Jean Fantin

Jean Fantin (fl. 1681–1689) was a French pirate active in the Caribbean and off the coast of Africa. He is best known for having his ship stolen by William Kidd and Robert Culliford.

History

The ship Le Trompeuse (The Trickster) passed through several pirate and privateer hands in its career, including Laurens de Graaf, Pierre le Pain, and eventually Jean Hamlin. In 1681 Jean Fantin was aboard when Le Pain put Trompeuse into Jamaica. By 1684 he had switched ships, serving under Dutch buccaneer Jan “Yankee” Willems. Alongside Jacob Evertson they were active off Panama, Venezuela, and Honduras in the intervening years, absorbing some of Jean Hamlin's former crew as well. Willems dropped Fantin and others off at Roatan in early 1688

Some of Willems’ crew continued on to serve under George Peterson. Fantin and a few others were instead picked up from Roatan by Jean Charpin aboard the frigate Sainte Rose, a former Spanish ship which had also been part of de Graaf's flotilla. There in early 1689 they captured a heavily laden Dutch ship under a privateering commission. Charpin sailed back to New England to sell off their cargo and resupply. He attacked Berbice nearby but was stopped and departed with little gain. Some of du Casse's crew began to argue over division of the treasure from the Spanish frigate. England and France declared war in the meantime and so du Casse turned his attention to English colonies, attacking St. Christopher in the summer of 1689. Fantin, reinforced with fresh troops from Martinique, joined du Casse for the land assault. While he was ashore Kidd, Culliford, and the other Englishmen surprised and murdered the few French sailors left aboard and sailed off in the ship, which they took to Nevis and renamed the Blessed William.