Thomas Sutton

Thomas Sutton (1699-1722) was a pirate from Berwick, Scotland, active off the coast of Africa. He was best known for sailing alongside Bartholomew Roberts. History Thomas Sutton had been a gunner aboard Howell Davis' 32-gun Royal Rover as they cruised off the Gold Coast taking a number of prizes in 1719. Davis tried tricking the governor of Principe into boarding his ship; the governor saw through his deception, turned the tables, and had his soldiers ambush and kill Davis as he came ashore. The Rover'''s crew elected former prisoner Bartholomew Roberts as their new captain. Sutton continued sailing with Roberts, even as Thomas Anstis and Walter Kennedy abandoned Roberts by stealing the prize ships he had given them to command. Roberts took a large number of prize ships and amassed a huge crew during his cruises. In 1721 near the coast of Guinea two French ships pursued Roberts but were themselves captured. Roberts renamed one Little Ranger and gave command of it to James Skyrme to use as a storeship; the other, Comte de Toulouse, he renamed Ranger and selected Thomas Sutton as captain.