Kanhoji Angria
Maratha Pirate
Active 1710 - 1729

African Muslim Kanhoji captured and fortified two islands near Bombay to use as his base in 1710 and was first to extort money from Indian and British shipping in that area. In 1712 he held for ransom the armed yacht of the East India Company's governor. Several years later he fought the British at Gheriah and Deoghur using specially built gun ships, and by the 1720's, he was a wealthy man whose captains commanded hundreds of well-armed vessels. When he died in 1729, he left his pirate kingdom to his son Sumbhaji Angria.

Thomas Anstis
British Pirate
Active 1718 - 1723

Captain Anstis sailed with Captain Howell Davis until Davis was murdered in June of 1719. Anstis then signed on with Captain Bartholomew Robert's crew and after Captain Roberts captured a Brigantine in the West Indies, Anstis was made Captain of the Good Fortune and shortly thereafter stole the ship.

Captain Anstis sailed to the Caribbean where he plundered merchant ships and eventually seized a large ship called the Morning Star. John Fenn was put in charge as Captain.

Anstis and Fenn decided to quit pirating and petitioned the king for pardons stating they were forced into piracy by Captain Roberts. Many pirates signed documents stating they were forced into piracy with the understanding that if they got caught, they could claim innocense. While awaiting a response, they camped on an uninhabited island off Cuba. After nine months without word from the king, they returned to a life of piracy.

At sea, a storm came upon them, and the Morning Star was wrecked on Grand Cayman Island. While Captain Anstis was saving Captain Fenn and his crew, two British warships arrived on the scene. Fortunately, the savage winds died down and the pirates were able to row the Good Fortune to safety.

Setting sail again, they went in search of another vessel to replace Captain Fenn's ship and ended up seizing several.

In 1723, the pirates were careening (beaching a ship to clean and repair its hull), their ships at Tobago when they were surprised by a warship. Once again Captain Fenn's ship was lost and he fled into the woods only to be captured a day later. Fenn was tried and hanged at Antigua, but Captain Anstis managed to out-maneuver the warship and got away.

For unknown reasons, Captain Anstis' crew mutinied and he was murdered.

Philip Ashton
Captured by
Pirates
1722 - 1725

At the age of 19, Philip Ashton was captured by Ned Low on one of his stops off the coast of Nova Scotia in June, 1722. Although Ashton was kept in chains, then beaten and whipped in attempts to coerce him into signing the pirate Captain’s letter of marque, he refused.

One year later, Ashton managed to escape into the dense jungle during the ship’s stopover for fresh water at Roatan Island in the Bay of Honduras. There, he survived nearly a year by fishing and finding seabird eggs until rescued. The Salem ship Diamond safely returned him to his fishing village home by May, 1725.

John Auger
British Pirate
Died 1718

Auger was pardoned by Woodes Rogers, but reverted back to piracy and was eventually captured by Benjamin Hornigold and hanged in New Providence.

Charlotte Badger
British Pirate
Active 1808

Felon Charlotte Badger and convict Catherine Hagerty were among other convicts who seized the colonial brig called Venus while it was docked at Port Dalrymple so that the captain could attend to some business delivering official dispatches. The pirates headed for New Zealand and the Bay of Islands. In one story, the islanders hanged them and four others, and in another account, the two women, Charlotte and Catherine, had been living onshore, but Catherine Hagerty had become ill and died in April, 1807. Charlotte and her child remained in the Bay, where it was believed that she lived with a local maori rangatira for some time. She refused to return to Port Jackson even though they were offered passage from several ships, including the Elizabeth, saying she wanted a passage to America. Charlotte and her daughter were believed to have accepted a passage aboard a ship on its way to Tonga.

Aruj Barbarossa
AKA Red Beard
Greek Pirate
Died 1518

The Barbarossa brothers, former galley slaves, founded the Barbary corsairs in the 1500's. They became rich men by attacking Christian shipping and coastal towns around the Mediterranean.

Jean Bart
Frendh Privateer
1651 - 1702

This fisherman's son from Dunkirk raided North Sea and English Channel fleets. He served in the Dutch Navy and later became a successful privateer for the French. He made a famous escape in a small boat from Plymouth, in Devon.

Bartolomeo
AKA el Portugués
Portuguese Buccaneer
Active 1660's - 1670's

Famous for his lucky escapes, this Portuguese buccaneer was one of the first to be based in Jamaica. His luck finally ran out in a shipwreck.

Samuel Bellamy
AKA Black Bellamy
English Buccaneer
Active 1715 - 1716

Samuel Bellamy arrived in the new world seeking fame and fortune in the 1700's. In 1715 he led a sponsored expedition southward in search of sunken Spanish treasure off the coast of Florida. When his quest failed, he turned to piracy and became known as Captain Black Bellamy, plundering more than 50 ships. Of them was the Whydah, a 100-foot three-masted galley packed with ivory, indigo, and thousands of silver and gold coins. Bellamy's crew captured the ship and headed home after the victory. On the way, the ship entered foul weather. 70 mph gales and 40 foot tall waves capsized the top-heavy Whydah, killing all but two men. Of the two survivors, the account told by Thomas Davis remains an important part of Cape Cod folklore.

Joe Brodish
Pirate

After returning to New England with booty gained from successfully attacking and capturing Spanish merchant ships, Captain Joe Brodish was recognized and thrown into a Boston jail. What wasn’t known until after he had escaped twice, was the jail keeper was his uncle. He was brought to justice finally after being shipped to England, where he was hanged for piracy.

Count Maurycy Beniowski
Polish Pirate

Also known as Baron Maurice de Benyowski was born in Poland to a noble family. At that time Poland was partitioned into three parts. Beniowski was born in the Russian part and it determined his future life as an adventurer. As a youngster he took part in the Polish uprising to liberate Poland from the Russian rule (Konfederacja Barska) and after being captured by Russians was sent into exile to Siberia. However he managed to escape and after some tumultuous years he found himself leading an armed expedition headed toward Madagascar. On an African Island near Madagascar he managed to establish a stronghold, and pronounced himself the king of Madagascar. We can easily classify him as a pirate because he was not above attacking the shipping lanes around Madagascar, and he didn't represent any authority. One of the nearby islands (Mauritius) was named after this Polish adventurer and to this day he is remembered there.

Abraham Blauvelt
Dutch Pirate
Active Mid 1600's

Blauvelt was instrumental in establishing several settlements and many places which still bear his name.

In the early 1630's Captain Blauvelt explored the coasts of Honduras and Nicaragua. Afterwards, he went to England and with a proposal for a settlement a site in Nicaragua, which is near the town and river of Bluefields, Nicaragua. Captain Blauvelt enlisted as a naval officer for the Swedish East India Company and by 1644 was in command of his own ship. He preyed upon Spanish shipping from Dutch New Amsterdam (New York) and a harbor in southwest Jamaica which is still named Blewfields Bay. After peace came once more between the Dutch and Spain in 1648, Captain Blauvelt was no longer welcome in New Amsterdam. Captain Blauvelt sailed to Newport, Rhode Island in 1649 to divvy up his loot. The governor of Newport declared one prize illegal and Captain Blauvelt's crew argued over the booty. Captain Blauvelt was treated poorly at Newport. The local towns people were afraid that Captain Blauvelt's piratical activities had permanently ruined the reputation of Rhode Island. In 1650 Blauvelt was in command of another ship, the La Garse, a French ship.

Later on along the border of Honduras and Nicaragua living among the Indians at Cape Gracias à Dios. It was here that he heard of Captain Sir Christopher Myngs' plans to organize a raid on Campeche Bay in Mexico. In 1663 he joined with Captain Myngs and was an active participant in the raids. Nothing is known of him after this time.

Stede Bonnet
Gentleman's Pirate
Died 1718

Stede Bonnet was a wealthy man who started his career in pirary in 1717, purchasing a sloop and outfitted it with ten guns. He rounded up a crew of 70 for his newly christened sloop Revenge and set sail for his new pirate life.

Sailing of the coasts of Virginia and the Carolinas, Bonnet somehow managed to plunder several ships even though he lacked maritime experience. The crew quickly realized this lack of skill in Bonnet and they began to get restless. About this time, Bonnet sighted another pirate ship off the Carolina coast which turned out to be none other than Blackbeard. The two captains agreed to work as partners, but Blackbeard quickly realized also that Bonnet was not much of a seaman. Teach "convinced" Bonnet that it would be better if sent one of his own lieutenants to take over command of Revenge while Bonnet went aboard Blackbeard's ship as a "guest." During this this time, it was stated that Bonnet was observed on Blackbeard's ship walking around in his morning gown and tending to his personal library of books he had onboard.

While in Blackbeard's company he participated in the siege of Charleston, South Carolina, and after Blackbeard informed him that he was going to take a pardon and suggested Bonnet do so as well. Bonnet heartily agreed since he too knew he was not quite cut out for the pirate life. Along with some of his crew, Bonnet left immediately for Bath, North Carolina to recieve their pardons. While there they learnt that France and England had declared war on Spain so Bonnet decided he would became a legal privateer against Spain. They returned to Revenge (which Blackbeard promised to return to Bonnet) but found that Blackbeard had scammed them of all the plunder when all that was left was the empty sloop for Bonnet. Bonnet was of course outraged and set sail to find Blackbeard but never was able to find him. (The Charleston siege and Blackbeard's loot treachery are explained in more detail in Blackbeard's story.)

Despite his pardon and privateering plan, Bonnet soon returned to piracy. He operated once again around Virginia and apparently was more successful now after his tour with Blackbeard because he was able to plunder several ships in the following months. Unknown to him, pirates were once again causing trouble near Charleston, in particular Captain Charles Vane. Outraged by the recent string of pirate attacks outside Charleston, the Governor and Council of South Carolina planned to rid the menacing pirates. Colonel William Rhett led two sloops for the pirate hunt; the 8 gun, 70 men Henry with Captain Masters, and the 8 gun, 60 men Sea Nymph with Captain Hall. In late September 1718, the two privateer sloops discovered three pirate ships anchored in the Cape Fear River. A battle soon ensued and both the pirates and their hunters kept running aground on the shallow shoals. After about 5 long hours, the battle ended suddenly when the pirate rose the white flag to surrender. Rhett was suprised to find that the pirate captain was Major Stede Bonnet on his new ship Royal James and his two consort vessels. Bonnet and his captured crew were returned to Charleston where he was well known for his particapation in the siege of their harbor.

The 34 pirates were put on trial in Charleston from October 28 to November 12, 1718, where Judge Nicholas Trot gave a lengthy moral speech of Bonnet's deeds especially knowing of cultured background of the pirate. In the end, 30 out of the 34 were convicted and sentenced to death, including Major Stede Bonnet. While in prison, Bonnet sent a letter to the Governor for forgiveness and promising reform, but he was eventually hanged at White Point, Charleston in November 1718.

Major Stede Bonnet was not what a typical pirate that started his career as a seaman turned pirate. Instead, Bonnet already had a successful career in the army and he had a large plantation so why exactly he turned to piracy is not clear. The nagging wife theory is one possibilty, but in the end he will be known in pirate history as the pirate gentleman.

Bonnet was hanged at Charleston harbor in South Carolina that same year

Anne Bonny
Irish Pirate
Active 1719

Bonny was married to a poor man, James Bonny, in the Bahamas when she met Captain Calico Jack Rackam and joined his pirate ship dressed as a man. When their ship was attacked by a British Navy sloop off the coast of Jamaica in 1720, Bonny and fellow female pirate, Mary Read, drew their pistols and cutlasses and fought back bravely while the rest of the drunken pirates cowered in the ship's hold. Both Mary and Anne escaped the death sentence at their trials because they were pregnant.

Anne Bonny (also, Ann Bonny, or Anne Bonney) was one of two famous female pirates of the Caribbean. She sailed on the crew of Calico Jack Rackham. Anne was Calico's lover but she could be counted as none the less fearless of any other pirate. She was born in County Cork, daughter of an attorney and his Maid. The lawyer split Ireland in disgrace but found fortune in the Carolinas. There, he amassed a fortune and bought a large plantation

A ne'er-do-well pirate/sailor named James Bonny married Anne in an attempt to steal the plantation but Anne's father disowned her instead. James Bonny then took Anne to the Bahamas where he turned stool pigeon to Woodes Rogers, turning in any sailor he didn't like as a pirate for a handsome reward.

Anne quickly grew to dislike her spineless husband and quickly caught the eye of one Calico Jack, a pirate of some renown. Governor Rogers had recently passed an amnesty for all pirates which basically left Bonny out of work.

The admiration between Anne and Calico was mutual. Calico Jack was a handsome man who knew how to spend moneyas well as steal it. Anne was a well endowed lass with a fiery spirit and temper that matched that of any man.(It was rumored that in her youth, she even killed a servant woman with a carving knife because the servant made her mad)

In any event, Calico offered to buy Anne from James Bonny but Bonny instead took the matter up with Governor Rogers, who said that Anne was to be flogged and returned to her true husband. That night Calico Jack and Anne slipped into the harbor, stole a sloop and began a life of piracy together.

Anne fought in men's clothing, was an expert with pistol and cutlass and considered as dangerous as any male pirate. She was fearless in battle and often was a member of any boarding party.

In October of 1720 retribution was close at hand. The Governor of Jamaica, hearing of Calico's presence sent an armed sloop to intervene and capture the Captain and crew. Calico's ship Revenge, was caught by surprise and much to Anne's dismay, the pirates fought like cowards and were taking far too easily.

Anne and Mary Read, were also captured but upon capture confessed there "sex" and pleaded to be tried separately after they gave birth. (Both women were pregnant at the time) both received separate trials from the men but were still sentenced to hang. Mary Read escaped the hangman by dying from fever while in jail. Anne however, received several stays of execution before mysteriously vanishing from official records. It is believed that her father, who had contacts in the island, forgave his daughter for her acts and ransomed her back to the Carolinas where she assumed a new name and a new life.

Many believe that Mary Read would have eventually received a pardon if she had not died from illness.

On a side note just to show how tough she was, when Calico Jack was granted a special favor to see Anne on the day he was to hang, Anne's words to him were, "I'm sorry to see you here, but if you'd have fought like a man you needn't hang like a dog

George Booth

Captain Booth was English and the majority of his pirating took place in the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea. His career began as a gunner aboard the Pelican circa 1696. Later he was the gunner aboard the Dolphin. Both ships sailed in the Indian Ocean.

In September 1699, the Dolphin was trapped at Saint Mary's Island by a British fleet. Offered a pardon, some of the pirates surrendered, but most escaped to nearby Madagascar. Instead of letting the Dolphin fall into the hands of the British she was burned. Captain Booth was among those who fled to Madagascar and was instrumental in the capture of a French ship which was Madagascar to trade liquor and goods for slaves. Captain Booth was captain of the attack and as such was in command of the captured ship.

Sometime later Captain Booth met John Bowen and the joined forces. At Majunga, in April 1704, they took over the Speaker, a 450 ton slave ship carrying 50 guns and Booth was made her captain. Booth sailed to Zanzibar and arrived towards the end of 1700. When they went ashore for provisions they were attacked by Arab troops and Captain Booth was killed. John Bowen was voted to replace him as captain.

John Bowen

Bowen was born in Bermuda. Bowen moved to South Carolina. He became captain of a ship trading in the West Indies. Eventually he was captured by French pirates, who crossed the Atlantic, pillaged along the African coast and wrecked their ship on Madagascar's southwestern coast.

About 18 months later Bowen and the other survivors were picked up by a passing ship commanded by Captain Read. The pirates took a larger Arab ship in the Persian Gulf. Around this time Bowen enlisted with the pirates and was elected sailing master. Bowen returned to western Madagascar and began sailing in consort with George Booth.

April of 1700 the two crews captured the Speaker, a strong 50-gun slave ship. More than 200 pirates sailed to Zanzibar with George Booth as captain. Bowen took command at the end of 1700. Near the mouth of the Red Sea, Captain Bowen captured an Indian vessel with £100,000 in booty.

November 1701, a British ship which they sold on the Indian coast. Returning to Madagascar, Bowen's ship was wrecked on Mauritius Island but he saved most of the men and treasure. In return for large bribes, the Dutch governor warmly welcomed the pirates and allowed them to buy a ship.

April 1702, Captain Bowen went back to Madagascar and set up camp on the eastern coast. Some time after, the pirates seized the Speedy Return, which had stopped to buy slaves. After cruising alone with little success, Captain Bowen joined Captain Thomas Howard. The two captains seized a rich British Merchant in March 1703. After separating for a time, Captain Bowen and Captain Howard joined forces again. In August 1703 they captured two Indian vessels and £70,000 in the Red Sea. The pirates divided their plunder at Rajapura, India. Some stayed with Captain Howard on the Indian coast.

Captain Bowen and 40 crewmen retired on Mauritius, where he died of disease about six months later

Joseph Bradley
British Pirate
Active 1671

Bradley was a pirate who was active in the Caribbean.

Roche Brasiliano
Dutch Buccaneer
Active 1670's

This Dutch buccaneer lived in Brazil before turning up in Jamaica in the 1670's. A drunkard famous for his cruelty, he was elected pirate captain and terrorized Spanish shipping.

William Kidd
AKA Captain Kidd
Scottish Privateer and Pirate
1697 - 1699

Captain Kidd was a wealthy New York merchant who had previously served as a privateer against the French in the West Indies. He was commissioned in 1696 by Massachusetts Royal Governor Lord Bellomont to capture Blackbeard, but after a series of misfortunate events, decided to change course and began his career in piracy raiding vessels in the India Ocean. Until his dying day, he denied being a pirate.

Upon his return to America in 1699, he was arrested for piracy and shipped to London to stand trial. Found guilty, he was sentenced to be hanged at Execution Dock. It took two attempts to successfully hang him after the rope broke the first time. Tarred and wrapped in chained, his body suspended in an iron cage at Tilbury Point which for years served as a warning to other would-be pirates

Nicholas Brown
AKA The Grand Pirate
Died 1726

Known as the Grand Pirate, Brown was once given a royal pardon but returned to piracy, attacking ships off the coast of Jamaica. He was eventually captured by a childhood friend, John Drudge. Brown died from wounds sustained in his capture. Drudge then cut off Brown's head, pickled it, then turned it in for a reward.

John Paul Jones
1747 - 1792

Scottish born Jones became an American hero in the War of Independence. He attacked ships in British waters and was condemned as a traitor and pirate. Later a rear-admiral in the Russian Navy, he died in France.

Sir Henry Morgan
Welsh Buccaneer
Active 1635 - 1688

Celebrated in ballads as the greatest of the buccaneers, Morgan was the leader of the Port Royal buccaneers in the late 1660's. His boldest exploit was the taking of Panama which was thought the wealthiest settlement of the New World in 1671. He subsequently became Deputy Governor of Jamaica.

Sir Henry (b. 1635, Llanrhymney, Glamorgan, Wales--d. Aug. 25, 1688, probably Lawrencefield, Jam.), Welsh buccaneer, most famous of the adventurers who plundered Spain's Caribbean colonies during the late 17th century. Operating with the unofficial support of the English government, he undermined Spanish authority in the West Indies.
Morgan's origins and early career are obscure. He was probably a member of the expedition that in 1655 seized Jamaica from the Spanish and converted it into an English colony. He may have participated in an expedition against Cuba in 1662; and during the second Anglo-Dutch War (1665-67), he was second in command of the buccaneers operating against Dutch colonies in the Caribbean.

Selected commander of the buccaneers in 1668, Morgan quickly captured Puerto PrÕncipe (now Camag,ey), Cuba, and--in an extraordinarily daring move--stormed and sacked the well-fortified city of Porto Bello on the Isthmus of Panama. In 1669 he made a successful raid on wealthy Spanish settlements around Lake Maracaibo on the coast of Venezuela. Finally, in August 1670 Morgan, with 36 ships and nearly 2,000 buccaneers, set out to capture Panama, one of the chief cities of Spain's American empire. Crossing the Isthmus of Panama, he defeated a large Spanish force (Jan. 18, 1671) and entered the city, which burned to the ground while his men were looting it. On the return journey he deserted his followers and absconded with most of the booty.

Because Morgan's raid on Panama; had taken place after the conclusion of a peace between England and Spain, he was arrested and transported to London (April 1672). Nevertheless, relations with Spain quickly deteriorated, and in 1674 King Charles II knighted Morgan and sent him out again as deputy governor of Jamaica, where he lived as a wealthy and respected planter until his death.

An exaggerated account of Morgan's exploits, written by one of his crew, created his popular reputation as a bloodthirsty pirate.

Edward Teach Thatch, by name Black Beard or Blackbeard Nov. 22, 1718

Edward Teach Thatch, by name Black Beard or Blackbeard (b. Bristol?, Eng.--d. Nov. 22, 1718, Ocracoke Island, North Carolina), one of history's most famous pirates, who became an imposing figure in American folklore and is still well-known by his nickname Blackbeard.
Black Beard, like many pirates began as a active as a privateer for the British during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-13), His first reported act as a pirate was late in 1716. The following year he converted a captured French merchantman into a 40-gun warship, "Queen Anne's Revenge," and soon became notorious for outrages along the Virginia and Carolina coasts and in the Caribbean Sea.

Black Beard was an imposing site. He stood well over six feet tall and was as strong and as big an ox. He was known to be brave and by today's standard was psychotic. It is said that he one time shot his own first mate just so that people would remember how mean he could be. He was also armed with several pistols, knives, and a his cutlass. In battle he would often put matches under his hat or braided into his beard so that it would appear that his head was on fire. Despite the Artilces of Piracy that are often discussed, Black Beard was a fearsome pirate captain who had absolute rule over his ship. However, he was also quite successful at his trade, so his crew accepted his behavior.

It is rumored that he had as many as fourteen wives which was probably true. rumors also mention that he murdered them all which probably is not true. It is more likely he just left them when he grew tired of them and married someone else.

In 1718 he established his base in a North Carolina inlet, forcibly collected tolls from shipping in Pamlico Sound, and made a prize-sharing agreement with Charles Eden, governor of the North Carolina colony. At the request of Carolina planters, the lieutenant governor of Virginia, Alexander Spotswood, dispatched a British naval force under Lt. Robert Maynard, who, after a hard fight, succeeded in killing Black Beard.

The pirate's body was decapitated, and his head was affixed to the end of the bowsprit of his ship.

Apart from the luxuriant black beard which earned him his nickname, the most prominent aspect of the Black Beard legend is his great buried treasure, which has never been found and probably never existed.

On a side note. It is said that Blackbeard was stabbed at least twenty times and shot as many as five times while fighting with Maynard. As the story goes, the two fought in hand to hand combat for as much a forty minutes before Blackbeard finally collapsed due to loss of blood.

It is also claimed that at one time he kept eleven of the most prominent citizens of Charleston as hostage for several days until the city finally paid his ransom demand. His demand? It was a demand for medicine and nothing more. It seems pirates tend to die faster from VD than fighting.