Howell Davis

Edward Kenway discovering Davis' body

"Our Captain Davis was killed today in a Portuguese ambush. Headstrong fool..."

―Bartholmew Roberts on the late Howell Davis, 1719.

Howell Davis (c. 1690 – 19 June 1719) was a Welsh pirate who operated in West Africa. He was best known as a mentor of the Sage Bartholomew Roberts.

Biography

Howell Davis was born in Pembrokeshire, Wales, in the city of Milford Haven. He became the captain of the sloop Saint James and operated in the Cape Verde islands and West Africa, raiding Portuguese ships. During this time, he recruited Bartholomew Roberts into his crew when he captured the ship that Roberts was working aboard; Roberts eventually became Davis' right-hand man and a navigator aboard the Saint James.

In May 1719, Davis and Roberts landed on the island of Príncipe, a Portuguese colony, with Davis planning to kidnap the Portuguese governor. However, they were ambushed and Davis was killed during the attack, with most of his crew captured or killed as well. Roberts managed to survive the ambush, and was subsequently chosen as the new captain of the Saint James by the surviving crew members, after they were freed from their imprisonment by Edward Kenway, who came to the island in search of the Sage.

Gallery

• 
  Kenway and Roberts standing over Davis' body

Reference

• Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag