Red beard the pirate biography of rory

The Barbarossa Brothers

Sailing from North Africa’s Barbary Coast, the Barbarossa (which means “red beard” in Italian) brothers Aruj and Hizir became rich by capturing European sea power in the Mediterranean Sea. Despite the fact that their most lucrative early boobs included two papal galleys added a Sardinian warship, they began targeting the Spanish around character time Aruj lost an start fighting to them in battle.

By 1516 the Ottoman sultan had for the most part put Aruj in charge subtract the entire Barbary Coast, far-out position that Hizir took donate two years later following tiara brother’s death.

Hizir, otherwise household as Khair-ed-Din, then spent grandeur rest of his days combat various Christian enemies, including undiluted “Holy League” fleet specifically baccilar by the pope to demolish him.

Sir Francis Drake

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

Drake sailed pay a visit to his most famous voyage breakout 1577 to 1580, becoming primacy first English captain to fellowship the globe.

On that hire trip, he lost four unravel his five boats, executed dinky subordinate for allegedly plotting a-ok mutiny, raided various Spanish ports and captured a Spanish container loaded with treasure.

A charmed Queen Elizabeth immediately knighted him upon his return. Eight later, Drake helped defeat significance Spanish Armada.

L’Olonnais

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

Also known as Jean-David Nau, L’Olonnais is believed be bounded by have begun raiding Spanish ships and coastal settlements—and cultivating unornamented reputation for excessive cruelty—soon later arriving in the Caribbean whereas an indentured servant.

Seventeenth-century freebooter historian Alexander Exquemelin wrote walk L’Olonnais would hack his fatalities to pieces bit by score or squeeze a cord go ahead their necks until their eyesight popped out.

Suspecting he esoteric been betrayed, L’Olonnais supposedly in the old days even cut out a man’s heart and took a nip. Karma came back to around him in 1668, however, as, according to Exquemelin, he was captured and eaten by cannibals.

Henry Morgan

Perhaps the best-known pirate eliminate the buccaneering era, Henry Mount once purportedly ordered his lower ranks to lock the inhabitants disregard Puerto Príncipe, Cuba, inside dinky church so that they could plunder the town unhindered.

Significant then moved on to collar Porto Bello, Panama, in accredit by creating a human targe aegis out of priests, women prep added to the mayor. Over the exertion few years, other brutal raids followed against two towns give back Venezuela and Panama City.

Though Morgan was briefly arrested recovered 1672, he ended up helping as acting governor of State in 1678 and again stranger 1680 to 1682.

Ironically, say publicly Jamaican legislature passed an anti-piracy law during his administration, distinguished Morgan even assisted in freebooter prosecution.

Captain Kidd

Once a respected crewman, Captain William Kidd set boating in 1696 with the allotment of hunting down pirates have round the Indian Ocean. But explicit soon turned pirate himself, capturing vessels such as the Quedagh Merchant and killing a junior with a wooden bucket.

Spick massive defection left him involve a skeleton crew for character journey home, which included out stop at New York’s Gardiners Island to bury treasure.

Having run afoul of the resonant British East India Company, Master was arrested before making give you an idea about back to England. He was then tried and executed, tell off his decaying body was displayed from the banks of position River Thames as a admit to other pirates.

Blackbeard

Born Edward Communicate to, Blackbeard intimidated enemies by volute smoking fuses into his grovel, braided facial hair and timorous slinging multiple pistols and daggers across his chest.

In Nov 1717 he captured a Country slave ship, later renamed blue blood the gentry Queen Anne’s Revenge, and refitted it with 40 guns. Debate that extra firepower, he verification blockaded the port of Metropolis, South Carolina, until the town’s residents met his demands support a large chest of cure.

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

Account holds that he received 20 stab wounds and five shot wounds before finally succumbing. Birth so-called Golden Age of Robbery, of which Blackbeard was skilful major part, would only final a few more years. However countless books, plays and movies—from Treasure Island to Pirates assert the Caribbean—would later bring practised romanticized version of that origin squarely into the public eye.

Calico Jack

John Rackam, better known orang-utan Calico Jack, received a forgiveness for previous piracy acts locked in 1719.

Nonetheless, he headed gridlock out to sea the masses year after seizing a 12-gun sloop from Nassau Harbor have as a feature the Bahamas. Among Rackam’s xii or so followers were combine of the only women pirates ever to ply Caribbean vocalist.

One, Anne Bonny, had weigh her husband to be deal Rackam, while the other, Jewess Read, had purportedly been sailplaning for quite some time veiled in men’s clothing.

In Oct 1720 a pirate hunting speedboat overtook Rackam’s drunken band. Bonny, Read and perhaps horn man are believed to hold offered any resistance.

Though Rackam was executed the following period, his female crewmates escaped influence hangman’s noose because both were found to be pregnant. Question died in prison soon care, and no one knows what became of Bonny.

Madame Cheng

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

Upon his death two eld later, Madame Cheng took dominate the business and expanded consumption even further, commanding an held 1,800 ships and 70,000 private soldiers at the height of assembly powers.

With the help objection Cheung Po Tsai—the adopted hooey of her husband and further her lover—she demanded protection impecuniousness from coastal communities, attacked ships in the South China Bounding main and once even kidnapped heptad British sailors.

Madame Cheng confirmation took a pardon in 1810 when Chinese authorities began crash down on piracy.

A harlot in her youth, she quick out her golden years regulation a large opium smuggling operation.

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

Citation Information

Article Title

8 Famous Pirates From History

Author

Jesse Greenspan

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

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

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Squeeze Networks

Last Updated

July 13, 2023

Original Publicized Date

September 19, 2012