Calico Jack Fact Sheet: Who was Calico Jack? The following short biography and fact sheet provides interesting facts about the life, times and history of Calico Jack.

Calico Jack Fact File: Lifespan: 1682 – 1720 *** Full Name: John Rackham *** Nickname: Calico Jack *** Occupation: English Pirate *** Date of Birth: Calico Jack was born on December 26th 1682 *** Place of Birth: Calico Jack was born in England *** Family background: His father was – Unknown *** Early life and childhood: He grew up – Unknown *** Education: Calico Jack began his education at – Unknown ***

Calico Jack Fact 1: Calico Jack was born on December 26th 1682 during the 17th century period in history known as the Golden Age of Piracy.

Calico Jack Fact 2: The first anyone heard of him was as quartermaster on the Ranger, Charles Vane’s Sloop. Charles Vane being another English pirate who preyed largely on English and French vessels.

Calico Jack Fact 3: The band operated out of New Providence Island in the Bahamas.

Calico Jack Fact 4: While part of Vane’s crew an opportunity arose to capture and plunder a French man-of-war but Vane declared it was too risky and ordered a retreat. Rackham and the majority of the crew were for going after the vessel but Vane countered that the captain’s order was final and they sailed away.

Calico Jack Fact 5: Unsatisfied with the outcome Rackham took a vote on whom should be captain and called Vane out as a coward. Jack Rackham took over as captain and set Vane and his loyal crew of fifteen men off onto a sloop with plenty of provisions.

Calico Jack Fact 6: Calico Jack began to plunder vessels off of the coast of Bermuda in the West Indies and did indeed take several large ships.

Calico Jack Fact 7: In 1719 he sailed in Nassau and took advantage of the amnesty for pirates and obtained his royal pardon and was given commissions by Governor Woodes Rogers who had been sent to deal with the pirate problem in the Bahamas.

Calico Jack Fact 8: In December of that year he boarded the Kingston a merchant ship full of bounty but was seen by the residents and outraged merchants of Port Royal who instantly hired bounty hunters to track him down.

Calico Jack Fact 9: By February the following year he had been tracked and although the crew managed to escape they bounty was confiscated anchored off the Isla de los Pinos, Cuba.

Calico Jack Fact 10: Another popular tale that went around at the time involved Rackham steeling a sloop. A Spanish warship sighted the sloop but was too large to get close enough to capture them so they waited for the opportunity in the morning. In the meantime Rackham had spotted what was happening and had his men move to another vessel that slipped past the warship undetected. When morning came the warship blasted what had been Rackham’s vessel except it was now an empty vessel and Rackham together with his crew made their escape in their new prize.

Calico Jack Fact 11: Upon their return to Nassau, Rackham requested an audience with Governor Rogers and agreed to accept his royal pardon laying the blame for his piratical ways squarely on Vane’s shoulders claiming he had forced to comply.

Calico Jack Fact 12: Governor Rogers, who was no friend to Vane, believed their story and granted their pardons. As honest men their time was short lived.

Calico Jack Fact 13: While on dry land Calico Jack took up with James Bonny’s wife Anne but when her husband became aware of what was occurring he took Anne before the Governor and insisted she be whipped for adulterous behavior.

Calico Jack Fact 14: The couple made their escape and later she became pregnant with Jack’s child and would travel to Cuba to raise that child.

Calico Jack Fact 15: Governor Woodes Rogers declared Calico Jack a pirate once more and pirate hunter, Jonathan Barnet began his pursuit along the Jamaican coastline.

Calico Jack Fact 16: Rackham would be captured after engaging in a drinking binge with fellow pirates on his own vessel in Bry Harbour Bay in Jamaica. It was October 1720 and after conflict with Barnet’s crew Rackham and his men were captured and transported to Spanish Town where he was put on trial and found guilty of piracy. The sentence, to be hanged.

Calico Jack Fact 17: He was transported to Port Royal where he was executed on November 18th 1720 and his body was then gibbeted at the main entrance of Port Royal as a deterrent for other criminals and pirates. The small islet became known as Rackham’s Cay

Influence and Legacy: Early on in a pirates career they are usually successful but inevitable greed takes hold and the inevitable invariably happens, the law catches up to them and justice is meted out.