The fearsome pirate who loved tea

It's a breezy sort of time in Puducherry. I stopped to enjoy the view of the sea this afternoon. The boats on the horizon reminded me of the story of a pirate who loved tea.

- Aravinda Anantharaman

Bartholomew Roberts, or Black Bart, occupies a place in both, the pirate hall of fame and tea lore. It was his preferred beverage our claim to its "cool" factor, I would say. For, Roberts was not only a "successful" pirate, he was quite a personality-flamboyant (think crimson waistcoat, red feather in hat) and charismatic by all accounts.

Born John Roberts in May 1682 in Wales, he became a sailor at 13, working his way up to becoming the second mate in a slave ship. When he was 37, his ship was captured by pirates off the coast of Ghana. He had to become a pirate.

It doesn't seem to have taken him long to take to a life of piracy, though. Within six weeks, the ship's captain was shot dead in an ambush and Roberts was voted captain in his place. He also took the name Bartholomew.