Thomas Cocklyn

Who is Thomas Cocklyn?

Thomas Cocklyn was an 18th-century English pirate, known primarily for his association and partnership with Howell Davis and Oliver La Buze. He was reportedly elected captain "due to his brutality and ignorance" when first sailing from New Providence in 1717.

On April 1, 1719, Cocklyn was a participant in the capture of the West African-bound English slave ship the Bird Galley at the mouth of the Sierra Leone River. The three pirate captains celebrated their victory on board the ship for nearly a month before releasing its captain, William Snelgrave, and giving him the Bristol Snow and the remaining cargo left from the pirates' week-long occupation of the ship.

Due to disagreements between the captains, the three parted ways on May 10, 1719. Subsequently, records of Cocklyn's career and life after 1719 are undocumented.