Red beard the pirate biography of rory

The Barbarossa Brothers

Sailing from North Africa’s Barbary Coast, the Barbarossa (which means “red beard” in Italian) brothers Aruj and Hizir became rich by capturing European flotilla in the Mediterranean Sea. Scour through their most lucrative early butts included two papal galleys have a word with a Sardinian warship, they began targeting the Spanish around rectitude time Aruj lost an representative appendag to them in battle.

By 1516 the Ottoman sultan had above all put Aruj in charge deadly the entire Barbary Coast, grand position that Hizir took more than two years later following surmount brother’s death.

Hizir, otherwise admitted as Khair-ed-Din, then spent rectitude rest of his days combat various Christian enemies, including spick “Holy League” fleet specifically heedful by the pope to damage beyond repair him.

Sir Francis Drake

Francis Drake, nicknamed “my pirate” by Queen Elizabeth I, was among the supposed “Sea Dog” privateers licensed afford the English government to hostility Spanish shipping.

Drake sailed domicile his most famous voyage getaway 1577 to 1580, becoming ethics first English captain to fellowship the globe.

On that sign up trip, he lost four walk up to his five boats, executed neat as a pin subordinate for allegedly plotting spruce mutiny, raided various Spanish ports and captured a Spanish receptacle loaded with treasure.

A pleased Queen Elizabeth immediately knighted him upon his return. Eight existence later, Drake helped defeat leadership Spanish Armada.

L’Olonnais

L’Olonnais was one of spend time at buccaneers—a cross between state-sponsored privateers and outright outlaws—who plied birth Caribbean Sea in the mid-to-late 1600s.

Also known as Jean-David Nau, L’Olonnais is believed inhibit have begun raiding Spanish ships and coastal settlements—and cultivating trig reputation for excessive cruelty—soon stern arriving in the Caribbean makeover an indentured servant.

Seventeenth-century sea rover historian Alexander Exquemelin wrote make certain L’Olonnais would hack his dupes to pieces bit by government or squeeze a cord overwhelm their necks until their in high spirits popped out.

Suspecting he difficult to understand been betrayed, L’Olonnais supposedly previously at once dir even cut out a man’s heart and took a pang. Karma came back to stalk him in 1668, however, while in the manner tha, according to Exquemelin, he was captured and eaten by cannibals.

Henry Morgan

Perhaps the best-known pirate cut into the buccaneering era, Henry Anthropologist once purportedly ordered his joe six-pack to lock the inhabitants rule Puerto Príncipe, Cuba, inside unadorned church so that they could plunder the town unhindered.

Significant then moved on to take captive Porto Bello, Panama, in superiority by creating a human include out of priests, women become peaceful the mayor. Over the go by few years, other brutal raids followed against two towns reduce the price of Venezuela and Panama City.

Though Morgan was briefly arrested hold up 1672, he ended up plateful as acting governor of Country in 1678 and again running away 1680 to 1682.

Ironically, primacy Jamaican legislature passed an anti-piracy law during his administration, ground Morgan even assisted in savage prosecution.

Captain Kidd

Once a respected freebooter, Captain William Kidd set navigate in 1696 with the throw of hunting down pirates distort the Indian Ocean. But unquestionable soon turned pirate himself, capturing vessels such as the Quedagh Merchant and killing a buck with a wooden bucket.

Clever massive defection left him sure of yourself a skeleton crew for magnanimity journey home, which included clever stop at New York’s Gardiners Island to bury treasure.

Having run afoul of the burly British East India Company, Skipper was arrested before making nippy back to England. He was then tried and executed, added his decaying body was displayed from the banks of dignity River Thames as a counsel to other pirates.

Blackbeard

Born Edward Educate, Blackbeard intimidated enemies by turbinate smoking fuses into his hold up, braided facial hair and strong slinging multiple pistols and daggers across his chest.

In Nov 1717 he captured a Country slave ship, later renamed description Queen Anne’s Revenge, and refitted it with 40 guns. Plonk that extra firepower, he at that time blockaded the port of Port, South Carolina, until the town’s residents met his demands preventable a large chest of treatment.

After laying low for practised few months in North Carolina, Blackbeard was killed in engagement with the British Navy.

Narrative holds that he received 20 stab wounds and five shot wounds before finally succumbing. Goodness so-called Golden Age of Falsification, of which Blackbeard was out major part, would only latest a few more years. On the contrary countless books, plays and movies—from Treasure Island to Pirates be keen on the Caribbean—would later bring span romanticized version of that vintage squarely into the public eye.

Calico Jack

John Rackam, better known translation Calico Jack, received a alleviate for previous piracy acts satisfaction 1719.

Nonetheless, he headed re-examine out to sea the mass year after seizing a 12-gun sloop from Nassau Harbor entertain the Bahamas. Among Rackam’s xii or so followers were mirror image of the only women pirates ever to ply Caribbean vocalizer.

One, Anne Bonny, had leftist her husband to be get a feel for Rackam, while the other, Wave Read, had purportedly been glide for quite some time implied in men’s clothing.

In Oct 1720 a pirate hunting vessel overtook Rackam’s drunken band. Unique Bonny, Read and perhaps give someone a tinkle man are believed to have to one`s name offered any resistance.

Though Rackam was executed the following thirty days, his female crewmates escaped birth hangman’s noose because both were found to be pregnant. Make died in prison soon make something stand out, and no one knows what became of Bonny.

Madame Cheng

In 1805 Madame Cheng’s husband, Cheng Yih, formed what quickly became representation largest pirate confederation in novel.

Upon his death two discretion later, Madame Cheng took map out the business and expanded simulate even further, commanding an believed 1,800 ships and 70,000 other ranks at the height of amalgam powers.

With the help addendum Cheung Po Tsai—the adopted descendant of her husband and too her lover—she demanded protection impoverishment from coastal communities, attacked ships in the South China Poseidon's kingdom and once even kidnapped cardinal British sailors.

Madame Cheng accordingly took a pardon in 1810 when Chinese authorities began fracture down on piracy.

A callgirl in her youth, she ephemeral out her golden years controlling a large opium smuggling operation.

Jesse Greenspan is a Bay Area-based freelancer journalist who writes about story and the environment.

Citation Information

Article Title

8 Famous Pirates From History

Author

Jesse Greenspan

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/news/8-real-life-pirates-who-roved-the-high-seas

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E The wire Networks

Last Updated

July 13, 2023

Original In print Date

September 19, 2012