{{Short description|18th century pirate}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} '''Jasper Seagar'''{{efn|In various sources Seagar’s name is spelled Seagar, Seegar, Seager, Seater, or Siger.}} (died 1721) was a pirate active in the Indian Ocean, best known for sailing with Edward England, Olivier Levasseur, and Richard Taylor.
==Identity==
Some sources claim Edward England was born Edward Seegar,<ref name="Pirates of the Americas">{{cite book|last1=Marley|first1=David|title=Pirates of the Americas|date=2010|publisher=ABC-CLIO|location=Santa Barbara|isbn=9781598842012|page=583|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bU6ML_VnXTwC&q=seegar|accessdate=17 June 2017|language=en}}</ref> or that Jasper Seagar was England's real name.<ref name="Pirates of Malabar">{{cite book|last1=Biddulph|first1=J. (John)|title=The Pirates of Malabar, and an Englishwoman in India Two Hundred Years Ago|date=1907|publisher=SMITH, ELDER & CO|location=London|page=156|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/11399|accessdate=17 June 2017|language=English}}</ref> Other accounts from trial depositions make clear that Seagar was a separate person,<ref name="Pirates of the Eastern Seas" /> and that he took over captaincy of England's ship after England was marooned by his crew: "...the sd Ship the ''Victory'' under ye Comand of the sd Richard Taylor and the ''Cassandra'' under the Comand of Jaspar Seater who was made Captain of her in the room of ye sd Edward England (who was turned out of Comand) proceeded to the East India...".<ref name="Pirates in their Own Words" />
==History==
In 1719, pirate Thomas Cocklyn in the ''Victory'' put into Madagascar alongside Edward England's ''Fancy'' and ''John Galley''.<ref name="Pirates in their Own Words">{{cite book|last1=Fox|first1=E. T.|title=Pirates in Their Own Words|date=2014|publisher=Lulu.com|location=Raleigh NC|isbn=9781291943993|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_pPkBgAAQBAJ|accessdate=17 June 2017|language=en}}</ref> Cocklyn died there; England burned the ''John Galley'', transferring Cocklyn's crew to the other two ships, and Richard Taylor was placed as captain aboard the ''Victory''.<ref name="Pirates in their Own Words" /> Seagar commanded the ''Fancy'' while England remained in command of the overall fleet.<ref name="Pirates of the Eastern Seas">{{cite book|last1=Grey|first1=Charles|title=PIRATES OF THE EASTERN SEAS (1618-1723)|date=1933|publisher=PURNELL AND SONS|location=London|url=https://www.sabrizain.org/malaya/library/easternseaspirates.txt|accessdate=1 June 2017}}</ref>
Off the island of Johanna they engaged the ''Cassandra'' under Captain James Macrae (also McCrae or Mackra),<ref name="Pirates in their Own Words" /> who was forced to beach his ship and flee inland but not before heavily damaging the ''Fancy'' and killing a number of pirates.<ref name="General History" /> The ''Cassandra'' had sailed with the ''Greenwich'' under Captain Kirby, who reported England commanding the ''Victory'' and Seagar commanding the ''Fancy''.<ref name="Pirates of the Eastern Seas" /> Richard Lazenby, a carpenter's mate taken from the ''Cassandra'' and pressed into service by the pirates, later reported to the East India Company and named Seagar as captain of the ''Fancy'', with Taylor captaining the ''Victory''.<ref name="Pirates of Malabar" /> Macrae eventually surrendered to the pirates. England spared him and gave him the crippled ''Fancy''; this enraged Taylor, who had England removed from command and marooned.<ref name="General History">{{cite book|last1=Johnson|first1=Captain Charles|title=A GENERAL HISTORY OF THE PYRATES|date=1724|publisher=T. Warner|location=London|page=124|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/40580/40580-h/40580-h.htm|accessdate=18 June 2017}}</ref>
{{multiple image | image_style = border:none; | image1 = Pirate Death's Head Flag.svg | width1 = 200 | image2 = Blood Flag.svg | width2 = 200 | image3 = Flag of England.svg |width3 = 200 | footer = “[The] ''Cassandra'' being the Leewardmost ship was ingaged by [Seagar’s] small ship, they fought under ye black flagg att ye main topmast head with Death's head in itt ye Red flagg att the foretopmast head & St. George's Colours att. ye Ensign Staff. “ – Journal of John Barnes, Chief Mate of the ''Greenwich''<ref>{{cite web |title=Greenwich Journal 30 Jul-8 Aug 1720 |url=http://baylusbrooks.com/index_files/Page28525.htm |website=baylusbrooks.com |access-date=14 June 2021}}</ref>}} The ''Cassandra'' was fitted out for piracy and Jasper Seagar was placed in command.<ref name="Pirates in their Own Words" /> Sailing alongside Taylor, Seagar proceeded toward the East Indies and plundered several ships. After unsuccessfully engaging a fleet from Bombay they put in at Cochin to sell their booty.<ref name="Pirates in their Own Words" /> From there they sailed out, repaired the ''Victory'', and in early 1721 captured ships near Mauritius, including ''Nossa Senhora do Cabo'', which carried the Bishop of Goa<ref>Possibly Sebastião de Andrade Pessanha, 17th Archbishop of Goa, from 1715-1721.</ref> and the retiring Portuguese Viceroy<ref name="Pirates in their Own Words" /> and netted the pirates immense treasure. In his report on the incident the Viceroy noted Seagar as commanding the ''Fancy'', not the ''Cassandra'' (which the pirates may have renamed), and claimed Levasseur was commanding the ''Victory'', with Taylor serving as quartermaster.<ref name="Mercure">{{cite book|title=Mercure français|date=May 1722|publisher=Au bureau du Mercure|location=Paris|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_DnKcLyIFlUEC/page/n72 61]–65|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_DnKcLyIFlUEC|accessdate=17 June 2017|language=fr}}</ref>
Sailing to Île Sainte-Marie near Madagascar, they burned the ''Victory'' and fitted out the ''Cabo'' for piracy; Seagar died while on Madagascar of unknown causes.<ref name="Pirates in their Own Words" /> Levasseur captained the ''Cassandra'' after Seagar's death, eventually exchanging ships with Taylor<ref name="Pirates in their Own Words" /> who sailed it to the Caribbean and traded it to the governor of Porto Bello for amnesty.<ref name="Pirates of Malabar" /> Oliver Levasseur took the refitted ''Nossa Senhora do Cabo'' until his retirement and recapture.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Humanity|first1=History of|title=Pirate Ships {{!}} Nossa Senhora do Cabo|url=http://www.goldenageofpiracy.org/pirate-ships/nossa-senhora-do-cabo.php|website=www.goldenageofpiracy.org|accessdate=18 June 2017}}</ref>
==See also== *Adam Baldridge, Abraham Samuel, and James Plaintain, ex-pirates who ran pirate trading posts on Île Sainte-Marie and Madagascar.
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{pirates}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seagar, Jasper}} Category:1721 deaths Category:18th-century pirates Category:British pirates Category:Piracy in the Indian Ocean Category:Year of birth missing