Stede Bonnet

As there are inherent flaws with legislation in historical analysis, so too are there issues with these trial reports. The most obvious concern is that we must rely on the competence and impartiality of court registers which at times was questionable. William Norris, the register of the vice-Admiralty court of Jamaica, recorded little defense for John Rackam and his crew, noting their response to the judge’s inquiries was that “they had no Witnesses, That they had never committed any Acts of…