#Charles vane trial#

However, there was no shortage of witnesses willing testify against him, and in 1721 he was finally hung at Gallows Point in Port Royal.

#Charles vane trial#

His subsequent trial was shortened by the fact that he offered no defence. He was thus captured, and imprisoned in Jamaica. The captain of the next ship to arrive didn’t recognise him and took him on board, only to later meet with Holford who was quick to reveal Vane’s true identity. Marooned on a deserted island after his ship was wrecked, his first would-be rescuer turned out to be a reformed buccaneer, Captain Holford, who refused to carry him. The one exploit that comes down to us tells of the wreck of a Spanish galleon in the early. Vane’s pirating days were to be short-lived, though. There is little documentation of Charles Vanes early career. Vane even had the temerity to fire at the governor’s ship as he made his escape. Nevertheless, Vane flourished for a while, adding new vessels to his fleet, seizing Nassau town at one point and even resisting a concerted attempt at his capture by pirate-hunter Woodes Rogers.

His reputation for treating his captives with murderous brutality was such that commercial shipping all but dried up in the West Indies during his brief tenure. Instead he fitted out a small sloop named the ‘Lark’ and sailed off in search of material gains, with scant regard for how ill-gotten they were likely to be.Īnd Vane was certainly a successful but thoroughly rotten pirate in all his conquests. Vane refused the King’s pardon when it was offered in 1718. Personal life Born in New York, McGowan grew up with his parents Vincent and Brenda McGowan and his older brothers Doug and Matt. He is best recognized for his role as 'Jody' in Showtimes Shameless. McGowan portrays the role of Captain Charles Vane. It’s unlikely that he subscribed to the tenets of the pirate code… Zach McGowan is an New York born actor and member of the cast of the TV series Black Sails. Captain Charles Vane was the sort of pirate who gave his profession a bad name – unscrupulous, violent and unapologetically criminal to the very end.