Radha is stabbed by the pirate captain and the pirate captain is killed

The stabbing of Radha Bhimani Pentland and the pirate captain’s death form the violent turning point of her rescue: the captain wounded her during the battle, and Sir David Pentland killed him as she collapsed. The wound left Radha close to death, but she survived and was taken into Sir David’s care in Barbados.

Background and Rescue

Radha’s ordeal followed a life already marked by displacement. Born in Kutch, she had been kidnapped as a child and rescued before she could be sold into slavery. After years in a convent near Cadiz, she was sent with other members of her order on a mission to Cartagena in the spring of 1772. Later, pirates held her for four days. She and the others were freed when Sir David and the crew of HMS Glory engaged the pirates.

The Battle on Deck

During the fighting aboard the pirate ship, the pirate captain dragged Radha onto the deck and stabbed her with his sword. The wound passed through her womb. As she fell in severe pain, her last sight was Sir David striking the captain through the neck. At the time, she believed she was seeing the final moments of her life—and that her attacker had received his just deserts.

Survival and Aftermath

Radha’s wound was so grave that she received the last rites, and stomach wounds of this kind were described as nearly always fatal. Nevertheless, she lingered and fought the infection. The surviving members of her order were landed under a white flag of neutrality and continued on, but Radha was too ill to be moved and was left behind.

Sir David brought her to his house in Bridgetown, Barbados, where his housekeeper and a nurse helped care for her. She nearly died twice even with that personal attention, but eventually overcame the final infection and recovered. The rescue thus did not end with the pirate captain’s death: Radha’s survival depended on the care that followed, while Sir David’s intervention carried her from the violence of the ship to safety on shore.