Ships from Spain filled with riches were his prime target and requested protection money from English merchants in return he felt was due and even formed a barrier in 1610 at Bristol Channel.
With the backing of the Killigrew family, his power continued as he offered them a share of the spoils of the plunder taken from Spanish shipping. The wealth of Easton continued to increase with each attack and with ships captured now totaling over 40 it was time to establish a headquarters near Bristol which was advantageous to control shipping in the region. In 1612 with his fleet voyaged to Newfoundland and continued his attack on shipping and now even included those of England and pressed other into piracy for the crew as was a common practice. He once boarded a captured ship with Sir Richard Whitbourne onboard and gave him the option to leave under the condition he was able to have him pardoned by England. Even as his request was granted instead Easton relocated to the area of the Barbary Coast and resumed plundering the Spanish ships. A year later the Duke of Savoy granted haven to pirates in Nice and Villefranche and Easton chose to take advantage of this and met with him and both agreed to a truce in return for monetary compensation. Easton chose to become Catholic and wed a woman of noble birth to become a Marquis of the Duchy of Savoy and settled down.
With the backing of the Killigrew family, his power continued as he offered them a share of the spoils of the plunder taken from Spanish shipping. The wealth of Easton continued to increase with each attack and with ships captured now totaling over 40 it was time to establish a headquarters near Bristol which was advantageous to control shipping in the region. In 1612 with his fleet voyaged to Newfoundland and continued his attack on shipping and now even included those of England and pressed other into piracy for the crew as was a common practice. He once boarded a captured ship with Sir Richard Whitbourne onboard and gave him the option to leave under the condition he was able to have him pardoned by England. Even as his request was granted instead Easton relocated to the area of the Barbary Coast and resumed plundering the Spanish ships. A year later the Duke of Savoy granted haven to pirates in Nice and Villefranche and Easton chose to take advantage of this and met with him and both agreed to a truce in return for monetary compensation. Easton chose to become Catholic and wed a woman of noble birth to become a Marquis of the Duchy of Savoy and settled down.
