Alexander Dalzeel

Pirate, Ship owner

1662 – 1715

10

Who was Alexander Dalzeel?

Alexander Dalzeel was a seventeenth-century pirate and former officer under Henry Avery.

Born in Port Patrick, Scotland, Dalzeel went to sea as a child and, by the age of 23, was captain of his own ship with six successful voyages to his credit. Earning a reputation for dishonesty, Dalzeel arrived in Madagascar in 1685 and soon enlisted into the ranks of Captain Avery.

According to pirate lore, Dalzeel participated in the capture of the treasure ship Ganj-i-Sawai, which carried The Great Mogul's daughter to her arranged marriage. Avery, who had decided to take her as his own wife, gave Dalzeel his own ship and crew within Avery's fleet. Dalzeel would continue to serve under Avery until finally leaving for the West Indies on his own.

However, upon their arrival in the Caribbean, the pirates' search for targets was fruitless. With their supplies slowly running short, starvation began to set in before a Spanish vessel was sighted. As the ship came into view, Dalzeel realized the Spanish ship was a well-armed Spanish war galleon which had presumably become separated from its escorts. Despite their ship's smaller size, Dalzeel gave orders to close in on the ship.

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Born
1662
Scotland
Profession
Died
Dec 5, 1715
London

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

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