William Read

William Read (died 1701, last name occasionally Reed) was a pirate active in the Indian Ocean near Madagascar. He is best known for rescuing fellow pirate captains John Bowen and Thomas White.

History

Read was captain of Alexander, a 60-ton brigantine based out of Madagascar. Around 1701 he stopped near the settlement of a local native king. Thomas White and John Bowen had been aboard a French pirate ship which wrecked nearby and had been in the care of the king for over a year. Read took them aboard and proceeded around the Madagascar coast, picking up stranded European sailors to increase his crew.

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William Read of Alexander should not be confused with William Read of Ranger, a pirate who served under Captain Charles Harris until Harris was abandoned by Edward Low and captured by HMS Greyhound in 1723.