(PIRATES) Royal proclamation offering rewards and amnesty fo

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(PIRATES.) Royal proclamation offering rewards and amnesty for the apprehension of pirates, in an issue of the London Gazette. 2 pages, 11 1/2 x 7 1/2 inches, on one sheet; stitch holes, slightly cropped on top edge, minor edge wear. London, 17 March 1700 [1701]

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The entire first page is devoted to a 6 March royal proclamation by King William III which acknowledges that "Pirates do Continue to Infest the Seas wherein our Subjects Trade," and offers pardons and generous rewards to those who offer testimony or help bring pirates to justice. Captured pirates and pirate vessels are to be brought to any of the legal ports under authority of the crown, including "Barbados, the Leeward Islands, Jamaica, Bermudos, Virginia, Maryland, New-Yorke, or the Massachusets Bay in New-England," as well as Newfoundland and three slave ports in Africa. The notorious pirate "Henry Every, alias Bridgeman" is specifically excluded from the offer of pardon. Captain William Kidd, then awaiting execution in London, is not mentioned.