Uncharted 4: Who is Henry Avery?

"I am a man of fortune, and I must seek my fortune."
--Henry Avery, 1694

Who is Henry Avery and why does Uncharted 4: A Thief's End begin with one of his quotes? Keep reading and you'll find out!

Below is a link to the first Live Commentary gameplay video produced by Skookum Valley Gaming! This is the Prologue, or first level, of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. It's a short level which is meant to introduce the player to the game's controls and drop some hints regarding the story that is about to unfold. So, sit right back and you'll hear a tale!

Henry Avery (public domain image)

The game begins with a reference to Henry Avery, sometimes erroneously referred to as John Avery, who was an English pirate that operated in the Atlantic and Indian oceans in the mid-1690s. Avery was one of the few major pirate captains to retire and keep his loot without being arrested or killed in battle. He was notorious for being the perpetrator of what has been called the most profitable pirate raid in history.

Henry Avery's crimes were so damaging to international relations that he became the subject of the first worldwide manhunt in history. Yet Avery eluded capture and vanished from all records in 1696. His whereabouts and activities after this period are unknown. Unconfirmed accounts state he may have changed his name and retired; quietly living out the rest of his life in either Britain or an unidentified tropical island. He is believed to have passed away sometime after 1696. Historian Colin Woodard states that Avery, in trying to launder his riches to currency, had been outsmarted by wealthy landowners and "died a poor beggar not being able to afford his own coffin."^[15] Many fortune seekers, to this day, believe that Avery's treasure is still out there waiting to be found. Is it Avery's loot that Nathan Drake and his brother are seeking on this last great Uncharted adventure?

Woodcut by Charles Ellms

I highly recommend reading the Wikipedia page on "Henry Every" (aka Henry Avery) to gain some background on this historical figure as it may enhance the gameplay and deepen the realism of Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. Everybody loves a good backing story!

In the video linked below you will see a beautifully rendered nighttime boat chase and gun battle. The scene begins right in the middle of the action with many small boats chasing Nathan and his brother, Sam, in very rough seas. They appear to be racing toward an island in hopes of escaping their would-be captors. A larger boat arrives to further complicate a battle that is already fraught with guns, grenade launchers, and knife-wielding thugs.

Thanks for visiting the Skookum Valley Gaming blog! Keep coming back!

Stay Skookum!
Pilchuck
of Skookum Valley Gaming

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Henry Avery's Jolly Roger Flag

Uncharted 4: A Thief's End - Official Page - http://www.unchartedthegame.com

Image Attributions:

• Henry Avery Image [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AHenry_Every.gif
• Woodcut of Avery engaging the Great Mogul's Ship By Charles Ellms (http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/12216.) [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AEvery_engaging_the_Great_Mogul's_Ship.jpg
• Henry Avery's Black Jolly Roger Flag [Public domain], via the Open Clip Art Library, which released it explicitly into the public domain (see here).
  
  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pirate_Flag_of_Henry_Every.svg