Benjamin Bennett (governor)
Benjamin Bennett was a colonial governor of Bermuda in the early eighteenth century. He first took office in 1701.[1] His administration was involved in disputes over piracy, privateering and maritime justice.[2]
Privateering and official disputes
Bennett encouraged privateering while seeking to regulate its conduct and the proceedings of Bermuda's vice-admiralty court. He clashed with George Larkin, an official commissioned to investigate pirates, and Edward Jones, the island's secretary and provost marshal. Both sides sent complaints to the authorities in London. Bennett imprisoned the two men and refused them permission to leave Bermuda; they nevertheless departed in 1702. Hazel Wilkinson's study of these disputes records that Bennett was exonerated in Chancery in 1723.[2]
Maritime court
Bennett also used the court's silver oar as a ceremonial symbol of authority. Made by the London goldsmith Anthony Nelme in 1697, it bore Bennett's arms and insignia on one side. After Bennett's arrival, much of the court's business concerned enemy ships captured in wartime.[3]
References
- ↑ Government of Bermuda. “Previous Governors of Bermuda”. Published 3 March 2016; updated 22 July 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Wilkinson, Hazel (2019). “The Voyage of Richard Castelman (1726): a new document for transatlantic literary studies”. The Review of English Studies, 70 (295), pp. 467–488. Peer-reviewed manuscript, numbered pp. 15–16 and 20.
- ↑ Harris, Edward (2 February 2013). “Judgments on the ‘Old Year’”. The Royal Gazette.