Blackbeard
His real name was EDWARD TEACH. Blackbeard lived from 1680 - 1718.
Before becoming a pirate, he was a privateer operating out of Jamaica during the
Queen Anne's War (1702 - 1713). He was an English pirate and he was
probably born in Bristol, England. Blackbeard worked hard at establishing
his devilish image. His nickname came from his strange appearance.
He used to braid his long black beard and he would strike terror into the
hearts of his victims by weaving wicks laced with gunpowder into his hair and
light them during battle. Blackbeard usually wore a red coat, two swords
at his waist and bandoleers stuffed with a lot of pistols and knives across his
chest. He sailed in the West Indies and along the
coast of North Carolina and Virginia colonies. he would often maroon
the crews of the ships that he attacked and burn their ships.
In 1718 the governor of Virginia sent two British
ships to attack Blackbeard, who was spending the winter in a North Carolina
inlet; the pirate was killed in the battle near the Oracoke Inlet in North
Carolina.
Anne
Bonny
Anne
Bonny was one of the two most famous female pirates. She was born in County
Cork, Ireland. A pirate named James Bonny married Anne and tried to steal her
father's plantation but instead her father disowned her. Anne and James fled to
the Bahamas where he turned in any sailor he didn't like as a pirate to get the
reward money. Anne got away from her husband and eventually married the famous
pirate Calico Jack Rackham, and they pirated together for many years. Anne
fought in men's clothing, was an expert with pistol and cutlass and was
considered as dangerous as any male pirate. She was fearless.
In October of 1720, Anne's pirate days came to an end. The governor of Jamaica,
sent an armed sloop to capture the Captain and crew of Calico's ship
"Revenge". Anne was captured but confessed she was female and
pleaded to be tried separately from the men after she gave birth. She was
pregnant at the time of capture. She was tried separately but was still
sentenced to hang. Anne received several stays of execution before mysteriously
vanishing from official records. Some believe that her father, who had contacts
in the island, forgave his daughter for her acts and took her to the Carolinas
where she assumed a new name and a new life.
Alexander
Selkirk
Alexander
Selkirk is the real person that the well known novel, Robinson Crusoe, was based
upon. Selkirk was born in Scotland in 1676. He ran away to sea when he was very
young. In 1703 he joined the crew of William Dampier and went on his first
buccaneer voyage into the Atlantic . Here they attacked many ships from France
and Spain. Selkirk thrived on the adventure and enjoyed his life treasure
hunting at sea. A few years later Selkirk got into trouble with his captain,
Thomas Stradling, when he accused the captain of poor leadership and allowing
the ship to be poorly maintained. He continued to irritate the captain on many
occasions. In September, 1704 the captain had had enough and he ordered Selkirk
off the ship and marooned on Juan Fernandez island. Alexander Selkirk was left
with his clothing, some bedding, a gun, gun powder and bullets, and some simple
tools. Luckily, Selkirk was a resourceful man and he used his survival skills to
live on the island until he was rescued on February 2, 1709 by privateers. He
returned to pirating shortly after and continued that lifestyle until his death
on December 12, 1721
Captain
Kidd
Captain
William Kidd was the pirate of all time! He was the captain of a trading
ship, The Adventure Galley, that sailed in the West Indies. He was a privateer
who was quite successful in seizing enemy ships and amassed a large fortune
doing this. The search for his treasure began in the 1930's when written
proof appeared in Great Britain that he may have buried some of his wealth.
Kidd was likely born in Scotland around the year 1645. He married a
wealthy woman named Sarah Dort in 1699 and his name appears in the church
register as "William Kidd, Gentleman" He was tried and convicted
of piracy in 1699 and was executed. While in jail awaiting his trial he
tried to convince the authorities that he could lead them to a treasure worth
over three hundred thousand pounds (today - three million dollars) In 1930
a man named Hubert palmer found a chest with Kidd's name on it and contained a
hidden compartment. Inside Palmer discovered three similar maps of the
same island. Unfortunately, there were inconsistencies and the treasure
remains buried.
Jean
Laffite
Title:
A Biography of Jean Laffite
Author: Krzysztof Wilczynski (about)
Jean
Laffite, thought to have been born in France, was more of a businessman than
seafarer. Along with his brother, Laffite practiced pirating and privateering
out of Barataria Bay, south of New Orleans. With over 10 vessels he and his crew
raided among others, British, American, and Spanish vessels. Due to his frequent
trips to various worldwide coastal ports, many in New Orleans traded with his
band of pirates.
Laffite was renown for working his way out of trouble, when arrested by a
certain governor, he failed to show up at the trial. The governor set a bounty
for him at $750, in return, Laffite offered double that price for the capture of
the governor.
British officials offered Laffite monetary rewards among others, in 1814, in
return for his help in their attack on New Orleans. Laffite notified New Orleans
officials, who paid no head to his warnings. A few weeks later a small Naval
fleet attacked, before which Laffite and his crew slipped out of town. Later
that same year, General Andrew Jackson accepted Laffites aid in combat with the
British. In return for his help, he and his crew were pardoned for their
maritime crimes, but lost their pirate privileges in Barataria Bay.
During an increase in naval activity, Laffite and his crew sailed towards
Spanish occupied territory of Texas. He took over Galveston, from where he
established his pirating activities. Being run out of Galveston, he left, but
only after burning the entire settlement. With his brother, Laffite continued
pirating around Central American ports until he died around 1821.
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