Lore of Jeremiah Garland

''This page refers to Lord Jeremiah Garland of the 8th and 9th Brethren Courts. It should not be confused with | Jeremiah Garland (Former Chancellor of the Exchequer).''

Jeremiah Garland (c. 1710 – 2 July 1757), also known as Count Klaus von Wroclai (Клаус фон Вроклай) was a pirate active in both the Caribbean and the Baltic Seas from 1735 until his death. He served in both the | 8th and | 9th Brethren Courts, representing the Baltic Sea, and briefly held the title of Binder of the Seven Seas in the latter court. For his active and long-lasting career of piracy in both the Caribbean and Baltic, he has often been nicknamed the "Scourge of Two Worlds".

Born into a middle class English family, Garland initially served as a clerk and later foot soldier in the | British East India Trading Company, a job which saw him relocated to the Caribbean. After stealing company secrets and escaping on board a company vessel whilst on guard duty one evening in 1735, Garland was branded an outlaw and a pirate. He subsequently had one of the largest bounties in pirate history placed on his head, an amount which only grew following his ten year career in the Caribbean alongside the likes of | Richard Cannonwalker. Following Cannonwalker's successful coup in the pirate republic of | Padres Del Fuego in 1746, Garland became involved in the island's politics, even briefly becoming leader of the self-proclaimed commonwealth, before abandoning the isle after a British invasion.

Among the most wanted men in the New World, Garland resolved to leave the Caribbean. Due to several personal and family connections with the imperial court of | Russia, Garland sought refuge in the Russian Empire, posing as a German émigré named Klaus von Wroclai (pronounced VROH-kleh), a name he operated under for the remainder of his life. In Russia he was granted land and allowed to resume his pirate activities in the Baltic Sea. Over the next nine years he devastated shipping throughout Northern Europe – being branded a national threat by the likes of Sweden, Denmark, and Prussia – and was responsible for sparking a new era of piracy in the Baltic and North Seas. Following the outbreak of the Seven Years' War in 1754, he was directly drafted into the Russian imperial navy with the rank of fleet admiral, gaining control of the Russian Baltic Flotilla. He was killed during the Siege of Memel in 1757.

Early Years and Education
Jeremiah Garland was born in St Albans, Hertfordshire, to parents Charles Garland and Anne (née Selkirk). The exact date of his birth is disputed, though is generally considered to be in or around the year 1710. His mother died when Garland was less than a year old. He had one brother, Elias, two years his senior.

Charles Garland had a prominent upbringing and was a diplomat for the British government, serving various roles, though most notably as an attaché to the British ambassador to Russia. Though he fulfilled the duty well and was even a popular figure throughout St Petersburg, he was removed from the post and subsequently took up quaint posts in the county of Hertfordshire.

Both Jeremiah and Elias attended Eton College from the age of 12 until 14, at which point their father opted for them to enlist in the service of either the Royal Navy or the East India Trading Company.