Daniel Elfrith was particularly known for capturing Spanish slave ships bound for the Spanish Main and selling the slaves himself to rival colonies in the Caribbean and the American colonies.
12 Facts About Daniel Elfrith
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2.
Daniel Elfrith is one of the earliest Englishmen, along with Sussex Camock, to discover and later take part in the initial settlement of the Providence Island colony in 1629.
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An active privateer in the West Indies as early as 1607, Daniel Elfrith commanded the Treasurer for several years.
4.
In mid-1613, Daniel Elfrith arrived in Bermuda with a Spanish caravel full of grain for the starving island colonists.
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In early 1618, Daniel Elfrith was hired by Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick, Lord de la Warr, and others to captain the Treasurer for a privateering expedition to the West Indies.
6.
Daniel Elfrith's employers managed to obtain a privateering commission from Charles Emmanuel I through his ambassador to England, Count Scarnafissi.
7.
Daniel Elfrith's arrival was far less welcoming, learning that Charles Emmanuel I had made peace with Spain and that Governor Argall had been replaced by Edwin Sandys, and left the colony almost as soon as he arrived.
8.
Daniel Elfrith instead returned to Bermuda where the slaves were put to work on the estate of his employer the Earl of Warwick.
9.
Nathaniel Butler, governor of Bermuda and protege of the Earl of Warwick, wrote to the Earl reporting that Daniel Elfrith's vessel was "in an unseaworthy condition and with her a number of negros" when he arrived in the island later that year.
10.
Camock stayed with 30 of his men to explore one of the islands, San Andres, while Daniel Elfrith took the Warwicke back to Bermuda bringing news of Providence Island.
11.
Daniel Elfrith was appointed admiral of the colony's military forces in 1631, and Black Rock Fort the following year, remaining the overall military commander for over seven years.
12.
Daniel Elfrith's raid not only revealed the colony's presence to the Spaniards but left the colony open to attack before adequate fortifications could be built.