How Did Israel Hands Die? (Treasure Island Character)

There is no historical figure named "Israel Hands." The name belongs to a fictional character in Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island (1883).

In the Novel

• Israel Hands is the coxswain and a former gunner on Captain Flint's pirate crew.
• He sides with Long John Silver's mutiny but later tries to kill the protagonist, Jim Hawkins.
• Death: Jim shoots him in self-defense during a confrontation on the schooner Hispaniola. Hands falls into the sea and drowns.

Possible Historical Inspiration

Stevenson may have drawn the name from a real pirate: Israel Hands (also known as Basilica Hands) was a lieutenant of Blackbeard (Edward Teach). He was captured in 1718, testified against corrupt officials, and reportedly died in poverty in London—not in a sword fight with a cabin boy.

Bottom Line

If you mean the Treasure Island character: **shot by Jim Hawkins, then drowned.** If you mean the historical pirate: **died obscurely in England after 1718.**