John Cockram

Cockram: "You done us good, Kenway. Proved yourself a true bravo. And for what?"

Burgess: "His own bloody pride."

—Cockram and Burgess to Edward Kenway, 1719.

John Cockram (1689 – 1719) was an Irish pirate based in Nassau. Like Josiah Burgess, he had a close relationship with Benjamin Hornigold, one of the leaders of the small pirate republic. After accepting the King's pardon, he was recruited into the Templar Order and became a pirate hunter, working to eliminate his former allies.

Biography

"We've sent two of our best men. Burgess and Cockram. Privateers with fast ships and firm hearts."

―Woodes Rogers, on Burgess and Cockram, 1719.

Little is known of Cockram's life prior to his becoming a pirate. When Benjamin Hornigold was the leading figure in the pirate republic of Nassau, Cockram served as his deputy and was based out of Harbour Island. He also married the daughter of local merchant Richard Thompson.

By 1718, Cockram, along with Burgess and Hornigold, had become dissatisfied with the state of Nassau, feeling it had turned into an unbearable slum. As such, Cockram eagerly accepted the British Crown's pardon, offered to him by Woodes Rogers, and was then invited to join the Templars in their attempts to restore order in the region.

In 1719, he and Burgess were sent to Príncipe, an island on the coast of west Africa, to track down the Sage Bartholomew Roberts. Through their Templar connections, the pair secured an alliance with the Portuguese based there. With the aid of the Portuguese, Cockram and Burgess found and ambushed the crew Roberts was part of, though Roberts himself slipped away.

As Cockram and Burgess made to leave to notify their Templar brethren, they were killed by Edward Kenway, who had teamed up with Roberts in exchange for the location of the Observatory. In their final moments, Cockram and Burgess claimed the Templars had been like a family for them and called Edward out on his selfish motivations.

Legacy

While impactful enough on Edward Kenway's life to warrant a database entry of his own, he was minor enough to be confused with his companion Josiah Burgess by some Abstergo Entertainment employees as noted in said database entry.

The Initiates also included Cockram in their own database.

Gallery

• 
  Concept art of Cockram
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  A close-up of Cockram
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  Renders of Cockram
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  Untextured renders of Cockram
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  Cockram and the pirates of Nassau being told about the pardon
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  Edward Kenway assassinating Cockram and Burgess
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  Cockram and Burgess' final moments

Behind the scenes

John Cockram is a historical figure and character introduced in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, where he is voiced by Diarmaid Murtagh. Historically, he lived well into the 1720s rather than dying in 1719.

In development art for Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, Cockram is shown with a red color scheme - similar to a Redcoat - like his friend Burgess, but has a blue and gold color scheme in the actual game.

If engaged in combat he utilizes the move set of the Officer archetype.

Appearances

• Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (first appearance)
• Assassin's Creed: Initiates (mentioned in Database entry only)
• Assassin's Creed: Pirates (mentioned only)