Trial and Execution of Calico Jack
- When
- 1720
- Where
- Trial location; Execution site
- Episodes
- 2
John Rackham, known as Calico Jack, was tried and executed in Jamaica in November 1720. Captured after stealing a sloop in August, he was convicted by Governor Lawes and hanged in Port Royal. His female crew members received stays of execution due to claimed pregnancies.
Episodes
- Capture and Trial
Rackham was captured in October 1720 and tried in Spanish Town in November.
- Execution in Port Royal
Rackham was hanged in Port Royal on 18 November 1720.
Background and detail
Background. John Rackham first appears in records in August 1720 after stealing a merchant sloop from Nassau. He is best known by the nickname Calico Jack, though primary trial records do not use this alias. His career was brief, lasting only about two months before his capture.
Trial. Rackham and his crew were brought to Spanish Town, Jamaica, in November 1720. They were tried by Sir Nicholas Lawes, Governor of Jamaica, and convicted of piracy. The trial records refer to him only as John Rackham, without mention of his popular nickname.
Execution. Rackham was sentenced to be hanged and executed in Port Royal on 18 November 1720. His female crew members, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, claimed pregnancy at their trials ten days later, resulting in a temporary stay of their executions.
People involved
- John Rackham · Pirate defendant
- Sir Nicholas Lawes · Governor of Jamaica and presiding judge
- Anne Bonny · Crew member and co-defendant
- Mary Read · Crew member and co-defendant
Sources
- John Rackham Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-17
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.