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George Lowther
Born : UnknownCaptain Lowther set sail from
London down the River Thames in June of 1721 aboard the ship, the Gambia Castle.
For the last time he sailed past Execution Dock and Newgate Prison, never again
to see England again. He had signed on as First Mate to Charles Russell, on
board the Gambia Castle, a slaver for the Royal Africa Company. Also on board
were Captain Massey, an Army officer and a Company of soldiers. Lowther had never been on a Slave ship and was not aware of what lay ahead of him. The Royal Africa Company was in the business of collecting slaves around the Gambia River. As it was the slave ships would remain off the coast for months on end until they had enough slave to make their efforts worthwhile. There was little for the crew to do, no place to go on shore, and little to do on ship. To make matters worse, the weather was unbearable, and diseases such as dysentery, malaria, and Scurvy would take its toll on the crew. Lowther, had from the beginning of the crew, found favor with the crew. Russell, while not a bad Captain, was more concerned with the slave shipment than with the health of the crew. He distrusted Lowther because of how "familiar" he had became with the crew. The division between captain and crew reach a critical point when Russell order Lowther flogged for a minor infraction, and many of the crew took up their marlin spikes and dared anyone to pick up a whip. What had caused such a division among the crew was the appalling state of condition aboard ship upon reaching Gambia. The slave trade was almost at stand still and the ship remained docked for a long time. The Royal Africa Company seemed to care little about the crew and to make matters worse, Captain Massey and his soldiers had to retreat from their fort and set up head quarters on board the over crowded ship. It seems that the governor of the Royal Africa Company in Gambia had taken ill from all the mosquitoes and the fort was in such a poor state that it had become unlivable. Massey was furious over the state of affairs his troops were in. He and Lowther met to discuss their situation one night when Captain Russell was not on board and they both decided that they should leave. With no further discussion, the ship set sail, leaving Russell behind. At this point Massey was in mind to return to England but Lowther had other thoughts. He immediately summoned the whole crew, plus Massey soldiers before him and told him his intentions. He explained there was turning back for himself, for he knew that England would not excuse his actions but if the crew were to vote to return to England his only request was to be set ashore someplace safe. Then he explained his intentions to go "on the account". This was met with a resounding cheer, and all aboard signed the articles of Piracy, electing Lowther as Captain. (It should be mentioned that Massey originally intended to return to England.) Massey and Lowther formed an uneasy but workable alliance and together the crew of the newly named, Delivery, went on to pillage many a ship, but Massey found it very difficult to adjust to the slow pace of the Sea. He therefore put forth a plan to sack a town. Lowther was completely against such an endeavor due to the many risks it involved. However, as pirate custom demanded, it was put to a vote.
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