Which pirate captain commanded the Royal Fortune when he died in 1722?

Bartholomew Roberts commanded the Royal Fortune when he died in 1722.

Royal Fortune was the name Roberts gave to more than one vessel during his career, following a common pirate practice of renaming captured ships. His final Royal Fortune was a heavily armed French-built vessel used during his operations along the West African coast.

Roberts, born John Roberts in Wales, became famous for his organization, bold attacks, and unusually formal appearance. Contemporary accounts portray him as a highly successful commander who captured a very large number of ships in only a few years.

The Royal Fortune is sometimes confused with Roberts’s earlier flagships, including the Royal Rover and another vessel also renamed Royal Fortune. Roberts was killed in February 1722 when HMS Swallow attacked his fleet near Cape Lopez in present-day Gabon.