All Time Low(e): Edward Lowe’s Descent into Piracy

As he took control of a small vessel in the Bay of Honduras in 1722, Captain Edward Lowe “hoisted a black flag, and declared war on the world.”[1] This proclamation at the very beginning of his piratical career effectively made him nationless. Despite his declaration, Lowe possessed significant ties to New England, and most notably, Boston.

Before building a life in Boston, Lowe spent his childhood in Westminster, England where he was born in 1690.[2] As he grew older, Lowe spent between three and four years sailing to various ports with his brother, ultimately landing in Boston. He found work as a ship-rigger, and met Eliza Marble, whom he married at the First Church in Boston in August of 1714 by Reverend Benjamin Wadsworth. Together, they had a son and daughter, both of whom were baptized at the Second Church in Boston. The family joined the congregation at the Second Church in Boston, but tragedy soon struck as Lowe’s son died in infancy. Eliza also died shortly afterwards.[3] Lowe, overcome with grief, left his job and young daughter and sailed to the Bay of Honduras on a cargo vessel.[4]

Once there, Lowe was given command of the boat charged with delivering logwood to the cargo vessel. After a brief conflict with the captain of the cargo vessel, Lowe and several members of the crew then stole the smaller boat and fled.[5] Although this act of violence appeared spontaneous, it was likely planned in advance by Lowe and other members of the crew as they quickly began sailing under a black flag. The following day, the crew captured a small vessel and began cruising the Caribbean.[6]

Afterwards, Lowe briefly joined forces with fellow pirate Captain George Lowther. Together, they pillaged ships throughout the Atlantic, capturing cargo and men, and then either burning the ships or adding them to their fleet.[7] Despite their success, Lowther found Lowe to be an unruly officer. He decided to give Lowe command of a brigantine with forty men, and the two pirates went their separate ways.[8] From there, Lowe continued to attack and to rob captured vessels from New England to the Caribbean.[9]

Lowe possessed a reputation for being an especially cruel pirate. He was described by those as the time as a “cowardly villain” and by historians as ““notorious, despicable, and arguably mentally deranged.”[10] Whereas other pirates used the threat of violence, rather than violence itself as a method of manipulating their targets into complying with their demands, Lowe appeared to thrive on the violence itself.[11] He was known for murdering his prisoners for entertainment or encouraging his crew to do so themselves.[12] He was especially brutal towards ships from New England due to the region’s attempts to punish piracy through executions.[13] Even his crew fell subject to his wrath.[14] Lowe’s ferocious and brutal nature contributed to his reputation as one of the more infamous pirates of the time, just as much as his success in capturing bounty and other ships.[15]

Interestingly, Lowe’s exact fate remains unknown.[16] Lowe was possibly last seen in January, 1724, off of the coast of Guinea, but that his fate afterwards was unknown.[17] Charles Ellms suggested that Lowe’s crew revolted against him and abandoned him without provisions in a small boat. He was found by a French vessel, brought to Martinique, tried, and hanged.[18] Both ideas are plausible, but the exact date and cause of Lowe’s death remains a mystery.

Despite essentially declaring himself nationless at the beginning of his piratical career, Edward Lowe’s earlier ties to Boston and the First Church in Boston remain significant. Boston was the location in which Lowe met his wife, and the First Church of Boston was the location where they were married. Lowe’s family were members of the congregation of the Second Church in Boston, demonstrating his ties to the city. Unfortunately, these very ties pushed Lowe towards piracy, as the sudden death of his wife and son sparked the events which led to his piratical career.

— Elizabeth Collotta

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[1] Charles Ellms, The Pirates Own Book; or, Authentic Narratives of the Lives, Exploits, and Executions of the Most Celebrated Sea Robbers (Portland: Francis Blake, 1855), 229.
[2] Anonymous, The History and Lives of All the Most Notorious Pirates and Their Crews from Captain John Avery, Who First Settled at Madagascar, to Captain John Gow, and James Williams, His Lieutenant, &c. Who Were Hanged at Execution Dock, June 11, 1735, for Piracy and Murder: and Afterwards Hanged in Chains between Blackwall and Deptford: And in This Edition Continued down to the Year 1735. Giving a More Full and True Account than Any Yet Published of All Their Murders, Piracles, Maroonings, Places of Refuge, and Way of Living. To Which Is Prefixed An Abstract of the Laws against Piracy (Glasgow: Robert Duncan, 1788); Dow and Edmonds, The Pirates of the New England Coast 1630-1730, 141.
[3] Eric Jay Dolan Blue Flags, Black Waters: The Epic History of America's Most Notorious Pirates. (New York , NY: Liveright Publishing Corporation, 2018), 338.
[4] Dow and Edmonds, The Pirates of the New England Coast 1630-1730, 141-142.
[5] Ellms, The Pirates’ Own Book, 228.
[6] Dow and Edmonds, The Pirates of the New England Coast 1630-1730, 143.
[7] Ibid, 144.
[8] Ibid, 143-146.
[9] Ellms, The Pirates’ Own Book, 229-235.
[10] The History and Lives of All the Most Notorious Pirates and Their Crews, 86; Dolan, Blue Flags, Black Waters, 338.
[11] Marcus Rediker, Villains of All Nations: Atlantic Pirates in the Golden Age (London: Verso, 2012).
[12] Ellms, The Pirates’ Own Book, 234.
[13] Dow and Edmonds. The Pirates of the New England Coast 1630-1730, 144.; Daniel E. Williams, “Puritans and Pirates: A Confrontation between Cotton Mather and William Fly in 1726” Early American Literature 22, no. 3 (1987): 233–51.
[14] Dow and Edmonds. The Pirates of the New England Coast 1630-1730, 144.
[15] Dolan, Blue Flags, Black Waters, 348.
[16] Dow and Edmonds, The Pirates of the New England Coast 1630-1730, 143.
[17] The History and Lives of All the Most Notorious Pirates and Their Crews, 81.
[18] Ellms, The Pirates' Own Book, 235.

Pictured: Low Presenting a Pistol and a Bowl of Punch from The Pirates Own Book, Boston, 1837. Image of The Cruelties Practiced by Captain Low from The Pirates Own Book (Charles Ellms: Boston, 1837).

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