Dirk Chivers (fl. 1694–1699, first name alternately Dick or Richard, last name occasionally Sievers or Shivers) was a Dutchpirate active in theRed Sea andIndian Ocean.[1]
Dirk Chivers claimed that he "he belongeth toHamburgh," and was first recorded as a crew member of thePortsmouth Adventure under CaptainJoseph Faro (or Farrell) around January 1694.[2] Soon after leavingRhode Island, Chivers saw action in theRed Sea as Farrell,Henry Every, and everal others successfully captured two ships in June 1695 includingGanj-i-Sawai. On its return voyage to Rhode Island,Portsmouth Adventure ran aground onMayotte in theComoro Islands. Chivers stayed behind with several others while Farrell and the others continued on with Every.[1]
Chivers eventually signed aboard the 18-gunResolution after being picked up by CaptainRobert Glover near the end of the year.[3][4] After several months in the Red Sea however, Chivers took part in a mutiny against Glover and had him and his 24 supporters placed onto the recently captured Arab shipRajapura. Elected captain by the crew after the mutiny, he had the ship renamed theSoldado which, during the next year, was successful in capturing a number of valuable prizes before joining up with privateerJohn Hoar.[2]
Together they captured, and subsequently ransomed, twoEast India Company ships. However, the ships were burned when the governor ofAden refused to pay the ransom. One of the captured sailors, a Captain Sawbridge, was said to have had his lips sewn shut with a sail needle in response to his constant complaining.[1]
Chivers and Hoar sailed with four captured prizes into the harbour ofCalcutta in November 1696, where they demanded a ransom of £10,000 for their release sending a message to the governor stating"We acknowledge no country, having sold our own, and as we are sure to be hanged if taken, we shall have no scruple in murdering and destroying if our demands are not granted in full."[1]
The governor of Calcutta disregarded their threats and sent out ten ships against the privateers and, as they appeared in the harbor, Chivers and Hoar fled without their prizes (burning two of them)[1] and made their way toAdam Baldridge's settlement atSaint Mary's Island for repairs (dismantlingThomas Tew's old shipAmity for parts and supplies after capturing it from Hoar's brother-in-lawRichard Glover) arriving in the summer of 1697 where the two parted company as Hoar sailed for the Red Sea. Glover was still there and asked them to return to America; Chivers offered to let him aboard if he'd continue piracy of Moorish ships. Glover refused and Chivers left him there, where Glover was killed in a native uprising.[5]
In April 1698, Chivers captured an English ship, theSedgwick, and struck a deal with theSedgwick's captain: He would be allowed to keep his ship if he agreed to supplying the privateer's crew with rum.[1]
In September, Chivers joined up withRobert Culliford (who had recently leftWilliam Kidd) andJoseph Wheeler with his quartermasterNathaniel North. Together Chivers, Culliford, Wheeler, and North captured theGreat Mohammed along with £130,000. Taking command of his new prize, the ship was renamed theNew Soldado (or theSoldado II) and returned to Saint Mary's Island where they stayed at a settlement run byEdward Welch.[6]
The following year, however, Chivers was forced to sink theNew Soldado to block the harbor passage of Saint Mary's with the appearance of four British warships in September 1699. Despite his efforts, he and Culliford eventually accepted a royal pardon (under the1698 Act of Grace, in spite of its expiration[7]) and arranged passage home on the merchantmanVine.[1] Several members of Chivers' crew returned to America separately, offeringGiles Shelley large sums to take them as passengers aboard his shipNassau.[5]
