Assassin's Creed Wiki
Register
Advertisement
Assassin's Creed Wiki
Cockram: "You done us good, Kenway. Proved yourself a true bravo. And for what?"
Burgess: "His own bloody pride."
—Cockram and Burgess to Edward Kenway, 1719.[src]

John Cockram (1689 – 1719) was an Irish pirate based in Nassau. Like Josiah Burgess, he had a close relationship with Benjamin Hornigold, one of the leaders of the small pirate republic. After accepting the King's pardon, he was recruited into the Templar Order and became a pirate hunter, working to eliminate his former allies.

Biography[]

"We've sent two of our best men. Burgess and Cockram. Privateers with fast ships and firm hearts."
―Rogers, on Burgess and Cockram, 1719.[src]

Little is known of Cockram's life prior to his becoming a pirate. When Benjamin Hornigold was the leading figure in the pirate republic of Nassau, Cockram served as his deputy and was based out of Harbour Island. He also married the daughter of local merchant Richard Thompson.[1] By 1718, he, along with Burgess and Hornigold, had become dissatisfied with the state of Nassau, feeling it had turned into an unbearable slum. As such, Cockram eagerly accepted the British Crown's pardon, offered to him by Woodes Rogers, and was then invited to join the Templars in their attempts to restore order in the region.[2]

In 1719, he and Burgess were sent to Príncipe, an island on the coast of west Africa, to track down the Sage Bartholomew Roberts. Through their Templar connections, the pair secured an alliance with the Portuguese based there. With the aid of the Portuguese, Cockram and Burgess found and ambushed the crew Roberts was part of, though Roberts himself slipped away.[3]

As Cockram and Burgess made to leave to notify their Templar brethren, they were killed by Edward Kenway, who had teamed up with Roberts in exchange for the location of the Observatory. In their final moments, Cockram and Burgess claimed the Templars had been like a family for them and called Edward out on his selfish motivations.[3]

Trivia[]

  • Like his friend Burgess, Cockram is shown with a red color scheme, similar to a Redcoat, in development art and his database entry, but has a blue and gold color scheme in the actual game.
  • If Kenway openly confronts Cockram, the latter functions like an Agile guard or an Officer.
  • A trailer of Black Flag shows Cockram being captured by Thatch at Ocracoke, where he is almost killed by the latter when he threw a knife near his neck but in the game, he was never present during Robert Maynard's attack. Here, Cockram is depicted in his Redcoat color scheme.
  • Historically, he lived well into the 1720s rather than dying in 1719.

Gallery[]

Appearances[]

References[]

Advertisement