James Plaintain
18th-century English pirate
title: "James Plaintain" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["18th-century-pirates", "year-of-birth-missing", "year-of-death-missing", "18th-century-jamaican-people", "british-pirates", "malagasy-pirates", "piracy-in-the-indian-ocean"] description: "18th-century English pirate" topic_path: "geography/united-kingdom" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Plaintain" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary 18th-century English pirate ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox protected area"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Ranter Bay (Antongil Bay) |
| map | Madagascar |
| relief | yes |
| map_width | 150 |
| map_caption | Location of Ranter Bay |
| location | North-east Madagascar |
| coordinates | |
| :: |
| name = Ranter Bay (Antongil Bay) | iucn_category = | map = Madagascar | relief = yes | map_width = 150 | map_caption = Location of Ranter Bay | location = North-east Madagascar | nearest_city = | coordinates = | area = | established = | visitation_num = | visitation_year = | governing_body =
James Plaintain (fl. 1720–1728, John or James, last name also Plantain) was a pirate active in the Indian Ocean. He is best known for using his pirate wealth to found a short-lived kingdom in Madagascar.
History
Plantain was English, born in Jamaica, and served as a sailor aboard Edward England's pirate flotilla (having once served on Christopher Condent's Dragon) which captured the East India Company ship Cassandra from Captain James Macrae in 1720. After looting the ship, the collected pirates sailed to Madagascar, divided their plunder, and sailed their separate ways. Plantain and a number of others remained behind, some voluntarily and some not. With two others he moved to Ranter Bay (site of modern Rantabe), spending his plunder and befriending the Malagasy natives to build a settlement. He styled himself "King of Ranter Bay."
He organized the locals to make war against their neighbors, using firearms to swing the battles his way. He kept himself and his allies supplied by trading with passing ships, offering food, water, supplies, and slaves taken as captives in wars against his neighbors in exchange for guns, gunpowder and shot, clothes, and other goods. The pirates, Plantain included, took multiple Malagasy wives and lavished them with treasures. He demanded the granddaughter of a neighboring king as his wife; the king refused, setting off a series of wars and counter-raids, from which Plantain eventually emerged victorious.
A Royal Navy squadron visited Madagascar in 1722 looking for John Taylor, Olivier Levasseur, and Edward England. Plantain advised them that the pirates had long since departed and invited the officers to visit his settlement. England himself was reportedly present, haggard, and nearing death; he had been deposed from command by Taylor on the grounds of being too kind to the ''Cassandra'''s captain.
Having made too many enemies on Madagascar, Plantain took his favored wife and moved to India in 1728, serving in the Maratha Navy under Admiral Kanhoji Angre. Plantain died some time prior to April 1737, still serving the Marathas under Angre. When he left to fight various battle, he generally buried his wealth on the island and dug it up when he returned, but rumors of Plantain's buried treasure persisted.
References
References
- Fox, E. T.. (2014). "Pirates in Their Own Words". Lulu.com.
- Konstam, Angus. (2011). "Pirates: The Complete History from 1300 BC to the Present Day". Rowman & Littlefield.
- Cordingly, David. (2013). "Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates". Random House Publishing Group.
- Sherry, Frank. (2009). "Raiders and Rebels: A History of the Golden Age of Piracy". Harper Collins.
- Grey, Charles. (1933). "Pirates of the eastern seas (1618-1723): a lurid page of history". S. Low, Marston & co., ltd.
- (16 April 2007). "Southern Africa".
- "''Common Sense, or The Englishman's Journal''".
- Little, Benerson. (2016). "The Golden Age of Piracy: The Truth Behind Pirate Myths". Skyhorse Publishing, Inc..
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