Charles Yeats

Charles Yeats (fl. 1718, last name occasionally Yeates, first name rarely John) was a pirate active in the Caribbean. He is best known for sailing alongside and then abandoning Charles Vane.

History

Woodes Rogers and his fleet arrived at New Providence in the Bahamas in the summer of 1718 with the goal of eradicating piracy. Rogers came bearing the King’s Pardon for any pirates who surrendered by September 1718, with a warning of reprisal for those who refused. Vane and his men in the meantime commandeered the Katherine from fellow pirate Charles Yeats and escaped in the confusion.

A few days later Vane captured a sloop and placed Yeats aboard as Captain, on the condition that Yeats continue to sail with him. Late that August they plundered several ships as they traveled to and from the harbor, taking supplies, cargo, and slaves. and had treated Yeats’ sloop as a tender There are no further records of Yates after his pardon.