Nathaniel Butler (born c. 1577, living 1639, date of death unknown)[1] was an English privateer who later served as the colonial governor of Bermuda during the early 17th century.
He also has the distinction of introducing the potato, the first seen in North America, to the early English colonists of Jamestown, Virginia.
During this time, he salvaged guns from a shipwrecked vessel and used them to arm the island forts then under construction including Southampton Fort[3] and those of Smith's and Paget Island in 1620 (the incident would later be recorded by John Smith in 1624).
After a brief stay in Jamestown the following year, during which he published a report entitled "Unmasked Face of Our Colony in Virginia as it was in the winter of the Year 1622" later presented to the privy council upon his return to London,[6] Butler was made an Admiral of the Providence Island colony, at the age of 61.
However, the frigate alone was considered a poor prize by the standards of the time and, suffering from inexperienced officers unfamiliar with the region (including future privateer James Riskinner), the expedition followed a very erratic course throughout the Caribbean and failed to capture anything else of value by the time of their return to Providence in September 1639.