You must have heard of Blackbeard from the movie “Pirates of the Caribbean”, an evil pirate with mysterious anecdotes. But do you know Captain Kidd, Calico Jack, or Sir Francis Drake?
Let’s learn about the 8 most famous pirates in world history in the article below.
Sailing from the Barbary waters of North Africa, the Barbarossa brothers (meaning “red beard” in Italian) Aruj and Hizir became rich by capturing European shipping in the Mediterranean. Initially, the pirate duo’s most wealthy victims included two ecclesiastical ships and a Sardinian warship; They then began targeting the Spanish ships when Aruj lost an arm in battle with them.
In 1516, the Ottoman sultan gave Aruj full control of the Barbary waters, a position that Hizir replaced two years later when his brother died. Hizir, also known as Khair-ed-Din, spent the rest of his life fighting many Christian enemies, including a fleet known as the “Divine Alliance” approved by Pope Francis. created to destroy Hizir.
Francis Drake, nicknamed “my pirate boy” by Queen Elizabeth I, was one of a number of pirates with the name “Sea Dog” licensed by the British government to hunt and attack pirates. Spanish cargo ships (these pirates were called “privateers”). Drake made his most famous voyages between 1577 and 1580, becoming the first English captain to circumnavigate the world. On the same trip, he lost four of his five ships, executed a subordinate on charges of plotting a rebellion, rammed several ports in Spain, and captured a cargo ship full of Spanish treasures.
Impressed, Queen Elizabeth immediately knighted him upon his return. Eight years later, Drake helped England defeat the Spanish fleet.
L’Olonnais was one of many “buccaneer” pirates – both government-sponsored and outlawed – that sailed the Caribbean from the mid to late 1600s. Known as Jean-David Nau, L’Olonnais is said to have begun plundering Spanish cargo ships and coastal people – and famous for his appalling brutality – shortly after placing the order. arrived in the Caribbean as an apprentice.
The 17th-century pirate historian, Alexander Exquemelin, writes that L’Olonnais at times chopped his victims into pieces, or tied a rope around their necks until their eyes bulged out. Suspecting his betrayal, L’Olonnais even cut a man’s heart out and took a bite! However, karma came back and “swallowed” L’Olonnais in 1668, when, according to Exquemelin, he was captured and eaten alive by cannibals.
Perhaps the most famous “buccaneer” pirate in history, Henry Morgan once ordered his soldiers to put all the locals in Puerto Principe (Cuba) into a church so that he could freely plunder the town without losing sight of it. obstructed. After that, he captured Porto Bello (Panama) by creating a human shield from priests, women, and even the mayor. Over the next few years, Henry Morgan continued to carry out many brutal robberies in two Venezuelan towns and Panama City.
Despite his capture in 1672, Morgan was somehow eventually made governor of Jamaica in 1678 and again from 1680 to 1682. Ironically, under him, the Jamaican legislature even introduced a anti-piracy laws, and Morgan even helped with the trial of the pirates!
Once a respected privateer pirate, Captain William Kidd set sail in 1696 on a mission to hunt down pirates raging in the Indian Ocean. But soon, the hunter became his own target, capturing as many ships as the Quedagh Merchant and killing one of his subordinates with a wooden bucket. A mass desertion ensued, and Captain Kidd was left with a minimal fleet of troops on the way home (which stopped at New York’s Gardiners Island to bury the treasure!). Clashing with the mighty British East India Company, Kidd was captured before he could return to England, then brought to trial and sentenced to death. His rotting body was brought out and placed on the banks of the Thames to warn other pirates.
Born Edward Teach, Blackbeard intimidated his enemies by wrapping cigarette ends in his long, twisted beard, as well as wearing various pistols and daggers to his chest. In November 1717, he captured a French slave ship, renamed it Queen Anne’s Revenge, and installed 40 barrels of guns. With massive firepower, Blackbeard besieged the port of Charleston, South Carolina, until the townspeople met his need for a large chest filled with potions. After hiding for several months in North Carolina, Blackbeard was destroyed in a battle with the British Navy.
Legend has it that he received 20 stabs and 5 shots before leaving the world. The “Golden Age of Pirates”, of which Blackbeard was a stormy name, only lasted a few more years. But countless books, musicals, and movies—from Treasure Island to Pirates of the Caribbean—have given audiences a more flamboyant version of that era.
John Rackam, better known as Calico Jack, was pardoned for piracy in 1719. However, just a year later, he quickly “got back to his old ways” after robbing a 12-gun warship in the port of Nassau. , Bahamas. Among the dozen or so followers of Rackam are two of the rare female pirates who have “stormed” the Caribbean. One named Anne Bonny, left her husband to follow Rackam; the other, Mary Read, had been disguised as a man to set sail some time earlier. In October 1720, a pirate ship overpowered Rackam’s drunken gang. Only Bonny, Read, and another pirate resisted. Although Rackam was executed a month later, the two women mentioned above were lucky to escape hanging because they were both pregnant. Read died in prison not long after, and Bonny went unanswered much later.
In 1805, Madame Cheng’s husband, Cheng Yih, founded what would soon become the largest pirate union in the history of the world. After Yih’s death 2 years later, Madame Cheng took control of the federation and expanded it further; It is estimated that at the height of her power, this woman commanded 1,800 ships and 70,000 pirates under her command. With the help of Cheung Po Tsai – her husband’s adopted son and lover – she demanded protection money from coastal communities, attacked countless ships in the South China Sea, and even at times also kidnapped 7 British sailors. Madame Cheng was later pardoned in 1810 when the Chinese authorities began cracking down on piracy. Having worked as a prostitute in her youth, in her old age, Madame Cheng runs a huge drug trafficking ring!