Theodorious Paleologus

The "Paleologus and Beal" plantation on a 1685 map of Barbados, marked with a pineapple (to the left, below "Topp")

Theodorious, or Theodore, was the only son of Ferdinand Paleologus and Rebecca Pomfrett, the daughter of a Barbadian landowner.[2] He is first attested in Ferdinand's will, dated to 26 September 1670, wherein his name is spelled with the unusual spelling Theodorious. The will designated Theodorious as the heir to half of Ferdinand's estate (the other half going to Rebecca), to be employed for his "maintenance and education, together with the increase of his Estate, until he attains the age of fourteen years".[1]

Rebecca remarried at some point between the death of Ferdinand in October 1670 and July 1672, when the will of her brother (Theodorious's uncle) Abraham Pomfrett refers to her as "Rebecca Beale". A 1685 map of Barbados identifies a plantation near St John's church as the "Paleologus and Beal" plantation, indicating that Ferdinand's former plantation had probably been split by Theodorious and Rebecca and that Theodorious was now the business partner of Rebecca's new husband, probably Captain Alexander Beale, recorded in the census papers of 1679 as owning 111 acres of land and 70 slaves.[3] On the map, the plantation is marked with a drawing of a pineapple,[4] meaning that Theodorious and Beale might have cultivated pineapples in addition to cultivating sugar.[5] With her second husband, Rebecca had further children, half-siblings of Theodorious, including a son also named Alexander Beale.[3] She continued to be active in economic and political matters in Barbados for the rest of her life, together with her new husband, who seems to have taken over much of Ferdinand's role in the local church, becoming a churchwarden in 1677.[6]

On 14 October 1684, Theodorious married Martha Bradbury, the daughter of a Christopher Bradbury, in the St Michael's Church near Bridgetown.[7] They eventually left Barbados, moving to Stepney in London. [8][9] Theodorious worked as a sailor, serving on a ship called the Charles II.[7] Theodore made a will on 1 August 1693, appointing as his executor "Martha Paleologua", his wife. He was buried at A Coruña in Spain that same year under the name Theodorus Palaeologey.[7] The will was made at sea and was witnessed by the ship's commanding officer, Charles Gibson, and three others (presumably officers themselves).[7]

18th century engraving of pirate captain Henry Every, with the Charles II (now renamed as the Fancy) depicted engaging in battle in the background.

Although a popular legend is that Theodorious served in the Royal Navy, there are no records of his name, nor of the Charles II or of Charles Gibson, in Admiralty records. Some believe that he served on a slave ship, perhaps having learnt the trade of sailing during his background in the family plantation.[7] There are however records of a ship called the Charles II and a Captain Gibson, which turned out to not be a slave ship at all, but a formidable armed warship in Spanish service. Theodorious would thus probably have been a privateer, not a slaver. The first mate of the Charles II in Theodorious's time was Henry Every, who just a year after Theodorious's death would lead a mutiny and take control of the ship, renaming it to Fancy and becoming a renowned pirate.[10]

Theodorious and Martha had a daughter, born after her father's death, on 12 January 1694. almost nothing is known of this daughter, who was given the unusual name Godscall Paleologue. Godscall represents the last known living member of the Paleologus family.[11] Theodorious also had a son, born in Stepney,[12] but this son probably predeceased him since Theodorious's will only mentions his wife.[13]

Theodorious is a central figure in a series of novels by British author Jane Stevenson. In The Pretender (2002), he is called Lieutenant Theodore Paleologue, son of "Sir Ferdinando", living in Restoration England. Instead of being a privateer, Theodore is a valiant officer in the Royal Navy and is described as having a short, pointy beard and an aquline nose. In his first appearance, on the banks of the Thames, he exclaims to the passing-by lowlife that "If all had their rights, I should be emperor of the world". His parents are depicted as particularly lenient slave owners and Theodore marries a native Kalina woman, not the historical Martha Bradbury.[14]

In Stevenson's Empress of the Last Days (2003), set in the present,[14] the hero of the book falls in love with a young black-skinned Barbadian girl by the name Melita Paleologue and they trace her lineage to the marriage between a daughter of King James VI & I, Elizabeth Stuart (called "the Winter Queen"), and a dark-skinned physician. In the novel, Theodorious dies a hero in battle at A Coruña, rather than as a privateer, and his daughter Godscall marries a son of the Winter Queen. A historical delegation sent to Cornwall during the Greek War of Independence in the 19th century in search for descendants of the old imperial dynasty also appears in the novel, but is portrayed as discounting the proof presented by Godscall's descendants on account of their skin color.[15]