Charles Vane

Charles Vane (c. 1680 – 1721) was an English pirate captain who sailed the Caribbean on his brigantine, the Ranger. He made a name for himself by targeting English, Spanish, and French industry ships from 1716 until 1719, and was notorious for his harsh treatment of merchant seafarers and soldiers alike. He additionally served as one of the leaders of the Pirate Republic in Nassau, until its collapse in 1718.
==Biography==
===Early life===
Like his compatriots Benjamin Hornigold, Edward Thatch, and Edward Kenway, Vane worked as a privateer under the British crown.Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Database: Charles Vane In 1714, he was one of many seamen seeking employment in Port Royal,Assassin's Creed: Initiates – Database: A Vicious Captain Kingston and was hired by Captain Henry Jennings.Assassin's Creed: Initiates – Database: Unemployed Seamen
For the next several months, Vane operated under the command of Jennings, who was most notable for attacking Spanish ships salvaging cargo from the Spanish Treasure Fleet shipwreck site. However, with the ending the War of the Spanish Succession and making the life of a privateer unsustainable, Vane turned to piracy and sailed for Nassau in late 1715.
In September of that year, Vane launched a preemptive attack on El Arca del Maestro, a Spanish galleon captained by the French buccaneer Julien du Casse. However, the Ranger was no match for the galleon and was forced to retreat.Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Proper Defenses
===Joining the Pirate Republic===
Once he set out on his own, Vane recruited his old friend "Calico" Jack Rackham as his quartermaster. Arriving in Nassau in January 1717,Assassin's Creed: Initiates – Database: Calico Jack the two were greeted by Edward Kenway and informed him of a large prize in a nearby fort.Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – The Forts In May of the same year, sobered and enraged by the rum shortage in Nassau, Vane recklessly attacked the ships of the area and was only saved when the English pirate Christopher Condent tasked the French pirate Alonzo Batilla with stopping Vane from dooming both himself and the Pirate Republic by attracting too much attention on Nassau.Assassin's Creed: Pirates – The Pirate Republic
In March 1718, Vane gathered a force and organized a raid on Harbour Island, intending to loot the island before the Royal Navy arrived. He also marooned the island's Deputy Governor, Richard Thompson on a deserted islet, since Thompson refused to tell the pirate where his gold was located. Meanwhile, Alonzo Batilla was looking for Thompson, in the hope to find out more on the whereabouts of La Buse.Assassin's Creed: Pirates – The Merchant King
Vane was then confronted by Alonzo, who demanded he surrendered Thompson. Vane refused and sent his flotilla to attack Alonzo, who in turn sank his fleet. Vane then tried to escape by dropping a trail of mines but to no avail, since Alonzo caught up to him and after a short battle, he was defeated. At last, Vane surrendered, telling Alonzo the location of Thompson.
In July 1718, Vane was present when Woodes Rogers arrived in Nassau to offer its residents the King George I's pardon, absolving them of their crimes if they chose to give up piracy.Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – We Demand a Parlay Unlike Benjamin Hornigold, Vane was not keen on accepting the pardon, and worked with Kenway to orchestrate an escape from the barricaded Nassau. Together, they planned to build a fireship with gunpowder to clear the blockade.Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – The Gunpowder Plot
While Kenway stole the gunpowder from the British, Vane managed to secure the pine pitch. However, they overheard that Commodore Peter Chamberlaine intended to disregard Roger's orders and destroy all pirate ships in Nassau's harbors. In order to ensure the success of their plan, Vane suggested that Kenway deal with Chamberlaine.Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Commodore Eighty-Sixed
After Chamberlaine was assassinated, Vane met up with Edward to load the gunpowder aboard Rackham's ship, the Royal Phoenix. Before they left, Vane violently berated Rackham for smoking a pipe near the gunpowder. The fireship proved to be successful, destroying the ships blockading one of Nassau's harbors, allowing the Jackdaw and the Ranger to escape, with Vane shouting oaths and insults back at the foundering British.Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – The Fireship
===Mutiny and marooning===
When Edward Thatch announced his retirement from piracy, Vane sailed to North Carolina in a bid to dissuade him, and convince Thatch to help take back Nassau. However, his efforts were in vain and he departed, empty-handed and cursing Thatch.Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Do Not Go Gently...
After Thatch's death at the hands of the British, Vane decided to help Kenway find the Observatory. The pair tailed the Royal African Pearl, a slave ship belonging to the Royal African Company, in the hopes of finding information on the Sage Bartholomew Roberts. Vane recklessly fired on the Pearl, apparently heedless of the danger such an action posed to the slaves below deck. However, the slave ship outgunned the Ranger by a significant margin and returned fire, crippling Vane's ship and leaving it dead in the water.Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Vainglorious Bastards
Vane and his crew were rescued by Kenway, who brought his Jackdaw alongside the Ranger, and joined them in the subsequent battle and capture of the Royal African Pearl. They learned from the Pearls captain that Roberts crewed a ship called the Princess and could be found in Kingston, with Vane subsequently shooting out the captain's left hip.
Seconds later, Rackham and the surviving crew mutinied against Vane and Kenway, commandeering the Jackdaw and marooning both of them on Isla Providencia. During their time on the island, Vane's behavior became increasingly erratic; he took to hiding in the jungle, emerging only to steal food and resources that Kenway had gathered.Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – Marooned
Growing frustrated with Vane's actions, Kenway pursued the man, and Vane fiercely retaliated with an arsenal of recovered weaponry. Despite this, Edward managed to neutralize Vane – but spared him – abandoning the man on the island while he escaped by commandeering a passing fisherman's schooner.
===Imprisonment and death===
Some time after Edward's escape, a British ship stopped at the island. Taking his chances, Vane approached the vessel and tried to talk his way onboard like Edward had done. However, the ship's captain was a former pirate who recognized Vane and decided to leave him marooned. Fortunately for Charles though, a few weeks later, another British vessel showed up and this time, Vane was not recognized. As such, he was able to secure passage off of the island.
Unfortunately, this stroke of good fortune soon turned out to be a curse disguised as a blessing; Vane soon discovered that this new vessel was working with the previous one he had encountered and that the first ship's captain was aboard. Vane tried to keep a low profile, but a few days later, he was spotted by the original captain. After confirming that it was indeed Charles Vane standing in their midst, the former pirate informed all aboard of their passenger's true identity. Vane was immediately arrested, handed over to Port Royal's authorities, and imprisoned, where he would remain for the next two years.
Edward Kenway was later captured due to Roberts' treachery in Jamaica and was likewise imprisoned at Port Royal.Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – The Observatory One night whilst hanging within a gibbet, Kenway overheard his guards talking about some of his former acquaintances, including Charles Vane. The soldiers mentioned that Vane had already been tried and convicted of piracy, but could not understand why he had not been executed yet like Stede Bonnet or Jack Rackham.Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – To Suffer Without Dying
Not long afterwards, Ah Tabai liberated Edward, asking for assistance in rescuing Anne Bonny and Mary Read, who were also imprisoned within the fort. After sneaking past the garrison, sabotaging several alarm bells and paying respects to Rackham's remains, Edward infiltrated the prison. Upon entering the building, Edward heard somebody singing a familiar sea shanty in a slurred, almost drunken manner. After eliminating the guards that stood in his way, Edward realized that the tune was coming from one of the prison cells. Approaching the corner cell, Edward found Vane sitting on the floor, still deliriously singing "".
Edward greeted his former comrade, saying that he had heard about his capture, but Charles, who appeared to have gone completely mad, barely registered Kenway's presence. Edward quickly realized that there was nothing he could do for the man; Vane's mind was broken beyond repair and saving him would have been detrimental to also rescuing Anne and Mary. Still needing to find the two women but also knowing full well what lay in store for the condemned man, Edward left Vane to his fate and sorrowfully wished him luck. Despite their falling out on the island, Edward nevertheless pitied Vane and lamented how he wished they could have exchanged a proper farewell as friends. The completely oblivious Vane did not appear to understand what had just happened and shortly after Edward left, he went back to his singing.
A few days later, on 29 March 1721, Vane was publicly hanged for piracy. His body was left on display in a outside Port Royal's harbor as a warning to other pirates.
===Legacy===
In October 1722, when Edward fondly recalled his late friends in Great Inagua prior to his departure from the Caribbean and return to England, Vane appeared among them.Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag – The End
In 2023, when Edward's descendant Noa Kim came into contact with a crescent-shaped Piece of Eden in the SS Ourang Medan's shipwreck, the artifact's powers, combined with the Bleeding Effect, caused Noa to experience several hallucinations of Edward's memories. One of these visions depicted Vane alongside Edward's other friends, including Benjamin Hornigold, Mary Read and Edward Thatch.Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple – Episode 77
==Personality and traits==
Charles Vane was a rude, foul-mouthed, sadistic, hateful, and self-centered pirate. Unlike his peers, he was not very interested in the principle of liberty beyond the wanton freedom to indulge in hedonism. His language was frequently vulgar and profane, and he delighted in insulting others. He trusted virtually no one, not even his friends.Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
His mental health gradually degraded during his time being stranded on Isla Providencia; when his speech and actions became more frantic, driven by paranoia, only exacerbated upon his imprisonment. He also developed a habit of singing sea shanties to himself on the island, especially "Down Among the Dead Men." When Edward found him in a Jamaican prison two years later, Charles merely mumbled the lyrics of the shanty and could not acknowledge Edward's presence.
==Behind the scenes==
Charles Vane is a historical character first introduced in the 2013 video game Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, where he was voiced by the English actor Ralph Ineson. Historically, Vane died before Mary Read. He was executed in March 1721, whilst Mary died in prison one month later in April 1721 under unknown circumstances. In-game, however, the order of their deaths is reversed.
"Down Among the Dead Men", a sea shanty that Vane sings on Isla Providencia, is popularly attributed to the English poet . This is an anachronism, as Dyer only began writing poetry – much of which was later adapted into song – in 1721, well after Vane's marooning on the island.
Vane is one of the few characters in the series to share their final words in the Memory Corridor and then ultimately survive their wounds.
==Gallery==
Charles Vane concept art.jpg|Concept art of Charles Vane
ACMVane.jpg|Assassin's Creed: Memories art of Vane
ACMVaneBattle.jpg|Memories art of Vane in battle
Charles Vane Pirates.png|Vane as he appears in Assassin's Creed: Pirates
Diving for Medicines 12.png|Vane telling his fellow pirates about the King's pardon
We Demand A Parlay 9.png|Vane and Rackham arguing with Benjamin Hornigold
Commodore Eighty-Sixed 4.png|Vane knocking out an accomplice
Vainglorious Bastards 2.png|Vane reminiscing about his father
Marooned 4.png|Vane leveling a gun at Edward
Marooned 6.png|Edward standing over the beaten Vane
ACFT - Noa confronted by Edward's past.png|Noa Kim seeing an apparition of Vane alongside Edward's other friends
==Appearances==
*Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag 
*Assassin's Creed: Black Flag
*Assassin's Creed: Initiates 
*Assassin's Creed: Pirates
*Assassin's Creed: Memories
*Assassin's Creed: Rebellion 
*Assassin's Creed: Forgotten Temple 
==References==
de:Charles Vane
es:Charles Vane
fr:Charles Vane
hu:Charles Vane
it:Charles Vane
nl:Charles Vane
pl:Charles Vane
pt-br:Charles Vane
ru:Чарльз Вэйн
zh:查尔斯·维恩
Category:1680 births
Category:1721 deaths
Category:Individuals
Category:English people
Category:Pirates
Category:Privateers
Category:Pirate captains
Category:Flying Gang members