Robert Colley (pirate)

Robert Colley[a] (died 1698) was an English pirate and privateer active near Newfoundland and the Indian Ocean.

Around 1695 Jamaican-born privateer Captain Lovering and ship's master Robert Colley (along with future pirate captains Nathaniel North and George Booth) cruised off Newfoundland in the 10-gun Barca-longa Servilian, having been unsuccessful finding French targets in the West Indies.

[b] Governor Walter Clarke issued them a commission, ostensibly to return captured sailors to Jamaica and engage in privateering en route.

Clarke and Gardiner[5] were later called to testify over their actions, having been involved with granting privateering commissions to and doing business with a number of known pirates such as Colley, Thomas Tew, Joseph Faro, and William May.

[7] The ship's cooper Joseph Wheeler was made Captain while North was promoted to the quartermaster of the Pelican, which they sailed for the Red Sea.