Famous Pirates

Some interesting facts, history and information about the Golden Age of Pirates and Famous Pirates. Additional details, facts and information about Pirates in the Age of Exploration can be accessed via the Elizabethan Era Sitemap or the following links:
Famous Elizabethan PiratesFamous Women PiratesFamous Pirate ShipsPirate FlagsThe Pirate SongPirate ClothingPirate Code of ConductBlackbeardAnne BonneyMary Read

The Famous Pirates of the Spanish main

The term the 'Spanish Main' is often associated with famous pirates. But what and where was the Spanish Main? The Spanish established colonies on the land in the New World and also claimed specific sea routes. The “Spanish Main” referred to the coastal region of the Americas surrounding the Caribbean Sea and South America. The famous pirates who operated around the Spanish Main were the original pirates of the Caribbean! The the territories around the Spanish Main opened up paths to the new wealth which was found in the New World. They loaded their ships with their treasure to send back to Spain. These Spanish treasures fleets were attacked by many of the famous pirates. The original Pirates of the Caribbean and the pirates the Spanish Main used many of the Caribbean Islands as their bases. The traffic in treasure made the Spanish Main a haunt of famous pirates and privateers.

Famous Woman Pirates

The famous woman pirates are covered in the page Famous Woman Pirates include famous female pirates such as Grace O’Malley, Mary Read, Lady Killigrew and Anne Bonny.

List of Famous Pirates Names - 1700 - 1800

List of Famous Pirates Names - 1700 - 1800The following list of names represent the most famous pirates who were associated with the 1700's:
Black Bart (Bartholomew Roberts) - Welsh Pirate
George Booth - English Pirate
John Bowen - English Pirate
Black Bellamy (Samuel Bellamy) - Famous English Pirate
Edward Teach or Thatch, known as Blackbeard - English Pirate
Anne Bonney (Anne Cormac) - Famous Irish Female Pirate
Edward England - English
Henry Every (Avery) - English
Benjamin Hornigold - English
Calico Jack (Jack Rackham) - English
James Kelly - English
Captain William Kidd - Scottish
Mary Read - Famous English Female Pirate
Bartholomew Roberts - English
Thomas Tew - English
Charles Vane - English
Richard Worley - English
John Morris - English

Famous pirates

The Spanish were continuously harassed in the Caribbean by pirates and buccaneers who attacked the Spanish galleons which were carrying riches back to Spain. The celebrated English Explorers Sir John Hawkins and Sir Francis Drake were classed as such famous pirates! The pirates who operated in the Caribbean in later years included Blackbeard, Calico Jack, Anne Bonny and Henry Morgan. A pirate is a person who robs or plunders at sea, or sometimes the shore, without a commission from a recognised sovereign nation. There were safe havens for pirates, or pirate enclaves, all over the world but Port Royal and Jamaica were famous examples of places where pirates could gather without fear of attack or arrest. The Golden Age of Piracy lasted just over 100 years form the 1500's to the mid 1600's. The most famous Pirates were:
Blackbeard (Edward Teach)Grace O'MalleyBlack BartHenry Every (Avery)Henry MorganCalico Jack (Jack Rackham)Barbarossa (meaning Red Beard) the nickname of Khair ad DinCaptain Kidd

History of Henry Morgan

Henry Morgan was born in 1635. Historians know very little of his early career and he was mostly unknown until 1665, when he was put in charge of a group of buccaneers. One of his first major acts was the the capture of Puerto Prinipe, Cuba. He was disappointed with the booty so he attacked the town of Portobello. This attack made him rich. Soon after he became a well-known pirate.
Morgan's greatest stunt happened when he was in charge of an armada of 36 pirate ships against the City of Panama on January 19, 1670. During this time, the City of Panama was said to be the richest city in the world because it was a main drop-off point for Spanish gold. Captain Morgan sailed in the port, annihilated a bigger fleet, and burned the city to the ground. He had stolen about 400,000 pieces of eight and later on took much of it from his own crew.
The attack, however, occurred a few days after a peace treaty was signed between England and Spain. Henry was arrested and was sent back to England. Then in 1673, England started a war with the Dutch and the King looked to Henry for advise on Caribbean interactions. The King was so grateful to Henry that he made Henry deputy governor of Jamaica.
Sir Henry Morgan was one of the most successful pirates ever. Morgan journeyed through the Caribbean, causing mayhem and stealing plenty of gold. Not only did he make a lot of money, he was reward for his extensive knowledge of the Caribbean. One thing that he was most successful in was that no one would ever steal his gold. Till this day his treasure has never been found.

History of Mary Read

Mary Read was born in 1685 in England. During her early life she had to dress up as her diseased older brother so that they could stay in her grandmother's graces. Her grandmother supported her and her mother until she died. Then Mary had to seek a job to support her family. She joined the British army but the left to when she married another soldier. They opened an inn but he died and Mary was unable to run the inn..
Mary boarded a Dutch merchant ship dressed as a man. She arrived in the Caribbean and soon became a part of Calico Jack's crew. There she met Anne Bonny and the two became good friends. Then in 1720, Jack's ship was attacked by Captain Jonathan Barnet off the coast of Jamaica. Mary and Anne were the only resistance to arrest because the rest of the crew was in the hold because they were drunk. She was convicted and found guilty. Mary was sentenced to hang, but she died in prison due to a fever.

History of Anne Bonny

Anne Bonny is probably the most famous female pirate to sail the Spanish Main. She was a ruthless plunderer, raider, and menace to the sea faring vessels in the Caribbean Sea. She is commonly referred to as "Toothless Annie".
Anne was born in Ireland during the 1690's. Her parents moved to America and became well respected plantation owners. She grew up in South Carolina and was fascinated with stories of pirates that were told at the nearby Charleston Port. At Charleston she met a pirate named James Bonny. She married him and the two of them moved to an island in the Caribbean named Nassau. This island was basically run by pirates. Here Anne was surrounded by famous pirates such as Calico Jack Rackham. Anne left her husband for Rackham, and signed on as part of his crew.
At that time there was a code of piracy that stated women crew members were forbidden. This didn't stop Anne though. She went aboard the ship as a man and fought just as the rest of the crew did. Eventually she was discovered and some of the crew members openly voiced their opinions about having a female as part of the crew. Anne returned these opinions by killing the crew members who had spoken up.
Anne was the only female pirate aboard Rackham's ship. Mary Reed was another woman disguised as a man and soon she and Annie became friends. The two told Rackham their secret and the three of them inflicted terror and pandemonium throughout the Caribbean for almost a year.
Then in 1720, their ship was captured. During the fight Anne and Mary stayed aboard and fought to defend their ship. Meanwhile Jack and the rest of the pirates hid in the hold . Jack and the crew were hanged after their arrest.
Amazing Anne was granted a reprieve for her acts and was let go. No one knows what happened to her after that. Some say she went back to her life of piracy while others say she returned home. No matter what happened to her, Anne is probably most famous for the words she exchange with Calico Jack on the night before his execution. She scolded him saying "I'm sorry to see you here, Jack, but if you'd have fought like a man you needn't hang like a dog".

History of Blackbeard

Edward Teach is probably the most famous pirate to ever live. He more commonly known as the fearsome and bloodthirsty pirate, Blackbeard. Edward was born around the year 1680. Teach left for the Caribbean in the early 18th century where pirates were causing serious damage on Spanish shipping. While he was in Jamaica, Blackbeard served as a privateer under the command of Captain Benjamin Hornigold. While working for Hornigold, Blackbeard commanded his first vessel, which was a sloop. Soon he captured a French merchant vessel and named it Queen Anne's Revenge. He then changed the Queen Anne's Revenge into a 40-gun flagship. After Britain banned privateering, Teach turned towards outright piracy. He soon became the most fearsome pirate in the western hemisphere.
Teach received his nickname because of his long, black beard. As rumor has it, Teach would light slow-burning fuses and tie them to the end of his beard. They say that when most merchants saw this, they surrendered immediately.
Blackbeard left the Caribbean in 1718. He moved up north and began to raid the coastal waters of the Carolinas and Virginia. Here he would hold one of his most famous exploits. He lead a blockade of Charleston harbor that lasted a week. He wouldn't leave until his orders concerning the medical supplies were fulfilled. During this time, Blackbeard and Charles Eden, the governor of North Carolina, were in cahoots. Eden gave Blackbeard protection in exchange for a percent of the profit he made. This lasted a short while because the governor of Virginia offered a reward for the death or capture of Blackbeard. Then on November 22, 1718, Captain Robert Maynard attacked Blackbeard's ship and a huge battle began. In the end Blackbeard was killed and then decapitated. Captain Maynard kept the head and hung it on his ship.