John Thomson grows up wild in London, a boy drawn to the company of thieves and drinkers, never once cracking open a Bible or any good book. By the time a kind friend arranges an apprenticeship with a weaver, the pull of a rougher life already has its hooks deep in him.
He ships out to war, returns, marries an honest woman, and then signs on as a privateer, where he learns that violence pays and pays well. What happens when a man trained in blood and plunder comes back to the streets of old England is the dark heart of this true crime story.
Listen now to find out what becomes of John Thomson, and how the sea changed him beyond saving.
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FROM THE 1735 TEXT
He had never heard of or read a Bible or other good book throughout all that space.
Dark Lexicon: Old words. Dark meaning.
The past speaks its own dialect; here is what to listen for in this episode.
Listed: today you might list items for sale; in old England, to list yourself meant to enlist, to sign up for military or naval service. Thomson listed himself in the sea service the way a restless young man might walk into a recruiting office.
Man-of-war: not a metaphor but a literal warship, armed and crewed for battle. Thomson served on one during Queen Anne's wars, and the miseries aboard; disease, flogging, hard rations; were notorious in old England.
Prizes: in naval warfare, a prize was an enemy vessel captured at sea along with its cargo. Nineteen prizes in under a year was extraordinary plunder, and Thomson's captain was clearly an aggressive hunter.
Cruise: forget leisure travel; a cruise in old England meant a privateer or naval patrol, sailing in search of enemy ships to seize. It was licensed violence on the open water, and it paid handsomely.
Creditable method of life: a respectable, honest way of earning a living. In old England, creditable carried the weight of public reputation; a creditable man was one his neighbours could trust and vouch for.
Fact: today a fact is a truth; in old England, it often meant a deed or an act, especially a criminal one. Being apprehended soon after this fact means being caught shortly after committing the crime.
Subsistence: bare survival, the barest level of income to keep body and soul together. Thomson went back to sea not for adventure but because weaving could not feed two mouths; subsistence was all he sought.
About This Series
Lives of the Most Remarkable Criminals (1735) is one of the earliest works of true crime in the English language. Each week this podcast retells one of its stories for today's listener, keeping the old book's most striking lines.
