16 Gnarly Stories of the Sea's Most Notorious Pirates
While tales of pirate ships and buried treasure may seem to be a thing of storybooks and billion-dollar Disney franchises with Johnny Depp, swashbucklers were all too real, sailing the seven seas in search of adventure, treasure, and a whole lot of rum. Just ask fans of these infamous dead men, who have — and will continue to — tell their harrowing tales for centuries to come.
From the legend of "Pirate Queen" Zheng Yi Sao to the real story behind Blackbeard, here are the real-life stories behind 16 notorious pirates.
4. Francois L'Ollonias
“[Francois L'Ollonias] hated the Spanish, because they killed his crew and the only reason he survived was because he played dead, so he attacked the Spanish at every opportunity. One day the Spanish laid an ambush for him and desperate to escape, he took some Spanish prisoners he had onboard, cut out one of their hearts, took a bite and then said that the same thing would happen to the rest of them if they didn't help him escape.”
5. Jeanne de Clisson
“Jeanne de Clisson, also known as the Lioness of Brittany, was a French noblewoman and mother who became a privateer to avenge her husband after he was executed for treason by the French king. She swore revenge against the French king after the execution of her husband. She crossed the English Channel targeting French ships and often slaughtering their entire crew. She would sail in a fleet of black ships with red sails (scary stuff). She was an absolute legend! Once she was avenged she up and quit piracy as a wealthy woman and returned to being a mum.”
6. Edward Low
“Edward [Low] might also be interesting. As the story goes, he was sadistic and homicidal maniac. Some have argued that this was a manufactured persona (similar to Blackbeard) designed to intimidate potential targets. Regardless, it’s also a fun, albeit morbid, story.”
7. Olivier ‘La Buse’ Levasseur
“Olivier ‘La Buse’ Levasseur has received surprisingly little attention in English media given his supposed exploits. He is rumored to have hidden a huge treasure that can only be found by deciphering a cryptogram. It’s probably myth, but it’s a good story nonetheless.”
8. Pierre Legrand
“I always loved the story of the french pirate Pierre Legrand who captured a spanish man-o-war with his small crew of 28 sailors, forcing them to succeed in sinking his own ship, then sneaking aboard, going into the officers' cabin and capturing them all at once because they were playing cards.”
9. John Taylor
“John Taylor. He was a democratic but very efficient pirate, said by one captive to have been one of the best and most effective sailors of the day. He took the Nossa Senhora do Cabo, a prize ship whose treasures possibly exceeded what Henry Avery took from the Gunsway. He retired in the Caribbean as a married man, landowner and Spanish Naval commander.”
10. Blackbeard
“Blackbeard who was known for his theatrics he would Stick lit fuses under his hat and had a thick black beard which made him look like a devil. He raided as far north as New Jersey and New York and as far south as Martinique. Charles Vane another associate of Blackbeard known for his unusually violent behavior. He had a small fleet but when he refused to attack a French ship off the coast of New Jersey he was voted out of his position. He and 16 men were given a sloop and his quartermaster rackham became the new captain. He made a new fleet but was shipwrecked and stranded. He was later found and taken to Jamaica where he was hanged. Stede bonnet a rich pirate who became a pirate purely out of bordedom he teamed up with Blackbeard twice and buried treasure on cape May seizing a few ships off the coast. William Leed a pirate born in England who sailed with William Kidd in the Indian Ocean but was later a rich and successful citizen of Middletown New Jersey even going so far as to create a church and donate land in the Monmouth county area. Moses Butrerworth another English pirate who sailed with Kidd imprisoned in Monmouth county New Jersey in middletown to await trial but was saved by rebels. He later fled and is believed to have gone to Long Island but it was never confirmed. Ned Low he was born in a London and was a common thief whose brother also a thief was hanged. He went to America where he lived a normal life briefly marrying and having a daughter. was active off the coast of New Jersey where he met fellow pirate George Lowther. His wife died and he killed a coworker so with a group of men he stole a ship and stealing a second ship he became a pirate. They then captured many ships before fleeing to the Caribbean where they split up. Active for only 3 years Low captured more than 100 ships and was known for his savage cruelty. He was eventually deposed and taken to Martinique where he was hanged.”
11. Black Bart Roberts
"Black Bart Roberts. 475 ships taken in just under 5 years, then died on his feet from a blast of grapeshot. The man was so respected, his men sewed him up w/ some chains and other weights, then chucked him overboard before surrendering."
12. John Paul Jones
“John Paul Jones. While not a pirate in the traditional sense, he took a sloop-of-war to the British Isles and wrecked a bunch of stuff, avoiding being killed by the Royal Navy, and in 1999 actually recieved an honorary pardon from the town of Whitehaven, a town he raided.”
13. Mary Read
"Mary Read was a famous pirate who sailed with Jack Rackham and Anne Bonny who masqueraded as a man to be allowed to join a pirate crew."
14. John Bear
"Then there's John Bear. He was a Caribbean privateer in the 1680s whose privateering - like many at the time did - turned into outright piracy. He then switched his allegiance to Spain and began preying on English ships. In Havana he married a nobleman's daughter and was treated to a lavish celebration by the Spanish governor. Governor of Jamaica knew the woman, though: she was a Jamaican prostitute, a moonshiner's daughter, and Bear absconded with her from Jamaica by dressing her in men's clothes until he could get her to Cuba. After that he switched allegiance again, this time to France, where he continued as a privateer once more.
15. Joseph Wheeler
There are so, so many obscure but fascinating pirate stories out there. My personal votes were just a few? Joseph Wheeler. He was carpenter aboard a pirate ship operating in the Indian Ocean. Their captain died while ashore but they couldn't put back out to sea because all their water barrels were leaky and rotten. But Wheeler pulled a MacGyver and fixed all their water barrels so they could keep pirating. In thanks the crew elected him Captain. They weren't hugely successful, but they made a few decent captures, divided their loot, and survived to retire. Not a bad outcome all things considered for a guy who started out as just the carpenter.
16. Henry Avery
"In the late 17th century, the pirate Henry Avery became the richest pirate in the world after raiding a treasure laden ship belonging to the Grand Ruler of India. He stole £600,000 in precious metals and jewels, equivalent to £89.6M today. The world’s first worldwide manhunt was called on him."
17. Henry Morgan
“That when the famous pirate Henry Morgan died, an amnesty was declared so pirates and privateers could come and pay their respects without fear of arrest. He was also given a state funeral in Port Royal, and buried with a 22-gun salute.”
19. William Kidd
“Contrary to popular belief, there is only one known instance where pirates buried their treasure. William Kidd buried his treasure on Gardiner Island before he was hanged. The myth of buried pirate treasure was later popularized by novels like Treasure Island.”
20. Zheng Yi Sao
"Zheng Yi Sao, a pirate queen, fought the East India Company, the Portuguese Empire, and the Great Qing, and, rather than being executed, joined the ranks of the Chinese nobility and negotiated amnesty for her followers."
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