Pirate biography

As shipping across the Atlantic and in the Caribbean increased, successful pirates, many of whom began their careers as privateers, were able to prey on merchant vessels in order to make a living. As their fortunes flourished and their appetite for treasure grew, targets for plunder were soon no longer exclusive to small merchant ships.

Pirates attacked large convoys, were able to fight off sizeable naval ships and became a general force to be reckoned with. Below is a list of some of the most infamous and notorious of these pirates who continue to capture the imagination of the public today. Although it is unclear when exactly Teach arrived in the Caribbean, it is likely he disembarked as a sailor on privateer ships during the War of Spanish Succession at the turn of the 18th century.

In the late 17th and early 18th century, many private ships received a licence from the British monarchy, under the commission of war, that permitted the plundering of vessels belonging to a rival nation.

Female pirates

Teach may have remained a privateer during the war, however it was not before the sailor found himself on the sloop of the pirate Benjamin Hornigold, who also launched raids off Jamaica. The main difference now was that Teach was stealing from and killing his old employers, the British. Teach clearly made a name for himself. Blackbeard became the most notorious and feared pirate of the Caribbean.

According to the legends, he was a giant man with a dark dusky beard covering half his face, wearing a great red coat to make him look even bigger.

Blackbeard one piece

He carried two swords at his waist and had bandoleers full of pistols and knives across his chest. Image credit: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Some reports even say that during a fight he stuck sticks of gunpowder into his long hair to make him seem even more terrifying. We will probably never know exactly what he looked like, but there is no doubt that he was successful, as recent research has discovered he captured over 45 vessels, despite his relatively short career as a pirate.

On 22 November , with an enormous bounty on his head, Blackbeard was eventually killed in a sword fight with Royal Marines on the deck of his ship. As one of the most influential pirates on New Providence Island, he had control over Fort Nassau, protecting the bay and the entrance to the harbour.