Captain Ralph Stout

Posted by Under The Black Flag biographiesCaptain Ralph Stout 11:33 μ.μ.

In 1692 Ralph Stout was arrested in India while serving with James Kelley. The prisoners escaped 4 years later after stealing a boat. They made their way to Bombay and upon arriving they enlisted with Captain Edgecumbe aboard his ship the Mocha, an East Indiaman. Eight days after leaving port, Stout and other members of the crew seized the Mocha. Twenty-Seven of the crew escaped, reaching shore in the ship's boat. Captain Edgecumbe, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky. He was bludgeoned to death with broken bottles and thrown to the sharks. The pirate's reward was £ 19,000 found aboard the ship. The crew elected Stout as their new captain.

Stout sailed their newly captured ship to Mergui Archipelago, which is southeast of Burma, where he ran into the merchant ship which had arrested Robert Culliford as well as others. Stout captured the ship and freed the prisoners and the freed pirates joined his crew.
In 1693 Stout cruised between India and the Strait of Malacca alongside the ship the Charming Mary. They were extremely successful, plundering at least seven ships and collected quite a bit of booty.
Stout was not adverse to torturing his prisoners as the following testifies: In February, 1697, after capturing a Portuguese ship, they hoisted a priest up with his hands tied over his head. The priest then had parts of his head sliced off by the pirates. A short time later the crew and passengers aboard another seized vessel were locked up in the hold and burned alive with the ship.
The two ships parted around April, 1697. The Charming Mary sailing for Sumatra and Stout sailing the Mocha to the Laccadive Islands. It was here that Stout met his end. One account has it that his men killed him because he wanted to retire. Another that he was slain by Malay seamen visiting the islands.