This John Plantain was a man of some note in the piratical world.

Every and England had sailed with him, and treated him with much consideration and some fear.

He had made himself master of a considerable tract of country, so that the pirates had given him the name of the King of Ranter Bay.[4] He gave an invitation to Matthews to visit his castle, where he entertained some of the officers of the squadron.

Matthews' first idea was to seize him, but finding that John Plantain had a good number of armed natives with him, besides a Scotchman and a Dane, and that his castle had plenty of guns mounted, he decided to trade with him instead.

The pirates made no secret of having taken part in the capture of the Goa Viceroy's ship, and of a rich native vessel with eighteen lakhs of rupees on board.
So hats, shoes, stockings, wine, and arrack were made over to John Plantain, for which he paid a good price in gold and diamonds.