Captain Blood recap

Irish doctor Peter Blood is convicted of treason merely for treating a wounded Monmouth rebel and is sold into slavery in Barbados. His medical skill gives him limited freedom, and planter's niece Arabella Bishop recognizes his worth. During a Spanish raid, Blood and other prisoners seize a ship and escape, becoming buccaneers because English law offers them no honest return. Blood imposes strict rules, defeats Spanish enemies, and kills his French ally Levasseur when the man abducts a woman. Although Arabella comes to believe Blood is only a pirate, he repeatedly rejects profit when it conflicts with loyalty or honor. He briefly accepts service under James II, then leaves it when ordered to fight against England's Dutch allies. Betrayed by French commander Rivarol after the capture of Cartagena, Blood takes the French fleet and treasure. He then saves undefended Barbados from Spain, learns William III has replaced James, and is appointed governor of Jamaica. Arabella accepts the truth of his character and his love.

In 1685, former soldier Peter Blood practices medicine in Bridgwater and avoids the rebellion led by the Duke of Monmouth. When Jeremy Pitt and other rebels ask him to treat the wounded Lord Gildoy, royal troops arrest everyone in the house. At the Bloody Assizes, Judge Jeffreys refuses to distinguish medical duty from active treason. Blood's calm defense cannot overcome a predetermined judgment. He and the other men are sentenced to death, but the crown finds greater profit in selling them as laborers in the colonies. Blood is transported across the Atlantic to Barbados, embittered by a law that has punished mercy as rebellion.

In Barbados, Colonel Bishop buys Blood, Pitt, Wolverstone, Hagthorpe, and other prisoners. Bishop's niece Arabella takes an interest in Blood and helps secure the purchase, while Blood's skill as a doctor soon makes him useful to Governor Steed and the island's wealthy residents. This grants him movement denied to other slaves but also provokes Bishop's resentment. Blood organizes an escape with his companions and relies on Pitt's knowledge of ships, yet their plans are overtaken by a Spanish attack on Bridgetown. The raid throws the settlement into confusion and leaves a Spanish vessel insufficiently guarded. Blood sees that the disaster may offer the prisoners the freedom English justice denied them.

Blood and the convicts board the Spanish ship, overpower its remaining crew, and use it against the raiders. They escape Barbados with a seaworthy vessel but no lawful home: returning to England would revive their sentences, and the Spanish regard them as enemies. Blood leads them to the buccaneer haven of Tortuga and turns the former prisoners into an organized company governed by agreed articles. His education, military experience, and restraint distinguish him from common pirates. He names his ship Arabella, preserving his attachment to the woman who treated him with dignity. Successful actions against Spain make Captain Blood famous, while Colonel Bishop becomes increasingly determined to capture the man who escaped his ownership.

Blood allies with the French buccaneer Levasseur, but their partnership exposes the limits of shared self-interest. Levasseur seizes Madeleine d'Ogeron and intends to hold her for ransom and keep her for himself. Blood insists that she be released, both because the abduction violates their agreement and because he will not make his company party to it. The confrontation ends in a duel in which Blood kills Levasseur. He returns Madeleine safely and absorbs the surviving Frenchmen into his own force. The episode strengthens his authority and reputation, but it also confirms that his life at sea constantly places his private code against the lawless conduct expected of a pirate.

Lord Julian Wade arrives in the Caribbean empowered to offer Blood a pardon and a commission in King James's service. Arabella has also returned to the region and hears evidence that appears to confirm the worst stories about Blood. Her condemnation wounds him more than the danger of capture. Blood eventually places both Arabella and Lord Julian under his protection after they fall into peril, but his manner and circumstances deepen Arabella's belief that he has embraced piracy. Lord Julian observes more complexity: Blood repeatedly acts with restraint and protects those who have little reason to trust him. Blood must decide whether a pardon from the government that enslaved him can restore his honor or merely purchase his obedience.

Blood accepts a royal commission, hoping legitimate service will end the contradiction between his conduct and his status as an outlaw. Political loyalties soon make that solution impossible. Ordered into action that would serve James II against Dutch forces with whom England has common interests, Blood refuses to let personal rehabilitation dictate what he regards as treachery to his country. He abandons the commission and returns to the uncertain freedom of a buccaneer. Arabella still sees the outward fact of piracy rather than the principles behind his choices, and Blood's bitterness grows. With European alliances shifting, he later agrees to join M. de Rivarol's French expedition against the rich Spanish port of Cartagena.

Blood's buccaneers help Rivarol capture Cartagena, but the French commander then abandons them and attempts to depart with the treasure. Blood pursues, defeats Rivarol's squadron, and takes control of its ships and spoils. As he heads back toward the English Caribbean, he learns that Colonel Bishop has stripped Barbados of protection in order to hunt him. A Spanish force exploits the opening and attacks the island. Blood turns his newly won fleet toward the colony where he was enslaved, choosing its defense over revenge against Bishop. The decision brings him into a final battle whose outcome will determine both Barbados's survival and whether Blood can ever move beyond the identity imposed on him as a rebel and pirate.

Blood defeats the Spanish attackers and saves Barbados. Admiral van der Kuylen brings news that William of Orange has displaced James II, changing the political order under which Blood was convicted and later commissioned. Blood's victory and established leadership earn him appointment as governor of Jamaica, while Colonel Bishop faces consequences for leaving Barbados undefended during his personal pursuit. Arabella learns enough of Blood's choices to see the honorable purpose behind his outlaw reputation. Blood admits that his ship was named for her, and they acknowledge their love. The doctor who was transported as property ends as a lawful governor, with his companions vindicated and a future with Arabella open before him.

After Rivarol abandons Blood's men and tries to keep the Cartagena treasure, Blood defeats the French squadron and recovers both ships and spoils. Returning toward the English islands, he finds Barbados under Spanish attack because Colonel Bishop took the defense fleet away in a reckless pursuit of him. Blood destroys the Spanish force and saves the colony. Admiral van der Kuylen then informs him that James II has been deposed and William III now rules, so Blood is no longer bound by his rejected service to James. His actions earn a royal commission as governor of Jamaica, while Bishop must answer for leaving Barbados exposed. Arabella finally understands that Blood's apparent piracy concealed both political scruple and a consistent code. Blood reveals that he named his ship for her, and the two acknowledge their love. The condemned prisoner and outlaw ends with lawful authority, a restored reputation, and Arabella beside him.