Alexander Dalzeel Alexander Dalzeel ( c . 1662 – December 5 , 1715 ) was a seventeenth - century pirate and former officer under Henry Avery . Born in Port Patrick , Scotland , Dalzeel went to sea as a child and , by the age of 23 , was captain of his own ship with six successful voyages to his credit . Earning a reputation for dishonesty , Dalzeel arrived in Madagascar in 1685 and soon enlisted into the ranks of Captain Avery . According to pirate lore , Dalzeel participated in the capture of the treasure ship " Ganj - i - Sawai " , which carried The Great Mogul ' s daughter to her arranged marriage . Avery , who had decided to take her as his own wife , gave Dalzeel his own ship and crew within Avery ' s fleet . Dalzeel would continue to serve under Avery until finally leaving for the West Indies on his own . However , upon their arrival in the Caribbean , the pirates ' search for targets was fruitless . With their supplies slowly running short , starvation began to set in before a Spanish vessel was sighted . As the ship came into view , Dalzeel realized the Spanish ship was a well - armed Spanish war galleon which had presumably become separated from its escorts . Despite their ship ' s smaller size , Dalzeel gave orders to close in on the ship . Although the Spanish ship ' s captain had been informed of the pirate ship ' s presence earlier , he felt it too small to be a threat and retired to his cabin for a game of cards . As the ship approached the galleon , Dalzeel ordered a hole to be drilled in the side of his own ship so that his crew would be forced to fight to the death . Caught completely off guard , the Spaniards offered little resistance as Dalzeel ' s crew boarded the galleon . Within minutes the ship was theirs and , storming into the captain ' s quarters , they demanded his surrender at gunpoint . After sailing his prize to Jamaica , Dalzeel was apprehended while attempting to capture a fleet of twelve Spanish pearl ships escorted by a Spanish man - o - war . In exchange for his surrender , Dalzeel and his crew were not forced into slavery or hard labor , as was common practice for captured pirates . Released ashore , Dalzeel made his way back to Jamaica . There he began outfitting another ship and was soon sailing for Cuba . Again his outnumbered crew was captured by a Spanish naval patrol of three warships bound for Havana , where he was sentenced to be hanged at sea . Dalzeel , however , quickly made his escape after stabbing a guard and using two empty jugs to float to shore . Soon encountering another band of pirates , Dalzeel was able to convince them to attack and successfully capture the warship which had held him prisoner . As the pirates neared Jamaica , their ship sank in a sudden storm although Dalzeel was able to survive the storm in a canoe . During the War of the Spanish Succession , Dalzeel was granted a commission by the French as a privateer . He enjoyed considerable success against British and allied nations before his eventual capture in 1712 . Taken back to England , he was tried and convicted of treason and sentenced to be hanged , drawn and quartered . However , at the behest of the Earl of Mar , Dalzeel received a royal pardon and , upon his release , sailed for French waters , where he captured a French ship . He then had the captured crew ' s necks tied to their heels and thrown overboard to watch them drown . Eventually captured in Scotland , he was returned to London , where he was hanged on December 15 , 1715 .