Bartholomew Roberts was well known around Newfoundland coast, but for the wrong reasons. He captures 26 sloops and 150 fishing boats while destroying sheds and machinery along the shore. Roberts obtained an 18 gun galley and traded her for a 28 gun French ship and renamed it to the “Royal Fortune”. Afterwards the Royal Fortune sailed south and defeated over a dozen English Merchantmen. In 1720, Roberts reached  the West Indies where he attacked the harbor at Saint Kitts.

In Janurary, Roberts had obtained a 32 gun Dutch slaver which he used to trick the people of Martinique. He sailed the ship past the harbors, which signaled to the people that they should come and trade for slaves, but when the people came instead of seeing the trade boat, They would see Robert’s ship. Roberts would take them all in as prisoners and torture them severely. He then renamed his ship from to the “Good Fortune”.