Maria Lindsey & Eric Cobham Years Active: Early 1700s Country of Origin: Comments: Possibly a fictional pirate operating on the Canadian east Coast. Maria was born in Plymouth, England in the 18th century. She was the wife of the ruthless pirate Captain Eric Cobham. When they met he told her about his profession, with all the gory details; she was enchanted and married himnext day. She left her hometown and joined his pirate crew. They sailed to the Americas where they made most of their wealth. "Murder for her was not merely a business necessity in the pirate trade; it was a pleasure and a sport" (De Pauw). An example of her 'pleasure' was to tie the captain and two mates of a plundered ship to her ship's windlass and used these men for target practice. Both also followed a policy of leaving no survivors. After 20 years of plundering and murder, the Cobhams decided to retire from piracy in France. They had two sons and a daughter and settled so well into the community that Eric was asked to take the place of the late local magistrate, making him a judge! This life was hard for Maria Cobham to adjust to and she committed suicide ... by drinking poison and throwing herself into the sea. Her body washed ashore two days later. Eric Cobham was conscience-striken. He wrote out a detailed confession of his past life and frequented the local church. He gave the confession to the local pastor and made him promise to publish it after his death. The pastor agreed against the wishes of the Cobham family. The family tried to purchase every single copy of the published confession they could lay their hands on.