In September 1722, a Welsh sailor named John Evans and a handful of men stole a canoe from Port Royal, Jamaica, and turned pirate. Within months, they had seized a sloop, mounted four cannons, and plundered several vessels. Then they sailed for Grand Cayman to clean their ship. There, a quarrel with his boatswain ended with Evans shot through the head, the boatswain killed by his own crew, and roughly thirty men carrying ashore a fortune of about £9,000 — equivalent to nearly £2 million today. What happened to that treasure, and to the men who brought it, is a question that still hangs over the island’s west coast.
In 1722, roughly thirty pirates came ashore at Grand Cayman carrying about £9,000 — a fortune equivalent to nearly £2 million today. No record says what became of the men or the money.
The Cayman Islands are better known today for offshore banking and pristine beaches than for buccaneers. But the archipelago’s pirate past is not a tourist invention. It is a documented chapter of Caribbean history, recorded in the 1724 book A General History of the Pyrates by Captain Charles Johnson, and etched into place names like Boatswain’s Bay and Hell. This article investigates what the historical record actually says about pirates in the Cayman Islands, how the lore evolved, and what traces — real and imagined — remain visible today.
The Cayman Islands had a real but brief pirate presence in the early 18th century, mostly as a hideout and careening stop. The most famous stories — Blackbeard’s buried treasure, secret caves full of gold — are unverified legends. What is documented is a single, well-recorded pirate crew that dissolved on Grand Cayman in 1722, leaving behind a place name and an unsolved mystery about their loot.
History enthusiasts curious about documented Caribbean piracy
Travelers wanting to understand place names and local lore
Readers skeptical of romanticized pirate stories
Quick Reference: Key Figures and Events in Cayman’s Pirate History
| Figure / Event | Date | Documented Source | Connection to Cayman |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher Columbus sights the islands | May 10, 1503 | Columbus’s own log | Named them “Las Tortugas” for the sea turtles; no pirate connection |
| Captain John Evans and crew | September 1722 | A General History of the Pyrates (1724) | Arrived at Grand Cayman to clean ship; Evans killed in mutiny; crew dispersed ashore with £9,000 |
| Blackbeard (Edward Teach) | c. 1716–1718 | No contemporary Cayman-specific record | Local legend says he used Cayman caves as a hideout and buried treasure; unverified |
| Boatswain’s Bay, Grand Cayman | Named after the 1722 event | Place name on modern maps | Commemorates the boatswain who killed Captain Evans |
The table above separates documented history from legend. The Evans story is the only pirate event in Cayman with a clear contemporary source. Everything else — Blackbeard’s caves, buried chests, ghost ships — belongs to oral tradition and later embellishment.
Where the Pirate Record Begins: Captain John Evans and the Scowerer
The most reliable account of piracy in the Cayman Islands comes from A General History of the Pyrates, published in 1724 under the name Captain Charles Johnson — widely believed to be a pseudonym, possibly for Daniel Defoe. The book describes Evans as a “Welch Man” working as a mate on ships out of Jamaica. In September 1722, he and three or four others left Port Royal in a canoe, raided a few houses, and seized a Bermuda sloop they renamed the Scowerer. After fitting it with four cannons, they captured several vessels and recruited crew members from their prizes.
The account states they sailed to “the Grand Caimanes, about 30 Leagues to Leeward of Jamaica, with Intention to clean there.” Cleaning — careening a ship to scrape barnacles and make repairs — was a routine stop for pirates in remote anchorages. But an argument between Evans and his boatswain escalated. The boatswain challenged Evans to a duel, then refused to fight. Evans beat him with a cane; the boatswain drew a pistol and shot Evans through the head. The crew chased down the boatswain, who was shot dead by the gunner. With no one left willing to navigate, the crew agreed to break up. Thirty men went ashore at Grand Cayman, carrying about £9,000. The mate and a boy sailed the Scowerer back to Port Royal.
The most common misconception is that the Cayman Islands were a major pirate base like Nassau or Port Royal. The historical record shows only a handful of documented pirate visits, mostly for careening and fresh water. The islands were sparsely populated until the 1730s, making them a convenient stopover, not a permanent stronghold.
What happened to the £9,000 and the thirty men who went ashore is unknown. The book offers no further detail. Some local traditions hold that the treasure was buried and never recovered, but no archaeological evidence supports this. The place name Boatswain’s Bay (pronounced “bosun”) on Grand Cayman’s west coast is the only tangible trace.
How Colonization Reshaped the Pirate Narrative
The first permanent settlers arrived in the Cayman Islands in the 1730s — a decade after Evans’s crew dispersed. These early residents included shipwrecked sailors, refugees from the Spanish Inquisition, and ex-soldiers from Oliver Cromwell’s army. The first recorded Caymanian, Isaac Bodden, was born around 1700. For these settlers, piracy was not a romantic heritage but a recent memory of lawlessness. The islands had no formal government until 1734, when the British appointed the first commissioner.
By the 19th century, as the British Empire consolidated control and piracy declined across the Caribbean, the stories began to shift. What had been a threat became a source of local color. Place names like Hell (a limestone formation near West Bay) and Pirate’s Cave were attached to natural features, often with invented backstories. The Cayman Islands’ pirate lore grew in the 20th century alongside tourism, with guidebooks and excursions promoting tales of Blackbeard’s hidden gold.
What Outsiders Usually Get Wrong About Cayman’s Pirate Lore
Several myths recur in travel writing about the Cayman Islands. The first is that Blackbeard (Edward Teach) used the islands as a hideout and buried treasure there. No contemporary document links Blackbeard to the Cayman Islands. His known activities centered on the Carolinas, the Bahamas, and the eastern Caribbean. The association appears to be a 20th-century invention, possibly borrowed from more famous pirate legends elsewhere.
The second myth is that the islands’ caves — particularly those on Cayman Brac — are filled with pirate gold. While the caves are real and historically used for shelter, no verified treasure has ever been found. The Cayman Brac caves were used by early settlers and later as hurricane shelters, not as pirate vaults.
If you visit Boatswain’s Bay on Grand Cayman, look for the roadside sign marking the location. The bay itself is a residential area with no public access or interpretive center. The best way to engage with the history is to read the original 1724 account before you go — it’s available online through the Cayman Compass article that reprints the relevant passage.
A third misconception is that piracy was a major economic force in the islands’ development. In reality, the Cayman economy before the 20th century depended on turtle fishing, shipbuilding, and seafaring. Piracy was a brief, marginal episode. The islands’ maritime legacy is far more deeply rooted in shipbuilding and seafaring customs than in buccaneering.
How the Pirate Legend Compares Across the Islands
The three Cayman Islands — Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac, and Little Cayman — have different relationships to pirate lore. Grand Cayman, with its larger population and tourism infrastructure, has the most commercialized pirate stories. Cayman Brac, with its dramatic limestone caves, attracts treasure-hunting speculation. Little Cayman, the least developed, has almost no pirate mythology attached to it.
| Island | Pirate Sites | Documented History | Tourist Infrastructure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Cayman | Boatswain’s Bay, Hell, Pirate’s Cave (unofficial) | Evans crew landing (1722) — documented | Pirate-themed cruises, souvenir shops, annual Pirates Week festival |
| Cayman Brac | Limestone caves (multiple) | No documented pirate events; caves used by settlers | Minimal; some cave tours mention pirate lore |
| Little Cayman | None | No documented pirate events | None |
The disparity reflects each island’s settlement history. Grand Cayman was the first to be permanently inhabited and the most connected to shipping routes. Cayman Brac and Little Cayman remained sparsely populated well into the 20th century, leaving less room for pirate stories to take root.
- The only documented pirate event in Cayman history is the 1722 landing of Captain John Evans’s crew, recorded in a 1724 book.
- Blackbeard’s association with the islands is a later invention with no contemporary evidence.
- Place names like Boatswain’s Bay are genuine historical markers, but most pirate caves and treasure stories are unverified.
- Piracy was a brief episode, not a defining feature of Caymanian history — shipbuilding and seafaring were far more significant.
Questions Readers Ask About Cayman’s Pirate Past
Was Blackbeard really in the Cayman Islands?
No contemporary source places Blackbeard in the Cayman Islands. The legend appears to be a 20th-century addition to local lore, possibly borrowed from other Caribbean pirate stories. The only documented pirate captain in Cayman waters is John Evans.
Is there any buried treasure still waiting to be found?
No verified treasure has ever been recovered. The £9,000 carried ashore by Evans’s crew in 1722 has never been accounted for, but there is no evidence it was buried. It may have been spent, hidden, or lost. Treasure hunters have searched without success.
What is the Pirates Week festival?
Pirates Week is an annual festival held in Grand Cayman since 1978, featuring a mock pirate invasion, parades, and cultural events. It is a modern tourism promotion, not a historical reenactment. The festival celebrates Caymanian heritage broadly, not just pirate lore.
Can I visit Boatswain’s Bay?
Boatswain’s Bay is a residential area on Grand Cayman’s west coast. There is a roadside sign marking the location, but no public beach, museum, or interpretive site. The bay is best appreciated as a place name with a documented backstory.
Why do so many Caymanian surnames appear in pirate records?
Common Caymanian surnames like Bodden and Ebanks appear in early settler records, not pirate crews. The first settlers arrived in the 1730s, after the pirate era. The overlap is coincidental — both groups were English-speaking and maritime.
What the Pirate Stories Reveal About Caymanian Identity
The persistence of pirate lore in the Cayman Islands tells us less about the 18th century than about how a small island society chooses to remember itself. The documented history is thin — one crew, one killing, one unsolved fortune. But that sliver of a story has been enough to anchor a whole mythology, complete with festivals, cave tours, and souvenir skull-and-crossbones flags. What the lore reveals is a community comfortable with ambiguity, willing to let a good story stand alongside the historical record. The £9,000 may never be found, but the question itself has become part of the islands’ cultural fabric. For a deeper look at how Caymanian traditions have evolved, read about uncovering island stories and exploring Cayman’s cultural roots.
Sources and further reading
Captain Charles Johnson. A General History of the Pyrates. 1724. 🔗
Crystal Charters. “Pirates, Shipwrecks & Success: History of the Cayman Islands.” 🔗
Related reading on IslandHopperGuides
Sister Islands, Separate Souls: A Deep Dive into Cayman Brac & Little Cayman Culture — explores how each island developed distinct traditions and identities.
Crafting Cayman: Exploring Traditional Arts — Weaving & Woodcarving — examines the material culture that outlasted the pirate era.
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