George Lowther

Who was George Lowther?

George Lowther was an 18th-century English pirate who, although little is known of his life, was active in the Caribbean and Atlantic. One of his lieutenants was Edward Low.

Not much is known about him before becoming the 2nd Mate on the slave ship, Gambia Castle, which was under the command of Captain Charles Russell; however Lowther was more popular with the crew, as Russell seemed to care more about his shipment of slaves than for his men. Russell distrusted Lowther, and when he attempted to have him flogged many crew members took Lowther’s side and defended him, causing a schism among the crew.

Also on board, after retreating from their fort, was a Captain Massey, along with a company of soldiers under his command. One night, while Captain Russell was offboard, Massey and Lowther decided to set sail without him. Massey intended to return to England, but Lowther, the crew, and Massy's own soldiers disagreed. Lowther was made captain and he renamed the Gambia Castle, Delivery. They attacked many ships but when Massey wanted to pillage a village on shore, he lost the vote as the risk was deemed too great.