John Nutt

He was one of the more notorious brigands of his time, raiding the coast of southern Canada and western England for over three years before his capture by Sir John Eliot in 1623.

His arrest and conviction caused a scandal in the English court, after Nutt paid Eliot £500 in exchange for a pardon, and was eventually released by Secretary of State George Calvert.

He continued using unemployed sailors, particularly those conscripted to press gangs, and actually lured away a significant number from the Royal Navy paying regular wages and commissions.

[2] He also offered his services to protect French and English settlements including the Colony of Avalon then under the leadership of George Calvert.

[3] He continued raiding shipping both in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Irish Sea for over three years, often avoiding attempts to apprehend him, before he requested a royal pardon from John Eliot, the Vice Admiral of Devon.