For a long time, the Caribbean islands served as a bone of contention for the great maritime powers, since untold riches lurked here. And where there is wealth, there are robbers. Piracy in the Caribbean has blossomed into full bloom and turned into a serious problem. In fact, the sea robbers were much more cruel than we imagine.
In 1494, the Pope divided the New World between Spain and Portugal. All the gold of the Aztecs, Incas and Mayans of South America went to the ungrateful Spaniards. Other European maritime powers naturally did not like this, and conflict was inevitable. And their struggle for Spanish possessions in the New World (this mainly concerned England and France) led to the emergence of piracy.
famous corsairs
At the very beginning, piracy was even approved by the authorities and was called privateering. A privateer or corsair is a pirate ship, but with a state flag, designed to capture enemy ships.Francis Drake
As a corsair, Drake possessed not only their usual greed and cruelty, but was also extremely inquisitive, and, eager to visit new places, he eagerly took on the fulfillment of orders from Queen Elizabeth, mainly concerning the Spanish colonies. In 1572, he was especially lucky - on the Isthmus of Panama, Drake intercepted the Silver Caravan, en route to Spain, which carried 30 tons of silver.
Once he, carried away, even made a round-the-world trip. And he completed one of his campaigns with unprecedented profit, replenishing the royal treasury by 500 thousand pounds sterling, which was more than one and a half times her annual income. The queen personally arrived on the ship to give Jack a knighthood. In addition to treasures, Jack also brought potato tubers to Europe, for which in Germany in the city of Offenburg they even erected a monument to him, on the pedestal of which it is written: “To Sir Francis Drake, who spread potatoes in Europe.”
Henry Morgan
Morgan was a world-famous successor to the Drake cause. The Spaniards considered him their most terrible enemy, for them he was even more terrible than Francis Drake. Having brought a whole army of pirates to the walls of the Spanish city of Panama at that time, he ruthlessly plundered it, taking out huge treasures, after which he turned the city into ashes. Largely thanks to Morgan, Britain was able to seize control of the Caribbean from Spain for a while. King Charles II of England personally knighted Morgan and appointed him governor of Jamaica, where he spent his last years.
The golden age of piracy
Beginning in 1690, an active trade was established between Europe, Africa and the Caribbean, which led to an extraordinary flowering of piracy. Numerous ships of the leading European powers, carrying valuable goods, on the high seas became tasty prey for sea robbers, who bred in abundance. Real sea robbers, standing outside the law, who were engaged in outright robbery of all passing ships indiscriminately, at the end of the 17th century they replaced the corsairs. Let's remember some of these legendary pirates.
Steed Bonnet was a very prosperous person - a prosperous planter, worked in the municipal police, was married and suddenly decided to become a robber of the seas. And Steed was just very tired of the gray everyday life with his always grumpy wife and routine work. Having independently studied the maritime business and having become adept at it, he bought himself a ten-gun ship called "Revenge", recruited a crew of 70 people and set off against the wind of change. And soon his raids became quite successful.
Steed Bonnet also became famous for not being afraid to argue with the most formidable pirate at that time - Edward Teach, Blackbeard. Teach on his ship with 40 guns, attacking Steed's ship, easily captured it. But Steed could not come to terms with this and constantly bothered Teach, insisting that real pirates do not do this. And Teach let him go free, but with only a few pirates and completely disarming his ship.
Then Bonnet went to North Carolina, where he had recently been pirating, repented before the governor and offered to become their corsair. And, having received consent from the governor, a license and a fully equipped ship, he immediately set off in pursuit of Blackbeard, but to no avail. Steed, of course, did not return to Carolina, but continued to engage in robberies. At the end of 1718 he was caught and executed.
Edward Teach
An indomitable lover of rum and women, this famous pirate in the invariable wide-brimmed hat was nicknamed "Blackbeard". He did wear a long black beard, braided into pigtails, into which wicks were woven. During the battle, he set fire to them, and from the very sight of him, many sailors surrendered without a fight. But, it is quite possible that the wicks are just fiction. Blackbeard, although he had an intimidating appearance, was not particularly cruel, but took the enemy only by intimidation.
So, he captured his flagship "Queen Anne's Revenge" without firing a single shot - the enemy team surrendered only when they saw Tich. Tich landed all the prisoners on the island and left them a boat. Although, according to other sources, Teach was really very cruel and never left his prisoners alive. At the beginning of 1718, he had 40 captured ships, and under his command were about three hundred pirates.
The British were seriously concerned about his capture, a hunt was announced for him, which ended in success at the end of the year. In a fierce duel with Lieutenant Robert Maynard, Teach, being wounded by more than 20 shots, resisted to the last, killing many Englishmen in the process. And he died from a blow with a saber - when his head was cut off.
Briton, one of the most cruel and heartless pirates. Not feeling the slightest compassion for his victims, he also completely disregarded the members of his team, constantly deceiving them, trying to appropriate as much profit as possible. Therefore, everyone dreamed of his death - both the authorities and the pirates themselves. During another riot, the pirates removed him from the captain's position and landed him on a boat, which the waves carried to a desert island during a storm. After some time, a passing ship picked him up, but there was a person who identified him. Wayne's fate was sealed, he was hanged at the entrance to the port.
He was nicknamed "Calico Jack" because he liked to wear wide pants made of bright chintz (calico). Not being the most successful pirate, he glorified his name by being the first to allow women to be on the ship, contrary to all maritime customs.
In 1720, when Rackham's ship met at sea with the ship of the governor of Jamaica, to the surprise of the sailors, only two pirates offered fierce resistance to them, as it turned out later, they were women - the legendary Anne Bonny and Mary Reed. And all the rest, including the captain, were drunk as a fool.
In addition, it was Rackham who invented the very flag (a skull and crossbones), the so-called "Jolly Roger", which we all now associate with pirates, although many sea robbers went under other flags.
A tall handsome dandy, he was a rather educated person, knew a lot about fashion, observed etiquette. And what is absolutely not typical for pirates - he could not stand alcohol and punished others for drunkenness. Being a believer, he wore a cross on his chest, read the Bible and held services on the ship. The elusive Roberts was distinguished by extraordinary courage and, at the same time, was very successful in his campaigns. Therefore, the pirates loved their captain and were ready to follow him anywhere - after all, they will definitely be lucky!
In a short period, Roberts seized over two hundred ships and about £50 million. But one day, lady luck nevertheless betrayed him. The crew of his ship, busy dividing up the booty, were taken by surprise by an English ship under the command of Captain Ogle. At the first shot, Roberts was killed, buckshot hit his neck. The pirates, lowering his body overboard, resisted for a long time, but were still forced to surrender.
From an early age, spending his time among street criminals, he absorbed all the worst. And being a pirate, he turned into one of the most bloodthirsty sadistic fanatics. And although his time was already at the end of the Golden Age, Low in a short time, showing extraordinary cruelty, captured more than 100 ships.
Sunset of the "Golden Age"
By the end of 1730, the pirates were finished, they were all caught and executed. Over time, they began to be remembered with nostalgia and a certain touch of romanticism. Although in fact, for their contemporaries, pirates were a real disaster.As for the well-known captain Jack Sparrow, such a pirate did not exist at all, there is no specific prototype of him, the image is entirely fictional, a Hollywood parody of pirates, and many of the charismatic features of this colorful and charming character were invented on the go by Johnny Depp.
April 9th, 2013
The word "pirate" (in Latin pirata) in turn comes from the Greek peirates, with the root peiran ("try, test"). Thus, the meaning of the word would be "torturing happiness." The etymology testifies to how unsteady the boundary between the professions of a navigator and a pirate was from the very beginning.
This word came into use around the 4th-3rd centuries BC, and before that the concept of “leistes” was used, which was known to Homer and was closely associated with such matters as robbery, murder, and booty.
Pirate- a sea robber in general, of any nationality, at any time robbing any ships of his own free will.
Filibuster- a sea robber, mainly in the 17th century, robbing mainly Spanish ships and colonies in America.
Buccaneer (buccaneer)- a sea robber, mainly in the 16th century, robbing, like a filibuster, Spanish ships and colonies in America. Usually this term was used to refer to early Caribbean pirates, later it fell into disuse and was replaced by "filibuster".
Privateer, corsair, and privateer- a private person who has received a license from the state to capture and destroy enemy ships and neutral countries in exchange for a promise to share with the employer. In this case, it should be borne in mind that the term "marque" is the earliest, came into use in the Mediterranean since (approximately) 800 BC. The term "corsair" appeared much later, starting from the XIV century AD, from the Italian "corsa" and the French "la corsa". Both terms were used in the Middle Ages. The word "privateer" appeared even later (the first use dates back to 1664) and came from the English "privateer". Often, the term “privateer” wanted to emphasize the English nationality of the privateer, he did not take root in the Mediterranean, every privateer there was still called corsair (French), corsaro (It.), corsario (Spanish), corsari (Portuguese).
The borders were unsteady and if yesterday he was a buccaneer, today he became a privateer, and tomorrow he can become an ordinary pirate.
In addition to the terms listed above, which appeared at a rather late time, there were also more ancient names for pirates. One of them is jackers, which denoted Middle Eastern pirates in the 15th-11th centuries BC. I have come across several different Latin spellings of jackers: Tjeker, Thekel, Djakaray, Zakkar, Zalkkar, Zakkaray. In 1186 B.C. they virtually conquered all of Egypt* and waged extensive maritime piracy along the Palestinian coast for several centuries. The current historiography believes that the jackers came from Cilicia, the future homeland of the formidable Cilician pirates. Tjackers are described in some detail in the Wenamon Papyrus. Later, (somewhere before 1000 BC), the Tjekers settled in Palestine, in the cities of Dor and Tel Zaror (near the present city of Haifa). Since they are not mentioned in Jewish documents, they were most likely absorbed by the more numerous Philistines.
One feature of Ancient Egypt must be kept in mind: the state was stretched along the Nile and the Mediterranean coast, it was no more than 15-25 km away from the water, so whoever controlled the coast controlled, in fact, the entire country.
Venamon is an ancient Egyptian traveler of the 12th century BC, a priest of the temple of Amun in Karnak. Papyrus written around 1100 B.C. Pirates were mentioned quite frequently by ancient historians, but the Wenamun Papyrus is a unique document in that it is an eyewitness travelogue.
Around the 5th century BC, another name for pirates came into use - Dolopians(Dolopians). This time they are ancient Greek pirates, the main area of their operations was the Aegean Sea. Perhaps originally living in northern and central Greece, they settled on the island of Skyros and lived off piracy. Shortly before 476 B.C. a group of merchants from northern Greece accused the Dolopians of selling them into slavery after plundering their ship of goods. The merchants managed to escape and won a lawsuit at Delphi against the Skyrians. When the Skyrians refused to return their property, the merchants turned to Simon, commander of the Athenian fleet, for help. In 476 BC. Simon's naval forces captured Skyros, drove the Dolopians off the island or sold them into slavery, and established an Athenian colony there.
Who were the ranks of pirates made up of?
Their composition was not homogeneous. Various reasons prompted people to unite in a criminal community. There were adventurers here too; and the avengers, placed "outside the law"; travelers and researchers who made a significant contribution to the study of the Earth in the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries; bandits who declared war on all living things; and businessmen who considered robbery an ordinary job, which, if there was a certain risk, gave a solid income. Often, pirates found support from the state, which during wars resorted to their help, legalizing the position of sea robbers and turning pirates into privateers, that is, officially allowing them to conduct fighting against the enemy, leaving some of the booty for themselves. Most often, pirates acted near the coast or among small islands: it’s easier to quietly get closer to the victim and easier to get away from the chase, in case of any failure.
Today, we, spoiled by the successes of civilization and the achievements of science and technology, it is difficult even to imagine how immeasurably great were the distances in the age of the absence of radio, television and satellite communications, how distant parts of the world seemed in the minds of people of that time. The ship left the harbor, and communication with it was interrupted for many years. What happened to him? The countries were separated by the most terrible partitions of competition, wars and enmity. The sailor disappeared from the country for several decades and involuntarily became homeless. Returning to his homeland, he no longer found anyone - his relatives died, his friends forgot, no one was waiting for him and no one needed him. Truly brave were those people who risked themselves, setting off into the unknown on fragile, unreliable (by modern standards) boats!
II. Pirate novelists
Today, there are well-established stereotypes about pirates, created thanks to fiction. The founder of modern literature about pirates can be called Daniel Defoe, who published three novels about the adventures of the pirate John Avery.
The next major writer who also wrote about sea robbers was Walter Scott, who published the novel The Pirate in 1821, in which the main character Captain Cleveland was based on the image of the leader of the pirates from Daniel Defoe's novel The Adventures and Cases of the Famous Captain John Howe.
Tribute to the sea was paid by such famous writers as R.-L. Stevenson, F. Mariette, E. Xu, C. Farrer, G. Melville, T. Mine Reed, J. Conrad, A. Conan Doyle, Jack London, and R. Sabatini.
It is interesting that Arthur Conan Doyle and Raphael Sabatini created two most colorful, diametrically opposed images of pirate captains - Sharkey and Blood, combining: the first - the worst qualities and vices, and the second - the best knightly virtues of the really existing leaders of the "gentlemen of fortune".
Thanks to the “help” of such an eminent galaxy of writers, the most famous pirate captains of their time, Flint, Kidd, Morgan, Grammon, Van Doorn, and their less “famous”, and sometimes simply fictional brothers, continue their second life on the pages of these books. They board Spanish galleons brimming with treasures, sink clumsy royal cruisers and keep coastal cities at bay long after some of them have been brought to justice, and others managed to end their lives peacefully.
The composer Robert Plunkett wrote the operetta Surcouf, in which the historical truth about the true deeds of the sea robber Surcouf gave way to fantasy: the beautiful fate of the disinterested sailor Robert and his beloved Yvonne fully corresponded to the spirit of 19th-century operettas.
The impression is that pirates are some kind of unrecognized geniuses, roaming the seas only due to an unfortunate set of circumstances. We owe this stereotype mainly thanks to R. Sabatini with his trilogy about Captain Blood, who created, among other things, the myth that pirates had powerful ships and attacked warships.
In fact, completely prosaic motives forced them to engage in piracy.
Sometimes - hopeless poverty, sometimes all-consuming greed. But, one way or another, the pirates pursued only one goal - personal enrichment. Documents have been preserved that show the side of piracy devoid of any romanticism, so to speak, its financial and organizational side. The craft of a pirate was extremely dangerous: being caught "at the scene of a crime", the pirates were hanged without hesitation. Being captured on the shore, the pirate did not have the best fate: either a rope or life hard labor. There were very rare cases when pirates had a powerful vessel, more often they were small, but with good seaworthiness, ships.
Even more rarely, there were cases of a fight between a pirate ship and a warship: for a pirate it was pointless and extremely dangerous. Firstly, because there are no treasures on a military ship, but there are many guns and soldiers there, and this ship is fully equipped specifically for a sea battle. Secondly, because the crew and officers of this ship are professional military men, unlike pirates, who took the military path by chance. A pirate does not need a warship: an unjustified risk, an almost certain defeat, and then an inevitable death on a knock-yard. But a lonely sailing merchant ship, a pearl diver's junk, and sometimes just a fishing boat is just a victim for a pirate. It must be borne in mind that we often approach the assessment of the events of the past from the point of view of modern man. Therefore, it is difficult for us to understand that almost until the end of the 18th century, the difference between merchant and pirate fleets was small. In those days, almost any ship was armed, and it happened that a peaceful merchant ship, having met a brother at sea, but (presumably) weaker in armament, took it on board. Then the pirate-merchant brought the cargo and sold it as if nothing had happened, sometimes at a reduced price.
Pirate flags: Emmanuel Vane (top) and Edward Teach (bottom)
III. Under the Jolly Roger
It is quite interesting to dwell a little on pirate flags. It is well known that the nickname of the pirate flag is "Jolly Roger" (Jolly Roger). Why such a nickname?
Let's start not directly with the Jolly Roger, but with the answer to the question, what flags did different countries fly on ships at different times?
Contrary to popular belief, not all ships sailed under the national flag of their country in the past. For example, in the draft of the French Law on the Royal Navy of 1699, it is said that “royal ships do not have any strictly established distinctive marks for combat. During the wars with Spain, our ships used a red flag to distinguish themselves from the Spanish, who sailed under a white flag, and in the last war, our ships sailed under a white flag, to distinguish themselves from the British, who also fought under a red flag ... ”However, the French privateers were forbidden by a special royal edict to fly under the black flag almost until the last years of their (fr. privateers) existence.
Around the same time, in 1694, England passed a law establishing a single flag for the designation of English private ships: a red flag, instantly nicknamed "Red Jack". So the concept of a pirate flag in general appeared. It must be said that by the standards of that time, a red flag, pennant or sign meant for any oncoming ship that resistance was pointless. However, following the privateers very quickly and free pirates adopted this flag, not even the flag itself, but the idea of \u200b\u200ba colored flag. Red, yellow, green, black flags appeared. Each color symbolized a certain idea: yellow - madness and unbridled anger, black - an order to lay down weapons. A black flag raised by a pirate meant an order to immediately stop and capitulate, and if the victim did not obey, then a red or yellow flag was raised, which meant death to everyone on the recalcitrant ship.
So where did the nickname "Jolly Roger" come from? It turned out that "Red Jack" in French sounded like "Jolie Rouge" (literally - Red Sign), when translated back into English, it turned into "Jolly Roger" - Jolly Roger. It is worth mentioning here that in the English jargon of that time, roger is a swindler, a thief. Also, in Ireland and the north of England, the devil was sometimes called "Old Roger" during the Middle Ages.
Today, many believe that the "Jolly Roger" is a black flag with a skull and crossbones. However, in fact, many famous pirates had their own unique flags, which differed both in color and in the image. Indeed, pirate flags existed and were very diverse: black, and with a red rooster, and with crossed swords, with an hourglass, and even with a lamb. As for the “classic” Jolly Roger, such a flag was first noted by the French pirate Emmanuel Vane at the very beginning of the 18th century.
Many famous pirates had their own flag. Here you can already see how the “hero” makes fame work for him: knowing who is chasing him, the victim’s hands fell. Such a "brand"
a personal brand, which meant a certain "quality" of the imposed "service". An unknown pirate (and there were an overwhelming majority of them!) did not need this, because some unusual flag or the absence of a flag at all would certainly alert the captain of the attacked ship. What for? Pirates were cruel, but by no means as stupid as some writers try to portray them. Therefore, nevertheless, for the most part, pirate ships sailed under the official flag of some state and the victim found out too late that the ship was actually pirated. In general, the black flag was the hallmark of pirates by the middle of the 17th century it was great to bring your neck close to the gallows.
Captain Kidd's Private Patent
Filibuster or privateer?
During periods of war, pirates happened to buy from a belligerent state the right to conduct military operations at sea at their own peril and risk and robbed the ships of the belligerent country, and very often neutral countries. The pirate knew that, having paid a special tax to the treasury and having received the corresponding paper - Letter of Marque - Letter of Marque, he was already considered a privateer and was not liable before the law of this state until he attacked a compatriot or ally.
At the end of the war, privateers often turned into ordinary pirates. Not without reason, many commanders of warships did not recognize any patents of marque and hung captive privateers on the butts of yards in the same way as other pirates.
I would like to dwell a little more on all kinds of patents.
In addition to the Letter of Marque, which was issued from the 13th century to 1856 (to be closer to the dates, I’ll say that the first mention of such papers dates back to 1293) and which allowed the capture of enemy property only, the Letter of Reprisal was also issued (literally - a document for retaliation, reprisal), allowing the killing of enemy subjects and the seizure of their property. In other words, robbery. But not to everyone in general, but only to those who suffered from the activities of the citizens of the state indicated in the document. There were several papers, so in official documents they are always referred to in the plural - letters. The action of the papers was not limited only to sea robbery, but also allowed robbery on land, both in peacetime and in wartime. Why reprisal? Translated from English, this word means retribution. The fact is that medieval cities and settlements were, for the most part, small closed communities and it was considered natural to direct retribution against any of their citizens, who, upon returning home, could recover damages from the real culprit of the crime. The avenger only had to secure the appropriate papers - letters.
The Egyptian priest Wenamon has already been mentioned above. In his papyrus, he describes his own journey to the Syrian city of Byblos, where he brought a significant amount of gold and silver to buy timber (wood was practically not produced in Egypt and was imported). On the way there, when they entered the tjeker city of Dor, the captain of the ship fled, taking with him almost all of Wenamon's money, and the tjeker city governor refused to help him in the search for this captain. Venamon, however, continued on his way and on the way he met other jackers and somehow managed to take seven pounds of silver from them: “I take the silver from you and will keep it with me until you find my money or the thief who stole them." This case can be considered the first documented case of reprisals in maritime law.
By about the beginning of the 14th century, the seizure of property at sea had to be authorized by the admiral of the Royal Navy or his representative. To stimulate trade, the rulers of states signed agreements prohibiting private acts of revenge. For example, in France after 1485, such papers were issued extremely rarely. Later, other European powers began to sharply limit the issuance of letters of marque. However, other types of licenses were granted to private warships for the duration of hostilities. For example, in England during the war with Spain 1585-1603, the Admiralty Court granted authority to anyone who claimed to be offended by the Spaniards in any way (and confirmation of the words was not required). Such licenses gave the holder the right to attack any Spanish ship or city. And yet, some of the newly-minted privateers began to attack not only the Spaniards, but also their English compatriots. Perhaps that is why the English king James I (1603-1625) was extremely negative about the very idea of such patents and banned them altogether.
However, the next English monarch, Charles I (1625-1649), resumed the sale of privateering licenses to private individuals, and moreover, allowed Providence* to issue such papers in unlimited quantities. By the way, this is where the English slang expression Right of Purchase, now completely out of use, came from. Literally, this expression meant “the right to plunder”, but all the salt here was precisely in the play on words of the concept of purchase: the fact is that this English word originally meant hunting or chasing animals, but gradually, in the XIII-XVII centuries, it entered the English maritime jargon and began to mean the process of robbery, as well as seized property. Today it has lost this militant meaning and means “acquisition”, in rare cases “cost, value”.
Providence is a government corporation dedicated to promoting privateering on the islands of Tortuga and Providence. After the capture of the island of Providence by the Spaniards (1641), the company was deeply in debt and gradually fell into disrepair.
In addition to these documents, from the 1650s to the 1830s, the so-called Right of Search existed in the Mediterranean. Unlike most pirates, the activities of the Barbary corsairs were controlled by their government. To facilitate trade, some Christian states entered into peace agreements with the Berber rulers. Thus, corsairs could legally attack the ships of individual states, refraining from attacking friendly ships.
The sea captains of the powers that signed such a treaty often took on their ships cargo or passengers hostile to the Barbary countries. Therefore, in order to avoid possible deception, the states that signed the mentioned agreements were forced to allow the Barbary corsairs to stop and search their ships. They could seize the property and passengers of hostile powers if they found them on board stopped ships. However, they had to pay the full cost of the cargo entrusted to the captain to its destination.
The reverse problem arose when passengers and property of friendly countries ended up on a captured enemy ship. The corsairs could confiscate the cargo and enslave the crew, but they were supposed to release the passengers who were protected by the rules of the agreements. So that the corsairs could freely recognize the subjects of the allied powers, a system of passes was created.
Berber passes are quite a curious phenomenon! In essence, these were letters of protection that guaranteed the ship and crew from sea robbery. Few officials had the right to issue such documents. For example, in accordance with the agreements of 1662 and 1682 between England and Algeria, only passes issued by the Lord High Admiral or the ruler of Algeria were considered valid. Moreover, the contract was divided into two parts with an intricate cut, one part of the sheet was left to itself, and the second part was given to the opposite side. Only two people could board the ship to check the cargo and the list of passengers. The vast majority of corsairs obeyed these passes, the recalcitrant were awaiting the death penalty, although at the beginning (the first 30-40 years) there were a lot of violations.
In general, the concept of “international law” uniting all peoples has a relatively late origin. In ancient times, the laws of one society applied exclusively to its members. Due to the impossibility of extending the effect of local laws beyond certain boundaries, the Greek city-states allowed their citizens to defend their own interests against the claims of outsiders. Roman law also drew a clear line between the citizens of the state, the allies, and the population of the rest of the outside world. However, this difference became less significant after the Romans conquered the entire Mediterranean region. Unlike later letters of marque, the natural right to retribution existed until the two parties entered into a special agreement regulating legal relations between these states. Contracts often became a kind of blackmail.
For example, the Aetolian League* (300-186 BC) supported the piracy practiced by its members and benefited from their activities. The Aetolians received their share of the pirate booty. If any of the neighboring states wanted to protect themselves from pirate attacks, he had to sign a treaty recognizing the authority of the Aetolian Union.
Aetolia (Aetolia) - a mountainous, forested area in the center of Greece between Macedonia and the Gulf of Corinth, where various local tribes united in a kind of federal state - the Aetolian Union. The government dealt only with issues of war and foreign policy. In 290 BC. Aetolia began to expand its possessions, including neighboring possessions and tribes as full members or allies. By 240, the alliance controlled almost all of central Greece and part of the Peloponnese. The main occupation of the representatives of the union was participation in wars between the warring empires as mercenaries. In 192 BC. the union opposed the growing strength of Rome, for which it paid the price, becoming one of its provinces.
The modern idea of pirates
V. Legacy
Of course, among the huge number of unknown pirates, there were exceptions - outstanding personalities - and we will talk about them separately.
There are cases when it was pirates - skillful sailors - who became the discoverers of new lands. Many of them were imperiously attracted by the "muse of distant wanderings", and the thirst for exploits, adventures often prevailed over the thirst for profit, with which they seduced their royal patrons in England, Spain and Portugal. Not to mention the obscure Vikings who visited the land of North America almost five hundred years before Columbus discovered it, let us recall at least Sir Francis Drake - the “royal corsair” and the admiral who made the second round-the-world voyage after Magellan; the discoverer of the Falkland Islands, John Davis; historian and writer Sir Walter Reli and the famous ethnographer and oceanologist, member of the English Royal Society William Dampier - who circled the Earth three times.
However, if a patent for the position of captain of the galleon of the "Golden Fleet" or "Silver Fleet", transporting jewelry looted in America, could be easily bought by a noble and wealthy nobleman of Spain, then the position of captain of a pirate ship could not be acquired for any money. Only a person with outstanding organizational skills could advance among the sea robbers with their peculiar, but cruel laws. There is nothing surprising in the fact that people of this kind have always excited the imagination of writers, artists and composers and become - often in an idealized form - the heroes of works.
In essence, the pirates led a life of hard labor to which they condemned themselves. For months they ate breadcrumbs and corned beef, drank stale water more often than rum, suffered from tropical fever, dysentery and scurvy, died from wounds, drowned during storms. Few of them died at home in their beds. Polycrates of Samos in 522 BC crucified the Persian satrap Oroites, who lured him into a trap to his continent under the pretext of concluding a non-aggression pact. The once famous Francois L'Olonne was killed, fried and eaten by cannibals; the leader of the vitaliers, Stertebecker, was beheaded in Hamburg; Sir Francis Drake died of dengue fever; Sir Walter Rehly executed in London; Tich was killed during a boarding battle and his severed head was hung by the victor under the bowsprit of his ship; Roberts was struck down by a canister shot in his throat, and the enemy, paying tribute to his bravery, lowered into the sea the corpse of the captain with a gold chain and a cross studded with diamonds around his neck, with a saber in his hand and two pistols on a silk sling, and then hanged all the remaining pirates. Edward Lowe was hanged by the French, Vane was executed in Jamaica, Kidd was hanged in England, Mary Reid died in prison while pregnant... Is it worth listing further?
| Famous British Pirate Captains | The best British pirate ships |
| Sir Francis DrakeFrancisDrake | The Pelican, renamedthe Golden Hind |
| Sir Walter RaleighWalterReilly | The Falcon. |
| Sir Richard HawkinsRichardHawkins | The Dainty, the Swallow |
| Sir Martin Frobisher - SirMartinFrobisher | The Gabriel |
| Sir Humphrey Gilbert - Sir Humphrey Gilbert | Anne Ager, The Raleigh, the Swallow & the Squirrel |
| Sir John HawkinsJohnHawkins | The Victory |
| Sir Richard Grenville - SirRichardGrenville | The Revenge, Tiger, Roebuck, Lion, Elizabeth, and DorothyJohn Hawkins |
| famous pirate ships | Pirate ship captains |
| Queen Anne's Revenge | Edward Teach (Blackbeard)Teach |
| Adventure Galley | Captain Kidd - Captain Kidd |
| The Revenge | Captain John Gow - Captain John Gow |
| The William | JohnRackham (CalicoJack - John RackhamAnnaBonney - Ann BonnieMaryReade - Mary Reid |
| Fancy, Pearl, Victory | Edward England |
| Fancy | Henry Every (Long Ben)Avery |
| Royal James | Ignatius Pell |
| Royal Fortune, Great Fortune & Great Ranger | Bartholomew Roberts (Black Bart)Roberts |
| Liberty and the Amity | Thomas Tew - Thomas Tew |
| Delivery | George Lowther Delivery - George |
Pirates, "gentlemen of fortune" at all times terrified the population of coastal cities. They were feared, raided, executed, but interest in their adventures never weakened.
Madame Jin is the wife of her son
Madame Jing, or Zheng Shi, was the most famous "sea robber" of her time. An army of pirates under her command terrified the coastal cities of East and Southeast China in the early 19th century. Under its command there were about 2,000 ships and 70,000 people, who could not even be defeated by the large fleet of the Qing emperor Jia-qing (1760-1820), sent in 1807 to defeat the masterful pirates and capture the powerful Jin.
Zheng Shi's youth was unenviable - she had to engage in prostitution: she was ready to sell her body for hard cash. At the age of fifteen, she was kidnapped by a pirate named Zheng Yi, who, like a real gentleman, took her as his wife (after marriage, she received the name Zheng Shi, which means "Zheng's wife"). After the wedding, they went to the shores of Vietnam, where the newly-married couple and their pirates, having attacked one of the coastal villages, kidnapped a boy (the same age as Zheng Shi) - Zhang Baozai, whom Zheng Yi and Zheng Shi adopted, since the latter could not have children. Zhang Baozai became Zheng Yi's lover, which, apparently, did not bother the young wife at all. When her husband died in a storm in 1807, Madame Jin inherited a fleet of 400 ships. With her, there was iron discipline in the flotilla, nobility was not alien to her, if this quality can even be correlated with piracy. Madame Jin put the guilty to death for plundering fishing villages and raping captive women. For unauthorized absence from the ship, the guilty person was cut off his left ear, which was then presented to the entire team for intimidation.
Zheng Shi married her stepson, placing her in command of her fleet. But not everyone in Madame Jin's team was satisfied with the woman's power (especially after the unsuccessful attempt of two captains to woo her, one of whom Zheng Shi shot dead). The dissatisfied revolted and surrendered to the mercy of the authorities. This undermined the authority of Madame Jin, which forced her to negotiate with the representatives of the emperor. As a result, under the agreement of 1810, she went over to the side of the authorities, and her husband received a sinecure (a position that did not give any real powers) in the Chinese government. Retiring from piracy, Madame Zheng settled in Guangzhou, where she maintained a brothel and gambling den until her death at the age of 60.
Aruj Barbarossa - Sultan of Algeria
This pirate, who terrified the cities and villages of the Mediterranean, was a cunning and dodgy warrior. He was born in 1473 in the family of a Greek potter who converted to Islam, and from a young age, together with his brother Atzor, began to engage in piracy. Aruj passed through captivity and slavery on galleys belonging to the Ionite knights, from which his brother ransomed him. The time spent in slavery embittered Aruj, the ships belonging to the Christian kings, he plundered with particular cruelty. So in 1504, Aruj attacked galleys loaded with valuable cargo, which belonged to Pope Julius II. He managed to capture one of the two galleys, the second tried to flee. Arunj went to the trick: he ordered some of his sailors to put on the uniform of soldiers from the captured galley. Then the pirates went to the galley and took their own ship in tow, thus simulating the complete victory of the papal soldiers. Soon a lagging galley appeared. The sight of a pirate ship in tow caused a surge of enthusiasm among the Christians, and the ship approached the side of the "trophy" without any fear. At this moment, Aruj gave a sign, after which the pirate team began to kill the fugitives with cruelty. This event greatly increased Uruj's prestige among the Muslim Arabs of North Africa.
In 1516, in the wake of the Arab uprising against the Spanish troops settled in Algeria, Aruj proclaimed himself a sultan under the name of Barbarossa (Red-bearded), after which he began to rob the cities of southern Spain, France, Italy with even greater zeal and cruelty, accumulating enormous wealth. Against him, the Spaniards sent a large expeditionary force (about 10,000 people), led by the Marquis de Comares. He managed to defeat the army of Aruj, and the latter began to retreat, taking with him the accumulated wealth over the years. And, as the legend says, along the entire retreat, Aruj, in order to delay the pursuers, scattered silver and gold. But this did not help, and Aruj died, he was cut off his head along with the pirates loyal to him.
Forced to be a man
One of the famous pirates who lived at the turn of the 17th-18th centuries, Mary Reid, was forced to hide her gender all her life. Even in childhood, her parents prepared her fate - to "take the place" of her brother, who died shortly before Mary was born. She was an illegitimate child. To hide the shame, the mother, having given birth to a girl, gave her to her rich mother-in-law, dressing her daughter in advance in the clothes of her dead son. Mary was a "grandchild" in the eyes of her unsuspecting grandmother, and all the while the girl was growing up, her mother dressed and raised her like a boy. At the age of 15, Mary left for Flanders and entered the infantry regiment as a cadet (still disguised as a man, under the name Mark). According to the memoirs of contemporaries, she was a brave fighter, but still could not advance in the service and joined the cavalry. There, the floor took its toll - Mary met a man with whom she fell passionately in love. Only she revealed to him that she was a woman, and soon they got married. After the wedding, they rented a house near the castle in Breda (Holland) and equipped the Three Horseshoes tavern there.
But fate was not favorable, soon Mary's husband died, and she, again disguised as a man, went to the West Indies. The ship on which she sailed was captured by English pirates. Here a fateful meeting took place: she met the famous pirate Ann Bonnie (the same as she, a woman dressed as a man) and her lover John Rackham. Mary joined them. Moreover, she, along with Ann, began to cohabit with Rackham, forming a bizarre "love triangle". The personal courage and courage of this trio made them famous throughout Europe.
Learned Pirate
William Dampier, who was born into an ordinary peasant family and lost his parents early, had to make his own way in life. He began by becoming a cabin boy on a ship, then he took up fishing. A special place in his work was occupied by a passion for research: he studied new lands, to which fate threw him, their flora, fauna, climatic features, participated in an expedition to explore the coast of New Holland (Australia), discovered a group of islands - the Dampira archipelago. In 1703 he went to the Pacific Ocean on a pirate hunt. On the island of Juan Fernandez, Dampier (according to another version, Stradling, the captain of another ship) landed the sailing master (according to another version of the boatswain) Alexander Selkirk. The story of Selkirk's stay on a desert island formed the basis of the famous book by Daniel Defoe "Robinson Crusoe".
Bald Greine
Grace O'Malle or, as she was also called, Bald Greine, is one of the controversial figures in English history. She was always ready to defend her rights, no matter what. She got acquainted with navigation thanks to her father, who took his little daughter on long-distance trading voyages. Her first husband was a match for Grace. About the clan O "Flagerty, to which he belonged, they said:" Cruel people who most arrogantly rob and kill their fellow citizens. slain, Grace returned to her family and took charge of her father's fleet, thus wielding a truly formidable force with which to keep the entire West Coast of Ireland in check.
Grace allowed herself to lead so freely, even in the presence of the queen. After all, she was also called the "queen", only the pirate one. When Elizabeth I handed her lace handkerchief to Grace for her to wipe her nose after sniffing tobacco, Grace, using it, said: “Do you need it? In my area they are not used more than once!” - and threw a handkerchief to the retinue. According to historical sources, two longtime opponents - and Grace managed to send a dozen English ships - were able to agree. The queen granted the pirate, who at that time was already about 60 years old, forgiveness and immunity.
black beard
Thanks to his courage and cruelty, Edward Teach became one of the most feared pirates operating in the Jamaica area. By 1718, more than 300 men were fighting under him. The enemies were horrified by Tich's face, almost completely covered with a black beard, in which the wicks woven into it smoked. In November 1718, Teach was overtaken by the English lieutenant Maynardt and, after a short trial, was hung up on a yardarm. It was he who became the prototype of the legendary Jetrow Flint, from Treasure Island.
Pirate President
Murat Reis Jr., whose real name is Jan Janson (Dutch), converted to Islam in order to avoid captivity and slavery in Algeria. After that, he began to cooperate and actively participate in the pirate raids of such pirates as Suleiman Reis and Simon the Dancer, also, like him, the Dutch who converted to Islam. Jan Janson in 1619 moved to the Moroccan city of Sale, which lived off piracy. Shortly after Janson's arrival there, he declared his independence. A pirate republic was created there, the first head of which was Janson. He married in Sale, his children followed in the footsteps of their father, becoming pirates, but then joined the Dutch colonists who founded the city of New Amsterdam (now New York).
The phenomenon of piracy has given human history many names of legendary adventurers. The peak of maritime robberies came in the 17th century, when the World Ocean was the scene of a struggle between Spain, England and some other European colonial powers gaining momentum. Most often, pirates made a living by independent criminal robberies, but some of them ended up in public service and purposefully harmed foreign fleets.
Francis Drake
Born in 1540, he came from an ordinary farming family, and nothing foreshadowed that he would become a great pirate and navigator. A sharp turn in his life happened at the age of 12, when his parents moved to Kent. There, the teenager became a cabin boy on a merchant barge. The owner of the ship was his distant relative. Dying, he handed over the ship as a legacy to Drake. So, by an amazing coincidence, already at the age of 18, the young man turned out to be a captain.
Like all other contemporary sailors, Francis dreamed of distant western seas, where the Spaniards continued to rule since their discovery. The most famous pirates of that time, as one, hunted royal galleons loaded with American gold. The Spaniards really controlled the West Indies and were not going to give its resources to the British. Skirmishes constantly occurred between the ships of these two countries. In one of them, in 1567, Francis Drake almost lost his life. Of the entire English flotilla, only two ships survived. After this episode, the Spaniards became Drake's sworn enemies.
Francis received from his authorities a letter of marque and the right to free robbery of enemy bases. Using this opportunity, the pirate captured Spanish fortresses and outposts in the Caribbean. In 1572, his detachment intercepted a huge cargo of silver. The robber sailed to England with 30 tons of precious metal.
Drake became famous not only as a thunderstorm of the Spaniards, but also as a brave navigator. In 1577, Queen Elizabeth I sent him on an expedition around the world. It was this pirate who became the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe. During his journey, he found out that Tierra del Fuego is an island, and not the southern mainland, as was previously believed in Europe. After his triumphant return, Francis Drake received a knighthood and became a sir. The high rank did not change the habits of the sea wolf. On the contrary, over and over again he rushed into another adventurous voyage.
In 1588, Francis Drake participated in the defeat of the Spanish Invincible Armada. The victory of the English fleet was a harbinger of British maritime dominance for several centuries. After this success, Drake went on expeditions to the West Indies several times. In it, he destroyed enemy bases of pirates that interfered with the lucrative English trade. Sir Drake died in 1596 while traveling in Panama. His lead coffin was buried in the ocean. Without a doubt, the adventurer is the most famous pirate of the 16th century.
Henry Morgan
Henry Morgan was born in 1635 in the Welsh outback to a landowner's family. The boy could become the heir of his father, but from childhood his passion was not agriculture, but the sea. As time has shown, love for distant horizons was justified. The most famous pirates envied the success of Henry Morgan, who became a living legend of his time.
As a young man, an Englishman hired himself on a ship sailing to the harbor of the island of Barbados. Once in the Caribbean, Morgan began to build an amazing career as a pirate. Joining the sea robbers, he moved to Jamaica. Junga quickly became a participant in raids, the main purpose of which was to rob ships that came to hand. In a short time, the boy learned all the laws and customs of marine life. Already in his youth, he became the owner of considerable capital, knocked together from pirate proceeds and winnings in dice. With this money, Henry bought his first ship.
Very soon, even the most famous pirates heard about the prowess and luck of Morgan. A group of like-minded people formed around the pirate. New ships began to join his ship. The growth of influence could not but lead to the growth of ambitions. In 1665, Morgan decided to give up plundering ships and began planning an operation to capture the entire city. Trujillo was his first target. Then the robber captured several Spanish bases in Cuba. Both simple privateers and the most famous pirates could not boast of such success.
Morgan's most famous military enterprise was his campaign against Panama in 1670. By this time, the robber already had a fleet of 35 ships and a team of 2 thousand people at his disposal. This gang landed in Panama and moved to the Spanish fortress of the same name. Although the garrison consisted of 2.5 thousand soldiers, he was unable to defend the city. Having taken Panama, the pirates exterminated all those who resisted and plundered everything they could reach. The city was set on fire and destroyed. After this raid, the names of the most famous pirates faded against the background of the name of Henry Morgan.
When an English subject returned to Jamaica, which belonged to the crown, the authorities unexpectedly arrested him. The fact was that on the eve of London and Madrid made peace. Pirates did not act on behalf of the state, but enjoyed its benevolent connivance. Having made peace with Spain, the British government promised to rein in their pirates. Henry Morgan was expelled to his homeland. At home, a court was waiting for him, but the process turned out to be only a sham demonstration. The authorities were not going to punish the pirate who had rendered them so many services in the fight against Spanish rule at sea.
Henry Morgan soon returned to Jamaica. He became vice-governor of the island and commander-in-chief of its fleet and army. In the future, the pirate continued to faithfully serve the crown. He died in 1688 and was buried with honors in the church of Port Royal. A few years later, Jamaica was rocked by a catastrophic earthquake, and Morgan's grave was washed into the ocean.
Ann Bonnie
Although sea robbery has traditionally been considered an exclusively male business at all times, the most famous female pirates are no less interesting. One of them was (born in 1700). The girl came from a wealthy Irish family. When she was still a child, her father purchased an estate in distant America. So Ann moved to the New World.
At the age of 18, her daughter ran away from home and embarked on a path of adventurous adventure. She met a pirate and decided to join his sea adventures. The girl had to get used to men's clothes and master the skills of combat and shooting. Rackham's crew was seized by the authorities in 1720. The captain was executed, but the punishment for Ann was constantly postponed due to her pregnancy. Her further fate remains unknown.
According to one version, Bonnie was released and died during another raid, according to another, her influential father rescued her, after which the former robber spent her whole life in South Carolina and died in 1782 at a ripe old age. Be that as it may, the most famous female pirates (another famous robber at the time was even more rumored than their male counterparts.
Blackbeard
The legendary figure of Blackbeard remains one of the most recognizable in the pirate pantheon. Under this nickname was Edward Teach. Almost nothing is known about his childhood. The sailor made himself known in 1713, when at the age of 33 he joined the robbers of Benjamin Hornigold. Like all world-famous pirates, this team hunted in the Caribbean Sea, which is attractive for valuable cargo. Teach was the true ideal of a pirate. He knew nothing but regular raids and robberies. His ship, Queen Anne's Revenge, terrified both sailors and civilians on earth.
In 1717, thanks to the efforts of the governor of the Bahamas, the official authorities began an uncompromising fight against pirates. In new unusual conditions, many robbers (including the same Hornigold) decided to lay down their arms and receive a royal pardon. However, Teach refused to change his lifestyle. From that moment on, he became enemy No. 1 for the British military and naval forces.
Many famous pirates who did not want to fit into the new order joined Blackbeard. The most famous adventure of this captain was the blockade of Charleston in South Carolina. The raiders captured many high-ranking citizens and received a colossal ransom in exchange for their return.
The treachery of the owner of Queen Anne's Revenge did not go unpunished. The authorities promised 100 pounds for the head of a pirate, which was then a fortune. A real hunt began for Blackbeard. Very soon, on November 22, 1718, he died in a boarding battle against the team of Lieutenant Robert Maynard. Often the most famous pirates and their ships disturbed the seas for an extremely short, but eventful period. The same was the fate of Blackbeard.
Bartholomew Roberts
The fame enjoyed by the most famous pirates in history gave rise to many rumors and myths around them. Bartholomew Roberts was no exception to this rule. It is he who is credited with the authorship of the Code of Pirates - a set of rules according to which many generations of sea robbers lived.
Roberts was born in 1682 in the small Welsh town of Haverfordwest. His sea travels began on a slave ship, where Bartholomew was the captain's mate. He got to the pirates at the age of 37, when he was hired on the ship "Princess of London". A month and a half later, the novice robber was elected captain of his own ship.
Further independent enterprises of Roberts glorified him in many seas and countries. At that time, it was believed that he was the most famous pirate in the world. Bartholomew's team operated not only in the Caribbean, but also in the coastal waters of West Africa, Brazil and even Canada. The thugs plundered everything that could be profitably sold: ships with noble metals, galleons with northern furs, barges with rare American goods. Roberts made his flagship a stolen French brig, which he called the "Royal Pirate".
Bartholomew was killed in 1722 while on another trip to Africa, where he intended to engage in a profitable slave trade. The legendary pirate was killed by the addiction of his companions to drink. When a British ship unexpectedly attacked Roberts' ship, his entire crew was dead drunk. The most famous pirates of the Caribbean and the admirals of the Royal Navy were amazed by what happened: it seemed to everyone that Bartholomew was invincible. Roberts stood out noticeably from his comrades not only in his own successes, but also in his habit of dressing well, as well as his aversion to gambling and foul language. There is no doubt that he was one of the most extravagant pirates of his time.
Henry Avery
During his short life, he managed to acquire many nicknames. Some contemporaries called him Lanky Ben, others called him the Arch-Pirate. Avery's love of the sea was predetermined by his own roots. Henry's father was a captain in the English navy. In 1659, a son appeared in the officer's family, who was destined to become one of the brightest and most legendary pirates of his era.
At first, the future criminal sailed on merchant ships and only then changed them to robber ones. In 1694, 25-year-old Emery was employed on a privateer ship. The main difference between such a ship and the classic pirate ship was that it robbed and attacked foreign merchants with the permission of its government. Sometimes contracts were violated: when the ship stopped paying salaries, the crew rebelled. The sailors decided to become pirates and instead of the old captain they chose a new one. It turned out to be Henry Emery.
The new leader of the robbers left the Caribbean Sea and went to the Indian Ocean, where there was also something to profit from. The place of the first long stop was Madagascar. Emery's team then attacked ships belonging to the Indian Mughal Empire. The robbers managed to capture a huge amount of rare oriental goods and all kinds of jewelry. All the pirates of America dreamed of such a profitable enterprise. After that expedition, Avery disappeared from view. There were rumors that he moved to England and tried to start an honest business and ended up completely broke.
Thomas Tew
The path that Henry Emery followed during his famous expedition was called the "Pirate Circle". Thomas Tew was the first to pass this route (Atlantic - South Africa - Madagascar - India). Like Emery, he started out as a privateer and ended up as a pirate. In 1693 he robbed several ships in the Red Sea. Before his attack, European thugs had never hunted in this area. Perhaps this is the reason for Tew's success - no one expected the appearance of Caribbean gentlemen of fortune.
During his second voyage to Madagascar, Thomas met Henry Emery by chance. With rumors spreading about easy money in the eastern countries, the most famous sea robbers now sought to repeat Tew's success. In the memory of the pirates, this captain remained precisely as the discoverer of the "Circle". He couldn't do more. In 1695, Thomas Tew died during an attack on a Mughal flotilla.
Thomas Cavendish
The list, which includes the most famous pirates in world history, cannot be complete without mentioning Thomas Cavendish (1560-1592). He was a contemporary of Francis Drake. The biographies of these two pirates, who acted in the interests of the English crown, have many similarities. Cavendish, following Drake, decided to travel around the world. The expedition, made in 1586-1588, was not peaceful at all. Rounding America, English pirates robbed many Spanish ships full of gold. In a sense, Thomas Cavendish's journey was audacity. The Spaniards considered the Pacific Ocean their "inland lake" and were furious when foreign robbers penetrated these still unknown waters.
The Cavendish team made the most profitable attack near the coast of Mexico. The subjects of Elizabeth I attacked the galleon, which was carrying a year's supply of Peruvian gold (120,000 pesos). Another lucrative enterprise for pirates was a stopover in Java. This island was famous for its pepper and cloves. Spices at that time were valued by the weight of precious metals. Cavendish managed to get a large cargo of this expensive commodity. The pirates returned to their native Plymouth in 1588. Having completed a round-the-world trip in 2 years and 50 days, they set a speed record that lasted for two whole centuries.
Cavendish quickly spent his fortune. A few years after his amazing success, he assembled a second expedition, intending to repeat his last triumph exactly. However, this time the pirate was pursued by failures. In 1592 he died in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Presumably Cavendish's ship sank near Ascension Island.
Francois Olone
Although the most famous pirates and their ships, as a rule, were associated with England, other countries also had their own nuggets. For example, the Frenchman Francois Olone (1630-1671) left a significant mark on history. In his youth, he became famous in the main Caribbean pirate port of Tortuga. In 1662, a young robber received a letter of marque and began to hunt Spanish ships. One day Olone's ship was wrecked. The pirate was thrown onto the Mexican coast, where he, along with his team, was attacked by the Spaniards who came to the rescue. All the French died, and only Olona, who pretended to be dead, managed to survive.
François' most ambitious undertaking was his capture of the Spanish city of Maracaibo in present-day Venezuela. The daredevils who attacked the colony fit in only five ships. On the way, the pirates plundered a Spanish ship and obtained a valuable cargo of jewelry and cocoa. Arriving on the mainland, Olone led the assault on the fort, which was garrisoned by 800 people. The pirates captured the fortress and got 80,000 silver piastres. In honor of the fall of Maracaibo, the captain was nicknamed "the scourge of the Spaniards."
The last campaign for the famous French robber was his expedition to Nicaragua. After three months of looking for profit, the pirates seized a ship loaded with cheap paper. Due to failure, part of the team returned to Tortuga. Olone continued the raid, but unfortunately for the captain near Cartagena, his ship ran aground. A French detachment of 40 people that reached the shore was attacked by a crowd of Indians. Local cannibals tore and ate Olone and his team.
Amaro Pargo
Amaro Pargo is one of the most famous Spanish pirates. He was born in 1678 in the Canary Islands and already in his youth began to trade in the transportation of slaves from Africa to America. Free laborers on the plantations were highly valued, thanks to which Pargo quickly got rich. He was a sworn enemy of Blackbeard and, in general, of all English pirates.
Before his death in 1747, Pargo made a will, in which he indicated that he buried a chest with fabulous treasures: silver, gold, pearls, jewelry, precious stones and expensive fabrics. For several decades, many adventurers have tried to find this treasure, including the most famous pirates. There are still a lot of blank spots in the story of Pargo's legacy. Despite a long search, no one found the treasure of the Spanish pirate.
The peak of maritime robberies came in the 17th century, when the World Ocean was the scene of a struggle between Spain, England and some other European colonial powers gaining momentum. Most often, pirates made a living by independent criminal robberies, but some of them ended up in public service and purposefully harmed foreign fleets. Below is a list of the ten most famous pirates in history.
1. William Kidd
William Kidd (January 22, 1645 – May 23, 1701) was a Scottish sailor who was convicted and executed for piracy after returning from a voyage to the Indian Ocean where he was supposed to hunt pirates. It is considered one of the most cruel and bloodthirsty sea robbers of the seventeenth century. The hero of many mysterious stories. Some modern historians, such as Sir Cornelius Neil Dalton, consider his pirate reputation to be unfair.
2. Bartholomew Roberts
Bartholomew Roberts (May 17, 1682 - February 17, 1722) was a Welsh pirate who robbed about 200 ships (according to another version, 400 ships) in the vicinity of Barbados and Martinique in two and a half years. Known primarily as the opposite of the traditional image of a pirate. He was always well dressed, had refined manners, hated drunkenness and gambling, and treated well the crew of the ships he captured. He was killed by cannon shot during a battle with a British warship.
3. Blackbeard
Blackbeard or Edward Teach (1680 - November 22, 1718) - an English pirate who hunted in the Caribbean in 1716-1718. He liked to strike terror into his enemies. During the battle, Tich weaved incendiary wicks into his beard and in clouds of smoke, like Satan from hell, burst into the ranks of the enemy. Due to his unusual appearance and eccentric behavior, history has made him one of the most famous pirates, despite the fact that his "career" was rather short, and his success and scale of activity were much smaller compared to his other colleagues from this list.
4. Jack Rackham
Jack Rackham (December 21, 1682 - November 17, 1720) was an English pirate who became famous primarily for the fact that his team included two more equally famous corsairs, female pirates Anne Bonnie, nicknamed the "mistress of the seas" and Mary Read.
5. Charles Vane
Charles Vane (1680 – 29 March 1721) was an English pirate who robbed ships between 1716 and 1721 in North American waters. Notorious for his extreme cruelty. As the story goes, Wayne was not attached to such feelings as compassion, pity and sympathy, he easily broke his own promises, did not respect other pirates and did not at all consider anyone's opinion. The meaning of his life was only prey.
6. Edward England
Edward England (1685 - 1721) - a pirate active off the coast of Africa and in the waters indian ocean from 1717 to 1720. He differed from other pirates of that time in that he did not kill prisoners, unless absolutely necessary. This eventually led his crew to mutiny when he refused to kill sailors from yet another captured English merchant ship. Subsequently, England was landed in Madagascar, where he survived for some time by begging, and eventually died.
7. Samuel Bellamy
Samuel Bellamy, nicknamed Black Sam (February 23, 1689 - April 26, 1717) was a great English sailor and pirate who hunted in the early 18th century. Although his career spanned just over a year, he and his crew captured at least 53 ships, making Black Sam the richest pirate in history. Bellamy was also known for his mercy and generosity towards those he captured in his raids.
8. Saida al-Hurra
Saida al-Hurra (1485 - circa 14 July 1561) - last queen of Tetouan (Morocco) who ruled between 1512–1542, pirate In alliance with the Ottoman corsair Aruj Barbarossa of Algiers, al-Hura controlled the Mediterranean. She became famous for her fight against the Portuguese. It is rightfully considered one of the most prominent women of the Islamic west of the modern era. The date and exact circumstances of her death are unknown.
9. Thomas Tew
Thomas Tew (1649 - September 1695) was an English privateer and pirate who made only two major piracy voyages, a route later known as the Pirate's Circle. He was killed in 1695 while trying to rob the Mughal ship Fateh Muhammad.
10 Steed Bonnet
Steed Bonnet (1688 - December 10, 1718) - an outstanding English pirate, nicknamed "pirate gentleman". Interestingly, before Bonnet turned to piracy, he was a fairly wealthy, educated and respected man who owned a plantation in Barbados.
11. Madame Shi
Madame Shi or Lady Zheng is one of the most famous female pirates in the world. After the death of her husband, she inherited his pirate flotilla and put sea robbery on a grand scale. Under her command were two thousand ships and seventy thousand people. The most severe discipline helped her to command the whole army. For example, for unauthorized absence from the ship, the offender lost his ear. Not all of Madame Shi's subordinates were happy with this state of affairs, and one of the captains once rebelled and went over to the side of the authorities. After the power of Madame Shi was weakened, she agreed to a truce with the emperor and subsequently lived to a ripe old age in freedom, managing a brothel.
12. Francis Drake
Francis Drake is one of the most famous pirates in the world. Actually, he was not a pirate, but a corsair who operated on the seas and oceans against enemy ships by special permission of Queen Elizabeth. Devastating the coasts of Central and South America, he became immensely rich. Drake accomplished many great deeds: he opened the strait, which he named after himself, under his command the British fleet defeated the Great Armada. Since then, one of the ships of the English navy has been named after the famous navigator and corsair Francis Drake.
13. Henry Morgan
The list of the most famous pirates would be incomplete without the name of Henry Morgan. Despite the fact that he was born into a wealthy family of an English landowner, from his youth Morgan connected his life with the sea. He was hired on one of the ships as a cabin boy and was soon sold into slavery in Barbados. He managed to get to Jamaica, where Morgan joined a gang of pirates. Several successful campaigns allowed him and his comrades to acquire a ship. Morgan was chosen as captain, and it was a good decision. A few years later, under his command there were 35 ships. With such a fleet, he managed to capture Panama in a day and burn the entire city. Since Morgan acted mainly against Spanish ships and pursued an active English colonial policy, after his arrest, the pirate was not executed. On the contrary, for the services rendered to Britain in the struggle against Spain, Henry Morgan received the post of Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. The famous corsair died at the age of 53 from cirrhosis of the liver.
14. Edward Teach
Edward Teach, or Blackbeard, is one of the most famous pirates in the world. Almost everyone heard his name. Lived and engaged in sea robbery Tich in the heyday of the golden age of piracy. Entering the service at the age of 12, he gained valuable experience, which was then useful to him in the future. According to historians, Teach participated in the War of the Spanish Succession, and after it ended, he deliberately decided to become a pirate. The glory of the ruthless filibuster helped Blackbeard capture ships without the use of weapons - when he saw his flag, the victim surrendered without a fight. The cheerful life of a pirate did not last long - Tich died during a boarding battle with a British warship pursuing him.
15. Henry Avery
The most famous pirate in history is Henry Avery, nicknamed Lanky Ben. The father of the future famous buccaneer was a captain in the British Navy. From childhood, Avery dreamed of sea voyages. He began his career in the Navy as a cabin boy. Then Avery was appointed first mate on a corsair frigate. The ship's crew soon rebelled, and the first mate was proclaimed captain of the pirate ship. So Avery took the path of piracy. He became famous for capturing the ships of Indian pilgrims heading to Mecca. The booty of pirates was unheard of at that time: 600 thousand pounds and the daughter of the Great Mogul, whom Avery later officially married. How the life of the famous filibuster ended is unknown.
16. Amaro Pargo
Amaro Pargo is one of the most famous filibusters of the golden age of piracy. Pargo was engaged in the transportation of slaves and made a fortune on this. Wealth allowed him to do charity work. Lived to a respectable age.
17. Aruj Barbarossa
Famous powerful pirate from Turkey. He was characterized by cruelty, ruthlessness, love of bullying and executions. He was involved in piracy with his brother Khair. The pirates of Barbarossa were the menace of the entire Mediterranean. So, in 1515, the entire Agiers coast was under the rule of Aruja Barbarossa. The battles under his command were sophisticated, bloody and victorious. Aruj Barbarossa died during the battle, surrounded by enemy troops in Tlemcen.
18. William Dampier
Sailor from England. By vocation, he was a researcher and discoverer. Made 3 trips around the world. He became a pirate in order to have the means to engage in his research activities - the study of the direction of winds and currents in the ocean. William Dampier is the author of such books as Travels and Descriptions, A New Journey Around the World, Direction of the Winds. An archipelago in the northwest coast of Australia is named after him, as well as a strait between the western coast of New Guinea and Waigeo Island.
19. Grace O'Malle
Female pirate, legendary captain, lady of fortune. Her life was full of colorful adventures. Grace possessed heroic courage, unprecedented determination and a high talent for piracy. For enemies, she was a nightmare, for adherents, an object of admiration. Despite the fact that she had three children from her first marriage and 1 child from her second, Grace O'Malle continued her favorite business. Her activities were so successful that Queen Elizabeth I herself offered Grace to serve her, which she received a decisive refusal.
20 . Ann Bonnie
Anne Bonnie, one of the few women who excelled in piracy, grew up in a wealthy mansion and received a good education. However, when her father decided to marry her off, she ran away from home with a simple sailor. Some time later, Ann Bonnie met the pirate Jack Rackham and he took her on his ship. According to eyewitnesses, in courage and ability to fight, Bonnie was not inferior to male pirates.
Incredible Pirate Facts
1. In the 18th century, the Bahamas were a haven for pirates.
The Bahamas, today a respectable resort, and its capital, the city of Nassau, were once the capital of maritime lawlessness. In the 17th century, the Bahamas, which formally belonged to the British crown, did not have a governor, and the pirates took over the reins of power. At that time, more than a thousand sea robbers lived in the Bahamas, and squadrons of the most famous pirate captains moored in the harbors of the island. The pirates preferred to call the city of Nassau Charlestown in their own way. Peace returned to the Bahamas only in 1718, when British troops landed in the Bahamas and regained control of Nassau.
2. The Jolly Roger is not the only pirate flag.
The "Jolly Roger" - a black flag with a skull and crossbones - is often called the main pirate symbol. But it is not so. It is rather the most famous and spectacular. However, it was not used as often as is commonly believed. As a pirate flag, it appeared only in the 17th century, that is, already at the end of the golden era of piracy. And by no means all pirates used it, since each captain himself decided under which flag he would raid. So, along with the "Jolly Roger", there were dozens of pirate flags, and the skull and crossbones among them did not stand out at all as particularly popular.
3. Why did pirates wear earrings?
Books and films do not lie: pirates almost without exception wore earrings. They were even part of a pirate initiation ritual: young pirates received an earring the first time they crossed the equator or passed Cape Horn. The fact is that among the pirates there was a belief that an earring in the ear helps to preserve vision and even helps to cure blindness. It was this pirate superstition that led to the massive fashion for earrings among the pirates. Some have even tried to use them for a dual purpose, casting an anti-drowning spell on the earring. Also, an earring taken from the ear of a murdered pirate could guarantee a decent funeral for the deceased.
4. There were a lot of female pirates
Oddly enough, women in pirate crews were not such a rare occurrence. Even female captains were few and far between. The most famous of them are the Chinese Cheng Yi Sao, Mary Reed and, of course, the famous Ann Bonnie. Ann was born into the family of a wealthy Irish lawyer. From an early age, her parents dressed her like a boy so that she could help her father in the office as a clerk. The boring life of an assistant lawyer did not appeal to Ann, and she ran away from home, nailed to the pirates and quickly became a captain thanks to her determination. According to rumors, Ann Bonnie had a hot temper and often beat her assistants if they tried to challenge her opinion.
5. Why are there so many one-eyed pirates?
Everyone who watched a movie about pirates must have thought at least once: why are there so many one-eyed among them? Eye patch long time remained an indispensable part of the pirate image. However, the pirates wore it not at all because they completely lacked an eye. It was just convenient for quick and more accurate aiming in battle, and it took too long to put it on for battle - it was more comfortable to wear it without taking it off.
6 Pirate Ships Had Tough Discipline
Pirates could do any indecency on the shore, but strict discipline reigned on board pirate ships, because the life of sea robbers depended on it. Each pirate, entering the ship, signed a contract with the captain, stipulating his rights and obligations. The main duties were unquestioning obedience to the captain. Even a simple pirate had no right to contact the commander directly. This could be done at the insistence of the sailors only by the appointed representative of the team - as a rule, the boatswain. In addition, the part of the booty received by the pirate was strictly determined by the contract, and an immediate execution was due for an attempt to hide the captured - this was done to avoid bloody showdowns on board.
7. Among the pirates were representatives of all walks of life
Among the sea robbers were not only the poor who went to sea for lack of other means of subsistence, or fugitive criminals who did not know the possibility of legal earnings at all. Among them were people from rich and even noble families. For example, the famous pirate William Kidd - Captain Kidd - was the son of a Scottish nobleman. He was originally an officer in the British Navy and a pirate hunter. But the innate cruelty and passion for adventure pushed him onto a different path. In 1698, under cover of the French flag, Kidd captured a British merchant ship loaded with gold and silver. When the first prize was so impressive - could Kidd refuse to continue his career?
8 Buried Pirate Treasures Are Legends
There are many legends about buried pirate treasures - much more than the treasures themselves. Of the famous pirates, only one is reliably known that he actually buried the treasure - this was done by William Kidd, hoping to use them as a ransom if he was caught. It did not help him - after the capture, he was immediately executed as a pirate. Usually, pirates did not leave behind large fortunes. The expenses of the pirates were great, the crews were numerous, and each member of the crew, including the captain, was succeeded by one of his fellow colleagues. At the same time, realizing that their age is short, the pirates preferred to squander money, rather than hide it in the views of a very unreliable future.
9. Walking a yardarm was a rare punishment.
Judging by the films, the most common method of execution among pirates was the "yard walk", in which a man with his hands tied was forced to walk on a thin yard until he fell overboard and drowned. In fact, such a punishment was rare and was applied only to sworn personal enemies - to see their fear or panic. The traditional punishment was “dragging under the keel”, when a pirate or an obstinate prisoner punished for disobedience was lowered overboard with ropes and dragged under the bottom of the ship, pulling it out from the back. A good swimmer during the punishment could easily not choke, but the body of the punished turned out to be so cut up with shells. stuck to the bottom, that recovery took long weeks. The punished could easily die, and, again, more from wounds than from drowning.
10. Pirates have sailed all the seas
After the movie Pirates of the Caribbean, many believe that the seas of Central America were the nest of world piracy. In fact, piracy was equally common in all regions - from Britain, whose privateers, pirates in the royal service, terrified European ships, to the South East Asia where piracy remained a real force until the 20th century. And the raids of the northern peoples on the cities of Ancient Russia along the rivers were real pirate raids!
11. Piracy as a way to make a living
In difficult times, many hunters, shepherds and lumberjacks went to the pirates not for adventure, but for a banal piece of bread. This was especially true for the inhabitants of the countries of Central America, where in the 17th-18th centuries there was an endless battle of European powers for colonies. Constant armed skirmishes deprived people not only of work, but also of their homes, and the inhabitants of seaside settlements knew the maritime business from childhood. So they went to where they had a chance to be full and not think too much about tomorrow.
12. Not all pirates were outlaws.
State piracy is a phenomenon that has existed since ancient times. Barbary corsairs served the Ottoman Empire, Dunker privateers were in the service of Spain, and Britain, in the era of dominion over the ocean, kept a whole fleet of privateers - warships that captured enemy merchant ships - and corsairs - private individuals engaged in the same trade. Despite the fact that state pirates were engaged in the same trade as their free brothers, the difference in their position was huge. Captured pirates were subject to immediate execution, while a corsair with the appropriate patent could count on the status of a prisoner of war, an early ransom and a state award - like Henry Morgan, who received the post of governor of Jamaica for his corsair service.
13. Pirates still exist today
Today's pirates are armed with modern machine guns instead of boarding sabers, and modern speedboats are preferred to sailing ships. However, they act as decisively and ruthlessly as their ancient predecessors. The Gulf of Aden, the Strait of Malacca and the coastal waters of the island of Madagascar are considered the most dangerous places in terms of pirate attacks, and civilian ships are advised not to enter there without an armed escort.
7 most feared pirates in history
With the advent of the famous Jack Sparrow, pirates have become such cartoon characters of modern pop culture. And that's why it's easy to forget that real sea robbers were more formidable than their Hollywood parody. They were brutal mass murderers and slave owners. In a word, they were pirates. Real pirates, not pathetic cartoons. As evidenced by the following...
1. Francois Olone
The French pirate Francois Olonet hated Spain with all his heart. Early in his pirating career, Olone nearly died at the hands of Spanish marauders, but instead of reconsidering his life and becoming, say, a farmer, he decided to devote himself to hunting the Spaniards. He clearly expressed his attitude towards this people after he beheaded the entire crew of a Spanish ship that fell in his way, with the exception of a single person, whom he sent to his brethren to convey the following words: “From this day forward, not a single Spaniard will receive from me not a cent."
But these were only flowers. Considering what happened next, we can say that the beheaded Spaniards still got off lightly.
Having earned a reputation as a thug, Olone gathered eight pirate ships and several hundred people under his command and went to terrorize the coast of South America, destroying Spanish cities, capturing ships bound for Spain, and generally delivering a severe headache to this state.
Nevertheless, luck abruptly turned away from Olone when, returning from another raid on the coast of Venezuela, he was ambushed by outnumbered Spanish soldiers. Explosions rumbled here and there, the pirates flew to pieces, and Olona barely managed to escape from this meat grinder, capturing several hostages along the way. But this was not the end of his difficulties, because Olona and his team still needed to leave the enemy territory alive and not run into another ambush, which they simply would not have beaten off.
What did Olone do? He took out a saber, slashed one of the Spanish hostages across the chest, pulled out his heart and "bited into it with his teeth like a greedy wolf, saying to the others:" The same awaits you if you do not show me the way out.
The intimidation worked, and the pirates were soon out of danger. If you're curious about what happened to the headless Spaniards we mentioned earlier... well, let's put it this way: for a week the pirates ate like kings.
2. Jean Lafitte
Despite his effeminate name and French origin, Jean Lafitte was the true king of the pirates. He had his own island in Louisiana, he robbed ships and smuggled stolen goods into New Orleans. Lafitte was so successful that when the governor of Louisiana offered $300 for his capture ($300 was half the country's budget in those days), the pirate responded by offering $1,000 to capture the governor himself.
Newspapers and authorities portrayed Lafitte as a dangerous and brutal criminal and mass murderer, a kind of Osama bin Laden of the 1800s, if you will. Apparently, his fame crossed the Atlantic Ocean, since in 1814 Lafitte was given a letter signed personally by King George III, who offered the pirate British citizenship and lands if he took their side. He also promised that he would not destroy his little island and sell it piece by piece. Lafitte asked to give him a few days to think ... and in the meantime he hurried straight to New Orleans to warn the Americans of the British advance.
So, maybe the United States did not like Jean Lafitte, but Lafitte the United States was like family.
Although he was not an American, Lafitte treated the new country with respect and even ordered his fleet not to attack American ships. One pirate who disobeyed his order was personally killed by Lafitte. In addition, the privateer treated the hostages well and sometimes returned their ships if they were not suitable for piracy. The people of New Orleans considered Lafitte almost a hero, since the contraband he brought in allowed people to buy things they otherwise could not afford.
So, how did the American authorities react to the news of a future British attack? They attacked the island of Lafitte and captured his people, because they thought that he was simply lying. Only after future President Andrew Jackson intervened, noting that New Orleans was not ready to endure a British attack, did the authorities agree to release Lafitte's men on the condition that they agree to help their navy.
It can be said that it was only thanks to the pirates that the Americans managed to defend New Orleans, which otherwise could have been a significant strategic victory for the British. In this city, the latter could gather their forces before attacking the rest of the country. Just think: if not for this unwashed French "terrorist", the States might not exist today.
3. Stephen Decatur
Stephen Decatur does not fit the typical pirate image in that he was a fairly respected officer in the US Navy. Decatur became the youngest captain in the history of the Navy, which would be a ridiculous fiction if it weren't true. He was recognized as a national hero, and for a time his portrait even flaunted on the twenty-dollar bill.
How did he achieve such popularity? Having organized some of the most epic and bloody raids in history.
For example, when Tripolitan pirates captured the frigate Philadelphia in 1803, 25-year-old Decatur gathered a group of men dressed as Maltese sailors and armed only with swords and pikes, and entered the enemy harbor. There, without losing a single person, he captured the enemies and set fire to the frigate so that the pirates could not use it. Admiral Horatio Nelson called this raid "the most daring and audacious adventure of the century."
But that is not all. Later, returning from the capture of another ship, the crew of which was twice the size of Decatur's crew, the man learned that his brother had been mortally wounded in a fight with pirates. Although his crew were exhausted from the recent raid, Decatur turned the ship around and chased the enemy ship, which he and ten other men later boarded.
Ignoring the others, Decatur rushed straight to the man who had shot his brother and killed him. The rest of the team eventually gave up. Thus, in one day, the young man took 27 hostages and killed 33 pirates.
He was only 25 years old.
4. Ben Hornigold
Benjamin Hornigold was Emperor Palpatine for Blackbeard. While his protégé became the most famous pirate in history, Hornigold was forever a footnote in books about Edward Titch.
Hornigold began his career as a pirate in the Bahamas; then he had only a couple of small boats at his disposal. However, a few years later, Hornigold sailed on a huge 30-gun warship, thanks to which it became much easier for him to engage in sea robbery. So much easier that, apparently, the privateer began to rob solely for the sake of fun.
Once, for example, in Honduras, Hornigold boarded a merchant ship, but all he demanded from the crew was their hats. He explained his demand by the fact that last night his team got very drunk and lost their hats. Having received what he wanted, Hornigold boarded his ship and sailed away, leaving the merchants with their goods.
And this was not the only case. On another occasion, a team of sailors captured by Hornigold said that the pirate released them, taking only "a little rum, sugar, gunpowder and ammunition."
Alas, his crew did not seem to share their captain's views. Hornigold always considered himself a "privateer" rather than a pirate, and to prove this, he refused to attack British ships. Such a position did not find support from the sailors, and in the end Hornigold was removed, and a good part of his crew and ships went to Blackbeard. Before he lost his head.
Hornigold left the life of a pirate, accepted a royal pardon and took up the other side, hunting for those with whom he once hung out.
5. William Dampier
Englishman William Dampier used to achieve a lot. Not wanting to be content with the status of the first person to travel around the world three times, as well as a recognized author and research scientist, he had a small business on the side - he plundered Spanish settlements and plundered other people's ships. All this in the name of science, of course.
Pop culture tries hard to convince us that all pirates were toothless and illiterate bums, but Dampier was the exact opposite of this: he not only respected the English language, but also filled it with new words. The Oxford English Dictionary refers to Dampier more than a thousand times in its articles, since it was he who wrote examples of the spelling of such words as "barbecue", "avocado", "chopsticks" and hundreds of others.
Dampier was recognized as Australia's first naturalist, and his contribution to Western culture is simply invaluable. It was from his observations that Darwin repelled, working on the theory of evolution, and he is also mentioned in a laudatory tone in Gulliver's Travels.
However, his most striking achievement did not concern literature or science. In 1688, when his first trip around the world was almost over, Dampier sent his team away and landed somewhere on the coast of Thailand. There he boarded a canoe and sailed home on his own. Dampier landed on the English coast only three years later; he had nothing but a diary... and a tattooed slave.
6. Black Bart
In the XVII-XVIII centuries, sailing on military or merchant ships was an extremely thankless task. The working conditions were disgusting, and if you suddenly pissed off an elder, the punishment that followed was extremely cruel and often led to death. As a result, no one wanted to become sailors, so the military and merchants had to literally kidnap people from ports and force them to work on their ships. It is clear that this method of hiring did not arouse in the sailors any special loyalty to the cause and to their superiors.
Bartholomew Roberts (or simply "Black Bart") himself became a pirate by force, which, however, does not make him worse than others. Roberts worked on a slave trader's ship that was hijacked by pirates. When they invited sailors to join them, he agreed without hesitation. Although there is a possibility that the robbers also threatened to kill him if he did not go with them. Due to his high intelligence and talent in navigation, Roberts quickly gained the captain's trust. When the latter was killed, he (by that time he had lived with the pirates for only half a year) was elected to his place.
Roberts became a prominent pirate, but apparently never forgot where he came from. Having boarded some ship, he, before engaging in profit, asked the captured sailors whether the captain and officers treated them well. If someone from the commanding staff received a complaint, Roberts ruthlessly cracked down on the guilty. By the way, other pirates also practiced this. although their punishments were more sophisticated.
Roberts, being a civilized man, eventually forced his crew (the one that had previously captured him) to follow a rigid 11-point code of conduct, among which were: no gambling, no women on board, blackout at eight o'clock evenings and obligatory washing of dirty bed linen.
7. Barbarossa
In movies and TV shows, a pirate can be considered lucky if they have at least one ship and a crew of a couple of dozen people. But as it turned out, some real pirates were much luckier in life. So, the Turkish pirate Hayreddin Barbarossa had not only his own fleet, but also his own state.
Barbarossa started out as an ordinary merchant, but after an unsuccessful political decision (he supported the wrong candidate for sultans), he was forced to leave the Eastern Mediterranean. Having become a pirate, Barbarossa began to attack Christian ships in the area of what is now Tunisia, until the enemies captured his base, leaving him homeless. Tired of being constantly kicked out, Barbarossa founded his own state, known as the Regency of Algiers (the territory of modern Algeria, Tunisia and part of Morocco). He succeeded thanks to an alliance with the Turkish Sultan, who in exchange for support provided him with ships and weapons.
