Benjamin Hornigold

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"After you subdue a prize, project authority and demand respect that you would never give yourself. This weaves a spell over soft minds. For your victims must always have in the back of their minds the uneasy idea that you could snap at any moment and unseam them from prick to sternum."

―Benjamin Hornigold to Edward Kenway, on intimidating one's prey, 1715.

Benjamin Hornigold (1680s – 1719) was an English pirate from 1715 to 1718, and a member of the Templar Order. He was most famous for mentoring Edward Thatch and for being one of the founders of the Pirate Republic at Nassau.

Biography

Early life

Hornigold was born in England in the 1680s, and at some point made his way across the ocean to the West Indies as a privateer. His first known act of piracy was in the winter of 1713-1714, when he used several small canoes and a sloop to raid ships and settlements in the Bahamas, eventually capturing a thirty-gun Brig that he named the Ranger. This ship would eventually be given to his fellow pirate Charles Vane. 

During Hornigold's first years as a pirate, his second-in-command was former privateer Edward Thatch. Soon their fleet expanded to five warships, led by the flagship Benjamin, pirating everywhere from Nassau to the Honduran coast.

However, Hornigold was known not to attack British ships, leading some to believe that he was actually a privateer instead of a pirate. Sometime during this period he met Edward Kenway, who was recruited by Thatch during their career as privateers.

Leader of the Pirate Republic

"Jaysus, let that dream go, lad. Nassau is the place to be, not England."

― Hornigold convincing Edward to remain in Nassau.

Eventually, Hornigold helped establish a Pirate Republic called 'the Brethren of the Coast' in Nassau, sharing the responsibilities of leadership with Thatch, Vane, and James Kidd. When Kenway made his way to Nassau in 1715, Hornigold taught him how to successfully plunder ships, upgrade the Jackdaw, and lower his notoriety. Hornigold also tried to persuade Edward to give up on his estranged wife, Caroline Scott, and settle in Nassau.

Over the next three years, word reached Nassau that a pardon was being offered by Governor Woodes Rogers to any pirate who would accept it. Hornigold kept the pardon in mind as Nassau was ravaged by disease without an available cure.

While Thatch wished to steal medicine from British warships, Hornigold suggested that they temporarily halt their pirating activities until the British no longer deemed them a threat. This resulted in an argument between the two until Kenway proposed a third solution: search for medicines in old wrecks without attracting British attention. 

While Hornigold and Thatch were both initially satisfied with this approach, it was soon revealed that medicines found in the shipwrecks were in poor condition. Frustrated by their lack of success, Thatch used the Queen Anne's Revenge to assault a British Man o' War, which left Hornigold's ship damaged. While his crew were repairing the ship, Hornigold met with Kenway and informed him of Thatch's decision. Before Kenway sailed off to look for Thatch, Hornigold told him to leave Thatch be, saying the man should take responsibility for his actions.

Although Kenway and Thatch were eventually able to recover medicines for the colony, the British arrived months later and blockaded Nassau. After meeting with Woodes Rogers and Commodore Peter Chamberlaine to discuss the King's pardon, Hornigold, Josiah Burgess and John Cockram accepted the offer and became pirate hunters for the British, tasked with bringing their former allies to justice.

Joining the Templars

Edward: "A pox on you, traitor! You sold us down river!"

Hornigold: "Because I found a better path! The Templars know order. Discipline. Structure. But you never could fathom these subtleties."

—Hornigold to Kenway, defending the Templar cause, 1719.

As a newly appointed pirate hunter, Hornigold became more notorious than he had ever been before, capturing several pirates who refused to take the pardon. Under Roger's command, Hornigold grew to respect his superior, and soon became a member of the Templar Order along with Burgess and Cockram.

In 1719, Hornigold and Rogers met in Kingston. Hornigold questioned the purpose of collecting blood samples and Roger's tactics when dealing with pirates in Madagascar. Upon hearing that the blood would be used for the purposes of spying, Hornigold expressed some concern, as he had given a sample of his blood as well. However, Rogers assured Hornigold that his sample would not be used in this manner; rather, it would act as a display of trust.

They later met with the Templar Grand Master Laureano de Torres y Ayala, telling him that Burgess and Cockram were close to locating the Sage Bartholomew Roberts in Príncipe. In the midst of their conversation, Hornigold spotted the Jackdaw anchored in the harbor, and realized that Kenway was spying on them.

Forced out of hiding, Kenway admonished Hornigold for his betrayal; Hornigold defended himself by claiming that the Templars' actions were just, and that Kenway could never understand their cause. He then made his escape with the other Templars, leaving Kenway to deal with his men.

Death

"Some mighty piss-poor sailing back there, lads! And if we live out this day, by God, I'm flaying every last bitch of you! Steady up! And kep your backs together, lads! This fight ain't over!"

―Benjamin Hornigold, making his last stand, 1719.

Hornigold later followed Kenway and Roberts to the Yucatan Peninsula, but was detected by the pirates and sailed into a rocky, fog-covered formation known as "the Devil's Backbone". Kenway's Jackdaw managed to avoid British ships looking for him and traded blows with the Benjamin.

Lost in the fog, the Benjamin ran aground on the deserted island of Santanillas. Hornigold climbed to the top of an abandoned Mayan temple on the island, creating a makeshift perimeter with his soldiers, but Kenway was able to scale the building and air assassinate his former friend. 

Collapsing, Hornigold tells Kenway of how low he had fallen, who retorts that Hornigold is no better than him. With his dying words, Hornigold expressed regret that Kenway was too enamored with glory and bloodshed to see the wisdom of the Templars, and told Kenway that he would die alone and disgraced if he kept his present course.

Personality and Characteristics

Edward: "Remember the pardon, Thatch. We're to be subtle."

Thatch: "Says Hornigold! A pirate now too proud to call himself one!"

Edward: "Ah, he prefers caution to cannons."

— Kenway and Thatch, regarding Hornigold's approach to the King's Pardon, 1718.

Though taking the career of a pirate after the War of the Spanish Succession, Hornigold chose not to attack any British ships. This was likely out of loyalty towards his home country, showing his sense of patriotism. In spite of this, he was well respected among his crew and pirate colleagues alike. However, Kenway and Thatch noted that Hornigold never really intended to become a pirate, and was forced to do so due to privateers being rendered unnecessary after the war.

Unlike Thatch or Vane, Hornigold had a more military bearing, more compared to a British soldier rather than a pirate. this shows his unwillingness to accept his career of piracy. He also dislikes using force even if the situation calls for it, such as when Nassau needed medicines, Hornigold chose not to act in fear of provoking the British.

When Hornigold founded the Pirate Republic, he had strong faith that this new community would grow and thrive. But after Nassau fell due to disease, poor governance and economy, Hornigold became disillusioned by the pirate cause and accepted the King's Pardon, willing to bring his former comrades to justice as a pirate hunter. With this, he joined the Templars and shared their ideals of a New World Order, which contrasts the ideals of freedom from higher authority that the pirates had.

Final words

• Hornigold: You could have been a man who stood for something. But you've a killer's heart now. With nothing but mettle to show for all your blunders.
• Edward: A damn sight better than you have, Ben. The heart of a traitor, who thinks himself better than his mates!
• Hornigold: Aye, and proven true! What have you done since Nassau fell? Nothing but murder and mayhem!
• Edward: You threw in with the very kind we once hated!
• Hornigold: No! These Templars are different. I wish you could see that. But if you continue on your present course, you'll find you're the only one walking it! With the gallows at its end.
• Edward: It may be. But now the world has one less snake in it. And that's enough for me.

Trivia

• Hornigold is one of the pirates featured in the forthcoming Abstergo Entertainment movie Devils of the Caribbean.

Gallery

• 
  Concept art of Hornigold
• 
  Hornigold with Thatch and Kenway
• 
  Hornigold among other pirates
• 
  Hornigold and Kenway capturing a Spanish ship
• 
  Hornigold, Kenway and Thatch in Salt Key
• 
  Hornigold aboard the Benjamin
• 
  Hornigold arguing with Charles Vane
• 
  Hornigold with Torres and Rogers in Kingston
• 
  Edward confronting Hornigold

Reference

• Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag