Philip Lyne

Philip Lyne (died 1726, last name occasionally spelled Line) was a pirate known for his cruelty and his association with Francis Spriggs.

History

Francis Spriggs had been quartermaster under Edward Low until he was given a prize ship and left to go pirating on his own.

In summer 1725 Lyne was active off Newfoundland, plundering several vessels. Low and Spriggs had been known for their cruelty to prisoners, and Lyne followed suit. He took the Thomasine in June 1725, forcing five of its crew to sign his Articles before looting the ship and releasing it with only some water and rotten food left.

Near Curaçao in late 1725 two pirate hunting sloops were searching for Spanish pirates but captured Lyne and the Sea Nymph instead. some sources say as many as 18 of his crew were hanged. but lived to face a brief trial and conviction. In his deposition to the court he claimed to have “killed 37 masters of vessels.” He was hanged in early 1726.

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Philip Lyne's Jolly Roger was described in records of his trial and conviction. He and his surviving crew were marched to trial, “their Black Silk Flagg before them, with the Representation of a Man in full proportion, with a Cutlass in one Hand and a Pistol in the other, Extended.”