In times gone by, Poole was notorious for its fearsome pirates. Among the most terrifying was Poole born Eric Cobham. In his first act of piracy he stole £40,000 worth of gold and goods from a French vessel. From his base in Newfoundland in Canada, he practised piracy on the high seas. It is said he operated out of Sandy Point on the island’s west coast.
Throughout his ventures between 1740 and 1760, he was accompanied by his wife, the formidable Maria whom he met in a Plymouth tavern. It was a time when piracy was an all male club and Maria was one of the few exceptions. Both were notorious for their cruelty and for sparing no quarter. Captured crews were murdered with some survivors even used for target practice. This left no witnesses. Then, their vessels were sunk to the bottom of the sea. Chillingly and frighteningly, Maria has been described as Canada’s Pirate Queen . She was definitely not a lady with which to tangle. By all accounts, Maria did not play second fiddle to her husband. She was known for often wearing the stolen coat of a Royal Navy officer.
The pirating couple reportedly poisoned the entire crew of one ship so they could watch them writhing in agony. Eventually, they retired to France intent on enjoying their ill-gotten gains. Ironically, Eric Cobham, as a major land owner near Le Havre, became a magistrate and then a judge. Maria found life in France more difficult and went insane. She had taken to alcohol and drugs. It is suspected Maria either committed suicide or was murdered by her husband.
Some reckon that Eric and Maria Cobham never existed while others point to evidence of the pirate couple in the Louvre Museum in Paris.
(Credit: Pirates of Poole.)
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