In the 17th century there was a pirate from Rhode Island. Or perhaps he was a privateer. Maybe he wasn’t from Rhode Island after all.

These are the kind of “facts” that float to the surface when one stirs the murky brew of hand-me-down history that has fermented for centuries, from a time when legend often was prized over fact, and records, if kept, have crumbled to dust.

About the only thing that various historical accounts agree on is that his name was Thomas Tew, and that he had some sort of connection with Newport.

One source insists that Tew was the grandson of one Richard Tew, who arrived in Newport in 1640. Another contends that Tew was born in England.

So, what was his day job, really?

In 1691, Tew arrived in Bermuda, where he invested as a part-owner in the ship Amity, and became captain of the sloop. He also obtained a privateering commission to harass the enemy, in this case the French during the Nine Years’ War, which ended in 1696. But it soon became apparent that Tew had different plans.

Soon Amity, with a crew of 45, rounded the Cape of Good Hope and entered the Red Sea. At the Strait of Bab el-Mandeb, a narrows that separates the continents of Africa and Asia, Tew and his crew encountered a large ship belonging to the Great Moghul, ruler of the Muslim force that had conquered India in 1526.

Although the Moghul’s ship and its cargo of gold were protected by 300 soldiers, Tew and his band swarmed boldly aboard and the soldiers surrendered. The booty enriched the Amity’s crew.

Tew set course for Newport, but soon fell in with another pirate. He told him of an island kingdom of pirates off Madagascar at the harbor of Libertatia. There he found the pirates, who when not pillaging, lived peacefully alongside people of various races and nationalities to build a utopian stronghold of free men. With an eye to the future, Tew raided slave ships and brought their captives to Libertatia.

After further adventures, Tew headed for Bermuda, but a gale damaged the Amity, and he made for Newport.

He tried to settle down. But the siren call sounded once more, and in June 1695, a fleet of four pirate vessels, including Tew’s, reached the Red Sea once more seeking the riches of the Great Moghul.

It was to be Tew’s last voyage.

When he attacked one of the treasure ships, that vessel put up unexpected resistance. Tew was shot in the gut and fell to the deck. His crew lost heart and were taken prisoner.

It is claimed that a treasure chest in the Pirate Soul Museum in Key West, Fla., once belonged to Tew. It is said also that he left his 1,500-pound metal safe in Newport when he sailed his last voyage.

The riddles of history live long.

The 1944 book by Edward Rowe Snow, Pirates and Buccaneers of the Atlantic Coast, in the collection of the Rhode Island Historical Society is the basis for this biographical sketch.

tmorgan@projo.com