{"id":6409,"date":"2021-10-20T07:06:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-20T05:06:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.historyextra.com\/?p=189250"},"modified":"2021-10-20T07:29:08","modified_gmt":"2021-10-20T05:29:08","slug":"20-october-on-this-day-in-history","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbchistory\/rss_feed\/20-october-on-this-day-in-history\/","title":{"rendered":"20 October: On this day in history"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Dominic Sandbrook\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 20 October 2021 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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20 October 1720: Luck runs out for notorious pirate gang<\/h3>\n
\u2018Calico Jack\u2019 Rackham, Anne Bonny and Mary Read are captured on the orders of the governor of Jamaica<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
On the night of 20 October 1720, Jack Rackham\u2019s luck ran out. With his black flag showing a skull above two crossed cutlasses, \u2018Calico Jack\u2019 was one of the most wanted men in the Caribbean. A pirate who famously sailed alongside two fierce women, Mary Read and Anne Bonny, Rackham had for weeks been cruising along the coast of Jamaica, attacking fishing vessels with impunity. But on this evening he made his fatal mistake.<\/p>\n
Having anchored his ship, the\u00a0William<\/em>, in Dry Harbour Bay, Rackham spent the evening boozing with his men before falling asleep. He probably never heard Captain Jonathan Barnet\u2019s sloop gliding towards him. The first he knew of it was when Barnet shouted out an order to surrender.<\/p>\n