John Breholt

[1] As early as 1697 Breholt approached MP Charles Egerton with a plan to induce the pirates of Madagascar to accept a general pardon and return their wealth to England.

[3] That August he briefly sailed alongside a flotilla attempting to hunt down associates of William Kidd before heading to Havana to search for the wrecks.

He spent the next three years trying to convince various aristocrats to back another wreck-salvaging venture[2] which may have been a ruse; a former sailor who had served aboard the Carlisle later testified that "Breholt only acted behind the curtain, that his ill charectar might not defeat their reall design, which was to get out to sea and then to carry the said ships to Madagascar.

"[6] In 1705 he returned to his plans to arrange a pardon for the Madagascar pirates who would bring their riches back with them, petitioning Queen Anne directly and claiming that he had ships ready to depart.

[7] He tried to enlist the New East India Company’s help in 1707[3] and convinced Daniel Defoe to advocate for his plan;[2] Edgerton once again backed his scheme.