Walter Kennedy

Walter Kennedy ( – 21 July 1721) was an English pirate who served as a crew member under Howell Davis and Bartholomew Roberts.

Early life

Walter Kennedy was born in 1695 at a place called Pelican Stairs in Wapping, London. Possibly one or both of his parents were of Irish descent due to the fact that Bartholomew Roberts considered him to be Irish. Born to a poor family, Kennedy was illiterate and was known to have a bad temper. He was a burglar and pickpocket in London.

Later he became an apprentice to his father, who was an anchor smith; he carried out house-breaking in his spare time. His apprenticeship, however, came to an end with the death of his father and he decided to go to sea.

Howell Davis, another mutineer, was elected captain. Kennedy was with Davis on the island of Principe when his party was ambushed by the Portuguese. He was the only member of the shore party to escape back to the ship alive. With Davis dead, Bartholomew Roberts was elected as his successor. Roberts and forty of the crew chased a possible prize in a captured sloop off the coast of Surinam.

Captaincy