30 Most Notorious Pirates in History

30 Most Notorious Pirates in History

Piracy is not only a criminal activity but something that has been there for quite a long time. In other words, it is not really a new phenomenon. Between the 16^th and 19^th centuries, piracy was so much that it even caught the attention of the government and something had to be done on a serious note. The world’s most notorious pirates were very active in this era and they actually managed to amass so many riches. They are famous to date. However, don’t let ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ fool you. In a typical sense, pirates were never friendly and humourous. Many of them were ruthless killers, finding nothing wrong in participating in slavery, murdering the innocent, and taking part in any malicious activity you can think of. As long as some extra coin was involved, they would happily oblige. Throughout history, many of the pirates started off as privateers. That is sailors who have been hired on private terms on warships and had been given permission to attack the country’s enemies at sea. Even harass and give a hard time to commercial ships in different designated zones. When the lure for gold was great a chance to ignore, some of the privateers even attacked ships from their own countries and they would strike out under their own flags, so as to raid merchant vessels illegally. Many pirates became successful and were feared very much throughout the world at that time. Piracy was so lucrative that some were actual millionaires by today’s standards. That said, here is a list of 30 of the most notorious pirates in history.

1. Anne Bonny

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Piracy was and is typically the business for men. It was always led and controlled by men but this woman defied all odds by proving that indeed, what a man can do, a woman can do much better. Bonny was known as a strong, independent woman who ended up becoming a strong, independent woman who also became a vicious pirate in a male-dominated industry. She was quite sadistic. A trait needed in this line of work.

2. Bartholomew Roberts

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Roberts was the last of a line of great pirates who ruled the golden age. During his time, he plundered more than 400 ships and his abilities made him very successful. He was known as quite a bold pirate and this is basically what set him apart from the other pirates.

3. Benjamin Hornigold

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Benjamin Hornigold started off as a privateer then graduated to pirate and later pirate hunter. He honestly had such a rollercoaster of events during the course of his career. He was also well quite well because of his association with the infamous Blackbeard. He was his apprentice and partner aferall and thus naturally, people got to know of him too.

4. Blackbeard

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His official name was Edward Teach but his nickname, ‘Blackbeard,’ caught on pretty quickly. During his time, he was the most notorious captain and very well-known. He was ruthless and his deeds, behaviour, and demeanour made him into this terrifying person who was greatly feared across the seas. It made him the perfect villain and he would ruthlessly harass any ship he came across in the Caribbean.

5. Calico Jack

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Calico was typically a small-time pirate. However, his fame got to surpass him after it was known that Anne Bonny and Mary Read sailed under his flag. These two women were the most famous women pirates in the world at the time.

6. Charles Vane

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Charles Vane was another very skillful pirate who got to be respected overtime for his tenacity. He came to be respected and appreciated more after standing up against the feared and mighty Woodes Rogers. Within no time, his name was mentioned among the most notorious and feared pirates of all time. He however died a cruel death after getting captured.

7. Cheung Po Tsai

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Pirates have always been associated with treasure and treasure hunting although these have always been dismissed as simply hearsay. Cheung however lived up to the stereotype since he is mostly known thanks to the legend about his hidden treasure in Cheung Po Tsai in Cheing Chau Island. The cave was naturally named after him and to date people always try to find it. There have been so many rumours and stories regarding where it could be.

8. Edward England

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Edward was an Irishman who ended up becoming a very successful pirate. In the course of his piracy career, he captured so many ships. He wasn’t a typical ruthless pirate who was feared and respected and his name was associated with terror. He was instead a kind and gentle pirate. In a typical sense, he never demonstrated the typical pirate attitude and it unfortunately prevented him from becoming a great pirate. I guess indeed in this business, kindness is one thing you can never afford to be.

9. Edward Low

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To put it plainly, Edward Low was one of the vilest and cruelest pirate captains of the Golden Age of Piracy era. In fact, many stories surround themselves around how cruel the guy was. He spared no one and his methods of killing and punishment were something out of this world.

10. Grace O’Malley

Westport House – Basement – The Dungeons – Pirate Queen Grace O’Malley by Joseph Mischyshyn, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Grace was another of the famous female pirates who left a mark. She was an Irish noblewoman who spent the majority of her time and life at sea. Her life was interesting and in a male-dominated industry, she managed to curve her own reputation. She was also noble so it’s not like she really needed money. She was known all over as the no-nonsense pirate woman who easily got what she wanted.

11. Henry Every

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Every is one of the few pirates who lived until old age. Given the nature of the work, it’s a kill-or-be-killed kind of description and hence depending on where your luck lies, you can easily get killed. However, Henry Every is one of the few pirates who managed to have a career in piracy and even retire from it. After retiring he lived the rest of his life as a rich man. The wealth he managed to acquire from this illegal and criminal activity. Indeed crime can pay off if you’re lucky enough to live long enough.

12. Howell Davis

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The thing about Howell Davis is that he was very intelligent. Something obviously very much needed in this line of work. While other pirates typically relied on being murderous and fearful, Davis relied on his smarts and trickery. This is what actually helped him in all the deals he came across. His ability to outsmart his enemies will forever be remembered. While other pirates relied on firepower and arms, Davis chose a completely different route.

13. Mary Read

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Mary Read, another of the pirate women who left a mark too. Whenever female pirates are mentioned, this is one name that will never be missed. What’s even more interesting, is how Mary had to spend the majority of her time pretending to be a man. This is understandable because, in a world surrounded by men, she needed to blend in and also have people take her seriously. It is said she was only treated as a woman on one occasion only. It’s kind of sad because she had to pretend to be something she absolutely wasn’t.

14. Paulsgrave Williams

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For Williams, it’s a bit different because he went into this business when he was pretty old. He didn’t start out as a young lad trying to make it in the business and that’s why it has always been a common belief that he was just looking for a bit of excitement. You know, something with a bit of adrenaline as you are retiring.

15. Samuel Bellamy

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He was later popularly known as Black Sam. He was an English sailor turned pirate during the Golden Age of piracy. I guess he learned the ropes of how lucrative this job can be, legal or not while still a sailor. During this era, Black Sam came to be best known as the wealthiest pirate in recorded history. Furthermore, he is one of the common and known faces of this era of piracy.

16. Stede Bonnet

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Bonnet was a former wealthy man who suddenly turned to piracy. He was popularly known as the inexperienced and incompetent pirate who became famous nevertheless. To many, was just a rich kid looking to pass the time with an activity that can easily make you look scary and hence respected somehow.

17. Thomas Tew

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Also known as the Rhode Island pirate, Tew was a 17th-century privateer turned pirate. He was described as, a “Specially wicked and ill-disposed pirate.” In other words, he was a special kind of wickedness. During his time, it is said he embarked on two major pirate voyages, and while on his second one, he met a very bloody death. Talk about if you kill by the sword, you will die by the sword.

18. Turgut Reis

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Reis was actually one of the most famous and celebrated naval commanders who actually got to command over most of the Mediterranean during the 16^th century. He had a strong military background and thus obviously, the strategies he adopted when pirating other ships were just impressive to put it plainly.

19. William Kidd

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William Kidd is another pirate who became so popular thanks to his hidden treasures. Somehow people are more fascinated with treasures even more than the people themselves. So, often, known as Captain Kidd, he was so famous for juggling between privateer and piracy and eventually got hanged for it including murder.

20. Sayyida al-Hurra

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Sayyida is one of the most important female figures of the Islamic religion. It was so unheard of and that’s why hers is a story of fascination. An Islamic woman in piracy and making waves while at it. She was a queen of Tetouan and the pirate queen of the Western Mediterranean.

21. Emanuel Wynn

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In the beginning of the 18th century, Emanuel Wynn was a French private who was so active and so well-known. His reputation preceded him and today he is known as the first pirate to fly a Jolly Roger. Seems like piracy paid him well and financially he wasn’t really badly off.

22. Peter Easton

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Easton is one of the most successful pirates of the17th century who actually managed to retire and spend all the profits and treasures he made in peace. He also managed to gain a vast fleet of pirate ships that actually became stronger than any military that roamed the Atlantic.

23. Richard Worley

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Worley mostly operated in the Caribbean sea and the east coast of the American colonies. He was the one responsible for creating and popularizing one of the most popular pirate flag designs that is actually popular to date. In fact, most people associate piracy with that flag design.

24. Ching Shih

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Shih was popularly known as Cheng I Sao and she was the most powerful female pirate in history. She was a prominent pirate in the Qing dynasty and so naturally she was operating mostly around China. Her reputation of course surpassed and to date, there’s some kind of low-key respect associated with her name.

25. Christopher Contend

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Contend was another famous pirate who was mostly operating in Bahamas and later on in the Madagascar. Like very few others, Christopher also lived to tell the tale as he grew older and even retired from this job.

26. Christopher Moody

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Moody had a policy that made everyone fear him so much. The policy was that,no prisoners should be left alive ever. In other words, he was quite brutal and he didn’t really care. He was also known for the unique jolly Roger Flag with the red and gold colours, instead of the traditional black and white one.

27. Sir Francis Drake 

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Francis Drake was a noble to begin with and then he gradually graduated to being an outlaw pirate to others. According to BBC, he became the first person to navigate the globe although his agenda wasn’t to explore and travel. It was to raid Spanish ships in the Americas. He later got involved in the slave trade in Africa and ended up enslaving up to 1400 Africans. So he is not exactly liked.

28. The Barbarossa Brothers

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From the name, they were Italian brothers who became rich thanks to capturing European vessels in the Mediterranean Sea. Aruj and Hazir Barbarossa mostly focused on Sardinian warships but after Aruj lost his arms to the Spanish, they started targeting them. Later in 1516, the Ottoman Sultan put Aruj in charge of the entire Barbary coast, a position his Hazir, his brother later took on after he passed on. Hazir then spent most of his years fighting Christian enemies including one known as ‘Holy League,’ which was a fleet specifically formed by the pope to destroy him.

29. Black Bart

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He was known to be a handsome devil who would dress in flamboyant colours. He started off as a worker on merchant ships then became a pirate and soon got elected to being captain of his own ship and crew. It is said he took up to 400 ships during his time. This is inclusive of the one-off to the Caribbean and coast of Africa. The story has it that he would often capture slave ships and demand gold from their captains in exchange for their return. One captain refused and Bart burned the ship with 80 enslaved people entrapped. He was killed in 1722 by the British Navy while his crew members were too drunk to defend the ship.

30. Sir Henry Morgan

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And last on the list we have Sir Henry. His name is a very common household name, especially among rum drinkers. His portrait appears on the front of the ‘Captain Morgan’ rum bottles. He was a successful pirate because he even lived long enough to retire. By the time of his death, he owned three plantations and 131 enslaved people.

Although it was regarded as a criminal activity (and still is), the truth is that so many of these people who got into it actually enriched themselves. So really at the end of the day, it is all about choosing your struggles.