John Russell

John Russell (fl. 1722–1723) was a Portuguese pirate active from Nova Scotia to the Caribbean to the African coast. He is best known for his association with Edward Low and Francis Spriggs, and for his involvement with two well-known and well-documented maroonings.

Biography Most commonly known as Englishman “John Russell”, he was in reality a Portuguese Catholic whose real name may have been Juan or John Lopez. Like a number of other pirates of the Golden Age, he was a Jacobite who professed support for England's ousted Catholic King James II over his Protestant successors. Rather than fly the Jolly Roger flag, Russell instead flew English flags in order to surprise his targets.

History Russell was Edward Low's quartermaster in June 1722 when they captured a series of vessels off Shelburne, Nova Scotia, near Cape Sable. Among the sailors was Philip Ashton, whom Low forced to join his crew despite Ashton's pleas and his refusal to sign Low's articles.

I was forced to tell him, I knew not of their design; and indeed I did not, tho' I had good reason to suspect what would be the event of their going. This did not pacifie the Quarter-Master, who with outragious Cursing and Swearing clapt his Pistol to my Head, and snap'd it; but it miss'd Fire: this enraged him the more; and he repeated the snapping of his Pistol at my Head three times, and it as often miss'd Fire; upon which he held it over-board, and snap'd it the fourth time, and then it went off very readily. … The Quarter-Master upon this, in the utmost fury, drew his Cutlash, and fell upon me with it, but I leap'd down into the Hold, and got among a Crowd that was there, and so escaped the further effects of his madness and rage.

Low then sailed for the African coast where he captured ships near Cape Verde, with Spriggs sailing alongside in Low's former vessel. Among their captures in September 1722 was Captain George Roberts’ ship. Roberts described Russell as commanding one of three vessels in the pirates’ flotilla. The pirates held Roberts for over a week, during which Russell repeatedly threatened him over his refusal to join the pirates. Roberts’ own account (The four years voyages of capt. George Roberts) was published in 1726 and has since been generally attributed to Daniel Defoe. Some sources dispute the Defoe attribution and maintain that Roberts’ account is trustworthy; others claim Defoe (or another author) read Ashton's Memorial and crafted Roberts’ tale as a fictionalized version of it. Low had earlier parted with Spriggs after an argument; Russell was not mentioned during either incident, or during the various accounts of Harris’, Low's, and Spriggs’ fates.